> Queen's Avatar > by CaioCoia > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Click, click, click.  Tap, tap, tap.  A pair of purple hands fluttered across the keyboard and mouse. The rhythm of the rapping sounds produced a lively symphony. The monitor flashed with bright lights as an opponent fell to the ground in a spray of blood.  “Ha, ha. I got you, Shadowblaze.” The voice of the teenager describes his realization after such victory against one of the users who was actually used with the rivalry. “Okay, you won this time. So what? It’s 150 to 119 to me.” The opponent who died reappeared after the reset of the player vs player area. They were a dark clothed thief with the grace of a dancer of the shadows, and her beauty from her lavender skin and purple hair made her stand out among others. “And shouldn’t you be sleeping right now? Tomorrow will be the start of the TotheGlory championship, and here we are, doing PVP.” “Yeah, I know. But I can’t sleep! The possibility of fighting Aria Blaze makes me feel like I’m just Level 1 and she is a level who knows. One hit and I would die easily. I’m trying to improve my skills and strategies while I’m still awake, hoping for the best, not just for me but for my team as well. I don’t know why they decided to choose me as their leader.” The teenager who was talking on his phone looked at his own character, a lancer with purple Asian clothing and green armor covering it.  “Pff. Come on dude, you’re a good leader. Remember sometimes when we went through the ice castle of doom? I have to say it was a lucky shot when you gave me some directions to beat the boss because it took me weeks to defeat it. I know what you are capable of doing, Dragon’sSpikes.” Shadowblaze scoffed like it wasn’t a big deal for the boy near her. She had raised his hopes and knew he had much potential in the game. “Do you really think so?” The user Dragon’sSpikes couldn’t help but feel relieved about her assurance. He smiled at her while she gave him a kiss on his check, making the teenager on the computer monitor jump in surprise. “Woah, what the heck?” “Let’s just say this is a good luck kiss and a promise I will take you down in the first round.” Shadowblaze laughed while Dragon’sSpikes narrowed his eyes. “I just don’t know why you didn’t want to be on my team. I’m sure if we stick together we could defeat anyone,” Dragon’sSpikes lamented as Shadowblaze punched his gut, causing his HP to drop by 100. “I told you, I already have a team. They’d be a bunch of weenies if I chose another team rather than them. Although, I really want to meet you and see you in person.” Shadowblaze smiled while she checked her items. “Yeah, can you believe it? We’ve been on an online relationship for a year and we’ve never met outside of the game,” Dragon’sSpikes said while he checked his status and strategies for tomorrow. He was excited by the idea of being able to finally meet his girlfriend for the first time in person. “I don’t know why you make it a big deal, twerp. I already told you, my avatar isn’t too different from what I look like in the real world. But don’t worry, tomorrow I’ll give you a surprise …“ Shadowblaze smiled mysteriously at the player next to her, but suddenly a scowl appeared on her face. She sighed before explaining. “Oh, shoot. My sister is making noise around here. I have to make her shut up and go to bed again. Looking at the time, I think I should go as well. See you later, Dragon.” After looking at the screen where he received the last private message over the chat, the boy yawned, looking at the clock. It was 5 minutes before midnight, and the championship would start at 6 a.m. Luckily, he was used to training for 4 to 5 hours every day from his determination to raising his level. “Well, I hope these strategies I did today will be enough to surprise the champions. Watch out Aria Blaze, because the team Emperor Dragons will take your team out of this competition!” He jumped onto his bed, hoping his team and himself were good enough to make it to the finals and waiting for sleep to come. > Chapter 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Next morning came faster than he wanted it to. A minute seemed to have passed since he’d fallen asleep, but it was enough for the whole day. He went straight to the bathroom and took the quickest shower possible and changed his clothes, but not before looking at himself in the mirror. After seeing his green hair and eyes without dust or black eyes, he could tell he was ready. And it was the moment of truth. “Watch out world, it’s Spike’s time.”  After leaving his room, he found his sister awake and eating breakfast as fast as she could.  Spike knew soon it would be time, so he rushed himself as well and dug into his food. While they kept eating like a pack of hungry animals, Twilight made eye contact as they seemed to talk telepathically. “How much did you sleep yesterday?” She asked him, while he rolled his eyes in response. “Enough for me to play all day long and get a great nap tomorrow. And what about you? Did you check all your equipment and items before we go?”  “Check and check.” She nodded her head with a smile, but then her eyes revealed a bit of disappointment. “It’s sad Shadowblaze won’t be on our team. She’s a great player; she’d definitely help to lead our team to victory in no time.” “Tell me about it. At least we will meet her face to face today.” Spike finished his meal, while Twilight drank some milk from her glass. “I can’t want to meet her.” Twilight smiled after she opened the door of their house.   “Me too, but we should get there soon. The earlier we get there, the better. Did you message everyone to meet us in the place we agreed?” Spike asked while he put on his jacket. On the back was their team logo, a four-headed dragon: a hydra, soaring in the sky. After locking the door, Twilight followed Spike to their main objective: the stadium where the TotheGlory championship was being held.    It didn’t take long to get to the venue via the bus. The sunrise blanketed the entire place with beautiful streaks of orange and yellow around them.    “It looks like this is the place. We’re finally here.” Twilight cleaned her glasses while Spike opened his backpack to check his supplies. “I hope that this will be enough for all day long. I can’t believe we’re here, Twi.” Spike couldn’t hide his excitement. “Me neither.” She smiled, excited as well. “Who would have thought our childhood dream would come true?” Spike couldn’t help but smile from memories of Twilight and him as children playing on the first server of the game. It was fantastic in the early years, but they became sad and frustrated after learning a new update would change all the equipment statuses they had worked so hard to create, and all their characters would receive a drastic change because of the addition of new classes. They were good memories to Spike, but he remembered they were now at the championship. “Let’s go.” They walked to the entrance of the stadium, where they showed their participant badges, avoiding the terribly long line to enter. The stadium wasn’t any smaller than a conventional one. The biggest difference was that the stage in the middle of the stadium had several large screens. Those watching on TV and the Internet could only watch as the stream chose the scenes for them; however, at the actual location, everyone had their own display screen, where they could choose who to spectate freely. There were also slow-motion shots for them to look at. In this type of eSports arena, besides the atmosphere, they could watch from all around, which was something that those who were watching the broadcast, didn’t have access to. In the team competition, the ten players were all fighting at different spots on the map. How the broadcast chose the viewpoint really made the internet spectators curious. Only those at the scene could fully appreciate the competition’s brilliance. “Woah.” Spike never thought how spectacular the view he was looking at would be, and the cheering of the crowd who was excited to watch the game made his excitement and his anxiety ten times stronger. “Wow.” Twilight’s reaction wasn’t even better. They used to dream of watching as spectators and now they were players in the championship as well. “We did it, Spike. We’re finally here.” “Yeah, but we still need to win the championship,” Spike said nervously, but smiling as well.  “Do you think you can get in contact with the girls?” Twilight asked while she checked her cellphone to see if there was a message from their friends. “Well, I can try,” Spike said while he used his cellphone to call them. After waiting a few seconds, there was a voice. “Hello.” It was a softened voice coming from the other side of the phone call. Spike smiled, knowing his friend’s cell phone got her to talk. “Hey, Fluttershy, it’s Spike. We’re here, where are you and Sunset?” Spike asked his friend and teammate where they were so they could stick together when he heard another voice coming from the far left. “TWILIGHT! SPIKE! HEY, OVER HERE!” It was his other teammate, Sunset Shimmer, who was making a fuss on where she was and making the poor girl named Fluttershy blush from the little people who are near them.  Spike and Twilight smiled with the sudden reaction of their friend. Once they got near to where she was, they found out, not just their teammates, but other friends as well, were at the seats near the platform. Rainbow Dash was sleeping on a seat above Pinkie Pie, who sat beneath the seat and was snoring and drooling all over herself, Applejack was eating something, and Rarity had a mess of hair from tiredness.  “Hey, girls. What’s up?” Twilight asked after doing the usual group hug, hugging the sleeping duo in an awkward way. “Well, partner, we were waiting for you. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie really wanted to be the first people at the championship seats, so they slept at the front door for two days straight. I just came here 10 minutes ago, while Sunset and Fluttershy just got here,” Applejack said after drinking a mug of coffee. Meanwhile, Rarity was doing makeup and Sunset Shimmer went to Spike. “Okay, captain, what’s the main strategy?” Sunset Shimmer was a gunner. She always liked the best location for her to aim at her enemies. “Calm down, Sunset, we still need to confirm our registration. Twilight’s doing the paperwork, we just need to give them our ID access to the receptionist and we can go on,” Spike said, looking in the direction of the sign up section as Twilight took the registration paper. “Let’s go.” Sunset, Fluttershy and Twilight followed Spike while the others stayed in place until it was time for them to get their seats. They walked to the line of the registration section. There were 4 lines of at least 60 people on each, so it would take awhile for them to finish their registration.  “I have to say, this year will be a difficult championship. Look who’s here.” Spike pointed out two familiar guild logos from Totheglory. A giant red spider, and black crystal in the shape of a heart. “The Scarlet Fire Spiders and the Crystallized Evil Heart team are over here.” “Oh crap, they’re here? I remember they fought until 10 people in their guild lost their levels down to level 1. Thankfully, we aren’t involved in their fighting on the server.” Sunset Shimmer sweated after remembering the news going around the server and how messy the war became when a hundred innocent players got involved and had to quit the game because of their personal revenge. “Yeah, they look really vengeful in some aspects. Why did they start a war again?” Twilight Sparkle asked while they tried to avoid eye contact with them. Gossiping about the other teams would be asking them to fight your team, and they wanted to avoid that.  “Someone infiltrated from the other team to steal their loot while they were fighting a boss. After that, it became a personal war,” Fluttershy said, using her low voice as they approached to line 4 while watching the heated argument between the two sworn enemies of the game. “Yeah, if it weren’t for the game masters asking the most powerful players to sign a contract making them play by the rules, they would create huge chaos over here,” Spike said in relief while he was checked his cellphone. He was surprised his girlfriend didn’t send a message. “Maybe she’ll be late.”  They waited in line for 20 minutes while Spike and the girls were texting each other about their strategy. They couldn’t let the other teams hear such important information.   A commotion started from behind them. It was the winning team from last year, a team with a white tiger on a black flag, while their uniforms were black and white. Their leader had purple straps around her arms. They walked with power, making the other teams move away from them.  The leader of their team was Aria Blaze, who raised her eyebrow while looking to the left and right.  “I’m looking for Shadowblaze’s boyfriend. His nickname is Dragon’sSpikes,” she said. The other teams looked at themselves with confusion. Spike’s team gasped in surprise and Spike yelped in fear. Aria looked at the team surprised by her demands, causing all the other teams to look to Spike with concern and wonder What the hell did she do? WHAT THE HELL DID SHADOWBLAZE SAY TO HER?! Spike’s mind screamed in panic, as he tried to find a way to get out. Fluttershy held his shoulder, doing her best to calm him down.  While Aria and her team began walking in their direction, Spike had just a few seconds to think about what had happened. Maybe some trash talking between ShadowBlaze and Aria Blaze happened and she challenged Aria, saying they would defeat Aria. That possibility made Spike relax and gain courage to answer Aria. “Yeah, I’m Dragon’sSpikes, team captain of Emperor Dragons, but you can call me Spike. I’m ShadowBlaze’s boyfriend. I don’t know what ShadowBlaze said to you, but it’s all true about me winning against you.” Spike’s announcement made all the other teams look at themselves in surprise. A black haired man with gray straps looked at his teammate. “That boy has courage, I have to say. He isn’t an idiot to say something while knowing he’s becoming her prey at the moment. She said something about some account. Maybe it’s a good player, a rival of hers. Chryssy, take a look at that boy and his team. He may be our challenge in the future.” The man said while the dark green and gray hair girl nodded while took some notes on her tablet. “Yes, Captain Sombra,” she said, looking at the captain of the winning team. They feared to say their name because by contract, they couldn’t say it until they signed the contract and got inside the game. Aria Blaze came near Spike while looking at the boy standing behind Spike’s team. Her eyes looked down on that boy, making him so scared, he didn’t know what to do. “You don’t mind staying behind me and my team, right?” Aria Blaze asked in a demanding voice. The boy and his team shook their heads rapidly in fear and gave them their place. “Thank you for your kindness.” She looked back at Spike with a ferocious eye, like a rival of a predator ready to start a huge fight.   “You have guts, Spike. I bet it was your girlfriend who taught you that,” she said with a grin. His team looked like they wanted to fight her at that moment.  How did she know about that? Spike’s mind went crazy, but after thinking about it for a few seconds, it was too obvious. He was a courageous guy inside of the game, but outside of the game, he was a pacifist. “Yeah, and what’s the…” He suddenly felt a pair of lips touching his mouth. His mind went blank and then the panic set in. The others became speechless as they watched the scene unfold.  “I told you it was a good luck kiss and a promise I would defeat you in the first round. The first round is finished and I won.” She smiled deviously. Aria looked to Spike’s team, which was trying to process what had just happened.“Hey, girls, it’s been a while. I hope you’re ready to fight my team. Sorry for being late.” “SHADOWBLAZE?!” Spike and his team screamed in surprise while the others said another word which make that memory unforgettable.  “WHHHHHHHHAAAAAAT?” > Chapter 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The huge news spread like fire... Never in a billion years, they could imagine Aria Blaze would be in a relationship, especially with someone who was playing against her team... one rival inside the championship. Every contestant took their cellphones and shared their info inside their social media, that would be explosive in the videogame news. Specially when talking about the queen of to the glory Aria Blaze. That would have been fake news if wasn't by the fact they are looking with their own eyes. “Chryssi.” The grey jacket with black hair captain of his team Sombra, called her in a serious tone while she looked at him as she was one step ahead of him. “I’m taking analysis on his account, from the name accounts she said I can see the usual team she was on her fake account, and I'm already taking info on their team captain. I’m marking him as the threatening number 2 in our list of potential rivals.” Chryssi moved her dark green hair from her face while she checked her tablet from the new information. “Perfect, great work Chryssi.” Sombra complimented his second in command, like she was having the same thoughts as him while he was looking at the team who was talking with the queen herself... He narrowed his eyes as he grinned to the little boy who was freaking out while his girlfriend Aria Blaze was laughing her ass off. “It’s been a long time since I didn’t have such excitement of wanting to defeat someone so badly in my life.”   “Captain?” The subaltern looked at her captain confused while could understand the feeling of such a surprise rival appear, it was a fact now they became their prey, not just by their team, but to all the teams who was participating at the championship. From such a kiss the Emperor Dragons sealed their fates as being someone to being defeated before challenging Aria's team...  It wasn’t just them, but now everyone who was there, couldn’t keep their predator eyes off from the Emperor Dragons, now they know who they were because the best player over there said so, and now they want to destroy them even more than before. “Err..why are everyone looking at us like that? It’s giving me chills.” Sunset Shimmer said while she saw glimpses of their eyes while their faces covered in dark, looking with such killing intent from them. “Make it stop. It’s like playing Five Nights at Freedy again.” Fluttershy said while using Twilight Sparkle as a shield to protect their eyes from them. But her soft voice has an uniqueness as many people behind Aria’s team recognized who she was.  “That voice...Oh my gosh, are you Fluttershee from VM channel?" One boy with a dark blue and yellow straps hair asked while he looked deeply at the girl who was behind the girl with glasses... Fluttershy nodded her head in confirmation... "MY GOD, FLUTTERSHEE IS HERE. Can you give me an autograph? I loved the way you used your role as thief over to the glory, but the video of Five nights at freedy is what makes me sleep happy at night." The boy without noticing forgot he was pushing Aria, the most incredible player over the place, receiving a bloodshot murder intent from her, but he didn't notice because he was looking at would be his idol... And that quote was a little ember, in comparison on the giant bomb who would appear in 3,2,1... "FLUTTERSHEE? HERE?" The crowd screamed in disbelief and a turmoil was made inside of the line. Many contests were screaming calling her attention, as lovely group of fans Fluttershee has.  Who was Fluttershee? Just one of the top 5 Gametube over the city, she is known for her role on playing scare games and many fun games as well. It would be a lie if she doesn’t have a die-hard fandom who worships her voice, but she usually don’t show her face, but an image of a yellow pegasus with pink hair who moves around the video making animated reactions and she has a bunny assistant which someway is a better gamer than her, making even funnier videos. "SILENCE" That was a shout coming from the captains over their teams, making all the contests stop their tracks and act like a group of animals... Many captains looked sternly to their teammates and scolded them because unprofessional in not just showing malice over the other players, but now knowing Fluttershy was among that players, the reason to be scolded is even worse. A famous gametube not enjoying the championship because the other contestants were being not just crazy fanatic but even being cold to her and her team? And in the time of that, many teams needs a sponsor, being a company or even the gametubers who give their marks and even their fans to cheer for the teams who are playing the game. Sponsors is a valuable thing over the to the glory. Their sponsor would deal with the problems the teams usually has when it comes to Game Championships. Like paying the food, the place to stay, the accessories of the computers like keyboard and mouse, and having a good image over the public as well. And the most important... fame, if you want to be a great team, you will need fame to make everyone loves you, or you will be forget after losing once or twice. “What a shame guys, WHAT A SHAME.” The captain of Scarlet fire Spiders, a boy with orange Mohawk and golden eyes with a red jacket and pants with a black shirt and an orange bandanna around his arm told his outrage feelings against his team. “Making such intimidation to the most innocent player on the internet.” “Well captain you too were…” One of the team mates was trying to tell he was the one to blame too, but the captain look at him and raised his fist and approached near to his face. “Say one more word, and you will see what will happen.” The captain cracked his fingers just closing his fist, making the teammate gulp on his place in fear. “Okay, sorry captain it was our fault.” The teammate with the other members said in fear while making the captain seriously correct them. “Damn right it was, now after the game, we need to approach her calmly and say apologize, or else.” He sternly said to his team, making everyone around him nod.   Spike, Aria, and their teams looked at Fluttershy in surprise, while she sheepishly blushed a bit while she said like a whisper. “Thank you, everypony.” That voice made everyone cheer quietly on their hearts, it was indeed their idol who was at the same place as them. Now the tweets about Aria having a relationship with a contestant was being in par with the news of Fluttershee first appearance to their fans, making many hashtags with people giving hearts and cheers over her team. After everyone got in their positions, everything was normal, the players composed themselves to be cautious about Spike’s team, but not too hard to make Fluttershy uncomfortable. After being 5 minutes Fluttershy was feeling well while she was talking with Sunset, making all her fans sighed in relief and happiness.  Some of the players even managed to go slowly and calmly to Fluttershy to ask for some autographs, doing their best to not make her jump scared of her fans, not even in her dreams Fluttershy thought she would be treated so well after her videos she does with her friends. Isa Belle, Bow Sett, Yu ri and Mellon Van! It was a side project she did with a friends she had over the animation school... But being treated so well and loved... That must be the reason of why Bow Set was so proud of herself over her videos, even being mean some times... Fluttershy doesn't felt any hostility from the players who asked her an autograph. “Wow, I didn’t know Fluttershy was so famous.” Twilight said in surprise while Sunset Shimmer just shrugged. “Well I should have known when I called her to do a gameplay with me and I was defeated so easily at the game. But it seems they like her from all the games she played, do they know what class she uses in to the glory?” Sunset shimmer asked the captain, receiving a smile and shaking his head making known they don’t have that information. Captain Sombra who was looking far notice the flow over the fans who was approaching while their captains remained in the line for register. "Firstly was Aria, and now a gametuber... This team is indeed something we wasn't expect. Chryssi did you find the info of the team Emperor Dragons?" Captain who was watching the even on the sidelines suddenly when he turned his head, he found Chyrsallis wasn't there, but instead was an elder man who was on his forties while he was drinking a can of soda. "Discord? Where is Chryssi? " The man who was wearing his grey jacket opened his eyes which one has a yellow iris while the other had the red one, smiled like someone who just made a prank. "Oh the green girl? Well she had to go to make her make up. While I was passing over here, I thought it was a good opportunity for we had that talk..." The captain who knew none of his team was there to hear the conversation, sighed... "Do you really want to retire Discord? Because our team became one of the biggest because of your experience on online gaming and your title of thief killer... Many of your fans would give up from cheering at us once you give up to continue in being in our team." The gray haired man smiled tiredly while he took off his pocket a yo-yo while he played in front of the captain... "Well Sombra, I taught you everything I know about leadership of this team, it was time for me to retire as my title of captain and my time of enjoying the little things like... Fishing, twister, paying taxes, who knows... Hahaha." The weird man laughed over the absurd of being retired even if was of online gaming, until he sighed serious. "But talking seriously... I don't mind in playing this game anymore for hobbies, but for me this game is getting boring..." The captain looked at his teammate in sympathy, knowing the story of his title, the thief killer was something his team was proud of... He once remember when he entered on the guild because he wanted to make a legend about himself, and knowing the elder personally, he still doesn't know why Discord his former captain wanted to kill all the thieves he fought over the game to the glory. Chrysalis the second of command approached the team line where she was being near the captain. "Captain, sorry for keeping you waiting... what did I miss?" "Surprisingly the Emperor Dragons has a gametuber on his team which I wanted to you to know their info." The captain who was looking at his team mate pointed at the girl with pink hair while all her team was smiling waiting for their time to register. "Really? Who?" Chrysalis decided to take her tablet to keep info of her future rivals. "Fluttershee from the VM gaming channel." Captain Sombra answered quickly while Discord was drinking another gulp of his soda can with his eyes closed until... "You mean Shadow Dancer?" At the moment Chrysalis said that, Discord smashed the can over his had, but the weirdest part the can still had liquid, which after being smashed the liquid exploded in all directions, surprising his team mate and captain. Discord slowly opened his eyes, and this time both of them felt something shrive their spine. "What did you say?" Discord said in a serious tone, which made Chrysalis gulp in her place, and pointed to the other girl. "Her username on to the glory is Shadow Dancer, I watched her channel but never thought she would appear here." One thing Chrysalis learned when she was inside of the guild was... Never anger the mad thief killer... Discord remained in silence, and then looked at the girl who was smiling. He decided to walk while making his team afraid of what he was going to do. All the contestants then saw Discord who walked path directly of the Emperor Dragon, while Fluttershy was smiling, suddenly she felt chills on her spine. "Hello young one." The deep and creepy voice made her eyes shrink and turn her head in surprise. "Meep." Fluttershy jumped on her place while seeing the creepy and serious face in front of her. The reaction of the public was immediately negative over the elder. "JERK, HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? LEAVE HER ALONE" The screams of the other contestants made Discord's eyes twitch, while he snarled to all the other contests. "SILENCE." His scream while being creepy was authoritative. Spike looking at that decided to pull Fluttershy behind him and make a meat shield against that insane man. Discord turning his head looked at the boy, but focused his gaze on the girl behind him. "Little one, I heard your nickname is Shadow Dancer... is that correct?" "Yes sir." The little terrified girl making the other contestants even angrier of the guy who was making her afraid. The elder guy's eye twitched while he glared at her, but then sighed in disappointment... "You youngsters don't know how much dangerous is named themselves as this nickname... Doesn't even know the meaning of this 2 words... Where did you learn these words?" Discord this time was disappointed to see the little girl who was afraid of him, having such powerful name over her account... Fluttershy was stuttering but then she said. "My uncle gave to me..." At this comment, made the elder look at her surprised. "Interesting, so if was your uncle, he may have know the name and the meaning of it. So I apologize for my rudeness, but I'm really curious who is your uncle?" Discord this time was sincere over his apology, if was someone who was elder as him, he must have played that game... A game who Discord played as teenager and was one of the happiest times for him... "Nirvana Flame." Discord who was curious suddenly stopped in shock, his eyes opened wide, while he looked at the little girl who whispered... Suddenly a force of youth made him jump straight to Fluttershy, scaring everyone around her and the other contestants, but when they were going to beat Discord, their stopped their tracks, when they found out, Discord was hugging Fluttershy and smiling like he was a mad man. "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. Nirvana Flame's niece, oh goodness, the grand kahuna, the big brother, the leader, and the saint, the indestructible and unbeatable thief and shadow dancer has a niece. And she is here, in front of my eyes. HAHAHAHAHA." Discord blabbing this words making all the people around him look at him confuse. "Oh my goodness, when he find outs about that, he will laughs his pants off... So how is he, little girl?" Fluttershy who was afraid of him now looked at him confuse, but with sympathy she answered. "He is well, he and my aunt are expecting a kid in 5 months, and I don't know why I'm telling you that... sir." "So he and the little Yao Yao is having a kid? He really took too long to make that. Hahaha." Discord who was grinning like such delight he was laughing which made Fluttershy comfortable, it seems he knows his aunt, so he must be someone related of his uncle and aunt? Maybe. His laugh stopped, after he took off one of his sleeves to her... To her surprise she saw an emblem... "This is the emblem of United Ass Kickers, Nirvana Flame made a bet to me for who could make more PK over 24 hours against 2 guilds, and that crazy boy killed more than 2 thousand people, that boy was crazy, crazy killer was his nickname... Hahaha. I'm so happy to find someone related to him, because I lost his contact for so long ago... I'm so happy..." Fluttershy could see the delight and the happiness of the elder man who was talking like it was a story once her uncle told her, and old online game which he and her aunt met and got married, he and his friends who made a guild and them becoming the legendary guild who roamed the entire online world. But then the eyes of the older man looked deeply at her. "Now I know who you are... I have highly expectations of you. If you want to be a shadow dancer and be a thief like your uncle is... I want you to surpass my expectation... Because all the thieves who I fought, wouldn't be near a step or even kiss the feet of your uncle who was by me the king of the thieves of all times... I hope you follow his steps and be what you meant to be." With that said Discord turned his backs and walked to his team, while all the other contestants were looking at him angrily and confuse, because they thought they would hurt their idol, but they couldn't hear much about what he said... But Aria listened everything carefully, making sure to remember everything which was said on that time. When he got back to his team mates, he then turned to Sombra. "I expect you to be the best captain you can be, if you don't make me proud, I will ripoff your title and take back to me..." At that moment both Captain and Vice looked at him strangely. "But Discord, you said you were retiring..." Captain Sombra was curious about what made him change his mind, but was interrupted at the moment Discord shout. "SCREW THE RETIREMENT. I finally found what made this game entertaining and exciting as the first day I played again... An old friend and rival came back for a new generation..." Discord smiled like remembering the face and the fights of someone who was his friend, and the leader of the guild he was... "I will tell you this... You can take all the team... But leave that thief with me... She is mine." Discord smiled as the thief killer was back to attack... > Chapter 3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The moment everyone saw Discord leave the venue, they looked at Fluttershy in confusion. The pink-haired gamer who was known for her shy and fearful personality spent a few seconds contemplating the fact that a veteran had made not just a threat, but a challenge to set their expectations high. But they couldn't help noticing that instead of being horrified as she had been when she first saw him. She seemed to show a warm smile as she realized that the person who had met her was none other than a person who had met a member of her family whom she had been so inspired by. "What happened?" Spike asked as he observed that the player on his team seemed to be relieved to see that the interaction of that eccentric player was over. And somehow the member of her team seemed to be more comfortable after the interaction. "Oh." Fluttershy noticed that the captain of her team and as well as her own team members were looking confusedly at the scene that had just happened. "He seems to be an old friend of my uncle Nie Yan, The nickname he had in the game they played was Nirvana Flame, they had an empire in the MMORPG they played together, I remember my uncle had described to me the great friends and clan members he had created in the game, and the achievements they had created through there. And it seems that this boy was part of my uncle's clan." Fluttershy through her calm and soft speech, could reveal her feelings of surprise while in her own mind, she was still absorbing what Discord had said to her, and how much he wanted her to follow in the footsteps of her uncle who was the legendary thief... Aria raised an eyebrow as she listened to the conversation, She knew that Fluttershy was the best thief class player she knew, but she wasn't aware that she was just following in the footsteps of her uncle who seemed to be a much higher level than the shy girl herself. "Can you tell me more about your uncle? Discord said that he once killed 20,000 players in just one match. Is this true?" Aria seemed not only curious and interested about what kind of game might be interesting enough for the former Leader of the Darkness Empire to speak in a jovial, happy, and nostalgic manner. "Oh yes, it's my favorite bedtime story. My uncle Nie Yan decided to take revenge on the clan that massacred 100 players from his clan. He decided to create an ambush with 2 clans that had involvement in this incident, and he awoke a lava golem that was level 400 while the players were still level 37, my uncle guided the lava monster towards the two clans, killing everyone..." Fluttershy still remembers it as one of her great achievements and the nickname her uncle had received after that incident. "And while the monster had skills that prevented anyone from fleeing via teleportation or even using magic to counterattack, it caused the massacre to be described throughout history. And no one expected my uncle, to take advantage of the distraction he had played on the two clans. He personally went and killed the player who had betrayed his friend from one of the 100 players killed." Fluttershy looked happy, while all of her friends, and even 2 rival teams had left her mouth hanging open that had reached almost the floor from how impactful the legend was. The team in front of her looked at the shy girl as if they had seen a secret boss who had a skill that could make you die at any second. All the members of her team looked at her as if she was a monster or a person who took pleasure in hearing one of the scenes as bloody as this one. Even the members of his team couldn't help but contain their surprise like that. "Can you do that in-game?" Sunset Shimmer was the first to ask, normally a monster that would be almost 10 times the level they were in the game, would take hours to defeat if they were level 100, not to mention the amount of kills it would take. However it was obvious that a thief would be able to guide a monster of this level, it would need to be a person with pure skill to guide a secret boss to their enemies. And normally it would be the monster tamer class... But a thief doing that? That was truly a legend in itself. Fluttershy nodded, while Aria couldn't help but hiss as she saw that it was indeed skills of another level, and she could understand why Discord, the former clan leader of the Darkness Empire seemed so nostalgic and spoke of Fluttershy's uncle as if he was his personal hero. If her former clan leader did what this thief did in the virtual game, she really would have called him the best leader in RPG history. But knowing how stubborn she is, she would never admit that without at least proving the skill. "I have to admit Fluttershy, Discord was the only player I was afraid to play as PVP when using the thief class. Trust me, his nickname isn't just an invitation to have tea, he has vast experience killing thief class players." Aria warned as she explained Discord's nickname the thief slayer over the entire Game to the Glory. Fluttershy smiled weakly, seeming to understand why her friend was worried about her. "It's okay, he seems to be a good friend of my uncle's, so he wants me to play the same way my uncle did and surprise him. There's a reason why my user's nickname is called Shadow Dancer." Fluttershy said as she looked optimistic and prepared to face the veteran player. Until she felt a hand on her shoulder, which made her jump in surprise. "MEEP." "Oops, sorry Fluttershy," Twilight said as she held a notepad in her hands, with a curiosity through her glasses, she seemed genuinely interested in finding out more about the class. "Can you tell us about the difference in classes?" "Ah yes, Well, Shadow Dancers are considered an advanced thief-type class, in which they can make a big difference between both thieves and high-level thieves, known as those who dance among the shadows." Fluttershy decided to take a video she had saved from her trip with her parents and brother to China, she pointed to a video she took from the country's online server in which her uncle appeared wearing his style of purple thief clothing, and his mysterious face through his bandana, demonstrated how high level he was. "My uncle was the first Shadow Dancer in the game, and when he showed me the abilities he had in that game, I could see the impossibilities with my own eyes. It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen in my life. And it was because of that that I decided to choose the thief class." The players of his team went to watch the PVP video in which his uncle had appeared, just as Aria and Lighting Dust who was his co-captain were behind and even the team that was listening in front of them decided to take a look. And it was exactly as Fluttershy had said. The difference between abilities was an absurd thing. In just 2 minutes, a mage who normally had a great advantage against thieves was simply annihilated with a combination of skills and speed that scared even the veterans of some teams. "MY GOODNESS." Sunset Shimmer exclaimed as she saw that the next video Fluttershy had in her hands, was exactly the video of some players being annihilated by a lava golem, a thief going through several players, and every mage in between falling like a downed fly. This was truly a heaven-and-earth difference in online gaming. Everyone was seeing that thieves, when used in the right way, really could be a threat that no one ever imagined. And the most timid player demonstrated this, and although many thought to underestimate her. This could be the worst mistake of their lives. And Spike also noticed another fact that could be a big problem. "Fluttershy, now you might have a big target on your back when it comes to that Discord player who was in the same clan as your uncle. How do you want to proceed regarding him?" Spike noticed that a few teams around him, Aria was the one that was the most excited and grinning like a predator. "We'll talk about it later." Spike decided to use his authority as a boyfriend to reprimand his girlfriend who hadn't revealed the secret about her being the number one player in the league still made him suspicious. However, he is more focused on seeing what to do and how to deal with the strategies of beating his girlfriend. "Okay, handsome," Aria whispered as Spike rolled his eyes and with a snort looked in another direction to keep his focus. Fluttershy looked at the couple and although she had been a bit intimidated by Discord, she couldn't help but remember her uncle, by whom she had been so inspired. So she made her decision. "I'll be fine. That man... when I told him about my uncle, he seemed really happy... I want to make him happy by seeing that I tried to reach his expectations of me... Wait." Fluttershy paused as her eyes widened and she noticed she made a small mistake... "I forgot to pass my uncle's contact to him. Oh no, he would have been quite happy if I had given him the contact and I forgot." The moment she remembered that it made her feel sad and disappointed in herself, it would have been such a good thing to see a senior talking to her uncle again, maybe they could even reminisce about great stories they could share with her. And she blew it. Aria saw that Fluttershy was almost crying, and angrily let out a sigh which caught her attention. "If you want I can talk to their team captain and give them the contact number." Aria knew it would be annoying to have to deal with other team leaders, but when it came to one of her friends... she just didn't like to see her cry, without her being the main reason. Just like her sisters, she hates to see them cry... if she wasn't the main reason obviously. Fluttershy looked at Aria with surprise and a look of hope. "Would you do that Aria? Wouldn't it be too much for you?" Fluttershy asked, and though her team looked like they wanted to say something, they all looked at Aria who simply shrugged. "No problem, I can handle it," Aria spoke as if nothing was that hard, and it wasn't, it was just that some players were annoying, and she hoped the Darkness Empire captain wasn't like that. "If you want I'll come too. I'm her captain Aria, so I think it would be courteous if I were to bridge the gap between us having a friendly competition... And I know what you'll say to me, that there is no friendly competition around here. I said it as an expression." Spike, noticing that his girlfriend was about to interrupt him, cut her off as he wondered what she was going to say. Aria had raised her finger, but seeing that her boyfriend was right, she decided to pout and ignore him. Her teammate next to her started to laugh, but seeing her captain's eyes, she stopped in her tracks and started to cough. The crowd remained quiet as they waited their turns to be allowed to sign up for the competition. Noticing that two of her members were missing, Aria was starting to get impatient. "Where are they?" Arir asked his right-hand woman, who was the Lightning Dust player, with her blonde hair and darker hair stripes that gave contrast to her blonde hair. She had picked up her mobile phone to check the messages on her mobile. "Hmm, looks like they stopped by the GameStop, and are buying a collector's item right now, she said as soon as they leave the shop, they'll be on their way here." Lightning Dust replied as she could see that her captain's eyes were twitching at that instant. "Oh sure, I knew that would happen. What about his mother? Didn't she say he would get here in time?" Aria said in an annoyed tone, however just as she was about to reply. The sound of running footsteps could be heard. Aria grinned predatorily she couldn't help but glare at the two members of her team. "Well, well, well. Look who just showed up here?" "Sorry, Captain. I tried everything to get him to leave that shop. But he just wouldn't listen to me." The player with long moss green hair and mint green skin was trying to ease the tension and anger of her captain, while the 10-year-old boy seemed to be more focused on playing the small video game in his hands. "Sorry captain, I had found a secret boss over there, and I wouldn't want to waste the opportunity to gain more XP. So don't worry, I'll split the XP with you." The child who seemed to have brownish skin, and light brown hair did not take her eyes off the video game in hand, but her personality although innocent was also a little annoying to her captain. "Look Button, I promised your mum you'd behave, so I'll be clear, the next time you do this, I'll take your video game and leave you without it for 2 months," Aria said in a calm and cool manner, and seeing the boy suddenly raise his head and look startled at his captain, caused her to give a predatory smile. "Am I clear?" "Like crystal ma'am." Button Mash nodded as he protected his own portable video game. "We were lucky that there were about 3 teams ahead of us, can you imagine what would happen if you didn't arrive on time? We would have tarnished our reputation, and if the public saw us as people who arrive late, I would do everything to make your training even worse." Aria decided to look not only at the boy who was shaking, but also at the girl who was looking at her palely, and even her co-captain who was looking at her both scared and in disbelief. "Remember, we are here to be an example of professionals, and you are humiliating me in front of my boyfriend and his friends." The trio looked at Spike, Fluttershy, Twilight, and Sunset who seemed to stare at them in amusement, however upon being noticed, they blushed and tried to disguise it by looking away. "Well, this is great," Aria said sarcastically before she coughed and kept her composure. "Well, let's get started again, Hey guys, I want you to meet my team. Lightning Dust known as DustDestroyer, Wallflower Blush known as user Wallflower Noticemenot, and Button Mash known as The Blank." Spike noticing that it was proper to introduce himself to his rival team, decided to imitate his girlfriend and introduce his team as well. "Well, nice to meet you, my name is Spike known as Dragon'sSpikes, and next to me is Twilight, my sister is known as Midnight Twilight, and we have Sunset Shimmer whose user is BaconThisBullets, and Fluttershy whose user is known as Shadow Dancer." Spike decided to give each of them his hand to shake. And so the interaction of both the two rival teams began, nothing better than being courteous while planning future strategies on how to defeat your enemies.