Chapter 3 First Match
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After the girls were taught the basics of playing the game, they warped back to Dol Dona. First it was Haseo's party, then Silabus's, then Gaspard's. Pinkie Pie was still smiling, Fluttershy was still a little bit scared from fighting the dragon-like monster, Rarity felt the need to change her outfit, Twilight was satisfied with the new information she gained about The World, Rainbow Dash felt pumped, and Applejack was also surprised. Of course they had experience fighting, but never like this. They only had to actually fight up close like they did just now was during the changeling attack at Canterlot.
"That was so awesome!" Shouted Rainbow Dash, much like she did when she was accepted into the Wonderbolt Academy.
"Did you have fun? Because I sure did! But this is a totally new kind of fun! The kind you can only find here. What should I call it...?" Said Pinkie Pie, enthusiastically thinking of the word to describe The World's kind of fun. The fun in just doing what your heart tells you. As was the main part of The World's appeal.
"Well, I guess that was better than some fancy schmancy dinner party in Canterlot." Said Applejack. "I bet you could really go for one of those right about now, huh, Rarity."
"Actually yes. I could use a break from all of this fighting. It makes me dizzy." Said Rarity, rubbing her head.
"Hey, you didn't really do any actual fighting! How could you be dizzy?"
"Well I supported you and Silabus when you were hurt! That counts as fighting, right, Silabus?"
"Uh, I guess so..." Said Silabus, thinking. "Plus, clerics are in pretty high demand, particularly for the arena."
"There's an arena here too? Sweet!" Shouted Rainbow Dash, earning her odd looks from Silabus and Gaspard. "Uh, hehehe, yeah..." She scratched her head in embarrassment.
[Rainbow Dash, remember to act natural.] Said Haseo, or so Rainbow thought until she saw his mouth wasn't moving.
[Whoa! Haseo, what's going on!?] She could here his voice in her head!
[I've started a private chat. When we talk in a chat, people can't eavesdrop on our conversation.] He explained.
[So, they can't hear us?] Inquired Rainbow Dash.
[No, not at all.] Answered Haseo.
[Okay. So, what was it you wanted me to do again?]
[I told you to act natural. You and the others need to be as believable as possible.]
[Okay, I'll try.]
[Good.] With that, he ended his private chat with Rainbow Dash.
"And, did you know, recently, Haseo became the emperor of the Holy Palace. Now our guild's really famous!" Said Gaspard, proud.
"E-emperor!?" Rarity was surprised, Haseo didn't really seem like the type who would rule. But Gaspard was a member of Haseo's guild, he would know if he was the emperor. "That's... amazing!"
"And your guild's famous because of that, huh?" Wondered Twilight. "Well, I guess that would make sense considering his position."
"Is the grunty in your guild famous too?" Asked Fluttershy.
"Well, I guess so." Answered Silabus. "Although most players would probably be put off by it."
"Put off? Why?" She wondered.
"Well, why don't we just show you." Offered Silabus. "Haseo, is it alright if they come?"
"I don't care." Responded Haseo, somewhat rudely. But not too rude that they wouldn't go.
"Okay, let's go!" Said Gaspard, exited. Haseo gave the girls guild keys, so they can enter Canard's HOME. He proceeded to lead the girls and his guild members to a warp point that led directly to the gate that led to all HOMEs for guilds that met certain requirements to get there. In Haseo's case it was winning the Demon Palace Tournament and becoming the Demon Palace emperor. After that, he gave it up and entered the Holy Palace Tournament as well, he consequently won and became the Holy Palace emperor. He gave the girls this information via private chat, clearing any misconceptions about Haseo being of royal blood. It gave Rainbow Dash the idea of entering the next tournament and defeating Haseo so she could be the emperor.
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They arrived inside of Canard's Home, and the girls were surprised that Haseo had this little headquarters to go to whenever he wanted to. It was a pretty medium sized room with white pillars and a red carpet on the floor like the ones that movie stars would walk on, but wider and with an elaborate gold pattern on it. There were also various plants in the room, and three banners on the far wall of a different shade of red from the carpet. And at the end of it, standing on a red cushion bench, was a small pig-like creature with silver hair, red eyes, and black clothes. Almost immediately after witnessing it, a certain pink-haired girl ran up to it for reasons that apparently only she and the other girls knew of.
"Oh, my goodness! A real grunty!" Fluttershy knelt down in front of the creature. "He's so cute...! And he looks so much like Haseo. Is he your pet?" She asked Haseo.
"Like hell he is. He's such a pain in my-"
"Be nice..." Fluttershy sneered at Haseo, cutting him off as he was about to badmouth the adorably evil little thing that Haseo hated to no end. "So, what's your name?" She asked the creature that resembled Haseo.
"My name is Death Grunty of the Grunty Race! I'm the manager of this HOME! *oink* I'm also the guild master of Canard! *oink*. And Haseo is my servant *oink*."
"...Stupid pig!" Sneered Haseo.
It ran toward Haseo, jumped, and kicked him in the face, "I told you already! I'm not a pig! *oink* I'm a grunty *oink*!" and sneered back at his 'servant'. Haseo was bending over, rubbing his face in anger at the little demon-spawn.
"Huh? But I thought Haseo was the guild master." Said Applejack.
"I am." Said Haseo, getting back up.
"You see, when a player becomes a guild master, the grunty that serves as the mascot takes on the guild masters appearance and personality." Explained Silabus.
"All the way down to the core of your soul." Said Gaspard, making the girls a little bit afraid of what would happen if one of them became a guild master.
"...So, what happens now?" Asked Twilight.
"I don't know. Just do whatever you want." Replied Haseo.
"Well, there aren't any new quests to take right now. Looks like all we can do is log out and wait for stuff to happen really." Said Silabus.
"Or, we could raise our levels in preparation for the next tournament! I'm gonna beat you, Haseo, and become the emperor. Got that!?" Said Rainbow Dash, enthusiastic about her plans to best the Terror of Death. Unbeknownst to them, a certain girl had been watching them from near the entrance. She was blonde, wore a green dress, and a white hat on her head. She was curious about the identities of the six colorful female players in the guilds Home. She was actually a member of Canard herself and the most recent to join.
"Haseo." She said, scaring the young man in question a little bit. He turned to face her, with an annoyed look on his face.
"Hey, would you stop that!?" Said Haseo, his voice expressing his disdain for people sneaking up on him. "And how long have you been there anyway?"
"I just got here." Replied the girl, innocently. "Who are they?"
"They're just players we gave a refresher to."
"Really? Well, It's so nice to meet you all!" She said to the six female players in question, smiling kindly. "My name's Atoli. What are your names?" All six of them introduced themselves to the blonde harvest cleric in their respective fashions. Rarity making a polite introduction, Pinkie getting all exited about meeting another player, Applejack's absurdly strong handshake, etc.
"So you're not new players?"
"Errr... no. Why?" Asked Twilight, somewhat suspicious about the motives of this green clad girl.
"Oh, just wondering. You just look a little bit like new players by the way you're acting."
"Really?" Inquired Applejack.
"Well, you all seem a little... uneasy." Said Atoli.
"Well, it's been a long time since we've played... but you'll see!" Said Rainbow Dash to the green clad cleric.
"I'll see what, Rainbow Dash?" Wondered Atoli.
"I'll be the strongest, fastest player in The World before you can say 'hay'!" Said Rainbow Dash, enthusiastically.
"Well, good luck to you!" Said Atoli, in the sweetness that used to annoy the hell out of Haseo. "Well, Haseo, I'm going to log out. Goodbye for now!" She disappeared into the familiar blue rings, and out of the game. At least until she logged in again and invited Haseo for another excursion or some other adventure.
"I'm gonna log out too." Said Haseo. "I'll see you later." With that he too disappeared into the blue light.
"Okay, girls, come on! We need to get stronger for the tournament!" Said Rainbow Dash, determined.
"And how do you plan on doing that, Rainbow?" Asked Twilight, skeptically.
"Eh... good question..." Replied the rainbow-haired twin blade, somewhat embarrassed. She turned to the brown-haired man, "Silabus, how do we do that?"
"Well, to start, it's recommended to have a team of three players in a fight. Going by yourself would put you at a disadvantage." Replied the blade brandier. "It's also a lot easier with a player that can use healing spells." The girl turned her head to the rest of her friends.
"Okay, I pick... Twilight and Fluttershy!" Said Rainbow Dash pointing her finger at the two players in question.
"W-what!? Y-you want me to f-fight...?" Said Fluttershy, surprised.
"And why should I, or any of us for that matter, help you win the tournament?" Asked Twilight, skeptically.
"Aw come on! It'll be awesome!" Rebutted Rainbow Dash. [Unless you don't want to send a good letter to Princess Celestia...] She continued, via private chat.
[Well... alright, fine. I'll fight in the arena.] Said Twilight, submitting to her friend. Rainbow dash turned to Fluttershy.
[Fluttershy. I need your help.] Said Rainbow Dash.
[Oh... I don't know. It sound's really, really scary.] Said the shy flick reaper, hesitant.
[Don't worry. Me and Twilight'll be there. And besides, getting hit in the game doesn't hurt you. You'll be fine.]
[...Okay, I'll try it. Just this once...] Said Fluttershy, also giving in, ungrudgingly.
[That's all I ask. Thanks.] Said Rainbow Dash, ending the chat with satisfaction. "Silabus, where can I find the arena?" She asked the green man.
"It's in Lumina Cloth, the root town for the Ω server. You can access it through the chaos gate like any other town." Explained Silabus, being helpful.
"Good luck!" Said Gaspard.
"Thanks guys." Said Rainbow Dash, inviting Twilight and Fluttershy to join her party, to which the latter players accepted. They left the Home, and warped to Dol Dona's chaos gate, to the Warring city, of Lumina Cloth.
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The party consisting of the brash, seven-colored twin blade, the smart, magenta shadow warlock, and the shy, spring-green flick reaper, were expecting a town that was more... primitive. A town with a huge coliseum made of stone in the distance, and a stone pathway leading directly to it. Instead, it was a well... luminous, colorful. And it was nighttime in this town for some reason. But it was daytime in Dol Dona, so they just stopped caring and called it game design. Modern-looking buildings were on the sides of a pathway with patterns on it, leading to a reception desk presumably for the arena. There was a large screen above it with Haseo's face on it, probably since he was the emperor.
"Pretty soon, that'll be my face that players are watching." Said Rainbow Dash, confident.
"Rainbow Dash, Haseo's going to be hard to beat. You know how strong he is." Said Twilight.
"Yeah, well they won't be calling him the Terror of Death. For long, Twilight. Just watch."
"But we have to win the tournament first, right?" Asked Fluttershy, knowing it would be a long road for her friend to become the emperor.
"Right. So let's go!" She ran ahead of her friends, eager to enter the tournament. The latter two members of her party ran to catch up to her. By the time they caught up to her, she had just finished registering for a battle. And coming up with a team name. 'Sonic Rain'. Deriving it from her iconic technique, and that it just sounded cool. They warped away, not even knowing who their opponent was.
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When they rematerialized, they ended up in a small room with two screens behind them on opposite sides of each other. The one to their left displayed their rank, while the one on the right, their opponent's level and class. They turned and looked at the two screens. The one to their left showed that their rank was dead last. But it was the one on the right that was more interesting. Their opponent's team consisted only one player. A level 83 blade brandier named 'Recht'. Just above their own levels.
"Hey, why is it just one player?" Wondered Twilight. "Silabus said going by yourself is disadvantageous."
"Well, I'm not complaining." Said Rainbow Dash. "It'll be an easy first victory!"
"I'm not so sure, Rainbow. If this 'Recht' person is going by itself, then 'Recht', must be extremely confident in his abilities. Oh, and speaking of which, we don't even know how to fight in the arena!"
"Oh, I'm sure we'll be fine! Twilight, you worry too much." Said Rainbow Dash, acting smug.
"I'm not sure if I'm ready for this, girls... Our first fight, and we're facing someone strong enough to fight alone..." Said Fluttershy, nervously backing against the wall.
"Ugh, not, you too! Fluttershy, it's just one guy. Like Twilight said, he's at a huge disadvantage."
"Now I'll just feel bad if we actually win..." Said Fluttershy, now a little bit sad and concerned. Rainbow Dash, did a mental facepalm.
"So, you two ready?" Asked twilight.
"Yeah, of course!" Replied Rainbow Dash.
"I'll try my best...!" Said Fluttershy, bashful. Rainbow dash went to the warp point behind them, and warped away, toward their fight. Twilight and Fluttershy followed, a little bit nervous. But they warped into it, hoping for the best.
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The field was a small circular platform suspended in the air by the steam technology that The World uses, surrounded by rotating blue energy rings for some reason, hundreds of spectators, and three screens displaying these spectating players to the participants in each match. Then, the commentator spoke.
"NOW IS THE TIME FOR THE FESTIVITIES TO BEGIN!" He said, in his not-so-masculine voice. "WHERE IN THE WORLD DID THIS POWER COME FROM? HOW IN THE WORLD IS THIS KIND OF STRENGTH POSSIBLE?" Asked the commentator as the girls warped into the arena for the very first time. "COME AND TAKE YOUR BREAKS IN THE ARENA!" The girls drew their weapons and got into fighting stances, to prepare for their enemy. "SLASH YOUR WAY TO THE TOP! THIS IS A WORLD FOR THE BEST RANKERS OUT THERE! ENLIGHTEN US WITH YOUR SPLENDID TECHNIQUES!" He said as the opposition warped in on the opposite side. A young man looking a little bit taller than Haseo, wearing a black poncho and white clothes. His eyes and hair were both indigo. "JUST LOOK AT THEM FOLKS! READY TO RIP INTO THEIR OPPONENT AT THE DROP OF A PEN! HOW WILL THIS FIGHR END? NOBODY KNOWS!" The crowd cheered for the combatants, both the girls and the man known as Recht. Recht drew his weapon, a simple blade rank, and got into his own fighting position. The match began, and the crowd cheered for both sides again. This made Fluttershy somewhat nervous, but she knew things would be fine. After all, she had friends to help her through it. Her looked changed, now she seemed a little bit more confident, but her nervousness still outweighed it by a large amount. Recht started with a skill, 'razor's edge', and it was directed at Rainbow Dash. He lunged at his rainbow-haired opponent. Rainbow Dash blocked it in time, and her teammates had ran off to get a strategic advantage. She still received damage from the skill. More than she thought she would.
"Chaotic Strike!" She then used her own skill on the enemy player, which he also managed to block. After that, seemingly unbeknownst to Recht, Twilight, was beginning to cast a spell on him.
"Duk Lei!" She shouted attempting to poison him. But to their surprise, Recht managed to attack Twilight mid-skill with one of his own. Twilight received a noticeable amount of damage and was knocked down. But she got back up and tried to cast another spell. This time it was an attack. "Zan Rom!" She shouted, casting wind magic, which created a small whirlwind. The attack connected. But it was blocked as well. [Fluttershy, you need to attack him while Rainbow Dash and I distract him. Try using a skill.] She said to her shy friend, via chat.
[But, Twilight, what if something happens?] Asked Fluttershy.
[Like rainbow Dash said. We're here. You don't need to worry about this. Besides, he can't possibly handle all three of us at once. When I see an opening, use a skill.]
[...Okay...] The chat ended as Twilight informed Rainbow Dash of their plan, also via chat. Afterwards it officially began. Rainbow Dash ran towards their opponent and started slashing at him. Twilight did the same thing, even though her grimoire was significantly weaker than her friends' dual swords and scythe. Their opponent still had his guard up, so any regular attacks he took didn't affect him. Secretly, Twilight was building up a charge attack, which would knock his guard down and give Fluttershy an opening to use a skill at the same time. Her plan worked. She released the charge attack, which sent Recht flying toward the battle fence. The actual attack damaged him little, but the hitting the fence part took significantly more of his HP. She signaled Fluttershy to use a skill. So was done. Fluttershy lunged at their opponent and shouted "Lotus Flower!" as she used said skill, hitting him him into the air and delivering a spinning slash to his PC. It damaged him and allowed Twilight an opportunity to use 'Duk Lei' again to poison him. This time, he was successfully poisoned and his HP started slowly diminishing. Rainbow Dash then used another 'Chaotic Strike' The odds seemed to be in their favor now. They always had the advantage, but he was strong enough to fight on his own. And it showed in the amount of HP the girls (not counting Fluttershy) had left. They had to end it soon. Twilight healed Rainbow Dash using 'Ul Repth' while Rainbow and Fluttershy ran around him to get an advantage. Recht started a skill directed to Rainbow Dash! Almost without thinking, Rainbow used her own skill, and countered it.
"Whirlwind!" She shouted, using said skill. Recht flew a few feet and his still poisoned state made his HP drop considerably since the beginning of the fight. The other two players in her party were surprised that she could do that. But they pushed that aside as they prepared to attack again...
"Stop." But a voice told them not to. Surprisingly, it was Recht's voice. It was the first time his voice was heard in the entire fight. "I see it now..." He turned his head up, "I give up. This fight is over." His voice was very calm and it seemed like he was completely comfortable with throwing the match. An event that almost never happens in The World.
"What!? You're giving up?" Asked the commentator, confused. "Well then, THAT'S THE MATCH! TEAM SONIC RAIN IS THE WINNER!" He shouted. After that, Recht almost immediately warped out of the arena. The girls did the same .Rainbow Dash wasn't complaining about winning in the way they did, but the other two wondered if they actually earned their victory.
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When the party warped back to Lumina Cloth, they were surprised to see Recht standing there, seemingly waiting for their arrival. "Hello, Ms. Dash, Ms. Sparkle, and Ms. Shy." He greeted them, politely, smiling, and in the same tranquil tone as before.
"Hello, Recht. What are you doing?" Greeted Twilight.
"Not much. Just standing here. Enjoying the sights." Replied Recht, looking out at the town, and all the players running around. "That was a fun fight, don't you think, Ms. Dash?"
"Yeah, it was awesome! How did you get so strong?" Replied Rainbow Dash.
"Oh, I have my ways." He replied.
"Oh, yeah-"
"Let me guess. Your wondering why I threw the match back there. Aren't you, Ms. Sparkle?" Asked Recht, cutting Twilight off.
"! Yes, actually, I am thinking about that." Replied Twilight.
"Well, my reasons are simple. I just wanted to fight you. Nothing more."
"Huh? What does that mean?" Asked Rainbow Dash, confused.
"Well, I read the forum and it mentioned how the Terror of Death was playing with a group of mysterious female players. I just had to see for myself what kind of players you were. And I'm rather impressed with your strength. But tell me, how do you know Haseo?"
"First of all, it shouldn't be surprising that we're strong. Second, well, I guess you could say we're friends. You know him?" Asked Rainbow Dash.
"Not personally, no. But there isn't a single player in the entire game who hasn't heard of him. They say he's a renegade PKK."
"Well, I guess he can be cold at times." Said Twilight.
"Hmmm... what do you think of Haseo, Ms. Shy?" He turned asked the shy one. She stayed silent, being who she was. "It's alright, you can trust me." He said to her. She looked at him for almost half a minute before coming out of her shell a little bit. Somehow, he did it.
"...Haseo's such a good person... he saved me once when I was really scared... and my friends too." Replied Fluttershy, with a small blush. "He's also suffered so much... I want to know if I can help him... somehow..."
"I see... would you tell Haseo I'd like to meet him at Θ Hidden Forbidden Sacrament, if you would be so kind." He asked them.
"Uh, sure." Said Twilight. "Why do you want to meet him?"
"There's something important I want to tell him."
"What do you want to tell him?"
"I can't tell you."
"What? Why not!?" Asked Rainbow Dash.
"I just can't, or I'll lose my job... damn, I said too much. Look, I'll see you later okay?" He waved goodbye and walked away leaving them to speculate as to what this 'something important' and his 'job' was.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm tired after all that fighting. I think I'll go back home. What about you guys?"
"Well, I have a favor to do, so I'll stick around a little longer for now." Said Twilight.
"I think I'll go back home too, I'm sure Angel misses me..." Said Fluttershy.
"Okay, see you later Twilight!" Rainbow ran for the chaos gate, hoping to figure out how to get back to Equestria. Fluttershy and Twilight followed. The first two warped to Mac Anu to figure out how to get back to Equestria while the third went to Dol Dona to do her favor for Recht.
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Sorry I haven't updated for almost two months, I've had some stuff to deal with at home, and now school's starting again next month. But other than that I can write just fine. Please tell me what you think.