Princess Twilight's newest "student"
“I’m glad you used one of your free days to join us, Princess Twilight,” Twilight Sparkle – the human-borne one – cheerfully said. She was strolling with Princess Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer through the theme park known as Equestria Land. “Interacting with a second me used to feel a bit…weird, but now you're starting to feel like a long-lost twin sister.”
“We are twins from a multiversal standpoint, so you’re not too inaccurate about us being twin sisters. Hehe, I still can’t believe a theme park in this world is named after Equestria! I can’t wait to experience how Equestrian traits and activities blends into this theme park.”
“Since we’re here and got plenty of tickets for games and rides, you don’t even have to wait,” Sunset said. She and both Twilights stopped walking as the former asked, “You see anything you wanna try first? Twilight and I won’t mind you picking.”
“Uh…” Princess Twilight surveyed the surrounding game booths, food carts, and rides. A castle standing far in the distance was the Nightmare Moon’s Haunted Castle attraction she had been told about, but that could wait. Deep in the opposite direction, a rollercoaster zipping on rails looked appealing, but after what occurred on Princess Twilight’s first time riding one in Equestria…no. Just no. The Equestrian Rainbow Dash might never let her forget how she, an alicorn no less, screamed in terror before the ride was stopped early! It was oddly adorkable, though.
“I would like to try a game first, but which should I–” A ring-toss booth owned by two yellowed-colored twin brothers, Flim and Flam, caught her eye. “Ooh, is that ring toss? I want to try it!” She hurried over to the booth.
“Uh-oh,” Twilight and Sunset said together.
Flim waved friendlily to the approaching pony-turned-teen. “Hey there, pretty lady, step right up and…wait.” He stared more intently at her while rubbing his chin. “You look familiar. Do you have a sister with a ponytail, wears glasses, and is friends with a girl with hair colored like bacon?”
“Sort of. Do you know them…wait, are your names Flim and Flam?”
“Yes, we are Flim and Flam,” Flam answered, “and yes, we know those two girls very well.”
“No, don’t play that game!” Twilight yelled as she finally ran to Princess Twilight. “It's rigged!”
“And ‘bacon’ of all analogies? Seriously?” Sunset asked as she stomped to the booth, wearing a disapproving scowl. “You couldn’t compare my hair to ‘fire’ or something non-meat related?”
“Geez, touchy,” Flam said in mock offense.
“Anyway, I would like to attempt your ring toss game.”
“Uh, you sure about that?” Flim asked with genuine worry. “There is usually a winner every time, but your sister and her, uh, fire-haired friend struggled when they played.”
Flam chimed in, “They played more times than all the other guests, combined. The fire girl got so upset, she nearly burst into flames to literally become a fire girl.”
“Really?”
Sunset answered, “You have no idea. Losing so many times like some clueless, low-level noob…” Sunset’s fists clenched and her teeth gritted. Rage burned in her chest from her shame and humiliation of loss after loss. However, she relaxed her fists, blew a stress-expelling breath, and held up and pushed her palms forward and back, driving away additional fury. “Okay, calm down, Sunset. Remember what your anger management teacher said. It’s in the past.”
“I understand if you’re worried, but I know a thing or two about ring toss.” Princess Twilight lifted her head high and proud in absolute confidence, if not borderline arrogance. “You might be surprised by what I can do.”
Twilight set her hands on her royal counterpart’s shoulders and pleaded, “From one Twilight Sparkle to another, don’t. Trust me, just walk away. Their version may appear beatable, but that’s the trap I fell into!”
“But I’m a ring-toss champion. Not to sound conceited, but if anycre–uh, anyone could win, it's me.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Sunset exclaimed. “Back up a second! You’re a ring toss champion?!”
“You didn’t already know? I thought I–” Princess Twilight’s eyes widened. She bashfully laid her hand on the back of her neck. “Oh, hehe, I forgot to tell you I was named the Undisputed Mount Aris Ring Toss Champion a few months ago. Some even nicknamed me ‘One Ring Mare’ because I always won with just one ring.”
Flam leaned his head to Flim and whispered, “Did she say ‘One Ring Mare’?”
“However, if you are still worried, I will only play one time, win or lose. Okay?”
Sunset and Twilight, the latter still holding Princess Twilight's shoulders, stared at each other. As if they mentally told each other to relent, they looked back and nodded to the Princess.
“Okay,” Sunset reluctantly said.
“You’re a champion, so Sunset and I will trust you." Twilight let her counterpart's shoulders go and smiled in encouragement. "You got this!”
Princess Twilight handed the brothers one of her tickets. At the same time, Sunset and the chronologically younger Twilight turned and walked away a bit, just far enough to exit a certain princess’s whisper-hearing zone.
“Sunset, if she's like me, and she is me, this is going to end badly. Now I know how I look to Spike when I refuse his warnings.”
“Champion or not, she will be here for a while. One of us better get her more tickets–”
“If the rules work here like I think they do, I believe I won.”
“WHAT?!” Twilight and Sunset shouted. They swung around and hurried back to the booth. Their jaws dropped at a speed falling boulders would be envious of. The sight before them was a view they thought was impossible, at least without cheating.
A single ring rested around the neck of one of numerous bottles. The very same bottles that had tormented the Sunset-Twilight duo.
The Flim Flam brothers reached to each other’s agape mouths and closed them. Sunset and Twilight mirrored the move by also closing the other’s mouth. Awkward silence performed waltzes around the group–but briefly stopped to laugh its butt off at this turn of events.
“Um…so,” Princess Twilight asked sheepishly, “what do I win?”
“She actually won?!” Sunset failed to prevent herself from yelling.
“And with one ring?!” Twilight pinched her cheek and winced from the pinch. “Ow. Yep, this is real life, so I repeat: WHAT?!”
“U-uh, as I said, a winner almost every time!” Flim directed his lightly shaking hand to a collection of plushies of various animals hanging behind the brothers. “Pick your prize!”
The unexpected winner laid a finger on her cheek as she gazed at the plushies. “Uh…I want…ooh!” She pointed toward one. “I’ll take that orange pegasus plushie, please.”
Flim grabbed the chosen plushie and handed it to Princess Twilight. She slipped it into her backpack, eeking out a giggle–and also seemed to be a little too gentle handling that thing.
“See? I told you not to worry. What would you like to do ne–”
Only "liking" one thing to be next, Twilight yanked her royal self back and away from the ring toss booth. “Okay, how did you do that?!”
“Do what?”
“Whatever it was you did to win! Sunset and I applied every math and physics angle possible, even some unproven ones, but nothing worked! My pride as an aspiring scientist didn’t handle it well, and Sunset took it even worse because she despises losing!”
Sunset approached the Twilights. “I wouldn’t say I despise losing. I just don’t like to lose.”
Twilight turned to Sunset and crossed her arms. She lowered her eyelids in a deadpan way.
Burn. Sunset sighed; she should have known one of her closest friends would not buy that lie. “Fine, I despise losing.”
“As for me,” Princess Twilight said as she fiddled with her fingers, “I-I didn’t do anything special when I threw my ring.”
“Come on, you must have done something! You can tell your multiversal twin!” Twilight repeated laying her hands on Princess Twilight’s shoulders in desperation. “You said you ‘knew a thing or two’, so teach me your thing or two! Was it a special arm motion? Aimed for a certain bottle? Your ring’s trajectory? What did you do?!”
“Well…” the Princess shyly looked away. “I did do something, but you would think I’m crazy if I tell you. It is something the Pinkie Pies might say, not a Twilight Sparkle.”
“But no matter how Pinkie-ish it might sound, you have proof that it works!”
“But–”
“Just tell her how you won before she drops to her knees and beg,” Sunset said sternly, laying a hand on her hip. She let out a chuckle and added, “I’m a little curious to know myself.”
“Well…” Princess Twilight searched her brain for more excuses. Her championship-winning tactic was beyond, beyond ridiculous. Worse, unlike her, the human Twilight never learned that some things can’t be explained–or whatever that unicorn Twilight-owning episode’s lesson was. Her gaze switched between her twin’s pleading eyes and her fellow Equestrian's “just get it over with” stare and hand against her hip, then sighed in reluctant acceptance. “Okay. But, no matter how ludicrous my method may–no, will sound, I promise it’s how I did it. You understand?”
Twilight grinned, nodded, and raised her hands off Princess Twilight's shoulders. “I do.”
“Good.” She blew a sharp “here we go” exhale. “I started by closing my eyes. Once my eyes were closed, I put my trust in my ring, then threw it.”
“What?” Sunset asked flatly.
“Did you picture the bottles in your head? I’ve heard of image training.”
Princess Twilight shook her head. “No, I didn't try to mentally picture anything. I simply trusted my ring and threw it.” A chuckle escaped from her lips. “I was just being silly the first time I tried it, but it worked every time. I still don’t understand how it could have even a 10% success rate, let alone 100%.”
“Oh.”
“See?” A frown dimmed on the Champion’s face. “I said that you wouldn’t believe–”
“N-no! I’m just…surprised is all, but I believe you. Why would you lie to me anyway?” Twilight turned her head toward Flim and Flam's booth. “In fact, I will even apply your method myself! If you can do it, I should be capable of it as well!”
“Uh, I don’t know about this, Twi. If you lose, you might get sucked into trying over and over again. Just like we were during our first trip to Equestria Land.”
Twilight faced Sunset in protest. “But–”
“Or should I also remind you of the five-leaf clover incident?”
With mental images of that fiasco forcing themselves to flash in her head, Twilight shrank away. Her cheeks glowed red. “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”
“Nope.”
“I suppose I deserved that answer, but how about this: I’ll try once, then stop if I fail. Okay?”
“Ugh, fine,” Sunset said in acquiescence. Arguing against a Twilight Sparkle when her mind was made up is rarely successful. “Do what you gotta do.”
The trio walked back to the ring-toss booth and Twilight handed Flim a ticket. He – not because he wanted to – handed her a ring.
“Here goes nothing!” Twilight closed her eyes and inhaled a deep, steady breath. She entrusted all her, well, trust into her ring, then flicked her arm forward. After a second, she opened her eyes with a bright smile curled on her lips. That smile flipped and darkened at the condition of the bottles in front of her.
No new bottle had a ring adorned to it.
“What?! I missed?!”
“Yes, but you did come extremely close,” Princess Twilight answered supportively. “Your ring spun around a bottle’s neck before it flew back off.”
“It did? Well, if it–”
“Go ahead and keep going.” Sunset sat down, leaning her back against the ring-toss stand. Wanting to spend the entire time at Equestria Land with, at least, the natively human Twilight, she didn’t want to wander off. “I better get comfortable.”
Three years later, from Sunset Shimmer’s point of view anyway…
A ring bounced off a bottle’s side. Those bottles might have well been wearing highly punchable obnoxious smirks of the most annoying trolls.
“Not another miss! But it’s fine; I can feel that I’m close to finally winning!” Twilight shouted, her hair ragged from effort and potential partial loss of her sanity. Her glasses were wearily tilted to the side, but she had more important matters to worry about (to her anyway) than how her glasses looked.
“Uh, try gripping the next ring a little tighter. Maybe that can make a difference.”
Sunset continued to sit and wait, impatiently tapping her knees. Around five minutes ago, the rest of her friends – Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash – had come to see why Twilight was screaming about missing and “getting it next time.” Some of them even tried to persuade Twilight into calling it quits. Safe to say that failed.
Surprisingly, Princess Twilight didn’t attempt to coax her new “student” out of her sudden life mission, but instead offered support as well as theories as tips. Perhaps it was because she understood she was dealing with herself.
“I tried to warn her, but noooooo,” Sunset whined.
“You or Applejack better prepare to carry her away, Sunset,” Rarity said. “This is beginning to resemble that five-leaf clover incident.”
Yet another ring ricocheted off a bottle.
“Ugh! I must still be doing something wrong, but what could it be?! Uh, I know! I might not be trusting my rings enough.”
“More like I trusted you too much.”
Twilight glared down at the moody Sunset and scowled. “You know what, Sunset? Maybe your attitude is why I’m struggling.”
“What?!” Sunset defensively laid a hand on her chest. “You’re trying to make this my fault now?! Even when I was a sore loser in games, I never tried to blame others for my losses!”
For a second time, Twilight lowered her eyelids while crossing her arms. Also for a second time, Sunset sighed under the deadpan stare bearing down on her. “Okay, most of the time I didn’t, so stop looking at me like that! But seriously; how could this be my fault? I stayed out of your way the whole time!”
“Be that as it may," Twilight started as she uncrossed her arms, "it hurts hearing one of my best friends doubt me so blatantly! How would you feel if I acted so unsupportively to you?”
Sunset cringed at the armor-piercing question, circling a finger on the ground. It was true that she refused to provide even a single word of encouragement and was uncharacteristically mean-spirited. “Well, it would suck. I mean, I wasn’t trying to damage your confidence, but…it’s just…this game…*sigh*...no, you’re right. I’m sorry for being a jerk, but it ends here.” Sunset rose to her feet. With a far more uplifting smile, she reassuringly patted Twilight’s back and straightened her friend’s glasses for her. “Try again, and I’m with you all the way this time! You can do this, One Ring Girl!” She ended with a friendly wink.
“We may not be sure why this means so much to you, but we are here for you!” Fluttershy said with a smile.
“Fluttershy is right! It’s what friends do, darling!”
“Yep!” Applejack cheered. “Forget the nonsense we said before; if you trust yerself, that’s all that matters!”
Rainbow raised a fist in the air. “Show those bottles who’s boss!”
“And then show the boss who’s boss!”
“That expression can’t be modified that way, Pinkie, but I’m always up for being there for a friend. Twilight, you can keep counting on me for support too!”
The girls’ geodes glowed. A moment later, the girls themselves started glowing; Princess Twilight’s natural Equestrian magic activated from her friendship, thus sparking a glow from her despite not possessing a geode. They rose into the air as pony ears popped onto their heads. Wings sprouted from Fluttershy’s, Rainbow’s, and both Twilights’ backs. Princess Twilight’s turquoise blouse warped into a sparkling, majestic purple blouse as her skirt grew a spectacular pink apron-like extension. A crown fitting for a princess – albeit she wasn’t a princess princess – materialized on her head.
The others’ outfits changed too, but do you really want me to waste more time trying and sucking to describe all of their outfits? You probably already know how they look anyway, so let’s just move on.
“All this yoo-ha for a ring toss game?” Flim whispered to Flam. "These girls really need to find boyfriends."
“Maybe we should have let our game be easier,” Flam whispered back.
“Thanks, girls. With the power of friendship on my side, my victory is assured this time! This is for all of you and Spike!”
Twilight slowly closed her eyes. She added her full trust to her ring, even more than she herself was aware of. Beaming with the warmth and strength of her friends’ support and faith, she tossed her ring. The ring, glowing with a lavender light of its own fueled by friendship, flew in slow motion toward the bottles, flipping through the air. It flew, and flipped. Flew. Flipped. Flew. Finally, the ring of friendship fell past a bottle’s tip and landed around its neck!
At long last, Twilight did it!
Then the ring spun off the bottle’s neck late and to the ground. All the friends save for Twilight gasped in dismay.
So much for that.
“Did I win?!” The poor clueless girl opened her peepers. Her jaw dropped when she saw the clue. “Are you kidding me?! I was powered with the magic of friendship, and I still lost?!”
After the epic fail to end all epic fails, the group’s glow and physical pony characteristics dissipated. Their outfits reverted to their original, everyday outfits as the team of eight floated back to the ground.
“A+” for effort.
“Girls, I can’t believe it,” Rainbow said, “but we found something we can’t kick its butt in with friendship and magical wardrobe changes.”
“I can’t believe friendship isn’t enough either! I guess I owe Chrysalis 300 bits,” the Princess of Friendship said. “But I have another idea. Twilight, this may sound pointless, but try using your right hand to throw. I thought hum–uh, people favored their right hands, but I’ve only seen you throw with your left.”
“Most do, but some have left-hand dominance and a select few like me are ‘ambidextrous’*, who are roughly just as adept with either hand.” Twilight stared at her right hand. It almost seemed to be torn between saying “send me in, coach” and lying that it had a cold. “I tend to throw left-handed, but it and my left arm are getting tired. What do I have to lose besides another ticket by throwing with my right hand?”
“My remaining patience,” Sunset mumbled, but slapped herself and forced a smile. “Uh, I mean, this is just a minor setba–okay, I can’t do it!” Sunset gently laid her hands on Twilight’s shoulders, her pleading yet conflicted eyes locked on the still-determined teen’s eyes. “Look, I swear to Celestia I’m not trying to be a jerk again, but I’m boooored!” Sunset lowered herself to kneel on one knee. Looking up at her, the Equestrian pulled Twilight's hands together and cradled both in her hands. “I’m begging you, Twi, can we do something else now, please? If you really love me – that is, as a friend – you’ll say ‘yes’.”
“I do love you, but I’ll make a deal: if I miss even once while throwing right-handed, I’ll walk away for real. However, if I miss and still won’t stop, you have my permission to do whatever it takes to drag me away.”
“Okay, and I’m going to hold you to that deal.” Sunset uncradled Twilight's hands, stood back up, and pointed a non-negotiating finger at her. “One more miss, and you will either walk away on your feet or be carried away over my shoulder.”
Deal made, Twilight threw down another ticket and picked up a new ring with her right hand. Once again, she closed her eyes, trusted her ring, and tossed it. For the millionth time, her ring pitifully recoiled off a bottle. At this point, what did you expect?
Kidding! The ring actually landed on a bottle’s neck, perfectly, and stayed there! The girls, the Flim Flam brothers, and even some nearby background characters gasped.
The new winner meekly peeked open one of her eyes. Her largest grin ever beamed on her lips while she emitted her loudest, longest *Squee!* of all time.
“Way to go, Twi! I’m sorry I ever–”
Twilight snatched Sunset in mid-sentence and hoisted her up in the air. With raw joy shooting up her strength, she effortlessly spun the bacon–uh, fire-haired girl clamped in her arms around in giddy circles, squeezing and threatening to make her spine cry. The show of strength stunned the other girls into not adding their own congratulations.
“Ow, Twilight, st–”
“YES! I did it, Sunset! I finally won!”
“Ow, yeah, that’s great, but let me go before you snap my spine or make me throw up! Ow!”
On instinct, Twilight dropped Sunset to the ground while still in half-spin. The latter landed on her back while yelping from the harsh impact.
“Gosh, I’m so sorry, Sunset!” Twilight said while covering her mouth in a mix of shock and guilt. “I didn’t mean to throw you to the ground or squeeze your back so hard. Are you hurt?”
“I’m okay. No spines broken. Besides, compared to taking a rainbow to the jaw, this is nothing.”
Twilight extended a hand to Sunset, and helped her up.
Unable to fully hide the pain she underwent for Twilight’s conscience, Sunset massaged her back. “Still, you are way stronger than you look. Oh, on the bright side, since you finally won, now we can–”
“Wait, let me see if I can repeat it. But don’t worry; our deal still stands.” Twilight repeated the ring-toss-winning tactic. One more bottle found itself with a ring buddy.
“Yes! I think I got the technique down! Hehe, call me ‘One Ring Girl’!” She looked to Flim and Flam – who were more bored than shocked at having a two-time winner – and preemptively said, “I don’t even need a plushie; this feeling of accomplishment from believing in myself is the only prize I need!”
“It really works after all! Let me give it a whirl!” Sunset gave up a ticket and took a ring with her right hand. She closed her eyes, trusted her ring, and hurled away.
Said ring grazed the side of a bottle.
“Did I do it?” Sunset opened her eyes. Her pupils and corners of her lips collapsed. “What?! Why didn’t it work?! Uh, maybe it’ll work if I throw left-handed.” She tried again with her left hand.
At least her second ring bounced off the top of a bottle this time.
“Why am I missing?! It makes no sense for it to be a Twilight-exclusive skill!”
“Not that it makes much sense anyway,“ Rainbow snarked to herself.
Flim said, “Uh, how about you try–”
“Not now! I’m thinking!” Sunset slammed down all of her tickets on the booth’s counter. “Just be ready to take these, because I’m not leaving until I win! I’ll try trusting my next ring even harder!”
“You do that, Sunset! If I can win, I’m sure you can too!” Twilight patted Sunset’s back while smiling. After giving her vote of confidence, One Ring Girl sat down in front of the booth while Sunset continued to lose–both the game and part of her sanity.
‘I guess it’s my turn to get comfortable.'
Author's Note
As many a fictional character and even real people have said: here we go again! Sunset's going to have to learn her lesson a second time it seems, but maybe without screaming "IT'S NOT ABOUT THE PARAKEET!!" this time, hilarious as it was
Fun fact: below is the video clip I was originally going to add when Sci-Twi lost despite tapping into the magic of friendship during that throw. Late during editing, I decided to go with the losing horns from "The Price is Right." I had the latter meant for another story I started writing a few months ago, but it's becoming unlikely that it would be written. So I thought I'd use the horn clip in this story
Another fun fact is that for a while I forgot that, while Sunset went on to technically win Flim and Flam's ring toss game in "Rollercoaster of Friendship" with her last ring, she never saw that she won. Remembering this little fact is part of the reason this story exists.
*Sci-Twi was shown writing with her left hand in “Friendship Games", but she has also been shown writing with her right hand, such as during some of the EQG shorts. Whether some of the writers and/or animators just forgot she started off as a leftie or if she was truly meant to be ambidextrous, I went with the latter.
