Equestria Superhero Girls: The Contest of Championsby Time Agent ponyChaptersChapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 1Chapter 4EpilogueChapter 2Twilight rematerialised in a cell. "What the heck?" she cried. She went to the cell door, "Hey! Let me out of here!" she shouted. Then she remembered that she had her lantern ring and her geode, she could just break out and find the others. It was then, that Twilight noticed that at both her ring and her geode were gone. She began rattling the door, trying to make some noise to draw attention. "Ah," said a voice, "one of our newest combatants have arrived." "Who's there?" Twilight asked. From out of the darkness, stepped a woman wearing a bodysuit, helmet and belt. What really caught Twilight off guard was that she had six arms. "Who are you," Twilight asked, "what is this place, where are my friends, where is my ring and..." The six armed woman simply stopped Twilight and smiled, "all will be revealed soon," she smirked, "the contest is about to begin." "Hello and welcome to the Contest of Champions!" "I'm your host Ambush Bug and here with the colour commentary my partner, Arcade." "Hey, good to be here." "Anyway, I think we should get to the point of why we're here." "I couldn't agree more, bug." "Indeed, the Contest of Champions, a tournament where warriors from all across the multiverse battle it out to see who is the best of the best." "That's right, and all this was possible thanks to some mysterious backers, Mojo Media and our gracious organisers the Grandmaster and the Collector." "So how does the contest work?" "I'm glad you asked Arcade, you see its a good old fashioned 'last man standing,' the losers and their earths are erased and whoever wins takes home the prize." "Sounds simple, enough," "Well, enough of that, let's go down to the VIP box to join the Grandmaster for the pre contest opening ceremony." Back in the holding cells. Rainbow Dash had finally recovered from being teleported. "Arrr," she groaned, "my head." Like Twilight, she had had her ring and geode taken from her and she had been placed in cell. All across the area, Sunset and the rest of the Champions were all slowly recovering from being teleported, each in a different cell to each other. En Dwi Gast a.k.a. The Grandmaster along with his brother Taneleer Tivan a.k.a. The Collector watched from their position in the VIP lounge area. The stands were packed to the rafters, the crowd were on the edge of their seats waiting for the contest to start. "Our guest will be arriving shortly," The Collector said, "Shall we get things underway?" "We shall, brother," The Grandmaster nodded, "but first, I'd like to make an announcement to contestants." He produced a microphone, his voice was broadcast throughout the holding cells. "Combatants," he said, his voice had a menacing tone to in,"in the coming days each of you will fight, some are here of their own volition, others were brought here by chance. If you defeat all your opponents you will face one final challenge and the outcome of this tournament will determine your Earth's fate." The Grandmaster smiled as a giant hologram of himself was projected into the arena. "Hello, everyone!" he declared, his voice was now upbeat and jovial, "who's ready to get this show on the road?" The crowd erupted into screams in reply, the suspense was killing them. "Very well," The Grandmaster said, "let the games begin." Fireworks erupted, signalling the start of the contest. The two brothers' attention was interrupted by the arrival of Topaz, The Grandmaster's personal bodyguard and head of security. "Your esteemed guests have arrived," he stated. "Excellent," The Grandmaster replied, "show them in, Topaz." Topaz nodded and stepped aside, allowing the aforementioned guests entered the room. They were gods, deities and various other beings from across the multiverse. "Welcome," The Collector proclaimed, "welcome, friends." "We're so pleased you came," The Grandmaster added, "I hope you're all ready for show." "Please," The Collector said, "help yourselves to some refreshments." "The show will begin, momentarily," The Grandmaster smiled. Back with Twilight. The six armed woman had refused to answer any of her questions, simply smiling and walking away while saying, "try to get along with your cellmates." Twilight was confused by the statement, she thought that she was the only one in the cell. It was then she realised she wasn't alone. Someone was sitting on the opposite side of the cell. "So," the figure said, "they got you too, huh?" "Who are you?" Twilight asked. The figure stepped forward, revealing himself. "Name's Tommy Oliver," he said, "I'm guessing you and your friends got an invite too?" "Twilight Sparkle," Twilight replied, "and yes, we did, how did you...?" "Me and my friends got one too and then we found ourselves here," Tommy answered. "The invite said something about a contest," Twilight said, "and that announcement said we have to fight and that our Earth's fate hangs in the balance." "Seems that way," Tommy replied. "How do we escape?" Twilight asked, "do you have a plan?" "We play along for now," Tommy replied. "What?" Twilight exclaimed, "are you serious?!" "Well, like you said," Tommy retorted, "our homes are on the line, besides I already tried to escape." "What happened?" Twilight asked. Her attention was drawn to a small device attached to Tommy's neck. "What is that?" she asked. "They call it an Obedience Disk," Tommy explained, "they put them on all of us, even you." Twilight felt around her neck, sure enough, an Obedience Disk had been placed on her neck. "If you try and escape," Tommy explained, "you get zapped." Before the two could continue, some guards came marching down the hallway. They stopped at one of the cells, opened it, entered and exited dragging a prisoner with them. Suddenly, The sound of cheering was heard, signalling that the first match of the Contest of Champions was about to start. A screen in a corner of the cell blinked on, showing the arena above. The voices of the commentators was heard over the intercom. "And we're off with our first bout, we have Spark the Electric Jester vs Lilac the Dragon Girl." "Both these fighters are quick on their feet, so don't blink or you might miss them." "Anyway, let the battle begin!" Twilight and Tommy watched as the two combatants began to duked it out with each other. Spark seemed to have the edge on Lilac in terms of abilities with his more wider range of powers. But Lilac was able to close the gap with her speed, moving so fast that Spark couldn't get a proper lock on her. After a while, Spark had started to get tired and sloppy. Lilac charged at him, ready to deliver the finishing blow. But at the last second, Spark was teleported away before the blow could be struck. "Wait," Twilight said, "what was that?" As if in answer, the commentators started talking again. "I bet you're wondering what just happened?" "I sure am, Bug." "Well, that was the Anti Fatality field." "Anti Fatality field, whats that?" "It's very simple, the loser is teleported away before the finishing blow can be struck, can't have our combatants dying on us can we? I mean what do think we are monsters?" "Hmmm, kinda seems like cheating when you put it like that." Twilight breathed a sighed of relief. "Well," she said, "at least, we don't have to worry about our lives being on the line." The commentators continued talking. "Anyways, on with the show." "I couldn't agree more, our next combatants are: Vi vs Yang Xiao Long." "These two deadly dames aren't just pretty faces, they pack one hell of punch, literally." "Well, get ready because fists are about to fly." The two combatants appeared in the arena, one with long yellow hair with complex looking bracelets and the other, a pink haired girl, welding giant gauntlets, almost as big as her entire body. When the signal was given the two girls charged at each other. The yellow haired girl firing blasts from her bracelets, while the other girl blocked with her giant gauntlets. The pink haired threw punch after punch, which yellow haired girl dodged and counterattacked. The fight kept going back and fourth, neither one showing any signs of backing down. The tie was finally broken with almighty punch from the pink haired girl that sent the yellow haired girl flying into a wall. "Ooo, that's gotta hurt." "I won't be so sure, Arcade." Miraculously, the yellow haired girl got back on her feet, seemingly unfazed by the previous attack. Her eyes turned red and her hair glowed bright yellow, like it was on fire, she charged at the pink hair girl and hit her with punch that had the same amount, if not more, power than the punch she had thrown at her. The pink haired girl, didn't have time to react or defend, the punch knocked all the wind out of her. "Um, what just happened?" "Well, it seems Miss Xiao Long has just activated her Semblance, quite a powerful one at that." "And a Semblance is?" "A unique power those from Miss Xiao Long's Earth possess, all of them different and varying." "Oh, so like mutants on our Earth?" "Exactly, and Miss Xiao Long's Semblance is to absorb damage from hits she takes, adding them to her own physical power." "Okay, well this fight just got a whole lot more interesting." By this time, the pink haired girl had mostly recovered from the attack and was back on her feet. Now empowered by her Semblance, the yellow haired threw punch after almighty punch. The pink haired tried to block, but eventually she began to weaken and with one final almighty punch the yellow hair girl completely shattered the pink haired girl's gauntlets. The pink haired girl fell to the floor defeated and was teleported away. "Wow," Twilight remarked, "that girl could give Applejack a run for her money in terms of strength." "Alright, folks, are you ready for the next BATTLE?!" The commentators listened as the crowd roared in response. "Yeaahhh, good." "Are next round is between Max Steel and Generator Rex!" "Both these fighters are crazy strong, so look out those in the splash zones!" The two combatants appeared in the arena. Once the signal to fight was given, the two unveiled their powers, Max with his Turbo modes and Rex with his nanite builds. "Ah," The Grandmaster breathed, as he, his brother and the rest of the assembled gods and deities watched the battle unfold, "people hitting people, is there anything more beautiful?" "Indeed, brother," The Collector replied, "they fight with such courage and determination, truly a spectacle to behold." The two brothers clinked their glasses together and continued to watch the fight. Chapter 3Twilight and Tommy continued to watch the fight between Max Steel and Generator Rex. Max seemed to have the edge over Rex, in terms of versatility, with his wide range of modes, but in terms of power, Rex had the edge with his more offensive builds. "They're pretty good," Tommy commented, "I'd hate to go up against ether of them." "Their powers are amazing," Twilight nodded, "being able to build whatever they need out of nothing." Just then the six armed woman from before arrived at their cell, she motioned to Tommy. "You're up next," she barked, "on your feet." "I guess thats my cue," Tommy said. As Tommy exited the cell, Twilight noticed the six armed woman opened the cell door with a strange keycard of some kind. The six armed woman then led Tommy away, to prepare him for the next fight, after which the cell door was closed. Twilight returned to watch the fight between Max Steel and Generator Rex. "If only the combatants knew what waits for them at the end of contest," The Grandmaster smirked, "wouldn't you agree brother?" "Indeed," The Collector nodded, "they will have to face our champions." The two brothers smiled at each other, knowing exactly what was waiting at the end of the Contest for the combatants that manage to make it the end. They would have to face their own personal picks for the contest, Longshot, the Champion of the Universe and the being simply known as - Ægon, The Forsaken. Back with Twilight. She watched as the next combatants were announced those being: Tommy Oliver vs Ryu. Soon after being called, the two appeared in the arena. The two faced each other down, sizing each other up, trying to gauge the other's power. When the command was given, the two activated their powers. Ryu fired off some energy projectiles, called Hadoukens, and Tommy, using his Master Morpher, changed into one of his five ranger forms. The two traded blows, Tommy changing into different forms to try and outmanoeuvre his opponent. The battle came to ahead when Tommy, using his Dino Thunder Black Ranger form, his Ryu with an Energy orb, his most powerful attack, Ryu tried to block it but he was teleported away before the attack could hit. With Tommy taking the win, he was taken back to his cell with Twilight. After which, the next fight was announced. "You okay?" Twilight asked, as Tommy looked like he was worn out. "That was close," Tommy said, "that guy wasn't pulling his punches." "We're fighting for our Earth's very survival," Twilight replied, "I don't think anyone can afford to mess around." "Good thing I got this," Tommy answered, with a smile, he reveal one of the guards keycards, he had managed to swipe when he was taken back to the cell. "Right," Twilight nodded, "lets move." Tommy looked around, making sure that no one was watching, then silently unlocked the cell door. He and Twilight exited the cell and began looking around. The corridor seemed like a giant menagerie, with cells lining the walls, each containing combatants from different Earths. Some ranged from human to humanoid to otherworldly, like an anthropomorphic banana and super space cyber suit wearing earthworm. All of them had Obedience Disks, some even had Inhibitor Collars on them, devices that neutralise the abilities of anyone they were placed on. "Something doesn't add up," Twilight said, "why gather all these fighters together and make them fight, for fun? Entertainment? Some sick joke? What?" "Or maybe it's for something else," Tommy answered. "Like what?" Twilight queried. "I don't know," Tommy replied, "but we're going to find out." The Security room and Broadcasting room. The security guards watched as the contest carried on, right now a battle was raging between two samurais, Miyamoto Usagi vs Samurai Jack. "Now, this is what I call a show," one guard remarked, as he and his comrade watched through the monitors. "Agreed," the second guard nodded. They continued to watch the fight. Back with Tommy and Twilight. The two were beginning to get lost as the sheer size of the holding cells, the place looked like it went on forever. They rounded a corner and were surprised at what they saw. A giant crystalline wall, containing all the combatants that had lost in the contest so far. "So this is what happens to the losers," Twilight said, "are they dead?" "No," Tommy replied, "they seem to be in some kind of stasis." "I think it's sick," Twilight remarked, "these are living beings, not trophies to be displayed." "We still need more information," Tommy said, "there is no use in flying off the handle until we know for sure who or what we are dealing with." "You're right," Twilight nodded. Suddenly, she remembered something, when Sunset had looked into Starro the Conqueror's mind, when he tried to take over the minds of all the superheroes and supervillains on their world. "something that could destroy an entire universe, something bigger, stronger and more powerful than Starro itself." "What if we're being prepared or tested" Twilight stated. "Prepared? Tested?" Tommy repeated, "what are you talking about?" Twilight explained about what had happened with Starro, what her friend had seen, she also explained who and what Starro was. "If thats true," Tommy answered, afterwards, "and this is all a test, then why the contest? Why all the deception?" Twilight thought for a moment, "maybe," she said, "whoever is behind this, is running out of time and needs to find those of us that have what it takes to take on such a mission or threat." Back in the Security room and Broadcasting room. The guards had suddenly noticed that the two combatants had escape their cells and were wandering about. "Alert, Spiral," The first guard said, "send out the guards and inform the boss!" "Roger," The second guard nodded. Back with Tommy and Twilight. As the two continued to wander through the endless hallways. Suddenly, an alarm sounded and Rita Wayword a.k.a. Spiral, the six-armed woman along with some guards also with dogs that appeared to be made of liquid metal, materialised ahead of them. "Combatants," Spiral declared, "you will return to your cells or face cancelation." "I don't know what that means," Tommy responded, "but if I'm going down, I'm going down fighting." "We want answers," Twilight added, "why are we here? Whats the real reason for the contest?" "The reason is for your own good," Spiral answered, "trust me, you'll be grateful." "What's that supposed to mean?!" Tommy retorted. "That's for me to know and you to find out," Spiral replied, "I wish I could cancel you now, but you are too much of an asset to the over all plan." Twilight and Tommy prepared to stand and fight. Spiral simply activated her master controller, the thing she used to control all Obedience Disks. Tommy and Twilight instantly fell to the floor, unable to withstand the amount of electricity coursing through their bodies. Spiral stood over the two, as they slowly lost conscious. "Remember this well," she smirked, "everything here belongs to the Grandmaster including you, he orders, you obey. His eyes see everything and his will controls everything here, so if you survive you will be grateful." The end of the speech was lost on the two heroes as they finally completely passed out. Chapter 5The next couple of rounds were even more intense, with fights becoming vicious and fierce. Fights like Ragna the Bloodedge & Jin Kisaragi vs Dante and Vergil, Catra vs Tigra, Lion-O vs He-man, Power Pack vs the Powerpuff Girls and Lou Kang vs Goku. After a few more fights the number of combatants had been whittled down to a small number. To narrow it down even more, The Grandmaster and The Collector put the remaining fighters into teams of two and had them face off against the other remaining combatants. These lineups were: Twilight & Tommy vs Battle Beast & Jennika, Rainbow Dash & The Flash vs Garnet & Marceline, Sunset Shimmer & She-Ra vs Sol Badguy & Yang Xiao Long, Rarity & Ben 10 vs Goku & Popeye and Applejack & Roronoa Zoro vs Superman & Danny Phantom. One by one the number of the remaining combatants were shrunken down until only a few remained. Twilight along with her remaining friends fought as hard as they could but by the end only Twilight, Tommy, The Flash, Superman, Ben 10, Popeye, Battle Beast, Danny Phantom and Yang Xiao Long were left. Applejack and others tried their hardest, but eventually one by one they were eliminated. "My friends," Twilight cried, as she watched her friends and comrades vanish from the battlefield, "no!" Twilight, The Flash and Superman were now the remaining representatives of their earth. "Not good," she thought, "We're last ones left, we can't afford to hold back, not anymore." The other remaining combatants were: Sol Badguy, Ben 10, Garnet, Battle Beast, Popeye and Danny Phantom. "I can't keep going," Twilight panted, she was beginning to tire out and she felt like she had hit a wall in terms of her powers. "You can keep going," Tommy replied, "and you will, your friends and your world are counting on you." Inspired by Tommy's words, Twilight got back on her feet and dug even deeper inside herself, pushing the Starheart, the energy that powers her lantern ring to its limits and beyond. Twilight could feel a surge of new power flow through her, something new had awakened within her. She nodded to Tommy, who gave her a smile, seeing that his words had had an effect on her. The two readied themselves for there next bout. "Alright, everyone we have saved the best for last," "Right, we have Tommy Oliver, the legendary Power Ranger, Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic and wielder of the Starheart, vs Thokk, the Battle Beast. "Two on one, Bug are you serious?" "Oh, yes, my co-commentator, trust me when I say that you won't be disappointed." "Okay, then let's get ready to rumble!" With that, the signal to start the fight was given. Twilight and Tommy tried every attack they knew, but nothing seemed to phase Battle Beast. He effortlessly swatted them away like they were nothing more than gnats. "I was promised this tournament offered worthy opponents," Battle Beast stated, as Tommy and Twilight tried again and again to land a blow on him, "but, oh how you disappoint." Twilight, who had been winded in another failed attempt, looked up at Battle Beast as he towered over her. "If not for this accursed anti-fatality field," Battle Beast continued, "I would kill you now, for that is an act of mercy." He raised his weapon, a mace, preparing to deal the finishing blow. Tommy, seeing that Twilight was about to be taken out, lunged at Battle Beast, tackling him away from Twilight. Battle Beast turned his attention away from Twilight and turned his gaze on the Power Ranger. "You desire your end that much?" he remarked, "then I shall grant you a quick death." He stalked over to Tommy, who tried everything he could, but Battle Beast simply shrugged it off. "I didn't want to do this," Tommy said, getting back to his feet, "but the gloves are off now." He activated his Master Morpher, transforming into his Green Ranger form, pushing his powers to their limit. In flash of green light, Tommy transformed into his Green Ranger V2 form. Battle Beast smiled, "Interesting," he declared, "wonder if you may provide the honourable fight I seek, yet." Drawing his Dragon Dagger, Tommy charged at Battle Beast. His speed and strength in his V2 form were increased, his Dragonzord powers had been pushed to the nth degree. Even with the power increase, Battle Beast was still more than a match for the Power Ranger and a powerful strike to the head, sent Tommy flying, his helmet's visor creaking in the process. Despite this, Tommy refused to go down, he continuously got back up every time he was knocked down. "It seems that, you may provide me the challenge I am looking for," Battle Beast smiled. "There's two things you don't know about me," Tommy stated, "one: I'm a Power Ranger I swore to protect my Earth and its people, two: If I'm going out, I'm going out fighting." With that final declaration, Tommy charged at Battle Beast one last time, channeling all his power into his Dragon Dagger for one big ultimate finishing blow. But Battle Beast was able to catch the Dragon Dagger in one hand before the blow could be struck. After which, he then proceeded to land an almighty strike with his mace, so devastating that it forced Tommy to de-morph from his Green Ranger V2 form back to his human form. "It appears, I was mistaken," Battle Beast said, "you are just as weak and frail as the feeble creatures on my Earth." Battle Beast raised his weapon, to finally bring the battle to an end. As he was about to be teleported away by the anti-fatality field, Tommy smiled. "Something amuses you?" Battle Beast asked, pausing mid-swing. "You know, for someone who claims to be a legendary warrior," Tommy replied, "you are pretty easy to distract, you make Goldar look like a genius." "You insult me?!" Battle Beast roared. But as Tommy was teleported out of the arena, that provided an opening for Twilight to attack the unsuspecting Leonine. Before Battle Beast could react, Twilight fired a blast from her ring, hitting Battle Beast square in the face, blinding him. Her opponent immediately, swung fiercely in a blind rage. Twilight managed to dodge Battle Beast swings and managed to discombobulated him by hitting his ears really hard. After which, Twilight finished the fight with a swift, Starheart powered, uppercut to Battle Beast's face. The crowd along with those watching in the VIP Lounge area cheered, the fight had proven to be quiet entertaining. "I. Don"t. Believe It!" "You said it, Arcade, the mighty Battle Beast has been defeated, that means Twilight Sparkle is moving on the final round." "Well, what are waiting for? Let's get to the final round!" Back in the VIP lounge, one of the beings watching, smiled to himself. "Very interesting," he murmured, "these heroes may be able to stand against the coming storm." Chapter 6Twilight, along with the remaining finalists, were assembled in the arena for the final round. The remaining finalists were: Ben 10 and Popeye, along with Twilight herself. Twilight was tense, after the battle with Battle Beast, she didn't know what was awaiting her in this final round. Her fellow finalist, Ben 10, were likewise poised, ready for ever may come, Popeye on the other hand was calmly waiting with a smile on his face, his fists ready for a scrap. "Well, Ladies, Gentleman and assembled deities, we have come to the final round of the Contest of Champions." "Thats right, Bug, we are finally down to our last three combatants, we have: Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic and wielder of the Starheart, Ben 10, wielder of the Omnitrix and a bunch of other things and finally, Popeye, the Sailor man." "Now that's out of the way, let's see who our finalists are up against, shall we?" "Indeed, Arcade, let's." In a flash, the finalist's opponents were teleported into the arena. "Presenting, Longshot, Master of Luck, the Elder of the Universe, Tryco Slatterus a.k.a. The Champion of the Universe and Ægon, The Forsaken." "Now, without further ado, let the battle begin." With that, the final signal was given, the final battle began. Twilight and her fellow finalists engaged their respective opponents. Ben 10 vs Longshot, Popeye vs The Champion of the Universe and Twilight vs Ægon. Ægon, despite missing his right arm, was surprisingly agile and quick on his feet. Twilight was constantly on her guard, blocking and attacking in quick succession. Just when it looked like Twilight had him on the ropes, Ægon demonstrated his full might and power. The belt around his waist, the Iso-belt, was no ordinary belt. It was an ancient relic, Ægon was the first ever winner of the first ever Contest of Champions, the belt allowed its wearer to access vast cosmic power, enhancing the wearer's strength, stamina and extending their lifespan. Ægon could access this vast power to manifest a phantom of his lost limb, shoot energy blasts and shockwaves and like Twilight's ring, he could also manifest weapons along with his phantom limb, just as deadly as the real things. Twilight learned quick not to underestimate Ægon, truly he was a being who commanded great power and seen his fair share of battles. Twilight's fellow finalists were faring just as well as her against their opponents, Ben 10 mostly holding his own Longshot, while Popeye was having little trouble with The Champion of the Universe, thanks to eating his spinach, which only seemed to infuriated the Champion. The crowd and VIPs were on the edge of their seats, every punch, every counter and every potential knock-out only served to hype up the audience. Ben 10 with his various alien forms, finally managed to squeak out a win against Longshot, as the battle between the two continued Ben noticed that his adversary's power seemed to be tied to his emotional state seeing that his opponent was starting to lose hope and his luck backfiring on him, Ben capitalised on the opportunity and succeeded. Popeye, similarly, scored a victory over The Champion of the Universe, despite his immense power and strength the Champion started to get tired, something usually impossible for an Elder of the Universe like him, and slowly began to falter. He refused to believe that mere mortal could possess strength that could rival his own, Popeye simply smile and finished the fight off with a final haymaker. "But how?!" The Champion asked, as he lay defeated on the ground, both confused and enraged. "I eats me spinach," Popeye replied, still smiling. With that, The Champion finally fell unconscious, still utterly baffled by Popeye's answer, after which he and Longshot were teleported out of the arena. "Well, folks, it seems we'll have to crank up the heat." "Indeed, let's see how well our other two finalists do against their greatest enemy, themselves." "Agreed, send in the Amazoids!" Two figures were teleported into the arena, they were humanoid with blank features, they were Amazoids, fusions of the android Amazo and the robot Adaptoid, both having the power to adapt and copy the powers of any super-human. While Twilight's battle with Ægon continued, Ben 10 and Popeye engaged the robotic opponents. The Amazoids proved to be a problem for the two, Ben 10's Amazoid was able to copy and even combine the powers and abilities of his various alien forms. Popeye, likewise, struggled with his Amazoid, the robot was able to match him in strength and slowly began to wear the sailor man down, Popeye had used his last can of spinach in the battle against the Champion of the Universe. Soon enough, the two robots were able to defeat their respected opponents. "And there it is!" "Right you are, Bug, we have finally reached the last fighter standing, Twilight Sparkle vs Ægon!" Ben 10, Popeye and the two Amazoids were teleported out of the arena, leaving Twilight and Ægon left. The battle between the two was still raging, Twilight using everything she had to try and put the challenger down. Nothing seemed to phase Ægon, he was able to shrug off or dodge most of Twilight's attacks. But, as the fight dragged on, Twilight noticed that the battle was starting to take a toil on Ægon. The more he used the power of the Iso-belt, the more strain his body was put under. Ægon may have mastered and able to wield the power of the Iso-belt, called Iso-8 the power of the big bang, but his body wasn't always able to contain the belts full power for long periods. Now, having some semblance of a plan, Twilight began to prodding and poking Ægon, making him use more and more power. This did indeed, expedite the strain his body was under, but also served to make Ægon angrier. But Twilight was counting on that too, the phrase 'anger makes you stupid' came into her mind. She continued with her previous strategy, prodding and poking Ægon, making him use more and more energy. Finally, Ægon's anger reached its boiling point, the warrior prepared an almighty attack. Then suddenly, Ægon's attack fizzled out, his body had finally reached its limit and was starting to really feel the strain, even showing side-effects. Twilight, seeing her chance, launched one final attack, striking Ægon before he had time to do anything, as he was still suffering the effects of the Iso-belt. Twilight stood over the defeated champion. "I yield," Ægon said, as he was teleported out of the arena, "you fought well, young warrior." For a moment, the crowd and the VIPs were stunned, the gravity of what had transpired having not fully dawned on them, yet. Then, the crowd erupted into thunderous applause, with the VIPs looking on in both surprise and interest. "I don't believe it, folks!" "Believe it, Bug, Ægon, The Forsaken, has been taken down." "Ladies, Gentlemen, beings of all ages and everyone else, we have a winner of the multiversal Contest of Champions! Twilight Sparkle!" Before Twilight had time to recover from the battle she had just finished, she was teleported straight to a stage, overlooking the arena. Standing in front of her were The Grandmaster and The Collector. "Well done, Champion," The Grandmaster smiled, "you have defied all odds and emerged victorious." "And for your victory," The Collector continued, "you may have any wish of yours granted." "Then," Twilight replied, "I wish for all the Earths that were destroyed to be restored and for everyone, including me and my friends to be sent home." "Is this truly what you want?" The Grandmaster asked. "It is," Twilight nodded. "So be it," The Collector acknowledged. Both Elders of the Universe joined hands, pooling and channeling their energy together to grant Twilight's request. There was a blinding flash of light and then silence. "It is done," The Grandmaster stated, "the scales are in balance, all that is, is as it was before." "Go now, champion," The Collector said, "but know this, the Contest is the first trial you have passed." "The first trial," Twilight repeated, "you mean there's more?" "Indeed," The Grandmaster confirmed, "another trial awaits you in the future, be ready." Twilight slowly began to fade away, as she was teleported back to her Earth along with the others. Back at Twilight's house. "We're back!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. She, along with everyone else had reappeared back in Twilight's house, right back where they started. "So it would seem," Twilight said, The Grandmaster's words still fresh in her mind. But she brushed it aside for now, she and her friends had a more pressing issue, checking in with the other members of the Champions to make sure everyone made it back safe. "Well, I for one," Rarity declared, "am relieved that that whole contest fiasco is behind us." Chapter 1Twilight Sparkle paced back and fourth in her room, the invite that had appeared the previous night still on her desk. Ever since the invite had arrived, Twilight had read and reread the invite trying to find something that could tell her if it was a trap or something along the lines of one. She had run every test she could think of, but all the results had turned up nothing. She had since texted her friends, telling them to meet at her house and now she was waiting for them all to arrive. After several more minutes of waiting, there was a knock on Twilight's room door and Midnight Sparkle poked her head round. "The others have arrived," she said, "they're waiting with Spike downstairs." Twilight nodded and followed her sister down to the living room, bringing the invitation with her to where her friends along with Spike were waiting. "We got your text, Twi" Applejack said. "Yeah," Rainbow Dash nodded, "whats the emergency?" "It's," Twilight replied, pulling out the invite and placing on the coffee table, "this." Applejack and the others all stared at the invite in confusion, curiosity and disappointment. "I don't understand, darling," Rarity said, "you called us all here for a piece of paper?" "Yeah," Rainbow Dash agreed, "we were expecting a real emergency, like a supervill.....ow" Rainbow was cut off by Applejack nudging her in ribs and giving her a disapproving look. "Rainbow Dash," she said, "if Twilight says it's an emergency, it's an emergency." "Right," Fluttershy nodded, "Twilight won't have called us all here if she didn't have a good reason." "Agreed," Rarity added, Pinkie Pie nodding in agreement with her, "Twilight has always had a good instinct when it comes to these things." "Alright," Rainbow Dash conceded, "no need to jump on me like that, geez." She turned to Twilight, "so what do you suggest, leader?" she asked. "That's just it," Twilight replied, "I don't know." She went on to explain about how the invite had appear the previous night and how she had subjected it to every tests she could think of, with the end result being nothing. The others all passed the invite round, each other reading it and then pass it on until it reached back to Twilight. "We're invite to participate in a contest?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, "HOW COOL IS THIS!!" "I've never even heard of the Contest of Champions," Fluttershy said, "is this even legit?" "I agree," Rarity interjected, "are we sure this isn't some prank or something?" "I know what you mean, Rar," Applejack responded, "something about this seems a little shady." "And thats why I called you all here," Twilight concluded, "I have absolutely no idea what to do about this." "Well," Rainbow Dash said, "I say we accept and deal with whatever comes." A collective, "WHAT" arose from the rest of the group. "Are you serious, Rainbow?!" Applejack asked, "we have no idea what this contest even is." "For all we know," Rarity added, "we could be leaping straight into the middle of a war or something." "Think about it," Rainbow Dash replied, "we've faced Kang and Starro the Conquerors, on top of that we were recently trained by Wonder Woman and the Amazons." The others were about to argue, but Rainbow Dash had brought up some good points thus they really didn't have much room to argue the point. "And besides," Rainbow Dash continued, "what better way to put our training to test than in a contest fit for Champions?" "I don't know," Twilight said, "I still don't think this is a good idea." "Come on, Twilight," Rainbow Dash urged, "what do we have to lose?" Twilight's instincts were screaming at her not to accept the invitation, but at the same time Rainbow Dash had made a good point that they, along with other teenage heroes, had faced threats from both time and space and, yes, recently they had gotten some extra combat training from Wonder Woman. "Alright," she said, finally, "we'll put it to a coin toss, heads, we accept and tails we don't." "Cool," Rainbow Dash smiled, Twilight pulled a coin out of her pocket, "call it, Rainbow," she stated. "Heads," Rainbow Dash replied. With that, Twilight flipped the coin. "Yes!" Rainbow Dash cried. It landed heads side up. "Alright," Twilight sighed, "Looks like we're going." She looked down at the invite, "I guess we accept the invitation," she said, aloud. Just after Twilight had finished her sentence, the invitation started glowing suddenly and Twilight, her friends vanished. And it wasn't just them, but all the heroes and villains of earth also vanished. Chapter 4Twilight and Tommy regained conscious, they were right back where they started, back in their cell. Tommy immediately looked for his stolen keycard, only to find that it had been taken. "I guess we have no choice now," Twilight sighed, "we have to play along, there is no other option." "Looks that way," Tommy replied, "but something doesn't feel right, Spiral should have destroyed us for attempting to escape, but she didn't, why?" "And what did she mean 'we'll be grateful for this'?" Twilight added, "they're clearly hiding something from us." "But what?" Tommy stated, "what would be gained from all this?" The two were interrupted by the announcers, the contest had been going while the two had attempted to escape. "Now, it's time to switch things up!" "Ooo, a shake up and some added spice to keep the audience watching?" "Indeed, my co-commentator." "I'm intrigued, tell me more." "Well, this next fight will be different, it's time for a TAG TEAM." "Alright, very interesting so who are the lucky tag teamers?" "It's between masters of martial arts, on one side we have Son Goku & Prince Vegeta vs. Iron Fist & Shang Chi, Master of Kung Fu." "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get this show on the road." Shortly, the four combatants appeared in the arena, staring each other down. In the VIP box. "I sense great power from these ones," Grandmaster said, "they may provide a true spectacle." "I assure you," said a voice, "the Saiyans will put on a show like no other." The voice belonged to Lord Beerus, the god of destruction, he and his assistant Whis were one of the gods from various other earths that had been invited by the Grandmaster. As soon as he had arrived, Beerus had immediately made a beeline for the refreshments, as he had an immense fascination with foods of all kinds. "I can vouch for them as well," Whis nodded, "those two are best of the best from our Earth." "Well, then," The Grandmaster replied, "hopefully, if they are as powerful as you say, our mysterious backers will be pleased." Back with Twilight and Tommy. The two watched as the fight started, the four contenders both using their respective fighting styles. Goku and Vegta fought in perfect harmony, both not holding back using very ounce of strength. Their opponents likewise did the same, using very ounce of power and skill to try and find an opening to strike. After a while, the two eventually reached a stalemate, nether having gained or lost any advantage over the other. "Man," Tommy said, "those two's fighting style is wild, like nothing I've seen before." "No kidding," Twilight nodded. Just then the announcers started up again. "Looks like we've reached a standstill, folks" "Indeed, unless these Saiyans have a trick up their sleeves, we may just have to go into sudden death." Suddenly, Goku and Vegeta began radiating energy, there was a blinding flash of blue and when it subsided both Saiyans had changed, their hair had become blue and blue energy surged around them. Back in the VIP box. "What in the world?!" The Grandmaster exclaimed, "those twos power levels are off the charts!?" "Indeed, brother," The Collector agreed, "their way over 9,000!" "Way over 9,000?!" The Grandmaster replied, shocked, "theres no way that can be right, it can't!?" "Told you so," Lord Beerus smiled, The two brothers looked at Beerus and Whis, a look of utter shock and disbelief on their faces. "I hope you and your audience are ready for a true show, from some true champions," Lord Beerus proclaimed. Back with Twilight and Tommy. "That's incredible," Tommy said, "those two's combined power just exploded, I can feel it from here." "Amazing," Twilight murmured, "I wonder how they would do against Superman." Back in the arena. Goku and Vegeta, now in their powered up forms of Super Saiyan Blue, otherwise known as, Super Saiyan god Super Saiyan, faced down Iron Fist and Shang Chi. The two heroes charged at the two, using all their skills and all their abilities. The two Saiyans seemed to have gotten stronger, the attacks barely phasing them. Soon Iron Fist and Shang Chi began to get tired and slow down. Seeing their opening Goku and Vegeta took it. After a few quick strikes, the two Saiyans launched two powerful ki attacks to finish them off. Like before, Iron Fist and Shang Chi were teleported away before the attacks could hit. "Whoo! Yeah! Now that's what I call a show!" "Indeed, that was truly spectacular." "Well, what do you say we keep the tag team train rolling?" The crowd roared in answer. "Alright, then, on with the show." "Next up, will be a battle of the machines: Penny Polendina & Jenny Wakeman vs Aigis & Labrys." "In that case, let get ready for a robo rumble!" Moments later, the four robotic combatants materialised in the arena. "Be sure to keep your eyes peeled, folks, after that last fight nothing is as it seems." "Indeed, be ready for anything." The crowd was practically beside itself with anticipation. With that, the match started, the four beginning to launch attacks at each other. Penny and Jenny, at first, seemed to have the upper hand, due to their versatility and manoeuvrability. Seeing that they were getting nowhere, Aigis and Labrys nodded to each other, they knew what they had to do. "Persona!" they both cried. In an instant, two mechanical ethereal figures appeared behind Aigis and Labrys. "Well, well, well, looks like our two attractive automatons have summoned their personas." "Say Bug, what is a Persona? Asking for a friend." "Well, since you asked, a Persona is the manifestation of one's shadow or one's repressed self once it has been accepted the user can summon it to aid him or her in battle." Now that Aigis and Labrys's Personas, named Athena and Ariadne, had been summoned, Aigis and Labrys reengaged their opponents. Penny and Jenny tired their hardest to attack as well as defend, but they were effectively fighting four opponents now. They fought as hard as they could, but eventually Penny and Jenny were overwhelmed by the two Persona users. Like clockwork, Penny and Jenny both were teleported away before the finishing blow could hit. The contest continued on with fight after fight after fight. As Twilight and Tommy watched the fights, Twilight noticed that some of the fights were incredibly one sided. "Some of these fights are so unfair," she noted, "why hasn't anyone released that?" "I think that fact that it hasn't been caught," Tommy replied, "means that the ones running this whole thing, are willing to do anything to make it more entertaining." "Like messing with the fight brackets?" Twilight said, after some thinking. "Exactly," Tommy nodded. Just then, Spiral, along with some guards, approached their cell door. "Your on," she barked, pointing at Twilight, "move it." The guards grabbed Twilight, pulling her out of the cell and dragging her towards the arena. Once they were close, her ring and geode were returned to her, after which she was teleported into the arena itself, by Spiral. Twilight shielded her eyes from the sudden brightness of the arena. "In this corner, we have the bearer of the Starheart Twilight Sparkle" Seconds later, her opponent appeared on the opposite side, a purple anthropomorphic cat in an ornate dress with a stoic look on her face. "And in this corner, we have the Guardian of the Sol Emeralds and protector of the Sol Zone, the fiery feline, Princess Blaze the Cat." Twilight assumed her best battle stance, waiting for the signal As soon as the fight began, the cat rocketed straight at Twilight, apparently she was a pyrokinetic. Twilight responded by blocking the cat with a shield from her ring. The cat threw blast after blast from her hands, trying to break through Twilight's defence. Twilight managed to maintain her shield, which eventually began to make her opponent tired. Seeing an opening, Twilight, using her ring along with her geode, managed to immobilise her opponent and then hurl her across the arena, slamming into one of the walls. The crowd cheered, Twilight was worried that she might have gone overboard and was prepared to deal the finishing blow. As the fight raged, back in the VIP box the Grandmaster and the Collector watched. "This proving to be a most enjoyable show," The Grandmaster remarked. The Collector was about to answer, but was interrupted by Topaz. "Master," he said. "What is it, Topaz?" The Grandmaster replied, "we're enjoying a good show, here." "You have a call," Topaz answered. "Put it on hold," The Grandmaster retorted, "I don't want to miss a moment of this." "It's Mr. Mojo on the line," Topaz insisted. The Grandmaster groaned, he hated dealing with the inhabitance of the Mojoworld in particular its ruler Mojo. "Put him through," he grumbled. The face of Mojo appeared on a screen. "Grandmaster, GM, baby!" Mojo declared, "I do hope I'm not interrupted anything." The Grandmaster grumbled. "Anyway," Mojo continued, "I just wanted to call to offer congrats, the rating are off the charts." "Get to the point," Grandmaster insisted. "Mmm, touchy," Mojo remarked, "is that any way to thank me? It was because of me that your little contest is even happening, it was because that you were able to get all the combatants and don't forget you signed a binding contract." Mojo pulled out a piece of paper. "The contract," he said, "clearly stats that in exchange for the rights to use my number one guy, Longshot, Mojo Media will be given exclusive broadcasting rights for the Contest of Champions." "Where exactly is this going?" The Grandmaster deadpanned. "Oh, I'll tell you where this is going..." Mojo began. The conversation was saved from going any further, as an explosion from arena drew the attention of everyone. Back in the arena, Twilight's fight with Blaze, had really began to heat up. As Twilight had prepared to deal the finishing blow, Blaze had unleashed her full power, her Burning Blaze Form. Now, Twilight was trying her hardest to staying alive, switching between attacking and defending. She finally saw an opening and managed to put a dome construct over Blaze, completely immobilising her. However, Blaze wasn't one to be contained so easily, she blasted the dome with powerful fire attacks. Twilight strained under the pressure, she had to maintain her concentration so that the strength of the construct would hold. She knew that, sooner or later, her opponent would burn up all the oxygen inside the dome. Eventually, Blaze had managed to break out of the dome, although she looked defeated, drained and was gasping for air. Twilight knew that she had to act fast, before her opponent could recover. She summoned up a giant fist construct, which slammed into Blaze, knocking her out. "And that's the end of that, everyone." "True dat, Bug, on with the show." Twilight didn't have time to rest as she was teleported back to her cell with Tommy, her geode and her ring taken off of her again. The contest continued on, with more and more fights. Twilight's friends had their own battles: Rainbow Dash against Aisha, Fluttershy against Bubbles, Applejack against Sailor Venus, Rarity against Honey the Cat, Pinkie Pie against UniKitty, Midnight against Sub Zero and Sunset against Mal. Twilight cheered her friends on in their fights, but not all of them were victorious, Fluttershy lost her fight with Bubbles, Midnight lost to Sub Zero and Pinkie Pie's fight ended in a draw, thus they were both disqualified. Twilight was slightly worried for her friends, but Tommy was on hand to comfort her. "Don't worry," he said, "I'm sure that when this is all over everything that happened here will be undone." "What are you basing that on?" Twilight asked. "Well," Tommy replied, "we saw that defeated combatants aren't killed, they keep them frozen in stasis, there has to be a reason." "That's right," Twilight murmured, "we saw that when we escaped, but why keep the defeated combatants around?" Her train of thought was interrupted by the commentators. "Ladies, Gentlemen, beings of all ages, we are down to our last few combatants!" "That's right, Bug, we're in the end game now." Twilight and Tommy looked at each other, they knew they would have to fight as hard as they could, the fate of their Earths depended on it. EpilogueLife returned to relative normality for Twilight and the others. Once they had checked in with all members and reserve members of the Champions, Twilight and the others got back to doing what they had always done, trying to maintain their regular lives and being heroes at the same time. Twilight hadn't forgot The Grandmaster's words about there being another trial, but there wasn't much she could do about it, after all she couldn't plan for every single possible thing that could happen or monitor everything. Fortunately, once she had talked about it to Sunset and the others they were very understanding and comforting to their friend, especially Midnight, since she and Twilight were sisters. Twilight was grateful for the support and advice from her sister and friends, that helped alleviate her stress, for the most part. Even Princess Twilight, through Sunset's journal, imparted some of her own knowledge and experience with a similar situation that happened to her, which partially involved time travel. After all the support, Twilight felt a lot more willing to relax, whatever the next trial was, they would be able to take it on, they were the Champions. Elsewhere, outside of time and space. The figure who had organised the Contest of Champions who had been watching from the VIP lounge looked over every match that had occurred during the Contest of Champions. "Impressive," he remarked, "most impressive." Suddenly, another figure appeared. "I see you trial was a success," he said. "Indeed," the first figure nodded, "there are many that show promise." He zoomed in on the fights featuring Twilight, her friends and the various Champions members. "These ones show the most promise," the first figure remarked, "they may have what it takes to stand against the coming storm." "Maybe so," the second figure stated, "but my trial will push these so called heroes to their limits." The first figure smiled, revealing himself as Mar Novu a.k.a. The Monitor. "I eagerly await to see the results that your trial will show," he said, "and I will be most interested in those results." Author's Note In tribute to Jason David Frank 1973-2022
Chapter 2Twilight rematerialised in a cell. "What the heck?" she cried. She went to the cell door, "Hey! Let me out of here!" she shouted. Then she remembered that she had her lantern ring and her geode, she could just break out and find the others. It was then, that Twilight noticed that at both her ring and her geode were gone. She began rattling the door, trying to make some noise to draw attention. "Ah," said a voice, "one of our newest combatants have arrived." "Who's there?" Twilight asked. From out of the darkness, stepped a woman wearing a bodysuit, helmet and belt. What really caught Twilight off guard was that she had six arms. "Who are you," Twilight asked, "what is this place, where are my friends, where is my ring and..." The six armed woman simply stopped Twilight and smiled, "all will be revealed soon," she smirked, "the contest is about to begin." "Hello and welcome to the Contest of Champions!" "I'm your host Ambush Bug and here with the colour commentary my partner, Arcade." "Hey, good to be here." "Anyway, I think we should get to the point of why we're here." "I couldn't agree more, bug." "Indeed, the Contest of Champions, a tournament where warriors from all across the multiverse battle it out to see who is the best of the best." "That's right, and all this was possible thanks to some mysterious backers, Mojo Media and our gracious organisers the Grandmaster and the Collector." "So how does the contest work?" "I'm glad you asked Arcade, you see its a good old fashioned 'last man standing,' the losers and their earths are erased and whoever wins takes home the prize." "Sounds simple, enough," "Well, enough of that, let's go down to the VIP box to join the Grandmaster for the pre contest opening ceremony." Back in the holding cells. Rainbow Dash had finally recovered from being teleported. "Arrr," she groaned, "my head." Like Twilight, she had had her ring and geode taken from her and she had been placed in cell. All across the area, Sunset and the rest of the Champions were all slowly recovering from being teleported, each in a different cell to each other. En Dwi Gast a.k.a. The Grandmaster along with his brother Taneleer Tivan a.k.a. The Collector watched from their position in the VIP lounge area. The stands were packed to the rafters, the crowd were on the edge of their seats waiting for the contest to start. "Our guest will be arriving shortly," The Collector said, "Shall we get things underway?" "We shall, brother," The Grandmaster nodded, "but first, I'd like to make an announcement to contestants." He produced a microphone, his voice was broadcast throughout the holding cells. "Combatants," he said, his voice had a menacing tone to in,"in the coming days each of you will fight, some are here of their own volition, others were brought here by chance. If you defeat all your opponents you will face one final challenge and the outcome of this tournament will determine your Earth's fate." The Grandmaster smiled as a giant hologram of himself was projected into the arena. "Hello, everyone!" he declared, his voice was now upbeat and jovial, "who's ready to get this show on the road?" The crowd erupted into screams in reply, the suspense was killing them. "Very well," The Grandmaster said, "let the games begin." Fireworks erupted, signalling the start of the contest. The two brothers' attention was interrupted by the arrival of Topaz, The Grandmaster's personal bodyguard and head of security. "Your esteemed guests have arrived," he stated. "Excellent," The Grandmaster replied, "show them in, Topaz." Topaz nodded and stepped aside, allowing the aforementioned guests entered the room. They were gods, deities and various other beings from across the multiverse. "Welcome," The Collector proclaimed, "welcome, friends." "We're so pleased you came," The Grandmaster added, "I hope you're all ready for show." "Please," The Collector said, "help yourselves to some refreshments." "The show will begin, momentarily," The Grandmaster smiled. Back with Twilight. The six armed woman had refused to answer any of her questions, simply smiling and walking away while saying, "try to get along with your cellmates." Twilight was confused by the statement, she thought that she was the only one in the cell. It was then she realised she wasn't alone. Someone was sitting on the opposite side of the cell. "So," the figure said, "they got you too, huh?" "Who are you?" Twilight asked. The figure stepped forward, revealing himself. "Name's Tommy Oliver," he said, "I'm guessing you and your friends got an invite too?" "Twilight Sparkle," Twilight replied, "and yes, we did, how did you...?" "Me and my friends got one too and then we found ourselves here," Tommy answered. "The invite said something about a contest," Twilight said, "and that announcement said we have to fight and that our Earth's fate hangs in the balance." "Seems that way," Tommy replied. "How do we escape?" Twilight asked, "do you have a plan?" "We play along for now," Tommy replied. "What?" Twilight exclaimed, "are you serious?!" "Well, like you said," Tommy retorted, "our homes are on the line, besides I already tried to escape." "What happened?" Twilight asked. Her attention was drawn to a small device attached to Tommy's neck. "What is that?" she asked. "They call it an Obedience Disk," Tommy explained, "they put them on all of us, even you." Twilight felt around her neck, sure enough, an Obedience Disk had been placed on her neck. "If you try and escape," Tommy explained, "you get zapped." Before the two could continue, some guards came marching down the hallway. They stopped at one of the cells, opened it, entered and exited dragging a prisoner with them. Suddenly, The sound of cheering was heard, signalling that the first match of the Contest of Champions was about to start. A screen in a corner of the cell blinked on, showing the arena above. The voices of the commentators was heard over the intercom. "And we're off with our first bout, we have Spark the Electric Jester vs Lilac the Dragon Girl." "Both these fighters are quick on their feet, so don't blink or you might miss them." "Anyway, let the battle begin!" Twilight and Tommy watched as the two combatants began to duked it out with each other. Spark seemed to have the edge on Lilac in terms of abilities with his more wider range of powers. But Lilac was able to close the gap with her speed, moving so fast that Spark couldn't get a proper lock on her. After a while, Spark had started to get tired and sloppy. Lilac charged at him, ready to deliver the finishing blow. But at the last second, Spark was teleported away before the blow could be struck. "Wait," Twilight said, "what was that?" As if in answer, the commentators started talking again. "I bet you're wondering what just happened?" "I sure am, Bug." "Well, that was the Anti Fatality field." "Anti Fatality field, whats that?" "It's very simple, the loser is teleported away before the finishing blow can be struck, can't have our combatants dying on us can we? I mean what do think we are monsters?" "Hmmm, kinda seems like cheating when you put it like that." Twilight breathed a sighed of relief. "Well," she said, "at least, we don't have to worry about our lives being on the line." The commentators continued talking. "Anyways, on with the show." "I couldn't agree more, our next combatants are: Vi vs Yang Xiao Long." "These two deadly dames aren't just pretty faces, they pack one hell of punch, literally." "Well, get ready because fists are about to fly." The two combatants appeared in the arena, one with long yellow hair with complex looking bracelets and the other, a pink haired girl, welding giant gauntlets, almost as big as her entire body. When the signal was given the two girls charged at each other. The yellow haired girl firing blasts from her bracelets, while the other girl blocked with her giant gauntlets. The pink haired threw punch after punch, which yellow haired girl dodged and counterattacked. The fight kept going back and fourth, neither one showing any signs of backing down. The tie was finally broken with almighty punch from the pink haired girl that sent the yellow haired girl flying into a wall. "Ooo, that's gotta hurt." "I won't be so sure, Arcade." Miraculously, the yellow haired girl got back on her feet, seemingly unfazed by the previous attack. Her eyes turned red and her hair glowed bright yellow, like it was on fire, she charged at the pink hair girl and hit her with punch that had the same amount, if not more, power than the punch she had thrown at her. The pink haired girl, didn't have time to react or defend, the punch knocked all the wind out of her. "Um, what just happened?" "Well, it seems Miss Xiao Long has just activated her Semblance, quite a powerful one at that." "And a Semblance is?" "A unique power those from Miss Xiao Long's Earth possess, all of them different and varying." "Oh, so like mutants on our Earth?" "Exactly, and Miss Xiao Long's Semblance is to absorb damage from hits she takes, adding them to her own physical power." "Okay, well this fight just got a whole lot more interesting." By this time, the pink haired girl had mostly recovered from the attack and was back on her feet. Now empowered by her Semblance, the yellow haired threw punch after almighty punch. The pink haired tried to block, but eventually she began to weaken and with one final almighty punch the yellow hair girl completely shattered the pink haired girl's gauntlets. The pink haired girl fell to the floor defeated and was teleported away. "Wow," Twilight remarked, "that girl could give Applejack a run for her money in terms of strength." "Alright, folks, are you ready for the next BATTLE?!" The commentators listened as the crowd roared in response. "Yeaahhh, good." "Are next round is between Max Steel and Generator Rex!" "Both these fighters are crazy strong, so look out those in the splash zones!" The two combatants appeared in the arena. Once the signal to fight was given, the two unveiled their powers, Max with his Turbo modes and Rex with his nanite builds. "Ah," The Grandmaster breathed, as he, his brother and the rest of the assembled gods and deities watched the battle unfold, "people hitting people, is there anything more beautiful?" "Indeed, brother," The Collector replied, "they fight with such courage and determination, truly a spectacle to behold." The two brothers clinked their glasses together and continued to watch the fight.
Chapter 3Twilight and Tommy continued to watch the fight between Max Steel and Generator Rex. Max seemed to have the edge over Rex, in terms of versatility, with his wide range of modes, but in terms of power, Rex had the edge with his more offensive builds. "They're pretty good," Tommy commented, "I'd hate to go up against ether of them." "Their powers are amazing," Twilight nodded, "being able to build whatever they need out of nothing." Just then the six armed woman from before arrived at their cell, she motioned to Tommy. "You're up next," she barked, "on your feet." "I guess thats my cue," Tommy said. As Tommy exited the cell, Twilight noticed the six armed woman opened the cell door with a strange keycard of some kind. The six armed woman then led Tommy away, to prepare him for the next fight, after which the cell door was closed. Twilight returned to watch the fight between Max Steel and Generator Rex. "If only the combatants knew what waits for them at the end of contest," The Grandmaster smirked, "wouldn't you agree brother?" "Indeed," The Collector nodded, "they will have to face our champions." The two brothers smiled at each other, knowing exactly what was waiting at the end of the Contest for the combatants that manage to make it the end. They would have to face their own personal picks for the contest, Longshot, the Champion of the Universe and the being simply known as - Ægon, The Forsaken. Back with Twilight. She watched as the next combatants were announced those being: Tommy Oliver vs Ryu. Soon after being called, the two appeared in the arena. The two faced each other down, sizing each other up, trying to gauge the other's power. When the command was given, the two activated their powers. Ryu fired off some energy projectiles, called Hadoukens, and Tommy, using his Master Morpher, changed into one of his five ranger forms. The two traded blows, Tommy changing into different forms to try and outmanoeuvre his opponent. The battle came to ahead when Tommy, using his Dino Thunder Black Ranger form, his Ryu with an Energy orb, his most powerful attack, Ryu tried to block it but he was teleported away before the attack could hit. With Tommy taking the win, he was taken back to his cell with Twilight. After which, the next fight was announced. "You okay?" Twilight asked, as Tommy looked like he was worn out. "That was close," Tommy said, "that guy wasn't pulling his punches." "We're fighting for our Earth's very survival," Twilight replied, "I don't think anyone can afford to mess around." "Good thing I got this," Tommy answered, with a smile, he reveal one of the guards keycards, he had managed to swipe when he was taken back to the cell. "Right," Twilight nodded, "lets move." Tommy looked around, making sure that no one was watching, then silently unlocked the cell door. He and Twilight exited the cell and began looking around. The corridor seemed like a giant menagerie, with cells lining the walls, each containing combatants from different Earths. Some ranged from human to humanoid to otherworldly, like an anthropomorphic banana and super space cyber suit wearing earthworm. All of them had Obedience Disks, some even had Inhibitor Collars on them, devices that neutralise the abilities of anyone they were placed on. "Something doesn't add up," Twilight said, "why gather all these fighters together and make them fight, for fun? Entertainment? Some sick joke? What?" "Or maybe it's for something else," Tommy answered. "Like what?" Twilight queried. "I don't know," Tommy replied, "but we're going to find out." The Security room and Broadcasting room. The security guards watched as the contest carried on, right now a battle was raging between two samurais, Miyamoto Usagi vs Samurai Jack. "Now, this is what I call a show," one guard remarked, as he and his comrade watched through the monitors. "Agreed," the second guard nodded. They continued to watch the fight. Back with Tommy and Twilight. The two were beginning to get lost as the sheer size of the holding cells, the place looked like it went on forever. They rounded a corner and were surprised at what they saw. A giant crystalline wall, containing all the combatants that had lost in the contest so far. "So this is what happens to the losers," Twilight said, "are they dead?" "No," Tommy replied, "they seem to be in some kind of stasis." "I think it's sick," Twilight remarked, "these are living beings, not trophies to be displayed." "We still need more information," Tommy said, "there is no use in flying off the handle until we know for sure who or what we are dealing with." "You're right," Twilight nodded. Suddenly, she remembered something, when Sunset had looked into Starro the Conqueror's mind, when he tried to take over the minds of all the superheroes and supervillains on their world. "something that could destroy an entire universe, something bigger, stronger and more powerful than Starro itself." "What if we're being prepared or tested" Twilight stated. "Prepared? Tested?" Tommy repeated, "what are you talking about?" Twilight explained about what had happened with Starro, what her friend had seen, she also explained who and what Starro was. "If thats true," Tommy answered, afterwards, "and this is all a test, then why the contest? Why all the deception?" Twilight thought for a moment, "maybe," she said, "whoever is behind this, is running out of time and needs to find those of us that have what it takes to take on such a mission or threat." Back in the Security room and Broadcasting room. The guards had suddenly noticed that the two combatants had escape their cells and were wandering about. "Alert, Spiral," The first guard said, "send out the guards and inform the boss!" "Roger," The second guard nodded. Back with Tommy and Twilight. As the two continued to wander through the endless hallways. Suddenly, an alarm sounded and Rita Wayword a.k.a. Spiral, the six-armed woman along with some guards also with dogs that appeared to be made of liquid metal, materialised ahead of them. "Combatants," Spiral declared, "you will return to your cells or face cancelation." "I don't know what that means," Tommy responded, "but if I'm going down, I'm going down fighting." "We want answers," Twilight added, "why are we here? Whats the real reason for the contest?" "The reason is for your own good," Spiral answered, "trust me, you'll be grateful." "What's that supposed to mean?!" Tommy retorted. "That's for me to know and you to find out," Spiral replied, "I wish I could cancel you now, but you are too much of an asset to the over all plan." Twilight and Tommy prepared to stand and fight. Spiral simply activated her master controller, the thing she used to control all Obedience Disks. Tommy and Twilight instantly fell to the floor, unable to withstand the amount of electricity coursing through their bodies. Spiral stood over the two, as they slowly lost conscious. "Remember this well," she smirked, "everything here belongs to the Grandmaster including you, he orders, you obey. His eyes see everything and his will controls everything here, so if you survive you will be grateful." The end of the speech was lost on the two heroes as they finally completely passed out.
Chapter 5The next couple of rounds were even more intense, with fights becoming vicious and fierce. Fights like Ragna the Bloodedge & Jin Kisaragi vs Dante and Vergil, Catra vs Tigra, Lion-O vs He-man, Power Pack vs the Powerpuff Girls and Lou Kang vs Goku. After a few more fights the number of combatants had been whittled down to a small number. To narrow it down even more, The Grandmaster and The Collector put the remaining fighters into teams of two and had them face off against the other remaining combatants. These lineups were: Twilight & Tommy vs Battle Beast & Jennika, Rainbow Dash & The Flash vs Garnet & Marceline, Sunset Shimmer & She-Ra vs Sol Badguy & Yang Xiao Long, Rarity & Ben 10 vs Goku & Popeye and Applejack & Roronoa Zoro vs Superman & Danny Phantom. One by one the number of the remaining combatants were shrunken down until only a few remained. Twilight along with her remaining friends fought as hard as they could but by the end only Twilight, Tommy, The Flash, Superman, Ben 10, Popeye, Battle Beast, Danny Phantom and Yang Xiao Long were left. Applejack and others tried their hardest, but eventually one by one they were eliminated. "My friends," Twilight cried, as she watched her friends and comrades vanish from the battlefield, "no!" Twilight, The Flash and Superman were now the remaining representatives of their earth. "Not good," she thought, "We're last ones left, we can't afford to hold back, not anymore." The other remaining combatants were: Sol Badguy, Ben 10, Garnet, Battle Beast, Popeye and Danny Phantom. "I can't keep going," Twilight panted, she was beginning to tire out and she felt like she had hit a wall in terms of her powers. "You can keep going," Tommy replied, "and you will, your friends and your world are counting on you." Inspired by Tommy's words, Twilight got back on her feet and dug even deeper inside herself, pushing the Starheart, the energy that powers her lantern ring to its limits and beyond. Twilight could feel a surge of new power flow through her, something new had awakened within her. She nodded to Tommy, who gave her a smile, seeing that his words had had an effect on her. The two readied themselves for there next bout. "Alright, everyone we have saved the best for last," "Right, we have Tommy Oliver, the legendary Power Ranger, Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic and wielder of the Starheart, vs Thokk, the Battle Beast. "Two on one, Bug are you serious?" "Oh, yes, my co-commentator, trust me when I say that you won't be disappointed." "Okay, then let's get ready to rumble!" With that, the signal to start the fight was given. Twilight and Tommy tried every attack they knew, but nothing seemed to phase Battle Beast. He effortlessly swatted them away like they were nothing more than gnats. "I was promised this tournament offered worthy opponents," Battle Beast stated, as Tommy and Twilight tried again and again to land a blow on him, "but, oh how you disappoint." Twilight, who had been winded in another failed attempt, looked up at Battle Beast as he towered over her. "If not for this accursed anti-fatality field," Battle Beast continued, "I would kill you now, for that is an act of mercy." He raised his weapon, a mace, preparing to deal the finishing blow. Tommy, seeing that Twilight was about to be taken out, lunged at Battle Beast, tackling him away from Twilight. Battle Beast turned his attention away from Twilight and turned his gaze on the Power Ranger. "You desire your end that much?" he remarked, "then I shall grant you a quick death." He stalked over to Tommy, who tried everything he could, but Battle Beast simply shrugged it off. "I didn't want to do this," Tommy said, getting back to his feet, "but the gloves are off now." He activated his Master Morpher, transforming into his Green Ranger form, pushing his powers to their limit. In flash of green light, Tommy transformed into his Green Ranger V2 form. Battle Beast smiled, "Interesting," he declared, "wonder if you may provide the honourable fight I seek, yet." Drawing his Dragon Dagger, Tommy charged at Battle Beast. His speed and strength in his V2 form were increased, his Dragonzord powers had been pushed to the nth degree. Even with the power increase, Battle Beast was still more than a match for the Power Ranger and a powerful strike to the head, sent Tommy flying, his helmet's visor creaking in the process. Despite this, Tommy refused to go down, he continuously got back up every time he was knocked down. "It seems that, you may provide me the challenge I am looking for," Battle Beast smiled. "There's two things you don't know about me," Tommy stated, "one: I'm a Power Ranger I swore to protect my Earth and its people, two: If I'm going out, I'm going out fighting." With that final declaration, Tommy charged at Battle Beast one last time, channeling all his power into his Dragon Dagger for one big ultimate finishing blow. But Battle Beast was able to catch the Dragon Dagger in one hand before the blow could be struck. After which, he then proceeded to land an almighty strike with his mace, so devastating that it forced Tommy to de-morph from his Green Ranger V2 form back to his human form. "It appears, I was mistaken," Battle Beast said, "you are just as weak and frail as the feeble creatures on my Earth." Battle Beast raised his weapon, to finally bring the battle to an end. As he was about to be teleported away by the anti-fatality field, Tommy smiled. "Something amuses you?" Battle Beast asked, pausing mid-swing. "You know, for someone who claims to be a legendary warrior," Tommy replied, "you are pretty easy to distract, you make Goldar look like a genius." "You insult me?!" Battle Beast roared. But as Tommy was teleported out of the arena, that provided an opening for Twilight to attack the unsuspecting Leonine. Before Battle Beast could react, Twilight fired a blast from her ring, hitting Battle Beast square in the face, blinding him. Her opponent immediately, swung fiercely in a blind rage. Twilight managed to dodge Battle Beast swings and managed to discombobulated him by hitting his ears really hard. After which, Twilight finished the fight with a swift, Starheart powered, uppercut to Battle Beast's face. The crowd along with those watching in the VIP Lounge area cheered, the fight had proven to be quiet entertaining. "I. Don"t. Believe It!" "You said it, Arcade, the mighty Battle Beast has been defeated, that means Twilight Sparkle is moving on the final round." "Well, what are waiting for? Let's get to the final round!" Back in the VIP lounge, one of the beings watching, smiled to himself. "Very interesting," he murmured, "these heroes may be able to stand against the coming storm."
Chapter 6Twilight, along with the remaining finalists, were assembled in the arena for the final round. The remaining finalists were: Ben 10 and Popeye, along with Twilight herself. Twilight was tense, after the battle with Battle Beast, she didn't know what was awaiting her in this final round. Her fellow finalist, Ben 10, were likewise poised, ready for ever may come, Popeye on the other hand was calmly waiting with a smile on his face, his fists ready for a scrap. "Well, Ladies, Gentleman and assembled deities, we have come to the final round of the Contest of Champions." "Thats right, Bug, we are finally down to our last three combatants, we have: Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic and wielder of the Starheart, Ben 10, wielder of the Omnitrix and a bunch of other things and finally, Popeye, the Sailor man." "Now that's out of the way, let's see who our finalists are up against, shall we?" "Indeed, Arcade, let's." In a flash, the finalist's opponents were teleported into the arena. "Presenting, Longshot, Master of Luck, the Elder of the Universe, Tryco Slatterus a.k.a. The Champion of the Universe and Ægon, The Forsaken." "Now, without further ado, let the battle begin." With that, the final signal was given, the final battle began. Twilight and her fellow finalists engaged their respective opponents. Ben 10 vs Longshot, Popeye vs The Champion of the Universe and Twilight vs Ægon. Ægon, despite missing his right arm, was surprisingly agile and quick on his feet. Twilight was constantly on her guard, blocking and attacking in quick succession. Just when it looked like Twilight had him on the ropes, Ægon demonstrated his full might and power. The belt around his waist, the Iso-belt, was no ordinary belt. It was an ancient relic, Ægon was the first ever winner of the first ever Contest of Champions, the belt allowed its wearer to access vast cosmic power, enhancing the wearer's strength, stamina and extending their lifespan. Ægon could access this vast power to manifest a phantom of his lost limb, shoot energy blasts and shockwaves and like Twilight's ring, he could also manifest weapons along with his phantom limb, just as deadly as the real things. Twilight learned quick not to underestimate Ægon, truly he was a being who commanded great power and seen his fair share of battles. Twilight's fellow finalists were faring just as well as her against their opponents, Ben 10 mostly holding his own Longshot, while Popeye was having little trouble with The Champion of the Universe, thanks to eating his spinach, which only seemed to infuriated the Champion. The crowd and VIPs were on the edge of their seats, every punch, every counter and every potential knock-out only served to hype up the audience. Ben 10 with his various alien forms, finally managed to squeak out a win against Longshot, as the battle between the two continued Ben noticed that his adversary's power seemed to be tied to his emotional state seeing that his opponent was starting to lose hope and his luck backfiring on him, Ben capitalised on the opportunity and succeeded. Popeye, similarly, scored a victory over The Champion of the Universe, despite his immense power and strength the Champion started to get tired, something usually impossible for an Elder of the Universe like him, and slowly began to falter. He refused to believe that mere mortal could possess strength that could rival his own, Popeye simply smile and finished the fight off with a final haymaker. "But how?!" The Champion asked, as he lay defeated on the ground, both confused and enraged. "I eats me spinach," Popeye replied, still smiling. With that, The Champion finally fell unconscious, still utterly baffled by Popeye's answer, after which he and Longshot were teleported out of the arena. "Well, folks, it seems we'll have to crank up the heat." "Indeed, let's see how well our other two finalists do against their greatest enemy, themselves." "Agreed, send in the Amazoids!" Two figures were teleported into the arena, they were humanoid with blank features, they were Amazoids, fusions of the android Amazo and the robot Adaptoid, both having the power to adapt and copy the powers of any super-human. While Twilight's battle with Ægon continued, Ben 10 and Popeye engaged the robotic opponents. The Amazoids proved to be a problem for the two, Ben 10's Amazoid was able to copy and even combine the powers and abilities of his various alien forms. Popeye, likewise, struggled with his Amazoid, the robot was able to match him in strength and slowly began to wear the sailor man down, Popeye had used his last can of spinach in the battle against the Champion of the Universe. Soon enough, the two robots were able to defeat their respected opponents. "And there it is!" "Right you are, Bug, we have finally reached the last fighter standing, Twilight Sparkle vs Ægon!" Ben 10, Popeye and the two Amazoids were teleported out of the arena, leaving Twilight and Ægon left. The battle between the two was still raging, Twilight using everything she had to try and put the challenger down. Nothing seemed to phase Ægon, he was able to shrug off or dodge most of Twilight's attacks. But, as the fight dragged on, Twilight noticed that the battle was starting to take a toil on Ægon. The more he used the power of the Iso-belt, the more strain his body was put under. Ægon may have mastered and able to wield the power of the Iso-belt, called Iso-8 the power of the big bang, but his body wasn't always able to contain the belts full power for long periods. Now, having some semblance of a plan, Twilight began to prodding and poking Ægon, making him use more and more power. This did indeed, expedite the strain his body was under, but also served to make Ægon angrier. But Twilight was counting on that too, the phrase 'anger makes you stupid' came into her mind. She continued with her previous strategy, prodding and poking Ægon, making him use more and more energy. Finally, Ægon's anger reached its boiling point, the warrior prepared an almighty attack. Then suddenly, Ægon's attack fizzled out, his body had finally reached its limit and was starting to really feel the strain, even showing side-effects. Twilight, seeing her chance, launched one final attack, striking Ægon before he had time to do anything, as he was still suffering the effects of the Iso-belt. Twilight stood over the defeated champion. "I yield," Ægon said, as he was teleported out of the arena, "you fought well, young warrior." For a moment, the crowd and the VIPs were stunned, the gravity of what had transpired having not fully dawned on them, yet. Then, the crowd erupted into thunderous applause, with the VIPs looking on in both surprise and interest. "I don't believe it, folks!" "Believe it, Bug, Ægon, The Forsaken, has been taken down." "Ladies, Gentlemen, beings of all ages and everyone else, we have a winner of the multiversal Contest of Champions! Twilight Sparkle!" Before Twilight had time to recover from the battle she had just finished, she was teleported straight to a stage, overlooking the arena. Standing in front of her were The Grandmaster and The Collector. "Well done, Champion," The Grandmaster smiled, "you have defied all odds and emerged victorious." "And for your victory," The Collector continued, "you may have any wish of yours granted." "Then," Twilight replied, "I wish for all the Earths that were destroyed to be restored and for everyone, including me and my friends to be sent home." "Is this truly what you want?" The Grandmaster asked. "It is," Twilight nodded. "So be it," The Collector acknowledged. Both Elders of the Universe joined hands, pooling and channeling their energy together to grant Twilight's request. There was a blinding flash of light and then silence. "It is done," The Grandmaster stated, "the scales are in balance, all that is, is as it was before." "Go now, champion," The Collector said, "but know this, the Contest is the first trial you have passed." "The first trial," Twilight repeated, "you mean there's more?" "Indeed," The Grandmaster confirmed, "another trial awaits you in the future, be ready." Twilight slowly began to fade away, as she was teleported back to her Earth along with the others. Back at Twilight's house. "We're back!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. She, along with everyone else had reappeared back in Twilight's house, right back where they started. "So it would seem," Twilight said, The Grandmaster's words still fresh in her mind. But she brushed it aside for now, she and her friends had a more pressing issue, checking in with the other members of the Champions to make sure everyone made it back safe. "Well, I for one," Rarity declared, "am relieved that that whole contest fiasco is behind us."
Chapter 1Twilight Sparkle paced back and fourth in her room, the invite that had appeared the previous night still on her desk. Ever since the invite had arrived, Twilight had read and reread the invite trying to find something that could tell her if it was a trap or something along the lines of one. She had run every test she could think of, but all the results had turned up nothing. She had since texted her friends, telling them to meet at her house and now she was waiting for them all to arrive. After several more minutes of waiting, there was a knock on Twilight's room door and Midnight Sparkle poked her head round. "The others have arrived," she said, "they're waiting with Spike downstairs." Twilight nodded and followed her sister down to the living room, bringing the invitation with her to where her friends along with Spike were waiting. "We got your text, Twi" Applejack said. "Yeah," Rainbow Dash nodded, "whats the emergency?" "It's," Twilight replied, pulling out the invite and placing on the coffee table, "this." Applejack and the others all stared at the invite in confusion, curiosity and disappointment. "I don't understand, darling," Rarity said, "you called us all here for a piece of paper?" "Yeah," Rainbow Dash agreed, "we were expecting a real emergency, like a supervill.....ow" Rainbow was cut off by Applejack nudging her in ribs and giving her a disapproving look. "Rainbow Dash," she said, "if Twilight says it's an emergency, it's an emergency." "Right," Fluttershy nodded, "Twilight won't have called us all here if she didn't have a good reason." "Agreed," Rarity added, Pinkie Pie nodding in agreement with her, "Twilight has always had a good instinct when it comes to these things." "Alright," Rainbow Dash conceded, "no need to jump on me like that, geez." She turned to Twilight, "so what do you suggest, leader?" she asked. "That's just it," Twilight replied, "I don't know." She went on to explain about how the invite had appear the previous night and how she had subjected it to every tests she could think of, with the end result being nothing. The others all passed the invite round, each other reading it and then pass it on until it reached back to Twilight. "We're invite to participate in a contest?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, "HOW COOL IS THIS!!" "I've never even heard of the Contest of Champions," Fluttershy said, "is this even legit?" "I agree," Rarity interjected, "are we sure this isn't some prank or something?" "I know what you mean, Rar," Applejack responded, "something about this seems a little shady." "And thats why I called you all here," Twilight concluded, "I have absolutely no idea what to do about this." "Well," Rainbow Dash said, "I say we accept and deal with whatever comes." A collective, "WHAT" arose from the rest of the group. "Are you serious, Rainbow?!" Applejack asked, "we have no idea what this contest even is." "For all we know," Rarity added, "we could be leaping straight into the middle of a war or something." "Think about it," Rainbow Dash replied, "we've faced Kang and Starro the Conquerors, on top of that we were recently trained by Wonder Woman and the Amazons." The others were about to argue, but Rainbow Dash had brought up some good points thus they really didn't have much room to argue the point. "And besides," Rainbow Dash continued, "what better way to put our training to test than in a contest fit for Champions?" "I don't know," Twilight said, "I still don't think this is a good idea." "Come on, Twilight," Rainbow Dash urged, "what do we have to lose?" Twilight's instincts were screaming at her not to accept the invitation, but at the same time Rainbow Dash had made a good point that they, along with other teenage heroes, had faced threats from both time and space and, yes, recently they had gotten some extra combat training from Wonder Woman. "Alright," she said, finally, "we'll put it to a coin toss, heads, we accept and tails we don't." "Cool," Rainbow Dash smiled, Twilight pulled a coin out of her pocket, "call it, Rainbow," she stated. "Heads," Rainbow Dash replied. With that, Twilight flipped the coin. "Yes!" Rainbow Dash cried. It landed heads side up. "Alright," Twilight sighed, "Looks like we're going." She looked down at the invite, "I guess we accept the invitation," she said, aloud. Just after Twilight had finished her sentence, the invitation started glowing suddenly and Twilight, her friends vanished. And it wasn't just them, but all the heroes and villains of earth also vanished.
Chapter 4Twilight and Tommy regained conscious, they were right back where they started, back in their cell. Tommy immediately looked for his stolen keycard, only to find that it had been taken. "I guess we have no choice now," Twilight sighed, "we have to play along, there is no other option." "Looks that way," Tommy replied, "but something doesn't feel right, Spiral should have destroyed us for attempting to escape, but she didn't, why?" "And what did she mean 'we'll be grateful for this'?" Twilight added, "they're clearly hiding something from us." "But what?" Tommy stated, "what would be gained from all this?" The two were interrupted by the announcers, the contest had been going while the two had attempted to escape. "Now, it's time to switch things up!" "Ooo, a shake up and some added spice to keep the audience watching?" "Indeed, my co-commentator." "I'm intrigued, tell me more." "Well, this next fight will be different, it's time for a TAG TEAM." "Alright, very interesting so who are the lucky tag teamers?" "It's between masters of martial arts, on one side we have Son Goku & Prince Vegeta vs. Iron Fist & Shang Chi, Master of Kung Fu." "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get this show on the road." Shortly, the four combatants appeared in the arena, staring each other down. In the VIP box. "I sense great power from these ones," Grandmaster said, "they may provide a true spectacle." "I assure you," said a voice, "the Saiyans will put on a show like no other." The voice belonged to Lord Beerus, the god of destruction, he and his assistant Whis were one of the gods from various other earths that had been invited by the Grandmaster. As soon as he had arrived, Beerus had immediately made a beeline for the refreshments, as he had an immense fascination with foods of all kinds. "I can vouch for them as well," Whis nodded, "those two are best of the best from our Earth." "Well, then," The Grandmaster replied, "hopefully, if they are as powerful as you say, our mysterious backers will be pleased." Back with Twilight and Tommy. The two watched as the fight started, the four contenders both using their respective fighting styles. Goku and Vegta fought in perfect harmony, both not holding back using very ounce of strength. Their opponents likewise did the same, using very ounce of power and skill to try and find an opening to strike. After a while, the two eventually reached a stalemate, nether having gained or lost any advantage over the other. "Man," Tommy said, "those two's fighting style is wild, like nothing I've seen before." "No kidding," Twilight nodded. Just then the announcers started up again. "Looks like we've reached a standstill, folks" "Indeed, unless these Saiyans have a trick up their sleeves, we may just have to go into sudden death." Suddenly, Goku and Vegeta began radiating energy, there was a blinding flash of blue and when it subsided both Saiyans had changed, their hair had become blue and blue energy surged around them. Back in the VIP box. "What in the world?!" The Grandmaster exclaimed, "those twos power levels are off the charts!?" "Indeed, brother," The Collector agreed, "their way over 9,000!" "Way over 9,000?!" The Grandmaster replied, shocked, "theres no way that can be right, it can't!?" "Told you so," Lord Beerus smiled, The two brothers looked at Beerus and Whis, a look of utter shock and disbelief on their faces. "I hope you and your audience are ready for a true show, from some true champions," Lord Beerus proclaimed. Back with Twilight and Tommy. "That's incredible," Tommy said, "those two's combined power just exploded, I can feel it from here." "Amazing," Twilight murmured, "I wonder how they would do against Superman." Back in the arena. Goku and Vegeta, now in their powered up forms of Super Saiyan Blue, otherwise known as, Super Saiyan god Super Saiyan, faced down Iron Fist and Shang Chi. The two heroes charged at the two, using all their skills and all their abilities. The two Saiyans seemed to have gotten stronger, the attacks barely phasing them. Soon Iron Fist and Shang Chi began to get tired and slow down. Seeing their opening Goku and Vegeta took it. After a few quick strikes, the two Saiyans launched two powerful ki attacks to finish them off. Like before, Iron Fist and Shang Chi were teleported away before the attacks could hit. "Whoo! Yeah! Now that's what I call a show!" "Indeed, that was truly spectacular." "Well, what do you say we keep the tag team train rolling?" The crowd roared in answer. "Alright, then, on with the show." "Next up, will be a battle of the machines: Penny Polendina & Jenny Wakeman vs Aigis & Labrys." "In that case, let get ready for a robo rumble!" Moments later, the four robotic combatants materialised in the arena. "Be sure to keep your eyes peeled, folks, after that last fight nothing is as it seems." "Indeed, be ready for anything." The crowd was practically beside itself with anticipation. With that, the match started, the four beginning to launch attacks at each other. Penny and Jenny, at first, seemed to have the upper hand, due to their versatility and manoeuvrability. Seeing that they were getting nowhere, Aigis and Labrys nodded to each other, they knew what they had to do. "Persona!" they both cried. In an instant, two mechanical ethereal figures appeared behind Aigis and Labrys. "Well, well, well, looks like our two attractive automatons have summoned their personas." "Say Bug, what is a Persona? Asking for a friend." "Well, since you asked, a Persona is the manifestation of one's shadow or one's repressed self once it has been accepted the user can summon it to aid him or her in battle." Now that Aigis and Labrys's Personas, named Athena and Ariadne, had been summoned, Aigis and Labrys reengaged their opponents. Penny and Jenny tired their hardest to attack as well as defend, but they were effectively fighting four opponents now. They fought as hard as they could, but eventually Penny and Jenny were overwhelmed by the two Persona users. Like clockwork, Penny and Jenny both were teleported away before the finishing blow could hit. The contest continued on with fight after fight after fight. As Twilight and Tommy watched the fights, Twilight noticed that some of the fights were incredibly one sided. "Some of these fights are so unfair," she noted, "why hasn't anyone released that?" "I think that fact that it hasn't been caught," Tommy replied, "means that the ones running this whole thing, are willing to do anything to make it more entertaining." "Like messing with the fight brackets?" Twilight said, after some thinking. "Exactly," Tommy nodded. Just then, Spiral, along with some guards, approached their cell door. "Your on," she barked, pointing at Twilight, "move it." The guards grabbed Twilight, pulling her out of the cell and dragging her towards the arena. Once they were close, her ring and geode were returned to her, after which she was teleported into the arena itself, by Spiral. Twilight shielded her eyes from the sudden brightness of the arena. "In this corner, we have the bearer of the Starheart Twilight Sparkle" Seconds later, her opponent appeared on the opposite side, a purple anthropomorphic cat in an ornate dress with a stoic look on her face. "And in this corner, we have the Guardian of the Sol Emeralds and protector of the Sol Zone, the fiery feline, Princess Blaze the Cat." Twilight assumed her best battle stance, waiting for the signal As soon as the fight began, the cat rocketed straight at Twilight, apparently she was a pyrokinetic. Twilight responded by blocking the cat with a shield from her ring. The cat threw blast after blast from her hands, trying to break through Twilight's defence. Twilight managed to maintain her shield, which eventually began to make her opponent tired. Seeing an opening, Twilight, using her ring along with her geode, managed to immobilise her opponent and then hurl her across the arena, slamming into one of the walls. The crowd cheered, Twilight was worried that she might have gone overboard and was prepared to deal the finishing blow. As the fight raged, back in the VIP box the Grandmaster and the Collector watched. "This proving to be a most enjoyable show," The Grandmaster remarked. The Collector was about to answer, but was interrupted by Topaz. "Master," he said. "What is it, Topaz?" The Grandmaster replied, "we're enjoying a good show, here." "You have a call," Topaz answered. "Put it on hold," The Grandmaster retorted, "I don't want to miss a moment of this." "It's Mr. Mojo on the line," Topaz insisted. The Grandmaster groaned, he hated dealing with the inhabitance of the Mojoworld in particular its ruler Mojo. "Put him through," he grumbled. The face of Mojo appeared on a screen. "Grandmaster, GM, baby!" Mojo declared, "I do hope I'm not interrupted anything." The Grandmaster grumbled. "Anyway," Mojo continued, "I just wanted to call to offer congrats, the rating are off the charts." "Get to the point," Grandmaster insisted. "Mmm, touchy," Mojo remarked, "is that any way to thank me? It was because of me that your little contest is even happening, it was because that you were able to get all the combatants and don't forget you signed a binding contract." Mojo pulled out a piece of paper. "The contract," he said, "clearly stats that in exchange for the rights to use my number one guy, Longshot, Mojo Media will be given exclusive broadcasting rights for the Contest of Champions." "Where exactly is this going?" The Grandmaster deadpanned. "Oh, I'll tell you where this is going..." Mojo began. The conversation was saved from going any further, as an explosion from arena drew the attention of everyone. Back in the arena, Twilight's fight with Blaze, had really began to heat up. As Twilight had prepared to deal the finishing blow, Blaze had unleashed her full power, her Burning Blaze Form. Now, Twilight was trying her hardest to staying alive, switching between attacking and defending. She finally saw an opening and managed to put a dome construct over Blaze, completely immobilising her. However, Blaze wasn't one to be contained so easily, she blasted the dome with powerful fire attacks. Twilight strained under the pressure, she had to maintain her concentration so that the strength of the construct would hold. She knew that, sooner or later, her opponent would burn up all the oxygen inside the dome. Eventually, Blaze had managed to break out of the dome, although she looked defeated, drained and was gasping for air. Twilight knew that she had to act fast, before her opponent could recover. She summoned up a giant fist construct, which slammed into Blaze, knocking her out. "And that's the end of that, everyone." "True dat, Bug, on with the show." Twilight didn't have time to rest as she was teleported back to her cell with Tommy, her geode and her ring taken off of her again. The contest continued on, with more and more fights. Twilight's friends had their own battles: Rainbow Dash against Aisha, Fluttershy against Bubbles, Applejack against Sailor Venus, Rarity against Honey the Cat, Pinkie Pie against UniKitty, Midnight against Sub Zero and Sunset against Mal. Twilight cheered her friends on in their fights, but not all of them were victorious, Fluttershy lost her fight with Bubbles, Midnight lost to Sub Zero and Pinkie Pie's fight ended in a draw, thus they were both disqualified. Twilight was slightly worried for her friends, but Tommy was on hand to comfort her. "Don't worry," he said, "I'm sure that when this is all over everything that happened here will be undone." "What are you basing that on?" Twilight asked. "Well," Tommy replied, "we saw that defeated combatants aren't killed, they keep them frozen in stasis, there has to be a reason." "That's right," Twilight murmured, "we saw that when we escaped, but why keep the defeated combatants around?" Her train of thought was interrupted by the commentators. "Ladies, Gentlemen, beings of all ages, we are down to our last few combatants!" "That's right, Bug, we're in the end game now." Twilight and Tommy looked at each other, they knew they would have to fight as hard as they could, the fate of their Earths depended on it.
EpilogueLife returned to relative normality for Twilight and the others. Once they had checked in with all members and reserve members of the Champions, Twilight and the others got back to doing what they had always done, trying to maintain their regular lives and being heroes at the same time. Twilight hadn't forgot The Grandmaster's words about there being another trial, but there wasn't much she could do about it, after all she couldn't plan for every single possible thing that could happen or monitor everything. Fortunately, once she had talked about it to Sunset and the others they were very understanding and comforting to their friend, especially Midnight, since she and Twilight were sisters. Twilight was grateful for the support and advice from her sister and friends, that helped alleviate her stress, for the most part. Even Princess Twilight, through Sunset's journal, imparted some of her own knowledge and experience with a similar situation that happened to her, which partially involved time travel. After all the support, Twilight felt a lot more willing to relax, whatever the next trial was, they would be able to take it on, they were the Champions. Elsewhere, outside of time and space. The figure who had organised the Contest of Champions who had been watching from the VIP lounge looked over every match that had occurred during the Contest of Champions. "Impressive," he remarked, "most impressive." Suddenly, another figure appeared. "I see you trial was a success," he said. "Indeed," the first figure nodded, "there are many that show promise." He zoomed in on the fights featuring Twilight, her friends and the various Champions members. "These ones show the most promise," the first figure remarked, "they may have what it takes to stand against the coming storm." "Maybe so," the second figure stated, "but my trial will push these so called heroes to their limits." The first figure smiled, revealing himself as Mar Novu a.k.a. The Monitor. "I eagerly await to see the results that your trial will show," he said, "and I will be most interested in those results." Author's Note In tribute to Jason David Frank 1973-2022
