//------------------------------// // CH 8 - The Maze Pt2 // Story: The Boy and the Bug // by Mr B //------------------------------// One Night Before The Storm Thunder was sitting down at the dining table Gleaming and her friends had claimed with Raining beside him. Finally able to relax after the surreal colour wash that was the first game’s Blast Zone arena, still a little drunk on love from the sheer praise of Neon’s friends. Even now as he was looking at the diner’s menu he still couldn’t let go of the grin he was wearing.  “Serves them for not defending their base, I mean seriously, so many pegasi could’ve just looked down and that would’ve been the match. I guess Raining gave them a good lightshow.” His eyes scrolled down the list of options the menu provided. From hayburgers to salads, loaded fries and toasted sandwiches. However, it was when he got to the dessert section that he saw it. The sugar ridden, cinnamon spiced delight of fried doughnuts. There were other more boring options, like giant cookies or honeycomb waffles, but he wanted one thing and one thing only, doughnuts. He turned around to look up at Gleaming who now sat opposite him next to Mint Tea. While it was faint he could still sense an air of trepidation around her,a now mostly empty glass pitcher sat within reach. Mercifully, she was smiling and Thunder could sense it was genuine, which was a good thing, but she still looked tired despite the time of day. He made a mental note of the mare’s condition and pressed on with his question. “Gleaming? Can I have some doughnuts please?” “As a dessert dear, you still need to have some actual food.”  Thunder bought up his menu again to hide a frown, quietly cursing that he’d been denied his glorious feast of fried dough for any longer than immediately. Eventually, he relented and panned his hoof through the options, not having even the slightest clue what any of these dishes even were. Thankfully the flavour text below some of them gave him an idea of what to expect, but for some odd reason he was drawn to the, “pizza.” He wasn’t sure why, the tiny monochrome picture depicted a circle with a crusted edge with several cut lines going through it’s centre. Musing on it, he thought he recognised it from somewhere but he didn’t kn- “That’s the cheese disk, isn’t it?” Almost immediately, he remembered that one time he went dumpster diving and pulled out a cardboard box with nearly a full “pizza.” It was stiff, cold, and had little more than blobby bits of cheese and whatever that red stuff was, but he remembered it being a nice break none the less. “I wonder what it’s like served fresh?” “I’d like a garlic and-” Thunder had to examine the next word carefully. It was a new one he wasn’t familiar with so he read it slowly. “Moss-a-rella pizza please.”  Hazelnut and Raining stifled a chuckle while Gleaming and Minty gave him amused smiles. Immediately, he knew he probably fumbled the pronunciation, but he wasn’t expecting them to find it so entertaining. “If you say so dear.” Gleaming got up and took the menus away with Hazelnut following suit to help pay for their lunches, leaving Mint Tea as the kid’s sole guardian. Thunder refocused on the task at hoof and leaned back into his seat, combing through the possibilities of the next match now that he had confirmation Lance was present. “How am I going to tell Raining about Lance with Gleaming’s friends around? Once she hears about him she’ll send us home early.” Thunder spared a glance to his brother in arms who quietly bobbed his head side to side with an innocent smile, his goggles swaying from his neck. “And I don’t want to upset Raining, especially considering how things will be once he finds out about his dad. Still,  at the same time, Lance is here and if he’s not going after Neon then he’s one hundred percent after us.” Thunder turned back to Mint, who’d produced a book from her saddlebags which she was now reading intently. “I guess I’ll have to wait until we’re in the ready room again…” Some time passed and soon the family were served their meals, Hazel (much to the chief’s ire) had went with another custom made coffee while settling on a sandwich, as did Minty but with a cup of tea. Raining took a hayburger, but when Thunder’s pizza arrived, it was a sight to behold. The cheese was hot and gooey, the tomato and garlic sauce was pure nose candy, and instead of being stiff like cardboard. the bread was soft and crunchy. It had been served on a massive plate that easily dwarfed the others. There was so much of it he ended up sharing with Gleaming! Bite by bite he eventually finished his half of the massive pizza, patting his bloated belly in satisfaction. It was easily the largest meal he’s had since being taken in by Gleaming and he wasn’t used to the lethargy that followed. Perfectly content to lay back into the padded cushion of his chair and fall asleep if he were allowed. Of course he didn’t, there was still something waiting for him, his doughnuts. “Feeling full deary?” Gleaming smirked, wiping her mouth with a serving cloth. Thunder slowly nodded but pulled himself forward in his seat. “I still have room, can I have some doughnuts please?” Right on que a waitress pranced over with a plate that had several steaming rings of sweet smelling fried dough. She slid it onto the table and Thunder’s eyes widened with long awaited delight. They’d been coated in a layer of cinnamon and topped with chocolate sauce and sprinkles. The golden brown skin and fluffy innards promised nothing but absolute utopia for his taste spuds.  Licking his lips in anticipation of absorbing the wondrous aroma, stars twinkling in his eyes. But from the corner of his peripheral vision he could see a brass hoof slowly reach for his plate, like an intruder coming to steal his treasure, and like a thief he bought a hoof up to bat Raining away. He began creeping towards his golden rings only for Thunder to again swat his hoof, then a final time where he instead clamped down and pinned his hoof to the table. Flexing his wing and playfully slapping Raining’s cheek for the attempt at confectionery thievery. When Thunder took his first bite it was like fireworks had went off in his mouth from the gooey goodness of the dough. But he quickly found that after eating the first fried ring, his already full stomach painfully complained about the lack of room. What cruel twist of fate would befall him that when his moment of triumph finally came, he wasn’t ready to receive it? There were still four more rings left and everypony at the table was smiling at him, with Gleaming being the smuggest of them all. A new wave of colour had returned to the mare and her eyes weren’t nearly as tired, which only fermented her mischievous glare. “Oh dear, can’t take another bite my sweet? Looks like you’ll have to share.” A puzzle piece clicked into place and the extra large pizza suddenly made sense. There’s no way Gleaming would’ve expected him to eat the entire thing even with her help. “You planned this didn’t you? You sneaky mare, damn you and your scheming trickery!” Thunder grumbled and slid down his seat in defeat. He’d been so close, yet so far. What Gleaming had done was nothing short of the most hideous of torture methods he’d ever heard of. The likes of which would’ve put even Queen Chrysalis to shame! He watched as everypony else took one of his doughnuts, stealing away his long awaited prize like a king witnessing the foalnapping of their bride.  “Next time Shellac, there’s always a next time.” Moonlit Mirror hovered a wad of tomato pasta into her mouth, watching her big brother quietly devourer his second serving of chili cheese sandwiches. It hadn’t been that long since he returned and when Mirror saw a frightened, but unharmed neon coloured birthday colt, she’d expressed a sigh of relief. But now Lance’s cover may have been blown and he needed a new disguise, so she racked her brain trying to think of something as she ate. “What about a red coat?” Lance swallowed his mouthful and wiped his lip. “Did that already, remember the snowball fight?” “Hmm, we could reuse the colours from the carnival, that might work.” “Maybe, but they’ll be looking for somepony with my body type. You need to break up my form up somehow.” Mirror groaned as her chin all but slammed on the table as she felt a headache come on. “Lance, how am I going to do that while also making sure those straps fit you? Hiding your size isn’t easy, it was only because I’d heard one of the receptionists say you’d entered the ready room that I was able to pull off that size change. I don’t think I’m getting that again.” Lance leaned back into his chair, trying to brainstorm a solution to his problem. He needed the element of surprise if his new plan was going to work in any capacity. However, his sister, despite it being her special talent, still had limits. The main problem was that the moment he needed to get the Spell-Carrier on he had to revert back to his normal size which was what Raining and Thunder would be looking for.  “What about a two stage delayed spell?” He asked.  Mirror then snapped to meet his gaze and winced, the expectation of mental anguish was in itself enough to deter the idea. “Do you have any idea how much that’s going to tax my magic? You’d be lucky if I could hold that for a couple of minutes.” “But you could pull it off, right? Make the Spell-Carrier shrink with the rest of my body?” Mirror knew she wasn’t getting through to her brother, but wasn’t about to let this go.  “Look even if I did it’ll still look off, the position of where the lights on your body are won’t match up with your shadows.” “You really think they’ll pick up on that during a spell fight?” A drop of cold sweat ran down Mirror’s temple and she quickly lost hope she’d ever be able to convince him. It was only by some mystical force of nature that he’d been able to keep his promise about Neon, but now she was paying the price of such a miracle. “Lance, as your sister, please don’t make me do this.” She pleaded, knowing full well his next few words. “I’m sorry, but we need to know if Thunder's a changeling. I’ve managed to rule Lead out but, I have to be certain. I wouldn’t ask anypony else who I thought would be more capable.” He put his sandwich down and patted his chest, a gesture of honour he’d picked up. “It’s our duty.” “No Lance, it was dad’s duty.” Is what Mirror would’ve said if she was brave enough to correct him. But the memories of the night Raining’s father had arrived still tormented her mind. The flashes of panic, the stench of smoke and iron, the twisted limbs… She pulled her hat down in an attempt to hide herself from her brother but it was no use. Lance had a point, if Thunder was indeed a changeling then the implications were only bad. Raining and his family might be under some kind of mind control spell, they could be a front for a scout gathering information, heck if she really wanted to draw things out they might even expose a second changeling invasion before it begins. She knew what she had to do but still cringed at the notion.  Especially if it turned out they were wrong.  “Let’s just…finish our food first, okay?”  Lance nodded in agreement and a small amount of relief washed over Mirror, at least she’d be able to enjoy her meal in peace before committing so much magic.  Thunder and his friends flooded into the Ready Room, the briefing had been skipped to save on time, which meant he couldn’t pick out Lance from the crowd again. Nor did he have another chance to have the rules explained to him in detail, but at least it meant he wouldn’t have to wait to see what kind of oversaturated mess of colours the Mountain Arena had in store for him. Quickly, he returned to his rack where his crimson red Spell-Shot and amber orange carrier patiently waited for him. Smiling as one of the marshals helped him put it on, a task which his stomach wasn’t appreciative of, but was carried out all the same. The double doors opened and the kids all stormed through with bewilderment and excitement. Thunder was greeted with another darkened maze but this one had a lot more going on with it then just blackened walls lined with lights. Instead the paint job applied to the walls was more akin to an actual dungeon, but the colours used made the outlines of each brick glow under the influence of the blacklights. Spider webs, fake puddles of slime, skeleponies and dungeon door props were strewn about as if the staff couldn’t be bothered to take away the Nightmare Night decorations from a couple months ago.  Instead choosing to add Hearth’s Warming stuff on top to fit the season so that same skelepony had a big, red, Hearth’s Warming hat on as did the little spiders that cling to their glowing webs. Rings of garland and mistletoe were hung around, the walls had redecorated to resemble something you’d seen from a gingerbread house and some pieces of floating cover had been replaced with big bright stars circling a scarlet red carriage. A dense fog having made seeing anything not brightly lit through the skies somewhat of a challenge. The end result was more akin to a gingerbread dungeon where all the naughty colts and fillies would’ve been locked up had coal not been enough.  Thunder honestly wasn’t sure if he’d consider it cute, festive or just plain creepy, but that was neither here nor there.  He then saw Raining among his teammates and quickly moved up alongside him where his bright orange goggles were already fixed to his face. A question was on the tip of his tongue but his brain paused and his words fumbled. Moments went by as he tried to remember but In a fit of annoyance it slipped away from his mind. He groaned in frustration and tried re-tracing his mental steps hoping it would come back to him.  “It was something important, it was from the last game, something about Raining…damn it, what was it?!” It took a minute, but he was finally able to make it click.  “Oh! Hey Raining?” Lead looked over his shoulder towards him with an eerie smile, his fruity orange glare meeting his. “If you're able to teleport, what stops you from just destroying the enemy base crystal? Or just teleporting behind everypony?”  “Boredom.” “Yup, that checks out, but that wasn’t the question.” Thunder rubbed the back of his head hoping to stimulate his brain, as if he’d find it sticking out from under the rug of his mane. Raining though wasn’t stopping and neither was the pre-game timer. Thunder, again, had to power walk to keep up with the pony shaped bundle of joy as they turned corners and pranced down hallways.  Eventually he gave up when his brother stopped by a corridor that led to a dead end and turned to Thunder with a smirk. Then he wiggled his shoulders like an eager schoolkid about to show off their perfect score. Thunder looked to Raining, then to the dead end, then back to Raining. “So why exactly are you so bouncy? I don’t see any mounted mare melters anywhere.” The colt snorted and pranced into the sheer wall while gliding his hoof over the dimly lit walls until he stopped on something. He pressed into a hidden cavity and the wall end suddenly shifted to the side to reveal a room with a chest perched in its centre.  Thunder suddenly remembered the map he’d read before the games and felt a little dim for forgetting about this arena’s quirk. Raining meanwhile spun around with a childlike grin, gesturing to the chest inside.  “Ta-daa!” “Heh heh heh, okay mister twenty-five games, wanna tell me what’s inside?” “Nah, I want you to find out for yourself. You’ll like it though! Trust me.” His enthusiasm spread to Thunder as he followed him in.  A bright spotlight illuminated an oak and iron chest where he bent down and carefully pushed its cover open, imagining the golden glow of treasure beaming across his face to the sound of glorious music. Inside wasn’t a dragon’s hoard of treasure, but instead a gauntlet of some kind, housing a purple crystal within its chamber which judging by the lack of a button couldn’t be changed. Thunder reached in and pulled it out, wondering what the strange device did as he slid it on his leg. It had a trigger gem like his weapon but upon activating it a large purple heather shield popped into being in front of his leg, glowing with lavender light that matched his eyes. Raining’s grin reached the corners of his face, filled with the same sense of joy one would see when their colt opens a birthday present. “Damn Lead, didn’t think it would fit my colours too.” “Yep! And it’s all for you! That shield should enable you to block out spell bolts if you time it right. Unfortunately, you can only have it active for a little bit before it starts to decay.” On cue, the purple energy of Thunder’s new shield then bled into a warning red and gaps started opening up within its form. Immediately, he prematurely shut it off and the crystal inside gradually turned back to its original, healthy purple. Despite brief jolt, he shared Raining’s smile and rejoined the brass colt at the room’s doorway. “Thanks Raining, any other hidden goodies you think I can pick up?” “Not really, unless you want to change out your Spell-Shot’s crystal, which by now you should probably expect a bunch of the other kids to be running around with.” “Well this should be-” A wave of microphone static then assaulted their ears before a voice blared out on the loudspeakers. “Ten seconds until game everypony!” They both cringed from the sudden wave of high pitched audio. Raining leaned against a wall while Thunder covered his ears with his hooves, taking precious few moments to rise back up and regain their senses. “Well I guess I’ll see you later.”  “Have fun out there Thunder!” Raining spoke with comically exaggerated voice cracks. The pegasus took to the skies just as their Spell-Carriers switched on and a different track of electronic music blasted through the room.  He’d managed to get behind a flying red wrapped present twice his size when the air was filled with a storm of colours. The fog impairing his vision must’ve been illusionary for none of the pegasi to be able to clear it up, but that was fine, he could still see the emerald greens of the enemy team soaring up to meet him. The pegasi of his own team likewise rising to the challenge.  “Remember your training Shellac! You can stomp these colts if your smart about it.” Thunder peaked his head over and was almost given a haircut when a flash of blue scraped by his scalp. Scanning the area, he was able to see several more pieces of cover as well as observe the groundborn skirmish throughout the maze. Picking out individuals was easier said than done however as the fog and lights made them blend together into a veritable soup of dancing colours. Thunder huffed and looked towards his shield, it would make him stick out like a sore hoof, but it was the safest way he could leap from cover to cover without being shot.  Taking a breath to ready himself, he raised his weapon, and charged forward with the shield of purple energy held out in front of him. Splashes of neon colour bounced off his shield, denting it with light taps that sent waves of wobbling water throughout the rest of its frame. An enemy pegasus flew towards him and Thunder quickly saw he was trying to get an angle around his shield, so with a smirk he barreled to the side behind an airborne mass of bricks that resembled a crumbling chimney and drew his weapon. The pegasus came around and unloaded a bright white shot into his shield which sent it from a pinkish red to its crumbling decay state.  Moving fast, he switched it off and fired his Spell-Shot, several lines of red energy swam around the barrel and a spray of scarlet pellets smashed against his carrier, switching it off in an instant. With a satisfied smile he flew around the chimney to the right side of the arena where he had less angles to worry about, hoping to flank the majority of players hiding behind their skyward barricades. The player he’d just tagged however wouldn’t let him go without a fight and so a chase ensued. A spell bolt  grazed his left flank and he spun around to return fire, only to discover the big weakness of his pellet weapon. The angry red rockets didn’t reach nearly far enough to disable the coal black colt’s Spell-Carrier and allow him  to fire off another shot, forcing Thunder to twist awkwardly to dodge it before pushing forward. But the colt had wisened up to his weapon’s limits and he back peddled away, flying off into the fog where Thunder pursued. He raised his weapon to fire again only for Thunder to switch on his shield and block the incoming bolt. The split second of confusion was all he needed to close the gap and blast his pack to kingdom come.  The pegasus colt was left laughing to himself, dumbfounded by Thunder’s new toy as his carrier went quiet. Two more bolts then struck Thunder’s side and he spun around to see they’d come from Green's side of the arena. “Oh, right, that’s what I was doing.” Reaffirming his strategy he used the time he had recharging to fly back around to his prior position on the right side of the arena. From there he waited behind a floating Hearth’s Warming Tree made of painted plates of wood. One advantage of having his carrier knocked out was that his crystals didn’t shine as brightly, which meant it was unlikely anypony saw him hide. The second they turned back on he grinned, adrenaline coursing through his veins and tingles running up his spine, he felt so alive! Briefly, he wondered if this was what Raining felt when he took hold of that swivel gun from last game as he popped out from behind the tree, flying through the air with the speed of an arrow. Coming upon a group of enemy players that had their backs turned, he took advantage of the element of surprise. A single blast of scarlet energy took out three players at once, while remaining player only had enough time to turn to face him before he too was washed with red light.  The feeling of power he had was gratifying to an extreme, his eyes shot open as the hype reached its climax and he laughed in delight. Thunder wasted no time rushing forward beyond the group to find more targets, wanting, needing another power hit. Meanwhile down below, Raining took his time jogging through the ginger coated corridors. Experience had taught him never to just rush forward or he might turn a corner where somepony was waiting for him. Worse, he might collide with another pony who had the same idea. Slowly, he peaked through his weapon’s barrel first and slowly turned the corner, trying to expose as little of himself as possible before moving forward.  Reaching a more open area with several chest high walls he saw a few of his teammates had gathered together in a tight knit group, it wasn’t uncommon for this to happen, the line of thinking was solid. The more bolts you could sling at somepony the less chance you’ll all be taken out by a lone operative. But Raining kept his distance from them amidst the rainbow of colours being exchanged between the two teams. A pair of ponies with the same rapid fire crystal he had were pinning them down from behind a window, punishing anypony who tried moving away from their hiding spot. Raining smirked as he drew back from the doorframe and ran away, the layout of the arena meant the only way to get to the enemy base was to go through the middle area where his team was being pinned. But that only applied if this was your first time going through this maze. This was not Raining’s first time. Quickly, he backtracked until he found a wall with a set of discoloured tiles and a neon red warning sign. Then he repeated his actions with the hidden chest room with Thunder and soon found the hidden button. Pressing it in the entire wall then spun around on a turntable that saw him now on the other side, on Green’s territory. He jogged through, careful to check his corners before committing, managing to catch a few players by surprise with his secret door trick. Eventually he stormed into the little bunker the two Green players were hiding, a third had joined them holding a bright yellow Spell-Shot that he could already see charging a massive blast aimed for his companions.  “Oh no you don’t!” With a spray of orange bolts he switched off their lights and denied the yellow orb its chance to wreak havoc. Letting out a laugh he moved to the window slit where he waved a hoof to confirm they’d been dealt with. This proved wiseas he heard more hoofsteps approach the door he’d just used and quickly fired a second trio of shots. They shut off the Green players still in the room before diving onto the floor in the middle of the doorway where he caught the two other enemy players by surprise and blasted them with more bright orange bolts.  Getting to his hooves and shifting past before their carriers switched back on, laughing under his breath all the way. His teammates swarmed the enemy’s side of the maze and it became pandemonium inside the halls as spell bolts were exchanged left right and centre. Players from both teams were being shot at odd angles they had not seen and from places they weren’t quick enough to react to. This was truly when Raining was in his element, snapping between corners to windows, from behind barricades and doorways, popping light packs just as quickly as they were coming, laughing through it all. A shower of reds, oranges, blues and whites all raced around him as he absorbed the chaotic energy of the misty skirmish all around. Every carrier shot was a weight off his back, every Spell-Shot silenced was catharsis to his cranium and of course the music of his favourite DJ to his ears rounding the action out. This was a jungle and he was the lion, nothing could’ve stopped him now! Except maybe the orb of bright yellow energy he caught on the end of his peripheral vision. Immediately his heart pounded in his chest as he spun around, a tinge of panic running through his body as he scrambled to take out the enemy player before they could retaliate. The spell bolts were only a split second too slow however as while they did connect they’d failed to prevent the giant rocket of explosive yellow death from surging forward towards him, leaving a trail of light in its wake. Raining ducked and the bolt wizzed over his head, instead exploding with fury behind him, like a giant water balloon that had finally bursted. He smiled once more and shouted in the colt’s direction. “Ha! Go suck a lemon!” He cried! “Uh…Raining?”  He looked over his shoulder and saw Neon sitting behind him, alongside Postal, Pots, and all of his other teammates who now looked over each other with their Spell-Carriers disabled and not turning back on. Promptly, his heart sank as he realised that while he was still standing, half his team was now without any lives and unable to continue until they found a station to recharge at. And he was left in the middle of enemy territory…with at least three quarters of the enemy team about to come bearing down on him, at once. “Oh…haybales…HAYBALES!” Raining looked from left to right trying to find a door to run down that wouldn’t result in him getting shot, it didn’t take long for him to break out into a full gallop in a fit of nervous laughter. The war in the skies still looming overhead and the fog of the dungeon obstructing his view of the distance. Any preconceived notion of being quiet or methodical was tossed aside in favour of running for his life, imagining a conga line of ponies all rushing behind him eager for some revenge. Raining doesn’t know how many turns he twisted or corners he cut, only that he was away from the bulk of the enemy team now hiding behind a wall trying to catch his breath with his heart ready to rip itself from his chest and lungs fit to ignite. The weight of his equipment was like an anvil as he slumped to the floor, his hoof over his chest as he desperately tried to regain control of his panicked breathing. The music felt muted and the cool air of the arena was like that of icy water upon his body, cool and refreshing as he panted. He was allowed time to calm down as the sounds of Spell-Shots echoed throughout the gingerbread dungeon. Given a moment of peace to enjoy the beauty of the lights overhead with the dancing colours that glowed and shined through the fog above.  Sadly, all good things came to an end when he heard a stampede of hoofsteps rushing closer towards his position. He rolled his eyes in frustration and picked himself back up, levelling his Spell-Shot around the corner waiting for a gallery of green lights to spring into view. “Come on fillies and colts,” He said with a grin. “I got two things, experience.” The shapes of emerald green enemy players then rounded the corner.  “And spite!” Gleaming Gold took another gulp of water, finishing off her glass for what may have been then eighth time by now. Miraculously, she’d managed to slow down on the water intake (much to the relief of her bladder) but was still sharing a decent chunk of the emotional baggage she’d picked up in the past few days. Mint Tea sat beside her with Hazelnut on the opposite end of the table. Sure the spa was closed so they now had the day off, but in truth, the two were there to look after Gleaming as much as they were for Raining and Thunder. They’d managed to prevent at least one more panic attack as Gold went through her thoughts on her potential new son. “I don’t know Minty, I’ve been thinking about adopting Thunder properly, but we’ve only known him for under a week. He seems to get along with Raining but I don’t know how the two will interact with each other long term. And that’s to say nothing of the potential financial costs.” Mint Tea contemplated the information before taking a sip from her cup, letting her mind relax as she drank the warm scented beverage before setting it down. “Do you at least trust him?” It was Gleaming’s turn to think. Obviously she’d been suspicious at first, especially after her trip to the library. But the night Thunder had helped her injured little Lead back home had cemented his loyalty in her mind. If he was willing to defend Raining, possibly with his life, then Gleaming felt much more comfortable with the thought of living with a changeling. “I think so.” She replied, a moment later though she reaffirmed her answer with more confidence. “Yes, I do.” “Then things will be okay, my sister is great with children. I’m sure she’d be willing to help foal-sit while you're at work.” “But won’t I have to pay her as well?” Gleaming already felt her panic set in at the thought of money.  “I’m sure she’ll be reasonable, besides, she’s been looking to use up her free time somehow.” Gleaming smiled, the doom and gloom clouding her brain lifting slightly at her friend’s reassurance. A way forward for her family had opened, it might not have been the cosy cottage outside Canterlot but there’s still plenty of time between then and now. Granted she had no idea what it'd be like raising a changeling and part of that excited her. If nothing else Thunder might just turn out to be a light eater, his intolerance of giant pizzas was proof enough of that. She could still remember the look on his face when he realised he’d been had by her, oh how satisfying it was to tease the young colt. Her smile grew and she giggled at the thought.  “Thank you Minty, you’ve done a lot for me today.” “My pleasure Gold.” “Hey what about me?” Both mares turned to Hazel, now on his third caffeinated nightmare of a drink, each one somehow more complex than the last. “Haven’t I helped?” “You were moral support, dear.”  “That was entirely the reason we came along!” He shot back, waving his hooves up to dramatise his point. Gleaming and Mint both broke into a fit of laughter which, didn’t spread to Hazel at first, but moment by moment, he caught on, rolling his eyes as they calmed down. “Yeah, okay, I think I get it now, I’m the funny one…apparently.” “Oh Hazel deary, you're wonderful to be around, even if you can be a bit jumpy.” “Jumpy how?” He asked, taking another extended sip of his cup of caffeine. “Remember Nightmare Night?” Hazelnut looked at Gleaming and her shining grin for several long moments. Breaking out an impromptu staring contest between the two before Hazel let out a deep, exaggerated sigh. “Okay, you got me there.” “It’s the caffeine Hazel, you drink too much.” “No I don’t!” Hazel then bought up his cup and tried downing more of her custom drink, only to suck in empty air. He looked at his cup and ripped the lid off to find it was now completely empty. How? I only just got this drink…  Immediately, he turned back to both mares who now wore smug expressions like they were T-shirts. “Okay, so I might have a problem.” “How do you get any sleep?” “Simple, I don’t drink any coffee.” Gleaming began giggling again as Mint Tea took another sip from her cup. “By the way, how do you think the kids are doing? “Oh they’re probably fine dear.”  Moonlit Mirror’s heaving was the only sound her ears were picking up, her head buried in her hooves as she fought to keep concentration on her two-staged disguise spell. It felt like every minute a white hot knife was slowly digging into the back of her skull, edging closer to her face inch by inch. Her heart pounding in her chest as a headache so painful she would’ve rather had her head pop set in. If she had claws she would’ve ruined the table she was resting on, fighting to make sure the spell kept going. Come on Lance, do your thing and end this already! “This is not fine!” Raining shot another trio of orange bolts and caused the enemy player he was aiming at to only fire at empty air as they raised their weapon. He snapped right and shot another unicorn who’d tried moving in behind him, but her galloping hoofsteps gave her away. Lead quickly repositioned and ran past the tagged filly, catching out another player who wasn’t expecting him.  In the time since the explosion, Raining Lead had become his team’s frontline. Being a constant pain in their side that just wouldn’t go away. By now, most of the enemy team had moved on but a trio of players had dedicated themselves to sending him back to base. A goal he was making them work for as the three players he’d just tagged were that hunting party, and he’d just drained the last of their lives.  The sight of the three angrily groaning colts heading back to base brought Lead a beaming sense of pride and a somewhat sinister smile on his face. He breathed a sigh of relief as he watched them move away back to their base to recharge, it was just the break he needed. All this running around was tiring him out, but in a good way, it kept his muscles hot and his senses sharp. With another breath, he moved into a slightly more open area with a few barricades and a door that led to that hidden passage he used. Raining smiled, maybe it was time to rejoin his allies? Before he could act upon his instinct he was struck on the flank by a bright white bolt, his carrier depowered and he frowned, turning to see a maroon red earth pony with a smug grin running towards him. Raining huffed and ran around the skirmish area, hoping to get some distance so he could return fire when his carrier powered back up. Instead, when it did, the pony skidded behind him and again shot him in the flank, right on the cutie mark. It was only a white bolt so he was only losing maybe a life or two per shot, but it still annoyed him. Irritated, he got up and galloped around some corridors but could hear the brownish-red colt chasing him, disabling his carrier the moment it turned back on. The third time he felt an actual tinge of frustration but kept moving, it didn’t seem the matter what corner he ran around or what direction he’d take upon a split, the colt just kept following him and zapping his Spell-Carrier. The fifth time he actually stopped and turned around. “Hey! Stop tail-gating, your breaking the rules!” The only reply the colt offered was an unconcerned shrug, shooting him again when his carrier lit back up. Raining could feel the angry spark of emotion rising from his chest, only frustration for now but when he tried running away again only to be shot for the seventh consecutive time did that flame really start growing. Again, he tried running some more and was met with similar results, his eyebrows now pinching at his goggles from the anger boiling within him. By now he was about ready to go and find a marshal when he saw Thunder Chaser above him, still chasing ponies with beams of red light. Immediately, he lit his horn up and casted a simple seeking bolt spell to get his attention, if Thunder could get a shot off on him they could break the cycle and he might be able to get some more points before needing a recharge.  Thunder flew the skies, he’d lost track of the amount of pegasi he’d sent back to Green’s base, but either his team’s air force wasn’t very good or the enemy team just had a lot of pegasi. No matter how many he shot, they just kept coming, taking twists and turns to avoid his scatters of red pellets. They’d even managed to get a few shots off on him but for the majority of the time he was able to slink away, like he was playing airborne dodgeball. All this chasing was finally starting to wear him down when he felt something tap on his shoulder. A quick turn revealed a magical arrow pointing downwards into the arena, directly at Raining Lead. It looks like he’d been cornered by an enemy player who was sapping his suit the very moment it sprang back to life, an air of anger and discontent wafting around him as he looked up at Thunder with a black spinning tumbleweed above his head. The pegasus snorted and finally left Green’s air force alone, descending down onto the corridor behind the maroon colt and coating his side in crimson light. The colt turned to Thunder with a smirk as his Spell-Carrier depowered and Raining’s reignited. “Okay, now will you stop bothering me?” Asked Raining. The colt snapped back to him and spoke with a voice that sounded too deep for his size. “No.” He cocked his hoof back and punched Raining’s face, a web of cracks running through his right lens. An enlarged outline of the colt’s hoof glowed a navy blue as it connected with Lead. He stumbled back in shock and fell to the floor from the force of the punch, stunning the brass unicorn. “Raining!” Thunder cried, about ready to break out into a gallop and tackle the offending earth pony, but then he finally remembered the question he was meant to ask Raining.  “Hey Lead? Postal said Lance is in fact here, what do you want to do about him?”  Now it was too late, and flashes of what happened the last time he tried rushing Lance from behind prevented him from making that same mistake. The world seemed to slow down as his heart was suddenly held hostage in a vice. He couldn’t play dumb here, not now, but he didn’t have time to strategise or form a plan. Lance was already right on top of him! It seemed however that Raining still had fight left in him, the flames of anger finally combusted and magical swirls of energy gathered around his horn, letting loose an actual harmful spell bolt that struck Lance’s chest. A wave of deep blue magic washed over an outline of the colt’s actual, enormous size, and he was forced back a few steps. But if Raining’s anger had been a gradual build up then Lance’s was an almost instantaneous shot from one to a hundred, as if to scream at the poor colt for daring to fight back. Raining was able to scramble to his hooves and gain a little distance only for Lance to rip his Spell-Shot weapon from his carrier and hurl it at him, a ghostly outline of his real form appearing in front of Thunder. The weapon tripped up Raining’s legs up allowing him to close the gap, slamming Raining’s head against the neon painted wall. That was enough, no more! Thunder raced forward as he saw Lance bring a hoof up to strike Raining again, his next punch promising to shatter his goggles and paint the wall red with fury. Thunder wouldn’t let him lay another hair on his new brother, not if it meant his life! But how would he get around Lance’s buck? And he wasn’t near close enough to tackle him. A million different thoughts raced through his mind but In his panic there was only one thing he knew he could do… Lance cocked his hoof high above his head and prepared to strike the dazed piece of filth that had harmed him, and by extension his sister, until the doctors at the hospital couldn’t even recognise his sorry flank. Undeserving of the joys he’d had today, only good for being the piece of gum ponies walked over on the street. What he felt was more than anger, more than rage or simple frustration, the burning flame that Raining had just stoked was more than any of those things, it was hatred.  Furiously, he threw his hoof forward, but found it refused to move, stuck in place by something sticky, a wet slime that held him in place like an elastic band. He snapped back to look at the offending substance and what he saw made his blood both boil and grow cold. A royal purple glob of resin had glued his leg to the wall and quickly hardened, his eyes went wide and he craned his head over his shoulder back at Thunder. Who’s right leg was now made of a layer of black, hardened shell. Purple goop secreted from the holes in his forelimb and a ring of lavender fire separating the changeling chitin from the rest of his body. A moment of silence overtook the air as they both stared at each other still as statues, processing exactly what had just happened.  Lance’s enraged scowl soon twisted into an evil, wicked smile, his eye and ear twitching as the burning hatred Thunder could feel smoking from the colt was redirected towards him. He in turn looked down at his hoof as he realised what he’d just done, his scowl of protective rage now twisting into fear, panic and dread. Lance knows. The two words echoed through Thunder’s brain a thousand times over before they finally sank in. He knows, Lance knows, and he’s happy about it. He’s going to kill me, isn’t he? Indeed, Lance’s smile twisted into that filled with evil, murderous intent. Fueled by a self righteous hatred, the likes of which Thunder had only seen during the invasion of Canterlot. In a show of force he pulled at the hardened resin and to Thunder’s horror he was able to pull himself free, chunks of purple rock clattering to the floor amongst the piles of fake goop. Crushing them even smaller with every step he took towards him, slow and deliberate with the navy blue outline of his real form marching forward. Thunder was nearly paralysed by the overwhelming aura of oppression he inspired, making him feel tiny by comparison…like a cockroach No, that wasn’t him anymore, he wasn’t some nopony the world could use as its punching bag. He mattered to somepony and that might as well have meant the world to him. When the security of anonymity is discarded, the boldness of audacity can be found. He shook himself from his stupor and back peddled, throwing more orbs of sticky resin at Lance, the adrenaline in his body working overtime to stimulate the glands inside his hooves. Yet Lance didn’t stop, he didn’t even slow down, he just walked right on through. His sheer strength and force of will overpowering the adhesive of the resin like it was little more than a bad joke. “Okay, first the meteor spell, then being struck at point blank by Raining, and now this?! By honeycomb, how strong can one colt be? He’s like a walking fortress!” Thunder switched tactics, there was no point hiding himself now and so his hoof burned back into its full ponish state. Instead, he undisguised his horn, and launched a trio of bolts at Lance that  seemed to put a dent in his step. He shut his eyes in pain and grunted, for a moment Thunder thought he might’ve actually done something, before Lance opened them back open with the rage of a bull charging forward. Thunder’s next moved was to hide his horn and try flying away, but Lance wasn’t having it. As he charged forward he smashed one of the decorative rings of topiary on the wall off its hanger, spinning around and throwing it like a frisbee at Thunder. It connected with his wings and sent him tumbling to the ground, his jaw hitting the top corner of the maze wall on his way down.  Thunder fumbled and as he laid prone, dazed by the sudden impact to his head. He bought a hoof up to his aching jaw and felt his teeth with his tongue, thankfully not having lost any this time. But he could hear Lance’s head hoofsteps gaining on him and he flipping back around, the colt already invading his personal space and about to strike. Thunder needed an edge, some ace he could pull out of here and now, as he pulled his legs up to defend himself he suddenly saw his shield gauntlet. Faster than a flash a bright purple shield blocked Lance’s initial blow, but he wasn’t stopping. He continued to pummel at the lavender light, breaking down his opponent’s defences blow by blow. Thunder had at best just bought himself several seconds as attack after attack rapidly changed it to red, not meant for handling an actual assault. With one final strike it disappeared entirely, his only line of defence now whittled away into nothing. Thunder braced himself for the hammerblow that was sure to come, panic pushing to the forefront of his mind. Was this it? Was this what his life had led up? The story of a forsaken changeling suffering through a series of misfortunes and little hard fought victories only to be bought to a grinding halt? But just as Lance was about to cave Thunder’s face in there was a bright flash of light blinded the both of them. Thunder felt a pair of hooves grab his shoulders and there was another flash, this time landing him outside orange’s entrance to the arena, a familiar wave of nausea and confusion overtook his senses but at least this time he didn’t have to worry about balancing his body. Quickly, he was suddenly reminded just how large his lunch was as he bought both hooves up to his mouth, fending off a rising tide of bile that burned his throat. Still able to sense an angry cloud of smoke wafting from the brass unicorn stamping around him in circles. “Why? Why can’t he leave us alone? Why does he have to come after me everywhere I go? Just…why?!” Raining shouted, his voice faltering and cracking as he pulled his damaged goggles from his head. “Oh look at me I’m Moonlit Lance, I’m going to ruin a colt’s game of Spell-Tag because I feel like it, well buck you to!” Thunder managed to force down the putrid contents of his stomach, spitting small remnants of his saliva onto the arena floor, trying to banish the horrible taste in his mouth as quickly as possible. Raining punched a nearby wall in anger and immediately recoiled his hoof in pain, flicking it as if to throw off pins and needles. “I mean seriously, he pops up out of nowhere to ruin my day! Does he just have a roulette wheel at home he spins when he gets bored? Oh hey look I’ve landed in Raining! Time to go make the little colt cry.” “Raining…” Thunder grumbled, struggling to get up. The weight of his equipment felt more akin to having a whole other pony clinging to his barrel, his eyes spinning around in their sockets as his head whirled. The world spinning several times over. “He never leaves me alone, never ever, and he bullies everypony I so much as glance at.” Raining’s anger gradually shifted, the cracks in his voice becoming more apparent with each passing word. “Raining.” “Why me? Of all the ponies in the world to torment, why'd he have to pick me? Wasn’t scaring my friends away enough?” Raining Lead paced back and forth, his anger dissolving away into bitter tears as he contemplated life’s injustices. “Apparently not, because he’ll never be satisfied until I find a cliff to jump off somewhere, and even then he’ll probably make sure nopony attends my funeral.” “RAINING!” He finally broke out from his stupor long enough to turn to Thunder, his face burning as he fought back a wet wave of sadness. Thunder climbed to his hooves and leaned against a wall, shutting one of his eyes hoping the world would slow down if he did. “Raining…he knows, Lance knows!” Lead’s mind went blank, he stood there staring at him, his mental anguish taking a back seat to process the horrible revelation. “Lance. Knows!” “Oh no…” “We need to go, I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry, but we need to leave.” Raining didn’t respond, his body almost paralysed with denial. This shouldn’t be happening, he was invited to a birthday party, you're meant to have fun at those. So why was this happening? Why was he the only to get the short end of the stick? Because somepony had to and Lance decided he needed to make him miserable? Thunder regained his senses and wrapped a hoof around Raining’s shoulder, his limbs burning in protest as he walked them through the doors of the ready room. Raining wore a grim look, blankly staring through whatever surface was placed in front of him. The depressive twins of doom and dread come back to haunt him, casting a dark shadow over his thoughts. Thunder told the marshal present what happened with Lance and he helped them get their gear off. While it meant he didn’t have the chance to ruin Neon’s birthday if he saw fit, it also meant the two would have to make an expedited retreat from the arcade if they wanted to avoid him again. They were greeted by the bright lights of the main arcade floor where they could see Gleaming and her friends still chatting away. The building was an eyesore to the two of them, everything seemed so much louder, brighter, more sensitive to sensation. They could hear the distant wordless chatting of parents close by, the sights and sounds of video game cabinets and the oversaturated lights that met them wherever they looked.  Raining didn’t like this place anymore, it was loud, it didn’t feel safe and there were ponies everywhere, he wanted to go home and crawl into bed. Shut himself away from the world and be alone, where it was safe and comfortable and he could still be with his family. Who needs friends anyway? He had Thunder, he’d stay with him right? Lance wasn’t about to tell the guards and have him taken away, right? The only pony who he’d be able to describe as a brother. Who helped him get out of the snow and healed him, who he played games with and took to the carnival, who defended him when Lanced tried knocking his lights out. He wasn’t about to go missing right? Just like how his dad had become absent from the house the night after the snowball fight… He wasn’t about to go after mom…was he? In the end…it’ll only be you. And you’ll die alone. “Raining deary? Can you hear me?” Gleaming clapped her hooves together in front of her child, not even eliciting a blink from the brass colt. His thousand yard stare boring a tunnel through the arcade walls. “Raining?” Gleaming asked to little response. He turned to Thunder with concern painted all across her body, not needing to utter a word for him to hear the question. “Lance happened, he snuck inside and-” Thunder then pointed to Raining’s crackled goggles and the ring of darkened skin now forming around his eye. “-did that, but we managed to get away.” Gleaming’s jaw went slack as she turned back to Raining, his muted, blank expression now saying a thousand words. She bent down to give him a big hug, trying to get through and let him know everything will be okay. Mint Tea and Hazelnut got up from their seats equally shocked, they’d never seen the results of Lance’s work first hoof, merely the aftermath. “Oh my sweet little Lead, It’s going to be okay, mommy’s here to keep you safe.” She patted Raining’s back and rubbed the base of his neck, holding him close to her chest. Yet he remained unchanged, every word and promise made didn’t just deflect right off him, it drove another sharp knife of quiet anguish into his mind. An entire kitchen’s set hung just above his spine, a collection of horrible memories and painful emotions waiting their turn to be driven into his psyche.  All this stress, all this misery his mom was suffering through. All because of him. True Lance was the actual cause, but because he couldn’t resolve things with Lance, it was causing his family and his friends pain.  To everypony else Raining just seemed to be going through some bad emotions, some internal trouble that he’d surely get over by the time they get home. But Thunder could see those knives, feel the air of uncertainty surrounding him and more so knew what was probably going through his mind. Especially when his mouth began slowly contorting into a smile, the forced emotional equilibrium making a return in full force to counteract whatever dark thoughts permeated his mind. He maintained his stare as he spoke, his voice barely audible to his mother. “I wanna go home.” Gleaming turned back and held her son, his gentle smile only disconcerting her further. She wasn’t given time to wonder the full implications of his expression as Mint and Hazel quickly joined her. She hurried to stand upright and held her son’s hoof as they power walked away towards the exit.  Thunder watched from the back, he himself still strained from emotional shock yet able to keep his priorities straight. He could make all manner of educated guesses but until this point they only remained so. Now he was certain he knew how Raining had managed to cope under Lance’s oppression. “So he does lie to himself, he lies and suffers in silence.” Thunder felt his teeth clench as the smirking face of Lance entered his mind. “I’ve been the only good thing to happen to him for a long time, or at least the only good thing with the promise of lasting. And now Lance threatens to take me away to.” For the briefest of moment he turned back to the maze Lance was likely still skulking around in, Thunder’s eyes shifting back to their more ghastly, Changeling form.  “Well he can come get me. I made a promise, and I’m keeping to it.” Moonlit Lance frustratingly walked away from the Spell-Tag lobby, having been kicked out for breaking more than a hoofful of rules. The staff didn’t even bother with a warning, it was straight to the ready room and out the door for him. But that was okay, it just meant his sister wouldn’t have to keep up the disguise spell for the entirety of the game.  Not that she actually did. Only a minute after his brief encounter with Raining and that thing his disguise wore off, which meant his sister had probably reached her limit. But he’d managed to get what he wanted and so wore a content smile as he quietly walked back to her table. Mirror was slumped over buried under her hat, little sparks of power occasionally fizzling from her horn. A hint of worry broke his smile as he sat down next to her and gently tapped her shoulder, waiting for her to stir. But as the seconds ticked by she stayed quiet, her only sign of life being the slow rise and fall of her chest. Lance’s smile began to wane, he poked again and wasn’t answered to. Concern now mounting in the back of his mind. “Mirror? It’s me, are you okay?” Agonisingly long moments of silence followed before he heard her voice, it was low and raspy, as if she’d just woken up from a thousand year long slumber she hadn’t quite finished. “Lance…” She croaked. He leaned in, trying to more clearly make out what she was saying. “Yea?” “Never…again.” Lance sighed and solemnly nodded, he couldn’t imagine what kind of pain she had been through but her voice said everything, and it warmed his heart knowing she was willing to stick herself out there for him and for the good of others despite that. Soon, everypony would be eternally grateful for her efforts. “You have my word.” He replied, and this time he actually meant it. “At least tell me-” Mirror paused to take a deep breath. “-you know something.” Lance then dug into his pocket and pulled out a small chunk of hardened purple resin, smooth and clean to a finish. He placed it on the table in front of her and she fumbled it around with her hooves until it made its way under her hat, she raised her head to allow enough light in to examine, moving her head with the weight and grace of a lead brick. “I can confirm, the pegasus is a changeling. Raining’s in on it to, he teleported their flanks out before I could do anymore.” Had she the energy Mirror’s mind would’ve raced with all sorts of possibilities and questions at the revelation. But as it stood she was in no condition to brainstorm any theories, was Raining under some kind of spell? Was his whole family in on it? Why was the chunk purple and not green like she was expecting? All questions she’d have to ponder over another day, right now she barely felt like walking. She did at least have the sense to recognise one thing about Lance’s evidence. “This chunk is too small, the guards won’t buy it, and whatever’s in the maze will blend in with the props.” She let go and allowed Lance to pocket the royal purple piece of transparent rock. The colt looked on towards the arcade’s main entrance where they likely left, a smug grin steadily reaching the corners of his mouth. Fuelled by vengeance and harmful intent. “Okay “Thunder,” the fun and games are over."