Chapters The Cartoon's Tournament of Power
One Hour Until The Tournament Begins!
Author's Note
Twilight is a unicorn as of right now.
One Hour Until The Tournament Begins!
"You must get seven others Twilight Sparkle, it is our only hope!"
Princess Celestia's voice echoed in her head as she, Starlight, and Pinkie walked down the dirt road towards Ponyville.
A lot happened recently. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Discord and the three of them were called up to some place called the Sacred World of the Gods. There was some exhibition fighting match of some sort between two universes, an explanation of rules for a tournament coming up that would result in their universe surviving or not, and some alien rambling about justice every two seconds.
It was giving Twilight a headache, getting Pinkie excited and interested Starlight.
"So who do we recruit Twi?" Pinkie asked with a bounce.
The purple unicorn furrowed her eyes and stopped in the middle of the dirt road to think.
Starlight gave a reply. "I know Rainbow and Applejack would love to help. Rainbow's speed and Applejack's strength would be useful. So that would make five of us."
Twilight lifted a hoof to her chin. "And I was thinking that maybe my brother and Cadence could also help us. Those two are really powerful in their own rights."
"So that makes seven," Starlight stated. "We need three more, so how about the rest of your friends?"
Pinkie giggled. "Rarity wouldn't want to get her coat dirty in a 'scuffle'."
"And no offense towards Fluttershy, but she wouldn't be that much of a help for us," Twilight said, smiling at Pinkie's representation of Rarity.
Starlight then brightened up. "Then how about Thorax! He's pretty powerful."
Twilight's eyes widened and she gasped. "I didn't even think about other creatures! Smart thinking Starlight!" She said, getting a smile from her student. "And I know one more dragon princess to come and help us."
"Perfect!" Pinkie started. "I'll get Applejack and Rainbow Dash while you two get the rest with your teleporting!" Then she zipped away before Twilight or Starlight could say a word.
Starlight smiled at Pinkie's retreating form before looking at Twilight. "We still need one more pony on our team Twilight. Can you think of anyone?"
Twilight stared back at her friend, trying to think of anyone to join their team. "I was just about to say the same. We still have time so we can still decide while we're searching."
Starlight nodded. "I can go get Princess Cadence and your brother while you get Princess Ember and Thorax if that's fine with you. I can probably ask Sunburst to help because he's pretty strong with magic himself."
Twilight nodded back. "Sounds perfect to me, let's all meet back up at my castle! And get some plans to work out."
"I'll see you before an hour then!" Starlight said. "Let's win this thing!" She finished with determination.
Finding Rainbow and Applejack was easy for Pinkie.
After Twilight encountered her to explain they were all meeting at her castle, she found Rainbow taking a nap on one of her many favorite trees near the outskirts of Ponyville, and after waking her up and explaining the details, all Rainbow could reply with was, "I'm in!" Rainbow wasn't entirely sure if Pinkie was spouting nonsense or not but all she knew was that one of her best friends needed some help and that was what she was planning to do!
The two of them then found Applejack working at her farm, and when they told her about the big fighting tournament she first thought it was a prank of some sorts, but then Pinkie explained the Princesses and Discord were involved and she didn't want to take the chance. Applejack also wondered how long this tournament was going to take because she didn't want to leave the farm unattended, and when she was told it was going to be 100 takks or 48 Equestria minutes she was all in.
Twilight ran into a problem. She didn't have trouble finding Thorax, the problem was the other changelings.
"Looks like they don't want me to come with you," Thorax said sadly. "They don't want to let me go incase I get hurt."
"Yeah..." Twilight replied with disappointment. "Could you try and persuade them?" She asked.
"I already tried, they said they didn't want me to risk my life and I had some volunteers to take my place. I would let them go with you but I don't want to send any of my changelings to harm themselves either!"
Twilight looked down in thought, before trotting past Thorax—who looked at her with suspicion—and stepped up onto Thorax's throne.
"Attention changelings!" She shouted, catching the attention of the hive. "I know you're all worried about sending your leader on a dangerous mission, but I assure you everything will be fine! There is no killing allowed in the tournament and he is a strong force to be dealt with." She noticed some of the changelings looking uneasy. "Don't you want your leader to represent the changelings?" She continued. "Strong and brave, ready to defend what they care about? Thorax wants to defend Equestria and our universe, and I don't see anything wrong about that."
"She's right!" Thorax began as he walked up beside Twilight. "I wish to protect you all and the ones who saved our hive! What would have happened if the ponies never stepped in and took down Chrysalis? We would have gone down a very dark path that I'm sure none of you would have wanted us to walk. The least we could do is help our friends and defend our entire universe." The king noticed that one of his subjects was about to speak. "I know some of you want to take my place but it is not your duty, it is mine. What kind of king would I be if I were to send all of you into danger? I know, it's really hard on you all, but from here on out, it's do or die..."
Thorax was treated by silence for a few seconds from the other changelings. But soon enough, a couple had the courage to start cheering him on, leading more to cheer and encouragement for their brave king.
Thorax smiled. "Thank you all for understanding! I promise I will return safely!"
Just then, dozens of changelings pounced on their teary king, giving him a warm hug.
Twilight shrieked and teleported a fair distance away before they ran her over.
Starlight was in front of her childhood friend's house in the Crystal Empire, she made it there quickly, thanks to the power of teleporting. She decided to appear at his front door rather than directly inside his house. She respected his privacy.
He could be a very good ally in this tournament, Starlight thought, his skills with magic comparing to her own.
She knocked on the door a couple of times, waiting for a couple seconds before Sunburst unlocked it. He looked... tired. Judging by his baggy eyes.
"Hey, Sunburst!" She greeted. "Long time no see!"
"Yup!" He replied with less enthusiasm than he wanted to put out. "Want to come in?"
He sounded tired as well.
"Kindly!" She replied before trotting in, the door slamming behind her soon after.
"What can I do for you Starlight? You usually mail me before wanting to come over." He explained.
"Yeah, sorry for arriving so suddenly." She said apologetically. "Something urgent has come up and I need your help!"
Sunburst looked at her for a moment before asking, "Alright, explain and maybe I can help."
"I have to make this quick, long story short, there's this big fighting tournament some god more powerful than Princess Celestia is holding very soon, and if we don't win it then Equestria and our entire universe will be erased from existence!"
Sunburst looked at her dumbly for a second before scratching his head. "Fighting tournament? How soon?"
"Uh..." Starlight glanced at a nearby clock. "In about thirty minutes. Why is there something wrong?"
"Oh gosh," He widened his eyes. "I'm so sorry Starlight, I wish I could help, but I'm so tired after watching Flurryheart for Princess Cadence and Shining Armor. I know my magic would be useful but I don't even think I could do a simple levitation spell without passing out."
Starlight sighed before saying, "It's alright, I understand."
Sunburst frowned, feeling guilty. "I'm really sorry Starlight, you know I would have helped if I could, right? I just feel I would be of no use to you."
Starlight gave him a sad smile in return. "I said it's alright. I understand completely." She reached forward and gave him a quick hug. "I have to go and see if Cadence and Shining can help out. You go get your rest."
"Thank you, Starlight," Sunburst said before leading her out the door. Before she left, he said one last thing. "If you need a babysitter for flurry, you can call me, I should be able to take care of her at least, she behaves when I'm around."
Starlight smiled at him. "I'll keep that in mind. See you around."
Sunburst nodded with a smile before shutting the door.
"I'm down for a fight. When is it happening?" Ember asked Twilight as they stood in the middle of the Dragon Lands with Thorax.
"It should be in a little more than twenty minutes, we don't have much time."
"Then we should get going now," Thorax suggested. "The more time we have to plan the better." He explained.
"Hold on just a minute," Ember said, making Twilight and Thorax turn to look at her. "It's been a while since I've stretched my muscles, how about a quick spar?"
"Hm, I guess that could be fine," Thorax said. "Plus there's no one really around to accidentally hurt."
"Then a two-minute sparring match, then I'll be teleporting us back to my castle." Twilight said. "Please make this quick, we don't have much time. And don't hurt each other too much-"
Thorax and Ember immediately charged at one another. The king charged up a magic blast and fired, princess replying with a fireball. The two collided, making an explosion.
The other dragons in the area heard the loud noise and made their way towards the sound. They quickly found their dragon lord fighting the weird sparkly bug thing, and for some of them, instead of jumping in they cheered their leader on. For those who wanted to jump in, Ember made sure to tell them it was just a friendly fight and nothing serious, so they backed off and also rooted for her.
The match was mostly even, where Thorax had the advantage of using powerful spells and Ember had the advantage of close combat.
This they both realized, and Ember found it more useful to try and get up close as quickly as possible, while Thorax tried to keep his distance by zoning her away with spells.
Twilight seemed to notice that they were learning progressively, and she knew this sparring match was a really great idea by Ember.
By the time the spar was over, Ember and Thorax were out of breath, but not too injured which pleased Twilight. No more words were spoken as the purple unicorn teleported the three away.
"So Princess Celestia is calling for us to save our Universe?" Shining Armor asked from the other end of the throne room next to his wife.
Starlight nodded. "I know it sounds absurd, but we really need you two to take a part in this fighting tournament."
Cadence and Shining glanced at one another for a second before looking back at Starlight with friendly smiles.
"It's not that surprising, really. We'll assist you in this tournament." The pink princess said. "You might not know it just yet but Shiny and I make a dirty duo."
Shining chuckled. "With my shields and your love magic, we'll win this for sure."
Cadence chuckled as well but turned to Starlight with a more serious look. "But the other universes... they're getting erased if they lose?"
Starlight nodded with a frown. "Yes, sadly. But we have no choice in this matter, it's either we fight or get erased from existence, we all have something to fight for."
"I understand there's a wish after the tournament?" She asked.
"Uh, yes!" She answered cheerfully. "There are powerful artifacts that can grant any wish. I think I know what you're getting at here."
Cadence nodded, then turned to Shining to see him smile at her before giving her a peck on the cheek.
"You only found nine people?!" Discord yelled inside Twilight's throne room.
Meanwhile, the nine team members and the other two alicorns were trying to think of anyone to join the team.
"I guess I could find a changeling back in the hive, but I would prefer not to," Thorax said.
"And all of the other dragons are all numbskulls. They wouldn't last a minute." Ember added.
"Isn't there anyone left?!" Discord asked. "Any griffons? Buffalo? Can't Celestia or Luna be apart of your team?"
"Discord," Celestia started. "You know my sister and I can't take part of the tournament, we're considered the Gods of Harmony of this universe and you're a God of Chao-"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it!" Discord crossed his arms and frowned. "Just hurry and find someone before I make The Smooze a part of the team."
"Oh! I just remembered." Cadence said. "Princess Celestia, if we win this tournament and get that wish they promised us, we should use the wish to get back the other universes!" She explained.
"We are going to win." Rainbow corrected.
Celestia sighed in return. "Perhaps we could. But, it would go against the decision of the ruler of all universes. They might not allow us to make that wish."
"We could still try." Luna added. "And if he enjoys this tournament we could try and persuade him by telling him we could run another tournament another time. More entertainment for him and we all survive."
Celestia nodded. "We just might."
"Oh for the love of chaos! We need to find one more member and we have ten minutes left!" He looked at the others who seemed at a loss. "There isn't anyone outside of Equestria we can recruit? Tartarus, I'll even take another stupid dragon if we have to."
"Tartarus..." Twilight muttered. "Tartarus! That's it!" She suddenly shouted.
"Did you find someone?" Discord asked.
"Spike can help us!" She said with happiness.
Just then the entire room—save for Twilight— gasped in shock.
Twilight sighed, knowing their reactions weren't uncalled for.
Shining and Cadence looked away, not comfortable all of a sudden.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked a bit angry, and Pinkie looked a bit sad.
Starlight, Celestia, and Luna didn't blatantly show any expressions, but Twilight knew they were at least affected by her words.
Ember and Thorax looked... betrayed once his name was spoken.
"Twilight," Discord started with a sarcastic laugh. "Why would he want to fight for us, he wants all of us dead. Except for me, he's afraid of me, but you get the point." He said sternly.
Rainbow trotted next to her friend who she now thought was insane. "Yeah, Twi. Spike... isn't going to be a team player."
"He ain't going to listen to nothin' we going to tell him. He's just going to be trouble!" Applejack added. "After that incident, he's not going to listen to us anymore."
"Guys..." Twilight started. "I know it seems like a bad decision, but I'm sure he'll be a big help! He's not just a baby dragon anymore."
"Yeah, he's worse Twilight!" Starlight said. "He's a baby dragon with magical fire that's on par with our magic. He's changed, he's not your assistant anymore you've got to realize that."
"Yeeaaaah, and I can't think of a single dragon besides him that can use magical fire Twilight." Ember said with a frown.
"Everyone, there's no reason to worry," Twilight reassured with a smile. "If anything goes wrong I'll keep him in check, and I don't see any of you having any better ideas." She walked over to Discord. "Send me to Tartarus, and I'll talk to him."
"We have nine minutes and fifteen point four-two seconds left Twilight..." He replied with a frown. "Don't screw this up."
With a snap of his talons, Twilight was sent to Tartarus in a bright flash.
"Hey, Discord?" Applejack called. "Can ya take us to our other friends, I think we'll want them to know what's up."
Discord smiled for the first time in a while, ignoring the stressful situation for a second. "That would be great. I would love to see Fluttershy before we leave."
"And I would like to say hi to Trixie too." Starlight said.
"And the crusaders!" Rainbow told Applejack.
"Then let's makes this quick and then meet up with Twilight after." Discord said. "I still can't believe she wants to get him of all people." Then he closed his eyes and snapped his talons, and in that second everyone in the room was gone.
Meanwhile, Twilight stood at the gates of Tartarus, and little did she know, at the far back of the massive prison, a little dragon suddenly smirked, sensing her presence.
The Cartoon's Tournament of Power
"Queen Chrysalis!"
The tall changeling whose name was just called turned to stare at her comrade, a changeling just like one of her own past drones but with dark red eyes instead of the usual blue ones.
"I have some news on the ponies you hate! For the Tournament of Power, they are adding a fearsome member to their team!" He told.
"And who is this fearsome member?" Chrysalis asked, raising an eyebrow at this news.
"A dragon unlike I've ever heard of! They say he has magical powers that's on par with the two unicorns you despise so much." He answered.
Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. "I see. We must not let him join their team! Go and send our greatest changeling soldiers and make sure he does not step hoof in the tournament!"
The changeling saluted and flew off.
The changeling queen turned back to stare at three cocoons, the bright green glow shining her front."If we succeed in this then my new home will survive... Universe 10 will prevail!" Chrysalis said in determination before cackling.
"Chrysalis! We are going to start strategizing soon!" A gruff voice yelled not too far away.
"Yes, Tirek, I'll be right there!" She said before turning away from three small ponies trapped in cocoons.
Twilight's hoofsteps echoed as she walked up the stone steps towards the highest pillar in Tartarus. Many evil beings and spirits that were chained down and sealed were around her, but she gave them no mind as she kept stalking forward.
Soon, she reached the top of the pillar and stopped at the sight of... him .
His holding place was just like the rest; a stone floor with a bright enchanted circle rock in the middle to light up the area. There was one difference, however. Unlike the other creatures, he wasn't locked up in a cage or pinned to the floor in any way shape or form.
She stood silently while he turned, his back previously facing her.
They stared at each other in the eyes. Twilight smiled at him, and he smirked at her.
"Ha... I thought you'd forget about me by now." He started.
"You know I never could, Spike," Twilight said gently.
Spike leaned against the wall behind him, crossing his arms, the chains connecting to the cuffs holding his two wrists barely stretching far enough to allow him to do so. "What are you here for? A friendly chat?" He asked.
Twilight frowned. "Something... came up. And I was wondering if you could help."
Spike laughed. "So she got him out and now you need me to bring him down." He stated.
Twilight blinked. "What are you talking about?" She asked simply.
Spike frowned and stared at her. "...Nothing." He said. "What do you need me for?"
Twilight took note of what Spike just blurted out, but decided to save it for later. "Would you like to get out of here for a little while? Stretch your muscles a bit?" She asked with a smirk.
The small dragon kept the frown on his face. "What are you getting at, Twi?"
Twilight was always conflicted about him calling her 'Twi' like they were still the best of friends, but for her own reasons, she still let him do it.
Besides she had to get on his good side at the moment.
"We need your power to help us in a fighting tournament." She said.
Spike leaned forward a bit, signaling Twilight he was all ears. "I'm listening."
"This isn't some regular everyday fighting tournament for foals, this is a tournament that's going to decide everyone's fate. Let me explain."
Spike stood silently as she spoke.
"There's this almighty god that is more powerful than Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Discord combined . And as I was told he has a boring life and decided to hold a universal tournament including ten of the strongest mortals from every of the eight weakest universes in a team battle royale."
"There are two reasons for this. He wanted entertainment, and he thinks that there are too many universes to watch over, so he's deciding to let the eight weaker universes fight to see which one is the strongest. And when a universe loses..." She gave him a serious look. "Everyone and everything in that universe will be erased from existence."
Spike still stood silently, arms crossed.
She sighed. "That's why we need you. I can't deny that your power could be helpful to us. You might just be as strong as Celestia."
The two stared at one another for a while. Twilight tried to think of what Spike's answer possibly could be.
He hated them. All of them. And she knew it.
And she hated what he tried to pull a month ago. They all did.
That's why they were forced to put him in Tartarus or banish him. But Twilight couldn't let him be banished, to be lost possibly forever.
Deep down, she wanted to get that friendship back. She knew that deep down he still cared too, but it was a tough lock to break.
Just then, slowly Spike raised his arms, showing his cuffs.
Twilight knew what he meant by that. She shook her head. "Not here. I'll take them off when we meet up with the others."
They weren't regular cuffs, they were magic dampeners.
"Do you want me on your team or not?" Spike asked, his smirk forming on his face once again. "I just have one request in return though."
Twilight raised her brows.
"If we win this fighting tournament, instead of bringing me back here..." He paused to show his teeth with a dirty smile.
Twilight fidgeted.
"Forget about all my 'evil', and let me go."
As Twilight was about to reply, he added,
"All of you."
Twilight stared at her past friend for a moment, gulping. "Spike... I don't have the power to do that."
"Then I guess I'll have to say no." He said before beginning to lean back on the wall.
"F-fine then!" Twilight said, trying to act like she didn't care. "Goodbye!" She turned and started to trot away.
Only to stop at Spike's laughing.
"Do you really think I'm an idiot like your friends? You didn't come here just to get me and my newfound powers on your team." He said, making Twilight turn her head to him, to see he still had his wrists up. "You came to try and get our relationship on the right side of things again." He explained. "This is a chance for us to bond again, fighting on the same side to save our lives." He smirked. "We both know you still care about our friendship."
Twilight turned her whole body, frowning at the dragon.
"I know you too well." He finished while closing his eyes and shaking his head. "You should really fix that weakness of yours, Twilight."
Twilight aimed her horn at Spike's restraints and fired two magic beams, destroying them at impact.
He still had his eyes closed and chuckled as he massaged his wrists. "Remember: I'm a free dragon when we win." He started walking towards Twilight, his tail moving with every step.
And when she was about to thank him, he shot a small fireball at her horn with his index finger, making her flinch back and wince when it touched. The fireball wasn't hot and didn't burn, but her horn was sensitive to anything other than herself touching it.
"Oops," Spike said simply, as Twilight frowned and rubbed her horn.
They walked quietly through Tartarus, the noise of Spike's footsteps now added to Twilight's.
As they passed many other evil creatures—and as she inspected their nasty appearences—Twilight still couldn't believe Spike's nature even compares to them. His small form and what most ponies would call cute was a complete disguise to who he was now.
And she couldn't blame him.
"Spike..." She started. "About what happened-"
"Shut it, Twi." Spike snapped. "I don't want to talk about that."
"Spike, please! Can we at least talk?" She pleaded. "I don't entirely blame like you think I do."
"I know you don't. It's one of the reasons why you are not on my kill list." He said as if it meant nothing.
Twilight sighed. "If you're worried it will happen again, you don't have to be."
Spike turned his head to glare at the purple unicorn, getting a bit frustrated. "I'm not, Twilight. It's just that I've found a new path that's better for me . Plain and simple." As they neared the Gates of Tartarus, they noticed the bright light of the sun peering in. "I'm done relying on friends. I'm solo now. so stop it already. I've made up my mind." He concluded.
Twilight looked at him sadly, her ears drooping at the thought of permanently losing a best friend.
As they were a couple of steps away from the Gates of Tartarus, they both noticed a faint buzzing sound right outside. They glanced at each other with raised eyebrows.
"How many friends did you bring, Twilight." It sounded like a question, it wasn't.
"I didn't." A simple answer.
The Gates of Tartarus was in a straightforward layout. The first thing you encounter is the gate which looks like a large red cellar door in the middle of a grassy plain under protection and property of the royals of Equestria. Behind it is a long hallway lit by torches enchanted to stay aflame forever. After the hallway, you find the first group of prisoners, and as you go down to each section it gets progressively dangerous for any visitors.
They stepped out of the Gates of Tartarus to be shined upon by the light of the sun, and immediately they found the source of the buzzing noise.
Dozens of Changelings surrounded the gate, all staring directly at the two who just exited.
"Changelings? Unreformed ones?" The purple unicorn said while turning her head every second to see the vast amount of bugs hovering in the air. "What do you want!?" She asked/called out.
"Sorry," A changeling a bit taller than the rest replied. "We can't say."
Twilight stared at him for a moment, grunting a bit. "Did Chrysalis send you?"
"Like I said, I can't tell you. What I can though is that you can just forget about the Tournament of Power and play with us for a bit." He said with a smirk.
"How do they know about the tournament?" Twilight muttered to herself.
"Their eyes are different," Spike said loud enough for Twilight to hear. "The ones we usually see have blue eyes."
Twilight looked up and stared into their eyes. "I guess, but..."
"They know about the tournament, which means they know about the other universes. Something we didn't even know until now."
"So that could mean they are..."
"From another universe." Spike smiled in excitement. "Time to have some fun..." He said, cracking his knuckles and neck.
Twilight concentrated some magic, frowning at the dragon. "Sorry Spike, but we don't have time for this." But before she could teleport the both of them, Spike interrupted.
"Teleport us, and I'm off the team." He said sternly, a smirk still towards the changelings.
Twilight looked at Spike with her mouth agape.
"How much time do we have left Twilight?" He asked.
"About five more minutes..." She answered, her horn still glowing with her magic.
"Then it's not going to be a problem if I don't take long, will it?" Spike stated, closing his eyes. "I'm sure you didn't forget about my powers already, Twi."
"I guess there's no stopping him..." Twilight thought. "Spike... are you sure? You should really save your strength for the tournament."
"Come on, Twilight..." Spike's body started to emit a dark glow. "I need to 'stretch my muscles' for a bit."
Suddenly, Spike's body flashed dark green and purple with a quick high pitch sound, and some kind of force released around him, shaking the entire area with Twilight and the changelings and producing loud winds.
Twilight watched as a dark green aura flowed intensely around Spike as he spoke, "Feel free to join in, Twilight." He said, his smirk growing bigger as he extended his arms out and finished with saying playfully, "It's only a warm-up!"
His green aura then abruptly grew, surrounding a larger area and making Twilight squint her eyes because of the blinding light.
Inside the massive aura, one could see Spike's body slowly change shape and color. His scales that were once a bright cheerful purple changed into a darker shade in a blink, his green scales on his ears and body also turned much darker in a swift motion. On his back, two wings looking a bit like his ears appeared in a green flame, and his tail grew a bit longer.
The light then started to lower its brightness, allowing Twilight to open her eyes fully again.
She saw Spike's changed form, not surprised as much as when he'd first shown it off months ago.
Spike opened his eyes slowly and with that same dirty smirk, looked up at the changelings. "Let's play."
The changelings stared back before some started laughing.
"You changed your color? So what? You still think the two of you can take all of us on?" The one slightly bigger than the rest of them—the leader—asked.
"Oh, I think you're mistaken." Spike started. "My friend here is too shy to take care of all of you, so I'm going to play with you all by myself ."
The changelings instantly laughed again...
Before Spike leaned forward and flapped his wings once, making a gust of wind behind him in the process, and appeared in front of the leader in a second.
They all gawked at him, including Twilight, before Spike cupped his claws together and slammed down on the leader's head, sending him down to the ground, his body creating dust and a crater below.
Several changelings took time to process what just happened, before screaming and flying away in surprise. The ones who didn't flee either rushed down towards their leader to see if he was alright... or...
Engage on Spike the Dragon.
Spike extended his arms in front of him, aiming his index fingers at the group of changelings, and fired green magical fire beams at the changelings bolting towards him. They didn't have time to dodge as the beams struck them and exploded, smoke covering them.
Before the smoke dissipated, the changelings that got hit could be seen falling below the cloud to hit the ground, making Spike chuckle.
Twilight watched in both horror and amazement as Spike went around and knocked down changelings with his fire magic and strength all around her. She noticed the terrified looks on the changelings faces once he defeated enough of them. Right, left, front or behind, wherever she turned there was a beaten changeling dropping to the ground, either by being punched or kicked... by explosive magic or hard solid magic. It didn't matter.
She was horrified that the baby dragon that was once her closest friend was mercilessly hurting others without a hint of regret.
But she was amazed because she underestimated his power.
But this had to stop, she couldn't let this go on any longer.
"Spike, stop!" She yelled out, making Spike drop the changeling he was holding by the neck to turn and look at her.
"Is there a problem?" He asked high in the air with clear irritation in his voice.
"You're warmed up enough, alright? No more hurting them!"
Spike laughed. "I've just begun to even start, Twilight!"
A changeling suddenly appeared behind him and tried to pounce on him, only for him to disappear in a green flame and appear behind him; His unique teleportation spell.
He kicked the changeling in the back between its wings, making it soar to the ground, and looked back at Twilight, who was unaware of the two tall ponies behind her.
He put on a false smile for their arrival and said, "Hey, Princesses! I haven't seen you in a while!"
Twilight gasped and turned to witness Celestia and Luna standing there. She expected them to be changelings but after noticing they all started retreating with their wounded allies and scanning them secretively with her magic, they proved to be the real Princesses of Equestria.
Celestia looked up at Spike and smiled. "Nice to see you again, Spike." She said.
Spike frowned at Celestia's words like she didn't remember she locked him away for months in a dark prison. He knew behind that friendly smile, there was still some emotions she was hiding. He usually made the smart remarks, but when some were thrown at him, he disliked it. "...Yeah." He turned back to glance at the changelings' shrinking forms and took notice at their leader glaring back at him while he was being carried away.
"Princess Celestia and Luna! What are you two doing here?" Twilight asked with curiosity.
Celestia didn't answer as she produced a spell from her horn, creating a large yellow dome surrounding the area around the Gates of Tartarus.
"I've slowed time for everything in this shield," Celestia explained. "This will probably give us a few more minutes."
"Discord and the others decided to go visit some friends and family before the tournament started," Luna explained. "After waiting a bit in your castle, my sister and I decided to meet you here to make sure..." She paused and let her eyes drift up to see Spike descending down towards them with a frown on his face, most likely not happy that they interrupted his moment. "...to make sure everything was alright."
"It seems everything is going well," Celestia said. "But were those changelings I just saw?"
"Uh, yes!" Twilight told. "We think they are from a different universe that came to try and stop me from getting Spike into the tournament." She explained as the dragon she just mentioned landed next to the three of them with his arms crossed, still in that dark form.
"Hm, that's interesting. The gods from another universe must be desperate." Luna said.
"There's nothing we can do about that now," Celestia said. "We must focus our attention on the tournament." She turned to Spike. "I'm very glad you're cooperating with us, Spike. It's a pleasure to have you on our team."
Spike glared at her, which she didn't physically respond to. "I'm only joining because of the deal I made with Twilight. If I help win this thing, you let me go."
Luna frowned but Celestia didn't remove the smile on her face. "I'll see what can be done, Spike. We can discuss a deal after the tournament. As of right now, we shall go meet with the other team members and head for the arena in the World of Void, an isolated place outside the twelve universes."
Celestia deactivated the time barrier and lit up her horn with her magic, teleporting all four of them away.
"I'm pretty darn sad that we didn't find our sisters." Applejack said.
The eight team members and Discord all stood in Twilight's throne room after going around with the help of Discord's magic. They met with family and friends very quickly, having just enough time to say quick goodbyes and give affections.
"At least we found Fluttershy and Rarity." Starlight said, trying to bring some light into the situation.
"Yes but..." Applejack started with a sad frown. "What if we lose...? What if we ain't gonna see them again?"
Everyone went still at the thought, and everyone started to get nervous at the thought of never getting to see their own friends and family ever again.
"What does being erased even feel like?" Ember asked, feeling anxious.
"Probably really bad." Pinkie thought out loud.
"It's not going to come to that!" Rainbow said with resolve. "We're going to win, and we're going to use our wish to bring back the other universes so they can get back together with their families too, just like Princess Cadence told us." She said, pumping her hoof up.
"That's right!" Cadence said. "We can't be overridden with gloom at this time, we have to be in good shape in both mind and body if we want to win."
This seemed to get everyone in good spirits like she hoped. And for a second everyone thought everything was all fine and dandy.
Then the door to the room opened, revealing a small smirking dragon.
(Theme)
As he first stepped into the throne room, he took notice of everyone inside. "What a nice team we have here. Such a shame we're not on good terms." He said with obvious sarcastic sadness.
Everyone's emotions differed. Cadence and Shining grew uneasy, Thorax and Ember couldn't look at him in the eye, Applejack and Rainbow were glaring, and Pinkie and Starlight just frowned at the intense atmosphere.
"Hey, Spike! How was Tartarus?" Rainbow asked mockingly.
"It was great!" Spike answered with a smile. "Why don't you come visit sometime. Maybe I can give you a ticket to a permanent vacation!"
Discord walked up to Spike. "Don't mess this up for us." He started with a voice that showed he wasn't fooling around. "You're in as much danger as we are, so behave yourself and we'll all survive."
Spike raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think I care? If you're all going down with me I couldn't care less if I got erased."
Discord growled and was about to argue, but Spike continued.
"I'm helping because I still have things I want to do afterward. You can say what you want to say but I can refuse to participate in a snap. Your choice."
Applejack was tempted to jump him right then and there but stopped when the last of his words left his mouth.
(Theme: End)
Twilight then trotted in happily, oblivious to what just happened and stood next to Spike, behind her Celestia and Luna followed in soon after. "Alright, everyone! The team's assembled! Let's get that plan Starlight told me about known to everyone here, shall we?" Once she knew everyone was going to be quiet and listening, she signaled Starlight to go ahead.
"Okay, everyone. The plan is simple," She started. "Group together and use a numbers advantage to take down enemies easier and use less stamina than needed. Let enemies approach instead of engaging them and use that to our advantage."
"Did everyone get that?" Twilight asked. "If we work together as a team we can easily win."
"Isn't that... I don't know, a little unfun?" Ember asked.
"Unfun?" Shining Armor said in shock. "Winning is everything! We must do whatever we can to win, or we get erased."
"Shining is right," Twilight said. "This isn't a game, it's survival!"
"But I agree with Ember, Twi," Rainbow said, causing heads to turn at her, some in disbelief. "I get what you're saying and all, but standing there and waiting for others to come isn't one of my strong suits." She said sheepishly.
"Oh, would you look at the Element of Loyalty? Being as loyal as ever!" Spike mocked sarcastically before chuckling.
Rainbow snarled. "What did you say?!"
"Everyone, can I have your attention please!" Celestia said as she walked to a spot behind Twilight's throne. "Everyone please get in a circle around the friendship table. Then we will be transported to the arena."
They all began to walk towards a spot around the table, some quickly trying to forget grudges, finding a good spot behind their own throne or a friend's throne.
Spike stood next to Twilight who stood next to Celestia right behind her throne, and he stared at the small chair thing that was supposed to be his. He slowly raised his finger and pointed to it, which got everyone's attention, before firing a magic beam and destroying it.
At this point, they weren't surprised. Even they were a bit sorry that he got the short stick when this castle was created.
Celestia took notice of the silence and cleared her throat. She looked up and said out loud. "Lauren Faust, our team is gathered and is ready to be transported to the World of Void."
A female voice was then heard. "I see. I shall welcome you all to the World of Void."
Then a sudden white light engulfed everyone in the room. And when the light vanished, they were all gone.
Author's Note
I know it's a lot like DBS's structure of episodes, but stay with me on this one. I promise it's going to get interesting soon.
If you're confused about anything ask me in the comments. I know I've screwed up on some things I just don't know it yet.
If you like the idea of music then let me know, I'll keep doing it. It's fun!
Teaser for next chapter: Watch as the Equestrians find out that they're facing past villains, mirror universes, fairies, and a talking Sponge...
The Cartoon's Tournament of Power
Let The Tournament Begin!
The next thing everyone knew, was that they were not in Twilight's castle anymore.
"So this is the arena..." Starlight said in amazement as everyone looked around.
From their point of view on top of the area, they stood on a large circular platform made up of different colored tiles with more length than Canterlot Castle. In the middle of the platform stood a tall tower with cycled colors between blue, white, and brown.
Above the arena, there were floating bleachers for the spectators. And as the Equestrian's looked up they saw that the sky was a variety of dark colors ranging from purple to black and blue.
(Image)
"Guys! Look here!" Pinkie said from the edge of the arena.
Everyone but Spike, Discord and the alicorn sisters went to go look at what Pinkie was talking about, and they gasped when they looked over the ledge to see nothing but pitch black darkness.
"When someone is knocked off the fighting stage they lose and are teleported to the stands," Celestia explained. "Also, every universe has different gravity, so for fairness, this stage is enchanted to make everyone weigh the same as they did in their homeland."
Just then, other bright circles of light appeared one by one, and when the lights disappeared other creatures were revealed.
Twilight and the others looked at their surroundings to inspect the other universes’ fighters.
The interesting thing was that there were creatures walking on two legs in most of the other universes.
Discord explained in universes 2, 4, and 9, there were intelligent beings called humans that were more advanced in technology then they were. And Twilight, along with Starlight, was surprised to hear that even though universe 4 and 9 didn't have any magic, their technology was still more advanced.
Luna explained that Universe 3 was an underwater universe, and told that their fighters were underwater creatures save for two.
Finally, Celestia told everyone how Universe Six and Ten worked somewhat like their universe did, with Universe Six being a mirrored universe of theirs.
Twilight noticed that there was a group of ponies not too far away. She couldn't make how many there were and the different races, but she did think she got a glance at a reformed changeling in the mix.
When Thorax asked about the other universes, Celestia said how 1, 5, 8, and 12 weren't participating and were safe from getting erased. Then she went on to tell that Universe 11 was full of creatures that looked like everyday animals but had special powers.
Universe seven all glanced at the other universes who arrived, who seemed to be stretching and warming up a bit for the big tournament.
She then told that not every universe had Gods of Harmony and Chaos, which was mostly because they didn't have a being or leader powerful enough to stand out to actually be one.
Shining looked down at Spike, who was oddly quiet during everything and raised an eyebrow at his excited expression. At first, he thought the dragon was just excited about the fights, but he noticed he was staring at something in the distance. Being curious, Shining followed Spike's gaze and gasped.
Everyone heard his gasp and stared at him.
Cadence asked him if something was wrong.
He quietly pointed in a direction in response.
Then the rest of them were shocked to see what he gasped at and what Spike was excited about.
In one of the bright lights emerged some old faces most of them knew.
Chrysalis was the first one to notice them staring and smirked. King Sombra snarled at them while Tirek, only slightly taller than Celestia, huffed.
There were three changelings at Chrysalis's side with armor. They had blue eyes instead of the green ones Twilight and Spike saw back at the Gates of Tartarus. Also, under Chrysalis, sat three small cocoons with something inside of them that no one could make out. This made Thorax frown.
Behind the baddies stood that same changeling leader of the green-eyed changelings Spike faced. He glared at Universe Seven.
Everyone turned their heads to Spike. All of them, including Celestia, Luna, and even Discord, had guilty expressions.
"Spike..." Twilight started with sadness. "We're so sorry we didn't believe you..."
Spike didn't turn to them, he kept his insane smirk pointing towards Sombra and the other evil beings from their universe and started to laugh crazily. "Coming here was so worth it after all." He thought.
"I can't believe my eyes," Cadence said in shock and turned to Celestia. "If what Spike said was true... Why are they here, and on another team to be exact!"
Celestia narrowed her eyes at Universe 10's fighters. "It seems they have made a deal with another universe." She said. "Taking out their enemies—us—and surviving in the process."
The God Of Harmony and Chaos stood at the very back, a small alicorn colt and a tall dark alicorn stallion with spiky manes and tails. The colt looked guilty while the stallion patted his head before telling him something Universe 7 couldn't hear.
Before anyone else could make a comment, a white alicorn with a red mane and tail descended from a platform high up that no one noticed before. She landed next to Celestia and Luna and introduced herself. "I am Lauren Faust, your Universe's angel."
"Angels are higher gods. They live to make certain that the gods of their respective universes stay in check," Celestia said, before turning to her. "Nice to see you again, Lauren."
Lauren nodded. "Same to you, Celestia. I hope everyone's prepared and ready for the fight. I would like to ask the Gods to head off to the stands so we can start." She said before flying off to that platform high up.
Soon after they noticed that the other seven universes were present with there respective gods, someone... pretty young, Twilight thought, started speaking out to everyone from the highest floating platform above. The platform turned to be revealed to the fighters below, showing multiple thrones in a step-stair-like pattern. Two huge ones at the top, and then two rows of four below it, each marked with a number which Celestia quickly explained that showed which Universe's angel it was for.
"Everybody thanks for coming!"
Twilight and the others noticed that there wasn't only one of them, there were two. Two colorful aliens not even as tall as a mare.
Celestia explained the two were the most powerful beings in all 12 universes, both called Zeno, and they could wipe out everything and everyone in an instant. She explained they were dangerous because of their innocence mixed with their monstrous powers.
"We've been looking forward to this for a while now!" They said while doing some playful dance around their thrones. "Everybody please make it exciting for us!"
Twilight also noticed that their angel was sitting on the throne with the number seven above it. On Universe 2’s throne sat a tall being with a blue cloak on so all one could see was its glowing eyes (Image.) Universe 3 had a mermaid with a crown long black air and purple earings (image.) Universe 4 had a short-legged squirrel, elephant, cat, hippopotamus tetra-morph creature with an extendable, reptile-like tongue (Image.) Universe 5 had a white alicorn with red glasses and a beige mane (Image.) Universe 9 had a tall human male with a purple outfit including a mask (Image.) Universe 10 had a dark red alicorn mare with a rose mane, and Universe 11 had a four-legged deer-like white creature with a golden ring around its belly (Image.)
"Alright, everyone!" A different voice started, making everyone look up at the tall tower in the middle of the fighting stage to see a blue man with white hair and blue clothing. "Allow me to explain the rules of the Tournament of Power one last time, so everyone is aware."
Everyone stared at the man called the 'Grand Priest' as he spoke.
"This is an eighty fighter from eight universes battle royale. To win, one must knock their opponent off the arena. If someone is either knocked unconscious, collapses, or is seriously injured on the arena, you can simply drop them out of the arena in anyway shape or form, and those who are alive no matter how damaged are still considered safe. Killing is not allowed, and the time limit is 100 taks, (Luna explained that was also 48 Equestrian minutes.) The pillar at the center of the arena will descend as the 100 taks passes, reaching the floor when it's over. At the halfway point, 50 taks, the Fusion Necklaces of the Gods will be available to use. After the time limit is over, the team with the most members wins. Or, of course, one can win by being the last team standing." He finally finished. "The losing universes will be erased from existence. Good luck to all of you."
"Princess Celestia, what was that fusion thing the Grand Priest mentioned?" Starlight asked.
"To put it simply, Starlight," Celestia started to answer. "If two beings put on a Fusion Necklace, they will fuse into one entirely new being, with a new body and personality and more strength and magic than the sum of the fusion parts multiplied tens of times."
"That's... strong..." Starlight said. "If Twilight and I fused, what do you think could happen?" She asked.
"The fusion would probably be able to take my sister and I in battle by itself," Luna said calmly, despite some of the members of Universe 7 feeling overwhelmed. "It is a pretty powerful spell indeed."
"But it also means we'll lose a member of the team," Celestia said. "The fusion is powerful but does have some weaknesses in the tournament."
"How long does a fusion last?" Twilight asked.
"It's permanent," Celestia answered immediately. "We must go to the stands now," She then said. "Good luck to you all."
"And win." Discord begged before he and the alicorn sisters flew off.
Once the gods from the other universes were seated, the Grand Priest held his hand up.
"Fighters of every universe! Prepare yourselves!"
Everyone stiffened. Every universe was spaced out at the outer area of the arena.
"Let the Tournament of Power..."
It was quiet... Everyone looked at their opponents, all determined to win the tournament and get back to their home safely. All determined to save their loved ones and survive. They took their fighting stances and got ready to charge forward.
"Remember the plan, everyone." Starlight said quietly. "Stick together and use teamwork to win."
Applejack eyed Rainbow suspiciously, the rainbow-maned mare looking ready to fly away. "There's no use trying to keep Rainbow still..." Deep down, Applejack was worried this was going to be the last time she saw her friends. She thought about her little sister and her adorable smile, her older brother and his kindess. She thought about her granny and other all her other relatives, the family reunions that expressed the love their family carried. She was going to do her best to let her universe survive.
Rainbow was excited, but she couldn’t deny that she was nervous. She thought of her parents back home, all of her best friends, and her sister, Scootaloo. She couldn’t bare the thought of losing them.
Pinkie couldn’t help but think if last week’s party for Bon Bon’s birthday was going to be the last. The thought of it saddened her, but she brightened up knowing that which ever universe survived will still have their own parties somehow. She was as ready as can be for this fight.
Starlight looked at her teacher, who just stared at Spike. She worried for her. Spike insisted that he was far from his own self for what they’ve done to him, but Twilight wouldn’t hear none of it. Starlight knew that Twilight still had hope for getting her number one assistant back, and she herself hoped that it was leading her in the right direction.
Cadence and Shining had the Crystal Empire on their minds. Sunburst, Flurry Heart, the Crystal Cafe that served them free coffee and tea. They wanted to ensure their safety, to go home and embrace their foal and trot through their empire without a care, but they also knew they needed to ensure the other universes safety aswell.
Ember and Thorax could only plaster their species on their minds. The changelings and dragons they ruled over, how they knew every individual dragon and changeling name. It wasn’t just about being a species to them though, it was about being a huge family. Something that they could always turn to if they needed help. Something they could always rely on. They needed that. The way the dragons encouraged Ember before she left, and they way the changelings didn’t want Thorax to endanger himself. They weren’t a dragon hoard or a changeling hive from living solo, they were many combined into one.
After a painful silence, the Grand Priest brought his hand down. "...begin!"
Instantly, the fighters sprinted towards the middle of the arena and started clashing.
A lot of punches were being thrown left and right between different fighters. Powerful blasts of different types and colors were being thrown anywhere one could see.
"Wooooah!" The Zeno sitting on the left throne exclaimed.
"Wooooah!" The other Zeno copied.
The two Zenos watched in amazement as bright lights reflected off of their eyes. They stared as many fighters all around threw punches, kicks, and special atttacks at each other.
"Oh! I almost forgot!" The Grand Priest said. "Zeno, I have something for you!"
He gave the two small aliens a tablet with a white frame, golden edges and a touch screen.
"What is this?" The right Zeno asked.
"It's a GodPad." The Grand Priest answered. "It will help you see the list of fighters and allows you to check off any fighters that are eliminated."
"Yay!" They cheered.
"Also, they can tell you the Power Levels of any fighter you want. I hope you enjoy it." He said.
"Cool!" They yelled.
Up top on the spectator seats, the Gods of Harmony and Chaos looked down in nervousness.
"This is more than I imagined." Luna put out.
Celestia didn't reply. Instead, she looked down at her own fighters, and wished them good luck.
A small yellow mouse named Pikachu shot electricity out its cheeks.
A small kid with a Tinfoil Helmet and cape named Professor Chaos shot a yellow blast of concentrated chaos.
King Sombra shot out a black beam of dark magic.
A small floating fairy with pink swirly hair named Wanda shot a blast of magic out of her wand.
Universe 7, which, by the way, none of their team members moved yet, observed the blinding flashes.
"They're really going at it," Pinkie noted.
"Indeed," Thorax said.
Behind the group, Rainbow Dash stood low to the group and slowly walked away, before flapping her wings and flying off.
Starlight felt the wind coming from her wings and turned towards her flying form, which was getting smaller. "Rainbow?!"
"I knew it..." Applejack said with a frown.
Ember rolled her eyes and flapped her own wings, flying off in a different direction before Starlight could stop her.
Pinkie giggled. "Wait up, Dash!" She yelled before zipping away.
Spike chuckled to himself, resulting in Twilight to look at him and notice some of his green fire around his body.
She knew what that was and tried to stop him. "Spike, wait!"
But he already teleported, and she followed suit.
Starlight was in disbelief. "What happened to the plan?!" She asked/yelled at no one in particular.
Discord growled in irritation. "Those idiots! Why can't they just follow a simple plan?"
"Like you always do?" Luna remarked sarcastically.
"We can only believe in them." Celestia told. "Universe 7 is in their hooves now."
"Don't worry, Starlight," Thorax said. "We knew it was inevitable anyway."
"He's right." Applejack said. "But we can still win this! All we can do is hope they can all last out there. What we gotta do is hold our own ground as much as we can." She explained to them.
"Yeah!" Shining said. "We just have to use our strengths and come out on top with the most team members."
"What do we have to use though?" Cadence asked.
"Well..." Starlight raised a hoof to her chin. "Shining has his shields, Thorax can transform, Applejack has her strength, and Cadence and I have our powerful magic."
"I got it!" Applejack said happily. "Everyone listen closely..."
As the Tournament of Power finally starts, the members of Universe 7 begin to lose coordination. With the battle to decide which universe will survive a tough one, will this be a terrible mistake?
Which members from each universe will fall next, and which universes will be erased?
There are only 47 minutes until the end of the tournament!
Author's Note
Most people won't know or understand which fighters are who and what they look like, so I decided to make a list of all of them down here. Please take in mind I don't remember much from some other shows that I watched, and if I haven't used your favorites it either means I haven't watched it or deemed it popular enough to use.
(Half of these images aren't supported on my phone! Just kill me now!
Fighters
Universe 2: Fairly Odd Parents Universe
Timmy:
Chloe:
Wanda & Cosmo:
Jorgen:
Mr. Crocker:
Dark Laser:
Anti_Cosmo:
Foop:
Crimson Chin:
Universe 3: Spongebob Universe
Spongebob:
Patrick:
Squidward:
Sandy:
Mr. Krabs:
Plankton:
Karen:
Mermaid Man & Barcle Boy:
Larry the Lobster:
Universe 4: South Park's Universe
Stan, Kyle, Kenny, & Cartman/ Toolshed, Human Kite, Mysterion, The Coon:
Butters/Professor Chaos:
Wendy/Call Girl:
Heidi/Coon Girl:
Randy:
Tweek & Craig/ Wonder Tweek & Super Craig
Universe 6: The Alternate Universe
Fighters Unknown
Universe 9: Jimmy Neutron's Universe
Jimmy:
Sheen:
Carl:
Goddard:
Cindy:
Libby:
Professor Calamitous:
3 Robots made by Professor Calamitous:
No Pictures Available
Universe 10: Unknown Universe
Lord Tirek:
Queen Chrysalis:
King Sombra:
Changeling Leader (You guys can make a name.)
3 Changeling Royal Guards:
3 Creatures Trapped in Changeling Cocoons:
Universe 11: Pokémon Universe
Pikachu:
Mewtwo:
Charizard:
Greninja:
Snorlax:
Garchomp:
Dragonite:
Gengar:
Metagross:
Zoroark:
Gods of Harmony and Chaos:
Universe 2: Purple (Chaos), Pink (Harmony), Blue (Angel)
Universe 3:
Queen Amphitrite (Angel):
King Neptune (Chaos) & Mindy (Harmony):
Universe 4:
God (Angel):
Jesus (Harmony):
Satan (Chaos):
Universe 6:
Bonnie Zacherle (Angel):
A Draconequus (Chaos):
Alicorn Stallions (Harmony):
Universe 9:
Ultralord (Angel):
No Gods
Universe 10:
Jaysoon Thiesson (Angel): (He's an Alicorn for Plot purposes!)
Alicorn Stallion (Chaos):
Alicorn Colt (Harmony):
Universe 11:
Arceus (Angel):
Palkia (Chaos):
Dialga (Harmony):
That should be all... but I should note that the Grand Priest and both Zenos are the same from the show, despite all the other Gods and Angels being different.
Grand Preist:
Zenos:
I embed the music so that phones could also play while reading. I hope it makes a difference for thos who want it.
As always feel free to ask any questions! This fic is for fun, (and I'm having a lot of it so far!) so don't take it too seriously.
The Cartoon's Tournament of Power
Author's Note
RATED T
Some swearing in one part of the chapter.
Machines
As the tournament went underway, Twilight appeared in a purple flash somewhere near the edge of the arena. She could hear the loud sounds of combat towards the center and felt the arena shaking from the forces. But she was too frustrated to even comprehend how intense it truly was because she lost track of Spike. She cursed at herself for failing to follow his teleport correctly due to the different type of magic and now she was by herself, alone.
She wasn’t too worried, however. She knew Spike could hold his own just fine, and they would probably meet again later. She was more worried about her other teammates as she just left without warning. She trusted them, but she didn’t want them to run into trouble while she was gone.
As she contemplated, her thoughts were interrupted by a red laser heading her way. She shrieked and activated her horn quickly, managing to get a shield up just in time to block the attack, and despite saving herself she still flinched and shut her eyes.
The beam disintegrated, and when she got a good view she noticed three grey robots standing in front of her. The robots had red eyes and two arms and legs. All three of them had red glowing antennas on their heads and steam flowing out of their vent mouths.
Twilight also noticed a small bald old man with goggles and a lab coat, sporting black gloves, grey eyebrows, and a mustache.
“Greetings, alien... horse... thing." He said. "It is I, er... Professor Calamitous!”
Twilight raised her brows in alarm as rotated her vision between the three robots and the Professor like a small puppy in danger.
The professor held a small remote control in his hands. Before she could say anything back or take any action, Calamitous pushed a stick on his remote, and all the robot started to fire lasers once again targetting her.
Twilight teleported out of harm's way while thinking to herself, "I should group up with the others, I shouldn't have tried to follow Spike anyways and stook to the plan."
She tried to sprint back towards her teammates, but the robots flew in front of her with rockets below their feet.
"Sorry," Calamitous said. "But I can't let you, er... escape, I need my, erm... universe to survive too you know." He pushed a button on his remote.
With them blocking their path, Twilight knew she couldn't just trot past them freely. She would have to stand her ground and hope for an opening.
The robot on the left fired a beam.
Twilight jumped to her right to dodge and fired a purple beam back through her horn. But instead of landing like she hoped it would, the robot in the middle dashed in front of Twilight's target and held up its arms, eliciting a red barrier.
While Twilight wasn't looking, the third robot managed to get behind her and fire a beam at her, but she heard it and reacted quickly, putting up a barrier of her own.
"Grand Zeno," The Grand Preist started above where the thrones were placed. He stood on a floating platform in front of the thrones. "Please take a look at your GodPads."
The Grand Zeno's looked down at their screens, which had the list of universes partaking in the tournament currently being displayed.
"You can see the universes and fighters that are and aren't knocked out yet," He explained. "But also, go over to the Power Level app and have a look. It will tell you the current level of power of any being on the stage and who they are currently fighting."
The Zeno's hummed to themselves as they looked at the app. They stared down at Twilight facing off against Calamitous's robots, and after a few seconds decided to select Twilight's smiling picture on the app.
The screen changed from the selection of fighters to Twilight's page, with a picture of her, her name, and a number below.
Twilight Sparkle: 1200 Robot A: 1000 Robot B: 1000 Robot C: 1000 Professor Calamitous: 100
"What do the numbers mean?" One of the Zenos asked the Grand Priest.
"That is Miss. Sparkle's power level." He explained kindly.
Zeno looked at him blankly for a moment before the other one asked, "Is she strong?"
"In comparison, your power level is ten million." He said. "But watch closely, I think something interesting will happen soon."
Back with the rest of Universe 7, they were surrounded beside the central pillar by six Universe 9 members called Jimmy, Goddard, Sheen, Carl, Cindy, and Libby. The kids wore robotic armor, designed by Jimmy, and were looking to throw out Universe 7.
Jimmy: 800 Goddard: 1500 Sheen: 700 Carl: 500 Cindy: 800 Libby 800
Starlight: 1000 Applejack: 700 Thorax: 7000 Shining Armor: 800 Cadence: 4000
"This must be the universe with humans, no magic, but more advanced technology that Princess Celestia explained about." Starlight thought.
"These fighting suits better work, Nerd -tron." The blond girl named Cindy Vortex said with attitude to the boy called Jimmy Neutron.
The kids had on grey and black armor-suits. With various gadgets all around the arms, body, and legs.
Starlight noticed that their enemies were getting ready to charge at them, and shouted, "Remember the formation, everyone!"
Using rockets on below their shoes, Cindy and Libby charged forward swiftly, but before they reached Universe 7, Thorax stepped on the frontlines and shape-shifted into a rhinoceros. Applejack's voice echoed in his head, "Thorax, try and turn into something that can defend us, something really big that can block attacks."
Shining Armor acted quickly and lit up his horn pointing towards Thorax. "Shining, you can help make Thorax more durable so he doesn't hurt himself defending us." His blue shielding magic surrounded Thorax like a sheet of armor.
Thorax stood his ground as Cindy and Libby failed in their attempt to hurt him with a rocket punch.
"While Thorax and Shining are defending us, Cadence and Starlight can use their magic to hit them from afar!"
Cadence flew to stand on top of Thorax and fired a beam downwards towards the two girls. They noticed this however and used the rockets on their boots to jump to safety. The magic beam hit the floor and made a small crater.
Carl snuck around Thorax without him noticing and engaged on a defenseless Shining Armor, who was in the middle of casting his spell.
"I'll stand in the middle of y'all, in case one of them gets through Thorax and Shining's defenses."
Carl began his attack on Shining with a rocket punch directed at his face, but before he landed his punch Applejack bucked him away. "Keep it up y'all! We're doing great!"
Starlight eyed Sheen, who was inspecting his own gear and not paying attention to the battle his universe was fighting in. She aimed her horn at him and fired, but her magic proved ineffective as Jimmy jumped in front of him and activated a shield on his chestplate.
"This won't be as easy as I thought." Starlight thought.
Ember crossed her arms as she flew high in the air, looking left and right to find anyone to fight.
She noticed a giant Lobster fighting some type of ghost, and a yellow mouse in combat with a tall man with dark clothing holding some kind a beam sword thing.
But she didn't want to intrude on any of those fights, she didn't want a threeway fight or some nonsense like that, she needed to get into a fight in the enemy's favor so she could prove her strength.
She then came across some small humans from universe 4, some of them seemed to be angry.
She landed near them, close enough to watch and listen but far enough to not be noticed just yet.
The kid with the kite on his back seemed to be the most angered.
"So we need to save the world and that fatass just ditches us! Just great, the one time we actually need him to cooperate!" He yelled in a high pitched voice.
"It's fine, Human Kite." Toolshed, the boy with a bunch of tools, said comfortably. "We don't need him."
"I wouldn't mind, dude. But he took Butters with him and she also followed. Your dad is nowhere to be seen and we're basically outnumbered."
"Professor Chaos(Butters) is one of our strongest." Super Craig mentioned in his monotone voice. "And your dad is pretty dangerous when he's drunk."
"Yeah," Toolshed agreed, "But we can still work together an- hey is that a dragon?" He pointed, and all of their heads turned to Ember, who had her arms crossed while she stood quietly.
Toolshed: 2500 Human Kite: 2500 Mysterion: 3000 Call Girl: 3000 Super Craig: 2000 Wonder Tweek: 2000
Ember: 5000
"Oh, shit." Human Kite said in shock.
"Are you all done talking to each other? 'Cause I'm ready for some action!" Ember said.
The boy in a black cloak and underwear over his pants took a fighting position. "Freedom Pals, let's do this!" Mysterion said in his deep voice as the rest of them took their fighting positions.
Ember uncrossed her arms and opened her jaw to blow fire at the group of kids, and the Human Kite replied with his own type of ranged assault with eye lasers. Their attacks collided and underneath the smoke created Mysterion ran forward with purple mist flowing around and behind him. He jumped up to Ember's level and punched her twice with both of his fists.
Ember growled and jumped back, blowing some fireballs instead of a flame.
The Human Kite stood forward and took on the fireballs head-on using his kite as a shield. To Ember's surprise and irritation he was unscathed because of the protection of the shield.
Super Craig and Wonder Tweek held hands and fired middle fingers and electricity respectively, their two attacks combined to create a middle finger storm heading for Ember. She growled and blew fire at their ridiculous attempt to beat her with the intention of stopping their massive ranged barrage. She realized her mistake when Toolshed rushed up to her quickly and aimed a screwdriver at her and released a force from it, knocking her off her feet slightly and forcing her to stop breathing fire.
Super Craig/Wonder Tweek: 7000
When she perceived that she couldn't dodge, Ember brought her arms up at an attempt to block the attack or at the very least try and lessen the damage.
She underestimated the small humans.
Twilight saw a pattern in the three robots she was fighting against.
Robot A and B were attacking robots, which attacked her relentlessly, and Robot C was a defender, who put up barriers constantly to protect the other two.
The area around her was all rubble now from all the attacks by the robots and herself. The professor took a spot on top of a piece of debris with his controller. He laughed evilly as he toyed with the remote and commanded his robots to attack again.
Twilight brought up another barrier again and blocked their red beams, she then fired her own magic but it proved to be useless as Robot C defended against it once again.
"Having trouble are we?"
Twilight hummed in annoyance at the professors taunt, before jumping again to dodge another beam.
She then shrieked as she was thrown back at the cause of some mysterious winds. She was thrown through a rock pile and could only protect herself by putting a small barrier of magic around her, as she spun in midair she got a glance at something blue before knocking into it.
She groaned as she rubbed her temples and tried to control her dizziness. She laid on some soft blue fur, and at first, she thought she crashed into Rainbow Dash, but when she was abruptly thrown off the person and shoved to the floor, she realized she landed on a different pony, one she didn't recognize.
For starters, it was a stallion, the same height as her. She gasped at the wings and horn of the blue pony and stood up immediately, ready for anything. As an alicorn, this pony could be as strong as Celestia for all she knew. And speaking of the sun princess, Twilight recalled her speaking of an alternate universe to theirs'. This stallion must be from that universe.
The stallion stared back at her with no clear emotion in his blue eyes. He took one step forward making Twilight flinch. He flared his wings menacingly and charged his horn, getting ready to attack.
Twilight responded by charging her own horn.
Dynamo: 8000
"You're either insane..." He started in his deep voice, making Twilight raise her eyebrows in surprise.
"...or really brave."
He didn't move, not even to point his horn at her. But Twilight knew he was about to do something, and planned on using her own magic at that moment.
But a red beam barely missing her head interrupted her.
"Did you forget about me?"
Twilight turned her body towards the professor and his robot with her horn charged, and to her utmost confusion, the stallion now behind her turned his attention to the other two robots in the other direction.
The two ponies glanced at each other with furrowed eyebrows, they both knew what the other was thinking.
Robot's A and B fired at Twilight and her temporary ally, who both put up a purple and indigo magical shields simultaneously.
"I'll take that one!" The stallion said pointing towards the one in front of him before Twilight could warn him about their method of defense. He rushed up to Robot B and fired a magic blast at it, only for robot C to abruptly appear in front of it and put up a barrier.
She widened her eyes because that was when Twilight noticed something. If robot C was occupied with protecting robot B, then robot A would be open to an attack.
To test her theory, she immediately teleported to robot A's rear and fired a concentrated beam at its back. She watched as the beam easily traveled towards the robot, and to her delight, it went pierced through the metal bot. She then used her magic to drag the robot off the stadium.
The professor watched it all happen as well. "Impossible! Where's the, er... defense unit?!"
Twilight chuckled at the Professor's frustration and teleported to her temporary ally.
Shockingly, she saw he had both robots down on the ground utterly defeated.
"Well he is an alicorn." She whispered to herself.
The stallion glanced at her for a second before flapping his wings and flying up to the rock where the sweating professor stoodand picked him up with his magic easily.
"W-wai-! Ahhhh! "
Before he could protest the professor was thrown out of the arena.
"Professor Calamitous and his three robot units from universe 9 have been eliminated!" The Grand Priest announced loudly to everyone, and the Zeno's ticked off the eliminated members on their godpads, making them colorless on the screen.
After falling for a couple of seconds, Professor Calamitous and his three robots suddenly teleported up to the stands. The professor sat down and groaned, holding his head in his hands..
"That was... pretty easy," Twilight summarized.
She quickly remembered, however, that the one that assisted her was not on her team.
And she felt like the assistant.
She turned towards the alicorn stallion, who dropped down to her level using his wings. They stared at each other quietly for some time, before he asked,
"What's your name?"
She blinked with her mouth agape, before getting back her senses and answering, "I'm Twilight Sparkle."
He nodded, reminding himself not to forget her name. "I'm Dynamo. Nice to meet you, Twilight."
Twilight blinked and stare, dumbfounded. "S-same!" She caught herself. "You're from universe 6?" She asked.
He nodded. "You must be from our alternate universe. I forgot there was a possibility I'd see one of your universe's ponies from there."
Twilight agreed. "Anyways, I have to go find my team... if you don't mind." She said nervously.
He thought about it for a second, to Twilight, it seemed he was about to attempt to knock her off right then and there. "I don't." He suddenly said. "Go and find them. Try not to bump into me this time." He joked without a smile on his face which uneased Twilight.
She was surprised he was letting her go off without causing trouble. He must have had a good reason to, otherwise she would have to transform and waste her power early on. Something she was against doing. "I won't. Thanks." He turned away and she quickly trotted off not wanting to take any chances of him changing his mind.
"Larry from universe 3 has been eliminated!" The Grand Priest shouted.
"Boop!" The left Zeno said as he tapped on Larry's icon under universe 3's list.
After disappearing off the arena, the lobster was teleported up to the stands next to a growling King Neptune.
"People are getting ringed out quick." Starlight thought in alarm after hearing the Grand Priest. She took her gaze off of universe 9 for a moment to look over at her own allies. Everyone seemed to be fine, doing their respective jobs in defending against the opponent. But she noticed that every ten seconds or so, Thorax would look over in a certain direction far from their current opponents in what looked like to be worry. She didn't question him just yet about it, and instead focused her attention back on universe 9.
Cindy was getting frustrated by the minute. Every time she would try and fight universe 7, the giant bug would transform into something huge and she wouldn't be able to pass by it. In her previous attempt to try to attack, the bug transformed into a bull and knocked her away. If she didn't have Jimmy's battle suit on, she would have been severely injured.
Coming up with an idea on the spot, she ordered Carl and Sheen to charge at universe 7, whispering to Libby about sneaking around while they were distracted. And as the bug was distracted, this time a buffalo, Libby and her circled around and attempted to engage on the white horse.
But she was blasted away yet again by the pink pony.
She was thrown back a few feet away, feeling a bit dizzy after landing on her back. After rubbing her temples, she looked up to see Jimmy extending his hand. She smiled and took it, letting him pull her to her feet. "Thanks." She said.
"No problem."
Just as he said that, Libby landed beside them on her butt. "Ow!"
"They have a good strategy." Jimmy said. "They've made sure their weak points were lessened dramatically. And we can't get a good engage to fight them properly."
"So the question is, how do we beat them?" Libby asked as Cindy helped her up.
"Let me think of something."
Starlight noticed for what seemed like the hundreth time now that Thorax looked in that same direction. "Is there something wrong, Thorax?" She asked with concern.
Thorax turned his head at her sharply, startled a bit. "Oh! It's nothing!" He laughed nervously.
"I saw some unreformed changelings in that direction? Does that have to do with anything?"
"...Maybe."
Starlight looked in the direction they noticed the changelings, then back at Thorax with thoughts in her mind.
Eventually, she said. "Do what you think needs to be done."
"And what do you think that is?" Thorax asked with curiosity.
"If you want to confront and talk to them, it's fine." She said, looking back at universe 9 talking and stretching. "I think we can hold our own, no one else seems to be coming after us and they haven't gotten near to breaking our defenses just yet."
"Are you sure."
"Positive! We should be fine with Shining's shields." She said before Shining abruptly jumped in front of her and put up a shield to block a punch, this one from Carl as he made a weird warcry. "Go!" She said, lighting her horn and firing.
Thorax nodded and left the group, rushing through many fighters.
But not without apologizing first.
Rainbow yawned mockingly to herself. "This is boring!" She yelled to no one in particular. With her luck, she didn't find anyone to fight yet. Those she did find was already fighting, their minds deep in concentration.
She would join the fight, but she wanted to warm up first, a nice spar with someone one on one, or at least a few weak people.
She looked left and right with frustration before yelling, "Someone fight me!"
It was then her ears picked up some people talking below her.
It sounded like... arguing.
What she saw was a krab yelling at a computer. But as she inspected further, she noticed he was actually yelling at some small green thing. She didn't know what creature it was, she wasn't Fluttershy, or whatever a pony that studies aliens are called.
The small green guy stood on top of the computer with wheels, while the krab stood beside a bored squid.
She landed a fair distance away and started stretching while they continued.
"We're at a war, and you didn't even bring weapons?!" Plankton yelled.
Guy has a loud mouth for being tiny, Rainbow thought.
"I don't need weapons like you when I have me claws!" Mr. Krabs said.
"An idiot like you can't even use 'em!"
"Try me!"
Rainbow stared at them for some seconds quietly, looking back and forth occasionally. Before humming to herself and thinking of an idea to approach and fight them. She bet she could take on all four at once.
An idea sparked in her head. It was the most brilliant thing ever!
"Hey!"
They stopped arguing and looked over.
She turned and shook her butt at them, blowing a raspberry.
Mr. Krabs and Plankton growled.
Mr. Krabs: 800 Squidward: 300 Plankton: 100 Karen: 800
Rainbow: 800
"Let's do this you rainbow seahorse!" Plankton said while cracking his hands, at which rainbow wondered how that was even possible.
"Let's." She responded with a smirk.
There are only 46 minutes until the end of the tournament!
