The sun rose red in the morning. Heavy clouds lit from below as light shone into the cavernous hall they had formed over Canterlot. As dawn washed against Mysteria, she stretched in contentment, waking slowly. She was only awake for a minute before she yelped and fell out of bed, realising what was happening today. Skipping her way over to her teacher’s chambers she rapped her hoof twice on the door, clearing her throat loudly, then calling out.
“Twilight, the finals are today.” when hearing no response she sighed, shaking her head. Then, in a lightly scolding tone continued. “Are you still sleeping? The finals are in an hour, so if you’re not awake, it is my responsibility to wake you.”
With a mischievous grin she pushed the door open, leaping into the room. Upon seeing why her teacher had not responded, her eyes widened and she gasped in shock. Twilight lay sprawled against the bed, her head buried in the pillows. Her hind legs sprawled behind her, twisted in odd angles. Mysteria instantly rushed to her mentor’s aid.
“What happened Twilight?” she asked, trying to help prop the unicorn up against the wall, resting a pillow behind her head. The purple mare stirred, wincing in pain as her broken legs dragged along the floor.
“Must have fallen over.” Twilight mumbled, not making eye contact. The younger pony stared at her for a second incredulously, then continued examining the legs.
“Mysteria,” Twilight asked weakly.
“What is it?”
“Defeat me.” The grey unicorn stepped back in shock, her teacher was now in a sitting position, her eyes closed peacefully as she talked to her student. “You don’t have to use a powerful spell, just enough to knock me out. I can’t fight in this state, so as my second, you should take my place.”
Mysteria shook her head miserably.
“I can’t fight Gently, he...” she began apologetically.
“Don’t let your personal feelings get in the way.” Twilight sharply interrupted. ”This isn’t just about you, me or Gently. This is the safety of Equestria. Since I can’t be Celestia’s champion, you must.”
A single tear running down her face, she stepped back and prepared to cast against a pony she respected as her teacher and guardian.
“One last thing.” Twilight said suddenly, cracking her eyes open. “Be yourself.”
Mysteria smiled then sent a small shot of power at her teacher. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as it shot through the air to the sitting pony. It hit her in the small of her neck, and with a crack she slumped. A bright light shone in the room, Mysteria raised her eyes to shield them from the light, but saw in her peripheral vision, the motes of light soaring into her.
The light faded and she looked back at her teacher. Twilight had slid down to the floor and now lay curled up in sleep. Her chest rose and fell with her deep breaths, the pain from her legs unable to touch her in her dreams.
“Thank you Twilight.” Mysteria said softly and left the mare. Far below on the ground, Gently was waiting - the finals were about to begin.
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Mysteria leaped into the arena, her hooves impacting lightly on the soft sand. Gently watched her enter with resignation, and readied his augmentation spells.
Celestia watched the two ponies with sorrow and concern. As princess she knew of the relationship between the two of them - making them fight was almost too much for her to bear. Weakly, the grey unicorn smiled at Gently.
“Guess one of us is going to be champion.“ she said softly. He nodded slowly, his gaze distant.
“I didn’t want this to happen.” he said quietly. Then his eyes narrowed, his mind working at super speed.
Umbra can’t possess me at the moment, and If I were to win that would ruin her plan. She can only beat Celestia if Mysteria becomes the champion.
His eyes shot up, locking onto Mysteria’s, his gaze ferocious. He let loose a sharp bark of laughter.
“Might as well have fun.” he told her, smiling. She responded with her own smile, alive with mirth and mischievous fun.
They leapt forward the moment the match began, their bodies shimmering in nimbusses of augmentative magic. They flew past each other, unleashing volleys of small shots which bounced harmlessly off each others’ shields.
Gently landed with his back to her. He closed his eyes for a heartbeat, then ducked. A bolt of crackling red magic shot over him and he laughed.
So predictable, Mysteria.
He leapt backwards, flipping in mid air, whilst sending an array of arcing beams down on her. She raised a shield, causing the lines of light to slide harmlessly over it’s surface. Gently rose higher till he was a good twenty feet above the arena.
Mysteria looked up at him, instantly wincing at the brightness - he was outlined by the sun. He cloaked himself in an orb of blue lightning and shot down towards her. Cracking her eyes open carefully she saw, too late. the crackling pony lightning bolt and tried to leap aside. Unfortunately, she was not fast enough and one of the tendrils scorched her back.
The crowd gasped and leaned closer as she limped round to face her opponent. She was grinning in exhilaration and did not seem to mind the pain.
“How are you so fast?” she asked, gingerly reaching round to touch the scorched flesh.
“I specialise in augmentation magic.” he stated simply, focused on his opponent in case she tried a sneak attack.
Mysteria began to laugh, her eyes shone with amusement and tilting her head back gave a chuckle. Gently didn’t move but raised one eyebrow quizzically at the display.
“Oh really?” She growled happily.
The mares horn began to glow, thrumming louder and louder as more magic was poured into the spell. Sparks and tendrils shot off it, splashing against the ground, but still she continued. Gently looked on with a tinge of concern and began powering up his defenses against the spell she was about to hurl at him. Then, the thrumming and glow stopped completely. Into the silence, Mysteria spoke with a much deeper voice that resonated through the arena.
“Discordius Prime, redblood shine, realm of power and peace be mine.”
Everypony gasped as the young mare spoke the incantation. Spells with verbal components had not been practiced for many hundreds of years. To use one that called upon the powers of chaos was enough to cause widespread confusion and fear.
Celestia’s eyes widened and, within a moment, she erected a band of golden light that encircled the arena, imposing itself between the crowd and the caster. As Mysteria finished she instantly became the center of a rapidly expanding pink cloud, within which red lightning flickered. An echoing laughter emanated from everywhere at once, filling the stands, but as the cloud reached the golden lines it stopped, pushing vainly against them before it imploded in a rush and howl of wind.
When it cleared, nothing seemed to have changed, the two opponents stood as before, Mysteria smiling triumphantly, Gently swaying slightly his eyes wide with shock.
“What was that?” he managed to stammer, trying to collect himself.
“Just a little spell I made after looking through some of those really old books that Twilight kept locked in a chest under the floorboards back home.” Mysteria walked forward as she spoke, then continued in a carrying whisper “It dispels any magical effect it comes into contact with.”
His eyes widened as he realised what she had done: without his mental protection, Umbra could possess him. As if reading his thoughts, which was probably exactly what she was doing, he began to feel her force her way into his psyche.
“Mysteria, you’ve got to...” he began, gritting his teeth as pain lanced through his head. With an effort and the last of his free will he blurted out.
“I’m so sorry.”
She raised an inquisitive eyebrow as her special somepony and opponent gave a scream of defiance the slumped to the ground.
“Gently?” she asked in concern. He looked up at her, then got to his feet chuckling.
“Poor deluded Mysteria, what’s wrong? Did you finally figure it out?” he asked in a soft voice, a smirk on his face.
She looked at him in confusion, not noticing that his eyes were now tinged with a slight red hue.
“Figure what out, Gently?” she asked him, quickly closing the distance between them.
“The truth.” he responded simply.
“Quit messing around and tell me what you are going on about,” she said, frustrated as he skirted around the issue.
He leaned his head and whispered into her ear. “I was only using you.”
“Using me?”
He sneered at her, then walked past so that he stood behind her, facing away before speaking again.
“I knew that if I could get you in the tournament I could beat you - your power level is pitiful compared to mine.”
Neither Mysteria nor the audience knew what was going on at this point. From the onlookers perspective a temporary truce had been called, but at this distance words were indistinguishable. Mysteria was reeling, Gently was saying some really hurtful things to her, seemingly uncalled for.
“Why Gently?” she asked, her voice rising in volume “Why did you want to be my special somepony”
He laughed cruelly, spinning on the spot to face her.
“To get closer to Twilight. As a far more attractive and powerful unicorn, she is more worthy of my attentions.”
Mysteria felt tears welling up in her eyes.
“So you don’t...”
Gently grinned his eyes now completely red.
“Of course I don’t love you.”
Mysteria screamed with rage, with anger, pain and sadness. For the second time in her life the walls in her mind collapsed and her eyes became burning red orbs, casting the arena in a hellish light. She ran forwards towards the blue unicorn, her only thought at this point to inflict pain upon the stallion. To hurt the pony who had hurt her.
Gently felt Umbra leave, but as he regained his senses he was struck under the jaw by Mysteria’s hoof, wrapped in a forcefield of blood red energy. All the breath was knocked from him and he was sent hurtling backwards through the air.