Chapter 3: Iron Pony Competition
Five days before the incident….
The snowy weather of winter did not let up until about 11:00 am, the same time Night Shadow was outside training for his recent challenge. He chose the location of a field surrounded by trees because of its peacefulness and security from those that could potentially sneak up on him. Continuing his training for three more hours, it became apparent that his opponent had forgotten.
"Where in the heavenly hay bale is that darn rainbow pony?!" Night Shadow wondered, pacing back and forth in the snow. "She said she would be here by now… or did she even give a time? No matter, if she's not going to show up, I will make her show up."
Night Shadow's horn started to glow dark purple as he said those words.
"Now how did this spell work again? I think it was: sense out target, change location of target, bring target in said spot… Okay, I hope that's it…" Night Shadow said without confidence.
Doing just as he said, a rainbow pony landed behind him indicating that the spell worked.
"So Rainbow Dash, you thought you could get away from what you started?" Night Shadow paused for an answer smirking.
"How many times must I tell everypony, my name… is Rainbow BLITZ, get it right!" He said angrily as he flew off.
"Sorry, I thought you were somepony else!" Night Shadow shouted back to him. "Apparently I needed to add more detail: stubborn, competitive, and… oh yeah, female." Night shadow said to himself.
Surely enough, he finally got the right pony he was looking for after several other misunderstandings with other ponies of the same color or similar names.
"It's about time!" Night Shadow shouted. "I have never been so happy to see you; do you know how many times I have been yelled at today? Like over nine-thousand times Dashie, that's like nine-thousand, plus one."
"Don't call me Dashie, no one calls me Dashie!" She said getting into Night Shadow's face.
"HI, DASHIE!" A familiar but sometimes annoying voice shouted, resulting in Night Shadow bursting out laughing.
"Pinkie Pie, I was trying to make a point to him." Rainbow Dash said turning to face her.
"Well, why would you want to make a point silly, and shouldn't you be practicing for your competition?" Pinkie asked happily.
"The only thing that I practiced is flying tricks and stunts. Everything else is a piece of cake." Rainbow Dash said to Pinkie.
"Ooo, I love cake. Chocolate cake with the ice cream, and sprinkles, and frosting and-"
"But Pinkie… the cake is a lie!" Night Shadow shouted cutting her off.
"That's silly, you can't eat lies… but I wonder what those taste like? Probably sour and spicy at the same time, or maybe salty but with a twist, or maybe even-"
"Pinkie, you're off subject again, and the reason I said that is because I'm a world class athlete. Everything by default will be too easy for me." Rainbow said, proudly interrupting her.
"Calm down Dashie, just because you're good at something doesn't mean you can't get better. That's how you keep your skill up and advance higher in that category; I'm sure that even the tyrants, I-I mean princesses practice their magic as well." Night Shadow said sweating.
"Wait, what do you mean by-"
"New subject Dashie, NEW SUBJECT!" Night Shadow yelled becoming paranoid, cutting off Rainbow's question.
"Wait, I just wanted to ask-"
"I didn't say anything, what are you talking about hahahahahaha, you guys, always joking around and hearing things that AREN'T TRUE!" Night Shadow said almost losing his sanity and cutting off Rainbow again.
"What are you tal-"
"YOU'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE HER AWAY FROM ME!" Night Shadow shouted before Pinkie slapped him across the muzzle.
"That was awesome, is it my turn now?" Pinkie asked excited.
"NO… but thank you Pinkie, I really needed that." Night Shadow said as his eyes readjusted from the slap. "Now on the other hoof, I'm still wondering how Pinkie even found us."
"Yeah Pinkie, how did you even know we were here?" Rainbow Dash asked puzzled.
"Well, when Night Shadow started making ponies fall from the sky, I ended up in this bush, so here I am." Pinkie said joyfully.
"How did you even fall into the category I was thinking of?" Night Shadow asked confused.
"I have no idea." Pinkie said after thinking for a bit.
"Well that escalated quickly, if you need me I will be training." Night Shadow said walking over to Rainbow Dash. "Hey Rainbow, you want to help?"
"Help how?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Just find things that are heavy and I will try to balance them, same goes for you Pinkie if you want to." Night Shadow said getting into position.
"So, let me get this straight, all we have to do is find things for you to balance?" Rainbow Dash asked in order to make sure she understood what he was getting at.
"Pretty much, but only when I say go." Night Shadow pointed out.
"He just said go!" Pinkie said, already getting objects to throw.
"No, that's not what I meant, when I say go, you go." Night shadow said waving his hooves at her.
"He just said it again!" Pinkie yelled, picking up a big stick.
"Okay, Pinkie, let's get him!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she quickly grabbed a rock.
"What have I gotten myself into?" Night Shadow said to himself bracing for impact.
One by one, objects of all shapes and sizes were flung at Night Shadow. Catching all the items, he balanced them on his back, hooves, muzzle, and even his horn. The assault continued for a good minute before even Night Shadow had enough and told them to stop. The objects collected ranged from rocks and sticks, to pianos and giant flower bags, courtesy of Pinkie.
"Pinkie Pie, where did you find an extra large pickle jar again?" Night Shadow asked while doing a hoof stand on his right foreleg.
"I don't know." Pinkie said shrugging her shoulders.
"Well, anyway, the next step is to try to distract me. Just no hitting, pushing, bucking, or any of the sort." Night Shadow said before Rainbow Dash spat in his face. "Or spitting." He said as the spit traveled off his face.
"Ooo, I have an idea!" Pinkie said whispering her plan to Rainbow Dash.
"That's perfect, oh this is going to be so awesome!" Rainbow Dash said smiling at Night Shadow who was looking up at them.
"What are you two planning?" Night Shadow asked nervously.
"You will see soon enough… or feel." Rainbow Dash said walking out of his sight along with Pinkie.
Night Shadow could do nothing but wait for the impending torture. Almost becoming impatient, he tried to talk to them to hurry up but was instantly poked with a pointy stick.
"Oww, what was that for?" Night Shadow asked before being poked in the chest.
"Shh, no talking." Pinkie said before poking him again.
"Stop stabbing me with that stick!" Night Shadow pleaded to Pinkie.
"Hey, I think its working, keep it up." Rainbow Dash whispered to Pinkie.
"I heard that and let me tell you, it's going to take a lot more to-"
Night Shadow tried to say before Rainbow's tail started to rub his nose. She continued to do this until Night Shadow sneezed, unfortunately for him his other hoof was occupied carrying a birthday cake.
"Bless you." Pinkie Pie said, smiling at him.
"Thank you, but you two should try something else." Night Shadow said regaining his balance.
"I say we tickle him." Pinkie said to Rainbow Dash before lunging at Night Shadow.
"Wait, don't Pinkie, I'm begging you!" Night Shadow said before Pinkie started to tickle him in almost every place possible. Night Shadow had to use all his strength and willpower to not fall right then and there to Pinkie's onslaught.
"You do that Pinkie; I'm just going to wait over here."
"But why Dashie?" Pinkie asked, pausing her assault.
"Because tickling is so not cool." Rainbow Dash said propping herself onto a nearby tree.
"Oh well, suit yourself." Pinkie said continuing her attack on the red unicorn.
Several minutes later
"I don't think its working." Rainbow Dash said finally getting bored.
"Well what else can we do?" Pinkie looked to Rainbow Dash for an answer who in turn stared blankly.
"I see that you girls are finally realizing that I won't fall down no matter what you do, so I win!" Night Shadow announced to both of them laughing. Pinkie looked down in defeat, but Rainbow Dash seemed to be looking off in the distance.
"Hey Twilight, we're over here!" Rainbow Dash yelled waving her hooves.
"Twilight?" Night Shadow said being distracted, before gravity got the best of him and the objects he was caring resulting in a big crash. Emerging from the rubble, he looked around for Twilight.
"I don't see her, where is she?" Night Shadow asked Rainbow Dash.
"I can tell you where she is not… here." Rainbow Dash said smiling with triumph.
"You dirty little-"
"If a white lie is what it takes to win, then I'm more than happy to do so." Rainbow Dash declared.
"The only thing white here is the snow, and you still lost despite your little trick." Night Shadow said trying to turn the tables on her.
"How? Your entire body was covered in rubble, and you want to say you won?!" Rainbow Dash shouted becoming aggravated.
"The game ended when I said I had won, therefore I still win, end of story." Night Shadow stated to her.
"You're just a sore loser." Rainbow Dash said under her breath.
"Takes one to know one, Ms. Dash." Night Shadow said, getting in her face.
"Are you two playing the angry couple game? I call therapist!" Pinkie said bouncing, raising her hoof in the air.
Night Shadow and Rainbow Dash stared at Pinkie, wondering where she got the assumption from. They both stared into each other's eyes, slowly backing away from each other and blushing.
"Uhhh, that's just wrong Pinkie, I couldn't see myself marrying her!" Night Shadow said looking away embarrassed.
"I couldn't even see myself dating him, and besides he has his eyes on Twilight." Rainbow Dash blurted out.
"What did you just say!" Night Shadow shouted in shock.
"Oh come on, it's so obvious." Rainbow Dash said to him smiling.
"I… d-don't know what you're talking about." Night shadow said stuttering and backing away.
"Really now? The way you act around her, talk to her, how you're reacting right now, and not to mention how you completely blew it in the game we just played." Rainbow pointed out.
"What do you want from me?" Night Shadow said being cornered against a tree.
"I want you to admit." Rainbow Dash said to him.
"Admit what?" Night Shadow asked, already knowing the answer.
"Admit you like Twilight Sparkle!" Rainbow yelled.
"Uh, yeah I like Starlight Sprinkle, he's a good friend of mine." Night Shadow said avoiding contact with Rainbow.
"Stop avoiding the question!" Rainbow yelled pinning Night Shadow to the tree.
"Stop harassing me with questions!" Night Shadow yelled pushing her off.
"Is this twenty questions? I love that game!" Pinkie randomly said, butting in on the argument.
"NO!" Night Shadow and Rainbow both yelled.
More arguing continued until all three of them were out of breath.
"Enough, at this rate we won't have enough energy for the competition. We will continue this conversation never." Night Shadow said walking to the heap of rubble. "Now Dashie, make yourself useful and throw these things at me."
"Can I help, please, please, please?" Pinkie asked him.
"Yes, yes you can help too." Night Shadow sighed.
"Yay! So throw things at you like this?" Pinkie asked, chucking a huge metal pole at him.
"Oh great, not again!" Night Shadow said before chopping the metal pole in half with his fore-hoof. "Yeah, like that, but wait for me to GET READY!" He shouted.
Rainbow and Pinkie could do nothing but stand in awe at what they just witnessed.
"I thought all unicorns were eggheads, yet you did that with ease and without magic." Rainbow said still in shock.
"Hey, just because some unicorns prefer to study the world around them doesn't mean we all do. It's like saying all earth ponies are just for working, or all Pegasus ponies are for weather control." Night Shadow said to Rainbow as he stood up on his hind-hooves. "Okay, now I'm ready."
"Wait, before you do your little thing again, put this on." Rainbow said taking out a blindfold.
"Rainbow Dash, how is Night Shadow here going to be able to see then silly?" Pinkie asked happily.
"That's the point Pinkie, I want to see if Night Shadow is capable of such a thing." Rainbow said looking at Night Shadow. "Unless, of course he is too chicken to do so." She said mockingly.
"I am not a Scootaloo, so give me the blindfold!" Night Shadow commanded snatching the blindfold from Rainbow. "No magic, correct?" He said putting it on.
"Correct." Rainbow said with a wicked grin. "This is going to be too easy." She whispered to Pinkie.
"I don't know Dashie, he seems very confident." Pinkie pointed out.
"Yeah he might be, but not for long." Rainbow said, holding a wooden plank.
Night Shadow stood there with his hooves close to his sides waiting for their first move. With his sense of sight gone, he could only rely on hearing and instinct as he waited patiently. He couldn't tell if a minute or an hour had passed before the first object came quickly towards him. Perking up his ears, Night Shadow located the object and with a quick punch, shattered it into pieces. Hearing a small gasp before him, all he could do was smirk at their surprise as he assumed position again. A gush of wind passed over the trio, causing a branch to fall in the distance making a loud thump, which is when Rainbow and Pinkie decided to open fire upon him. Soon all the objects lied in pieces around the blinded unicorn except one.
"Hey, Twilight?!" Rainbow called from the distance.
"Oh no, if you think I will fall for the same trick again, you are sadly mistaken." Night Shadow said.
"Night Shadow, what are you doing!?" Twilight Sparkle said behind him.
"Wait, what?!" Night Shadow said, turning around before a block of wood scattered over his head. He then fell face first into the snow before Twilight.
"Bull's eye!" Rainbow shouted.
"That's not fair." Night Shadow said muffled in the snow. "And Twilight, why are you here?" He asked getting up.
"You said that Rainbow Dash had challenged you to an Iron Pony Competition. So I'm here to take score like I did last time." Twilight said taking off his blindfold.
"And I'm the announcer!" Spike stated, standing on Twilight's back while holding a stick with a red leaf.
"There's no one to talk to out here, are you going to announce to the bushes and trees?" Night Shadow asked sarcastically.
"No, I'm going to be talking to them." Spike said pointing to Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack emerging from the hill.
"Oh… how convenient. Well me and Rainbow Dash are ready, so let's get this started." He said with a competitive smirk at the end of his muzzle.
Soon after, the games and equipment for the Iron Pony Competition was set up for the two challengers. At first the audience only consisted of Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack with Spike being the announcer, but soon more ponies from Ponyville started to join the crowd.
"The first event is the barrel weave!" Spike announced to the crowd.
"BARRELS!" Night Shadow shouted behind him.
"Hey Night Shadow, can I talk to you for a sec?" Rainbow said pulling him aside.
"Yeah sure, what's up?" Night Shadow asked curiously.
"Let's make a bet on who will win, what do you say?" She asked.
"Now you are speaking my language Dashie, what do you have in mind?" He asked.
"Well when I win, you have to admit to anything I say… no exceptions." She said.
"When you win… HA! You mean when I win, you have to wear a fancy dress all day." He said smirking.
"Then it's settled." Rainbow said spitting into her hoof to seal the bet.
"Eww, that's disgusting!" Night Shadow said backing away.
"Just do it you chicken." Rainbow said before Night Shadow hoof-bumped her in agreement.
"Please make your way to the starting line." Twilight announced to Night Shadow.
"Ladies first, Night Shadow." Rainbow Dash said mockingly as he stepped up to the starting line.
"Losers follow." He said before Spike clicked the timer and shouted go.
Taking no time at all, Night shadow returned in the blink of an eye without bumping into a single barrel.
"What was my time Spike?" Night Shadow said panting.
"Seventeen seconds! That was Applejack's best time!" Spike said congratulating him.
Rainbow dash was up next, but was a bit hesitant and nervous.
"I would be nervous if I was fighting myself too, Dash." Night Shadow commented. "You will do fine."
"Go!" Spike shouted as Rainbow took little to no time at all to finish and return.
"How did I do?" Rainbow asked recovering.
"Fourteen seconds!" Spike shouted in amazement.
"W-what, how!?" Night Shadow said in disbelief.
"They don't call me Dash for nothing." Rainbow said rubbing it in.
"Rainbow Dash wins the barrel weave!" Twilight announced to the ever-growing crowd of ponies.
"Up next is the bucking contest!" Spike proclaimed.
"Rainbow Dash, you're up first." Twilight said to her.
"Good luck." Night Shadow said leaning on a tree.
"Who needs luck when you're Rainbow Dash?" She stated proudly.
Rainbow Dash, with her newfound confidence, went up to buck and successfully rang the bell on the high striker.
"Good job… for a mare. Now let me show you how a stallion does it." Night Shadow remarked as he approached the machine.
Taking a deep breath to focus, he turned around bucking the high striker, destroying it in the process. As the weight flew through the cloud layer, it exploded in a beautiful; display of fireworks. Rainbow sat back on her haunches in amazement.
"You get to go out with a bang, Dashie." Night Shadow said smirking.
"Night Shadow wins the bucking contest, leaving the score one-to-one." Twilight said as Fluttershy updated the score.
Night Shadow stood in the middle of a pen preparing himself for the Bronco Buck as Rainbow Dash watched from the sidelines.
"Night Shadow you're up first, and try not to hurt Spike." Twilight said smiling.
"I can't guarantee anything Twi… but for you, I will try." Night Shadow replied warmly as Spike grabbed onto his mane.
"Hey, watch the hair." Night Shadow said abruptly to Spike.
"Why me?" Spike wondered, preparing himself for the worse.
As soon as the timer was set, Night Shadow galloped towards the railing and jumped off from it. In mid-flight, he did ten back flips forcing spike to land in a nearby pile of hay.
"Gravity is a harsh mistress, Spike." Night Shadow said before noticing Twilight staring at him frustrated.
"What, I said I'd try." Night Shadow said walking to the sidelines.
"Rainbow Dash, are you ready?" Twilight asked her.
"I was born ready." Rainbow said walking towards Spike. "Ready for another pony ride?" She asked Spike.
"No…" Spike replied, nervous.
Using the strategy from last time, she bounced up and down like a jackhammer, sending Spike flying.
"Rainbow Dash wins the Bronco Buck, leaving the score two-to-one with Rainbow in the lead!" Twilight declared.
"Yeah, only barely." Night Shadow said to himself.
"And now, for the lasso contest!" Twilight announced yet again.
A lasso was given to both Night Shadow and Rainbow Dash.
"Umm, can we skip this one?" Rainbow asked Twilight already knowing the answer.
"Night shadow, can you get Spike?" Twilight asked him ignoring Rainbows question.
"Just one second." Night Shadow said as he focused on finding Spike and teleporting him back.
"Spike put this helmet on." Twilight said holding a helmet with horns with her magic.
"Do I have to do this again?" Spike asked her.
"Yes, you're the only one capable of this job, so please Spike?" Twilight asked, handing him the helmet.
"If I have to…" He said sighing, putting on the helmet and getting back into the pen.
As Spike stood awkwardly in the middle of Rainbow and Night Shadow, he wondered how he got roped into this until he flew backwards, tied to a rope.
"You know, if it wasn't for the poorly made helmet, I would have thought you were the Dragonborn… ha-ha get it." Night Shadow said, smiling to a very annoyed Spike.
"Umm… does this count?" Rainbow asked, tied to a tree watching the two of them.
"Night Shadow wins the lasso contest, putting the score at two-to-two." Twilight broadcasted to the ponies.
Rainbow Dash took the lead back in the ball bouncing contest, but Night Shadow fought fiercely to not only take the lead from Rainbow, but also win the Hay Bale Toss, Hoof Wrestling, and Football Kick. Putting the score six-to-three, leaving Rainbow no other choice.
"Ninety-seven… ninety-eight… ninety-nine!" Twilight counted, in-between the two competitors.
"Are you ready to give up?" Night Shadow said to Rainbow, doing push-ups with only one hoof.
"I... never… give… up!" Rainbow struggled to say halfway through her last push-up.
"Your mind may say no, but your muscles say otherwise Dashie. You're on your last moments, and everyone will see your loss." Night Shadow said holding off his last push-up and provoking her to see if she could actually make a comeback.
"You… won't… win this time!" Rainbow shouted before picking herself up with her wings, finishing her last rep.
"One-hundred! Rainbow wins the push-up contest putting the score at six-to-four!" Twilight said not noticing the use of Rainbow's wings.
After a crowd of ponies carried Rainbow Dash off, Night Shadow, instead of acting out of anger, simply stood there silently as they cheered Rainbow's victory, taking note of what happened. Using her newfound method, Rainbow won the next three games easily taking the lead from Night Shadow.
"I win again Night Shadow, and if you don't clean your act together, you have to admit to anything I want." Rainbow said, cleaning the mud off of her wings.
"I know what you're doing, and you might be fooling everypony else, but know this." Night Shadow said before getting into her face. "I won't stoop to your level and I will still beat you."
True to his word, Night Shadow kept up with Rainbow's score despite her advantage. Soon, after a long conflict, it came down to the concluding event to finally prove who was better.
"This is it everypony, the final event of the Iron Pony Competition!" Spike announced to the crowd of cheering ponies from practically everywhere. "The score is nineteen-to-nineteen, so the question remains, who will win the title of Iron Pony?!" He shouted. "Will it be Rainbow Dash or Night Shadow? We will soon find out!"
Both ponies grabbed the rope for the tug-of-war. The rules were common sense, first in the mud loses. The two of them pulled on the rope with all their strength. The struggle lasted for ten seconds before Night Shadow started getting the better of Rainbow. Seeing that she would lose, Rainbow used her wings to prevent her immediate loss, picking up Night Shadow in the process. Rainbow was floating above the mud pit holding onto the rope that Night Shadow was grasping onto with his mouth, waiting for him to let go.
"How is this fair!?" Night Shadow tried to say with the rope in his mouth.
"What, I can't hear you!" Rainbow said muffled by the rope.
Night Shadow, with his mouth, lunged upwards and grabbed the rope again with his hooves.
"I said how this is fair, you have been using your wings the whole time, and now you're using gravity to your advantage!" Night Shadow shouted at Rainbow.
"You never said-"
"I don't care, if you want to play like this…then so be it!" He said charging up his magic after he interrupted Rainbow.
"No… what are you doing? Rainbow asked almost frightened.
"Taking away your advantages!" Night Shadow declared to her.
"If you do that… we will both lose!" Rainbow almost said pleading.
This stopped Night Shadow almost immediately, but not permanently as he continued to charge his magic.
"I have thought about this, and I accept the consequences. I have already proven your assumption about me wrong, and proven that I truly am better."
"You are not better than me!" Rainbow said still muffled by the rope.
"Then prove it." Night Shadow said as he shot a magical spell into her wings causing them to stiffen and then levitated himself.
With years of experience in the air, Rainbow would not go down so easily. Using her wings to glide, she flew into the levitating unicorn resulting in the two crashing in the mud. Everypony stood in astonishment and silence at what they had witnessed.
"It's a tie?!" Spike shouted in amazement. "This means that they are both equally athletic."
After a few moments of stillness, Twilight made her decision.
"So it's settled… Night Shadow and Rainbow Dash… you two are both Iron Ponies!" Twilight shouted to them as the crowd cheered in excitement.
Finally emerging from the mud, Night Shadow and Rainbow Dash wiped the mud from their eyes and looked at each other almost frightened.
"You know Rainbow… that a tie is just…"
"A nicer way to say…" Rainbow Dash said joining in on his sentence.
"We both lose." They both said in unison.
Both of the "winners" washed up and helped clean up afterwards. Soon everything seemed to be back to normal, except for the two embarrassed ponies in the center of the field.
"So… Rainbow Dash… see you in a dress tomorrow." Night Shadow said avoiding eye contact.
"Yeah… I guess, so about you admitting to something?" Rainbow asked looking at a nearby tree.
"Fire away." Night Shadow said losing all resistance.
"Do you or do you not like Twilight Sparkle, and tell me the truth. I can help you with these feelings, so just tell me already and stop avoiding the question!" She asked.
Night Shadow looked toward Rainbow Dash and then looked down in defeat.
"I guess I have no choice…I-"
"Night Shadow, are you ready to go home." Twilight said approaching him, causing him to pause.
"Uhh… yeah I'm all set, let's go home." Night Shadow said before Twilight teleported them home.
Rainbow stood there alone as Celestia's sun descended behind the trees leaving her in the dark.
"Tomorrow Rainbow Dash… tomorrow you will know, just… be… patient." She said before taking off.
Unaware of anything that was in the area, a dark looking figure, hidden in the dark, retreated back into the shadows after watching the two competitors finish their dispute. A bright but silent flash appeared in the shadows before the night finally settled over Ponyville.