//------------------------------// // Turning Up the Heat in the Arena // Story: .hack// Pony Protocol // by Shaq-of-All-Trades //------------------------------// Twilight logged back in to "The World" the next morning after having a breakfast of "Yug-Ohs!" "Hay-Os" brand cereal. Putting on her VR Helmet, she was immediately greeted by a large bright message from the system admins. 'Greetings all players! The Omega Server Root Town, Lumina Cloth is no longer under maintenance. Arena facilities are reopened to all players. Come down and root for your favorite teams, or participate and try to become a new Palace Emperor! Title matches are held often, so check in regularly.' The message disappeared, and Twilight found herself dumbfounded in front of Vinyl and Octavia. "Hey Twilight!" Vinyl said with her usual perkiness. "You saw your announcement, right? They reopened the server after you left yesterday. But get this: we managed to earn free tickets for the guild! So, wanna see the title match?" Twilight checked to see if she had received any messages from Raven. It didn't look like it, so she nodded her consent. "Awesome! This is going to rock so hard!" "I will admit, it does seem like it'll be fun," Octavia said silently. The trio made their way to the the Omega root town, then up the stairs and towards the Demon Palace. "I've never actually been to an arena match," Twilight admitted quietly as they made their way to the stands, "What are they like?" "Whoa, really?!" Vinyl laughed. "To think, the legendary PKK has never been to an arena match. That's just cray-cray! Anyways, these are basically players fighting each other for glory. Most players go in teams of three, but occasionally you get some single players. Makes sense since only the team leader gets the title of 'Palace Emperor' and joins Icolo, the Emperors Guild." Twilight absorbed the information, then stored it away as the match was beginning. An announcer spoke from out of nowhere. "Welcome Ladies and Gentlecolts to the Demon Palace Arena Title Match! Today's challenger, hoping to reclaim her title as Emperor of the Demon Palace, is the Twin Blader, Spitfire!" Cheers echoed as Spitfire flew into the arena. She took a lap, waving her hoof to the crowd. Twilight watched as Octavia and Vinyl stomped their hooves in cheer along with the crowd, and joined herself. Finally, the crowd began to settle, and the announcer continued with his spiel. "Now, defending her title as the reigning Emperor of the Demon Palace... Rainbow Dash!" Twilight stood shocked as the crowd roared louder. Rainbow Dash teleported into the center of the arena, her demeanor calm. Twilight's heart nearly stopped at the thought of it. Rainbow Dash not gushing over attention? Something was up, and she wanted to know what. Spitfire stood still and drew her weapons, taking a battle stance. Rainbow Dash didn't bother drawing anything, simply watching with a somewhat glazed expression. The announcer gave a countdown for the beginning of the match. "Three... Two... One... GO!" Spitfire dashed forward with amazing speed, and Twilight was sure that the rainbow-colored mare would be overtaken, when the world seemed to slow down. Everything began to turn blue, and Twilight saw a strange pattern glow on Rainbow Dash. All sound faded, except from her. "You're too weak to fill the void..." An Avatar suddenly appeared, and Twilight shifted backwards. Rainbow Dash was able to summon an Avatar as well?! What was going on? Did the others know about this? She'd have to find out later. At the moment, Rainbow Dash's Avatar was sweeping its hand in a deadly arc, and scissored through the near standstill Spitfire. Slowly everything began to move at a normal pace, the graphics and noises returning as well. Spitfire was collapsed on the ground, apparently defeated. Twilight looked to Vinyl and Octavia. "Did you two see that?!" "Yeah I saw that! Quickest match ever! Totally not even worth it. And what was that skill anyways? Rainbow Dash like, glowed, then Spitfire just collapsed. You ever see anything like that Tavi?" Octavia put her hoof to her mouth in thought. "I can't say I have, Vinyl, but then again, she's on an entirely different level." Twilight didn't say anything. Apparently, they hadn't seen Rainbow Dash release her Avatar, which meant that regular players couldn't see them. It also reinforced the fact that she wasn't a normal player. But how had Rainbow Dash been able to release her Avatar, and why did she use it in the arena? Twilight decided then that she'd have to have a little conversation with Rainbow Dash as she was leaving... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Rainbow Dash!" Twilight said, catching up to her. Rainbow Dash simply turned around, and smiled slightly. "Ah, Twilight," she said almost as if in a dream, "How have you been? I haven't seen you in some time..." Twilight's jaw dropped both in the game and in the real world. Rainbow Dash was never this polite. Nor did she speak so calmly. "What the hay is wrong with you? How do you have an Avatar? And more importantly, why are you using it in arena battles? Isn't that rather irresponsible?" Twilight shot questions like bullets, and was annoyed when Rainbow Dash simply snickered. "Oh, so you could see my darling?" Rainbow dash cooed, then petted a small doll on her shoulder. It looked a lot like Fluttershy... "You know Twilight, only those with the power can see it in use. But you know what? Even if you can see mine, it doesn't matter. You're too weak. So what if I use it in tournament fights? They can't stop me any more than you. Besides, it helps fill the void." Rainbow Dash began to fly away, when Twilight bit her tail and yanked her back. Rainbow Dash's expression, though still somber, was more annoyed. "Anything else you need, bug?" Twilight's eyes seemed to glow with anger. "Listen up, Dash: I don't know what's gotten into you, but with Celestia as my witness, I am going to beat it out of you. I hope you're not too attached to that throne, because I'm about to kick your sorry flank out of it!" Rainbow Dash snickered lightly, then began to fly away. Twilight huffed, then was bowled over by a filly-sized torpedo. "Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Dash!" shouted Scootaloo, following adoringly in Rainbow Dash's shadow. "That was another great match! I knew you'd win, because you're the awesomest most extreme pony there is! There's no way you could've lost" Scootaloo turned to face Twilight, a look of disgust on her face. "Nopony could beat you Rainbow Dash... nopony." Twilight turned and looked for Vinyl and Octavia. They were by the exit, chatting about something involving the matches. Twilight interrupted them. "I want to enter the next tournament," she said adamantly. "Either of you wanna help?" "I'm up for it," Vinyl said without hesitation. Twilight got the sense that she had wanted to enter one for some time, but was held back by something. She turned to look at Octavia. "I'm... not one for fighting other players..." Octavia said softly. Her answer confirmed Twilight's suspicions that Vinyl couldn't enter previously. "Well, we're gonna need a third, Twi," Vinyl said. "I can handle myself well in a fight since I'm a Blade Brandier, and you're pretty fast as an Adept Rouge with the Twin Blade job, but we're gonna either need a healer or a heavy hitter to balance us out." A lump formed in Twilight's throat. She knew somepony to fill either position... and they were both unavailable. Fluttershy was a great Harvest Cleric would have been more than able to heal them during the battles; but of course, she was in a coma. And Spike, as an Edge Punisher, could deal massive amounts of damage to groups of enemies at once. But thanks to her performance, she doubted he'd so easily help her. She still felt a sting from her words. "Do you know of any way to find some temporary help," Twilight asked. Vinyl scratched her head, deep in thought. "Why not just post an ad?," Octavia asked. Vinyl rushed up and hugged her tightly, then gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "Tavi, I freaking love you!" Vinyl exclaimed. Octavia blushed hard, backing away and hyperventilating. Vinyl turned back to Twi, who was a little embarrassed herself. "We can just ask somepony to help us through the tournament! Offer a bit of cash, and we're set! So, what should we ask for: a healer, or a heavy-hitter?" "Heavy-hitter," Twilight said quickly. If a Harvest Cleric joined their team, too many painful memories would distract her. Getting a heavy-hitter wouldn't be much better, but at least she'd be able to concentrate more. Vinyl informed Twilight that it would probably take a while before anypony replied, so Twilight decided to take a break from 'The World.' She logged off, then took off her VR Helmet. Things were getting so hectic in the game, it felt like she was living two lives, neither of which was much better than the other. She got up and went to the main section of the library, and looked for a book. A brief travel through a written world would surely help to cheer her up. She decided to try a book titled, "Poetry from Ponies Past." After looking at a few poems, a thought enters her head. She had heard that a specific poem in the book had some significance to the game. She turned through chapters until she came upon a poem titled "The Epitaph of Dusk." It read: Yet to return, the shadowed one. Who quests for the Dusk Dragon Rumbles the Dark Hearth, And Helba, Queen of the Dark, has raised finally her army. Apeiron, King of Light beckons. At the base of the rainbow do they meet Against the abominable Wave, together they fight. Alba's lake boils. Light's great tree doth fall. Power- now all to droplets turned in the temple of Arche Koeln. Returns to nothing, this world of shadowless ones. Never to return, the shadowed one, Who quests for the Dusk Dragon. Unknown where the Cursed Wave was born… After the stars doth cross the heavens, The sky in the East doth darken and air doth fill with mourning. From the chosen land beyond the forest, a sign of the wave comes. Riding the wake is Skeith, the Shadow of Death, to drown all that stands. Mirage of Deceit, Innis, Betray all with the flawed image, and did aid the Wave. And by the Power of Magus, a drop from the Wave doth reach the heavens, and creates a new Wave. With the Wave, Fidchell, the power to tell the dark future, hope darkens, sadness and despair rule. Gorre schemes when swallowed by the Cursed Wave. Macha seduces with the sweet trap. Wave reaches the Pinnacle, and escape none can. Tarvos still remains with more cruelty to punish and destroy. And with the turbulent destruction after the Wave. Only a void remains. From deep within the void arrives Corbenik. Perhaps then the Wave is just a beginning as well. Shunning the field broken by Wave. The shadowed girl whispers, "Surely, I will return." Alas, the truth unbeknownst. Awaiting her at journey's end; Eternal mourning for her land. When the finger points to the yonder moon, The fool will look at the fingertip. The whole cannot be changed. We have already lost that chance. Because the time left to us was short, We were mistaken in our path. But now do we realize, We should change not the whole, But the parts. Wave soars and shrouds the eyes. No means to fight an omnipresent force, The shadowless ones just grieve. Why must it be a Wave? Divide, if it would just... Then retaliate, we may. Over the Keel Mountains, Meets an ape with civilized speech. The ape asks, "What clings to you? Bear it—you cannot. Accept it—you cannot. But hidden—it is from you. Recite its name." Like a frenzied beast that is driven. An unseen wind of plague shrieks across the border. Pandemonium, wailing, and stench of carnage fills the air. There is no place to run. No hope of escape. Those who are mourned will never return. The hands of time cannot be turned back. :The Keel Mountains traversed at last, we met a dragon that spoke thus: "Sheraton am I, who interprets the signs. An answer to my question, give. If you can, complete my role will be, and I will leave this land. Though equally it exists before everyone's eyes, grasp it not one person can. Tell me—what is it?" Plaird of the Seven Sisters, falling in love with a mortal, Became a Shadowed One and was exiled from the Light. Hence, her name came to be called Plaird the Fallen. At her wanderings end, she settled in seclusion in Arche Haokar. However, those days may not last. A reunion may come, or may not. Plaird's form vanishes at the coming of the sign of the Wave. Twilight finished the passage, and a strange sense of understanding washed through her. It was as if somehow, the poem was a loose tie that nearly bound something together. But it was just short. Reading on, Twilight discovered that the author of the poem had died before she could complete it. The thought was sad, since it was such a beautiful piece of literature. Twilight placed a bookmark at the beginning of the poem, and decided to read through it again later, when she saw it was dark outside. She'd burnt through the entire day. Her stomach growled, the sound akin to a wild chimera (and boy, did she know about chimeras). She made her way to the kitchen, and ate a small dandelion salad. She noticed that she'd have to restock on food soon. Oh, how time flew. Her descent into sleep was a quick one, her dreams filled with thoughts of puppets and dragons, light and shadow, and a wave which washed away everything... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Twilight awoke to a rainy day. She looked at her calendar. They weren't scheduled rain for another two weeks. Thinking about it, she noticed that the weather had been rather chaotic as of late. Was Rainbow Dash at least keeping up with her duties as weather manager, or was she simply spending all her time on 'The World?' She shook her head. She'd fix with Rainbow Dash soon enough. Having a breakfast of muffins and milk, Twilight entered 'The World,' only to notice that there had been a reply to the guild's request for a heavy hitter. Somepony with the screen name "Hot_Chicken" had asked for Twilight to meet with her alone at Delta Screaming Water Dream to discuss the details. She said she'd be waiting behind the stone building housing the treasure. Quickly sending a message to Vinyl and Octavia, Twilight made her way to the area. The field was rather high in level, and Twilight took some time to fight any monsters she encountered on the way. After making her way through the field, she arrives at the stone building. She quickly rushes around and is shocked to see nopony there. A familiar laugh breezes through the air. "Ah, Twilight Snarkle," Trixie said, slowly slinking her way from the other side of the building. Snips and Snails somehow come from the side she came from, effectively boxing her in. "Oh, how Trixie plans on enjoying this. Trixie is not only about to PK you, but Trixie is getting paid to!" Trixie laughed, as if this was some great joke, and Snips and Snails joined in. Trixie glared at them, shutting the two up, then began to approach Twilight. Twilight backed up into the building, her mind frantically searching for an answer, when another familiar voice called out. "Leave Twilight alone ya bully!" Spike, her wonderful assistant, appeared with his weapon drawn and pointed at Trixie. The mare took a tentative step back, but still stood her ground. "Oh what, is Trixie supposed to be afraid of a runt with a big sword and a PKK who has lost her power? Puh-leez!" Spike smiled. "Oh, maybe not. But you see, Trixie, I'm with Moon Tree: and I brought two friends with me." Spike moved aside as two stallions appeared. One of them Twilight recalled meeting before. His name was Sakaki, and he was a lieutenant at Moon Tree who didn't approve of her PKK'ing. The other was a fiery looking pony, whom Twilight immediately had the urge to fight. One look in his eyes, and she could tell he felt the same. "Cease and desist," said Sakaki. "If you attack this player, we at Moon Tree will consider it an attack on ourselves... and I'm sure that your guild master wouldn't approve of that." Trixie scowled, then glared at Twilight. "We will settle this, Twilight Snarkle. In fact, Trixie is officially challenging your guild. Meet at the Kestrel @home. If you chicken out, then your guild will be destroyed." Trixie smiled smugly at Sakaki, and pranced off, with Snips and Snails prattling along after her. Spike looked to Sakaki, who simply shook his head. "I am sorry, Spike, but there is nothing I can do to stop a formal guild challenge. Twilight will have to meet with the leader of Kestrel. Only she can stop the challenge; of course, she's unlikely to do such. More likely, she'll simply make it worse." Spike looked to Twilight, and saw she was heading off. He moved quicker than his class should normally allow, and cut of her march. She looked down at him, her eyes hiding any emotion. " Twi, I know why you were here. I want to join your party as the third member. It'd be better to work with someone you know rather than a total stranger anyways, right?" Twilight held her breath, and looked away. Spike was about to assume she'd refuse, when she nodded. "Alright, Spike, you can be our third. I'll invite you when we're getting ready for our match." She left the area before he could say any more. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Twilight, alone and with no fear in her heart, stood in the middle of the Kestrel @home, and @home so large it was given an actual area. Only guilds who exceeded a certain number limit were given such. The Kestrel @home was shaped like a canyon, with treacherous cliffs and spikes everywhere. PKs watched as Twilight climbed her way up to the plateau, and slowly hooved her way to the massive cloud and stone throne. Sitting upon it, with a wicked gleam in her eye, was the leader of Kestrel, Lightning Dust. "The Terror of Friendship, here my domain," she said with a purr, "What a treat indeed! Oh, to think that you of all ponies would appear in front of a guild filled with members who despise you... I can't get over it. But, you're not here to visit. No, you're here to discuss the clan challenge that Trixie set." Lightning Dust looked over at Trixie, who was sitting beside throne with a fearful look in her eye. "Yes... rather funny how she simply set out such a challenge without permission. But I like her moxy. Reminds me of myself. And Canard has been an irritation anyways. So I'm allowing the challenge to go through." Twilight listened intensely, keeping her eye behind her at all times. It seemed that a wall of players had formed behind her. Ponies, griffons, and dragons all looked with an intense gleam of delight. She really didn't have any allies here. She looked back to Lightning Dust. "Well, I accept the challenge. Shall we set the terms then?" "Right to the point! I like it. How's about this: if you win, then we of Kestrel shall leave you alone. All of us." The last statement was aimed at Trixie, who flinched as if the words had actually physically cause her harm. "And if we win, your guild has to disband, and you have to join us." A few shocked gasps went through the crowd. Twilight was just as shocked. "What? Join you? But... but why?!" she asked. "Simple. You're strong. Even if you're somehow weaker than you were, the determination is still there. I can feel it coursing through you. No matter what you face, you tough it out and keep moving forward. Despite what you may think of us, we value strength. That is why we PK; we do it to test ourselves against the only thing which can grow stronger and stronger. Players are the greatest test of strength this game provides, because they constantly change. Don't you agree? After all, you're the pony who takes out PKs. Are you any different from us already? Isn't power what you seek?" "I seek power, yes; but I am nothing like you!" Twilight was rattled. Lightning Dust's words struck close to home. She had to leave, and soon. "I'll agree to your terms, but only if you agree to leave my guild alone, as well as those who deal with us." Lightning Dust nodded, her smile never leaving her lips. She waved her hoof, and the wall behind Twilight dispersed. Twilight started walking off, when Lightning Dust made a final remark. "Just so you know, this challenge will be settled in the arena. Trixie here already qualifies for the tournament. If you can't make it their, or you lose to her team, then we win. Good luck." Twilight exited, then released a pent up breath. The meeting had exhausted her, both mentally and emotionally. She didn't think it would be so intense, or that words would carve into her so deeply. She suddenly had a moment of pity for Trixie: what was it like to have to deal with that kind of guild master all the time? She couldn't begin to imagine. She shook herself off, and invited Vinyl and Spike. When the two arrived, they headed to Lumina Cloth to register. Their first match began immediately. Their first match was a breeze, since the other team only consisted of two Blade Brandiers and a Steam Gunner. Twilight and Vinyl took out the Brandiers, allowing Spike to handle the weaker Gunner. When the gunner was down, Spike used his area attacks to help finish off the other two. The group high-hooved and were teleported back into the arena lobby. "That was so totally rad!" Vinyl cheered. Twilight nodded, and Spike simply grinned. "How many more matches before we qualify for the tournament?" Spike asked. "About three if I'm not mistaken," Twilight said, "But I'll have to check-" She paused, because she had received a message from a mysterious player. It asked her to meet them in front of the Grand Hullz Cathedral, where Fluttershy had been PK'd. She read further, and saw that they wanted to discuss... Tri-Edge. She closed the message. "I'll be back... something I have to attend to. The next match is in an hour, right?" Vinyl nodded, and Twilight moved to leave. Spike walked beside her. "Twilight, should I be worried?" Spike asked with a serious expression. Twilight shook her head. "No, Spike, you shouldn't. I just have to check on something. Besides, I can handle myself." Twilight exited, then made her way to the Grand Hullz Cathedral. She opened the door, looking for the one who sent the message. "Where are you?!" Music played from nowhere, and from the roof came crashing to the ground a pony covered in gold. The pony majestically threw her golden mane back, then looked to Twilight with gleaming golden eyes. When she spoke, the sound was as harmonic as a golden angel playing a golden harp on a golden couch on a golden cloud during a golden sunrise. Her might and majesty were unrivaled, and when she replied to Twilight's question, she simply said: "Darn! My awesome entry! I just don't know what went wrong..." Twilight watched the pony adjust herself so that she was sitting upright. Her crash entry had been impressive, but not exactly spectacular. "Ditzy?! What are you doing here?" The golden armored mare stood up, and cleared her throat. "Twilight Sparkle, the Terror of Friendship!" she began powerfully. "I, who go by many titles such as the Bright Eyed Crusader, Ditzy the Destroyer, and the Golden Derp, have come to you in order to reveal that I have been gathering information on the mysterious PK, Tri-Edge, so as to boost my renown even further! And I tell you this, so that I may ask if you will be my ally in this brigade! Your legendary power is just what I need in this quest!" Twilight took a moment to figure out what the hay was going on. Ditzy had apparently been searching for Tri-Edge, and had come looking for her to help. It was rather silly, but Twilight felt for the mare. She was nice in real life, so why not indulge her a little? "Ok, 'Golden Derp,' I'll help you. Just contact me if you need me. You clearly are good enough to keep on the lookout without me. I need to get going back to the Arena anyways." Twilight left the bubbly pony to gush at her success, and made her way back to the arena. She was just in time. Twilight's team won their next two matches, and they were all feeling ecstatic. Spike checked their next match, and his heart sunk. He rushed to Twilight. "Twi, Twi! Our next match is against Matsu!" Twilight tilted her head trying to figure out if that meant anything. "Matsu is the other pony you met when we stopped Trixie at that field. He's an Adept Rouge like you, except he picked different classes. He used to be a legendary PK, the Lord of Flames Matsu." "How is there an ex-PK in Moon Tree?" Twilight wondered. "That guild hates PKs." "He pledged to Sakaki that he'd stop using his Edge Punisher skills, since he used them as a PK. He hasn't broken it at all since he joined, and everypony respects him for it. He'll be tough to beat." Twilight had to admit, Spike had a point. Fighting a legendary PK wouldn't be easy, even if they restrained themselves. As she thought of ways for them to take on Matsu, a voice called out to her from the shadows. A voice so familiar it made her heart stop. "Need some help, Twi'ly?" She ran and dug her face in her brother's chest. Shining Armor looked down at her with a mask on his face. He laughed lightly and hugged her back. Spike and Vinyl snuck out, leaving the two to themselves. Twilight didn't really mind much; she was glad to talk to him alone. "What are you doing here?" Twilight asked with tears in her eyes. "Well," Shining Armor said, scratching his head, "I'm actually the old leader of Icolo, the guild of arena Emperors. I stick around and keep things up-to-par, and help keep things calm around here. What I was wondering was why you were here." Twilight turned her eyes away. "Rainbow Dash... I need to fight her." Shining Armor simply nodded. "You're not worried?" "Twi'ly, this is a game. Nopony is going to get hurt. Besides, sometimes friend shave to fight to solve their differences. A good spat can drive bad emotions away better than letting them linger in you." Twilight had to admit that her brother was pretty wise when he needed to be. And she needed somepony close to help her. "But you're not gonna reach her as you are. You're going to need to get back your old abilities. Yes, I know you got reset somehow. I do keep check of your activities little sister. In fact, I know about a job advancement quest in Mac Anu. Since your next two fights until tomorrow, why not take it tonight then get some rest?" "That's a great idea! Thanks Shining Armor!" Twilight rushed out, leaving Shining Armor alone. From behind a curtain, Rarity appeared. "Thank you, Shining. Twilight needed a push from somepony she trusted, and you're one of the few she can still rely on." Shining Armor looked at her darkly. "Just know, I'm doing this to help my sister. If I thought for a second that your organization was putting her in more danger than she could handle, I'd finish you without a thought. My sister is one of the most important ponies in my life, and I love her with all my heart. Nothing will happen to her under my watch." "We don't plan on it," Rarity said coolly, "And don't think that we don't love her too. I know we haven't been fair to her, but sometimes we have to hurt those we love to make them strong enough to face their destiny. Sometimes, sacrifices have to be made." "That may be true," Shining Armor said, "But Twilight will not be that sacrifice." He walked away, and Rarity stood looking at a picture of Rainbow Dash on the wall. Her heart sank a little. "Sacrifices have to be made... from all of us."