//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: The Games // Story: Hearts of Harmony // by Legrio //------------------------------// “So, I guess you’re using some kind of spell to look like that, huh?” The armored pegasus asked, leading them to a nearby bench. “Yep!” Twilight carefully sat down, still a little unused to her human form. “Applejack, Spike, and I ended up in another world, called Traverse Town.” Her voice lowered as she explained the nature of the worlds and how they got there. “Apparently, Equestria is just one world among many. This is another world too, called Olympus Coliseum. We met some another group of travelers who explained things to us. There was another keyblade wielder too, some kid named Sora.” “Wow, I just thought I got blown to the other side of the world when Nightmare Moon’s keyblade exploded. This is so cool!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, bouncing up in excitement. “So, you have a ship or something to travel between worlds, right?!” “Yep, we do,” Applejack drawled, bemused by her friend’s antics. “Hopefully the trip back won’t be so bumpy. Earth ponies are meant to stay on the ground!” “So, are you ready to go, Rainbow?” Twilight asked, getting to her feet. “We need to find our other friends. We think they’re scattered around the other worlds.” “Well,” the pegasus began, “I guess. I was trying to get into the games around here though.” “Games?” Spike perked up. The mention of games definitely had his attention. “Yeah, games!” The mare pointed with her hoof towards the double doors leading further inside. “You have to fight your way through this tournament, and if you win you can get some awesome prizes, plus you get named a hero!” “A hero? Wow!” The little dragon’s eyes were filled with wonder. “Yeah, they’re pretty awesome! That manager though, he wouldn’t let me in because he thinks I’m just a rookie! But come on, with the three of us together, nopony can stop us! He won’t have any choice but to let us in!” The farmpony shook her head. “Ah don’t know, Rainbow Dash. What if somepony gets hurt?” “Hey, they have healers and stuff for injuries, and it’s not like it’s a fight to the death or anything. Come on, Twi’, let’s do it!” The pegasus tried to tug the keyblade wielder in the direction of the doors, but she hesitated. “And we have to wait for Gadget to get done with the repairs anyways!” Spike said, eager to see the games. “It can’t hurt just to try out, right?” the transformed human asked. She strode up to the doors and pushed them open, finding herself in what looked to be some sort of trophy room. “Hey, it’s that goatman we saw outside!” she thought. The hairy little guy was struggling to move a large statue blocking a doorway. “Hey, Herc, mind giving me a hand here?” He grunted. Twilight looked at her companions and shrugged. Purple magic enveloped the heavy stone statue, shoving it aside. “What the?” the goatman trailed off, turning to look at their group. “Oh, it’s you again. Look, I don’t care who you’ve got with you, I ain’t lettin’ no group of rookies into the games!” “We’re not rookies!” Rainbow Dash crossed her arms as she hovered in front of the irate little man. “Come on, Phil! Twilight here knows all sorts of magic and Applejack is super strong! We can totally do this!” “Well,” Philoctetes said aloud, scratching his chin, “Alright, tell you what. If horn girl over there can pass a little test I’ll think about it.” “Horn girl?!” An affronted Twilight thought. She angrily exclaimed, “I’ll show you! Bring on that test!” The satyr laughed. “That’s the spirit! Come on, this way, I’ve got it all set up in the arena!” Spike suddenly tugged on a lock of the keyblade wielder’s hair. “Hey, Twilight, these tests sound kinda boring. I saw a food cart back there, do you mind if I go get some snacks?” She was about to say no, but then the keyblade wielder remembered what Applejack said earlier. She kneeled down and let the little dragon jump off. “Alright,” she relented, pouring a few munny orbs into the eager kid’s claws. “But you’d better not stuff yourself! And bring back some for the rest of us!” “Yay!” the little guy cheered. “Thanks, Twilight, you’re the best!” He ran off, kicking up a small cloud of dust behind him. Twilight shook her head and followed the rest of the group out into the arena. There, she saw stacks of barrels lined up on various platforms, a few even floating in mid-air! Phil cleared his throat. “Alright, here’s what ya gotta do. You’ll have two minutes to smash all of these barrels.” He pointed to Applejack and Rainbow Dash. “And no help from either of you!” The two mares grumbled, but Twilight just smiled. Her keyblade flashed, held up by the purple glow of her magic. “This’ll be a piece of cake!” A nasty smirk crossed Phil’s face. “And none of your fancy magic either!” “What?!” Twilight’s keyblade fell to the ground with a clatter of metal on stone. “But that’s how I fight! I’m a magician for Celestia’s sake!” “Hey, magic’s fine and all, but I have to make sure you’re tough!” He held up three fingers. “Three words, rookie: crowd appeal!” Applejack looked confusedly at her pegasus friend who just shrugged. “What I’m tryin’ to say is, the crowds don’t like it when somebody folds up in one hit, or if you end up running around the coliseum just because you’re out of mana and you don’t know how to swing a weapon around. No crowds equals no tickets sold, and no tickets sold means I’m out of a job! Sorry, but them’s the breaks, girlie.” Phil folded his arms. “So, you gonna do this or what?” Twilight’s keyblade snapped into her waiting hands. “You bet I am!” “Okay then!” The satyr got out a small sundial and began counting down. “And go!” Twilight burst into action, sweeping her keyblade through the first trio of barrels. They burst into splinters as she jumped up to the next level, destroying more barrels as she went. Sweat dripped into her eyes as she thrust forward. “Ugh, I’m never criticizing Sora again,” she thought, quickly wiping her brow. “How does he make jumping around like this look so easy?!” Soon, just one group of barrels remained, floating on a platform in the distance. Swinging her weapon about in a great arc, she flung it with all her might. The wooden barrels practically exploded on contact with the mystical weapon. Panting, she turned to Phil. “So, how did I do?” “Hm, five seconds to spare!” he announced after checking his timepiece. “Not bad, rookie.” Rainbow flew down and poked the satyr. “So, do we get in?!” She poked him again. “Did we?!” “Settle down, featherbrain,” he grumbled, brushing her off. He ambled over to a nearby list posted on a wall. “Hm, sorry girls, looks like all the spots in the tournament are filled. Better luck next time!” “Hey, ya’ll said we’d get in if Twilight passed your test!” Applejack said, pawing the ground angrily. “No, I said I’d think about it!” An irate Phil corrected her. “I thought about it, and I ain’t got no room! Now beat it!” Twilight sighed. “Come on, girls, let’s just go.” “But Twi’!” Rainbow Dash whined. “I really wanted to win here!” The keyblade wielder sighed. “Maybe we can come back for the next one, alright?” “Fine,” the pegasus pouted, then sighed. “Well, no point in hanging around here any longer. Let’s go.” The trio began walking back the way they’d came. A few moments later, they were back in the large courtyard with the statues. “Now where did Spike get to?” Twilight wondered aloud. Cupping her hands about her mouth, she began to call out the little dragon’s name. She soon got a response, but not the one she wanted. A pillar of foul smelling smoke erupted in front of them, setting them to coughing. When the smoke cleared, a strange, tall being stood before her. He looked similar to a human being, but just off. He was dressed in a robe like many of the other people around, but his was darker and had a broach shaped like a skull! His skin was the wrong color and his hands ended in claws. And his hair was made out of flames! He stretched a hand forward. “Hey, I heard you’re having a bit of trouble getting into the tournament.” Twilight recoiled slightly. She definitely didn’t like the looks of whoever this was! “Who are you?” “Hades, lord of the dead, nice to meet ya!” When Twilight didn’t move to shake his hand, he continued. “Now Twilight, I’m a bit of a fan-” “How’d you know my name?” The keyblade wielder suspiciously interrupted. “Oh, I hear things, here and there. You’re not quite what I was expecting,” he said, looking her over and leering slightly. Twilight nearly gagged. “But eh, what can ya do?” He shrugged expressively. “So, anyways, I heard ya wanted to get into the tourney, and guess what? I have a few entry passes right here!” A few tickets appeared in his hands in a puff of smoke. “Why don’t ya take ‘em? All I ask is that you give me a hell of a show!” Twilight looked to her friends. Rainbow Dash looked slightly tempted but shook her head no, while Applejack looked disgusted just being near this foul creature. “Ugh, thanks, but no thanks. Now if you’ll excuse us, we’ll be on our way-” “Ya know, I half expected you might say that.” Hades snapped his fingers. Another trio appeared beside him in a puff of smoke. It was Spike, wrapped in chains, with two little imps holding his bonds! “Ugh, I don’t feel so good, Twilight,” the little dragon said. He looked very pale. Twilight’s keyblade flashed into her hands, glowing like a star with her magic, as wisps of darkness swirled around her in a storm of power. “LET HIM GO!” she roared. Applejack quickly got out her new spiked rope as Rainbow Dash put up her hooves. “Ooh, there’s that temper I’ve heard so much about!” the lord of the dead laughed. “Now, I’d calm down if I were you. Wouldn’t want to break this, would you?” He pulled forth a small vial, with liquid sloshing about inside. “What’s that?” the pegasus warily asked. “Oh, not much, just the antidote to your little friend’s poison,” Hades waved the little vial about. “It’s quite a nasty little thing, you know. He’ll just waste away, day after day, until there’s nothing left.” Twilight growled, forcing her anger and darkness down. “What. Do. You. Want?” She demanded. “Why, just fight in the tournament!” The vial of antidote disappeared in a puff of smoke. “You see, there’s this little jerk in the tournament called Hercules. I want you to take him out for me.” “I’m not going to kill anyone!” the keyblade wielder growled, getting ready to fight. “Who said anything about killing?” Hades replied. He waved a hand dismissively. “Just tire him out, I’ll do the rest. Do this for me, and the antidote is yours.” Applejack laid a hoof on Twilight’s keyblade. “Ah think we’d better do what he says.” “But!” “We’ll figure something out, Twi’,” Rainbow Dash reassured her friend. The keyblade wielder sighed and banished her keyblade. “Fine, we’ll do it.” “Great, just what I wanted to hear! Now, here’s your passes.” Twilight reluctantly took the scraps of paper. “Twilight, I’m scared,” Spike said, his voice pained. “It’ll be fine, Spike, trust me!” The transformed mare tried to reassure her little assistant. Hades snapped his fingers and the little dragon and his captors disappeared. “Oh, one last thing. I’ve got another fighter in the tournament. Tall, broody guy with spiky hair, can’t miss him. If you end up facing him, well, good luck. I don’t really care which one of you fights Herc, but if he ends up beating Wonderboy, well, no antidote for you. Capice?” “Yeah,” Twilight growled, as the lord of the dead vanished in another cloud of smoke. “I got it.” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Hey Phil!” The pegasus shouted, waving her entry pass around. “Look what we found!” “Huh?” The satyr goggled at the small pieces of paper. “Where in the world did ya find those?!” “It doesn’t matter. We can get in the games now, right?” Twilight impatiently asked. “Yeah, sure,” Phil said, already putting their names onto the list posted on the wall. “What’s the big rush though? Earlier you didn’t seem too bothered by not getting in.” “Ha-” The keyblade wielder started, before stopping herself. Somehow, she didn’t think Hades would react well to her revealing his involvement and she didn’t want to do anything to further endanger Spike. Putting on what she hoped would be a cheerful tone of voice, she continued, “I just changed my mind, that’s all.” Phil shrugged. “Well, the preliminaries are gonna be startin’ in about a minute. Come on.” He waved them through the doors. A wave of noise slammed into them as they entered the arena. The stands were packed with cheering people! “Wow, I’ve never fought in front of so many people before,” she thought, looking around. Phil laughed. “There’s a bunch of weirdos in the games this time, so be careful, rookies.” “This is so awesome!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, doing a loop in the air. Applejack grabbed the overexcited pegasus and dragged her down to the ground. “We’re here so we can get that antidote for Spike, remember?” She hissed at the mare. Rainbow laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of her head. “Sorry, I’ll stop.” “Rookies.” The satyr rolled his eyes and walked off. There was a loud bang and the crowd slowly quieted. Twilight looked up to see a man standing on a platform above the crowd. His voice rang out, “Welcome to the Phil Cup!” The crowd cheered. “We plenty of fights for you today, so let’s get to ‘em! In this corner we have the, er...” The man looked down at some paper in his hands before scratching his head. Finally, he shouted down, “Hey, what’s your team’s name?” “Um,” the transformed keyblader said, stalling for time. She desperately looked to her friends, who shrugged. As she fingered the black chain of her necklace, inspiration struck. “We’re the Elements of Harmony!” “Right, the Elements of Harmony versus the Jungle Vice!” The announcer shouted as the crowd roared once more. A group of strange, monkey-like creatures bounded into the arena from the other side. A few Soldiers marched in after them. Twilight’s keyblade flashed into her hands as she caught sight of the emblem they bore. “Heartless!” “Ah see ‘em!” Applejack cried, twirling her rope around before letting it fly. Weighted by the heavy metal spike on the end it flew forward straight and true, impaling the nearest of the monkey Heartless. It vanished into wisps of darkness as the farmpony whipped her weapon back, readying for another strike. Rainbow Dash streaked forward, grabbing one of the monsters. She rapidly whirled in mid air before flinging it into a Soldier, destroying both of them. With the barest flicker of power, Twilight cast the Scan spell from Merlin. Information flowed into her mind, labeling the creatures as Powerwilds. One of them leapt at her in an attempt to flay her with its claws, but the keyblade wielder simply parried the blow, knocking it back. Flinging her weapon at the stunned Heartless, she began to concentrate. The weapon began to glow with her magic, obliterating the Powerwild before curving to strike several more. The crowd roared as Twilight’s keyblade reappeared in her hands. “And the Elements of Harmony just roll over the competition in a striking display of skill, advancing to the next round! You’ll only see fights like these here in Olympus Coliseum!” The announcer shouted as Twilight stomped out of the arena, followed closely by her friends. Phil was waiting for them in the lobby. “Not bad, roo-” He was cut off as Twilight grabbed him with her magic and flipped him upside down. “Hey, what gives?!” “Twilight!?” both of the mares exclaimed, surprised. Twilight leaned in close to the satyr, her eyes cold. “Why are there Heartless in the games? Did Hades put you up to this?!” “Hey, I don’t make up the rules, girl! They showed up with entry passes, so I let ‘em in! That’s how it works!” Phil shouted. “Now let me down!” After a moment, the keyblade wielder sighed. She turned the satyr rightside up before setting him down. Twilight looked away before mumbling, “Sorry.” Phil brushed himself off. “Now, what’s this about Hades?” “Ah think ya should tell him, Twi’,” Applejack said as Rainbow Dash nodded. The keyblade wielder sighed and began to explain. “Hades poisoned one of my friends. He won’t give me the antidote unless I defeat somebody named Hercules in the games.” “Hercules?!” the satyr exclaimed. He began to pace back and forth. “Well, we’ve got a bit of a problem then. He’s off visiting his father during these prelims. And I can’t just stop the games either, who knows what Hades’d do?” He sighed. “Well, I can send a messenger to try to contact Herc, but who knows if it’ll get to him in time. In the meantime, just keep fighting in the tournament. That’s all we can do for now.” Just as Twilight was about to say something, the door to the arena opened. Twilight gawked as a tall man with spiked blonde hair that had a simply enormous sword wrapped in bandages strapped to his back walked by. He stopped and stared at the keyblade wielder and her friends for a moment before continuing. “Creepy. Wait, that must be Hades’ other fighter!” she realized. “Who’s he?” “Eh, not sure. Must be another newbie around here. Looks pretty tough though. You might end up facing him, so be careful,” Phil replied. “Aw, who cares?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, looping a leg around both of her friends. “With all of us together, there’s no way we can lose!” A small smile worked its way onto Twilight’s face. “She’s right! With my friends I can do anything!” “Hey, I think you’re up again!” Phil said, as the crowd outside began to roar again. “Right!” Twilight shouted, her keyblade appearing in her hands. “Let’s go, girls!”