> Epic Equestrian Paintball War of Awesomeness > by TheNeonNyanMuffinCat > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > I'm BORED! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- One lovely day in the Equestrian Capitol, Canterlout, one of the most respected leaders of all of Equestria was in her room. And she was bored. She was lying on her back on her bed with her large, white head hanging over the edge. She groaned and mumbled, as there was nothing, absolutely NOTHING to do. She didn't have any meetings or business trips or anything like that. And even if she did, those would be boring also. Luna was in her room next door playing "Portal 2" or whatever she called it, and she could hear her shouting at her gaming buddy through her headset. Sigh...not even bothering or playing with Luna sounded like fun. And seriously! Luna was her little sister! She was older, and older siblings have a grand time bugging the littler kids. Wow. This boredom must be serious. Celestia sat up, and once the room stopped spinning wildly, turned to face the wall. A small, blue rubber ball was sitting on the nightstand, and she picked it up with her magic and gave a small, gentle toss to the wall, which bounced off the stone and came back. It landed in front of the white alicorn's hooves, and she groaned loudly and fell on her back again. "I am so darn BORED! I would bet my crown and necklace that I am the MOST Bored pony on the entire PLANET!" She said to herself. It probably wasn't true, but when you are as bored as Celestia, it's very easy to believe. She shifted her head so she was facing her giant storage closet, she got an idea. Maybe there was something in the closet that would kill the time! The Goddess got onto her hooves and began to advance to the closet. A few BORING seconds later, she came to the door that kept the cluttered mess contained. Her horn glowed golden, and with a bit of effort, swung the rather large door open to reveal a large pile of papers, pictures, boxes, foal-hood toys, and other miscellaneous items. Her gleaming, purple eyes shifted along the mess, searching for anything that would grant her entertainment. Then she spied something. Something deadly if used wrong. Something that some ponies fear. Something that was very, very fun in Celestia's opinion. It was a very simple, cardboard box with bold, black words scrawled on it with sharpie. PAINTBALL EQUIPMENT It was perfect! She would have a large, exciting paintball war in the Canterlout Gardens right outside the castle where Celestia resided. But she would need more ponies... The horse used her magic to levitate a well-crafted, violet quill, a golden bottle of ink, and a piece of paper over to her and began to write. Dear my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle: It seems I have found myself with nothing to do. But while searching through some old stuff, I have found my old paintball equipment. I would love nothing more if you would bring yourself, Spike, your friends, those three crusaders, and anypony willing to participate in the Epic Amazing Equestrian Paintball War of Awesomeness! Luna and I will also be playing. Here is all the bits you may need to bring everypony up here. It will be held in the Canterlout Gardens when you get here.I will provide the neccicary armor, equipment, location, and ammo if you provide the other players.I hope to see you soon! Your gleeful mentor, Princess Celestia Celestia rolled up the paper into a formal scroll, and, along with the bits she promised, sent it. She then smiled big and brought down the box that held everything they would need to have the most fun they possibly can. She opened the large box, almost as big as her, and peered inside. "Perfect." She whispered, giving a little hoof-clap. MEANWHILE IN THE LIBRARY OF PONYVILLE Twilight Sparkle, hoof-chosen student of Princess Celestia herself and local librarian, was in her library in the shell of a large oak tree. A silvery white book lay open in front of her on the table, and the unicorn read it intently. Spike, her dragon assistant, came down the stairs very slowly and carefully with a large stack of books in his arms. "Here are the other ones, Twilight!" He stammered, obviously out of breath from the weight he was carrying. Twilight perked up, and helped the struggling Spike by levitating the stack over to her. Spike fell over in exhaustion on one of the stairs. He then covered his mouth with his claws, and a small, green jet of flame came out, along with a scroll and a small, yellow bag tied with a formal red ribbon. Twilight cocked her eyebrow and picked up the scroll after putting the books neatly on the floor next to her. She opened it and read it, lips slowly forming a large grin. "Spike, you ready to get colorful?" She asked. Spike put on a confused expression until Twilight gave him the letter to read himself. He too smiled big. "This is going to be so much fun!" He said excitedly. "Let's tell everypony!" and so Twilight ran out; Spike on her back, money and letter in horn; to the middle of town to tell all the ponies Celestia's fun plan for the day. She ran to town hall, and once everypony was there, Twilight began to speak. "Greetings, everypony. I have just received a letter from Princess Celestia. She would love it if a few ponies went to Canterlout to have a large, paintball war!" Twilight paused to let everything soak in. She didn't want to seem to rushy, or telling everypony everything all at once. "Now. Princess Celestia is going to provide everything we need, even the money for the trip there." She held up the little bag of bits. "It will be held in the Canterlout Gardens. Now, everypony who wants to go, go to the North side of the field." Twilight pointed her hoof to the North. "Everypony who wants to stay, you can just go back to your regular schedule. We will be back tomorrow, and wish us luck!" A murmur of excitement came from the crowd as all the ponies got into their desired positions. When everypony was in their place, Twilight spoke once more. "Okay! Ponies that want to come, follow me and Spike to the train station!" Twilight, Spike, and all the ponies that wanted to come went to the train station, bought their tickets with the money provided, got onto the train, got into their seats, and talked while they set out to be a part of the Epic Equestrian Paintball War of Awesomeness. (By the way, if you want to know who all is going to play, here's a list. your'e welcome ;3 Twilight, Spike, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Applebloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Big Mac, Derpy Hooves, Lyra Heartstrings, Bon-Bon, Vinyl Scratch, Berry Punch, Carrot Top, Colgate, Candace and Shining Armour, Raindrops, and Octavia. (24 ponies, wow!) > Yer Hinus > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Celestia was still in her room when the ponies in Ponyville left. But she was no longer bored. She was exactly opposite. she was UN-bored. A large paintball war would be going on within the hour when the group of ponies arrived, ready to fight for- Celestia's eyes went frozen. She hadn't thought about what the prize should be, let alone have it with her. Heck, she didn't have rules, or teams! It was going on soon, and she didn't even plan these things? Talk about disorganized. Maybe she should talk to Luna about this. Celestia picked up the box with her magic, and went into the other room. She knocked loudly on the wooden door. A few noises came from inside, and the door opened. Luna looked up at her older sister, headset still on and controller levitating near her. "Yah, Tia? What is it?" She asked. Her question was answered when Celestia showed Luna the cardboard box. "We're having a paintball war. Are you gonna play? I invited Twilight and all of her little friends. They should be here soon." "A paintball war with you and a group of hardcore ponies? Count me in! Just let me turn off my game, and I will meet you in your room in a sec, kay?" Celestia nodded slightly and walked away. Luna went back into her room, and Celestia walked into hers and set the box down. Luna came in a few seconds later, and looked through the box herself. "What are we fighting for?" She asked, pulling out a small, orange chestplate. "I don't know yet. What do you want to fight for?" "A title of...What are you calling it again?" "Epic Equestrian Paintball War of Awesomeness!" Celestia said with lots of inflection in her voice. "Okay, the title of MOST EPIC EQUESTRIAN PAINTBALL WARRIOR OF PURE AWESOMENESS!!!" Luna shouted in her Royal Canterlout Voice. "And a trophy!" Celestia said. "And a feast!" Luna added. "AND THIS PAINTING!" "YEAH! Wait, what? A painting?" Celestia had a large smile on her face as she pointed one hoof at a small painting of a flower. "What? I don't like it!" She said. Luna just groaned and facehoofed. MEANWHILE ON THE TRAIN FROM PONYVILLE TO CANTERLOUT "Why would the princess host a paintball war? I thought royalty were all into being neat and proper and perfect and all that stuff." Rainbow Dash said, trying to pry a wide-eyed Scootaloo off her side. "She said she had nothing to do, and she just found some old paintball equipment." Twilight said, staring out the window. "OHMYGOSHWEREGONNAHAVEAPAINTBALLWARIDONTEVENKNOWWHATTHATISOHBUTIBETITSGONNABEFUNFUNFUNOHWHATIFTHEREISCUPCAKESANDMUFFINSANDPUNCH!!!!!" Pinkie pie blurted out all at once. "MUFFIAN!" Derpy said, accidently running into a window by Pinkie while flying around the train. "YEAH DERPY! MUFFINS!" Most ponies just giggled a bit or rolled their eyes, but Derpy and Pinkie rolled on the floor, laughing their heads off. "Neva been in 'ah paintball war, have 'yall been in one, Twilight?" Applejack asked the purple mare. "No...not really. But I hear they're a lot of fun." Twilight replied quietly. "I guess we'll see when we get there." Said Raindrops, helping Derpy and Pinkie up off the ground. BACK IN CELESTIA'S ROOM "Careful with that, Luna!" Celestia warned. "These are kind of old, you know." "I know, dear sister. I'm being as careful as I can with these paintball guns." Celestia advanced the blue alicorn to help her. "Looks we got six colors, and Twilight sent me a letter saying they will be here very soon with 20 players, including her and Spike. So 20 players, plus me and you, and Candace and Shining Armour, that will be 24 players. So 24 players and 6 colors, that will be 4 ponies a team." "I'm gonna take your word for it, Tia." Luna said, dumbfounded. A heavy voice from a guard came from outside the door. "A group of ponies from Ponyville are here to see you, your highness." "Send them i..." Celestia started. But then she remembered where they were, and it would be kind of awkward to have a paintball meeting in the middle of her bedroom. "Send them to the...Ballroom. And tell them I will be there shortly with the supplies." "Of course, your highness." When Celestia knew he was gone to do what she asked, Celestia did a bad, yet hilarious impression of the guard. "Hello, yer hinus, can I bea stupihd for ya, yer hinus?" Luna laughed and rolled around on the floor, and begged for her to stop, but Celestia went on. "I hav ta ask ur permission fer everythng, cuz im stupihd, yer hinus!" Luna laughed even harder. Celestia was laughing also. When their fit was over, Celestia put everything back in the box, and levitated it into the air. "Come on, yer hinus. let's go meet our competition." Luna nodded, and followed Celestia to the Ballroom where a the group of players gathered. > Teams and Rules, Rules and Teams > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The ponies from Ponyville stood around a large table in the Ballroom, their chatter making the room louder than it was used to. They waited patiently for the Royal Sisters to enter and give them the game plan. A large hush fell over the group as the two Alicorns came into the room, Luna first, holding a scroll in her mouth, flanked by Celestia, who was carrying the box that held the Paintball Equipment. "Welcome, everypony. Super happy that you guys made it here. How was the train ride? Was it well?" Asked Luna coolly. "Thanks for inviting us. The train ride was fine, thanks." Answered Twilight. "Yeah, yeah, trains. You guys are here for a paintball war, not a pleasant talk." Said Celestia, annoyed and eager to begin. She placed the large box on the table, and began to speak again. "Now, me and Luna-" "Luna and I." Interrupted Lyra. "Whatever, grammar Nazi. Luna and I have planned out all the teams and team captains." Luna gave a curt nod, and put the scroll on the table. "I will proceed to explain the arrangements, and pass forth the correct protection to your corresponding hue." Continued Celestia. confused looks went around the table, until Sweetie Belle spoke up. "Can somepony speak English?" Luna rolled her eyes. "She's gonna tell you what team your on and give you the matching color." A loud 'oooohhhh' came from the ponies. "Yeah, whatever. Let's start on the Team Captains! There are six teams. Lilac Purple, Sun Yellow, Carrot Orange, Gleaming White, Cupcake Pink, and Sea Blue. Twilight will lead the Purple team, Fluttershy will lead the Sun Team, Applejack will lead the Orange team, Rarity will lead the white team, and Rainbow Dash will lead the Blue team." A small chatter came from the other players, and the six ponies chosen to lead their unknown groups came up to Celestia. She gave each a helmet, chestplate, and knee and flank pads. The chestplate had a small symbol on it, each representing the Team. Purple had a small Lilac on it; Yellow had a sun; Orange, a perfect grown carrot; White had sparkles; Pink had, well, a pink cupcake; and Blue had three waves. "Now for the members of each team. When I call your name, come to me for your armor, and then go to your leader." She then read all the names on the scroll Luna brought in. All the ponies came to her, got their armor, and happily went to their leader. (which pony belongs to which team is at the end of the chapter, BTW) "Now that we have got the leaders, and the armor, here are your guns. I will give the ammo to your captain." She then levitated a colored gun to each pony and gave a case of ammunition to each team leader. "TO THE CANTERLOUT GARDENS TO HAVE THE EPIC EQUESTRIAN PAINTBALL WAR OF AWESOMENESS!!" Shouted Luna. AT THE CANTERLOUT GARDENS WHERE THE EPIC EQUESTRIAN PAINTBALL WAR OF AWESOMENESS IS SUPPOSED TO TAKE PLACE They arrived in the middle of gardens, hedges and statues all around. "Now let me explain the rules. Rule one, THERE ARE NO RULES!" Exclaimed Celestia. "No. There are rules." Luna corrected her sister. "What are they?" Asked a confused Twilight. "No Flying whatsoever. And no spells. Unicorns and Alicorns, you can levitate your gun, but other than that, no magic." A murmur of agreement came from the ponies. "This is a capture the flag type game, so just try to get all of the flags, and protect the ones you do get. The team that gets all the flags, wins." More chatter came from the group. "Other than that, it's pretty much a free-for-all. So just be careful, have fun, and obey the rules." "Just one question." Said Pinkie Pie. "Yes?" Asked Luna. Pinkie had her party cannon. "No." Pinkie sighed. "Suit yourself." She kicked the cannon away. Luna rolled her eyes. Her and Celestia's horns glowed, and next thing everypony knew, they were all in a different corner of the battlefield. A booming voice could still be heard from all around, though. "ON YOUR MARKS!!!" It said. From how it sounded, it was most likely Luna's Royal Canterlout Voice. "GET SET!!!" A long silence made everypony on the edge of their seats with suspense, waiting for the single word that would cause the game to start. "GO!!!!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LILAC PURPLE TEAM - Twilight Sparkle (leader) Flitter, Cloudchaser, Lyra SUN YELLOW TEAM- Fluttershy (leader) Apple Bloom, Bon-Bon, Derpy CARROT ORANGE TEAM - Applejack (leader) Carrot Top, Raindrops, Scootaloo GLEAMING WHITE TEAM- Rarity (leader) Sweetie Belle, Celestia, Shining Armour CUPCAKE PINK TEAM - Pinkie Pie (leader) Berry Punch, Spike, Princess Candace SEA BLUE TEAM - Rainbow Dash (leader) Colgate, Luna, Vinyl ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Green Team??? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- After all the teams got settled in their base, passed out all the ammo they may need, and talked over many strategies, they set out to get the other teams' flags and win the prizes that Celestia promised. Never had anypony been so scared to look around a hedge or peer behind a statue. IN THE BLUE TEAM'S BASE "Now! Here's how it's going to go. Colgate, stay here and protect the flag. Luna, spy on the other teams-WITHOUT letting them know you are there. You probably know your way around best." Rainbow Dash addressed. Luna gave a curt nod. "And report what you see and hear to me. Me and Vinyl will try ambush, going into the bases and trying to get the flag, no matter what the costs. Right Vinyl?" "Right." Vinyl said, cocking her gun which hovered next to her with a magenta aurora. "Alright! If we all know what we have to do, let's move out, troops!" Luna trotted out of one of the openings that led out of the small clearing into the hedge maze itself. After a check that they had everything they need to take down an opponent, Rainbow and Vinyl followed after. "Remember, Colgate! Do not back down, and do not loose the flag!" Rainbow shouted after her. "You got it, chief! Let nothing happen to the flag!" The toothpaste-haired mare shouted back. assured that what they had to protect would be protected, she followed Vinyl at a fast pace. *Luna P.O.V, Spying on Gleaming White Team* Luna crouched down low in a large hedge, shielding unwanted eyes from finding out that she was there. Shining Armour was standing by the flag, a white paintball gun levitating next to him. He was firmly placed, seeming as if he would not move no matter what anypony told him. She wouldn't shoot him...at least, not yet. she had to wait until Rainbow Dash told her she could. She went out of the hedges on the other side after making sure the coast was clear. She ran back towards her base, hoping to meet with Rainbow and Vinyl to tell them how protected the flag was. Luna plus the ambush group of two would most defiantly take down the white stallion long enough to get the flag and get out before he signaled anypony to help him. A few minutes later she met up with her leader and her partner. "Any news?" Rainbow asked her scout. "White team base dead ahead, protected by Shining Armour. Other than him, I could see no other ponies protecting the flag. Us three could get him out and get the flag very fast." Luna answered officially. "Good plan. Let's attack him and then check on our own camp." Vinyl said. Luna and Rainbow nodded and began to quietly creep to the destination Luna gave. Another few minutes went by, and they arrived at the enemy's base. They hid in the bushes, guns ready to shoot. All three blue ponies aimed at their target. "FIRE!" Dash shouted. Before Shining could figure out it was an ambush, Twenty-seven paintballs landed squarely on his chestplate, knocking him back with surprise. "GO! GET THE FLAG! HE'S OUT!" Luna shouted. On cue, the three Blue Team members jumped out of the bushes and into the white clearing. Luna was fastest when it came to ground racing, so she bolted towards her target. With expert agility, she jumped over Shining and the ammo case, grabbed the white flag with sparkles on it, and went back into the bushes. Rainbow pushed aside the white gun so that Shining could not get them out-even if he tried, it would not count, as he was already shot at least five times. When Luna was safe in the bushes with the flag, Vinyl shouted to her leader that the flag was obtained and she could come back to check the camp. Rainbow nodded and bolted into the bushes after her teammates. They ran away from the scene, because the noise they made and Shining's loud pleads for backup could have alerted others of the same color, and it would be bad to encounter more than they could take down. Once they were sure that they were far enough away that they could not be followed, the group slowed to a trot, and eventually a walk. They laughed about the events that unfolded until they got back to their base. Rainbow and Luna talked and laughed until a loud, shocked gasp escaped Vinyl's mouth. The team leader and the blue alicorn turned their heads to see why the white unicorn was in so much distress. And the scene before them made all the color drain from their faces. An explosion of Orange and a frantic Colgate covered in orange paint was before them. The flag was gone, and the base was a huge mess. Colgate, almost unrecognizable because of the large amount of color on her, ran up to her leader. "Im sorry Rainbow! There were so many of them! It was just way too much for me to handle! I mean, they surrounded me and took me down and took my gun and stole the flag and they were gone! I'm so sorry!" After Dash took in what had happened, she took deep breaths and spoke. "It's not your fault, Colgate. How many were there?" Colgate thought for a minute of just how many attackers there were. "It was the whole team...the leader...everypony in the group was a part of the Carrot Orange Team. And they were dang fast. It was just like four orange blurs, and a few seconds later, it was over." Rainbow took some more deep breaths, and made sure they still had supplies. It would be foolish to take another team's ammunition, though. As they would serve no use other than restrict the other team's supplies. "Thank you for your service to the Sea Blue Team, Colgate. But you have been shot more than five times...and you're out." "I understand...I was happy to help while I could." Luna's horn glowed, and the blue pony disappeared. "hey...I thought you said no magic!" Rainbow said. "Yeah...I just teleported her to the outlands, where you go when you get out." "ooh...." "Well...Let's just get back on track...and then set out once again to get another flag to make up for the lost one." Vinyl suggested. "Good plan." Rainbow Said, getting a supplied towel out of the ammo box and started to wipe up the paint. IN THE PURPLE TEAM'S BASE Twilight stood silently, gun ready to fire if need be, right next to a purple flag with a small flower that matched that of which was on her chestplate. Next to her stood Lyra, also armed and ready to attack if she needed to. Twilight had just sent out a twin team consisting of Flitter and Cloudchaser to see what the Pink team was up to. With Pinkie Pie leading it, you never know. "So...what is the plan if an ambush comes by?" Asked Lyra quietly. "Shoot. Protect. Shield. Shoot." Replied Twilight with the same volume. "Got it." Few words were spoken until Flitter and Cloudchaser came into the clearing. Flitter had two pink splotches on her chestplate, while Cloudchaser had one. "What happened?" Asked Twilight. "You have pink on you." "Well..." Started Flitter. "We were being super quiet, but when I changed my position in the hedges where we were hiding to spy on the Cupcake Pink Team, I guess I made a noise, and we got shot a couple of times." "Yeah...sorry..." Added Cloudchaser. "It's not your fault. But I'm gonna be more careful with you two from now on. I don't want to lose you guys just yet." The twins nodded, and advanced more into the purple base. They barely had time to react when two ponies from the pink team burst into the camp, shooting like crazy. Flitter got shot three times before she could pick up her gun. "FLITTER'S OUT! GET THE FLAG!" Berry Punch shouted. The remaining Lilac Team ponies aimed and shot their paintball guns at the invaders. A few shots later, not enough to get them out, but enough to scare them as they realized that there were three of the purple ponies and only two pinks, retreated. "RETREAT PINKS!" Berry shouted again. The two pink mares, Berry Punch and Candace, bolted back into the bushes with enough hits to scare the Cupcake Pink Team into not wanting to attack again for a while. When the ponies still in recovered from the shock of a very fast ambush, they turned their attention to the pony that had got shot five times. "Flitter!" Said Cloudchaser. "You're out!" Flitter looked at her colored chestplate and counted five pink blobs of color. "Oh...what now?" She asked very quietly. "I'm gonna teleport you to the outlands...wish the rest of us luck." Twilight answered. "Luck." A dim flash later, and the purple Pegasus was replaced by air. Twilight gave a big sigh and looked over her remaining team. "Let's be more careful...one pony out I think is bad enough. I don't want the rest of you to join her." A slight nod came from the mint mare. "Yeah. WAY more careful." Said Cloudchaser, picking up her purple gun. PLAYER COUNT: 21 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LILAC PURPLE TEAM - Twilight Sparkle (leader) Flitter, Cloudchaser, Lyra SUN YELLOW TEAM- Fluttershy (leader) Apple Bloom, Bon-Bon, Derpy CARROT ORANGE TEAM - Applejack (leader) Carrot Top, Raindrops, Scootaloo GLEAMING WHITE TEAM- Rarity (leader) Sweetie Belle, Celestia, Shining Armour CUPCAKE PINK TEAM - Pinkie Pie (leader) Berry Punch, Spike, Princess Candace SEA BLUE TEAM - Rainbow Dash (leader) Colgate, Luna, Vinyl ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Unfortanate Meeting > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- With three ponies out already, every player started to figure out the full extent and how easily they could get sent to the Outlands and began to be more careful. They creeped around corners instead of bolting around them, and wasted quite a lot of ammo on snapping twigs and falling leaves. IN THE YELLOW TEAM"S BASE "Okay...um...I...um.....epp..." Fluttershy whispered. "Is she really the best choice in a team captain?" Asked Bon-Bon, fed up with the shyness of the Pegasus. "Of course she is! Right Fluttershy? You won't let us lose, right?" Challenged applebloom. Fluttershy, wings and hair partly covering her face, only squeaked and flinched in response. "Yeah, right! Of course she'll let us lose!" Bon-Bon argued. "She's weaker than a newborn cat! Maybe even weak-" The mare didn't have time to finish her sentence. An orange blob of paint whizzed past her face, only inches away from hitting her. It landed on the leaves behind her, splattering against the green. Her eyes widened with fear, and turned around to see where the projectile had come from. Before she could jump out of the way, a shout and many gunshots later, and Bon-Bon was out. Applebloom, Fluttershy, and Derpy swiveled around, and saw the orange team, scowls on their faces and guns aimed at them. Fluttershy took one look at the helpless pony laying down on the dirt, grimacing in pain and a wave of fear rushed over her. She flinched down on the ground, curling into a ball while Derpy and Applebloom pointed their guns at the attackers. Get up. Fluttershy looked up at the sound of someone speaking to her. She saw no sign that a pony had talked. It was deathly silent. Get up and protect them. Fluttershy couldn't find out who was talking to her. No, she knew exactly who was talking to her. It was her. She was talking to herself, in her mind. Now. Protect them. For the first time, a face of real determination plastered against her face. She knew what she had to do. Fluttershy straightened up and picked up her paintball gun. Holding it in her forehooves, she reared up on her back legs and pointed her gun at the team leader, Applejack. "No pony messes with The Yellow Team." She fired her gun several times, and without thinking, Applebloom and Derpy did the same. Applejack got immediately out, and Carrot Top, who was right next to her, matched her. "Retreattttttt!!!" Shouted Raindrops. Scootaloo ran from the scene, flanked by Raindrops who, before bolting all the way into the cover of the maze walls, turned around to shout: "This isn't over, Yellow!" And she dove into the bushes and ran. Satisfied that they were gone, Fluttershy dropped on her four hooves again, but didn't wipe the scowl from her face. "Teach THEM to mess with US!" Applebloom said, lowering her head and pawing at the ground. "Dat was awasum!!" Cheered Derpy, fluttering her wings and smiling. "I'm sorry I doubted you..." Whispered Bon-Bon. But instead of saying something, she started to pace around the flag and muttered to herself. Applebloom walked up to the three ponies laying on the ground that were out. "What do you reckon we do with them?" She asked her leader, walking past her sister. Fluttershy stopped pacing and looked in the direction of the three players. Still frowning in anger, she walked up to them, with more than a hint of aggravation in her step. "You three," she started, looking them over, "Go find a unicorn or Alicorn and have them teleport you to the outlands." Then she turned tail and went back to pacing. The three people got and did what they were told left as three burning sets of eyes watched them leave. Once they did, Fluttershy spoke up, not taking her eyes off the ground as she circled the flag. "You can't trust them, can you?" Derpy and Applebloom exchanged glances. "Can't trust who, Fluttershy?" Asked Applebloom. "Anypony! You can't trust Anypony in this game anymore." "Um..." "You!" Fluttershy shouted, pointing at Derpy. "Go spy on Pink Team." "Yes Mayhm!" Answered Derpy, saluting, then picking up her gun and going in the opposite direction of the Pink Team's base. "And you." Fluttershy continued. "You will actually listen, so, go spy on White and shot anyone and I mean ANYONE that you see along the way. And do not. I repeat, do not get distracted. Understand?" "I understand." "Then GO!!" Applebloom, surprised by the sudden outburst, grabbed her gun and bolted away. IN THE ORANGE TEAM'S BASE "Please?" Pleaded Scootaloo. "No." Answered Raindrops. "Why?" "It's to dangerous." "I'll be careful!" "I can't afford to lose you." "You won't lose me!" "No." "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..." "No." "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..." "No!!" "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..." "FINE YOU CAN SPY ON THE BLUE TEAM!" "Thanks Raindrops!" Said Scootaloo, grabbing her gun and running into the depths of the maze. "Just be CAREFUL!" *Applebloom P.O.V., walking around* I walk on the dirt ground, sun shining brightly over my head, with Fluttershy's words still echoing in my mind. and shoot anyone and I mean ANYONE you see along the way. And do not, I repeat do not get distracted. Understand? I understand. Then GO!! The words play over in my mind and distract me so much that I don't even realize that a heavy cloud has wandered its way in the path of the sun, making it close to impossible to see. I take deep breaths, puff out my chest like I did when I went into the EverFree Forest, and continue walking. In the distance, I can see the familiar irregular body of Discord. *Scootaloo P.O.V, walking around* The sky goes dark and eerie as I slowly walk towards the all to familiar statue of the powerful, slightly annoying, Discord: Spirit of Chaos. I remember that he is the middle of the gardens, and you can see the directions to every team's base from there. My gun feels plasticity and slightly metallic as I hold it in my mouth. *Sweetie Belle P.O.V, walking around* I shake with fear and chilliness as the sun gets blocked and the heat disappears. I hope I can just get to the Pink base, see what's going on, and tell about it. Fighting with your team is fun, but meeting a patrol of three or four ponies isn't. I decided that to pass the time I would work on a simple light spell to see if I could use it to see better. My horn sputters green, but it doesn't stay lit for long as it quickly fades. It makes me tried, so my head hangs as I make my way to the Discord statue. STMA The three fillies advance closer together, and the cloud blocking the sun makes them unknowing that the others were there. The clouds were so heavy, that they bumped into each other, their three noses clashing together. They all screamed in unison, jumping onto their backs and pointing their guns at each other. *just a normal weather pony's P.O.V* I lay down on the grass, slowly falling into sleep. I wake myself up though, because I notice that a heavy cloud has blocked out the sun. "Huh." I fly up and clear the sky, and then lay back down for my nap. "I wonder where Rainbow Dash is at this hour." STMA The clouds now gone, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo finally saw who they had run into. "Sweetie Belle! Applebloom!" Shouted Scootaloo. "Applebloom! Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle said. "Scootaloo! Sweetie Belle!" Applebloom finished. Sweetie Belle lowered her gun at the sight of her friends. "Aw, I can't shoot you guys." Applebloom copied her unicorn friend. "Me neither." Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked at a scowling Scootaloo. The orange Pegasus sighed, and lowered her gun as well. "I geuss me neither." "So what do we do? We can't shoot each other, and if we walk off like nothing happened, one of us is bound to tell." Sweetie Belle said, voice clouded with worry. All the ponies sat down and startedto think. "I have an idea! Now huddle, i'll tell ya. It's foolproof, it can't fail!" Applebloom said encouragingly. The three ponies huddled together, putting their arms on each other's shoulders as Applebloom told the group her cunning plan. When she was finished, the group broke up. "It's perfect!" Smiled Sweetie Belle. "And so sneaky..." Scootaloo chuckled, rubbing her hooves together. "Then it's settled!" Applebloom said, putting her hoof out for the others to cover. "Commence Operation: Cloudy Sunset!" PLAYER COUNT: 18 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LILAC PURPLE TEAM - Twilight Sparkle (leader) Flitter, Cloudchaser, Lyra SUN YELLOW TEAM- Fluttershy (leader) Apple Bloom, Bon-Bon, Derpy CARROT ORANGE TEAM - Applejack (leader) Carrot Top, Raindrops, Scootaloo GLEAMING WHITE TEAM- Rarity (leader) Sweetie Belle, Celestia, Shining Armour CUPCAKE PINK TEAM - Pinkie Pie (leader) Berry Punch, Spike, Princess Candace SEA BLUE TEAM - Rainbow Dash (leader) Colgate, Luna, Vinyl ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > What goes on > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A secret alliance formed, three more ponies biting the dust, Orange Team crumbling down, and Fluttershy getting a bit on edge, everything gets a bit more tense as the game wears on. IN THE PINK TEAM'S BASE "Alrighty now! Two ponies are PURPLE! This is completely unacceptable!" Pinkie addressed while pacing back and forth in front of her assembled team. "What are we gonna do about it?" "Maybe we could attack the purple team and get their flag when it is unprotected with a few of our players?" Suggested Spike. Pinkie stopped. "Perfect!" She picked up her gun. "Berry, you got shot twice. Stay here and protect the flag. Cadance, you got shot three times, so come with me and Spike." The two ponies and the one dragon mentioned echanged glances. "But wouldn't you have me come with and fight?" Berry asked. "Ah, but if we get attacked, you will be able to protect better. Don't worry, Spikey Wikey and me will take the paint!" Berry just rolled her eyes and took her post next to the flag with a tasty cupcake with a perfect bubblegum pink dollop of frosting on it, speckled with white sprinkles. Spike, Pinkie, and Cadance grabbed their guns and walked twords the base. A FEW MINUTES LATAR Pinkie sneaked along, with Spike and Cadance following her at the same speed. They finally got to the base's hedges that protected the objective inside, and Pinkie looked in trough a small gap trough the perfectly shaded green leaves. Lyra was standing there, and she was humming while bobbing up and down to the small tune. Pinkie signaled the Dragon and Pony that were a few feet away with several hoof motions. The couple rolled their eyes and walked twords her. "What is it?" Cadance asked. "Lyra is protecting the flag. Let's just jump in, get her out, get the flag, and leave. Simple as that." "Let's do this!" Spike whisper-shouted. *Lyra P.O.V, protecting the flag* I stood there patiently, humming the tiny tune of The Pony Pokey. Twilight would be here soon from her spying. I hope she would arrive soon. I hated being alone sometimes. Then I heard a rustle. "Twilight? Are you back already?" Then a group of two bright pink ponies and one purple dragon jumped out of the leaves. It scared me half to death, and I wasn't trying to hide it. I fell on my back, looking in horror at the team. "You know what we're here for." Pinkie said with a low voice. I stared at the flag, and nodded. "Then you know what we're gonna do with you." --- "Got any eights?" Shining Armor looked over his cards. "Go fish." Colgate sighed and took a card. "Got any fours?" Colgate facehoofed and gave over the card she had just picked up. Flitter looked out the window of the large room, way up in the sky, where you could see every inch of the maze, and get a closer look at anything you wanted. She watched; slightly surprised, slightly not as the Cutie Mark Crusaders formed their secret alliance. "Man, it's kinda boring here." Flitter said quietly, zooming in on Derpy, amused as she went around a statue. "It's not boring to me." Shining said, putting down a pair of fives. "That's 'cause your WINNING, Poker Champ!" Colgate aggravatingly said, picking up a card from the small pile. "But we're playing Go Fish." "Same diff." Then a bright flash came from the middle of the room, away from the three ponies. Once the light dimmed, three other disqualified players stood. --- I back up as the group of ponies near closer to me. Their shadows casting a dark shadow, making the place feel eerie and almost like a horror film. "GET AWAY FROM THE FLAG!!" A voice shouted. Sounds of a gun firing could be heard, and Cadance fell over on her back, many paintballs on her. Pinkie and Spike looked over to see Twilight standing there with Cloudchaser next to her, "Now back up, put the gun down, and give me some skittles." Pinkie cocked an eyebrow. "What?" "Inside joke. Now go back to your base." Twilight warned, advancing twords the couple. Pinkie scowled. "We'll be back, Twilight!" She said darkly, bolting off into the bushes with Spike on her back. Cadance still sit on the other side, obviously out. "Go ahead, do the honors, Twilight." Twilight rolled her eyes and teleported the pink Alicorn to the Outlands. The three ponies, Twilight, Cloudchaser, and Lyra, looked at each other, not knowing what to say. PLAYER COUNT: 17 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LILAC PURPLE TEAM - Twilight Sparkle (leader) Flitter, Cloudchaser, Lyra SUN YELLOW TEAM- Fluttershy (leader) Apple Bloom, Bon-Bon, Derpy CARROT ORANGE TEAM - Applejack (leader) Carrot Top, Raindrops, Scootaloo GLEAMING WHITE TEAM- Rarity (leader) Sweetie Belle, Celestia, Shining Armour CUPCAKE PINK TEAM - Pinkie Pie (leader) Berry Punch, Spike, Princess Candace SEA BLUE TEAM - Rainbow Dash (leader) Colgate, Luna, Vinyl ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~