Author's Note
I'd like to say thanks to Vertigo again for all the help here, I don't think I could have finished this without his help. And I hope you all will enjoy a bit of some spooks!
Enjoy!
Polybius
The seasons in Canterlot were changing. The weather was getting a little colder with a bit more breeze, the leaves were changing colors. It was the month of October and the fall was rolling around the corners. By now, people were trying to keep each other warm with coats, longer pants, and etc. Within a few months, winter would come knocking at the door of Mother Nature ready to change for the holidays.
For some, it was an exciting thing. It meant the hot blazing suns of summer would go away. For some, it meant that winter would come and fun activities in the snow would be there. But for others, it just meant horrid traffic conditions and tons of work soon to come to keep themselves alive.
This wasn't an issue for most of the people who went to the Canterlot Mall. The inside kept warm during the cold conditions and kept cool air during the hot days. It was also one of the biggest hotspots in all of Canterlot, where everyone of all ages hung out. Children, teenagers, and adults. And this place was a perfect place to get a job if one needed to get some more money.
Rainbow Dash was one of those people. She had just gotten herself a job working over at a sporting goods store, perfect for someone who was very competitive in sports. One perk with this job wasn't just the pay, but she also had an arcade right across from the store where she could go to take a break when she needed to.
When the time for a break came, she dashed across the crossing people and into the arcade. It was buzzing with people, all hooked onto the video games they were desperately trying to win, trying to keep the top score so no one else could say they won. She smirked as she caught eyes on a particular arcade machine, ready to play.
But wait... what was this? There was a lonely arcade cabinet tucked away in a corner. It was on, yes, but it was just pushed to the side as if someone deliberately tried to hide it from the people who passed on by.
The cabinet was mostly in black, with almost little to no artwork. She could swear it was almost just something someone salvaged out of a junkyard, or heck, maybe just built it all on their own. And it's title in the marque glowing with life, had the simple title of 'Polybius'.
She rubbed at her chin, looking at it. This was a strange looking machine. It almost felt a bit... ominous in some way. Like it just didn't fit in. Something she would need to think about when she went back to school tomorrow...
Monday
Rainbow Dash went to school like usual. Attending classes, hanging out with friends, all the usual. But her mind was still thinking about that weird game she saw in the arcade. It didn't look like any classic arcade games anyone would know. She'd need to talk to someone... and she knew just who to talk to.
When everyone was hitting their break time, Rainbow Dash wandered the halls looking for the individual she was seeking. And as luck would have it, she was right there in front of her. Leaning against a locker, standing idly was none other than the lead Dazzling herself; Adagio Dazzle. Dressed in a simple outfit; black pants that hugged her curves, a purple tank top underneath a denim jacket covered in patches. New outfits, lately?
Rainbow quickly scurried over, grabbing the Siren's attention.
"Rainbow Dash, nice to see you again," Adagio grinned.
"Hey Adagio. Whatcha doin'?"
"Just taking a little time to myself, enjoying some quiet for the time being. You?"
Rainbow shrugged. "Nothin' much. Believe it or not, I got myself a job working over at a sports store."
"That's good," Adagio smiled.
"Yeah, I guess so..." Rainbow paused. "Hey, uh, weird question. Did you ever play any arcade games?"
Adagio perked up. "Are you kidding me? I love arcade games! My sisters and I played them all the time in the 1980s. Pac-Man, Galaga, Space Invaders, Centipede, all the classics. Why?"
"Well I wasn't sure, I wanted to ask you something. You see, I found this weird arcade game in the arcade itself, and I didn't know who I should talk to. I would have asked Amethyst since she's the 80s egghead around here, but..."
"She's visiting family in another state," Adagio finished.
"Exactly."
"Ah, I see. Come to the sexy lady herself, I see," Adagio giggled. "So what's the game, what's this arcade machine? Contra? Tapper? Berzerk?" Adagio asked, taking a sip of her coffee.
That's the thing, it doesn't look like any arcade machine I've seen before. It said something like Poly... Polyi... Poly-b-i-us? I don't know, it didn't look new to me."
Adagio's eyes widened at the name drop and she nearly spit-launched her coffee against the lockers. "Polybius?"
"Yeah, you heard of it?"
Adagio looked around for a second, looking for any passing eyes.
"Are you sure it said Polybius? It didn't say, Poly-Play, or anything?"
"No. It flat out said Polybius right there on the marque," Rainbow said, no joke thrown around.
"Come with me, we need to talk."
Adagio yanked Rainbow Dash into a nearby restroom, thankfully empty which gave them space to talk alone.
"Alright. Rainbow Dash, what I am about to tell you is going to be extremely controversial, highly insane, and very real. That game you were looking at, Polybius? That's not a game. That's a monstrosity."
Rainbow held back a snicker. "What? Monstrosity, what are you talking about?" She gasped. "Has Equestrian Magic leaked into it creating an unstoppable arcade monster!?"
"... No. And tell you the truth, I wish it was that, rather than the facts I am about to lay out for you," Adagio said. "This game you saw was brought into 1981. Many say it only existed in the Portland, Oregon area and it was only there for maybe a week, or a month, until it was taken out of the arcade. Many believe this game never existed, and those who do believe it have no means of proving it... until now. You said there is one here in the Canterlot Mall?"
Rainbow nodded.
"Wonderful. Now listen up. This game isn't any ordinary arcade machine, this game's had a lot of history surrounding it, and a lot of it isn't so easy to digest."
"But what's so bad about this game?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Have you played it, is it awful?"
"It's not even that," Adagio said. "To tell you the truth... it's been so long since I've touched that game, I don't even remember quality wise of it being good or not. But that's the least of the game's problem."
"Well what can be so bad about it?"
"Memory loss, seizures, nightmares, possibly suicide," Adagio said.
"... That's a little out of nowhere, don't you think?" Rainbow blanked.
"I'm telling you Rainbow, this game is not something for you to be tampering with."
Rainbow thought again about her last statement and raise her hand up to interrupt her. "Wait, wait, wait... suicides? How can a video game do that?"
"The human mind can easily be manipulated if you know how it works," Adagio said. "Tell a lie long enough and you'll believe that lie to be the truth. I've read for long enough that Polybius was an urban legend, but it isn't."
Rainbow blinked, her eyebrows furrowing. "So why'd you drag me here to tell me that instead of us, I dunno, maybe going to my place or maybe later today where we don't have to hide in the bathroom in case someone overhears us talking about this thing?"
Adagio looked at her with a deadpan expression. "Because, I wanna feel like we're in some really serious situation instead of us just casually talking about this thing." She rested a hand on Rainbow's shoulder and looked into her eyes. "Now then, allow me to give a little history lesson."
"This isn't going to be about—"
Adagio placed a finger over Rainbow's lips. "Hush." She winked. "Now one of the things you need to know is there have been many conflicting descriptions regarding the game's content. The most common description for this game was it was a simple space-shooter, though there are many other claims of what the game really was. A puzzle game, a platformer, a space-shooter puzzle game."
Rainbow slowly slid Adagio's finger off of her lips. "Was there a space-shooter puzzle platformer version?"
"No," Adagio replied flatly. "There was not." She placed her finger back onto Rainbow's lips. "Now then. Around that time, there were also real reports of gamers getting sick, most likely from playing video games for way too long. Supposedly, someone had gotten a migraine headache while playing an early release of the game Tempest, but a more severe case—and very tragic to say—was when someone died of a poor heart condition shortly after entering their high score of Berserk. The most specific account that I remember was when a 12-year-old boy was playing Asteroids in a marathon to try and get the high score; but the end result unfortunately was the poor kid got a stomach sickness, back in November of 1981—"
"Which was when Polybius was released, right?" Rainbow interjected.
"How did you know that?" Adagio asked.
"I grabbed my phone and looked it up while you were talking."
Adagio looked at her with a deadpan expression. "... Of course. But yes, it was around when the game was released."
Rainbow Dash nodded. "Okay..."
"But it doesn't end there. One part of the legend was these machines were visited by mysterious men in black suits, government agent type of boys, FBI, CIA, those type men," Adagio continued. "Some said the Polybius was part of an experiment where humans were the guinea pigs being tested, even possibly connected it to a real life mind control program called MKUltra. Another source of the legend were with FBI agents raiding arcades around that time due to the owners being suspected of gambling."
"Adagio, wait..." Rainbow Dash interrupted. "You're telling me Polybius is all based off some big urban legend?"
"It is. But it is no legend, I can assure you."
"And what makes you say that?"
"Because my sisters and I were there when that game was existing," Adagio nearly snapped.
"Wait, you were?"
Adagio nodded. "A little background. It started out as just a normal day. My sisters and I were looking to kill some time before the showing of a movie we agreed to go see would play..."
Portland, Oregon 1981
A few cars were seen parked outside having brought kids and teenagers to enjoy their free time escaping reality at the hottest get-together in town. And when they walked inside, it seemed a little busy. Not all of the machines were booked by kids hoping to game for hours, but there was quite an amount of people in there.
"Alright girls, we've got ourselves a few hours before the movie begins, lets see if there's anything in here that can buy us a few hours," Adagio said, looking at all the selection of games.
"I've got dibs on Defender," Aria smirked, walking towards the machine with a roll of quarters in her hand.
"Oooh, pinball!" Sonata grinned, making a bee-line for the pinball machine.
"Let me know when you're done, I'd like to give that game a shot after you," Adagio chuckled, walking past her. Eventually her eyes settled on a particular machine; Centipede. With an insert of her quarters, the game was ready and she began to play. Her hand swiveled the joystick around as she tapped the button endlessly, shooting at all the targets she had in front of her.
"Ohhh you think you can beat me? Well I've got news for you little centipede, I am the queen of this machine," Adagio hissed with some pride.
"We played a lot of the classic games in there. Aria took top score in Defender, beating some of the other boys and girls who lined up to play it. I remember Sonata winning a few pinball machines, and eventually ranking top score in Galaga. And even though I struggled a few times, I managed to take the top score for Centipede. But our fun didn't end there..."
Adagio's eyes locked onto another machine, Donkey Kong.
"Wait, real quick..."
"Have you ever played Berzerk?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking down at her phone again.
"Oh, many times."
"Did Evil Otto ever harm you?"
"... No, because there's nothing mysterious about Evil Otto. He's merely a pixelated ball with a face. His power isn't abnormal, people merely played Berzerk for too long."
"And you don't think people maybe played Polybius for too long?"
"Rainbow, if anyone could detect something wrong with anything, it'd be me. That game is evil. Just trust me. I'd know if the 8-bit yellow ball with a smile was evil. I would've burned the arcade machine right then and there and changed my name to Razzledazzle afterwards. Now can I continue?"
Rainbow Dash groaned. "Fine... go on."
"Thank you. Now where was I...?"
"After battling Donkey Kong for a few minutes, I had noticed something interesting. Off to the corner in the arcade, just against the wall was an unmarked, unpainted, and just odd looking arcade game. Now there were plenty of arcade games still in development around the time, but this one just stood out. No artwork on the sides, nothing to draw attention to it. The only thing it had was the loading screen, and the marquee title; Polybius."
Adagio slowly strutted towards it, intrigued by it's rather bleak outlook. And on the screen was just the simple title, Polybius. And underneath was the name of the year it was made, and a word she couldn't understand in German; Sinneslöschen.
The eldest Dazzling was... hesitant, to say the least. Something about this arcade cabinet felt a little... sinister. She just couldn't put her finger on it. But hesitantly so, she inserted a coin into the machine and began to play.
"At first, it didn't seem like anything had really happened. I thought it was just an average arcade game," Adagio said, shrugging. "It was just some space-shooter, nothing special to it."
She played for a few more minutes or so, still trying to find a way to get herself into it. Until--
"Hey, Adagio. We gotta go, movie starts in 10!" Aria called.
"Ok, hang on, I'm coming," Adagio called before walking away from the game. Before leaving the arcade, she took one final look before she left.
"We shortly left the arcade and just went along our merry way. Aria and Sonata bickered about who got the higher scores in the different games they played, but I didn't care. At least they were bickering about that rather than something important. I didn't need the extra stress. But something was still on my mind; that game, it was almost mesmerizing in a way. I wanted to play it again just to see if there was anything else to it."
The next day came, and Adagio approached the Polybius machine again. It wasn't anything special when she first played it, but she just had to play it again, she had to.
"And so I played it again. And again and again and again... and again," Adagio continued.
"You got addicted, didn't you?"
"I did. But this addiction, this wasn't like any standard drug or craze. This addiction was far more powerful than any drug, and if it had taken full control, it would have had me struck down more than any virus could. I didn't realize it, but the game was slowly gripping onto my mind. Wiping out what sanity I had left inside until it just had a full grip on me. I started having seizures, nightmares, many cases of memory loss. It started to affect my work, my life at school, everyone around me could see it. But I couldn't. I became obsessed, like a crazed fan chasing after a hot celebrity. I couldn't imagine my life without it, and I felt I always needed it. And if I couldn't have it, than no one could..."
"Wow. Sounds really insane."
"It was. It wasn't until one night when I went off on my own and broke into the arcade, that it would be the final mark that showed my sisters that the machine's connection to me needed to die."
"Well, what happened?"
"What needed to be done..."
Aria and Sonata kicked down the doors of the arcade with determined expressions. Sonata gripped a pair of cuffs and duct tape, while Aria held a taser in her other hand.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Were they planning on kidnapping you, or trying to break you from the machine's control?"
"Rainbow Dash, my memory was so fuzzy, I don't know if what I am explaining to you is accurate or not. I've been told what happened too many times to count, and I'm just telling you what I think. Anyways, so trying to break me free from the machine wasn't an easy task as they had anticipated..."
Aria tackled Adagio to the ground while Sonata body slammed her oldest sister like a wrestler.
"No! You cannot separate us! I need it! I need that machine!"
"No, you don't! You need us!"
Sonata ripped off a piece of tape and slapped it over Adagio's mouth, making her words nothing but mumbling as she tried to fight. Adagio tried to fight, but Sonata managed to cuff her wrists behind her back, making her hands unable to reach out and rip her gag off.
"This is only going to get harder, Adagio!"
"Ymm mmmm mm mmmm mmm mmm!!" Adagio screamed under her gag.
Sonata held her hand over Adagio's gagged mouth, trying to keep her as quiet as she could. Of course if anyone really was here as security for the arcade, they would have heard them, but it was still a risk she wasn't going to take. Flipping on the taser, Sonata sent a few bolts through Adagio's body, slowing down her fight. Adagio convulsed a little bit, but Soanta and Aria still held her down.
Only after a few minutes did Adagio's fight finally die and she passed out from the shock. Realizing they had to get out of there, Sonata and Aria dragged Adagio out of the arcade, trying to run right back to the car as quick as they could. They wouldn't look good in this situation, and Aria had no plan on going to jail that night.
Aria's foot slammed on the pedal, and she veered out of the parking lot right after slamming into a few other parked cars and ramming down a stop sign along the way. She was bound to get in serious trouble, she knew for sure.
"When I came too..."
Adagio's eyes slowly opened up. She winced at the bright light that hit her eyes, almost as if she had just stepped out into the sunshine. But the blinding light slowly simmered when she was embraced by her two sisters who were holding her tightly.
"G-Girls... what happened?"
"We found you at the arcade again. You were convulsing and screaming until you just... blacked out," Aria said. "We brought you back home. And you know something else? I'm about to get really angry."
Adagio gulped. "Right now?"
"Right now."
"When are you--" SLAP! "--OW!"
"You said you wouldn't set foot in that arcade. You promised us you wouldn't come back there because it was affecting your health. Why. Why did you lie to me?" Aria was practically near crying at this point.
Adagio couldn't figure out what to say. She had broken her promise again. But it wasn't something she could stop.
"You know what, don't. I don't want to hear it. I don't know how you got in that arcade when it was closed, but you're lucky we knew where to find you again! You've got a serious problem, Adagio! You're obsessed with that game--"
"--It's not me!" Adagio snapped. "It's that game, Aria! I don't even know why, I don't even like that game! But that game... aghhhhh," Adagio held her head. "It keeps forcing me to come back to it, I don't know why! I don't remember anything that happened when going there, I don't even remember why I went to play it again! Any of the other games would have been fine, but it's POLYBIUS! That game is a monster, an inhuman abomination of machine! And you know something Aria? I know I have a problem, but I just... can't... stop it!"
Adagio was now holding onto her face, crying softly. No matter how much she didn't want to believe, she couldn't deny it. The game had gotten a grip on her, and she couldn't break free. By now she was expecting Aria and Sonata to scream and yell some more. But instead, they just came close to her and gave her another embracing hug. Adagio was quiet, and her crying slowly softened as she hugged the only family she had.
"It's ok. We're here," Sonata smiled, keeping Adagio close.
"And we're going to destroy the game."
Adagio sniffled before hugging them again. "Thank you..."
"In the dead of the night, we snuck back in that arcade, took the game out of the store, and prepared to destroy it... for good."
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata stood together facing the arcade cabinet, somewhere in a scrapyard. The three sisters shared glances, before facing it. In each of their hands, were rifles. Each of them loaded up, and all aimed towards the screen.
BAM!
Three bullets shattered the screen, sending some glass spilling inside and onto the ground. But it wasn't enough. Then they took sledgehammers and axes, immediately swinging at the machine, bashing it in, slicing cables and cords within, breaking circuit-boards, a whole lot of damage.
Now they just had one more thing to do; burn it.
The three sisters lit up matches, and looked at each other one more time. They were about to throw them until--
"Wait!" Sonata interrupted.
"What?"
Sonata looked to her sisters with concern. "I don't want to believe this game is alive... but what if, just hear me out, what if this thing comes back again?"
Adagio and Aria looked at each other, and gave strong nods. Then back to Sonata.
"If Polybius rises from the depths of Tartarus again... then we'll go back and finish the job. For good."
And just like that, all three of them flicked the matches onto the ground, sending a stream of flames from liter fluid towards the smashed up machine which began to melt from the heat. The light from the fire reflected in Adagio's eyes, staring blankly at the demon of a game.
The three were silent, listening to the crackling fire. And as the fire began to die, the three of them slowly walked away, leaving the remains of the machine to die, there in the scrapyard...
"It took a few days for the night terrors of the game to die. But eventually my mind returned back to it's normal setting once I was back to my regular routine. And ever since then..."
"... Polybius had been removed from the arcade and had never resurfaced. I hoped from then on that no human being would come face to face with something so destructive. ... Then again I hoped none of us would be revealing our true identities to all of Canterlot High, but that happened."
Rainbow Dash nodded, understanding all of Adagio's words. But when she flipped up her phone again...
"Wait a minute. That kid who had a heart attack playing Berzerk; the one that was blamed on 'Evil Otto'." She looked at Adagio, who'd raised an eyebrow. "You know, that weird ball-thing from the game. You said you'd played it!"
"I have, I just didn't know that it ever had a name," Adagio replied.
"Yeah, it says it right here!" Rainbow handed Adagio her phone, which had a picture of the pixelated menace that supposedly claimed the lives of high scorers of Berzerk. "See? Otto. I guess if you think this 'Polybius' is a real killer, then Otto must be like that fedora guy from those Nightmare movies. Right?"
Adagio rolled her eyes and handed Rainbow her phone back. "Look, Rainbow, I know you think that this sounds crazy, but you need to trust me. This isn't just another game that people played too much. This isn't a case of drinking way much soda and playing Asteroids for countless hours on end, stressing over getting the highest score possible. This game isn't normal. It's... it's something else entirely that even I can't explain."
"Then I just won't--"
"It doesn't even matter if you play that much or not," Adagio interrupted. "You turn on that game, it's going to create an addiction you won't be able to escape. Listen to me," Adagio grabbed Rainbow's shoulders, looking her dead in the eye. "I've made the mistake of playing that game. The only reason I'm still around is because my sisters managed to pull me out before my obsession grew bigger. I do not want you to succumb like I did. If you see that game again, stay away from it. Do not go to it, do not touch it, do not look at it, don't give it any quarters. No one should be near that game."
Rainbow was about to speak when she rose her finger--
"I'm not kidding Rainbow," Adagio said sternly. She leaned in closer, her face only inches away from hers. "Do not touch it."
"Ok... I promise," Rainbow promised.
"Good," Adagio smiled before checking her watch. "Now I think we both have classes to prepare for, so I will see you around," she said before she walked out of the washroom.
Rainbow watched as she stepped out of the washroom and looked back in the mirror. A video game that had done this much damage? How could such a thing exist? She just didn't know. Just... how?
A few hours later after school, Rainbow Dash was at her job just like normal. She did some organizing, kept everything in place where it should have been, she was pretty decent at her job, no doubt about it. And across where she worked, she saw the arcade was open. And within, she knew that same game would be there...
She didn't forget Adagio's long winded warning about the game, but at the same time, she wasn't entirely sure if she believed it or not. A game that caused nightmares? Okay, sure there were lots of horror games out there, but out of an 80s arcade? It may not have to have been something like Adagio described, sure the possibility of epilepsy was there. Something she could understandably take into account. But maybe, just maybe--
"--Alright, back up, back up everyone!" A man shouted.
Rainbow's attention dropped from work and she saw what looked like EMT servicemen walking right into the arcade with a carrier. A few of the patrons within the arcade backed off and or got out of the arcade as they should have, allowing the technicians to walk in. A few minutes later, they were seen carrying out a kid who was convulsing and screaming like something had scared him badly and was doing it still.
"Sir? What happened?" Rainbow asked, getting the technician's attention.
"I don't know. Some kid called us, said there was some kid freaking out and having a seizure."
"Is he going to be okay?"
"Yeah. He should be more careful though. Some things aren't as they seem to be. Some games don't award the right kind of rewards to those who are callous."
The EMTs eventually rolled out with the patient, and so they vanished from the mall. Rainbow Dash didn't show it, but was admittedly scared. What made that kid freak out so bad? Was the game scary? Did he find someone inside the arcade that he knew? She didn't know. She didn't even notice the man in black watching from a distance...
She along with the rest of the patrons who were in the arcade walked back inside and just went back to playing the games like normal. And just around the corner, was that same game from yesterday. Polybius sat there like a piece of lost treasure, begging for someone to come and find it. Rainbow's curiosity grew even more, and without much more thought, she inserted a coin into the machine and pressed the start button. Her hands moved over the buttons and joystick, and eventually she began to play...
Five Minutes Later
Rainbow Dash hit the final buttons she needed to, and eventually it was game over. She backed away from the machine with a curious look. She felt nothing, experienced nothing... what was Adagio freaking out over? I mean one thing was for sure, it was a space-shooter type. Was it good? Ehhh... not really. More of an average game, at least in her eyes.
So, what was the problem then?
Some hours after her shift, she began to type on her computer, looking for history on the Polybius legend. It was extensive, but it still was intriguing her. Many stories surrounding the game popped up, including the ones Adagio had told her about.
“Let's see. In 1987, a boy in Portland, Oregon, said he dreamt of a two lanky figures that appeared in his home and—” Rainbow winced— “dragged his mom and dad into another room where they screamed until it went silent. Then he woke up and saw that his mom and dad were outside with the police as two unknown individuals tried to break in.”
Rainbow sat back as a flurry of thoughts went through her head. She'd heard a bunch of stories in her life that weren't much different—so what made this one different. She scoffed and grabbed the mouse again, clicking on another link. Another article appeared detailing the various illnesses that gamers had fell victim to while playing in arcades. Heart attacks after games of Asteroids and Berzerk, stomach issues, and more. One popped out however.
“A teenage girl suffered a seizure while playing an unknown arcade game, though many believe it to be the legendary Polybius. Emergency medical services were unable to resuscitate and she was later pronounced dead,” Rainbow whispered to herself. “The arcade was later raided by Federal Agents for reasons unknown and the owner was found dead in an apparent suicide.” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “What a bunch of nonsense."
She clicked back and clicked on a third link. “Mysterious man spotted outside arcade in black suit." A grainy photo of a tall man in a black suit was plastered on the webpage. “Could this be proof that Majestic-12 was tied to Polybius?” Rainbow spun around in her chair, laughing. The nonsense on display in front of her only further amplified her belief: this was hogwash. When she played it, it was just some regular arcade machine. But that would only mean the game was real and everything else regarding mind control was fake. Right?
The cases regarding the sick gamers could probably just be explained with pure facts. It was puzzling, that's for sure. She'd definitely need to talk to Adagio about this in the morning.
Tuesday
Rainbow Dash found Adagio chatting with some of her friends near the lockers. For a second, she waited. She knew Adagio didn't appreciate being interrupted and based on the last few times she intervenned... ohhh she didn't want a repeat of the Angry Adagio Accident of September 15th.
"... So okay, we made the final roll," Aria said, explaining her story. "And when that guy starts whining about his loss... He throws a punch to my face. And then right out of nowhere, Flash hit him back! Hard!"
The girls hissed. "Flash Sentry, hit that guy?"
"Yeah, he did. I mean I never saw the guy hit anyone, but he really knocked him hard. Buuuuuuuut sometime after that, we talked some more, and, well... we're officially dating," Aria said with a proud smile.
"Congrats luv, it's good to see you finally found someone," Octavia smiled, patting her shoulder. "Though I must admit, never in a million years would I have seen you with Flash."
"Neither did I, but... here we are," Aria smiled. She looked down at her watch. "Crud, I gotta get to class. See you girls later."
Eventually everyone broke off one by one to get ready for their next class, leaving Adagio alone yet again. Not that she didn't mind.
"Hey, Adagio?"
"Rainbow Dash, hello again. How are you?"
"Well, I know you kinda told me not to buuuuuttt I may have sorta... checked out Polybius," Rainbow's head shrunk with embarrassment.
"... You did what?"
"Whoa, whoa, hold on," Rainbow held her hands up in protest. "Look, I know you told me to stay away from the game, but honestly, I couldn't see it. I played for only five minutes, and it just seemed like an average game. I mean, even if it did exist back in the 80s, I don't think it was the reason for a lot of danger happening back then. That would only mean the game was real, but everything else could just be explained with real facts."
Adagio raised a brow. "And how do you figure that, Rainbow Dash?"
"Well how about the kid who got sick playing Asteroids? He played for 20+ hours and the only thing he had for food was soda! I mean I love soda too, but come on! You can't rely on that!"
"True as that may be, it still does not give you any grounds for you to go messing with that game," Adagio argued.
"Adagio, stop! Look, I know you warned me about that game, I know. But I promise you, there's nothing bad with it. I did some extensive research last night..." Rainbow flipped on her phone, looking back to her previous internet searches, and showed the Adagio the page she was just on.
Adagio raised a brow. "You did research on 101 Ways To Rock-Hard Abs?"
Rainbow blinked before looking back at her phone. "Oh! Oops." She blushed harshly while Adagio just looked at her with a naughty smirk.
"Someone's been doing quite some research I see," she purred.
"No, that's not what I meant!" Rainbow flipped the phone around again. "Look, I did some research, apparently people have gotten into this legend so much it exploded on the internet! It appeared in a magazine in 2003, there's been fan-films, a ton of internet videos, it had brief cameos in some TV sitcoms, a fan-made video game cartridge for it, even fake arcade cabinets! What if, now just hear me out, what if this is just some fake arcade cabinet? If no one really knows what it looks like, how can it be the real game?"
Adagio hadn't considered that before. "Well... I suppose that hadn't crossed my mind..."
"Sooo?"
Adagio rolled her eyes and scrunched the bridge of her nose. "Alright. If it's a fake, then fine. But I'm only warning you, I will be able to tell if it's real. If you start to become obsessed and it starts to carry on..."
"I'll ask you for help. I know, Mom," Rainbow rolled her eyes.
"Good," Adagio said. "Now," she put her hands on her shoulders. "Try not to get too obsessed, okay?"
"I won't."
Adagio winked before walking to her class. And when the bell rung, Rainbow Dash picked up her things and started to run towards her class too.
"Sooo... what's so special about this game?" Applejack asked, leaning against the side of the machine. Rainbow Dash was taking time off on her break again, this time inviting AJ out to the arcade to play some games. And while Rainbow was a little eager to try Polybius again, Applejack just wasn't that interested.
"Well, this is only the second time I've played it now," Rainbow Dash said, pressing the buttons, looking at the screen with some interest, but still able to look back at her friend. "You know, I'll admit. I think it deserves a bit more credit than I gave it. I mean, it's simple, but it's easy to understand, and it's kinda fun. It's like that Pac-Man game, it's simple, but fun."
Applejack raised a brow and looked at the machine again. "There's barely any artwork on the sides of this machine, and the screen doesn't even have interesting graphics."
"Well this was made in 1981, wasn't it?"
"Same year that gave us Centipede and Defender?"
"I dunno, it's just fun."
"Well, suit yerself," Applejack shrugged. "I'm gonna go play a few rounds on Punch-Out."
"K!"
Rainbow pressed on the buttons, trying her best not to get her player shot by the projectiles on screen. She was going to win at this, she knew it. No one beat her at anything... okay the Dazzlings and their friends beat her when they were under Sunset Shimmer's influence, but not with anything else! Most of the time!
She felt herself close to the winning streak, she could feel it now. Just a little more, and--
"Hey Rainbow!"
"Dah! Oh, hey Pinkie," Rainbow said, feeling her heart racing from the jumpscare. "Where'd you come from?"
"I finished my shift at the diner, I thought I'd stop by! Wait, how long have you been here?"
"I don't know, I got here at 4:30, why?"
"Because Applejack said you'd been here since 4:30 and now it's... 6:00."
Rainbow blanked. "Wait, what?" Rainbow looked at her phone. "How long have I been here, jeez... Well, long enough for sure. Hang on, I'll be there soon."
Rainbow finished playing and she dashed out of the arcade, following Pinkie Pie out of the arcade. But before she left she took one last look at Polybius before shrugging and following her friend.
Later That Evening
Rainbow Dash and the rest of her friends; Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy were all parked at the Apple family table with some notepads, textbooks, some pencils, and some nice apple cider.
"Okay, so I know next week we got a test on Daring Do and the Temple of the Anacondrai, which means we gotta prepare for it fast," Applejack addressed. "Rainbow, you said you finished the book?"
"Are you kidding? I read it twice!" Rainbow said with some pride. "So I think I can help with anything about that book."
"Well, alright, lets get some notes ready," Rarity said, clicking her pen. "Okay, so what is the overall plot without giving away important details?"
Rainbow grinned. "Daring Do is called to retrieve an old relic from the Temple of Anacondrai which was said to be used to take away talents and identity..."
Rarity scribbled all of her words down, and was waiting to hear more.
Nothing.
Rainbow shook her head. "Oh! Right. Okay so Daring Do is called to retrieve an old relic from the Temple of Anacondrai which was said to be used to take away talents and identity. And so Auizohtal wants to claim the staff for himself so he can take away Daring Do's identity."
"Okay, then what?" Rarity asked.
No reply again. Rarity brushed at the tips of her mohawk to keep the strands out of her eyes, and saw Rainbow Dash just staring out into space. "Rainbow? Rainbow!"
"Ah, what?" Rainbow shook her head, rattling her brain. "I'm sorry, what were we talking about?"
"Rainbow, come on, this is Daring Do, I thought you'd be ahead of us by now," Applejack said.
"Well, I am!"
"Then tell me Rainbow, what is Daring Do's motivation for wanting to retrieve the Staff of Sameness from the Temple of the Anacondrai?"
Rainbow blanked.
"Uhhh..."
"Darling, are you sure you're alright?"
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine, really I am."
"Are you sure about that?" Applejack raised a brow. "You've been staring out into space a lotta times, it's like you barely remember--she's not gonna remember what I'm saying, is she?"
"Nope," Pinkie shook her head.
"Ah, I haven't stared into space!" Rainbow jolted.
"Rainbow, are you sure you're okay?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I... I guess I have a lot on my mind recently," Rainbow shrugged off. "I guess it's just that game."
"Game? Did RAE release a new title that you're looking forward to?" Rarity asked.
"No, not really. I found this weird arcade game. I thought it wasn't really anything special, but I played it again and I gotta say, it's a lot better than I gave it credit for. I mean, it's simple, but fun."
"Not to break up the gaming talk, but can we focus?" Applejack asked.
"Right, right! Sorry, so... what were we talking about?"
Fluttershy rubbed at her face. "Let me try..."
Wednesday
The Rainbooms walked back to the mall again, looking for things to do. Rainbow Dash had suggested going to the arcade, but everyone was against the idea until she suggested they stop there much later.
First they stopped by an old nostalgia store; filled with vintage and antique furniture, technology, books, and tons of other artifacts. Rarity especially was oggling props made for the Mane-iac TV series back in the 60s and 70s. Next, they stopped at small store that held TVs and movies, (mostly looking for things to watch for movie nights). And after getting a quick snack at the food court, they made their way back to the arcade. Not surprisingly, Rainbow Dash was back at Polybius again.
Her fingers clicked away at the buttons very loudly. "This might be the best game ever... I don't think I've ever played a game this good, it's... it's amazing... Its like, how do I describe... its like looking at a beautiful rainbow in the sky... It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen and I... I can't imagine my life without it."
"Rainbow Dash, this is getting quite creepy now," Rarity said with her eyes wide and bulging.
"Trust me, this got creepy a loooong time ago," Applejack said, shaking her head.
"Rainbow, are you sure you're not getting a little bit obsessed? I mean, this is too much even for you darling," Rarity asked, clearly concerned.
"Yeah Rainbow! Come on, lets take a break!"
Rainbow didn't break. That is until Pinkie Pie shook Rainbow's body violently. "WAKE UP RAINBOW!"
"Hey, hey! Geez, Pinkie, I'm here, what's wrong?"
"You're getting reaaaaaally creepy with this game, Rainbow. Are you sure there's nothing wrong?"
"Pinkie, nothing is wrong, I promise. It's just, this game..." Rainbow said looking back. "It's just... amazing! It's like you finally realize how amazing you are at something and then it just... clicks."
Not sure how to respond, the rest of the Rainbooms just backed off to talk elsewhere. Whatever was going on here was starting to grow concerning more and more. And Rainbow Dash just kept on playing.
"Man, these game designers knew how to keep it fun," Rainbow said to herself. "I mean, this is just amazing. I can't say it enough, this game is amazing. I just wanna keep on playing, I don't ever want to stop... I can't... I can't stop... aaaah I can't stop! I CAN'T STOP!"
Thursday
Adagio was proceeding onto her classes like per usual. But her mind was still fearful of the news Rainbow Dash had told her. There was a Polybius machine at the Canterlot Mall. Sure, Rainbow Dash did explain the facts of people making fake arcade cabinets and no one able to confirm if the game was real or not, but the idea still scared her.
But something inside told her to just stay calm. It was all in the past, it had to have been.
"Hey, Adagio!" Rainbow ran up to her friend's side. "Got a second?"
Adagio turned around."Yes, Rainbow?"
Rainbow twiddled her thumbs before taking a deep breath. "Listen, can I... borrow some money?" She gave a sheepish grin. "There's something I need to buy."
Adagio raised an eyebrow. "What exactly do you need?"
"It's something I've been needing to buy and I really need it," Rainbow answered. "It's serious."
"Well, sure, if it's something that serious," Adagio said. "Though, if I may ask, what is it?"
"Well…" Rainbow let out a nervous laugh. "I need to buy the Polybius arcade cabinet."
"Rainbow don't you think that's--WAIT WHAT!?" Adagio's scream pierced through the hallway like a mountain lion that stubbed its toe. "You want to do WHAT!?"
"I need to buy the Polybius cabinet!" Rainbow repeated. "I really need it. I keep dreaming about it; it's so good and I can't live without it. I've decided that this will help with everything! My grades, my friendship, everything and more!"
"Uh, no, you don't!" Adagio glowered. "You need food, good grades to stay in this school, and to come to me if something like Sunset Shimmer breaking out of prison happens! You don't need that monster of a machine in your home!"
"Oh, I don't?" Rainbow shoved Adagio backed. "Got a good reason?"
Adagio stumbled back. Had her friend really just pushed her? No, this wasn't her friend. This was something else—and it was under the hellish influence of that monster that masqueraded as a game.
"Rainbow Dash, you listen to me right now. You don't need that game, you don't need that… monster!"
"You're just jealous!"
The entire hall went silent. Students who were about to head off to class immediately stopped as all eyes focused on the two of them. Adagio's glare was so sharp, you could hear a sword being pulled out it's holster.
Adagio looked at everyone around her and then back to Rainbow Dash. "You really want to do this in the hallway, in front of everyone?"
"Maybe. But you can't change what I've got. You know you're jealous."
"I am not jealous. I am trying to end the virus that Polybius has seeped into your mind!"
"I am not sick!" Rainbow argued.
"Oh really? Ever since you found that game, it's all you've been talking about! And now you want to buy that machine? You don't think maybe that's a little odd of you?"
"It's not weird! And you know what, I know I can afford it. And where do you get off telling me what I can't or can do? I'm not like you or your sisters where you can just have anything you want without having to lift a finger!"
Adagio felt her heart snap. Rainbow could tell what she said had hurt her, and her face frowned a bit, realizing what she had just said.
"You know what? I'm just going to leave you alone. I've got to get to class," Rainbow said a little coldly, walking away from the scene. Everyone wasn't sure how to respond, but they quickly shrugged it off and started to move back to their classes.
Adagio was trying her hardest not to let Rainbow's words get under her skin. But she couldn't deny that they hurt.
"Hey, Dagi?" Sonata said.
Adagio finally broke from her trance of solemness and quickly wiped the tear leaking out her eye.
"Y-Yes?"
"Geology is starting. You ready?"
"Y-Yeah, I am. Let me just get my things."
Wiping another tear from her face, she opened up her locker and looked back into her reflection in the mirror. Another soft tear went down her face as she thought back to the days when the game had its grip on her conscious. Rainbow Dash was starting to behave just like her. And she did not like it one bit.
The Canterlot High Fair was busy tonight. Tons of students and families came here tonight for tons of fun with games and activities. The fair was put up mostly to raise money for some local charities, even some to help with some of the school's financial difficulties, mostly for funds for an end-of-year trip.
"Alright ladies, what shall we do tonight?" Octavia said with a sly grin. "Haunted house run, a shoot down game, ring toss?"
"I don't know about you, I wanna try and win that ring toss," Bon Bon grinned.
"Right behind you!"
Lyra and Bon Bon dashed away.
"Well, I don't suppose anyone is up for the bingo game over there? One of the prizes is an old cassette player. I thought maybe I could win one for Amethyst as a 'welcome home' gift," Octavia smirked.
"Aww, that's so sweet," Sonata gushed.
Octavia blushed a bit, making Vinyl giggle. "I'll help you."
"I think I'm gonna go get some popcorn!" Sonata squeaked.
"Just don't eat too much, I don't want to deal with you... getting... sick... again," Adagio called, but it was too late. Sonata had already scampered off. She frowned a bit, knowing she was going to puking into the trashcans tonight. Even her girlfriend could see the sadness.
"Hey, you doing okay?" Trixie asked.
"Yeah, I guess so..." Adagio said, staring out into space. "Sorry, my mind's been on the fritz, lately."
"How come?"
"Rainbow Dash found an arcade game that we blew up years ago," Sonata said with a smile, having already returned with a bucket.
"... Okay, I'm going to need a bit more context than that," Trixie admitted.
"Long story short, there was an arcade machine that was actually a mesmerizing monster which we destroyed for the safety of those around, but it seems as Rainbow found a copycat of the machine. Some things just never die, I suppose."
"... Ooookaaaayyy," Trixie said, not sure how to react.
Adagio smiled before kissing the top of Trixie's forehead. "It's fine. I'm sure it's fine. Now come on, lets play some games."
"Ohohoho... a shoot-out game? Sign me up," Aria smirked, racing over to the shoot-out carnival game. Plenty of targets set up behind the man running the machine, and a few rifles available to shoot down all the targets. And she was also greeted with the friendly sight of her boyfriend participating in the game as well.
"Want me to win you anything, sweetie?" Adagio purred.
"No, it's okay. You don't have to, I'm just happy to be here," Trixie smiled, hugging her and laying her head on her shoulder.
"Aww, well aren't you the sweetest thing?" Adagio nuzzled.
Trixie giggled, nuzzling her back. But Adagio's eyes opened to look at another familiar group; the Rainbooms. All of them hanging out together... except for one of them. And she knew who that individual was...
"Actually, sweetie, can you just give me a moment?" Adagio said, not wanting to break from the loving embrace but doing so anyway.
"Um, sure, yeah."
Adagio skipped over to where the Rainbooms were hanging out. Rarity trying to keep her mohawk sticking up, while Pinkie and Fluttershy enjoyed the addictive sensation of popcorn fresh from the vendor cart.
"Oh, hey Adagio. Whatcha doin'?" Applejack asked, tipping her hat to her.
"Fine, fine, thank you. Girls. Where's Rainbow Dash? Shouldn't she be with your group?"
"I thought so too, but she hasn't called us or told us if she was off her shift yet," Fluttershy said.
"I gotta say, I'm growin' worried about her. Ever since she started tellin' us about that silly game, she's been spending less and less time with us. I noticed she fell asleep in English! We were supposed to read Daring Do, and that's her favorite book, she would never fall asleep reading that," Applejack explained.
Adagio scrunched her face. "Of course. Fall asleep and then you..." Adagio froze. Fell asleep? Rainbow Dash... fell asleep? Okay, to be fair, it was normal in some cases for her to fall asleep in class if the subject was super boring to her. But during something that would excite her? She turned back to look at them. "Why did she fall asleep?"
"I don't know," Applejack shrugged. "I talked to her and she mentioned something about havin' some nightmares these past few days."
Adagio heard glass shatter. "Nightmares?" She leaned a little closer, looking at them with an intense gaze. "Tell me more."
Applejack blinked. "Well... uh, Pinkie, wasn't there somethin' that happened yesterday?"
"Well I took her to get some ice cream to get something for a snack, but then when we got there, it was like she just... forgot. Like she didn't even know she got there! One minute she was playing that game, and then the next minute... nothing."
Adagio's mouth was slightly agape. And she swore more glass shattered.
"Anything else?"
"Well... I did remember her getting pretty nasty with you a few days ago--"
"--Phrasing!!!"
"Quiet you! I remember her getting really mad at you and saying you were trying to separate... her love?"
Adagio was stone cold. Her biggest fears had risen from the depths of hell again, and now it had affected one of her friends at Canterlot High. The Polybius in the arcade wasn't a fake; it was real.
"Wait a minute..." Rarity said, feeling her phone buzzing. "It's a video message... from Rainbow Dash!"
"Play it."
Rarity pressed play, and Adagio and the rest of the friends leaned in to take a look. A single flash of light shined onto Rainbow Dash's face, who looked a little groggy with some fear.
"Ok, so... I don't know how I got here. I remember getting ready to close up shop for the night, and then suddenly, I'm here in the arcade...?" Rainbow Dash said. "I do not have any recollection of this."
Rainbow jiggled the sliding gate that sealed the arcade shut. "I'm trapped in here? ... Did I do this on purpose?" Rainbow then turned the phone around to face her. "The only options I really have are, bust the door down to get out, find an alternative way to escape... or wait til morning for someone to free me."
She shined the camera back towards her face and rubbed her head. "Agh... I'm going to be honest. I give up. Please, somebody get me out of here! I am trapped here, in the arcade! I can't get out! I'm... trapped... with..." her head slowly looked back, the soft glow of the arcade machine calling to her. "Polybius..."
She slapped herself in the face. "No! No! Agh, stop! I... I can't stop it! That game, it's... it's calling to me, no! No, it's not real! None of it is!" Rainbow's cheeks looked slightly reddened, though based on the light from the video, it was hard to tell. But one thing she could see was her whimpering expression and soft tears coming down her face. "Adagio..." She whimpered. "I'm so sorry... you were right. That game's a monster! I can't stop it! If there's even a slight chance you see this, please, come find me and get me out of here!"
But when her head turned back, she looked back to the machine yet again. Her whimpering slowly calmed down, until the phone in her just dropped and the video stopped.
Adagio held her mouth, fearful of what she had just seen. She felt something inside of her snap when she saw it. But at the same time, motivation kicked inside. She wasn't going to let something like this happen, no way.
"Call her parents."
The Rainbooms were taken aback.
"What?"
"Call Rainbow Dash's parents, now. I have to go," Adagio said, leaving the fair grounds dramatically.
She ran past her friends--
"Adagio, hey can we--"
"--Can't talk right now sweetie, I'm sorry," Adagio said, brushing past Trixie.
She unlocked the door of her car and got inside. Her foot slammed on the pedal, and the car went screeching right out of the parking lot, with visible skidmarks left behind. A few students turned their head as they saw the car race away from the fair, leaving many with desiring questions.
"And that is why I'm afraid to get into a car with her," Aria said, her statement directed at Trixie.
"... Great, so now how are we going to get home?" Sonata whined.
The friends all flinched, hearing the sound of a loud smash accompanied by a few car alarms.
Adagio hit the brakes in front of the Canterlot Mall, flinging a nearby trashcan into the air in the process. She'd have to come back and get it back up later. Dashing to the front doors, she tried to pull them open. Locked. They must have locked up for the night. But she just had to get in, her friend's life was at stake here!
But what to do? She could pick the lock, potentially. She did have a lock picking kit on her. She could, break the glass and just walk on in. Or as a last solution... drive all the way back, and ram straight through the entrance. Feeling the pocket just over her rear, she didn't feel any keys. Well, only one thing to do now.
Adagio walked away from the door... for about a few seconds. She came flying at the door and with all of her strength focused on the door, she kicked the doors open, breaking the locks with her heels. Luckily the rest of the door was still intact, but man there was going to need some repair.
"Boy the owners of this building will be mad," she said to herself.
She high-tailed it up the escalator which had stopped working for the night, and onto the second floor where the arcade usually was. A few neon lights attached to the ceiling gave her a little light, but she didn't need it. The light from the full moon outside was enough to guide her way.
And when she ran around the corner, there she was. The arcade's security gate was sealed. The machines inside were still on, and she could see only one occupant inside. Rainbow Dash. Standing stiff and still, focused on the monster of a game.
"Rainbow Dash!" Adagio yelled, rattling the gate.
She didn't respond.
"Rainbow Dash, snap out of it! This game is taking you!"
Still no response. She wasn't just going to stand here. She had to bust that gate open, now. But how? Wait!
30 Seconds Later
"I am going to get banned, I swear..."
She pulled on the cord a few times, and the chainsaw gripped in her hands started to turn on. She pressed it against the door, and started making cuts along the security bars, cutting down a few pieces. Just a few slices and the gate would have been broken.
The incisions cut made the door fall forwards, now she could get inside. She set the chainsaw down and stepped over the destroyed gate, trying not to get her heel caught in the spokes. She walked over and Rainbow Dash was still standing, glued to the screen. For a brief second, Adagio could see the space-shooter game that had been told many times in the legend. The bright flashing lights and geometric shapes that played itself over and over...
No, no! I will not succumb to this game again! Adagio screamed internally, slapping her own face.
"Rainbow Dash, listen to me. I know you can hear me! Snap out of it!"
She still didn't move.
"That's it!"
She backed up, and with her feet grinding like a bull. She charged forward, and tackled Rainbow Dash to the ground. Rainbow tried to fight, but Adagio was much stronger. Living for over 1,000 years and training in tons of body-building exercises prepared her for many various situations. Even one including having to pin someone down to the ground.
"Rainbow, I will not let that machine--agh! Take you!" Adagio yelled, trying to keep all of her weight pressed against Rainbow Dash.
"I need that game!" Rainbow screeched.
"You don't need that game! Listen to me! I know somewhere inside you're trying to fight against the control! I've struggled too!"
Rainbow still trying to break free, tried to throw her legs back to hit Adagio's own back, but she couldn't get them to go back so much.
"Try all you want, you aren't going anywhere!"
Rainbow continued to struggle, but Adagio still wouldn't let her go, until Rainbow finally got the strength to throw her off. Adagio didn't stay down for long as when Rainbow tried to get back to the game, Adagio tackled her again.
"That was for shoving me yesterday!"
Rainbow kept on fighting. How was she going to get her free from the beast of a machine? Wait; the taser! She had almost forgotten, that was used on her a long time ago! Well maybe something like that to stun her could keep her down, all she had to do was--
BAM!
Adagio fell right off her back, yelling from the pain. Rainbow punched hard, right in her left eye. She held her eye in pain, not wanting to open it. But oh boy did it hurt. Rainbow Dash was about to get up and keep on running, until the siren reached behind her and pulled out a small taser and shot it at Rainbow, making her jitter and jolt until she collapsed onto the floor, still spasming.
Adagio slowly panted and breathed, watching Rainbow slowly calm down from the attack. Turning her head around, she looked back at the black beast. She crawled behind the machine, looking for the plug to yank out of the back. And right there was the plug connected to the extension cord. With one swift yank, the Polybius machine screen shut down, and died from the lack of power. But just as a double tap, she found another wire/cord sticking out the machine and pulled it out as well, hoping it would finish the job for good.
Rolling Rainbow Dash over she put her ear on her chest, listening. A soft smile of relief formed as she heard her heart still beating, and some soft breathing. She was still breathing, but unconscious. Now it was time to get going.
She pulled herself back on her legs and carefully picked up Rainbow. She looked at her sleeping face and sighed in relief.
"Lets get you home."
Friday
A glimmer of light slowly peaked its way into Rainbow Dash's eyes. Slowly, she could see a bit of morning peering through the curtains of her bedroom. The last thing she remembered was slowly walking towards the arcade again. But then everything just went black. No memory of anything she had done, not a single thing.
"Rainbow Dash."
Rainbow moaned as she rubbed her head. "Oh..." A small pill along with a cup of water filled with ice was offered to her. Her hands shakily reached out for them, trying not to drop them.
"Take this. It should help with the headache pain."
Rainbow slowly sipped the medicine before pulling herself back up. "What... what happened?"
"You mean you don't remember?"
"No, I... I don't. I remember being... oh no. Am I still--"
"--No, you're not in the arcade. I managed to get you back here. ... after you gave me a black eye."
Rainbow looked back at her and indeed cringe at the sight of the black mark on Adagio's eye."Oof, ow. You might want to put some ice on that eye."
"Already did," Adagio said bluntly. "Now. I want you to listen to me. I--"
Rainbow lunged from her bed and wrapped Adagio in a tight squeeze, hugging her. Adagio was thrown off guard from her sudden embrace.
"Rainbow?"
Listening, she could hear her breathing heavily, trying her best not to cry. "Hey, hey, c'mere," Adagio whispered, holding her close. "It's okay." She softly rubbed her back, all the while she was breathing heavily.
"I tried to fight it... I couldn't control it," Rainbow slowly breathed, trying her best not to cry. "That game wouldn't let me go..."
"Shhhh...." Adagio cooed, hugging her some more. "It's okay. You're not near that game now."
The two of them stayed standing, hugging out the emotions from the night before. Rainbow admittedly cried a bit, softly. But Adagio was there to give her comfort, softly stroking her hair and rubbing her back.
"It's okay... it's okay..." Adagio whispered.
For a good few minutes they continued to stand, Rainbow still trying to calm down.
"Listen to me," Adagio said, getting her to look her in the eyes. She used a finger to wipe a tear off her face. "It's okay. The fact that you recognized the game wouldn't let you go and you got the message out shows me you still had your brain intact. In fact... how are you feeling?"
"Not so good. I think my headache's still there," Rainbow said, her eyes wincing.
"Aside from that... do you have any desire to go play again?"
"I..." Rainbow blinked. "Actually... I don't. I don't wanna play it again. I... I mean last time, I thought it was great but now... I just don't," she admitted.
Adagio's smile grew a little bigger. "That's good." She pulled her close for another hug. "I think you're on the road to recovery."
The two were at a moment of silence. That is until both minds melded to one and came to the same epiphany.
"We need to destroy the game," the two of them said in unison.
Awkward silence followed.
"So okay, we're in agreement. How are we going to destroy it? I don't think they'd be okay with us breaking in and stealing it," Rainbow said.
"I have my ways," Adagio smirked. "Besides, I already smashed through the place once before, I can do it again. However, I suggest we handle this operation more subtly. We'll go to the arcade first and see if it's still there. If it's still there, we'll need to sneak in after hours, get it out of the building, and destroy it ourselves. No game this destructive should be allowed to exist out in the public eyes."
"Agreed."
"Come on, lets go," Adagio said, getting onto her feet.
"Hey, wait. Adagio?"
The siren stopped and looked back to her friend. Rainbow was a little sheepish, but eventually looked at her with a guilty face. And suddenly she raced up to her and gave her an embracing hug, breathing slowly.
"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I didn't think the game was that bad, but now... I wish I never touched that game..." A soft tear hit Adagio's shoulder.
Adagio softly smiled and she embraced her back, rubbing her back. "Hey. Don't blame yourself. I should have made sure there were no more traces of the game's existence."
"But I played that game when you told me to stay away from it!"
"Rainbow Dash." Adagio sternly said. She rubbed her shoulders. "That game is my responsibility. I should have known there was more than one. But it's something we will contain. Now come on; lets go smash things!"
"Great!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up," Adagio halted.
"What?"
"After you change clothes. You've been like that all night."
"Aren't we going to destroy a machine?"
"We'll break it as soon as you get dressed, young lady," Adagio sassed, putting her hands on her hips.
"B-B-But--"
"Ah, ah, ah! No butts! Except for mine," Adagio stuck her tongue out. "Come on."
"... can you at least get out of my room?"
"Oh of course." Adagio shrugged, walking out of her bedroom. "Once you get dressed, we'll go check it out."
Adagio and Rainbow Dash speed-walked back to the arcade to go and take one look for themselves. Safety signs and cones were set around the destroyed glass. And luckily it didn't seem like there were any guards ready to kick Adagio out of the mall this instantly. At least, she hoped.
Taking the escalator up, she tried to hide a bit of her black eye from the shoppers, but they all saw her either way. She wasn't going to win any beauty or dignity points today.
They passed by a few more shops along the way, and finally approached the arcade. Adagio's spine began to tingle as she took her last few steps towards the establishment. Her walking slowed down, and she felt her heart began to race. A man in a black suit, FBI, CIA maybe; black sunglasses and all was standing there in front of the arcade, looking like he was ready to kill on sight. One might even swear he was a hired assassin. And behind him, within the arcade were some more men in black suits, taking Polybius from it's place.
"Sir?" Adagio croaked to the man in black. "What's happening here?"
The man turned around, a serious look on his face. "I'm afraid the arcade's closing a little early today," he said. "Sorry."
"Well what's happening?" Adagio asked, calmly. "Are there renovations going on?"
The man shook his head. "I'm afraid we need to remove one of the machines here."
Adagio placed a hand on her chest and let out an exaggerated gasp. "Y-you're not taking out Galaga, are you?"
"No, no, that game is staying. But we're replacing the game over in the corner over there," the man pointed over to Polybius now being lifted into a trolley. "We're going to install a better arcade game in here. I know how much you teenagers love two-player shooters, so we're going to put in a two person game in there. It'll have robots, zombies, and five-legged dinosaurs wielding carbonized samurai swords."
"I see." Adagio looked over at Rainbow, whose eyes were fixated on the trolley. She elbowed her friend, snapping her back into reality. "So the game's going away, not coming back?"
"No, it won't," the man said sternly. "Though I highly suggest you kids go on home. There's nothing else to see here."
"Well... alright." Adagio smiled and nodded. "Just don't hurt yourselves, alright?"
The man chuckled. "Thanks, kid. I won't."
"Come on Rainbow," Adagio said, pulling an arm over her shoulder. "Nothing to see here."
As Adagio and Rainbow began walking off however the man called out to them. "Miss?"
Adagio and Rainbow Dash froze in their tracks, shoulders tensing up. Slowly they turned around, looking back at the agent with the guilty faces of a six-year-old stealing a cookie from the cookie jar. The man pointed a finger at Adagio.
"Come here for a second."
Adagio hesitantly walked back to the agent, trying her best not to show it, but she was panicking internally.
"Do I know you?" he asked, eyeballing Adagio like an interrogation officer. "You seem... familiar."
"... I'm afraid I don't know you."
"Hmm... Wait a minute, I know you."
Adagio gulped. Sweat ran down her head. This man must have figured out her plan from the start! Or worse, what if he remembered her from 1981!? Or worse; he knew she was Siren! What could this man have wanted? What!? What!?
"You're one of those girls that stood up to Sunset Shimmer, aren't you?"
Adagio sighed in relief. "Yes, that is me. H-How did you come to that conclusion?"
"My daughter goes to your school, said she said she saw you and your friends standing up to that little witch. A+ to you for your bravery against that jerk."
"Well, I can't take all the credit," Adagio said, winking back at him.
"Wait, what happened to your eye?"
"Oh this?" Adagio pointed. "It's uh... well--"
"--Some jerk hit her in the face," Rainbow interrupted, speaking for her. "She tried to beat her up, but she wouldn't take it. Isn't that right?"
Adagio could tell what she was doing, and decided to play along. "Yes, indeed. Though this certainly doesn't help my look in any way..."
"Just get some ice and that eye will heal again. Anyways, you have a good day."
"Alright, thank you. And you too."
Once the two friends had gotten far away, the man looked back to the arcade machine with a less than positive expression. He watched as the men were pushing it out of the arcade, the opposite direction from the two girls.
"Never again..."
"Sorry we're not going to have a chance to smash it," Adagio apologized, patting her shoulder.
"I wish I never even touched that stupid game," Rainbow groaned. "I don't suppose you know anything about traveling back in time to stop me?"
"I wish, and even then, I'm afraid you still would have become attracted to it," Adagio said. "Besides, time travel is still a dangerous thing. One wrong move and all history is changed. If it did exist... Well, I'll admit. I wish I could go back and smash that game when it had existed so no one else suffered just touching it."
"Well... we don't have to worry now. It's gone," Rainbow softly smiled.
Adagio looked back to her new friend and smiled back at her. "Yeah. You're right. Now what do you say we pick up some shakes and get out of here?"
"I'd like that," Rainbow smiled as the two friends continued to walk out of the mall. "You wanna sleepover at my house?"
"Maybe tomorrow, Rainbow Dash," Adagio suggested. "I've got a test tomorrow and you have a test to prepare for as well. Miss Daring Do?"
"Oh, alright..." Rainbow pouted. "... I do have video games, if you want to play any,"
"Honestly Rainbow, after all this debacle with that game, I don't think I want to touch any games for a little bit," Adagio admitted.
"Yeah, I get it," Rainbow nodded, understanding. "... When we tell our friends this story, lets just say it turned into a robotic monster and we smashed it to pieces."
"Because Equestrian Magic can do that, apparently," Adagio deadpanned.
"Well, why can't it?"
To this day, they had no clue what had become of the game. Rainbow Dash made up a tall tale to her fellow Rainbooms saying that she and Adagio took the game out and smashed it into smithereens. Adagio told her friends about it being taken out the arcade but with no idea what was to become of the game. And even then, no one really knew or even cared. The game and it's traces had vanished from Canterlot, to continue being that urban myth from 1981. No even knew that the agents had locked up the game in an abandoned warehouse, hidden away from public eyes for safety and well being of everyone around. Like an angel, it had appeared before their eyes, and like a specter in the night... it was gone.
