When Fun Goes Too Far

“What are we doing here, again?”

Vinyl looked up from her V-Rifle, frowning slightly at the burgundy pegasus. “We’re here to play a game, E.” She resumed her work, painstakingly cleaning out the barrel of her new favorite weapon. “Besides, I think you could use the practice.”

“Practice?” He readjusted the twin speakers mounted on his wings, scowling a bit. Stupid things are freaking annoying. “And what, pray tell, do I need practice for?”

The white mare sighed, rolling her eyes. Her iconic purple shades hid that little action from him, though. “You got blindsided at the engagement party, dude. And not even once, but twice - by the same pony, to boot!” She giggled at the glare he gave her. “Okay, so it wasn’t really you, but still, the same thing that could beat that imposter would do the same for you!”

She carefully put on her harness, smirking slightly at him. “Don’t forget, we still have to settle who’s stronger between us.”

The feminine stallion just stared at her blankly for a few moments. “Is that why we’re all the way out here in this clearing in the Everfree?” He put a hoof to his chin, thinking a bit. “I suppose that makes sense. Less chance of casualties here, after all.”

“Glad we agree.” She slung the Mk. IV into a pouch on her back. “So, a few rules.” She picked up a sharp blade with a network of circuitry around the hilt, which glowed enough to be seen in the daylight shining down on them.

He crossed his forelegs, jumping a bit at the contact of the mystic metal under his legs. Cold! He fought to keep a nonchalant attitude, smiling at her. “What rules are there, Vi?”

“Well, for one, no definitively deadly attacks.” She swung the sword around, nodding satisfactorily. “Aim for the torso, where the harness is. It’ll absorb any attacks that hit it, but it’ll count it as a blow. The simulation’s location will change every few lives.” She tapped the side of her shades, smirking playfully. “That’s why I had you wearing those shades, E. It tells us how many ‘lives’ we have left.”

“Gotcha.” He prodded the side of his harness, causing a few numbers to appear in the corner of his shades.

Enigma: 9

Vinyl Scratch: 9

He took a second to look around, testing whether or not his vision was impaired by the eyewear. Thankfully, they didn’t seem to be much of a hindrance to him. “Okay, so what about other rules?”

She laughed, shaking his head. “There are no other rules!” She kicked a little device on the ground between them. Enigma watched in complete shock as the silver sphere rose into the air, visibly scanning the area around them. A mechanical voice emanated from it, echoing in the empty field.

“Parameters set. Size of area nine square miles. Uploading simulation number zero-zero-one now.”

A square pattern formed on the ground beneath them. With a flash of white, the field around them turned into...nothing.

Enigma turned to his love, confused. “Vi, what is this?”

She giggled, winking playfully. “What else would the first level be? Don’t forget, we have to get your baseline fighting potential.” She smiled cheekily, lowering her stance. “You ready, E?”

He glanced at the metal covers on his hooves, then the speakers attached to his wings. He turned back to her, a bemused look on his face. “No, I’m not. I don’t even know how to use these!”

Vinyl sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose with a hoof. “Fine. Quick tutorial, then.” She pointed her right hoof to his left towards a boulder that appeared similar to another a certain fashionista would rather forget about. “See that rock? Turn the flats of your forehooves towards it.”

Rather dubious, he did as instructed, calculating the trajectory in his mind to be absolutely sure it was correct. “Got it, but now what? Do I just flex a muscle or-” He was interrupted as, flexing a muscle in demonstration, a burst of red, snake-like light and dubstep shot out of the end of his boot. It struck the boulder, shattering it into hundreds of tiny pebbles. “...oh. Huh.” He turned to the other pony, sheepishly smiling. “Got it?”

She stared at the spot where the rock once was. “...damn...I didn’t realize how powerful the Bass Drops were...” She turned to him just as he put his forehoof back on the ground, her eyes widening behind her shades in shock. “Don’t!” She saw him flinched, his whole body momentarily tensing from the sudden shout.

A moment was all that was needed, though. Once more, his Dubstep Gun fired, but not electric streamers like before. A large wave of energy surged over the ground, briefly becoming brighter with each boom of the music.

At that moment, a timberwolf stepped into the clearing, having strayed too far from its pack and thinking that the ponies would make a nice snack. It chose a bad time and spot, though, and could only stare in shock as the wave came at it, frantically trying to backpedal. It wasn’t able to avoid the attack as it formed a pattern of circuits underneath it. It yelped and flailed as spikes of light shot up, piercing its body. Its movements became slower with each one until it eventually fell still, the spires holding it up.

Enigma and Vinyl stared at the scene in stunned silence. He was the first to break out of his shock, holding his hooves over his eyes. “Dear Luna, WHAT DID I DO?!”

She smacked him over the head, frowning. “Get a grip, E! It’s just stunned - I can hear it breathe from here!”

Enigma: 8

They both froze, hearing the voice call out. He slowly turned to her, a deep frown settling in its new home on his face. “...did you just...knock a life off me? I thought you said only the torso counted!” He now completely faced her, trembling slightly. “Why did you lie?!”

She quirked an eyebrow at him. “I didn’t want us to accidentally kill each other.” She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. “I get it. You probably feel that the fact I lied to you about something that small might mean I’ve lied to you before.”

“Oh, I know you’ve lied to me before!” He groaned, gently facehoofing lest the harness count that against him as well. “You kept saying that you didn’t love me a few months ago, remember? I know that was a lie. I forgave that, though.” He took a deep breath, calming himself down. “I can forgive this, too. After all, it’s just a game, right?”

Vinyl smiled softly, gently nuzzling his cheek. “That it is.” She sighed quietly, glad he didn’t hold that against her.

Then came the smack to her stomach.

Vinyl: 8

She leaped away from him, growling in annoyance. “What the buck, dude?! You just suckerpunched me!”

Enigma grinned playfully, wagging his hoof at her. “Now we’re even, Vi!” He chuckled, lowering his stance. “And now I’m ready.” His eyes flashed momentarily, signaling the activation of his theta-state. Of course, this was hidden by his shades.

She glanced down at the saddlebags still on his back, smirking slightly. “Fine.” She got into her own stance, eyes narrowed behind her own sunglasses. The only sound in the glade was the wind rustling through the grass and the timberwolf running away with its tail between its legs.

“Go!”

Vinyl leaped forward, a hoof brought back. She saw him attempt to leap to the side, but his overburdened bags caused him to be too slow. “Gotcha!” She slammed him in the side with her hoof, sending him flying across the field.

Enigma: 7

He carefully righted himself, groaning softly. “Stupid saddlebags!” He unfastened the buckle, letting it fall to the ground with a crash. “Ah, that’s better. Now I can move freely!” He grinned, pointing a hoof at his love. “Here I go!”

With that, he was gone.

Vinyl glanced around anxiously, unsheathing her sword. “Where is he?” She closed her eyes, focusing on the sounds surrounding her. The gentle whisper of the wind in the air. The chirping of birds as they flocked in the trees. Even the whimper of that dumb timberwolf as it tried to get back to its pack.

There!

The sound of metal being hit resonated through the glade. She turned towards her blade, smirking slightly. “Got-”

She stopped, seeing no one there. “...ya?” She looked down at her hooves, seeing a lone pebble on the ground. “...oh, you’ve gotta be f-”

“Language!” Before she could react, she got slammed in the side, sending her straight through a tree. “I thought Fancy taught you better than that!”

Vinyl: 7

She frowned at him, her eye twitching slightly. “Don’t. You dare. Talk about DAD!” She grabbed the tree with her forehooves, lifting it up over her head in her anger.

“...buck.” Enigma leapt away from the rage-infused mare in front of him as the simulation changed around him, concrete and metal starting to grow out of the ground. He stopped right before slamming into the side of a building, looking up at it thoughtfully. “...you know, this reminds me of that one concert hall in Manehatten...”

He glanced over to the side and stopped, his jaw dropping in shock. Off in the distance, shown most likely through a backdrop on the edge of the area, was a large, green mare. In one of her forehooves was a tablet, and in the other, a torch. Needless to say, it was unmistakable. “...is that...the Statue of Liberty?” He glanced around, finally recognizing the layout of the street he was in. “Dear Luna, this IS Manehatten! And my old street, too!”

“You mean to tell me...” His blood went cold at the iciness in her voice. He slowly turned around to her, backing away at the sight of flames around her body. “...you were down the bucking street from my performance...and you weren’t able to make it?!”

He continued to back away, a sheepish smile on his face. “...um...yes?”

“YOU’RE DEAD!” She leaped at him, bringing down the sword on his head.

Or, rather, where his head would’ve been, had he not flash-stepped away. “Look, let’s calm down, Vi. Yes, I said I couldn’t make it.” He dodged a slash that shot an arc of lightning out, decimating the building behind him. “...I didn’t know it could do that...anyways, the reason I said that was because,” he ducked under the blade, “I just,” he sidestepped another slash, “would you just stop trying to hit me?!”

With a cry of pure anger, she leapt forward, the very tip of her sword aimed at his heart. She wasn’t thinking, and the blade would’ve been halted by the harness.

Enigma stopped it with a mythril-covered hoof, frowning deeply. “Fine, then.” A tendril of red energy surged out of his boot, wrapping around the sword. “I’ll beat you and then we’ll talk.” He slammed his forehoof into her stomach, sending her flying up into the air. “...I hope she doesn’t get killed...”

Vinyl: 6

The white mare took the seconds she was in the air to think. I’m gonna lose if I can’t calm down. I know this, but how can I forgive him for lying about that? The stupid hypocrite! She smirked, pulling out her V-Rifle. The Smooth Rhythm is out of my grasp, but that doesn’t mean I’m done for. I suck with swords, anyways. She aimed at the building next to her, a mad glint in her eye. “Plan B it is!”

She fired, destroying the wall and launching herself to the other building across the street. The rubble fell down to the asphalt where the pegasus was.

He looked up, his eye twitching slightly. “...this is gonna hurt...” He lowered his head and defensively wrapped his wings over it, not wanting to be knocked unconscious. It worked, as he wasn’t hit in the head.

What he didn’t expect, however, was for nothing to hit him. He slowly opened an eye and immediately wondered why his vision was filled with green. He slowly raised his head, realizing that there was a green bubble around him. “...well. That’s interesting.” He retracted his wings, and the shield slowly fell. “...now I know what the Rewind’s special property is. That’s some good news.”

He looked up at the buildings surrounding him, nervous. Vi can be in any one of these buildings. Who knows if they even have any interiors? He sighed, furtively glancing over each of the structures. There has to at least be a sign of which one she’s in. Come on... A glimmer of light in one of the fifth floor windows caught his eye. There!

He shot an electric tendril out, snaring the source of the reflection. With a small smirk, he tugged, pulling out a-

He frowned, narrowing his eyes at the black object that came out. That’s not Vi. That’s... He noticed the label on the side of it. “...‘baka’?”

That’s when the sphere exploded in his face.

Enigma: 6

He lay splayed out on the ground, groaning slightly. “...ow...” He slowly sat up, placing a metal-covered hoof on his head. “I may be durable, but that still freaking smarts.” He pulled his hoof away, noticing the small amount of bright red on the black metal surface. “...huh. So that’s what color my blood is.”

A metal piece was pressed against the back of his neck. “You lose. Even you can’t dodge a blast from this close.”

He looked at their reflection in what little glass was left in the building in front of him. “...that’s what you think.” One of his wings snapped out and grabbed the barrel of the gun, pulling it to the side as his other pointed the attached speaker right at her face. “Payback.”

A green spiral of light burst forth, slamming Vinyl in the face and knocking her back a few feet. Some additional ‘bullets’ shot out within the vortex, but she was able to dodge those due to being knocked back.

Vinyl: 5

She quickly got back up, glaring daggers at him. Now I don’t have any weapons. She thought about this for a minute, a smile creeping onto her face. That’s perfect. She stood up on her hindlegs, shaking her forelegs out to limber herself up.

As she was doing this, the area around her shifted once more. The tops of the skyscrapers arched towards each other, the windows shrinking and shifting around. What once were alleyways became tunnels, and a definitive ceiling formed over everything else. If either of them had been where the diamond dogs lived, they’d have recognized this location.

As it was, Enigma was too busy staring at the staggering mare in front of him. She currently had her hooves up and turned in, almost as if she was holding a bottle in the crook of her hooves. “...Vi? You sure you didn’t drink any alcohol recently?”

She didn’t answer him with words, instead letting her actions speak for her. She leaped at him, but she landed a few feet short, barely catching herself on her forehooves.

He watched this silently, a bemused expression on his face. “...seriously? What was the point of-”

A swift hindhoof to the jaw shut him up and sent him sailing through the air.

Enigma: 5

She rushed forward, quickly closing the distance even as she staggered slightly. Seeing her approaching, he flipped over in mid-air and swung at her. At that moment, one of her legs slipped, causing her to fall to the side and, incidentally, avoid the attack. She planted a forehoof on the ground, spinning around and knocking his legs out from under him. While he was still in the air, she turned her back half up above her head, bringing a hindhoof down on his side right before landing her other on top of his head.

Enigma: 3

She leapt back, going back into her pseudo-drunk pose. The only giveaway was the confident smirk on her lips. “Ready to give up?”

He slowly stood up, a small amount of blood dripping from his mouth. “...I won’t give up...” His shades had cracked on one side, revealing an icy maroon eye. “Believe it!” He leaped at her, so fast that he appeared to teleport. He landed a blow on her side, winding her. He slammed his head against hers, knocking her for a loop.

Vinyl: 3

Enigma: 2

She quickly recovered and retaliated, depending on her drunken hoof technique, certain that he wouldn’t win if he couldn’t tell what she was doing next. What she didn’t realize was that he’d already seen through this tactic, reading the muscles of her body and dodging each and every one of her strikes. He could even tell that she was slowly growing more and more frustrated with each passing moment. The only problem was he was starting to run low on stamina.

Around them, the scene changed once more, the caverns melting into the floor as the ground beneath them rumbled, rising into the air with the ponies still on it. Soon enough, the were on a small floating island, at least a mile off the ground. A few birds flew past, staring at the unicorn in confusion. They paid the pegasus no mind, as pegasi weren’t that unusual to see that high in the air.

Enigma leaped back for a moment to get a breather, narrowing his eyes. “Time to end this.” Just like the mare, he stood up on his hindlegs, the familiar red tendrils forming out of his metallic boots. The gears were turning in his head, a plan forming.

Vinyl sneered, huffing slightly. “Yes.” Her horn lit up, and the Smooth Rhythm, which had been neglected for so long, rose out of the earth behind the pegasus and launched itself at him.

He saw it coming, but he couldn’t just dodge it - it would go right at his love’s face. In a flash, he snared it in his electric whips and slammed it into the ground blade-first. He turned back to her only to find that she wasn’t there. He cursed silently, glancing quickly around the little island.

Vinyl: 2

He blinked, confused. He double-checked that in the little scoreboard in his shades. Sure enough, the disk jockey’s score had dropped a number. “...what? Why did-”

“BANZAI!”

He looked up just in time for a heavy axe-kick to land on top of his head.

Enigma: 1

She jumped away, swaying slightly, smiling triumphantly. “You didn’t know about this level, did you? This one counts you falling off the side against you, but it teleports you back above the field!” She sneered once more, lowering her head slightly. “And I still have one more life than you. Just give u-”

“ENOUGH!” He flared her wings. “This has gone on for far too long! I’m putting an end to this right now!” With that sentiment, he vanished from her sight.

She growled, looking around for her opponent. “Come out, coward! Or is everyone right - are you really a scaredy-filly?!”

“Not.”

She blinked, looking down at her opponent, who was currently crouched under her head. Why is his leg- That was as far as her train of thought went before he kicked her in the jaw, sending her flying up into the air. Her shades flew off her face, revealing her eyes, wide with shock.

Vinyl: 1

“A.”

He appeared in the air above her, his wings folded in front of him so the speakers were facing each other. In between them, a green sphere was formed, crackling with swirling energy dying to get out. He grabbed it with the red tendrils from his Bass Drops, forming a shell around the ball. The green light shined through the red, creating a bright yellow light.

He brought his hoof back, holding the newly-created mini-tornado bomb in preparation to strike. For a fraction of a second, a look of guilt crossed his face. He closed his eyes, if only to stop himself from looking at the pain in her eyes.

“MARE!”

He brought down his hoof, slamming the sphere into her protected chest, breaking the shell. The swirling energy burst out, striking the mare and causing her to spin wildly into the ground below. She collided with it with a loud boom.

Vinyl: 0

Enigma Wins

He landed next to the small crater and flung his shades aside, looking down into it. “...please be okay, Vi...”

She lay flat on her back, her forelegs out to her sides and barely moving. The ground beneath them started to fall, the illusionary island lowering them both down to the true earth. Vinyl was slowly raised up out of the crater, now resting on the soft grass.

Enigma rushed next to her as soon as everything had settled. He gently cradled her in his forelegs, crying softly. “...I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry.” He pressed his forehead against hers, his tears falling onto her sullied coat. “I-I was afraid. Afraid that I’d say something stupid - say something to ruin my c-chances with you.” He hugged her close, choking on his words. “T-that’s why I c-couldn’t go to that c-concert. T-that’s why I c-couldn’t bring myself to f-face you.”

“You’re crushing my ribs.”

He blinked, pulling back and looking at her face. “V-Vi?”

She peeked an eye open, smacking him over the head. “I said you’re crushing my ribs!” She sat up, brushing the scratches on her harness. White fur peeked through in a few small spots. “Damn, E, you actually penetrated my armor.”

He snickered, putting a hoof against his mouth. “That’s what she said.”

She rolled her eyes, smiling playfully. “I’m supposed to be the one to make the lewd jokes, baka.” She smacked his shoulder before pulling him close. Though he couldn’t see over his shoulder at that moment, he could clearly hear her sniffling. “...my baka.” She pulled back enough to look into his eyes, smiling softly. “...I forgive you, E.”

He didn’t have any time to respond before she pulled him into a passionate kiss. He didn’t mind, though, nor did he mind when she started to lean back, forcing him to position himself over her.

They didn’t get any further than that, though, before a buzzing sound filled the air. She pushed him away, sitting up immediately. “That sound. I know that sound.” She turned to look behind Enigma, her stunned expression slowly morphing into one of pure hatred. “Of course.” She stood up, her magic quickly pulling her Smooth Rhythm and V-Rifle to her. She turned to her love, smirking playfully. “Ready to zap some insects, E?”

He chuckled, clapping his forehooves together. “I was born ready, Vi.”

They both turned and faced the large cloud of black approaching them. They had no idea what the future would hold for them, nor did they care to find out. All they knew was that their bond had been strengthened, and they’ll face whatever life throws at them together.

“And you can run and tell that, home-boy!”

Enigma looked at her, confused, two Changelings squirming in the grip of his electric whips. “...who are you talking to, Vi?”

She waved a hoof at him, sitting on top of a pile of defeated foes. “Oh, you don’t need to worry about that, E. We’d better get a move on, though. This swarm won’t be unnoticed for long, and you know that-”

A flash of yellow sped between them, stunning them both. They turned and looked, watching as a blue-maned earth pony beat fifteen of their enemies in one fell swoop. She turned to them, her cyan eyes taking in their strained expressions.

“...what? What’s so funny?”

Vinyl giggled, covering her mouth with a hoof. “Tavi, you forgot to put on your face!” The happy couple couldn’t stop themselves anymore, laughing loudly and writhing on the ground in their mirth.

The mare sighed, rolling her eyes. “Well forgive me for leaving a family reunion to help deal with this threat.” She faced the swarm once more, ignoring the laughter behind her. “I suppose I’ll have to protect you while you recompose yourselves.”

She launched herself into the midst of the Changelings, her cello bows poised to strike.

When You Want to Be the Best

View Online

“I can’t believe you convinced me to do this.”

Octavia sighed, leaning back against a boulder in the middle of the clearing. She watched quietly as her coltfriend - friend who is a colt, she was quick to remind herself, berating her rebellious hormones - tended to one of his many swords. “You seem awfully attached to those things.”

Cinnamon eyed the mare for a second before going back to attending his swords. “I am. They aren’t made of any strong materials like your bows, so I need to take care of them with the utmost respect.”

“I can see that.” She smirked slightly, somehow finding it easy to joke with him. Her face quickly returned to its natural neutral expression. “There is one thing I’m curious about, though.” She pointed a mythril bow in the general direction of his swords. “Why does one of Fluttershy’s family members have such a...well, a dangerous cutie mark? Why aren’t you part of the Royal Guard?”

He just chuckled a bit at the statement. “I know what you mean. But you have to remember my older sister, Daring. She gets in as much danger as I do. As to why I didn’t join the Guard, I just felt like my abilities would be unused in it.” He raised one of the swords against the glare of the sun, inspecting any part that still needed attention. “That’s why I decided to travel the country, to see what’s out there.”

“So you travel, just like Daring does. Good to know.” She adjusted the shades on her face, frowning a little bit. “Goddess, this is annoying. I don’t see how Vinyl wears these all the time.”

“Ah come on, I think they make you look cute.” He said while elbowing the mare a little.

“All they do is remind me of the times Vinyl broke my cello.” She walked over to one of the training dummies nearby, inspecting it closely. “You have to admit, though, she’s quite talented at making these.” She glanced over at the other side of the field, frowning slightly at the other couple.

She flinched a bit, wondering where that ‘other’ came from. She shook her head, turning to the stallion next to her. “What was the goal of this game again?”

“According to V, this a skirmish game. We are suppose to take out as many changelings as possible in the limit time.” He said as he adjusted his harness so it wouldn’t affect his movement.

Her brow furrowed slightly in confusion. “‘Take out’? That’s an odd way to phrase it.” She sighed, watching as the silver ball in the middle of the clearing rose, scanning the area. “Where I’m from, we just say ‘off’.” She tapped the side of her harness, lighting up the display on her shades.

Enigma: 9

Vinyl Scratch: 9

Octavia: 9

Cinnamon: 5

She blinked, staring blankly at the odd digit out. “...that has to be a typo, or something.”

“Hmm?” Cinnamon levitated a pair of silver-gray shades to his eyes, activating them to see what Octavia was on about. “Oh that, heh-heh. I told V that I like a challenge, so she lowered the number of lives that I will have.”

“I see.” She put a hoof to her chin, thinking for a bit. She reached back, tapping on the side a few times.

Octavia: 4

“Parameters set. Size of area nine square miles. Uploading simulation number zero-zero-zero now.”

On the other side of the field, a certain burgundy pegasus was asking his marefriend about the anomaly. In reply, she just shrugged. “Eh, he probably just wants to be paralyzed when he loses.”

He stared at her in shock, his jaw agape. “Wait, what-”

She grinned, lowering into a battle stance. “Let’s do this!”

“Parameters set. Size of area nine square miles. Uploading simulation number zero-zero-zero now.”

Before their eyes, the grass gave way as large white buildings grew out of the earth, the once-magnificent structures marred by explosions.

The surface of each stone-and-wood dummy morphed into a black carapace. The green glow of the soul gems in their eyes dimmed, changing into a blue-green sclera. Their crooked horns lowered as they sneered at the players, half of them already starting to buzz into the air.

Enemies: 72

Friendly: 1

“BUCK!” Vinyl leaped forward, cleaving through the faux Changelings in panic. “I knew I forgot something!”

Enemies: 71

Enemies: 65

Enemies: 60

Finally, she made it to the spot where the comatose NPC lay, huffing slightly from her over-exertion. “...made...it.” She kneeled down, gingerly embracing the wounded pony, sighing happily. “...I finally did it...I made it to you...”

Enigma arrived behind her, confused. He stared blankly at the perfect replica in his love’s forelegs, feeling a little conflicted. “...not sure if touching...or actually kinda creepy...” He glanced over at the other couple - Tavi can deny it all she wants, but we know the truth - wondering what they were doing right now.

Octavia sliced through another of the insect-ponies, not even bothering to try and keep count anymore. Her best friend had just taken out a dozen of the pests, and she wasn’t planning on losing to her at this.

She was so focused on winning, she didn’t notice the Changeling approaching her from behind. It smirked, lowering its head to gore her.

“-Oni-GIRIII” In a flash, Cinnamon took care of the sneaky creature, while taking a hoof-full of its brothers and sisters. “Octy, I thought you learned your lesson of not letting other things distract you.” He said, sending an air blade into the mob, hitting another three of the things.

Enemies: 32

She sighed, shrugging slightly. “I can’t help it, Zolo. I overanalyze.” A noise caught her attention, and, spinning around and letting one of her cello bows drop moment, she slammed a hoof into the burgundy furred - wait.

Enigma, having been too busy chasing after a stray foe to see the attack coming, flew back from the attack, breaking through a tree near the edge of the clearing.

Enigma: 8

“What the hay, Tavi?!” Vinyl stomped up, glaring darkly at her friend. “You didn’t need to do that! So help me if you made it impossible for us to have kids...”

Octavia gave her a flat stare, an eyebrow quirked. “It was his fault for being too close.”

“BULL!” She slammed a hoof against the ground, shattering the concrete underneath it. “You could’ve stopped before you hit him! I know you could!”

During this whole discussion, the Changelings stayed back, feeling the immense pressure of the white mare’s anger.

The classy mare chuckled softly, tapping the tip of Vinyl’s horn, just gently enough to avoid deducting a life from her score. “Maybe, but this is a game, after all. Shouldn’t I keep my opponents from scoring any-”

That was as far as she got before a mythril-clad hoof slammed into her stomach, knocking the air from her lungs. The gray pony slumped to the ground, attempting to regain the precious oxygen she just lost.

Octavia: 3

Enigma stood over her, breathing a little hard. In the center of his chest plate there was a perfectly circular dent. He shook his head, clicking his tongue at her. “Now we’re even, Tavi.” He turned and ran off towards the horde, electric whips extending from his boots.

Octavia slowly got up, frowning disdainfully at the retreating pegasus. “That was rude.” She turned to the brown stallion next to her but stopped, staring at him in surprise.

Cinnamon was glaring at the feminine pegasus, enraged at the event that he just witnessed. “No one...” He started spinning the swords in front of him, creating a small vortex, “hurts...” He looked directly at his target, determined to make him pay. “MY OCTY” Quicker than the blink of an eye, Cinnamon sailed through the whole field, taking out any changelings in the way, before smashing into the pegasus and sending him flying into a building.

Enigma dropped down from the tower, glad to have activated his Rewind the instant he saw him coming. He sighed, lowering his shades and glaring at the stallion in front of him, his now-olive eyes glowing dangerously. “You have no idea the mistake you’ve just made.”

Enigma: 7

He vanished, snagging one of the swords with a red tendril and flinging it aside, piercing four Changelings before embedding itself in a tree. Cinnamon just took hold of the sword with his magic, pulling it free from the tree trunk.

Enigma leaped away, barely avoiding a slash from the other pony’s sword. Somehow, he was flung back, landing next to the mares.

Enigma: 6

Enemies: 21

He got up, groaning softly. “...how did he even...I was sure I’d dodged it...”

Without giving the pony any more time to think, the brown unicorn focused some of his magic into one of the swords, enveloping it on his aura. Before slamming it into the ground, making debris to float into the air, which stayed afloat thanks to the magic which the blade was created with. Before sending it towards his opponent

The area around them started to shift, the buildings arching towards each other, connecting at their tops. Alleys and streets morphed into tunnels, and, by sheer luck, a wall rose up, separating the trio from their enraged friend and protecting them from the debris.

Vinyl turned to her friends, hooves crossed in thought. “So it seems we’ve lost Cinn. He’s attacking everypony that stands in his way.” She glanced over at the gray mare, frowning deeply. “Even his marefriend.”

Enemies: 0

Friendlies: 0

“I think we have to work together.” Enigma looked at the two of them, pointedly ignoring the blush on his darker friend’s face. “Surely he can’t take all of us at once, right?”

Their conversation was interrupted as deep rumbling came from the dividing wall, cracks growing across its surface by the second.

“Move!” The trio leapt away, two down the surrounding tunnels, leaving the feminine stallion by himself. He glanced around and threw his hooves into the air, annoyed. “Great teamwork, girls!”

A sword came flying through the dust of rubble and implanted itself to the wall, slicing one of the tubes leading to the Bass Drops as well as his foreleg. “You are so dead.”

He grimaced, forced to stand on two legs while holding his wound. “Why?! This is a bucking game, and we treat each other as equals! Besides, ‘no one hurts my Octy’? Then what do you call what happened during the freakin’ engagement party?!”

Cinnamon wasn’t paying attention to anything that the pegasus said, the rage in him clouding any reasonable thinking. “We got interrupted the first time we fought, but that won't happen this time.” He said as he raised his two other swords, prepared to strike.

Enigma was hard pressed to avoid the attacks. His theta-state allowed him to react quickly to attacks, but his stamina could only last for so long. Soon enough, he found himself backed up against a wall, almost no way to escape. He sighed, closing his eyes as he awaited the inevitable.

Clang!

The pegasus opened his eyes, confused by that sound. Needless to say, he was happy at what he saw. In front of him stood his favorite mare, holding her Smooth Rhythm up, the mythril blade keeping the steel at bay.

She smirked, her horn glowing brightly from the exertion. “Didn’t your mother tell you not to hit mares?”

Enigma flinched, growling angrily. “NOT A MARE!”

She looked back at him, an eyebrow quirked. “I was referring to myself, E.”

“...oh.”

“Anyways.~” She turned back to Cinnamon, smiling brightly. “You know this is all a big misunderstanding, right?”

A kick to the gut was her response, as she was sent crashing to the stallion that was behind her, the vibrations from the hit, enough to make the sword that was impaling Enigma to the wall to fall off.

Enigma: 5

Vinyl: 7

“Yeah, I figured as much.” Her horn continued glowing despite the sword being embedded next to her. “Good thing I had a backup!”

Before he could react, the V-Rifle shot him from behind, sending him flying towards her. She smirked, holding up one leg. “Brohoof!” It hit him in the face, just hard enough to stop his momentum.

Cinnamon: 3

The duo leaped away from the wall. Enigma made sure to free the sword from the stone and Vinyl picked up her gun, neither one taking their eye off of the unicorn. The simulation morphed around them, the tunnels and rock ceiling melting into the floor. The blacks of the rocks blanched until they were pure white, and snow started to fall around them. It was even noticeably colder than before.

Cinnamon growled at the couple, annoyed for him to be tricked so easily. “You two are wearing my patience thin.” He extended one sword out outwards from his body. “Ken no sutairu: Tatsumaki!” In one swift move of the sword, Cinnamon created a tornado which was leaving a trail of debris from the surroundings.

The burgundy pegasus wrapped his wings around Vinyl, activating the shield as he attempted to protect her with his body. They shivered slightly from the cold, holding onto each other to stay warm.

“Tundra Sonata.”

They turned to the voice, finally noticing the gray mare standing dead center in the snowy field, holding her cello bows as if they were daggers. She leaped forward, bringing one down on the swirling column of air, slicing through it as if it was parchment. She continued to spin, slashing over and over until there was nothing left of the tornado.

She looked at the stallion that she cared so much for, her gaze ice cold. She closed her eyes, letting one hoof land on the ground. “I’m sorry.”

She dashed the short distance and slammed her head against his, knocking him back.

Octavia: 2

Cinnamon: 2

She immediately leapt back, making room for her friend to take her place. The white mare appeared to be staggering, her eyes half closed and her cheeks pink.

Octavia turned to her friend’s lover, bemused. “She’s drunk, isn’t she?”

He shrugged helplessly. “She had some kind of sake on her. I didn’t know until she’d drank it.”

They turned back to the two, watching as the disk jockey apparently started to make a fool of herself. Only the feminine stallion knew better, though.

“Oi!” Vinyl clapped her hooves together, catching the attention of her opponent. “What are you doing? Yeah, I’m talking to you - all three of you!”

“...I think she had too much.”

“Agreed?”

“Hey!” She growled, flailing her forelegs angrily. “Don’t ignore me, baka!” She leaped forward only to land flat on her face in front of Cinnamon.

Vinyl: 6

Cinnamon just eyed the prone form of the white mare, totally confused at what was going on.

She slowly pushed herself up, rubbing her snout. “That hurt...” She looked up at him, growling angrily. “What are you staring at?!” She ran forward, much faster than before due to the alcohol removing the mental limitations of her body. She launched herself at him, flipping over in the air, looking like she might just fall short once more.

She placed her forehooves on the ground, slamming down both of her hindlegs on top of his head and his body into the ground as a result. She leaped up, gently landing right in the middle of his back. “Baka, baka, can’t take a hit!~” She giggled, rolling off his form into the snow beside him.

Cinnamon: 1

“Vi, get up! He’s not done yet!”

She blinked, looking groggily over at Enigma. “...E?” She winced, holding her head. “Ow, buck. Stupid hangovers.” She lay back in the snow, letting the solidified water relieve the pain. “...mmm...” She blinked, looking up at the blur above her. “...hmm?”

With the white disk jockey down, the brown unicorn took the moment to make his move. In one move he took hold of Vinyl’s tail, earning him a small ‘eep’.

“Hey!” She looked up at him, blushing brightly. “Only E’s allowed to touch me there!”

He ignored her, pulling her up by the tail, making the mare get flung into the air, before bringing her back down hard against the ground.

“Ahh!”

He didn’t stop there as he flung her again to the floor, this time making a small pony size crater in the ground. She struggled to get away, a trail of crimson starting to form in the corner of her mouth.

He then proceeded to fling her into the air, making her go airborne at a height of 15 metres. Using as much strength as he could, Cinnamon launched himself into the air, managing to catch up and overpass the mare as they both continue going up. Flipping around, he brought one hoof back, ready to strike the mare as soon as she reach him.

Burgundy filled his vision, the pegasus having caught his love and attempted to protect them both with his shield sphere. He gently tilted her head towards himself, noticing that she was out cold. He turned to the unicorn above him, glaring angrily.

But this didn’t stop Cinnamon, with all his might he brought his hoof down, smashing the shields as they overloaded from the impact. Enigma receiving the full blow and letting go of his love. The pegasus soared somewhere in the Everfree, while Vinyl just crashed to the earth below.

Vinyl: 2

Enigma: 2

Her best friend ran to her, ignoring the ground rising up underneath her. “...her...her rib broke...” She clenched her teeth, turning to the brown stallion with tear-filled eyes. “Her lung is filling with blood. Are you happy, Cinnamon?”

At that moment, Cinnamon started to calm down a bit, seeing the pony he cared for like this,brought some sense into him. Starting to see the wrong in his actions.

“Vi could die...” They looked up, seeing a blur of dark red approaching them rapidly. In one of his hooves he held a large yellow sphere, three times the size he would’ve used normally. “...because of you, YOU FEATHERBRAINED ASS!” He brought the hoof back, his cracked shades revealing an enraged, tear-filled eye.

Upon seeing the approaching threat, Cinnamon’s instincts kicked in again, pulling his swords out, expecting for the sphere to be some powerful attack.

“BURN IN TARTARUS!” Enigma swung it down at the other stallion. He was too far gone in the Theta-state to even begin strategizing.

When the sphere was a few metres from hitting, Cinnamon brought two of his swords to form an archway of sorts. Which in turn managed to stop the sphere of light to hit him. With one push he cut through the ball to reveal a shocked pegasus.

“You have no idea what you’ve just done.”

The massive amount of swirling energies within the ball exploded out, hitting everypony in the clearing. Every single one of them was sent flying off the floating island, crashing into the trees below.

Enigma: 0

Cinnamon: 0

Octavia: 0

Vinyl: 0

Game Over - Tie

There Shall Not Be a Sudden Death

Good Day

As the land mass slowly started to sink, the four ponies were teleported back into the center of the area. They were laid down with their heads towards each other.

Enigma groaned, turning his head as much as he could to look at the mare next to him. He smiled softly, seeing her peacefully resting. He sighed, relaxing back into his reclined position. “...Cinnamon. I know you’re awake.”

There was a small sigh coming from across where Enigma was. “Yeah, I’m awake. Look, I’m sorry for what I did, it always happens when I get angry like that, I just...” He sstrugled to get any more words out, finding it really difficult to properly apologise to the stallion for his recklesness.

“I understand. I was just as protective when I thought Vi was gonna...you know.” He tilted his head up slightly, straining to see the unicorn. “I feared that she wouldn’t last through the round. Now that she has...well, she was smart when she made these harnesses. Explained everything about them.”

“I can’t move.” Octavia spoke up, her voice sounding uncharacteristically panicked. “Why can’t I move?”

The pegasus rolled his eyes. “I was about to get to that. You see, when a pony’s ‘lives’ go down to zero, it locks up their muscles by intercepting any voluntary muscle movement signals past the neck. It takes a while to undo unless someone manually stops it.”

“Huh, well now I see why she was trying extra hard to beat me.” He frowned a bit thinking about the events of the match. “I just wish that none of this would have happened in the first place.”

“There’s good news and bad news.” He chuckled nervously, wishing he could scoot a little bit away from them.

“Oh yeah? Well tell me the good news then.” Hoping that the news would brighten up the mood at the moment.

“There’s a secondary spell in these. When somepony is beaten, their body starts to rapidly repair itself. Blood back into their vessels and everything.” He glanced over at Vinyl, smiling softly. “...she’ll survive. Possibly be in better health, even.”

Cinnamon let out a sigh of relief, glad that he wouldn’t have blood on his hooves. “Thank the Goddesses, it’s a good thing that I destroyed that ball of light of yours then.” He raised his head up, trying to look the other stallion in the eye. “But what is the bad news?”

“...the bad news?” There was a nervous tinge to the mare’s voice.

“...well, if nopony comes to undo the first enchantment...we’ll be stuck here.” He gulped, looking at the other two conscious ponies. “Five hours, minimum.”

Cinnamon just stared at him like he had just said the Princess was a child molester. “You are kidding, right? five hours...stuck like this?!”

“I wish I was. At least it’s started setting, eh?”

There was a rustling of leaves at the edge of the clearing. “...of course, there’s always the chance a Timberwolf might find us.”

A face appeared above them, a familiar canary-yellow mare staring down at them in confusion. “Um, I hope I’m not being rude, but why are you all laying on the ground?”

Cinnamon looked at his sister with a sheepish smile. “It’s a long story.”

When You're Curious

View Online

“There you are, Tavi!”

The classy mare turned to the voice, seeing her best friend approaching with a green unicorn behind her. She smiled, waving calmly to them. “Glad you two could make it. I was worried that Rhino had left for his own dimension by now.”

The stallion in question smiled at her, “Well, I thought about it and figured there’s no real rush. It’s been like a... familiar vacation while I’ve been here, so I might as well enjoy it.”

“That’s the spirit, dude!” Vinyl patted his back heartily, grinning brightly. She moved away to get a harness for him.

While the white mare was away, Octavia turned to the stallion, nodding genially. “I’m glad to hear you’re trying to enjoy this situation, Rhino.” She idly twirled one of her cello bows, making sure she knew the heft of it.

He eyed her weapons curiously, “So what is this all about then? Vi was being vague when I pressed her for details.”

“She would do that.” Octavia sighed, motioning to her own gear - a mythril-weave body armor. “She made these for a game she came up with. At first, I was skeptical, but I have to admit, it is somewhat entertaining.”

“Just somewhat, Tavi?” Vinyl reappeared, holding up another torso-length harness in her magic. “If I remember, you had asked if we could play again almost immediately after the first time.” She levitated the clothes over to the other unicorn. “Anyways, this is going to be a sparring match of sorts, if I’m not mistaken. Any questions before we begin?”

“Quite a lot actually,” he said as he geared up in the harness, “but I suppose the important ones would be: ‘why?’ and ‘what are the rules?’”

“The rules are simple.” Vinyl’s horn lit up, a virtual one showing up in the air next to her. “One, you are not allowed to aim for the head with any deadly attacks. It’s not as protected as your chest area.” The number morphed into another. “Two, your goal is to bring the other pony’s ‘lives’ down to zero. You can do this by either landing a blow on their torso or by physically forcing their inertia to change. Three, stay within the designated fight area. If you leave, you will lose a life off your score and be teleported back to the center of the area.” She holds a pair of shades up for him, grinning widely. “These will allow you to keep track of the current score.”

“And I can answer that first one.” The classy mare slipped on a pair of goggles, smiling softly. “I suppose you can say I’m curious about your skills in fighting. From what I hear, you’re rather talented.”

“When pushed I suppose I could be considered that.” He grimaced, “Though I admit, I am still a bit hesitant to try to hurt you.”

“I’m more durable than you give me credit for.” She walked a distance away to a large boulder. She kicks it and steps back, watching it shatter into a number of pebbles.

One of the pebbles rolled up to Rhino’s hooves. “So it seems.” He looked back at his apparently inevitable opponent. “Alright, if this is what you want. At least there’s nothing to make me lose control here.”

“Yep.” The smaller unicorn playfully (if awkwardly, due to the height difference) punched his shoulder. “And don’t worry about getting hurt too badly. The harnesses absorb most of the blows, and if your lives go down to zero, it will rapidly begin to heal you...after paralyzing your limbs to keep you from agitating your injuries.” She waves the shades at him, waiting for him take them.

He looked over the shades before levitating them on. “Once again, you and your inventions intrigue me, Vi.”

“I try.~” She watched as her best friend walks back up to them. “Okay, now that everything’s set, we can get on with the game!” Vinyl tapped both of their backs, causing displays to light up in their shades.

Octavia: 6

Rhino: 6

“Seems like a reasonable amount.” Octavia turned to the stallion, smiling slyly. “What do you think?”

He shrugged, “I have no idea, you’re the expert.”

“It’s good enough, then!” The disk jockey kicked a sphere on the ground, activating it. It floated up into the air, emitting a white light that scanned over the field, generating a grid over the ground.

“Parameters set. Size of area, nine square miles. Uploading simulation number zero-one-one from the memory of player two.”

Concrete sprung up around all of them, bits of machinery attached to large turbines hum in the background. Waterfalls can be seen along one long wall from any of the multi-level walkways across the area. Below, water rushed through and out holes opposite the falls creating a veil of mist in some parts of the facility as well as making the very bottom of the facility unseeable beneath the water. Corridors marked the ends of the structure, colored lights above them.

“...interesting choice of venue.” The classy mare turned to her sparring partner, a small smirk on her lips. “I never would’ve pegged you for an engineer. Especially since you mentioned being a medic the other day.”

“Oh this isn’t my turf, this is where my roommate works, he’s the engineer.” He smiled, “I suppose I have slight home-field advantage then.”

“Maybe. Good thing I’m adaptable.” She leaped into the air, creating some distance between them so she could plan properly.

On the outskirts of the field, a fuchsia filly stepped forward, running a hoof over the newly made concrete surface. “...this won’t do...how am I supposed to see the fight?”

She thought for a moment, looking up and seeing a door high in the wall. “...that’s convenient. And a good test, too.” She concentrated, focusing on the bottoms of her hooves. “Here I go.”

She placed a hoof on the wall, followed by another. Taking a breath to stoke her courage, she finally put her last two hooves on the wall. Peeking open an eye, she saw that her vision was now at a ninety-degree angle from normal. “...still a bit disorienting, but it's working, at least.” She walked her way up to the door, excited to see the fight between her mentor and her idol.

Octavia hid behind one of the turbines, silently thinking to herself. So this pony probably won’t be that much of a challenge if he’s not worked up. I’ll just use my normal techniques on him, possibly toss a couple taunts in there, and work from there. She peeked around the machine, searching for any sign of her opponent. Where did he go?

She looked up, just in case he was on the ceiling. Nope. She turned around, slightly disappointed. Maybe he doesn’t want to even try? I suppose I didn’t have to shatter that boulder.

Rhino peered into the nooks and crannies of the dam from his vantage point at one of it’s ends. Blinking away at the beginning of this fight will only buy me so much time. I still can’t believe she wants to do this. I’ll have to see if I can end this quickly. Focus, what do you know? She’s skilled, experienced, knows what she’s doing with those bows judging by how she was twirling them, she’s strong, and she’s cunning... This does not bode well. His horn glowed for a moment as he stretched out with his magic to try and find her. Nothing, she’s not close.

He looked around for a moment before suddenly disappearing and reappearing on the underside of one of the walkways further down. Luckily she doesn’t know much about me, not that I’m much more informed on her. Close combat won’t work well for me unless I catch her off guard... I just have to spot her before she spots me. He magically scanned the area before Blinking away again.

A creaking sound came from one side of the area, unnoticed by either of the combatants.

The door to the catwalk opened up, the unicorn filly carefully walking in. Her horn lit up momentarily before the light enveloped her body, morphing to distort the light coming from her. She grinned, examining her now-invisible legs. “Glad I learned that spell.”

She glanced around as she began to walk along the catwalk, searching the room for her friends.

Octavia sighed, starting to get bored. Fine. If he won’t come to me, I’ll go after him. She stepped out of her cover, walking on her hindlegs as her style demanded.

She closed her eyes, focusing on the sounds coming to her. Being a talented musician allowed her to pick out even the smallest of noises. I hear Vinyl, in the same spot she was before. I also hear a filly on the catwalk...I’m not going to contemplate what she’s doing up there. Her ears rotated, doing their best to pick up any sign of her opponent.

There! She pulled out a hoof-mounted grapple-hook, firing the claw end in the direction of the third distinct sound. Before it pulled her up, she flung a stick into the air.

The sudden *click* to his side caused Rhino to glance over. His eyes widened when he saw the rapidly closing mare attached to the chain.

“Found you.” She brought up one of her mythril cello bows, ready to strike.

On an adrenaline-fueled reflex, Rhino Blinked down to where Octavia was, his heart pounding at the close call. He narrowed his eyes as he prepared to score a hit on his opponent. A sudden hit on his back caused him to look and see a stick lying next to him as the score counter flashed in his eyes.

Rhino: 5

Octavia smiled, tipping an imaginary hat to him. “It seems I know you better than you know yourself. And I hardly know you.” She released her grapple-hook and pushed off the wall, rushing straight at him.

Seeing the head-on attack for the second time, Rhino’s horn glowed as he focused on her.

She saw this, bringing up her cello bows to protect herself.

Only for him to smirk as the stick that had got him, now curved it’s way under Octavia, headed straight for her chest from below.

Silently cursing herself for forgetting about simple levitation, she took the hit in the chest, putting one of her bows back to grab onto the boomerang before it fell away. She landed right in front of him, frowning deeply.

Octavia: 5

“Congrats. I didn’t see that coming.” She put her items back on her waist, holding her hooves up. “But I’m not done yet.”

He backed away from her, unsure of what she was doing, but knowing he stood a better chance if he wasn’t close. “Neither am I.” His horn glowed again, but nothing noticeable happened because of it.

She looked curiously at him for a moment before responding. “We’ll see about that.” She leaped forward, hooking his foreleg with her hindleg, yanking it out from under him. She landed an elbow on his back, forcing him into the ground. She leaped away, eyes narrowed. I can’t believe it won’t register multiple hits in succession. That stupid technicality forces me to wait between attacks.

Rhino: 4

Rhino growls in pain as his horn kept glowing. Suddenly an arcane circle forms on the ground beneath himself and Octavia, causing her hooves to slip from under her. As she hits the ground, he pushes her back with a blast of magic. He frowns as the hit counter doesn’t come up.

She slides across the floor outside of the circle, wincing slightly from the abrasion on her hooves. “Magic blasts don’t count towards the score.” She reaches back towards her flank, a hoof digging into the secret pocket there. It soon emerged with a slingshot, which she tossed towards him. “There. That’ll help you out alot.”

The toy bounced off his head. He growled quietly at the added insult to injury. “My thanks.” He stored the slingshot in his mane. “Looks like I’ll have to stop being so timid.”

Above the two, Pinch watched in curiosity. “That looks like his Res circle. Does it have two uses?”

When the mare hit the stallion with the slingshot, she pouted slightly. “Sensei isn’t being very nice right now. I think I want Rhino to win, now.” She thought for a moment, pulling out one of her kunai. “Maybe I can help him a little?”

“Timid? Sounds like you’ve become more like-” She cut herself off as a single black dagger fell on the ground in front of Rhino. “...oh.” She steeled herself, knowing that she couldn’t tease her opponent right now, as that new weapon could very well tip it in his favor.

He levitated the knife to his eye-level, tilting it so he sees his reflection in it as well as see the mare in front of him. He raised his voice, “Pinchy, you might just be my favorite filly!”

“Thanks!~”

He lowers his voice as he focuses on the mare opposite him, “Well this is familiar, let’s try this again.” He Blinks and appears right in her face as the knife swings in an arc in front of him, glowing with his aura.

She, still in her stance, parries the attack with a bow, gritting her teeth slightly. She spun, moving from a block to an attack, her free hoof lashing out at his chest.

His knife intercepted it, curving at a speed only able to be done when not wielded by a limb. However, the attempt caused him to back off from the mare to avoid follow-ups.

To his surprise, she took a few steps back, looking down at his hindlegs.

There, underneath him, lay a single black grenade. It exploded, releasing a volley of black rubber balls at high velocity into his belly and legs. By pure luck, it avoided his genital area.

Rhino: 3

The force of the grenade, though deadened by the vest, still tossed him off the walkway, the knife following but no longer in his aura. A splash from below reveals his landing zone.

Octavia stifled a giggle, looking down into the water at him. “You really are all wet, aren’t you? You should be glad that’s all that happened, though.” She waved a hoof, winking teasingly. “You wouldn’t want your marefriend to go somewhere else for a foal, would you?”

A black blur rocketed out of the water towards her as a voice echoed. “You will NOT talk about her like that!” A moment later revealed the stallion, eyes narrowed and teeth bared as he stood on the surface of the water.

Octavia nonchalantly deflected the kunai with one of her bows and stared at him. For once in her life, she did a very non-classy action.

She grinned in excitement. “That’s more like it.”

Berry Pinch was in the same boat, staring down at her idol. “This is amazing! It’s just like my manga!” She yelped, realizing that the simulation was starting to shift around her. She leaped onto a wall and raced down it, not wanting to fall from the disappearing catwalk.

The concrete and machinery sunk into the ground, but kept the hue of the material. The sky opened up and snow began to fall, the temperature dropping to match the source of the memory. The waterfall stayed, moving off to one side of the field, the stallion now standing on the river formed from its flow.

The earth pony glanced around, smiling brightly. “It seems as though I have the advantage this time, Rhino.” She drew her other cello bow, holding them both up like they were swords. “Shall we dance?”

Rhino exhaled deeply as the thrown knife flew back to him, pinning itself to his side. He stopped baring his teeth, adopting a neutral expression. “But who will lead?” He releases the spell allowing him to stand on water and falls below its surface, and unknown to Octavia, performing a series of quick Blinks to a spot behind the edge of the waterfall.

The mare smirked, closing her eyes once more. She quickly located him with her superb hearing, turning towards the cascading water. He just doesn’t learn, does he? She launched her grapple-hook at a place just under the lip of the cliff.

“Eep!”

Octavia blinked at the sound, seeing her grapple-hook return with a struggling filly in its grasp. “...Berry, what are you doing? You need to leave before you’re hurt!”

She gasped a little, pointing to her neck. Taking the hint, she released her from its grip, allowing her to fall free and take deep, greedy breaths of air. “My point still stands. Besides, you need to be punished for intruding on a closed sparring match.” She grabbed the filly by the scruff of her neck, starting to make her way to where Vinyl stood.

“Please let me stay, Sensei! I want to learn more by watching you two!” She tried her patented doe eyes, but the mare’s current position didn’t allow it to be seen. She sniffled, pouting slightly. “...I bet Rhino would let me stay.”

Sighing, she lowered the filly back to the ground, giving her a stern look. “If Rhino did that, he would be a foal. It’s already a wonder that his universe’s Fluttershy doesn’t mind being with him.” She shook her head, frowning deeply. “From what I’ve seen, he’s impulsive, the opposite of how she acts. Don’t get me wrong, he’s brilliant, but his weaknesses are readily apparent.” She chuckled, smirking slightly. “Makes me wonder if he tricked her into being with him.” She turned to where the filly was, but saw nothing. She blinked, surprised, glancing over to see where she went.

The small unicorn smiled, small magic sparks still in the air around her. “Just learned this from watching Rhino. Speaking of...”

Rhino gritted his teeth as he heard Octavia from his spot where he had Blinked to watch her deal with Pinchy. He appeared to her left and said simply, “I earned my spot in her heart.” As Octavia turned to where he was, he had already disappeared and was rapidly approaching her right side. He glided across the ground as if he were skating, his speed constantly increasing until he rose up and slammed into her side with a hoof.

Octavia: 4

The mare found herself sailing through the air. “...huh. I guess his strength increased.” She turned and landed on the side of the wall, glancing briefly at where they were standing. With a smirk, she raced down the wall, cello bow in hoof. She launched off the wall and landed on the ground, continuing her charge towards him. What happened next, though, surprised her.

Pinch Blinked in front of the stallion, holding her forehooves out in an attempt to protect him from the attack. “Don’t hurt Rhino! Please! He’s my friend!”

Octavia didn’t slow down, calculating a way to go around the little filly. She was determined to beat him, her eyes narrowed behind her shades.

Rhino, seeing the mare not stopping, grabbed the filly with his magic and put her on his back, even as he lit up the ground around his opponent with his circle again. He Blinked again in series until he and Pinchy were at the top of the cliff, where he set her down as he tried to catch his breath from the larger exertion of moving two bodies. He looked down to see how Octavia fared.

It was at that moment the grapple-hook grabbed his face. The earth pony let herself be pulled towards the stallion, bringing her knee up against his chin and knocking him into the air.

Rhino: 2

Octavia landed on the edge of the cliff, smirking at him. “I thank you for getting Pinch out of the way. However, I’m still going to beat you.” She placed a hoof on his chest, pinning him to the ground. “So, do you want to say something, or are you going to accept defeat?”

He stared at her. “Pinchy, stay safe.”

The little filly looked from one pony to the other, torn. She leaned down, gently nuzzling the stallion’s cheek. “You’ll win, Rhino. I know you will.” She silently placed a kunai under his hoof.

“Right.” The mare rolled her eyes, frowning slightly. “If he couldn’t beat me, then how would he keep his precious marefriend safe? I think his cowardice will just lead to heartache when some pack of Timberwolves overpowers him and takes her away.”

He growled at her words.

She continued, seeing the reaction it was getting out of him. “Perhaps it won’t even have to be timberwolves.” She raised her hoof only to stomp it back down.

Rhino: 1

“She could just leave him. I would, if I were her. Maybe all it will take is a stallion to come by with a bit more confidence, being enough of a rock to make her turn to him...make her theirs.” If this doesn’t rile him up, I don’t know what will.

The filly pushed her off her idol, visibly upset. “S-sensei, stop! Why are you doing this?!”

She stared down at her pupil icily, her shades having fallen off from the shove. “Because it needs to be said. Nopony else will tell him the truth.” ...okay, maybe I went a little too far with that line. She sighed, turning to her opponent to apologize only to freeze in place, shocked.

His eyes were locked onto hers. His breathing was deep and rapid. His mouth was in a horrible grimace. Suddenly his hoof flicked upward and plunged the knife into her hoof that was pinning him.

She recoiled, hissing in pain. She stepped back, keeping her hoof off the ground.

He rose from his prone position, eyes still locked onto hers. The blue stripe in both his mane and tail changed to blood red, as if somepony has poured paint into them from the roots. He levitated the knife out of his hoof as it dripped her blood.

Pinch curled into a little ball, looking up at him in stunned silence.

Octavia, on the other hoof, became more determined, quickly wrapping a spare bandage around her wounded forehoof. She held up her cello bows, ready to deflect any more attacks from the knife.

Or so she thought.

He let out a snarl as he launched the knife at her, even as he Blinked to her side.

With the multiple threats occurring at the same time, she had no idea which one to go for. She decided on the knife, as it was aimed blade-first at her face, deflecting it with her bow.

Taking advantage of her priorities, Rhino slammed a hoof into the side of her face. The blow caused her to fall over the far edge of the cliff into the out-of-bounds area.

Octavia: 2

He gave her no time to rest, his eyes instantly searching for her form, which he spotted back down in the field.

She groaned, shaking her head. “...I will not lose.” She pulled out a small black sphere, grimacing a little at the pain in her hoof. “...it’ll be worth it.” She grabbed the stick from before off her back and flung it at where she assumed he was.

Rhino appeared down on the field, a short distance away from Octavia. He saw the boomerang coming towards him and simply batted it another direction with a burst of magic. His eyes settled on her as he approached.

She smirked, holding one of her cello bows out to him. “Let’s settle this.” She flipped it over, leaping at him and swinging it swiftly, aiming for his shoulder.

He once again Blinked out of her way, this time phasing in directly above her. His snarl morphed into a predatory grin as he roughly yanked her unused cello bow off her back with his magic before landing.

“Sneaky, sneaky.” She giggled, holding her injured hoof behind her back, her cello bow at the ready. “I’ll just have to punish you for that.”

He simply chuckled before launching towards her, wielding both knife and bow with his magic.

She parried and blocked with relative ease, glad she wasn’t left-hooved. Even so, he still got in a few cuts with the kunai. She bit her lower lip as a third laceration appeared on her foreleg, dangerously close to a major artery. “You’re using magic, aren’t you?” She barely managed to deflect an attack aimed at her shoulder, gritting her teeth with the strain. “Yes, you are, speeding up your steps. Not very sporting of you, Rhino.”

He responded by making his horn glow even brighter as a familiar circle appeared underneath Octavia’s hooves. This time though, instead of making her slip, her hooves found themselves anchored to the ground and unable to move.

“Not this time!” She stabbed the ground with her bow, freeing her legs, and landed on top of it, smirking at him. Then it hit her. ...I’m unarmed. Buck.

He grinned unsettlingly as he swung her own bow in a viscous arc across her face. She spun from the blow, falling off her cello bow and landing on the ground in front of him on her right side.

Octavia: 1

She groaned, looking up at him with one eye. A coy smile grew on her lips. “...like I said...I won’t lose...” Her words were punctuated with a whistling sound coming from behind her.

Rhino didn’t acknowledge the whistle, instead he raised up both bow and knife as he loomed over her. Both weapons trained their points on her chest.

That’s when the boomerang hit him in the forehead. It wasn’t strong enough to register as a hit, though. With a small smirk, she brought her left hoof from behind her back, holding a small black sphere, the silvery pin falling to the ground. “You remember this, right?”

He snarled as he tried to bring the weapons down on her, only to realize that they lay motionless on the ground. A silver ring glinted on his horn.

She chuckled, slowly sitting up. “Magic inhibitor ring.” She lowered her head, smiling softly.

“Boom.”

The bomb exploded, hitting them both with rubber balls. Her body locked up, feeling the paralyzing effects of the vest. She watched as he started to tilt towards her. ...uh oh.

Octavia: 0

Rhino: 0

The arena faded, leaving only its two combatants as evidence to its passing.

“...since we can’t really do much other than talk right now...” She looked up at him, remorse clear on her face. “...I want to apologize...also, your hindleg is in a rather...personal area...”

He stayed silent a moment as his breathing slowed and his usual blue returned to his mane and tail. He spoke quietly, “I would rather just not think about what happened... and umm,” a flush appeared on his face from their compromising position, “Sorry.”

“I insist on apologizing. I egged you on, wanting to see your full potential. I even said hurtful, untrue things.” She looked away, blushing a bit in embarrassment and shame. “...you’re a good stallion, Rhino...your marefriend’s lucky to have you in her life...”

He smiles too, “Thank you. I thought it might have been something like that, but my reflexes to things like that are a bit beyond my rational thinking sometimes. You alright?”

“Aside from you rubbing me a little every time one of us breaths, I’m fine.” She glanced down at the cuts on her forelegs, seeing them visibly sealing themselves up. “Vinyl really wasn’t kidding about that rapid healing, was she?”

He laughed tiredly. “Hopefully somepony finds us before that five-hour paralyzation also takes it’s full effect... I give myself 15 minutes before I pass out from all the energy I spent.”

“Strange.” She looked up, her eyes crossing a bit as she thought to herself. “Stamina should be replenished at the same time. I guess magical stamina is different from normal stamina.”

“There you two are!”

Pinch raced up to them, grinning, her hooves glowing magenta. She stopped in front of them, seeing their current situation. “...why are you two doing mommy and daddy’s special hug?”

Rhino’s face burned as he let his head fall to the ground in embarrassment. “You want this or shall I take it, Octavia?”

“I teach her enough, as it is.” She smirked playfully. “You tell her.”

“Ok Pinchy, Lesson One: Unfortunate Circumstances.”

“Yay!” She grabbed a stone large enough to sit on and pulled it over, sitting herself down, paying rapt attention to her idol from another dimension as he began the lesson.

It didn’t occur to any of them to ask the filly to undo the paralyzing mechanism.

When Two Fillies Play a Game

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“...and that’s how it works!”

Broadway smiled. “Awesome!” She punched the air in front of her.

Pinch raised a hoof, curious. “Do we have to wear the harnesses, though? I don’t think I want to be paralyzed, even temporarily, if I lose.”

“Frankly, I’d prefer you to not get too harmed while playing.” Vinyl shrugged, smiling a bit. “Besides, the harnesses heal the loser while they’re paralyzed.”

“Can we start this already? It’s gonna be so cool fighting with ya Berry!” The pegasus filly smiled. “Especially in this Sci-fi get-up!”

“Alright, you two asked for it.” The mare poked the backs of each of the fillies, causing a display to show up in their shades.

Broadway Bound: 7

Berry Pinch: 7

“Why can’t we have nine lives? A cat has nine lives!”

Vinyl stared at her blankly for a moment. “That is the most curious reason I’ve heard for wanting nine lives in this game.”

“Well it’s true,” she scoffed. “Do we just start by, like, hitting each other like you said? Or do we have to wait until you leave? Will we be watched?”

“Oh, you’ll get the start signal. After that, you’ll start the fight.” She glanced over to the side. “It seems your opponent is ready.” She gestured to where Berry was, which was now empty space.

“Crud, I better get ready!” Broadway pulled out her Rewind blaster and looked around. “Come out, come out wherever you are.”

Vinyl kicks the sphere right next to her, causing it to activate. It began to rise, a white light scanning over the field and generating a grid over the ground.

“Parameters set. Size of area, nine square miles. Uploading simulation number zero-five-one.”

Several spires swiftly sprung up out of the ground, smaller spikes forming from each one. Almost as soon as it started, it stopped, the newly-made canopy at least a mile above the Everfree’s.

“Sweet!” she whispered to herself. Deciding that she need the upper-hoof of the battle, she flew up into a tree.

“I see you.~”

The fuchsia filly popped up right above Broadway, her hooves connected firmly to the branch as she hung upside down. She brought down a hoof on top of the pegasus’s head, just hard enough for it to count against her.

Broadway: 6

“Ahh!” Broadway looked at her life count and growled. “SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!” she aimed her Rewind gun at her friend’s torso and shot.

Berry was sent flying right into the trunk of the tree. She fell down, groaning softly.

Berry: 6

“Sorry!” Broadway smiled innocently as she took off into another tree.

“...you will be.” The unicorn leaped up, bouncing from branch to branch, pursuing her opponent. She pulled out a kunai, flinging it blunt side first at her opponent.

Broadway ducked slightly, it still hit her but didn’t count as a life lost. She continued to leap from the tree onto the next one, hoping to lose her enemy. “Come at me, bro!”

Berry stopped, smirking slyly. “I already have.” With those words, she vanished.

“What?” hissed Broadway. Hoping it wasn’t another aerial attack, she began to run away from the area.

“Behind you.”

The unicorn slammed her hoof straight into the other filly’s back, sending her flying.

Broadway: 5

“So you want to play it that way? Bring it!” Broadway zoomed into the trees, now unseen.

“You cannot escape me!” Berry placed her forehooves together, concentrating. Her horn glowed brightly, marking the beginning stages of a spell.

Once the actress reached the highest point of the sky, she dive-bombed straight down. “Maybe I can’t escape you, or maybe you just don’t realize what’s about to happen.”

At that moment, she looked up, smirking as her body was enveloped in a magical field. “Maybe you should’ve planned ahead.” At that moment, she started to spin. “Gentle Art: Hoof Rotation!”

“What the-” When she hit the shield, she was sent flying to the other side of the simulated forest.

Broadway: 4

She eventually slowed down, her eyes swirling a bit in their sockets. “...urgh...still not used to spinning like that...” She shook her head quickly, getting her bearings. “Where did she go?” She leaped off the branch, trying to find where her opponent went.

When Berry eventually made it to the other side of the simulated forest, she expected Broadway to attack her. But no, her opponent was limp on the ground.

She stayed her distance, though she was definitely concerned. “...you okay?”

The filly was silent.

“I suppose I should knock down your lives, then.” She pulled out a kunai, targeting her chest. “After all, you’ll heal when you lose.”

“Not so fast.” Broadway quickly pulled out her Rewind gun and shot Berry.

The unicorn was flung back once more, slamming into the trunk nearby.

Broadway ran over.

“Tell me something.” She stood up, smirking slyly. “Why hasn’t my life count gone down? The answer is simple, really.” She vanished.

“Because it’s an illusion.”

“How about you come and fight! or are you going to send an illusion down to fight, coward?!”

She slammed a hoof into her back, sending her into the same trunk her clone had hit. “I use clones to keep myself safe, friend.”

Broadway: 3

Broadway got up shakily, spitting out a tooth, two teeth, okay maybe three.

Berry blinked, staring in shock. “Are you alright?”

“Just a flesh wound!” Broadway smirked. “I’m a lot tougher than you would expect!”

“Are you kidding?! You just spat teeth out!”

“I...” she stumbled over. “...already know that!” She sent a string a furious punches at Berry, three of them landing hard on her harness and sending her flying off the branch and into the ground where she landed with a hard thud.

Berry: 2

“...she’s tenacious, I’ll give her that...” She carefully stood up, watching as the landscape shifted around them. The trees thickened, shrank and turned white, the forest floor turning into concrete. “...what’s going on here? What is this place?”

Broadway looked around, then decided to fly up. “I-I think it’s Canterlot!”

“Huh.” The pink pony ran, almost literally gliding over the streets. “Bet you can’t find me!”

The filly narrowed her eyes, deciding to stay in a pegasus-safe area above the buildings. “Wait...” she said to herself, hatching a plan.

“I bet I will!” she yelled, flying higher. “You’re a terrible hider! I can so obviously see you!” she continued, smirking as she flew around. “Really! You’re a disgrace to Octavia! And why didn’t I see your sister when you got here? Or anypony with you really? I bet they hate you!”

As soon as that last word was said, kunai appeared to fly at her from every direction.

Broadway flew up, avoiding the majority of them. Although some scratched her flank and harness, they didn’t drop any lives.

“Now what are you going to do? Throw your pitiful... what are those? Oh yeah, They don’t have a name because NOPONY CARES!”

“Really.” The voice seemed to come from multiple locations. “At least I’m not an orphan.”

Broadway laughed. “It’s not my fault they’re dead!” She pulled out her Rewind gun.

“And what did you do after that?” The voices continued to taunt her. “You lived on the streets. Tricked honest ponies into letting you into their homes. Betraying them by stealing from them.”

“So what?” she yelled, shooting at the voices.

“At least you now have a home. Oh, wait, you stole that, too.”

“And how did I do that?” she asked, her stomach churning. I really shouldn’t have said all those things... I just need to keep my priorities in mind.

“You don’t remember? Funny, you gave Enigma a hard time about it at the engagement party.”

“How!?” she yelled flying down, at least they could verbally bash each other face-to-face.

“Gotcha.”

A kunai sailed through the air, beaning her right between the eyes with the blunt end.

Broadway: 2

“Ah!” She hissed, shooting in the direction of the kunai. Okay, maybe flying down wasn’t such a good idea! she thought, hovering a few feet over the sidewalk.

“Gotta love genjutsu, eh?” Berry leaned against a wall, idly tossing a kunai into the air. “Lets you beat yourself up without any effort from me.” She chuckled, throwing it at her friend, blunt end-first.

Broadway shot her harness without any second thought, ducking before the weapon hit her.

The unicorn slammed into the wall, sliding down it. She stood up on shaky legs, a small trail of crimson forming from the corner of her mouth.

Berry: 1

“I’m so sorry!” yelled Broadway a tear running down her cheek. “For everything I said!” She ran up. “I only have 2 lives left, go ahead.”

“...no...” She stared into her friend’s eyes, smiling softly. “...I’m gonna win...fair and square...believe it.”

Broadway smiled as another tear grew in her eye. “I better get going then!” she flew up again, waiting for berry’s next move.

“Yeah, you better.” She giggled, waiting for her friend to get far enough away to not see her. She placed a hoof on her chest, wincing slightly. “...easier said than done...”

Broadway fluttered her wings as she reached the top of the sky. Looking down at Ruby, she sighed. “I guess I can finally put my plan into action....” she dive-bombed straight towards Berry.

The wounded filly looked up, shocked by the strange tactic. “No time to lose. Gentle Art: Hoof Ro-” She stopped in the middle of her spin, her body seizing up on her. “No!”

Broadway looked at the filly, “Let me make a change to the plan...” Instead of heading straight towards her and heading in a different direction last minute, she headed down towards berry only to knock a life off and fly away. Soon her body seized up too. “Berry! Roll over or something!” Falling like this... I’ll fall on top of her! I’ll break every bone in her body! I mean, I know she’ll heal up with the harness and all, but...

Berry looked up at her, smiling sadly. “...I...I can’t...” She closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable.

Broadway tried to jerk herself over. “I’m so sorry, Berry!” And then she hit the ground.

The ground?!

Broadway: 1

Broadway laughed in joy, seeing Berry next to her, with her eyes still closed. “Berry! I didn’t crush you!”

The unicorn blinked, turning towards her friend. She sighed softly, slowly making her way over on stiff limbs. “...I’m glad...though...” She coughed, a painful sound to everyone who heard it. “...I...can’t...” She fell down on top of her friend, knocking both of their lives down to zero.

Broadway: 0

Berry: 0

“Berry?!” Broadway tried to move, but she couldn’t feel her back legs. “Hold on! The harnesses will take care of all of this!”

The little filly didn’t respond, completely unconscious from the pain. The buildings sank into the ground, the concrete slowly being replaced by grass.

“Just hold on...” cried Broadway. “My stupid mouth just had to go and start all of this! Berry’s not the one who deserved this... I am! berry, your sister loves you, your whole family does. Octavia should be proud of you. Those kanais or whatever they’re called are super cool! I am a terrible pony!” Broadway continued to sob, telling Berry to hold on every minute or two.

“Pinchy? Bebe!”

“V-Vinyl?! Is that you?”

“There you are!” She strode over to them, huffing softly.

“Vinyl! We need to help Berry Pinch now!” Broadway sobbed.

“Frankly, it’s already happening. Don’t you remember?” She pointed to the harnesses. “They heal you rapidly if you lose, as well as paralyzing your body to keep you from agitating your injuries as it does so. Blood goes back into your vessels and everything.”

“I do...but what if-?” Broadway sighed. “...I need a hot bath.”

The mare reached down and moved the little unicorn off of the pegasus, tapping a certain spot on the white filly’s back.

“What did you press?”

“A manual release on the paralytic. You should be able to move, now.”

Broadway shakily stood up. “I-I can feel my hindlegs again! Thank you so much!”

“Yep.” She smiled, patting her on the back. “You’re welcome.”

“Vinyl, if I learned anything today, it’s that you should never say anything negative. Even if it's all apart of the plan that would backfire in the end anyway.”

She stared blankly at her for a moment, unsure what to say. “...I suppose that’s a good lesson?”

She smiled brightly. “Thanks!” she looked back down at her opponent. “What exactly happened to her? I think she couldn’t breath when she fainted.”

“She, uh...” Vinyl cleared her throat, a little sheepish. “...she has a bit of a condition. Fragile bones, compared to the rest of us.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “...that was the real reason nopony wanted to play this with her...”

Broadway stared at Vinyl for a moment. “I shot her with her with my gun... I hit her against a bunch of trees...” she looked down, then up at Vinyl, then back at Berry.

“You didn’t know. She...she didn’t want to be treated differently.” The white mare placed a hoof on the unicorn’s head, gently trailing a hoof over her head.

“...Why do I have a feeling I’m going to Tartarus?”

“She’ll live, and you aren’t gonna go to Tartarus.” She shook her head, smiling reassuringly.

“And one more thing I’ve gained from all of this!” She took a deep breath. “Acting Skills!”

Vinyl chuckled, rolling her eyes playfully. “Of course.”

“Thank you for having me Vinyl! I need to catch the next train to Canterlot!”

The disk jockey smiled, waving to the little filly as she left them.

This Is What Happens

by enigmaMystere

When Fun Goes Too Far

When You Want to Be the Best

When You're Curious

When Two Fillies Play a Game