Contest of Champions

by thatguyvex

Chapter 12: Forms of Strength

The day before the Contest of Strength, late in the morning after the champions had enjoyed a hearty breakfast courtesy of the monastery monks, Gwendolyn went to work up a sweat and calm her mind by practicing her sword forms atop the monastery’s cliff face. The sky was clear and blue, with a soft wind blowing in from the north that carried just the right amount of chill to help keep Gwendolyn cool as she worked through her routines, blade a steady flash of steel around her. It felt good just to work her muscles and stop thinking for a time, no worries or stress, no one around to bother her.

“Ahem.”

The dainty clearing of a feminine throat made Gwendolyn stop mid-swing and glance over her shoulder. As it happened her swing stopped just short of a periwinkle blue unicorn mare whose countenance Gwendolyn recognized quite quickly.

“Trixie Lulamoon.” she said stiffly, sheathing her sword and turning to face the mare.

“Dame Lulamoon, actually.” Trixie said. Gwendolyn simply continued to stare at her, silently, wondering what one of Equestria’s champions wanted with her. Then Grimwald’s strange words echoed back in her head; ’Trust the ponies’.

If Trixie was perturbed by Gwendolyn’s silence she did well to keep it mostly hidden, only lightly tossing her mane before saying, “I have some information that you may find of extreme interest. If you follow me, I’d like to take you to see Princess Luna.”

That got Gwendolyn’s attention, her crest feathers rising in curiosity as her lion tail flicked behind her. “What does your Princess want with me?”

Trixie’s eyes twitched to the left, then right, and the mare had a faint scent of unease about her that made Gwendolyn’s beak feel twitchy.

“It would be best for us to say what needs to be said in private. All I can say is that this is a matter that I think will be of great concern for you, and that it's best that nopony, or griffin, listens in on the conversation. I give you my word as a Knight of the Realm that neither I or my Princess mean you any harm and that what we have to say is truly something of dire importance.”

Grimwald’s words bounced around in her head in an intangible, nagging ricochet. Trust the ponies? So Grimwald knew they’d be coming to her with some kind of sensitive information? She felt a surge of irritation and fondness combined into a volatile emotional cocktail. Grimwald never did anything the simple or straightforward way. No doubt this was part of some manipulation on Grimwald’s part, but the ponies were likely just as much victims of it as she was. She doubted Trixie was actually deceiving her about anything, at least in this instance.

“Alright, alright, drop the formalities and take me to your shiny moon Princess.” Gwendolyn said, making an ‘after you’ gesture at the mare. “Don’t suppose you can at least drop me a hint as to what this is about, or am I stuck guessing?”

There was a nervous little flutter in one of Trixie’s ears, but otherwise the pony kept her face schooled to a politely neutral and unrevealing look. Her voice was low, not a whisper, but a sort of conversational quiet that would keep her voice from carrying far. “Its for the best that we wait until we’re with Princess Luna. Please, this way.”

Gwendolyn stopped in her tracks, forcing Trixie to halt as well. Gwendolyn's eyes fixed solidly on Trixie’s with a utterly lack of patience for further evasiveness. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me something, Dame. I have just about zero tolerance for pointless skulduggery.”

A flash of keen calculation passed over Trixie’s face and her demeanor shifted, relaxing and dropping the formal tension from her voice so it became far more casual, but also there was a hint of actual fear that that surprised Gwendolyn to see on the face of the otherwise bombastic mare. What little Gwendolyn had seen of Trixie suggested nothing but bravado and confidence, but clearly something had her spooked.

“If its incentive you need, then how’s this; the Band of the Red Shield is in danger.”

Gwendolyn had difficulty controlling the volume of her voice nor the way her talons suddenly clenched at the ground beneath her in an audible scrap of stone. “Explain.”

“Come see Princess Luna, and you’ll get all  the explanation you want.” said Trixie, not flinching away from Gwendolyn’s hard stare, “But I can’t tell you anything more out here, in the open. Now, are you going to follow me or not?”

A soft growl escaped Gwendolyn’s beak, but she nodded silently, and Trixie turned with a satisfied look to lead the way once more. It didn’t take them long to wind through the monastery's  numerous stone corridors to reach the suite where Princess Luna was staying. Trixie had taken them on a very direct route, and Gwendolyn quickly found herself being led through the doors to the Equestrian monarch’s chambers. The tall and stately alicorn was standing by one of her room’s large open windows, slowly turning her head to regard Gwendolyn and Trixie as they shuffled in.

Gwendolyn had never been this close to Equestria’s famed Princess before, and on instinct born of both her predatory race’s blood and her years of soldiering she couldn’t help but size Luna up. It didn’t take her long to realize that the ruler of Equestria had more going for her than just immortality and magic. Luna, even when standing still, had a physical presence of quiet grace married to ready, poised strength that Gwendolyn felt less the predator and more the young chick in the presence of a manticore. It was a... humbling feeling.

“Lady Gwendolyn Var Bastion, it is a pleasure to meet you face to face.” Princess Luna said in a smooth tone ringing with silver honesty. The alicorn tipped her head in a respectful bow, a gesture Gwendolyn returned with her own curt nod.

“Pleasantries are fine, but your mare here said you know something about my people being in danger. So, no offense Princess, but can we skip the formalities and get straight to what it is you want to tell me?” After a second she coughed and added, “Uh, please?”

There was an almost imperceptible exchange of looks between Luna and Trixie, in which Trixie grimaced slightly and said, “She wouldn’t come unless I told her something, Princess. I’m one hundred percent confident we were neither overheard or followed.”

“Good enough, Trixie.” Luna said, then turned her full attention to Gwendolyn. “Then as you wish, I shall make this quick and direct. It has come to our attention that your King Gruber, along with an unknown number of other high nobles in the Griffin Kingdoms collectively considered the ‘Inner Kingdoms’ are preparing to make hostile moves against the collection of griffin states along the border, what you call the ‘Border Kingdoms’. One of the key opening moves of this plan involves sending legions into the kingdom of Farhills, where I believe your Band of the Red Shield is currently stationed, with orders to arrest the troops under your command under charges of desertion and dereliction of duty.”

Luna wasn’t even halfway finished speaking before Gwendolyn’s breathing started to turn rapid, her avian eyes dilating to black pools. Her talons clenched the stone floor and a terrifyingly deep scowl started to boil across her features as every hackle across her neck rose. Her heartbeat was a black hammer in her chest and the edges of her vision started to bleed with crimson rage. Everything inside her body went dead cold, save for a boiling, volcanic heat in her core. By the time Luna had reached the end of her words, Gwendolyn was already spinning around and marching right for the door out.

A luminous, deep blue glow enchanted the doors, holding them closed tightly as Gwendolyn tried to rip them open. Thus thwarted Gwendolyn’s anger only exploded higher as she screeched and threw herself against the doors like a living battering ram. When that failed to make the magically wreathed doors budge even a centimeter, Gwendolyn whirled upon Princess Luna.

“Let me out!” she roared, “I’m going to kill him!”

Trixie, who had backed up against the wall with an exceedingly tense expression glanced quickly between Gwendolyn and Luna. “Princess, do you have this?”

Luna gave Trixie a look, which seemed to be more than enough for Trixie to gulp, nod, and just keep watching. Meanwhile Gwendolyn had taken several threatening steps forward, her earlier fear of Luna melted away like a block of ice under a summer sun. Her mind was a burning whirlwind of disjointed thinking and overflowing emotions.

“You can’t keep me here.”she hissed, already eyeing the open window behind Luna. The alicorn easily picked up on what Gwendolyn was thinking and the window slammed closed and became coated in a glaze of midnight blue magic, cutting of that route of egress.

“Please Lady Gwendolyn, listen to me carefully, and control your heart.” Princess Luna said with a tone that felt as old as the oceans and with equal capacity for gentle embraces or crushing force. “If you leave this room now, feeling as you do, and attack King Gruber, what do you think will happen?”

It was so hard to think past the heavy fog of heated anger filling her head, but Gwendolyn managed to bite words out past her clenched beak. “I’d rip that rat bastard’s throat out with my own talons!” She then sucked in a deep breath and let it out like the hiss of steam from a over pressurized pipe. “And in doing that, I’d brand myself a traitor, and be either outright killed, or captured to be executed as soon as they hauled my flanks back to Grandis.” Her head hung low, as if a massive stone had just landed on it. “Then the Red Shields would still be destroyed, and a... a war begun with the Border Kingdoms.”

It was suddenly all too much. The thoughts swirling through her mind became like weights, crushing down harder and harder as they piled up inside her. With a frustrated and ashamed growl she bowed her head to the ground under the crushing realization of just how bad the situation actually was, if what the Princess said was true.

“...played me... That sonuvabitch played me. He never wanted me as champion for Grandis. I’m only here because it got me out of the way. Without me, the Red Shields won’t have the leadership to withstand a concentration of legions coming after them. But they won’t back down or retreat either.”

She shook her head, remembering her last night with her troops before answering the summons to go to Grandis. “My last standing orders to them was to protect Farhills and serve at Queen Hagatha’s behest until I got back. Hagatha will see legions entering her territory as an attack, and the Red Shields will respond accordingly. Dammit... dammit, why didn’t I see such an obvious trap!?”

She’d known all along that the Band of the Red Shield, while respected and loved as local heroes to the Border Kingdoms they’d been protecting, were still seen as a band of rogue soldiers by the rulers of the Inner Kingdoms. Gwendolyn’s actions had done nothing but gall and irritate the nobles of the Inner Kingdoms, especially her home country of Grandis. She’d gotten away with it for so long because she thought that the benefits the Red Shields brought to all the Griffin Kingdoms outweighed the technicalities of her breaking legion doctrines and the embarrassment it might have caused her superiors. When she’d been invited to participate in the Contest of Champions... well... a part of her had hoped it meant that finally, after so much effort, sweat, and blood, that she and the Red Shields were being acknowledged.

She’d held onto the hope so tightly that her actions might unite and start healing the gap between the Inner and Border Kingdoms that she’d blinded herself to the clear danger that allowing herself to be separated from her troops represented.

She’d been a fool. An idealistic, blind fool, and now the entire griffin race was going to pay a bloody price for it.

“There’s no stopping it then.” she muttered, hating the defeated tone in her voice. “No matter what I do, even if I did kill Gruber, the legions will still march. Hagatha and the Red Shields will fight. Other kingdoms will join in. It’ll be war. All out civil war.” Tears of pure frustrated anger beaded in her eyes, “My people will be killing each other in droves and I’m the one responsible for it.”

It was almost too much to bear. It wasn't as if she hadn’t known, on some fundamental level, that something like this was coming. Ever since she’d been old enough to pick up a simple dagger she’d dreamed of serving her country, her people, her race as a warrior and defender. Even back then she’d seen how prone griffins were to fight among themselves, the almost instinctual need to compete for everything from territory, to mates, to just who could fly or hunt better. It was just griffin nature. But she’d always believed that somewhere in that nature was also a spark of greatness that could lead griffinkind to being more than they presently were.

Many of the other nations took on such great challenges. The Equestrains, those such soft seeming ponies, held the strength to challenge even the mighty powers of beings like Corona. The cervids did battle regularly with the destructive powers of the dragons, all but single hoofedly keeping the potent beasts of flame at bay from the rest of the world. The kirin of Shouma held in check the encroaching power of their Dark Lands, while maintaining a grand civilization of their own that was a shining jewel to the entire eastern hemisphere.

And what did griffins do? Fight each other and everyone else who looked at them the wrong way, while barely maintaining their loose alliance of fractured kingdoms.

And Gwendolyn held the fragile dream in her heart that if they just were able to unite together towards some common goal that they could turn that competitive nature into something beautiful and strong. A united Griffin Kingdoms, acting as a glorious shield to protect all races of the world, red and shining as a rising sun.

That had been the silly, foolish child’s dream behind the name ‘Band of the Red Shield’.

Instead, that red would only mean the blood that was going to cover the entire Griffin Kingdoms, shattered once more by civil war just like in the days of the fall of Old Mad Yuri’s great Griffin Empire. And this time there might not even be enough pieces leftover to recover.

She abruptly found something warm and fuzzy wrapping around her neck, and Gwendolyn stiffened in readiness to defend herself until a split second later when she realized the gray ball of furry ‘attacking’ her was in fact Ditzy Doo, who’d suddenly appeared in the room and thrown a tight and comforting hug around the griffiness.

“It’s gonna be okay.” Ditzy Doo said softly, “You don’t have to cry.”

“I wasn’t cry-” Gwendolyn started to snap sharply, only to blink and feel a bit of wetness around her eyes that she hadn’t realized had been there. “-...ing? Ugh... damnit.” A grumpy frown puffed out her features as she sat there with Ditzy Doo still hugging her. “This is stupid. I’m stupid.”

“Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself.” said Cheerilee as she and the rest of the Equestrian champions trotted in from a side room, “Politics makes everyone stupid, in my experience. Um, no offense to you Trixie, or you Princess Luna.”

Luna coughed politely, “None taken.”

Trixie shrugged, “No comment.”

“We’re going to do something about this right?” asked Lyra, hopping onto one of the chairs in the middle of the room, plopping down heavily. She still looked pale and exhausted from her experience in the Contest of Art the previous day. Gwendolyn had witnessed that shocking final duel of musical talent, and was amazed the minty mare was able to move at all after such a draining performance. Lyra was certainly a shade more pallid than usual, with dark circles marking the flesh under her eyes and her form sagging into the chair heavily. Yet her gold eyes still burned brightly.

“That was the intention of asking Gwendolyn here.” said Trixie, glancing at Princess Luna, “Perhaps before our guest gets any more, er, dramatically concerned you might tell her what we can do to help?”

“Yes, thank you, I was getting to that.” Luna said with a hint of icy sharpness that made Trixie’s face tinge red and cough while glancing away. What an odd pair. Certainly not much like any normal subject with their monarch that Gwendolyn had ever seen. Luna returned her gaze to Gwendolyn and spoke in a smooth, understanding tone.

“The situation is certainly dire, and complex. I don’t make light of this information and what its very real consequences may be, not just for the Griffin Kingdoms, but for the entire continent. A civil war among your people would send tidal waves of side effects both social and economic to every corner of Cissanthema. Because of this I am willing to do what I can to prevent such a war from occurring, within the limits of the treaties signed between Equestria and the Griffin Kingdoms.”

Pausing, Luna’s horn lit up and a pair scrolls appeared in the air in a cerulean flash of light. “The first of these is a message addressed to your Band of the Red Shields, warning them of the impending incursion of legion forces from Grandis. I can speed this along with my most capable agents and it should arrive before the designated time for the legions to move.”

Gwendolyn swallowed, taking a shaky breath, “I don’t know how much that will help, but it's something. Galatea, my second in command, is a capable officer but she’s also extremely loyal. Farhills has been our home of operations for awhile now and I can’t see her abandoning Queen Hagatha to deal with Grandis’ legions alone. This is bigger than the Red Shields. Gruber and his allies are after all of the Border Kingdoms. The Red Shields are just part of the spark meant to light up a tinderbox that’s been in the making for decades.”

“I am aware.” said Luna gravely, “I have not been without my own sources of information regarding this situation. I’ve predicted this possibility for some time. I know that the Border Kingdoms are not entirely blameless in this matter either. They rely on the Inner Kingdoms for food production, while the Inner Kingdoms rely on the trade routes through the Border Kingdoms to receive goods from other lands. A constantly rising sense of competition has made both groups try to choke the other on taxing these key areas of trade, which has only continued the trend of the Border and Inner Kingdoms as seeing each other as rivals rather than members of the same alliance.”

She sighed and nodded to the other scroll, “This is a new trade agreement I’ve drawn up, and can ensure is introduced into the Night Court in a manner that should encourage its acceptance. It proposes establishing additional trade routes into the Border Kingdoms through territory previously considered too risky for caravans, but I am willing to assign the forces needed to create and protect these routes to open up trade with the Border Kingdoms, especially in the market of food production, at generous prices. Equestria has had a very good crop yield this year, so we do have a surplus.”

Before Gwendolyn could respond Luna went on, “Furthermore, the trade agreement also seeks to establish a cooperative shipping route to the Inner Kingdoms. The griffin merchant fleet has always been... smaller than most countries, but given how starved they are for certain manufactured goods they can only normally get through overland routes, I think there could be profit for both our nations in creating an increased number of overseas trade routes to provide such goods in case... anything might happen that would cut them off from land bound routes.”

Gwendolyn’s eyes met the alicorn Princess’ levelly, “You’d be effectively playing both sides against each other that way. The Border Kingdoms would need food for their war effort, and the Inner Kingdoms coin from foreign trade. Supporting both could either take the pressure off and prevent the war, or backfire and make it go on all the longer with both sides getting what they need to keep fighting.

“Clearly part of the trade agreement stipulates that any internal conflict within the Griffin Kingdoms would make the deal null and void.” said Luna, “I’m willing to provide for both groups to a degree, as long as they can learn to play nicely with each other.”

She mulled it over, Gwendolyn turning the offer around in her head like she was examining prey spotted while hunting through the sky. Finally she shook her head, “It might work, but all that really does is let off some of the pressure. But this runs deeper than trade, Princess. After so long there’s a lot of bad blood between griffins. Resentment that won’t just vanish with some fancy new trade routes. And if Gruber has gone this far with his plans, he won’t stop for a little extra coin in his pockets.”

“Dude doesn’t get that starting a bloodbath in his own backyard is a incredibly stupid idea?” muttered Raindrops, looking like she wanted to crack a few skulls herself.

Gwendolyn huffed out a helpless sigh and raised her talons in a equally exasperated shrug, “He probably thinks he’s being a damn visionary, and that this war will unify the Griffin Kingdoms rather than the obvious thing it’ll do, which is tear us apart like a pair of manticores pulling apart the same kill. Bottom line is, I don’t know if Gruber or his allies will just abandon their plans for anything short of the rest of the world’s major nations threatening to step in if they went through with it.”

“Unfortunately that is unlikely to happen.” said Luna while giving Gwendolyn a meaningful look, “However you are right that what is needed is something that makes the prospect of war less attractive than working towards a lasting peace. Towards that end I can only offer this final advice to you; use the Contest of Champions to surpass the expectations of all your fellow griffins, Gwendolyn Var Bastion. I may not be a griffin, but I’ve known your species for millennia, and strength is respected, and if you become such a beacon of prowess then your voice will carry weight beyond your station.”

The words struck hard with a truthful ring inside Gwendolyn, who knew that Luna had the right of it. Beyond any of King Gruber’s schemes, and beyond any enmity the Griffin Kingdoms had built up between its disparate parts, one thing about griffins could not be denied; they followed whoever proved themselves the strongest.

She sucked in a long, slow breath and let it out in a determined growl. “So all I have to do is beat every single one of my fellow griffins,until there’s no doubting who’s the best bird around. Sky’s tears, this is a Contest against the world’s best. I don’t even have to win the whole thing to earn all the prestige and glory a griffin could dream of. I just need to beat all the other griffins.”

“We could always find a way to make sure you place high-” Cheerilee began but Gwendolyn made a sharp gesture with a talon.

“Not a chance! I have to do this legitimately, or not at all. Like I said, I don’t have to get first place in the whole damned Contest, just place high enough that none of my own race can deny my strength. That alone gives me clout to challenge Gruber’s plans openly without him being able to order me arrested or executed on the spot.”

She glanced at Luna, “In the meantime getting a message to the Red Shields can buy us time, along with those sweet trade deals.”

Trixie grinned, “For a warrior you seem to have a head for politics.”

“Shut it, I’m just not going to say no to improving my country’s lot. We’ve been needing to get some roads built through those damn mountains for a long time anyway, and I know more than a few Border Kingdoms royals who would be willing to toss in some joint labor to get it done.” Gwendolyn said, her anxiety and fear burning away in her eyes as a fierce intensity took over. She blinked, and coughed politely as she patted Ditzy on the shoulder

“Okay, uh, that’s enough hugging now.”

Ditzy smiled, having not let go of Gwendolyn the whole time, and now backed off with an embarrassed flutter of her wings. “Sorry. You were just way too tense.”

Gwendolyn stood, brushing herself off and took a deep breath as she steadied her nerves. Bowing her head to the ponies present, most of all to Luna, she said, “Thank you. I wouldn’t have even known such treachery was hatching underneath my very beak if it weren’t for you. Now I may have a fighting chance of turning this around. Whether this works out or not, I won’t be forgetting this boon you’ve given me.”

Luna shook her head with a small smile, “This was the right thing to do. Simple as that. War among the griffins benefits none, including Equestria. I wish you the most sincere good fortune in the days to come, Lady Gwendolyn.”

“Captian, if you really have  use a title.” Gwendolyn said, “At any rate, if I’m going to do well in the Contest of Strength I need to prepare myself. Not to mention I still need to digest all this. If you’ll excuse me.”

“Farewell for now, and good luck in the Contest! I’ll see you there.” said Ditzy with a bright smile.

Gwendolyn returned the smile, then swiftly departed, her mind still quite troubled despite her confident words.

----------

After Gwendolyn left, Trixie sighed and flung herself onto one of the couches, rubbing her forehead just beneath her horn. “Well, that’s one crisis temporarily dealt with, if not averted.”

“It’s really going to hinge on her being able to take on all her fellow griffins.” said Raindrops, padding around to the other side of the couch and leaning against it, wings stretching. “Going to make things weird if any of us get put up against her. She’d hate us throwing the fight, but I’d feel pretty damn bad for beating her too if so much is riding on her doing good.”

“Well like she said, she’s just got to do good against other griffins.” said Lyra, who then cocked her head in quizzical wonderment. “I wonder how she’s doing overall? After the Contest of Art, I mean.”

Luna strode to the center of the room, casting a look among the six Element Bearers. “Gwendolyn did, unfortunately, place fairly low, but that Contest was not one that plays to her strengths. Her standing in the Grand Melee, however, does keep her buoyed higher in the rankings than most.”

Her horn lit up and she cast an illusion before them, crafting a glittering array of names in a ranked set, glowing luscious blue as Luna smiled deeply. “It warms me to say that after your brilliant display last night, Dame Heartstrings, that you and your friends placed first. Understandably Andrea and the Elkheim team came in second, followed by, surprisingly, the minotaurs.”

“Doesn’t shock me that much.” said Cheerilee, “Minotaurs know how to work a crowd, and honestly their methods of art are pretty novel and memorable.”

“Hmm, they seemed oddly... less impactful than they should have been.” said Trixie, idly spinning her hat on one of her hooves, “Didn’t anypony else feel like they had somehow less presence as the Contest wore on?”

“I think everyone was feeling tuckered out by the end of that night.” yawned Lyra, wincing and rubbing her horn, “I’m still feeling like I got an ice pick in my brain. Ugh, remind me to never go all out like that again unless it's literally life and death.”

“Got to admit the results were impressive.” said Carrot Top with a happy smile as she nudged Lyra with an elbow, “Knew you were good, but that display was something else entirely.”

“Yeah, I know, I’m amazing.” Lyra said with a content smirk.

“And much of the rest of the world knows it now too.” said Luna with a pleased look, “After the minotaurs it was Lady Dao Ming who placed fourth, and finally in fifth place Sir Silverwreath.”

Trixie leaned forward, peering at the rankings. “So overall that puts our friends from Elkheim in the lead on points. Dao Ming’s managed to pull into second place, and the mintoaurs are in third. But with our showing during the Art portion we’ve jumped up to fourth, and the zebras are in fifth. So... how far back is Gwendolyn?”

“Going further down the ranks in terms of points earned, she’s behind Cavalia's champion, but is tied for seventh place with another griffin team from the kingdom of Thuringia.” said Luna, then looked thoughtful, blue eyes shining. “I do believe the Thuringia representatives you’ve already met. Those young griffinesses you faced in the Grand Melee; Gabriela, Agatha, and Raquel.”

“So Gwen’s tied with that trio?” Trixie shrugged, “If they’re all that’s standing between her and being on top of the griffin pile, I’d say she’s got it in the bag, so to speak. They weren’t that tough.”

“To be fair Trixie, we did outnumber them two to one when we tussled.” said Raindrops, “On top of that, the Grand Melee was mostly for show. In the Contest of Strength it's no holds barred, far as I know.”

“Correct.” said Luna, dismissing her illusion of the current rankings and instead summoning an illusion of the new arena that had been constructed via cervid runecraft on the Contest grounds. It showed a true coliseum vast and oval shaped, with a equally oval shaped stone stage in the center. “The Contest of Strength is a straightforward affair. Contestants battle one another one on one. Any physical means is viable, be it weapons and armor or natural claws and hooves. The only forbidden methods are outright magical attacks. Magic can even be used as long as it enhances one physically, be it enchanting weapons or empowering the body.”

“It’ll take all day to get through it if they’re all battling one on one.” said Trixie thoughtfully, “And since I’m not competing, that time can be used to keep investigating our mysterious threat. Any news on the search for Zecora?”

“Thus far the best that my Shadowbolts have found is one of the zebra’s golden bangles.” said Luna, “It was discovered at a place atop the monastery cliff. I’ve already informed my... sister on the matter, and returned the bangle to her. She’s presently in the process of attempting to use the object to locate Zecora while her servants search the area.”

“Don’t like the idea of Kindle and his ilk running around out there without anypony watching them.” growled Raindrops, “Even if they’re legit searching for Zecora, who knows what else they might get up to?”

“Honestly I’m fine with them doing all the legwork to find their own dang missing zebra nutcase.” said Lyra, “Zecora is trouble, and as ominous as this unknown threat is these hooded dudes might’ve done us a favor by nabbing her.”

“You don’t mean that Lyra.” said Ditzy, “An enemy or not we shouldn’t want anypony, or zebra, to be in harm's way.”

Lyra sighed, waving a hoof, “Okay, okay, I take it back, but still... is there anything we can do at this point? With Corona’s team and the Shadowbolts both on the case aren’t we a bit superfluous to the search?”

“Not necessarily.” said Trixie, “This is a big island, and even the Shadowbolts can’t cover all of it. If nothing else it doesn’t hurt for us to keep our eyes peeled. Personally I want to check out where that bangle was found. Even if Kindle is already searching that area, we might catch something he missed.”

“No offense, but I’ll pass on that myself.” said Raindrops. “Not really interested in spending time with the sun-brained cultists if I can help it. Besides, I suck at detective work.” The mare’s wings twitched fiercely for a moment, the back of her mane bristling.

Trixie cast a glance at Raindrops, a current of concern there as she reached out and gave the pegasus a gentle touch on the arm. “Hey, he’s not important. Stop getting worked up over it.”

Raindrops clenched her teeth, but nodded, “I know. Makes me even more angry that just thinking about the guy still gets me like this. If you’re going to go sleuth it up, I’m with you in spirit Trixie, but I’d rather just not have to deal with looking at Kindle’s face if I don’t have to.”

“Hey we understand.” said Cheerilee, “Trixie and I are the best at doing snooping and searches anyway, so we can hit up the crime scene for some old fashioned perception checks while the rest of you rest up for the next part of the Contest.”

At the looks she got Cheerilee said, “Seriously, I’m making you all play Ogres and Oubliettes when we get back, so somepony besides me gets my references.”

“I was always more into card games myself.” said Carrot Top.

“Neeeeeerrrrd!” said Cheerilee, chuckling.

----------

Not more than ten minutes later Trixie found herself with Cheerilee at the top of the cliff, in a round depression carved into the rock where several old worn stone benches suggested this area was some kind of stage or forum from the monastery’s early days. This was supposedly where Zecora’s bangle had been found, and Trixie was hoping she and Cheerilee might spot something previous searches had missed.

She’d expected to see Kindle there with Terrorwing or Smoke, but strangely it was just the later who was present. The demure gray unicorn mare was pacing in a slow circle, muttering to herself when Trixie and Cheerilee arrived. Trixie couldn’t catch what Smoke was saying, and as she approached the other mare realized she wasn’t alone anymore and abruptly stopped her pacing to stare at the two of them.

“What are you doing here?” Smoke asked in a rushed voice.

“The same as you, seeking clues as to where Zecora has been taken.” said Trixie bluntly, eyeing Smoke cautiously, “Where’s Corona’s other minions?”

“Minions?” Smoke huffed, “We’re servants to our Queen, not ‘minions’. Well, maybe Terrorwing qualifies, but Kindle isn’t some dumb, muscled brute.”

“Half right, I’d say.” muttered Cheerilee, then louder said, “Minions, servants, part-time slaves, whatever you want to call yourselves the question still stands; where’s Big Bird and the Fanatic?”

Smoke held up her dainty head and said, “Why should I tell you? We’re still basically enemies.”

“Did you miss the part where we’re trying to help get your crazy zebra prophetess back? Despite how much it benefits us if she got lost down a crevasse or just never showed her face in Equestria again?” mentioned Trixie with an eyebrow raised and her voice dipping deep into the sauce of snark.

Smoke bit her lip, indecision warring with some other deeper emotions that flitted across her eyes. “I... see what you mean. Okay, um, well Kindle and Terrorwing are, um...” she gulped, “They’re kind of searching the monastery.”

Trixie blinked, then exchanged a look with Cheerilee, who in turn shrugged and said, “The monastery? As in, the place with all the monks?”

“Y-yeah, Kindle thinks the monks are the ones that took Zecora.”

“Why in the name of Luna’s sweltering teats would he think that?” blurted Cheerilee.

“Well, it kind of makes sense.” said Smoke, clearly nervous from the way her hooves kept shifting in place. “Whoever took Zecora must know the island really well to be able to hide her so quickly and easily, so that nopony can find her. Who else knows the island that thoroughly but the Order of Legends?”

“There’s plenty of people from all over the place who visit here.” pointed out Trixie, “Anyone could have spent time on the island getting to know its ins and outs. You don’t have to be a blasted monk to do that. Seriously, Kindle is wasting his time trying to search for Zecora with the monks. What’s is he even doing? Going door to door and asking about her?”

Smoke looked away, even more nervous now. “Not exactly.”

Trixie looked at her in confusion, but Cheerilee suddenly burst out laughing. “Oh, hahahah! He didn’t?”

“Care to clue me in, Cheerilee?” asked Trixie, to which Cheerilee got her laughing somewhat under control and wiped a tear from her eye. She leaned down and whispered into Trixie’s ear so Smoke couldn’t hear.

“Him and that giant slab of meat with feathers are doing the same thing we did. I bet he’s ransacking the Abbesses room as we speak.”

Trixie’s eyes shot wide, and she then found herself chuckling as she shook her head. “I’d find that more funny if it wasn’t equally as sad. Poor Abbess. Especially given it's a big waste of time. I will literally eat my hat with a side of coleslaw if the Abbess or any of the monks are involved in this.”

Smoke, face coloring to an admittedly fetching shade of pink, muttered, “Are you two done making fun of us, by any chance? Why did you even come here? There’s nothing to find. No clues, zip.”

“Hmm, let me be the judge of that.” said Trixie, fluffing her hat and flicking her tail as she strode out to observe the area with keen eyes. “Perhaps you and Kindle simply lack the skills to find what you’re looking for. But fear not, for I, the observant and perceptive Trixie, am on the case.”

“And Cheerilee.”

“And Cheerilee.” Trixie conceded with a nod.

Smoke didn’t look particularly amused by the banter, a small huff escaping her as she made a grand gesture at the area. “Knock yourselves out, then. Literally, if you could? Followed by a short fall off the cliff?”

 Trixie chuckled darkly, “For today we’re playing nice, but someday soon you’ll get every chance you want to take shots at me and my friends. On that day, when we feed your ‘Queen’ a giant slice of humble pie, do you even think you’re going to be anything more than a speed bump between us and victory? A small speed bump?”

Smoke’s glare could’ve melted stone, but she took control of herself with a slow and deep breath, then proceeded to trot away, not even bothering to look back at Trixie or Cheerilee as she left. After a moment Cheerilee gave Trixie a friendly nudge with an elbow.

“Not exactly the most diplomatic approach I’ve ever seen, but you sure stuck a burr under her butt.”

Trixie sniffed, “I’m not going to forget that Corona and her flunkies are the bad guys just because we happen to be vaguely on peaceful terms for the duration of the Contest. Sooner or later we’re going up against all of them, including that mare. What’s the point of putting up a false pretense of friendliness when I can just tick her off instead?”

“Always taking the high road.” Cheerilee quipped, and Trixie just smirked at her and tipped her magicians hat.

“So, now that we’ve cleared the air, let’s see what there is to see, shall we?”

The two mares began their examination of the area, Trixie starting at one end and Cheerilee at the other, both working in a clockwise direction. Trixie wasn’t certain what she expected to discover that Luna’s Shadowbolts hadn’t. While she didn’t know much more about the Shadowbolts other than they were Luna’s secret spies and special operatives she didn’t doubt their investigation skills. That said, she tended to trust her own observations more than that of other ponies, and for the sake of being thorough she wanted to see if she and Cheerilee could spot something the Shadowbolts had missed, however unlikely the chances.

After the first pass it became pretty clear that there wasn’t much to see. The rains from that night’s storm had washed away any prints or other similar evidence that might have been left behind, besides that one gold bangle the Shadowbolts had already found, and that alone wasn’t much evidence. Unless...

“Cheerilee, let’s say you were being chased.” Trixie began, and Cheerilee gave a brief giggle.

“With my fine looks, I could easily imagine myself being chased.”

Trixie rolled her eyes, “Ick. Now, you’re running, probably after having seen something you shouldn't have-”

“Been there, done that.”

“-so what do you do? Assume you’ll escape, or hedge your bets in case you’re caught?” Trixie continued to muse, ponderously pacing about the area, her horn glowing with soft blue light that soon transferred to her eyes. Her magic sight spell active, she started to more closely examine the area. “Zecora might be a prophetic crackpot who’s backing the wrong horse, but she’s not stupid, and she never does anything without purpose. Taking off one bangle, that wouldn’t accomplish anything. She’d know that. So there must have been a reason for it. You don’t make a trail with just one breadcrumb.”

Cheerilee watched her as Trixie scanned the area with her magic sight, and continued watching as Trixie’s expression grew gradually more and more frustrated as she carefully went from one end of the area to the next.

“Oh come on, there has to be at least a tiny trace of magic around, doesn’t there? Why drop that bangle if it wasn’t at least lightly enchanted to leave a trail?” Trixie groused, to which Cheerilee just came up to her with an understanding smile and patted her back.

“You’re overthinking it Trixie. Not to mention assuming magic is the solution.”

“Well it is one of my main skill sets, can't blame me for focusing on it.”

“Well for what it’s worth I think you’re right, Zecora didn’t drop that bangle for no reason, and I do believe it's the start of a trail. Just not a magical one.” Cheerilee said, and nodded with a head towards the beginning of the stone carved staircase leading down the cliff. “Come on, follow me.”

Trixie did so with a musing expression, following Cheerilee to the stairs.

“Now,” began Cheerilee, “We know Zecora ran up from here, due to that baron fellow’s testimony. Let’s see what we can see...”

Cheerilee started down the stairs at a brisk pace, perhaps more brisk than Trixie would’ve liked given how narrow the stone stairs actually were, without any safety railings for crying out loud! Not to mention how high up they were. Trixie gulped and found herself wishing either Ditzy or Raindrops had come along, just for the feeling of safety having a flier around would’ve given her. She kept her magic sight on, despite Cheerilee’s words. What could she say? She was stubborn.

Down and down they went, until towards the bottom Cheerilee paused. She ran a hoof along the edge of the cliff near the base of the stairs where a sharp outcrop of rock jutted up from the ground. Trixie watched as Cheerilee pulled a small clump of black and white striped hair from behind the rock.

Trixie nearly slapped her forehead. “Did the Shadowbolts not check down this way?”

“Hey, you didn’t think to do it either.” said Cheerilee, “And the Shadowbolts probably did look down here. They may have seen this, or they might’ve missed it. Either way, I'd say we at least know Zecora might've been trying to leave a trail. Now we just need to find the next breadcrumb.”

Looking at the sandy beach Trixie sighed, “Not going to be any tracks on the shore. The storm would have gotten whatever the tide missed.”

“True, but Zecora would’ve known that too. If she left any more clues behind, they would be something that could survive both of those things.” said Cheerilee, pointing a hoof down the shoreline to the south, “I’ll go that way. You go the other. There’s only two possible directions she could have come from, after all, so if we cover both, one of us has to spot something.”

“Fair point.” Trixie said with a brisk nod, “Give a shout if you find anything.”

“You too.”

The parted ways, Trixie trotting up the thin stretch of bright, sandy beach to the sound of gentle ocean waves and the whistle of a warm wind passing by the towering cliff above her. She moved with a slow, deliberate pace, carefully looking for any hint of something out of the ordinary. She didn’t find it until she was nearly to the north edge of the cliff, where it dipped down into a gentle slope to merge with the beach and the grassy fields to the south. There, along the cliff’s stone face, she noticed a portion of stone that had strange markings, like something had pockmarked the stone.

While Trixie couldn’t be certain, she knew Zecora used alchemy as one of the weapons in her arsenal. The pockmarked stone looked to Trixie like what would happen if a corrosive alchemic compound was spread across the stone, as if from a broken vial. She took a closer look, running her hoof over the markings. Then she spotted a few remaining bits of broken clay half buried in the sand, as if from a clay jar.

So Zecora tossed an jar of alchemic acid here? Was it an intentional marking, or just part of her attempt to fight off her pursuers? Either way, this shows she came from this direction.

But why? Trixie’s thoughts became muddled as she looked around. The beach looked as nondescript as ever. There was nothing strange here that she could see. What had Zecora witnessed out here? It was then that she felt a need to start walking. She recognized the sensation quickly as being similar to what she’d felt the first day she’d arrived on the island. It was a subtle thing, not like any kind of charming spell she’d ever felt. She wasn’t even sure it was as spell. All she knew was that she felt a need to start trotting further up the beach, and couldn’t stop herself if she tried.

She didn’t have to trot very far before she found a small cove, just a hoofball field’s length from where she’d found Zecora’s acid marking. Here she found a perfectly circular carved stone rising from the beach about half a hoof’s length. Rising from the stone was a pole arm with a thick, curved blade and an ash white shaft. Trixie had heard about this place from Luna. It marked where the Warlord had drawn her final breath. It also happened to be another of the anchor points for the alicorn forged barrier protecting Rengoku.

“Why am I not surprised that you’re here too?” spoke the voice of Dao Ming behind her, and Trixie sighed, turning her head to see the kirin approaching, her blonde mane and scales turning to liquid gold under the sunlight.

“Let me guess, you suddenly felt like taking a walk, and ended up here?” Trixie asked, and Dao Ming nodded with a reserved look on her face. Trixie rubbed her forehead, groaning.

“I like being jerked around by invisible chains even less than not being able to put together what in Tartarus happened to Zecora.”

“The servant of Amaterasu? The prophetess?” Dao Ming asked in a musing tone. “I had heard the rumors, but hadn’t put much stock in them. So she is missing. Why do you seek her? Would it not be of benefit to you and Tsukihime for her sister’s forces to be reduced before battle for your realm’s throne is joined?”

“Yes, but that’s not the point.” Trixie muttered, hesitant to say more. Kenkuro had brought the information concerning the conspiracy threat to her and her friend’s attention, but not to Dao Ming. Should Trixie risk telling Dao Ming the whole story? Trixie didn’t think the kirin was involved in the conspiracy at all, but who knew if she could keep the secret? What if Dao Ming spoke of it to her mother or siblings?

However she didn’t have to explain the overhanging threat to the Contest to explain her search for Zecora. “The point is that I don’t like loose ends and unexplained events, and this qualifies. I don’t have to like Zecora or care about her safety to be interested in discovering what happened to her.”

Dao Ming seemed to accept this with a small nod. “I believe I understand, as strange as your mannerisms can be. I too dislike unsolved mysteries. However the one I am concerned with is why you and I seemed tied together by these odd impulses. It is no coincidence we continue to end up at these places sacred to the island.”

“Sacred or not, they’re also anchor points for the alicorn barrier.” Trixie said, turning her attention to the stone jutting up from the beach and the spear it held. “Without these nothing would stop anypony form just waltzing right up to that fortress and... doing whatever they wanted to with it.”

“Impossible.” snorted Dao Ming, and at Trixie’s look the kirin amended, “Improbable. Impractical even. Even if one could have the magical talent and might to disrupt a twelve hundred year old magical barrier forged by the might of two alicorns, it would do them no good. Rengoku, may its cursed name be one day forgotten, would never rise for any other than one who carried the blood of the Warlord. Only myself and my mother carry that blood.”

Which means either you or your mother are conspirators, or targets of the conspiracy. Trixie thought grimly. Instead she said, “Its possible somepony might not know about the blood connection. Regardless of that I still can’t grasp why you and I keep getting drawn to these places. You and I don’t have any blood connection, that’s for certain.”

“No, but a connection must be there.” Dao Ming said, also turning her attention to the anchor point. There was a reserved mixture of solemness and distaste on her face, “You and I are the only ones affected this way. A reason must exist. Perhaps we can discover the truth together.”

Trixie let out a light, breathy laugh, and Dao Ming raised a golden eyebrow at her. Trixie held up a hoof, “Sorry, it’s just refreshing to hear you talking so politely without any snootiness or derision, or even condensation. Why I think we might start getting along if this keeps up.”

A dry snort burst form Dao Ming a she brushed past Trixie, approaching the stone, “I would not go betting the stars on that notion, Dame Lulamoon. I admit you are more than I have given you credit for, but you remain rather uncouth, arrogant, self-absorbed, and grating to a fault.”

“Why thank you, I do try.” Trixie said with a wide smile, and strangely Dao Ming managed a small, rueful smile of her own as they both started examining the anchor point.

After a moment Dao Ming frowned, like she tasted something sour. Trixie quirked an eyebrow at her.

“Something wrong?”

“Nothing. It's just... strange to consider. All the turmoil the Warlord caused. Building Rengoku, brutally unifying the Empire, seeking conquest across the world and destroying countless lives. And it all ended here? On this quiet, unassuming beach?”

The kirin mare’s expression turned even more dour as she whispered, “I wonder what she thought of, dying here in those final moments? Did she regret any of it? Sun Ming, her daughter an my ancestor, carried her to this place, after the Warlord was mortally wounded. There was never any record of what passed between them in the those final minutes. I wonder if it was words of hate that passed between those two at the end, or reconciliation?”

Trixie rubbed the back of her head, shading her eyes with her hat, “Not really my place to say, but... well if her daughter brought her here to die, instead of leaving her in that fortress, she couldn’t have hated her mother that much.”

Dao Ming looked thoughtfully around the beach. Quiet, peaceful, with the waves creating a calming serenade with their gentle rush to the shore. The kirin shook her head and resumed examining the anchor point, and after a few minutes she raised her head.

. “I see nothing unusual. Perhaps I could summon a spirit to examine it in depth?”

“I also have my magic sight.” said Trixie.

“I mean no offense, but you used that same sight upon the stone among the graves and it yielded no useful information.” Dao Ming said, her kirin horns alighting with gold magic as she levitated out a scroll from the folds of her dress. “Perhaps you should stand back and allow another to try her talents. Besides, while the barrier is rooted in alicorn magic, it is designed to contain an artifact from my realm. It's possible some manner of spirit craft went into its making as well.”

Trixie couldn’t argue with that logic. Well, she could but even she wasn’t willing to be that petty, so she gave Dao Ming a tip of her hat and took a few steps back to provide the kirin some space while she worked.

Dao Ming unfurled her scroll and chanted in a low, breathy voice.

”Whispering eyes of fleeting wind, hear this humble plea
   Come forth with your ancient wisdom, revealing all to see”

Calligraphy wept off the scroll, the ink transmuting in the air itself with motes of glowing green light to take shape into the form of a strange creature. The wind spirit had the body of a small bird, but it hovered on rapidly flapping moth wings and its head was like that of a small foal’s with eyes that were slightly too large. It gave a small tittering giggle and bowed to Dao Ming, who returned the bow before the wind spirit flew over and around the standing stone and its spear.

Trixie gulped and asked, “Just what is it doing?”

“Wind spirits are the most perceptive of spirit-kind, and this spell summons a simple one that absorbs an image of the supernatural flow of energies within any given object or being an then disgorges that to its summoner.” Dao Ming said, in a tone that reminded Trixie almost uncomfortably of Twilight Sparkle. She briefly shivered at a mental image of those two meeting.

“So how long does this take?” Trixie began to ask, but the wind spirit flowed through the stone and spear, then like a phantom popped back out with a small coughing noise and flew up to Dao Ming. The spirit then sucked in a breath and disgorged a green smoke into the kirin’s face, much to Trixie’s shocked look.

But rather than pull away, Dao Ming breathed in the smoke willingly, and her eyes gained a glazed look. She spoke, her voice taking on a dreamy, distant tone.

“The touch of many spirits has marked this part of the great barrier. The magic of the alicorns sings through it, yet Rengoku has its own voice... it ... it never died. It sleeps. Slept. But its awakening. I hear it. Its hungry.”

Dao Ming, as if sleepwalking, raised a hoof towards the ashen spear. “It hungers for its master to return.”

“Whoawhoawhoa! Bad touchie spearie!” Trixie shouted, rushing around the stone to Dao Ming’s side, reaching out to try and stop the kirin from making contact with the spear. She was almost fast enough, but her hoof touched Dao Ming’s at the same time they both touched the spear.

Trixie felt a freezing cold snap of energy lance up her foreleg, into her head, and then overwhelm her senses like dunking her head into an arctic trough. Trixie coughed and sputtered, feeling herself be yanked from physical consciousness into a free-fall state of ethereal chaos that tumbled around her for an unknown number of eternal moments until she could discern her surroundings like somepony trying to open their eyes underwater.

She could see herself and Dao Ming suspended like kites above the island. The anchor points shined bright like the thick strands of a spider web, lines of potent magic criss-crossing the land until they formed a dense dome around a pulsating heart of red and purple energies that coiled together like some giant snake. Rengoku. Trixie didn’t so much see the fortress as she saw the living magic within it, conscious and shifting, yet... not whole. The colossal layers of coiled magical power that ran through every corridor of the fortress walls seemed to breath in and out slowly, dully, as if not fully functional. And at the crest of the fortress was an empty, dark spot. A place that reminded Trixie of an open mouth.

“Dao Ming, what’s happening?” Trixie shouted, or rather tried to. She wasn’t certain she had lungs to shout with, yet she somehow felt her voice was conveyed for soon she heard Dao Ming speak as well, voice uncertain and fearful.

“I do not know. I think this is a vision brought on by something triggered inside the Warlord’s naginata. I felt compelled the moment the spirit sent its wisdom into my mind. How are you here?”

“I tried to stop you touching the dang spear! Didn’t seem like a good idea.”

“Turns out you were correct. Shocking. It seems the spear triggered something the moment I touched it. Some kind of spell.”

“Could you be less vague!?”

“If I could, I would.”

Just then both mares felt a chill, and the weighty sense of another presence. Trixie didn’t quite know how she turned around in her disembodied state, but she managed, it, and let out a short yelp at what she saw. She gained some small satisfaction from the fact that Dao Ming yelped too.

A figure hovered in the air before them, wearing a tattered, heavy cloak with the hood up. It was an equine, for Trixie could see emaciated hooves beneath her cloak, and enough of the figure’s flank and short muzzle to know it was a she. A pony? No, there were scales on her legs. A kirin then. Details were hard to make out but her coat was a faded, washed out and dull color of jade, and her scales a equally tarnished gold. What wisps of mane or tail could be seen were stark white.

“Uhhh... Dao Ming? Friend of yours?” Trixie asked.

Dao Ming mutely shook her head, eyes wide.

The spectre spoke in a dry husk of a voice, “You seek the zebra, do you not?”

“Whahuh?” Trixie blinked, then quickly gulped, “Z-zebra! Yes, the zebra. You know where she is? Wait, who are you, what are you, and how did you yank us here!? Answers now!”

The spectre turned its attention to Dao Ming. “Your friend is loud and obnoxious. Why is she loud and obnoxious?”

“It is a mystery I have yet to solve,” admitted Dao Ming, “But her questions are valid ones, if you would be so kind as to answer them?”

A laugh like crinkling old parchment filled the air. “I am not known for my kindness, and I will not answer questions that I did not bring you here to answer. My time is short...” the specter's form flickered, like smoke being hit by a breeze. “Ugh... too short. Listen closely, I can only see what happens around the points to which Rengoku is bound, but I can feel and call further. You two are tied to me, so I call to you. The zebra came upon those who sought to tamper with the barrier, and was chased. Taken, I presume?”

“She was.” Dao Ming confirmed, “Who were these people, and in what way were they tampering with the barrier?”

“I do not know who they are. My senses are dulled from what they once were and they hid their faces. But I do know they were siphoning power from the barrier. Magic most specific.” the specter said, making a dusty, snorting sound. “Alicorn magic, fresh and somehow new. I never thought it possible, but a young alicorn was here. With so many souls drawn to this island for that foolish Contest Rengoku is stirring, and it hungers.”

Trixie and Dao Ming exchanged looks, Trixie gulping and not even bothering to question how she did that while incorporeal. “That’s one of those ominous statements you might want to elaborate on. I don’t know how often you do this spectral messenger gig-”

“Not often.”

“-ahem, but context really helps. Like, a lot.”

“What part of ‘time is short’ was not made clear? Fine, context. Rengoku’s magic is fueled by feeding upon the magic of other living things. Having so many living souls gathered on this island stirs that hunger, but it cannot move on its own. Not only does the barrier forged by the alicorns hold it but without a 'master' it cannot act on its own. However alicorn magic is needed to defeat alicorn magic, hence why I imagine those hooded individuals were siphoning the magic of that young alicorn from these anchor points. While dormant Rengoku could do little but wait, yet now with the blood of its former master so close it is waking up. It can reach through the anchor points of the barrier to siphon off magic it knows can be used to free it.”

“And Princess Cadenza was visiting every one of those anchor points.” Trixie said with cold shock, “She was unknowingly giving the fortress one of the keys it needs!”

“Can Rengoku break free of the barrier?” Dao Ming asked with no small amount of trepidation.

“No, not on its own. It is like a beast half asleep, turning and stretching its limbs, but it cannot move. It remains chained, even if your enemies gathered all the alicorn magic in the world it wouldn't matter.” the specter's cold, hooded eyes gazed at Dao Ming, “Not without the blood of its master.”

“The bloodline of the Warlord...” Dao Ming shuddered, jaw clenched, “I will not allow that to happen.”

“Good, then you may yet prove worthy of being descended from that blood. I tell you these things as a warning, and the only means by which I can act.” the spectre’s form flickered again, bits and pieces of it being pulled away like wisps of smoke being sucked towards the distant form of Rengoku. “My time is up. I will not be able to reach out to you until my limited strength recovers. If you seek the zebra and those who took her, I suggest looking beneath the island. There are caves...”

The ghostly specter was almost gone, but Dao Ming reached out towards it, “Wait, who are you? How are we connected? I must know!”

The figure’s hood shifted just enough to show the sunken, old face of a battle scarred kirin mare, whose faded white mane still carried a few strands of gold. Her dry, heavy voice spoke only one word before she faded away.

“Blood.”

Then in an eyeblink the ghostly image of the island faded and Trixie felt herself being yanked back to her own body, her eyes blinking as she gasped and sat up on the beach where she and Dao Ming had apparently fallen after touching the Warlord’s spear.

Dao Ming groaned as she rose, sand brushing off her coat. Trixie rubbed her head, licking dry lips.

“Well, okay, that was weird.” Trixie said, “Was that literally a ghost, or just someone with a incredibly over inflated sense of dramatics?”

“It... had to have been her...” Dao Ming said, shaking her head in disbelief, “I think that was the Warlord herself. Her... her soul, somehow still bound to Rengoku.”

“I’m... not going to touch that one.” Trixie said, “Whoever or whatever she is, she just gave us some useful information and I’m not one to stare a gift ghost in the mouth. She said to look beneath the island, that there are caves underneath it. I don’t know about you but my first priority now is to tell Princess Luna about this.”

Dao Ming’s eyes turned towards Trixie with a slight edge to their gaze, “You knew that someone was trying to interfere with the barrier already, didn’t you?”

“Oh, uh, heheh... didn’t I tell you about that already?”

“No.”

Trixie smiled in what she hoped was a disarming manner, “Would it make you feel any better if I only withheld that information because I wasn’t one hundred percent sure you weren’t one of the possible conspirators looking to resurrect a destructive ancient fortress to doom us all?”

“Not really.” Dao Ming said, then hissed out a prideful sigh, “I wish to be more mad at you, but given I am one of two on this island with the blood to reawaken Rengoku I cannot say your fears were irrational. But, my mother...”

“May have nothing to do with this either.” Trixie said, and made a sour face, almost gagging, “And it causes me physical illness to admit that, as no offense but your mother can sit on a cactus for all I care.”

Dao Ming’s eyes flashed sharply, “I do not appreciate your humor in this instance.”

“Tough. My point is, however, that just because your blood can wake the big, dumb, death fortress up doesn’t mean you or the Empress would need to be willing participants. Whoever is behind all this may well be planning a ponynapping and forceful blood donation in the near future. Quite frankly I’m tempted to say we should ruin their day by packing the Contest in and picking this island apart with a fine tooth comb until we find all these hooded jerks and get them safely locked away in the world’s deepest, darkest dungeon.”

“If it were only that simple.” Dao Ming shook her head of golden mane, slowly seeming to compose herself after their little spiritual sojourn. “We cannot simply end the Contest due to these threats. The pride of the Empire alone would never bow to such threats by fleeing in shame. We shall continue the Contest and uproot these fools who seek to disrupt the peace. I shall warn my mother of the danger, and we can both take precautions. You speak with Tsukihime of what we have learned and she can work with the Empress to search for the missing zebra. It is simple as that.”

“Right,” Trixie sighed, having a sinking feeling about all this, “Simple as that.”

----------

The monastery had numerous rooms dedicated to the practical and humble existence the monks lived there, but because it was an order that sent many monks scouring the realms for tales of heroes many of them did need to train to protect themselves, and hence there were rooms set up for various physical training regimens.

Cheerilee busied herself there as the afternoon wore on, juking around a sandbag and pummeling it with her own brand of swift punches and bucks.. Her hooves kept knocking the sandbag suspended from the ceiling by thick cords of rope around, her punches getting harder and swifter. After she'd met up with Trixie again during their search for clues about Zecora they'd gone back to tell Luna and the rest of the girls what they'd learned. Cheerilee wasn't sure what to think about the weird vision Trixie and the Shouma heiress had seen, but at least they had a vague notion that Zecora was somewhere underneath the island. Not that that really narrowed it down that much but it was better than nothing.

Conspiracies and doom fortresses were things she and her friends could handle. But for Cheerilee the Contest was now a personal affair, and one she fully intended to win. If some hyper-muscled, mountainous meathead was going to try to force her friend to do something he didn’t want to do, then she owed it Iron Will to bludgeon some sense into Steel Cage.

A deep and hearty chuckle came from the doorway to the training room.

“Heh, been a long while since I’ve seen you looking that serious, Cheer.” said Iron Will, striding in with long swings of his arms. Even if he was on the short side for a minotaur, he still towered over any pony, and had a strength of presence that’d get anyone’s attention rooted to him. Cheerilee smiled at him, but her thoughts briefly went back to what Trixie had said about Steel Cage and the other minotaur champions during the Contest of Art. Their presence had somehow seemed less, and how that she had Iron Will here to compare, she could tell the difference. It was like an electric charge in the air, one that’d been absent, or at least lessened during the Contest.

“Hey Will. You dropping by just to say hi, or is it you just wanted to see a mare coated in sweat?” she waggled her eyebrows at him with a smarmy grin. He gave her a happy snort, but she also noticed his posture change to a deflecting one. Shoulders turned away, back straighter. The minotaur body language was clear; he was here for serious talk.

“Any other day I’d be happy to admire you work that fine flank, but my mood meter had been firmly set to Not Now O’Clock. We gotta talk.”

Cheerilee’s hoof impacted the dangling sand bag again, bouncing the heavy burlap sack nearly to the ceiling. She sighed, casting a sideways look his way. “You want to talk me out of the fight with Steel Cage.”

He crossed burly arms over his thick chest, one hand idly adjusting his tie. “Ain’t no shame in forfeiting. I’ve been thinking about this hard, Cheer, and bottom line is I care more about you not getting hurt than I do about staying away from home. Steel Cage ain’t gonna be playing around in that ring. Rules or not he’s out to dominate, even break you. You made it personal in a way I don’t quite think you get.”

“What I get is that he’s bullying my friend into giving up on his dreams for reasons that from the outside look a lot like stupid pride.” Cheerilee barked as she gave the sandbag a hefty buck with both hind legs, breaking the sack and spilling sand over the stone floor. With a heavy sigh she wiped some sweat off her brow and looked at Iron Will, “Maybe you could tell me why? Why is he after you?”

“He ain’t ‘after me’. He wants me to come home and stay there.” Iron Will’s stance relaxed somewhat, one hand going to rub the back of his head as he gave the ceiling a thousand mile stare. “Me and Steel came up together. Busted heads and ran the streets of Prime Labyrinth until we got old enough to find our ends in the Maze.”

“Right, you said a bit about this once... the Maze is how minotaurs find their position in society.” Cheerilee said, thinking back to the few times she’d gotten Iron Will talking about minotaur society. “Your youth is spent ‘Wandering the Maze’, kind of like how pony foals search for their cutie marks. You try different things, different jobs or lifestyles until you run into one that just clicks for you. Your end of the Maze. Like a dead end.”

Iron Will nodded, expression turning solem, “Lot of things I don’t much approve of among my folk, and the Maze is part of it. Ain’t supposed to be any leaving your place, once its found. Social mobility ain’t exactly encouraged. Ideas from outside our lands, even less. Back then me and Steel found ourselves poised to rise to the top, though. We were Alphas in the making, maybe even to the point we’d make it into the Hedron of Alphas who run the whole show.”

His shoulders sagged a bit, “Only I knew it wasn’t for me. Knew it, even as Steel was making plans to pair up and run our own Labyrinth. I had a passion in me for finding out about other places, seeing other races, and making my way far away from home. Wasn’t done, you see. Minotaurs didn’t travel beyond our lands often. Only way I was able to make it happen is I had the force and drive to make the Hedrons see the profit in letting me go. Steel though, he never accepted it, or forgave me for it. Thinking maybe the only reason he went and became a champion of the minotaurs is so he’d have the clout to drag me back with his own hands.”

Cheerilee was silent for a second before saying, “Until I got in the way.”

“Until you got in the way.” Iron Will confirmed. “So you see, I don’t think he cares about winning the Contest. Not seriously. Even if he has to break the rules to break you, he’ll do it. Which is why I don’t want you fighting him. I appreciate you sticking up for me, but Cheer, just... just forfeit the match, alright? It ain’t worth it.”

“Where was all this the other day? You didn’t seem to mind me taking on Steel’s challenge then?” she pointed out.

Iron Will’s eyes met hers with a curiously embarrassed look, his posture loosening up even as his tone became defensive. “Been a few times I wonder if you ain’t somehow part minotaur, or maybe all the time we spent together rubbed off on you-”

“I seem to recall plenty of rubbing during our time together. You figured out my belly was ticklish real quick.”

“-ahem...er, what I mean is that when you get all fired up, Cheer, there’s a presence to you that’s straight up Alpha. Even Steel couldn’t have denied that when you took his challenge, and I wasn’t going to be able to deny it either. Only reason I’m here now is because I was able to think it over and work up the nerve to ask you to back out.”

“Well, I won’t.”

“For crying out loud, Cheer, why not!? He’s gonna decimate you out there!”

“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.” Cheerilee replied dryly, giving Iron Will a half-hearted swat on the leg. “But it's simple, really. What you said, about it not being worth it? You’re wrong. I know traveling the world, doing your entrepreneur thing, and delving into other cultures while bringing a taste of minotaur ways to others... that’s your dream, Iron. You’re living the life you want to live, and you’ve earned it for yourself. If you think I’m going to let anyone take that from you then I’m starting to think you don’t know me at all.”

Guilt showed itself plainly on his face as he hung his head, “Thing is, I do know you. You’re the kind of friend who goes all in when it comes to doing what you’ve set yourself to. Which is exactly what’s got me scared. You won’t back down from Steel, and he won’t hold back on you. Immovable object-” he smashed a fist into his palm with a loud, meaty smack, “-meet irresistible force. Only problem is, you both might break in the process, and believe it or not I don’t want to see Steel get busted up any more than I do you. We may have drifted our separate ways, but he’s still a sworn brother. That ain’t a light thing I can just drop, you know?”

Cheerilee took a deep breath and put on her serious face, “I’m not going out there for blood, Iron. I’m going to teach him a lesson, not break him.”

“And if he’s the one doing the breaking?”

“Then maybe I’ll need a nice, handsome, comforting minotaur to nurse me back to health afterward, giving me belly rubs with his magic hands.” she said with a wink, but grew serious again just as fast. “But I’m not going to lose. Trust me.”

After a good, long stare he said, “Should’ve figured I couldn’t talk you out of it. Just had to try.”

“I appreciate the concern more than you might think.” she gave him another playful punch, “Don’t worry big guy, I’ve learned a few moves even you've never seen. By day I may be a mild mannered schoolteacher, but by night, or world-class heroic competitions, I’m a whole different pony.”

He let out a tension filled laugh, “Alright, alright, you got it. I won’t turn myself grey just yet worrying about you, but I’m still going to be biting my nails off in the stands, just the same.”

“Just remember to cheer me on. It’s how I power up my special moves.”

“I’ll be cheering louder than anybody in the crowd, count on it.” he said, seeming to quickly cheer up and flashing her a dynamic pose, as if to prove his mood was improving.

“Good, you're smiling again. Mission accomplished.” she said.

“You were always good at putting smiles on faces.” Iron Will said, glancing back at the door, “Anyway I’d best get going. Been gone long enough and this Labyrinth is big enough to confuse even me.”

Cheerilee nodded, then a second later what he said struck her as odd. “Wait, what do you mean by Labyrinth?”

He cocked his head, blinking, “Huh? Nothing, just, this place is a Labyrinth. Like, a minotaur built Labrinth. Can’t you tell?”

Cheerilee shook her head, “No, no I can’t. Please explain.”

“Uh, well, okay. You remember me ever telling you about minotaur cities?”

“Yes, you guys call them Labyrinths. I remember that much. Let’s see, most Labyrinths only have a small surface presence, which most the actual city underground. They’re built to be literal mazes as much as domiciles, but minotaurs have innate senses of earthworks that let them navigate Labyrinths, even ones they’re unfamiliar with, pretty easily. Its one of the many reasons other races theorize minotaurs have innate magic.”

Iron Will coughed, “Yeah, well, all that aside we do know when we’re in a Labyrinth. Just a feeling we get. And this monastery is a Labyrinth. Not an especially big or complex one, but minotaur hands were part of building this place. It's something I wanted to chat with that Abbess chick about. I can count on my fingers the number of times minotaurs have gone out of the home country, and I never heard of enough of them going anywhere to build a place like this. Not a big deal, really, just makes me curious is all. There’s at least six or seven floors to this place, just under the surface.”

“Whoa, wait a minute, six or seven? But... this training room is on the third basement floor and that’s as deep as the stairs go. Are you telling me there’s more!?” Cheerilee’s mind raced back to earlier that day.

She’d met up with Trixie and Dao Ming after their encounter with the strange spirit connected to the Warlord’s spear. They’d brought the spirit’s information about Zecora being underneath the island somewhere to Princess Luna, but they hadn’t been sure what to do next.

Does the Princess know about there being levels lower than this one in the monastery?

Iron Will was looking at her oddly, eyebrow raised high, “Plenty more. I mean, sure I don’t know exactly the shape of it all, but I can feel the chambers below me, and the rhythm of the corridors. Enough to figure six, maybe seen or even eight levels of stuff below my hooves. Thought it kind of weird I didn’t see any stairs leading to them, but figure the monks know their way around better than I do.”

Cheerilee could barely contain herself as she jumped up on Iron Will, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, saying, “Thanks I owe you, gotta run!”

She then darted out of the room, leaving behind a bewildered Iron Will.

----------

“You’re certain of this?” asked Luna less than half an hour later to Cheerilee after the schoolteacher had tracked the Princess down. Equestria’s monarch had gone to visit with Cavalia’s Princess Cadenza, and now the pair both listened to Cheerilee’s update concerning what she’d learned from Iron Will. They were all seated outside on a stone balcony outside Cadenza’s quarters in the monastery, while Shining Armor, who’d been taking on the task of inspecting Princess Cadenza’s security forces, stood watch a respectful distance away in the main room.

“Iron Will wouldn’t lie about something like this.” Cheerilee said with confidence.

“If it is true then what is the purpose of these other levels to the monastery?” wondered Cadenza aloud, one wing rubbing at her chin thoughtfully. “There aren’t that many monks in the Order, so I can’t imagine it's just more living space.”

“I shall speak to the Abbess concerning this, but I don’t wish to leap to conclusions until we know more.” said Luna, her voice firm but contemplative. “The Order of Legends does more than just organize the Contest after all, so there may be many legitimate reasons for there to be spaces, hidden or otherwise, situated underneath the monastery.”

There was something in the Princess' tone that lacked a certain element of surprise, as if learning the monastery had additional levels didn't come across to her as much of a shock. Cheerilee found that odd, but for the moment didn't feel the need to question it. Mostly because she doubted Luna would provide any solid answers, either way.

“But what about this ‘ghost’ that your student and the Shouma heiress encountered?” asked Cadenza with a note of nervous disbelief in her voice. Cheerilee supposed she understood. She’d thought it sounded a little crazy herself when Trixie had told her about what she’d seen.

Luna frowned, eyes unreadable as they stared out over the balcony at the scenic vista of the island, marred only by the looming presence of the fallen fortress in the distance. “I don’t doubt Trixie and Dao Ming both saw and heard what they claim. However I am uncertain as to the intentions of this so-called ghost. Whomever or whatever she is, she could have been seeking to mislead our investigation rather than aid it. She also only mentioned the notion of looking beneath the island for Zecora. No mention was made directly of the monastery.”

Midnight feathers ruffled as Luna shook herself and sighed, “Regardless we must proceed cautiously. I will secure the Abbess’ permission to search the monastery grounds, including these additional levels. Princess Cadenza, your assistance in that matter would be greatly appreciated.”

Cadenza smiled briefly, “I could always free Shining Armor of his duties to attend me so he can help. I think if he has to ‘inspect’ how secure my bedroom is too many  more times that gossip will start to spread.”

Shining Armor coughed loudly from the other room. “There’s plenty of places for ponynappers or assassins alike to hide around here. Got to search thoroughly. For security reasons.”

“Mmm, and I do feel quite secure with you around, Captain, but I think Princess Luna might need your expertise more than I at this point.”

Luna didn’t do a particularly good job at hiding a small smirk at that before turning her attention back to Cheerilee. “Thank you for bringing this to our attention. If the investigation turns up anything I’ll wish for you and your fellow knights to be prepared for action, if it becomes necessary. In the meantime, however, I recommend you rest for tomorrow.”

“That was the plan.” said Cheerilee, “Just figured you needed to know what I’d learned soon as I could get it to you. I don’t actually figure the monks are involved in Zecora’s disappearance, but that doesn’t mean some other group of baddies couldn’t be taking advantage of the monastery’s design to pull some nefarious shenanigans.”

“Quite so. Now go and rest, Dame Cheerilee. As I understand it you’ll be engaged in quite the struggle tomorrow.”

Cheerilee raised an eyebrow. “You heard about me and Steel Cage?”

“Kind of hard not to.” piped in Shining Armor, frowning in distaste, “The minotaur champion has been boasting about crushing you in the ring nearly non-stop to anyone who gives him half an ear.”

“Hey, free advertising. I’ll take it.” Cheerilee said with a rueful grin, “Just means it’ll be all the sweeter when I win.”

“You’re quite confident.” noted Cadenza with a hint of worry in her voice, “This Steel Cage seems like a very strong opponent from what I’ve seen.”

“Monstrously strong, sure.” Cheerilee agreed, but her expression had a pointedly hard edge to it, “But strength comes in many forms, and let’s just say I think he’s underestimating mine. I plan to take full advantage of that fact.”

Cadenza took that with a moment of consideration followed by an accepting nod, through Cheerilee noted the concern hadn’t faded from the alicorn’s eyes. “Then I can only hope for your success.” She paused, then smiled wryly, “But not too much success, if you end up facing my champion in the ring.”

----------

Dawn the next day broke with quiet, pale calm over the island. The storm of a few days past was now just memory, the sky now so clear of clouds its as if some great paintbrush had slathered the color of richest blue from horizon to horizon.

Ditzy Doo yawned and wrapped her hooves around the warmth of her pillow, which yawned right back and snuggled into her chest.

“Huh...?” Ditzy Doo’s eyes flickered open, one of them focusing down on the little filly cuddled tightly against her. Dinky mumbled incoherently in her sleep, and Ditzy watched her daughter for a moment, content and letting sleep’s weariness drain out of her as she started to awaken fully.

Dinky gave a fitful murmur and shivered in Ditzy’s grasp, causing Ditzy to hold the filly a bit closer as Dinky’s murmurs became more distinct.

“...watch out...mamma...no....”

Gulping, Ditzy gave her daughter a gentle shake. “Hey, muffin, it’s okay. Wake up.”

“M-mamma!” Dinky snapped awake with a fearful shout, blinking in confusion, trembling. Ditzy held her tighter, one of her wings protectively encompassing the filly as she whispered.

“Everything’s okay. You were just having a bad dream.”

Dinky started to breath easier, nuzzling closer to her mother. “Yeah. Sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry, muffin.” Ditzy said with a gentle voice, slowly patting Dinky’s head. “Even adults get bad dreams. Its perfectly normal.”

“This one felt so real, though.” Dinky’s breath shuddered. “I saw a scorpion sting you.”

“Really? That’s... kinda specific.” Ditzy said. “Was it like the one the zebra had?”

Dinky shook her head. “No, not like that big one. This one was small and shiny like black metal, and had glowy green eyes. I don’t know why but when you saw the scorpion you smiled at it as it crawled up your leg, then to your shoulder.” Dinky’s whole, tiny body shivered as if in a winter chill. “You were still smiling at it even when it stung you in the neck. You fell over, and kept smiling until... y-you stopped breathing.”

Dinky’s voice turned a shade hysterical by the end of that last sentence and Ditzy made soft ‘shh’ sounds as she stroked her daughter’s mane and pulled her wing in tighter around the filly. “Dreams can be dumb and weird like that. Shouldn’t have let you stay up so late eating popcorn and listening to Lyra’s stories.”

“Promise me you won’t get hurt, mom.”

“Shh, of course I won’t, muffin.”

“But...but you’re fighting today, aren’t you?” Dinky said with a clear strain of worry.

Ditzy nodded slowly, but kept a reassuring smile on her face. “Yes, but nobody is going to get hurt. Um, well okay, not badly hurt. It’s just a competition. Like the big melee thing was.”

“Y-you almost got electrocuted by crazy kirin super lightning.” Dinky squeaked, and Ditzy blanched.

“Okay, you've got a point there but, uh, that won’t happen again. And no scorpions. Nope, I see a scorpion anywhere I’ll just fly away really fast. Um, unless I have to fight the scorpion guy I guess, but I don’t think he’s allowed to use his scorpion in this part of the Contest. Maybe.”

Actually she had absolutely no idea. Now she was suddenly worried.

Dinky’s tiny hooves wrapped around Ditzy’s own with surprising strength for such a little filly. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to you, mom. I got a really bad feeling about today.”

A knock came at the door, Trixie’s voice floating in. “Sorry if I’m waking you up Ditzy, but we’ve got to get ready. We need to be at the Contest grounds within the hour.”

“I’ll be there in just a minute.” Ditzy called, then turned her full attention back to her shaken daughter, where she proceeded to give Dinky a comforting nuzzle. “Don’t fret, Dinky. I promise you I’ll be perfectly fine today. And if anything bad does happen, mamma and her friends will take care of it.”

There was still a shimmering light of uncertainty in Dinky’s eyes, but she gave a tiny nod and whispered, “Okay.”

A short while later Ditzy Doo had managed to get out of bed, clean up in the washroom adjoining the bedroom, and get dressed in her remarkably comfortable suit of starmetal armor and knight tabard, all in record time. Dinky, seeming a bit more relaxed and energetic now that she was fully awake, headed out to the living room riding on her mother’s back.

The rest of the mares were already up and dressed, although Lyra still looked half asleep on her hooves, mouth craning open in a pronounced yawn. “I really wish they didn’t insist on starting these events first thing in the morning. Some of us aren’t operating at our peak this early.”

“Hey, you’re not competing today, so you could stay in and take it easy.” pointed out Raindrops, adjusting the belt on her tabard. “Pretty sure the only ones who need to be out there are me, Cheerilee, and Ditzy.”

Lyra rubbed at the sleepiness coating her face and managed a tired smile, “Naaaaah, how often do I get to see you really strut your stuff Raindrops? Wouldn’t want to miss you going head to head with your zebra stalker.”

“He’s not a stalker. He’s... complicated.” Raindrops muttered.

Mint shoulders rose in a shrug and Lyra said, “If you say so. Between you and Cheerilee, I’m thinking I don’t want to miss this particular show. I can always catch a power nap between matches. Mmm, yeah, I can just cuddle up on the stands and use Bon Bon as a pillow.”

Trixie, who was agitatedly pacing by the door, said hurriedly, “If we’re all up and ready let’s just get going already.”

“Worried about yesterday?” inquired Cheerilee.

“Yes! Its not exactly normal for me to have a forced vision from a creepy specter! Then there’s what you learned from your minotaur friend. This whole situation is seriously starting to make me nervous.” Trixie said with a slight tick in her eye, “It's not helped by the fact that I’ve had an uneasy feeling since the day we got here. My instincts are starting to work overtime on a major impending doom vibe. I just want to talk to the Princess to see if she learned anything yet.”

“It's been one night. Give it time.” said Carrot Top, “The Princess told us to focus on the Contest, so let’s do that and not hyperventilate.”

“I’m not hyperventilating, I’m keeping my brain oxygenated!” Trixie said between a few heavy breaths, until Raindrops went over to her and rested a wing on the other mare’s shoulder.

“Hey, don’t over think things today. All you have to do today is sit back, and cheer while I punch things. Sound good?”

Trixie took hold of herself with a slow breath and steadied her hat, “Yeah. I can do that.”

“Well then,” said Cheerilee, sporting an eager smile as she dramatically pointed a hoof forward, “Onward to certified and sanctioned public displays of violence!”

----------

The stadium for the Contest of Strength had, much like all the other structures for the different stages of the Contest, been raised overnight via the combined magic and runecraft of the monks. It stood like a gigantic bowl of stone, half of its surface rising up from the ground, while a fair portion of it was actually part of a lowered divot that went below ground level. Countless rows of seating encircled the interior of the stadium walls, with specially made podiums and booths for the more prestigious dignitaries viewing the Contest. At the floor of the stadium a relatively small space of sand led to the arena itself, a perfectly square stone platform roughly fifty paces across from end to end.

As with the Grand Melee there were several of the enchanted mirrors in place both near the fighting arena and around the viewing stands to allow watchers to have closer and better angles to view the upcoming action from, and by mid-morning the stadium was packed with an eager audience. From her position in Equestria’s VIP seating area, well near the top of the stadium but with commanding views of the stage due to several large mirrors near the balcony of the booth, Princess Luna could see much of the island. Nearby Vicereine Puissance sat with still patience, enjoying a glass of wine and pretending to listen to the idle chatter of Viscount Blueblood.

“And I swear she is the most impossible mare to shop for!” Blueblood was saying with an air of exasperation, “She keeps telling me ‘Oh, anything is fine Bluey as long as its from you’. What does that even mean!? Its her birthday and I refuse for a stallion of my stature to get her just ‘anything’. It’d be insulting to my status, and to her as well I suppose. Do you have any advice, Vicereine?”

“Hmm? Oh, yes, your pink paramour. Have you considered the wild notion of, oh, I don’t know, paying attention to what she appears to like and get her a gift of something appropriately similar but far more grand and valuable than what she already possesses?” Puissance said with an utterly bored tone which Blueblood seemed immune to.

“But how am I supposed to do that!? She literally likes everything. Its like she has no sense of standards.”

“That explains much.” Puissance replied dryly.

A rough cough from the entrance to the booth caused a pause in the conversation as all eyes, including Luna’s, turned to look. Abbess Serene stood there with a calm and kind expression, dipping her withered head in a bow. “My apologies for interrupting. The Contest of Strength will start soon, but I wished to speak with the Princess before my duties called me to attend to that matter fully.”

“Of course Abbess.” Luna said, rising from her seat and striding out of the booth with the Abbess. She could faintly hear Blueblood’s one sided conversation with Puissance continue on even after the door was closed and she and the Abbess stood alone in the causeway that surrounded the outer edge of the stadium. Luna could still see various spectators still trickling into the stadium below like a procession of ants.

“Is it safe to speak here?” the Abbess asked, and Luna cast a casual spell from her horn, forming an invisible bubble around the pair.

“It is now.” Luna’s eyes met the Abbess, “What can you tell me of what my student and the Shouma heiress encountered? Was it really her?”

“I find it hard to believe, but its entirely possible.” said the Abbess Serene evenly, letting out a sigh that cracked with old exhaustion. “She was bound inside along with the others, but she had access to all the magic of Rengoku before being severed from it. Perhaps a small enough connection remained to fabricate a spell to contact the outside world.”

“Targeting her own blood then. Yet her message was warning us of danger and a clue to find my sister’s missing prophet. Why help us?” Luna said with deepening worry.

“Twelve hundred years is a long time to be trapped somewhere without rest...” Abbess Serene said, “That is why you and Princess Celestia charged my Order with our noble task, so long ago, was it not?”

Luna closed her eyes and gave the barest fraction of a nod. “To free them, yes. But never to risk Rengoku rising again. The situation has become too risky to continue treading lightly. I must ask that you allow my Shadowbolts to have full access to the hidden areas of the monastery.”

“I understand.” the Abbess said with a solemn bow of her head. “They shall have the Order’s full cooperation. I suggest that once they are done sweeping the lower facilities that they begin searching the caverns as well. I can assign guides to help them search. The caverns are extensive. Shall I also give your sister’s people similar access?”

A frown crossed Luna’s face like a cloud over the moon, her eyes twitching. “...Yes. I accepted my sister here under a banner of peace. I shall continue that cooperation. The safety of the people on this island, not to mention all the world were that thing to rise again, is more important than our present... disputes. Tell Celestia everything you’ve told me, and with luck between both our efforts we’ll stop this scheme before it goes any further.”

“Then I suggest keeping a most careful eye upon the Shouma royal family.” said the Abbess, “I suspect that they will be targeted. Perhaps soon. No matter what the conspirators scheme, the fact is that Rengoku cannot move without the blood of the Warlord.”

“I am well ahead of you on that count, Serene. I have a pair of Shadowbolts watching both the Empress and Dao Ming both day and night. As well as they can, at any rate, with the Empress’ own guards in place. They are about as secure as can be made without literally throwing them into sealed chambers and guarding them myself.”

A small smile cracked Serene’s withered lips. “From what I have heard Empress Fu Ling could do with a bit of solitary confinement.”

Luna sparked out a huff of a laugh, shaking her head. “Were that such temperaments always so easy to treat. Thank you for updating me, Serene. I’ll let you get back to running the Contest.”

“Yes, for all the darkness overshadowing this affair, I don’t want anyone to forget the importance of the Contest itself.” the Abbess said with a tired yet wistful tone as she gazed out at the many different people from numerous cultures and species gathering into the stadium. “The champions must continue to shine for their people, to light the way forward in the troubling times we face.”

----------

“Wow, they really went all out with the ambiance for a glorified waiting room, didn’t they?” Raindrops commented dryly, taking in her surroundings. She, Cheerilee, and Ditzy Doo were standing in a large chamber inside the walls of the arena. As they were the only three of the Equestrian team participating in the Contest of Strength the other mares from Ponyville would be enjoying the show from the sidelines. Special seating would be set aside for non-competing champions to watch their comrades participate from beside the arena. Meanwhile all competing champions were gathered in this wide chamber where warm fires burned in wall sconces, between which were murals depicting scenes of epic conflicts between mighty warriors.

While sizable the room was still crowded, filled to the edges with the various nations’ champions. Some waited with quiet, focused patience, while others all but buzzed with the eager anticipation for the competition to come. Wodan’s thick antlers literally scraped the ceiling as he stomped towards the ponies, grinning widely to them as other champions scrambled to make room for the moose.

“Hah! Good to see you here for this fine day, friend ponies! Ah, buy why are there just three of you here?”

“Trixie isn’t much for hoofticuffs.” Cheerilee said, “Lyra’s bushed after her epic showdown with your pal Andrea, and Carrot Top I believe is taking advantage of your Prince Frederick’s special seating.”

Wodan thick features twitched with a bushy eyebrow raise, “Ah, that would explain why the Prince seemed in lighter spirits this morning. And I cannot fault your worthy bardess Lyra for resting. As you can see Andrea herself is absent as well. Her efforts drained her as well, and I can well understand why. Never before have I seen two artists bare their souls in such jubilant clash against one another.” The moose stamped a hoof, shaking the ground and causing many of the present champions to look his way. “If I find an opponent today half so worthy to give me such a challenge I shall die happily and soar to Valhalla with a song on my lips!”

“Yeah, let’s keep the dying to minimum today, eh big guy?” said Raindrops, her eyes peering across the room towards one of the far corners where the shadows clung. There she saw the pale white and dark striped form of Tendaji sitting in a cross-legged pose, eyes closed and meditating. Raindrops sighed, remembering the black tendrils she’d seen of the disease that sapped the zebra from the inside. She still wasn’t certain what good their fight would do him, but she tried to put it from her mind.

Ditzy Doo, also glancing around, turned her face up to Wodan. “Where’s Sigurd? I thought he’d be competing today too.”

The moose’s mouth trembled in a wry half-grin. “I saw him not long before I left to come here, friend Ditzy. He shall be here soon, rest assured.”

“Ooooh I sure hope Mister Dark and Dour shows.”

The smooth, curdled butter tone of Grimwald’s voice made Raindrops’ ears twitch as the griffin seemed to just slide into view from behind the group, making Ditzy visibly shudder down her spine. Raindrops found herself exchanging glances with Cheerilee, and saw in the schoolteacher’s eyes that she hadn’t seen Grimwald approach either.

Ditzy Doo blinked at Grimwald, and after a moment’s hesitation offered a shaky smile. “Good morning. Um, so, good luck in the Contest today?”

A short screech of amused laughter pealed out of Grimwald’s beak and he clapped at talon playfully on Ditzy’s withers. “Why thank you, bright eyes. I generally don’t need luck but I’ll take what I can get. Say, you’re not going into this lovely soiree with your bare hooves, are you?”

“Oh, well...” Ditzy gave a self-conscious look back at Raindrops and Cheerilee, “I figured my friends weren’t using weapons, so...”

“Ah ah ah, come on bright eyes, you’re beautiful when you’re being naive but you won’t last the first round without a weapon.” With a flickering flourish he produced one of his daggers, the one with the curved green tinted blade that he’d nearly taken her eye out with in the Grand Melee. “Why not take my second favorite dagger?”

“Uhhh...” Ditzy started at the deadly looking weapon with extreme hesitance bubbling on her face. Raindrops growled under her breath, wings flaring and about to give Grimwald a piece of her mind when another voice spoke, cutting in sharply.

“She shall not require such a tainted weapon.”

Sigurd approached from the waiting room’s entrance, the water deer’s strides swift and purposeful. He was fully clad in his armor of leather hide and ratting bones, his blade sheathed across his back alongside a large round bundle wrapped in a gray cloth. Sigurd barely gave Grimwald a second glance as he strode past the griffin and bowed his head to Ditzy Doo. Wodan gave a hearty chuckle.

“So you  made it. I had wondered if your ever obsessed attention to detail would cause you to forget how high the sun had risen.” The moose’s voice was a joking bellow, to which Sigurd just gave a small roll of his eyes and raised his head to look at Ditzy evenly as he took the cloth bound bundle from his back and presented it to her.

“In honor of the spirit of this Contest and the friendship we seek to forge into an ever stronger bond between my people and yours, I give you this gift, Dame Ditzy Doo.”

She sat back on her haunches and held the bundle in both hooves. It had a rounded heft to it, but wasn’t too heavy. Raindrops glanced curiously at Sigurd while Cheerilee poked her head over Ditzy’s shoulder.

“Well what are you waiting for?” Cheerilee said with a smile, “Open it up.”

Ditzy’s hooves delicately unwrapped the folded gray cloth from the object hidden within, and when the cloth was pulled away the firelight from the wall scones reflected a bright gleam of metal that reflected off of Ditzy’s widening eyes.

“Oh. Wow. Um, this is for me?”

Sigurd’s head dipped in a nod, voice straight as an arrow. “It is. It may not be my finest work, but it is sturdily crafted and should serve you well in the Contest and beyond”

Held in Ditzy’s hooves was a shield. Its rounded body was made from thick, finely grained dark wood, bound together by heavy bands of bright steel that both encircled the shield’s edge and joined in a cross pattern in the middle where a round steel cap marked the very center of the shield’s surface. Upon that cap was carefully etched an exact replica of Ditzy’s Doo’s cutie mark of wafting bubbles. The back of the shield had a strip of soft backing that at first Ditzy uneasily thought might be leather until she noticed the leafy segments. The hoof straps were made from a similarly dark green material that looked like sewn together leaves, and when she gave Sigurd a questioning look his mouth ticked in a small smile.

“I know you would not want animal hide, so for the backing and straps I used treated hard leaf from the ironwood trees of my homeland. Here, let me show you how to adjust them...”

He was surprisingly gentle as he carefully took her right hoof and showed her the proper way to place on the hard leaf straps, neither too tight nor too loose. With the shield on Ditzy found it fit snugly and naturally, the added weight somehow more comforting than anything else. The shield was well sized for her, going from half a foot past her elbow to just shy of the tip of her hoof, allowing her to stand normally without the shield pressing into the ground at all. Experimentally she spread her wings and hovered a few feet off the ground. She’d worried the shield might unbalance her in the air, but it was light enough that she barely noticed any difference, and what little difference there was she adjusted for without thinking about it.

Raindrops had to admit it looked like a solidly made shield, and while it looked a bit odd to see Ditzy with the shield strapped to her hoof, Raindrops felt a bit more at ease knowing her friend at least had something to defend herself with.

“Very shiny.” Cheerilee said with a nod of approval, “Quite the gift, Sigurd. You must’ve busted your rump getting that made in time.”

“It was an effort, but worth the sweat and lost sleep.” Sigurd said simply.

“Oh, I hope you didn’t tire yourself too much for my sake.” Ditzy Doo said worriedly, “You’ll be okay to compete today, right?”

“Bah, of course. My stamina is not so low as that, friend Ditzy.”

“Glad to hear it.” Grimwald cut in, his green curved dagger having vanished back up his sleeve. “Be a real shame if you weren’t at your best today.” He winked at Ditzy, “Shield suits you, bright eyes. Looking forward to seeing what kind of dance you can show me out there. Assuming we end up in the ring together, of course.”

He tipped an invisible hat to the group and moved away with smooth, gliding steps. Sigurd’s jaw clenched and he grunted under his breath.

“I do not like that one.”

“There’s a general vibe of willies where the bird’s concerned, yeah.” said Cheerilee, glancing at Ditzy, “Be really careful if you end up fighting him, you hear me Ditzy?”

“No need to tell me twice.” Ditzy breathed, having been holding her breath for a moment as Grimwald had left. “I, uh, don’t really want to fight him.”

“If that griffin dares to harm you he shall find a reaping of vengeance descending upon him unlike anything he can imagine.” Sigurd declared firmly.

Wodan nudged the water deer, which looked vaguely like a tree trunk nudging a chipmunk, and rumbled. “Sigurd, show faith in the little one. Harm is inevitable in this Contest of Strength, but I think her made of sterner stuff than you imagine. Your gift is a mighty and worthy one, and it shall guard her well, but even if her blood is shed upon the arena doubt it shall be alone. Any foe who underestimates these ponies do so at their own peril.”

“Oh, well, I’m not trying to hurt anyone too badly...” Dity said frowning, “Um, aren’t ring outs a thing in this?”

“Yeah, that or knock outs and tap outs.” Raindrops said, her wings flapping with agitation she was keeping as under wraps as best she could. “You’re best bet Ditzy is to use your agility to keep anyone you fight off balance until you see an opening to push them out of the arena.”

The rules of the Contest of Strength were straightforward enough. It would consist of a series of one on one battles between contestants, the matches determined by randomly drawn lots. Each fight would be given a ten minute time limit in which each contestant was allowed to use any physical means at their disposal, whether it be strength of arms, specific magics that enhanced the body, or innate abilities inherent to the race of the contestant. Any weapon was allowed, but much like in the Grand Melee lethal attacks were prohibited. Magic that was projected beyond the body was also prohibited, such displays to be saved for the Contest of Magic. Only spells and magic that empowered the body or one’s weapons were considered viable. Flight was allowed as well, but there was a strict height limit of thirty feet, enforced by penalties to fliers who went above that ceiling.

If neither fighter had been either knocked out of the ring, rendered unconscious or otherwise unable to keep fighting, or forced to tap out, by the time the ten minutes was up then the match would be decided by a panel of judges from among the monks who would be observing the battles closely and tallying points.

When all would be said and done the champions’ teams would earn points depending on how far their members made it in the matches. To keep some level of fairness teams with multiple participating members could only earn the points of the member who got the furthest.

As a result Ditzy wasn’t too worried about her performance. She knew Cheerilee and Raindrops would very likely get much further than her. She wanted to compete. Not out of any desire to fight or hurt others, but because she wanted to understand the others participating in the Contest better, especially Grimwald. That, and there was a nagging fear inside her that she was the link in her group of friends that might be the weakest. This would be a good way to gauge how much work she might need to do as to not slow everypony else down.

“I’ll do my best.” she said with conviction, nodding to Raindrops.

“I know you will.” Raindrops replied, taking a deep breath to help still her own worries.

The chamber was filled with a groaning clarion ring of metal and wood as the large double doors leading out to the arena grounds opened, allowing pale morning sunlight to pour into the room and illuminate the gathered champions.

Two monks were pushing the doors open while the Abbess Serene stood in the center, smiling warmly as she spoke in a carrying, clear tone.

“Champions, the time has come to show the world your strength, in all its many forms. Come, the arena awaits!”

----------

As the champions marched out into the sunlight under the roar of cheers thundering in from around the stadium Dao Ming’s mind was not where she imagined it would be at this point in the Contest. She thought she’d be solely focused upon obtaining victory, yet her thoughts were splintered in a dozen different places.

“Surprised to see you looking so nervous.”

Dao Ming glanced over to see Gwendolyn had come up next to her. Nearby several other griffins turned predatory and grinning looks at Gwendolyn, some of them flicking their tails at her derisively as they passed. Dao Ming’s golden eyebrow raised.

“You seem to have troubles of your own.”

Gwendolyn hissed out a humorless laugh, “Oh yeah, I’m popular right now. Going to be a fun day. I have to at least beat enough of my fellow griffins senseless to get a certain... point across. But what about you? You look different today. Not as focused as in the Grand Melee.”

Dao Ming kept her stance proud as the procession of champions started to take their seating among the stone benches provided around the edges of the arena. “Its been an eventful few days. I’d tell you about it, but you needn’t burden yourself with my troubles when you must focus upon your own tasks.”

Gwendolyn’s wings shrugged, “Meh, what are friends for?”

“We are friends?”

“Close as we can be at this point, I figure.” Gwendolyn’s talon rested on the ornate hilt of her sword, “Just saying that even if I’ve got enough trouble landing on my back to crush a manticore I don’t much like seeing you bothered either, so I’m up to listening, before we get called to fight. Hate for you to lose to me and claim it was because you weren’t focused enough.”

The last was said with a wink and Dao Ming found her heart lighten slightly at the sight. Friends. She had few besides Kenkuro. The tengu was here, she could see him not far away, dressed in his bright blue kimono with the Blade of Heaven sheathed casually at his side. He looked odd, sitting upon the stone bench somewhat awkwardly. He was amicably chatting with an old zebra. Dao Ming knew the zebra’s name was Nuru, but little else.  By Kenkuro’s smiling expression he knew the ancient looking zebra well.

She let her eyes slide back to Gwendolyn and she favored the griffiness with a smile and look that was somehow both imperious and pleased at the same time. “I give you my word that if we are fortunate enough to face each other this day and by some trick of chance you emerge victorious I shall accept it with as much dignity as I am able. I have heard from the Equestrians that ice cream is a grand cure-all for depression.”

Gwendolyn’s yellow eyes widened  bit, “Did the Imperial Heiress of Shouma just make a joke? Now I know something’s out of sorts.”

A small laugh escaped Dao Ming as she took her seat beside Gwendolyn, watching as Abbess Serene climbed up the stone steps onto the arena. “Promise not to tell?”

Gwendolyn gave a nod of false gravity, “On my honor as a warrior your secret goes with me to the grave.”

“Good, then afterwards, whoever wins, let us test the theory of the ice cream together.”

The sight of Abbess Serene marching up the stone stairs to the top of the arena stage drew everyone’s attention, Gwendolyn and Dao Ming both going silent along with the other champions as they watched the aged mare stride out to the center of the ring. When she spoke it was with a voice that carried clearly to every ear across the stadium via magical amplifies carefully placed for the purpose.

“Friends from all corners of the world, I welcome you to the third event of the Contest of Champions, the Contest of Strength! It is no mystery what this event represents. While a champion may epitomize many virtues of the cultures they hail from, as was seen in the Contest of Art, one unifying aspect of many of your lands’ most noteworthy tales are the stories of strong, powerful warriors that defend their people and serve as an ideal for many younger generations of warriors to admire. Whether their strength be from solid muscle alone, incredible skill with weapons, the unique mystical techniques of their lands, or even from the bond they create with the beasts of their realm, strength comes in many forms... and today the champions shall demonstrate that strength against each other and to the world!”

The Abbess gestured above her and a magical projection filled the air above the arena, showing a series of brackets in bright silvery script. Names by each bracket matched the competing champions, showing the lineup for the matches to come. Gwendolyn looked across the names, seeking out her own, Dao Ming’s, and especially looking for where Sigurd and Grimwald would be on the lineup.

“Hmm, Agatha...” she said, seeing who she was up against first, one of the griffin warriors from Grandis’ neighbor kingdom. “Not the most exciting first challenge, but guess I don’t mind a warm up. Who are you up against, Dao Ming?”

The kirin eye’s flashed with a distinct look of unease, not saying anything. Gwendolyn saw why a moment later when she spotted Dao Ming’s name and that of her first opponent.

“Wodan!?” Gwendolyn glanced towards the moose. He was easy to spot given the way he towered above the rest of the crowd. Gwendolyn blinked and glanced back at Dao Ming, offering a reassuring smile that was more than a tad shaky. “Well, at least you’re getting the hard fight out of the way first, eh?”

Dao Ming nodded slowly, “I am the Shouma Imperial Heiress. I will not be intimidated by my opponent. Even if he is a mountain made out of several slightly smaller mountains.”

Gwendolyn nodded, “That’s the spirit. Bigger doesn’t mean stronger. Well, okay, it does, but big guys like that use up a lot of energy just moving around. You can win as long as you let him tire himself out first.”

“Yes... indeed.” Dao Ming was trying hard to look unruffled, which Gwendolyn could sympathize with. She knew the kirin was under pressure from her family to perform better in the Contest. Going up against Elkheim’s strongest champion from the get-go was a bad spot of luck.

“Well, wonder who’s up first?” Gwendolyn asked, a question soon answered as the Abbess spoke again.

“Now that we have established the lineup of matches we shall begin without further preamble, as I’m certain you’re all eager to see the spectacle to come. For the very first match of the Contest of Strength I call forth Siwatu of the Xohsa Tribe of Zebra, and his trained Death Strider scorpion Sefu!”

There was a murmur across the crowd as the zebra in question rose from the ranks of seated champions and made a high pitched, trilling call. With a rumble the huge, dark form of Siwatu’s scorpion companion literally burrowed up from the ground, clacking his claws as Siwatu jumped up upon the scorpion’s massive back and rode the creature up to the arena.

“He’s allowed to use that beast in a one one one fight?” Gwendolyn said with a frown.

“From what I understand champions who use trained animals as their main form of strength are allowed to use them, the same as a trained warrior is allowed to use their weapons.” Dao Ming commented with an appraising look at the hulking form of Sefu as the scorpion clambered atop the arena. “Although I do agree this is something of a stretch for an ‘animal companion’.”

Gwendolyn sighed, “So who’s the unlucky sod having to fight that monster?”

“And to face this mighty example of the finest beast taming arts of the zebra lands we call forth Dame Ditzy Doo, of Equestria!” the Abbess finished, and more than a few eyes, including Gwendolyn’s and Dao Ming’s, turned to the stunned looking pegasus mare.

Her drifting yellow eyes suddenly taking a moment to focus on the sight of the hulking scorpion on the arena stage, Ditzy Doo gulped and pointed a hoof at herself. “Uh... me?”

----------

Her heart started to thud in her chest like a hoof stomps of an applauding crowd, only Ditzy wasn’t feeling appreciative so much as abruptly terrified. Beside her Raindrops growled, “This is ridiculous. Why is he even allowed to use that thing in this!? It’s completely unfair!”

Cheerilee shook her head, forelegs crossed over her chest, “It's his specific form of strength, Raindrops. You’re going in bare hooved, same as me, but you couldn’t complain if you went up against someone using a giant sword, or had the ability to, I don’t know, fly?”

“That’s not the point-”

“It kind of is.” Cheerilee said, glancing at Ditzy with an encouraging look, “Look, it's big, but you’ve got wings. Long as you knock that Siwatu guy out of the ring, it's still your win. You don’t have to pummel the bug into submission, right?”

“R-right.” Ditzy said, taking a few heavy breaths as she stood and started making her way to the arena. “This is fine. I’m totally fine. Why, the giant death scorpion is even kind of cute.”

Up in the spectator seats, in a well situated set of comfortable benches for non-competing champions and their close friends and family to watch from Trixie was all but hopping up and down in her seat. “Are you kidding me!? I’m calling shenanigans of the highest order on this!”

“Trixie, chill, the competition is supposed to be non-lethal right? So Ditzy’ll be A-okay.” Lyra said, her arm wrapped around Bon Bon sitting next to her. Bon Bon looked about as worried as Trixie was, pensively gazing at the stage.

“But taking on that thing? I’m with Trixie on this, love. Should it even be legal for something like that to be allowed in the Contest?”

Nearby Carrot Top was sitting beside Frederick, the Elkhiem Prince actively foregoing sitting up in the larger, more ostentatious seating reserved for the nobility of the various nations and instead munching on some popcorn beside the curly headed mare he was leaning against.

“I’ve heard in Contests before this one some of the champions of Elkhiem brought in trained wyverns, like my Deathwing. There’s precedence at least.”

“Not sure how this is supposed to be a non-lethal competition through. We don’t have those shielding tokens like in the Grand Melee.” Carrot Top said with a pensive look, leaning into Frederick.

“Yeah, where’s the safety measures?” said Trixie, glowering.

“I’m sure they’ve got something on standby.” Lyra said, “They wouldn’t start this up without precautions.” The musician’s eyes turned to the other side of Bon Bon, where Raindrops’ family was seated alongside Dinky. The foal was watching the arena intently, Snails right next to her being more preoccupied with his pet beetle than the fight about to start.

Trixie, seeing Lyra’s look, turned a worried gaze at Dinky, but the foal just kept watching the arena silently, barely blinking.

Down on the arena stage Ditzy Doo felt smaller and smaller the closer she trotted towards Siwatu and Sefu, the zebra and scorpion both looming over her larger than life itself. The Abbess remained in the ring, standing between them like a referee, and Ditzy noticed that among the folds of the Abbess robes she wore several talisman and other arcane looking objects. The Abbess eyes flicked between the pair.

“You may fight with all the skills, abilities, and weapons at your disposal as long as you project no magic beyond your own body. You have ten minutes to either force your opponent to surrender, knock them from the ring, or render them unable to fight. Remember you are here to fight with honor and respect for each other, not to unduly injure or kill one another. I shall remain near in case things go too far and provide healing if it is needed. Fight with the virtue of champions...”

The Abbess backed away, providing the pair a decent amount of space. Ditzy Doo felt her blood pumping even quicker in her veins and her mouth going dry as she hefted her new shield and eyed her opponent nervously.

Sefu clacked his claws and made a strangely cheerful sounding chittering noise, while Siwatu tapped the scorpion on the head and grinned down at Ditzy. “Sefu says he thinks you have a lovely mane. He likes shiny things.” He let out an odd sounding laugh, “Khhk, khhk, khhk, I’ll try to not be too hard on you, but feel free to tap out the moment things get too rough.”

Ditzy, despite her fear, found herself licking her lips, fluttering up into the air a bit as she readied her shield. “Don’t worry. I won’t.”

With a weighty gesture the Abbess raised her hoof, then chopped it down.

“Begin!”

Even anticipating it, Ditzy barely had time to react to Sefu’s swift, grasping claw. She threw herself back from the dark, serrated chitin that snapped in front of her, wings buzzing as the scorpion advanced on rapidly clacking legs. Instinctively she flew up, but quickly recalled the height limit and banked hard to the left to skim over the arena floor, trying to circle behind Sefu and Swiatu.

“Khhk! You run fast, but Sefu has caught Lightning Sparrows in mid-flight on the savannah back home. Get her Sefu! Just don’t sting her.”

Sefu’s coiled tail shuddered for a moment, the only warning Ditzy had before it lashed out in her direction. She rolled left, then right, narrowly avoiding the lashing tail. She noticed the stinger wasn’t aimed at her, rather the scorpion was trying to whack her with the blunt end of the tail, but given its size and speed she didn’t imaging being hit but it would be pleasant either. The scorpion pivoted to follow her as she circled it, moving more than fast enough to keep up with Ditzy’s flight.

It’s tail snapped out once more and she dodged back, only to find Sefu launch forward with both its claws, having used its tail to force her to dodge in the direction it wanted. She let out a frightful gasp and instinct once more took over her actions more than conscious thought. Her wings hummed in a gray blur, the air currents tingling across her feathers as she threw her right arm out above her while dropping down and sliding across the ground. Her shield arm jarred painfully as the thick, strong wood and metal reinforced shield blocked one claw, while the blow actually created extra momentum that pushed her back and helped her avoid the second claw.

Siwatu looked at her with a quizzical frown. “Huh. Not sure if that was luck or skill. Sefu, keep after her!”

With menacing clacks of its claws the scorpion charged, and Ditzy’s thought to keep flying back to avoid it, but again her feathers tingled with a sense of the air currents around her. Following her guts, she dove forward, flying beneath Sefu’s bulky body. The scorpion’s claws slammed the ground where she’d just been, but Ditzy found herself zipping up behind the scorpion. Seeing an opening she dove down, shield out, seeking to slam Siwatu off of his scorpion, but the zebra sensed the attack coming and quickly leaned to the side, keeping a firm grasp on the leather straps that helped him keep balance on his mount’s back. Ditzy’s rush missed, but she spun around quickly, feeling the rush of air coming at her back from Sefu’s lashing tail.

The tail hit the shield, the blow sending her spinning backwards, but she recovered in mid-air... just in time to see the scorpion literally leap into the air, trying to slam her with its whole body.

Diving away, she avoided the flying body tackle, but she was yanked backwards as one of Sefu’s grasping claws clamped down around her shield and pulled her back down to the ground as the scorpion landed, slamming her down with it.

Air blasted out of Ditzy’s lungs, and her eyes burst with swirling stars as pain shot through her. Stunned, she lay on the ground, then felt herself being lifted up as the scorpion, still grasping her shield, held her up like a prize.

“Whew, good job Sefu. Now toss her out of the ring so we can get this over with.”

In her daze she felt the scorpion moving, taking her towards the edge of the ring... but she shook her head, cleared her vision, and saw the joint where the claw met with the rest of the scorpion’s arm. Feeling a tad guilty about it, Ditzy kicked hard with both her hind legs at the joint. She felt her hooves crack the chitin, and there was a screech of pain from the scorpion as it let go of her shield. She let herself fall for a second before buzzing her wings and spinning around. Seeing the place where Siwatu’s leather straps attached to the rest of the scorpion via several buckles, she flew over and used her mouth to quickly detach them.

“Whoacrap!” Siwatu lost his balance and slipped off Sefu’s back. To his credit he rolled with the fall and sprang to his hooves quickly... just in time for the gray streaking form of Ditzy to slam into him, shield first. Her shield caught him right in the stomach and the zebra let out a pained “Oof!” as he was knocked to the ground, sliding up close to the arena edge.

Ditzy landed, and galloped towards him, hoping to knock him out of the ring, but she was halted in her tracks and ended up nearly face planting into the floor.

Glancing back she saw Sefu’s tail had shot out, the stinger catching the strands of her tail and pinning her to the ground, the stinger itself embedding into the stone.

Siwatu got back to his hooves, laughing in his odd manner. “Khhk khhk! Close, but not quite. Good save Sefu! Now hold her there and I’ll-”

Whatever he intended to do he never got to say. Ditzy Doo had, in a few moments, unstrapped the shield from her arm and then chucked it with all the strength she could manage. The shield spun out and smacked Siwatu across the face, spinning him around like a top. The zebra’s eyes crossed and he fell over. Right out of the ring to thud into the grassy ground outside unceremoniously.

There was a moment of stunned silence, then the crowd in the stands erupted with a wave of cheers not unlike the crashing of a tidal wave. Abbess Serene, who had kept a fair distance from the fight, now calmly approached.

Siwatu, swaying on his hooves as he stood up, shook his head, which sported a growing goose egg, and blinked at the arena that he was no longer in. “What the-!? Hey! Shields aren’t for throwing!”

Ditzy Doo, breathing heavily, rubbing her own aching limbs, just gave the zebra an apologetic shrug and smile. “S-sorry, but I couldn’t think of anything else to do. Uh, good match?”

Siwatu glared at her for a second, but then let out a grunting sigh and hopped up onto the stage, offering her a hoof. “Yeah, good match. Sefu you can let her go now.”

The scorpion reluctantly obeyed, pulling its tail back and freeing Ditzy Doo, who awkwardly grasped Siwatu’s hoof and shook it. Abbess Serene smiled in approval at the pair and spoke in her carrying voice that reached the whole stadium.

“The first match is over! The winner; Dame Ditzy Doo!”

Up in the stands, surrounded by the cheers of the crowd, Dinky felt a moment of relief as she watched her mother take a bow and then depart the arena alongside her defeated opponent. She’d been holding her breath for most of the fight, remembering her dream about the scorpion stinging hr mother. But her mom had defeated the scorpion, so... everything should be fine. There was no more reason to be afraid.

----------

Among the crowd of champions that had been watching the battle, one smiled with a twisted gleam in his eyes.

“Mmm, so that’s how you did it, bright eyes.” Grimwald said to himself with a satisfied laugh. One of his talons stroked the hilt of one of his daggers as he thought it through once more. The way Ditzy Doo had moved the entire fight had been carefully observed, and he now knew how she’d predicted and avoided his attack in the Grand Melee.

She was using the air currents to unconsciously predict objects coming at her.

Now that he knew that their next run in was going to be a special kind of fun. He was looking forward to it.