Tag
The rules are simple:
1) One pony is 'it'
2) Whomever is 'it' must survive in the Everfree Forest until the sun fully sets
3) Every pony tries to kill the pony picked to be 'it'
4) The dead are out
5) Any pony who survives being 'it' ten times is removed from the drawing for five cycles of the moon
The sun finally touched the horizon in Equestria, casting many twisted shadows in the Forest Everfree. To one unicorn in the forest, it meant that the game was nearing its end for a while, a great relief to her. She panted softly in an attempt to catch her breath. She leaned against a tree, her burnt orange coat shimmering slightly from her sweat. Her fiery red mane was slightly weighed down from persperation and her emerald-green eyes were focused intensely with the rest of her senses.
She knew her spell would begin wearing off soon, maybe even before the sun finished setting, and that wasn't good. This was her last time being 'it' for a few cycles, and that meant she needed only survive a little longer. The only problem was that everypony had gotten very good at playing this game, and many had already lost.
As her thoughts began to drift, she heard a rustle. It was faint, something she would normally have never noticed, but now, with her newest spell having heightened every aspect of her perception, it was almost crystal clear. She immediately rolled to her right, narrowly avoiding not only a new mane cut, but losing a few pounds the hard way as a large sword swung and stuck into the tree.
"Awe, I guess I missed. You must really want to win, Terra. That's the fastest I've seen you move all day." The voice came from the pale yellow pegasus holding the greatsword firmly. The voice was soft, almost comfortingly so. Then that was expected of Fluttershy.
Terra Novus was quickly on her hooves before rushing off into the woods. "Damnit! If this spell wears off while she's around, I'm as good as dead," the unicorn said under her breath as she sprinted between the trees. "At least I can see or hear the others without it, but she barely makes a sound. I don't get it."
Her monologue was cut short as she heard soft giggling. She swore under her breath as the braces on her wrists glowed a translucent orange as she conjured a shortsword. She stopped in her tracks and looked around as the giggling grew louder.
Without warning, a flash of pink leapt from the nearby shadows, giving the unicorn only time enough to sketchily deflect a strike from the attacking mare. "Ooh, you're good!" The pink mare lunged once more with a quick strike.
Terra moved out of the way, but was too slow to avoid injury as the dagger made a thankfully shallow cut along the unicorn's side, causing her to wince.
"Well, I mean, you were always good, otherwise you would have lost a LONG time ago and then we wouldn't be here right now and this game wouldn't be as fun!" Pinkie Pie giggled as she twirled the dagger in her hand. "But to be honest, you should have dodged that much better than you did. Are you slipping?" The mare frowned and put her hands on her hips, the dagger still in her grip.
Terra couldn't help but smile. Even when the stakes were so high, it was hard not to be happy around the mare. "You'd be a bit tired too after running from Fluttershy."
Pinkie gasped and smiled. "You mean you managed to get away from her?! That's amazing! If you survive this, I'll have to throw you a party for that." Even as she prepared to strike again, Pinkie's smile never faltered.
This time, however, Terra was ready. She gripped her sword and caught the thrust of the dagger from the side as she swung, sending it, as well as the mare, to her left. "Sorry, but I think I'll do much get going now."
Before the earth pony could regain her stance, Terra was already well on her way away. Pinkie giggled as she sheathed her blade and gave chase.
The sun was almost completely below the horizon, and Terra's suspicions proved correct. She knew there were still a few precious minutes left before the game was over, and her spell was now rapidly wearing off. "Okay, Terra, just keep calm. Try to focus your senses. Fluttershy is the only pony that can sneak up on you right now if you just focus. She couldn't have caught up already, right?"
Terra quickly silenced her conversation with herself as she realized that continuing would only put her at risk. She closed her eyes and readied herself to react as she focused her ears, listening out for any noise.
The world around her was deathly still, silent, eerily so. The sound of hooves in the grass broke through this silence like a mace through a thin sheet of ice. The orange mare looked up to see a white unicorn rushing at her. The very thought of a unicorn being so bold threw her off entirely, and Vinyl smirked as her own braces glowed before a semi-circular blade was summoned in her hand.
The white mare lunged and spun as she struck out with the strange weapon. Terra had limited options and had to hope she was good enough at the defense quickspells of the braces as she held up her arms to block.
Vinyl blinked and smiled softly as her blade disappeared. She'd fully expected Terra to try and duck out of the way, though not to succeed in dodging her strike. Terra, on the other hand, was smiling from ear to ear as she dropped to her knees and panted heavily. Her forearms were gashed, the cuts just shallow enough to warrant a moment to breathe before trying to heal them.
"You gotta show me how you did that. It was sweet!" The DJ chuckled before her horn glowed, now free of the binding required during the game. As it glowed, Terra felt her arms sting slightly, the gashes on Terras arms and side healing up almost seamlessly. The mare then offered a hand to her friend.
Terra smiled as she gripped Vinyl's hand and was helped to her hooves. "I'll be sure to do just that when I figure it out myself."
The two laughed before walking together back to Ponyville. They discussed each other's quickspells on the way, and were met with an exuberant welcome by the town.
The first pony to approach was Pinkie Pie, which was no real surprise. The mare eagerly hugged the exhausted unicorn as she giggled. "You survived your tenth run, Terra! That's so super amazingly fantastic!" She pulled back with her nearly trademarked ear to ear grin. "Not to mention you actually managed to get away from Flutter without a scratch! That's one heck of an achievement."
Fluttershy flew over and landed silently before hugging the unicorn as well. "She's right you know. You're one of the few who actually heard me. Also, sorry if I swung a bit too hard. I should probably try going more for a fast swing than a strong one, huh?"
Terra sighed softly as she hugged the two mares. "Well, I think if you swung much harder, you might've cut clean through the tree. Plus, I think your power is why you make any noise at all." She turned to Pinkie. "By the way, I know you love playing, but that giggling just makes you too obvious. If you'd kept it quieter, you might've caught me much more off guard."
The mares giggled a bit and blushed, but Pinkie quickly piped up. "Well let's get to your party, Terra! I got Big Macintosh to deliver some of the Apple's hardest cider and I don't intend to waste a drop of it."
The mares all gave resounding approval before heading off to the new Game House in the town square.
