//------------------------------//
// Chapter 17 
// Story: Scootaloo's Guardian 
// by Dirty Bit 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 17


A Graceful Duel


The Element bearers surrounded the sleeping figure that Twilight had confirmed to be Zasalamel with how she spotted the large scythe resting in his crossed arms. They made themselves sure to be quiet when approaching him as everypony gazed upon them with different expressions of their own.

Applejack raised an eyebrow "That's him?? He almost seems like a monkey with how he looks an' all..." She whispered as she continued staring.

Rarity winced in disgust "And just look at what he's wearing! You can see the stains haven't been properly washed at all! It's as if this human has no sense of fashion whatsoever!" She whispered loudly.

Rainbow Dash tilted her head "Up close, he kinda reminds me of a Diamond Dog, only he doesn't smell bad. That large scythe of his is totally cool!" she whispered with a smile.

Fluttershy, while afraid of the large scythe in his arms, looked at Zasalamel in intrigue "Do you think we should wake him up like this? He seems rather tired..."

Twilight had a look of determination on her face "This is exactly what we all came here for. Let's get him to answer our questions!" She went to approach Zasalamel closer, but Pinkie got in the way as she trotted onto Zasalamel's lap and stare at his sleeping face with a smile.

Zasalamel murmured in his sleep after feeling something on top of his legs. Slowly opening his eyes, he was met with two large eyes and a smile surrounded by pink "Hi!" He grunted in surprise and quickly pushed the party mare off of him, rose up to his feet, and got into a defensive position with his scythe in his hands. He glanced around to see there were six mares, along with a familiar purple one looking up at him with startled eyes.

Pinkie rose up herself after being pushed off and beamed up at the cloaked man "Hi there, Zassy! I'm Pinkie Pie! Y'see, we were wandering around this forest because Twilight over here wanted to find you! And the trip was SO long and we were getting SO tired, but we managed to catch you sleeping nearby when we set up camp! How funny is THAT!? Oh, and Dashie loves your scythe, by the way! An-"

Twilight turned to the party mare and shouted "Pinkie!" This silenced her jabbering as she sighed and turned back to Zasalamel "Anyways, Pinkie is right! We've come here to find you so our questions involving Soul Edge and Soul Calibur could be answered! Are they around in Equestria??"

Zasalamel then got out of his defensive stance. He kept his hardened gaze on Twilight, and it became a small glare, though a good amount of anger could be felt from it "I told you, Twilight Sparkle, not to affiliate yourself or your friends in this affair. This doesn't concern you at all! Turn back now and leave..." He spoke in a firm tone.

Rainbow Dash glared and flew up to Zasalamel's face "And what makes you think we're just gonna turn around and head home because you said so? We want answers, tough guy!" She thought she was intimidating him, but it felt like Zasalamel gave off a vibe similar to Celestia with how he was unphased by her glare.

Zasalamel gave a light scoff and scooted the cyan pegasus away "I'd expect no less of a tone from the Element of Loyalty herself...But as I've said before, you and the others shouldn't even concern yourselves with this matter. Leave at once!"

Rarity glared "How rude! And on who's authority do you have the right to talk that way to us?? We have come a long way in this place and had to deal with that atrocious scene you've caused earlier today just so we could find you!"

Twilight stepped forward with a pleading glance "Please, Zasalamel! Understand that I only wish to know you and your connection with the two swords! You would be helping me out if you would just tell me what we're dealing with!"

Zasalamel was silent, and then gave a small gasp as he felt the same wave from earlier. Knowing what he had to do, he began to look around after ignoring the element bearers. He stepped away and walked towards a tree, leaving the others confused as Twilight spoke up "What are you doing?? Won't you tell us??"

He had no time to deal with trivia as he drew closer to the tree he had his sights on. Feeling the coarse bark around the midsection, he began to circle around the tree only to find another glowing shard similar to the one found in Appleloosa sticking out of the tree on the other side. Zasalamel then gripped the sharp piece of metal and with a small amount of force, yanked it out of the tree and stared at it.

The others, namely Twilight, observed what was going on and the lavender bookworm couldn't be more curious than she possibly has. She trotted over to him after he stashed away the shard inside of his cloak "What was that? Is it a part of Soul Edge??"

Zasalamel turned to Twilight with his unchanged expression "I shouldn't have to repeat myself, Twilight...I've made my point abundantly clear that no one is to know about what you've just experienced in terms of that book...What I've acquired could cause major damage if it falls into the wrong hands. Take my warning to heart and go back to your village!" He went to leave, only to be stopped by Applejack, who looked up at him and tried to match his gaze.

The farmpony spoke "Listen here, partner...Ah know y'all 're tellin' th' truth, 'specially with that little shard o' yers, but ya can't jus' leave us in the dark like this! Twilight only wants t' know about yer history an' what exactly is the big deal with what yer hidin' from us! Ah don't wanna badger ya, but trust me, she can be persistent when it comes t' learnin'..."

Pinkie hops up towards his side "Yeah! She's such a super-duper smarty pants! And besides, we haven't properly introduced ourselves yet! I dunno if I already told you this, but I'm Pi-"

Zasalamel looked down at Pinkie "I already know who you are..." He turns his gaze to the rest "As well as the rest of you...but you don't know how much trouble you'll cause by dabbling into something you shouldn't."

Fluttershy looked up at the cloaked man "But we can't really ignore this now...If anything, we're already involved with this as much as you are. We only want Equestria to be safe, after all...Could you please tell us what you're hiding??" She cringed a little "That is...if you don't mind us asking..."

The cloaked man looked down at the timid mare, making her cringe more and look away "This has gone on long enough. If too many of your kind know about the existence of the two swords, my past would only repeat itself! I do not want to tell you, nor do I need to! Heed my warning and turn back!"

Rainbow Dash, while slightly nervous at Zasalamel's appearance, was fuming at how harsh he sounded towards her friend Fluttershy. She then zipped in front of him "Nopony talks to my friends that way! Tell us already or I'll beat you to a pulp!" She held her forelegs in a boxing position as she hovered in front of the cloaked man.

Zasalamel was annoyed at Rainbow Dash's brash behavior "I do not have time for a battle, even if you're so willing to know about the two swords..."

Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash in worry "Rainbow, don't do this! I understand you're frustrated, and so am I! But we shouldn't resort to violence!"

Rainbow looked back at the lavender bookworm "No can do, Twilight! We both know that we can't just walk away from something that involves the fate of Equestria! Plus, with the way he's acting, he's totally hiding something from us! This guy could be an agent of Discord for all we know!!"

Pinkie rubbed her chin "Ya know...Dashie's got a point...I mean look at his face!" She pointed towards his glowing eye, and Zasalamel stared back with his hardened gaze. The others watched and wondered what their friend was getting at "He's all brown! Clearly he spent so much time under chocolate rain that he's DEFINITELY with Discord!"

Everypony gave a big facehoof and an annoyed groan at what she had said, while Fluttershy looked down and sighed in exasperation. Zasalamel did not do a thing as he simply turned away and went to continue his journey after being woken up. These ponies already convinced him that he shouldn't be resting so long when there is work to be done.

Rainbow Dash saw Zasalamel leave and stopped him once again "Hold it! You're not leaving until you tell us what we want!!" She held out her hooves, ready for a fight.

Zasalamel gave a glare "I already told you I'm in no mood for battle...You play an important role in this world and you're only acting foolish to challenge me."

Rainbow felt like she was being mocked as she got in the cloaked man's face "Oh, am I!? What say you put your money where your mouth is, punk!? If you win, we'll leave you alone! But if I win, you're gonna tell us EVERYTHING you know!"

Rarity widened her eyes "Surely you can't be serious, Rainbow! You musn't act so rashly like this!

Twilight was now more than worried "Rainbow Dash, no! Don't fight him! Think about what he did back at Froggy Bottom Bog! Nopony other than the princesses or a dragon could best a hydra!! Don't do this!!"

Rainbow Dash squinted his eyes "I know full well what he did, and I'll admit that I'm a bit nervous...But there's no way I'm letting this guy leave without telling us what he knows! I'm doing this for you AND Equestria!" She pounded her forehooves together and got into a fighting stance as she hovered in the air "Well?? What're you waiting for!? C'mon and put 'em up!"

Zasalamel stared back as he looked into Rainbow Dash's eyes. She was more than serious about this fight despite knowing his own strength. The cyan pegasus proved to be persistent and annoying with her behavior, and he was surprised that her friends are not holding her back "You're willing to go so far as to fighting me for the answers you so desperately seek?" He gripped his scythe with both hands and got into a stance as his yellow eye gave a glint "...So be it..."

The two met each other's gazes and began their clash as everypony else watched in fear.
_____

Trixie was busy dodging every blow that was directed towards her with how the demon was executing his movements with incredible speed and finesse. Her heart skipped a beat every time each evasion was too much of a close call, and she could never find a proper time to focus her magic on her opponent.

She quickly careened past him and galloped further into the alley, hoping to give herself an advantage. It wouldn't do her much justice to be caught by night patrols and be lumped with two strange and dangerous monsters. As she galloped, she noticed the demon run along the wall as if it were a minor feat. Trixie's eyes widened when he jumped down and stopped her in her tracks, moving to strike at her once more as he gave an exquisite fencing lunge.

The azure unicorn jumped back and tried to keep her head while the battle was on. It should not be much of a problem for her as she glared with determination. The Great and Powerful Trixie should not have to falter against a simple monster when her magic was practically better (to her standards...) than Twilight Sparkle's. She tried to make her horn glow as her opponent sped forward with another lunge, and barely dodged to the right, only to be met with a small cut on her right cheek. She yelped as she brought a hoof to her cheek and then glared "You've tarnished Trixie's beautiful visage!! How dare you!?" the showmare gave another yelp and moved away from another strike.

Cackling like a crazed maniac, the demon continued his swings and watched as Trixie was squirming away from each blow. It was enjoyable for him to watch his opponent struggle, even if they lacked discipline in a fight. He couldn't remember the last time he had enjoyed a proper fight in his time, even if he had spent a vast majority of his life away from the rest of the world. He was thoroughly impressed with how the pony was holding up right now, dodging most of his blows and managing enough energy to continue.

Trixie continued dodging and jumped away once more as she looked for something to distract the demon to gain the upper hoof. She then turned her attention to the smaller cloaked figure, who had its face draped away to hide the expression on its face. Trixie couldn't help but feel as if the figure were staring at her in a sense of warmth. What could the other one want when it was another monster? Trixie was then met with another slash to her right cheek as she yelped and jumped back once more.

The demon spun his blade and held it in a professional fashion "Where are you looking? I'm over here!" He spun it again as he prepared for another lunge. When he executed it, he hit something...but it wasn't Trixie...

Trixie had quickly ducked away from the latest blow, showing her reflexes as always, but then she noticed that her magician's hat was not on her head. It was hanging on the demon's blade, skewered like a marshmallow on a stick. Her jaw dropped as she noticed this, and her left eye began to twitch.

Shrugging this distraction, the demon merely swung his blade away, flinging the hat off of its blade as it landed in front of the smaller cloaked figure. He then turned to face Trixie "Now, where were we...hm??" The demon began to notice Trixie looking as if she were to spontaniously explode out of random circumstance.

The showmare gritted her teeth as she glared up at the demon "That...was Trixie's..." Her horn glowed "...favorite..." The demon then found himself enveloped in a magical aura as he examined himself in surprise "HAT!!!" Without warning, he was lifted up and quickly slammed into the wall on his right, and then his left, all in a repetitive cycle as he succumbed to Trixie's newfound ire. He grunted in pain with each consecutive slam.

A resident in one of the buildings, a green coated mare, had earplugs on as she enjoyed her sleep, oblivious to the mild shakes being caused in her home.

After a good amount of pain was inflicted, Trixie flung the arrogant demon into a pile of garbage deeper into the alley. She caught her breath as she stared at the pile of garbage, thinking that she took care of the job just fine. When she turned to her left, she flinched to see the smaller cloaked figure with Trixie's hat in its arms. It presented the skewered hat to the showmare, as if it were an innocent child offering a present. Why was this one so hesitant to attack her while the other did not pass up an opportunity to strike??

Trixie raised an eyebrow at the cloaked figure before levitating the hat out of the figure's arms and placing it back on her head where it belonged "Trixie does not know of your reasons for doing this, but you realize that you're about to be subjugated along with that other impudent monster! Do not think that we have become friends!" The smaller cloaked figure slowly hung its head down, as if it were sad. Trixie only gave it a glare "Hmph...sulking, are you? You'll get no sympathy from Trixie..." Her ears perked up as she heard rustling in the pile of garbage. The pair turned to see what was happening.

As the rustling grew more, something shot out of the pile and flew upwards at an amazing speed. Trixie and the figure look up to see the demon fly up as if it grew wings and descend towards the pair as he landed and brushed off what filth was on his being. He then leered at Trixie with his soulless eyes "You're quite the rude one..." Before she had time to act, the demon quickly sped over and casted a series of jabs with his blade, touching each part of her chest with the amazing speed and finesse demonstrated at the start of their fight. After that, he lunged his blade accurately under one of Trixie's forelegs, and raising her into a pained stance "Die!" He then pulled his blade away and swept it under Trixie's hindlegs, only to raise his free arm and fling her before she connected with the ground.

The smaller cloaked figure gave a barely audible gasp at the sight, seeing Trixie sprawled on the ground moaning in pain. The demon looked down at Trixie as she laid "That look suits you...Stay down there." He brushed his outfit off, wiping away what filth managed to stay on him after his first cleaning.

In her pained state, Trixie looked up at the demon "H-How did you manage to...to recover from that??" Nopony would have survived an onslaught like she had performed, nor recover so well in the process. She had to admit, even his recoveries are graceful...

The demon only scoffed and took some steps back before swinging his blade in a victory pose "Grace is of utmost importance during duels..."


End of Chapter 17