//------------------------------// // Episode Five // Story: Horse La Horse Season 1 // by Stegtorn //------------------------------// "Hey, wake up, Anon," the voice of Twilight whispers in your ear. "W-wha?" you reply, waving your hand around to shoo off whoever dare rouse you as you sleep. "It's time for school, Anon!" You roll over in a rage, sitting up and looking out the window. "The sun isn't even up," you say lowly, unable to raise your voice. Foggily you notice the pillow wall is gone... "What do you want for breakfast?" You stomach calls out with a growl. Can't deny that. "What have you got?" you question. After a hearty breakfast of eggs, waffles and something unusual, Celestia finally brings up the sun. You saw it once while you were in Canterlot all those months ago. Terrible sight, so much panting and sweating. The sun simply refused to wake up, no matter how loud Celestia shouted. But, according to her, it's not always like that. Maybe the sun just doesn't like you much? "Suppose we'll be heading to school now?" you question, putting the plates in the sink. "Yep! If we get there soon we'll have two hours to spare before the doors open." "Oh for the love of god." "WHICH MEANS MORE STUDY TIME~!" she calls, charging up the stairs to collect her books. Studying is for chumps, lifting and loitering is where it's at. At the school, you lean up against the wall, one hand raised, watching Twilight as she studies. Bitch is fucking crazy, but she's not so bad. She did make you breakfast after all... You'd call her your friend. But not in public, or in front of anyone. For now it's "acquaintance". "Hey Twilight, I think now would be a good time to tell me why you made me this suit." Exposition time. She looks up from her book, a bit nervous, "I uh, think it looks good on you." "So the whole transformation, fighting-thing was an after thought?" "Y-yeah." "Then how come you told me I was going to beat Sunset with this? Sounds like you planned this whole thing." Hmm, perhaps she know something about how you got here? You hadn't even considered that. "Heheh, no of course not. How silly of you." "Who founded this school, was it Sunset?" "No, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna." "Then why is she top dog?" "School president," she says with a weak grin. Definitely hiding something. The Princess probably are as well. You'll have to pay them a visit sometime, maybe over the upcoming break? SHIT. A week, an entire week, at Twilight's place. The studying is going to be something else. With only a few minutes before opening the school has a healthy gathering outside. Stallions bicker about itches that can't be scratched in public, and which tests are coming up. Mares bicker about stallions and how icky they are. Business as usual. That is, of course, until a giant wagon comes barreling by. Looks like Trixie's cart. The wooden thing rolls right past everyone, parting the gates and heading right into the school. Eager students pile in after it, gasping in shock as they enter. You and Twilight hurry to what the commotion is. Whoa. Various courts, ramparts, platforms and equipment have been set up for the game. Sunset and her four, and their retainers stand proudly at one end of the courtyard. Fleur and Colgate look a little uneasy when they see you. That's good. Lyra and Trixie however... But you'll stomp them out soon enough. Not for justice. Not for honor. Not for power. Not for the future (okay maybe a little). Not for love. Not for peace. Only for some information that may or may not be helpful. Totally worth it. You push through the crowd, just as someone hands Sunset a mic. "Ahem. Hello Student Body. Once again, to kick off the holiday break, we will host our Sports Festival." The students hoof-clap, which is an off-putting and very odd demonstration. "Five outta five!" one shouts. "First off...the tennis matches." "HEY!" you call, just as Sunset turns to hand off the mic. "Oh it's that rude human again," she whispers, the mic "accidentally" catching her words. "What about the fights?" "That will happen later, we still have the tennis, soccer and cricket finals. Lyra and you will have your match at one o'clock." "ONE? It's like Eight-thirty now. Will there be lunch?" "There will be refreshments mid-games," she says, rolling her eyes. Cool. You slink back into the crowd. And so the day goes on, no seats are brought out, and everyone kinda just piles around the stage in use, sitting on the grass all peaceful and nice. You get a chill spot with Twilight in the back. All through-out the matches she's there spouting tips and stats and techniques. You're not even saying a damn thing, she may as well be having a conversation with herself, but she's really into it. And that's kinda cute. Her hair is nice. Very purple. "AND NOW, THE COMBAT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR," the announcer yells all of a sudden. Theme of Lyra (Gene's Rock a bye God Hand OST) Lyra, from her spot on the Elite's platform, jumps up and lands on the unused, round, large metal ring in the court. She waves her hoof at you, beckoning you over. Welcome to die. The crowd cheers around you, egging you to join Lyra on the stage. "Go Anon go!" Twilight calls as you walk toward the stage. "You too!" Wait. You can't think about that now, you hurry on stage. Lyra looks a little nervous when you get up there. She should be. You figure you'll let her attack first, if only to see what this new style is like. After a few seconds of pacing about Lyra activates her magic. And right above her head, two large, green, shimmering hands manifest. God, they're both almost as big as you. That's going to be hard to avoid. Cot of Calamity all over again. You run forward, only intending to see how she reacts. Your answer comes in the form of one of the huge hands sweeping across the floor straight at you. EVADE! Flipping back you take a second to review what you've learned. She will pimp-slap you, and apparently you are now an acrobat. Hmm, those big hands move pretty slow. What kinda transformation could you use in this fight? Pinkie Pants, if she's still alive in there, boosts your speed quite a bit. Hmm, but maybe you won't need her? Yeah, you should try going clean. You can do it! Just as you think that, Lyra's hand comes down on your head, smacking you to the side. She flinches like she was the one hit. Pain arcs across your shoulder and head. Sliding across the metal, you recover as quick as possible, breaking into a charge for her. Standing at the other end she looks a bit apprehensive. She's not even trying to hit you! You duck under her two hands, which she brings down toward you at the last second. A uppercut gets her on her hind-legs. "O-oh~" she yelps. Did she just moan? Even if she did, that doesn't stop you from delivering a flurry of punches to her soft stomach. BRUTAL. VISCERAL ACTION. "O-O-O-OH AHH!" You jump back, watch as Lyra shudders in...pain? That fucking better be pain. Or else things got a bit weird. Hey wait, did those hands get bigger? The left one curls into a fist and shoots right toward you, Lyra looking rather uncomfortable with the throw. At the last second you dodge, letting the fist slam into the ground. A dent in the dirt? Goddamn, that's some power. Getting hit by that isn't going to be pretty. You should try to get close again, this time you won't back off. "I can't fight this man, Sunset!" Lyra suddenly shouts. Lyra turns and looks up at her superior. You halt, choosing to listen. "He has hands, Sunny, HANDS!" "You will fight him," she says coldly, "or I will unfriend you on Hoofbook." A gasp goes out through the crowd. Hoofbook, the ultimate status symbol. You don't have one, but you can imagine how awful it must be to have the Student Council President unfriend you. Lyra turns back to you, eyes a little watery. Lyra's magic hands shoot out toward you, gripping you. Goddammit, you're too slow, but you're not gonna give up. You squirm and struggle, to no avail. She rushes up to you, little pink tongue waggling out of her horse mouth. The wet thing goes for your hands, bound by her magic. You try to avoid it but there is no escaping her tongue. She laps at your fingers, moaning a little bit. The crowd 'oh's and 'ah's in confusion. "P-please stop licking me." "H-hands," she huffs. "That's dumb, you're dumb," you grunt. "W-what?" "Your obsession with hands is stupid, like you." PLEASE WORK. Lyra sniffles for a moment before breaking down into tears, and her magic dissipates. "I-I d-didn't ask for this," she whimpers, much like a puppy. "Anonymous wins again!" "No, he does not," Trixie shouts from her spot not too far away. Sunset smiles at you from beside her companion, the most shit-eating grin on her moron face. Does this mare think she's fucking invincible? "Huh? How's that?" You demand, standing over your opponent proudly. Lyra is still sniffling. "Lyra, can you still fight?" Trixie questions, her brow furrowing. "Y-yes, I suppose," she mewls. "Then get too it!" Trixie encourages. Gotta catch her off guard, knock her out or something. You pounce for her, but you get swatted away like a fly. Landing hard, you realize her hands must have returned to their reduced size. You don't have any broken bones either, which is good. Wouldn't want to interrupt a fight by accessing the 'Cure' menu located in the survival viewer. Time to get close again. Lyra looks angry now, trotting toward, watching intently as you struggle to stand. However that's just a bit of show. Let her get close, and then knock her out. She's just a few feet from you now, and her magic-hands are already outstretched toward you. Rolling, you get them to punch each other, knocking them both away from you. Perfect! Too surprised to move, you strike Lyra right in her teary face, knocking her down. This is fairly easy. Well, it is, until you move into position to pin her. She's all shaky and nervous. H-how are you suppose to knock that out? This is a bit cruel. Maybe if you were to just ask? "Do you submit?" you demand, voice loud and booming. "N-no," she sniffles, looking up at you. Well, seems you've reached an impasse. "GAH!" Trixie yelps, "SO WEAK." "I know right, she kinda just gave up," you pose for the crowd, who woos at you. "D-did not," she mewls. "Sunset, I thought you said these were your best? How did a weakling like her make it on your team?" "Because she's a good observer," Sunset replies, the sun reflecting off her hay-eating grin and right into your sensitive eyes. "Huh?" Lyra begins crawling away, mewling a bit more. "She's quite good at observing attack patterns and techniques. Now she's gotten some field experience with you, and..." "AND I HAVE ALL I NEED TO FACE YOU," Trixie interrupts. "Anonymous, this will be your undoing! All your fights up until now have been flukes, and while you've been flaunting your limited powers, we've been plotting!" Shimmer shines brightly, her hair seeming to soak in the sun's rays. Lyra mopes up to her companion, handing something small to her. Huh? What could she have hidden during the fight, she has no pockets! Wait, why are they touching horns? "They're melding horns, exchanging thoughts and emotions, Trixie is learning all your weak points!" Twilight calls from the crowd. "Lyra, prepare my cart," she says, sauntering into the arena, her silly cape flowing in the wind. You take a deep breath and prepare yourself. Hopefully this will be a real fight. IN THE NEXT EPISODE: Will Anonymous be able to stand against the Great and Powerful Trixie? Will Lyra stop being such a wimp? Will Sunset have any more tricks up her hoof? FIND OUT NEXT TIME ON HORSE THE HORSE!