Hauling Across Equestria and Beyond: Competition Between Friends

“Brave Storm! I have heard of something you call a ‘Ladies’ Night’. I want to have one with you.” Dolma called to the mare, using her own language to do so. As long as they kept vocabulary simple, the two had learned to understand each other speaking their preferred tongue. Using the other’s language still provided some challenges, but they were also learning- with Brave Storm notably behind Dolma.

“Sure, that sounds like fun. Maybe I can introduce you to some of my mare friends.” Brave Storm smiled at the yak, happy to have made such a fast friend. “Though I don’t seem to have as many of them as stallion friends. Don’t know why.”

“Hm, you should fix that.” Dolma nodded. “I will introduce you to some of my… wives.”

“Oh, I- no, friends that are mares or stallions. Not marefriends or stallionfriends. I just have the one-” Brave Storm felt her ears flush “-husband.”

Dolma frowned and Brave Storm didn’t blame her. All languages had their odd quirks. The yak shook off the weird issue with Equestrian.

“Anyways, I heard you thought you could win a competition against yaks?”

“I know I could.” Brave Storm smiled. She knew a challenge when she saw one.

“I think I should prove you wrong.” Dolma smiled back with the same determined look. “I already found the perfect place.”

 

The place that Dolma found was deeper in Sumit’s Hollow’s cavern network. It was naturally lit with bioluminescent fungus that crept along the damp cave walls. Being so far from sunlight, it was cool, so Dolma didn’t feel herself overheating. The caves were long and wide, allowing for a track and an audience easily. 

With some help in their spare time, the cave room was set up to allow for their competition. Rocks that were being excavated out of other rooms were placed in a pile for them to load up their carts. Appleloosan wagons were capable of holding the most weight, and a couple of ponies and bovines excited for the competition donated two of their spares. The track was roped off, and simple wooden bleachers were laid on either side. 

The competition was all but ready to go underway as outdated bits and horseshoes were passed between hooves. But as Dolma and Brave Storm were about to get assistance getting harnessed to their wagons, a disruption in the crowd broke out. Shoving their way through the crowd, they reached the source- a yak and a changeling engaged in a shouting match. Between the shouting of the crowd yelling among themselves and the echoing of the caves, it was hard to tell what was even being argued.

Dolma shouted something in her own language, her booming voice carrying over all other sounds. Equestrians, Appleloosans, and Yakyakistanis alike flinched at the sound as it rumbled loose stone free from stalactites. Slowly, the chattering quieted down and all eyes were on the two yaks, the pony, and the changeling.

“Explain,” Dolma demanded in Equestrian, sweeping a hoof at the yak and changeling that started it all. Immediately, they began to bicker over each other. Dolma didn’t need to yell this time. Just a stomp of her hoof did the trick to quiet the two. “One at a time! Bug-pony-”

“Changeling.”

“Change-ing first.”

“Good enough.” the changeling muttered under his breath before continuing. “They said-” he pointed a hoof at the yak “-that we needed a referee. I said that I could do it. But then they insisted that I would cheat and make the zebra win.”

“Then I say that I’ll referee-” the yak stepped in “-I wouldn’t cheat. Yaks don’t need to cheat to win. But he said that I would cheat.”

“I said that if you’d accuse me of cheating, then what’s to say you won’t cheat?”

“Same thing!”

“It’s different!”

Dolma stomped her hoof again. The changeling held a face that looked like he was debating continuing arguing anyways. But as soon as Dolma made a point to make her inhale exaggerated, he looked to the ground with a huff and a frown.

“We don’t need a referee,” Dolma argued. “I won’t cheat. Brave won’t cheat.”

“You don’t know that!” the yak argued.

“I trust Brave.”

“I don’t know Brave. I don’t trust Brave.”

“And I don’t trust you as far as I could throw you,” the changeling chimed to Dolma “And I don’t think I could even lift you!”

“No one lifts yak,” the yak said proudly, not getting the Equestrian idiom. The changeling frowned at them with an open mouth and a raised hoof. He must have figured it wasn’t worth explaining what he meant because he set his hoof down with an eye roll a second later.

“What does Brave think?” Dolma asked with a sigh. Neither of the two expected this to reach anything close to the spectacle that it reached. And both just wanted to get on with their friendly competition. But clearly, the crowd felt the need to be involved more than they should have. 

“We could ask Princess Dawn Bringer to officiate. But this seems so trivial. I doubt she’d even come.” Brave Storm suggested and consequently shut down.

“And Yakyakistanis still probably argue that she would cheat if you win.” Dolma tapped a hoof to her chin. “Could bring our Prince?”

“Same issue.” Brave Storm sighed. “Equestrians will say he cheated if you win.”

“This is dumb. We wouldn’t cheat.” Dolma huffed.

“I’m happy you trust me, at least.” Brave Storm offered the yak a smile. 

“Maybe I could help?” spoke up a chittering and regal voice. The crowd parted and revealed the towering figure of the Changeling Queen, Vespa. Several changelings, and ponies that Brave Storm figured to be disguised changelings, bowed to the queen. Though Vespa’s eyes flickered on those changelings that chose to not bow, she didn’t make a stink about it.

“It-it’s just a friendly competition.” Brave Storm stammered. She had only seen Queen Vespa in photographs, but they didn’t give the changeling justice. The mare looked to the ground, shameful and embarrassed about her reaction while she was dating somepony.

“Friendly?” Queen Vepsa’s eyes drew to the yak and the changeling who were arguing. The changeling pawed the ground when her eye contact with him left him feeling embarrassed. “I want to see where this goes. I don’t have a dog in this race. And I have a free moment. Does any creature object to me refereeing this ‘friendly’ match?”

The crowd was silent.

“Then let us continue!” She flared her sparkling multicolored wings and flashed a smile in an attempt to bring merriment to the crowd. As she took her place high above to watch the two competitors, the positive and excited energy slowly began to return to the crowd. Brave Storm caught some debate on rather this was official since a ruler was watching over it as she was helped into her harness.

“Good luck.” Dolma wished Brave Storm before the competition went underway. 

It took nearly a full hour to reach results. Dolma and Brave Storm pushed each other to do better, hauling more and more weight across the finish line. It didn’t end until the Appleloosan carts were pushed to their limit, bowing and creaking under the weight the two had loaded onto them. Dolma couldn’t bring herself to go any further past halfway down the track. All Brave Storm had to do was finish.

The pony’s muscles ached and screamed at her. She was close to giving up herself. But then the rush of adrenaline rushed through her body. The pain still hurt and burned, but in a way that felt good. And she wanted to feel more of it. So she hauled, straining her muscles more than they’d been strained before. One step at a time, she made her way across the line, and the ponies, changelings, and bovines rooting for her erupted into cheer.

Brave Storm looked back to Dolma, still in the middle of the track, and gave her a smile. Pas was all she had for competition before, and that was mostly in sparring. But now she had another friend that would help push her to improve. She felt her knees wobble and found herself resting on the cold cave floor as Queen Vespa was officially declaring her the winner.