The Tentacle Rodeo

It was a chilly evening, one week before the winter solstice, and Canterlot was already feeling the winter cold. Princess Celestia had just lowered the sun moments ago, lighting the evening sky with vivid colors. The few white clouds that dotted the sky turned a pinkish-orange color as the sun slowly but surely disappeared beneath the horizon, leaving the capital city shrouded in darkness.

Twilight and Rainbow sat together, sipping some hot chocolate on one of the lower balconies of the Royal Tower, waiting for the meeting with Princess Luna that they and the rest of their friends had to attend in a little bit. Twilight had received a letter from Princess Celestia that morning, requesting the six of them to come up to the capital at once; so here they all were.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Twilight asked softly as she stared at the setting sun, wondering what the rest of her friends were up to inside. She and Rainbow had wanted to come out here and watch the sunset, mainly because they had sat on the train to Canterlot all day. Twilight’s legs still felt a little stiff from the cramped train car.

“Eh, sure, I guess,” Rainbow said with an uncaring shrug. When Twilight shot her a quizzical look, she rolled her eyes and asked, “Well, if you’ve seen something hundreds of times, it starts to lose its awesomeness, ya know?” She shuffled her wings and then stretched them, itching for a quick flight over the city. They’d been waiting around for the past few hours for the princesses to finish up whatever royal duties they had to attend to, in the dark as to when their meeting would begin.

“Hm, I suppose...” Twilight looked down on the city as she pondered Rainbow’s statement. Most of the city’s surface was covered in a beautiful coat of white, and as she looked off into the distance, she spotted a rather large snowstorm building up in the distance.

“Oh, come on, Twi! Haven’t you listened to a song so many times that you never want to hear it again?”

Twilight blinked a couple of times. “Actually, yes, I have.”

“Exactly,” Rainbow continued, “Sometimes things get boring if you see or listen to them over and over again, and after seeing the sun set countless times, it’s just kinda... I don’t know... meh?”

Twilight sat in silence for a moment then chuckled. She let a smile slip onto her face and gave Rainbow a silly look. “Buuuuut... it’s still pretty, right?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. Just as she was about to respond, they heard hoofsteps behind them. She looked over her shoulder and found a pair of Celestia’s guards standing side by side at the door leading back inside.

“It is time,” one of them said in a deep monotone voice. “Please, allow us to escort you upstairs. Dinner is minutes away from being served, and the princesses are ready for you upstairs.” They stepped aside, allowing them enough space to walk past them.

Twilight and Rainbow shared a glance, curious as to what this meeting had in store for them. Upon seeing the rest of their friends walk out into the hallway, Twilight stretched out her wing and motioned for Rainbow to go first. Rainbow nodded once at her and then trotted into the room and out into the hallway. They followed the rest of their friends upstairs and into one of the smaller dining halls, their hushed whispers echoing off of the stone walls.

One by one, they emerged from the winding staircase and into the dining room, where both of the princesses sat on one side of a table. It was a rather cozy room, one that Twilight had expected to be much, much bigger. The walls held several candles, and a beautiful candle-lit chandelier hung above the large oak table. The other side of the table held several empty cushions; no doubt meant for them to sit on. Once everypony found their seats, Twilight, along with her friends, bowed before the two royal sisters.

“Rise, my little ponies, and feast, for the chefs have prepared us quite the tasty meal for tonight,” Princess Celestia said, motioning with a hoof for everypony to take their seats. Servers walked into the room, holding covered platters full of food in their magical grasp. They laid them down on the table, one in front of each pony. They stepped back, bowed, and then left the room.

Everypony dug into their meal with gusto, mostly eating in silence. Luna’s gaze flicked over the six assembled friends, all feasting on their dinner with various levels of etiquette. Next to her, Celestia chuckled at the scene, especially at Pinkie’s growing mashed potato figure. The two were content to let them have fun and make idle chatter, for now. It wasn’t too often that they would get to enjoy the company of their subjects without being looked at every two seconds to make sure they approved of how a pony was holding their spoon.

“So...” Luna trailed off, keeping her voice low enough that just her sister could hear her. She’d been playing with her food for the past few minutes, trying to work up the courage to ask the question that’d been dancing at the tip of her lips the entire day. With a soft sigh, she turned to face her sister and asked, “Can we, er... talk to them about the Winter Solstice Festival that I want to bring back?”

Celestia groaned, rubbing a hoof against her face. “Really Luna? Do we have to talk about this now?” Luna nodded back, a hopeful expression on her face. “Times have changed, sister. I’m not sure how commoners would react to such an event.”

“Well, you still have your Summer Sun Celebration...” Luna pouted, biting her lower lip. The conversation around the table died down a bit as the others started listening in. “I just thought that since I’ve been back for a few years, I could finally bring back my festival.” She lowered her voice and leaned closer to her sister. “I can ask our friends here if they would like to participate in the, um... festivities. Having them perform would attract quite a large amount of ponies.”

Celestia looked back up only to get a faceful of a rather bushy pink mane. Her eyes going cross-eyed, she gently pushed Pinkie Pie away from her, but much to her surprise the pink pony pushed back, once again filling her vision with pink hair. With a soft chuckle, Celestia lit her horn and gently lifted Pinkie away from her, placing her back on her cushion across the table.

She should have known better, though, for the excited pony jumped up and darted under the table. Celestia cocked an eyebrow at Pinkie’s actions, not quite used to her silly antics. A moment later, Pinkie’s head popped up on their side of their table, her head laying right in between Princess Luna’s legs. The guards around the room all took a hesitant step forward, unsure of what to do until Luna waved them off with a hoof.

“Did you say something about a festival?” Pinkie Pie asked hurriedly, her eyes as wide as dinner plates. “Like a party kind of festival?”

“Of... a sort, yes,” Luna said with an amused smile. She pulled Pinkie from under the table and placed her on the cushion adjacent to hers. Before she could say potato, Luna suddenly found herself nose to nose with Pinkie. Feeling a tad bit nervous from the sudden invasion of her personal space, she looked over her shoulder to find half of their guests trying to hide their laughter behind their hooves while the others didn’t bother to hide it at all.

“Well, um, yes, there was talk of a, ah... party.” With exaggerated care, Princess Luna pushed Pinkie off of her and, for good measure, scooted her cushion back a few feet. “And I was just about to ask my dearest sister if she would allow me to reinstate it. I was also goi–”

She broke off into stunned silence as the party pony stood over Celestia, all four of her hooves on the table. She hadn’t seemed to move, and had just appeared over there in a flash. “Say yes say yes say yes say yes! Parties are great but festivals are even better!”

“Pinkie, what even is the difference between a festival and a party?” Rainbow called out from the other end of the table, confused.

“Obviously, a party is a party and a festival is a festival. Well, a festival is more like a party that’s outdoors and has a whole lot of ponies attending and has less rules to make things funner. So festivals are obviously better, and a festival that hasn’t been celebrated in centuries just has to be brought back, and it should be thrown by a pony who knows what they’re doing!” She nodded curtly before fixing her gaze back on Princess Celestia.

“You mean Cheese Sandwich?” Rainbow asked with a snicker. Pinkie glared at her, making her wilt a little under her gaze. There were a few moments of tense silence before Pinkie felt herself float into the air, held in an aura of golden magic. Rainbow’s joke already forgotten, she let out a happy ‘whee’ as she flew back to her seat, spinning and executing mid-air tricks.

Celestia made herself more comfortable in her seat, fixing the crooked crown on her head as an afterthought. “Well, I suppose that if we have willing ponies...” Her eyes trailed around the room, watching as each of the six nodded their heads, “Then I think the Nocte Sollemni can return...”

“Splendid!” Luna said happily. “I shall begin preparations at once!” At that, she trotted from the room, a small pep in her step.

“So what happens at this festival, Princess Celestia?” Twilight asked, wishing she had a book or five to translate the festival’s title. She had never heard of Princess Luna’s old festival, making her feel a bit antsy from not knowing some small bit of history. “I’ve never heard of such an event before...” She looked up and away, scratching her chin with a hoof as she wracked her brain for any info about the festival.

“Well, that’s because Luna’s festivals were kept under wraps for the most part. She used to take great pride and... pleasure in these ceremonies, for they took place during the night when she is most powerful, the time that she cherishes most,” Celestia said, no longer eating her food.

“What goes on at this festival, Princess?” Rainbow Dash asked, cocking her head to the side.

Celestia stayed silent for a few moments, choosing to eat something small instead to buy herself some time. They were going to find out eventually... “In keeping with nightly happenings, Luna created a festival that happened on the Winter Solstice that celebrated the more... perverse aspects of celebrating the night.” She watched as everypony’s eyes widened. “Her festival’s main event is a competition, a, erm... ahem, a rodeo of sorts.”

“A rodeo competition, eh?” Applejack scoffed, then kneed Rainbow in the side. “Ah’m so going to beat you, Dash!” she whispered into the pegasus’ ear. “Ah’ve got medals upon medals, ribbons upon ribbons that say that Ah’m better than you!”

“What?! Oh, come on!” Rainbow retorted, a look of disbelief on her face. “There’s no way you’re going to beat me in the rodeo! I–”

“Ahem.” Celestia cleared her throat softly, prompting the arguing ponies into silence. “If you two are quite finished, I would like to continue.” She saw looks of guilt instantly form on their faces, so in order to dispel their worries, she winked at them. When they relaxed, she continued on with a soft smile, saying, “In past events, Luna likes to summon a new beast every year, and this year she’s picked quite a unique specimen, the crinis monstrum.” She waited for Twilight to chip in with more info about the creature, but when she didn’t say anything, she mentally shrugged and continued. “If you are unfamiliar with the translation, my little ponies, crinis monstrum loosely translates to... tentacle monster.”

She paused to gauge everypony’s reactions. Fluttershy was hiding behind her mane, Rarity was blushing so hard she would give the ripest of cherries a run for their money, and Pinkie was bouncing up and down in her seat. Twilight was staring at her with wide eyes, and Rainbow and Applejack went back to bickering over who would win.

“So let me guess...” Twilight spoke up, making Applejack and Rainbow quiet down. “Since you said this rodeo involves the more perverse aspects of the night, and since you said that the creature we will be riding is a tentacle monster, I can only assume that this competition involves some form of debaucherous sex. Am I correct in saying that?” A faint smile slipped onto her face.

“Indeed you are, little one,” Celestia said, giving her old apprentice a small nod. “Now, I wouldn’t hold anything against any of you if you decided that you didn’t want to participate. I–”

“I’m in!” Rainbow Dash said, cutting the princess off. She looked at Applejack and gave her a playful swat on the flank with her wing. “Everypony knows that I’m gonna win this competition, Applejack, so there’s no point in you joining,” she said nonchalantly, hoping that her friend would bite her bait.

“You kidding? If you’re in, I’m so in! Somepony’s gotta take the second place ribbon, and that pony is going to be you!” Applejack said, returning Rainbow’s nudge.

“What? Don’t you mean, um... you?” Rainbow asked lamely.

“Hey!” Pinkie squealed, making both Rainbow and Applejack wince at her high-pitched scream. They turned to look at her, annoyed looks upon their faces. “If you losers are in, them I’m totally in!”

“Losers? What do you mean by that?” Applejack asked. “You’ve never done a rodeo, Pinkie! What’s got ya talkin’ all this trash talk?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I worked my flank off on a rock farm then I–”

“Got fat eating so many sweets?” Rarity asked, making everypony laugh around the table, including Pinkie.

“Ha! That was a good one, Rarity! But I’m going to win, and you know how?” When nopony responded, she smiled and rolled her eyes. “I’m going to use my Pinkie Sense!”

“Oh, come on, that’s not going to help you stay on a tentacle!” Rainbow retorted with a scoff. “You need to be athletic like me or Applejack! Having your tail twitch or your ears flick isn’t going to keep you from falling off; you need muscle, stamina. You know, things that make a pony strong?” she asked with chuckle. After that, she glanced over at Twilight. “You in, egghead?” She nudged her side, breaking her from her train of thought.

“I... um, yes, I think so,” Twilight said with a little blush. “I would love to get a close-up look at this creature for, er... studies and whatnot. Besides, I’m down for a little fun every now and then, and this competition can’t be that bad, right?” She chose to avert her gaze from the princess’s. “It’d also be a good way for us to, err... bond.”

“Awesome!” Rainbow said. “Rares? What about you?” she asked, staring at her friend.

Rarity shrugged. “Sure, I don’t see why not.”

“Really?” Rainbow sat back, a little perplexed. “I kinda thought you were going to make up some bullshit reason why you didn’t want to go.”

“Do I need a reason why I want to go, other than wanting to see you get rutted senseless by this beast?” Rarity asked with a smug smile. As Rainbow’s eyes went wide, she said, “Besides, if– no, when I beat you, I’ll never let you live it down.”

“Hehe, we’ll see about that!” Rainbow shot back before she turned around to look at Fluttershy. “Hey, Flutters? What about you? You want to go to our little friendly bonding session and meet a new animal you’ve never even seen before?” Rainbow knew she had Fluttershy’s answer when she dropped the word animal.

“S–sure, I’ll go,” Fluttershy whispered, then after clearing her throat, she said a little louder, “But I don’t want to go first.”

“I’m sure that can be arranged, my little ponies,” Princess Celestia said with a smile. “Luna will be so happy to hear that you all want to participate in the competition. Surely, this will make her happier than I’ve seen her in a long time... Anyways, let us get some desserts out here, and then I shall fill you all in on the finer details...”

“Hey everyone, I’m here!” Pinkie exclaimed as she trotted through the front door of Twilight’s castle. It was a couple of nights away from the Winter Solstice, and she was supposed to meet the rest of her friends to make final plans. They had finished setting up the tent and the stands a couple of miles north of Ponyville for the event, and Luna couldn’t have been more pleased. The princess had already summoned a suitable tentacle monster for the event, and she was more than excited to watch it perform.

Pinkie didn’t see anypony in the large foyer, so she shrugged and shut the large crystal door behind her. A grand staircase took up most of the room. The wall it hugged was dotted with shimmering, magically-lit orbs. She heard the sound of faint voices coming from somewhere above her, so she flicked her ears towards the top of the stairs, trying to make out what they were saying.

After waiting and hearing nothing for a few breathless moments, Pinkie gave up and galloped upstairs, her heart racing with pure, unbridled excitement. Too bad the event was still a couple of days away; she wanted to do it now. Once she had made it to the second level, she stopped once more and cocked her head upwards. Now, she was able to make out the familiar sound of Twilight’s laughter. She raced up another flight of stairs, and as soon as she reached the top, she heard the voices of the rest of her friends.

Pinkie Pie trotted down the hall and around the corner where Twilight’s bedroom lay and found the rest of her friends sprawled out on a large pile of pillows. “Hey guys! You all pumped up for the competition? It’s gonna be soooo much fun!”

“Totally!” Rainbow said, flapping her wings. She hovered above the rest of them, staring right at Applejack. “You know there’s no way you’re going to stay on longer than me. After all, I did win the Iron Pony competition!”

“But you cheated on that!” Applejack said with a competitive smile, yanking Rainbow back down to the pillows with a quick yank on her tail.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah!”

Pinkie Pie sat down next to Fluttershy, who passed her a mug of hot chocolate.

“Well, how about this? Since you think I cheated in our last competition, let’s use this rodeo to settle the score once and for all! Deal?” Rainbow held out her hoof, waiting for Applejack to bump it.

“Oh, you got a deal!” Applejack said confidently, bumping Rainbow’s hoof. “Just remember that I’ve been in a lot of rodeos before, so when you see me wipe your sorry flank all over the scoreboard, don’t get all huffy!”

“Huffy?!” Rainbow sat back, a shocked look upon her face. “Why would I get huffy if I’m gonna win?” She stuck her tongue out at Applejack.

Applejack rolled her eyes as she settled down on the pillows. “Yeah, yeah... We’ll just have to see how things go tonight, won’t we?” She pressed her nose against Rainbow’s, daring the other mare to push back.

“Girls, girls!” Rarity playfully scolded the two, using her magic to swat their flanks with a small cushion. “Do act moderately civilized if you will; we are guests in Twilight’s castle after all.”

“Fine, fine... but only if Applejack admits that I’m the better pony for this competition!” Rainbow said.

Rarity’s eye twitched. “I’m sure we’ll all be able to prove ourselves at this competition later, so let’s save the smack talk for later, hm? I think Twilight wanted to go over some last minute details.”

“Mhm...” Twilight said, waiting for everypony to quiet down. “Alright, so you all know what the rules for the rodeo are, and–”

“Um, can you go over them just one more time?” Fluttershy spoke up. “I just want to make sure I know them.”

Twilight smiled and picked up a piece of parchment from across the room with her magic. “Of course, Fluttershy,” she said. “It’s not that complicated, but I’ll go over them just one more time just in case anypony else needs me to. Ahem! Each round will last for a maximum time of sixty seconds. The rider will attempt to stay on for the fixed amount of time, and if they should fall, they are subject to the will of the beast. That inc–”

“That means the beast gets to fuck you if you fall off, right?” Rainbow asked, her ears flicked forward. She waited with an eyebrow cocked upwards.

Twilight chuckled. “Yes, Dash, that means you get fucked.” Rainbow squeed, making Twilight roll her eyes in mirth. “Anyways, like I was saying, that includes, but is not limited to, oral penetration, anal penetration, and vaginal penetration. Once the beast has had its way with you, it will lay you back on the ground, upon where you will either walk to the lift or have the handlers help you to the lift.” Twilight lowered the parchment. “Any questions?”

“Um, yes...” Fluttershy spoke up, raising a hoof. “If we fall off, how long will the monster, um...” she trailed off as a blush formed on her cheeks. “Have its, err... way, with us?”

Twilight shrugged, then giggled. “However long it wants to, I guess.” She picked up the parchment, double and triple checking to make sure she didn’t leave anything out. “Oh! I almost forgot; the procedure for the pit!” Twilight cleared her throat. “Once the contestant has stepped onto the lift, they will be lowered thirty feet downwards into the arena. The unicorn handlers will secure a sizable tendril for the contestant to latch onto, then Princess Luna shall start the countdown. Once the count reaches zero, the handlers will release the beast from their grasp, starting the competition. The contestant must stay on for a full minute, and at that point, the handlers will subdue the beast, allowing the contestant to dismount and return to the lift for their prize.”

“Prize? Nopony said anything about a prize! What is it? What is it?” Pinkie asked, bouncing up and down in place.

Twilight scoured the document. “I’m... not sure. I think Princess Celestia said that there might be some bits in it for us, but she never told me any specific amount.” She focused her magic on the parchment and teleported it over to her desk, where it popped back into existence. Twilight grabbed her half-empty mug of hot chocolate and raised it in a toast. As the rest of her friends lifted their mugs into the air, Twilight smiled and looked at each of them in turn. “May the best pony win!”