Ponies of the Storm
The sky sundered! Electric blue lights darted to and fro, ripping the fabric of reality! Ponyville became engulfed in neon lines that sectioned off a large area of the town. The houses and streets shifted with the earth, broke apart, and fused together. Soon, three massive paths of dirt and cobblestone ran from one end of the town to the other. The homes of the pony citizens became the sidelines to these lanes. The everyday background ponies became trapped in within these new walls, as an invisible force held them in place. Mechanical towers and castles rose from the ground in specific places. Each was adored with Equestrian-themed designs. The entire area was morphed into a symmetrical battlefield with three lanes connecting the sides, an equal number of towers, gates and forts in each lane, a large stone statue at the center and two well-guarded bases at both ends of the field. A mystical Hall of Storms stood at the far edge of each of the bases. And it was at the eastern Hall where our Heroes found themselves, suddenly.
With a bolt of lightning each, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy appeared. The surprised ponies shook off the dizziness that came with the sudden trip.
"What in tarnation!?" yelled Applejack, rubbing her head.
"Woah! What's going on!?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, looking around.
"I- I- don't know! B-but I don't like it! Can we leave!?" Fluttershy cried as she hid behind Rarity.
"Heeheeha! Cool! Look at all the colors!" Pinkie Pie said as she bounced around energetically.
"Oh my, they are dazzling," Rarity commented looking down at the glass floor as electrical energy swirled underneath them.
The five ponies continued to chatter with confusion and awe amongst themselves before Princess Twilight interrupted them.
"Girls! Calm down!" Twilight shouted.
"Twilight!?" the ponies exclaimed in unison. The group looked around trying to locate their friend, but to no avail.
"I'm up here!" Twilight shouted again.
The five ponies gazed up at the building in front of them. It was a massive and intricate stone statue of a horse. At the top, the horse shouldered a large glass ball. Inside this blue ball stood Twilight, who was banging fruitlessly on the walls of the glass prison.
"Twilight? What're you doing up there!?" Pinkie shouted into a megaphone she pulled out of nowhere as she waved frantically.
"I don't know, Pinkie," Twilight spoke again, but this time her voice echoed in the heads of her friends and she was heard as clear as day to them.
"Woah! Hold it! How'd you do that!?" Rainbow asked.
"Just as I thought!" Twilight exclaimed giddily. This reverberated loudly in the ears of her friends. "I may not know why we're here, but I think I know where we are."
"And jus' where is that?" Applejack asked as she tried to scoop Twilight's voice out of her ears with her hoof.
"I think we're in... the NEXUS!"
"Oh no!" Pinkie cried. "Not the WEEXUS!!"
"I believe she said Nexus, darling," Rarity commented. "But I have to ask, Twilight, what is the uh- Nexus? And how in Equestria are you speaking to us in our minds?"
"You know, I already asked that question," Rainbow pointed out angrily.
"It's called whispering," Twilight explained. "It was one of features of the Nexus that Starswirl the Bearded predicted."
Her friends exchanged confused glances.
"Okay, let me start from the beginning," Twilight said as she rolled her eyes. "Starswirl the Bearded once predicted that it may be possible with enough knowledge of magic, space and time to construct a device to transport ponies from different planets, dimensions, or even times in history to a single location. This same device could shape the land into whatever form its creators desired. Starswirl theorized that this could be used to create a grand game that would pit heroes and villians from different worlds against each other."
"Why would he theorize that?" Rainbow snidely remarked.
"I don't know, Rainbow, but he named the place the Nexus. He even wrote about the features and rules that this game would have."
"And so you think that the Nexus exists... and we've been taken to it?" Fluttershy asked, jittering. "To- to fight some scary bad guys from another planet?"
"I think so, Fluttershy. It fits his description," Twilight mused. "Look, even Ponyville has been morphed into the area we're supposed to fight in, exactly how he described."
"Great! So how do we get out?" Applejack asked with a smirk. "And fix this mess?"
"Well, if I remember correctly, the only way to get out is to win the game... by... destroying your opponent's Core!" Twilight said, thinking back on the writings.
"You mean this big statue thing that you're inside!?" Pinkie exclaimed, patting the stone building happily, as if she was proud of it.
Twilight looked down at the structure beneath her and began to sweat nervously at the realization.
"Yeah, I- uh. I guess I'm in our Core... which is supposed to be destroyed."
"Goodness," Rarity started, "what happens if these other ponies we're supposed to fight come and destroy our Core, with you inside?"
"Then she'll be destroyed, too, silly!" Pinkie said with maniacal glee. After a moment's contemplation, her face suddenly changed from a smile to a frown. "Oh, wait! That's bad! GASP! We gotta protect Twilight, you guys!"
"Alright! I guess that means we have to beat those other ponies before they get here!" Rainbow exclaimed, getting pumped for the battle, punching the air excitedly.
"Ooo-whee! Sounds like rootin'-tootin' good time to me!" Applejack exclaimed too, giving Rainbow a hoofbump.
"Okay girls, but be careful," Twilight warned. "I'll whisper you all and try to explain what to do, if I can remember everything Starswirl wrote. But I won't be able to see what's going on, so you'll have to do this on your own."
"Oh, boy!" Pinkie cheered. "This is exciting!"
A booming voice filled the air suddenly.
---THE BATTLE BEGINS IN TEN SECONDS---
"W-w-what was that!?" Fluttershy cried, bolting to a new hiding spot under Applejack.
"I think... that's the announcer," Twilight explained, recalling on the texts. "Starswirl said that it would call out what's happening in the battlefield. And it sounds like you don't have much time to get started!"
"Well, what do we do, Twilight?" Rarity asked in a panic.
"Hold on, hold on! ... ...Quick everyone, what's your class?" Twilight pressed.
"Assassin!" Rainbow exclaimed without hesitation. "Wait, what? How'd I know that? And what's a class?"
"Ooo! Ooo! I'm an Assassin too!" Pinkie bounced around Rainbow excitedly. "It sounds fun! So dangerous, like a ninja!"
"I'm a... Warrior? Huh," Applejack said contemplatively.
"I'm a Specialist! Oh, that sounds divine!" Rarity gloated cheerfully.
"...Support..." Fluttershy said nervously, still shivering on the ground.
The voice boomed again.
---FIVE---
"Okay... Fluttershy," Twilight said as she tried to think quickly, "you're Support, so you should follow Rainbow down that far left lane! She'll need you to heal her!"
---FOUR---
"But-but-but-but," Fluttershy stuttered, horrified at the prospect.
"No time for buts, let's go Fluttershy!" Rainbow grabbed Fluttershy and started to flap her wings, but was unable to take off. "Hey!" she exclaimed as she fell flat to the ground.
---THREE---
"Why can't I fly!?" Rainbow demanded, as Fluttershy quivered beside her.
"Rarity, you and Pinkie take the far right lane," Twilight continued, ignoring Rainbow Dash. "You should be able to deal a lot of damage together."
"Of course!" Rarity agreed, not actually understanding the reason.
"Aye-aye, Captin'!" Pinkie hollered as she followed Rarity, bouncing towards their lane. "Hey Rarity, what's Twilight mean by damage?"
---TWO---
"Applejack, you have the most health so you can take the middle lane by yourself," Twilight explained.
"Hello!? Why can't I fly!?" Rainbow yelled up at Twilight, trying to interrupt and gain her attention.
"Sure thing, Twilight! Yee-haw!" Applejack reared up and kicked in anticipation.
---ONE. LET THE BATTLE BEGIN---
As the countdown reached one, the gates guarding the three entrances to their base fell. In their place, neon blue gates of magic rose up. They appeared as if they could be easily walked through from their side. At the start of the battle, the minions appeared. These tiny little humanoids with identical faces spawned in equal sized groups by the Core. They wore medival combat equipment, colored blue, and marched, each group to one lane, out of the base.
"Woah! Who're these guys!? Heeheehaahaa!~" Pinkie asked excitedly, stopping to giggle at the minions.
"They're so cute!" Rarity mentioned. "Look at those adorable little outfits!"
"WHY CAN'T I FLY!?" Rainbow shouted as she stayed behind at the Core, pounding it angrily.
"Girls, listen to me. I'll try to explain everything as best I can," Twilight whispered to them all. "First things first, everypony needs to learn how to whisper. Just imagine the pony you want to talk to and just think your words as concrete thoughts. It works for everypony at once, too. We'll have to stay in communication like this."
"I got it! ...Right?" Applejack asked telepathically, uncertain of her abilities.
"Oh, wow! I can hear Applejack in my head now!" Pinkie exclaimed loudly in the minds of her friends. "Can everypony hear me, too?"
"I don't know, you might have to speak up a bit louder, darling," Rarity jabbed mentally.
"LIKE THIS!?" Pinkie tried again.
"Ow... I- I can hear you Pinkie," Fluttershy offered shyly, waiting patiently beside Rainbow.
"This is great!" Rainbow cheered. "We can work out strategies and ask Twilight questions. Actually, I have a question right now: WHY CAN'T I FLY!?!?!?"
"Okay, okay, Rainbow! Just a minute!" Twilight said. "Go take Fluttershy down your lane and I'll explain. But first: Everypony, follow those little magical creatures. They're called minions, I think, and they're on our side and they'll take you to your opponents. Now, in the Nexus, our strengths and weaknesses have been normalized for all the heroes in the game."
"What the hay does that mean?" Applejack asked as she warily passed through the magical gate with her group of minions.
"It means that no matter how much strength or speed or magic or flying ability you had back home, the Nexus makes you the same as your opponents, roughly speaking."
"What!? I can't be my awesome, speedy self!? That's so lame!" Rainbow protested as she ran along, trying to catch up with her minions, dragging an unwilling Fluttershy behind her.
"That may be, Rainbow," Twilight explained, "but it also means that whoever, or whatever, you'll be facing won't be stronger than you."
"Huh! I guess that's why I can't gallop? I'm kinda stuck at this one speed," Applejack miserably pointed out as she trotted along at an average pace.
"Yes, Applejack. Starswirl figured this would prevent anypony who was too powerful from dominating the game. He also predicted you'd be limited in what you can do!" Twilight explained, desperate to recall all the information before her friends found the enemy. "Apparently, the Nexus only allows you do two things, a Basic Attack and four different Abilities that were created based on who you are as a pony, and what your class is."
"You know, this Starlight guy sure predicted a lot of crazy specific stuff," Rainbow jabbed, sarcastically.
"Abilities, Twilight?" Rarity questioned. "How in Equestria are we supposed to know what our abilities- oh wait, here they are! Strange, I just imagined them, and they appeared in my mind! And they have names!"
"One of mine's called PARTY CANNON! It's called PARTY CANNON!!!" Pinkie cheered maniacally as she bounced around her lane of minions who were still trudging along without a care.
"Good job, Pinkie! Everypony, figure out what your abilities do! They should be a reflection of who you are," Twilight commanded. "They'll be the key to fighting your opponents!"
"Oh, fighting!? I don't know if I can do that..." Fluttershy whimpered.
"Don't worry, Fluttershy," Twilight said, comfortingly. "You're a Support, which means you'll be helping Rainbow. Let her do the fighting. Celestia knows she wants to."
"Straight up!" Rainbow piped.
"Now that you mention it, these don't look so bad," Fluttershy said, gaining a little confidence as she read her abilities. "I won't have to hurt anypony."
"But they're gonna try to hurt us, right Twilight?" Applejack asked.
"That's right," Twilight replied. "If you can see your Abilities, then you should be able to picture your Health. Starswirl said it would appear as a green bar and it would represent how much damage you could take before you die."
"DIE!?" all of Twilight's friends exclaimed in unison, each one screeching to a halt.
"Twilight! You said this was a game!" Rarity spouted in a panic. "I can't die! Who'll finish my fall line-up!?"
"It is a game!" Twilight interjected. "You won't die for real, you'll just die in the game. You'll be teleported back here. I think..."
"Great! She thinks we won't die for real!" Rainbow mocked.
"Rainbow!" Applejack countered. "Twilight's been right on everything so far, let's trust her on this too." She finished her sentence with a nervous gulp.
"Is- is- it going to h-h-h-hurt?" Fluttershy collapsed and covered her head with her hooves, tears forming.
"I bet it's going to tickle!" Pinkie cheered. "I wanna try it!"
* * * * *