Atlas Strongest Tournament

by Bico

Game of Death: Enter the Dragon

ATLAS STRONGEST TOURNAMENT
~BICO
PART 9: GAME OF DEATH
ACT I: ENTER THE DRAGON

"Wake up, Spike... wake up."

The voice pierced through the dark in Spike's head, pulling him from his dreamless sleep. He tried to stretch his limbs, but found himself held fast. "Wh-what's going on? Where am I?" His eyes opened slowly, and his vision was filled with orange. He squinted and the blur slowly came into focus. "Scootaloo?"

Scootaloo's muzzle was brushing up against Spike's snout, fair purple stromas gazing into his pistachio eyes. "You look cute when you're sleeping, but I think we'll have a lot more fun if you're awake."

Spike's eyes bulged as she pressed her lips against his. Scootaloo's kissing me... again. But... last time it was really Wavedancer, wasn't it? This is different... it's... Wavedancer's smooch had been like a calm sea: warm, salty, and inviting. This was more like that time he'd woken up from a particularly enjoyable dream making out with Twilight's encyclopaedia. He pulled away, licking his lips awkwardly.

"Wh-what, did you not like it?" Scootaloo asked. "All data I've collected suggested that you found this form pleasing."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Spike objected, his face flushing fiercely. "I mean, it's not that I don't think you're cute... but..."

Ran Biao's face filled his vision, Scootaloo nowhere to be seen. "Then maybe you'd like this one. Exotic, mysterious, and dangerous." She ran her forked tongue along Spike's cheek, and then brushed it across his lips.

"Wait, what's..." Spike started to say before Ran's tongue found its way up his left nostril. "Okay... this is creepy, but it's not really 'Ran Biao' creepy."

Ran disappeared behind him and Wavedancer slipped into view from the other side. "Maybe you prefer that swimmer's body? Sleek, toned, and graceful?"

"That seems a little shallow," Spike commented.

"Then again, Momma always said that stallions think fillies are cute only when they're mute," Wavedancer said with a pensive stroke of her chin. Her fins disappeared and were replaced by hind legs. She wiggled her flank, drawing Spike's eyes to her newly revealed pearl cutie mark. Wavedancer gave him a knowing smile as her cheeks flushed.

Spike shook his head. "Wavedancer isn't the type to stay quiet for long. Besides, I like hearing her talk. She's smart and insightful, just like Twilight."

Wavedancer scowled and ducked under his field of vision, and Princess Scales popped back up. "I see. Perhaps you need a female of the same species to really get your blood boiling."

"Whoa, whoa. I'm not some kind of racist," Spike said. "I'll have you know that Scales is one of the most awesome pranksters I know aside from Pinkie Pie."

"What about Rainbow Dash?" Scales asked.

"Good, but her pranking style is a little two-dimensional. Pinkie and Scales really think outside the box," Spike explained.

Scales frowned. "Okay. I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice." A wicked grin crossed her face and she blew her flame in Spike's face. When the fire died, Rarity's form stood before him, batting her eyes sensually. "I know how you feel about me. Since the day you first laid eyes on my luxurious mane and tail, this silky coat, and my toned, shapely—"

"Th-that's enough!" Spike said, his face heating enough that steam began to pour from his nostrils.

Rarity's eyes narrowed as she bared her teeth in satisfaction. "No, Spike. It's never been enough, has it? All this time you've seen this body being flaunted before you, and as close as you get, you've never been able to claim it." She leaned in close, so that he could feel her shallow breaths on his lips. "Are you going to take me?"

Spike could barely breath as his heart pounded in his chest. "I would certainly like to..."

"I know you would," Rarity said. She breathed deeply of his scent as she gently nuzzled his cheek. "I can feel your greed. It gives you focus; makes you stronger."

"You're wrong," Spike said firmly. "I know what my greed does, and it's not pretty. Besides, that isn't even your body to offer. You're a changeling!"

The false Rarity gasped. "How did you know?"

"Well," Spike said, gesturing as much as he could with his head. "I noticed pretty quick that I'm trapped up to my neck in a changeling cocoon. That was honestly a pretty big spoiler."

"I see," the changeling said with a snort.

"So... who are you, really?" Spike asked, his voice gentler and filled with curiosity.

The changeling blushed. "You want to know about... me? I mean, 'me' me?"

"Your name's Mimi?" Spike asked. "Kind of weird, but cute."

"No!" the changeling shouted. "I am Aurelia, princess of all changelings, and I'm here to seduce you to the dark side."

"Oh," Spike said pensively. "I guess if you really want to seduce me, you can start off by telling me more about yourself." He smiled helpfully at her.

Princess Aurelia suddenly couldn't meet her captive's eyes. "You sure are different from the last 'Spike' we caught. W-well, anyway, if you must know, my egg was laid about three years ago, and I was incubated with twenty other..."

---

---

Scootaloo groaned as she felt healing magic wash over her. She clenched her eyes before blinking them open, and she looked into the midnight blue face of her caregiver. "Princess Luna?"

"Good morning, Scootaloo," Luna said with a soft smile. "I am pleased that you have awoken with minimal issue."

"Rarity..." Scootaloo prompted. "And Spike. Everypony else. What happened to them?"

Luna's face fell. "I fear the changeling queen has made off with our friends. However, fret not, for all is not lost. We know to where the changelings have fled, and have already assembled a search party."

"I'm going," Scootaloo insisted, rising out of Luna's cradling forelegs. When her hooves hit the floor, she looked around and realized she was surrounded by ponies. They all just saw the princess holding me like a foal... She avoided the assembled group's collective gaze. "Uh... hey?"

"Young Scootaloo," Luna said softly. "You have been through more than most of these ponies. Please let us take care of it."

Scootaloo looked pensively at Luna and then around at the assembled ponies. Her gaze paused on Sweetie Belle, who was trying and failing to put on a stoic mask. Her heart dropped into her stomach. "No... there are ponies who are going through a lot worse. I have to go."

Twilight stepped forward, a pair of bulging saddlebags strapped down over her wings, and gave her an appreciative smile. "Scootaloo, I'm very happy that you're so adamant about helping us save Spike and the others." She winked knowingly. "I have no problem having you in our party..."

"Wait," Pinkie interrupted. "I didn't know this was a party! Where'd I put my cannon?"

Twilight momentarily gave Pinkie a bemused stare before turning back to Scootaloo and flashing a welcoming grin. "Really, you'd be a valuable asset to us..."

A snort came from the back of the herd, and the ponies parted to let Amber Spark hobble to the front. "An asset? Not in that condition, she's not."

"H-hey," Scootaloo protested, her cheeks flushing brightly. "You're not in any position to talk, Master Spark. You got just as beat up as me!"

"That's not what I'm talking about," Amber said with a roll of her eyes. "We've both been healed of our wounds. For a mission like this, you are ill-prepared."

"Me? Ill-prepared? I made it to the Finals!" Scootaloo protested.

"The tournament had rules," Amber Spark said. "This time, anything goes."

"Master Spark," Twilight gently interceded. "It's not a problem, really. Scootaloo has proven herself capable..."

"Not to me," Amber said.

"You're not my master," Scootaloo said, her fur bristling.

Amber laughed. "You're right, but your master got captured and I am your 'grandmaster,' as you said."

Scootaloo faltered. "I... I have to... I can't just leave them..."

Luna placed a silver-shod hoof on Scootaloo's withers comfortingly. "Young Scootaloo, Master Spark is correct. You could very well be a key player in this new conflict, but not as you are. You are not yet ready."

Shivering with barely restrained emotion, Scootaloo turned to the princess. "Don't you see? I... I'm responsible. I fell for those changelings' lame tricks, and because of that I broke a promise to a friend." She glanced briefly back at the assembled herd, where in the rear she could barely catch a glimpse of Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom standing together, the former of whom looked away as their eyes met. She looked back to Luna, her eyes determined. "I'm going to fix that mistake."

Luna looked down on Scootaloo with a proud smile. "I know you will, Scootaloo. Please trust me, then, when I say that the best way to do that is to stay here with Master Spark... at least, for a little while."

"Six hours," Amber said, causing Scootaloo and the rest of the ponies to refocus their attention on her. She stood straight and confident, brimming with the power of a mare half her age. "Give me six hours, and you'll be ready."

Scootaloo's face was a mask of conflicted emotion. "That's a long time to wait, Master Spark, but not a long time to train. What can you do in that time that will get me ready if I'm not right now?"

Amber's eyes bore grimly into Scootaloo. "I can take you to Tartaros and back. Will you join me?"

Scootaloo gave a questioning glance to Twilight.

"We can't wait for you," Twilight said, her face pained at delivering the news. "But it will take us several hours just to reach the changelings' lair, and I'm sure it will take awhile to defeat them."

"That's right," Apple Bloom cut in. "We'll save a few for ya, right Sweetie Belle?"

Sweetie uncertainly came out from behind Apple Bloom and gave Scootaloo a sad smile. "Y-yeah. You still have to help me save my sister. I'm sure you'll be able to do it."

"Aw, I dunno," Babs Seed said from beside Scootaloo, who jumped at the unexpected presence. "I might get a little carried away, so don't take too long. I owe those suckers a few licks for catchin' me off guard like that."

Wavedancer put her hoof in the air and waggled it about frantically. "Ooh, I call dibs on saving Spike."

"No way!" Scales interrupted, pouncing on Wavedancer's back and forcing her to the ground. "Saving Spike is my job. We are both dragons, after all, and as a princess..."

Scootaloo scowled and gave Amber a beleaguered look.

"Yes," Amber reassured her. "You'll be able to save your little boyfriend, too, before any of these silly fillies."

With a determined visage, Scootaloo bowed to her grandmaster. "I humbly accept your training, Master Spark."

Amber grinned. "Ooh, you are so much more pleasant than Rainbow." She leaned in conspiratorially. "Just don't tell her I said that."

---

"When you said you'd take me to Tartaros and back, I thought you were being figurative," Scootaloo said, staring at the blackness of the cave entrance with a sense of dread. As bad as it was to be standing as deep within the Everfree Forest as they were, entering this cave was considered even more foolhardy.

"Worry not," Luna said, lowering her head to Scootaloo's level to look her in the eyes. "You have little to fear from the denizens of The Pit with me around."

Amber Spark chortled to herself and nodded. "That's right. The training you're about to receive is far more worth fearing."

Scootaloo crossed her forelegs and pouted. "Yeah, but you still haven't explained exactly what I'm going to have to do."

"That's easy enough," Amber said with an arched brow. "Your job will be to survive."

"What's that supposed to..." Scootaloo trailed off as Amber began to heave. "M-Master Spark? Are... are you gonna toss chunks or something?"

With a sickening retch, Amber coughed up a bronze orb that crackled with power. She wiped her mouth and held the sphere in her hoof. "This... this is what I call the Jupiter Wave Orb. It was created from a fragment of King Jupiter's Master Bolt."

Scootaloo cocked her head. "'King Jupiter'? 'Master Bolt'?"

"You don't pay attention in school much, do you?" Amber quipped with a derisive glare.

Luna giggled into her hoof. "Please, let me explain. You remember Princess Rodi, yes? My sister-in-law? Well, she is the daughter of one of the Three Queens of Olympus, Queen Salacia. Salacia's cohorts are Queen Proserpina of Earth and Queen Juno of Magic."

"Uh... yeah, I remember that," Scootaloo said shiftily. "I thought that stuff about the Three Queens was all legends, though."

Luna nodded. "In a way, but I can assure you that the Three Queens, themselves, are quite real, though they are honor-bound not to interfere in the affairs of Equestria." She began to pace as she spoke, reminding Scootaloo briefly of Twilight's lecture habits. "All three queens, however, are sisters by way of their marriage to three brothers. Neptune, the creator of all ponykind, is Salacia's husband. Pluto, the lord of the underworld, is Proserpina's. King Jupiter, of course, is the mighty Juno's husband, and as the husband of the Queen of Magic as well as the lord of the sky, it is only natural that he was made the caretaker of the Master Bolt, which is the original lightning bolt from whence all others spring."

Scootaloo blinked several times, trying her best to look as if she hadn't been about to fall asleep. "Got it. So this thing here is a piece of that original bolt?"

Amber nodded. "I received it on an adventure long ago, and discovered that even as a small piece of the Master Bolt, it is capable of generating massive amounts of lightning."

Scootaloo stared at Amber pensively. "So... you swallowed it?"

"That was originally quite on accident," Amber explained, a sheepish smile crossing her lips as she looked away. "However, if it hadn't been for that mistake, I would never have discovered the Jupiter Lance."

"So how's this thing supposed to help me?" Scootaloo inquired with a huff. "What am I supposed to do?"

Luna's horn came to life, and with a pop of air chains appeared and wrapped themselves around Scootaloo, pinning her down. "Amber already told you," she said with a sad smile. "Survive."

Amber tossed the Jupiter Wave Orb into Scootaloo's mouth, whose jaw had dropped just enough to allow a straight shot down her gullet. "Don't worry about the chains, kid. Those are just so you don't hurt yourself trying to make the pain go away."

Scootaloo choked and coughed as the glowing bronze made its way down her throat. "Wh-wh-what?"

Amber nodded to Princess Luna, who used her magic once more to summon a solid iron box. "Sorry, kid," she said. "I'm really, truly sorry." She clenched her eyes shut as even through the thick metal she could hear the screams beginning.

---

Chrysalis lounged on her moth-eaten throne in the middle of a large, dungeon-like room lit only by torches, a crystal sphere floating just out of her reach. The ball glowed with light, images flashing inside them. She scowled as she saw the subject of her ire depicted within. "She's coming straight for us. We haven't had enough time to corrupt him."

"My Queen," Lulamoon said, bowing before her sovereign. "Surely your great and powerful self has nothing to fear from the likes of them, especially when you have the power of the highest level fighters in all Equestria at your command."

Chrysalis pondered this as she watched the group of ponies making their way to her tower. She had captured half of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, of course, so it was natural that Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy would all be at the forefront of the rescue team. Perhaps not so naturally with Fluttershy, Chrysalis considered, but she was sure that the others had by now a thorough understanding of how to prod the coward into action.

Some of the others also didn't surprise Chrysalis. Babs Seed, Princess Scalestasia, and Wavedancer were naturally there, continuing their ongoing attempt to undermine her plans. Sweetie Belle was somewhat surprising in spite of her attachment to her sister, as Chrysalis hadn't pegged her as much of a fighter, but Apple Bloom being there may have made up for whatever courage she might have lacked. However, it seemed that aside from the ponies she'd expected, all the fighters from the preliminaries were trailing behind them as well, including a fully greed-grown dragon.

"If I may," Argent interjected. "While I'm sure we could handle the one hundred twenty or so fighters currently heading toward us, it would perhaps be sounder strategy to... thin the herd, as it were?"

"Hmmmm..." Chrysalis rubbed her chin with a holey hoof. "They have to pass through the entire Everfree Forest to reach our stronghold here. And there is a certain creature that might take offense to such a group passing through its territory..."

Lulamoon scratched the back of her hooded head nervously. "The... the Ursa Major?"

"What?" Chrysalis asked, staring incredulously at Lulamoon. "Don't be ridiculous. A pony would have to be either stupid or crazy to think they could mess with an Ursa." She shuddered. "No, no. I'll use something I can control. And could defeat should it actually resist my will." She sat upright on her throne and took the crystal ball in her hooves. The scene within changed to that of a large, green-scaled dragon snoring upon a mountain of jewels. "Now... it's time for you to wake up..."

---

---

"Thank you very much, Mister Garble," Twilight said graciously as she supervised the less airborne members of their party across his back.

Garble snorted irately as he hung suspended over a large gorge. "I didn't sign up for this. Where's the fighting? I want to bash the strong ponies."

"Now, now," Fluttershy said softly as she drifted over to the dragon's large left eye. She patted him on the brow. "It's just like I told you, you'll have your chance to get exercise once we get there. For now you'll have to behave. Can you do that for me?"

Garble squinted uncomfortably. "I... I guess so."

"That's a good dragon," Fluttershy cooed.

When the entirety of the rescue party was on the other side, Twilight pulled out a map, on which a small, blue dot glowed. "We're getting close."

"I sure am glad of that," Braeburn said as he walked beside his younger cousins, Babs Seed and Apple Bloom. "We're probably within hollerin' distance of A-a-appleloosa by now."

"Closer to Dodge City, actually," Twilight said, pointing to the map. "In fact, this isn't very far from the Two Sisters Castle, where... where Old Ponyville used to be during the times of the Confederated States of Equestria."

"Oh, I don't think anypony wants to hear some boring ol' exposition, Twilight," Pinkie interjected. "It's just going to spoil it when they find out later."

"Foreshadowing, Pinkie," Twilight responded irately. Her eyes widened as she realized what she'd done, and she snorted. "Dam it, Pinkie, now you've got me talking about reality in literary terminology."

"Hey, I thought you liked books," Pinkie said, pouting.

"Anyway, it should be a continuity nod, since it's already happened," Twilight continued as she flew ahead of the group. She paused midair and narrowed her eyes as a new thought occurred to her. "Unless this is being written in anachronic order. Then this could be a call forward." She gasped, her grabbing her head in her hooves as her words began to pour out more frantically. "Or this could be a flash-forward framed by a flashback of an unreliable narrator who's been unstuck in time! Mother of Celestia, help us!"

"Whoa, Twilight," Pinkie said, pulling her back down to Earth. "I think somepony needs to lay off the Comprehensive Media Trope Encyclopaedia, vol. XLII. It says right in the introduction that it'll ruin your life, ya know."

Twilight took a deep, calming breath and smiled. "You're right, Pinkie. I don't know what came over—"

An angry roar pierced through the sounds of the forest and overshadowed the assembled group's chatter. Above the canopy rose an emerald dragon who belched flames angrily as he approached them. He landed on the other side of the gorge they had just crossed and snarled, locking his eyes on Garble. "My forest," he growled, and looked at the assembled masses. "My little ponies. Mine!"

"Everypony run!" Twilight shouted, and the assembled group scattered, with the exception of Garble, who met the other dragon's gaze, his eyes burning with fury. "Garble... hurry!"

Garble paid no heed, his own territorial instincts driving him. With a voracious roar, he charged the larger dragon, leaping effortlessly over the chasm between them and swiping with a claw. His attack was stopped short, however, when the other dragon caught his hand and grabbed his arm, throwing him to the ground.

The green dragon flapped his wings, flying backward to the other side of the chasm. He dropped into a cross horse stance and held an arm in front of him while the other was cocked back. He turned the palm of his leading arm up and flexed his fingers, beckoning Garble to attack.

"No, Garble, bad Garble!" Fluttershy shouted. "You come here right now, Mister!"

Garble took to the air and blew a stream of fire the dragon of the Everfree. The other dragon ignored the flames and grabbed him again as he came within range, pushing him to the ground and raising a clenched fist to pound him. A magic blast rocked him back, however, and Garble found himself being dragged away telekinetically.

Twilight flew above Garble and shot him a cantankerous look. "Are you done yet? Run. That way!" She pointed a hoof in the direction of Luna's undercover agent.

Garble took a look at the emerald scaled dragon, who was glaring hotly at him, and instantly decided that perhaps self-preservation was more important than standing up to a rival. He scrambled to his feet and took off, quickly overtaking the smaller fighters.

The larger dragon was after them a moment later, and he was gaining fast. He barreled through some of the slower members of the group, slapping them aside with his hands and whipping them with his tail as he went past. He was only slowed down when another blast of magic from Twilight knocked him back again.

Twilight snorted as she turned back around. "I don't get it. We're right on top of the agent's indicator on the map, now, but I don't see anything." She glanced toward the emerald scaled dragon, who was already picking himself up. She silently cursed dragons' magical resistance. "Okay, gotta make this quick. Why don't I see anything? Well, the map is only a two dimensional representation, so it could be above us..."

"No way," Gilda the griffon said, looking into the sky. "My eagle eyes don't see a thing for miles."

"It could also be underground," Twilight reasoned.

"Not here!" Fido the Diamond Dog said as he and his two compatriots popped out of the ground.

Twilight pondered this conundrum, but was interrupted by a loud roar from the green dragon. She turned and saw that the other fighters were piling on him, though he was defending himself quite adequately. A mule in a ninja mask ran up the dragon's body and spring-boarded high above him while wielding a throwing star larger than his own body. The ninja mule threw the star, but the dragon caught it between two claws.

The emerald dragon smirked as he saw that this new weapon was a reasonable size for him, and his eyes locked once more on Garble, who froze with fear. He launched the star, and it sliced Garble's cheek, continuing on until it hit... nothing. The throwing star stopping seemingly in midair, one of its points completely gone.

"That's it," Twilight said. "They were able to turn their airship invisible, so why not their stronghold?" She squinted as she attempted to think of a solution. "The changelings seem to use dark magic to accomplish their illusions, so maybe..." A somber gloom gathered around her horn, and her irises flashed red even as her sclera began to glow green. A beam of shadow erupted from her, and struck the invisible obstruction, spreading across it and giving it form even as its shadow spread across the land, casting everypony in darkness.

The tower was incredibly tall, its peak rising above the clouds. It gave an impression of the changeling queen's horn, black and gnarled. It had no windows or anything else that could be used as an entrance aside from a single large gate at its base, which was currently shut tight with a door that looked to be made of thick metal.

The dragon of the Everfree threw off the ponies and other creatures who were accosting him and he charged Garble. Lowering his shoulder, he tackled low and drove Garble right into the metal door which groaned against the force. He struck again, causing the door to begin to buckle.

Twilight dove for the dragons, calling out to her friends at the same time. "Everypony grab the Everfree dragon, quick!"

Another ram knocked the door right in, sending Garble hurdling inside first as the green dragon and several of the fighters who had grabbed him tumbled in after. Instantly, a green force field sprang up behind them and a set of bars fell from above to further reinforce the door. The tower rumbled, then, and when they looked back they could see the ground slowly rising to cover the entrance.

"No," Twilight whispered to herself. "It's not the ground rising. It's the tower sinking."

The dark interior of the tower lit up, revealing that they were within a forest very much like the one outside. Strangely, when they looked up, they could see what seemed to be an overcast sky high above, with lightning streaking from cloud to cloud. Upon a rocky ridge above them stood two ponies.

"Very smart, Sparkle," Lao Wu said with a toothy grin as he looked down upon the group that had just stumbled into his lair. "The only way you will get out of this tower now is to make it to the top."

"Too, too bad for you," Ran Biao said from beside her ancestor, a smug look upon her face that betrayed no sympathy whatsoever. "There are nine levels to this tower. Your friends are on top level."

Twilight gasped, but she stood her ground gave the two dragon-ponies a firm glare. "Let me guess: we're going to have to fight somepony on each level to make it to the next, right?"

Lao Wu raised his brows approvingly. "As I said, you are a very astute little princess."

"Mmmassssster..." the deep, booming voice of the dragon of the Everfree growled. "Lao... Wu... so you've come to take my forest and my little ponies, too?" The green dragon rose to his full height, head nearly touching the clouds above. "I don't care who I have to fight. I'll beat all of you."

Lao Wu snorted at the interruption, but then recognition dawned on his face. "Ahh, what a strange happenstance. So another of my old students is here? It has been a long time..."

"Razorwing!" Ran Biao hissed, her body shaking with rage, and her eyes locked murderously on the towering beast.

Razorwing laughed cruelly. "Ran Biao, too! This is good. I was devastated when I lost you. I will make you mine, again."

Ran's draconic wings spread wide and she spat flame from her mouth as she shouted, "Never... never again!" She shot from the ridge, her burning eyes set on Razorwing alone.

---

---

To be continued...

Author's Note:

Beta Reader: Imaginary Valued

Comments

[nemryn]

"A pony would have to be either stupid or crazy to think they could mess with an Ursa."

Stupid, crazy, or Twilight Sparkle.

"I think somepony needs to lay off the Comprehensive Media Trope Encyclopaedia, vol. XLII."

Sheesh, you brought it up, Pinkie.

[Bico]

3067252

Yeah, but Pinkie comes by it naturally. Some ponies just can't handle it.

[Yami Vizzini]

Darn it, I could have sworn I was tracking this already
Well, I finally get around to reviewing. You know how to get your hooks into the readership and make them want to see what's next, which as far as I'm concerned is the really important part of a story (that and likable characters, which MLP provided & you fleshed out well).
That said, it got nearly impossible to follow what was going on behind the scenes in the later tournament chapters. No, we can't very well fathom every move and countermove of masters such as Luna and Chrysalis, but when new (& code-named!) characters keep popping out of nowhere and one can't even tell which side you're supposed to think they're on (plus the occasional contextless dialogue), it's a little hard to get invested. I'm willing to accept that Luna got outmaneuvered in the end, but only if I can understand how. It says something that the (apparently) repeated scene with "Scootaloo" kidnapping Spike was one of the clearer bits to understand (in retrospect). You display familiarity with TV Tropes, and it bears mentioning that this fic shows up under Gambit Pileup and is said there to go to Mind Screw levels at times- that entry does not exaggerate a bit. To say nothing of the timeskip- humorous references to adventures are one thing, but when you've been scattering bits of this mythology and whetting our appetites, and now the main characters seem to have learned about most of it offscreen already, it's jarring.
Rant over, and probably moot now that we're onto (apparently) a semi-straightforward search & rescue arc.

[Bico]

3086772

Doing stories in anachronic order can be a pain when it comes to continuity. I'm really looking forward to doing the time travel bit, though. That'll basically be my next superfic of this general size, though I've got others in the works that are a bit more modest. Ooh, it's gonna be fun stuff fleshing out the history of the continent and fitting the past generations into it, though. Oh, and explaining Discord's thing and what the deal is with Celestia and Luna's brother, throughout. Then I've got to do the Scales/Wavedancer buddy fic where they meet Babs and get mixed up with Trixie, which is set during the events of Season 3 and kind of intertwines with it a bit.

As for the confusing gambit pileup... well, it was kind of intentionally a mind screw, but at the same time I haven't actually revealed everything, so hopefully it will make more sense when Babs and co.'s boss-mare finally reveals her dark and mysterious self and gets to monologue a little. She's really good at that. I'm about to start working on that one, actually, but for you it's still five chapters ahead in "The Big Boss: Return of the Dragon." Just a heads-up there. Also, yes, the chapter titles for this portion of your fimfic experience are brought to you by Bruce Lee movies titles.