//------------------------------// // 16 : Phoenix vs. Hurricane // Story: Fighters Don't Have Friends // by BackroundVoice //------------------------------// After the preliminary rounds were over, Soarin called for a short intermission as he changed up the whiteboard, writing on it the next pairings of fights. Which not only gave ponies time to refill their drinks, but it gave us fighters a rest before fighting each other again. The matches would go in order from right to left this time. Putting me up first, with the speed demon herself, Rainbow Hurricane Dash. Dash and I looked at each other as we saw Soarin finish writing our match on the board. We smirked and gave each other a determined glare. Not exactly a look to suggest that we hated each other, but more so to acknowledge a personal rivalry between us. And I think I was more excited about this fight than Dash was. She also wanted to have a personal fight with me after all of the back and forth we did insulting each other, but the fact still remained that I was here because of her. I started down this path because she chose me to fight alongside her in the team fighters tournament all that time ago. I honestly wish I could say that I forgive Dash, but I guess I still harbor some ill will toward her. I blame her in some way for what happened to me. And if that's the case, I suppose Vinyl was also to blame, in some way. We were at the table alone, the others were with Rarity and Sombra, while Fiona was minding her own business, somewhere else in the bar. "Does it still hurt?" Dash suddenly asked. I looked at her for a brief moment before realizing that she was asking about my horn. I reached up and felt the large crack in it. An inch of bone separating me from using magic. I nodded silently to answer her. "I know this means nothing, but; I'm sorry, Twi, for your horn getting messed up," Dash told me. I was speechless. I honestly didn't think she could do it, apologize that is. And I about accepted that, before Dash spoke up again, trying to act cool in some way. "But that doesn't mean you shouldn't kick my flank for it either!" Once again, I was surprised. Not only had she earned my respect, but she also asked me to get payback all the same. "Cause I'm fighting you just to make you uglier than you already are," I laughed at that. "Okay, sure. I'll break your wings since you're technically the reason my horn has a hole in it," I threatened, if not a little bit sarcastically. And Dash wouldn't have it any other way. But one thing made me concerned about this fight. Because I lied. It wasn't Dash or Vinyl's fault that I lost my ability to use magic, it was Nightmare's. She did this to me, and it didn't feel right to redirect that Rage at Dash or anyone else. "Dash," I started, and she took this moment to listen to me seriously for once. "I'm going to win because I want to fight Nightmare, not because I blame you for what happened to me," now, Dash was surprised. She must've actually thought I hated her. But to be honest, I couldn't care less about returning to the Academy anymore. Even when my horn heals, I still plan to fight. It's not a matter of getting back what was mine now. It's about who I want to become. "Then let's fight for that," Dash said. "I want to smash Nightmare's head in as much as you, but one of us is going to have to get past Flutters or Spitfire to do that." Dash was right. Our match leading into the semi-finals was going to put us up against one of those two, but we were willing to do it. "Then let's go all out," I proposed with a raised hoof. "And let the best fighter win," Dash agreed, bumping my hoof with a punch. "Fighters, to the ring!" Soarin announced. And we started our walk to the ring. The ponies all around were talking to us and saying that they've been waiting for this match. We didn't get a chance to run into the others before the bars fell. But we heard their voices clear enough as the introductions commenced. "It's now time for the quarterfinals, everypony!" Soarin continued. "And to start things off, we have two of our favorite fighters here to duke it out for the semifinals! In the right corner, she's the hot headed mare from Canterlot, the pony who just won't stand down to a fight, it's Twilight Sparkle, the Phoenix! And in the left corner, she's known as the speed demon in these parts, she puts the weather together every day, and can fly circles around a tornado faster than it can pick her up, it's the Hurricane!" Soarin must've been asked by Dash to avoid saying her full name. But most knew her by her fighter name anyway. We both bowed to each other as we were asked to, and with everyone's participation, the bell rang, which followed the declaration to fight. Dash and I both moved into a rhythm of blocks and punches. The crowd was astounded at how fast we were both moving. I could barely keep up. Dash was looking for an opening to strike as much as I was. Hitting hard and fast as I fortified my defense with a combination of counters and side-stepping. I had to resort to tactics that I had never thought of attempting just to dodge her. Ducking low to the ground and hopping up into the air while Dash kicked and struck her hooves into mine. I made her miss me only a few times as the rest of them had been blocks. It wasn't that I was fast at all, Dash had hit her mark almost every time. I was only delaying the inevitable with my own strikes, forcing Dash to dodge while I thought of a way to land a hit. We had expertly held up our own so far, that a sudden clash of hoof to face was going to happen eventually. I just didn't expect us to hit each other at the same time. My right hoof knocked Dash's head back at the exact same moment her hoof hit mine. The crowd roared at the first clean hit of the fight. We stepped back a foot or two, only to re-engage with more offense than defense. I kicked at Dash as she went for another head hit. She was just an inch short from connecting as my back hoof hit her in the chest. She caught hold of it and pulled me toward her into that punch anyway. Making me stumble as she continued to lay into me. I managed to block every other punch but ended up against the bars as Dash started to pick up the speed. In a last ditch attempt to get away from her I got low and tried to tackle her into a roll. Only to miss by an apple as she ascended with her wings. Now I knew I was at a disadvantage. Dash, ironically, dashed back and forth as she flew, throwing me off as to where she would come at me next. But regardless of where she'd attack, all I had to do was invite her in for a free hit. I purposefully turned to my right so she'd attack my open left side, hitting my right across the face, only to be grabbed with both my hooves. Dash was already off the ground, leaving half of the hard part out as all I had to do now was smack her back onto the ground. Which ended up being easier said than done. Cause as I pulled her over my shoulder, Dash flapped her wings so fast that she hovered just over the floor, giving her the time to smile and flip me over her into the far wall of bars. "Pony feathers!" I cursed quietly. Standing up quickly to face Dash again. She looked happy that we were fighting like this, even as the Rage clearly lit her now dark pink eyes. Is that why I've been losing? I asked myself. Am I focusing so much on not going into the Rage that I've lost my will to win? I knew just from fighting this short while that we were practically even, yet I was eating the dirt this late into the fight. Should I let go? I asked again. The idea was tempting enough. Lose control and win without a second thought. But I was worried if that would really count as my win, and not the Rage's. There are so many questions and not enough answers! "Hey," Dash said, still flying in her fighting stance. "You giving up?" Her confident grin had turned into a disappointed frown. "Of course not!" I answered her, getting back into fighting position. "Then why do you look like you have?" Did I really look like that? I started to feel weak all of a sudden. I could clearly feel that the Rage was trying to get me again. But I instantly thought of Vinyl, forcing that burning feeling away. I didn't want to rely on it. Cause if I did, I'd be no better than Nightmare Moon. I needed to do it this way. Dash charged me and we got locked into that same hit and block dance like before. "Was it something Flutters said to you?" Dash asked me. And somehow we managed to hold a conversation while in combat. "It's the Rage," I told her, "it gets into your head and makes you feel like you have no choice but to fight. This wasn't how Vinyl wanted us to-" I got stopped from talking as Dash got a hit off my head. "Bull!" Dash responded, "Vinyl never talked to us about the 'Rage' or whatever you call it. We just fought because we do!" Dash continued to scold me with words and punches until I had been knocked onto the ground. "And have you forgotten? Vinyl said that you either come into this life willing to fight or not!" Dash kicked at me and I blocked, rolling back to my hooves as she flew forward with a readied punch. "Must still be an egg-head if you care that much about giving up!" I felt a fire ignite within me. My body started to act on its own, and I blocked Dash's punch with one hoof, skidding backward from the just the momentum alone as I held her attack. "Don't call me that, Rainbow," I glared at her. I could see my red eyes reflect the faint glow off of Dash's. "There it is," Dash said, leading into another punch that I hit away with my own. "Fighting is just like magic, idiot! It doesn't make sense, you just do it anyway because it's in our blood to fight, so choose to be okay with it or step aside! I'm taking Nightmare Moon down tonight!" "Fine!" I roared, jumping and hitting Dash back onto the ground. I continued to attack without any recollection that Dash doing the same to me. Not even blocking anymore, we fought like animals. Clawing at one another, hit for hit. And the only thing ending this fight was our choice if it should. And I decided that it was. With both hooves raised, I let them fall onto Dash's head, causing her to back away as I began to punch her in the face repeatedly. Dash, in her next attack, pulled one of my hooves down to get one last hit in on my head, hitting the base of my horn just barely and I reared back in hurt. Screaming through my teeth, I came back with one more punch, forcing Dash's head to the floor, knocking her out in the process; finally. "Phoenix wins!" Soarin declared as the crowd cheered my name. I felt like falling over, we were both covered in bruises and blood. But I needed to stay up and wait for the bars to raise just so this wouldn't become a tie. Cause I'm not doing that again. Soarin came over with Dr. Sombra, raising my hoof in victory, and I sat down next to Dash as Sombra made sure she got proper care right away. Suddenly, I heard a slow stomping hooves right in front of me. Nightmare Moon was smiling, looking down at Dash, amused. "Two Elements, crushed," she said. "How does it feel that you are contributing to your own demise?" I said nothing to that as she walked away, laughing. I knew better than to give her more to taunt me with. Dash and I both knew that this fight was not about the tournament. It was between us, as friends. Nothing more. I continued to watch Nightmare leave as she disappeared behind her guards. I saw Percival and the other knights, look back to me. Hurt expressions on them all as they took off their helmets, and bowed to me in place of their leader. "Is it wrong to fight?" I asked Sombra, who looked up at me with a raised eyebrow. "Well, of course, it is," he answered. "But it's just as wrong not to fight." "How do you figure?" "Lass," Sombra gave me a tired expression. "If you're still asking that question after all that has happened, you really did lose your brain cells with that chunk of your horn..." Sunset said that... I thought, recalling. Was Sombra there on that night too? I started to look closer at Sombra's eye color. They were just as red as Vinyl's had been. Sombra was a fighter too. How could he not? But that shade, that little glow, he was in the Rage right now. Just as Vinyl had been, constantly. I stood up and left him to Dash as Abby and Pinkie congratulated me. I kept an eye on the doctor. There was something he wasn't telling anyone. And I didn't like it. But that would have to wait. The next fight was about to start. One battle at a time, Twilight. One battle at a time...