Equestria Legends Online

by Shadowflame

First published 22nd of January, 2013

A New virtual reality MMO goes screwy with the arrival of discord. Now over a thousand bronies are trapped in a virtual reality, and the only way out is to play Discord's game. Will they collect the Elements of Harmony in time, or die trying?

Congratulations, Equestria Legends Online is now side-story compatible: These other authors would love your support in their own adventures in this virtual world. You can find them in The Equestria Legends Online Fan Group, located here.

It's the year 2020, and millions of people are raving about the new game console known as Nervegear, which will literally take a player's mind into the game. But thousands of bronies are raging about a new pony game made for the Nervegear. After several months of waiting, the game is released, as a way for the players to actually travel to Equestria as ponies themselves.

But... things become screwy when Discord appears. Whether it was in the game design or not, this being of chaos has gained control over the virtual Equestria, trapping every brony wearing Nervegear inside the game. However, there is one way to get out. The bronies in the game must find and acquire the Elements of Harmony, which Discord has hidden throughout all of Equestria. But there is one drawback: If a player dies in the game, then the Nervegear will fry their brains in the real world, killing them on the spot. If they die in the game, they will die in the real world.

This idea was given to me from the Japanese Anime, "Sword Art Online." Please, no hate comments or dislikes for this fact. At least read the first chapter before outright disliking it.
Thanks to Raybony for making the cover art for this story.

January 22nd (Let the Games Begin)

My mind raced as I ran into my house, a large box clutched under my arm. I was extremely excited, and everyone could see that from my exceedingly wide grin. The reason why I was so happy was because the package that I'd gotten today held my very own Nervegear console. But that wasn't all, because I had just barely bought my own copy of the newest brony game for the Nervegear, Equestria Legends Online.

Nervegear, for those of you who don't know, is a sort of virtual reality helmet. It actually catches the mental signals in your brain and warps it to where you are sensing the virtual reality it creates. Although you couldn't move or feel your body in real life, you could feel and experience everything in the game.

I rushed through my house, not even stopping to say 'hi' to any of my family that happened to be there at the time. I hurried downstairs into my room with my Nervegear, because I knew that the servers for ELO (that's short for Equestria Legends Online) would be opened in a couple of minutes, and I wanted to be one of the first ones in. It was incredible really, how Hasbro had funded the best game designers in the world for this single MMO. But, what was even more awesome was that the Nervegear was supposedly able to turn you into a pony, or at least make it feel like you were a pony.

Although, when anybody heard about me wanting the game, they'd think that I was crazy. They always said that a teenage guy like me shouldn't be playing with colorful, rainbow ponies. But ELO was going to be a slap in their faces, because it not only took a player into Equestria, the setting of the game, but there was also a part of the game where you could fight against monsters, with swords, fangs, everything!

Finally, I ran into my room and locked the door behind me. I didn't want anybody interrupting me during my first try of my Nervegear console. Without stopping for a moment, I plopped down the Nervegear box onto my desk, right next to my laptop. I grabbed a pair of scissors and cut open the box, and with it open, I pulled out the Nervegear console.

The console itself was just a disk reader, connected to a large Nervegear helmet. The console came with several cords that kind of confused me at first, but after I looked at the instruction booklet I was able to assemble the entire system.

Once I was done setting up my Nervegear, I looked at my digital clock that sat on my windowsill: It read 11:50 AM, which meant only ten minutes until the ELO servers opened.

Suddenly, my phone began to ring in my pocket. I picked it up and answered, "Hello?"

A familiar voice spoke out through the other side, "Hey, dude. You ready?"

I grinned, as I recognized the caller to be my buddy from school, "Yep, I'm ready. I just barely finished setting up my Nervegear console. This is going to be awesome!"

"I know, right?"

Suddenly, a thought came to mind, "Hey, are you still using your usual username for ELO?"

"Nah, I'm going to use DarkenedSky for this game, or Sky for short. I stopped using my last user name a while ago, since everybody keeps mispronouncing it."

I couldn't help but chuckle, "Yeah, wasn't it in Russian?"

"Yeah, but it still sounded cool. So, what's your username?"

"Oh, the same as always. I've always liked Shadowflame as my name." I shrugged, "Oh, well. But are you going to set your OC as your avatar, or are you just going to ponify yourself?"

"I don't know. I think I'm just going to ponify myself, but if I don't like how it looks, then I'll fall back on my OC."

I thought for a moment, "Yeah, I think I'll do that to." I looked back at my clock, which read 11:57. "Look, it's almost time to go. When you get into the game, if you finish choosing your pony first, just wait for me."

"All right. Bro-hoof."

I grinned, "And let's bro-hoof in the game, when we actually have hooves. See ya in a bit." With that I hung up and set my phone down on my desk. I glanced back at my clock and it read 11:58. I smiled, "I guess I can start right now."

I picked up the Nervegear helmet and stuck it on my head, fastening it with the chin strap. Though I had to admit, it was quite comfortable. Once I fastened the chin strap, I laid down on my back on my bed. I flicked the helmet's power switch on and the console hummed as it came alive.

As the console was starting up, the glass eye protector of the helmet lit up like a clear, computer monitor.as it prepared to take me into the game. Within a few seconds, the game was ready to go, but it would only start when it was activated by my voice.

I took a deep breath as I glanced at the clock inside the helmet's visor. It said 11:59. My grin widened, "Only one minute left."

I waited, and time seemed to slow down in anticipation for the game. I took a few deep breaths as I waited, but then suddenly, the clock changed to show 12:00.

I shouted the command to the system, "Link Start!"

The inside of the helmet seemed to come alive as lights and colors of all kinds swept through my vision. Suddenly, Five bars of text appeared, showing the progress on the start-up of the console.

Sight: Ok
Hearing: Ok
Smell: Ok
Taste: Ok
Touch: Ok

The text bars disappeared and another text box appeared:

The text box disappeared as the console signed me into my account. Suddenly, my entire vision went black, displaying white text:

Welcome to Equestria Legends Online

The text disappeared and I found myself standing in a completely dark place, with only a small spotlight shining down in front of me. More text appeared,

Now you must choose your avatar. Select which pony race you would like:

A small box appeared in front of me:

-Earth Pony

-Pegasus

-Unicorn

I raised an eyebrow, "No alicorns, huh?" I shrugged, "Oh, well. I guess they didn't want anybody to be too overpowered." I reached out with a finger and tapped the unicorn button.

Suddenly the screen changed:

What would you like your avatar to be?

-Ponified self

-OC

I touched the "ponified" button, making the box disappear. Soon it was replaced by:

Please hold still.

Suddenly, a large beam of blue light shone down on me. I tried not to move, but I couldn't help but try to see where the light was coming from. But after a few seconds, the light withdrew from me and like wisps of smoke, it weaved itself into the spotlight in front of me. The light began to wrap itself up, taking the form of a translucent pony.

After it took shape, the light subsided, revealing a dark gray unicorn stallion with a dark red mane and tail, almost completely black. I examined the pony, or rather myself as a pony, and it wasn't too shabby. It looked pretty cool, not like any really bad OC's I've seen before.

Suddenly, another window popped up in front of me:

In the window, it had a open box, along with several icons for designing, sort of reminding me of my old Photoshop application. I had a bit of experience with art, so making my cutie mark was easy. I used my finger to draw out a picture of fire. Not like a camp-fire, but just fire.

Once I hit the "Ok" button in the window, the cutie mark flew out of the window stuck itself on the flanks of my pony self.

I looked at my pony with a bit of satisfaction. It looked pretty good for a ponified version of me.

The window in front of me changed again:

I touched the "Ok" button, and the window withdrew from me. Suddenly, a voice sounded out from nowhere, "Now that you have chosen your pony, you may now enter Equestria."

A bright light suddenly swept through the dark place, blinding me for a moment. Before I entered the game, I heard the voice say, "Good luck."

When the light subsided, I found that I was standing on all fours. I looked down at my feet to see that they had been replaced by hooves, covered in gray fur. Although most people might've disgruntled by the fact their hands were gone, I wasn't. I grinned as I moved my hooves around like I would have with a normal arm or leg, "It worked. I'm in Equestria."

I looked around to find that I was in the town square of Ponyville, the starting town for the game. Around me, several other players were appearing as ponies as they logged into the game as well.

But with the more players that came in, the more anxious I was to get going. I wanted to explore the town right away, but I still had to wait for Sky.

Suddenly, I heard a voice call out to me, "Hey, Shadow!"

I turned to see a dark cyan unicorn stallion running towards me. He had a black mane in a style that reminded me of DJ Pon3's (or Vinyl Scratch's, if that's what you prefer). His cutie mark looked like some sort of dark magic circle, which was fairly detailed, I might add. Above his head, there was a player ID that read: Darkened5ky.

I grinned, "Hey, I see you went with your OC."

Sky smiled, "Yeah, I didn't like the look of myself ponified. My OC was better looking anyway."

I shrugged, "I guess that's true. So what are we going to do first?"

Tapping a hoof to his chin, Sky thought for a moment, "We should probably explore around town first, just so we know where everything is."

I nodded, "Right." Sky turned around as he began to walk (or rather trot) down a street adjacent to the town square. What do you know? Me, a human, trotting down a street as a unicorn. Life certainly can be dandy.

Anyways, I began to follow Sky, but after about five steps I tripped over myself and face-planted in the dirt road. So much for life being dandy.

I groaned as I got myself up, "Ouch. I guess walking with four legs is harder than with two."

I looked up to see Sky laughing his head off. He smirked at me, "Nice one."

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever. How did you get the hang of walking with hooves anyways?"

Sky shrugged, "Well, it's just like how you would crawl normally, but try walking on your hind legs instead of your knees."

I thought to myself for a bit about his reply, "Um, okay. I'll try." And so, we both began to walk down the street again, and this time I didn't fall over, although I did stumble once or twice.... Okay, fine. I did fall over again. But at least I got walking down by the time we reached another street.

But as we walked, a thought came to mind, "Hey, do you know how to use magic? It'd be useful to know how, since we're both unicorns."

Sky looked at me, "Um, yeah. I heard some other players say that there was a guide book in every player's inventory. Hold on a minute."

We both stopped and I watched Sky raise a hoof, quickly flicking his wrist down. As he flicked his hoof down, a small window appeared in front of him, displaying his player menu. He tapped a few buttons on his menu until he reached his inventory list. As he looked at it, Sky nodded, "Yeah, there's a guide for the game in general, but there's another one for unicorn spells."

I opened up my player's menu and went into my inventory as well. But before I opened my inventory, I looked at my current stats. I was only at level one, and all of my stats were pretty low, but I didn't care. I had just barely started the game, so what else was I supposed to do? I could fight some monsters in the game and gain some experience points, but right now I just needed to get a hang of the basics.

After looking at my stats, I opened up my inventory. Sure enough, the only things in there were the two manuals that Sky had mentioned. I touched the icon for the magic manual, and a book suddenly appeared in front of me. I was barely able to grab it before it dropped out of the air, which was difficult with hooves.

I sat down on my haunches, which to my surprise came very naturally, and flipped open my book, "Okay, let's see if there's a levitation spell in here. I don't want to have to try and carry everything with my hooves or my mouth."

I looked over at Sky to see that he'd taken out his book as well, "Good idea. Plus, we could learn a couple of combat spells for later. I want to try and fight a couple of monsters today."

I perked up at that, "Speaking of which, I heard a couple of people online back home say you shouldn't fight monsters on magic alone. You should at least have a weapon of some sort to fall back on."

Sky nodded, "Yeah, that sounds good. I think there's a weapons stand around town somewhere. Did you find the levitation spell yet?"

I scanned through the book until my eyes rested on the spell I was looking for, "Found it. It's on page 7."

Sky flipped through his book, meanwhile I read the description on the spell:

The levitation spell will enable you to carry any object with magic. When used on smaller items, your magic meter will not deplete as it would with other spells. To use the levitation spell, focus on the desired object that you wish to levitate. You need to know what object you are levitating, and where you want it to go. Focus on these two aspects, and the spell should work easily. Be keep in mind that when the object is heavier, it will take some physical strain on yourself, as well as drain your magic meter if the object's mass is too great.

I raised an eyebrow, "That's it? Doesn't seem too hard. Let's try it out." I stood up, leaving my book on the ground as my test object. Following the directions in the book, I focused on the book, willing it to rise up to my face height. As I concentrated, I felt a warm pulse flow from my horn as it glowed in red aura, signaling that I was using magic. And sure enough, my open book was surrounded in the same red aura and it lifted off of the ground.

I smiled with satisfaction, "Hey, I did it. That wasn't too hard. How did you do?" I looked over at Sky to see his horn glowing with black aura and his book also floating by him.

"I'm good. This is easy, but I bet the other spells are going to be harder."

I nodded, "Right. Hey, let's go find the weapon's shop. The game does start you out with some money to spend."

"Really? How much?"

I looked at my player menu, "Um... It looks like we get 200 bits each."

"Great, let's go get some weapons."

We both put our books back into our inventories and continued to walk through town. As we walked, we saw several other players pass us along the road. It was very clear that more and more players were logging into the game, but I just hoped that the town wouldn't be too crowded whenever I played. Ponyville, after all, was known to be small, and I knew that over a thousand bronies had bought the game.

But Ponyville was only the starting point in the game, and as soon as you were in Equestria, you could travel to several different cities and towns, including Manehatten, Canterlot, and even the Crystal Empire. As soon as that thought came to mind, my worrying about Ponyville being crowded subsided. I figured I'd leave town eventually as well.

Sky pointed a hoof out in front of us, stopping me in my tracks, "Hey, over there."

I followed his hoof until I saw a single stand that stood in the middle of an alleyway, just a couple of feet away. Even from where I stood, I could plainly see several weapons on the stand's display racks.

Sky and I walked up to the stand, and the stallion behind the counter asked, "May I help you?"

I smiled at him, even though I knew that he was just an NPC (An artificial intelligence, for anybody who doesn't understand what that is.), "Hey, we just need to buy some weapons."

The stallion nodded, "Right, feel free to look around. Tell me what you want when you're ready."

I thanked the store owner and turned to look at the inventory of weapons. Even though it was a small stand, it surprised me that there were *a lot* of weapons. Although, the game worked like any regular game with weapons because you had only two "hands" to hold weapons with. This meant you could hold two weapons at once if they're small enough.

The shop had a vast assortment of weapons, ranging from swords, to daggers, to shields, to even giant hammers. Because there were so many weapons, I was having trouble deciding what I wanted to use. As I looked through the weapons, testing out different ones, I glanced sideways at Sky, "Hey, what do you think I should get?"

Sky shrugged as he fiddled around with some of the swords, "I don't know about you, but I know what I want. I'll get two of these swords." He held up a pair of double-bladed swords for me to see.

"All right, you can buy those right now while I'm deciding what to get."

Sky nodded and turned to the owner of the stand to purchase his swords. Meanwhile, I was running through my thoughts for what I wanted in a weapon.

I wanted something that I could easily use with levitation or just with my mouth if the situation called for it, which narrowed down my choices to the one-hoof weapons. Out of the one-hoof weapons, I wanted something simple, like a sword or a hammer, but I still wanted something that'd be effective in hard fight, so I chose a single double-edged sword. But that left me with room for one more weapon, and I wanted something that could provide defense, so I chose a wooden shield.

Once I had my weapons chosen, I turned to the shop owner just as Sky finished buying his weapons. Sky stepped away from the stand, levitating two swords in their sheathes.

I began to purchase my weapons, "Okay, I'll take one of those short swords and one wooden shield."

The stand owner retrieved one of his swords, in its sheath, and a round wooden shield, placing them on the counter, "Okay, that'll be 80 bits."

As soon as he said that, a small window appeared in front of me:

I tapped the "Yes" button with my hoof, and the money appeared on the stand's counter. The stand owner took the money and held out my weapons, "Thank you, enjoy these while you can."

I thanked the owner and grabbed my weapons with levitation and went back to join Sky. When I turned around, I saw that Sky had already equipped his weapons on him, seeing as he now had two swords strapped on his back, the hilts protruding from either side of his neck.

Sky looked at the weapons that I held, "So, you got those?"

I nodded as I opened up my player menu, "Yeah, I figured that I might as well have some defense in fighting, unlike you, seeing as you just have two swords." I opened up my inventory to see that both of my new weapons were in there.

Sky shook his head, "Well, actually, who says that you need a shield to be defensive? I've seen enough movies to know that's not necessarily true."

I tapped a hoof on my weapons in my inventory, equipping them to my character. My weapons that I held with levitation suddenly vanished and then reappeared, strapped to my back like Sky's. I turned to Sky, "All right, as long as that works for you. I don't know about you, but I want to try out my weapons on some monsters."

Sky nodded, "Right, let's go right now. I heard that there are a few low-level monsters in the Everfree Forest."

I grinned, "Great. Let's see if we can gain a few levels today."

With that, we both turned and headed through town, towards the general direction of the forest.

I breathed hard as I ran through the forest, with my sword and shield drawn. I held them both with levitation while I galloped hard away from the Timberwolf that was pursuing me. The wolf was only a few feet behind me, but I was just barely able to keep out of its reach.

"Come on, Sky! Today would be nice!" I shouted out behind me. You see, our plan for taking down this timberwolf was for me to fight it first, bring down its health, and then run as bait. And while the wolf was distracted by me, Sky would come up from behind and finish it off. But I had been running for a good five minutes and Sky hadn't done anything yet.

But just as the Timberwolf was about to take a large bite out of my hind legs, Sky leaped out from the side and tackled the wolf away from me. With the wolf no longer pursuing me, I stopped and ran back towards the monster to see Sky quickly slashing the wolf with a flurry of sword strokes. Everywhere he hit, red lines of code appeared on the wolf, showing where he had struck.

Before I reached Sky to help, he had delivered the final blow, making the wolf cry out as it disintegrated into tiny bits of code, that eventually vanished in the air. As soon as I reached Sky, I window appeared in front of him:

Level Up!

Lv. 2 -> Lv. 3

Sky pumped a hoof into the air, "Oh, yeah. Level three."

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever. You only got most of the experience because you actually killed it. I did most of the damage, but I'm still at level two." I looked at my health meter, and I had taken some damage during the past few hours that we had been fighting monsters, so my health meter was down to 5/6th full. I looked at Sky's health meter, which was floating above his head. He had been more head-on while we fought, which made him take more damage, resting his health meter at about 2/3rd full.

Sky shrugged as he sheathed his swords, "Well, next monster we fight, I'll let you get the experience from it."

I put away weapons as well, "All right, fine. But we'll have to do it tomorrow. It's getting dark and the time here works just like the time back home. Which means..." I opened up my player menu and looked at the time, "... It's 6:30 back home."

Sky's eyes went wide, "Oh, shoot. My mom said that I needed be back for dinner at 6:00. Ah, man, she's gonna literally pinch my head off. I'm gonna log out right now. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah, meet me back in the town square tomorrow, at around 4:00."

Sky nodded, "4:00, got it. See ya." He opened his player menu as he prepared to log himself out. But he froze, wide-eyed as he looked at his menu, making me curious,

"What's wrong? Aren't you going log out?"

Sky just kept staring at his menu, "Um... I would, except the log out button isn't here."

I raised an eyebrow, "Really? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm positive. It's not there. See, check your menu."

I opened up my menu and scrolled down to where the log out button was... or rather, where it should have been. Sure enough, it wasn't there. "What the- Where is it?"

Sky shook his head, "Told ya." He thought for a moment, "Maybe we can't log out in places like the forest. I think if we went back to town, we'd be able to log out there."

I shook my head, "No, I don't think so. The game makers themselves said that you could log out in just about any place, even in places filled with monsters."

"Then what the heck is going on?!"

I paused, "I don't know, but if we-" I didn't get the chance to finish my sentence, because at that moment, Sky and I were enveloped by a bright blue light. I couldn't see anything, not the forest, not Sky, not even my own hoof in front of my face.

Suddenly, the light subsided, and Sky and I found ourselves in the middle of Ponyville's town square. I looked around the square, helplessly confused, to see my self surrounded by other players who were just as confused as I was. Almost the entire square was filled with bronies, and I could see pinpricks of blue light throughout the square as even more players were being brought in.

"All of us were teleported here?" I muttered, "What's happening?"

Suddenly, the blue lights in the square subsided as they finished bringing in the last of the players in the game. Everyone was just as confused as the next person in the square, but then a voice called out, louder than the combined volume of the crowd,

"Gamers and Players, May we have your attention please!"

The entire crowd quieted down as they turned to see four alicorns flying in the air above the square. Each of them were different in color and in size, but only one seemed to be the leader, which had been the one who had spoken earlier. The lead alicorn was the largest of the four. His fur was a bright red with a long white mane and tail that flowed out behind him, giving him a more commanding presence.

The lead alicorn cleared his throat and addressed the crowd, "Everyone, we are the administrators of Equestria Legends Online. We are in charge of analyzing the system and keeping it running in top condition. However, right now we are experiencing several technical difficulties in the system. One of which, as some of you might have noticed, was the absence of the log out button in your player menus. This is a major problem, since there is no other way for anyone to leave the game. We do not know the cause for this malfunction, but please bear with us as we try to fix this problem. While we try to find what's causing this, for your own safety, please remain in the Ponyville square for the time being."

This news brought up several outbursts in the crowd. Everypony began to converse to each other, as they tried to guess what might've happened or what would happen. One lone pegasus suddenly flew up into the air, yelling out for everyone in the square, "What do you mean you don't know what the problem is?!"

The lead alicorn shook his head, "This problem isn't from a lack in the system, so we don't know where the problem might have originated."

Suddenly, the entire square was plunged into darkness. Everyone broke out into chaos as they had lost their ability to see anything. But during the chaos of the darkness, another voice chuckled evilly, sending a shiver through my spine, "Oh, I think that I might know what the problem is."

My eyes widened in surprise. I knew that voice, and I was sure that everyone else did as well. Suddenly, lighting struck through the darkness, partially lighting it. The voice swept through the crowd again, "That would be me."

Another crack of lighting sounded, lighting the square completely for everyone to see the source of the voice. Flying high above the crowd was a character that any brony should know. Everyone stared in awe or shock as they gazed up at the familiar draconequus, the being of chaos, Discord.

Discord laughed evilly at the crowd below him, "Hello, my little bronies." He turned his head towards the admin alicorns who were flying in the air on the other side of the square, "And hello to you, my good administrators."

The lead alicorn glared at Discord, "How can you be the cause of the problem? You are a program in the system that we designed ourselves. You may have partial control of Equestria, but you don't have the power to change the layout of the system completely."

Discord snapped his fingers, making himself vanish. But then he reappeared behind the lead alicorn, "Oh, but you already know the answer to that. You designed me to be exactly like the 'me' in your television show, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic." He suddenly appeared next to me, making me jump a good foot into the air, "That really is a terrible name for a show, don't you think?"

Before I could answer, Discord snapped his fingers and reappeared riding on one of the admin's backs, "You see, you gave me control over reality in Equestria. But with this power, I hacked into the rest of the system, giving me power over the entire program. Oh, and to make sure that I stay in power, " He snapped his fingers and in a flash, the admin alicorns' horns and wings disappeared, making them plummet into the crowd below, while Discord still floated in the air.

Discord laughed evilly, "Now the admins are just plain earth ponies, and I've also taken power over their admin codes. They won't be able to do a thing to change my world. As for all of you, I will let you keep your wings and horns while you play in a game of mine."

The crowd burst in outrage towards Discord, but the draconequus simply snapped his fingers, literally zipping all of the mouths of the players shut. "My, I haven't even told you what the game is, and you're already anxious to get started. The game that I have in mind is a bit of a scavenger hunt. I have taken the Elements of Harmony and placed them all in secret hiding places, inside and outside of Equestria. Your job is to find the Elements and use them to reach me. There, we will have a fight to the death. If you manage to retrieve the elements and defeat me, then I will allow everyone to log out."

He lowered his head just over the crowd, "But it won't be as easy as you think, you see I've added a few features to the game. In the original system, if you died in the game, you would instantly re-spawn in the last town you were in. But that's too boring for me, so I re-wrote the system so when anyone died, their avatar would be lost, and their Nervegear Helmet in the real world will fry their brains. In shorter words, if you die in the game, you will die in the real world."

A collective gasp pulsed through the crowd. Discord laughed as he drew a line across his neck, making his head slide off of his neck and into his hand. The dismembered head laughed as it looked down at the terrified crowd, "No need to lose your head over it." He began to laugh even more, "And also, if there is any tampering with the helmet in the outside world, the helmet will kill the player instantly. Actually, quite a few of players have already died this way."

Everybody, including myself, gasped in shock. I couldn't believe it, "People have... already died?"

Discord continued, "Now, in this game, there are a few rules. First, you cannot receive help from the outside world, that is, if you can even manage that. If I catch anypony communicating to the outside world, all of you will die. Second, any tampering with the system from inside the game, the rule-breaker will die instantly."

Discord chuckled, "And just so you know, I have a couple of monster friends who want to go out of their designated areas, so I'm letting them roam a bit. Maybe you'll meet them when you go out of town, but they won't follow you into a city or town. They hate crowded places."

The draconequus laughed evilly, "But a few of you might have thought, 'There's only six elements, so this will be easy.' Well, I'm sorry to burst your bubble," Discord suddenly, belched out a bubble that was bigger that the length of his body, "But I thought that only six elements would be boring. So I added four new elements." He poked the oversized bubble with a claw, causing it to burst and reform into ten smaller bubbles. "They will be hidden all over Equestria, but they will be guarded by my favorite kinds of monsters, just like a boss of each element."

"If you find the element, and defeat its guardian in a boss battle, then you may walk away with it in hoof. But I must warn you, my guardians are no push-overs."

Lighting struck again behind Discord, "Well, there you have it. So just remember, your lives are on the line, not mine." He laughed loudly, making lighting strike behind him again, "So, my little bronies, let the games begin!" The sky suddenly was filled with thunder and lightning, blinding everyone as Discord laughed maniacally. When the lightning subsided, Discord was gone, only his laughter echoed through the streets of Ponyville.

Everyone was awestruck, including me. I turned to look at Sky, "What... just happened?"

Sky shook his head, "I think... this is more than a game now."

I nodded, "This has become... murder."

Author's Notes:

So, this is a pretty good start, I think. All right, a couple of people might say that I'm copying Sword Art Online, but I'm not really copying it. I'm just taking a few ideas from it, not the same actual story.

Tell me what you guys think of it, and feel free to give me and *constructive* feedback.

Thanks to Darkened5ky for letting me use his OC in this story, as well as proof-reading this chapter
-Shadowflame

February 15th (The First Element)

Hey it's Shadowflame here. You can call me Shadow for short, since that's what the other players in Equestria Legends Online call me. It's been about three weeks ever since we were all trapped in the game by Discord... Well, at least I think it has been three weeks. I've been losing track of what day it is in the real world, since it doesn't really apply in the game.

Anyways, ever since Discord trapped us here and scattered the elements of harmony across Equestria, everybody has spread out across Equestria in search of the elements. They've gone everywhere from Canterlot to Cloudsdale, but even after three weeks, there's been no news of any of the elements. In fact, there has been more news on the deaths that have occurred in the game than anything. After three weeks, 31 players have died from Discord's monsters when they were searching for the elements.

But despite the huge risk, everyone has searched diligently for any signs of the elements. Even Darkened5ky and I have been working our butts off. Ever since we were trapped in the game, Sky and I have made our own team, but it's just us two. Other players have had the same idea and began to team up with each other, or even make guilds of their own.

But all of the guilds and teams are kept under orders by the former administrators of the game, who were stationed in Canterlot. Their head-quarters are in the Canterlot Palace, because it's a large enough building and it's highly protected. From there, they'd manage and deploy all of the guilds and teams to any part of Equestria.

Although this game was in Equestria, there were none of the canon ponies from the show. That was a problem for several reasons. First, without any of the ponies from the show, no one would be able to receive help from them. Second, even if we found and retrieved the elements, no one knew who would, or even could, wield them against Discord.

But it's because of these problems and our lack of progress that the admins have called separate meetings for all of the towns and cities. Right now, Sky and I were situated in Ponyville, along with a few other teams but no guilds. And now Sky and I were on our way to the Ponyville meeting.

I looked towards Sky while we walked towards the town square, the place where the meeting was being held, "Hey Sky, what do you think they'll talk about at the meeting?"

Sky shrugged, "I dunno. I figure they'll just say we need to pick up the pace and search even harder for the elements, like they've always been doing."

I sighed, "Yeah, I guess you're right. But at least we've been working harder than the other teams, haven't we?"

Sky nodded, "Yeah, last I checked, we were ten levels above everyone else."

I chuckled, "That depends on when you checked last." But my smile turned to a frown, "Although, you'd think after three weeks of searching in the Everfree Forest we'd find something connected to one of the elements. I'm surprised that no one has found anything, yet."

Ever since we were all trapped in the game, everyone came to suspect that one of the elements was hidden in the Everfree Forest, even the ones who weren't stationed in Ponyville like me and Sky. But that forest was thick and could hide anything, so finding an element in there was like trying to find a needle in a haystack, discouraging with each passing day and possibly painful if you do find it.

Sky looked ahead, "Hey, look. We're here."

I looked forward to see the town square, and from the look of things, we were the last to arrive. Everyone else was already present. Sky and I joined the crowd of players just in time for the meeting to begin.

In the center of the town square, there stood a single blue earth pony with a blonde mane standing on a raised platform. All of the players in Ponyville knew him as Rex, since he was the local administrator for the Ponyville area. Rex cleared his throat as he began the meeting,

"Attention everypony! We have all been called here today to discuss a matter that is crucial to our liberation from the game."

I rolled my eyes, as I'm sure several other players did as well. We all knew Rex to be the kind that used unnecessary big words to make him feel smarter. But even so, we all still listened closely to what he said.

Rex continued, "As you all know, we have gone several weeks into this game, and so far 30 people have died and nobody has seen any sign of the elements. We all have become discouraged now and again, but I have something to say that will replenish your morale."

I heard Sky mutter next to me, "This better be good."

Rex took another moment to clear his throat, "You see, I've called you all here because just yesterday, we've found the hiding position of one of the elements."

A collective gasp suddenly pulsed through the crowd. But before everybody began to speak, Rex continued, "The element's position was discovered to be deep inside the Everfree Forest. Now, we haven't acutally been able to retrieve the element, but that's why I called this meeting."

"The element is being protected by a guardian, or in other words, a dungeon boss. It'd be suicide to send one team alone into a boss battle, so to prevent any deaths, we will all go and fight the boss together. But as you know, we have a few solo players and small rag tag teams situated in Ponyville, so before we fight the boss, I'm asking you to join up so you can watch each others' backs."

I turned to Sky, "We need to join up with somebody else? But we've done just fine with the two of us alone."

Sky shook his head, "Well, we've never fought in a boss battle before, so I'd be a good idea to add another member or two. Besides, I think it'll be just temporary."

I pondered over it and I could see the logic behind it, "All right, fine." I turned back to listen to Rex on the platform.

Rex cleared his throat again, "With that settled, join your ranks together and rest peacefully tonight, because we'll be disembarking for the forest at dawn. Meeting Adjourned!"

With that, Rex walked off of the platform and everybody began to leave the town square.

I turned to Sky, "Hey, let's go get something to eat. I'm starved."

Sky nodded, "Right, and *then* we'll look for somebody to team up with."

We both turned around and headed out of the square.

Soon, Sky and I had gotten ourselves some hay sandwiches, which I must admit tasted pretty good. We were both walking down the street as we ate, wondering who we should team up with for the upcoming boss battle.

"So," I started, "Who should we team up with?"

Sky shrugged, "I dunno. We should at least team up with one or two players. Seeing as we're at higher levels than everyone else, we can only help defend a few team members at once."

I nodded, "Right." I took another bite of my sandwich, but I found it a bit cold. So I used my magic to light a small fire underneath my sandwich. You see, after almost a month, I had gotten pretty good with magic. Sky had achieved some skill as well, but his magic was different from mine.

To explain this, you need to know that each player receives an ability after they've gained enough experience. My ability was called, "Blaze", which allowed me to use extremely powerful fire based spells, which fit me, seeing as my cutie mark was fire. I could use several spells in combat, like making a wall of fire, or making my sword light up in flames, which is pretty handy when you're fighting against a timber wolf.

On the other hand (or rather on the other hoof), Sky's ability was called "Darkness". His ability, like mine, allowed him to use powerful magic, but more based around dark magic. He could do things like make an area go completely dark or see through the darkest of places. Although, I don't know the full extent of his magic, seeing as he never really used it in combat, but I assume that it could be fairly horrific.

Anyways, after my sandwich was crispy, I took a satisfactory bite out of it. As I ate, I looked around at the other players in town who were on the streets, seeing if there was anybody who stood out as someone to team up with. Although, from the look of things, it seemed that just about everyone had already teamed up with another team.

I turned to Sky, "Hey, do you see anyone who could team with us?"

Sky was darting his eyes constantly through the street, but then his eyes stopped as he looked to the edge of the street. "What about him?" He said pointing a hoof to where he gazed.

I followed his hoof to see a single pegasus pony standing off on the side of the road. He was a dark gray colt with a blue mane that streaked through with navy. His cutie mark was a blue ruffle of feathers. Resting on his shoulder, he was holding a single pointed spear. Above his head, there was a player ID that read: Lexus.

I recognized him, as did most of the players usually did. All of us who are situated in Ponyville see each other a lot, seeing as it's such a small town. Lexus was a solo player that never talked to anyone else. In fact, he never did any leveling up or searching for the elements during the day like everyone else. He always did his training during the night, when Discord's monsters were the most in abundance.

Lexus always held a grim look on his face, like he despised every player in the game. Everyone says that he became like that after everyone was trapped, and he took the most shock and blamed it on everyone else.

With this in mind, I didn't quite like the idea of teaming up with Lexus. I turned to Sky, "Team up with Lexus? I don't know. I mean, there could be somebody else that we could team with."

Sky narrowed his eyes at me, "Hey, I don't care if you disagree or not. There's nobody left to team with, unless we want to go over our limit with team members. If there's anyone else, point them out to me."

I wanted to protest, but I sighed in defeat as I knew that he was right. I quickly gobbled down the rest of my sandwich, "All right. Let's go. But I doubt he'll team up with us, though."

We both walked over to Lexus, trying our best to look the least bit friendly. As we neared Lexus, he noticed us and turned towards us, clutching his spear tighter now.

I was the first to approach him, "Hey, you're name's Lexus, right?"

He narrowed his eyes at me, "Yeah? What of it?"

I cleared my throat, "I'm Shadowflame, and this is Darkend5ky. We were wondering if you wanted to team up with us when we go fight the boss in the forest. We could use all of the help we can get in our team."

Lexus scoffed at us, "No, I don't want to go with you, and there's no way that I would."

Sky raised an eyebrow, "But you haven't teamed up with anyone, yet. You'd kill yourself by going to the boss battle alone."

The pegasus glared at Sky, "You think that I don't know that? I'm not going to the boss fight." That made both of us pause for a moment in shock, but Lexus just shook his head, "Look, I don't have to help any of you. Now if you excuse me, I'd like to be by myself." With a huff, he walked past us and into a nearby alley way.

I couldn't believe it. He didn't even care that we were trapped in this game, and he wasn't going to help any of us to get out. I glared at Lexus with annoyance as he trotted off. Keeping my gaze on him, I muttered to Sky, "I'm not finished with him, yet."

With that I galloped after Lexus, Sky following behind me closely. As I entered into the alley, I drew my sword. Lexus heard my hoof steps and quickly whirled around, spear pointed towards me. Even with the spear between me and him, I didn't stop. I raised my sword to match the level of his weapon, and once I was within range, I activated my ability, "Blaze".

I saw panic fill Lexus's eyes as he saw my sword suddenly ignite with fire, and he quickly jabbed his spear at me. I quickly parried the spear to the side and rushed past the head of the shaft, throwing my weight against Lexus in the process. Lexus fell back against the wall of the alley and I quickly pinned him to it with my front hooves. The force of the impact made him drop his spear in the process, which Sky instantly picked up from a distance.

Lexus glared at me as he struggled under my hold, "What's the big idea, you idiots!?"

I pressed him harder to the wall and returned the glare, "Look, you snob. We've all been risking our lives to get out of this game and you haven't helped us in any way whatsoever. Other players are dying out there, and the sooner we get the elements, the sooner we can leave. Now the least you can do is stop being a jerk and team up with us for the boss fight. After that you can do whatever you want."

Lexus was glaring daggers at me, "No, I'd never team up with any of you nincompoops for the life of me."

I pressed him harder against the wall, "Why not?"

"Because of you freaking bronies! All of you are the reason why I'm stuck here!"

I felt my breath stop short. That wasn't the answer I'd been expecting at all. I saw Lexus's expression change from one of anger to sorrow. My anger released as well, and I let go of my hold on him.

Sky looked at Lexus with a curious expression, "What do you mean it's our fault?"

Lexus sighed, "Look, I'm not a brony and I didn't want anything to do with this game. But I ended up here anyways."

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "But then how did you get stuck in the game?"

Lexus shook his head, "Look, I don't want to bother any of you with my sob story."

But I still persisted, "We don't mind. I'm sure if you tell us what happened, you'd feel a little bit better."

Lexus sighed, "It was back in the real world. I was visiting my cousin's house. He's a brony and he was playing this game the day that it came out. When I got there, he made a bet with me that he'd give me twenty dollars if I played this game for at least an hour." He sighed as he looked at his hooves, "I thought it would be so easy, and I'd get out of here twenty bucks richer. But I couldn't have been more wrong. Near the end of the set hour of the bet, Discord trapped me here with everyone else."

Lexus glared at the ground as he stomped a hoof, "It wasn't fair. I had no say in it, and now I'm stuck here because of a stinking bet."

I actually felt sorry for the guy. He'd been trapped here like us, but I didn't expect that he'd wanted to get out before we were trapped. The emotional impact on him must have been harsh. I walked forward and put a hoof on his shoulder. He looked up at me and I gave him a reassuring smile, "Hey, I know what you mean. You've had it tougher than anyone else here. They just don't know it, but they're a lot luckier than you."

Lexus humphed and looked back at the ground, "And that's supposed to make me feel better?"

I shook my head, "No, but I'm just trying to show that I understand."

Sky walked forward, nodding, "Yeah, I mean, I have a few friends that aren't bronies and who absolutely despise the show. I can imagine how they'd react if they were trapped here, and really, you're handling it better than any of them would."

I smiled and looked back to Lexus, "That's right. You've learned to deal with this. We all have, because we need to if we're going to get out of this game." I backed away and picked up Lexus's spear with my magic. I held it out in front of him, "We all want to leave as much as you do. The least you can do is help us this one time. Once we defeat the boss and retrieve the element, then you can do what you want. It's all up to you."

Lexus looked at me with a wary expression, but I disregarded it as I moved his spear closer in front of him, "So, will you join us for this one fight, or are you going to enjoy you're time alone, like a self absorbed jerk?"

Lexus looked at me with a hesitant expression, and then he glanced at his spear. He said nothing for a while, but then he sighed, "All right. I'll team up with you guys, but only for this fight." With that, he took his spear out of my hold.

I beamed at him, "Thanks, Lexus. Welcome to the team."

Lexus gave a small smile, "It's only temporary, but thanks anyways. What's your- I mean, our team name again?"

"It's Team Equitum. It's latin for the 'Team of the Knights'."

Lexus nodded, "Hm, it seems to fit."

I nodded, "Yes, it does. All right, you know what to do. Tonight, we'll all gather the supplies we'll need for the battle. Get anything that you think will be useful in the forest, and at dawn tomorrow, we need to meet with the rest of the teams in the town square."

Sky and Lexus nodded, "Right."

I beamed at both of them, "Now let's get going. We want to be ready for anything tomorrow." And with that, we all headed out of the alley and set about our business for tomorrow.

The next day, Sky and I were out in the town square. Sky was rechecking all of his items in his inventory using his player's menu, but I was impatiently waiting for Lexus, who was a few minutes from being late.

Lexus, being new to the team, stayed the night at his old place. But now it was almost dawn and the other players were already gathering, and there was still no sign of Lexus.

I groaned to Sky, "Agh, where is he?"

Sky shrugged, "Maybe he slept in?

I sighed, "I hope not." I looked around at the crowd, seeing if I could spot Lexus anywhere. But then a voice called up from above,

"Hey, sorry I'm late!"

Both Sky and I glanced up to see Lexus fly down to us in the middle of the square. With ease, he lighted down onto the ground in front of us, stretching out his wings a bit, "Sorry for making you wait. The streets were crowded, so I had to fly to find you guys."

I smirked, "It's all right. Although, I never thought about, but we've never had flight as a skill in our team. Are you a pretty good flyer?"

Lexus smirked smugly, "Well, I'd say I'm amazing, since my ability lets me fly without making a sound."

Sky raised an eyebrow, "What's your ability called?"

"Stealth Wing."

I grinned, "Nice."

Suddenly, the crowd hushed as Rex stepped on top of the raised platform, dressed in full white armor, with a single long-sword strapped to his back. Rex cleared his throat, "All right, everybody. Thank you for gathering yourselves together for this battle. Now, if you need anything else in your inventory, now is the time to retrieve it. Otherwise, let's depart for the Everfree."

With that, Rex stepped off of the platform and began to walk towards the forest. Everyone did likewise, traveling in their teams as they followed Rex into the forest. Our team brought up the rear of the whole force.

But as we began to enter the forest, I began to grin with excitement, as I had come to usually do before a difficult fight. I grinned at Lexus and Sky, talking in fake western accent, "This is gonna be fun, ain't it?"

Sky let out a small chuckle, but Lexus only rolled his eyes. I merely shrugged at Lexus's response. It would only be a matter of time before we started to rub off on him.

In the forest, we had been walking for a good twenty minutes. Luckily, none of Discord's monsters attacked the group on the way. I think it may have been because of our huge group, or it might have been just plain luck. But either way, I was still getting anxious to fight.

During the entire walk, our team had been talking with each other to pass the time. We told jokes, talked about things from the real world, and sometimes pulled a small prank on one of the other teams. Which, at the moment, was what we were doing.

Sky and I were trying not laugh as we watched Lexus fly above the teams in front of us. Since he was flying above the tree tops, and because of his ability, no one had noticed him. Right then, the teams in front of us were walking beneath a couple of apple trees, right below where Lexus flew.

I grinned at Sky, "You think he's gonna do it?"

Sky grinned widely, "I hope so."

We both watched as Lexus plucked an apple from a tree, observing the travelling group below.

My grin was growing wider, "Ah, man. He's gonna do it."

We were both snickering as we watched Lexus pinpoint a unicorn in the middle of the crowd, the perfect target. Silently, Lexus positioned himself just ahead of the unicorn's course, holding out the apple in front of him with a hoof. I could see Lexus was having a hard time trying not to laugh as he tried to position the apple perfectly.

But then, in the moment of truth, Lexus dropped the apple from 10 feet above the ground. We all watched it as it quickly descended from the sky and skewered itself on the tip of the unsuspecting unicorn's horn.

Both Sky and I raised our hooves in the air in victory, "SCORE!"

Soon, everyone started laughing, even the other teams who had witnessed the prank. The only one who wasn't laughing was the unicorn who was trying to get apple mush off of his horn.

Lexus rejoined us, laughing at his success, "See? I told you I can be accurate, even with hooves."

I was holding my sides, making me stop for a moment, "Man, you proved me wrong."

Sky began to calm down, "Hey, maybe you can use that accuracy against the boss."

I nodded as I began to walk again, "Maybe, but what's the boss anyways?"

Lexus shrugged, "I don't know. Nobody knows what it is. Everyone says that if you enter the boss room, then you can't get out until you beat the boss."

I raised an eyebrow, "Really? Where do they get that? This is the first boss of the game that we've ever fought before, so how can they be sure?"

"Well, that's how almost every game works. So why not here?"

I nodded, "Good point." But then, in the corner of my eye, I saw Rex make his way back through the crowd, towards us. I pointed him out to the others, "Hm, what do you suppose he wants?"

Sky shrugged, "I don't know."

Rex reached us after a moment or two, "Team Equitum? Who's your leader?"

I stepped forward, "That would be me."

Rex nodded, "Ah, right. Well Shadowflame, as you know, we keep record of everyone's levels in each town or city. I checked yours and your other team members have levels that are vastly superior than everyone else's in Ponyville. Last I checked, you had a level of 25, Darkend5ky had a level of 27, and your newest member, Lexus, had a level of 23."

I nodded, "Yeah, that's right."

Rex nodded, again, "Since your levels are higher, I need you to lead the attack force as the head team of this battle."

My eyes widened, "You mean, be the first to take on the boss?"

"That is correct. But don't worry. If it is the boss alone that we face, then you won't be alone. All of the other teams will swap out with yours when your life goes down too much."

I looked at Rex curiously, "Wait, what do you mean, 'if the boss is alone'?"

Rex sighed, "Well, as an admin, I know that a few of the bosses that we put into the game when we began... Well, there were the bosses, but we accompanied them with a few of the smaller monsters that you'd find in the wild. We're not sure if Discord messed with the program or not where bosses are concerned, but if he did, we could be walking into something entirely different."

I grimaced slightly, "Um... Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

Rex nodded, "Right, well, what about your team? Will you lead?"

I hesitated for a moment, as anybody would do when faced with a life or death situation. But still, I remembered the real world, so I mustered up what courage I had. I nodded to Rex, "We'll lead the fight."

Rex smiled, "Good. You'll help everyone here by doing so. Come to the front of the group, immediately. We'll be arriving at the boss room in a short while."

I nodded, "Right."

Without another word, Rex galloped back up to the front of the group. I turned to my team, "Let's go."

They both nodded. Lexus spread out his wings, "I'll meet you guys up there." He flapped hard and took off to the sky, heading for the front of the group. Sky and I began to make our way around the traveling group.

As we made our way to the front of the line, I took a look at the other players as they walked towards the boss room. It was clear that most of them were terrified of the upcoming fight, as it was evident in their expressions. All of them feared for their lives, but a few of them didn't show any anxiety. They looked as if they were either ready to die, or brave enough to fight to the death, maybe even both.

But whether they were scared or not, I was ready to fight, since it was the only that we'd all get out of this game. I felt a determined grin spread across my face. I turned to Sky, "You ready for this?"

Sky paused for a moment, but then he shared a look of determination, "I'm ready. You?"

"Totally."

Soon, we reached the front of the group, where Rex and Lexus were waiting for us. And we arrived at the front just in time, because then, we stopped in front of our destination. It was a set of giant, double doors, heavily overgrown by vegetation, as if it hadn't been opened for years. It was the entrance to the boss room.

Rex turned around and addressed the group of teams behind us, "All right, everybody! These doors lead to the boss room. This is the first boss battle of the entire game, and we need to defeat it if we are to acquire the first Element of Harmony. You all came here knowing that you could die in the battle, and I thank you for coming,"

Rex suddenly stomped his hoof to the ground, "But now is not the time to fear for your lives. Defeating this boss is the first step to returning to the real world. We need to give our all in this fight, or else we'll all die! Now is your last chance: You may either fight with us to beat this game, or you can hike back to town and leave everyone else to die."

Everybody was silent, unknowing as to what they should do. But then a voice called out from the group,

"I'm going to fight! I'll beat this boss."

As soon as this one voice, everyone else joined in, "Let us fight!"

Rex smiled in satisfaction, "Good. It seems we've all decided." He cleared his throat, "Now, as for our battle strategy. When we open those doors, we will lead a charge against the boss as soon as it appears. Since they have the highest levels of all of us, I will be leading the charge with Team Equitum. Once we start the charge, I need Teams Red, Bomber, and Gold to follow from behind for support. Everyone else needs to keep at a distance and help in any way that you can, whether it be attacking with long range attacks, or keeping smaller monsters off of our backs."

Everyone nodded as they understood. Rex smiled at them, "Make the choices that you need to, so that the ones you fight alongside survive." He looked towards me, "Don't ever forget that." Rex then drew his sword with his mouth, signaling for everyone to follow in suit.

I nodded and drew my weapons as well, along with Sky and Lexus. Everyone readied their weapons and armor, as Rex and my team turned towards the giant set of doors. As soon as everyone was ready, Rex placed his front hooves against the double doors and pushed as hard as he could, making the large entrance open slowly.

Rex gave the two doors one large push, swinging them open completely. Inside, there was a long, dim, stone hallway, lined with arches. Large torches dotted the expanse of the hallway, which I could see, led to a larger room at the end of it.

Rex waved us forward, and my team followed, along with the rest of the group. As we walked, I kept my sword and shield at the ready, just in case any monsters appeared out of nowhere. But as soon as the last person in the group passed through the double doors, the suddenly slammed shut, making several players jump in surprise.

I sighed as I looked at Sky, "I guess we can't go back now."

He nodded, "No turning back."

"No regrets."

Soon, the whole group exited the hallway and walked into the large room at the end. The entire room was pitch black, save for the light coming from the torches behind us. I couldn't see the other end of the room nor the ceiling, just proving how massive the room was.

But then, a howl echoed through the room, making all of the players hold up their weapons in alarm. I was startled, just everyone else was, but not because of the suddenness of the howl, but rather what had made it. I recognized the howl, as I mainly fought these creatures several times while leveling up.

Suddenly, the room was lit up by torches hanging by the ceiling. Light was shed to every corner to reveal what had been lying in the darkness. Everybody gasped and raised their weapons towards the creature that was now visible. It was a timber wolf, but not just any timber wolf. This wolf, the boss, stood three times the height of a normal timber wolf. Above its head, there was a health meter, and above that was its name, The Alpha Timber.

But then, several other yips, barks, and howls began to fill the room. I glanced at the side walls to see other timber wolves, normal sized ones, begin to appear. But as they appeared, the wolves began to run in front of the alpha, blocking a clear shot from us to the boss. It was apparent: The fight had begun.

Rex glanced at me and signaled with his sword towards the boss. I nodded and focused on the wolves in front of the alpha. I then activated my ability, Blaze, and my horn began to ripple with small tongues of flame as I prepared to cast a spell. Just at the peak of my magic, I released the spell and a gigantic wave of fire spewed forth from my horn.

The fire leaped out at the wolves, making them move away from the alpha or making them catch on fire. I glanced at the top left of my vision, where my health meter had appeared. Just below it, there was a smaller blue meter, my magic meter, which had dropped by almost half. I knew that I couldn't use that spell again without using too much magic, which meant I had to use it sparingly. With the path clear, I raised my sword, "Charge!"

Everyone called out with battle cries as we galloped, with weapons raised, towards the wolf pack. As I galloped, I shouted out to activate my ability, "Blaze!"

Instantly, my sword erupted in bright glowing flames, which flickered lights across the battle field before us. In this kind of a fight, against a horde of wood creatures, I knew I would need the boost in power, firepower to be exact.

The wolves met our charge as they ran to get in the way of their alpha. As the wolves neared, I ran forward and slashed my sword against their sides, driving them away for the other players to finish off.

Behind me, Rex, Sky, and Lexus fended off what wolves they could, and the players behind them met the wounded wolves in close combat. Together, we all acted as a wedge, driving our way towards the boss. But soon, our wedge broke through the wolf pack, and we then met the boss, the Alpha Timber. I glanced behind to see that the wolves had quickly regrouped, stopping the rest of the group from reaching the boss. The teams behind us were occupied with fighting the normal wolves, leaving Rex and my team to fight the Alpha by ourselves.

Lexus was the first to attack the boss, as he flew quickly to the sky and drove the point of his spear into the glowing yellow eye of the alpha. The ginormous wolf howled in outrage and quickly snapped its mouth at the pegasus, but Lexus was fast enough to barely avoid it.

I quickly ran forward alongside Rex and Sky, and we surrounded the body of the alpha. Then, we all began to hack away at the wooden creature with our weapons. I drove my sword into every part that I could find of the beast as Lexus distracted the boss from above. But his distraction wasn't enough, as the boss took notice of its flaming wounds.

In outrage, the boss swiped a paw at me, but I barely side-stepped it. With the paw to my right, I leveled my sword with the appendage and drove the flaming blade up its foreleg. The boss took another swipe at me, but I wasn't quick enough, and the blow grazed my side, stabbing a few splinters into the area.

I cursed to myself as I saw my health meter decrease by a fourth, "Dang it! This boss is strong. A full on hit like that would kill me."

But as I was injured, the boss whirled around towards its other attackers. With a massive, wooden paw, the boss swatted Rex aside. In his armor, Rex only took minimal damage, so I wasn't too concerned. But then the alpha turned towards Sky.

I gasped as I knew Sky wouldn't be able to take a hit like Rex could. If the boss caught him with a paw, Sky would die, even if he was a higher level than me. I quickly rushed between the bosses hind legs, just as the boss took a swipe at Sky.
I cringed as I saw Sky barely avoid the blow, but he didn't notice the gaping jaws of the alpha as it lowered quickly towards him.

I didn't have time to do anything else to save Sky from being eaten, so I plunged my sword into the underbelly of the alpha and flared the flaming blade as hot as I could. With a screech, the boss quickly recoiled and leaped away from me. But as the boss leaped, I was almost crushed by its bulking weight. I looked at my health meter to see that it had decreased down to 1/4 of my health.

The boss ran to the other side of the room, running through players and timber wolves alike. I grudgingly got up, stopping only for a few sensations of pain.

In the moment of pause, I ran up to Sky, "Hey, are you okay?"

He nodded, "Yeah, thanks. I did not want to be eaten alive." He saw the splinters in my side, "Ouch, does that hurt."

"Not really. But they are really annoying."

Rex and Lexus soon joined us. Rex looked at my condition, grimacing, "Shadow, I don't think you should continue to fight. You need to take a rest for a while, and possibly get those splinters out."

I shook my head, "No, I have to help fight the boss."

Rex put out a hoof in front of me, "No, everyone else will take care of the alpha. You've done enough." He turned to Sky and Lexus, "Keep him here and fight off any timber wolves that come along. I need to rejoin the other teams." With that, he picked up his sword in his mouth and galloped off to fight the alpha.

But then, something caught my attention. It was the boss, and it wasn't fighting in place as it had before. It was running as it fought, knocking away all of the players that it came close to. And I also noticed that there were no other timber wolves left. They'd all been defeated by the other teams.

Now it was everyone verses the one boss, and it looked as if we were going to win. But then, something happened that none of us could have foreseen. As all of the players were chasing after the alpha, running just on the giant timber wolves heels, it quickly whirled around on the spot. And with power unlike anything that I'd seen before, the wolf reared back on its hind legs and then drove its forelegs onto the stone floor.

The stones in front of it burst out of the ground in a huge cloud of dust, sending every player close to it flying back. As soon as the dust cloud cleared, I could see almost all of the players lying on the ground, dazed and with their health meters in the red. All of them, except for one: Rex.

Rex stood with his sword in his mouth, his health meter in the yellow. In a scream, he charged the wolf alone.

My eyes widened at the sight and I turned to Sky and Lexus, "Come on! He needs help!"

Lexus stammered, "But he said that needed to stay back."

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Forget that! If we don't help him, he'll die."

Both Sky and Lexus nodded, and we all turned and hurried towards the fight between Rex and the Alpha Timber. As we neared the action, I could see Rex holding his own against the giant wolf, barely dodging the oncoming blows and countering just as quickly.

But then, Rex was a tad too slow, and the wolf pinned him down underneath his paw. My eyes widened as I saw Rex's health meter enter into the red, and another blow from the wolf's paw was on the way to crush Rex completely.

Sky shouted to me, "No! We won't make it in time."

I cringed as I knew that he was right, but then I glanced at my magic meter. It was still a third full. But then my eyes widened as an idea came to me. I had enough magic power to do it, but I'd have to act fast to save Rex. I raised my sword above my head, making it point towards the wolf.

And then, focusing every bit of magic into my sword, my blade became almost lost in a huge torrent of fire. With my last bit of magic, I launched my sword into the air as a flaming projectile. I watched my sword as it flew like an arrow, arching in the air until it met its mark in the wolf's neck.

The boss howled in pain, releasing Rex out from under its paw. I quickly ran to stand beside Rex, with only my shield for protection. However, it wasn't needed, as I watched my flaming sword slowly burn away the last bit health from the alpha's health meter. With its health at zero, the alpha let out a final cry as it suddenly burst into bits of code and disappeared.

As the boss disappeared, a large computer window opened up in the air,

Congratulations! You have defeated The Alpha Timber!

The boss had been defeated, and so everyone began to cheer. I couldn't believe it. We had defeated the first boss of the game. I glanced down at Rex to see that his health meter had just a small bit of health left. We had survived. I grinned at Sky and Lexus, "He's still alive. We did it." They both beamed and cheered with everyone else.

But then a small window appeared in front of me,

You've gained the last-hit bonus. You receive a rare item.
-Shadow Cloak

Curiously, I tapped the item name with a hoof, and in an instant, a black cloak appeared on my back, beneath my sword sheath. I grinned, "Cool."

But then a bright light appeared in the center of the boss room and everybody's cheers quited. I had to shield my eyes from its blinding light. But as it dimmed, I glanced at the light to see a small object inside it. Instantly, I recognized it as one of the elements of harmony.

The element floated down and stopped just in front of my face. The element was in the form of a necklace like one of the main six's, but the gem in it was a plain circle with no color. I didn't know what element it was, but I reached out and took it with a hoof.

Sky looked at the element curiously, "So what element is that one?"

I shrugged, "I don't know." I tapped a hoof on it, and a small window appeared above it.

Element of Courage (Inactive)
Object Type: Item

I raised an eyebrow, "The element of Courage?"

Lexus perked up, "Oh yeah, didn't Discord say there were ten, instead of the original six?"

I nodded, remembering back to when we first saw Discord in the Ponyville town square, "Right, so I guess this makes one out of ten."

Suddenly, a loud, evil chuckling echoed through the boss room, startling everyone. The chuckling quickly grew into a maniacal laugh, and then there was a large flash of light. But instantly, the light subsided, and in its place there stood a figure that was all too familiar to the players of ELO.

I glared at the Draconequus, "Discord."

Sky and Lexus quickly drew their weapons and pointed them towards Discord. I would have, too, except I hadn't had time to retrieve my sword after defeating the Alpha Timber.

Discord nonchalantly waved a finger at us, "Now, now, now. I don't want any fighting at the moment." He snapped his fingers and all of our weapons disappeared. Several players shouted at Discord in outrage, but the draconequus quickly silenced them.

Discord cleared his throat, "Don't get all feisty on me. All I wanted was to congratulate you all for defeating the first boss. Now you have the first of the elements that I've hidden. I believe it was this one here that defeated the timber wolf." He pointed a loin's finger at me.

Discord grinned evilly at me, "You must be Shadowflame, unicorn of fire and courage." I raised an eyebrow, but Discord only snickered, "You see, the way that I have designed the bosses is that only the correct bearer of one of the elements may defeat each boss. You were only able to defeat The Alpha Timber because you were already chosen as a bearer of the element."

"However, since you are the bearer of that element, only you can hold it. If anyone else tries to, they will be hurt. Not severely," Discord suddenly appeared at my side, poking a claw at the splinters in my side, "But they will be incapacitated for a few days."

He let out loud laugh as lighting struck through the room. Discord suddenly appeared in the air above everyone else, "Just so you know, with every boss that you defeat, I'll just make everything much harder. Even now, I've made my monsters more powerful than they were before, including the other bosses. Everything you've been through has been a cake-walk compared to what I have in store."

Discord laughed again, but then he stopped as he noticed Rex behind me. He grinned wickedly as he appeared over Rex, "My, isn't this one of the old system admins? It looks as if he's in pain." He snapped his fingers and Rex's sword suddenly appeared in his paw, "I might as well put him out of his misery." Suddenly, Discord drove the point of the sword into Rex's unconscious body.

My eyes widened in horror as Rex's health bar dropped until it was empty, "NO!" Before I could do anything, Rex burst into blue bits of code and disappeared. I felt my knees buckle underneath me, Everything that I did to save him... It was for nothing?

I glared at Discord in rage, "You Killed Him!"

Discord grinned at my anger, "Don't blame me. You were standing right here the whole time. You could've saved him if you'd acted quick enough. His blood is on your hooves, Shadow." He laughed loudly at my distress. Turning around in circles, Discord addressed to everyone, "Now, time to get searching for the other elements, eh? Good bye!" In a flash, he was gone.

I clenched my teeth as my anger towards Discord grew, He killed Rex. Why would he do that? I paused as I looked down at the Element of courage that I held in my hoof, I swear, Discord. My team and I will find the other elements, and when I do, I will make you pay. Sighing to myself, I placed my element around my neck and turned to Sky and Lexus, "Come on. We have more work to do."

Author's Notes:

Yes, there will be a lot of time lapses between chapters. I hope you all realize that.

Thanks for reading!
-Shadowflame

February 18th (Journey to Canterlot)

Day came and the sun shone through the window of my room. However, the light shined down directly on my face, which woke me up earlier than I would have liked. As hard as it is to believe, even after three days I was still sore from the boss battle with the Alpha Timber.

It's me, Shadowflame. It's been exactly three days since we fought the Alpha Timber and retrieved my element of harmony: The Element of Courage. Although, I have to say, it is weird to think of myself as an element bearer. It almost makes me feel important inside the game.

But ever since I retrieved my element, true to Discord's word, every monster out in the game has gotten even stronger, thus making the game even more difficult. Even after three days, there has been 11 deaths across Equestria. The ones who died hadn't leveled up enough before the monsters got stronger. So the next time they went training, it was too difficult for them and they couldn't survive. That's one of the risks of defeating each of the bosses as quickly as possible.

Groggily, I got out of my bed. Still half asleep, I glanced around at the inside of my room. Right now, I was at the Team Equitum base, our home for my team. It was a small building, but large enough to accommodate for a small team of five players. But either way, it was still home for me, Darkened5ky, and Lexus.

Ever since the boss battle, Lexus had taken a liking of fighting in a team with me and Sky. So, he decided to join up with us for a longer time than he had previously stated, before the boss battle.

Once out of bed, I went through my usual morning routine of gathering all of my gear. I opened up my inventory and equipped my cloak, the same one I had gotten from the boss battle. Afterwards, I went to equip my sword and shield. But before I did, an item beneath my weapons in my inventory caught my eye. It was Rex's sword, which he had named, Almighty.

After Rex had been killed in the boss battle, I took his sword with me. I don't know why I did, but I guess it's what had happened during the boss battle. I remembered what Rex had said before we fought the boss,

"Make the choices that you need to, so that the ones you fight alongside survive. Don't ever forget that."

I guess keeping Rex's sword was my way of remembering to do as he said. I wasn't going to let anyone else get killed the way he had.

Even now, as I stood looking at the icon for Rex's sword, I could still hear Discord's maniacal laughter after he had murdered Rex,

I glared at Discord in rage, "You Killed Him!"

Discord grinned at my anger, "And the blood is on your hooves, Shadow."

I sighed as the memory came back to me. For the past days, I've tried to convince myself that Rex's death wasn't my fault. But even still, I still believed that Rex died because I hadn't acted fast enough. Maybe if Rex hadn't been hurt so badly, then Discord would have spared him. Sighing to myself, I equipped my own weapons and closed my player's menu and walked out of my room.

The Team Equitum base was a small, two story house with five bedrooms upstairs, along with a living area and kitchen downstairs. Right then, I headed downstairs and into the kitchen for breakfast.

When I got downstairs, and sure enough, I saw that Lexus was already up and eating breakfast at the kitchen table. Even before joining our team, it had been part of his daily schedule to get up early for his own training. I myself didn't mind getting up early, but Sky on the other hand (or rather, on the other hoof) didn't like getting up early when he didn't have to. Most of the time, he usually slept until lunch, which cut down a bit on our training time.

Lexus noticed me as I walked into the kitchen and waved, "Hey, morning, Shadow."

I nodded to him as I sat down at the table, "Hey, Lexus. You got anything for me to eat?"

Lexus nodded as he slid a bowl towards me with a hoof, "Yeah, oats and hay with milk."

I smiled as grabbed a jug of milk with my magic, "Thanks." I poured the milk into my bowl and began to eat.

Meanwhile, Lexus pulled out a newspaper and began to read it as he ate. The newspaper, the Equestria Daily, was just a daily news source that kept all of us players up to date on what was happening across the game. Speaking of which, I had gotten into the Equestria Daily the day after the boss battle.

But then, I grimaced to myself, I made the front page, but Rex made it to the Obituary. I sighed as I continued to eat.

Lexus raised an eyebrow as he read the paper, "Huh, what do you know about that."

I looked at him questioningly, "What is it?"

Lexus turned the paper towards me, "It looks like a few players in Manehatten have a lead on where the next boss is hidden. They're expecting to find it within the week, or maybe week after that."

I nodded, "Right." In truth, I was relieved that the next boss was near Manehatten. Manehatten was on the other side of Equestria from Ponyville, and since there weren't any trains in the game, it'd be too much trouble to travel there just to fight the boss. That meant, we wouldn't need to help fight this boss, which was good, since I didn't want to fight another boss for a while.

But then, I heard hoof steps coming down the stairs behind me. I turned to see Sky walking into the kitchen, still half asleep.

I grinned at Sky as he let out a huge yawn, "Isn't it a bit early for you to be up?"

Sky mumbled as he sat down as well, "Meh, I couldn't sleep."

I raised an eyebrow at him. Now that I thought about it, Sky had been having trouble sleeping almost every night. I didn't know what it was, but I knew that it was best that I should mind my own business. Sky's been my best friend for years, so I knew if he wanted me to know what was happening, then he would have already told me. But I just hoped that his lack of sleep didn't affect his ability to fight, and it rarely did, so I don't have to worry about it very much.

Just as we were all eating, there came a knock from the door. I glanced at the front door, "I wonder who that could be."

I got up and trotted over to the door. I pulled the door open to see a teal, earth pony stallion at the door. He had a long black mane and he had a halberd strapped to his back.

I looked quizzically at the stranger, "Hi, can I help you?"

The stranger nodded, "I'm looking for the Team Equitum base. I heard that this was the right place."

I nodded, "Yeah, you're in the right place."

The stallion smiled, "Great, so you must be Shadowflame, the new element bearer. My name is Isaiah. I'm one of the system admins from Canterlot. I was sent here to take Rex's place after he... you know." An uncomfortable silence passed between us.

I filled the silence, "Yeah, I know." I turned to a different subject, "So, why are you here at our base?"

Isaiah nodded, "Oh, right. I have a message from the head admins in Canterlot for you. I was hoping that I could relay it to your whole team at once."

I nodded, "Right, come on in." I stepped back and let Isaiah in, closing the door behind him as he entered. I showed him into the living area and called out to Sky and Lexus, "Hey guys, get in here."

I turned back to see that Isaiah had already sat himself down on a cushion, so I did likewise. In a moment, Sky and Lexus joined us in the living area.

I glanced at both of them, "Guys, this is Isaiah. He's the new admin in charge of Ponyville. He has a message for us from the head admins in Canterlot."

Lexus and Sky looked surprised, "Really?" They turned to Isaiah, "Why would you give us the message in person? Can't you instant message us?"

Instant messaging was a feature of the game that worked similarly like Email. It was handy for sending messages across Equestria without a whole ton of hassle.

Isaiah cleared his throat, "Well, our head admin, Jupiter, would have sent you an instant message from Canterlot, but surely you must know that you can only send messages to players who are on your friend list."

I rolled my eyes. The friend lists were the part of the game that let you keep track of your companions and allies in the game. You could only add a player to your friend list if they were standing next to you and if they accepted your invitation for your friend list. I've never met any of the admins, besides Rex, so none of them were on my friend list.

Isaiah continued, "And since none of you are on our friend lists, then we couldn't send the message. And since Rex died, we couldn't send a message to him for him to relay to you. So since I was already coming here to take Rex's place as admin, it was logical that I take the message to you as well."

Isaiah cleared his throat again, "Jupiter, our head admin, sends his congratulations for defeating the Alpha Timber. But since you are now an element bearer, he wants your team to travel to Canterlot as soon as possible."

I raised an eyebrow, "Wait, why?"

Isaiah sighed, "Over the past weeks, we admins all across Equestria have been receiving threats. They've all been saying the same thing, 'We will kill every brony who trapped us in this game. We're going to kill the admins first, and then we'll continue by killing the element bearers.' All of these threats have led us to believe that there is a secret, underground guild of players, all intent on killing us for revenge."

Sky gave Isaiah a questioning look, "Revenge for what? What have we done to them?"

"As unlikely as it seems, the players in this secret guild believe that they were trapped in the game because of us admins. They think that Discord trapped them here because we programmed him to do so."

Lexus raised an eyebrow, "Well, did you?"

Isaiah shook his head, "With how Discord came to be, we might as well have programmed him to do this. We were trying to make his artificial intelligence so identical to that of the Discord from the show, but we failed to anticipate how this Discord would act. So, in a way, they are right when they say we're the cause of all of this."

Isaiah cleared his throat, "But now, we're taking responsibility and leading everybody out of this game. With the growing threat of this secret guild, it's becoming more dangerous for you three to remain here for too long. You need to deliver your element to the Canterlot castle for safe keeping, so if you are attacked by them, we will still have the one element."

I sighed. It sounded like a good plan, but that would mean that my team would have to walk all the way to Canterlot. We all knew the path could become filled with monsters at any time, so it'd be better to travel as fast as possible if we didn't want.

I looked to Isaiah, "When would you like us to leave?"

Isaiah thought for a moment, "The trip between here and Canterlot is relatively short, so if you leave now, you should arrive in Canterlot before sunset. But the monsters out there are pretty low level right now, so it shouldn't be any problem for you guys. After all, you're the ones who took down the Alpha Timber."

I shook my head, "That was only because my ability involves fire, and because timber wolves are flammable. Any other monsters are a different story."

Isaiah nodded, "Right, so either way, you guys need to be careful while traveling."

Sky raised an eyebrow, "But what about our base?"

Isaiah put up a hoof, "It's alright. The admins in Canterlot have already prepared another base for you guys. When you arrive there, they'll show you to your new base." He turned to me, "So, how soon can you leave?"

I paused for a moment before answering, "We can leave immediately."

Isaiah nodded as he stood up to leave, "Good. I'll send a message to Jupiter that you're on your way." He started towards the door and I led him out.

He walked through the door, but then he suddenly stopped and turned to me, "Hey, Shadow?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Yes?"

Isaiah sighed, "I knew Rex back in the real world. He was one of my friends, but I know that if he was going to die, he would've wanted to die fighting. His death isn't your fault, so don't blame yourself for it."

I paused before letting out a sigh, "Okay, thanks." With that, Isaiah trotted down the street and I closed the door.

Within an hour, our team was all packed up and on our way out of Ponyville. Although, as we walked out, all of us glanced back at the town as we got farther away. None of us had ever left Ponyville before, and now we were finally leaving for an unfamiliar place. In the back of my mind, I found it kind of unsettling. We had gotten so used to everything back in Ponyville that I was worried about what would lie in store for us ahead.

Lexus sighed, "Man, now I have to completely reconstruct my training schedule. Not to mention that I'll have to find another place to train in Canterlot."

I rolled my eyes, "Well, we were going to have to leave Ponyville anyways. I am the bearer of the Element of Courage, and wherever they need me, I'm bringing my team along to help."

Lexus chuckled, "Yeah, I suppose so."

Sky glanced at me, "Hey, you've got the element with you, right?"

I nodded, "Yeah, it's in my inventory. I haven't taken it out ever since we got back to Ponyville after fighting the Alpha Timber."

Sky nodded, "Right. I was just making sure we didn't forget it."

I grinned, "Yeah, that would be embarrassing."

A long silence passed between the three of us as we continued to travel over the open fields between Canterlot and Ponyville. I glanced behind me to see that Ponyville was completely out of sight now. Shrugging, I looked back to the way in front of me, I hope I'll be able to return later. I liked that town.

Sky turned his head towards me as he walked, "Hey, so what are we going to do when we reach Canterlot?"

I paused for a moment before replying, "Well, I guess after we see the new base, we'll need to find another place to train, and we'll need to find a few shops in the city for supplies. And then, after that," I shrugged, "I guess we'll keep doing what we've always done: Leveling up and searching for the other elements."

Sky and Lexus nodded, "Right."

We continued walking for a while, but then, Lexus started glancing around the field uneasily. I raised an eyebrow at him, "What is it?"

Lexus continued to scan the landscape, "Don't you think it's odd that we haven't run into a single monster yet? You'd think by now we would have at least seen a few of them."

I glanced around the field to find that Lexus was right. Now that I think about it, we haven't seen anything since we left. All monsters regenerate in the game after a certain time, so if there aren't any monsters then that must mean... My eyes widened, We're not the only ones here.

I quickly drew my sword and shield, "Sky, Lexus, draw your weapons and follow me." With that, I broke into a fast gallop with Sky and Lexus behind me.

Sky called up to me, "What's wrong? Why are we running?"

I kept my eyes focused on the way in front of me, "If there aren't any monsters, then that means somebody has been here recently and defeated them. If they were any old team of players, we would have seen them by now. But if we haven't seen them, then that means they're either gone or hiding. And if they're hiding, then that means they're waiting for-"

Suddenly, my eye caught a flicker of light as an arrow sped an inch past my face, embedding itself in the ground by my hoof. I looked up to see multiple players suddenly run out at us from all sides, weapons outstretched in an attack.

My eyes narrowed as the fight came towards us, "... An ambush."

Before the attack fully reached us, our team took a defensive position facing out ward, our backs turned to each other in a circle. But just before the attack reached us, they all suddenly stopped.

Sure they stopped, but they still had us surrounded. We wouldn't be able to go anywhere until we got past them. I kept my sword leveled towards the players in front of me, just to keep them at a distance. From what I could see, there were only five of them, but if they were even a few levels below any of us, we would still be overwhelmed by their attack.

But then, I heard a chuckling come from the player directly in front of me. I looked to see that it was an orange pegasus stallion, and on his back he had a long, curved sword (I later found out that it was called a Grosse Messer) and a steel edged buckler strapped to his back. His own weapons reminded me of my own, but there was still a slight difference. But then, I noticed that the player didn't have a cutie mark. I looked up at his Player ID; It read Ezekiel.

Ezekiel chuckled softly, "Took you long enough to get here, didn't it, Shadow?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Who are you and what do you want?"

Ezekiel smirked, "I assume that you already know my name, since it is on my Player ID. And everyone knows who you are, Shadow. Everyone's heard how you 'courageously' took down the first boss and took the first Element of Harmony. But, as to what I want, that is a different story."

Ezekiel started to pace around my team, "Now, I'm sure that your friends, the system admins, have told you about the many threats being made against them and the other element bearers, if there were any."

Sky nodded, "Why do you care about that... unless..."

Lexus finished for him, "You're part of the underground Guild the admins told us about, aren't you? You're the ones who want to kill us all."

Ezekiel smirked at him, "You're quick to catch on, aren't you?" The orange pegasus nodded, "Yes, we're from that guild. But our true name, just so you know, is the Haters' Guild." He chuckled, "It's really quite fitting, isn't it? Even in this game, the bronies still feel the wrath of haters."

Ezekiel turned towards me, "But I believe that is enough talk. Now that you know who we are, I'm sure that you've figured out what we want." Suddenly, he leaped into the air, wings outstretched. With his front hooves free, he quickly drew his sword and buckler, pointing the tip of his sword at me, "We're here to kill you."

All at once, the players of the Haters' Guild leaped at us with weapons outstretched.

Sky brought up his swords and met two of the attackers head on. With unmatched speed, Sky held off both of his attackers. With two swords, he could block both of his opponents weapons when he needed to, but when he found an opening, his sword would quickly counter at the opened attacker.

Lexus fought with his spear against two other players, one armed with a close range weapon, but the other was armed with a bow, whose prime target was Lexus. Whenever the bowpony shot an arrow, Lexus would quickly fly out of the way, while still fighting in close quarters with his other opponent. With his coordination and accuracy, Lexus was able to match his opponent's strength, while still avoiding all f the arrows being shot at him.

But, that left me to fight the only player left: Ezekiel.

Ezekiel rushed at me with blinding speed. To block the incoming strike, I held up my shield. But, I wasn't expecting Ezekiel to strike me with his shield. The force of his shield connecting with mine sent me sliding back, but then Ezekiel slashed upwards with his sword. The strike caught the edge of my shield upwards, making me lose my balance. Ezekiel saw the opening and lunged again with his sword.

I quickly brought my sword down and parried his to the side. But he'd been too fast, and the point of his sword barely cut my right foreleg. I cringed at the pain as I glanced down at the red streak of code where the scratch was, Dang it, this guy's good. I better go on the offensive, or else he'll end this very quickly.

I regained my balance and swung my sword low, aiming for Ezekiel's hooves. But he quickly flew into the air, easily avoiding my attack. But then, without warning, he threw his sword at me, just like a spear. I just barely had enough time to bring my shield. In that exact moment, a sharp dent protruded in the center of my shield, right where the sword struck.

With him having no weapon, it was the perfect time to strike. I looked to see Ezekiel flying down at me, ready to hit me again with his buckler. In that split moment, I fired a tongue of fire from my horn. With the sudden stream of fire, Ezekiel averted his course to avoid the flames. But just as quickly, he quickly rebounded and caught me from the side, sending me sprawling sideways for a couple of feet.

I quickly looked up to see that Ezekiel had retrieved his sword, and now he was coming for me again. I cringed, Crap, I don't have enough time to get up.

But then, out of nowhere, a huge explosion erupted between me and Ezekiel, stopping my attacker in his tracks. With the moment of opportunity, I quickly got up to my hooves, What the heck was that?

Suddenly, two more explosions, similar in size, appeared on the battle field, sending everybody into confusion. But then, something caught my eye. In the sky above us, a small, black sphere dropped down towards the ground. I looked up to see where it came from, and I gasped. Above us, flying in the sky on tiny wings, a baby dragon circled the area of the battle field, dropping bombs as it went.

I stopped myself short, What the... Is this another one of Discord's monsters?

But then, one of his bombs landed on the ground, and instead of an explosion, the bomb let out a massive burst of smoke, covering everything in its thick cloud. I couldn't see anything, but I could still hear the sounds of panic coming from the players.

But then, something suddenly grabbed me. With a yelp, I tried to hit it with my sword for fear that it was Ezekiel. But before I could attack, a voice whispered, "Shush, I'm here to help you. Go that direction." With a hoof, the stranger nudged me in one direction, "I'll grab the rest of your team. Head for the cover of the trees. Just get out of here before they see you."

With a way out, I didn't argue. I began to gallop in the same direction the stranger had shown me. Within a few seconds, I broke through the edge of the smoke cloud. In front of me, I saw a thick patch of trees. Following what the stranger had instructed, I quickly ducked down behind the line of trees, keeping out of sight.

Breathing hard, I put away my weapons and peered around the corner of one of the trees. But then, I watched as Lexus came flying out of the smoke. A waved a hoof out to him, urging him over to my direction. He noticed me and quickly swooped down to join me. Once he had landed behind the trees as well, Sky galloped out of the smoke cloud, followed by a strange pony that I assumed must have been the stranger who helped us. All I knew that he wasn't one of Ezekiel's players, and that was good enough for me.

They both quickly ran between the trees and ducked down beside me and Lexus. With us all gathered, the stranger then looked up to the sky and waved a hoof. I followed where he was looking to see the flying baby dragon from before.

My eyes widened as everything made sense, This was all a just a plan to help us escape the Haters' Guild.

Soon, the dragon lighted down next to our group. I didn't pay much attention to him because at that same moment, the cloud of smoke began to disperse, revealing a bunch of angry haters. Ezekiel, from what I could see, was in rage. He was barking at his group, and even from our shelter I could hear him.

"Find them! Search everywhere. If anything, they're probably running towards Canterlot. Cut them off before they reach the city." Immediately, the group of haters galloped off, heading in the direction of Canterlot, leaving our group hiding behind the trees.

I sighed with relief as they disappeared from view, "Man, that was close." I turned to our rescuers, "Thanks for the help."

The stranger smiled, "No problem."

Now with everything calmed down, I took a closer look at the two strangers. The pony was a blue unicorn stallion with a black mane and tail with a streak of red running through the middle of it. He wore a black outfit and he had a small viking shield strapped to his back. With his magic, he held a large hammer, reminding me of Thor's hammer.

The dragon was covered in light brown scales, with orange spines lining his back and head. But surprisingly, the dragon had a small pair of wings, colored tan like his underbelly. In his claw, he held a single, black bomb.

But what was surprising between the two was that they were both wearing sunglasses. I didn't know why, but I didn't think to question it. Above their heads, their Player ID's showed. Above the unicorn, it read Crossheart, and above the dragon, it read, Cloud Burst.

I looked questioningly at them, "Who are you guys anyways?"

Crossheart laughed, "Oh, right. I'm Cross and this is my teammate, Cloud. We're players from Canterlot. We were out here because our head admin, Jupiter, sent us to track down the team of haters that you guys were just fighting. Good thing we found you guys, or else those haters would have done away with you like you were nothing."

Cloud raised an eyebrow, "Wait, aren't you Shadowflame? The guy who got the element of courage?"

I nodded, making Cross chuckle, "Oh, that's right. I thought you guys looked familiar. That just makes it even better that we got here in time to help you guys."

I glanced at Sky and Lexus, who were just staring at Cloud. I gave them a funny look, ''What's wrong?"

Sky shrugged, "Well, it's just,... There was no option for a player to become a dragon at the beginning of the game. How is Cloud a dragon?"

Cloud let out a humph, but Cross simply replied, "Well, I'll explain on the way to Canterlot. Right now, we just need to get to the city before any more trouble comes up."

Lexus raised an eyebrow, "But won't the Haters be expecting us though? They just said that they'd cut us off from entering the city."

Cross smiled, "Don't worry. Cloud and I know a secret way into the city. Follow me." With that, Cross and Cloud began to walk between the trees, leading my team along.

From where Cross and Cloud were leading us, I could see the sun beginning to sink down in the distance. It'd be sunset soon, and at night, Discord's monsters were at an abundance.

As we walked, Lexus looked to Cross, "Hey, so are you going to tell us how shorty here became a dragon?"

Cross smirked, while Cloud gave Lexus an angry glare, keeping completely silent.

Cross replied, "Yeah, it happened a while ago, but I remember it well.

"You see, Cloud and I were teammates right at the beginning of the game. Back then, Cloud was actually a pegasus pony. But after Discord trapped us in this game, we were one of the first to leave Ponyville to search for the other elements. Our search led us to the city of Fillydelphia. But it was there that we discovered some kind of hidden dungeon."

"Well, naturally, Cloud and I thought that it might lead us to one of the elements, but then, we were ambushed by one of Discord's monsters. The monster was some kind of pony witch, and in the middle of the fight against her, she cast a spell on Cloud. The spell turned him into a dragon, but then after that, the witch just vanished. But when she disappeared, Discord re-appeared in her place."

Keeping to himself, Cloud listened to the story. He could remember every detail of the story Cross was telling. Suddenly, the memory of Discord's appearance rose into his mind.

Cloud looked down at his changed body, confusion and bafflement written across his face. His weapon was gone, and his health bar had shrunk drastically. Above him, Discord floated in the dark corridor of the dungeon, laughing at the, now, tiny dragon.

Cloud glared at the draconequus, "Why did you do this?"

Discord smirked at him, "Well, when I first set this whole dungeon up, I thought that this would be an interesting experiment. You see, when I took over the game, I came across a couple of files that the old admins had been working on. One of them was a project for where a player could be a dragon instead of a pony. So I thought, 'why let this program go to waste? The admins will never finish it, so why not use it now?'"

Discord chuckled, "Of course, the program is still incomplete, so you might experience a few bugs."

Cloud raised an eyebrow, "Bugs?"

Discord grinned evilly, "Yes, there are a couple of glitches. A few of them are that you can't equip any weapon to yourself, so you won't be able to fight. Secondly, your speed and strength are greatly decreased as of now, so I would be careful if I were you. And thirdly, this is a feature that I added in personally, even if you defeat one of the bosses by yourself, you can never become one of the element bearers."

Discord snapped his fingers and disappeared from the corridor, but his voice remained, "Well, good luck, you tiny little lizard."

Cloud shook his head as his thoughts returned to the present. It looked as if Cross was just about finished with telling the story. But Cloud sighed to himself, I swear, I'll get Discord for this.

Soon, Cross finished his story, leaving me and my team in awe.

Lexus let out a small whistle, "Wow, that's rough."

Crossheart shrugged, "Yeah, it was a bit rough, but Cloud's adapted well."

But then, I raised an eyebrow, "But if Discord said he couldn't equip weapons, then how can cloud use bombs?"

Cross smiled, "Well, that's a loophole that we found in the rules. Bombs are regular items that any player can use, but you don't have to equip them. So therefore, Cloud can still use them. Although, I have to admit, Cloud's become a bombing expert."

Cloud let out a small smile, "Yeah, I can craft any kind of bomb out of a just a few materials. It also helps in using bombs when you can breath fire. Seriously, I've become a real demolition expert."

Suddenly, Cross lifted up a hoof, "Hey, we're here."

I looked forward to see a wide gate just ahead. The gate was guarded by two guards in armor, but just in front of the gate was a single earth pony. My eyes widened as I recognized him as Jupiter, the head admin.

Jupiter grinned as he saw us approach the gate, "Hey, I'm glad you guys could make it. It looks like Cross and Cloud actually did their jobs for once."

Cross simply laughed as we reached Jupiter, "Yeah, good thing, too. Shadowflame's team would have been killed by the underground guild if we hadn't shown up in time."

Jupiter's expression suddenly became more serious, "What? Are you sure it was them and not some other group of thieving players?"

I answered for Cross, "Yes, they were part of what they call the Haters' Guild, the underground guild that keeps threatening everybody. They revealed themselves to us, and they would have killed us if it hadn't been for Cross and Cloud."

Jupiter paused for a moment, "Very well. You'll need to tell me more about your encounter with this Haters' Guild, but for now, I need for Shadow to follow me to the castle. The rest of you should come into the city until we come back." He turned to me, "Shadow, if you will." With that, he began to trot into Canterlot.

I nodded and followed after him, but then I stopped, "Oh, wait." Jupiter stopped and looked back at me. With Jupiter stopped, I turned back to Cross and Cloud, "Hey, how about you guys join our team? We could always use a couple of strong players to help us."

Cross and Cloud both wore curious glances as they glanced at each other. But after a moment, they both nodded in agreement. Cross turned to me, "Sure, we'd love to. We've been doing the same thing everyday for the past week. We could always make do with a change for once."

I beamed, "Great. Welcome to the team."

Jupiter cleared his throat, "Okay, with that out of the way, let us continue."

I nodded and continued with Jupiter as we traveled to the royal castle of Canterlot.

I have to admit, I was impressed by the size of the castle. The building was so huge that I found it hard to believe that the admins only used it as their base of operations. Once Jupiter and I had reached the castle, he led me through the corridors, and then down to a staircase.

The staircase was extremely long, winding down to several feet below the castle. But once we reached the bottom of the stairs, it led us to a large, circular room. All around the room, there stood stone pedestals. I counted out ten of them, which sort of made me confused. These pedestals were the only objects in the room.

I looked questioningly at Jupiter, "What is this place?"

Jupiter glanced around the room, "This is the vault of the elements. This is where we will store each of the elements that we find. Every time that we acquire a new element, we will keep it here. And once we have all of the elements, you and the other elements will have to join forces to defeat Discord."

Jupiter cleared his throat, "But for now, I need you to place your element on one of the pedestals."

I nodded and retrieved my element of courage from my inventory. Instantly, the golden necklace appeared in front of me, its colorless gem shining faintly in the light. Carefully, I levitated the element onto one of the pedestals. Immediately after I let go of the element, a glass dome appeared, encasing the necklace beneath it.

Jupiter nodded, "Good. It should be safe in here for now. But I have something to ask of you, Shadow."

I turned to him, "Yes?"

"For the time that your team stays in Canterlot, I would like you to search the area around the city for any signs of an element. I have a hunch that there will most likely be an element hidden near Canterlot, and it would be better if we found it soon."

I nodded, "Right. Should I get my team to start right away?"

Jupiter shook his head, "No. For now, you all need to rest. You came within an inch of your lives today. You should get some time to recover from today's events. Until then, you should familiarize yourselves with the city, and then start looking for the next element."

I nodded in agreement and we both walked out of the vault of the elements, leaving the element of courage alone on its pedestal.

Author's Notes:

Special thanks to thedams for letting me use Crossheart.
Also, I extend thanks to Lionblaze103 for sending in Cloud Burst.
And finally, thank you, Tomfire10 for sending in Ezekiel.

Thanks for reading,
-Shadowflame

March 3rd (New Arrivals)

Hey, Shadow here. Just so you know, it's been less than a month since my team and I arrived in Canterlot, but something really extraordinary has happened in that time.

You see, several weeks ago, back before my team traveled from Ponyville to Canterlot, the players in Manehatten were on a lead of where the next element was hidden. Well, a week later, everyone heard that they had finally found the boss room, and with their combined efforts, they managed to defeat the boss. Apparently, the guy who killed the boss and claimed the element, was a unicorn named Violet Runner. Everyone's referring to him as the element of Spirit, since that's the element that he received.

Sure, another element bearer besides myself is good, but then his team did something extraordinary. To keep the new element safe, Jupiter contacted Violet Runner and ordered his team to bring the element to Canterlot so it could be locked in the vault of the elements. Violet and his team, Team Calvary, started to make the journey, but they took a side trip into Fillydelphia.

The reason for their side trip was because as they were traveling, the players at Fillydelphia stumbled across the next boss room. But out of all the things that Team Calvary could have done, they joined the boss battle. And what's more is that another member of Team Calvary defeated the boss and collected the next element. It was another unicorn named Soul Cards, and he'd gotten the element of Loyalty. And at the moment, both Violet Runner and Soul Cards, along with the rest of their team, were on their way to Canterlot.

I glanced out of the window of our Team Equitum base in Canterlot, slightly anxious. It wasn't just me either. Everyone down in the streets were buzzing with anticipation of Team Calvary's arrival. With the days that had passed, everyone knew that they would be arriving today.

Although, there were quite a few players who went outside of the city to meet Team Calvary early, but their reasons were all slightly different. A few players went out to meet Team Calvary, just to see a team as strong as them. But everyone else was working under Jupiter's orders to make sure that Team Calvary arrived safely.

Truth be told, when word of Team Calvary reached Canterlot, I've never seen Jupter so angry. Usually the head admin is collective and logical, but when Team Calvary received two elements, Jupiter was furious. I grinned at the memory of him cursing his heart out at every other minute, grumbling about Team Calvary's stupidity.

But, Jupiter was right. Everyone in the game heard about Team Calvary's efforts, including the Haters' Guild. With two element bearers in Team Calvary, they would be a prime target for the haters. At any point on the path to Canterlot, the haters could ambush them and kill their team, just like they had tried to do so for my team. Jupiter was only angry at them because they just made themselves a bigger target for the haters. And if they were killed, then the elements would be lost to the haters, and we would have to fight them just to get the elements back.

I glanced back at my other team members, who were gathering all of their stuff together for today's training. Even if there were two element bearers coming to Canterlot, we weren't going to take a day off just to meet them. In our base, there was me and Sky, along with Crossheart and Cloud Burst, the newest members of our team. Lexus, however, was already ready, since he liked training by himself early in the morning. He didn't like waiting for us, so at the moment, he was flying around the city wall, looking for Team Calvary as they came in.

I turned to my team, "So, are you guys ready for today's training?"

They all nodded. But then, Lexus suddenly came flying in through an open window, panting hard from the flight.

I raised an eyebrow at him, "Lexus, what is it?"

He smiled as he caught his breath, "Hey, I saw them. Team Calvary's here."

We all glanced at each other, and instantly we all ran out onto the street to see Team Calvary.

By the time that our team reached the street leading to the castle, the roads were packed with other players who came to see Team Calvary. My team stepped out onto the street to see four ponies parading down the middle of the road. I recognized them from their pictures in the Equestria Daily as Team Calvary.

Team Calvary only had four members, but I could only see the first two members of their team from where I stood. They were both unicorns, both walking side by side with each other. The one on the right was a tan colored stallion with a short brown mane and tail. On top of his head, he wore a pair of mechanic's goggles, along with a light blue vest. On his back, he carried a giant, two-handed, steel hammer. His cutie mark was a pair of metal gears. Above his head, his Player ID read: Violet Runner.

The unicorn on the right was a gray stallion with a black mane, streaked with red. He carried two swords strapped to his back, just like Sky. His cutie mark resembled a playing card, an ace of hearts to be exact. Above his head, his Player ID read: Soul_Cards.

I glanced at Sky, "Looks like those two are the new element bearers."

Sky shrugged as he looked back to the approaching team. I did likewise and watched as Team Calvary drew nearer. But as they got closer, the players around us began to cheer for Team Calvary, shouting congratulations and stomping their hooves with excitement. Team Calvary, as they received the applause, simply waved to the crowd as they passed by, smiling as they were treated like celebrities.

But as I watched them, I felt sort of a pang of envy. When we arrived in Canterlot, nobody really celebrated it like they did for Team Calvary. Thinking this, a small frown subconsciously crept to my face.

Unfortunately, Sky noticed my unhappy expression, "Hey, what's up?"

I was momentarily startled, but I quickly collected myself, "Oh, it's just that... When we first arrived in Canterlot, barely anyone congratulated us or gave us praise like they are now for Violet Runner and Soul Cards. I'm just wondering why..." I trailed off in thought.

Sky raised his eyebrow, "Well, they are element bearers. They retrieved their elements, which is difficult enough. Not everyone could do that."

I suddenly found myself ticked off by Sky, "But what about me? I'm an element bearer, and I was the first one to ever do it!"

Lexus, who had been listening in on our conversation, chimed in, "Well, they were the first team to retrieve *two* elements, so they kind of have you beat there, Shadow."

I growled in frustration, "That's not the point. I'm just saying-"

Cloud suddenly interjected, "Geez, you're getting worked up just because you want the praise that Team Calvary is getting?... Wait, you're not seriously jealous of Violet Runner's team, are you?"

I faltered slightly, "What? No! I'm just saying that it'd be nice to receive some credit for bringing an element here to Canterlot."

Cloud folded his arms, raising his eyebrows as he replied sarcastically, "Uh-huh, right."

I rolled my eyes at him. Just at that moment, Violet Runner noticed our team on the side of the road. He recognized us and instantly galloped to us. Once he reached us, he looked at us all with a wide grin, "Hey, you're Team Equitum, right?"

I nodded nonchalantly, "Yeah, that's us."

"Then you must be Shadowflame, the bearer of the Element of Courage." I nodded, and Violet grinned, "Great, I finally get to meet you. Let me introduce my team. I'm Violet Runner, the leader of Team Calvary, and the bearer of the Element of Spirit."

He pointed a hoof out towards his teammates, "This here is Soul Cards, the bearer of the Element of Loyalty. Although, don't play poker with him, or else he'll clean you out faster than you could swing a sword." I nodded to Soul Cards a casual greeting, which he returned in the same fashion.

Violet continued, "These are the other two of my team. This is Neon Fire, our more magically advanced fighter."

I looked at Neon fire to find a light gray unicorn mare. True to her name, her mane, tail and eyes were all the same neon green color. On her back, she had strapped a long spear and a metal shield. Her cutie mark was a neon green fireball. Above her head, her Player ID read: Neon Fire.

Neon gave me a friendly wave, which I returned. Violet continued, "And finally, the youngest member of our team, Dylan.

I turned to Dylan to see a short, maroon earth pony colt. His mane and tail were a dark, olive green color. On his back, he held a long, wooden Bo staff. His cutie mark was the silhouette of a guy in midair, doing a back flip. Above his head, his Player ID read: Dyl0nkour.

Suddenly, I heard Sky inhale sharply behind me. He quickly tapped on my shoulder, "Could that really be... Dylan?"

I was confused at first, but then my eyes widened in realization, "Oh my gosh, he couldn't be, right? Isn't that impossible?" A million thoughts were going off in my head. Was this really *the* Dylan that both Sky and I knew? How did he even get here?

But then, Sky took a step towards Dylan, a questioning look on his face, "Dylan... Is that you?"

Dylan, along with everbody else, was confused by Sky's actions. Dylan cocked his head as he observed Sky curiously. But then, his eyes went wide and he let out a gasp as he recognized the unicorn's voice,

"Sk-Sky?"

For a moment, both Sky and Dylan stared at each other for a long while. But then, they suddenly embraced with their arms around each other in a tight hug. I spotted a tear at the corner of Dylan's eye, but Sky didn't cry (It takes a freaking lot to get Sky to cry). Sky hugged Dylan tightly, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe you're actually here. How is this even possible?"

Everyone else in both my team and in Team Calvary just looked on in confusion. I however, felt a grin creep to my face. Behind me, Lexus asked, "Um, what's going on? Do they know each other?"

I chuckled, "I can't believe it, but now they're together again. And here in the game, of all places."

Cross raised an eyebrow at me, "What do you mean?"

I grinned at my team, "Dylan is Sky's brother."

Soon, Team Calvary continued on their way towards the castle, but my team was travelling with them. The whole while as we all walked to the castle, Sky and Dylan were keeping close to each other, extremely happy to see each other again. I figured they were so happy because they both though that they'd never see each other until after we beat Discord. They never counted on seeing each other in this game before we fought Discord.

Sky grinned to his younger brother, "So, how did you end up getting trapped in this game, too? I was using the only Nervegear helmet we had in the house."

Dlyan smiled sheepishly, "Um,... yeah, well I was a bit too impatient, because you were taking so long with your turn. I decided to go to my friend's house and play on his Nervegear console. Unfortunately, that's when I also got trapped in the game."

Sky grinned, "Well that was stupid of you to do."

I rolled my eyes. They had only been reunited with each other for a few minutes and Sky was already teasing Dylan. Even in virtual reality, some things never changed.

Dylan glanced over his shoulder at me, "Hey, it's great to see you, too, Shadow."

I chuckled, "Yeah, it's good to see you again, Dylan. Although, I didn't think that you'd play this game and get trapped here as well. I figured that you'd be too busy playing Minecraft." If there was one thing true about Dylan, it'd be that he played Minecraft a bit too much.

Sky laughed at my reply, while Dylan just rolled his eyes.

But then, we all soon reached the castle. But standing in the middle of the doorway was a very unhappy Jupiter. We all stopped in front of him, with Violet Runner and Soul Cards standing front and center.

But then, Jupiter began to walk towards Violet Runner, exceeding anger evident on his face, "Are you out of your blasted mind, Violet Runner?! I gave you specific orders to deliver your element directly to Canterlot, and to not take any side trips. You disobeyed a direct order."

Violet Runner tried to defend himself, "Well, you see-" But Jupiter wasn't done with him, yet.

"You must have been crazy to take the Element of Spirit with you into the boss battle in Fillydelphia. If you had died while fighting the boss there, then we could have lost your element." He turned his head to Soul Cards, "But then you had to make things worse by having another member in your team receive the Element of Loyalty. You could have become a prime target for the Haters' Guild on the way here! Could you imagine how catastrophic it would've been if we lost *two* of the elements to the haters?"

From the side, a small smile started to form on my face. I don't know why, but it felt good to see Jupiter chew out Violet Runner.

Violet Runner started to object, but then sighed, "Yes, Jupiter. I guess we weren't thinking ahead when we helped with the boss battle in Fillydelphia."

Jupiter narrowed his eyes, "Well, I hope you now realize that you put yourself and your team into even greater danger." The head admin turned back to the open doors of the castle, "We'll settle this matter later, but for now, Violet Runner, I need you and Soul Cards to bring your elements and follow me. The rest of your team will have to wait out here until we return."

Violet Runner and Soul Cards obeyed and followed Jupiter into the castle, slamming the doors behind them. That left Neon Fire and Dylan outside with my team.

Neon Fire looked at all of us oddly, "So, I suppose we'll have to wait for Violet and Soul to return?"

I shook my head, "Sorry, guys, but our team still needs to do some training. We aren't taking a day off just because you guys arrived. You should just stay here until the rest of your team comes back." I turned back to where we came, "Come on guys, let's go. See ya, Dylan." With that, my team and I began to run to the city gate.

Before we all left, Dylan stopped Sky in mid gallop, "Hey, Sky."

Sky looked back to his little brother, "What?"

Dylan extended a hoof, "Brohoof?"

Sky rolled his eyes, and then connected his hoof to Dlyan's. He turned back towards the road and began to gallop after us, "Later, Dylan!"

My team all stood in the field just outside of Canterlot, all of our weapons drawn for battle. We were in a circle formation, all of our backs to each other while our opponents closed in. Although it might seem ironic, but our opponents were a group of zombie ponies. From where I stood, I could count about seven of them. So, it was time to lead my team.

I lifted my sword towards the zombies closest to me, "Sky, Cross. Follow me with the first attack. Lexus, Cloud, I need you guys as air support to keep the others off of our backs."

With the plan set, we all took off into the fight. With an upward motion, I sliced a leg off of the zombie closest to me. I didn't feel any need to use my ability, "Blaze", since zombies were relatively weak monsters. But then, Sky whipped around me and finished of the zombie with several well placed blows to the neck, ending the monster with a stab through the head.

Meanwhile, I had joined up with Cross as we fought two of the zombies. First, Cross bashed his hammer into the head of one, while I stabbed through the belly of the other. As quickly as we struck, we traded off opponents. I slashed downwards into my opponent twice, making an "X" through the zombie's torso, and then finished by stabbing the zombie upwards beneath its jaw.

As the zombie burst into a cloud of blue code, out of the corner of my eye, I saw cross deal a crushing blow to his zombie's throat, bringing the monster's health bar to zero.

Behind us, I heard Lexus and Cloud swoop down from the sky, continually striking another zombie with each descent. But then, Lexus stabbed a zombie deep into its back from above, creating a large hole in the monster's spine. The pegasus quickly wrenched out his spear as Cloud then placed a bomb into the opening that Lexus had created in the monster's back. Then, they quickly took to the sky as the bomb exploded, destroying the zombie it was planted in and sending a shock wave into the remaining zombies.

With the remaining zombies faltering, it gave me, Sky, and Cross the chance to finish them off. We all charged in at once, dealing each of them a finishing blow in our own unique styles. Once the last zombie had disappeared into bits of code, I put away my weapons with satisfaction.

I glanced at my team as we all took a small breather, a small, encouraging grin on my face, "Wow, seven monsters in less than a minute. We've really gotten faster."

A voice interjected, "Not bad, Team Equitum. Not bad at all."

I looked towards the source of the voice to see that it was Jupiter, coming down from the gates towards our team. I raised an eyebrow, "Oh, Jupiter. What are you doing here?"

Jupiter smirked, "Well, I have an assignment for your team. You see, it concerns the location of the next element."

Our whole team jumped with a start. Sky looked questioningly at Jupiter, "Wait, did you actually find the boss room?"

Jupiter paused for a moment, "Well, no. We haven't actually found the boss room, but we have a fairly good lead as to where it is located. The Canterlot Labyrinth on the castle grounds, as you know is only made of shrubbery. But as of late, enormous black thorns have begun to grow all around the maze. We suspect that it may have something to do with the next boss of the game."

Jupiter looked at all of us individually, "I came down here because I want you all to investigate the cause of the thorns. And from what I saw just barely, I believe you're more than capable of finding the source of this problem."

I nodded, "Right, we'll get right to it." I waved to my team and we all started towards the Canterlot gate. But then, Jupiter suddenly stopped us.

He cleared his throat, "But before you go, I would like for Team Calvary to join you in this investigation."

I raised an eyebrow at Jupiter, "Violet Runner's team? Why do you want them to come along? They just arrived today, and they haven't gotten to rest from their trip here. Fillydelphia is farther from here than Ponyville, yet you made my team take a rest from fighting for a few days. Why not do the same for Team Calvary?"

Jupiter's eyes narrowed, "For one thing, Violet Runner owes me for not obeying my orders. I think this task will be suitable enough. If his team can investigate the labyrinth while under your orders, then I will forgive Violet Runner for his careless decision. As of now, Shadow, I'm putting you in charge of leading both yours and Violet's teams through the labyrinth." He turned back towards Canterlot, "So, I want you all to meet me at the entrance of the labyrinth for further details. You'll need to pick up Team Calvary from their base on the way there." With that, he began to make his way to the Canterlot gate.

I sighed, "Yes, Jupiter." I looked to my team, "Come on, let's go." And we all set off towards the gate to the city.

Team Calvary's base in Canterlot wasn't all too hard to find, since it was actually fairly close to our own base. As I searched for their base, I sent my team ahead to meet with Jupiter by the maze while I fetched Team Calvary.

After walking on the street for a while, I finally reached the door to their base. With a hoof, I knocked loudly on the wooden door. I waited for a moment, but then the door opened to reveal Dylan.

Dylan's eyes widened, "Oh, hey Shadow. What are you doing here?"

I took a step through the door, "I need to speak to your team. Where's Violet Runner?"

Dylan stepped back and let me in, closing the door behind me, "He and Neon are down in the forge."

I raised an eyebrow, "You guys have a forge?"

Dylan nodded me as he began to lead me through the base, "Yeah, it's in the basement. It came with base when Jupiter gave it to us."

I held back a glower as I thought to myself, Really? Jupiter gave them a forge? I sighed, Even when they're in trouble, they're more rewarded than my team has ever been. Forges were really expensive, and to have one inside a house just made it more valuable.

Ahead of me, Dylan continued talking, "Although, out of all of us, Violet is the only one who really appreciates the forge. He's really a genius when it comes to engineering. But occasionally he needs Neon to get the fire hot enough for him work with iron and stuff like that."

But then, something occurred to me, "Wait, if the forge is downstairs, then what happens to the smoke from the fire? I'd imagine that it'd get caught downstairs often."

Dylan smiled, "Well, Violet took a look at the forge and said that there was an enchantment in the chimney. It would instantly filter out the smoke and bring in pure oxygen. So, that's not really a problem.

Soon we reached a spiral staircase, leading downstairs. and Dylan pointed a hoof down it, "Okay, Violet and Neon should be down there."

I nodded, "Thanks Dylan."

Dylan smiled and trotted away, while I began to descend down the staircase. The staircase was dimly lit, but I managed to find my footing as I traveled down its spiraling steps. Soon, the lighting in the stairs became bright with the orange glow of fire. I reached the end of the staircase to find myself in the forge.

In the middle of the forge, I spotted Violet Runner, standing next to a large, lit furnace. A pair of goggles were covering his eyes as he held a long piece of red-hot metal in the furnace with his magic. Standing to the side of the furnace was Neon Fire. Her horn was glowing as she focused on the fire, which I now noticed, had a neon green tint about it.

Violet glanced at Neon, "Okay, I need the fire to be a bit hotter, Neon. Increase your magic and keep the temperature steady."

Neon nodded, "Right." Her horn began to glow a bit brighter as she put more concentration into the fire.

I would have waited for them to be done with... well, with whatever they were doing. But Jupiter was already waiting for us, so it was time to make myself known. I began to walk towards them, "Hey, Violet, Neon."

Violet jumped slightly, surprised by my intrusion. He quickly glanced back at me, "Oh, hey Shadow. What are you doing here?" He turned his head to Neon, "Okay, I think that'll be good for now. You can stop."

Relieved, Neon let go of her magical hold on the fire, letting the flames die down to regular orange flames.

I looked to Violet and Neon, "I have a message from Jupiter for your team, Violet."

Before I could continue, Violet set his glowing red piece of metal down on an anvil. He brought out his hammer, and began to hammer away at the piece of metal. He nodded to me, "Sorry, but I need to get this piece of iron molded before it grows cold. You'll just have to bear with me. Go ahead and tell me the message. Don't worry, I'll be able to hear you over the hammering. But if I can't, Neon will be able to tell me what I missed."

I raised an eyebrow, a bit hesitant at first, but I just shrugged and relayed the message, "Jupiter has a job for your team. He has gotten some reports that black thorns are growing all throughout the Castle Labyrinth. Jupiter suspects that it may have to do with the next element. So, he wants your team and mine to go investigate the labyrinth, and possibly find the boss room, as well."

Violet nodded, "Right. When will we do it?"

"Right now. At the moment, the rest of my team are with Jupiter, and they're waiting for us at the entrance to the labyrinth."

Violet nodded as he paused his hammering, inspecting his piece of iron, "Okay, we'll be there in just a second." He glanced over to Neon, "Go tell Soul and Dylan to get ready. We need to leave as soon as possible."

Neon nodded and raced up the staircase and out of the forge. Violet then turned to me, "Alright, you better not keep your team waiting. So, you should get going, too. Thanks for stopping by."

I nodded as I turned back to the staircase, and I climbed upstairs and out of Team Calvary's base. Out on the street, I turned towards the castle and began to gallop to the castle labyrinth.

Soon, both my team and Team Calvary were gathered in front of the entrance to the labyrinth. Jupiter stood in front of us all, standing between us and the entrance.

Now, let me tell you that the entrance to the labyrinth was huge. The walls made of shrubbery stood about fifteen feet tall, and it stayed at that height for all of the maze. But, just like Jupiter had said, I noticed several black, thorny vines weaving through the walls of the maze. And they weren't just growing out of the walls, but there were the occasional thorns growing out of the ground like tree roots. With all of the thorns, it gave the maze a sort of evil presence.

Jupiter looked to all of us who were gathered, "All right, before all of you go into that Labyrinth, I will debrief you on several details of the maze."

We all listened closely as Jupiter continued, "Now, the first thing that you need to know is that Discord put some restrictions for some players in the maze. One of which is that pegasus players cannot fly."

Lexus raised an eyebrow, "Really? Why can't we fly?"

Jupiter replied, "Discord hacked the area around the maze so that no pegasus could move their wings at all. They'd stay clamped to your sides, and you wouldn't be able to extend them, let alone fly."

Cloud interjected, "But what about me? I'm not a pegasus, so shouldn't I still be able to fly?"

Jupiter paused for a second, "Well, you used to be a pegasus, weren't you? And I don't think that Discord would have overlooked your case, Cloud. After all, he *is* the reason why you're a dragon now."

Cloud drooped his shoulders slightly, "Oh, I guess you're right."

Jupiter cleared his throat, "Anyways, like any place in the game, there are monsters in the labyrinth. However, a few other players, who were weaker than all of you, went into the maze and fought several monsters. They returned out of the maze just fine, so I wouldn't worry too much about the monsters that you meet in there."

Jupiter gave us all a fixed glower, "But that doesn't give you a reason to lower your guard. If Discord's behind these thorns growing around the maze, then he'll for sure have some surprises hidden around the maze that you would rather not find. Who knows what traps that Draconequus could come up with."

Jupiter cleared his throat, "However, though this is a maze, at all costs, do not get separated. If you get lost on your own, then it'll just be easier for Discord's monsters to pick you off, one by one."

"However, if you do find the cause of the thorns' growth, then I want you to find a way to reverse it. But if the cause is coming from a boss room, then do not attempt to beat the boss on your own. If you find a boss room, then make your way back here and contact me. You'll need to remember where the room is, so you can lead a larger group of players to fight the boss. Is that clear?"

We all nodded. Jupiter continued, "Good. Inside the maze, Shadowflame will make the decisions. He will be responsible for everyone else. But remember this: Your survival in there will depend on how well you work together as a team." He stepped out of the way to the entrance of the labyrinth, "Well, good luck." With that, he turned back towards the castle and walked away.

I looked to my team, "Okay, let's go." And so, we entered the maze, with Team Calvary following behind us.

We had only been travelling through the maze for about ten an hour, yet we weren't getting anywhere. So far, we had taken about fifty wrong turns that ended up in dead ends. After a few minutes of this, I was starting to get a bit frustrated, as well as the other players in our group.

Luckily, we hadn't run into any monsters, yet. But, that fact left us in inactivity while I tried to get us through the maze, and a lot of us were starting to get bored. So, to fight boredom, a few members of our group were finding different ways to entertain themselves. Soul Cards, like his name implied, was showing off a few card tricks to Cross and Cloud. Cloud, since he couldn't spread his wings inside the maze, rode on Cross's back as we walked. Sky and Dylan were talking to each other, catching up on what the other had done ever since they were trapped in the game. But Violet Runner, Neon Fire, and myself kept a watch out for any monsters that would drop in on us unexpectedly.

Lexus, who had been messing with his immobile wings, walked up beside me, "Man, this stinks. I don't know if I'll be able to take this for very long. I think my wings are starting to get a cramp after staying still for this long."

I raised an eyebrow at him, "Well, I can't do anything about it. And I don't think your wings are getting a cramp. That's just your imagination."

Lexus sighed in frustration, "Well, I'm just saying, the sooner we find the source of these thorns, the better."

I nodded and looked back to the maze in front of us. But then, I saw something that surprised me. Our path in the Labyrinth stopped just ahead and split in five different directions.

We all stopped in the middle of the six-way fork in the road, all of us unsure about which direction to go. I tried looking down each of the paths, but none of them gave any clue as to where it would lead. I grumbled to myself, Sure, send us into the maze. Great idea, Jupiter.

As I was contemplating our next path to take, I heard Violet Runner speak. He pointed a hoof down one path, "Okay, my team should go down this path. Team Equitum, you guys go down that path." He said, pointing to another path.

I glowered at Violet, "Whoa, hey. You can't just order my team around like that. And besides, Jupiter put me in charge of this investigation, so I choose where we go next."

Violet was a bit surprised at my outburst, but he then narrowed his eyes at me in frustration, "Well, you've led us down into *fifty* different dead-ends. Yes, you've done a wonderful job at navigating." He said sarcastically. Violet glared at me, "But I think it's my turn to lead the group."

Sky stepped up next to me, glancing between me and Violet, "Hey, dudes. Stop it. Remember what Jupiter said about working together? That our survival depended on it?"

I ignored Sky and turned to Violet, "Hey, you're the one who made the decisions that put your own team into more danger. Just by getting an extra element in your team, you made yourselves a bigger target for the Haters' Guild. And I won't let you make any choices that will put my team in danger."

Violet replied just as quickly, "I already have Jupiter on my case for that, and I don't need you to be giving me grief for that as well. Besides, we never ran into the haters while travelling, so I don't see what the big deal is. We weren't in danger, so I don't see why I shouldn't lead."

I retorted angrily, "Well, for one thing, if we split up like you want to, then we would not only be disobeying Jupiter's orders, but we could be easily taken out by one of Discord's monsters. We have no idea what he has in store for us in here."

Violet rolled his eyes, "Look around! We haven't come across a single monster ever since we came into this maze. You're even scared that we'll run into one monster, just because we split up? Some Element of Courage you are."

I glared at him with hatred, "Well, what kind of an element is spirit anyways? At least mine makes more sense than yours. Maybe that's the reason why you went and got a second one. Just because your element sucked!"

Violet snapped back at me, "Is that what this is all about? Are you just angry that my team has two elements while yours only has one?"

I faltered for a moment, a bit shocked that Violet would even say that, "What? No!"

Violet didn't stop there, "It's true, isn't it? You're just jealous that we have two while you only have one. Maybe you're jealous that my team better than yours, or maybe... you're jealous that I'm a better leader than you!"

I suddenly lost my temper at that, and I drew my sword, "You little-"

"Both of you, quit it!" Lexus cut us off as he stepped in between us, "You're both acting like complete imbeciles! Who cares about who has how many elements! I'm not even a brony, yet I know that there's more to the elements than just being the bearer."

For a split moment, everyone was silent. But Lexus wasn't finished yet, "We all know that the elements will only work when they are used in harmony with each other. But when it comes time to fight Discord, we won't be able to use the elements because you two are fighting. They wouldn't work because neither of you are friends with each other. Some elements of harmony you guys are."

Lexus continued, "Can't either of you two see? Discord's manipulating you guys and you don't even notice it. He wants you to be chaotic with each other instead of working together in harmony. It's just like what Jupiter said; Our survival depends on how well we can work together as a team."

I was gaping at Lexus in shock. I was both surprised that Lexus even knew that stuff, and that what he was saying was actually true. We were being chaotic.

Lexus sighed, "We need to pull ourselves together and work together or else we'll never find what's causing these thorns to..." He trailed off as his eyes looked at the ground. Instantly, his eyes widened in surprise and horror.

I followed his gaze to see a few small thorns rapidly growing out of the ground beneath us. I gasped in horror as they continued to grow at a quick rate, "What the heck?" I glanced around us to see that huge thorns had grown up all around us, blocking off all of the paths.

Violet called out to everyone, "The thorns must have grown while we were distracted. We need to-"

CREAK

The ground under all of us suddenly groaned. My eyes widened as I saw that it actually was sinking below us.

I quickly called out to my team, "Get clear!"

But it was too late, because suddenly, the ground burst and collapsed under our hooves, dropping us down below where it used to be.

We all screamed as we fell through the air, heading towards nothing but a black pit below us lined with thorns. I glanced at all of our group as they struggled to do something to remedy the situation. Cloud and Lexus were desperately trying to spread their wings and fly. Sky and Soul pulled out their swords and tried to dig into the thorns to slow their descent, but to no avail, as their weapons couldn't penetrate the thick outer skin of the plant.

Everyone else and myself couldn't do anything else, except for fail out limbs helplessly as we fell through the darkness. For a moment, it seemed as if everything had stopped, like we were all going to die. But then, we landed on the cold hard ground below. My neck whiplashed with the impact of my body hitting stone, sending the back of my head slamming against the ground. Instantly, everything went black, including the one spot of light where we had fallen from.

Author's Notes:

And, there you go, a Cliffhanger.

Special Thanks to the following,
-Violet Runner for sending in Violet Runner
-Mythical_Element for sending in Soul Cards
-BronzeFog for sending in Neon Fire
-Dyl0nkour for sending in Dylan

And thanks to the others for the OC's from previous chapters.

Thank you for reading,
-Shadowflame

March 3rd (Under the Labyrinth)

Soon, I roused myself back to consciousness. My head was still spinning from the impact of the fall, but I was at least grateful to be on solid ground again. I groaned as I blinked my eyes open, a small flickering of orange crossing through my vision. Soon, my sight cleared and I found myself lying on my back in the middle of a stone corridor, a few torches lighting the area around me.

I moaned as I pulled myself back onto my hooves, and then I took a closer look around at my surroundings. The corridor I was standing in was made of stone, colored orange by the torches that were mounted on the walls, but I noticed that there were also several black vines weaving themselves in and out of the walls and ceiling.

I rubbed the back of my head, where a bruise now protruded from, Where am I? I glanced at my health bar to see that I hadn't lost any health from the fall. I stared at my health bar, confused as ever, I didn't lose any health? I was sure that a fall like that would have killed all of us.

I gasped, Wait, where's everyone else? I quickly opened up my player menu and looked at my team list. Every player had a team list to keep track of anyone they're teaming with. There, you could see their stats, their levels, and their health bars. I looked at my team list and I felt a sigh of relief escape from my mouth. I saw the health bars for Sky, Lexus, Cross, and Cloud, and they were all still full like mine. That meant that they had survived as well.

But then, something else occurred to me, Wait, where's Violet Runner and his team? At that moment, I heard a deep groan come from behind me. I turned around to see Violet Runner, rubbing his face as he sat up. I glanced at his health bar, which floated just above his head. It was still completely full, so that most likely meant that the rest of Team Calvary was okay as well.

Once up, Violet blinked a few times, a questioning look crossed his face, "Shadow? What happened?"

His eyes widened as he remembered, "Oh yeah! We fell through the ground of the maze, didn't we?"

I nodded, "Yeah. It was a pretty long fall, but luckily, none of us lost any health. Although, I haven't seen any of the others, yet."

Violet glanced around at the corridor we were in, taking in our surroundings with a bit of surprise. But then, he glanced up and his eyes widened, "Wait, if we fell... Then where's the hole we fell through?"

My eyes widened as well, as I then looked up, too. Sure enough, there was no sign of the hole that we came through. The ceiling was completely smooth stone, not even a hole or dent in it. I rubbed the back of my head, "I don't know... Maybe this is some trap that Discord rigged?"

Violet paused for a minute, lost in thought, "Maybe. But if that's the case, then he would have most likely put some monsters down here to finish us off." He paused again, "Although, come to think of it, maybe that's the reason why we didn't see any monsters before, back in the labyrinth."

I nodded, "Yeah, I guess that would make sense." We stood silent for a moment, but then I remembered, "Oh, yeah. Violet, what about the rest of your team? Are they all right?"

Immediately, Violet opened up his player menu and looked at his team list. Once he looked at it, he let out a sigh of relief, "Yeah, they're okay. They still have all of their health. "

I sighed, relieved as well. Nobody had died... yet. "Good, at least they're safe. But the problem is that we don't know where they are." I paused, but then I opened my player menu and began to compose an instant message. Violet gave me a curious look as he watched me write out the message, "So, I'm guessing your sending a message to your team members, right?"

I nodded, "Right. Even down here, they should be able to get the message. If they respond, then they should be able to tell us where they are." Within a minute, the message was finished. I read it over again, just make sure that it was good:

Hey, guys. I know you're not dead yet because I can see your health bars in my team list, so that's good. From what I can tell, we've all been separated by the fall. I'm here with Violet Runner, and we've concluded that this was a trap set by Discord. Right now, we're both in some kind of corridor, made of smooth stone and ingrown by hundreds of thorns. Where are you guys right now? See if you can find anybody else from our team or Team Calvary.

-Shadowflame

After reading through the message, I felt satisfied with it and I tapped the send button with a hoof. The message instantly disappeared and was replaced by a small box, saying: Message Sent.

I looked to Violet Runner, "Okay, now we just need to wait for a response."

Sky awoke to the sound of the message 'ping'. Groggily, Sky opened his eyes to see a small banner in his vision, reading New Message From Shadowflame. Sky quickly stood on all fours as he glanced around at his surroundings, "What... What happened?" He was now standing in a stone hallway, thorns running in and out of the stone like vines. The entire hallway was lit with torches hung by the walls.

Suddenly, Sky heard a small groan coming from his side, "Sky?"

Sky quickly turned to see Dylan next to him, "Dylan." He extended a hoof to help his younger brother up, "Are you okay?"

Dylan nodded as he took Sky's hoof and pulled himself up, "Yeah, I'm fine. Where are we?"

Sky shrugged as they both looked around at the hallway, "I don't know. I'm guessing we're probably somewhere below the Labyrinth." He turned back to the message from Shadow and opened it.

The message opened itself up into a box of text and Sky read it to himself. As he read, he was grateful to know that everyone was fine. Although, Shadow's position pretty much matched his and Dylan's. Once he had finished reading, he hit the "reply" button and began to type a return message,

I'm here with Dylan. We're both fine, but we're pretty much in the same position. The place we're in matches the description of where you and Violet are. What do we do now?

-Darkened5ky

Once it was finished, Sky hit the send button and his message disappeared. He looked back to Dylan and began to explain what he'd learned from Shadow's message.

Within a few minutes of each other, I soon received three messages from Sky, Cross, and Lexus. I read them all and I was able to put together quite a bit of information. I knew that we had all been separated into four different groups: Violet and myself, Sky and Dylan, Cross and Soul, and Lexus, Neon, and Cloud.

Each of our groups were in a similar place as me and Violet. So, I assumed that we were all underneath the Labyrinth. But if that was the case, knowing Discord, then I figured that we could be in another entirely different maze; A maze below the labyrinth. With the added information, I quickly composed another message to everybody:

Okay, listen up. It's safe to say that we're also in another maze, below the labyrinth. Right now, our top priority is to find another way out of here. Stick together in your own groups and make sure that you have each other's backs. Since we didn't see any monsters in the labyrinth, then I suspect that all of Discord's monsters will be down here. I don't want anybody to die down here. So, keep your eyes peeled and get going!

-Shadowflame

I sent the message and turned to Violet, "Okay, we should start making our way out of here."

Violet nodded as he hefted his hammer onto his back, and we began to trot down through the maze. We said nothing as we made our way through the dim corridors. It was either because we were to busy watching our surroundings, or we didn't really have anything to say at the moment.

Although, I could tell that the silence was making both of us uneasy. So, I sighed and turned to Violet, "Look, I'm sorry."

Violet raised an eyebrow at me, "What?

"I'm sorry for snapping at you back up in the labyrinth. That was wrong of me and I shouldn't have said that."

Violet shook his head, "No, I should apologize. Jupiter did put you in charge, and I was just frustrated by how long it was taking to get through the Labyrinth. Just because I started to argue with you, we ended up down here." He sighed, "I supposed it's my fault that we're down here."

I smirked, "No, it's as much your fault as it is mine. We were both frustrated and it led to this."

Violet chuckled, "Yeah, I guess that's true." He paused for a moment, "Look, Shadow. I'm sorry for saying all of those things about you and your team. You really are a good leader, and your team is amazing. After all, you were the first one to obtain an element."

I smiled, "It's fine. You don't need to apologize about that. You were actually right about one thing." I sighed, "I actually was a bit jealous of your team, and how you were treated when you guys arrived in Canterlot. Everyone was giving praise to the you guys who brought back two of the elements, but on the other hand, they gave me hardly any recognition when I brought back the Element of Courage. So, I should really be apologizing to you. I suppose it was only natural for me to snap at you. I'm sorry."

Violet smiled, "Apology accepted. Friends?"

I nodded, "Friends."

Cross and Soul walked through the corridors of the maze, weapons held at the ready. As they walked, Soul glanced at Cross, "So, what monsters do you think we should be expecting down here?"

Cross shrugged, "I dunno. I'd imagine something plant-like, considering that this place is lined with these thorns."

Soul nodded, "Yeah, I suppose your right." A long pause passed between the two of them, until Soul continued, "Although, it'd be interesting to see how well I'd fare in a fight with a living plant."

Cross smirked at him, "Well, normal plants *are* already alive. They just don't move around like an animal would." He let out a small chuckle.

Soul rolled his eyes, "Whatever. You know what I mean." Another pause passed between them. But then, Soul glanced at Cross, "Although, I do have a question."

Cross raised an eyebrow while Soul continued, "That little dragon in your group, you and him used to be your own team before you joined Team Equitum, right?"

Cross nodded, "Yeah, Cloud and I were our own team. We used to travel across Equestria to search for boss battles, but Team Equitum fought just as hard as we did, so we didn't mind joining them when Shadow asked us to."

Soul nodded, "Right, but my question is, how come both you and Cloud wear sunglasses all of the time?"

Cross paused for a moment, thinking to himself. But soon, he shrugged as he replied, "Because they look cool."

Soul raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to reply, but he didn't get to say anything. Because right then, out of nowhere, a long green vine suddenly lashed out between Soul and Cross, crashing into the wall behind them in an explosion of stone and dust. Startled, the two of them looked to see that the vine had grown out of the wall in front of them, and several others had grown out of the same wall and they were preparing to lash out at the two players like before.

Suddenly, another vine lashed out at Soul. The unicorn quickly brought up his swords and sliced the vine apart just before it hit him. Soul glanced at the walls around them to see that vines were growing everywhere around them. Another vine lashed out, and Soul quickly cut it to pieces. He turned to Cross, "RUN!"

Not needing to be told to do so, Cross began to gallop forward, avoiding the hundreds of vines as they stuck out in front of his path. Soul followed from behind, hacking off the vines that came too close to either of them.

Lexus, Neon, and Cloud all traveled through the maze, weapons at the ready. Lexus and Cloud walked on foot, seeing as they still couldn't use their wings, yet.

But then, a sudden rumbling began to shake the entire corridor, knocking everyone off balance. Small bits of rock and dirt began to fall from the walls and ceiling. Lexus cringed as the shaking continued, "Are there earthquakes in this game?"

Neon shook her head as she tried to regain her balance, "I don't think so. It must be something else."

Suddenly, the shaking stopped and out of the ceiling three, armored diamond dogs dropped down around them, claws outstretched as they prepared to attack. Cloud narrowed his eyes as he readied a bomb, "I guess we know what that quake was."

Without a moment of hesitation, Cloud hurled his bomb at the first diamond dog. The projectile exploded, the force of the bomb sending the burrowing canine back from the group. The other two leaped at Lexus and Neon, who both held their spears ready.

Lexus stabbed one of the dogs in the chest. The diamond dog let a howl of pain, and at the same time, Lexus quickly pulled out his spear from his opponent's chest. And then, whirling about, Lexus then quickly kicked the diamond dog with his rear legs, sending the dog staggering back.

Neon stabbed the point of her spear into her diamond dog. While the dog was momentarily distracted, her horn came alight with neon green flames. The flames extended into a flaming whip, which Neon then lashed out at the diamond dog with her horn. The flames cracked through the air as they collided with the diamond dog, sending it flying back against its two companions.

The three dogs laid in a crumpled heap, struggling to get up quickly. But Neon quickly flared her horn and a geyser of green flames erupted out of the ground below them. The diamond dogs howled in pain as they were burned by the flames, but their howling came to an end as their health bars dropped to zero, and they disappeared in a burst of blue code.

Lexus, Neon, and Cloud all grinned at their success. But their success was short lived, as a green vine suddenly lashed out from behind and wrapped itself around Neon's rear leg. Neon let out a startled yelp as the vine's thorns stabbed into her leg. And then, just as quickly as it came, the vine retracted, carrying Neon through the air with it.

Neon screamed as she flew through the air, almost losing her grip on her spear as the vine carried her through the corridor, "HELP!"

Instantly, Cloud and Lexus ran after their comrade who was being carried away, "NEON!"

Sky and Dylan galloped through the corridors at breakneck speed, weapons drawn for battle.

Dylan huffed as he sprinted, "What the heck was that shaking?!"

Sky kept a wary eye out in front of them as he navigated them both through the maze, "I don't know. It could have been an earthquake, which means this place could cave in... Or it was either some monster, which means it could be coming after us."

Suddenly, a shriek pierced through the air, echoeing through the halls of the maze, "HELP!" Both Sky and Dylan stopped dead in their tracks from the scream.

Dylan's eyes instantly went wide as he recognized the voice, "That was Neon! Let's go!"

But before they could move, the corridor around them began to shake violently, harder than it had before. The force of the shaking knocked both Dylan and Sky off balance, and they both struggled to find their footing.

Sky cringed as the shaking continued, "What the heck is this?!" But then, the shaking stopped as gigantic boulder of pure iron crashed down through the ceiling and into the corridor. The iron boulder, or rather sphere, landed with a deafening crash that sent Sky and Dylan staggering back from the shockwave of the impact.

Sky glanced quickly at the iron sphere to see that it took up most of the space of the hallway. There was no way anything could get around it. But then, the outside of the iron boulder rolled back shifting the shape of the sphere into one of a giant creature. Sky and Dylan gasped as they found themselves looking at a giant, iron plated, black armadillo.

Dylan's eyes widened at the sight of the creature, "Holy crap! That thing is huge!" He was suddenly cut off as the aramdillo let loose a deafening roar. Sky and Dylan both clapsed their ears with their hooves to prevent from going deaf as the wave of sound echoed through the halls of the maze.

Once the armadillo's roar had come to a halt, Sky quickly grabbed Dylan's front leg, "Run!"

Dylan nodded, and once again, the duo of brothers were sprinting down the corridors. But not far behind them, the armadillo was intent on finishing its targets, and it suddenly rolled back into its spherical form. Instantly, it began to roll through the maze with horrifying speed after Sky and Dylan.

I sprinted through the maze, Violet running right behind me. I breathed hard as I glanced at Violet, "Are you sure that was Neon's scream?"

Violet nodded, "Yeah, I'm sure. But if that was Neon screaming, then that means that she's seriously in trouble."

I nodded, "Right." We both ran forward, but then the corridor we were in ended and turned off to the left. I quickly turned the corner, but I suddenly had to stop myself at the sight that I saw. I quickly barred the way before Violet could run past me.

Having been suddenly stopped, Violet looked at me with a confused expression. But then I pointed out the path in front of us with a hoof. Violet's eyes widened as he saw that we had almost run into a pit of lava.

The lava pit extended out for about fifty feet, far too long for anypony to jump. The pit was shaped to match the walls of the corridor, making it impossible to go around it.

Violet glanced at me and then back to the lava, "What do we do now?"

I grimaced, "I'm not sure. I'll think of something." I paused as I continued to observe the lava pit in front of us. In my mind, I sighed, Lava, of course there's lava. Why does every game have to have lava in it?

But then, Violet cut off my train of thought, "Hey, look up there." He pointed a hoof towards the ceiling. I looked up to see several steel platforms high above the lava pit, suspended by metal chains on all four corners.

I nodded, "That could work... But how do we get them down?"

Violet paused until his eyes caught something on the other side of the pit. I followed his gaze to see a wooden lever hanging on the wall on the other side of the pit. Violet nodded, "That lever should be able to lower those platforms. If we can pull that lever, then we can cross." Violet glanced warily at the lever, "Although, how are we going to do that?"

I paused for a moment, but then, an idea struck my mind, "Oh, I got it." I quickly slung my sword and shield back onto my back. I took position directly in the middle of the corridor and faced towards the lava pit. I glanced back at Violet, "Hey, you might want to step back, unless you want to get burned by flying lava."

Violet quickly stepped back, "What are you doing?"

I grinned, "Magic, of course." I concentrated on my magic, activating my Blaze ability in the process. My horn glowed with its familiar red aura, but as I concentrated on the spell, the aura descended until it completely surrounded the rest of my body. With the spell ready, I reared back onto my hind legs and then charged into the pit of lava.

Right as I placed my hoof onto the surface of the lava, the lava instantly solidified into hard, volcanic rock. I continued to gallop across the lava, my spell both protecting me from the intense heat and from falling into the lava as I ran on it. With each step I took, a new patch of rock formed just below my hooves, but whenever I stepped off of one, the intense heat would instantly melt it back into lava.

Soon, I reached the end of the lava pit and stepped back onto solid ground. Gasping for breath and sweating excessively from the heat, I ended my hold on my spell and turned back to Violet on the other side of the pit.

Violet's face was spread out in a wide grin, "Dude, that was awesome! How did you know that would work?"

I shrugged as I pulled the lever on my side, "I didn't."

Violet's expression turned into one of shock, "Wow, you are crazy." Just then, the platforms lowered themselves down, coming to a halt just above the lava pit.

I grinned at Violet, "Element of Courage, remember?" I glanced at the hanging platforms, "Now hurry up and come across. The sooner we reach everybody else, the better."

Violet nodded and leaped onto the hanging platforms. As the unicorn hopped between each platform, the chains holding them above the lava would creak slightly, as if they were threatening to break free of their supports. I watched as Violet neared the end of the lava pit, patiently waiting for him to reach me. But then i noticed something suddenly jump out of the lava behind Violet.

My eyes widened to see that it was a giant skull, almost as large as me, completely covered in orange flames. Its eye sockets were filled with red lights, making the monster's appearance even more intimidating. And I also noticed where ears would usually be on a skull, the monster had a pair of white bat wings to keep it aloft in the air.

But then, as quickly as it had appeared, the skull flew through the air, straight towards the unaware Violet Runner.

I quickly shouted out to Violet, "Behind you! On your left side!" Violet's eyes widened as he quickly jumped to the edge of his platform. The skull barely missed him, flying harmlessly back into the lava pit. Suddenly, right as the first skull flew back into the lava pit, two more similar skulls flew out of the same pit heading straight for Violet.

I shouted as I drew my weapons, "Violet! Get off of there!"

Violet quickly picked up his hammer and faced the first of the two skulls. As soon as the skull came near him, Violet swung his hammer with his magic, striking the monster off to the side. But as the second skull came close, Violet quickly turned around and began to gallop across the platforms, heading towards my direction.

With one of the skulls right on Violet's heels, I glanced over to see the other two skulls come out of the lava and fly towards us. Finally, Violet stepped off of the platforms and back onto solid ground, right beside me with the flying skull in tow. I was ready, because right at the moment the skull came close, I swung my sword at the monster, cutting deep through its jaw. The monster staggered back from the blow, only to be rejoined by the other two skulls.

Violet glanced towards me, "Hey, once I fire this spell off, start running in the opposite direction." that his horn was glowing with a light blue aura.

I nodded, "Right."

Immediately, Violet's horn began to crackle with small sparks of blue electricity. A small scent of Ozone surrounded the unicorn as the sparks began to grow bigger. And then, Violet cast the spell, firing a stream of blue lightning at the three approaching skulls. The lightning exploded against the three monsters, making a small cloud of smoke.

Instantly, Violet and I turned around and galloped the heck out of there.

Sky and Dylan raced for their lives as the giant, iron, wrecking-ball of an armadillo tried to run them down. They were both getting winded from the long run. And with the fear of taking a wrong turn in the maze and ending up in a dead end, they were both on the verge of panicking.

Dylan glanced towards Sky, "What are we supposed to do about this thing?"

Sky grimaced, "From what I can tell, we won't be able to lose it in here. We could turn around and fight, but we'd either be crushed from being run over or we wouldn't be able to get through that thick shell of iron. We could possibly defeat it if we found some way to get that armadillo out of its shell, but I can't think of any way to do that." Sky glanced back at the pursuing armadillo, "Crap! It's gaining on us!"

But then, Dylan looked ahead at the path to see, not more than fifty feet ahead of them, there was a drop-off that resulted as a giant cliff. The drop-off extende for about ten feet, but then the path continued through the corridor after that. But then, Dylan noticed an outlet in their corridor, just before the cliff. Suddenly, the young earth pony got an idea.

Dylan glanced over to his brother, "Sky, turn down through that outlet." He nodded over to the outlet in front of the cliff, "I'm going to take care of this armadillo, and I don't want you in the way when I do."

Sky's eyes narrowed towards his little brother, "What-... No, you aren't taking on this monster alone."

Dylan narrowed his eyes pleadingly at Sky, "Please, trust me on this one."

Sky paused for a moment. Behind him, he could hear the armadillo nearing them, inch by inch. But then, Sky sighed, "All right, fine. But you better not get hurt. I don't want to lose you again; not after I just found you in this game."

Dylan nodded and readied his staff, eyes concentrating on the cliff before him. Next to him, Sky turned off of the path and into the outlet. Just then, the armadillo passed by him, still intent on pursuing Dylan. Dylan took a few deep breaths as he came within a few feet of the cliff, "Here goes nothing."

Instantly, Dylan planted the tip of his staff onto the ground just before the cliff. Using the natural strength of an earth pony, Dylan push down against the top of his staff and vaulted himself over the cliff. Right as he vaulted himself over the edge, Dylan shouted at the top of his lungs, "LEROOOOYYY JENKINS!"

Sky watched in both amazement and amusement as Dylan landed safely on the other side of the drop-off. The armadillo, on the other hand, wasn't as fortunate. Apparantly, armadillos aren't designed to jump over long distances, and the monster rolled off of the edge and plunged down into the dark pit below.

Sky quickly ran to the edge to meet with Dylan, a small smile across his face, "Nice one. I didn't think you could do that."

Dylan smirked at Sky, "Well, my player ability helps with that. My ability is called 'Iron Veins'. It gives me a bit more physical strength, as well as a larger amount of endurance."

Sky shook his head, "No, I'm not talking about that. I'm saying that I don't think you ever learned how to do that in your parkour classes back home. Actually, didn't you quit your parkour classes early?" The unicorn chuckled teasingly.

Dylan just rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Let's get going and find the others."

Lexus and Cloud ran as quickly as they could through the maze, chasing after the rogue vine carrying Neon.

Lexus shouted out to Neon, "Neon, you need to cut yourself loose!"

Neon cringed as she tried to speak, "I-I'm trying. But I c-can't move!"

Lexus glanced at Neon's health bar to see that it was slowly dropping in health. It was as if the vine was actually draining her of her health. But something caught Lexus' eye. It was a small, yellow symbol, shaped like a lightning bolt, right next to Neon's health bar.

Lexus cursed under his breath, "Paralysis. She can't move or use magic."

Cloud ran next to Lexus, sprinting as fast as his small legs could carry him, "How long does this vine last? It's got to end somewhere." Just then, his question was answered as the vine led the three players into a giant room, completely different than any place in the maze. All three players gasped at what they saw in the middle of the room.

It was a giant, venus fly trap. It was like an ordinary fly trap, except it had thousands of vines and thorns growing out of its base.

The vine carrying Neon pulled her through the air, stopping just above the gaping mouth of the venus fly trap. The vine dangled Neon slightly as it prepared to drop her.

Lexus' eyes widened at the sight, and quickly turned to Cloud, "Cloud!"

The dragon nodded as he pulled out two bombs, "All ready on it." Cloud quickly ran forward and threw both of the bombs into the mess of vines at the fly trap's base. The projectiles exploded in a wide radius, lighting several of the vines on fire.

The fly trap let out a piercing shriek as the explosions burned its vines. With several vines, the fly trap swatted Lexus and Cloud away. Both of them landed hard against the back wall of the room, grunting in pain as their health meters were decreased somewhat. Lexus quickly recovered from the hit to see Neon once again dangling above the open mouth of the fly trap. But then, the vine suddenly let go of Neon, dropping her down towards her death.

Lexus gasped, and without even thinking, as if it were pure instinct, his wings quickly propelled himself into the air. Flying straight as an arrow, Lexus flew through the jaw of the fly trap, grabbing Neon in mid air and pulling her to safety. Immediately after Lexus flew clear, the fly trap's mouth slammed shut, narrowly missing both players.

Neon stared with wide eyes at Lexus, still struggling to speak due to her paralysis, "Y-You're wings... You can use them here?"

Lexus smirked, "I guess so." He quickly lighted down next to Cloud, who had also caught on that he could use his wings as well. Lexus carefully put Neon on the ground and turned to Cloud, "Finish him off."

Cloud grinned through his sunglasses, "I've got the perfect thing in mind." Out of his inventory, the dragon pulled out a small, red stone, shaped to look like fire. Instantly, the dragon took off towards the mouth of the fly trap, leaving Lexus to remedy Neon's paralysis.

Once above the fly trap's open mouth, Cloud prepared to throw his fire-bomb, "Eat this!" Like a baseball pitcher, Cloud threw the fire-bomb down the fly trap's throat. Immediately, the bomb exploded in a firey inferno, catching the whole plant monster on fire. The fly trap shrieked in pain as its health bar dropped to zero, and then burst into bits of blue code.

Neon, now recovered from her paralysis, grinned as she watched the fly trap disappear into bits of code, "Ha, serves him right." She turned to Lexus, "Thanks for saving me." Immediately, she grabbed Lexus in a tight hug, saying nonchalantly, "Love ya."

Lexus was left silent for a moment as Neon let go of him. Neon smirked, "Well, let's go."

Lexus nodded, a bit unsure of how to react to Neon's hug, "Um... yeah, let's go."

Neon started back through the maze, but then Lexus noticed Cloud standing next to him. The little dragon had see the whole scene of Neon hugging Lexus, and now he held a small smirk on his face.

Lexus raised an eyebrow at the small dragon, "What?"

Cloud chuckled teasingly, "You like her, don't you?"

Lexus sighed as he rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Come on, let's go... Before Neon gets abducted by another monster."

Neon called out from ahead, "I heard that!"

Cloud simply chuckled, and both he and Lexus galloped to catch up with Neon.

Cross and Soul barreled down through the maze, the vines were gaining in on them. As they ran, Soul slashed through the mess of underbrush, both vines and thorns, that barred their way. They were both tiring out, and they wouldn't last long if they couldn't get away.

Suddenly, they turned a corner, and Cross saw a way out of the vines. It was a large pair of double doors. It was made out of wood, but if they could both get through it, then they could stop the vines from coming after them.

Cross motioned Soul's gaze towards the door, "Hey, look. There's our way out. Let's go."

Instantly, the two of them made a bee line for the door. With the vines following close behind them, Soul and Cross pulled open the two doors. Once they ran through the opening, they both closed the doors as fast as they could.

Just in the nick of time, the doors slammed shut in front of the on coming wave of vines. The vines slammed constantly against the door, but it held shut, protecting Cross and Soul inside.

Cross and Soul let out a sigh of relief as they sunk down to the ground from exhaustion. Soul groaned, "Ah, man. Vines and plants. Of all of the monsters that we had to run into, why did they have to be vines and plants?"

Cross sighed, "I don't know. But at least, it could have been worse."

Soul nodded, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"I'm just glad that we found this door. We're lucky that we ran into it."

Soul paused as he looked at the door that protected them from the vines outside. Now that he looked at it, he noticed that the door was intricately designed with wood carvings. Soul couldn't put a hoof on it, but these doors seemed familiar. But then, his eyes widened as he recognized them.

"Uh, oh. Things just got a whole lot worse."

Cross glanced at Soul, "What is it?"

"I've seen these doors before. In an entirely different place, but these are the same doors. These are the same doors that I passed through when my team retrieved the elements of Spirit and Loyalty."

Cross' eyes widened in realization, "Wait, you don't mean..."

Soul bit his lip as he nodded, "Yes... We're in the next boss room."

March 4th (The Fourth Boss)

Soul and Cross stood with their weapons drawn as they scanned the interior of the boss room. The room was in a circular shape, and the walls were made entirely of black thorns. In the center of the room, a large pool of brown, murky water sat, bubbling slightly. But the most interesting part of the boss room was that there were four doors that lined the outside walls, including the one that Soul and Cross had passed through to enter the room.

Cross glanced over to Soul, "Let's get out of here. There's no way we can beat a boss on our own."

Soul nodded, "Right. Let's go, before the boss shows up." He turned around and tried to pull the doors open with magic. But even as Soul tried to open the door, it held shut.

Soul groaned, as he released his hold on the door, "Great, it must have locked when we came through."

Cross glanced over towards the other three doors, "Hey, why don't we try those doors?"

Soul nodded, "Right." But before either of them could start towards the other doors, one of them suddenly opened.

Soul and Cross quickly stepped back into a defensive position, ready for any monsters that could be coming through. But then, their eyes widened as they saw two figures trot through the doorway. It was Sky and Dylan. Soul and Cross grinned as they called out to their comrades, "Hey, guys! We're over here!"

Dylan and Sky glanced over at the two of them, and they also waved back, grinning. Sky laughed, "Well, at least we know that you guys are safe. Where's everybody else?"

And right at that moment, another one of the doors opened up. All four of the players glanced over towards the opening to see Lexus, Neon, and Cloud join them in the room.

Lexus, upon seeing the other players, smiled enthusiastically, "Hey, guys. It looks like we've found everybody."

Sky shook his head as he looked around at everyone who was present, "Not everybody. We still don't know where Shadow and Violet are."

But then, the two doors that were open suddenly slammed shut, loudly. Cross's eyes widened as he remembered the predicament they were in, "Guys, we need to get out of here. This is the boss room!"

Everyone else, besides Soul, looked at Cross with astonished looks, "WHAT?!"

Sky glanced back towards the door that he and Dylan had come through, "Dang it, I knew there was something familiar about that door. We need to get out and find Shadow and Violet." Immediately, he began to try and pull open the door open with magic, but to no avail.

Soul groaned as watched Sky try to open the door, "It won't open. It locks itself behind you when you come in here."

Cross sighed, "Sorry, we would have warned you guys, but we didn't think to when we saw you."

Lexus frowned, "So that means that we've come through three doors, and none of them will open for us. But..." He glanced towards the remaining door that hadn't been opened, yet, "...What about that door?"

Neon shrugged, "It's worth a shot." She took a step towards the door, but then recoiled slightly as the door suddenly began to open.

Violet and I ran through the corridor of the maze, panting hard as we were pursued by three giant, flaming, airbourne skulls. I huffed as I galloped, "Man, don't these things ever stop?"

Violet was galloping as hard as I was, "I don't know. But we're going to either have to shake them off our tails or turn around and fight." Suddenly, we turned a corner, and a gigantic, wooden door came into view. Violet's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the door, "Shadow. That door."

I nodded, "Right." I flared my magic slightly, giving me a bit of a boost in my run. I raced ahead of Violet until I reached the door. I quickly pressed my body and my magic against the door, opening just in time for Violet to race inside the opening. Once Violet was through, I quickly leaped inside the doorway, slamming the door shut with my magic. At that moment, the three flaming skulls behind us barreled into the door, landing with three large THUMPS against the woodwork.

I breathed a small sigh of relief, but then I heard something behind me, "Shadow! Violet! You're here!"

I quickly turned and stared with wide eyes at what I saw. I found myself looking at rest of our group. Lexus, Neon, and Cloud stood together on one end of the circular room. Sky and Dylan stood on the opposite side of the room from them. And Cross and Soul stood on the opposite side of the room from me and Violet. We had all found each other.

I grinned, "Is everybody all right?"

Sky nodded, hesitantly, "We're all right. But we need to find a way out of here, now."

Violet raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

"Because, this is the next boss room." Soul groaned, "But we can't go back through the doors because they lock themselves behind anybody who enters."

There was a brief moment of silence before Violet and I quickly glanced at each other with a look of horror, "Uh, oh."

Suddenly, the entire room began to shake violently. I struggled to find my balance as the ground shook beneath me. But then, I noticed that giant, thorned vines suddenly shot up out of the ground, covering all of the doors around the room.

But then, the quaking stopped for a brief moment, and all of us were able to regain our balance. But in that small moment of time, the pool of murky water in the center of the room seemed to explode as something suddenly shot up out of it.

Everyone stared at what they saw. It stood over thirty feet tall, covered in gigantic, orange scales. The boss might have been tall, but everything below its neck was still in the water. Bright red scales lined the outside edges of each face of the monsters four heads. Above the boss' heads, a large health bar filled with green as the boss battle began. I drew my sword and shield as did everybody else in the room. It was clear that the only way out of here was to defeat the boss. That meant we had to fight a hydra.

I called out to my team mates, "Watch each other's backs! Each of those heads has a mind of its own. But whatever you do, don't cut off its heads!"

Suddenly, the hydra released a deafening roar. Then, out of the ground, hundreds of thorns sprung up from the ground, bound together in giant walls of plants. The walls grew up out of the ground and into the ceiling high above us, once again, seperating me and Violet from everybody else. I looked forward to see that the only open spot that the thorns hadn't covered was the pool where the hydra stood. Past the multiple necks of the hydra, I could see three other openings where the rest of my team mates were.

I cringed as I glanced towards Violet, "The vines seperated all of our groups again. It looks like we're on our own for this one."

Each of the hydra heads then descended into each of the four openings in the thorns, one per team. Violet and I readied ourselves as our hydra head raced down towards us.

I muttered to myself, "Let's do this."

Suddenly, Violet and jumped to either side of the hydra head as it came crashing down bewteen us, biting a large oprtion of the ground. It quickly jerked its head back, a large boulder held in its mouth, and without warning, the boss whipped its head and sent the rock flying towards me.

I quickly dove out of the way and countered by shooting a large tongue of fire at the hydra's head. But to my surprise, the flames merely deflected off of the hydra's scales harmlessly. Not even fazed, the hydra reared back and took another shot at us, this time aiming specifically for Violet Runner. Violet had hardly any chance to get out of the way, due to the blinding speed of the head.

Instead, Violet raised his hammer in a defensive position and braced for the blow. Immediately, the hydra slammed into Violet's hammer, forcefully pushing Violet back. Violet cringed as his health meter dropped a little bit. However, the unicorn managed to keep his footing and held the hydra in place.

In that opportunity, I quickly galloped underneath the neck of the hydra and stabbed the monster's soft under belly. The hydra roared in fury as it suddenly withdrew its head from Violet. I quickly rejoined Violet, my sword still pointed towards the hydra, "Hey, you okay?"

Violet nodded, "Yeah, but I'm not doing that again unless I have to."

Suddenly, the hydra struck at us again. We both leaped out of the way just in time to have the hydra crash down into the ground again.

I cringed as I studied the hydra head for a weak spot. The underbelly had been a good target, but if I hacked at that area too much, I could risk chopping the hydra's head off. I really didn't want to have to deal with two hydra heads, let alone one. But then, I noticed another possible weak spot: The hydra's eyes.

I glanced towards Violet just as he avoided another blow from the hydra, "Violet. I've got an idea."

"Yeah?"

"Can you knock away the hyrda if it comes close?"

Violet nodded, "Yeah, I think I can do that, but I don't think that'll do very much."

I nodded, "I know. I just need a little distraction for this to work."

Violet nodded, "Right. Just get ready, because here it comes again."

Immediately, the hydra lunged at Violet, but the unicorn quickly side stepped it. And with a giant swing of his hammer, Violet hit the hydra's head towards my direction. With the hydra slightly dazed, it gave me the opportunity that I needed. I ran forward with my sword pulled back.

As I reached the hydra's head, I shouted, "Blaze!" My sword erupted with fire as I then stabbed it through left eye of the hydra.

The monster roared in fury as it was blinded by the burning tip of my sword it reeled its head back in agony.

But then, Violet inhaled sharply, "Shadow, I think its time that we ended this hydra head. I need you to shoot a stream of fire at me when I tell you to."

I glanced at him, wide eyed, "What?!"

Violet looked back toards the hydra, "Trust me."

I didn't know what Violet was planning, but after all that time in the maze he still hadn't let me down. I nodded, "All right."

"Get ready."

Instantly, I drew in my magic as I prepared to use it. But I also saw Violet charging his magic as well. Small bolts of lightning began to leap from his horn a circle around him. The air crackled with electricity and Violet's mane stood up in multiple places. Soon, a solid sphere of lightning had surrounded the unicorn, but the hydra had also gotten over the pain in its eye.

Suddenly, the hydra reared its head back, preparing to strike again. But then, Violet shouted out to me, "NOW!"

I fired my stream of fire towards Violet, half expecting it to hit the unicorn. But instead, my stream of fire began to swirl around Violet, much like his electricity. I continued to feed Violet's sphere of energy with fire until it completely covered him.

Suddenly, the lightning and fire withdrew from Violet, condensing at the tip of his horn. The hydra lashed forward at both of us, but Violet was ready. As the hydra rushed at us, Violet shot a beam of energy out of his horn, a combination of fire and lightning.

The fire lightning crackled through the air until it met its mark in the hydra's other eye. The hydra roared in pain as the magic both burned and electrocuted its remaining eye. Both of breathing hard from using so much magic, Violet and I watched as the hydra head flailed about blindly, slamming itself against the walls of thorns around it. But then, the head backed away from us and dove back under the water, and it didn't come out again.

I breathed a sigh of relief, "Whew, that was close." I glanced towards Violet, "How did you know that would work?"

Violet chuckled as he caught his breath, "I didn't."

I smirked at him, "Hey, I'm the only one around here who's supposed to take risks."

Violet laughed, "You don't have to be the Element of Courage to do dangerous things."

I rolled my eyes, "Well, I hope your happy that you could have killed yourself there."

Violet grinned, "Element of Spirit, remember?"

Cloud, Lexus, and Neon glanced around warily at the hydra head coming towards them and the walls of thorns that had suddenly appeared.

Cloud growled to himself, "Great, it looks like we'll have to deal with this on our own." He quickly pulled out a bomb from his inventory and chucked it towards the oncoming hydra. But to everyone's surprise, the bomb simply bounced off of the hydra's scales and fell onto the ground below, not even detonating when it landed.

Neon gave a small frown, "Um, Cloud? I think that one was a dud."

Cloud nodded, "Maybe. Hold on a second." He quickly pulled out another bomb and threw it as well. However, it had the same result as the last bomb, and it fell to the ground harmlessly.

Cloud groaned, "What the heck?"

Suddenly, Lexus figured it out, "Cloud, I don't think your bombs will work in here. I'm sorry, but it looks like you'll have to sit out on this fight."

Cloud started to object, but the hydra, who had become annoyed by the harmless projectiles that had been thrown at it, lashed out at the players before him. Everyone managed to avoid the blow, only to be flung back slightly from the force of the hydra striking the ground.

Lexus glanced towards Cloud, leveling his spear towards the hydra, "Cloud, get back! Without your bombs, you're defenseless."

Cloud grumbled under his breath, "Fine. I'll see if can check on the others." With that, Cloud flapped his wings and took off towards the ceiling, high above the hydra.

Unfortunately, the hydra head attacking Lexus and Neon had noticed Cloud, and the monster turned to attack the dragon. But, the hydra was unable to, because at that moment, Neon lashed out at the hydra with a whip of neon green fire. The fire whipped against the hydra's vision, making the monster recoil.

Enraged, the hydra turned its focus back towards Neon and Lexus, only to find a dark gray pegasus flying at top speed towards it. Lexus struck at the hydra's head with the point of his spear, jabbing wounds all along the monster's scales. The hydra, enraged, snapped at Lexus with its massive jaws, narrowly missing the annoying pegasus.

From the ground, Neon had begun to charge her magic, preparing to attack the hydra with the full force of her power. But above her, the hydra was still occupied with Lexus. The hydra would constantly try to land a blow on the pegasus, but so far, Lexus had been able to avoid all of the attacks the hydra threw. That is, until the hydra managed to nip his wing with its teeth.

Lexus gave out a small yelp as a few of his feathers were torn off of his wing. With the pulling on his wing, it threw Lexus' flight pattern off balance, and he careened right into another blow from the hydra. The blow sent Lexus spinning off through the air, back towards the far wall.

In mid air, still spinning from the hydra's strike, Lexus spotted the monster coming in again for another attack, jaw wide open in an effort to crush the pegasus in its teeth. With a moment of hesitation, Lexus quickly jabbed the point of his spear up into the roof of the hydra's mouth. They hydra roared in anger, but Lexus then took the opportunity to force the rest of his spear into the monster's mouth, propping the jaw wide open.

The hydra tried desperately to get the spear out of its mouth, tossing its head this way and that. Lexus quickly flew out of range of the hydra's thrashing. Below him, he heard Neon call out,

"Lexus, get clear!"

Lexus looked down at the unicorn to see her horn completely alight with green fire. Nodding, Lexus quickly lighted down behind Neon while the unicorn focused her aim on the flailing hydra. Only a small moment passed before Neon released her spell, firing a ginormous ball of neon green fire at the hydra. Whether it was luck or skill, the fireball arched through the air and landed inside the mouth of the hydra, which was propped open by Lexus' spear.

The fireball exploded in the hydra's mouth with the force of a bundle of TNT. The shock wave from the explosion ripped Lexus' spear out of the hydra's mouth, sending it through the air and landing on the ground before its owner. Lexus quickly retrieved his spear, and both he and Neon watched as the Hydra flailed in agony as the inside of its mouth and throat were burned to a crisp. After only a moment or two, the hydra head suddenly submerged itself back underwater, never coming back up again.

"Cross, on your left!" Soul shouted as the hydra began to strike towards his comrade.

Cross quickly heeded the warning at jumped to his right, quickly countering the hydra's attack with a backswing of his hammer. The blow from Cross' hammer barely made the hydra flinch, and the monster reared back in preparation to strike again. This time, Soul ran in front of Cross, swords held at the ready. The hydra struck the ground where Soul had been before, had he not jumped out of the way. With the hydra's head within reach, Soul quickly stabbed one of his swords into the hydra's eye.

The hydra roared in pain and quickly swung its head to the side, smacking Soul back against the back wall. Soul cringed as several sharp thorns dug into his back. In his vision, Soul's health bar decreased by half.

Soul cringed, "Dang it. I should have seen that coming." But then, he noticed something. His sword was still embedded in the hydra's eye, and now he only held one sword. Soul quickly picked himself back up to see Cross hold off the hydra head by himself.

Cross quickly dogded another one of the hydra's strikes, but then he noticed that Soul's sword was still in the hydra's eye, and an idea came to his mind. Cross readied his hammer as the hydra lunged towards him again. Like last time, Cross jumped out of the way. But then, the unicorn jumped back at the hydra, just as quickly, and swung full force with his hammer, striking the butt of Soul's sword in the hydra's eye.

The extra force of Cross' hammer drove Soul's sword all the way through the hydra's eye. The monster shrieked in pain as the sword plunged through its skull, the tip of the sword just barely jutting out of the other side of the hydra's head. The hydra flailed about helplessly until it submerged itself back under water, just like the two other heads before it.

Sky and Dylan were panting hard as they continued to dodge the never ending attacks from the hydra.

Dylan cringed, "Man, doesn't this thing ever let up?"

Sky grunted as he jumped out of the way of another blow, "No, it won't. This is a boss battle, after all."

But then, instead of directly striking at the two players like it had been doing, the hydra switched tactics and swung its neck sideways along the ground. This sudden sweep caught Sky off guard and he was thrown back against the wall of thorns to his side. However, Dylan was able to react fast enough and he used his staff to vault himself upwards.

In the air, Dylan avoided the sweep, but then he landed with all four hooves on top of the hydra's neck. The hydra, now aware of the earth pony on its neck, began to thrash about, in an effort to shake Dylan off of it. But Dylan managed to hang onto the hydra, using his staff and his hooves to cling to the hydra's spikes.

Dylan hung on for dear life, shouting to Sky below, "SKY! Do something!"

Sky nodded and quickly started for the exposed underbelly of the hydra, swords at the ready. The hydra, still preoccupied by the earth pony on top of it, didn't notice Sky run up to it. Sky, now positioned squarely in front of the hydra's neck, raised his sword in preparation to strike.

But then, Sky flared his magic, and eerie, black wisps of smoke suddenly began to exude from his swords, strengthening his power. With his added magic, Sky began to let loose with a barrage of sword slashes all along the hydra's neck. Bit by bit, Sky hacked away pieces of the hydra's neck, making sure not to cut too deep and sever the entire neck. Every part of the neck that Sky hacked away disappeared in bursts of blue code.

The hydra, now aware of the pain coming from its neck, withdrew its focus from Dylan and honed in on Sky. The hydra reared back to strike, but then Dylan drove the end of his staff into the hydra's eye. The hydra roared in pain from both its eye and its neck. But after a few more well placed strikes from both Sky and Dylan, the hydra's whole neck convulsed, flinging Dylan off of its head.

Dylan landed hard against the back wall, and Sky quickly ran to aid his brother. Meanwhile, the hydra thrashed about uncontrollably, until it too finally submerged itself under the murky water in the center of the room.

I watched from where I stood as the final hydra head sank below the surface of the murky water. I felt a hint of satisfaction. We had beaten a boss by ourselves, which was no small feat.

I grinned at Violet, "It looks like we've won."

Violet smirked, "Yeah, it looks like it."

Suddenly, the walls of thorns around us withdrew and sank back into the ground. I noticed that even the thorns covering the doors had retracted back into the dirt. Soon, I could see the rest of our teams around the boss room. From what I could see, they had made it out okay as well. I glanced at everyone's health bars, and was relieved to see that nobody had dropped to the yellow zone.

But then, lightning suddenly struck through the interior of the room, and a familiar, evil laughter echoed between the walls. I cringed as readied my weapons, "Discord."

Instantly, lightning flashed and the draconequus appeared in front of us all, floating above the pool where the hydra had been. Discord laughed menacingly, "Hello, my little bronies. Long time, no see." The draconequus chuckled to himself.

Soul stepped forward, "All right, Discord. We beat your hydra. Now, where is the Element of Harmony?"

Discord rolled his eyes as he appeared behind soul, leaning an elbow on his rump, "Sorry, Soul Cards. But you still haven't defeated the hydra, yet. So, no element for you." He said as he poked a finger on Soul's nose, which Soul immediately tried to hack off with his sword. But Discord simply disappeared and reappeared in the center of the room.

I glared at Discord, "What do you mean?"

Discord smirked, "Well, you see, Shadow, I lured you all down into this maze for one reason: To destroy you. Without you and the other element bearers, then the rest of the players in this game would hardly stand a chance against what I have in store for them." Discord tisked at me, "But it was a shame that you didn't cut off any of the heads of my hydra. It turns out that I underestimated you. I was hoping for a longer battle. So, to make the fun last longer, I thought, 'Why don't I do that for you?'."

Discord snapped his fingers, and not a moment later, the hydra leaped out of the pool of water. But this time, we all stared in shock as we saw that the hydra now had eight heads, instead of four.

Discord laughed maniacally, "Have fun!" With a snap of his fingers, the draconequus disappeared. And immediately after Discord was gone, the hydra attacked.

None of us were prepared as the hydra lashed out at all of us, one head for each of us. I quickly brought up my sword and shield to brace myself from the impact of the hydra's strike, but I was knocked aside by the massive head. I flew through the air, landing hard against the thorn wall behind me.

I winced as I saw my health meter decrease even more, entering the yellow zone. I glanced back up towards the hydra head to see it coming in again for another strike. I quickly jumped out of the way, making the hydra smash face first into the thorn wall. The hydra howled in pain as dozens of razor sharp thorns dug into its scales.

But while my hydra head was distracted, I glanced around at everybody to see that they were in a similar position. I cringed as I saw that everyone's health bars had also reached the yellow zone, almost entering the red. It was apparent that we were going to have to end this soon, or else we would all die.

But then, I spotted Neon, battling her own hydra head, when suddenly, the hydra rammed her into the thorn wall. I gasped as I saw her health bar enter into the red zone, barely even a sixth of her health remaining. But before she could stand up again, the hydra head reared back its head for another strike, one that would finish Neon off.

"NEON! NO!" I quickly turned to see Lexus, flying as quick as an arrow, flew straight into the body of the hydra and slashed his spear through the monster's chest.

Suddenly, all eight of the hydra heads stopped their attacks as they all felt the same pain at once, and they all roared in synchronized pain. They all turned at once towards Lexus, who stood guarding in front of Neon. For a moment, there was only silence as we all watched the scene in awe.

Neon looked up at Lexus from the ground, "Lexus... You..."

Lexus glanced back at Neon, "Not everyone is going to survive this game... But I can make sure that you do, that all of us do. But sometimes, that requires you to sacrifice yourself." With that, Lexus spread his wings and took flight, right towards the eight heads of the hydra.

I shouted at the pegasus, "Lexus, what are you doing?! Don't!"

Lexus ignored my call as he flew right at the hydra. All at once, the eight heads of the hydra converged on the oncoming pegasus. But then, right as Lexus pointed his spear at the hydra, the closest head opened its jaw and clamped the pegasus in its mouth. I watched in horror as the hydra then swallowed Lexus.

Everyone watching gasped, "Lexus!"

Lexus clutched his spear tightly as he was pushed down the throat of the hydra. In the corner of his vision, he could see his health bar rapidly deteriorating. He cringed, I'm not going to last long at this rate. I'm going to have to make work of this if I'm going to save the others.

Soon, Lexus fell into a free fall, and he immediately flapped his wings to stop himself. It was completely dark, but if his hunch was correct, then Lexus was in the stomach of the hydra.

Lexus took in a deep breath, which made him almost gag from the reeking smell of the hydra's belly, "Okay, let's do this."

Immediately, Lexus swung his spear around blindly, slashing everything in the range of his spear. His spear cut through the inside of the stomach, and out to the other intestines of the hydra. Inside the hydra, the monster let loose a deafening roar that made Lexus' ears ring. But he couldn't stop now if he was going to bring this hydra down to its last bit of health.

Suddenly, after a short time of slashing through the hydra's innards, Lexus began to see blue specks of code begin to cover the hydra's body, meaning that the monsters health bar had finally reached zero.

Lexus grinned to himself, "Time to go." Instantly, the pegasus propelled his wings and shot back out through the throat of the head that had swallowed him.

Only a moment after the hydra had swallowed Lexus, I watched as all eight heads of the hydra began to flail and writhe about, roaring in utter pain and agony. We all had to step back against the thorn walls of the room to avoid getting crushed by the hydra's rampage.

I glanced towards Sky, "What is going on?"

Sky grimaced, "Lexus is attacking the hydra from the inside. Look." He pointed a hoof towards the hydra's health bar. I looked to see that the health bar was decreasing rapidly, more rapidly than when we had all fought it all at once.

But then, the hydra's health bar reached zero, and several blue bits of code began to coat the scales of the hydra. The blue code spread along the hydra's body until it was completely covered, and then finally, the hydra burst, ending the boss.

But just as the hydra disappeared in code, Lexus came flying out of the code, quickly lighting down on the ground before us.

I grinned, "Lexus!" I ran forward to meet him, as did everyone else, "That was both stupid and amazing. Where did you get the crazy idea to fly inside the hydra?"

Lexus smiled sheepishly as everyone gathered around him, "Yeah, I don't know how I came up with that."

But then, Neon stepped forward and gave Lexus a hug, "Looks like you've saved my life twice today. Thanks." But then, Neon's eyes went wide as she quickly retracted from Lexus, scrunching her nose, "Ew, what is that smell."

Lexus chuckled lightly, "Uh,.. Yeah, let's just say that the insides of a hydra don't have the most savory smell in the world."

I took a quick whif of Lexus, and then supressed my urge to gag, "Yeah. Lexus, I'm not letting you back into the team base until you get that smell off of you."

Lexus only laughed, but he was cut off as we all heard a large *Bling*. We all turned towards the center of the room to see a large bank of text appear in the air above the pool of water:

Congratulations! You have defeated The Hydra!

Suddenly, a bright light flashed across the screen, forming a white, shining star that began to descend towards us. Soon, the star stopped in the air, right in front of Lexus. Lexus held out a hoof and touched the small star, and the light dissipated, leaving behind a small golden necklace, with a clear, wing-shaped gem in its center, in the pegasus' hoof.

Lexus lightly tapped the necklace, revealing its object ID:

Element of Honesty (Inactive)
Object Type: Item

Suddenly, we all began to cheer. I grinned at Lexus, "Yes, I can't believe we did this! We just fought a boss single-handedly, and now you're the Element of Honesty!"

Cloud lighted down on Cross' back, "Come on, let's get out of here and show this to Jupiter."

Violet raised an eyebrow, "But what about Discord? I mean, every time we've gotten a new element, he's appeared to us, right?"

We all glanced around at the interior of the boss room, and surprisingly, there was no draconequus waiting for us.

Soul nodded, "Yeah, wouldn't Discord have shown up by now?"

We all waited for a few more moments, yet Discord still didn't appear.

Lexus shook his head, "Well, Discord did appear when he brought back the hydra. I don't know about you, but I say, 'Screw Discord.' Let's get out of here."

Cross chuckled, "Yeah, you can't really argue with the Element of Honesty here. Can you?"

I nodded, "Right, let's get out of here. Before Discord does show up and brings back a hydra with sixteen heads." And with that, we all walked out of the boss room in search of a way back to the surface.

Needless to say, after we had left the boss room, we found that all of the thorns and vines throughout the maze had shrivled up and died. I guess that the hydra was the cause of the vines to grow... Or something along those lines. But anyways, with the vines and thorns now gone, we were able to find an entrance back up to the surface.

And once we were outside, Lexus and Cloud were able to fly through the air and lead us out of the Labyrinth. When we reached the castle, several players were actually shocked to see us. They had all heard that we had gotten lost in the Labyrinth for over 24 hours, and most of them had assumed that we had all died. Well, we did give them all a nasty shock... But I guess we even surprised ourselves by defeating the hydra.

But the one who was the least surprised was Jupiter. Soon, we all stood in Jupiter's office, which was located in one of the high towers of the castle. We all stood in line with each other, with my team to my right and Team Calvary to my left.

Jupiter scanned his eyes among us as he sat behind his desk. He let out a small grin after we had told him about our adventure in the maze, and he addressed us all, "I knew you all could handle this."

But then, his grin was replaced by a look of sorrow, "Although, I must apologize first for putting you in that danger. I had no idea that I was leading you all into one of Discord's traps, let alone into a boss battle." His grin suddenly returned, "But, you have impressed me immensely, and I'm sure that you've impressed Discord even more. From what you've told me, Discord didn't expect you all to fight so well together outside of your teams."

I raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"Well, when all of you dropped down into the underground maze, did you notice that all of your usual team mates were split up and placed with someone from Team Calvary?" I nodded, and Jupiter continued, "I believe that Discord did this so that you were weakened, and thus it would have been easier to destroy you with the hydra."

Jupiter chuckled, "But you actually managed to show Discord otherwise by working together with a different team mate, and defeating every obstacle that he put in front of you. And what's more, you managed to retrieve yet another element. And that brings me to my next point. I have a proposition for you all."

Sky cocked an eyebrow, "What is it?"

Jupiter cleared his throat, "You see, you all have proven yourselves to be excellent fighters, time and time again. And the fact that both of your teams have retrieved two elements each brings me to my point." The earth pony paused for a moment, "I would like to start an elite guild, to search for the elements and to be our main battalion in future boss battles. And to begin this guild, I would like your teams to join the Elite Guild."

I raised my eyebrows, a bit astounded, "Wow, really? Are you sure?"

Jupiter nodded, "Yes, I am sure. As leader of the Elite Guild, I will send you to different areas in Equestria when your assistance is required. Other than that, you all will still be able to function in your own teams and train like you normally would. I'm sure this new guild will bring together the toughest fighters in this game and it will greatly increase our rate of progress in obtaining the elements and eventually, defeating Discord."

Jupiter looked at all of us again, "So, what will it be? Will you join this guild, or will you continue to search for the elements like before?"

I glanced back at my team, receiving several accepting looks. I glanced back towards Violet, who simply nodded to me. I nodded back, and I turned back to Jupiter, "Yes, we'll join the Elite Guild."

Jupiter nodded, satisfied, "Good, but I do hope you realize that now you will be working with Team Calvary more often."

I nodded, "Yeah, it should be a good thing. I mean, you can't actually use the elements unless you're friends with each other, right?"

Jupiter nodded, "I suppose so."

Violet piped in, "Wait, since we defeated the hydra, does that mean we're off of our punishment for disobeying orders?"

Jupiter grinned, "I don't know. Last I heard, Lexus was the one who gave the killing blow. So, you're not completely off the hook, yet. I still might call you for a favor or two."

Soul rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Just don't go asking us to pull weeds out in the Labyrinth again."

We all began to laugh out loud with each other.

Violet turned towards me, "So, are you still jealous of my team and I?"

I shook my head, "Naw, I'm pretty sure that we're equal now."

Violet nodded, "Well, all I can say is that I'm looking forward to working with your team more."

I grinned, "Same here. It's give it our all."

-Intermission- March 14th

Hey, Shadowflame here. It's been more than a week since my team and Team Calvary had gone into the Labyrinth. Well, as you probably know, Jupiter has made us part of a larger guild, just to save time in searching and retrieving the Elements of Harmony. It was only a couple of days ago, but the guild was officially created under the name, "The Knights of Harmony".

So far, in the Knights of Harmony Guild, we only have a small number of players. For a headcount, there's me and my team, Team Calvary, all of the admins throughout Equestria, and couple of strong teams stationed here in Canterlot. It's not much, but hey, we're still growing.

However, something kind of unusual has happened today. It happened while I was taking a walk through the streets of Canterlot, just to clear my mind about a few things.

You see, down under the Labyrinth, while we were fighting the hydra, Discord had said that he'd made that trap to destroy us. He said that once we were gone, the other players in the game wouldn't stand a chance against what he had in store for them. But for the past week, that has really bothered me. I didn't know what Discord was planning, but I knew that it couldn't be good.

It's true that I've talked about this to Jupiter and the rest of the guild, but nobody had any idea what to make of the matter. With all of that uncertainty, it was really putting me on edge with anxiety.

I shook my head and pushed those thoughts out of my mind as I continued to walk down the street. I sighed to myself, "Come on, Shadow. You can't be constantly worrying about that. You just need to distract yourself a bit."

But then, I caught sight of a newspaper stand on the side of the street, giving out the most current issue of the Equestria Daily for today. I smiled a bit, "Perfect. I haven't read today's paper, yet.That should take my mind off of things for a while."

I trotted up to the stand and placed two bits on the stand's countertop. Soon, my money was exchanged with a newspaper. Gratefully, I picked up the newspaper and began to trot back down the street. As I walked, I read the front page of my paper:

Haters Have Struck Again!

The notorious Haters' Guild has struck again, this time outside the city of Las Pegasus. The attack took place at 11:06 AM, inside the cavern dungeon just outside of the city. Their target was a team of players known as Team Dragon, who had been training there since that morning. There were five players in this team when the attack began. However, there was one survivor from Team Dragon: A pegasus mare known as Meadow Breeze.

After she had escaped the attack of the Haters' Guild, Meadow ran to the admin in Las Pegasus. From her, we were able to collect information about the Haters' Guild and their operatives. She was able to give us the names and appearances of this team from the Haters' Guild (See page 3A for further details).

Much like the Guild's attack last week in Vanhoover, this attack was an ambush. This is where the Haters closed off any escape for their target and then killed every player of that group. However, since no one saw the haters from the Vanhoover attack, we cannot verify that this group of attackers was the same one who were behind the attack a week before. It is possible that either this group of haters are on the move, or the Haters' Guild has many teams working underground throughout Equestria.

Whether this is true or not, every admin has advised to keep your ears open for any more information regarding the Haters' Guild. It is also advised that no players should be outside of their city or town after sunset. This has been a message from Head Admin, Jupiter.

I sighed as I finished reading the passage. The Haters' Guild had become more active in the past weeks. With these sudden occurances of attacks, everyone was worried about them. I wouldn't be surprised if they were, because with four more deaths, that brought the grand total of deaths in ELO up to 172. That meant that there was only about 928 of us left.

To read the rest of the story on the attack, I turned to page 3A. But to my surprise, I found a wanted poster on the page. And it was a wanted poster for one hater that I had met several weeks ago: Ezekiel.

I glared at the pegasus' picture. Even after all this time, I could remember the time when he had attacked my team. He was a ferocious fighter, and he was relentless. The combination of these two aspects meant that he'd cut down anyone he fought, even if they were pleading for mercy.

I sighed, as at that moment, I got the feeling that I hadn't seen the last of Ezekiel. I knew he was going to appear again, but when that was going to happen... I just didn't know.

I turned the page of the newspaper and my eyes widened at what I saw:

It's Party Time!

Head Admin Jupiter of Equestria Legends Online has invited you to the party of a lifetime. We know that you've been working hard in the game, but now is the time to take a load off and have fun. This includes a night of dancing, laughing, playing games, and competitive dueling. Treats will be served and music will be provided. So come in and have a blast!

Time: March 21st. Party begins at 5:00 PM and goes in throughout the night.
Place: Canterlot Castle
(Warning: You will be searched for lethal weapons upon arriving. No one may have weapons or attacking items equiped unless you are in the dueling ring.)

Everything will be organized by courtesy of The Knights of Harmony

See You There Soon!

Immediately, I threw down my paper and ran towards the Canterlot Castle. With the knowledge of the Haters' Guild's growing attacks, and with my uncertainty about Discord, only one thought ran through my head, Jupiter, are you out of your blasted mind?!

Special: February 22nd (The Second Element)

Hey, guys. Shadowflame here.

So, here it is. A first ever, completely fan-written chapter of ELO. Now, you can thank Violet Runner for this unexpected chapter. Seriously, I had no idea that he was even working on this until he PM'd me this whole chapter. It did surprise me a lot, and it seemed like a good way to hold you guys back from ripping out my throat before I finish the next chapter. So, without a further ado, let's travel back in time and see what Team Calvary did before they arrived in Canterlot.

It has been exactly one month since Discord trapped us in this game. Well, just like every other player, I spent the first few days power-leveling up with a few of my friends from the real world, who also became part of my team. Unfortunately, we lost a few members in the weeks that followed after being trapped by Discord.

Although, inside this game, I'm actually pretty skillful, and not just when it comes to fighting. According to the player's guide, my ability is called Bolt, which allows me to use Electricity type magic and it also gives me an edge in crafting items. I also find that it takes up less of my magic power to channel it through a hammer, rather than through a sword. So, I use one as my primary weapon, which is cool because I’ve always preferred playing as a paladin whenever I played other MMORPGs.

But concerning my abilities, I have also found that if I charge my body with electricity, I can create a sort of electromagnet around myself for other types of magic, which I can then unleash in one big burst of magic. However, it takes a lot of magic to do this, so I only use it as a last resort.

Anyways, our team’s name is Team Calvary, because on more than one occasion in the past month we have ended up saving a few low level players. Our team consists of: Me, Soul_Cards; a gray unicorn stallion with a black mane, streaked with red and a cutie mark resembling an ace of hearts playing card. Neon Fire; a gray unicorn mare with neon green colored mane, tail and eyes. Her cutie mark was a neon green fireball. And Dyl0nkour, the youngest member of our group; a short, maroon, earth pony colt, his mane and tail were a dark, olive green color and his cutie mark was the silhouette of a guy in midair, doing a back flip.

A few weeks ago, my team and I received orders from Canterlot to head for Manehattan and to start looking for a boss chamber there. I found it a bit ironic that I was stuck as my OC and we were positioned to his home town.

Anyways, unlike Ponyville, Manehattan was split into four different districts: The first of these were the Residential District, which was filled with empty buildings that players could use as their team bases, and the Business District, where all the shops were located. These first two districts were “safe zones”, which meant that they were free of monsters. However, the other two districts, the Port and Industrial Districts, were full of them.

The Port District had giant dock spiders, as well as these giant squid looking things that resembled Bloopers from an old game my dad once showed me called “Super Mario Sunshine”. It also had tons of warehouses and ships that you could explore. There were also chests and crates, with items and weapons hidden inside them, but they were guarded by high level monsters. So, it was best to level up before attempting to go there.

The Industrial District had steam and clockwork powered golems and robots. These monsters were pretty tough, as they were made of machinery, but they could be taken down easily if you knew their weak spots. The Industrial District also had tons of warehouses, filled with items and such. But, it also had a few forges and materials for crafting weapons and other items, if you knew where to look.

Ever since the player named Shadowflame beat the first boss and received the Element of Courage, we now had a basic idea of what the door to the boss room would look like. However, ever since the first element was found, the monsters in the area had gotten a lot stronger and there have been a lot more deaths.

A few days ago, the groups in charge of The Port District finished their search for the door to the boss room and turned up with nothing. Everypony's focus was now on The Industrial District, where my team was. So far, we’ve managed to search through most of the buildings, so there weren’t a lot of places left to look. It wasn’t too long before a scouting team managed to find the boss door leading into one of the district's warehouses. And now, with the boss room found, it was time to rally together and fight this boss.

I got out of bed, equipped my gear and walked to the kitchen to get some breakfast. I wanted to at least get something to eat before heading to The Business District, to stock up on supplies for fighting the boss. I also intended for my team to get some training done, before it was time to meet up with the other groups for the boss battle. When I got into the kitchen I saw that my team was already waiting for me.

“Morning guys,” I greeted them.

“Morning,” some of them greeted back.

“So, you guys ready to fight the boss today?” I asked, grabbing a slice of toast off a plate in the middle of the table.

Dylan glanced towards me warily. “To be honest, I’m kind of nervous about it. I mean, only the player who’s supposed to be the Element Bearer can finish off the boss. But what if no one in the battle is the Element Bearer? Or what if he gets killed before he can deliver the final blow?”

“Don’t worry. With so many players going in, someone is bound to be the Element Bearer,” I reassured him, trying to raise his spirit. “Now, we still have about two hours to kill before we have to meet up for the boss battle. So, who’s up for a trip to the Port District for some training?” They all cheered as they finished their breakfast and prepared to leave. And soon, we all departed for the Port District.

For the next hour or so, we trained in the Port District, fighting against squids and dock spiders. Luckily, nothing too extreme happened while we were training.

An hour and a half later, we walked into The Business District to start preparing for the boss battle. So, we began to start browsing through all the items up for sale. We split up to get everything we thought we would need for the upcoming battle. None of us had ever been in a full dive, virtual reality boss battle, so none of us knew what to expect.

As I browsed through the healing potions and some other items, I noticed a weird, mustard yellow potion in a small bottle in the shape of a fairy.

“What’s this?” I asked the NPC Shop keeper.

“It’s a spirit potion. It raises the spirits of your party members and temporarily increases their attack and defense, as well as decreasing the amount of mana used for spells. It is very rare.” The NPC explained as I selected the item.

The Potion cost 700 bits, which was almost out of my price range. I had more than enough bits, but I always put a budget on how much I spent in a day. I contemplated whether or not I should buy it, but I decided to go ahead and get it. I handed over the bits and put the potion into my inventory. It was almost time for the pre-boss meeting, so I went to go find my team mates.

“Hey, Violet!” Soul Cards called, waving a hoof towards me.

He and the rest of my team were hanging around a statue in the middle of the District. They had all traded in their weapons for better weapons that fit their new levels from the training we did earlier. Soul had two new swords strapped to his back, Neon had a new long spear and a metal shield, and Dylan had a long, wooden Bo staff.

“So, everyone ready for the Boss battle?” I asked, as I saw people starting to head towards The Industrial District.

“Yep,” Neon Flame nodded, checking that she had everything.

“Alright then, let’s go!” I said excitedly, leading the way. When we got to the meeting place just outside of the Industrial District, a crowd had already formed. The Admin of Manehatten, an earth pony named Dan_The_Man, began his pre-battle speech.

“Okay, in a few moments we are going to begin our assault on the Boss room,” he began. “We’ve already sent a few teams ahead to sweep the area for any monsters, so the short trip to the boss room should be relatively easy. As for what we can expect to find in there; from what we’ve heard from Ponyvile, we can expect the boss to resemble the monsters found in the area." He then turned towards me, "Violet Runner?”

“Yes sir.” I said, stepping forward.

“As I understand it, you and your team have been using this area for your training, and thus, you have the most experience dealing with the enemies in this district.” Dan said.

“Yes, that’s correct,” I replied, nodding my head.

“In that case, I would like you and the rest of Team Calvary to lead the attack.” He waved a hoof towards the Industrial District, calling us forward. “Alright, if no one has any questions, let’s go,” he ordered, leading the way to the Boss Room.

After a short, ten minute walk, we arrived in front of a previously unexplored warehouse with giant double doors, which were covered with markings and designs similar to the first boss room door. Dan stopped us all just in front of the double doors and then glanced towards me as everyone gathered around.

“Okay, before we go in, do you have any advice for everyone?”

“Yeah." I turned around towards everyone else.

"Okay, the enemies we are most likely going to encounter are Steam powered Golems and Clockwork Robots. Now, the Golems are slow in speed, but they have a strong defense. They attack with blades that come out of their hoofs and they also have thick armor that’s resistant to most magic. Their main weak points are the gaps between their joints and on their neck. But every once and a while, they open up to release steam. At that point, you want to attack their exposed control crystal.”

I cleared my throat. “The Robots on the other hand, though they have a weaker defense, they have speed and agility on their side. They attack with saws attached to their left hands and can shoot small projectiles out of the right. Their main weak points are their joints and their exposed clockwork.”

“Ok, everyone ready?” The Admin asked, turning to face the door as everyone cheered. “Then let’s do this!” He said, opening the door.

When everyone was inside the doors closed and a bunch of lights turned on. Positioned in the middle of the room was giant steam powered robot, entirely in shambles on the ground. The frame work of the robot looked as if it had been torn apart, and its outside hull was rusting as well.

“What a piece of junk!” I said shaking my head at the pitiful excuse for a machine.

Suddenly, an evil laugh filled the room.

“A ‘piece of junk', you say?” A familiar voice asked. “Well let’s see how you like this.”

All of the sudden, the Robot sprung to life with a hiss of steam and the grinding of gears as a bunch of smaller robots and golems started to fuse with it, making it look more menacing. It had two saw arms and two arms, with hands that I assumed it could use to pick up players and chuck them across the warehouse. That is, if it didn't crush them first. Above its head was its heath bar and its name: The Clockwork Giant.

As the Clockwork Giant pulled itself together, other golems and robots started to form ranks in front of it. It was clear that in order for us to reach the giant, we would have to fight our way through them.

“Alright, everyone. Attack!” Dan yelled, charging forward and cutting a path through the swarm mechanical monsters.
Several players, including my team, started following his lead, charging in and attacking the monsters head on. The rest of our attacking force stayed behind and began to fire projectiles, both arrows and offensive spells, at the Clockwork Giant and the mechanical monsters.

After clearing through about three dozen golems and robots, which seemed to appear just as fast as we knocked them down, Neon, Dan, and I managed to get within attacking range of the Clockwork Giant. Behind us, all of the other players were preoccupied by the other golems and robots that instantly spawned in before them. That left Dan, Neon and I to fight the giant ourselves.

The boss instantly swung one of its saw hands knocking Dan away, sending him, as well as some of the nearby golems and robots, into the far wall. The Clockwork Giant then reached down with one of its hands in an attempt to crush us, but Neon and I managed to just dodge it. At that moment, Soul and Dylan broke through the line of golems and robots barring the path to the boss. Dan managed to recover and joined us as we dodged a couple of projectiles that came our way.

“Ok, what do you guys make of this giant?” Dan asked, taking out a robot as it spawned next to him.

“Well, it seems to be a combination of both the golems and the robots- DUCK!” Soul shouted as The Clockwork Giant swung one of its saw arms again, narrowly missing all of us.

“It has two saw arms and two arms with hands that can shoot projectiles out of the holes in its palms.” Neon said, jumping out of the way of an incoming fist.

“Anything we don’t know?” Dan asked sarcastically, grunting right as a golem spawned in front of him.

“Yeah,” I said, as Neon shot out a stream of green fire taking out a couple of projectiles. “Even though Discord made this thing really OP, it seems to be extremely slow and attacks at regular intervals and in the same pattern; First saws, then hands, then projectiles.”

Dylan interjected. “Its armor is probably designed to withstand both magic and physical attacks, but I noticed when it swings its saw arms, a shoulder part is exposed. Plus, there’s a few seconds delay when it opens its palms to fire projectiles.” He quickly ducked as two saw blades swept over his head.

“If we could find a way to take out at least two of the arms, we should be able to take it down,” Dan said, jumping back at the two hands clapped together. “Got any ideas?”

“Maybe. Soul?” I called to my friend, after I just barely dodged a golem.

“Yeah?” He called back.

“You have any bombs left from training? -Agh!” I winced as a golem nicked my front leg.

“Yeah, I’ve got about ten left. Why?”

“When I give the signal, I want you to throw some of them into the Boss’s palms.”

“Right, I think I know what you’ve got in mind.” Soul said taking out the control crystal of a golem.

“Okay, ready?" Soul nodded as he pulled a few bombs out of his inventory with his magic. Immediately, the Clockwork Giant raised its hand and the holes opened.

"NOW!”

Soul, flaring his magical grip on the bombs, threw the projectiles right at the openings in the giant's hand. When the bombs entered the holes, they closed up and a few seconds later the bombs exploded in a raging fire. The Boss let out a metallic shriek as his heath bar dropped dramatically.

“Yeah, that got him!” Neon cheered.

Soul Card grunted as the giant quickly recovered, jumping out of the way of an incoming saw arm. “Yeah, but now I only have one bomb left.”

“And it looks like he’s gotten faster,” Dan commented, as a hand took a swipe at him.

“It looks like he’s out of projectiles, though,” Dylan said, jumping out of the way of a saw.

Neon quickly downed a heath potion, returning her health bar to full. “We should still take the hands out just to be safe.”

“Any ideas?” Soul asked.

“Yeah, cover me,” Neon said, as she suddenly jumped onto the back of one of the giant's hands after it slammed hard into the ground.

Neon proceeded to run up the length of the arm, cutting at the giant's internal wires, which dissolved into blue code as Neon destroyed them. Suddenly, as she neared the elbow of the arm, one of the saw arms lashed out in an effort to sweep her off. Neon didn't hesitate as she quickly launched a stream of green flames, heating up the metal on the giant's joints. At the last moment, the unicorn shouted a war cry as she did a back flip off of the giant and the saw blade cut right through its arm.

The Clockwork Giant let out another metallic scream as his heath bar dropped into the yellow zone. The disembodied arm fell to the ground with a loud BANG before dissolving into blue code.

“We got him on the ropes! Come on, we can do this!” I shouted excitedly.

Just then, a huge wave of Golems and Robots spawned and started to attack. Their sudden appearance managed to push us back.

“God damn it,” I shouted, sending blast after blast of electricity at the mob of enemies.

Suddenly, a nearby player shouted “Help! I’m being overrun!”

“Neon, Soul.” I gestured for them to go help the other player.

“Right,” They replied, quickly charging through the mob to aid the endangered player.

Dylan cringed as he took out a couple of robots. “Gosh dang it, don’t these guys ever take a break?"

“Apparently not,” Dan replied, taking out a couple of golems that had opened up their armor. Just then, Neon and Soul ran back to join us.

I glanced towards Soul as he ran up beside me. “Hey Soul, doesn’t this remind you of something?”

“You mean that time when we played W.o.W.? And you thought it would be a good idea to just Rambo our way through Gnomeregan at level 15?” He asked, looking around.

“Eeyup. You remember how we got out?” I asked, with a smile on my face.

“Oh, yeah! Boom and Doom Time!” Soul said, pulling out his last remaining bomb. “Remember, we only get one shot at this.”

I nodded. “If we time it right, we should be able to clear out most of the enemies and we just might deal some damage to the boss in the process.” I looked around at the vast number of golems. I waited for only a moment before a few of the golems' armor opened up to release steam. As soon as their armor opened, I shouted “NOW!”

Soul threw his bomb into the air as I electrified my hammer. I quickly swung my magically powered weapon at the bomb, sending it flying into the nearest golem. But in the moment that my hammer had connected with the bomb, the electricity in my weapon had transferred into the bomb, enhancing its blast power.

“EVERYBODY GET DOWN!” I shouted, as the golem's armor closed around the electrified bomb.

A few seconds later, the bomb exploded inside the golem, destroying it and the other golems and robots nearby. It started a chain reaction as electrified robot parts flew through the air, destroying anything they came into contact with.

Luckily, everyone had ducked and managed to survive the blast. As we got back up, we saw that the wave of robots and golems was back down to a manageable number. I then noticed that one of the boss' saw arms was missing, apparently blown off by the electrifying blast. I also noticed that the boss' health bar was in the red. However, most of the players in our attacking force had the same problem. There were only about two dozen players who's health bars weren't in the red.

“The Boss is weak! Attack!” Dan shouted as he charged forward.

Just as everyone began to charge, the Boss switched tactics and began to charge forwards as well, knocking dozens of players out of its way.

Dylan cringed as he jumped out of the rampaging giant's path. “Agh! What do we do now?”

But then, I noticed a crystal planted on the Boss's back, “Look there!” I said, pointing a hoof towards it. “That must be its control crystal. If we can destroy it, it should finish it off!”

“There might be a couple of problems with that,” Neon said.

“What?” I asked, turning to face her.

Neon explained. “Well, all of the pegasi are down for the count, the archers are out of arrows, and we are seriously low on mana!”

“Damn it,” Dan cursed in frustration.

“What are we going to do now?” Soul asked. “There is no way we will be able to survive long enough for our mana to recharge.”

“Wait a minute, I've got an Idea!” I grinned. Immediately, I opened up my player's menu and pulled out the Spirit Potion that I had bought earlier.

“Wait, is that a Spirit Potion?!” Dan asked.

“Yeah, I bought it in The Business District before the battle,” I replied.

Dan grinned widely, “Awesome. That just might be what we need to turn this fight around.”

Dylan glanced at the potion curiously. “Why? What does it do?”

I answered, repeating what the NPC told me when I bought the potion. “It raises the spirits of our party members and temporarily increases our attack and defense, as well as decreasing the amount of mana used for spells. They are supposed to be very rare.”

“Rare? That’s an understatement.” Dan said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Only one appears every month, and if no one buys, finds or uses it by the end of the month, it disappears.”

“Wow! Good thing I bought it when I did,” I said looking at the small yellow bottle. “So how does it work? Do I drink it like a regular potion or…”

“Yes,” Dan explained. “You drink it, and its power should spread from you to friendly players around you.”

“Okay." I raised the potion in the air in a small 'toast'. "To surviving this game.” I then began to drink the potion.

Almost instantly after finishing the potion, I started to feel its effects. First, I felt like I could go ten rounds with Chuck Norris. Second, most of the pain from the battle had disappeared. Third, my body started to glow a faint yellow, as did my teammates, Dan, and a couple of players fighting nearby.

“Dude, this is awesome,” Dylan said, swinging his Bo staff quicker than he could before.

I grinned. “Let’s do this!”

Soul, Neon, and I started firing magic bolts at the crystal. Dylan pole vaulted into the air with his Bo staff, and he and Dan both threw throwing knives at it. The Clockwork Giant screamed as the combined attacks hit its crystal, almost depleting his heath bar completely.

Dan glanced at the giant's health bar. “One more attack should do it! But only the element bearer can kill this thing, and the potions effects won’t last much longer.”

“Then everyone in the room will have to quickly take turns attacking the crystal until it dies.” Soul said.

“OK EVERYONE, AIM FOR THE CRYSTAL!” Dan shouted at the remaining players.

Everyone in the room quickly circled around the boss and, one by one, sent their own attacks at the crystal. But,none of the attacks damaged the giant whatsoever.

“Damn it, it’s not working,” Dan cursed angrily.

“Okay, my turn.” I said, stepping forward as electricity began flowing around me. “Soul, distract the boss. Neon, hit me with all of the mana you have left!”

“Are you insane? The potion’s about to wear off, and you pick now to commit suicide?” Dan asked, a little confused and angry.

“Trust me,” I replied. I could already feel the distinct electrical field surrounding me. “Neon?”

“Right,” she nodded, firing a stream of green fire at me.

The stream of green fire began to swirl around me until I was completely covered. I then concentrated, and the lightning and fire withdrew from my body, condensing at the tip of my horn.

“Discord,” I said with a small smile on my face, just as the Clockwork Giant turned around so the crystal was facing towards me. “Prepare to kiss your bot goodbye. ELECTRIC NEON FLAME!” I shouted, firing the combination of fire and lightning at the crystal.

The combined attack hit the crystal, causing it to shatter. The Clockwork Giant’s health reached zero, and it burst into a bunch of blue code.

“YES!” I shouted, before falling to the ground, exhausted.

Just then, a large computer window opened up in the air where the boss had been standing.

Congratulations! You have defeated The Clockwork Giant!

“Alright, who’s not dead? Everybody gather around!” Dan called out, just as the last of the golems and robots fell dead.

Everyone began to gather around as Soul helped me up. A small window of text appeared in front of me.

You've gained the last-hit bonus. You receive a rare item.
-Electric Sledgehammer

I tapped the item name with a hoof, and instantly, my hammer was replaced with the new one.

“Awesome,” I grinned, as I opened my inventory to check its stats.

Suddenly, a bright light appeared in the center of the boss room, and everybody's cheers quieted. I shielded my eyes from the blinding light. When it dimmed, I glanced at the light to see a small object inside it; the next Element of Harmony.

The element floated down, and stopped just in front of my face. The element was in the form of a necklace, like the one depicted in the news, but this one had a gear-shaped gem in its center. I reached out and took it with a hoof. I tapped a hoof on it, and a small window appeared above it.

Element of Spirit (Inactive)
Object Type: Item

“Element of Spirit?” Soul asked, confused.

I shrugged. “I guess it’s one of the new elements Discord made.”

“Well, two down, eight to go,” Dan said, happily.

Suddenly, a loud, evil chuckling echoed through the boss room, startling everyone. We all turned to see Discord standing in front of the door.

"Discord!" Dan glared at the Draconequus angrily.

“Congratulations on defeating the Clockwork Giant,” Discord chuckled, taking a mock bow. “Of course, we both know it was only possible because of that potion. Isn't that right, Violet Runner?” He suddenly appeared next to me. I turned to hit him, but he had already vanished, reappearing in the rafters of the boss room. “Which is why in addition to making all the monsters in the game stronger, I’ve decided to make the Spirit Potion even rarer by making it only appear once every 2 months,” He said with a laugh.

“Well I guess that’s all for now. Bye!” he said, before disappearing. As soon as the Draconequus was gone, the doors of the boss room re-opened.

I frowned as I glanced towards the open doors. "Come on, let’s go."

I then began to lead everyone out of the boss room and through the Industrial District. Even though most of the players managed to survive the boss battle, a few people died on the way back when we were ambushed by a bunch of golems that had decided to take advantage of Discord's power boost. Luckily, most of the players managed to level up enough during the boss battle, so those who were strong enough made it back to the Residential District.

But after the ambushes on our way back, I glanced around at all of the players to see many of them weeping or mourning for their dead friends. Even just by watching them, I felt a pang of sorrow and sympathy towards the ones who had lost their comrades. Before my team came to Manehatten, several of my friends had died.

I cringed as I glanced down at the Element of Spirit, which I now wore around my neck. All because of this game, so many of us had to die. But why would anyone be so cruel as to slaughter the defenseless, like the monsters that ambushed the weakened players after the boss battle? Why..?

I clutched my element in a hoof, whispering to myself, "Discord, I hope I fight you in the end. Because when I do, I'll be fighting for my friends that you murdered. And I swear, I will not hold back."

After everyone returned to the Residential District, they retired to their own bases, exhausted from the battle against the Clockwork Giant. In fact, nobody did any more training for the rest of that day. We all took the time to recollect ourselves, and to mourn for the ones that we had lost. It was break that we all desperately needed.

Two days later, there was a knock on the door of our base. When I opened it, Dan was standing on our doorstep.

“Hey Dan,” I greeted. “What brings you here?”

“I just got a message from our Head Admin, Jupiter,” Dan explained. "He wants you and your team to head to Canterlot, where your element will be locked away for safekeeping.”

I nodded. “Alright, I’ll tell my team and we’ll be on our way ASAP.”

“Good. I’ll meet you at the city gates in an hour,” he nodded, before turning to leave.

I closed the door, and went to inform the rest of my team. When I got into the main room, I saw Soul reading a message in his player's menu.

He glanced up from the message, “Hey, Violet.”

“Hey, I just spoke with Dan." I explained. "He delivered a message to us from Canterlot. We’re to pack up and head there, so my element will be kept safe.”

“We can’t."

I raised an eyebrow, "Why not?"

"Well, not yet anyway. I just got a message from my cousin in Fillydelphia,” Soul explained, closing the message. “She’s asking for our help with the boss battle there. Apparently they’ve already sent two groups into the boss room, and no one’s been able to defeat it.”

I cringed at the predicament, rubbing the back of my neck. “I don’t know. I really don’t want to make Jupiter mad. What if went to help your cousin and something happens? What if I lose my element? Jupiter would be pissed at me.”

“Why? Do you know him outside the game?" Soul asked.

“Sort of, but I’d rather not talk about it,” I replied, trying to avoid the subject.

“Okay, but I can’t just leave my cousin hanging,” Soul said, almost pleading.

I paused for a moment as I tried to figure out what to do. Finally, I came to a conclusion. “Alright, gather the rest of the team.” I began walking towards the door. “Once we leave for Canterlot, we'll take a detour into Fillydelphia. But we can't let anyone else know, or else we'll have loads of trouble on our hands.”

Author's Notes:

That was a pretty good special chapter, right?

Although, if this gives any of you guys an idea to write your own chapter, MESSAGE ME FIRST BEFORE YOU EVEN START WRITING IT!! I may disapprove the chapter idea and I don't want you to have already written the whole chapter when I turn it down. I want to limit the amount of chapters this story has, but if you can impress me with an idea for another chapter, then I will approve it.

And as to who writes it, it can be either written by yourself, or if you suck at writing, then I can write it if I like the chapter idea; But only if I like the idea for it! I do not want any more surprises dropped on me! (I'm not talking to anypony in particular, other than VIOLET RUNNER!)

Anyways, thanks for reading,
-Shadowflame
-Violet Runner (Co-author)
-Darkened5ky (Proof Reader and Editor)

March 21st (A Party?... In Canterlot?!)

Hey, Shadowflame here.

Well, the day had finally come, whether I agreed with it or not. Today, the Knights of Harmony would be hosting a party in the Canterlot Castle. Truthfully, everyone was excited for a party. They really needed some fun or some time to relax after working in this game for so long. Of course, even though I too was excited about the idea for a party, I was also wary about the event.

I sat on the bed in my room, at the Team Equitum Base. All of my other team members had already gone to the Castle to help set up for the party, leaving me on my own until the celebration actually started.

I sighed as I recalled my argument with Jupiter, just prior to my learning of the party:

I growled at Jupiter, very frustrated, "Are you out of your mind, Jupiter? The Haters' Guild has already made two attacks on different teams across Equestria, and you choose now to have a party?"

Jupiter nodded, his face emotionless as he sat behind his desk, "Yes, Shadow. Even though we are still in this murderous game, there's no rule that we can't have some fun every now and again. Besides, you have worked constantly to find the other elements, along with your team and Team Calvary. And thanks to your efforts, we've been able to sweep the surrounding area clean of any possibilities for a place where the elements are hidden."

But, Jupiter could easily tell from my angry expression that I wasn't convinced. The admin sighed, "Look, Shadow. I know that you're worried about everybody's safety during this party, due to the increasing attacks from the Haters' Guild, but do not worry. I have thought this through.

"You see, I have sent out the party invitations all across Equestria. If my calculations are correct, dozens of players will travel from their towns and cities to Canterlot. With all of us who are already here, and the number of players travelling to Canterlot, our numbers would be too large for the Haters' Guild to try to strike us. As for the other players who will stay out in their own towns, I've informed the admins that they all need to be on high alert for any suspicious activity."

He then turned towards me as he stood up from his desk, "But if it makes you feel any better, Shadow. Seeing as the Knights of Harmony will be the ones to organize this party, I would like you to do your part in making preparations by being the head of security."

I raised an eyebrow, "Why me?"

"I'm choosing you because so far, you're the one who has shown the most concern for everybody's safety. Not just with this party, but ever since you first came here to Canterlot." Jupiter paused, "But I am curious, does this have anything to do with Rex, before he died in the first boss battle?"

I winced at the memory, but I nodded, "Yes. Before the battle, Rex told me to do whatever I needed to, so that the ones I fight alongside survive. I promised that I would live out that rule until we finished this game, and I'm sticking to it."

Jupiter nodded, "I see. But nonetheless, I believe the best way to fulfill that rule would be to protect everyone in this party. Thus, I am appointing you as the Head of Security."

I nodded, "Fine. How do I get started?"

I sighed as I glanced towards the clock in my room: It read 4:00, which meant there was only an hour left before the party actually started. But that also meant that it was time for me to leave and make security checks around the castle.

I stood up onto my hooves, and opened my inventory. I glanced towards the icons that represented my weapons and my usual armor: My Shadow Cloak. Seeing as I was part of security, you'd think that I would take my weapons and cloak. However, being the Head of Security, I was allowed to enjoy the party, as long as I kept up to date with the other guards.

So, I didn't equip my weapons or cloak, but I did select my sword. In the game, if an item is "selected", then a player wouldn't need to open up their player menu to equip/use it. They could instantly bring the item out of their inventory without opening their menu. With my sword selected, I could easily equip my sword if I needed it.

After making my preparations, I turned and ran out of my room and began to make my way to the castle.

"...Now remember, no player is to be allowed into the castle grounds if there are any lethal weapons found on them. That includes poisoning, paralysis, or burning attributes. Got it?" I glanced towards the troop of twenty players in front of me, all of whom Jupiter had assigned to act as guards during the party.

All of the guards nodded, "Yes sir."

After I had arrived to the castle, Jupiter had led me to the ballroom, where the main party would be taking place. It was there that he also left me with the guards for me to give orders. As I was instructing the guards, several players from the Knights of Harmony were bustling about the ballroom as they prepared for the party. However, the guards and I ignored them as I continued with my instruction.

"Good. Now, the party starts in just a half hour, so get to your stations ASAP. During the length of the party, I will check each of your posts at random. So, none of you should be sleeping on the job. Also, the rule is that two guards must be present at one station at all times. Do not leave another guard unattended, or else you will answer to me and then to Jupiter. Got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

I nodded, "Now, get to your stations. Party guests will be arriving any minute, so start searching them for any weapons. Dismissed."

At once, all of the guards ran to get to their stations. I smiled in satisfaction as each of the guards disappeared.

"Hey, nice job." A familiar voice said.

I glanced to my right to see Cross standing behind me. The blue unicorn grinned through his usual pair of sunglasses, "Man, no wonder you're our team leader. Those guards didn't even question you when you began giving orders."

I smiled, "Thanks."

Above us, another voice called out, "Hey Cross, stop hanging around and help me with this."

I looked up to see Cloud flying near the ceiling, holding a streamer in his claws against the ceiling of the ballroom, "Come on, man. Hurry up and tape this before my arm falls off."

Cross laughed, "All right. Hold on a sec." The unicorn picked up a piece of tape with his magic and taped the streamer to the ceiling, allowing Cloud to let go of the party decoration.

I had to suppress a small chuckle. When Jupiter had assigned all of us jobs to help prepare for the party, he had assigned Cloud and Cross to handle decorations. Compared to being made Head of Security, I was kind of glad Jupiter had made the assignments. It had made preparations more straight forward than if we had to organize it ourselves.

Of course, Jupiter had given assignments to the other members of the Knights of Harmony. Sky had been made the DJ for the party (Of course he'd be the DJ. His mane style says it all.), Dylan and Violet had been put in charge of entertainment, Lexus and Neon were put in charge of organizing the dueling ring, and Soul was put in charge of overseeing the party games. All of the other members of our guild had been given jobs to take care of the rest of the preparations.

I glanced at the small clock in the right hand corner of my vision: It read 4:45, which meant that party guests would be starting to arrive. So, we needed to wrap up preparations as quickly as possible. Seeing as we didn't have a lot of time left, I pitched in and helped Cloud and Cross finish putting up the decorations.

The time had finally arrived for the party to start and we finished preparations just in time. I stood in the now filled ballroom... Well actually, to say that it was filled would be an understatement. The ballroom was packed with players, because Jupiter had ordered that before that party started, he wanted to make an announcement. Although, I had to laugh a bit. There were so many players in this castle that the Haters' Guild would have to be crazy to try and crash the party.

But then, the crowd in the ballroom was quickly silenced as Jupiter cleared his throat. The admin now stood on top of the stage in the ballroom, with a microphone placed in front of him, "Welcome everybody, to the very first, game-wide party!"

Everybody let out a cheer, followed by an applause of hoof stomps.

After everybody calmed down, Jupiter continued, "Now, I suppose some of you may be curious why we organized this party. But don't worry, because I'll tell you."

"Before this game was released, before Discord trapped us in here, this game was designed to be a way for players from all across the world to directly interact with each other. This game was created so that everyone could become friends with one another. And after this whole mess is over and we are released from this prison, I would like to continue ELO as it was meant to be.

"However, after Discord trapped us here, the game's future has been looking bleak. After we escape from this game, the authorities of the real world will most likely shut down ELO for causing the deaths of so many lives. But that's why I called this party to be organized.

"This party is meant to remind everyone of what ELO was meant to be. This is to show that this game isn't responsible for our imprisonment here, and it was never meant to be blamed for our troubles."

A small silence passed over the crowd, before Jupiter continued, "Now, I am asking you. Please enjoy yourselves. And without further ado, let's get this party started." Instantly, Jupiter hopped off of the stage.

But then, Sky popped up in the DJ's booth, just behind where Jupiter had been standing. I almost laughed as I saw that Sky was now wearing a pair of black sunglasses, just like Vinyl Scratch. Sky then placed a track down onto the DJ booth, raising a hoof to the crowd, "All right, everypony! Let's spin this thing!"

Everyone let out a cheer, and then, the stereos and the bass cannon began to fill the ballroom with music. The party had officially begun. Several players started to dance with the music while others began to leave the ballroom to entertain themselves with the other activities that the party had to offer.

However, I would have stayed in the ballroom and enjoyed my best friend's DJ'ing, but as the head of Security, I needed to make my rounds to all of the guard stations before the party got too wild. And so, I trotted out of the ballroom and made my way to the nearest guard station.

After doing quite a few perimeter checks around that castle, I was able to have the chance to enjoy the party. So, to start, I thought I would check on Violet and Dylan, just to see what they had planned for the entertainment. I walked to the room where they had set up for the party.

As I walked in, I noticed several benches positioned in front of a raised stage. From the look of the number of players who were already seated on the benches, it looked as if Violet's and Dylan's show was about to begin. So, I quickly took my seat, and at that moment, the lights went out, save for a single spotlight on the stage.

I watched as the show began with Violet stepping out onto the stage.

Violet just stood alone until Dylan ran up next to him from the other side of the stage, breathing heavily, "Hey, I'm back!"

Violet nodded, "Right, what's up?"

Dylan began to breath slower as he caught his breath, "Man, there are a lot of monsters out there. Did you get a group together to fight them?"

Violet nodded, "Yeah, I did. But they have some really weird names. Let's see..." The unicorn began to list of the players, "Who's the Tank, What's the Mage, I don't know's the Priest-"

"Wait, come again?"

"Who's the Tank, What's the Mage, I don't know's the Priest-"

Dylan frowned, "You got these guys together, but you don't even know their names?"

"No, I do know their names."

"Then who's the Tank?"

"Yeah."

"No, I mean the guy's name."

"Who."

"The Tank."

"Who."

"The guy taking damage for all of us."

"Who."

"The guy with the huge sword!"

"Who!"

"The Tank!"

"Who. Is. The. Tank."

Dylan shouted, "That's what I'm asking you!"

Violet nodded, "That's his name."

"Who's name?"

"Yes."

"Well, then go ahead and tell me."

"That's it."

"That's who?"

Violet nodded, "Exactly."

Dylan groaned in frustration, "Ugh.... Phew."

I found myself laughing a bit, as well as everyone in the audience. But then Dylan and Violet continued.

Dylan sighed, "Look, all I'm asking you is what is the name of the Tank?"

"No, what's the mage."

"I'm not asking who's the mage!"

"No, Who's the tank."

Dylan held up his hooves in frustration, "One class at a time!"

"Hey, take it easy."

Dylan calmed himself down, "Look, tell me. Who. Is. The. Freaking. *Tank*?!"

Violet nodded, "That's right."

Dylan shrugged, "Okay." And the earth pony began to walk off of the stage. But then, just as quickly, Dylan turned around and ran back to Violet, "Wait a minute...."

Violet raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"

"You still didn't tell me the name of the Tank."

"No, I did."

"Then who's the Tank?"

"Yes."

Dylan sighed, obviously frustrated, "Look, I'll ask one last time. What is the name of the Tank!?"

"No, What's the mage."

"I'm not asking who's the mage!"

"Who's the Tank!"

Dylan shrugged, "I don't know!"

Violet shook his head, "No, he's the Priest. We're not talking about him."

Dylan cocked an eyebrow in confusion, "How did I get to the Priest?"

"You mentioned his name."

"I mentioned who's name?"

"No, Who's the Tank."

"What?"

"What's the mage!"

"I don't know!"

"He's the Priest." Violet paused, "Look, we're back to the Priest again."

Dylan shook his head, "Forget the Tank for now. Do you have a Rogue in the group?"

Violet nodded, "Yep, it wouldn't be a group without one."

"Then tell me his name."

"Why."

"I just thought I'd ask you."

"I just thought I'd tell you."

"Then who's the rogue?"

"No, Who's the Tank."

"I'm not asking- Wait a minute..." Dylan paused for a moment, "Stick with the Rogue."

"Okay."

"What's the name of the Rogue?"

"What's the name of the mage."

"I don't know."

"No, he's the-"

"PRIEST! I get it!" Dylan groaned, "Just tell me the name of the Rogue!"

"Why."

"Because!"

Violet paused, "Oh, he's our Hunter."

Dylan then began to glare at Violet, making all of the audience laugh. Dylan shook his head, "Whatever. Do you have a Warlock?"

Violet nodded, "Sure."

"And the Warlock's name is...?"

"Tomorrow."

Dylan raised an eyebrow, "You don't want to tell me today?"

"I'm telling you *now*."

"Then go ahead."

"Tomorrow."

"What time?"

"What time what?"

"What time tomorrow are you going to tell me who's the Warlock?!"

"Who's not the Warlock. Who's the-"

Dylan screamed, "I'll break your arm if you say 'Who's the Tank'!" The audience burst out in laughter, but then quickly quieted down as the show continued.

Dylan asked, "What's the name of the Warlock?!"

"What's the mage."

"I don't know!"

"No, he's the-"

Dylan instantly shot his hooves into the air in frustration, "Priest! Priest! Priest!" The earth pony groaned, "You know what, I have some healing potions."

Violet rolled his eyes, "Really?"

"Yeah. So, let's say that we group together and fight a dragon. We can't wait 'till Tomorrow to attack, so the Tank starts taking damage for us. I see that he's getting pretty banged up, so being a good team member, I give the healing potion to Who."

Violet nodded, "Now that's the first thing you've said right all day."

Dylan yelled in frustration, "I don't even know what I'm taking about!" He continued, "I give the potion to who?"

"Naturally."

"Who?"

"Naturally."

Dylan nodded, "Naturally."

"Naturally."

"So I give the potion to Naturally?"

"No, you give the potion to Who."

"Naturally."

Violet nodded, "Yep, now you've got it."

Dylan groaned, "That's what I said!"

Violet paused, "Here, now you ask me."

"I give the potion to who?"

"Naturally."

"Now you ask me."

"You give the potion to Who."

"Naturally."

"Naturally."

"See, I said it the same as you!"

Violet snickered, "Look, just calm down."

Dylan paused as he composed himself, "Who gets my potion?"

"Naturally."

"He'd better get it!!" Dylan continued, "So I give the potion to who, but the potion wasn't strong enough, so whoever is the Tank dies. Boo hoo, sad story. The dragon then goes after Why? Because. I don't know. He's the Priest, and I don't care!"

"Wait, what did you say?"

Dylan groaned, "I said I don't care!"

Violet paused, "Oh, he's our Paladin."

Dylan screamed, "That's it!!" Suddenly, the small earth pony ran forward and tackled Violet off of the stage and onto the floor.

Everyone burst out into laughter and applauded as the show ended. I found myself laughing extremely hard. I didn't think that Dylan would actually tackle Violet.

But then, my small moment of laughter was interrupted as someone called my name through the hallway of the castle, "SHADOW!"

I quickly turned to see Cross run into the show room, panting hard to show that he'd been running hard. That also meant that something was up.

I raised an eyebrow, "Cross? What is it?"

The unicorn gasped as he caught his breath, "It's Lexus! Out in the Dueling Ring! It's..."

I gave Cross a questioning look, "What do you mean? Did he loose in a duel or something?"

Cross shook his head, "No, he's in a duel right now! And his opponent is totally brutalizing him, practically torturing him!"

"What?!" I stared at Cross in shock, "What do you mean?"

Cross motioned towards the doorway, "I think it'll be easier just to show you, unless the duel has already ended. Follow me."

And so, I galloped after Cross as he lead me through the halls of the castle and towards the Dueling Rings outside.

By the time Cross and I reached the Dueling Rings, a large crowd of players had already gathered around the main Duel Ring. The crowd was large enough that Cross and I had to push our way through some players to be able to see the fight that was going on. But soon, I reached the outside edge of the ring and Lexus came into view, locked in a fierce fight against his opponent.

Lexus was on one end of the ring, holding himself up with his spear, which was planted firmly into the ground. His breathing was short and ragged, and he was sweating profusely. I glanced towards his health bar, which was just a little more than half full, almost in the yellow zone. According to Dueling rules, the first dueler to have his health bar reach the yellow looses the fight. And from the look of things, the duel would only last a little while now, due to Lexus' current state.

I glanced towards Lexus' opponent who stood on the other side of the ring, only to find a large, black unicorn stallion, with a dark green mane. His cutie mark was covered by a by a black cloak, so no one could see it... That is, if it was even there. In his magical grip, he held a pair of black sais, much like Raphael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Just a reference point for those of you who don't know what a sai is). The player ID above his head read: Nyxia, and from what I could tell, his health meter was still completely full.

I turned towards Cross, "What's going on? I've never seen Lexus lose this badly in any fight."

Cross glanced towards me warily, "Well, the duel started with Nyxia betting Lexus that he could still beat him, even if neither of them used wings or magic. Lexus accepted the challenge, of course. But after one minute, Nyxia cheated and began using magic."

I raised an eyebrow, "But what about Lexus? I mean, after Nyxia started using magic, wouldn't he have used his wings?"

Cross shook his head, "That's just it. Lexus is refusing to go against the deal he made with Nyxia. And now, for the past five minutes, Nyxia has just been toying with him. He's slowly bringing down Lexus' health, all while inflicting as much pain as possible."

I frowned as I watched Lexus and Nyxia duel, "And yet, nobody has even stepped in?"

Again, Cross shook his head, "No, the rules to dueling say that no one can end the duel unless a winner is declared. And the only ways to do that is for one dueler's health to reach the yellow zone, otherwise one of the duelers have to surrender. And so far, it doesn't look like either of them are giving up, yet."

I growled sarcastically under my breath, "Out of all of the things Lexus could be, he had to be the Element of Honesty."

However, the fight still continued, and the only way for it to end would be if Nyxia finally brought Lexus down to the yellow zone, unless Lexus could make some kind of a miraculous comeback. However, by the look of things,the latter seemed the most unlikely.

I cringed as I watched Lexus be pushed to the ground by Nyxia's telekinesis, only for the unicorn to stab one of his sais into the pegasus' leg. Lexus let out a yelp of pain as his health bar decreased just slightly, still staying in the green. In retaliation, Lexus tried to swipe at Nyxia with his spear. But the unicorn simply caught the spear with one of his sais, knocking the weapon out of Lexus' grip.

Nyxia chortled loudly as he looked down at the defenseless pegasus on the ground, "Even after all of this, you refuse to go against your word."

Lexus didn't reply. He simply glared at Nyxia as he struggled to get up.

Nyxia simply laughed at Lexus' struggle, "You know, I could end this now. Just by a small prick of my sai, I could finally end this duel... But the thing is, I don't want to. I just want to see somebody suffer like me."

Lexus glanced towards Nyxia with hateful eyes, as he continued to try and stand up, "What... do you... urgh, mean?

Nyxia laughed darkly, "Isn't it obvious? I'm stuck in this game against my will. However, it's not like any of you know what that feels like." The unicorn slowly lifted one of his sais into the air above Lexus, the point facing down, "But for now, I've had my fun. It's time to end this duel, but I'm going to do it in a way that you'll never forget."

Before anyone could react, the sai was slammed down through Lexus' chest, right where his heart would be. Lexus let our a bloodcurdling yell as the overwhelming sensation of pain filled his chest. I glanced towards Lexus' health bar to see that the blow had dropped his health bar into the yellow zone... But it went past the yellow and into the red zone!

Everyone let out a gasp as Lexus' health meter stopped in the red zone, leaving the pegasus with only a sixth of his max HP. But then, Nyxia withdrew his sai from Lexus' chest as a box of text appeared over him:

Congratulations!
You've won the duel!

Nyxia grinned at his success as he glanced down towards Lexus, who was only managing to stay conscious, "You should realize that you're lucky. If I were fighting you outside the city, then I wouldn't hesitate to end the life of a weakling like you. I don't even have a clue as to how you got your element from that Hydra. Some Element of Harmony you are." And with that, Nyxia spat directly into Lexus' face.

In that moment, I felt a deep hatred towards Nyxia. There was no way I was going to let something like that happen to one of my team members without any consequences. But right as I was about to step out onto the ring to give Nyxia a piece of my mind, I was stopped by a shout that came from the crowd:

"Hey, Flankhole!"

I quickly glanced to the side to see Neon walk into the ring, her expression very much like my current feelings towards Nyxia. Neon then walked up to Nyxia, right into his face, "Nobody does that to one of my guild members and walks away gloating about it!"

Although, one thing that surprised me was that Neon was now speaking in a British accent, unlike her regular American accent. But then, I glanced to the side to see the rest of my team and Team Calvary join me and Cross outside of the ring.

I glanced towards Soul, who had been in Neon's team for longer than anyone else, "What's up with Neon? She just got angry with this guy and her accent went British!"

Soul's eyes widened, "Uh, oh. The only time her accent changes is when she's seriously pissed."

I raised an eyebrow, "You seem kind of concerned."

Violet nodded, "Yeah. Right now we're mainly concerned for Nyxia. You do not want to be in the path of Neon's rage."

Meanwhile, out in the ring, Nyxia merely smirked at Neon, "Oh, is this weakling one of your guild members? Well, pardon me. I was simply showing what a fool he was, much like the rest of your guild."

Neon glared at Nyxia, her eyes practically giving of small flames of Neon green fire, "Shut up or else I'll hand your flank back to you on a silver platter!"

"Is that so, Little Cutie? And how are you gonna do that?" Nyxia sneered.

"I'm gonna challenge you to a duel, and I won't even fight with any weapons. I won't need them to deal with an egotistical hog like you. Besides, I'd rather give you a fair chance to win, unlike what you did with Lexus."

Nyxia growled at Neon, "Alright, fine. Let's see who's eating their own words after this!"

Immediately, Nyxia opened up his player menu and tapped a few buttons. But then, a small box of text appeared in front of Neon:

Nyxia has invited you to a duel. Will you accept?

-Yes

-No

Neon tapped the "Yes" option with a hoof, and a counter suddenly appeared in the air between Nyxia and Neon. Meanwhile, Sky and I ran into the ring and pulled Lexus out of the way. Lexus stirred slightly as he was carried between me and Sky.

I chuckled, "Ah man, Lexus. You gave us a pretty bad scare." Just then, we set Lexus on the ground outside of the ring.

Lexus didn't bother to reply, as he saw the scene before him in the ring, "W-What happened? Why is Neon fighting Nyxia now?... Why doesn't she have any weapons out?"

I cleared my throat and proceeded to tell him the situation that had occurred. And once I had finished explaining, Lexus only watched the ring with shock.

Meanwhile, Neon and Nyxia stared each other down from their own sides of the ring. The counter between them slowly counted down the seconds before the duel began.

9...

8...

7...

Nyxia drew his sais and held them out in a fighting position.

6...

5...

4...

Neon's horn began to glow with a deep neon, green aura, as did her eyes.

3...

2...

1...

Only silence filled through the air...

START! The game blared with the sound of a bell chime, signalling the start of the duel.

Instantly, Nyxia wasted no time in galloping right at his opponent. With only a few feet between him and Neon, Nyxia lashed out at the mare with his sais. However, Neon sidestepped the attack with blinding speed. Instantly, Neon conjured a whip of green flames and lashed it across Nyxia's back, long before the stallion could even react.

Nyxia cringed in pain as hot flames seared his backside, his health bar decreasing somewhat. Enraged, Nyxia turned to face his opponent, only to find that Neon was no longer there. Nyxia quickly glanced behind him to see Neon's hind legs bash into his face, sending him flying back a couple feet backwards.

Nyxia quickly stood up again to face his opponent, face contorted into a fierce glare, "What the hell is happening? No player can move that fast. It's not even possible!"

Neon simply smirked as she stood her ground, "I'll let you into a little secret. My player ability is called Avenge. What it does is when one of my allies' health is in the red zone, my attacks and speed are raised by 50%. However, my defense is lowered by 25%, but I have my magic to keep you from ever getting close enough to actually hurt me."

Nyxia's eyes widened in realization, making Neon grin, "Now do you see why I don't need any weapons to deal with you? It's because you hurt Lexus, and now," Neon paused as her horn began to glow with bright, green flames, "I'm avenging him."

Instantly, the ground below Nyxia burst in green flames, sending the unicorn high into the air. But then, Nyxia struggled as found that his legs were bound by Neon's magic. Gaping in shock, the stallion glanced down towards Neon to see three whips of neon fire protrude from her horn.

Then suddenly, Neon's whips lashed at Nyxia's defenseless, hammering the stallion in quick succession of each other. For only a few moments, Neon kept this going until Nyxia's health bar was just barely in the green zone. When only one hit was needed to knock Nyxia into the yellow zone, Neon withdrew her whips and with the force of her magic holding Nyxia, she slammed the stallion down onto the ground... Very hard.

Instantly, Nyxia's health bar dropped into the yellow zone, thus ending the duel. A large window of text appeared in the air above Neon:

Congratulations!
You've won the duel!

Neon, smiling smugly at her victory, walked up to Nyxia, who was stuck on the ground in the small crater that his body had created after Neon's magic slammed him down from the air. Nyxia, upon seeing Neon, flinched and quickly tried to stand up.

Neon smirked as she stomped a hoof on Nyxia's arm, "Don't worry, the duel is over. You should consider yourself lucky. If I were fighting you outside the city, then I wouldn't have hesitated to end the life of a weakling like you." Neon said coldly, repeating the very words that Nyxia had said to Lexus.

Nyxia looked as if he were on the verge of tears, but Neon wasn't finished, yet, "Listen here, Nyxia. I'm gonna let you go for now, but if you ever come near Lexus, or another one of my guild members, then I will personally leave you, defenseless and alone, in the next boss room before anyone else goes inside. Got it!?"

Nyxia nodded frantically and Neon took her hoof off of his arm. Satisfied with her work, Neon walked over to our group with a smug look. But as she reached us, she sat down in front of Lexus so that she was eye level with him.

Lexus raised an eyebrow at her, "Why did you do that? Why did you get back at Nyxia?"

Neon smiled softly, "You already know the answer to that. Nobody hurts my team members like that for no reason and walks away unscathed." Neon paused, blushing slightly, "I also might have done it because you saved my life twice in the Labyrinth. I was simply paying you back for that."

Lexus smiled at her as he raised a hoof to her cheek, "No, you were never in debt to me for that. However, now I'm in debt to you, and I need to repay you in the only way I can."

All of us around the two of them remained silent as we watched as the two of them inched closer. Slowly at first, but finally, their lips met together and they closed their eyes in bliss, oblivious to everyone around them.

Meanwhile, all of us from our guild let out a hearty cheer, celebrating the bond that had formed between Neon and Lexus. Everyone was clapping for the two of them, laughing, and cheering as Neon and Lexus ended their kiss, only to stare dreamily into each other's eyes.

Sky let out a small chuckle, "What do you know. When we first met Lexus, I never pegged him as a lover boy."

I grinned, "Neither did I. Kudos to him."

Sky shook his head, coming back to reality, "All right. I don't know about you guys, but I have a party to DJ. In fact, I think the next dance should be a slow one, just for them." He raised his voice to the crowd, "Let's have them dance together, right?"

Everyone let out a cheer and Sky galloped back into the castle, a sly grin on his face.

Behind Sky, Soul and Violet led everyone back inside, "All right, everybody! Let's keep this party going!"

However, as I watched everyone trot back into the castle, I spotted Neon and Lexus following the crowd, walking side by side, not taking their eyes off of each other for an instant.

Lexus chuckled as he stared into Neon's eyes, "Huh, I guess they want us to dance together. Well Neon, would you care to dance with me?"

Neon giggled, "Of course I would." And so, the two of them walked into the castle, without a care in the world. I found myself grinning as they disappeared behind the doors of the castle. I had to say, I was happy for them.

Suddenly, a voice jolted me out of my thoughts, "Hey, Shadow." I turned to see Cross, as well as Cloud who rode on Cross' back.

"Yeah?" I replied.

Cross scratched his head, "Well, since we're already out here, do you mind having a duel with me? I've been working on my magic and I've been dying to try it on a hard opponent."

I shrugged, "Why not?"

Cross beamed, "Great." He turned to Cloud, "All right, Cloud. You might want to get off of my back, unless you'd rather get caught in the middle of the fight."

Cloud rolled his eyes, "Right, I get it." With that, Cloud flapped his wings and flew off of Cross' back. Meanwhile, Cross and I entered the ring to begin the duel.

However, as our duel began, neither of us noticed a broken and bruised Nyxia limp away. The beaten unicorn stallion growled bitterly to himself, "Oh, you've made a huge mistake Neon. Now my goal in this game isn't to search for the elements. Now my main priority is to kill both you and Lexus. I swear that I will not stop until you both are dead!"

Nevertheless, let's just say that Cross is one heck of a dueler. I was surprised when he showed me his latest spell that he'd learned. The spell he used at the very beginning of our duel conjured a giant, red "X", which could protect him from just about any enchantment, not to mention destroy any enchantments set on anything else. This spell was always able to counter my spells, even my own Blaze ability when I used my sword.

So, that left me to duel Cross without magic, with only my sword and shield. Of course, with his hammer and buckler, Cross put up a really good fight. We were both equally matched and the duel lasted for quite a while. But nonetheless, we had to end our duel early as the night came, due to my responsibilities as the Head of Security.

That's where I was at the moment, patrolling the hallways that were supposed to be restricted from party guests. The hallway was left dark, just to give the sign to any wandering party guests that they weren't supposed to be there. But I lit up the dark hallway with my magic, which cast off a bright red glow.

I continued to walk through the restricted castle hallways, focusing on my surroundings. But then, I stopped in the hallway as I noticed a single door that was open, and the light inside it was on. I raised a curious eyebrow as I realized that the room in question was Jupiter's office.

I thought to myself, Hm, that's weird. Why would Jupiter be up here when his own party is downstairs? Being curious as I was, I decided to investigate. Slowly and quietly, I peeked through the door to the office to see who was there.

But my eyes widened as I found that it wasn't Jupiter in the office, but rather somepony else. This stranger was a cerulean blue, thin, unicorn stallion. He had a dark blue mane, streaked with a sky blue color. I also noticed that this guy didn't have any cutie mark on his flank; It was completely blank. I glanced at his player ID, it read: Sharky.

I continued to watch Sharky while out of sight, but I then noticed that this strange unicorn was leafing through Jupiter's documents. As the Head of Security, I knew I couldn't allow this guy to go unchecked. I decided to make myself known.

I stepped into the room, facing Sharky, "Hey, you're not supposed to be in here!"

Sharky flinched as he heard me, quickly turning to me he cursed to himself, "Crap."

Instantly, Sharky tried run, but I was blocking his only way out, seeing as Jupiter's office didn't have any windows. My horn began to glow with red aura as I barred the exit, "Stop, what were you just doing in here?"

Sharky remained unresponsive as he tried to run past me. However, I stepped into his path and shoved him back into the office, "Freeze."

Sharky quickly regained his balance and turned to face me. To my surprise, the unicorn now had a small smirk on his face, "Freeze? Okay, if you say so."

Instantly, Sharky's horn flared with a light blue aura and a beam of ice-like magic was shot towards me. Immediately as I saw the spell coming towards me, I flared my magic, firing a jet of fire to counteract the freezing spell. The resulting collision of spells burst into a cloud of steam, temporarily blinding me for a second.

By the time that I had recovered from Sharky's sudden attack, the blue unicorn had slipped past me and out the door. Immediately, I turned around and began to chase him down. As I ran, I equipped my sword and I felt the familiar sheath appear on my back. With my magic, I drew my sword, following close on Sharky's tail.

But as I ran, I noticed that a thin, lanky unicorn like Sharky was surprisingly quick, and he seemed to match me in speed. But then, I was snapped out of my thoughts as Sharky stopped suddenly and jumped out of an open window. I gasped suddenly, because I knew that he had just jumped out of a window that was thirty stories off of the ground.

I quickly ran to the window and searched for any sign of Sharky. But I was dumbfounded as I saw that the unicorn was perfectly unharmed. Apparently, Sharky had been able to use his magic to create a ramp entirely out of ice, and now he was sliding down it all the way to the ground.

I quickly shook my head, snapping me back into focus. I refused to let this guy get away, and so I did the most crazy thing I could think of: Jump out the window after him. I leaped through the window, landing on the top of Sharky's ice ramp. However, the slick surface made me lose my balance and fell on my side, all while sliding down the chute of ice.

Below me, I spotted Sharky making a break for the castle gates. I knew that I would lose sight of him by the time I got to the end of the ice ramp, so I needed to do something fast. But then, i got an idea.

Immediately, I pointed my horn towards the ramp in front of me, and I fired a large burst of fire at the ice. The fire connected with the ramp at the same moment that I slid over it, and the resulting burst sent me flying off of the ramp and into the air.

Just by luck, the blast threw me through the air and into Sharky's direction. Having heard the blast, I watched as Sharky turned around to see me land on top of him.

"Oof!" We both cringed as we collided with each other, and we both fell to the ground. Immediately afterwards, we both stood up to face each other.

Sharky was panting hard from the chase and the sudden scare that I had given him when I had fallen on top of him, "Hm, I'm guessing you're Shadowflame, bearer of the Element of Courage?"

I narrowed my eyes, "Yes, that's me. But what I want to know is who you are. Why were you leafing through Jupiter's office? And why did you run when I caught you?"

Sharky shook his head, "I'm sorry, but I cannot show my identity. Too much is at stake for me to reveal myself..." I suddenly noticed that Sharky's horn was glowing, "... But one thing you can be sure of is that our paths will cross again in the future. But until then, Shadow, keep searching for the elements."

Suddenly, Sharky's horn flared and a wall of ice instantly grew out of the ground between us. I quickly fired several jets of fire from my horn to melt the ice wall. After a few shots, I was able to break through the ice barrier. I ran through the hole that I had created, only to find that Sharky was no longer in sight. I had lost him.

I stomped a hoof in frustration, "Crap. Jupiter will want to hear about this." Immediately, I turned around and headed back to the castle to report what just happened to Jupiter.

I watched as Jupiter searched through the contents of his desk, a grim expression on his face. The head admin had been searching through his desk for anything that the intruder could have taken.

Jupiter glanced towards me, "Are you sure that he didn't have anything with him when you were chasing him down?"

I nodded, "Yeah, he didn't have anything on him, unless he had already deposited it in his inventory." Jupiter continued to search through his desk, but the admin sighed with relief as he stood up.

Jupiter turned towards me, "Well, it doesn't seem like he took anything."

But I still didn't know why Sharky came in here in the first place, "Who do you think that guy was?"

Jupiter paused, "Hm, I'm not sure. Although, I'd guess it wouldn't be a long shot to say that he was part of the Haters' Guild..." Jupiter looked to me again, "What did his Player ID say again?"

"Sharky."

Jupiter's eyes seemed to bulge out of their sockets at the single name, "Wait, what?! Why didn't you tell me this before?"

I raised an eyebrow, "What?"

However, Jupiter ignored me as he was lost in his own thoughts, quietly muttering to himself, "No, it can't be... It couldn't really be him. That'd be impossible... But the description Shadow gave fits his character, not to mention his deep affinity with ice. But how is this even possible?"

I stopped Jupiter short, "Are you saying that you actually know this Sharky guy?"

Jupiter nodded, "Yes. Well, that is, if this is even the same Sharky..." Jupiter dropped back into his thoughts, "But the servers for ELO are specifically programmed to keep players from having the same name, so it has to be him."

"Wait, what do you mean? Was he in the game before?"

Jupiter nodded again, "Sharky was one of the system admins for ELO. He was in charge for monster development in the creation of this game. He did all of the monster development on his own, and he really was a wiz at that kind of thing... But the morning before ELO's servers came online, I heard a news report that Sharky's house blew up while he was still inside it. They said that he was presumed to be dead, but I didn't get any more details because I had to come into the game to open up the servers. And then, that's when Discord showed up and you know the rest."

I just stared at Jupiter, "But- But if he's dead, then how is he even in this game?"

Jupiter paused, "I'm not sure. It's possible that he survived his house's explosion, but why he would come back into the game is beyond me."

We were both silent for a moment, until I broke the silence, "Well, if he isn't part of the Haters' Guild, then what are we supposed to do about Sharky?"

Jupiter sighed, "We don't have enough information, but for now, we just need to wait for Sharky to appear again." Jupiter turned to leave the office, "However, we still have a party to enjoy for the rest of the night. Besides, I hear that Lexus and Neon haven't even left each other's side since the dueling incident. I want to see if that's really true." He finished with a smirk.

I gave a small chuckle, "Yeah, I guess you're right." We both walked out of the the office and down the halls of the castle. I laughed a bit, "Man, what a crazy night."

And so, after a few more uneventful, but still fun filled hours, the party ended and everyone returned back to their bases...Of course, that is, except for the Knights of Harmony. Since the party was our idea, we were stuck with clean-up duty. And when a party happens in a large place like the Canterlot Castle, you get a very, very large mess.

Let's just say that wasn't the highlight of my night. But hey, everyone had enjoyed it. And surprisingly enough, there wasn't even a single appearance from the Haters' Guild or Discord, so I thought that the party was a huge success. Of course, after all of that time of partying, tomorrow we were going to have to get right back to work and find the other elements.

... But, as the party was ending, I found myself thinking about our current situation in the game. During the last boss battle, Discord had revealed that he was planning something very big; something that none of the other players could survive. Alongside that, the Haters' Guild was growing more dangerous in their spontaneous attacks. And on top of that, I just met an old system admin that was supposedly thought to be dead. With these three things all happening at once, I know that this game is going to get even harder from here on in.

Anyways, I will leave you with this: We're all going to have to get ready, so when something does happen, we'll be prepared for it.

~Shadowflame

The Element of Courage

Author's Notes:

Special thanks to Sharky for sending in Sharky. We'll be seeing this OC in later chapters.

Thanks for reading,
-Shadowflame

April 5th (An Alicorn Arrives)

"Hm, I don't know if I should get it." I contemplated out loud.

Sky groaned as he stood next to me, "Come on, man. You've been deciding whether or not that you wanted to buy that for at least a half hour now. Seriously, I want to at least get some training done before the day ends."

I rolled my eyes. It was true that Sky and I *had* been at this vendor's stand for more than a half hour, but I was still deciding on whether I should buy it or not.

Truth be told, I was terrible at making decisions when it came to buying things. That was one of the weird things about me. In a large battle, I could easily make tactical decisions that could help win the fight for my team. But if you left me alone in a random store and told me to buy one thing, I'd be as clueless as a cow standing in the middle of a road.

The item in question that I was deciding to buy was a single handed, double bladed long sword. The hilt of the blade was covered in black leather, while the entire length of the blade was a deep ruby red. The sword even had a name crafted with it: Inferno.

This really was an awesome sword, and when it came to stats, it was way stronger than my current sword. Of course, every weapon in this game came with a price. In Inferno's case, that price was 19,950 bits. Sure that was a very large price, but I had enough bits saved up that I could afford it... Of course, if I bought the sword, that'd leave me with only about 300 bits. I was reluctant to buy because what if something else came up that I wanted to buy, but then I'd find myself short on bits.

Sky sighed, "Look, you should get the sword. It's way stronger than your current sword, and besides, it's red, your favorite color. Just get it already."

I paused for a moment, but then I nodded, "All right, I'll buy it." I picked up Inferno and placed it on the vendor's counter. The NCP behind the counter asked for payment, and I handed over my 19,950 bits. And then, once I had taken Inferno off of the counter, I immediately equipped the weapon, replacing my old sword.

I then turned to Sky, "All right, let's go... Unless you want to buy a new weapon, too."

Sky shook his head, "Nah, I'm good with my current swords." He gestured towards his double swords, which he had recently upgraded into two double bladed, pitch black swords. Of course they'd be black, seeing as they belonged to a guy named Darkened5ky. But that wasn't the only reason that Sky had those swords. It was also because they were very powerful when equipped to a player that had an affiliation to darkness or shadows. In Sky's case, the swords were stronger when he used them because of his player ability was literally, 'Darkness'.

I nodded, "Alright, let's meet up with the others. I think they're already waiting for us in our usual training spot."

Sky nodded and we both turned down the street towards the city gates. However, we were stopped as a voice called out to us,

"Shadow! Sky!"

We both turned to see Violet Runner galloping towards us, today's issue of the Equestria Daily in his magical grip.

I waved to Violet, "Hey, what's up?"

Violet panted from his run, "Have you seen today's issue of the paper?"

Sky raised an eyebrow, "No, why?"

"The front page story. It says that the fifth element has been found!"

Mine and Sky's eyes widened, "WHAT?!"

Sky quickly snatched the newspaper out of Violet's grip and began to read it. I turned towards him, "Come on, Sky. What does it say? Who found the next element?"

Sky cleared his throat and began reading, "The fifth element has been revealed as the Element of Genorosity, which was found by a unicorn named Eclipse. The place where it was hidden was located in Appleoosa, just outside of town on the plains. The boss, a sand demon known as The Dust Devil, attacked the town of Appleoosa without warning early in the morning yesterday. The entire town of Appleoosa was required to fight in order to survive this unexpected attack.

"In the attack, nine players were killed, and everyone else beat The Dust Devil while in critical condition. Eclipse, now the bearer of the Element of Genorosity, gave the final blow to The Dust Devil as it tried to destroy the town by firing an enchanted arrow from his bow. Afterwards, it became clear that no one had even found a room where this boss may have hidden, or had even been released from its room. This is a growing concern, seeing that bosses can now leave their rooms and attack nearby towns and cities.

"Eclipse, along with his team, have been invited by Jupiter to join the Knights of Harmony Guild in Canterlot. Eclipse's team, known as Team Vortex, has eagerly agreed to join, and they are now making their way to Canterlot. Team Vortex consists of three players: Eclipse, a pegasus known as Siren, and their leader, Cordon.

"The leader of Team Vortex, a player name doom_squared but more commonly known as Cordon by his team mates, was a real surprise to find at the scene of this boss battle. He was known as the fastest player in Appleoosa, and was one of the first to enter the fight against The Dust Devil. However, it was during this boss battle that Cordon had revealed himself to be..." Sky's words trailed off as his eyes grew wide at what he read.

I raised an eyebrow, "Don't stop there. What did Cordon reveal himself to be?"

Sky put down the paper, still in slight shock, "... An alicorn."

The next day, after everyone had heard about the alicorn Cordon, The Knights of Harmony stood just inside the gates of Canterlot, waiting to welcome Team Vortex into our guild. At the Moment, Team Vortex was still travelling towards Canterlot. Already, thousands of players were buzzing with the news of an alicorn's appearance. Of course, this is due to the fact that no one had ever seen an alicorn ever since the admins were stripped of their power by Discord.

I glanced over towards Sky as we all waited at the gate for Team Vortex, "But seriously, how did a guy become an alicorn? Didn't Discord make that impossible?"

Sky frowned, "I don't know. I would say that this Cordon guy hacked the game, but Discord would have killed him immediately after that. So that option's out."

I nodded, "Right, it doesn't really make sense."

Lexus suddenly flew back to the gate, as he had been assigned to look for Team Vortex from the sky. Lexus turned to Jupiter, "They're here. They're only a few minutes out."

Jupiter nodded, "Good. Stay with them until they reach us."

Lexus nodded and flew back in the direction he came from. Jupiter turned to everyone else in our guild, "All right, everybody. Team Vortex will be here any minute. So, remember to greet them as one of our own, and welcome them as friends. Got it?"

Everyone nodded in response without any further comment.

But then, after only another minute, four figures came into view as they neared our position. One of them I could easily recognize as Lexus, but I had never seen the other three before. Without a doubt, that was Team Vortex.

At the head of the group, just behind Lexus, a tall, gray alicorn stallion lead his team. The stallion's mane was a dark gray color, streaked by a lighter shade of gray. I found myself snickering a bit at the alicorn's appearance as it reminded me of fifty shades of gray... But then again, he was an alicorn. The alicorn carried a single, two handed battleaxe on his back. His cutie mark resembled a green vortex of wind. Above his head his player ID read: doomsquared

I glanced towards Sky as several other players behind us began to mutter to each other at the sight of the alicorn, "That must be Cordon."

But then, my gaze shifted towards the two players following behind Cordon. The first of the two was a pure white unicorn stallion. He had a black mane that was similar to Sky's, except his tail was in a different style. Draped around his body and shoulders, he carried a steel bow and a quiver of arrows. His cutie mark was a ying yang symbol. Above his head, his player ID read: Eclipse

Sky muttered towards me, "That must be Eclipse, the bearer of the Element of Genorosity."

I nodded as I glanced towards the last of the approaching foursome. The last player was a deep purple pegasus mare. She had a short pink mane that only dropped to her shoulders. But I was surprised to see a crossbow mounted on her shoulder, despite the fact that the mare was smaller than most of the mares that I've seen in the game. Her cutie mark resembled a red rose with thorns. Her player ID read: Siren

Pretty soon, Lexus and Team Vortex reached us and stopped just in front of Jupiter. Everyone fell silent as Jupiter then greeted the new arrivals.

Jupiter gave Team Vortex a hearty smile, "Welcome to Canterlot. My name is Jupiter, head admin of ELO and leader of the Knights of Harmony. I'm pleased that you decided to join the guild and travel here from Appleoosa."

Cordon grinned smugly, "Of course we came. We're the best when it comes to what we do."

Jupiter chuckled softly, "Well, that's debatable. You haven't seen Team Equitum or Team Calvary in action." Way to go, Jupiter. I always appreciated the praise.

Cordon merely smirked, "Well, you've never seen us in action either."

Jupiter nodded, "True, but there will be time for that later, won't there?" He cleared his throat, "But for now, will Eclipse please step forward?"

The white unicorn nodded as he stepped forward, "I'm here."

Jupiter smiled, "Good. Well, since you're now an element bearer, I figure that you should meet the other elements as well." He glanced back towards our guild, "Shadow, Violet, Soul, and Lexus. Would you please step forward?"

All four of us quickly lined up beside Jupiter. The head admin then began to introduce us, pointing a hoof towards each of us as he went along, "First, we have Shadowflame: The Element of Courage. He's also the leader of Team Equitum. Next we have Violet Runner: The Element of Spirit. He's the leader of Team Calvary. Here we have Soul Cards: The Element of Loyalty. He's part of Team Calvary. And finally we have Lexus: The Element of Honesty. He's part of Team Equitum."

Eclipse nodded, a small smile on his face, "It's nice to meet all of you."

We all gave a friendly wave, and Jupiter continued, "Well now, upon your arrival, I hope that you've now realized something."

Cordon raised an eyebrow, "And that would be?"

Jupiter turned to the whole of our guild, "The arrival of Eclipse marks the halfway mark of our goal. We now have 5 of the 10 Elements of Harmony. We've come this far and neither Discord or the Haters' Guild has stopped us. I know for a fact that we'll be able to push through anything that comes against us and we will retrieve the last five remaining elements. Nothing can stop us, nothing ever will."

Everyone suddenly gave a loud cheer at Jupiter's statement, giving me a small bit of satisfaction. It really was hard to believe that we were finally at the halfway mark.

Jupiter grinned, "But for now, keep up the good work, all of you. And with that, you all may return to your regular activities." But then he cleared his throat, "However, I would ask that Team Equitum and Team Calvary stay for a moment."

Everyone did as they were told and headed back into the city, except for my team and Team Calvary, leaving us with Team Vortex and Jupiter. Jupiter turned to our group, "Shadow? Violet?"

We both responded, "Yes?"

"Today, I would like for Team Vortex to tag along with your group. Seeing as your teams are the only ones who bear the other elements, I believe that it would be wise to start working with Team Vortex now. Therefore, when the time comes that you have to use the elements, you'll be able to work together in harmony."

I raised an eyebrow, "Um... I'm not sure if that's the best idea. I mean, they just got here. Wouldn't it be better if they get a bit of rest before starting work again?"

Before I could react, a gray blur filled my vision and found myself looking in the eyes of Cordon, who appeared to be a bit insulted by my comment, "What? You think that we're just pushovers who can't handle hard work?"

I quickly stepped back, waving my hooves in front of me sheepishly, "Whoa, I didn't mean it like that. I was just wondering if you needed a small break. After all, you have been travelling for about two days straight."

Cordon rolled his eyes, "Whatever. We don't need a break. We're ready to go."

Jupiter nodded, "Good. Also, I would like for all of you to follow me now, so Eclipse can put his element into the vault."

Eclipse nodded, "Right."

Jupiter turned back to the city gates, "Follow me." And so, Jupiter lead all of us to the Canterlot castle. And once we reached the castle, we all waited outside while Jupiter and Eclipse went inside to stow away the Element of Generosity the vault.

We all waited out in the courtyard of the castle for a long 20 minutes. Yet, that time seemed to pass by quickly for me. The entire time I was constantly trying to figure out how Cordon became an alicorn. However, no matter how hard I thought, I couldn't come up with a plausible answer.

I was lost in my thoughts, when somebody came up and sat down next to me, "Hey, what's up?"

I glanced to the side to see Siren next to me. "Oh, um... nothing," I lied.

Siren rolled her eyes, "Right, I'm not buying that. You're wondering how Cordon became an alicorn, aren't you?"

"Um, yeah. How did you know?"

Siren shrugged, "Well, that's pretty much what everyone else is thinking, right? Not to mention the fact that you've been glancing back and forth between Cordon and the ground for more than 10 minutes."

I chuckled a bit, "Wow, you are very observant." I paused for a moment, "Well, do you know how Cordon became an alicorn?"

Siren shrugged, "I wish I did. I mean, nobody else knows how it happened. Cordon himself doesn't really know either."

I sighed, "Hm, sorry for asking. It just seemed impossible to me."

Siren nodded, "You and me both."

But then, Sky walked up to Siren and I, "So, Siren. When exactly did you team up with Eclipse and Cordon?"

Siren smiled a bit, "Well, it started back when Discord trapped everyone in the game. After a week inside the game, lots of players had already left Ponyville for other towns and cities. I was one of the last few players to get sent to a different town by Jupiter. I was sent to Appleoosa with a few dozen other players. It was when we all were travelling to Appleoosa that Cordon, Eclipse, and I formed Team Vortex.

"Yeah, and so, the months rolled by in Appleoosa and everyone did what they could to help search for the other elements, but with us being so far away from any other town or city, the only news we got of the outside world was through the newspapers. So far, everything was a bit uneventful, except for the occasional close call when fighting Discord's monsters. But then, only a few weeks ago, something happened.

"It was supposedly a normal day, but that was the day that Cordon became an alicorn. Like I said, nobody knew how it happened, but that morning, Cordon woke up in his bed as an alicorn, even though the day before he fell asleep as an earth pony."

"Wait, what?" I jumped a tiny bit as Cloud seemed to appear next to me. Apparently I was so focused in on Siren's story that I hadn't noticed the dragon come up next to me. But then I glanced around to find that everyone else had gathered around to hear Siren.

"Cordon was just a regular earth pony before he became an alicorn?" Dylan asked, obviously very surprised.

Siren nodded, "Yes. That morning he became an alicorn, but that wasn't the only thing that had changed. His player ability changed, too."

Soul raised an eyebrow, "Really? What did it change to?"

"Well, his ability before he changed was called, "Gale", which doubled his speed stat. Back in Appleoosa, he was known as the quickest pony around. But when he became an alicorn, Cordon's ability changed to something called "Apotheosis". But what was weird was that the ability didn't have any description to it."

I raised an eyebrow as I knew that Apotheosis was another term used to describe the raising of someone to Godhood. I frowned, "So, you're basically saying that this new ability changed him into an alicorn."

Siren nodded, "Yeah, basically."

Violet Runner raised an eyebrow, "But, wait. You said that he became an alicorn a month ago. Nobody knew about Cordon being an alicorn until yesterday."

Siren cleared her throat, "That's right. You see, after Cordon changed into an alicorn, the only player we told about the ability to was the admin in Appleoosa. There was a bit of fear that the Haters' Guild would try to come after Cordon if they discovered that he was an alicorn, so Jupiter ordered us to hide Cordon's ability from everyone else."

Lexus interjected, "Wait, so you're saying that Jupiter knew that Cordon was an alicorn beforehand?"

Neon added, "Well, that would explain why Jupiter wasn't very shocked about the fact that an alicorn was coming into Canterlot. But what I want to know is how you were able to hide Cordon's ability. How exactly did you pull it off while you were around the players in Appleoosa, who had already known Cordon as an earth pony?"

Siren smiled nonchalantly, "It wasn't all that hard. Whenever we were in town, we just had Cordon wear a cloak with a hood to cover up his wings and horn. It worked pretty well, and when anybody asked about the cloak, we just told them that it was new armor. Nobody really thought twice about it."

Cross laughed a bit, "So, you just hid Cordon's wings and horn under a cloak? In that case, for all we know, Shadow could secretly be an alicorn, too." He glanced towards me and lifted up the hem of my cloak, thoroughly inspecting my side, "Well, no wings here." Cross joked.

I rolled my eyes as I shrugged Cross off, who only laughed at his joke harder.

Ignoring Cross, Soul glanced towards Siren, "Well, we don't know how exactly Cordon got this ability, but why did he get it?"

"Because, I'm the strongest in this entire game. It's only natural that got this ability."

Everyone glanced up to see Cordon flying overhead, lazily gliding above everyone as he listened to the discussion that was going on. Cordon simply smirked down towards all of us, "Well, if you're done talking about me, I'd be happy to continue by telling you all my whole life story."

Just then, Eclipse came back out of the Canterlot castle and joined our small group, "Hey, I'm back. Now that my element's locked up, what do we do now?"

I paused for a moment as I glanced around towards Eclipse, Cordon, and Siren, "Well, seeing as you three will be working with us a lot later, I think the best thing to do now is see what you can do in battle. Lexus?" I turned to the pegasus, "Do you have anything in mind that could work as a good training ground for Team Vortex, or even all of us?"

Lexus beamed, "I thought you'd never ask." He turned to Neon, "I think now would be good to bring out the spawner."

Neon grinned, "Great, you should fly ahead and get everything ready. We'll meet you there in just a sec."

Lexus nodded, "Great." He gave Neon a small kiss on the cheek, "See ya there." With that, Lexus flew off into the sky and out of sight, leaving the rest of us in silence.

Sky glanced towards Neon, "Okay... What were you two talking about?"

Neon smiled, "Don't worry. I'll explain on the way. Follow me." And so, Neon turned around and began to lead us out of the castle grounds.

However, as we began to walk, something caught my attention from the corner of my eye. As Sky trotted after Neon, Cordon suddenly lighted down next to him. Without a single moment of hesitation, Cordon swung out his front hoof low, knocking Sky's legs out from under him and making the unicorn go sprawling to the ground.

Seeing Sky trip, Cordon laughed at him in a haughty way, "Oops, my bad." Before Sky could get back up or retaliate, Cordon had already taken off again and now flew at the head of the group. Meanwhile, I helped Sky get back up to his hooves,

"Hey, you okay?"

Sky's eyes seemed to pulse with anger, which was typical for him because he hated being pushed around, "I'm fine. I just need to get Cordon back somehow."

I sighed. Cordon seemed to have a really big ego, and I really hoped that this wasn't how he acted the whole time. Otherwise, I'm sure it'd start to get on everybody else's nerves.

Soon, we were all outside of the Canterlot walls, walking behind Neon as she led us through a small forest. But while Neon led us through the forest, true to her word, she began to explain what she and Lexus had been talking about.

"It's called a monster spawner, or mob spawner for short. Like its name implies, it spawns massive amounts of monsters all at once, nonstop until it's destroyed."

I nodded, "Right, I think we all know what one is. But I'm assuming that you've actually found one?"

Neon nodded, "That's right. You see, a while ago I started joining Lexus on his early morning training sessions. It was about a week ago, but Lexus and I stumbled across one. Luckily, we were able to stop the spawner from spawning too many monsters, so we didn't have too much trouble. But on the plus side, I did gain a level in that encounter."

Soul frowned, "How exactly did you do that?"

"Well, I happened to have an item that could prevent monsters from spawning in a 50 foot radius when activated. It's called a Silver Tear."

Violet perked up at the mention of the item, "Wait, so that was the item that you had me craft in my forge. I was wondering what it did. It did take a crap load of materials to make."

Neon smirked, "Well, yeah. Right now the Silver Tear is keeping the mob spawner from spawning any monsters. After Lexus and I stopped the spawner from creating any more monsters, we hid it away thinking that we could use it later in a group training session. Turns out we were right."

Cloud laid back on top of Cross' back, lounging while everyone else walked, save for Cordon who flew in the air above us, "So, you sent Lexus to get the spawner out its hiding spot for us, right?"

Neon nodded, "Right." A small pause passed through our group before Neon spoke up, "So, Team Vortex? What's your stories?"

Eclipse raised an eyebrow, "Stories?"

"Yeah, I mean, everybody has their story of why they got trapped here in the game. For example, I came into ELO because it seemed fun. Lexus came here because of a bet he made with his cousin. Shadow and Sky came in while playing together. Dylan, ironically enough, came in on his friend's game console because Sky was using their *only* Nervegear Helmet."

Eclipse frowned, "Why are you asking us?"

"Well, Jupiter does want us to become friends. It'd help if we knew you three a bit better."

There was a small pause, but then Siren spoke, "Well, back at my home, everyone treated me like a pampered doll. They'd always offer to do favors for me, even if it was something small that I could have done easily. But to make everything worse, I was expected to act like a young lady, all 'properly mannered and frou-frou' stuff. I To be honest, it just didn't fit me. Really, I'm more of a tomboy at heart. It was like I was living in a prison. But, I thought I could act more like myself if I came to ELO. So, I bought the game." She laughed a bit, "Now look where that got me."

Eclipse was the next to speak, "Back home, I was more of a lonely guy. I didn't really have any friends, and there wasn't very many people around who wanted to be friends with me. So, I bought ELO hoping that I could make new friends here."

A long silence passed as everyone glanced up at Cordon, who was lazily gliding through the air on his back. It took the alicorn a while to notice the silence, but soon he looked down to meet our gazes,

"What? You're waiting for me to tell my story?"

Sky rolled his eyes, apparently still angry that Cordon had tripped him, "Obviously."

Cordon simply rolled his eyes as he continued to glide through the air, "Whatever. I just bought the game because it sounded fun. That's all."

Neon smiled, content with the answer, "Well, now we know more about you. Hopefully we can keep your reasons for coming into ELO in mind, so we don't offend any of you guys. But for now, we're almost to the spawner."

Right on cue, we soon came to a small grove in the forest. Right in the middle of the grove, Lexus stood next to a large black cage, about two feet tall: The mob spawner. Inside the black cage, a small fire burned dimly. But then, I noticed something sitting on top of the spawner.

It was a small, silver piece of metal. It was about a foot long, extending into a thin tear shape. As sunlight shined on the metal, it seemed to give a soft glow to its surroundings. This small piece of metal I assumed to be the Silver Tear that Neon had talked about.

Lexus, upon seeing us, waved a hoof towards us, "Hey, you guys made it!" We all reached him and gathered around him and the spawner. Lexus cleared his throat, "All right. As you can see, the spawner can't create any monsters due to the Silver Tear. But once I remove it, monsters will begin appearing all around it. It can only spawn about three monsters at a time, so it should be enough for a small group of players to take down. But that leaves the question: Who's on first?"

Feeling a moment of hilarity, Violet interjected, "So you're asking 'what's the name of the guy on first'?"

Dylan joined in, "No, What's on second." The two of them were awarded with a few laughs from everyone else, but we quickly calmed down and got back to business.

I smiled, "Right. Well, let's start with Team Vortex. That way we can see what they can do in action."

Lexus nodded, "Right." He turned to Team Vortex, "Get your weapons out, because once I take this thing off, you'll only have a second before they come after you."

Cordon hefted his ax off of his back, while Siren and Eclipse loaded arrows into their bows, "We're ready."

"Good. Everybody else get back. This is their fight." So, save for Lexus, we all stepped back behind the tree line of the grove. Lexus then placed a hoof on the Silver Tear in preparation to remove it from the spawner, "Okay, it's coming off in 3...2..1.... NOW!"

Immediately, Lexus grabbed the Silver Tear and took off to the skies above. Just then, the flames inside the spawner flared and the air around it shimmered blue as it spawned three monsters. The monsters were a minotaur armed with a giant battleaxe and two skeleton ponies armed with swords.

But then, the monsters spotted Team Vortex and instantly began to charge towards them. Cordon grinned at the oncoming enemies, "I'll take the minotaur. Siren, Eclipse, take out the skeletons and don't get in my way."

And not a moment later, the two groups clashed.

Cordon and the minotaur swung their axes at each other, the minotaur only missing Cordon by a few inches, while the alicorn delivered a massive blow to the bull-man's leg. The minotaur lost its balance from the blow and fell to one knee, just as Cordon swung his battleaxe down towards the minotaur's head. However, before the blow could hit it, the minotaur blocked Cordon's ax with his own and quickly lashed out with another swipe towards the alicorn. But Cordon was faster than his opponent, and was easily able to avoid the attack.

Meanwhile, Siren had taken to the sky and had begun to fire her crossbow at the skeleton warriors below her. Eclipse also shot at the skeletons from a distance, using his bow to fire arrow after arrow at the enemies. Only once or twice, the skeletons came close to Eclipse, but they were picked off from the sky by Siren.

But then, just as Siren tried to fire an arrow from her crossbow, the skeletons dodged her fire and charged eclipse at the same time. Eclipse was still in the middle of loading an arrow into his bow when the two monsters lashed out at him with their swords. Eclipse barely side-stepped the attack, but then his horn flared with white magic as a small bolt of magic hit the ground underneath the two skeletons.

The effect was instantaneous, as the ground suddenly began to glow and the two monsters began to float into the air, as if they were no longer affected by gravity.

I found myself very impressed, as I had never seen gravity magic before. But nonetheless, I continued to watch the fight.

Now that the two skeletons were floating helplessly in the air, Eclipse reached into his quiver and pulled out two arrows. Quickly drawing back his bow, Eclipse fired both arrows at once. The two projectiles soared through the air and both of the arrows pierced through the bones of the two skeletons. The two monsters suddenly gave one last shriek as they disappeared in bursts of blue code.

With the two skeletons defeated, Siren and Eclipse stepped off to the side, obeying Cordon's order to stay out of his way, and watched as Cordon fought the minotaur on his own.

The minotaur swung its ax at Cordon, blow after blow, but the alicorn was able to dodge every single strike the monster threw. But then, as the minotaur swung its ax from the side, Cordon powered his wings and jumped over his opponent's head. As Cordon was in the air, his ax swung down and struck through the minotaur's skull. The monster roared in rage as the alicorn landed behind him unharmed.

The minotaur, in a blind fury, swung its ax behind him towards Cordon, but the alicorn swung his ax upward. The two axes collided with each other, and the minotaur's ax was sent spinning from its grasp. With his opponent unarmed, Cordon then swung his ax around his body and into the minotaur's abdomen. The blow sliced through the minotaur's midsection and cut the monster in two, just as it burst into blue code.

Everyone gave a loud cheer at Team Vortex's impressive fight. It was clear that everyone was impressed.

Lexus grinned as he came down from the sky and placed the Silver Tear back on the mob spawner to stop any more monsters from appearing, "Wow, that was great."

Violet laughed, "But I want to know how Eclipse learned gravity magic. I know I'd have fun fooling around with that kind of magic."

"Sorry, but it's my player ability. So, I don't think you can learn it." Eclipse replied.

I stepped forward, "All right, now that Team Vortex has shown how they fight, who wants to go next?"

Violet raised his hoof, "I think it's Team Calvary's turn." He turned towards his team members, "Right, guys."

Soul grinned as he drew his swords, "I'm ready."

Neon nodded, "I'm ready to go."

But then, Dylan spoke up, "Um, guys? Is the spawner supposed to do that?"

We all turned towards the spawner to see that the flames inside were growing larger. The fire inside the small cage had reached the bars of the spawner and were now extending past them. It looked as if the whole spawner was ablaze.

I glanced towards Lexus, "Lexus, what's going on?"

Lexus shrugged, "I'm not sure. It's never done that before."

Neon suddenly gasped, "Lexus! The tear. look!"

We all glanced towards the tear to see that it had been consumed by the flames of the spawner. It didn't seem to be affected by the flames, but then a massive crack appeared on the outside of the Silver Tear.

My eyes widened in realization, "The spawner is destroying the Silver Tear." I quickly drew Inferno and my shield, "Weapons out, everyone. With this much activity from a spawner, as soon as the tear breaks, this grove is going to be filled with monsters."

Everyone quickly readied their weapons and faced the spawner. At that exact moment, the Silver Tear shattered.

Crack!

Suddenly, the whole grove lit up in blue light as the spawner created several monsters at once. Once the blue light faded, we found ourselves facing a horde of monsters, who were all guarding the spawner. There were at least twenty skeleton warriors and ten minotaurs, and there was only 12 of us. We were clearly outnumbered... But that didn't mean that we were outmatched.

I raised my sword, "CHARGE!" Our group galloped, or flew, towards the massive number of enemies. Instantly, our two forces met.

The first monster that I reached was a skeleton warrior. It lashed out at me with its sword, which I quickly parried with my own. With the skeleton opened up, I plunged Inferno into its ribs. I shouted, "Blaze!", lighting my sword while it still impaled my opponent. The flames burned through the skeleton and the monster burst into blue code. I ran forward through the opening in the horde, only to be faced with a minotaur.

Instantly, the minotaur swung its ax down at me. I sidestepped the blow and quickly slashed the minotaur through the midsection with my flaming Inferno. The minotaur, in fury, tried to retaliate against my attack, but it stopped as an arrow suddenly shot through its skull, making it burst into code.

I turned around to see that the arrow had been fired by Siren, who was in the air and loading another arrow into her crossbow. At the moment, Lexus, Siren, Cloud, and Cordon were flying above the horde and picking off enemies one by one. But the spawner was quickly replacing every enemy that they defeated, and the never ending stream of monsters continued.

I growled in frustration as I decapitated another skeleton warrior, Crap, we'll never reach the spawner at this rate. I glanced up towards the sky to see Lexus take out a minotaur with his spear. I called out to him, "Lexus. Get everyone who can fly and fly ahead to the spawner. We need to destroy that thing."

Lexus nodded, but then an arrow suddenly soared through the air and punctured through Lexus' hind leg, right at the knee. Lexus grunted in pain and quickly flew up higher as another arrow just barely missed him. I quickly glanced through the horde of monsters to see that the spawner was now spawning skeleton warriors who were armed with bows instead of swords.

I cursed to myself, "Dang it. Those archers will make it too risky to try destroying the spawner from above. It looks like we'll have to charge our way through." I glanced back towards my team mates, "Neon, Violet, I need you to behind me in a wedge shape. I'll need you both to use your magic to help cut through this horde. Sky, Cross, Soul, you three need to stay right behind Neon, Violet, and I. Keep anything that gets too close off of our backs." They all nodded and quickly got into position around me.

I glanced up to the sky, "Cloud, throw all of your bombs and create a pathway between us and the spawner."

Cloud raised an eyebrow as he quickly dodged an oncoming arrow, "All of my bombs?"

I nodded as I stabbed an oncoming skeleton through its skull, "Yes, all of them!"

Cloud nodded back, "All right, here it goes." The dragon quickly looped around through the air as he withdrew an armful of bombs from his inventory. He then flew just above us and began to scatter the bombs down to the ground as he flew towards the spawner. The resulting explosions created a small path through the horde, which was quickly being replaced as more monsters spawned.

I flared my horn, "NOW!" With that I charged forward through the small path, firing a continual stream of fire in front of me to clear the way. Behind me, off to the side, Neon and Violet followed in suit, firing their own magic to clear the way, Neon firing a stream of neon green fire and Violet firing a bolt of blue lightning. Behind us, Sky, Cross, and Soul followed along the path that we were creating, all while keeping any enemies from attacking us from the side or from our back.

We blazed a trail through the horde, not even stopping for an instant. Our force knocked the monsters that spawned in front of us to the sides, and nothing even gave any resistance. I almost found it amusing when we actually trampled over an unknowing skeleton warrior that spawned right in front of me.

But then, as we blazed our trail through the thickest part of the horde, we reached the spawner. As soon as we reached the spawner, Neon, Violet, Sky, Cross, and Soul all took up positions around me and the spawner as they fended off the monsters around us. Meanwhile, I took charge to destroy the spawner.

Immediately, I began to swing Inferno at the black bars of the spawner with all of the power that I had. Yet, despite my efforts, each blow that I dealt to the spawner only caused a few dents to appear in the bars. It was going to take me a while to break through the spawner and take out its center.

Sky called back to me warily as he fended off a minotaur, "Come on, Shadow! Would you hurry up with that spawner!"

Violet nodded grimly, "Yeah, right now would be nice!"

"Hey, I'm trying my hardest, but this thing is hard to break." I replied as I continued to barrage the spawner with several sword swipes.

But then, high above us, I heard a voice call out, "Incoming!"

I quickly glanced up to see Cordon rise into the air, his horn brightly lit with gray magic. But then, I watched as the wind around Cordon began to race around himself, centering in around his horn. The winds whipped through the air like a twister, growing faster and larger with every second that passed. But then, as the winds reached their peak, they all condensed into Cordon's horn. And as every bit of wind condensed, Cordon unleashed the gale from his horn, aiming it right at the spawner.

Now, I would have been fine with this, and I kind of wished that Cordon had done this sooner. But the fact that I didn't like was that I was basically on top of the spawner when he fired the gale.

The force of the wind was so powerful that it collided with the spawner with a large crash. The impact of the wind crushed the spawner to a pulp, but the force also threw me back, high into the air. But while I was in the air, time seemed to slow as I saw the gale knock back everyone else who had been standing around the spawner. As they were thrown, I watched as their health bars dropped drastically into the yellow zone, all of them.

A bit of panic hit me as I worried for my team mates, but I then watched as the gale took out the monsters surrounding the spawner as well. The winds were so powerful that it took out almost all of the monsters in the grove.

But then, time resumed at normal speed as I landed hard against the trunk of a tree. I grunted in pain as the tree stopped my momentum and I dropped to the hard ground below. My vision blurred and turned red as I glanced towards my health bar. I watched it drop from the green and into the yellow zone... and down into the red.

Painfully, I stood up, a thousand different thoughts running through my head at once. I looked up to see that all of the monsters had been defeated and that the spawner was now destroyed. Everyone was now gathering in the center of the grove.

Violet called out to everybody, "Is everyone all right?"

"I was all right," Lexus joked, "But then I took an arrow to the knee."

It turned out that everyone was okay, which gave me some small comfort. But then, Cordon swooped down to the ground to join our group, "Well, I believe some form of gratitude is in order for me. Who wants to buy lunch for the guy who saved everyponie's skins?"

I found myself now glaring at Cordon. I mean, what kind of guy pulls a reckless stunt like that, which almost gets me killed in the process, and then asks for some one to buy him lunch!?

I growled as I walked towards the alicorn, "Cordon, are you out of your mind? Are you so egotistical that you don't even realize that you just did something crazy to destroy the spawner, injure everyone in the area, and then ask for lunch to celebrate the fact that you almost killed me in the process?!"

Cordon simply shrugged, "You could have moved out of the way. I did say to get clear."

I ground my teeth as my anger only intensified, "All you said was, 'Incoming'. You didn't say to get clear because you were using a spell that would throw me sky high when it hit. I thought you were coming to help me destroy the spawner, not send me flying twenty feet into the air on a gust of wind."

"The moment you got here, you've been nothing be egotistical, rude, and short sighted. If you keep that up, then it'll end with you taking the life of one of your team mates." I glanced towards my team members to see their own looks of surprise, which just made me more annoyed, "Look, that's enough training for today. I'm out of here."

And so, putting my weapons away, I turned around and left the grove without another word. With how Cordon acted that day, I knew that these next few weeks around him would be torture. Hopefully I could knock some sense through that huge ego of his. And I needed to do that soon, or else... Who knows how disastrous the consequences could be.

Author's Notes:

Special thanks to the following for sending their OC's in to me:
Cordon (Sent in by doomsquared)
Siren (Sent in by Pico Pie)
Eclipse (Sent in by Luna-Eclipse)

Anyways, this chapter is a set up for another epic chapter.

Thanks for reading,
-Shadowflame

April 10th (Raid of the Haters' Guild)

Hey, Shadowflame here. It's been a while, so I'm going to do a bit of an update as to what has happened ever since Team Vortex arrived.

Well, it's been only five days since Cordon arrived in Canterlot. But from what I recorded last time, you can probably guess that he's been nothing but a pain in the flank. Let's just say that Cordon has reached the limit of my temper, and even beyond that. I seriously don't know how Siren and Eclipse could deal with Cordon for this long.

But transitioning to more important things, the Haters' Guild has been acting up more and more in the recent weeks. There have been ambushes from the guild all over the southwest corner of Equestria. This has led all of us in the Knights of Harmony to believe that their headquarters are somewhere in that vicinity. The Haters' Guild has become an ever growing threat to every player in ELO. Due to this, Jupiter has declared it as our top priority to find the Haters and stop them before they can kill anyone else. Until then, none of the Knights of Harmony have been sent anywhere to check for signs of the other elements.

It's true that we can't search for the elements right now, but they can wait until later; The Haters' Guild, however, cannot. They've already killed over 50 players within the past month, bringing the total number of players in ELO down to 874. Once we find the Haters and lock them up, we'll be all clear to search for the other elements without anymore unwanted deaths.

However, today was a bit of a surprise. It was early in the morning when Jupiter called a full assembly of the Knights of Harmony, and we were ordered to go to the castle immediately.

I glanced behind me towards my team who followed me as we trotted up the road to the castle. Everyone was yawning as they walked, except for Lexus, who was accustomed to waking up this early. I tried my best to stifle a yawn of my own, with little success. It was 5:30 in the morning, and the sun was just barely beginning to shine some light behind the distant mountains around the city.

Sky let out another yawn, "Ugh, why is Jupiter calling us now? You know I usually sleep until 11."

I shrugged, "I don't know, but I bet it's something important."

As we reached the castle, I saw that the other teams from our guild were gathering inside the ballroom. We proceeded to make our way inside and join everyone else. Once inside, I spotted Team Calvary and trotted over to Violet Runner, with the rest of my team following behind.

I nodded to Violet, "Hey, morning. What's this assembly about anyways?"

Violet yawned loudly, "I don't know. But I just hope I can go back to bed after this is over."

Sky grunted, "Yeah, you're telling me." He glanced behind Violet, "But it looks like Dylan's got the right idea."

All three of us turned around to see Dylan standing on all four hooves, his head hanging close to the floor and emitting some quiet snores. He had actually fallen asleep standing up. I rolled my eyes in annoyance. Sky and Dylan's family were full of deep sleepers, who could fall to sleep at anytime they wanted. I guess it was some kind of gene that ran through the family. Of course, Sky wasn't part of that gene pool. He was an insomniac while his family was the polar opposite. All I can say is that their family is weird.

I shrugged, "Oh, well. Let him sleep for now, but he needs to wake up when Jupiter starts this assembly."

I felt a hoof tap on my shoulder, and I turned to see Cross (Along with Cloud, who was asleep on Cross' back.)

Cross nodded over towards the doors of the castle, "Look who's here."

I glanced over to see Team Vortex walking through the castle doors. From the look of things, I figured that they were the last to arrive. Cordon, Eclipse, and Siren all made their way over toward our group. Cordon led his team at the front as they joined us, and I glared at him coldly. I was in no mood to put up with his crap at the moment, and I wanted him to know that.

But then, Jupiter appeared from one of the castle hallways and made his way to stand in front of our guild. Meanwhile, I heard Sky behind me shake Dylan awake. Once Jupiter stood before us, he cleared his throat to address everyone,

"Good morning to you all. I should apologize for making all of you get up so early. However, this is a matter that can't wait any longer, for it is extremely crucial that we act right now."

A few mumbles and whispers exchanged throughout the crowd, all full of confusion. Jupiter continued, "You see, based from their recent attacks we know that the Haters' Guild is stationed somewhere within the Southwest corner of Equestria. We don't have a specific place as to where their headquarters could be. However, this is no longer the case, because we have found their headquarters."

I suddenly felt all of my drowsiness instantly wash away as Jupiter said that last sentence. The whole of the guild was loudly conversing with each other, unsure what to make of this new information. But Jupiter quickly quieted down everyone by stomping his hoof against the ground,

"It was a couple weeks ago that I ordered the towns in the south east to start looking for the Haters' Headquarters, but one of the scouting parties' that was sent found where they were hiding. It was a party from Ponyville and the Haters' Headquarters is inside the Everfree Forest." Before anyone could speak up, Jupiter hastily added, "And we are going to storm the Headquarters, today. We are taking the Haters as prisoners so they'll never harm another player again."

The ballroom was suddenly filled with numerous voices, ranging in all kinds of emotions. I glanced towards Sky, "I guess you won't be able to go back to bed."

Sky grinned towards me, "Naw, I don't need sleep for this. I could fight the Haters with my eyes shut."

But then, Lexus stepped forward, "Wait a minute, Ponyville is a day's travel from here. If we leave now with the entire guild, we wouldn't reach Ponyville until late afternoon. And any scout from the Haters' Guild would be able to see us coming from a mile away."

Jupiter nodded, "Yes, I'm glad you brought that up. But don't worry, I've come up with a solution to that problem." He quickly turned around, "Follow me." Jupiter then began to walk out of the ballroom and into the castle grounds, everyone else in the Knights of Harmony following behind him.

I glance towards Lexus, "What do you think Jupiter's solution is?"

Lexus simply shrugged.

But then, as we all filed out of the castle and into the yard, we all saw Jupiter's solution, even in the dim light of the rising dawn. There were three of them, and they were all larger than a regular house. They all were made of one giant balloon each, painted with a deep purple, and they all had sails, tail fins, and propellers for navigating in the air.

Cross let out a laugh, "Wow, airships. I didn't see that one coming."

Soul frowned, "Hm, I didn't think that there were airships in this game. I guess I was wrong."

Violet nodded, "Yeah, a player can either buy or make an airship for himself, but they're crazy expensive. You'd need at least 5 million bits worth of materials to even make a small one."

I looked in awe at the giant airships, "I'm guessing that these aren't the small ones. Kind of makes you wonder how much Jupiter spent on all of these."

As the whole guild looked at the spectacle of the airships, Jupiter quickly called us back to attention. But I noticed that he was now joined by three other players, all of them pegasi.

Jupiter addressed the guild, "All right. Using these airships, we'll reach Ponyville in only a matter of hours. We'll attack the Haters' Headquarters from the sky when we reach the forest. Since we only have three airships, we'll be dividing the guild into three groups: Alpha, Beta, and Delta. Each group will be in their separate airships."

"Teams Grover and Whiplash, you'll be in Group Beta. Teams Red, Mineturtle, and Victorious, you'll be in Group Delta. Teams Equitum, Calvary, and Vortex will be with me in Group Alpha."

"Now that you're in your groups, find your pilot and board your airships. And remember, do not do anything until I give the order. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir!" We all replied in unison.

With that, everyone began to move around to find their airship's pilot, which were the pegasi that I had seen standing by Jupiter when he was giving out group assignments.

Soon, Group Alpha was assembled in front of Jupiter and our own airship pilot. Jupiter cleared his throat before he boarded our airships, "Group Alpha, I'd like you to meet your pilot. This is Swift Vapor, one of the best pilots in ELO."

I looked at the pilot to see that he was a gray pegasus stallion. His mane was a light red color, streaked with lime green. His cutie mark was the Online Steam symbol. He wore a pair of goggles over his eyes and a pair of hoof claws strapped to his back. His player ID read: Swift Vapor

Swift waved a hoof at us, "Hi, I can't believe that I'm actually meeting the Elements of Harmony. You see, I only joined the Knights of Harmony two days ago because Jupiter asked me to. Little did I know that I'd actually take part in something like this."

Jupiter nodded, "Well, you can all chat later when we're airborne. But for now, everybody get on board. I'd rather not leave anyone behind, but we have a schedule to keep." With that, we all boarded our airship and prepared to take off.

Everyone sat near the railing or windows of the airship as Swift began finishing preparations to take off. I sat near the navigator's station as I watched Swift flip and turn several switches and dials.

Jupiter stood nearby, talking into a small microphone to communicate with the other airship pilots, "Activate Burners!"

"Activate burners." Swift echoed the command as he continued to flip a few more dials. I glanced at towards the other airships to see that the balloons of their ships seemed to expand more with hot air.

Jupiter commanded again, "Release the landing gear in T-minus ten seconds. Ten... Nine..."

Swift placed his hoof just above a single button as he prepared to release the landing gear. "Seven... Six..."

Swift glanced towards me, "Hey, have you ever flown before?" Five... Four...

I shook my head, "Not really, on account of the fact that unicorns can't really fly." Three... Two...

Swift grinned, "Well, when you've got me as a pilot, you're in for the ride of your life." One... Release!

Suddenly, a giant scraping noise resounded from the hull of the airship, sending a small tremor through the ship. But as soon as that happened, I peered over the edge to see that the ship was beginning to float off the ground, along with the other two airships.

After a few seconds of ascending into the air, Jupiter ordered, "Activate propellers and turn port face."

I watched as Swift then pulled a few levers and then turned the massive steering wheel to the left. Instantly, the whole airship began to turn in midair.

Jupiter ordered again, "Power the propellers to full thrust. Fly in V-formation until we're above the Everfree Forest, Airship Alpha taking the lead." With everything set and the airships on route towards Ponyville, Jupiter stepped away from the microphone and turned towards Swift, "I'm going below deck to finish some work. Don't interrupt me until we're a mile away from Ponyville."

At that time, I decided to get up and explore the ship. But then, I stopped just withing earshot of Swift and Jupiter to hear this:

Swift nodded as he steered the helm of the airship, "Yes, Jupiter." The pilot then seemed to cringe a bit, "But... Are you sure that you won't reconsider my-"

Jupiter quickly cut him off, "No, Swift. I'm sorry, but you need to stay here on board the airship. Going into the Haters' Headquarters in an emotionally compromised state is too dangerous. For your safety, as well as everyone else's, you're staying on board during the raid." Jupiter then turned around and left without another word, leaving an agitated Swift behind.

I frowned to myself, What? That's weird. Does Swift have some kind of history with the Haters' Guild? I paused as I thought about it. But then, I shook the thought out of my head and I continued to explore the airship, the thought of raiding the Haters' Guild coming to my mind.

It only took about an hour, but I explored every corner of the airship. I have to say that the ship was massive, consisting of three floors, as well as the top deck. There was about fifty rooms in total throughout the whole ship. There were living quarters for players, a small mess hall, and a few storage rooms for items. All in all, the airship could house a fairly large group of players for weeks, while still staying airborne.

Of course, it didn't really take me a full hour to search the whole ship. Half of that time I spent looking for the rest of my group. Sky and Dylan were up on deck, making final preparations for the raid. I guessed that they didn't want to take any chances during the actual fight.

Lexus and Neon were in the ship's engine room, listening to Violet go on about the fantastic structure of the whole ship. Violet was basically in paradise when he trotted into the engine room. He loved machinery and technology, and I think he was starting to bore Neon and Lexus with his explanations of the structure of the engines.

Cross, Cloud, Soul, and Eclipse were down in the mess hall, grubbing it up. I figured that they'd missed breakfast when Jupiter called the assembly earlier.

Siren was up on deck as well, looking over the deck at the ground far below. We really were a ways up in the air, higher than any pegasus could fly for too long.

That left Cordon, who I couldn't find anywhere on the ship. He must have flown off of the ship for a while, which I was fine with. He couldn't cause too much trouble when he wasn't on the ship.

Before I knew it, I found myself back on deck. I glanced around to see that the airship was flying above the clouds, which I assumed served as a cover from any Haters' scouts on the ground below. Enough time had passed since we took off from Canterlot, and now the sun was high in the sky overhead.

I looked behind the airship to see the other ships following us on either side, making a V-formation. Despite the distance between our ships, I could see the other guild members on deck, making last preparations for the raid.

But then, I glanced up at Swift, who stood at the ship's wheel, a small frown across his face. I guessed that he was still a bit angry at Jupiter, but I still didn't know why. I shrugged to myself, Now would be a good time as ever to find out. Maybe I can help.

I approached the helm and Swift say me come into view, "Oh, hey Shadow. How are you liking the ship?"

I gave a small smile, "It's great. I'm enjoying myself." I paused for a moment, "But, um... I overheard you and Jupiter talking. You seemed a bit upset when Jupiter told you to wait up on the ship. I was wondering why you were upset."

Swift shook his head, "It's nothing. It's a long story. You shouldn't worry about it."

I shrugged, "I don't mind long stories. I was just wondering if I could help."

Swift sighed, "It was about a month ago when it happened, back when the Haters' Guild's attacks began to be more frequent. I had a team up in Vanhoover. They were all my friends that I came into the game with. After Discord trapped everyone in the game, we stuck together, no matter what. We fought through the thick and thin, and we always managed to pull through."

Swift stared out towards the path of the ship, a tone of sorrow coming into his voice, "But then, we were ambushed, just outside of town.

"They came out of nowhere, picking each of us off one by one. Before any of us knew what was happening, there were only two of us left. And when the Haters came for us both, my friend sacrificed himself to let me escape. All of my friends died, all because of the Haters."

The pegasus frowned as he clenched the wheel of the ship harder, "I was the only survivor, and I want revenge. The Haters who killed my team disappeared after they attacked, and no one saw them again. But I know that they're hiding in their headquarters."

He turned towards me, "Now you see why Jupiter wants me to stay behind. He's afraid that I'll only be focused on finding one Hater in particular. Jupiter plans to arrest the Haters and throw them into the Canterlot dungeon, so that nobody dies. I disagree. They killed my friends, and they deserve to die."

I was a bit surprised as Swift finished his tale. When I first met him an hour ago, Swift seemed like a cheery guy. But now he had become the complete opposite, cold and ruthless. I felt for him, but I didn't know how to help.

I frowned, "Swift. I know how you feel, but killing the Haters to avenge your friends isn't the way to go. If they die, they die unpunished. We need to capture them and lock them away, so that when we leave this game, they can face the justice system in real life. Murder is a crime that can't be forgiven."

Swift paused for a moment, but then sighed, "I know that.... But Shadow, will you do something for me?"

I nodded, "Sure, what is it?"

Another pause, "I want you to find the Hater who lead the ambush against my team. I want you to capture him before he tries to escape. His player ID says: Orange. He's an Orange earth pony with an Orange mane and tail. And his cutie mark-"

"Let me guess, it's an orange?"

"Nope, it's a banana."

I rolled my eyes. Even the Haters were puns. I nodded, "You can count on me. If I find him, I won't stop until he's caught."

Swift smiled, "Thanks. Don't let me down."

With that, I turned around and walked back down below deck to make final preparations for the raid.

After I had finished making my final preparations for the raid, I found myself looking over the ship's rails, gazing at the scene before me. I glanced up at the bright blue sky above me, as several clouds rolled beneath the hull of the airship. If I didn't know any better, I would have mistaken myself to be on a regular ship, just sailing on a ocean of white water. The whole scene was breathtaking, serene and peaceful. It almost made me forget that we were on our way towards one of the biggest fights of our lives.

But then, the moment was shattered as a certain gray alicorn burst out from beneath the clouds. Cordon flew right out of the clouds, right in front of me. I quickly recoiled back in shock as he flew through the air as nothing but a laughing gray blur. I quickly composed myself and watched as Cordon flew around the other airships, showing off with his flying skills.

I only rolled my eyes in annoyance, "That ego maniac."

"You know, he wasn't always like this." A voice suddenly added.

I glanced around to see that Siren was standing next to me. I raised an eyebrow, "Wait, what?"

"Cordon wasn't always like this, egotistical and short sighted. Back when Eclipse and I formed a team with him, he was actually a cool guy. He looked out for others, didn't care if he was better than anyone else, and he did what he could to help. He was one of the best team leaders you could ever find."

Siren sighed, "But then, after Cordon woke up as an alicorn, his personality gradually began to change. He went from being caring to being selfish. I saw it happen day by day, a bit ignorant about what was happening to him, until I finally saw that he wasn't the same as he was before. Within a month, Cordon went from being the most awesome guy ever to being the pony he his today."

I frowned at her, "Wait, so you're saying that Cordon's alicorn ability changed his personality?"

The pegasus paused, "Almost, but not exactly. I don't think the alicorn ability itself changed Cordon, but rather the power that came with it. An alicorn has a lot of power, and I think being able to wield that kind of power got to Cordon's head. I guess you could say that the power consumed him, turning him into what he is now."

I paused as I glanced at Cordon as he showed off to the other airships, "Why are you telling me this?"

Siren frowned, "Well, you have been going hard on him. I think its good that somebody is drawing the lines for Cordon, but maybe you're going too hard on him? I just want you to give him a chance. Maybe if you gave Cordon the opportunity, he could change for the better."

I sighed, "I don't know. Right now, I'm still wondering how you and Eclipse can even stand to be with him."

"It's because Cordon is still our friend. But will you at least promise me that you'll try to give Cordon a chance?"

I paused, "Fine. But if Cordon screws up again like he did during our first training session together, then I won't be keeping any promises."

The total trip had taken about two hours, but after that time, the small town of Ponyville came into sight. Jupiter had ordered everybody on deck, and now we were all looking at the small town in the distance.

I smirked towards Sky, who stood next to me, "Ponyville. It's been a while since we left here. It's been about two months, right?"

Sky nodded, "Yeah. When we found the Element of Courage, almost everybody left for other towns and cities. I wonder how many players stayed behind here."

I shrugged, "I don't know. But I'd guess the town's been overrun by undercover Haters by now."

Jupiter called us all to attention, speaking to us as well as the other airships through microphones, "All right, everybody. This is it. It's time to raid the Haters and bring them to justice."

All three of the airships roared with cheers and battle cries.

Jupiter continued, "The Haters' Headquarters is a large, abandoned castle in the middle of the thickest part of the forest. Here's the plan.

"Each group will take a separate path while breaching the castle. Group Alpha will come in from above, Group Beta, from the East, and Group Delta, from the west. I've contacted Isaiah, the admin in Ponyville, and he's rounded up a force of players who are still in Ponyville. They'll be attacking the castle from the north on the ground. However, their path is blocked by a drawbridge, so we'll need to release the bridge before they can come in and help us. That will Team Mineturtle's job from Group Delta.

"The pegasi from each group will be the ones to lead the charge. It's their job to take out any guards and clear the way for the airships to allow everyone else to storm the castle. Airship pilots, anchor the ships and guard the vessels with your lives. I don't want to end this raid to find that the Haters have taken one of our ships.

"Everyone else, storm the castle and capture any Hater you find. I repeat, Do Not Kill! We do not want to become murderers. That's why the Haters are our enemies in the first place. Use whatever means you can provide to immobilize them, including paralysis, freezing, slowness, and unconsciousness. Once you've immobilized a Hater, bring them back to the airship for holding. Does everyone understand?"

Everyone nodded, and Jupiter concluded, "Good. Watch each other's backs. The Haters are masters when it comes to ambushes. Who says that they won't do the same in their own territory." He glanced back towards Swift at the helm of the ship, "Take us in."

Swift nodded and began pulling multiple levers and dials. Instantly, the airship began to descend out of the sky, racing fast towards the Everfree Forest below us. Soon, all three of our guild's airships were flying fifty feet above the treetops, flying on route towards the abandoned castle that the Haters called their headquarters.

Ezekiel raced through the interior of the Haters' Headquarters, a frown firmly apparent in his expression. Their scouts had just spotted three airships coming from Canterlot, and their were on route for the Haters' hideaway. Ezekiel, being one of the main officers in the guild, it was his job to inform the leader of the guild about the oncoming attack.

Finally, Ezekiel found himself standing before the guild master's door. Slowly, he opened the door with a hoof and walked inside. The room inside was dimly lit, yet anybody could still see the massive size of the chamber. The entire room was empty, save for a single table. On the table was a chess board, untouched and set to start a new game. Behind the table sat the leader of the Haters' Guild.

She was a light gray unicorn mare, her mane and tail a blank white color. Her cutie mark was a scattered assortment of black chess pieces, one of every type of piece, except for a queen. Off to her side laid a single tower shield, her only weapon. Her player ID read: Chess Queen.

Ezekiel approached Chess Queen, "Queen, three airships left Canterlot and they're now on their way here. It must be Jupiter along with the Knights of Harmony. They must have found out where we've been hiding. We're about to be in the middle of a raid."

Chess Queen didn't seem phased. She chuckled, "It seems that Jupiter has finally caught up to us." She glanced up at Ezekiel, "Go tell everyone to be ready for battle. We'll need to hold off their forces for as long as possible. But before then, I have a job for you, Ezekiel."

"Yes, Queen?"

"As I understand it, you and Shadowflame have a history in this game. His team was the only one that has ever survived any attack from you. You have never left any survivors, save for Team Equitum. With this fact, I believe Shadow will recognize you instantly out of everyone in here.

"As soon as the Knights of Harmony breach our castle, I want you to find Shadowflame and lead him to me. You may bring along anyone else who chooses to follow, but I would like to speak to the Element of Courage before anything happens to him. And then, I'll let you kill the survivors that you missed."

Ezekiel nodded, "Yes, Queen." He then turned around and galloped out of the room, leaving Chess Queen in the dim light.

Chess Queen glanced down at the chess board before her, "Well, Jupiter. The game has begun. And for my first turn, I've sent my knight out to the front lines." As she spoke, she picked up her right knight and placed it in front of her pawns. "Your turn, Jupiter."

A/N: Hey everyone. Since this is a large fight scene, I'm giving you all the opportunity to make reading this next part even more epic by adding in background music. Remember, this is optional, and you don't have to use background music if it would distract you from reading. Thanks,

-Shadowflame

Soon, the black towers of the Haters' castle came into view. The tension in the air was thick as everyone drew their weapons to prepare for the castle breach. I drew Inferno and my shield, and I glanced around at the rest of my group to see that they were ready to fight as well.

Jupiter drew his own sword as we came nearer to the black towers, each of the airships splitting off to enter through their designated areas of the castle, "Pegasi! Charge!"

Instantly, Lexus, Siren, and Cordon leaped over the edge of the airship, spreading their wings in flight as they dove down towards the courtyard of the castle.

Back in Chess Queen's room, the mare watched as one of the white pawns began to tremble slightly, but then moved forward two spaces.

Queen smirked, "It seems that my enchanted chess board never lies. So, Jupiter, you've sent your pawns out first ahead of you. Wise decision. But now it's my turn to advance my pawns." She picked up one of her pawns and moved it two spaces forward, one space diagonal of the white pawn. "Let's see just what you're strategy is, Jupiter."

We all watched as Cordon, Lexus, and Siren dove down towards the courtyard of the castle. Down in the courtyard, I spotted two Haters, who had their weapons ready to meet our attack. However, Cordon reached the first of the two and quickly took him out by slamming the flat of his battleaxe against his enemy's head. The Hater fell unconscious as he was thrown through the air by the massive blow.

The second Hater was taken out in a similar manner by Lexus and Siren. Soon, both of the Haters laid unconscious on the courtyard ground. Cordon, Lexus, and Siren all stood on the ground, keeping the area clear of any attackers.

Meanwhile, Jupiter turned to Swift, "Take us down."

The pegasus nodded, flipped a few levers and switches and the airship began to descend into the courtyard. Soon, the airship touched down onto the earth, and everyone began jumping down to the ground. Meanwhile, Swift released the ramp leading onto the airship, allowing players to board the ship again.

Once on the ground, Lexus ran up to Jupiter, "Where do we keep these two?" He asked, pointing a hoof towards the two unconscious Haters.

Jupiter glanced at Lexus, "Take them to the lower deck and bind them with some ropes." Lexus nodded and proceeded to do so.

Chess Queen watched as her pawn that she had moved forward suddenly get knocked away as the white pawn moved forward into its place. The black pawn then rolled off of the board and righted itself off to the side.

Queen frowned. If her pawn had been killed, the piece would have disappeared into ash. This could only mean one thing. "So, Jupiter. You plan to capture all of us? Interesting technique. But now, its time to play for real."

Gingerly, Queen picked up her next pawn and moved it forward as the game continued.

Suddenly, as our group stood in the middle of the courtyard, at least a dozen of Haters exited the castle, weapons drawn in attack. I yelled to my group, "Here they come!"

We instantly formed our ranks to meet the oncoming force, and then, our two groups collided.

I fought off every Hater that came too close to me or my team mates. I would give a few quick jabs with my sword at each of them, just barely bringing down their health bars. This wasn't lethal and it distracted them while my team mates used their own methods to paralyze or immobilize the Haters.

In the midst of the fighting, I suddenly remembered the promise that I had made to Swift. I frowned, "I have to find Orange." I stepped away from the front line of attackers and began to glance around in search of Orange.

But then, I spotted the Orange pegasus up in the air, flying as he fought one on one against Lexus. Now that I had found him, I just needed to knock him back down to the ground. I charged my horn with magic, a few stray flames beginning to flicker off of my forehead. And then, I released the spell, sending a giant whip of fire arching through the air above Orange.

The orange pegasus, as well as Lexus, were shocked by the sudden appearance of this huge line of fire. But neither had a chance to react as I whip-lashed my neck downward, causing my whip of fire to crack down against Orange, sending him plummeting to the ground.

I quickly galloped towards the spot where Orange had landed to see that he now laid in a crumpled heap, his health bar only down into the yellow zone. Upon seeing me, Orange tried to lash out with his weapon (Which apparently was a sword that was shaped like a banana). I quickly parried the sword and knocked it out of his hoof, bringing the tip of Inferno down about an inch from his throat.

I glared at Orange, remembering the deaths that he had caused, "Hey, Orange. Swift Vapor sends his regards!" With that, I withdrew my sword and slammed my shield down against the orange pegasus' face, knocking him unconscious.

With Orange unconscious, I picked the pegasus up with my magic (Which was fairly easy to do, seeing as they needed to be lightweight in order to fly). With Orange in my hold, I carried him up to the airship and up onto the deck of the ship.

Swift, upon seeing me, let out a sudden gasp as he saw that I now carried Orange with me. I dropped the orange pegasus in front of Swift's hooves, "I'll leave him to you. I trust you enough not to kill him."

Swift paused for a moment in awe, but then he nodded, "Alright. You better get back down there and help the others."

I nodded and turned around, about to leap over the edge of the ship to join back into the fight. But before I could, another orange blur pierced through the air and landed right in my path. I looked up to see another orange pegasus, but this one had a red mane. My eyes widened as I recognized as I recognized this particular Hater, his sword and shield held in both hooves.

I glared as I pointed my weapons towards him, "Ezekiel."

Ezekiel smirked at me, "So, you remember me. I must say, it's been a while, Shadow."

I lunged at Ezekiel with my sword, only for it to be parried away by the Hater. He quickly countered with a swipe of his sword but I brought up my shield to deflect the blow. But as Ezekiel's sword was deflected by my shield, he crashed into my shield with his own, causing me to stumble backwards.

I cringed, He's using the same techniques as last time... But if that's true, then that means. I glance up just in time to see Ezekiel catch the bottom rim of my shield with the tip of his blade, sending it up above my head. I was ready for this and I brought Inferno down as Ezekiel tried to strike me with his sword. My quickly deflected the blow and I countered with a quick swipe towards Ezekiel's hind legs.

The blow connected with the Hater's legs and Ezekiel quickly took a step back out of range, his hind legs scarred by a line of red code. Ezekiel glanced down at the small wound that I had produced, "Hm, it seems you've gotten stronger since the last time we've met. You Knights of Harmony only came here to arrest us and lock us away, but you've forgotten one key detail." The pegasus quickly stretched his wings, "You'll never catch me!"

With that, I watched as Ezekiel quickly took to the sky and flew back inside the castle. I glared at Ezekiel as I galloped after him, "I can't let him escape. I need to catch him now, or else I'll never find him again."

I leaped off of the airship and back to the ground. I then spotted Sky and Lexus as they fought off a few Haters. Seeing as it wasn't a smart decision to follow Ezekiel alone, I called out to them, "Sky, Lexus, follow me!"

They glanced towards me and nodded. I turned and galloped into the castle, Sky and Lexus following me from behind.

As we ran through the corridors, I could hear Ezekiel's voice echo through the halls, "You'll never catch me!"

But that's not the only thing I heard. I could also hear the sounds of more fight coming from every end of the castle. It seemed that our guild was just as large as the Haters' Guild. It seemed that we were all equally matched. I shook the thought out of my mind, refocusing my efforts on trying to catch Ezekiel.

But then, as Sky, Lexus, and I rounded a corner, we spotted Ezekiel as he opened a door and entered the room inside. I turned towards my team mates, "Keep your eyes open. For all we know, he could be leading us into a trap."

Sky nodded, "Don't worry, I've got your back."

Lexus nodded, "Let's go."

I turned and all three of us galloped to the door that Ezekiel had entered through. I opened the door with my magic and walked in, Inferno pointed right in front of me.

Chess Queen moved her knight back a few spaces, retreating it back to stand beside her queen. As soon as she did, Ezekiel came running into the room.

Ezekiel quickly ran up beside Queen, "He's on his way, along with two of his team mates."

Queen said nothing as she watched as the white pieces on her board took their turn. Suddenly, the white knight began to tremble, but then it moved forward, closer to the black queen piece. Queen grinned as at that exact moment Shadow and his team entered the room.

As my team and I walked into the room, we saw that the lighting was extremely dim, but we could still make out every detail of the room. But then, we spotted Ezekiel standing in the middle of the room, just beside somebody else.

She was a light gray unicorn, with a long white mane. Her player ID read: Chess Queen. She sat behind a table, and on the table sat a chess set.

The mare chuckled lightly as she watched us enter the room, "So, this is Shadowflame, the Element of Courage. I've been anxious to meet you."

I frowned at her, "Who are you?"

She laughed, "Normally, I don't reveal my identity. But I'll make an exception for you and your team mates. I am Chess Queen, the leader of the Haters' Guild. I am their leader, their strategist, and their queen."

Author's Notes:

Special thanks to Swift Vapor for letting me put his OC into ELO.
Special thanks as well to AesNebula for sending in Chess Queen.

Well, this is going to get intense!
Thanks for reading,
-Shadowflame

April 10th (The Chess Game)

Sky, Lexus, and I all stood with our weapons ready for any fight. Just in front of us, Chess Queen sat behind her chess set, Ezekiel standing to her side.

The room we were in was massive, similarly structured as a throne room. There were only three doors in this room, the one we had come in through, and two other ones on opposite ends of each other off to the side.

Sky stepped forward towards the Haters before us, "We've taken your castle, and you have no where else to run. Surrender now, or else we'll have to drag you both out of here."

But at that same moment, I watched as one of the white bishops on Queen's chess board moved forward.

Chess Queen noticed this as well and simply chuckled, "So, you must be Darkened5ky, right hand man of Shadow, and one of the strongest warriors in this game. I must say that it's surprising that you're also the bishop in this game."

Sky glanced towards me with a confused expression, which I only shrugged back. Meanwhile, Queen continued as she moved one of her black pawns on the chess board, "In the real world, a bishop or priest were the ones that people went to for protection against demons and evil spirits. Some people would call it the power of god, while others looked upon it as magic. Though, I must say it is ironic that you are the one who uses the least amount of magic in combat than the rest of your team does."

Lexus stepped forward, "What are you rambling on about?"

At the same time, one of the white rooks moved forward on the chess board. Queen smirked, "I'll tell you in a second, for I know who you are. Lexus, the non-brony who joined Team Equitum for the first boss battle, and bearer of the Element of Honesty. It seems that you are the Rook."

I frowned, Why is she calling us different chess pieces?

Queen smirked at us as she moved one of her bishops on the board, "Rooks, or what other people may call castles, were used as fortresses for many people. They were places where a damsel in distress was hidden to be saved from a dragon." She chuckled, "Of course, in your case, Lexus, you protect your damsel from a hydra."

The mare continued, "And I won't forget about you, Shadowflame. You are the knight. The knights are the ones that lead the charge against the enemy. They are the ones that are sent by their king to defeat their enemies."

I frowned at Chess Queen, "What does this have to do with anything?"

"Don't you see? You are nothing more than pawns in this game. At the start of every chess match, the knights or the pawns are the first to be sent to fight, though they aren't expected to survive. Then afterwards, the rest of the pieces are used to outsmart the enemy and trap the king in checkmate. This means that you, Shadow, are being sent in to die in this game first by none other than your own king, otherwise known as Jupiter."

I felt my magical grip on my weapons tighten, "No. Jupiter is my friend. He only makes the decisions that allows everyone to survive."

Queen only chuckled, "But not everyone survives, do they? I'm sure you remember what happened to Rex."

I glared at her with fury at the mention of Rex, "Shut up! He didn't die while fighting. That was murder from Discord. You've been killing everyone off in the exact same way for months now. Why are you doing all of this?"

Queen smirked at me, "Well, first you should know that I wasn't originally a hater before. I was actually a pegasister that wanted to be here. Of course, I joined the Haters because they were the most likely to win."

Lexus glared at her, "That's not true. We've already collected five of the elements."

"But how much have you lost in the process?" Queen asked, "Face it, you'll never win because you have two enemies to fight against. On the other hand, we Haters only have one enemy: You."

"Well, that's going to change today." I replied, "Blaze!" Inferno instantly lit up in flames as my ability took effect.

Queen smirked at me and my team, "Foolish pawns. Did you forget that I am the queen? I have pawns of my own." Suddenly, her horn began to glow and two large bodies of blue code appeared between us and her.

The bodies of code began to condense in size, but then the code disappeared, revealing a unicorn to her left and an earth pony to her right.

The unicorn was dressed in a magicians robe, and had no weapons in sight. The earth pony was dressed in full, pitch black armor, a long sword and a shield strapped to its back. Neither of them had player ID's, but just above each of them there was a health bar and a small line of text: <Chess Queen's Minions> If they didn't have Player ID's, then that meant that they weren't players at all, just NPC's.

Queen laughed as her minions appeared before us, "As you can see, I'm a summoner. I can summon my own personal army at will. Allow me to introduce you to my pawns, the Mage and the Dark Knight." She released a small chuckle, "Let's see if you three can handle my pawns and my knight." She glanced towards Ezekiel beside her, "Ezekiel, it's time to redeem yourself."

Ezekiel grinned as he drew his sword and shield, "Gladly." Instantly, he flapped his wings and took up position between me and Queen. The Mage and the Dark Knight took up positions on either side of Ezekiel, ready for battle.

Meanwhile, Sky and Lexus took their positions beside me. Sky glanced towards me, "Don't worry about the pawns. Lexus and I will take care of them. Ezekiel will most likely go after you, so you'll need to take care of him."

I nodded, "Good. See if either of you can reach Chess Queen. We can't let her summon any more pawns."

There we stood, facing each other. By following the gazes of our opponents, it was clear concerning who was going to fight who: Me against Ezekiel, Sky against the Dark Knight, and Lexus against the Mage.

I brought my sword up to face Ezekiel, "All right, let's do this."

And then, we converged.

Ezekiel's blade crashed against my shield, causing me to be pushed back quite a ways. But before I could counter his attack, the Hater began to strike against my shield with several blows from both sword and shield, moving faster than I could have anticipated.

I cursed to myself as I hid behind my shield from every strike Ezekiel dealt towards me, Crap, if this is his normal speed, then he must have been holding back when we fought on the airship. That means he only fought me to get my attention. He was leading me right into this, and I fell for it.

Meanwhile, as I was busy cursing my own stupidity, I could see the two other fights in the room out of the corner of my eye.

Sky was busy dealing with the Dark Knight, who was armed with a sword and a shield. Due to his speed and the lack of armor to burden him, Sky was naturally the first to strike against his opponent. However, each time Sky attacked the knight with a flurry of strikes from his dual blades, the knights armor would protect him from most of the dealt damage. This meant that Sky could only chip away a tiny bit of the knight's health bar.

Meanwhile, the knight would only see Sky's blows as a minor annoyance and would instantly try to hack away the unicorn with a crushing blow from its sword. Sky would block the knight's strike, which would slide him back a few feet, but then he would immediately keep slashing his swords against the cold, black armor.

Lexus, who was busy dealing with the Mage on the other side of me, wasn't in any better shape. The Mage would cast spell after spell at the pegasus, who did his best to fly out of the way. Lexus was able to dodge almost every spell that was fired at him, but whenever he tried to fly closer to the Mage, the unicorn would fire a pulse of magic that would push back Lexus, bringing his health meter down slightly.

I cringed as I saw the situation we were in, We won't be able to keep this up. We need to change this fight before Chess Queen can summon any more minions. I continued to hold my grip on my shield as Ezekiel continued to hammer away at my shield, trying to get past my only form of defense.

But then, I got an idea.

I frowned at the idea. It wasn't the best one I've ever had, but it was the only one I had. I took a deep breath, Well, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. And then, in between one of Ezekiel's continuous strikes, I pulled my shield back, flipped it so it was parallel to the floor, and then threw it like a frisbee, right towards Ezekiel's face.

As soon as my shield left my magical grip, I felt a sudden pain come from my chest as Ezekiel slashed his sword across it. I winced at the pain, but luckily my cloak served as a weak armor and the blow only reduced my health bar by 1/4th. But my pain was rewarded as I watched Ezekiel's eyes widen as he saw my Kite Shield fly out of my grip and right between his eyes.

Immediately, I received a satisfying *CLUNK* as my metal shield connected with Ezekiel's head, causing the Hater's eyes to roll to the back of his head as he fell back against the ground unconscious.

With Ezekiel taken care of, I turned my attention towards Lexus and the Mage. I turned to see that the Mage was occupied with trying to hit Lexus with all of its magic power, which meant the unicorn wasn't aware that I was coming after him next.

I flared my horn and a stream of fire shot out from my horn, right towards the Mage. Unfortunately, the Mage's defense against magic was fairly high, so my spell caused very little damage. However, the force of my spell was powerful enough to push the Mage backwards, knocking him off balance.

I yelled towards Lexus, "Take him out!" Instantly, the pegasus looped back around in midair, heading straight for the off balanced Mage with his spear ready. As soon as Lexus reached the unicorn, he began to fly in circles around the disoriented mage, slashing away at the minion continuously with the tip of his spear. The Mage's health bar dropped dramatically as Lexus continued to ruthlessly take him down. And then, when the Mage's health was in the red zone, Lexus flew a small loop in the air, only to come crashing back down into the unicorn, his spear stabbing into his opponent's chest.

The Mage let out one final grunt as it's health bar emptied and it burst into blue code. Now, only the Dark Knight remained, who was still fighting against Sky. I turned to Lexus, "Hold off Chess Queen. Make sure she doesn't spawn any more minions."

Lexus nodded and flew towards Queen. Meanwhile, stepped in beside Sky with only Inferno in my grasp, lighting up the dim room with the flames coming off of it's blade.

Sky glanced towards me as I joined in next to him, just barely dodging another swing of the knight's sword, "This guy's armor is as strong as heck. I can't find any way to deal any real damage."

I frowned as I observed the knight's black armor, jumping out of the way as he swung at both me and Sky with his sword. But then, I had another idea. (And no, it did not involve me throwing my sword at him, like I did with my shield for Ezekiel.)

I glanced towards Sky, "Well, you know what? This armor reminds me off that old dutch oven we used for camp outs."

Sky paused for a moment, but then realization dawned on him as he glanced towards my flaming sword, "Okay, I'll distract him. Once you have an opening, light him up."

With that, Sky leaped forward at the knight, swords drawn and ready to strike. The knight slashed downwards at the oncoming unicorn, but Sky was easily able to sidestep the strike. But then, the knight slashed his sword sideways at Sky, and the unicorn blocked the blow with both of his swords. Taking one of his swords underneath the knight's blade, Sky then struck the knight's sword upwards, knocking the enemy off balance and giving me the opportunity to strike.

Immediately, I lunged forward towards the knight's exposed chest and stabbed Inferno through his chestplate. As I had expected, the knight's health bar didn't drop very much, but then I flared my magic, making the flames that covered my sword larger while my blade was inside the knight.

In ELO, earth ponies don't have a lot of natural defense against magic and spells, even with armor. But in this case, it was being inside the armor that was killing the knight, as the flames of my sword roasted the earth pony in his protective coverings.

Instantly, the knight's health bar dropped down to zero and he disappeared into blue code.

With the last of Queen's minions dealt with, Sky and I turned our attention towards the leader of the Haters' Guild. We both turned to see Lexus trying to land any sort of hit on Chess Queen with his spear, but the unicorn still sat behind her chess board, defending any attack coming towards her by levitating her tower shield between her and the oncoming strikes.

Lexus, agitated by the fact that he couldn't get past Queen's shield, flew straight into the barrier with all of his weight, but he was thrown back as Chess Queen used her shield as a paddle and smacked the pegasus away from her. Lexus landed with a grunt against the floor before Sky and I, and we quickly helped him get back onto his hooves.

Meanwhile, Queen placed her shield beside her again, literally laughing at me and my team, "I see all of my pawns weren't lying when they called you three the best fighters in ELO. But I'm afraid that all of your efforts are in vain, for I have already gained the upperhand, or should I say upperhoof, in this game of ours." She began to move one of her black bishops on her chess board, "I've captured one of your pawns, or should I say, two of your comrades." As she spoke, she moved her bishop into one of the white pawns on the board, placing the captured pawn to the side of the board.

Suddenly, one of the side doors opened and two unicorns stepped through and entered the room. But then, my team all gasped as they saw who they were dragging behind them.

In the magical grip of the Hater unicorns, two players were dragged into the room and then placed on either side of Chess Queen. The first was a purple pegasus mare with a pink mane and a crossbow on her shoulder. The other prisoner was a white unicorn with a black spiked mane and a bow and quiver of arrows strapped over his shoulders. I couldn't believe it. The Haters had captured Siren and Eclipse.

I glanced towards Eclipse and Siren where they laid, making eye contact with both of them. They both seemed worried, angry, and scared at the same time, panic written across their features. Their health bars were both completely full, but there was a small yellow mark to the side of their health bars: The symbol for paralysis.

I glared towards Chess Queen and the other two Haters, Dang it. They must have paralyzed both of them during the fight outside.

Queen let out another chuckle, "I have a proposition for you three. Join my army of Haters and I will spare these two. But if you refuse, or even try to take them from me by force..." Suddenly, the two unicorns holding onto Siren and Eclipse both pulled out a short black dagger and held them inches away from the necks of their hostages, "... We'll kill them."

Sky glared at Queen, "Let them go, now!"

The mare only chuckled, but then she was cut short as the door behind me and my team was suddenly blown off of its hinges. I quickly whipped my head around to see the large figure of Cordon standing in the doorway, anger and rage clearly written on his face, "No one captures my team members and gets away with it."

The gray alicorn flapped his wings and took up position in front of me and my team, "Release them, NOW!"

Chess Queen smirked, "Ah, Cordon, the new alicorn in town. Leader of Team Vortex and one of the newest recruits into the Knights of Harmony. My, this is a pleasant surprise. I know that you're anxious to save your team members, but I must warn you: Take another step or wing-flap forward, and they'll both die.

"You see, the knives that my pawns hold are very special and very rare. They are both poisoned blades and a single prick from one of them will for sure kill a player in 5 seconds, quick enough to kill any player and no hope for recovery."

We all gasped, except for Cordon. He was too determined to get his team members back, "Release them before I come over there and kick your trash."

Queen ignored him, "So, what will it be? Either join my guild, or watch your friends die right in front of you."

Cordon growled at Queen, "Why I oughta..." He was about to run forward, but he was stopped as I grabbed his tail in between my teeth and pulled him back.

I shot the alicorn a glare, "No, Cordon. Don't! You'll get both of them-" Cordon flapped his wings and took to the air, ignoring me completely. As soon as Cordon took off, heading straight for Queen with his battleaxe, I watched in horror as the two unicorns holding Eclipse and Siren captive plunged the tips of their knives into their throats.

"...Killed."

The five second kill time of the poisoned knives began, and the health bars of their victims began to quickly deteriorate.

5...

Time seemed to slow down as I reacted. I glanced towards my team mates as I ran towards Siren, "Guys, help Eclipse!"

4...

I saw the Hater standing over Siren's dying body, and a certain rage lashed out inside me. I held the handle of my flaming sword like a spear and threw it point first at the Hater.

3...

The tip of my blade stabbed through the Hater and he was thrown back against the ground from the force of the projectile. I knew the blow wouldn't kill him, but it would give me enough time to save Siren. I ran up next to Siren's dying body, pulling up my player's menu.

2...

I frantically opened up my inventory, searching through all of my items for an antidote. But then, I found it and quickly tapped the item icon with a hoof and it appeared in my grip.

1...

I quickly opened the stopper of the potion and poured the liquid down into Siren's mouth. Luckily, Siren was still somewhat conscious and she swallowed the liquid.

0...

I paused as I glanced towards Siren's health bar. It had stopped in the red zone, only a tiny sliver of health remaining. I breathed a sigh of relief as I began to fish through my inventory for a health potion, "Oh, thank goodness. I just made it in time."

I quickly pulled out a health potion and gave it to Siren, to which the pegasus thanked me for it, her paralysis status now gone.

I turned towards where Eclipse laid, to see that Lexus and Sky had managed to save him just in time as well.

But then, my attention turned towards Cordon and Chess Queen. Apparently, the sheer force of Cordon's strikes had caused Chess Queen to abandon her place behind her table, and now her chess board and its many pieces were scattered across the floor. Now the two were fighting on foot, Chess Queen defending herself with her tower shield as Cordon hammered away at it with his battleaxe.

But then, after only a few seconds, Cordon struck the shield one last time, the protective barrier's endurance ran out and it shattered into blue code, leaving Chess Queen defenseless.

Queen fell to the floor as her shield disappeared, and Cordon held his ax steady above her, ready to strike again if it was necessary. However, despite her predicament, Queen only laughed, "So, it has come to this. You risked the lives of your own team members to defeat me. I suppose now it's safe to say that you've captured me."

Cordon showed a hint of satisfaction, "You're little game of chess is over."

Queen only smirked at him, but then glanced towards me, "In every game, the round isn't over until the king is defeated. As I told you before, I am the queen, not the king. This game has only begun, and it will never end until the king is defeated."

I glared at her, "Who is the king then?"

The mare laughed, "You'll just have to find out who it is on your own." She paused for a moment, glancing around the room. But then, she let out a small chuckle, "And while you're at it, you might as well try to find my knight. It seems that he fled during all of the action."

I frowned, "Knight?" But then, realization hit me, "Ezekiel!" I glanced around the room, and sure enough, the pegasus was gone.

Suddenly, the doors of the room burst open and several members of The Knights of Harmony began to file into the room, only to see the sight before them. Jupiter soon stepped out of the crowd of players.

He walked up beside Cordon, standing just before Chess Queen. Queen smiled as she saw the head admin, "Ah, Jupiter. You don't know how nice it is that you could join us. Too bad you couldn't have seen your pawns fight against me. Typical that a king like you would cower near the back of the game board while your forces did all of the dirty work for you."

Jupiter remained emotionless, "Chess Queen, due to the crimes and acts of murder that your guild has committed, I am placing you and your guild under arrest." He turned towards the other players in the room, "Take them away."

Two players then picked up Chess Queen between them and began to walk her out of the room. But as they walked out, they passed by me and Chess Queen shot me a small smirk, "I'm guessing your bishop hasn't fully uncovered the power he holds."

I frowned at Queen in confusion, but she laughed before I could say anything, "Don't worry, it won't be long before he discovers it."

With that, the players hauled her and the other Haters away. With everyone beginning to head for the airships, every Hater captured and bound on the ships. But first, shaking off the small moment of confusion that Chess Queen had given me, I retrieved my weapons and ran back to the ships with the rest of my group.

The flight back to Canterlot from the Everfree Forest was only about two hours, but to me, as well as everyone else, it seemed like an eternity. Sure we captured almost every Hater from the Haters' Guild, but a few Haters had managed to escape, including Ezekiel. I also ventured a guess that there were a few small teams of Haters who weren't at the Guild's Headquarters when we had attacked.

And to make matters worse, we had lost two of our guild members in the fight. They had been killed in action, but I couldn't help but think, We almost lost four, two of which were my closest friends.

My gaze wandered over to where Cordon stood on the deck of the ship, Cordon risked the lives of his own team members, and they were too close to dying before I acted. What if I hadn't been able to save Siren? What would've happened if Eclipse and Siren had died?

But then, the familiar words of Rex echoed through my mind, "Make the choices that you need to, so that the ones you fight alongside survive. Don't ever forget that."

I sighed to myself, I made a promise to do what I could to save everyone. If I'm going to still abide by that promise, then one thing's for certain: Cordon needs to leave.

But then, we arrived at Canterlot and the airships landed in the castle's courtyard, just as the sun was beginning to descend towards the horizon. Ramps lowered from the ships and everyone began to escort all of the Hater prisoners out of the ships and into the castle dungeons. Meanwhile, I began to walk down the ramp and off of the ship, Cordon not too far ahead of me with his team.

I took a deep breath. Crazy enough as it seemed, I was about to pick a fight with an alicorn. Here it goes.

I stopped and shouted forward, "Cordon!"

Cordon stopped in his tracks and turned around to face me, "Yeah, what do you want?"

I glared at him, "Back at the Haters' Guild, you almost caused the death of both of your team members because of your reckless actions. I've held back and given you several chances for you to improve, but you haven't proven to me that you can change and take everyone else into account when you fight. Now, I can't stay back and watch while you constantly put everyone into further danger. I won't let your actions kill anyone else. I want you to leave the Knights of Harmony immediately."

Cordon scoffed at me, "Are you crazy? Why would I leave? I'm not that big of a problem to you am I? Besides, my team would never let me leave." He glanced towards Eclipse and Siren, "Right?"

The two of them seemed hesitant to reply, but then, Siren spoke, "Cordon, I hate to admit it, but Shadow might have a point. You have been acting a bit reckless, and... I almost died because of it."

Eclipse nodded, "You're our friend, Cordon. But you haven't been acting like Cordon we knew before, back before everyone knew you were an alicorn. But, maybe if you listened to reason-"

Cordon snapped at the unicorn, "Oh, so you're both siding with him?" He pointed a hoof towards me, "Fine, be that way." He turned back towards me, pulling out his battleaxe in the process, "You want me to leave, right? Well, I'm not leaving without a fight."

I paused for a moment, but then I realized that there was only one way to truly make Cordon leave forever, "Cordon, I challenge you to a duel."

I could hear several gasps come from the group of onlookers that surrounded me and Cordon. Cordon glared at me, "What are your terms?"

"If I win, I want you to leave Team Vortex, leave the Knights of Harmony, and never return."

Cordon's glare turned into a vicious grin, "Fine, but if I win, I want you to leave your team and the Knights of Harmony. And in addition to that, you will give me your Element of Harmony: The Element of Courage."

I hesitated for a moment, Crap, that's a large price... But then, I nodded towards Cordon, ... But it's one I'll have to take if I want to keep everyone safe.

I opened my players menu and went to the duel page, hitting the button, "Initiate Duel."

Over where Cordon stood, I saw a duel request appear in front of him and he accepted. Once he accepted, the duel counter appeared above both of us and began to count down from a minute.

I drew my sword and shield while Cordon wielded his ax. Behind me, I heard Sky and the rest of my team shouting towards me,

"Are you crazy?"

"Shadow, don't! That's suicide!"

"Have you seen Cordon fight? One hack from his ax and you're dead!"

I glanced behind me towards them, "Sorry, guys. But this is something that I have to do." I turned back towards Cordon, holding my shield between me and him. If anything, Cordon would be the first to strike.

The timer continued to count down:

10...

9...

8...

7...

6...

I took another deep breath, "No backing down. I need to win this."

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

The counter's bell chimed, "START!"

A/N: background music is optional.

As I had expected, Cordon was the first to strike as he flew straight at me with blinding speed. I barely had enough time to raise my sword in shield in front of me to brace the sheer force of the attack. And even then, the momentum of Cordon's lunge drove us both back quite a few feet.

Once we had both stopped sliding, I lashed out with Inferno, taking a swipe towards Cordon's chest. But the alicorn quickly brought up the hilt of his ax and blocked my sword. Cordon jumped away from me with a flap of his wings, his horn glowing with green aura. I quickly lit my horn in anticipation of any magical attack.

But then, Cordon fired a huge gale of wind from his horn, directing it down towards me. In return, before the wind reached me, I fired a raging inferno of flames towards the oncoming gust. Our two magical forces collided with each other and began a frantic contest for power as we both tried to overcome the other's spell.

While Cordon and I were unaffected, everyone else who were watching were not. I continued to fee my magic power into my spell as I briefly glanced around to see every onlooker begin to run for cover. But they all still stayed close enough to watch the rest of the duel.

But as my magic meter reached half full, Cordon's gale of wind ceased and the alicorn came flying over my wave of fire, battleaxe raised to strike. Ending my continuous stream of fire, I jumped out of the way as Cordon came crashing to the ground where I last stood. Recovering as quickly as he had struck, Cordon turned towards me and began to throw blow after blow with his battleaxe, each one as quick as the last.

I parried, I blocked, I avoided almost every strike that Cordon threw at me. Once I found the right opportunity in between his attacks, I would squeeze in a small jab with my sword and bring his health bar down bit by bit. But I didn't dodge every hit, and Cordon's ax would nick or scratch me, but they weren't any solid blows.

I started to breathe hard as I continued to fight against Cordon's endless attacks. I was starting to tire out, Ugh, I knew he'd be tough, but at least he hasn't landed a solid hit on me yet.

Cordon swung his ax across, which I blocked with my sword and shield. The resulting force sent me back a foot, but I jumped back towards Cordon to continue the fight.

There's one difference between Cordon and me: I can't lose! If I lose, then that'll put everyone else in more danger. I have to win. The memories of Eclipse and Siren coming within an inch of their lives flashed before my eyes, I have to win this for them. I can't lose.

I swung my sword as hard as I could towards Cordon as I rebounded back into the fight,

I can't lose!

*CHINK!*

My eyes widened in horror as I heard the distinct sound of metal, the familiar noise... of a sword breaking in half. Time seemed to stop as I looked down at Inferno in my grasp, the top half of the blade having been torn off by a powerful swing of Cordon's battleaxe. My sword, my most powerful and favorite sword that I've ever had, burst into blue code and disappeared, leaving me with my shield as my only weapon to defend myself against Cordon.

Cordon, seeing that I now had no other way to strike back, began to attack me with even greater ferocity than before, causing me to hide behind my shield to defend myself.

I cringed as Cordon continued to beat my shield with the blade of his ax, Crap, Inferno was my strongest sword. I could try to equip another one of my swords, but Cordon would probably win the duel before I could even use it. And even if I did use it, none of my other swords would break against Cordon's ax. But then, my thoughts stopped short as I realized that I did have a sword that surpassed Inferno in endurance, but not strength. The sword was called Almighty: Rex's sword that I had kept since he died.

I frowned as i continued to hold my ground against Cordon, But Rex's sword is a two handed weapon. I can't equip it when I still have my shield. It'll take too long for me to put my shield back into my inventory and pull out my sword. I guess I'll have to get rid of it now.

Without a moment of hesitation, I flared my horn and my shield was suddenly engulfed in fire. Once it was covered in fire, I leaped backwards out of Cordon's reach, and just like I had done with Ezekiel, I threw my shield towards Cordon's head. Unfortunately, Cordon knocked the flaming projectile out of the air with his ax, but a distraction was all that I needed.

I quickly began to run in a circle around the courtyard, opening my player's menu as I ran. Cordon spotted me as I ran and his horn began to glow with green aura, ready to fire another blast of wind.

Meanwhile, I quickly tapped into my inventory and began to search for Almighty as I galloped as hard as I could. But then, Cordon began to fire off several gusts of wind in quick succession, all of them aimed towards me as I ran. Fortunately, Cordon couldn't aim well when he was faced with a moving target, but I felt very unsettled as the gales that he fired blew my mane and tail through the breeze of each shot.

But then, I found Almighty in my inventory. I quickly tapped on it and equipped it, making its sheath appear on my back. Just then, Cordon knew he wasn't going to hit me any time soon if he kept firing his blasts of wind, and his continuous rounds of shots ceased. I grabbed the hilt of Almighty on my back with my magic and I drew the blade out of its sheath.

The sword was heavier than my usual swords, but not by much, which meant I'd be able to use it just fine. Believe it or not, I had trained and upgraded Almighty in the past, so that it could still be used if I needed it. Turns out that now was the time that I needed it. I stopped and turned towards Cordon, my sword raised towards him.

Cordon raised his ax towards me, a cocky grin on his face, "So, I guess you aren't running? This is still your last chance to flee."

I glared at him, "Let's end this. BLAZE!"

But then, that was when something extraordinary happened. As soon as I activated my ability, flames appeared around Almighty like they usually would. But then, the flames descended down the blade, past the hilt, and then the flames completely surrounded my body. The flames didn't hurt, in fact they sort of awakened me. I felt so alive with that much power and energy surrounding me. I realized that this was new, but I didn't care. I was literally in the heat of the moment. (Ah, the puns.)

Cordon looked a little shocked as I burst into flames, but then he regained his composure. He quickly flapped his wings and took to the sky, only to loop back down to the ground in a nose dive. He then flew only a foot above the floor of the courtyard, flying fast towards me with his ax.

I began to gallop forward to meet his charge, the flames around me helping to surge me ahead with speed that I never had before. We both yelled as we charged towards each other, weapons raised as we were about to collide.

But then, in the split moment that we collided... I can't remember what happened at that moment. All I saw was a flash of light and a sudden pain near my chest.

I opened my eyes once I had come to a stop, the flames surrounding my sword and myself had both died down already. I looked down towards one of my legs to see a scar of red code cutting horizontally across it. I glanced up towards my health bar...

....

... It was still in the green zone.

I glanced back towards Cordon behind me, who had landed back on the ground on his hooves, his battleaxe had dropped to the ground beside him. His health bar was in the yellow.

I had won the duel.

The game chimed as a text appeared above me: Victory!

No one cheered. They merely stood in utter shock. But then, Cordon collapsed to his knees and his wings drooped as the massive weight of reality finally came crashing down: He had lost.

Without any form of emotion, I put away Almighty back into its sheath, picked up my shield again, and walked past where Cordon sat. As I passed him to leave, I didn't even glance back as I spoke, "Cordon, you have until sunrise to prepare yourself. But once the sun is fully over the mountains tomorrow morning, I want you gone."

With that, I walked back to my team base, alone. I was so exhausted by the day's events that I don't even remember getting into bed and falling asleep.

I blinked my eyes open as a thin trickle of sunlight began to raise over the horizon of Canterlot, travelling through my window and lighting up my room.

I groaned as I sat up off my bed, "Ugh, I didn't sleep well. I guess that duel against Cordon really took a lot out of me." But then I glanced towards my window and saw the sun beginning to rise for the day, "Oh, yeah. I told Cordon that he needed to be gone by the time the sun was fully visible. I guess that means he only has about ten or twenty minutes before he has to leave." I shrugged, "Good riddance."

I hopped off my bed, but then my hooves clattered against something on the ground. I looked down at the floor to see my shield, Almighty, and my cloak scattered on the ground. I sighed, "I guess I was too tired to even bother putting everything back in my inventory. Oh, well. I better get everything ready for the day."

I picked everything up with my magic, but then I noticed that my shield had several dents in it, due to the strain that I had put on it yesterday. I frowned, "Hm, I'll have to ask Violet if he can fix tha-"

It was then that I caught my reflection in the metal of my shield. I saw something against my side that hadn't been there before, but I couldn't fully make out what it was from just the dull reflection of my shield. I slowly turned my head towards the unknown thing against my side.

But then, as soon as I saw it, I gasped and my muscles all tensed up in shock. At the same time, the gray objects against my sides suddenly unfurled, causing me to panic even more, making me drop all of my items in the process. My weapons landed hard against the ground with a loud clatter, but I didn't care about that as I continued to stare with wide eyes at the feathered covered, gray appendages that were attached to both of my sides.

I couldn't believe it: I had woken up with wings.

I was an alicorn.

I was on the verge of panicking, What the- What the heck is happening? Why am I an alicorn now? The only alicorn that was possible in this game was Cordon, but that was only because of his... I paused for a moment with wide eyes, ... His ability.

I quickly opened up my player's menu and went to my player's stats. I looked up towards where my Blaze ability had been before, only to see that it had been replaced with another ability: Apotheosis.

I inhaled sharply, My Blaze ability is gone. Now I have the alicorn ability. But then I saw a small box of text beside the Apotheosis ability that read: The ability, Blaze, can still be used along with Apotheosis.

Oh, I guess my Blaze ability isn't gone after all. But how did I get Apotheosis in the first place?

But then, a sharp knock at my door quickly jerked me out of my thoughts. Sky's voice suddenly shouted out from behind the door, "Shadow, wake up! It's Cordon. He's... Well, you better come and see him for yourself."

My eyes widened in panic, Oh no. I can't let anyone see me like this. I quickly glanced around the room for anything that could hide my wings. But then, my eyes fell onto my cloak, laying on the floor. I quickly snatched it up and tried to put it on. But my wings were still sticking up, keeping my sides from being completely covered.

Meanwhile, Sky knocked on my door again, "Shadow! Wake up! This is important! I'm coming in."

I began to breath hard, Crap, how do you work these wings? I quickly tried to concentrate on my wings, and then I willed them to move like I would have with an arm or leg. Luckily, my wings then curled back up to my sides, allowing my cloak to cover them again. I had to admit, the feeling of my wings moving sort of unsettled me. It was like I had another pair of arms attached to my sides. But I ignored the feeling as Sky opened my door and walked in.

I turned towards Sky, trying to hide the panic that came with waking up with newly grown appendages, "What is it?"

"It's Cordon. He's at the city gates, but he's sort of different now."

I raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"I think you better come and see for yourself."

I nodded, grabbed my weapons off of the floor and equipped them, and then followed Sky as he galloped out of the base and into the city streets.

The whole time the I followed Sky through the city, I remember asking myself, Why did I hide my wings from Sky? He's my best friend, and I could trust something like this to him. I shrugged, I guess that was just me panicking. I guess I'll tell him later.

But then, the Canterlot gates came into view. But as Sky and I arrived, we saw that a giant group of players had gathered around the gates, all of them looking at one thing. We soon reached the crowd and with a few pushes and 'Excuse me''s, we reached the gates to find our usual group waiting for us.

But then, my eyes rested on Cordon and my jaw dropped in shock. He still looked the same except for two key two differences: His horn was gone, and his wings were gone as well. Cordon, the proud and boastful alicorn was now back to a normal Earth Pony.

Cordon glanced towards me, a hint of humility and sorrow in his eyes, "Oh, Shadow. You made it." He sighed, "As you can see, I'm not an alicorn anymore. Well, since I don't have wings or a horn anymore, I would try to talk you into letting me stay here." He paused, "But I lost the duel. I always keep my word, so now I'll be going."

He turned towards Eclipse and Siren, his only team members. As I looked at them, I could see that they were sad to see Cordon have to go. Cordon gave them a small smile, "I'll see you guys later. You're your own team now. Eclipse, I'm making you the leader of Team Vortex. Now you only have two team members, but you'll need to recruit some other players because this game will only keep getting tougher. You both need to survive."

Eclipse and Siren nodded, "We will."

Cordon nodded, glancing back towards the sun as it was almost completely visible behind the mountains surrounding Canterlot, "Well, I guess its time for me to go." With that, the gray earth pony turned around and began to walk away from the gates and outside of the city.

But before he got too far away, he suddenly stopped and turned around, glaring at me with a newfound hatered, "Shadow, remember that this won't be the last you'll see of me. I'll come back someday and I will defeat you in a duel. I will come back for revenge." Before I could respond, Cordon turned back towards the road and galloped off.

I could only stare as I watched Cordon galloped away into the distance, Cordon lost his alicorn ability, and now I have it. That could only mean that I got the ability after I defeated him. I felt a sense of panic as I realized that I had made a massive discovery.

Apotheosis would be transferred to another player after the original bearer of the ability was defeated. But since Cordon was the first pony to receive Apotheosis, I figured that he didn't know about this fact yet. He hadn't seen that I was an alicorn now. But if he did, then he would've known that I had become an alicorn after defeating him in the duel.

My eyes widened, If anybody saw me as an alicorn now, then they would connect the dots too. Then news would spread and then everyone would know the truth about Apotheosis. I could see it now: Power craving players would hear about this and then come after me to try and take the ability for themselves. If I told anyone that I was an alicorn now, I'd put myself into a very dangerous situation.

I shook my head, I can't let anyone know that I'm alicorn now. I'll have to keep it secret from everyone, including my own team.

But then, I shook out of my thoughts as Sky tapped my shoulder. I turned around to see that everyone had left the gates. Now only my team and Team Vortex remained.

Eclipse and Siren walked up and stood before me. Eclipse spoke first, "Shadow, Cordon was our friend and we were a bit hesitant to see him go. But..."

Siren continued, "But we talked it over with Cordon last night. We told him about everything he was doing, how his actions were affecting others and he was just ignoring everything. He was already a bit shocked by losing to you in the duel, and he finally saw reason why you would want him to leave. But he said that he would leave because it was his choice, not because it was the penalty for losing the duel."

Eclipse interjected again, "He wanted to leave on a journey of self discovery, he said. He wanted to improve himself and get stronger out in Equestria, not by sitting here in Canterlot."

I frowned, "Why are you telling me this?"

Siren paused, "Well, we do feel a bit bad that you sent our friend away, but you're our friend as well. You were right that Cordon needed to go, because it would be better for everyone, including him. You were thinking about everyone else, so we just wanted to say that no matter what our opinion may be, we'll follow you to the end."

Eclipse nodded, "We're not angry at you, but we're not glad either. But we're still allies, and we'll still help you when we can."

I was a bit taken aback by their response. I mean, I had just sent away their team leader. Shouldn't they have been angry with me? I quickly regained my composure, glancing at both of them, "Um, thank you."

With that, Eclipse and Siren turned back towards the city and continued with their day. I looked back towards my team. They all seemed oblivious as to what I was feeling right now. I mean, my mind was full with everything that had happened: We had just barely captured the Haters' Guild, I dueled Cordon and won, I caused Team Vortex to lost their leader, and I became an alicorn. The only thought I had was along the lines of, Why do I have to have such a weird life?

Author's Notes:

The artwork in this chapter was done by me. Funnily enough, I didn't plan to add this artwork until I started writing this chapter.

Anyways, thanks for reading.
-Shadowflame

May 7th (Off To Cloudsdale!)

I looked up into the sky above me, the clouds blowing through the cross breezes and the sun just barely beginning to rise up behind the horizon. It was early in the morning, and everyone back in Canterlot was still asleep. A cool breeze was blowing through the air. It felt soft and relaxing from where I stood, high on a cliff outside of Canterlot. I was alone, and that gave me the chance to give my wings some air, out from under my cloak that I usually hid them beneath.

Nobody knew that I was an alicorn yet. I hadn't told any of my team members or even my guild members. This was the only way to protect my ability "Apotheosis" from any power-hungry players. So far, it's worked out just fine, and nobody has come after me yet. Nobody suspected anything yet.

I glanced down at the cliff that I stood on top of, the face of it about twenty five feet off of the ground. Even in ELO, falling off of a cliff like this could still hurt a player, even kill them if they were low enough in their level. I however was at level 50, which meant if I fell off the cliff, I wouldn't be hurt that badly. But that's where having wings came in.

I took a few steps back, away from the edge of the cliff. I stopped about five feet away from the edge, just far enough to get a running start. I flared my wings open, and the two appendages seemed to breath a sigh of relief as the wind softly rippled against my feathers. The feeling was good, but not nearly as enjoyable as full flight.

I took a deep breath, "Let's do this."

Instantly, I galloped towards the edge of the cliff and leaped off of it. I let myself free fall from the cliff for only a second, but then I quickly flapped my wings hard and began to soar right above the ground below. I shifted the position of my wings and began to flap them harder, ascending high into the air and into the clouds above.

The wind blew past my wings and my mane at such high speeds, it was almost like riding in a car with the window rolled down. But riding in a car didn't even compare to flying on your own strength, a hundred feet in the air, with nothing that could bring you back down to earth.

"WHO-HOO!" I yelled in jubilation as I curled my wings against my sides, causing me to plummet down towards the ground in a nose dive. I was going so fast that tears began to leak out of the corner of my eyes. But as I reached the ground I unfurled my wings and arced backwards into a loop-de-loop. I then proceeded to continue to pull off several other tricks that I had come up with in the past month, including the Barrel Roll and a corkscrew twist.

Man, I had only had my wings for a little under a month, but I've become a pretty fair flyer. I would compare my skill to that of Rainbow Dash's, but I didn't need to make my ego any bigger.

But then, as I flew near the level of the clouds, I glanced down towards the ground to see a single figure standing in the middle of a grove of trees. I knew him as one of the only players who was a better flyer than me, and he was looking directly at me. It was Lexus, and he waved a hoof towards me as he tried to call me down.

I complied and quickly descended down towards the grove, lighting down just in front of him. I nodded towards him, folding my wings back against my sides, "Hey, Lexus. How was that?"

Lexus had a small grin on his face, "Pretty good. Although, I think the shouting was a bit unnecessary. Anyone could have heard that and come running to see what it was. We *are* trying to keep your wings a secret, right?"

I scratched the back of my head, smiling sheepishly, "Um, yeah. Sorry, I wasn't thinking about that."

Um, remember when I said that nobody knew that I was an alicorn yet? I kind of lied. Lexus was the only one that knew about me being an alicorn. Other than him, no one else knew. The reason why Lexus knew that I was an alicorn was because I needed someone to teach me how to fly. Since I have wings now, why not? And who better to teach me than the best flyer I knew.

I remembered back to when I told Lexus that I was an alicorn.

I walked through the dense forest, along the path that was dimly lit due to the fact that the sun had only begun to rise. It had only been a day since Cordon left The Knights of Harmony. It was early in the morning, right at the time that Lexus would usually wake up for his own daily training session. This forest is where he usually trained, but little did he know that I had been tailing him ever since we left the Team Equitum base.

Soon, I reached a grove in the forest, and in the middle of the grove stood Lexus. My wings suddenly twitched nervously underneath my cloak as they shuffled around uncomfortably at my sides. I sighed, "Well, if I'm going to learn to fly, then Lexus needs to know. Here it goes." I approached the pegasus in the grove.

Lexus heard me approach and quickly whirled around towards me, "Oh, Shadow. What are you doing here? I thought you were still asleep."

I nodded, "Um, yeah. I tailed you here because I needed to ask you something."

Lexus raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Um,... If you were ever needed to teach somebody to fly, would you?"

Lexus gave me a curious glance, "Uh, yeah, I suppose so." He paused for a moment, "This is a rhetorical question, right?"

I shook my head, "No, not really."

"Wait, you want me to teach someone to fly? Who?"

I hesitated for a moment, but then I took off my cloak and spread my wings out. I almost laughed while I watched as Lexus' eyes seemed to bug out of his skull, his jaw dropping to the ground in pure shock.

I let out a small chuckle at the memory. Lexus' face had been priceless. After he had calmed down, he had agreed to teach me how to fly early in the morning in place of his morning training session, and then he swore to keep my secret safe from anybody.

Lexus shrugged, "Well, I guess it's safe to say that you've learned almost everything that I know about flying. I guess we won't be continuing our morning lessons, but that doesn't mean that you can stop practicing."

I nodded, "Right."

Suddenly, a girl's voice shouted throughout the forest, "LEXUS?! Where are you?"

Both mine and Lexus' eyes widened as we recognized who's voice it was, "Uh, oh. It's Neon." Lexus glanced towards me, "Quick, put your cloak back on."

I was already tapping into my inventory, "Already on it." I quickly equipped my cloak and the cloth suddenly appeared on my back, covering up my gray wings at my sides.

Just then, Neon trotted into view, just outside of the grove. Upon seeing us, Neon ran up to me and Lexus, a wide grin on her face, "There you are, Lexus. I was looking for you. I went to your base first, but everyone said that you had left already for your morning training." She suddenly stopped and glanced towards me, "Oh, that reminds me. Shadow, when I stopped by your base, Jupiter was over there looking for you."

I raised an eyebrow, "Oh, I guess I better go see what he wants."

Lexus nodded, "Yeah, you better not keep Jupiter waiting." But then the pegasus turned back to Neon, "Why are you here anyways?"

Neon smiled, "Well, duh. I came to remind you about the date we were planning for tonight, silly. You didn't forget, did you?"

I glanced towards Lexus to see him smile nervously, I think I might have spotted a trickle of sweat on his brow. Lexus replied, nervously chuckling, "Oh, yeah. Of c-course I didn't forget. How could I have forgotten?"

Neon gasped as she saw through his pathetic mask, "You did forget! How could you forget!?"

Lexus only stammered, "Um... Well, uh..."

While Neon continued to chew Lexus out for forgetting about their date, I stood off to the side chuckling, "All right, you two love birds. I'm gonna go see what Jupiter wants. I'll see you later." Neither of them heard me over their bickering, so I just walked out of the forest alone and back towards Canterlot.

The sun was high in the sky when I arrived back to the Team Equitum base and everyone in Canterlot was already beginning their day as usual. I opened the door to the base and walked in.

The first floor of our base was much like our last one in Ponyville: The living area and Kitchen were downstairs, while everyone's rooms were upstairs. From the doorway, I could hear voices coming from the kitchen, one of which I recognized as Jupiter's. So I followed the sound of the voices into the kitchen.

I walked into the room to find that Jupiter was sitting at the table, conversing with Cross who was laughing very hard at whatever they were talking about. I also spotted Cloud at the table as well, all of his bomb crafting equipment sprawled across the tabletop in front of the small dragon. He was tinkering around with what seemed to be a miniature bomb. Of course, I didn't see Sky anywhere, but he was most likely still asleep at this hour, which meant he was still in bed.

Cross noticed me as I entered, "Oh, hey Shadow! How did training with Lexus go this morning?"

The "training" that Cross mentioned didn't include flying. He, as well as everyone else, believed that I joined Lexus when he trained in the morning because I was falling behind in leveling up. I smiled, "It was pretty good. We managed to stay out of too much trouble, you know, since there tend to be more monsters during the night and early morning." I glanced towards Cloud, giving him a cold glance, "And Cloud, I thought I told you: No tinkering with your bombs in the base. Sure the building can't be burned down and nobody can be hurt in a safe zone, but everything else is still flammable."

Cloud rolled his eyes, "Hey, it's completely safe for me to work on my bombs here. I haven't made a single mistake with them and I haven't set off any of them by accident yet."

"Yes, the key word being, 'yet'." I replied, emphasizing my point. Cloud was about to retort, but then he grumbled, "Fine." And then began to pack up his equipment.

I turned back towards Jupiter, "So, Lexus and I ran into Neon earlier. She said that you wanted to see me."

Jupiter nodded, his earlier cheery expression suddenly being replaced by a serious mask of emotion. "Yes, take a seat. It's very important."

I sat down at the table, intrigued by Jupiter's sudden change in mood, "What is it? What's going on?"

Jupiter paused for a moment, "We've found another one."

With those four words, my heart skipped a beat, "Wait, are you sure?"

Jupiter nodded, "Yes."

"Where is it?"

"Cloudsdale, you'll leave Canterlot in Swift's airship in exactly one hour. Your team, as well as Team Calvary and Team Vortex will be the whole group who is going to assist the players in Cloudsdale for the fight."

I nodded, "Yes, sir."

Jupiter stood up and began to walk from the table, "I want you to gather your team and tell them to get ready and meet me at the castle in an hour. Also, I want you to tell Violet Runner everything, and have his team prepare themselves. Meanwhile, I'll inform Team Vortex myself." With that, Jupiter walked out of the door of our base, closing it behind him.

Meanwhile, Cross and Cloud glanced at each other with curious looks, trying to figure out what Jupiter was talking about. Cross looked towards me, "Um, what exactly was he saying?"

I glanced towards the unicorn, a small grin on my face, "Go find Lexus and Sky. Tell them to prepare to leave in an hour. I'll be back after I tell Violet the news." I then got up and proceeded to gallop to the front door.

Cloud shouted after me, "Why? What news?"

I glanced behind my shoulder and gave him a small smirk, "Didn't you hear Jupiter? The next boss room has been found in Cloudsdale, and we're going to help them fight the boss." With that, I ran out of the building and began to gallop towards Team Calvary's base.

Soon, I found myself standing in front of the Team Calvary base, a little winded by my gallop to get here. I didn't bother knocking as I opened the door and walked inside uninvited.

As I entered, I spotted Soul and Dylan sitting at a small table, both of them holding their own hands of cards as they played a game that I recognized: Poker.

Dylan pushed a few bits into the middle of the table, "I'll bet five bits." Soul then pushed in five of his own to meet Dylan's bet.

Soul's expression was emotionless, "Alright, lay down your hand." Dylan complied and set his hand down on the table, face up,

"Two pair with queens and eights. Beat that."

Soul smirked, "Not bad. However, that doesn't beat a flush." The unicorn laid down his hand to reveal a flush of spades, ranging between 9 and a king.

Dylan groaned as Soul took the betting pot of bits, "How are you doing this? I've only beaten you in two rounds so far."

Soul smirked, "You know you don't have to lay down your hand every time. You could just fold if you know you have bad cards."

I cleared my throat, trying to catch their attentions. They both heard me and turned towards where I stood. Soul raised an eyebrow, "Oh, hey Shadow. I didn't see you come in. Want to join in? We're playing Poker."

I shook my head, "Not right now. Listen, where's Violet? I need to talk to him."

"He's down in the forge." Dylan replied.

I nodded, "Right, thanks." I turned around and ran down the set of stairs that led down to the forge.

The forge, just like any time that I visited, was dark, hot, and pretty dirty. But as I reached the bottom of the stairs, the full forge came into view. I spotted Violet at his usual place by the furnace, wearing some protective equipment for forging. He was holding a bright, molten piece of metal with a pair of tongs, suspending it above the hot fire below.

I watched as Violet then took the molten steel and placed it on top of an anvil, and then began to hammer away at it with a small mallet. I approached Violet as the unicorn finished pounding the metal into the desired shape and then dunked the piece into a bucket of water, sending a column of steam rising up from the container.

Violet held up the metal with his tongs to inspect it closer. But upon further inspection, I realized that the piece of metal resembled a large, metal feather. I wasn't an expert with feathers, but ever since I got my wings, I'd recognize a feather anywhere, even if was made out of metal.

I raised an eyebrow at Violet, "It looks like a feather."

Violet jumped a tiny bit as I spoke, quickly putting the metal feather back on the anvil, "Oh, Shadow. I didn't hear you come down here. What's up?"

Curious as I was about the metal feather and why Violet was making it, I would have asked about the craft. But I figured that now wasn't really the time to ask. I cleared my throat, "Jupiter says that another boss room has been found in Cloudsdale, and he wants your team, as well as mine and Eclipse's to aid the players in Cloudsdale with the battle."

Violet frowned, "Really?"

I nodded, "Yes. Jupiter wants everyone ready to leave in an hour. Once your team is ready, meet up with everyone else at Swift's airship. Got it?"

Violet nodded as he took off some of his forging equipment, "Got it. I'll get my team ready right away."

Within an hour, everyone in our group had been gathered, and our airship was almost ready to take off. We all stood on deck, standing before Jupiter as he gave us a final briefing of the upcoming boss battle.

Jupiter cleared his throat, "Now that everyone is here and ready, we can begin. You see, the door to the boss room was found at the very top of Sky Tower, the dungeon that is located near Cloudsdale. No one has opened the door yet, but given the circumstances of the dungeon, the boss is most likely one that will be able to fly."

Sky raised a hoof, "But if it can fly, then why not send a team with more pegasi or other players that can fly? Heck, our teams are mostly unicorns, and we can't walk on clouds."

Jupiter nodded, "Yes, that is true. But, we already have a surplus of pegasi up in Cloudsdale. However, they need more magical support, and that's where you will come in. And as for the issue of walking on clouds, Eclipse has already taken care of that. Since he deals with gravity spells, he has come up with a weightlessness spell that should make you just as light as a pegasus."

I raised an eyebrow, "Does it work?"

Eclipse nodded from the side, "Yep, Swift helped me in testing it. He flew me up to the clouds in the airship and then I used the spell on myself. It worked just fine, and while I'm at it, I might as well mention that clouds are probably the softest things you'll ever be on in your life."

I smiled to myself, That's true. I've experienced that firsthand, and I didn't need a weightlessness spell to do it.

Jupiter continued, "Now, you all will be the only ones from the Knights of Harmony that will aid the players in Cloudsdale in this battle. This is because the other teams of the guild are needed elsewhere at the moment. Also, I won't be going with you to fight in this battle, so I'm putting Shadowflame in charge of leading this group."

The admin turned towards me, "Once you arrive in Cloudsdale, find the admin there. His name is Solar Flare. Follow every order that he gives you and watch yourselves. You're fighting in an unfamiliar territory, and we don't want any accidents to happen."

I nodded, "Yes, sir."

Jupiter turned to face everyone else, "This is where I leave you now. Watch each other's backs and make it back safely. The Knights of Harmony will need their best warriors in the future. Good luck." With that, Jupiter walked off of the airship and hopped back down to the castle grounds below.

Back up on deck, I turned to Swift, "Prepare the ship. Let's get this thing up in the air. Set a course for Cloudsdale."

Swift nodded and flew over to the helm, and within two minutes, we were airborne.

I stood at the stern of the airship, gazing out ahead towards our course through the sky. A small breeze of wind blew across the ship’s deck as we flew in the open air. I felt my wings twitch underneath my cloak as the breeze rippled across them, longing to spread wide open and take to the sky.

I shook my head as I resisted the temptation, I can’t fly, not right now. Everyone would see.

I was pulled out of my thoughts as Lexus walked up beside me. I glanced back towards him, “What’s everyone else doing?”

Lexus paused for a moment, “Well, Dylan and Soul are below deck, playing poker. Dylan did mention something about winning his bits back from Soul. Plus I think Cross and Cloud joined into the game too. Violet and Neon are talking about something below deck, but I have no idea what it is. Siren is roaming about the ship, Eclipse is up at the helm with Swift, and strangely enough, I have no idea where Sky is.”

I smirked, “Well, don't look at me. I've known Sky for years and I still don't know where I'd find him.”

Lexus chuckled, “Yeah, I guess he'll turn up when we get to Cloudsdale.”

I nodded, “So, were you able to clear things up with Neon about forgetting your own date?”

Lexus let out a sigh, “Well, the only reason why I forgot about the date was because I was busy helping you keep your secret safe while I taught you to fly. But Neon was peeved that I had forgotten and she wanted to know why I had forgotten. I didn’t want Neon to find out about the truth, but I’m a terrible liar. I’m the Element of Honesty after all.”

I glanced towards Lexus, a worried expression evident on my face, “Did you tell her?”

Lexus shook his head, “No. Since I couldn’t lie, I told her that I couldn’t tell her right now. She trusts me enough that she accepted that answer, but she’s still pretty pissed off at me. So, basically your secret is still safe, but now you owe me big time.”

I sighed, “Thanks Lexus, but I’m not sure how much longer we’ll be able to keep this secret. I mean, if I’m fighting anything, during training or even a boss battle, my cloak will sometimes reveal my sides. If that happens during the battle in Cloudsdale, then somebody for sure is bound to see my wi-… My secret.”

Lexus paused for a moment, “Yeah, I see. What are you going to do?”

I shook my head, “I don’t know. I suppose I’ll have to do what I can to keep my secret safe, without rousing any suspicion. If I’m lucky, I might be able to keep everybody from seeing them, but that’s a very slim chance.”

Lexus nodded, “Yeah. It’s going to be a lot harder to hide them up in Cloudsdale, that’s for sure. But don’t worry; I’ll be there to serve as a distraction if needed.”

I smiled, “Thanks.”

Lexus turned around, “Well, I’m gonna head downstairs and talk to Neon. Hopefully I can convince her to be less angry with me while we’re in Cloudsdale.” And so, I watched as the Pegasus walked down the stairs leading below deck, leaving me to my thoughts.

I turned and looked up towards the helm, where Swift and Eclipse stood. Swift appeared to be showing Eclipse all of the controls to the ship. It was funny really, how in the past month, Swift had managed to become good friends with Eclipse and Siren, but since they were team mates, I guess it would only be natural.

Oh, yeah. There’s something that I forgot to mention. Two weeks after Cordon left the Knights of Harmony, Eclipse had asked Swift to join Team Vortex, because Cordon had ordered Eclipse to recruit new team members before he had left. Swift accepted the offer, and because of that, Team Vortex was put in charge of maintaining and crewing Swift’s airship, which the three of them had named, Westfalia.

Ever since Team Vortex was put in charge of crewing Westfalia, Swift had employed himself with the task of teaching Eclipse and Siren to control and fly the airship. So far they were both pretty good ship flyers, but neither of them were quite as good as Swift. That was due to the fact that Swift had been flying airships for longer and also because of his player ability.

You see, Swift’s player ability was called, “Wind Watcher”, which allowed him to physically see the air currents around him. With that ability, he point the airship in the direction that a breeze was blowing, he could ride the wind and fly the ship faster than normal. He could probably even guide an airship through a massive storm, full of cross breezes, and still come out with the ship in one piece. However most pilots, if they ever flew into a storm, would have their ships torn up in the wind and plummet down to their deaths.

I’m not saying that anybody should fly an airship right into the middle of a storm, but if it was necessary, Swift could do it.

As I continued to watch Eclipse and Swift look around at the controls to the ship, I caught a small glint of reflected light out of the corner of my eye. I turned just in time to see a large, double bladed battle axe fly out of the sky, wedging itself partway into the floor boards of the deck, only a few feet in front of me.

I quickly turned to see what the source of the ax was, only to see a nearby cloud burst into small fragments as about six griffins, armed with weapons of all kinds, flew out of it, heading directly for our ship.

I turned back towards Swift and Eclipse, drawing my weapons in the process, “All hands on deck! We’ve got griffins coming off from the port bow!”

Soul winced with pain as he clutched his side, the place where one of the griffins managed to scrape him with their claws, "Gosh, I didn't think fighting those griffins would be so hard."

Violet shrugged as he handed Soul a health potion to heal the wound, "Well, that's because we aren't used to fighting airborne."

We had all managed to fight off the griffins, and everyone was recollecting themselves as we neared our destination. I stood at the stern of the airship.

Suddenly, Dylan piped up, pointing a hoof off towards the starboard bow, "Hey, there it is!"

We all glanced towards where he was pointing to see the airborne city of Equestria: Cloudsdale.

I looked back towards Swift standing at the wheel, "Bring us in!"

Swift nodded and altered the course of the airship towards the floating city.

Everyone on the ship stared in awe as we pulled up to the makeshift dock at the edge of the enormous city. Sure we had all seen what Cloudsdale had looked like from the show, but to really see it ourselves was almost overwhelming. The buildings made of clouds were extremely detailed with designs, and there were several rainbows that acted like waterfalls as they descended from the clouds and disappeared in thin air.

All of the clouds that held up the city were all on different levels of height, letting the city be large and dense, while still have so much room to travel from cloud to cloud. Everything about the city just enhanced the magical feeling around it.

Once Swift had stopped the airship in the air, we all turned our attention to Eclipse. The white unicorn cleared his throat, "Okay, now it's time to use the weightlessness spell. Everybody get close to each other. It drains my magic faster if you're all farther apart."

We all did as instructed and stepped closer together. Meanwhile, Eclipse's horn began to glow with white aura as he prepared to cast the weightlessness spell. And then, Eclipse released the spell and everyone without wings, and myself, were surrounded in white light. It only lasted for a moment, but then it subsided as Eclipse finished the spell.

Cross raised an eyebrow at Eclipse, "So, did it work?"

Eclipse nodded, "Yeah, it should have. Who wants to test it first?"

Suddenly, Sky ran out from our group towards the side railing of the airship, "Me first!" He then jumped over the railing, and onto the clouds beside the ship, causing a small puff of cloud to spring up from under his hooves as he landed.

Everyone who was still on the ship ran over to the edge of the ship to see how Sky fared in testing the effects of the weightlessness spell, only to find Sky rolling about on his back on the clouds. Sky let out a laugh as he laid on the clouds, "Ha, I heard that clouds were soft, but I didn't think they'd be this comfy."

Dylan chuckled a bit as he watched his older brother, "Hey, I'm next." With that, Dylan was the next one overboard the ship, landing onto the clouds as well. One by one, everyone jumped out of the ship onto the clouds of Cloudsdale. Naturally, I was the last one to go, just making sure that no one accidentally saw my wings when I hopped of the ship.

Everyone who hadn't experienced the feel of clouds before were having a great time as they felt the softness of the airborne material. However, our fun time was cut short as I spotted somebody trotting across the clouds from the city towards us.

He was an earth pony, with a gray mane and brown fur. He had a single broad sword strapped across his back, along with heavy, saddle armor that covered up his flank, hiding his cutie mark from sight. He had a Player ID above his head that read: Ti-Rone. I figured that there weren't a lot of earth ponies here in Cloudsdale, so this guy must've been the admin of the area.

I turned to my group members, "Hey, look alive. Here comes the Cloudsdale admin." Everyone stood up and lined up as Ti-Rone reached us.

The admin took a quick look at our group, a small welcoming smile across his face, "Ah, so you must be the group that Jupiter was sending: The Elements of Harmony."

Violet cocked his head in confusion, "I think you might be confused. We're the Knights of Harmony. We've never been called the Elements of Harmony before, even though that's who we are."

Ti-Rone nodded, "Yes, 'The Knights of Harmony' is your guild's name, but Jupiter likes to keep all of his guild members to be organized, so he tends to name the groups. Since every Element of Harmony that we've found so far is in your group, it's natural that Jupiter would call your group the Elements of Harmony."

Everyone nodded their heads in approval, giving a few comments of likeness towards the name. I shrugged, "Well, it certainly does suit us. So, in answer to your question, yes; We're the Elements of Harmony."

Ti-Rone nodded, "Good. We've got everything prepared for the boss fight. We'll be ready for anything Discord's got prepared for us in there."

"Wait, so where exactly is the boss room located? Is there some kind of dungeon around here in the city?" Lexus asked.

Ti- Rone pointed a hoof up towards the sky, where a massive cloud drifted high above Cloudsdale, "Up there on that cloud is a gigantic dungeon known as Sky Tower, the tallest of all dungeons in Equestria. It took some doing, but our players scaled the tower up to its highest point. It was up at the top of the tower that we found the boss room. Right now, all of our pegasi players are waiting at the entrance to the tower for your arrival."

I nodded, "Okay, we'll hop back onto the airship and fly up there right away."

Suddenly, high above us, a lone pegasus soared down from the large cloud where Sky Tower stood. The pegasus then lighted down between us and Ti-Rone. I took a quicker look at the newcomer.

She was a light gray pegasus mare, with a long, off-white mane and tail. The tips of her hooves were a firey red color, while her eyes sparkled blue. Her cutie mark was a rough depiction of a comet, and the only armor she wore was a pair of goggles, a green band around her fore leg, and a green scarf wrapped around her neck. Her player ID read: Comet

Comet turned to face Ti-Rone, "Sir, everyone is ready to depart for the boss room." She glanced back towards our group, "And I see that the Elements of Harmony have made it as well."

Ti-Rone nodded, "Very well. Shadow, this is Comet. She's a solo player and my personal lieutenant over the Cloudsdale players. She'll be leading our players while they fight the boss battle." The admin turned back to Comet, "Fly back up to everyone else. Tell them to get their weapons ready and lead them inside once the Elements of Harmony get up there."

Comet quickly nodded and flew back up to the entrance of Sky Tower. Meanwhile, Ti-Rone spoke to our group, "Now, I won't be going with you to this boss battle. I have to stay behind and watch over the city for any situation that might occur. You better get up to Sky Tower right now. Waiting isn't one of Comet's strong suits."

I nodded, "Right." I turned to my group, "Get back on the airship and fly us up to Sky Tower." We all then boarded our ship again, while Ti-Rone waved a hoof goodbye towards us, "Good Luck!"

Soon, we were at the base of Sky Tower, standing alongside Cloudsdale's legion of pegasi players as we gazed up at the precarious structure in front of us. True to its name, Sky Tower was a giant tower made entirely of clouds. The clouds it was made up of seemed to spiral around itself, as if it were a twister that had been frozen in time. The pinnacle of the tower rose up several hundred feet up into the air

Siren whistled in amazement as she looked up at Sky Tower, "Wow, when they said this was the tallest dungeon in Equestria, they weren't joking."

Cloud squinted his eyes as he looked up towards the top of the tower, "Man, I can't even see where the top ends. The tower seems to go on forever."

"All right, people. Let's get started!" Comet shouted out to all of the players before her, while she stood in front of the open entrance to Sky Tower. I stood just beside her as she commanded the troops, "Now that the Elements of Harmony have arrived, we'll have all of the magical support we'll need. You all know the plan already; Teams Star Scream and Raptor will lead the frontal charge, while teams Pidgeotto and Falcon cover their backs from behind. A few members of the Elements of Harmony will accompany each team."

I spoke towards my group, "Team Calvary, you'll stay towards the back to support Teams Pidgeotto and Falcon. Teams Equitum and Vortex will be in the front to protect and fight with Teams Star Scream and Raptor. Does everyone understand?"

Everyone present spoke in unison, "Yes, sir."

Comet nodded in approval, "Good. We'll enter the Tower now. Everyone fall in line. I'll lead everyone inside with the Elements of Harmony up front." She turned towards me, "Let's go. Once we enter the tower, it'll teleport us to the top floor where we last put a checkpoint."

I nodded and everyone followed in line behind Comet as she entered through the entrance to Sky Tower. But as Comet entered through the threshold of the tower, her body began to disappear as if she were passing through an invisible membrane. I assumed this was the teleporting effect, so I followed in after her.

I passed through the teleportation field and found myself in a brightly lit corridor of clouds, and Comet was right in front of me. I continued walking and looked back behind me to see the rest of my team and the Cloudsdale players enter in behind me.

But then, as we continued walking down the corridor, a familiar sight for my team came into view. It was the same set of giant double doors, detailed extremely well like all of the others we had passed through before when we retrieved another element of harmony: The boss door.

Suddenly, Dylan piped up, "There's the boss door. Race you there!" Without another word, the young earth pony galloped towards the giant doors. Meanwhile, I chuckled a bit as I saw Sky and Soul roll their eyes to my right.

Soul groaned, "He's always anxious to get anywhere first. I'm honestly starting to doubt that he's your brother, Sky."

"Hmph, well he's not me." Sky replied.

But then, I watched as Soul took another look towards where Dylan galloped, but then his eyes went wide and a small gasp escaped his mouth, "Wait! Dylan, come back!" The gray unicorn suddenly lurched forward with incredible speed towards Dylan.

I called out after him, "Soul, what's wrong?"

But then, my question was answered as I watched what happened next. As soon as Dylan was twenty feet from the boss room door, the cloud floor between him and the door suddenly vanished into thin air. Dylan let out a yelp as the clouds disappeared beneath his hooves as he was about to drop down out of the empty air. But then suddenly, Soul reached the edge of the cloud floor that remained, using his magic to grab onto Dylan before he dropped, suspending him in mid air.

Sky's and my eyes went wide at what we saw, "Dylan!" We both ran to Soul's sides and used our own magic to help tow Dylan back onto solid cloud.

By the time we had pulled Dylan back to safety, we were joined by Comet and the rest of our group, while the Cloudsdale players stayed back from us a ways.

Sky looked down at his younger brother, who was in momentary shock from a near death experience, "Hey, Dylan. You alright?"

Dylan paused, but then nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. That was a close call."

I nodded, "Yeah, you're lucky Soul caught up to in time to catch you." But then, something struck my mind, "Wait a minute..." I looked towards Soul, "How exactly did you know the floor was going to disappear like that, Soul?"

"It's my player ability, which is called 'Indirect Sight'." Soul explained, "It allows me to see something from a different person's view. It's like I can borrow somebody's eyes for a little while so I can see something that's hidden."

There was a small pause while we tried to comprehend what Soul had said, but then, Dylan shouted angrily, "Wait a minute! You've kept your player ability secret all this time? You must've been using it to see my hand whenever we played cards! That's why I can never beat you. You cheated!"

Soul smirked a bit, "Actually, I don't use my ability while we play cards. You're just bad at poker."

While Dylan sulked from Soul's reply, Lexus piped up, "Hold on, if Soul's ability let him see things from somebody else's eyes, then that means that somebody must have known that the floor was going to drop. But nobody here knew that the floor would have dropped, so who's eyes did Soul use to see it coming?"

Soul paused for a moment, "I'm not exactly sure who's eyes I used. But when I saw the trap, it was like I was looking at everything all at once. I could see every detail in this corridor, even the back of my own head. Seeing all of that at once was a bit chaotic for my head."

I gasped, "Wait a minute, I think I might know who's eyes you used Soul. It must have been somebody who is basically one with the game, someone who could see everything and control the game at will." Everybody in my group suddenly came to realization about who I was describing.

Comet's eyes widened, "Wait, you don't mean..."

I nodded towards her, "Discord."

As if the Draconequus' name was a que, the room suddenly got darker than before, and an evil laugh pierced through the air, "Well done, my little ponies. It's true, Soul did use my eyes to see the trap."

Lighting flashed from the clouds that made up the corridor, striking in midair above the gap in the floor where the trap had been. The lightning flashed once, but then subsided to reveal Discord. The lord of chaos looked down towards Soul with a look of disappointment, "It's true that I can see everything in here, but why'd you have to go and ruin the good trap I set. I would have liked to see Dylan here fall to his doom."

Sky angrily drew his swords, "Discord, don't you dare come near him again or I will destroy you."

Discord merely chuckled, "Now Sky, you don't want to use up all of your energy fighting me. After all, you still have a boss to fight. Oh, and while I'm at it," Discord snapped his fingers and a wall of clouds appeared right behind my group, separating us and Comet from the rest of the Cloudsdale players, "I must inform you that I won't let anyone else fight in this boss battle, except for the Elements of Harmony. They are the defenders of peace and harmony, so it's only natural that they fight against my creation of chaos."

Comet shouted at Discord, a pair of knives suddenly appearing in her hooves, "No, that's not fair. You just cut off the bulk of our attacking force!"

Discord sneered at Comet, "Please, I was kind enough to leave you in the fight. Just be grateful that I didn't leave you behind with your other pegasi friends." The draconequus laughed evilly, "Now, I will let you pass to face my monster." With a snap of his fingers, he was gone, and the floor leading towards the boss door reappeared.

Everyone from our group was almost used to Discord's unexpected actions, but that didn't make us any less angry at him. Comet, however, was furious. The pegasus began pounding with all of her might against the wall of cloud that separated her from the other Cloudsdale players, "Hey, can you hear me? Anyone?"

Sky groaned in frustration, "Gah, can't we ever get a break?"

I sighed as I looked at everyone in our group, "Look, this is Discord. He wants to do everything he can to keep us from succeeding, but he doesn't want to stop us without a little entertainment for himself. I think he blocked us off from the Cloudsdale players because he knew that we'd be too much for his boss. He went and evened the odds into his favor. But that doesn't mean that we can't defeat the boss on our own."

Comet frowned towards me, "Are you saying that we should try to defeat the boss on our own? We'd be crushed."

"Do you even know what the boss is?" I asked.

Comet paused, but then shook her head, "No, nobody looked inside because they were afraid that they'd get locked inside with the monster."

I shrugged, "Well then, how do you know we can't beat it on our own? It was only a few months ago that my team and Team Calvary were dropped down into a dungeon underneath Canterlot to fight a hydra. If this is anything like that, and it most likely is, then we will be able to beat the boss here."

Comet glanced at me warily, but then sighed, "Fine. You've been in more boss battles than I have. I trust that you know what you're doing."

I nodded and I turned to face towards the boss door, "Everybody, get ready. We're going in."

Author's Notes:

Special thanks to CometandAqua for sending in their OC: Comet.

Thanks for reading,
-Shadowflame

Special: January 22nd (Cross' View Part 1)

It was a clear day outside my house. Everything was so clear and beautiful, most people couldn’t imagine how a person could stay inside the house all day… Well, I’m not like most people. If you're like me, you probably don’t know how to stand to be outside for more than five minutes. You know why I say this, because it's true.

Let's make something straight, now. My parents died in a accident when I was seven years old. I was at my grandma's house that day. I remember somebody calling us on the phone. I remember my grandma telling me with tear streaked eyes that my parents had died. Since that day, I've lived with my grandma, promising every day to her that wouldn't lose my smile that she loved so much. So far, I've never broken that promise.

Well let's get to back in the moment. Right… I bought the new game that was released, called ELO. I was kind of excited because that was a game that brought together two things that I like: Ponies and video games.

Oh, yes. I forgot to mention that I am a brony. Yep, the type of person that likes to watch colorful, talking ponies. But I keep it in secret from my friends. Why? Because they bully a kid for liking it. So, I decided to never tell to them the truth… What? You’re worried that I hang out with bad people? Hahaha, it's not that they're bad, they're just stupid. And as to why I keep hanging out with them?… Because I'm not very good at making friends because of my childish personality.

I glanced to the clock. It read: 11:59.

I sigh, “Time to enter the game.” I put the Nervegear on my head and laid back on my bed. Glancing over, I see that now the clock read: 12:00. I took a breath and shouted “link start!”

The inside of the helmet seemed to come alive as lights and colors of all kinds swept through my vision. Suddenly, Five bars of text appeared, showing the progress on the start-up of the game.

Sight: Ok
Hearing: Ok
Smell: Ok
Taste: Ok
Touch: Ok

The text bars disappeared and another text box appeared:

Language: English
User name: CrossHeart
Password: ********

The text box disappeared as the console signed me into my account. Suddenly, my entire vision went black, displaying white text:

Welcome to Equestria Legends Online

The text disappeared and I found myself standing in a completely dark place, with only a small spotlight shining down in front of me. More text appeared,

Now you must choose your avatar. Select which pony race you would like:

A small box appeared in front of me:

-Earth Pony
-Pegasus
-Unicorn

I reached out with a finger and tapped the unicorn button.

Suddenly the screen changed:

What would you like your avatar to be?
-Ponified self
-OC

“I not good at doing OC’s, so I'll go with ponified.” I touched the "ponified" button, making the box disappear. Soon it was replaced by:

Please hold still.

Suddenly, a large beam of blue light shone down on me. I tried not to move, but I couldn't help but try to see where the light was coming from. But after a few seconds, the light withdrew from me and like wisps of smoke, it weaved itself into the spotlight in front of me. The light began to wrap itself up, taking the form of a translucent pony.

Soon after it took shape, the light disappeared, revealing a dark blue unicorn stallion. His mane and tail were black with a red steak in the middle of them. I examined the pony, or rather myself as a pony, and it wasn't too shabby. It looked pretty cool.

Suddenly, another window popped up in front of me:

Please make your cutie mark

In the window, it had a open box, along with several icons for designing, sort of reminding me of my friend's old Photoshop application. I wasn’t very good drawing detailed pictures, so I used my finger to draw out a picture of a red "X". It was simple and cool, just what I was looking for.

Once I hit the "Ok" button in the window, the cutie mark flew out of the window stuck itself on the flanks of my pony self.
I looked at my pony with a bit of satisfaction. I was excited that I'd be taking on this form.

The window in front of me changed again:

Is this design acceptable?

I touched the "Ok" button, and the window withdrew from me. Suddenly, a voice sounded out from nowhere, "Now that you have chosen your pony, you may now enter Equestria."

A bright light suddenly swept through the dark place, blinding me for a moment. Before I entered the game, I heard the voice say, "Good luck."

When the light subsided, I found that I was standing on all fours. I looked down at my feet to see that they had been replaced by hooves. I noticed that I could move them like I would have with a normal arm or leg.

I looked around to find that I was in the town square of Ponyville: The starting town for the game. Around me, several other players were appearing as ponies as they logged into the game as well. I then noticed a dark gray unicorn with a dark red mane and tail, looking anxious as if he were waiting for someone. I shrugged and decided to ignore him.

“Well, time to go exploring the town.” I started to walk around the town, looking at all of the buildings and NPC's that were selling weapons and items.

“Watch out!” a voice suddenly cried out. I turned to see an orange Pegasus stallion flying within a few inches of crashing into me. I rolled to the side to avoid the oncoming player, and he shot right past me. Glad that I wasn't hurt, I rapidly looked back to see that the orange Pegasus was already gone.

“How strange.” I said out loud, before deciding to continue walking. I then notice a big clothing store that stood in front of me, and I decided to check it out.

Entering the store, I noticed a light brown Pegasus stallion with an orange mane standing in front of the counter of the store. His cutie mark was a cloud with dozens of lines that resembled rain. Above his head, his player ID read: Cloud Burst . Right now, he was pleading with the NPC for something that I couldn't hear. Taking a step closer, I listened to what he was saying.

“Can't you cut down the price a little?” He asked, but the NPC shook his head.

“Sorry, sir. But the price cannot be cut,” At that moment, Cloud's head banged against the counter in annoyance. I felt a bit sorry for him, so I decided to help him.

“How much does it cost?” I asked, talking to NPC. Meanwhile, Cloud looked at me with a confused expression on his face.

“ 50 bits” The NCP replied, showing me what Cloud was buying. It was a pair of sunglasses.

I frowned, Don't all players start with 200 bits at the start of the game? How does Cloud not have at least 50? I glanced towards Cloud to see a giant, three foot sword strapped to his back. It sort of reminded me of Cloud's sword in Final Fantasy 7. (Ironic, right?) I raised an eyebrow, Oh, I guess he spent all of his bits on that sword.

I turned back to the NCP, “Okay, I'll take two pairs, one for me, and one for Cloud.”

As soon as I said that, a small window appeared in front of me:

Will you purchase these items for 100 bits?
-Yes
-No

I tapped the "Yes" button with my hoof, and the money appeared on the stand's counter. The stand owner took the money and held out the sunglasses.

I picked up the pair of sunglasses with my hoof and put my pair on, and I then gave the other pair to Cloud, “Here you go.”

He blinked at me, “Oh, thanks. You don’t know how much I wanted these.” He said doing a little nod of gratitude, putting his pair of sunglasses on, “My name's Cloud. Who are you?"

"I'm Crossheart, but you can call me Cross."

"Hey, want to go gain some levels with me? There's a forest nearby with some weak monsters."

I rub my neck, but then I looked at him and nodded, “Sure. But, I'll need to get some weapons before we actually head off.”

“Okay, let's go to the weapon's store.” He replied with excitement in his voice. I let out a small chuckle.

“Okay, let's go.” I said.

We both trotted out of the store and began to look for a weapons stand.

Cloud pointed a hoof out in front of us, "Hey, over there."

I followed his hoof until I saw a single stand that stood in the middle of an alley-way, just a couple of feet away. Even from where I stood, I could plainly see the vast amount of weapons on the stand's display racks.

Cloud and I walked up to the stand, and the stallion behind the counter asked, "May I help you?"

“We just need to buy some weapons." I responded

The stallion nodded, “Right, feel free to look around. Tell me what you want when you're ready."

I nodded to him and began looking around at all of the weapons. But I only 100 bits left, so I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to buy anything. But as I was looking around, I spotted a hammer that reminded me of the Mjollnir (Thor's Hammer) and a small Viking shield. I checked the pricing to see that the hammer cost only 50 bits, which meant I had enough to buy it.

But then I figured that I'd need some sort of defensive item, so I kept searching for a shield. I continued to browse through the racks until my eye caught a small viking buckler. I checked the price to see that it cost 45 bits, which meant I could get both the hammer and the shield.

I turned back to the stand owner, “I'd like a small hammer and a small Viking shield.”

The stand owner retrieved one of the hammers, in its sheath, and a small Viking shield. Placing them on the counter in front of me, "Okay, that'll be 95 bits."

As soon as he said that, a small window appeared in front of me:

Will you purchase these items for 95 bits?
-Yes
-No

I tapped the "Yes" button with my hoof, and the money appeared on the stand's counter. The stand owner took the money and held out my weapons, "Thank you, and enjoy these while you can." I gave a polite nod to the owner.

I then tried to pick up my weapons with my hooves, only to fail miserably.

“Argh, how I am supposed to carry weapons with only hooves?”

Cloud rolled his eyes, “Why don’t you just levitate them?”

“Uh..." I just remembered that I was a unicorn, so I could use magic. (Facehoof) I then remembered that in my inventory, there was a guide that could show you how to use magic. I opened my player menu and opened my inventory. Once I found it, I selected the guide and it appeared in my hoof. (I don't know why I was able to hold this and not my weapons. Stupid video game physics.)

After I read the guide's magic instruction, I was able to learn how to use magic. I focused on my hammer and shield and the weapons rose off of the ground with levitation. Once I had a hold on them, I equipped my weapons and they appeared strapped to my back.

Cloud nodded, “Now that you’re ready, let's gain some levels.”

We both ran fast through the thick underbrush of the forest, three Timberwolves pursuing us and they were right on our tails.

“Remind me who's idea was it to fight three Timberwolves at the same time.” I asked, shooting daggers from my eyes towards Cloud, who was on my right. Above his head, his health bar was 1/2 full, just like mine.

“I said I was sorry.” He replied, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

I sighed as I continued to search the area ahead of us, just in case some other monster decided to pop up in front of us. But then, I discovered that we were running towards a dead end: The foot of a massive cliff.

I needed to think fast for a plan. If it was possible, a light bulb would have appeared above my head as an idea came to my mind. I glanced over towards Cloud, “At the count of three, jump to your left.”

“Okay” He nodded, not even questioning me.

“One,” The timberwolves were getting closer as we approached the cliff face.

“Two,” Closer.

“Three!!” We both jumped out of the way almost landing against the cliff face. But then, the Timberwolves were so intent on catching us that they had no time to slow down as they crashed into the wall of the cliff.

“Now, attack!” I shouted to Cloud and at same moment we both struck the Timberwolves blow after blow with no end. After a few seconds, the three timber wolves then burst into bits of blue codes.

But then, a box of text appeared in front of me.

Level up!

2 -> 3

“Heh, level three. Finally.” I said as sat down on the forest floor, breating hard. My health bar was still the same as Cloud's: ½ full.

Cloud nodded, “Well, time to log out. It's already 6:30 and my dad will kill me if I don’t come for dinner before 7:00.” My eyes went wide.

“It's already 6:30? Oh, no. I'll give a my grandma a heart attack if I don’t get back soon. She'd probably scare herself by thinking I'm dead on my bed.” I quickly opened my player menu to log out.

But it was then that I discovered that the log out button wasn't there, “Eh, where is the log out button?”

Cloud rolled his eyes, “It's right he-” His eyes went wide like mine as he discovered that the log button wasn’t on his player menu either. But then, before either of us could say anything, Cloud and I were suddenly enveloped by a bright blue light. I couldn't see anything; Not the forest, not Cloud, not even my own hoof in front of my face.

But then, the light subsided, and Cloud and I found ourselves in the middle of Ponyville's town square. I looked around the square, helplessly confused, to see myself surrounded by other players who were just as confused as I was. Almost the entire square was filled with bronies, and I could see pinpricks of blue light throughout the square as even more players were being teleported in.

“What the hay?” I muttered “What's happening?”

Suddenly, the blue lights in the square subsided as they finished bringing in the last of the players in the game. Everyone was just as confused as the next person in the square, but then a voice called out, louder than the combined volume of the crowd,

"Gamers and Players, May we have your attention please!"

The entire crowd quieted down as they turned to see four alicorns flying in the air above the square. Each of them were different in color and in size, but only one seemed to be the leader, which had been the one who had spoken earlier. The lead alicorn was the largest of the four. His fur was a bright red with a long white mane and tail that flowed out behind him, giving him a more commanding presence.

The lead alicorn cleared his throat and addressed the crowd, "Everyone, we are the administrators of Equestria Legends Online. We are in charge of analyzing the system and keeping it running in top condition. However, right now we are experiencing several technical difficulties in the system. One of which, as some of you might have noticed, was the absence of the log out button in your player menus. This is a major problem, since there is no other way for anyone to leave the game. We do not know the cause for this malfunction, but please bear with us as we try to fix this problem. While we try to find what's causing this, for your own safety, please remain in the Ponyville square for the time being."

This news brought up several outbursts in the crowd. Everypony began to converse to each other, as they tried to guess what might've happened or what would happen. One lone pegasus suddenly flew up into the air, yelling out for everyone in the square, "What do you mean you don't know what the problem is?!"

The lead alicorn shook his head, "This problem isn't from a lack in the system, so we don't know where the problem might have originated."

Suddenly, the entire square was plunged into darkness. Everyone broke out into chaos as they had lost their ability to see anything. But during the chaos of the darkness, another voice chuckled evilly, sending a shiver through my spine, "Oh, I think that I might know what the problem is."

My eyes widened in surprise. I knew that voice, and I was sure that everyone else did as well. Suddenly, lightning struck through the darkness, partially lighting it. The voice swept through the crowd again, "That would be me."

Another crack of lightning sounded, lighting the square completely for everyone to see the source of the voice. Flying high above the crowd was a character that any brony should know. Everyone stared in awe or shock as they gazed up at the familiar draconequus, the being of chaos, Discord.

Discord laughed evilly at the crowd below him, "Hello, my little bronies." He turned his head towards the admin alicorns who were flying in the air on the other side of the square, "And hello to you, my good administrators."

The lead alicorn glared at Discord, "How can you be the cause of the problem? You are a program in the system that we designed ourselves. You may have partial control of Equestria, but you don't have the power to change the layout of the system completely."

Discord snapped his fingers, making himself vanish. But then he reappeared behind the lead alicorn, "Oh, but you already know the answer to that. You designed me to be exactly like the me in your television show, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic."

He suddenly appeared next the dark-gray unicorn that I saw earlier, making him jump a good foot into the air, "That really is a terrible name for a show, don't you think?"

Before he could answer, Discord snapped his fingers and reappeared riding on one of the admin's backs, "You see, you gave me control over reality in Equestria, but with this power, I hacked into the rest of the system, giving me power over the entire program. Oh, and to make sure that I stay in power, " He snapped his fingers and in a flash, the admin alicorns' horns and wings disappeared, making them plummet into the crowd below, while Discord still floated in the air.

Discord laughed evilly, "Now the admins are just plain earth ponies, and I've also taken power over their admin codes. They won't be able to do a thing to change my world. As for the rest of you, I will let you keep your wings and horns while you play in a little game of mine."

The crowd burst in outrage towards Discord, but the draconequus simply snapped his fingers, literally zipping all of the mouths of the players shut. "My, I haven't even told you what the game is, and you're already anxious to get started. The game that I have in mind is a bit of a scavenger hunt. I have taken the Elements of Harmony and placed them all in secret hiding places, inside and outside of Equestria. Your job is to find the Elements and use them to reach me. There, we will have a fight to the death. If you manage to retrieve the elements and defeat me, then I will allow everyone to log out."

He lowered his head just over the crowd, "But it won't be as easy as you think, you see I've added a few features to the game. In the original system, if you died in the game, you would instantly re-spawn in the last town you were in. But that's too boring for me, so I re-wrote the system so when anyone died, their avatar would be lost, and their Nervegear Helmet in the real world will fry their brains. In shorter words, if you die in the game, you will die in the real world."

A collective gasp pulsed through the crowd. Discord laughed as he drew a line across his neck, making his head slide off of his neck and into his hand. The dismembered head laughed as it looked down at the terrified crowd, "No need to lose your head over it." He began to laugh even more, "And also, if there is any tampering with the helmet in the outside world, the helmet will kill the player instantly. Actually, quite a few of players have died already this way."

Everybody, including myself, gasped in shock. I couldn't believe it, "But... How... When did-?"

Discord continued, "Now, in this game, there are a few rules. First, you cannot receive help from the outside world, that is, if you can even manage that. If I catch anypony communicating to the outside world, all of you will die. Second, any tampering with the system from inside the game, the rule-breaker will die instantly."

Discord chuckled, "And just so you know, I have a couple of monster friends who want to go out of their designated areas, so I'm letting them roam a bit. Maybe you'll meet them when you go out of town, but they won't follow you into a city or town. They hate crowded places."

The draconequus laughed evilly, "But a few of you might have thought, 'There's only six elements, so this will be easy.' But I'm sorry to burst your bubble," Discord suddenly, belched out a bubble that was bigger than the length of his body, "But I thought that only six elements would be boring. So I added four new elements." He poked the bubble with a claw, making the bubble burst and reform into ten smaller bubbles. "They will be hidden all over Equestria, but they will be guarded by my favorite kinds of monsters, just like a boss of each element.

"If you find the element, and defeat its guardian in a boss battle, then you may walk away with the element. But I must warn you, my guardians are no push-overs."

Lightning struck again behind Discord, "Well, there you have it. So just remember, your lives are on the line, not mine." He laughed loudly, making lighting strike behind him again, "So, my little bronies, let the games begin!" The sky suddenly was filled with thunder and lightning, blinding everyone as Discord laughed maniacally. When the lightning subsided, Discord was gone, only his laughter echoed through the streets of Ponyville.

Everyone was awestruck, including me. I turned to see that Cloud was in complete shock. He didn’t even move.

“CLOUD!” I shouted, making him come back to reality again.

“Agh, what?” he said looking confused “What just happened?”

“This has become more than a game.” I replied, grimly.

Cloud and I spent the night in a hotel in Ponyville. Our plan was to leave town the next day and head for another town to search for the elements, but before leaving we needed to buy some health items in the shopping square.

“How many health potions do you think we’re going to need?” Cloud asked, turning towards me.

“Um, like 5 or more.” I responded, rubbing the back of my neck.

“Okay,” He turned back to the stallion behind the counter, selecting the "Yes" button to finalize the purchase. He then turned back to me, “Well, it's time to get going.”

We both started to walk forward to the edge of Ponyville, but we stopped just before the outskirts of town. I glanced towards Cloud, “So, where should we go first?”

“Well, Fillydelphia is one of the closest cities from here, other than Canterlot. With our levels, I think we can manage to get there in no time.” He replied.

I raised an eyebrow, “You know that we're only at level 3, right?”

“Hey, we can level up on the way there.” He replied as he began walking out of ponyville

I rolled my eyes,“If you say so”

Cloud stopped walking, seeing that I wasn't following, “Are you leaving or not? Come on!”

I let a chuckle out and follow him down the road and out of Ponyville. The road led straight to Canterlot, and there weren't too many strong monsters. On that trip alone, Cloud and I were able to level up twice each.

“Here we are, Canterlot at last.” Cloud announced as we both gazed at the massive walls surrounding the city. Cloud's health bar was only 2/3 full, but mine was at 1/2. “So, do we want to spend the night here, or should we keep on heading towards Fillydelphia.”

“Heh, and get killed in the dead of night? No thanks.” I replied jokingly, “Come on, let's find a place where we can spend the night.” It wasn't very late, but I knew that if we tried to travel to Fillydelphia now, night would come. Travelling in the dark is hard enough, but monsters are more abundant during the night. I’m sure Cloud and I wouldn't have been able to survive the trip.

Cloud nodded, “Well, I’m gonna look around. Maybe we should split up and do a little recon?”

I nodded, “That doesn't sound bad.”

“Well, see you later.” With that, he flared his wings and took off to the skies, leaving me alone at front gate. Looking at the sky, I wonder what I’m going to do first.

“Well, for one thing, staying here doesn't help me.” I thought as I started to walk through the city.

Canterlot, despite what the show had made it out to be, wasn't at all crowded or largely populated. The streets were barren, and only a few NPC's could be seen wandering about. Of course, this was due to the fact that the majority of players in ELO were still in Ponyville or departing for other towns and cities. But I did spot the occasional player around the city.

After about ten minutes of walking, I saw a building that caught my attention. I spotted a sign on top of It that read Library. I frowned, "I wonder what could be inside a library in this game."

I then took a step forward and pushed the doors to library open, entering into the building.

As I entered, I noticed that nobody was inside. There were only stands with books, and a small place were you could sit and read the books.

Walking forward, I inspected the bookcases. But then I noticed that the books were guides to the game, numbering up with each different book.

I glanced towards the one marked, "Vol.1". I frowned, "I wonder what this says."

Grabbing the Vol.1, I trotted over to the reading spot and sat down to read the book. Once in a comfortable spot, I used my magic to open to the first page and began to read it.

1- There are some weapons that can be only be found in secret places. These weapons are common in other games for being the most powerful of their kind that can be found. Examples of these weapons are: Excalibur , Kusanagi ,Durandarte, gungnir … (For more weapons and detailed information please see Vol.5)

2- There are hidden skills that any player can unlock when they get to a certain level (Depending on the player and their abilities). These skills can greatly enhance a player and they can become extremely powerful.

3- There hidden caves all across Equestria that can be found by a few players. Most of them are hidden with spells and enchantments that need to be eliminated by a player with the power to do so. Finding these caves may vary in results, for some may hide rare treasures while some house hordes of monsters. But often times, the caves will hold both.

4- Every race of pony has their own natural attributes: Earth ponies have a higher power and defense, Pegasi have greater speed and agility, and Unicorns can use magic and have stronger defense against magic based attacks.

5- The more time that a unicorn uses a certain type of magic consistantly, they can upgrade it to become more powerful. (This is true, whether or not the magic in question is their "Ability-defined" magic.)

Suddenly, the sound of a new message rang out and a small banner appeared in my vision. The banner read: New Message from Cloud Burst.

“Huh, I guess he already found a place. That was quick.” I thought as I put the book I was reading on a nearby table. I opened the message and read it.

“Hey cross I haven’t found a cheap place to stay for the night and I don’t have enough money to buy one” At this, a sigh escaped from me, “But don’t get disappointed already. I found a way to earn enough money for both of us. Meet me at the Canterlot Coliseum at the 4:00. Don’t be late.” I checked my clock to see that it was 3:50.

My eyes went wide, “I only have ten minutes, and I don’t even know where the coliseum is. I better get moving.” I quickly put the book back on the book shelf and started galloping out in search of the coliseum, leaving the library behind.

As I galloped, I spotted a nearby gray earth pony stallion with a lime mane. I didn’t pay attention to his User ID or cutie mark. I asked him where the coliseum was. From my expression, he saw that I was in a hurry, so he gave me the directions to the coliseum. I quickly thanked him and started galloping again.

Soon, the coliseum came into view and I spotted Cloud waiting outside. “Hey, Cloud!” I call out to him and he glanced towards me as I ran up to him. Breathing hard, I asked, “What... is it?”

“I'll explain in just a sec. Come on, our match is about to start.” He said, pulling me inside the coliseum's reception area. I spotted an NPC standing behind the reception counter, and Cloud pulled me over to the counter, “Here's my team mate.” He said to the receptionist.

The receptionist glanced towards me, “Team name, please.”

Cloud paused for a moment. It was true. Despite all of the time that we had beem together, Cloud and I had never formed a team. “Team C” Cloud improvised.

Before I had the opportunity to say anything, the receptionist nodded, “Okay, name accepted." He then pointed a hoof towards a guard that was blocking the entrance of the participant entrance, “Follow him. He will guide you to the participant room.” The guard then turned around and started to walk to participant room.

As we follow the guard, I stare at Cloud, expecting some kind of a response. He notices the stare gives me a sheepish smile. I frown at him, “What's going on?”

“Well, as you probably know, neither of us have enough money to buy a room in any hotel. But then, I heard some players saying that if you win one match in the coliseum, you win a lot of prize money. So, I decided to try it."

“And the part that involves me?”

“Well, I saw that teams could participate and if you win as a team, you receive more prize money. So, I decided to choose you as my team mate.”

I sighed, “Well, who are we fighting?”

“They're some team called the Powerful Two.”

“We’re here.” The guard interrupted us, showing us a massive gate that lead to the center of the coliseum, “Good luck.”

Cloud glanced at me and I gave him a nod as we both entered the gates into the coliseum.

At first, the lights of the coliseum momentarily blinded me, even while wearing my sunglasses. But after my eyes finished recovering, I was able to see how big the coliseum was. It was then that I spotted that the other team was standing at the other end of the arena.

There were only two of them, seeing as their team name was the Powerful Two. The player on the left was a unicorn with a purple coat and a white mane. On his back he was carying a rapier. His player ID read: Hasteclock.

The other one was buff earth pony. His coat was cyan, his mane was two different colors, the left side was red and the other side was blue, and his weapon was a giant rawhide hammer. His ID read: Str0nguy. However, I couldn’t see the cutie marks of either of them.

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen to the coliseum!" An announcer shouted out, his voice ringing across the coliseum, "Today we are presenting a tag match of two teams. In the south corner, we have our challengers: A new called Team C.” As he said our team name, a television screen showed Cloud and I. Only silence and some laughs were heard throughout the crowd of spectators, “And in the north corner, the most known team here for winning the first five matches in this coliseum in a row, our reigning champions: Theeee Powerful Two.” This time the crowd cheered and stomped their hooves in a massive applause.

I couldn't say that I wasn't a little jealous of them, receiving all that cheering. Of course, the cheering was making the Powerful Two a bit more arrogant, which could turn to my team's advantage.

The announcer continued, “Each of the teams will have to choose one team member to fight. The team member can’t be changed until the fighter's health reaches the yellow zone or until they win the round. When both players of one team reach their health's yellow zone, the other team wins!”

“Teams, choose your players!”

Suddenly, a text appeared in front of Cloud and I, with both of our names listed on it. Cloud and I glance at each other.

“You go first, Cloud. After all, this was your idea.” He nods in approval.

I selected Cloud's name and then another text box appeared:

Cloudburst is selected. Is this OK?
-Yes
-No

I selected "Yes".

“Both teams have selected their participant. Give an applause for Cloud Burst and Strong Guy!” The crowd cheered as they took their places in the arena. A textbox appeared in front of Cloud:

Str0nguy has invited you to a duel. Will you accept?
-Yes
-No

Cloud tapped the "Yes" option with a hoof, and a counter suddenly appeared in the air between Strong and Cloud, counting down from 10.

Strong gave a creepy smile towards Cloud as the counter began, "Heh, do you think you can actually defeat me?” Cloud simply glared back at him.

5...

4…

3…

2…

1…

START! The game blared with the sound of a bell chime, signaling the start of the duel.

Wasting no time, Cloud grabbed his sword and lashed out with an attack, directly at Strong. Strong dodged the attack before he swung his hammer from the side. The blow hit Cloud across the side, his health bar decreasing slightly as he was sent flying towards the arena wall. Using his wings, Cloud stopped his momentum and quickly flew back towards Strong.

“Back for more, eh?” Strong grabbed his hammer like as if it was a bat and stood on his hind legs in a batting position, “Well, time for a home run.”

When Cloud come close enough, Strong swung his hammer with all of his strength. Having saw it coming, Cloud quickly avoided the blow by doing a barrel roll. With his opponent open, Cloud swung his sword at Strong, leaving a line of code across the pony's flesh. Instantly, another line of code appeared in Strong, quicker than a flash, along with another one, and another, and another, and another, leaving six line of codes stretching across Strong's body. Strong cried out in pain as his health bar suddenly dropped into the yellow zone, ending the match.

Suddenly, a large window of text appeared in the air above Cloud:

Congratulations!
You've won the duel!

Everybody was left awestruck, including me. Cloud had only hit Strong once, not six times! For a while, it was only silence. But then a stomp could be heard in the crowd, another one following it, and another, until the entire coliseum was cheering for Cloud. Cloud, now exhausted from his difficult opponent, came back to the participant zone and sat down by me.

I raised an eyebrow at him, “Okay, what did you do? You only gave him one strike and six wounds appeared instead.”

Cloud paused as he tried to catch his breath, “that's my ability. It's called, "Burst attack". If I can hit my opponent at least one time, I can strike him more times than that. The only problem is that it leaves me exhausted. I'll need you to take the next fight.”

I sighed, “Okay.” I turned to the gates and entered the arena. Before I was too far off, I heard Cloud say, "Good luck."

“Okay folks. Both teams have selected their participant. Give an applause to Cross Heart and Haste Clock.” The Crowd cheered loudly, anxious to see another fight just like the one they had seen before with Cloud.

In the arena, I made my way to my position to start the fight. Across the arena, Haste glanced at me and sighs, "Your friend was lucky. Strong was too cocky, and I wont make the same mistake he did.”

I stared at him. Noticing my silence, Haste gave a short chuckle as he shook his head, “After I finish you off, you'll friend will have to fight. And I will make your friend pay.” I gave him a cold glare took a deep breath.

“That is, if you can finish me.” I replied, mockingly.

Immediately, haste opened up his player menu and tapped a few buttons. But then, a small box of text appeared in front of me:

Hasteclock has invited you to a duel. Will you accept?
-Yes
-No

I tapped the "Yes" option with a hoof, and a counter suddenly appeared in the air between me and haste.

9…

8…

7…

6…

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

START! The game blared with the sound of a bell chime, signaling the start of the duel.

Haste lashed out in an attack with the tip of his rapier. I quickly took a step to the right to avoid the blow. I just barely dodged the strike, but then he suddenly attacks me with a swing of his sword. Defending myself with my buckler, I was able to stop his attack and counter with my hammer. Noticing my hammer, Haste quickly jumped out of the way as I was about to hit him.

After this, our routine become basically the same the entire time: Attack, guard, attack, avoid. Pretty soon, Haste was starting to get impatient. He jumped back to avoid my hammer's blow, shooting a glare at me, “This was funny at first, but now this is just annoying. Time to end this.”

He started to charge his magic with his horn, surrounding it in a white aura. He took a deep breath, “Haste.”

Suddenly, a giant white clock appeared above his head and stuck to his chest, “This will only last 10 seconds, but that's enough time to end this.”

Haste suddenly starts to move twice as fast than before, making it difficult for me to evade his attack. I defended myself with my buckler, and at the same moment that I did, he attacked me again without hesitation, landing a hard blow. He swung at me again, aiming for my side. The blow barely nicked me as I rolled out of the way, taking a little bit of damage. I then started to gallop away from Haste, dropping my hammer in the process.

But then, Haste quickly caught up to me and lashed out at me with his sword. The strike dealt a lot of damage to me, but not enough to drop me into the yellow zone. I fall to the ground from the force of the attack, quickly glancing back up at Haste. The unicorn approached me, but I noticed that his "haste" status has already gone away.

“This took me more time than I was expecting.” Haste said as he glared down at me, “You’re a strong fighter, Cross, but not enough to defeat me.”

I grinned, “Heh, are you sure about that? Look under you.” He simply looked at me with confused eyes, but then he glanced down to discover that my hammer was directly under him. I let out a laugh, “Jackpot.”

I quickly levitated my hammer up from under Haste, striking his jaw and dropping his health bar a bit. The blow caused Haste to stumble backwards, trying to regain his balance. While he was distracted, I charged up my horn with magic and sent a fire ball to Haste's stomach, making him lose his balance again. I struck him again at his chest with my hammer, sending him flying back into a nearby wall. Haste landed hard against the wall, knocking him out at the same time that his health bar dropped to the yellow zone.

Suddenly, a large window of text appeared in the air above me:

Congratulations!
You've won the duel!

Just like they had done for Cloud, everybody was silent. But then the crowd exploded with cheers. Cloud entered the arena and put an arm around me shoulder, “That. Was. AWESOME! Man, for a second there, I thought you were going to lose. You definitely proved me wrong.”

I let out a short chuckle, but before I could respond the, the Announcer interrupted us, “Well, that folks, was the ending of the tag match, and the winners are Team C!” The cheers of the crowd grew wilder.

Cloud and I then left the arena and went to the reception area to claim our prize. The receptionist congratulated us and then gave us a fairly large bag of money. Inside the bag was 2,500 bits for each of us. My jaw and Cloud’s hit the floor at the sight of that much money in one bag. We hadn't thought that we'd ever be able to earn that much money at the beginning of the game. We both gave our thanks to the receptionist and headed for a hotel. We both agreed that tomorrow morning, we'd be going shopping before heading off to Fillydelphia.

Author's Notes:

Hey everyone, Shadowflame here.

So, this is a fan made chapter, by the one and only thedams.

Now, I originally had planned to have the Cloudsdale boss battle as the next chapter that I'd release. However, thedams had sent this to me about a month ago and I've had it on hand since then, but it wasn't quite completed. I was waiting for him to finish this chapter before I posted it, but I'm sorry to say that he just messaged me saying that he was leaving the fandom and wouldn't be able to finish the chapter.

And so, I'm posting this chapter as a farewell card for thedams as he leaves the brony fandom. It was great working with him, and he was a great internet friend.

Thanks for reading,
-Shadowflame

Special: January 24th (Cross' View Part 2)

[A/N]: Alright, so I've heard that a few of my readers completely skipped reading the first part of this Special. It was because of the fact that the first part started out like the beginning of this story, and you all thought it was going to be a repeat of the first chapter from Cross' view. Even though the first half of the first part was the beginning from his view, there was a whole other part of new information that you skipped out on. So before you read this part, I'd recommend that everyone re-read Part 1 of this Special Chapter.

Early in the morning, Cloud and I departed from the inn and exited the gates of Canterlot.

"Alright, Fillydelphia is east, right?" Cloud asked as he checked the map in his player menu.

I had my map open as well. I took a quick look at the path indicated between Canterlot and Fillydelphia to find that a small forest lay between the two cities.

"Yeah," I replied, "which means that we'll have to cross through this forest here."

"What's it called?"

I tapped a hoof on the map, and a small name tag appeared on the forest, "The Redtail Forest?"

Cloud frowned, "Wait, isn't that forest the dungeon for Fillydelphia? We actually have to travel through the city's dungeon to get there?"

I shrugged, "I guess so." Closing out of my player menu, I started moving out eastward, "Come on, let's get going."

I didn't get very far before Cloud suddenly flew past me at top speed, "Race you to the forest!"

Laughing a bit, my trot changed to a gallop as I raced after him.

It didn't take long to reach the edge of the forest, since it was just at the base of the mountain. But as I approached the forest, from where I ran on the mountain face, I could see that the forest extended out for what seemed forever. It looked like it made up the whole distance between Canterlot and Fillydelphia.

When I reached the forest, Cloud was already there, waiting for me. He shot me a smug grin as I trotted towards him, "I win."

I only laughed, "Well, we both know that's only because you can fly, and because of the fact that pegasi naturally get more speed stats than unicorns or earth ponies."

Cloud rolled his eyes, blowing off the comment nonchalantly, "Whatever. That's only a technicality." He glanced towards the forest behind him, "So, this is the right place? The Redtail Forest?"

I nodded, "Yeah." I looked up at the trees before us to notice that they seemed to be larger than the tree's I've seen so far, "Come to think of it, I think this forest is bigger than the Everfree. Not only does it extend for quite a while, but the trees are bigger themselves."

"Hm..." Cloud started into the forest, flashing a smile back, "Well, come on! We want to get to Fillydelphia before night comes."

I ran after Cloud and pulled up beside him, walking side by side. As we walked, both of us glanced around at our surroundings, gazing up at the trees around us. The trees dwarfed us in size, but unlike the Everfree, the forest floor wasn't covered in so much wild vegetation. It almost seemed like a regular forest from the real world.

"So, any idea why this place is called the Redtail Forest?" Cloud asked, "It doesn't look like this place has any red in it."

I frowned as I paused to think, "Hm, I'm not entirely sure... But I think I heard a rumor before I came into the game. It said that this place was named the Redtail Forest because of a giant tree that stood 3 times taller than the rest of the forest. Its leaves are supposed to be red all season long, with a white stripe in the middle of each of them to make them look like tails."

Cloud nodded in understanding, "I guess that makes sense..." A frown grew on his face, furrowing his brow in deep thought.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Hm... Well, if this is the Fillydelphia dungeon, then wouldn't that mean that this would be where one of the bosses is hidden?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I guess so. It seems like that'd make sense."

"And you're sure that this Redtail tree is real?"

I nodded, a bit more warily, "Um, yeah. Why?"

Cloud blinked as if he realized something, "If the Redtail tree and the boss are in this forest, then wouldn't it make sense that they'd be in the same place?" He shot me a sideways glance, "If we found the Redtail tree, then we'd find the boss." He grinned, "And if we find the boss, then we can beat it and get the first element of the game."

"Right, sure. We could totally take on a boss by ourselves." I said sarcastically. I gave a small laugh, "Heck, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were serious about searching for the boss right now."

Cloud only grinned wider to tell me otherwise.

My eyes widened, "Wait, you're not serious!"

Cloud laughed, "Of course I'm serious. Can you imagine how awesome it'll be if we defeat the first boss of the game with just the two of us? Wouldn't it be sweet if one of us became an element bearer?"

I rubbed the back of my neck, "Well... I admit it'd be cool. But we can't even consider taking it on by ourselves. Remember how Discord said his guardians weren't pushovers? We'd need help from other players if we want to defeat it. That is, if we even find it."

Cloud flapped his wings and floated in the air in front of me, flying backwards as I continued to walk, "Come on, Cross! We could totally take the boss on! You remember how we demolished that team back at the Canterlot stadium, right?"

I just stared blankly at Cloud and his wide grinned face. It didn't look like there'd be any chance for me to talk him out of it. I sighed, "Alright, we'll go looking for the Redtail tree while we travel to Fillydelphia. But if we do find it, and if we find the boss there as well, we're hauling butt out of there. Okay?"

Cloud literally squeed as he took off forward through the forest, "Alright, let's go!"

I laughed at my friend and ran after him for the 2nd time that day.

I shot Cloud a glance as we ran for our lives, "You had to fly straight into a pack of...." I glanced behind at the monsters pursuing us, "Heck, I don't even know what to call those things."

It was some strange kind of wolf/dragon hybrid. It had the same body structure as a wolf, but it stood just as tall as a timberwolf. Three of these monsters were chasing after us, and each of them was covered by a thick coat of brown scales. They all snapped at mine and Cloud's heels as we ran or flew away.

Cloud muttered under his breath as he carried his giant sword in his hooves, "I think they're called drakes. And again, I told you that it wasn't my fault that I ran into one. It practically pounced on me!"

I rolled my eyes as I flung my hammer back with my magic, nailing one of the drakes in the face as it came too close to me, "Whatever. Any ideas on how to get rid of them?"

"Yeah, I got one. Just keep running when I do it."

I was about to ask him what he was doing, but my question was answered as Cloud flapped his wings hard upwards and then another beat backwards. With the sudden stop from Cloud, the drakes raced past him. The sudden move startled two of the beasts and they turned around to attack the pegasus, leaving one to still chase after me.

I smirked to myself, "Ha, didn't see that one coming. At least this makes things easier." I looked back ahead and kept running. But then, I spotted a tree with thick roots: The perfect vaulting point.

I ran to the tree root, and then by placing my front hoof onto it as a pivot point. With my front hoof planted, I leaned all of my weight onto the tree root and spun around my whole body on one leg. My spin was stopped as my back hooves connected with the tree's trunk, and with a solid kick from my back legs, I launched myself forward with my hammer out, aiming right for the drake.

I felt a small sense of hilarity as I saw the drake's eyes widen. But there was nothing it could do as my hammer collided with its skull. Almost instantly, the drake's health depleted and it burst into blue code. Without missing a beat, I rolled as I landed on the ground, only for me to roll back out into a gallop towards Cloud.

Up ahead, Cloud had already disposed of one of the drakes, and I reached him just as he split the last remaining monster in half with a strike with his sword, killing it on the spot.

Now having dealt with out pursuers, both Cloud and I decided to take a small breather. I smiled as Cloud as I put away my weapons, "Nice move. I didn't expect that coming."

Cloud nodded, "Yeah, that was the idea."

"But how did you know those drakes wouldn't instantly pounce on you when you did that?"

"...." Cloud gave a sheepish smile.

I deadpanned, "You didn't know?!"

He only laughed, "What? It's more fun to take risks." Suddenly, his eyes darted behind me and into the trees, "Wait, what's that?"

He started moving farther into the forest, away from the direction that we had been travelling before. I followed behind him for a while before we both entered a large grove of the forest.

Our mouths and eyes went wide as we looked at the massive plant in the middle of the grove. It stood nearly thirty feet tall, with giant, oak branches that twisted all around its trunk. All of its leaves were a vivid red color, each with a single stripe in the middle of them. We had found the Redtail tree.

"Whoa..." Cloud breathed in awe, "I didn't expect us to find it this fast."

I frowned, "Well, not really... This tree is huge. Kind of makes me wonder how we didn't see it from Canterlot's mountain. Oh well, I blame video game physics."

Cloud began inspecting the grove, "Hm, that's strange. I don't see a boss anywhere." He chuckled, "Well, except for me of course."

I rolled my eyes. It was only a matter of time before he made the 'Like a Baws' joke. Shrugging it off, I looked around the grove too, "Hm... It doesn't look like anything's here."

"Hey, what's that?"

I glanced towards Cloud to see him pointing a hoof at the Redtail tree's roots. I looked at the roots to see a stone slab embedded between the tree and the ground. Cloud and I moved closer to the stone to inspect it closer, but then we saw that the stone had multiple engravings on it. All of the engravings were different in their own right, ranging from shapes like swords, skulls, and even candy. and there were random letters and symbols all over it as well, like 'A', 11, and even pi.

I blinked in confusion as looked at the engraved stone, "What the heck is this?"

"That's what I just asked." Cloud deadpanned. He looked closer at the engravings, "Well each of these might have some meaning. But..." He flinched as an idea struck him, "Hey, look at this one." He pointed his hoof towards a small engraving of the letter 'X'.

"An 'X'? What's so special about it?"

"It looks like your cutie mark, duh!"

Realization dawned on me. Glancing between my cutie mark and the engraving, it was true that they looked almost the same. "That's weird. I only made my cutie mark about two days ago. How could it be here?"

Cloud frowned in thought, but then he pointed at another engraving shaped like a rain cloud, "Hey, my cutie mark's here too. Maybe all of these symbols on this are everyone's cutie marks in the game."

"I don't think everybody's is here. It only looks like there's a little under a hundred marks. But that means when we first logged in and created our marks, they were all put here... What do you think it means?"

Cloud didn't reply as he tapped the engraving of his cutie mark with a hoof. As soon as he touched it, the engraving suddenly began to glow in full color.

We both jumped in surprise, "What the..."

Cloud jerked back his hoof in surprise, just in time as the slab slid into the ground, revealing a long, underground tunnel that led beneath the Redtail tree.

My eyes widened, "Oh, I get it. The slab was a door." My mind wandered back to what I had read in the library in Canterlot: There are hidden caves all across Equestria that can be found by a few players. Most of them are hidden with spells and enchantments that need to be eliminated by a player with the power to do so. Finding these caves may vary in results, for some may hide rare treasures while some house hordes of monsters. But often times, the caves will hold both.

Before I knew it, Cloud had his sword drawn again and he barreled down into the tunnel as fast as he could gallop, "Let's go! The boss has to be down here!"

"Wait! Cloud!" I called after him, "You can't run in there!" I tried to run in after him, but then the stone door suddenly slammed back into place, cutting me off from my teammate. I gasped as I tried banging my hooves against the door, but it wouldn't open, "Oh, no. Cloud doesn't know that hordes of monsters are in there. He's dead if he doesn't come back out. Cloud!"

I cursed to myself, "Crap, crap, crap, crap! I gotta contact him somehow." Suddenly, I realized, "Messaging. I'll send him a message." Without another moment lost, I opened up my player menu and started typing a message to Cloud.

Cloud galloped through the dark tunnel at full speed, ecstatic to see what lay at the end of it. He would've flown down to make it a shorter trip, but the narrow space he was in wasn't large enough for him to fly properly.

The gallop through the tunnel wasn't very long, and pretty soon Cloud entered what waited for him at the end. He stopped to find himself standing in a large room, made entirely from stone blocks.

Cloud looked around at the empty room, "Whoa... Is this the boss room?" He grinned, "Alright, it's time to take on the boss." Glancing behind him towards the tunnel, "Hey, Cross! Get your flank down here!"

Silence...

Cloud blinked in confusion, "Cross? You there?"

Suddenly, a message banner appeared in his vision:

Cloud's eyes widened in surprise, "Uh oh, did something hold Cross up?" He opened up his player menu and read the message,

Cloud frowned as he read the message, "Monsters in here? I thought the only thing in here would be a boss, yet nothing's here."

Suddenly, a deep voice echoed through the empty air, "Oh, you must be talking about those monsters that used to be here before I decided to redesign this place. Sorry to disappoint you, but they're not here anymore." Cloud turned around to find himself staring at an all too familiar Draconequus, who spoke with an evil grin, "You could say they were evicted from the premise."

Cloud glared the being of chaos, his sword clutched in a hoof, "Discord. You wanna fight? Because I'm ready to end you and get the hell out of this game." He lunged for Discord with his blade, but the Draconequus merely swooped out of the way.

Chuckling to himself, Discord wagged a talon at the pegasus, "Now, now, now. I didn't come here to fight. I came because you activated a fun little trap of mine."

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, you didn't know?" Discord feigned a gasp mockingly, "This place used to be a special little cavern, full of monsters and treasures, which could be only entered by one player. Everything down here would be different for each player that entered, which I thought was perfectly fine, but it still lacked a bit of..." He twiddled his fingers as if he were looking for the right word to use, "Chaos."

He let out another evil laugh, "So, I took it upon myself to redesign this place. A few touches here, a few tweaks there, and now, this place will only set a curse on any player that enters. And you, my little brony, will be my first test subject."

Before Cloud could react, Discord snapped his fingers, instantly knocking Cloud unconscious. With the pegasus incapacitated, the curse of the cave began to work its magic. Discord, satisfied with his work, floated laughing as Cloud's form began to change.

I waited outside for that whole time. It took twenty minutes, but to me, it seemed longer. All the while I spent worrying about Cloud. He hadn't replied to my message, but his health meter in my team menu hadn't gone down a bit. What could he be doing down there?

But then, the door to the cave creaked open beneath the Redtail tree roots. I quickly turned towards the entrance, excited to see if Cloud had returned. But what I saw come out of the cave wasn't what I expected.

He was a short, light brown dragon with orange spines. He wore a pair of sunglasses over his eyes, and he waddled up out of the cave, almost like Spike did from the MLP:FIM show. Above his head, his player ID read: Cloud Burst

I gasped, "C-Cloud? Is that you?"

The dragon said nothing, though glaring, serpentine eyes flared beneath his glasses. He gave a small nod.

I didn't know how to react, "Wh-what happened to you?"

Cloud growled, a small flicker of flame leaped out of his mouth in fury, "Discord happened. And now, he'll have to pay in full."

Author's Notes:

I'm inviting anyone to write a chapter for me. The chapter is the boss battle for the third element: The element of Loyalty. The boss is called "Cosoris: The Ursa Major", and the place where he's located is in the Redtail Forest, the dungeon of Fillydelphia. The rest of the details, you already know for that time. If you're interested in writing it, PM me and I'll see what you have in mind.

Anyways, thanks for reading,
-Shadowflame

May 7th (The Bird Brought Down The Thunder)

Our small party of players walked into the boss room, weapons drawn at the ready for anything that Discord put before us. And just like all of the other Boss Battles I've fought in, the giant wooden doors that served as the only exit slammed shut with an ominous thud. The room in front of us was a giant dome made out of clouds, but it was dimly lit compared to the part of the dungeon we passed through.

Eclipse sighed, "Well, looks like there's no turning back now."

Comet rolled her eyes, "Over dramatic much? Seriously, haven't you guys fought in at least 3 boss battles each?"

I chuckled a bit, "Actually, I've only been in two. But stepping inside a place where the chances of you getting killed are very large is still unsettling no matter what."

Comet paused, "Okay, but where is this boss anyways?"

Neon shrugged, "Usually the bosses in these games make some kind of big entrance. If anything, we'll see it before it can attack us."

Suddenly, an eagle's screech pierced the air as a flash of light illuminated one point in the dim lighting of the dome. Not a second later, a crack of lightning struck the air and long bolt of white lightning arced from the light and straight towards our group.

"Look out!" Violet yelled as he leaped forward with his hammer. He was not a moment too late, and the lightning struck his hammer like it was a lightning rod and the bolt petered out on the weapon. However, it was stronger than Violet had anticipated, throwing the unicorn back against the ground from its sheer force.

I quickly stooped down to help Violet up, and just as I did so, the dome illuminated itself, revealing the boss that stood in the middle of the room. There stood a giant, blue feathered eagle, with wing tips that shined silver like razor blades. Its wingspan stretched from one end of the dome to the other, measuring about the length of two school buses. Sparks of white lightning continued to jolt out of the bird's beak, indicating that was the place where it had fired lightning from.

A health bar floated above the boss' head, along with its name: Thunder Bird Osiris.

"Whoa, that thing is huge!" Dylan exclaimed.

Lexus shouted, "Quick, everyone, spread out before it can fire lightning again! It won't be able to take more than one opponent at a time."

I nodded as we spread out across the whole of the dome, "Right. Cross, Violet, keep that bird's focus on you. You two are the only ones who'll be able to deflect his lightning attacks. Cloud, use your bombs on its wings, but try not to use any lightning base attacks. I have a feeling that'd only help it." I looked to everyone else, "Everyone with wings, come down from above and look for its weak spot! Everyone else, do the same from below!"

"You got it!" Swift shouted as he was the first one to dive down from the sky with his hoof claws outstretched. With a few wing flaps and a jab or two, he dragged his claws through the bird's feathers, leaving scars of red code.

With the first attack, Osiris flapped its wing in an effort to brush off Swift, causing him, as well as Lexus who flew nearby to sprawl backwards from the force.

Lexus grunted as he recovered from the blow, a few red pricks of red code dotting his skin, "Gah, its wingtips are sharp. They're almost like iron."

Just then, Cloud came down from the sky, two bombs held in his claws. With a single motion, he flung both of the bombs on top of the bird's wings. The projectiles exploded and the boss shrieked in fury, pin pointing out the tiny dragon as he flew in the air. Osiris opened its beak and bolt of lightning struck out of it, right towards Cloud.

But then, just before the bolt struck, Violet leaped into the air and caught the lightning with his hammer, saving his team mate from an electrifying experience.

"Thanks!" Cloud shouted out as he flew up for another round of bomb drops.

Violet yelled back, "No problem!" As he then ran forward towards the bird with his hammer, fully charged with lightning. Cross ran forward and joined up with Violet, the two of them running side by side.

Violet glanced towards Cross, "Give me a boost."

Cross nodded as he sprinted ahead and then stopped just in front of the boss. As Violet approached him, his horn glowed red and his magic threw Violet up towards Osiris, and the Paladin unicorn struck up under the bird's beak with his electric hammer. Osiris' head was thrown back, and its underbelly was then exposed.

Sky surged forward, Soul joining up beside him. Soul glanced towards Sky with a small grin, "I bet I can cut faster than you."

Sky returned the grin likewise, "Is that a challenge?"

Both of their dual swords were drawn at the ready and they both leaped at the exposed belly of the bird. Quicker than a
flash, the two of them hacked away at Osiris' belly. The intense speed of their combined strikes ripped through a fairly large portion of the boss' health bar before the bird struck its beak down towards the two dual wielding unicorns.

Sky and Soul leaped back just in time as the thunderbird's beak pierced through the clouds of the floor. Suddenly, Dylan hopped up onto Sky's back, "Sky, base me up!"

With a single kick of his back hooves, Sky bucked his little brother off of his back and the small earth pony was sent flying right on top of the bird's neck. As Dylan landed, he stabbed his staff into the back of the bird's neck.

With a single flap of its wings, Osiris righted itself back up, sending Dylan flying off of its neck. But Dylan was quickly caught in midair by Siren. Seeing the two ponies flying nearby, Osiris opened its mouth to release another bolt of lightning. But then it was suddenly stopped as an arrow pierced through its eye, having come from Eclipse who stood off to a distance.

Meanwhile, I ran around to Osiris' talons, drawing Almighty and my shield. Also, there is something that I should explain. Apparently, my ability Apotheosis also allowed me to hold more than one "two handed" weapon. Almighty was a two handed weapon, which meant that I couldn't normally use my shield. But ever since I became an alicorn, I've been able to use both at once. For the past month, I was able to keep my team thinking that Almighty was a one handed weapon, just to keep them from suspecting anything.

"Blaze!" I shouted, causing my sword to erupt with flames. I galloped underneath Osiris, right towards the bird's talons. With two single slashes, I sliced two flaming scars into each of the boss' legs. And then, right behind me, Neon ran with her horn aglow. Her magic flared and Osiris' whole midsection was consumed in neon green flames.

Osiris' cry rang out as it felt its body be burned alive, but its cry was quickly magnified as Comet flew right under its neck with her knives drawn. With just he two tiny, single edged knives, she flew twice around the birds' neck, dragging the tips of her weapons in the boss' flesh in an effort to decapitate it.

Suddenly, the thunderbird flapped its wings down towards the ground in anger, lightning flashed and cracked through the clouds all beneath the floor beneath it. The wind and power from the single wing flap threw our entire group back against the walls of the giant dome, causing us all to collapse to the floor as well.

A bit short of breath, I glanced up towards the boss, noticing that his health bar was still at 2/3rd’s of the way full. But then, before anyone could react, Osiris raised its beak towards the ceiling of the dome, and with a bright bolt of lightning, it destroyed the roof of the dome.

Even with the brightness of the dome, but the sunlight at this altitude was even brighter. We all had to cover our eyes from the direct rays of sunlight, but the boss didn’t seem to notice as it flapped its wings and took off to the open sky outside of the dome, sending more bolts of lightning downward with each flap of its giant wings.

I grunted in frustration, “Crap, it’s getting away!”

Lexus quickly lighted off the ground and through the hole in the roof of the dome, looking around to see where the thunderbird was going.

Cross shouted up to Lexus, “Where is it going?”

Lexus frowned as he spotted the thunderbird flying away, “It’s heading due south. I think it might be running away, but it doesn’t look like…” His eyes suddenly went wide, “Uh, oh.”

Even from where I stood far below him, I could see the signs of worry on his face, “What is it?”

Lexus quickly lighted down back inside the dome, shouting to all of us, “It’s heading towards Canterlot!”

Everyone let out a short gasp. “Did you see the lightning bolts it fired from its wings?” Soul asked, “With that power, it could destroy the whole city.”

Eclipse cringed, “It’s going to destroy our home, along with everyone there.”

Sky frowned, “We need to stop it before it can reach the city.”

I nodded in agreement, “Yeah,” I looked towards Lexus, “How long do you think it’ll take Osiris to reach Canterlot?”

“A little under an hour, I’d guess.” The gray Pegasus replied, “It was flying pretty fast, but if we’re going to stop it, we need to get moving now if we're going to catch up to it.”

I nodded, “Right. Lexus, Cloud, Siren, Swift, and Comet, fly after the boss and do what you can to slow it down. We’ll be right on your tail to help.”

Everyone with wings nodded and took off to the sky, flying after Osiris.

Dylan cringed a bit, “You think they’ll be able to hold off that bird on their own?”

His question roused a pang of worry in me, Maybe they won’t be enough. What if they get wiped out before we can even get there. I felt my wings shuffle underneath my cloak, I could have flown after them to help, but then everyone would see. But, what if keeping my secret costs my friends their lives?

Suddenly, a dull creak of wooden doors resounded through the broken dome, causing everyone to look towards the pair of double doors that had locked us in here prior.

Violet inhaled sharply, “The doors opened again. Maybe they unlocked after the boss left.”

Sky ran forward towards the open doors, “Come on. We need to help the others.”

Everyone present ran to the double doors, except for me.

Sky frowned as he noticed that I wasn’t moving, “Shadow? You coming or what?”

Only one thought echoed through my mind, Make the choices you have to, so that everyone you fight alongside survives. I glanced up towards Sky, and everyone else who had stopped in the doorway from curiosity of me, a look of determination on my face.

“Everyone, get down to the airship and gather any Cloudsdale players you can on the way. Catch up to the thunderbird as soon as possible. Also, send a message to Jupiter and warn him of what’s coming.”

Cross frowned, “Wait, aren't you coming with us, Shadow?”

“I’m going after Osiris and helping the others.”

Dylan raised an eyebrow, “But wait, you can’t. You don’t even have wings to fly after them.”

I sighed, “No, Dylan, I do.” With one swift motion, I unfurled my wings from underneath my cloak and into plain sight, making everyone who saw recoil in shock.

Sky stared in pure disbelief, “Shadow… You’re an alicorn?”

I nodded, but Sky then asked, “How did that happen?”

“I’ll explain later. I have to help the others.” With a single flap of my wings, I took off through the broken roof of the dome, only glancing back to everyone to yell, “Get going!”

And then, trusting that everyone would carry out my orders, I drew my sword and shield and flew after the thunderbird at top speed, my cloak flapping rapidly in the fast winds behind me. My secret was out, and there was no going back now.

The thunderbird shrieked in fury as another one of Comet's knives stabbed underneath its neck. With a rapid flash of its beak, Comet was knocked away with a blinding flash of lightning, electricity prickling from her body as she was knocked into the air.

"Comet!" Lexus shouted as he darted to her side, and using his hoof, he caught the crook of her arm, stabilizing her flight pattern.

Comet flapped her wings again, and let herself go from Lexus' hold, "Don't worry about me. Just focus on taking that bird down."

Lexus rolled his eyes, sarcastically, "You're welcome." He looked ahead to see Cloud, Siren, and Swift trying to take on Osiris, but it wasn't going well for any of them. After only about ten minutes, the five of them in their group had managed to only drop Osiris down to 1/3 health, but all of their health bars were down past half.

Swift suddenly swooped back next to Lexus, "This is bad. We haven't slowed it down at all. We need to regroup and think of a different strategy."

Lexus nodded, "Swift, Comet, go fetch Cloud and Siren. Let's regroup at 20 meters above Osiris."

"Right." The two of them sped forward to fetch their team mates, and Lexus flew upwards above the thunderbird. Within a minute, they were flying in a tight cluster, making sure to keep the same speed as the boss.

Lexus shouted to his group over the thunder that resounded from Osiris' wing beats, "What's everyone's status?"

Swift was first to speak, "Not good. That bird seems to be molting its feathers, and then growing back iron feathers all across its body." He gestured down to his hoof claws, "My claws can pierce through the feathers, but they wear on my endurance. If I keep this up, my claws will break."

Comet, "Same here. My knives can only take so much as well. And we're all down to our last bits of health as well, and it's difficult to access the player's menu while up in the air for healing potions."

Siren, "I've checked around the boss. It has metal feathers everywhere except for its head, talons, and underbelly. But if you go for the underbelly or the talons, you'll get hit by the lightning from its wings. I've tried shooting my crossbow bolts at its face, but then I have to get away after one hits, otherwise I'd get hit by the lightning from its beak."

Cloud, "The metal feathers don't seem to protect it from my bombs, but I don't have a lot left. I wouldn't be able to kill it before I ran out."

Lexus winced. They really were in trouble.

Comet groaned, "Some magical support would be great right now. I don't think those feathers will be able to protect that bird against magical attacks."

Lexus frowned again, "Then our best bet will be to focus all of our attacks at its head. Hopefully with our combined efforts on one point, we'll be able to slow it down long enough for the others to reach us."

Siren suddenly gasped as she glanced behind her shoulder, "Wait, who's that?"

Lexus turned his head around to see a silhouetted figure of a pegasus flying towards them at incredible speed. The figure was right in front of the sun, which made it hard to make out who it was. But then, Lexus spotted a few defining features about the figure. He had a cloak on, he held a sword and shield in front of him, and just above his mane stood..... a horn. Lexus gasped, An alicorn? It can't be! The figure raised his sword to the sky with his magic, a red aura surrounding the hilt of the weapon, Shadow!?

I huffed loudly as my wings sped me through the sky high above the clouds. I pleaded with myself, "Please, don't let me be too late!"

But then, as I rose higher, I spotted my group. They were flying in close proximity of each other, right above Osiris.

I grinned to myself, "Good, I'm just in time." I noticed that they were all looking towards me. I smiled, "Well, my secret's out, so there's no need to hold back anymore. Time to put on a show." Glaring down at Osiris, I raised my sword, "Discord, now you get to see the full power of a fire alicorn."

I flared my magic, "BLAZE!" My ability activated, and thanks to my alicorn sub-ability, the fire spread from my sword and covered my entire body. In a single flap of my wings, I thrust forward and dropped into a dive, aiming right for the thunderbird's head with my sword outstretched in a giant fire ball.

Lexus' eyes widened as his mouth spread into a wide grin as he saw Shadow's body become engulfed in flames.

Comet stammered in shock, "What is that?"

Lexus laughed in reply, "You asked for magical support. Well, here it comes. Get clear!"

I hurled myself down, sword point first with the speed of a rocket. I watched in a bit of amusement as my group suddenly flew away to avoid any rebound flames from my strike. I screamed at the top of my lungs as I pierced through the air, and then, my sword connected with Osiris' neck.

Time seemed to slow down as I felt my sword drive through the iron feathers that covered the bird's body. The inferno around me melted the area that my sword didn't touch, and I pierced deeper through the boss' flesh. In an instant, I ripped through Osiris' neck and emerged out from beneath the thunderbird's beak. After I passed through, I pulled up from my dive as the flames around me ceased.

Osiris shrieked in fury as I saw its health meter suddenly drop into the red zone, due to the giant red hole of code in its neck. In its anger, it suddenly fired lightning from its beak towards me. I quickly crossed my sword and shield in front of me, pulsing in a little bit of magic to help protect myself. The lightning struck the front of my shield and I was pushed backwards from the force.

I lowered my shield as the lightning ceased, and I suddenly found myself joined at the sides with the rest of my group as we faced the thunderbird head on.

Swift's eyes were still wide underneath his goggles, "YOU'RE AN ALICORN?!?!"

I grinned, "Yeah. I'll explain later. But first, let's fry this bird and get out of here. I'll focus all of my magic power and drop it to its last bit of health. Then, everyone who could possibly be an element bearer needs to deal the final blow. Got it?"

Everyone nodded, and I grinned. I pointed my sword towards Osiris, "Okay, leave it to me! Here I come!"

I flared my magic, gathering all of the energy I had into a VERY difficult spell that I had learned recently since I became an alicorn. I raised my sword to the sky, "INFERNO BLITZ!"

My sword suddenly began to glow bright red and a giant pillar of flame shot into the sky above me. Even wiIth the light of the sun, the fire was I conjured turned the whole sky red. As I finished chanelling all of my magic power, the pillar of flame branched out into smaller streaks of fire that pointed upwards as well. And then, with a single down stroke of my sword, I directed the branches that streaked out to fire into the air in every direction.

And with a single slash of my blade, the fire streaks arched around and converged on the thunderbird from all sides. The fire pierced into Osiris and the boss screeched as its feathers and flesh melted in a giant, airborne inferno. I watched as its health bar dropped all of the way until it only had a sliver of its remaining health left. Now it was time for someone else to finish it off.

But before I could react, in a desperate effort to live, the thunderbird suddenly fired a bolt of lightning from its beak. I gasped in shock as I tried to protect myself with my shield like before, but now I didn't have any magic to protect myself with. And as I blocked the lightning, I figured out that the thunderbird was going all out as well. I screamed as the lightning suddenly jumped from my shield and coursed through my whole body. I felt myself convulse painfully as electricity filled my whole body.

I screamed as I felt my wings stop flapping and I plummeted downwards. But luckily, I dropped right on top of a cloud, and my fall was broken by the sweet, fluffy mass. I tried to stand back up on my hooves again, but I found it really hard to move. I glanced towards my health bar to see that my health was down by half, and a yellow lightning bolt had appeared as well: Paralysis.

I grunted as I tried to sit up, "Crap. I can't move." My body jerked up into a sitting position, just as somebody lighted down in front of me. I looked up to see Lexus standing there.

He held up a hoof, "Hey, you okay?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm paralyzed, but I've got a potion to heal myself. Go back and help everyone else. I'll catch up."

Lexus nodded and took off towards the thunder bird again. I sighed as I opened up my player's menu with a shaking hoof, "Man, first time I go all out with my alicorn powers and I get paralyzed. This is embarrassing. I'll have to be more careful after this."

But then, as I opened up my menu, I heard hoof steps behind me. I tried to glance behind me, but I felt a huge screaming pain as I was struck in the back of my head. I fell face first onto the cloud, cringing from the pain. I was on my side now, and I couldn't move. I cursed, "Oh gosh, who are you?"

I glanced up at my attacker to see a silhouette in front of the sun. All I could make out of him was his orange fur and his big, red mane before he raised a hoof and struck me between the eyes, knocking me unconscious.

Siren screamed the most girlish horror cry she had ever done as she raced through the sky at top speed. She didn't even dare to look back because she knew that Osiris was right on her tail, more furious than ever. Even when Shadow had lowered its health to nothing, neither Comet or Cloud had been able to deal it the final blow. They had been knocked away by the angry thunderbird and now it was coming after her.

Cloud couldn't have done the final blow, because of his curse. Lexus and Shadow were both element bearers, so they couldn't have killed it either. So Siren knew that it all rested on her to finish the bird off. However, she couldn't even shoot properly because the enraged thunderbird had switched targets from Canterlot, to the tiny, purple, pegasus mare with the crossbow.

Right now, Siren was flying in circles, but Osiris wasn't letting up. Siren screamed, "Can I get some help here?! ANYBODY?!?!"

Far behind the bird, Comet, Cloud, and Swfit flew after her. Comet shouted out, "Just turn around and shoot it in the eye!"

"I can't! If I slow down, it'll get me!"

Swift, "Just do it. It'll die and drop when you kill it."

"But what if I can't kill it? What happens then?"

Cloud, "Well, then stop flying and drop down as fast as you can!"

Siren, not feeling all too confident, sighed, "Okay, here I go!"

With a single flap, her body rotated around. And in a singe second, Siren located Osiris' eye, aimed her crossbow, and fired. The crossbow bolt shot straight and true, right into the boss' eye. The thunderbird shrieked as its last bit of health ran dry and it burst into blue code, finally defeated.

As the boss disappeared, a large computer window opened up in the air,

Congratulations! You have defeated The Thunderbird Osiris!

Siren flew in midair, still breathing hard, but she now looked relieved. With a hoof pump to the air, she shouted, "We did it!"

Another window appeared in front of her,

You received a last hit bonus!
-Master Hunter's Crossbow

The rest of the group caught up to Siren, just in time for a bright light to appear right in the air above the thunderbird conqueror. Just like the other boss battles, the light descended and subsided in front of its bearer, revealing a clear jeweled, golden necklace: The next element of harmony.

Siren tapped a hoof to the element, and another window popped up:

Element of Kindness (Inactive)
Object Type: Item

Everyone began cheering!

"Way to go, Siren!"

"You're an element of Harmony."

"What do you know, the tomboy is the element of kindness."

Siren grinned widely, "Haha! This is amazing!" But then, her smile faded a tad, "Hey, wait. Where's Shadow?"

Little did they know, their leader was being dragged off from the skies above and back down to the land. The orange pegasus, with a red mane, chuckled as he smirked at Shadowflame, who laid unconscious on his back.

Ezekiel smiled evilly, "Oh, revenge will be sweet. I'm gonna enjoy this."

May 8th (The Torture of the Tolerant)

Sky stood at the front of the airship, Westfalia, late into the afternoon. It had been hours since he and the other members of the Elements of Harmony arrived to find Osiris defeated. Everyone was excited and astonished that Siren had become the Element of Kindness (The Tomboy of the group now had Fluttershy's element. Go figure.), but everyone's enthusiasm died down as they realized that Shadow was nowhere in sight.

They had all split into groups to search the skies and clouds for Shadow, as well as another team to search the ground below. Sky had volunteered to help search the sky for him, but his mind was constantly distracted by his own thoughts.

Sky sighed, "Where could he be? Knowing Shadow, he'd head for Cloudsdale or Canterlot if he got lost, but both Jupiter and Ti-Rone had messaged that he hadn't gone back to either city. So, that means he could either be unconscious somewhere, abducted, or..." He trailed off, not liking the fact that Shadow's death could likely be another probable possibility.

He pushed that out of his mind. But there was another matter that quickly took its place at the front of his mind: Why had Shadow hidden his alicorn ability? Why didn't he tell anyone else?

Sky frowned, "Why didn't he tell me? I'm his best friend, aren't I?" He shook his head, "I'm sure he had his reasons for it, but right now we need to find where he went. He's out there somewhere, we just need to keep searching."

I groggily opened my eyes as I came to, my head still pounding as I felt a bruise beneath my mane. I groaned, "What happened?" I blinked a few times to find the dim light of a torch hanging above me, "Where am I?"

Soon, my eyes adjusted a bit and i tried to sit up, only to find that I couldn't move. Startled, I took a quick look at myself, to find that I was laying on my back on a large wooden table, slightly tilted so my body was still upright. My hooves were all bound to the table with iron chains, and my wings were spread open and bound to the table with ropes. I felt an unfamiliar weight at the front of my skull, and I glanced up to see an iron ring with a red jewel attached around my horn. And from what I could tell, my weapons and cloak were no longer equipped to myself, and nowhere in sight.

Instinctively, I tried to struggle out of the chains and ropes, but I found I couldn't move an inch under them. I groaned, "What the heck, how did I end up here? Why can't I move under these ropes?" I glanced towards the ropes that pinned my wings to the table, "It won't hold me if I burn it off." With a small bit of magic, I focused on the ropes, picturing small bits of flames eating away the threads. But, nothing happened.

As my horn was glowing with magic, a bright red light suddenly emitted from the red jewel on the ring around my horn. My eyes widened, "A magic nullifying item. I've never seen anything like this before." Without my magic to break me loose, I knew I was pretty much stuck. Even if I was able to cut the ropes with some physical object, it wouldn't work on the chains holding my hooves in place. It was clear whoever kidnapped me (or rather, foalnapped, I guess) didn't want me to leave here.

Another thought came to mind, "Where is 'here' anyway?" I took a moment to look around at my surroundings. From what I could see, I was inside a small, wooden cabin. There weren't any windows, so the only source of light was a small electrical light hanging overhead. The whole room was empty in my field of vision, but then I noticed a small sliver of space in one of the walls, revealing a faint glow of dim sunlight from outside.

"Where am I?"

A cold chuckle suddenly filled the room. My eyes widened as I recognized the voice. I turned my head towards the far corner of the room, to see an all too familiar member of the Haters' Guild.

I glared at him, muttering under my breath, "Ezekiel."

Ezekiel laughed as he walked over to my table, "Surprise, surprise. What do we have here? The great Element of Courage: Shadowflame, the alicorn."

He was making his arrogance widely apparent. Somehow, that told me he was convinced he had nothing to fear.

"What do you want from me? To kill me for my element?"

Ezekiel smirked, "Oh, yes. I brought you here to kill you, but not for the reason of taking your element. I merely want a sweet taste of revenge towards the only little pony who got away from me alive." His expression suddenly turned darker, "Back when we first met outside of Canterlot, it was my job to kill you. Your other two companions at the time weren't important, and we only had orders to kill them if they resisted. I didn't care about them. You were my only prey, but you just managed to escape from the point of my blade.

"Among the Haters' Guild, I have a reputation of never failing to kill anypony. Whenever I seek a victim to kill, I never rest until they are caught and dead. But since you escaped death from me, I've been on edge for a while. I knew that when I was finally free of the rest of my guild, you would be my first target."

I paused for a moment, "Wait, what do you mean, 'free from the rest of my guild'? Don't they help you in your killings?"

Ezekiel shook his head, "You see, only about a month ago, Chess Queen had made a proclamation to the rest of the guild. She said that we were to not harm you or the other element bearers unless you were to attack us first. The queen had rambled on about something along the lines that your times would soon come and you would all die by the hands of our king." He snorted, "Honestly, I don't give a bull for what Chess Queen says. You are my prey and I will kill you now!"

I winced a bit. It all made sense. That would've explained why we hadn't been caught up in any Haters' attack for weeks before we attacked their headquarters. But I still didn't know who Ezekiel was talking about when he mentioned 'their king'.

"Who is your king?"

Ezekiel snorted, "Like you need to know now. I'll make sure that you don't leave here alive." He suddenly drew his sword, "Ever since you imprisoned the other Haters, I've been a lonely little bird. So, I decided to tail you the entire time. I followed you all the way to Cloudsdale, which was perfect because I could blend in with the other pegasi players there. But then I lost you when you and the others traveled into the boss room alone."

He chuckled slightly, "But as luck would have it, I flew outside the tower and found you, paralyzed on top of a little cloud. It was the perfect time to take you out. But then, I noticed you had wings beneath your cloak. I must say, I was surprised.

"I brought you back here alive, like I had planned to. But while you were unconscious, I puzzled over how you had acquired your new wings."

Quicker than a flash, the Hater drove the edge of his sword right into my right wing. I screamed in pain. What? Why does this sword hurt so much? It feels like hot iron!

Ezekiel laughed, "Do you like it? It's a little upgrade that was given to me only a small while ago. It was provided by the king of my guild. It ignores the pain nullifying effects of the game. What you're feeling right now is what it'd be like if I was stabbing a knife into your back in the real world."

No wonder it hurt so bad. It was unlike anything I was used to. Out of desperation, I tried to use my magic to pull the sword out of my wing bone, but it wasn't working due to the ring strapped to my horn.

"Magic won't help you out now, Shadow. That ring on your horn was another treasure given to me by the king. It prevents any use of magic when worn by a player." Ezekiel laughed loudly, "Look at you now. It really is quite pitiful. No weapons, no armor, no wings, and no magic. You are completely at my mercy."

With a quick swipe of his sword, I felt my right wing sever completely from my back. I screamed in pain as the dismembered wing fell off the table and burst into red code on the ground below. I glanced towards my health bar to see that it had dropped a small bit, and a red "X" had appeared by my ID: The sign for the 'Disabled' status condition.

The disabled status condition meant that you could no long use a part of your body because it had been chopped off, like in my case, my wing. The status condition could be healed by using a health potion or by returning to a safe area. But by the look of how everything was going, I figured Ezekiel wasn't gonna let my wing grow back.

Ezekiel laughed, "With no wings, you'll never be able to escape me now, even if you cut yourself free from your chains." He smirked back at me, "Now, would you care to explain how you became an alicorn?"

Through clenched teeth, I spat, "Not on your life."

He merely chuckled, "I figured you wouldn't say, but don't worry. You don't need to tell me, because I already figured it out. The only alicorn before you had been Cordon of Team Vortex. Everyone knows how you dueled him and kicked him out of your guild, and we all know that he left Canterlot as another normal earth pony. I'm guessing that's the day that you woke up as an alicorn, isn't it?"

I gasped, only to make Ezekiel grin, "Cordon had remained undefeated for a while until you won the duel against him. When you won, you gained his alicorn abilities. So that means, if I kill you, then I'll become an alicorn as well!"

Just like last time, Ezekiel hacked off my other wing with his blade, causing me to release another scream. I glared at the Hater as he watched my other wing disappear, "I won't let you take the alicorn ability. I won't let you kill my friends with it."

Ezekiel paused for a moment, "Why would I go after your friends next? I don't care who I kill next, just as long as I can stab my sword through their heart."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, "Y-you... You sound like... Are you saying that you kill other players for the fun of it?!"

Ezekiel grinned, "Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."

"Why?"

"Shut up, and I'll tell you why."

On the airship, Sky continued to search the skies (hm, go figure) for any signs of Shadow. Yet, the night had come, and nothing had turned up yet. If nothing turned up soon, they'd have to regroup before the more powerful monsters spawned into the world.

"Sky!" He turned around to see Lexus flying towards the airship, and he was carrying something in his hooves.

Sky turned to Lexus as the pegasus lighted down onto the deck of the ship, "What'd you find?"

"I found these." Lexus dropped a small black bundle of cloth onto the ground, revealing a double bladed sword in a sheath, an iron kite shield, and a black cloak, "It's Shadow's gear."

Sky picked up the items with his magic and inspected them, "Where did you find these?"

"On top of the clouds. It was farther away than where I saw Shadow collapse, but that's because the clouds drifted off." Lexus replied.

Sky frowned, "Well, at least we know he isn't dead yet. If he had died, his cloak would have disappeared along with him, leaving his weapons behind." He turned to Lexus, "Maybe we can use these to track Shadow. Do you know anybody who has a high enough tracking skill to find him using his gear?"

Lexus paused, "Hm... Well, nobody in our group can... But I think Comet might be able to."

Sky nodded, "Go get her and bring her to the ship ASAP. The longer we take, the farther Shadow will be."

Lexus nodded and took off to the skies in search of Comet. Meanwhile, Sky glanced down to Shadow's cloak in his magical grasp, "Whoever took Shadow must have stripped him of his gear so he'd be easier to handle. But now the question is, who did it?"

My eyes were wide as I stared at Ezekiel, "You're... a what?"

The Hater smirked at me, "That's right. In the real world, I'm a serial killer."

"B-but, why did you come to the game then? You weren't even a brony, were you?"

Ezekiel rolled his eyes, "Please, I wouldn't be caught dead watching a little girl's show. Isn't it obvious as to why I came here? Because here, I could kill anyone I wanted without the authorities of the real world on my tail.

"Back in the real world, the day ELO was released, the world was turned upside down as news channels and governments panicked over the 1000 people that were now trapped in here. They received reports that removing a helmet from a player would kill them on the spot, and better yet, what admins that hadn't been trapped in the game learned that the helmets would kill the players when their character's health hit zero. With no cops or military inside ELO to stop me, this game sounded like heaven. A holding pen where hundreds of people were waiting for me to slaughter them."

A sadistic smile spread across his face, "I knew that a brony was living next door to me at the time, and of all the chances, he was another one who was trapped in ELO. So, I snuck into his house, and I stabbed him through the heart with a knife. And once he was dealt with, I took his Nervegear and trapped myself in this world. From then on, I've been happily feeling the great satisfaction that comes with every throat I've slit, every life I've ended."

I glared at him as I trembled in rage, "How could you be so heartless? You're killing people who want to get out of here, because if they don't die by you, they're afraid they'll die by something else. You're treating this like a game, when this has only become murder inside a slaughterhouse. I won't let you get away with this, you sick mongrel! You can go to he-!"

I cut off as I suddenly felt a sharp jab of horrific pain in my arm as Ezekiel stabbed his sword through my arm. I cried in pain, just as the Hater leaned in closer to my face, "Oh, those are fighting words. I love it when my victims curse me to hell, because I already know I'm going there. But first, I'm going to put you in so much pain that you'll be begging me to drop your health down to zero."

I winced as Ezekiel suddenly twisted the point of his sword inside my arm. It felt like the place where he stabbed was on fire, burning with every jerking motion. I glared at the Hater, "No you don't!"

I reeled back my head, and with the strength in my neck, I swung my forehead towards the Hater and stabbed him through the chest with the tip of my horn.

Ezekiel quickly stepped back from the impromptu strike, wincing, "Huh, not bad. You know, I put that ring on your horn to suppress your magic. But seeing as you've found another way to use it," He suddenly stabbed his sword through one of my pony ears, pinning it as well as my head to the table, "I'll just have to get rid of it entirely."

As if the pain of getting my ear pierced by a sword wasn't enough, Ezekiel quickly threw a wicked punch towards my horn. And just as soon as my head tossed away from the force of the blow, another punch followed from the other side, again at my horn.

I cursed to myself, Oh gosh, he's trying to break off my horn!

Ezekiel bashed my horn left and right, my head jerking each direction with each blow. I desperately tried to move my head to avoid the punches, but I was stuck in place due to the sword that pinned my ear down. Every punch caused my ear to get cut more by the blade, which was incredibly painful, but it wasn't long before I started to notice that my hearing in that ear was failing.

I wished for Ezekiel to stop his attack, but... I suppose I actually got my wish. With one last strike, Ezekiel's hoof connected with my horn and the entire base of it shattered, the top half of my horn flying off my forehead and onto the ground. At the same time, I let out a scream as the same strike pulled my ear against the blade of the sword, causing it to split my ear in half from the tip of it downwards, leaving red scars of code where it was severed.

I wheezed in exhaustion, grateful that the onslaughts of attacks were over, letting my head slump back against the wooden table in a pool of sweat.

Ezekiel bent down and picked up the tip of my horn with a hoof, "Well, that takes care of that." He removed the magic nullifying ring that stood still attached to it, and then inspected my horn, "You know, in this game, the admins went ahead and added a small bonus feature, where hundreds of well known fan fics are available in any library, ready to be read by any player.

"Now, I wouldn't have read any of those because I frankly don't care," He suddenly grinned, "But a few friends of mine in my guild referred me to a few of them. Rainbow Factory, Cupcakes, Sweet Apple Massacre, and my personal favorite, Cheerilee's Garden. I have to hand it to you bronies, you all can come up with some deliciously gruesome things." He gripped my horn, as if it were a knife, "In fact, I've gotten a few ideas for torture from them."

Just as quick as if it had been a sword, Ezekiel plunged the tip of my horn straight down into my chest, right where my heart would've been. I screamed in both pain and shock.

Ezekiel cackled to himself as he drove my horn in farther, "In Cheerilee's Garden, an elementary school teacher breaks off a tiny little boy's horn from his forehead, and then stabs him through the heart with it. But sadly, there's one thing in this game that doesn't quite settle my appetite for killing."

He released his hold on my horn, leaving it embedded in my chest, and then pulled his sword out from the table, "Nothing in this game bleeds. But even if nothing does, at least this lets me do my business without any mess. I hate trying to get blood out of my clothes."

Ezekiel then began to stab his sword into any part of my body. The pain of one stab felt like an oversized needle, but the constant shocks of pain that flowed into my body made it all worse. Again and again, the Hater plunged his sword into my arms, my legs, and my torso with blood fury in his eyes. With every stab, my arms and legs struggled under the chains in an effort to retaliate or get away, but my struggling was useless and the horrific pain kept pricking through my whole body.

I screamed, "STOP!", but Ezekiel kept hacking away at me with the point of his sword. Tears were beginning to stream from my eyes, blurring my vision, making everything zoom in and out of focus. I could feel myself want to whimper and curl up to hide myself from this torture, but I stopped myself from doing so. I wouldn't let Ezekiel have that satisfaction. But until he could break my will, I knew he wasn't going to let up.

Thankfully, it didn't take long for Lexus and Comet to reach the airship again. Sky nodded to Comet as she lighted down on deck, "Comet, how high is your tracking skill set?"

"I've almost mastered it. Nopony can track like I can." Comet replied.

Sky nodded, "Good." He held up Shadow's equipment to her, "Can you track Shadow using these? We found them lying on top of the cloud layer."

Comet grabbed the cloak from the equipment, nodding, "Yes, I think I can track where he went, but it'll be a bit more difficult if he traveled by air." She then proceeded to open her player menu and press a few buttons here and there. But then, she tapped one last button and her eyes flashed with green light, which left her eyes with a dim green glow.

The pegasus glanced around over the edge of the airship and looked around at the clouds they flew over.

Meanwhile, a boom of thunder sounded in the distance, surprising everyone aboard the ship. Lexus glanced up towards the source of the thunder to see a bunch of storm clouds in the night sky.

"Uh, oh. Looks like a storm's coming. If it gets really bad, we'll have to withdraw everyone and postpone our search for Shadow." Lexus muttered.

Sky frowned, "Then we'll need to find him before that storm gets here, just in case." He looked to Swift at the helm of the ship, "Swift! How long do you think that storm will take to get here?"

Swift glanced towards the storm clouds, using his ability to see the wind patterns it and them, "It looks like the wind isn't very strong, but it is blowing in our direction. The storm will get here within an hour, I'd say."

But then, Comet shouted out, "Hey, I've got a lock on Shadow's trail." She pointed towards a few clouds below, "It looks like the trail falls out below these clouds and leads to the ground. We may have to search for him on the ground."

Sky nodded, "Great, that should help." He yelled to Swift, "Take us down to the ground and let Comet and I off. We'll start looking for Shadow, but in the meantime, Lexus, find everyone else who are still searching the skies and tell them to search the ground from the air. Swift, once we've landed, anchor the ship and let it float in the air so everyone can see where we've gone. Watch the ship and don't let anything besides our group board it."

Lexus took off from the ship. Swift turned the wheel hard on the airship and began Westfalia's descent to the ground.

For one last blow, Ezekiel slashed his blade across the front of my throat, making me scream once more. Finally, he had stopped his constant torture. I was laying in a pool of sweat, and through my blurred vision, I could see that my health bar was just entering the red.

Ezekiel laughed as he looked at my health as well, "So, it seems that you only lose your alicorn ability when you're dueling and your health hits the yellow zone." He smirked, "Or, if you're DEAD!" He raised his sword again as if he were going to plunge it into my body again, which was now lined with dozens of red code scars.

I screamed, finding my shout to be only a mere whimper, "Please.... S-stop...."

Ezekiel's blade missed my face just barely, hitting the wood table I was strapped to. I would have flinched at the action, but I was so worn out and tired that I didn't care. My body was in crying out in exhaustion already.

Ezekiel grinned cruelly, "Begging for mercy? That doesn't sound like the Element of Courage everyone in the game knows." He laughed again, "But lucky for you, I won't kill you here. I like to hunt my prey." With a quick flash of his blade, the chains binding me were cut and my almost lifeless body slumped off of the table and into a crumpled heap on the floor.

I grunted in pain as Ezekiel kicked me hard in the gut, "Get up and get moving." He leaned down closer to my ear, which was still split in half, "I'm gonna give you a head start. This hut is located at the edge of a forest just below Cloudsdale. Beside the edge of this forest are the fields outside of Canterlot. You can try your luck and see if you can make it to the city, but I can't say that you'll make it there before I come after you. Out on the fields, you'll stick out like a sore thumb; I'll spot you from a mile away, and then I'll crush you... That is, unless the monsters out there get you first.

"But, you could try to hide in the forest. There are less monsters in there than in the fields at night, and if you get lucky and avoid the monsters, you could regenerate your health back to full. But before that happens, I'll find you again and I will end your life. Your choice."

Ezekiel put away his sword and began walking out the door to the hut, "I'll give you 20 minutes to run. But don't think that you can outrun me. While I clipped your wings, I still have mine."

The hater opened up the door and walked outside into the night, leaving me alone on the dirt floor. I cringed to myself, "C-crap, either way I choose, it won't be very easy to get out of here alive. What do I do now?"

May 8th (Hunted in the Forest)

I lay on my back on the wooden floor of the hut, just next to the table where I had been chained and tortured by the end of Ezekiel’s blade. My vision was starting to clear somewhat of my tears, but my whole body was aching in every place where a red coded scar remained. For a moment, I wanted to do nothing except lay there, waiting for either my friends to find me, or for Ezekiel to come back and kill me. If anything, the latter was the more probable of the two.

I cringed as I realized that my chances of dying were higher than ever now. If I stayed in here, I was dead. The only chance of survival, though it was a very small one, was to get away from this hut. I groaned as I willed my muscles to pull myself up, even when they were screaming for me to just lay back down.

With enough effort, I managed to stand up. My hooves were shaking though, as if I were just learning to walk on them. I blinked my eyes to see the open door in front of me, with the outdoors just behind it. From what I could see, it was night time, but then I remembered that Ezekiel had already mentioned that.

The memory of Ezekiel’s last exchange with him came back to mind, "I'm gonna give you a head start." Crap... He's probably waiting now.... "I'll give you 20 minutes to run. But don't think that you can outrun me. While I clipped your wings, I still have mine."

I felt helpless as I tried to move my nonexistent wings, finding no comfort in their abscene, I have to get out of here... How long has it been since Ezekiel left? How long do I have before he comes after me again?

I winced as I tried to walk forward, for not only were my legs sore, but they were also stiff from being chained to a table for so long. But I continued towards the door, breathing hard as I went, “I-I need to get out… Urgh, I need t-to make the most of this… H-head start.”

I finally crossed the threshold of the hut, finding that the stiffness of my muscles was fading slightly as I walked. I entered into the cold and quiet night, finding that I was situated in the middle of a forest. Everything was too dark to see at my level, but looking up I could make out the tops of the trees against the night sky. I could faintly make out the ground around me because of the dim light from the scars covering my body.

I glanced around for any other light source, anything to help light my way through the darkness. But as I looked, I suddenly spotted a giant beacon of light, glowing from beyond the trees, past the edge of the forest. I squinted my eyes as I then realized that the light was coming from a city in the distance. Wait! That was my city! Canterlot.

Seeing my home in the distance made feel a small pang of relief. All I wanted to do was to run to the city gate and hide myself inside there. I wanted to run away from this nightmare I was in. I was about to start galloping, even though my muscles still screamed for me to not do it, but I stopped before I had ran five steps.

In the back of my mind, Ezekiel's voice echoed, Beside the edge of this forest are the fields outside of Canterlot. You can try your luck and see if you can make it to the city, but I can't say that you'll make it there before I come after you. Out on the fields, you'll stick out like a sore thumb; I'll spot you from a mile away, and then I'll crush you... That is, unless the monsters out there get you first.

I groaned in frustration and anguish as I looked at the city in the distance. It was so close, yet so far, almost like that one piece of candy that was held just out of your reach by a taunting hand. I knew, if I tried to make a break for Canterlot, I wouldn't get very far, and with Ezekiel in the skies and my body glowing red with scars, it wouldn't take long for him to reach me.

"And then kill me..." I added to the thought. Sighing to myself, I turned around and ran in the opposite direction from the city, heading deeper into the forest. And just as I began my painful run, I heard thunder in the distance. A storm was coming, which meant that I might be running through the pouring rain as well. I began to wonder, Is it possible to die of hypothermia here?

Little did I know that somepony was watching me as I ran into the forest. Ezekiel sat on the roof of the hut, smirking to himself.

"Well, I thought you'd never come out of there, Shadow." He spoke quietly, snickering a bit, "It took you five minutes just to get outside. I hope you can make up for lost time." His hoof wrapped itself around the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it, "Because honestly, I haven't had a good hunt in weeks. I hope you'll make this more enjoyable than any other hunts in the forest I've done."

Keeping a hoof on his sword, Ezekiel began his wait on the top of the roof. It would be a long 15 minutes before he could seek out that injured pony like a bloodhound.

Sky followed Comet through the growing darkness as she continued to track Shadow. They had been walking on the ground for a fairly long amount of time, staying silent in case there was someone nearby, or more specifically, Shadow's captor.

"I see something up ahead." Comet whispered.

Sky looked forward as well to see a small hut made of wood. He noticed that the front door of the hut was wide open, as if someone had been there recently.

Comet piped up again, "Shadow's tracks lead into the hut, but..." As they neared the hut, Comet stopped and began looking all over the forest floor around the hut, "It seems he came back out."

Sky frowned, "So, he wasn't kidnapped? I mean, why would somebody release someone they captured?"

Comet frowned, "I don't know. But it's kind of strange. After Shadow came out of the hut, he went this way." She showed Sky by stepping in the places where Shadow had been before, "He walked this way, but then stopped."

"Wait..." Sky peered into the distance past Comet, "That's Canterlot over there. Did he go that way?"

Comet shook her head, "No, in fact, he started going the other way, away from the city and back into the forest."

"But why would Shadow run away from the city? Knowing him, that'd be the first place he'd go." Sky scratched his head, "We're missing something here."

Comet nodded, "Yeah, something must've happened inside that hut that made Shadow go in the other direction. But I can't guess what."

Sky turned and trotted over to the doorway of the hut, peering inside the darkened space. All he could see was an empty room, with a wooden table in the middle of it. But then, his eyes caught sight of something small and gray. Using his ability to see in the dark, Sky walked inside and picked up the object.

His eyes widened as he recognized what it was. He had seen this small gray object often, though it was usually attached to his friend's forehead. It was Shadow's horn. "Comet, come here." He quickly said, holding out the horn in his hoof.

Comet frowned, "What is it? I can barely see in this darkness."

Sky smiled sheepishly, "Oops, sorry. My player ability gives me night vision. I wasn't thinking about you. Hold on a sec." His horn began to glow and it illuminated the inside of the hut. He held out the horn again, "It's Shadow's horn."

Comet blinked in surprise, "Wait, what? That's his horn?!"

Sky nodded, "Whoever captured him must have broken it off his head, probably to keep him from using his magic against them."

Comet frowned as she then looked at the table in the room, "It's strange. It looks like Shadow was on this table here." Her eyes fell to the chains on the floor, and realization hit her, "No, he was bound to the table. From the tracks I see, it looks like he was flailing about a lot. It's almost as if he was..."

"Tortured." Sky spoke grimly, "And if his horn was broken off, then we can assume that his wings were cut off as well. That could explain why he ran into the forest, rather than flying away."

Comet shook her head in disbelief, "So, Shadow was captured, but we don't know by who. He was brought here, tortured, as well as amputated, and now he's running through the woods with probably little to no health left."

Sky nodded, "And I'm guessing whoever captured him is already on his tail now. We need to hurry and catch up to him before he gets killed by them or a monster out here."

Comet nodded, "Let's go!" She ran out of the hut, with Sky following behind.

Meanwhile, Sky pulled up his player menu as he ran, accessing the messaging program. As quickly as he could, he updated the rest of the group on the search, telling them to search the forest quickly.

I ran through the forest, trying my best to keep from tripping over the underbrush that zoomed past me. It still hurt to run somewhat, but after moving the stiffness out of my system, the pain seemed more tolerable. I breathed hard as my hooves trampled over vegetation covering the forest floor.

I don't know how long I was running for. It could have been 5 minutes, but then again, at least thirty could have passed by, which meant that Ezekiel was hunting for me. But I didn't stop, with the fear of my pursuer driving me forward.

Only one thought passed through my mind, RUN, HIDE, SURVIVE. All I had to do was find a place to hide and regenerate my health. I spared a glance towards my health bar to find that my health had slowly crept back into the yellow zone in the time I had been running. A small flicker of hope came to my mind.

Panting hard, If I can hide out here long enough, I might be able to regenerate enough health to help me survive an encounter, whether it be Ezekiel or a monster. But I found myself frowning, Come to think of it, I haven't seen any monsters yet. Maybe my luck here is just getting better?

Suddenly, my front hoof caught onto a tree root, tripping me hard into a roll forward. I stopped moving as my face slammed into dirt.

I groaned as I spat out a small bit of saliva moistened mud, "Apparently not." I shook my head and tried to stand up again, but I couldn't seem to bring my body to do it.

I had been thinking that I needed to keep running, but who was I kidding? My muscles were burning. I needed a rest.

I winced, "No, I can't stop. Ezekiel will only find my faster if I take a break."

Another part of my mind argued, If I hide, then I'll be able to rest without Ezekiel being able to find me so easily.

Suddenly, thunder boomed above me and a flash of lightning lit the sky. I looked up to see that the storm clouds I had seen earlier were now above me. A sudden drop of wetness on my back told me that it was beginning to rain. But not ten seconds later, it was instantly pouring down the rain. Within a few seconds, the fur on my body was soaked.

I groaned, "Ugh, screw video game physics. I need to find shelter and a hiding spot." I stood up on my unsteady hooves and quickly looked around for a dry place to hide.

I then spotted a tall tree, with a large cluster of bushes growing around its base. It wasn't the best hiding place, but it served what I needed. I jumped into the bushes and into the dry spot between it and the tree.

Surprisingly like a dog, I shook off the rain water that soaked my fur until I was dry from my mane to my tail. Now that I was dry, I laid my back against the tree trunk as I tried to catch my breath.

Now that I was taking a break, I decided that I needed to plan a strategy in case Ezekiel did find me.

I frowned as i began making a plan, Hm... Well I'm obviously not gonna stay here if Ezekiel finds me. If anything, I'll have to book it out of here.... But as a pegasus, he's gonna naturally be fast. And with my wings out of commission, I doubt I'll have any chance of out running him. I sighed, I guess if I can't flee, I'll have to fight if I want to survive. That won't be easy either. It's just that,... Ezekiel's sword... I rubbed my arms where I had been stabbed before, That'll be hard to fight against. If I even get scratched, it's not like the same pain I usually feel when I fight. If I get hurt by it, the pain might be too much for me. Even if I did get my hooves on a weapon, it'll still be difficult.

I suddenly gasped, Ugh, Idiot! I have health potions in my inventory! I can use those to regenerate my health. I quickly opened my player menu, and tapped on my inventory button. But as I did, a small window opened in front of it,

What the... What is this Embargo? Did Ezekiel do this to me as well?

But then, my blood ran cold as I heard a sound: The sound of wing beats. I quickly closed my player menu and listened closer to the area around me. From what I could hear, they were approaching fast. I quickly ducked my body into the bushes to hide myself from anybody looking from above.

Under the cover of the leaves, I glanced up. For only a split moment, I spotted an orange blur that flew past me at top speed. My scars instantly began to ache as I recognized him, Ezekiel.

As if I had a brush with death, I skin went cold and my breathing quickened, If he's this close, it'll be hard to get out of here. One wrong move, and he'll be able to see my scars in the dark from a mile away, even if I hide in the plants.

The other part of my mind piped up, What if Ezekiel has already seen me? What if he's simply toying with me. Just tormenting me until I break under the pressure and come out?

The idea seemed just as likely of a reason why he just flew past. I couldn't help but feel a single tear drip out from my eye.

More tears followed, I don't know what to be sure of anymore. Is Ezekiel toying with me? Am I ever going to get out of here alive. I felt so weak as I unsuccessfully tried to hold back a sob, Where are my friends? I need them now, but do they know where I am? Will Ezekiel get me before they find me?

The rain continued to pour from the sky, and my eyes watered in the same fashion, Please! Somebody! Anybody! Take me out of this nightmare!

Swift watched from the deck of the airship at the ground below, down where the anchor to the ship kept the vessel from drifting away in the storm's gale. The flickers of wind patterns danced wildly through his vision, but his eyes were trained on the things below the ship.

There were dozens of monsters surrounding the anchor of the ship. Over the past half hour or so, Swift had watched as monsters of all sizes, Timber wolves, manticores, and minotaurs, as well as other monsters alike, all crowded up beneath the airship. If Swift didn't know any better, it was as if they were drawn to the ship itself.

Swift shook his head, "I'm not sure why this is happening, but at least that should keep the others from running into any monsters, seeing as they're all here." He glanced out to the forest, where the rest of the group was searching for Shadow, "You all better hurry up and find him, for Shadow's sake."

Comet ran ahead of Sky as fast as she could. Sky kept up with her easily enough, but running in the rain wasn't the best thing when it came to visibility.

Sky called to Comet, "How much farther?"

"Not much." She replied, "From Shadow's trail, it looks like he's been injured to much to run at full speed. His tracks are closer together than ours, which means he's been going slower. We must be close, so it's only a matter of time before we find him."

Suddenly, a male's scream pierced the rainy night.

Sky's eyes widened, "That's Shadow!"

"It came from up ahead!"

"Comet, fly ahead and help Shadow. I'll catch up!"

But Comet already had spread her wings and she flew forward at an unmatched speed of a pegasus.

"C-crap!" I fell hard against the muddy ground as I was thrown from my hiding place, "I didn't think to look behind me."

Another scar had appeared in my mid section, the place where I had been stabbed by a familiar sword. I looked up to find the hunter that had been searching for me.

Ezekiel was grinning wildly as if he had found the best game of the hunt, his sword and shield drawn, "Hiding, are we? I had hoped for more from you, Shadow."

His mouth curved into a sneer, "It's such a disappointment. I was expecting this to be more fun."

I spat at him, "You murderer! I won't let you take pleasure from killing me!"

Ezekiel merely grinned as he raised his sword, "Too late! My fun is only drawing to a close with you."

I held up a hoof as I anticipated the final blow, the one that would end my life...

But the sword only stabbed into the ground beside me. A trickle of sweat beaded down my face. Ezekiel then leaned in closer to my face, a sneer on his face,

"I would kill you now, but I would like to tell you a little secret of mine. You'll be dying soon anyways, so I don't care if you know it."

The Hater pulled his mane back, showing the back of his left ear. My eyes widened as I saw that a pony's skull was tattooed on it. "It's the mark of the Hater's Guild. Every member has this tattoo put on their ear when they join our guild." He laughed evilly as he pulled his head away and picked up his sword again, "Now, wouldn't that have helped to know a while ago? You could have weeded out all of the spies within your ranks just by simply checking behind their left ear."

I frowned, "W-why are you telling me this?"

Ezekiel paused, "Didn't I just tell you? It doesn't matter, because this hunter is going to slaughter his prey!" He raised his sword to strike, and I knew that he wasn't going to miss this time. I cringed as I looked away, preparing for the end.

Suddenly, I heard Ezekiel grunt hard as something struck him from the side. I opened my eyes to see Comet standing in front of me, knives drawn in her hooves as faced off Ezekiel towards the side. I also spotted two red coded scars on Ezekiel's body, the places where Comet had stabbed him.

Comet glared daggers at the Hater, "You come after one of my allies, treating him as if he were prey. You think of yourself as a hunter, don't you?"

Ezekiel's expression turned into one of rage, "Yes, I like to hunt my victims down. It doesn't matter if they're your ally, girly. I'll just kill you for getting in my way."

Comet wasn't fazed, raising her daggers higher into an offensive position, "I'll show you how a true hunter works."

Quicker than a flash, her wings propelled her forward to her target. Ezekiel raised his shield just in time to deflect Comet's daggers. With a counter swipe of his sword, the Hater sliced the air where Comet had stood before. The she-pegasus had flown into the air above him, and took a quick swipe at his cheek. Red code appeared from the scratch, and the pissed off Hater knocked away his opponent with his shield. Comet quickly regained her balance, and instantly jumped back into the fight, quicker than the eye could see.

As I watched the two pegasi fight each other at top speeds, I heard more hoof steps behind me. I turned around to see Sky running up from behind.

Sky gave me a small smile, "It looks like we got here just in time. Wow, you look like a mess."

I touched a hoof to my ear that had been split in half, "No kidding."

Sky glanced back to Comet, drawing both of his swords, "Alright, let's take this guy down! Time for payback, ten fold!"

Ezekiel paused as glanced towards his two opponents in the rain. But then he sighed, "I admit, it's been a while, hasn't it, Sky? Are you tired of taking orders from this wreck yet?" He pointed towards me, slumped down on the forest floor.

Sky glared at him, "He's my friend, and I don't take orders from him. I fight alongside him and help give out the orders."

Ezekiel let out a faint chuckle, "So, you are not at all jealous of his wings?"

To my surprise, Sky said nothing. The Hater before us continued, "You of all people know that envy is there in all humans. As a pegasus, I use my wings to fly all of the time, and now it's something that has become rather boring. Recently, I've been wondering how it'd be like to have magic to use... Now, Sky, doesn't the same apply to you? You have been taking your magic for granted, and do you wonder what it'd be like to have wings? Do you wish to fly through these skies?"

"Shut up!", Sky snapped, "You're just wasting our time. Who knows? You might have a bunch of lackeys waiting to surround us."

Ezekiel shook his head, "Sorry, but I've abandoned the Hater's Guild. I'm completely solo, just how I like it."

Comet frowned, "Why would you do that. I can understand how it feels to want to go solo, but abandoning your guild?"

The Hater only smirked, "You can get the details from Shadow over there. But Sky,... it doesn't seem like you've discovered what Chess Queen meant by you being the Bishop." Before Sky had time to ask why, Ezekiel pulled a small crystal out of his armor, "But I don't have time to stay and chat. This crystal will transport me to the last city I've been in. You'll never be able to find me in time before I'm long gone."

"On no you don't!" Comet threw one of her knives towards Ezekiel. But the weapon pierced the empty air as Ezekiel disappeared in a blue flash of light.

Sky gritted his teeth and swore, "F-f-f-farm! He got away."

Comet ground her teeth as she retrieved her knife, "I'll send a message to Cloudsdale and have them search the city there for that guy.... Who is he again? It seems like you guys know him."

I nodded, "Yeah, we know him." I groaned as I felt my body ache, "But for now, before I explain what happened, let's get out of here."

"WHAT?!?!"

Everyone stared at me in disbelief as I finished recounting the night's events. Our entire group sat in the mess hall of Westfalia, and I laid slumped on one of the benches. After everything that had happened, including the trip back to the airship, I was too tired to sit up. Thankfully, my gear had been recovered and now my cloak was equipped comfortably around my shoulders.

Comet blinked in surprise, "So, let me get this straight; This guy Ezekiel was a Hater, and your team was attacked by him near the beginning of the game. You escaped being killed, and he developed a grudge. He's kept this grudge all the way up to now, and he tailed you to satisfy it. He then caught, tortured, and then released you into the forest so he could hunt you down, all so he could take your alicorn ability. And he was actually a serial killer in the real world. Is that about right?"

"Ding-ding-ding!" Cross clapped his hooves, "That is correct. 200 points!"

Cloud chuckled a bit from where he sat on Cross' back, taking off his sunglasses, "Well, if you think about this situation, you might say," His sunglasses instantly snapped back onto his dragon snout, "That escalated quickly."

"Yeeeeeaaaaaahhh!!" The two jokers shouted, proceeding to drop to the floor laughing.

Siren rolled her eyes off to the side, though it was evident she was holding back a smile, "Come on, guys. Focus. This isn't a time to be joking." She gestured to where I sat.

I chuckled weakly, "No, it's okay. Honestly, I really need a few laughs here and there." I sat up on my bench, though I had to use my wings to help me up, due to the weakness in my arms.

Sky had provided me with a health potion as he, Comet, and I made our way back to the airship. Thanks to the healing effects, my wings and horn had grown back, and the scars that had covered my body were gone. But that didn't mean the aches in my muscles were gone.

"But, Shadow, was Ezekiel's sword really that painful?" Soul asked, "I didn't think anything in this game could imitate real life pain."

Violet quickly answered for me, "Yeah, it can imitate real pain." We all turned to him to see that he had a message open in his player menu, "When you first told us about Ezekiel's sword, Shadow, I was a bit intrigued. Being a blacksmith, I've studied how to make hundreds of swords, but I've never heard of anything like this. So, I just messaged Jupiter about it, and check out what he wrote."

He cleared his throat, "Violet Runner, I am pleased to hear that Shadow has been found and rescued. However, the question you ask about the sword this Ezekiel fellow had has bewildered me somewhat. The description of the blade you've provided has led me to believe that it is a nameless blade, one of which I thought I had banned from the code of this game. Before ELO had been released, one of my admins had come forward with it in the program, but considering its damaging uses, such as real life pain and the prevention of item usage by the player it injures, all of the other admins voted it to ban it. I don't know how a Hater came to find this sword, but I hope you will share this info with the rest of the group and see what you can make of it. Please return swiftly and safely, -Jupiter."

"Prevention of item usage?" I blinked in surprise, "So, that might be why I wasn't able to use any potions to heal myself. That's strange..."

Dylan frowned to himself, "I work with a lot of code back home, and from my experience, the only way that Ezekiel's sword could exist here is if the weapon's code was still in the game's program somewhere. It could've been hidden, or inactive, which could be why all of the admins thought it was no longer in the game. But then again, this isn't the first time we've seen bits of program implemented that weren't meant to be here."

"Yeah," Lexus nodded, "After all, Cloud's dragon form was an incomplete part of the game code, yet Discord used that code to turn him into a dragon."

I shook my head, "Well, yeah, I know that. But there's something else that seems strange."

Sky raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"

"Well, Ezekiel said that the sword had been given to him by the king of the Haters' Guild. And if that were to be true, then that means that their king has found some loophole in Discord's no-hacking rule."

Everyone paused as realization dawned on them.

Eclipse was the first to speak, "If they know how to bypass the hacking rule... Then it's possible for them to control the whole game. But if we find the same method of bypass..."

"Then we'll be able to stop Discord!" Neon giggled, "We'll be able to get home without finding all of the elements!"

Everyone cheered as they suddenly found a new hope. They might be able to get home without another player dying.

I smiled faintly as I felt my fatigue reach its peak, "Swift, hoist anchor and take us back to Canterlot. We need to tell this to Jupiter in person."

Swift nodded and quickly galloped up to the deck. I smiled brightly as I watched him go, "Take us home..."

With that, I felt my eyes shut and I fell backwards off of my stool and onto the floor. Everyone jumped at my sudden fall, but then they relaxed a bit as I began to snore. And so, they left me on the floor in deep sleep for the entire flight home. (Yeah, great team mates, right? You think they would've cared enough to put me on a softer place than the floor!)

(WE SAID WE WERE SORRY!)

(Alright, alright, don't get your tails in a twist.)

Author's Notes:

Special thanks to Raybony for providing the art for Ezekiel. I didn't ask him for it, but I figured I might as well use it in this chapter. Feel free to send anything related to ELO to me. And again, thank you, Raybony, you are awesome! :D

Thanks for reading,
-Shadowflame

May 15th (A Night With a Mare?)

Hey, Shadowflame here. I guess you're wondering how I'm doing right now. Considering the fact that just a week ago I had been tortured by a deranged serial killer, I'd say that I'm doing pretty well... Unless you count the nightmares that I get every other night. They're all the same; I'm always back in that room, and Ezekiel is there holding the blade, ready to slice nonstop hellish pain into my nerves.

Let's just say that I wasn't really excited to go to sleep after the first two days back in Canterlot from that. But I'm glad that experience is over, and now I'm getting back into the swing of normal life.

Although, I bet you're wondering what happened to Ezekiel. Well, all that I know is that he got away from any search parties we sent out. We couldn't find him after he teleported away with that crystal. Who knows where he is now, 'cause I don't. I just hope he doesn't come back again for a long time.

And as for the info that I managed to get from Ezekiel, the things I mentioned in the last entry I made, including the Haters' Guild mark on its members and the possibility of a loophole in Discord's "No hacking" rule. When I arrived back at Canterlot with my team, I immediately told Jupiter about what I knew.

Jupiter regarded the fact that all Haters had a skull tattoo behind their left ear with great enthusiasm. He was extremely glad that he now had a way to root out any spies in his guild, or any other guilds for that matter. Within a day, Jupiter and the other admins put together a secret search among their cities for anypony with a skull tattoo. The whole operation is secret, and I'm not sure how it even works. I only know that the system works, and already two Haters have been found and captured in Ponyville and Manehatten.

But as for the possibility to bypass the "No hacking" rule, Jupiter was interested in it, but he said that he was reluctant to try and find it. Any tampering in the code by someone results in their own instant death, and if they accidentally tamper with anything, then that would be another one of Jupiter's men gone. The head admin didn't want to risk the lives of his coders, but he said he'd look into it. All in all, his reluctance spark hope in any of us.

But that's basically all that's happened in the last week, so I guess I better get back to the present. I-

The sounds of hoof steps coming from the front door stopped my journal entry in mid sentence.

Yay, background music!

I glanced up from the quill and book I held with magic, my journal, and I looked towards the door of my team's base. I sat in the living room on a couch, though I don't think 'sat' quite described the position I was in. I was sprawled out on the sofa, with my back legs and tail up against the back of the couch, and the rest of me laying face up on the seat of the couch. I had neither of my weapons equipped, and I didn't have my cloak on either. My wings carelessly laid on the couch cushions to complete my lazy position, perfect for a lazy Saturday like today.

Technically every Saturday for my team was called a lazy Saturday. We decided a while ago that we needed a single day in the week where we didn't go out and train, that is, unless we were needed by Jupiter or some pony else. So, Saturdays have become my lazy day.

I looked towards the front door of my team base to see a few ponies walk into the room, although from my position, they all seemed to be walking on a carpet covered ceiling. I recognized them all to be Team Calvary and Team Vortex, with my team following behind.

Soul laughed as he looked at me on the couch in my lazy position, "Well, look at our group leader. That posture doesn't seem to fit your god like appearance."

I rolled my eyes as I stowed my journal into my inventory, "I told you already, Soul. Nothing about me is godlike. So, what's up, guys?"

Violet smiled as he pulled up his player menu, "Oh, nothing much. We just wanted to bring you a Christmas present 6 months early." He tapped a few buttons in his menu and then a small window appeared in front of me:

You received a gift!
-Knight's Chest Plate

I tapped on the window to accept the gift, "A chest plate?"

Neon made a huge smile, "Yep, it was my idea."

Lexus nodded as he gave Neon a loving nudge, "She figured that since you're our biggest gun now, you'd need the extra protection. None of us wanted you to get hurt too badly in action, seeing what happened last week."

"She told us about the idea only a few days ago, after we got back from Cloudsdale." Eclipse added, "So, everyone chipped in and gathered the materials-"

"And I crafted it in my forge." Violet finished the statement.

But then Cloud piped up, "Is it just me, or does anyone else think it's creepy that we can finish each other's sentences like that."

Cross laughed, giving the dragon a grin, "Probably. But what do you expect? We've all been together for months now."

I flipped myself around on the couch and stood up, accessing my player menu as I did. I opened up my inventory and then equipped my cloak, my weapons, and my new chest plate, to see how it all felt together. All of my equipment appeared on me at once. The chest plate was what felt more prominent out of all of my things because I wasn't used to it. The iron armor covered my whole mid section up to the base of my neck. My cloak was attached to the chest plate by two gold clips, and my weapons were strapped in their usual places.

I took a few paces across the living room and back, flapping my wings a bit as I went to test my range of motion in the new armor. I after a bit, I found that the only difference I felt was the weight of the chest plate, which wasn't all that much.

"Wow, this doesn't feel too bad." I smiled, "I think I'll be using this from now on. It feels lighter than I thought."

Siren piped up, "Well, of course it's light. We thought it'd be better to design the armor for a pegasus to accommodate for your wings. We figured it'd work for an alicorn too."

I nodded as I put away my equipment, "Well, you made a great choice. Thanks guys."

Violet gave a satisfied grin, "Well, now that this is taken care of, Dylan and I need to head back to our team base ASAP."

Cloud raised an eyebrow, as did Cross, "What for?"

Dylan and Violet were already making their way to the door when Dylan replied, "We're working on a big project. Really top secret stuff that Jupiter asked us to develop."

Sky merely nodded in recognition, knowing full well that if Jupiter wanted it secret, he wasn't gonna stick his nose into it. Soul followed after his team mates, "I might as well come along. I've got nothing better to do than watch you guys tinker away down in the forge." He glanced back towards the last member of their team, "Neon, are you coming?"

Neon gave a small giggle as she hugged onto Lexus arm, "No, sorry. Lexus and I have a date tonight, and we still need to do some planning for it. I'll see you guys later."

Violet nodded, "Alright. Don't do anything reckless!" With that, Dylan, Soul, and Violet walked out of the team base.

Meanwhile, Neon glanced towards Lexus, "You know, I think tonight's date would be more fun if it was more than just the two of us. Maybe we should go on a group date tonight."

Lexus gave a sly smile, "Alright, that does sound fun." He looked back at the rest of the group present, "Shadow, Sky, you guys aren't up to anything today. Wanna come with us on a date?"

I blinked in surprise, while Sky, who had apparently slipped out into the kitchen, popped his head back into the room, munching on a piece of muffin, "Wait, what?"

"No, wait. Scratch that." Lexus spoke in more commanding voice, "You both are going to find a girl to ask out and we are all going out tonight on a date. Honestly, you guys are the most anti social ponies in our team."

"Well, if the date is tonight, then I'm not sure if either of us would be able to find a girl who could go tonight." I replied, "And that's not even including the fact that Sky would be too scared to ask a girl." I gave him a smirk, "Honestly, when he asked a girl on a date back home, I had to literally drag him to the girl to ask her."

Sky glared daggers at me for a few seconds, while I merely gave him trollish smile. But then, he a devious smile came on his face as decided he would prove my previous statement wrong.

Sky glanced towards Team Vortex, who still stood in our living room, "Hey, Siren. Do you wanna go on a date with me tonight?"

Both Siren and I blinked in surprise. I hadn't expected Sky to ask so quickly.

"Um, yeah. I guess so." Siren Stammered.

Sky smiled at Siren, "Alright, cool." He then smirked at me, "Your turn to ask somebody."

"What? You just asked the only other girl in our group! I don't know that many players well enough. Who am I supposed to ask?"

Neon gave a giggle, "I can help with that. Come on." Suddenly, she walked towards me and used her magic to grab a hold of my ear. Just like leading a dog on a leash, Neon then proceeded to drag me out the front door of the team base by my ear, which we all know that once a girl has your ear, there wasn't anything you could do to get away.

I shouted as I was pulled away, "What the heck, Neon? Where are we going?"

"To the guild hall. We're gonna find you a girl to ask out."

As I was dragged out of sight, Lexus sighed, "Well, that happened. I better make sure Neon doesn't push Shadow too far. I'll see you guys later." With that, he rushed out of the room after Neon and me.

Eclipse glanced between his team mates, "We'd better go too. Comet's almost here, and we should be at the base when she arrives."

Cross gasped with a start, "Wait, are you talking about the Comet we met in Cloudsdale last week? She's coming here?"

Swift nodded, "Yeah, we invited Comet to join our team after the whole Shadow being captured fiasco. She hadn't replied until just a few days ago. She's gonna get here later tonight."

Eclipse waved for his team to follow, "Well, let's get going. See you guys later."

Team Vortex began to walk out of the base, but as they did, Siren called back over her shoulder, "Hey, Sky!"

"Yeah?"

"I'll go on that date with you tonight on one condition."

Sky's eyebrows raised, "And that would be?"

"You can't be a gentleman for me." Siren smiled, "You know that I don't like being treated like a prissy girl."

Sky smiled back, "Alright, fine. See you tonight!"

Siren nodded, "Tonight." And then, she exited the building with her team.

With everyone gone, except Sky, Cross whispered to Cloud on his back, "So, Sky, Shadow, Neon, and Lexus will be gone tonight..."

Cloud added, "... Team Vortex will be busy welcoming Comet to their team..."

They both gave each other a grin, "... And the rest of Team Calvary will be down in their forge."

Cross chuckled, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

A devious smile grew on Cloud's face, "Troll Soul's secret food storage again?"

"Heck yeah." The two of them exchanged a quick brohoof and set off to prepare for the night ahead of them.

"Man, Neon. You could have just explained where we were going before you dragged me halfway across Canterlot." I complained as I massaged my ear. (Yes, I complained, I didn't whine). I glanced behind me, "Also, Lexus, thank you for getting her to let go. Your girlfriend has a really strong grip."

Lexus shrugged as he walked behind me, "No problem."

Neon glanced over her shoulder, "Sorry, Shadow. I was just excited. I know a lot of cool ladies in the guild who would love to go out with you. Plus, quite a few of them have been asking about you ever since you came back to the city as an alicorn."

I paused for a moment. I still wasn't used to this instant fame that came with being an alicorn. It had only been a week since everyone had found out, and everyone's response was similar to when they found out that Cordon was an alicorn. And unfortunately, like Ezekiel, almost everyone figured out that the alicorn ability was transferable. While everyone had been giving me extra attention, I've already been challenged to 3 duels this week. As you could probably guess, I haven't been beaten yet. But I knew they weren't gonna stop trying to take my ability.

"Shadow!"

Neon's shout in my ear snapped me out of my thoughts, "Whoa, what?!"

Lexus and Neon were standing on either side of me, both with concerned looks on their faces. Lexus frowned, "What's wrong? Honestly, ever since you revealed that you're an alicorn, you've been spacing out more and more."

I shook my head, "I'm fine. Don't worry. I was just lost in thought." I glanced towards Neon as we all continued walking, "So, what were you saying?"

"I was just asking what kind of girls do you like? What do you look for in a girl?"

"Oh, um..." I frowned, "I guess I like the nerdy type of girls... and... I guess I really like them with short hair... and um... I don't know."

Lexus raised an eyebrow, "Really? Is that all you can think of?"

I rolled my eyes, "Come on, Lexus. Cut me some slack. Girls haven't exactly been one of the things I've been thinking about in last months, okay?"

Neon gave a small giggle, "That's alright. If you're looking for a nerdy girl with short hair, I've got just the one for you to ask out."

The Guild Hall for the Knights of Harmony, the headquarters for our guild. It's where we all gather when Jupiter calls us to action, or when we want a place to just hang out. The hall itself is located inside the Canterlot Castle, but it's more of a whole wing of the castle, rather than a hall. The entire hall was filled with tables and seating for the guild members, and a bar area as well. I tended to keep away from the bar, seeing as I didn't drink alcohol in the real world. Even though you can't get drunk in this game, I didn't want to start drinking now.

Other than seating, a giant bulletin board hung on one of the walls, where a few job offers and side quests were posted by other players. The job offers are usually posted by players when they need help with something, or when the game decides to post a rare side quest or two. Taking up job offers are actually a really great way to get bits and items without training on monsters. My team does go on side quests once in a while when we're low on bits.

As Neon, Lexus, and I walked into the guild hall, we found quite a few players from the guild inside. All of them were just enjoying themselves, hanging out with their friends, taking a break from monster hunting, or just drinking away for fun. It was just another day of everyday life.

As soon as we entered the hall, everyone's eyes turned towards us, or more specifically, me. The whole hall fell silent, which I could have sworn was the quietest the hall had been in a long time.

I stopped in the doorway, with Lexus and Neon to my left side. Under my breath, I muttered, "Well, this is awkward."

Lexus replied in the same fashion, "Well what do you expect? This is the first time you've made a public appearance as an alicorn. You've become an instant celebrity across the game."

"As if my Element of Harmony wasn't enough already." I grumbled.

Just as the tension in the room seemed to grow, Neon broke the silence, "Hey everypony! How's it going?!"

"Hi, Neon!" The whole hall chorused. After hearing the unanimous reply, I officially declared Neon to be the friendliest pony in Equestria.

Everyone turned back to their usual routines, while still giving me the occasional glance from where they sat. Meanwhile, Neon began leading me and Lexus farther into the hall.

As we walked, I could make out bits and pieces of every player's conversations.

"Is that really him? The alicorn of fire?"

"First it was Cordon, now that Shadowflame guy gets the power of an alicorn. Wouldn't that be cool to have wings and a horn?"

"I heard he went one on one with that Thunderbird boss from Cloudsdale. They say he dropped its health down by half in ten seconds flat."

"Whoa, that's crazy powerful..."

I decided to ignore the conversations. They'd all be the same,... Unless someone suddenly stood up from their seat and challenged me to a duel. That put made my fur stand on end, as if that were to happen right then. I shook my head as I tried to shake off my paranoid thoughts. I wasn't here to duel, I was her to ask a girl out on a date... But then again, I didn't even know who I was asking.

Neon suddenly stopped in the middle of the hall, "Alright, Shadow. There's your short haired, nerdy girl. She's sitting over there with her team. Her name is Frostlight, but most everybody calls her Frost for short." She pointed a hoof in towards the corner of the hall.

I followed Neon's hoof to see a small table with 4 players around it. I looked around at their player ID's until I saw the one that read: Frostlight. She was a mint green mare, with a short mane and tail, colored in white and yellow. Her cutie mark resembled a candle, and I noticed that her horn was actually three different colors: Green, yellow, and white. She didn't wear any weapons on her, but I figured it was because she wasn't going out to fight or train anytime soon.

Neon gave a small smile, "Well, what are you waiting for? Go on and ask her."

My eyes stayed trained on Frostlight. I didn't know why, but I couldn't help but think that she looked extremely cute. Wait... Am I really thinking that just by looking at a mare, and not a human girl? I've really been in this game for too long.

I tried to answer Neon, "Well, um..."

"Oh, for pete's sakes. Come here."

"Agh! Neon! Not the ear again! Ow, ow, ow!"

Neon dragged me helplessly towards Frostlight's as she waved to Frostlight, a huge smile on her face, "Hey, Frost!"

Frostlight glanced up to see Neon and smiled just as wide, "Hi, Neon." But then, she noticed me being dragged from behind, and her expression changed from a smile to one of surprise.

Neon finally let go of my ear once I was standing right in front of Frostlight, "Hey, I want you to meet someone."

Trying to ignore the pain in my ear, I shot Neon a look that said 'Was that really necessary?'

Neon simply returned an innocent smile, making me groan. I turned back towards Frostlight.

I gave her a small smile, though I think it must have come out more like a nervous grimace, "Um... Hi, I'm Shadowflame."

Frost smiled back, but it looked like she was even more nervous, "Oh, um... Hi. I'm Frostlight."

Crap, she's just as nervous as I am. This doesn't help. What if she gets too nervous and rejects me? What if I'm too intimidating? I cursed inside my head, Okay, calm down. I'm just over thinking this. That's why I'm getting nervous. Just don't think about it, and this should go smoothly. I turned my thoughts back towards Frostlight, only for me to realize that neither of us were saying anything. We were both staring awkwardly at each other.

Oh, no. What do I say?... Um... 'I like your eyes' maybe? Naw, that sounds too flirty... But, she does have really nice eyes. They're really cute... So big, and I love the color... Wow... I shook my head to get a mental grip on myself, I can't go thinking things like that! Now I'm just getting even more nervous!

Taking a deep breath, Okay, just go right out and ask. No problem. I gulped down a small lump in my throat that had suddenly grown without me realizing its existence. Here it goes.

"Um, it's nice to meet you, Frostlight." I tried to reinforce my smile. Judging from the way Frost's expression didn't change, it didn't work so well.

She nodded, "Yeah, it's nice to meet you too."

"So, uh, would you like to... Uh, go out on a date with me, um, tonight?" I managed to stammer out. I rubbed the back of my neck nervously, and then found that sweat droplets were running down it.

Frostlight blinked in surprise at my question, but then frowned warily, "Oh, um... Just the two of us?"

"Oh, no. That's not what I meant." I responded quickly, hoping she wouldn't get the wrong idea, "It'd be us, another couple, and Lexus and Neon. It's a group date."

"Oh, okay..." Her frown disappeared, "What'll we be doing?"

I paused. I didn't even know what we were going to be doing. I gave a sheepish smile, "I uh, I actually don't know." I glanced behind me, "Neon?"

"We're going to have dinner tonight at a restaurant."

I turned back to Frostlight, "So, would you like to come?"

Frost paused for a moment before replying, "Sure, that'd be great."

I gave her a smile, "Alright. Then I guess I'll see you later tonight."

She nodded, "Okay. Tonight then."

"Guys? Are you down here?" Neon made her way down into the forge of her team's base.

Soul's voice resounded from the bottom of the stairs, "Yeah, we're all here."

Neon entered the forge to find the rest of her team inside. Soul was sitting with his back against the wall, a deck of cards levitated with magic in front of him as he practiced some card tricks. Dylan was sitting along another wall, right in front of what resembled a computer, though it was slightly different. Dozens of cords plugged into the computer ran in all directions in the forge, across the floor and even up the walls. Violet was busy moving a few of the cords with some pliers and a wire cutter.

Neon paused as she tried to make sense of the scene before her, "So, what are you guys doing?"

Violet glanced back towards her, "We're just finishing the final touches of that secret project Jupiter asked us to do."

Neon nodded as she remembered, "Oh, yeah. You mean the security camera system?"

Dylan nodded from his place in front of the computer, "Yep, I'm almost done programming the computer."

Neon's eyes widened, "Wait, you actually programmed that?"

Another nod, "Yeah. Funnily enough, this is almost as simple as it is in my Tekkit Minecraft mod. But it takes a heck of a lot of materials in craft."

Neon gave her team mates a smile, "Alright, well don't blow the house up. I'm leaving for my date now. See ya later boys!"

"Bye, Neon!" All three of them chorused.

Saying her last good byes, Neon galloped out of the base to find Lexus standing on the street, waiting for her.

Lexus gave his girlfriend a smile, "You ready to go?"

Neon nodded, "Yep" She glanced around, "So, have Shadow and Sky gone to pick up their dates?"

"Yeah. They said they'd meet up with us at the restaurant."

Neon smiled, "Okay, let's go." The two of them walked side by side, farther into the city.

But little did they know someone was watching them from the rooftops above. Watching the couple walk away through a pair of binoculars, Cross smiled to himself as he levitated a walkie-talkie to his mouth. Pressing the talk button, he spoke into the device, "Alright, it looks like Neon and Lexus are leaving. Everything good on your end?"

The receiver of the message sat on another rooftop, just on the other side of Team Calvary's base. Cloud pressed the talk button on his walkie-talkie, "Yeah, all clear here. I'm ready to go inside. Where are the others inside the base?"

"I've got a good view of the kitchen, the living room, and all of their bedrooms upstairs. Their not anywhere in sight, so I can only assume their down in the forge."

Cloud nodded, "Okay, I'm going in. I'll use the usual route through Soul's window." He opened up his wings and took off towards the building, flapping up towards the nearest window.

Once he reached the window, Cloud peered into Soul's room inside. Thankfully, no one was in there. Gripping the window pane, Cloud tried to force it open. But the window wouldn't budge.

Cloud cursed to himself as he spoke into his walkie-talkie, "Buck, it's locked. Is there any other way to get in besides the front door?"

Cross studied the whole of the building through his binoculars, "Hm... Wait, Cloud, try the window to the hallway on that same floor. It looks like it might be open. From there, it'll be a straight shot to Soul's room."

Cloud nodded, "Got it." He flew over to the window Cross mentioned. Upon reaching it, he noticed that it was partially opened, making it the perfect entry point. Forcing the window open, Cloud lighted down on the floor inside.

"Alright, Cross, I'm in. Keep your eyes on the ground floor for the others."

"Roger that." The walkie-talkie replied, "I'll warn you if they're on their way up."

Cloud then crept as quietly as he could through the hallway. He passed by the other team members' rooms until he reached Soul's door. He gingerly placed a claw on the doorknob and turned, finding that it too was locked.

Cloud raised an eyebrow, "Locked too? Man, Soul must've gotten paranoid from the last time I raided his food loots. Oh well, a little lock like this is nothing I can't crack."

Cloud turned himself around and flapped his wings to raise himself up so his tail was at the same height as the doorknob. Pointing his tail out with careful precision, he inserted the tip of it into the key hole as a makeshift lock pick. After a few twists this way and that with his tail, the lock clicked open and Cloud made his way inside.

Meanwhile, downstairs in the forge, Dylan and Violet were making the final adjustments on the security camera system.

"Alright Dylan, I'm ready to connect the video feed for the cameras. You ready with the monitor?" Violet called from his position by the circuit breaker.

"Yup!" Dylan watched the computer monitor closely. 4 small screens full of static covered the monitor, waiting to be connected to the cameras they were programmed for.

"Okay, first, the living room." Violet flicked a switch, and one of the screens on Dylan's monitor flickered to life, showing the living room upstairs.

"Okay, it looks like it's good." Dylan replied.

"Now, the kitchen." Another flick of a switch, and the next screen came alive.

"It's good."

"Now, the forge." The next screen came on, and Dylan could see himself sitting at the computer. He turned around and jokingly waved to himself through the camera.

"Looks like it's good."

"Alright, now the last one, the upstairs hallway." He flipped the switch and the screen came to life, showing the hallway on the second floor.

Soul gasped as he saw the camera feed for the hallway, "Wait, is it just me, or did you guys see something slip into my room?"

Dylan blinked in confusion, "Um, no. I think that must've been leftover static you saw."

Soul frowned to himself, "Hm... I guess you're right. I think I'm just jumpy from that time I got trolled last month."

Violet laughed as he came up to the computer monitor, "Oh, you mean the time someone raided your personal storage in your room?"

Dylan joined in laughing too, "Yeah, we never found out who did that, did we?"

Soul's eyes widened, "Hey, wait a second. I know I locked my door before I came down here. Why is it wide open now?!" He gasped, "The troll is back!" Without missing a beat, Soul took off out of the forge and up the stairs. He was going to make that little troll pay, whoever he was.

Upstairs, Cloud, unaware of Soul's approach, opened up the bedside drawer, the location of Soul's 'secret' stash. Reaching a claw inside, Cloud pulled out one of the several food items inside, Soul's favorite: A blueberry muffin.

Cloud licked his lips, "Yup, good eating for me and Cross tonight." Stowing away the muffin in his inventory, the dragon began taking the other food and storing them away as well.

Suddenly, Cross' voice shouted through the walkie-talkie, "Cloud! Abort! Abort! Get out of there! Soul's barreling up the stairs like an crazy person! I think you're in trouble."

Before Cloud could even react, his pupils dilated as a shadow loomed over his short dragon form from behind.

Soul's voice grumbled from right behind, "So, this whole time, it was you, Cloud."

Cloud glanced behind him to see Soul's eye twitching in a maniac expression. Cloud smiled warily, "Oh hey, Soul, old buddy. Um... You know this was a joke, right?"

"Then why aren't I laughing?" Soul's eyes seemed to glint with fury.

Cloud could only gulp down a lump in his throat as the unicorn slowly extended a hoof out to his scaly chest.

Downstairs in the forge, Dylan and Violet jumped in fright as they heard a scream and a loud crash above them.

Dylan cringed, "Whoa, I hope Soul didn't go overboard with that."

"Um, don't get your hopes up. Look, he just threw somebody right out into the hallway." Violet pointed to the computer monitor, "Hey, wait a minute, that's Cloud." Violet smirked and merely shrugged, "Ah, I should've known. Cloud *would* do something like this. And it wouldn't be too far off to assume Cross was in on this too."

Instantly, another huge crash came from upstairs and Violet and Dylan winced as they watched the action on screen, "Ooh, that looked like it hurt."

"Um, should we be worried that Soul might kill Cloud?" Dylan asked.

VIolet shook his head, "Naw, as long as they stay in the city, they can't bring each other's health's down unless they're in a duel."

"Okay, I guess you're right. But shouldn't we try to stop them?"

"Um, probably not. I don't think we'll be able to stop him, even if we tried."

"So, just sit back and watch the fireworks fly?"

"Yeah," Violet winced, "Ooh, but that was a nice use of a full nelson."

Dylan cringed, "Whoa, and then straight into a German Suplex! I'm surprised Cloud is still conscious."

Violet laughed, "Well, I guess one thing good came out of this."

"What?"

"At least we know the cameras are working, and now we can start working on installing a system for Jupiter at the castle."

And so, the two of them, and Cross with his binoculars outside, watched the action as Cloud tried to evade the wrath of Soul. Eventually, Cloud managed to fly away, ending the long tussle. But elsewhere, other events in Canterlot were happening.

I trotted down a street lit with lanterns, on my way towards Frostlight's house. The sun had set only an hour ago, and the night would last much longer before it grew too late. Thankfully, Neon knew where Frostlight lived, because I had forgotten to ask her where I should pick her up for the date. What can I say? I'm forgetful when I'm nervous.

I continued to walk down the street, following the directions Neon had provided. I hadn't walked very far until I spotted the house. I made my way up to the front door, and raised a hoof to knock.

Okay, here goes nothing. I knocked a hoof against the wood door with a few quick thuds.

A few moments later, Frostlight opened the door, a bright smile on her face, "Hi, Shadow."

I smiled back, "Hey, Frost. Are you ready to go?"

She nodded as she exited her home, closing the door behind her, "Yup."

"Then let's go."

The two of us began walking back down the street, side by side, in the direction of the restaurant where Neon, Lexus, Sky, and Siren would be waiting for us. But as we walked, the first minute or so, neither of us said anything.

I kept giving Frostlight a few sideways glances, Man, why isn't she saying anything? Maybe, she's just waiting for me to start a conversation? I don't know... Or maybe she just doesn't talk a lot. UGH! Either way, I need to get a conversation going, otherwise this whole date is going to be extremely awkward.

I cleared my throat, "So, uh, Frost, how are you tonight?"

She glanced towards me, "Hm? Oh, I'm fine. What about you?"

"I'm fine too." I paused for a moment as I tried to think of another way to keep the conversation going, "Hey, I'm a bit curious. Are you a little intimidated or something by the fact that you're out on a date with *me*?" In hindsight, that probably wasn't the best question in the world to ask. But then again, it did get the conversation moving like I wanted.

Frostlight paused for a bit, "Well, I guess I was. I mean, I guess I might just be a little bit." She frowned slightly, "I don't know." But then she gave me a sheepish smile, "Sorry, I'm not all that good at forming sentences right."

"Oh, okay." Well, at least I knew why she wasn't talking. I supposed that meant I'd be the one in charge of conversing, "Well, I was only wondering about what you thought of this date. I just hope that my known reputation won't make this date any less fun."

"Oh, well, you are kind of famous here in the game. Practically everyone had heard of you when you got the Element of Courage. And then you became an alicorn and yeah. You're basically the most famous player in the game." Frostlight glanced down at the ground, looking slightly embarrassed, "Um, when you asked me out this morning, I admit I was kind of..." She paused as if she were looking for the right word.

"Intimidated?" I ventured a guess.

Frost nodded, "Yeah. I wasn't really expecting you to walk up to me and ask me out on a date. But I noticed you were nervous too, so I thought... I'd say yes to your date."

I smiled a bit, "Okay, well I'm glad to hear that. Heck, even I'm not quite used to these wings either." I gave me wings a voluntary flap or two.

Frost glanced curiously at my wings, "So, what's it like? You were a unicorn before, weren't you?"

"What's it like to have wings?" I asked to clarify, "Well, it's actually really fun, flying especially."

"Really?"

"Yeah, there isn't a feeling in the world like flying with your own wings. It just makes you feel so free."

Frost smiled as she looked ahead, distantly, "It sounds fantastic. Ever since we got in this game, I've never felt like I had freedom."

I glanced back at her, "Wait, speaking of which, how did you get stuck in this game?"

"Oh, well the Nervegear I'm using now is actually my friend's." She replied, "She wanted me to try it out for a bit, so I made another account and played it. But then,.. You know."

I nodded in recognition, "Yeah, all too well."

For a moment, neither of us spoke as we remembered back to the first day of the game, the day we all were trapped. I shook my head, "Well, we shouldn't really dwell on that. We're on a date after all. This is supposed to be fun."

Frost flashed a small grin, "Indeed."

"Okay, well what about your weapon of choice? What do you use to fight?"

"I use a bow. And when I combine my player ability to it, I can shoot Ice arrows."

I blinked in surprise, "Really? So, you're ability is almost like my Blaze ability. What's it called?"

"Frost."

I smirked, "So, I'm guessing that makes you the Katniss Everdeen of your team, right?"

Frostlight laughed, "Um, yeah. I can't believe you just made a hunger games reference. It's been a while since I heard anything like that."

I shrugged, "Hey, that series is only ten years old. It's still a great story."

"I think so, too."

"And what about Harry Potter?"

"Oh, I love that series!"

Surprisingly, our conversation went on smoothly from then on. And just from talking to Frostlight, I could tell that this night was only going to get better... Or, so I had hoped.

It didn't take us long to reach the restaurant, and by then, Neon, Lexus, Sky, and Siren were all waiting for me and Frost. They all stood just outside the building, ready to go inside.

"Really? Your high school plays quidditch?" Frost asked as we approached the restaurant, her face making a massive grin.

I nodded, "Yeah, although I'm not very good at it, but that's mainly because I only ever play it in PE."

Frost laughed, "That's awesome."

Lexus smirked at me as we came close, "Took you long enough. Did you have a nice long walk?"

I simply shrugged. Neon then started for the door, "Well, now that we're all here, it's time to eat." Everyone filed into the restaurant behind her.

As we entered, Sky trotted closer to me, a sly grin on his face, "Man, with that silly grin on your face, I'd say that you like that Frostlight girl."

"Well, I guess you could say that. I mean, we have a bit in common with each other, but I haven't gotten to talk with her that long."

Sky shrugged, "Oh well."

"And what about you and Siren?" I asked

Sky simply blinked, "Well, I think she's starting to look at me a bit differently than usual because I asked her out, but nothing has really changed."

Under my breath I muttered, "Hm... I'll laugh when you end up having a crush on her by next week."

"What was that?" Sky asked.

I smiled sheepishly, "Oh, nothing."

Inside the restaurant, an NPC greeted us at the door and led us to a small table for 6. The table was made from polizhed wood, as were the chairs, save for the cushion padding on the seats, which meant that this place was in the midzone for the pricing of resaurants. Frostlight and I took our seats next to each other, while Neon sat herself down on a seat and Lexus pushed her chair in before taking a seat next to her. Next, Siren sat down in a chair, but before she could scoot herself in, Sky placed his hooves on the back of her chair.

"Here," He said, "I got this." He gently scooted her chair forward, which rewarded him with a sharp look from his date.

"Sky, I told you that you can't be a gentleman for this date."

Sky grunted under his breath, "Hm, right." Though his tone emphasized that he hadn't forgotten. He then took his seat at the table.

Later, another NPC took our orders and just as quickly came back with our food. (Gotta love video game diners. No need to wait for anything.) As a waitress NPC set down a clover sandwich that I had ordered down in front of me, I noticed that Lexus was glancing between me and Frostlight.

"Lexus?" I asked curiously.

He shook his head, "Oh, sorry. It's just that I noticed something funny." He chuckled a bit, "It kind of seems that you and Frostlight are exact opposites of each other."

Frostlight and I just stared at him in confusion, "Wait, what?"

"Think about it." Lexus explained, "First, your names. 'Shadowflame' has to do with darkness and fire, while 'Frostlight' has to do with ice and light, the exact opposites of the attributes in your name, Shadow. And then there's your colors. Your mane is red, while her coat is green, which is the opposite of each other on the color wheel. And your coat is gray, while at least part of her mane is white, which is close, if not just off from being opposite from each other."

I paused for a moment, but then I found myself laughing as it made sense to me, "Oh, wow. I didn't notice that before."

Frostlight nodded, an amused look on her face, "Yep. But there's more that you don't know."

"Yeah, so Frostlight uses a bow to fight, while I use a sword and shield. A ranged weapon and a close quarters weapon are basically opposites. And my ability is Blaze, which lights my sword on fire, but her ability is Frost, which adds freezing power to her arrows."

Sky chuckled from his spot at the table, just barely taking a few bites from his food, which was a plate of hay fries, "Well, you know what they say. Opposites attract."

I felt myself flush a bit, while Frost looked down to the floor in embarrassment. "Hehe, yeah. Right." We both replied in unison.

"Aw, isn't that cute." A voice spoke from behind me, with an icy tone. I glanced behind to see a black stallion wearing a black cloak. On a belt, he had two sais strapped there, ready for use. His mane and tail were a dark green, and he wore a cold, menacing expression. I could hear my group members gasp a bit as they saw this newcomer. We had seen him before, two months ago at the Canterlot party, just before he stormed off from being defeated by Neon.

Nyxia flashed us all a grin, "Surprise."

Lexus stood up from his seat, glaring at the unicorn, "What do you want, Nyxia? Another rematch?"

Nyxia simply shook his head, tutting as he did, "No, Lexus. My business isn't with you yet. Right now, I need Shadow for the moment."

I narrowed my eyes, "And what would that be?"

Nyxia drew one of his sais with his magic, "I want the power of an alicorn for myself, just like everyone else in this death trap of a game. I challenge you to a duel, Shadowflame."

I paused for a moment, but then I turned back to my plate of food, "I decline."

I could hear Nyxia's breathing become more harsh, as if he wouldn't take 'no' for an answer, "You're declining my challenge?!"

I nodded without looking back, "Yes, I am. As you can see, I'm on a date."

"So what, you're a coward now? What happened to your so called Element of Courage?"

"I'm not a coward." I replied flatly, "If you're so anxious to duel me, then I'll have to ask you to come back to me tomorrow and challenge me then."

Nyxia drew his other sai and snarled, "We are doing this right here, right now!"

Instantly, Lexus, Neon, and Sky stood up and pulled their weapons out of their inventories, ready to defend against Nyxia if needed. "No," I told them, "I'll take care of this. Besides, he says his business is with me."

I glanced behind me towards Nyxia, "You can't hurt me if I don't accept the duel. We're in a safe zone, remember? Whichi means my health bar can't drop at all unless I accept the duel, which I don't. Come back tomorrow."

"No! Your lackeys and your petty little wallflower can wait. And if you don't accept when I ask again, I will hunt down your team mates outside of the city walls, where they can be easily ambushed."

I inhaled sharply, and the whole room seemed to fall silent. I stood up from my seat and turned to face Nyxia, "I don't care if you call me a coward, or any other name for that matter." I quickly equipped my armor and weapons with a hoof, making all of the equipment appear on me instantly, "But no one threatens my group like that without paying a price." I drew my sword and shield, making my blade burst into flames, "And they are not my lackeys, they are my friends... And also," I flared my wings in anger, "Frostlight is anything but a wallflower, you scumbag. So you better apologize before I hand your flank to you on a silver platter."

Nyxia's face drooped into one of shock, but then quickly twisted into a sneer as he regained his composure, "Hahaha, that's right. Get angry. Those wings will be mine before you know it." He quickly tapped into his player menu, selecting the invite to duel option.

The duel invitation appeared in front of me, but I didn't pay it any attention. I beat my wings once, and I was instantly an inch from Nyxia's face, my blade right beneath his throat.

I growled under my breath, "I gave you the chance to come back and duel me tomorrow, but now, you don't even deserve it. I won't be dueling you today."

Nyxia looked shocked, "B-but, you can't hurt me in a safe zone. Not unless you duel me. Why bother drawing your sword then?"

"Because, I don't plan on hurting you. I can't lower your health, but my weapon can still use its knockback!" In a single swipe, I drove my sword into Nyxia's chest, but rather than stabbing into him, he was thrown backwards a few feet, landing hard against the floor behind him.

I walked up to him, my sword pointed towards his chest, "Now, unless you want to get ping ponged across this restaurant, I'd suggest you get out of my sight."

Nyxia, knowing he wouldn't fare well in this kind of fight, quickly scrambled to get up to all fours and galloped for the door. But before he could exit, a hoof on his shoulder stopped him. Lexus had flown over and intercepted Nyxia's course to prevent him from leaving.

"Not so fast." The gray pegasus said, "When you were launched by Shadow, I thought I saw something like a tattoo. It came from right behind your left ear." Before Nyxia could react, Lexus kicked out the unicorns legs from beneath him and pinned him to the ground with his body. And just as quickly, Lexus parted Nyxia's mane away from his left ear, revealing that there was a tattoo there: A skull.

Sky frowned as he looked at the mark, "So, he went and joined the Haters' Guild. I guess it was a big mistake for him to come to us."

I glanced towards Neon, "Message Jupiter right away. Tell him that we have another Hater in our custody."

As Neon went ahead and prepared a message, Nyxia could be heard beneath Lexus' body weight, "Shi-" He was quickly knocked unconscious as I smacked him with my shield. Another thing about me, I did not like swearing all that much either.

I yawned as I walked down the street, out of the restaurant, "Man, even with a bit of action in between, that meal really hit the spot." I glanced towards Frostlight who walked beside me, "So, how was your food?"

"Oh, it was good."

You see, after sending a message to Jupiter, it only took a few minutes for some players from the guild to arrive and drag Nyxia off to prison. So, that was settled, but everyone decided because of the action, we'd cut the date a bit shorter than we had planned. So we all decided to eat our food and enjoy ourselves a little bit, but then we'd walk each of our dates home. And since we were all finished, it was time for me to walk Frostlight back home.

My armor and weapons had been stowed away after Nyxia had been carried off, which helped me to relax a bit after the action. I glanced towards Frostlight, only to notice that she was being a quieter than before. "Hey, what's wrong?" I asked.

She shook her head, "It's just... Back there, against that Hater, you were really intense. I thought you were actually planning on killing that guy. It was, I don't know, it was like seeing a whole different side of you."

I paused, "I guess that wouldn't be too far off. That guy, Nyxia, me and my team have some bad history with him. He brutalized Lexus when we first met him, and I suppose we all grew a small little hate for him. And when he threatened my team," I could hear my voice grow grim, "That was a line that he shouldn't have crossed."

"Oh," Frostlight seemed to delve deep in thought, "I suppose when you put it that way..."

I shook my head, "Um, look, sorry if I ruined this date for you."

"No, that's fine. You didn't ruin it for me. It was just that it made me think a little bit. I don't think I could have gotten to know you like I do now if this hadn't happened. I know how you feel. You care for your team and for your friends. And it's just like everyone says, you really are a good leader."

I gave a small smile, "Thanks. But if you're giving me compliments like that, then I need to at least give you one as well."

She smiled, "Really?"

I nodded, "Yeah... So, can I just say that you're probably the most amazing girl I've ever met."

Frostlight giggled a bit, "Really, even when you only met me today? You barely even know me."

I paused, "Well, I tend to have a pretty good judge of character. Let's see here... You are very nerdy, which I like a lot. You are kind and understanding. And you are... just beautiful."

Before I could react, Frostlight stopped and turned, just to throw her hooves around my neck in a tight hug. Her face had wide grin on it, "Thank you. I just..." She trailed off in the sentence.

I smiled a little wider as I returned the hug, "You're welcome."

Suddenly, a huge crack of thunder ripped through the air causing both of us to break away from the hug. I glanced up just in time to feel a few drops of rain fall down onto my fur, before it escalated into a fairly decent downpour. "Huh, it's raining."

Frostlight smiled as she leaned in closer from the side, "Well, that's good. I've always liked the rain."

I paused for a moment, feeling as the cool rain cascaded from the sky and onto my head and back. It did feel nice, or maybe it was just the feeling of Frostlight pressed up against my side. But either way, I hadn't smiled like this for quite a while. I nodded, "Yeah, I love the rain too."

"Well, um Shadow? Shouldn't we get going?"

I blinked as I realized that we had stopped walking. I smiled, "Yeah, let's go."

So, we walked with our sides touching, as if we thought it'd be of any help in repelling the rain. But it was more of an excuse to stay close to each other. I wasn't going to complain. Frostlight just felt so soft and warm. It felt good just to be with her.

As we walked in the rain, Frostlight spoke, "Shadow, you're a dork."

I blinked in surprise, unsure of how to react, "Um,... Thanks?"

Frost giggled, "No, I didn't mean that badly. When I call someone a dork, I mean it in a good way. I like dorks."

I smiled, "Well that's okay. I like nerds" I flashed her a grin.

Her smile grew a bit bigger, and she glanced down at the ground in embarrassment, "You're such a dork."

And so, just to show appreciation of the fact, I unfurled a wing and draped it across her back to pull her into a tighter hug. We walked through the rain together in silence, just enjoying the fact that the other person was there. It seemed almost magical. This had been a good date after all.

The rain poured down hard as Sky walked beside Siren. They walked down the streets towards the Team Vortex base. Sky's horn glowed black as he held a magic shield above the two of them like an umbrella.

Siren made a pouting face, "You know, Sky. I was fine with you walking me home, but holding an umbrella for me is where I draw the line. I told you, no being a gentleman."

Sky flatly replied, "I heard you before."

The two of them trotted along in silence for a while, only the patter of rain filling the void of silence.

"You know, Sky, you say you heard me when I keep telling you to not be a gentleman, but why are you ignoring what I tell you to do."

Sky stopped in his tracks, turning to give Siren a level stare, "It's because I was always taught to be polite to any girl I go out on a date with. It doesn't matter what she tells you to do, I was told to treat her well, even if she declines."

Siren paused for a moment, "That... Who would teach you that? No offense, but I'd say that's only rude to the girl you're out on a date with."

Sky groaned, "Look, Siren, I figured that if I treated you politely like I did tonight, you'd have second thoughts. You said that you came into this game in the first place because you were sick of being treated like a princess. Well, it's been months since you were home and you for sure haven't been getting that treatment here. Don't you miss your home, with your family and with all the treatment you were given by them?"

Siren stared in surprise at Sky, "But- But I... I *do* miss my family, and I guess I do miss how I had to put up with their annoying treatment... I guess I hadn't been thinking of that..."

Sky turned towards her, his expression softening somewhat, "But, it's not just that. I think that a date isn't just a time for a guy and girl to get to know each other, but it's a time where I can make the girl feel special." He sighed, "But if you still don't want that, I understand. But let's get you home first."

Sky and Siren continued down the street, with Sky focusing on his makeshift umbrella, and Siren following just behind him. A hundred different thoughts bounced through Siren's mind, her past dislike of her home, what treatment she really longed for, the fact that Sky wanted to make her feel special tonight, and a small nagging part of her mind that kept saying she needed to apologize for not understanding his intentions. It was a massive cluster of thoughts, and her mind was working hard to try and piece everything together.

Before she knew it, Sky announced, "We're here."

Siren glanced ahead to find themselves standing in front of the Team Vortex base.

Sky nodded his head over towards the front door, "Well, you better get inside. I'll see you later."

Siren hesitated for a moment, but then slowly trotted towards the door. She climbed up the steps to the base, but she stopped before she opened up the door.

Sky, noticing Siren's pause right in front of the door, raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Before he could say anything, Siren turned around, calling to him,

"Wait, Sky. Just one thing." She trotted down the steps and back to Sky. And by standing up on her hind legs to make up her height difference, she planted a kiss on Sky's cheek.

Sky's eyes went wide and he turned to look at Siren, whose face was growing red. The pegasus mare gave a small smile, "Thank you for the date. We should do it again sometime, and... And then I'll let you make me feel special."

Sky paused for a moment, but then nodded, "Okay, yeah, we should."

Siren's smile grew a bit bigger, "Great. I'll see you tomorrow, I guess." Without another word, Siren raced back inside the Team Vortex base, leaving Sky out in the rain alone.

Sky couldn't help but rub the spot where Siren had kissed his cheek, "Hm,... Why did she...?" He shook his head, "Ah, it's probably that Element of Kindness side to her." He chuckled to himself as he turned back towards the direction of the Team Equitum base, "Well, Fluttershy was always my favorite pony, and she has the same element. Go figure."

Smiling lightly to himself, Sky released his hold on his makeshift umbrella. He liked the rain better anyway. With the date at an end, Sky walked through the rain as the night was growing to its latest, back to his home base.

Author's Notes:

Thanks again, Raybony for the picture of Shadowflame in armor.

Also, special thanks to Frostlight for 'letting me use' your OC in this chapter. :P I hope you don't mind. Surprise!

Thanks for reading,
-Shadowflame.

June 1st (Hollow Shades)

Hollow Shades, the most mysterious little town in all of ELO, is where this chapter begins. This town, surrounded by a massive forest, is one of the most secluded in the whole game. The trees hide much more than most players realize, but what hides even more secrets is the town’s dungeon: The Forbidden Crypt of Hollow Shades.

Late in the night, the full moon shone high above the land, only pale moonlight illuminating through a small window of the crypt. A single player peered through the tiny opening, cringing as he saw that the time had passed quicker than he had expected. It would be tougher for him and his team to escape the crypt and return to the safety of Hollow Shades.

Sighing, the player turned back to his two companions, just barely able to make out their outlines in the darkness, “Well, I guess now would be a good time to say that I TOLD YOU SO!”

One of his team mates replied haughtily, “What? How was I supposed to know taking down that last gremlin would take so long? After all, you went along with it, Rogue, so you can’t complain!”

The leader of the team, Rogue, glanced back through the tiny window, “Whatever, Sting.” He glanced at the last member of his team, “Hey, Lector, you mind providing some light? You’re the only unicorn here after all.”

“Oh, sorry.” Lector replied. Suddenly a white light shined from his horn, revealing a maroon unicorn stallion with a diamond tipped staff on his back.

The light spread outward, and the light illuminated the area where Sting stood. Sting was a yellow Pegasus that wore a bayonet over his shoulder, and he stood glaring in Rogues direction.

Finally, the light from Lector’s horn lit up where he stood, allowing him to see his own black fur and grey mane. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the hilt of his broad sword, sheathed on his back. He only used a single broad sword, because it was easier to hold in his mouth in fights. Having only one weapon was a small disadvantage an earth pony like himself had, but his strength in levels made up for that.

Rogue turned to his team mates, “Okay, it looks like we have two options. We can either wait here in the crypt and fight off any monsters that come, or we can risk running through the forest back to town, even though it’s night time and the forest is probably full of monsters by now.”

Sting sighed, “I don’t see much point in that. In either case, we’ll have to fight a few monsters anyways. I say that we should try to make a break for it back to town.”

“Hm… But what if we’re overwhelmed by the monsters out there?” Rogue asked, “We’ve seen them at night. They spawn in packs, and if you run into one of those hordes, you’re basically done for.”

“Um guys?”

Sting glanced towards Lector, “What is it?”

Lector was looking at the wall just behind them, nervously pointing at something, “Um… We could try going through there to pass the time.”

Rogue turned to look, only for a look of astonishment to cross his features. As did Sting’s.

All three of the players looked towards the wall, which had been a wall before when they last checked. In front of them stood a massive set of wooden double doors, just as tall as the ceiling above them.

Sting gasped, “Is that… A boss door?”

Rogues expression was much the same, “We’ve found a boss room.”

The three of them stood in silence, just staring at the massive doors in front of him.

Rogue finally spoke, “We need to get back to town and tell everyone about this.”

“But first,” Sting said as he took a step towards the doors, “We should see what the boss looks like.”

“Wait, what?!” Lector looked at Sting as if he were crazy.

Sting placed a hoof on one of the doors, “Think about it. We’ll return anyway, but it’d be better to see what we’re up against before we actually come back here with everyone.”

Rogue frowned, “Hm… I don’t know-“

But Sting was already pushing the doors open, allowing himself in. As he entered, Rogue and Lector quickly followed after him, all of three of their weapons drawn.

Rogued hissed at Sting, “What do you think you’re doing? Don’t you remember how the last two bosses in this game broke out of their rooms, AFTER their doors were opened?”

Sting narrowed his eyes back at Rogue, “Hey, after we see the boss, we’ll hurry back through the door and close it behind us, alright?” He glanced ahead, finding that the room before them was pitch black.

“Hey, Lector, you mind lighting this place up a bit more?”

In response, Lector’s horn flared, and a flash of light pierced the darkness ahead. With the room lit, the three players could see the boss room in its entirety. It was a simple square room, made from brick and stone. But other than the walls and floors, the whole room was empty.

Rogue frowned to himself, “That’s strange, where’s the boss?”

Suddenly, a cold breeze swept between the three of them, chilling them down to the bone. Lector could feel his teeth begin to chatter, “Wh-where did that come from?”

The three of them glanced warily around at the room, the cold and darkness around them starting the make them feel frightened. Sting suddenly gasped as he looked towards the ceiling, “Up there!”

His team mates glanced upwards to see a large cloud of black smoke, draped against the ceiling.

Rogue gasped, “Is that the boss?”

But before anyone could answer, the black cloud shot downwards at them, like a jet stream. Rogue’s eyes widened as he realized the boss was going after him. An instant before he reacted, the cloud nailed Rogue, causing his body to rack himself with pain. It was almost like a blade was cutting through his insides, or even... his own soul.

Sting and Lector watched helplessly as the dark cloud whirled itself around their team leader, covering him in so much blackness that they could not see him inside the cloud. But, they could hear his screams of agony as the cloud compressed itself down on him.

Suddenly, Rogue’s screams dwindled down into nothing except ragged breaths, and the cloud was absorbed into Rogue's skin, leaving him standing there, his eyes closed.

Sting felt his voice shake, “Rogue?”

Rogue’s eyes flew open, revealing two black orbs where his eyes had been before, both as black as night. In one swift motion, Rogue drew his broadsword and took a step towards Sting and Lector, his face devoid of any emotion.

Lector shouted at him, “Rogue, what are you doing?”

But Rogue didn’t seem to have heard him, as he stepped closer to sting. Quicker than a flash, Rogue sprung forward at Sting, taking a swipe with his broadsword that could have decapitated anyone. Luckily, Lector had grabbed Sting from behind and pulled him just barely out of range.

Sting was breathing hard, having been attacked by his best friend, “Oh, God! He’s been possessed. Rogue, don’t do this!”

Rogue, or whatever he had become, didn’t reply. He only raised his sword in his mouth for another strike.

Sting quickly aimed his bayonet at his dark eyed friend, “Sorry about this.” Pulling the trigger, he fired. The shot hit Rogue in the leg, which normally would have disabled that limb. But Rogue continued to walk forward, stepping on the leg where he had been shot, just as if it were completely fine. He hadn’t been slowed, and it didn’t look like there was any way to stop him.

Sting’s and Lector’s eyes were wide in fear, “No, Rogue. Please! We’re your friends!”

But to no avail.

That night ended for them, with their screams ringing out of the crypt, the song of their deaths, and at the hands (hooves) of their friend. They fought hard, but they couldn’t survive, for who would be able to fight against a demon hiding behind the face of their friend.

I stood looking over the railing of our airship, Westfalia, watching the land below fly by as we sailed across the skies. My cloak flapped in the gentle breeze, though the straps holding my weapons kept the majority of it against my back. The view was great from where I stood, with a cool breeze blowing a few clouds along, a mostly clear, blue sky up above, and a green canopy of trees right below, making the whole scene incredibly peaceful.

I smiled a bit, glancing sideways, “So, how do you like flying on the ship?”

Frostlight returned the smile, “Oh, it’s great. But I’ve been on an airship before, remember?”

“Oh, right.” I smiled sheepishly, “I remember. Your team was there when we raided the Haters’ Guild.” I flashed a quick grin at her, “But, that was early in the morning, wasn’t it? I don’t think any of us were awake enough to really appreciate the view.”

Frost giggled, “Yeah, everyone was tired, me included.”

We both shared a small laugh before looking back at the scene around us. Glancing at the rest of the ship, I could see the deck was dotted with more players, either peering over the edge or doing something else in the center. Although, half of the players I could see weren’t even part of my group.

It had only been early that morning that Jupiter received word that the next boss had been discovered. He hadn’t said anything about the boss, other than the location it was found in: Hollow Shades.

After quickly gathering up an available majority of the guild, Jupiter sent us off to Hollow Shades, with his only instructions were to talk to the admin of the town and receive orders from him.

Other than my group that consisted of Teams Equitum, Calvary, and Vortex, two other teams came onto the airship with us, Team Grover and Team Whiplash, Frostlight’s team.

I looked back towards Frostlight, who had begun looking over the edge of the airship again. Unlike the first time I met her, she had all of her equipment on her. She wore a white leather tunic for armor, and arm guards of the same material. A silver bow hung around her body, and a quiver of arrows hung at her side by a belt.

“Don’t you think it’s kind of strange?” Frostlight asked.

“What?”

“You know, how we all were sent to Hollow Shades in such a hurry? We don’t know what the boss is going to be yet. Isn’t that strange?”

I nodded, “Yeah. It is strange. We almost have double the number of players on this ship than when my group headed off to fight the Cloudsdale boss.” I remembered back to when Jupiter gathered everyone together, “Now that I think about it, Jupiter wasn’t quite himself… It was like he was afraid of something. I think it might’ve been something he heard from Hollow Shades.”

“Is that bad?” Frostlight asked.

I hesitated, “Well, Jupiter doesn’t get scared that easily, and when he is, he doesn’t show it. Whatever he heard from Hollow Shades must be a doozy if Jupiter was scared this badly…”

A moment silence passed between us as our minds began to drift. What was waiting for us over there?

I shook my head, “But since we’re on our way there, we shouldn’t be getting scared, too. If it has anything to do with the boss, then we’ll hear it when we get there.”

I gave Frostlight a smile, “But until then, we should find something to do before we get there. I don’t want to stand around doing nothing this whole ride.”

Frost smiled, “Yeah, that’d be great. What do you want to do?”

I paused for a second, peering over the edge of the airship. But then, an idea came to me. I gave Frostlight a sly grin, “So, when you said you’d like to fly someday, you meant in the air on just wings, right?”

She nodded, “Yeah… Why?”

I only grinned at her.

"Um, Shadow? I-I don't think we should do this."

"Oh, it'll be fine. I won't do anything too crazy. Just hang on and enjoy the ride."

"But I... That's a really long drop if I fall off."

I only smiled mischievously at Frostlight as her hooves clutched around my neck. I had taken off my weapons, and she was sitting on my back, my cloak providing a makeshift saddle. Her eyes were wide in anxiety as she peered towards the edge of the airship.

"Just hang on and enjoy. I promise I won't do any loops. This'll only be a short glide, alright?" I said, trying to calm her uneasiness. But Frost only seemed mildly convinced.

"I still don't think we should do this. H-have you flown other players on your back before?"

"Nope, first time." I replied quickly.

"What?!"

"Okay, Let's go!" I flared my wings beneath my cloak, and within a flash I was in the air outside of the airship. All the while, Frostlight screamed as she held a death grip on my neck,

"Shadow! This isn't a good idea! I'm gonna fall!"

I laughed, though my neck was starting to hurt from her hooves around it. I was starting to feel a bit lightheaded since breathing was harder when a terrified mare is strangling it.

"Come on, settle down!" I gagged, "I didn't bring you up here to choke me."

My shouting seemed to get her to calm down somewhat, though her grip still strong enough to keep her on my back. At least it didn't restrict my breathing anymore. But I noticed that she was silent now.

I glanced over my shoulder at her.

What shock or surprise that had been there slowly began to disappear as Frostlight calmed down. She looked around from atop my back, a look of wary awe on her face. But as she began to adjust to the flight, a smile slowly crept to her face.

I could only imagine what she was feeling, but I assumed it was like my first time flying with these wings. The cool rush of wind whipping through your mane, the amazing view from above, the smell of fresh, high altitude air, and the general feeling of being on top of the world. The whole sensation itself could tell why it was so amazing to fly. That's what I wanted her to experience, even if she didn't have wings of her own.

I smiled as Frost breathed in amazement. Tilting my wings, I circled us around into a loop around the airship.

Below us, a crowd from our group had gathered on deck. A few players, more specifically Frostlight's team mates and Swift Vapor from the helm, proceeded to laugh their heads off. Frost's scream might've been the cause of that. Meanwhile, I could see Cloud and Cross on deck, giving me sly grins and a few thumbs up (Even though Cloud was the only one with thumbs, I still got the gesture).

I raised my hoof over my mouth as we passed the ship's bow, mimicking an airline speakerphone, "Attention passengers, this is your captain speaking. If you look to your right we have a gathering crowd of onlookers. One fun fact about these creatures: If you wave at them, they will wave back."

Frostlight giggled from my back, as she then proceeded to wave to our group as they watched. Ironically enough, they did wave back, making Frost laugh even harder, "It looks like you were right."

We both laughed together, both from the joke and the feeling of flying. I flapped my wings and flew us towards the back of the ship, out of sight from the rest of the group.

I shouted back to Frostlight, "How are you enjoying the flight?"

She smiled back, "This is awesome!"

I grinned in satisfaction and flapped my wings a bit more as I decided to take her for another loop around the ship. We both looked at the ship in delight as I quickly flew us around it. But as we circled around the stern of the ship, I noticed something.

My smile faded as something caught my eye, down by the rudder of the ship. It was something small, poking out from beneath the underside of the ship. But as i looked at it closer, it was a dark blue hoof.

I frowned, I wonder who that could be...

But my attention was turned from the curious blue hoof to my wings. They were starting to ache, since I've never carried someone else on my back before.

I shouted back, "Hey, Frostlight! I'm gonna land. My wings are st-" I stopped mid sentence. I realized if I told her that if I said my wings were getting sore, she might get the wrong idea. She'd probably think I was only sore because of her weight. And then she'd yell at me for calling her fat, even if I didn't. Nothing is worse than when a girl thinks you've called her fat. And it's definitely not a good idea if it's from the girl you have a crush on.

I stammered as I caught myself, "I- um, I have to do something else. So I'll drop you back off onto the ship."

Frostlight blinked in surprise, "Oh, okay."

A breath of relief escaped me, as if I had just dodged a bullet.

Soon, we came around the back of the ship and I lighted down on the deck. I stooped down a bit so Frostlight could get off of my back easily.

Frostlight hopped off of my back, beaming, "Thanks for the ride."

I smiled back, "You're welcome." I flared my wings again, "I'll see you later."

"Okay, bye."

I flapped a few times and I was in the air again.

I flew back to where I had seen that strange random blue hoof, the one that had been sticking out from beneath the ship by the rudder. I glided down beneath the ship, towards the rudder. But as I approached, I saw the blue hoof again, still hanging out in mid air like before.

I flew closer and, to my surprise, found that beside the rudder of the ship, a small ledge protruded out beneath the ship's belly. And the owner of the hoof was sitting on the ledge: Darkened5ky.

I flew to the edge, lighting down on it. Sky flinched in shock as he saw me land, probably because he wasn't expecting me to find him.

I glanced around at the overhang we were in, "So, this is where you've hidden every time we travel on this ship."

Sky shrugged as he leaned back against the wooden boards of the ship, "Not really hiding. I just come down here because I like the view."

I sat down next to him, "How do you even get down here while we're still this high in the air?"

Without looking, Sky knocked a hoof on a board beside him. Instantly the board was pushed inwards, swinging on a set of hinges to reveal that it was a trapdoor. "It's a maintenance hole, so anyone can repair the rudder while flying if needed. It leads out here from the engine room."

I nodded in understanding, "Okay. No wonder nobody can find you when we're travelling."

Sky smirked, "Yeah, it was only by luck that I found it."

We both paused, glancing out at the scene before us. There was a forest below, but the trees were moving away from us as the ship sailed forward.

"So, I saw you and Frostlight flying." Sky said.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. But after all this time, I never got to ask. What's it like to fly?"

I blinked in surprise, "Um... Well, it's great. It's the best feeling in the world." I raised an eyebrow, "Are you asking because you want to fly too?"

Sky seemed a bit surprised, "Yeah, how'd you guess?"

"Well, that's what Frostlight asked when she said she wanted to fly." I gave him a smirk, "You want try a ride on my back, too?"

Sky narrowed his eyes in bemusement, "Um, how 'bout no."

I chuckled, "I figured."

Another pause.

Sky spoke again, "So, flying is really that good?"

I nodded.

"Hm, I figured it'd be." Sky muttered, "Kind of makes me envious."

I shook my head, "Trust me when I say you shouldn't be envious of me. At least you don't have players challenging you to duel them three times a week over a pair of wings."

Sky opened his mouth to protest, but then snapped it shut as his eyes spotted something on the ground below, "Hey, looks like we're here."

I peered over the ledge. Blinking a bit in surprise, I saw a town below us, right in the middle of the forest. "Hollow Shades."

The entire town below reminded me of what a small, European town, with stone roads, and houses much like the ones in Ponyville, though they were mostly made of stone than wood. Not to mention the fact that, since the entire town was completely surrounded by forest, all of the buildings stood packed closely together. Everywhere I looked, the gray stones of the roads, the buildings, and just random rocks on the ground lined the town, making them the most prominent feature of Hollow Shades. It almost reminded me of Ponyville, where pink was a very common color across the town.

I squinted my eyes down at the town, taking in some other details. Wherever there wasn't any stones on the ground, rich, deep green grass grew, making the town almost fit in with the forest surrounding it. On the roads, I could make out the figures of a few players going about with their day to day lives, as well as a random NPC here and there. But only the players stopped on the street, taking a glance up towards the giant airship above them.

Suddenly, my view was obstructed as a gray face poked up out from beneath the bottom of the ship, only a few inches from my face.

"Shadow!"

"What the crap!?" I recoiled quickly in surprise, falling back on my rump against the back of the ship.

Sky chuckled sarcastically, "Graceful as ever."

"Shut up." I retorted. Looking back up, I turned to the mare who had startled me, who was hovering in midair with her wings. Her white mane and tail blowing slightly in the breeze, as well as the green scarf around her neck. She didn't have any weapons on her, but I knew she had plenty of knives hidden beneath her clothes, and she could draw them quicker than a guy with a sword.

I groaned, "Comet, did you really have to surprise me like that?"

Comet only smirked mischievously, "I wasn't trying to scare you. Though it could be taken comically if you'd like."

Sky grinned, "It could be. It made me laugh."

"That was funny, Sky!" Comet laughed, though a bit too loudly. Sky and I groaned inwardly, and we both knew each other had as well.

Though everyone was glad that Comet had joined our group, like everyone else, she had her own little perks. One of which was she was sort of awkward in social situations. Heck, even more awkward than me. There were the few times she had tried telling us jokes, but they ended in a horrible car crash of words as Comet botched the punch line. But she'd laugh at the joke, and her laugh would always be the same, loud. Awkward and loud.

But no one really cared about it. Comet was just another person like us, and her unique personality definitely added to the whole spirit of the group. Not to mention that Comet was one of the most intense fighters I've ever met... Well, besides Sky and Soul, but she was still insane when it came to fighting in close combat.

Comet stopped her laughing abruptly, clearing her throat, "Shadow, I'm came looking for you because Swift wanted to tell you we were landing soon."

I nodded, "Alright. Tell Swift to take us down to town. Sky and I will be up on deck in a little while."

Comet nodded and propelled herself upwards and out of sight, towards the deck of the ship.

I stood up, glancing towards Sky, "Let's get up on deck."

Sky stood up as well, and proceeded to enter the airship through the maintenance hole without a word.... But as he went, I couldn't help but feel something was wrong. He seemed... I don't know, more tense. Or would stressed be the word for it? Either way, he was definitely more silent than he usually is.

Soon, Westfalia had landed, and our entire group departed into the streets of Hollow Shades, armed and ready to go.

But as we walked the streets, all of us could feel something... supernatural, per say. The stones of the town seemed grayer up close than what I saw from the air, the grass looked darker, and the sky, almost as gray as the town's buildings when it had been a bright, sunny blue just ten minutes ago.

I could hear Violet breath in wonder, "Isn't that strange? The whole town seems, I don't know, darker than I expected."

"I know what you mean." Lexus replied, "Even with my good eyes, the town looked brighter from the sky. Maybe that's just some video game physics."

"Yeah," Dylan piped up, "This gray sky reminds me of my old Ocarina of Time game, just after the shadow temple was opened. Maybe this is almost the same, like it has to do with finding the boss."

Neon nodded in recognition, staying close to Lexus' side, "Maybe. But is it just me, or does something seem wrong to you guys?"

"That would be because of the boss' door opening." A voice answered ahead of us.

I glanced forward, finding the source of the voice to be coming from a single player in the street before us. He was a light green, pegasus stallion. I couldn't see his mane, because his whole body was covered in a big, pink frog suit, but I did see a pink tail sticking out from his suit... And when I say frog suit, I don't mean a diver's suit and gear. I literally mean, the guy was wearing a big, cloth outfit, resembling a ponified version of a sleeper, decorated to look like a giant, pink frog. And though I was suppressing a chuckle or two from the outfit, I felt my grin widen as I looked at his player ID: Fro. This guy was literally a frog man... I mean, frog pony. Whatever!

Fro cleared his throat, "Since you landed in that huge airship, I assume you're the reinforcements Jupiter sent from the Knights of Harmony. Right?"

I nodded, "Yes. I'm Shadowflame, and I'm the leader of the Elements of Harmony."

"Good. And just in the nick of time, too." The frog pony pointed a hoof to himself, "My name is Fro, and I'm the admin for Hollow Shades."

Fro cleared his throat, "Now, I would chat a bit longer, but we need to get going right away. The sooner we clean up this mess, the sooner the danger will pass."

Everyone only stared at him in confusion, either because of his appearance or his serious turn towards what business needed to be done.

"What danger?" Eclipse asked.

Fro paused for a moment before turning around, "You'll need to see something first, all of you. I'll explain on the way there." He began trotting off down the stone road, with our group of 17 players following closely behind in order to hear Fro speak.

Fro spoke out loud to our group, "The boss was located inside Hollow Shades' primary dungeon, known to us as the Forbidden Crypt. It was discovered late last night by a small team of three players. From what I've heard, they had stayed inside the dungeon for longer than they'd planned. Thus, they decided it was better to stay the night inside the crypt, rather than risk their lives in the dark forest in the middle of the night. You all can probably guess why."

I nodded. Everyone knew that more monsters spawned during the night, and they were much stronger than those in the daytime. But a fact that not everyone knew about was that the strength of the monsters in the dungeons weakened somewhat in the night, but trying to get to them from the outside would be still difficult because of night monsters.

Fro continued, "The three players stumbled across the boss room that night. They said the door had randomly appeared to them, even when they were relatively close to the dungeon's exit. They decided to check inside the boss room to gather intel on this new boss, but when they went in, they got more than they expected."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Fro shook his head. To my surprise, there were specks of tears in his eyes, just barely coming over his bottom eye lids. "The boss... It..." He grimaced, "Let's just say only one of the three players survived that night."

Siren, who happened to be walking near the front of our group, noticed a few tears come from Fro's eyes. The kindness side of her instantly kicked in, and she moved in closer to the admin in an effort to comfort him, "What's wrong Fro? Did you know those players well?"

Fro nodded, trying to blink off the tears, "Yes... They were my friends, back from the human world. Since I was an admin of this game, it was only natural they wanted to play what I had helped to create. I had invited them to play with me. But now... It feels like I had invited them to die..."

A small, but still growing, air of sympathy seemed to encompass our group. We all knew what it felt like to lose a friend, and unfortunately, we knew the pain well.

Quickly wiping his eyes, Fro let out a small chuckle, "Look at me, rambling on. That's probably why Jupiter had assigned me to character design while making this game instead of NPC Dialogue." In a moment, he had recomposed himself, "Anyways, there is somebody you'll need to see before you go into the boss room. He'll be able to tell you what the boss looks like and what it can do."

"Who is it?"

Fro didn't even look us in the eyes, "One of my remaining friends, the one that had survived last night."

Fro had brought us to a small inn, one used commonly as a meeting place for all of the Hollow Shades players. We all stood in the main floor, in the middle of a big feast hall. We all had formed a semi circle, surrounding Fro and one other pony. He was a black earth pony, with a gray mane, his ID reading: Rogue.

Rogue sat on a stool, hunched over with his head in his front hooves, a wide eyed look on his face. His mane was ragged, as if he had only woke up with bedhead, and bags were clearly visible underneath his eyes.

Fro, seeing that our group was fully assembled, turned to Rogue and tapped a hoof on his shoulder, "Rogue? We need to talk to you."

Rogue's head jolted up from Fro's touch, eyes widening even more at the sight of him and the rest of our group, as if he didn't even notice we'd entered the room. With his attention on us, I could see Rogue's shoulders shaking. His pupils were so small, it made his eyes almost seem like bloodshot, white spheres. If his entire appearance wasn't proof that this boss we were up against wasn't something to reckon with, I didn't know what was. This guy looked as if he had lived a horror film, and with his bad luck, lived to tell the tale.

Rogue's voice, only a little more than a hoarse whisper, began coming from his barely moving mouth, "Wh-who a-a-are th-they?"

Fro placed an arm around Rogue's shoulder, "It's alright. They're the Elements of Harmony. They'll be able to defeat the boss in the crypt, but first you need to tell us what happened last night."

Rogue's eyes widened even farther, so much that blood veins protruded around his eye sockets, just from the mere memory. He let out a whimper, squirming on his stool, "Th-the boss. It c-c-can't be defeated! No one can do it!" He stopped thrashing about on his seat, only to curl his legs closer to his body with his arms, shaking even more.

Fro sighed, "He's been like this ever since he came back to town last night. I don't know exactly what the boss did to him, but he's almost gone completely insane. It was difficult to get him to calm down enough to tell us the bare minimum of what happened. But all I've been able to coax out of him was what the boss looked like. From what he's said, the boss first looked like some kind of black cloud, with a cold wind around it. But then, it changed its form into a giant in a black cloak, carrying a giant scythe."

At the word 'scythe', Rogue suddenly stood up, knocking the stool he sat on to the ground. He screamed bloody murder, covering his ears with his front hooves in panic, "No! I won't let you do this! NO, let go of me, DEMON!" He dropped to the ground, legs buckling as tears began running from his eyes, "I- I won't let you kill my other friends! You- you made me kill Sting and Lector! They were my friends, and you killed them with my hooves! Get out of me!"

Suddenly, Rogue's legs gave out from under him, and dropped to the floor, curled up as tears rolled from his eyes to the wooden floorboards. He sobbed to himself, getting more silent with every gasping breath, "Sting... Lector... I've been... possessed. run...."

Fro, dropping closer to the ground to hold onto his friend, sighed quietly, "So,... That's what happened."

"He was possessed?" Sky asked, quickly pulling together some sense from Fro's sudden outburst.

"By a demon?" Swift added.

Fro's brow furrowed as he thought, "From what I know, we can guess that when Rogue's team entered the boss room, he was possessed by this demon boss. And the boss, using Rogue as a puppet, killed Lector and Sting, and then let Rogue go... But I have no idea why it would let Rogue survive if it had possessed him. But then again, Rogue just barely made it back to town with almost no sanity left."

Fro frowned, "But besides that, there are two things that worry me."

"I assume it has something to do with the fact that this boss is a demon, doesn't it?" Sky inquired. Fro stopped for a moment to look at Sky, surprise on his face, before nodding in confirmation.

Soul gave Sky a curious look, "What do you know about demons, Sky?"

"Well, for one thing, Fro said it was first in the shape of a dark cloud, the most common form for a demon. Second of all, demons have access to evil, dark magic. The gray sky and the faint darkness on the town is most likely due to the demon boss' powers. I assume that this only hasn't happened before because the boss door was not opened, and the demon wasn't released."

"And one other thing," Fro added, "Since you flew here, you probably didn't notice this. But in the forest outside of town, our players have told us that the monsters out there were just as strong as the ones that spawn at night, if not stronger. And one other difference with the monsters now is their eyes; They've become black."

Sky nodded, "That seems about right. Anything acting under a demon's influence will have the same effect, with their eyes going black. It's a common thing in stories with demons or daemons in them." Everyone stared at Sky in silence, not sure whether we were supposed to be impressed or frightened by his open book knowledge of demons.

Siren raised an eyebrow at the blue stallion, "How do you know all of this?"

Sky only shrugged, "I was always an insomniac, even back in the real world. So sometimes I've stayed up writing or learning about these things. I had to do something with all of that time."

"Anyways," Fro interjected, "All of you could probably handle the monsters outside just fine. But none of the Hollow Shades players could survive very long in fights against them. And if we can't fight, we can't train and level up as quickly. And then we'll be easy pickings if the monsters get even stronger."

"But since it's part of the demon's influence, if we defeat the boss then the monsters should return to normal, right?" Swift asked.

Sky nodded in reply, "Yeah, they should. But that's only if this demon's curse is temporary. If we defeat the boss, and this change is actually permanent, then the monsters will only get stronger when we retrieve the next element."

"But that's why I need your group to defeat the boss as soon as possible." Fro replied, "Either way, the monsters will grow stronger upon killing that demon, but it's our only chance of killing this demon. Besides, you need the next element anyway."

I took a step forward, "We were already planning on fighting the boss. It was why we came here, so we're not leaving until we do." I glanced towards my group, "But how do you think we should go about fighting this boss. It's clear that it's unlike anything we've fought before."

Fro nodded, "Yes, it is. So, that is why I'm sending in your group alone."

Everyone was somewhat startled by the statement. We had expected that the Hollow Shades players would fight with us. Strength in numbers, after all.

"Why do you want us to go alone?" Cross asked.

Cloud, who sat on Cross' back, added, "Wouldn't it be better if everyone came along and took out the boss?"

Fro shook his head, "That might've been the case with boss battles in the past. But as Shadowflame said, this is unlike anything you've fought before. It's a demon that can possess a player's body, and fight using their own abilities. The reason that I'm not sending any of our players is for one thing: If the demon possessed any of you, and my players had to fight back, they'd be easily cut down to size because of the fact that we are all so much weaker than your group."

"I guess you're right." I replied, "After all, we have to let as many players survive from this battle as possible. It'll only be logical if our group is the only one, since we're almost equally matched in strength."

I could see a few players in our group grimace a bit. Lexus was one of them, "Not really, Shadow. If either you or Sky were possessed, we'd all be in the fight of our lives. You two are the strongest players in ELO, although that doesn't include Jupiter."

Sky begrudgingly nodded, "Yeah, Shadow, they're right. Against either me or you, they won't be able to take us down very easily."

"True..." I replied, "But both of us can still be affected by status effects. More specifically, paralysis." I turned towards the rest of my group, "Alright, here's the plan. We all go in at the same time. It won't matter who gets possessed first, so long as anyone who can inflict paralysis can do so quickly. Whoever gets possessed must be paralyzed, and once the demon realizes it can't move, it'll retreat out of their body, probably to find another host. When that happens, keep a paralysis potion on hand to give to whoever the demon leaves. Hopefully we can catch a few chops in on the demon as it moves between hosts, but th-"

Suddenly, the doors to the inn burst open. Everyone glanced towards the doors to see a player running through, panting hard with a wide eyed look in his eyes, "Fro! Fro! We've got a problem!"

"What is it?" Fro asked.

"The monsters from the forest are trying to bust their way into the city!"

"WHAT?!"

"Follow me! I don't have time to explain."

We all rushed out to the edge of the city, led by Fro and this other player. But when we got there, we were all shocked by what we saw.

Just inside the threshold of the trees, outside of the barrier that repels the monsters from the town, stood a mass horde of every kind of creature. There were minotaurs, griffons, wolves, skeletons, zombies, ghouls, will-o-wisps, and even manticores, all surrounding the outer edge of Hollow Shades. All of them seemed to seath with black aura, and their eyes were all black globes in their skulls.

All of the monsters were hammering away at a barrier, the one the game had put in to keep the towns and cities of ELO safe from monsters. Each of their blows would rebound off of the invisible barrier, causing it to shimmer like a force field. But worse yet, in some places, the barrier looked almost like glass, cracked from the constant onslaught of attacks.

The player that had fetched us gasped, "See, Fro? If we don't do something quick, then they'll break through. Then the town will no longer be safe!"

Fro only nodded, absently staring at the monsters as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing, "But... I didn't think they'd even come near the town. We can't fight them like this. We'd be demolished instantly." He quickly turned towards me, "Shadow, take your group and head for the Forbidden Crypt. The only way to stop these monsters is if you all defeat the boss, but even then..." He shook his head, glancing towards the pony who had fetched us, "Raoul, you know where the boss door is. Take this group there and come straight back here, alright?"

The player, Raoul, nodded, but behind me, Soul was the first to protest, "Whoa, hey dude! Will you guys be alright just staying here?"

Fro nodded, giving us a look that screamed with determination, "We'll be fine. This is our town, and we'll protect it if the monsters break through. But you need to hurry, because we won't be able to hold these monsters off for long."

We didn't need much more incentive to leave. We all turned tail and ran towards the opposite edge of town, with Raoul in front leading the way to the forbidden crypt. But as we ran, I silently hoped the rest of the Hollow Shades players would be alright, even if the monsters did break through the barrier.

Soon, we stood before a familiar sight for all of us. A set of double doors, wooden and engraved with symbols. It was the boss door.

We all stared at it with narrowed eyes, as if it were an old enemy coming back to haunt us. Our weapons drawn and in hoof, we were ready to go in.

I glanced towards the pony who led us here, "Alright, Raoul. We'll take it from here. Get back to town and help the others."

Raoul nodded and galloped back towards the entrance of the crypt.

Meanwhile, Siren sighed as she looked at the door, "It seems like it was only a few days ago that we fought the last boss. I thought we'd get at least a month worth's of a break before we fought something like this again."

Cross smirked at her from the side, "What, you anxious to almost get eaten by a giant bird again?"

She glared daggers back at the blue unicorn, "I thought we weren't gonna talk about that anymore."

"Enough." Sky commanded, gritting his teeth. From his look, he was apparently on edge about something. Though I guessed it probably had something to do with the demon on the other side of that boss door. Sky lifted his swords towards the doors, "Come on, let's do this."

I nodded and walked up to the door, touching it with a hoof. Like the other boss doors, this one opened from the slightest touch. The double doors swung ajar, allowing our whole group to pass through into the boss' lair.

But, as we entered through the door, cautious as we anticipated the boss' first attack from nowhere....

...

...

But there was one problem...

The giant, square room, made from stone and bricks...

...

...

...

..

...

It was empty...

June 1st ("It's Where my Demons Hide")

The boss room was empty…

There was absolutely nothing inside it. We all searched the massive room, those with wings looking high, and those without looking low. We couldn’t even find a single wisp of black smoke hidden in the cracks in the walls. The room was completely and utterly empty.

The demon was gone.

Soul was the first to speak after we realized this, “Okay, what the hell is going on here?”

“It’s obvious the boss isn’t here.” Comet replied to the unicorn.

Soul Cards rolled his eyes sarcastically, “Thank you, Comet. Is that why there’s nothing in this room?”

“Yes.” She replied, oblivious to the hint in Soul’s voice.

As Soul proceeded to face hoof himself, knowing he wasn’t getting anywhere using sarcasm around Comet, Eclipse spoke next, “It seems that the boss left the room. It’s kind of like the past two bosses we’ve fought against, where they left their rooms after their doors opened.” He paused, “Granted that thunderbird broke through a wall to get out, but the same idea still holds true.”

Violet interjected, “But we still need to beat the boss. If we can’t find and defeat it, then we’re stuck with two problems: The gray weather outside, as well as the horde of monsters that is sieging Hollow Shades as we speak.”

Cloud replied, “For once, Violet’s right.” Off to the side, Violet exchanged a confused look with Dylan, mouthing ‘For once?’, to which Dylan simply shrugged, just as clueless as his team leader.

“Yeah,” Cross agreed with his dragon comrade, “If we can’t find the boss, then the players in Hollow Shades are in deep trouble. So in order to help them, we need to find this demon.” He glanced towards Sky, “Sky, you’re the expert here on demons. Where do you think it probably went?”

Sky shrugged, “You got me. Demons are unpredictable, to say the least. If anything, it’s long gone by this point.” He then frowned, taking another look at the empty room we were in, “But still… Something doesn’t seem right.”

I spoke this time, “Well, whether we could find it or not, by now we probably don’t have any time left to look for it. Right now, we need to get back to Hollow Shades and help defend the town from the horde of monsters. Who else agrees?”

Frostlight was the first to agree, “It seems logical. After all, if we search the crypt for the boss and defeat it, the town could be destroyed by then.”

“I agree, too.” Neon answered, “Frostlight does have a point. The players back in town are counting on us to beat the boss. And since we can’t find it, we can at least fight some monsters with everyone else.”

After a short moment, everybody agreed. I nodded to the group, “Okay, let’s get going. The sooner we ge-“

A small banner suddenly appeared from my player menu, obstructing my vision slightly. I looked down at it to see it read,

New Message from Fro

I stopped for a second, surprised by the sudden message. It was only surprising, considering I thought Fro was facing off against dozens of monsters at the moment.

I silently opened up the message, reading it to myself,

Shadow,

I’m not sure what you’re doing right now, but whatever it is, keep doing it. The monsters attacking the barrier around the town just got up and ran away. We don’t know why they even ran, but they all simultaneously turned around and walked into the forest. They’re completely gone now, and I couldn’t help but wonder if your group was the cause of it. However, the air around the town is still gray, and hasn’t changed. What is going on?

-Fro

“What the…” I breathed silently, confused. I turned to the rest of my group, “Guys, listen to this.” I proceeded to read the message to them.

Their reactions were similar to mine.

“So, we came all the way here to find the boss, find that the demon is actually gone, and the monsters attacking town just got up and left?” Dylan asked.

Beside him, Soul muttered in a whining manner, “Aw, and here I thought I was gonna be able to fight those demon-influenced monsters. Probably would’ve gotten a lot of experience points from it.”

Neon nudged the disappointed unicorn with an elbow, signaling that now wasn’t really the time for that.

Swift frowned, speaking out to whoever would answer, “But if we can’t find the boss, and we don’t have to worry about the players back in town, then what do we do now?”

I recalled back, where only moments before Sky said something wasn’t right. I was starting to think he was right; Something did seem wrong. We came running to fight the boss, so we could stop the onslaught of monsters from destroying Hollow Shades. But as soon as we find out the boss was gone, the monsters backed off from the town. That couldn’t be just a coincidence.

I frowned, affirming in my mind that something wasn’t right. And I was sure that everyone else was thinking the same thing.

I cleared my throat to speak, “I think we better return to Hollow Shades. Something’s wrong here, and we all know it. If we get back to town and compare notes with Fro about what happened, maybe we can piece together whatever is going on here.”

We all turned around and proceeded to leave the room, with a few of our group looking backwards in case we had missed something. From the way their weapons were raised, it looked as if they were half expecting the boss to appear as we walked out the door. And I wouldn't have been surprised if it did. Quite frankly, I believed anything could've happened at this point. I doubted I'd even be fazed if Discord came riding in on a pogo stick.

Once we left the boss room, we all travelled back down the corridor of the crypt towards the exit. Sky walked next to me, like always, but as we walked, I decided to drift back a bit so I could walk beside Frostlight. Because what guy wouldn't want to be with the girl he likes? After all, this was actually the first time I've done guild business with Team Whiplash and Frostlight.

But as I walked beside her, I noticed Frost's expression seemed unnerved. She looked like her mind was lost in thought.

"Hey, you alright?" I asked.

Jerked back into reality, Frostlight nodded, "Oh, yeah. I'm fine." Her face didn't change as her mind began to drift again, "I'm just feeling a bit of anxiety about all this."

"I know what you mean." I replied.

"Do all boss battles feel this way?"

I paused, "No, not really. I mean, we all get nervous as we get closer to the actual fight, but nothing like this has happened before." I gave her a small smile in an attempt to cheer her up, "Ironic how it's your first time going up against a boss, huh?"

Frostlight laughed quietly, a smile coming to her face, "Haha, yeah." But as quickly as the smile came, it was replaced by a look of concern as she glanced past me, "Sky? Are you alright?"

I glanced towards Sky on my other side to see his expression forming a half grimace. His head turned this way and that, as if he were looking for something in the corridor.

Rather than replying to Frostlight directly, Sky called out to the rest of the group, "Is it just me, or is anybody else getting a strange feeling from this place?"

A few mumbles passed through everyone else, some saying that they weren't feeling anything and didn't know what Sky was talking about, while a few began noticing an eire, ominous air in the crypt.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Frostlight suppressing a shudder, "Well, now that I think about it, this place itself seems weird. But it *is* a crypt, so that'd explain it."

"Yeah," I agreed, turning back to Sky, "Maybe you're just feeling strange because we're in a place that's supposedly a burial site for dead ponies." Dead people, dead ponies; same thing really, and the thought brought the same result. I shuddered slightly, "Ugh, Sky, why'd you have to make me think about that? Now this place is making me feel weird, too."

"Sorry." Sky replied absentmindedly. I had to pause for a moment to make sure that was what I heard him say. It wasn't that he never said sorry, but whenever he managed to get something under my skin he'd usually laugh in triumph for a bit, like any best friend would. An apology wasn't something I expected.

I was about to point this out to him, but I noticed that Sky had gone right back to what he'd been doing before: Glancing all around the Crypt's corridor, as if he were expecting something to pop up.

For a moment, I couldn't tell what was acting weirder, The boss, The monsters who attacked the town, or Sky himself.

When we got back to Hollow Shades, everything was calm again. No monsters stood bashing in on the barrier between them and the town. Heck, even the cracks that had been appearing in the barrier from the monsters' blows were no longer visible. It was as if Hollow Shades hadn't been in any danger at all.

Our group quickly found Fro again, back in the local inn where we met Rogue. Once he found that we were safe, we told him how we couldn't find the boss. He was just as shocked as we were.

After we told what happened from our side, Fro told us what happened while we were gone. What he told us wasn't much more than what we had gathered from his message; The black-eyed monsters attacked the barrier nonstop, but then at the same time, they all stopped, turned around, and ran back into the forest. And nothing happened in town that could've explained why they fled.

But since the monster attack was no longer a problem, our group, as well as the rest of the Hollow Shades players, turned our attention towards the main task at hand: Finding the boss.

Our group split into smaller teams, which were joined by the Hollow Shade players. And we split off, searching for the demon boss in both the forest and the crypt itself. We figured since the sky still remained gray, the demon wasn't too far from town.

But no such luck. After a few long hours of searching, the sun began to set in the already darkening sky, and we called our search off. Gratefully, the players of Hollow Shades returned to their homes for the night.

However, housing our group for the night wasn't quite as easy. Hollow Shades, being a small town and all, only had one inn for us to stay in. And with all of our usual members, along with Team Whiplash, there weren't enough rooms available to house one player per room. So, we had to compromise and pair together into rooms.

I sighed as I laid back on my bed, tired from the days work. My armor and weapons were unequipped and I was ready to hit the hay, "Man, who knew looking for a demon would be so exhausting?" I looked towards my room mate for the night, "Are demons always this hard to find?"

Sky nodded as he sat down on his bed, "Yeah. Most of the time, you can't find a demon unless they want to be found."

"Yeah, figures." I mumbled. I took another look at our room. It was a stranger room in comparison to the rest of the town outside. The inn itself looked almost medieval, made out of old wood and stone, making me believe the inside rooms would fit a similar style. But I was wrong when Sky and I entered our room to find it looked almost completely modern. Carpeted floor, plastered and painted walls, and incredibly soft, spring mattresses; It almost reminded me of my old room back in the human world...

Funny how I've started calling our home world the human world, right? I used to call it the real world, seeing as we were only in a digital world of a video game. But after months in Equestria, where you really can die, it's already real enough. Whatever happens in here is already real enough, so I don't see any point in calling this 'game' as something that's not real.

Anyways... Where was I?....

Oh, yeah! Mine and Sky's inn room reminded me of home, back in the human world. I was sort of caught off guard by it, seeing as the only inn I've ever stayed in was back in ponyville, and all the rooms there fit the style of the town. It made me wonder if it was the same for the rest of our group and their rooms.

But then, another thought came to mind, and I chuckled slightly, "You know, Sky? That reminds me: I can't believe Neon jumped at the chance to have Lexus as a room mate when we all were pairing up."

Sky nodded, a small smirk on his face, "Yeah, bu-" He paused for a second, his smirk disappearing, "Well, it's actually not all that surprising. They have been dating for months now."

"I know, I know." I laughed, "I've said it once, and I've said it again: Lexus is a stud. I just hope they'll be alright in the same room together."

"Eh, nobody cared about it, so I don't see why we should worry." He gave me a sly look, "Are you jealous now that you didn't pair with Frostlight?"

I felt my face immediately redden. I quickly turned my head out of Sky's view, "Shut up."

Sky proceeded to laugh smugly, which ticked me off, to say the least. But through my anger, a sly smile grew on my face. I returned Sky's smirk, "But if you're gonna talk like that, then I might as well say the same about you and Siren."

Sky's smug expression instantly vanished, and he replied without even looking, "Siren and I aren't seriously dating, and I don't have a huge crush on her like you do with Frostlight."

"Is that why your latest messages with Siren have always said things like, 'You're special to me'?"

His eyes widened and he glared daggers at me, a cold sharpness in his voice, "How did you find out about that?"

I smirked, "Cloud was curious about what you two message each other about in the middle of the night. So he flew outside by your window and watched you message in the middle of the night."

"Remind me to wring his neck later." Sky muttered.

We both sat in silence, Sky fuming where he sat while I laid back on the bed with a sense of triumph.

Sky spoke again, "Okay, no bugging each other about the girls we like, agreed?"

I nodded, "Agreed."

Neon Fire

Neon sighed in relief as she de-equipped her armor and weapons, dropping off the extra weight. It felt good to come back from a day of work, especially in tonight's case. Sure, her group hadn't been able to find the now missing boss of Hollow Shades, but at least she could make up for the disappointment by spending the night alone with Lexus.

As she closed her player menu, she looked up at the inn room she was sharing with Lexus. It was a cozy little place, with carpeted floors, a closet, and two beds, though Neon doubted neither of them would be using one of them. On one of the beds, her boyfriend sat leaning his back against the wall behind it. He didn't show any signs of enjoyment with their current situation for the night, but it was understandable considering the huge disappointment everyone had today.

But, Neon, being both a friend and a lover, decided it was time to cheer Lexus up. She trotted over to the bed and climbed up onto it. She scooted closer to Lexus,snuggling up next to the stallion with her muzzle, "Hey, why the long face?"

Lexus didn't even give her a side glance, just a blank stare down at the bed covers. He remained silent, without a reply.

But Neon wasn't gonna let that slide. She wrapped a hoof around his shoulders, pulling him into a tight hug, "Lexus, it's alright that we didn't find the boss, okay? I know you're disappointed about that, but now isn't the time to mope about it. But there's a plus side to all of this. We get to share a room, and we've never stayed the night together like this before. So let's enjoy it, okay?"

Lexus looked up from the bed, taking a sideways glance at Neon. His eyes remained blank, and his expression varied in the same way. In a monotone voice, he replied, "I have to take care of something."

With that, he shrugged himself out of Neon's hug, hopping off of the bed in the process. Without another word, he walked out the door and slammed it behind him.

Neon watched in surprise as her boyfriend left so suddenly. "That was... weird." He had never acted that way before, especially not towards her. A frowned creased her mouth, "Something isn't right..."

Quietly, Neon slid off of the bed, following Lexus out into the hallway from a distance.

I looked back over at Sky, who I noticed held a bitter look on his face. I raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong?"

Sky groaned, "I don't know. Ever since we left the boss room, I've had this weird feeling. It's been making my skin crawl this whole time and I can't help but think I'm missing something..."

"If you've been feeling it ever since you left the boss room... Does it have to do with the boss' disappearance?" I asked.

Sky shook his head, "I was thinking that before, but now I doubt that's what it is. I still don't have any idea why I'm feeling this."

A pause. I frowned at the ceiling, "But why would only you be feeling it? Why not me or anybody else?"

"Good question." Sky slumped down onto his bed in a similar fashion as me, "There's nothing really separating me from everyone else. Maybe it could be my player ability, but even then, I don't know what that has to do with anything here."

"Hm... Well, your player ability is 'Darkness'..." I glanced out a nearby window, peering out at Hollow Shades in the moonlight, "Come to think of it, your ability could have to do something with this town. It's a dark town, dark monsters, heck, even a dark demon boss who can possess people."

Sky suddenly gasped from the bed next to me, "Uh, oh.... I forgot something. I can't believe I never thought of it before, but it didn't come to mind." He sprung up from his bed, eyes wide, "But... But how could this be-"

"What is it?"

Sky turned towards me, "I learned about a month ago, during the nights I'm usually awake, that my ability allows me to sense the presence of dark, evil monsters. If it has anything to do with ghosts, skeletons, the undead, or even demons, I'll know when they're around."

"Wait, demons? So maybe... That feeling you've been having was because you could sense the boss?"

Sky nodded, standing up from his bed, "Yeah, but the problem is... The monster has to be within a fifty foot radius of me in order for me to feel it."

A blue unicorn and an orange dragon made their way down the hallway of the inn towards their own room. With stomachs full and satisfied, both Cross and Cloud grinned as they headed for bed.

"Ah, nothing like inn food before bed. Right, Cloud?" Cross asked, licking a small bit of cupcake frosting on his lip he'd missed before.

Cloud nodded, patting his belly with a claw, "Yep, that's the stuff."

But then, they both glanced forwards to see someone coming down the hallway towards them. It was Lexus, and his face was surprisingly expressionless. The duo of unicorn and dragon waved towards him, "Hey, Lexus. You headin' to bed?"

Lexus said nothing, his eyes fixed straight forward past his two team mates. Without a word, the pegasus passed between the two of them, continuing down the hallway.

As the two, 'brushed off' players watched him go, Cross muttered, "Whoa, talk about giving the cold shoulder. What's his deal?"

Cloud shrugged, "Beats me."

They both turned back down the way they were going, but they were stopped yet again by someone else: Neon. And to their surprise, a concerned look covered her face.

Neon glanced between the two of them, "Did Lexus come down this way?"

Cross nodded, pointing a hoof down the hallway, "Yeah, he went down there. But something about him seemed off... He didn't even reply when we said 'Hi'."

Neon frowned even more, "I know. He's been acting weird, and I'm worried about him. Before he left our room, he said he had to do something, so I'm tailing him to see what's going on."

Cloud glanced back towards the way Lexus had gone, "Well, he's our team mate, so we should be just as concerned about him. Let's go." The three of them quickly, but quietly, followed after their strange acting companion.

"But how could the demon have been that close to us this whole time?" I asked.

Sky shook his head as he paced nervously, "I don't know. I started sensing the boss back in its room, but we didn't find anything there... But that must have been because the demon didn't want us to find it."

"So... Then the boss followed us out of the boss room?"

"Yeah, and that's the problem. Remember how the boss of Appleousa was able to get into town and attack? This boss could very well do the same thing."

Suddenly, the door to our room opened. We both turned our heads towards the entrance to see Lexus standing in the doorway.

"Oh, Lexus. Good. Just in time." I said, "Hurry and find Fro. The boss is inside town, and the sooner we find it, the better."

Lexus, to my surprise, said nothing as he looked at me with unwavering eyes... It was kind of creepy.

"...Lexus?"

A spear suddenly appeared in Lexus' hoof, without even opening his player menu or using a selected item gesture, and the pegasus ran into the room quicker than I could react. I saw Lexus swing his blade towards me at blinding speed, a small light reflecting off of the metal point.

But as I thought the weapon would stab into me, it was stopped by a large *CHINK*. Before I realized it, Sky had pulled out one of his own swords, and used it to block Lexus' spear. Now his black sword held the spear in place above me, unable to hurt me.

I couldn't believe what I saw. Had Lexus actually meant to attack me?...

"Lexus? What are you doing?"

But as I asked, Lexus glared at me. But his eyes... They were black.

Sky shouted, "It's the boss!" He quickly made his other sword appear, drawing it and lashing out at Lexus again. However, the boss made good use of Lexus' natural speed and jumped out of the way. With an inaudible snarl, Lexus, or rather the boss controlling him, dove towards a window and rammed his body through it with a giant crash.

Sky and I looked in shock as Lexus broke through the window, which was located on the 2nd floor, hitting the ground and taking off galloping.

"Oh my gosh, he broke a window." I cringed slightly.

Sky had a similar expression, "I know. The game usually prevents structures from becoming damaged. Which means this boss can bypass that part of the game as well."

Suddenly, we heard footsteps come through our open door, and we turned to see Neon, Cross, and Cloud rush in. Neon's face looked as if she were panicking, "What happened? Where's Lexus?"

"Bad news." Sky replied, "Lexus has been possessed by the demon boss."

"WHAT?!" The three of them exclaimed.

"Yeah, he just ran off outside after trying to kill me." I added.

"Kill you?" Cross frowned, "But a player can't lose their health inside a town, so how could he have killed you?"

Sky replied quickly, "Well, we didn't think he could break through a window either. If he can bypass that rule, he can probably bypass the safe zone rule as well." He shook his head, "But right now we need to catch Lexus. If we can catch him and hold him in place, then I can perform an exorcism to get the demon out of him."

"Which way did he go?" Cloud asked, spreading his wings, "I can fly after him."

I pointed a hoof towards the window, "He went that way. And from what I could see, he was running towards the forest. I'll fly with you, Cloud, but we'll have to go fast if-"

I was cut off as Neon suddenly pushed past me and leaped out the window as well, "LEXUS! I'M COMING, BABY!"

The remaining four of us blinked in surprise as we watched Neon disappear into the night. But, that was Neon for ya, with a behavior that could match that of Pinkie Pie's.

I turned towards Cross, "Sky, Cloud, and I will go after Lexus, too. Go gather everyone in our group and have them get ready to fight. I have a feeling this'll turn into a boss battle."

Cross nodded and galloped out the door. Meanwhile, Sky and I equipped our gear, and alongside Cloud, leaped out the broken window as well, out into the night to save Lexus.

We all found ourselves racing through the forest, Cloud and I flapping our wings hard above the treetops, and Sky galloped hard on the ground below.

"Do you see Neon or Lexus?" Sky shouted up at us.

"Nope!"

"How are we even supposed to find them at this time of night?" Cloud asked, frustrated.

Suddenly, a giant green flare shot up into the sky from the middle of the forest, not too far from where we were.

"Does that answer your question?" I replied, "Come on, Neon must've found him. Let's go!" Cloud and I diverted our course through the sky, while Sky followed on the ground.

When we reached the place where Neon's flare went up, we found ourselves in a large grove, with plenty of space in between the trees. And right in the center of the grove, two spear wielders were locked in combat. Neon and Lexus' spears were locked against each others when we arrived, turning their fight into one of pure strength. Lexus, with eyes still black, his face was contorted in fury. But Neon, her expression was one of fear, worry, and even desperation. She didn't want to have to fight her lover, but lucky for her, she wasn't alone anymore.

"Heads up!" I shouted, zooming towards them with my wings on the wind, my sword and shield drawn. Neon glanced towards me, and upon seeing me, quickly dove out of the way. With Neon clear, I pulled my shield forward and rammed the butt of it into Lexus' face with a right nasty *CLANG*.

As I rushed past with extra momentum carrying me, Lexus staggered back from the blow, though his health bar didn't deplete much. With him off balance, it was the perfect chance to grab a hold of our possessed friend.

"Neon! Grab his front legs with magic and I'll get his back ones!"

Without a moment of hesitation, Neon complied by conjuring a whip of green flames. With just a twitch of her head, the green, fire whip lurched towards Lexus from the side. The long stream of fire connected with the pegasus' front hooves, wrapping around the legs at the same time in a semi hogtie. Lexus' spear fell to the ground as Neon suddenly pulled her grip on him towards her.

Meanwhile, I reached out with my levitation magic and took hold of Lexus' hind legs. I pulled as well, and Lexus rose into the air as Neon's and my magic suspended him above the ground.

Furious, the demon inside Lexus thrashed about in our hold, trying to liberate himself from our magical hold on him.

I shouted towards Sky, "Alright, Sky! Your turn!"

He didn't need to be told twice, and he galloped closer to us. Once he stood within ten feet of Lexus, he stopped, closed his eyes in concentration, and lit his horn in black aura. Only after a short moment, Sky's magic reached out towards the ground below Lexus, and something suddenly appeared in it, engraved into the dirt. It was a pentagram, an exorcism circle, much like Sky's cutie mark.

As soon as the star shaped design became clear in the dark of the night, Sky's flew open. And to our astonishment, his had become just as black as Lexus'. Before any of us who were present could wonder if the demon could possess two players at once, Sky spoke... But his voice was deep, and bloodcurdling, "Get thee hence, dark plague of the mortals."

The pentagram on the ground instantly began glowing with black magic, which soared straight up from the symbol and into the darkened sky.In the middle of it, Lexus screamed, loudly. It made my ears pop from the sheer volume, but it wasn't from Lexus' voice, but rather from that of a monster's coming out of the pegasus' mouth.

Suddenly, the screaming ceased as the exorcism worked its magic. We all watched as Lexus' body slumped downwards in his magical tie, with black smoke seeming to float out of his skin. Swirling about his body, the smoke rose into the air, condensing just above Lexus into a dark cloud.

In a moment, the exorcism completed itself and the diagram on the ground disappeared, and Sky's eyes returned to their normal color, as did Lexus'. The latter slumped down on the ground unconscious, and I released my hold on him while Neon pulled him away, out from under the dark cloud. But Sky glared up at the dark cloud, weapons drawn at the ready.

"This is a demon." He muttered, "But this isn't his true form." With a quick grunt of effort, his horn lit again, firing a small beam of black magic at the dark cloud. As soon as the spell hit the demon, the dark cloud twisted and contorted, as its shape began to suddenly change.

BGM: Magia. If this music distracts you from reading, turn it off, or simply turn it down so it fades in with the background.

The black smoke of its body spread upwards and outwards, taller and wider, up until it was the size of a building. But then, it stopped expanding and spreading, and the black cloud morphed. The demon's smoke smoothed out and solidified into the form of a giant, black cloak, the hems of it tattered and wisp like. The hood of the cloak was up, but its insides were dark, making it impossible to see what was inside.

But suddenly, a pair of large, red glowing eyes pierced through the darkness under the demon's hood. And as if it hadn't been there before, something white extended out from under the hood. It was white, cold, and could chill a bone by looking at it, and we soon found that it was the demon's head: A massive, white skull of a horse, with sharpened teeth in its jaw, like that of a wolf. Out from beneath its cloak, two appendages extended and revealed themselves, two white, bone legs, those of a horse.

And then, a stream of black smoke funneled down into the Demon's bony hooves, solidifying into a scythe, with a shaft that could compare with the size of a tree, and a massive blade that glinted in the moonlight.

Above the boss' head, a health bar appeared, as well as its name: The Equine Reaper.

The demon suddenly swiped its scythe towards us. The giant blade of the weapon moved so fast that it was only a blurred reflection of moonlight.

"Look out!" I leaped back out of the way, and the scythe struck into the ground where I'd been before, throwing up dirt and grass everywhere.

Seeing the destruction a single attack could do, I cringed somewhat, "Dang, that's crazy powerful." I glanced towards the others, only to find that they had been able to get out of the way as well, except for Lexus who laid unconscious underneath the demon.

Apparently Neon noticed that as well, and she charged at the Equine Reaper with her spear and shield. With a burst of magic downwards, Neon rocketed herself off the ground and into the air where the demon floated.

"This is for my boyfriend!" She screamed as she arched through the night sky, spear pointed towards the possessing demon. She thrust the point of her weapon at boss, only for the demon to float out of the way quicker than Neon could have predicted. Having missed her target, gravity pulled Neon back to the ground and she landed beside Lexus.

But Neon wasn't going to let this demon slip away just like that. Her horn flared and a green whip of fire lashed out at the boss above. But the boss easily evaded the attack again by floating off to the side. Thrashing her head this way and that, Neon cracked her whip this way and that in a barrage of strikes. But like before, the demon danced through the air like smoke, uninjured by the attacks.

Neon moved her head to crack the whip again, but before she could, the demon suddenly appeared to her side, its scythe flashing again. Quicker than the eye, the scythe struck its target, and Neon was thrown towards the side of the grove, a giant gash of red code in her side. She landed hard, a breathless scream came out of her as the pain came rushing in all at once.

"Neon!" I winced. That looked like it had to hurt. A lot. I looked at her health bar to see that it was now at half full. Which meant she couldn't survive another hit. I turned to Sky and Cloud, "I'll keep this thing busy. Grab Lexus and Neon and get out of here. Once they're safe, get back here to help."

"Right."

As they ran to help their fallen comrades, I flapped my wings and took to the sky. Once I was at the same altitude as the demon, I raised my sword.

"Blaze!"

My player ability activated and my sword came alive with flames. Instantly, I arched my flight path up and over, so that when I did attack the boss, I'd do it from above. I dove down with my sword reeled back in preparation to strike, and once I was close enough, I swung.

I thought I had taken the demon by surprise, but I found that I was wrong. As soon as my blade was within an inch of its cloak, the boss seemed to vanish like smoke, though it only flew out of the way to the side. My eyes widened as I realized my attack had missed, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see the demon was ready to strike.

I flapped my wings to gain a bit of altitude and get out of the way, but before I could get clear the scythe came down hard. I was able to avoid most of the blow, but I let out a cry of agony as my bottom right hoof was struck by the massive blade. I risked a glance down at it as I flew upwards, only to find that the bottom portion of my hoof had been severed off, only leaving a stump of red code.

But before I could react, the boss was on me again. Its scythe glinted again as it took a swipe at me, and I knew there wasn't a chance for me to get out of the way again. I quickly brought up my sword and shield to deflect the blow, but it only worked slightly. I was thrown backwards from it, like if a truck had rammed into me at full speed.

I quickly flapped my wings to correct my flight pattern, but I could see the demon coming at me to attack again. But this time, I was ready. The scythe flashed in the moonlight, and I brought my sword up to parry the strike. But rather than knock away the weapon like I would for a smaller opponent, I used my sword to vault over the top of the blade. The demon had no time to react as I came flipping towards him with my flaming sword in tow.

My blade stabbed right through the demon's head... Or so I thought. I expected a small resistance as my sword cut through the demon, but there wasn't any. It had cut clean through the demon for sure, but it was as if the boss hadn't been there at all. I flew past the boss, taking a look at its health meter. It hadn't dropped at all.

"What the...?"

Suddenly, a voice called out from the ground below,

"The Calvary has arrived!"

I looked down, and much to my relief, found that our whole group had arrived. Sky, Cloud, Cross, Violet, Soul, Dylan, Eclipse, Siren, Swift, Comet, Frostlight, and the rest of Team Whiplash. Weapons drawn and serious expressions, they were ready to take on a boss... Though I wasn't quite sure this would be a boss they wanted to take on.

Soul stepped forward, "Man, Shadow. Even with your power, you haven't made a dent in this demon's health."

Out of the corner of my eye, the demon's scythe flashed and I parried the blow like before. I flew past it, not even taking a swing at it with my sword in fear that I'd end up with the same result as before. I shouted down, "Hey, this thing is tougher than it looks. So I could use some help here!"

Violet stepped up beside Soul, "Alright, we gotcha covered." He set the head of his hammer down on the grassy floor, "Ready, Soul?"

Soul, swords drawn in his magic, jumped onto the end of the hammer, crouched like he was ready to jump, "Ready."

"Here we go!" Violet grabbed his hammer with both his magic and his hooves, and with unmatched power, he swung his hammer upwards, with Soul on top of it. The latter unicorn was launched from the hammer like a bullet as he catapulted towards the demon, swords ready to strike.

"Wait, no!" I shouted, but I wasn't able to say it in time before Soul struck the demon.

I watched as Soul's swords pierced into the demon's cloak, followed by the rest of him as he tried to punch a hole through the boss' chest. But Soul did travel through the demon, though it was more like he traveled through a cloud of black smoke in place of the Reaper's chest. Its health bar remained unchanged.

Soul landed on the ground past it, turning back to face the demon in confusion, "What the hell? Why can't I hurt it?"

Nobody had a chance to answer, as the Reaper swung its scythe again, this time encompassing the whole of our group with one swipe. I was knocked out of the air and into the ground, while I could hear the shouts of my group members as they were thrown by the sheer magnitude of the boss. I looked up to see that everyone was in bad shape, even after one strike. All of our health bars, including mine, had dropped down in the yellow zone.

Cross was the first to recompose himself, "Crap, that thing's strong."

Soul muttered from his place, half buried in dirt that kicked up from the attack, "Not to mention it's almost impossible to hit. I didn't even scratch it."

Suddenly, Sky stood up as well, panting hard, "This is a demon. It isn't that easy to kill." He looked back at everyone, "Stay back. Only I know how to kill it."

Everyone, especially me, stared at Sky, too tired to even gasp in shock. They spoke their mind.

Cloud, "No way, you're not cutting me out of this fight."

Dylan, "No, don't. It's too powerful!"

Siren, "Sky, let us help. It's suicide to try alone."

The others said something along those lines as well, but they were quieted as Sky glared back at them, his voice cold as ice, "Trust me. You can't help here. Stay back so you won't get hurt."

Sky quickly turned his attention back towards the demon, swords shimmering with black magic. His demon opponent took note of Sky, regarding him as a single target, and hefted up its scythe.

Sky took a deep breath, his horn glowing more as he flared his magic, "Sub-ability, activate: Iron Gale."

Sky felt his body grow lighter as his ability activated one of his special moves, one that he had never used in front of his team before. Iron Gale: The bane of demons and monsters alike. A destroyer of those from the darkness, its orgin, the very place they came from.

He saw a red glow emit from his own eyes, and in his vision, multiple target symbols appeared. The targets slid across his sight, locking onto the weak points of the demon ahead of him. Once the targets were set, Sky felt the next part of the spell happen.

Suddenly, his hooves lost their contact with the ground as his body floated up about an inch off of the ground, like a gale was keeping him afloat. With one more will from his mind, Sky raised his swords and his body lurched forward at blinding speed. Everything in his sight was a blur, except for the targets the game system had set for him. With as much strength as he could muster, Sky slashed his swords into the weak points of the demon, causing the beast to shriek extremely loud.

But Sky wasn't fazed by ringing in his ears it caused, and he continued to ride the wind in the darkness, plunging each of his swords into the demon in rapid succession.

We all watched in awe, unable to conjure words at the feat Sky was accomplishing. He had matched the Demon in speed, and he was literally flying circles around the boss. The Equine Reaper would take swipe after slash at Sky, but the dark cyan unicorn easily evaded every attack like a fly around a fly swatter. But this 'fly' was quickly eating away at the boss' health bar, his flurry of sword strikes blurring into black wisps around him.

I could feel my jaw hit dirt as Sky's attack only got faster and faster. Until finally, the boss' health meter dropped down to its last little sliver.

But before Sky could strike a final time, the demon got a lucky hit. Sky was thrown off course as the blunt edge of its scythe. I could hear Sky grunt in surprise, but just as quickly, the dark cyan blur hit the ground running and leaped back into the demon.

The Reaper brought up its scythe to block the unicorn, but Sky used his swords to vault over the blade, and onto the demon's pony skull. And with the last of the spell's strength, Sky plunged his swords into the top of the demon's skull, causing it to give one last shriek as its health dropped to zero.

But unlike the other bosses, this demon surprisingly didn't burst into code. But rather, the boss simply evaporated into thin air, like black smoke dispersing in the open sky. As the demon's body disappeared, Sky fell to the ground below, crumpling onto the grassy terrain as the last of his strength fled him.

Suddenly, in the dark, night sky, a banner appeared:

Congratulations! You have defeated The Equine Reaper!

I quickly got to my hooves, and rushed over to where Sky had fallen, which was difficult with my amputated hoof. But I managed to reach him and saw that he was struggling to get up. With my magic, I heaved his body off of the ground and put him back onto his hooves.

Sky, panting hard as the spell must have taken a lot out of him, nodded to me in a gesture of thanks. But instead of replying in turn, I asked the one question that was on everyone's minds, "How did you do that?"

Still a bit nauseous and staggering, Sky only replied, "It was difficult, but now I'm really worn out."

But then, a small window appeared in front of him:

You've gained the last-hit bonus. You receive a rare item.
-Oblivion

Sky tapped a hoof on the item, and one of his swords disappeared, only to be replaced by another one. It was a long, double edged sword, completely black except for three, dark blue gems on the hoofguard. Sky smiled a bit by looking at it, satisfied with the drop.

But then, like every boss battle, the next element appeared. A shining light sparked into sight in the sky, making it almost look like a star in the night. But it slowly began to descend until it reached Sky. Holding up a hoof, Sky caught the light, and the brightness subsided, leaving behind a golden necklace with a plain, blue gem in its center.

Sky tapped a hoof on the element, and a text box appeared:

Element of Willpower (Inactive)
Object Type: Item

Sky smirked weakly, "Willpower, huh? Kind of suits me."

Usually by this point, our whole group would be celebrating. We had beaten a boss (though it was more like Sky did it alone), and another element had been retrieved. Seven down and three to go. But this time, no one really cheered. It wasn't that we were shell shocked by Sky's awesome show of power and speed, though that might've had something to do with it.

But we were all silenced as we heard a slow, calm, clapping sound coming from a tree behind our group. We all turned to see the one being we all hated in this game: Discord.

The Draconequus was lounging across a branch, his snake like tail wrapped around it like a python. His hands clapped together in mild amusement, and a sinister smile crossed his features, "Well done, Darkened5ky. Well done."

"What do you want, Discord?" I snarled.

Discord chuckled a bit, "Honestly, Shadowflame, I would have thought you'd figured out my little pattern by now. I've always appeared whenever a boss battle's going on." He snapped his fingers, appearing in the middle of the grove, "But that's not what I'm here for. After all, I'm sure you all are wondering what really happened here."

That perked up everyone's interest. "What are you talking about?" Eclipse asked.

leaning back into a relaxed position, where he floated in midair, Discord replied, "Oh, you know. The whole town going 'gray', the monster attack on the town, the nigh unstoppable, possessing demon boss. Please don't tell me you haven't figured it out by now."

Comet shouted at the Draconequus, "Stop beating around the bush! What are you hiding?"

Discord rolled his eyes, "Ah, Comet. The new girl of the group. Must you always be so straight forward? Don't any of you see? This whole thing in this town, all of the trouble caused, was a setup by me."

We all blinked in confusion, though I could see a 'you don't say' meme running through my head.

"You see, when your team arrived, but didn't go to the boss room right away, I used the demon's power to influence the monsters of the forest to attack Hollow Shades. But that was only to get you to the room faster before the boss decided to get up and leave its room. So, when you did arrive, the demon secretly possessed Lexus, and I planned for it to murder Shadowflame in the dead of night." He sighed again, "But we can all see how that turned out."

"Wait, murder me?" I asked.

Discord snapped his fingers, and we suddenly found him wearing a soccer jersey, bouncing a soccer ball on his knees, "Yes, that's right. After all, the easiest way to win a game is to take out the competition." With a powerful kick, the draconequus launched the ball towards us, though it looked more like a fireball in midflight. I had to duck in order to avoid it.

Discord continued, "So you see, this boss was one I specifically made to kill off the Elements of Harmony. However, I didn't expect Sky to have taken it down by himself." He snickered deviously, "But I know there's something that you all would be curious about."

In a flash, Discord appeared next to Sky, though the draconequus was dressed in a suit and sitting behind a news caster's desk, "In other news, it appears that a certain member of the Knights of Harmony, one who just barely received the Element of Willpower, has been keeping a secret that may lead to contention in their group. Back to you, Janet."

Everyone ignored Discord's antics, though the group's eyes fell on Sky. The unicorn in question looked as if he were a thief caught red handed, eyes wide and and sweat droplets on his brow.

"Sky, what's he talking about?" I asked.

Sky only cringed, caught off guard by Discord's revelation. But Discord proceeded to coil is long body around the dark cyan unicorn, like a snake.

"Oh, ho, ho! You mean you haven't told them yet? Shame on you, little pony." The draconequus turned his head towards the rest of our group, "If he won't tell, then I will."

"You see, Sky here has always had a secret desire to fly. He has always wanted to sprout a pair of wings and fly away into the sunset." He appeared right in front of me, prodding my forehead with a claw, "Of course, when a certain someone woke up with a pair of wings on his back, he began feeling a bit jealous. He's been feeling like fate cheated him, meanwhile his 'best friend' is strutting around with extra appendages on his back like a show off."

Before I could protest, Discord coiled back around Sky, who looked horrified by what was happening. Meanwhile, Discord only grinned at his confusion, "All this time, Sky has been keeping it hidden, but he's been feeling jealous of Shadow. And when you keep something bottled up, it'll keep growing until it finally bursts!"

Discord suddenly exploded in a blast of confetti, reappearing next to sky, "You know, I'm actually doing you all a favor. If I hadn't revealed Sky's secret, then after enough time, his jealousy would've burst past the breaking point. And who knows what would've happened after that?"

He laughed coldly, "After all, this kind of jealousy is the type someone would kill over to satisfy."

Behind me, I could hear the others saying their own opinions. Some wondered if what Discord said was true, while others began calling out on the draconequus' claim and saying it was lie. But their words were drowned out by my own thoughts.

The memory of my conversation with Sky, back on the airship, came flooding back:

Sky spoke again, "So, flying is really that good?"

I nodded.

"Hm, I figured it'd be." Sky muttered, "Kind of makes me envious."

Sky *did* want to fly, and he had never told me about it before I became an alicorn... I felt a sharp twist in my gut as I realized the facts backed up Discord's claim.

My throat went dry, "Sky... Is that true?..."

My best friend hung his head, ashamed. But Discord leaned in closer to Sky's ear, literally speaking with a forked tongue behind his teeth.

"What are you going to do now, demon slayer? You took out my boss here singlehandedly, so what's stopping you from taking Shadow's ability?"

"Shut up." Sky hissed behind clenched teeth.

"Come now, Sky. Your secret's blown, and I doubt your friends are going to accept you now. So you might as well take what you can."

This time, Sky didn't reply. Discord continued, grinning sickly as he could see an inner conflict going inside the unicorn's mind,

"Go ahead and take it. It's what you've always wanted, and if you miss this chance, you may never get it again. Your wings await."

Discord snapped his fingers and he vanished from sight, never to reappear again, leaving Sky standing alone in the grove while we stared at him. Only silence passed through the night.

"S-sky?" I stammered.

Suddenly, Sky's horn lit up and his swords levitated in front of him. And then, he took a step forward.

I had never felt so horrified as I did in that moment. My mind went blank as something in the depths of it snapped. I don't know what it was, but all the security, the pride, and the relief I used to have with Sky seemed to shatter with that single sword draw. I faltered back, my throat seeming to constrict itself as I realized my best friend was actually going to attack me.

Sky took another step forward, yet it didn't even occur to me to draw my weapons to defend myself. Even if it had, I doubt I would have. The feeling I had was like if a friend was holding a knife to my back, and with every step Sky took, it would inch its way closer to my spine. I was simply frozen, completely out of shock, fear, and denial.

I refused to believe Discord had gotten under Sky's skin. But the proof of it stood right before my eyes.

I shouted the one thing that came to mind, "Sky, what are you doing?"

Suddenly, Sky froze and he glanced up at me. But his face wasn't contorted in hostility towards me like I expected. Instead, he stared wide eyed at his own swords in his grip, like he just realized he had drawn them.

"..."

No one spoke, because all of us were still trying to comprehend the predicament we were seeing.

But after a short moment, Sky was the first to react. He quickly sheathed his swords and stowed away the Element of Willpower into his inventory. And once he had all of his belongings, he turned tail and ran at breakneck speed into the forest.

"No, Sky! Come back!" The shout didn't come from me, though that was what I was thinking. The plea came from Dylan rather, who galloped hard to chase after his brother.

I don't know what drove me to stop Dylan, but before I knew it, my hoof shot out and grabbed a hold of the colt, halting him in his tracks.

Instinctively, Dylan struggled to get out of my grip, "Let go of me! Sky!" He called after his brother again.

I gave him a hard look, "Dylan, quiet down. I'll go after him, but I need the rest of you to go back to Hollow Shades. It's dangerous to stay out here for too long."

"But-"

"GO!" I didn't mean to shout, but... Given the circumstances, I probably couldn't have restrained if I focused on it. I mean, I was a jumble of mixed emotions at once. Anger towards Discord, hurt or shocked at Sky, and concerned for my whole team. But...

Dylan was taken aback by my shouting, and meekly he complied. Though he took a glance towards the way Sky had ran off, a hurt look written across his face, before returning back to the rest of the group.

Meanwhile, I spread my wings and flew off above the tree line, giving chase after Sky.

It didn't take long for me to find Sky, even when he was running under the cover of the trees. Even when he was running as fast as possible, I was still able to catch up through the air.

Before he got too far along, I dove down through the treetops, landing hard in front of his path. The shock of me suddenly coming through the treetops was enough to stop his running, and he screeched to a halt.

"Sky, why are you running?"

He narrowed his eyes, "You know why. I was seriously going to kill you and take the alicorn ability for myself."

"But you didn't, and that's why-"

"That's why I'm running." Sky cut me off, "If I stay with you guys any longer, who knows how long it'll be before I get tempted again and actually run my sword through you. I need to leave, so I don't hurt anyone."

Leaving? He was seriously planning on leaving?

I tried to argue against it, "You don't have to leave. You proved that you could withstand that temptation to kill me, even when Discord tried talking you into it. And you can do it again."

Sky groaned in frustration, pushing his way past me, "Look, Shadow. Even though I was about to kill you, I was only just able to shake myself out of it. It was a close call, one that was too close. I can't trust myself around you or your ability, so that's why I'm leaving the team."

My mouth opened to protest, but nothing came out of it as I watched Sky walk away. Just from his trot, I couldn't help but wonder if this was my fault. He was my friend, and he wanted my ability, but how could I have been so oblivious to see what was wrong? How could I have not seen the jealousy he'd been hiding for so long?

My mouth tightened into a grimace, and I quickly pulled up my player menu. I selected one of the tabs available, the one that read: Invite to Duel.

Suddenly, Sky stopped as his player menu pinged open with my duel invitation. Reading the text box, he quickly whirled around with a look of confusion on his face.

To answer his confusion, I responded quietly, "If you're leaving just because you want my ability, then I'll let you take it. I'll let you win a duel against me, then you'll get Apotheosis without all of this trouble. You don't have to leave and I won't have to lose my best friend."

Sky glanced between me and the duel invitation, a familiar look returning to his face: One of inner conflict. He wasn't sure whether to accept my offer, or to leave like he had originally planned.

But after a moment of thinking, Sky sighed and tapped a button on the text box, which then made another one appear in my vision:

Surprised, I only stared at Sky, hoping he would give an answer. But, he didn't.

"Please, Sky... Don't do this." I pleaded, "You don't have to leave."

Sky gave me a sharp look, "No, I have to. Do you think that the others will just accept me back because you say it's okay. They won't trust me anymore, after hearing that I held back something like this. I'll never regain their trust if I go back now."

"You don't know that!"

"YES, I do!" Sky snapped back again, and I faltered. I was expecting him to draw his swords again, but he didn't. He sighed, "My time in the guild is over. So just get over it, and get on with stopping Discord. I don't want you moping the whole time after I leave."

It didn't look like I was budging his view of things. He was set on leaving, and I couldn't think of anything else to keep him from going.

I sighed, looking down at the ground in defeat, "If you really are going to leave, then I won't stop you. I have a feeling this is a journey you need to take... But I wish you didn't have to either."

Sky only nodded, a grim look on his face, before turning to leave again. But after taking a couple steps, he stopped and glanced back again, "Take care of Dylan for me... And Siren..."

I nodded, "I will. But only on one condition: That you come back once your journey is over."

A pause... "That's something I can't do. This is goodbye."

He opened up his player menu and tapped a few buttons and icons. But then, another text box appeared in my vision:

By the time I looked up from the message, Sky was gone, having disappeared in the darkness of the forest.

He was gone... My best friend, that had been with me from the start of this game, was gone.

I felt my ears droop, and my wings fell down from my sides like weights. It was because of these things that Sky had run away. Envy, Jealousy, how could I have not seen just a flicker of these beneath Sky's cool, collected mask of expression? He was the one person I knew the best in Equestria, having fought and played together for years... But now he would no longer be with me.

I felt a small tear drip out of the corner of my eye, followed by another. Was this how it felt to lose a friend, even though they hadn't died? I know some people say it feels like you lose part of your soul... Frankly, I thought that expression was spot on in description. It felt terrible...

I turned around and began walking towards town, to tell the others about Sky's farewell. I would have flown, but I wasn't in any shape to fly. After all, my vision was blurry enough as it was. And the fact that my wings drooped lifelessly along the vegetated forest floor. I whispered under my breath, choked with a sob,

"Goodbye,..."

June 14th (Lone Sky)

Hey, it's Darkened5ky. Weird, huh? I know you usually only hear from Shadowflame in this, but no one else can tell you this part of the story. So he decided to let me tell you.

I'm sure several of you right now are wondering why I left the team. The answer is plain and simple:

Discord was right.

Short BGM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmnvDNfL6sY

I came into this game with a choice; unicorn or pegasus (I had already ruled out earth pony). I chose unicorn, thinking I would just log in under someone else's account if I wanted to see Equestria from the air.

We all know how that plan worked out.

So I got trapped in here as a unicorn, which is a choice I don't regret. However, I've still held a secret wish to be able to fly for this entire game. So of course, when Shadow revealed his Alicorn ability to us and why it works, I was more jealous than anyone else there. I can usually hide my emotions very well, however, so I don't think anyone noticed.

But of course, you can never keep up pretense forever. If you always wear a mask, someone will eventually see your true face. I might be the Element of Willpower, but that doesn't mean I can resist every thought in my head, especially one that has been building for this long. When Discord revealed my concealed rage and jealousy to everyone present, I finally snapped. I wanted more than anything to kill Shadowflame and steal his Alicorn ability, but something held me back. Probably the fact that we've been friends for a long time, and I didn't want him to die because of the extreme rage that I've hidden from everyone for so long.

I left so they could all be protected from me.

I normally play RPGs like this as a solo player, but this game was different. As they reminded us at the Canterlot party, It was originally designed to give bronies a place where we could gather and socialize, kill some monsters, and have fun being ponies with your friends. I decided to play this game with Shadow for that very reason.

Since I'm so experienced at being a solo player, I didn't have a problem being alone for the first little while. True, I had to fight weaker monsters than usual for a day or two, but I quickly adjusted. You get much more money and experience as a solo player, so I was able to fight large groups of monsters that were only slightly weaker than those we tackled as a general team of eleven people. I began wondering why I hadn't done this from the beginning, why I had stayed within a group that would steal both my resources and my experience.

It didn't take me too long to remember why.

I began reflecting on all the good times we had as a group. Lexus dropping an apple right onto a unicorn's horn. Watching my little brother jump over that giant armadillo, screaming Leroy Jenkins as he did so. DJ-ing the Canterlot party, where Lexus and Neon had admitted their affection for each other. The date I went on with Siren--

Siren.

I hadn’t sent her any messages since I had left the team. I just couldn’t. I couldn't bear the thought of what she thought of me now. She had witnessed me at my lowest point, and what did I do? I abandoned her. And my family, my younger brother, I abandoned him too.

What does that say about the type of man I am?

It just got worse and worse as I remembered every face from our guild, and wondered what they thought of me now, or if any of them had actually been sad to see me go.

Before long, I was more alone and in more pain than I had ever been before. I wanted more than anything to return to the group, where I was guaranteed backup if my HP dropped into the yellow or red zones, and where there was little to no chance of anyone dying. Where I could see Siren again. Where I could talk and laugh with everyone, actually enjoying myself even though we're trapped in a death game.

To distract myself from my pain, I trained. I killed more monsters in three days than the whole team had killed in all of the previous week, and leveled up several times while doing so. I had to always watch my back, too. Receiving my element had been in the Equestria Daily newsletter, but they hadn't announced my desertion. It was probably so the haters wouldn’t track me down to steal my element (not that I couldn't take them if they did). But they would all recognize me if they saw me, so I avoided other players as a whole, and when I needed to be in town, I wore a black cloak with a hood to hide my identity.

I kept this up for a while, looking for side quests as I did. There wasn't anything that looked worthwhile until about two weeks after I left my team.

I had snuck into Baltimare, and was checking the player request board as usual. This time, though, something immediately caught my eye; a familiar name. I read the request from under my hood.

Cordon, I thought, glaring as my anger with him rose again. What're you up to?

I knew that Cordon would probably do anything to get back at Shadow. I sat for a few moments, wondering what to do. If Cordon came back and beat Shadow, he would be likely to kill him, especially with added power from this “rare item.” I decided to go, just to keep an eye on him.

Following the address on the ad, I entered a tavern on the other side of town. It was rather small, with only a few people having drinks in it. I walked up to the bartender.

"What'll you have?" the NPC stallion asked.

"I'll take a glass of Medovina Mead,” I said. Having just replaced almost all of my gear with much higher quality items in my last shopping excursion, I didn't have the bits to spare for the more expensive meads I usually drink. As I pressed the green button on the sale confirmation box, the mead appeared before me, and I levitated it off the table.

"Has Cordon been in today?" I asked the NPC.

"What's it to you?" he replied, glaring.

I sighed. Tavern NPCs were programmed to act like real bartenders, so I knew what he wanted. I accessed my item storage and physically summoned 20 bits, leaving only 15 bits in my inventory; an all-time low since the beginning of the game. I began placing them on the bar.

"I'm not here to hurt him," I said, although it wasn't entirely true. "I just want to talk. Got some business to discuss with him." I finished setting the bits on the bar, and the stallion swept them beneath it.

"He usually comes in at three," he said, then pointed towards an empty booth. "Sits in that corner."

I moved over and sat in Cordon's booth, then de-equipped my cloak and began sipping my mead. I sat for a while, occasionally glancing at the time. About half an hour after I had sat down, the door opened, and the dark-grey figure of Cordon crossed the threshold. He ordered something from the NPC, then began walking over to his usual booth.

“Nice tavern you’ve found here,” I said.

He jumped as he noticed me sitting there, then took a step back, readying himself for a fight. When it became apparent that I wasn’t immediately attacking him, he sat down across from me.

“The mead’s good,” Cordon replied gruffly. “You don’t get drunk, and there’s no hangover.”

“I wouldn’t know the difference,” I said. “I didn’t drink in the real world.”

We sat in silence for a few moments.

“Are you here to kill me?”

I looked up from my mead to see him with one hoof on his battle axe, ready to use it if necessary.

“It's crossed my mind,” I said, coldly. “Not only are you the biggest jerk I've ever met, you tried to kill one of my best friends! If
you had won that duel, I would’ve torn you to shreds.”

“Yeah, sure,” Cordon said, skeptically.

I clenched my hooves in anger. I had seen his stats, and I knew he was no match for me anymore.

“That’s not why I’m here,” I said, pushing my anger down beneath the surface again. “I saw your ad.”

“If you saw the ad, where’s the rest of the team?” Cordon asked, looking around.

“I’m not... with them at the moment,” I said, looking down at my mug. After a few moments of silence, I looked up to see Cordon grinning evilly.

“Finally get sick of putting up with Shadowflame’s crap?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. "Tired of being the second man in line?"

I snapped.

I whipped around the table in a flash, pinning him against the back of the booth, raising Oblivion to his throat. I glared right into his face, which had rapidly switched from an expression of smugness to an expression of terror.

“Shut. The hell. Up,” I snarled at him, pressing Oblivion deeper into his neck, threatening to puncture his throat. “One more word about anyone on my team, and I won’t stop short next time.”

The now-crowded bar had fallen dead silent. After pressing my sword slightly further into his throat, I stepped back, and a look of relief crossed Cordon’s face. I sat back down across from him, and once it was evident that we weren't going to fight, the rest of the bar gradually returned to its previous volume level.

"So," I began, as if nothing had happened since he sat down, "this rare item you're looking for. What is it?"

"An amulet," Cordon said, looking relieved that I had dropped the previous subject. "It's supposed to increase your STR by a lot."

"And where is it?" I asked.

"I can't tell you that," Cordon said, "or you'll just go without me and get it yourself."

"How high of a level is this dungeon?" I asked.

"It says the recommended level is 67," Cordon replied. "I'm not there yet."

I glanced at my own stats. I was now level 73, and I hadn't met anyone else who was higher than that, excluding Jupiter.

"How long are we talking?" I asked.

"It shouldn't be too long," Cordon said, now ready with a question of his own. "What level are you?"

"I don't share that," I said evasively. I didn't want people I didn't trust to know how strong I was. "But trust me, it's high enough."

We sat in silence for a while, each drinking our own mead. Eventually, Cordon spoke again.

"Why'd you leave the team?"

I looked up at him. He wasn't taunting me anymore. All I could see on his face was genuine curiosity at my actions.

"I have my reasons," I said, glaring. "I might not be with them now, but that doesn't mean I hate them."

He didn't press the subject further. I sat in silence, waiting for him to break it.

"So, are you in, or not?" he asked. Bringing up his player menu, he tapped a few buttons, and a dialogue box appeared in front of me.

I thought about it. I would be able to keep an eye on him, and possibly gain a lot of experience in the process, which would more than make up for my lost leveling time.

"I'm in," I replied after a few moments, tapping the yes option on the window. "When do you want to leave?"

"Tomorrow morning," Cordon said, getting up. "I'd find an inn or something for tonight. Meet me back here at 9:30."

He left his mug on the booth counter, and trotted back towards the front entrance. I looked back at my tiny amount of 15 bits, and sighed. I would have to fight some more mobs if I wanted a decent place to sleep. Leaving my mug on the table as well, I stood up and exited after Cordon.

I panted as I levitated my swords into a defensive position, facing the five minotaurs ten yards away. I had gone a ways out of the town to hunt mobs, knowing where the strongest mobs in the area usually spawned. I drank a minor health potion as the minotaurs drew slightly nearer, snorting menacingly. I galloped back towards one of the side ones, slashing at it with my swords as I slid under it. It let out a roar of frustration, and turned to barrel straight at me.

Minotaurs aren’t the brightest creatures on the planet, and are more fueled by rage than anything else. This can be used to your advantage, as sometimes, in their anger, they fail to notice just what they’re hitting. Rather than fighting them all directly, you can oftentimes get them to beat each other up. Hence, before the minotaur noticed what I was doing, I slid under it towards the next one. I did a quick jab to anger it, and then dove to the side as both minotaurs simultaneously swung at my previous position.

It did exactly what I was hoping for. Both fists collided with the opposite minotaur, decreasing their health substantially. Both let out roars of anger as they turned to find me again. I continued fighting in this manner for a while, letting them bring each other's health down. Eventually, all five were low on health and entering their critical modes, which would make any hit they dealt to me deadly..

Before they could unleash their terrible critical mode fury on me, I activated my sub-ability; Iron Gale. Both of my swords glowed with black aura as the light in the area decreased. In a split second, the system did a series of target locks, pinpointing the weakest spots on each minotaur as I levitated an inch off of the ground. Fast as wind, I flew forward and unleashed a terrible barrage of sword strikes on each minotaur. One by one, they began bursting into code as their HP reached zero. My combo finished, leaving just one of the minotaurs. I ducked to avoid his hastily-thrown punch and stabbed him through the chest with my left sword. He too burst into code.

Immensely satisfied with the fight, I sheathed my swords as a dialogue box appeared in front of me.

After checking the rest of my inventory, I decided that a level and 1686 bits were enough for a short hunting session. However, as I was turning away to head back into town, a gleam of sunlight from the ground distracted me. I looked to see what could be causing the reflection, and noticed something white lying in the grass. I rushed over to it as quickly as I could, and another dialogue box popped up in front of me as I drew near.

"No info?" I said, puzzled. I de-equipped my left sword as I picked up the new one with magic. It was just as long as Oblivion, if not a bit longer, and had three green gems in the hoof-guard. I have to admit, side-by-side with Oblivion, they both looked pretty sweet.

I'll have to get it appraised, I thought, as I stored it in my inventory and re-equipped my other sword. As it was most likely a sword affiliated with light, I didn't really plan on using it. I was planning to see how much it was worth and sell it off, as my current swords were already fairly powerful and both stacked with my player ability. Re-equipping my cloak, I put the hood up to hide my face and began the walk back to Baltimare.

I trotted through the doors of the weapon shop, after checking to see if there were any players there. Lowering my hood, I moved straight past all the weapons on display to the NPC behind the desk.

"What are you looking for?" The crimson stallion asked.

"I need a sword appraised," I said, summoning it out of my inventory to show to him. He took it in his hoof, and set it on a black object that I didn't recognize, which began to hum slightly. After a couple of moments, it stopped, and a dialogue box appeared above it.

"It's name is Corrupted Light," he began, as he was programmed to read everything on the list. "A one-handed weapon, Corrupted Light is a sword of terrible destruction. It has a long reach and extraordinary strength. Stacking with the player ability Demon's Curse, it boosts the amount that the Demonic Bar increases with each hit."

"How much do you think it's worth?" I cut across him. He looked up at me.

"It's an player-specific weapon," he informed me. "It can only be used by the player it dropped itself for. It's not worth anything to anyone else."

I stared at him, eyes wide.

That can't be right, I thought. My player ability is Darkness, not "Demon's Curse."

"Are you sure?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Assuming you're the player it appeared to, you're the only one who can use it. Now, that'll be 100 bits."

I pressed OK on the confirmation box, still confused as I stored my new sword, put my hood up and exited the shop. I began wandering through town, looking for a decent inn where I could stay the night. The whole time, though, I was preoccupied as I wondered why a player-specific sword had chosen me, but hadn’t bothered to attribute itself with my player ability, as well as what the heck an ability called "Demon's Curse" does to you.

Before I knew it, I was standing in front of the desk at the inn. The NPC mare looked up at me.

“Do you have any short-term rooms left?” I asked from under my hood.

“We do,” the mare replied. “It’s 150 bits a night. Pay in advance.”

“One night,” I said, and a dialogue box appeared in front of me. I confirmed the sale, and she told me my room number. I climbed several flights of stairs, and moved down a couple of hallways until I saw the room that was mine, and I opened the door.

It was no larger than a college dorm room. The bed was in the northwest corner, set sideways along the north wall. The north wall sloped down, and I was sure the roof was there. It straightened out, becoming the vertical wall about a foot above where the bed frame was. There was a small window on the west wall, providing a view of a little bit of Baltimare. The only other object in the room was a small desk in the southwest corner. The whole thing seemed eerily familiar, and it took me a few moments to remember why. It reminded me strongly of my temporary bedroom back home. Could it be possible that the game accessed my memories to create this room? Did the system even have the power to do that?

I lay on the small bed, and I thought back to the day this game started. How I had laid down on this very bed, my NerveGear hooked up to my desktop computer on my desk as I entered this game, and met up with Shadowflame--

I stopped. Thinking about anyone from my old team was painful.

But I couldn’t help it. No matter how hard I tried to shut them out, Siren and Dylan's faces seemed permanently imprinted on my retinas. They were the two who I thought about most. Sure, Shadow had been the one I had been looking to kill, but his thoughts didn’t seem to bother me as much as the aforementioned two.

In order to have something else to distract myself with, I decided to do some reading.

...Cheerilee brought her face close to the cage to stare at Scootaloo, relishing in the terror she was inflicting upon one of the little monsters that had tormented her for so long. “I thought you wanted to get out of the cage? This’ll get you out, you little weed. Just watch..."

But even Cheerilee's Garden couldn't hold my interest for very long. Closing the fanfic library, I slipped back into bed, physically exhausted as I rolled over and closed my eyes, waiting for sleep to come...

...It didn’t. I sighed deeply as I changed positions, trying to get comfortable, but there was no doubt about it. I was not going to be sleeping tonight.

Eventually, I ended up sideways in the bed, with my back hooves up against the sloping ceiling, my front legs wrapped around them, my head resting on the mattress, my eyes staring unseeingly at the ceiling. I thought back to my bedroom in Canterlot, in the complex where my team had undoubtedly returned after leaving Hollow Shades. I silently wondered if they expected me to come back, or if any of them had yet claimed my vacated space or possessions. Maybe they left it alone in the hopes that I would return someday? There was no way to know.

To my immense surprise, about an hour after I had laid down, the dead silence of my room was broken by a loud *ping*. My player menu lit up, half-blinding me as it’s light cut through the darkness. A banner flashed across the screen reading: New Message From Shadowflame.

I stared at it, not believing my eyes. It was the first contact I had had with anyone from the Knights of Harmony or my team since I had deserted them. After a few more moments of shock, I tapped on the banner, and began to read the message.

Sky,

I figure you'll get this without any problems. That is, unless you've gotten over insomnia and actually fell asleep. Either way, you can sleep later.

Anyway, you're probably wondering why I'm messaging you right now…

Well.... I'm just gonna say it.

Please come back, Sky.

The team… heck, the entire guild hasn't been the same since you've left. You were one of the strongest members we had, and everyone has been kind of depressed, even when I tell them that you chose to leave. I tell them this was a journey you had to take.
It's only been a week since you left, but the hole that you left here is only getting bigger and more miserable. And Dylan....

Where do I even start with Dylan?

He's become more closed off. He's missing you even more now than he was before. I can only imagine what he's going through. He was separated from his whole family, including you, when this whole death game began. But we both know how happy he was to have a brother in this game to look up to. But now that you're gone... Well, he's feeling lonesome and homesick. Whenever we train, he's only fighting half-heartedly. He's almost gotten himself killed because his mind isn't in the right place. It's almost like he's given up, like he's lost all passion for what he's fighting for.

Please, I'm down on my hooves and knees; Come back to us. Dylan needs his older brother. The team needs their Element of Willpower. I need my best friend. I don't care if you were going to kill me or not. I can forgive you for that, because I know that you didn't go through and kill me. You're better than that, and because I'm still alive now, I know that you can still safely come back and join us again.

Come back as soon as you can. I can understand if you still need to complete this solo journey of yours, but please, don't forget about us.

-Shadowflame

I reread the message several times, before closing both it and my player menu. I resumed the same position I had assumed before the message arrived, but this time, my mind was racing.

Why am I still out here? I wondered. I could go back and be with them right now, and this would be over.

You can’t go back, said another part of my brain, the pessimistic side. Not after what Discord told them about you.

They would’ve figured it out eventually, I continued to argue with myself. I would’ve finally snapped some time.

And what would you have done then? How would they have reacted?

I don’t know.

Exactly. What makes you think all of them want you back? They all know now. Your anger and jealousy runs deep, but you hide it. Then it finds a fissure and explodes out of you, so strongly that it almost drove you to murder. Do you really think they want someone like that on their team? Do you think Siren wants you back now?

...No.

Then why are you even considering going back?

Shadow seems to think we can work through this, and he’s more affected by this than any of them, except Dylan.

Yeah, but would it be safe for you to go back? How do you know you’ll be able to control your anger? What’s to stop you from trying to kill Shadowflame?

He doesn’t deserve this. It’s not his fault that he can fly. He didn’t know it would happen, and I shouldn’t be blowing up like this. He’s better than me. I can deal.

But even as I thought this, I knew it wasn’t true. I’ve played games with Shadow for most of both of our lives, and I always feel resentful when he beats me. If I can’t do something he can, it hurts. It’s pathetic, but true. I knew I wouldn’t be able to go back, unless…

Maybe there are other apotheosis abilities out there, I thought. Maybe he’s not the only Alicorn who stayed in hiding for a while. Maybe I can find one of them.

But how will you do that?

That was the real question. I laid there thinking for a long time. as I continued to stare straight through the darkness at that same patch of ceiling.

You can’t even be around Shadowflame unless you’re just as strong as he is...

Some element of Willpower you are, I thought to myself before I laid back in my bed properly, noting as I looked at my player menu that it was already 5 A.M.

“You’re late,” Cordon said, annoyed as I approached the Flaming Sword.

“Couldn’t sleep,” I said, groggily. I had managed to finally fall asleep at about 7:00, which meant I only got two and a half hours of decent sleep, which, in my opinion, is much worse than no sleep at all. I had slept through my alarm of 9:00, and woke up at about 9:35, which meant that I had been late by about fifteen minutes.

“Well, let’s get moving,” Cordon said, beginning to head south down the main road.

“Where’re we going?” I asked, galloping a bit to catch up with him.

“The Hayseed Swamp,” he informed me. “The dungeon entrance is there.”

As we left town, a few trash mobs spawned. However, they were weak enough that Cordon killed three of them with one swing from his axe, and he didn’t even get EXP for it. We entered the forest, the tall trees so thick that they somewhat hid the light of day, which I was fine with. Cordon led the way down the path, and I followed behind.

“So,” I said after a few minutes of silence, “what do you do these days? I mean, you're not trying to look for any more elements, as far as I know.”

Cordon remained silent for a few moments, obviously debating whether or not to answer me. But eventually, he did.

"Honestly, nothing," he said, staring at the path ahead. "I'm not normally a solo player, so I can't really fight mobs. I'm just trying to survive."

"Well, I'm sorry you had to be such a jerk," I said, scathingly. Luckily, Cordon's prior ego seemed to have shattered. I don't know if it was the combined sorrows of what had happened to him, or if it was how easily I could've ended him in the bar the previous day. Either way, he didn't retaliate.

"What about you?" he asked.

I hadn't been prepared for it. "Me?"

"Well, yeah. You're not helping your team, and if you were looking for sidequests, you're obviously not searching for elements either. Although, why bother to keep looking if you already have one? But seriously, what do you do?"

I thought about it. What did I do?

"I'm training. I'm focusing on leveling up right now. Unlike you, I actually do better on my own than when I have to deal with a team."

Without warning, Cordon had drawn his axe, and jumped straight at me. Luckily, I already had my swords drawn, and I raised them into a defensive position. But I noticed that Cordon's gaze wasn't fixed on me. Both of his eyes were focused on a point slightly behind my head. I turned just in time to see an enormous minotaur, bigger than any I’d seen, about to take a swing at me. I ducked just in time to avoid the punch, as Cordon's axe swung through the minotaur. He was lucky enough to land a critical hit, dealing four times the amount of regular damage. I watched as the minotaur's health bear decreased to 1/3 full, already in the yellow zone. I rushed back and took two swings at it, each slicing easily through the minotaur's tough exterior. He couldn't do anything now; he was stuck in a combo lock between my consistent two swings and Cordon's powerful one swing. When it's health was about to reach zero, I jumped back, allowing Cordon to deliver the final blow. The minotaur exploded into bits of code, as a dialogue box popped up in front of Cordon. I couldn't read it, but I figured it must've told him he had leveled up. He looked up at me.

"What was that about doing better without a team?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That was a once-in-a-lifetime thing," I said, sheathing my swords. "If I hadn't been talking, I would've sensed it sneaking up on me."

"Uh-huh," Cordon said, putting his axe back onto his back.

We continued through the forest, still talking. I soon realized that without his ego, Cordon was actually a half-decent guy. I had guessed it was a possibility, given what Siren had told us about what he had been like before he became an Alicorn.

Dang, thought about her again. I've got to stop doing that.

Anyway, me and Cordon actually managed to get along for a while, killing a couple of more trash mobs along the way. Nothing powerful spawned again, until we reached the Hayseed Swamp.

The closest thing I can relate the Hayseed Swamp is Froggy Bottom Bog, except the swamp was much, much bigger than the bog had been. There were bogs within the swamp.

“Where is this dungeon?” I asked, looking around.

“Underwater, of course,” Cordon replied, before beginning to swiftly walk around the swamp. “I’m not exactly sure how I found it, but it’s hidden at the bottom of one of the bogs.”

We continued moving around the edges of the swamp, until Cordon dove straight into one of the bogs. It didn’t look any different from the others, but I assumed he knew where he was going. I jumped in after him. I had been swimming once or twice as a pony, but nothing could compare to the murky water of this bog. The water felt much thicker than it should’ve, and I suspected that it was more mud than water.

“You ready?” Cordon asked. I nodded.

“Then let’s go. Follow right behind me.”

Cordon took a deep breath, and sank right down into the bog. I exhaled, before taking as large of a breath as I could and sinking down after him.

It was so muddy that I couldn’t see anything at first. I tried lighting my horn, but that didn’t help either. I was stuck, entirely blind, under the water. I re-emerged, breathing again. I knew I had to think fast, or I would lose Cordon, and this would take all day.

Maybe this water counts as darkness, I thought suddenly. The program probably just wrote it as a visual obstacle, and I might be able to count that as a dark area, and if it was a dark area, then I could see through it without any light. I took yet another deep breath, and dove down under the surface. This time, instead of trying to light the area, I tried letting my eyes do the work for me. I had never really figured out how it was done, but if I wasn't thinking about it, then I could just see through darkness. And, sure enough, my eyes automatically adjusted to penetrate the murkiness. I could suddenly see Cordon about thirty feet below me, and I dove after him.

Shadow would hate this, I thought to myself with a small smile as I swam. Water, mud, and Cordon.

Hey, Shadowflame here, and just like every portion of this story, I read this as I was editing. And I would like to beg to differ, Sky.

Oh, whatever. Even back in the real world, you didn't like muddy water. And we all know you don't like Cordon either.

Mud and water, I don't mind the two separate. But muddy water is something I really don't like.

Like there's any difference. Now get out of here. This is my chapter.

Alright, alright. Carry on.

As I was catching up to Cordon, he reached the bottom of the bog...

...and disappeared into the ground.

I almost let all of my air escape as I gasped in surprise. There was no indication that there was anything different about the muddy bottom of the bog, but as I drew nearer and reached my hoof out, it didn't make contact with the ground. I sank right through the illusion of earth, and suddenly I breathed in air again. It was pitch-black, but I could still see with my ability.

I watched as I fell about thirty feet to the ground. The impact knocked the wind out of me, and my health bar decreased by about 1/4. I sat up roughly, muddy bog water dripping from me as I got to my hooves. Cordon had already stood up, and was drying himself off with a towel.

"I always make sure to have a towel in my inventory now,” Cordon said, holding it out to me. I took it, and tried to dry my long hair as best as I could.

"So you were taking a swim in a freaking bog one day, and just happened to find this place??" I asked in disbelief, as I handed the towel back to him.

"Yup," he said, stowing the now-filthy towel in his inventory again. "When you suddenly lose your wings, you've gotta find some way to be weightless again, right? Swimming is the best substitute I've found, and these bogs are the only places you can swim around here. I've been hiding here ever since I fled Canterlot."

"Impressive," I muttered, looking around. We had fallen into a large cave, the ceiling thirty feet above us. I turned to the right, and saw a pair of heavy iron doors set into the stone in the nearest wall.

“That’s the dungeon,” Cordon said, “but I can’t read the name.”

I began to walk towards it, as a dialogue box appeared right in front of me.

Interesting name for a dungeon… I thought.

“It’s called Kurai Kagami, which essentially means 'Dark Mirror',” I said over my shoulder.

“Dark Mirror?” Cordon asked, raising an eyebrow. “That’s a weird name for a dungeon. What language is that?”

“Japanese,” I said, resuming the walk to the building.

“You speak Japanese?” Cordon asked, galloping slightly to catch up.

“Yeah,” I said. “I haven’t really spoken it since the game started, but it doesn’t matter now. Let's get this done."

I pushed open the already unlocked doors, immediately creating a new map file as I did. We began making our way down a slightly-curved dark stone-brick passageway, the only light coming from the eerie blue-fire torches on the walls. We encountered a few mobs wandering alone, which we finished off fairly easily. We didn't hit our first real obstacle for about ten minutes.

My dark vision was allowing me to see just fine, so I didn't really think twice when I entered an enormous room that was pitch-black, but Cordon had no means of light other than the torches. I looked around when he disappeared from my side.

"Cordon? Why aren't you coming in?"

"Uh, because I can't see," Cordon said, slightly annoyed. "I don't know how you ca--"

But he was cut off, as the door into the large room suddenly slammed shut.

"Cordon??" I exclaimed, running back to the door and pounding on it. "Cordon!!"

But no answer came, and I was distracted when I heard something slither along the ground behind me. I whipped back around, swords out, as an enormous, jet-black viper crossed my field of vision. It bared its fangs at me as it hissed loudly, red eyes gleaming, even though there was no light for the eyeballs to reflect.

The snake reared, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to dodge quickly enough. I raised my swords, hoping that I could at least stop the fangs from piercing me. Not only did they block the snake’s attack, but they both stabbed through the snake’s face. It hissed loudly from the pain.

I did an internal facehoof, as I remembered this was only a level 67 dungeon. My swords had the viper stuck where he was, and in an attempt to free itself, it sent its tongue sailing between the swords at my face. I ducked just fast enough to avoid it, and as I turned, I ripped one of my swords from its mouth, bringing it straight through the tongue.

It cut cleanly in two. The snake whipped its head away, hissing and spitting furiously. Faster than I could counteract it, it flung its tail around and smashed into me, sending me and my swords sailing through the empty darkness. I managed to flip backwards and land on my hooves, but it was already slithering back towards me. It reared and struck at me again, aiming low this time.

I jumped into the air, leaving only stone for the snake to hit. Time seemed to slow down, as I turned 180°, and flipped my right sword around so it was facing the floor. I fell back towards the earth, landing right on the viper’s back. I used the momentum from the fall to force my right sword into the snake’s back as deeply as I could. The snake jerked, and I ripped my sword back out before doing a backflip off of it. It turned and saw me standing there, but it was now in a lot of pain. It’s lunge was much slower, and I was able to dive sideways to avoid it. As it turned to face me, I stood my ground, all focus on a single point of the snake’s body. As it did another slow lunge, I sidestepped to avoid it, still looking at the one spot. As the spot moved to be right beside me, I swung both of my swords with all the power I could.

The snake’s body was cleaved in half, and the two halves fell on either side of me. It was finished.

“Any other takers?!” I yelled, looking around the now-empty room. There was nothing else there. But as I turned to walk back through the door I had come in through, I paused. The snake’s body, though definitely dead, hadn’t dissipated into code like it normally did. Curious, I walked back over to it.

As I approached it, it started to vibrate slightly. Instead of dissipating into the code, it dissolved into what I can only describe as black smoke. The cloud hung there for a few seconds. It felt somehow… familiar. I tried to think of where I had felt this before. Then I remembered; The demon in Hollow Shades. When it wasn’t in it’s physical form, it looked just like this. I was the only one who could sense it following us home, the only one who saw it in Lexus before he tried to kill Shadowflame. I opened my mouth to speak, but the dark cloud moved faster than lightning as it flew out of the room. I raised an eyebrow.

What was that about? I wondered silently. And, the more I thought about it, the weirder the whole thing seemed. Why didn't the snake burst into code like everything else I've ever killed?? Why did it seem like a demon?

I came to slightly, before moving back towards the door I had come through. It opened automatically, revealing Cordon still standing there.

“What happened?” he asked.

“Fought a giant snake," I shrugged. "It barely even touched me. Let’s move on.”

Offering no further explanation, I again crossed the dark room towards a door on the other side.
“Uhh, I still can’t see in there,” Cordon said, still standing at the doorway.

“Then grab a torch off the wall,” I said, indifferently. Cordon came in the room thirty seconds later holding a blue torch, but he was apparently still unable to see me. I sighed, before moving back into his line of sight.

“Follow me,” I said. Cordon jumped about a mile into the air, and he drew his axe.

“Dude, relax,” I said. “It’s just me.”

“Don’t. Do that!” Cordon said, putting his axe back on his back. “You scared the crap out of me!”

“You’re welcome,” I replied, before moving back towards the door.

Looking at the map file I was still creating, we got a general idea of the dungeon layout. It too felt slightly familiar. I looked down at the map file every so often, and slowly, the shape of the dungeon started coming together.

“No way,” I eventually said aloud, staring at the map with wide eyes. “No freaking way.”

“What??” Cordon asked, turning to face me again.

“You move slower than a paralyzed sloth, that’s what,” I replied, glaring at him. “Move faster.”

Grumbling, Cordon resumed walking, but I kept staring at the map in disbelief. The way that the dungeon hallways and rooms were made, it was slowly forming the shape of a pentagram. An inverted Pentagram. The exact inverted pentagram that I had designed at the beginning of the game almost five months previous.

What does this mean? I asked myself as we kept walking. Was this dungeon built for me?

I kept my thoughts to myself as we continued walking. We cleared out a few more rooms, but none were nearly as frightening as the dark snake had been. Soon, we had been in every room except the middle of the pentagram, which is where I was sure the amulet was. As soon as we re-entered the hallway from the final room, there was a deep rumbling, as the wall to our right started sliding. A set of stone doors rose up slowly from the floor, finally granting us access to the final room.

“You ready?” I asked. “There could be anything in there.”

“Yup,” Cordon said, raising his axe slightly higher. “Let’s go.”

The doors slid apart, and we stepped inside. The room was made of pure, dark stone of some kind. It was also packed to the brim with mobs from all areas, including those furthest from here. They all turned to look at us.

“Stay close to me!” I said, before we simultaneously ran forward towards the large group of mobs.

It was a bloodbath. Cordon swung his axe as hard as he could, hitting four or five enemies at a time due to the sheer number of them. I swung at anything that came near me. Luckily, due to the sheer amount of space they were taking up, none of them could really attack us properly. It got slightly harder as time wore on. We had killed a fair amount of mobs, but that meant they had more room to maneuver, and they were starting to attack properly. I actually had to drink a couple of health potions, and I was constantly checking on Cordon to make sure he wasn't near death. He seemed to be surviving. He probably had a higher defense than me, after all, even though I was more than a dozen levels above him.

Soon, there were only about six mobs left in the room. We split up at this point, each moving in opposite directions. Four of them followed me, while the other two followed Cordon. Since all of their HP gauges were low, I finished them off fairly quickly. A dialogue box flashed in front of me as the final mob burst into code.

Level up!
Lv. 74 -> Lv. 75

“Damn it, not now,” I muttered under my breath, turning to see if Cordon had noticed. He, thankfully, was busy finishing off the final mob in the room, and hadn’t seen. As I was preparing to gallop over to help him finish the mob, it too burst into lines of code and disappeared. The room suddenly shook as, with a deep rumble, something began to rise up from the middle of the floor. I barely managed to keep my hooves under me as the room shook even harder. A stone platform was emerging from the stone floor, with something dark floating just above it. As the platform clicked into place, the room became quite still again. A dialogue box appeared above the item, and even from so far away, I could still make it out.

[null]

“What the hell?” I whispered. I had never heard of the game failing to display the item name before, and as far as I knew, neither had anyone else. I began trotting towards the stone pedestal for a closer look.

At least, until I couldn’t move.

My legs quit responding, and I fell to the ground on my side with a clatter. As I tried to get up again, I realized I couldn’t move anything. A small yellow symbol next to my health bar then caught my attention.

Paralysis? I thought. How did that--

“You know,” a voice said to my left, “you really are a moron. No wonder I was able to trip you so easily that one time.”

It was Cordon. Unable to speak due to my mouth being frozen, I was forced to lay there in silence as his figure loomed over me.

Where’s Cross Heart when I need him? I wondered silently.

“I didn’t think you would be the one to take my sidequest,” he said, his voice almost shaking with suppressed triumph. “I was just going to wait to kill you until I already had this amulet, but you made things nice and simple for me. I’ll just kill you now, while you have no method of resistance.”

He grabbed me by a hoof-full of hair, and dragged me painfully across the rough stone floor to the platform. He turned me sideways as to better observe him before letting my head fall back to the stone floor.

“Here ends the famous Darkened5ky,” Cordon sneered at me. “One of the most powerful players in the game, completely defenseless. You once saved Shadowflame from the Haters’ Guild, but no one will come to save you, and who would want to?”

I put as much hate as possible into my eyes, which were the only things I could still move, as he stared down at me.

“I talked to some others last night,” Cordon said as he turned towards the platform again. “Rumor has it you almost killed Shadowflame last week.”

The hate in my eyes was replaced by absolute shock. As far as I knew, nobody outside of the Knights of Harmony knew about that. Cordon chuckled darkly.

“That must be one huge anger problem you have,” he said, gloatingly. “I’m surprised, honestly. You never really seemed like the angry type to me. I never saw you lose your temper.”

Oh I wanted to, believe me, I thought to myself, wishing I had use of my mouth.

“I never would’ve guessed,” Cordon said as he stepped onto the small stone platform beneath the pedestal, failed to notice the missing item name, and turned to face me again. “Maybe I’m doing all of the players a favor by killing you. But don’t worry,” he laughed, turning away again. “I’ll be sure to send Shadowflame your regards when I kill him.”

He extended his hoof, placed it on the floating amulet, and pulled.

It didn’t move.

“What the…” Cordon muttered, as he tugged on it again. He then grabbed it with both front hooves and yanked as hard as he could, his back hooves now on the pedestal.

“Why...won’t...you...MOVE?!” he shouted in frustration, as the amulet still refused to budge.

I looked back at my status window in the top left, and realized with a jolt that the paralysis symbol had disappeared. I sat up, levitating my fallen swords over to me from the other side of the room. When they had reached me, I walked towards Cordon, who was still uselessly attempting to pry the amulet from the air.

“That amulet’s glitched,” I said calmly. Cordon jumped in fright, and whipped around to face me. His mouth fell open in shock as he saw who had snuck up on him.

“It can’t even display its name,” I said, pointing a sword at the dialogue box again. I saw him look at it through the corner of his eye, but he seemed more surprised by me.

“HOW??” he exclaimed, still completely stunned. “My paralysis darts shouldn’t wear off that quickl--”

“Obviously, you’re never going to change,” I cut across him, raising my swords threateningly. “You’ll just keep using the same cheap, cowardly tactics until you have your apotheosis back again, and then some other worthless scumbag will just kill you for it. So we can do this the easy way or the hard way. The easy way: You surrender to me quietly and I lock you up somewhere for a long time. The hard way…”

I raised my right hoof, and mimed slitting my own throat with a knife. Cordon came to slightly, and pulled his battle axe off his back.

“Hard way it is,” I said, with an evil smile. It would be more satisfying to beat the living hell out of him than to just cuff him.
For the second time in two days, I activated one of my two combat skills. Again, the area lost most of the little light it had as the system did a series of target locks. I levitated myself off the ground again and flew forward. Cordon managed to block the first several blows, and almost hit me with one of the backswings. but I moved faster, knocking his axe into the air with my left sword, and slashing through his chest with my right. He couldn’t physically move his axe quickly enough to block me anymore. He cried out as my swords slashed through him with ease, his health bar decreasing drastically with each blow. When my combo finished, Cordon was almost down to the red zone. He retrieved a health potion from his inventory, but I slashed at it as he raised it to his mouth, and it burst apart, taking all of its substance with it into oblivion. In a final, desperate effort to stop me, Cordon took a heavy swing at me with his axe. But my counterattack was so strong that not only did it block his swing, it also sent his axe spinning away into the air.

He took a final, angry look at me.

“I’ll get you one day,” he snarled at me. “Before this game ends, you will die at my hand.”

“Uh-huh,” I replied skeptically.

Cordon glanced at my swords with fearful eyes, before summoning one more item from his inventory. It was rectangular-shaped, glinting in the little remaining light in the room. I had only seen it once or twice before, but I recognized it; an extraordinarily rare Teleportation Crystal.

“Don’t you dare--”

But I was too slow. As I swung my sword to knock the crystal from his hooves, it activated, changing color as it flashed a brilliant shade of teal. Cordon was enveloped in a white circle of light that half-blinded me. When the light subsided a moment later, Cordon was nowhere to be seen.

“Get back here!” I yelled into the air. “Get back, you little coward! Face me like a real man!”

But I knew yelling was pointless; Teleportation Crystals can take you anywhere you’ve already visited, so he could be almost anywhere now. I sheathed my swords, and turned back to the glitched amulet.

“I didn’t think the game allowed stuff like this to exist,” I said to myself as I got closer. “If the code didn’t notice this, maybe we can figure out how to create another fake ite--”

But I stopped mid-sentence as I took a good hard look at the amulet. My eyes widened.

“No way,” I said for the second time that day, all thoughts of a possible game item exploit gone. “No. Freaking. Way.”

The amulet was also shaped like my cutie mark.

Was this dungeon built for me? I wondered. First, there had been the name that Cordon couldn’t read, then the whole dungeon was shaped like my cutie mark, and now the hidden item was as well. When did this dungeon come into the game? Had the admins programmed this, or was it something Discord had set up?? How else could it have been my cutie mark, something that hadn’t even existed when the game initially launched? And if it was the latter option, why hadn’t Discord shown himself?

“I wonder…” I said, thoughtfully. A player-specific item had chosen me not even 24 hours beforehand. Could it be possible that this is a player-specific dungeon? And if that’s the case, then wouldn’t this be…

I stretched out a hoof and touched it, and like Cordon, I couldn’t get it to budge.

“Magic,” I muttered. “Maybe it only responds to my magic aura.”

I lit my horn, and tried to move the amulet.

It didn’t budge.

Instead, it shattered.

The amulet broke into dozens of little stone pieces. The same black smoke that I had sensed earlier began pouring out of the pedestal. I jumped back in alarm, but the cloud of darkness was much faster than I was. It completely surrounded me, then engulfed me. I couldn’t see, I couldn’t move.

“What’s happening?!” I cried out, as the cloud of darkness threatened to suffocate me entirely in it’s depths. As I was about to suffocate, I heard a voice. A slightly-distorted, deep voice that sent chills down my spine.

Indeed… Here ends the famous Darkened5ky…

June 30th (The Change In Rules)

Life in Equestria, well, the virtual Equestria rather, starts almost the same everyday. The sun rises, though no one really knows if Celestia raises it or not, seeing as she hasn't been found in the game, and the day begins for every player in the country. Everyone gets up from their beds, joins up with their teams for breakfast, or if they're solo players, they go find something to eat. Though some players do have different agendas, like taking care of their weapons, heading out of town to do training on monsters, and sometimes, just goofing off with their friends.

After more than 5 months of living like this, almost every player considered it to be their regular life style. Even though they were all humans before, they were becoming more comfortable living as ponies. Heck some of them felt they might as well have been born as ponies, but the reality of the situation kept them from dwelling on the fact for very long. But either way, life in Equestria was starting to become.... in a word, normal.

That is, until today.

Today started out like any day. Players all over Equestria, whether it be Trottingham, Canterlot, Ponyville, Manehatten, anywhere, were all getting ready for the start of the new day. But then, a certain draconequus appeared... everywhere.

All at once, at exactly 10:37 AM, Discord went viral.

Any players eating breakfast this morning stopped in shock as their player menus opened by themselves. In the dungeons, players were confused as the monsters they were currently fighting instantly froze. And everywhere else a player was, the same sort of thing happened, before a small digital window opened up within sight of everyone. Inside this little window, Discord's face popped into view, like a character inside a TV.

Discord's voice echoed across Equestria, "Hello, my little ponies. Good morning to you all. Just so you know, this is a nationwide broadcast, which means that every single player who is still alive can hear me. I have some very... er, 'breaking' news.

"You see, out of the ten elements I've hidden, it seems that seven of them have been found. Now that we're entering the final three, I think some rule changes need to be taken into account.

"Firstly, from this point forward in the game, only a certain group of players may enter the boss rooms and fight the boss. And by this 'certain group', I mean any team that already has at least one of the Elements of Harmony as a team member. Everyone else, the boss rooms are off limits, and the Elements of Harmony cannot add any more players into their own team, save for party members they once had in the past.

"Secondly, ever since our game started, we all know that two areas of Equestria had been closed off from any players: The Badlands and the Crystal Empire. Well, that is no longer relevant. These areas are now open to all players... Though travelling through them will be even more dangerous than you think. I doubt that half of you who are still alive at this point could even set hoof towards either place without dying.

Discord chuckled darkly, "Now, you might think that this all unfair, that I am purposefully changing the rules for my own personal gain. But I'm going to give you all a little something to help you with these new rules. I will show you my three, final champions to defend the elements."

Suddenly, the screen flickered and three silhouettes of ponies appeared in Discord's place.

The first of the silhouettes soon filled in with color, revealing who it was.

Her coat was a black carapace, hard like a bug's. Her legs were filled with holes, like Swiss cheese, and the same could be said about her drooping, dark green mane. A pair of hole filled, bug wings buzzed on her back, and a long, crooked horn on top of her head. And everyone in Equestria knew who she was...

Discord's voice floated through the projection, "As you all know, this here is Queen Chrysalis of the changelings. She is the first of my champions. The element she's guarding will be hidden with her in the changeling hive, in the wilderness of the badlands. But getting there will only be half of the battle, and then, the Elements of Harmony will have to defeat her. After she is defeated and her Element is recovered, then my next champion will be waiting for you."

The next figure beside Chrysalis then revealed itself. It was a black and gray, unicorn stallion. His horn, a deep shade of crimson, curved upwards like a knife, and his black mane and tail floated behind him like wisps of smoke. Fangs replaced some of his teeth, which was surprising since unicorns are supposed to be herbivores. He wore metal hoof guards and a red and white, 'king's' cloak on his back. And his eyes, the biggest giveaway to his identity, glowed red, with streams of green aura waving out of the corner of them.

"Say 'Hello' to King Sombra, my second champion, and in my opinion, the most underrated of this game's villans. Sure, he's not quite as good as me, but he can still be particularly nasty. His likes are stairs, crystals, and taking strolls in his dungeon. This tyrannical king will be waiting for you in the Crystal Empire, and it will be equally dangerous to reach it like the badlands. And after him..."

And then, the final figure illuminated into color. The final silhouette form was that of a giant, black alicorn. With blue armor covering her body, a starry-sky mane and tail drifted from their respective places. Her flank was adorned with a purple crescent moon, as well as the chest piece of her armor.

"We have the one, the only, Nightmare Moon. Princess of the Night, being of darkness, and my third champion. Though she is the final boss for you to defeat, she'd rather keep her current location a secret. Which means you'll have to find her on your own when the time comes."

Discord laughed in the background as the three villains on the screen disappeared, having been replaced by the draconequus, "Well, there you have it. Everything from here on out is free game. And whether you choose to obey the rules or not, that's up to you. Just know your lives are on the line, and mine isn't. Now, a quick word to the Elements of Harmony."

He smirked at the screen, "You better hurry up now. Little Queen Chrysy is waiting, and so is every other player in this game. The sooner you get to the badlands, the better for you. That is all, Arrivederci!"

And with that, the Draconequus disappeared and the rest of the game proceeded like the announcement hadn't happened... Of course, that's not including the reactions of hundreds of players across Equestria that followed after.

Soul banged his hooves against the wood table, clearly agitated, "Argh! What is that damned draconequus up to now?"

Cloud was as equally grumpy, slouching in his chair with his arms folded in a humph, "You and me both, dude. I swear, that oversized snake is just waiting to spring a trap on us, and we won't have anybody around to help us out when he does."

Cross, trying to keep a more optimistic view, wrapped an arm around his dragon pal, "Hey, don't worry about that. So far, we've had to fight every single boss with our team alone, and we're still going strong. We can take whatever he throws our way."

As for me, I sat in my seat, leaning my head against a hoof with my arm propped up on the table. Right now, our whole group was sitting in the castle's conference room, waiting for Jupiter to arrive.

After Discord's nationwide appearance, Jupiter had called an emergency meeting with us, the Elements of Harmony. Apparently, we needed to sort out what we were going to do next, but the one who called the meeting had yet to show.

I sighed as I watched everyone else and their own reactions to Discord's sudden announcement. Out of the twelve of us present, seven of us were griping on about our rule change. The others weren't quite so.

Of course, there was me, and I will admit that I myself was annoyed by this sudden rule change. But with my group ranting on about it, I was starting to find *them* more annoying. Well, not all of them, though.

Cross was being his usual optimistic self, smiling and all. He was busy trying to get the others in a lighter mood.

Comet was busy idly twirling a knife in her hoof, a challenging grin plastered on her face. She was the only one present who was rearing to head off after the next boss, Queen Chrysalis. In truth, from her expression, I was beginning to think she was wondering how cutting open a changeling feels like.... Sometimes, I think she scares me more than Sky did.

Eclipse just sat along the sidelines with a scowl on his face. He wasn't quite happy about the rule change either, but at least he kept from griping with the others. He wasn't really outspoken to begin with, so he just listened while everyone else ranted on.

And Dylan... He acted the same way had been for the past few weeks. He just stared down at the conference table glumly, too depressed to care about what anyone else was saying.

I let out another sigh. He'd been like this ever since Sky left the team. After we returned from Hollow Shades, I would always find Dylan walking around the castle aimlessly. And whenever we were training, his mind would constantly drift to another place. In fact, he's already almost been killed by this.

But that only happened for the first few weeks. A few days after my message to Sky, I began noticing that Dylan was starting to act more and more like himself again, almost as if he were finally getting over Sky's disappearance. I thought that he was going to be alright from then on. It's like that old phrase: Time heals all wounds...

However, judging by the way Dylan was acting now, I think Discord's announcement opened up that wound again. But, I'm not quite sure how it did.

I mentally noted that I'd have to ask him about that later, because at that moment, the doors to the conference room burst open. All 12 of us were immediately silenced by the sound of the slamming door, and through the threshold, a rather pissed looking Jupiter walked into the room.

Grinding his teeth silently, Jupiter took his place at the head of the conference table, giving us a serious look that said he meant business.

"Well, we all know what just barely happened, so let me get right to the point. Discord has banned everyone except you twelve, and possibly Sky, from entering the remaining boss rooms. This means that for the next three boss battles, you'll be on your own during then.

"However, I guess we can thank Discord for revealing the areas where Chrysalis and Sombra are hiding, but you will still need to explore a bit to find where their rooms are. So I've called you all together to debrief you on the journey ahead of you.

"Now, the first boss out of the remaining three is Queen Chrysalis, who is located in the badlands. The badlands are about three days travel from here on hoof, but it should only take you a day to reach the border by airship. But after that, who knows how long it'll take to find the changeling hive."

Soul frowned, "Wait, are you saying that you don't know where the changeling hive is?"

"That's correct, Soul. Since Discord sealed off both the badlands and the Crystal Empire from players, it's very likely that he has changed the locations of everything there. The boss room that had been previously programmed there will most likely been moved to a different place inside the badlands."

"But what if it hasn't?" Violet Runner inquired.

Jupiter held up a hoof, "Hold on, I'm getting to that. I will provide the coordinates and directions to where the boss room was programmed to be before. If it's not there, then you will have to search for it across all of the badlands.

"In other words, you may be out in the badlands searching for the boss longer than you think. So, before you all depart for the badlands, I need all of you to move your things out of your team bases and then store them on the airship, Westfalia."

"Why?" Eclipse asked.

"Because, we are going to sell your homes for extra bits."

Dylan was the first to react, "Wait, what?!"

Before everyone else could join the uproar, Jupiter cut them off sharply, "I'm sorry, but your team bases won't be of use anymore to you. The three next bosses have been revealed, and in order to beat them as soon as possible, you'll all need to keep traveling. So, from this point on, your airship will be your new home."

Swift shrugged from hearing that, "Oh, well. No complaining there."

"I don't know." Violet added, "I will do it, sure, but it's going to stink to sell off my forge."

"Don't worry," Jupiter spoke again, "I wouldn't ask you to do this unless it was necessary. Since only you twelve can fight Queen Chrysalis and the other bosses, the best chance of survival would be to upgrade your gear.

"So, after I disband this meeting, I want you all to return to your bases and start moving your possessions onto the airship. After that, sell the buildings, and then return here to armor up."

"And then we set off for the badlands?" Lexus asked.

Jupiter nodded, "Yes, that's right."

"Hold on," Comet interjected, "I know Discord said that only we could fight the boss, but that didn't mean only we can search for the boss room, right? Why don't we get some other players to help us search?"

Jupiter shook his head, "Sorry, Comet, but I don't think anybody can help you here. The closest town to the badlands is Appleousa, but as of a few weeks ago, the town has almost become completely deserted. I probably couldn't get a hold of any players there if I wanted to. And you would most likely reach the badlands before any players could walk there from a different town."

"Then why don't we bring some of our guild members along with us on the ship?" Siren asked.

"We can't send them with you, because they are either out at other cities on side quests, or I need them later for a scouting mission up to the north."

"A scouting mission up north?" I asked. Just from hearing it, I was a bit confused. Why would we need to scout the area up north in a time like this?

"You see, Shadow, while your group searches for the changeling hive, the rest of the guild will be searching the northern wastelands; It's a barren piece of land that is constantly being pestered by snow storms. It's the only thing that separates Equestria from the Crystal Empire. While you're gone, I hope to find a safe route through it to the empire... However, there is another matter up north I want investigated."

"What is it?" I asked.

"You should ask, 'Who is it?' instead." Jupiter replied, "Not too long ago, I received a report from Manehatten, saying that one of their teams spotted a certain individual hanging out alone near the northern wastelands. They didn't quite see his player ID, but they described him as an icy blue, cyan unicorn, without any kind of weapon equipped to himself."

Cloud frowned, "What's so interesting about that?"

"I believe this player might've been Sharky."

Sharky? The supposedly dead admin? I hadn't seen or heard of him ever since the Canterlot party we had months ago. In fact, I remember him more than the others, because... Well, I had been the only one who saw them.

The hallway was left dark, just to give the sign to any wandering party guests that they weren't supposed to be there. But I lit up the dark hallway with my magic, which cast off a bright red glow.

I continued to walk through the restricted castle hallways, focusing on my surroundings. But then, I stopped in the hallway as I noticed a single door that was open, and the light inside it was on. I raised a curious eyebrow as I realized that the room in question was Jupiter's office.

I thought to myself, Hm, that's weird. Why would Jupiter be up here when his own party is downstairs? Being curious as I was, I decided to investigate. Slowly and quietly, I peeked through the door to the office to see who was there.

But my eyes widened as I found that it wasn't Jupiter in the office, but rather somepony else. This stranger was a cerulean blue, thin, unicorn stallion. He had a dark blue mane, streaked with a sky blue color. I also noticed that this guy didn't have any cutie mark on his flank; It was completely blank. I glanced at his player ID, it read: Sharky.

"So, you found a dead admin that had disappeared since the start of ELO?" Cloud asked.

"Maybe." Jupiter replied, "But that's not important right now. Since I don't have much else to tell you, I'll let you leave now to pack up your things for the journey ahead of you. Once you've done that, sell your bases and return here with the money so we can suit you all up with better gear. You are all dismissed."

With that, everyone got up from their seats and started off towards the door. I was about to walk out with my group, but a hoof stopped me from proceeding. I looked to find that it was Jupiter's.

"Hold on a moment, Shadow." He said, "I need to speak with you alone for a moment."

I nodded and, turning back to the rest of my group, gestured for them to leave. The door leading out of the conference room slammed shut once they left, leaving me and Jupiter behind.

As soon as the doors closed, Jupiter's expression changed to a scowl, "As you know, Shadow, I'm still cross with you for letting Sky walk off with the Element of Willpower. I hope this won't be an issue for this boss battle, will it?"

I groaned. For once, this was a topic that I hated discussing with him. Sky leaving, taking the next element with him, Dylan's depression, the extra hoops we had to jump through to keep his disappearance as unnoticeable as possible. Honestly, I had never seen Jupiter so angry before when we had returned from Hollow Shades.

I gave a humph, "Look, Jupiter, I made the decision to let Sky go on his own. As the leader of my team, I have to think of what would be best for them. I already told you that this was a journey that Sky needed to take alone."

Jupiter's scowl deepened, "I know that. I'm asking you if you know whether he'll come back or not. There will come a day when all ten elements need to be together in order to defeat Discord and get out us out of this blasted game. So, how do you know he's not gone for good?"

That sentence stopped me in my tracks. Ever since Sky had gone, everyday just revealed how much we needed him. That's why I had sent him a message that one night, asking him to return. The problem was that I had sent that message a couple of weeks ago. By now, since Sky hadn't returned, I was beginning to doubt he ever would.

But my subconscious wouldn't let me give up on my best friend so easily. I looked Jupiter in the eye and replied, "I don't know. But I do know that he'll keep fighting for us, even if he's not at our side."

Jupiter paused, but then sighed, "You had better be right, Shadow. You're dismissed."

Nodding, I turned back to the door and exited the room, on my way back to Team Equitum's base.

About an hour or so later, all three of our teams had packed up our belongings and took them aboard Westfalia, which was parked just outside the castle. After everything was moved out that we could take, the team leaders, Violet, Eclipse, and I, had to sell our old team bases, just like Jupiter instructed. But surprisingly, it was a bit difficult to sell our base. And by that, I don't mean it was hard to just push a few buttons in my player menu to sell the property.

Rather, I mean it was a bit hard to make myself do it. After all, this had been my team's home for months now. This was the only home we had, where we could relax and settle down after a rough day, or simply just hang out. Selling the base felt like I was selling away the memories my team had together in here, though most of those were of us goofing off. I chuckled a bit as I remembered the occasional prank or two that Cross and Cloud would play on the rest of us, like repainting Sky's room pink once. (I like to say the two pranksters just barely got away with their lives that day). Or the few games we played together as a team, or even a few fights as well.

No, I wasn't too fond of the idea of selling the team base, but Jupiter had ordered it and he was the reason why we even got this base in the first place. Although, I was at least content, so long as I received a fairly large amount of bits from selling the property. Of course, not everyone was quite as happy.

After I had sold the base, my team returned to the castle to get some better armor. But when we got there, I was told by Neon how she and Soul had to literally drag Violet out of his forge so they could sell the place. He was whining for most of the time. Poor guy. Talk about getting attached to something you love.

Well, needless to say, tears were shed, but everyone finished selling their old homes and returned to the castle. After that, Jupiter led us down to an armory, one that was run by one of our guild members, and let us buy new equipment for the big journey ahead of us. Thankfully, the player running the shop gave us all a small discount on everything, since we were all in the same guild.

Everyone browsed through every piece of armor, weapons, and other gear imaginable. But, I was the only one who couldn't find anything better than the equipment I already had: My cloak (Sure, I could get something better, but this has been with me since Boss #1), my Knight's Chestplate, my iron kite shield, and Almighty. So, I just waited back at the castle for everyone else to finish shopping.

Soon enough, everyone was back in the lobby of the castle, and I have to say, they all looked pretty awesome in their new gear.

Jupiter gathered us together after we had gotten our new equipment, "Alright, everyone. Line up."

"Why?" I asked.

Jupiter gave a small smirk as he accessed his player menu, tapped a few buttons, and a video camera suddenly appeared on a tripod beside him. Its lens was pointed towards us, ready to film. "Well," Jupiter replied, "If you are the only ones who can fight the final bosses, then I think it'd be a good idea for everyone to see just who they're putting all of their hopes on."

"Wait, we're going to be on video for all of Equestria to see?" Neon asked, suddenly beaming, "We're gonna be famous!"

Comet frowned, glancing at the excited mare, "You know you all were pretty famous already. You had news articles about you in the Equestria Daily every other day."

Lexus chuckled as he wrapped a hoof around his girlfriend to calm her down, "Oh, she knows, Comet. She knows."

"Alright," Jupiter announced, bringing back the focus to him, "Just smile at the camera while I speak first. When I call your names, come up to the camera and let everybody see you."

"So basically strike a pose when it's your turn?" Cross asked.

"Whatever works for you."

Cross grinned, "Awesome."

Jupiter stepped in front of the camera, facing the lens, "We're rolling in 3, 2, 1." He flicked a switch on the side of the camera, turning it on. With the film rolling, he began,

"Hello, players of ELO. As you may know, I am Jupiter, head admin of the game. Now, as you all have seen from Discord's broadcast earlier this morning, there has been a change in the rules: No one except the Elements of Harmony may challenge the final boss.

"Now I know that many of you think that this is unfair for us, that Discord is rigging this game so only he can win." A smirk came to Jupiter's face, "But let me tell you, he made a huge mistake. For the past seven boss battles, it's been the Elements of Harmony that have come out on top. They've faced the bosses with their group alone, and have still come out on top. They will be able to take anything that Discord has in store."

He cleared his throat, "So, the Elements of Harmony have accepted Discord's challenge. They will be setting off for the badlands to finish off Queen Chrysalis and her changelings. But before they depart on their journey, I'd like to show you the players who all of our hopes rest on."

Jupiter stepped out of the screen shot, "First, from Team Equitum, we have Shadowflame: The Element of Courage..."

I nodded and stepped into the camera's view. I gave a small wave and a smile, but then turned around and took my place back in line.

Beside me, Lexus gave me a snide look, "Come on, you can do better than that. Watch this."

Jupiter called out again, "... Lexus: The Element of Honesty..."

I rolled my eyes. The pose left something to be desired, but I didn't say anything as Lexus hopped back in line and Jupiter continued down the list,

"...Crossheart..."

"... and Cloud Burst."

Jupiter continued, "Now, from Team Calvary, we have Violet Runner: The Element of Spirit..."

"... Soul_Cards: The Element of Loyalty..."

"... Neon Fire..."

I whispered over to Lexus as Neon posed, "Dude, I gotta say, your girlfriend looks like someone you do not want to mess with."

Lexus merely smirked in agreement.

"... And Dyl0nkour."

My muscles tensed up as Dylan took a step in front of the camera. I thought he would have only done something halfhearted, much like his current mood. But surprisingly, he did something else.

I shrugged as I figured he didn't want to look depressed in front of 650+ players all across Equestria. As long as nobody knew about his emotional state, I figured he'd be fine.

As Dylan stepped back in line, Jupiter continued, "And from Team Vortex, Eclipse: The Element of Generosity..."

"... Siren: The Element of Kindness..."

"... Swift Vapor..."

"... And Comet."

As Comet took her place back in line, Jupiter stepped back into the camera's view, "Now, you may have noticed that only six of the Elements of Harmony are present here. You may be wondering where the seventh element is, Darkened5ky: The Element of Willpower.

"Unfortunately, he is not here at the moment. He had pressing matters elsewhere, but he will fight with us to defeat Discord, just like us. And now, I wish the Elements of Harmony good luck, and hope that you will support them in their quest. That is all."

Soon, we were boarding Westfalia to depart from Canterlot. With the video having been reeled across the country, it was time to leave.

Of course, someone wanted to say goodbye to me before I left.

"Shadow, wait!"

I turned around on the deck of the ship. The voice was coming from the ground below, and I instantly recognized who it belonged to. I grinned as I flapped my wings and took off to greet her.

Frostlight stood waiting in the castle courtyard below, smiling as I came lighting down in front of her.

"Hey, Frostlight. So, you came to see me off before I go?"

She nodded, "Yep. You ready to go?"

"Yeah, the team's ready, and we're about to set sail in a bit."

"Oh..." She seemed a bit hesitant, "Are you, I dunno, nervous about all this?"

I smiled, "Aw, come on. You know me. I'm not scared. I'm the Element of Courage after all."

Frostlight's eyebrow shot up, "You know, just because you're courageous doesn't mean that you're fearless." I gave her a sheepish grin, which made her sigh nervously, "It's just... Just don't do anything stupid, alright? I still want you to come back in one piece."

I nodded, "Alright."

And then, she did something that I was not expecting. She gave me a small kiss on the cheek. She had never done that before, so I wasn't quite prepared for it. I think I might've been blushing beneath my gray fur. But I don't think she noticed.

Frostlight backed away a bit, blushing a bit herself, "Okay, um, goodbye."

"Wait." I didn't know why I stopped her. After all, she just kissed me on the cheek. Though it might've not seemed like much, it was a lot to me if it was coming from her. I had to do something in return. So, I gave her a kiss on the cheek as well.

I would have laughed at the sight, because Frostlight's face turned even more red. But instead, I said, "I'll come back in one piece. I promise."

With that, I gave her one more hug and then flew back onto the deck of the airship. Once on board, I shouted to Swift at the helm, "Alright, get us out of here!"

Swift proceeded to flip a few switches and turn the helm wheel, ready to take us to the skies.

I turned towards the front of the ship as the familiar feeling of leaving the ground encompassed the whole ship, and we took to the air, "Set our course for the Badlands."

Author's Notes:

I bet you all liked those pictures above. Special thanks to Raybony for making them. Again, he's an awesome guy.
Anyways, comment below which picture you think was the best out of all the ones in this chapter.

Thanks for reading!
-Shadowflame

July 1st (The Badlands)

"Hey, there's Appleousa!"

Siren leaned against the railing of the airship, pointing a hoof down towards the ground below, "Everyone, say hello to my old home."

Everyone who happened to be on deck at the time, mainly me, Lexus, Soul, Neon, and Comet, rushed over to Siren to see. As I peered over the edge, I saw a very small, cowboy town below. I'm not kidding when I said it was small. The town only consisted of about two dozen wooden shacks, with nothing but some apple trees and desert surrounding it.

Of course, we could just barely see it, since the sky was growing darker. We had been sailing the whole day, and the sun was just beginning to set behind the horizon. Judging from the map Jupiter provided us before we left, at this rate I figured we would reach the border of the badlands by midnight.

Siren began pointing out a few buildings with a hoof, grinning like a little filly... Well, littler filly, "Down there was Team Vortex's old base when we started here, and over there is the tavern Eclipse, Cordon, and I used to hang out in."

"It looks, um, lovely." Comet replied, "It's too bad Eclipse isn't up here to see it." She glanced towards the helm where Swift stood, "Hey, goggles! Come look at this! The beginnings of our team are down there!"

"I can see it just fine from here, Comet." Our navigator shouted back. I could hear a sense of exhaustion in his voice, though I wasn't surprised by it. We had been flying for hours, and keeping an airship steady, on course, and steering with the wind currents really takes the energy out of you.

Of course, Comet only laughed with her loud chuckle, "Oh, lighten up, Swift."

We were planning to keep flying for the whole night, but fortunately for Swift, Eclipse had volunteered to take over for him at the helm once night fell. In fact, he was down below deck, taking a nap in his quarters so he wouldn't doze off when taking the helm tonight.

As for everyone else who wasn't on deck, they were doing a few other things. Cloud and Cross were below deck doing who knows what, Violet was in his own quarters as he tried to set up some sort of crafting area (I guess he wanted it to feel more like home), Soul was in the mess hall (yet I don't know what he was doing. In the corner of my mind, I had the feeling it had something to do with hiding his stash of muffins from Cloud), and Dylan... I actually didn't know where Dylan was. Come to think of it, ever since Sky left, Dylan had become as elusive as his brother.

Basically, everyone on the ship had been doing the same thing for the first few hours of our flight, making the airship our new home. I had brought my belongings on board and stored them in my own room, my quarters. Of course, my stuff hadn't been the only thing I brought aboard either.

This was something I forgot to mention in yesterday's journal entry, but better late than never, right? You see, ever since Sky left the team, no one had done anything with all of his belongings he'd left behind. Not even Cross or Cloud had done anything to it, so it remained untouched in Sky's room.

But when we had to move out, I took the liberty of moving his belongings on board the ship. I even grabbed one of the extra rooms we had and set up his belongings, just like they had been back in Canterlot...

... I don't know why I did. I guess part of me still thinks Sky is coming back... I mean, I don't want to lose hope in that possibility, but... It's been weeks since I sent that message to Sky, the one where I explained our situation to him. Although, after Sky didn't return after that, I thought I had given up on any hope that message could bring. But something was still nagging at me, something that really thought Sky would return.

... Maybe it was Discord's announcement? Maybe I thought that if Sky knew he was one of the only ponies that could help everyone fight the bosses, then he'd return to fight with us...

I shook my head as I thought about it. I couldn't keep hoping like that... I knew that if I did, I'd probably start moping about it... Just like Dylan is. But I couldn't do that now. We were making our way to the badlands to fight Queen Chrysalis. I needed to focus, not mope around just because my best friend has been gone for almost a month. My team needed me-, no, not just my team. Everyone in Equestria needed us to be at our best.

Resolving to not think about it, I turned my thoughts back to the present. And good thing I did too, otherwise I would have missed Neon say,

"I think it's time I start making dinner. Who's up for some petal club sandwiches?"

My stomach instantly growled at the thought of Neon's cooking. Her cooking skill level was the highest out of all of ours, and I will tell you, anything she made tasted phenomenal.

Four hooves shot into the air, mine, Lexus', Comet's and Siren's,

"Yes!" "Oh, Yeah!"
"You make the best stuff!" "We're eatin' good tonight!"

Neon giggled a bit, "Okay, I'll head down to the mess hall and start making it."

"I'll help, too." Siren offered.

"I will do the same." Comet added.

The three mares then headed below deck, and Neon glanced over her shoulder, "Lexus, babe, could you get everyone together for dinner?"

Lexus smirked, "Sure thing."

As the only mares in our group disappeared below deck, I gave Lexus a sidelong look, "Bet you're glad your girlfriend is such a great cook."

He only smiled, "Yeah, but good food always comes with a price. Knowing Neon, she'll have me clean up afterwards for her services." The pegasus chuckled, "Still can't help but love her though."

With that, he and I gathered everybody together for a hefty meal in the mess hall.

"Ugh..." I groaned as loped down the ship's corridors below deck, "I guess I pigged out too much on Neon's sandwiches." Though my stomach wasn't agreeing with me, I was extremely satisfied.

Neon's delicious Petal Club sandwich was the best food I had ever tasted since I first came into ELO. It was basically a sandwich with a dozen different kinds of flower petals inside it. Though it might not sound good to a human, flower petals actually taste like, if not better than, food from the real world. Like my favorite flower to eat were red poppies, which actually tasted like bacon to me (Screw logic, video game physics). And then combine those flavors with Neon's cooking level (The higher cooking level will instantly increase the quality of the food you prepare), you have a masterpiece of a sandwich on your plate.

Everyone enjoyed it, and everyone made sure to thank Neon and the other girls for the meal.

After our group had dinner, Lexus was roped into cleaning up the mess hall after the meal, just like he said he'd be. But while he worked, almost everybody played.

After dinner, Soul pulled out a couple decks of cards, anxious to play some poker with somebody. Apparently he had gotten into a habit of playing poker around this time with his poker buddies in a tavern back in Canterlot, so he was really antsy to play. But knowing they'd probably lose all of their bits to him if they did, the others instead compromised to playing Egyptian Rat-screw, without betting money.

I, however, didn't join in on account of my stomach's nagging me about being a glutton. But I tried to pay it no mind as I made my way back on deck.

Of course, not everybody was downstairs playing cards with Soul in the mess hall. When I came up on deck, I glanced over to the helm to find Eclipse standing behind it.

He and Swift had switched positions at the wheel around dinner time, and Swift was down below with the others. The whole of the ship was darkened by the night sky, and the deck was lit by only a few lanterns. If Eclipse hadn't been standing near one, I probably wouldn't have seen him wave to me.

Nodding, I waved back in reply and began to pace the deck. But as I did, I noticed that someone else was standing on deck as well.

It was Dylan, perched on the bow of the ship on his hind legs, leaning on his staff like a walking stick. Even though I was behind him, I could tell he was depressed about something, just by looking at his body language. His ears were drooped, his head sagged down from his neck, and his tail drooped down between his legs. He must have been thinking about Sky again, I was sure of it...

Oh, that reminded me of something. I had wanted to ask Dylan before, but I had forgotten to. I approached him quietly.

Dylan didn't notice me at first, but his ears perked up as he heard the clip-clop of my hooves against the wooden deck. Dylan turned around towards me, a glum tone in his voice, "Oh, hey Shadow."

"Hey, Dylan." I walked a further and took place next to him at the bow, "Are you alright? You seem a bit depressed."

"I'm fine." Dylan replied flatly, glancing downwards to avoid eye contact with me.

"Come on." I said, "We both know that's a lie." Dylan paused for a moment, as if he was wondering if he should reinforce his former lie or not, though it looked like he wasn't going to try.

I sighed, "Dylan, after Sky left, you acted depressed for the first two weeks, and I was beginning to worry about you. You were taking more risks out in the dungeons, and you were often times distracted. You almost died multiple times, andBut when you started to act more like your usual self between then and yesterday, I thought you were finally getting over Sky's leaving. But after Discord's announcement, I noticed you were acting just like when Sky first left.

"So, I've been meaning to ask, why are you acting this way?"

Dylan paused yet again, staring over the edge of the ship towards the dark ground below us. He stayed like this for a few moments.

Finally, he sighed, "I don't know.... When Discord said only the Elements of Harmony could fight the bosses, I thought... maybe I could convince Sky to come back and fight with us. I was thinking that if he saw that he was needed, I could bring him back."

I gazed off into the distance, silent. I could see his reasoning, and it did make sense. With only our small group able to fight the bosses, who I didn't doubt were more powerful than the last ones we fought, we needed more help.

Dylan spoke again, "I already sent Sky a message, about an hour after we took off from Canterlot. I asked to come help us with the boss battles... But he hasn't replied."

Softly, and more directed towards himself, he asked, "Why won't Sky come back already? We need him here."

I placed a hoof on his shoulder, giving a small smile, "Dylan, you say we need Sky now, only because he can fight the bosses. But in reality, we've always needed him."

"Then why didn't you stop him from leaving?!" Dylan snapped. I recoiled slightly. I had never seen him get so angry that suddenly. His face was twisted in anger and frustration, and he gripped his staff in his hoof so hard, it almost threatened to snap in half.

I quickly composed myself and took a deep breath. Glancing back at Dylan, "Just calm down, Dylan. I've already told you everything that happened back at Hollow Shades. You know I tried to stop Sky from going out on his own, but he still needed to leave, whether we liked it or not. And that doesn't mean he liked it either."

Dylan's teeth cringed, and his eyes threatened to water out, "I don't care if he needed to leave. It's been long enough! And Sky wouldn't have needed to go in the first place if it wasn't for you!"

"What?" I blinked in confusion. Was Dylan really blaming this on me and-

"Your alicorn powers: Apotheosis." Dylan growled, "Sky left because you were going around using your wings like a show off!"

"Hold on a sec." I countered, "I admit, Sky wanted a pair of wings for himself, but don't forget that I offered to let him have these" I flared my wings, "if he stayed. But he turned down my offer."

"But why?" Dylan groaned, "If your wings were all he wanted, then why didn't he take them and stay here with us?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but found nothing to say. I didn't know why Sky turned down my duel back then. I had thought about it for weeks, but I still couldn't figure it out...

I sighed, more glum than just a few seconds ago, "I don't know, Dylan.... I don't know..."

Dylan's expression softened from his scowl into something more apologetic. I guess it must have been him seeing that he wasn't the only one confused about all of this.

Sighing one last time, Dylan turned back towards the stairs leading below deck, "I'm... Gonna go to bed early tonight. See you tomorrow."

I nodded, "See you tomorrow."

As Dylan disappeared below deck, I silently hoped he would feel better in the morning. When we reach the badlands, we're all going to have to be at our best.

The sun rose higher over the horizon as Westfalia floated across the azure sky. Having rested the night before, my group now stood on the deck of the ship, weapons and armor ready to go. We were all spread out along the railings, looking at the surroundings of the territory we flew in: The Badlands.

Truth be told, the badlands looked almost the same from every angle. There was nothing except barren desert, plateaus, and lifeless wilderness for miles around. There wasn't a single trace of any monsters, or changelings for that matter. In fact, I was beginning to get a bit anxious for that reason. According to the map Jupiter gave us before we left, we were nearing the previous location of the changeling hive, and we weren't finding any signs that it was still there.

"Alright, everybody!" I called out, "Keep your eyes peeled for any signs of the hive. We should be getting close."

Everyone only gave a curt nod. I guessed they were starting to get bored of looking at the almost identical scenery for miles around.

Suddenly, Swift called out from the helm, "Hey, we're right over the spot on Jupiter's map! We should be right above the hive!"

I peered over the edge of the ship, down towards the barren ground below.

And saw absolutely nothing.

Crap, I muttered, This will only make our search for the hive longer. It'd be better to get moving now than later.

I turned back to my group, who all shared similar looks of disappointment, "Okay, everybody get into pairs. We need to spread out and search the surrounding area. Swift, set anchor down here, so we'll know where to meet back up if we don't find anything. But if anybody finds the hive, or even just a changeling, message everyone about it immediately. I'd rather you don't attack it, because it may lead us to the hive itself.

"And whatever you do, do not get separated from your searching partner. Jupiter said that changelings can take on your appearance and voice." I frowned, "And to make it even more unnerving, they can even imitate anyone's personality."

"Wait, what?" Violet raised an eyebrow.

"They can imitate a player's personality?" Siren asked.

"How could a video game program be able to do that?" Lexus wondered aloud.

I shook my head, "I don't know, Jupiter didn't explain that. But it does leave a problem. It'd be easy for a changeling to take somebody's spot and infiltrate our group. So, that is why you must not lose your partner for a single moment while searching. Okay?"

"Wait, hold on a moment." Comet interjected, "Why don't we just have a code word to use to make sure we're not changelings?"

"Yeah," Eclipse agreed, "That's a good idea, Comet."

"Okay, so what should the code word be?" I asked.

Cross suddenly shouted, "BARNACLE!"

....

....

....

Everyone just stared at the unicorn for a moment, though his only response was a goofy smile plastered to his face.

Cloud, the one player who could really understand Cross, just stared at him with a blank expression, "Uh, what?"

"That's the code word." Cross replied.

Another pause from the group.

"Ookaay..." I droned in, breaking the silence, "So, I guess the code word is 'barnacle'. Alright, everypony, grab a partner and start searching. Everyone needs to be back here by Noon, whether you've found something or not." I looked for a partner, "Lexus, you're coming with me. We'll search from the hive from the air."

Lexus looked at me, paused for a moment, then shrugged, "Alright. Why not?" I guess he was originally planning on pairing with his girlfriend. But hey, he couldn't complain. He practically spent every day with her.

I nodded to him as everyone else began pairing up, "Okay, let's go." I flapped my wings and floated up a few feet above the deck.

"Coming, hold on a sec." Lexus quickly gave Neon a parting kiss on the cheek before flapping his wings to join me in the air. And then, we were off, flying fast across the desert sky.

Lexus and I soared through the sky, just below cloud level... Well, that is, if there WERE any clouds in the badlands.

Even after searching beyond its borders, I could name two things that I did not like about the badlands. 1: There's not a single cloud in the sky, which gave way to number 2: The Sun. I don't remember it being quite so hot in Equestria. It was just like a single blazing dot in the clear sky, beating down on our backs as we flew (Though it didn't do much, cause of thermals that rise up from the heated desert below. Honestly, those make flying with your own wings easy). But I could seriously do without the sweat, cause being covered in fur doesn't help there. Just one word: ew.

I groaned as I gave a sidelong look towards Lexus, "See anything yet?"

Lexus only shook his head, and we continued flying wordlessly... Well, not entirely wordlessly.

Lexus gave me a curious look, "So, Shadow, why'd you choose me to be your partner to search?"

"Why do you ask?" I questioned.

Lexus shrugged, "Hey, I gotta think about something while we fly about aimlessly. That was just came to mind first."

"Hm, fair enough." I replied, "Well, I knew that if I didn't choose you, you would have gone and searched with Neon, but I needed you to search in the air. It would make the search go faster, and Neon wouldn't have been able to keep up with you if you flew."

Lexus nodded, "Alright, I see."

Another moment of silence passed as we soared, and I saw nothing but orange desert sand below us.

But Lexus spoke again, "Hey, Shadow? Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah?"

"Well... You're the only person here I've known the longest, except for Sky, but he's gone so he doesn't really count at the moment. But because you're the one who's known me the longest, I want your opinion on something."

I raised an eyebrow, An opinion?... Lexus has never asked me about my opinion like this. I guess it's serious to him. "Okay, shoot."

Lexus' eyes dropped downwards to look at the ground below, but he did it in a way that might've suggested he was only avoiding eye contact with me, "It's about Neon..."

"Wait, what? Did you two get in a fight or something?"

Lexus' eyes widened as he vigorously shook his head, waving his hooves in defense, "Oh, no! no! We're fine. We're perfectly happy together. It's just that..." His expression turned more downtrodden, "... That may be the problem: We're happy together."

He sighed, "We only have three more bosses to defeat, and we know where two of them are. And then we have to fight Discord. If you think about it, this game is almost over for all of us. And assuming that we all survive to the end, we all get to return to the normal world."

He paused, and I raised an eyebrow, "Um,... I'm still not seeing a problem with what you're saying."

Lexus groaned, "Shadow, it's just that... Neon and I are both so happy with each other, and being with her everyday is something that I wouldn't trade away for the world. But... I won't be with her everyday after this game is over. After we defeat Discord, I'm afraid that our relationship will kind of... die."

"Then why don't you visit her when we get back to the human world?" I suggested.

"Well, that's the problem." Lexus retorted, a bit frustrated, "Back in the human world, I'm just a dirt poor, college student with barely any money to my name. I asked Neon what her old life was like, and it turns out that she lives on the other side of the country from me. I'd have to buy a plane ticket if I wanted to see her again, and if our relationship has to be long distanced, then I'm afraid it won't last. What if I never get to see her again after this is all over?"

The gray pegasus' body slumped a bit, stopping in midair as his wings weakly held him up. I stopped my progression through the sky and doubled back to rejoin him.

Putting a hoof on his shoulder, I tried to comfort him, "Look, Lexus, I know you're feeling bad about all this, but I'd just put it out of your mind for now. After all, who knows how long it'll take us to find Queen Chrysalis here? And after that, when would we even find King Sombra? If you're worried about not having a lot of time with Neon, then you might want to stop a bit and realize that you may have even more time than you realized. Who knows? It may take us weeks before we can even find the changeling hive."

Suddenly, two solid *ping*s resonated through the air as a small banner appeared in both mine and Lexus' player menus. I read the message on it and silently cursed my big mouth:

"You were saying?" Lexus deadpanned.

Groaning to myself, Man, perfect timing, Soul. Right when I was about to get Lexus out his mood. Really, the last thing I need is both Lexus and Dylan being depressed during all of this. "Lexus, I need you to just put this aside for the moment. The last thing we need is for you to be distracted when we're nearing a boss fight, because if you make one lousy mistake, you will die. Now just think about what that'd do to Neon."

Lexus' eyes suddenly widened as he registered my words, "Oh,... Neon would... I can't do that to her."

"Exactly my point." I replied, "Now think, what would you rather happen, think about this later and help fight a boss, or die and leave Neon alone here. And I'm sure that we can both agree that the first of the two choices would serve all of us better."

... Actually, now that I think about it, that was sort of mean for me to say. It kind of made me sound like a prick, I think. But at least it was getting Lexus out of his moody state of mind.

I sighed again, "Lexus, don't worry about it. Once Queen Chrysalis is defeated, I'll help you work this out, okay? Heck, you might even want to talk about this later with Neon, and I'll even be there to help if you need it." I gave a small smile, "Would that be good enough for now."

Lexus paused, frowning a bit. But as the more he thought about it, the more a tiny smile began to grow at the corners of his mouth. Soon enough, he cracked a grin and nodded, "Okay, that'd be great. Thanks."

Thrusting my wings a bit, I flew backwards, calling out to Lexus, "Well, then, let's get going. The others are probably already waiting for us! Race you there!" I immediately began flying back towards the airship.

I heard Lexus laugh behind me, "Oh, you are so on! Don't forget it was me who taught you how to be fast in the air!"

... Yeah, he was right, which made me remember he was the better flyer between us two.

I glanced down at my player menu as I raced through the sky, with Lexus not too far behind me. It was actually kind of funny; We were still racing to get to Soul and Violet's positions, and I was managing to keep ahead of Lexus while checking my map in my menu.

The map I was using was a bit different from the kind I had back in Equestria, since the badlands were marked as an uncharted territory. So instead, my player menu had a black circle in the middle of it, criss-crossed by green grid lines to give it the look of a radar. On the radar screen, I could see several dots scattered about the area, each representing another player. Right now, about 9 other dots, not including myself, on the radar were converging on two other ones, Violet and Soul.

I smirked as I called back, "Hey, Lexus. If you were planning on beating me in this race, you should work those wings! Soul and Cross should be right up ahead, so unless you plan on losing-" Suddenly, a gray and blue blur shot past me, faster than my eyes could track. Startled, I glanced ahead to see Lexus zoom ahead of me, a smug grin on his face.

"Hey, Shadow!" He chided, "Next time we race, you should keep your mouth shut long enough to realize when someone's drafting you until the opportune moment!"

Wait a second... HE WAS DRAFTING ME THAT WHOLE TIME! I internally facedhooved myself for being so arrogant and quickly raced after the pegasus, He was letting me cut the air currents in front of him so he'd have to do less work? So, then I'd be tired out to catch up to me when he sprints past?! Almost sounds like something that happens in Tour De France.

But as I neared the two dots representing Soul and Violet, I looked up to see that Lexus had already lighted down by the two in question. I joined them down on the desert floor, and I can imagine my expression gave away the fact that I was not too happy at the moment.

Lexus gave me a smirk, "I win."

"Shut up." I muttered.

Taking a quick glance around, I could see that the others were arriving at our position too. I counted off everyone and found

Shaking my domestic rage at lexus off, I turned to Soul and Violet, "Where did you two see the hive?"

"Well, we didn't exactly see the hive," Violet replied, "But we did find two changelings."

"Where?"

"Just over to the west a bit." Soul answered, "We traveled away from it to make sure they didn't see us."

After our group followed Violet and Soul back to where they'd seen the changelings, we took shelter behind a group of boulders (Not pebbles, thank you, Maud Pie). I peered over the boulders, and on the other side, in the middle of the desert floor, stood two monsters that none of us had seen before in the game, except Soul and Violet of course.

They both were armored with their natural, black carapaces, with silver bug wings attached to their backs. Each had a horn curved upwards like daggers, with mindless blue eyes just below them. Fangs protruded from their mouths, spines lined the back of their necks, and dozens of holes cut through their legs, as if somebody fired an M16 at them too low by accident. There was one small difference between the two of them, mainly being that one of them was covered in deep navy blue armor, while the other was entirely bare. Above the armored changeling's head, an ID read: Changeling Centurion, and above the bare changeling's head, another read: Changeling Drone.

"There they are." Cross muttered beside me as he looked at them, "So, what's the plan?"

"Well, if there are changelings right here, and we haven't seen any before, then I'm guessing the hive is somewhere close by." I whispered back, "But, the question now is how we'll find it." I ducked back down behind the cover of the rocks, glancing towards Comet, "Comet, you're the hunter in our group. Do you think you can track a trail back to the hive from these two?"

Comet glanced at the changelings, but then shook her head, "Not at the moment. Since I've never killed a monster like them before, I don't have enough information to see their trail. If we want to find the hive that way, then I'll need to kill at least one of them."

I nodded, "Alright, then I'd suggest you get your knives ready." I turned towards the others, more specifically the long ranged fighters, "Siren, Eclipse, how accurately can you shoot."

"Never better." Eclipse answered for them both.

"Good. I'll need you two to pick off the first changeling, preferably the drone since it looks like it can be taken out easily. And then, with only the Centurion left, Comet will need to rush in as soon as possible and take it out. Now, get ready."

Eclipse and Siren loaded their bows with arrows, while Comet unsheathed two knives from beneath her scarf. Eclipse looked towards the other two, "On my count."

"3"

"2"

"1!"

Eclipse and Siren both leaped out from behind the boulders, aiming their bows towards the drone, meanwhile Comet pumped her wings and took off to the air. Not missing a single beat, the two archers fired their arrows at the unsuspecting drone, causing it to disappear into blue code as two arrows pierced its carapace, depleting its health bar.

As soon as the centurion saw its comrade go up in code, he looked to see who had shot the arrows only to find a gray pegasus coming down on him with knives like an Amazon warrior. Comet stabbed her knives into the centurion's armor, making it crack from the powerful strike. After slicing at the exposed parts of its body a few times, Comet slit the changeling's throat to end the kill in style.

The rest of our group ran over to her as the centurion burst into blue code like the drone before it.

Comet looked back towards us as she stowed away her knives again, "I've got the info from the kill now. I'll be able to find a trail back towards the other changelings."

I nodded, "Good. Lead the way, we'll be right behind you."

Blinking a bit, Comet's eyes took on a familiar green glow as she activated her tracking skill. She looked around the area a bit, until she stopped, as if she saw something. Waving for us to follow, she led the way towards the hive.

But as we walked, Comet turned to look back towards me, "Shadow? There's something that we may need to know. It's a bit of info I got from killing that centurion."

"What is it?" I asked.

Keeping the trail she was following in the corner of her eye, she explained, "The information I got provides the overall stats of the changeling centurions. It seems like they have relatively low attack and defense, and by the way Siren and Eclipse took out that drone with two arrows, it seems that the drones have even lower stats. They have barely any magic power, or defense against magical defense. Basically their only high attribute is speed, but even then, it's lower than ours."

I nodded, "Okay, that'll be good to know. We'll easily be able to take out any changelings we meet on the way to Queen Chrysalis."

Comet hesitated slightly, "Perhaps. But what concerns me is how weak they are. After all, this is the Badlands, one of the most difficult places in the game that suggests only players level 65 and above enter. Maybe the changelings aren't the only thing we need to worry about out here. I'm thinking that there will be even more powerful monsters out here."

I realized that I hadn't thought about that. Looking back before, I remembered that the changelings we had just killed had been too easy. Usually the monsters we trained on back in Canterlot were stronger than that.

"Well, there's that. Or..." I turned around to see Cloud speaking, who had apparently listening in on the conversation. The little dragon was hovering in midair, a small contemplating frown on his snout, "...Or, it could be that we're going to be facing an army of changelings."

"What?" Swift questioned, "Why an army?"

Cloud explained, "Well, in some games I've played, a weak monster alone is barely even a threat. But that changes when there are multiple monsters of the same kind coming at once. And if Discord has based Queen Chrysalis off of the tv show, then she'll most likely have a whole army of changelings with her, just like in the Canterlot Wedding episode."

Soul nodded, "Yeah, it does seem very likely. We'll need to play it smart and safe if we run into anything like that. There's only twelve of us here, so the chances of us getting overwhelmed by all of them at once are fairly big."

Everyone nodded their heads, or gave a verbal agreement. The last thing we wanted to do was dive head first into a swarm of changelings.

"Hey, we're here." Comet announced.

I quickly turned around to see that Comet had led us to the giant wall of a mesa... But I couldn't see anything that resembled a cave entrance, let alone a hive entrance. All I could see was the mesa wall, and dozens of giant boulders piled on top of each other at its base where we stood.

And it didn't look like my team mates could see anything either. "Um, Comet? I think you might want to get your tracking skill checked." Cross piped up, "You kind of led us to a dead end."

Lexus shook his head, "No, she didn't. Look." He pointed a hoof towards the boulders in front of us. It wasn't until then that I noticed a fairly large gap between the giant rocks, about the size of a single pony. It was pretty dark inside the opening, but squinting closer, I realized that it was a cave that extended downwards underground. Figures, the only one on our team with enhanced sight saw it.

"Come on, let's go." Comet led the way inside the opening, and we followed, slowly and cautiously.

"Okay, who else is starting to think Comet led us in the wrong direction?" Soul asked, throwing up his hooves in frustration.

Truth be told, we had been traveling down the same underground cave for quite a while. We had been walking for about five minutes, and we hadn't come across any other outlets from the one tunnel we walked down. And we didn't have a very good sight of whatever laid at the end of the tunnel. It was completely pitch black, so the other unicorns and I were using out horns to light the gloomy underground.

Aside from the fact that the air felt very thin (I'm curious how the game mechanics worked for that. I'd have to ask Jupiter about that later), but the tunnel was starting to look the same from every angle. If I didn't know better, I would have thought this tunnel was endless, or we had just been going in a big circle this whole time. And not only that, but there wasn't a changeling in sight.

Comet shot a scowl at Soul, "I assure you, my tracking skills aren't leading us down the wrong path. For the last time, I can still see the tracks ahead of us, so I *know* we're in the right place."

"She's right." Violet added, "Just take a look ahead." He pointed a hoof forward, and we all looked to see that the tunnel ended just ahead, letting out into a larger area of the cave.

We walked into the larger area, lighting it up with the glow of our horns. But lo and behold, it was just like the tunnel, completely empty.

The 'room' we stood in had circular walls, making it look like it was surrounded in a dome of rocks. The place was about the size of my team's old living room back in Canterlot. But aside from the fact that there was nothing in the cave except rocks and dirt, I noticed there was something on the far end of it: The opening of another tunnel.

I heard Lexus groan slightly, "Looks like we still have a ways to go."

I had to agree with his attitude. I sighed, muttering to myself, "At least it's reassuring to know we've gotten somewhere down here."

Thinking that we'd never reach the end of this cavern, our group made their way to the entrance of the next tunnel. By this point, I honestly couldn't wait to get out of here. The air felt thin, making breathing little harder, and the walls of the cave seemed like they would collapse on us in the conquering darkness. Not to mention the whole place reeked, as if someone had sprayed a pesticide on a skunk's tail before the frightened animal fired its stink. And it was also very... quiet. The only sounds that echoed through the underground chambers were our hoof steps and our own voices. It was so silent, you could've heard a spider crawl up your own leg before you felt it.

But as we approached the next tunnel, the silence shattered.

*QITOOSH*

My muscles jerked at the loud sound, making the light from my horn falter as I lost focus. I felt my fur crawl backwards before it stood up on end on my neck, and I knew it wasn't because I was frightened by that-that... whatever it was, that sound. It was more like the feeling you got when static electricity runs through you... Exactly like that. Almost as if that was happening right then.

I don't know who said it, but someone shouted, "GET DOWN!"

Not caring what it was about, I curled my legs beneath me and dropped down to my belly like a frightened animal. And the moment I did so, I was blinded as the whole chamber illuminated with a giant white flash.

The same sound from before came again, only louder this time. But it was accompanied by another.

*QITOOSH!*

*VOOoooommmmmm*

As quickly as it came, the blinding light subsided, and the sounds from before echoed down throughout the cave, dwindling in volume. Finding that I could see in the cavern again, I got up onto my hooves to check on the rest of the group.

Standing up, I saw Comet curled down on the ground with her knives drawn for defense, Eclipse, Violet, Dylan, and Siren looking around wondering what the heck just happened, and Swift standing up on all fours again having not been blinded as badly due to his goggles. Lexus and Neon were curled together on the floor, the former protecting the latter with his body, and Soul was already up, brushing some dirt off of his leather jacket. The only ones left on my mental checklist were Cloud and Cross.

I looked around and found the two of them in the center of the room. But... I didn't expect to see them surrounded by something... Something big, circular, and pulsing with energy. The unicorn and dragon in question were surrounded in the middle of the chamber by... Was that a force field?

Well, it was the closest thing to a force field that I'd ever seen. It was a transparent dome, pulsing in cyan colored energy, about 3 feet in radius, and Cross and Cloud stood right in the middle of it. The entire thing hummed with energy, but its humming was fading slightly.

I hastily galloped towards the wall of the force field to check on my team mates, "Cross! Cloud! Are you alright?"

The two looked at the barrier surrounding them, taking note of its sudden appearance.

"Yeah, we're both fine." Cross replied after checking on Cloud, "But what happened? Where did this come from?"

"You got me." Swift replied from outside, "All I heard was that weird *TOOSH*, and then that flash."

Soul promptly disagreed, "Nah, it was more of a *QWOOSH* sound."

While Swift and Soul argued about sounds, Siren made a small gasp, "Wait, that flash! That must have been from the force field when it appeared."

"Okay, I figured that." Cloud muttered as he banged a claw against the force field, only for it to reflect off of it like the surface was a shield, "What is this anyway?"

But before anyone could reply, a cold voice responded out of nowhere, "I can answer that."

At those words, my blood instantly went cold and boiled in rage at the same time. The resulting feeling could be only accurately described as the equivalent of getting frostbite on top of a sunburn. A cold, dark laugh echoed through the chamber, a familiar voice that all of us loathed.

In a flash, Discord appeared, standing on top of the barrier surrounding Cross and Cloud.

He chuckled mockingly, "Hello, everypony. Long time, no see."

"Discord!" We all growled, shouted, etc. with all of the venom we could possibly inject into the two syllables. If we had to be in this game for so long with our necks on the line, it's only natural that we show the draconequus just how much we hated him.

Discord sighed, flopping down on his back on top of the force field. The weight of the Draconequus on it caused the dome to sag down under him, like a giant bean bag, and Cross and Cloud had to duck their heads beneath the indent to keep their skulls intact. Discord gave everyone a bored look, "Ugh, must we always have the same routine? I say hello like any good fellow would, and you just shout my name like an angry mob. At least you haven't drawn your weapons on me and I appreciate it, but the yelling is getting rather old."

"What did you do, Discord?" Lexus shouted, "What is this?" He pointed a hoof towards the force field.

Discord only groaned as he craned his neck backwards in a series of loops to look at the shouting pegasus, "You always have to be straight to the point, don't you? Can't you ever just say 'Hi' before we get down to business."

Lexus, as well as everyone else, just replied with a silent glare.

Discord shrugged, seeing his antics weren't getting anywhere, "Eh, it was worth a shot." He snapped his fingers, disappearing and reappearing just beside the force field, leaning an arm on its smooth surface.

"As for this beauty of a masterpiece, this is something that I've been working on for quite some time. After all, with having to wait for you to find all the boss rooms, I've had a lot of free time on my hands.

"This little energy shield here is part of what I call, 'the morality trap'. The trap itself is sprung when two players step into its zone, and it then captures them in a force field like this. Nothing can get in or out of it."

Discord turned and smirked at the two captives inside the trap, "But it's called the morality trap for a reason. There is no way in or out of it until the field disappears, but there's only one way for that to happen: When there is only one of you to escape."

...

Realization suddenly came to me, as did it for everyone else.

Discord only grinned at the shock contorted on our faces, "Yes, that's right. One of these two have to die before the other can be set free." He chuckled darkly, "But I can't wait to see how long both of them last, and who exactly will bite the dust first."

Discord's body moved like a snake, and he began to coil himself around the outside of the shield, like a serpent surrounding an egg it'd gobble down for its next meal, "Now it's true that they could try to wait it out, and both of them would survive... for the moment. That is, until one of the two dies of starvation or thirst. But by then, the survivor would be too close to that sorry state as well. He wouldn't make it out of this cave if he wanted to before the monsters in here cut him down to size."

The Draconequus snapped his fingers again, appearing on the ceiling of the chamber, upside down like a bat, "So I'll leave Crossheart and Cloud Burst with two options: They can *hang* out in there where they will both starve to death within two weeks. Or if they are driven insane by staying here that long, running a knife through their friend's back will begin to look very appealing. It's surprising what you players do to each other when you're stuck in a tight place."

Throughout the time that Discord spoke, I felt my hatred for him ignite with each word, until it became a burning wrath that twisted my face into one of hate. That- That little... I had to clench my teeth to keep from yelling out some colorful language (Which I did not hope to ever in my lifetime. The no-swearing record for me is still going strong). Discord had gone and tricked two of my friends, two members of MY team, into a death trap. It didn't take long for me to realize that Discord was trying to pick us off one by one now. And the worst part was... it was working.

Without a moment of hesitation, I drew my sword and swung it at the barrier of the trap. I had hoped I could at least damage it and get Cross and Cloud out, but as soon as my sword made contact, it glanced off of it, the steel of my blade ringing as if I had hit it against an iron wall.

From his perch, Discord only wagged a finger at me as if he were chastising a child, "Now, now, Shadow. Why is it that you always resort to destruction when you don't have your way? I made this trap to be indestructible, so think again if you were planning on busting your buddies out of it."

I growled at the Draconequus, but he ignored me anyway, "Well, while the rest of you wait for one of your friends to kill of be killed, the boss room is directly down that tunnel." His tail flicked towards the tunnel we had been meaning to go through before we had been interrupted, "And I must say, Chrysy is rather excited that your visiting her. She's almost *buzzing* in anticipation."

He gave one final wave goodbye to the group, much to their annoyance, "That's all for now! Ta-ta!" In a flash, he disappeared, his signature laugh echoing through the chamber until it faded into silence.

Soul cursed out loud when the draconequus left, "You've got to be f-(Buy some apples!)-ing kidding me! There's no way I'm just leaving Cross and Cloud in there." As he said it, the unicorn drew both swords and lashed out at the trap in a flurry of combos. But the result he met was the same as mine, and his swords bounced off of the barrier harmlessly.

I quickly grabbed his shoulder with a hoof to stop him, "Soul, calm down. You already saw me try to break this thing."

Soul shrugged off my grip, replying flatly, "You didn't try hard enough." He instantly tried to hammer away at the shield, his swords still rebounding off of it with metallic *Clang* *Clang* *Clang*.

That's when Violet stepped in. The leader of Team Calvary grabbed Soul with a hoof, "Soul, Shadow's right. You just need to calm down. I know you're the Element of Loyalty, but you're not helping by banging away at this trap."

Soul gave him a scowl, but he at least lowered his swords at Violet's statement, "Then what do you expect me to do, wait until one of them dies? Well, Discord's got another thing coming if he thinks I'm just gonna leave two group members behind to die, even if they *are* the most annoying ones here."

Inside the trap, Cross gave a joking smile, "Geez, Soul. I never knew you cared about us."

Cloud smirked as well, "Don't worry about us, guys. There's noting Cross and I can get out of. You guys might not be able to destroy this thing from the outside, but we'll see if that's true on the inside."

Cross nodded in agreement, "For now, you guys need to head down the tunnel and beat Queen Chrysalis without us. We'll catch up with you after we've gotten out of here."

"Wait, what?" Neon shook her head, "There's no way we'd enter the boss room without you guys. We'd be down two members from the start of the battle."

Cloud countered, "Well, it isn't going to help for you to wait while we try to figure a way out of this trap. The only you guys can do to help anyone is fight the boss."

Everyone in the group glanced between each other and the two captives in the trap, unsure of the decision. But Lexus then gave a small nod, "Well, I guess he's right. There's nothing we can do for them out here. The best thing we can do is fight Queen Chrysalis."

Eclipse nodded in reply, "Right. We should get going now, before something else happens out here."

Siren walked to the edge of the force field, placing a hoof on it. "Are you two sure you'll be alright?" She asked, obviously concerned.

Both Cross and Cloud nodded, the former replying optimistically, "We'll be fine. Heck, by the time you guys beat Chrysalis, we'll probably be out here to congratulate you."

"Now get going!" Cloud waved a claw at us to get moving, "Good luck!"

I looked towards the rest of my group, and they in turn gave a brief nod to signal they were ready to go. I glanced back at Cross and Cloud, "Don't worry, guys. We'll be back in case you can't get out of there."

Cross nodded, "You got it."

Giving him one last smile, I turned around and entered into the last tunnel, the rest of the group filing into the narrow passage as well.

I sighed as we continued down the tunnel, which I found was completely identical to the one we had traveled down before. There wasn't really anything of interest down here so far, so my mind just wandered back to Cross and Cloud. I supposed that's why I was sighing in the first place.

I glanced towards Violet, who happened to be walking by me at the time, "Man, I wish we didn't have to leave those two behind back there."

"Me neither." Violet replied, his expression matching mine, "But we can't really do anything to help, so there's no sense in complaining about it, is there?"

I nodded solemnly, "I guess not. But I just can't help but worry for both of them. I mean, they're stuck in a literal death trap. I just wish there was something else I could do for them."

Violet gave me a small smirk, "Ha, I think I know the feeling. It's only natural that us team leaders worry about our members. After all, out of our whole group, they're the ones we've known the longest." His smirk dwindled a tiny bit, only to be replaced by a smile, "And Cross and Cloud were the ones who told us to get going, so I don't think you should be feeling bad for doing what the asked."

Somehow, that seemed to light the thoughts off my mind. A smile came to my face, "Hm, alright. I guess that makes me feel better. It's actually kind of funny, but usually Cross is the one who cheers me up after something bad happens. I guess you've been tuning into his optimism a bit lately."

Violet gave a laugh, "Ha, I try."

Suddenly, behind us, Lexus spoke, "Hey, looks like the boss room is just up ahead."

I turned my head forward, my horn lighting the darkness before us. And lo and behold, the familiar set of giant doors stood before us, partially covered in mounds of dirt on the door frame. The oaken wood on it was engraved just as intricately as the other boss doors I had seen before, and just like the others, these doors made the hair on my neck stand up as less desirable memories of past battles came to mind.

Our group reached the double doors and stopped before the structure as we made final preparations. But just looking at the door, my mind drifted back to the last boss battles I ever entered.

The Alpha Timber, The Hydra, The Thunderbird Osiris, The Equine Reaper, and now, I was about to add Queen Chrysalis to that list of battles... Well, assuming I survived this fight. Looking back, I suddenly realized just how many times I had come close to dying to these monsters, every time my health would drop down to the red or yellow zone, and every moment where a single attack could've been my destruction.

Seeing as I've done it before so many times, shouldn't this boss battle be the same? I wondered to myself, only to notice that my muscles were tensed, my fur was standing up on end, and sweat droplets proceeded to roll down my neck. It was clear... I was scared... Was it because my friends weren't with me here to fight? Out of Team Equitum, only Lexus was left here to fight. Cross and Cloud were stuck in the morality trap. Sky was gone. Sure the rest of the group was here, but... it didn't feel the same.

My team, all five of us, we were the tightest band of players I've ever seen, and I was glad to be part of it. But now... it felt like our band had shattered, like pieces of glass.

Shaking my head, I reminded myself why I was down here in the first place. This was for everyone in Equestria. We were the only ones who could fight these final battles. And for Cloud and Cross. They told us to fight without them. I said we would, and I intended on keeping that promise.

I glanced back at the rest of the group to see that they were all almost ready. But on the inside, I reminded myself, My other friends may be busy at the moment, but I still have everyone else here. Violet, Eclipse, Neon, Lexus, Siren, Swift, Soul, Comet, Dylan...

I stopped as I realized that I had something to do before we entered the boss room. I trotted over to Dylan, remembering that I had another promise I needed to keep.

"Hey, Dylan. Can I talk to you for a sec?"

Dylan jerked his head up from his player menu, glancing towards me, "Oh, um.. sure."

Once I reached him, I sat down on my haunches so we were at a relative eye level. Sure, Dylan was younger and shorter than I, but while sitting down, his eye level stood above mine. Ignoring that fact, I spoke.

"Look, Dylan. Before Sky left, I made a promise to him that I'd look after you. And before you wonder if I'm keeping you out of the boss room, I'm not."

Dylan gave me a perplexed look, "Wait, what? If you're not keeping me out of the boss battle, then how is that looking after me?"

I gave a smile, "It's not. I'll let you fight, but on one condition."

"... What?"

My smile disappeared and I gave him a flat stare to emphasize the importance of what I said, "If you find yourself distracted from the fight in there, and 'your head isn't in the game' per say, then I want you to turn tail and run out of the boss room as fast as you can. I don't want you dying because you made a clumsy mistake during the battle. Honestly, if you died like that, and Sky came back to find that out, I'd never bring myself to speak to him again. Alright? Can you do that?"

Dylan paused, a blank look on his face. But his head hung a bit as glanced towards the ground, "Alright."

I gave him a smile as I nodded, "Good. You ready for the battle?"

He simply nodded, "Yeah."

"Then let's go." I got up and turned to the rest of the group, "Time to head inside. Weapons drawn everyone."

The chamber instantly echoed with the sheafing of steel, the drawing of bows, and the clanking of others as we drew our weapons. I pulled Almighty and my shield off my back as I trotted towards the door. Doing one last check, my horn sparked with an ember, and my wings spread from my sides. Weapons, magic, and flight were all ready to go.

It was time we fought this changeling.

I pushed the door open with a hoof and we entered.

In terms of the other boss rooms, the one we found ourselves standing in was quite different from the others we had been in before. Usually we found a completely square room made of stone bricks and rubble. But this room was different.

We found ourselves standing in a giant chamber, and big emphasis on giant. The sheer size of it yielded enough darkness that swallowed our lights up before they could reach the far walls and the ceiling. The chamber resembled that of the one we had left Cross and Cloud in, but, as I said before, much bigger.

Cautiously, we ventured farther into the depths of the darkness. And once the game system believed we were far enough inside, the doors we had entered slammed shut with a mighty *BOOM*.

Suddenly, the chamber illuminated from an unknown source... And every one of our jaws dropped as what we saw.

We were greeted by a familiar, feminine voice, "Ah, the Elements of Harmony at last!" She chuckled sickeningly, "I was wondering when you were going to show up. Say 'hello' to my changeling swarm."

Swarm?... No, swarm was an understatement for the horde before our eyes. The entire chamber was massive, looking as if it could easily hold the whole city of Canterlot inside it, buildings, castle, and all. And most of the floor, as well as every inch of the walls, was covered in black, hissing, buzzing changelings. At the center of the chamber, atop a stone pedestal, stood the very changeling ruler herself, Queen Chrysalis. Above her head, a health bar floated along with an ID: Queen Chrysalis

But behind the very boss itself, stood something that I could have easily mistook to be the 'head honcho'. I literally felt my pupils dilate as I looked at it.

Standing about 40 feet tall, a scaly monster showed its claws, its giant teeth, its red scales, and most of all, its massive wings, which spread out reaching tip to tip with the walls of the chamber. The spines on its head ran all the way down to its long tail, looking almost like razor blades. And while fire and smoke jumped from its mouth and snout, its eyes stared us down like a hawk a rodent.

Lexus, "Is that a-"

Neon, "Dragon?"

Swift, "Yep."

Comet, "Crap"

Chrysalis laughed again, "Now the battle begins! After them, my changelings!"

The changelings leaped from the walls and the ground, both running on hooves and flying on buzzing wings, right towards us. And behind them, the dragon roared so loudly, the entire chamber shook from the noise.

GRROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Me, "Oh-"

Soul, "F-(Buy some apples)!"

Cross could feel his fur becoming damp with sweat as his horn charged his 'dispell' spell. Behind him, Cloud stood with his back against the trap's dome, while Cross aimed his magic towards the other side of the dome. His horn sparked to signal the magic was ready to fly, and the unicorn fired the spell.

But like the few times he had tried before, the spell simply burst as it hit the barrier, leaving not even a scratch on it.

Cross sighed as he slumped onto his haunches, "Ugh, this isn't working."

Cloud rolled his eyes, "That's what I said the first time. You just had to try again, didn't you?"

Cross wiped his brow, giving the dragon a curt look, "You've never used magic before, so you wouldn't understand. Sometimes, spells can turn out to be duds. You have to try multiple times just to be sure."

A small silence passed between them, then Cloud suggested, "We could always try to blow up the shield with my bombs."

"And blow us to kingdom come in the process?" Cross chuckled, "Yeah, I don't think so. Any other ideas?"

Cloud shrugged, "Not unless-"

GRROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

The entire chamber shook from the noise, and the two friends gripped each other in shock. Cross felt a ripple wave through his fur from the surprise, "Whoa, what was that?!"

Cloud cringed, "That... was a dragon."

"And that means the others are in HUGE trouble right now, I'm guessing."

Both Cloud's and Cross' eyes widened as they realized a third voice had joined the conversation. They quickly turned towards the source of the voice, Cross muttering, "Wait,... I know that voice..."

They looked and found, standing just outside the trap's barrier, a singe pony. They couldn't tell any of his defining features, because he wore a black cloak, and it didn't help that anything outside the trap was completely pitch black. But they knew him from his voice.

The hooded figure spoke again, "What happened? Where are the others?"

Cloud quickly replied, without hesitating, "Don't worry about us. But the others will need your help. They're in the boss room just down that tunnel." He pointed a claw in the general direction of the tunnel, seeing as he couldn't tell where exactly it was through the darkness. But, he knew this guy could see in the dark just fine.

The cloaked figure nodded, and before the two captives eyes, his body suddenly evaporated into black smoke, forming a dark cloud that raced through the darkness and into the tunnel.

After the figure left, Cross grinned as he glanced towards Cloud, "Heh, Long time, no see."

Cloud nodded, "Tell me about it."

Author's Notes:

"Will our group of heroes survive the onslaught of changelings they face?
And what about the dragon? Can they slay it and Queen Chrysalis?
Will this mysterious friend in black come to save them in time?
Find out next time in ELO Chapter 24: Fighting With My Friends!
Coming soon!"

Thanks for reading!
-Shadowflame

P.S: How'd you like those references in there? Ten figurative points to anyone who can find them all!

July 3rd (Fighting With My Friends)

Hey, Shadowflame here. Of course, who else were you expecting?

I would just like to take a second to say one thing; a little piece of factual advice. Life will always make you do hard things, whether you like it or not. It’s the truth, see. Though sometimes, life hands you things to do that are harder than others.

Sometimes it’s working overtime on shifts to pay off that huge debt on your credit card. Or sometimes it’s caring for a loved one who unexpectedly fell sick with cancer.

…And sometimes it’s fighting tooth and nail against five hundred changelings at once.

Yeah, talk about difficult, right? I had only been fighting against my share of the changeling swarm for about two minutes until I figured out just how annoying the little buggers were.

For one thing, yes, all changelings were weak individually. But when 10 of them swarm your personal space simultaneously, they can really drain the health out of you quickly. And another thing to note: Because there were so many changelings around us, killing one out of the bunch seemed to do nothing at all. By the time you could clear a small space of these love parasites, more changelings would instantly fill the void.

And when you’re outnumbered 10 to 10,000…

Yeah, life just handed you one of the hardest things you’ve ever done. Yes, ‘thank you’, life. And while I’m at it, I would also like to say, ‘Screw you, I’ve got enough to deal with right now.’

My wings flapped as fast as possible and I soared through the open space of the chamber. Levitating my sword and my shield close to me, I risked a glance behind me to see that I still had a little over twenty changelings on my tail. And they were still managing to gain distance on me, so it was only a matter of time before they were *literally* on my tail.

For those of you readers who have never had tails before, let me enlighten you. Having a tail is marvelous, but when someone so much as tugs on it, it feels both painful and weird as heck. So, rather than letting a couple dozen changelings provide that less than unsavory experience, I proceeded to act in defense.

With two beats of my wings, I flipped myself around and flew right at the mini swarm with my sword raised,

“Blaze!”

With each swing of my flaming sword, I took out three changelings every time. And with the speed and precision of a magically held blade, my group of pursuers burst into a cloud of blue code within a couple of seconds.

With the changelings no longer on my tail, I took a second to hover in midair and catch my breath. I’m sure I’ve told you readers before, but you can still get tired in this video game. Fatigue and exhaustion were common side effects after fighting a bunch of monsters. But Chrysalis’ horde here was really pushing our limits.

I took a moment to reevaluate our situation. Down on the ground, everybody who didn’t have wings were fighting back to back with each other as they fought the changeling horde off. Everypony else was airborne, zooming through the space of the chamber in an underground, aerial dogfight against the changelings. It was difficult enough for anybody with close-quarters weapons to fight, but it was even worse for anybody with long-range weapons.

The long rangers, mainly Eclipse and Siren, were in the worst situation. Their bows were exceptional when picking off foes from long distances. But with the swarming changelings, they were firing their bows as quickly as possible in rapid fire. If it weren’t for the help of the other close-combat fighters in the group, those two would’ve probably been dead by now.

Suddenly, a huge shadow loomed high above me. As soon as I saw it, I dove out of the way of a giant, red, scaly fist. I cursed to myself as the dragon’s claw smashed into the ground with a deafening BOOM!

The dragon itself had been the biggest threat and annoyance thus far. Whenever any of us had just a moment without the changelings on top of us, the dragon was there instead to wreck our day.

I glanced up at the dragon just in time to see it open its giant maw at me. As quickly as magic would allow me to work, I concentrated hard as the dragon let loose a roaring stream of fire. I quickly cast a spell, and I began to absorb the fire and regenerate my magic power slightly from it. Sure, the magic power was great, but I immediately had to swoop out of the way of another dragon claw once the flames subsided.

I was panting hard as more changelings flew towards me, and I fought them off through the air with my weapons and magic. But at this rate, I wasn’t sure how long I was going to be able to keep this up.

Down below, I could hear Queen Chrysalis’ smug laughter through the buzzing of changeling wings.

Chrysalis smirked at the battle around her, “This is very enjoyable. I never realized how entertaining it was to watch pathetic humans struggle for survival.”

With a single swing of my sword, I cleared the changelings around me and took a moment to glare down at the smug changeling queen. She was the boss we were supposed to defeat, yet she was letting her swarm and the dragon do all the fighting for her. Rather than fighting all of her unlimited lackeys, I decided to dig up this parasitic swarm by the roots.

I propelled myself downwards and tucked my wings to my sides into a dive. I stuck my sword out in my path, like the head of an arrow, aiming right for Chrysalis.

But as I was about to ram my sword through her chest, a massive wall of changelings suddenly formed around the queen, and I jerked to a stop as my sword pierced it. I looked to see that I hadn’t gotten close to Chrysalis because these changelings had protected her. I quickly withdrew my sword from the changeling I had stabbed and took to the sky again, just before the wall of changelings merged into a swarm that pursued me.

My attempt had only made Chrysalis laugh harder, “Is that honestly the best you can do, Courage? I must admit, that was fearless, but completely stupid.”

“Shut up!” I roared in frustration as I decapitated a few changelings in a single blade stroke.

Chrysalis laughed in mock concern, “Oh, I’m sorry. Are you on edge just because we kept two of your friends from the joining the party? What were their names again?... Oh, that’s right, Cross Burst and Cloudheart. Haha, what pitiful na-AGH!”

The changeling queen suddenly screamed in pain, causing the whole room to freeze. Literally, every changeling, player, and even the dragon, stopped to look at the queen. And as we looked, we all noticed the point of a black sword protruding out from Chrysalis’ chest.

Just behind the queen, a deathly cold voice spoke, “Their names are Crossheart and Cloud Burst, Chrysalis. Tell me…” The black sword suddenly jerked back out of the queen’s chest and exited through her back, causing her to scream again, “… Was their imprisonment your idea?”

Chrysalis quickly pumped her wings and took off to the air. Once at a safe distance, the queen looked back at her throne to see a pure black sword floating in midair, without a single pony holding it. But before our eyes, we watched as the sword evaporated into a dark cloud of smoke, the kind that reminded me of the demon back in Hollow Shades.

The dark cloud suddenly began to condense and take the shape of a pony. The smoke dissipated to reveal a figure covered in a black coat. On his back, he had sheathed a pair of dual swords, one black with blue gems on its hand guard, and one white with green gems in the same place.

The figure spoke again, his voice slightly distorted by... something, “They are my friends, as is everyone here. And I will fight alongside them, no matter what I’ve done in the past.”

Though his voice was distorted, I instantly recognized the voice, as well as one of the swords. I couldn’t believe it! It really was-

The figure’s hood flew back off his head, revealing a dark cyan unicorn, with a black DJ mane and a pair of red eyes. His player ID appeared above his head, reading: Midnight5ky.

Sky narrowed his eyes into a wicked grin, aimed straight at Chrysalis, “I’m back, motherbuckers! And this time,” He drew both swords, which instantly glowed black in eerie smoke as his magic wrapped around them, “I’m never leaving my team again!”

Alright, everypony! We've got some epic background music for this fight, so I suggest that if you're reading this and you can't listen to the song while reading, stop now and wait until you can, because it is just epic. I present to you, "Dragon Force".

"Why are you gawking, fools?!" Chrysalis screamed, "KILL THEM!!"

Instantly, a wave of changelings rushed towards Sky, while the rest of the horde and the dragon turned their attention back towards the rest of us. The buzzing and roaring of monsters filled the chamber as they attacked.

I turned and fought off the changelings who had come after me like I had before. But this time was different from the beginning of the battle. This time I was giving more fight than before.

This time, Sky was back, and my resolution to fight was burning brighter than ever!

"BLAZE!" My sword burst into flames that extended two feet past the point of the weapon, longer than any time I had used my ability. I grinned in anticipation at the oncoming changelings with a reignited vigor, "Time for you insects to burn!"

Sky glared through the mob of changelings swarming around him, right at Queen Chrysalis. The changeling queen had retreated back behind her forces as the battle continued.

"I'm not through with you yet, Chrysalis!" Sky flared his magic, and the familiar feeling of evaporation took over. Within a second, his body was only dark smoke, and he weaved his cloud form through the oncoming changelings.

Chrysalis' eyes widened as she watched Sky's body reform behind the backs of her changelings, and he leaped through the air right towards her with both swords raised. The queen only had enough time to react and deflected one of the dual wielding unicorn's swords with her horn, but that didn't stop the other one from slicing into her leg.

Chrysalis shrieked in pain, and she kicked her hind legs forward mid-flight. The blow knocked Sky and his swords away, but the unicorn quickly recovered as his hooves skid back down onto solid ground. By the time Sky looked back up at the changeling queen, Chrysalis was surrounded by a wall of changelings to protect herself.

Grumbling under his breath, Sky readied his swords to attack again. But before he could, the giant shadow of a dragon fist came racing down above him. He leaped out of the way just in time as the clawed fist crashed through the ground.

The dragon roared from above as it withdrew its claw from the crater it created, glaring down at the target it had missed. Sky glared back at it, cursing under his breath.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sky spotted a group of changelings racing towards him. But before he reacted, they were suddenly doused in a jet of flames as a gray alicorn lighted down beside him, sword and shield raised.

"Heh, long time, no see, Shadow." Sky said with a smirk.

Shadow smiled at him in mocked surprise, "Sky? Is that really you?" He quickly sliced his sword through a changeling that had come too close, "We'll need to catch up later when our lives aren't hanging in the balance."

Suddenly, both of them leaped backwards as the shadows of dragon fists came crashing down where they stood. Sky cringed as he regained his balance, "Yeah, well, this dragon is gonna need to die if we want any shot at surviving this."

Shadow nodded, "Yeah. But it shouldn't be too hard for an alicorn and a..." He frowned, "What are you now, anyways?"

Sky smirked, "I guess you could call me a demon child." Both players turned towards the dragon. It breathed fire up into the air as if it were asking for any challengers. Luckily for the dragon, it had two players ready to take its challenge.

"Let's do this!"

"Let's do this!"

Shadow and Sky took off in flight at the giant, winged lizard. Seeing the two players approaching, the dragon tried to blow them away by breathing a blazing stream of fire in their path. But the fire quickly dwindled as Shadow's magic absorbed it, leaving the flight path open for Sky to strike.

Sky flew through the air with his momentum as he shifted out of cloud form. With both swords, he drove their points home through the dragon's eye.

The dragon roared in fury and its claws swiped at its snout to get the unicorn perched up there off. Sky jumped away from the claw, just as Shadow swooped in drove his sword into the dragon's claw. The scaled flesh suddenly began to bubble and burst from the intense heat of his sword, leaving the claw a mangled mess.

Shadow smirked as he watched the flesh boil, "Guess dragons aren't too fireproof on the inside."

"Either that," Sky commented, "Or it's never felt alicorn fire before."

The dragon roared in pain again, spewing fire everywhere to get rid of its attackers. But it was all for naught as Sky drove his swords into the dragon's other eye, blinding it for good.

The blind dragon roared and thrashed in pain and fury, swinging its massive claws, neck, and spiked tail across the chamber like a wild animal. The air of the chamber grew hot as the dragon breathed searing flames around in its wild rage. Sky and Shadow leaped off of the mad lizard's snout and sailed to the safety of the chamber's edge. They looked in satisfaction as the blind dragon unintentionally took out hundreds of changelings in its rampage, but they soon realized that any of their group members could end up just like those changelings.

"Crap, we're going to have to take care of this dragon quick, before any of our group members become pony pancakes." Shadow grumbled, "While you were away, you didn't happen to learn any uber demonic spells that could finish this thing off?"

Sky grinned wickedly, "Thought you'd never ask." He closed his eyes and furrowed his brow in concentration. All around him, the sounds of the dragon's rampage through the hive were blocked by his mind. Everything, in his mind, was silent, just like he wanted. In the silence, Sky drew on his magic and let the energy surge through his body. Slowly, black smoke began to pour out from every pore of his body.

Sky's eyes flew open, completely pitch black, "Demon Drive!" Above his head, a purple bar appeared just below his health meter: The Corruption Bar. As Demon Drive started, the purple in the bar began to slowly drop, and the ability would end once it reached zero. This just reminded Sky about how quickly he'd need to kill the dragon before the extra ability boost wore off. He intended to make every moment of Corruption count.

Within a flash, Sky's body sailed into the air with the black smoke, though his form didn't change as it was held aloft with demonic power. With two swords at the ready, Sky soared through the flailing of the dragon's limbs, aiming straight for its underbelly. Once close enough, Sky unleashed a hurricane of slashes and stabs with his dual swords, moving so fast that the smoke surrounding the swords literally formed a black vortex around the unicorn wielding them.

But that wasn't all, for Sky's black tornado of death zoomed around the dragon's midsection, looping around the entire dragon's body as his swords pierced through its thick scales. Wherever he went, the dragon was left with hundreds of red scars of code created by the Demon child's frightening power.

As if the dragon's current rampage wasn't enough, but the monster's rage grew tenfold as its underbelly was mauled by Sky's Demon Drive. Its health bar was dropping rapidly, but its thrashing grew wilder and wilder, until the dragon couldn't take it anymore. Blind, angry, and confused, the dragon swiped down with its good claw at what it thought was its attacker.

The dragon's claw missed Sky, but kept reaching down to the ground until its claw grasped around...

"AAGGHH!"

Lexus, who had been fighting beside her, shouted, "NEON! NO!"

Before anyone could fly after Neon in the dragon's grasp, the dragon spread its wings in the giant chamber. In blind outrage, the dragon flapped off of the ground and towards the chamber ceiling. But the fact that the dragon was underground didn't stop it, and the angry beast crushed through the rock and stone like they were building blocks. Everyone in the chamber below made a mad scramble around to keep from being crushed by the falling debris.

The ground shook violently as boulders tumbled down into the depths of the chamber, crushing several changelings in the process. Up above, the light of day shone through the gaps between the falling rocks, blinding almost everyone with the sudden change in lighting. Sky, Shadow, Violet, Eclipse, Dylan, and all the others took cover at the edges of the chamber, where no stone fell. Well, everyone, save for Lexus.

Lexus, whose marefriend had been taken by a dragon, weaved through the falling wreckage with unmatched precision. With narrowed eyes, the gray pegasus flew after the dragon to save his damsel in distress, and just above him, he saw said beast fly up higher and higher into the now visible sky.

Lexus left the depths of the underground, giving every pump of energy into his wings, "NEON! HOLD ON!"

Down below in the ruined hive, everyone was regaining their bearings. Shadow looked up at the dragon that was disappearing into the distant sky above. Cringing, he glanced around at the rest of his group, who had all thankfully avoided the wreckage of the chamber.

He yelled out to them, "Come on, we gotta help Neon!" He spread his wings and tried to take off after the dragon and Lexus, but he was quickly stopped as a wave of changelings flew in front of him.

"AND WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!" From the opposite end of the destroyed chamber, Chrysalis stood, glowering at the Elements of Harmony. She breathed heavily, snorting in frustration through her nose. She was now officially pissed, "Curses, Discord. This hive was supposed to spawn unlimited number of changelings, but now your blasted dragon destroyed it!"

Out from the rubble, only about two hundred out of the once thousand legions of changelings still stood. Chrysalis growled in annoyance, "I guess we'll have to make do with our reduced numbers. CHANGELINGS," Chrysalis suddenly became engulfed in the green flames of changeling magic, and in her place, a gray, crimson maned alicorn stood, his cloak trailing behind him.

Shadow's jaw dropped as he realized that he was looking at himself. On the ground, Chrysalis grinned through Shadow's face, "CHANGE!"

Immediately, what was left of the hive took on a green glow as the rest of the changelings shifted forms. Soon, the Elements of Harmony were faced by legions of their own group. Doppelgangers of Sky, Dylan, Soul, Siren, Swift, Shadow, Violet, Eclipse, and Comet all glared back at the small team, grinning mischievously at them with weapons drawn, horns lit, and wings stretched.

I stared in horror at the sight before us. I looked across the rubble at the massive army before us. Sure, it was smaller than what we had been facing before, but this time... The ones we had to fight were ourselves and our friends.

I cringed as I realized that all of us would become confused while fighting these changelings. It would be more than possible that we'd accidentally hurt the real members of our group by mistaking them for their doppelgangers.

Thinking quickly, I drew my sword, "Alright everybody! Only injure the changelings that look like yourselves. If another pony raises a blade on you, then kill them, no matter who they look like. As long as we only injure our doubles ourselves, there won't be any 'friendly fires' happening."

Suddenly, the massive army before us charged. Lighting my sword with flames, I prepared for the worst. Lexus and Neon would have to wait, but I hoped they'd be alright on their own.

Lexus flapped his wings as hard as he could as he raced after the dragon flying high above him. Even through the deafening roars and wing beats of the dragon, Lexus could still hear the screams of Neon as she was carried higher into the desert sky.

Lexus' ability zoomed his vision in on the dragon's claw, where Neon was struggling underneath its incredible strength. Lexus could feel his anger at the beast rising as he watched Neon try to squeeze her way out of the dragon's grip. Her face was contorted in discomfort and fear, neither of which Lexus could stand for his girlfriend to bear. Neon's health was being slowly sapped away by the crushing force of her captor's hold, and it was already in the yellow. Lexus knew he needed to get rid of this dragon soon, or it would kill her.

He put this extra motivation and fury towards the dragon into each wing beat, and he accelerated up into the sky after the flying behemoth. With greater speed, the pegasus flew up faster than the dragon, his flight pattern almost grazing the belly of this massive beast.

Lexus slowed his ascent as he reached Neon's location in the dragon's grasp, "Neon! Are you alright?"

Neon gave a quick nod as her arms tried to pull herself out of her captor's grip, "I'm fine! But I lost my weapons when this thing grabbed me! I can't get out!"

Lexus ground his teeth together as he grasped his spear tighter, "Then hold on tight. It shouldn't take long for me to skin this lizard alive."

With a flurry of wing beats, Lexus soared up higher on the dragon, aiming for the one place he wanted to throw all of his rage on: The dragon's throat. Lexus' eyes spotted the pulsating jugular of the dragon as he came within an arm's reach.

With a battle cry that would have frightened a manticore, Lexus drove his spear into the dragon's jugular in pure malice. The dragon roared in pain, both in surprise and anger. It could be wondered that the dragon hadn't expected the enemies from before to follow it up this high into the air. The sky was the place where a winged beast of its size could rule the air with an iron fist, incinerating all that came before it.

Lexus sliced his spear across and out of the dragon's neck, leaving a long, red scar in the roaring beast. In outrage, the dragon swung its mangled claw at Lexus, which smacked the pegasus away and sent him tumbling down through the air. Neon yelled after him as he fell back down past the dragon, towards the Earth.

Lexus grunted as he flapped hard to right his flight path, and once he did, he glanced up to see the dragon pulling upwards at even greater speed than before. He cringed as he realized he wouldn't be able to catch up to the dragon before it killed Neon. But he still had to at least try.

He flapped his wings harder than before, so hard that he felt them tire even more underneath extra stress. Though he was inching towards the dragon, he was making much progress. High above, he could see Neon's health bar drop into the red zone. But even higher above her, the dragon's health bar was visible as well. It too was in the red zone. All it needed was a powerful attack to put it out of its misery. Luckily for it, Lexus was ready to oblige.

This winged lizard had the strength and capability to rule the air, but never the sky. Because the sky was the pegasi's domain.

The dragon rose up higher into the air, passing the top cloud layer. As Lexus passed the clouds himself, he grabbed hold of a single piece of fluffy matter in his hooves on hot pursuit of the giant lizard. He mashed the tiny cloud against the tip of his spear, and using his pegasi abilities, changed it into a storm cloud, which sparked with lightning.

The lightning sparked from the cloud and jolted into the iron tip of Lexus' spear. Within a couple seconds of charging, the spearhead was crackling with electricity.

Lexus discarded the tiny cloud and repositioned his electrified spear in his grip, so he was holding the weapon like an olympic javelin thrower. His eyes darted up towards the dragon, whose flying pace seemed to have slowed down slightly. His gaze zoomed in towards the dragons jaw, and he reared his arm back with spear in tow.

Giving a grunt of effort, Lexus hurled his javelin upwards like an arrow that pierced the sky with crackling lightning. The weapon soared through the thick atmosphere and struck home, piercing the dragon's lower jaw, and stabbing up and through the creature's skull.

The dragon roared in ferocious outrage as it's head was punctured by the small, but lethal, spear. It's roars of fury quickly escalated as hundreds of volts surged through it's brain from the electricity of the spear point. The beast's whole body convulsed as it's head was electrocuted, as well as the arm where a now screaming Neon was being held.

Neon shrieked as she was jerked every which way by the giant's claw, all the while the dragon's wings were failing it. The dragon began to plummet down to earth, with Neon Fire in tow.

The dragon's sudden change in direction caught Lexus off guard, and the pegasus was suddenly kicked away by a flailing, convulsing limb.

Lexus grunted as he was hit by what felt like a train. His vision blurred with such a wild, hard hit, and he was launched away at high speed, his ears ringing with the dragon's roars and Neon's screams.

Out of the two sounds, it was only Neon's that he was concerned for. Her voice was filled with panic, and that was enough to cause Lexus the same. He desperately tried to right himself, but the force of the dragon's hit had sent him spinning faster than whirlwind. But his momentum through the air was suddenly stopped as his body hit the cloud layer below, which thankfully cushioned his fall to some degree.

Lexus quickly popped himself off of the clouds and back onto his hooves, glancing back towards the dragon just in time to see it plummet through the cloud layer at top speed. As soon as it dropped below the clouds and out of Lexus' sight, chips of blue code floated upward out of the hole in the cumuli as the dragon gave its last, dying roar.

Lexus would have been ecstatic about killing a dragon (cause how often do you get to kill a freakin' dragon?), except... It was quiet. Too quiet. Besides the slight breeze of the air in his ears, there was nothing. In the deathly silence, Lexus realized that after the dragon's roaring ceased...

Neon's screaming had stopped.

Lexus suddenly gasped as he rushed towards the giant hole in the clouds the dragon had punched through, looking downwards to see if he could find her.

With shaky breaths, Lexus searched the open sky for Neon, but he couldn't see her; Not even a sign of her. Panic and fear gripped his chest with an icy grip that made his blood run cold,

"Dear God... I-I... Did I k-kill her!?"

His breathing grew more rapid as he desperately searched the sky below for any signs of Neon. But suddenly, he spotted something gray and green, thousands of feet below him as it raced towards the ground.

Lexus gasped, "NEON!!" He instantly dove downwards off of the cloud in a nose dive, his tired wings thrusting him down after his girlfriend. Using his ability, Lexus' eyes focused in on Neon, only to find she was unconscious, with eyes closed, and falling fast towards the barren wastelands below. Her health was in the red and Lexus knew there was no way she'd survive the fall damage from this height.

With no one around to catch her, Lexus knew he was the only one who could save her. He pushed his aching wings to drive him downwards, faster and faster, until he was flying faster than he had ever flown before.

His wings screamed in pain, just as loud as the whipping wind in his ears, begging him to slow down. But Lexus wouldn't let himself slow down, not until his Neon was safe.

But even as his desire to save his girlfriend burned willpower into his resolve, Lexus looked in horror as he realized he was barely closing the distance between them, even with his incredible speed. Lexus knew Neon had been falling for so long that she had already reached terminal velocity, the fastest speed her unconscious body could reach in mid air. And worse yet, the ground was racing all too quickly up to meet her.

Lexus heart skipped a beat as the reality of the situation set in, "I- I can't... I-I won't reach her in time. S-she's going to-" He felt his eyes water in terror. His wings were burning, threatening to give out from over exertion. Even if his wings were in perfect condition, he couldn't catch up to Neon before she hit the ground... It just wasn't possible for him to catch her before...

Lexus swallowed a choked sob as tears flew up and out of his eyes and into the air rushing past him. He clamped his eyes shut in denial, as if he could shut out this nightmare before him; The nightmare of losing Neon forever, "No... It can't end like this... She can't die! No! NEON!!! NO!!!!"

"LEXUS!"

His eyes shot open at the sound, darting down towards Neon. She had woken up, her face contorted in panic as she fell through the sky to her doom below. Her limbs flailed about helplessly in the air, as if it could stop her descent, but all for not.

Even through his blurred eyes, Lexus could see her face; her eyes... They were looking up at him, pleading him to save her. But he couldn't... He knew he couldn't save her, and every part of him screamed in agony to catch her. It was torture to him, just watching her fall. He was so close, but it felt so much farther away...

All he could do was fly as fast as he could, fly the best he could, but his best wasn't enough... His best wasn't good enough, and now, he'd lose Neon because of it.

Neon...

His... Dearly beloved... Neon... The only girl he had truly loved in his miserable life.

He... loved her, didn't he?

Then why couldn't he save her life?... She looked helpless now, so why couldn't he help her?... That's what he wanted to do...

Or was it... All for nothing? Did he not love her enough? Did he not love her whole being with his own enough to push his limits and snatch her out of the air? ...

Lexus bit his teeth in bitterness, unable to stop his tears from flowing. His hooves were outstretched as far as they could go, as if he could grab her. But Neon was still hundreds of feet below him, wide eyed in fear and reaching out towards him with her own hoof.

Is this... where I lose her? Lexus' lip curled into a choked sob, I- I didn't think this would happen. Not now! He remembered back to his conversation with Shadow, just that day:

"Well, that's the problem." Lexus retorted, a bit frustrated, "Back in the human world, I'm just a dirt poor, college student with barely any money to my name. I asked Neon what her old life was like, and it turns out that she lives on the other side of the country from me. I'd have to buy a plane ticket if I wanted to see her again, and if our relationship has to be long distanced, then I'm afraid it won't last. What if I never get to see her again after this is all over?"

... Back then, I didn't think Neon would die fighting. I thought we'd survive together... That's what I've always wanted, because...

because...

Lexus furrowed his brow, ...Because I love her.

With whatever strength he had left in his wings, Lexus pushed his feathered limbs even harder with wing beat after wing beat. His eyes were quickly wiped clear of tears as the sheer acceleration created aerial slipstream around him, catching all moisture into the air. With clear vision, his focus honed in on Neon, because that's all he needed to see. That was his focus. He loved Neon, and there was no way he was going to let her go that easily. There was no way he'd let her die!

Neon watched Lexus fly towards her, slowly getting faster and faster. But her jaw dropped as she saw what appeared to be lightning forming around his front hooves.

Lexus pushed his front hooves as far as he could, close together like a spearhead. He could feel the wind rip past him as he flew faster and faster, but he didn't let up. He wouldn't be satisfied until Neon was safe in his arms.

Neon's expression turned into one of disbelief as she watched Lexus' body become shrouded in thick atmosphere, which crackled with white lightning. Is he... I don't believe it! Is he doing...

Lexus' body screamed in pain as he flew faster and faster towards Neon. It felt as if the air was crushing him beneath is pressure, like a wall trying to stop him. But Lexus wouldn't let that happen. Neon still needed him! He heard a vague buzz in his ears, one of cracking energy, as he pushed with all his might against this wall of atmosphere. It grew louder and louder, as the air around him solidified into a cone of Ozone burning in electricity, until finally...

... A sonic rainboom?!

...Lexus shattered the sound barrier.

Lexus shot forward like a bullet as the air exploded behind him, leaving a massive, blue shock wave in his wake. At speeds greater than the speed of sound, he dove down towards Neon and grabbed her body in his hooves as soon as she was in arm's reach. And once he did, he clutched her to his chest, never to let go.

Neon only watched in sheer awe and joy at Lexus as she was pulled upwards out of her deathly descent. All behind her coltfriend, a massive, blue streak marked the path he had flown. Down below them, the badlands flew by in an orange blur, the dust of the earth kicked up into the air as they zoomed a few feet above its surface in a blue streak of chrome.

Neon hugged Lexus tightly, "Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh! You did it! You did a sonic rainboom!" She smiled at him warmly, "You- you saved me... again." She giggled at the last word.

Lexus could feel his wings were on the verge of collapsing, if not falling off his sides, so he slowed his momentum and landed gently onto a nearby plateau, completely drained. As he landed, his blue sonic trail remained burned into the yellow sky of the badlands' dusk.

But after Lexus landed, he didn't let go of Neon. He just hugged her tightly to his chest, pure relief written across his form, "I'm glad... You're safe."

He gave her a loving smile, "Neon, I love you. I-... I was worried that after this game was over... I was worried that I'd lose you in the real world, but... I couldn't bear to lose you at all while we're still together here. I don't know what I'd do with myself if you were gone."

"What are you talking about?" Neon giggled as if he had made a joke, "You know there's no way I'd ever let you go, either. Even in the human world, I'd stay with you. We'll work something out when that comes, because I love you, too."

Lexus gave her a questioning look, but then sighed in relief, "That's good to know." He nuzzled her affectionately, which she happily returned. He couldn't be more at peace, knowing that she'd never leave him. Likewise, he'd do the same for her.

Neon giggled, "Love ya, Lexus."

Lexus smirked as he pulled out of the nuzzle, "I love you too, Neon." Without a moment of hesitation, he pulled her into a kiss; a deep, passionate kiss; one that made his mind and body melt in pure ecstacy. And there they stayed in each other's embrace, on top of the badlands, with a beautiful sunset to perfect the moment.

"Cross-out!" Cross yelled as his horn flared. Suddenly, a red 'X' came flying out of his horn, landing against the barrier around him and Cloud, only for the spell to fizzle out, much to Cross' frustration.

The unicorn stomped a hoof against the ground, "Dangit, not again."

Cloud put a claw on his shoulder, "Come on, dude. Take it easy. You've already tried your cancellation spells for the past ten minutes. Just take a break now..."

Much to Cross' surprise, his dragon friend sounded... monotone and serious, as if he were in deep thought. Beneath the dragon's sunglasses, Cross could see his friend's eyes were distant and unfocused.

Sighing, Cross muttered, "Okay, I'll take a break for now." He sat down on his haunches in the center of the dome. At the same time, Cloud sat down and leaned his back against Cross'.

BGM: Flutterstare

A few moments of silence passed between them, neither one saying anything.

But that only lasted until Cloud broke the silence, "Some predicament we're in, huh?"

Cross nodded, "Yeah, it is." He looked through the barrier, finding the faint outline of the tunnel where the rest of the group had left through, "But it looks like we'll just need to wait for the others to beat the boss before we can get out."

Cross could have sworn Cloud's scales ruffled a bit as he said that, since he felt a slight itch at his back where Cloud laid. The dragon coughed suddenly, "You know, I've been thinking about that."

"About what?"

The dragon didn't even turn to look back at him, "About this whole mess. I mean, Discord has always tried to throw a trap at us before every boss battle so far, hasn't he? And whenever he did, we only got out of it with luck. This time... I don't think we're getting lucky and escaping this scotch free."

Cross chuckled, "What do we have to lose anyways? Discord's almost already taken everything."

Cloud's voice suddenly grew grim, "Our lives, our families, our friends."

Cross turned to look at his friend, a small frown on his face, "Don't say that, Cloud. I don't think anyone's dying today."

"Well somebody is!" Cloud snapped back, jumping to his feet as he turned on Cross. Before Cross could say anything, Cloud shouted at him, "Haven't you stopped to consider why we're the ones who are trapped in here?! Why nobody else from the group did?! Was that luck, or was that part of Discord's plan?"

Cross blinked in confusion, surprised by his friend's outburst, "What- What are you talking about?"

"Think about it, Cross." The dragon said, grimly, "Back in Cloudsdale, Discord tried to take the floor out from under Dylan's hooves, so that he'd fall to his death. He said he had been trying to kill Dylan specifically. And then, in Hollow Shades, Lexus became possessed by that demon. And who did it try to kill?"

"It tried to kill Shadow. We were both there to see that." Cross replied.

"And who was in the room with him when that happened?" Cloud snapped, "Who was the only one who could have defeated the demon?"

Cross paused as his mind subconsciously began to catch on, "...Sky..."

"Exactly. The demon wasn't going after Shadow. It just tried to take out the bigger threat in that room before moving on to its real target, the only pony who could have killed it and retrieved the Element of Willpower." Cloud ground his teeth as he looked down at his feet with claws clenched, "Discord had set that demon loose on us specifically to keep us from gaining the next element of harmony. Now, I'll ask you again, why do you think we're the ones who got captured in this Morality Trap?"

Cross' jaw dropped open as the facts started coming together. Everytime Discord had set a trap for them, it was to try and keep them from defeating the boss and retrieving the elements. Every time, he had a specific target he tried to take out, though he never succeeded. Which meant, Discord had gone directly after them because...

Cloud didn't even look at Cross, "You see? Discord targeted us specifically, because one of us can defeat Queen Chrysalis. And since I'm a dragon, a glitched player, I can never become an actual bearer of the Elements of Harmony. That means you're the only one who can defeat Chrysalis, Cross."

Cross' eyes widened as everything seemed to click in his mind. Discord had made sure he wouldn't be able to fight Chrysalis, because the changeling queen would never die until Cross gave the final blow. But he couldn't do that unless he escaped the Morality Trap, which he couldn't do unless...

"Cross, the only way for you to get out of here and end this boss battle..." Cloud cringed as two tears rolled out from beneath his glasses and down his cheeks, "... I didn't want to tell you this, but you needed to know... I'm going to let you out of this trap, and in order for that to happen," He reached behind his back, pulling out two bombs from his person, two of which Cross recognized: A smoke bomb, and an 'elemental ice' bomb, which could freeze just about anything in close proximity of it, "...I need to kill myself."

A small click suddenly echoed through the chamber, before Cloud's smoke bomb went off. The inside of the trap was suddenly filled with smoke, and Cross was blinded by the dark gaseous cloud.

Cross coughed through the smoke, "Cloud! *hack* *hack* What are you doing?!"

Though he couldn't see the dragon, Cross could hear Cloud's voice perfectly, "You know this needs to happen, otherwise you'll never get out of here. Everyone will die if you don't help them, and their lives are more important than mine."

Cross stumbled to his hooves and tried to reach for his friend in the blinding smog, only to be met by intangible smoke, "*hack* *cough* Cloud! No! That's not true! You can't kill yourself! *cough* You're my best friend! Don't do this!"

He heard a sniffle, then Cloud sobbed, "I-I'm sorry, Cross... But it has to happen this way. It was a matter of time before I died anyways." There was a pause, before Cloud's voice chuckled, "You know, you told me about your grandma back home, how you promised her you'd always keep smiling, even though you knew your parents were gone?... Yeah... Dude, I want you to promise me that same thing. Even though your best pal isn't around, you'll keep smiling, won't you?"

Cross couldn't believe his ears, which made him try and reach for Cloud even more desperately, "No! Cloud! I won't let you kill yourself!" His own eyes were being obscured by tears beneath his sunglasses, as he assumed the same was true for Cloud.

But no matter how hard he tried, the little dragon just evaded him in the dense smoke, even inside the close confines of the trap. All that was present from him was his sad, meek voice, "Cross... I just want to say... Thanks for being my friend, dude. Ever since we started this game, you've always had my back. Thank you..."

"Cloud! NO!" Cross sobbed out, only to start coughing from the smoke again.

"And Cross?"

Cross panted as he regained his breath, the smoke dispersing a bit. But through the smoke, he spotted Cloud, hovering in the air on his wings. The dragon took off his glasses and dropped them to the ground, all while smiling with wet eyes,

"Please... Keep smiling, dude. Everyone else needs that laughter of yours as much as I did. Now go and give that changeling queen, and that damned draconequus a living dose of hell." He suddenly raised the 'elemental ice' bomb to his mouth, armed it, and shoved it down his throat.

"NO, CLOUD!!" Cross tried to leap for his friend, but it was too late.

The bomb inside Cloud detonated, and the little dragon's body instantly froze like an ice sculpture. His scales could have prevented him from dying if the bomb had detonated on his outside, but his innards didn't have the same resistance. As soon as his wings froze, his body dropped to the floor and shattered into blue code.

Cross stared wide eyed at the code that had once been his friend, as it all floated into the air and disappeared.

His mind came to a full stop, unable to say anything, do anything... It was like the whole world had stopped around him; him and his best friend in the world... But only to find one of the two left...

Cloud was dead.

"CLOUD!!! NO! NO! NOOOO!!!!!!"

Cross' eyes clamped shut as more tears began racing out of them. His breathing changed into sobs and wheezing, and his throat clogged with bitter mucus. All around him, the cloud of smoke dispersed into the rest of the chamber as the Morality Trap released its only living captive, but Cross didn't move.

He only stared down at where Cloud's body had been. There, on the ground, lay the dragon's pair of sunglasses, the very ones Cross had bought for him... That day, the day they became friends... The day when they weren't fighting for their lives, and were just friends playing a game together, like any friend should.

Cross collapsed to his haunches and hung his head in sorrow, his strength failing him. He looked down, letting his own glasses slip off his nose and onto the ground where they landed with a *clink* next to Cloud's pair. He stared down at them, letting his tears create wet puddles on the ground before him.

Cloud was gone. Cloud was dead. His best friend, dead.

And it was all...

...

... Discord's fault.

Cross' eyes slowly widened in realization... Everything had been Discord's fault. They were in this game, because of Discord. They had come to the badlands to fight Queen Chrysalis, because of Discord.

Cloud is dead... Cross stood up from his haunches, his brow furrowing in anger, because of Discord!

He stomped a hoof on the ground in anger, not caring that his hoof smashed his sunglasses to pieces in the process. The unicorn felt his horn burning in rage, and the rest of his body shook in the desire for revenge.

Cross levitated Cloud's sunglasses onto his nose, a final momento from his deceased friend. Cross silently vowed to carry out his friends wishes, his final words before he took his own life to save the others. He pulled out his hammer and buckler, gripping them in his magic as his horn blazed red in aura. He was going to slaughter Discord for killing his best friend. But before he could, there was one thing he need to destroy to get revenge, the very reason why they had come to the badlands in the first place.

He hissed under his breath, "Chrysalis, It's time to die!"

The fight went on like it had before, though the rays of the badland's sunset were what illuminated the pit that had once been the changeling hive. And the changelings, they were harder to fight than before.

I assumed it was just the changelings' ability at this point. In their changed forms, they could use the skills and abilities of the one they were disguised as. Their flight speed, their magic power, their defense, their attacks, all of them were tougher than before. And to only make matters worse, they were all in the forms of 9 of ELO's strongest players. They were all in the forms of me and my friends.

But that was only half of the trouble. The problem with fighting changelings in disguise was that they all looked like my group. It was unnerving to see my friends attack me, and even more unnerving to see 'them' glaring at me in pure hatred.

Of course, that was only when the stray changeling attacked me. Otherwise, I had no moral remorse as I hunted down my doppelgangers.

I dove down from above on an unsuspecting Shadowflame, who yelped in pain as my sword beheaded his head, which flashed in green flames, changed back into its black changeling form, and then burst into blue code.

I would have reveled in the ambush kill, since I don't usually get many of those, but I felt a stab of pain as a sword shot into my side, just below my wing. I gave a startled yelp as I flew away from the sword to see another one of my doppelgangers holding it.

The Shadowflame rushed at me with his sword, which I met with my own in the same fashion. The result was a steel-ringing clang as our blades locked, and it quickly turned into a power match to see who could push the other's sword away.

As I pushed my sword, I glared at my doppelganger, who ginned wickedly back at me. Suddenly, to my surprise, the doppelganger spoke with Chrysalis' voice, "Give up, Courage! Your friends are going to die with you here!"

I growled back at the changeling queen, "None of us are dead just yet, Chrysalis. We'll wipe you out before we give up."

Our blades unlatched from each other, and we both simultaneously backed away in flight, facing off in ready stance. But Chrysalis only laughed again, "You fools. I can never die, unless the next bearer of the Element of Harmony strikes me down. Unfortunately for you, he isn't here."

"... How do you know that?" I glowered.

The changeling bellowed in laughter, "Isn't it obvious? When Discord made the rule change, he already selected the remaining three players who could obtain the next elements. With that in mind, it was child's play for Lord Discord to rig up a trap to keep Crossheart from getting anywhere near me to deal the final blow."

My eyes widened in realization, "Crossheart's the next bearer?"

"Yes, that's right." Chrysalis cackled, "And right now, he's trapped in the tunnels. The only way he could ever get out of there is if he killed his best friend, which we both know he'd never do!"

"CHRYSALIS!!!"

The entire room seemed to stop as the roar of anger and outrage shook through its broken structure. Every player and changeling stopped and looked at the entrance to the chamber.

There, standing in the opening to the tunnels, Cross held his hammer and shield in his grasp, his horn glowing bright in excessive magical energy. He was panting hard as fury seemed to emanate out of his every pore. He was seething with outrage, and it was very easy to see who he was about to direct it at.

Cross ground his teeth in annoyance as he looked at all of the doppelgangers of his team mates, "WHERE IS CHRYSALIS!?"

Before anyone could respond, his horn burned even brighter, and a single pulse of red magic spread through the chamber. Instantly, as soon as the spell reached a changeling, the creature's illusion faded, returning it to its original form. The spell shot through every changeling, passing harmlessly through the rest of our team. But I found a great hint of satisfaction as a perplexed look came to Chrysalis' face as the spell changed her back to her carapace form.

As soon as Cross' eyes spotted Chrysalis, his brow knotted into a look that would have killed an immortal if it could. Within a split second, Cross' horn surged again, and he did something that I had never seen him do before...

He teleported.

Chryslias screamed in terror and pain as Cross appeared above her and struck her down with the blunt of his hammer. The changeling was hurled to the ground, with her unicorn assailant bearing down on her. They landed on the rubble on the ground, with all the changelings below scattering as their queen was overpowered.

But Cross didn't miss a beat after he landed, since Chrysalis broke his fall. He quickly rammed his hammer and buckler into every visible part of the changeling's body. To say his was enraged was an understatement.

"YOU. KILLED. CLOUD!!" Cross screamed at the top of his lungs as he wore away at the changeling queen with unrelenting fury.

Chrysalis convulsed as she caught another hammer blow to the head, coughing, "*cough* I assume that's how you escaped that trap... However, that only means it was you who killed your friend, Cross-"

"SHUT UP, YOU OVER-SIZED, INSECT WHORE!!!"

Cross kept wailing away at the queen, all the while, everyone watched in awe and horror, more specifically the latter, though. Suddenly, Chrysalis managed to kick Cross off of her with her legs.

Cross was launched backwards, but he simply came to a halt back on four hooves. His piercing eyes burned a hole into Chrysalis soul, if she had any, as he flared his horn, BURN, YOU MONSTER! CROSS BOMB!"

His horn flared so brightly, it illuminated the chamber in the fading dusk. From its point, a single bolt of magic shot from his horn, flying straight until it came into contact with Chrysalis' beaten form on the floor. As soon as the magic hit the changeling, it burst into a blazing 'X' of magic.

Chrysalis let loose a blood curdling scream that would have given any sane person nightmares, as her body was burned alive by pure, red magic. The cross explosion lasted for a long while, longer than any normal explosion, as Cross fed it with his pure hatred for the changeling queen.

And then, her health bar finally hit zero, and her last screams echoed through the chamber as her body burst into blue code. And with her, like their queen, the rest of the changelings suddenly burst in the same manner.

We'd done it... Cross had defeated the boss....

... But none of us felt like celebrating, not after seeing Cross in so much pain as he drove his anger into a brutal changeling killing.

Suddenly, the top area of the chamber was illuminated by a bright, white light, which slowly descended until it floated in front of Cross. He grabbed it with a hoof, and its light subsided to reveal a golden necklace with a jewel in its center. He tapped a hoof on it, bringing up its item ID:

Element of Laughter (Inactive)
Object Type: Item

Finally, we had retrieved another Element of Harmony, bringing us one step closer to defeating Discord... Which was fine and dandy, but there was something else on my mind.

"Cross?" I stowed away my weapons as came up beside him, putting a hoof on his shoulder, "Is what you said true? Is Cloud... dead?"

Cross shut his eyes, stowing away the Element of Laughter in his inventory. He didn't even look at me as he replied, grimly, "Yes..."

He turned away from me, wrenching himself out of my hold. I could see tears begin streaming out from behind his eyelids as he desperately tried to hold them back. He sobbed quietly, "Let's just go... back home."

I wasn't going to argue with him, because...

I, as a team leader, had lost another member of our team... Sky had left the team, but he had returned... This time, there was no way of getting Cloud back.

He was gone forever.

I shut my eyes, letting my neck droop to the ground. My eyes were beginning to tear up as well, as I assumed was happening to the others... I had lost... No, we all had lost a friend...

Team Equitum was back to having only four members within minutes of Sky coming back. We had gained a departed friend, but we had all lost another as he departed.

I was going to miss that dragon, because there was no way our team was going to be the same without him...

Cloud...

...

If you can somehow read this from beyond the grave, then I'll let you know one thing.

We're going to avenge you, even if we have to rip Discord's innards out and burn them on a spittle. We will still fight, because we know you wanted us to.

Author's Notes:

Well, that was a long, but very epic chapter.

AGH! You know the worst part about getting attached to characters of your own story? When you kill them off, you actually cry!!! (Don't worry, I'm fine now.)

So, that's all from me,
Thanks for reading,
-Shadowflame

Every Choice Made...

Author's Notes:

Hey, Shadowflame here!

So, this is a fan written chapter by Raybony, who is the same awesome guy who provided the cover art for ELO, all the character art in the past couple of chapters, and also his own OC for this story.

Now, this chapter, as well as next week's chapter, will be centered around his OC, so we can all learn his back story and won't need to address it later in the main story line. Trust me when I say it will be important and will pertain to future events in ELO, and also that these next two chapters written by Raybony are really great pieces of work.

Yes, I know this chapter does begin with January 22nd, but honestly, everyone needs a refresher, seeing as that first chapter was posted over a year ago. But hey, it is quite entertaining!

Thanks for reading,
-Shadowflame

The sound of the front door opening was heard as a woman in her late 40’s walked through, followed by a boy on his young teens, jumping on the spot like a child on a candy store on a sales day.

“I can’t believe I finally have it, since the very day they announce it I’ve been waiting for it!” The kid said as he held onto a small bag which contained the disc for the latest game to hit the market for the NerveGear. “‘Equestria Legends Online’, here I come!”

Before the kid could have time to sprint away, the woman took hold of the casing and held it away from the teen. “Hang on, remember what we agreed on if you wanted to play this game.” The woman said with a strict voice as she looked at the young boy.

The young teen gave out a sigh as he answered. “Yes mom, only play the game if Cillian comes too.”

Grr, and that would be me, I really wish that this day never came. So like you heard, name’s Cillian, the the kid’s name is Ray and the lady is our mother. Now, why am I wishing a game to never have been released? Because I despise bronies, lets leave it there ok?

I buried myself more into my manga book, trying to ignore the presence of my brother as I knew I would be having to join him soon enough, with a bunch of gay weirdos no least. Damn my mom and her insecurity on MMO’s.

But my peace was short lived as I felt my brother pulling at my arm with excitement. “Come on Cillian, the servers are gonna go online in 20 minutes, and I want to go in as soon as it does.” He said with a small glow in his eyes, clearly showing his excitement.

“Urrgh, can’t you play it another time? its not like they are gona get full in just an hour, it is an MMO after all, baka.” I said, saying idiot in japanese as I tend to do for fun.

“Cillian, I told you to speak english in the house, and go with your brother now. He has been waiting for this game for some time.” My mother said as she took my manga away, bringing my full attention to her.

I grunted a bit, but she was right about that. It would be like me having waited for the next edition for my magazines to be released and not be allowed to read them immediately. Sounds childish, but my brother is still a child after all.

“Fine, but we are staying just for a few hours, I need to get back to my studies if I want to pass my computer engineering course.” And I wasn’t kidding, barely managed to pass the first semester, and it was just gonna get harder.

“I’m cool with that, now come on, we got less that 15 minutes.” Ray said as he ran up the stairs, getting a scowl from my mom from doing it in the process.

I went up the stairs with the biggest frown in my life, I would have been cool if my brother had taken the brony thing more personal, and not shove it out in the public like it was some kind of prize, my friends still make joke of it, although they don’t mean it.

I opened the door for my brothers room, seeing him installing the second NerveGear into the console for both of us to use it. “So I’m guessing you are going by the same username?” I asked as I already knew the answer.

“Raybony, what else?” Typical, use a name that sounds even more childish than the game you are playing...maybe not. “What are you calling yourself?” He asked me as he turned the console on, letting it boot up.

I was about to say the usual username that I used for most games, but I hesitated at the possibility of someone from my college being inside the game and recognising the name. USA was the main breeding ground for the bronies after all.

“...I’ll make one inside, still can’t decide. You just wait for me wherever you spawn.” I told my brother as I lay down on a matt on the floor, seeing as there was only one bed and this wasn’t even my room.

“Okie Dokie Lokie!”

“Never say that again!” I said as I remember exactly where it came from, God, the pink one was always the worst.

“Fine fine, but you will hear it a lot from other people.” My brother said as he checked the watch on the room. “3 minutes, better get ready, because we are about to get 20% co-”

“Finish that sentence, and I’ll sell your collection of horse dolls in ebay.” I said with a straight face as I put on the helmet, resting myself down on the mattres.

“...ok then.” He said as he followed suit.

I observed the inside display of the helmet as the digital clock changed to 11:59 am. One minute of freedom, then straight into a mad house. I thought to myself as the seconds went by. From the corner of my eye I could see my brother grinning like a mad man as the hour came.

I took a deep breath, telling myself that it was just for a few hours, hopefully the MMO aspect of the game would distract me enough from the horse one. Or the people at least. I got ready as I waited for the clock to mark the opening hour for the server.

12:00 pm

“Link start!” we both said at the same time as my mind was soon transported into the stream of data, colours passing about like I was in a vortex. Text screens appearing as they checked the different senses of my body.

Sight: OK

Hearing: OK

Smell: OK

Taste: OK

Touch: OK

But it soon stopped, as a logging screen appeared in front as I saw my body virtualize for a brief moment, a holographic keyboard appearing before me. Good thing I thought of creating a new user, otherwise it would have gone and logged me in with my regular account.

I thought for a bit, thinking what would be best if I would be here in a regular basis because of my brother. He did tell me a lot of times how the characters of the show had names of objects or actions, weird.

So I decided with the first thing that came to my mind which I liked. Cinnamon, as I liked the sweet spice on most desserts. I quickly typed into the keyboard as I created a password and pressed OK.

Language: English

Username: Cinnamon

Password:********

After I had finished with my new account, I materialize into a small hub of sorts and a text appeared before me.

Welcome to Equestria Legends Online.

Now you must choose your avatar. Select which pony race you would like:

I didn’t pay much attention and selected the first thing that came as an option, which was unicorn. Damn it, had to pick the girls stereotype one.

The screen soon changed as I was presented with two new options.

What would you like your avatar to be?

-Ponified Self

-OC

“How about human?” I said in annoyance, couldn’t they had that at least? Either way, I selected Ponified as I wasn’t gonna waste time on creating a horse from scratch.

Please hold still.

A beam of light flashed to life as it started scanning my body, I wasn’t surprised as I had gone through the same thing before when I first tried the Battlefield 6: Warfare Reborn. Either way, the light soon drifted away from me as wisps of smoke drifted around before forming the shape of an equine.

The light soon diminished as I stared at ‘myself’, my pony self was of a light brown coat with a lighter tone by the muzzle, and I had a pair of bright crimson eyes. I also had a horn, but surprisingly it wasn’t a long sharp one like I was expecting it to be.

“And here I thought they even kept stereotype unicorns in this girlish show”. I looked to see that I had a large black mane in the shape of spikes or something, a porcupine? I don’t know. But I gotta say, I would love to have hair like that if I could, well, not as big but you know.

I then noticed something peculiar about it, it seemed like the outline of the mane was red at all times, no matter where I looked from. “Must be cartoon logic” I concluded before I finally noticed the new screen that had appeared in front of me.

Please make your cutie mark.

“Oh god no.” I grumbled as I knew what it was talking about. A freaking tattoo on the butt, I mean, why? Were the creators of the show fans of the thing or something? It’s just wrong ok?

But I knew I had to create it unless I wanted to stand out like a sore thorn. I looked at the pre-made designs that the screen had before finding a few ones resembling swords. I dragged them out and arranged them to my liking before having to paint them. Good thing I draw once in a while.

I finished with the butt tattoo and pressed OK, not wanting to waste much time as I knew my brother was already in the game for sure.

Is this design acceptable?

“No, but do I have a choice?” I said to no one as I pressed OK, prepared for what I was sure would be the worst hours of my life.

Suddenly a voice sounded out of nowhere with a monotone tone. “Now that you have chosen your pony, you may now enter Equestria”

“Whoopie.” I said with as much sarcasm as I could as a bright light blinded me for a moment. Just as I was entering the game, I Heard the voice speak again. “Good luck” I don’t know, but I swear I heard a small sense of amusement in that last statement.

When the light finally subsided, I looked around for a bit, seeing the intense colors hitting my eyes, but strangely, it didn’t hurt to look. Not sure if that was good or not. I then looked down and noticed that I now had hooves for arms and legs.

Just don’t think about it, and you will be fine...oh who am I kidding, this is worst than actually losing your legs! Chikusho! (Damn it!). I screamed mentally as I tried to walk, only to end up meeting the floor with my face.

I raised my head as I had a big frown. “I hate this game already.” I mumbled as I stood up again, before trying to rise to my feet. Only to remember I now had hindlegs and ended up falling back again on my back.

“Mother f***er!” I growled as I tried to stand up again, but a screen appeared in front of me drawing my attention.

Inappropriate conduct warning!

Restrain from using mature language when in public areas as to avoid any inconvenience regarding young players.

“The what?” Why would it even give me a message like this? This is an MMO with monsters and it’s telling me to watch my mouth? “Bastards.” As soon as I said that, the same window appeared in front of me again, making me groan in frustration.

I took a deep breath to try and relax, before standing on four legs. One thing I have to tell you, it is so degrading having to be force to behave like an animal. the least they could do was to make some kind of system to make the thought of walking automatic.

Still, I started to slowly walk about, trying to get use to the feeling of walking on four legs. I looked around, seeing lots of players, no doubt bronies, walking about as well as some spawning in. I was so distracted that I bumped into another player as he was running about.

“Sorry man.” I heard him say before continuing sprinting, or galloping in this case, towards some other direction. I only had time to notice part of his player ID ...ed5ky.

“Kuso (F***ing) brony” I stopped as I noticed yet again the behavior warning appearing in front of me. “Oh come on, you understand japanese as well!?” I really wanted to punch the screen and shatter it, but knew it wouldn’t do anything.

“Well nice to see you are enjoying yourself.” I heard a voice say behind me. I turned around about to give a piece of my mind to the guy when I noticed his player ID Raybony.

He was a cyan pony, with no wings or horn, his deep blue mane was a bit messy, but seemed to be kept to some degree, like a natural hair sort of look. As his citrine yellow eyes clashed against his body colour. I looked behind him and noticed that he had a crystal with what I guessed was a laser hitting it as his butt tattoo. Yeah, don’t get it either.

“So what do you think of the game so far?” Ray asked as he wore a toothy grin. The cartoon lay out helping making it look even more annoying.

“I feel like I want to stick my head in a hornets nest and let them sting me for an hour straight.” I said with a groan as I walked away from the plaza, wanting to be away from the rest of the weirdos that weren’t my brother.

“Oh come on, I’m sure you will enjoy something from this. You got magic after all.” Ray said as he followed me.

“Oh really? let me guess, I shoot rainbows out of my...rear?” I looked front to notice no message, good.

“No, you can use that horn of yours to do some spells. Let me see the manual again.” Ray said as he swiped the air downwards with a hoof, making a player menu to appear. How he managed to walk on three legs is beyond me.

He tapped a few buttons before a small book materialize out of blue codes and dropped into his hoof.

“How the hell are you holding that?” I asked as I could not comprehend how it was possible to hold an object with no thumbs, or any fingers for the matter.

“I’m not, I‘m just balancing it at the moment” he said before flipping his hoof, making the manual defy gravity as it remained in his hoof. “Now I am, you jelly?” He said as he wobbled his arm about like it was made of the mentioned substance.

“But how, you know what? I’m just gonna go with cartoon and game logic.” I said as I seated down, awkwardly as it was a bit uncomfortable in my new state.

“Oh it’s still like if you have a hand, only its not there, a bit complicated to explain but I can teach you.” He said before opening the manual and reading the entries. “Well, I don’t seem to have any spells that you can learn here. Maybe only unicorns get them.”

I gave a deadpan at him, well thank you captain obvious. I flicked my hoof in the air as I opened my player menu, noticing the stats I was giving. Definitely raising my agility to get away from trouble, or weirdos.

I opened my inventory menu and found only two books in it, one a basic manual while the other was a spell book. I clicked on it and soon blue particles formed in front of me before the spell book fell to the ground. A new problem presenting itself.

“Now...how do I pick up this?” I asked as I looked at my brother, hoping he would have an answer to my predicament.

“Just try to pick it up with your hoof, just imagine like its a hand but at the same time it isn’t.” He said while I gave him the most confuse face that anyone could ever make. “Ok, just open it on the ground and find a levitation spell, will help you carry things around.”

“That would be nice.” I said as I fidgeted with the book on the ground, managing to flip it open before looking through its contents. “So, should we get you some gear? Seeing as we only had the book on our inventory.” I asked as I managed to find the spell and started trying to use it.

“Yeah, we have 200 bits each to spend at the start of the game, so I think we can get at least a weapon, and some armour if we’re lucky.” Ray said as he noticed me levitating the book, surrounded in a red glow. “Well you got the hang of it pretty quickly.”

“Oh shut up, its a game so its suppose to be easy to learn. So stop acting like you know so much.” I said as I made the manual go back into my inventory. “and did you really say bits? Kami no tame ni!(For God sake!) can’t they give a name to something that isn’t a horse pun?”

“You do realize that we are in a game of ponies, right?”

“Oh shut up. Let’s just get our equipment and go.” I said frustrated as a started walking away, wanting to search the nearest weapon shop so I could kill something, I need it bad at the moment.

“Brother.” Ray said with an un-amused tone.

“What?” I said back as I turned to him.

“We were standing right next to one.” He said as he pointed to the weapon stand next to him.

How the-? I’m not even going to question how I had manage to miss that. I walked back as I address the shopkeeper. “So, what do you have for sale?”

“Take a look.” The shopkeeper said as a new window appeared before me, showing me a list of weapons and other stuff to buy. My brother following suit as he started to look for something he liked.

I went through the weapons that were available for sale, all the weapons didn’t catch my eye, as they looked too simple or just weren’t worth the money. But my attention was soon taken as I looked at a steel sword, a Katana to be precise.

If you didn’t know by now, I’m a huge fan of japanese culture and the lot. And to make it better, it costed only 100 bucks, yeah, not using the actual name, ever!.

I looked at the armour section, seeing mostly shields for sale. Like I’m going to be a coward and hide. I kept looking until I noticed a white RPG style headband, only 60 bucks.

Making my mind I selected the items and address the shopkeeper. “I’ll take these, thank you.”

The shopkeeper nodded as he brought the equipment out from somewhere. game physics, like always. “That would be 160 bits.” At that, a screen appeared before me with text.

Will you purchase these items for 160 bits?

-Yes

-No

Oh heck yeah! I tapped the ok button and the money appeared right on the counter. Golden coins!? Oh how much I wish I had those in real life. The shopkeeper took the money and passed the items to me. Which I immediately equip as I went to my player menu and equip them.

“Ok, all set. So what did you...Oh for christ sake.” I said as I facepalmed, which hurt a bit as I now had a hoof...would that be a facehoof then?

“What? I look awesome!” Ray said as he now wielded a large scythe and even a black hood. “I bring death to you all!” He said before chuckling a bit at his joke.

“Not funny, now lets get out of here and kill something. Before I lose my cool.” I said as I headed to where the outskirt of the town was.

“Alright, watchout monsters, Raybony the reaper is coming for your souls!”

“Make another joke, and I’ll be the reaper of your horse stuff.” I said with a growl, my brother starting to get on my nerves.

“huaaaaaa! You wouldn’t!” Ray said as he followed me, a bit of worry on his voice.

“Wanna try me?” I challenge as a small grin formed in my face.

“...No.”

“Then lets go.” I said as we approached the town’s exit, wanting nothing more than to let my anger out at the moment.

“Why the hell are this things so though!” I shouted as I tried to keep a wooden wolf from biting my head off. Barely holding it at bay with my katana using my magic. Ray confronting two others with better luck than me.

“Well, they are consider low level monsters in this game.” He said as he stopped the attack of one of the wolfs before pushing the other back. “But this is not telling the same story.” He said before he was attacked from behind by one of the wolves, making his health bar finally drop to the yellow zone.

“Ray!” I yelled as I pushed the annoying wolf back before slashing one of its legs, making a red code scar to appear. I used the moment and plunged the blade through the wolves skull, before it bursted into blue particles of code.

I went to assist my brother, only to see him impale one of the wolves with his scythe and using his body as a hammer to pound the other one down. Making both of the enemies to burst into the same cloud of blue codes.

Raybony - Level 3 > 4

Cinamon - Level 2 > 3

“Haha! Another level for the blue death!” Ray celebrated as he started to do a silly dance on all four. I rolled my eyes at the silly display but didn’t say anything as I would let him get this victory.

“Nice one bro, but that doesn’t mean that you are better at this game, Daijobu? (ok?)” I said before noticing our health bars, while my brother’s was 3/8 full, mine was in the red, only about 1/5 full. Yikes, better watch out my health bar in the future.

My brother chuckled as he finished his victory dance. “Well, maybe. But you are no better, specially if you keep trying to fight on two legs. we are ponies here bro, not humans.”

I groaned at that, having to be reminded. “I told you, I’m not gonna let this game dictate all the rules. If they think that I’m gonna accept being a horse nearly all the time, then they are wrong. Plus, I think fighting on two legs like this will make me look skilled.” I said with a proud smile, and also because if I learned how to fight on two legs here, then it would be hell of a lot easier in the real world.

“Show off. Well, we still have like half an hour of playing. Can we go explore for a bit? I always wanted to visit Equestria.” Ray said with pleading eyes. Curse this cartoon world, making the faces even more effective.

“Oh fine, but I don’t know what you would like to see in the little time we have left, so where would you like to-” I didn’t get the chance to finish, as I was soon enveloped in a bright blue light, unable to see anything at all.

I panicked a bit at the sudden light but it soon died down as I found myself and Ray in the middle of the town we had started on. Other players stood around us as they seemed confused, as more blue lights could be seen going on around the whole town square.

“Cillian, what’s happening?” Ray asked me as we looked around confused, the lights finally stopping as all the players muttered to each other, confused as to what was happening, but were soon silenced as a loud voice sounded all around us.

"Gamers and Players, May we have your attention please!"

I looked up as the whole crowd quite down, looking at four bronies with wings and horns flying above the town square, each one being a different colour. The red one, which seemed to be the leader, spoke again as he relate the news that he had.

"Everyone, we are the administrators of Equestria Legends Online. We are in charge of analyzing the system and keeping it running in top condition.”

Well, that explains the extra set of...wings? or did they have wings before and then added a horn? Wait, why am I even wondering this?

“However, right now we are experiencing several technical difficulties in the system. One of which, as some of you might have noticed, was the absence of the logout button in your player menus.”

“What!?” I exclaimed as I quickly opened the menu and tried to find the Logout button, only to find it missing. “T-this is a joke right?” I stammered a bit as I hoped this was some kind of sick joke.

“This is a major problem, since there is no other way for anyone to leave the game. We do not know the cause for this malfunction, but please bear with us as we try to fix this problem. While we try to find what's causing this, for your own safety, please remain in the Ponyville square for the time being." The lead administrator finished as it made everyone burst into outbursts at the news.

Out of the crowd, a winged player came out of the crowd and shouted what was in everyones minds. “What do you mean you don’t know what the problem is!?”

The lead administrator shook his head, "This problem isn't from a lack in the system, so we don't know where the problem might have originated."

Suddenly, the entire square was plunged into darkness. Everyone broke out into chaos as they had lost their ability to see anything. But during the chaos of the darkness, another voice chuckled evilly, making me feel uneasy, "Oh, I think that I might know what the problem is."

I heard Ray gasped next to me as he tried to speak. “T-that voice. But, it can’t be.”

“What, what is it? Who is it?” I asked desperately as I wasn’t liking how things were going. But I was interrupted as lightning struck through the darkness, partially lighting it. The voice sweeping through the crowd again, "That would be me."

Another crack of lightning sounded, lighting the square completely for everyone to see the source of the voice. Flying high above the crowd was what looked like the result of a kid putting a bunch of animal toys in a blender and then putting the parts together to form whatever it was in the sky.

“Who, is that?” I asked my brother as he was trembling a bit, clearly scared from the being.

“D-d-discord.” Was all that he managed to say before ‘Discord’ started to speak again.

Discord laughed evilly at the crowd below him, "Hello, my little bronies." I growled to myself, as he turned his head towards the admin alicorns who were flying in the air on the other side of the square, "And hello to you, my good administrators."

The lead alicorn glared at Discord, "How can you be the cause of the problem? You are a program in the system that we designed ourselves. You may have partial control of Equestria, but you don't have the power to change the layout of the system completely."

Discord snapped his fingers, making himself vanish. But then he reappeared behind the lead admin, "Oh, but you already know the answer to that. You designed me to be exactly like the me in your television show, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic."

He vanished again and reappeared somewhere within the crowd where I could not see, but still managed to hear him. "That really is a terrible name for a show, don't you think?"

You have no idea how much we agree you serpent psycho. I thought to myself just as Discord reappeared riding on one of the admin's backs, "You see, you gave me control over reality in Equestria, but with this power, I hacked into the rest of the system, giving me power over the entire program. Oh, and to make sure that I stay in power, " He snapped his fingers and in a flash, the admin alicorns' horns and wings disappeared, making them plummet into the crowd below, while Discord still floated in the air.

And I was lucky enough to catch one of them. And by catch I mean letting their full body slam into me as it sent my head spinning for a brief moment.

Discord laughed evilly, "Now the admins are just plain earth ponies, and I've also taken power over their admin codes. They won't be able to do a thing to change my world. As for the rest of you, I will let you keep your wings and horns while you play in a little game of mine."

The crowd, and myself included, burst in outrage towards Discord, but the missmash of animals simply snapped his fingers, literally zipping all of our mouths shut. "My, I haven't even told you what the game is, and you're already anxious to get started.”

F**k you! I yelled mentally as I tried to get the zipper in my mouth open.

“The game that I have in mind is a bit of a scavenger hunt. I have taken the Elements of Harmony and placed them all in secret hiding places, inside and outside of Equestria. Your job is to find the Elements and use them to reach me. There, we will have a fight to the death. If you manage to retrieve the elements and defeat me, then I will allow everyone to log out."

I didn’t trust that. It was way too easy to be just that. What was the catch?

He lowered his head just over the crowd, "But it won't be as easy as you think, you see I've added a few features to the game. In the original system, if you died in the game, you would instantly re-spawn in the last town you were in. But that's too boring for me, so I re-wrote the system so when anyone died, their avatar would be lost, and their Nervegear Helmet in the real world will fry their brains. In shorter words, if you die in the game, you will die in the real world."

I recoiled in shock. I was expecting something else, but, death? I felt as my brother came next to me, his body trembling at the prospect of death. Specially after I was so near to it just a while ago.

Discord laughed as he drew a line across his neck, making his head slide off of his neck and into his hand. The dismembered head laughed as it looked down at the terrified crowd, "No need to lose your head over it." He began to laugh even more, "And also, if there is any tampering with the helmet in the outside world, the helmet will kill the player instantly. Actually, quite a few of players have died already this way."

You sick Rokudenashi! (Bastard!) I cursed mentally as I glared at Discord. Everyone else gasping at the news.

Discord continued, "Now, in this game, there are a few rules. First, you cannot receive help from the outside world, that is, if you can even manage that. If I catch anypony communicating to the outside world, all of you will die. Second, any tampering with the system from inside the game, the rule-breaker will die instantly."

Discord chuckled, "And just so you know, I have a couple of monster friends who want to go out of their designated areas, so I'm letting them roam a bit. Maybe you'll meet them when you go out of town, but they won't follow you into a city or town. They hate crowded places."

The animal missmash laughed evilly, "But a few of you might have thought, 'There's only six elements, so this will be easy.' But I'm sorry to burst your bubble," Discord suddenly, belched out a bubble that was bigger than the length of his body.

Ok, eeeeeww!

"But I thought that only six elements would be boring. So I added four new elements." He poked the bubble with a claw, making the bubble burst and reform into ten smaller bubbles. "They will be hidden all over Equestria, but they will be guarded by my favorite kinds of monsters, just like a boss of each element.

"If you find the element, and defeat its guardian in a boss battle, then you may walk away with the element. But I must warn you, my guardians are no push-overs."

Lightning struck again behind Discord, "Well, there you have it. So just remember, your lives are on the line, not mine." He laughed loudly, making lighting strike behind him again, "So, my little bronies, let the games begin!" The sky suddenly was filled with thunder and lightning, blinding everyone as Discord laughed maniacally. When the lightning subsided, Discord was gone, only his laughter echoed through the streets of the town.

I glared at the spot where the serpent like creature once was, swearing if I ever saw it again I would take pleasure on killing him. I turned to look at Ray, as I saw that he was now crying in fear.

I hugged him as I tried to make him feel better. “W-why? Why must this happen?” He said between sobs as he cried in my shoulder, not getting how this was possible.

I held him there as I thought about what was going on, but couldn’t think of anything at the moment. “I don’t know, but we’ll get out of this...alive.”

February 8th

“Run you baka! (idiot!)” I yelled as me and Ray dashed through the foliage of the everfree forest, panting as we knew danger was close behind.

“But Cinn, we can’t outrun it, we don’t have a high enough agility stat.” Ray answered as he continued running, trying his best to not fall behind as he knew he would get caught quicker if he did.

“I told you not to go into that cave, you know that’s where stronger monsters appear!” I yelled back as it was because of my brother that we were now being chased by a very angry-

“Look out!” Ray said as he shoved me to the side, as a large glowing bear paw smashed into the ground where I once stood. I brought myself up to my hooves to look at the being that had just attempted to end my life.

A giant glowing bear that had stars scatter all around his body, with a large one draw on its forehead. “An Ursa Minor, you had to go and aggro an Ursa Minor.” I grumbled as I watched the growling mass of celestial power.

“Hey, be glad it wasn’t an Ursa Major. I guarantee you that you will shake in fear from it.” My brother said as he brought out his scythe, having upgrade it some time ago for dealing with the monsters easily.

“And I guarantee you I would have never had the need to meet the minor either.” I said as I stood up on my hindlegs and took my katana out, having getting use to the change of balance from the time we’ve been trapped in here.

“Do you even think we can beat it?” Ray asked as he held his weapon tighter, anticipating a tough fight.

“If we were prepared, yes. But at our current state?” I looked at the health bar for me and my brother, both of us having just a little over 1/2 full. While the health bar of the Ursa Minor had just a small nudge of health missing, and that was after four attacks from us. Plus we had already used our health potions trying to survive the Ursa in the first place. “I think the only chance we have is if we slow it down enough.”

Ray looked at me with a bit of a frown, knowing what I was referring to. “You sure? your skill level on that attack its pretty low still, and not to mention that you can only use it once at the moment.”

The Ursa Minor roared at us as he charged, intending on killing us in one blow. “It’s that, or death!” I shouted as I focused my magic into my blade, the metal gaining a small layer of ice. “Distract him for long enough for me to charge the attack!” I commanded and soon saw Ray dash at the angry bear, quickly slipping under a sweeping arm as he used the moment to cut into the monster with his scythe.

I watched the health of the Ursa barely move, like it was just tickling him. Ray tried to dash out of the way of one of the Ursa’s arms, but was caught in it and sent to smash against a tree, his health dropping to the red zone after that. “Anytime bro!” Ray called as he rolled forward, towards the beast as it tried to punch him against the tree bark.

I saw my blade as it now looked like it was made of ice, before a small gust of cold air surrounded the blade, signaling me that the spell attack was ready. “Move away!” I said as I swung the sword with both of my hooves, soon creating a cold air slash that went directly towards the Ursa.

Ray managed to dodge at the last second as my attack hit its mark and caused the Ursa to stagger back. I waited a bit, not seeing anything else happen until I saw its fur get cover with a coat of frost, making him look a bit paler.

“He’s slowed down, let’s get out of here!” I shouted as I put my katana back in its sheath before dropping back to my hooves, not wasting time as I started running away, Ray soon following me behind.

“How long did you say the effect lasts?” Ray asked as he caught up with me, not daring to look back in fear of seeing the angry celestial beast.

“Normally 15 seconds, but that may be different if he has some resistance to ice or frost attacks, so we better make haste.” I said, not taking my eyes off the front, where I could see the faint light of the sunlight, the exit.

“This wouldn’t have happen if-” Ray started but I stopped him as I gave him a hard glare, not in the mood to discuss the issue.

“We’ll talk later, now it’s not the time.” I said looking back forward, just on the border of the forest as I could see the town.

Ray looked down a bit, thoughtful at what I had said. “Right.” He said a bit dejected at my response.

Later that day, we were in front of a cafe, never really cared to learn the name, but it was a cafe none the less. I took a bite of a rose petal and lettuce sandwich. Don’t know if they programed it into the game, but the roses nearly tasted like beef, nearly.

I was thinking about what we should do next time we went to train in the forest. Even if the monster’s rewards were now mostly breadcrumbs to us, I rather didn’t risk going away from the town, I felt, uneasy about it.

I was brought out of my thoughts as my brother gave out a loud sigh, showing that something was on his mind. “Cillian, we need to talk.”

“I told you, don’t call me by my real name in here anymore.” I told my brother with a small frown, I decided to hide our real names, I just didn’t think it was necessary and it would be awkward whenever we were around others, I don’t know, maybe its the insecurity that my mother always felt regarding online games.

“Look, we have been here for maybe three weeks, maybe more, maybe less. But you know what I want to talk about.” He said with as much seriousness as he could, even if he didn’t like to argue with me most of the time.

“I know, and the answer is still no.” I said straight, not wasting any time on explanations. Standing up to leave the cafe, having already payed for the food items.

“Come on, we both know that we nearly died today because we didn’t have someone else with us. Even I think we should join a guild if we want to survive long enough to-”

“I said no!” I yelled as I looked back to him. “I’m not taking orders from any of this horse lovers. The only exception is you because you’re my brother, but that is as far as I go.” I said in a lower tone as I didn’t want to draw too much attention to us.

“Will you stop with this nonsense? we are all trapped in here and want to get out just as badly as the next guy. So will you just try and socialise with others?” My brother tried to reason with me, and even if he was right, I wasn’t doing it.

“I told you, I’m not gonna get along with this weirdos. And nothing that you say will change my mind, now lets go, we need to resupply if we want to go training tomorrow.” I said as I walked away, ending the argument for me.

“No”

I stopped, not quite believing what I was hearing. “Excuse me?” I said as I turned to glare at Ray, who was giving me a glare of his own.

“I’m not going anywhere until you change your mind, I don’t care if you hate bronies, we need more players if we want to survive.” He explained as he yet again, stated the truth.

I gritted my teeth in frustration at his stubbornness, but soon calm down as he gave me no choice. “Fine, if you want to join other players you can. Only, if you beat me in a duel.”

I saw my brother flinch a bit, not expecting the challenge. “What? Why would you want that?”

“Because it’s the only other way to settle things here. Now, if I win we remain like we are, until we can get out of this prison, and you never bring joining with others ever again.

“But if you win, you can join a group of other players, and I won’t impose. Deal?” I said as I quickly brought my player menu and selecting the duel feature, sending a duel invite to Ray.

Ray looked at the new screen with the invite with uncertainty, not really liking the idea of fighting his brother over such thing. “Come on Cinn, can’t we solve this by talking like we always do?”

I looked at him with a straight face, not showing any uncertainty. “Not anymore, so make your choice now or forget making teams with others at all.” I said to him, which in turn made Ray press the accept button, seeing as a counter soon appeared above us, counting down the seconds before the fight.

“I really don’t want to do this, but I see its the only way for you to listen to reason.” Ray said as he brought his scythe out, just as I stood up and brought my katana out.

You don’t know how wrong you are. I thought to myself as I waited for the counter to reach zero, noticing the small crowd that was gathering around us as they weren’t use to duels outside of the arena on the town.

9...

8…

7…

I saw as Ray tighten his grip on his scythe, making me think that he could break it with his hooves.

6…

5…

4…

I focused my magic into my weapon, not about to let this duel be an easy one for my brother. He needed this.

3…

2…

1…

I felt as a bead of sweat ran down my forehead, feeling like an eternity as I waited for the start of the duel.

START! The sound of a bell chiming sounded as the duel officially started.

I wasted no time and dashed forwards, clearing most of the distance between me and Ray in a second. I swung my blade at him just for him to deflect it with the handle of his weapon before he back stepped.

I didn’t give him time to recover as I attacked again, thrusting my weapon towards him. Ray parried the attack and stepped to the side, trying to keep a distance from me.

“Running away? Do you think that will save you forever in here?” I said as I slashed at him, Ray managing to block the attacks but still receiving a damage as the frost from my weapon went through his defence.

I watch as my attacks continued to hit him, he never once tried to counter me, and I knew why.

“Hiding won’t do you any good either, so if you want to survive in this world, you have to be determine to do anything.” I yelled as I turn on the spot and delivering a kick to his chest, Ray never seeing it coming.

I went to land a hard blow on him but he stopped me as he brought his weapon into a clash with mine. “I won’t hurt my brother like that!” He said as he tried to push me off, but I held my ground using my stance.

“Then you will never be any good on another team.” I said to him as I pushed him away and went to stab him. But didn’t see the sharp end of his scythe coming from underneath and going through my arm.

“Ghrr!” I grunted at the small pain as he retrieved his weapon back, holding it forward in the offensive. “One hit won’t make a difference.” I said as I went to attack again, only for my vision to start going blurry.

S**t, I forgot. I cursed to myself as I looked to my health bar, seeing a small purple skull resting on top of it, signifying the poisoned status. I didn’t get time to react to the sudden stat counter, as I felt a sharp pain come from my side.

Grunting, I look down through my blurry vision to see a large red gash of red code on the side of my body. I turned my head back to see my brother breathing a bit heavily, at the same time I noticed my health bar dropping quickly down, until it reached the yellow zone.

Nice one bro. I thought to myself as I watched a large window of text appearing in the air above Ray.

Congratulations!

You’ve Won the Duel!

I dropped to my haunches, letting my defeat set in, and its meaning. “Cillian, are you OK?” I heard my brother said as I knew he stood behind me. As well as seeing the other players starting to leave, seeing as the duel was already over.

“Yeah, I am.” I said with an emotionless tone as I flicked the air, going towards the team managing menu, as I was the leader of mine and my brother.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Ray asked as he was confused by my actions, not certain by what I was trying to do.

“Disbanding the team, so we can go our separate ways.” I said as I pressed the confirmation button for the disbanding of my team, making the ID of my brother and health bar dissapear from my vision.

“What!? I thought we would join another guild if I won, not leave each other.” My brother said surprise as he went to look at my face, which made me see his shock and worried face.

“I said, that if you won you could join any group of other players and I wouldn’t complain, I never said that I would join you as well.” I said as I stood up, starting to walk away only for me to be held by the shoulder.

“That’s not fair, you promise me that you would protect me, and leaving me is your way of protecting me?” He asked a bit angry from my answer.

“...Yes”

“Are you mad!? Why would you think that you are protecting me that way?”

“Because I’m protecting you from myself!” I said to him through gritted teeth, making Ray let go of me.

“What?”

“At first, I thought I could keep you safe in here, that together we could survive this. But as time went, I noticed that the two of us wouldn’t be enough. We aren’t good enough to survive by ourselves.” I said dejectedly as a hanged my head down, ashamed at my own failure.

“Then if you knew, why didn’t we just join a guild for help.” Ray said before frowning at me. “And don’t tell me it’s because they’re bronies.”

“It is.” I answered plainly, no point in trying to go around this.

My brother groaned in frustration as he held his head. “Will you cut that out? We are trapped in here and you still can’t get around the fact that this place is full of bronies?”

I remained silent for a bit before I started talking again. “What does a team need?”

Ray looked at me confused, not expecting the question at all, so I continued. “It’s not just about having good fighter or supporters. But also trusting your team and respecting them, being able to cooperate in a dire situation.”

“And I fail at that, because I despise the show and the people that watch it, the chances that I can at least tolerate them before I cause one of them getting killed or myself are really low. I think you can see where I’m going with these.” I said as I look at my brother with a sad look.

“Then, then I’m staying with you, I’m not gonna leave you alone for you to die.” Ray said as he tried his best to stay with me, but I wouldn’t let it happen.

“No, you have better chances at surviving if you go with a larger group, maybe even a guild. If you stay with me, we could both die.”

“But what if you die!?” Ray exclaimed suddenly, kind of surprising me.

“And what would be worse? Making everyone that knows us in the real world mour one death or two?” I really didn’t want to let that bomb drop, but I felt like it would be the only way to convince him.

Ray stood there in silence for a moment, not sure how to response. “But, but it’s not fair. Can’t you stay at least? You don’t need to be part of the guild, you could still be with me.”

“It’s still the same, plus we will have to move from this town soon, the monsters are too weak for us to train. And I don’t like the idea of both of us traveling together out there, I just have a bad feeling about it. But you have a better chance of making it across if you go with a larger group.” I said with a small smile, trying to not sound too grim about it.

My brother looked down, not liking what he was hearing, but understanding a bit of my logic at least. “So, is this goodbye?” He asked, giving me a sad look.

I shook my head, giving him a small smile. “Nah, you never say goodbye, but rather until next time.” I said before I wrapped my arm around him, holding him in a small lock as I rubbed his head with a hoof. “Now don’t you go thinking I’m going forever, we will meet again.”

I let go of my brother as he gave a small chuckle, giving a faint smile. “Ok, so until next time I guess?” He said, still smiling faintly, but no longer scare for himself or me.

I grinned before I nodded to him. ”Jikai madedesu.(Until next time.)” I answer him, before I turned away, going towards another part of the town, determine to get ready for a long journey ahead.

February 12th

I set out from the big city from the cliff, Camelot I think, whatever, I decided to stop by the city as I heard that monsters were good for training for players of my level. I don’t think I ever mentioned my level apart from the day I got here.

Well, back at the other town I was level 17, but after about a day of solo training I had manage to raise it to level 21, which I think was a good pace for my plan to get to one of the hardest places of the game, the badlands.

It was bad enough that I had to retrace my steps to get there, curse myself for not buying a map at the first town. Ok, I do know their names but I will not say the name, I mean come on, the horse puns, give it a break!

My plan was simple common logic, the harder the area, the more rewarding the results. And if I wanted to survive for long enough in this game as a solo player I needed to level up quickly so I could survive the longests.

So here I am, walking through the fields next to the everfree. I don’t know why people called this place dangerous, in my opinion it was quite relaxing, reminded me of the real world a bit. But still, today it felt more sinister.

I ignored it as I kept walking, but I was always prepare in case a monster decided to jump at me from somewhere, and good thing I was.

I heard the whistling sound of an object breaking the air as it traveled fast. I moved away from the sound as I barely dodged a crossbow bolt. Thank God I had invested points in my agility and equipment boosting.

“Drats, the guy is fast.” I heard someone say from within the canopy of the forest, I squinted my eyes as I manage to see the silhouettes of players hiding, just as they started to come out with a large range of weapons.

“This is what the scouts call a four man team? I think we let a noob take our hunt for today.” One of the players from the group said as he had a short sword and a round shield, an earth pony.

“Still, a kill is a kill. I call dibs on the sword.” Another one spoke as he held two swords in a yellow aura, unicorn.

“Who are you, and what do you want?” I asked as I tensed myself, expecting a fight if the theme of their conversation was anything to go by.

“That doesn’t matter, all that you need to worry about is giving us a nice fight. Wouldn’t want to make this boring now do we?” One of the group stepped forward, holding a large war axe as he rest it against his shoulder.

I tensed as my assumptions were confirmed, having heard rumors of threats in Camelot, or whatever the name, can’t remember. I looked to the last member of the group to see a girl holding a crossbow and aiming it right at me…..Oh shit!

I dashed to the side as I felt the bolt grace my back, making a thin scar of red code appear. I used the moment to take out my katana and stand in my hindlegs, getting ready to fight. “You just made a big mistake f***er.”

A screen appeared right in front of me at that moment, and surprise surprise, the behaviour warning strikes again. “Oh for the love of, why do you even still work!?” I asked frustrated as the system for public behaviour still worked, even when we were in a death game.

The assaulting group looked at me a bit surprised, but otherwise unfazed. “Someone who fights on two legs? Ha! This is going to be easier than I thought.” The one with the axe, who I assumed was the leader, said with confidence as he looked at me in the eye.

I gave him a toothy grin as I made my blade get encase in ice. “Wanna bet?” I taunted before I dashed forward, the group tensed at my movement and made to strike me. I avoided the blows from the two close-quarters combatants as I went for the leader.

I saw him swinging for me in a large arch, I reacted quickly and deflected the blow to pass over me. I took the opening and went to cut the leader across the body as I passed him. I slashed the blade across his body from front to back, leaving a large gash of red code, before a skidded to a stop about five metres from my opponents..

“Arrgh! Mother bucker!” The leader cursed as he turned around to face me, as well as the rest of the group, as they were about to attack me again. Wait a second.

“Wait, how did you not get a behaviour warning?” I asked as I wondered how he went around it.

“Don’t know what you are talking about, but you are gonna pay.” I saw him as he waved with his hoof towards me as the other close-quarter combatants rushed towards me, the lady sniping from her position.

I deflected the bolt that was sent towards me as I then parried the attack of the one with the shield before I back stepped to avoid the blades of the other. I tried to close the distance again as I went to stab them, but had to roll to the side quickly as I nearly got smacked by the shield of the earth pony, before having to jump back to avoid the blades from the unicorn.

“Stop moving so much you vermit.” One of them said as they tried to slash at me, only for me to deflect the blow and leap over them as I landed behind them.

“You know, I think you need to cool down, so Samu-sa.(chill.)” I said as I thrusted the blade in the air in front of me, making small icicles fly towards the two attackers, making one of them freeze solid on ice, while the other gained a layer of frost around him.

“God d-d-d-damn it, that’s c-c-c-cold!” The one with the frost layer shook from the feeling of being so cold. While the one in ice could only move his eye as he looked around in the ice. The scene was funny none the least.

I decided to knock out the one that was free so I wouldn’t have to worry about him, I dashed at him as I avoided another bolt from the sniper. I slashed at the remaining attacker, making him parry my attack as I expected, before I grabbed him with my magic and made his head come towards my hoof, knocking him out in the process.

I then turned towards the leader as he glared at me, his scar now gone. Probably took a healing potion while I was distracted with the other two. Behind him I could see the girl now looking a bit worried, as she would be defenceless if I took down the last guy.

“So am I gonna have to humiliate you or are you going to run away like a sissy?” I taunted as I waved him to come to me, feeling a small satisfaction of hurting some bronies. Hey, I said hurt, not kill them, I’m not a sadistic murderer.

“I’m gonna kill you, you hear me!?” He shouted as he quickly charged forward, resting the two-handed weapon on his shoulder before trying to hit me hard with it.

I backstepped as I knew that attack could probably cripple me or kill me if it hit me. The ground shook a bit at the hit, but it didn’t end there as I saw a small crack form from the spot where the axe hit, coming towards me before it erupted into a pillar of rock, hitting me in the chest and sending me back, falling to my back with the air knocked out of me.

I saw my health bar drop over a third of the way down, scaring me at how strong this guy was. I looked back towards the fight, as I saw the blade of the axe coming towards me. I rolled quickly to the side as I avoided my certain death, before I rose back up, readying my stance for the fight.

The leader chuckled as he rested his weapon on his shoulder again. “I think I’m gonna win this bet, my friend. But this is what happens to all bronies that find us, so get ready to die!” He shouted the last part as he charged again, swinging the axe in a down sideways motion.

My eye twitched a bit as I heard him call me that, and then, I went Zoro mode. I dashed forwards towards him as he was bringing his axe down, I brought my sword up and managed to stop the attack in place, making the leader look in shock at me. “Don’t you dare call me one of those horse lovers.” I said with a growl as I pushed back, making him leave himself open.

I wasted no time as I slashed him across the front of his body, before I moved to the side as he went to hit me again, using it to counter it and stab him by the side. He elbowed me as I still had my sword impaled in him, making me let go of my weapon in the process.

The leader took the hilt of the impaled weapon with his mouth, pulling it out and dropping it to the side. I looked at his health bar and noticed it had only dropped a quarter of the way. “No more games you annoying child.” He said before charging once again, swinging his axe horizontally this time.

Biggest mistake in his life. I ducked under him as I reached with my magic to grab my sword, making it go towards my hoof as I looked towards my opponent who had a look of dreading realization. As soon as I felt the hilt of the weapon reach my hoof, I thrust it against his chest, immediately activating my frost ability and hoping that the freeze effect would occur, which it did.

I heard and saw the effect take action as he was encased in a thick layer of ice, before I pulled out my weapon from the block, looking at the leader with irritation. “Baka.(Idiot.)” I said to him in an insult, before my attention was broken by the feeling of a bolt hitting me on the back.

I grunted as I saw my health drop to the yellow zone, before turning around and watching as the girl sniper was reloading her weapon desperately. I walked towards her as I really wasn’t feeling like fighting such a weak player.

She aimed and fired at me again, but I simply side stepped as I used my high agility stat.“Now I’ll be nice once and ask you.” I said as the girl tried to reload her weapon again, only to stop her as I grabbed her by the neck, raising her to eye level. “Who are you people, and what do you want?”

The girl trembled a bit as she looked at me with fear. “Please don’t hurt me! I didn’t want to join them in the first place!” The girl said as she struggled harder against my hold, which seemed weird seeing as I was holding her with a hoof. Again, calling cartoon logic.

I brought her closer to my face as I wasn’t in the mood for games. “Join who? Tell me!” I yelled at her so I could make her spill out the beans faster.

She trembled for a bit longer before she stopped, a small grin creeping through her face. “The Hater’s Guild.” Was all she said before I felt a sharp object pierce me on the chest, making me drop the girl in the process.

I went to examine what happened when I lost the feel on most of my body, as I dropped to the ground. I noticed a small flash coming from my health bar as I noticed a small yellow lightning bolt was on top of it. Paralysis.

“Damn it, curse you, you stupid brony, all of you!” I said through gritted teeth as I glared as best I could at the girl, who had a small dagger with a liquid on it on her hoof.

She looked at me a bit thoughtful, before she smiled evilly. “Oh I think you will fit just fine with us.” That was all that she said before she went to punch me in the head, knocking me out cold.

If there is something that I learned that day, it was to never let your guard down around girls, or they will bite you in the a-(Buy some apples! -Shadowflame censoring).

...Has a Consequence

Oh, my head. That lady must be pretty tough to make me feel a headache on this game. I thought to myself as I started regaining my consciousness. I slowly drifted my eyes opens to see I was inside a dimly lit room, torches shining the stone walls that they rested upon, showing that I was inside a small room as I could see the door at the other side from where I was.

Where am I? I asked to myself as I tried to move around, only to find that my arms had been bound to the wall with chains. Is this some kind of dungeon? I tried to see if there was anything that I could use to free myself, not wanting to wait for whoever had chained me to come back.

“Hang on, how come I’m still alive?” I wondered out loud as I remember that other player being part of a group of what I assumed were a player-killing guild, which were bound to exist in all MMO games.

So why was I still alive? It puzzled me, but I would worry about that later. I looked at the chains holding my arms and tried to use my magic to freeze them, maybe weaken them enough to free myself. Only to see a blue glow emit from where my horn was, opposed of the normal red.

“The heck?” I looked towards where my horn was, and through my hair I manage to see a silver ring with a small blue gem, faintly pulsing with light. “Is this some kind of restriction item?” I asked out loud as I didn’t think such thing would exist in the game. I mean, the only way for you to wear it is for you to equip it yourself, right?....right?

I stopped all my thinking as I heard the sound of a lock being unlocked, as the door to my room opened slowly. At the other side stood a light gray unicorn girl with white hair, she seemed to have a tower shield, but no weapons. Must be a spell user, a mage to be precise.

She soon came into the room, followed by an orange pegasus, huh, I remember the name of the species, the show must be rubbing on me, ugh. He had a curved sword, cutlass perhaps? and a small round shield strapped to his back.

The two neared me as I finally manage to see their ID’s. The lady was called Chess Queen, while the other was called...Ezekiel, I think we may have a religious fanatic here guys.

“Nice to see that you’re awake,” Chess Queen said as she gave me a smirk, making me know that she didn’t really care how I was doing. “and I’ve heard that you caused a bit of trouble to some of our members.”

“More like they found trouble.” I said back as I recalled the small skirmish that I had with the group.

“I would agree with you, had it not been that the one in charge of that group was one of our top troops, and we make sure to only have strong pieces.” Chess queen said as she looked to the side with a frown.

“One of the bests huh? then you must be a sissy if you only have a shield.” I laughed at my own joke, but maybe I shouldn’t have insulted my captor when I couldn’t do anything. So I received a shield to the gut.

“Ugggh!” I grunted at the hit from the tower shield as she then went and smacked the top of my head hard, and then slapping me across with it as she finished with my punishment.

“Don’t act so smug, or we may reconsider not killing you.” As Chess Queen said that, I saw the Ezekiel guy take out his sword, giving me a creepy smile that told me he would enjoy doing the job of killing me.

“Ok,ok. No need to do anything brash right?” I said as I gave a sheepish smile, hoping it would convince them I would behave. God, it makes me sound like I’m some kind of s… Let’s not go there.

“Good to hear that, wouldn’t want to lose a possible knight for no reason.” Chess Queen said as she put her shield back along side her, in case she would need it again.

“Knight? I prefer the term of samurai, unless my appearance didn’t give it away.” I said giving a roll of my eyes, starting to find the situation a bit silly, all things consider.

“As you wish, but I think we have prolonged this meeting for more than it was intended.” Chess Queen said before adopting a more serious demeanor. “Now tell me, who do you think it’s responsible for this?” She asked, leaving me a bit confused.

“You mean me being chained to the wall or having a small headache?” I asked, trying to make heads or tails at the odd question.

“No, who is responsible for your imprisonment, ‘our’ imprisonment?” She said as she waved her hoof around, making me see that she was referring to everyone in the game, hopefully.

“You know better than anyone, it was because of that Discord serpent guy. He said it so himself.” I said a bit irritated as I recalled the day, how much I wanted to slice that thing’s head off and use it as a football.

My response caused Chess Queen to chuckle a bit, making me confused even further. “And have you stopped to analyse it thoroughly? An AI, just manages to gain control of the whole system and then decides to have some fun with us. A program that someone else created.”

I listened intently at her, having caught my curiosity in her explanation. “Think about it, a program that was created by humans, just decides to claim that it’s real and does anything it desires, and actually enjoys it? That sounds both very crazy and impossible don’t you think?” Chess Queen finished as she let me put the pieces together, not liking how it was coming out.

Discord is an AI, a computer program that was created by humans. And even if we had develop technology enough to be able to connect the brain to a interlinked server, and still come out the same. We still haven’t develop AI’s advance enough to think for themselves, we were close, but not there yet.

And even then, Discord seemed to be enjoying himself, clearly a sign of emotion which compliments the point of before, Discord couldn’t be able to understand emotion even if programed to. So either this whole thing has been a large staged prank or…

“...The admins are the reason for this?” I asked, shocked and confused at my conclusion, both sounding like a lie and a truth.

“Precisely, Discord is just a puppet, and the admins are holding the strings.” Chess Queen said as she gave me a smirk.

“But why? Why would they want to kill people like this?” I asked, more to myself than to anyone else.

“Don’t know, but the point is that we can’t just stand doing nothing while those killers are left free. That’s why we created this guild, so we can strike back and free everyone.” Chess Queen said as she came closer to me.

“But for that, some blood must be shed to make them understand, that we won’t stand idle and let them get away with this.”

“So that’s why your group attacked me, or any other player? To give a message?” I asked a bit angered at the prospective that they were as much of a killer as the admins, but it made sense, the admins were consider like kings in here, or at least symbols of hope. So they were heavily protected, and if they wanted to get to them, they would have to lower their numbers and morale, until the right moment to strike arises.

“Yes, but what is worst? Playing along this game which may not have an ending and everyone dies, or lose a few lives, to save many more?” She said, falling silent as I thought about it.

“Why are you telling me all this?” I asked, now a bit confused as to why this was all related to me being captured.

“Well isn’t it obvious? I’m extending an invitation to our guild, we could use a fighter like you on this little quest.” Chess Queen answered as she looked at me in the eye, feeling that she would get the answer she wanted.

I pondered the thought. i would have said no to any other group or team for obvious reasons, but right now, this was for something different, yeah I guess they have bronies in here somewhere, but this place felt like the thing where people who don’t like the show go.

I actually wasn’t certain, in the one hand I would be killing innocent lives, if I actually got there. But on the other, there was a large chance that we would all die as this game had no end, and really was a deathtrap created by the admins.

But then I remember my brother, I promised him that I would get us both out of this alive, and it seemed that the best way for that was with this guild. “Alright I’ll join your guild.” I answered as I hung my head, not feeling the smallest bit glad of saying that.

“I knew you would, and now we need to-” Chess Queen started but I interrupted her mid sentence.

“On one condition.” I said making Chess Queen look at me confuse. “That I’m not sent to any mission that has a player with the description I give you.” I said with a straight face, making it clear that it was not up to change.

Chess Queen raised an eyebrow, a bit confused at the request. “And what makes you think that we know who we are ambushing before a mission?”

“I think you should manage your subordinates better, the group that attacked me said that some scout group gave them the info as to how dangerous I was. Really, I’m only worth four soldiers?” I said with an amuse smile, finding the situation a bit funny.

“Hmm, I will need to sort this little matter with the members then. But why do you want to be excluded from missions because of one player?” She asked as she wanted details.

“Personal reasons.” I said without hesitation. Let them think whatever they want, I wasn’t about to let them know I have a brother in here as well.

“Hmm, I guess as long as it doesn’t interrupt with our plans it can be allowed. Very well, you can give us the details later, now we need to initiate you.” Chess Queen said as she flicked the air with her hoof, making her player menu appear.

She soon selected an object on her inventory and it materialize as particles of blue code formed in front of her. Looking at the object, it looked like some small metal rod with a glowing red end, with a small design which I couldn’t make out as the metal was too hot to look at it properly.

“Unfortunately, this method didn’t get the pain restriction like most weapons, so I’m afraid that you will have to bear it.” She said as she floated the bar near my head.

“H-hey, what do you think you’re doing?” I asked a bit scared when she mentioned no pain restriction, and seeing the red hot bar wasn’t helping at all.

“Sealing your alignment with us, so we know who to trust in this game of death.” She said before pressing the hot end of the bar to the back of my left ear. The pain following too unbearable.

“ARRRRRRRGH” I screamed at the top of my lungs as I felt the hot metal touch against my skin, the pain even worst than the times I had been stabbed in this game. I truly was feeling real pain in here.

I felt the metal leave my skin but the throbbing still making it hurt, I could have even swear I heard a small sizzling of what I thought was my fur and skin. “Welcome to the Hater’s Guild Cinnamon.” Chess Queen said as she started leaving the room, motioning with her head to Ezekiel to get me out of my holds so I could start as a member.

February 24th

I blocked an attack from my adversary as I kicked his nuzzle, making him stagger a bit. I used the moment to charge forward and slice at the neck of my opponent, not even using my frost ability to cause more damage as I knew I won.

Congratulations!

You’ve won the duel!

I saw the message appear above me as I went down on all fours, walking to leave the small guild’s arena.

“Not again! Curse that guy and his fighting style!” I heard my opponent yell from behind me, having this being the 5th time he has challenged me to a duel to prove my fighting technique was weak.

It really was sad to say the least, he was considered one of the most skilled ones in the guild before I came, the surprise when he found out I had beaten BloodBoulder, the guy who was one of the strongests in the guild.

Now you would say I’m the best fighter in the guild now because of that right? Nah, I’m just skilled, and possibly lucky. Because when Boulder challenged me to a duel, he beat me with two hits. Like I said, I must have bee lucky the first time.

Still, it had been some time since I joined the guild, the guys weren’t much of the socialising type, which I guess was alright. But still, it was good to talk to someone once in a while, if only to make us remain more sane.

“So I see you beat Edge again.” I heard the voice of a familiar person, and I had no problems with that.

“Yeah, the guy is going to drive himself nuts if he keeps trying, or worse.” I said, looking back to meet the owner of the voice. Sw33tCr0ss, or like you may know her, the chick who stabbed me and kicked my head the day I joined the guild.

“Oh like he could die from the monsters, that guy is tough as nails.” cross said as she came next to me. She was a blue unicorn with a black mane, a red streak running through it. Her tattoo was of two golden arrows which crossed on top of each other.

“I was actually talking of him getting a girlfriend, the guy seems to need one.” I said as I gave her a grin, always having a bit of fun on making this type of jokes.

“Maybe, men are know to go loopy when they don’t get laid.” She responded with a small chuckle of her own, “Good to know that won’t happen with you though” She said giving me a sly smile, which brought a grin to my face.

“Are you inviting me to bed Cross? I thought you just enjoyed kicking my butt.” I said as Cross gave me an eye roll.

“Well I do have fun sweeping the floor with you, but I enjoy having a conversation with you more.” She responded with a small smile, before changing the subject. “So you heard how big E have been going a bit, aggressive?”

“Yeah, the guy seemed to be bother by something, but won’t tell anyone about it.” I said as I crossed my arms in thought. Ezekiel, or Big E as we like to call him, has been acting differently lately, all after that fail ambush attempt on the element bearer. Making our actions to stop the admin’s games harder.

“I think he just doesn’t like the idea of having failed for the cause, especially since it was really important.” Cross deduced as she thought about it, not sure how the right hand of the queen was fairing.

“Either way, this makes our jobs harder. Not just are the monsters stronger than before, but now people are gonna try to search for those elements even more, now that they have a new hope.” I said as the thought made me sad, those guys didn’t know what they were getting themselves into.

“Yeah, and the fact that news of our existence is spreading doesn’t help at all.” Cross said before giving a sigh. “It’s like they get all the luck while we are left struggling, and I’m stuck in here because of a bet with my friends.”

I remember when she told me about that, supposedly she and a group of friends heard about the game and bet that whoever managed to stay in the game for the longests before quitting would win 100 bucks.

And then came Discord, telling them they were trapped in here and could die for real. From there, they tried to make it out to other towns but, things went sour.

It seemed that they had decided to travel by night, and were unaware of the fact that monsters spawned more often at night. They...she was the only one to make it out.

She lost her friends to this game in one day, and had no one else to turn to when she needed. That is until she found the Hater’s Guild and joined them, also determined to free everyone, even if she didn’t like them that much.

This guild were her friends now, her family in battle, and like my brother, I would make sure we all made it through this.

“Hey, we’ll make those guys pay. One step at a time, and if we get one of those elements we can halt these guys plans, and maybe save a few more lives.” I said as I wanted to make one, if not my only friend in the guild feel better.

Cross chuckled a bit as she pushed my shoulder. “Always the one with the positive words, in a way, I think you have made this place a bit more spirited, at least for me.” She said with a small smile. I was about to response when I heard a voice call from the side as it interrupted me.

“Sw33tCr0ss, you are needed for an ambush near Manehattan, the second element have been found.” A yellow unicorn officer said, which made me look in surprise before turning to Cross.

She looked at me again before giving me a nod. “Seems that we get another chance at these.” She said before giving me a kiss on the cheek, making me jump in surprise. “Don’t do anything fun without me.” She said before walking away to go with the officer, leaving me with a stupid face.

I shook my head to try to compose myself, damn that girl, always doing unexpected stuff around me, trying to fluster me. Not saying that I hate it, just that I didn’t get her game.

I was about to walk away to where my quarters were, before I felt someone grab me by my shoulder. “Hey fresh meat, you are going on your first mission.” I heard the voice of an all too familiar person say.

I turned around to meet face to face with Boulder, a yellow earth pony with red hair, which was combed in a way which made the hair look a ball at the front yet it hung loosely from behind, his tattoo was a large rock with a bloodied pickaxe resting next to it.

Boulder was giving me his usual gruff smug look. “This mission, where exactly?” I asked, before another thought crossed my mind. “And you made sure to-”

“Yeah, yeah. No one fitted the description you said. Again, no idea why you didn’t just give us the ID name, saves a lot of time for our scouts.” Boulder said as he waved me to follow him.

“Like I said, personal reasons. Now, what is this mission about?” I asked, wanting to get the issue out of the way and deal with the problem at hand.

“We are doing an ambush between the road from Canterlot to Dodge Junction.” He said, which made me groan a bit at the puns. “Heh, always love the faces you make when we mention words with puns.” Boulder said with a chuckle as we continued walking.

“That is because they’re stupid, the only thing I can’t take about being here, is that we still use puns.” I said as I looked to boulder. “Still hard to believe that you used to be a brony, only to turn against them, kind of ironic.”

“Oh well, it’s not me who is getting killed by that fact, so I pay it no mind.” Boulder responded before we came to another room with four other members of the guild, the room was a chamber that lead outside so we could all prepare beforehand for the mission.

“Ok, so what is the target for this mission? Not very often I see so many of us go out, except for that time with the element.” I said as I went to a small safe, where most of the guilds supplies were stored, going to collect a few healing potions.

“We got word that they are sending more players to Appleloosa, they are spreading their forces to search for the other elements as soon as possible, and our job is to either get rid of those players, or make them retreat back.” Boulder said as he equipped a warhammer to use in this mission, the guy having a like to use different two-handed weapons for every mission.

Hopefully the latter. I thought to myself as I equipped my gear, having acquired some hindleg guards, which raised my health and stability, which was good as I would need those in the long run.

“Alright everyone, we are leaving in five minutes, so make sure you got everything that you need and pack some food, we are most likely staying out there for three days the most, before we get back here.” Boulder announced as he went to equip the rest of his equipment.

I checked all of my equipment again, and made sure I had a strong set as I deduced they were sending strong players to the new town, seeing as it was one of the places nearest to the badlands, so tough monsters could be thought to be near that region.

I don’t know why, but I had the feeling that something bad was gonna happen today, only, it felt different than other times.

February 25th

I quickly parried the attacks of a high ranking officer of Canterlot as I backstep to avoid a magic missile spell from another. ‘Korera no hito o norou. (Curse these guys.)’ I said as I tried to attack my opponent, but he blocked my attack with his shield before using the moment to cut me across the chest.

We had been waiting near the afternoon when we noticed the group of players coming our way, only four and didn’t seem very well equipped. So once they were near enough we attacked, only to see them quickly equip some high gear armour and weapons as suddenly four more came from our rear.

We had been ambushed within our ambush, them smarts huh? ”Boulder, we can’t hold these guys for too much longer!” I shouted as I saw one of the unicorn officers use an electric spell and managed to stun one of our comrades, before they capture him and took him away.

“No, I refuse to let them have the best of us!” Boulder shouted as he tried to smash a guard with his warhammer, only for his target to disappear and reappear right next to him, delivering a hard buck which only made boulder stagger a bit.

I quickly parried another attack of my opponent as I made him lose his balance, before using the moment to use my frost ability and stab him in the chest, but only managing to cast the slowness effect on him.

I used the opportunity to run away from my fight for the moment, as my health was near the yellow zone; as I turned I managed to see our pegasus marksman get finally take down by the other two pegasus on the enemies side. S**t, at these pace we are gonna be capture in no time. I cursed to myself as my attention was soon brought to Boulder as he was now in a fight with three officers.

Boulder swung his hammer wide, trying to hit as many of his opponent s in one move as he could, but one of his opponents parried the attack, making Boulder lose his balance, as his opponent used the moment to close the gap and slice one of Boulder’s arm off.

“Son of a gun!” Boulder shouted as he held his amputated arm, his weapon now laying on the ground but soon disappearing in a cloud of blue code as Boulder was no longer able to use it. I saw as the unicorn of the team charged a spell, sparks emanating from it as I knew what they were about to do.

Losing no time, I dashed towards the battle and just in time as I manage to block the spell, and save Boulder from probably being paralyse and get capture. The spell didn’t affect me that much since I had higher resistance to magic attack than the other races, so my health only dropped a bit, but still entered the yellow zone.

I faced my opponents as they gave me hard stares, making me feel a bit intimidated as I wasn’t sure what to do.

The two non-magic users charged at me at the same time, only giving me enough time to parry away one attack as the other one hit me straight on, making me fall back a few feet away from my opponents.

I tried to stand as I noticed that I now had a large red gash of code on my body, if it wasn’t for this being a game I would have been dead instantly. I was about to open my player menu to use a health potion but soon noticed a missile spell coming towards me.

I quickly checked my health bar to notice I was deep in the red, and I knew that a direct attack from that spell would bring me down to zero without a doubt. I tried to move out of the way but I was too disoriented that I wouldn’t be fast enough to avoid it and I wouldn’t have time to block it either.

I looked at the spell as it came towards me, seeing it in slow motion, like if I was watching the actual death coming towards me, and was about to take my soul. But was soon replaced by yellow as someone stood in front of me.

Boulder received the full blast as he was sent to the ground cringing in the little pain he felt, but I looked in shock as I saw his health bar drop to zero before he gave me a smug look. “Well, that sucked.” He said before his whole body bursted into blue codes.

“Boulder!” I yelled as I saw the code particles disappear. I didn’t really know the guy very well, but seeing him sacrifice himself for me made me feel guilty at his passing, but then I turned that guilt into anger as I faced the three officers, which were arguing about their inability to capture Boulder.

I stood up quickly and brought my weapon forward as I dashed towards them, which they soon noticed as they got ready for me.

The spell caster of the group charged a spell before firing it towards me, I saw the spell come to me and did something that I wasn’t even sure could be done. When the spell was close enough, I brought my blade forward and spun around, making the trajectory of the attack change as I made it go back to where it came from, hitting the unicorn straight in the face.

it’s comrades seemed surprised as they looked back to see the unicorn nearly knock out from the blow. But as they turned around to see me, they weren’t ready as I attacked one of them.

I channeled my magic into my weapon as I delivered an upwards slash into one of them, before bringing it down on the other before he could react, seeing as he gained the slowness effect. I turned around and parried the attack of the officer behind me, having seen him from the corner of my eye.

I twisted my sword around until I made him let go of the blade, before I punched him in the face hard, making his health enter the yellow zone. I turned around as I saw the other officer going for a stab at me, but I deflected it to the side as I cut at his throat, seeing his health drop down near the red zone.

I wasted no time as I trusted my blade backwards as I stabbed the other opponent which was behind me, hearing the sound of the freezing effect occurring as I knew he was unable to move.

I immediately took my sword out and used the momentum to slash at the other officer, hard enough that I managed to see his health bar go back rapidly before hitting zero, making him burst into blue code.

I spun around and delivered a straight punch against the ice cage where the other officer was trapped inside, making the ice shatter and in the process cause more damage to my enemy, seeing as his health bar hit zero as well as he burst into blue codes.

The caster was starting to recover as he slowly stood up, shaking his head to clear his mind from his daze. But I quickly brought him back down as I kicked him in the face, making him fall to his back.

He was about to stand up but I quickly buried my blade in his chest. The caster opened his eyes in shock as he felt the weapon penetrate him. He looked at me as I wore a face of pure rage, but he didn’t flinch as he gave me a glare as he charged his horn.

I was not about to let him try anything, so I pulled my sword out quickly, twisting it around in my hoof before I slashed at him, hitting his horn with the blade and making it crack, breaking the unicorn’s concentration.

I didn’t stop as I brought my blade down again and managed to amputate the horn, making the caster look in shock at seeing his appendage removed so forcibly. I made sure he didn’t tried anything else, as I buried my blade back into his chest, seeing his health hit the yellow zone.

I looked at him in the eye, as he gave me a look of horror and fear, but I didn’t feel any pity for him.“Anata wa jigoku ni fuhai kanōsei! (May you rot in hell!)” I shouted with pure rage as I made my blade travel all the way through the unicorn, making a long red line of code appear on his body as I split his head in half.

He had a look of shock and fear at my action before his health bar drapped to zero, making him burst into blue code like the others. I stared at the place where the unicorn officer stood a minute ago, slowly smiling at my act, before I was brought back to reality as I heard the sound of fighting around me.

I looked around to see the battle still going, with only three of us left as the other two had being captured and Boulder was gone. I knew we would not last against five high ranking officers and looking at my health in the red zone, I knew that it would be suicide to do so.“Fall back, fall back you idiots!” I shouted as I saw the other two members of our group quickly break away from their fight and start running away, same with me.

We ran towards our fall back position in case we needed to retreat for any reason. I looked back to see the two pegasi officers were after us, and gaining ground. “Stay away you f***ers!” I shouted as I stopped and made icicles of ice fly towards them, hitting them and seeing them get the slowness effect, I didn’t even care I had the conduct message, all I cared was to get out of there before we were captured or killed.

Running to catch up with the others, a small thought crept through my mind, seeing as I had killed those three officers without any remorse, even when one looked ready to cry. I had just killed them, and I had felt...good.

That thought scared me as I knew I had just killed, and it made me feel satisfied?“What am I becoming?” I said to myself as me and the others kept running, wanting to hide and avoid getting capture.

February 26th

I came through the door leading to the main chamber of the guild, the other two guys of the group breaking off to go to other places as they wanted to take in what had happen the other day.

Myself, I just didn’t know what to do. Maybe talking with Cross would help me clear up my mind a bit. I searched around to see if I could see her, but didn’t see her on the usual places where she would hang around. But then I noticed the guy that had requested her to come for the ambush at Manehattan, oh God, the puns are starting to stick.

I walked towards the member as I wanted to know if Cross’s team was still out on their mission. “Hey, you know if the team at Manehattan has come back?” I asked the guy, whose name was RazorBolley.

Razor looked at me before giving me a nod. “Yes, they are back. We didn’t manage to stop the element bearer either, and we lost three of the eight we had sent there.” He answered as he gave me a straight face.

When he mentioned losses I worried immediately, fearing that one of them was Cross. “Lost? Who did we lose?” Something inside of me told me I didn’t want to know, but I had to.

Razor brought his player menu before making a small notebook appear on his hoof, opening it to read the notes inside. “According to this, we lost Sp4rt4nL4z3r during the trek there, and we lost Hammerfell and Sw33tCr0ss during the ambush.” He said before looking at me as I now had a shock look. “Is everything ok?” He asked as he saw my face.

I stood there motionless for a bit before I regained my composure. “huh? Y-yes, I’m fine. Thanks for telling me.” I said quickly as I turned and left, leaving a confused Razor behind.

I walked back to my quarters, ignoring any other member of the guild that I passed as my mind was in another place. I soon arrived to my room, I opened the door and closed it behind, not wanting anyone to disturb me.

“....Arrrgh!” I yelled to the top of my voice as I flip a small drawer that was build for decorating the room, before it burst into blue particles. But I continued my rage as I smashed anything that was near me, even to the extent that I was punching the wall, getting a small window on purple which read ‘Inmortal Object’, but I didn’t care.

I had just experience the loss of Boulder, and now I’m faced with the fact that Cross was gone as well, the only real friend that I had managed to make in this place, add the fact that I’m dealing with the guilt of killing three persons and you get a very emotionally unstable guy.

I sat down as I held my head with my hooves, feeling a few tears of sorrow star forming in my eyes. “I hate this place, I hate this game, why did those admins do this, why?” I asked as I continued mourning to myself, only wishing for this whole nightmare to be over.

April 2nd

I put my katana back on it’s sheath as I went down on all four, not even caring that I had won the duel against three members of the guild.

“You guys need to train harder, or we are gonna lose you quicker than if we went into a boss room.” I said, not even looking back as I addressed ‘my team’.

“Yes sir!” I heard them yell back as they picked themselves up, making their way out of the arena as they needed to rest for a bit, seeing as I had done a number on them.

“Sir, don’t you think you went a bit too much on them?” I heard the voice of another member of my group say, as I passed him. He was a beige pegasus with a long blonde mane which hanged by the side, his cutie mark was of a red halo which seemed to glow. His ID displaying him as RedSpartan.

“In a real situation, the enemy will not hesitate to use their full power to bring us down. And I will not tolerate weaklings in this team.” I said with a strong tone, showing that I was not having any type of conversation which went against my plans.

Spartan gave a groan but stayed in line as he didn’t argued back. “Yes sir.” He answered before I came out of earshot, as I had more important things to attend.

Since the day I had come back from my mission and getting my first kills and the mourning of the people I knew, I had been offered the position of a team leader to take the more serious missions. It seemed that managing to kill one high officer from Canterlot was considered an instant promotion, which I have to argue was stupid.

The new position’s role consisted of taking out strong groups of players, even as far as trying to find the boss rooms to try and collect the element so the admins wouldn’t get a chance to continue their plans, even if they already had four of them.

In my time as new leader of a group, I had the time to familiarise with my team, which consisted of four, you already meet Spartan, which is our second front line attacker, as he uses a one-handed longsword and a large shield.

Then there was MintyFreeze, our marksman as she was deadly with a bow and could hit her mark from half a mile away if giving the time. She is a lavender pegasus with curly blue hair, her cutie mark was of wind blowing.

Then there was our spellcaster, KyleBomber. He is both good with a hammer and destructive spells, specially fire or explosion related. He was a black unicorn with an orange spiky hair do. His cutie mark was of a fuse bomb which was alight.

And finally our spearman, and funny enough, was LightingSpear, go figure. He can take you out from a safe distance before you even get close, as he has better reflexes than normal earth ponies. He was a red earth pony, like I said, and had a straight green mane with black lines going through as well, his cutie mark was of a lighting bolt being held in a hand.

In the time that I had this team, we have been sent in about eleven missions, and I had killed about six more bronies, with my team kills summing up to twenty-one. I had lost all feeling for killing them after my fifth, counting the first three.

I don’t know why, but maybe I had grown used to the feeling, or simply I was too confused as to know what to think anymore. I didn’t find them as bronies anymore, but simply victims in a death game.

And still, I felt fear that my brother had being killed by our guild, not knowing who they would try to target. But I would rather not know and fear his fate than actually knowing and blaming myself for it.

After much walking, I came to the intel room, where scouts gathered to go on recon missions or to give a mission to another team so they could try and ambush them. And I was here for the mission for my team.

I looked around to see some of the members of the scout team chatting about, and some leaving to go gather more information about players.

“Cinnamon, sir.” I heard someone said to my side as I look to see someone dressed in complete black gear, which hid his features, his ID wasn’t visible which meant that he had a high stealth skill or he was using gear which boosted his skill enough to hide his ID, even if at a close distance like I was.

“Your next mission has been chosen, a strong group of five players is in Detrot and are suspected to be searching for the next boss room in there, we fear that they are the best chance of getting it if they find it on that city.” The player said as he remained still, not showing any sign of body language.

“Good, and did you check for-” I started but the player beat me to it.

“There was no report of anyone fitting the description that you supplied to us.” He said not breaking his stoic posture. He took a scroll out of his persona, before giving it to me. “Here are the details sir.”

“Thank you, now excuse me while I assemble my team for the mission.” I said as I walked back the way I came, having to plan my moves ahead if they were sending us to Detrot.

April 3rd

I sat in the roof of the building that I was using to oversee the street below, waiting for the group that we were suppose to attack. We were located in a section of the city that was outside of the safe zone for some reason, but we didn’t complain at the convenience.

It was afternoon but with the black clouds above one could say it was starting to get dark. “Sir, just what do you think this group is like?” I heard Minty asked as she held her bow at the ready, scanning the street to see if she could spot our targets before me.

“We are facing a group of five players, they don’t have any ranger so you should have your job cut out. They have one unicorn spell caster and a spear user unicorn. One pegasus who likes to use two handed weapons and an average earth pony with sword and shield.” I said as I never took my eyes off the street, not wanting to risk letting our targets get through.

“The leader is what worries me, it seems that they couldn’t determine if it was an earth pony, a unicorn or a pegasus because of its armour. And I’ve been informed that he posses an area of effect attack that may limit our space, seems that it can use poison screen.”

“So it can make our maneuverability on the street harder.” Spartan said as he saw our predicament with this group. “So should we take him out first?” He suggested which I shook my head to.

“No, Minty, take their pegasus out first, I fear that he may want to reach you as soon as we attack, you still got a strong paralysis arrow with you?” I asked as I watched from the corner of my eye as Minty went through her player menu.

“Yeah, but only one. These are a pain to buy, and more to make.”

“One shot is all you need.” I told her as I looked down, immediately seeing movement on the street. “In positions.” I whispered as I raised my hoof, making Minty draw her arrow back, taking aim at the pegasus which was located near the front of the group, right next to the hooded leader.

I waited as I saw them come closer, wanting to have them in the best position. When they came close enough I brought my hoof down, signaling Minty to shoot, the arrow hitting its mark on the shoulder of the player as he fell to ground, unable to move. “Attack!”

Me and the rest, except for Minty, jumped down to the ground, landing around the group and surrounding them. “Seems like you brought the attention of...the…” I lost my voice as I noticed the leader.

He held a large scythe which seemed thin and crooked, through the cloak I noticed his blue coat and darker blue mane, as well as I noticed a pair of shocked yellow eyes. I looked at the player ID and wished that I could just disappear.

“C-cillian?” My brother asked as he looked at me with shock. I was about to response when the rest of my team shouted a war cry as they charged the rest of the players.

How was it possible? I thought they said that they didn’t find anyone resembling my brothers description, and even if they couldn’t confirm his race, they could check his coat and mane color, as well as the eyes. I’ll worry about that later, now I had something more important to do.

I looked up to see Minty pointing her bow towards my brother as she let go of her arrow. I wasted no time as I dashed in front of it and deflected the arrow from hitting my brother. Minty looked at me in surprise as she yelled. “Hey, what are you doing? I had a perfect shot!”

“Cillian, why are you with the Hater’s Guild?” My brother asked from behind me as I could hear his anger.

“No time to explain, you have to get out of here as fast as you can.” I said as I looked at him, ignoring the fight that was happening at the moment.

Ray gave me a glare as he took hold of his scythe harder. “I’m not leaving without my team, so don’t tell me what to do.” He said as he went to run past me, but I held him down as I used my magic to hold his tail.

“Those guys will not have mercy for you, and they are way stronger than you think. You can’t save them.” I said as I tried to convince him, only for him to give me a harder glare.

“Maybe you can leave others like you left me, but those are my friends and I’m not letting them die.” He said before sprinting towards the battle, determined to save his friends at any cost.

I stood there not sure what to do, but more at what he said about me leaving him. I grunted as I knew he wouldn’t listen to me, and that left one option. “Damn you Kyōdai (bro)” I cursed as I sprinted after my brother.

Lighting and Spartan were confronting their opponent with efficiency, Spartan managed to parry the attacks of the magic wielder spear player as he counter by jabbing or slashing at him. Lighting able to evade the spells of the caster managed to come close enough to jab at his enemy, making him stagger backwards.

“You bronies make this too easy, why don’t we ever get a good challenge out of you lot?” Lightning said as he went to jab again, only for his attack getting parried by a large scythe and then getting hit by it, sending him back a few feet from where he once stood, his health drapping a sixth of the way.

Spartan looked to see the attacker, only to receive the sharp end of the scythe and get thrown next to Lightning, as he came to a stop, his health was reduced by a fifth. “You guys wanna pick a fight? Then pick it with me.” Ray said as he stood his ground, glancing back to address his comrades. “Guys, go help Liam, we need to get out of here quickly.” Ray said before he felt an arrow hit his back, catching him by surprise.

“Die you stupid brony!” Kyle said as he launched a missile spell towards Ray, taking the moment of distraction to his advantage. Only for his attack to get deflected back by me as I landed in front of it, Kyle didn’t see it coming as he was meet with the full force of his attack and sent flying next to the other two members of my group, his health dropping by a fifth like spartans, as he was more resistant to explosive damage.

“Stand down, we are aborting the mission.” I commanded as I saw Minty fly down from her position, seeing as things had turnabout for them.

“What is wrong with you? We don’t allow players to live if we can.” Minty said as she draw her bow, pointing it towards my direction. I gave them a glare as I felt things were about to go south from here.

“Guys, leave while you can. I will deal with these guys by myself.” Ray said as he held his weapon tight. “If I don’t make it in half an hour, you know what it means.”

“Ray, we can’t leave you with those guys, they will-” One of the members of my brother’s team started to argue but I butted in.

“You heard your leader, he will deal with these. And he won’t be alone.” I said as I glanced back, giving the guys a hard glare that made them flinch. “Got it?”

They nodded their heads vigorously, finding my look very intimidating. They hurriedly carried their paralyzed friend on their backs as they quickly left the area, leaving me and my brother to confront my team.

“What do you think you are doing man? we were suppose to kill them, not let them get away.” Lightning shouted as he glared at me, having a desire to torture me on the spot.

“This is an exception.” I answered plainly as I meet them with even stares, waiting to see their moves.

“I heard the hooded one call him Cillian, and they acted like they knew each other very well.” Minty exclaimed as she looked between the two of us.

“So I was right.” I heard Spartan said as he came forward in front of the group. “The one that you always asked to get a heads up before missions is him, and I think I know why.” He said as he started to smile a bit. “You came to the game with him, which must make him your brother.”

I grunted a bit as he was able to join the dots. “So what? I still believe in the word of the guild, I just didn’t want to find out the fate of my brother in the process.” I said to him, which caused my team to chuckle a bit.

“You actually believe that stuff of the guild?” Minty asked rhetorically as she gave me a sadistic smile.

“We were here by the time it was created, and I can tell you, it’s a lie.” Kyle said as he charged a spell, ready to start on the killing on possibly another player.

“What are they talking about?” Ray asked as he gave me a look, not really trusting me at the moment but feeling that I could bring some light on the subject.

“Oh nothing really, just how we convinced a lot of stupid players into believing that the admins were responsible for us getting trap in here. Although most are in for the killing.” Lighting said as it confused me while my brother looked at it with shock.

“How would you know that?” I asked, not getting a lick of sense of what they were saying.

“We can’t tell, but we know, I assure you.” spartan said before he went into his player menu, selecting something in his inventory. “But now that you know, we can’t let you live and tell the others, not that they would believe you either way.” Spartan said as his longsword was replace by another one that was red and had thorns running around it.

The rest of the team seemed to grin even more as they knew what was to come. “I’ll take care of you first, then I will go after your brother.” Spartan said as he walked forward, confidence on his face.

“Ray, I don’t like the look of this. You should really leave.” I said as I was starting to have a familiar feeling, like the time Boulder and Cross died.

“No.” Ray said as he stood next to me, giving me a determined look. “I left you alone once and made you join a team of killers, I won’t leave you again so you can die.” He said as he gave me a nod. I smiled a bit knowing that I could count on my brother on this, he had really grown to be a better man.

“Oh how touching,” I heard Spartan said in a mock voice, making me look at him with hate. “Stop wasting my time and face me, didn’t you say that we are suppose to fight at our strongests? Well, I’ll show you mine.”

I groaned at him as I looked at my brother. ”Want to help me beat this flankhole?” I asked as it made Ray smirk at me.

“Never thought I would hear you say the horse pun words. But yeah, let’s teach this guy a lesson.” He said as we faced our opponent again, before we both dashed towards him, wanting to deal with him quickly.

“Kyle, Minty, deal with them.” Spartan said as I saw both of them leap over Spartan, firing attacks at us as we ran towards them. The attacks hit the ground, making a thick layer of smoke arise. Minty must have used a smoke arrow and Kyle a smoke screen spell, as I now couldn't see very far ahead of me.

I was looking around the smoke screen trying to see if Spartan or someone else was trying to sneak behind me. I bumped into someone and I turned around, swinging my sword to attack whoever was behind me. My blade connected with the blade of a scythe, and I immediately recognized my brother in the smoke.

"They are playing with us, and we can't see through these smoke." I said as I looked around again, only to feel three objects impale me in the back, making my health drop a bit.

"Cillian!" My brother called in alarm as he was suddenly smashed by a hammer in the head, making him fall to the ground. Kyle standing over him as he was about to deliver another blow at Ray.

I saw this and reacted quickly, bringing my sword under the path of the hammer, stopping it on its tracks. I quickly twisted my sword around, forcing Kyle to back away from me and my brother in order to not lose his weapon.

"Nice try Cinn, but we know about your combat tactics very well, it will take more than that to win against us." Kyle said mockingly as he walked back into the smoke, hiding him from view.

"Dang it, we can't do anything, this smoke is messing with our view." I said as I looked around, expecting any Kyle or Minty to attack us, having used these strategy when dealing with strong opponents with high agility like me.

I felt as Ray rested a hoof over my shoulder, making me turn to him to see him with a small grin. "I'll deal with this." He said, making me look at him confused.

Ray stood still for a moment, breathing in a control manner as he closed his eyes. I was about to ask what was he doing, before he opened his eyes suddenly and taking a long inhale. In an instance, I saw as the smoke around us was being collected into my brothers mouth. I stared mouth agape as every trace of the smoke went into my brother.

I looked around to see Kyle and Minty together, their eyes wide open in shock as they saw the act. I turned back to my brother to see him inhale the last of the smoke, before he looked towards our two opponents, letting out a thick layer of...purple smoke?

The smoke soon came over Kyle and Minty, covering them like water before they started coughing violently. They came stumbling out of the smoke, holding their mouths as they cough into them, I even managed to see their eyes were red in irritation.

My brother gave a light cough as he looked at his work with pride. "Poison Screen, always good to take haters by surprise." He said with a small smug look. I wasn't even sure how he even managed that, I didn't think poison users could control smoke, always thought that was darkness users.

Either way, I faced our attackers again, seeing their healths drop ever so slowly, Minty's at a slightly faster rate. "Nice one, now let's do this." I said before looking briefly at Ray with a look. "Don't even think on doing that meme."

Ray looked at me with an innocent look, apparently having had the idea of doing it. "No idea what you are talking about." He said before sprinting away towards Kyle. "Lerrrroooooooy!!"

I facehoofed, but decided to let it be, we need to get out of this alive first. I quickly sprinted forward as I ran towards Minty, who was recovering from the poison status.

Ray smashed his weapon against Kyle's body, hard enough that he managed to send him through the poison screen. I soon followed as I hit Minty through as well, sending them both to where Spartan and Lightning were standing last time.

Ray waved his weapon through the poison mist as it quickly dissipated. At the other side stood Lightning, helping Kyle and Minty to stand up again. I noticed their healths were now in the yellow, while Lightning still remained on the green. "Stand down guys, unless you want to die here and now." I said threatening, wanted to end this now.

Lightning looked at me with hatred at me, ready to,say something but stopped midway, gaining a large malicious smile, the others soon following suit. I looked at them confused, what were they thinking abou- wait, where is Spartan?

I got my answer as I heard the low chuckling of him behind us, before I could even react, me and my brother were cut from the back. But something was wrong, it hurt.

“Arrgh!” Me and my brother yelled as we felt a white hot pain erupt from our backs, the feeling very familiar as I had experience it the day I joined the guild.

I tried to quickly get up but felt as the rest of the team pin me down, making me face towards my brother, who was crying profusely as he wasn’t used to this level of pain. Spartan walked in front of me as he went towards my brother.

“How sad, all it took to bring you down to your knees was one messily slash of a sword, well I shouldn’t be surprise since you aren’t use to real pain.” Spartan said as he rested a hoof to the back of the head of my brother, pinning him down.

“Let him go! He has done nothing wrong.” I shouted as I tried to break free from the others, failing as I couldn’t break myself free. “He is just a kid!”

“Well he should have know better than to play a game about killing, so I think he deserves this.” He said before bringing his sword down on one on my brother’s arm, making him scream in agonising pain.

“Let him go you monster!” I struggled harder as I saw ray’s health drop a bit, coming close to the yellow zone.

“Nah, I think I’m gonna have fun making him squirm as you watch.” He said as he twisted the blade around inside my brother’s arm, Ray screaming even louder as he felt his arm being torn.

“Stop it, stop it or I will kill you!” I said as tears formed in my eyes, seeing as Ray’s health was dropping slowly, having already entered the yellow zone.

“Oh don’t worry, you will join him once I’m finished, so enjoy the show while you can.” He said as he took the sword out of my brother’s arm and then impaling it into his back. My brother screaming louder than he had ever in his life, crying a river as the pain was too much to handle.

“Stop it, stop it, stop it!” I whimpered as I couldn’t do anything, not even my magic could help me as I couldn’t cast my frost ability to my captors or even levitate my weapon as it was held away from me by Kyle. My brother’s health now on the red zone.

Spartan stopped the torture on my brother as he leaned down to talk to him. “Any last words you want your brother to hear before you go?” He said with an ice cold tone, making me want to kill him a thousand times over.

Ray looked at me with teary eyes as he tried to muster words to say to me. “I-i-it’s not your fault, you did what you thought was right to protect me, and I’m glad for that.” He said as he gave me a sad smile. “So don’t blame yourself.”

I stared at him as I felt my own tears pour out, not wanting to believe what was happening. “R-ray.” I said through sobs as I watch Spartan stand up again.

“Touching, but this family reunion has been prolonged far too long.” Spartan then raised his sword again, ready to deliver the final blow. “Night night.” He said as he brought the sword down, my whole world going in slow motion as I saw it descend, while I screamed in denial in a vain attempt to stop it.

I saw as it went through my brother, making me feel like someone was destroying a part of me, and in reality, that is what was happening. I watched agonizingly as my brother’s health went down before it finally reached zero. “Thanks, for everything.” Ray managed to mumble with a sad smile before he burst into millions of blue particles, making my world stop.

I could see Spartan laughing his head off, but I couldn’t hear him, I couldn’t hear the sounds of the others laughing along, nor the breeze of the wind or the thunder that resonated from the clouds. Only the twinkling sound of the code particles as if they were the cries of my brother and everyone I knew back in the real world, making me feel like a failure.

I felt something deep within me stirred, something that should never be brought out to the light of day. I felt as every part of me trembled in anger as I now wanted to make these guys, and everyone in the guild, pay for what they’ve done.

I suddenly started hearing the voice of Spartan again as he started talking to me. “How did it feel? How minuscule and useless did you feel as you watched me kill your brother?” Spartan taunted as he came towards me, but I paid it no mind. “Don’t worry, you will be able to see him very-” He stopped there as he notice my body start to gain a coat of frost, making the others look at me confused. “-soon?”

“I told you to stop, didn’t I?” I said as more of my body got covered in ice, making my body look like it was made of the stuff. “That I would kill you if you didn’t?” My body was nearly covered as even my mane was encased, making it look like it was snow. “And now you get just that.”

In a flash, I made spikes of ice erupt out of my body as they impaled themselves against the ones that were holding me down. Minty getting killed immediately as she didn’t have as many health points as the others. Lucky her.

The spikes soon bursted into code as the other two fell to the ground, I quickly made my katana come to my hoof as I slashed at Lightning. He somehow able to raise his shield to stop the attack, but still served for nothing as he was sent to smash against the wall of one of the buildings, bringing his health to the red zone.

Before he even realized, I sent an air slash of frost at him, which hit him square in the chest, bringing the rest of his health points to zero. After I finished with lightning I turned towards Kyle, who was soon to follow the same fate.

Kyle managed to recover somewhat and sent a flame spell at me, hoping that I would be weaker to the attack. But I simply sliced through the attack as I sent an air slash towards him, the guy never expecting it as he was hit full force by it, bursting into codes just like lightning did.

I turned towards spartan, who had a look of fear and anger and he held his weapon at the ready. “You monster!” He yelled as he charged at me, impaling me with his sword. I didn’t even felt the blade, as I watched the killer with a hatred glare with my white crystal eyes.

He looked in fear when he saw that I didn't react in pain from his attack, and decided that it was better to run away from this monster. Before he could even move a feet, I slashed low at him, cutting his front hooves as he fell to the ground, desperately trying to run with the stubs he had for arms. His health having dropped to where he now only had 2/3 left.

I lowered myself down as I grabbed him by the neck, bringing him to eye level. He started wimpering as he could feel his death coming soon, but not before I had my way with him.

I took hold of the still impaled hater sword, pulling hard as I meet resistance, seeing my health bar dropping ever so often, somehow not feeling anything. With one final yank I took the sword out and spinned it a bit in my hoof.

"W-what are you do-" Spartan was saying but was interrupted as I drove the blade through his chest making him yell like a pig. "ARRRRRGH!"

“Anata wa watashi ga itta koto o yatte inaide wa ōkina misu o okashita.(You made a big mistake by not doing what I said.)” I said as twisted violently the blade inside of him, making him scream louder the more I moved the blade.

Anata wa watashi ni somui yori mo yoku shira rete iru hitsuyō ga arimasu.(You should have known better than to disobeyed me) I said as I removed the sword out of him and held it hard in anticipation. “Soshite ima, anata wa kakaku o shiharau.(And now you pay the price.)” I said as I thrusted the sword right through his skull, making it come out from the top.

If Spartan wanted to scream in pain, he couldn’t as the pain was too much to handle for him, as he lost consciousness, just before he bursted into blue particles along with the sword, as its owner no longer existed.

I fell to my haunches as I let the adrenaline that I must have created to do all that start to wear off, the ice around my body falling slowly as I noticed that my magic bar had been depleted. But I didn’t care about that.

I looked at the floor with great sorrow as I let the death of my brother sink in. I screamed to the skies, as I felt tears roll down my face as well as rain started to fall, making the scene even more depressing.

May 3rd

“I can’t believe we were reduced to this.” An orange earth pony with a hammer and shield said as he looked at the dark road ahead with boredom. “Our guild gets raided and now we have to search for hunt ourselves.”

“Will you stop complaining about that? we were lucky enough to not get capture by those bronies, the last thing I want is to be held by those guys.” A pink pegasus mare said as she had a pair of tiger claws gauntlets.

“I still can’t believe that our fair lady got captured.” A unicorn mare said as she had a large shield and spear. “She was the best tactician I have ever seen, just how did she get capture?”

“Will you three shut it? I see someone coming, alone.” The last member of the group said, an earth pony which had a large two-handed sword strapped to the back. He watched as he saw a lone cloaked figure walked by the road they were watching.

“Finally! I have been asking for action for days.” The first earth pony said as he stood up, wanting to just go there and fight, but he knew better.

“He is cloaked, don’t know what race he or she is, or what equipment he has. We have to be careful about this.” The unicorn hater said as she brought her weapons out.

“I don’t care, I want to slice him to bits.” The pegasus hater said as she put on her equipment, ready to have some fun.

“Ok, we go there and try to ambush him, if we find out he is too strong we run.” The second earth pony said as he got ready as well as the other.

Slowly, the group crept about as they positioned themselves ahead on the road so they could ambush the player more efficiently. As they waited, they saw the figure walk along the path, keeping it’s head down to hide its face.

When it came close enough, the four haters jumped out of their hiding spots as they surrounded the unsuspecting traveler. “Bad day to get lost friend, maybe your kind managed to catch most of us, but the Hater’s guild still lives.” The second earth pony said as he watched their hunt, before it gave a chuckle.

“Been a while since I’ve been ambushed, wasn’t expecting it to happen since the guild got capture.” The hooded individual said which made the haters look at him confused, all except for the pegasus mare.

“No, not him. Anyone but him!” She said as she trembled in fear a bit before taking off from the scene. “Everyone for themselves!”

The mysterious pony, seeing as one of the haters fas running away took out a weapon before spinning around and sending a large air slash towards the fleeing hater. The mare never saw it coming as she was hit straight on, before her body was concealed in ice and soon falling to the ground, when the dust that had been created cleared, the Pegasus girl could be seen inside as she cried in fear, her health bar already in the yellow zone.

“What the hell was that!” The unicorn mare said before looking towards the mysterious pony, only to freeze in fear as anyone that joined the guild had been given a warning to watch out for this person.

The cloak had been removed as soon as the attack was launched, as it revealed the figure standing to be a light brown unicorn with a large black spiky mane, his cutie mark being three sets of swords arranged that they crossed each other.

He wore a light leather jacket which went over a dark shirt, he wore a red headband which had its ends hang loose from behind, as well he wore a pair of dark blue gloves over its front hooves, while he had a pair of hindleg guards. The biggest feature of all was that it used a blue katana and stood on its hindlegs. In other words, me.

“But after they lost fifteen of their best guys I wasn’t surprised they stopped sending them after me. A bit refreshing getting attack again.” I said as I took better hold of my weapon. “But now, let’s get back to business.”

Anyone that may had been near the area would have been able to hear the sounds of fear from the haters, as they had their health bars drop down to zero, making any other possible hater near run in fear.

I continued walking along the path that lead to where I needed to go. Soon, I saw large slabs of stones and crosses appear around the road as I came near where I needed to go. I drifted off the path as I knew by now where to go, passing the stone slabs as names were written on them.

I didn’t care about those, only one as I had something to do there. I soon stopped at a small slab of stone that was lowered to the ground, making it look like it was a mini coffin of sorts as a name and date was etched on it.

I lowered myself to the ground as I looked at the stone with a bit of sorrow, but I tried not to show it on my face as I looked at it. “Hey bro, been a while since I visited huh?” I said to the cold stone like it was the actual person, feeling that if I tried hard enough I would get a response.

“Good news, they managed to capture the Hater’s guild, so no more major killing across the game.” I said as I gave a hollow chuckle. “They will start looking for the elements again, and hopefully get us out of this place.”

“Heh, can you believe that a small group that escaped from being captured ambushed me? But don’t worry, they won’t be causing any more trouble.” I said as I gave a sad smile, remembering why I came here.

“I brought you something.” I said as I went through my player menu and selecting an object, the item soon appearing in my hoof, as it reveal it to be a muffin with a lit candlelight on top. “It’s your favourite, blueberry and banana, bought it just for you.” I said as I placed the treat on top of the grave.

I looked at it with a forced smiled as I felt tears starting coming out of my eyes. “Happy birthday bro.” I said as I felt my voice get caught, feeling as now my tears came more freely. “I-I miss you.” I said between sobs, not caring if anyone was near me to hear, this was a special moment for me...and Ray.

July 5th (Embark)

It was late in the night. So late, that it was actually early in the morning. The players of Canterlot were either up late doing Celestia knows what, while the rest slept for the coming day. However, entering the city, one player galloped through the streets, hidden by a brown cloak as he made his way towards Canterlot Castle.

The lone player ran to the castle and hurried inside, before anyone had a chance to catch sight of him. Outside the castle, he only had to worry about a stray player seeing him. But once inside the castle, near his destination, there was sure to be a guard there.

He ran through the dark corridors of the castle, careful to only tread on the carpeted floors to avoid the sounds of his hoof falls echoing through the building. He had bought information from an information broker on the streets, which would lead him directly to the castle dungeon.

The player galloped to the door leading into the dungeons and galloped down the descending steps into darkness. The light of the moon didn’t reach into the dark corridor, and the player was tempted to light his horn to illuminate the darkness. However, the need for stealth was too great at the moment, so he put the temptation to rest.

Soon, he reached the bottom of the stairway, into a dirty, stone corridor, lit by burning torches. He turned the corner, cautiously peering around to find two guards standing at the prison’s doorway. The player could see they were both guard hires, players working for bits as the guards of the castle. They were no doubt part of the Knights of Harmony Guild.

The lone player stood up on his back legs and drew his katana, whose blade suddenly coated with frost as his ability kicked in. With his ice at the ready, the katana wielding player leaped out from behind the corner, flinging icicles at the guards with a swing of his blade.

Before the guards could react, the icicles struck them both and their bodies froze in blocks of ice. The cloaked figure rushed forward to the door and opened it up. As he did, he whispered a gruff, “Sorry”, knowing full well that the guards could still see him in their frozen state. They’d be fine, seeing as the castle was part of the safe zone, where health depletion wasn’t possible.

The player rushed into the main dungeon room, only to find himself surrounded by jail cells on all sides of him. The slam of the front door behind him was enough to draw attention to him from the jail’s occupants: The former members of the Haters’ Guild

On all sides of the figure, prisoners looked at him, a few growling in anger as they recognized him.

One prisoner slammed against the bars of his cell, trying to reach the figure in an effort to strangle him, “You traitor! How dare you come back, Cinnamon!”

Removing the hood of his cloak, Cinn glared at the player through the bars, “Shut up, Kujo (f***ing) Hater. I’ll be back to deal with you all later, but I have someone else to see first.”

Cinn walked through the dungeon, the Haters shouting vulgarity and rants at him as he passed them by without a glance. He hated them all just as much as they hated him, but he didn’t care about them for the moment. He was sneaking into the castle for only one person in particular.

Cinn continued down the corridors of jail cells, up until he reached a single cell, put away from the other prisoners. There was only one occupant in the cell, and upon seeing Cinn, they single pony smiled at him in the way that could have ran shivers up the devil’s skin.

“My, it appears I have a guest.” Chess Queen merely hummed as she lounged against the far wall of her cell. Her mane was in tangles, having been in jail for more than a month, and a magic-suppressing ring topped her horn. “It’s been a long time, hasn’t it, Cinn?”

Cinn glared coldly at the white mare, holding his katana’s blade towards her, “I’ve got you now, you worthless bit-“

“What?” Queen chuckled amusedly, as if she wasn’t even concerned that she was unarmed before Cinn. She asked in a nonchalant, sing-song manner, “Are you here to kill me? After all the time we led you along as a comrade, you’ve turned on us? I must say, I wasn’t very happy to hear you killed many of our members after your betrayal. May I ask why have you sided with the imbeciles who got us in this mess in the first place?”

“You know damn well why.” Cinn snapped back, “The last mission you sent me on, you sent me to kill an innocent team-“

“-which happened to be your brother’s?” Chess Queen guessed. Cinn flinched from it, which was enough to satisfy Queen’s hypothesis. “Yes, Cinn. I knew you at least had a loved one trapped in this game. After all, who would request to make sure a certain player was left untouched, unless they were family?” Her devilish smile faded slightly, “Though I must say, I am truly sorry for your brother’s death. His was another life needed to be sacrificed for our cause.”

“Your cause, which was all a pack of lies!” Cinn retorted as he slammed his hoof against the iron bars, causing the whole dungeon to echo with the sound, “The admins never were behind Discord’s escape, were they? That was only a lie to get more recruits to join your side, where the only cause for action was the sick pleasure of murder!”

Queen didn’t even flinch from Cinn’s outburst, and only tisked at him with a wagging hoof, “Tut tut tut, I see you are blinded by grief, Cinn. Your brother’s death must have certainly taken a toll on you for you to be this distraught.

“If you had thought this out, then you would realize that I never did this for the killing, while many of our guild members did. We were all working for a new kingdom, where there would be no conflictions and troubles as we played this game.” She flashed him a twisted grin, “After all, who was it who killed that sweetheart Sw33tCr0ss?”

Cinn’s chest skipped a beat at her name. He ground his teeth as he put the memory of her death out of his mind, “Leave. Her. Out of this! She only died because she believed your lies! Now answer me, did the admins really release Discord on purpose?!”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Queen hummed, closing her eyes, as if she could actually relax in her stone cell, “After all of this, it could turn out to be true, and my ‘lies’, as you called them, would’ve proven to be more than just a ruse.”

“Enough of this bull!” Cinn hissed, knowing that Queen was simply dancing around the question, “I’m going to drag you out of the city, and then I’m going to run you through the edge of my sword until you’re nothing but code for all the living hell you’ve put me through.”

Chess Queen didn’t seem fazed by the threat, seeming as if she got those plenty of times within her life. She only smirked at Cinn, “I don’t think a certain somebody will allow that.”

“Who?” Cinn growled.

“That would be me.”

Cinn recoiled back away from the cell as he heard this new voice enter the conversation. He hadn’t heard anyone sneak up behind him during his chat with Chess Queen, and he feared it was either a Hater, or one of the guards. He turned towards it, katana at the ready, only find it was neither.

There stood Jupiter, in the middle of the corridor, decked in his full, white armor. He gave Cinn a curious look, “Hello. I take it your name is Cinnamon.” He paused, glancing towards Chess Queen, “I assume this was the traitor of your guild you mentioned?” Chess Queen nodded slowly, which made Jupiter break a smile.

He glanced towards Cinn again, who still stood in battle stance, “Well, that’s good to hear. Like they always say, ‘an enemy of my enemy is a friend’.”

Cinn only narrowed his eyes at the Head Admin, “How long have you been listening?”

“For almost the whole conversation.” Jupiter replied, “I will admit, my stealth skill is at such a level that I think it’s almost unhealthy to level it up any more. I was able to follow you since you first entered the castle.” He chuckled, “Oh, and on a side note, I think freezing the guards was a nice touch on your part. The two of them were more than a couple of hotheads who needed a good dousing.”

Cinn raised an eyebrow at Jupiter. He had expected the Admin to be more… hostile, especially towards a (former) member of the Haters’ Guild. But Jupiter gave off a sense that he was more laid back than most players let on, so Cinn wasn’t quite sure what to think of him… Well, other than the fact that Jupiter was a brony, and in turn, a moronic pony lover in Cinn’s opinion.

Shaking himself out of his stupor of thought, Cinn asked, “What do you want?”

Jupiter paused, “Well, first I came down here to stop you from killing Chess Queen. She’s still a source of information we require. Besides, I think a better suited punishment will be waiting for her in the human world, rather than dying a brutal death in this game. And secondly, I have a proposition for you, Cinn.”

“A proposition?” Cinn gripped his sword tighter, “And why should I listen to you?”

All happiness fled from Jupiter’s face, turning it into a solemn look, full of remorse, “Because…” He sighed, casting a look upwards, as if in memory, “Heh, Raybony was right when he said you were the suspicious type. But then again, I guess everyone in this mad house is.”

Cinn’s expression immediately melted into a look of mild shock, grieved by his brother’s name, “You… You knew my brother?”

Jupiter nodded, “Yes. Why don’t we move somewhere more private to talk?” He gestured towards Chess Queen, “I doubt you’d want her to know more information to torment you with.”

Within the space of a few minutes, Jupiter led Cinn out of the dungeons, past the (still-frozen) guards, and up into Jupiter’s office in the castle.

“Take a seat.” Jupiter pointed to the chair on the other side of his desk, as he himself sat in his own.

Cinn hesitantly complied, remaining silent. He took a quick look around the office, finding it was only lit by a single lantern, full of books and papers (most of which were strewn across Jupiter’s desk), and devoid of anyone else besides him and the Head Admin. Even though they were alone, past experience warned Cinn to keep on his toes. It seemed like he and Jupiter were alone, but anyone with a high enough stealth skill could be easily undetected by him.

Cinn turned towards Jupiter, speaking the only question on his mind, “How did you know my brother?”

Jupiter smiled, “Well, it’s not every day an ambitious player comes to Canterlot, asking for me directly.” He laughed, “Even though he was alone, he wanted to jump right into a search party for the elements.”

Cinn found himself grimacing, “That little- I always warned him not to bite off more than he could chew.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Jupiter replied, “It took some convincing, but I was able to get him to agree to travel to Fillydelphia and join a team there, one that was just training, rather than seeking the elements.” He chuckled, “Although, he did make a fair reputation during his time here, calling himself ‘The Bluedeath’.”

Cinn resisted the urge to facehoof, thinking it’d disrespect his brother’s death, “Yeah, that was my brother. Sounds like something he’d do.” He frowned, “But to get to the point, what is this proposition of yours?”

Jupiter shuffled through the papers on his desk fervently, “You are quite the interesting player, Cinn. Ever since I heard about your reputation from the Haters’ Guild, I’ve been compiling all the information I can get.” He picked up a piece of paper in his hoof, holding it in front of his face to read it, “It appears that you’re a hind-legged fighter, skilled with the katana without the use of magic to hold the weapon, and your ability allows you to manipulate ice to an unmatched level.”

He looked up from the paper, “I assume your ability is called, ‘Frost’, isn’t it?”

Cinn nodded slowly, “Yeah, but how’d you know? I never told it to anybody except Raybony, and I specifically told him to keep quiet about it.”

“As the Head Admin of ELO, I learned almost every inch of this game, from weapons and monsters, to treasures and abilities. Of course, I’m not an expert on this game, otherwise we wouldn’t be facing Discord like this.” Jupiter shook his head, “Nonetheless, let me get to the point. I’m interested in your abilities as a warrior, and more specifically, your Frost ability.”

Jupiter leaned in over his desk, “I have a job for you. And as far as I know, you’re the only one who can help me with this problem.”

Jupiter looked up from his desk, several hours after his meeting with Cinn. The sun had risen, and better yet, the Elements of Harmony had returned to Canterlot just the day before. He looked up at the two ponies standing before his desk, “Now, Shadow, Sky, I assume you’re wondering why I called you both here.”

I nodded, “Yeah. The airship was prepped and ready to leave the city this morning.”

“I’m guessing it’s important, seeing as you delayed us from leaving for the crystal empire.” Sky commented.

Jupiter nodded, “Yes, Sky. It is. I summoned you two specifically, for two reasons only.”

The Admin cleared his throat, “Firstly, Sky. Do you remember last evening, when you brought the Element of Willpower to the castle for safekeeping?”

“Yeah,” Sky replied, reflecting back to then, “How could I forget?”

Sky, Cross, and Jupiter stood in the vault of the Elements, the stone room remained untouched since the last element was added to the collection. At the moment, Cross was placing his Element of Laughter, though his face was devoid of any of said attribute. He was taking the death of Cloud harder than anyone else, and he hadn’t even cracked a smile since they had left the changeling hive.

Jupiter looked to Sky, “Now, time to add your element into the vault.”

Sky nodded and opened up his player menu, accessing his inventory. He scrolled through his items… but then he stopped, eyes wide. “Um, Jupiter?”

“What is it?”

“I think you might want to see this.” Sky tapped on an icon, and the Element of Willpower appeared in his hoof. He held up the golden necklace to Jupiter, whose eyes also went wide at the sight of it.

Jupiter took a quick glance towards the rest of the Elements in the vault, all of them completely identical to each other, golden necklaces, each with a white jewel in their center. But Sky’s element was different. In its center was embedded a navy blue jewel, carved into the shape of the pentagram on Sky’s flank.

Sky tapped a hoof on the Element of Willpower, bringing up its status:

Element of Willpower (Active)

“I can’t believe it.” Jupiter muttered, “It activated.”

Jupiter looked at both me and Sky with a hard look, “I spent most of yesterday thinking about the activation of Sky’s element. I was trying to figure out a reason why it activated, and how we could use it to activate the other elements. You probably guessed this, but the Elements of Harmony can’t be used against Discord until they have become activated.”

“And what did you come up with?” I asked.

Jupiter paused, “Sky?”

“Yeah?”

“Think back to when you first received your element, back to when you left the group and went solo for a month. During that entire time until you decided to return, did you feel a lack of willpower at all?”

Sky blinked in surprise, obviously having not thought about it, “Um… yeah, I guess. I mean, it took a lot of will for me to go chasing after the others when I heard about them heading to fight Chrysalis. I feared that the others would still look at me like a power hungry monster, but I had to ‘will’ myself to return. Does that have something to do with it?”

“Maybe.” Jupiter replied, “Are you sure the Element of Willpower wasn’t active before you went into that boss battle?”

Sky nodded, “Yeah, I’m pretty sure.”

“Then that means my theory was right, in a way.” Jupiter glanced between me and Sky, “Do either of you know how an Element of Harmony chooses their bearer before a boss battle?”

I shook my head, imitating Big Mac for the lols, “Nope.”

“Then let me explain.” Jupiter took a deep breath as he gathered his thoughts, which was a sign that he was going to be talking about a lot for the next few minutes.

“As you can imagine, a Nervegear game in general can leave some psychological problems on its players, like if somebody spends more time within the game than they do living their own life in the real world. The problem is most commonly depression, where the player would rather stay in the game so much, to such an extent, that their lives become ruined, due to negligence.

“When we began developing ELO, there were only a handful of Nervegear games available to the public, none of which had any prevention to possible depression, other than restricted playtimes. ELO would have been in the same state as those games, had I not come across a certain psychological genius, who happened to be skilled in programing as well.

“I offered him a job on ELO, and he accepted, saying that it’d let him put a side project of his into play, which he called, ‘The Personality Files’. He joined our development team, and began programming.”

Sky frowned, “And what’s the Personality Files?”

Jupiter held up a hoof, “Hold on a second. I was getting to that.” He cleared his throat as he continued, “The Personality Files are an ingenious piece of work, though I vaguely know how it functions. It is complicated, after all. But to put it into simpler terms, it gathers data by monitoring a player’s every thought, action, and phrase, and after gathering that data, it compiles it into a file for each individual player. The programming behind it is so intricate that it can actually recreate an identical copy of a player’s mind if we wanted to, though without their previous memories outside the game, of course.”

I felt my jaw drop, as did Sky’s, “Wait, you’re kidding me. I didn’t think anything like that was even possible.”

“Neither did most people in the psychology field.” Jupiter chuckled, “The admin that programmed the personality files had been rejected several times for a grant to create a program like the files. But that’s why I accepted him into the dev. team, so he could both help program ELO and work on his project off to the side with our resources, which would allow his future career move forward.

“With the personality files working in the background of the servers, we tested the gameplay ourselves, and the files worked like a charm. We knew that we could monitor players who appeared to be depressed, and we as admins could aid them in every way possible. Of course, that was only one of the personality file’s functions.”

“Let me guess,” Sky interjected, “The elements?”

Jupiter nodded, “Yes. The Elements of Harmony were originally made to be items acquired through in-game events, with a boss protecting them, just like Discord has arranged for us so far. However, it was fitting that only players representing the elements could receive them. So, we put the personality files to work, so that when a group of players entered the boss room, the files could pick and choose a random player, so long as they could represent the elements of Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty, and Magic (AKA, Friendship).

“The personality files were really a genius invention, one that we’d reveal to the world after a week or two of gameplay, once we’d gathered enough tests on the players in the game. Although, we all know how that worked out in the end.”

“Whoa…” Sky whistled, “A program that can basically copy somebody’s personality into a physical file. Only a genius could have created something like that.” He paused, “But who was the admin who created it?”

Jupiter stopped suddenly, letting his head droop somewhat. He glanced towards me, a somber look in his eyes, “Rex.”

I winced as I heard the name. Even after all this time, I was still haunted by his death… The first death I ever saw in person. I glared at nothing in particular as I felt anger run through my mind. Anger … no, hatred, towards Discord, who killed him in outright malice. And now, to know that Rex actually had been a certified genius who had his whole career before him, only for it to be brutally stripped away from him, just made me hate his killer even more.

“I mean no disrespect towards Rex’s memory, but he’s not what I want speak about.” Jupiter recomposed himself, “It seems to me that Discord has been making use of Rex’s personality files in the boss fights, though with one slight difference. In the original boss fights we programmed, the element of harmony a player received would instantly activate at its bearer’s touch. But up until now, the elements you’ve gathered have remained inactive… which leads up to my theory.”

He gave me a hard stare, “None of you are the real bearers of the elements of harmony.”

I blinked in surprise, “W-what? What do you mean? No offense, Jupiter, but just about everyone says I’m the most courageous one in our group. What do you mean, I’m not the Element of Courage? What about the others?”

“Whoa, settle down, Shadow.” Jupiter shook his head, “What I meant was that none of you are the true bearers of harmony… yet.” Both Sky and I stared blankly at him, making him chuckle, “You see, when Sky left the group, his element was inactive, possibly because he didn’t fully represent the Element of Willpower. After all, he didn’t have the will to stay with his friends, even after his secret was revealed. The personality files most likely deemed him as inadequate to use his element at that point.

“However, that changed when Sky mustered up his willpower to come back. Once he did, his personality file changed, and thus activated his own element. The game tested his representation of his element, which he passed and gained access to his element.”

“Um, Jupiter?” I asked, frowning in confusion. I mean, his explanation did make sense, but something was off about it, “I’m not sure that your theory is a sound as you think it is. During our whole time in this game, I’ve seen a lot of times when the others did things that represented their elements, but none of their elements are active yet.”

Jupiter nodded, “Yes, I know what you mean. That is true, but there are two problems, two of which I know how to remedy. Firstly, Sky’s element was in his inventory when it activated, which I’m guessing means that the element of harmony must be with its bearer in order to activate.

“Secondly, you and the other bearers will need to prove to the personality files that you are ‘worthy’ to use the elements.”

“Worthy?” I asked, an eyebrow raised. I wasn’t quite fond of being called ‘unworthy’ to use my element, but guessed it was just about as accurate of a description as any.

“Sky’s element didn’t activate until after he acted with willpower, remember?” Jupiter replied, “Until the other elements of harmony do something, with their elements on their person, to represent their elemental attribute, their elements will not activate.

“Which finally brings me to the reason I needed to speak with you both. I have a task for the two of you to complete during your time in the game, and I need you to complete it before the final battle between you and Discord. I want you and the other element bearers to take the Elements of Harmony with you to the Crystal Empire, and once there, I need you to help the other bearers, as well as yourself, Shadow, to activate their elements.”

“Whoa, whoa, wait. What?” I was shaking my head at this point, “You want us to risk the safety of the elements by bringing them to the next boss fight against King Sombra?”

“Yes, Shadow.” Jupiter replied bluntly, “I realize there is a risk of losing the elements if any of you die, but right now we don’t have a choice. There are only two more elements to collect, and there’s no telling what Discord will do once all ten of the elements are found. As soon as we have all of them, we need to be ready for when Discord comes knocking on our front door. The only way to do that is to activate the elements.”

Jupiter leafed through his desk papers idly, “Sky, Shadow, you and the other bearers will be taking the elements with you to the crystal empire. While you travel and such, I need you to find a way for the others to truly deem themselves as worthy to use their elements. Otherwise, we could all die to Discord’s wrath when the elements have all been gathered.”

Sky and I both nodded, “We will.”

“Good, I’m glad you agree. But on a side note, I think it’ll help you more to keep the rest of your group in the dark about your task. People hardly change if they know they are to do so deliberately.” Jupiter suddenly chuckled, standing up from his desk, “Now, I hate to be blunt and depressing like that, but it was necessary to show how important this task is. But with that aside, I have one other thing I wanted to talk to you about. He’s waiting outside.”

As Jupiter made his way to the door to his office, Sky quirked an eyebrow, “Who?”

Jupiter only smirked at us over his shoulder, “An unofficial new group member.”

Jupiter led us down through the castle, and out of the city, until we were in a more secluded part of the wilderness, just outside the city wall.

As Jupiter led us forward, with Sky and I trailing behind, I was a bit confused.

“What exactly do you mean by ‘an unofficial new group member’?” I asked Jupiter.

He took a quick glance over his shoulder, “Well, as you know, Discord has restricted everyone from joining the teams of the Elements of Harmony, except for players that used to be part of their team prior the rule change. But he never did say anything about other players not being able to travel with you to your destinations.”

Jupiter looked forward, only to exclaim, “Ah, there he is.”

Sky and I glanced past Jupiter, to see a single player, out in the meadows. He was a brown unicorn stallion, with a black and red, spiked mane. His armor was light, more used for agility than protection, and he wore a head band around his brow. Above his head, his player ID read: Cinnamon. Cinn held a blue katana in his forehooves, while standing on his hind legs alone. He had been swinging his sword through the air in quick bouts, but he stopped when he spotted us approaching him, to which he leaned back against a fence to rest.

As Jupiter reached Cinn, he gave a small smile, “Glad to see you didn’t ditch Canterlot.”

“Hm, I thought about it, but I wasn’t sure how far I’d get before you came searching for me.” Cinn replied sarcastically.
Jupiter nodded in reply, and turned to me and Sky, “Shadow, Sky, this is Cinn. He will be accompanying your group through the north wastelands to the Crystal Empire.”

“Alright.” I glanced towards Cinn, smiling, “Nice to meet you.”

Cinn didn’t reply, other than just a flat look.

Yeesh, not the response I’d been expecting. Something tells me this guy is gonna be a handful. I thought, bemused. Hopefully he’s not like this the whole time.

Sky turned towards Jupiter, “Um, no offense to anyone, but why do we need anyone else to come with us through that blizzard up north? Shouldn’t our current group be enough to make it through?”

Jupiter only shook his head, “I’m not sure of that. The icy north was too harsh for our scouting teams, and they had to return back home before they reached the empire. Your team may be able to survive the conditions and monsters up there, but Cinn will accompany you just in case you need the extra hoof.”

Sky didn’t look convinced, “Then why not bring along other players as a precaution?”

Cinn snapped at that, “Why so concerned? You got something against me?”

Sky quickly glowered at him, gruffly, “That’s not what I meant. Sorry if it offended you.” Though not feeling very sorry, he shook his head, turning back to Jupiter, “Why not bring along some more players if you’re unsure?”

“I’m afraid more players in your group will only slow you down, thus making it harder for you to reach the empire.” Jupiter replied, “The levels of the scouting party were only a few notches below your own, and they didn’t even make it all the way through the blizzard. So, for everyone’s safety, Cinn will be the only one going with you.”

There was a long pause as Sky, Cinn, and I glanced at each other. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of the situation, and I don’t think Sky was either, since neither of us knew Cinn at all. It definitely was going to be strange to have a new face on the airship, but we’d just have to deal with it. Whenever Jupiter makes a suggestion or a change, most of the time, he’s right to do so.
I turned to Cinn, “Okay, we’re leaving in an hour. Be ready to leave and meet us at the airship in the castle courtyard by then.”

Cinn nodded, not even looking towards me, “Got it.”

You know that feeling you get when you’re paired up for a project in school, and your partner doesn’t want anything to do with you? Yeah, I was sort of picking up that vibe from this guy.

Ignoring the cold reply, I looked back at Sky, “Now we just need to get the others and we all will pick up our elements from the vault.”

Sky nodded, and we both started heading back to the castle, leaving Jupiter and Cinn behind.

Little did we know, once we were gone, Jupiter turned back to Cinn, “Do you remember the deal we made?”

Cinn nodded, determined, “Just find the random guy you think is hiding up north, right?”

“Yes.” Jupiter answered, “Do you remember the description of him I gave you?”

“Cyan unicorn, with a blue and cyan mane?”

Jupiter nodded, “And do you remember what his ID is?”

Cinn groaned, “You’re paranoid about finding this guy, I’ll give you that. Don’t worry, all I have to do is find this Sharky, and I’m off the hook.”

As Sky and I walked back through the streets of Canterlot, I gave him a sidelong glance, “So, what do you think of Cinn?”

Sky sighed, “Right now, all I can say is he’s probably gonna be a stubborn pain in the neck if he gets on my bad side.”

“What makes you say that?” I asked.

“You saw how he snapped at me back there. If someone reacts like that to a question of precautions, then you know he’s quick to react.” He grumbled, “If first impressions are anything to go by, then I’m going to hate every second I have to work with that guy.”

“Okay, okay, I get it.” I rolled my eyes, “You don’t like him, that’s all you had to say.” I paused, “But what about this other task Jupiter gave us? How are we supposed to get the others to convince the Personality Files that they’re worthy of their elements?”

“That is assuming the elements don’t activate when they touch theirs.” Sky commented.

“True… But I know that’s not going to happen for a certain someone.”

“Who?”

“Cross.”

“Oh… yeah.” Sky looked slightly downcast, “He doesn’t really represent Laughter right now, does he?”

I sighed, shaking my head, “No, he doesn’t. He hasn’t cracked a smile once ever since we left the changeling hive. I can’t say I blame him though. I’d probably be in the same sorry state if one of my best friends died by taking their own life…”

“And Jupiter’s expecting us to find a way to knock Cross out of depression? Sorry, but I don’t think anti-depressants would convince the Personality Files that Cross is the Element of Laughter, even if we could get the pills. I mean, it’s either that, or we plop him down in front of a TV and put on an episode of MLP, which we can’t do either.”

I chuckled at that, “The show always was the best anti-depressant, wasn’t it?”

“Yup.” Sky joked, laughing as well.

I paused for a moment as I brought myself back to the task at hoof, “All I can say is that getting Cross back to his old self will be difficult. It was bad enough when Dylan was down in the dumps after you left, but I think it might be worse with Cross.” But then I remembered, “Oh, yeah. How’s Dylan doing? Despite being on the same ship for the past day, I haven’t seen much of him.”

Sky smirked, “He’s been spending more time with me. I’ve been telling him about my lone adventure away from the group, and I’ve been showing off my new skills I learned.” He chuckled, “His face was priceless when I told him I was basically a demon now.”

“Well, it did surprise me.” I laughed, “So, I take it Dylan’s back to normal now that you’re with us again?”

Sky nodded, “Hai. (Yeah)”

I paused for a moment, before giving Sky a sly grin, “But he’s not the only one who’s getting closer to you, right?”

Sky blinked in confusion, “What?”

I smiled innocently, “Oh, nothing. I’ve just seen you and Siren talking to each other more and more. Planning when your next date will be?”

To his credit, Sky remained unfazed, putting on a surprisingly good poker face, “Nah, we’re friends. Last I checked, you talk to your friends all the time.”

“That doesn’t include talking with a friend all the time.” I laughed, “Face it, dude. You like her, and she likes you.”

Sky only smirked, “Shut up.”

I rolled my eyes, “Sure thing, Casanova.”

Within an hour, Sky and I had returned to Westfalia, and once there with the rest of our group, we explained that we’d be taking the Elements of Harmony with us to the Crystal Empire. Their reactions were similar to our own when Jupiter told us, but we managed to calm them down by saying it was more for safekeeping. I knew that was the furthest from the truth, but Jupiter had said we should keep our task to activate the elements secret from everyone else.

So, the eight bearers of harmony trotted back to the castle, retrieved their elements from the underground vault. Unfortunately, none of the elements activated at anypony’s touch like I’d hoped. But after getting the elements, we returned back to the airship, ready to head out for the northern wastelands.

I stood on the deck of the ship, watching as the last of my group boarded as well. When we had returned, we had found Cinn waiting for us. I was glad he wasn’t late, otherwise I would have had to hunt him down through the city. But with him on board, that meant our whole group was gathered, and we were ready to ship out.

I took another once over on myself, just to make sure I had everything. I had my armor on, my cloak equipped, my sword and shield on my back, as well as something else hung around my neck: A small, golden necklace, adorned with a single white jewel in its center.

I looked down at the Element of Courage I wore, smiling a bit as I did. It had been about 5 months since I had even touched it.
Heck, I’d never worn it before, but it felt… good to actually have the thing I had worked so hard to get all those months ago. I couldn’t help but wonder if the other bearers felt the same way about their elements.

I glanced back up and looked around the ship. Most of our group members had already gone below deck, though a couple of us stayed on deck, mainly Swift at the helm, myself, and Cinn, who wore a look of uncertainty on his face. I assumed this was his first time flying on an airship.

I shouted up to Swift, “Alright, Let’s head ou-“

“Wait!”

Everyone on deck turned towards the voice on the ground below. I looked over the railing of the ship to see Frostlight on waving up to me. I smiled and flapped my wings to meet her down there.

As I lighted down in front of her, I could only chuckle, "Hey, looks like you got here just in time. I hope catching me at the last minute isn't gonna be a regular thing between us."

She smiled, though her expression said she had something more serious on her mind, "Well... I just wanted to see you off. You're going somewhere that I know is extremely dangerous. My team was part of the scouting party Jupiter sent up to the Northern Wastelands, after all.

"Oh, yeah." I nodded, "You told me about that last night."

Frostlight shifted in place, worry evident on her face, "Anyways, the wind currents up north are too strong in that blizzard for an airship to go through, so you'll have to travel on foot. The whole place is incredibly cold, and staying still for too long could freeze you solid in ice. No matter what, your team has to keep moving, no matter what. And don't lower your guard! The whole place is infested by ice golems and snow wolves, which are much tougher than any timber wolf you've fought! And-"

Tears were beginning to form at the edges of her eyes, and I promptly cut her off by pulling her into a tight hug. She was startled by the sudden action, but quickly returned the tight embrace.

I nuzzled the worried girl reassuringly, "Don't worry about it. I already know what we're up against up there, thanks to you and the other teams that scouted out the place."

Frostlight only latched onto me tighter, "I know. But..." She looked up, face to face with me, "The scouting party barely made it out of that place alive. We didn't even reach the Empire, but we all almost died. I-I know you're stronger than anyone else, but I can't help but worry that you'll die out there!" She sobbed as she pressed herself into my neck, "I... I don't want to lose you."

I held onto her, but my eyes stayed fixed on her head, buried into my shoulder. I knew exactly why she'd feel this way. I was going straight into a similar situation where she herself almost died. It was only natural that she'd be worried for anyone else going into the same place, one that she had labeled as a death trap.

But as I looked at Frostlight, sobbing in worry, I couldn't help feeling a pang of worry myself. I had risked my life many times before, but I didn't feel as worried as this. When I said goodbye to Frost when my group left for the changeling hive, I wasn't as worried as I was now....

What was different this time I was leaving her?

Was it because she was worried out of her mind for my sake? Was I feeling her same fear?

...

I wondered about it. What if I did die out there? What would happen then? I'd lose the Element of Courage, and everyone else would have to retrieve it again... But we've done that before... If I died out there, I'd never see my family or friends again... But I've already accepted that as a possible hazard... What was different about this time?...

Was it... because it'd prove Frostlight's worries to be true? If I died out in the blizzard, or even in the Crystal Empire, how would she react?

I looked down at her again, and she looked as if she were falling apart emotionally. If I died, she'd no doubt end up even worse... it'd leave her as an emotional wreck, and I couldn't do that to her.

Still, worrying couldn't be helped, but I could do something to help it. I gently pulled her off of me, to which she idly resisted. But once I did, I put a hoof under her chin, tipped her head up, and kissed her on the lips.

... I had never kissed a girl before, so I wasn't prepared for what I felt. Her lips were so soft, and when they connected with mine, I felt so warm inside. It was like pure ecstasy, to which Frostlight's eyes sprung open in surprise. But as quickly as they opened, they closed, and so did mine. We stayed there for a few seconds, though it felt like minutes, relishing each other's warmth.

But when we broke away, I smiled at her affectionately, "I promise, I'll be back. I'll be careful, so don't worry about me, alright?"

She stared at me for a moment, before a smile came to her lips, "Okay."

We released each other from our grasps, and I grinned at her, "I'll be back as soon as I can." I flared my wings and flew back up onto the deck of the ship, watching as Frostlight waved goodbye to us. I waved back one last time, before turning back to Swift at the helm, "Alright, let's head out. Take us up!"

As Swift worked the controls of the ship, Westfalia took to the skies, on its way northward.

Of course, before we got too far, Sky smirked at me, after having seen the 'heart-warming' scene between me and Frostlight, "Phht, smooth move, Casanova."

I rolled my eyes, chuckling weakly to myself, "Whatever."

July 6th ('Storming' the Empire)

“D-d-dammit! Why does it have to be so cold?!” Soul grumbled bitterly, shaking like a leaf as he was pelted with the unforgiving wind and snow of a full on blizzard.

“Ah, shut up.” Cinn answered back flatly, “We all heard you the last time you said it, back two miles ago. And last I checked, we were all in the same blizzard, and I don’t see anyone else complaining.”

“Well excuse me, Mr. Ice Ninja! We haven’t been in this kind of weather before!” The unicorn card player retorted.

“That’s samurai to you, baka!”

From the front of the line, I quietly sighed in exasperation, readjusting the neck of my cloak to cover the parts of me that were getting cold. We’d been traveling through this blizzard for the past few hours or so, but Soul was getting irritable about the cold, which was sort of ironic since he was the only one in the group wearing a leather jacket.

Of course, from what I’d learned about Cinn in the past day it took us to reach the blizzard zone, he hated people who were irritable; as he put it in his own words, ‘those kinds of people really annoy me’. Looking back at the duo of bickering unicorns, I’d say he was telling the truth.

I suppressed a slight shiver. The cold of the storm was really getting to me, and that’s saying something, considering the fact I could easily whip out a fire to warm myself up… of course, then I wondered how long a normal flame would last out here. Whether it could or couldn’t, I had decided to not use any magic power out here unless needed. Who knew what kind of monsters lurked out in this storm?

In all honesty, I think everyone would’ve preferred to take Westfalia to the Crystal Empire with us, partially because it’d save us a long trek through the snow, and also because it was pretty much our home now, ever since Jupiter decided to evict us from Canterlot to find the last remaining Elements.

But of course, as bad luck would have it, the airship was in no shape to go through a full blown blizzard like this in one piece. So, our only option was to set anchor just outside the blizzard zone and walk all the way to the Crystal Empire.

From the front of our group, I took a glance back to make sure we hadn’t lost anyone by accident, which wouldn’t surprise me if we did. I could barely see the end of our group through the snowfall.

Right behind me was Midnight5ky, wearing his black cloak with the hood pulled up to keep warm. Close beside him was Siren, who had apparently been getting more friendly with the demonic unicorn ever since his return at the changeling hive. At least she was cold, since her armor was a long trench coat, but I could see a few icicles hanging off the base of her crossbow already.

Behind them was Dylan, who was shivering in his hooves. He hadn’t been exactly prepared for the cold weather, since he had thought the trip through the blizzard was shorter than it was. Thankfully, Sky had provided an old cloak for his brother, so he’d have to make do with that.

Following him were Lexus and Neon Fire, who were walking with the sides of their armor pressed together. It wasn’t just because they were a couple, but more likely that Neon was keeping her pegasus boyfriend warm. True to her name, Neon’s armor seemed like it was lit with green fire sometimes. Neither of them looked cold, so I didn’t have to worry about them.

After those two were Violet Runner and Eclipse. Those two guys weren’t doing much, other than keeping their eyes on the ponies in front of them while they trudged through the snow. Occasionally, they’d glance out to the sides of the group, watching for any monster activity. Although, Violet was the only one of the two wearing goggles, his forger’s goggles, so Eclipse kept having to blink rapidly to keep the snow out of his eyes.

The ponies behind them were doing the same, but their detection skills were letting them see farther than the normal eye could. With goggles on to keep the snow out of their eyes, Comet and Swift Vapor kept a steady lookout for any monsters in the storm. There was no one better in our group to keep a lookout more than a hunter and our aerial pilot.

Even though they were poorly dressed by winter clothing standards, a scarf for Comet and an armored tunic for Swift, the two pegasi didn’t even look like they were cold… Maybe it was just a pegasus thing? I’d have to ask them about it later. (It still surprises me how much I don’t know about this game)

After them, a single pony trudged along near the back of the group. Behind his sunglasses, Crossheart kept his eyes towards the ground, idly following behind everypony else. I wasn’t surprised by this. Even after all this time, he still hadn’t recovered from Cloud Burst’s death at the changeling hive. He had gotten the Element of Laughter, but anything he’d done since then had been less than cheery.

Silently, I noted that I’d need to find a way to cheer him back up, or else his element wouldn’t activate and allow us to use the Elements of Harmony to defeat Discord and free us from this game. Great, the fate of everyone depended on me and Sky to make our friend cheer up and get over his friend’s death. Isn’t that just peachy?

Taking up the rear of our group was Soul Cards and Cinn. They had volunteered to keep an eye on the rest of the group, just in case someone accidentally left the party and wandered through the snow… Well, that, and they also had to make sure Cross stayed up with the rest of us while he trudged along in depression. Obviously, Soul was freezing, though he was the only one voicing out his discomfort in colorful language.

Athough, Cinn on the other hoof wasn’t even shivering. I figured it had to do with his ability, Frost. Since it was an ability similar to my Blaze ability, considering the fact that it allowed me to walk over freaking lava, I figured the same thing applied to him in this instance. Hm… I wonder how powerful he is in comparison to me… Although, being an alicorn kind of makes that match up a bit unfair. Oh, well.

Needless to say, the atmosphere of our trek through this blizzard wasn’t like a Pinkie Pie party. Back in Equestria, it had been Summer, since it was the middle of July. Just like real life, the game kept weather patterns very identical to those you’d see during seasons in the real world. Even when the game started back in January, I’d never felt a snow fall in the game, let alone a blizzard.

Sure, we had fought against some ice monsters before, but we’d never felt cold on this scale before. Sort of made me wonder how Shining Armor could handle the cold while wearing nothing except a scarf and goggles… Although, that could’ve just been laziness on the animators part.

I shouted back to those on look-out duty, “Any signs of anything?”

“Negative!” Comet replied back, “I don’t sense anything within a kilometer of us.”

“Nope, I’ve got nothing!” Swift answered.

I sighed, “Good, at least we don’t have to worry about anything on the way to the empire.” I shouted back to them, “If you see even a tiny sign of anything, report it!”

“You got it!” Swift replied, while Comet only nodded like a soldier. Honestly, those two seemed like complete opposites to me.

Nodding again, I referred back to my Player Menu, where I had a map pulled up. According to Jupiter, the point where the blizzard started was supposedly 20 miles away from the Crystal Empire. At the speed we were going, we’d most likely reach it in five hours… that is, unless Discord did something to change that. After all, none of the scouting parties had been able to reach the empire, so I figured Discord did something to keep them out.

I glanced back at the group, yelling over the wind, “Keep it up, everybody! We still have about five hours to go at this rate!”
I was only greeted by a few groans, while the others who weren’t quite as bothered by the cold simply nodded. I rolled my eyes at those who’d groaned,

“Oh, don’t worry about it! Heck, if we pick up the pace, we should get there- Oof!”

I felt the wind suddenly get knocked out of me as something crashed into me from my side, sending me sprawling into the snow a few feet away. Over the initial shock of getting rammed by what felt like a truck, I realized it was more like getting hit by a glacier. Whatever had hit me had been as cold as ice.

I quickly got back up to my hooves as soon as I realized we were under attack by something… make that multiple somethings.

As soon as I got up, I was greeted by a row of sharp, icicle teeth as they aimed for my throat. I reacted quickly and jumped back out of range of what could’ve been a gruesome death, drawing my sword and shield as I did.

I instantly lit my sword on fire and got a closer look at the monster I was facing.

The creature reminded me of a timber wolf back in the Everfree, but instead of being made completely of wood and splinters, this one seemed to be made of ice. Its eyes glowed blue, and its claws and teeth looked like sharpened icicles. Everywhere a normal wolf would have thicker patches of fur, this wolf was covered in a layer of snow.

The ID above the creature read: White Wolf.

As quickly as I could recover, the white wolf lunged for my throat again. But with a quick flick of my magic, my sword came down on top of the icy beast. I guess my sword would have stopped short against the wolf’s ice body, but the flames around my blade melted the creature through where it sliced, like warm butter.

Ooh, what’d I do for something warm to eat right now… oh, wait, battle to fight. Right.

I dispatched the wolf with a single, flaming blow, and it dissolved into blue code, though the code camouflaged with the pelting snow.

I quickly turned back to the rest of my group, only to find that they were in a similar bind. Dozens of white wolves surrounded them, as well as a few more that suddenly popped out of the icy terrain. It was an ambush, and now we were beginning a big fight for our lives.

I galloped back to the rest of the group, cutting down a wolf in the process as it was stupid enough to try and kill me when my sword could easily melt it. I would have flown, but I doubted I’d have enough feeling in my wings from the numb cold to even take off, much less fly in these wild winds. Once back with the main bulk of the group, I ran up to Comet and Swift.

I shouted to them over the growls of the wolves and the whipping wind, “Where did these things come from?! I thought you said it was clear!”

“It was!” Comet shouted, before stabbing another wolf under the throat with her knives.

“How did we not see them?! They were popping out of the snow, like daisies!” Swift yelled, “Camouflage, maybe?”

Comet absently nodded, “Most likely. That’d explain why neither one of us could detect them.”

I grumbled under my breath as I raised my shield, just in time for a pouncing wolf to ram face first against it, “Well, that’s just great.” I turned to the duo, “Watch your backs. I’ll help the others!”

I jumped back into the fray of wolves, continuing the same process of cutting down wolves who were in my path. As I did, I kept an eye on the rest of the battle.

Everyone seemed to have been separated from the bulk of the group, but luckily no one seemed to be caught alone against the barrage of wolves. That is, until I spotted a lone figure fighting off a group of wolves on his own, away from everyone else.

Cinn stood on his hind legs, grasping his katana like a samurai would. He fought exactly the way a human would’ve, and he seemed to be holding his own, but as I neared him, his face showed that he was struggling slightly.

I cut down a few of the wolves around him, and found myself standing back to back with him.

Cinn growled under his breath as we warded the wolves off with sword-point, “Dammit! This would be so much easier if they weren’t already made of ice!”

“No kidding!” I replied, stabbing another wolf and letting it burst into blue code. I was grateful my flames could at least one-shot these things, but a quick look towards my magic meter showed I couldn’t keep it up for much longer. It turns out keeping a sword lit on fire in the middle of a blizzard was more taxing than in normal conditions.

Cinn and I kept fighting the wolves, only taking tiny scratches from them whenever they managed to get a lucky hit. But we were rudely interrupted as somepony was suddenly thrown into the air, soared across the heads of the wolves with as much grace as a flightless Dodo bird, and landed face first in the snow between Cinn and I.

Violet Runner groaned as he quickly got back up on his hooves, massaging a bright red, coded mark on his side where he’d been hit, “Ow, these buggers hit like small trucks!”

“Heh, join the party.” Cinn replied.

“Wait, you’ve been hit by a truck before?” I joked, trying to lighten the mood. In all honesty, we’d handled harder fights, but that didn’t mean we didn’t have to take them seriously. But that also didn’t mean we couldn’t have a bit of fun when we fought.

Violet grabbed another hammer from his Player Menu, having apparently lost his when that last wolf sent him flying over to us,

“Alright, time to fry these guys.”

Just like whenever I used Blaze, Violet’s ability, ‘Bolt’ sent the head of his paladin’s hammer alight with electricity, making the snow crackle as it fell onto it.

But sadly for us, before any of us could attack again, the wolves instantly did something I didn’t expect.

They dove back under the snow, right where they had come from.

Violet blinked in surprise, “They’re… gone?”

“I’m not sure.” I answered, “That’s odd.”

But suddenly,-

*CRACK*

Cinn’s, Violet’s, and my eyes widened as we heard what sounded like ice break beneath our hooves.

“What the hell was-“ Cinn was cut off as another crack pierced the air, and the ground beneath our hooves suddenly disappeared.

And then, we fell, straight down, with a full layer of snow. The ground we’d been standing on hadn’t been solid ground. It had been pure ice, like a glacier. And now, we were falling down between what appeared to be a giant crevice.

Out of instinct whenever I fell in midair, I quickly spread my wings to try and catch myself. But as soon as I spread my wings, a loose block of ice crashed down onto my open wing. The cold sting jolted through the limb, making me yelp in pain as the blow rendered my wing useless, sending me into an uncoordinated spin as I attempted to fly with only one functional wing.

I saw Cinn and Violet falling at the same speed as me, and they weren’t faring as well either. Cinn tried to think fast a plunge his katana into the ice walls, but his blade only recoiled off of the solid surface like a tooth pick against a metal plate.

Meanwhile, Violet flailed his arms in desperation of being able to catch a ledge or something, but all for naught.
It wasn’t long before we landed with a thud against the frozen ground at the bottom of the abyss, and everything went black.

I awoke to a series of groans, including my own. Not the best way to wake up, but I couldn’t complain because I was too busy complaining about my aching body and a particular wing that wouldn’t stop twitching in pain.

I blinked my eyes open to see where I was. The first sight I saw was a giant wall of ice, only barely visible from the dim light of wherever I was.

Ignoring the complaints from my body, I got back up to my hooves, though I stepped on my sword and shield in the process, which must’ve dropped from my grip when I landed after falling down that huge pit.

Oh, yeah… Now I remember. We fell down here. Sheathing my weapons onto my back again, I glanced around, Where did Violet and Cinn go?

I turned at the sound of their groans, to see that they were behind me, getting back up to their hooves as well.

Violet Runner groaned as he rubbed his head with a forehoof, taking his goggles off since there was no longer snow blasting around us, “Ugh~, did anyone get the number on that truck?”

I sighed, “Dude, what’s with you and trucks today?”

He weakly countered, “Hey! Trucks are cool!”

Cinn groaned in exasperation, “Whatever! Not important.” He blinked his eyes to try to see in the dimly lit cavern, “Where’s a light switch when you need one?”

Violet and I lit our horns, lighting the ice cave with yellow and red light, colors differing respectively. Seeing it, Cinn merely facehoofed as he momentarily forgot he could do that. He let his horn glow as well, sending a blue colored light into the mix.

With the three of us illuminating the area, the whole cave interior became more visible.

To say it was a cave was an understatement. It was more like a ravine, just a single, extremely large ‘crack’ between two ice walls. Pointing a light upwards, I could see the top of the ravine, but it was completely solid. I couldn’t even see the opening we had fallen through. I guessed the ice must have closed again on us once we had fallen through.

“Hm, looks like the opening sealed itself.” I commented, “We’ll be stuck down here unless we can break it open”

Cinn stomped a hoof against the icy ground, “Dammit! I bet those white wolves broke the ice under us and sent us down here to die!”

Violet frowned, “If that’s the case, then I bet the wolves were also the ones who sealed the opening up there so we couldn’t escape.”

“No. Actually, that was me.” A new voice spoke.

All of our heads turned in surprise towards the source of the voice. Cinn instantly drew his katana in prep for combat, “Who goes there? Who are you?”

After a moment’s pause, a figure walked into the light of our horns, revealing an unarmed, unarmored, cyan unicorn. His mane was a mix of blue and cyan, and he had no cutie mark.

I felt all the air leave my chest when I saw him. I wasn’t sure about Cinn, but I’m sure Violet had a similar reaction when he spotted the unicorn’s ID.

Sharky smiled nonchalantly, “I closed off the entrance to stop the snow from falling down here from outside, and in doing so, kept you three from freezing to death while you were unconscious. You’re welcome, by the way.”

It’s not every day you get led down a tunnel made of ice with a dead guy as your guide.

Soon after making our acquaintances, Sharky quickly led us through the ice ravine and into a tunnel that split off from the chasm. We all walked through the dimly lit ice cavern, all of us lighting the way with our horns. Sharky led up front, while Violet, Cinn, and I followed behind.

Sharky glanced back at me in particular, a friendly smirk on his face, “So, long time, no see, Shadowflame. I see life has been treating you well. Heh, an alicorn to boot, even.”

Cinn’s eyes widened, “Wait, you actually know this guy?”

“Yup,” Violet answered, though he seem sort of overly conscious about Sharky, “He sort of broke into the Canterlot Castle during a guild party we had a while back.”

“I did not break in.” Sharky detested, “I am an admin of this game after all.”

“But if you’re an admin, how are you still a unicorn while the other admins are earth ponies?” Cinn asked.

“That’s because everyone thought I was dead at that time, even Discord.” Sharky replied, chuckling slightly, “Heck, even I didn’t know I was dead then, but I know now.”

Cinn’s expression turned to one of confusion, “What? You’re dead?!”

I glanced up to Sharky, “Your house exploded back in the real world, just a few hours after the servers for ELO went online. That’s what you’re talking about, right?”

Sharky nodded, his appearance seeming to grow darker, “Yes… Jupiter told you about that, I would assume?”

I nodded.

Sharky sighed, “Then I suppose I have a lot of explaining to do, don’t I? Don’t worry, though. There’s a place where we can sit down and talk ahead.”

Violet spoke up, “Okay, but I have one more question: Where’s the rest of our group? Did they fall down here too?”

Sharky shook his head, “No, only you three fell down here. But the rest of your group had tried to find you. Unfortunately, I don’t think they could’ve found you out in that blizzard. The storm up there got even worse after you three fell down here, so they had to continue without you. They’ll wait for you three in the Crystal Empire, since they could see you weren’t dead from their team lists.”

“How’d you know that?” I asked.

Sharky shrugged, “While you were unconscious, a fellow named Midnight5ky sent you a message. I merely used your own hoof to answer it and read it. You can check your inbox for it to see for yourself. It should still be there.”

I quickly pulled up my Player Menu and checked my message box, only to see that Sharky had been telling the truth. Though it was unsettling that someone read my message while I was unconscious, I just shrugged it off as we continued down the tunnel.

True to his word, within a minute, Sharky led us into a fairly large chamber of the cave. Its walls were made of ice as well, but in the center of it, the ground was actually soil. On the dirt stood what resembled to be a fire pit, with a few logs in the middle of it, ready for use. Right beside it laid a sleeping bag, which I assumed was Sharky’s. The place seemed to be his little camp.

“Would you light a fire please, Shadow?” Sharky asked.

I nodded, sending a small ember into the fire pit, igniting the logs. The glow from the fire illuminated the whole of the cavern, so everyone let go of their horn’s glow.

Shark gestured towards the fire, “Go ahead, sit down and get warm. I’ll explain myself while we do so.”

The three of us complied, though Cinn seemed surprisingly hesitant. I couldn’t guess why.

Once we were all gathered around the fire, Sharky cleared his throat, “Hm-mm, I guess I’ll begin.

“As you know, I am Sharky, admin in charge over the design and everything pertaining to monsters inside ELO. If you three know of me from Jupiter, then you would know that my body in the real world was destroyed in an explosion just after ELO went online. Fortunately, I was in the game at the time, so I don’t think it would’ve been a painful death.”

He quickly raised a hoof to silence us, “And before you ask me how I survived the explosion, don’t. I have no idea how I did. As far as I can tell, either my body somehow survived the explosion, as did my Nervegear headset, but I’m still stuck in the game, or my body was destroyed and my mind somehow survived inside the game.

“Of course, I didn’t know that my house had exploded after coming into the game. Discord had trapped everyone in here, so I merely assumed at the time that I just couldn’t log out, which is still the case either way.

“Anyways, at the start of the game, it became clear to me that I was the only one out of the admins who wasn’t turned into an earth pony, but he still wiped my admin access code. Before ELO was released, I had chosen to be a unicorn over an alicorn, so I’m guessing that’s why Discord’s power didn’t affect my race when he took over.

“Since that was the case, I kept myself hidden, hoping to be able to use my unicorn magic to take back the game. But I knew I couldn’t reveal myself as an admin to anyone, and I couldn’t even go to another admin for help, both because Discord might find me and take away my magic, and it wouldn’t look good for an admin to come strolling into the open as a unicorn after Discord took over, having conveniently kept his magic. I figured some players might get the wrong idea and think that I set Discord loose and trapped us all here.

“I decided to keep my distance from anybody, to see if I could help in any way from the sidelines.” Sharky sighed, “It worked for maybe a little while, but I was hopelessly behind when it came to current information. That’s why I slipped into Canterlot Castle on the night of the party, so I could update myself using Jupiter’s records.”

The cyan unicorn chuckled grimly, “I didn’t know about my so-called death then, but when I was scrounging through Jupiter’s records, I found a journal entry about the first day everyone was trapped in there. That’s when I found out my house exploded with me inside.”

He smiled sheepishly, “You could say that was a bit of a shell-shocking discovery. When I learned about that, I was close to hysterical panic. It didn’t help when you then walked in on me, Shadow. I was so confused about the whole situation, I ran for the hills!” He chuckled, “And I’ve been keeping my distance ever since.”

“Hm…” Violet tapped a hoof to his chin, “But why are you out here? Inside a glacier isn’t exactly the comfiest of places to hide.”

“It isn’t supposed to be, Violet Runner.” Sharky replied, “In order to keep Discord away from me, I had to hide somewhere he’d least expect it. What better place than under the ice in the middle of an eternal blizzard?

“It’s actually out here where I’m working on trying to help on my end. I practice my unicorn magic out here, and I think I’m close to a point where I can manipulate the system to the point where I can take control of it.”

“How so?” I asked.

“You remember that wall of ice I created when I escaped Canterlot?”

I nodded. I remembered I had to melt the dang thing, but by the time I had, Sharky had disappeared.

Sharky continued, “That was simply creating an ice wall, regular, programmed magic. But when you get to a high enough level, you can actually manipulate part of the map, provided it’s somehow associated to the magic you control.” He gestured a hoof to the ice cavern, “I use ice magic, both as magic and as a weapon. These tunnels down here are my own creation. I can actually manipulate any part of this body of ice as I please.

“However, I can’t make a large change happen to the map’s landscape, for fear of a… er, “lag-spike”, so to say. If that happens, Discord will be on my tail instantly, and all hope is lost on my end.”
Cinn frowned, “Well, being able to manipulate the map is cool and all, but what does it have to do with taking back the game from Discord?”

Sharky smiled, “There’s a lot of code running through the servers of ELO, a large part of which is the map of Equestria. Heck, the map itself is actually the foundation for most of ELO’s coding. If a player can manipulate the land, he can pretty much rewrite the entire code of ELO. It’s a tiny exploit, one of which none of the admins thought could happen, but it could very well be our only way out of here, besides taking Discord head-on.”

All of us listening gasped, Cinn voicing our thoughts, “Wait, you can do that?! Aw, hell yeah. Let’s just skip getting the rest of the elements and go straight to that plan!”

Sharky winced, “Eh, well there is one problem with that. You’d have to be a certain level to be able to manipulate the map, and even higher than that to change the map completely.”

Cinn paused, “How high?”

“About level 90 to manipulate the map, and probably level 150 to change the map.”

“Dammit! Son of a kujo- how high are you?”

“Level 97.”

Cinn rolled his eyes, sighing, “And here I thought we could get out of this game early.”

I admit, I was a bit disappointed, but I can’t honestly say I was surprised, “Figures as much. This is just like when we thought we had a lead on getting out of the game after we found out the king of the hater’s guild somehow hacked into the system.”

Violet nodded, “Yeah, I remember that. That didn’t go anywhere, because nobody wanted to risk their lives, or possibly the lives of everyone else by trying to hack the game.”

Sharky chuckled sheepishly, “Yeah, I know it’s a bit stupid. It’d take me months to even get up to at least level 120, so the quickest way out of the game would still be by taking out Discord with the elements.”

“So we’re still going with the original plan. That’s just great.” Cinn huffed, “Oh, yeah, that reminds me; Speaking of plans…”

He turned to Sharky, “Before we left Canterlot, Jupiter told me he had some suspicions that you were out here in the blizzard, since you have an affinity for ice. He told me if I found you, I needed to bring you back to Canterlot at all costs.”

Sharky raised an eyebrow, “Jupiter wants me back in Canterlot?”

Cinn nodded, while Violet and I just gave our group member some confused looks. Why would Jupiter have told only him and not anyone else?

Sharky paused for a moment, before sighing, “Well, if the Knights of Harmony are already on their way to get the ninth element out of ten, then I guess my way of getting out is somewhat obsolete. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to go back now.”

He nodded to us, “Alright, I’ll tell you what; I’ll head to the Crystal Empire with the three of you, help you take down King Sombra, and then return back to Canterlot. Since I was the one who actually programmed the dark tyrant, I’d be an invaluable asset to helping in his defeat, as well as any other mobs along the way.”

Cinn nodded, “Good! Now that my job’s done, let’s get going to the Empire.”

Sharky raised a hoof, “Sorry, but we can’t leave yet.”

“Why not?” Asked Violet.

“Stay silent and listen.”

The four of us shut our mouths tight, so the only noise in the chamber was the crackling of wood in the fire pit. But above that, I could hear a low whistle, like wind through a tunnel… no, wait, it was the wind.

“That wind,” Sharky explained, “Is the sound of the blizzard above us. There aren’t any outlets from beneath the ice to the surface, yet the sound can travel through the ice. The worst part is that the ice separating us from the blizzard is fifteen meters thick.”

Blinked in surprise, “And we can still hear it? The blizzard’s that powerful?”

Sharky nodded, “After you three dropped down here, the blizzard got even worse. That’s why I had to close the opening above the ravine, just so it wouldn’t freeze you to death. It hasn’t let up so far, and trying to make it to the empire in the middle of it would be suicide. But based on the few months I’ve spent in this area, the worst part of the blizzard should be over in about an hour.”

“So, we’re stuck down here until the blizzard dies down a bit?”

“Yeah.”

Cinn groaned as he slumped back with his back on the icy ground, “Ugh! Fine. I guess we’ll just have to wait.”

For the next few minutes, we all did our own things to keep ourselves busy while we waited for the storm to weaken.

I sat by the fire, talking to Sharky about what he’d done out on his own, as well as his own abilities. As a group leader, I figured it’d be good to know what our new ally could do, just in case it could come in handy later.

For example, it turns out conjuring ice was all Sharky was really adept at, from what he told me. He had no physical armor or weapons, until he made them, that is. He showed me his weapon of choice by making a pair of ice gauntlets appear over his forehooves, topped with icicle spikes which followed the gauntlets’ edges up to his elbows. From what he told us about his current level, I could tell he could rival me in raw power, even if I was an alicorn.

Cinn basically fell asleep by the fire, taking a nap after the long trip we’d traversed before.

As for Violet… wait, where was he?

I asked Sharky if he’d seen where Violet had gone.

“Oh, I saw him go back through the tunnel. He’s probably heading back to the ravine. Got any idea why?”

I tapped my chin with a hoof, “Hm… come to think of it, during our fight with the white wolves up above, his usual hammer got knocked away from him before we fell down here. He’s probably seeing if it fell down here too.”

Sharky frowned, “I don’t think I remember seeing another hammer drop down with you three. I bet it’s probably still up top, probably buried beneath a foot of snow by now.”

Getting up, I shook off a tiny bit of water from the melted ice I’d been sitting on, “Well, I’m gonna go help him find it, just to make sure we don’t have to go digging through the snow to find it again.”

I turned and headed for the tunnel, lighting my horn as I left the light of the fire pit.

I travelled back down the tunnel, until I again reached the ravine where we had fallen underground… er, ‘underice’, technically.

Once I got there, I spotted the yellow glow of Violet Runner’s magic. I saw Violet at the opening of the tunnel, but he was sitting on the ground, and not searching for his hammer like I had assumed. He had his back to me, so I couldn’t see what he was doing.

Violet’s head whipped around towards me as my hooves made a clip-clop sound against the ice. But his face, it didn’t have his usual, cheery look. He seemed… troubled. His mouth was contorted in a grimace, and his eyelids drooped down part way over his eyes.

He spoke with a quiet voice, “Oh, hey Shadow.”

I approached him, confused, “Hey, are you okay? You seem like, I don’t know, you have a problem or something?”

Violet shrugged, turning his head back forwards, lifting his gaze towards the open expanse of the ravine. Looking up, I realized that we couldn’t even see the end of the ravine from here. The darkness just seemed to swallow the light of our horns before it reached the end of the great chasm. The sound of the blizzard above us only added an effect to the sight, making the darkness a bit unnerving, as if there were some beast waiting in it as it breathed in long wheezes.

Violet sighed, staring glumly at the dark ravine, “It’s nothing really, it’s just… being cooped up down here, I can’t help but think about things. Right now, those things aren’t so good.”

I sat down to the side of him, “You want to talk about it?”

He was hesitant at first, but eventually nodded, “Sure. You’d probably understand why I say this, but you’ll probably think I’m just being silly.”

I stayed silent, waiting for him to begin.

Violet sighed, his gaze not even drifting from the blackness before us, “We’re nearing the end of the game, aren’t we?”

I nodded.

“Then why does it feel like the end is still so far away?” The tan unicorn asked, “When we began this game, finding the ten elements seemed like something we could do quickly. But with each element we found, things only got harder.” His head drooped in sorrow, “Even on the walk back from getting the Element of Spirit, monsters ambushed us and killed some of my friends.

“Every time we’ve gone into a new place to find another element, Discord’s tried to kill one of us… and last time, he succeeded. I can’t help but wonder if the same thing will happen this time when we face King Sombra. Will one of us die before the fight, or will there be even more deaths than that? Will it be me, or will it be my friends?”

His gaze returned back up towards the ravine. I followed his gaze, to where the light of our horns couldn’t penetrate the dark. The end wall of the ravine wasn’t even visible, nor was anything between us and it.

Violet grimaced, “I suppose you could say everything we’re doing now is like this ravine; everything at the end of it is so dark, you can’t tell what’s waiting for you beyond what we can see, or if you’re even going towards the end at all. I’m starting to think the same way about this game. I-…”

He hung his head, “I’m not sure if I can handle what’s up ahead. I’m wondering if we should back down now before somebody dies again.”

I stared at him wordlessly. I understood where he was coming from, and I admit that even I wasn’t sure what waited for us later in our journey. Just thinking about it, about Discord and his cruel ways of killing, I felt the same fear Violet did. But…

I turned towards Violet, “Yeah, I know how you feel. I’m sure everyone in the group does. One of us may die… but we already knew that, didn’t we?”

Violet glanced back towards me, “Um… yeah, I suppose we did. But back then… I don’t think any of us realized just how dangerous this was going to be.”

“Well, things have always gotten harder for us. But that hasn’t stopped us before, has it?”

Violet paused, a frown on his face, “No…”

“Then why should it stop us now?” I put a hoof on his shoulder, “Listen, Violet Runner,” He perked up slightly, since I never used his full username, “Things will only get harder from here on out. I’m not even going to try and lie about it. But I think, in order for everyone to survive, you’ll need to stop thinking like we’re going to die tomorrow! Everyone’s already doing that, and I don’t need you doing it too.”

I pointed a hoof at him, in a bold manner, “You’re going to help me get everyone’s spirits back up, because that’s exactly what we need now. You can’t expect everyone to fight hard and survive if they don’t have any fighting spirit! I can’t think of anyone better suited to keep everyone’s spirits up than you, but you can’t do that when you’re doubting our chances of living too.

“You’re the Element of Spirit, Violet Runner. And right now, the elements of harmony need your help if we’re going to beat this game. What do you say?”

Violet stared at me for a moment, taking in everything I had said. I silently hoped my impromptu pep talk actually worked… actually, I’d be surprised it did.

But to my surprise, Violet actually began to smile. It wasn’t just a friendly smile, but rather a smile of determination. He nodded to me, “You know what? You’re right. It was fighting spirit that got us through this mess so far. We just need a little more before we finally take on Discord. I might worry, but I know it’s my job to keep our spirits strong and keep fighting, even if we have to roll with the punches.”

I blinked in surprise, Wait, my pep talk worked!? Oh my gosh, I’m better than I thought!

Violet got back up to his hooves, “I’m feeling more ready to go than ever. Hopefully the blizzard dies down soon, because as soon as we reach the empire,” He grinned determinedly, “I’m ready to smash Sombra’s horn back into his skull with my hammer!”

I grinned as well, “That’s the spirit.”

“Did you expect anything less?” He laughed as he galloped back down the tunnel, with me following after him.

Sky stood at the other edge of the blizzard, he and the rest of the group having made it through the whole storm. The rest of their group was waiting with them, save for a few who went to scout out the surrounding area, since their maps weren’t showing them the whole of this new area, since it had been closed off before.

Sky stared into the midst of the blizzard, waiting and silently hoping that he’d see their missing team mates emerge from the storm. He and the others had been there for what seemed like hours now. But the blizzard had already died down a while ago, which gave them hope that hopefully their lost team mates were alright. Their health bars were still visible in the group’s player menus, so they knew that Shadow, Violet, and Cinn were all still alive.

And their waiting was soon rewarded, as Sky spotted three figures in the storm, walking towards them… no, wait, there were… four of them?

I trudged through the snow for the last time I ever wanted to, though with my luck, I knew I’d probably have to walk through a blizzard again before we got out of this game. Either way, I was relieved to finally see the storm’s edge, the ground under our hooves beginning to transition from snowy mud to grassy plains.

And to my even greater relief, Violet, Cinn, and I saw that our group was waiting for us.

They all greeted us back in their own ways… very different ways.

Neon shot towards us like a bullet and picked up me and Violet in a bone crushing hug, shouting, “Oh my gosh! You’re back! We thought you were in trouble, or something like that!”

Violet coughed as his lungs were crushed, trying to tap out from Neon’s hug, “Down, Neon! Down!”

“Oh, sorry.” Neon put us back down on the ground, much to my relief. Apparently her hugs could crush through armor, because my chestplate hardly did anything to suppress the hug’s force.

Sky approached me as I tried to catch my breath, “What happened out there? And…” His gaze drifted behind me, “…who’s that?”

I followed his gaze towards Sharky, and Sky’s jaw threatened to drop open when he saw the newcomer’s ID.

Siren was the first to catch on, since the whole team suddenly noticed Sharky. The pruple pegasus gave Sharky an incredulous look, “Wait a minute… Sharky? As in, the Sharky everyone in Canterlot talks about?”

“Isn’t he supposed to be dead?” Eclipse asked.

“The rumors all said that his house exploded, yet he still lives inside the game as a haunting spirit.” Dylan added.

Sharky chuckled as he stepped forward, “Yes, yes, I’ve heard those rumors, but I better put them to rest. I am Sharky, head admin over the monster programing and development. And no, I’m just as alive as any of you, even if my house exploded while I was in the game.”

Sky recomposed himself, “Hm, figures. You guys go missing for a while in the middle of a storm, and you come back with a dead guy. You sure you guys didn’t go to the underworld or somewhere like that?

I chuckled, "Heh, something like that. I'll tell you everything on the way to the Empire."

He shrugged, before pointing a hoof behind him, "Well, you better make it quick, because the empire is right there!"

I glanced behind him, and my eyes widened at the sight. The sun was beginning to set, right behind a single, mazzive, crystal pillar in the distance. The sun's rays shined through the blue crystal structure with magnificent radiance, as did the top of the buildings below it.

We were here. We were in the Crystal Empire.

July 7th (The Great Side-Quest Grind)

Hey, Shadowflame here. So yeah, in my last entry, my group had finally made it to the Crystal Empire. Heh, never thought we’d reach this point in the game. Seems like the start of the game had been centuries ago, never mind collecting eight elements after that.

Oh, yeah, I knew there was something I was forgetting in my last entry. Sorry about that, whoever happens to be reading this, but I accidentally left out a detail from our adventure beneath the ice.

You see, after my little pep talk with Violet, where I convinced him that I needed him to raise everyone’s spirits, I had opened up my Player’s Menu to prepare for the trek through the rest of the blizzard. But when I did, an achievement notice had popped up:

Achievement Get: Spirit (Activate the Element of Spirit)

Down there under the ice, I had apparently activated Violet’s element. I wasn’t aware of it before, and I don’t think Violet was either, but what I’d said must’ve changed his resolve so that his Personality File deemed him worthy to use the Element of Spirit.

I kept silent about it though, because this was the task Jupiter had assigned me and Sky, back before we left Canterlot for the Crystal Empire. We were supposed to find a way to activate the others’ elements, just like Sky’s Element of Willpower had. And from the looks of things, it looks like I just found a way.

Of course, now you’re probably wondering how I could leave out something as important as that. Well, even if I’m an alicorn or not, I still make mistakes. But hey, I’m making up for it now! Besides, I was distracted by how amazing the Crystal Empire looked.

The Crystal Empire was just as amazing as everyone had said it was. The roads looked like they were made of one, completely solid gemstone, and there were just as equally shiny, crystal ponies trotting up and down the streets, just like regular NPC’s do. The houses, the ones that weren’t made of wood, were made of crystals that glittered in the early twilight. At the center of the city stood the Crystal Palace, which shone turquoise blue in the radiant light.

All of these beautiful buildings, yet not one of them was an inn.

Everyone in our group had assembled underneath the base of the Crystal Palace, right in the center of the city. We had previously sent everyone in smaller teams to look around the city for any signs of an inn. But after regrouping, all of us had failed to find one.

“Well, this sucks.” Sky flatly stated, “It doesn’t look like there’s an inn in this whole city.”

“And given a city as big as Canterlot, that’s saying something.” Soul added, before chuckling, “Oh, well. At least I found a few taverns with some smoking hot NPC’s. I’ll have to stop by them later.”

While the members of Team Calvary merely rolled their eyes at Soul, and Cinn looked like he was about to vomit, Sharky spoke, “Well, being one of the developers of the game, I know there were at least two inns in the Crystal Empire.” He scratched his chin with a hoof, “Although, if neither of them are here anymore, then I assume this is Discord’s doing.”

Cinn nodded slowly, “It makes sense. If you don’t have an actual home, then the only way to completely regen your health and magic overnight is by staying at an inn. I’d say Discord took out the inns here because we need to enter a dungeon to fight King Sombra, and if we needed to heal up, then the closest place to stay would be back on the other side of the blizzard.”

Catching on, Eclipse added, “We do have some healing spells, so health shouldn’t be a problem, but magic is our main concern. Without an inn, we could probably only regenerate half our magic in a day, if we don’t use it.”

I visibly cringed, “And without our full magic power, we might not be able to make it all the way through the fight with King Sombra. A few of us would most likely die, if not come close to it.” I sighed, “It seems like Discord’s actually set up a death trap for all of us.”

“A death trap?” Neon frowned, “This is probably the neatest looking death trap I’ve seen.” She giggled as she looked at a distorted reflection of herself on a crystal wall.

Lexus gently tapped her on the side, “Neon, focus please.”

She giggled again, sheepishly, “Whoops, right, sorry.”

Swift spoke up, “Well, if there isn’t an inn here, then why don’t we buy a house for all of us? It won’t be a permanent home, but just someplace where we can heal up if we need to.” He shrugged, “I think we have enough bits to buy a good house, as well as supplies for the dungeon. Plus, we could always sell the house after we’re done here and we’ve defeated Sombra.”

“Hm, sounds good.” I replied, while everyone else voiced their individual agreement.

Sharky pulled up his player menu, “Well, if we’re going to buy a house, we better look at the options we hav-“ He abruptly stopped when he came to a certain page on his screen. He simply stared at it for a few seconds, before his jaw dropped open.

Dylan raised an eyebrow, “What is it?”

Sharky quickly reigned in his composure, “Well, it seems like there’s only one place available to buy, and I don’t think you’re going to like the price.”

“Only one?” Sky asked, “What is it?”

“The Crystal Palace, and it’s selling for five-million bits.”

Everyone fell silent, so much that you could hear a bit drop to the ground.

“Eh… How much do we have?” Violet asked.

Everyone quickly opened up their player menus and we added our bits together. The total came up to 3,856,521 bits. We were over a million bits short.

Cinn was the first to groan, “Is that really the only place we can buy?!”

Sharky showed him his player menu, and upon seeing the single place up on the realty screen, Cinn was quickly silenced.

I groaned as well, “One million bits? That’s just as much as we got from selling the old base back in Canterlot.” I looked to the rest of the group, “Well, unless we want to be sleeping out on the streets our entire time here, anyone got any ideas of how to make some more quick bits?”

“I wouldn’t advise grinding mobs.” Sharky replied, “The only monsters around here are inside the dungeon or back in the blizzard, both of which are hard places to train with little reward.”

“What about side quests, then?” Siren asked, “Since nobody’s been here, then all of the good side quests should be waiting for us to take them.”

“Good idea, Siren.” Sky smiled, making a tint of red go into Siren’s cheeks, “Side quests would get us more bits than level grinding, plus they could get us some items we need for the dungeon too.” He glanced towards Sharky, “You think we’ll be able to make a million bits by doing side quests?”

Sharky paused, “Well, it is doable. If the side quests are done quickly, then we should be able to get enough money; although, it’d probably take a whole day at least.”

“Then it’s settled.” I pumped a hoof to the air, “We’re going side quest grinding, everypony!”

“We should split into groups,” Violet commented, “Just so we get this done quicker.”

I nodded, “Yeah, everyone grab a buddy to go on quests with. There’s fourteen of us, so we should go in pairs. It’d be better that everyone not go alone, just in case something unexpected happens, but with seven groups, we’ll get more bits in less time.”

Sharky held up a hoof, “How about we wait first. Everyone can get in pairs tonight, but I think we should all get a quick rest, even if it’s out on the streets. We all just made a long trip through the middle of an eternal blizzard, and most of us are down on health. We should rest for the night, just so we can get most of our health back, and even a tiny bit of magic for the unicorns.”

“So… what? Camp out here?” Soul asked.

Sharky shrugged, “Well, here at the center of the city. I don’t think any NPC guards would like us sleeping right underneath the palace. We can’t sleep in any buildings, because I doubt we want any NPC’s buck-kicking us out of their buildings for falling asleep there.”

I raised an eyebrow, “Wait, does that actually happen?”

Cinn nodded, “Yeah, it’s happened to me twice. Whenever I was low on bits and couldn’t afford an inn room, I’d usually fall asleep in some tavern instead.” He quickly added, “Of course, that hasn’t happened to me for about two months now.”

Sharky continued, “Anyways, I think the best bet would be the grassy areas at the edge of the city.”

I shrugged, “Whatever. For now, let’s get into pairs for side questing tomorrow and then let’s set up some sort of camp.” I grabbed my choice of partner, “I call Sky!”

Sky gave me a bemused look. I guess he had been planning on pairing up with Siren. However, I had a good reason for taking him away from a chance to be alone with his team-mate crush.

As everyone else began pairing up, I quickly whispered to Sky, “Sorry, but I need you for tomorrow.”

He paused, before asking, “Is it about what Jupiter asked us to do? Activate the Elements?”

I nodded. So far, I had gotten Violet’s Element of Spirit to activate by talking him out of his doubt. I figured the same could work for the others. “I’ll explain how we’ll do it tomorrow morning.”

I walked away from him, seeing who had paired with whom. But when I did, I was met by a bit of a surprise for some of the pair choices.

Violet and Soul had paired up with each other for tomorrow. Those two had been best friends since they started in Manehatten, so it made sense. Dylan had gone with Eclipse, though I wasn’t sure why.

I was expecting to see Neon and Lexus paired up, but to my surprise, Neon had paired up with Siren.

“Aw, babe! I thought we were going to pair up for this.” Lexus whined to his girlfriend.

Neon simply giggled in response, “Oh, come on, Lexus. We do almost everything together. Don’t you know every girl needs a bit of day off with the rest of her friends?”

Siren laughed as well, “Don’t worry, Lexus. I’ll make sure no stallions start staring at her flank besides you.”

Lexus rolled his eyes, “Whatever.” He turned his head, “Hey, Cross? You want to pair up?”

Cross, having been silent the entire time we’d come into the empire, simply nodded. Honestly, that guy never said a word now… which was exactly what I was hoping to change. If I was going to activate his Element of Laughter, I was going to have to break through that hard skull of his and help him get over Cloud’s death, no disrespect to the dragon’s memory intended.

Swift and Comet had paired up, which was probably a good choice. With two pegasi in a group, they could handle side quests that happened to be skyward. That was good thinking on their part… actually, now that I think about it, the two of them seemed to be paired up ever since we left Westfalia before the blizzard… oh well, it must’ve been a coincidence.

The last pair was Sharky and Cinn… though, judging by what Cinn had said back under the ice, about Jupiter having sent him to find Sharky, I guessed he just wanted to keep his eye on the former admin.

I quickly took note of each of the groups, before nodding once I had it memorized. I called out to everyone, “Alright, let’s get a camp set up. We’ll be waking up bright and early in order to do as many side quests as possible in a day.” I said the last part with a hint of disdain. I hated waking up early.

Yup, I still hate waking up early. Actually, the world shouldn’t be allowed to exist before 6 AM.

After everyone grudgingly got up off the grassy field we were sleeping on, as well as eating a quick breakfast, we geared up for action.

Once everyone was ready, everybody got in their groups of two. I was finalizing our plans for the day,

“Okay, here’s how we’ll do things today. Everybody search for any side quests, do any that you think will pay well, and after you complete each one, send a message to me saying how many bits you’ve earned on that quest. I’ll count our total bits up, and once we reach enough bits to buy the palace, I’ll message everyone that we can stop the side quest grind. Got it?”

Everyone voiced their agreement.

“Alright, ponies! Roll out!”

Sky and I walked into the city on our own, everyone else having dispersed in their own groups.

Sky glanced towards me, “So how are we going to activate the others’ elements?”

“We’re going to talk to them.” I answered.

The darker cyan unicorn raised an eyebrow, “And how is talking to them going to help them be more like their element?”

I shrugged, frowning, “Well, back down under the ice, I had a talk with Violet. He said he was having troubles believing that we’d actually get through this game alive. After a little pep talk, I was able to convince him that we needed him to raise everyone’s spirits, and I think that change in mind he had is what activated his element.”

“So basically we go around to the other elements, find why they aren’t acting like their element, and reverse it with a little pep talk?”

I shrugged, “More or less, as far as I know.”

“Hm, figures. I was never good at pep talks.” Sky grumbled under his breath, “Although, I think everyone else is going to get suspicious of what we’re doing if they notice we haven’t earned a single bit from side quests.”

I chuckled sheepishly, “Well, uh, about that… I sort of bought some gold bars to save my bits in my inventory. I didn’t count those when we were totaling up the group’s money, so I have about 250,000 bits in gold bars I could sell.”

Sky blinked in surprise, “Hm, cool.”

I nodded, “Well, let’s get started, then.” We broke into a gallop down the street, “Let’s go find Soul. Might as well go in order of how we got the elements.”

It took us a little while of searching, and asking the other groups we passed for directions, to find Soul and Violet. But we soon found them just at the outskirts of the city, though it looked like they were in the middle of a side quest.

“Violet, cut them off!” Soul shouted, wildly swinging his dual blades in the air, as he chased three, little animals.

Violet galloped right in front of the animals’ path, hooves outstretched in anticipation to grab them, “Gotcha’ now, you fuzzy, litt- *Oof*!”

Violet winced as one of the animals had leapt up on top of his head, bounced off down to his back, and landed on the ground behind the tan unicorn, all the while its companions ran past either side of him.

The three, tiny, crystal ewes regrouped far behind Violet and bounced away without a care in the world.

Violet grumbled to himself as he glanced back at the little sheep, “Gah! How do they keep doing that?!”

That’s when Sky and I arrived, laughing our heads off at the display the ewes had made.

I snickered as we approached them, “Having some trouble, guys?”

“You could say that.” Violet replied, bemused, “It’s bad enough that you can’t catch those little beasts directly with magic.”

Sky managed to get his chuckling under control, “Here, why don’t I help? Shadow needs to talk to Soul about something anyways.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sky give me a slight nod, as if to say, ‘I’ll leave him to you’. Hm, very subtle. Nice job, Sky.

Confused, Soul hesitantly agreed, “Okay…?” Shrugging, he put away his swords as Sky took his place in the side quest.

I motioned for Soul to come with me over to the side, so we were out of earshot of anyone else.

Once there, Soul looked at me confusedly, “You have something to talk to me about?”

For a moment, blanked out. I hadn’t exactly thought of how I was going to bring about the subject. What else was I supposed to say? ‘Hey, Soul. Your element never activated, so I don’t think you’re as loyal to us as you let on. Are you a spy?!’

I mentally winced as I tried to carefully piece out the question, “Um, Soul? Is there anything… er, troubling you right now? Something… I don’t know, related to loyalty perhaps?”

Soul’s features went visibly rigid, as if something had put him on edge. But just like the poker player he was, his face stayed emotionless in a mask, “What do you mean?”

I frowned. Sure, he didn’t sound like he knew anything, but his body language said otherwise. I didn’t know what it was he went rigid about, but I was going to have to play along if I was going to get anything out of him.

I cleared my throat, “You know what I mean, Soul Cards. You might as well spill it before I bring it up for everyone to hear. After all, it’s only a matter of time before everyone else notices.” Wow, I’m actually quite good at making fake accusations… not too sure if that’s good or not.

But to my satisfaction, it worked to a degree. Soul’s poker face slipped for just a second, and he knew it. Whatever this cat was, it was now out of the bag from his perspective.

Soul sighed, “Alright, alright, fine. It’s true. I’ve been selling some of Violet’s stuff he makes in the forge for extra money to gamble.”

“WAIT, WHAT?!” I shouted. If that was the case, no wonder his Element of Loyalty wasn’t activated.

Soul blinked in confusion, “… Oh, wait, you weren’t talking about that?”

“No, I was totally ‘BS’-ing my accusation.” Before Soul could protest, I added, “But I knew something was up! Why didn’t you tell anyone? How long has this gone on?”

Soul seemed a bit conflicted, partially because I had weaseled the truth out of him. But sighing, he replied, “It started last month, when the poker NPC’s actually began beating me in the taverns. I was losing money to them, but I needed more if my reputation was going to keep up with my player poker buddies.”

But to my surprise, Soul’s expression drooped, into one of sorrow, “I didn’t think of it much back then, since I was just doing it to keep doing what I love. But when you and Violet went under the ice back in the blizzard, I was worried about my best friend.”

He sighed, “I’d been stealing behind Violet’s back, and while we waited for you guys, I was worried that he’d died. I knew I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if the last thing I did to him was steal from him. You can’t imagine how relieved I was when you guys returned.

“That whole ordeal, it made me stop and think for a bit. I’ve been thinking and I’ve realized that I’d been betraying my friends, and I’m the Element of Loyalty for pete’s sake! How could I live with myself now when I know-“ He sighed again, cutting himself short, “Forget it. This is my problem to fix, so I’d appreciate it if you don’t tell anyone about this.”

Well, he made a convincing point. He was no doubt chewing himself out with his own guilt, but who knows how long it’d be before he apologized for what he’d done? I couldn’t risk it going too long if we were going to be ready to fight Discord… I needed to do something now.

I shrugged, “Sure, why not? After all, I was planning on telling Violet about this if you didn’t.”

Soul’s eyes widened, “Don’t you dare! I told you, this is my problem, not yours!”

I gave him a flat look, “No, a team mate’s problem is my problem too. I can’t let you prolong an apology, ‘cause who knows when that could hinder you guys when you’re needed the most.”

He still didn’t look like he was going to listen to me. Sighing, I countered, “Besides, Violet’s your best friend. You said it yourself! If anything, I know Violet can forgive a friend, even if he’ll be stormy about it for a while. So why don’t you go tell him now, before he finds out on his own in some other way and gets the wrong idea.”

Soul paused, his poker face masking any trait besides stubborn refusal. But after a moment of silence, the unicorn let go of his façade and sighed, “You know, as much as I really hate to admit it… you’re right. I need to tell Violet, though I doubt you’re going to let me take some time before I tell him, right?”

I shook my head, “Not a chance, I want this settled between you two before we regroup tonight.”

Sighing wearily, Soul chuckled weakly, “Figured you’d say that. Don’t worry, I’ll tell him the truth… though I’ll probably hold off on telling the rest of the team for a while.” He looked at me in the eyes, a stone expression on his face, “After putting up with all this guilt, I don’t want to relive it again. I know I’ll never do something like this again.”

“FINALLY! I GOT YOU LITTLE MOTHER-BUCKERS!” Both Soul and I glanced over to see a scruffy looking Violet squeezing a tiny ewe between his forelegs in a sort of a head lock, the unicorn’s expression one of manic fury. Behind him, Sky carried the other two ewes, which had been hogtied.

In an instant, Violet’s expression turned from one of a sadistic pony to a cheerful blacksmith again, as if his comical fury had never been there in the first place, “Hey, Soul! Let’s get going and return these ewes back to that shepherd filly!”

I gave Soul an amused glance, “Now I seriously doubt he’s going to hold a grudge against you for very long.”

Soul simply nodded as he began trotting over to Violet. But as he did, he glanced back over his shoulder, smirking back at me, “I won’t betray my friends’ trust again, Shadow. After all, every one of you guys are my friends; probably the best I’ve ever had.”

I smiled back, “Thanks.”

It wasn’t long until Soul and Violet rejoined each other and headed deeper into the city to deposit the ewes. Sky trotted back up to me, looking a bit disheveled from chasing the crystal ewes.

He gave me a questioning look, “So, how’d it go?”

“Better than I thought.” I replied, tapping into my player menu:

Achievement Get: Loyalty (Activate the Element of Loyalty)

I grinned, “Much better than I thought.”

With Soul’s and Violet’s elements activated, that only left Eclipse, Siren, Lexus, and Cross. (As well as mine, but I figured we’d get to that later. After all, I’m being as courageous as I possibly can at the moment.)

So, four ponies left to convince to be better people. Sounds doable.

Since Sky and I didn’t know who was closer to us at the moment, or how we’d activate the other’s elements, we decided we’d just improvise by wandering around until we found somepony we were looking for. So, with me using my wings, and Sky evaporating into smoke, we flew through the empire.

It didn’t take long before we found Dylan and Eclipse… or rather, the thieves they were chasing after.

“Outta our way!” A generic, burly stallion screamed, swinging a knife at any NPC’s in his fleeing path. Right behind the thief, another one followed.

Eclipse and Dylan galloped as hard they could after the thieves, though it seemed like they had been at this for a while.

“Can’t you make it so that they’re in zero gravity or something?” Dylan asked, a bit frustrated that they couldn’t catch up to their targets.

“I’m trying, but it’s hard to do a spell like that while running this hard.” Eclipse bitterly grumbled.

I swooped down to the ground from the air, landing straight into a gallop alongside them, “Then why don’t we help?”

Sky followed suit as he reformed into a unicorn, chuckling at his brother, “Gosh, Dylan. Having trouble much with catching a pony? I thought you were the parkour expert here.”

Dylan rolled his eyes, “Easy for you to say.”

Eclipse quickly cut in, “We’d appreciate the help. I’m not sure if I can run for much longer. Man, why does it seem like side quests here are so much harder?”

“No idea.” I glanced towards Sky, “Fly ahead and cut the thieves off with a barrier. Dylan,” I looked towards the colt, “Make sure you keep up with them, so you can beat the snot out of them when Sky stops them. Eclipse and I will catch up after he catches his breath.”

The two brothers nodded and raced ahead, while Eclipse and I slowed our pace to a trot, until we finally came to a stop.

Eclipse took a deep breath as he stretched out his legs, “Huh, good thing Dylan has that earth pony endurance, because I’m not sure if you or Sky could complete this side quest for us, since you weren’t there when it started.”

“Huh, good thinking.” I replied.

We stood there for a moment, but I was at least glad that I got him and Dylan separated, just like how I did it with Soul… although, now I was facing the similar problem of how to get the info I needed out of Eclipse. Could I just B.S. it out of him? Nah, I doubted it’d work with the Element of Generosity, since it’s a slightly different case than Loyalty.

Well, Generosity is the opposite of greed… maybe Eclipse has been getting greedy with his bits? Maybe his items? No, wait, I don’t think that’s it either. He doesn’t seem like the greedy type of person… Well, maybe-

“You know, I don’t understand how you do it.” Eclipse spoke, gazing off towards the way Sky and Dylan had run.

“Huh? Do what?” I asked.

He shrugged, “You know, leading.” He gestured down in the direction of Sky and Dylan, “You gave those two orders as if they were breathing to you. You seemed like you knew just what to do in a situation like this, and you didn’t even hesitate to send Sky and Dylan off to fix it.”

I nodded slowly, though a bit unsurely, “Um, thanks, I guess. I’ve been the leader of my team ever since the start of the game, so I guess it’s just become second nature to lead.”

Eclipse gave a tiny smile, before it drooped into a sad frown, “You know, I’ve been the leader of Team Vortex ever since Cordon left the guild and left me in charge… but I’m not good at leading. I can’t give out orders, I sometimes don’t know what to do when a situation arises… sometimes, I think my team isn’t the best they could be because I’m not a good leader.”

“What makes you say that?” I asked, though slightly wondering, Does this have something to do with his element?

Eclipse shrugged, but looked downcast, “I’m… not sure. It’s just that, whenever I compare myself to you and Violet, you guys seem way better than I am as a leader. Both of you know what to do almost immediately, but me… I think I might be holding back a bit. I think it’s because I doubt myself in some ways, but…” He sighed, “I really don’t know.”

I frowned in response. I wasn’t frowning at Eclipse, but more at my mind as a thought came to it. He says he’s ‘holding back’, as opposed to giving his ideas to his team, or maybe even his group… If he’s holding back his ideas, wouldn’t that count as a form of greed, the opposite of Generosity?... Maybe, but it might be the only lead I have at the moment. If this doesn’t work, I’ll have to try again later.

I put a hoof on Eclipse’s shoulder, reassuringly, “Eclipse? It’s alright if you think your ideas as a leader are bad. But you should at least try to say them to your team. I know I’ve made some pretty bad plans in the past, but my team was always there to fix them before we dove head first into a fight.”

I gave a smile, “We’re all here for each other, and that includes helping each other by giving our own ideas. Who knows? Maybe one of these days, you’ll have an idea that none of us had and it ends up saving our hides!”

Eclipse paused, “You think so?”

“Eh… maybe.” I replied sheepishly, “But all I’m saying is you should voice your own ideas, because with your own input in play, I’m sure it’ll help you become a better leader. From now on, don’t keep your ideas to yourself… unless they’re downright gruesome.” I winced at that last part.

Eclipse got a chuckle out of that one, “Okay… alright, I’ll try.” His expression drooped a bit though, “Although, I think I might need a bit more time before I do anything like that all of the time.”

I smiled, “Don’t worry about it. Just take your time, and I’m sure you’ll be just fine.”

He nodded, before his eyes caught somebody walking down the street towards us. It was Dylan and Sky, returning with triumphant looks on their faces.

Eclipse called out to them, “How’d it go?”

“Got ‘em.” Sky answered, nonchalantly.

“And the item?” Eclipse asked.

Dylan raised his arm, a small, brown bag resting on his hoof, “Got it! Let’s head back and get our bits.”

“Alright.” Eclipse glanced back towards me, “See you later, guys. And thanks for the talk, Shadow. I think I needed it.”

I nodded, “Anytime.”

Eclipse and Dylan then set off to collect their reward, Sky checked back with me.

“Did you get Eclipse’s element activated?”

I pulled up my Player Menu, but no achievement notice had appeared. I sighed a bit in disappointment, “Looks like he’s going to need a bit more time. I think I might have gotten the ball rolling for him, but if not, we’re just going to have to try again later.”

Sky quietly groaned, as the two of us began trotting back down the city’s streets, “Hm, who knows how long this is going to take us at this rate.”

I shrugged, “From what I’ve seen so far, I think it’s going to be different for everyone. They all have their own problems, and I don’t think all of them can be solved at once.”

“Speaking of which,” Sky frowned, “I’ve been thinking about that. Jupiter said that the elements could only be activated when their bearers have them. That could mean the others might already be ready to activate them, but they just need to do something to prove it again.”

“Hm…” I mulled it over a bit, “I guess that could be true as well. We know that Siren’s the Element of Kindness, and we both can agree that she’s the kindest person we know, but her element isn’t activated… so, you think it will activate if she does something especially kind to someone else?”

Sky shrugged, “Maybe. I don’t know.”

We were nearing the end of the street, so we rounded a corner, while I suggested, “Maybe we should look for Siren next, then. If we’re right, then it should be easy to-“

I stopped abruptly, as did Sky, when the other side of the corner we turned on gave us a sight neither one of us could have expected.

Swift and Comet were making out on a bench, off to the side of the road. The two pegasi were almost on top of each other, just chewing off each other’s lips.

“Um…”

“Uh…”

Sky and I shared a quick glance, before slowly backing away from the scene, deciding then and there, that we’d either never talk about that again.

Swift and Comet’s lips broke away from each other’s.

Comet gave the other pegasus a questioning look, “Did you get that piece of hay sandwich I had stuck in my teeth?”

Swift, grinning like a goober, nodded, “Yup! Told ya it’d work.”

Comet smiled back, “Thank you, then.” But she frowned, rather confused, “Though it is certainly an odd replacement for a toothpick.”

Swift paused, “Well…” He waggled his eyebrows, “Would you like to try it again?”

Comet frowned, “But I don’t have food between my teeth. Wouldn’t it be unnecessary?”

“Yup, but who cares?” Swift pulled her back into another kiss, to which Comet didn’t resist.

Author's Notes:

Insert inside joke: Swift Vapor the Swagasus.

Get ready for the next chapter,
Can Shadow and Sky activate the rest of the elements?
Will The Elements of Harmony be able to buy a home before they fight Sombra?
Will Swift and Comet be shipped from now on? (*cough* yes *cough* *cough*)

Find out next time in "July 7th (Of Friends and Elements)"

Thanks for reading,
-Shadowflame

July 7th (Of Friends and Elements)

Siren stood at the counter in the house’s kitchen, preparing a meal for a couple of foals. She and Neon had taken a side quest that involved babysitting two, little, crystal foals, which included keeping them happy, and feeding them as well.

Sure, it seemed like a long side quest, since the two mares had to watch the kids for the majority of the day, but the pay was surprisingly good. Almost fifty thousand bits to watch a couple of kids for a day, which was seriously overpriced, but Neon and Siren didn’t care. It at least saved them the effort of having to search for multiple side quests in a row.

At the moment, Siren was cooking lunch for the foals, while Neon entertained the kids. Since she hadn’t ever babysat before back in the real world, Siren figured Neon had better experience with handling kids and keeping them laughing. Not that Siren complained about that either, because she actually liked cooking whenever the opportunity called for it.

Humming to herself, Siren prepared lunch for the foals, herself, and Neon. Right in front of her was a window in the wall of the crystalline house. From the window’s view, Siren got a pretty good view of the empire from where she stood. It was almost Noon, so the sun was high above the crystal city, giving it a dazzling sparkle to its crystalline structures. It was a pretty sight, and Siren was also grateful that none of the crystal houses gave off a burning glare from the sun, which she was most certain would happen in the real world.

But as she gazed out the window, which was just on the same level as the street, she saw two individuals trotting down the street passing the house. It was Cinn and Sharky.

Since her morning had been nothing but hanging around kids, she figured a little bit of intelligent conversation would be a nice comfort at the moment, not to mention she knew next to nothing about either of the two, besides the fact that Cinn was a bit edgy by nature. She opened up the window and called out to them, “Hey, Cinn, Sharky!”

Having caught the two stallions’ attention, Cinn and Sharky stopped by Siren’s window. Sharky was the first to reply, “Hello, Siren! Are you doing a side quest right now?”

She nodded, “Yup. Me and Neon are babysitting some foals, and the bits we’re getting for it aren’t bad either.” She held up half of an apple she’d been cutting, “Right now, I’m making lunch for us.”

Cinn gave her a questioning look, “You’re a cook?”

Siren smiled a bit, “Well, not professionally, but I like to cook when I can.”

“Really?” Sharky replied, “Then I’d love to try some of your cooking later, preferably when we’ve bought the Crystal Palace as a home.”

“Yeah, I hope you can whip me up something special.” Cinn smirked, wiggling his eyebrows at Siren.

Siren blinked in surprise, Was that… is he trying to flirt with me? Oh, no… this isn’t going to end well.

Cinn continued, giving her a male-brovado smile, “You know, I wouldn’t mind it if we got to know each other at least a little bit better.”

Siren, not wanting to flat out reject the guy, faked a smile, “Um, yeah, I guess.”

Cinn only took that as a sign to keep going further, leaning an elbow up on the window sill, “Hm, I wonder… could you make me a little something for lunch? I bet a sexy girl like you could make something…” He grinned suggestively, “… nice and hot.”

Siren internally cringed, Oh, no… this definitely won’t end well.

Sky and I stopped when we saw a few of our group members at the end of the street. I raised an eyebrow, “Is that Cinn and Sharky?” But then something else caught my eye, “Wait, is Cinn trying to flirt with Siren?”

About every hair on Sky’s body pricked upwards, “Oh, hell, no!”

In a flash, which would’ve been literal if Sky could teleport, the unicorn ran forward and placed himself between Siren and Cinn, which caused Cinn to stumble back from the window.

By the time I caught up, I could hear Sky’s resentment towards Cinn, “What do you think you’re doing?”

Cinn had a peeved look on his face, “Chatting with a group member, demon boy. Got a problem with that?”

Sky’s eyes narrowed at him, “Yes, I do have a problem with that. You can’t expect to go flirting up a storm to Siren when I’m around.”

“It’s not like she’s your girlfriend!” Cinn retorted, “Last I checked, she’s open game for anybody to pick her up.”

“Is that all you’re trying to do?” Sky countered, “Just pick her up like a slut at a bar so you can get laid?! You even try something like that to her and your health bar will be below red before you even say, ‘oops’!”

Meanwhile, off to the sidelines, Sharky tried to step in, “Calm down, you two! If you’re going to talk about this, then you might want to take it somewhere else, away from here.” I caught onto the reason why he said that, because in the window frame where Siren stood, watching the conversation, the pegasus mare was blushing profusely, probably both out of embarrassment and agitation from the two stallions fighting over her.

Unfortunately, Sky and Cinn ignored everything Sharky had said.

Cinn glowered at Sky, “I can hit on her all I want. It’s your own fault you never grew a pair and made her your girlfriend.”

“Says the guy who never had the guts to fight in a single boss battle before.” Sky retorted, “Stay away from Siren! And why don’t you find a special somebody of your own while you’re at it?! They’d probably cure your crummy, a**hole personality.”

That’s when something inside Cinn suddenly snapped. In one swift movement, the unicorn drew his katana and lunged his blade at Sky’s neck, only for the safe-zone effect to kick in and stop the blade from seeping deeper into his skin.

Sharky and I tensed up, ready to restrain the two of them if needs be, but to our surprise, not one of them moved from that position. Sky looked at Cinn with an angry expression, knowing full well that Cinn couldn’t hurt him here.

But Cinn looked back at him with a look full of rage. His eyes, normally cold and collected, were wetting with tears, as he spoke in ragged breaths, “I already had someone I loved in this goddamn game. But thanks to bronies like you, she’s dead!”

Cinn looked like he was ready to murder, barking into Sky’s face, “Everyone I ever cared about in this living hell are all dead! My love, my brother, my team… you can’t understand what it feels like, demon boy!

But Cinn wasn’t done there, “I heard about the time you decided to go rogue on your group. You ran away! You left behind everyone! My team died, while you left yours behind! Someone ran a sword through my little brother’s chest while I fought to protect him, yet you left yours behind to die while you went solo!

“The one girl I cared about died in a place far away, where I had no hopes in trying to save her! By the time I heard, she was already dead!” Cinn pointed the tip of his sword towards Siren in the window, “But while I was mourning the loss of her and my brother, you left Siren behind on her own! Don’t you dare tell me she’s yours to love, because if you really cared about her, you would have stayed for her, you selfish bastard! At this rate, everyone you love is going to get killed because of yo-“

The sound and force of Sky’s punch showed that he had had enough of Cinn’s rant. A single hoof thrust into the side of Cinn’s cheek, the force behind it sending him tumbling backwards. The blow didn’t hurt him, but it was enough to push him away.

As soon as Cinn recovered, he shot an icy glare towards Sky, who returned one of his own. Sky’s mouth was twisted into a grinding of teeth, “Shut up! I know what I did. I left them behind to protect them! But I came back, because they needed me!” He glowered at Cinn, “Before you say I don’t deserve my friends, you should know that I swore never to betray them again. I will protect them, even from the likes of you!”

“That’s enough, Sky!” Siren shouted, before flying out the window and placing herself between the two unicorns. She turned to Sky, putting her forehooves on his shoulder, trying to calm him, “Please, Sky. Stop fighting with him.”

“But, he-“

Siren cut him off, repeating herself as gently as she could, “Please. I don’t want a fight started over me.”

Everything stayed silent, including Cinn and Sky. However, even though Siren was standing between the two stallions, she was short enough that the two could still see each other over her. Neither Sky nor Cinn broke eye contact, as if they were trying to fight for dominance over each other, to see who would submit first.

The two of them were like motion-detector land mines, both would explode in violence if either one of them moved. Then tension between them could’ve easily been cut with a knife, both figuratively and literally, depending on where the weapon was pointed.

Finally, one of them withdrew, “Whatever.” Cinn grumbled, as he put away his katana, “I don’t know why I was even bothering to flirt with her in the first place. I’m not into mares, only girls, anyways.” Without another word, Cinn turned his back on everyone present and galloped off through the city.

“Oh, boy.” Sharky sighed, “I better follow him, before he does something foolish.” The blue unicorn galloped down the street after his partner, until they were both out of sight from us.

Though the worst part was yet to come, I figured. Turning back to Sky and Siren, I could see that the mare of the duo was not pleased at all.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Siren asked, flustered.

“I was making sure that guy wouldn’t bother you anymore.” Sky replied, “I don’t want his type around you, ‘cause sooner or later he’d-“

Siren stomped a hoof against the ground, yelling, “So what? You were trying to protect me from someone I could’ve handled better than you did just now? At least if you’d let me handle Cinn, he wouldn’t have tried to take your head off your shoulders!”

Sky faltered, caught off guard by Siren’s outburst. He cringed slightly, “Siren… I-“

“No.” Siren cut him off, “You’re just like everyone else back in the real world. You think I’m nothing but a little girl who needs to be pampered and protected, but if you didn’t notice, that’s the reason why I came into this game in the first place! I wanted to escape! I wanted to be able to do things on my own, without anyone trying to do them for me!”

She turned on her hooves, looking away from Sky. But what I noticed, that Sky couldn’t see, were the tears in her eyes. Siren held back a sob, trying to stay firm, “I’m going to find Cinn and apologize for what you did, since I know you’re never going to do it yourself. I know I don’t want him trying to flirt with me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want him as a friend.”

Siren spread her wings, in preparation to fly, but before she took off, she paused. “And Sky?” Her eyes went back to him, and only then did Sky see the tears falling from her eyes. Siren choked on a sob, “If… you really loved me, like you said you did… then you would have known better. You would have known that I am my own person, not just a girl who’d hook up with the first guy that comes along. I hope you remember that, if I ever talk to you again.”

With that, she took off into the afternoon sky, leaving Sky and I behind, the former in a daze.

Sky grimaced, cursing to himself under his breath, “Frick… what did I just do?”

“She’s really angry about this, isn’t she?” I muttered.

“Hmph, you don’t say.” Sky replied, though not coldly, to my relief. He sighed to himself, “What am I going to do now? She’s not going to forgive me for this easily, if not ever.”

I shrugged, “Then you should probably go apologize to her right now.”

Sky blinked at me, “What? What about the-“

“The Elements?” I shook my head, “Don’t worry about them, I’ll finish talking to the others.” I gave him a reassuring smile, “Right now, all you need to do is fly after Siren and apologize to her. After all, your relationship is probably going to get worse if you don’t do it now, and she’s also another element bearer. If you don’t settle things with her now, I’m thinking it might be almost impossible to activate the Element of Kindness.”

Sky nodded, “Good point.” He paused for a moment, before sighing, “Better get this over with. I’ll find you again once I’m done.”

Sky’s body evaporated into black smoke, before racing off through the sky, following where Siren had gone.

Siren flew through the Crystal Empire at top speed searching for Sharky and Cinn, but Cinn mainly. There was a chance that Sharky had lost his partner when he ran off, but Siren didn’t really care about that.

Everything had happened so fast, ever since Sky first jumped into the argument with Cinn. Siren quietly scolded herself for not acting sooner, instead of watching it unfold from the sidelines like she had done.

Watching the two of them argue had flustered her, up to the point of her yelling at Sky for what he did… it still pained her to think of the hurt look Sky had given her before she had flown off.

Cursing to herself silently, Siren admitted that she had been a bit ‘in the moment’ at that point. All of the pent up anger she had just pushed her to let it loose, but Sky was the closest one she was angry with. He got the full brunt of it, and Siren knew she would have to make it up to him. But for now, she just needed to find Cinn.

It took a while, but Siren finally found the unicorn, clear on the other side of the city. From the air, Siren could see him alone on a single street, his pace slowed to a slow walk as he weaved through a few crystal ponies.

Siren dropped down from the sky and lighted onto the ground in front of him, “Cinn! Wait a minute!”

Cinn stopped, giving Siren a level look, but he said nothing. He merely turned around, and started walking away from her.

“Wait, Cinn!” She flapped her wings until she was hovering alongside Cinn as he walked, “Look, I’m sorry about Sky. I’ve known him for a while and he can be kind of blunt when provoked.”

Cinn merely humphed in response, turning away in another direction, yet Siren still followed.

She gave him a pleading look, and a hopeful smile, “Maybe there’s something I can do to make it up to you. Please?”

Again, Cinn gave the same unvocal response and turned away.

Siren felt her spirits droop, as if they had been given a pair of crippled wings. She sighed, defeatedly, as she let herself drop to the ground. She looked towards Cinn, who still walked away from her.

Calling out one more time, Siren shouted, “Can I at least ask you a question?”

Cinn paused, giving her a sidelong look, but still said nothing.

Siren took that as a sign to ask, “How… how did she die? How did the girl you loved die?”

Cinn seemed hesitant at first, as if he were wondering if he should speak the truth. He appeared doubtful, even fearful, as if the memories would come back to bite him in the butt. But after a moment pause, Cinn replied, in a hollow voice, “She died… during a Haters’ Guild ambush.”

Siren blinked in surprise, trying her best to remain gentle, “I- what? How? Didn’t you say she died because of a few bronies?” Cinn nodded, “Then how did she die when the haters attacked if they weren’t the ones who killed her?”

Cinn sighed, realizing he was going to have to explain. He made his way back to where Siren stood in the street, “The girl I loved, her name was Sw33tcross, and back a few months ago, she and I were part of the same guild. Both of us were brought into that guild, because they convinced us that the admins were the ones who had released Discord, and they were fighting to take control of the game from them.

“Cross and I both joined, not at the same time though, but when we did, they burned the guild’s symbol on the backs of our left ears.” Cinn twisted his ear to the side, which made Siren’s eyes widen as she saw the skull burned onto his flesh.

“You’re… part of the Haters’ Guild?” Siren gasped.

“I was,” Cinn corrected her, “But that was before I realized that the things they told us, about the admins being the ones who trapped us here, were all lies. The haters, the true haters who were there from the start, merely wanted an excuse to kill as many people as possible.”

Cinn sighed, as a few memories passed through his mind again, “Cross was lied to as well, but she had been dead for weeks before I realized the truth. She had been assigned to an ambush party to go after a stray players, but she died in the attack.” He looked sorrowful at the ground, “And here I thought I’d finally gotten over her death. But it always seems to come back to haunt me.”

Cinn was suddenly taken aback as Siren pulled him into a hug. Cinn blinked in surprise, while Siren merely replied, “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry about Cross, and about your brother, too. You’ve had it hard this whole time, and I can understand that.”

Cinn gaped down at the girl, “W-why are you hugging me? Get off me!”

Siren shook her head, “No, Cinn. You can’t push people away. You’ve been a solo player for this whole time, right? Without anyone else to lean on, I think a hug is exactly what you need right now.”

Cinn was about to push her away, but her words registered in his head. Hesitantly, he calmed down, remaining silent. He had to admit, the hug felt good…

A tiny smile came to his face, though barely noticeable. Maybe all he had needed really was just a hug… you don’t get many of those when you travel alone, after all.

Though he didn’t return the hug, Siren withdrew from it, a satisfied look on her face, “Do you feel better.”

“A little bit.” Cinn admitted.

“Great!” Siren smiled, “But Cinn, just because my preferences are towards Sky, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be friends with you. I’m sorry for what Sky said, but I hope I can make it up to you for him.”

Cinn paused for a moment, not quite sure what to say, before nodding, “I guess that’s alright.” He frowned, “Though don’t expect me and him to suddenly become buddy-buddy friends!”

“Never thought you would.” Siren replied jokingly, “Now come on, let’s find Sharky. Heaven knows that he’s still searching the streets for you.”

Cinn nodded, “I’ll find him on my own. You can go back to your own side quest. I’ll be just fine.”

Siren smiled, “Okay, catch you later!” With that she took off to the skies, while Cinn trotted down the street to look for Sharky.

But neither of the two noticed a small, black cloud of smoke listening in on them nearby, hidden behind the corner of a nearby building.

If his cloud form had a mouth, Sky was sure it would’ve had a wide grin on it. After watching Siren’s conversation, the way she comforted Cinn, just added another jot to his list of things he loved about her. Even though he had seen the Haters' Guild mark on Cinn's ear, and was just about ready to jump between him and Siren, Sky had to admit Cinn's story pictured the unicorn as a victim. He had been deceived by the Haters into killing others, so it wasn't exactly fair to judge him harshly, but Sky still had his doubts. But what Siren had done, and how Cinn had reacted, put his doubts to rest, for now at least.

To himself, mainly because he didn’t have a mouth to speak with, Sky mused, If that didn’t activate the Element of Kindness, I don’t know what will.

With that, he flew back off after Siren. After all, he still had to apologize to her too.

With Sky away, I set off to find another element of harmony that needed to be activated.

I flew off to the bigger part of the empire, which included more of the massive buildings, instead of just tiny, residential homes. In fact, the biggest structure I could see was the Crystal Arena, which had hosted the Equestrian Games in the TV show.

But surprisingly, farther out of the empire, just outside of the stadium, was a lake. But that’s not what surprised me.

What surprised me was who I found sitting at the water’s edge of the lake; it was Cross, sitting completely alone as he looked out at the lake. I wondered why he was there, and where the heck was Lexus?

I sighed to myself, Well, I can’t ask for any better situation right now. I’d have to try and activate his element anyways, so why not do it now?

I lighted down on the ground behind him and approached the unicorn.

Cross’ ears twitched at the sound of me approaching, and he glanced back towards me. When he saw me, he gave a half-hearted wave, “Oh, hey, Shadow.”

I nodded back to him, “Hey, Cross.” I looked around, “Where’s Lexus? I thought you two were doing side quests together.”

“He’s back in the arena.” Cross replied, “There’s an air-race side quest there that he wanted to try. He’s the only one out of the two of us who could fly, and I didn’t feel like watching, so I came out here to… be alone for a bit.”

“Hm.”

I sat down by him at the water’s edge, though being careful to give him plenty of space of his own. People tended to close themselves off when they thought they were being crowded, and that was the last thing I needed now.

Both of us stayed silent for a moment as I prepared myself for the worst. In order for me to activate Cross’ Element of Laughter, I had to help him get over Cloud’s death. But you can’t just help someone get over the death of their best friend, at least, not in a single talk.

Sighing, I spoke, “You’re still thinking about Cloud, aren’t you?”

Cross paused, “…yeah.”

Another moment of silence passed.

“Do you want to tell me why you’re still thinking about him?”

Cross didn’t answer.

I sighed, “Cross, I don’t want to sound rude or disrespect Cloud’s memory in any way, but you’ve got to let it go.”

“… I know.” He replied meekly, “It’s just…”

Another pause followed, but I noticed that Cross’ body was shaking slightly.

“It’s just that I watched him take his life right in front of me.” Cross shuddered as he said it, “I just can’t forget that. It’s like an image that’s been burned into my mind. Shadow, I-… I…” His eyes started tearing up, “I couldn’t save him, even though he was right in front of me.

“Every night since then, I’ve been having nightmares; all of them replaying that one scene over and over again. I see everything, from Cloud shoving his own grenade down his throat, to… him disappearing into thin air, just like everything else does when their time is up.” Cross sobbed, “I can’t take it anymore! Why did it have to be Cloud who died?! Why couldn’t it have been me instead?!”

The unicorn drove his hooves into the ground in pure frustration, with boiling tears rolling down his cheeks, “I couldn’t save my best friend in this game, and now he’s dead, both here and in the real world! He had family! He had friends who needed him! But now he’s gone, where nobody will see him again, other than at his grave; all because I couldn’t save him!”

Cross turned his head to sky in pure, unbridled rage, but not towards anyone else; he was angry at himself, “I couldn’t even stop my best friend from killing himself! Why did he have to take his life when I could’ve done the same for him?! It should have been me who died instead! Every day, I wish that I’d died in that trap instead of Cloud! Every day,…” Cross trembled as he sobbed, “Every day, I wish I was dead!”

My hoof instantly met the side of his face as I stood up and slapped him across the cheek.

Instantly, Cross went silent, dazed by the sudden, unexpected blow. He slowly turned his head back from the strike’s recoil, looking back at me incredulously.

I looked him dead in the eyes, careful to not blink and to keep my voice calm, but firm, “Cross, do you remember why Cloud sacrificed himself?”

Cross paused, trying to recompose himself, “He… he died, so I could get out of the morality trap.”

“Is that all he did?” I snapped.

Cross didn’t reply.

I narrowed my eyes, “Cloud didn’t kill himself just to set you free from that trap. Have you forgotten the reason why we were down there in the first place; Why Discord trapped you and Cloud in that trap? Cloud realized that you were the next element bearer, and without you, we had no hopes of defeating Chrysalis.”

“Well… m-maybe I did forget about that, but-“ Cross tried to protest, but I promptly cut him off.

“No ‘but’s, Cross. The fact is that, unless Cloud died and set you free, Chrysalis would’ve never reached zero HP. Had that been the case, the rest of us would either be dead or would still be fighting Chrysalis right now. Cloud gave his life to set you free so you could defeat the boss and save our sorry hides. In all reality, Cloud sacrificed himself to save everyone!”

I paused for a moment, letting the statement seep in. Though I hadn’t thought too much of it before, Cloud really did save my life, indirectly as it may be. I’ve got to remember to give that little dragon my thanks soon, before things started getting crazy in this game.

I glanced back to Cross, speaking in a bit calmer tone, “Cross, if you had taken his place and died to save him, he would’ve been stuck in the boss fight with us. Considering the fact that none of us could’ve defeated Chrysalis without you, killing yourself back then… well, you might as well have stabbed a knife into Cloud’s back, because all of us would’ve died in that fight.”

Cross’ expression drooped as his mouth was left hanging open, “I-… I-…” He put his forehooves over his head, his body curling up slightly more. He breathed, “You’re right… I…” The unicorn fell silent as his thoughts began to race, though I imagined it was more like a monster-truck derby, lots of crashing and senseless shouting inside his skull.

I spoke quietly, but just loud enough for him to hear, “When you said you wanted to kill yourself, I couldn’t stop myself from lashing out at you. To me, it seemed like you were going to throw away the thing Cloud had sacrificed himself for; your life. To me, throwing away your life when a friend died to save it, is just as bad, if not worse, than betraying them.”

Cross’ shoulder shook, his body curling even more into himself until it threatened to become a full fetal position. He sobbed, fresh tears flowing once again, “Cloud… I- I’m sorry… I’m being selfish, aren’t I?”

Cross’ hooves wiped away at his eyes, sniffling, “But… he was my best friend. He meant the whole world to me in this forsaken game. But now, how can I keep going without him?”

I paused, unsure of what to say. I knew I should’ve told him to move on without cloud, but how could I? They were both my friends, too.

Sighing, I put a comforting hoof on Cross’ shoulder, “Don’t worry, dude. All of us, our group, we’re your friends, right?”

Cross was hesitant, but his body went lax as he uncurled slightly. He turned his head to look at me, “Um… yeah, you guys are my friends, too.”

“Then let us fill the gap, all of us.” I gave him a reassuring smile, “While we might not be the same awesome guy that Cloud was, we can all help. After all, ever since you started acting all ‘doom and gloom’, everyone’s been worried about you.”

Cross blinked in surprise, “They have?” He then frowned, mostly at himself, “Well, actually… I already knew that… I guess I just wasn’t paying attention.”

“Exactly, Cross.” I replied, “We’ve all been here the entire time, waiting for you to come to grips with what’s going on.” I wrapped a foreleg around his shoulder, like a small brotherly hug, “I know you wanted to die for Cloud, ever since he died for you. But that’s all in the past, and we can’t do a thing about it. But you can do for him now.”

Cross frowned, as I pulled my foreleg away, “What?”

“Well, in a team, you don’t die for your friends.” I grinned, “You live for them.”

Cross’ eyes seemed to suddenly blink away a veil of dust in front of him, gaping at what he now saw something he’d missed before. His mouth closed, his eyes unfocused on anything, as he recounted, “You’re right… Back before Cloud sacrificed himself, he said something along those lines, but not about the group, but about my family back home.”

He glanced up at the afternoon sky, “In the real world, my only family is my grandma. Both of my parents died in an accident, so she took me in. But even though my parents were gone and I mourned their deaths with her, she made me promise to keep smiling every day.”

Cross’ eyes shed a loose tear or two, as he managed a weak smile. It wasn’t much, but it was the first time in days since the corners of his mouth had risen above the rest of his mouth. He chuckled just as weakly, “I guess I broke that promise, huh? It’s bad enough that she’s probably worried sick about me right now.”

He sighed, looking back up to sky, where a small, single cloud lazily drifted overhead, “But before Cloud died, he gave me his last words. He said that I needed to keep that promise; that I needed to keep on smiling while we finished this game.” He laughed, “I’ve been too busy thinking about him being gone that I forgot to fulfil his final wish. Ironic, ain’t it?”

That got a laugh from me as well, though I was more than relieved that I managed, by some miracle, to get through to him. I smiled, “So, does this mean we’ll see your goofy grin a lot more often now?”

Cross shrugged, “Probably, though I need to apologize to the rest of the group for ignoring them for so long now.”

I nodded, “Wouldn’t expect anything less from the Element of Laughter.”

“You got that right.” Cross laughed, “I don’t think Cloud would want ‘Pinkie Pie’s replacement’ to be a gloomy, blue mess of depression.”

I laughed again, “Ah, it’s good to have you back, Cross.” But now that my work here was done, I spread my wings for flight, “Well, I better get back to side questing with Sky, and you better get back to Lexus.”

Cross nodded, grinning, “Right, time to get back to work.”

Smiling, I took off to the air in search of Sky, because I had no idea where he was ever since he left to apologize to Siren… or maybe he chickened out like he usually would back home when faced with a cute girl. Although, I reminded myself that here, in this game, he was the Element of Willpower, so there was no way he’d grow cold feet at that… er, cold hooves, I mean.

Either way, my train of thought distracted me enough to the point where I didn’t notice a gray pegasus with a spear, hiding in the only cloud in the sky. In hindsight, that cloud had been close enough to the ground for any pony on it to eavesdrop on a conversation on the ground from the sky.
here.

Author's Notes:

A good fellow by the name of Merseybeat, here on FIMFiction, has begun writing a side fic of ELO. I admit, its writing style isn't something that I'm used to seeing, but the fic is enjoyable nonetheless. Basically if you want to see something about the game that isn't related to the main group in my story, check it out for yourselves right here. I'm sure that he'll more than appreciate likes and favorites if you enjoy the start of his story!

Thanks for reading,
-Shadowflame

July 8th (Home is Where the Crystal Heart Was...)

It may have taken us another full day of side-questing, but we had finally done it. We had collected the full, five-million bits we needed to buy the Crystal Palace.