First Round: Standard Match
“This… is our first arena.”
Rainbow Dash looked in the door of the building. From the outside, it looked like nothing more than a steel-colored cube with a door. However, as the cyan mare soon discovered, the inside was much more impressive. The ceiling and walls were covered in black inflatable mats and spaced out strobe lights. The speakers were playing some sort of creepy heavy metal song on the speakers, causing her heart to involuntarily beat faster. There were walls directly in front of the entryway that came three feet away from each other, creating an empty space between the outside and the arena. Just to the left of the out-most doorway sat a table holding vests and plastic guns.
“This is pretty cool,” Rainbow admitted. Earlier she had thought this was going to be boring and only agreed to come along because it was Twilight’s birthday.
“Told you,” the violet unicorn answered, excitement dancing in her eyes.
Peering through the second entrance, Rainbow realized that she couldn’t see farther than the nearest obstacle. Not only did the obstacle, a wall, block most of her view, but the room was so dark she couldn’t make out anything that wasn’t lit up by a strobe. Well, she thought, this will be interesting.
She took a step forward, hoping to get a better knowledge of the maze she would soon have to face, but was stopped by Twilight’s extended hoof. “Uh, uh,” she said. “We can’t enter until the game begins. Otherwise some players might have an advantage over others.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. Twilight always took her hobbies to the extreme, from playing games with lasers to rearranging her book shelves. “If you say so.”
The unicorn bucked the door to the outside closed, reducing the visibility considerably. "Okay," she announced. "Each team has five minutes to make a plan and position themselves before the game begins." She looked around at her friends, her dark blue vest glowing with green tracking sensors. “Everypony set?” she asked, and was answered with nodding. She then proceeded to start a large illuminated timer on the wall with her magic. “GO!”
The two teams sped off towards their exits on either side of the building, each eager to begin planning in their allotted preparation time. “Remember everypony,” Twilight added as she ran. “No magic or wings allowed!”
As if I could even open my wings in this thing Rainbow thought, throwing a sidelong glance to the vest covering her midriff.
Rainbow, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie gathered in the middle of the left warren, the three standing just behind the opening into the arena. Twilight had a strikingly superior look about her, and Pinkie was looking to her expectantly. "Well girls, first off..." The unicorn trailed off, noticing Rainbow's disgruntled expression. "What's wrong?"
"How come you get to be the leader?" Rainbow asked. "You're just an egghead."
The lavender unicorn grinned, undaunted by her friend's reaction. "Because," she replied, "I'm the one who's played laser tag for twelve years. I'm the one who can come up with battle plans and manuevers the quickest. And I'm the one who just happens to know this arena the best."
The cyan pegasus huffed but said no more on the matter.
"Alright then." Twilight turned to the pink earth pony bouncing off to the side. "Pinkie, I need you in the quadrant farthest from here.You can use your Pinkie Senses to sneak up on enemies and tempt them deeper into the territory."
"Okie dokie lokie!" the pink pony sang.
Twilight smiled and turned to her other teammate. "Rainbow," The rainbow-maned mare sat up straighter at the sound of her name. "You'll attack the enemies that Pinkie brings towards you. Take as many lives as possible, driving them towards me. I'll finish them off."
Rainbow Dash smiled. "Got it."
"Okay girls, into position!" Pink and blue streaks entered the arena. Twilight entered as well, slowly pacing outwards and smirking. With Rainbow and Pinkie on her team, they were sure to be unbeatable.
Twilight didn't realize that she was cackling, nor that Rainbow could hear it loud and clear. The cyan mare shook her head as the timer went off, blaring a sound like an air horn throughout the premises. Twilight gets way too worked up about laser tag.
************
Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy were gathered in the right warren- off to the side of the exit into the game- wearing dark blue vests with glowing red tracking sensors. "Alright then," Applejack began, wanting to make as much use of their preparation time as possible, "where should we start?"
Rarity sniffed. "If you ask me, this game is utterly ridiculous. Pretending to shoot other ponies with lasers is completely absurd."
"Nopony asked you," Applejack muttered, though aloud she asked, "Well, why'd ya'll come along if ya didn't want ta play?"
Rarity furrowed her brow as if she'd been insulted. "Turn down a friend's invitation to celebrate her birthday? How could I possibly do that to her... again?" The white unicorn blushed and hid her face behind her coiffed mane. "But that is beside the point. I do not intend on joining the ranks of ruffians in this game."
Applejack sighed. "Fine. You stay here if you want." the farm pony looked to Fluttershy. "How 'bout you? What d'you want ta do in this game?"
The pegasus in question looked away and muttered, "Well, I don't want to hurt anypony..."
Applejack groaned. "Nopony gets hurt in this game, 'Shy. The lasers aren't real. The walls'r' even padded!"
Fluttershy looked at her hooves. "Still," she muttered, almost under her breath, "don't want to take any chances..."
Groaning, Applejack exclaimed, "Fine. FINE. Ya'll don't want to play, I'll play by myself." With that she turned her tail on her teammates and stood in silence, waiting for the game to begin. Fluttershy and Rarity exchanged glances behind her but said nothing.
Three minutes later the timer sounded and Applejack stepped cautiously into the arena. As she crept through the dim setting, she shifted her eyes back and forth, looking for the slightest movement. She took several deep breaths. Already on edge, it didn't help her that the music that buffeted her eardrums drowned any hoofsteps that would otherwise have alerted her to the presence of her enemies. All it really accomplished was making her heart beat faster.
"Okay," she whispered to herself. "You've got this. All you have ta do is take out a few mares. With a laser gun. In the dark. It'll be simple."
Applejack didn't quite believe her own words. She knew that Twilight was on the other team. Twilight was an experienced player in laser tag, a pony that a novice like herself wouldn't be very lucky to meet. She sighed. At least she was willing to actually play. Rarity and Fluttershy... She loved her friends to death, but once, just once, couldn't they just be willing to get their hooves dirty?
The music stopped for a few seconds as the songs switched over. Applejack wouldn't normally have noticed, intent as she was at staying in the game, except that in those few seconds she heard something. A high-pitched giggling coming up behind her.
The farmer swung around and came face to face with Pinkie Pie. "Gah!"
"Hey Jackie!" the pink mare squealed. At that moment, the music started back up and Pinkie turned her gun to Applejack's body.
pew pew Two lasers were sent directly at one of Applejack's vest sensors. Realizing that she was now vulnerable, she turned tail in the other direction, hoping to take cover until her ten seconds were up and she could fire at her enemies again.
The orange earth pony hid behind a semi-circular wall, breathing heavily. She looked at a screen on her gun.
Eight out of ten lives left.
She breathed a sigh of relief. Only two lives, she thought to herself. Ah only lost two lives. Applejack wiped her brow and grinned. Next time Ah should really focus on the shooting. She turned around the corner of her protective barrier...
...And came face to face with Rainbow Dash.
The pegasus raised her gun and grinned evilly. "Boo."
Taking a shot directly to the chest, Applejack ran around the blue pegasus and swerved though barriers. She heard the constant pew pew pew behind her, her rival obviously keeping speed with her maneuvers. All of a sudden, Rainbow Dash let up the chase. Applejack was baffled. She looked behind her as she ran, causing her to collide with a wall.
The farm pony sat up and rubbed her head. At least the walls were padded. Looking behind her, Applejack wondered why her enemy was no longer following her. Had she lost her?
Looking at her gun's screen again, Applejack saw that she had only lost three more lives. She puffed out her chest, feeling bolder. So far two ponies attacked her and couldn't get more than three lives out of her each. It sure does add up quickly, she noticed, glaring at her remaining five lives. But at this rate, if Ah'm more careful, Ah could have this round in the bag!
Now all she had to do was take out Twilight Sparkle, the real challenge. This would be tough, but all she had to do was sneak up on the librarian and shoot. Applejack only really needed to get one good shot in. Then she could corner her and take her out while she was defenseless.
Applejack crept around the corner. Yes, that was a great plan. Now all she had to do was sneak up on-
Twilight came around the bend. Applejack backed up, realizing that she was cornered in her own hiding space.
"Ah, horseapples."
************
Rainbow Dash smiled satisfactorily, hearing the colorful curses of her earth pony friend and knowing that she was down and out.
"Heh heh, one down two to go," she whispered to herself. This game was turning out to be really fun. She chuckled, thinking about Applejack's reaction when she revealed herself. She should have seen her face, the cyan mare thought to herself. It was priceless!
Sure, perhaps she could have dialed down on the shooting afterwards. After all, her job was to simply drive the enemy towards Twilight. But she was totally asking for it! Blundering around in the dark like she was invincible. What was she thinking?
Rainbow shook her head. Whatever. I only managed to get her three times anyway. Jeez, for a pony who worked in the light of day, she sure could get along in the dark!
Turning her head to the side, Rainbow could just see the outline of a pony walking towards one of the 'elimination' exits, her head hanging. Wow. Twilight must've gotten you good if you're sulking about it. She thought to herself, directed mostly towards the orange earth pony. I hope you're a better sport next time. Rainbow then turned her attention back to her duty. The game wasn't over yet.
************
Rarity and Fluttershy cringed as they heard the loud cussing of their teammate over the music.
"Oh my..." Fluttershy whispered.
Rarity nodded ascent. "I suppose the crude language means that Applejack has been eliminated."
"So," Fluttershy asked carefully, "Does this mean that we have to wait until the other team finds us?"
"Certainly not," Rarity huffed. "I may be a lady, but I will not wait around to be taken as if I were helpless." The unicorn turned to her pegasus friend with a dainty smile. "Are you coming with me darling?"
Fluttershy hid behind her pink mane. "Oh, uh, no thank you."
"Come now, I'm sure it won't be that bad."
"I-I just... Don't want to hurt anypony..."
Rarity sighed. "Whatever you say, darling." With that she cantered off into the arena. "Poor dear," she said to herself as she looked around. "She simply must learn not to be afraid of everything. It's inhibiting her life experience."
The violet-maned unicorn stopped in her musings. What was that? She saw a shadow speed by the light of a neon strobe. "Who's there?" she called. "Show yourself!"
"Okie dokie lokie!" Rarity jumped out of her skin as a large pink pony practically fell out of the sky in front of her.
Rarity screamed. "Pinkie! Where did you come from?"
Instead of answering, Pinkie pointed her gun at Rarity's chest and shot two neon green beams into the sensors. pew pew
"Pinkie!" Rarity gasped. "How could you! I thought you were above such brutish behavior!"
The pink pony cocked her head. "You're supposed to run now."
"What?"
"The game's no fun if you just stand there, silly filly!" She lifted her gun again. "Now run before I shoot you again!"
Rarity lifted her chin. "Absolutely not. A lady does not run. She canters gracefully awAHHHH!"
The purple unicorn dodged out of the way just before another laser hit her chest. More lasers came, causing her to gallop deeper into the arena. "I never," panted Rarity, "would have thought that Pinkie Pie could stoop so low!" She paused to catch her breath and pondered what she had just claimed. "Well, perhaps I would. She always was one for what she perceives to be fun. Even if it is quite as uncouth," she dramatically gestured her hoof to her surroundings. "as laser tag."
Rarity folded her ears back. The stereo broadcasting music around the arena had started playing a song with the musicians screaming obscenities. "How vulgar! Who chose this playlist? It's simply dreadful!"
"That would be the ponies who set up the game," answered a voice behind her. "Personally, I think this music is awesome!"
Rarity turned around. "Oh. Hello Rainbow Dash. Of course you would like it. I heard the music you wanted to play at the Best Young Flier competition."
The blue pegasus frowned. "I wanted to play it for the same reason they're playing it now. It boosts adrenaline. I would've done way better at the competition if you hadn't changed it to that namby-pamby frou-frou ballet music."
"Tchaitrotsky is much more than just 'ballet' music!" Rarity argued, glowing red in the face. "It is beautiful! A work of art! Just because you don't appreciate fine music-"
"It doesn't matter whether or not it was a 'work of art'," Rainbow shot back. "That still didn't give you the right to change my music without asking!"
"Why do you care? You still won the competition!"
"You know what? You're right. I did win." The blue pegasus lifted her gun, and evil smirk crawling across her face. "And I'm gonna win now, too."
Realizing for the first time that the pegasus was on the enemy team, Rarity pulled up her own gun in defense. "Oh no you don't!"
pew pew pew
Rarity ground her teeth. Three lives gone!
"Any last word before I finish you off?" Rainbow asked mockingly.
"Yes, actually," Rarity replied, her scowl transforming into a mischievous grin.
"Oh? And what would that be?"
"I couldn't help but remember," the violet-maned unicorn began, feeling satisfied at the sound of the beep that indicated the end of her thirty second suspension from shooting, "that I never paid you back for leaving me with Pinkie Pie on that pump trolly back in the desert."
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "Wha-?"
pew
It was Rarity's turn to grin maniacally. "Rainbow Dash, you know as well as I do that it only takes one shot to put a player out of fire for thirty seconds," she lifted her gun once again, "in which said player can be put out of the game."
The polychromatic pegasus's pupils retracted, realizing where her friend was going. "You wouldn't..."
Rarity squinted her eyes. "Watch me."
pew pew pew pew pew pew pew pew pew
Jaw hanging down, Rainbow stared at the player who had put her out of the game. "Fine. Fine! If I'm out," she grabbed her vest with her mouth and ripped it off, "then I'm going out in style." She flashed Rarity a smirk as she launched herself into the air, making twirling patterns of rainbow in the air. She finally aileron-rolled through the Elimination exit, carrying her vest in her mouth.
"Well then." An eyebrow raised, Rarity flipped her mane over her shoulder and continued on. "One down," she commented with a mischievous smirk, "two to go."
************
Twilight looked up from her post, struggling to hear a sound-any sound- from the path ahead. "Come on, Rainbow," she urged, mostly to herself, "where's the next target?" She shook her head. Her friend should've drawn another player there by now. Had something gone wrong?
Looking into the sky (or more accurately the roof) as if for an answer, Twilight was surprised to find that she had gotten one. Over towards the center of the arena floated the last fading remnants of a multicolored trail. "Rainbow?" Twilight exclaimed. The rainbow trail could've only gotten there one way. But the cyan pegasus wouldn't disobey the rules. Not now anyway.
Besides, Rainbow might be unruly and rambunctious (not to mention competitive), but she was loyal. She knew that using her wings was grounds for elimination, and the pegasus had been adamant about helping Twilight win.
She stomped her hoof. Given the evidence, it was most likely that Rainbow Dash had gotten eliminated, and that did not sit well with her.
"There goes my systematic game plan," she muttered to herself. "I'm going to have to collaborate with Pinkie on a revised course of action, but that puts us both off our guard for who knows how long..."
Twilight was so engrossed in her brainstorming that she almost didn't notice the hoofsteps coming up behind her.
The unicorn jumped out of the way just as a shot aimed at her side was fired. She turned to face her attacker, lifting her gun at the other pony's face. "Rarity!"
"Why yes, darling!" The alabaster unicorn smiled sweetly. "To be honest, I was hesitant about this game at first, as it had seemed uncouth. But as it turns out," she began, holding her gun at the ready, "shooting ponies with lasers is fun!"
Twilight barely had time to react before a shot was sent at her chest, momentarily putting her out of the game.
"Oh, and Twilight," Rarity added, "happy birthday."
************
Pinkie zipped from wall to wall, looking around corners, tiptoeing across entryways, and otherwise acting as how she imagined a secret agent would act. Or an assassin, as would best fit the situation. She really couldn't decide. All she knew was that it was her job to sneak up on enemies and surprise them, taking lives while she was at it.
In the meantime, she was bored as Tartarus.
"Horsefeathers!"
The sudden curse rang out over the blaring music, causing an alarmed Pinkie Pie to fall from the rope she hand been dangling upside-down from. "Twilight?"
A tingly feeling in her gut and the small of her back confirmed what she suspected: Another friend was eliminated from the game. However, Pinkie barely had time to react to this knowledge, because the tingling was soon replaced by goosebumps rising along her shoulders.
She spun towards the entrance the other player would come through and hid in a dark corner.
"Oh, Pinkie Pie!" a voice intoned. "Where are you darling?" Rarity came into the pink mare's view. "I apologize that I must put you out of the game, but you are the only player on the other team remaining."
Pinkie sighed. She knew what she had to do.
"You know, I must say, taking out all ten of Twilight's lives in one moment was rather invigoraAAHHH!" Rarity jumped back a foot as Pinkie popped up in front of her. "How did you do that?"
The pink mare didn't reply, and instead shot Rarity in the chest four times. pewpewpewpew
Rarity gaped. One life. She had one life left.
Pinkie was still holding her gun at the ready, but didn't shoot again. "Run along now," she said, a certain dark mirth dripping from her voice. "Or I'll have to 'put you out of the game' now, instead of later."
The unicorn hesitated a moment, then ran back in the direction she came.
As the hoofsteps faded, Pinkie relaxed. She knew that she would have to finish the job later, but for now she'd let her figure herself out. She frowned. It wasn't right that Twilight got all her lives taken from her at once, and on her birthday, no less! She'd make sure that Twilight gets her win, no matter what.
************
Fluttershy was getting nervous. She was all alone, Rarity hadn't come back yet, and there was still at least one more enemy lurking around out there.
She had been on edge for a while now. It hadn't helped when she just barely heard a shout over the loud music. She was holding her gun out in front of her, in case the causation of the shout launched toward her, out of the darkness.
To tell the truth, she was lying before, when she said she was afraid of hurting somepony. She knew perfectly well that the beams of light that were so whimsically called lasers couldn't hurt a mosquito, let alone a pony. What she was afraid of was fear. She was already shaking in her laser tag gear just sitting here, away from the action. She wasn't sure if she could handle being out there, surrounded by darkness, her senses dulled, waiting for something to leap at her from any direction. At least in her team's corner she was in a little less danger. It wasn't that much of an improvement, but at least she was less likely to be jumped.
She heard something just as one of the songs finished. Something right behind her.
"Ahh!"
pew
"Oh! Fluttershy!"
Fluttershy lowered her gun, realizing that the pony she just shot was Rarity. "Oh, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"
The unicorn sighed. "Yes, darling, I'm quite alright. However, that was my last life."
Realizing what she had done, Fluttershy hung her head. "I'm so sorry..."
"It's fine, darling, really. I just can't believe that I got eliminated by friendly fire." Noticing her friend's agonized expression, she added, "But really, it's no big deal. It was an accident, not your fault."
Fluttershy relaxed a bit, but still felt guilty. "Okay, if you say so..."
Rarity removed her vest, folding it up neatly with her magic. "It was a rather fun game, once I started to play it. It's so exhilarating, being out there, one-upping your opponents..." Rarity trailed off, a devilish grin plastered on her face. "I'm glad I got to play it." Her things put together orderly, she intoned, "See you in the next round, Fluttershy," before cantering off toward the exit.
Looking down at her hooves, she thought over her friend's words. She had a lot of fun, and didn't seem to mind as much when she was eliminated. Fluttershy looked into the darkness. It couldn't be that bad to play. It sounds better than just waiting to be caught alone. Besides, she had already eliminated a player. Sure, it was her own teammate, but it was still exhilarating.
Fluttershy trotted into the darkness. It couldn't hurt to try.
************
Pinkie trotted aimlessly around the arena. She didn't know how long she should wait to bump off Rarity, but at the same time she didn't want to actively search for Fluttershy. Taking out the shy pegasus unprovoked just felt... wrong.
In the meantime, she couldn't just pretend to be a secret agent/assassin again. She was the last player on her team. She needed to be on guard at all times!
Suddenly, another set of goosebumps popped up on her shoulders. Pinkie hid behind a padded wall and waited for the player to make herself known.
As Fluttershy came into view, Pinkie let her forelock peer behind the corner. She didn't want to scare Fluttershy more than she probably already was. At least now she would have a bit of warning.
Hearing a soft gasp between songs, Pinkie came out from behind the wall, her gun down. "Hi, Fluttershy!" she exclaimed.
Fluttershy took a step back, a scared look in her eyes. "Don't worry," Pinkie said quickly. "I'm not going to shoot. I'm going to let you pass. Here," she added, puffing out her chest. "You can even shoot me a couple of times." Though she wanted to win the game for Twilight, she wanted to give Fluttershy the experience. Besides, she was fairly certain her shy friend would shoot her once and run away.
The pegasus raised her gun tentatively, hesitating before shooting Pinkie in the chest.
Pinkie grinned. "That's great Fluttershy! You can hit me again if you like."
Fluttershy shot Pinkie more easily this time.
"Alright, Fluttershy. You can go now."
Maybe it was her friend's unsettling sinister grin, or the hunter's glint in her eye, or the tingling down her own spine. In any case, Pinkie knew what was about to happen, and jumped out of the way just in time.
pewpewpewpewpewpew
She was only hit two more times, but she knew that was enough to put her out of the game if she didn't get far away within thirty seconds.
"Come on, Pinkie," she heard Fluttershy call after her, mischief tainting her usual soft voice. "You said I could shoot you!"
Pinkie hid behind a black, padded, obstacle, Fluttershy's calls far away. The pink pony was panting, her pupils pinpricks in her eyes. She never thought... Fluttershy of all ponies... After a moment she calmed down, allowing her brain to catch up. It makes sense when you think about it, she thought to herself. It's always the quiet ones, isn't it?
The party pony looked around the corner and was alarmed to see Fluttershy looking in the other direction, not ten feet away from her hiding spot. She aimed her gun at the pegasus's side.
pew
Pinkie ran over to Fluttershy, her gun still raised. "You know, we don't have to do this now," she bargained. "I can still look for Rarity and-"
"Rarity's out already," Fluttershy interrupted.
"What? But how? I didn't-"
"It was friendly fire."
"What?"
pew
Fluttershy was back in, her gun pointed at Pinkie's chest. "Rarity was right," she cooed. "Laser tag is a lot of fun!"
Pinkie turned tail, weaving between obstacles. Fluttershy followed, firing over and over, hoping for a clear shot. Thirty seconds and four hits later, Pinkie stopped, turned around, and fired.
pewpewpewpewpewpewpewpew
Fluttershy ran away before Pinkie could fire any more shots. The pink mare sighed. They both had one life left. It could go either way at this point.
The music suddenly switched songs. In that moment, Pinkie's ears started ringing and she heard slow, soft hoofsteps coming behind her.
pew
************
"How long do we have to stay out here?"
"Until one of them eliminates the other, Rainbow. We've been over this."
Rainbow, Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity were sitting outside the arena, waiting patiently for their two friends to finish up the round.
Or at least, most of them were patient.
"Do you think they're coming out soon? I could've sworn I heard some shots."
"Rainbow!"
Before an argument struck out, however, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy came out of the arena. Fluttershy was taking slow steps, her cheeks a little redder than usual, and Pinkie was hopping along, a huge grin plastering her face. "Green Team wins!" she shouted.
Twilight and Rainbow hugged Pinkie, shouting and laughing. Pinkie looked over, noticing how Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy were looking a bit let down. "Aw, don't worry, guys. There's always next round!"
Applejack perked up and grinned. "Yeah, that's right. An' you better be prepared when Ah kick yer flank to Fillydelphia!"
"Alright, that's enough," Twilight said. "Before we start betting on the winners for the next round, who wants lunch?"
There was a chorus of "I do"s and "Me too"s from the group, and they all headed for town square. Rainbow took a glance at the arena.
Pinkie may have won this round for us, she thought, But next time, I'm going to come out on top, and nopony is going to stop me.