A "Fun" Little Game

by DubstepIsAmazing

A Lost Cause

In the Loser's Spectating Booth...
The instant Rainbow's eyes opened, she winced in pain. With the blows that Scootaloo landed, as well as the amount of force she had behind her hit, she had actually been banged up real good in her back, neck, and jaw. Feeling her lip, she noticed that there was a scab where the kick landed. It still hurt to touch, but it had clearly healed up over the last twenty or so minutes.

"Oh, finally! You're awake!"

She looked in front of her to see Discord sitting on a couch, eating popcorn. He was watching a screen that had everyone's name and who they eliminated. So far, Celestia and Scootaloo were tied with one elimination each. Under the scores was the contestant the viewer wanted to watch: in this case, Discord was watching Fluttershy with interest.

"Where am I?" Rainbow asked, managing to sit up.

Without looking at her, Discord answered, "The Loser's booth."

As he munched on his popcorn, Rainbow took the opportunity to look around the room she was in. She and Discord were sitting on a long, curved red velvet sofa. As a matter of fact, the entire room had red as its primary color. Even though Discord only cared about Fluttershy, she was starting to think that he got some designing tips from Rarity!

"This actually looks pretty good, Discord! I'm impressed!"

He ignored her and kept watching. Next to the television was a bar populated with six sleek red high chairs. The handles behind the counter were labeled "OJ", "Milk", "Apple Cider", and "Gem Smoothie". The cabinets above the bar were also red, encasing shiny plates and cups that looked like they hadn't been touched. Underneath of them were about ten beer cups, so clean that Rainbow could see her reflection from there. To the left of the television were the bathrooms, a stack of neatly folded blankets, a vending machine with various candies and sweets, and a milkshake maker. Rainbow smiled.

"Very, very nice, indeed," Rainbow complimented. Discord smiled.

"I'm glad you approve," he said, "You know, I'm kinda surprised you were one of the first eliminated. And by Scootaloo, no less."

Rainbow put her shoulders on the top of the sofa and rolled her eyes.

"She's stronger than you think."

"That's not you disagreeing with me," he noted.

"What're you talking about? She won fair and square!"

"Did she? Or did you let her win?"

Dumbfounded, Rainbow turned her head at him.

"NO! I was about to hit her with a Rainboom and she countered it! Plus, before that, I banged her up real good! She only landed like two or three hits in the entire fight!"

Discord turned his head.

"You should've won. No doubt," he said, rolling his eyes, "You're a grown mare and she's a filly. You're a Wonderbolt, she's a schoolfilly. You know the weather inside and out and she just knows the types of clouds and precipitation. How did you lose?"

She opened her mouth to rebut his claims, but she didn't have an argument. How did SHE lose? She knew that she had a little energy left while Scootaloo had near none at the end. Yet she fainted first. Once she thought about it, it made no sense.

"The only legitimate answer you have is if this were plot armor," Discord said, winking.

"I dunno!" she said before getting an idea. "Can you take me to Scootaloo?"

"Sure, but you won't be able to fight her again."

Getting more annoyed than she already was, she glared at him.

"Whatever! Just take me to her!"

"Let me know when you're done," he said before snapping his fingers.

Once the motion was made, Rainbow went from the room to a couple feet from Scootaloo instantly. She was sitting at the base of the tree where she was knocked out, water dripping from her chin.

"Squirt," Rainbow said in a commanding tone. Scootaloo looked up and saw her sister with a disapproving glance on her face. Even though the filly won, she still couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. She backed away as Rainbow approached.

"H--how--"

"Never mind that," Rainbow ordered, "Let me tell you right now: you shouldn't have won that fight."

Now Scootaloo was a bit confused as to why she was telling her this.

"What? Whaddya mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean," Rainbow said with her eyes narrowed, "You. Should not. Have. Won."

"Why not?"

"It's fairly obvious."

"But...but I won fair and square!"

"How did you win, then?"

Scootaloo had been asking herself that question ever since the match ended; she thought she came up with an answer, but it was still a bit fuzzy. Looking away, she tried to find the words to explain it.

"ANSWER ME," Rainbow roared.

Water trickled down the filly's face as she opened her mouth to respond.

"Rainbow, relax," Discord said.

"Shut up, Discord. Well, Scootaloo?"

"You're scaring her."

"I'm making sure that I didn't get cheated out of a win!"

"I was...well...thinking in terms of physics," she muttered, avoiding her gaze. Rainbow's steely eyes were trained on her.

"Go on," she encouraged. Gathering up her courage, she forced herself to look at Rainbow.

"I remember asking Doctor Hooves about my physics homework one time. It involved speed and force. I was thinking that if I was able to counter your speed with a blow to the face with enough force, I would stop you instantly. It worked, but it didn't look like it did too much. But when you fainted, I was thinking that an abrupt stop from that impact would make you really dizzy so you would faint anyway. That last part was a guess, by the way," she explained. Discord chuckled.

"Wow, that IS smart," he complimented. Rainbow ignored him.

"Are...you still mad at me?"

"Not mad. But I am impressed," she said. "Don't expect for that to get you out of a battle next time."

Turning away, Scootaloo got to her feet.

"Do you think I can win?"

"No," Rainbow said without hesitation, "Consider this win a stroke of luck. Discord, I'm ready."

Just before she teleported away, Rainbow could almost hear Scootaloo's heart break. Surely enough, on the screen back in the LSB, Scootaloo was bawling her eyes out. Discord looked at Rainbow unapprovingly.

"Element of Loyalty, huh?"

"..."

"You can't get upset just because you lost. Especially when it comes to things like this. If you think about it, Scootaloo's strategy was actually a smart move. Sure, it was a little luck-based, but she was trying to make sure science was on her side."

"SHE'S A FILLY, DISCORD!"

"A filly you lost to."

"That doesn't matter!"

"Apparently it does. Scootaloo may have beaten you, but you just took out her self-esteem and confidence in one shot."

Rainbow froze. She was thinking about where Discord took her just two days ago; memories of Scootaloo's past and what she had done made her freeze.

"When Scootaloo jumped off that cloud without knowing how to fly, do you know what she was thinking?"

"What?"

"Thank you, Rainbow Dash. Thanks for making me feel like I can do everything...when I can't do anything." he recited, "Looks like you just proved her right in thinking that she was a lost cause."

Silence filled the room as she thought about the events of the last few days, what she just told Scootaloo, and how this would affect her relationship with her after all of this was over.

"Let's watch a different battle. There are two going on right now."

"Who?" Rainbow asked, refusing to face him.

"Sweetie Belle against Luna...and Spike against Celestia."

Rainbow gasped and looked at the screen. Sure enough, the princesses of Equestria were fighting a baby dragon and a filly.

"I'm actually very impressed," Discord said, "Spike and Sweetie Belle have been protecting themselves pretty well..."

Rainbow said nothing as her mind juggled Scootaloo and the victims of the princess' power.

On the east side...

Sweetie Belle was exhausted. She had somehow managed to barely dodge every attack Luna dished out. Yet the attacks just kept coming. She threw out a couple of attacks, but Luna dodged them all with ease. Going invisible, Luna smiled.

"I've never seen a filly your age use the spells that you've used against me," she complimented, creeping behind an unaware Sweetie Belle.

"Where is she," whispered Sweetie Belle before getting hit with a blast of dark energy. Flying a couple feet and landing on a rock, Sweetie cried out in pain.

"But you still have a lot to learn," Luna said before spreading her wings. Looking up at her, Sweetie didn't see the feathers of her wings but instead saw many stars populate them.

"I've never used this attack against anybody, so consider yourself lucky."

"UGH!" Sweetie Belle yelled, aiming a Bloody Rain attack at Luna. It was an attack that was apparently so powerful that if the opponent were hit, their blood would drench the attacker. Unfortunately for her, Luna nimbly dodged it and laughed.

"Nice try! I haven't seen that attack for centuries. It's slow and isn't as strong as it seems."

Rushing down at Sweetie Belle, she pinned her down with her hoof. Sweetie could feel it digging into her skin. Looking into Luna's eyes, she'd never felt more fear.

"PRINCESS LUNA, PLEASE!" she weeped, "PLEASE DON'T DO THIS! WHATEVER I DID TO UPSET YOU, I'M SORRY!"

"You did nothing to upset me, Sweetie..."

Sweetie gave her a hopeful glance as a response to Luna's soft smile. Her look of hope was replaced with one of horror when Luna frowned with eyes that glowed white.

"That doesn't mean that you won't be the recipient of the anger that I've accumulated over the years."

Swiftly extracting her wings once more, both wings and horn glowed. Sweetie couldn't move.

"I call this spell...Astral Nightmare."

With wide eyes, Sweetie's horn glowed as she made one last effort to attack...but her horn illuminated only to fade.

"What?" she asked. Luna chuckled.

"If I'm close enough, this spell renders your magic useless."

Sweetie Belle's heart sank.

"I'll make sure to tell Twilight of your diligence. But for now, close your eyes, little one.."

She did what was asked, anticipating the attack.

"Let sleep claim you."

With that, a dark rainbow emerged from both Luna's wings and horn, hitting Sweetie Belle point blank. The vicinity was darkened for a couple of seconds, but when the darkness faded, the filly was gone.

"I'm sorry, Sweetie..." Luna apologized out loud.

In the North side...

"Oh! I'll have to ask Discord to take me back here soon! There's probably a ton of animals to add to the sanctuary," Fluttershy said with glee.

It was evident that she wasn't worried about fighting; she was just taking in the sights. When she heard the snapping of a twig behind her, she stopped and turned around before her smile grew.

"Hello, Pinkie Pie! Isn't this place beautiful?"

Pinkie Pie just had a huge grin on her face. Fluttershy could see every tooth in her mouth. Her pupils had expanded to fill her entire eye. She was originally sitting down, but as Fluttershy approached, she stood up.

"Pinkie? Can you hear me?"

"..."

Fluttershy's look of bewilderment turned into a look of agony when Pinkie lunged at her, hitting a very powerful punch against her face. As she fell to the ground, Fluttershy tasted the blood in her mouth.

"Pinkie--ACH!"

With as much force as she could, Pinkie stomped directly onto her spine with both of her forelegs, causing Fluttershy to scream in pain. Pinkie was still smiling.

"Why aren't you smiling, Fluttershy?"

Grabbing her tail, she swung her up into the air before sending her back down with another stomp. At this point, Fluttershy began to panic. Flying up, she grit her teeth and flew straight at Pinkie Pie...

...only for her to teleport above her.

"All you really need..."

She grabbed her tail and threw her against a tree, face first.

"Pinkie..."

"...is a smile..."

Fluttershy's face hit the tree bark with a resounding CRACK!.

"...smile..."

Another one.

"...smile!"

One final face push to the tree had knocked out Fluttershy. Her yellow coat now had multiple bruises, scratches and trails of blood coming from her face crawling down her neck. She vanished with a bright light.

Pinkie's smile faded.

"See how much fun that was? You got an elimination!"

With tears in her eyes, Pinkie sat down.

"What did you say? What did I just do? WHO DID I JUST FIGHT?"

"Fluttershy."

Pinkie almost fainted when Pinkamena said that.

Author's Note:

Don't worry. We'll check up on Rarity and Spike in the next chapter. Also, regarding Pinkie's appearance, think Smile HD.

(or on second thought, don't think Smile HD. that was terrifying)

Comments

[DubstepIsAmazing]

9309282
pretty much

[DarkDMan]

Damn Pinkie. Good chapter. I'm really hoping, Spike wins against Celestia. Then we can see a Predator Spike stoke the rest of the competition.

Really don't have enough stories where Spike uses his Apex Predator skills.

[MDCommissioner]

.....boooooo.

[DubstepIsAmazing]

9309334
Sorry abt the battle being short. But it makes sense; Pinkie/Pinkamena can hit fast and exceptionally hard. Plus, she’s abnormal enough to defy the laws of physics and logic on a normal basis, so teleportation and being able to jump quickly and extremely high while also being able to neutralize the chances of Fluttershy attacking were near inevitable.

I’m glad you’re still reading though.