//------------------------------// // Student Vs. Master // Story: Kung-Fu Equestria // by Lady Umbra //------------------------------// At first, silence greeted her. Twilight looked up at the others, who stared at her in shock. “B-Blank?” Luna questioned. “I mean it’s blank,” Twilight replied. She started to tilt the scroll towards Luna, but the alicorn backed away. “No!” she protested. “I am forbidden to look upon…” she stopped. Despite her attempts, she caught sight of the golden parchment. And the nothing upon it. Dropping her sister’s staff, Luna snatched the scroll from the unicorn. Despite closing and reopening it, despite looking on the back, and despite yanking it to its full limit, Luna could find nothing upon the Scroll her sister had built up as the ultimate weapon. “Blank?” Luna whispered, disbelief and grief simmering in her gut. Oh, Tai Lung… I sent you to prison over a BLANK SCROLL?! “I…” Luna turned to face her students. “I don’t understand.” Twilight’s eyes began to fill with tears again. “All this time,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “I thought Celestia was wiser than us all.” “She was!” Luna protested, turning away, only to find herself staring at her reflection in the reflecting pool. “She was… supposed to be…” she whispered, sliding the scroll back into it’s holder. But Applejack shook her head. “Pardon the lack of respect,” she muttered. “But it’s lookin’ to me like Master Celestia was just a crazy old lady who picked Twi by accident.” “Applejack!” Rarity cried, scandalized, but Twilight hung her head in defeat. “She’s right,” she admitted. “Who were we kidding? I’m not the Celestial Warrior. I’m just… some librarian.” “But if the power isn’t real, who’s going to stop Tai Lung?!” Rarity demanded. Rainbow Dash shook her head. “You got me,” she admitted. “He pulverized us last time.” “But if we don’t try something, he’ll destroy everything,” Fluttershy whimpered. “And every pony,” Pinkie whispered. “You don’t suppose we could just… give him the Scroll, right? I mean, there’s nothing on it, so…” “No,” Luna declared, turning back to the mares and handing the scroll to Twilight. “He is forbidden from knowing it’s secrets. Besides, even if he discovers the truth, Tai Lung’s rage will be unfathomable regardless. We must evacuate Ponyville; ensure that he cannot take his rage out on the villagers.” “What about you, Master?” Rainbow Dash asked. Luna’s head bowed. The answer was obvious to her, but she knew it would pain the others. “I will fight him,” she said. As she suspected, she was answered with a gasp of horror. “I can hold him off long enough for every pony to escape. “But Master Luna…” Twilight whispered. “He’ll kill you.” But Luna gazed at her student with resignation. “Then I suppose I will finally pay,” she said. “For not being the mother my son needed.” Rainbow Dash winced at her words, drawing Luna’s attention to the others. For a moment, Luna and Rainbow held each other’s gazes. And in their eyes, something more than words passed between them. “Listen to me,” Luna declared, turning to the rest of the mares. “All of you. It is time for you to continue your journey without me. But know… I am very proud to have been your master.” With those final words, she bowed to her students. With no words capable of expressing their own emotions, the students bowed back. And as they left, Luna turned back to the reflecting pool. Twilight watched her go, before Fluttershy gently pulled her along. Inside the living quarters, Twilight watched as the others gathered up their things. And in Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity’s cases, their sisters. Rarity noticed Twilight standing at the entrance. “You… don’t want to check your living space?” she asked. Twilight shrugged. “It’s not like I had anything to take,” she muttered. For the first time since she was brought back, Pinkie grinned. “I wouldn’t be so sure,” she said. Tilting her head, Twilight crossed over to the bunk she had been given. To her surprise, there was a bound package inside. Wrapped with a neat little bow. Carefully opening the package, Twilight found a light purple gi with a six pointed lavender star with five small white stars surrounding it. "I hope you like it," Rarity’s voice whispered. Twilight turned to the white master, who was standing outside her bunk with a hopeful look. “I love it,” Twilight replied, hugging the gi to her chest. “But… I don’t deserve it.” She tried to hand it back. “I’m not a master like you and the others.” She had barely finished her sentence before Rarity gently pushed the gi back to her. “If it is any consolation,” Rarity said. “I truly believed that you would become a fine Celestial Warrior.” She turned and accepted a large leather bag from Sweetie Belle, slinging it over her shoulder. “But I didn’t make you that for Celestia. I made it because you are still a student of the Celestial Palace.” Twilight stared after Rarity as she went to help her little sister. Looking back down at the gi, Twilight unfolded the uniform, and found a yin and yang symbol that adorned the gi of the other Furious Five. Twilight sighed. "Some student I was,” she muttered, reluctantly tucking the gi under her arm. Miles from Ponyville Urtica’s hiss of pain stopped Tai Lung in his tracks. Turning back, he saw the changeling fiddling with the bandages adorning her legs and chest. “Stop,” Tai Lung declared. Picking her up gently, he set her on a rock, and began undoing the bandages, checking over the bruises the Furious Five had given her. “A-Are you sure…?” Urtica started to ask. “If you need to heal, we can stop,” he assured her, applying new bandages around her leg and chest. “The Scroll isn’t going anywhere. And even if it was…” he chuckled. “They can't hide it from me.” For a moment, Urtica just watched as Tai Lung tended to her. Her brow furrowed in thought. "Why did you do it?" she asked. Tai Lung froze. At first, he didn’t respond. But Urtica could sense the emotions in him. She knew she didn’t have to clarify. “I don’t know,” he finally admitted. “For twenty years, ponies believe I tried to take the scroll because I wanted its power.” He exhaled, his eyes shutting in weary regret. “But it’s not true. I want to become the Celestial Warrior because… it would make Mother proud.” Urtica tilted her head. “Master Luna Solaris?” she asked. Tai Lung nodded. “She did so much for me,” he said, gazing up at her beloved night. “I just felt like that was the only way I could repay her.” He looked down at the changeling. “Then Mother presented me to Celestia… and she denied me.” He grit his teeth. “And Mother?” He scoffed. “Mother turned her back on me too.” His fists clenched. Urtica shivered as she felt his power. If he got too into his story, she was sure he could squash her like a fly and not realize it. “So, I went down to Ponyville,” Tai Lung rasped, continuing his story. “And I met someone. Dressed in dark robes with an eerie voice. He claimed I deserved the scroll. That if I truly wanted it, I should take it!” Tai Lung turned from Urtica, fully clenching his fists. “I-I don’t remember much after that,” he admitted. “Only that I wanted the scroll. Hated my aunt for denying me. For making Mother hate me.” His fists unclenched. “And the next thing I knew, I was in Tartarus Prison. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even speak. And I had to learn from that insolent minotaur that Celestia put me there for attacking Ponyville.” Urtica didn’t dare speak. Though he didn’t mention it, she could see anger flickering off him like a blazing flame. She didn’t dare risk getting caught in that blaze. “The only relief I had from my torment,” Tai Lung whispered, the flames of anger dying down by a fraction. “Was when Mother visited me. Once a year, for five years, she’d be there.” His flames were quenched by the cool dampness of sorrow. “Then she wasn’t. For fifteen years I remembered her… but it seems she forgot about me.” Then the fires returned, as he turned his head to Ponyville. “I have nothing left, Urtica. Only getting that scroll. Then, maybe… finally… I can forget her… “As she forgot me,” Urtica whispered. More to herself. Tai Lung turned to her in surprise. “Urtica?” “I wanted to make my mother proud, too,” she admitted, gazing down at the ground. “But no matter what I did… she never even knew I existed.” She frowned. “To her, I was just another drone. Another servant to help her take over Equestria. Expendable. Replaceable.” Her eyes closed. “Forgettable.” Tai Lung frowned, crossing back over her, and brushing her face with his paw. “Personally,” he admitted. “It would be hard to forget you.” Urtica looked up at him, her face blushing a light green. Tai Lung’s face turned red himself, and he quickly turned his back to her. "I want you to stay out of the upcoming fight," Tai Lung asked, turning his gaze to Ponyville, and the storm clouds forming over the town. “This is between me and my mother.” "Are you sure about this?" the changeling asked. Tai Lung fixed his gaze above Ponyville; on the Celestial Palace. And though the distance was far, he could recognize the tiny dot of midnight blue standing on the steps. He swore he could feel her eyes on him. "Absolutely," Tai Lung whispered. The Citizens of Ponyville were in a panicked frenzy. With the threat of Tai Lung once again over their heads, they scurried from their homes, clumsily carrying along as many of their belongings as they could carry. “Everyone remain calm!” Rainbow Dash barked. “We’re gonna get you safely out, so make it easy for everypony, and keep yourselves calm.” She turned to the Furious Five. “Pinkie, gather the southern villagers.” “Okie-dokie,” she agreed, scampering to the south. “AJ,” Rainbow continued. “The North.” “You got it,” Applejack declared, racing to the north. “Fluttershy,” Rainbow added, handing a lantern to the yellow mare. “Light the way.” As Fluttershy flew ahead, Rarity gathered up Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. “Follow along girls,” she told them. “And stay close.” Twilight watched as Rarity and Rainbow led the three girls into the throng of ponies. Glancing back, she could see Luna standing before the Celestial Palace. Waiting for Tai Lung to arrive. Turning her head in shame, Twilight slowly made her way through the evacuating Ponyville. All too soon, she found herself outside the Jade Dragon Library. A cart awaited her outside, filled to the brim with books and scrolls. Twilight ran a hand over the scrolls, remembering the times she had pored eagerly over them. Her nostalgia was interrupted when the door opened, and two familiar dragons stumbled out. “I think that’s the last of them,” Spike told Smolder as they tottered out with armfuls of books. “I still think Twilight had a secret hiding hole or two, but there’s no way to know unless…” “Unless she came back?” Smolder noted with a grin. Spike blinked before turning to the cart. Sure enough, Twilight stood there, giving him a sad smile. “Hey, Spike,” Twilight whispered. Her eyes widened as Spike’s grip on the books faltered. “No, don’t drop…!” Thankfully, Spike had enough restraint to set the books down gently, before he charged into Twilight’s arms. “Twilight,” he whispered, as Smolder set her own books down and gave her a hug as well. “Are you okay?” Smolder asked in concern. “I’m… fine,” she mumbled. Both dragons glanced at each other, unconvinced, before Twilight crossed over to the books Spike had nearly dropped. “H-Here, let me help.” With the aid of Twilight and her magic, the books and scrolls were safely deposited onto the cart, even shrunk in size to make them easier to store. Twilight kept up a fake smile, but the smile broke as she placed her gi and the Celestial Scroll in the cart. “Twilight,” Spike said, walking to her side. “What happened?” Twilight bowed her head. “M-Master Luna’s son is coming to Ponyville,” Twilight said, crossing over to the cart’s harness, and lifting it with her magic. “To take the Celestial Scroll. So, Master Luna is having the Five evacuate Ponyville.” “But…” Smolder gave Spike a nervous glance. “Are you the Celestial Warrior?” Twilight shut her eyes, tears tracing her cheeks. “No,” she whispered, before pulling the cart forward. Spike and Smolder glanced at each other again, before following after Twilight. “Um… how?” Smolder asked. “I mean… Celestia…” Spike held a hand up, signaling her to wait. For Twilight had stopped. She dropped her hold on the cart, and covered her face. “I don’t…” she sniffled. “I don’t know what to do. The Scroll was supposed to give me this legendary power… but there was nothing. No words of wisdom, no unlocking my hidden potential…” She crossed back over and revealed the Scroll. “It’s nothing but a blank scroll.” Spike tilted his head before taking the scroll from her. With Smolder leaning over his shoulder, Spike unrolled the scroll, tilting his head at the blank golden parchment. Twilight hunched, crossing her arms. She prepared for Spike and Smolder to start ranting about Celestia’s lack of wisdom. Or maybe start comforting her about how they were all conned. What she didn’t expect was for Spike to chuckle. As in… an actually amused chuckle. “Spike?” Twilight asked, turning back to him. The dragon smiled up at her, and turned the scroll around to her. “Take a closer look,” he prompted. “What do you see?” Twilight stared at the scroll, uncomprehending. “A blank scroll,” she insisted. “Look harder,” Smolder prompted, nudging Spike over to Twilight and adjusting it. Blinking in confusion at them, Twilight peered closer at the golden parchment… and saw herself and Spike reflected in the parchment. “W-Wait, huh?” Twilight asked. “It’s a mirror,” Spike pointed out. He aimed it away. “See, I see myself.” He tilted it towards her. “And now… you see you.” “M-Me?” Twilight asked, taking the scroll from her. The gears in her head started to turn. Her eyes widened, taking in how, in the golden parchment, she looked so much stronger than she had been before. “It’s just… me!” she realized, slowly looking up at the Celestial Palace… and above. To the birth place of Kung Fu. The place where she had trained with Luna. Not where Luna had given her amazing powers, but where she harnessed the abilities she already had. Where she had managed to learn by doing what had come naturally to her. There doesn’t need to be anything special, she realized. It’s just… me! She gasped as her epiphany hit her like a heroic second wind. With a cry of glee, she pulled Spike into a hug, planting a kiss on his cheek. “Oh, thank you Spike. Thank you – thank you!” “Oh, that worked,” Smolder commented, as Twilight released Spike, leaving him wobbling on his feet. Shrieking in glee, Twilight raced around the cart, seizing her gi. “So,” Spike asked. “You gonna kick Tai Lung’s butt?” Twilight giggled. “I… wouldn’t put it that way,” she admitted, before grinning again. “But yeah.” With a burst of magic, she teleported. And as Spike and Smolder turned, they saw Twilight climbing the stairs to the Celestial Palace, clearly past the anti-teleport barrier. “So…” Smolder commented. “Do we still need to evacuate?” Spike gave the Jade Dragon a longing look. “I’d… make sure we’re still a good distance from the town,” he commented, grabbing the cart. “Just in case their fight gets a little too exciting.” Smolder hummed. “Hope Master Luna has some good insurance policies in place,” she commented, as the two dragged their cart for the outskirts. Luna sensed Tai Lung before he revealed himself. A small smile graced her lips as lightning flashed… and she heard him land before her the instant she shut her eyes. My silly dragon, she thought. Always making your entrances dramatic. She opened her eyes, beholding her son. A changeling stood behind him, but not like a bodyguard. More like a follower. “Hello, Mother,” the snow leopard greeted, inclining his head. “I have come home.” Luna inclined her head as well, a million thoughts running through her mind. A million things she could say to him. Welcome back, my son. This is no longer your home, and I am no longer your mother. Instead, her eyes flicked to the changeling behind him. “I see the rumors were true,” she noted. “You allied with a changeling.” Urtica winced, but Tai Lung didn’t turn to her. He sighed. “So,” he said. “Where is your new favorite? This… Twilight?” He grinned at the empty looking palace. “Did I scare her off?” Luna’s glare turned harsh… yet her voice cracked when she spoke. “No one could replace you, my son,” she whispered. Tai Lung’s grin faded. “Just give me the scroll,” he asked. “I do not wish to fight you.” “You know I can’t do that.” Tai Lung turned to Urtica. “Is that how it’s going to be?” he asked. “That is how it must be,” Luna said, reluctantly taking her combat stance. For a moment, Tai Lung didn’t turn to her. A low growl slipped from his lips. Suddenly, he lunged into the air. Luna barely backflipped out of the way before he struck the ground. A burst of stone was dislodged from the ground, which he promptly kicked at Luna. The alicorn blasted it away with a punch, but Tai Lung was already charging at her. And with a punch of his own, he threw her into the Hall of Heroes. “Twenty years I rotted in jail,” Tai Lung snarled, storming into the palace. “FIFTEEN of them ALONE! Was that ‘how it was must be’ too?!” “I never forgot you,” Luna insisted. “It broke me…” “Fifteen years!” Tai Lung insisted. “FIFTEEN YEARS of nothing but those insolent, evil minotaurs. All because of your WEAKNESS!” “Obeying your master – obeying your sister – is not weakness!” Luna tried to argue, but Tai Lung’s voice cracked with fury. “YOU TOLD ME I WAS THE CELESTIAL WARRIOR!” As they stared each other down, they both could almost see it: Tai Lung; young and proud. Standing before Luna and Celestia. Luna eagerly looking to her sister as she examined him. Both confident that Celestia would choose him. “You always told me,” Tai Lung hissed as he gazed at the scene before them. His teeth baring as Celestia shook her head at Luna and turned away. “But when Celestia said otherwise… what did you do?” “I…” Luna whimpered. “What did you do?!” Tai Lung insisted, watching as, in the flashback, Luna stared at him, shock and confusion on her face… before she turned from him as well. Tai Lung shut his eyes, dissipating the vision, before he glared at Luna. “Nothing,” he whispered. “You were not meant to be the Celestial Warrior!” Luna argued. “That was not my fault!” “Not your fault?” Tai Lung seethed. On impulse, he seized Bright Mac’s armor. “Who filled my head with dreams?!” He hurled the armor at Luna, but of course she deflected it. “Who drove me to train until my bones broke?!” Tai Lung demanded, seizing a gold shield and hurling it at Luna. But, of course she dodged. Tai Lung’s anger burned brighter, and he seized an entire weapons rack. “WHO DENIED ME MY DESTINY?!” he all but screamed, throwing the weapon rack at Luna. Yet, even as she deflected the blades, her voice cracked when she spoke. “It was never my decision to make,” she hissed, struggling to keep her voice from cracking. Growling, Tai Lung’s eyes landed on the shrine to Celestia. His stance faltered, as did Luna’s when she followed his gaze. Before she could stop him, he lunged to the shrine, and seized Celestia’s staff. When Luna moved to take it from him… she stopped as he handed it to her. “It is now,” he said. With a scream of rage, Luna charged her son. But Tai Lung was not as off-guard as she believed. Deflecting her with the staff, he pinned her to the wall with the end of the staff. “Give. Me. The Scroll!” Tai Lung ordered. “I cannot,” Luna choked, barely holding the staff back. Snarling, Tai Lung tried to increase the pressure, but the staff was not made for such violence. With a crack like thunder, it snapped in two. Briefly, Tai Lung backed up. Mother and son stared down in horror at the staff, as several peach blossoms blew past it. But grief did not stay either of their hands. Looking up at each other in rage, the two masters of kung fu dueled. Back and forth they went, their battle smashing them into the walls and the pillars of the Celestial Palace, until their fight brought them out onto the roof, and even higher up. Fighting in mid-air, Luna managed to pin Tai Lung’s head under her foot. For a brief moment, she angled him towards the roof, ready to crush him underfoot. But once again, hesitation overtook her. And in her moment of weakness, Tai Lung squirmed free, and flipped her around. Pain flared through the alicorn’s body as she was smashed through the roof and flung into the wall. Luna barely managed to regain her feet before Tai Lung landed, knocking over a set of blue flames. Charging through the flames, Tai Lung continued his assault, his claws alight and burning through her gi sleeves and into her arms. “Everything I did,” Tai Lung screamed as he attacked. “I did to make you proud! Tell me how proud you are, Mother!” Luna couldn’t respond. It took everything she had to keep him from carving her into ribbons. “Tell me!” Tai Lung insisted, his voice cracking, turning desperate. “Tell me,” he pleaded. “I…” Luna whispered. “TELL ME!” He screamed, finally blasting through her guard. Luna rolled to the edge of the reflecting pool, a scorched, battered and bloody mess. Tai Lung’s fists clenched, smothering the flames as he approached. Before he could continue his attack, Luna found her voice. “I have… always been proud of you, Tai,” Luna whispered. “From the first moment, I was… proud.” Tai Lung froze, taking in every word. “And it was my pride that blinded me,” Luna whispered, tears forming in her eyes. “I loved you too much… to see what you were becoming.” She lifted her head to look at him. “What I… was turning you into.” Tai Lung’s brow furrowed. His frown turned sad. His fists trembled by his side. “I’m sorry,” Luna cried. “I’m so sorry… my Great Dragon.” Tai Lung shut his eyes. His fists unclenched. He let out a soft, tired sigh, and for a moment, Luna breathed, wondering if she had got through to him. But then his eyes opened. And they were hard with anger. His claws shot out, seizing her by her throat. “I don’t want your apology,” he growled. “I want my Scroll!” But as he lifted her up, he saw the Celestial Dragon statue. And something was missing from it. “What?!” Tai Lung whispered, lowering her to make sure. But it was impossible to miss. The Celestial Scroll was gone. “WHERE IS IT!?” he screamed, slamming her into the ground. Her head bounced hard off the marble, and her eyes fluttered, her grip on reality fading. “Celestia… Warrior…” Luna breathed with the last vestiges of consciousness. “Taken scroll… halfway across Equestria… by now…” Seething, Tai Lung bared his free claws. Yet Luna didn’t even seem to notice. Her eyes rolled in her head, and her words were almost impossible to hear. “You’ll never see the Scroll again, Tai Lung,” she whispered. “N-never…” Kill her, sang an eerie voice in his head. It will be so easy. Carve her face off and be done with it. Kill… my mother… Tai Lung hesitated. And in that hesitation… a scream tore him from his stupor. Dropping his mother, he whirled around. Urtica had hit the ground, a purple aura sinking into her carapace. A similar purple aura shrouded the hand of a purple unicorn in a purple gi. Violet eyes glared at him, and her aura shifted, lifting Urtica’s unconscious body. “Let her go,” the mare ordered. “Or the next spell I hit this changeling with will be worse than a sleep spell.” Tai Lung blinked in shock. “Who are you?!” he demanded. “My name is Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight declared, shifting her stance for combat. “And I… am the Celestial Warrior.”