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Once all the tedious announcements about fairness were over, each pony had pledged to follow the rules and regulations associated with such an important event, and the various show-ponies had finished their amazing opening performance, Maverick was led out of the arena by a very confused Rainbow Dash.

"I mean, did you see those swordfish? I thought they were just called that because, you know, they have a long nose, not because they can cut a pony clean in two!" Maverick gushed. All his embarrassment at having fallen was gone, replaced instead by the ecstasy of impending competition.

"Yeah, totally." Rainbow responded, having totally not heard what he said. She couldn't have, seeing as she was far too absorbed in her own thoughts. The Pegasus games had ALWAYS been all about the 2K dash. It was a universal constant, since the start of time! She shot a glance at the male who had managed to alter the very fabric of her reality. He was silent now, but in his eyes she saw something she hadn't felt in years; true happiness, the one that came with simply riding through life and enjoying every minute of it. When had she forgotten what it was like?

"Hey, boy!" There was a call from behind. Maverick turned to see the young, Cutiemark-less colt he'd seen earlier walking up to him.

"I hardly think you should be addressing someone older then yourself as "boy"." Maverick muttered, but he stopped anyway.

"I'll call you what I want." He shouted, and again, Maverick observed that there was no way the Pegasus could have heard him. "Where do you get off calling me a blank flank? If you think I'm going to be a pushover, you got another thing coming!"

He was a darker blue, with a multi-hued mane. However, unlike Rainbow Dash, his colours were all over the place, almost like he'd dye every section a different colour. Maverick saw some neon green, bright orange, dark yellow, pink, purple, a darker purple, black. Not just that, but the colours seemed to change right before his eyes. Where the hair had been white a second ago, it now almost seemed teal. Black turned to red, and then to a dark auburn.

The colt waited a second, but when he realised Maverick was too transfixed with his hair to reply, he stormed off. Rainbow flipped him off with her wings, but she doubted the colt had seen it.

Before he could ask about the hair, Maverick, who had been moving around relatively inconspicuously before, was swamped with reporters and other ponies who had essentially attended only to see him. Suddenly the center of attention, the human could only blink as question after question was hurled at him.

One report asked what had caused the exchange. "What did you say to anger the born prodigy and currently favoured competitor, Mind Spark? Or has he merely sniffed you out as his most worthy competitor?"

"What? I don't know." Maverick responded, and the reporter was pushed aside by another.

"What do you feel your odds are at placing in medal contingency?"

"Well, I'm gonna try. It's not like I know any of my opponents." Maverick said.

"You're kind is well known amongst us for their bloodthirsty tactics and killer instinct. How do you feel this will affect your approach at this competition?"

Before he could respond, another reporter shouted. "Bloodthirsty? Oh come on! As if that's a fair stereotype, even by pony standards."

"It's still true! Humans are horrible!" Another replied

"And are ponies better? We have wars here too!"

All of a sudden, the interrogation changed to a political debate, and the reporters and fans took sides on several separate arguments; Which race is 'truly' evil, why are the Pegasi always stereotyped as the more violent race, are red coats more attractive then yellow coats. Maverick raised his arms as Rainbow flew over, easily maneuvering between the many airborne Pegasi. Not a moment too soon, as a brawl was breaking out among the earth ponies and the Pegasi, who were "debating" which race of pony was the best.

Maverick was freaking out, but above him, Dash was laughing her head off. "Same old same old. We have a saying among the wisest of ponies; Never put sports jocks from two or more breeds of ponies together." She giggled as Pegasi and Earth Ponies and even a unicorn or two were tossed out of the melee. "As if any one race is better."

The pair stopped once they were clear of the giant crowd of fighting stallions and mares behind them. Unfortunately, they should have gone just a bit further...

"Hey! Human brat!" Maverick was seriously starting to wonder if ponies knew the reason first names existed. Never the less, he turned to face the new challenge, and was met with a herd of pissed of glares.

"Where do you get off, butting into our competition like some, some curious Zebra!" He spat.

Although the metaphor/insult was lost on him, Maverick still frowned. "I-"

"Was invited by the host of this event himself." Icewing interrupted. The entire crowd, which had been bristling aggressively, wings flared and teeth bared, shrunk back. The transformation was so sudden and dramatic that Maverick couldn't hold in a snort; it was like a tiger had just realised it was a little kitten.

"And he *will * be treated just like any other contestant, right?" He said. He spoke normally, as if he was just having an amiable conversation, and yet the Pegasi continued to shrink back and scatter, as if he was threatening to cut their wings off.

"Riiight?" He repeated, receiving a plethora of nods and yeses and such, before the whole swarm scattered like a dandelion's fluff.

The three remaining members of the party turned to look at one other and shared a poorly stifled laugh. "I'm so glad you're competing, my friend. It seems the will be the most successful games in the history of Equestria." Icewing exclaimed. "It means a lot more work for me, but I don't truly mind."

Of course, having seen just how ragged Icewing had been mere days ago, Maverick was tempted to apologise. However, he felt after that statement that it would be an insult to the gang leader's pride. "I'm honored to be an honorary Pegasus." He chose to say instead. "I'll try my best to wipe the field."

"That's what I like to hear. The roster is already up in the main hall, in the middle of all the other rosters. You'll have to excuse me; I have meetings to attend, unruly Pegasi to calm, and dignitaries to meet." He gave Rainbow a nod. "Before I go though, I should inform you that the rules proctors are awaiting a visit from both of you, to explain the dos and don'ts of the competition." Icewing gave the pair directions, and then made a hasty exit, and Maverick noticed more than one member of the paparazzi sniffing around.

Rainbow flew Maverick over to his proctor before leaving for her own. It was a small, empty classroom, so Maverick took a seat in one of the desks. Or he tried, but the stool was really low. It was clearly not made for humans. Instead he decided to just sit on the cloud-desk, which was awfully hard for a cloud.

"Oh good, someone sent you."

Maverick whipped around. In the doorway stood a fit-looking Pegasus mare, who trotted in quickly and took a seat next to Maverick. "The others have all already been briefed on the tournament. You're the last."

"So, my job is to oversee the competition. I'm the 'Referee' as they call it on your planet. The rules are simple, in that so long as the weapon of choice's effect range can be limited to the combat zone; there are no rules for the fighting." She gave a devilish smile before carrying on. "However, the combatants can't leave the arena for more than five seconds. If you do, it's a disqualification and before you ask, yes, it is permitted to knock your opponent out. It'll be hard, but permitted. You can check out the arena if you wish afterwards. To make the matches more interesting, each participant, except you so far, has had a spell cast on them. It renders them completely un-able to remember or understand what weapons their opponent is using until the match starts. This exemplifies two of the most important traits in a Pegasus; their quick wits and adaptability."

As she was explaining, the mare quickly ran a glowing baton around Maverick's head. "There, now you have the spell as well. The spell won't work on your final adversary, just to keep things fresh, so do make sure to watch the other pod; I know they'll be watching you."

"I see." Maverick said, not really seeing at all. "So in summary, don't fall out and don't worry about the future? Isn't planning an important trait in Pegasi? You know, for the weather and stuff?"

"Yup! Now, make sure you go review your matchups and dates, so you know when you're fighting." She said with a large smile before flying out of the classroom. She seemed quite eager to get away.

With an annoyed sigh, Maverick made his way to the great hall.

And great it was; Maverick would never have recognised the crowded atrium that had held all the stands advertising the up-coming events. Instead, it was now a lavishly decorated, multi-hued, GIANT room completely filled with posters, banisters, and other large paper-like substances. These depicted each and every single event to come. In the dead center of the room stood a giant cube, which had a leaderbord on each side. It appeared that, even though it came second overall, the 2K sprint was still the most populated event. It was so large, the ponies had to participate in several layers of pre-race qualifiers. Only the top 64 would progress to the actual race. It would then be subdivided, and come down to the top 8 in the finale.

'Just like the Olympics.' Maverick thought, wandering around. At various locations, more cubes were set up, some portraying just one event on all four sides, others having several different events on one side. Even the walls were plastered, and it was so bad that the Pegasi had to fly up and shout down the times to those unable to see.

Finally, after he had looked at every single damn poster in the whole room, twice, Maverick gave up and asked a nearby pony where his event was. The Pegasus chuckled to himself and pointed Maverick to the ceiling, where a gaggle of ponies were all standing on a pane of glass and looking down at the floor. Confused, Maverick glanced down as well.

At first he didn't understand. It was just the white cloud floor. He searched it for any form of irregularity, and was about to give up when he noticed something. The cubes, which he had assumed were placed randomly throughout the room, actually formed a pattern. The largest was in the middle, and then from the middle outwards, they became smaller and smaller, standing at about twice his height near the ends of the rooms. Not only that, but they progresses outwards in only two directions, as opposed to four. And, as if it wasn't obvious enough by this point, Maverick noticed that there were pitch black thunderheads among the cloud flour, organised in neat orderly lines. Thankfully, they were covered by some sort of clear material which kept them from discharging.

"Oh you HAVE to be kidding me..." Maverick groaned. The Pegasus pointed him towards an archway, through which many ponies were coming and going. Maverick walked up the clouds with trepidation; Rainbow Dash was one thing, but even if it was on a bed of clouds, Maverick didn't like the idea of being so high up. Thankfully, the ponies parted around him like a wave.

At the top, Maverick kept his eyes forward until he was safely away from any edges, and because of this, noticed that several other ponies, particularly those without a horn, were also looking a bit nervous. He took a deep breath. 'There's a floor; you're safe and on a floor.' He repeated to himself as he looked down.

Maverick had to grit his teeth to keep from shouting out. The glass was perfectly transparent; if he wasn't standing on it, he wouldn't know it existed. He took a few moments to breathe and calm down, but when he did, he couldn't help but smile.

It was the tournament brackets, single elimination. Twenty six names, five tiers, and plenty of carnage. Maverick's name was in the middle slot on the left, and across from his name was a blanc space; he had a bi in the first round, just like the Pegasus who made him try on the suit said he would.

But there was also a schedule, on top of the big center stone. To Maverick surprise and rapidly developing horror, he was going to be fighting tomorrow at noon; his was the first event of the games.

Maverick's eyes shot back to his name. Sure enough, on the second tier, slightly larger stone it appeared again, and it wasn't alone. Across from him sat the name of his first opponent, who also apparently had a bi in the first round.

And, try as he might, Maverick could no longer summon even an ounce of fear, for he was far too busy laughing. "King of Cutlery? What the hell kind of name is that? What is going to do; invite me to a refined dinner? Throw spoons at my face?" He exclaimed to nopony in particular.

Maverick understood why he was going first, or at least he assumed he did. If he won, it would attract even more ponies, and keep the attention of those already present. If they wanted him to lose, then they would stay to boo him in the next round. If they wanted him to win, well they get their wish anyway.

The only problem was if Maverick lost, all the hype over a human would evaporate, and the number of attendees would probably drop like a rock. On the flip side, it would certainly make the job of coordinating all the ponies much easier. Maverick hoped they wouldn't cheat for him; he wanted to fight it out fair and square, win or lose.

Then another, far more troubling thought accrued to him; he didn't have his weapon! Maverick glanced around the room, but there was no cyan Pegasus with rainbow hair flying nearby. He decided to go searching for her.

By the time he was safely on solid... gaseous cloud, he was feeling much better about his situation; they still had a whole day to go find Blacky, how hard could it be? However, as luck had it, Maverick wouldn't need to go finding her at all.

"Hey Maverick" He heard a pair of familiar voices speak. At the same moment, Scorched and Mid-Night appeared next to him. Scorched was wearing a cocky grin, while Mid-Night instead held a morose frown.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Maverick asked.

Before Mid-Night could open his mouth, Scorched began. "I'm just here to congratulate you! You're the first, and probably only, non-Pegasus to make it into the games! Do you know what this means? History is being created today! This day will go down in history as one of the most amazing turnabouts of Pegasus mind-set. It will forever shape our opinions of humans from now until the day the world ends, and the complete entirety of this will be based solely on your actions during the tournament!" Scorched grabbed Maverick in a one legged hug. "I don't think you understand how much I envy you right now; you'll be as famous as Jayce or Trevor in our books, maybe even more! I've always wanted to be such an amazing pony, to be remembered for all eternity, to be a role model for good." He sighed happily. "But I'm glad it happened to you; you'll be a great asset to clearing the stigma created by humans. Anyway, I wish I could stay but I'm needed elsewhere; I just couldn't stand not to say hello. Remember to have fun!" And with a poof that can only happen with the cartoon logic that existed in this world, Scorched vanished, leaving a puff of smoke behind.

Now, of course, his discourse hadn't gone un-heard. Maverick, now aware of the enormity of the upcoming battle, felt more nervous than ever. He HAD to win, or he'd go down as the hype train that had crashed and burnt in the first round! Given the choice, Maverick would rather live in a wold where he was praised for his combat prowess than ridiculed for his weak and pathetic failure.

"Well..." Maverick turned, having forgotten about his other conversation partner. "Um, that was certainly... something. I'll be honest, I think he MAY have been exaggerating, just a little." He gave Maverick a few quick taps on the back. "So, um, don't worry about it. Just do your best, I guess." He sighed. "I guess I'm now the bearer of even worse news than before. Blacky sent me to tell you that your weapon will only be ready tomorrow; you'll have to take it in without any practice."

Obviously, this news did nothing to improve Maverick's mood. Mid-Night, seeing this, wisely spurted "Gottagobye!" And took off with a very similar puff of smoke to that of Scorched.

Maverick, now alone, considered the situation. In less than twenty four hours, he was expected to be amazing in a tournament he had never even seen before, on stage, in front of thousands, no, hundreds of thousands of miniature talking horses. On top of that, he has zero idea what he would be using to fight his opponent, nor what strategy that Pegasus was going to implement. And as if it wasn't bad enough, this fight would be going down in history!

But even with all that information cluttering his mind and making him sweat, Maverick still managed to chuckle when he remember who he was fighting. "Cutlery..." He whispered.

*****

Rainbow Dash finally trotted out of the amphitheater. She, as well as several hundreds of other Pegasi, stretched out their legs and wings and they swiftly made their escape from the confined seats and immobility that the Pegasus race hated.

Once the heard thinned out, Rainbow took to the sky, eager to find her little human and be away. However, she had to first check her schedule, to make sure she was ready for her races.

Rainbow flew through the open roof into the atrium, immediately noticing the giant leaderbord on the floor. She couldn't help but crack a smile; leave it to lord Icewing to instill a little Pegasus culture into the other races in a way that makes it seem like a gift, and not an insult.

She was, however, a little more disconcerted when she saw Maverick's name on the leaderbord. Even though they had reassured her that the even was perfectly safe, Rainbow was still worried. It didn't help when she noticed Maverick was going to be in the very first fight. In fact, her anxiety was so bad she couldn't even laugh when she saw who his opponent was.

She quickly flew over to the center cube, which obviously held her schedule. Seeing that she had a few days before her first preliminary race, Dash turned about and scanned the floor for her little human bundle.

To her utter amazement, he wasn't in trouble, surrounded by press, falling down ten thousand feet, picking fights, getting dragged into life or death competitions, or even being glared at, noticeably. In fact, he had just turned about, and the grin that split his face gave Rainbow butterflies in her stomach. To be the one who could, by merely being there, bring a smile to the face of another, was a blessing that didn't go un-appreciated.

"Hey stranger." She quipped happily. "What's the news? I see you're gonna be busy tomorrow; should we go find your hammer swigging engineer?" Rainbow tried to stamp down her misgivings; she didn't want to dull Maverick's enthusiasm. Now that the even was going to happen, whether she wanted it or not, she might as well at least support him in it.

"No; she said it won't be ready until tomorrow..." Maverick said with a sigh. "I'm going to lose in the first round."

"Don't be silly! You fought off Scorched with your brain and improvisation; I'm sure you can manage some silly little weapon." Rainbow returned. She felt oddly sad that Maverick was nervous especially since she had been unsupportive thus far. After all, Maverick had helped the cyan mare with her training, despite his fear of heights. He deserved some help in return, despite her fear for him.

Maverick gave a half-smile, only turning up the left corner of his mouth. "You really think I'll win? I'll have to learn the whole weapon in all of ten minutes."

Rainbow gave a quick, playful shove. "Would I say it if I didn't believe it?"

"Well, when it comes to lying... Loyalty would kinda win out over honesty, eh?" Maverick suggested.

"Oh ha ha, very funny mister brony man." She leapt into the air, out of his reach. "Maybe I'll show you just how un-loyal I can be! Have fun finding your way home" She said, sticking her tongue out before flying off and hiding behind a nearby boulder.

"Hey!" Maverick called out. He tried to follow her with his eyes, but she was way too fast, and after disappearing momentarily from his sight, he lost her. Feeling dejected, Maverick turned about to try and do as she said, only to come face to face with the same mare that had just let him.

"Ha, bet I had ya worried for a sec!" She giggled. "It's too bad I'd miss ya if you were gone." She jumped in the air and completed a quick series of flips and turns before swooping underneath the poor, confused human and scooping him onto her back. "Come on, let's go home."

*****

Blacky lay down her hammer and smiled mischievously. Mid-Night Light had returned mere moments before, and told her the news.

"I still don't understand; it's right there." He said, pointing at a carefully reader-concealed package. "You haven't touched the... whatever it is in days. Why couldn't you just give it to him a day in advance like you said you would?"

Blacky snorted. "Have you forgotten what virtues are being tested in this competition, Light? Quick wits and adaptability. If I gave it to him now, he'd practice. If he practices, he'll find a rhythm, a pace at which he knows he can use it right. If he gets comfortable, then he won't be able to adapt. Trust me on this one, sexy. I might be crazy, but I'm not insane, and before you ask; no, they don't mean the same thing."

"Okay, okay, sure, whatever. But then, if you're done the weapon, and you have been for days, what have you been working on?" Mid-Night asked.

Blacky's smile widened. "Why, the weapon, of course."

*****

Meanwhile in the monkey kingdom.

General Mantycus sat on a very unpleasant looking chair-like object, massaging his temples. He'd been having terrible headaches as of late, and couldn't for the life of him manage to figure out how to get them to stop. For the third time that day, he had dismissed his comity of strategists, who had been debating the princess's offer. They had made no progress what so ever in negotiations within the tribes; the monkeys simply couldn't come to a consensus. There existed exactly nine tribes in his kingdom. Three wanted to go to war, four wanted to take the offer, and the other two didn't want either option. With no majority vote of five, the monkeys were unable to make a decision.

"Most confusing part." He muttered to himself. "Red brothers want war; are a peace loving tribe. Mae no sense." He had expected the offer to be scooped up in an instead, and only the black tribe, who yearned for war, and the yellow tribe, who hated ponydom more than anything, would be unhappy.

"My dear general, are you unwell?"

Mantycus didn't react to the sudden, now normal appearance of the shade. "What want?"

"Oh nothing, nothing. Just checking in on you. You seem in pain; is there anything I can do to help?" Darkness offered.

"Go away." The monkey chuckled briefly at his own joke.

"Yes yes, very funny." 'Patience, dear temper, patience. We will have what we want yet.' Darkness chanted to himself. 'Blood will spill blood, and with the shift in command, the battlefield will run red.'