Balance of the Mind and Body

by Swift Blaze

Chapter 34: Royal Guard Tournament, Part 4

After Shining Armor helped Colorful Sparks and Star Dust out of the arena and to the medics, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stood up to address the crowd of guard ponies.

“It’s now time for the last match for today. The recruits up to now have done a splendid job in their matches. Let’s all cheer for them once again,” Princess Celestia said.

The crowd of Royal Guards cheered and stomped their hooves so much, it started to shake the arena a bit. Before the white Alicorn could speak again, Princess Luna interrupted her.

“Excuse me, sister, would you mind if I take care of this one. It’s a match at night, so the Princess of the Moon should do it,” she said.

“Of course, little sister.”

Princess Celestia backed away a little bit so everypony was now looking at the blue Alicorn.

“With night time upon us, I think it provides a better stage for these two recruits to demonstrate the spell and abilities they can do. This first pony comes from Cloudsdale. He’s a Pegasus and very energetic with his ability. It might even shock you of what he can do. Please put your hooves together for Lightning Trails!”

The black stallion stood up and flew out above the arena. He quickly summoned some thunder clouds and quickly charged up. He started to shoot lightning off that seemed random. But listening closely, it sort of sounded like music.

The crowd cheered even louder once the performance was done. Lightning Trails landed and waited for Swift Blaze to be introduced.

“That even surprised me of how lightning can be musical,” said Princess Luna. “Now then, onto his opponent. This pony is probably one of the most unique ponies you’ll ever meet. If any of you saw the match Captain Shining Armor was in a few days ago, this is the very same pony. That’s right, it’s Swift Blaze!”

On cue, the red Unicorn stood up and walked to the front of the participant box. Seeing how his opponent decided to show off, he might as well do something to step it up. He got on to the edge of the wall and stood on his back hooves. His fore hooves were stretched out to his side. His body looked like a T and was in a diving position. The guards below were wondering what Blaze was planning to do. All of a sudden, he dove off and started to fall towards them below. The guards gasped and prepared to catch the stallion. But, he pulled up and started to fly towards the arena.

Even with it being night, Blaze could probably have guessed lots of guards had their mouths wide open. He hovered above the arena where Lightning Trails was before. He was about to do his next trick, when a guard from the stands shouted out.

“Hold on!” he shouted. “That’s not the same pony that fought Captain Shining Armor! This is a Unicorn and the other was an Earth pony!”

“Yeah! Plus, how can he fly? He doesn’t have wings because he’s a Unicorn. His horn isn’t even lit up,” another guard said.

Several other guards were shouting stuff also, but nothing could be understood. Blaze had enough of this. He summoned up his chakra and shouted, “FIRE STYLE! FLAMETHROWER JUTSU!”

The red Unicorn shot fire out of his mouth and spun around in the air. The crowd of guards that were shouting all stopped. With silence in the arena now, Blaze spoke up.

“Alright. Now that I have everyone’s attention, I can explain. I’m the same pony that fought Captain Shining Armor, as you saw from that fire demonstration. The reason I have a horn now is I’ve decided to put one on this form. It’s to not freak out other ponies with my abilities. I said this form because this isn’t my true body.”

“What do you mean?” A guard asked. “You look and act like a pony.”

“I’m no mere pony. I AM A HUMAN!”

Lots of guards gasp at this. Al shouted, “Nice line Blaze! Very original!”

“I’m the creature that some of you guards chased around the castle a few weeks ago.” Several guards started to shout several things at once. Blaze sent another flamethrower spin to get them to shut up. "The fight with Shining Armor was supposed to quell this. Don't think I will run away again if you all decide to jump me. As to why I’m not showing my human form, magical mishap is the cause."

"Thank you for explaining Swift Blaze. Would you mind landing so we can begin the match?" Princess Luna asked.

"Of course, Princess."

The red stallion landed a few feet away from Lightning Trails, on the opposite side of the arena.

"You weren’t kidding when you evaded several Royal Guards. I think some still have a grudge against you. You might want to watch your back," said the Pegasus.

"Would like to see them try so I can get their attitude adjusted."

The ref pony appeared between them. "Alright. Now let me just go over the rules," he said.

"We know about the barrier that will stop us from leaving and to protect the spectators. Other than that, anything goes. So, get out of here so we can begin," Blaze said with attitude.

The Unicorn just snorted and teleported out of there.

"That was a little harsh, Blaze." Lightning Trails said.

"Sorry. The crowd ruined the entrance I planned on doing. Don't worry, I’ve calmed back down and now focused on our match. May the best pony win."

"I do plan to win. Seeing you aren’t really a pony."

They both rose into the sky and prepared themselves. Lightning Trails had some clouds stay near him and charged him up. With it being night now, you can see tiny lightning sparking off him. Blaze ready both his ki and chakra energy levels. When both were ready, they looked towards Princess Luna.

With her Royal Canterlot Voice, Princess Luna shouted, "BEGIN!"

The black stallion attacked first with a quick bolt of lightning towards his opponent. Blaze knew he could absorb the hit, then dish it right back. He stuck out his hoof to take the hit. When the lightning struck, the Unicorn actually cried out in pain. Something had changed.

As he was curled up in a ball from the pain, Blaze said, "I didn’t expect that. What did you do with the lightning?"

"I changed the properties of it. Hoped you wouldn’t absorb it. Just like how you shocked me with your lightning chakra. Payback is a bitch, isn't it?" he said with a smile.

"Thanks for making this interesting now. I’ll actually have to work for the win now."

Blaze formed a ki energy ball at the end of his forehoof. He quickly sent them flying in rapid formation. His opponent formed a lightning shield and it was able to block them.

In retaliation, Lightning Trails sent several lightning bolts towards the red stallion. Instead of trying to absorb like last time, Blaze went and dodged them with little effort.

"You aren’t going to get me again with those again," he said.

"You sure about that?" asked the Pegasus.

All of a sudden, Blaze was struck from behind. It was from the lightning bolts he just dodged. The stallion felt the burning pain at each place where the bolts hit him, but he wasn’t screaming out in pain this time.

The Unicorn asked, “How were you able to do that?”

“The first bolt that hit you at the beginning of the match was positively charged,” Lightning replied. “Those were negatively charged. Do you want me to explain further?”

“No, I got it. I actually enjoyed science in high school. Let me show you what I learned there.” The red stallion summoned his sword to him. He took it out of its sheath and held the blade to his side. “I dare you to strike me again.”

Lightning Trails charged up again from the nearby storm clouds. He then sent one massive bolt towards the Unicorn. Swift Blaze ready his sword to block and absorb the energy. When the lightning bolt struck, there was a massive bright light. A few seconds later, when everyone could see again, the crowd looked toward where Blaze was last at. He was still there, except now his sword was now glowing pure white and sparking out lightning.

“Let me show you the move that took out a tornado. LIGHTNING STYLE! LIGHTNING BLADE JUTSU!” he shouted.

The red stallion swung his sword and sent a lightning wave towards Lightning Trails. He flew up to avoid getting hit, but his clouds got hit and burst out with their raw energy. Lightning Trails tried to avoid the strikes, but failed when one got him. After the first one hit him more joined in as he was stuck in the air by the first. He screamed in pain as each one hit. He tried to absorb some of the energy, but felt the mystery chakra energy was mixed in, making it impossible.

After those few seconds, the lightning strikes stopped and the Pegasus was falling. He recovered quickly and only dropped only a few feet. He was catching his breath as he tried to recover from those strikes. “You know, I really hate your lightning,” Lightning Trails said.

“Are we going to chat, or are we going to fight?” Blaze asked.

The black stallion didn’t say anything. Instead, he filled the sky of the arena with storm clouds. It was getting darker as the light from the stars and the moon was now being blocked. The only light was now coming from the torches around the arena. “I think it is time to try some new moves.” He quickly charged up again.

The Pegasus formed several lightning balls and had them orbit around him. He then sent one flying towards Blaze. The red Unicorn prepared to have his sword block and absorb the energy. Just before the blade made contact, the lightning ball exploded and lightning bolts went everywhere. There were too many to block and Blaze got hit several times. His body felt on fire as it spasmed each time the lightning hit him. He coughed up some smoke after that lightning ended.

“That is a nice move. I’m going to have to thank you for covering up the night sky though,” Blaze said.

“Why’s that?” he asked.

“You just set the mood for a ninja to disappear. NINJA ART! NINJA VANISH!”

Blaze sent a massive wind gust around the arena and blew out all the torches. The only light source now was from the split-second from lightning strikes and the lightning balls around Lightning Trails. He quickly looked around for his opponent, but he truly disappeared.

“I’ll just have to light the torches again.” Lightning Trails flew down and headed to where a torch was. When the lightning balls lit up the area, the torch itself was gone.

“That would work, if the torches were still where they were. As you can see, I took them all down. Now, what are you going to do?” Blaze’s voice said as it echoed in the arena.

“I Still Have My Lightning!”

The black Pegasus then had lightning from the storm clouds start striking the ground to give off light. He looked for any changes in the arena after each flash. One lightning bolt struck something that was not the ground. It shook for a few seconds as it was zapped and fell to the ground with a loud thud.

“Ha! No pony can defeat lightning!”

The black Pegasus stopped the lightning strikes and flew to where the object fell. He sent a lightning ball ahead to verify what he saw. The shape was a pony body laying on their side with the back facing him. As he got closer, the body had the same color of Swift Blaze. The stallion then noticed the body wasn’t breathing. He started to wonder if he actually killed the Unicorn. He walked around the body and saw it was the red stallion. His greatest fear finally hit him, he killed a pony. Worst, a friend. Lightning Trails collapsed to the ground in front of the dead body.

All of a sudden, wood came out of the ground and held Lightning Trails to the ground. He tried to shock himself free, but the wood absorbed it and dispersed it in the ground.

“You should have checked for vitals before assuming I was dead.” Swift Blaze voiced echoed.

“Huh? Wait. If this body isn’t you, then why didn’t it disappear like your other clones when they got hit.” Lightning Trails shouted while still pinned.

“That, my pony friend isn’t a clone. It’s a stone substitution. A stone dummy if you will.”

“Then show yourself!”

“Gladly.” A bright red glow appeared next to the clouds. A wave of energy was sent out as Blaze disbursed the clouds to bring light into the arena. He flew back down and turned off the red glow Blaze then walked over to Lightning Trails. “You shouldn’t have covered the sky in dark clouds. You would have stood a better chance if you didn’t allow me to use my ninja skills.”

“I can still get you with THIS!”

Lightning Trails sent a massive lightning bolt and the lightning balls. They all made contact and sent off a massive electrical explosion. There was a thick cloud of smoke where Swift Blaze was standing.

“I win,” he said with a smile.

“Don’t count on it,” Blaze replied in the smoke.

“How? That would have killed anyone and more than likely seriously injured you.”

Blaze walked out of the smoke with no sign of injury. “Another thing I learned in science class. Glass is a good insulator for electricity.”

The Pegasus was able to get a better look at the Unicorn. His body looked like it had armor plates on him, but they were see-through. “You are wearing glass armor? Where did you get that?”

“I just made it. Easy to break with physical blows. Still works against lightning.”

“Where were you hiding when I had lightning striking everywhere? No pony could have been fast enough to dodge all of them.”

“You are right, I couldn’t have dodged all of them. So I hid in the clouds.”

“You would have been hit lots of times if you were up there.”

“I was. Over a hundred times. The glass armor was working, but the lightning strikes were heating up the glass. I knew I couldn’t stay up there for long or risk being cooked in a glass shell.”

“You are one smart pony, er human, to have thought of that on the spot. I submit the win to you. Also thank you for not using your water jutsu on me. I really thought you were going to win the match easily.”

“What’s the fun in that? To exploit a friend's weakness just to win a battle. I might do that to an actual enemy, but not a friend. Plus, I think the crowd enjoyed the show.”

Lightning Trails and Swift Blazed listened as the crowd started to cheer louder and louder. They were all chanting both names and stomping their hooves. Swift Blaze released the glass armor and let it fall to the ground in a thousand pieces. He then walked over to Lightning Trails. He released the wood jutsu and helped him to his hooves. Without warning, the red stallion helped raise one of the black stallion’s hoofs in the air with his. The crowd cheered even louder. They took in the cheers as they waved to them.

There was a bright flash and Captain Shining Armor appeared with the other winners.
“Congratulations, Swift Blaze. You’ve pulled another win out of nowhere,” he said. “Your tactics and quick thinking are very impressive. I would have never thought about some of the things you did.”

“That match-up was awesome Blaze and Lightning Trails! I was on the edge of my seat wondering what’s going to happen next. You even got me with the fake body,” Al said.

“You really took advantage of the environment. I’ll have to think of that when I go up against Al,” Cancer said.

“Your lightning control is very impressive, Lightning Trails. Where did you come up with those lightning balls that explode?” Colorful Sparks asked.

“I took a page out of Blaze’s arsenal with those things called ki energy balls. I had to practice in secret at night so nopony saw it till I was ready,” he replied.

“I thought I heard a pony move about while I was sleeping,” Blaze said.

“You heard me? I wasn’t making a sound. My hooves didn’t even touch the ground.

“I heard the flapping of your wings.”

“Oh. How sensitive are your ears?”

“Average. I have to concentrate to pick up the slightest whisper.” Shining Armor mumbles something under his breath. “Hey, I respect everyone’s privacy and don’t use this to snoop on others.”

“You heard that?” Shining Armor said.

“I wasn’t going to mention who said it. Thank you for speaking up,” Blaze said with a smile.

“Come on. Need to display the winners and talk about the matches tomorrow. Would you mind putting the torches back so we can get some more light here?”

“They’re already back.”

“WHEN? I know you aren’t that fast to do that within a second.”

“I did it when Lightning Trails was walking over to the fake body.”

“You do move like a ninja when you want to,” Al said.

“The setting has to be right to be effective. Now then, let there be light. Fire Style! Fire Wave Jutsu!”

Blaze jumped and sent out a wave of fire from his body. The wave went around the arena and lit all the torches.

“Next time, warn us before you do that. You almost singed my eyebrows.” Al said.

“Would you rather I used the flamethrower jutsu?”

“Enough you two. Let's head over to the center so you can then get some dinner and rest for tomorrow,” Shining Armor said.

Lightning Trails headed out of the arena and the rest made their way to the center. Once there, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia stood to address everyone.

“Congratulations, Swift Blaze, on winning your match. You and Lightning Trails put on a very entertaining battle. I look forward to your next match. As well to the rest of you,” said Princess Luna. “You’re some of the finest recruits we have ever had to go through the training. Be proud of it. Now, go get something to eat and rest. The next set of matches will start tomorrow. Let’s cheer for all of the recruits.”

The crowd did one more big cheer for them. The recruits waved to them briefly and then left the arena. They made their way back to the training ground. Shining Armor left them in the arena. Once they entered the mess hall, they saw the rest of the recruits were already eating away.

“Hiya guys! Go get some grub and join us.” Dragon said.

They didn’t waste time and gathered food. The trainees sat together and talked about all the matches. They told what happened to those who missed the matches. The group also told what they were thinking and why they chose the way they did. After several hours of chatting, they made their way back to the barracks and quickly fell asleep. The ones who won dreamed about battle scenarios they will need to use against their opponents. The other dreamed what the winners were going to pull off to win the match.

Author's Note:

Here's the latest chapter. It was proofread by Darksoul85.

With that, round 1 of the matches is done! Who's excited to see what the next round will be like?

Comments

[vortex123]

It was obvious that Blaze was gonna win, not because he's the main character, but because of the shear adaptability of his arsenal and skills. Frankly the only real possibility I see him losing is someone taking him by surprise long enough to either do enough damage for him to concede due to respect, or doing a knockout blow before he could react (which I doubt will happen).