Author's Note

Lately I feel like I've been writing pointless scenes that don't really move the story forward or connect to other stories, and that's why I skipped the rest of the day at Crystal Prep. It's also why I skipped ahead to after dinner.

Tell me what you guys think.

Rematch!

After dinner, Twilight went upstairs and into her room. She checked the time on her phone. I suppose one game couldn't hurt, she thought as she turned on her console. She stared up at the ceiling of her room while she waited for her game to load with a sigh. Once the game started, she immediately joined a team battle. Her eyes lit up as she took notice of her teammates.

Team 1
Twi_Sparkly73
Zest_iz_Best
Sour_5w337
Sweets_CMC
Scoots_CMC
Bloom_CMC

She smiled, glad that Lemon was fighting by her side. And from the looks of things, Sour Sweet was as well! She recognized the other three players from the last match. Hopefully they learned from their previous battle. Twilight took a look at the opposing team, and her face fell.

Team 2
Dashin8r
Fashionista_4_Life
FarmGurlAJ
SunShimPwny
Flutterbutter
P0nk4_P0

"Oh, dear," Twilight said as memories of the one-sided battle flowed through her. She took a deep breath, then exhaled as the loading screen appeared. She ran into her bathroom to grab a glass of water. She didn't want to miss a single moment if she could help it! Suddenly, the match began and Twilight poured all her focus into the game.

Twilight quickly joined up with Lemon and Sour, and the three CMC followed suit. Okay, good start so far... Then suddenly, Sour's golden and rose-armored form was sniped. Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed. "Just had to jinx it," she muttered to herself. The CMC trio looked at each other, then split up. "No!" Twilight's eyes widened. "Never split up," she said as she felt frustration rise. She took a deep breath, then exhaled. "Welp. I think we're doomed." She shook her head. "What am I saying? The match barely starte-" Before she knew it, she was sniped as she saw the remainder of the Rainbooms on her death screen, chasing after Lemon and hunting down the CMC.

Twilight put the palm of her hand to her head. Why was she getting so worked up over a video game? She knew that winning wasn't everything, so what was her deal? She shook her head rapidly. Getting lost in her thoughts mid-match already cost her once, she wouldn't let that happen again! She grit her teeth as she respawned next to the CMC.

Sour appeared behind Twilight and made a rallying gesture, boosting all of their stats. Twilight blinked in surprise. They could buff?! She didn't play this game often, but surely she would have noticed by now. She made a mental note to check the patch note history once the match ended. Maybe now they had a better chance at winning...

Twi_Sparkly73 has been gunned down by P0nka_P0.

"Dammit," Twilight shouted in aggravation. She tried taking another deep breath, but to no avail. Maybe she should just cut her losses and opt out. Wait. What was she thinking?! She couldn't just abandon Sour Sweet, Lemon Zest, or the three CMCs! What kind of friend...no. What kind of person would she be if she just up and left? She clenched her teeth. She had to see this through, no matter how terrible the situation became!

Twilight rolled up her sleeves. Wow, she was really getting into this! She actually rolled up her sleeves! She shook her head yet again, then got straight down to business. She kept her eyes peeled and ears open, listening closely for any noises. She ran into the bushes in an effort to conceal herself as she searched for their sniper. She kept turning around every couple of seconds, making sure-

Twi_Sparkly73 has been gunned down by Flutterbutter

Twilight pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh. The roofs. Why didn't she think of that sooner? As soon as she respawned, she ran into one of the buildings, taking care to avoid any traps along her way upstairs. Once she reached the roof, she looked around. It would be highly unlikely that the sniper would be on the first roof she searched, but Twilight felt it better to be safe than sorry. Letting her guard down momentarily, she risked a quick glance at the time remaining for the match. About fifteen minutes. She nodded in satisfaction. That would be plenty of time to search the other buildings.

Twilight risked another glance, this time at the lower-left corner of her screen to check on kills.

Sour_5w337 has been gunned down by SunShimPwny
Zest_iz_Best has been gunned down by Fashionista_4_Life
Sweets_CMC has been gunned down by FarmGurlAJ
Scoots_CMC has been gunned down by Dashin8r
Bloom_CMC has been gunned down by P0nk4_P0

Twilight frowned, then resumed her search for Flutterbutter in earnest. I know I should probably go back down there and help them, she thought as she finished checking her current roof. But maybe if I get their sniper it'll do at least a little bit of good. I hope.

Several minutes, deaths, and traps later, Twilight groaned in frustration. She'd been through almost all of the buildings, and still no sign of that damned sniper! Time was running out, and if she didn't find Flutterbutter soon she'd scream into the pillow again! She had just enough time to check one more building. She began to sweat. She was racing against the clock, and while she was no stranger to such, she couldn't help but feel the pressure!

Throwing caution to the wind, Twilight sprinted up the stairs. She grit her teeth as she neared the roof, then almost squealed in excitement when she saw someone in light yellow armor with pink accents. There she was! Showing no hesitation, she opened fire.

Flutterbutter has been gunned down by Twi_Sparkly73.

Unable to control her glee, Twilight ran to her bed and screamed into her pillow until her giddiness subsided. She hurried back to the game.

GAME OVER - RAINBOOMS WIN

As the statistics of the game went on the screen, Twilight felt pride swell within. She was the only player on her team to get a kill! Satisfied, she turned off the console and her television and changed into her pajamas. She brushed her teeth, then went to bed and fell asleep with a huge smile on her face.

Elsewhere, in a wide-open apartment, six girls chatted among themselves.

"What was that," demanded a raspy-voiced girl with rainbow hair as she gestured towards the results screen. "Why'd you let her kill you?!"

"Because," a soft-spoken pale yellow girl said. "She worked so hard to find me! It wouldn't have been polite to just shoot her after all that effort."