An "Unreal" Day

Twilight Sparkle and her friends stood outside the Princess's castle. There was something new about the entrance through the main doors where the guards stood. In front of the door, on the ground, were bricks that were carefully laid in a circle. There were lots of different colors of bricks, and the colors made a shape of what appeared to be a circle with jagged edges and in the middle of the circle were bricks in the shape of the letter "U" that had sharp ends like that of a knife or sword.

The guards welcomed Twilight and her friends inside and they guided them to the tea room where both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were patiently waiting for them. The Princesses welcomed their guests and they all sat down as the royal servants poured tea for everypony.

Twilight stared awkwardly at her cup thinking about that strange symbol she saw at the gates. Her curiosity got the better of her and she asked, "Princess Celestia, what was that strange symbol I saw outside the castle doors? What does it mean?"

Princess Celestia bowed her head in slight embarrassment and blushed a bit. "Oh, it's just something my sister and I are quite fanatical about and it represents a special game that we can't stop playing," she said.

Pinkie Pie knocked over her cup and spilled her tea in excitement. "Oh, Oh, Oh! What kind of game? I just love games! Can we play a game now?"

Princess Luna grinned at Pinkie Pie's enthusiasm and replied, "That is why we have called you here. To do an experiment with you all! To see if you'll enjoy something that we hold close to our hearts. We have a special set up in another room for all of you today."

Everypony looked at the Princesses with curiosity. They were very curious to see what the Princesses had in store for them and gulped down their teas quickly.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna looked into each others eyes and smiled with delight.

The guards led everypony over to a door. When the door opened, there was a spiraling stair case that ventured deep down into the ground. There were torches on the walls infused with a special kind of magic to keep them eternally lit. As they reached the bottom, there were multiple doors with names on them. The door that they happened to be standing in front of had the name "Bone Scraper" on it.

Twilight looked up at the Princesses with an unsure look on her face. "Where do these doors lead to and why do these doors have names on them?" she asked.

Princess Luna clapped her front hooves together with delight and said, "These doors are special portals to the arenas you will be playing in. Allow us to use our magic to show you around each arena."

Both Princesses lit their horns up and a magical vision was shown to all the rest of the girls about the arena layout, the weapons, and power-ups. The Princesses took them through a variety of different arenas that had all different kinds of environments and layouts that were all quite unique.

"What arena does everypony wish to play in?" Princess Celestia asked.

All the girls looked at each other with confusion. Twilight eventually spoke up. "I don't know Princesses. We don't know anything about the game, so why don't you pick out an arena for us to play in."

The Princesses giggled with delight as they used their magic to open the door to the arena of Bone Scraper. It was one of their most favorite arenas in the game.

Princess Celestia's tone of voice changed to a more serious tone. "Now before you all walk through the portal, I need you to put on these necklaces. They are powered with the most potent magic we could find in all of Equestria and you need to keep them around your necks or on your bodies at all times or the effects can be disastrous! These necklaces also contain a magic that will void Pegasus ponies their ability to use their wings while playing. It would be too much of an unfair advantage. Unicorns are also not allowed to use their magic in anyway to gain a mobility advantage such as teleporting."

Princess Luna used her magic to levitate herself over a box and then she opened up the box using her magic. Inside the box were golden necklaces. Each one had sparkling gems that were crafted perfectly into what represented each players cutie marks. These weren't the elements of harmony, but they looked similar. The gems seemed to glow with a very powerful magic that was inside of them. Discord was the one to help the Princesses create these special necklaces because they had the power to do one thing that was very unique and out of the ordinary. Princess Luna levitated each necklace out and gracefully placed one necklace around each pony's neck. She took a step back and looked at each player. "This is going to be so much fun! I have been practicing my traditional royal Canterlot voice for this occasion! Don't just stand there girls! Go in and have some fun!"

Twilight and her friends looked at each other with a look of uncertainty on their faces and cautiously stepped through the portal. Within an instant they were all standing in a very new environment.

Applejack took off her hat and scratched her head with her hoof. "What in tarnations is this place? How do we exactly play?"

Suddenly, a booming voice spoke to them. It was Princess Celestia. "The necklaces you are wearing contain your inventory of weapons that you will see at all times while playing the game. Each weapon also shows how much ammo it has. As you venture through the arena and find more weapons, it will be added to your inventory. Simply use your minds to go through your inventory and select what weapon you would like to use at the moment. Everypony starts out with a weapon called the Enforcer. It is possible to pick up another Enforcer and wield two at one time if you are able to defeat another opponent who also happens to be using the Enforcer or the Impact Hammer. Speaking of the Impact Hammer, you are also each given a special tool called the Impact Hammer that can be used as a weapon or as an ability to leap over certain obstacles or reach areas of the arena that cannot be normally reached. Do keep in mind that it comes at a small sacrifice of your current health, armor, or shield points. Every weapon has at least two different firing modes. Some even have alternative firing modes and can be used in creative ways. There is even a weapon that can form a third kind of effect if you connect the secondary fire with the first. You all have the ability to jump into the air, and then jump a second time while in mid air if you choose to do so."

Pinkie Pie jumped into the air and then jumped a second time as if she were jumping off of an invisible ledge that was in mid air. Pinkie Pie giggled madly at that neat ability and then consciously went through her inventory as the magic from the necklace glowed. Suddenly she pulled out her Impact Hammer and began to charge it in its primary mode. She pointed it to the ground and jumped. As soon as she jumped, she let go of the trigger and the force of the Impact Hammer sent her flying high into the sky and she landed on a ledge above her friends. "Wow! That was so much fun! You all should try it too!" Pinkie Pie said as she managed to contain her giggling.

None of the other girls seemed too excited to try it.

Rainbow Dash went through her inventory and took out her Enforcer. She pointed it around a bit.

Twilight Sparkle looked nervously at Rainbow Dash and asked, "What is the goal of this game again, Princess?"

"It's really simple, Twilight Sparkle," the voice replied. "The goal of the game is to frag each other and whoever has the most kills when the timer runs out, that pony is the winner."

All the girls looked at each other with horror on their faces.

Twilight Sparkle shot back at the voice speaking to them, "You mean you want me to murder my own friends? I can't do that Princess! That would destroy the power of our love and friendships! Is that what you dragged us here for? To give you and Princess Luna some kind of sick viewing pleasure as you both watch us blow each other's bodies into tiny pieces!?"

Princess Celestia replied, "This is just a game, Twilight. Just imagine you're killing them all with the love of friendship! Prepare yourselves! As Princess Celstia began the countdown, each player had a vision and could see the colored words that were being spoken by the Princess. "The match is now going to start in... Three.....Two.....One.... PLAY!"

Each pony vanished from where they were standing and suddenly each player found themselves alone in a different part of the arena.