DAY 5-4
"Now this is just unsporting!" Rarity cried, glancing around the arena. "It's unfair of you to be invisible!"
"And who said I was interested in playing fair?" Oriens voice said from somewhere behind her. Rarity spun on the spot, and dropped a barrage of rocks roughly where she heard the voice coming from. She heard a chuckle. "Nice try, but no. I'm over here now!" Rarity turned to see a ball of fire approaching. She hastily summoned an ice pillar in front of her. In defiance of conventional wisdom, the ball bounced off the pillar instead of melting through it, rebounding to the side.
"Is that the best you can do Oriens?" Rarity asked the wind. "I suppose that invisibility isn't helping you after all."
"I wouldn't say that," replied Oriens from right behind her. "It let me sneak up on you after all." Before Rarity had a chance to react she felt a series of slashes on her back, causing her to stumble forward. Without looking she conjured another ice pillar, this one directly behind her. She heard a grunt of pain, and immediately followed up with a hail of rocks. She was rewarded with several muffled thumps, followed by a larger one. She finally turned around to see Ori struggling to his feet.
"Well played," he wheezed. "But don't think you've won yet." He launched another fire orb at Rarity, who once again blocked with an ice pillar. By the time it had vanished, Oriens had also.
"Again with the invisibility? This is getting tiring," Rarity grumbled.
"Why mess with a winning strategy?" Oriens replied. Another fire orb appeared to Rarity's left. She dodged this one, since she her ice pillar pin was recharging. Suddenly Ori was right beside her, and he slashed at her with his wings. Before Rarity could respond, he had disappeared again, with another fire orb aimed straight at her in his place. Rarity threw herself to the ground, the orb flying harmlessly over her. She summoned another hail of rocks off to her left. She heard some of them connect by chance. Managing to get back onto her hooves, Rarity tried creating an ice pillar, but unfortunately her pin was still recharging.
"You know, a real stallion wouldn't need to resort to such underhanded tactics to win," Rarity cried out, dropping another barrage of rocks behind her.
"And a classy mare wouldn't make disparaging comments about somepony she barely knows," Oriens shot back. "So I guess we both have our faults." Another orb of fire appeared, heading for Rarity. She dodged to the side, only to be knocked back into it by Oriens. "Look, you're barely managing to hit me. If you give up now, I promise your erasure will be as pain free as I can manage."
"I don't need to hit you to win." Rarity scanned the area for any hint of Oriens. "I just have to survive long enough for Fluttershy to defeat Sea Breeze."
Oriens reappeared and let out a chuckle. "Well that won't happen anytime soon." He performed a lazy loop in the sky. "You're already exhausted. It shouldn't take too many more hits to finish you."
In response, Rarity summoned her rocks above Oriens, battering him to the ground. She followed though with an ice pillar, then more rocks. "Maybe, but I still have another trick left." She tapped her new pin, a sewing needle with thread, hoping she had guessed its ability correctly. A light blue glow suffused her, filling her with energy again. "Oh good, that is what it does."
"So, you can heal yourself," Oriens said, shakily rising off the ground again. "Well that certainly will make things more interesting." He vanished again. "But it won't be enough."
"Au contraire," Rarity replied, looking around for a clue to Ori's position. "So long as I keep damaging you when I can, eventually you will be beaten. Even if you can damage me more, I can heal from it."
"True, there is that," Ori conceded. "However, you forgot the other side of this battle. Our partners."
"I'm sorry, did you miss the part where I said Fluttershy would win?" Rarity quickly glanced over to the other side of the battlefield. She saw Fluttershy surrounded by her barrier approaching Sea Breeze, who was unable to do anything but flee. Rarity winced in sympathy as Sea Breeze retreated into a water orb, knocking her down.
"Yes, I have misjudged that battle," Rarity said dryly. "Clearly Sea Breeze has the upper hoof. However shall we win now?"
"No need to be like that," Ori huffed. "Considering how unfair that barrier is, I say Breeze is doing well. But that's not what I meant at all." He suddenly reappeared close to the other side of the battlefield. "BREEZE! HEALING PLEASE?"
Rarity's heart sank as she watched a green glow surround Oriens and Sea Breeze. "Ah," she said. "I admit that will be a problem." Quickly she dropped some rocks on Ori, only managing to score a few hits before he vanished again.
"See, Breeze can match you healing for healing, so all you're really doing is delaying." The voice came from Rarity's left, so she summoned her ice pillar. A short grunt rewarded her effort. Before she could follow up, Ori had already vanished. A fire orb passed in front of her, and she reflexively took a step backwards. A sharp pain flared up across her side, knocking her off her hooves. Oriens' attack was strong enough that she was sent flying across the battlefield, hitting a tree. A few leaves fell, loosened by the impact.
"Please tell me you're ready to give up now," Ori said, reappearing in front of her. "I don't actually like hurting other ponies." In response Rarity summoned another ice pillar. She slowly stood up again, her back to the tree.
"Give up? When I have the upper hoof?" She tapped her healing pin, feeling the energy suffuse her. Refreshed, she dropped a few more rocks on the pegasus. In response, he shot a fire orb at her, forcing her to dodge to the side. The orb extinguished as it hit the tree, defying physics and not setting the wood on fire. A few more leaves fell.
"I wouldn't say you have the upper hoof here," Ori said, reappearing to Rarity's right to deliver a slashing attack. "Unless you come from some sort of opposite land."
Rarity used her last ice pillar charge to retaliate, missing Ori. "Not, but with this tree behind me, there are now fewer places you can attack me from." She dropper a few rocks in a random spot, waiting for Ori's response.
"Well, we can't have that can we?" he asked. Rarity heard a series of slashes, but none of them seemed to be aimed at her. A few seconds later there was a sharp crack, and the tree fell away behind her. She turned to see Ori, puffing but grinning.
"Now your advantage is gone." Rarity summoned her rocks, but the pegasus vanished before they landed. "And I thought you'd be smart enough not to tell your enemy your plan."
Rarity smiled. "Oh, I am. Thank you for the weapon dear." A blue aura surrounded the tree, and it slowly lifted into the air. "Hmm, a bit heavier than my sewing needles, but it should get the job done." She swung the tree in a wide circle around her, shedding leaves as it went. She heard a thunk as it hit Oriens, sending him flying. She swung it round again, readying another hit. Before she could line it up , she felt her telekinesis fail, and the tree dropped to the ground with a thump.
"I underestimated you," Oriens panted. "Getting me to cut that tree down, that was clever." He flashed a grin. "But that trick won't work again."
"It doesn't need to, One more hit and I'll have won. And I have plenty of other attacks to do that with."
"I see only two problems with that scenario," said Ori. "One, you seem to have forgotten Breeze's healing pin. And two..." The pegasus disappeared from sight. "Well, I think you see how this goes."
"Yes, I admit under those conditions I might have a bit more difficulty," Rarity said. "However, if I may offer two counter points? One, poor Sea Breeze will have a hard time doing anything right now." Rarity indicated the other side of the battlefield. Fluttershy was hovering a short distance in front of Sea Breeze, her eyes locked on those of the unicorn's.
"You see Fluttershy has quite a naturally intimidating stare. I can only imagine how much worse it is with a pin to improve it. As for you being invisible...." Rarity scanned the leaves that had fallen in a circle around her. She spotted a small group of them moving in the non-existent wind, and grinned. "Well, let's just say that the tree served two purposes." She conjured an ice pillar directly under the swirling leaves, striking Oriens Ventus directly in his chest.
There was a bright flash, and Rarity found herself standing beside Fluttershy, their battle won. "Oh thank Celestia! Are you okay Fluttershy?" Rarity asked. Fluttershy didn't respond, instead looking at the ground. "Fluttershy?" Rarity asked again. She followed the pegasus' gaze down, to find the prone form of Oriens. "Oh. Oh dear."
The green peagasus was fading, still visible but slowly turning transparent even as the pair watched. "I'm sorry Oriens," Rarity said quietly. "But it was us or you. We knew that."
"Yeah, I know," Ori replied slowly. "Where's Sea Breeze? I want to see her... one last time...."
"I'm here Ori," Sea Breeze whispered, appearing from behind Fluttershy. "I'm here..."
Oriens groaned with pain, turning his head to look at the mare. "Breeze... I just wanted to say, the day I married you was the best day of my life."
A cold feeling went up Rarity's back as she watched. But when we first met, Sea Breeze said... Sea Breeze was clearly holding back tears. "But we never married Ori. We were just engaged."
Oriens let out a chuckle. "I see. So that's what your entry fee was. Those b-" The rest of the word was cut off as another grunt of pain escaped him. "Well then. I suppose... If it's my last chance to say it.... Sea Breeze, I-" A flash of light, and he was gone.
Sea Breeze turned to Rarity, tears in her eyes. "Wha... what did he mean? My entry fee?"
Rarity had the good grace to look uncomfortable as she spoke. "Well, if your entry fee is what you value most... then I suppose what you valued most was your marriage."
"Oh Ori...." Sea Breeze slumped to the ground, her tears falling freely now. "I loved you too...." She was beginning to fade now. Tears still falling, she looked up at Rarity and Fluttershy. "Rarity, Fluttershy. Win this game. Win it for Ori and I." Another flash, and she too was gone.
"We will," Rarity muttered. "We will."
DAY 5
CROSSING LINES
END
§§§
"Well THAT was boring!" Candy Cane complained. High Tide glanced at her before turning his back on Rarity and Fluttershy. "I mean it felt like that battle lasted MONTHS, and it wasn't even very good! And that conclusion? Ugh, soo soppy!"
High Tide said nothing, spreading his wings and flying off. Candy Cane followed him. "If you ask me a battle between those friends would have been way more interesting. I mean can you imagine the tension? Tension always makes these battles better, and then it wouldn't have been so obvious who would win like that one was!"
"You bet against the winners," High Tide reminded her as they landed on top of one of Manehatten's skyscrapers.
"Yeah, well, shut up," Candy Cane retorted. "So why then? Why'd you drop the barrier keeping the friends locked up together? It was all shaping up to be a free for all friend fight until you interfered." Candy Cane sulked. And after you stopped me playing with Pinkie and her friend too..."
High Tide stayed silent, a lot on his mind. A borderline illegal mission? Rigged walls? Something was very wrong with this game. And he was going to find out what.