//------------------------------// // Filler Chapter 8: Equestria Games - Part 2 (Edited) // Story: Dragonball Super: Rise of The Super Alicorn God // by UltraInstinctGoku //------------------------------// [Outside the Cube] Twilight was impressed and excited to see a rare spell being cast by multiple ponies in action. She was also flabbergasted by the fact that two earth ponies could create what was essentially a tornado by merely running. Similarly, Rainbow Dash marveled at it as well, for she thought that only pegasi could perform such a feat. Goku, on the other hoof, had a smile that reflected his readiness for a challenge. His reaction was caused by the Trick Room spell rather than the Perfect Press Zone technique, as the latter looked like a mere whirlwind he could easily overcome. [Royal Podium] Duchess Diamond Waves smirked in confidence, "My my, it's not often I see that spell. I guess my former guards and my daughter want to end the match already." Upon hearing this, Manehattan's Mayor, who was sitting in the seats immediately below, started biting his hooves frenetically. The princesses had different reactions: Cadence was impressed by the spells performed by Monacolt's Team, Luna held a face of indifference, while Celestia had a thoughtful expression as she was understanding the effectiveness of Monocolt’s guards. The Moon Goddess, after taking a quick look at her, comprehended her sister's thoughts behind her slightly surprised face, something that didn't go unnoticed by the Sun Goddess. "What is it sister?" asked the multicolor-maned alicorn, curious as to why she looked at her like that. "Oh, nothing, sister, just nothing," she calmly answered with a smile. The effectiveness of the Royal Guards was a sensitive topic between the two for a long time now, so she was amused by the fact that her sister had just found out on her own that reforms had to be applied on her own forces. There were even reports of nobles who had more effective guards than their own, a finding she finds completely unacceptable for the Kingdom of Equestria. Celestia quickly understood the reason behind that smile, looking back at the stage as she rolled her eyes, much to Luna's amusement. [Fighting Stage] As Vegeta was shocked, Mirage spoke, "Before resuming our little contest, I have to ask you something first. How did you acquire all this strength?" Vegeta placed his thoughts aside and looked at her with a confident smile, "My power is the result of a lifetime of training and battle, mare. While you were wasting time playing magical wizard, I was fighting against powerful foes and training to beat them all. And I'll tell you something: that power you stole from me is just a fraction of my real strength." "I know," Mirage thought, as she remembered him powering up back at Baltimare. "Now, behold!" exclaimed the prince as he started powering up. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" he shouted with a mighty, continuous yell, and a white aura flaring intensely in an upward direction, engulfing his entire body. Once he surpassed Speed Wagon's power, however, the Trick Room spell exchanged his power with that of his teammate while doing the same with Mirage and her allies. Vegeta kept on powering up as he assumed that he could shatter the purple cube with his might, but all he managed to do was shake the stage and continuously switch both teams' power to the point that all of them reached roughly the same level.  "Impossible!" he realized in shock, having just stopped his increase in strength after noticing what was happening to the power levels of the other fighters. The rest of the ponies on the fighting stage were shocked by the sudden power they felt within. Minima and Massima returned young once more, revealing their spiritual energy to unspeakable heights. "What's this?" thought Speed Wagon as he felt an overflowing power in his body, "I feel like I can lift the entire city of Manehattan with my tail! Is this Vegeta's power?!" Mirage was speechless, with her wide-opened eyes and semi-opened mouth showcasing her expression. She now understood why he was so cocky and arrogant, to the point that he based his fighting style on brute force. "He may be as powerful as a highly trained unicorn... or even higher," she internally said. "Tch," said Vegeta, right before rushing toward the future duchess. He tried to land a punch on her, but the mare, although almost caught off guard, sidestepped clumsily. Upon seeing that action, the prince thought that her guard was wide open, so he attacked again. However, Mirage clumsily dodged the oncoming strike and counterattacked with an uppercut that looked like an amateur punch. The blow forced Vegeta back by a few steps. While massaging his chin in pain, he thought to himself, “Those were premeditated movements. How can they be this effective?” Right after that, he resumed the assault with more aggressiveness. He wanted to overwhelm her fighting style with non-stop attacks, but little did he know that its purpose was to deal with that kind of strategy.   The unicorn ducked down to avoid a punch, jumped backward to dodge another one, and sidestepped a flying kick, all in a seemingly goofy and sloppy manner. Upon seeing this, Vegeta jumped a few meters backward, pointed his right hoof at her as he condensed his Ki on it, and exclaimed, "BIG BANG ATTACK!" A light-blue, almost white, sphere of condensed energy appeared on his hoof, firing directly at Mirage. However, this was a mistake as the technique increased Vegeta's power temporarily, making the Trick Room Spell switch it with Mirage's. The mare counterattacked the attack with a magic beam that went through the Ki blast, making it explode. The destruction of the Big Bang Attack caused Mirage's power to decrease, thus switching it again with Vegeta. The attack spell kept on going until it hit the ponified Saiyan and started pushing him back. Vegeta was struggling to stop the magic beam as it was propelling him toward the edge of the stage. He managed to stop it, but suddenly, it disappeared, much to his surprise. Immediately after, he was almost caught off guard by his opponent's flying kick, barely able to block the attack by crossing his forelegs. The force of the strike generated a small crater beneath them. Realizing the opportunity that had risen, a grin appeared on Vegeta’s face upon knowing that his foe had fallen right into a trap. The moment he grabbed onto her leg, three yellow energy rings appeared around Mirage and trapped her like an anaconda with its prey, much to the mare's surprise. It was the same technique he used on Kakarot during Majin Buu's awakening, though a much improved and refined version compared to before. "Nice try, mare," he continued with a cocky smile, "But it seems that you'll be the one getting eliminated."  "What the...?!" she exclaimed in disbelief. She couldn't finish her sentence because, almost instantly, she was slammed out of the fighting stage, causing a small crater in the process. "Mirage from Monacolt is out!" announced the referee, much to the concern of the Duchess, and much to the surprise of Manehattan’s Mayor. "You fool," mocked Vegeta with a triumphant smirk, "Did you really think you could beat the Prince of all Saiyans?" Once the yellow rings that were holding her vanished, Mirage stood up, smiled confidently, and said, "Oh là là, so you're a prince? That would explain many things. However, aren't you forgetting something? Rather, somepony?" "What are you blabbering on about?" asked the Pegasus in confusion, but his doubts vanished when the announcer spoke. "Speed Wagon from Manehattan is out!" he heard, "Victory goes to Monacolt!" The spectators roared in excitement as the Trick Room vanished. Once the purple cube disappeared, the powers of both teams returned to their original owners and levels. Minima, Massima, Speed Wagon, and Lionheart felt extremely weak and tired after the battle, while Vegeta could finally feel his power return back to normal. "Damn it!" he gritted his teeth in anger and frustration after realizing the fact that he just lost. "You committed two fatal errors," said Mirage, who was now sitting down due to fatigue while also trying to catch her breath, "You over-relied on power… and you fought alone in a team match." "Tch," the prince responded in annoyance, but what she said next shocked him slightly. "I observed you for a while...before challenging you in Baltimare," she explained, "And I noticed that you're a lone wolf...in the battlefield." She then continued, "Upon studying your strength and fighting style, I understood that… we couldn't defeat you with a direct approach. So, if Monacolt wanted to win, we had to exploit your weaknesses: lack of teamwork and predictable way of fighting." Vegeta looked away, seemingly annoyed, but those words forced him to rethink all his previous battles. In all of them, from his arrival at Earth to the Majin Buu Crisis, he was technically part of a team. Yet he always dismissed teamwork as a thing for mere weaklings, and the times he fought together with somebody was more out of necessity rather than will. Moreover, his fighting style was trumped many times by numerous foes, resulting in numerous humiliations.  However, he shook his head and said in an irritated tone, "Spare me your lectures, mare." After that, he left the fighting stage. Mirage frowned a bit: she just wanted to help him. But, upon fighting him, she understood that he was the prideful type, so her expression softened. She was too tired to be mad at somepony anyway. [Royal Podium] Meanwhile, the princesses looked at the events unfolding in suspense, which was later replaced with surprise by the outcome of the match. “Oh my, it’s quite the shock to see Manehattan be defeated so early on. Most of the time they dominate the martial arts” Celestia said. “What's even more of an upset was the fact that they had just evened out the field mere moments ago,” Luna added. “Then again, there were instances where there was little to no chemistry between members of the Manehattan team, particularly with one of them,” Cadence said after observing the battle.  Duchess Diamond Waves had a worried look upon seeing her daughter getting slammed on the ground like that, but she sighed in relief when she saw her standing up seemingly okay. "Let's see now, which team favored by the princesses shall compete with Monacolt," she then thought with a smile after the announcement of her city's victory. After seeing the smile appear on the Duchess’s face, Celestia turned to Diamond Waves: “Congratulations to your team’s victory. I can see their hard work and training has paid off rather beautifully.” “Merci Celestia, mon ami. With the rate Monacolt is going right now, I believe they will reach the final.”  “Quite the bold statement, Duchess. Remember, there are still some other teams that pose a threat to your team’s success,” Cadence chided in.  “Indeed, if I were you I would not bet against Ponyville,” Luna said confidently. Diamond cocked her eyebrow at that claim “A supporter of the Ponyville team, eh? Even if they have a princess in their ranks, what makes you think that will stop Monocolt from achieving victory?” she added with a slightly smug tone.  “Believe me, after what I’ve seen from the members of the Ponyville team, I’m sure they would get the gold medal,” Luna said, fully convinced that she would be proven correct later on. While all of this was going on, none of them realized that the Mayor of Manehatten had just fainted after witnessing the defeat of his city. [Spectators Area] Bulma and Trunks were shocked by the outcome of the battle. Winning the preliminary matches shouldn't have been a problem for Vegeta as they thought that only Goku and Majin Buu could compete with him. However, the blue-maned scientist quickly understood the reason behind it. "Oh come on!" complained Trunks, "If it wasn't for that stupid cube, dad would have won!" "What do you mean?" asked his mother in confusion. "That cube absorbed dad's power and then transferred it to the other fighters," he answered, still a bit annoyed. "I see," she understood, "But if he wasn't so hostile about teamwork, things could have gone differently." "...I still think it's the cube." Bulma sighed at this comment and thought, "I guess the saying is true: like father, like son." [Arena] "No way, Vegeta's Team is already out?!" thought Yamcha in shock, his mouth slightly agape after the announcement was made. "Outstanding showcase of magic and tactics," praised Moonlight, thrilled to know that such formidable fighters were attending the games, "We have to be careful against Monacolt. There’s still a chance where we will encounter them." "This is going to be a lot more difficult than before," commented Apple Cobbler with a hint of worry. Meanwhile, Mr. Satan had Yamcha's same reaction at first, but it was quickly replaced with excitement, as a smile appeared on his face, "With Vegeta out of the way, I have more chances to win and be famous again!" After a sudden realization, his initial excitement was replaced with worry, "But it also means that we may have to deal with Monacolt." Son Goku was surprised by the outcome too, and quickly started to think about ways to counter those dangerous abilities, but with little success. "Alright Fillies and Gentlecolts, let us proceed with the second match!" he heard from the announcer, who snapped him from his thoughts, "The fighters from Ponyville and Fillydelphia are up next!" "Well, it's our turn now girls," he said as he headed for the ring. Rainbow Dash and Twilight followed, with the latter being a bit nervous. Once the fighters were all on the fighting stage and the safety measures were put in place, the referee ushered in the match. Goku and Rainbow enthusiastically engaged, but the lavender alicorn did not move as she was trying to calm herself first. Fillydelphia's third fighter, Emerald Pond, noticed that the princess was standing still with her eyes closed. The pink-maned, green-coated unicorn assumed that the alicorn was strategizing or waiting for the right moment to intervene. She's a princess, after all, so she was most likely Ponyville's mastermind. Emerald Pond hesitated to attack Twilight at first since she technically was one of her subjects, but then she shook her head, "We're in the Equestria Games, after all, I think I can see her as just a rival athlete for now." Right after that, she rushed toward the lavender mare, whose eyes were still closed. Once Twilight calmed herself down, she opened her eyes and was surprised by the oncoming attack. Instinctively, she dodged one of her punches and retreated as her opponent kept on attacking her. Emerald Pond threw several punches and roundhouse kicks, forcing the princess to approach the stage's edge, even though none of her attacks landed hits on her. Twilight retreated until she felt one of her hooves step on nothing. She quickly understood that she couldn't retreat anymore, something that made her panic a bit. So far, the unicorn was confused by the princess' behavior: she expected a challenging battle by fighting an alicorn, but all she got was a passive opponent. "Why doesn't she fight back?" she wondered. Celestia's former star pupil was still unsure of what to do and couldn't think clearly due to panic. However, she unconsciously looked at Goku in the distance, who was fighting a silver-maned mare. Twilight understood that she was alone and thought that it was part of the test. She didn't know why she was so nervous, but she couldn't allow herself to fail because of it. "Is she afraid?" realized pink-maned unicorn. After that, she tried to take advantage of it and attacked her, but Twilight teleported behind her, forcing the green-coated mare to stop right on the stage's edge and try to keep her balance. However, the princess kicked her with her hind legs, making her fall out of the ring. "Emerald Pond from Fillydelphia is out!" announced the referee. Immediately after the announcement, Twilight looked at Goku, who was looking at her as well, probably because of the referee's words. He proudly smiled at her, something that made her feel validated. However, it didn't last as Silver Star, the mare he was fighting against, almost caught him off guard. Then, she checked Rainbow Dash out to see how she was doing. "Hah! What’s the matter, pal? Not in your A-game anymore?" shouted the rainbow-maned pegasus as she dodged magic attacks by flying around. Her opponent, Stone Cleaver, gritted his teeth in frustration.     Twilight chuckled at this before walking toward the edge and asking Emerald Pond, "Hey, are you alright?" The green-coated mare stood up and sighed, "Yeah, I’m fine, if you don’t count my dignity that is." She turned and with a smile said, "But I have to say, to make me think you were afraid to attack just to have me act recklessly was a pretty clever move, princess." "W-well..." she tried to explain with a nervous tone, but the mare didn't let her continue. "But regardless of what happened, it’s over now. Time to let her majesty finish the match," she said as she started going, "Besides, I have to cheer for my teammates." Twilight just sighed as she couldn't explain herself, but she was right: she had to finish the match with her friends. So, she began approaching the stage's center, where the battle was still unfolding. As she was heading towards the battle, she stopped to take a look at the battle in front of her. Goku was defending himself rather well from Silver Star’s punches and kicks. As for Rainbow, she was still flying around, taunting the stallion, with the pegasus doing some occasional dives to knock her opponent down. Feeling as though her master could handle himself quite well, Twilight decided to aid Rainbow Dash, heading towards the two fighters. When Stone Cleaver saw the lavender alicorn approach towards his direction, he diverted his attention away from the rainbow pegasus and towards the princess, adopting a defensive stance while doing so. Seeing as how they were at the advantage, Twilight wasted no time in wanting to finish the match here and now, as she powered up her horn. Once reaching her intended power, she then blasted the rather large beam towards the stallion. Stone Cleaver, quickly deducing a spell of that size could easily knock him out of the ring, dodged to his left and shot multiple projectiles towards the princess, with her forming a shield to deflect the incoming attacks. As the stallion was about to launch another barrage of projectiles, he saw, in the corner of his right eye, a rainbow-shaped missile flying straight towards him. With quick reflexes, he ducked towards the floor, the pegasus being mere inches away from him. Quickly getting up, the speedster quickly flew back and proceeded to engage him, throwing multiple punches and kicks. Cleaver responded by dodging and blocking her jabs and kicks, with the stallion throwing some of his own attacks towards the Wonderbolt Cadet. As the two were throwing a flurry of attacks at one another, Twilight was preparing another powerful beam, her focus set right onto the stallion. Once she had powered up her attack, she shouted, “Out of the way Rainbow!” Both fighters stopped themselves from doing further attacks and turned towards the voice, only to see the princess in a crouching position, her horn glowing to the point that it started to spark. After quickly deducing what her friend was going to do, the rainbow-maned pegasus quickly flew away from the scene, leaving the stallion alone to stare in shock, his eyes being mere pinpricks as he prepared on what was going to happen. As she saw her friend out of harm's way, she blasted away her attack, the beam having much more speed and power compared to the one before. Knowing that dodging would not work this time, Stone Cleaver instinctively conjured up his shield as the offensive spell crashed against his defensive shield, generating a large shockwave from the collision of both magical sources, which saw chunks of the stage floor being ripped away. Despite his efforts, the stallion was pushed further and further towards the edge, causing him to create scratches on the floor from his scraping hooves. Not wanting to be thrown out of the ring, he added even more power from his already depleting power towards his magical shield. He managed to slow the beam down to the point that it nearly halted, as his body continued to shake from his continued use of magic. As the two continued in their struggle, Twilight, realizing that she could not sustain the spell even further, canceled the beam from any more use. She was quite exhausted from having used so much energy in her attack, panting to cool herself down.   Cleaver, meanwhile, was standing near the edge of the stage, his mind exhausted than ever before after using magic to such an extent he never thought he would use in his time of fighting. His body was covered in sweat and aching from excessive use of his magic, as he tried to maintain himself from falling. Knowing he could not continue out on his own, he attempted to retreat back to his fellow teammate Silver Star and try to aid her as much as he possibly could. But before he could move, he saw the rainbow pegasus swoop down towards him, her form adopting a dive-kick position as she raised her right hindleg towards the stallion. In one last attempt to defend himself, he tried to raise his forelegs and interlock them, but only managed to get his forelegs halfway. His final defense, as expected, ended in vain, as Rainbow’s kick connected with his left cheek, propelling the stallion into the air and out of the stage. His form crashed onto the floor as he laid there in both exhaustion and pain. “Stone Cleaver of Fillydelphia is out! Ponyville wins the match!” The referee announced as the crowd exploded into a loud cacophony of noise as they were thrilled from having witnessed their princess in action. Rainbow, turning away from the passed out form of the defeated stallion, looked back at Twilight and winked at her, with the pegasus adopting a small smile. Twilight, who was still recovering from her excessive use of magic, responded with a smile and nod of her own. Goku, after hearing the announcement of his team’s victory, bowed his head to Silver Star as a sign of respect to his valiant opponent. Silver Star was shocked by this sudden and unsuspected action, but after regaining her composure, she responded with a smile and a bow.  [Stadium's Tunnel, Equestria Games - Day 11 - Martial Arts Event: Semi-Finals] A day had passed after their flawless victory against Fillydelphia, as the Ponyville Team were returning back towards the arena. After grabbing some food to eat, they talked about the next match, "So, you're going to fight with Mirage while we take care of the other two," summarised Rainbow Dash, "Uh, who are they called again?" "Minima De Spell and Massima De Spell," answered Twilight for the fifth time. "Yeah, those two," she dismissed. "I thought about it," she answered as they reached the tunnel's exit, "But I’m still not quite sure. Mirage seems to be quite the talented mare herself. Seeing how she handled Manehatten’s team, who knows what other spells and techniques she has up her hooves." Goku, meanwhile, was behind both of them as he brought some extra food along with him. He did this in order to satiate his hunger, as well as to enjoy the matches by eating some snacks.  The lavender princess was about to say something, but the roar of the spectators interrupted their conversation. The battle between Seaddle and Vanhoover's teams was the reason behind their excitement. The Ponyville's warriors looked at the fighting stage, which was not the same one they fought in before. It had a small lake in the center, a few hills, and a rainbow-colored waterfall on its northern side, while the river next to the pond flowed onto the ground. "No way, it's Winsome Falls?!" wondered Rainbow in awe. "Winsome Falls? What’s that?" asked Goku in confusion. "It's a beautiful place located two days away from Ponyville," answered Twilight with a smile. "Yeah, exactly what Twilight said! Me, Rarity, Applejack, and the Crusaders camped there once," continued the pegasus, "You should go there one day, it’s totally worth it." The ponified Saiyan looked at the stage again, smiled, and answered, "It looks like an amazing place to be in. I want to see the real thing one day." Then, he looked at the fight unfolding as they walked through the magic shield isolating the arena from the spectators and approached the stage, heading towards the seating boxes designated for the fighters, "But, right now, let's focus on what's going on there," he said right before stuffing himself with the many fruits he brought along the way.  [Fighting Stage - Winsome Falls] Majin Buu was fighting with Yamcha, who was surprisingly holding his ground against the primordial creature. The azure-coated pegasus was no match for him in terms of speed, endurance, and strength; however, the new technique he learned thanks to Moonlight helped him balance out the battle. The pink-skinned creature dashed toward Yamcha and threw a punch to his muzzle. The ex-Wolf Desert Bandit couldn't see the attack, but it didn't affect him as much as he expected. Goku, who was not far from Yamcha, was surprised by this. He then took advantage of the fact that Buu was close and used his Wolf Fang Fist against him. Essentially, it was ineffective against the demon-like being, but it was strong enough to push him tens of meters away from him. Although Buu was mainly playing, he wondered why his attacks suddenly felt weaker than usual. However, he tossed that thought aside and increased his power. Then, he rushed once more toward Yamcha, who couldn't keep up with his speed. The spectators couldn't see the weird creature either, but they knew that he was attacking the pegasus from Seaddle. Yamcha couldn't block nor see the incoming kicks and punches from every direction, but they were dealing less damage than they should. Nonetheless, they were still somewhat affecting him, so Yamcha had to do something fast. Taking advantage of the fact that he could withstand so many blows, he whispered, "Lunar Veil: Act II!" Right after that, his wings glowed, and hundreds of little stars appeared around him for an instant, apparently doing nothing. [Royal Podium] Yamcha's technique didn't go unnoticed by Princess Celestia, who gave Luna a quick look as she asked, "Is that what I think it is?" The Princess of the Night merely answered with a small smile, "Probably." [Fighting Stage - Winsome Falls] Yamcha still couldn’t react to Buu's attacks, but he was taking even less damage than before, something that allowed the ex-Wolf Desert Bandit to plan a counterattack. "Damn, so this is how fighting Buu feels like," he thought as the pink creature punished his body, "I can't see him nor track his movements. I have to do something before the effects of this spell run out." Right after that, he closed his eyes and tried to think about possible solutions. Since Ki-tracking, sight, and hearing were useless, the only option left was his sense of touch. He focused on the feeling of every blow Majin Buu was throwing at him, but they were all too fast to be distinguishable. It was like there was a lightspeed train continuously ramming his body from all directions. His technique's time limit eventually ran out, however, so he received a devastating punch on his face that made him crash against one of the stage's hills. Yamcha's nose and mouth bled as he was stunned. How lucky he was that he was using his maximum power while Buu was still holding back, or else that blow could have been potentially fatal. "D-damn," he said in pain, "N-now I have to wait before fighting Buu again." [Seaddle's Outskirts, 110 days ago, evening] Both Apple Cobbler and Yamcha stood on the grass field, focused on what Moonlight was about to explain to them. "The enchantments I shall you teach are called Lunar Veil and Lunar Shield in modern Ponish." "Wait a moment," interrupted Applejack's cousin, "But we're not unicorns: we don't have magic." "Incorrect," answered the silver-maned mare, "All things, including this grass field, have magic. The difference stands on how they manifest it." "Really?" Yamcha said in confusion. Moonlight nodded in response and continued, "Pegasi manifests their magic through weather control and cloud-walking while Earth Ponies' magical affinity with the earth is theirs to wield." "Wait, that means I can control the weather?!" thought Yamcha in amazement. "Yeah, but we can't use spells as unicorns do," retorted Apple Cobbler. "Incorrect, again," she replied, much to the Earth Pony's surprise, "You may not be able to use spells in the same manner or with the same variety as unicorns, but, with the right training, you can perform some enchantments as well." "Okay. So, what do those spells do?" asked Yamcha with intrigue. "I shall show you," she said as she jumped a few meters backward, "Try to attack me with all of your strength." Apple Cobbler and Yamcha were hesitant at first, but then they attacked together. As they approached her, Moonlight channeled her magic through her horn and made her body shine like the moon for an instant. Right after that, Yamcha landed a kick on her face while Apple Cobbler threw a punch at her. Their blows didn't affect her, something that surprised them both. "What the...?!" exclaimed Yamcha in awe. "How did you...?" wanted to ask Apple Cobbler, but she was interrupted. "This is Lunar Veil's power," she dissipated their doubts with a smile, "It reduces the kinetic energy of physical attacks' and the power of offensive magical spells." "Kinetic energy?" he asked in confusion. "You know, it's the energy that’s within a moving object," answered Apple Cobbler as she threw a punch to the air to illustrate it, "The faster it moves and the heavier it is, the harder it hits." "How do you know that?" "I may be a farmer and a confectioner, but I still went to school, silly," she replied with a raised eyebrow and an amused tone. The ex-Wolf Desert Bandit nervously laughed at that, still having difficulty grasping the concepts of physics. Then he realized, "Wait, doesn’t that mean the spell will make you invincible?" "It depends on which version of the spell you're casting," said Moonlight, much to his surprise. "What do you mean?" Yamcha inquired  "The spell contains three evolutions: Act I, Act II, and Act III. I cast the last evolution, which makes me completely invulnerable, but it also lasts for 66% less time than the first one, which reduces the damage by only 33%." "It’ll be the longest minute ever," he groaned as he looked at Buu. Meanwhile, Apple Cobbler was looking at Soundwave, who was approaching her. The gray-coated pegasus walked toward her as her body vibrated in such a fashion that it seemed like she was about to clone herself. Apple Cobbler was confused by this and thought for a moment that she was looking at an illusion, and her confusion grew even more when she saw her opponent slowly taking off, almost as if she was levitating. Soundwave was at least two meters above the ground when she began to point her hind legs at Apple Cobbler, who was still wondering what she was actually doing. As soon as she assumed a flying kick-like stance, the pegasus slowly approached the earth pony, who asked with a raised eyebrow, "What is that supposed to be?" Right after that, she tried to grab her legs in order to toss her out of the stage. However, that was what Soundwave was waiting for; she used her hind legs to split Apple Cobbler's forelegs. Now, the earth pony had her forehooves, holding the pegasus' weight. "You fell for it you fool!" exclaimed the silver-maned mare, "SONIC BOOM!" Her words echoed as a crash of thunder as they generated a shockwave that swept away the dark orange-coated mare. Apple Cobbler dug a small trench as she approached the pond in the stage's center. She stopped right at the shore as her ears felt like they were about to explode. As a result, her sense of hearing was temporarily disabled, something that put her at a significant disadvantage. The pale yellow-maned mare slowly stood up and started looking for her opponent. However, Soundwave used her Sonic Boom technique to raise a thick curtain of dust around her, something that forced Apple Cobbler to cover her eyes. Now, she was both deaf and blind, meaning she was at the complete mercy of her opponent. The light-gray coated pegasus used her superior speed to attack her from multiple directions, confusing Apple Cobbler's senses even further. She tried to counterattack, but it was futile, for she couldn't hear nor see her opponent. “I have to use it or else I will be in more trouble than I'm already into,” she thought as her legs started shining in a silverish light. "Rise, Lunar Shield!" exclaimed Apple Cobbler as a white circle resembling the moon appeared beneath her, and a spherical-shaped shield arose from it. Soundwave was about to hit the earth pony when that happened, so her punch landed on the shield's walls instead of its intended target. Upon contact, however, her body shone in a night-bluish light for an instant, something that didn't go unnoticed. "What the...?!" she exclaimed as she retreated while checking up her body. Right after that, the curtain of dust dissipated as Apple Cobbler's shield deactivated. The earth pony's sight was restored, and her sense of hearing was slowly recovering. However, she didn't attack her opponent right away as she still needed some time to heal from using that technique. The black-maned mare stopped checking up her body as she didn't notice anything abnormal, focusing her attention back on her opponent. "What was that?" Soundwave asked with intrigue. Applejack's cousin just looked at her as she remembered Moonlight's explanation. [Seaddle's Outskirts, 110 days ago, evening] "What about the other one?" asked Apple Cobbler with curiosity. "It is similar," she answered, "But, unlike the first one, it directly affects the attacker." "What do you mean?" asked the earth pony in confusion. Moonlight's horn was engulfed by a magic bluish aura, as a 2 and a half meter wide, white circle resembling the moon appeared beneath her, "Try to attack me again." Both Apple Cobbler and Yamcha obeyed and tried to hit her. However, a force field matching the circle's perimeter stopped them from doing so. At the same time, their bodies shone in a night-blue light for an instant, much to their surprise. "Wait, what was that?" asked Yamcha in both confusion and awe. "Attack me again, and you shall find out," she answered as she dropped the spell. They obeyed and tried to strike once more, but this time, Moonlight stopped their punches with her hooves with no effort, much to their surprise. "Did you notice anything different?" she asked as she let them go. "Yeah," answered Yamcha in shock, "I felt my punch being weaker this time." "Yep, same here" confirmed Apple Cobbler. "This enchantment protects its user and, at the same time, reduces the opponent's attack potency upon contact," explained the unicorn, much to her teammates' disbelief. "But its effectiveness depends on whether or not it's nighttime." "What do you mean?" asked the earth pony in confusion. "As a lunar spell, it's more effective at night than during the day," she answered with a smile, "So, at noon, its efficacy is at its lowest while at midnight it's at its peak, especially on full moon nights." Apple Cobbler wanted to know more, "How does it work?" "At noon, it reduces 5% of your foe's attack potency," she explained, "At midnight, that number increases up to 50%. On a full moon night, it completely nullifies the opponent's attack power." "Woah, those are some useful techniques," commented Yamcha in excitement. However, there was something that bothered him, "But you said something about lunar magic. I don't know about Apple Cobbler, but I don't think I have it." "Indeed, you don't possess lunar magic," she answered, "But that's not an issue at all." Right after that, the sun hid under the horizon, and the moon arose. Her silver mane and tail shone in a silverish yet dim light, akin to the moon, with her eyes turning feline-like, and a pair of bat wings appeared on her sides. "I shall share a bit of mine with you," she stated with a smile. "You'll find out soon," answered Apple Cobbler as she got into her fighting stance. Soundwave flapped her wings to take off and dashed toward her opponent. Applejack's cousin dodged the oncoming punch and counterattacked with an upward punch to her belly. However, the pegasus used her superior speed to avoid it. Then, she placed herself behind the dark orange-coated mare and did a roundhouse kick, sending her a few meters away, but the gray-coated pegasus noticed that her blow was less powerful than intended, "Wait... what? I'm sure I used all my strength on that blow, yet it felt like I held back," she internally said as confusion was present on her face.  Apple Cobbler somersaulted to land on her hooves. She then turned to face her opponent, and, after a quick look at the sky, she thought, "I reduced her attack potency by about 25%, but she's still faster than me. I have to be careful." Meanwhile, Moonlight was standing in front of Mr. Satan, who was afraid to fight against the one who defeated Goku back in Baltimare. The mare noticed it during their brief skirmish a few seconds ago, but she didn't let it bother her as it could be just a strategy to make her feel too confident. The Earth's most famous fighter, however, wasn't bluffing at all. "Damn, why do I have to fight her of all people?" he thought with nervousness, "If Goku couldn't win, what am I supposed to do against her?" His legs started to tremble as he tried to get into his fighting stance, something that the silver-maned unicorn didn't overlook, "So, he's not trying to deceive me, he's indeed afraid of me." Mr. Satan tried to shrug it off and thought, "I can't run, or else everyone here will laugh at me, and I will never be famous again. Besides, Soundwave taught me one of her tricks; maybe I'm not that done after all." After that, his expression of fear turned into a mixture of nervousness and confidence, and proceeded to attack. The brown-coated earth pony threw a punch at her, but Moonlight grabbed it, did a 180° degree turn, and used his thrust to lift him and smash him onto the ground. Mr. Satan's eyes were spiraling, but he slowly recovered and stood up again. His opponent's counterattack was enough to intimidate him even more, but he tried to calm himself as he still had a trick under his sleeve.  "If I want to have a chance, I have to use it," he thought as he prepared himself. He got into his fighting stance first. Then, he thrust his right foreleg backward, generating a wind whirl around it. Upon seeing this, his opponent didn't lower her guard for an instant as she waited for it, "Here it comes!" "SONIC WIND!" exclaimed Mr. Satan as he thrust forward his foreleg, generating a supersonic beam of wind. It created a shockwave that damaged the ground beneath as it directed toward its target. Moonlight was close, too close for anypony to react or dodge such an attack in time; Nonetheless, she was able to sidestep, allowing the beam of wind to follow its trajectory undisturbed, much to the earth pony's surprise. "Nice shot," she praised as she looked at the damages caused by his attack, then she said, "But I'm afraid our duel has reached its epilogue." Soon after that, she used her magic to levitate Mr. Satan to throw him out of the stage, much to the earth pony's fear. "It is not my desire to cause any harm to a defenseless warrior," she said, "Therefore, I am going to put you out of the battle stage." "Wa-wait!" exclaimed the Earth's most famous fighter, drawing the unicorn's attention. "Excuse me?" "Ca-can we make a deal?" he begged, hoping to escape from his dire situation, just like he did during the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament when he 'fought' against the fiery Android 18. After all, winning in the Equestria Games was, in his eyes, the only method to become a famous fighter again and overcome his financial crisis. Moonlight frowned at this, but what really pissed her off were the following words, "If you let my team win, I'll give you the gold medal at the end of the games. What do you think?" Moonlight gave him a stern look, one that could freeze the hottest of the deserts, scaring the earth pony in front of her, and asked in an irritated whisper, "How dare you… " Mr. Satan couldn't utter a word as he felt like he did something he shouldn't have to, with him now forced to pay the consequences of his actions. "How dare you?!" she repeated, then she shouted in anger as she approached him, "Pursuing victory through bribery is an insult to Knighthood, Warriorcraft, and the Equestria Games themselves!" Right after that, she stopped using the levitation spell on him, making him fall. When she walked past him, she coldly said, "If there is at least a drop of dignity in you, you'll leave the arena yourself." The Earth's Champion became pale upon hearing those words, then he sat on the place, showing his crumbled morale. Meanwhile, Yamcha recovered from his beating and was about to face Majin Buu once more. "I don't know if I can keep him busy any longer," he thought with a bit of worry, "I wonder when we'll kick into the next phase of the plan." "Yamcha, Apple Cobbler, regroup!" shouted a voice, much to Buu's confusion and Yamcha's joy; It was Moonlight, who wanted her teammates to disengage for a debriefing. Confused by this, Soundwave lowered her guard, something that Applejack's cousin took advantage of to leave the battle. The ex-Wolf Desert Bandit did the same and, soon, they gathered on one of the hills near the rainbow waterfall. "So, it's time, huh?" said Apple Cobbler. The silver-maned unicorn nodded and asked, "So, found anything new about our opponents?"