//------------------------------// // 15 : The Swan vs. The Night // Story: Fighters Don't Have Friends // by BackroundVoice //------------------------------// "In the right corner, we have the elegant beauty of Ponyville! But don't let her good looks fool you, cause if you get on her bad side, she'll throw you back in the trash where she found you! You all know her name, she's stunning, she's fabulous, she's the Swan, Alexandra Rarity!" Rare took a red ribbon out of her dark gray coat pocket, tying her drilled purple mane back into a ponytail. And despite looking more than appealing to all the boys in the bar, she portrayed herself as anything but weak. Rare knew who she was up against, and there could be no room for error. "And in the left corner, we have the legend herself! The scourge of daylight, the nightmare we all fear, the 'Night' herself, Nightmare Moon!" That introduction couldn't be truer. Nightmare was a mad mare. She honestly believed that she was the Alicorn from the legend. Sure, she was tall enough, but the lack of wings told a different story. She didn't bow with Rarity. She just stood and accepted the bow as a praise to herself. Rare huffed to that and took her stance. Her back hooves one in front of the other, with one hoof balancing her in front, her free hoof scraping the floor. As if to say 'toro!' to the armored beast before her. Nightmare merely chuckled to that and remained still. Not taking a fighting stance, just waiting for the match to start. "Go, Swan!" Pinkie started the encouragement. Abby and Dash joined in after, and I followed suit as the crowd almost exclusively cheered Rare on. Nightmare's knights, her only moral support in the bar, stayed quiet. As if silence gave her better focus than words of encouragement. And when the bell finally rang, we all shouted with Soarin. "FIGHT!" Rare took a trotting head start as Nightmare pounced into action, a hard right hoof ready to strike, only to miss as Rare dropped, sliding under Nightmare Moon and jabbing at her underbelly. Rare returned to her hooves and Nightmare glanced back. Her eyes were glowing red. The Rage. "Clever, little pony," Nightmare commented. "But let us test how long you can avoid me," she finished saying, charging with stomping hooves. Warning Rare to not try that sliding trick again. Rare reared back into the bars as Nightmare swiped again. Following that with a high kick that bent the bars behind Rare as she jumped over the attack and countered with her own kick. Nightmare expected that, grabbing Rare's hoof to swing her to the ground. Rare managed to break loose of Nightmare's grip before she was smacked against the floor, rolling into a dodge again as Nightmare refused to let up. Chasing Rare all over the arena. "This isn't going to end well for her," Fiona's voice said under the roar of the crowd. She was standing right next to me at the counter. Watching the fight through all the Ponies. "Shut up," I told her, continuing my cheering as Rare remained one hoof ahead of Nightmare's attacks. Only countering to redirect punches and kicks. "You know that I'm right, the Rage in Nightmare is too great to be overcome, Alexandra will lose," "I won without the Rage, so why can't she?" I grumbled. Fiona's teeth scraped to that statement. "Because she's not fighting!" Fiona raised her voice to me. "She's running in between her kicks, dancing around her punches, she's surviving as long as she can because even she knows that what you believe is a lie! The very moment she attack's back will be her downfall!" I saw Dash and the others turn to us as they heard Fiona's irate voice ring loud and clear through the crowd. "You disappoint me, Phoenix," Fiona growled. "I thought you had actually learned of a way to conquer it, but even now," she paused, looking into my eyes, "the Rage is still there." I looked to a glass of cider near me, that faint red glow was there in its reflection, and I'm not even fighting? "Enjoy your friend's loss, it will be painful," Fiona said before we watched her disappear into the mass of ponies. I turned back in the direction of the ring as the crowd winced in pain. Rare had been pinned to the ground finally. Her right hoof was locked behind her back as Nightmare stood over her, heavy armor adding to the unlikelihood of her breaking loose. "Submit," Nightmare ordered. Rare only turned her head back, tears running down her cheeks as she spat into Nightmare's eyes. The crowd gasped at how dirty that tactic was, especially for Alex. Nightmare lifted Rare to her hooves, bucking her in the stomach, launching her into the bars. Rare almost fell to that attack, but she continued to stand, still willing to fight. "I'll submit when I lose!" she told Nightmare, foregoing ideas to dodge any more attacks and instead blocked and hit back, fighting with Nightmare head on. But the armor she punched didn't dent, her blocks only gave Nightmare free hits as the metal bruised her body. It wasn't a fight anymore. It was a slaughter. And the beating continued until Rare couldn't lift her hooves anymore. Helpless to stop Nightmare from grabbing her by her jacket collar. Blood dripped from Rare's mouth as she was lifted up in the air, Nightmare began to rear her head back. I saw this once before. When my horn was taken from me. "No!" I shouted as she began her head butt, only to stop inches away from Rarity's horn, noticing that she had already lost consciousness. Everyone was quiet. I could've sworn that I saw movement in Rare's twitching hooves. But she wasn't thinking for herself anymore. Her body was limp as Nightmare dropped Rare onto her back hooves, still sitting upright with shut eyes. We all rushed to the ring as Soarin declared Nightmare the winner quickly as he joined us. "She's still breathing," I told Sombra as he laid her down gently. "That's one Element crushed," Nightmare said to us. "I only hope that the rest of you will prove to at least be a challenge," she walked away with that. We all felt it then. The Rage burning in our souls. Watching as Nightmare disrespected Rare's fight without a single gesture of approval. Fiona was right, this was painful. That sick feeling returned as the Rage finally subsided as I looked to Rarity, defeated, in the most horrible way. And she wasn't going to be the last. This was going to continue until someone beat her. And that someone will be me!