//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Challenges and Champions // Story: Equestrian Earth: A Life Beyond His Own // by Nxegex //------------------------------// “In the arena they struggle to win Two teams fight by hoof and by wing No holding back, the fighting begins For them death is but a temporary thing” One eye opened, staring into darkness as Paperback tried to rouse himself from his slumber. He didn't feel the heat of the sun yet, so it must have still been early in the morning. The eye shut again as Paperback reached out with his magic and lifted the helmet off of his head. He let out a deep yawn as he stretched out his hooves, rolling slightly to rid himself of the blanket he had slept underneath. His room had cooled overnight; the crappy apartment insulation offered little resistance to the coming chill that signified that winter was only a couple of months away. As soon as the wave of air rolled over his body he felt more alive, and only then did his eyes open. It was just about sunrise, perhaps a little bit earlier than that. Possibly the earliest he had woken up all week. His magic instinctively reached towards his dresser and grabbed his glasses, planting them firmly upon his face. What would he do today? He had some time before he felt like hopping back into the game again. Sighing, he stumbled over to his fridge to find breakfast. Boredom was forever his greatest enemy. Well, no, apathy is. But the boredom comes from the apathy. He thought, trying to straighten out his mind. It's not as if he didn't have a dozen different things that he actually should be doing instead of playing games, it's just that none of them could hold his attention for more than fifteen minutes at a time if he got anything done at all. He had a half-formed list taped to the front of the fridge, and he read it before he opened the door. 1. Find, apply for, and get a job. This first item on the list Paperback had already worked on for months, even before he had moved into the apartment. How could something as commonplace as employment- any employment- be so difficult to find? It's not like he had a bad resume. His was better than some of the other people that he had seen employed. He just didn't have any work experience, which was all that really seemed to matter in the rapidly expanding city of Las Pegasus. A list of sixty places he had applied to was scribbled onto the back of the paper; he made the rounds to ask if any positions were still open only a few days ago. No, he wouldn't look for work today. He didn't want to deal with the disappointment 2. History paper due Two Weeks The words 'Two Weeks' were written over a number of other dates that had been scribbled out as the deadline drew ever closer. He had known about the paper since the beginning of the semester, and the book that he had to write it on was still laying underneath his bed. He had skimmed it briefly, but everything after the preface was a first-hand account of events from over six hundred years ago and attempting to decipher Middle Equestrian syntax when he didn't have his full brainpower available just made him frustrated. No, no paper today. He didn't need to deal with the headache. The other three items on the list were 'Go Grocery Shopping, Return Library Books, Go Running.' The first one he didn't have any money for until the end of the month when his parents gave him his 'allowance,' the second he had done two days ago- so he grabbed a pen on the floor and scribbled it out- so that really only left the third. A run for him didn't usually mean a run, more of a light walk that might involve a sprint once he got to the park. The only reason it was on the list was because he didn't want to get flabby; although that prospect didn't look likely with his slim diet of microwave dinners, raw vegetables, and bread. Ah, what the hell. I'm up a good four hours earlier than normal, I might as well. Paperback thought, and pulled out a carton of milk to pour in his oats. He felt energetic, which was not a word he normally associated with mornings. He might as well use the energy before it passed. He took his time to wash his breakfast dish in the bathroom sink and placed the bowl away where he could use it again later that night. Paperback stuck his nose out the door and sniffed the cool autumn air before venturing out for the morning. Around his neck he had wrapped a bright red scarf, one of the few articles of clothing he owned. He locked the door behind him and tucked the key into the lining of the scarf; it was a convenient pocket for something so tiny. He didn't have a particular destination in mind, so he set off down the street at an unhurried pace. Meadow Road led deeper into the residential part of town in the foothills, and if one followed it long enough it would eventually wind around to The Heights, an upper-class neighborhood filled with rich eccentrics. It was mostly ponies who had made their fortunes early on in life and spent their time by spending their money on impulse and throwing lavish parties. From The Heights one could see the cloud city that was the original Los Pegasus, still floating next to the famous “Applewood” sign. Paperback had no plans of walking that far. He would likely only reach Lark Park near Rough Sketch's house before he turned around and headed back home. Along the way he encountered a few other ponies, and exchanged a quick “hello” before both parties continued their march. Most of them were heading off to work deeper in the city; others were the early risers that kept the gears turning. Weather pegasi were already hard at work moving the clouds around, “Partly cloudy morning, with overcast later in the day and a light shower in the evening.” A pegasus replied when Paperback asked what today's forecast was. After a good twenty minutes of exercise he found himself at Lark Park right as the sun peeked over the eastern hills. The birds which gave the park its name were madly singing away as they hopped about the grass, looking for insects to devour. After a brief stretch, Paperback did a couple of quick laps around the field, stopping after his muscles began to ache. Why couldn't he run as far as he could in Equestrian Earth? He was a weakling out here in the real world. Combined with a few too many hits to the head and his terrible eyesight, and he could easily fall into a pit of self pity if he dwelled on such things for too long. At least his hearing was good. On the subject of hearing, what was that noise? Music? Yes, I can hear it a little better now. Paperback thought, twitching his ears to listen in all directions and find the source. The song was fast, and heavy on the drums. Paperback turned towards the street, where he saw an open garage door that the music was pouring through. Rough Sketch's house, of course. Might as well say hello; they hadn't had one of their usual bull sessions in a while. As he reached the house, Paperback knocked on the side of the garage. Inside, he could see Rough Sketch on the floor doing wing-ups. Weight sets sat nearby, obviously recently used, along with an empty bottle of Mr Pepper soda. A computer was on a cart; the source of the music, obviously. On the screen was a flashy Neighponese anime show, the likes of which were Rough Sketch's muse and primary source of entertainment. As the sound of Paperback's knocking reached the cream-colored pegasus' ears, Rough Sketch gave one final push off of the ground and hovered in midair without flapping for two seconds. He landed on his hooves and grinned at Paperback standing in the doorway. “Hey there Paper. What brings you out before the sun shines?” Rough Sketch said, using the break to stretch and cool down from his workout. “Well, I woke up early for once in my life and decided to take a walk. Heard your music from across the street and came over to say hello.” Paperback replied. “What got you up so early? Usually you sleep in until noon.” “Saying that I got up early implies that I went to sleep at some point.” Rough Sketch said. He started moving about the room to clean it up a little bit, putting the weights back on their racks and kicking the soda bottle into a corner trashcan “So you've just been up all night lifting weights and watching anime?” Honestly, Paperback wasn't so surprised. Rough had a peculiar fondness for being nocturnal. “Don't you have work today?” Paperback continued, implying that it really wasn't the best idea to stay up all night. “Not until three. I was gonna watch one more episode then go to sleep, wake up around one. Plenty of time to shower and eat.” Rough Sketch said, then sat down on a pillow in front of the computer. He tossed another pillow next to him, motioning for Paperback to join him. “Now sit and watch this show with me. We'll make you like anime yet.” Paperback grimaced, but complied. It wasn't that he didn't like anime, it's just that many of the shows didn't appeal to him. Of course, those would be Rough Sketch's favorites. ------------ After the show was over, Paperback stuck around for another half-hour, just chatting about various things of little importance. Equestrian Earth was mentioned in passing, but it didn't display prominently in the conversation as much as Rough Sketch's interest in the Interactive Pony Visor. “It's absolutely incredible.” Paperback said when asked about it. “I had some reservations about the violence at first because the game feels so real, but I'm adjusting well enough. The graphical display is no-gore so I don't get disgusted, and I'm not sure if I've actually fought any real ponies yet, mostly just monsters controlled by the system AI.” Paperback really didn't know whether the ponies at Bandit Caverns were intelligent or not, and it was kind of bothering him. Yes, they were evil even if they were real, but he didn't want to be an executioner. Rough Sketch of course cared a little less about Paperback's ethics and morals and more about the visor. “It's better than what Story or Java thought it would be.” Paperback continued when pressed. “The visor uses magical impulses that connect and interfere with the brain's signals, so when you try and move you move in the game, without running around or breaking anything in real life. It takes some real concentration to interrupt those signals once you're in the game, so you'll have to consciously disengage yourself if you want to do something as simple as scratch.” That amount of complex magical technology also explained why the helmet was so heavy. Eventually Rough Sketch excused himself, needing to wake up for work later in the day. The two of them exchanged an ironic “Good Morning” as Rough closed the door and went upstairs to sleep. Paperback began the trot back to his apartment. The sun was rising into the sky now, raising the temperature of the air around him to a cozy temperature that made him feel snug with his scarf around him. The heat also had the added benefit of making him feel more energized,even after his small workout. Eh, why not, I'll go and make the rounds again. He thought, and headed off into the city to continue the hunt for employment. He had several hours before he expected to return to the land of digital dreams, and he felt this was the best use of his time. Six hours later he had nothing to show for his efforts except for an empty stomach, sore legs and a sour attitude. Disappointment always did these to him, and today was no different. He made a slow, complete loop around the entire city as he poked his nose into various places he had applied to and let them know he was still interested if a position opened up. It was nearing two in the afternoon, and his stomach was making the grumblies, so he made his way back home under the overcast sky and the slowly cooling air as the weather pegasi prepared for the evening rain. He made himself a sandwich as the television blared on in the background about how after a brief economic downturn, things were starting to look up. For everyone but me at least. What the hell am I doing wrong that no one will hire me? He really didn't want to have to move back in with his parents. Anything but that. They were absolutely unbearable, and although they didn't do it out loud anymore he could still tell that inside they constantly compared him to his older sister who had moved to Canterlot years ago. If he moved back in there the silent grudge matches would just escalate into shouting again, and none of them wanted that. It's why they agreed to pay for the tiny apartment for a few months. With his stomach now less empty than before, he looked towards the clock and saw the time was at three o'clock. The perfect time to dive back into the game and drown his woes in the exciting, virtual reality haven of Equestrian Earth. ------------ As the visor slid securely over his head, his vision was filled with the bright light of the Goddess' domain as he logged in, her voice sweetly saying “Welcome again, Paperback.” As always, before he could reply he felt a familiar falling sensation, and the vision of the white space disappeared as his body virtualized into the world. He was standing right next to where he was before when he had logged off early this morning. Standing where he should have spawned was another pony, who gave him a sort of wide-eyed stare as Paperback popped into place next to him. The pony muttered “Honestly, I never really get used to that,” before trotting off. Paperback felt better already inside the game. It was currently nighttime, two days had already passed in the world since he had left. Under the crescent moon gleaming from above the entire city of Aeroslida felt bright and shiny. Despite the time of night in-game, plenty of players were roaming about, usually in groups of threes or fours. Paperback spotted the odd romantic duo here and there, along with the lone wolves who skirted about the edges of crowds; not stopping to talk with anyone but instead pursuing their destination with a single-minded determination. Due to the time, he assumed, very few non-player characters were up. The only ones up and moving about were the night guards, and one enterprising potion salesman who was making a killing while his competitors were asleep. With none of his other compatriots online yet, Paperback went off to find something to occupy his time. He didn't feel like grinding alone, and Chariot Park was too much of a disaster zone to move through right then anyways, so that left him with destinations inside the city. The first thing he did was go and check out the rubble from the building that had collapsed the night previous- from his perspective, at least. It must have been three whole days inside the game since it fell. Once he found his way to the street that should have been covered in bricks and ruins, he found that no trace of the destruction remained. The tower that had fallen stood aright again, and if he didn't know better he would say that no calamity had ever occurred. The workers who had repaired the building had done a remarkably fast job. He had seen them on the scene when he had respawned after the accident, and they had already started clearing up the street and allowing traffic to start flowing through. He really hoped Ditzy hadn't gotten in trouble for the incident. He made his next destination the Cloud Library. Perhaps a little reading to pass the time would lighten him up. Maybe they would have the final book of the Wheel of Time series, he certainly wanted to finish the chronicles of the Dragon Reborn. The library was the largest building in the city by terms of area, but second tallest in height only to the capitol building. The three towers that made the basis of the building rose up in a triangle formation around the center. The main building rose three stories high with a domed top while the towers stretched another five after that, topped with the familiar Stalliongrad design that adorned all the major buildings of the city. The inside of the library was elaborate with its arched hallways and decorative columns. The center room which was underneath the dome was round and large, with desks arrayed on the floor for ponies to work at. Despite the time of night, the room was lit by torches and lanterns, all lighting up the floor, bouncing off of the golden domed ceiling, and then returning to the floor again to bathe the room in a soft amber glow. Even at this late hour of the evening the library had a fair number of ponies within it. Most of them were NPC's; pages and librarians shuffling around shelves, and some scholars burning through the midnight oil. A few players were scattered about, peering through the books and tomes. Most of them were a few levels below him. Those that had spent all their time grinding to get to higher levels were still out there, most likely having surpassed him by at least five levels by now. He spent some time browsing the shelves, taking in what material the library had. A bit of comprehensive searching revealed that, no, they didn't have the Wheel of Time series, nor many of the other popular modern books. Instead they had the most extensive collection of knowledge from the classical and pre-classical era that he had ever seen. Some of the books were as young as a hundred and fifty years old, which may have put them officially out of date with the era of the game, but were still six generations apart from modern day. Others were stories that he didn't even think existed in the real world. Highly decorated books caught his eyes, flashing titles like The Lich of the Silent Swamp, Escape from Kurst's Castle, Crossing the Vile Divide, and The Great Withering at Gloomeadow. The last of those listed caught his eyes, and he pulled it off of the shelves and down to the central room where he could read beneath the light of the dome. As he suspected, the book was entirely about the lore within the game, focusing around the Gloomeadow and how it became as it was now. Once an area of great plains and forests known as the Viridian Vale, the land had fallen under the terrible curse of an ancient necromancer who took the name Mors Finitum. Mors slayed the ancient guardians of the Vale to raise as his own servants in death, and much of the land was razed to create his machines of war. The goddess made a champion of her own named Anda'shar, and they did battle. It ultimately ended with Anda'shar sacrificing himself to seal the guardians, as Mors escaped heavily weakened. “With the guardians slain, the valley was left unguarded. So the beasts of the land were taken, enslaved for a new master. The trees rose up, and they were used to fuel the fires. The waters wept, and so with toxins it was poisoned. The air cried out, but with thick smog it was silenced Then there was no one left to weep, for the guardians were already gone. “Now what remains in the land lay cursed and twisted Scouring the land for those filled with the breath of life Hungry for the feeling of living so long since denied to them. The forms of the ancient ones, once protectors, bound under evil's spell. Trapped in their prison by the goddess, sealed upon Anda'shar's lips. The goddess locks up the curse that locks up the spirits, until the keys are found.” I thought I wasn't going to do any deciphering today. Paperback complained mentally, rubbing his head. Much of the book was translated into common equestrian, but at the back end of the book was the original writing that much of the book was translated from. The last two verses were written like gibberish and had no explanation anywhere else in the book; the original author must have stumped whoever wrote this edition. The first 'stanza', if the passage could be considered a poem, just summarized everything that the book explained, with some redundancy. Mors captured the spirits of the guardians, and reanimated their earthly forms to do his will. With the protection from the guardian's gone, Mors was then free to bind the animals and plants, and the very earth, wind, and water in the valley under him. The second stanza was where things started to make less sense. Despite Mors Finitum being defeated and forced to retreat it appears his minions were still swarming around the now-called Gloomeadow and the surrounding areas, along with all the other nasty things that tend to pop up when a place is left abandoned for a century or two. The goddess and Anda'shar then proceeded to lock up the physical forms of the guardian's who were under control by Mors, the latter of which died during the process. That is where Paperback stopped understanding anything. Where the hell is Anda'shar's lips? And why doesn't this book say what happened to Mors after he escaped? Of course... if the guardians were locked up before this book was written, was it possible that they were locked up still? The thought was inside of his head now, a burning curiosity that demanded to be explored. He had a full two days of game time before the battle between Team Packers and Team Awesome, plenty of time to gain some levels and explore the ancient history of the Gloomeadow. Paperback looked around the study, and noticed that it had become much brighter without him noticing. It was early morning in the game world, and the sun was just beginning to streak through the dome that covered the center of the library. Daylight was a perfect time to set out on a new adventure. He placed the book back where he had found it, and exited the library. ------------ Simply getting to the Gloomeadow presented its own host of challenges, as Paperback found out. The area wasn't a popular destination for chariots because there wasn't a major town nearby and poor visibility during this time of day made for hard flying. This of course meant that he had to wade through Chariot Park in order to take the next vehicle to Saddleworth, irritated and uncomfortable by the large mass of bodies surrounding him. Once he reached Saddleworth he had to head east in order to reach the Gloomeadow. There was a pass in the mountain range to get there easily, some miles north of where the Bandit Caverns was located. The trek there was a long hours walk, passing by the same mine where Rusty Nail, Sound Wave, and him had their first adventure together. The passage through the mountains very briefly took him into a higher elevation, where he could see the snow level just a few hundred feet above him. He hadn't run into many players out this way, although there were a few. It seemed that the popular spot for people his level was around Trotting Trail, a road which led out of the Sherpwoods and eventually to Trottingham. There was, of course, a chariot that routinely went to Trottingham, so that would most likely have something to do with the traffic of the road. He moved swiftly through the steep parts of the trail, eventually overtaking two ponies and a pet that he fell into chatting with. Golden Percussion was a yellow-cream-coated, boisterous and jumpy unicorn mare, sporting a sunlight-yellow mane with peach highlights, which fluttered freely over her plated armor. A greatsword was strapped to her back, along with two shortswords on either side of her shoulders, and what looked like some daggers tied along her front legs. Her forceful and up-front personality was a great counterbalance to that of her partner, Dusty Rhythm. Dusty Rhythm was an unassuming, faded-toffee-colored earth pony with a dull olive main that fell down over the front of his face. Decked in leather armor and sporting a crossbow, he subconsciously shifted around the group, keeping an eye out for danger. He had a dark-colored wolf the same size as him that followed his footsteps, who kept sniffing the air disdainfully. It sounded like the beast had a cold. “We're musicians!” Golden Percussion exclaimed exuberantly when Paperback asked what they did. “I'm one of the drum players in the Manehattan Orchestra, and Dusty is a bass player in his band.” “Musicians, huh? I'm surprised you didn't opt for the Bard class.” Paperback replied. Like Dusty, he too was keeping an eye on the cliffs around them. They were in the narrowest part of the pass now, an easy place to set up an ambush if a class about Equestria's military history had taught him anything. Golden Percussion scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Why on earth would we want to play a class that just mimics what we do in real life? There's no challenge in that.” She jumped side to side a few times, dodging imaginary enemies in her head. “Besides, if I feel like banging on a drum set I can just pull out a hammer and pretend that the monsters' skulls are cymbals.” How enchantingly morbid. Paperback thought, then answered when he was asked what he did in return. “Well, I fancy myself as a writer sometimes, but so far nothing I've written has panned out. So right now I'm just looking for a day job to pay the bills.” Golden looked intrigued. “Ooh... What kind of things do you write? Adventure stories? Mystery thrillers?” Here she seductively lowered her voice and made bedroom eyes at Dusty Rhythm. “Or maybe romantic love poems?” Dusty Rhythm blushed and stared at the cliffs, saying “Golden, please, not now...” Paperback hushed a snigger that almost escaped him, and came to Dusty's rescue. “Not love poems, but I do write poetry on occasion. Otherwise I have about two or three stories that I'm switching back and forth on.” “Well, since you write poems, would you care to share one with us?” Golden asked inquisitively. “Erm, well, I suppose I could. Hold on and let me see if I can remember one.” Paperback said, and racked his brains. If nothing else, it could turn out horribly but he would never have to see these ponies again, so it wouldn't matter much in the long run. “Yes, let's see here, okay... This is one of my more recent works, titled 'Nightly Rev-' OW!” He roared, interrupted by the spear that impacted his midriff. His mithril protected him from suffering more major damage, but it was still thrown with enough force to really hurt and punch through the armor. “Nightly Rev-Ow? Kind of a strange title. I don't recognize that last word- oh, we're under attack.” Golden Percussion said, turning around to see Paperback pull the spear from his body. “Silly me.” “Yes Golden, there are trolls on the hillside.” Dusty said blithely in a sarcastic manner. He already had his crossbow out, and released a bolt up the cliff at the creatures. There were four of them, white-furred beasts with long, sloping arms hollering and snarling while waving more spears in their hands. The lead troll who had thrown his spear at Paperback ran weaponless, loping forward on all fours at incredible speed down the hill. The troll wouldn't need a weapon to try and kill him; those long claws would do just fine. Dusty Rhythm's bolt struck true, and embedded itself into a troll shoulder. Said troll leaped down onto the path, swinging its spear wildly at the earth pony. Dusty ducked under the spear, then jumped up and kicked his rear hooves at the beast, prompting him to perform an acrobatic backflip as he cranked the lever to reload his crossbow. As he released a second bolt at the troll, his faithful wolf tackled it. Meanwhile, Golden Percussion jumped in front of Paperback as the next two trolls came barreling down the hillside. “These are mine!” She declared, and readied her greatsword. She relentlessly slashed the first troll to reach her, completely ignoring the second as it attacked her from the side. She finished off the first fight quickly, ending it by goring her weapon through the troll's torso. She left her weapon where it lay, preferring instead to challenge the other troll with the two short swords tied to her bags. Paperback wouldn't have minded watching her fight, but the fourth troll reached him at that moment. He pulled out his hammer as he sidestepped the troll's first swing with it's spear. The troll tried again, bringing the weapon down in an arc towards Paperback's head. Paperback held his hammer out to deflect the blow, then promptly sidestepped again to swing the hammer into the troll's shoulder. Even as the troll retaliated Paperback didn't relent, smashing his hammer into the troll over and over again, using up all of his spells to bring it down as swiftly as possible. Flickering flames rolled around his body from Elemental Aura, striking outward at his troll and Dusty Rhythm's next to him. Within a few short seconds he had battered the troll's HP to a fraction of its total, putting all of his strength into one final finishing blow. The troll crumpled before him, as Dusty and Golden's opponents died as well. Golden retrieved her weapons from the bodies of the troll's with a giddy smile on her face. “That was fun! Ooh, I got troll tusks.” She exclaimed, bending down to loot the bodies of her foes. Paperback received a patch of Troll Hide for his efforts, something he could sell later to the leather workers or whoever could make use of it. The trolls were a much more challenging fight than the bandits back in the Gladden Fields; it was an encounter that he was glad he ended quickly by burning through all of his spells. It seemed that in the excitement of the battle, Golden Percussion completely forgot that she had asked Paperback to recite a poem. He made a mental note to not remind her. ------------ High on a ridge overlooking what was once known as the Viridian Vale, now the Gloomeadow, Paperback encountered the 6th legion forward surveying post, a small group of the Guard sent there to overview the area. They needed some extra help charting where the abundant natural resources of the Gloomeadow were most densely located. The leader of the camp, one Commander Green Tea, needed an adventurer or two to fight off the Plant Horrors that kept skirting the base of the ridge. To round it off, the camp quartermaster wanted Paperback to collect moss samples for a dish that he wanted to try out. Paperback decided he wasn't going to ask for the recipe on that one. However, none of the guards had never even heard of the name Anda'shar, much less where his lips might be. A couple of them knew about the ancient guardians, but not much more than that they were killed, enslaved, and then reanimated while the valley gave into decay. Golden Percussion and Dusty Rhythm offered to invite him into their group while they quested, but he politely declined, saying that he wanted to look into something he uncovered in the library. He made his way down the side of the ridge to the valley below. It was an open expanse of green that had a gentle slope as it made its way downhill. The tall, springy grass was alive, yet a dull gray-green color, wet with dew and rose up to just below his shoulders. A thin covering of fog gave it a mysterious chill despite the sun being well on the way into midday. Here and there the grass rustled as animated bushes with gnarled claws roamed the meadow. They were easy enough for him to take down, being a level lower than him. His elemental aura scorched them as they got close to scratch at his hide; followed by a few quick and merciless beatings with a fire-augmented hammer to finish them off. After smashing a few of those, he moved on further down the hillside. Traveling through the mist revealed small copses of trees scattered here and there. Just at the edge of his sight he could make out a larger grove to the south, near the edge of the meadow, nestled into a ridge in the mountains. A stream issued forth from the grove, running diagonally down the hillside where it passed right in front of him. Leaning down, he gave the water a small taste, then recoiled in disgust. The water, while having the appearance of being clear, had an unpleasant taste that was part metallic and part rotten egg. What in Equestria is giving it that taste? Paperback traveled upstream towards the copse, where he found the streams source- fresh snowmelt from the mountains, pouring down into a small pool before overflowing into the river. He took a closer look at the rocks on the wall, noticing gray metallic streaks in them. Is that... Iron? He wondered. If it was, it would certainly explain the metallic taste of the water. A silent ping updated him about a change in his quest status, and a brief check revealed that he had made progress on surveying resource-rich areas for the camp. So it is iron then. The other taste in the water must just be from the fact that this entire land was poisoned. Even the soil had a gray, sickly look to it. As he followed the stream down the valley, he ran into several tributaries that emptied into it and slowly the stream became a river. The land began to level out, and the river moved a modest pace as it flowed through the mist. He had run into plenty of different varieties of living plants, and a few Twisted Beasts; they were various wolves and deer among other creatures that were hideously misshapen and discolored. The beasts forced him to move at a slower pace, since they were hard to see when they stalked in the tall grass until they decided to come barreling out at him. Out of the plant horrors he had slain, he had killed enough to complete Green Tea's quest, and collected quite a few odd plant samples for the quartermaster to try in his bizarre recipes. After beating down the fifth or sixth Twisted Wolf that tried to ambush him, Paperback thought he saw something ahead in the mist. It was a large shape, standing on four legs on a rock outcrop that rose above the grass. Paperback slunk down low, trying to hide his bright, contrasting coat color beneath the dull, gray vegetation. A few more feet forward brought him close enough to realize that the shape was being unnaturally still, and was a stone color. A statue. Hardly something that he need hide from. He stepped onto the outcrop that the statue was positioned on. It stood twice as tall as him, a beast with the body of a wolf but the antlers of a deer. Three smooth, featureless eyes stared unblinking into the distant east, down the rest of the valley to where the ocean presumably lay beyond. Paperback looked down at the base of the statue and saw lettering etched into the stone, “Woden.” “So then, Woden, what's your story?” Paperback said out loud, sitting down to stare in the direction the statue was faced. The river circled and ran down the north side of the outcrop, while a tributary came down from the south, meeting in a muted babble right before him. “Not much of a talker, huh?” He continued. “I don't suppose you know where Anda'shar's lips are?” Still no reply. “Yeah, it seems no one does. No one I've run into anyways.” Splotches of grass in the distance shuffled occasionally as the creatures hidden there moved about. The top branches of a shrub, the mutated back of a wolf, the jagged antlers of a deer; they all seemed content on leaving him alone while he was up here. Paperback looked at his immobile companion again, the cross between a wolf and a deer. “You're supposed to be the animal spirit, aren't you? One of the guardians of the vale before it ended up like this. Fine job. Don't suppose you can tell me where you're locked away? I suppose my questions are just getting redundant now.” Paperback got up to keep moving, heading south towards another grove of trees. He fancied a fight with three plant horrors as he got there; their shrubbery shapes darting out behind the trees to challenge him and his magic. After the fight ended he moved forward to see what they were guarding. An ore vein, another update to his quest log on finding the natural resources of the Gloomeadow. He thought he heard a chattering sound from somewhere. I didn't think there was any real animal life here. He thought, looking for the source of the noise. A glance upward revealed a squirrel staring at him... with horribly mutated fangs and patchy fur. “Zombie squirrel. Great.” Another seven squirrels crawled around branches to reveal themselves by the first. “Zombie squirrels. Okay.” Then he glanced around the rest of the trees and saw the other five dozen of them, all staring at him. “Zombie squirrel army. Well now isn't this wonderful.” He flicked his elemental aura back on; this wasn't going to be pleasant. ------------ Those damn squirrels were ornery, and far tougher than they should be. Paperback thought, waking up in the respawn area. It was whack-a-mole near the beginning, with him smashing as many of them as he could, but his swings weren't fast enough to take out them all; same with the damage from his aura. Needless to say, dying to a hundred little bites was far from pleasant. Well, he was back in Aeroslida now, and he had little patience for walking all the way back to the Gloomeadow at this moment, so he might as well study a bit more. About the guardians, specifically. Maybe they held a clue to finding out where Anda'shar's lips were. A quick lunch later and he was back at the library, gazing over The Great Withering again, looking for any subtle hints about where Anda'shar may have been buried after he died. Nothing. Any clues or references to where the guardians were sealed were either not here or so obscure as to go over his head. Placing the book back on the shelf, he went to the directory to find anything similar. His saddlebags grew warm; he had a message from somepony. Pulling out his friends list, he saw a note from Night Stalker. He and Dilluted Livo were online, and wanted to know where they were going to meet up. “I'm in the Cloud Library right now.” He whispered, the words taking shape on the paper for him. “Meet me here if you want, I'm just doing a little bit of research.” As soon as he sent the message he got another one from Chalice who just logged on. He sent her the same message, and continued to try and browse. Ten minutes later Sound Wave messaged him, and another ten after that Nitro logged on. Night Stalker and Dilluted Livo showed up first, taking in the rows upon rows of books underneath the golden dome. The others weren't too far behind. Chalice seemed to be the most interested in the library's collection, as well as what Paperback was studying. “So what do you have your nose buried into there?” She asked, finding Paperback staring intently at one of the several books he had pulled off of the shelves. “Investigating the mysteries surrounding the Gloomeadow, ancient nature guardians that were corrupted and bent to the service of a necromancer, where they were sealed away from the world, and how the bloody hell the lips of Anda'shar relate to any of that.” Paperback said, sliding the book he was scanning down the table so that he could pull out a new one, where he flipped to the back for an index. Not finding one, he began flipping through, his eyes trying to catch any key words in the brief scan he gave it. “Care to share your results?” Chalice asked. The only one actually interested in the research. The others were talking softly at the other end of the table while they waited for Nitro to show up. “Close to nothing. I found a statue to one of the guardians, Woden, when I went to the Gloomeadow, but not too much else of help. Then I got ambushed by zombie squirrels, so I came back here to do more research.” Chalice silently mouthed the words 'zombie squirrels' before shaking her head bemusedly. “Woden sounds familiar to me, a little bit. I can look into it tomorrow. Who are we waiting on?” Paperback closed the book in front of him and pulled out another one. “Nitro. He's off buying potions and a couple of other odds and ends.” This book, Heroes of the Ancient World, looked promising. Perhaps it would have something on Anda'shar. Night Stalker lifted his head up at the other end of the table and gave a noticeable sniff. “Does anyone else smell that? Smells like ozone.” “Aha, here we go.” Paperback muttered, having found the name Anda'shar right near the beginning. “Anda'shar, champion of the Goddess against the Necromancer Mors Finitum... Fought against the corruption in the Viridian Vale and Splendid Valley... Can I get a burial place?” Sound Wave sniffed the air as well, his nose crinkling. “Yeah, I smell it too. What- What is that!?!” He suddenly yelled, pointing towards the center of the library. Paperback looked up, and he saw it too; what could only be described as a tear in the fabric of virtual reality. A black line split the air in a vertical column underneath the golden dome. The space around the tear seemed to flatten, losing color and depth. To Paperback, it looked like the compressed area was breaking down into thousands and thousands of tiny numbers. Suddenly the tear exploded outwards, a bright light blinding everypony staring directly at it. When Paperback could see again, he felt himself being enveloped by a rushing wind. Where the tear was a moment ago now stood a tornado, nearly twenty feet tall. Near the top two translucent films shifted rapidly between shapes before choosing one and stopping. With a chill, Paperback realized that they were eyes. “Wind elemental!” Paperback shouted over the storm of fluttering papers. The elemental was the center of a vortex that was picking up papers, books, and ink and throwing them around the room. Right before he could grab it, Heroes of the Ancient World was ripped off the table and was lost within the storm. “Charge it!” He drew his hammer and jumped onto the the table, swinging at the elemental with reckless abandon. I was that close to finding the information I needed! The two rogues leaped into action, rising into the air and moving with the current to slash at the tornado. Sound Wave and Chalice moved a safe distance away and started slinging spells at it. From behind him, Paperback heard a familiar manic laughter as a blue head wielding a scythe rushed pass him and dove straight through the tornado, spinning wildly. “You went and started the party without me!” Nitro said through the shaft of his weapon. The battle went on like so for another thirty seconds before Paperback became frustrated and shouted out. “This isn't working! We're barely denting its hit points!” “Well, it is wind! We're doing what we can to it!” Chalice shouted back. It seemed like spells were having the most effect, but still a negligible amount. The elemental seemed barely interested in them; it spent its attention on trying to destroy as much of the library as it could. If only it would stop spinning and fight them instead! Wait, spinning... There's an idea. “Night! Dilluted! Nitro! Sound! Get up there and fly in the opposite direction of the tornado's spin!” “You want me to WHAT?” Sound Wave shouted from the back. Paperback knew he heard perfectly well, the party bard just still didn't like getting into close quarters. The other three pegasi followed his instructions and changed direction, flapping against the air current that the wind elemental was generating. Sound Wave fell in line a moment later, and together the four of them ever so slowly weakened the gale. Paperback looked up at the health bar of the elemental expectantly. Sure enough, the pegasi counteracting the air current was weakening the monster, and it's health bar was decreasing steadily. “Keep it up! We're getting somewhere!” The wind elemental was more than happy to turn its attention to the adventuring party now. It formed the air currents around it into two arms, and began grabbing chairs and tables to fling. Paperback rolled out of the way of a chair and struck at the elemental with his magic, only to have the same chair be carried by the whirlwind's momentum and run into him again. Dazed, he got back up and continued attacking. It was the pegasi's turn to be attacked now. The tornado funneled all of the books spinning around it into a stream, and aimed it up at the pegasi trying to stop it. Sound Wave received a face-full of knowledge and fell out of position, but the other three held firm. It was almost done now, the tornado was slowly losing speed. With a final sigh, the elemental stopped its rotation and disintegrated, the translucent eyes falling onto the floor and turning into a pile of dust. “Well. That certainly made a mess.” Night Stalker said, having floated down for a landing in one of the few places where the floor could be seen underneath the mess of books and paper. A window popped up in the corner of everyone's vision, telling them to roll on some rare loot, “Breath of Whirlwind.” A rare component or reagent of some sort. Sound Wave won it and stuck the bottle inside his pouch for later. A scholarly-looking unicorn wearing a robe ran up to them. “Thank you for stopping that horrible tornado! It surely would have destroyed the library.” The designs around his hat and the brim of his robe marked him as the library's curator, Paperback thought he had seen him duck behind a bookshelf when the tear opened up in the center of the room. The curator continued, “If there is anything we can do to repay you, just simply say so.” Nitro was still hovering a few feet up in the air, the flapping of his wings causing papers on the ground to ruffle in the breeze he generated. “No problem! Team Packers is here to help!” The paladin looked down at the mess he was spreading on the floor and quickly landed, a sheepish grin spread across his face. “If we could not have to clean up, that would be awesome.” Paperback chimed in with his request. “Actually, I was reading a copy of Heroes of the Ancient World and I'd like to get back to it. When you find it, can you put it on hold for me?” “Sure thing!” The curator said, having already begun on lifting tomes up with his levitation magic to be sorted and shelved. Several other librarians and assistants had started cleaning as well, putting tables and chairs upright where they belonged. “Stop! Wait! Is it over already?” A voice said, it's owner swiftly coming into view. A muted pink-maned unicorn slid along the floor as he tried to come to a stop, having rushed down the aisle to get here. His hooves hit a book, whereupon he flipped over and skid the last few feet on his chest. Quickly he got up and dusted off his silver coat and decorated robe, turning towards Paperback and the party. “Did I miss the fight already? I heard an elemental spawned here.” “Yeah, we already took care of it.” Paperback said, giving the newcomer a quick once-over. He was a mage of their level, something not terribly common inside the city at this moment with everypony serious about leveling out grinding. “Ah shoot, missed my chance. Well, as long as it's taken care of I can report back that it's dealt wth.” The unicorn said, he seemed about to turn away when Nitro interrupted his retreat. “Report back to whom?” He inquired, head tilted to the side. The unicorn grimaced for a second, realizing that he said something he probably shouldn't have. After a brief pause he collected his thoughts and explained. “Okay, well, I'm Silver Silk, a Moderator of the game. I go around making sure everything is running smoothly while disguised as a player. Occasionally I have to deal with glitches in the system that cause random things to happen. For instance, a monster spawning inside a library. This is privileged information, so don't go spreading it around.” Nitro grinned. “Oh, don't worry, we won't need to. Moderators who are also players is one of the worst-kept secrets of the entire game. I've been here for only a few days and already know that.” A crease formed on the Silver Silk's forehead before he shrugged it off. “Yeah, I guess we've been doing a rather abysmal job of keeping ourselves secret.” Paperback hadn't heard of moderators inside the game. Where had Nitro come by this information? And what other sort of glitches could happen? “By glitches in the system, do you just mean monsters spawning where they shouldn't, or do you mean other things like a monster that gains levels and becomes more powerful?” “Oh. Yeah. That one.” Silver Silk replied as his voice went deadpan. “Some random boar offed a player, somehow gained a level, then started attacking all of the other mobs around him. By the time we had gotten wind of it the beast had taken down a party of level five players by itself, and it all just sort of spiraled from there.” Paperback nodded to himself. It figured that Briarbuck wasn't planned in the game code. Silver Silk continued on, “We sent a few mods to take care of it but by then the boar had gotten a name above its plate and was camping along the roadside for players that strayed off the path. It refused commands to power down and ate them, becoming even more powerful. Last I heard he was stopped a few days ago by a large group of players that finally took him down.” Silver Silk put the pieces together at that moment and gave an appraising eye at the six of them. “I'm guessing that was you all then? That's two times you've helped us out now. I might as well remember you for future occasions where monsters get out of hand.” “No trouble at all, just pass a message our way and we'll be glad to help out.” Paperback said. “Yeah, Team Packers will send 'em packing!” Nitro said with an overabundance of enthusiasm. Paperback was torn between a grin and a cringe at hearing their slogan. “The same Team Packers scheduled to fight in the Skydome tonight? I'll be certain to get a seat.” Silver Stripe asked. “Don't worry, we'll put on a good show.” Paperback assured him as the moderator went off to do what ever it is that moderators do while logged in. Moderate the city, he supposed. He turned towards the rest of the party. “Okay, now, we need to get some training in. I would suggest the Gloomeadow; I was there earlier and it was quite empty of any other players.” With no dissent, Night Stalker and Dilluted Livo flew off to retrieve the cart while the two unicorns made their way to the edge of the city. ------------ The six members of Team Packers stalked through the tall grasses of the Gloomeadow, separately stalking and taking down any poor Plant Horror or Twisted Beast that strayed in front of them. Night Stalker and Dilluted Livo were rather adept at the task; their Rogue abilities uniquely suited to sneak up and take down single targets before they even realized they were in combat. Nitro Rush and Paperback were not rogues, and when they locked onto a target they tended to charge in with all of the subtlety of a rampaging dragon. Nitro's Warscythe tended to cleave through most enemies with holy power, while Paperback stacked his most powerful spells onto his Strike ability and smashed whatever was in front of him. The two casters of the party stuck together, always within a short distance of one of the tanks of the party in case they happened to attract too much attention at once. Chalice Longshot would root an enemy in place while she and Sound Wave would lob offensive spells at it for the few seconds the monster had before being quickly destroyed. After only twenty minutes, the party had cleared out most of the monsters from the Surveyor Outpost to the statue of Woden, completing along the way all of the NPCs' quests they had picked up. Here they were stopping for a breather while everyone regained their health and mana. Nitro was peering at the statue of Woden curiously, trying to imagine a wolf-deer with three eyes in his head no doubt. “So it is a Wolfalope? Or an Antehound? What animal would this be?” He said aloud. Paperback shook his head saying, “It's supposed to be an ancient nature guardian, it can look like whatever it wants.” Nitro continued to examine the statue while Paperback sat by the stream running down the mountains from the south, idly examining the water as it ran over the rocks that have been polished smooth over the years. It was only a foot deep and perhaps thrice that wide, with the tall grass coming up right to the opposite bank. The tall, rustling grass... “Hi there!” A green face shouted, poking it's head out of the grass just a foot from Paperback's own. Paperback stumbled backwards, tripping over his own back hooves and falling onto his back. He swiftly recovered, swinging his adjacent hammer at the grinning head, which promptly ducked and caused him to catch only a few black strands of mane. Rusty Nail rolled onto his back, laughing hysterically while Paperback fumed, wondering whether it would be worth it to just get one good swing at his head. “The look on your face whenever you do that is priceless!” Rusty said, now back on his feet. Paperback heard the quiet chuckles coming from the rest of the party behind him. He inwardly groaned in dismay. “So, I got a message that you all were starting up a proper pvp team.” Rusty said, careful to keep just an inch out of Paperback's swing range. Chalice started to talk, cutting off Paperback who’s speech would have been most likely littered with profanity. “Yes, we're facing off against another team tonight. Were you planning on helping us?” “Nah, a team of rogues does not a team make. Besides, I already found a few mates who'll be running in a three pony team with me when tournament season rolls around. I might come and watch you all fight though.” Rusty said. “If you mates are getting in some last-minute grinding, I'll lead you 'round the marshlands at the bottom of the Gloomeadow where some of the tougher mobs hang out.” Level Up! Paperback has reached level 20! He has gained the following skills! ~Armor Training: You now take fewer penalties when wearing medium and heavy armor. ~Flame Stomp: You stomp your hoof on the ground, cracking the earth and sending a blast of fire out in a line in front of you for twenty feet. Enemies in the area are slowed for 20%. ~Resolute and Sturdy: You are strong and quick on your hooves, gaining a 30% resistance to being knocked over or pushed back, or other effects which attempt to move you from your current position. The first rule of fighting is to stay balanced. ------------ Paperback opened up his eyes in the spawn room and gave a cold glare across the hall at a sheepish yet grinning Rusty Nail. The earth pony was, of course, the reason of their early return to Aeroslida. “It's just an overgrown tree, you said.” The orange unicorn muttered as five of them collected outside. “It can't be any harder than Briarbuck, you said.” “Well, I figured that since you had just hit level twenty it wouldn't be that big of a deal. I didn't realize that that particular river was the zone boundary.” Rusty claimed in his defense. Night Stalker joined in. “Rusty, you really need to get better at picking fights. That was a disaster.” Rusty just muttered something under his breath while Paperback composed a message to send to Sound Wave and Dilluted Livo, who had both survived the encounter. “Could you please pick up the cart on your way back? I think we're done for now.” With their confirmation coming a moment later, Paperback turned towards the rest of the group who was unfortunate enough to have been crushed by a giant tree creature. “Okay, so, we have another two hours before the fight. Rest up, check gear, learn spells and so on so forth and we'll meet in front of the Skydome in an hour and a half from now.” With various nods of assent, the group split up their separate ways. Paperback and Chalice headed for the arcane tower; Rusty had looked like he was going to tag along until he heard their destination and then went off towards the market instead, muttering about 'magical unicorn nonsense.' “I'm headed to the labs next door,” Chalice said once they reached the arcane tower. “There's a buff rune I've been working on in my spare time and it's almost ready. Should prove useful tonight.” “Experimental Arcane labs? What's that?” Paperback asked, looking at the unassuming building right next door. “It's a building where you can create your own spells in-game. It costs quite a bit of gold, and there's a lot of paperwork involved, not to mention training to make sure that it works right.” “Well I might have to try my hoof at making my own spells someday. For now though, I'm going to go in and learn a certain spell that I've had my eye on.” ------------ “No no no, you're going at it all wrong again! Remember, you must be Determined to reach your Destination, and move with Deliberation.” Professor Transfer stated, liberally using what the brick-dust unicorn called the 'three D's' involved in the teleportation spell. Paperback felt his eye twitch as he stared at the spot ten feet away on the floor from where he was standing. His horn glowed as he poured all of his concentration into the simple task of ripping apart the fabric of reality so that he could instantaneously move from one point in space to another. Oh, wait, did I say simple? Paperback mused sarcastically. The lesson had gone on for half an hour now, far longer than it had taken him to learn any of the other spells in the game. Shocking Grasp, his first spell, had been mastered in a matter of twenty seconds. It was supposed to be easy to learn spells inside of the game, even if you couldn't cast them in real life, right? It certainly didn't feel that way right now. Professor Transfer stood by the circle Paperback was supposed to be teleporting to, stating the same pieces of trite information for the sole purpose of annoying him. Paperback clenched his jaw and eyes shut from exploding out his frustration at the professor. He shot his hoof out, imagining giving Professor Transfer a satisfying knock upside the head. To his eternal amazement, his hoof made contact, forcing his eyes open out of shock to see a stunned Professor Transfer staring back at him, who quickly broke out into a grin that rivaled Nitro's in size. “By the Goddess, you've done it, boy! You've successfully managed to teleport!” Paperback stared at the circle on the floor, which he wasn't standing on just a moment ago. His mind briefly registered the drop in his mana, and the surge of energy he experienced when he had tried to punch the professor out of anger. A switch suddenly flipped inside his head. Was it that simple of a trick? Curious, he shut his eyes and tried to focus on the same way he had channeled the energy just a moment ago. In his mind he clearly visualized the spot that he had started in, and pulled on his magical energy again. He opened his eyes again, and found himself right where he had begun. Ecstatic, he repeated the process and ended up next to Professor Transfer again. “Sorry about the smack, Professor. But, thank you! Thank you so very much!” Paperback said, shaking the professor's hoof. Professor Transfer smiled with the face of a teacher pleased with a student, and said, “Your mane is on fire.” ------------ After dousing Paperback with a drench spell, Professor Transfer then went on to explain about the friction that tended to occur when an object abruptly appeared and forced all of the air nearby to move, usually in a rather explosive manner. A few more teleports gave Paperback the practice he needed to control the energy output from the spell so that it wouldn't light his hair on fire again from the energy explosion. As the time for the match drew near, Paperback had a few more spells under his belt as he went back to meet up with the rest of the group. The seven of them met up outside of the Sky Arena to make their last minute preparations. Rusty Nail tagged along just long enough to drop them all off some sandwiches for a quick lunch before he headed up to the stands to find a seat. Paperback, as the team leader, went to the organizers box and sort out the last minute details of the fight. He returned to the locker room where the rest of Team Packers was waiting for the match to begin. “So,” he announced as he entered the room, “the matches today are being commentated on by none other than Princess Luna.” That got everypony's attention. Nitro got directly in front of Paperback, exuberantly asking him, “Did you see the Princess? In person? Up close? Is she as pretty as the pictures?” Paperback pushed Nitro's face out of his personal comfort zone before he answered. “No, I didn't see her, just the organizer. Some bloke named Chaotic who is also commentating.” He took a short breath and continued talking again to try and steer the conversation towards a more relevant subject. “Anyways, I've submitted our roster and it looks like we've kept our level advantage over Team Awesome, so they're pulling in a seventh member to even out the numbers.” “So, while we're planning here, what additional assets do we have?” Paperback said. “I can teleport now, but it's not much of a use in combat because of it's mana cost.” “I have a bird now.” Night Stalker said. Paperback turned towards Night Stalker to see the crimson bird that had made itself at home sitting on the rogue's back. “Oh.” He simply said. How did I not notice the massive freaking hawk when I walked in? He struggled to reformulate his thoughts and said, “So, what's its name?” “Her name is Crimson Flair.” Night Stalker said, turning his head to give the bird an affectionate rub. Dilluted Livo shot the bird a look of jealousy. “Her favorite things are soaring, preening, and splashing in the blood of her slain enemies.” Paperback's mind went into a full derail and all he said again was, “Oh.” He forced his brain to resume working again and continued, “So she fights?” “Yep.” Okay, he could work with this. “Alright, hold her in reserve until the battle starts to pick up and you can send her after whoever is being obnoxious.” Night Stalker spoke up again, “Oh, also, I'm an archer now. Finally had enough points to make it worth switching specializations.” And there went the group's dodge tank. “Okay... We can work with that too. Need some more ranged damage anyways” I should have seen that coming before now. His cutie mark is a bow and arrow for Celestia's sake. Dilluted Livo began speaking then in her usual soft demeanor. “I've bought a whole bunch of new gear to replace my old things. I should do a lot more damage now.” “I went and practiced spell deflection.” Sound Wave added. “And I've got an even bigger scythe now!” Nitro said, whereupon he nearly cut off Paperback's head next to him just pulling it out of his packs. Luckily the Spell Warrior managed to sidestep just in time to avoid receiving a very close shave. Paperback nodded at each of them- save for a slightly disgruntled look he shot at Nitro- and turned to Chalice Longshot. “Chalice, you said that you had a new rune that could come in handy?” Chalice nodded and said, “Yes, I call it Soul Gift of the Wielder. It's a weapon empowerment rune that draws upon the strength of both weapon and wielder to calculate it's full effect and adds it again to your power. I was going to place on your hammer once the fight started. It will activate whenever you channel any magic to it and give your weapon quite the punch.” “So you've tested it out then?” Paperback said. “No, I couldn't because of the rarity of the materials needed to make it, I only have enough for one cast. The theory and magic behind it is sound, except, well-” she cut herself off. “Except well- what?” Paperback asked, raising an eyebrow. “Well, it looks like it only will work right some of the time. The rune is rather unstable, so there's a chance that the rune will just blow up, probably taking you with it.“ Paperback rubbed a hoof against his forehead to try and soothe the headache that was forming. His team seemed determined to deliver pieces of whiplash news right after the other; just when he thought they had something great, a drawback almost ruins the entire damn thing. He cleared his mind again and brusquely stated. “Forget it, we'll use it anyways. I'll just be sure to be right next to one or two of them when it decides to go.” Then Paperback went into his battle plan, which all in all amounted to something like “Run at them and hit them until they die.” There was no subtlety or strategy involved, just a no-holds brawl against their opponents and hope to overwhelm them. Paperback did refrain from telling the party that the only reason he was implementing this plan instead of choosing specific objectives was because, despite their level advantage, currently their class abilities held little synergy together. Meanwhile, Team Awesome currently preparing in the other locker room had a myriad of classes and abilities that could work together in some quite scary combinations. They had a front-row view of this in the Sherpwoods, and that was back when Team Awesome was still in the single digits. The large bell that hung outside in the stadium began to sound, giving out a booming bass ring that echoed throughout the Skydome. Paperback, wrought with anxiety that he was trying his best to hide, thought it sounded a lot like a funeral bell. ------------ “I hope you are as excited as I am ponies, because the Skydome is ready to RUMBLE!” The words boomed around the interior of the arena, its origin coming from the announcers box that was situated high up above the battlefield. Adorned with bells and decorated with stars and a crescent moon, it was clearly meant to represent the pony who was sitting there. Princess Luna. Paperback had never seen one of the princesses outside of pictures or paintings before, but even from this distance he could tell that her beauty was astounding. His heart skipped a beat at the thought of competing in front of royalty- nay, divinity! How on earth was he in any way mentally or emotionally prepared for this? Calm, I must be calm. Paperback thought, and pressed his ears flat against his head to shut out the noise. The incessant cheering of the crowd dulled down to a low thrum inside of his head as his brain slowed down to find a sense of order. He could not allow himself to be paralyzed with hesitation, or fumble over his words and make a mockery of himself and his team that stood behind him. Presentation here was as important as fighting. “Okay ladies and gentlecolts!” Luna shouted. “Today we have a little treat for you, for the Elements of Harmony are competing today!” The voice of the Princess of the Night echoed within his psyche, sonorous yet excited. It seemed she too was looking forward to the battle ahead. From the tone in her announcing, it sounded as if she heavily leaned towards the six mares waiting on the opposite end of the battleground. He tried to not let it concern him; the Elements of Harmony were the ones who freed her from being Nightmare Moon after all. A little favoritism was to be expected. Judging from the crowds reaction, it sounded like the Elements of Harmony were also the favorite of the crowd for this fight. Luna continued to introduce the team. “Yes that’s right! They walk among us in the world of Equestrian Earth, gracing us with their presence. Their magic of friendship triumphs all that stands for evil! They are truly heroes! Give it up for Team Awesome!” The roaring of the audience reached a fever pitch, and the noise broke through Paperback's calm. The tranquility he was tending inside of his mind shattered like a pane of glass, and he felt himself get a little disheartened. The six mares on the other side of the field seemed to enjoy the attention they were receiving and waved back to the crowd, minus the shy yellow pegasus of course. They were heroes, of course the crowd would be biased towards them as well. He had only a pale shadow of hope of ever achieving the same amount of praise. As the initial noise reached a more tolerable level, the other announcer began to introduce Paperback's team. Paperback had briefly met him when turning in his team roster. His name was Chaotic something or other, it slipped his mind at the moment. “And in this corner,” Chaotic began. “Are a couple of new players to the Skydome! They, however, had made quite a rustle in the Cloud Library yesterday as they fended off the wind elementals and protected the sacred scrolls, books, and players that could have been torn apart by their whirling magic.” Wind elementals? There was only one. Granted, it was a big, high-level one, so Paperback could see how it might have been reported as two. “Again sorry for the monsters, they were a glitch.” A glitch, huh? There was quite a light show in the library as the elemental was summoned for it to be just a glitch. “But they'd pushed on through, sent the wind demons from whence they came, and now are here to try their luck in the Skydome! Give it up for Team Packers!” The noise that issued from the crowd was noticeably smaller in comparison to the onslaught of applause that Team Awesome received moments ago. Still, the noise was enough to disrupt him as he tried to glue the glass pieces of tranquility back together, and he left the entire mess on the floor as he looked up at the crowd for the first time. An entire three rows of one particular stand had been taken over by what appeared to be every librarian and page from the Cloud Library; they cheered the loudest, waving their hooves over their head. One stand to the left and up two rows sat Rusty Nail, passing on shouting a cheer and instead releasing a massive battle roar, one hoof raised towards them in solidarity. Paperback raised his front hoof back at him and the crowd, accepting their praise for what it was worth. Still, the nagging reminder about how much louder the audience became for Team Awesome ate at him from a corner of his mind like a childish grudge. “Please shake hooves and get to know each other before we begin! Courtesy is always important,” Luna said. “Oh come on, is that really necessary?” Chaotic asked. “What? Courtesy is important.” The Moon Princess insisted. The two teams approached each other across the empty stone floor. The six mares were much like how Paperback saw them before, except this time they were all decked out in new gear. Very flashy new gear, his mind noted. Then he noticed the small armored bipedal that barely rose to chest height on a pony striding with them. Their seventh player is a dragon? Paperback thought with some incredulity. He had never seen a dragon before, not even a young one. Even though he left his tranquility shattered on the ground behind him, he found the nerve to keep his voice calm and his movements level as they squared off. “Howdy!” Applejack greeted. “I believe we’ve met before.” “It’s a pleasure to meet you again Applejack,” Paperback smiled. “I’m glad you’ve accepted our challenge. To be honest, I never really thought you would agree to face us.” It was a true enough statement. For heroes, they seemed rather down to earth about things. Applejack did, at least. She was the one who Paperback had the easiest time of making direct eye contact. “We take challenges very seriously,” she casually said. “It’s our motto to do the best we can be. Glad to be up against you.” “Same here.” Paperback replied. He wasn't quite sure if it was true anymore, after the amount of applause they received. The nagging childhood grudge still sat in the back of his mind. “Wait,” Rainbow Dash said accusingly. The mare then proceeded to hostilely invade Paperback's personal space by getting directly in front of him, leaving just a couple inches between their faces. His instinctive reaction would be to swat anything that got that close to him with the really heavy hammer he had resting by his side. He crushed that impulse, but the only thing his brain could think to do besides that was give a nervous smile. “Why are you up against us anyway, and how did you know us? Ponies don’t just causally walk up in a bar and issue a fight. Are you a spy?” “What? No no, nothing like that,” he quickly said, trying to save himself from the wrath of the very angry pegasus. “This match actually wasn’t really my idea.” She glared at him. Damned intimidation check is working, a dice-rolling corner of his mind though. “Okay maybe it sort of is. But really, to be honest, one of our friends was a really big fan of yours and the only way I could think of properly meeting with you would be to go up against you. Everypony knows that the Team Awesome clan loves to overcome challenges.” The last part was an absolute bluff, but it could be true for all he knew. The purple mare in the lead- Twilight, Paperback corrected his mind- glanced around him to see a giddy Nitro Rush unable to contain his excitement. “Are you Nitro?” Twilight asked. “Applejack had mentioned you before.” “Yes! Yes I am!” he smiled, having one of the most visible rushes of euphoria just from being adressed by his idols. “I can’t believe I’m finally meeting you!” “It’s nice to meet you too,” she smiled back. She then turned towards Sound and Chalice, who had not been present at the time the challenge was issued. “So,” Twilight said. “I don’t believe AJ has mentioned you two before. What’s your name?” she said to the cyan colt. “My name is Sound Wave,” he gave a short, courteous bow, ever the performer. “Nice to meet you Twilight.” “And my name is Chalice Longshot,” said Chalice, putting just enough defence and respect into her words. Her Canterlot society breeding was showing. “I’ve been looking forward to our match today. It’s such an honor to go up against you.” “I wouldn’t know about that,” Twilight chuckled. “There are far better players than us.” Paperback wisely chose to not reply to this statement, having no idea as to how to not offend her properly. The arrogant Rainbow Dash started talking again anyways, saving him from making a rude mistake “Well, I don’t know about me, but it’s obvious that I’m the best there is!” Rainbow Dash flexed her wings. The negative within that statement made Paperback cringe. This Rainbow Dash was not only loud, and proven herself to be a braggart, but seemed to be slightly below the cut in intelligence as well. “Really now?” Applejack grinned. “Ah wouldn’t say that about last week when ah bucked you into last week.” It seemed the friends were not above deflating each others egos when needed. That was good. The bickering continued for another few seconds before Twilight interjected. “Girls!” Twilight shouted. Both of them stopped what they were doing and stared back at her. “We're in the middle of something here?” The two apologized sheepishly as Paperback heard his team chuckling behind him. Paperback let himself slip a small smile which Twilight returned sheepishly. He offered a hoof, which she shook, and the two teams retreated back to their corners. “Livo, if you can, try and go for the druid first? I know its mean, but she's probably the easiest one to knock out of the fight.” Paperback said in the few moments they had before the countdown began. Livo saluted, whatever she said was lost to the roar of the crowd behind her. Chaotic began the countdown, his voice booming over the stadium. “Battle On!” He cried, and the bell high in the back of the wall rung once loudly, proclaiming the start of the match. Night Stalker pulled out a bow and expertly fired a short volley of arrows at Twilight. Her small dragon companion torched the arrows out of the sky with a blaze of green fire before they could hit hime. Okay, so, that is definitely a dragon. That might get obnoxious. Livo ran forward as the arrows were fired, attempting to quickly shut down Fluttershy in the back, but unfortunately the loudmouth braggart Rainbow Dash intercepted her and the two began a complex knife fight off to the side of the arena. That would unfortunately keep both of them occupied for a while. Meanwhile, all Paperback did to start the fight was hold out his hammer to Chalice, saying quite simply. “It's time to try out that spell, Chalice.” Chalice Longshot went to work with her magic, forming the rune on the face of one end of the warhammer. It seemed that Twilight wasn't about to let her finish, though. A burst of magical energy shot from her horn and rocketed towards him. Sound Wave reacted quickly, strumming his Harp to weave a shield that blocked the path of the missile. Twilight was determined to see this attack through, it seemed, and poured even more mana into the attack in a show of brute magical force. Sound Wave tried to keep up, but was forced to abandon the shield or else risk using up all of his mana this early on in the fight. The missile, now empowered by the increased magic Twilight used to bypass the shield, rocketed towards Paperback. Chalice took a step backwards, hurriedly shouting. “It's done!” Paperback grinned then. So it only needs a bit of magic channeled into the rune, huh? Taking a step forward, he swung his hammer rune-side first at the approaching magical spell. His weapon connected, the magic of the missile colliding with the Soul Gift of the Wielder, and everything went white. Paperback could feel the rune, it tugged on him and his weapon, binding them together in an intricate pattern that resonated his magic back and forth in waves that amplified his power to magnitudes that he weren't even consciously aware were possible. Was this the power of the soul? His gift to himself as the wielder of the weapon? The dust settled and Paperback felt a manic grin stretching across his face as he stared at his hammer. It was now the size of a large weapon, dangerously powerful with the amount of force he could now command it to bring down as he struck. “Not bad for a first test, huh?” Chalice asked from behind him. Oh yes, this is a very nice test. Paperback thought, the manic side of him eager to try out his improved weapon. He forced himself to try and calm down, and attempted to remember the details of the rune as described by Chalice earlier. “You said this could possibly blow me up, right?” “Possibly.” Chalice said simply. Paperback noted that she took another step away as she said it. “Guess I'll have to take that chance.” Paperback said. He took a few steps forward, and immediately realized a glaring problem in this plan. How the hell am I supposed to wield something this freakishly huge? Paperback thought as he struggled to keep the hammer on balance for a strike, even with his augmented strength. He was used to moderately sized hammers, not freakishly titan-sized monstrosities that could crush him if he dropped it wrong. After another two steps he found his footing and finished his charge forward. His original intention was to hit Twilight by causing a flame stomp with his new god-weapon, but a pillar of earth erupted from the ground in front of him and stopped his hammers progress. He smashed his way through two thirds of the pillar- a worthy feat- but found that he had gotten it wedged in the rock. Well now I can't get it out, he thought frustratedly as he pulled at it. The enemy was not keen to give the most apparent threat on the enemy team a break, it seemed. Just as he thought he felt something shift with the hammer, Rarity stepped forward with a call to Twilight of, “Stand back dear, I've got this one.” A stream of gems landed at the base of the hammer and exploded, forcing Paperback to leap away without his weapon. Cursing under his breath, he retreated a few steps as he saw his hammer fly up into the air. A white blur he vaguely recognized as Rarity flew forward, launched from another pillar of stone, and kicked his hammer towards him with the force of a great typhoon. “Oh sweet Celestia-” was all he had time to mutter before he was forced to bring his front hooves up to stop his own weapon from killing him. The impact sent him sliding across the floor on his back hooves, thankfully protected from the friction by his boots, which reduced the pain to 'burning' from 'the fires of Tartarus'. He couldn't catch a break though, because immediately after he was forced to pick up the awkwardly large hammer to bash away another volley of gems that was sent at him. Up in the announcers box, Princess Luna and... the other one were commentating. They briefly complemented his reflexes, before mentioning Fluttershy. Huh, what is she doing? Sparing a glance, he saw the yellow pegasus surrounded by a horde of lizards which she seemed to be commanding. Great, it looks like Livo wasn't able to take her out of the game like he asked and now she had managed to summon minions to fight for her. He looked a little further off to the side, where he saw her still at battle with Rainbow Dash, both of them at a stalemate where they occasionally lashed out at each other, looking for an opening. That was when Paperback heard the singing. He looked over and saw Sound Wave strumming his harp again in a gentle lullaby. The lizards were slowly shifting their heads to the music and then laid down to sleep. Paperback took a moment to snigger, perhaps a bit rudely, at her helplessness. From up high Princess Luna was remarking about how there wasn't much action going on in the fight. Paperback put his full attention back towards the enemies in front of him, doing a head count. Twilight and Rarity were in front of him, with the dragon protecting them from Night Stalkers arrows. Rainbow Dash was dueling with Livo still, while Fluttershy was being helpless in a corner. Applejack was coolly eyeing his team like he was hers, and Pinkie... Where the hell was that pink psychic? He carefully gave an overview of the battle as he took a brief rest to try and get his health back up. It looked like Applejack was going to finally join the fight and go after Sound Wave, on the other side of the field from Paperback, unfortunately. He couldn't get there fast enough while toting around his obnoxiously large hammer. Night Stalker rushed to help, and the two of them starting pouring on some damage when she couldn't block both attacks at once. Twilight began another spell duel with Sound Wave as the dragon scorched more of Night Stalker's arrows that he aimed towards the spellcasters. No sign of Pinkie Pie anywhere. “Okay, is that how you wanna play? Let's play!” Night Stalker shouted, fed up with none of his attacks being effective. He put a hoof to his lips and gave a loud, shrill whistle that could be heard even over the din of the crowd. A red streak came soaring out of the sidelines and charged the dragon, and tackled him to the ground. “How do you like my bird? Her name is Crimson Flair. Be nice to her!” Night Stalker called as the little dragon had to roll away from the bird as it pecked at him, leaving cracks in the concrete. Night Stalker was busy himself, however, as a hammer almost as obnoxiously large as Paperback's was sent flying in his direction from Applejack. His eyes were keen though, and he jumped out of the way just in time. Paperback figured it was time to get back in the fray, and hoisted his weapon back up in his magical grip. He wouldn't get there in time, unfortunately. Applejack smashed aside another two arrows that Night Stalker sent at her, and she used her tremendous strength to leap over the third, swinging her hammer over her head where it shone with the radiance of the sun. “Oh, this will hurt.” stated the announcer that wasn't Princess Luna. It was the understatement of the century. Night Stalker regained his wits just fast enough to avoid a direct hit, but a glancing blow plus the force of impact from the hammer hitting the ground was more than enough to send him flying backwards into the wall. There was a scattering of light as his body disintegrated to be respawned. Twilight's duel with Sound Wave was interrupted by Nitro Rush, another pony who was a contender for the 'most ridiculously oversized weapon' award with his scythe. Why did he suddenly decide to join the fight now, and not earlier when he could have saved Night Stalker? He was about to go over and help them out himself when he felt a bite on his leg. He turned around to find a lizard chomping down on him. “Didn't Sound Wave sing you guys to sleep?” Paperback roared angrily, swatting it with his oversized hammer. That took care of one, but now he had over a dozen lizards hissing and biting at him, and it took all his concentration to avoid having them swarm all over him. As such, he missed the first volley of gems from Rarity until they pelted his side. The battle continued with him angrily stepping over and swatting lizards as he made his way towards Rarity, while she produced more and more gems to fire at him. He knew his health was getting low, but so was her mana, and he let out a cry of triumph as the white unicorn collapsed from exhaustion. “You've lost all your MP!” He cried “Now I shall-” He was cut off buy a lizard that had jumped up and bitten the back of his neck, weighing him down. More started climbing up him, and he let out a scream as he was covered by lizards in what should have been a moment of triumph. ------------ “So that's the second time today that I've been killed by a swarm of animals.” Paperback said gruffly, staring at a locker back in the locker room. “I wasted half the match trying to chase down Pinkie Pie, and failed miserably.” Nitro said. For once, the smile was wiped off of his face and the only thing Paperback wanted to do was get him to wear it again. “I honestly don't think that's your fault.” Chalice interjected, as she pulled a brush through her hair. “She someone managed to sneak up behind Sound Wave, you, and I and put us to sleep with... whatever that was.” “I ended up dying first from an attack that didn't even hit me directly.” Night Stalker muttered, his focus diverted to watching Crimson Flair preen herself. “Meh.” Sound Wave simply said, which summed up just about all of their moods fairly well except for Dilluted Livo. The black-coated pegasus mare was humming happily, having been the only contender on their team to have made a kill. Her and Rainbow Dash's duel had picked up near the end, and both of them had ended it with their swords in each others backs. “Aw, cheer up guys. We had some fun at least, right?” Livo said, flashing a hopeful grin. “I guess.” Sound Wave said, “I mean, I did get to magic duel one of the best unicorns in Equestria, And I'm not even a unicorn.” “I developed and tested a spell, even if it did cost most of my gold.” Chalice said with a satisfied sigh. “And I got to meet my idols the Elements of Harmony they're so awesome!” Nitro squealed, the smile returned to his face. “Well, I guess it wasn't all bad.” Paperback agreed. “After all, I did get to wield the awesome and oversized god-weapon.” He then added as an afterthought, “Even though I have absolutely no clue how to use large weapons like that. Gotta do some training before we use that rune again.” A short while later they were taking a rest in the park when they ran into the Elements of Harmony again. The girls showed them what they won from the fight, and amends were made over the fight earlier. Paperback had another seven names on his friends list now. It feels good to have friends.