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Maverick's eyes opened for the second time that morning. He had, after snuggling in tight next to Rainbow, fallen back asleep. Now awake again, he reached his arms back around his pony and pulled himself closer. Next to him, Rainbow subconsciously tightened her hold for a moment before slackening it again.

Maverick would have been content to lie there all day, and since nothing was stopping him from doing so, he would. It was such a change from earth. Back home, he either had school to wake up to or parents trying to get him to do chores. But now, now he had had absolutely no reason to move.

So, after 5 minutes had passed, why did the prospect of lying in bed all day become so unappealing?

Everyday back home he wished he could just stay put for another 5 minutes, but now that he actually got that opportunity, he felt like getting up. 'Humans are a weird species.' He thought. 'We only want what we can't have...'

With that out of the way, he began to pull himself out of Rainbow's embrace.

Only to be pulled right back up against her belly.

Surprised, Maverick looked at her face. She still seemed to be asleep, so he tried again. And again, he was pulled back into place. Her face scrunched up a bit, and she grabbed on even tighter, as if saying: "You aren't going anywhere." It was super adorable. Maverick suppressed a chuckle and leaned into the embrace, causing a smile to return to Rainbow's lips as she nuzzled up against him blindly, ending up with her face in the crook of his neck.

Suddenly, the prospect of not doing anything felt okay again. Maverick placed his head on top of hers and began to ponder life. After all, he wasn't going anywhere fast.

Oddly enough, the first things to enter his mind were two brony songs that he used to listen to back in the human world. Join the herd and Loyalty. This caused his mind to wander off in two directions.

The first was how he'd joined the herd in the first place. It was a funny story really. He'd stumbled on a story online about ponies. He'd heard of the show of course, but he never thought it would be his type of thing. Still, the story looked promising, but he realised that he couldn't understand it properly without watching the show. 5 episodes later, he was totally hooked. It's funny, but he never did get around to reading that story.

Then the other song dragged his mind down a rockier road. Seeing as Rainbow embodied the element of loyalty, or at least that's what the show said, than in theory, he'd never have to worry about her cheating on him. Never a pleasant thought, thinking about your love cheating, and of course Maverick trusted her completely, but it was still nice to know. Applejack would tell him straight out of she wasn't interested anymore. Fluttershy would let him down as gently as she could. Pinkie would make him feel better about it, but she would still do it. Rarity... well, the only thing he could think would be that she'd offer herself up to both of her lovers, but that just sounded odd. And Twilight would probably clone herself or something. All this based purely of their elements, of course.

More thoughts came and went as Maverick lay there. He thought about how his brother would be at school now, and how his other self back on earth would be in his computer class right now. He considered the potential for magic to solve human problems such as poverty, homelessness, hunger and all that. He wondered if destiny existed, or if there were an infinite number of possible universes based on people's choices. He considered the possibility of fiber optic computer cores that might improve computer speeds by thousands of times over. He imagined how different the world would be if said computers were coded in binary with the digits 0 through 9 instead of just 0 and 1. He imagined what would happen if there was actually a single digit number for 10 and 11 and then 12 became the new 10.

A few stray trains of though later, Rainbow began to stir. Maverick put his plans for the zombie apocalypse on hold as he returned to the real world, desiring to see the eyes that had been closed for the past night. He did, however, remember to note that that there was no second exit the he could use in Rainbow's house. It wouldn't make a very secure fortress if he was alone during the apocalypse but, if Rainbow were with him, it had potential.

Rainbow's eyes opened, revealing to Maverick the magenta windows that led to her soul. Of course, Maverick believed none of that mumbo jumbo, instead just happy to be the first thing she saw for the day.

"Good morning sweetie." He said, giving her a swift peck on the forehead.

Her lips parted in an enormous yawn. Maverick was pretty sure he could have shoved his fist in her mouth if he wanted to.

"'Morning." She replied, pulling him in close again and snuggling up to him. She nuzzled her way up from his chest to his neck, then to his chin, and finally she reached his lips, on which she placed a gentle, loving kiss.

Caught unprepared, Maverick's lips parted in a small gasp. Rainbow considered taking this as an invitation to slide her tongue in, but in the end she decided against it, not wanting to make him uncomfortable. Instead, she slid one of her hooves up his back and pressed their chests together, placing the other on his lower back and pulling him in closer.

She parted her own lips in a sigh of content as she broke the kiss. Looking into his eyes, which were wide with surprise, she couldn't help a twinge of fear from popping up in her mind. Had she gone too far?

After a second, Maverick wrapped his arms around her, pulling Rainbow into a hug. "That was a nice surprise."

She smiled and hugged back. Why was she so jumpy? Of course it was fine.

And, as it had yesterday, a sudden surge of desire to ride Maverick all the way to Orgasmia sprung up in her mind, causing Rainbow to blush and almost forcing her wings up. She managed, however, to keep them pinned to her sides as the fear of his reaction damped her mood. She still had no idea if he understood the significance of wingboners, but even if he didn't, it wouldn't take a rocket scientist's level of intelligence to think through the possibilities.

Instead, she pressed up against him all the harder, taking a moment to chase her rampant thoughts away. Maverick, on the other hand, was enjoying the moment to its fullest extent.

Once Rainbow finally had her wings under control, she let him go, to both of their disappointments, and told him to get dressed so they could go back to the training center and she could register for the race. As soon as Maverick grabbed his clothes and stepped into the bathroom, Rainbow took off through the city, searching for the pharmacy. She grabbed the nearest bottle of heat-supressing pills, which would help her control her 'urges', paying at the cash, popping one and taking back off for home. She made it back just as Maverick was opening the cloud-door.

She blushed a bit at his choice of outfit, mentally cursing Rarity. The clothes matched Rainbow's coat perfectly. They were the exact same shade of blue. Whether Rarity had meant to do it or not made no difference to Rainbow, but it was an outfit that suggested they were engaged in the pony universe. After all, during pony marriages, it was tradition to wear an outfit that matched your soon-to-be partner's coat. Most ponies would just blow it off as a coincidence, but Rainbow wouldn't put it past some of the more... unpleasant one's to kick up some rumors.

"Um, Maverick, could you change your shirt?" Rainbow asked.

He gave her a confused look before retreating into the bedroom, reappearing a few seconds later with a different shirt on. To Rainbow's dismay, it was exactly the same colour.

"I meant one with a different colour."

"They're all the same colour. Rarity said it was the only "Fashionably acceptable" colour. Why, what's wrong with blue? It's my favorite colour." Maverick asked.

Rainbow mentally filled away the sidelong compliment of her coat for later. Instead, she focused on a full blown mental rage at Rarity's expense. Rainbow was now fairly certain that the white unicorn had done it on purpose. Whether it was because she knew, she suspected, or she desired was irrelevant; now Rainbow didn't have a choice but to go out with Maverick wearing her colour, and he'd be wearing it every single day.

"There's nothing wrong with blue; I like it too. The problem is that when a couple get married in Equestria, they wear a dress and suit that matches their lover's coat colour."

It took a second, but when a look of horror passed over his face, Rainbow knew he understood the implications. "How did she find out?"

"I honestly don't know, but we're going over right now so I can give her a piece of my mind."

Before either could move, a flash of white light appeared in the middle of the room. When she could see again, Rainbow saw a folded piece of paper lying on the floor with Rarity's signature. Before she could open it, another flash of white light appeared, and in the center was a pair of saddlebags.

Now confused, the Pegasus opened the letter.

Dear Rainbow,

I'm terribly sorry about the clothes; I didn't realise the colour implications until after you left. He really doesn't synergise with anything besides cyan. I'm sending some of the more acceptable failures now.

Sorry again,

Rarity.

While she had been reading, Maverick had gone to inspect the saddlebags, and was pleasantly surprised to see a plethora of multicoloured shirts. He took his off and replaced with a nice red one.

"I guess she just made an honest mistake." Maverick said cheerfully.

Rainbow wasn't quite as optimistic. Rarity, of all ponies, shouldn't have missed such an important detail. Was it a warning? Or maybe a "thumbs up" as the humans would say?

"Come on Rainbow, let's go to the training center and get you registered so we can get back to some real training." Realising what that entailed, Maverick rethought his statement. "On second thought, take as long as you need."

Giggling at his mistake, Rainbow swept him off his feet, juggling him in the air or a second before having him land on her back.

"I told you not to do that anymore!" He sputtered indignantly.

"No you didn't."

"Well I meant to."

This brought on another round of giggles, which ended with a very un-lady like snort. Rainbow reddened as Maverick started laughing.

"Aw, that was too cute. Do it again." He commanded. Rainbow bucked her hips in response, causing him to fall face first into her mane.

"Wanna play rough, do ya?" He stated as he pushed himself back up. Before she could respond, he flipped over sideways on her back, pulling her to the ground beside him. He flipped her onto her back and pinned her to clouds, sitting on her stomach with his arms on her shoulders. If it weren't for the fact that they both currently weighed about the same, Maverick doubted he could dominate her again. Still...

"Ha, nopony can take me!" He cheered

Rainbow almost made an attempt to struggle out before a wicked idea came to her. She tried to look innocent as she said. "Oh, well, you can take me if you want. Just be gentle~"

Maverick's face flushed redder then a tomato as he tried to backpedal. Rainbow used his momentary lapse in concentration to flip him off of her. A quick flick of her wings later, she's pinning him to the clouds.

"Who's on top now, tough guy." She beamed.

"Ha ha. That was a dirty trick."

"'All's fair in love and war.' Isn't that one of your human expressions? Well, this qualifies as both." She said before leaning in and nuzzling his forehead. Another hell-spawned plan came forth. "Not much you can do in this position though, it there? I think I should have some fun while I can."

Maverick's eyes widened at that. She wouldn't actually rape him, would she? Her hooves began to float slowly down his sides, escalating his fear. He tried to buck her off, but she had his hips locked beneath her bottom. Her hooves stopped next to his lower ribs. He glanced at her in confusion before she brushed them lightly along his sides, electing an unwanted and surprisingly girly giggle. His eyes widened even more.

"No, please no, anything but that! Rainbow, please d- BAHAHAHA!"

Maverick's body spasmed and convulsed as Rainbow tickled him mercilessly. Despite not having actual fingers, she was doing an excellent job of stimulating his overly sensitive nervous system. He tried, unsuccessfully, to beg for forgiveness between breaths, but Rainbow was having none of it.

After a minute, Maverick was starting to regain some control, especially of his arms. In a desperate attempt to save himself, he pushed Rainbow as hard as he could, causing her to stumble a bit. In the brief moment of downtime, he made a mad grab for her hooves, managing to capture both of them in his hands. Of course, he had no doubt that Rainbow was the stronger of the two, but he hoped he could at least hold her off long enough to squirm out of her hold.

However, once she regained her composure, Rainbow made no attempt whatsoever to free her hooves, instead grinning maniacally. Maverick tilted his head, confused, and was about to ask if he had won when Rainbow zipped her wings forward and continued to tickle him, using her feathers now.

His laughter boomed forth again, louder than ever, as the overly dexterous and precisely aimed feathers worked their magic. There probably wasn't a point in his life that Maverick had ever been tortured so powerfully, and he actually managed to shift Rainbow's position on top of him due to the power of his bucking.

Once she finally let up, Maverick's chest was heaving as he fought against any residual giggles. Before he could say anything, she leaned down, letting her hair fall around her head as she brushed it along his face, and pressed down on his shoulders with her wings, using her hooves to immobilise his hands.

"So, who's the strongest pony ever?"

"You are!" He giggled again at the feelings her hair made as it ran across his head and neck.

"And who's the most amazing pony ever?"

"You are!" His voice was growing hoarse.

"And who-"

"YOU! You, it's all you. You can do whatever you want, just please stop!" He begged.

She smiled as she leaned in close to him, placing her muzzle right next to his ear. "Anything~?" She whispered in the sultriest tone she could manage.

Maverick had some second thoughts, but he cried out "Anything!" as she ran her wing along his side again.

She smiled and rolled off of him. "Then rub my belly." She commanded.

Confused, Maverick turned his head to see Rainbow on her back again, waiting patiently. Her pose was very potentially revealing, and if he tilted his head just the slightest bit, he would have been able to see her more feminine parts.

But Maverick had a lot of respect for his girlfriend, so he scooted forward across the cloud-floor and gently began rubbing circles on her stomach region, making sure that he couldn't see anything he wasn't supposed to. Rainbow let out a contented sigh as he massaged her tummy evenly, and then another as he began running his hand through her mane. She hadn't had this done to her since she was a filly, and she planned to enjoy it for as long as she could convince Maverick to keep going.

Maverick could feel the tension in Rainbow's stomach muscles slowly melt away, and he could also feel the strength behind them. Strength that he would never have, not that he regretted it. He could also feel the smooth strands of hair flowing like water through his fingers.

After a few minutes, Maverick's hands were getting tired. He stopped for a second to rest. As he did, Rainbow let out a high pitched whine of dissatisfaction. Maverick hopped over her to the other side so he could switch his hand places and continued, eliciting another sigh of content.

Finally, when his hand could take no more, Maverick fell to his back with a groan. Rainbow let out another sigh, this one of resignation. It had been nice while it lasted.

"You know" Maverick began as he heard her sigh. "I can do this again later if you like it so much."

Rainbow's ears perked happily. "Really?"

"Of course."

She hopped on top of him, peppering him with light pecks across his face. Maverick chuckled at her attitude. Clearly she had enjoyed his ministrations much more then he thought.

"Alright, alright, I get it; you like having your belly rubbed. Don't we have somewhere to be?" He asked.

"We. Can. Get. To. That. Later." She said between pecks. Maverick thrashed about bellow her as Rainbow continued her assault of his face.

When she finally finished, leaving one final kiss on the tip of his nose, Maverick breathed a sigh, half of relief and half of disappointment. "Are you happy now?" He asked.

"I've been happy since you got here, but yes, I'm happy now." She replied. "Come on, we have somewhere to be."

Maverick held back an angry retort, choosing instead to climb on her back before she could make any more hypocritical remarks.

They took off, flying at a leisurely pace. Neither felt the need to rush, which was quite unusual for old Rainbow. Depressed Rainbow hadn't wanted to do anything, but old Rainbow hated wasting a second. If she wasn't practicing, then she was sleeping, eating or having fun. But new Rainbow seemed to be fine with a slow, calm pace, and it scared her. 'Will I ever be back to what I used to be?' She asked herself.

'No, of course I won't; I have a boyfriend now. Old Rainbow wasn't suited for a boyfriend, so old Rainbow is gone, and so is depressed Rainbow.' Her inner conscience replied. 'This is a new life for me, and I need a need attitude to go with it. For now I'll be recovering Rainbow.'

Rainbow, now worried about her sanity once again, sped up her pace just a bit. They arrived at the training center without incident and she led Maverick to the kiosks so she could sign up for her event.

There were quite a few different stalls, placed randomly around the main foyer of the training center. Rainbow quickly picked hers out of the crowd since it had the most ponies trying to sign up. She gave small sigh, realising that she would probably be there for the better half of the day.

"Hey, why don't you go look around, see what competitions you might wanna watch while we're here?" She suggested to Maverick. "I'll be standing here for a while, probably over an hour, so you have as much time as you need. Just don't go too far; I want to know where you are, so keep me in sight."

Maverick nodded eagerly, already looking around at the signs which hung above each kiosk. There were quite a few, more then he cared to count, as his eyes roamed left and right, searching for archery; that was one he wanted to watch for sure.

He found it rather quickly, and was surprised to see just how popular it was. When he made his way over, he saw a second kiosk next to archery that was named obstacle archery. His curiosity led him to take it down mentally so he could check it out after.

He picked up a brochure about times and places as well as the names of a few notable ponies that were participating. One name in particular, Skeet Shot, drew his attention, mostly because skeet shooting was a human sport that he highly doubted ponies had copied, due to the apparent lack of guns in Equestria.

This led him to question how naming worked in Equestria. How had Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara's parents known about their children's special talents? Had the names just been strokes of luck, or chosen by the humans? Decidedly, Equestria was a very unique place

After he finished glancing over the brochure, Maverick turned towards the second kiosk, the obstacle archery course. The pony running it explained that it was all about combining the high precision of archery with dexterity and flexibility, as the Pegasi were forced to navigate a long, winding course full of various obstacles such as gates, wind tunnels, cloud mazes, amongst others, and most offering visibility reducing conditions such as rain, snow etc. The goal was to hit every target along the way, with major time penalties being attributed for missed shots, missed gates and improper obstacle use such as breaking through the walls in the maze or avoiding the cloud tunnels. However, the pony explained that it was practically impossible to be disqualified; so long as you pass the finish line, no matter how many obstacles or targets you missed, you had a chance at winning.

Maverick grabbed a pamphlet for that event as well before moving on. By the time he was making his way back to Rainbow's side over an hour later, he had almost a dozen brochures, including synchronized flying, short aerial routines, long aerial routines and even weight flying.

He was almost back to Rainbow when his eyes fell on a sign he had missed on his earlier exploration; a sign that almost caused him to drop all of his brochures.

"Experimental weapons engineering and combat?!" He shouted, attracting the attention of the many ponies gathered around the kiosk.

The pony running the stall chuckled at his untimely appearance. "Yes my dear boy, they finally brought it back. It's been 20 years since this baby was allowed in the Pegasus games, not since that one time when one of the experiments ended up killing a number of bystanders, as well as the operator and his opponent. However, safety procedures unlike any before are now in effect, and we, that is to say, the official board of judges for the regulation of safety and protection, have deemed it safe once again. To be perfectly secure, we will also be evaluating every weapon before allowing them into the arena, as such ensuring that nothing will go wrong again."

The crowds milling around began whispering amongst each other, some excitedly, others with a more nervous tint.

"I wish I could sign up for that. It sounds killer, um, I mean, awesome." Maverick sighed wistfully.

"Well, I don't see why not. I'm sure our head manager, the honorable lord Icewing, would be more than happy to permit an exception to that peculiar rule. After all," His tone darkened, as did the expressions of the ponies as they heard his explanation. "I'm sure a human would solicit a lot of interesting situations, what with your races knack for killing."

Maverick saw no need to argue with the Pegasus. "Yeah, my race does tend to be good at that, don't they?" His tone was equally unpleasant. "You might think me lucky, what with not being subjected to slavery and all, but I had to live with the arrogant, annoying assholes my whole life. Some are fine; my parents were great. Others are less fun." Maverick could probably count on his fingers how many times he'd sworn aloud, but this situation really called for it.

The Pegasi nodded, some in understanding, some in agreement at his statement, but none challenged him about it. "So, you wanna play? Think you can liven it up a bit?" The pony running the kiosk asked.

"I would, but I don't have a weapon, or the means to make one."

Before the pony could reply, another spoke up. "I'd be more than happy to help you make a weapon."

All eyes turned, searching for the owner of the voice. A dark blue Pegasus stepped forward. He had a white mane with yellow streaks, blue eyes and a red crosshair for a cutie mark.

"The name's Mid-Night Light. I'm not much of a weapon smith, but I know a pony who's crazy enough to make anything, so long as you can dream it up. A unicorn, to be exact. If you can manage to sign yourself up, I'll take you there." He promised.

"Seems like you're out of excuses, Maverick. Well, you think you're tough enough?" The Pegasus at the kiosk asked.

Before he could say anything else, another voice spoke up. "He most certainly will not be participating."

Again, all eyes searched for the speaker. This time, they fell on a rainbow maned Pegasus.

"What the hay are you thinking? What did you promise me the day you got here?" She shouted at Maverick, all the while glaring at him with such intensity that he seemed to wilt. "Don't you know how dangerous this event is? You will be doing no such thing."

"Now Miss Dash, the security measure have been tightened tenfold since the last accident. I'm sure he'll be-"

Rainbow turned her death glare to the Pegasus. "Do you still make them sign a waiver?" She asked, still pissed.

"Well, yes, but-"

"Then the answer is no." Her tone made it clear the subject was closed for discussion. She turned away from the kiosk. "Let's go Maverick; I've already registered for my event."

Maverick mumbled a quick apology to the Pegasus and jumped after Dash. "Um, Rainbow?"

"What?" She still seemed miffed, and continued walking.

"Rainbow, look at me, please."

She turned around, still glaring.

"I want to fight. You know how much I like fighting, and if I can make any weapon I want, it's just..." His eyes took on a dreamy quality. "The strategies I could use. The combinations, the experimentation, the sheer control! Oh Dashie, you have no idea how much I've fantasied about doing something like that."

Her glare diminished, just a little. "Dashie?"

"Oh yeah, it's like, your most common nickname back on the fandom. Anyway, please let me fight them! I promise if anything starts going wrong, I'll forfeit. I won't put my life in danger, so PLEASE let me fight! It's been my life dream since I was, like, 6, to have super powers, or a super weapon or something."

The rest of her glare melted away. "You can register for now, but I want a full rulebook and list of precautions that are in place, and I swear by Celestia that if I find ONE thing I don't approve of, I will pull you out of that completion so fast you'll get whiplash."

Maverick leapt at her, tackling her with a hug, before quickly drawing back, looking around and seeing that his actions had been noticed by many. "Sorry. And thank you!" She saw that his need to keep their relationship a secret was facing a strong rebellion cause by his desire to thank her affectionately. In the end, secrecy won out, but he whispered in her ear: "When we get back, I'll do something to make it up to you." Before dashing back to the counter.

The Pegasi were exited now; a human, the ultimate killers. If anything could have pushed the event over the top, it was that. The Pegasus running the stall promised to work out the details, handing him the rulebook and safety regulations he asked for and wishing him good luck.

"So you managed to convince her, eh?" Mid-Night asked.

"Yeah. This is gonna be killer. You said this unicorn friend of yours could make anything?"

"If you can dream it, odds are it can be made." He replied as Rainbow trotted over. "Shall I take you two?"

Rainbow nodded, kneeling down. Within moments they were off, exiting Cloudsdale and soaring out in the wide open sky. Mid-Night flew up alongside Rainbow.

"Are you competing in the fight?" Maverick asked him.

"Hell no, I have my own event to compete in." He somehow managed to wiggle his flank in mid-air. "I'm an archer; one of the few Pegasus archers that can consistently hit the mark. I hope I'll see you in the crowd during my competition?"

"Definitely! I love archery."

Mid-Night took advantage of the remainder of the flight to give Maverick a few other Pegasi who were notable competition in the archery event, namely Skeet Shot and Red Wilds. Both had been shooting since they were just colts, and the three had been sharing the podium for about 5 years now.

They alighted a few minutes later in front of a rather conspicuous looking house. The most defining element was its location, which was right on the outskirts of a nearby city; Polio, which lacked a certain horse pun. Asides from that, it had a sign out front which said: Black Hooves, Unconventional Blacksmith, and from the air, one could see many gadgets and gizmos behind the house, presumably used for the creation of weapons and armor.

Mid-Night led the pair around the house, not even bothering to knock. As he rounded the corner, a very large hammer slammed down in front of him.

"What do you want?"

The speaker was large; not as big as Scorched, but damned close. It had an orange coat and mane, but its hooves were black, as if working the forge with the ash and charcoal had somehow changed their colour. It had an anvil for a cutie mark and was currently wearing what could be described as welding goggles.

Most importantly however, she was female.

"Hey Blacky." Mid-Night began, only to be interrupted as the hammer crashed into his face.

Maverick, from his spot next to Rainbow, expected a sickening crunch to ensue and, as such, he was confused when the hammer exploded into mush, covering Mid-Night's face with a layer of what smelled like banana pie. Rainbow just snickered.

"How have you been?" He finished without missing a beat.

Blacky was now hunched over, pounding her hooves into the ground as she laughed; a powerful bellow that degenerated quickly into fits of giggles.

"Yes yes, do you ever greet anypony normally? For Celestia's sake, one day you're actually going to be carrying your sledgehammer, and it's going to hurt." He whined, rubbing the gunk off of his face.

The orange unicorn was slow to regain her composure. When she'd finally calmed herself down, she pulled Mid-Night into a hug, licking the little bit of pie that he'd missed off his face.

"Mmm, you always taste so good when you come by." She winked. "Next time, I'll use a bigger hammer."

"Alright." Mid-Night said as he pushed her away, blushing a bit. "I brought others."

Blacky turned her attention to the Pegasus and the human just a few feet back. Grinning, she pulled the pair forward with her magic into a hug. "Always nice to meet new ponies. First time meeting a human though." She released them quickly and levitated another hammer over, slamming it into Maverick's face. As he tried to wipe his eyes, she licked some of the blue jam of his face. "Oh, you taste even better then Mid-Night!" She quickly pushed him onto his back, pinning his arms as she licked the rest of the jam off his face.

Rainbow looked on with her mouth ajar, unable to comprehend the situation; a total stranger was licking blue jam off her boyfriend's face! She wasn't sure if she should be furious or jealous. Before she could react, a third hammer slammed into her own face, the liquid runny and pink. Blacky was on her in an instant. "You're a little spicier then the usual, but you're bitter too, and you taste good. How unusual."

As the pair or newcomers spluttered, Mid-Night explained. "Don't take it the wrong way; that's how she greets everypony. Her hammers are filled with a special, flavorless liquid. When it hits you, it takes on a taste, texture and appearance based on your personality. The better the taste, the easier you'll get along, usually."

Rainbow, still at a loss, asked the only think she could think of. "What does spicy and bitter mean?"

"Spicy is a powerful conlflict, but one that's usually resolved quickly. Bitter is more of an aftertaste; it tends to mean that you'll hold a bit of a grudge. Still, if you taste good, you'll get around to liking her. She's never wrong."

Her hunger sated, Blacky backed off. "So, what's up? I'd ask if you were here to hang, but that never happens when you've got friends with you."

"Well, it's simple really; they've restarted the experimental weapons fighting in the Pegasus games."

She nodded, turning her eyes to Rainbow while a huge smile made its appearance. "Let's get down to business."

"Um, actually, I'm the one fighting." Maverick said.

Startled at his announcement, Blacky's smile faltered for a second before doubling in size. "Even better."