Sunset stood at the center of the wood-made stadium. In front of her stood a crowd of five hundred or so yaks, each sporting a different color. They were all seated in a semicircle facing Sunset, each yak staring intently at the unicorn who held their attention. All of them watched her patiently as she continued to fidget nervously. Her hooves tapped against the floor with every step as her gaze darted between each yak in turn.
“Okay Sunset, just stay calm. You got this. You got this…” She murmured to herself, nodding her head to herself repeatedly in anticipation. “Come on. Dragons are scary, sure, but they’re not as smart or well skilled as you are… You got this, Sunset… Just stay focused… Stay relaxed…” Sunset breathed out through her nostrils and attempted to settle down. Her eyes glanced back behind her. The door behind her had already closed shut by the time Sunset had noticed it. Now all she could hear were the sounds of her own breaths echoing throughout the arena, along with the quiet murmurs that came from some of the audience.
“This is crazy…” One yak spoke. “She’s actually gonna face the champion?”
Another yak added. “Doesn’t make sense… Why would she want to take on that kind of challenge when she might not stand a chance?”
Another chimed in. “Yeah, why does she have to fight someone who can rival her in strength? There’s no way this will work.”
“Why does she have to fight it anyway? Doesn’t she know how vicious these things are?” Another yak asks, earning a few nods in response.
“Maybe she knows all too well.” A yak suggested. “After all, we’ve been fighting these things for years…” Another chorus of grunts and whistles followed suit. Even more whispers and murmurs spread across the amphitheater.
But it was all silence when the beat of drums sounded from the other end of the stadium. The crowd immediately rose from their seats, their eyes widening with excitement. As the beats grew closer and closer, many began to sway their bodies, rocking to the sound of the music. The crowd began to shout, their voices bouncing off the walls of the stadium. Emmet watched the crowd as she sat beside Ojo with his hooves folded, listening to the cheering from all around.
The drums continued to grow louder and louder as the song finally reached its crescendo. The crowd began to erupt in cheers as the drumming gradually turned into pounding feet. Then came a sudden burst of applause. Everyone was standing with their hooves on the top of their heads in sheer joy and amazement.
Ojo stood up from his seat and at the same time the crowd’s cheering as well as the music died down, making way for the Ojo’s voice to be heard. He raised one hoof and commanded his guards.
“Release the Dragon!” He ordered.
Slowly the doors of the arena opened, grabbing everyone and Sunset’s attention. A large claw emerged from the opening, planting itself onto the ground. A large shadow then began to climb out, until it finally appeared on the stage.
It was a massive, black scaled beast. Its scales shimmered in the light, while its red snake-like eyes stared straight at Sunset. Its horns glistened in the sun, looking much more impressive up close. It had wings of shimmering purple scales that covered half its massive body. Its legs ended in powerful long talons, with huge curved horns sticking out from the top of its head. It had a wide snout and a pointed tail. Its jaws hung open, revealing rows upon rows of sharp teeth, and as it moved forward towards Sunset, the crowd gasped in unison, with the exception of a single yak in the front row.
Sunset was rooted to the spot; she wasn’t even able to react or avert her eyes, despite her best efforts.
Standing up on its two legs, the dragon spread its wings wide, causing several yaks to stumble backwards in shock. It let out an ear-shattering roar that reverberated throughout the entire arena. The noise was enough to make most of the yaks cry out in surprise.
Ojo points his hoof at Sunset. “Sunset Shimmer, here are the ways for you to win.” He moves said hoof away from Sunset and pointed at a purple gem wrapped around the Dragon’s tail. “You must shatter that gem in order to defeat your opponent. Do that, and there will be victory.” His eyes then shifted towards the Dragon. “Heed my warning though, this big fellow is not to be underestimated. I’d be cautious if I were you.”
Sunset stares up at the dragon as she gets into a stance, narrowing her eyes. She knew what she was facing, and she refused to fail now. The dragon growled at her as smoke billowed from its nose. Sticks beat hard on drums once again to announce the start of their match. The moment the drummers begin their next rhythm, the crowd erupts again in cheers and yells, while holding banners and signs as their hearts race in anticipation.
Ojo raises his hoof above his head. Glancing between Sunset and the Dragon, he drops said hoof. “Begin.”
Sunset charged at the Dragon, her horn glowing bright orange. She took aim at the Dragon’s eye before bringing her horn down quickly. The dragon didn't seem phased at the blow, but instead retaliated in kind by inhaling all the fire it held up inside its belly until it shot a hot torrent of flames out his mouth. Sunset barely managed to dodge the onslaught, landing on the ground in front of her. The crowd went wild; many were jumping up and down in delight while others clapped in appreciation for the show of power and ferocity displayed.
Sunset quickly regained her balance and looked up at the dragon again. Taking another look at the Dragon, she readied her horn once more, another layer of an orange aura shrouded said horn as electricity sparked and crackled all around it. Aiming at the ground below her, shooting one beam. The beam morphs into a fog that spreads out over the entire field.
The dragon swiveled its head, searching for the pony that had disappeared in the mist. When it found nothing, it let out a loud bellow, stomping the ground angrily. It blinked, and rolled its body around. It felt grim satisfaction when its attack met its mark and it heard her yelped as she was pinned against the wall.
The Dragon roared as it prepared another blast of flames. However, just as it was about to release it, it suddenly felt pain explode in its left socket as a magical beam struck it directly. It staggered backward, momentarily blinded as the dragon brought one claw up to rub the burning area. After regaining his vision, the dragon glared back at the source, only to realize that its prey was gone. Looking straight, it finds Sunset not too far from where she had stood before.
Her horn lights up again, the ground quaking violently beneath her, as she subconsciously brought up giant rocks in her magic from the ground and launched them at the dragon. It dodged each rock effortlessly, as it slowly spread its wings wide and gave one flap, shooting a gust of wind at Sunset. Sunset immediately lit up her horn to create an orange magical bubble around herself before the wind blew threw her. The bubble held on for several seconds. Once the wind ceased, the bubble faded along with the aura on her horn.
Sunset took a few steps back, looking up at the dragon with narrowed eyes. ‘Okay, this big guy’s the real deal…’ She thought to herself. Her eyes darted from its tail to its eyes. ‘If I hadn’t created that shield, the pressure of that wind alone would have knocked me out of the stadium; I doubt my barrier would’ve lasted long after that attack either.’ She bit her lip in thought. ‘I’m in trouble though, no doubt about it. This thing’s got brute strength especially with that tail. I definitely need to watch out for that one, that’s gonna cause great damage on its own. And those claws…. That’s something else entirely… They look pretty sturdy; like they could easily tear through stone. I bet I’d be crushed in seconds without my barriers…’ She thought. A grin then crossed her features as she realized an idea.
The dragon let loose another roar, which caught Sunset off guard as it shot a torrent of flames at her. Instantly, she weaves herself out of the way and takes off running towards the dragon. Her horn lights up and in a flash, doubles of herself sped up to her side. The clones ran alongside the real Sunset, who had begun to run towards the Dragon.
One clone stopped to the dragon’s right side. Sticking her tongue out, the other clone stuck out hers. The dragon turned its head to the right and saw them, bringing up one claw to swipe one away. The clone jumped over said swipe and landed on the dragon’s wrist. The dragon tried pulling back the limb, but the clone’s horn lit up. A magical rope formed from the air and quickly wrapped around the dragon’s wrist tightly, trapping the arm underneath the rope. It struggled to pull back the arm, but it didn’t budge.
The second clone ran towards the dragon’s side and latched onto its left wrist. Performing the same maneuver, the other clone pulled the dragon’s claw in that exact same way, causing the dragon to lose its grip on that arm. With their combined effort, they successfully immobilized the dragon. The dragon shook its head and thrashed about trying to free both its arms, but it couldn’t move any farther than it already was.
Sunset rushes behind the dragon. Her horn lighting up once again, she fired at the dragon’s head. Sunset smirked in satisfaction as the beam hit its mark square in its head. The beam exploded into a gust of cyan colored smoke, which filled the dragon’s vision.
The dragon’s eyes oddly and suddenly grew heavy. It shook its head once more, trying to clear its eyes, but to no avail. The dragon swayed dangerously on its feet for a brief moment, before slowly falling onto its back. It let out a weak roar before closing its eyes and falling unconscious. In a slow rhythm it’s chest rose and fell of each breath. The crowd watched in awe as the dragon laid unmoving on the ground.
It was quiet for a couple moments, with nobody making a sound. Then the crowd began to cheer wildly as they applauded and whistled. Ojo raised his hoof for silence. “This is a first… Usually it takes our champion a little more time to go all out.”
Sunset walked up to her clones. The trio raised their hooves up and clapped their hands together. Smiling to them warmly, she gave them a nod. The two clones grinned at her before poofing out of existence. Sunset then moved in closer towards the Dragon and shot a magical beam at the gem wrapped around its tail. The gem shattered upon contact.
She rolled her body around, looking up at Ojo. “I believe I win.” A satisfied grin appeared on Sunset’s face.