The Fate Players

Chapters

Intro 1, Gathering
Intro 2, the Rules
Intro 3/Ch 1, Game Begins
Ch 2.1, First Fight
Ch 2.2, First Wave Ends

Intro 1, Gathering

Here’s a question for you: what do you do when your randomly chosen by a strange looking god-like. . . thing. . . and you have to partner up with a strange creature that’s not even a human being, in order to partake in some psychotic game and the only means of defense are generic weapons you would find either at a Home Depot or the Black Market? The reason I’m asking this is because I have no FREAKING CLUE!

How can someone sane answer something like that! What the hell am I supposed to do in a situation like that? It’s like one of those killing games you would read from a book. Although this isn’t as bad as let’s say, Battle Royale? But this is just . . . weird.

Where do I begin? I . . . think I should start off with a simple introduction. My name is Todd Walker, I’m 15 years old, and I’m just an average teenager trying to survive through life. I never really asked for much, all I ever wanted was to graduate from high school, go through college, and become a novelist. Although, this would become one hell of a story, I might need a psychiatrist by the end of this whole ordeal.

One day, I was about to leave home for a pair of Beats headphones in an Apple store that was nearby my home. Being the late sleeper that I am, I woke up at 11 am, not caring much for my personal appearance I wore my normal clothing that mostly consisted of black shorts and a blue short-sleeve polo shirt, although that the sleeves were gray while the body is blue itself.

I also wore a chain necklace that had a small scorpion charm on it; I thought it looked pretty cool when I bought it two years ago. I also tried to style my black hair, but for whatever reason most of it always ends up spiking to the left, no matter how I style it. Damn you hair.

I gathered up as much money as I could, and rode to the store on my trusty bicycle. It wasn’t very far, so I thought I might as well spare the trouble of asking my mom to drive me. When I arrived to the store, I saw a familiar face. It was my closest friend Michael from school.

“Hey, what’s up Todd!” he greeted which is unnecessary, I mean come on he’s like what. . . . 6 feet away from me?

He had a pretty standard appearance: blue jeans and a Black Veil Brides shirt on, along with his red cap that had many pins on it. Like me, he was just your average, everyday guy you would meet at a school.

“Hey, Michael,” I replied, despite him being a bit loud every now and then he’s still a pretty cool guy to hang out with.

“What are you doing here?” he asked in his usually happy tone.

“Just getting a new pair of Beats headphones” I parked my bicycle outside an abandoned building that no one dared enter. . . I think it had to do with some junkies living there or something.

“Again? Didn’t you just buy one last month?” Elementary my dear Watson . . . get it?

“Yeah but it-”

Michael interrupted me by stating the obvious “Broke?”

“Yeah. . . Stupid things keep slipping off.” I shrugged as I approached the store.

“Uh-huh, I’m sure that’s what happened.” Sometimes I think that Michaels’ middle name is Sarcasm

“Shut up.” He grinned at me like the entertaining douche he is, while being a good friend he always found a way to piss me off.

“So what are you here for?” I asked. Payback time sucka

“My . . . phone keeps glitching on me; maybe it’s some kind of interference? I don’t know. I’m just getting it checked out.” Hook, line and sinker

“Sounds serious, But I’m sure it’s fine,” I replied, not really caring. I mocked him by raising my eyebrows up-and-down.

“Hmm, liar,” he chuckled.

“Well hey; if you laugh at my problem with breaking headphones then I’ll laugh at your problem with breaking iphones.”

“I didn’t break it,” he corrected. “Something weird is going on, it keeps going all static. The Apple geniuses are still trying to figure out the bugs with it. You think it’s some kind of alien invasion?” Too much television I guess?

“Doubtful.”

We chatted for a while, cracked a few jokes, I bought my pair of white Beats and we were both about to leave. Mike had to leave his phone there so that the so-called ‘geniuses’ could figure it out.

“So, how’s your novel going?” he asked. When he mentioned that, I only thought of one word: shit

“Well, I . . . uh-” again Michael interrupted me, have I told you that this is one of his habits?

“You haven’t started yet have you?” he asked both the obvious and the evident.

“I’s not my fault man! I need my inspiration I have no idea what to write about,” I responded.

“Of course you do. I’m sure you’ll think of something soon. Maybe if you left your mother’s house you could find some inspiration”

“Shut up, and leave my mother alone . . . besides” we both walked towards my bicycle “I know you love her cooking, after all you’re always there for lunch”

“Fair point . . . do you want to come to my house later and play some Brawl?” he asked. It seemed that he wanted to change the subject.

“Sure.” I needed to head home and test these babies I bought.

“Alright, try not to break those ones.” Break a leg Michael.

“Whatever, smell ya later”

We both waved good-bye as we both went our separate ways. I wanted to rush home so I could test out these new Beats; this is like my 3rd pair. I just hope I can adjust it right this time. As I was about to pull my bike into the garage, I felt a sudden sting in my head.

“Ah! What the hell?”

I began to rub my temples; it was really starting to hurt. I opened up my eyes, only to see that my vision was also messed up. Everything around me was all blurry, I couldn’t see a thing and I felt like I needed glasses. Then, I suddenly felt really tired, like I just wanted to take a nap right here in the garage.

“Wh-what the hell?” I collapsed.

My eyes were twitching and my body was stiff. I felt like I was just coming out of a coma. I tried to force my eyes open, but to no avail. Why couldn’t I move? It’s like one of those mornings where you’re sleeping in and you want to wake up, but for some reason you don’t. I felt something poking my back, like a small finger or something, and it was really starting to under my skin. Then I heard a voice, a couple actually.

“Poke, poke, poke.” A faint voice started to become bothersome . . . just like the poking

“Jamie, stop poking him.” Jamie? Who the hell is Jamie? And where the hell am I?

“But we’re all waiting on him, and he’s just sleeping there like a rock.” I can hear you, you know?

“We were all like that! At least do something else that doesn’t involve bothering others.”

“I do agree; give the guy some time would’ya.” FINALLY! Someone with common sense

My eyes finally shot open and I got enough strength to lift myself off the ground, but I was still very sleepy from the sudden collapse.

“Boy, he’s scrawny.” The hell I am! I am quite fit thank you very much.

“Sh! Don’t say that!” You tell him weird voice I can’t tell who’s speaking

I finally got up to rub my eyes and shake my head. My eyes opened up at last, only to see that I was in some kind of void. Not only that, but there were five other people in there with me. They were all staring at me with confusion.

“Um . . . what?” I finally asked.

“Hey, about time you wake up,” a masculine voice said, I just hope he doesn’t look weird

This guy had a very strange appearance, he was wearing an orange bomber style winter hat with some of his hair peeking out in the front, had very little hairs on his chin, his maroon T-shirt was very wrinkled along with his cargo shorts, and he had a gray sweater tied around his waist. He looked like he was about eighteen and was also kind of lanky.

“This place is weird huh? I don’t suppose anyone knows what’s going on?” here’s the million dollar question! WHAT THE HELL IS GOIN’ ON HERE!?!?

“Huh? Hold on, who are you people?” I inquired, did we all got kidnapped without anyone noticing our disappearances?

“Oh yes, how rude of us,” said a guy standing behind him, are there others hiding in this place?

This guy looked even weirder. He wore simple jeans and a zipped up dark green hoodie, he was holding a few spray cans on both hands. However, the thing that really made him stand out was his hair; it was a light blonde color and was just all over the place. Seriously, it’s like he just got out of bed, unlike mine. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such messy hair; it’s like something from an anime character.

“Before we can discuss about what’s going on, I think its best if we do our simple introductions first,” he suggested a much needed introduction.

“Alright. . . ” I am unsure as to what to think about this situation I’m in.

“First off I am Phillip Soto, I am twenty-three years old, and one of the things I like to do is spray paint” he introduced holding up a can of paint . . . spray . . . can . . . thing.

“Yeah, I didn’t really ask for a bio introduction. Just a simple one will do.”

“Suit yourself. If you want to take the fun out of it. I thought it could give you an idea of what we’re like. But oh well, Proceed.”

I turned my head towards the guy who first spoke, the winter hat guy who was ready to speak.

“I’m Marko Anderson. Mar for short, and I-“

“MY TURN!” interrupted this small girl.

Like the others, she had a weird appearance. She had short blue hair and a small brown fedora over it, wore a light pink shirt along with green short shorts. She also had this expensive looking camera on a long strap around her neck, along with a camera bag.

“Hi, I’m Jamie Kita! I’m the world’s youngest photographer. Say cheese!”

FLASH

“AH! Why so close?” I yelped, how did she got so close to me without me noticing that?

“Guess what, I know I’m the world’s youngest photographer because I’m only 10 years old, can you believe that! My mom bought me this camera and it’s really expensive, so I have to be really careful. I can take the world’s greatest photos with this and I know one day, I’ll make it to the top! By the way, do you have any donuts? I’m starving here!”

“Uh . . . wha?” was al I said. Sheesh, this small girl talks a lot.

“Yeah, she was the one poking you earlier,” said the guy standing behind her.

This guy, no doubt, looked the strongest amongst us. He looked like he was in his late twenties and had one hell of a muscular build. His jeans were torn at the knees and wore a dark gray long sleeve shirt with the number 19 on it. By the way, I take back what I said before; this guy had the weirdest hair style. His black hair was like a mix between a Mohawk and a pompadour, if that was even possible.

“The names Connor Mullen,” he said.

“Connor here is a professional lacrosse player,” mentioned Phillip. “He’s been going about his career while you were asleep. But man, did he have a lot to say.”

“Did I ask you to say what happened?!” Connor retorted. “I don’t need people like you making look bad.”

“Just trying to be of assistance tough guy,” he laughed.

All Connor did in response was some incoherent growling. I could tell already that this guy isn’t to be messed with.

“Did I mention I’m a programmer!” shouted Marko in the background, but nobody responded.

There was only one person left, this one pale girl who looked about to be my age. Her light brown hair was really wavy; she wore a small violet jacket over a white top along with some black yoga pants. She also had a small little piercing on her right nostril. It was kind of hot. She then turned towards me.

“Hey, I guess it’s my turn to introduce. I’m Isa Duncan,” she said.

“Well, nice to meet you.”

She let out a small laugh.

“It’s nice to meet you too; I hope we’ll become great friends.” She smiled.

“Yeah, that’ll be nice.” Why is she smiling . . . at me? “So what is it that you do?”

“What do you mean?” she inquired.

“Well, the others basically told us what they do for a living. Spray painting, lacrosse, photography, and programming. So what is it that you do?”

“I prefer to show people what I can do, rather than just say it. When the time comes, you’ll figure it out,” she replied.

“Ooookaay.” Cryptic much?

“So then,” began Phillip. “Now that we’re done with introductions, why don’t we discuss business?”

“Business with what?” queried Isa.

“As to what we’re doing here?” he answered.

“You think we’ve been abducted?” Jamie not only asked the question with the most evident answer but also the one of biggest interest to us all.

“I’d like to know soon, I’ve got things to do and places to be,” complained Connor.

“I’m sure there will be some kind of explanation,” said Marko who was scratching his head. “But something is rather strange.”

“You mean besides to the fact that we’re all standing here in an empty void?” I replied.

“No need to get snarky, Todd,” retorted Phillip.

“This is a perfect time to get snarky!” I snapped back at him. “This is not how I want to spend my day; all I wanted to do was go to Michaels later and play some Brawl.”

“Super Smash Bros Brawl I love that game!” yelled Marko. “I’m also a bit of a gamer as well.”

“How about instead of saying things you are, why not actually doing something to prove it,” mocked Connor. Apparently he forgot that we were inside an alternate dimension.

“Well I don’t have a computer with me to prove my programming skills,” he grumbled. “But I do have this!” he pulled out his red colored 3DS.

“Do you always carry that?” asked Jamie. Once I saw how twitchy his fingers were it proved to me that he was an addict to videogames.

“Of course, if I’m on Wifi maybe I can connect with my cousin Lucy”

“We don’t have to know your cousins name” I responded. Why are these people so calm in this situation?

“WELCOME.”A booming voice echoed. It sounded different than the others, it sounded like a woman’s voice. Not to mention that it was kind of emotionless, those type of voices are never a good sign.

“Your all wondering why you’re here, am I right?” said the voice.

“Damn right we are! Where the hell are we anyway!” demanded Connor.

“All questions will be answered soon, but for now let’s get on with the game.”

“Say what?” I asked.

“Hey! Who the hell do you think you are?!” shouted Marko.

“I am the deity, Zarerus,” she introduced. “You can’t see me, but I am here with you. Now come.”

The darkness of the void we were in started to disperse and form many different colors that were seemingly trying to form figures and places alike. After what seemed to be seconds the entire scenario we could see was completely different to our previous plane scenario. Suddenly, we were all standing in the middle of some random old looking village. The buildings were quite small with bright colors on them. Not to mention that everything around us looked, unnaturally peachy and colorful. The most outlandish thing we saw were a bunch of tiny horses walking about.

Each one had a different tattoo on their flanks. I can just imagine the guy doing these things Welcome to Colorful Asses, Where we put color on your ass.

For example, two horses that trotted past us were very unusual. One of them was beige and had blue and pink swirly hair, along with three pieces of candy on its flank. The other was stranger; it had a horn on its head! Not only that, but it was all a light green color, with its mane being short and somewhat spikey. It also had a green and white color in it, along with a small harp on its flank. This was really confusing.

“Where are we?” asked Isa.

“You are in Equestria,” answered the unseen deity. Where the hell is Equestria? I might not be a genius but I can tell that there isn’t going to be an easy way back home.

“What’s with all these horses?” asked Marko. He was walking towards the two that past us, but then was suddenly stopped by this invisible wall. Now that I’ve paid more attention I’ve figured that these things aren’t big enough to be horses, I think they’re called ponies.

“You are all still inside my personal dome,” said the deity. “You can see them, but they can’t see you. And you must stay in here for me to explain the rules of the game.”

“Game? What game are you talking about!?” I demanded. “You’re not explaining anything.”

“Have patience child.”

Then six random doors appeared in front of us, each one with a different symbol on it. One with a star with six spikes, one with a rainbow colored lightning bolt, another with three white diamonds, another one with three balloons, 2 yellow and 1 blue, one had three red apples, and the last one had three pink butterflies. We were all confused at what we were all looking at. Then six more objects appeared in front us. They looked like weapons.

A dagger, a machete, a baseball bat, a wooden spear, a metallic small axe and a .5 caliber revolver.

“Before I can explain the rules, you must first be partnered up with an element and choose a means of defense. These are the most common means of defense in your world, so pick one that you think suits you.”

"The one that suits us?" asked Marko. "What does that supposed to mean?!"

"What's the meaning of this?" worried Isa. "I want to know now!"

"This is really messed up, here," hissed Connor.

"Weapons and doors? What the heck?" gasped Jamie.

"I really see no point in asking random questions. Let's just pick one, the sooner we do the sooner we can get this complication over with. Wouldn't you all agree?" suggested Phillip.

"R-Random questions?!" I retorted.

We were all worried now; we had to pick a weapon? Just what the hell is this kind of game? What does this thing mean by partnering up with an element, what the hell is Equestria, and why are there ponies everywhere?

Intro 2, the Rules

We all had to pick a means of defense, this was really messed up. I hate to admit it, but that weird Phillip guy is right. The sooner we pick one, the sooner we can get this problem over with. I didn’t like the idea, but what else was I supposed to do? I started to walk towards the machete, because I thought it might be the most useful to me.

The others soon followed, with little Jamie grapping the dagger, Phillip with the axe, Mar with baseball bat, Connor with the spear, and finally Isa with the revolver. It was the only weapon left, and by the looks of it she didn’t really like the idea; she was only holding it up with two fingers. Phillip approached her with his axe in hand.

“Is something the matter?” he asked.

“I-I hate guns,” she muttered. She was shaking from the sight of it, her eyes shrank and her knees looked very wobbly. It’s like she was having a panic attack just from looking at the device. She looked paralyzed.

“T-this is a weapon . . . for killing, what’s really going on here?” she mumbled.

“No need to feel scared of it. If you want, would you like to trade tools with me?” offered Phillip. What is this guy thinking? I get the feeling that he’s hiding something from all of us.

“What?”

“It’s quite alright; I didn’t really like the tool I picked either. I just thought it would be of some use, but then I second guessed-”

“Hold on!” interrupted Mar. “How do we know you’re not going to shoot us once you two have traded weapons?”

Everyone stared intently at Philip once the possibility of him killing us, this guy was strange enough, who’s there to say that he actually won’t consider it. Will he? I don’t know what to think anymore.

“In this situation, I wouldn’t dream of it. I’m not just some hoodlum who would start a random shootout once he receives a firearm. We still haven’t heard the rules yet have we, and we still don’t know the significance of these tools or the doors in front of us. I’m not one to start a fight, unless I hear the rules first,” Phillip admitted.

“Unless you hear the rules first?” Mar muttered.

“Don’t fuck with us, man! If you even think of killing us I’ll pound you to China!” Connor threatened.

“Hmm, trying to sound all tough again? How cute,” teased Phillip.

“I’m not acting, you son of a bitch!” Connor responded and cracked his knuckles.

Oh great, I just know that there’s going to be a brutal beat down soon, and I definitely wanted no part of it.

“Stop it, both of you!” cried Jamie. The two men turned towards her.

“Look, we’re all scared right now, and we have no freaking of idea what’s going on. But what’s fighting amongst us going to solve!? Who knows?! Maybe this isn’t what we’re all thinking of killing each other! Or maybe it’s the complete opposite of what you two are thinking? Let’s just not focus on the bad stuff that could happen, and focus more on the good stuff that could happen. That sounds fun and it is a hell of a lot easier on us!” suggested Jamie while some tears started to form on her eyes, it was evident that this was taking a toll on all of us. Connor just sighed and nodded before walking away from Philip.

“You have it easy kid; you think life is all rainbows and cotton candy. I guess you wouldn’t understand,” Connor sighed. Now that tells us something about him

“Huh?”

“I for one agree with Jamie’s statement,” said Phillip and faced Isa again. “If you still want to trade that’s fine. I promise I won’t kill any of you, and I’ll give you my tool too” he offered.

This guy was very polite and oddly charming for a street artist, but something still feels off about him. I just don’t know what; I have to keep an extra close eye on this guy. Phillip and Isa soon traded weapons or Tools as he called them. Now Phillip had the revolver along with the ammo and Isa had the small axe. Now we all faced the doors and wondered what would happen next, we were still shaky now that we had these weapons in our hands.

“So why did you pick the spear anyway?” Jamie asked Connor.

“I don’t know, it reminded me of a lacrosse stick. Might as well have something that I’m comfortable with,” he answered swinging his spear around. “Why’d you choose the dagger?”

“I guess it’s the only thing that’s small enough for me. But don’t worry, I don’t plan to use it,” she chirped.

“What if there comes a time where you do need to use it?” wondered Mar.

“Well, I probably won’t use it for combat. But If I’m trapped in some rope, I can cut my way out. Or if I need to hammer something down, then I can use the handle as said hammer.”

“That’s not exactly what I had in mind” The handle of a dagger used as a hammer, she’s going to play 5 finger fillet but the blade will come in the opposite direction.

“So, you finally chose your means of defense? About time,” announced that voice again. We jumped at the sudden voice and focused our attention towards the doors again.

“I’m assuming now you’re going to explain the situation?” inquired Phillip.

“Indeed, now that you have your weapons, I shall explain the rules,” Zarerus began. “As you all know by now you are in the land of Equestria, a land inhabited by mostly small equines and ruled by two alicorn princesses.”

“Small equines?” wondered Phillip.

“That’s another word for horse or pony,” I said at Philip, he just stuck his tongue out at me like an idiot.

“Alicorn Princesses?” asked Jamie.

“So who’s the queen?” I asked. Now that’s a good question

“There is no queen here, only princesses,” the voice answered.

“Wait, that doesn’t make sense. Shouldn’t there be a king or a queen if there’s already a princess?” wondered Mar.

“There is no queen here, only princesses,” the voice repeated.

“But-“

“If you would let me finish,” hissed the voice.

“Fine, fine,” Mar replied, backing away in fear of this unseen deity’s wrath.

“Anyway, the land of Equestria is a peaceful land living in peace and harmony. There friendly faces all around and there’s always something to brighten up your day. However, that peace is broken.”

“Broken?” asked Isa.

“A new race has appeared in the land, a very unusual type of monster. They are referred to as ‘Pests’”.

Suddenly, an image showed up above us. I was guessing that it was one of the Pests the voice mentioned. They just looked like over-sized cockroaches, only their shell was a dark blue color and it looked like they all had strange glowing golden tattoos all over them. Also, instead of six legs, it only had four. The legs looked a lot thicker and deadlier than normal bug legs, almost like claws that can easily cut you through. Not to mention their jaws were enormous.

“Do not be fooled, these pests are a lot more deadly than you might think,” the deity explained. “They can charge at you, mimic you, make an ambush on you, and sometimes communicate with you, among other things. And this isn’t the only form they have, there are different types of Pests, and they’re all a lot more lethal than their original class. Each one you encounter will be different than the last.”

We all started getting terrified looks on our faces, I couldn’t move myself. I normally don’t mind bugs, but these things were just too much to handle.

“Your objective should be simple: partner up with an element and defeat the Pests before they infest all over Equestria. If you can’t, then its game over for you, and you lose.”

“H-how is any of that a game?” I muttered.

“So, we must partner up with a so-called ‘element’ and exterminate these bugs? Seems pretty straight forward,” Phillip stated.

“True, however there is one other catch to this game,” the voice mentioned.

“What catch?” asked Mar.

“You have two options, you can either fight against the Pests, or you can fight with them.”

“Huh?” Now that is something to think of in the near future

“You heard me correctly. If you and your partner manage to figure out a way to cooperate with or manipulate the Pests in some way, then you all could work together and conquer this land as a team.”

“W-why would we want to do that?” inquired Jamie.

“Seeing how you’re the greedy humans you are, I’d imagine some of you could see this as an opportunity to take control of a new world and make it your own, with the Pests being by your side. A whole world you can change and operate at your will.”

“Are you serious?!” I barked.

“In all honesty, I want NOTHING to do with this world,” shrieked Mar.

“I realize that” replied the deity in its monotone and emotionless voice.

This was really confusing, she gave us the option to either defeat or co-operate with the pests, and yet she already knows we won’t take the bad path. What was happening here? I was so baffled, confused and shocked.

“Hold on, what do you mean you realize that?” asked Isa.

“I realize that you all won’t do anything rash and try to conquer this world,” the voice answered. “I’ve actually had some players in the past make that decision, and they’re probably still alive today. It is sad really. But I know that you six won’t take that path because I’ve seen how you all act in the real world. And I just know you won’t make that choice.”

“So, you’ve been spying on us?” asked Jamie.

“You could say that, I am a deity after all,” she replied.

“This is really weird,” I said to myself.

“Anyway, now that you know the rules of the game and have selected a weapon you must now choose a door. Each door will lead you to your new partner. Once you’ve selected a choice, you must work together to defeat the Pests or any evil players remaining. There will be constant waves thrown at you with different types of enemies. And don’t worry about losing or breaking your weapons, they’ll upgrade throughout the game depending on how you use them and if you’re willing to make an effort to fight. Also, you must make an effort to protect each other; no one can win this game alone. Now choose.”

We focused on the doors once more. I had no idea which one to pick, how am I supposed to know who’s on the other side of it? I needed to think quickly or I won’t have many choices left. Some of them headed to the doors right away, like Phillip for example, he immediately walked towards the door with the trio of diamonds on it.

“My, something about these diamonds is really getting my attention. I don’t know why, but I feel like this is my door,” said Phillip rubbing his head. It seemed that the situation and all of its confusion has finally gotten to him.

Jamie went next, and ran right up to the door with the three colorful balloons on it.

“Oooooooo, balloons!” she gasped. “I like balloons; they’re so much fun to look at and to play with. I want this door!”

I was still surprised that some of these people already knew what door they wanted, and I still couldn’t make a decision. Marko was next and he walked right up to the door with the three apples on it. Why is it that the doors with three symbols on them are attracting the most people?

“I’ll choose this one,” stated Mar. “It seems pretty simple and straight forward. Plus, those apples sure do look delicious. Dammit, now I’m hungry!”

We all laughed at his little outburst. There were only three doors left and three more people; me, Isa, and Connor. The doors that remained was the one that had the tiny butterflies on them, the one with the cloud and rainbow lightning bolt, and the one with the big fancy star. We all looked at each other in confusion, not knowing which one to choose.

“Well? Are you just going to stand there or pick a door?” asked Connor.

“Only three left? How am I going to choose?” wondered Isa.

We just stood there thinking while the others waited on us and I still had no bloody idea which door I really wanted. This is really going to be difficult. The game was about to start and I still couldn’t make a clear decision. I felt like I was about to walk into a door into my own death, if I didn’t choose carefully. Now what?

Intro 3/Ch 1, Game Begins

I was too late, I stood there dumbfounded trying to make up my mind which freaking door I should take. Isa already went to star door while Connor headed straight for the door with a rainbow themed lightning bolt imprinted on. So I was left only option left, the door with the butterflies on it. Overall, nothing too impressive to look at.

“What the hell? How come I get the only girly door?” I complained.

“Your door isn’t the only girly door,” Isa pointed out. “Just look at Jamie’s.”

“It’s not called being girly, it’s called being amazing-ful!!!!” she replied, jumping up in the air.

“It’s not our fault you couldn’t make up your mind” stated Connor.

“Why’d you pick that one?” I asked.

“Why? Because the design matches my kind of style. That’s why!”

“Hmm, you like rainbows?” laughed Phillip.

“N-No I was referring to the lightning bolt, dumbass,” Connor hissed, sounding slightly embarrassed.

“OK, we’ve picked our doors now. Can we get on with this event thing?” asked Isa impatiently.

“Of course,” responded the voice. “These doors should lead you to your new partner’s home, where you will team up with them in order to destroy the Pests. As I mentioned before, your weapons will upgrade throughout the game depending on your effort and strength. Each Pest you encounter will be different than the last, but do not worry. I shall warn you each time when a new wave approaches. Before I forget, a case will be given to you when you start, it will be filled with all of the essentials you’ll need in order to survive in this world.”

The doors in front of us suddenly opened, beams of light shining through all of them and nearly blinding us. “Farewell and good luck, my fate players! Your decisions shall determine the outcome of this game!”

“We just walk right through?” wondered Marko as he pointed to the door. “Here goes nothing.” With that, he stepped through the door and disappeared.

“Huh?!”

“See you guys on the other side!” chirped Jamie as she waved goodbye and stepped through her door.

“Let’s just get this shit over with. It’s been a while since I tried any new moves,” muttered Connor as he stepped through his door.

“Bye-Bye,” hummed Phillip as waved and he left.

“Hey uh…..” Isa began as she turned towards me.

“Todd.”

“Right, Todd, good luck out there. Hopefully you’ll see me in action.” Isa walked through her door until I was the only one remaining, it was actually kind of hard to see through all the light. Covering my eyes, I ran right through the door, preparing myself for whatever was on the other side waiting for me.

I opened my eyes up only to shut them close, the sudden light of the sun stung my eyes fiercely. “Why do I keep on passing out?”

Taking in my surrounding, I noticed a small cottage was a few feet in front of me. Small animals were scattered around, with a small bridge across a narrow stream. It could only be described as ‘one with nature’, everything about it screamed natural. The roof was made out of leaves, branches and the odd bits of feathers from the birds flying around.

“So this is where my partner lives?” I muttered to myself. I was about to walk over to the cottage, until I felt a sharp tap on my toe. I looked down to see it was my machete, along with a large silver suitcase. Inside was a dozen granola bars and a several bottles of water packed tightly against each other.

“So much food,” I gasped.

Deciding against stuffing my face, I closed my case and resumed walking towards the cottage. If I remembered correctly, Zarerus told us that this land was mostly filled with equines. So I might as well prepare for the unexpected as I walked up to the front door.

“Um, hello? Anyone home?” I called.

“Coming!” replied a soft feminine voice. The door opened up, only to reveal a small yellow Pegasus on the other side. I was just as surprised, my eyes shrank and heart stopped at the sudden sight of its light yellow coat and light pink mane and tail, along with its teal eyes.

“Um-“

“Eeeep!” squealed the little thing and immediately slammed the door in my face. I wasn’t sure if that eep was coming from the Pegasus or from someone else inside. I decided to knock again to hope for a better reply.

“Hello? I won’t hurt you, is anyone there?” I called out again.

The door slightly cracked open, revealing only it’s eye.

“W-w-what are you?” muttered the thing.

“You can talk?” Zarerus never mentioned that these ponies could talk, what else could they possibly do?

“S-s-so can you?” replied the yellow pegasus.

“W-well yeah,” I stuttered out.

“What are you?” she repeated.

“I’m a human.”

“Human? I’ve never heard of that before,” she said timidly.

“Well I’ve never heard of a talking horse before,” I replied.

“I’m a pony,” she corrected.

“Ok then, I’ve never heard of a talking pony before.”

“What do you want? I mean, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“I don’t mind. I’m actually looking for someone.”

“W-who?”

“I’m looking for someone with a butterfly symbol. Three butterflies to be exact.”

“Y-you mean like mine?” She opened her door completely and walked out, only to reveal that she had a trio of butterflies on her flank. It’s just like the ones on the door I took.

“Exactly like that,” I muttered to myself. “So, does that mean she’s my partner?”

“Huh?”

“Nevermind. What’s your name?” I asked.

“I-I’m Fluttershy,” she squeaked, her voice barely a whisper

“Your name is what?”

“F-fluttershy.”

“Huh? I kind of need you to speak up little.”

“F-f-f-f-f-f,” she whimpered. It looked like she was about to cry or something.

“O….K then. Why don’t I start. My name is Todd Walker,” I said trying to sound as non-threatening as I could.

“Well, n-n-n-nice to meet you, Todd.” Her eyes roamed over my body until looking down at my side. A small squeal and the tiny pony retreated back into her house.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“W-why do you have that big sword with you?”

“You mean my machete?” I asked holding it up, causing her to give out another small squeal.

“Sorry.”

“I hope you don’t mind me asking but, why are you here?” she asked, her face half hidden in the doorway

“It’s a long story,” I began. “But I’m sure you already know.”

“K-know about what?” she asked innocently.

“About the game.”

“What game?”

“You mean you don’t know? You’re not like some kind of in-game character or something?” I inquired.

“You’re confusing me,” she replied. “What kind of game are you playing?”

All of a sudden, several strange noises erupted into the air, along with that same familiar emotionless voice.

Zing Zang Zong Zung! A new wave is approaching, all players prepare for combat. Just as fast as it had came, Zarerus’s voice was gone.

This was bad, the game is just starting and neither of us knew what was about to happen. I didn’t know if this small creature was supposed to be my partner or not, or how I could fully explain this to her. I thought they would know, isn’t this a virtual world? Surely creatures like this can’t possibly exist, right?!

“What was that?” asked the Pegasus.

“The game’s beginning,” I muttered to myself.

“What? What game? What’s happening?” The poor creature looked like she was about to faint.

A sudden rustling of leaves caught both of our attention. Beyond the bridge, a row of bushes were shaking. Crouching low, I slowly walked over the bridge, the odd groan of the wood beneath me. Crossing over the bridge, I stalked over to the bushes, my machete tightly clasped in my hand.

“What in the hell is this?”

I noticed the little yellow Pegasus trotting up to behind me.

“What is it?” she asked.

“I don’t know.” Walking up closer to the bushes, I readied my machete in case any Pest were going to spring at me. Reaching out, I yanked some of the branches out of the way. A small bird squarked and flew at my face, pecking me relentlessly. Swatting at the tiny thing, it continued its assault until flying away into the open sky.

“Huh, for a minute there I thought it was some-“

SLAM

Something tackled me to the ground, pinning me down to the dusty earth. I looked up only to see it was some kind of giant insect, its giant mandibles snapping at my machete while green ichor splattered against my face.

“AH! What the hell!?” Placing a foot against its underbelly, I shoved the giant bettle off of me. Getting back up, I stepped back to get some distance. The beast stood up again, that’s when I realized what it was. Blue shell, golden veins, four sword-like legs, giant jaws; it’s just like the image that Zarerus showed us, it was a Pest.

“W-what is that thing?” muttered the Pegasus who was trembling with fear.

“It’s a Pest.”

Gripping my machete again, I stood ready for my first fight. Okay, first fight with a pest and I have no clue what I’m doing. Could be worse. I could feel the adrenaline pumping in my veins as I took a broad swing at the Pest. “Get away! Piss off!” I yelled as I continued swinging at it. The Pest just snapped it’s jaw at me as a warning strike.

I kept swinging my blade in hoping that I would at least slice it but to no avail. The Pest merely raised one of its legs and knocked my machete clean out of my hands and beyond the bushes.

“Shit!” Sweat ran down my face as my legs turned to jelly, I’m going to die this soon into the game?

Right before the Pest was about to pounce, a purple beam came out of nowhere, piercing right through its shell.

“Fluttershy!” called out a concerned voice.

I looked to my left to see that another strange creature was headed this way. When it came into distance I got a better look at it. It was another one of those small horses except this one was lavender and wings on its back and a horn on its head. The thing stopped as soon as it spotted me.

“Another one?” we both exclaimed, staring at each other.

“Wait, aren’t you another one of those human creatures?” asked the purple equine.

“Yeah. But wait, how do you what a human is?”

“Twilight!” called another voice.

I saw a familiar figure following behind her, someone who’s still got that same purple jacket. Once she came into distance, I recognized who it was.

“Isa?”

“Oh hey,” she greeted. “Todd, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Wait, do you know this guy?” asked the purple horse.

“More or less,” Isa replied.

“So, who is that?” I asked pointing to the purple horse.

Before she could answer, the Pest jumped up and onto its feet again. It snarled at us and ready to attack, my machete was nowhere in reach. I was just hoping someone else had an idea. An object came flying by and struck the Pest in the face, killing it instantly. It rolled onto the ground, blue blood pooling into a puddle beneath its shattered face. The small pegasus curled into a small ball, whimpering to herself as she continue to look at the dead Pest. Small tears ran down her face as she continued to shake her head back and forth.

I looked back at the dead Pest, an axe lodged firmly into its sliced jaw. We all turned back to Isa, who looked the most surprised out of all of us.

“Whoa, lucky shot” she muttered.

It went silent for a while. I was both amazed and frightened that Isa could throw an axe with such precision and ease. She was right, it was a lucky shot. Although I don’t think we’ll be getting any more of those later.

“So, what is your name?” I asked the purple horse, breaking the silence.

“Oh right, my name is Twilight Sparkle,” she introduced.

“Come again?” I asked, making sure I heard that correctly.

“My partner,” Isa mentioned.

“Huh?”

“Yeah, about that,” started Twilight. “Do you think you explain a little more in detail what that means?”

“You’re my partner for the game. I told you already,” Isa replied.

“You mean you don’t know either?” I asked.

“Don’t know what?” Twilight inquired. “All I know is that there was this strange noise in the air and then I saw that bug thing heading over towards Fluttershy’s cottage.”

“Fluttershy?” I wondered and turned back to the muttering Pegasus. “Is that your name?”

“She didn’t tell you her name?” asked Isa.

“Well, she sort of did, but I couldn’t understand her because she was speaking so softly,” I explained.

“Sorry about that, Fluttershy can be like that when meeting new faces,” explained Twilight. “Speaking of which, where did you two come from? And what game are you talking about?!”

We suddenly heard more screaming from the distance, that’s usually never a good sign. “We’ll explain later, sounds like there’s more pests back at the village,” said Isa, retrieving her axe from the dead Pest’s corpse.

“Ewwww!” she groaned, wiping off the blood.

I was about to run with them, until I realized that Fluttershy wasn’t moving, she still looked scared.

“Hey, aren’t you coming?” I asked.

“I don’t know. After seeing that, it was just so gruesome! I don’t know if I can handle that,” she muttered.

I really didn’t have a lot of time, the further Isa ran the more I would lose sight of her. I needed accompany them, but I also couldn’t leave this timid Pegasus here. What if I might need her help later?

Ch 2.1, First Fight

The sun began to set by late afternoon as Fluttershy and I continued to argue. No matter how much I begged, pleaded and cried, Fluttershy still stubbornly refused to come with me to the village that Isa mentioned. Seeing how serious the situation looked, we were going to need everyone and ponies help to get through this.

“Why don’t you come with us, we could sure use more-uh,” I said struggling to come up with the right word. “Uh…Players on our side.” Eh, good enough.

“Oh Todd, I just don’t know if I can. All of that blood,” she whimpered. “What happened, was so scary.” She began to tremble as more tears were flowing down her face. I was starting to get second thoughts on this.

“But you’re my partner,” I told her.

“I-I still don’t know what that means.”

“Look, why don’t you just stick by me as we go. That way we can both look out for each other,” I suggested.

“But, what if we get hurt? I mean, you barely stood a chance against that last monster,” she mentioned innocently.

“Thanks for reminding me,” I replied in a flat tone.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”

Fluttershy sat there on her doorstep for a while, visibly shaking as she tried to decide on whether or not she wanted to go. I really didn’t have any time to wait, for all I know Isa and Twilight could be heavily outnumbered and overpowered by those things by now. A chorus of screams rose up in the distance from somewhere beyond Fluttershy’s cottage.

“I-I’m sorry, Todd!” she cried. “I just can’t do it, I won’t! I don’t have the courage. I’m so sorry!”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, the words coming out of her mouth were grating against my ears. The game just started and my partner was already throwing in the towel without even trying to help me. Can’t say that I blame her though, anyone would’ve backed out if their world were infested by these monsters. I couldn’t wait any longer, and I certainly wasn’t going to put up with this.

“Fine. I’ll just go die by myself then,” I half-shouted at her, as I bowed my head. The little Pegasus looked up with her tear-filled eyes, horror written plainly over her face. “My first battle and I’m going at it alone. I might need you, but no use in arguing with a coward like you. I guess that wouldn’t be fair.”

Tears began to stream down her face as I got up. I walked across the little bridge and picked up the suitcase with the food in it. My machete laid across from my suitcase, a small chip missing from the tip of the blade.

“I’ll see you around then,” I said coldly. I didn’t even look back as I continued down the dirt path on the road to the village.

The whole village in general looked like something out of an old enlgish village. Small wooden houses with straw thatched roof, wooden wagons with food and even a fountain at the town square. Everything so serene and peaceful, except of course for the fact that were more Pests here wreaking havoc and the panicking ponies.

I scanned the area trying to look for Isa and Twilight, but there were too many ponies and Pests in the way. I could barely see make out any of the pony’s faces to see where the alicorn was. Ponies were being thrown around like rag dolls, disemboweled by the Pests, trampled on and dragged away by these unholy creepy crawlers. Although, there weren’t that many Pests, the devestation these things were causing was off the charts.

A heart rending scream in the distance interrupted my thoughts. I looked to my far left and noticed that a pink mare with a green mane was backed up against a wall, a Pest looming over her. The bug’s back was turned at me and raised its front legs up, preparing for the kill. This was my chance, I was not going fail this time. I felt adrenaline pumping through my body, this time I was sure I was going to fight right. I dropped my case, gripped my blade, and ran full charge at the Pest. Gaining enough momentum, I climbed up its back and brought down my machete on the exposed flesh of its neck.

STAB!

My blade pierced through it’s shell, blue blood gushing out from the wound like a geyser. The Pest swayed from side to side until the creature fell to the ground, its legs curling up. I looked down at the pony to make sure it was still alive.

“Hey, are you ok?” I asked.

“I, Ahhhh!” she screamed and ran off.

A shadow loomed over me. Turning around I came face to pincer with another giant Pest, about to impale me with one its horns.

Ducking out of the way, it tried spearing me with its sworld-like legs. Rolling over to the side, I pulled myself up as I prepared myself for another fight. The Pest pulled its legs out of the ground, releasing a hair-raising hiss from its mouth. With my machete in hand, sweat was running down my brow as I was just standing there waiting for it to strike.

Throwing its legs up, I noticed the Pest’s legs had small bits of red in them. I hazard a guess it was an exposed joint between the chitin. The Pest charged at me with blind fury. Throwing my body forward I rolled underneath, raised my machete and sliced clear through one of the joints. The beast roared out in pain as blood oozed out of the stump. I ran out from underneath as the beast began to roll around as metallic blue blood began to cover the ground.

Recovering from the loss its legs, the Pest charged at me, throwing me like a child into a house. My legs crumpled underneath me, as I laid there defeated. The Pest then raised its remaining leg about to strike me, time slowing down as I watched as death was about to come down on me.

As the legs came down, I wondered if anyone else would really miss me? Would they laugh about how I was the first loser? I closed my eyes, waiting for it to end my game. Time crept by, at what I thought was going to be my end. Hazarding a look, I opened my eyes to the Pest laing dead on the ground with a burned jaw and burnt out eyes and antenna. I turned my head back and noticed Twilight and Isa again, with Twilight’s horn being encased in some kind of aura.

“How many times am I going to have to save you?” she asked.

“Well sorry, I’m not used to fighting giant killer cockroaches!” I retorted.

“Don’t get snappy with me!”

“Um, guys,” spoke Isa.

We all turned to Isa and pointed up to the sky, a lone figure dashing through the sky at breakneck speeds. It didn’t take long to realize that it was another Pest about to make a landing attack. It rose up higher until it began to hurdle straight down at us. Earth and dirt exploded up as the Pest smashed into the ground as our little group. I jumped to my left as Isa and Twilight vanished in a burst of purple sparks. The Pest shook off the debris like it had just woken up from a nap, its body remained unscathed from the attack.

Rising up from the crater, the Pest rose up out of the crater and lunged at Isa. The Pest charged, swiping at her but she dodged the long swipes with ease. She rolled backwards, and kicked the beast square in its jaw. As the Pest was dazed, she ran straight up to the beast and kicked it in its stomach, knocking it on its back. I watched in amazement and bewilderment as this girl continued to out maneuver the Pest with ease, like a ballerina during a recital.

“Now what?” she asked herself.

The Pest regained its senses enough to throw a blind swipe at her. They were so close to hitting each other, I honestly thought she was going to die. While the Pest lunged at her when suddenly, she ran up and jumped right on the Pests head like a trampoline, the force of impact sent her flying into the air, causing her to do a bunch of twirls until she landed safely on the ground.

“Whoa,” I gasped.

The Pest fell face first into the gravel, it didn’t take long for it to get back up. Taking a deep breath, she sprinted at the beast, jumped and sprung over the Pest’s atempts to grab her. As she landed on top of its head, the Pest threw her high into the sky. As she came back down, Isa gracefully spun in the open air before dropping a axe kick onto the head of the beast, sending it sprawling onto the ground. She got up and regained her balance. I was amazed at her moves, what exactly does she do for a living? After she face planted the bug she looked at us and smiled.

“Whoa,” I gasped.

“Impressed? That’s a whole lot better than using my axe,” she admitted.

“What is it that you do for a living?” I asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?” she asked shrugging her shoulders.

“Uhh…”

“I’m a gymnast!”

“Gymnast, as in you do gymnastics?”

“Yep, pretty cool ri-“

SLAM!

A Pest slammed right into Isa pinning her to the ground. Its legs were holding down all of her limbs and it’s jaw wide open filled with green saliva. Isa’s face was completely void of color and remained motionless.

“Get it off!” she screamed.

“Isa!” I ran up to help her, but another Pest jumped in front of me and hissed.

“Dammit, not now!” I grappled my machete and started swinging at the bug. My blade made a few scratches but not enough to bring any full damage.

“What’s going on?” asked Twilight. “How are you guys…”

Before she could finish, she noticed the Pest on top of the terrified Isa about to bite down. She let out a loud gasp at the sight. Her brow furrowed and her eyes were filled with rage. Finally, her horn lit up like a sunburst.

“Get away from her!”

Several beams and lightning bolts shot out of her horn like a machine gun. The Pest in front of us was obliterated, tiny smoldering pieces of Pest were strewn across the ground, splatters of blue blood were everywhere. I ran up to the fallen Pest in front of me and stabbed it in the stomach, making sure it was truly dead.

“Isa, are you alright?” she asked worried.

Isa wrapped her arms around Twilight, hugging the purple alicorn tightly against her chest. “Thank you!” she cried. “I thought I was going to die!”

“Hey, it’s alright,” Twilight cooed as she rubbed Isa’s back. “But, don’t thank me yet. The fight is still going on.” Isa broke apart their hug and scanned her surroundings, seeing the on going pandemonium the Pest were causing.

“Twilight!” yelled a voice, this one sounded like a little boy’s voice.

We turned around and noticed that a little lizard was running up to the purple equine. He was really short and had purple and green scales, he looked really concerned and confused at the same time. “Spike?!” exclaimed Twilight, and she ran towards the little creature. I walked up to Isa to help her up.

“C’mon, I don’t think it’s safe to just sit around here,” I said while I offered my hand to her. When she got up, her eyes were filled with sorrow.

“I-I let my guard down,” she muttered. “I almost died. I thought I could dodge it.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I replied. “You dodged the other attacks pretty well. Plus, I distracted you. So it was sort of my fault.”

“But I-“

“C’mon. Your partner needs you.”

“Hey, that reminds me. Where’s your partner?” she asked.

“She’s not coming,” I replied disappointingly.

“Why not?”

“Because she’s scared, I don’t know. C’mon let’s go see what Twilight’s doing,” I suggested. We walked over to Twilight and the little lizard as they were sharing an embrace.

“Twilight, what’s going on here?!” the lizard asked.

“Spike I told you to wait back at the library!” she scolded.

We heard loud noises land near us, and I soon noticed that we were all surrounded by Pests. I didn’t think a few aerials would get us out of this one. I readied my machete as Isa got into another fighting positon and the little lizard hugged Twilight’s leg out of fear for his and her life. Isa had more fear in her eye’s this time, actually we all had apprehensive expressions this time.

Bang!

A gunshot went off and the Pest before us collapsed to the ground, creating another puddle of blood.

Bang! Bang!

More gunshots went off and more Pests laid dead. I counted how many shots went off, I think it was about six. That was also the total number of Pests that were surrounding us, and they all got bullet holes in their heads now.

“Hehehehehe,” a voice chuckled.

We all swerved around and saw that it was the same guy from earlier, with the messy hair.

“Phillip?!” exclaimed Isa.

Phillip had smoke coming from the barrel of his gun, and he had a smug look on his face, I couldn’t tell if that was good or bad.

“Head shot,” he said.

Standing next to him was a white unicorn mare with a swirly purple mane and tail and had a trio of diamonds on her flank. Not to mention that she had huge eyelashes. She had a very scared expression on her face.

“Twilight! Spike! Are you alright?!” the white mare shouted as she trotted over to them.

“Rarity!” the little lizard shouted. Pretty soon, all of them shared a big group hug.

“I’m so glad you’re alright,” she wept. “I have no idea what’s going on. First, a strange creature approaches at my boutique and then all of THIS.”

“We’re just as confused as you are, Rarity,” Twilight admitted.

“Miss!” Phillip called. They all turned around and faced him as he was re-loading. “As scared and confused as you are, I advise we stick close together. You never know when something might take you by surprise.”

He then aimed his gun at the white unicorn and we all grew surprised and terrified faces, humans and ponies.

“Whoa, what’re doing?!” exclaimed the little Lizard as he stepped in front of the two mares.

Bang!

The bullet flew right past them and struck the Pest behind the trio. They noticed the dead Pest behind them and understood what he was doing. Still, they had those scared expressions. I walked up to the Pest and noticed how huge the bullet hole was, in its head. Imagine, if that was one of us, or one of our partners. He could’ve killed them, is this guy insane!?

“You’re welcome,” Phillip said smugly.

“Oh thank goodness, for a minute there I thought you were going to shoot one of us,” sighed Rarity as her hoof was on her thumping chest.

“Why would I do that? I would never harm an ally,” he admitted.

“Are you sure about that? Because you DID almost killed your partner,” I asked skeptically.

“But I didn’t, did I?” he replied. “Besides, it’s like what I told Rarity earlier when I arrived at her boutique: ‘Don’t be scared. If you hear me out I promise I won’t hurt you. Plus, I'm not the kind of guy to harm a lady,’” he explained.

“Oh my,” giggled the white mare.

“And you bought that?” I asked. “Look, I’ve only known this guy for half a day, and I can already tell that there’s something not right here.”

“Can’t argue with that,” grunted the little lizard as he glared at Phillip.

“Oh come now, don’t be so judgmental. I think we should all give each other a chance. That way, we can trust-“

BOOM!

“What was that?” asked Isa.

“Sounded like thunder,” I guessed. “But where did it come from?”

BOOM!

The thunder stroke again, we still had no idea where it came from. I turned my head and noticed something unusual. All of the Pests were scattering away and crawling out of the village. Pretty soon, the whole village was empty except for the dead Pest bodies and house damages.

“All of those bugs are heading out,” pointed out Twilight.

“But where are they going?” asked the lizard.

“Maybe they’re heading to the source of that thunder sound,” suggested Phillip. “It looks like it’s coming from just outside of this village.”

“Thunder,” Twilight pondered. “Follow me, I think I have an idea who might be causing that!”

“Whoa, wait a minute! You want us to follow them?” I asked surprised. "The very things that tried to kill us?!"

“Yes, now hurry! Our friend might need our help!” Both the white mare and the lizard gasped, as if they knew who she was talking about.

They soon followed Twilight to the outskirts of the village.

“Fine whatever,” I sighed.

We all gathered our weapons and ran after them, without knowing what might be out there causing that thunder.

Ch 2.2, First Wave Ends

We ran towards the outskirts of the village, searching for that mysterious thundering sound. Although, I had assumed it was just another player using grenades as weapons. Hey, you never know right? After all, Zarerus did mention that there could be other players in the game. Our equine partners were running ahead of us while Phillip, Isa, and I were struggling to keep up. For a couple of small ponies, they sure were fast. We heard another boom, we were getting closer.

“There’s that sound again.” said Isa.

“We’re almost there!” Twilight added.

We arrived in an open plain where a bunch of Pests were gathered, collectively attacking something. I couldn’t tell what, however, as they were all aiming at something just over the hill. When we got to the top, I was surprised to see what lay at the bottom of the hill; a strange creature whose body must have been mixed with almost every animal on earth. It had big yellow eyes with red pupils, a long tan torso, dragon’s tail, several different limbs of living creatures; just looking at the abomination was unsettling.

My eyes shifted over to Twilight and Rarity, they hadn't taken a liking to the creature either. Their faces were a mixture of benign disappointment and disgust. Suddenly, the creature snapped its talons and the three surrounding Pests exploded, blood and guts flying through the air.

“What a funny noise they make.” It laughed.

“It was HIM?!” exclaimed Twilight.

“At first I thought it was Rainbow Dash.” The lizard said.

“So did I. What’s he doing here?” inquired Rarity.

The abomination turned to face us with an uncanny smile forming on its horrid face. He then vanished, reappearing right next to us. We all jumped back at his sudden vanishing.

“Well, hello my pony friends!” He greeted gleefully. “Wonderful day, isn’t it?” He then noticed Phillip, Isa, and I standing next to them. “And who are they? New friends of yours I presume?”

“Discord, would you mind telling us what you’re doing here?!” demanded Twilight.

“Now, now, Twilight. Is that anyway way to greet your friend? I’m shocked you haven’t accepted me yet.”

Isa quickly pointed her axe at him. “Um, who are you?”

“Who am I? Ha-ha-ha!” Discord snapped his talons and disappeared.

“What the?” I stopped myself, noticing Isa’s axe changing form. It grew longer and a face formed on the blade.

“I am Discord. The one and only Spirit of Chaos!”

“AHH!” Isa screamed, dropping her axe. Hitting the ground, Discord reappeared in front of us again.

“That sure is an odd name,” he teased. “But, it’s always nice to make new friends.”

“What is wrong with you?”

“What’s wrong with me? Oh, I can think up a few things.” The Spirit of Chaos said with a chuckle. “But first why don’t you tell me your names?”

“Todd Walker,” I said bluntly. “And seriously, who the hell are you?”

“I already told you, I am Discord. Try to keep up.”

“Why do you look like a rejected Tim Burton character?” Phillip asked.

“I beg your pardon?”

“A-and how did you get into m-my axe?” Isa stammered, visibly shaken.

“What part of Spirit of Chaos did you not understand? I mean, come on. The title itself is pretty self-explanatory. I thought you humans would have been smarter than that...”

I don’t know who or what this thing is, but I already don’t like him.

“Discord!” Twilight interjected. “Could you not bother our friends and tell me what you’re doing here?”

“What am I doing here, you ask?” He snapped his talons again and reappeared, coiled around Twilight like a snake. “I’m just doing a little Pest Control.” The Pests let out an ear-wrenching hiss and started to close in on us as we got into our defense positions. “Oh, watch this!”

Discord, once again, disappeared and reappeared in front of the Pests wielding a huge blue mallet. He raised it up and smashed it into the bugs, crushing them to death. It looked like something out of a Looney Toons cartoon, except for the blue blood splattered everywhere. I glanced over to the two equines; they both had disturbed expressions at their friend's action.

“You're revolting, Discord!” complained Rarity.

“Thank you, thank you.” The Dragon replied and the mallet vanished, then he turned to us. “Now, maybe you two would like to introduce yourselves?”

“I-I’m Isa Duncan.”

“Phillip Soto.”

“Well, it's a pleasure to meet you.” He eagerly took Isa's hand and shook it until the entire arm fell off and landed on ground. We all jumped back in shock.

“Gah!” Isa screamed. The arm soon grew tiny legs and crawled its way up back into Discords arm socket. He let out a sick guffaw with a tear forming in his eye.

“Oldest trick in the book!”

“Discord! It’s bad enough she was almost eaten alive today, she doesn’t need you scaring her more than she already is.” scolded Twilight.

“Oh, come now Twilight. You know I was only kidding. Why do you gotta be such a downer?” he asked playfully.

“I’m assuming you don’t have many friends, do you?” I wondered.

“Uh, guys...” muttered the tiny lizard.

We all looked to where he was pointing and saw more Pests making their way towards us.

“Man, they just won’t stop coming.” I complained.

“Might as well kill them here.” added Phillip as he aimed his gun.

The horde charged us, seeking to devour everything. The leader let out another ravenous hiss resulting in Phillip shooting a bullet through its head. Pretty soon we were all fighting them; I was keeping my distance while swinging my blade, Twilight shot explosive magic beams aimlessly into the crowd, Isa was busy doing her aerial kicks, and Discord made more Pests explode with a snap at his talons. Despite the ongoing action, I still couldn’t believe I was alive. At first I thought I would be the guy who got axed first. Talk about dumb luck.

“What is with these things?!” I yelled in frustration.

Pretty soon, a Pest jumped in out of nowhere and broke apart our group, attempting to slash us with its legs. I stepped back and tried to get as much room as possible, but it turned around and lunged me, causing me to jump back barely dodging it. I found myself separated from the group and facing the Pest. It was about pounce, until... “Todd, look out!”

“Huh?”

Someone tackled me out of the way and onto the ground before the Pest could touch me. I looked up to see who my savior was, and boy was I surprised. “F-Fluttershy?”

“Oh my…are you alright, Todd?” She asked.

The Pest got back up and slink towards us; we were both lying on the ground helpless. It reared up and prepared to deliver a final blow, its shadow looming over us. Fluttershy looked over and saw the beast and let out a squealed. She buried her face into my chest and latched onto me, awaiting our death. All I could think was, ‘I guess I am the first guy to go after all’.

BOOM!

I felt something wet splatter on the left side of my face. My eye peeked open to see that it was blood. Blue blood. I noticed some of it on Fluttershy’s back. I looked up to see that the Pest’s entire upper half had completely vanished. Its bottom half was still visible, squirting streams of sapphire blood. It collapsed on the ground.

Discord appeared in front of us with a worried expression on his face. “Oh my, are you alright Fluttershy?” he asked.

Fluttershy opened her eyes as soon as she heard his voice. She sat up and faced Discord with tear-filled eyes. She then leapt off of me and immediately wrapped her arms around the strange creature, who returned the gesture. I was just like, ‘What?’

Fluttershy began to weep into the Draconequus’s chest. “Discord, thank you! Thank you!”

Phillip shot the last Pest and turned around to see Fluttershy and Discord sharing an embrace. “What’s going on here?”

“I don’t even know…” I admitted reluctantly.

The lizard neared me. “Hey, you okay?”

“Yeah, um-”

“Spike.”

“Right, now I remember.”

Fluttershy broke from her hug with Discord and faced Twilight and Rarity who were approaching her.

“Fluttershy, are you alright darling?” Rarity asked.

“Yes, I’m fine,” she said in a deflated tone.

“Why’d you do that? You could’ve gotten seriously hurt!” Twilight screamed, you could tell she was upset with her Pegasus friend.

“Well, it’s just I-I-I…” She was interrupted by a loud hissing sound. We all turned around to see if it was another Pest. However, it wasn’t.

What surprised us was that the noise was actually coming from the Pests corpses. Their spilled blood began to bubble and evaporate into the air. Their bodies decomposed quickly into the ground and soon the field was void of the carnage. We all had wide eyed expressions.

I squinted. “What the hell?”

“Did… did those bodies just rot into the ground?” Isa asked.

“I wish I could un-see that,” added Spike.

I turned to Discord, assuming he’d played a sinister part in what had just happened. “Did you do that?” I inquired him.

“Who me? As much as I want to say it, I’m afraid I had nothing to do with it. Although it was entertaining to watch,” he admitted.

“So then, how were they able to do that?” I asked myself.

“Maybe it’s just in their nature?” suggested Phillip. “I’ve seen it before. The monster’s remains disappear once they die, leaving no trace of their existence at all. You see it in movies all the time.”

“That’s weird, but there’s something else I don’t get.”

“What’s that?” asked Isa.

“Where exactly did these things come from? Are they native to this world, or did Zarerus make them?”

“Who is that?” inquired Twilight.

“Zarerus is the being that sent us here to play this strange game.”

“Game? I really don’t see how this is a game. But I can assure you that those bugs are not from here. I mean, I’ve never seen or heard of them before.”

“Seriously?” I asked and she nodded in response.

“Well, what matters is that my dear friend Fluttershy is safe,” chimed Discord, wrapping his arm around the Pegasus’s shoulder.

“Speaking of which, what’s the deal between you two?” I wondered. “Are you, like, dating?”

Suddenly, Fluttershy’s visage turned bright crimson and her pupils shrank to the size of peas.

“No, no, no. It’s nothing like that, he’s just a really close friend is all,” she stammered as she waved her arms frantically.

“Gotcha.” I replied skeptically. I couldn’t tell if she was telling to truth or if she had a crush on this guy and was too afraid to admit it. Oh well, I didn’t really care for that anyway. What I really wanted to know was if the wave was over. I scanned the area and saw that there were no Pests in sight nor could I hear that eerie hissing noise.

“So now what? Is it over? Did we win?” Spike asked.

Before I could answer, a loud scream went off in the distance. It sounded like a man’s scream, but I couldn’t really tell – it was too high-pitched. We all turned our ears in the direction the scream came from.

“That sounded like it came from Sweet Apple Acres.” assumed Rarity.

“Oh no, Applejack!” yelled Twilight. “Everyone, follow me!”

We nodded collectively and followed Twilight; I picked up my case and ran after them. Then I saw that neither Isa nor Phillip had any cases with them at all.

“Hey, where’s your case?” I asked Isa while running.

“My case? Oh, I left it at Twilight’s.”

“Oh. I wish I’d done that.” I felt really dumb that I didn’t leave my case at Fluttershy’s, so that I wouldn’t have to be carrying it all day.

Nevertheless, I followed our partners aimlessly. Pretty soon, we ended walking onto on a large apple farm. I could easily count a million apple trees. I guess that’s why they called the place Sweet Apple Acres. We stopped behind the red barn to catch our breath. When we got there, we saw that there was already a scene going on. I noticed an orange mare with a cowboy hat trying to defend itself from a few pesky Pests; she also had a trio of apples on her flank. She was kicking and smashing every Pest that came near her.

The Pest next to her was suddenly sliced in half; we all jumped back at the sudden dissection. Another one of our members was on the other side; it was the strong guy with the Mohawk, I think his name was Connor. He had his spear in hand with blood dripping from his blade.

Lightning came down and struck another Pest, I looked up and saw the cyan Pegasus with a rainbow mane and lightning bolt tattoo on her flank. She was kicking at a storm cloud which in turn shot lightning at the Pests down below. She bucked it again and hit the jackpot; a single bolt electrocuted three cowering Pests.

“Take that ya’ overgrown bugs!” she taunted.

Connor charged at one of the remaining Pests and tackled it to the ground. He scrambled up and began stabbing the creature to death with his weapon, the spear itself producing a gross shlinking sound and blood spattering everywhere. When he was done, the exasperated man pulled his spear out of the bug’s flesh and faced us; a small drop of blue blood ran down his face.

“Oh, it’s you guys,” he said while panting.

The farmer pony hog-tied a Pest, sitting on top of its struggling body triumphantly. “That’s how we do things on the farm, ya giant cockroach!” she chided with a chuckle. It sounded like she had a southern accent.

All I could say was, “Whoa.”

“Applejack! Rainbow Dash!” yelled the ponies and dragon in unison.

The rainbow pony descended and the orange mare hopped off the tied up Pest to greet her friends.

“Thank goodness you’re all alright.” greeted the orange mare as they all shared one big embrace. The colorful Pegasus then caught sight of us.

“Oh great, there’s more of you guys,” she complained.

“Huh?” I asked.

“So Twilight, I’m assuming you girls got these human-things too?”

“That’s right.” Twilight affirmed.

“Hey, we have names! You don’t have to keep calling us ‘things’”, yelled Connor as he picked up his spear.

“Well, what else am I supposed to call you? Mohawk? I don’t remember names so good…” replied Rainbow Dash.

“It’s not that hard to remember, it’s really simple!”

Well, I’m glad those two are off to a good start.

“We’re just really glad that you’re okay, Rainbow.” added Fluttershy.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s not like a few over-sized bugs could ever stop Rainbow Dash!” she replied rather boastfully.

‘Oh, joy’, I thought to myself sarcastically.

“So, can somepony please explain to me what the hay that things is?” Applejack said, pointing to the restrained insect.

“That’s a Pest. Did you capture it by yourself?” I inquired.

“Ah sure did. But no thanks to my so-called ‘partner’,” she replied.

“Partner?”

“I-I-Is it gone?” squawked a trembling voice.

“Marko, stop being a pussy and come out from behind that tree.” called Connor. “They’re all dead.”

Marko sidestepped from behind a nearby tree. He had a terrified expression on his face, gripping his case and bat tightly.

“Oh, it’s you guys.” he sighed in relief.

“Was it you who screamed,” asked Isa.

“Uh. . .”

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.” finished Phillip.

“So, is everybody here? Can we please get some answers already?!” badgered Dash. “Like, what the hay were those things? Why are you human-things here? And what is this game that they keep talking about?”

“I’d also liked to know what’s going on. First this scrawny looking guy pops out of nowhere, next thing I know, we’re being surrounded by these giant beetles.” Applejack complained.

“Girls, girls. Calm down. I’m sure these Humans have a logical answer for all of this…” said Twilight. “Right?”

I drew several blanks, even before she asked the question. “Uh, well…”

“I heard it come from over here!” yelled a young girl’s voice. I turned to the left in time to see the last member of our party: Jamie. She was running towards us, waving her arms while running aside a pink mare with a fluffy fuchsia mane and tail. “Oh, hey guys!”

The two stopped in front of us to catch their breaths. The pink pony looked up with an amazed expression on her face. “Oh my gosh! There are more of you?! This is so cool! I thought Jamie was the only one, but I guess I was wrong, because there are more of you right here–right now! This is super exciting!”

“Hey! Have you guys met Pinkie Pie-Chan? She’s the most funnest girl I’ve ever met!” Jamie yelled, still excited.

“I-I don’t think ‘funnest’ is a word,” muttered Marko. “And, I think your grammar is off.”

“Don’t care! She’s so fun to be around!”

“So why did you come here?” I asked.

“Oh, I was hanging out with Pinkie-Chan and getting to know her, when all of a sudden we heard a woman screaming!” she explained which resulted in Marko’s face turning red.

“I-I-I do not scream like that,” stammered Marko, breaking eye contact with the ecstatic duo.

“Keep telling yourself that, bucko.” the orange mare retorted with a soft chuckle.

“Wait a minute. You mean… You’ve been with this mare this whole time?” I inquired.

“Yeah, why’d you ask?” Jamie asked innocently.

“So, you weren’t around when the Pests came?”

“I don’t think so, all I remember is that I woke up in the back of a bakery and met Pinkie. Next thing I knew, we were talking, and laughing, and eating cupcakes–”

“So, you’ve been goofing off this whole time while we were risking our lives out there today?” Connor interrupted.

“Well, I only arrived about five minutes ago.” Jamie admitted.

“Five minutes!? We’ve been fighting for over an hour!” I hollered.

“Seriously? I guess we all came out at different times, huh?” Jamie pondered. “It’s so weird. Either that or I’ve been having so much fun with Pinkie I lost track of time.”

“This is all well and good, but now can we have an explanation for why you’re here?” proclaimed Rainbow Dash.

“I do believe it’s fair, now that everyone is here and gathered,” added Phillip.

“Wait, what about that Dragon thing from before? He’s not with us,” added Isa.

“You mean Discord?” asked Rarity. “But he’s right-“

She turned around and saw that there was nothing behind her. We all began searching around for the creature, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Huh? Where did he go?” Rarity wondered.

“He was with us just a few moments ago,” said Isa as she scratched her head.

“He just… vanished.” I said.

“That’s typical of Discord, to just disappear and reappear whenever he wants.” Twilight added with an annoyed look on her face.

“Oh, so that’s normal for you then?” I asked.

“Basically.”

“Well, we’ll have to explain our situation without him,” suggested Phillip.

“But don’t you think he should know too?” wondered Fluttershy.

“He’s Discord; he can figure it out on his own. So can we please get on with this?” Rainbow Dash urged.

“Oh boy, where do we begin?” I muttered.

One Thorough Explanation Later…

“There, is that a good enough explanation for you?” I said towards the stunned Pegasus.

She didn’t respond, instead her eyes were just shrank with shock, along with the other ponies and Dragon who were listening.

“So, what you’re saying is, this unknown deity just took you away from your homes, and is now forcing you all to play this game where you have to kill giant bugs in order to protect our kingdom?” inquired Twilight.

“Pretty much.” I replied. “And any other ‘players’ who want this land to themselves.”

“How can this be? This is insane? Are we really just going to accept this?” stammered Twilight.

“I’m still as confused as you are,” Isa said with a shrug.

“Seriously, at first I thought this was going to be something like Sword Art Online,” I said rubbing the back of his head.

“Pardon?” asked Applejack.

“Where we all get trapped in a virtual world and we somehow have to get out.” I explained.

“Virtual world?” wondered Rarity.

“If this is just a sick video game, then can’t Mar do some hacking to get us out?” Connor asked pointing to Marko. “You said you were a computer nerd or whatever right?”

“I prefer to be called a programmer.” Marko replied in a flat tone. “And even if this is a virtual field, I’d need some kind of evidence to show that it is. That way, I could figure out a way to hack into the system and get us out. But, I highly doubt any of this is in some kind of virtual world. Not to mention I’d need an actual computer.”

“I’m sorry but, what do you mean by ‘virtual world?’” insisted Rarity.

“Meaning that everything here is fake.” explained Isa.

“Well I assure you, Equestria is not a fake world! It’s as real as...real gets!” exclaimed Dash.

“Agreed. I highly doubt we’re in a video game,” said Phillip crossing his arms. “To me, this is more like a survival game.”

“S-survival?” squeaked Fluttershy.

“You saw what those things did back there. Those Pests are out to kill. And as long as Zarerus keeps sending them in waves, we’re gonna have to do our best to stay alive until the end.”

I still couldn’t believe what this guy was saying. Our first wave and he’s treating it like it’s some kind of game. I don’t even know what’s real anymore. The group began mumbling and whispering among each other, probably thinking the same thing: this is crazy. It’s not like it’s the end of the world, right?

At least nobody died. Yet.

“If there is an end,” Jamie mumbled, her bubbly attitude taking a plunge into the icy rivulet of the macabre.

Now I had to say something. “D-Don’t say that, Jamie.” I’ll admit it; the thought of never being able to escape this so-called game scared me. “Of course there’ll be an ending. I mean, we can’t stay here and play this game forever, right? This is only the first wave. If we managed get through that, then we can get through anything. I know it probably sounds really cliché, but it’s true. How bad can it be if we’re all fighting by each other’s side?”

“Hey, don’t jinx it!” yelled Marko, I could almost distinguish the fear in his voice.

“Seriously, guys. We can do this. Just think about it.” Soon, my words of encouragement seemed to resonate with the rest of the group. Even Fluttershy felt a little motivated, but there was one thing I couldn’t wrap my head around. She had said that she wanted to stay home, yet she came back and threw me out of the way of an attacking Pest. And for the life of me I couldn’t figure out why?

“Yeah, yeah. That sounds nice and all, but I still don’t trust any of you. If any of you try to pull any funny business, then you’ll have to answer to me! Ya’ got that?” threatened Dash, nearly flying straight into my face.

“Rainbow Dash!” scolded Twilight.

“I’m just making sure, alright! You never know when someone might deceive you,” she added.

“Anyway, that’s a mighty fine speech, boy,” Applejack commended, “but I do have one question.” She turned her head back to the tied up Pest. “What do ya'll think we should do with THAT?”

“Why don’t you cook him up and eat it?” I suggested.

“Ew!” groaned all of the ponies and Dragon.

“That’s just gross, why would we do that?!” exclaimed Twilight.

“J-Just a thought.”

Snap!

We turned around and saw that the Pest broke free and on its feet. We all got into our defensives. However, before it could even charge at us, it exploded. I’m not kidding! Out of nowhere the Pest just blew up, spreading its blue life force everywhere.

“What the hell?!” exclaimed Marko.

“D-Did t-that just…” stammered Isa.

We all heard a familiar laughing noise coming from behind us. We turned around and saw Discord snapping his talons, still chuckling. Since when did he come back?!

“Looks like I missed one, but I got it,” he said with a subdued snicker.

“Where did you disappear to?” asked Isa.

“Oh, there were still a few more of those monsters back at the field, so I took care of them. Good thing I came back just in time right?”

“Uh, who is that?” asked Marko pointing his bat at the creature.

“That there is Discord, spirit of chaos and what not,” Applejack answered tamely. “I’d be careful around him if I were you.”

“Okay, I don’t know who he is, but I already don’t like him.” Connor deadpanned.

It’s like he read my mind from earlier.

“Eh, I still don’t trust the guy either,” Rainbow Dash added.

“Huh, I guess there’s one thing we have in common,” joked Connor. All Rainbow did was grunt in response.

Discord rolled his eyes. “Hey, I am standing right here you know.”

Before anyone could say anything, we heard a loud sizzling noise. We turned around and saw that the Pests blood was beginning to evaporate while its remains disintegrated. The other carcasses quickly followed.

“What just happened?” Jamie asked.

“Are you sure we’re not in a video game? Because I think we all saw that Pest disappear after that Dragon freak killed it?” asked Marko.

“I have a name you know!” Discord shot back.

“Can they all do that?” inquired Applejack.

“It looks that way, doesn’t it?” Connor replied.

“Yeah, I mean, the other Pests back at the field disintegrated.” I mentioned.

“You’re saying there’s more of ‘em?” asked Applejack.

“Just what the hay is going on here?!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

“Who cares, just be glad that all of the Pests are gone now!” yelled Spike excitedly.

“For now,” added Phillip. “Like Todd said, this was only the first wave. I imagine that the ones after this will be far more difficult. We must be prepared.”

“BE PRE-PAAAARRRED!” Jaime sang. We all looked at her in confusion; she greeted our bewilderment with a bright cherry blush. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.”

“So, now what do we do?” wondered Isa.

“I know!” yelled Pinkie. “We have new friends now right! This means it’s time for a welcome party!”

“Huh?”

“I don’t know, it’s kind of getting dark,” stated Connor as he directed our eyes to the amber Horizon. “Plus, I’m way too tired to party right now. Spent the whole day killing bugs.”

The pink pony pouted. “Aw! You’re no fun! But that’s ok, maybe we can party tomorrow!”

“I don’t know. We still don’t know that much about this place. And I could really use some sleep right now” Isa said, yawning.

“Speaking of which, where are we going to sleep tonight?” I chimed in.

“I’m pretty sure there’s a hotel nearby where you can all crash for the night,” suggested Rainbow.

“I don’t know, hotels cost money and we don’t know your currency here,” stated Marko.

“Not to mention that we could be here for a while and I don’t think a hotel room will be the best place to hide-out if we’re attacked again.” Isa mentioned. “Besides, we’ll end up attracting too much attention that way.”

“I have an idea!” exclaimed Jamie.

“What?” Isa asked.

“Why don’t we all stay at our partner’s homes?”

Everybody cocked their heads in confusion to the foreign notion; nobody was sure how to react. Was that really the safest bet?

“Huh?” We all asked.

“I mean, you do all have houses right?” Jamie asked.

“Well yeah, of course. But why would you suggest that idea?” Dash responded coldly.

“I’d just thought that it would be a good idea to get to know each other a little more, seeing as how we’re new and have nowhere good to stay. Plus, maybe it could help to build our trust between everybody.”

“I love that idea, you can totally stay with me!” yelled Pinkie as she hugged her new found friend.

“Is that such a good idea?” wondered Isa.

“Well, we don’t really have that many options. But hey, Jamie’s idea to earn our partner’s trust could work,” Marko said with a shrug.

“Yeah, here’s the problem. My home is in the sky, and I highly doubt Connor over here can fly, or sit on a cloud,” Rainbow Dash pointed out.

A sudden wonder struck Connor. “You can do that?”

“Pfft, yeah! It’s easy!”

The blue Pegasus then flew up to a nearby cloud and rested upon it, as if it were like floating mattress. Most of our jaws dropped at the revelation.

“Can all Pegasi do that?” asked Phillip.

“Yeah, we can also do this!” She flew in front of the cloud and kicked it, causing lightning to strike the ground under it. Most of us jumped back at the sound of thunder, especially Jamie who found herself clinging onto a swaying Pinkie.

I gasped. “What the?”

“How did you do that?” asked Marko.

“Easy. Pegasi control the weather here.” Rainbow Dash smirked.

“Seriously?” I asked.

“That’s just not right,” stated Isa who covered her mouth in shock.

“What do you mean?” inquired the Pegasus.

All she got in response was a loud yawn from Isa. She rubbed her eyes, trying to stay awake.

“I’ll tell you tomorrow, I’m beat. I think I used up too much energy,” she said.

“No worry, you can stay at my place. Seeing how everypony is agreeing on that idea,” said Twilight.

“Ok, so where the hell am I supposed to sleep?” asked Connor.

“Well seeing how Marko is apparently staying with me, I suppose we can make room for one more at our farm. I’mma pretty sure we have more than one cot,” offered Applejack.

“Sure,” he replied.

“Phillip, darling, you’re more than welcome to stay with us at the Carousel Boutique as a thank you for ridding it of those horrid creatures.” Rarity offered.

“Thank you, Rarity,” Phillip replied.

Are you sure you really want to trust this guy? I guess it’s better if she DOESN’T know that he’s a street artist.

“Oh um Todd, you can stay at my cottage. I mean, if you want to…” muttered Fluttershy.

“Well where else am I going to go?”

“You’re in for a treat, Todd. Fluttershy’s cottage is just the most wonderful place to stay. I’ve been there a few times myself, and I love it,” mentioned Discord.

“Are you sure he’s not your boyfriend?” I asked again, I didn’t want to look like a jerk or anything.

“N-no, I told you he’s just a friend!” Fluttershy answered.

“Maybe tomorrow, you guys could give us a tour or something, to help give us a little more info about your world? So us that don’t live here have a good idea of what to expect.” suggested Isa.

“That sounds like a splendid idea, Isa.” Rarity agreed.

“Might as well, it’s not like we have any other plans tomorrow. Other than preparing for another wave.” said Phillip.

And with that, we parted ways with their respective partners; Isa left with Twilight and Spike, Phillip with Rarity, Jamie with Pinkie, and Fluttershy and me. On the way back to Fluttershy’s cottage, I decided to ask her something that’s been going around in my head since I arrived here. Good thing Discord was walking far ahead of us, naturally he shouldn’t have been able to hear us.

“Hey Fluttershy.”

“Hm?”

“I gotta ask you, why did you come back?”

“Well, um…I was at my cottage,” She started.

“And?”

“I was too scared to do anything. I just sat on my bed thinking about what I should do. I looked out the window and saw that ponies were panicking and running for their lives, I was so terrified. I kept thinking to myself, ‘what if my friends are out there? What if they get seriously hurt? What would they do if I was in a situation like that?’ Then I remembered what you said to me, ‘I’ll go die by myself then’. I may not know you that well, Todd, but to me you’re like a helpless forest creature.”

I could feel my cheeks burning when she uttered those words. Was that really the best comparison she could come up with? Her statement made me sound weak.

“And I could never stand by and watch as a cute little chipmunk or squirrel run off into the forest only to be eaten by a bigger animal, I just couldn’t.” I stopped dead in my tracks. I’ve never felt so embarrassed. I mean, being compared to a squirrel by a mousy, girly Pegasus, that’s just…..wrong. “Todd?” She noticed I stopped.

“Did you call me helpless?” I asked, calmly.

“Oh, did that offend you? I’m so sorry, I didn’t-“

“Never mind. What were you saying?”

“Oh right. I kept thinking about it, and then I decided that it wouldn’t be fair for you to go out there and fight alone. I’m sure that’s what my friends would’ve done for me just like they probably did the same for their partners.”

“I see.” I paused. “Well, thanks for saving me back there.”

“You’re welcome. And Todd…” I could feel my heart racing. Why was my heart racing? “I know we had a rough start with everything, but can we still be friends?”

I don’t know why, but when she asked that question, I felt unusually pleasant around this creature. Given the other characters I met today, that’s saying a lot. Even if she was a different species, she just seemed so innocent and kind-hearted.

It felt nice to be around her.

At first, I saw her as a scared little girl, but then she saved me from almost getting impaled by a Pest. (Well actually, the others helped a lot too with keeping me alive, but this was different.) However, I’m not strong yet. If we’re going to be partners, I have to get stronger to play this game and to keep her safe.

“Well, how else am I going to get to know you? Besides, we’re partners now, aren’t we?”

“Yeah.” She nodded with a smile.

Don’t worry; I’ll get better at this game. It looks like a made a few new friends today.

“Aw, how precious.” teased Discord as his snake-like neck broke through the middle of our friendly air.

“Ah!” I jumped. “W-we’re you listening the whole time?!”

“Maybe I was, maybe I wasn’t. You’ll never know,” He laughed, shrinking back behind us.

‘Now I really don’t like this guy’.

It was now dark out. After a few minutes of pointless conversation, we finally made it back to Fluttershy’s cottage.

“Well, it looks like you’re back. I guess I’ll be going now.” said Discord.

“You’re leaving?” asked Fluttershy.

“Well yes, I just wanted to make sure you got home safe, Fluttershy. And now that you’re here, I’ll be heading home now. Ta-ta!” He waved as he snapped out of the area.

“Does he always come visit you?” I asked Fluttershy.

“Every now and then. Even though he’s the Spirit of Chaos, he’s still a very dear friend of mine and I’m always happy to see him.” She responded.

When we went inside, I was surprised to see that it was filled with animals and plants. Birds, rodents, reptiles, you name it. It was as if every animal in the world was in her living room. There was also a weird smell in the room I couldn’t shake. It was crazy.

“Whoa.”

“Something wrong?” Fluttershy asked.

“I didn’t expect to see a lot of animals in your home.”

“Oh yes, I care for all living creatures,” she replied, filling a bowl with lettuce to feed a few small rodents.

“Are you Mother Nature’s daughter?”

“Who?”

“Uh, never mind.”

“Ok, I’ll be right back. I’ll go get some blankets and pillows for you.” The buttery Pegasus stated before leaving the room.

I decided to rest on the couch and set down both my case and my machete. I was still trying to get used to the sight of the many animals in her house. A blue jay landed on my forearm, I was a bit surprised that a bird would come to me so naturally. I thought it was going to peck at me, but instead it nuzzled its head against my shoulder. I wish the birds in my world were this friendly.

“Seems like you made a new friend.” Fluttershy noted as she was walking out with a blanket and a pillow on her back.

“Yeah, well.”

“You can sleep on the couch there, if you want.”

“I don’t mind.”

Instinctively, I stood up and she began to set the couch. The blue jay on my arm flew away as she looked up at me.

“Ok, you’re all set up. I’m going to get ready for bed as well.”

“Thank you, Fluttershy.”

I got under the covers and rested my head on the pillow and all the other animals escorted themselves out of the room. Probably back to their birdhouses, cages, or wherever they sleep.

Fluttershy was walking upstairs with a tired expression. “Good night,” She called down.

“Night.” I replied. After she left, I decided to eat a few granola bars from my case, since I hadn’t eaten anything for the past hour. Once I was done, I turned off my lamp and drifted off into a deep sleep. I hope I can become better at this game, if I’m going to survive, and win my life back.