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Friendship Games: The Untold Story (Chapter 16)
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Round 3: Woodshop
“Azalea, I’m telling you, this is a bad idea,” Level pointed out for what felt like the fifteenth time as they peered through the little window on the woodshop classroom door. “What if somebody catches us? The janitor is bound to be out and about trying to clean up any messes that the students have made like he always does. And what about the students who have a free period right now? What if one of them sees us and decides to tell a teacher? Or worse, what if they decide to tell Principal Cele-”
“You know, you didn’t have to come with me,” Azalea cut her off. She sounded apprehensive, as if she feared that Level’s panic might be jeopardizing the mission.
“Are you kidding?” Level asked. “If my friend wants to skip class to go spy on a seemingly random girl, then I’m not gonna let her do it alone.”
“Thanks, Level,” Azalea replied, sounding only the slightest bit reassured. “But Twilight isn’t just a random girl. She could alter the destiny of the multiverse, and she doesn’t even know it!”
“Hey, I said ‘seemingly’,” Level countered.
“Shh!” Azalea shushed her. She pointed apprehensively to Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna, and Dean Cadence. They were standing in the center of the room, holding their clipboards. Dean Cadence was just starting to speak.
“Welcome to the 3rd round of the Academic Decathlon,” she addressed the competitors. “Your assignment for this round is to construct a birdhouse. You will be given points based on your birdhouse’s structure, stability, and aesthetic appearance. You will be split into pairs to complete this task. Principal Celestia will read off the randomly selected pairs now.”
Principal Celestia read from her clipboard, “Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.” Rainbow and Fluttershy took their places at one of the workbenches that had been lined up in the center of the room, Rainbow talking excitedly and Fluttershy nodding politely. “Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat.” Principal Celestia added. Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat smirked at each other and made their way to their own workbench. Principal Celestia continued, “Rarity and Sunset Shimmer. Sunny Flare and Sour Sweet. Applejack and Pinkie Pie. Twilight Sparkle and Lemon Zest. Sandalwood and Atom Amp. Jet Set and Upper Crust. Sweetie Drops and Lyra Heartstrings. Neon Lights and Royal Pin.” With each pairing she spoke, the new duo headed to a workbench. Before long, all of them were filled up: two schools, four teams each, eight students each, sixteen students total, and sixteen pairs of burning eyes.
“You will have an hour to complete your birdhouses,” Dean Cadence wrapped up the pre-event announcement. “On your marks… get set…”
“Whatever you do,” Azalea whispered, “don’t take your eyes off of Twilight Sparkle.” She pointed to where Twilight was stationed with Lemon Zest.
“Got it,” Level replied. She fixed her gaze on Twilight and held it firm.
“Go!” Dean Cadence shouted.
The competition was fierce. In no time flat, students were all but scrambling over each other in their efforts to build the perfect birdhouse. Hammers pounded, buzzsaws buzzed, and planks of wood were practically flying everywhere. In spite of herself, Level’s eyes couldn’t help but wander a little in a subconscious effort to soak in all of the action.
Twilight Sparkle, on the other hand, was calmly assembling her birdhouse. With the reluctant help of Lemon Zest (“She’s my next friendship target,” Level thought.) Twilight managed to start planning the design for a very good birdhouse. However, it was clear that Lemon Zest wanted nothing to do with Twilight, as she made very frequent criticisms of her partner’s work. Twilight, rather than objecting, simply nodded and changed whatever it was she was doing. Level’s heart beat with rage as she watched this. Why couldn’t Twilight do her own thing? Why couldn’t she stand up for herself? Did she not have a backbone or something? Had Crystal Prep drained her of any bravery she’d once had? If so, Level only saw it as one more reason to show the Magic of Friendship to the CPA student body.
Designing the birdhouse was just the beginning. The next step, of course, was to make the birdhouse. For this, Twilight mainly marked where wood should be cut and positioned nails while Lemon Zest did all of the cutting and hammering. It was clear that Twilight was not enjoying her task, but she did it anyway with both diligence and focus. The only time when her mind seemed to wander elsewhere was while Lemon Zest was drilling holes into one of the birdhouse sides to make the entrance and perch hole – as Twilight stood idly until she was needed again, she stared longingly up at the ceiling, as if hoping that something, anything, would happen that would get her out of the Friendship Games. When no such thing occurred, she came back down to Earth to help Lemon Zest paint the birdhouse. Twilight started to paint it in a brown-and-green pattern that resembled the tree it would no doubt hang from, but then Lemon cut in and started painting little flames. And, again, Twilight didn’t object to having her ideas trampled on.
“This is disgusting, what Twilight is allowing this girl to do,” Level growled. “Azalea, are you sure this version of Twilight is a threat?”
Azalea waited a second before answering. “It’s not about what Twilight does,” she said. “It’s about the impact that she has on those around her.”
“You’re tracing this back to Flash, aren’t you?” Level guessed.
For a while, Azalea didn’t respond. She seemed tense, almost as if she was holding her breath. Finally, she said, “Twilight Sparkle’s presence here at Canterlot High is having a distressing impact on Flash. Until we find a way to cure him of his pessimism, we have to keep an eye on Twilight so that we can stop her if she tries to intervene in his life again.”
“I don’t think she’ll want to intervene,” Level reasoned. “I saw how uneasy she looked around him during the traditional friendly handshakes. She clearly wants nothing to do with him.”
“I know,” Azalea sighed. “But Flash doesn’t. And, if he does, he can’t bring himself to accept it.” She hung her head and added, “It’s one of those rare instances where logic trumps the truth.”
Level was about to ask what that meant when Dean Cadence announced, “Time!” She and the other judges made their way across the long stretch of workbenches, eyeing everyone’s birdhouses and making notes on them. Level watched them as they strode across the room, making her own mental notes about the birdhouses: Jet Set and Upper Crust’s entry was mediocre, Lyra and Sweetie’s was bland, Sour’s and Sunny’s was unremarkable, and Sandalwood and Atom’s was… wait… was that even a birdhouse? Sweet mother of Luna, it looked hideous!
“Oh, wow,” Azalea muttered as her own eyes fell on the abomination that the two boys dared to call a birdhouse. “I mean, it’s not really bad, per say… I mean, I’m sure that the birds can use it as…”
“An outhouse?” Level offered. She turned her attention back to the thing just in time to see Vice Principal Luna tap its shambley excuse for a roof with her pen. It fell apart instantly! Luna made a disapproving clicking noise as she jotted something down on her clipboard. “Nope,” Level chuckled. “Not even that.”
“Level,” Azalea chided, but she didn’t get far. Sugarcoat cleared her throat, drawing attention to her and Indigo Zap. Their birdhouse, which had been sitting under a red cloth this whole time, was suddenly revealed to the others. Level’s jaw dropped open. It was the most spectacular birdhouse she’d ever seen! It had two stories, two perches, a wraparound balcony between the floors, and a purple paint job with flame designs that put Lemon Zest’s work to shame. (“Serves her right for what she kept doing to Twilight,” Level thought.)
“Crystal Prep wins the woodshop round!” Dean Cadence proclaimed. She then walked off into a corner. She was gone for a long time.
“So, who do you think will get eliminated?” Level asked. “I mean, obviously one of those two boys will get kicked off, but who else?”
After a few seconds, Azalea replied, “I don’t know.”
Dean Cadence returned to the center of the room. With her was Principal Cinch, whom Level hadn’t noticed earlier. Principal Cinch adjusted her glasses and said, “Atom Amp, Royal Pin, you have the lowest scores on your respective teams. You’re out of the Games.”
Atom Amp looked surprised. Level didn’t blame him. “Atom Amp?” she questioned. “But that guy’s one of the smartest kids in school. He should have acquired loads of points by now. How did he get kicked off?”
“Even the smartest people aren’t always brilliant at everything, Level,” Azalea replied. “He probably bombed in home ec or something.”
“Qualifying competitors, please make your way to the art room,” Principal Celestia addressed them all. As the students began filing out, Atom Amp looked down at the ground in shame. Sandalwood draped a comforting arm around his friend’s shoulders, a gesture that had become so common among the CHS student body that no one ever thought to question who was doing it and why. Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat, however, appeared to take it the wrong way because, as they casually strolled past, Indigo shoved Atom away from his friend and Sugarcoat flicked away a piece of his defunked birdhouse that he’d been holding. Both boys looked upset about it – Atom Amp more than Sandalwood, understandably – but they quickly calmed down as Applejack and Fluttershy rested comforting hands on their shoulders.
Level watched all of this with an eye that was full of determination and hope. Yes, the Crystal Prep students were jerks. There was no denying that. But it was just more proof that they needed someone to show them what friendship was like. And Level was determined to be that someone.
“Azalea, I’m telling you, this is a bad idea,” Level pointed out for what felt like the fifteenth time as they peered through the little window on the woodshop classroom door. “What if somebody catches us? The janitor is bound to be out and about trying to clean up any messes that the students have made like he always does. And what about the students who have a free period right now? What if one of them sees us and decides to tell a teacher? Or worse, what if they decide to tell Principal Cele-”
“You know, you didn’t have to come with me,” Azalea cut her off. She sounded apprehensive, as if she feared that Level’s panic might be jeopardizing the mission.
“Are you kidding?” Level asked. “If my friend wants to skip class to go spy on a seemingly random girl, then I’m not gonna let her do it alone.”
“Thanks, Level,” Azalea replied, sounding only the slightest bit reassured. “But Twilight isn’t just a random girl. She could alter the destiny of the multiverse, and she doesn’t even know it!”
“Hey, I said ‘seemingly’,” Level countered.
“Shh!” Azalea shushed her. She pointed apprehensively to Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna, and Dean Cadence. They were standing in the center of the room, holding their clipboards. Dean Cadence was just starting to speak.
“Welcome to the 3rd round of the Academic Decathlon,” she addressed the competitors. “Your assignment for this round is to construct a birdhouse. You will be given points based on your birdhouse’s structure, stability, and aesthetic appearance. You will be split into pairs to complete this task. Principal Celestia will read off the randomly selected pairs now.”
Principal Celestia read from her clipboard, “Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.” Rainbow and Fluttershy took their places at one of the workbenches that had been lined up in the center of the room, Rainbow talking excitedly and Fluttershy nodding politely. “Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat.” Principal Celestia added. Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat smirked at each other and made their way to their own workbench. Principal Celestia continued, “Rarity and Sunset Shimmer. Sunny Flare and Sour Sweet. Applejack and Pinkie Pie. Twilight Sparkle and Lemon Zest. Sandalwood and Atom Amp. Jet Set and Upper Crust. Sweetie Drops and Lyra Heartstrings. Neon Lights and Royal Pin.” With each pairing she spoke, the new duo headed to a workbench. Before long, all of them were filled up: two schools, four teams each, eight students each, sixteen students total, and sixteen pairs of burning eyes.
“You will have an hour to complete your birdhouses,” Dean Cadence wrapped up the pre-event announcement. “On your marks… get set…”
“Whatever you do,” Azalea whispered, “don’t take your eyes off of Twilight Sparkle.” She pointed to where Twilight was stationed with Lemon Zest.
“Got it,” Level replied. She fixed her gaze on Twilight and held it firm.
“Go!” Dean Cadence shouted.
The competition was fierce. In no time flat, students were all but scrambling over each other in their efforts to build the perfect birdhouse. Hammers pounded, buzzsaws buzzed, and planks of wood were practically flying everywhere. In spite of herself, Level’s eyes couldn’t help but wander a little in a subconscious effort to soak in all of the action.
Twilight Sparkle, on the other hand, was calmly assembling her birdhouse. With the reluctant help of Lemon Zest (“She’s my next friendship target,” Level thought.) Twilight managed to start planning the design for a very good birdhouse. However, it was clear that Lemon Zest wanted nothing to do with Twilight, as she made very frequent criticisms of her partner’s work. Twilight, rather than objecting, simply nodded and changed whatever it was she was doing. Level’s heart beat with rage as she watched this. Why couldn’t Twilight do her own thing? Why couldn’t she stand up for herself? Did she not have a backbone or something? Had Crystal Prep drained her of any bravery she’d once had? If so, Level only saw it as one more reason to show the Magic of Friendship to the CPA student body.
Designing the birdhouse was just the beginning. The next step, of course, was to make the birdhouse. For this, Twilight mainly marked where wood should be cut and positioned nails while Lemon Zest did all of the cutting and hammering. It was clear that Twilight was not enjoying her task, but she did it anyway with both diligence and focus. The only time when her mind seemed to wander elsewhere was while Lemon Zest was drilling holes into one of the birdhouse sides to make the entrance and perch hole – as Twilight stood idly until she was needed again, she stared longingly up at the ceiling, as if hoping that something, anything, would happen that would get her out of the Friendship Games. When no such thing occurred, she came back down to Earth to help Lemon Zest paint the birdhouse. Twilight started to paint it in a brown-and-green pattern that resembled the tree it would no doubt hang from, but then Lemon cut in and started painting little flames. And, again, Twilight didn’t object to having her ideas trampled on.
“This is disgusting, what Twilight is allowing this girl to do,” Level growled. “Azalea, are you sure this version of Twilight is a threat?”
Azalea waited a second before answering. “It’s not about what Twilight does,” she said. “It’s about the impact that she has on those around her.”
“You’re tracing this back to Flash, aren’t you?” Level guessed.
For a while, Azalea didn’t respond. She seemed tense, almost as if she was holding her breath. Finally, she said, “Twilight Sparkle’s presence here at Canterlot High is having a distressing impact on Flash. Until we find a way to cure him of his pessimism, we have to keep an eye on Twilight so that we can stop her if she tries to intervene in his life again.”
“I don’t think she’ll want to intervene,” Level reasoned. “I saw how uneasy she looked around him during the traditional friendly handshakes. She clearly wants nothing to do with him.”
“I know,” Azalea sighed. “But Flash doesn’t. And, if he does, he can’t bring himself to accept it.” She hung her head and added, “It’s one of those rare instances where logic trumps the truth.”
Level was about to ask what that meant when Dean Cadence announced, “Time!” She and the other judges made their way across the long stretch of workbenches, eyeing everyone’s birdhouses and making notes on them. Level watched them as they strode across the room, making her own mental notes about the birdhouses: Jet Set and Upper Crust’s entry was mediocre, Lyra and Sweetie’s was bland, Sour’s and Sunny’s was unremarkable, and Sandalwood and Atom’s was… wait… was that even a birdhouse? Sweet mother of Luna, it looked hideous!
“Oh, wow,” Azalea muttered as her own eyes fell on the abomination that the two boys dared to call a birdhouse. “I mean, it’s not really bad, per say… I mean, I’m sure that the birds can use it as…”
“An outhouse?” Level offered. She turned her attention back to the thing just in time to see Vice Principal Luna tap its shambley excuse for a roof with her pen. It fell apart instantly! Luna made a disapproving clicking noise as she jotted something down on her clipboard. “Nope,” Level chuckled. “Not even that.”
“Level,” Azalea chided, but she didn’t get far. Sugarcoat cleared her throat, drawing attention to her and Indigo Zap. Their birdhouse, which had been sitting under a red cloth this whole time, was suddenly revealed to the others. Level’s jaw dropped open. It was the most spectacular birdhouse she’d ever seen! It had two stories, two perches, a wraparound balcony between the floors, and a purple paint job with flame designs that put Lemon Zest’s work to shame. (“Serves her right for what she kept doing to Twilight,” Level thought.)
“Crystal Prep wins the woodshop round!” Dean Cadence proclaimed. She then walked off into a corner. She was gone for a long time.
“So, who do you think will get eliminated?” Level asked. “I mean, obviously one of those two boys will get kicked off, but who else?”
After a few seconds, Azalea replied, “I don’t know.”
Dean Cadence returned to the center of the room. With her was Principal Cinch, whom Level hadn’t noticed earlier. Principal Cinch adjusted her glasses and said, “Atom Amp, Royal Pin, you have the lowest scores on your respective teams. You’re out of the Games.”
Atom Amp looked surprised. Level didn’t blame him. “Atom Amp?” she questioned. “But that guy’s one of the smartest kids in school. He should have acquired loads of points by now. How did he get kicked off?”
“Even the smartest people aren’t always brilliant at everything, Level,” Azalea replied. “He probably bombed in home ec or something.”
“Qualifying competitors, please make your way to the art room,” Principal Celestia addressed them all. As the students began filing out, Atom Amp looked down at the ground in shame. Sandalwood draped a comforting arm around his friend’s shoulders, a gesture that had become so common among the CHS student body that no one ever thought to question who was doing it and why. Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat, however, appeared to take it the wrong way because, as they casually strolled past, Indigo shoved Atom away from his friend and Sugarcoat flicked away a piece of his defunked birdhouse that he’d been holding. Both boys looked upset about it – Atom Amp more than Sandalwood, understandably – but they quickly calmed down as Applejack and Fluttershy rested comforting hands on their shoulders.
Level watched all of this with an eye that was full of determination and hope. Yes, the Crystal Prep students were jerks. There was no denying that. But it was just more proof that they needed someone to show them what friendship was like. And Level was determined to be that someone.
It wasn't as hard to come up with material for this chapter as you think. Just because we're not seeing an event through a competitor's eyes doesn't mean it can't be exciting, right?
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