Contest In Equestria

This is the third installment of the "In Equestria" series that has consumed my imagination for the better part of six months now. Since I don't consider myself a writer, having never put my imagination to words before, I was astounded when not only the idea for a short, bad clop fic quickly became something much larger... seemingly on its own, but people started telling me they liked it. And wanted more.

So over seventy chapters later and a word count that I'd rather not think of the amount of time it took to create, I've finally reached the home stretch with a very large task ahead of me. It was my intention since about a quarter of the way through book two to introduce a major struggle in Equestria. I've made my bed... now I must find a way to lay in it and do the one thing that needs to be done.

Make it all work.

I hope I can. I'll try my best.

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What follows is a brief summary of the story as it stands at the start of book three. It is not complete, and much more takes place than what is summarized here.

The story so far...

We meet Mason, the main protagonist, just before he finds himself in Equestria where he's nearly killed by the overwhelming effects of the magic that is in everything around him, causing intense euphoria and setting him on the path to fall in love with Scootaloo. Once Twilight Sparkle infuses his soul with magic to acclimate him to the effects, he begins a relationship with the orange filly and takes up residence at Sweet Apple Acres.

Scootaloo's father, a disgraced ex Wonderbolt turned psychotic ideologist, learns of his daughter's activities and takes her to Cloudsdale where a battle takes place, ending with her father in custody for his crimes and with Mason severely wounded from a bite to his arm that causes pegasus blood to mix with his own. As time passes, he heals with the help of Celestia and the Apple Family. But the magic in the pegasus blood begins to change his body, causing him to grow wings and later on, fur on his legs and changing his reproductive organs. Scootaloo's brother, Quickfire, is soon discovered to have found The Element of Hate and book one finishes with a battle in the long lost Fortress of Denholm with the help of Discord.

Soon after Mason and Scootaloo join together intimately, they learn of the special herding magic that bonds mares and fillies together in a relationship with a stallion. It's purpose was to help ward off the effects of Estrus in a world where females out number males significantly and is intended to provide an outlet for a mare's urges without the need for fighting and jealousy. We also learn that several of the ponies in The Elements of Harmony have experienced hardships before coming together as a group. Mason discovers these in turn through a series of events as his friendship grows with the mane six.

Scootaloo becomes pregnant with Mason's foal and in a snap decision, she decides to not learn the sex of their child until it is born, much to the chagrin of her two friends and fellow herd mates Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. During the Mid Summer festival, after Sweetie Belle is prodded to go onstage and sing with Mason as her magically enhanced backup singer, she finally receives her cutie mark. This prompts Apple Bloom to visit Zecora's tent to take her fortune telling potion in an effort to find out when she will get her own cutie mark. But not all the visions are welcoming... Apple Bloom does receive her mark however, discovering that she is a Life Giver to all apple trees, gifted with the ability to talk to and care for them beyond any skill known at the time.

Meanwhile, trouble is brewing in Cloudsdale. Scootaloo's father was a member of an ancient ideological organization named "The Flock" that is bent on having the pegasi race in control of Equestria rather than the harmonious relationship shared by all three species. A corrupt judge takes over his case and sends a blackmailed troupe of guards to arrest Mason, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity as well as take Scootaloo into custody for return to her parents. A fight breaks out in Sugarcube corner and Scootaloo is injured severely. During her recovery, we meet Kaiden, the commander of the blackmailed troupe who was stripped of his badge for his actions and he reconciles with his former foes, promising to come to their aid should they ever need a skilled fighter on their side.

Celestia takes Scootaloo's father into custody herself in the Canterlot dungeons and interrogates him. She learns that The Flock has risen again, this time under a shadowy new leadership that she still cannot identify. She begins to investigate and unknown to her, Scootaloo's mother, who was given to Cadence for recovery from a drug addition, is set on by two assassins from The Flock in Cloudsdale in an attempt to silence her. Kaiden happens to discover them and rescues her, in the process learns of The Flock himself.

It's around this time that an issue with Spike that has been brewing for a while comes to a head. He's reached the age of Feracity for male dragons. A time when their bodies change and sexual prowess comes into play. Twilight Sparkle is completely unable to deal with it and despite Discord's offering to help, she chooses to ignore his advice, causing Spike to become worse and worse with his behavior.

She decides to lock him, insensitively, in a cage while her and Mason travel to Dodge City where they hope to find a female dragoness to alleviate Spike's condition. It's there that they meet Ashley, a young girl dragon about Spike's age who lives on the streets of the hard-edged city. She tries to steal Twilight's bit purse, only to be caught at the last second by Mason who manages to get it back before letting her go, giving her a bit out of sympathy.

After searching in vain for a dragoness, Mason and Twilight leave for Ponyville again on the train, only to discover that Ashley has followed them as a stowaway. Twilight convinces Ashley to take a look at Spike, although Ashley doesn't understand why her help is needed in the first place. Once she sees how Spike is being treated, she cures his Feracity by pulling on his tail, causing the bones in his lower body to move out of the way to allow his new organs to function properly. Spike comes around and is furious at how he's been treated, shoving Twilight to the ground and storming off with Ashley following close behind. They all learn that Discord knew the answer on how to cure Spike all along, but was bitter at Twilight's refusal to acknowledge his offer for aid.

Ashley has it in her head that the ponies here are bad for Spike and tries to convince him to leave with her. When Spike chooses to stay, taking the urgent scrolls sent by Celestia to Twilight instead, she runs off into Ponyville crying. It's there that she meets Wilson, a stallion who is soon to be a lover to Rarity, and he brings her to Rarity's house. Along the way he sheds light on Spike's status in Ponyville and turns Ashley's opinion around of them.

At the end of book 2, Rainbow Dash is attacked by two griffons after a night of drinking in Cloudsdale. She manages to elude them with the sudden and unexpected help of Kaiden who was tipped off to the attack by a griffon spy, Rainbow Dash's old friend Gilda. It's there that we learn that The Flock has enlisted the help of The Griffon Empire to help overthrow the balance of harmony and create a war.

And now book 3, Contest in Equestria begins.

Thank you all for your support, comments, likes and reads. You are the main reason I keep going.

~Saltybedspackle.