Get out of school, I DARE YOU!
The Cube of Gaming- One of the latest breakthroughs in gaming technology. Being a person who had supernatural gaming powers, Nathan was the creator of the magnificent invention. It was like virtual reality- But think of it as a literally realistic environment you’re dealing with.
The usage of this plaything is simple. Just load up the game you want to play on the system of the 50 by 50 by 50 cube, and start the game to begin the adventure. This device automatically sucks you into the game itself, and you can play as any character as you wish. It was like virtual reality, but you are actually IN the game. You are the character, you make your move, and most importantly, you suffer the trouble in the game. Thankfully, it is now developed to a point where you will not feel injuries, as there will be a secret shield to protect you from your actual body.
Users customize the way they play- What game they want, how long they play it for, and for the wildest players, completing a certain objective before they can return to the actual world. It can be dangerous- But some still do it and get out alive.
The ponies have never experienced something like this before- How will they face the more advanced, more powerful and more hardcore players of the human world?
Let’s find out.
Games Ponies Play: Number Basics
*Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiing*
The sound of the after school bell of the Ponyville Schoolhouse rang in the lovely afternoon. Everypony just finished math lessons and found it difficult to understand the knowledge they’ve learned.
The crusaders met up after school.
“Is it just me, or is math getting way to hard for us to understand at this point?” Scootaloo asked.
Sweetie Belle nodded. “No kidding. I mean, I’m okay if you teach me about shapes but definitely not algebraic stuff! Ughhh, and it’s only going to get harder!”
Cheerilee walked over.
“Hey girls,” She greeted them. “What’s the matter?”
Apple Bloom sighed. “Nothin’, Miss Cheerilee. It’s just that it was difficult to understand all the mathematical equations and whatnot. We kinda have a lot of trouble.”
The teacher thought for a bit and had a brilliant idea.
“You know, I heard about Nathan’s invention,” She told them. “Maybe... Maybe you’ll find a game that suits you?”
The crusaders looked to each other.
“That’s actually a great idea!” Scootaloo said.
“Yeah! Learning through video games is both entertaining and effective, from what I know,” Sweetie Belle said. “And I think I found a good game recently!”
Apple Bloom was already very excited. “Well then what are we waitin’ for!? Let’s go!”
As the three galloped away, Cheerilee got a phone call from the inventor Nathan.
“Is the plan going well?” He asked.
“Mhmm, they’re coming over now.”
When the three got over to Twilight’s Castle, they actually wanted to find Twilight first so that she could possibly help them with all the things they learned. However, they looked about for a while and she was nowhere to be seen. In the midst of searching, they ran into Nathan.
“Hello, Apple Bloom,” He said with a smile. “You looking for someone?”
She giggled as he kneeled down to pat her head. “Where’s Princess Twilight? The crusaders and I have been looking everywhere for her!”
The other two caught up.
“We got some questions to ask her, about math,” Scootaloo explained.
Nathan made an interested hum.
“Interesting,” He said. “Well, actually... *clears throat* I, uh... I think I messed up and did something to her? Just... Follow me.”
The crusaders followed him to his secret lab. And in it, was The Cube, his magnificent invention. He picked it up and sighed.
“I think she’s in here.”
“What!?” The three all gasped.
“Where did you sent her to!?” Sweetie Belle questioned.
Nathan thought for a little. Then, with a smirk, he did something that he normally wouldn’t do- He chose a certain game and said:
“I hope you have the bravery for this game! Good luck!”
He initiated the Cube, and the three crusaders, not knowing what was going on, were sucked into it with loud screams. A few seconds later, it stopped and Nathan started laughing.
“Hehe, sorry girls. And sorry, Twilight.”
He left The Cube on its own- Displaying the game he put them into: Baldi’s Basics.
********
“Whoaaaaa!!”
The trio all screamed as they were transferring from reality into the infamous math game of Baldi’s Basics in Education and Learning. Soon, a portal kicked in and dropped them into a school. The decoration was pretty simple- Just a bunch of white walls, red lockers, the usual stuff.
The three woke up.
“Where... Where are we?” Scootaloo asked, getting off of her friends. “Are you girls okay?”
Apple Bloom moaned. “What did Nathan just do?”
Sweetie Belle looked around. She recognized the familiar decor, the familiar place they dropped in, and it only took her a few seconds to realize what they’re in for.
“Oh no... G-Girls... This isn’t the game I was expecting... We gotta get outta here before-“
SLAP
The three turned to the corridors.
SLAP SLAP SLAP
The sound drew near. The trio was scared and huddled up together, back-to-back.
“What’s going on?” Apple Bloom asked.
Scootaloo was sweating. “I don’t like that sound... It sounds... Menacing!”
As the slapping continued, all of a sudden, glitching sounds happened and in front of them, stood a familiar, infamous face. He had a strange look- He was bald, had an oddly shaped mouth, and he was twice as tall as the fillies. He wore a green shirt and blue trousers.
“Welcome to Baldi’s Basics!” The man said with a distinct accent. “The name’s Mr.Baldi, and now, it’s time for everybody’s favorite subject- Math! Follow me!”
He proceeded to enter the middle hallway and took the first classroom.
“Anypony have any idea what just happened?” Apple Bloom spoke up.
Sweetie Belle was already in fear.
“That’s the infamous teacher in this game,” She explained. “We gotta answer his questions obediently or else we’re gonna get spanked by his ruler!”
Scootaloo gasped. “Spanked!? Is that even a punishment you can get anymore!?”
“I dunno,” Apple Bloom replied. “But, as she just said, we gotta make sure we answer all his questions correctly. Now come on! Let’s go!”
The three walked into the first classroom in the hallway. Mr. Baldi was waiting for them.
“Welcome, fellow students!” He said. “If you wish to leave school happily, you better answer everything I ask correctly! On the teacher’s desk over there, you’ll see a red notebook. Once you’ve completed it, you’ll be graded and you can take the notebook! But don’t test me- And don’t get the questions wrong, or else...”
He slapped his ruler onto his palm hard. This startled the Crusaders.
“Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir!” The three said in unison.
“Good!” The teacher said. “Now, if you’d excuse me, I must leave to attend to some... other business. Do not cause any mayhem. You’re always on my watch.”
He gave them a menacing stare, then walked off. The moment he left, the first notebook spawned on the teacher’s desk. Sweetie Belle picked up the stationary on the same desk and levitated the notebook. But as soon they saw the questions, they started moaning.
“Seriously!?” She said. “I’m not here to learn basic addition, okay!?”
“Yeah! What’s this all about??” Scootaloo complained. “And we were feeling so scared, too!”
Apple Bloom helped them to calm down and took the seat as Sweetie Belle left it. “Hey, think of this way: Sweetie Belle, you know this game, right?”
“Not too much, but... It is a horror game.”
“Well, the good thing is that this game would be easy as apple pie! We could totally ace these questions!” Apple Bloom said. “I’ll just write the answers, then...”
The questions were very simple- Just basic calculation. Nothing special. The weirdest part was that there were only three questions in the book. Because of this, the filly finished them right away. Once completed, the book closed itself and levitated.
“Wow! You exist! Well done!” Baldi’s voice said through the speakers. “Take the notebook and proceed to the next classroom. Also, please accept this quarter. It should spawn pronto.”
The coin dropped on the desk with a clink sound. She picked up the coin and put it in her inventory.
“Come on, girls,” she said. “Let’s move on to the next class.”
When they entered the next classroom down the hall, they spotted the second notebook, colored in blue. This time the questions were a tad bit more difficult, questions about areas and volumes and stuff.
“I’ll take this one,” Scootaloo said confidently.
Once again, 3 questions. Should be really simple, that's what the crusaders thought. They needed to work together a bit, though. Just a bit. Yes, it wasn't like they had to calculate stuff out of their potential, like the volume of a sphere yet, but they were still fillies, so what did you expect?
It looked normal- Until...
"What kind of gibberish is this!?" Scootaloo yelled.
At the corner, Sweetie Belle was seemingly dozing off, and Apple Bloom was holding her head up with her hoof on a nearby seat. When they went to look at the notebook, their friend wasn't lying when she said that- All they could see was a bunch of numbers that are impossible to read because there were a lot of unnecessary symbols scribbled over it. It's not even in the right place- And this ain't a calculus question if that's what you thought.
"Huh?" Apple Bloom said, completely confused. "I can't even see what the question is clearly!"
Sweetie Belle was scratching her head. "I can't either! Hey Mr. Baldi, there's a flaw-"
"AH AH AH!" The teacher screamed through the speakers. "YOU ANSWER THAT QUESTION!"
"But-" Scootaloo protested until she was cut off.
"I HEAR EVERY DOOR YOU OPEN!"
SLAP
"Alright, then," The teacher grumbled. "You want to play a game with me? Fine. Try getting all my notebooks, I DARE YOU! You would NEVER leave this school, you despicable students!"
The book closed with an F grade marked on it, along with the glitching sounds of the speakers. Sweetie Belle picked up the notebook and kept it in her inventory, so even if one gets caught, they will still have some of the books left. The three rushed to the door.
"We gotta get the rest of these notebooks quick!" She cried. "Come on, girls!"
They opened the door and looked around to make sure no one's around. Then they started to rush off into the corridors of the school, keeping their enemy radar on maximum alert by always looking in all directions while making their every move. Near the entrance to the cafeteria, they encountered their first challenge. A huge, tall figure wearing an orange T-shirt and blue trousers blocked the path.
"Howdy, Mr.Big Guy," Apple Bloom said as they bumped into him. "There's a super weird and abusive teacher chasing the hay outta us right now, please let us go through so we can get the next few books?"
But he didn't care.
"Not my problem," He retorted, even pushing the crusaders out of the way. "I can do whatever I want."
"Oof! Hey, what was that for!?" Scootaloo yelled.
Before she could yell more, Sweetie Belle covered her mouth. "Stop! It's a bully! He's not gonna let us through! We gotta find another-"
SLAP
"*gasp* The teacher's coming!" Apple Bloom cried. "Oh, I don't want to get killed! I know it's a video game but- Ahhhh!!"
SLAP SLAP
Scootaloo growled. "Hey! Let us through!"
"Only for the right price," The bully replied. "Otherwise you give me no reason to. You refuse? Then too bad."
He was cracking his knuckles, pushing the worried crusaders back. The slapping of Mr. Baldi's ruler also drew near. When Sweetie Belle peeked into the hallway, he was no further than 15 meters away from their corner. The three shivered and refused to move back any further.
ZAAAAAAAP
All of a sudden, the bully was sent flying over them to the other side of the crusaders. They were confused until they looked to their left.
"Come on!" Twilight called out, taking the fillies with her. "Follow me!"
The three were beyond delighted to see the princess, but this was no time to celebrate- They followed and rushed down the hall with Twilight. They turned a few corners until they came face-to-face with probably the one annoying person and the last one they would want to see.
"No running in the halls," The principal of the school said.
The four stopped dead, and with quick thinking, Twilight called the crusaders inside the classroom on their left and shut the door. To ensure their safety, the princess even cheated and locked the door with magic. This resulted in the principal banging on the door with no success at all.
"Ugh, stupid hackers!" He yelled. "Let me tell you, cheaters should never prevail!"
A second later, he left the four in the room alone. Everypony sighed in relief, including the princess herself. But it wasn't upon 10 seconds until that happened when the Crusaders jumped over to hug their beloved protector and friend, Twilight Sparkle.
"Phew! Thank you, princess!" Scootaloo cried, nuzzling against Twilight's body.
Sweetie Belle sighed in complete bliss. "Yeah... Thank you so much!"
Twilight was a little bit surprised by how relieved they were. After giving a few more cuddles and giggles, they all let go to let Twilight explain things.
“So it was true!” Apple Bloom pointed out. “We wanted to come and find you to solve a few math problems, princess!”
“Yeah!” Scootaloo followed. “And Nathan told us you were in here!”
Upon mentioning what happened, Twilight wasn’t all that happy. She was a bit annoyed and she sighed.
“*sigh* Sorry girls,” Twilight sighed. “I didn’t want you to get pulled into this either. Ugh, I’m totally gonna get Nathan back and yell at him once we beat the game.”
She flashed the crusaders a cold smile.
“But, of course, he’s my best friend, so I’m not going to go that hard on him,” She giggled. “Just a friendly little quarrel and fight between us.”
The crusaders laughed.
“Well, at least the cutie mark crusaders now have a force to be reckoned with!” Apple Bloom said confidently. “We’re not gonna surrender to that teacher so easily, right girls?”
They all nodded.
“Lucky for you all,” Twilight said, opening her inventory. “I did already get most of the books we need to complete the game. Do you have any?”
The group put all the notebooks they’ve collected onto a desk. There were six of them- Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Cyan, and purple. One to go.
“We still need one more...” Scootaloo said, thinking.
Then, by sheer coincidence, Sweetie Belle caught something special on the teacher’s desk.
“There! The seventh notebook!” She said in cheer.
She pointed towards that desk- A notebook colored in black. Twilight knew- Since this was the last book, it had to be the hardest. So the princess insisted she tackled the questions as fast as she possibly could, while the crusaders held the door in case her spell stopped working. She was right- The questions were calculus questions. No way would the crusaders be able to do it on their own.
She did the first two, skipped the gibberish one at the end, and closed the book, which sucked into her inventory automatically. Then, sirens ringed around the whole school.
“Congratulations!” Mr. Baldi said. “You found all seven notebooks! And now, all you have to do is...”
All the walls turned red. The fillies started to panic, while Twilight tried to stay calm. Then, a voice loud as thunder boomed from the speakers and were so loud, they almost broke.
“GET OUT WHILE YOU STILL CAN!”
“Owwww!!” Sweetie Belle cried. “That’s so loud!”
Scootaloo gasped. “No time! We need to get out of here!”
Twilight nodded and followed. “Right, to the school entrance, and hurry!”
*******
Once again, the four took off as fast their hooves could take them, and off they went down the corridors. They made sure to avoid the principal this time, so they don't get sent to detention. Yes, Twilight's a principal herself but that's how the game works, so all she could do was to play along.
Again, they hear the familiar SLAP down the halls! And 'round the corner, stood the teacher.
"GET OVER HERE!" He yelled.
Scootaloo growled. "Hey! Wrong game! Get your quotes-"
"Scoots! This ain't time for jokes!" Apple Bloom snapped at her. "And he's coming, too!"
All of a sudden, loud banging sounds were heard from around another corner right next to the group. When Twilight peeked, she saw someone familiar and had a smile. He came over with a weird contraption.
"GOTTA SWEEP SWEEP SWEEP!!!"
"*gasp* Everypony! Hold tight!" Twilight said.
The fillies held onto her in a hug, and when the man came storming in front of them, he took the group of four with him! His sweeping device enabled fast travel for the players!
"Wheeeeee!" Sweetie giggled. "This is fun!"
Eventually, they got off at another corner when he crashed, and continued to escape. They finally got to the door that led to the new main lobby, after numerous attempts at finding the entrance but failing as the map changed. However, they were once more stopped by an infamous kid.
It was Playtime.
"Let's Play!" She chuckled, hopping and skipping as she did her rope skipping.
The group of four looked at each other.
"So..." Twilight asked, tapping her chin. "You girls good at this? There's no passing her until we finish playing with her."
The crusaders immediately beamed. They loved rope-skipping at school and this was an awesome time for them to shine. Playtime could only watch in amazement as the three cooperated together in perfect harmony. Taking turns to skip around, even duplicating the ropes to show off their tricks, the fillies were just so in sync.
The kid couldn't stop jumping and clapping in excitement.
"Oh my! I've never seen anyone so amazing at what I do best!" Playtime cheered. "Do more! Do More!"
SLAP
"*gasp* No!" Scootaloo cried.
But the child felt brave- She wanted to thank the fillies for their effort. She turned and said:
"Go! Go escape! I'll hold him off!"
She ran away. Unable to speak another word, the four unlocked the door to the lobby with the key Twilight had, and rushed into it, almost tripping on each other. They galloped to the main entrance, and victory was in sight. All Twilight had to do now, was to unlock the final door with her key- The key turned, the lock dropped, her hoof was on the door...
BANG!
"Ahh!" Twilight cried, her hoof bruised and being pulled away from the handle. The fillies also tried to reach over there.
BANG BANG BANG!
And what followed was a massive cryfest of the young fillies as Mr. Baldi grabbed them from behind. He spanked them hard with his devilish ruler, right on their bottom. Twilight couldn't do anything either- The game mechanics prevented her from being able to open the door now that they're caught.
"I told you," The teacher roared. "I can hear every door you open... and every time you all got one question wrong, I GET MORE MAD!"
SPANK
"Owwwww!!!" Apple Bloom cried.
Sweetie Belle was crying. "Please! Stop it!!"
But Baldi would not show remorse. Then, Twilight stood up.
"Your questions were hideously flawed!"
The teacher just smashed Scootaloo when he heard it. He was furious.
"I beg your PARDON!?"
Now even the princess is scared.
"I, am Mr. Baldi. The world's most powerful teacher," He explained, spanking Twilight hard. She let out a cry. "I'm not your average staff like yours, princess. I know your teachers are complete trash- Only disciplinary actions must be taken against despicable ones like you. What lovely excuses you're making to avoid my wrath."
He continued to slap his ruler.
"Accept it. GAME OVER."
SLAM
"NOT YET!" Someone boomed.
"What!?"
Slamming open the door, almost breaking it, was none other than the big bully himself.
"I've despised you from day one, Mr. Baldi," He said. "And though I do bully for fun, there are boundaries I know anyone- Especially teachers, should never cross."
He went up to the frowning teacher and slapped him. The teacher gasped and slammed him back with his ruler. He would've killed him right then and there, but...
SWEEPSWEEPSWEEPSWEEPSWEEP!
The sweeping man quickly went into combat and pushed him away. The teacher resisted hard and tried to fight the incoming force. That was until Playtime whipped him from behind with her skipping rope. She held it in a way that looked like she was holding nunchucks.
"*giggling* You think just because I'm a playful child, I don't have a taste for self-defense?"
The allied members of the school began using their own skills to their advantage. The bully was using his strength to deliver the punches, Playtime continued to strike him from a distance while the sweeper rammed against the man's body. All of those actions prevented him from harming the players, and the four, still laying down from the pain, watched in amazement of the humbling act.
"Alright!" The principal walked into the commotion, and everyone stopped. "What in absolute tarnation is going on here!?"
Everyone on the good side of the fight eyeballed each other from left to right.
"Ahem, boss," Mr. Baldi said, "These people seem to have caused a bit off a... Misdemeanor. I ask that you-"
At this point, everycreature has had enough of him trying to be innocent. They all screamed:
"JUST FIRE HIM!"
The principal tilted his head but then gave a reassuring smile. He nodded.
"Actually... I've thought about it," He said.
"WHAT!?" Baldi retorted. "YOU'RE KIDDING!"
The principal shook his head. "I've noticed the trouble you've been causing amongst the students. Your actions are out of control; No teacher would ever do this. Now, would you please kindly follow me, or else!"
But Baldi didn't want to, and threw a hissy fit at him, screaming swear words loudly and insulting the top level staff. Now, even he could stand this unbelievably resistant man of nothing but pure evil.
"ENOUGH!" He roared.
He tried to grab the spanking weapon, but Baldi was fierce and defended. Until the Bully did an uppercut that knocked him down. Then, the sweeper pushed hard with all his might against Baldi, and Playtime made threatening gestures while reassuring the group's safety. Finally, the principal took the ruler and proceeded to march and drag the man away.
After making sure he was down, Playtime was kind enough to help the four open the entrance door for them to leave the school and win the game. The four gasped.
"He's doomed, guys," Playtime said with a smile. "Leave this place, just go!"
The four got up, and the crusaders went over to tackle the kid in a big group hug, filled with many giggles and nuzzling.
"Thank you guys for saving us!" Scootaloo cheered.
"Yeah!" Sweetie followed. "That was torture!"
When they let go, Apple Bloom, as the leader of the CMC, expressed her best gratitude quickly and the three left in a rush. Finally, Twilight Sparkle went up to the child to give another warm hug.
"What you just did, even though we're not friends..." She said, smiling. "It was very humbling. You've done us proud."
Playtime chuckled.
"No, thank you!" She laughed, letting go. "We'll keep him away. Just make sure to return so we can play together again! Hehehe!"
Twilight blushed and rolled her eyes.
"Ha, well..." She stuttered, shyly. "That's a maybe for now. Bye!"
********
"NATHAN!!!"
Twilight roared at her best friend the second she saw him back at the lab.
"Uh... Hey, Twi..." Nathan said, blushing hard. "I-I see y-you girls have beaten th-the game. W-Well done! Hahaha... Oh, Celestia please save me."
His voice dwindled off into a sad mood. Twilight signaled the crusaders to leave since she was about to get real mad. She already was. So they did as they were told.
"Why would you do that to me!?" Twilight yelled. "He's much more intimidating than you think, y'know!!"
Nathan was backed into a corner.
"No no no! Please, hear me out, Twi!" He protested in fear. "I didn't want to target you, believe me!"
She tilted her head, still with a dissatisfied frown. "Likely story."
Nathan gasped, and his heart deflated.
"You... *sniff* You don't believe me?" He cried. "Maybe... Maybe this would change your mind..."
He showed her an audio clip.
"You're joking, right?"
"Teehee! No, we're not~ Right Lulu?"
"Just put her in the game, Nathan. Come on! It'll be a funny prank~"
"A-Are you sure? Baldi is really, really freaky."
"Come on, pleaseeee? I'll let you have a cuddle sleepover with me if you accept? Mmmm? How's that~?"
"*groans* You always do this, Tia..."
"*sigh* Alright. Fine. But if you two royal princesses get into trouble with my bestie, don't ask me to help you."
*beep*
*******
"*hysterical laugh* Did you see how startled they were, Tia!?"
"I know!! Your idea was absolute genius, Lulu!"
In Celesta's big bedroom, she was casually chilling with her sister Luna as they watched the tape of Twilight and the CMCs in Baldi's Basics over and over again.
"Ohhhhhhhh boy Playtime's here!" Luna giggled. "Yo! Those fillies know them skills!"
Celestia was dying of laughter as they skipped back to when Twilight got caught by the principal. What a coincidence- A headmare sent to detention by another principal?
"This is honestly the best prank you've suggested ever!" She giggled, slamming her hoofs onto the bedsheets. They gave each other a high-hoof and a high-wing in cheer.
But suddenly, somepony barged in, catching their attention.
And they weren't happy.
"Uhhh..." The two stuttered, no idea what to say in front of the four.
"Tia...?"
"Lulu...?"
Unable to maintain the silence any longer, the four eyeballed each other.
"You two are in BIG trouble!"
