Atlas Strongest Tournament

by Bico

Elite Eight: Rage Against the Mentor

ATLAS STRONGEST TOURNAMENT
~BICO
PART 5: ELITE EIGHT
ACT III: RAGE AGAINST THE MENTOR

Twilight exhaled and her magic flowed into Applejack's wound. The flesh began to knit almost immediately, and Twilight smiled. "It's not as bad as it looked, AJ. Still, I'm surprised you even stayed conscious during all that, much less won the fight." The corners of her mouth drooped and she sighed. "I'm honestly glad Spike won't be continuing after this. I'm worried about him."

"You know somethin' I don't, Twi?" Applejack asked, the beginnings of an accusatory glare forming.

Twilight couldn't meet her gaze. "Nothing definitive... but I do have theories."

"Care to share?" Applejack asked. "It's... the right thing to do, ya know."

"I can't," Twilight admitted. "Not right now. I don't suppose you could tell me what happened in that fire, could you? I sensed a powerful magical surge, and I couldn't help but be reminded..."

"Yeah," Applejack said, her eyes becoming haunted as she remembered. "Like three years ago, right after Spike saved the Crystal Heart. But it was different. Not the right color, and what happened... well, it weren't no time magic, that's for sure. Least I hope it weren't."

"Tell me, Applejack," Twilight insisted. "I need to know."

"Alright," she said. "This is gonna sound crazy, but..."

---

Scootaloo shot down the hallway, barely avoiding the pedestrians that filled it. She twirled around a shocked stallion and entered a dark hallway devoid of light. She skidded to a stop and looked around. "Where did everypony go?"

"The Night Guard has ways of remaining unseen," a voice whispered, the soft breath of its owner causing Scootaloo's ear to twitch.

Scootaloo spun around, striking out with her wing. She struck nothing but air, however, and a moment later the dark face of a unicorn emerged from the shadows centimeters from her. Her hoof whipped around to strike the phantasm, but was blocked by a very solid cannon. She gasped. "Y-you're not a ghost!"

"Not yet, anyway," Argent said, giving Scootaloo a wink. "But I might just die happy at the hooves of such a pretty filly."

Scootaloo snarled, but her face flushed with embarrassment. "Hey, creep, if you wanna try anything funny..."

"Funny isn't my style," Argent said, flashing an elongated canine. "I'm the captain of Luna's Night Guard, you know. I'm here on official business."

Scootaloo looked the stallion up and down warily. "What does a Captain of the Night Guard have business with me for?"

"Princess Luna's been interested in your development for awhile, now," Argent replied. "For whatever reason, she has the utmost faith in your abilities, and wishes me to impart some highly classified information in hopes that you might be able to stop a tragedy from occurring."

"Really?" Scootaloo said, her cheeks now red with genuine flattery.

Argent pressed himself back into the shadows, becoming nearly invisible as he spoke, "Be wary, for there is a traitor in our midst. An imposter, perhaps. One who seeks to harm one of your friends." His eyes narrowed. "We suspect that the traitor is one of the remaining contestants. Especially one whose skills seem to be... unexpectedly honed. Keep an eye out for that one."

"Wait a minute!" Scootaloo said. "You don't mean Ra—" The hallway flooded with light once again, and ponies began to enter from every possible ingress. A cold feeling in Scootaloo's gut began to build as she felt a renewed urge to see Spike as quickly as possible.

---

---

“You’re not hurt, are you?”

“No, of course not, Rarity.”

She looked at her young dragon friend with concern. He certainly didn’t look like he wasn’t hurt, of that much she was sure. He had been a bit distant lately, though. She would really have to talk to him about all this later. “Well… you go get a little rest, anyway, Darling. I’ll come see you after my match with… him.”

“Alright,” Spike said, and he retreated from her sight.

Before she could turn to make her way toward the stage, somepony else unexpectedly stopped her. “Rarity.”

She turned and saw her little sister’s pegasus friend panting as she stood on her scooter with one hind leg on the ground as her forelegs grasped the handle bars. Rarity noted a most grim expression on the girl's face and thought it made her look positively adorable; however, she recognized that now might not be the best time to be patronizing, so she did her best to look as composed as possible. “Yes, Dear?”

“When the time comes, and you and I meet in the finals,” Scootaloo said with utmost gravity. “I’m going to make sure to beat you.”

Rarity smiled. “Well, I must say I am glad to see you taking defending your style’s honor seriously. Really, that kind of adherence to principle is seldom seen anymore…”

“This isn’t just about proving whose style is the best,” Scootaloo insisted. “It’s personal, now.”

“Um…” Rarity found herself at a loss for words. “I, uh… what?”

“I don’t know what exactly happened,” Scootaloo said. “And I know you’re Sweetie’s big sister and you’ve been cool to us when you weren’t freaking out over some weird, little thing.”

“Indeed.”

“But I have to protect those precious to me, you got it?” Scootaloo continued.

“Okay.”

“Whenever Spike looks at you, I see how he hurts inside.”

“Wait, we’re talking about Spike?”

“All you do is cause him pain, and cast his heart in darkness,” Scootaloo went on, her gestures becoming more grandiose and her tone reaching a heroic pitch. “Well, lady, I’m going to shed light on that darkness, I’m going to be his wings when he wants to fly, and I’m going to give him all the awesome stuff he deserves.”

“Wow,” Rarity said. “Did that come from something?”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo said. “Daring Do and the Staff of Star Swirl the Bearded.”

“A bit much, don’t you think?”

“Sure, but it seems appropriate,” Scootaloo said with a shrug. “Anyway! I just want you to know that I’ve got my eyes on you, and I’m not going to let you hurt Spike, anymore.” With that, she turned and scooted after Spike, leaving Rarity somewhat baffled by the exchange.

---

Master Lao Wu was already waiting as patiently as ever. “Hey, pink filly, just declare me winner, already. She is no-show. Too scared.”

“Um… Mr. Wu, I can’t really do that…” Pinkie said. “I mean, I can see her right there.”

“Doesn’t matter, she forfeit,” Lao Wu said. “Look at her, shaking in her fur.”

“I’ll have you know, Master,” Rarity said through clenched teeth as she ascended to the stage. “That the only reason I’m shaking is most certainly not because of fear, but due to my complete inability to stand being in the presence of ponies like yourself.”

Lao Wu nodded sagely. “Yes, my aura must be too oppressive for one as weak as you."

“Sure,” Rarity said. “You could put it like that.”

“Alright, you two,” Pinkie said in the kind of tone one would expect from somepony addressing a pair of mischievous rascals. “I want a good, clean fight.”

“Can’t get much cleaner than this one,” Lao Wu responded. “She take bath five times a day, plus after work out. Million ponies in Spina die of thirst because of her.”

"And you, my dear master," Rarity said, "are a complete monster as far as I'm concerned!"

"You are correct," Lao Wu gave her a grin full of razors as he belched a black miasma. "I am a monster."

Rarity's eyes bulged and blood spurted from her mouth as she found Lao Wu's hind hoof embedded in her stomach. His thick tail struck a solid blow to her face an instant later and she heard a sharp crack that she hoped was nothing important. Her body hit the ground not a meter away from the edge of the heptagon, where she struggled to stand. She felt her teeth crunch against something that shouldn't have been there and spat, and a tooth skipped across the ground.

"But remember, student, that I am the master," Lao Wu concluded as he sauntered toward her calmly, his breath even. "And I made you everything you are."

"No!" Rarity snarled. Needles shot from her mouth, being guided subtly by her magic toward their target.

Lao Wu reared up and put a hoof to his right nostril. He inhaled and with his mouth closed, small puffs of steam issued from his left nostril like arrows, intercepting each needle and knocking them off course. They shattered upon striking the ground. "Still taught you that," he said with a laugh.

"You didn't teach me everything I know," Rarity countered, her horn flaring up. Slivers of diamond erupted from the ground right below her master, each individual needle targeting a specific acupuncture point, tips ready to discharge magic that would instantly immobilize.

Lao Wu roared, a dark mist blasting from his mouth, and he shot into the air, leaving the needles in his wake for a moment, but they quickly pierced through his hazy veil. Utilizing his hooves, tail, and even wings, he performed a deadly ballet in the sky, raining the needles back down upon his student. "Even so, I am better than you!"

"Incredible, fillies and gentlecolts!" Pinkie exclaimed. "It looks like Rarity's being hoist by her own petard! Master Wu was able to hit Rarity's acupuncture points before she could even put up a defense!"

"Remember my lessons on acupuncture?" Lao Wu asked, coming face to face with Rarity. "The magic in your needles has disrupted your energy. The nature of acupuncture is such that caster does not need to maintain spell, so your magic works on its own to stop you from using magic. Ironic. Only caster's magic can stop acupuncture without taking needles out." He smirked and wrapped a wing around her neck, lifting her above his head. "You were fool to leave. You waste your talent, here. I saw potential. You could have been better than me!"

"It..." Rarity gasped. "It wasn't my destiny." She glanced down at the cutie mark on her hip. "I... I wanted to make... beauty..."

"功馬是很美的!(1)" Lao Wu growled, his eyes flashing red for an instant. He took a deep breath and composed himself. "You have disappointed me, my student."

"No, you are the disappointing one here," Rarity scoffed.

"NO U!" Pinkie yawped.

Lao Wu shot an annoyed glance at the tournament announcer before he threw Rarity across the ring. The impact of her body knocked loose the needles that had held her fast. She instantly rolled to her hooves and parried a punch from her old master, countering with a succession of circular swipes. Master Wu spread her forelegs apart with his wings, however, and his hoof connected with Rarity's chin, sending her into the air.

Rarity twisted backward, kicking out with one of her back legs. Her hoof never connected as Lao Wu swayed out of the way. He dove back toward her, delivering a supermare punch to her spine which launched her away from him. He galloped after her as she landed on her hooves and reared up, clamping a wing on either side of her body, trapping her in his grasp.

"Insolent mare," Lao Wu snarled as he hammered his front hooves into his old student's face. "Your talent in the Art is useless without dedication. Even Ran will never have your skill, she at least has fortitude. She does what she must and, most importantly... does... not... whine!"

Rarity blew the blood from her nostrils onto his chest when he paused in his beating for a moment. "Is that why you told her that what happened to her was her fault? You blamed her for being a victim so she wouldn't whine?" She lifted her hind legs in preparation for a kick, but Lao Wu leaped into the air.

---

---

"I did what I had to do to make her strong!" he growled, resuming his pounding with all four hooves in midair. He could feel her flesh turn to pulp and her ribs crack under his assault. "She took responsibility for her weakness, and she became stronger. Now she would beat that same dragon to douhua(2) or die trying!" He released the barely conscious Rarity from her grasp. "You would just try to flirt dragon out of his horde!" With a hammer strike from his tail, he sent her arching over the ring once again, her body aimed at the soft dirt surrounding the ring.

Rarity's eyes opened, a fire burning within them, and her horn flared with magic. A pillar of crystal shot out from the edge of the heptagon, and she hit it hard. A loud crunch came from her left elbow, and she yelped in pain. She hit the ground with a thud.

Lao Wu looked back at his fallen student and his brow rose curiously. "Why would you do that?"

Rarity struggled to stand, but when she put her weight on her left foreleg, her elbow cracked and popped again, and her scream pierced the air. She staggered, but kept herself upright.

"Rarity!" Princess Luna's voice boomed. "Your leg is badly injured. If you keep fighting, you may sustain permanent damage. Do you wish to forfeit?" Though her expression could not be seen clearly from far below, her eyes pleaded for her to take the offer.

"No!" Rarity said. "I'm... going to prove you wrong, Lao Wu. I'll make you understand with my hooves."

"What?" Master Wu snorted. "What romantic sentiment is this?"

Rarity puffed and her horn began to glow. "'Romantic sentiment' is exactly what's going to defeat you." She closed her eyes and thoughts of Ran filled her mind. Her heroic rescue of Rarity from the death spikes. The bashful peck on the lips she'd given Rarity when she'd given her the Soul of Ice Sapphire for her birthday. The heartbreak in her eyes when she'd seen Rarity with Razorwing. The image of her face full of fear as Razorwing descended on her. The passion with which she'd kissed her. Her horn began to surge with power as the feelings welled up in her heart.

Lao Wu's tail crashed into Rarity's left shoulder with an awesome force that left her unable to even scream in pain. She hit the ground and he was on her like a mad dog. His attacks were quick, efficient, and brutal, and she would have been a terrible liar if she'd said she wasn't frightened out of her mind.

Rarity could see the killing intent in his eyes, something that she had never before seen as his student. She tried to ignore the terror and the pain, however. She couldn't let her spell die, now. She focused on that feeling that Ran had given her. Her magic once more began to pulse from his horn.

Master Wu opened his jaws and struck at her neck, but his student's left leg shot up to intercept and his teeth sank into her cannon. He paused with surprise as the taste of diamond filled his mouth. He looked down to see Rarity's entire leg transparent and glistening.

Rarity felt no pain at all in her left foreleg anymore. That didn't mean she was out of danger yet, though. Hairline fractures began forming as Lao Wu began to work his jaw around her leg. She redoubled her concentration, pouring her feelings into the spell. Her thoughts of Ran just weren't enough, however. But then, a fire ruby flashed in her mind's eye, its facets filled with the adoring face of a green and purple dragon.

Lao Wu yelped as he was tossed back by a red, heart-shaped pulse of magic. He flapped his wings, catching himself in the air, and a grin slowly spread across his face as he saw his student standing firm in all her jeweled glory.

"What kind of technique can turn a pony into such a tasty treat?"

"I told you that you didn't teach me everything I know," Rarity said evenly, leveling her cool gaze at her old master. "This I learned from the Crystal Ponies. They use a magical Crystal Heart to achieve this effect, but with a lot of effort and a little help from a friend, I managed to perfect a spell to manage almost the same thing."

"Well, then," Lao Wu said, dropping to the ground. "I was curious to see if this technique was good for anything other than flame retardant. Come at me."

Rarity complied. She shot toward Lao Wu like a streak of lightning, and then she engaged him in a twirling dance of violence. She fought with a purpose, like a mare on a mission. Each strike was perfectly calculated and not a movement wasted. She felt neither fear nor pain when his attacks struck true, nor did she feel satisfaction when she saw his face barely constrain his agony as her own hoof pounded into a vital point.

"An amazing display of skill from crystal Rarity. She seems to have really gained an upper hoof on Lao Wu here," Pinkie commented. "Which just leads this pony to wonder: why doesn't he just eat her?"

Lao Wu began to falter as he found himself being mercilessly beaten back. His every muscle ached, scales all over his body were cracked, and his heart and lungs strained to keep up. Under other circumstances he knew this would have been the most enjoyable time of his life. However, he felt completely unsatisfied. "I'm not going to be beaten this way!" Renewed determination filled him, and he grasped Rarity's legs with his fetlocks, attempting to trap her in a lock.

Rarity didn't hesitate. Her reversal was expertly executed, and Lao Wu found his own elbow joint locked, and he was unable to move without breaking his foreleg. Before he could even think of such a desperate move, however, Rarity robbed him of that choice by driving her stifle into the back of the joint, forcing it to bend in the opposite direction.

With a roar like thunder, light filled the stadium. Rarity rolled along the ground, her chest blackened and smoking. Lao Wu stood on his hind legs, his wings flared and mist spewing from his maw.

Rarity sprang to her hooves and examined the scene above her. The sun had already been blotted out by the increasing cloud cover, and the storm front was still growing. "Weather breath," Rarity muttered. "He must be getting desperate."

Lao Wu scoffed. "It is no fun using longma ultimate ability, but you have taken the fun out of this fight already. Where is the Art without the fear of defeat and the anticipation of victory? You do not feel these emotions because your spell has robbed you of them; I will not feel them now because there is no question of my victory." He raised his head to the sky and roared once more, and the storm responded with a crack of lightning which struck him in midair. His body sizzled with energy, and his wounds began to heal, his dislocated joint snapped back into place, and even the wrinkles on his face tightened.

Rarity sprung at her old master, meeting him in the sky with a roundhouse before the lightning could disperse. She found him rejuvenated in both body and mind, however, and his reflexes were as swift as the energy which arced through the air. She bounced off of the limbs he offered as counterattacks, striking with maximum adeptness even as he continued to guard against her with his renewed vigor. A few blows, however, struck true, cracking more scales, but another bolt of lightning struck at them from the sky, flooring her while once more recharging him.

Master Wu laughed as more cloudy breath poured from his mouth to bolster the cumulonimbus storm cell already in the sky. When Rarity bounded into the sky to engage him once more, he found his movements coming even easier than before. Every time Rarity got the upper hoof, he called down the lightning from his storm to blast her out of the sky and further revivify himself. After several such exchanges, Lao Wu was fighting even better than at the beginning of the match, and his old scales had burned away, revealing the taut flesh of a young stallion.

"[怎麼啦?"(3) Lao Wu asked with a chuckle. "你一直不斷跳上來和我打架。為什麼不用你的魔法來對付我呢?啊!你該不會在這樣的狀態下失去魔法啦?"(4)" He laughed again. "你這樣子是無法持續太久的。"(5)

Rarity assessed her condition and couldn't deny it. Her body was now blackened and cracked all over from the lightning strikes, and while she could not tire or feel pain in her current form, he was getting better and better, and had started to take a few small chunks out of her crystal hide. She would indeed break if things continued as they were, but transforming back would merely make her more vulnerable. The attacks that now merely damaged her would be lethal to her flesh-and-blood body.

As Master Lao continued to call down lightning on himself, boosting his already overflowing energy level, an epiphany struck Rarity. Though she could not feel the associated emotion, she allowed herself a smile and sang, "Ideeeaaaa." She closed her eyes and her crystal body began to soften into flesh and blood once more.

"現在你才想要跟我談公平競爭,已經太晚了,"(6) Lao Wu said with a petulant snort. "我只要區區十秒就可以把你劈倒!"(7)

Rarity's body started to fall apart the moment she reverted, the cracks becoming gashes that spewed blood. Her legs gave out, but she kept her eyes closed and focused her mind. Her horn remained lifeless, however. Instead, a powerful throbbing began deep in her chest, and an azure light began to shine from deep inside her. She rolled onto her back, presenting her undercarriage to the storm filled sky.

"傻馬妞(8)," Lao Wu said, cackling with amusement. "你已經是煮熟的鴨子,插翅也難飛了。(9)" He turned his head skyward and took a deep breath, preparing to let loose yet another powerful roar.

High up in Twilight's box, the princess cocked her head and her forehead creased in worry. "Calling it from this distance in her condition? Rarity..."

As the sound of thunder reverberated through the stadium, the light in Rarity's chest shot up her throat, and her eyes snapped open. A beam of pale blue light fired from her eyes, striking the storm clouds and causing them to swell. Lightning began to cascade from the cell, striking Lao Wu over and over again.

Lao Wu crowed with laughter. "這是甚麼樣的魔法? 你想把我變成神嗎?"(10) He grunted as the lightning coursed around his body. His muscles began to bulge and his tail and mane took on the golden hue of his youth. He seemed to glow with a golden light. "你以為你在幹嘛?(11)"

Rarity smiled weakly as the beam sputtered out and she felt all her energy leave her. However, she saw the light building over her old master. She would have laughed if she could, but instead she chose to answer him in his own tongue, her voice barely a whisper, but carrying easily into the sky. "當然是展現我的大方呀。(12)"

Lao Wu snorted. "是啊, 大方到你死的那一刻。我現在就..."(13) He blinked in confusion. "那道光是甚麼? 太陽已經穿過我的閃電雲了嗎? 真是意想不—"(14) His protest died in his throat as he looked up and saw the crackling orb of light above him. "等等... 那不是太陽啊!"(15)

The sound of the lightning strike was deafening as nearly all the lightning from the cloud discharged upon a single point. Master Wu's body strained to absorb it all, but he could feel it overwhelming him, and all the energy he had already absorbed fled his body as he burned. His writhing scream was lost in the sound and light, and when everypony's vision had cleared, he was lying still in the middle of the heptagon. Lying at the edge of the ring, Rarity also lay motionless.

"Fillies and gentlecolts!" Pinkie shouted. "After a ten second count, it looks like this match has resulted in a double KO!
That means the first pony to get to all four of their hooves will win the match."

After a long moment, Lao Wu began to stir. "I... will not lose."

Rarity's eyes fluttered open a moment later. "L-Lao Wu..."

"You... are not strong," Lao Wu wheezed. "You left... you... quit! Only I could give you the power to surpass me." With great effort, he rolled himself onto his stomach, his legs limp at his sides.

Rarity wheezed as her muscles struggled to move her. The ponies in the stadium were on the edges of their seats, and even Princess Luna watched with bated breath. Then a loud, clear voice pierced the silence.

"Whooo! Go Rarity! Yeah! You can do it!" All eyes turned to the source of the voice, and all the ponies of Ponyville were shocked to see Fluttershy jumping up and down, swinging her hooves around in an wild display of enthusiasm.

Rarity's eyes began to shimmer as she saw her best friend's unabashed display of support. "Fluttershy... I..." She scowled. "But... I can't..."

"Rarity!" came another voice from far above. It was Twilight, hovering outside her box with a big grin on her face. "I know you have it in you."

"I know I'm not supposed to have a bias as the announcer," Pinkie said. "But... Rar-i-ty! Rar-i-ty! Rar-i-ty! Come on everypony! Rar-i-ty! Rar-i-ty! I can't hear everypony at home!"

Soon the entire stadium was chanting Rarity's name. Tears began to flow down her blood-stained cheeks and she began to laugh as she felt new warmth and energy ebb in her heart. "Lao Wu!" she cried. "You think you're the only one who could have given me the power to beat you?" She rolled onto her stomach and placed her right front hoof firmly on the ground.

Amid the deafening cheers, Master Wu's haggard face reflected his shock. He began to redouble his efforts, struggling to lift himself from the ground.

"Well, you're wrong," Rarity said as her left foreleg took its place and she raised her chest. "You would have only made me bitter and distrustful. You would never have let me learn where real power comes from." Her back hooves found purchase and her rump lifted up. "That power is my connections with other ponies. My connection... with my friends!"

"She's on her hooves, everypony!" Pinkie cheered, bouncing into the ring and putting her forelegs around Rarity, who hissed in pain. "Oops, sorry!" she mumbled. Then she turned to address the crowd again. "Rarity is the winner of the final match of the quarter finals, and will advance!"

Everypony else in the stadium began to stamp their hooves and cheer, with the sole exception of Lao Wu himself. He watched his student receiving her victory cheers and grimaced, and then hung his head. After a moment, however, he began to chuckle, then started to laugh, and finally broke into a full guffaw. "When you left me, Rarity," he said, unheard by his student over the acclaim. "You were but the learner. Now, you are the master."

---

---

To be continued...

---

1 Kung-ma shi hen mei de!: Kung-ma is very beautiful!
2 douhua: a sort of tofu pudding
3 Zen mo la?: What's the matter?
4 Ni yi zhi bu duan tiao shang lai he wo dai jia. Wei she mo bu yong ni de mo fa lai duei fu wo ne? Ah! Ni gai bu huei zai zhe yang de zhuang tai xia shi qu mo fai la?: You keep coming up to fight me. Why not use your magic to fight me? Ah! Could it be that you also have no power while in this form?
5 Ni zhe yang shi wu fai chi xu tai jiou de.: You will not last long like this.
6 Xian zai ni cai xiang yao gen wo tan gong ping jing zheng, yi jing tai wuan le.: It's too late to play fair, now
7 Wo zhi yao qu qu shi miao jiu ke yi ba ni pi dao!: I'll strike you down in ten seconds flat!
8 Sha ma niu: Stupid filly
9 Ni yi jing shi zhu shou de ya zi, cha chi ye nan fei le.: You are a sitting duck.
10 Zhe shi she mo yang de mo fa? Ni xiang ba wo bian cheng shen ma?: What kind of spell is this? Do you want to make me a god?
11 Ni yi wei ni zai gan ma?: What do you think you're doing?
12 Dang ran shi zhan xian wo de da fang ya.: Just being generous.
13 Shi ah, da fang dao ni si de na yi ke. Wo xian zai jiu...: Yes, generous until your death. Now...
14 Na dao guang shi she mo? Tai yang yi jing chuan guo wo de shan dian yun le ma? Zhen shi yi xiang bu—: What is that light? Has the sun broken through my clouds already? That's inconcei—
15 Deng deng... Na bu shi tai yang ah!: Wait... that's not the sun!

Author's Note:

Beta Reader: Imaginary Valued

Comments

[ayh]

Wow, that was incredible.