A "Fun" Little Game

by DubstepIsAmazing

Sunset

LSB

Discord was shaken to his core. He had never in his life seen anyone so swiftly and eagerly beat up Fluttershy, especially since she was much stronger than the calm, innocent demeanor she put on. As he held her in his arms, she didn't realize that her being held was the one thing keeping him from killing Pinkie right at that moment. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was consoling Sweetie Belle, who had finally broken down from the anxiety once she was in a safe spot. As she cried into her neck, Rainbow Dash was wondering if this game would end up helping or hurting everyone in the long run. Scootaloo and Rainbow's relationship was at stake, Sweetie Belle was just traumatized, and Fluttershy had witnessed only a smidget of Pinkie's inner insanity. A lot was being revealed, and there were still a couple of competitors left.

Meanwhile...

Rarity was humming a song with a smile on her face as she jotted down notes on the scenery. She figured that if she was going to be in the woods, she might as well take the environment as inspiration for her upcoming Spring lineup.

"Discord, you've truly outdone yourself," she whispered as she made notes of a nearby bird's colors, "These are fantastic color combinations for the capstone dress of the lineup! Tres magnifique!"

"I like it too," a voice said behind her.

"Oh, Twilight, darling! Isn't it gorgeous?" she gushed without looking at her. Flying next to her, Twilight peeked at the prototype sketches that Rarity had made. Twilight was surprised.

"These look amazing, Rarity! Which season are these for?"

"Spring! The lineup will be called Blossom Sunrise!"*

"That sounds pretty," Twilight complimented,

"Oh, it will be."

The bird she was watching flew off into the distance; one she did, she put her notepad and sketchbook away and turned to face Twilight.

"Although I got some work done, I mustn't forget why we're here. You understand, right?"

Twilight sighed and prepared a spell. "Yep."

"Excellent," she stated, backing up. "Attack when ready."

Levitating in the air, Twilight's horn shone as a smug smile went across Rarity's face. It explained why after the Princess got off the ground, a large diamond crystal dropped on her, sending her back to the ground. Rarity smiled.

"What's the matter, darling?"

"Oh, I dunno, I felt like I was just crushed by a giant diamond?" she answered sarcastically.

"Well, it's what happens when you choose to expose your advantages too quickly, darling. Speaking of which..."

The diamond disintegrated, freeing Twilight. She flapped her wings to become airborne before two diamonds clipped both of her wings, sending her back to the ground once more.

"Let's get rid of those wings, shall we?" Rarity said. She hadn't moved an inch since they began. Twilight tried to flap her wings, but pain shot through her body. She grit her teeth.

"Enough," she seethed as she aimed an attacking spell at Rarity. This was one of the more modern spells that she had in her arsenal; it was called Havoc Hammer. Although it was slow, she was confident that if it landed once, it would knock out Rarity.

Rarity giggled as she stared at the foreboding weapon.

"Don't tell me you're going to attack me with that thing, Twilight," she laughed, causing her to smile.

"Oh, I won't..."

An onslaught of hammer pounds made the ground shake and both ponies jump upon impact. Rarity was having fun; every swing missed her completely.

"Try harder, darling."

However, her fun was short-lived, as the last hammer pound sent her into the air, Twilight landed a perfect Alicorn Attack, sending her across the grove. Twilight disintegrated the hammer and flashed a proud smile.

"Sure, Rarity," she said, quickly calculating Rarity's acceleration rate and the force that came with it. Once that was done, she placed Sparkle Spikes at her landing spot. Surely enough, it was perfectly placed. One of the spikes pierced through Rarity's arm, causing her to scream in pain.

"How's that fashionista sense workin' for ya?" Twilight taunted as she trotted to her friend.

"Just fabulously, darling" Rarity answered as her horn glowed blue, pinning a confused Twilight to the ground.

Now freed, Rarity limped to Twilight, who had gritted her teeth.

"Surely you know that when the user is under the influence of alternative magic, those spikes disintegrate, correct?"

The princess rolled her eyes and tried to get up, only to fail.

"Ha ha. Very funny, Rarity," she said.

"You know what else is funny?" Rarity asked.

Her cutie mark glowed, causing the ground to shake. An astonished Twilight wriggled to get off the ground, not knowing what was coming, only for her to be impaled by a large diamond spike.

"You could've won if you had simply increased the spike size and decreased the number of spikes. I call this Diamond Demise," she said proudly.

The edge had gone through Twilight's chest, quickly silencing and eliminating her. The upper half of the diamond was now drenched with her blood while the lower half had it trickling down. Disassembling the diamond, a lifeless Twilight fell to the ground. A dastardly smile crept across Rarity's face as Twilight disappeared.

"Say hello to my sister for me," she whispered before continuing along the forest.

Eastern Section

Spike had surprisingly found his battle with Celestia moderately easy at the moment. He couldn't help but to think that she was messing with him when she said she wouldn't be holding back. Her nickname wasn't 'Trollestia' for nothing. He'd only gotten hit with a couple of attacks, but none that would knock him out quickly. On the other hand, he landed a couple of attacks, but, like Celestia's, they didn't do too much.

"Impressive," Celestia said with an annoyed look, "But this has gone on long enough."

She spread her wings as the sun shone brighter. Spike, who was in the air, immediately dropped to the ground. He seemed to be stuck to the grass!

"What? How?" he asked, worried. The princess chuckled.

"Another spell that Twilight doesn't know about," she answered, "It's been fun, Spike."

"It has been. But before you eliminate me, can I ask one question?"

She nodded, to which Spike grinned.

"Are you aware of how much fan-mail you get on an hourly basis?" he asked before burping a flame that was as high as the treetops. In the stead of fire, Celestia's eyes widened as she became covered with millions of scrolls, all addressed to her. The mountain of paper had provided Spike with some covering from the sun, so he was freed too!

I can't believe that worked! he thought with a smile. Celestia destroyed each scroll and glared at Spike.

"I should've ended you long ago," she said.

Spike responded by burning the forest floor and ascending, forcing Celestia to go airborne. However, as Celestia went up, Spike crashed down on her, purposefully aiming for her back so he could have a clear shot to her wings. The smoke was thick, so she had no idea where he was.

"ENOUGH, SPIKE!" she screamed, blowing away each cloud of smoke with a single spell.

Her hooves were burning from the remnants of the fire, but she ignored it. Spike, who hid in the treetops, could see that she was now out for blood. He had to be quick; emerging from his hiding spot, he dashed forward and slashed her right wing, causing feathers to scatter. Celestia didn't scream, she simply caught him as he tried to fly away.

"I wouldn't have to worry about fire if I didn't have you," she hissed with venom in her tongue, "Your demise is long overdue."

Saying nothing, Spike grabbed her neck and let loose a torrent of flames directly onto her head. He heard the screams from the flames, but was still being held.

Let me go, let me go, let me go! I got this if she would let me go!

Just then, his wishes were answered. Being freed from Celestia's grasp, he flew up to the frantic flaming Celestia and slashed her neck, giving his claws a fresh shade of red.

Celestia fell, and he could hear her fade away. He smiled.

"Nice," he said, fist pumping, "But what did she mean she should've ended me long ago?"

"I can't help but agree."

Spike's heart dropped when he saw Luna approach him with an enraged look on her face.

"She should have ended you long ago. And since she didn't, I will."

In the Western Section...

Saying Apple Bloom was terrified was a severe understatement. Applejack excelled in close clombat but she was helpless from long range. Unfortunately for her, Apple Bloom was slower than Applejack.

"C'MERE, APPLE BLOOM," Applejack yelled as she ran after her sister.

She had been chasing her for the last couple of minutes, and her energy was rapidly falling.

If she lands a single hit, I'm done for! she thought. She gasped.

"Wait a minute," she said, stopping. She bucked a nearby tree, causing a couple of branches to fall on Applejack as she passed by.

"Ow!" Applejack yelled, as she rubbed her head.

Apple Bloom was ecstatic; she was back in the game! She kept bucking trees that Applejack was sure to pass by, and to her surprise, everytime she passed a tree, her sister was hit with either a branch, fruit, or pinecone. The damage was adding up, and the bruises were visible.

"Yes!" she cried with a smile. Applejack, however, wasn't amused. As her sister prepared to buck another tree, she countered her strength with a buck of her own, causing the entire tree to fall over. Fortunately, Apple Bloom had avoided it.

"What happened ta your confidence, sugarcube?" Applejack asked as she bucked each tree, causing them to fall. Apple Bloom was frantic; she was rapidly running out of options.

"You were actin' mighty tough a second ago," Applejack taunted, quickly gaining ground on her sister.

Eyes wide, Apple Bloom looked for something, anything to counter. Fortunately for her, she thought she had an idea. Picking up a couple of rocks, she threw them into the air, and bucked each one of them towards Applejack. Some hit, some didn't. Either way, Applejack was getting annoyed at her sister's cleverness and ingenuity.

She sighed. "Can ya stop throwin' stuff," she asked, dodging more rocks, "It's gettin' kinda ol--OOH!"

As she kept track of where the rocks were coming from and dodging them accordingly, her sister risked it all and ran up close and delivered a kick to her jaw, sending her back a little. Apple Bloom had a determined look on her face as she stared down her older sister.

"So..." she said, chuckling, "Ya finally decided to stop runnin'."

Apple Bloom nodded. "Our family doesn't run away from danger. Even if it's among our own."

"Ya literally just ran from me for the last ten minutes, but alright."

Applejack simply slapped her sister twice, but each slap had enough force behind it to destroy a boulder. The filly began to rethink her strategy.

"Alright, FINE!" she said through a quickly swelling mouth. Avoiding another slap, she jumped onto her sister's back and put her in a headlock, squeezing her neck as tightly as she could.

"ACH! GET *ACH!* OFFA ME!"

Slamming her into trees, Applejack's oxygen was quickly running out. Apple Bloom was trying to stay conscious as her back hit thorns, bark, and jagged tree edges.

Come on, come on, come on! Almost...there...

In a last ditch effort, she squeezed tighter than before.

"GET...OFFA...me..." Applejack slurred before falling to the ground. Apple Bloom kept her headlock just in case she was still breathing. When it became evident she wasn't she let go, sighing.

"Ow," she whispered, quietly sobbing from the marks she'd gotten. "I reckon...I don't really like this game..."

She sat down and watched her sister fade away as she wished that she was there to calm her down.

LSB

Applejack, Celestia, and Twilight appeared in the room at the same time, causing the past eliminations to gasp. Discord smirked.

"Doesn't feel so good now, does it, Celestia?"

Ignoring him, Celestia went to the bar to get some Apple Cider. Sweetie was already there, quietly drinking a milkshake. Twilight was frantically searching through her notebook.

"How. How. How?! THERE'S NO WAY THAT A SPIKE THAT SMALL IN RADIUS AND LARGE IN HEIGHT COULD KNOCK ME OUT INSTANTLY! How'd she do it?"

"She aimed for the heart," Discord answered, "She should've aimed for the head in my opinion."

"Applejack," Rainbow said as she approached, "You lost to Apple Bloom?"

She nodded with a frown as she looked at her sister crying on the screen. "I can't save her now...she's on her own for the rest of the game."

"How many people are left?" asked Fluttershy.

"Six. Rarity, Luna, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Pinkie, and Spike." Discord answered. "Funny how you were all saying the Crusaders and Spike shouldn't be in it, yet two of the three Crusaders are still in and Spike beat the Princess of Equestria."

Sweetie's ears perked up. "WHAT?! APPLE BLOOM AND SCOOTALOO ARE STILL IN?"

Discord nodded. "A truly impressive performance. There's more to them that meets the eye."

Catching Twilight's glance, Sweetie backed away. "Yeah...there is..."

"You okay, Sweetie Belle?" Fluttershy asked, "You seem worried."

All eyes were now on the filly as she tried to avoid everyone's glares. Realizing it wouldn't work, she sighed and approached Twilight.

"I lasted longer against Luna than I thought I would. I learned a couple of spells from your spell room to help me with the fight..." she confessed, giving Twilight a surprised look.

"I thought I said that, unless I'm in there, that room was off limits! Which ones did you use?"

"The ones in the red books..."

"WHAT?!"

Celestia and Twilight approached her.

"Those spells are for master-level magicians only," Celestia cried, "If you mess them up, you can cause damage to both yourself and the world around you!"

"Sorry," Sweetie Belle said meekly. She could tell that the two alicorns were very displeased. "I didn't mean to--"

"Clearly, you did," Celestia thundered, "Why else would you be in there?"

"I just wanted to learn spells," Sweetie cried, "Is that so bad?"

"YES! You should've just asked me," Twilight yelled angrily, "But now, there's a chance that you've disrupted something either in Equestria, Canterlot, or some other realm, and none of us know what!"

"But I--"

"CAN'T WE HAVE ONE WEEK WITHOUT FILLIES LIKE YOU OR SPIKE COMING ALONG TO MESS EVERYTHING UP? IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?!" Twilight roared at Sweetie silencing her.

"That's enough," Applejack said, "I think she gets the point, Twilight."

"I don't," Celestia snarled as her horn glowed.

Snapping his fingers, Discord sent a crying Sweetie Belle to Rarity's location before glaring at the two of them. Snapping once more, he placed all of the ponies and pegasi on the sofa.

"Why don't you two shut up," he hissed, "And watch the show?"

Still seething, Celestia and Twilight began to discuss how they could make sure there were no issues or casualties in other realms thanks to Sweetie Belle's incompetence.

Author's Note:

*I'm so good at making fashion names. /s

So we're down to six contenders: Spike, the two CMC's, Pinkie, Rarity, and Luna.

I enjoy writing these; they're pretty fun. I think I'm going to do a sequel to this story at some point in the future.

Comments

[MDCommissioner]

9309688

He had never in his life seen anyone so swiftly and eagerly beat up Fluttershy, especially since she was much stronger than the calm, innocent demeanor she put on.

While this is from the next chapter.....this is really why I'm disappointed in the outcome for Fluttershy.

[DubstepIsAmazing]

9310301
Don’t worry. She’ll have a chance to get things right.

[MDCommissioner]

9310329
Really....

[DubstepIsAmazing]

9310635
Yep. She'll end up fighting soon. Just not against Pinkie Pie.

[Aether Spark]

Rarity beat Twilight? I don't see it actually happening.