"Do you recognize where we are?"
Rocky opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. They were standing in a ruined amphitheater with a domed ceiling illuminated by thousands of floating candles hovering at various heights, . Crates, trinkets and book shelves were scattered around the perimeter, drag marks on the ground indicated that they were once in the center but were pushed to the sides to make room. His eyes lingered on a familiar pit in the ground and then onto a pedestal where he once stood frozen in stone for three thousand years.
"This is where I returned." He said nodding to Princess Celestia who stood by him. Rocky walked up to the crater and peered into it. The hole that led itself to the tunnels under the city had been blocked and sealed with bricks and mortar.
Princess Celestia joined him at the edge of the pit where he powered through the dirt using his first gate. "The power of love is terrifying isn't it?"
Again Rocky nodded. "Yeah. Her love for Shining Armor reached me through the stone." He placed a hoof on his chest and grimaced. "Her broken heart on the other hoof was bucking torture."
Princess Celestia chuckled somberly. "So much so that you transcended death itself and hoofed your way though the earth to make it stop."
Rocky shook his head. "I don't think I was ever dead princess, but I was never fully alive either. Every once in a while I'd awaken as if from a dream, feel myself stuck in the cold before drifting back to nothingness. I don't think I even dreamed."
Princess Celestia turned her head to gaze upon another stone statue in the distance, currently covered by a sheet. She wondered if Discord experienced something similar, but who can tell what the personification of chaos felt at all trapped in stone. Rocky followed the eyes of the Princess to the sheet and back up to the look on her face. He chose not to ask. The emotions she had hidden behind that façade were...complicated.
"So! You wished to duel. What are the terms?"
"Until either of us yields. Or is knocked unconscious...Or dead. As per tradition." Princess Celestia said walking away and magically removing her regalia, setting them aside on a broken stone pillar.
"This is hardly a traditional duel. From what I can sense you have enough magic stored that you could probably hurl the sun all by yourself. How you lost to the Changeling Queen is beyond me." Rocky said walking to the other side of the amphitheater.
Princess Celestia sighed feeling just a little bit of irritation at the jab to her honor. "Then I suggest you do not hold back. I may no longer be an earth pony, but I wield the magic of all three tribes." Princess Celestia flared her wings and stood tall, staring at him with rose colored eyes filled with determination.
"You are fully healed are you not?"
Rocky swallowed despite himself. "Yes. My strength is mostly re-awakened from my time trapped in stone."
"There is nothing stopping you then from showing me your full potential."
"I suppose not." Rocky tapped a hoof to his chin. "You do realize we have an audience." He said motioning to two imperceptible shadows lurking in the top most steps of the amphitheater. Princess Celestia nodded. "Yes. I am aware. They are here to evaluate you. Pass the test and I will introduce you to them."
Rocky Road frowned. Of course that's what this is. What do you want from me princess? Do you want to use me as well? Three thousand years and nothing has changed. He thought but declined to voice his displeasure. Instead, he slowly stood on his hind hooves and moved into the stance of the first gate. A tense silence followed, as the two combatants stared each other down.
Rocky blinked and Celestia's horn flashed. Rocky moved just enough to sidestep Celestia's attack. A beam of magical energy that sailed passed Rocky's ear, striking a large oak bookshelf and lassoing it in a golden glow. With a quick tilt of Celestia's head the bookshelf flew backwards following the beam of light. Rocky flattened himself against the earth as the heavy piece of furniture barely grazed his mane. The bookshelf shattered itself just feet in front of an unflinching Celestia before the golden light tightened around it and further tore the bookshelf (books and all) to shreds. The jagged pieces of wood and paper flowed in a circle around Celestia, before launching themselves at Rocky like a striking viper
Rocky's eyes widened. 2nd Gate of Striking. He grit his teeth. His hooves moved so fast that they were blurs, knocking away each piece of sharp wood like he was punching water from a fire hose. He gave a yell of exertion that grew steadily in volume until it was a roar. As fast as he was, Rocky acknowledged that the volume of projectiles were too much to block them all. Each strike was calculated and executed at the speed of thought, every projectile analyzed and assessed for lethality. Some escaped his guard but only managed to inflict shallow cuts. The entire time Rocky had this nagging feeling that the solar princess was distracting him from the main attack.
The barrage of shrapnel stopped and Rocky blew on his smoking hooves, chest rising and falling from exertion, before he steadied himself with a single breath.
Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow. "What are you waiting for my lord?"
"Not waiting." Rocky replied with a confident smirk. "Learning."
Princess Celestia returned the smile, it was a smile she usually reserved eserved for her most faithful student. A smile filled with pride and motherly love. With that same smile she brought the full weight of all the furniture she had been secretly levitating around the room crashing down upon Rocky. With a sickening crunch all the furniture crumpled into a large pile of splintered wood and twisted metal where the stallion once stood.
Princess Celestia paused. Then she took a step forward. Fearing that she had gone too far. She stepped again and her eyes widened. She beat her wings but it was too late. An explosion of earth caught her underside as Rocky rocketed from the earth, his hoof connecting with Celestia's belly. Air exploded from Celestia's lungs as she and Rocky were launched upwards amidst the floating candles. Rocky struck her again and then a third time before Celestia reacted. She cast another spell. Flame from the nearby candles swirled into a whirlwind of fire and wrapped around Rocky, preventing him from striking Celestia any further
3rd Gate! Flash and Fire!
The flames connected with Rocky as he held (yes held) the flames in his hooves as they flung him around the amphitheater before launching Rocky down onto the ground. Rocky landed on two hooves bracing himself with a third hoof and dispelling the flame with a fourth. By the time the dust from his landing was settled Celestia had regained her breath, hovering high out of his reach near the top of the dome.
Celestia wore a blank expression on her face as she looked down at Rocky who stared back up at her with a look that said, clear as day, "what else you got?" A quick examination of Rocky's body proved to Celestia that the damage she had done was mostly superficial. His coat was singed in many places but he was otherwise unharmed.
So this was what a True Master of Tei-Rah-Do was like. Celestia thought. Dad's stories don't do you justice my lord.
"Tis a shame that your strength couldn't have returned sooner. I would have loved to see you face Chrysalis."
"Is she dead?" Rocky asked realizing now that he had no idea what happened to the Bug Queen who nearly killed him.
"No."
"Then maybe one day."
Celestia smiled again and her horn flashed. Storm clouds morphed into existence. Rocky sighed and assessed himself. As per usual his power was beginning to wane the more he kept the gates open. He wondered just how long he could keep fighting an Alicorn who barely looked tired. Rocky frowned. The power of all three tribes huh. He felt a tingling under his hooves and noticed that the ground had turned into ice. He slipped a bit in surprise before striking the ice hard, anchoring each of his four hooves into the dirt beneath the ice. Above him clouds converged into one massive death cloud. Princess Celestia turned away from the cloud and gave him a coy smile.
Rocky's eyes widened. Don't you do it princess.
She bucked.
Air snapped and Lightning shot down into Rocky who grit his teeth in pain. Rocky refused to scream and instead dislodged his forehooves from the ice and held them together before retracting them to his side. She was gonna regret that. As lightning from the cloud continued to arc into him he focused through the muscle spasms and forced the fourth gate to open.
"Behold the Fourth Gate! Gate of Limits!"
It didn't occur to Celestia that Rocky would have a contingency for lightning. She really should have known better. After all, Tei-Rah-Do masters fought with the pegasi tribes all the time according to her history books. It didn't occur to her to wonder why there were never any accounts of Pegasi using lightning as a weapon. Well she was about to find out.
Celestia's eyes grew wide as a ball of concentrated energy manifested itself between Rocky's hooves. Celestia and Rocky made eye contact, she tilted her head curiously, and Rocky gave her a look that told her: You might want to avoid this
Celestia prepared a shield spell but it was too late. Rocky let lose his stored energy, thrusting his hooves forward and launching a concentrated beam of energy past Celestia's mane, through the dome ceiling and into the sky. Stunned Celestia turned back towards Rocky who had disappeared. She scanned the room before she sensed movement to her rear. Without thinking she cast her shield spell around her as a singed Rocky launched himself from the dome roof right at her. Time seemed to slow down as he leaped toward her with a hoof retracted for a punch.
"Behold the seventh gate. Gate of Chaos and Disharmony."
His hoof passed harmlessly through the shield and connected with the side of Celestia's head. Celestia gasped as pain filled her vision. She brought up hooves to defend herself from a follow up attack as a second hoof struck her side causing the princess of the sun to double over. A droplet of blood fell from Celestia's lip. Seeing this, Rocky saw his opportunity. He would make sure that the princess would not be able to use magic for the remainder of this duel.
"Fifth gate of blood!"
Rocky's hoof made contact with Celestia's head a second time and that's when it all went wrong. It seemed like time stopped with Rocky and Celestia frozen in midair. Rocky went slack jawed as he disrupted Celestia's magic through the cut in her lip. In front of him was no longer the large white Alicorn, but a stunningly beautiful white earth pony mare with pink mane who was barely larger than him. Her eyes betrayed her panic and fear as she quickly morphed back into her Alicorn form. Rocky was so stunned that he didn't realize that they were both falling and Rocky smashed into the ground. Princess Celestia recovered just enough to land, albeit hard, next to him.
Celestia recovered first and dusted herself off.
She walked a few steps away from the unmoving Rocky, testing her hooves as she limped slightly to a respectful distance away from him.
"I...I think were done here...congratulations...I think it's safe to say that you passed."
Rocky groaned standing wobbly on his own four hooves. When that was accomplished he attempted to stand on two. He took the 2nd gate striking form. Why was it always like this. Always running out of energy right before things started getting good. He looked at the Alicorn Princess Celestia, who barely looked hurt from all the damage he thought he dished out. Must be nice to be nigh immortal. Still he couldn't let it end this way. His pride would only allow him to go down fighting. Yielding be damned.
"Hey fat flank..." He yelled wobbling on his two hooves. Celestia froze and slowly turned to face him. The look on her face would have made him laugh but Rocky was doing his best to try and stay conscious at the moment.
"...I didn't hear you say uncle."