True Gamerby WishSeekerChaptersCutie Mark Crusader Gamers, Yay!Spike Kombat! - part 1Spike Kombat! - part 2Spike Kombat! part 3Even Princess' can kick alien buttWhy? - part 1Why? - part 2Cutie Mark Crusader Gamers, Yay!A paler than usual Scootaloo was sprawled across her bed with a blue laptop in front of her, her hooves furiously flashed across the keyboard and her baggy eyes glued to the screen. "Take that! Yeah and that! Guys, I got them don't worry." She spoke through her headset, the other crusaders were playing too. "I can go bot but you'll have to support for me Sweets." With Scootaloo stuck to the laptop, the blue Pegasus easily entered her bedroom unnoticed, "What're you up to squirt." Scootaloo jumped at her idol's voice, she span around to face Rainbow Dash, "Oh, hey Rainbow Dash, what are you doing here?" "I came to check up on my number one fan, I haven't seen you around much kid, so I thought I'd make sure you're still kicking, what're you doing then?" Rainbow hadn't noticed the change in Scootaloo's appearance. "I'm playing League of Ponies with the other crusaders, it's this awesome game where you play champions and fight in an arena." Scootaloo waved her hoof towards the screen, revealing a bunch of little creatures beating up what looked like a squirrel. Rainbow stared in confusion. "I don't get it." "Oh yeah, you gotta click on things so your champion attacks them, then you press keys to use abilities, like this." Scootaloo began mashing buttons again and the squirrel creature began hitting the little minions, numbers appearing above them until they were killed. Even with Scootaloo's demonstration, Rainbow was still confused, "Looks more like an egghead game to me, are you gonna start acting like Twilight, cause I don't think I can put up with two." Scootaloo smiled in response, "No, don't worry, it's easy. Everything has hit points, attacks take away hit points equal to your damage until it kills them, there's also criticals, passive effects and attack speed. You need to destroy the enemies nexus to win." "Yeah, it's an egghead game." Dash's blunt remark made Scootaloo blush in embarrassment. "If you're not busy, I can show you it's not for eggheads." Scootaloo found herself desperately clutching to get her idol to understand. "Alright squirt, I once said 'I better not knock things til I try them', I'll come over tomorrow evening." Rainbow ruffled Scootaloo's mane and turned to leave, "I'll bring my laptop, see you tomorrow." Scootaloo stood in awe, she'd have the real Rainbow Dash come and learn something from her. Her little lips were all she could move but her voice was loud, "YES!" "Apple Bloom, will ya leave yer computer alone a minute and give me a hand with the chores!" Applejack's voice came from the hallway, she strained on each word as if she was carrying something heavy. "Hang on Crusaders, my sister's calling me- I can't I'm in a- no, Scoots, get the other one on bot- I'm in a ranked match!" She was talking between Applejack and her friends , " I'll lose my rank in League of Ponies!" "Isn't there supposed to be a pause button or whatnot?" A loud crash followed Applejack's question. "It's online, duh, I can't pause the other players- yeah she thought I could pause the game." Apple Bloom was making quick motions on her keyboard, trying to kill the other players. Applejack walked into the room, her mane was covered in rubbish and grime, a banana peel fell from her face. Apple Bloom swivelled on her chair and tried to hold her amusement at the sight. "What happened to yer mane sis? Looks like ya had a fight with a dumpster." "Well, Apple Bloom, if ya weren't on yer game, I wouldn't have tripped over yer saddlebag while taking the bins out." Applejack's face was furious, her eyes were focused on her snickering sister. "I'm sorry, but it's just this once sis, I'll help next time." Apple Bloom attempted to defend her position between them, still sitting on her chair. "No, it isn't this once, it's been this for the past two weeks; You stay on yer game all day, me 'an big mac do all the work. You was supposed to feed the pigs yesterday, but they were chewing mud when I got there today." Applejack stepped closer to her sister, her expression showed her feelings, she was more than angry at Apple Bloom, Applejack felt disappointed that her sister had become a lazy pony. "Ok Applejack, I really am sorry, I'll do the chores round the farm tomorrow to make up for it." "So, yer gonna feed the animals, tidy the house, clean the dishes, clean out the barn, place the scarebats and any other chores for the next day?" "Yeah, sure you can count on me, now can I get back to the game please, I don't want to be reported." Apple Bloom was turning around before Applejack could answer. Stepping out, Applejack poked her head back around the door and added one final remark, "Fine, but ya better do them or I'll have to ban ya from yer computer." "Sure, sure," Apple Bloom returned ignorantly, "I will." The Filly returned to the smashing of keyboard buttons with the other crusaders, her moves were rapid and she responded to everything on screen with natural instinct. It was getting dark, Sweetie was on her bed tapping away at her pink laptop, the computers and laptops were well designed as to stop unicorns having an advantage. "Yeah Scootaloo, I can cover you." "Sweetie Belle!" Rarity's voice shot from outside Sweetie's door, "It's getting late, you must get ready for bed." Sweetie's head turned to her sister as she entered, "I can't, we need to get more wins so I can..." "I'm sorry Sweetie, but I am afraid I can't let you stay up," Rarity spoke with a firm but fair tone, "you have to be in school tomorrow." Sweetie used her most adorable puppy eyes, complete with heart breaking frown "But-" "Sweetie, I'm not falling for that, bed now." Rarity stomped her hoof, showing her authority. Sweetie Belle slapped her laptop shut and slid it under her bed, she then climbed into her sheets, "There, happy." "Thank you," after turning off the lights with magic, the afterglow of Rarity's horn was brighter than usual, if only for a second. "Good night." Sweetie counted the minutes, waiting to let Rarity get to her room, she then pulled the laptop out again, slid her headset on and opened it. "'SweetBellesOfFire' is back online." The school bell rang for the lunch break, all the fillies and colts rushed out the school doors to play in the sun as it was a beautiful day. The Crusaders followed out behind the other students, Apple Bloom's eyes were hurt by the bright day before her. The red mane that was usually tied in a bow, was now a distorted mess, "Maybe we shouldn't have stayed up all night." "But then we would only be silver two, it was boring playing all those noobs in silver three and we're that much closer to gold." Scootaloo spoke energetically, most likely from all those energy drinks she had been drinking over the past month. Everyone agreed it would be a wonder if she ever slept again. "Anyway who cares about 'real life', it's got bad graphics anyway." "I think that's just your eyes." Sweetie Belle had difficulty standing, her knees trembling and her whole leaning from left to right. "Maybe Apple Bloom is right. Babs even said online that she was really tired of these all-nighters. I don't think gaming all the time is any of our special talents, but then, I still guess it was fun when Apple Bloom got a pentakill." Scootaloo began to get psyched with images of the games flashing through her mind, "Yeah, and then when you went to solo baron and took out their jungler too! and then when you... " Apple Bloom stuffed her hoof into Scootaloo's face "Don't do that! I think I have a headache." "Mawry." Scootaloo's muffled apology got Apple Bloom's hoof out of her face, "Can't we just do one more night and then we stop? I want Rainbow Dash to see how awesome I am and she said she'll come watch me." Apple Bloom mulled it over in her head for a moment, "Fine, but that's what you said yesterday, and the day before that, I want to sleep, sometime ya know." The rainbow colored laptop was tucked neatly under Dash's wing when she entered Scootaloo's room, "So squirt, I'm here. I downloaded League of Ponies, even though it took about four hours." "Yeah, sorry I didn't mention the download time, so do you have a gamer name?" Scootaloo was acting laidback, but she couldn't hold the joy of teaching 'The Rainbow Dash' how to play League of Ponies. "It's 'Super-Ultra-Extreme-Awesomazing'." Rainbow pulled her laptop out from her wing and sat next to Scootaloo, who was already logged onto the game. Scootaloo typed the name into the search bar and found Rainbow; Dash's profile was at level two so she must have practiced a bit before hand, Scootaloo clicked on the add friend button and a giddy tremor ran through her body. "Okay, so I can help you practice a little in the lower levels, at least until the crusaders come online, but then I'll have to play with them. You can watch me if you want." Rainbow finally logged on. "That's ok, just one question, how do I accept a friend request?" "Click the accept for 'ScootaBomb', on the bottom of the screen, and then I'll put us in a game." Scootaloo began preparing the game. After two long matches, the rest of the crusaders were online; 'SweetBellesOfFire' was first, then 'BadSeed', 'AppleyDoom' came on last after Babs' friend 'FragileSnake'. Scootaloo began playing with them, at first Rainbow watched happily, but after a while she realised it was more than a game to Scootaloo. The pale orange filly hadn't been out for weeks, except for school, and it seemed as if she was having trouble holding her head up. Rainbow hadn't picked up on this until now, Scootaloo was skinnier, it was clear she wasn't eating as much and strangest of all her voice had an unnatural wheeze to it. After almost three hours passed, watching Scootaloo attack buttons and click ferociously, Dash turned to the rainbow laptop then back to the filly. Rainbow had enjoyed hanging out with Scootaloo, but seeing the filly stare helplessly at the screen hurt her, she didn't want Scootaloo to become a zombie focused on the game. "Scootaloo, stop." Rainbow looked down at her sister. Scootaloo heeded Rainbows words and turned to look back. "What's the matter Rainbow Dash?" "You've got to stop, I know you probably like this game but you need to spend way less time on it." Rainbow rubbed her hoof along Scootaloo's back. The little filly tried to defend the game, "But my rank and my..." "Is that what you want your life to be, a number on a computer game?" Rainbow knew she had to help her sister, it was an addiction and Scootaloo had to cut down on the game. "But- But- " She huffed in defeat. "I guess you're right, but what do I do know?" Scootaloo's face and body were shaky, she thought she'd be teaching Rainbow Dash something, but again her sister had taught her a lesson instead. "We could go for a late night flight." Rainbow bounced and displayed her wings as she spoke. A little colour returned to Scootaloo's face, "That'd be awesome!" Apple Bloom swept up the final bit of dirt in the house. "Finally, first chore down, now I guess I earned a break." Applejack was out with Twilight doing something, Big Mac was in town helping a few ponies move furniture around and Granny Smith was in Manehattan visiting the Oranges, so I was just her until later. Her computer was back on in a flash, Apple Bloom pulled up League of Ponies, last Crusader online. Sliding her headset on she announced her arrival, "'AppleyDoom' has arrived!" She entered the game with the other crusader and happily hacked away at her enemies. At her third game Apple Bloom had already shown up the others, her skills were unmatched. "I'm sure I'm forgetting something, oh well, can't be Important. Game number four, Crusaders are we ready to kick flank?" A positive cheer in response came from her headset. Hours past, it fell dark in no time to Apple Bloom, by her tenth game the moon was up high in the sky. "Apple Bloom!" AJ was standing behind her disappointed, she span the filly's chair around, "Yer banned from that computer, tomorrow ya can help me in the orchard." "But-" the words didn't come. "But nothing, yer gonna help me, consider yerself lucky I'm in a good mood." AJ pulled the plug from Apple Bloom's computer and stormed out with it. Apple Bloom realised her mistake quickly; she shouldn't have turned the computer on, she should've just did all the chores. But weirdly, Apple Bloom was happy with what her sister did, it was like she had a weight lifted off her, no more League of Ponies. "I guess I don't need that stupid game." It was dark in Sweetie's room, the only light originated from under the lump in the blanket. Sweetie was tapping away still playing. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom had mysteriously disappeared from the game but she was still going with Babs and her friend. "Okay, I'll go top while you jungle." The little unicorn cheerfully made little click noises with her mouse, her movements were as graceful as a butterfly and her speed was as sharp as a knife. Even with how quietly she tapped, her clicking soon drew attention. "Sweetie Belle, are you still awake?" Rarity was at Sweetie's door, the filly panicked and closed the laptop. As the door opened slowly Sweetie closed her eyes to feign sleep, letting out cute little snores to add to the effect. "Silly Rarity, Sweetie isn't like that." Rarity stroked Sweetie's mane, then quiet hoofsteps informed Sweetie that her sister was leaving. As soon as the door shut Sweetie jumped back up and grabbed her laptop, she opened it and continued playing under her covers. After a few minute she was so focused she didn't notice the blanket had been pulled from her. "Sweetie Belle, you should be asleep." Suddenly, Sweetie's face dropped and tears drew into her eyes, as if by magic Sweetie was reduced to a tearful mess. "I have a problem, help me rarity." "Oh Sweetie Belle." Rarity pulled Sweetie in for a hug, comforting her little sister by stroking her mane. "I haven't slept for a week Rarity, what do I do, I can't stop." The little filly was gasping between words, she couldn't fake this, she actually felt bad. Rarity looked down at Sweetie. "Look, Sweetie dear, I'll take the laptop away, I know you love it but you'll need to make a sacrifice. Is that ok?" "Yes, please just take it, take it!" Sweetie did her best to magically levitate the pink device to Rarity. Rarity tucked Sweetie in, then enveloped the laptop in her own aura and carried it to the door, "Go to sleep, Sweetie, you'll feel better in the morning." With that Rarity knocked the door shut behind her, leaving Sweetie quickly fall into a deep sleep. Deep into the night, the clicking of mouses and the tapping of keyboards could be heard from three places in Ponyville, but they were all connected to one game, their voices spoke to each other through the game. "'Super-Ultra-Extreme-Awesomazing' what're ya doin, go bot." 'Applejacker' was mashing away enemies in the middle of the map. "Shut up 'Applejacker', 'Rarimystery' isn't even on a lane!" 'Super-Ultra-Extreme-Awesomazing' found herself at the top of the map fighting another player. "I think you'll find I have taken to this jungling thing, I hate mud yes but this is a game." 'Rarimystery' was simply running around in circles between a bunch of trees. Spike Kombat! - part 1Rumbles of wheels and chatter from nearby ponies filled the Manehattan street. The Princess of friendship was marching down the street; to her side was her faithful dragon assistant, Spike. "So tell me again what we're doing in Manehattan Twilight?" Twilight turned quickly, a hint of annoyance in her face. She fought the feeling, instead smiling for Spike and explained for the twenty-fifth time. "We are here on important business, I need to meet the CEO of 'Equinemart' tomorrow. Apparently being a Princess means I have to check in with certain major economical providers." "Ok, yeah I still don't–" Only Twilight's purple hoof barred Spike from stepping onto a busy road. "– thanks, Twilight" "You need to be more careful Spike, look both ways before crossing instead of letting a taxi run you over." Twilight was making a lecture out of this. Her voice seemed snobbier than usual: maybe, it was the terrible treatment she got from the train conductor; maybe, it was the pony who spilt his drink on her earlier; or just maybe, it was the fact she was 'ordered' by Princess Celestia to attend this meeting. "Ok! I get it Twilight, look both ways. I wish was back in Ponyville where no pony would 'run over' you." Spike's sharp reply may have ticked the 'Twilight clock' that little bit more. The Princesses face was quickly developing a furious tone, her eyes both focused on the dragon. "And you think that I don't wish I was at home, maybe with the girls or reading a good book. Well no, I'm stuck here in Manehattan with only a vague idea of what it is I am meant to do." "I'm sorry Twilight, I didn't mean to make you upset. I was just hoping that we could hurry this and get home by tomorrow afternoon." The watery eyes that shone from Spike's face calmed Twilight a little. Twilight changed to a more motherly voice. She gave spike an apologetic hoof on the back. "I'm sorry Spike, I'm just really stressed out and I didn't mean to lash at you, especially over something like that. Look, we have a few hours to check in at the hotel, let's go have a look around the shopping centre for something for you." Small but noticeable, Spike returned a shy smile and nodded. There were hundreds or maybe thousands of stores around, the building was huge, it could easily fit ten thousand ponies inside without trouble. Spike bounced around looking at the different stores, Twilight followed behind him. "So Spike, where do you want to go?" "Well, I want something fun, maybe a trampoline or bouncy castle. I also want something cool, like a pair of aviators or a magic amulet. I could really do with something to pass the time with, a model or a train set!" Spike's excitement got the best of him, he found himself toppling over his own tail. Lying there on the floor like a rare rug, that's when he saw it; it was the most amazing thing ever and he wanted it. "The Ponystation three-sixty-one." A sharp shot of concern rattled Twilight. "Wait, I heard those are very addictive, some ponies start playing and just never stop; I even heard that some take what they do on it into real life, it never turns out well." "But you said I could have whatever," the purple dragon replied, "besides I'm not a pony." "Spike, I'm trying to help here, I've heard stories from Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash about what those games can do to you." The Princess, desperately trying to dissuade Spike from the console, but was getting nowhere. Spike opened the door to the store and stared back at Twilight. "Twilight, I want a Ponystation three-sixty-one!" "And you press this button to start it. Place the games in this tray and close it, they should then run. Would you like me to wrap it or is it just to take now." The friendly store clerk had a strange mane style but was very helpful to customers. "It's fine, we'll take it as it is." Twilight smiled at the kind pegasus. The pony turned around to box up the console and games for Twilight, he exposed his cutie mark which seemed to be a game controller. "And here you are, if you need any help your highness, don't hesitate to call the number on the box. We'll come and sort whatever problem you find with the game." "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name, just so I know who to ask for." Twilight strangely pressed the pony for this information. "Oh, my name's Blizz Blitz, but my friends call me Blizz." Blizz seemed to realise what he had said to a Princess, calling her a friend, and blushed. "Ok, thanks Blizz!" Twilight's aura enshrouded the box as it floated, she flew it out of the store with Spike following behind. The floating mass above created a shadow around Spike, the two journeyed towards the hotel. "So..." "So?" An odd confusion caused Twilight's eyebrow to rise. "So you 'know who to ask for', right." An elbow from Spike connected with Twilight. Twilight returned the nudge with another raised eyebrow and a snort. "I don't know what you're implying." Spike giggled at the Princess' response "Yeah, right." "Fatality!" Red words appeared on the Spike's game, it was dark in the hotel room, excluding the light the screen. Twilight moved in the bed behind him, her slumber disturbed. "Spike, will you go to bed I have a big day tomorrow." "But one more game, come on Twi." Claws together, Spike pleaded and begged. "You said that an hour ago, don't make me return your game tomorrow." She glared at the groveling assistant. Spike continued to beg at Twilight's hooves, a lack of dignity could be seen in the dragon's words."But, Twilight!" Twilight responded with a furrowed eyebrow, a cold stare and a distant frown; She was not giving in to Spike again. "Fine!" Spike Kombat! - part 2Spike Kombat - part 2 It was a late night for Spike, his hours on the computer had completely depleted him, even with this he was sensitive, he could feel the morning coming. For once Twilight was the second to wake up. He considered moving but he was happy in the dark. Another morning beam penetrated the dark room. Spike reacted first, his eyes sandy and dry, he stood up and observed the mess around him. Crumpled packets of Ponyitos and crushed bottled of Equestrian dew surrounded his game console, still light up and humming. Spike rubbed his sore eyes and began climbing through the rubbish. His arrival at the console birthed a question, Spike was tired and had played all night but something urged him in. Temptation won, Spike picked up the controller and forgot about his real life, the life that isn't limited by a few inches of pixels. Maybe he was only going to play for an hour, maybe two or even three; well he was the assistant to Princess Twilight Sparkle, why couldn't he have time to relax? Time dragged its way forward, at least an hour had passed since Spike began playing. The lump of bedding, which had concealed Twilight, began to move. "Spike, what time is it?" A slothful face poked its head out the covers, the eyes were almost rusted shut, the voice was more of a wheeze and the pony was moving slowly. Spike heard her voice but his attention was elsewhere, he continued to mash buttons causing the character on the screen to kick and fly at another."Uh, yeah Twilight sure." "Are you still playing? Seriously? Spike, turn that off, we've got to get to that meeting. Go get my checklist." Twilight's dropped out of her bed as she rolled, she then preceded to the en suite bathroom. A few words must have penetrated Spike's thick skull, the dragon turned to see Twilight moving away. He huffed and began scouting through the bags for the piece of paper. "So here are the statistics for next years sales Princess Twilight, I hope you are happy with them." The suave pony stood at the forefront of a large table, surrounded by lots of official looking mares and stallions. His hoof was directed at a large graph on the wall. Twilight sat at the other end of the table, her assistant was sleeping through the meeting. "I have to admit, it does look promising but the you are only taking in account of sales over the last two years; I suggest instead looking back to at least five years before making any assumptions." Every other pony, except the the suave business pony, began nodding and clopping their hooves together. After some words had passed between everyone they all stared back at their representative. The suave pony looked around, he then nodded as he prepared his response. "Well I guess we could take a look at those numbers, but it seems useless wasting resources and time on a task that will most likely yield the same ." They went on for a very long amount of time, however Twilight eventually topped him, he then was forced to bring up the statistics for the past fiver years. Twilight grinned as she saw slight variations in the data. "Aha, see according to this next years net profit is 5% lower than expected." "but is that such a big difference, I mean 5% is barely one store not making a profit." The suave pony was tires of arguing with Twilight, and although he respected the princess he also felt that this was a waste of time. "5% isn't big? That's at least 300,000 bits down the drain, you cannot afford that if your business should continue to decrease." A bit of pity was building up into Twilight, she could see from the data that the business would be down in a matter of three years. Overhearing the ongoing debate, Spike awoke. He felt it strange that they still hadn't finished by the time he woke up. "Twilight what is happening, why haven't you finished?" "Because somepony doesn't want to hear how to save their business." Twilight seemed angry, Spike was growing very agitated because of this. Everytime this week the dragon has tried to talk she has been angry. The suave pony responded angrily with haste. "Well maybe you should go and help one of our competitors, my business is fine, and I'm not fighting over it." Spike twitched at his voice. "Fight." "This is not a fight, I'm just trying to help." Twilight's response matched the tone of the business pony. Again twitching, Spike's eyes began to narrow. "Fight?" In response to Twilight, the business pony continued. "Whatever your opinion is, your royal highness, it is much appreciated but I think we'll avoid this, I am not going to fight!" "Fight!" He finally broke, Spike was flying across the room, kicking and punching all anypony that stood in his way. His attacks were relentless and almost unnatural, he jumped then slid and striked hard at one older pony. As a climax to this moment, the out of control dragon assistant smashed through the door and disappeared, all that could be heard were screams and spikes grunts in the distance. Twilight was left in shock, standing with her mouth ajar at the sight she just witnessed. As the only pony in the room not injured she quickly ran to get help for the others. Further outside all that could be seen was a pile up of injured ponies, some rolling and some in even worse shape. Spike on the other hand had seemingly disappeared. The Princess was in a big mess and she had no idea how to deal with it. Spike Kombat! part 3Spike Kombat part 3 After a huge purple pop, Twilight had appeared in the game store again, she had no way of stopping the crazed ninja dragon. Spike was injuring and even killing everyone in his path. She surveyed the shop but there was little sign of any employee, she scavenged around the merchandise and then checked the counter, the only help she found was a note to customers, 'On a lunch break be back really soon, we would really appreciate it if you didn't steal anything.' Ponies were all around the shopping centre, crowding everywhere; Twilight hardly get around let alone find somepony. From the distance came a roar as Spike flew past, almost crippling a full grown stallion with a single kick. He turned and narrowed his eyes at a young unicorn, they gleamed with a red aura as he taunted the defenceless pony. "Get over here!" "Spike stop!" Twilight's words meant nothing to the frenzied beast, she could see that the Spike that was always there for her was consumed with rage. The dragon prepared to leap at his next victim but as he pounced a tremendous force sent him flying backwards. There before him , balancing on its hind legs, stood a male Pegasus dressed in a clean white robe. He dropped his forelegs to the ground and addressed Spike directly. "Not today little dragon. like so many others you were unprepared; now video games have damaged your mind." Twilight recognised the voice, her eyes shot up to stare into the face of the hero. She saw his strange mane and she shivered, her mind drew back to the store clerk, Blizz Blitz. The fight erupted quickly, a low kick from Spike took Blizz off his hooves. Blizz bounced back using his wings, he responded with a swift uppercut which Spike barely dodged. The dragon flew at Blizz's face with full force but was quickly sent into the air from another uppercut. Twilight stared on as the two fought, she tried to calm Spike with spells but the dragon was moving to fast for her to get a lock, it was all up to Blizz to incapacitate Spike. "Argh!" A good strike from Spike left Blizz lying on the floor, consciousness was slowly fading from him. He looked up to see the elbow of Spike falling down towards him at terminal velocity. As they connected Blizz was knocked out completely, Spike turned to his worthy opponent and gave a sinister grin. The dragon kicked the unconscious body repeatedly and began mocking the unresponsive Blizz. "What will you do now Pegasus?" Blizz awoke to a small room, he looked around attempting to piece together where he was. His bed was extremely comfortable, the paintings on the walls were beautiful and the surrounding colours were all so aesthetically pleasing. "Am I dead? Is this where Celestia sends us when we die?" Questions filled his mind as this room felt perfect but his questions were soon forgotten when he caught a beautiful sight, a fine alicorn. "No you're not dead, you fought so bravely against Spike, I couldn't just leave you there in that state." The princess stepped forward, as they gazed upon each other they found themselves in awe. Blizz could hardly speak, he felt strangely sick. Eventually he managed to break the silent stare that they shared. "Princess Twilight, it was something that I had to do. It was my fault, my friends made a bet that I couldn't sell the enchanted game console and I won but at a high cost." Twilight, though still adoring the stallion before her, took a short glance at the console near her hoof. "What do you mean enchanted game console?" A long sigh drew from Blizz's mouth, he had to be honest with Twilight. "Well long story short, a strange old guy cursed it because he couldn't complete a 540 heel flip on a Pony Hawk game. The curse turns players into characters of the games they play, or at least in their minds. Your friend Spike seems to be Scorpion from Pony Kombat." Twilight continued to press for information. "Ok I think I understand, but then how do we stop the curse?" "It's actually really simple, we just have to beat him at the game he's 'playing', hence why I tried to fight him. Then you saved me." Again the sick feeling returned as he gazed at her eyes, Blizz wanted to preach how he felt to Twilight, the emotion that was consuming him when he though of her. He looked away abruptly, choosing to instead stare out the window. Twilight also had a strange feeling, she should have been angry at this pony but instead she pitied him. She felt a connection to him but was too afraid to speak up about it, instead she stuck with the matter at hand. "Ok so how do we fight Spike, he seems almost unbeatable. Thee must be some kind of weakness we can exploit." Blizz scratched his chin with his hoof as he thought deeply. "There maybe one thing we could try." Spike was storming his way up another Manehattan street, waiting in front of him was a huge magical barrier held up by a number of guard unicorns, they were trying to keep Spike from escaping. Above the street, a group of pegasi were hovering with a huge net, Together, they swept down and attempted to drop it on Spike. The dragon was too fast for the group and he rolled out of the way. Bewildered at his speed, some of the unicorns lost focus on their combined spell. This left an opening for Spike to move on, he dashed for a gap in the barrier but before he leapt through, he was hit with a tremendous kick. "As I said before, not today little dragon." Blizz once again stood before Spike, this time he seemed more confident. Spike glared at him as a dark smile swept across his face, he felt the presence of a challenge. It began almost instantly, the guards were only spectators of this great battle, both of them fought with rapid speed. Spike countered every strike from Blizz but his own could not break Blizz's defence, the two were perfectly matched. Eventually the two stopped, they stared each other down. Spike's eyes began to glow red as raw power coursed through him, he was preparing to finish Blizz in one strike. Spike erupted into a frenzy as he rushed towards the pegasus, but before his strike landed an overwhelming force took him over. Spike couldn't control himself, he was being tugged away from Blizz against his will. Twilight, levitating a controller in the air, was magically pushing buttons. This turned Spike into a puppet. Blizz began his onslaught, he struck the dragon multiple times with no response from Spike, who was frozen to the spot. His strikes landed hard and though Blizz regretted what he had to do, he merciless battered his opponent. The last strike was the most painful for Spike, Blizz 'finished him' by kicking the dragon in the stomach, flying him up into the air, then dropping him at high speed. "Argh, ouch, what in Celestia happened, I don't remember a thing and... And I can't move my legs! What happened?" The real Spike was back, however he was paralysed. All that pain from the fall was still rippling through his little body and his arms and head were barely moving. Blizz helped Spike sit up against a wall, he then gave answer to Spike's question. "You, kind of went nuts. And I had to kick your flank, well butt. Sorry." Twilight ran over and immediately kissed Blizz without a thought. Once she realised that she had just kissed the stallion she blushed and looked away giggling. "Sorry." But her apology was met by a kiss back, the two enjoyed the moment for a few more seconds before returning to the real world. Twilight then moved on to enlighten the dragon who was now glaring confused. "Ok, you're game console was enchanted and a word in the meeting triggered the spell, you began beating everyone up pretending to be a character from Pony Kombat; The only way to stop you was to defeat you at the game, but you were too powerful. In the end, we came up with this plan to use an enchanted controller to control you so Blizz could beat you." Spike looked at the two still confused before a light bulb flashed in his school. "Have you tried restoring the console to factory settings?" Blizz was caught off guard, his whole life was turned upside down. "I didn't think of that." Even Princess' can kick alien butt'Come on Luna, we are the princess of the night, this is just a game. We will go down the corridor, shoot every being that moves, then leave. On the count of three, one, two, three.' "Die for thou art a pathetic wretch, argh!" Luna's blue aura enveloped the controller as she forced the sticks to flick. Opposite her bed, a huge screen displayed a first pony view of Luna's character. Beyond the screen was a blue space-age weapon, shots of green energy darted from the end. The strange projectiles rushed through the smooth purple corridor of a space station setting, before finally hitting a strange looking creature. This creature seemed to be twice the size of normal ponies, it's knees were reversed – the front legs bent back while the back bent forward – the end of each were more like dragon claws than hooves. The beast had no coat, instead scales covered with smooth blue armor, very similar to the corridor's surface. Perhaps, the most terrifying difference was that this pony-beast had what seemed like four separate jaws, each with their own set of sharp teeth. The blasts were stopped by another strange force, a transparent barrier of energy. The green bolts dissipated, leaving a light blue glow on the surface of this strange shield. A few more accurate shots destroyed the barrier and allowed another blast to hit the beast, causing a mixture of blue and purple liquid to splatter from the creature. "Argh!" The creature screamed in pain. "Curse you demon." 'Demon, how dare this horrid creature mock us so.' Luna's moves accelerated, she was pulling triggers and pushing buttons with her magic. Her in-game puppet moved just as quick, it flung across the screen and continued to fire on the beast. Shots finally returned, the beast was on its hind legs holding a long pink device that shot lines of green towards Luna's character. A blue bar began decreasing at the top of the screen, each line of green causing it to drop every bit more. Eyes focused and fully immersed Luna rapidly changed her pressure to another trigger. Her character threw a strange round object. Falling to the feet of the alien monstrosity forced an explosion from the object, splattering the beast into particles. 'Huzzah! Princess Luna, the protector of the night and guardian of dreams, is once again victorious.' "Sister!" Celestia's voice was angrily calling from the door, "Stop that ridiculous game, you have forgotten to lower the moon on time, again." Her eyes darted to her clock, sure enough it was morning. "Apologies, dear sister." Luna dropped her controller and stepped to the bedroom window. Directing her horn towards the moon she dragged it down with her Alicorn magic. The two princesses were pacing through the royal gardens, the sun beamed down illuminating the colourful plant life around them. "That is the third time this week Luna. You need to either leave that game alone or pace yourself, as princess of the night, you have other responsibilities in the dark hours." Celestia's tone displayed some anger, but Princess Celestia hated to show her emotions. Luna looked back to her sister, her face regretful. " We just wished to experience the new types of entertainment that this world now offers. We are sorry." Celestia bowed her head slightly in return, then changed the subject "Luna, you can speak by saying I and not 'we', I thought Twilight helped you with how you speak in this day." "But we... I prefer the old ways, sister, I am not used to speaking as one of the common ponies." Luna spoke slower whenever she wanted to say 'we' instead of 'I'. "They are more than common ponies, but I trust you will become more accustomed to the new world each day. Eventually I hope you become as one with today's life." Her head held high, Celestia spoke as a mentor to a student this time. A small blue bird perched itself on a nearby plant, chirping a tune to the princesses. Luna smiled at the little creature, "Well at least the birds sing the same tunes." Her horn glowing bright, Luna raised the moon as the sun was drawn down by Celestia, another beautiful night filled Equestria's skies. Once again the princess landed on her bed and floated the controller in front of her. 'Should we really be playing this game again? Maybe one more mission couldn't hurt and Celestia doesn't have to know.' A small spark fell from her horn as she magically turned the game on. Once again she used her magic to levitate the controller before her. Luna's screen lit up in a blue glory to a familiar tune, she couldn't help but hum along to it. She began moving pressure between buttons and the sticks. It took minutes for the floating pink vehicles and gunfire to hypnotize Luna, she lost all sense of the world around her all she wanted to do was kick some alien butt. Flying around in amazing alien technology and firing at huge leviathans, Luna was no longer the princess of the night, she was the master pony, saving the universe from the covenant threat. Time was meaningless and her surroundings ceased to exist, all that was left was Luna and the world she was playing in. From large groups of tiny whining gremlins to huge armored beasts with cannons instead of hooves, nothing stood in her way. She was an expert at all weapons and was leaving piles of alien bodies in her wake. Luna pumped the difficulty right the way to legendary, and still crashed through missions in record time, completing one after another until... "Princess Luna!" Celestia stood at the door, Luna came back to the real world only to see her sister was definitely not happy. Why? - part 1Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Why? - part 2Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Cutie Mark Crusader Gamers, Yay!A paler than usual Scootaloo was sprawled across her bed with a blue laptop in front of her, her hooves furiously flashed across the keyboard and her baggy eyes glued to the screen. "Take that! Yeah and that! Guys, I got them don't worry." She spoke through her headset, the other crusaders were playing too. "I can go bot but you'll have to support for me Sweets." With Scootaloo stuck to the laptop, the blue Pegasus easily entered her bedroom unnoticed, "What're you up to squirt." Scootaloo jumped at her idol's voice, she span around to face Rainbow Dash, "Oh, hey Rainbow Dash, what are you doing here?" "I came to check up on my number one fan, I haven't seen you around much kid, so I thought I'd make sure you're still kicking, what're you doing then?" Rainbow hadn't noticed the change in Scootaloo's appearance. "I'm playing League of Ponies with the other crusaders, it's this awesome game where you play champions and fight in an arena." Scootaloo waved her hoof towards the screen, revealing a bunch of little creatures beating up what looked like a squirrel. Rainbow stared in confusion. "I don't get it." "Oh yeah, you gotta click on things so your champion attacks them, then you press keys to use abilities, like this." Scootaloo began mashing buttons again and the squirrel creature began hitting the little minions, numbers appearing above them until they were killed. Even with Scootaloo's demonstration, Rainbow was still confused, "Looks more like an egghead game to me, are you gonna start acting like Twilight, cause I don't think I can put up with two." Scootaloo smiled in response, "No, don't worry, it's easy. Everything has hit points, attacks take away hit points equal to your damage until it kills them, there's also criticals, passive effects and attack speed. You need to destroy the enemies nexus to win." "Yeah, it's an egghead game." Dash's blunt remark made Scootaloo blush in embarrassment. "If you're not busy, I can show you it's not for eggheads." Scootaloo found herself desperately clutching to get her idol to understand. "Alright squirt, I once said 'I better not knock things til I try them', I'll come over tomorrow evening." Rainbow ruffled Scootaloo's mane and turned to leave, "I'll bring my laptop, see you tomorrow." Scootaloo stood in awe, she'd have the real Rainbow Dash come and learn something from her. Her little lips were all she could move but her voice was loud, "YES!" "Apple Bloom, will ya leave yer computer alone a minute and give me a hand with the chores!" Applejack's voice came from the hallway, she strained on each word as if she was carrying something heavy. "Hang on Crusaders, my sister's calling me- I can't I'm in a- no, Scoots, get the other one on bot- I'm in a ranked match!" She was talking between Applejack and her friends , " I'll lose my rank in League of Ponies!" "Isn't there supposed to be a pause button or whatnot?" A loud crash followed Applejack's question. "It's online, duh, I can't pause the other players- yeah she thought I could pause the game." Apple Bloom was making quick motions on her keyboard, trying to kill the other players. Applejack walked into the room, her mane was covered in rubbish and grime, a banana peel fell from her face. Apple Bloom swivelled on her chair and tried to hold her amusement at the sight. "What happened to yer mane sis? Looks like ya had a fight with a dumpster." "Well, Apple Bloom, if ya weren't on yer game, I wouldn't have tripped over yer saddlebag while taking the bins out." Applejack's face was furious, her eyes were focused on her snickering sister. "I'm sorry, but it's just this once sis, I'll help next time." Apple Bloom attempted to defend her position between them, still sitting on her chair. "No, it isn't this once, it's been this for the past two weeks; You stay on yer game all day, me 'an big mac do all the work. You was supposed to feed the pigs yesterday, but they were chewing mud when I got there today." Applejack stepped closer to her sister, her expression showed her feelings, she was more than angry at Apple Bloom, Applejack felt disappointed that her sister had become a lazy pony. "Ok Applejack, I really am sorry, I'll do the chores round the farm tomorrow to make up for it." "So, yer gonna feed the animals, tidy the house, clean the dishes, clean out the barn, place the scarebats and any other chores for the next day?" "Yeah, sure you can count on me, now can I get back to the game please, I don't want to be reported." Apple Bloom was turning around before Applejack could answer. Stepping out, Applejack poked her head back around the door and added one final remark, "Fine, but ya better do them or I'll have to ban ya from yer computer." "Sure, sure," Apple Bloom returned ignorantly, "I will." The Filly returned to the smashing of keyboard buttons with the other crusaders, her moves were rapid and she responded to everything on screen with natural instinct. It was getting dark, Sweetie was on her bed tapping away at her pink laptop, the computers and laptops were well designed as to stop unicorns having an advantage. "Yeah Scootaloo, I can cover you." "Sweetie Belle!" Rarity's voice shot from outside Sweetie's door, "It's getting late, you must get ready for bed." Sweetie's head turned to her sister as she entered, "I can't, we need to get more wins so I can..." "I'm sorry Sweetie, but I am afraid I can't let you stay up," Rarity spoke with a firm but fair tone, "you have to be in school tomorrow." Sweetie used her most adorable puppy eyes, complete with heart breaking frown "But-" "Sweetie, I'm not falling for that, bed now." Rarity stomped her hoof, showing her authority. Sweetie Belle slapped her laptop shut and slid it under her bed, she then climbed into her sheets, "There, happy." "Thank you," after turning off the lights with magic, the afterglow of Rarity's horn was brighter than usual, if only for a second. "Good night." Sweetie counted the minutes, waiting to let Rarity get to her room, she then pulled the laptop out again, slid her headset on and opened it. "'SweetBellesOfFire' is back online." The school bell rang for the lunch break, all the fillies and colts rushed out the school doors to play in the sun as it was a beautiful day. The Crusaders followed out behind the other students, Apple Bloom's eyes were hurt by the bright day before her. The red mane that was usually tied in a bow, was now a distorted mess, "Maybe we shouldn't have stayed up all night." "But then we would only be silver two, it was boring playing all those noobs in silver three and we're that much closer to gold." Scootaloo spoke energetically, most likely from all those energy drinks she had been drinking over the past month. Everyone agreed it would be a wonder if she ever slept again. "Anyway who cares about 'real life', it's got bad graphics anyway." "I think that's just your eyes." Sweetie Belle had difficulty standing, her knees trembling and her whole leaning from left to right. "Maybe Apple Bloom is right. Babs even said online that she was really tired of these all-nighters. I don't think gaming all the time is any of our special talents, but then, I still guess it was fun when Apple Bloom got a pentakill." Scootaloo began to get psyched with images of the games flashing through her mind, "Yeah, and then when you went to solo baron and took out their jungler too! and then when you... " Apple Bloom stuffed her hoof into Scootaloo's face "Don't do that! I think I have a headache." "Mawry." Scootaloo's muffled apology got Apple Bloom's hoof out of her face, "Can't we just do one more night and then we stop? I want Rainbow Dash to see how awesome I am and she said she'll come watch me." Apple Bloom mulled it over in her head for a moment, "Fine, but that's what you said yesterday, and the day before that, I want to sleep, sometime ya know." The rainbow colored laptop was tucked neatly under Dash's wing when she entered Scootaloo's room, "So squirt, I'm here. I downloaded League of Ponies, even though it took about four hours." "Yeah, sorry I didn't mention the download time, so do you have a gamer name?" Scootaloo was acting laidback, but she couldn't hold the joy of teaching 'The Rainbow Dash' how to play League of Ponies. "It's 'Super-Ultra-Extreme-Awesomazing'." Rainbow pulled her laptop out from her wing and sat next to Scootaloo, who was already logged onto the game. Scootaloo typed the name into the search bar and found Rainbow; Dash's profile was at level two so she must have practiced a bit before hand, Scootaloo clicked on the add friend button and a giddy tremor ran through her body. "Okay, so I can help you practice a little in the lower levels, at least until the crusaders come online, but then I'll have to play with them. You can watch me if you want." Rainbow finally logged on. "That's ok, just one question, how do I accept a friend request?" "Click the accept for 'ScootaBomb', on the bottom of the screen, and then I'll put us in a game." Scootaloo began preparing the game. After two long matches, the rest of the crusaders were online; 'SweetBellesOfFire' was first, then 'BadSeed', 'AppleyDoom' came on last after Babs' friend 'FragileSnake'. Scootaloo began playing with them, at first Rainbow watched happily, but after a while she realised it was more than a game to Scootaloo. The pale orange filly hadn't been out for weeks, except for school, and it seemed as if she was having trouble holding her head up. Rainbow hadn't picked up on this until now, Scootaloo was skinnier, it was clear she wasn't eating as much and strangest of all her voice had an unnatural wheeze to it. After almost three hours passed, watching Scootaloo attack buttons and click ferociously, Dash turned to the rainbow laptop then back to the filly. Rainbow had enjoyed hanging out with Scootaloo, but seeing the filly stare helplessly at the screen hurt her, she didn't want Scootaloo to become a zombie focused on the game. "Scootaloo, stop." Rainbow looked down at her sister. Scootaloo heeded Rainbows words and turned to look back. "What's the matter Rainbow Dash?" "You've got to stop, I know you probably like this game but you need to spend way less time on it." Rainbow rubbed her hoof along Scootaloo's back. The little filly tried to defend the game, "But my rank and my..." "Is that what you want your life to be, a number on a computer game?" Rainbow knew she had to help her sister, it was an addiction and Scootaloo had to cut down on the game. "But- But- " She huffed in defeat. "I guess you're right, but what do I do know?" Scootaloo's face and body were shaky, she thought she'd be teaching Rainbow Dash something, but again her sister had taught her a lesson instead. "We could go for a late night flight." Rainbow bounced and displayed her wings as she spoke. A little colour returned to Scootaloo's face, "That'd be awesome!" Apple Bloom swept up the final bit of dirt in the house. "Finally, first chore down, now I guess I earned a break." Applejack was out with Twilight doing something, Big Mac was in town helping a few ponies move furniture around and Granny Smith was in Manehattan visiting the Oranges, so I was just her until later. Her computer was back on in a flash, Apple Bloom pulled up League of Ponies, last Crusader online. Sliding her headset on she announced her arrival, "'AppleyDoom' has arrived!" She entered the game with the other crusader and happily hacked away at her enemies. At her third game Apple Bloom had already shown up the others, her skills were unmatched. "I'm sure I'm forgetting something, oh well, can't be Important. Game number four, Crusaders are we ready to kick flank?" A positive cheer in response came from her headset. Hours past, it fell dark in no time to Apple Bloom, by her tenth game the moon was up high in the sky. "Apple Bloom!" AJ was standing behind her disappointed, she span the filly's chair around, "Yer banned from that computer, tomorrow ya can help me in the orchard." "But-" the words didn't come. "But nothing, yer gonna help me, consider yerself lucky I'm in a good mood." AJ pulled the plug from Apple Bloom's computer and stormed out with it. Apple Bloom realised her mistake quickly; she shouldn't have turned the computer on, she should've just did all the chores. But weirdly, Apple Bloom was happy with what her sister did, it was like she had a weight lifted off her, no more League of Ponies. "I guess I don't need that stupid game." It was dark in Sweetie's room, the only light originated from under the lump in the blanket. Sweetie was tapping away still playing. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom had mysteriously disappeared from the game but she was still going with Babs and her friend. "Okay, I'll go top while you jungle." The little unicorn cheerfully made little click noises with her mouse, her movements were as graceful as a butterfly and her speed was as sharp as a knife. Even with how quietly she tapped, her clicking soon drew attention. "Sweetie Belle, are you still awake?" Rarity was at Sweetie's door, the filly panicked and closed the laptop. As the door opened slowly Sweetie closed her eyes to feign sleep, letting out cute little snores to add to the effect. "Silly Rarity, Sweetie isn't like that." Rarity stroked Sweetie's mane, then quiet hoofsteps informed Sweetie that her sister was leaving. As soon as the door shut Sweetie jumped back up and grabbed her laptop, she opened it and continued playing under her covers. After a few minute she was so focused she didn't notice the blanket had been pulled from her. "Sweetie Belle, you should be asleep." Suddenly, Sweetie's face dropped and tears drew into her eyes, as if by magic Sweetie was reduced to a tearful mess. "I have a problem, help me rarity." "Oh Sweetie Belle." Rarity pulled Sweetie in for a hug, comforting her little sister by stroking her mane. "I haven't slept for a week Rarity, what do I do, I can't stop." The little filly was gasping between words, she couldn't fake this, she actually felt bad. Rarity looked down at Sweetie. "Look, Sweetie dear, I'll take the laptop away, I know you love it but you'll need to make a sacrifice. Is that ok?" "Yes, please just take it, take it!" Sweetie did her best to magically levitate the pink device to Rarity. Rarity tucked Sweetie in, then enveloped the laptop in her own aura and carried it to the door, "Go to sleep, Sweetie, you'll feel better in the morning." With that Rarity knocked the door shut behind her, leaving Sweetie quickly fall into a deep sleep. Deep into the night, the clicking of mouses and the tapping of keyboards could be heard from three places in Ponyville, but they were all connected to one game, their voices spoke to each other through the game. "'Super-Ultra-Extreme-Awesomazing' what're ya doin, go bot." 'Applejacker' was mashing away enemies in the middle of the map. "Shut up 'Applejacker', 'Rarimystery' isn't even on a lane!" 'Super-Ultra-Extreme-Awesomazing' found herself at the top of the map fighting another player. "I think you'll find I have taken to this jungling thing, I hate mud yes but this is a game." 'Rarimystery' was simply running around in circles between a bunch of trees.
Spike Kombat! - part 1Rumbles of wheels and chatter from nearby ponies filled the Manehattan street. The Princess of friendship was marching down the street; to her side was her faithful dragon assistant, Spike. "So tell me again what we're doing in Manehattan Twilight?" Twilight turned quickly, a hint of annoyance in her face. She fought the feeling, instead smiling for Spike and explained for the twenty-fifth time. "We are here on important business, I need to meet the CEO of 'Equinemart' tomorrow. Apparently being a Princess means I have to check in with certain major economical providers." "Ok, yeah I still don't–" Only Twilight's purple hoof barred Spike from stepping onto a busy road. "– thanks, Twilight" "You need to be more careful Spike, look both ways before crossing instead of letting a taxi run you over." Twilight was making a lecture out of this. Her voice seemed snobbier than usual: maybe, it was the terrible treatment she got from the train conductor; maybe, it was the pony who spilt his drink on her earlier; or just maybe, it was the fact she was 'ordered' by Princess Celestia to attend this meeting. "Ok! I get it Twilight, look both ways. I wish was back in Ponyville where no pony would 'run over' you." Spike's sharp reply may have ticked the 'Twilight clock' that little bit more. The Princesses face was quickly developing a furious tone, her eyes both focused on the dragon. "And you think that I don't wish I was at home, maybe with the girls or reading a good book. Well no, I'm stuck here in Manehattan with only a vague idea of what it is I am meant to do." "I'm sorry Twilight, I didn't mean to make you upset. I was just hoping that we could hurry this and get home by tomorrow afternoon." The watery eyes that shone from Spike's face calmed Twilight a little. Twilight changed to a more motherly voice. She gave spike an apologetic hoof on the back. "I'm sorry Spike, I'm just really stressed out and I didn't mean to lash at you, especially over something like that. Look, we have a few hours to check in at the hotel, let's go have a look around the shopping centre for something for you." Small but noticeable, Spike returned a shy smile and nodded. There were hundreds or maybe thousands of stores around, the building was huge, it could easily fit ten thousand ponies inside without trouble. Spike bounced around looking at the different stores, Twilight followed behind him. "So Spike, where do you want to go?" "Well, I want something fun, maybe a trampoline or bouncy castle. I also want something cool, like a pair of aviators or a magic amulet. I could really do with something to pass the time with, a model or a train set!" Spike's excitement got the best of him, he found himself toppling over his own tail. Lying there on the floor like a rare rug, that's when he saw it; it was the most amazing thing ever and he wanted it. "The Ponystation three-sixty-one." A sharp shot of concern rattled Twilight. "Wait, I heard those are very addictive, some ponies start playing and just never stop; I even heard that some take what they do on it into real life, it never turns out well." "But you said I could have whatever," the purple dragon replied, "besides I'm not a pony." "Spike, I'm trying to help here, I've heard stories from Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash about what those games can do to you." The Princess, desperately trying to dissuade Spike from the console, but was getting nowhere. Spike opened the door to the store and stared back at Twilight. "Twilight, I want a Ponystation three-sixty-one!" "And you press this button to start it. Place the games in this tray and close it, they should then run. Would you like me to wrap it or is it just to take now." The friendly store clerk had a strange mane style but was very helpful to customers. "It's fine, we'll take it as it is." Twilight smiled at the kind pegasus. The pony turned around to box up the console and games for Twilight, he exposed his cutie mark which seemed to be a game controller. "And here you are, if you need any help your highness, don't hesitate to call the number on the box. We'll come and sort whatever problem you find with the game." "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name, just so I know who to ask for." Twilight strangely pressed the pony for this information. "Oh, my name's Blizz Blitz, but my friends call me Blizz." Blizz seemed to realise what he had said to a Princess, calling her a friend, and blushed. "Ok, thanks Blizz!" Twilight's aura enshrouded the box as it floated, she flew it out of the store with Spike following behind. The floating mass above created a shadow around Spike, the two journeyed towards the hotel. "So..." "So?" An odd confusion caused Twilight's eyebrow to rise. "So you 'know who to ask for', right." An elbow from Spike connected with Twilight. Twilight returned the nudge with another raised eyebrow and a snort. "I don't know what you're implying." Spike giggled at the Princess' response "Yeah, right." "Fatality!" Red words appeared on the Spike's game, it was dark in the hotel room, excluding the light the screen. Twilight moved in the bed behind him, her slumber disturbed. "Spike, will you go to bed I have a big day tomorrow." "But one more game, come on Twi." Claws together, Spike pleaded and begged. "You said that an hour ago, don't make me return your game tomorrow." She glared at the groveling assistant. Spike continued to beg at Twilight's hooves, a lack of dignity could be seen in the dragon's words."But, Twilight!" Twilight responded with a furrowed eyebrow, a cold stare and a distant frown; She was not giving in to Spike again. "Fine!"
Spike Kombat! - part 2Spike Kombat - part 2 It was a late night for Spike, his hours on the computer had completely depleted him, even with this he was sensitive, he could feel the morning coming. For once Twilight was the second to wake up. He considered moving but he was happy in the dark. Another morning beam penetrated the dark room. Spike reacted first, his eyes sandy and dry, he stood up and observed the mess around him. Crumpled packets of Ponyitos and crushed bottled of Equestrian dew surrounded his game console, still light up and humming. Spike rubbed his sore eyes and began climbing through the rubbish. His arrival at the console birthed a question, Spike was tired and had played all night but something urged him in. Temptation won, Spike picked up the controller and forgot about his real life, the life that isn't limited by a few inches of pixels. Maybe he was only going to play for an hour, maybe two or even three; well he was the assistant to Princess Twilight Sparkle, why couldn't he have time to relax? Time dragged its way forward, at least an hour had passed since Spike began playing. The lump of bedding, which had concealed Twilight, began to move. "Spike, what time is it?" A slothful face poked its head out the covers, the eyes were almost rusted shut, the voice was more of a wheeze and the pony was moving slowly. Spike heard her voice but his attention was elsewhere, he continued to mash buttons causing the character on the screen to kick and fly at another."Uh, yeah Twilight sure." "Are you still playing? Seriously? Spike, turn that off, we've got to get to that meeting. Go get my checklist." Twilight's dropped out of her bed as she rolled, she then preceded to the en suite bathroom. A few words must have penetrated Spike's thick skull, the dragon turned to see Twilight moving away. He huffed and began scouting through the bags for the piece of paper. "So here are the statistics for next years sales Princess Twilight, I hope you are happy with them." The suave pony stood at the forefront of a large table, surrounded by lots of official looking mares and stallions. His hoof was directed at a large graph on the wall. Twilight sat at the other end of the table, her assistant was sleeping through the meeting. "I have to admit, it does look promising but the you are only taking in account of sales over the last two years; I suggest instead looking back to at least five years before making any assumptions." Every other pony, except the the suave business pony, began nodding and clopping their hooves together. After some words had passed between everyone they all stared back at their representative. The suave pony looked around, he then nodded as he prepared his response. "Well I guess we could take a look at those numbers, but it seems useless wasting resources and time on a task that will most likely yield the same ." They went on for a very long amount of time, however Twilight eventually topped him, he then was forced to bring up the statistics for the past fiver years. Twilight grinned as she saw slight variations in the data. "Aha, see according to this next years net profit is 5% lower than expected." "but is that such a big difference, I mean 5% is barely one store not making a profit." The suave pony was tires of arguing with Twilight, and although he respected the princess he also felt that this was a waste of time. "5% isn't big? That's at least 300,000 bits down the drain, you cannot afford that if your business should continue to decrease." A bit of pity was building up into Twilight, she could see from the data that the business would be down in a matter of three years. Overhearing the ongoing debate, Spike awoke. He felt it strange that they still hadn't finished by the time he woke up. "Twilight what is happening, why haven't you finished?" "Because somepony doesn't want to hear how to save their business." Twilight seemed angry, Spike was growing very agitated because of this. Everytime this week the dragon has tried to talk she has been angry. The suave pony responded angrily with haste. "Well maybe you should go and help one of our competitors, my business is fine, and I'm not fighting over it." Spike twitched at his voice. "Fight." "This is not a fight, I'm just trying to help." Twilight's response matched the tone of the business pony. Again twitching, Spike's eyes began to narrow. "Fight?" In response to Twilight, the business pony continued. "Whatever your opinion is, your royal highness, it is much appreciated but I think we'll avoid this, I am not going to fight!" "Fight!" He finally broke, Spike was flying across the room, kicking and punching all anypony that stood in his way. His attacks were relentless and almost unnatural, he jumped then slid and striked hard at one older pony. As a climax to this moment, the out of control dragon assistant smashed through the door and disappeared, all that could be heard were screams and spikes grunts in the distance. Twilight was left in shock, standing with her mouth ajar at the sight she just witnessed. As the only pony in the room not injured she quickly ran to get help for the others. Further outside all that could be seen was a pile up of injured ponies, some rolling and some in even worse shape. Spike on the other hand had seemingly disappeared. The Princess was in a big mess and she had no idea how to deal with it.
Spike Kombat! part 3Spike Kombat part 3 After a huge purple pop, Twilight had appeared in the game store again, she had no way of stopping the crazed ninja dragon. Spike was injuring and even killing everyone in his path. She surveyed the shop but there was little sign of any employee, she scavenged around the merchandise and then checked the counter, the only help she found was a note to customers, 'On a lunch break be back really soon, we would really appreciate it if you didn't steal anything.' Ponies were all around the shopping centre, crowding everywhere; Twilight hardly get around let alone find somepony. From the distance came a roar as Spike flew past, almost crippling a full grown stallion with a single kick. He turned and narrowed his eyes at a young unicorn, they gleamed with a red aura as he taunted the defenceless pony. "Get over here!" "Spike stop!" Twilight's words meant nothing to the frenzied beast, she could see that the Spike that was always there for her was consumed with rage. The dragon prepared to leap at his next victim but as he pounced a tremendous force sent him flying backwards. There before him , balancing on its hind legs, stood a male Pegasus dressed in a clean white robe. He dropped his forelegs to the ground and addressed Spike directly. "Not today little dragon. like so many others you were unprepared; now video games have damaged your mind." Twilight recognised the voice, her eyes shot up to stare into the face of the hero. She saw his strange mane and she shivered, her mind drew back to the store clerk, Blizz Blitz. The fight erupted quickly, a low kick from Spike took Blizz off his hooves. Blizz bounced back using his wings, he responded with a swift uppercut which Spike barely dodged. The dragon flew at Blizz's face with full force but was quickly sent into the air from another uppercut. Twilight stared on as the two fought, she tried to calm Spike with spells but the dragon was moving to fast for her to get a lock, it was all up to Blizz to incapacitate Spike. "Argh!" A good strike from Spike left Blizz lying on the floor, consciousness was slowly fading from him. He looked up to see the elbow of Spike falling down towards him at terminal velocity. As they connected Blizz was knocked out completely, Spike turned to his worthy opponent and gave a sinister grin. The dragon kicked the unconscious body repeatedly and began mocking the unresponsive Blizz. "What will you do now Pegasus?" Blizz awoke to a small room, he looked around attempting to piece together where he was. His bed was extremely comfortable, the paintings on the walls were beautiful and the surrounding colours were all so aesthetically pleasing. "Am I dead? Is this where Celestia sends us when we die?" Questions filled his mind as this room felt perfect but his questions were soon forgotten when he caught a beautiful sight, a fine alicorn. "No you're not dead, you fought so bravely against Spike, I couldn't just leave you there in that state." The princess stepped forward, as they gazed upon each other they found themselves in awe. Blizz could hardly speak, he felt strangely sick. Eventually he managed to break the silent stare that they shared. "Princess Twilight, it was something that I had to do. It was my fault, my friends made a bet that I couldn't sell the enchanted game console and I won but at a high cost." Twilight, though still adoring the stallion before her, took a short glance at the console near her hoof. "What do you mean enchanted game console?" A long sigh drew from Blizz's mouth, he had to be honest with Twilight. "Well long story short, a strange old guy cursed it because he couldn't complete a 540 heel flip on a Pony Hawk game. The curse turns players into characters of the games they play, or at least in their minds. Your friend Spike seems to be Scorpion from Pony Kombat." Twilight continued to press for information. "Ok I think I understand, but then how do we stop the curse?" "It's actually really simple, we just have to beat him at the game he's 'playing', hence why I tried to fight him. Then you saved me." Again the sick feeling returned as he gazed at her eyes, Blizz wanted to preach how he felt to Twilight, the emotion that was consuming him when he though of her. He looked away abruptly, choosing to instead stare out the window. Twilight also had a strange feeling, she should have been angry at this pony but instead she pitied him. She felt a connection to him but was too afraid to speak up about it, instead she stuck with the matter at hand. "Ok so how do we fight Spike, he seems almost unbeatable. Thee must be some kind of weakness we can exploit." Blizz scratched his chin with his hoof as he thought deeply. "There maybe one thing we could try." Spike was storming his way up another Manehattan street, waiting in front of him was a huge magical barrier held up by a number of guard unicorns, they were trying to keep Spike from escaping. Above the street, a group of pegasi were hovering with a huge net, Together, they swept down and attempted to drop it on Spike. The dragon was too fast for the group and he rolled out of the way. Bewildered at his speed, some of the unicorns lost focus on their combined spell. This left an opening for Spike to move on, he dashed for a gap in the barrier but before he leapt through, he was hit with a tremendous kick. "As I said before, not today little dragon." Blizz once again stood before Spike, this time he seemed more confident. Spike glared at him as a dark smile swept across his face, he felt the presence of a challenge. It began almost instantly, the guards were only spectators of this great battle, both of them fought with rapid speed. Spike countered every strike from Blizz but his own could not break Blizz's defence, the two were perfectly matched. Eventually the two stopped, they stared each other down. Spike's eyes began to glow red as raw power coursed through him, he was preparing to finish Blizz in one strike. Spike erupted into a frenzy as he rushed towards the pegasus, but before his strike landed an overwhelming force took him over. Spike couldn't control himself, he was being tugged away from Blizz against his will. Twilight, levitating a controller in the air, was magically pushing buttons. This turned Spike into a puppet. Blizz began his onslaught, he struck the dragon multiple times with no response from Spike, who was frozen to the spot. His strikes landed hard and though Blizz regretted what he had to do, he merciless battered his opponent. The last strike was the most painful for Spike, Blizz 'finished him' by kicking the dragon in the stomach, flying him up into the air, then dropping him at high speed. "Argh, ouch, what in Celestia happened, I don't remember a thing and... And I can't move my legs! What happened?" The real Spike was back, however he was paralysed. All that pain from the fall was still rippling through his little body and his arms and head were barely moving. Blizz helped Spike sit up against a wall, he then gave answer to Spike's question. "You, kind of went nuts. And I had to kick your flank, well butt. Sorry." Twilight ran over and immediately kissed Blizz without a thought. Once she realised that she had just kissed the stallion she blushed and looked away giggling. "Sorry." But her apology was met by a kiss back, the two enjoyed the moment for a few more seconds before returning to the real world. Twilight then moved on to enlighten the dragon who was now glaring confused. "Ok, you're game console was enchanted and a word in the meeting triggered the spell, you began beating everyone up pretending to be a character from Pony Kombat; The only way to stop you was to defeat you at the game, but you were too powerful. In the end, we came up with this plan to use an enchanted controller to control you so Blizz could beat you." Spike looked at the two still confused before a light bulb flashed in his school. "Have you tried restoring the console to factory settings?" Blizz was caught off guard, his whole life was turned upside down. "I didn't think of that."
Even Princess' can kick alien butt'Come on Luna, we are the princess of the night, this is just a game. We will go down the corridor, shoot every being that moves, then leave. On the count of three, one, two, three.' "Die for thou art a pathetic wretch, argh!" Luna's blue aura enveloped the controller as she forced the sticks to flick. Opposite her bed, a huge screen displayed a first pony view of Luna's character. Beyond the screen was a blue space-age weapon, shots of green energy darted from the end. The strange projectiles rushed through the smooth purple corridor of a space station setting, before finally hitting a strange looking creature. This creature seemed to be twice the size of normal ponies, it's knees were reversed – the front legs bent back while the back bent forward – the end of each were more like dragon claws than hooves. The beast had no coat, instead scales covered with smooth blue armor, very similar to the corridor's surface. Perhaps, the most terrifying difference was that this pony-beast had what seemed like four separate jaws, each with their own set of sharp teeth. The blasts were stopped by another strange force, a transparent barrier of energy. The green bolts dissipated, leaving a light blue glow on the surface of this strange shield. A few more accurate shots destroyed the barrier and allowed another blast to hit the beast, causing a mixture of blue and purple liquid to splatter from the creature. "Argh!" The creature screamed in pain. "Curse you demon." 'Demon, how dare this horrid creature mock us so.' Luna's moves accelerated, she was pulling triggers and pushing buttons with her magic. Her in-game puppet moved just as quick, it flung across the screen and continued to fire on the beast. Shots finally returned, the beast was on its hind legs holding a long pink device that shot lines of green towards Luna's character. A blue bar began decreasing at the top of the screen, each line of green causing it to drop every bit more. Eyes focused and fully immersed Luna rapidly changed her pressure to another trigger. Her character threw a strange round object. Falling to the feet of the alien monstrosity forced an explosion from the object, splattering the beast into particles. 'Huzzah! Princess Luna, the protector of the night and guardian of dreams, is once again victorious.' "Sister!" Celestia's voice was angrily calling from the door, "Stop that ridiculous game, you have forgotten to lower the moon on time, again." Her eyes darted to her clock, sure enough it was morning. "Apologies, dear sister." Luna dropped her controller and stepped to the bedroom window. Directing her horn towards the moon she dragged it down with her Alicorn magic. The two princesses were pacing through the royal gardens, the sun beamed down illuminating the colourful plant life around them. "That is the third time this week Luna. You need to either leave that game alone or pace yourself, as princess of the night, you have other responsibilities in the dark hours." Celestia's tone displayed some anger, but Princess Celestia hated to show her emotions. Luna looked back to her sister, her face regretful. " We just wished to experience the new types of entertainment that this world now offers. We are sorry." Celestia bowed her head slightly in return, then changed the subject "Luna, you can speak by saying I and not 'we', I thought Twilight helped you with how you speak in this day." "But we... I prefer the old ways, sister, I am not used to speaking as one of the common ponies." Luna spoke slower whenever she wanted to say 'we' instead of 'I'. "They are more than common ponies, but I trust you will become more accustomed to the new world each day. Eventually I hope you become as one with today's life." Her head held high, Celestia spoke as a mentor to a student this time. A small blue bird perched itself on a nearby plant, chirping a tune to the princesses. Luna smiled at the little creature, "Well at least the birds sing the same tunes." Her horn glowing bright, Luna raised the moon as the sun was drawn down by Celestia, another beautiful night filled Equestria's skies. Once again the princess landed on her bed and floated the controller in front of her. 'Should we really be playing this game again? Maybe one more mission couldn't hurt and Celestia doesn't have to know.' A small spark fell from her horn as she magically turned the game on. Once again she used her magic to levitate the controller before her. Luna's screen lit up in a blue glory to a familiar tune, she couldn't help but hum along to it. She began moving pressure between buttons and the sticks. It took minutes for the floating pink vehicles and gunfire to hypnotize Luna, she lost all sense of the world around her all she wanted to do was kick some alien butt. Flying around in amazing alien technology and firing at huge leviathans, Luna was no longer the princess of the night, she was the master pony, saving the universe from the covenant threat. Time was meaningless and her surroundings ceased to exist, all that was left was Luna and the world she was playing in. From large groups of tiny whining gremlins to huge armored beasts with cannons instead of hooves, nothing stood in her way. She was an expert at all weapons and was leaving piles of alien bodies in her wake. Luna pumped the difficulty right the way to legendary, and still crashed through missions in record time, completing one after another until... "Princess Luna!" Celestia stood at the door, Luna came back to the real world only to see her sister was definitely not happy.
