//------------------------------//
// A Deadly Game 
// Story: The Snowball Fight 
// by zaponator 
//------------------------------//

	"So what's the plan?" Apple Bloom asked her two comrades.

"It's not gonna be easy," Scootaloo replied. "They were able to crush anypony who opposed them with direct force, so we need to do this with… like, indirect force?"

Sweetie Belle sighed. "We need to do it with brains instead of brawn."

"Right! Exactly!" Scootaloo pointed. "So let's out-brain them already. Anypony got any ideas?"

Sweetie Belle tentatively raised a hoof. "I was thinking we could make a bunch of snowballs."

"I like it so far."

"Then we go and find the Conglomerate leaders."

"Sounds good."

"And we… hit them with the snowballs."

"That…" Scootaloo stared. "Is a terrible plan. Okay, time for my awesome plan. Step one, 
we need to get our hooves on an airship, at least six meters of high quality silk, and—"

"Wait wait wait," Apple Bloom interrupted. She turned to Sweetie Belle. "Did you say leaders? I thought Diamond Tiara was the leader."

While Scootaloo crossed her forelegs in a huff, Sweetie responded, "She is, ultimately. She's El Presidente of the whole Conglomerate, but that's a lot of ponies to lead all by herself."

Scootaloo leaned forward. "That's at least, like… seven or eight ponies."

Sweetie Belle sighed. "Sure. Anyway, Diamond appointed four lieutenants to oversee her henchponies. Silver Spoon stays at her side as her right-hoof mare."

Scootaloo snorted. "Those two never see any action themselves. All they do is sit back and make other ponies do what they want. I'm not even sure they've even thrown a snowball once!"

"Alright." Apple Bloom nodded. "So the only way to get to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon would be to defeat all of their lieutenants first?"

"Sure, whatever." Scootaloo shrugged.

Sweetie Belle piped up, "It's not that easy though. Each one of those four will be protected by their own small army, and hidden away in their own snow fort. If we could manage to bypass or defeat their guards, and then if we managed to out all four of them, then sure, we'd have a clear shot at Diamond Tiara herself."

"That's a lot of ifs," Scootaloo pointed out.

"Really? It's, like, two."

"Girls!" Apple Bloom shouted, drawing the focus to herself. "It may not be easy, but I don't think we have any sorta alternative. I say we go for it. Remember, you've got me back on your side now. There ain't nothing the three of us can't handle!"

"Yeah!" Scootaloo loudly agreed. "Let's smash some faces!"

"Whoa, jeeze, gear down a bit."

"So…" Sweetie Belle tapped her forehooves together. "You're saying that our plan is to find the Conglomerate leaders… and hit them with snowballs."

Scootaloo beamed. "Yes!" Her ears folded. "Wait, no!"





"There it is," Scootaloo pointed across a low field to a structure standing tall at the other end. "The first snow fort."

"It's… weirdly blocky," Apple Bloom pointed out.

Sure enough, the fortress was built out of seemingly perfect one by one meter cubes of snow. The cubes were meticulously stacked to form a stereotypical castle, complete with battlements.

Sweetie Belle sighed. "It's… never mind. You'll understand when you see who's in there."

"Fair enough. Scootaloo," Apple Bloom turned to her feathered friend. "You're the scout-y one. Any idea what sort of opposition we're up against."

Scootaloo was peering off towards the castle through narrowed eyes. At first she didn't respond, but when Apple Bloom poked her in the shoulder she jolted as if knocked from deep thought.

"It just doesn't make a lot of sense…" Scootaloo muttered. "I'm not seeing any guards at all. Not even a single henchpony. Maybe they're not home."

"We're not so lucky," Sweetie Belle murmured. "Let's just get down there and check it out. Keep your eyes open."

The three of them stood from where they'd been hidden atop a snow bank in the woods. They stepped out cautiously into the open field and paused. When no attack came after a full minute, the Crusaders trotted towards the castle. They approached in silence, each holding a snowball at the ready. The fortress was quiet… too quiet. If anypony was inside, they weren't saying a word.

The Crusaders paused outside the front gate. It was a flimsy thing of sticks and twigs, but most importantly, it was entirely unguarded. Scootaloo silently motioned for her two friends to get ready. They took up positions on either side of the door while Scootaloo herself stood directly in front of it. She breathed in deep, counted to three, and then…

Crack!

The door shattered easily at the force of Scootaloo's buck. The other two were inside before the debris had even hit the ground. Apple Bloom leapt into a combat roll and came out sliding, ready to throw. Sweetie Belle dove into the center of the room and spun in place, looking for targets.

Both of them blinked in confusion. The room was empty.

"Haugh!" Scootaloo jumped through the ruined doorway. "Knock knock, mother—there's nopony here." She stared around the room in disappointment. "Fine then, I'm reusing that line next time we enter a room like that."

"This ain't right," Apple Bloom muttered. "Nopony builds a castle like this and then just leaves it. We gotta search the place."

"How about back there?" Sweetie Belle pointed to a doorway in the back of the room.

The three of them crept up to the doorway slowly. They stacked up on either side, then rushed through with their snowballs ready. 

"Hold on!" A voice like sandpaper being dragged through their ear canals called out. "Just let me save my game and we can do the whole fighting thing."

There he sat. Reclining in a throne of ice was their first target, a brown earth pony colt with a two-tone brown mane and a stupid hat. He was biting his tongue and tapping away at a hoof-held video game, apparently not very concerned about the three armed fillies that had just kicked in his door.

After a few minutes of patient waiting, he finally shut down the video game and set it aside.

"Right then, how does this go?" He tapped his chin. "Ah, right. You face Button Mash, Eredar Lord of the Burning Legion!" 

Scootaloo squinted. "Why's your castle empty. It just you in here or what?"

Button Mash huffed indignantly. "Yeah, so?" he replied, his voice like a thousand beestings directly to the eardrum. "I don't need henchponies any more than I need friends. My joyboy is my friend. Besides, I'm the bossfight here! Don't interrupt my monologue!"

Poff!

A snowball lanced across the room and impacted him directly in the mouth. Button Mash fell over backwards, sputtering and coughing.

"Game over," Scootaloo declared with a proud smirk. "Celestia, he's so annoying!" she said while she crouched to fashion a new snowball.

"I know, right?" Apple Bloom replied. "I feel like my ears are gonna start bleedin'."

"Let's leave before he can talk again."

As the two of them trotted out of the castle, Sweetie Belle followed behind. "I dunno, I think he's kinda endearing."

"Pfft," Scootaloo waved a hoof. "Of course you would."

"What does that even mean?"

"I don't know! Sometimes I just say things!"