//------------------------------// // Hidden Depths // Story: Pony Strikers Charged // by ZeroChill //------------------------------// It was difficult to say what constituted as night in this universe, considering that the volt yellow atmosphere curiously remains constant. Despite this dilemma, most ponies onboard the stormship have figured out to dim the lights in their room to simulate nighttime and allowed the environment to lull them into sleep. In the middle of the ‘night’, Celestia walked down a large corridor filled with dimmed lights and blue automatic doors that lifted open. She knocked on the door that was far down in the corridor. “Come in!” The voice behind the door voiced out. The slab of metal lifted itself open, which revealed a restless Luna who laid her body on a twin-sized bed. Just as Celestia’s gauntlet was still on her hoof, Luna’s gauntlet was just as tightly equipped. Celestia walked into the room and nuzzled her sister, who nuzzled back. “Lulu, I came in here to check on how you were doing.” Celestia said with concern emanating from her voice. “You have felt the stringent pain as well, did you not Tia?” Luna replied somewhat weakly. “I’m afraid so. I think that you can see that this universe is incredibly dangerous. Every pony’s internal and external magic is greatly weakened, and the terrain is a death trap. The voltage coming from the electric fence is enough to kill even the most electric-retardant pony. In addition, the items and brutality within these gauntlets are more than enough to make the bodies of even the toughest of creatures fail on them.” Celestia hoisted her gauntlet upwards, which was still attached to her hoof. Luna looked down onto her hoof where the gauntlet was equipped. “These gauntlets are practically the only reason that we are still alive. Even then, it’s still a double-edged sword where the physical attributes of the wearer are raised beyond comprehension, but the knockback of such power destroys our bodies.” “You don’t think that Discord brought everypony into this universe as a way to exterminate us all, do you Tia?” Luna said with a breaking voice. “While it might seem likely, I highly doubt that is the case Lulu. He is more annoying than he is harmful, and he seemed excited to bring us all into this universe, like a child that discovered something new. Either way, he still would want to keep us in the universe for the sake of his sick entertainment. I’m afraid that many ponies that watched us play today have also accepted this sport as entertainment as well. The only way we can get out is if we keep playing until our last breath.” Celestia started shaking in place, aware of the entire situation. “If any of my little ponies’ lives expire under these conditions…” She began to say in a breaking voice. Luna got up from her bed and hugged her sister with her wing. “Please do not worry Tia. It would only worsen the shape of your body. Besides, you have sent Twilight with the mission to play, did you not? Hopefully, the power of harmony she attained is enough to break through the chaos of this universe and bring us all safely home. I know you are worried about death being a real possibility, but you convinced her otherwise because it is the best thing for everypony else. You did it because you trust her as much as you trust yourself, and I trust you as well.” Celestia’s voice and air intake evened out as she was comforted by her sister’s words. “I understand that you mean well, and you’re right. Now, we just got to hope for the best. When we do get out of here, Discord will have to answer for what he has done, even if it wasn’t his intention to hurt us.” ________________________________________________________________________________________ As everypony aboard the ship was trying to get rest, a darkened blur moved swiftly through the rest halls of the ship and into the command room. The room was filled with noises from machines and the crackling electricity. The dark blur took the silhouette of a unicorn with a messy mane and sunglasses. The light revealed the pony to be Vinyl Scratch, who had a large grin on her face. She approached the roundhouse shelf containing thirteen gauntlets. She slowly moved her hoof over to the metallic gauntlet. Just as she was about to touch it, she saw a gray hoof reach for the gauntlet as well. She looked to her right and saw that the hoof belonged to Octavia. “Hey Tavi!” Vinyl Scratch screamed. Octavia jumped into the ceiling and fell on the ground. She stood back up on her legs and wiped off some of the dust in her coat in a prim and proper fashion. “Vinyl Scratch! What was that scream for!?” She whispered angrily. “Geez Tavi, don’t get riled up. Aren’t you happy to see me? What are you doing here so late you naughty mare?” Vinyl Scratch snickered under her breath. “Well, for your information, I wanted a closer look at these gauntlets. The princesses used them to transform into hoofball warriors, and that intrigues me. What are you doing down here? Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” “I don’t sleep at night. Attending raves all the time made me a complete insomniac. Plus, I wanted to go down here to see if I can sneak in a game of hoofball. I’m glad to see we both have the same idea!” Octavia blushed slightly out of embarrassment. “N-no! Not at all! I definitely didn’t come over here just to try on one of these gauntlets and challenge you to a game of hoofball!” Octavia made a sheepish smile along with her suspiciously specific denial. Vinyl Scratch stared stoically into Octavia’s face. “Really Tavi? You’re going to go there? I wasn’t born yesterday, so you should try making a better excuse than that.” Vinyl Scratch grabbed a gauntlet on the top shelf and tossed it over to Octavia, who responded by holding out her hooves. She then took a gauntlet and lifted it above her left forehoof. “Vinyl Scratch, what are you doing!?” She shouted in fear. Vinyl Scratch snickered. “I’m just trying it on Tavi. There’s nothing wrong with that, is there?” She then put on the gauntlet. After a few seconds, the screen on the gauntlet lit up and flashed. After the light dissipated, Vinyl Scratch was in a white uniform: her hooves were covered with white, reinforced plastic. The hoof guards were topped off with metal spike bracelets. She wore a tight, white t-shirt made entirely of Kelvar. On her head was a pair of blue headphones. “So Tavi, how do I look?” She stated with a grin. Octavia’s jaw dropped. However, she managed to regain her composure and straightened out her tie. “Not bad Vinyl, but you could do better than just simplistic uniform like that. Now, let me try my hoof at morphing.” Octavia then put the gauntlet over her forehoof an closed her eyes. The gauntlet locked itself over her ankle and the screen flashed. When the flash ended, her signature bow was replaced with a gray scarf. She wore a gray long-sleeved shirt and her cleats were fashioned as black top-end boots. She wore thick shoulder pads and shin guards on her hind legs. When she opened her eyes, she was treated to a sight of Vinyl Scratch having an open jaw. “Am I really that visually appealing?” “Tavi… you just gave up your bow for that scarf. No one removes your bow. Not even you yourself!” Vinyl Scratch stated, astonished by the change. “I don’t really mind. All that I care about is just thrashing you in a game of hoofball now.” Octavia checked her screen, which revealed a sprite of her head on the top. She tapped the head with a stylus that she got from her gauntlet. “Hmm, it says here that I am a Playmaker-based player.” A smile became visible on her face. “A Playmaker must be able to perform the best plays on their team. I’m very sure that this will lead to your downfall, Vanilla Scratchington.” Behind her shades, Vinyl Scratch’s eyes perked up in shock. She was suddenly awash with anger. “What did you just call me!? Nopony ever calls me by that name!” Vinyl Scratch screamed with a hate-ridden voice. “What’s the matter Vanilla? Are you so insecure about your real name?” Octavia fanned her eyelashes with her eyelids. The normally cool Vinyl Scratch grinded her teeth. “Don’t think that I didn’t know what your real name was. After all, the both of us are good friends, so it is natural that we share secrets with each other. Because of that, I know everything there is to know about you. I know about what you like and what you fear. I have been clever with not telling you the secrets that would lead to my ruin, yet you have been very trusting of me to keep all of your dirty little secrets. Little did you know that I had you played like my cello, where those little secrets shall be the downfall to the great Vinyl Scratch.” Vinyl Scratch felt overwhelmed by a sudden surge of emotions that befell her. Hearing what Octavia said about her felt as if a knife was taken to her back and was twisted in there. She took a deep breath before a meltdown hit her. She chuckled. “You know Tavi, or should I say Octavia, I’ve known you for a while now. I’ve seen how you accomplished your goals and became a high-society player. Though you kept contact with me since our Elementary School years, it just hasn't been the same ever since you got accepted into that snooty music institute in Canterlot. I’ve kept cool about your decision, hoping that you would one day realize the errors of favoring classical music over electronic music. I’ve waited for that one day where you would repent your entire career as a classical musician and join me as my partner.” Vinyl Scratch brought her hoof over to her face and held her sunglasses. She slid them off, revealing a set of red eyes. She chuckled more maniacally. “I have finally seen the light. You love your career more than you love the roots that founded it. You’ll never go back to them. I just found out that you are just a diseased branch on the tree of my life. I’ll be sure to forcefully rip that branch from that tree and tear it apart in the hoofball stadium!” Vinyl Scratch lifted her gauntlet over to her face and saw the sprite of her head. She tapped on it with her horn, not caring about the stylus within the gauntlet. She smiled when she saw that she was a Defensive-based player. “You may be fast with that fiddle Octavia, but there is no way you would be able to stand against a hard-hitting pony. This game… shall be your last performance.” With a sleight of a blue aura surrounding her horn, the three vacant squares in her gauntlet were replaced with one Dry Bones and two helmeted turtles that were read as Offensive-based players. The blue beams from the gauntlet shot behind her. What materialized from the beam were a Dry Bones and two tall, bipedal turtles wearing helmets, armored shells and cleats. Each of them had a large hammer in their hands. The team’s uniforms were a brilliant white. “You’ll have to do better than send two Hammer Bros after me Vanilla.” Octavia tapped her three vacant squares on the gauntlet and filled each one with a Toad, a Birdo, and a red-robed creature that only showed a mask with black holes for its eyes and mouth. The three beams shot towards Octavia’s front, which materialized the creatures from her gauntlet. Each of her teammates wore the team’s color, which was gray. The masked creature was uniformed in a reinforced plastic torso, a T-Shirt and cleats. Its robes were gray in color. “I want you to meet Shy Guy, a Balanced-oriented player. He will be sure to blow up any chances of victory for you.” The Shy Guy’s eye holes in its mask formed into an angry stare, and the small, bipedal creature grunted in an intimidating way. “Enough talk Octavia. We should go to the teleporters now. We are directly over The Vice, so now it is time for the action.” Vinyl Scratch walked over to teleporting tile in the center of the room. Octavia turned her head in haughtiness away from Vinyl Scratch and walked over to her tile. A surge of electricity overcame the tiles before Vinyl Scratch and Octavia disappeared from the ship. In the background, a sinister, electronic laughter was heard. “Those two ponies are emitting such a chaotic vibe from each other. Discord has done well attracting a feasibly foolish crowd. At this rate, my prison of metal shall be shattered, allowing me freedom once more.” The laugher ceased along with the voice.