//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8: Unmasked 
// Story: Title Holder 
// by Closer-To-The-Sun 
//------------------------------//

The crowd was roaring as the two wrestlers were in the ring. The two were brawling it out as the commentators were giving their usual play-by-play. Normally, Yona would be paying close attention to the match for both interest and inspiration, but she simply stood in the hallway of the arena, watching the two duke it out. Her mask was off and held in her hoof while her body was leaned up against the wall with her free hoof touching it.

“Did you see that kesagiri chop? Talk about humiliating!” JR commented.

“It’s hard to trot away with your head high after that shame! But it looks like this match isn’t over yet!” Kerry added.

Yona continued to watch as the match continued to its logical end. As she watched, her soon-to-be opponent appeared next to her. Sonic Youth was already in her full outfit, from her boots to her mask. Despite the mask on her face, she had a calm and warm smile on her face.

“Wu-Tang is really giving it their all out there. I almost feel bad for Kyuss for being on the receiving end,” her words were both soft and had a hint of cheer to them. She looked at the yak who didn’t respond. “Ready for your match?”

“Yona nervous.”

Sonic Youth couldn’t help but chuckle a little, “I can’t blame you. This is going to be a big match for the both of us. Soon you’ll be wrestling with the A-show with a good number of us, where you’ll be part of the storylines and maybe even becoming the title holder for a bit.”

This statement surprised the yak, “Yona wrestling Queen?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised, you have the skill and the audience on your side.”

The compliment didn’t help the nervousness for Yona. She began softly whistling to herself.

The masked unicorn realized that her statement didn’t exactly have the effect she intended, “Don’t worry too much about it. Just get out there and give them the best match of your life, you’ll be great.”

Yona stopped whistling and asked, “But what about Sonic Youth?”

With a slight shrug and a smirk on her face, she replied, “Well, you win some, you lose some, but what really matters is that you live to fight another day.” Before Yona could ask another question, music started to play from inside the arena. “That’s my cue,” Sonic Youth said as she hit her face a few times with her hooves before galloping out into the arena. The crowd went wild.

Again, Yona started to whistle softly to herself in the dark and empty hallway in an effort to calm her nerves. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time in Equestria to allow for this. Yona pulled her mask over her head and, with one of her hooves still touching the wall, Mastodon trotted out into the arena.

“It looks like Mastodon doesn’t have the nerves of steel as we thought! She might have the power, but she certainly does not have the guts to face me in the ring!” Sonic Youth claimed as she trotted around the ring. The audience gave a negative reaction to her calling out the fan-favorite yak. “She’s a coward and that’s all she is!”

“Mastodon is no coward!” Mastodon loudly proclaimed, emerging from the hallway. The entire arena erupted in cheers.

“There she is! Mastodon is finally here for the biggest match of the night!” Kerry almost stood up out of his seat.

“It seems she did not take kindly to Sonic Youth’s usual taunts,” JR added.

“No, sir!”

Mastodon calmly trotted up to the ring. Each step felt heavier with pressure for the yak, but with the crowd cheering her on, she felt she could fight. Upon entering the ring, she looked directly at Sonic Youth, and raised her hoof.

“It looks like Mastodon is about to call out Sonic Youth and get this match started!” Kerry stated.

“Mastodon wants a fair fight with Sonic Youth. No tricks, no cheating, only fair fight,” Mastodon proclaimed.

Sonic Youth nodded and extended their hoof, “I am here to avenge my apprentice that you have beaten, so you have my word.”

With a smile, Mastodon reached out the shake hooves. However, with a sudden jerking motion, Sonic Youth grabbed the yak’s limb with both of their front limbs and pulled them down into a faceplant onto the mat.

“Oh, listen to that crowd! They do not like how Sonic Youth is already playing dirty!” JR exclaimed, “and the ref is allowing it!”

While Mastodon was expecting the cheap tactic, it still stung in both pain and pride. On the bright side, the boos she heard from the crowd did help, knowing that they were on her side. She picked herself back up. Looking down at where she felt, she noticed a little bit of red on the mat. With a stern expression, she wiped away the blood coming out from her nose. The crowd went crazy with cheers as they witnessed this.

“Ouch!” Sandbar winced from his seat.

“Talk about awesome! Mastodon is not going to take that!” Smolder cheered from the crowd.

“Take her down!” Silverstream also rooted for the yak.

Seated next to Gallus, Ocellus covered her mouth in shock and concern for her friend, “Blood? Oh goodness, is she going to be okay?”

The griffon replied, “Don’t worry, there’s no way Mastodon is going to just take that!”

Back in the ring, Mastodon had the appearance of a tranquil fury. While she looked calm and ready to wrestle on the outside, it was apparent that rage was building. With a sudden motion, the yak charged at the unicorn. The two locked their front limbs with one another and their heads rested next to each other.

In their little huddle, Sonic Youth quietly spoke, “Sorry about making you bleed!” Her words were sincere and full of embarrassment.

“Mastodon was expecting it.”

“Then let’s give them the unexpected!” Sonic Youth had a bit of an evil intent in her voice.

Sonic Youth released the grapple that the two were entangled in and grabbed the yak’s head with her hooves. She then moved her head directly toward Mastodon’s, careful to make sure the horn would not make contact. The two foreheads collided, causing Mastodon to become dazed.

The crowd did not like it, and nor did the announcers. “That was yet another cheap move by Sonic Youth,” JR commented, “Are unicorns even allowed to headbutt?”

Before he could get an answer, Mastodon mirrored her opponent’s move. She grasped the unicorn’s head and, with precision to avoid any horn contact by either of them, she delivered a headbutt. Sonic Youth backed up and raised a hoof up to her head in extreme pain from the blow. The crowd cheered for Mastodon’s retaliation.

“It looks like the mighty Mastodon isn’t going to care, cause she wants revenge!” Kerry replied.

Shaking off the hit, Sonic Youth turned their body around for a full kick towards Mastodon, to keep them away. The kick missed, but did keep the yak away from the unicorn.

“Sonic Youth now knows that Mastodon ain’t one to mess with when she’s angry! And it looks like she wants a moment to breathe after takin’ back-to-back headbutts like that!” JR spoke.

“Can’t say I blame her. A headbutt is a still a headbutt, no matter who is giving it,” Kerry agreed.

After taking the momentary break, Sonic Youth rushed at Mastodon. Before the yak could react, the unicorn bent down next to her and picked up the yak from the side. Mastodon was lying across Sonic Youth’s shoulders and across her back. Standing solely on her hind legs, Sonic Youth looked out to the crowd who were a mix of shock and hatred as they were about to perform a slam to their favorite wrestler.

“Prepare to watch your hero fall!” Sonic Youth managed to say out to the audience. With her strength, she pushed the yak’s body upwards and used the momentum to throw Mastodon onto the mat with her back up. The crowd was not pleased.

“You gotta be kiddin’ me?! A firepony’s carry takeover?! Where did all that strength come from?!” JR shouted in disbelief.

“While Sonic Youth might not be a heel, they seem to be enjoying the heat that the crowd is giving them tonight,” Kerry added.

JR’s assessment wasn’t wrong about wondering where that power came from, as it took almost everything the masked unicorn had to perform.

Lying down on the mat, Mastodon didn’t move due to two reasons. The first was because she has to stay where she’s at for Sonic Youth’s next move, but also because Mastodon’s body was absolutely sore from all the wrestling she had done before.

Sonic Youth had gotten up to the top of the turnbuckle. At the top, she looked at the audience and gloated to them all. She was met with heat from the entire crowd, which she soaked up, even raising a hoof up to her ear to listen to it all. But it was apparent to every creature in the audience what she was about to do.

“Do you think we’re going to witness it?” Kerry asked his co-commentator.

“You better believe it….” JR responded.

The unicorn leaped up from the top rope and flew through the air. She kept her body out-stretched as she glided, almost as if she was diving into a pool of water. However, at the last moment, she flipped forward and slammed her back into Mastodon’s prone body.

“Incinerate!” JR chimed in the moment Sonic Youth hit the mat, “I knew we were gonna see Sonic Youth’s signature aerial slam!”

The crowd was not happy with this successful and apparently devastating attack. Sonic Youth then positioned themselves for an attempt for a pin. The referee seemed to appear from out of thin air as they came in to judge the pin.

Softly and quietly, Sonic Youth whispered to her opponent, “What are you doing? I’m supposed to put over you and make you look good.”

“Mastodon know. But Mastodon knows that Sonic Youth can benefit from this match as well,” the yak replied as she bucked upwards, ruining the possible pin.

Kerry happily spoke, “Mastodon still has fight in her and is not giving up!”

JR nodded, “And I’m glad to see that, but that Incinerate looked like it could have put Mastodon out for good!”

Mastodon got up to her hooves. She was panting hard and her body was screaming at her to stop, but she knew that if she felt that way, Sonic Youth must feel just as bad. While this realization did make her feel a bit better, but her head was still throbbing from beneath her mask. Mastodon went in for a few strikes, which landed and kept Sonic Youth away and at bay.

“Sonic Youth wants to end this, I can tell,” JR commented.

“Indeed. It looks like she bit off a bit more than she can chew with Mastodon’s stamina and power,” Kerry added.

Just as Kerry finished, Sonic Youth lunged at Mastodon and attempted to get them in a headlock. Mastodon’s head was trapped in the headlock, with her head now trapped behind Sonic Youth. She seemed sluggish, which made sense for her being exhausted, but also for another reason. She bent down slightly to catch her breath. In this position, she whispered to Mastodon, “You need to get out of this if you’re going to win….” She raised her head back up and let out a loud roar to the audience, “Mastodon’s career ends here and now!”

“Is she gonna….” Gallus asked from his seat.

“No way, are we gonna see her do it?” Smolder got excited.

“Uh-oh,” Sandbar was on the edge of his seat.

“I can’t watch!” Silverstream said as she covered her eyes with her talons, but peeked through an opening she made.

“Oh dear….” Ocellus covered her mouth with both hooves.

“Here it comes, Sonic Youth’s finisher: the Silver Rocket!” JR exclaimed from the table.

The crowd was losing their collective mind over Sonic Youth’s finisher. None of her opponents have been able to come back from the move once she leans backwards and slams their heads right into the mat. Usually, when she performs the move, the opponent is too dazed to do much else after the attack. Mastodon knew it was now or never.

Finding whatever strength she had, Mastodon put it all in her hind legs, dug them into the mat, and leaned back into the legs. Shocking every creature in the entire building, Mastodon lifted Sonic Youth up off the mat while she still held the yak in a headlock. With a loud crying grunt of pain echoing throughout the arena, Mastodon flipped Sonic Youth onto the mat. Both of them laid down on the mat in exhaustion.

“Unbelievable! Mastodon performed an unheard of reversal on Sonic Youth’s Silver Rocket!” Kerry stood up out of his seat and slammed his hooves on the table in excitement.

JR was also out of his seat with shock, “This is crazy! No pony, creature, or anything has escaped from the Silver Rocket! Even Queen has failed, but this yak, this....leviathan, this Mastodon has done the impossible!”

The crowd agreed with the commentators as they erupted in cheers.

Out of breath, Mastodon got up to her hooves. She wiped her nose of the blood that was starting to fall and called out to her downed opponent, “That all Sonic Youth got?” Why she was egging her opponent on when she herself was barely standing, she did not know.

Using the ropes along the edge of the ring as support, Sonic Youth got to her hooves. After taking a moment to catch her breath, she rushed back towards the yak. Mastodon returned in kind. She leaped upwards, acting as if she was going to kick Sonic Youth with her farthest back leg, in which the unicorn prepare to block. Mastodon quickly brought her front hoof towards Sonic Youth’s unprotected head. The unicorn took the full force of the blow and fell down.

“Did you see that punch?!” Silverstream squealed aloud.

“That was incredible! From out of nowhere, she’s out cold!” Gallus mused.

Mastodon stood over her downed opponent, panting like a dog. She knew what she had to do to end the match. She went over to the turnbuckle. That alone made the commentators and the crowd go wild.

Throughout the arena, the crowd talked amongst themselves:

“Mastodon is going to end this!”

“She’s gonna do it!”

“She’s going to win!”

“This is going to be so cool!”

The crowd clamored as she stood up on top of the turnbuckle. The heat from the light, the pain from her extremely sore body, and the whole weight of all of Equestria on her back; none of it seemed to matter as the cheers echoed throughout the arena for the yak. It was magical.

She leaped from the top rope and tucked her body in for a somersault before slamming her entire weight onto Sonic Youth. As she touched down, the cheers throughout the crowd rang through Mastodon’s head as she positioned herself to pin the unicorn. Appearing from out of nowhere, the referee came in and hit the mat, calling the match for Mastodon.

“There you have it! Mastodon has beaten one of the roughest and toughest wrestlers in all of the A-show!” JR cheered.

Standing up in the ring, Mastodon listened to all of the cheers and applause from the crowd.

“Incredible match!”

“Way to go, Mastodon!”

“That’s showing them!”

Mastodon soaked it all in with a smile on her face.

Sonic Youth stood up and looked directly at the yak. Her face was disapproving, but it was one that also showed respect. “You bested me tonight, Mastodon. You got some serious skill, and I’ll be humbled to fight you another day. However, it seems It is time for me to honor the terms of our match,” Sonic Youth spoke with a hint of sadness as they started to untie the strings behind their mask.

“Stop!” Mastodon demanded. Every creature was surprised by this. “Sonic Youth fought well tonight, and Mastodon happy about victory and new respect for fellow wrestler, but Sonic Youth need not take mask off.”

“What are you talking about? Our match was a luchas de apuestas. One of us has to be unmasked,” Sonic Youth explained.

With a smile, the yak nodded, “Mastodon know.” The yak pulled the mask off her face, revealing herself to be Yona. The crowd was stunned with a collective gasp. Yona trotted up to Sonic Youth and placed a hoof on her shoulder, “Mastodon is a wrestler no more. Sonic Youth will continue wrestling with honor, aiming for top. Fight for all, including Mastodon.”

Tears started to well up in Sonic Youth’s eyes. While the mask on the green unicorn’s face made it a little difficult to understand exactly what her expression was, it could be read as a mixture of ‘you honor me by your actions’ and ‘this was not in the script’. Finally able to speak, Sonic Youth nodded, “Sonic Youth will fight for you, my friend. I will fight for my apprentice, Anthrax, for my new friend, Mastodon, and for all of Equestria! Watch your back, Queen, I’m coming for you next!”

The crowd cheered as the two wrestlers embraced in the ring.

With a soft, choked-up whisper, Sonic Youth spoke, “What was that all about? You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yona know, but Yona also know how much Sonic Youth likes to wrestle and likes to be hero. Besides, Yona should focus on studies,” the yak’s words had a slight laugh to them.

“You saw it here first folks! Sonic Youth might have lost the match, but she has won the respect of Mastodon and now she is aiming for the title holder herself! Watch out, Queen!” Kerry spoke over the roaring cheers of the crowd.

JR added, “This is something of myths and legends! Every creature here can say they were here when Mastodon stepped down to bring forth a new age of Sonic Youth! This is going to be one bright superstar aiming for the top!”

The two wrestlers exited the ring and headed towards the hallway, the echoes of the crowd still ringing loud. The two chatted for a bit before Sonic Youth embraced Yona again, thanking her for both a great match and a great boost to her wrestling persona. In the hallway, Yona was greeted by five familiar figures waiting for her.

“Hey there, Mastodon,” Smolder said with a smile.

Sheepishly, Yona waved, “Hello, friends.”

“Amazing match out there, Yona!” Gallus exclaimed with stars in his eyes.

“I told you she could handle herself,” Sandbar said to Ocellus.

The changeling replied, “It doesn’t mean I still don’t worry about her.”

“Yona’s friends knew Yona was Mastodon?” she asked.

“Sure, but it seemed like a private matter, so we weren’t going to pry it out of you,” Gallus said.

“And you’re like, the only yak in a fifty mile radius of the Ponyville, so it’s like it was kinda obvious it was you,” Smolder said with a bit of snark. “Besides, we wanted to see you smash your opponents in the ring.”

As the others were talking with Yona, Silverstream thought for a moment while looking at her yak friend and made a realization, “Wait, Yona is Mastodon? No way!” The rest of the group laughed at Silverstream’s remark.

“But why did you quit? You were amazing in there,” Gallus asked.

“Yona like wrestling, but Yona needs to focus on important things.”

“Like what?” Ocellus asked.

“School and Yona’s friends, of course,” she smiled brightly at the other creatures.

Sandbar spoke up, “I’m glad you made a choice that made you happy.”

Yona nodded, causing her braids to bounce a little.

“So, what do you wanna do now, Yona?” Silverstream asked.

“Yona want to drink some cider with friends, then Yona want to sleep for week,” she said with a laugh, which the others joined in.

“It’s settled, to the Salt Lick Bar!” Smolder proclaimed, leading the way with Gallus and Silverstream following behind.

“Could friends Ocellus and Sandbar help Yona to bar? Yona’s everything hurts,” she asked with a chuckle.

The changeling and earth pony happily draped one of Yona’s free limbs around their shoulders as they helped her trot down the hallway.

“Thank you friends for helping Yona when Yona wrestled.”

“What are friends for? I was happy to help you out, Yona,” Ocellus said with a smile.

“Anything for the legendary Mastodon,” Sandbar said with a smirk.

“Yona lucky to have such great friends.”

END