Equestrian Throwdown

by Hex Mark

Rules of the Game- The First Rookie challenge begins.

"Alright- as the lot of you- ponies and familiars alike- are new here, I'll explain the rules to you." The orientation pony began to speak, only for the cobalt unicorn to burst out in anger.

"Hold on! We already read our manuals! What is the point of us listening to the rules again?!" the cobalt unicorn asked, and Miles crossed his arms.

"Just because the ponies read it does not mean us 'familiars' have been brought up to speed." Skylark replied as the orientation pony nodded.

"I gotta say, you are quick to figure things out." the orientation pony complimented Skylark, who smiled. "Well, there are alot more rookies than we had been expecting, as such- we will be kicking things off with a set of preliminaries." the stallion started to explain. "You are only five out of fifteen rookies, the five of you are on the yellow block and will be competing against the red and blue blocks. The series of events serve to dwindle down the amount of rookies so that only the best will make their way to the actual games."

"That's a load of bull!" the minotaur shouted, only for the cobalt unicorn to sigh.

"It can't be helped, Taurus. You'll just have to fight your way to the top." he replied, and the orientation pony continued on.

"The first challenge will be the most dangerous- only those capable of surviving under harsh conditions will be able to pass through to the next round." the orientation pony stated before Miles rose his hand.

"Excuse me, but exactly how many challenges are there? And how long will this competition go on for?" he asked, and the pony smiled.

"That's the thing- these games could go on for weeks, depending on how interesting things get. The amount of challenges vary- the Rookie Preliminaries will end once only the top three performers are left. Then you, along with the veteran players, will compete in another set of games."

"So for all we know, we could be competing for a month?" he asked rhetorically, but then the orientation pony spoke up.

"For all we know, this competition would last all year long." he replied, and soon took out a quill and paper. "I would like all summoners and, if possible, the familiars to give their names. I would also like to know what species each familiar is." he instructed, and the cobalt stallion stepped up first with his minotaur.

"Cobalt Horn." The unicorn stated while the minotaur slammed his fist into his palm.

"Taurus, Minotaur!" the minotaur introduced himself, prompting the emerald green mare to step forward.

"Emerald Warbler. And this is Erubetie- the slime." she replied, the brown mare joining them.

"Citrine Glimmer, and with me is a manticore." Citrine stated, while black stallion stepped forward.

"Onyx Heart, and I brought a Displacer Beast." the black stallion introduced itself, and finally, it was Lyra's turn to speak. She swallowed nervously, stepping forward.

"My name is Lyra Heartstrings...and this..." her hesitation was enough to prompt the human to step forward.

"Miles Skylark, human." he introduced himself, much to the surprise of the other ponies. The shock didn't seem to deter Taurus, however, as he laughed.

"Don't think that a puny little runt like you will be able to get through these games!" the minotaur laughed, and Miles smirked.

"Never know until I try, right?" he asked, raising an eyebrow before the orientation pony nodded and cast a spell- transporting the familiars into another room- revealing the fifteen rookies. While Miles could not figure out every single one of them, the displacer beast could not contain its excitement, clawing at the barrier that kept each one separated from the other.

"Ladies and gentlecolts! Today, we will be starting off with the rookie preliminaries! These fifteen participants will race through the entirety of the Everfree Forest. It is a simple test of survival- The game will end once all survivors make their way to the other side of the forest- where we will see them emerge- and when those participants still in the forest perish." an announcer called, while the ponies who watched them began to cheer. They were all within the Colosseum- but through a series of magical projections, were able to see the contestants. "Once every one of them are inside the Everfree Forest, the barriers surrounding them will dissipate. Attacking one another will be free game- they may kill each-other to reduce the competition, and they may even run into native creatures from the forest itself." The announcer continued as Taurus called to Miles.

"Don't think I'm gonna hold your hand during this!" the minotaur warned the human, who nodded.

"Don't think I need it!" he replied quickly, but then began to think about his plan. This should be a fairly straight run. All I have to do is bolt it- no looking back, no delays. he thought to himself. His legs tensed up slightly before relaxing as he took a deep breath. Just focus on running straight ahead. Focus on your legs. Focus on winning this round, for Lyra! he reminded himself.

Meanwhile, Lyra had just taken her seat next to the other rookies, feeling odd as she noticed just how many ponies were excited to watch them eliminate each-other from the competition. She was particularly wary of Onyx Heart, who's Displacer Beast looked the most ferocious- even more so than Citrine's manticore.

"Shouldn't you be worried about your own familiar rather than me?" Onyx questioned the mare, having sensed her fear. The unicorn looked away, only at the forest entrance where she could only hope her human would get out safely.

"Alright! Shall we begin the countdown?" the announcer asked, and a large group of the ponies cheered.

"TEN!" they shouted in unison as Miles got into a position to start running. His right foot was forward, staring intent at the forest edge.

"Nine!, Eight! Seven!" the audience shouted as the fifteen familiars were all preparing themselves.

"Six!" the displacer beast bared its fangs, tentacles tensing up.

"Five! Four!" Erubetie focused on her own plans.

"Three!" Lyra put her hooves together as if she were praying.

"Two!" Taurus smirked as he stared at the forest.

"One!" Miles tensed up, ready to go.

"GOOOOO!" and with that, all of the familiars went on a mad dash towards the forest edge. The displacer was the first go get there, followed by a dog, then Erubetie. Taurus and Miles got in their simutaneously, and once the rest of the fifteen got in there, the glow from their barriers faded- leaving them vulnerable in the forest.

(to be continued)

Author's Note:

Kind of a short chapter, but I had plans for the next two and I didn't wanna exposition in along with the entirety of the first challenge. I admit, I did not reveal all of the rookie-familiars because I did not think of all of them yet.

Comments

[593322]

"Just because the ponies read it does not mean us 'familiars' have been brought up to speed. That, and there is always the possibility that you

Please continue good sir, and finish your statement.
Also,

That's a load of bull!" the minotaur shouted,

Was that intentionally ironic?

[Hex Mark]

2710335

Thanks for the catch on the unfinished statement.

And yes, the bull thing was intentional.

[Dragon Blaze-X]

not bad but need more plot to straight forward even for the begging

[DarkStratos]

Uh...I feel that Miles is gonna get destroyed, if anything touches him..

[Hex Mark]

2722400
...You, my friend, just gave me the funniest imagery for a picture

[Atomic Clock]

I would like to see where this goes, keep up the good work.

[Hex Mark]

2757345
Chapter 4 is on its way- I am having a bit of trouble with writing it, but that's because this is out of my comfort zone. This is as much of a challenge as it is a joy to me. Thank you and everyone else for the support ^^

[thatguyyeah]

the ponys should die for what there doing to the animals and they should atlesst have pony vs. pony like us humans did way back when

[Kyle the Scrublord]

It would have been better if miles brought THIS with him.

33.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyuhobtpGc1qces0ho1_500.gif

Gg no re rip other contestants