A "Fun" Little Game

Chapters

Playful Revenge
The "Battle" Begins
A Not-So-Sweet Treat
A Lost Cause
Sunset
Predictions
Anarchy

Playful Revenge

As Discord sat on Fluttershy's roof, he couldn't help but mull over that question over and over again. Had he been serious, would he actually be seen as a threat to Equestria? Of course, he would be defeated eventually, but would his strength and power influence respect upon his newly reformed self? Creating a yo-yo, he put his hand on his chin, simply staring at it as it bobbed up and down repeatedly. The yo-yo symbolized the benefits and consequences, one of which was glaring him in the face. Sure, he would be taken much more seriously if he showed his power, but the cost would be too great: all of the friendships he's made over the years. He didn't want to be antagonized again; he came too far to turn back.

"Discord?"

The yo-yo disappeared as Fluttershy flew up to him and hovered in front of him.

"Are you okay?"

His eyes widened as a goofy grin came across his face.

"Never better! I heard that Scootaloo can fly now," he said, putting on a sweatshirt with Scootaloo's face on it, "How excellent." Fluttershy wasn't buying it.

"Discord..."

His smile slowly disappeared into a frown as he turned away from Fluttershy. "What's wrong?"

He looked up to the sky.

"I had the most interesting thought just now...it was also the most terrifying..." he said. Fluttershy sat down by his side; he still wasn't looking at her. "What if...I actually tried to defeat you all?"

Fluttershy turned pale. "Wh...what do you mean?"

"I'm referring to when we originally met," Discord elaborated, seeing the shocked look on her face, "What if I actually tried to win? I know I'm goofy, but there's a lot that you all haven't seen. Especially in terms of me."

Fluttershy got her normal shade back when she realized he wasn't talking about the present. Then she looked up to the sky. "That's a really interesting question. I never would've thought of it!"

"I bet it'd be scary," Discord sighed, shuddering at the thought of putting genuine fear into Fluttershy's innocent heart. "For both of us."

"Why both of us?"

"Well, I couldn't imagine doing anything to hurt you, much less scare you," Discord explained, "But for me, I wouldn't want to lose a friend in such a way. I would never."

Grabbing his lion paw, Fluttershy smiled. "That's good to know, Discord. But I have to ask..."

Discord looked at her.

"What COULD you have done if you tried?"

Fluttershy's question, combined with her smile, broke his heart.

"Pray that you never find out," he said with no hint of jest.

The way he said that killed her smile instantly. She went beside him before he put his arm around her.

"Ahhh, but that's in the past! Are you up for some tea?"

Nervously nodding, Fluttershy descended from the roof and began a quick trot to the tea store. Discord could tell she was nervous and regretted saying anything of the matter.

Celestia's Castle

Spike and Twilight stood in front of Luna and Celestia grinning from ear to ear. Today looked like it was going to be a major success. First Spike turned out to be alive and now Scootaloo could fly! And it wasn't even noon.

"I'm very glad you're alright, Spike," Luna said to which he blushed sheepishly. Twilight chuckled.

"I second that. Although I bet you two are exhausted. We were up all night last night, remember?"

Celestia shook her head. "I'm fine, but Luna looks like she's on her last leg."

A closer look at Luna revealed that she had a couple of bags under her eyes from the previous night and day's events. Twilight smiled at the both of them before the door flew open. Spinning around, Twilight and Spike were shocked to see Fluttershy rush in, nearly out of breath.

"Sorry...*pant*...your majesty. I've come because...*whew*...because I'm worried!"

Twilight approached her and rubbed her back. "Relax, Fluttershy. Worried about what?"

"DISCORD!"

Everyone's eyes widened. Discord wasn't known to hurt anyone, nor himself. Sure, he played a couple of pranks on people, but that was it! He had shown tremendous growth recently.

"What about him?" inquired Celestia.

"I think you should go see for yourself. He should still be at my house!"

"Is he hurt?"

"Oh, no! He's perfectly fine physically. But we had a discussion earlier that concerned me. He was wondering what happened if he had tried to win when the six of us originally met him."

Celestia's expression went into one of concern; Luna went into one of shock.

"Twilight, get your friends and tell them to meet us at Fluttershy's house. Tell them it is of the utmost importance."

Luna looked at her confusedly. "Why? It's just Discord. How bad can it be?"

"For your sake, I hope you don't find out," Celestia advised, "Twilight, get your friends. We will be waiting at Fluttershy's house."

Without another word to anyone, Celestia vanished in a bright flash of light. Luna simply walked past everyone and flew to the house. Twilight hadn't been more confused since the previous day when Spike supposedly died only to come back to life. She had never seen Celestia more concerned, especially over someone like Discord. Whenever she spoke of him, she was referring to his wacky antics and how much he made her laugh when she needed it. Now, she seems like she's legitimately afraid.

"Come on, Fluttershy. We'd better not keep her waiting," Twilight said, rushing out the door. Fluttershy nodded before she and Spike followed suit.

Fluttershy's House

When Twilight, Fluttershy, and Spike arrived, they noticed that Discord was still in his original position. He was twirling a yo-yo in his hands, deep in thought. Celestia approached them.

"Any word on Rarity and Applejack?"

"They're dropping Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom off with Rainbow Dash before coming here," Twilight responded, "Although they may take a longer time."

Pinkie Pie simply sat on the ground staring at Discord stare at the clouds. Chewing on a large wad of gum, she seemed fascinated as she blew a giant bubble, popped it, and started another bubble without missing a beat.

"Whaddya think he's thinking about?" she asked with a mouth full of the chewy treat. Twilight shrugged. Fluttershy looked away. Celestia looked at Discord.

"Discord!"

That got his attention. He looked off the roof to see everyone gathered and rolled his eyes before snapping his fingers to appear right in front of them.

"Why, hellooooooooo, Princess," he said, oozing with sarcasm as he bowed dramatically. Now it was Celestia's turn to roll her eyes. "To what pleasure do I owe this visit?"

Celestia had a steel-faced look. Luna was getting a bit concerned over her sister's well-being.

"Are you alright? Remember, this is--"

"I heard you were thinking about your past decisions," Celestia responded.

"Yes. Basically, what would happen if I stopped playing games with you all? None of you know what I can really do."

"Oooh! Oooh! I know what you can do," Pinkie Pie squealed, "You can turn the ground into soap, make napkins fly, make tea sing, turn carts into pumpkins--"

"Close, Pinkie Pie," Discord interrupted, manually shutting her mouth, "I'm talking about what I can really do if I wanted to...I don't know...hurt you?"

Pinkie's smile disintegrated quickly. Again, Fluttershy shuddered. A devious smile formed across Discord's face as his usually round red eyes turned into merciless slits. He chuckled.

"What? I can't help but wonder what would happen if things turned out differently."

"This would be a crazy reality with no sense of order," Luna said, "Why would you even think of--"

"I'm not," Discord interrupted, now looking hurt. "I am not. I don't want to take over."

"Well then, what do you want?" Spike asked.

"I'm glad you asked, Spike! You see, following every villain's defeat there's this one concept that just rings in their heads all day every day. Like the last thirty books Twilight read."

Twilight blushed and smiled sheepishly at the shot.

"It's a little concept called revenge."

That last word made the horns of every single pony gathered at that house brighten in anticipation of an attack. Again, Discord rolled her eyes.

"Calm down, all of you. I'm not--"

"You'd regret trying to enforce your madness upon us again, Discord," Celestia said with venom in her voice. Discord waved his hands.

"No! The revenge that I want isn't exactly revenge revenge. It's one that I...just made up."

Silence filled the air as everyone waited for him to continue.

"I call it playful revenge..." he said with a grin. Luna smirked.

"And how exactly would this "playful revenge" work?"

"Oh, the rules are quite simple," Discord said, "We fight as we usually did, except we don't hold anything back. What would you do without those stupid necklaces you all had? How would you fight me without them?"

"What does this have to do with revenge?" Celestia asked.

"You'll see. But first, you'll have to agree to play this little game. To make things a little interesting, we can add those...what's their little group called...Cutie Mark Crusaders."

"NO!" Twilight yelled, "They're just little girls! They could get hurt!"

"Tell you what," Discord said, "If at any point, all three of them don't want to play anymore, they can leave at any time."

"The answer is still no, Discord!" Fluttershy said with a look of shock, "Why would you even think such a thing?"

Discord didn't answer. He simply smiled.

"Well? What do you think?"

None of them spoke. Celestia, Twilight, Luna, Spike, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie clearly seemed interested.

"Think about it. This is your once in a lifetime chance to show what you're really capable of if you tried."

"I'm in," Spike said, raising his hand. Twilight gasped.

"Spike! You literally just came back from the dead! You don't want to go back, do you?"

"I never said losers die," Discord clarified. Spike blinked.

"What he's saying is true though," Spike said, "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to show our true strength. We never get to do any actual fighting. Plus, it's against Discord! All of us versus him! It shouldn't take long!"

"Don't underestimate him," Luna said, "Although, I curious as to what would happen if he tried to fight us...I'm in."

"I'll give it a whirl," Pinkie said with a smile.

"Umm...okay, I guess." Fluttershy said.

All eyes were on Celestia and Twilight.

"Well, ladies? You joining or not?"

"Who will keep track of what's going on while we're gone?" Celestia asked. Discord chuckled.

"Nobody! Because we will come back exactly one second after we left," he explained.

"Oh, fine," Twilight said. "But no one had better not get hurt."

"I can't promise that."

"Why not?"

"Celestia, it's up to--"

"Fine. Let's just get this over with. I have business to attend to."

With that, Discord snapped his fingers. The calm demeanor of Fluttershy's home was replaced with a similarly calm clearing. The group stood in an open field surrounded by a forest. The grass was a bright green; birds chirped as they flew above the group.

"WHAT IN TARNATION?!"

The group looked to the left to see a confused Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom. Scootaloo flew above the trees.

"Ummm, I don't see Ponyville," she called down. Rainbow Dash flew at Discord.

"Alright, Discord, what's going on?"

A devious smile spread across his face once more.

"We're just about to play a little game."

Rainbow Dash wasn't convinced. She knew he had a trick up his sleeve, sometimes literally. She sighed.

"Well, at least let us take those three home--"

"They're part of the game," he said.

"WHAT?!" The three elements of harmony yelled. They instinctively put their sisters behind them.

"If you think you're going to hurt MY Sweetie Belle, you're sorely mistaken!"

"Try anything on Apple Bloom, and I'll pound ya inta dust, Discord!"

"And if you DARE hurt Scootaloo after everything that just happened--"

"Stop." Discord said, clearly annoyed. "You shouldn't be worried that I hurt anyone..."

"...you should be worried that you don't hurt each other." he finished. He floated to the southern side of the circle.

"This game is an all-ponies-for-themselves type one. You'll have to think to win."

"I still don't see how this is revenge," Twilight said.

"Oh it is," Discord said.

"Just in the form of a fun little game."

Eyes narrowed at Discord.

"Shall we begin?"

Author's Note

I think this'll be fun to write.

The "Battle" Begins

"No! We're not going to start anything until you explain to us what in the wide, wide realm of Equestria is going on," Rarity cried, still keeping Sweetie Belle behind her. The younger filly rolled her eyes and tried to get past Rarity.

"Rarity! *oof!* Relax! Let me through!"

"Yes, do let her through. How else is she supposed to battle? As far as each of us is concerned, right now, she's a rival, not your sister," Discord said with a grin. Rarity went pale. Apple Bloom was just as confused as she was.

"So, uh, what're the rules to this here game, Discord?" she asked. Discord chuckled.

"Be the last one standing. If you lose, you're turned into a spirit. When the game is over, we're all teleported back to Ponyville," he explained. Apple Bloom's confused look turned into excitement; Scootaloo shared that reaction.

"That's it? Just a free-for-all?" Scootaloo said, "That sounds fun! What's the problem?"

"The problem," Rainbow Dash said glaring at Discord, "Is that we don't want you three to get hurt!"

"I second that," Applejack agreed, "You don't just go around beatin' up little fillies, Discord."

"Who said I'd be going after them? Scootaloo summed it up quite nicely; it's a free-for-all. Everyone for themselves. However, if you want, you can form alliances or whatever. Just remember, it's everyone for themselves."

Rarity rolled her eyes before finding a spot on the circle. Applejack and Rainbow Dash sighed.

"Any other objections? Questions? Comments? Concerns?"

Silence.

"Good. Let's begin."

The second he finished that sentence, everything became still. Everyone was waiting on who would throw out the first attack and who it would land on. Sweetie Belle nervously looked around at everyone.

"So...now what?"

"That's up to you. Attack who you want, when you want. And honestly, I'm surprised no one's hit me with anythi--"

He wasn't able to finish his sentence before Celestia hit him with a beam from her horn. Light pink, it made a straight line towards Discord and covered him when it hit. All that was left when the attack ended was a pile of ashes where Discord was originally standing. Twilight was in awe; her mentor noticed this.

"It's an easy spell," Celestia said casually, "I'll show you when we get back."

"Well, that gets rid of Discord. Good riddance. He said we can have alliances, so...Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo? Do you wanna be on a team?" Rainbow asked. Applejack and Rarity nodded in agreement.

"There's safety in numbers, darling. I want to make sure that you three leave this realm without a single scratch," Rarity said proudly. The three fillies looked away.

"What's the matter?" Applejack asked.

None of them spoke. Her sister was the Element of Honesty, so Apple Bloom's response had to be the truth.

"The thing is...we kinda wanted to be on our own team! Like, on our own," she replied. The two other fillies avoided their gaze. The elder sisters looked skeptical.

"Oh," Rainbow responded, "You sure?"

Her question gave Scootaloo chills. She had seen firsthand what Rainbow Dash was capable of, battle-wise. She was at the top of her squad in the Wonderbolts, she knew the ins and outs of the weather, as well as how she could use it to her advantage, she could perform a Sonic Rainboom at will, and on top of that, she's the fastest pegasus in Equestria. In short, Scootaloo knew that she could hit fast and hit hard. Scootaloo just learned to fly and she was a filly. There was no way she could even escape her sister if she were on the receiving end.

Apple Bloom was also concerned. Although Applejack wasn't too fast, she was exceptionally strong. She'd bucked apple trees ever since she was a filly, so the problem her younger sister had was how she could weaken her if they had to face off. She didn't really have an answer for that.

Sweetie Belle's issue was that, although she was a unicorn like Rarity, her sister had grown up in the fashion business. Although it may not seem like a big deal from one side of the spectrum, her eye for fashion has enabled her to see the flaws in almost everything. It wouldn't take much effort for her to spot weak links in Sweetie Belle's attacks and counter them accordingly.

Rainbow's question was still up in the air. The three fillies gulped.

"Yep," said Apple Bloom.

"Sure thing," said Scootaloo.

"You got it!" said Sweetie Belle. Their sisters shrugged.

"Suit yourself!" Rainbow said before flying away. Applejack and Rarity gave the two a smile before following Rainbow Dash away.

Pinkie Pie had been watching the turmoil without saying a single word. Although she was also worried for the fillies' well-being, she had her own troubles to worry about.

"You alright, Pinkie?" Fluttershy asked.

"Never better!" She said with a grin.

Fluttershy smiled but had to make sure that she wasn't seeing things. For a split second, shortly after Pinkie looked at her, she thought she saw a completely different Pinkie Pie. The one she saw was similar to Pinkie's appearance when she thought everyone did want to be her friend anymore. Her hair was completely straight, pupils shrunken, and a smile that screamed insanity.

"Are you...sure?"

"Positive."

"Okay."

Meanwhile, Spike wondered who he should go after first. He had (literal) firepower while everyone else had magic, flight, or whatever Pinkie Pie had. He wasn't too fast, but he was at the very least faster than Twilight.

"Hm. If I wanna win this, I'd have to think," he muttered.

"What, Spike?" Twilight asked.

"Nothing!"

Twilight looked at him quizzically. She knew he was lying; he was likely thinking about the same thing that everyone else was thinking about. Who would be their first opponent? So far, Celestia only had one elimination: Discord. There were pros and cons to engaging everyone, but no one had the courage to make that first attack.

"I think we should spread out," Celestia suggested. "We can fight who we encounter. Remember, we have the option to form alliances, so if you want to be on a team, say so now."

Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack went together, signifying one team. The Cutie Mark Crusaders spread out, hoping they wouldn't encounter each other. Or anyone else for that matter. Pinkie just sat there chewing gum. Twilight and Spike separated. Luna sighed and stepped away from her sister.

"Alright. Here we go."

Celestia's horn produced a blinding light that covered the area. As the light engulfed everyone, they were teleported to a random part of the forest. When the light cleared, no one was left in the circle.

The battle had truly begun.

Ten minutes later...

Sweetie Belle slowly traversed the forest, being careful not to make any noise as to attract anyone to her position. She was going up against three princesses, a dragon, three pegasi, a unicorn, and four above-average Earth ponies. What could go wrong? A lot, actually. She was at quite the disadvantage.

"Okay, Sweetie Belle," she whispered, "Stay calm. Just use your magic if you get into a fight. You know some things about magic, right?"

This was the one thing that everyone else didn't know about her. Whenever she found herself in Twilight's library, she did a little bit of reading on spells that she could use. She'd mastered the spells of invisibility, levitation, speed, and damage. Although levitation could lift her in the air, it wasn't high enough to have the advantage on the ponies here. Speed wouldn't really be useful against Rainbow Dash; she had too high of a natural speed for Sweetie to get away. Although the damage spell could amplify any attack she shoots from her horn, she was afraid that she wouldn't be able to land the attack. Invisibility was the only one that would be useful. Even that would be temporary, though.

"Oh well," she sighed, "At least you know something about magic."

Creeping around a couple of rocks, she made sure she didn't cause any attention to herself. Looking up into the sky, the thought about what would happen if she agreed to be on Rarity's team crossed her mind.

"Why didn't I agree to be on their team? This may be harder than I thought," she said as she continued to walk forward. However, she quickly closed her mouth when she saw who was walking around the forest in front of her. Princess Luna walked along absentmindedly as Sweetie's horn glowed to activate the invisibility spell. Running behind a tree to ensure that she doesn't get caught, she peeked to around it as Luna walked by. However, her heart jumped to her throat when Luna stopped walking.

Please don't come over here, please don't come over here, please don't come over here... Sweetie begged in her mind.

Luna closed her eyes and listened. The only things she could hear was the sound of running water, birds, and the wind that carried her astral mane. It was calm. Too calm. With a flash of light, she teleported away with a suspicious look on her face.

Sweetie finally exhaled.

"Oh, thank goodness," she muttered, becoming visible again, "She's gone."

She quickened her pace as she made her way through the grove, more worried than ever. Her green eyes searched everywhere, making sure she didn't encounter any signs of anypony, much less encounter them. Her heart rate quickened, she was didn't want to miss anything. Not even the slightest detail.

"Hello, Sweetie Belle."

The filly froze; Luna was right behind her. Turning around, she saw that the princess of the night had narrowed eyes that showed her determination to win.

"H--hi, Luna!"

As Luna approached her, she quivered violently. Tears quickly approached her eyes.

"You're scared," Luna said calmly, "I understand that. But I have a question for you."

"What?" she asked.

"How come I didn't see you when I was just passing by? I couldn't detect you, but I was able to just now," she asked.

Sweetie chuckled nervously as she searched for answers. "Ummm..."

"You don't have to answer."

"Oh." She felt a bit relieved after she said that.

"I'll find out myself," she said with a sinister smile. Her horn shone a dark blue as Sweetie's began to shine out of fear and anxiety.

"Princess, I--" Sweetie meekly began trying not to faint.

"No need to explain, young one. For now..."

Her horn shone brighter.

"...show me what you can do."

On the eastern side of the forest...

Spike was happy to have not encountered anyone in the closest vicinity. He silently flew around branches, logs, and trees. He put his hand on his chin.

"What would Twilight do? Well, if she were in this situation without Discord's deeds, she'd first look for water."

He landed and listened. Throughout all of the natural ambiance, there was a sound of rushing water in the distance. He could practically feel how refreshing it was going down his throat.

"Jackpot!" he said before flying in the direction of the sound. He was feeling a little proud of himself; maybe if he ever found himself in a situation like this in the future, he'd be able to survive. The sound of water got louder and louder. A smile grew across his face. He looked down, expecting to find a stream, only to find...trees. Descending, he scratched his head.

"I could've sworn I heard water. It sounded like a waterfall..."

"You did hear water," a voice said. Spike's heart sank when he realized that he'd been baited.

"I meant to attract Twilight with this spell, but I guess this works just fine," Celestia said with a smile.

"Hey, Princess," Spike greeted with wings spread out to escape when he needed to, "You making your way around here okay?"

Celestia nodded.

"This isn't too difficult. Although that shouldn't be your primary concern at the moment."

The dragon gulped.

"Your first opponent will be me," Celestia said confidently. Spike extracted his claws and bared his fangs.

"Do not expect mercy. I'm not in a mood to be giving it out," Celestia advised before firing her first attack.

Author's Note

Okay, now I need to think of some movesets for each character. I can't just have each unicorn use a "colorful ray/beam of light" for every attack. I'm open to suggestions.

A Not-So-Sweet Treat

Pinkie had been teleported near a stream. At the moment, she was just staring at her reflection with a smile on her face. The crystal-clear water shimmered and shone in the daylight. Likewise, Pinkie's sky-blue eyes glistened in the water. She shuddered.

Your smile won't save you.

"What're you talking about, silly? A smile can brighten up anyone's day!"

But it can also make it worse. And that's what you need to remember.

The reflection made a wave-like motion before morphing into a different Pinkie Pie. This was the one Fluttershy saw back in the circle; her pupils shrunk, hair straightened, and an unpleasantly wide grin danced across her face.

So, what's your game plan? Remember, it's everypony for themselves!

"I dunno, Pinkamena. I don't really wanna hurt anyone."

So, would you prefer to camp the entire game?

"If it means I don't hurt anyone, sure!"

Pinkamena rolled her eyes.

Well, too bad. You're gonna get outta your comfort zone today.

"No! Why would I wanna do something like that! They're my friends!"

If you won't do it, I will.

Pinkie's mane deflated.

Come on, Pinkie. You're very unstable. You're way too happy. Even the slightest insult crushes your heart. Haven't you ever just wanted to...explode?

She looked away.

"Well, yeah, but not at the cost of others!"

Look, I'll give you some time to think about it. It's time to stop being such a pushover and show others our abilities. And I'm not talking about the Pinkie sense.

Her reflection reverted to normal. It was clear that the pink party pony had a decision to make. However, there was one constant in this entire ordeal. This was a game. And whether or not she's good or bad at it, she tries to win. For now, she needed to move from her position.

In the western section...
Scootaloo stood on a tree branch, scoping out the area. All she knew was that there was a mountain in the distance and that trees were everywhere. She saw the mountain when she originally flew above the battlefield. Besides that fact, she didn't know too much about nature.

"Wait! I just spent the last three years in Everfree! This should be a piece of cake," she said, remembering her experiences.

She frowned. Even during that time, Fluttershy had provided her with the necessities; she gave her a blanket for cold nights, provided toiletries when she needed them, as well as offered full access to her pantry and bathroom. Here, however, she had access to none of those. Despite her also having camped out with Rainbow Dash, they used a tent for nighttime. She didn't have access to that either. Fortunately, though, none of the other contestants did. They were all on similar playing fields; not exactly even, but similar. Fluttering off her branch, she slowly began to get her bearings.

"I just need to make sure I don't run into anyone. Sounds simple enough," she muttered.

Saying she was nervous is an understatement. Everyone except Apple Bloom had an advantage over her. She'd need to think of something quickly. Stopping to feel her arms, she gained a little confidence.

"Heh. At least those years in the forest weren't all for nothing."

As Scootaloo practiced flying, she had also exercised her arms to lessen the pain when she fell. Every other day she would go to the gym and lift weights; she'd become moderately strong for her age, despite it not being visible.

Continuing on, her mind drifted to other things.

"What if I encounter Rainbow Dash? What'll I say? What'll I do?"

Running over possible scenarios in her head, she was upset to learn that none of them would help her in a fight.

"Looks like I'm going with kicks and punches," she said, sighing.

Looking up at the sky, she noticed that the sun didn't move from its original position. That was good; she wouldn't have to spend the night anywhere.

"That's pretty convenient," she said with a smile.

"Hey, Scootaloo!"

Freezing, she looked ahead to see that Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Apple Bloom were together, wearing smiles. They approached her, to which she instinctively backed away.

"Scoots, you okay?" Rainbow asked as she got closer.

She opened her mouth, but words didn't come out. Her wings spread out defensively.

Right, like that'll do me any good!

Rainbow sighed. "You two go on. I'll take care of this."

"Ya sure?" Applejack asked. She nodded.

"This won't take too long."

Scootaloo almost fell when she heard Rainbow say that. Rarity and Applejack trotted away; when Rainbow turned to look at Scootaloo, the filly was met with a steely-frown. Her red eyes suggested that she meant business.

"Scootaloo. You know what's about to happen, right?"

"Yeah! I--I'm about t--to beat you! In a f--f--fight!" she stuttered, trying to sound as confident as possible. Rainbow's gaze softened as she spread her wings.

"I like your confidence, Scootaloo. However, you won't fool me."

Scootaloo's eyes narrowed as Rainbow Dash stood still with a smile. Rainbow sat down.

"You know, I'm really happy with how you're growing. You're able to fly, you have good friends, and all that stuff. I'm proud of you."

"Really?" Scootaloo asked, looking at her. Rainbow nodded.

Scootaloo liked the compliment, but something seemed off about Rainbow's composure. She was awfully calm. Scootaloo would be too if she had a natural advantage over an opponent. Her guard was up, and she didn't want to lower it. Rainbow stood up.

"However, whatever happens happens. You know that, right?"

Scootaloo looked down.

"All too well."

Nodding, Rainbow spread her wings once more before asking a question that made Scootaloo's heart sink.

"You ready?"

Scootaloo nodded her head. You're strong! You can do this.

"Don't blink," Rainbow advised.

With that, Scootaloo simply stared at Rainbow Dash, prepared to fly if she needed to. Her sister trotted around her tauntingly, keeping an eye on Scootaloo's face. Scootaloo gritted her teeth.

"AAAGH! This is getting ridicul--OOF!"

Just as she finished her statement, she got clocked in the nose with Rainbow's forearm. Staggering about and holding her nose, she caught a glimpse of her running to the filly in a rainbow blur.

"Don't blink," she said once again.

Keeping her eyes open, Scootaloo ignored her aching pain in her nose and lunged towards Rainbow, only to miss. Tumbling into the leaves that populated the forest floor. She felt Rainbow's presence behind her.

"PTOO!" Scootaloo spat out leaves only for her face to get shoved back into the ground; she felt Rainbow's hoof on the back of her head.

Wait! she thought. She had a sense of Rainbow's form while she held her down. Hoping she guessed correctly, she delivered a swift buck with her forelegs, hoping to hit something.

"ACK!"

Scootaloo was freed! Getting to her feet, she turned around and saw Rainbow hold her neck in pain. It turned out that she had landed a perfect shot to her neck. Needless to say, she was startled. Taking advantage of her bewilderment, Scootaloo ran forward and landed an uppercut, square on Rainbow's jaw with a solid CRACK! She only moved back a little, but the damage added up.

Yes! I'm doing it! I can win this!

Rushing above the startled Rainbow Dash, she descended on her back, sprawling her out on the ground.

"AAGH!" Rainbow cried in pain.

A triumphant grin spread across Scootaloo's face. Her nose was bleeding, but her victory caused her to ignore it. That is, until Rainbow got to her hooves. Spitting out some blood, she looked at Scootaloo with murder in her eyes. Cowering in fear, Scootaloo honestly wanted to vanish. Rainbow's left eye was turning purple. Blood was dripping down the side of her mouth, and a visible bruise spread across her neck.

"I'm--I'm sorry, Rainbow Da--"

"It's too late for sorries, Scootaloo. It'd be a good time for you to run or fly away."

But before Scootaloo could even get her hooves off the ground, Rainbow got a hold of her and took her into the air. Remnants of blood flew towards the ground as they flew into the clouds. Letting go of Scootaloo, she flew into every cloud she could see with blinding speed. As Scootaloo flapped her wings to see what she was doing, she couldn't help being overcome by a feeling of dread. The remnants of each cloud Rainbow destroyed formed a very thick fog that Scootaloo couldn't see in. Squinting to get an idea of where she was, she couldn't see a foot in front of her. All she knew was that she was in the sky.

"I'm so dead," she whispered to herself.

As if on cue, she felt sharp pain in her underbelly. Being lifted a couple feet, she knew that Rainbow had landed a hit to her stomach; a strong one at that. As if that wasn't enough, she returned the shot to the jaw Scootaloo delivered earlier, sending her spinning away.

"AAAAHHHHH!"

She stopped spinning suddenly as Rainbow bit her tail and swing her upwards. Scootaloo was getting dizzy from both Rainbow's speed and her altitude. The cyan-colored pegasus caught her and held her up.

"You're lookin' dizzy, Scootaloo! You not used to this height?"

Scootaloo was seeing double; this combined with barely being able to breath made for an extremely uncomfortable experience for her.

"Here comes the finale!"

Scootaloo's eyes popped open when Rainbow dropped her and ascended. She was about to be the recipient of a very powerful Sonic Rainboom! She saw the trees approaching quickly and Rainbow descend faster.

"Think, think, think, think, think, Scootaloo, think!" she thought. She had an idea, but she had to be perfect in her timing to pull it off. Her entire body was aching; Rainbow was almost to her.

"I'll have to meet her halfway," she said with a frown as she began to fly straight towards her. Rainbow's hoof was outstretched, prepared to connect with the filly's face. Picking up speed, Scootaloo raced closer and closer.

Just a little more! Wait for it...wait for it...

Rainbow reached maximum speed as an rainbow-colored rings appeared in the sky.

NOW!

With her remaining strength, Scootaloo delivered a punch to Rainbow's face just as the latter connected hers. Rainbow went from her maximum speed to zero almost instantly; that quick of a slowdown actually made Rainbow feel extremely dizzy.

Well...I tried... Scootaloo thought as she let the air catch her.

She was missing a tooth, her muscles and wings ached, her nose was swollen and her right eye could barely be kept open. What surprised her the most was that, as she lost consciousness, she saw Rainbow fly after her, just being able to catch her before she hit the trees.

Laying her down against a tree, Scootaloo looked as a battered Rainbow Dash approached her, limping with every step. She sighed and looked down, anticipating the finishing blow. But she didn't feel anything.

What she did hear, however, was the sound of a body falling to the ground. Looking up, she almost screamed in surprise when she saw Rainbow Dash laying at her hooves. Poking her face, (the non-bloody parts) she received no reaction.

"No way..."

At the southern side of the forest...

Apple Bloom wasn't really interested in looking for anyone; she would just be found anyway. As such, she sat there, waiting for someone to walk by.

"This is takin' too long," she muttered.

Her ears perked up when she heard the crunching of leaves nearby.

"Hello?" she called out.

"Sugarcube?"

Getting up, she grinned when she saw Applejack approach her...by herself.

"Rarity went to look for other ponies; the three of us agreed to meet at the circle later."

Apple Bloom nodded. Just then, a booming voice rang through the grove.

Hello? Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3! Is this thing on? Oh, wait, it is!

That was none other than the voice of Discord.

We have another knockout! Just now, Scootaloo emerged victorious against Rainbow Dash!

The two Apple girls almost fell over from bewilderment.

I'm as surprised as you all are, to be honest. And you all were skeptical about the Crusaders' inclusion. Don't underestimate them! Discord, reporting live from the losers' stands, out!

"I can't believe it...Scootaloo won against Rainbow Dash!"

"That sure is somethin'..."

Applejack looked at her sister.

"Now I won't have to hold anything back against you," she replied. Apple Bloom rolled her eyes.

"Let's see if you can keep up with your sister," Applejack challenged.

Author's Note

How'd Scootaloo win? Plot armor.

As of right now, we have:
Sweetie Belle vs. Luna
Spike vs. Celestia
Apple Bloom vs. Applejack

That leaves Pinkie/Pinkamena, Rarity, Twilight, and Fluttershy.

🤔

A Lost Cause

In the Loser's Spectating Booth...
The instant Rainbow's eyes opened, she winced in pain. With the blows that Scootaloo landed, as well as the amount of force she had behind her hit, she had actually been banged up real good in her back, neck, and jaw. Feeling her lip, she noticed that there was a scab where the kick landed. It still hurt to touch, but it had clearly healed up over the last twenty or so minutes.

"Oh, finally! You're awake!"

She looked in front of her to see Discord sitting on a couch, eating popcorn. He was watching a screen that had everyone's name and who they eliminated. So far, Celestia and Scootaloo were tied with one elimination each. Under the scores was the contestant the viewer wanted to watch: in this case, Discord was watching Fluttershy with interest.

"Where am I?" Rainbow asked, managing to sit up.

Without looking at her, Discord answered, "The Loser's booth."

As he munched on his popcorn, Rainbow took the opportunity to look around the room she was in. She and Discord were sitting on a long, curved red velvet sofa. As a matter of fact, the entire room had red as its primary color. Even though Discord only cared about Fluttershy, she was starting to think that he got some designing tips from Rarity!

"This actually looks pretty good, Discord! I'm impressed!"

He ignored her and kept watching. Next to the television was a bar populated with six sleek red high chairs. The handles behind the counter were labeled "OJ", "Milk", "Apple Cider", and "Gem Smoothie". The cabinets above the bar were also red, encasing shiny plates and cups that looked like they hadn't been touched. Underneath of them were about ten beer cups, so clean that Rainbow could see her reflection from there. To the left of the television were the bathrooms, a stack of neatly folded blankets, a vending machine with various candies and sweets, and a milkshake maker. Rainbow smiled.

"Very, very nice, indeed," Rainbow complimented. Discord smiled.

"I'm glad you approve," he said, "You know, I'm kinda surprised you were one of the first eliminated. And by Scootaloo, no less."

Rainbow put her shoulders on the top of the sofa and rolled her eyes.

"She's stronger than you think."

"That's not you disagreeing with me," he noted.

"What're you talking about? She won fair and square!"

"Did she? Or did you let her win?"

Dumbfounded, Rainbow turned her head at him.

"NO! I was about to hit her with a Rainboom and she countered it! Plus, before that, I banged her up real good! She only landed like two or three hits in the entire fight!"

Discord turned his head.

"You should've won. No doubt," he said, rolling his eyes, "You're a grown mare and she's a filly. You're a Wonderbolt, she's a schoolfilly. You know the weather inside and out and she just knows the types of clouds and precipitation. How did you lose?"

She opened her mouth to rebut his claims, but she didn't have an argument. How did SHE lose? She knew that she had a little energy left while Scootaloo had near none at the end. Yet she fainted first. Once she thought about it, it made no sense.

"The only legitimate answer you have is if this were plot armor," Discord said, winking.

"I dunno!" she said before getting an idea. "Can you take me to Scootaloo?"

"Sure, but you won't be able to fight her again."

Getting more annoyed than she already was, she glared at him.

"Whatever! Just take me to her!"

"Let me know when you're done," he said before snapping his fingers.

Once the motion was made, Rainbow went from the room to a couple feet from Scootaloo instantly. She was sitting at the base of the tree where she was knocked out, water dripping from her chin.

"Squirt," Rainbow said in a commanding tone. Scootaloo looked up and saw her sister with a disapproving glance on her face. Even though the filly won, she still couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. She backed away as Rainbow approached.

"H--how--"

"Never mind that," Rainbow ordered, "Let me tell you right now: you shouldn't have won that fight."

Now Scootaloo was a bit confused as to why she was telling her this.

"What? Whaddya mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean," Rainbow said with her eyes narrowed, "You. Should not. Have. Won."

"Why not?"

"It's fairly obvious."

"But...but I won fair and square!"

"How did you win, then?"

Scootaloo had been asking herself that question ever since the match ended; she thought she came up with an answer, but it was still a bit fuzzy. Looking away, she tried to find the words to explain it.

"ANSWER ME," Rainbow roared.

Water trickled down the filly's face as she opened her mouth to respond.

"Rainbow, relax," Discord said.

"Shut up, Discord. Well, Scootaloo?"

"You're scaring her."

"I'm making sure that I didn't get cheated out of a win!"

"I was...well...thinking in terms of physics," she muttered, avoiding her gaze. Rainbow's steely eyes were trained on her.

"Go on," she encouraged. Gathering up her courage, she forced herself to look at Rainbow.

"I remember asking Doctor Hooves about my physics homework one time. It involved speed and force. I was thinking that if I was able to counter your speed with a blow to the face with enough force, I would stop you instantly. It worked, but it didn't look like it did too much. But when you fainted, I was thinking that an abrupt stop from that impact would make you really dizzy so you would faint anyway. That last part was a guess, by the way," she explained. Discord chuckled.

"Wow, that IS smart," he complimented. Rainbow ignored him.

"Are...you still mad at me?"

"Not mad. But I am impressed," she said. "Don't expect for that to get you out of a battle next time."

Turning away, Scootaloo got to her feet.

"Do you think I can win?"

"No," Rainbow said without hesitation, "Consider this win a stroke of luck. Discord, I'm ready."

Just before she teleported away, Rainbow could almost hear Scootaloo's heart break. Surely enough, on the screen back in the LSB, Scootaloo was bawling her eyes out. Discord looked at Rainbow unapprovingly.

"Element of Loyalty, huh?"

"..."

"You can't get upset just because you lost. Especially when it comes to things like this. If you think about it, Scootaloo's strategy was actually a smart move. Sure, it was a little luck-based, but she was trying to make sure science was on her side."

"SHE'S A FILLY, DISCORD!"

"A filly you lost to."

"That doesn't matter!"

"Apparently it does. Scootaloo may have beaten you, but you just took out her self-esteem and confidence in one shot."

Rainbow froze. She was thinking about where Discord took her just two days ago; memories of Scootaloo's past and what she had done made her freeze.

"When Scootaloo jumped off that cloud without knowing how to fly, do you know what she was thinking?"

"What?"

"Thank you, Rainbow Dash. Thanks for making me feel like I can do everything...when I can't do anything." he recited, "Looks like you just proved her right in thinking that she was a lost cause."

Silence filled the room as she thought about the events of the last few days, what she just told Scootaloo, and how this would affect her relationship with her after all of this was over.

"Let's watch a different battle. There are two going on right now."

"Who?" Rainbow asked, refusing to face him.

"Sweetie Belle against Luna...and Spike against Celestia."

Rainbow gasped and looked at the screen. Sure enough, the princesses of Equestria were fighting a baby dragon and a filly.

"I'm actually very impressed," Discord said, "Spike and Sweetie Belle have been protecting themselves pretty well..."

Rainbow said nothing as her mind juggled Scootaloo and the victims of the princess' power.

On the east side...

Sweetie Belle was exhausted. She had somehow managed to barely dodge every attack Luna dished out. Yet the attacks just kept coming. She threw out a couple of attacks, but Luna dodged them all with ease. Going invisible, Luna smiled.

"I've never seen a filly your age use the spells that you've used against me," she complimented, creeping behind an unaware Sweetie Belle.

"Where is she," whispered Sweetie Belle before getting hit with a blast of dark energy. Flying a couple feet and landing on a rock, Sweetie cried out in pain.

"But you still have a lot to learn," Luna said before spreading her wings. Looking up at her, Sweetie didn't see the feathers of her wings but instead saw many stars populate them.

"I've never used this attack against anybody, so consider yourself lucky."

"UGH!" Sweetie Belle yelled, aiming a Bloody Rain attack at Luna. It was an attack that was apparently so powerful that if the opponent were hit, their blood would drench the attacker. Unfortunately for her, Luna nimbly dodged it and laughed.

"Nice try! I haven't seen that attack for centuries. It's slow and isn't as strong as it seems."

Rushing down at Sweetie Belle, she pinned her down with her hoof. Sweetie could feel it digging into her skin. Looking into Luna's eyes, she'd never felt more fear.

"PRINCESS LUNA, PLEASE!" she weeped, "PLEASE DON'T DO THIS! WHATEVER I DID TO UPSET YOU, I'M SORRY!"

"You did nothing to upset me, Sweetie..."

Sweetie gave her a hopeful glance as a response to Luna's soft smile. Her look of hope was replaced with one of horror when Luna frowned with eyes that glowed white.

"That doesn't mean that you won't be the recipient of the anger that I've accumulated over the years."

Swiftly extracting her wings once more, both wings and horn glowed. Sweetie couldn't move.

"I call this spell...Astral Nightmare."

With wide eyes, Sweetie's horn glowed as she made one last effort to attack...but her horn illuminated only to fade.

"What?" she asked. Luna chuckled.

"If I'm close enough, this spell renders your magic useless."

Sweetie Belle's heart sank.

"I'll make sure to tell Twilight of your diligence. But for now, close your eyes, little one.."

She did what was asked, anticipating the attack.

"Let sleep claim you."

With that, a dark rainbow emerged from both Luna's wings and horn, hitting Sweetie Belle point blank. The vicinity was darkened for a couple of seconds, but when the darkness faded, the filly was gone.

"I'm sorry, Sweetie..." Luna apologized out loud.

In the North side...

"Oh! I'll have to ask Discord to take me back here soon! There's probably a ton of animals to add to the sanctuary," Fluttershy said with glee.

It was evident that she wasn't worried about fighting; she was just taking in the sights. When she heard the snapping of a twig behind her, she stopped and turned around before her smile grew.

"Hello, Pinkie Pie! Isn't this place beautiful?"

Pinkie Pie just had a huge grin on her face. Fluttershy could see every tooth in her mouth. Her pupils had expanded to fill her entire eye. She was originally sitting down, but as Fluttershy approached, she stood up.

"Pinkie? Can you hear me?"

"..."

Fluttershy's look of bewilderment turned into a look of agony when Pinkie lunged at her, hitting a very powerful punch against her face. As she fell to the ground, Fluttershy tasted the blood in her mouth.

"Pinkie--ACH!"

With as much force as she could, Pinkie stomped directly onto her spine with both of her forelegs, causing Fluttershy to scream in pain. Pinkie was still smiling.

"Why aren't you smiling, Fluttershy?"

Grabbing her tail, she swung her up into the air before sending her back down with another stomp. At this point, Fluttershy began to panic. Flying up, she grit her teeth and flew straight at Pinkie Pie...

...only for her to teleport above her.

"All you really need..."

She grabbed her tail and threw her against a tree, face first.

"Pinkie..."

"...is a smile..."

Fluttershy's face hit the tree bark with a resounding CRACK!.

"...smile..."

Another one.

"...smile!"

One final face push to the tree had knocked out Fluttershy. Her yellow coat now had multiple bruises, scratches and trails of blood coming from her face crawling down her neck. She vanished with a bright light.

Pinkie's smile faded.

"See how much fun that was? You got an elimination!"

With tears in her eyes, Pinkie sat down.

"What did you say? What did I just do? WHO DID I JUST FIGHT?"

"Fluttershy."

Pinkie almost fainted when Pinkamena said that.

Author's Note

Don't worry. We'll check up on Rarity and Spike in the next chapter. Also, regarding Pinkie's appearance, think Smile HD.

(or on second thought, don't think Smile HD. that was terrifying)

Sunset

LSB

Discord was shaken to his core. He had never in his life seen anyone so swiftly and eagerly beat up Fluttershy, especially since she was much stronger than the calm, innocent demeanor she put on. As he held her in his arms, she didn't realize that her being held was the one thing keeping him from killing Pinkie right at that moment. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was consoling Sweetie Belle, who had finally broken down from the anxiety once she was in a safe spot. As she cried into her neck, Rainbow Dash was wondering if this game would end up helping or hurting everyone in the long run. Scootaloo and Rainbow's relationship was at stake, Sweetie Belle was just traumatized, and Fluttershy had witnessed only a smidget of Pinkie's inner insanity. A lot was being revealed, and there were still a couple of competitors left.

Meanwhile...

Rarity was humming a song with a smile on her face as she jotted down notes on the scenery. She figured that if she was going to be in the woods, she might as well take the environment as inspiration for her upcoming Spring lineup.

"Discord, you've truly outdone yourself," she whispered as she made notes of a nearby bird's colors, "These are fantastic color combinations for the capstone dress of the lineup! Tres magnifique!"

"I like it too," a voice said behind her.

"Oh, Twilight, darling! Isn't it gorgeous?" she gushed without looking at her. Flying next to her, Twilight peeked at the prototype sketches that Rarity had made. Twilight was surprised.

"These look amazing, Rarity! Which season are these for?"

"Spring! The lineup will be called Blossom Sunrise!"*

"That sounds pretty," Twilight complimented,

"Oh, it will be."

The bird she was watching flew off into the distance; one she did, she put her notepad and sketchbook away and turned to face Twilight.

"Although I got some work done, I mustn't forget why we're here. You understand, right?"

Twilight sighed and prepared a spell. "Yep."

"Excellent," she stated, backing up. "Attack when ready."

Levitating in the air, Twilight's horn shone as a smug smile went across Rarity's face. It explained why after the Princess got off the ground, a large diamond crystal dropped on her, sending her back to the ground. Rarity smiled.

"What's the matter, darling?"

"Oh, I dunno, I felt like I was just crushed by a giant diamond?" she answered sarcastically.

"Well, it's what happens when you choose to expose your advantages too quickly, darling. Speaking of which..."

The diamond disintegrated, freeing Twilight. She flapped her wings to become airborne before two diamonds clipped both of her wings, sending her back to the ground once more.

"Let's get rid of those wings, shall we?" Rarity said. She hadn't moved an inch since they began. Twilight tried to flap her wings, but pain shot through her body. She grit her teeth.

"Enough," she seethed as she aimed an attacking spell at Rarity. This was one of the more modern spells that she had in her arsenal; it was called Havoc Hammer. Although it was slow, she was confident that if it landed once, it would knock out Rarity.

Rarity giggled as she stared at the foreboding weapon.

"Don't tell me you're going to attack me with that thing, Twilight," she laughed, causing her to smile.

"Oh, I won't..."

An onslaught of hammer pounds made the ground shake and both ponies jump upon impact. Rarity was having fun; every swing missed her completely.

"Try harder, darling."

However, her fun was short-lived, as the last hammer pound sent her into the air, Twilight landed a perfect Alicorn Attack, sending her across the grove. Twilight disintegrated the hammer and flashed a proud smile.

"Sure, Rarity," she said, quickly calculating Rarity's acceleration rate and the force that came with it. Once that was done, she placed Sparkle Spikes at her landing spot. Surely enough, it was perfectly placed. One of the spikes pierced through Rarity's arm, causing her to scream in pain.

"How's that fashionista sense workin' for ya?" Twilight taunted as she trotted to her friend.

"Just fabulously, darling" Rarity answered as her horn glowed blue, pinning a confused Twilight to the ground.

Now freed, Rarity limped to Twilight, who had gritted her teeth.

"Surely you know that when the user is under the influence of alternative magic, those spikes disintegrate, correct?"

The princess rolled her eyes and tried to get up, only to fail.

"Ha ha. Very funny, Rarity," she said.

"You know what else is funny?" Rarity asked.

Her cutie mark glowed, causing the ground to shake. An astonished Twilight wriggled to get off the ground, not knowing what was coming, only for her to be impaled by a large diamond spike.

"You could've won if you had simply increased the spike size and decreased the number of spikes. I call this Diamond Demise," she said proudly.

The edge had gone through Twilight's chest, quickly silencing and eliminating her. The upper half of the diamond was now drenched with her blood while the lower half had it trickling down. Disassembling the diamond, a lifeless Twilight fell to the ground. A dastardly smile crept across Rarity's face as Twilight disappeared.

"Say hello to my sister for me," she whispered before continuing along the forest.

Eastern Section

Spike had surprisingly found his battle with Celestia moderately easy at the moment. He couldn't help but to think that she was messing with him when she said she wouldn't be holding back. Her nickname wasn't 'Trollestia' for nothing. He'd only gotten hit with a couple of attacks, but none that would knock him out quickly. On the other hand, he landed a couple of attacks, but, like Celestia's, they didn't do too much.

"Impressive," Celestia said with an annoyed look, "But this has gone on long enough."

She spread her wings as the sun shone brighter. Spike, who was in the air, immediately dropped to the ground. He seemed to be stuck to the grass!

"What? How?" he asked, worried. The princess chuckled.

"Another spell that Twilight doesn't know about," she answered, "It's been fun, Spike."

"It has been. But before you eliminate me, can I ask one question?"

She nodded, to which Spike grinned.

"Are you aware of how much fan-mail you get on an hourly basis?" he asked before burping a flame that was as high as the treetops. In the stead of fire, Celestia's eyes widened as she became covered with millions of scrolls, all addressed to her. The mountain of paper had provided Spike with some covering from the sun, so he was freed too!

I can't believe that worked! he thought with a smile. Celestia destroyed each scroll and glared at Spike.

"I should've ended you long ago," she said.

Spike responded by burning the forest floor and ascending, forcing Celestia to go airborne. However, as Celestia went up, Spike crashed down on her, purposefully aiming for her back so he could have a clear shot to her wings. The smoke was thick, so she had no idea where he was.

"ENOUGH, SPIKE!" she screamed, blowing away each cloud of smoke with a single spell.

Her hooves were burning from the remnants of the fire, but she ignored it. Spike, who hid in the treetops, could see that she was now out for blood. He had to be quick; emerging from his hiding spot, he dashed forward and slashed her right wing, causing feathers to scatter. Celestia didn't scream, she simply caught him as he tried to fly away.

"I wouldn't have to worry about fire if I didn't have you," she hissed with venom in her tongue, "Your demise is long overdue."

Saying nothing, Spike grabbed her neck and let loose a torrent of flames directly onto her head. He heard the screams from the flames, but was still being held.

Let me go, let me go, let me go! I got this if she would let me go!

Just then, his wishes were answered. Being freed from Celestia's grasp, he flew up to the frantic flaming Celestia and slashed her neck, giving his claws a fresh shade of red.

Celestia fell, and he could hear her fade away. He smiled.

"Nice," he said, fist pumping, "But what did she mean she should've ended me long ago?"

"I can't help but agree."

Spike's heart dropped when he saw Luna approach him with an enraged look on her face.

"She should have ended you long ago. And since she didn't, I will."

In the Western Section...

Saying Apple Bloom was terrified was a severe understatement. Applejack excelled in close clombat but she was helpless from long range. Unfortunately for her, Apple Bloom was slower than Applejack.

"C'MERE, APPLE BLOOM," Applejack yelled as she ran after her sister.

She had been chasing her for the last couple of minutes, and her energy was rapidly falling.

If she lands a single hit, I'm done for! she thought. She gasped.

"Wait a minute," she said, stopping. She bucked a nearby tree, causing a couple of branches to fall on Applejack as she passed by.

"Ow!" Applejack yelled, as she rubbed her head.

Apple Bloom was ecstatic; she was back in the game! She kept bucking trees that Applejack was sure to pass by, and to her surprise, everytime she passed a tree, her sister was hit with either a branch, fruit, or pinecone. The damage was adding up, and the bruises were visible.

"Yes!" she cried with a smile. Applejack, however, wasn't amused. As her sister prepared to buck another tree, she countered her strength with a buck of her own, causing the entire tree to fall over. Fortunately, Apple Bloom had avoided it.

"What happened ta your confidence, sugarcube?" Applejack asked as she bucked each tree, causing them to fall. Apple Bloom was frantic; she was rapidly running out of options.

"You were actin' mighty tough a second ago," Applejack taunted, quickly gaining ground on her sister.

Eyes wide, Apple Bloom looked for something, anything to counter. Fortunately for her, she thought she had an idea. Picking up a couple of rocks, she threw them into the air, and bucked each one of them towards Applejack. Some hit, some didn't. Either way, Applejack was getting annoyed at her sister's cleverness and ingenuity.

She sighed. "Can ya stop throwin' stuff," she asked, dodging more rocks, "It's gettin' kinda ol--OOH!"

As she kept track of where the rocks were coming from and dodging them accordingly, her sister risked it all and ran up close and delivered a kick to her jaw, sending her back a little. Apple Bloom had a determined look on her face as she stared down her older sister.

"So..." she said, chuckling, "Ya finally decided to stop runnin'."

Apple Bloom nodded. "Our family doesn't run away from danger. Even if it's among our own."

"Ya literally just ran from me for the last ten minutes, but alright."

Applejack simply slapped her sister twice, but each slap had enough force behind it to destroy a boulder. The filly began to rethink her strategy.

"Alright, FINE!" she said through a quickly swelling mouth. Avoiding another slap, she jumped onto her sister's back and put her in a headlock, squeezing her neck as tightly as she could.

"ACH! GET *ACH!* OFFA ME!"

Slamming her into trees, Applejack's oxygen was quickly running out. Apple Bloom was trying to stay conscious as her back hit thorns, bark, and jagged tree edges.

Come on, come on, come on! Almost...there...

In a last ditch effort, she squeezed tighter than before.

"GET...OFFA...me..." Applejack slurred before falling to the ground. Apple Bloom kept her headlock just in case she was still breathing. When it became evident she wasn't she let go, sighing.

"Ow," she whispered, quietly sobbing from the marks she'd gotten. "I reckon...I don't really like this game..."

She sat down and watched her sister fade away as she wished that she was there to calm her down.

LSB

Applejack, Celestia, and Twilight appeared in the room at the same time, causing the past eliminations to gasp. Discord smirked.

"Doesn't feel so good now, does it, Celestia?"

Ignoring him, Celestia went to the bar to get some Apple Cider. Sweetie was already there, quietly drinking a milkshake. Twilight was frantically searching through her notebook.

"How. How. How?! THERE'S NO WAY THAT A SPIKE THAT SMALL IN RADIUS AND LARGE IN HEIGHT COULD KNOCK ME OUT INSTANTLY! How'd she do it?"

"She aimed for the heart," Discord answered, "She should've aimed for the head in my opinion."

"Applejack," Rainbow said as she approached, "You lost to Apple Bloom?"

She nodded with a frown as she looked at her sister crying on the screen. "I can't save her now...she's on her own for the rest of the game."

"How many people are left?" asked Fluttershy.

"Six. Rarity, Luna, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Pinkie, and Spike." Discord answered. "Funny how you were all saying the Crusaders and Spike shouldn't be in it, yet two of the three Crusaders are still in and Spike beat the Princess of Equestria."

Sweetie's ears perked up. "WHAT?! APPLE BLOOM AND SCOOTALOO ARE STILL IN?"

Discord nodded. "A truly impressive performance. There's more to them that meets the eye."

Catching Twilight's glance, Sweetie backed away. "Yeah...there is..."

"You okay, Sweetie Belle?" Fluttershy asked, "You seem worried."

All eyes were now on the filly as she tried to avoid everyone's glares. Realizing it wouldn't work, she sighed and approached Twilight.

"I lasted longer against Luna than I thought I would. I learned a couple of spells from your spell room to help me with the fight..." she confessed, giving Twilight a surprised look.

"I thought I said that, unless I'm in there, that room was off limits! Which ones did you use?"

"The ones in the red books..."

"WHAT?!"

Celestia and Twilight approached her.

"Those spells are for master-level magicians only," Celestia cried, "If you mess them up, you can cause damage to both yourself and the world around you!"

"Sorry," Sweetie Belle said meekly. She could tell that the two alicorns were very displeased. "I didn't mean to--"

"Clearly, you did," Celestia thundered, "Why else would you be in there?"

"I just wanted to learn spells," Sweetie cried, "Is that so bad?"

"YES! You should've just asked me," Twilight yelled angrily, "But now, there's a chance that you've disrupted something either in Equestria, Canterlot, or some other realm, and none of us know what!"

"But I--"

"CAN'T WE HAVE ONE WEEK WITHOUT FILLIES LIKE YOU OR SPIKE COMING ALONG TO MESS EVERYTHING UP? IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?!" Twilight roared at Sweetie silencing her.

"That's enough," Applejack said, "I think she gets the point, Twilight."

"I don't," Celestia snarled as her horn glowed.

Snapping his fingers, Discord sent a crying Sweetie Belle to Rarity's location before glaring at the two of them. Snapping once more, he placed all of the ponies and pegasi on the sofa.

"Why don't you two shut up," he hissed, "And watch the show?"

Still seething, Celestia and Twilight began to discuss how they could make sure there were no issues or casualties in other realms thanks to Sweetie Belle's incompetence.

Author's Note

*I'm so good at making fashion names. /s

So we're down to six contenders: Spike, the two CMC's, Pinkie, Rarity, and Luna.

I enjoy writing these; they're pretty fun. I think I'm going to do a sequel to this story at some point in the future.

Predictions

LSB
For the first time all day, not much was going on in the arena. Apple Bloom was still in her original position, sniffling. Scootaloo walked slowly, not caring who she encountered. Spike had just began his battle with Luna. Rarity was talking with Sweetie Belle. Pinkie Pie was sobbing loudly at what she had done.

Twilight and Celestia were still displeased at what Sweetie Belle had admitted. Rainbow Dash, Discord, Applejack, and Fluttershy were at the bar drinking multiple glasses of apple cider. Not much was going on in the arena, but there wasn't exactly order in the Loser's Booth either. Rainbow Dash was on her fifth pint of apple cider and was getting more drunk by the minute.

"wHy..." she howled, "wHy'D i HaVe tO aCt ThAt wAy tOwArDs ScOoTaLoO?"

Falling to the floor, she began to roll around in clear emotional pain. Applejack, who had drunk about ten pints of cider, was perfectly sober. Helping Rainbow Dash up, she gave her a sad smile.

"Ah think that's enough cider for you, Rainbow," she said, "Maybe you should go sit down."

Cross-eyed, Rainbow looked at her with water pouring down her face.

"B--But Sc--*burp*--Scootaloo...she's been thuh--through too much alrEAdy! She th--thinks I hate hEr!"

"I'm sure she doesn't think that, sugarcube."

Rainbow frowned. "Easy for youuuuuu to say, Applecrrrrrrack...your sisterrrrr loves you no maaaaatter what," she said, putting her hoof on Applejack's hat on the last word.

"Alright, that's enough," Fluttershy ordered, grabbing Rainbow's other hoof, "You should sit down and watch the rest of the game."

"No," Rainbow cried, thrashing everywhere, "I can't bear to see her again! Not after what I said! Not after how I treated her! PLEASE!"

"You'll have the chance to apologize following the game's conclusion," Discord said.

"I can't wait that long!!" Rainbow screamed before Twilight surrounded her in a bubble that was soundproof from the outside.

"There," Twilight said, annoyed, "Now she can scream all she wants."

Applejack felt terrible. She'd never seen Rainbow this upset. Although she couldn't hear, she could tell that the pegasus was screaming for Scootaloo. As she burst into a flood of tears, Applejack looked away. Apple Bloom was finally on the move. Discord snapped his fingers, returning Sweetie Belle.

"..."

Head hung low, she walked over to the bed and laid down, refusing to face anyone. She felt Twilight's and Celestia's gaze burning into her head. Guilt overcame her easily; for all she knew, her experimenting with spells got someone hurt, or even worse! She just didn't want to go around knowing nothing about magic. It was one of those scenarios where you do the wrong thing for the right reason. When she confessed to Rarity, as expected, her sister took their side. She reiterated the multiple scenarios where Twilight ordered the fillies to not go into that room for any reason unless either she or the princesses are already in there or gave them explicit permission to be in there. Although Rarity was much more calm about it, the disappointment was evident in her voice. In addition, it stung worse than when Twilight and Celestia scolded her about it. Before she came back, Rarity told her sister that she would have to talk with Twilight and Celestia about an appropriate punishment.

Once again, no matter how many promises she kept, it seemed that her words and constant apologies meant nothing.

"Sweetie Belle, are you going to watch the fights with us?" Discord asked.

"No," she answered, burying her head deeper into a pillow.

"Suit yourself. I believe that brings me to a question that no one has given me an answer to."

All eyes (except Sweetie Belle's) were now on Discord.

"Who do you think is going to win?"

"Luna," Celestia growled, "She's more experienced in magic than any of the current contenders. I'd be surprised if she loses."

"Okay, that's one vote for Luna."

"I vote Pinkie Pie," Fluttershy answered, "Luna may have magic, but Pinkie has unpredictability and illogic."

"I have faith in Apple Bloom," Applejack said confidently, "She's resourceful."

"Against a grown Alicorn princess?" Celestia asked with a smile.

"Yep," Applejack said.

"Well, I second Pinkie Pie," Twilight agreed, "She has way too much going for her in terms of randomness."

"So that's two for Pinkie Pie, one for Apple Bloom, one for Luna. Sweetie Belle, what say you?"

"Who are my options?"

"Those that everyone just mentioned, Spike, Scootaloo, and Rarity."

She looked at everyone before turning away. She had an option between a dragon, a close friend, and her sister.

"Spike," she whispered, blushing.

"What?"

"SCOOTALOO!" She said, "I vote Scootaloo."

Rainbow nodded at her and pointed at Sweetie Belle to signify her agreement with her.

"So, two for Scootaloo. That leaves me. I personally think that Rarity could win this one. You saw what she did to Twilight. She has a good eye."

Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Wow. No one chose Spike," she said, looking down.

"From the looks of things, Spike may actually have a chance! Look..." Celestia said in awe. On the television screen, Spike and Luna looked like they were evenly matched. Trading blows constantly, it looked like it wouldn't take much more for one of them to faint.

Meanwhile...

"WOAH!"

Spike nimbly flew around an onslaught of beams coming from Luna. Each one, upon impact, completely decimated its target. Unsheathing his claws, he tried to get up close, but Luna dodged.

"JUST FALL ALREADY," she screamed, "You little PEST!"

That stopped Spike dead in his tracks. He still dodged the last beam, but there was something that hurt him even more than any attack. He looked at his dragonsitter, in astonishment at what she just called him. With teeth still gnashed, she pointed her horn towards him.

"A...pest?" he asked in a quivering voice. Luna stopped as she realized what she just called him. Like Rainbow, she took consideration of the history that name had with dragons. It was especially personal regarding Spike, who had been called the name when he tried his hardest, yet still fell short.

"Spike...I...I didn't mean--"

"No. You did," he whispered, brokenhearted, "Everypony does. Everypony calls me that name. Rarity, Rainbow, Fluttershy...even Twilight!"

"I wasn't aware that--"

"You were the last person I would expect to call me that," Spike said balling his fists and baring his fangs. Horn aglow once again, Luna stepped back.

"Spike, I'm sorry, it was in the heat of the moment!" she explained.

"What about all of the time we spent together?" he seethed, "All the stories you told me, all the secrets I've told you, all the fun we've had! Were you just faking it?"

"No! How could I? Why WOULD I?"

Spike exhaled smoke.

"Because I'm too much of a pest to deserve your care. It seems like ALL dragons were too much of pests to deserve even the care of ponies!"

"Spike...please...don't make me do this," she pleaded.

"Well, this pest is about to eliminate you," he promised before setting the forest ablaze with green fire. Luna aimed a Nightmare Blast to finish him off, but it seemed that Spike's speed increased in his fury. He quickly vanished into the flames; for the first time in this entire tournament, Luna was scared. Scared not just of losing the fight, but losing a friend.

"Spike! Show yours--"

Luna was interrupted by Spike reappearing in front of her and squeezing her throat with his claws digging into her neck. His strength had drastically increased as well. His tongue was forked and scales sharpened, with eyes turned into slits.

"Here I am..." he hissed.

"AAAGHH!!" Luna aimed a Winter Wreck attack in an effort to neutralize him once and for all, only for Spike to slash her horn, causing the sky to fill with screams of pain.

"Say hi to Celestia for me," he said before using his newfound strength to twist Luna's neck. The fire disintegrated as Luna fell to the ground. A single tear fell down her face as she faded away.

With a smile, he looked up at the sky and yelled, "HOW'S THIS FOR A PEST?" before searching for his next opponent.

LSB

As Luna arrived, she was met with silence and disbelief at what everyone just witnessed. Everyone was shocked at what Spike had become. It was the one thing Twilight had feared the most regarding Spike.

"Surely, none of you think he's a pest, right?" Applejack asked, to which she raised her hoof and Discord raised his hand.

"I don't," he answered.

"Me neither," Sweetie responded with a hint of red on her cheeks.

Applejack narrowed her eyes. "There's an awfully large shortage of hooves in the air..."

No one responded, to which Sweetie Belle stepped in.

"ARE YOU ALL SERIOUS?" she screamed, "WITH EVERYTHING HE'S DONE TO HELP US, YOU ALL THINK HE'S JUST A NUISANCE TO US ALL?"

"Sweetie Belle, it's not like that," Fluttershy said, "It's just a matter of being in the wrong place in the wrong time."

"That makes no sense! You guys always say friendship is magic, but when it comes to Spike, you're taking advantage of his friendship! He gives to you guys, sometimes risking his own life, only for you guys to stomp on him! Rainbow! He used the last moments of his life to tell you that Scootaloo couldn't fly! You caught him, dropped him, and went on to save Scootaloo despite him being ill! Twilight! He runs countless errands for you, defends you, and you barely tell him thank you! Princess Luna, Princess Celestia, he trusts you with his secrets! If Rarity were here, I'd say that he's willing to lay down his life for her! He'd do it in a heartbeat!" she pointed out.

Sweetie's outburst had come with an overflow of guilt washing over them.

"And what about you, Sweetie Belle?" Celestia asked.

"I say thank you every time he does something for me. He goes through too much on a day-to-day basis to not get one. When he gets a thank you, he has a huge smile on his face. Pinkie knows it too, which is why she also acknowledges what he does for her. It's clear that he's glad someone cares."

"I'm detecting large amounts of bias..." Discord said with a magnifying glass and a knowing grin, causing Sweetie to turn away.

"I think we all owe him an apology," Twilight said, somberly.

"Ya think? If he loses, you'll have the chance to give it to him," Applejack noted. "All of you will."

Celestia gave Luna a disapproving glance.

"Oh, shut up," she said, "Don't tell me you haven't said it too."

"We're both in the wrong. You just happened to pull the trigger."

That silenced her. Sweetie Belle came over and took a seat on the ground in front of the television.

"Now, all that's left are Rarity, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Spike, and Pinkie Pie."

Right on cue, someone entered into the LSB. Spinning around, they were surprised to see Rarity standing there, shaking in fear.

"RARITY!" Sweetie cried, rushing to give her sister a hug. "WHAT HAPPENED?"

"How--what?? Who'd you fight? Who'd you lose to?"

"Th--that THING!!"

She pointed to Pinkie Pie, whose hair was down and was wearing a smile.

"Pinkie Pie? How?" Twilight asked.

"That's NOT Pinkie Pie!" she cried, "She was too fastfor me to notice! She was merciless! And she smiled the entire time!"

"Huh. I guess that leaves Spike, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Pinkie Pie."

"If that's not Pinkie Pie, who is that?" Celestia wondered.

"You really don't know your citizens, Celestia," Discord responded.

"That's Pinkamena Diane Pie. And she's currently heading towards...uh oh."

"APPLE BLOOM!" Applejack shrieked.

In the east...

Scootaloo was running as fast as she could. She heard and saw fire nearby. When she investigated, she witnessed Spike defeating Luna with ease. He looked more...ravenous than usual. Running in the opposite direction, she made some good ground before...

"HELP!!"

She stopped.

" That sounds like Apple Bloom," she responded before going in the direction of the sound.

The screams got louder and louder with Scootaloo going through bushes and leaves. Until finally...

"APPLE BLOOM!"

"Scootaloo!"

She was tangled up in a couple of vines hanging from a tree. Squirming frantically, she watched as Scootaloo tried to cut her loose.

"Scootaloo! You need to run! She's coming!"

"Who is?"

"Pink--"

Scootaloo gasped as she stared at a pink hoof going through her friend's chest and grabbing her heart before pulling it back. Apple Bloom's head hung down with eyes widened as she began to fade away. Scootaloo's heart jumped to her throat as she realized that there was a bigger threat nearby. Much bigger. Turning around to run, she almost fell down when she ran right into Pinkie Pie.

"AAHHH! OH MY GOODNESS! Don't scare me like that Pinkie Pie!"

Looking up at her, she saw nothing but craziness in her eyes.

"Pinkie? Are you okay?"

"What happened to your friend?" she asked. Scootaloo hugged her tightly and began to weep.

"Someone...someone..."

"It's alright...everything is going to be alright...you just..."

She laid Scootaloo down.

"...need..."

"Ummm...w--what are you doing?"

She held a hoof to her head.

"...to smile..."

Scootaloo gasped at the realization and tried to fly backwards, but it was too late. Stomping down on her, Scootaloo's skull was crushed instantly. Her face was frozen with a look of horror and her eyes lifeless. With the red tip of her hoof, she formed Scootaloo's mouth into a smile as she faded.

"PINKAMENA, STOP!! PLEASE!! YOU'RE HURTING HARMLESS FILLIES!!" Pinkie yelled, transforming back.

Okay.

She froze. "Wait, really? You'll just stop? Just like that?"

Yep. We have one more opponent and we win the entire thing. I'll let you handle this one.

"I really need to tell someone about you," she cried, bursting into tears, "You hurt more than you help!"

And I'll kill anyone who tries to get rid of me. Still wanna get me help?

"..."

I thought so. Good luck!

LSB

The second Apple Bloom and Scootaloo appeared, their respective sisters gave them a huge hug and cried with them at what they just witnessed. Surely enough, this would be burned into their memory for the rest of their lives.

"She needs mental help. A lot of it," Luna said, "Pacing back and forth."

"That won't do. You saw what Pinkamena said," Fluttershy said, "Anyone who tries to get rid of her dies!"

"We may have hope," Twilight said, going through her notes, "Spike can win."

"Can he?" Rainbow asked, hugging Scootaloo tightly. Discord shrugged.

"It's up in the air at this point."

"We're about to find out, though," Rarity said, pointing at the screen. Spike and Pinkie Pie had met in the clearing they started with. Pinkie was scared while Spike looked merciless.

"This is it," Celestia said.

In the Center...

"Spike! I don't want to do this! C'mon, let's just go home!"

Licking his lips, Spike sharpened his claws.

"Sure you don't," he answered. "But I do."

"Why?! You have nothing to gain from it!"

"Yes...yes I do!"

"Like what?"

Spike looked at her. "You'll see."

Pinkie gulped. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I'm not just doing this for me...I'm doing this for you..."

"What?"

"You need help, Pinkie Pie. So, I don't want to fight you. I want to fight Pinkamena."

Pinkie paled.

Is he serious? Alright, let's go! Bring it on!

"She'll kill you, Spike..." she whispered, shaking in fear.

"Then at least I'll die helping a friend," he responded.

Sighing, Pinkie Pie transformed into her cold-blooded alter ego. A sinister smile spread across her lips.

"When I win," she said, "You're dying in the real world too..."

"Oh?"

"...this time, you'll stay dead."

Spike bared his fangs.

"Challenge accepted."

Author's Note

Okay, so I know people prefer SB x Button Mash instead of SB x Spike, but come on.
Also, even after the final battle, we're not done, so stay tuned!

Anarchy

"I don't think that's a challenge you want to accept," Pinkamena said, trotting closer.

Still on guard, Spike expected the worst. "And why is that?"

She chuckled. "Look at us. Two beings who have more power than we originally thought possible. Pinkie's power can't be explained; no one, not even us know where it came from. But you...it just took a little push for you to embrace the power of a dragon."

"What's your point?" he asked.

"Don't you wanna take your strength on a test run?"

"What do you think I'm about to do?"

She rolled her eyes.

"I mean outside of this world that Discord made. You've seen what your friends truly think about dragons. Don't you wanna get them back?"

Spike was reluctant to answer.

"You've gone through too much without any sort of respect whatsoever. Sure, you get some thank yous, but never consistently. You're physically abused, ignored, and disregarded most of the time. You said it yourself; the Mane Six don't care about you. Not even Twilight, your so-called 'sister' cares about you. They've been lying to you for a long time!"

Looking down, Spike began to consider what she said. She hadn't been lying yet; it seemed that everypony that he believed he was close to was actually either against him or didn't care for him at all.

"How do you know that they didn't lie about where you came from as well?" she asked.

"I...I...don't know..." Spike muttered.

"That's my point! Here you have ponies that couldn't care less about you and see you as a nuisance, and this is your chance to finally get some sweet revenge!"

What Twilight told him two days prior to that point began to ring in his ear: would he be willing to destroy his relationships that he's spent years making just so he can fit into something that didn't even make his species look good? Alternatively, would he be willing to go an even longer time as a punching bag for everypony in town?

"Well? What do you think?"

"I think I'll deal with that bridge when I encounter it."

Pinkamena chuckled. "For all you know, this is your only chance. Remember, if I win, you die."

"That's a risk I'll have to take."

"Are you sure?" she asked, a grin slowly appearing on her face.

"Yep."

She looked down. "Shame. A real shame," she said, "Now...let me turn that frown of yours upside-down."

LSB

"What have we done," Twilight breathed, "Do you know what this could mean when we get back?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Celestia said, "I'm already working on getting Pinkie Pie into a mental health asylum. She seems to have severe MPD."

Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom approached.

"What's goin' on? What'll happen to Spike?" Apple Bloom asked.

"We don't know, sugarcube," Applejack answered, "We're at a crossroads here."

"The way I see it, we have two possible outcomes here, both bad," Discord noted, "If Pinkamena wins, Spike dies, but she'll be free to terrorize the denizens of Ponyville at whim. Alternatively, if Spike wins, Pinkie will get help so desperately needed, but we may have to end up stopping Spike from hurting others. For that to happen, we'll have to hurt him."

Twilight could barely contain her sorrows as Celestia placed a feather around her.

"This is exactly what I didn't want to happen," she said, "I never imagined a day where Spike could become a legitimate threat to all of our safety."

"This is bad. Really bad," Rainbow said, "What can we do?"

"For now," Luna said, "We can just hope that he neutralizes Pinkamena and we'll go from there."

"We automatically return to Ponyville once the last contender is eliminated," Discord reminded everyone, "We arrive exactly one second after we originally left. Virtually nothing changes in that world."

The CMCs gathered in front of the screen where everyone was watching, dreading the moment where they will have to choose between two friends.

Meanwhile...

Spike wasted no time. He charged at Pinkamena, claws unsheathed, to try to finish this in one go. What he didn't remember, however, was that Pinkie alone was faster than anypony on land. Easily dodging his attack, she stomped the ground twice.

"Balloons, anyone?" she asked.

Right on cue, the ground shook as balloons of every color slowly began to rise. Spike stopped and looked at the multitude of them, not sure what they were for. Looking at his foe, he noticed that her tail was twitching rapidly.

"Crap!"

Something was about to fall. In this case, many things were. As if on cue, every balloon popped, and what was inside each one made him go pale. Inside each balloon was about twenty icicles that fell the second each balloon popped. And Spike was under twenty balloons. But what was odd was that once the balloons popped and the icicles fell...they began to hone in on him.

Oh boy. He thought.

Quickly flying around the circle, Spike tried to get some of the icicles off of him by flying in the path of various trees, rocks, and other natural features of the forest. Pinkamena giggled.

"You know," she called, "This can all stop if you just team up with me. We can rule Equestria together!"

Dodging another one of Spike's scratch attacks, she received her answer.

"No? Suit yourself!"

Stomping on the ground once more, several large party cannons began to protrude from the ground. Successfully dodging the last of the icicles, Spike aimed an inferno towards Pinkamena, who vanished once the flames got close.

"Oh no," Spike muttered as he began to fly at high speed. He had no idea where she was, all he knew was that she defied laws of nature and physics on a regular basis. At that point, the cannons were in the air and slowly flipped towards the ground. Spike began to breathe fire towards the ground to give her incentive to stay away from it.

"If I set it on fire, I can limit her options in terms of where she can go," he muttered, before breathing flames on each tree that surrounded the clearing. His goal was to get her to stay in the clearing where he can see her.

"Alright, alright, looking good, looking gOO--"

Pinkamena had attacked from above, tackling him towards the enflamed ground. Turning towards her, he was met with a mere flick that sent him crashing down to the grounds. Once he hit the ground, a crater formed instantly. The smoke from the fire began to form into a large black cloud.

Struggling to get up, he saw Pinkamena fabricate in front of him.

"This won't end well for you, Spike," she said, before hitting him with a backhoof. "All you gotta do is submit."

Now infuriated, when Pinkamena prepared another backhand, he was able to catch it and landed a scratch on the cheek, knocking her back a bit. Feeling her cheek, she was surprised to see blood trickling down her hoof. From Spike's view, there were three claw marks right underneath her eye. Gritting her teeth, she frowned.

"Enough games," she screamed, "That was your last chance."

Charging towards him, the pink pony let out a blood-curdling shriek as she threw multiple punches towards the dragon, with each one having enough force behind it to knock down a building. Fortunately for Spike, each one missed. He tried going airborne, but she simply bit his tail and sent him back down. Yelping in pain, he desperately looked for a way out.

"Now," she said with his tail between her teeth, "I'm going to make sure you never get up."

Positioning her hoof above his back, Spike frantically searched for a solution.

I got it! he thought, sharpening the edges on his back.

When Pinkamena pushed her hoof down, instead of hearing the crack of his spine, she heard her own screams as his normally rounded edges on his back were replaced with jagged edges. Tumbling over, she grabbed her hoof.

"Owowowowowowow," she moaned, as a fresh wound replaced the bottom of her left hoof.

Spike instantly rushed her; grabbing her throat, he delivered another scratch, this time, to her second cheek. Afterwards he slammed her to the ground and unleashed an unrelenting flamethrower from his mouth.

I'm gonna help you, Pinkie! Don't worry!

"OOF!"

Through the flames, Pinkie landed another punch, directly to his nose, which sent him to the other side of the crater. As blood dripped past his lips and onto his chest, he looked at Pinkie struggle to her hooves with murder in her eyes. Her face was now a charred black; her hair had green remnants of fire in some places, but otherwise, it looked the same.

"You think this is funny? YOU THINK THIS IS A GAME? I'LL END YOU!" she screamed, before the party cannons all aimed towards Spike. As he looked up, she charged and pinned him to the ground.

"When this is over," she seethed, "I'll kill you...but first...I'll kill your friends...and make you watch them die."

He began to saw a light blue emanate from the cannon.

"I presume...ugh!...those are ice beams?"

"Ice beams? HA! I wish!" she said, "Those beams up there will disintegrate you upon impact! You lose, we all go home, and I begin my slaugter. Everyone wins!"

She stopped.

"Wait, no. I WIN."

"Sounds good to me," Spike cried as he threw a clawful of boiling dirt into Pinkamena's eyes.

"AAAAGH!!!" she screamed, freeing Spike once again.

Spike grabbed her by the tail and dragged her to the flames that engulfed the outside of the crater before throwing her in.

"NO! FIRE! FIRE NOW!!" she screamed before Spike pushed her head into the flame.

Fade away, fade away, fade away!!

The cries of Pinkamena were drowned by the sound of the party cannons firing, aiming towards him. He could see Pinkamena begin to turn light blue, signifying her beginning to teleport to the LSB.

"NO!!!!!"

Spike felt the immense coldness of the party cannons' blasts beginning to approach. Pinkamena was almost gone! The head was left. Spike looked into her ice-blue eyes.

"How's this for a smile?" he asked, giving her the biggest grin he could muster. The blasts were mere feet from him.

Pinkamena frowned.

"I can’t wait to see you suffer,” she said as the last of her evaporated into the sky.

The coolness that the blasters had disappeared with the beams. The party cannons vanished as the divot began to refill. The clouds began to produce a heavy rain, extinguishing the flames.

Spike sighed. He had won Discord's game.

LSB

Pinkie entered with tears running down her face.

"I'm sorry," she screamed, "I didn't wanna do it, I swear!"

"We know," Celestia said, "When we get home, we're giving you the help you need."

Pinkie embraced Twilight with howls of pain as Discord snapped his fingers, taking them all back to Fluttershy's house.

Fluttershy's House

The first thing Twilight did when they arrived was tackle Spike and embrace him with the biggest hug she had ever given him.

"SPIKE," she screamed as water flowed down her face, "I'M SORRY. I'M SO SO SO SORRY THAT I TREATED YOU LIKE THIS..."

"..."

"I'm sorry too," Rainbow said, "Rest assured, I wouldn't want to be treated like that."

"Agreed," Luna said, looking away.

"I owe you an apology as well," Celestia said, "You're no annoyance, Spike. You're an amazing friend, and one that we wouldn't want to get rid of."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Spike looked at Twilight. For the first time, she felt fear when looking into his emerald eyes.

"Funny how all of this comes out when I seem to pose a threat," he said in a quivering voice, "Why would any of you even think this in the first place?"

No one spoke.

"The silence is deafening," he said, "It seems like a small portion of you actually know what friendship is! I know the Crusaders do! I know Applejack does! Pinkie Pie does! Even Discord!"

"Spike, look, we all feel bad," Fluttershy said, placing a hoof on his shoulder, "But we want to make it right!"

"Do you? Do you really?" he asked with a hint of skepticism.

She nodded. He looked at everyone and began to think of what could happen if they were serious about reconciling with him. Everyone had hopes that not all was lost. There was still a chance for a happy ending. Then he looked at Pinkie Pie. Even though she was back to normal, he could still hear Pinkamena.

Kill them...kill them all...

"Spike...do you remember what I said two days ago? Do you want to be feared by everyone...just because you're not what you should be?"

Spike shook his head.

"No."

She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Because it has nothing to do with that. This has to do with the fact that everyone, including my sister, doesn't even care about me," he said as his claws unsheathed.

YES! DO IT! DO IT, NOW!

"Spi--Spike?" Twilight asked, fearing what would happen next.

Luna, aware of what was to come, hit him with a sleeping spell, instantly neutralizing him. But it was too late.

Everypony gasped as Twilight stumbled back. She felt blood from a gash on her face running down her cheek.

"No..." Twilight whispered as Celestia grabbed her and flew her away. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo followed them at high speed as Applejack and Rarity comforted the other two Crusaders at what they witnessed.

Fluttershy was in shock. Discord was at a loss for words.

"I...I never meant for this to happen," he insisted, "I just wanted to show you all what--"

"I know," she said, "But it did...what happened wasn't in your control."

"I'm sorry, Fluttershy..."

She looked at him. "I know you are."

"I'm not."

Discord's eyes turned into slits and Fluttershy spun around to see Pinkamena take control of Pinkie's body.

"I fully intend to finish what I started. Starting with you, Fluttershy," she said.

"Let me handle--"

"No," Fluttershy said, "A true, true friend helps a friend in need. Pinkie's in trouble, so I'll help."

Luna approached her.

"Are you sure? You saw what happened to Spike."

Fluttershy nodded. "I'll bring her to the asylum right away. Discord, you go with Applejack and Rarity. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"But--"

"GO! It'll be alright," Fluttershy reassured with a soft smile. Discord reluctantly followed Luna, Applejack, Rarity, and their sisters away from the area as Fluttershy stared down Pinkamena.

"He'll never see you again."

"Yes he will," she answered with a cold voice, "I'll personally make sure of it."

"Allow me to dismantle your confidence."

Author's Note

The first chapter of the next story will be up at some point in the future. I don't know when, but I've been churning out one or two chapters of this a day, and I'm kind of exhausted.

Thanks for reading, though.