//------------------------------//
// Requiem of Anguish  (Stemming the Tide, Part 3.) 
// Story: Meta Gamer in Equestria: Champion's Folly 
// by reflective vagrant 
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For those of you that were disappointed at not seeing the fight between Garble and Pharynx, this chapter is the closest I'll be able to get to cashing in a rain check for you.  Hope you enjoy.




Scraps immediately reached his other paw for a bottle on his vest, held his breath and smashed it on the snout of his adversary.  Even from my distance a few yards away, I could immediately smell the scent of concentrated pepper as his foe fled with a high pitched whining. 
I tried to get to his side, but quickly found myself being dragged under by something that had grabbed my ankles.  I only stopped being dragged when my arms landed on the edges of the hole, causing me to get stuck, armpit deep in the dirt.  I would have quickly dug myself out with my cantrip if it weren't for the strong pull at my ankles making me realize that I would only get dragged down further if I moved any of the dirt surrounding me.
After getting back up and out of the cloud he created, Scraps looked towards me in shock.  He then started yipping to the hidden foes.
Snarls and words I couldn't make out were exchanged between Scraps and the diamond dogs crawling out of the dirt.  This went on for several moments before Scraps huffed in defeat and looked back to me with pained eyes.
As more diamond dogs  came to the surface, it became apparent that not only did they have home field advantage, but they easily out numbered us three to one.  That wasn't even counting the ones that might have been coming as reinforcements or otherwise still been underground like the one holding my ankles in a death grip.
Quickly turning his head back, he made one last gnarling sound.
This made the crowd hush suddenly, looking at each other with mouths agape in shock.  Some of them looked at Scraps skeptically for a few seconds as he stood there, shaking in his nonexistent boots but otherwise not wavering.
As whatever Scraps said sank in, the biggest diamond dog of the entire lot came out and towered over Scraps by a full foot in height as others started carving a shallow but distinct circle in the dirt around the two.
Scraps and the other paced around while facing their opponent, gathering distance as the diamond dogs finished taking their places.
"What's going on?" I ask the one person who I could still communicate with clearly.
Archimedes gave a heavier disdain than he usually did in his response.
"If I'm not mistaken, he has challenged the leader of this group to earn our right to pass.  From what I have absorbed in my time studying local cultures at Canterlot, any diamond dog may challenge the alpha of there pack or sub group at any time should they need something bad enough.  However, it is not done often as it is a method of last resort."
Tempest and Speaks with Talons landed beside me.  Tempest tried to come forward, towards the circle, but Speaks with Talons put a firm grip on her withers just as the diamond dogs closest to us turned around and gave us solid glares.
Tempest turned back to the griffin, who was shaking his head in a melancholy fashion.  Words weren't exchanged, but the cause of the tension was pretty clear:  We weren't diamond dogs.  We were outsiders.
They seemed to imply with their glares that we didn't have the right to approach the circle to spectate up close, or they thought we might interfere.  Either way, Scraps looked like he was on his own for now.
I turned to my other side where Fluttershy and Mandible were landing and Archimedes returning to his perch on Mandible's back.
I started to ask, "So why is it a method of last-" just as the dogs lunged forward towards each other.
When the two diamond dogs met in the middle, the alpha made a solid swipe at the side of Scraps' torso.  Fortunately, because he was trying to evade instead of attack, the blow only managed to cut through the first layer of the leather studded together in his armor.  Immediately after, the alpha's fangs lunged towards Scraps' exposed throat, narrowly missing flesh and catching only a little bit of his fur.
"It is a method of last resort because the alpha has the right to end the life of any challenger to maintain their dominance within the group.  Scraps is literally fighting for his life right now."


The fight went on as Scraps had to constantly stay on the defensive, dodging and evading.  Meanwhile, the alpha constantly took swipes at Scraps, not managing to land any blows, though several came close.  This was appropriate for Scraps' fighting style, analyzing his opponent for weaknesses to exploit then striking once, but something was wrong.
It was becoming increasingly apparent as the fight went on that he wasn't a match for his opponent.  A little ways in, Scraps managed to get one good slash of his claws on the alpha's already scarred torso, but it didn't land the way Scraps intended.  It still caused damage, but the alpha just shook it off.  It was clear that the alpha was built to take a beating, and the blow Scraps managed to land didn't make him waver in the slightest.
Scraps was going to have to deal a good deal more damage to even shake the alpha, but it was hard for him to get an opening to land the kind of blow he depended on.  The alpha, however, only needed a small number of normal blows to take Scraps down, and that was presuming he didn't cripple or mortally wound Scraps with the first blow.
After a bit, the alpha grew tired of Scraps' evasion tactics, stopped chasing him and called out to the crowd.  I couldn't tell exactly what he was saying but it was pretty clear that he was mocking Scraps' lack of power.
Though Scraps didn't seem mentally phased by this taunting and kept his focus, I could still see that it stung him somewhere as his breathing became a bit more pained.  When the alpha turned around and casually started walking from the center of the ring to the edge of the circle away from us, Scraps took the initiative.
Scraps dashed forward, not in anger but with a cool head and a calculated approach.  Though I couldn't replicate it myself, I could tell he was going for the angle that would give the best chance of landing one of his strategic blows.
It was all for naught, however, as the alpha just bent over and gave Scraps a solid backwards kick in the chest.  Scraps flew from the center of the ring, landing and rolling to maybe five feet from the edge.


The crowd laughed as one of the females at the far edge came forward and started licking the cuts on the alpha, treating it in their own odd fashion.  A male also came up and passed a water skin to him, allowing him a drink.
I don't think it was a formal end of a round, but apparently taking a break wasn't illegal.  It was only happening because the alpha was not taking the fight seriously at this point, and was simply taking the break to taunt Scraps.
Looking back to Scraps, it looked like the alpha had hit Scraps on his sword sheathe good and hard, digging it into his chest.  Scraps was clutching his chest in pain and looking at the edge of the ring.  The diamond dogs near the area that he was looking cackled and moved aside, gesturing to allow him to leave.
I saw a look of hopelessness in Scraps' eyes, but I didn't see the panic of a coward.  With a grit of his teeth, he struggled to get his wind back and back to his paws.  I could see by his stance that he was ready to give up, but not by leaving the circle.
When he did so, the alpha slumped in frustration then called out to the crowd.  As I saw one of the diamond dogs run off to go fetch something, an idea came to my mind.
"If they are helping the alpha, can we help Scraps?"
Archimedes hesitated for a second before answering.  His tone had an air of uncertainty to it.  "Not directly.  We can certainly cheer him on, maybe tend to him at the edge, but we'd need to get to the edge to do that.  I'm not sure if they would allow any of us to approach."
Thoughts of the past filled my mind as I tried to think up a plan.  He needed to get his head back in the fight, but all I could do was cheer.  Thinking back to my strategy talks with Tempest, I recalled some decision making shortcuts.
When doing no action was guaranteed to fail, any action, no matter how thin the odds, was still better odds than nothing.  With a mind pretty much going blank on actions I could do without starting a fight with an enemy that had home field advantage and superior numbers, I recalled something Fluttershy said the day before about singing with sincerity.  It was ultimately me grasping at straws, but I was ready to take straws over nothing.


*Bap!*  I slammed my palm on the ground, getting the attention of some of the nearby diamond dogs.
*Bap! Bap! Bap!*	I slapped in rhythm, finally getting Scraps' attention.
With my eighteen good luck charm to help the movement of my hands flow into a form resembling music, I steeled myself to just accept the embarrassment of what I was doing and go all in.
"Rising up!  Back on the streets!"  I called out loudly as I continued the rhythmic ground pounding, "Did my time, took my chances."
They had no idea exactly what I was singing of course, but I was hoping that I could relay the spirit of defying the odds I felt from the song through my tone and gusto.
I just kept going as best as I could but hit a snag after I called out,  "You must fight just to keep them ali-aive!"
With the entire crowd watching me at this point, mostly with looks of confusion, I barely kept the rhythm of my hand bopping going when I realized I couldn't remember the next line of the song.
With the pause in my words getting just a little too long and I felt the spirit of the situation starting to fade, I heard Mandible speak up in a rhythm that mimicked my own words from before.
"Keep your Tvsiphvj!  Show me the Scraps that stared down dragons!"
Speaks with Talons came up and tried to continue, but ultimately choked.
"You are..."
When he lost his words, he started moving his talons in meaningful ways, ending with a closed talon pounding his chest over his heart.
While this happened, I could see Tempest sneak something from her pouch and hide it in the frog of her hoof.
Tempest, braving the diamond dogs, glared down a patch of females into letting her through and carefully walked to the edge.
Scraps met her there, letting her sing to him in a loving tone to the crude rhythm.
"You have jupusif me as a student.  Now apply the lessons I've veahjv you."
She shook her hoof a little as she kept singing,  "You can't fight him straight on.  Use the-"  She booped him on the nose and a subtle glow of a spell sparking was barely visible from the slight opening at the back end of the hoof doing the booping. "-Eddimisu technique."
A tiny piece of some kind of plant fiber fell from Tempest's hoof as she pulled it back.  She checked the nearby diamond dogs to see if she had gotten away with it and I could see a subtle grin form on her face as a result.  Scraps' eyes widened for only a moment before a loud howl forced Tempest to jump back.
From the other side of the ring, a diamond dog had fetched a crude but sturdy pole arm, which the alpha promptly snatched.
As Tempest pulled back to us, Fluttershy started pounding the ground in sync with my own pounding, with Mandible following along soon after to cheer him on.  Meanwhile Scraps placed his paws on his head and spoke out his magic words, making a display of sparks appear.  He followed up with another casting of his prestidigitation to make a symbol of a white lightning bolt on his forehead.
After that, he gave a few swipes in the air in jest as he regained his confidence then pulled out his sword in answer to the alpha's pole arm.  The match had resumed.


It only took me a few seconds of watching Scraps zip around even faster than before and easily keeping out of the alpha's reach to recognize the haste spell that Tempest had placed on him.  The display of the sparks and the symbol was just to mislead them into thinking it was his spell.
Scraps had the speed advantage now, but the alpha had a much greater reach with the pole arm.  It was going to be hard for him to come in close for a blow with his short blade.
Scraps instead maneuvered and set himself up for what would look like an easy shot against him as he moved in.  What was happening in reality, however, was that he was using the technique taught to him by the guards to gain some extra maneuverability as he moved, increasing his defensive ability and letting him give the alpha an opening that wasn't actually as advantageous as he thought.
It was difficult for Scraps to do, as his body wasn't conditioned, but he was able to pull it off at least once before resting when he had to.  Just before he moved in and let the alpha swing at him, he called out a magic word.
With an easy dodge down and to the side of the pole arm being thrust at him, Scraps released his spell and struck at the furthest point down the pole arm he could reach with the flat of his sword.   Neither the strike from the sword, even if he had used the blade, nor the green flames that erupted from the sword did any damage to the pole arm, but that wasn't what he was going for.
When the green flame shot up off the pole arm and smacked the alpha square in the cuts from before, the entire crowd could hear him howl in pain.
Though cauterized now, the wounds looked much worse than before.  As Scraps quickly backtracked away from the alpha, the alpha looked back at Scraps with a sense of caution about him for the first time in the entire match.
With his range advantage suddenly significantly diminished, the alpha did a tactical retreat and the crowd gasped in shock while he tried to grasp what was going on.
Scraps took advantage of this pause and wasted no time.  He ran to the other side of the ring and started digging.  Most other creatures wouldn't be able to move dirt as fast as he did, but diamond dogs could move through dirt pretty much as fast as walking.
At first I thought he was digging down to hide in the ground, but then I remembered his opponent could do the same.  Instead I found him just flinging the dirt into piles.
Initially no one pile was all that big.  The alpha had regained his bearings and Scraps had to split his attention as he evaded the alpha and his continued labor of building his piles.


While this was happening, I heard a shifting of weight beside me.  When I turned to look, Speaks with Talons was quietly holding Tempest, pretending to be comforting her.  Her eyes were closed with intense focus and her breathing was starting to become somewhat heavy.  Speaks with Talons, however, put up a single talon to his beak to indicate silence, then pointed to gesture my eyes back to the match.


After a minute or so, the piles were large enough to obscure the vision of the combatants.  That's what Scraps' plan was.  He was changing the battle field to his advantage.  Not a cage match with a brute, but a field of obstacles he could hide and maneuver in.
The alpha could move the dirt aside too, of course, but he didn't have the action economy to spare like Scraps did.  Unlike Scraps, he would have to set his pole arm down to dig.  Even then, with his haste Scraps could still dig them back up faster or take advantage of the alpha's distraction.
I think the alpha knew this too as he just stood there, on guard and waiting for Scraps to make his move.
By the time it happened, however, it was too late.  Scraps had managed to sneak up behind the alpha, and gave him a solid slash of his sword up his side, severely injuring the alpha.
By the time the alpha could react, Scraps had already sped away back under cover.
Getting smart, the alpha backed up to the edge of the circle.  He didn't look all that intelligent, but he certainly understood strategy.  Scraps couldn't leave the circle without forfeiting the match, and that was as good as a wall against the alpha's back against his hidden opponent.
Scraps, in the meantime, pulled some items from his on the go chemistry supplies, adding some copper powder to a liquid, then pored out the liquid into the dirt.
He then went to another mound to hide behind on the far side of the alpha compared to where the liquid was, waiting for the moment to strike.
When the crowd started whining and making noise at the pause in the battle, Scraps used the sound cover to mask his location as he called out a magic word and did his paw equivalent of snapping fingers.
The liquid just within range of his prestidigitation ignited into a bright green flame from the mound it was set behind, distracting the alpha.
With the opening established, Scraps rushed in behind his opponent, grabbed the alpha's forehead and put his blade right to his throat, ready to slit it open at the slightest twitch.  Tears of pain rolled down Scraps' eyes as he demanded the alpha's surrender.  I could tell a part of him just wanted to slit the alpha's throat right then and there, but something was making him hold back.
The alpha was stunned.  So was the audience.  After a few moments, the alpha dropped his pole arm in defeat.