Sisterhooves Social is a fun event to participate in, where everypony is having fun. From pie-eating contests to prize pig exhibitions, this event is great for all ages, even for the most competitive ones. Of course, from the name itself, it’s for sisters, biologically or adoptive. And now, this year’s event will be different and remarkable, and it’s going to be memorable.
Another normal afternoon at the School of Friendship, and everyone was doing their own thing. Emerald was having a stroll around the school grounds to see if there was anything to do. She was rather bored at the moment. Not having one idea, she chose to go check where the cheerleaders would usually hang out since her twin sister, Peridot, was part of the cheer squad. She headed towards the corridor of dorm rooms, and in a while, she found them in Shimmy Shake’s room with the door still left open.
“So, I’m kind of tempted to ask Sunshine out,” Lighthoof said to her squad. “He is busy at the moment.”
“He seems like a nice guy,” Shimmy Shake commented. “He manages to put up with Gus well, even though he’s friends with him.”
Emerald knocked on the door to get their attention. “I can confirm,” Emerald said, standing beside the opened door.
“Hi, Emerald,” Lighthoof greeted.
“Hello,” she greeted back. “Sorry for interrupting.” She then found her sister, sitting at the bottom deck of the double-decked bed beside Silverstream and Dotta, giving her a small wave, knowing that she was happy to see her. Emerald waved her back and continued with her conversation. “Anyways… about Gus… he is tough. However… he does bring up good points when he’s in the right mood.”
“Example?” Yona asked.
“Like… his thought of the Equestrian guards not being too good if they’d be taken down by a teen with a flash of a camera.”
“Yet, they still caught him,” Ocellus stated. “I’ve worried about the consequences.”
“Still, it took them a while for him to get caught,” Smolder added. “Plus, I can think of a couple of times where they could’ve come in handy.”
Peridot didn’t know too much about this and just turned her attention to her sister. “So, Emma?” she asked her twin. “What brings you here?”
“Searching for something to do around here,” Emerald explained. “Gus and Sunny are doing their thing, so I’m finding a way to keep me busy.”
Peridot thought for a moment before responding. “We could check the sign-up sheets on the bulletin board. Maybe there’s something interesting we can do.”
“Yeah, good idea,” Emerald affirmed.
“It seems you have good timing for things like this,” Silverstream commented.
“I’ll be going now,” Peridot said, getting up from the bed, and stepping forward to her sister. “I’ll see you, girls, later.”
“Take care,” Silverstream waved.
“Have fun,” Shimmy and Lighthoof added in sync, in which they faced each other in shock. “JINX!”
Emerald and Peridot left their room and walked towards the bulletin board in the school lobby. As they walk, they chattered with each other about things they wanted to do.
“I was thinking,” Emerald started, “if we have time, we could fly off to Cloudsdale to have ourselves a bonding. I bet they’d be warming up to creatures like us after Peter’s adoption.”
“I’d love that. I’d also love to meet him again. I haven’t gotten a chance to get to know him well.” Emerald smiled.
They reached the lobby and found a bulletin board. They came closer to it and had a closer look. As they examine, a light yellow flier caught Peridot’s eyes. “Emma!” Peridot called. “Look here.”
Emerald heard her call and looked at a flier Peridot was looking at. “Sisterhooves Social,” it read, and it had a graphic silhouette figure of two mares, one filly and one youth, running together on a field with matching accessories. On the top right corner is the blue 1st-place medal. Underneath the figures is a short caption that read “Join in the fun with games a ton.”
“Sisterhooves… Social?” Emerald read with curiosity.
“G’ afternoon, Emerald, Peridot,” greeted a familiar voice. The twins turned around to see Applejack coming from behind.
“Hello, professor,” Emerald greeted.
“Hi,” Peridot greeted also.
Applejack then noticed them being curious about the flier they were looking at. “Ah, I see that you two are curious about the Sisterhooves Social, ain’t I right?”
“Yes,” Emerald replied. “We noticed it. What was that about, anyway?”
The professor chuckled. “It’s self-explanatory. Sisterhooves Social was held every year at my Sweet Apple Acres. There, you can enjoy different activities and events you can try, especially a cheer contest, which I bet Peridot will enjoy.” Peridot became more interested since she heard her say a cheer contest. “And… from the name itself, this event is good for a pair of sisters wanting to have a good time together.”
“Ooh, that sounds fun,” Peridot exclaimed.
Applejack nodded. “It is. Apple Bloom and I have participated in that event all the time. I hope we’ll be able to have a good run in the race.”
“There’s a race too?”.
“Oh yeah. That’s the final event of the Social. Five pairs of siblings compete with each other to go through several obstacles and challenges. Pie eating, egg balancing, and grape stomping to name a few. Now excuse me, I better get going, I don’t wanna miss it for the third time in a row tomorrow. You can come along and participate if you’re interested, I’d be happy to see you come.”
With that, Applejack walked away home, leaving the twins to have a moment to think about this event. “It does sound like fun,” Emerald spoke, “doesn’t it?”
“It sure is.”
Emerald then thought of something. “You know… maybe we could participate in the event.”
“Really?” Peridot gasped.
“Yeah. I’ve noticed that you’re interested in it, and I have that same feeling as you. We can go there and have fun for ourselves,” Emerald smiled. “Not only that, that’ll be our chance to experience more about pony culture.”
“You’re right!” her twin sister said in excitement. “That’d be fun! I can’t wait.”
“So do I.”
“By the way, what about our friends? Do you think they’d join in too?”
“Who knows.” The twin walked away and would tell the others about the advent.
Once the message spreads around about the Social, several students, mostly non-pony creatures, were excited to know more about this advent. Dinner had arrived, and many students were just getting started with their meal. While that, everyone was talking about it nonstop.
“I’ve got a little sister at home,” Pyther said to Coral while eating her supper. “Not too sure if she would be able to do much.”
“Try having two brothers,” Coral stated. “I swear they’re driving me crazy.”
Silverstream was talking with Smolder and the rest of the cheer squad at their table. “This is going to be great!” the happy hippogriff exclaimed. “I wish my brother, Terramar, could be here. He and I could have some fun at the Social.”
“Uh… sorry to disappoint you, but… it’s called Sisterhooves Social for a reason,” Lighthoof noted, “So competing with your brother is not possible… unless he’s a girl.” Silverstream then lets out the disappointed look on her face.
“Do siblings have to be biologically related to compete there?” Grace asked. “Gregoria has been with me like a sibling for a while.”
“One of the judges said that they have a loose definition of what counts as a sister,” Shimmy explained, “So, it’s possible for two non-biological siblings to compete.”
“And by ‘loose definition,’ you’re saying there’s a chance me and my brother will participate?” Silverstream asked with a hopeful smile.
“It’s still called Sisterhooves,” Smolder noted, “so don’t hold your breath for that.” The girls looked over to Peridot, who was just sitting down with her dinner. “Perri, how are you doing?”
“Um… I’m alright,” the shy dragoness responded. “It’s… um… kind of a weird position for me to be in.”
“What’s so weird about it?” Silverstream asked. “You’d be the first non-ponies to compete in an event like that.”
“I know. I was excited, but… that’s what I’m kind of worried about.”
“Why Peridot scared?” Yona asked, “It fun event. Nothing serious.” Peridot managed to smile as Emerald sat down beside her.
“Hey, sis,” Emerald said. “I found out more about the Social recently, including the race. There are other events like apple-bobbing, pie-eating contests, and, of course, like what Professor Applejack mentioned, a cheer contest.”
“A cheer contest!?” Grace the griffon gasped with interest. “Oh boy! Perri, you’d be perfect for that!”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Emerald noted. “Furthermore, the final event of the Social is the race. It’s just a simple obstacle course with a mud pit, haystacks, balancing eggs, a lot of fun stuff.”
“Yeah, it does,” Peridot commented. “You think we’d be good in the cheer contest.”
“Yeah, since you’ve been with them for a while, you’ll assumably do better than me.”
Peridot chuckled nervously as her sister noticed her uneasiness. “Riiiight…”
“Well, we wish you girls the best of luck,” Smolder said. “I hope that the cheer competition and the race go well for you.” The twins smiled but one of them could tell something was wrong.
When they both got to their dorm, Peridot took a minute to catch her breath before scratching the spines on her head. Emerald went in and made sure to close the door behind her. “Perri, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Emerald said.
Peridot turned to face her twin and looked worried. “I… I didn’t want to say that. Professor Applejack was wanting us to be there,” she noted. “Wasn’t she?”
“I don’t remember her saying that. It was more of a suggestion. I could tell her why you’re not…”
“Nononono!” Emerald took a minute for her sister, who scratched the spines on her head again, to calm her down. When she thought the tension died down, Emerald continued.
“Perri, you know I’m not going to do anything that’ll upset you. Mom and dad know that too.”
“I know. It’s just…” Peridot rubbed her arm and sighed as she tried to figure out what to say next. “Why is it so hard for me here?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I mean… like all of the school work we have.” Peridot quickly opened up their closet and found two small boxes containing the papers they worked on throughout the school year. Emerald’s grades were very high, usually getting a B at worst. Peridot, on the other hand, seemed to be a C-student, judging by her grades. Some of her first test papers were marked with F’s. “Your grades were higher than mine.”
“I get what you mean. Others, like the yaks, barely got by the first few lessons.”
“That doesn’t mean these didn’t drown me with pressure. They shouldn’t be this hard to understand. I mean… I even struggled to fly after we molted. Remember?” Emerald thought back to when they were younger, only a few days after molting.
Emerald and Peridot, back when they were kids, had their process of the molt completed. Now that they have wings, it was time for them to fly for the first time. At the edge of a rocky cliff, both twins were standing side by side. In front of them were their mother and father flying, they were about to instruct them on how to fly.
“Emma, Perri,” their mother, Jade, called, said, “are you ready?”
“Ready!” they exclaimed.
“Now then, flap your wings and fly like a bird. Go!”
With her encouragement, both gave a couple of hops to give themselves a boost. Like what she said: take a tiny hop, then a little jump, steady on your feet, try a bigger leap, and just flap your wings together. While Emerald, who was able to get her feet off the ground, was struggling to keep herself up, Peridot couldn’t get off the ground; she flapped her wings as quick as she could, but they wouldn’t cooperate with her, and she even tried jumping again a few times.
“It’s alright, Perri,” Jade reassured with confidence. “You can do it! I’ll be here.”
Peridot took a deep breath and looked up at her sister, which was shaky and unbalanced when she got airborne, starting to get the hang of her new wings. Peridot took a few steps back, sprinted towards the edge, leaped off the cliff, and flapped her wings intensively. She kept her focus as she was off the edge with her eyes closed, however, once she stopped flapping them in sync, she started to fall. She screamed in fear. Luckily, Jade caught her daughter and safely placed her back on the cliff. Peridot stepped away from the cliff as she was feeling scared. Emerald saw what happened and flew down as she was now concerned about what happened.
“Perri, are you okay?” Emerald asked.
“She just needs to learn how to toughen up,” their father stated.
“Sage!” Jade heatedly cried.
“Sorry. Most other dragons just won’t be so kind to her because of her unusual behavior.” The parents looked down at Peridot, who had Emerald land nearby to help cheer her up.
“I remember that time,” Emerald commented. “But look at you now, you’re able to fly perfectly.”
“Yeah, with you and our mom and dad. And yet… here I am… making myself complicated with those C’s and F’s.”
“At least you’re doing better now. I mean you’ve seen Gus lose his mind with this stuff. Good thing he didn’t throw the table out of the window or something.” Peridot simply nodded as her twin put their papers back in the closet. “Listen, if you still want to go there, I’ll be by your side the whole time.”
“Do you?” she murmured.
“I promise.” Peridot managed to smile as she was given a comforting hug by her. “We can do this!”
The next day, Emerald and Peridot made their way to the Sweet Apple Acres, where the Sisterhooves Social was going to be held. It was almost a mile away from there, so they have to fly instead of walk. It was a short flight, so it’s no big problem for them.
When both twins arrived at the venue, they were amazed by the display of it. The entrance has a long purple banner hoisted on between two steel poles with yellow and white thick bold text that read “WELCOME TO SISTERHOOVES SOCIAL” in all caps. Behind the entrance, they found a bunch of other ponies gathering around for the Social, many are a pair of siblings, specifically sisters, doing different fun activities. They also noticed them wearing matching accessories, like one pair have identical kerchieves on their heads, another have matching-colored t-shirts and ribbons, and there was even one pair wearing eyepatches like they were pirates.
Before entering, Emerald then noticed her sister taking a couple of deep breaths, or in this case, hyperventilating, indicating that she was anxious. Even though she felt excited to be there, she also felt like she witnessed something scary from afar. Emerald held onto her claw before speaking. “Like what I said, I’ll be with you throughout the whole event,” Emerald noted. “We can leave now if anything goes down, alright?”
Yes, Emma,” Peridot nodded. “Let’s do this.” Thus, the twin dragons came in.
When they enter, Peridot made sure to stay close to her sister as she didn’t recognize one pony here. She saw a lot of them having fun with the event, especially pie-eating. Once again, like yesterday, she ended up doing the same scratching motion.
“I gotta say,” Emerald said, “this place is not bad so far.”
“Yeah,” Peridot replied, still doing her scratching motion, “I can see that.”
“Girls!” exclaimed a familiar voice. They heard it and turned to see once again Applejack coming towards them together with her little sister, Apple Bloom. “Glad you two made it.”
“H… Hello, professor,” Peridot greeted.
“Hi, professor,” Emerald greeted as well.
“Please, call me by my real name. We’re not on school grounds.”
“Sorry,” they apologized.
“No worries.” She then turned to Apple Bloom, who came up close to the dragons.
“It’s nice to see you here,” Apple Bloom said to them, giving Emerald a hoofshake.
“You too,” Emerald chuckled.
She then went towards Peridot and gave her a hoofshake as well. “I remember seeing you at the Chemistry lab when you were making potions for extra credit. I was there helping Kelpie.”
“Eh… I think you’re talking about Emma…” Peridot clarified, pointing at her sister standing beside her.
“Yeah, I was there when you arrived.” The yellow filly then realized her mishap as she just notice the horns and fin ears. She might’ve mixed up their names. Since they’re identical twins considering their matching height, emerald green body, lime green scales from head to tail, and yellow eyes, their ears aren’t similar.
“Ohhh… I must’ve mixed up,” she embarrassingly said. “I thought you were Emerald.” Peridot shrugged with a blush. “My bad.”
“Don’t worry, sis,” Applejack comforted. “I had that similar experience. You’re not alone.”
Apple Bloom smiled and then turned back to the twins. “Anyways, it’s good to know that you’re participating with us for the first time. I have a good feeling that you’re going to have an amazing experience here as non-ponies.”
“That’s exactly what we’re thinking,” Emerald said. Peridot agreed. Emerald decided she would do most of the talking as she drew her attention to the green scarves the apple sisters were wearing. “Nice scarf.”
“Ah, thank you,” she thanked as she held up the green scarf she was wearing. “It matches the color of Granny Smith.”
“So… is matching accessories a thing at this Social?” she asked.
“It’s an optional thing, but it adds to the charm,” Apple Bloom said. “And… I also heard Rarity has made those accessories just for you.”
“She did?” the twins gasped simultaneously.
“Mmm hmm. She’s right over there with Sweetie Belle,” Applejack added. She pointed over to where the two unicorn sisters were at. “Anyways, I’ll see you two later. Have fun!” She and Apple Bloom left them so they can have fun.
“I wonder what she has made for us?” Peridot asked.
“Let’s see,” Emerald said. They then head towards where Rarity and Sweetie Belle were.
Sweetie Belle was beside a tub and was about to dunk her head in the water, while Rarity was standing by watching her. “Here goes nothing!” Sweetie Belle muttered to herself with confidence, and immediately dunked her head into the water bobbing for apples Because she dunked her hard, water splashed all over, almost making Rarity wet. Good thing she ain’t damped. As she watches her sister, she saw the twin dragons heading toward her.
“Ah, ladies, you’re here,” Rarity exclaimed. “I was hoping that you might arrive, and here you are.”
“Hi, Miss Rarity,” Peridot greeted, “I… it’s nice to know that you’re here too.”
“That’s right, with my little sister, Sweetie Belle.” She turned to her sister, still had her head in water, and back to the twins. “By the way, I have to give these to you since you’ve arrived.”
Using her magic, she brought out two matching gemstone necklaces from her purple saddlebag. Each necklace has a gold bead chain with a hook and eye clasp and also has a green gemstone pendant, both with different shades of green. One is deep green whereas the other is light green. She handed the necklaces to Emma and Perri for them to wear.
“Woah!” Peridot awed, gazing at the sparkle of the embellishment.
“Give it a try,” Rarity smiled.
Hearing her demand, they both placed their pieces of jewelry onto their necks, and Rarity brought out her convenient mirror for them to see how they looked.
“Wow, these… looked so gorgeous,” Peridot dazzled.
“They fit well for us,” Emerald added. “Thanks a lot, Rarity.”
“You’re welcome,” the unicorn grinned. “I came up with that since you two were named after two green gemstones. It’s a good thing I have them stored.”
“I like that,” Emerald chuckled. “This helps us feel right in. Right, Perri?”
“Um, yeah. It does,” Peridot commented. She jumped a little bit when she heard Sweetie Belle pull her head out gasping for air. The unicorn levitated an apple out of her mouth before taking a bite of it.
“Got it!” Sweetie Belle cheered.
“Sweetie Belle, did you have to keep your head under that tub for long?” Rarity asked.
“I had to get an apple somehow.” She then noticed Emerald and Peridot and waved at them, which in turn they waved back at her. She then got off the tub, and she and Rarity left for their next available activity. Sweetie Belle looked back at the twins once again. “Good luck, you two.” She winked at them, then caught up to her elder sister.
“Wanna go for apple bobbing?” Emerald asked with an elbow bump.
“I guess so,” Peridot shrugged. “Ugh, you go first.”
“Alright, if you say so.” Emerald nodded and approached the tub full of water and floating apples. She took a glimpse inside the tub and saw a lot of apples floating. “That’s a lot of apples.” Then, she took a deep breath and firmly dunked her head into the water. In 3 seconds, she bit down on an apple and fully lifted her head with the red fruit in her mouth. Emerald took a bite out of it and started enjoying it. “Yum. Your turn.”
Peridot held her claws together and nodded. She approached the tub and was about to do what her sister did when she was taken off guard.
“Hi, girls!” cried a voice. Peridot jumped from the random voice shouting and kicked the tub in fright, almost making it tumble. They turned around and saw two griffons land in front of them; Grace and Gregoria.
“Grace? Gregoria?” Emerald gaped. “You’re here too?”
“Yes, we are,” Gregoria replied. “Grace wanted me to be here. Since we’re not related, and both of us were raised by the same grandmother, i.e. Grannie Goldie, the judges were able to agree that we’re technically sisters. I’m happy that they have a loose definition.”
“And I’m happy that you came with me,” Grace added with a beam. “This’ll be our great time to have fun with each other.”
“I agree,” Gregoria affirmed with a chuckle, with Grace joining in.
Emerald then took notice of Gregoria’s left side of her head. It’s a yellow golden-rayed lily that has been pinned on the side of her head, similar to the one Grace had. “Oh, you have matching accessories just the others, right?”
Gregoria then took notice of the lily flower pinned to her left. “Yeah, it was Grace’s idea. She has that flower on her head for…,” she turned to her. “How long?”
“I may have lost count,” Grace remorsefully admitted. “I guess I’ve had this since… when I was 7 or 8 years old, I think. But I always have this blossom on my head all the time, this is who I am.”
“Right.” Gregoria then took notice of the necklaces Emerald and Peridot are wearing on their necks right now. “Ooh, nice necklaces! Where’d you get them?”
“Professor Rarity,” Emerald replied. “She gave them to us. What do you think?”
“It’s incredible,” Grace commented, “and brilliant too. I can tell that those gemstones fit your names well. Yours is an emerald, while hers is a peridot, that was brilliant.” She then faced Peridot who was standing beside Emerald. “What do you think, Perri?”
“Well… I think they look nice and exquisite,” Peridot responded. “Um… Why did you… What made you wanna come here?”
“I thought it would be fun, so I joined in with Greggy beside me. And like I said before, this would be a great time to have fun bonding time.” Gregoria nodded in confirmation. They then glanced at the tub of water and apples, which Grace was excited to try. “Oh boy, apple bobbing! Mind if I do.”
Peridot didn’t say a word and shifted to the side to allow her friend to give it a shot. Grace held her claws at the rim of the tub, looking at the fresh delicious red and green apples floating on the water. She held her head up, inhaled confidently, and just like Emerald, firmly dunked her head into the tub, this time accidentally stabbing an apple on the tip of her beak. When she noticed it, Gregoria could help but giggle as she approached over to help her pull the apple off.
Thank goodness it got off easily. When she pulled out the apple, she gave herself a bite. “Mmmm… Delicious.” Gregoria then handed over the bitten fruit to Grace for her to share. “Wanna have a bite?”
“Yes, please.” Grace got the apple from her claw and took a big bite out of it, in which she was enjoying its sweetness.
“Hey!” winded a bratty voice. The girls turned their heads to see a young filly standing behind them. “My turn!” She forcefully shoved Peridot and the griffons to the side so she could have a turn for apple bobbing.
Grace, Gregoria, and Emerald were annoyed by this. “That was so rude,” Gregoria grumbled.
“Yeah,” Emerald nodded with her arms crossed and infuriated eyebrows, “she should’ve said excuse me nicely.”
However, for Peridot, she wasn’t want to have any conflict. “Uhh… How about we get some snacks for ourselves?” she suggested.
“Sure, I’m up,” Grace replied.
“Me too,” Gregoria added.
“Sure thing,” Emerald replied. “I got a little hungry, not even that one bite of an apple helped.”
“Let’s see what they have,” Peridot said. With that being said, they departed from the tub to see what snacks were being sold today. In the Social, there are a lot of booths selling flavorful sweet apple-related treats provided by the Apple family, like apple pie bars, apple strudels, caramel apples, fresh apple juice, etc. So many choices. For the girls, they found a stall selling caramel apples, which is a perfect choice for their stomachs. Well, at least they have to pay for one bit per stick.
As they enjoyed their sweet treats while roaming around the venue, Grace chose to talk more with Peridot since she’s been a little silent for a while. “So, Perri, what do you think we’d do in the upcoming cheer competition?” Grace asked while taking a lick of the caramel syrup from the caramel apple. “I wonder if there’s a certain theme for it.”
“I was planning on doing a regular cheer with Emma,” Peridot explained, still holding her candy, while at the same time feeling uneasy. “Was it supposed to be a certain theme?”
“Well, this was a pony-only event,” Gregoria said, “so we should be surprised if we see a wider variety of creatures joining in for the first time.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that Silverstream and Garry have both said they were interested in being members of the Wonderbolts. What do you think the chances of a dragon joining them?”
“Presumably… low,” Emerald guessed. “Pegasi, griffons, and hippogriffs have more velocities than us and most adult dragons like our parents are as big as that barn over there.” She pointed over to the Apple family barn that wasn’t too far away.
“Nevertheless, it’d be cool seeing a whole fleet of Wonderbolts with a mix of different races outside Equestria,” Grace smiled. “It adds up more flavors.”
Peridot thought about that idea as she felt her wings unfold and flapped back and forth. She wasn’t trying to fly, but she kept on flapping. Gregoria saw this unusual act and felt confused. “Perri, what are you doing?” the griffon asked.
Peridot was confused until she noticed and quickly folded her wings closed. She looked embarrassed as Emerald walked over to help her feel better.
“I remember seeing that before cheer practice began,” Grace commented. “I thought she was doing some stretches.”
“Well… uhh… it’s… just force of habit,” Peridot justified. She averted as she felt embarrassed with it while her cheeks blush. Her senses became bothersome when she saw two young fillies, both pegasi. They were examining the young dragoness with interest, from the spiky tail to the wings, which Peridot is already feeling uncomfortable with this. Emerald saw the circumstance instantly and quickly separated her sister from the fillies.
“What are you two doing?” Emerald asked the fillies sternly.
“We never saw a dragon so close before,” one of the fillies said. “We remember seeing a griffon at flight school.”
“I appreciate your curiosity, but you should’ve asked my sister first about our species instead of showing up behind her out of nowhere.”
“What’s wrong with that?” the other filly asked.
Emerald looked back at her sister, who was holding the sides of her head in discomfort. “It’s rude to look over someone’s shoulder. You’re just invaded her personal space. If I do that to you, how’d you feel about it?” Judging by her tone, Emerald was doing her hardest not to yell.
“We’re going to tell our parents about you,” the fillies proclaimed bitterly.
“FINE! Go ahead and tell ‘em. I’ll be waiting.” The fillies pouted and left out to find their parents as Emerald checked on her sister. Peridot was breathing heavily as she held her head until she looked at her twin. “It’s alright, Perri. They’re gone.” She seemed to calm down, much to the confusion of the griffons.
“Peridot?” Grace asked. “Is everything alright?”
Peridot took a minute to respond. “I… I’m fine,” she informed. “It’s… It’s kind of eerie when someone’s looking over your shoulder.”
“I can relate,” Gregoria admitted. She was puzzled by Peridot’s behavior. She had known to be shy like Fluttershy, but the way she was acting when she saw those fillies breaking her personal space was perplexing to her.
“Let’s find something else to do,” Emerald suggested.
“Sure,” Grace replied. “We could check out the farm animals. There’s a prize pig exhibition along the way. I can lead you there.”
“Um, sure,” Peridot agreed. She, along with Emerald and Gregoria, followed Grace to where the animals were being kept as her twin walked beside her.
“Look, Perri, we can leave at any time you want,” she whispered.
“No,” Peridot responded quietly. “Our friends are here, and I don’t want to upset them.”
“They’ll understand, I’m sure. Also, I don’t want to risk those fillies getting their parents involved.”
“Is something wrong?” Gregoria asked. The twins flinched as the blonde griffon overheard their conversation.
“Uhhhh…… Everything’s fine! No need to worry about me.” Peridot answered with an awkward chuckle. before running off. Judging by that reaction, the griffoness could tell that was a lie.
“Emma, is there something bothering Peridot?” Emerald tried to think of a way to explain that situation, but she didn’t know how.
“I don’t know,” Emerald sighed.
Grace and Peridot made it to the pigpen where the prize pig exhibition was being held. Some fillies were already inside petting the said farm animals. Grace cautiously opened the gate to allow her and Peridot inside, closed the gate back, and approached one of the unoccupied pigs.
“Aww… such a cutie,” Grace cooed as a pig glared at the chocolate brown griffon. She held her claw out as if she was going to pet him with care, however, it stepped back with an untrustworthy and frightened look, and stuck its head within the mud, believing that she was going to devour him alive. She felt unhappy. “Aww man,” she sighed. “Maybe we’d have better luck with chickens.”
Grace then glanced over to the nearby chicken coop and began flying over to it. Peridot was about to follow her until there was a sudden tugging sensation on her tail. Looking back, she saw the same two fillies from before, but this time along with their mother and father.
“Uhh… Can I h…?” Peridot stuttered.
“How dare you tell my kids what to do!” the mother shrieked. Her tone and volume already made Peridot uncomfortable. “They get to see a little griffon all the time at a flight school, but the first time they get to see a dragon up close, and yet you told them to go away.”
“Um… I think you might be…”
“Don’t talk back to me! This is a pony festival and you need to learn our rules in a well-mannered way!” The dragoness was getting nervous as she held her head and began to breathe heavily. Thankfully, Applejack was nearby and could hear the conflict going on. She jumped and stood in between Peridot and the pegasi.
“Alright, what’s with all the bickerin’!?” the farm pony exclaimed.
“This little dragon here is being a menace to my daughters,” the mother cried. Applejack looked at Peridot and quickly tell that was not true.
“Hear me out, I’m one of the teachers of the School of Friendship for this dragon over here. She’s been with us for a while, and I can tell ya that she’s anything but a menace. If anything, you’re being rude to her at this Social. Frankly, if I were you, I’d rather teach your kids about respecting others’ personal space.”
“You’re not a parent and can’t tell me how to watch my kids!”
“I ain’t no engine driver, but I’m assured that if there’s a train off the tracks, on fire, inside of a darn house, I’m sure somepony messed up.” The mare didn’t like being talked down to. Peridot tiptoed away to the gate as she saw Emerald and Gregoria catching up with them.
Before Peridot could get out of the pen, the fillies quickly pounced at her and had her fall into the mud. Emerald saw the commotion happening with her beloved sister and she was shocked to witness that. Gregoria couldn’t believe what she was seeing right now. With Peridot crying for help, Emerald had enough.
“Hey!” Emerald furiously roared. “LEAVE HER ALONE!” She immediately flew over and held the two pegasi by their tails.
“Hey! Let us go!” one whined. “You can’t hold us like this,”
“What excuse do you have for tackling my sister, wise guys!? How many times can I tell you not to invade personal space!?” The two fillies both cried to their mother, who was looking back at them. She immediately shouted at Emerald angrily about treating her kids badly, to which the dragoness brought up her sister’s treatment.
Speaking of which, Peridot was gradually sneaking towards the gate to get away from the scene. She was about to escape as she held the top rail of the gate until she was stopped by the fillies’ father, who placed his hoof onto her claw when she held the gate.
“H-hey, what’re you doing? Let go!” Peridot pleaded.
“Not yet,” the stallion said. “There are a lot of weird things that had happened in the last Social, and we’re not letting your kind ruin this one.” Peridot kept opening the gate, but the stallion kept closing it to keep her in.
Emerald was so busy arguing with the mother and her fillies, that she noticed Peridot at the gate with the stallion. Seeing the discomfort on her sister’s face, Emerald quickly flew over to them, and without thinking, chucked the stallion backward to where most pigs were at. This startled the pigs and they began panicking around on their own until one of them slipped through the gate while the twins attempted to flee. More pigs escaped and commenced the chaos around the Social, nearly trampling ponies like Rarity and Sweetie Belle, who were enjoying their snacks, knocking over tables, and some even letting themselves join in the pie-eating contest.
Due to this, the family began bad-mouthing the dragons for ‘ruining’ the festival. Emerald was at her boiling point and argued with them, losing focus on Peridot. She was breathing heavily while she held her head. She was having sensory overload with the ponies yelling at her, and the frightened pigs, the noise was becoming too much for her. Her breaths got heavier and heavier, and she even let out bits of fire from her nose and mouth. Emerald noticed her sister’s panic attack, so she tried to settle her down, but the family wouldn’t let her go away from them.
Eventually, Peridot reached her breaking point. With tears starting to flow down her face, she let out an earsplitting scream while the yellow fire was breathed out. Her scream was so loud, that everypony, including Emerald, Grace, and Gregoria had to cover their ears. The runaway pigs did the same as well, they had to duck and cover their ears too; even the chickens in the coop embraced themselves from the deafening roar. 10 seconds later, her scream and the flames died out. Peridot kneeled with her claws pressing on the grass, ventilating out her extreme emotions gently. With her tears still flowing down her face, she slowly raised her head and saw everyone not covering their ears since the scream faded away. She also noticed they became speechless and worried, except for that family she felt uncomfortable with. Realizing the turmoil, she couldn’t take it anymore and fly away from the festival with an audible whimper.
Emerald felt bad. “Perri! Come back!” she cried. She was about to fly off to get her, but the mother blocked her way. Before a word could escape her mouth, Emerald grabbed her in a chokehold before forcing her into the mud face first, and the dragoness flew after her twin.
Grace and Gregoria also felt bad after watching the scene. “Should we help them?” Grace asked Gregoria.
“Yeah,” Gregoria replied with a sigh. “Maybe we should.” With that, they went off to follow Emerald.
The mother, who got up from the mud, faced up to see where Emerald went, only to be met by a female judge of the Social. “Madam, that action by the dragon was a bit forceful, I say,” she said, “But I’d understand her actions talking to a pony like you.” All of the anger from the mare flushed away as she knew she and her family were in big trouble.
Applejack and Apple Bloom stood in place as they too felt bad for Peridot. “Sis,” Apple Bloom said to her elder sister, feeling worried about Peridot. “Is she going to be alright?”
“I don’t know,” she replied with a sigh. “Hopefully she will.” As they eyed the direction where Peridot left, Applejack then noticed something lying on the ground. It’s a shiny gold necklace with a peridot pendant. She recalled that Rarity had made those accessories just for Emerald and Peridot, then she realized that the necklace was Peridot’s. She must’ve dropped it when she ran away with rage. The farm pony moved towards the dropped necklace and picked it up. “I should return this to her when she comes back.”
Emerald was searching for her sister frantically around inside and outside of the school. Her distraction had made her lose sight of Peridot. She kept searching for where she could be. She was thankful when Gregoria and Grace offered to look out for her.
“Perri!?” Emerald cried out. “Perri, where are you!?”
They kept searching and searching, but she was nowhere to be found. “Where could she be?” Gregoria exclaimed.
“Let’s split up,” Grace instructed. “Emma, you go that way; Greggy, that way; and I’ll go this way.” With that, they went off in separate directions.
Grace took a path that led to the dorm rooms, which she has a feeling that Peridot might be in. She’s right. When she arrived at the room belonging to the twins, she could hear sobbing. Because the door was slightly closed, the sobbing can be heard from the outside. She peeked through the gap, and she saw a dim space. No lights were on and the curtains were closed. She moved her head out and gently opened the door with the sounds of creaking from its hinges. Looking inside, with the light from the corridor as support, she can catch a glimpse of Peridot on her bed crying into a white pillow. Grace felt sympathetic when she heard her cry.
“Perri?” Grace asked calmly.
The weeping dragon pulled her pillow off from her face, facing her friend with flowing tears like a river. “L… leave me alone!” Peridot responded in a loud and shaky voice.
“Perri, I… I know what it’s like when creatures like them are hounding you down, but I’m convinced that our professors are dealing with that family you have encountered.” Peridot didn’t respond and just placed her face back into her now tear-stained pillow. “Perri, it’s going to be okay.”
“No, it isn’t!” the dragoness muffled loudly into her pillow. “I can’t handle situations like that… or any kind of stress.” Peridot turned away from her friend to face the wall. Grace tried to approach her, but Peridot only covered her face with her wings. Seeing that she doesn’t want any company, Grace left the room to tell Emerald and Gregoria where Peridot was.
A few moments later, Peridot, still facing the wall while covering her face with a pillow weeping, heard her door open again. She slowly turned to see Grace return with Emerald and Gregoria. “Hey, sis,” Emerald said with relief. “Glad we found you.” She slowly sat down at the end of the bed as Peridot stood up.
“Should… Should we be here?” Gregoria asked. “This feels like a family matter.”
The twins faced each other, taking a moment to think before responding. “It’s complicated to explain,” Peridot admitted.
Emerald decided it would be best if she did most of the talking. “Allow me, since we can remember. Perri…… had symptoms that an average dragon didn’t have. She used to have trouble with speech, always had trouble sleeping, and had the feeling of uneasiness with loud noises and, sometimes, crowds.”
“That doesn’t sound like good traits for them to have,” Grace commented.
“They aren’t,” Peridot sighed. “I usually panicked whenever a dragon nearby roared. I had a hard time learning new things too, including flying, which I already did well now. I’ve done my hardest to live like the other dragons, but… I never felt comfortable. I thought… that… there was something wrong with me.”
A few years ago in the Dragon Lands, way before Smolder was being sent to Ponyville as the student representative, Emerald and Peridot were hunting for gems to eat. They were about to start digging through when a couple of roars startled her. Peridot covered her ears in fright and discomfort as five young male dragons came over to her
“Hey, what are you doing, li’l fella?” the first one asked mockingly.
“I’m…. Covering my ears,” Peridot responded. “I don’t like loud noises.”
“Why not?” another drake said sarcastically. “It’s what makes us dragons. We roar… ferociously… all the time!” He gave a loud roar without warning, making Peridot whimper in fear.
“Cut it out!” Emerald cried and stood in between her sister and the bullies, but the latter wasn’t intimidated by her. “Peridot is very sensitive to your stupid roars! And she’s not like the rest of you! Keep doing that, and she’ll lose it… for real! Now leave her alone!”
“Ooohhh… so scared,” the third one taunted sarcastically with his claws doing the wiggling gesture. “I’m scared of a little green curly-pointy-horned lady who stands up for cowards.” He huffed afterward. “Speak to yourself!” Feeling petty, the bullies decided to let out a few more roars, making Peridot recoil in discomfort.
Emerald was furious with smoke huffing out of her nose, indicating that she had enough with those freaks. She tackled them with minimum force released, but the young drakes thrusted her off and kept those roars louder and louder. Peridot was already hyperventilating before it became too much for her and burst into tears. This made her a laughingstock for the bullies.
“Crybaby!” They chanted and then continued to laugh.
The laughter was cut short the moment when a giant thump was heard from behind. The drakes’ eyes became narrow, and their hearts beat faster than a cheetah. Everyone slowly turned around and saw a scaly belly in front of them. Worst, then they turn their heads upward to see an enraged face of a giant male dragon looking down at the drakes. Emerald and Peridot can tell that it was their father, Sage. He brought his head down to ground level and had his crossed eyes at the bullies.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Sage said sternly to the bullies, who were shaking in fear. “What did you do to my precious daughter!?”
They were stuttering when they attempted to lie in front of him. Their nerves were becoming shakier until they couldn't think of another way to explain. They had no other choice but to run away further from him and his daughters.
Peridot felt relieved. She got up from her feet, ran up, and hugged her father’s muzzle with tears streaming down her face. Her father then held out his massive claw for her to sit on it. She climbed onto his claw and sat down. Emerald joined her as well, sitting beside her to give her comfort. Shortly, Sage carried them away back home.
“Dad?” Emerald said softly. “Did… Did I do something wrong?”
“No, Emma,” Sage responded gently with a small smile. “I know you’re only defending her. You did your best.” The young dragoness sighed as she saw her sister still sobbing. She then gave a comforting hug to calm her down.
Back in the present, Emerald placed her claw on her sister’s shoulder, who did her wing flapping motion thing again. Grace and Gregoria have now both fully understood why Peridot was feeling upset.
“Do you need a minute alone?” Gregoria asked. Peridot nodded yes. And so, the two griffons left her alone with her twin.
Grace then made sure to close the door gently behind them before walking down the hall. “I had no idea Perri felt like that,” Grace commented with a sympathetic sigh. “I felt bad for her.”
“Me too. It’s something she can’t help herself with,” Gregoria guessed. “Dragons in general are loud and prideful creatures. Having sensitivity like Peridot’s can’t make things easy. She did say that she had trouble learning new things.”
“I thought I saw her struggle in class and cheer practice. I’m not sure about her wing flapping thing, but…. I wish there was a way to help her.”
They pondered for a moment, finding a way to give Peridot more support. Instantly, Gregoria’s lightbulb turned on.
“Maybe there is. We can tell Headmare Starlight about her disorder, she might know what that is and may have come across it. Surely there has to be a solution.”
“You’re right!” Grace exclaimed. “Let’s go find her.” The griffons then flew off towards Starlight Glimmer’s office to explain the situation.
Peridot managed to stop crying a little later. Emerald was glad that her sister had settled down with her emotions. “Perri, You know you could’ve said we can leave if things went down,” Emerald said. “I wanted to do it if you wanted to do it.”
“I know, but once Grace and Gregoria showed up, I didn’t want to upset them,” Peridot admitted. “I’d be feeling like a bad friend if I leave.”
“They would’ve understood. Why’d they been upset? They’re friends, and they understand each other like us.” Peridot sighed with Emerald patting her back gently. “Now then, how about we go back to check if things have recovered, or if not, you can stay here and have yourself a timeout, while I will be checking out the recovery.” Peridot held her arm as she didn’t know what to answer. “Okay, then I’ll be going.” Without another word, Emerald headed to the door to give her sister some alone time.
Just before she could, the two saw Headmare Starlight Glimmer standing outside with Grace and Gregoria behind her. “Hello, Peridot,” the headmare said. “Do you have a minute?” The dragoness just nodded as she stood up. “I’ve been told by Grace and Gregoria here that you have certain issues. Is that true?”
“Um… Yes,” Peridot responded. “It’s… so complex…”
“It’s alright. We understand what you’re dealing with. Some ponies have suffered from the same problems as you have.”
This was shocking to the dragoness. “...They do?”
“That’s right. It’s called autism, and it’s a lot more common than you think. Ponies who have autism have had a hard time learning things regularly, and have discomfort with loud noises. I understand now why you didn’t want to explain your situation to us, but we can help you. All of us.”
“Yeah, we can help you make things easier,” Grace added. “In my heart, I know you have the skills and ideas inside of you.” Peridot thought back to one moment when Grace helped her raise her confidence.
It was a short while after Tarsi the changeling had her wing injured because of their rehearsal. Peridot was partly responsible for that incident, and because of it, she felt guilty. She was shuffling her feet down the hall with her claws behind her back and her head down facing the long purple floor carpet. She was heading back to her dorm room to have her outfit kept. As she dragged her feet, Grace flew up beside her.
“Hey, Perri,” the chocolate brown griffon greeted. “How’re you?”
“Feeling… guilty,” Peridot sighed. “I’m just worried about Tarsi. I mean… her wing was bent like folded and ripped paper.”
“Well, changeling wings are different from ours. I guess they heal faster than ours. They’re shapeshifters and part bugs; I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
“You think so?”
“I’m very sure. I had a quick chat with Ocellus a while ago, and she had the same feeling about Tarsi recovering. She said that she’d be fine. I kind of wanted to talk with you about the pyramid.”
“What about it?”
“I find it… let’s just say… impressive that you could carry the weight of two yaks. I mean…. They’ve got to be heavy to cause earthquakes with their heavy stomps.”
“They were heavier than I was expecting. Maybe that’d explain why Tarsi had her injury.”
“You should not be too hard on yourself. You did better than I can. This is some of the most fun I’ve been having in my life.”
Peridot smiled. “Well, if you’re enjoying it, then I guess it’s not so bad after all.”
“See! There’s the spirit,” Grace beamed. “I’m going to the nurse’s office to see how Tarsi’s doing. Keep on thinking of ideas on the tricks we can do. I’d love to hear from you, especially all of us.” Peridot was still feeling a little down, but her friend’s support raise her spirits a little bit.
The twins both faced each other with Peridot beginning to feel more confident. She then faced Grace and Gregoria, who were also giving them confident looks. “So… I’ll have some help with my lessons?” Peridot asked.
“Along with a few other things, yes,” Starlight replied. “Your professors, Counselor Trixie, and I will be scheduling these things as soon as we can. Until then, enjoy yourself.” She gave her a wink, which Peridot smiled back as she glared at the griffons who came up to her while Headmare Starlight left the room.
“We thought you could use some help,” Grace said. She was quickly met by a hug from the dragoness. The griffon hugged her back. “We wanted to be good friends. And I know you do too.”
The two released the hug as Peridot spoke up. “Thanks a lot, you guys. You know, I think I’m ready to head back to the Social,” she said, then faced her sister. “What do you say, Emma? Shall we?”
“Alrighty then,” Emerald exclaimed. “I like that confidence of yours.”
“Then let’s go,” Grace excitedly clamored. “What’re you waiting for?”
Soon, the twin dragons and the griffons left the dormitory, heading back to the Sweet Apple Acres to continue with the Social.
Back at the Sweet Apple Acres, the mess was finally cleaned up thanks to the help of the participants. They were kind enough to tidy up the disarray from the scene they have witnessed. Meanwhile, Applejack and Apple Bloom, together with Sweetie Belle and Rarity, inclined themselves to the fence of the pigpen where the pigs are finally back to their spot, still concerned about Emerald and Peridot not coming back because of the outburst.
“I feel bad for her,” Sweetie Belle remarked. “All she wants is to have fun here.”
“Exactly,” Rarity agreed, “it’s not her fault for making that outburst in the first place. I can only blame the mother of those two poor kids for ruining her fun. Not just Perri, but them as well.”
“Agreed,” Applejack commented. “It’s too late now, they’re disqualified. I hope those parents will learn their lesson on teaching their children about personal space. They deserved that karma.”
Speaking of which, Applejack turned to see Emerald and Peridot, together with Grace and Gregoria, coming towards the Acres. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Rarity noticed it as well. They were delighted to know that they would come back.
“Girls! Glad ya made it back,” she said, giving them a wave. As the girls landed the farm pony focused her attention on Peridot. “How are ya feeling, Sugar Cube?”
“…A lot better,” the dragoness admitted. “Thank you. And I’m… sorry for the scream I made a while ago, it was all too much for me to handle.”
“It’s alright,” Rarity responded. “We don’t blame you for that, and neither does everypony here.”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle nodded. “Don’t feel bad for yourself,” Apple Bloom said in support. “Look on the bright side, there’s still time left for you to have those memorable moments here.”
Peridot smiled, knowing that everything is going to be okay, and has her professors and their young sisters’ backing. Wanting to be on the safe side, she glimpsed around for a short while.
“Oh, and if you’re looking for that family who wouldn’t leave you alone, the judges had them disqualified,” Applejack clarified. “And we got everything here tidied up too, so you can enjoy yourselves now.”
“That’s great to hear,” Emerald said. “Thanks, Applejack.”
“Anytime,” the farm pony smiled. “And before we leave, I have to give something back to Peridot.”
Their eyes were now on Peridot, who was confused about what her professor meant by returning something to her. In her saddlebag, she brought out the golden-chained necklace and displayed it to her. Peridot instantly recognized that it was her necklace because of the pendant. She scanned her neck area, finding out that the necklace was not on her neck.
“My necklace!” Peridot said in shock. “It must’ve been dropped when I left.”
“Huh, how on earth did we not notice that?” Grace expressed. Gregoria shrugged.
Applejack then handed over the necklace to Peridot. She got the accessory and wore it back on her neck. Peridot once again smiled when she wore it, making it more beautiful. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome. Now have fun, y’all!” The farm pony then walked away together with Apple Bloom.
“C’mon, Sweetie Belle,” Rarity called her young sister. “There’s still a lot more to explore.”
“Coming!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. Before she could go after Rarity, she looked back at the participating students once more. “Keep in mind, don’t let anypony ruin your day, because you’re special. They’re never gonna give you up, let you down, nor run around and desert you.” She winked at them and caught up to her sister, leaving the girls to enjoy their fun.
“Good riddance for them,” Gregoria groaned. “Do you think the cheer contest is still on?”
“Maybe,” Emerald replied. “I’m curious how soon the race is.” The girls then once again enjoyed their time at the Social without any disturbance.
Moments later, it was time for the cheer contest. Behind the small stage, the four were waiting for their turn, with Grace having prepared herself a pair of purple and cyan pom-poms from school. Peridot peeked out at the crowd and was feeling concerned again.
“Perri, as I said, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Emerald informed.
“Um… Yeah, I think I might sit this out, I don’t want to freak out again.”
“We understand,” Grace said. She looked over to Gregoria, who felt nervous as she stares at the pom-poms Grace has given to her.
“You know, I’m not experienced with cheers, right?” Georgia reminded. “Singing was once banned in Griffonstone.”
“Don’t worry, Gregoria. Just follow my lead.”
Just then, when the current performers have finished their performance, a round of applause was heard. They bowed and stepped down from the stage to allow a male judge to come up and announce the next performers. “Up next,” he announced, “representing the griffons, Grace and Gregoria!”
“Wish us, luck girls.” The two griffons stepped on stage while the dragons went to stand with the audience to watch. With their pom-poms on their claws, they began their cheer out loud.
“Fun and games are why we’re here, some come on let us cheer!” they both chanted. “We face our conflict to the end, even if it’s with us we make amends.” Emerald, Peridot, and the rest of the ponies were enjoying the griffons’ cheer. When they got to the end, Grace and Gregoria let out a mighty screech, much to the surprise of Peridot and the crowd. Despite the shock of the screech, the crowd was impressed with their cheer, giving them a huge round of applause. Grace felt satisfied as she and Gregoria gave a bow and stepped down from the stage.
The dragon twins then came toward them to applaud for their outstanding performance, especially Gregoria since she did a great doing it even though it was her first time. “Well done, you two!” Emerald praised. “That was good! You know, Gregoria, you did better than I would have. I’m sure mine wouldn’t be that great.” Gregoria blushed when she gave her that compliment.
“It was fun for me,” Grace said. “I would never be allowed to do that in Griffonstone.”
“Well, Queen Gilda is getting rid of that no-singing thing,” Gregoria commented. “That’s a plus.”
“I’m curious why griffons banned singing in the first place,” Emerald admitted. “Why is that?”
“Grandma Goldie said it had something about a flute player.” The two groups of sisters carried on with their day, being cautious about Peridot’s condition.
The Sisterhooves Social was coming close to a finale. There was only one event left which was… the race. As of now, Peridot was feeling calm at this point and glanced toward the first 3 teams of sisters, with Applejack and Apple Bloom, and Rarity and Sweetie Belle being one of them, lining up at the starting line.
“Perri, are you ready to race?” Emerald asked. Peridot looked to her twin, who was ready to leave as soon as she was.
“I’m feeling okay,” Peridot informed. “As of now, no sudden loud noises or creatures getting in my personal space. I think we can ourselves a race.”
“That’s good to hear. Let’s do it!” Before they join in, Emerald and Peridot saw Grace and Gregoria coming up towards them, both wearing silver medals on their necks. “Wow, did you two get them from the recent cheer contest?”
“We sure did,” Grace confirmed. “We got second place.”
“And we also both agreed that we’re going to participate in the race,” Gregoria added. “That’d be a good bonus for us.”
“Hey, that’s what we’re about to do too,” Emerald declared. “Right, Perri?”
“Yep,” Peridot confirmed. “I’ll see you both at the finish line!”
“Good luck with that,” Grace chuckled.
Peridot looked at all of the ponies lining up and still felt kind of nervous. She felt Emerald grabbing her claw and giving her a look of confidence. “We can do this,” her twin proclaimed. “Win or lose, we can make it.” Smiling, Peridot took a deep breath before they head towards the starting line.
At the starting line, both twins prepared themselves by squatting down on their knees and claws on the ground. The griffons did the same as well by lowering their heads and their rears up. The apple sisters were beside them, doing the same, taking a glance at them. Applejack gave them a wink telling them good luck.
Competitors,” Granny Smith proclaimed through the megaphone while on her rocking chair. “Take… your positions!”
Soon, they got ready. “You can do this,” Peridot muttered to herself.
“Ready…… steady… GO!” They were off.
First, they came across the mud pit, which the runners leaped over quite easily. Emerald was troubled about getting over it without wings and suspected that it is part of the rules to not use wings. To her surprise, Peridot turned around and stopped holding her claws down to make a small platform. Emerald stepped on it and she was launched upwards over the mud with Peridot stepping back and leaping over it to keep up.
After they passed it, they quickly made their way through the bucket hurdles, which Peridot managed to surpass her sister. They managed to pass Sweetie Belle and Rarity after quickly mounting over the crates and moving straight onto the speed pie eating. They got ahead of another pair of sisters and ate so fast, that Emerald swore she bit off a piece of the pie tray. The hay bale pushing part was no sweat for the twins, pushing the giant hay bale with ease, passing Grace and Gregoria.
They were getting closer to the lead. Peridot quickly hopped into the container of grapes and quickly squashed the juice out of them, filling it into a jar. Once full, Emerald picked it up and placed it on the step stool, and then they quickly made their way to the apple tossing challenge. Emerald stood on one side and tossed some apples over to Peridot, who caught them and placed them in the bucket. The twins were almost in the lead as they ran inside the chicken coop.
The audience was amazed at their agility, giving them many compliments.
Balancing the eggs on their noses, the two steadily made their way to the egg basket, placing it without cracking them. Just as they made the mad dash to the finish line, Applejack and Apple Bloom were now neck and neck. The ponies and dragons both boosted their velocities as fast as they could as the finish line got closer and closer. Just when they got near the end, they jumped with much force and slid across the dirt track with their eyes closed, making clouds of dust.
The dust settled after a few seconds, and the twins opened back their eyes. “Did… did we win?” Peridot hoped. They turned their heads and saw that they have crossed the finish line before the Apple sisters by an inch. The twins were shocked, Applejack and Apple Bloom couldn’t believe it.
“YOU DID!!!” Apple Bloom cheerfully exclaimed.
The crowd cheers loudly, applauding joyously. The twins and the Apple sister arose from the tracks, dusting off the dirt from their bodies.
“I… I cannot believe it!” Emerald exclaimed. “We won!”
“WE WON!” Peridot repeated, giving her a tight hug.
“Way to go, you two!” Applejack lauded.”That was fantastic! You did well.”
Coming from behind, both Grace and Gregoria pounced at the twins giving them a tight hug as well. “Congrats!!!” Grace cried enthusiastically. “I’m so proud of you two!”
“That was some epic moment right there,” Gregoria cheerfully added, and both released them.
“Thanks a lot,” Peridot appreciated. “I felt great running across the tracks.”
“Same here,” Emerald added, wrapping her arm around her sister. “I told ya we can make it!”
“We did.”
As they were enjoying their moment, a female judge approached them with a trophy that has two statues of mares. “Congratulations, you two,” she praised. “As winners of the final event of the Sisterhooves Social, I may now present to you this trophy.” She placed it in front of them, and the twins were astonished, making themselves proud of that achievement. “And uhh… we hope that this will make you up from those ponies.”
“We appreciated it, madam,” Peridot smiled.
The judge held her hoof up to get the crowd’s attention. “Mares and gentlecolts,” she announced. “May I have your attention? On behalf of these two amazing competitors, I’m now happy to say that this year’s Social was the most memorable one yet, because not only that they have made history as the first non-pony participants to be here, but also the first to win their race in a lifetime.” She then turned to the twins. “You two have made this year more memorable than in previous editions! Praise to you!”
The crowd then continued to applaud as Emerald and Peridot held onto their trophy and both felt proud of themselves. They turned back to Grace and Gregoria, who both gave a thumbs up. They smiled as a photographer came in front of them, telling them to have a picture. The twins smiled as the camera flashed.
With that, the Sisterhooves Social was over. Everypony was heading back home after a long day of fun activities, some with amazing prizes, and many were happy with the fun they had. Peridot was taking a good look at their trophy, feeling honored for the award. Grace came up from behind and stood beside her.
“Perri!” Grace cooed as Emerald and Gregoria came up with her. “I gotta say, you made this day worth it.”
“Yeah… You could say that again,” Peridot shrugged.
“So, are you ready to head back, Perri?” Emerald asked.
“I am,” Peridot nodded. “Let’s go.”
With that, they began their flight back to school carrying their trophy with them. It was a very eventful day, with some ups and downs for the dragons, but with information, they knew that things would hopefully get easier, now that the professors knew about Peridot’s condition. She felt relieved now that she would have a better time in her comfort zone.
Peridot is no ordinary one, but the most special one.
