Flash Sentry Chronicles: War of the Lost City

by Banshee531

The Game is On

Flash felt like he was coming out of a deep sleep, his brain fuzzy and vision blurred as he opened his eyes. It was here that he realized he was laying on his back, the surface below him stone hard. His eyes were now staring up at a ceiling made out of light blue crystals. He let out a moan as his body woke up, the pegasus sitting upright as he felt his hoof brush by something. Looking down, he now saw that Lightbringer, his Celestic Gear was laying beside him.

A moan from his side made him turn to see Springer laying down, the rest of his friends being laid out around him. Getting up, he began to shake his friends, "Springer, can you hear me? Come on, wake up."

"Flash?" Soarin muttered out as he woke up first, his body shifting up like a stiff board, "What happened?"

"I don't know," he replied as the others began to wake up. After a few minutes, all were awake as Flash began to walk around the room. He found he was in a place similar to Twilight's Crystal Castle, though this one wasn't as shiny. The room had two doors on either side, one looking like a normal door while the other had no handle and a large key hole in the middle of it. In the center of the room was a large round table with a giant window adorning one of the walls without a door.

"Where are we?" Trixie asked.

"I'm not sure," Cold replied while moving over to the table. "Some kind of castle?"

"Maybe..." Ruby muttered as she went to the window, now seeing it had a glass door built into it. She quickly opened it, now finding herself on a crystal balcony. But before she could look at the castle they were in, she then saw something else in the distance. It was a black castle on the opposite side of the city...but that wasn't what shocked her. "Everypony, you need to see this." The others trotted over, only for jaws to drop as they saw a new sight.

The city was being repaired, every building that had been damaged or destroyed now rebuilding itself. The pieces were flying up and linking together to form the structures. "What's happening?" Soul asked while turning to Heart. "The city never did this before."

"It never got destroyed before," Heart replied before flexing his wings, "I'm heading out."

"Wait!" Flash yelled as he tried to stop him, only for Heart to yelp out in pain as he hopped off the balcony...only to hit something.

"OW!" He moaned as he fell back, Flash catching him as he started to rub his nose. "What the heck?"

Springer jumped onto the balcony and leaned over, reaching his paw out before tapping a force-field similar to the one that had trapped them in the city. "Um...I think we're stuck in here."

"Well at least we get some fresh air," Flash added.

"Not the time Flash," Trixie told him as she tried to slap him with her tail.

"Sorry." Flash replied before pointing at the black crystal castle. "I wonder how they're handling this?"

---

Meanwhile...

Shadow and his cult had now just woken up, all now seeing they were in a room almost exactly like the one Flash and the others were in. The only differences being the black coloring of the castle and Shadow's throne, which was situated next to the black crystal table.

"COME ON!" Wingill's voice echoed through the room as he flew out the balcony, only to bounce back into the room. "LET ME OUT!" He roared as he quickly recovered before ramming the barrier again. Salix laughed at the sight, now seeing Wingill crash back into the room again, "RAAAAHHHH!"

Storm ran in front of the charging pony, "Wingill, that's enough. You're not getting through that."

Wingill just growled back, "Then what do you suggest we do?!"

Storm didn't reply, instead turning to Shadow as they saw him sit down on his throne.

"Master?"

Shadow said nothing, just growling as he stared at the repairing city before him. His mind burned with one thought: 'Something is trapping us here...how dare they. Nopony makes my decisions. They will pay for this.' He then slammed his hoof into the throne's arms, "It seems all we can do is wait. Start looking around. There may be something here that can help us." The others nodded and began to move to the door with a handle, Shadow turning to the other with the large keyhole.

He trotted over and placed his hoof on it. He could feel like something was calling him from behind this door, but knew he couldn't open it, even though he hadn't even tried yet. "What are you?"

---

Back at the other castle, Flash was doing the same thing, staring at the keyhole door. He had tried to push it open, but found unable to make it even budge. The defender sighed at this, putting a hoof on the door before hearing a voice, "Flash?" He turned to see Heart staring up at him, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm cool." Flash nodded before ruffling his mane, "I'm just...a little weirded out by all this."

"You're not the only one," Ruby added as she walked back into the room, "We still don't know why we were brought here...but I can say you were right Flash. It has to be for a reason."

"Hey everypony, take a look at this!" They turned to see Trixie had opened the other door, soon following her to find themselves in a chamber that also had a large window leading out to a balcony and a single door on the other side. However, this room had a table with enough chairs for all of them and in one corner was a crystal cupboard.

"Hey, look!" Soul chimed in as she stared up at the walls, now seeing them being covered in familiar figures, "My paintings..."

"How'd they get here?" Heart asked as Springer moved over to the cupboard.

"Huh...I wonder." He touched the door, "Orange juice." Light seeped thought the cupboard's cracks, only for the jakhowl to open it to see a crystal glass with his chosen drink within it. "Well, at least we won't go hungry."

The others rolled their eyes before moving over to the other door, opening it up to find themselves in a hallway with two doors on each wall. Ruby moved over to the first right door, her eyes going wide at the sight inside, "Heart, Soul." The younger ponies trotted over, only to gasp as they saw that the room inside was exactly like their house. The only difference was instead of the hammocks, they had beds.

"No way...how is that here?!" Heart asked.

Flash crossed his hooves as he shuffled through his memories, "Wait...didn't that light from earlier engulf your house?" Everypony nodded, "Maybe this castle was made from it. I mean, this place just suddenly popped up after that light show. Think that's why the paintings and other stuff are here?"

Cold did a small shrug, "Makes sense considering this already bizarre situation."

Heart and Soul glanced at each other, the looks on their faces clearly showing they weren't exactly happy about their previous home being transformed without their consent. The others took this moment to look into the other rooms, now seeing two beds in each along with a door in the back leading to a fully equipped bathroom.

"Looks like we'll be sharing," Ruby told Trixie, the showmare smiling at this idea while Springer turned to Flash.

"Just like old times," the jakhowl added as they hoof bumped.

"I'm not gonna get a wink of sleep," Cold grumbled, gritting his teeth.

"Hey! What's wrong with me?!" Soarin barked back, only to receive a bunch of glares, "What?!"

"You snore louder than Rainbow," Springer told him. "And that mare can snore, trust me on that."

"I'm not that loud," Soarin pouted. "And you haven't complained about it before."

"That's because I kept casting a silencing spell on you whenever we slept," Trixie responded before turning to Cold. "Want me to show you how it works?"

"Please."

"You all suck," Soarin growled before marching to the end of the hallway. He then found a flight of stairs leading down, "Wonder what's down there?"

"Let's find out," Flash took the lead and flew down the passageway, the others following to find a room with two doors on either side. The door to the left lead to a room with three large glass tubes within, each tubes having a door that somepony could use to get inside them. As for the other, it was bare empty room with nothing inside.

"Ooookay," Springer commented as he turned to the others, "Kind of an anticlimactic way to end the tour."

"I don't know," Flash replied as he walked into the empty chamber, "There has to be some reason to have this room in here."

Trixie shrugged in response, "Maybe whoever made it just couldn't think of anything to put in here."

Flash was about to reply, only for the ground to open up. Everypony backpedaled at the sudden event, only for a crystal to float up in the middle of the room. Flash and Springer's eyes went wide at the sight, "No way...is this-" Flash placed a hoof on the crystal and thought for a moment, the crystal unleashing a light that spread throughout the rest of the room.

Before anyone could say anything, the light exploded to reveal a very familiar town, "Ponyville?" Ruby asked, the others staring at Flash in shock.

"Is this a teleporter?" Trixie added.

Flash shook his head, "Nope. It's an illusion chamber....just like the one in Twilight's castle." He touched the crystal again, "It can create any location." The next thing they knew, Ponyville transformed into Canterlot, only to shift to Cloudsdale before becoming the Crystal Empire, and then the empty room from before.

"That's so cool!" Heart cheered with stars in his eyes.

"I know," Flash replied, chuckling as he tapped the crystal, this time showing an obstacle course room. "We use it for training back in Ponyville. Everypony loves using it."

"But why would we need a illusion chamber?" Ruby chimed in, "What we need is a way out of this castle." She turned back to the door, "Come on." She then left, the others following before they ended up back in the room they had awakened in. Seeing this, she crossed her hooves, "I don't like this. There has to be a way out of here."

"How?" Soarin asked, "That force-field is impenetrable."

Cold turned to one of the walls, "Maybe the force-field is...but what about the walls of the castle itself?" The others started to catch on a Cold created an ice drill. "Let's try this!" The unicorn fired the tool at the wall, the drill seemingly piercing the crystal...only to turn into a pile of snow.

"My turn," Ruby formed her own crystal drill and did the same...only for it to turn to dust and fall into the snow.

Springer took up his battle form next, forming an attack sphere in his paws, "Aura Force!" He fired the blast at the wall, only to see the wall be completely unsinged. "Seriously?!"

"Flash Driver!" Flash transformed into a drill of light, slamming in the same spot the others had struck. But as a minute of the attack passed, not even a chip had fell off the wall. "Well..." he broke out of the drill, now dizzyingly stumbling around, "So much for that..."

"I doubt teleporting's gonna work," Trixie added, "Anyone else got any bright ideas?"

"Just one," Cold replied as he pointed at Flash, "Use your Sacred Light."

"Seriously?" Flash asked, Cold nodding back.

"That's the only thing I can think of."

"It could work," Ruby continued, "You are much stronger in that form."

Flash nodded and told everypony to step back. "Alright," he took several deep breaths, "Might wanna cover your eyes. Sacred...LIGHT!" He yelled...only to feel nothing. This prompted everypony to uncover their eyes, now seeing he was unchanged. The defender then saw their glares, "Sorry. Let me try again." He took another deep breath, "Sacred Light!"

Again, nothing happened. Flash looked down at himself in confusion, then tensed up his whole body and made some grunting noises.

"Flash..." Ruby started.

"I'm trying," he barked back, his face now distorting in frustation.

Heart laughed at this, whispering something in Soul's ear. "Ew!" she gasped before glaring at him in disgust, "That's gross!"

"Flash..." Cold began to say in a low tone.

However, Flash just turned to him and instantly replied, "I can't use it. My Sacred Light...it's gone." Flash's face began to morph into one filled with pure panic, "I-I-I don't know why...but I can't feel it inside me anymore."

"What?"

"So somehow whatever trapped us in here also took away your abilities?" Soarin yelped, "What about your Theta Mode?!"

Flash blinked his eyes, quickly turning pure white before changing back to normal. "No, I still got that."

"Well at least that's something," Springer added, "But what could have done this?"

Ruby growled as she turned to the others. "Whatever is doing this, it's a being with power beyond anything we know that exists."

And before anypony could respond to that, a loud alarm sound suddenly rang out through the castle. "Now what?" Flash asked as everypony else covered their ears. It was then that a light caught their attention, making them look over at the table.

They all blinked at the next sight, as a barrel suddenly appeared on the table. "Is that...a bingo machine?" Cold's question was met with nothing but silence, everypony just staring as the barrel began to spin around with seven white balls inside.

"What is happening?" Trixie responded, only for the side of the machine to open up. Three balls then flew out of the side, each showing symbols they had seen before. One ball had Flash's cutie mark on it while the others had Trixie's and Soarin's.

The three ponies in question shared a confused look, Soarin chiming in, "Well that was random."

And as those words left his mouth, the machine disappeared in the blink of an eye. "What was that?!" Flash asked, only for the table to start glowing. It then began to create a miniature model copy of the city, the groups seeing that it was showing a complete replica, repaired buildings and two castles withstanding.

But before anypony could say anything else, three flashes of light caught their attention. They turned to the ponies who's cutie marks were on the balls, their bodies being consumed by the light. And in the blink of an eye, they vanished, "FLASH!" Springer yelled as they reached out for them...but it was too late.

"What just happened?!" Soul gasped, now shivering as Heart held her close.

"They were teleported," Cold replied before looking back at the table, now seeing three blue dots suddenly appear on a street. Each one had a line coming off it that was connected to a floating label, all showing the name of a pony that had just vanished, "They're out in the city."

"Look!" Ruby yelled as she pointed to another area of the city. Three red dots appeared before a white line began to run through the streets, eventually forming a rudimentary square that covered about a mile of the city. Those dots had their own name tags, showing three names that made them all wince. "That's not good. Its like this is some kind of game."

As those words left her mouth, Springer grimaced. Memories of his last encounter with Shade surfaced, the jakhowl now remembering himself watching his friends be stuck in a giant replica of jakhowl history now in his head. But not only that, it was the fact that it was all a game to Shade, that fact making Springer now comment, "If this is a game...I hope we win."

---

Down in the city, Flash, Soarin and Trixie were now trotting through the streets.

"So why are we here again?" Soarin asked Flash, the knight shrugging.

"How am I supposed to know?" Flash turned back to the castle, "Hey, maybe I can break through the thing from the outside." He quickly took to the air, shooting like a bullet at the building...only to slam into the barrier, "OW!" He splatted against the force field like a bug on a windscreen, the light rippling out from the impact spot. It then flowed around the rest of the shield, now showing the other two how little space they now have out here.

"We're boxed in," Trixie added as they turned back to Flash, now seeing him slowly slide down the shield.

"I'm getting real tired of these things," he grumbled as he peeled himself off the wall.

"So what do we do now?" Soarin asked next.

Flash rubbed the side of his head, "Well...we had to have been brought here for a reason. Let's find it." He trotted off through the newly created street, Soarin and Trixie behind him. But as they got a few feet down, instincts kicked in as they felt another presence.

"MOVE!" Soarin tackled Flash and Trixie, pushing them seconds before a bolt of lightning struck the area. The trio quickly rolled back to their hooves, now seeing the source of attack floating above them.

"Hello there," Storm chuckled with a sinister smile.

"Great..." Flash held up his sword, "Should have known you all would be here too."

"The question is, how many?" Trixie growled as she gripped her hat.

"Not many," they turned to see Terror Card walk out from around a building, Salix leaping out with her, rolling along the floor before jumping back to his hooves.

"Oh, I bet this is gonna be so awesome! Too bad we're the only ones here. Imagine how much we would make if we sold tickets! We'd clean up! Hey, think whoever's doing this is recording it?! Maybe we can sell the fight as a movie!"

"I don't think it'll make much money. After all, it'll have a predictable ending," Storm chuckled as he turned the dial on his weapon. "These three will fall and we will remain unscathed."

"I don't think so!" Flash leapt into the air with his blade glowing. "Flash Cutter!" He swung the sword through the air, unleashing a singular light blade.

"Storm Cutter!" Storm swung his weapon as well, countering with an air blade that struck Flash's attack.

The two then exploded, making Flash gasp, "So Soarin was right. He really does have a Celestic Gear..." He pointed his sword at him, "Where'd you get that?! Are you a Royal Knight?!"

Storm rubbed his hoof down his sword, soon playing with the tip of his blade, "Wouldn't you like to know?" He then zipped ahead, dissolving the distance between them before swinging his blade at Flash's neck. But as this happened, Flash easily blocked it with his sword, only to flap his wings, quickly getting him back and away from Storm.

As Flash flew back, he took a deep breath, "Come on Sacred Light..." he whispered, closing his eyes as well. But as he did this, he felt nothing, making him open his eyes to see Storm charging at him, "Oh come on!" He then slashed back at Storm, only for the blue and yellow pegasus block it with the staff of his naginata. Flash quickly countered with another Flash Cutter, Storm dodging it before trying to slash him with his blade again.

Trixie and Soarin watched from the ground, only to look back at their opponents, "Why should they have all the fun?" Terror mocked as she reached into her cape, Trixie gasping before turning to Soarin.

"Don't let her use those cards!" Soarin nodded and charged at her, only for Salix to leap in front of him.

"Sorry, too late!" the nirik cheered as his body exploded into flames. He then spun and flicked his tail at Soarin, unleashing a wave of fire.

"Whoa!" Soarin yelped as he was forced to stop and beat his wings, creating a wave of wind that dispelled the flames.

Salix chuckled as he began to summon some more fire in his tail, "Pretty hot, aren't I?" Terror then pulled out her cards and tossed one into the air before it started glowing, both she and Salix now becoming trapped in a dome of light as the card spun around.

"What's she doing?" Trixie asked as she the dome glow, only for the card to come to a stop and flip upside down.

"Arcana of the Reversed Chariot!" The dome suddenly began to shrink until it only held Salix within before exploding with light that was then absorbed into the Kirin.

"Oh yeah!" Salix suddenly vanished before charging at blinding speed, instantly slamming a flaming hoof into Soarin.

"GYAH!" Soarin cried at the heat, quickly countering with a kick that pushed the nirik away.

"Don't think you have us yet," Trixie yelled as her horn sparked and fired a spell at the ground. This then summoned a wall of ice, separating them from their opponents. "That won't hold them for long," she turned back to Soarin. "You okay?"

"I've been better," Soarin groaned while clutching his burnt chest. He stood back up as part of the wall began to melt away, a hole slowly forming. "Got a plan for that?"

"No...but I'm not letting this be completely one sided."

On the other side of the wall, Salix was breathing a stream of fire out of his mouth into the wall, soon creating the hole, "Oookay," Terror blinked as she stared through the hole, only to see nothing, "Oh, come on." She sparked her horn and teleported to the other side of the wall with Salix, both getting into a battle stance as soon as they materialized. "Where are they?"

"They must have ran for it," Salix added, only for a flash to appear beside him. The light made him turn just as a hoof slammed into his face, knocking him flying back into a nearby building, "GYAH!"

"Salix!" Terror yelped as she turned to where Salix was, only for a flash of light appear before feeling something slam into her back, pinning her to the ground. "AAAHHH!"

Salix opened his eyes to see Soarin on top of Terror, slamming all four hooves into her back. He then turned to the nirik with a big grin before being consumed by a flash of light.

---

Meanwhile...

Cold, Ruby, Springer, Heart and Soul could hear the explosions in the distance, Heart speaking up, "What's happening out there? It sounds like a war-zone!"

"It is a war-zone," Cold muttered as he glared at the map. "For whatever reason, those six have been chosen to fight."

"Why?" Soul asked as she clung to her brother, "Why do our new friends have to be in a war-zone?"

Ruby sighed and shook her head, "I don't know. All we know is that we're stuck here while they're...fighting." She put a hoof to her forehead, "And I can't do anything either..."

"I just wish we could see what was going on," Springer grumbled as he slumped over the table, his eyes staring at Flash and Storm's dots circling around each other. He then reached out and pressed Flash's name, only to hop in place as a sudden giant holographic screen appeared above the table. On that screen, Flash could be seen fighting Storm, both dancing in the sky.

"Wow!" Heart gasped before turning to the jakhowl, "How'd you do that?!" Springer just shrugged, the group now able to watch the battle unfold.

---

"Flash Driver!" The Knight of Friendship morphed into a drill of light, Storm quickly racing away to dodge the attack.

The cultist then spun into a nearby building, planting his back hooves into the building's surface. Using the place as a spring board, he kicked off and spun into a tornado of wind, "Storm Driver!"

The two attacks clashed, an explosion of force happening before knocking Flash and Storm back. "Whoa!" Flash yelped as he flared his wings, coming to a stop as Storm did the same. He could feel the pants coming out of his mouth as he now glared at Storm, "Soarin was right. He really does have military training."

Storm started chuckling as he rubbed his blade again, "Not bad. Grand Hoof...trained you well."

"What?" Flash yelped, only for Storm to zip up to him, both quickly clashing swords. "How do you know Grand Hoof?!"

"Oh, nothing much." Storm then leaned forward, their faces now inches from one another, "He's the one who taught me how to fight after all."

Flash's eyes slowly went wide at this statement. "What?! No..."

"Oh, yes!" Storm laughed as he pushed Flash back before spinning the sword's dial, lightning now sparking from the metal, "Storm Cutter!" He swung the blade, firing a wave of lightning which Flash barely blocked with his own sword, only for the following explosion to knock him back.

"GYAH!" Flash screamed as he was sent flying into a window of a building. He rolled along the floor before hitting a wall, the pegasus slumping to the ground. And as he grabbed Lightbringer and picked himself up, he glared at the window, now seeing a vicious grin on Storm's face.

"Gotta say, you're really disappointing. Guess Grand's gotten bad at picking students over the past decade or so since I last saw him." Storm then pointed his blade at the defender as lightning surged around the blade, "Storm Force!"

---

KABOOM!

"FLASH!" Everypony watching screamed as the entire top half of the building exploded, bits and pieces flying every which way.

"Oh no...poor Flash." Soul whimpered as they saw a smoke cloud now cover the building's remains. Heart quickly hugged her, Ruby putting her hoof around them both to help calm them down.

"Don't worry. Flash won't fall so easily." The Crystal Knight said as they looked up at her, a kind smile on her face.

At the same time...

"HA!" Tempera laughed as the watched the building start to cave in, "Perfect! That's one down!"

"Don't be a fool!" Shadow roared, making Tempera flinch. She turned to her throne sitting love as he continued to watch the battle. "It's not over."

"How can you be sure?" Wingill asked him. "Did you not see what Storm did?"

Shadow just shook his head in response, "That does not matter. I have seen the power that piece of trash possesses....and the only one who can destroy him is me."

---

As the smoke began to fade, Storm stared into the building, only to see nothing. "What?" He then saw a hole in the ground, slowly flying over to it. "Where'd you go?"

"I'm right here!" Storm spun around to see Flash burst through the ground, the knight thrusting his weapon so the crossguard pointed at Storm. "FLASH FORCE!" The laser came out next, Storm barely able to jump away before a blast of powerful wind from the attack to push him back. Flash then flew right up to Storm, slashing at the cultist as Storm blocked the attack again. As this happened, Flash yelled, "You're lying about Grand! There's no way he'd train somepony like you!"

"Are you sure?" Storm chuckled, "Do you really know everything about Grand? How do you know he didn't pick you up as his apprentice just to replace me? I will admit, he's standards have really gone down, but-"

"SHUT UP!" Flash began to wildy slash at Storm, the pegasus spinning his weapon to block every blow.

"I can say with absolute honesty that every fighting skill I have was taught by Grand. Well, except this." He then spun around, kicking Flash in the gut.

"BLAUGH!" Flash yelped, spit flying out of his mouth as Storm turned his sword's dial again.

"STORM SURGE!" From the tip of his weapon came a long stream of water, this attack catapulting Flash out of the ruined building.

---

While this happened, Salix and Terror were standing back to back. "Where are you?!" Salix yelled, "Come on, hide and seek is such a boring game! Let's play something better, like tag!"

"FINE!" Soarin's voice roared before he suddenly appeared in front of Salix, sweeping his hooves out from under him. "Tag, you're it!" Terror then shot a blast at him, only for the pegasi to teleport away, only for the unicorn to feel something punch her face from the other side followed by another flash of light.

Salix moaned as he picked himself back up, "That's not how you play tag."

"Really? Cause I'm having fun!" Soarin appeared in front of him again, this time throwing a soccer kick at the kirin's head. Salix flared up his mane, ready to burn Soarin's hoof, only for Soarin to teleport away before appearing behind him, slamming his hoof into his flank.

"YOW!" Salix yelped as his face fell into the dirt from the blow, Soarin now taking to the sky as Salix started rubbing his behind, "Owie…"

"How's he doing this?" Terror asked as she saw Soarin shot upward before charging down at mach speed. She prepared to cast a spell, only for him to disappear again before slamming into side, knocking her flying back.

"Will you stop?!" Salix roared as he reignited his body, now unleashing an array of fireballs from his mane. Soarin quickly started jumping side to side while getting closer to the nirik. Once close enough, Soarin threw an uppercut at him...only to be teleported to an unsuspecting Terror.

"AUGH!" She cried as she felt the blow hit her chin while Soarin took to the air again.

Seeing this infuriated Salix, Soarin then saw his flames now beginning to burn brighter. "I'VE HAD IT!" A massive explosion erupted out of him, filling the street with fire. Terror quickly teleported away, Soarin spreading his wings to let the force of the explosion hit them before the flames, pushing him upward.

The explosion lasted a minute before clearing, a panting Salix standing at its epicenter. Terror sighed and shook her head, "Ugh...what a hot head." She then turned as she saw something in the corner of her eye, now seeing a sparkle of blue light in the corner. A big smile graced her face as she squinted her eyes, now seeing a chunk of a broken building that was now damaged beyond a few burn marks. "There you are."

Her horn fired out a blast of magic, Soarin gasping as he saw the beam strike the building chunk...only to dissolve to reveal a blue dome of magic with Trixie inside. Now seeing her illusion gone, she quickly teleported away before her shield fell, appearing on a roof near where Soarin was flying. "Nice trick," Terror told her as Salix used his flames to propel himself up to the roof beside her.

"Well, what's life without a little dramatic showmareship?" Trixie replied as the four got into a fighting stance. But as they did this-

"INCOMING!" They all turned to see the ice wall from earlier shatter as an orange blur smashed through it, propelled down by a stream of water. It hit the ground and rolled to an eventual stop, showing one Flash Sentry laying on his back while moaning.

"FLASH!" Trixie teleported down to him while Soarin kept an eye on their foes. "You okay?" Flash slowly picked himself up, Trixie grabbing his sword and handing it to him.

"I've been better," he grunted out before looking up to see Storm flying over. He then spotted a several fireballs appear, making him jump up and swing his blade, "Flash Cutter!" The light blade blocked the flames, causing an explosion which Soarin used to regroup with the others.

"What's the plan boss?" The Wonderbolt asked as the last of the smoke cleared, showing Terror and Salix back on the ground with Storm getting closer. Flash saw Storm spin the dial on his weapon before looking himself over, seeing he was soaked from the last attack, now knowing an electrical attack was probably about to happen.

"Flash..." Trixie slowly said, "If that whole 'not able to use Sacred Light thing' was a joke, now would be a really good time to say gotcha and actually use it."

Flash shook his head, "Sorry, but its no joke. I tried before, but it just won't activate."

---

As those words left Flash's mouth, Shadow shrunk in his throne. "So it's not just me," he whispered.

"That's good," Tempera added, "At least we'll be on equal hoofing until we figure out what's causing the issue."

"It's clear what's causing it," Armalum spoke up without even looking at the screen. "There is a being here of incredible power, so much power that it's able to suppress the pegasus and master Shadow." He then glared at the others, "The issue is finding whoever this is and getting them to reverse it."

"And once it is reversed, I can take their power for myself." Shadow growled as a dark aura consumed his horn, "Nopony can control me...and nopony but me deserves this power. Once I have it, I'll use it to destroy all those before me." The others all shrunk at their master's tone, all not remembering the last time they've seen him this angry.

"Well master, we make sure they regret it." Armalum responded as he now started to stare at the screen.

---

Back at the battle...

"What do we do?" Soarin asked Flash again.

"First off, I'm soaked," Flash responded while sweeping his dripping mane away from his eyes. "If he hits me with a lightning bolt, I may end up down for the count. Think you can keep him away from me until I dry off?"

"No problem," Soarin flared his wings before rocketed at Salix and Terror, leaving a trail of wind behind him. He then zipped between the duo, the wind staggering both as it buffeted them.

Storm saw the pegasus race past his teammates and head straight for him, "Nice try, Storm Shot!" The blade then sparked as it fired a countless stream of electrical volts. Soarin zigzagged through the street, slipping past the barrage of lightning bolts with every bit of his energy. As he did this, the bolts only skimmed his ear and made his mane stand on end before reaching Storm.

"You're mine!" Soarin threw a punch, only for Storm to block it with his staff. But as this happened, Soaring slung his hoof over the weapon, now trying to pull it out of the cultist's hooves.

"Hey! Let go!" Storm growled as he tried to pulled the naginata free.

"No way!" Soarin barked as they started spinning in midair, both soon kicking their back legs at one another as they continued to hold onto the sword.

"You really think you can beat me?! You are but a gust of wind, trying to blow against a raging storm!"

"And you're that storm?" Soarin replied with a cocky grin.

"I am Storm!" he roared as he then slammed his knee into Soarin's gut, causing him to lose his grip on the blade. The dark blue Pegasus then pulled away before spinning the dial so that it was constantly turning. "Storm Blade..." He pointed his weapon at Soarin, "Now be blown away by my might! STORM TRI-FORCE!" From out of the blade shot a tornado made of both water and wind, elements now electrified by the lightning.

"WHOA!" Soarin yelped as he tried to outrun the tornado, flying behind a building as it hit the structure, instantly turning it into a pile of rubble. But as he did this, a stray blade of electrified wind flew off the tornado and hit him in the side. "GYAH!" He cried as he was then slammed into the side of a building, his side now being slashed open. He slumped down next, only to spread his wings to slowly glide down.

Storm began to laugh as his weapon sparked, "Told you! Now...let's end this. Storm Cutter!" The blade of lightning shot at Soarin, the Wonderbolt clutching his side before taking to the air again, dodging the attack before flying away, Storm following as his blade continued to charge, "You can't run forever!"

As this happened, Flash had started attacking the other two, "Flash Vortex!" He spun like a top, now creating a tornado of light.

Salix opened his mouth, spewing a stream of fire at the light, causing an explosion. Seeing this, Terror leap away and pulled out a card, quickly throwing it up before a dome of light appeared. Flash blinked at the sight, now seeing that the card had an image of a pony with a infinity sign above it.

It came to a stop and was right side up, "Arcana of the Magician!" The dome shrank until it only held Terror, quickly exploding into a blast of light that went into her, "Yes! What a boost!" She then launched a beam at Flash, this one being twice the size from her earlier attacks.

"Whoa!" Flash yelped as he flapped backward, dodging the attack as the beam then hit a building, causing it to explode.

"Now that card boosted her." Trixie whispered as she stared at Terror, "Just what is her magic? Is it-"

"Hey!" She turned to see Salix running at her, "Don't forget about me!" He spun around and flicked his tail, sending a large fireball out that Trixie quickly teleported away from.

"Alright..." Trixie hissed as she reappeared, "Since one playmate doesn't seem to be enough for you-" Her horn sparked as she created a cloud of smokescreen, enveloping her before yelling, "HAVE ALL THE PLAYMATES YOU CAN STAND!"

An army of Trixies raced out of the smoke, making Salix go wide-eyed. As this happened, Flash was still trying to hit Terror, "Flash Cutter!" he fired another light blade, only for the mare to teleport away before throwing up another card, this one forming another dome around them as the card spun. Flash tried to fly out of the dome, only for it to grow in size no matter how high he went. As he did this, he looked back down and saw Salix taking out Trixie's clones, making him growl as he turned to the spinning card. "If I can't escape this dome thing, I'll just get rid of the card! Flash Cutter!"

He fired the light blade at the card....only for it to go right through it, his attack phasing right through. "Oh, come on!"

"HA!" Terror laughed as the card came to a stop, once again right side up. "Arcana of the Chariot!" The dome shrank down around her again, Flash preparing to block anything coming.

But as he did this and the light enveloped Terror...she disappeared, only for Flash to feel a beam of magic smack his stomach. "AUGH!" he yelped as he hit back, the defender looking down to see Terror running down the street at now mach speed. "What the heck?!"

He then began to fire Flash Cutters down at her, Terror easily dodging each one. While this happened, the Trixies started to circle around Salix, "You like games? Then how about we play catch me if you can!"

"GRAAH!" Salix unleashed a wave of fire from his mane, the flames colliding with several of the unicorns, only to reveal them all to be fake.

"Missed me!"

As this happened, Flash kept zipping back and forth, dodging Terror's spells as he kept firing Flash Cutters. But as this happened, Terror just evaded every blow with ease, only to toss another card up, "Try this one!" Another dome formed around her and Flash, the defender now seeing the new card. This one showed a pony carrying a bindle, which Flash tried to slash at but to no avail. As he did this, he decided to land, trying to attack Terror head on as the card stopped in an upright position.

"Arcana of the Fool!" Terror laughed as the dome began to shrink until it only surrounded Flash, "Prepare for a whole minute of bad luck."

"What?" Flash asked before suddenly tripping over some rubble from a destroyed building. "Ack!" He quickly tried to pick himself up, only for his hoof to slip on another piece of rubble, making him stumble again, "Gah! What's happening to me?!"

"Did you not listen?! That is the fool arcana," Terror sparked her horn, "For one whole minute, you'll have the worst of luck." She then fired another beam, Flash trying to dodge...only to trip and get struck at the same time.

"AUGH!" He yelped before taking back to the air, "There! No way I can trip over debris in the air!" But as he did this, a cracking sound hit his ears, making him look up to see a building above him fall apart over his head, "Oh, come on!"

Salix and the Trixie clones saw this and gasped, "FLASH!" The scream caused her to lose focus, the illusions vanishing in that moment.

"I see you!" Trixie spun around to see an extra large fireball now coming for her. The mare responded with a small shield that the flames exploded into, sending her flying back with a scream before hitting the the rock pile Flash was under.

---

"This is going from bad to worse," Ruby commented as she stared at the screen showing Terror Card, "I've never seen such magic."

Heart turned to Springer with a big frown, "Flash's luck should be back to normal now, right?"

"It's been about a minute," the jakhowl replied.

"But that one minute may have turned to tide of this entire battle," Cold added.

"What about Soarin?" Soul asked, Springer pressing his name to change the screen.

---

Soarin moaned as he staggered through the street, his wing holding his wound to stop the bleeding. As he did this, he heard a whistling echo through the street, making him tense up before pinning himself against a wall. The whistling pulsed between getting louder and quieter, only to suddenly jump as a Storm appeared from the wall's corner with his sword, "Storm Shot!"

A lightning bolt flew at Soarin, the pegasus barely managing to duck under it. As it flew overhead and hit some barrels behind him, he scraped his hoof along the ground, Storm dashing at him before Soarin swung his hoof upward, a cloud dust now hitting Storm's face. "GYAH!" He yelped as he had to close his eyes from the grains, letting Soaring spin and thrust his backhooves into Storm's face, knocking him flying into some crates. "BLAUGH!"

As this happened, Soarin couldn't hear the cheers from his friends that were watching, the Wonderbolt now spreading his wings to take to the air while moaning at the pain of his wound.

And as he tried to get back to his friends, Salix and Terror were staring at Trixie and the rubble pile, Salix speaking up, "Do you think we got 'em? I mean, they look like they're down for the count to me. That one pegasi just got crushed under a ton of rocks and I basically almost barbequed the-wait...didn't master want us to bring him to him?! Oh no, are we gonna be in trouble?! I don't wanna be in trouble! I-"

"RAAAAAHHHHH!" A loud roar erupted from the rock pile, an explosion of dust following this before Flash flew out, now glaring at the duo with pure white eyes.

"Oh goody, he's alive!" Salix let out a long sigh, "We're safe."

"Hardly!" Flash growled as he charged at both, Terror and Salix trying to counter, only for Flash to zip right past their attacks. "Flash Cutter!" He slashed his blade through the air, unleashing a large energy wave that both hopped away from, only to feel their hooves slip out from under them.

They both grunted as they fell over, now seeing that the street was coated in ice. Both looked up to see Trixie smiling at them, her horn showing she had turned the ground into an ice rick. As this happened, Flash flew around the two, circling so fast that he began to create a tornado to encase them.

As this happened, Trixie saw Soarin land nearby, the mare seeing the cut his hoof was clutching onto, "What happened?"

"I'm fine," he told her before Flash leapt out of the tornado, dodging a bolt of lightning that now struck the cyclone, dissipating it in a single blow.

And as the tornado faded, a very dizzy Terror and Salix staggered out before standing next to Storm, "Let's end this," Storm declared as he pointed his blade at Flash.

"Couldn't agree more," Flash replied as both Terror and Trixie acted in unison, firing a beam one another as Flash and Storm met in midair while Soarin began to evade Salix's flames. But as this happened, one fireball hit Soarin's wing, makig him cry out before falling over.

"Gotcha!" Salix cheered as he charged at the pegasi with blazing hooves, "Time for a roast!"

"NO!" Flash and Trixie yelled, Flash managing to kick Storm away while Trixie broke her spell and then fired another one at the defender, "FLASH!" The pegasi suddenly found himself teleported between Salix and Soarin, the nirik's eyes going wide in surprise.

"FLASH..." He pointed his crossguard at the kirin, "FORCE!" The laser shot out of his sword and struck him dead on, hitting full power at Salix's chest.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" He screamed as the blast struck him, knocking him flying down the street before crashing into a pile of debris.

"SALIX!" His teammates yelped as they quickly ran after him.

As they retreated, Flash and Trixie ran over to Soarin's side and helped him up, the two steadying him as they watched the others with caution. They then saw Salix begin to pick himself up, now showing a large burn mark on his chest. "Salix?" He looked up at Storm and Terror, "You alright?" The kirin said nothing, only looking down at his new injury. "Come on, don't stop talking now."

"I...I feel weird." Storm and Terror were about to ask what he meant, but their words dried up when they saw it. Specks of what they could only see as dust began to float off of Salix's body. It was just a few bits, only for them to start increasing until his entire body eventually became consumed by it. Salix just gasped as he saw himself start to fade away, "Wha...what's happening to me?" Storm and Terror were unable to reply, speechless as saw him completely disappear. "Guys-" His speech was cut off as his body then exploded into dust, the wind instantly picking up the particles.

"SALIX!" they both screamed.

Flash, Soarin and Trixie were just as shocked, the others watching the battle also horrified at the sight. "Salix..." Tempera covered her mouth with her hooves as tears formed in her eyes, the others just standing in pure silence.

As for Shadow, he just stared at the spot his minion had previously been, unable to comprehend the sight, "Salix."

While this happened, Storm's entire body shook, Terror unable to hold back her tears as the pegasus's face changed from sorrow to pure rage. "RAAAAAHHHHH!" He screamed as he grabbed his sword and spun around, pointing it at Flash and the others. "STORM FORCE!" A tornado shot out of the weapon and flew at the three, Soarin being the only one able to react.

"Look out!" He flexed his wings with enough force to push Flash and Trixie away from him before the tornado hit him, the Wonderbolt being hoisted into the air before being flung into one of the buildings.

"SOARIN!" Flash yelled before Storm suddenly appeared next to him. "Gah!" Storm then cut Flash's cheek, the defender staggering back as Storm grinned at the drop of blood appearing on his weapon's tip. He then tried to slice Flash again, only for the defender to block the attack, quickly countering with a punch to Storm's face.

While this happened, Terror screeched out a roar of anger, firing a magic blast at Trixie. The showmare quickly dodged it by teleporting away, only for both begin a standstill as they fired magic beams at each other, Terror no longer caring about using her card magic.

And as the battle restarted between the ponies, Soarin was now laying in a pile of rubble. His entire body was screaming in pain at him, only for the pain to suddenly vanish. "Huh?" he yelped before looking down at his body...only to go wide-eyed, "Oh no."

Like Salix, his body was starting to emit pieces of dust.

"SOARIN!" Springer yelled at the screen, everypony all going wide-eyed again.

"Not him too," Ruby added.

Soarin screamed as he rolled around, getting back onto his hooves. "No! I won't...be taken!"

But as he did this, he looked up to find himself now looking at a small glimmer of light. Blinking at it, he saw it was a small silver orb, no bigger then a marble, which was simply floating in the middle of the room he had crashed into.

"What?" Soarin whispered as he suddenly felt himself drawn to the object. Now trotting over to the sphere as his body continued to crumble, he reached out and pressed it with hoof. And as he did this, a blast of light show out of the orb, consuming him in an instant.

And the light continued to grow after this, filling the room before going outside. The light began to devour the whole city, consuming Flash, Storm, Trixie and Terror before they could even react.

---

Winners, Team Flash!

Those words had now appeared on a now completely whited out screen in the castle before vanishing. Everypony blinked at the screen, Soul chiming in, "What just happened?"

Cold, Ruby and Springer all exchanged glances, Cold being the one to speak up, "I'm...not sure."

Before anypony could say anything else, the room was filled with a flash of light above them, only for three ponies to fall from the light, landing into a pile.

"Blaugh!" they all yelped as the others saw it was Flash, Trixie and Soarin.

And as they were pulled out of pile, Springer asked, "Are you okay?"

"I...think so. Not my best day on the battlefield, but I'm okay." Flash held his head only to go wide-eyed. "Soarin, you okay?"

"He's fine," Ruby commented as he held him down to inspect his wound...only to find it healed, as if it was stitched up with no stiches. "I don't know how...but he's okay."

"Still hurts," Soarin grunted as he rubbed his side.

"What happened to you? We saw you were turning to dust." Cold asked him next, Trixie and Flash's eyes widening in shock at the question, "What happened?"

"I'm not sure. The pain just vanished and I started disappearing. Then I saw that orb."

"Orb?" Flash's question was met by a light coming from the map, making everypony turn to see the orb Soarin had found was now floating above their castle. The whole room then seemed to glow brightly for a moment before dying down, everypony now blinking in confusion.

"Um...what was that?" Heart asked, only to get no answer.

"I have a feeling we're just gonna have to figure that one out for ourselves." the defender commented as a new thought entered his head, one he didn't like at all. "Something's playing a game with us," Flash grumbled while crossing his hooves, the rest of his friends glancing around the room. "And if we wanna survive, we're gonna have to win."

Author's Note:

So now you know how this story's gonna play out. Hope you enjoyed it and please tell me what you think.

Comments

[Godslittleprincess]

The only question I have is "Why?" Why a game? This kinda sounds like something Discord would do if he wasn't reformed.

[SpikeSmolder fan]

Oh boy, looks like in this game you play for keeps!!!!

With what we just saw I sadly believe some of our heroes may experience Salix's fate, gotta wonder where he went though cause there's no way he could be really gone!
Think I have more questions than answers at this point, we'll see how this goes from here on out!

And now, show me the highlights!!!

Shadow said nothing, just growling as he stared at the repairing city before him. His mind burned with one thought: ' Something is trapping us here...how dare they. Nopony makes my decisions. They will pay for this. ' He then slammed his hoof into the throne's arms, "It seems all we can do is wait. Start looking around. There may be something here that can help us." The others nodded and began to move to the door with a handle, Shadow turning to the other with the large keyhole.

Well sorry *Mr jerkface* you don't get to decide this time around!

Heart laughed at this, whispering something in Soul's ear. "Ew!" she gasped before glaring at him in disgust, "That's gross!"

lol yeah, 'nuff said!

"I'm not that loud," Soarin pouted. "And you haven't complained about it before."

"That's because I kept casting a silencing spell on you whenever we slept," Trixie responded before turning to Cold. "Want me to show you how it works?"

Now that's handy!

Flash shook his head, "Sorry, but its no joke. I tried before, but it just won't activate."

As those words left Flash's mouth, Shadow shrunk in his throne. "So it's not just me," he whispered.

Hmmm so no ancient power from both sides, interesting!

"I...I feel weird." Storm and Terror were about to ask what he meant, but their words dried up when they saw it. Specks of what they could only see as dust began to float off of Salix's body. It was just a few bits, only for them to start increasing until his entire body eventually became consumed by it. Salix just gasped as he saw himself start to fade away, "Wha...what's happening to me?" Storm and Terror were unable to reply, speechless as saw him completely disappear. "Guys-" His speech was cut off as his body then exploded into dust, the wind instantly picking up the particles.

Okay that was shocking, not sure how I'm gonna handle it when it's one of our heroes in the same situation cause you know it's gonna happen!

Let's see what the next chapter will bring, still hoping that the ones that disappear from this game are somehow safe!

[SuperSonicHeroes]

Wow, that was epic! Something is playing a "game" with the heroes and villains, but the question is for what? It would have been a lot easier if the teams were told rules or something for these "matches" but I guess they'll need to figure that out as they go. That weird orb Soarin found won his team the match, so I guess that's the key to winning instead of just fighting aimlessly. Now they just need to figure out what the orb is for.

Interesting that Flash can't use the Sacred Light, and Shadow can't use his own powers, I'm guessing he has the Corrupting Shadow. I wonder what happened to Salix though? Reduced to dust Infinity War style is not a pretty way to go. But is he really dead or just eliminated from this game? Admirably, it was kinda sweet that his teammates were shown to still care for him despite being annoyed by him. Even Shadow seemed a bit shocked at his fate.

[Foxhelm]

I have a feeling that this was only round one...

[SuperSonicHeroes]

10156987
That is a good question. Though I personally am also curious who or what is doing this, and how they are strong enough to restrain Flash and Shadow’s powers.