//------------------------------//
// The Tournament Begins 
// Story: Mortal Kombat: Equestria 
// by Green Akers 
//------------------------------//

	Twilight stared sternly out across the water. "Ugh," she muttered, "two solid days of flying, and still no sight of Kahn's island! We should have already landed by now!" She looked over at Spike, who was trying to figure out the compass he was holding. "Are we still flying in the right direction?" she inquired.

"Er...maybe?" Spike responded with a shrug.

Twilight sighed, then looked over to where Applejack was throwing up over the side of the balloon. "We'd better get there soon," she muttered.

"You're telling me!" Rarity agreed, while trying to position herself underneath the shadow created by the balloon. "All this sun and salt is wreaking havoc with my mane!"

"You know," Rainbow Dash called out, with the balloon rope now tied around her waist, "we'd get there a lot faster if somepony would get out here and help me pull this thing!"

Twilight glanced over at Fluttershy, who was curled up in a ball with her eyes closed and her ears covered. "No luck," Twilight shouted back to Rainbow Dash. "I think she's afraid of the ocean."

"That's just peachy," Rainbow grumbled.

"Pinkie Pie," Twilight requested, "what the status of our rations? How much food do we have left?"

"Oh, we ran out of food hours ago!" Pinkie replied with a smile, offering Twilight a napkin. "These are pretty tasty, though - want one?"

"Er...no...thank you," Twilight declined.

"How about you, Applejack?" Pinkie Pie offered, causing Applejack to vomit over the side once more.

"Um...Twilight?" a nervous Spike asked. "My stomach's growling..."

"Focus, Spike," Twilight instructed. "Try to find something to think about other than food."

"Oh...okay." Spike sat quietly for a minute or two, then looked back up at Twilight. "What do you think happened to the Cutie Mark Crusaders?"

"Oh no!" Pinkie Pie chimed in. "Do...do you think they exploded?"

Twilight hung her head over the side of the balloon. "We're doomed," she muttered.



As the waves crashed upon the shores of Kahn's island, a solitary figure sat cross-legged on the beach, his head lowered and eyes closed. Ignoring the noises of the ocean and the seagulls squawking above him, the man cleared his mind and began to meditate. After many months of training and preparation, the man thought, the time for battle is almost upon us. I ask the gods to grant me the strength, the will, and the patience to triumph over Shao Kahn and once again spare Earthrealm from his wrath.

Suddenly, a vision of Raiden appeared before the man. "Rise up, Liu Kang," Raiden commanded, "and know that you are not alone in this fight, for the gods stand with you and your fellow warriors. The power to defeat Shao Kahn lies within you, and..."

"Oh, cool!" Suddenly a vision of Princess Celestia appeared next to Raiden. "This is how you communicate with your students? Very impressive, Raiden! I'll have to try this with Twilight..."

"Celestia, please!" Raiden exclaimed, shooting the princess an unamused glare. "I'm in a meeting right now!"

"Well, you better wrap things up before the hot dogs are done!" Celestia encouraged, as she faded out of view.

Raiden sighed, then turned back to face a confused Liu Kang. "Look," he explained, "you know the drill here - bring the pain, smite the bad guys, save the world, yada yada yada..."

"Of course," Liu Kang answered.

"There's just one little problem," Raiden continued. "Our friend Celestia here decided to mess with some of her subjects by sending them to fight in the tournament. They are unskilled, undisciplined, and generally pretty useless when it comes to fighting. I need you to take care of these ponies, and..."

"Ponies?" Liu Kang arched an eyebrow at the revelation.

"It's a long story," Raiden admitted, "but yes, ponies - and one tiny dragon, if you can believe that. Just make sure they don't do something stupid and cause Shao Kahn to conquer Earthrealm, okay?"

"Very well," Liu Kang agreed. "I will."

"Great." Raiden wiped his brow in relief. "They should be arriving any minute now. Good luck!"

Liu Kang watched in silence as his vision of Raiden faded away. "Ponies?" he said to himself. "Seriously?"



"Land ho!" Pinkie Pie called out, peering through a telescope at an island off in the distance.

"Really?" Twilight shoved Pinkie Pie out of the way to look through the telescope herself. "Finally!" she shouted, as she saw the palm trees and sandy beaches in the distance. "We made it!"

"It's about time!" Rarity huffed. "I do hope they have suitable accommodations at this island - I'm in desperate need of a hair stylist!"

"I'd settle for a bathroom at this point," a green-faced Applejack moaned.

Within ten minutes, the balloon touched down on the sandy beaches of the Island of Shao Kahn, a short distance from where Kahn's ship was anchored. The group quickly disembarked and took in their new surroundings.

"Gee...this doesn't seem too bad," Fluttershy remarked, looking at the trees and greenery just beyond the beaches.

"Ugh..." Rarity gagged at the sight of Kahn's grungy ship. "On second thought, perhaps flying here wasn't so bad after all."

"So where do we go now?" Twilight asked the group.

"I'll do a flyover and check this place out!" Rainbow Dash volunteered.

"Hold on a minute!" Applejack interrupted, catching Rainbow Dash's tail in her mouth before she could fly off. "I think we'd best stay together," Applejack suggested. "I've got an awful bad feeling about this place."

"Look!" Twilight pointed out a set of stairs leading away from the beach and into rockier terrain. "Let's follow that path and see where it goes."

"Oh, all right," Rainbow Dash pouted, following her friends as they hurried to the path.

Twilight watched as her friends began traveling up the path, then looked back towards the beach, where the sun was beginning to set on the horizon. "We'd better hurry," she cautioned. "We don't have much time before nightfall."





After  a half-hour of climbing up steep, rocky slopes and bushwhacking through dense forest, the group of friends finally stumbled upon a large stone building in the middle of a small clearing. "Finally!" Twilight exclaimed. "Civilization!"

Rarity grimaced at the crude stonework. "I wouldn't go that far," she commented.

"Who cares?" Rainbow Dash proclaimed. "Let's get in there and get some answers!" With that, the rainbow-maned pony made a mad dash for the entrance.

"Rainbow, wait!" Twilight called after her friend, to no avail.

Rainbow Dash swooped over to the building's main door, where two burly masked men stood guard carrying halberds that stood twice as tall as they did. "All right, you two!" Rainbow Dash shouted, assuming a fighter's stance in front of the guards. "Start talking! Where are our friends?"

The guards looked at each other, then back at the pony before them. "Who are you?" one demanded.

"Your worst nightmare, that's who!" Rainbow Dash declared. "Now hand over the ponies, before I really get angry!"

"Dude...is she on the list?" one guard asked the other.

"We have a list?" the other responded in surprise.

"Yes, we have a list!" The first guard reached down and pulled a small scrap of paper out of his pocket. "Now check and see if she's on it!" he instructed, handing the list to the second guard.

"Hmm..." The second guard examined the list, which contained a single item: 'ANYONE NOT NAMED CHUCK NORRIS.' "Yep," the second guard declared confirmed. "Your worst nightmare is definitely on the list."

"Very well then." The first guard opened the door. "Proceed to the main chamber."

"That's better!" Rainbow Dash agreed. "C'mon, everypony!" she called back to her approaching friends. "We've got some fillies to save!"

The group of seven rushed through the door and into the building, leaving the guards alone once more. "By the way..." the first guard asked the second, "is your worst nightmare really a talking blue horse with a rainbow mane?"

"I thought she was your worst nightmare!" the second guard replied. "Mine was that pink one."



Inside the main hall of the building, fighters of every shape and size had gathered around a set of banquet tables, partaking in a massive feast to celebrate the beginning of the tournament. Buffet tables piled high with various goodies lined the back wall of the room, including a table filled with the sweets Scorpion had picked up from Sugar Cube Corner.

Liu Kang sat at a table in the middle of the room, flanked by his comrades in arms. "So lemme get this straight," the woman sitting directly to Kang's right translated. "Not only are we risking our lives to save Earthrealm from being conquered, but now we have to baby-sit some stupid ponies too?"

"Yes, Sonya," Liu Kang repeated. "Raiden wishes to ensure that these ponies do not interfere with our plans and cause Shao Kahn to win."

"Good grief!" The man sitting across from Liu Kang shook his head. "You can play with the widdle horsies all you want, Liu, but I, for one, have better things to do than deal with a bunch of dumb ponies."

"I do not like it either, Johnny," Liu Kang insisted, "but we must consider the big picture: We must not allow Shao Kahn's warriors to defeat us in battle. We must be willing to do whatever it takes to triumph, even if it means managing a group of ponies."

"You can manage the ponies," Johnny Cage repeated. "I pay someone $20 an hour to feed and walk my dog."

"Look there!" Sonya interrupted, pointing to a doorway at the far end of the room. "Kahn's coming in to give his opening address!"

The three fighters turned just as Shao Kahn, wearing his customary horned skull helmet and red cape, strode into the room, flanked by several bodyguards and trailed by a frightening creature with four arms. The room fell silent as Kahn approached an empty chair at the head table, where Scorpion and several other prominent warriors were already seated.

"Greetings, mortals," Kahn growled. "I, Shao Kahn, ruler of Outworld, welcome you all to the site of our grand tournament." He cast a smug glance at Liu Kang and his friends. "I'm glad to see that many of my old friends have joined us again," he continued, "but I believe a refresher of the rules is in order for the new blood in the audience."

Kahn gestured to a map of the island hanging on the wall. "This island shall be your home for the duration of the competition," he explained. "Most matches will be staged at locations in and around the island, although...there are always exceptions." He nodded towards the door he had entered through earlier, where a pair of ninjas were carrying in a large sheet of paper with a tournament bracket scrawled on it. "Each of you here today will be assigned a time, location, and opponent for your first match," Kahn summarized. "Win, and you shall progress to the next round. Lose, and..."

Suddenly, a door on the wall opposite Kahn's table burst open, causing everyone to turn around and watch in surprise as the six ponies (and Spike) charged into the room. "Nobody move!" Rainbow Dash shouted, jumping up onto one of the tables. "We're looking for Shao Kahn!"

Johnny Cage facepalmed at the sight of the ponies. "Don't tell me," he whispered to Liu Kang. "These are the ponies we have to watch out for."

"I believe so," Liu Kang agreed.

Shao Kahn simply stared out at the intruders, slightly amused by their entrance. "You are looking for me?" he asked.

"You're darn tootin' we are!" Applejack announced. "What'd you do with Apple Bloom?"

"And where is Sweetie Belle?" Rarity added. "I want my sister back!"

"And don't forget Scootaloo!" Rainbow Dash noted. "I need her to write my fan club newsletter!"

"Ah, yes - the Equestrian contingent!" Shao Kahn realized, as an evil smile spread across his face. "We've been expecting you."

"Don't change the subject," Twilight declared, stepping up to face the Outworld emperor. "We're here to rescue our friends! Now where are they?"

Shao Kahn looked down at the purple unicorn before him. "You must be the Twilight Sparkle I've heard so much about," he guessed. "Very well," he decided. "The bodies of your friends have been placed in the dungeon for storage. You may take them and go, if you wish."

"B...b...bodies?" Fluttershy gasped. "You mean they're...they're..."

Kahn let out a loud, evil laugh, drawing a scared squeal from Fluttershy and causing her to hide underneath one of the tables. "Oh, I'm sorry," Kahn teased, "you want your friends back alive, don't you? Well now...I'm afraid that is a whole other matter entirely..."

"We're not here to play games!" Twilight angrily proclaimed. "What have you done with the fillies?"

"First of all," Kahn clarified, "I'm the guy in charge around here, which means I don't actually do anything. I just order my subordinates to do it." His smile grew bigger as he watched the ponies' anger rise. "But that doesn't really answer your question either, does it? Very well - Shang Tsung, show us what you've done with our resident stowaways."

"With pleasure," Shang Tsung agreed, rising from his seat. He clasped his hands together, mumbled a few ancient words, then slowly spread his hands apart, revealing a white ball of light between them. After a few more incantations, a beam of light shot out of the ball, projecting a pale, ghostly vision of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, sitting together and looking none too happy about the situation.

"Apple Bloom!" Applejack raced up to the projection. "Are you okay? Can you here me?"

The fillies did not seem to notice they were being watched. "Join the ship's crew, you said," Sweetie Belle muttered in a haunting voice. "Get our sailing cutie marks, you said."

"Aw, put a sock in it, will ya?" Scootaloo shot back.

"Maybe we can be...Cutie Mark Crusader Ghostbusters?" Apple Bloom suggested, drawing unamused glances from the other crusaders.

Shang Tsung brought his hands back together, and the vision disappeared. "Was that what you were looking for?" Shao Kahn asked.

"You...you killed them..." Applejack whispered. "You killed my baby sister..."

"Why, Applejack!" Shao Kahn feigned indignation. "We have done nothing of the sort! My friend here has merely consumed their souls to add to his base of power, nothing more!"

"You...you brute!" Rarity spat. "How could you do such a thing?"

Shao Kahn shrugged. "What can I say? It's what we do around here. Anyway, you might as well go home now, since there's nothing you can do to bring them back...unless..."

"Unless what?" Twilight demanded.

"There is a way to save them," Liu Kang declared, standing up as all eyes in the room turned to him. "If we defeat Shang Tsung, the consumed souls will be released, and they will live again."

Shao Kahn's eyes lit up. "Why, that's a smashing idea, Liu Kang! The ponies could enter the tournament to save their friends!"

"Wait...what?" A look of shock crossed Liu Kang's face. "I did not mean to suggest that..."

"Well, my friends?" Shao Kahn looked down at the ponies. "What do you say?"

"I say, bring it on!" Rainbow Dash proclaimed.

"Me too!" Applejack agreed.

"For the crusaders!" Spike decided.

"Hmph!" Rarity huffed. "I usually do not partake in such boorish behavior, but for you...I will make an exception."

"It seems that 4 votes carry the day, eh, Twilight?" Shao Kahn remarked.

Johnny Cage shot an irritated glare at Liu Kang. "Way to go, genius," he muttered.

Liu Kang could only sigh in response.

"I don't trust you," Twilight addressed Shao Kahn. "What is this tournament all about, anyway?"

"Allow me to give you a demonstration!" Shao Kahn giddly replied. "To the courtyard!"



The warriors quickly exited the building and gathered in a circle outside. Two claps from Shao Kahn caused the area to light up with candles, including a large ring just adjacent to the building.

"Please, Miss Sparkle," Shao Kahn instructed, motioning to the ring of lights. "Step into the circle."

Twilight glanced nervously around at her friends, but did what she was told. "Fine - I'll go along with your little game for now," she informed the Outworld emperor.

"Splendid!" Shao Kahn declared, spreading his arms wide. "Ladies and gentlemen," he announced, "I give you the opening battle of our tournament: Miss Twilight Sparkle, versus...Goro!"

The four-armed creature that had entered the building with Kahn nodded, and stepped into the ring. "This shall be no contest," Goro proclaimed. "I could defeat this...pony...with all four hands tied behind my back."

"Holy guacamole!" Spike yelped from the sidelines. "Twilight has to fight...that?"

"I can't watch!" Fluttershy cried, hiding her head behind Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie Pie, on the other hand, was chowing down on a bag full of goodies she had gathered from inside. "Oh boy!" she declared. "I love watching MMA!"

Elsewhere around the circle, Liu Kang looked on with mixed feelings. "I fear this filly shall meet the same fate as her friends," he commented.

"So what?" Sonya said with a shrug. "It's one less pony we have to deal with, and we'll just save her and everyone else anyway when we own Shang Tsung like we always do."

"I hope you are right," Liu Kang replied.

From inside the ring, Twilight's legs began to quiver as she gazed across at her opponent, but she took a deep breath and steeled her nerves by reminding herself what was at stake. "So all I have to do is beat this guy?" she confirmed with Shao Kahn.

"If you can..." Shao Kahn said with a wink. "Now...FIGHT!"

Goro let loose with a blood-curdling battle cry, and charged towards his opponent. Halfway to Twilight, however, he was surrounded by a magical aura and lifted off the ground. "What is going on? What is this?" he demanded.

The crowd looked back over at Twilight, whose horn was surrounded by a similar aura. "She's using some sort of evil magic!" a voice shouted from the back.

Twilight said nothing, instead focusing all of her concentration on the task at hand. Suddenly, she jerked her hand quickly to her left, causing Goro to be flung over the crowd in that direction, eventually smashing hard into the side of the stone building.

The crowd quickly stepped away from the scene, as Goro lay stunned for a few seconds, then slowly picked himself up off the ground. "You shall pay for..." he began.

Goro was suddenly surrounded by another magic aura, and with another swing of her head, Twilight sent Goro sailing in the other direction. "WAAAAAAAH!" Goro screamed, as he flew back over the ring, cleared the crowd on the far side of the circle, and finally slammed head-first into a huge boulder at the edge of the clearing.

Goro stayed down for a few more seconds this time, but eventually rose to his feet. "Why you..." he seethed, as steam shot out of his ears.

Twilight paid Goro no mind, and instead used her magic to pick him up and throw him back against the side of the building.

This pattern continued for the next few minutes, as Twilight bounced Goro back and forth against the building and the boulder. The intense magic began to take its toll on Twilight, however, and finally she settled for slamming Goro against the ground back in the middle of the circle.

Despite the intense pounding, Goro willed himself to stand up and glare at his opponent. "You think you have defeated me!" he shouted at the exhausted unicorn. "You are out of tricks, sorceress...and now, you are out of time!"

"Not...quite..." Twilight panted, summoning her magic one last time.

"RRAGH!" Goro screamed and charged his weakened opponent, who made no move to get out of the way.

"Twilight! Look out!" Spike shouted, covering his eyes.

Just before Goro reached Twilight, however, he stopped and looked towards the sky, his eyes doubling in size at the sight of the massive boulder now floating just above him. "NOOOOOO!" he shrieked, as the boulder predictably fell down on top of him.

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. "I was getting tired of bringing you to the rock," she told a flattened Goro, "so I brought the rock to you! Neat, huh?"

"Owie..." Goro whimpered from underneath the rock.

Twilight walked out from behind the rock and addressed Shao Kahn, "Now then, if we're done here...kindly give our friends back their souls, we'll be on our way."

Shao Kahn took in the scene in silence, then started clapping slowly. "Very impressive," he remarked. "You have defeated one of my greatest champions in a flawless victory. Very impressive indeed..."

"Ahem," Twilight interrupted. "The girls, if you please."

"All in good time," Kahn stalled, looking over at Shang Tsung. "First, though, there is the business of the loser..."

Shang Tsung flashed an evil smile, and scurried over to where Goro lay underneath the rock. "I'm okay!" Goro insisted. "Nothing...but...a flesh wound..."

"Sorry, Big G," Shang Tsung declared, "but your soul...is mine."

The crowd watched in horror as Shang Tsung held his hands over Goro and began sucking his soul from his body. "My stars..." Rarity whispered.

"Didn't see that one coming," Applejack added.

The vile deed was done within ten seconds. "We are finished here," Shang Tsung stated.

"Yes, yes, that's great," Twilight interjected. "Now, if we could just get you to give our friends back..."

"My dear Twilight," Shao Kahn mocked, "this is only the first round! What good is it to give away our grand prize before the tournament even starts?" He laughed a particularly evil laugh. "Tonight's ceremonies are finished!' he proclaimed. "Retire to your quarters, and prepare yourselves, for tomorrow...we fight!"

Twilight gulped as the crowd around her erupted into cheers. "There's...more?" she inquired.

Two generic-looking ninjas approached Twilight. "Come with us," they insisted. "We will show to your rooms."

Twilight and her friends followed the ninjas to their accommodations. "You mean we're gonna have to win the whole shootin' match to get Apple Bloom back?" Applejack asked.

"Yes," one ninja declared.

"I...I wanna go home..." Fluttershy whispered.

"Not without the girls," Twilight proclaimed. "We have to win...for our friends."