Is That A Challenge?

by HeavyMetalKnight

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, Shadowbolts (EqG), Aria Blaze, Equestria Girls, Indigo Zap, Lemon Zest
Length: 6261

Indigo Zap and her friends go to the arcade to play games. But their fun is interrupted when a stranger, Aria Blaze, challenges them to play the "hardest" game in the arcade.

Indigo Zap enjoys going out for a night of fun at the local arcade, with the other Shadowbolts in tow. And while she and Lemon Zest love it, the others not so much; they just try to grin and bear it.
Things were going well for her and her friends... that is until a stranger shows up and places bets on winning one of the "hardest" games in the arcade. Whoever wins takes the loser's spare change. In spite of the consequences she accepts, but once she plays, she wonders whether the bet was really worth it.

Will she win it all? Or fail miserably?

WARNING: contains spoilers for Friendship Games.
Story edited by: Kydois

Published 2016-06-21 14:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-06-21 14:30:01 UTC

Challenge Accepted

Saturday was as good as any day for a night of fun. No school, no homework, a whole day to nothing but enjoy every moment of it.

Heck yeah!

Friends from school to hang out with? Check!

Pockets and bags full of quarters? Check!

Hours to spend on playing nothing but games all night? Oh YEAH!!!

Or well, that's what I thought at first.

Lemon Zest offered to take me and Sour Sweet to the arcade in her parents’ car, a convertible with a sweet chassis and a smooth leather interior, not to mention the killer CD player! Better yet, Sunny Flare would be there with Sugarcoat. The arcade was well within city limits, at least two or three miles from my parents condominium, so while walking was technically a possibility, I was pretty relieved to have a ride. Lemon got her licence about a month ago and has been abusing it ever since. Besides the freedom it gave her, she also used the opportunity to blast her sweet, sweet heavy metal.

This time would be no different. While I personally enjoy it, Sour was not so fond of it. She was into more of the typical pop music as opposed to metal. She does have a taste for some rock—I've seen her playlist on her phone—but sadly, it was mostly soft rock, the stupid kind of rock.

The arcade we were going to was the one we always go to: Bob & Duster's, the best arcade/restaurant on the block! Not only did it serve good food, but it had all of the best games, from the retro games of yesteryear and classics like air hockey and pinball to the newer installments released every now and then. Ever since I was little, I always loved going to this place. Every little change they made felt fresh, and they always seemed to be the first to introduce anything. No other arcade could even compare.

It was well after sunset. The pitch black sky was dotted with millions of bright, white stars, Streetlights and cars whizzed by my window as we drove along. I was having a difficult time containing my enthusiasm at returning to my favorite place, but it was a different picture for the rest of the vehicle. Between Lemon jamming to her favorite band blaring from the player and Sour scowling and pretending like everyone else didn’t exist, it was pretty clear not everyone was on the same page.

"Aw yeah!" I exclaimed, pumping a fist. "This is gonna be awesome!"

"Indigo, we go to this place all the time," Sour complained, "Don't you ever get bored playing video games there?"

"Pfft, no! How can I get bored playing games at Bob & Dusters?! That's ridiculous."

"I know right?" Lemon shouted over the music, "The day we get bored of playing games at B&D's, is the day we quit playing games period!"

"Greeeeaat!" Sour groaned, rolling her eyes.

The building itself was relatively large, nearly two to three stories high with the flashing neon logo just above the double glass doors. Once we parked, I couldn't wait any longer. As soon as Lemon Zest unlocked the car doors, I was the first one out, practically kicking my door off. I made it nearly halfway to the doors before I turned around and saw that my companions were barely past locking the doors behind them.

"Come on, come on, come on!" I said, waving them on.

"Oh my gosh, Indigo, we're going!" Sour groaned, "Sheesh, what're you two? Ten? We're from Crystal Prep, not elementary school."

I had to admit, embarrassing as it was, I was acting like a kid. "Okay. I'm cool now. I'm fine."

"Come on, Sour Sweet, lighten up." Lemon insisted, "It's Saturday. Tonight's the night for some good fun."

"We've been going to this place all the time! Don't you think we could just, I don't know, pick other places to have fun besides the arcade?"

Maybe she's right.

She had a point. There are other things just as fun as B&D's. We all had worked hard for our education and deserved this break.

It had been several months since the Friendship Games ended, and everything changed after that. Nearly everyone lost respect for Principal Cinch, and while some of the other students seemed fine with what happened. Others appeared... well, traumatized. What do you do when a fellow student turns into a monster, and tears holes in the very fabric of existence? I sure as heck didn't know! All I could do was help save anyone who came close to falling--or worse, dying.

I shrugged off the feelings of dread from that day once we walked in. After getting ourselves situated, the night of fun commenced.

The three of us searched for our missing friends all around the arcade, from the rows of pinball machines to the air hockey tables. It wasn't until we came across the actual video game portion of it when we found them. The moonlight shone from the atrium above, and the effect was astounding. Light sparkled from the rows and rows of various virtual games cabinets stretched across the room, further than the eye could see! I found our last two friends near the edge of the whole thing. Sunny Flare bounced excitedly when she saw us, and Sugarcoat appeared as deadpan as usual.

"Hey, hey! You made it!" She greeted us with relief.

"Alright! The gang's all here! We're gonna have the best night EVER!!" I said enthusiastically.

"Let's just get this over with," Sugarcoat sighed.

I raised a brow when she made that comment, but I didn't let it get to me. Tonight's not a night for drama, but for fun. Besides, Sugarcoat was always blunt, so I shouldn't be bothered.

No more worries. Let's do this!

Lemon and I immediately went over to one of the consoles, grabbing the guitar controllers off the sides. It was her idea of course, but who cares? We'd be shredding on plastic guitars! Using two of our quarters, we started our first game. Two players, one winner. The bright screen held my attention with its impressive details and awesome visuals.

Determination filled me as I held my fingers tight on the colored buttons of the fretboard, my other hand leaning lightly on the horizontal bar. Once it started our fingers went to work, attempting to hit as many colored notes as possible as they scrolled down the screen. The metal song "Nomadic Fire" blasted from the speakers on the side of the cabinet.

This is the BEST!!!

I was pretty good at this game considering how often I had played it here, but Lemon was better. She had her own version of the game on a home console, and she's made the highest scores on every song. Needless to say, she was a pro at the game. Every time we played together, she always won, no matter the song. She knew every trick to playing each song and never once tripped over a note or missed a beat.

Granted she was also taking guitar lessons, but there's a clear difference between playing a real guitar and playing a guitar shaped hunk of plastic. I wish I had the patience to play like she did. To be good at the game and shred on an actual guitar would be pretty awesome!

I was determined to beat her. I was determined to prove myself. I was determined... to win!

As the tempo grew faster, the colored notes became more challenging to hit. Between combinations of complicated chords and tons of hammer-on notes, things kept getting harder and harder. Despite that, I hit every one. My left hand ached from the positions it bent into on the fretboard.

Once the solo came around, things got way better for me! Because they were mostly hammer-ons, I had more time to press the buttons individually rather than strumming to every note. When the song ended, I was both relieved and ecstatic.

"WWOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" I screamed to the heavens, "I did it! I did it!! In your face!! I finally beat you!!!"

Lemon Zest raised a brow at me. "Um... Indi?"

When she pointed at the screen, the score count was shown. When I ecstatically screamed, I must not have paid attention to which player actually won in terms of the score. When I did see the final score, mine was a reasonable 395,853. It was better than my previous score. When I saw Lemon's, however...

My jaw dropped.

"631,780?! WHHAAAAAAAATT?!! B-b-but I--"

"I've played this song over a million times," She stated, "I've gotten one hundred percent completion every time."

I let out a frustrated growl. "Dang it! Dang it, dang it, dang it!!" I shouted, my hands grabbing at my hair, "I was so CLOSE!!"

I covered my face with my hands in shame. As soon as I removed them, Lemon patted me on the back.

"Don't worry, Indi, there's still plenty of games in the arcade just waiting to be played! Besides, you don't have to be good at every game here."

I sighed heavily, "You're right. There are games I'm better at than you! And sure, you're better than me at 'Rock King', but you know as well as I that I'll win at everything else."

She frowned when I said that, as if she was disappointed in me. I knew she would get over it, so I held my chin high as we came to another console.

If I had a time machine to go back to that day... I would've slapped myself for my attitude and pride. I am extremely competitive, I'll admit that, and I should have known there would come a time where I would eat my own words.

Just before I was about to insert a quarter, an unfamiliar voice shouted, "Hey, you!"

I turned to the direction of the voice, and saw a girl with purple pig-tailed hair, with light blue streaks. She wore a gray-green hoodie and black jeans. There were little stars where she had tied off her pigtails. She was also wearing dark eyeshadow, making her appear dark and mysterious.

"What?" I replied indignantly.

"Are you seriously going to waste your time playing that? Tsk, please." She mocked.

"So what? I like my own things! Gotta problem with that?"

The girl then made a snide grin. "Fine then. Whatever."

"Who are you anyway?"

"Name's Aria Blaze."

"All right, 'Aria', what do you want?"

"I've heard that there's a chick by the name of Indigo Zap of Crystal Prep who hangs out here. Know her?"

"You're lookin' at her." I crossed my arms in defense.

"Heh. Thought so."

I knew right off the bat this girl meant trouble. And even Lemon Zest knew she was up to no good, if the uncomfortable grimace on her face meant anything.

"Anyway," Aria continued, "I hear you've gotten a lot of high scores on most of the games here."

"What'ya mean most of them?" I asked skeptically.

"They've recently added a new game here, one so hard, even the best players in the arcade couldn't beat it."

"What's it called?" Lemon asked, sharing my skepticism.

"Castlerage is it's name, and busting the player's ego's is it's game."

Castlerage. The name alone was a bad sign. I have never heard of it before, so not knowing about the game would make things worse. And since it was new, I wouldn't know what to expect from it. Needless to say I was reluctant about playing it. Plus when a game has "rage" in the title, you know it's gonna be hard.

"Let me guess: you want me to play it?"

Aria nodded in response, and then taunted, "I wager you wouldn't last ten minutes of playing it. Come to think of it, you probably couldn't last five!"

Anger flowed through me just listening to her speak. "Is that so?"

"I'll bet you won't even make it past the third level."

"Is that a challenge?!" I growled as I walked up to her.

"For every quarter in your pocket? You bet it is."

"Uh, Indi? I don't think that's a good idea," Lemon warned me, obviously opposed to the task.

Sadly... I didn't listen. "What're the rules?"

"Every time you die, you lose a few quarters. Once all of your lives are lost... All of your quarters will be mine."

"And if I win?"

The purple haired cretin frowned and declared, "If you somehow win—which you won't—then you get whatever change is in my pockets. What do ya say?"

It was a tall order: losing and giving every quarter I had to this scumbag, or winning and gaining all of her quarters. At the time I thought I'd prove her wrong by going through with it anyway...

I really wished I hadn't.

"Deal!" I accepted, "and may I be the first to win it!!"

"I knew you would say that," She chuckled, "Follow me."

With the challenge accepted, we both followed her around the consoles and near the counter where they served food. Lemon Zest was definitely not happy about my decision and wasn't afraid to tell me.

"What're you thinking, Indi?! You can't just bet on every quarter you have on a game you know nothing about!" She hissed.

"Don't worry, Lemon, I've got this."

"Yeah, but what if you don't? What if you lose every quarter to this chick? You're not getting them back! She said it herself, 'Even the best players in the arcade couldn't beat it'."

I sighed heavily before saying, "Well, 'can't back out now. I have to do it. I know I haven't played it, but who's to say I'll be bad at it?"

"You don't know that."

"I'll figure it out as I go along. Sure, no one's beaten it, but I'm gonna do my best to change that! I mean really, what's the worst that could happen?"

As soon as I said that, we found it. The Castlerage arcade cabinet. It was bright red in color, with the silhouette of a pixelated gothic castle along the bottom of it. The way it controlled involved using a joystick and four buttons. Very simplistic, but simple doesn't necessarily mean easy, and that was definitely not what this game was known for. The title screen depicted a 16-bit castle akin to the one on the console with the title just above it in a pale yellow font.

Hmm... very old fashioned.

"Here it is: Castlerage!" Aria announced, "Ready to lose?"

"Ha!" I scoffed, "More like 'ready to WIN'!"

My confidence was at an all time high, without a doubt in my mind. I wanted to prove her wrong and beat the game.

"We'll see about that." She chuckled evilly.

Listening to the sound of the two quarters deposit filled me with determination. Almost immediately after insertion, a dark choir emanated from the speakers, creating a rather ominous tone.

After pressing a button, the game started. A brief tutorial screen gave the basic controls; pointing out things like: how to move, how to jump, attacks etc. The reason it was brief was because it was a loading screen, and it didn't take long for the game to load up completely. Eventually the screen faded in, showing the player character clad in medieval armor wielding a sword. The location was a forest, which more than likely meant that I had to work my way to the castle in the game's title.

Heh! I got this!

It was pretty simple at first, moving my character to the right of the side-scrolling screen and slashing at a few small bat enemies as I go. I noticed that there was a green HP bar on the top left, indicating my life source. For a time I've been doing well for my first try, not even getting damaged once. Not even once!

"Pfft! This ain't hard at all! People had a hard time with this? Yeah right."

However, when the knight enemies showed up, that's when things started to get challenging. The knights threw long spears at my character, and every time they land a hit, it took large chunks of health. Fortunately the knights didn't take as many hits to be defeated, but the stigma from the loss of health still stuck with me.

Aw, man! I couldn't let it get to me, No. It's just a powerful enemy; nothing too dangerous.

As my character got to a river, more enemies made their appearance: crocodiles. They charged at me when I got closer, and being low on health, coming into contact with them would mean getting damaged and likely dying. There were platforms above the river to jump on, so obviously I had to jump across those.

When I did... the platform collapsed, and my character fell into the river! The crocodiles came after me as I tried to swim away...

"Dang it!" I exclaimed, especially after noticing I only had seven more lives left.

"That's your first life." Aria told me, grinning. "Pay up."

Begrudgingly, I gave up a few. Luckily I had plenty more where that came from. I still had bags more up my sleeve. I only had two in my pockets, but everyone else had the rest.

"Oh and by the way, for every life you lose, you have to give me more quarters than last time."

"What?!" It was bad enough I lost one life already, but I was definitely not okay about this, "You didn't say that before!"

She chuckled sinisterly, "I know."

She's gonna change the rules as I go along, isn't she? That witch!

It's at that point I knew I couldn't afford to lose any more lives. I had to get farther. I wasn't going to let this pig-tailed cheapskate have her way. I had to beat it...

Or at least get past the first level.

"You dirty rotten--!!!" Lemon was about to thrash at her, but I quickly turned back to stop her.

"Take it easy, Lemon!" I attempted to calm her, "It's just the first level."

"I don't like this one bit, Indi! She knows you can't beat it!"

The screen flashed "Continue?", with a counter counting down from 12. Briskly, I deposited two quarters into the machine, pressed start, and was back to the beginning. Which meant I had to do it all over again!

"I can beat it, Lemon," I reassured her. "I just gotta figure out how."

50 ½ minutes later...

I was able to get past the first level the fifth time around, and thankfully didn't die after that. At the end, my character entered through a portcullis, and that's when the score popped up: 3,000 for slaying every enemy in sight.

I had two lives left. Two lives that should not be wasted.

Sadly, I had to ask Lemon for extra change to progress, especially for the second time I died. The purple-haired charlatan giggled every time I lost a life and had to give up more quarters than last time. I tried to keep my composure as best I could; the last thing I wanted to happen was lose my temper and beat her up. Getting kicked out of my favorite arcade was not on my to-do list.

The second level started in a castle courtyard, which I entered in the previous level through a portcullis. Enemies were abundant, more knights throwing spears and those stupid bat enemies from the last level.

My breathing grew heavier, loose strands of hair fell upon my brow, and my eyes fixated on the screen as I focused on what was before me. I didn't even utter a word for fear of losing concentration.

Though I couldn't see her, I knew Lemon Zest still stuck by me as I played. She could have just left me to my own endeavor but she didn't. She's still here. It made me feel a lot better knowing I had a friend to stick by my side. We had been friends for a long while, even before the Friendship Games. The only times we hung out we're either at each other's house playing games, or spending time at B & D's. I had other friends outside of school, however. Some that are... not worth mentioning, for lack of better words.

I started blushing just thinking about—

No! I'm not gonna think about them! I have to focus!

I was at half health when I cleared the area. I needed to find some healing items so I wouldn't die and have to give up even more quarters! I've been doing well so far, and I have to prove to that chick that this game can be beaten.

As the screen scrolled towards the gates of the castle, I noticed that there were flasks on the ground. I moved my character toward them and a small ping noise emanated from the speakers, with my health regenerating at a steady pace. My eyes widened and a smile grew on my face.

"Yes!" I giggled gleefully as I entered the castle at full health.

When my character came in, Aria loomed over my shoulder. "You may have lasted this long," she snickered, "but you're not gonna pass this part."

"Try me." I didn't bother looking back at her, I had to concentrate.

"You can do this, Indi!" Lemon encouraged.

The hall my character walked through had rows of armor against the walls, which had pixelated paintings along it. They depicted what seemed to be old battles, as far as a mesh of pixels could tell.

When my character stopped for a cutscene, a large painting on the wall started to melt on to the floor, reforming into an amorphous abomination. The paint blob roared loud enough to drown out every other game in the arcade. An organ and an ominous choir played as the boss fight started.

A boss fight already? I thought to myself upon seeing the monster, Well alright then.

For a blob, he was fast. Every attack was incredibly quick and hard to avoid. For one of his attacks, a sweeping move where he swept his tendrils from side to side, I got hit thrice for poorly timing my jumps. I tried swing my sword to him, but it was hard to find an opening between his fast paced flurries from his tendrils.

"How the heck could a blob be so quick?" Lemon commented.

"Beats me," I replied laconically.

However, I started to notice a pattern in his movements. His tendril attacks only lasted for about a few seconds before he stops, followed soon after by his sweeping attack. I thought that perhaps if I jumped and then swung my sword, I could land a hit.

With gusto, I decided to go with my plan. I avoided the quick tendrils as best I could without taking too much damage, and as he was about to sweep his elongated tentacle, I timed my jump just right and landed a few hits.

And she said this game was hard.

After landing those hits however, he changed up his tactics by using a new attack: shooting projectiles from his blobby body. He didn't just shoot them forward, oho no! He shot them EVERYWHERE. I began regretting my arrogant thought.

"Of course," I said exasperatedly, gripping the joystick tightly, "he just had to add another attack!"

"That's the game for ya," Aria chuckled, "But trust me, it gets worse. You haven't even made it to level three yet."

At the time I didn't know how it could get worse. Then again, this is the second level. The grubby chick said I wouldn't be able to pass level three. I couldn't imagine it getting any harder than this, but I just had to see for myself. I had to win it, not just to prove her wrong, but to show her I can.

After a almost a minute and a half of hacking at it, the blob squealed in agony and melted into the floor. After it was vanquished, an item dropped to the ground: a scroll. I didn't know what to expect from it until the text appeared:

Press top button to switch weapons.

"The scroll is a weapon?" I questioned.

"Yeah," Aria explained in monotone. "You shoot fireballs from your hands. That's about it."

After that, the level ended. My brow rose as I mouthed, "Whaa?" The screen faded to black and showed my score again, only this time, it added more to the score I had. My score count totaled to about 6,359. Still had two lives left though.

"That was... short." Sweat beaded down my cheek, gulping as I anticipated what was yet to come.

"Indeed, Indi."

Her voice gave me a sudden jolt as I turned to face the pig-tailed trickster.

"I'm surprised. You made it to level three, but what you just went through was child's play," She widened her sickening smile. "You only have two lives left you know, and the number of quarters you have left are dwindling. Just losing one more life is enough to empty you and your friend's pockets!" The swindler chortled menacingly.

Right as I was about to say something, the fateful text appeared on the screen. LEVEL THREE. The joystick became covered with sweat, and my wrist started aching again. I began tapping my feet from the growing tension. To relax myself, I tried slowing my breathing. In and out, in and out. Slowly, but steadily. I hunched my shoulders as I leaned in close to the screen, prepared for what may come next.

The level started in what looked to be a throne room. I moved my character to right of the screen as usual. There was no music; it was completely silent.

I gulped once more, getting ready for what's to come. Lemon was right beside me, I knew, letting me know she was there for me.

"You can do this!" she encouraged.

My confidence was built up for that moment, thanks to her. If only it lasted.

As I moved my character all the way, he stopped on his own. The screen panned right to reveal a figure on a large throne. The figure was female, rather dark and skinny in appearance. Her hair flowed upwards like a flame, and she wore a long black dress. Her skin was purple, not unlike...

My jaw quivered. My eyes widened. I shook my head in utter denial.

"No. No, it can't be," I attempted to speak confidently. "It's just a game character."

"Is this another boss fight?" Lemon asked, peeved.

Text appeared on the screen: "SO, YOU FINALLY CAME. I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS!"

Right after the queen-like figure said that, a loud whoosh sound came from the speakers, as large wings sprouted from her back. She hovered towards my character, her giant wings flapping steadily.

"Wait a second, that looks a lot like—"

Before Lemon could finish her sentence, the queen-like creature's hands became engulfed in bluish flames. With that, the fight started. A chorus of eerie voices, created a far more haunting ambiance for the fight. She shot her fireballs sporadically, left and right, even more so than the last fight. Every time I got hit it took out small chunks of my health, repeatedly.

"Oh my gosh, they're everywhere!" I exclaimed.

That wasn't the only thought going through my head. Aside from trying to avoid every flame, the only other thing I could think about was the appearance of the monster. From the fiery blasts, to the giant wings, there was no mistaking it; this thing looked like someone I knew, and I knew who it was.

Twilight Sparkle!

I was facing a monster that resembled Twilight!

I couldn't say it aloud. I needed to focus. I needed to get the dreadful thoughts out of my head.

"Look familiar, Indi?" Aria taunted. "Doesn't she remind you of someone?"

While I didn't see her face, I heard Lemon explode, "Are you comparing the monster in the game to Twilight?! How dare you?!"

The monster's barrage of fire rained down upon the room, as I desperately tried to dodge them all. A terrifying cackle came from the cabinet as the torrent of fire continued. It was as if had been condemned to fiery fate, along with a reminder of the past. I didn't land any hits on the thing, so focused I was on not getting hit!

While I was doing that, Aria started laughing.

"I heard a lot of things about the Friendship Games. I also heard about an introverted student of Crystal Prep who wasn't popular among everyone else, how that student had been pressured by her peers, and that they were the reason behind her transformation!"

"What's it to you?" Lemon confronted, "She forgave us, and we said we're sorry!"

"Hehehe. Still, doesn't change the fact that she used magic... Equestrian magic!"

My health bar was draining every time a fireball hit. I had to attack at some point, I couldn't just avoid them forever. Thankfully an opening came around, so I moved my character closer. I panted heavily, my hand clutched tightly around the joystick. Not long after, the winged queen then used a new attack: flame geysers. Blue fire shot out from above and below in a pattern. First the flames come up from the floor, then they fired down from the ceiling.

"What?" Lemon sounded puzzled, "Equestrian magic?"

"You wouldn't understand. I've been meaning to meet 'Twilight Sparkle' for some time now, but I have no idea where she lived. I do know that she goes to Canterlot High. However, I cannot set foot in there, long story short."

"If you're trying to find Twilight, then why waste time here?"

After avoiding the flames for some time, I was able to get close enough to attack her. Quickly, I pressed the attack button to swing my sword, but it didn't seem to damage her. No matter how many times I swung, there was no indicator telling me that I've damaged her. I eventually remembered what the text said earlier: "Press top button to switch weapons". I did just that. A ping rung from the cabinet's speakers, and when I pressed the attack button, I shot fire from my hands instead of swinging my sword.

OOOOOHHHHH!!! I realized in awe as it was actually doing damage to it.

As I figured it out the confrontation behind me continued.

"I was bored. Plus, it's fun watching Crystal Prep students squirm trying to play that game. Everyone who played it goes to Crystal Prep. In other words, I lied about the best players not being able to beat it. 'Cause they haven't even played it!"

"So is that why you challenged my friend," Lemon's voice was severe. "Just to get your sick kicks?!"

"Well yeah. That and I need as much change as I can get."

"What for?!"

There was pause before Aria answered. "That's none of your business. Speaking of which..."

The music sped up to an allegretto the more shots I fired. Her flames were fast, but I held my own. I got in closer to the winged queen to finish her off for good.

Lemon's right. She forgave us, I thought as I continued firing, it's not worth worrying about anymore! I'll finish this demon if it's the last thing I'll ever do!!!

"Now let's see how—" The swindler cut her sentence off.

She must've seen my progress as I was about to deliver the presumably final blow. One more blast of fire...

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" The winged queen screeched as my fireball hit her one last time.

Within seconds her body started to dissolve like smoke. A final puff blew in the wind as my character faced the screen, raising a fist in the air in victory! Even the text on the screen said the same thing! Triumphant music blasted from the speakers. The screen faded to black to reveal my score...

12, 375!!!

"WHAT?!" Aria exclaimed furiously.

"I did it! I DID IT!!!" I proclaimed at the top of my lungs to the heavens above, bouncing in the air in joy.

Even Lemon joined in on the celebration, laughing hysterically, "Oh my gosh, you did it, Indi! You won!!!"

I turn to face Aria, showing a dissatisfied frown. She groaned in disappointment upon seeing my victory. She then covered her face with her hands.

Even though I wanted to gloat, how could I? I may have beaten at her own game but I can't just beat a dead horse. I wasn't the same Indigo that would gloat after winning. No. Not anymore. I opted to change that for good.

I cleared my throat before saying, "That game was pretty cool, all things considered."

"Yeah," Lemon agreed, "You showed that Aria Blaze what for!"

"No," The pig-tailed swindler glared, "No you haven't. There's still more. There are more levels!"

"Well yeah, but you said I wouldn't be able to pass level three, and I did. And to be honest, I don't want to play Castlerage anytime soon." My smile grew wider. "I'd much rather be spending time with my friends than trying to beat a highscore. I guess I should be thanking you for making me realize that. Also, you owe us our quarters back."

She continued frowning as she shook her head. "I don't think so."

"Are you kidding me?!" Lemon shouted, "She just won your bet, you have to pay up!"

"I said whatever was in my pockets," She sneered, "I never meant the quarters. So in that case, take these."

Aria reached into her pockets and handed out its contents, a penny, a paper clip, and a piece of string. I was rather peeved by the reveal, but Lemon however looked as if she was about to strangle her. She then snickered upon seeing our reactions.

"Oh, that's IT!!!" Lemon screamed as she rushed toward Aria, who started dashing the opposite direction.

My yellow-green haired friend chased the swindler around the arcade cabinets, across the counter where they served food, not stopping for a breather. I had to keep up with her to make sure she doesn't commit assault, so I chased her down. I was fast on my feet but Lemon was just as fast, and was farther away from me. Like a cat going after a mouse, Lemon was in pursuit of Aria.

"Lemon," I tried calling out to her, "wait! Stop!"

I tracked them down to the exit, where Aria planned to escape. Sprinting as fast as my feet would allow I then skidded towards Lemon, who was about to grab the con woman before she can make her getaway. The doors slid open as she dashed out of the building and into the parking lot. Luckily I was able to stop Lemon from heading out into the road, by holding her back. The both of us were outside the establishment, right along the sidewalk.

If I hadn't she would have easily kept chasing her down until she could get a hold of her. Like I said, the last thing I wanted was to get kicked out of this place for something as unnecessary as a fight.

"Let me go, Indi!" She growled, kicking her feet in the air as I held her down.

"Not until you calm down!" I told her sternly, struggling to keep hold.

After Aria was out of sight, I let Lemon go. "Why'd you stop me? She went off with our quarters! Well not all of them, but still!"

"Lemon, let it go. She's not worth it."

Lemon Zest faced me, puffing in and out excessively. Eventually, her breathing slowed and her angry expression faded. She then let out a big and heavy sigh.

"I'm sorry, Indigo. It's just that—I just can't stand seeing someone like her walk all over us like that!" She confessed, clawing at her hair, "It's one thing when you pick on some random person. But no one... No one should pick on any of my friends and get away with it! That just ain't right!"

"I know. What she did was wrong. The most we can do is report to the authorities."

My friend looked at me as if I said something weird. "That's something I thought I'd never hear you say."

I smirked at that. "Huh. I guess you're right. That game must've been some life changing experience or something!"

Soon enough we both started laughing for no good reason. We didn't know what was so funny, but we laughed it off for a good long while. Once we stopped, I patted Lemon on the back.

"Come on, Lemon," I ushered her back inside. "We still got a few more hours to kill!"

"All right!" She said as we high-fived.

Before I reentered the building, I looked back to witness the thief on the other side of the road going into a restaurant across the street.

Lemon must have noticed too. "You're still gonna call the cops on her, right?"

"Of course."

Author's Note

For those who haven't read my blogs, this will likely be the last story I will ever write. As for the reason behind this, I figured that I would have to end my run as a writer somewhere. I will be writing future chapters of ongoing stories (i.e. Times Forgotten) however.

Special thanks to Kydois , the author of In Sheep's Clothing for editing this story. I couldn't have done it without their help.