Top Shot: Equestria in the Crosshairs
DISCLAIMER:
I do not own, nor endorse Hasbro, or The History Channel in any way. Properties go to their respective owners. This Fanfiction was created for entertainment purposes only.
For your safety and the safety of others, do NOT attempt any of these scenes in this Fanfiction, nor Top Shot in real life. These characters are using a supervised course. Much of the scenes including safety have been edited out. You should never fire, or direct a firearm towards a living being.
Also, the character display on the cover page did not allow me to display all the characters included in this fiction. There are at least a total of seventeen.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Celestia's sun beat down on the surface of the harsh Appaloosan Peninsula, as clouds offered momentary shields of protection from the rays, only to part and allow the heat to strike again. It was something that this human had to endure for a good thirty minutes as he waited for the contestants. No chair, no umbrella, and no Dr. Pony to quench his thirst.
The cacti and tiny shrubs that grew out seemed to be the only living things around this environtment, but animals lurked around. Spiders, lizards, birds of prey, and many more creatures populated the area.
"I still can't believe I was contracted for this place. It's unique in the sense. But the contestants..."
The human chuckled to himself.
"...this is gonna be one hell of a season."
At least five more hours passed until dust rose up in the distance. Through the human's sunglasses, he could make out a shape in the dust. That shape later formed into more shapes, and those shapes became clear enough they were carriages. Carriages holding the next contestants for the next season of Top Shot, a game show that was aired on the television channel, The History Channel back on Earth. The show revolved around fourteen-eighteen marksmen competing in different shooting challenges to claim a prize of 100,000 dollars and the title of "Top Shot". He placed his hands on his hips and waited for the carriages to draw near.
"I'm certainly gonna enjoy this."
The carriages pulled up next to him and stopped. One by one, different creatures poured out of the carriages, some talking to each other, others looking around, and some with their heads held high. The human watched them all very carefully, making sure that each of them were unaware of his piercing glance using his sunglasses. The contestants lined up in front of him and stopped talking. They all waited for the tall, furless, two legged, two armed creature to say something.
The human smiled and called out each of their names.
"Twilight Sparkle, newly crowned Princess."
"Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in all of Equestria."
"Fluttershy, animal caretaker."
"Rarity, leading fasionista."
"Applejack, proud member of the apple family."
"Pinkie Pie-"
"THAT'S ME!", the pink party pony yelped out while bouncing up and down.
"Shining Armor, captain of the Royal Guard."
"Spitfire, flight leader of the Wonderbolts stunt flying team."
"Gilda, griffon inhabitant of Equestria."
"Trixie, a show mare."
"Blue Blood-"
"That's Prince Blue Blood to you.", the white coated and golden maned unicorn stated and glared.
"Prince Blue Blood, royalty of the finest."
"Iron Will, motivational speaker and body builder."
"Big Macintosh, Apple Family member and just about the largest colt I've seen."
"Zecora, zebra inhabitant of the Everfree Forest."
"Soarin, flight member of the Wonderbolts."
"And Little Strongheart, member of the Buffalo Herd."
Every contestant acknowledged their name by nodding, hoof pumping, and shouting.The human clapped his hands once.
"Welcome to a brand new season of Top Shot. My name is Colby Donaldson. For this season, it's unlike any other before. Not even human contestants this time."
Colby smiled again.
"In the past seasons, we've scoured the country for the greatest marksmen, but now have come to introduce Equestria's inhabitants to the sport of shooting, but only one will walk their way to a check for One Million Bits, and the title, for "Equestria's Top Shot".
The contestants, yay'ed, clapped, pumped their hooves, smiled, and nodded. Some smiled at the mention of the prize a bit larger than others.
"I really hope you're all ready."
Rainbow Dash screamed.
"Hay yeah! Bring it on!"
"I enjoy your enthusiasm, Rainbow Dash. Because this competition begins now."
Pinkie Pie raised her hoof and said, "As in, now now?"
"Yes. That's right Pinkie Pie. Right right now now. Everyone, follow me."
Colby trudged off, and the rest of the contestants followed, carrying their satchels, duffle bags, and luggage bags. When Applejack was walking down, she was pushed aside by Gilda.
"Move it pony.", she muttered as she walked past. Applejack narrowed her eyes and kept moving.
The contestants passed through a wooden gate, proudly presenting Top Shot on the wooden banner.
--
"Wow, a Million Bits. I can't believe a game would be put up just to throw all of it away just like that."
"Soarin, ah' really don't think it's called: 'throwing it away'. Somepony could actually use those bits for something good."
"Oh please. The Great, and Magnificent Trixie will obviously walk away with that prize."
"Pft. Yeah. The money's really cool and all. "Equestria's Top Shot"? How cool does that sound?! I'm already Equestria's coolest and awesomest pony. I think I can spare room for one more title."
"Hah! That would be the day, Rainbow Dash."
Iron Will chuckled as he hefted his bag down the trail.
--
The group eventually arrived to a small camp that displayed metal helmets and odd masks made of cloth and glass eye holes. Tubes were coming out of the masks and were attached to a small tank on the bottom. It was a little disturbing nonetheless to Rarity, who tried to imagine a pony wearing one of those masks. The contestants looked around the camp site.
"Is this our first challenge?", Soarin asked Colby. The host was standing by a table bearing a large cloth sheet over some object.
"To answer your question Soarin, we're gonna be seeing what you've got to compete in this show. The challenge is right here, starting right now.", Colby looked over the contestants.
"W-Wait! I know we were studying on basic knowledge on human firearms, but won't we get any practice?", Twilight nervously inquired, "We all studied, right?"
Many of the contestants looked away, whistled, or smiled overly to hide their lack of studying.
"Yes, practice will be given to all of you. You may try and operate the gun, or you may learn visually and listen to my instructions. But heed this instruction."
"Under NO part of this show, will any of you use magic, wings, or anything else. You'll be using your hooves, eyes, mind, and what true marksmen must work with. Any attempt of using magic, wings, and any unfair advantage wether on a challenge or away from one will immediately disqualify you.", Colby replied. The Unicorns and some of the pegasi nervously exchanged glances with one another. A gentle breeze had worked its way onto the Peninsula and the contestents were talking to each other. After about a minute, they stopped talking when Colby spoke again.
"How's everyone feeling?"
"Feeling ready to shoot!", Rainbow Dash pumped her hoof in the air.
"Let's do it!", Iron Will shouted.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie would like to learn first hand.", she said, which rather puzzled some of the ponies. She was known for claiming she was far superior than others. She may be asking for instruction to have a much better shot at the One Million Bits. She was sacrificing ego for knowledge.
"I'll take that as a 'ready'. Now, let's introduce our first weapon you will all be using for the first challenge."
Colby turned around and whisked the tarp off of the table. Presented to the contestants, was a rather bulky firearm, very boxy, and had a large cylindrical tank for a barrel.
"Ooh...", Fluttershy couldn't help but eye the weapon, though it made her slink down.
"What is that...thing?", Blue Blood proclaimed rather disgustingly.
Colby began to speak, "Shooters, this is the Maxim gun."
"The Maxim gun was invented by British inventor, Hiram Stevens Maxim in the year of 1884. This was the first gun that was operated by recoil and considered by many to be the first true machine gun built."
Shining Armor looked over the weapon.
"Wow. It's a weird one..."
"However, to this day, there are very few surviving Maxims that are still operational, but this machine gun was restored, cleaned out, and given a tiny bit of a modern touch to ensure optimal performance.", Colby explained, "Today, you will be using this relic of a gun to compete in the first challenge."
The contestants cheered again loudly. Lizards ran away and Colby watched them.
"I see you're all enthusiastic. Who would like a go at the machine gun first?"
Immediately, Pinkie Pie raised her hand and waved it around like a tornado.
"Alright Pinkie Pie. You're up."
Pinkie Pie hopped over to the gun, which was now set up on the ground. She sat down, scooted up to the weapon, and Colby began giving instructions how to fire.
"The belt of ammunition goes here. This lever is used to cock the weapon...fire with this switch right here...see that little ring there...look down...that's where you'll hit."
Some of the others were listening carefully and watching Colby's instructions. Others were looking around at the scenery, others tapped their hooves, and one picked the dirt out from her talons. But however, when it was time to fire the machine gun, everyone turned their head immediately and were startled by the noise.
"RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!", the Maxim bellowed as Pinkie let loose a five-round burst into the dirt. Several clouds of soil rose into the air and disappeared. Immediately, nearly every contestant wanted a crack at the presented weapon.
"Hah! That was amazing!", Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Yeah! I could get used to this!", Soarin shouted.
"Ah! It's so loud! Even through the earplugs!", Twilight shuddered.
"Whew...this isn't the bows and arrows I'm used too.", Little Strongheart said after squeezing off an 8 round burst.
"Eeyup.", Big Macintosh stated as he fired off his shots.
"I love these glasses...they're so abstract.", Rarity took more interest in her safety glasses than the actual gun.
Eventually, everyone had gotten a feel of the old human weapon, though Fluttershy couldn't get the courage to pull the trigger. The subject that the contestants were now talking over was the weapon and what the next challenge would be. Colby allowed them to talk it out for five minutes before calling them together again.
"How was your experience with the machine gun?", Colby asked.
"Meh. My little sister kicks harder than that thing.", Iron Will crossed his arms.
"I'm feeling a little comfortable. That Million Bits is as good as mine.", Spitfire smiled.
"This is so new to me. I look forward to what challenge you will offer, Colby.", Zecora stamped her hoof.
"It's so easy! You're all going down!", Gilda pointed towards the ground with her claw.
"Ugh...if this is what it takes for a Million Bits, then I'll use that dirty thing to its fullest.", Blue Blood spoke and held his chest high.
The host of Top Shot nodded and clapped his hands.
"That's what I like to hear. So, the challenge will begin, right now."
Some of the shooters cheered. Others were still a bit surprised at the rushing of the challenge.
"We just shot that thing! How are we gonna be able to compete now with out lack of experience?", Twilight asked.
"You all have the same feel for the weapon. Some might get it a little better than others. But getting it will be what counts where we are gonna go. Everyone, follow me."
Once again, the group was taken down further into the Peninsula and they talked with each other a bit.They came to a stop fifteen minutes later to a range, that held two Maxim machine guns on a formation of sandbags, and several orange circles on white boards were dotted in front of them. They were positioned at about fifty or sixty meters away when Shining Armor looked at them closer. They had to be targets of some kind. When they sat down on a wooden log, some having to stand up, Colby spoke again.
"Welcome shooters, to your first challenge."
Immediately, the targets fell down, out of view.
"The Maxim machine gun saw great action in the first World War, where Trench Warfare was a giant play style of the war. The Maxim was utilized for suppressing the enemy in the trenches so they couldn't move out, and cut down the ones who did come out with its high rate of fire at the time."
Most of the ponies were horrified of the weapon immediately, but the others nodded, knowing that they didn't live without hearing of a few deaths. A weapon was not one of their fears.
"Now, this challenge has simulated Trench Warfare to give a hint of nostalgia for the weapon. Her'e hows the challenge works."
"Exploding targets will momentarily pop out of the trenches at random intervals as you are up at the machine gun. You have 25 seconds to shoot the gun, which has 165 rounds of ammunition in each case. If it runs out, or it's running dry, you will be given a short time period to reload the machine gun. Successfully completing the reload in this time shall grant you five extra seconds of shooting time. If you do not, your reloading will eat into your time you can fire. Take your time to reload the gun as quickly and as efficiently as possible. One shooter will go at a time at any of the two stations. The two contestants who score the most hit targets will get the opportunity to choose their own teams. The last two in place will face each other in elimination."
The contestants clapped and cheered. Obviously, everyone loved the idea of choosing who they could compete with and against, and were intimidated by an immediate kicking off of the show.
"Is everyone ready to shoot?"
"YEAH!"
"All right. I'll now decide the order of the line of the shooters."
Colby pulled a few pieces of paper from an ammunition box. After pulling the equal number as there are contestants, Colby looked up.
"Spitfire and Zecora are up first."
The pegasus and the zebra stepped up to the machine guns and loaded up the weapons with a belt of rounds. They cocked their guns and looked down the iron sights. Colby called out.
"Marksmen ready?!"
"Ready!"
"Ready!"
"Begin!"
An air horn sounded and on each side of their ranges, targets began to pop up. The orange field showed up very well on the targets, and made them easy to identify with the wide open iron sights.
Spitfire gave the first shot. She immediately identified one target and squeezed a burst out of her gun. Two dust clouds rose up from the first two shots, but the third hit home and blew the target into a giant fireball, filling her and every other contestant who was watching with adrenaline. Zecora navigated the gun over and pushed down on the trigger. Two rounds flew out and hit around the target. Before she could reengage, the target disappeared into the trench and another one popped up to her left. She moved the sights onto the target and fired again. This time, a round struck the orange explosive field and incinerated the target.
"I must be quicker on the sights! Or this challenge will surely put up a fight!"
Spitfire managed to explode another target by filling it full of lead, bringing her target count to two. She managed to blow up one last target before the time expired, going up to three. Just as the air horns blew again, an explosion came on Zecora's range. She had struck one last target, bringing her score up to two.
"Times up! Twilight and Iron Will are up to fire!"
The alicorn and the minotaur galloped/ran up to the guns. Iron Will sat down, but found it a little hard to aim down the sights, due to his large chest and size. Twilight looked down the familiar sights and looked at the trenches.
"Shooters ready?!"
"Ready!"
"Let's do this!"
"Begin!"
The horns sounded off and the first target popped up on both ranges. Twilight calmed herself down and fired off one round. It struck the target with deadly accuracy and exploded into a fiery sphere. Another target popped up and Twilight swiveled the gun to fire a five round burst into the target, producing the same effect. The target burst with a tremendous roar and smoke filled her iron sights. Iron Will, however, was still struggling to use the weapon as he couldn't aim down the sights properly. As he missed the first target, it popped back down into the trench. He growled and he let loose on full automatic at a target.
"If you can't get a hit, NEVER QUIT!"
The target he fired at exploded, sending a feeling of satisfaction through him.
"YEAH! That's how I do it!", he shouted, until he realized too late that Twilight had already shot down her third target. Iron Will reengaged and destroyed one last target as the air horn sounded again.
"Next up to shoot: Shining Armor and Rarity!"
The two unicorns trotted up to the machine guns and took a look down the iron sights. They moved the gun around a bit, and rarity fixed her shooting glasses extra well to make sure they wouldn't fall off.
"Marksmen ready?!"
"I'm ready!"
"Oh! just a second!"
Rarity adjusted her ear plugs.
"I'm okay!"
"Begin!"
The air horns blared and the first target on each range popped up. Shining Armor was defiantly faster on the reaction as he immediately let loose with a burst on the target and blew it to smithereens. The next one popped up, and once again, The Captain of the Royal Guard fired a few rounds and destroyed the target into little bits. Rarity had only managed to hit her first target by the time Shining had hit his second. Rarity bit her lip and fired at the next target. The kickback was defiantly something she had trouble managing and she was unable to put a round on the target. She began to panic as Shining Armor has destroyed his fourth target and tried to squeeze off a few bullets into her own target, but time ran out and a fifth explosion sounded on Shining Armor's range. She sighed as she knew that one target hit was not an impressive score, and that the chance of her going home were approaching her.
"Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle are currently in the lead. Maybe it's something about their genes that makes them good shots. I don't know. But they shouldn't be so comfortable. The next ten contestants might turn that around.", Colby announced.
"Next up to shoot: Gilda and Fluttershy!"
As they both walked up to the guns, Gilda whispered while still looking ahead.
"I'm gonna beat you down, you little furball."
Fluttershy shivered and kept walking. She sat down at the gun and breathed out slowly. It always scared her when loud noises suddenly appeared, and now she was right in front of the thing that made such noises. Suddenly, she noticed that the belt of ammunition she was using was nearly exhausted, due to Rarity's firing.
"I-I have to reload!", she screamed as loud as she could, though Colby could still barely hear her.
"Oh come on! I don't wanna wait for this crud!", Gilda barked at Fluttershy.
"Fluttershy now has twelve seconds to reload her weapon! Gilda, standby for the air horn if she doesn't make it in time!"
The griffon aimed down the sights, although no targets were in sight. Fluttershy, at once, began to reload the gun by taking out the belt of ammunition, placing a new one in, and cocking it, which spanned for 11.4 seconds, which was recorded by Colby's stopwatch.
"Fluttershy has completed the given time! She now has a five seconds head start on Gilda!"
"WHAT?! Unbelievable!", Gilda's eyes went wide. Fluttershy seized the opportunity to gain enough courage and pull down the trigger. The weapon kicked and produced the most horrifying noise Fluttershy had ever heard, and as a result, she was paralyzed, too afraid of firing the weapon again. Gilda rolled her eyes and waited for her targets to pop up. Not long, her air horn blew and her first target popped up. The orange circle exploded after two seconds of automatic fire. She was able to control the recoil fairly well due to her strength and moved to the next target that popped up. She gritted her beak and fired on full auto again and scored her second target hit. Fluttershy, couldn't get past her fear of her first shot and tried to gain enough courage to shoot again. Then, she heard something through her ear plugs.
"Come on Fluttershy! you can do it!"
"When in fear, your courage is near! Find it!"
The voices were from Rainbow Dash and Iron Will. She mustered enough strength to pull the trigger again-
"BLLAAAAAARRR!", sounded the air horn. She looked down at the gun. Gilda had hit her third target in time.
"Oh no..."
She walked back with her head held low, and her friends patted her on the back.
"It's okay Fluttershy. You tried your best."
"B-But it wasn't enough...", she cried.
"Currently, Rarity and Fluttershy are in last place, while Twilight and Shining Armor are in the lead. Will anyone turn this around? Let's see if Little Strongheart and Pinkie Pie can do so. And by the way, they're up next."
Strongheart and Pinkie Pie trotted/hopped over the the Maxims. The sat down, looked through the iron sights, and Pinkie Pie raised her hand.
"Can I reload?", she asked.
"Yes you can Pinkie Pie. But no using your powers, which all of you know what that really is."
She looked at the camera and smiled. She turned backed to the gun and reloaded the weapon the same way as Fluttershy. She hummed a tune to herself as she did, but seemed to get lost in the tune. By the time she had loaded in the belt, the air horn sounded again, and Little Strongheart began to send rounds down range. Pinkie hastily chambered the belt into her gun and began to fire at her first target as well. She managed to destroy her first target in the same time as Little Strongheart hit her's too. But, even though she was up against Pinkie Pie, she was still faster on the seemingly advanced weapon for her as she destroyed her third target 11 seconds after the air horn blew. Pinkie exploded her second target after eight seconds since she hit her first. As time ran out, Little Strongheart had hit her fourth target, and Pinkie Pie, her third. Still satisfied by her score, she hopped away from the gun. Little Strongheart had actually tied with the newly crowned Princess, Twilight Sparkle.
"Impressive shooting Little Strongheart. We may actually have to do a tie breaker. but before we get to that, Rainbow Dash and Prince Blue Blood are up to fire.", Colby announced,
The pegasus and the unicorn trotted down to the range. Rainbow Dash smiled at the familiar gun and looked down the sights. Blue Blood, however was trying to rid his hooves of the gunpowder that was on the trigger.
"Agh, filthy.", he flicked his hoof. Rainbow Dash anticipated the air horn, knowing she had heard it quite a few times in her career.
It sounded, and Rainbow Dash immediately destroyed her first target. The fireball climbed up into the sky, but another one rose as Rainbow Dash destroyed her second target within five seconds. Blue Blood was still trying to get the iron sights on the first target, and when he pulled the trigger, the gunpowder flew back into him. He then changed his attention to his coat instead of the challenge.
"Oh no! It seems Blue Blood is having some sort of trouble! Rainbow Dash is clearly taking advantage because here she comes!"
Rainbow Dash shot up her third target and sent it into flames. Blue Blood struggled to swivel the gun to his target, but when he fired three rounds again, not one of them connected with the target, and he was faced with the same gunpowder predicament. Rainbow Dash destroyed her forth target and the air horn blew.
"This is an outrage! I didn't hit a single thing!", Prince Blue Blood exclaimed.
"Oh right. Blame the knife if you accidentally cut yourself. The Great and Powerful Trixie shall show you how it's really done.", Trixie smugged.
"Wow Trixie. You're right. You're up next, along with Applejack."
The showmare and the cowgirl trotted up to the weapons, seated themselves, and took a look down the sights. After Applejack checked the ammunition, she waited for Colby to call out.
"Marksmen ready?!"
"Ready."
"Ah' sure am!"
"Begin!"
The air horn blew once again as one target popped up on each of their fields. Trixie immediately fulfilled her promise to Blue Blood by showing him "how it's done". She shot up her first target in just two seconds after acquiring it with her sights, then swiveled to the next target and fired off the gun, hitting it and causing it to explode.
"Wow! Fast on the draw!"
Applejack kept her cool and fired on her first target and managed to dispatch it fairly quickly. She found her second target shortly afterwards and filled her gunsight with smoke as she fired automatically. After three seconds of full automatic fire, the second target shot out sparks and blew up. Trixie knew that Applejack was catching up, and did not want to get beat by one of Twilight's friends. She gritted her teeth and shot at her next target, but couldn't manage to hit it, as the dust clouds that popped up around the target indicated this. She kept firing on her target, until it was destroyed. Applejack managed to explode her third target, forcing the two into a tie again.
"Oh no you don't!"
Trixie succeeded in "killing" her last target, resulting in a rising fireball and a score of four to three, her favor. She smiled at the fact she had beaten one of Twilight's friends when they were both were up for shooting, but narrowed her eyes as she couldn't beat Twilight's.
"Hah! Trixie sure showed you!", she ranted at Applejack. However, Applejack reacted by smiling and tipping her hat.
"Hope' we're on the same team, because honestly, you're a lot better than ah' thought.", she chuckled and went back to the log. Trixie was dumbfounded, and just growled to herself.
"Alright everyone! Last shooters up! Soarin and Big Macintosh!"
When Soarin walked next to Macintosh, Colby was right, he WAS the biggest celt he had ever seen.
"Uh...ehy Big Mac. How's it going?", he asked nervously.
"Eeyup. Just fine. You ready to hit some targets?"
"Oh yeah! Hope you are too!"
They got down to their guns, and cocked them. They looked at their ammunition strips and decided that they had just enough for one last round.
"Alright! Marksmen ready?!"
"I'm ready!"
"Eeyup."
"Begin!"
The colts began to send rounds down range after acquiring their first target, and both exploded at the same time.
"Wow! Fastest target acquisition I've seen!", Colby announced.
Soaring seemed to be a natural at this, since every time a target showed up, it immediately exploded when Soarin fired at it. When the watch had hit 18 seconds, Soarin's target count had reached four targets, an impressive feat already, while Macintosh had just shot up his third.
"If Soarin keeps going at this rate, he will undoubtedly be in the lead!"
But Soarin managed to keep that same rate, and maybe even go a little bit faster. When Big Macintosh had hit his fourth target, Soarin had destroyed his sixth. The air horns sounded, and knowing that he had shot the most targets out of every contestant, it really made Soarin feel proud. Big Macintosh came over, helped him up, and they both walked back to their places on the log.
Colby was re-tallying over each score the contestants received. They were waiting anxiously on the log, some not so much as they were either shameful of low score, kept track of their high ones, or knew of their scores.
"Alright. Results are in. The order of the scores shall go in descending order.
First place is Soarin, with a total of 6 hit targets. Well done."
The other competitors clapped for him, making Soarin smile and beam with pride.
"Second place, is Shining Armor, with a total of 5 hit targets. Way to go."
Once again, a round of clapping was given for Shining Armor.
"The contestants who had scored four hits were Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Trixie, Big Macintosh, and Little Strongheart."
Everyone else celebrated in different ways. Back patting, smiling, and nodding were given.
"The contestants who shot three targets, are Spitfire, Pinkie Pie, Gilda, and Applejack."
A clapping noise was heard from Pinkie Pie.
"The ones who had hit two targets are Iron Will, and Zecora."
Zecora nodded, and Iron Will flexed his muscles.
"Rarity had managed to hit one target, and in last place, are Fluttershy and Prince Blue Blood, who have scored zero hits."
Still, a round of clapping was given to the ponies who had given effort to the challenge, disregarding the Prince.
"Because Fluttershy and Prince Blue Blood have received last place, they will be competing in an elimination challenge."
Fluttershy was utterly ashamed of herself, and Blue Blood turned away from Colby.
"Alright, now, we get to assign teams. Soarin?"
"Yes Colby?"
"You'll be the team leader of Red Team."
Soarin smiled and spread his wings to do a summersault in the air, but quickly folded them and remained on the ground.
"Shining Armor, you will be the team leader of Blue Team."
"It's an honer Colby. I'll lead my team to victory!", he saluted back.
"Heheh, that's what I like to hear. Now, since Soarin had the highest score, he gets first pick."
Soaring bit his lip and looked over all of the contestants. To him, almost everyone was so good in their own ways...but he had to consider that only because one didn't do well on this first challenge, they wouldn't do well on another one.
"I pick Spitfire."
"Good choice.", she said as she marched over. Now, Shining Armor spoke.
"I pick...Twilight Sparkle."
It was rather obvious, but she had to be chosen by him at one point.
"Hm...Rainbow Dash.", Soarin said. The pegasus trotted over and hoof-bumped Soarin.
"I'll pick...Little Strongheart."
The buffalo walked over to Shining Armor and adjusted her feathers on her headband.
"Alright...how about...Big Macintosh."
The large red colt came over to Soarin and stamped his hoof.
"Okay...Zecora.", Shining Armor added another member to his team.
"Thank you for choosing me. I shall help lead this team to victory!", Zecora rhymed as she trotted over.
"Applejack.", Soarin called out.
"Iron Will.", Shining Armor got him over.
"Pinkie Pie.", Soarin allowed her to hop on over.
"Gilda.", Shining Armor let the rather bad-tempered griffon to stomp over to his team.
"Trixie.", Soarin nodded at the showmare, who joined him and the Red Team.
"About time somepony called Trixie's name."
"Rarity.", Shining Armor called the unicorn over.
"Hey...sorry about calling you last-"
"Oh no! It's fine. My performance was horrible on this challenge, but I intend to switch that around!", Rarity beamed at Shining Armor.
Colby walked up and spoke again.
"Currently, the Red Team is composed of: Team Leader: Soarin, Spitfire, Rainbow Dash, Big Macintosh, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Trixie."
The Red Team cheered with each other loudly and scared off whatever little critters were lurking around.
"And now, The Blue Team is composed of: Team Leader: Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle, Little Strongheart, Zecora, Iron Will, Gilda, and Rarity."
They cheered just as loud and with just as much spirit as the Red Team did. Maybe even louder.
"Now, Prince Blue Blood and Fluttershy are left. As they are heading towards elimination soon, one will go home, and the victor will get to chose their own team. Now, it's time for some 'R and R'.", Colby announced.
"R and R?", Applejack asked.
"Rest and Relaxation, darling.", Rarity responded. Then, it was at that moment, that six best friends, were separated. But, a smirk came on Rainbow Dash's face, and she puffed up her chest.
"You're all gonna eat my dust and shell casings!", she mocked the enemy.
"Oh yeah? Well, you're gonna eat those words! Or...shell casings...", Twilight awkwardly spoke.
Every contestant laughed, chuckled, giggled, and rolled their eyes.
"Alright everyone. Follow me. We're gonna head to your new home for the weeks you'll be competing on Top Shot.", Colby said to the group, before allowing them to grab their belongings and followed him down a trail. But, out of all the competitors who were talking, Fluttershy refused to join in the conversation, nor did Blue Blood. They were going to head to elimination soon, and they each had a problem to overcome. Fluttershy could not gather the courage to pull the trigger, and Blue Blood kept getting dirty from gunpowder.
In all, an intense competition was just starting.
Top Shot: Equestria in the Crosshairs
Elimination: Enfield Engagement
"Oh my word! It's so marvelous!", Rarity beamed with giant, sparkling eyes as she set them on the house that the contestants would be staying in for the new season of Top Shot, "I mean look at it! It's so simple with its shapes, but it's so advanced with all of the glass doors!"
"I never knew you were into architecture, Rarity.", Twilight giggled.
"Oh Twilight, clothing isn't the only thing that had a design that everypony will make their first impression on.", Rarity replied. Twilight had to agree with her. The impression the building gave, though much different than her tree library, was defiantly cozy. When the contestants reached the house, they couldn't help by stare in awe at the much different home than their own. A fireplace was the first thing Gilda saw when she walked inside.
"Seriously? It's already blazing out here. They really have to add a fireplace?"
"The Appaloosan Peninsula could get very cold during the winter, Gilda.", Spitfire spoke, "I should know, I used to have a part time job as the weather pony at the town of Appaloosa."
Rainbow Dash immediately slouched herself on the couch, spread her hooves, and yawned.
"I'm gonna lay here for a while...", she lazily spoke as she rolled over.
"You know, this house is great and all, but shouldn't we be a bit more concerned about the next challenge Colby will give us? What if we aren't prepared?", Soarin still looked at the outdoor dining patio.
"Ha! Soarin, if there's one thing I know about game shows, is that a good one never prepares the contestants! It's for the audience!", Iron Will laughed.
"In a way, I have to agree. I doubt they will get us ready that properly.", Zecora rhymed.
"Okay, if I hear a rhyme from you one more time, I'm gonna use the next weapon to end my misery.", Gilda groaned as shse headed off towards her bedroom. Apparently, Colby explained as they were heading down, that there were two large bedrooms, fitted with bunk beds. Boys slept apart from girls, naturally.
"Alright. I'll get you if Colby needs us again.", Shining Armor said to her before trotting off, "I'm gonna explore around a bit."
"Hey, mind if I join you?", Soarin asked, which Shining Armor nodded.
"Woah woah woah! Hey! What are you doing?!", Rainbow Dash sat up on the couch, "He's the enemy! Don't make 'nice' with the enemy!"
"Oh come on, that's just for the challenges. There's no reason we all can't be friends here, right?", Soarin looked around. Shining Armor had already left and gone looking, and Soarin managed to catch up to him.
"There's a flight of stairs there, and hey, a billiards table.", he pointed to the green and wooden game piece.
"Really? I thought it was always called 'pool'.", Soarin examined before walking away.
"Bathrooms over there...hey Soarin! check out this view!"
The pegasus came over and looked out the window.
"Meh. Nothing compared to flying in the sky."
"I could bet."
As the two Team Leaders scouted what was around the house, the majority of the contestants were still chatting down below.
"Hey Blue Blood-"
"Prince Blue Blood."
Trixie sighed and rolled her eyes.
"How are you going to beat Fluttershy at elimination?", she rose an eyebrow at him. Prince Blue Blood just laughed.
"I just have to not get dirty. That poor mare can hardly even use the weapon.", he looked over at Fluttershy.
"You know that won't be possible. Gunpowder will always come out of nearly every weapon in this gameshow. I think you need to resist being dirtied and just keep focusing on the game.", she narrowed her eyes, "Trixie knows it."
"Ugh! But have you seen this coat? It's perfect in every single way! I have to still look good for all of the cameras, that way, I can be a fan favorite!", he rose his hoof.
"You're not really gonna be much of a fan favorite if you can't get past the first day and be sent packing.", Trixie said as she walked away.
Blue Blood rose his hoof for a reply, but kept his mouth shut. When he thought of it to himself, unfortunately, Trixie was right. She was sacrificing her ego for better knowledge of the competition. He had to sacrifice his coat for a chance to win the Million Bits.
--
Fluttershy was just rolling around a shell casing that she had found in the house. On the bottom, it was printed: 7.62 NATO. She didn't look up when Iron WIll sat down with her.
"Hey there Fluttershy! Aren't you gonna come to the patio? Sunlight's good for you!", Iron Will chuckled.
Fluttershy kept rolling around the casing.
"Uh...did you hear me?"
"Just go away...", she spoke into the table, making a murmuring sound, but the minotaur still heard her clearly.
"Look, I know you can't squeeze the trigger on that gun, and that's what's bothering you.", he sat down and clicked open a soda can.
Fluttershy didn't look up, until she heard the soda can pop open.
"Aren't you supposed to encourage a healthy life now with your new exercise program I keep hearing about?", she looked at the can.
"Ah...I do need a break sometimes, but it's not like we're on camera right now. Right?", he turned around, and surely, there was a unicorn, holding the large equipment, "Whatever. Now, Fluttershy"
The butter colored pegasus rose her eyes.
"I know you really don't like me-", Iron Will was interrupted.
"Oh that's not true, I don't hate anypony.", she caused Iron Will to laugh at her again.
"I really could learn something from you! But still, I know my 'assertive' training made you a little...too assertive. But I really don't like seeing a dissatisfied customer. Or in that case, a dissatisfied teammate."
"But I'm not even on any one of your teams. I won't even make it through elimination.", Fluttershy looked down at the shell casing again.
"Nonsense! I'll help you prep up and get over your fear of shooting. When life's no longer full of glee, always seek out me.", he gave one of his signature quotes he always used for advertising.
"I really don't know...", Fluttershy sat up.
"Hey, what do you have to loose? You're only gaining.", Iron Will flexed one of his muscles.
Fluttershy thought about it for about half a minute, and after that, she started nodding.
"Good choice!", Iron Will suddenly clapped his hands together, and to Fluttershy, it sounded like an explosion. She immediately jumped and smashed her head into the ceiling.
"OW! My head...", she rubbed her temple.
"Fluttershy, remember. You have to get over your fear of loud noises if actually want a chance at winning elimination. I even heard there is a small prize if you beat Blue Blood. Imagine how cozy your animal friends would be!"
Fluttershy forgot about her pain and imagined Angle hopping around a new set of play equipment. Then, her thought was interrupted by Iron Will clapping again, causing the windows to rattle and Fluttershy to fall out of her chair again.
--
"Who wants another hayburger?!", Shining Armor yelled from the grill.
"Oh! Me! Me! Me!", Pinkie Pie snatched it with her mouth straight off the grill without burning her face in symmetrical lines. He flipped another one to Little Strongheart, who licked her lips hungrily.
"Now I know we have the right team leader!", Strongheart cheered as she took a bite from her burger.
"I know! I never knew you could cook!", Twilight said in between bites of her food.
"Marriage calls for it from both sides you know. You'll know the same when you do get hitched.", Shining Armor flipped another burger. Then, a familiar voice spoke at the patio.
"I swear, it that hay cooking? It smells even better than what I'm used too.", Colby Donaldson stepped into the patio and went out the doors of the house.
"Oh Celestia! Colby! You gotta try this! It's amazing!", Rainbow Dash scarfed down an entire burger.
"I appreciate it, but I've already had my lunch. But that burger smells amazing...naw. I couldn't.", Colby chuckled to himself.
"Wmhat mare youm meer form?", Pinkie Pie asked Colby through her full mouth.
"Oh, I'm here to warn Fluttershy and Prince Blue Blood that elimination is in thirty minutes. Have they already packed their belongings?", Colby looked around.
"Ah' know Fluttershy has, but ahm' not sure bout' Blue Blood.", Applejack told Colby, followed by an "Eeyup" from Big Macintosh.
"I see. Well, I'll go tell them that elimination is coming. And I'll tell them I wish them both good luck."
Colby walked back into the familiar house hold.
"I remember this from the seasons on this show...", he said to himself as he came to Fluttershy and Iron Will. They appeared to be talking about something. Iron WIll was going on about what his new exercising training program was about, and Fluttershy was paying attention, though she clearly showed no interest. Then, when Fluttershy wasn't paying attention, Iron Will suddenly smashed his hands together, and produced a noise as if someone had fired a cannon next to Colby. He rubbed a finger in his ear and he spoke.
"Fluttershy, elimination is in thirty minutes. Hope you're all packed up and ready."
"Oh, thank you Colby.", he heard as he turned away. But Colby noticed something. Fluttershy was hardly startled by Iron Will's clapping. Colby had heard many noises on this show, but nothing as loud as that. Fluttershy didn't even jump.
"Prince Blue Blood, elimination is in thirty minutes. Hope you're ready and packed up to go."
"Thank you subject for the futile reminder.", Blue Blood answered from the bedroom. Colby took no offense and walked down the stairs.
"This will be interesting."
--
ELIMINATION CHALLENGE
Fluttershy and Blue Blood were walking down the trail, but took another path as the trail branched off into multiple ones. Cacti and shrubs littered the area, and Blue Blood dusted off his coat again. They came to another shooting range, which had several white flags holding the Top Shot logo on it, and they sat down on a log, where Colby was waiting near a table. The two ponies looked ahead, and there were two conveyer belts with red targets moving on each one of them. They kept going around and disappeared behind a wooden crate, only to reappear again on the other side and move to the left. They got themselves situated on the log and waited for Colby to speak.
"Fluttershy and Prince Blue Blood. The moment of truth has arrived to decided whether you'll stay in this competition, or get sent packing home."
Fluttershy bit her lip, and Prince Blood Blue kept concentrating.
"In the previous challenge, you used the Maxim machine gun, an extremely powerful gun used in Trench Warfare in the First World War. But now, you'll be using a bit of a different weapon.", Colby said as he hoisted a much more slender and long gun, which Fluttershy remembered Twilight telling her about a "rifle".
"Shooters, this is the Lee Enfield Infantry Rifle, the standard issued rifle to troops of the British Empire in World War 1, and one of the most successful bolt-action rifles of all time."
"It certainly is quite different than that horrid machine gun."
"Do you have to hold down the trigger for it to shoot more than once?"
Colby chuckled. He began to explain how a bolt-action rifle operated, how to load in the magazine, and what the iron sights looked like.
"Okay. First, you slide...then you aim down here...pull the rigger once...open the slide..."
Blue Blood nodded at the weapon and fixed the buttstock into his shoulder and rested his cheek to look down the sights. They were a little awkward to him, but it was easy to determine where he should aim. Fluttershy had a bit of trouble holding up the weapon, but managed to get the feel of the iron sights and pull the bolt a few times. After a few more minutes of exercise, the time for the elimination challenge came, and the rest of the competitors walked up the trail and sat down near the log. Fluttershy and Blue blood got up, and went to their firing stations, tables with sandbags to steady and support the rifle, with several spare magazines by their side.
"Everyone else but Fluttershy and Blue Blood, you are safe. For now. Shooters, here's how the elimination challenge will function."
"The conveyer belt will rotate the nine-inch red targets across. Your goal is to shoot down all of the red targets before the other marksmen can shoot down his or hers. Take caution. At random intervals, some of the targets will rotate and turn into black targets. If you hit one, two of the targets of which you previously shot down will reset and come right back up, costing you precious time. Wait for a target to rotate back into a red one, or focus on the others that are still red."
Both of the ponies took in the information and eyed the conveyer belts. The red targets were moving across the belts as Fluttershy and Blue Blood prepared for Colby's signal. They loaded their rifles and aimed down the sights. They cocked the bolt back in the "open" position and waited longer.
"Marksmen ready?!"
"R-Ready...if that's okay with you..."
"I'm as ready as I'll ever be."
"Set...GO!"
The conveyer belt began to move, both safety switches were clicked off, and Fluttershy loaded in the first round from the magazine. She aimed down the sights, now knowing what noise was about to come out of the rifle, and pulled the trigger.
"KA-POW!"
"Clang!"
The noise of what she heard was indeed similar to Iron Will's clapping, but it much more brief and flat. It made her heart jump once, it hurt her shoulder, but she looked through the sights again. She noticed one of the targets was missing, indicating she had hit the first one. She felt happy and warm inside, but Blue Blood managed to hit his not long after. The Prince then looked down at his coat, which had gotten dirty by the dust and the table as he leaned against it, but resisted the urge to dust himself off.
"Both shooters take out their first target and come out strong!", Colby announced.
Blue Blood managed to fire again after chambering another bullet with the bolt. When he shot, no target had gone down, nor a "clang" noise was heard. Frustrated that he missed, he fired once again shortly after. The result was no different and the dust cloud rose behind the conveyer belt. Fluttershy was receiving better luck by concentrating on one target, waiting for it to move in her iron sights, then pulling the trigger after steadying the rifle. Another satisfying "Clang!" was heard and the target fell out of view. Blue Blood now concentrated through his sights, and once a target filled his sights...
"KA-POW!"
"Clang!"
"Oh man! There goes another one!", Colby spoke.
The red circle fell out of view. He cocked the bolt back, up, down, and forward so the next bullet was chambered and ready to fire. He pulled the trigger, making the rifle buck into his shoulder, smoke billow out, and another target fell down. Fluttershy managed to shoot down another target on the conveyer belt, but when she aimed at another red target, several of them, including the one she was aiming at swiveled around and reviled their black sides. She stopped herself from pulling the trigger, and engaged a red circle that was between two black ones. She aimed down the sights carefully, exhaled, and squeezed the trigger.
"KA-POW!"
No target fell down, and it occurred to her that she missed. She chambered in another round, knowing it was the fifth and final round in the magazine, and aimed at a non-black target. Blue Blood aimed carefully, and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. He opened the bolt, and realized the magazine had gone dry. Cursing himself for his ignorance of the current ammunition, he popped the magazine out, loaded in a new one, and chambered in a fresh round. But when he aimed down the iron sights, he heard another target get hit on Fluttershy's side.
"Fluttershy has taken the lead! But this can still be anyone's game!", Colby clapped his hands.
Fluttershy quickly removed her magazine, operated the steps to load a new one in, chambered another round, and fired again. She hit another red target, bringing her score to five red targets hit, compared to Blue blood's three. Then, the sound of a rifle firing came on Blue Blood's range, and one of his targets were struck down.
"Blue Blood's catching up!", Colby and the other contestants were getting pumped with excitement. Before Fluttershy fired again, Blue Blood scored another hit on a target extremely quickly, bringing him to a tie with Fluttershy.
"They're tied! They're tied!", Colby looked at both of the shooters. Fluttershy shot down her next target, and the ones next to that one turned black. Blue Blood managed to smack down another target with a .303 cartridge. But it seems that Blue blood was getting increasingly faster with his shooting, as he struck down another target, brining him ahead of Fluttershy. Fluttershy fired again at the red target, but she missed and the bullet sailed right past. But when Blue Blood found a red target, the very same target, along with a few others swiveled around and changed into black targets. He pulled the trigger, realizing too late at what he had done. He had struck the black target. It didn't go down, but two red targets that he had previously shot popped right back up. He then began to panic when Fluttershy had reloaded and hit another one of her targets, getting her two targets ahead of Blue Blood's five, after he had struck the black target. The targets switched again on Blue Blood's side, and he avoided shooting one and went for another.
"Blue Blood is beginning to regain himself! Watch out Fluttershy!"
Then, in the span of four seconds, Fluttershy struck one target, cocked the gun, and hit another one, bringing her to nine targets hit, three more than Blue Blood's score.
"This can't be happening!", Blue Blood cried out as he shot down another target after reloading, but at the same time as Fluttershy popped down her last one, ending the game.
"Cease fire! Cease fire!"
Blue Blood and Fluttershy opened their bolts, pushed the safety back on, and set the rifles down. Blue Blood couldn't believe his eyes when red targets were still going around on the conveyer belt.
"Fluttershy, you've scored ten targets hit. Blue Blood, you've scored seven.", Colby spoke to everyone.
"Fluttershy wins elimination and claims an additional prize of one thousand Bits!"
Everyone cheered and clapped, save for a few, including Blue Blood.
"Prince Blue Blood. I'm sorry, but you have fired your last shot. It was still a great pleasure for you to come on Top Shot.", Colby said to Blue Blood.
"Fine! I didn't care about the prize anyways! I have Canterlot and at least my coat won't be polluted like it is here!", Blue Blood stepped away from the table and headed back to the house to pack his things and leave.
"Fluttershy, since you've won elimination, you get to choose which team you-"
"Blue. Defiantly Blue. If...that's okay with everypony..."
The members of the Blue Team hoisted Fluttershy into the air and cheered for her as they welcomed their newest member. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Iron Will, standing a bit away, and winked at her. She winked back when she was in midair.
"Yeah! Fluttershy! WHOOP WHOOP!", Iron Will rose his arms up.
It was quite the celebration, which made the Red Team leave early. The Blue Team followed them back to the house, and to them , it just started to feel like a second home.
--
Soarin stretched as he walked into his bedroom. He sat down on his bunk and decided to crack open one of those basic knowledge firearms books that Twilight was nice enough to give everypony. But before he finished reading the front title, a voice came into his ear.
"Hey. Soarin.", it was unmistakably Spitfire's voice. Soarin turned around.
"Oh. Hey Soarin! But...I don't think you're supposed to be near the colt's bunkroom-"
"We need to talk."
Soarin shut his mouth and hopped off the bed.
"Yeah Spitfire? What's up?"
"Alright. Listen here. I don't care what Colby put you as a position, but I'm the team leader."
"Uhh...but Colby-"
"I don't care about Colby. You've always been my wingpony, and I've always been the flight leader. It's no different here. Everypony will follow my directions, and you will too.", Spitfire glared into his eyes.
"Hey! That's not fair! You can't just go around ordering me what to do now! I was chosen to be the team leader! I even got a higher score than you on the first challenge! Twice your score!", Soarin argued.
"Well, it would be a shame if the removal of a Wonderbolt would commence."
Soarin's eyes went wide.
"..."
"That's what I thought.", Spitfire said as she walked away, "Oh, and don't worry. I'll split the prize money with you. I'm pretty sure you could buy something nice with 500 Bits."
Soarin was just left there, still trying to gather what had just happened.
