All throughout the open-air stands, both ponies and humans alike gathered together and milled about. In opposing corners of the structure, special box seats had been set up where several figures sat perched above, including one occupied by a taller, more slender pony with a flowing rainbow mane.
Despite the noise of the communicating spectators, all the attention was focused on what the structures were all built around, a vertically-sloped indentation in the ground. Suddenly, all went silent as a human wearing a distinctive uniform came out from the corner of this indentation and strode into the center. He held his glowing fingertip to his throat and gestured to the whole crowd. “Welcome one and all to the Everfree Settlement’s Lower Arena, also known as The Pit! Here, we have found that this peculiar landform is perfect to hold our Professional Bouts utilizing the Standard 10-point K.O. T.K.O. and Pinning rule format!
“However, this team-based bout in particular applies a special twist on the action! In this particular case, two teams of six have chosen three members to act as Guardsmen, who must be defeated in order to advance to the next. They have chosen two Specialists, who are able to change their positions between the fights composing the match. Finally, they have chosen a King, who must be defeated regardless of other circumstances to claim victory!”
The referee then gestured to one of the occupied corners of the arena. “In this corner, acting as First Guardsman of Team Prancing Pony, Wildaaa Ursooon!” Wild began his trek to the center of the ring amid the many cheers of the crowd. After this procession was completed, the referee gestured to the other corner. “In this corner, acting as First Guardsman of Team Rising Dragon, Ottooo Ophidiooon!” At this calling, the fighter with the glassy eyes and long jacket began his trek to the center of the ring.
The referee stood aside and let the two warriors on opposing teams have their words. Wilda made a series of loud sniffs in Otto’s direction, then pulled his head back and crossed his arms. “Otto… Not much has changed since we last met, at least not outwardly. Trying to surprise me, you little snake in the grass?”
At this, Otto broke out into a big, mischievous smile before laughing a strange raspy laugh. Then, he held up both hands and started making a series of strangely elaborate gestures. For some reason, half the crowd was sent reeling by the time he was finished. Even Wilda seemed taken aback. “Really man? This is a gentleman’s sport! Someone should wash those hands out with soap!”
Meanwhile, back in Wilda’s corner, Boros made an exasperated sound to the confusion of Fluttershy. “Um… He didn’t say anything… Why is everyone so shocked…?”
Boros’s attention, which as trainer should have been focused on his student, was turned towards the late-picked pegasus cornergirl. “Oh, right, I guess since almost nobody has anything resembling hands up here, you lot wouldn’t know sign language… Well… I don’t know much about the distinctive members of Rising Dragon, but what I know about Otto was that he was born blind, deaf, and mute. But through honest effort, he refined his magic to allow him to see heat and feel sound. But to communicate, he uses sign language, essentially a way of making words with our hands. If I had a mother, she’d definitely go nuts if I used his exact words, but what he said amounts to ‘My snake in the grass sprays a potent poison, donkey-face!’”
At that, Fluttershy made a heavy gasp (for her) and turned back towards the fighters with a look of great concern. “Goodness!”
Meanwhile, back in the center of the pit, the referee had remained undeterred by the crass display of one of the competitors and retook his place in the center of the ring. “All right, as part of this format, the commission has ruled that every three minutes amid each fight, a round will be called to allow the fighters a one-minute rest.” He backed away and raised his hand. “Ready?” Both fighters took a stance and materialized their weapons. The referee abruptly swung down his arm. “Fight!”
Wilda made the first charge and clashed one of his cestus against the weapon encircling Otto’s raised foot: A moss-green extension that lined the bottom of his sole with long, sharp spikes and enclosed his toes with a sharp spear-like tip, the rest of the boot being enclosed by a mesh of plates similar to the ones covering the greater part of Wilda’s hand.
This process was repeated several times, whenever Wilda made a lunge at Otto, Otto deflected his strike with a flourishing kick and dashed backwards whenever Wilda tried to close the distance. However, Wilda changed his strategy and enveloped his arm in a blue claw-like aura. He lunged, swiping at Otto, only for Otto to tense his body while his raised leg became enveloped in a dark-green aura. With a weaving motion, a serpent-shaped aura extended from Otto and twisted around Wilda’s attack to strike him in the torso and send him flying back.
Right as Wilda hit the ground, Otto dashed to meet him and raised a green-glowing leg above his fallen body, pinning him to the ground under the long claws of a green, scaly leg. The referee rushed up to them. “Knockdown and a pin!” The referee began his count. However, when he made it to two, Wilda’s whole body was enveloped in an aura resembling the body of a fox and slipped between a gap in the claws that had him pinned to the ground.
After this, the referee held up his hands to both competitors until Wilda completely regained his footing. Then he backed off and gestured for them to continue. This time, Otto went on the offensive, forcing Wilda back with a series of spinning roundhouse kicks. While Wilda was reeling, Otto took a position to ready a thrusting kick. However, Wilda was ready and wove out of the way before grabbing Otto by the knee and lifting him off the ground.
Carrying his opponent, Wilda made a headlong rush forward and slammed him against the pit’s wall, using the shock of the blow to grab one of Otto’s arms and hold him against the wall bent in an incredibly awkward, inescapable position. The referee appeared next to the duo in a flash of colored light and raised a hand. “That’s a pin!”
The referee started his count, but halfway to two, Wilda felt his grip collapse into something limp and empty. He quickly realized that his opponent had been replaced by a facsimile made of a bright green film-like substance. While Wilda was still confused at this outcome, Otto reappeared behind him in a shimmer of dark green light and aimed another thrusting kick right at his opponent’s back. However, both of them froze stiff when a gong sounded out.
After Wilda made his way back to his corner, Boros came climbing down carrying a set of supplies while Fluttershy descended carrying her own supplies and quickly went to work, her experience tending to sick and injured animals coming in handy once again as she bandaged Wilda’s cuts and applied a salve to his bruises. Meanwhile, Boros leaned in close to his student and started manically gesturing outward. “First thing to note, kid: Otto’s a reptile elemental, part of the same nature family of elements as your beast element. But his is a water derivative, so on paper at least, your earth derivative should have the advantage in a direct clash. But I know that you know that things are rarely that cut-and-dry in a battle between top-class warriors. Unlike yours, his spells don’t follow a set path, they bend and weave around offense and defense alike to strike directly at their target.
“But let’s talk about you: Your auras boost your physical abilities to an extreme degree while acting as both spear and shield, enabling you to effectively attack and defend at the same time. So as part of the same family of elementals, you should expect no less than the same from him. You’ve got a lot of experience and stamina, so your best bet is to drag out the fight and get a feel for him so you can anticipate his next move and counterattack. And remember that skin-shedding spell he used to get out of your pin? Any spell that warps space outside of the ether tribe is bound to be very magic-intensive for the user. It’ll be costly for him if you keep putting him in perilous situations and force him to use it over and over.
“One last thing: Don’t forget about your melee combat clashes with him! More than one human has learned the hard way about disregarding basic combat skill in favor of chasing magical might! He probably developed an entirely kick-focused fighting style to avoid injuring his hands. It might beat your pugilist style in terms of force and reach, so you should focus on speed and mobility to beat him! When he kicks, get him good by getting inside his reach or start grappling like you did when you made your pin!”
After draining his third large bottle of water, Wilda got up and marched right back into the center of the pit to meet his opponent, who’s features were covered in a likewise mixture of bandages and dabs of salve. The referee approached them and raised his arm. “Ready…?” After both warriors re-materialized their weapons and took their stances, the referee swung down his arm. “Fight!”
This time, Otto went on the offensive first. He got in range and heavily spun his body around. Wilda seemed to have effectively braced himself for the oncoming hit. But before making initial contact, Otto twisted his whole body, making his kicking foot twist and meander off course for a second before swinging back beyond Wilda’s guard to strike at Wilda’s upper arm full-force, causing him to flinch. The referee raised his hand and made his call. “Clean hit! Wilda, zero! Otto, four!”
Wilda backed off after this for a moment. He proceeded to tighten his stance and hop around, showing off his fancy footwork. In response, Otto went rigid, widening his guard but keeping one foot raised off the ground. Eventually, Wilda dashed, causing Otto to swing out a kick to counter. However, Wilda backed off at the last moment, entering Otto’s reach after the kick missed. However, Otto didn’t stop his kick, he spun his whole body on the same momentum. When he brought his foot around, he began twisting his body in another odd way, making his foot zig-zag along its path, avoiding Wilda’s guard yet again to swing back around and send him reeling with a strike to the neck. The referee held up his hand again to make another call. “Critical hit! Wilda, zero! Otto, six!”
Back in Wilda’s corner, Boros made a long, deep inhalation through his nose and gently exhaled through his mouth. “It seems that now the fight has truly begun.”
Fluttershy gave him a concerned look. “What do you mean…?”
Boros began scratching at his fuzzy chin. “Before, Otto was just pacing himself, only giving enough force to match Wilda’s so as to feel him out. But it seems that his snake-aura spell was merely a hint towards his true capability. The advantages of Wilda’s fighting style are that despite its lack of significant strengths, it doesn’t have any true weaknesses, making him an ideal first guardsman.
“But its simplicity in itself is a weakness. Wilda is trained to strike hard and fast, but that means someone with that kind of fighting style may find difficulty coping with techniques that don’t follow this methodology. I wonder how Wilda will cope with this…?”
Back in the ring. Wilda had halted his offensive and backed off to take a breather, with Otto responding likewise. Wilda took a moment to take a few deep breaths. Then, he straightened up and lightly knocked his knuckles against one another before making a confident grin. He looked directly at Otto. “All right, now I’ve got you.” He proceeded to lower his stance, extending a fist. In response, Otto made a strongly skeptical expression and made a strong intake of breath through his nose before returning to his basic stance.
Wilda made yet another direct charge at Otto, who responded with another spinning kick. Wilda wove out of the way, but raised his guard as he tried to press on into Otto’s reach. Otto repeated his previous maneuver, twisting his whole body to make his foot weave and meander on an elaborate trajectory. This time however, Wilda kept his guard centered and with a hard springing motion, deflected Otto’s kick far from its course, sending Otto teetering. Taking advantage of this awkward position, Wilda pulled back his fist and delivered a hard hook to Otto’s side. This combined with Otto’s present state sent him tumbling directly to the ground. The referee dashed between them to make his call. “That’s a knockdown! Wilda, three! Otto, six!”
The referee made Wilda back off as he began his count. However, half past his four-count, Otto rolled to his front and sprung back up. Turning to face Wilda before wiping the spittile from his face with his forearm. After a brief moment, the referee backed off and signaled both fighters to resume.
This time. Otto made the first offensive. He leaped forward right to Wilda and sent him twisting out of the way with a spinning kick. Keeping up the momentum once again, he added his zig-zagging trajectory to the next kick coming around. In response, Wilda seemed to move into his reach once again but abruptly dropped his guard to raise both arms high. Wilda then closed his arms around Otto’s shin, trapping him firmly in place. He made a guttural howl and swung him around before slamming him onto the ground with a hard throw. The referee took position and made Wilda back off before making his call. “Another knockdown! Wilda, six! Otto, six!”
Back in Wilda’s corner, Boros straightened up and made a proud laugh. “Atta boy, Wilda! You’ve figured it out!”
Fluttershy, a little exasperated by the dramatic highs and lows of the bout, looked to Boros once again. “Um… what did he figure out… exactly…?”
Boros started gesturing in the direction of the center ring. “Well, Otto quickly figured out that in terms of raw might and ability, Wilda’s got him matched, so he brought out some special techniques to tip things in his favor. The general idea behind special techniques derived from advanced combat arts is that their strong and elaborate offense provides a good defense.
“But Wilda’s experience with hunting monsters has made him adaptive, able to think on his feet. After seeing both techniques once, he figured out how to get past them. And once you get past a special technique, you’ll find that all the concentration needed to perform them leaves little focus to spare on one's fundamental attributes, such as their poise. One good hit, and he goes down fast and hard.”
After the count of six, Otto managed to rise again, albeit more slowly and with greater care. Despite his pained expression, Otto straightened up and centered himself with a series of hand motions. However, following this, he reared himself back and made a heavy stomp on the ground accompanied by thrusting both raised fists downward. This seemed to mystify the crowd and made the referee pause before making the call to resume the fight and turn towards Wilda, who appeared conflicted.
A confused Fluttershy yet again turned to Boros for enlightenment. “What’s going on…? Does that mean something…”
A conflicted-looking Boros held his hand to his chin. “Well… it’s mostly a cultural thing and isn’t really recognized by the commission as an official, written rule, but it appears that Otto has declared a final clash. He wants Wilda and him to conjure up their biggest, most powerful offensive spells and clash them head on, all or nothing. Wilda doesn’t have to accept, but it would look a little… lame…”
Even Fluttershy couldn’t help but betray a little exasperation at the thought of that. “Doesn’t that seem a little too… over the top…?”
At that, Boros just scoffed. “We’re warriors. The more over the top, the better!”
Back in the ring, Wilda maintained an expression of deep consideration. But after doing a once-over to the crowd, he got a determined look and struck a stance, his body enveloped by a much more intense blue aura than normal. Otto gave a big grin and struck a similar stance, his body glowing with a highly intense dark green aura.
The crowd roared as the warriors’ auras began to extend overhead and started taking defined shapes, Wilda’s forming into that of a giant snarling tiger’s head and Otto’s forming into the giant head of a grimacing alligator. With a pair of thrusting motions, both warriors sent their spells hurtling at their opponents.
When the spells met, the tiger’s head was swifter and managed to get a good grip on the alligator’s upper jaw, causing both to struggle to overcome one another. Both Wilda and Otto seemed to direct this bout with a series of intense wrenching motions. However, with an abrupt, over-the-shoulder motion, Otto made his spell reel back and freed it from the tiger’s jaws. He extended both arms, this motion mirrored by the alligator opening its jaws wide, then with a full-body forward-lunging motion, he crossed his arms, directing the alligator to clamp its jaws around the tiger’s head.
Otto followed this by swinging his crossed arms all around, lifting both Wilda and his spell up and flinging them around before slamming them both into the ground with a heavy downward swing. As Wilda helplessly struggled against the weight of the giant aura, the referee got close to him and made his call. “That’s a pin! One… Two… Three! It’s over! Otto Ophidion wins the fight by pin KO! Wilda Urson is out of the match!”
After that declaration, Otto quickly released his spell to let Wilda up, and moved to the referee, who held up his arm in the center of the ring. Wilda had a look of shame, and yet he held his head high even as he marched back into his corner.
Fluttershy, with tears in her eyes at this development, looked like she had a lot of words of sympathy to share. But Boros placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. When Wilda finally arrived, Boros just gave him a softer than usual look. “You did good, kid. Nobody can say that you didn’t fight with a fury and resilience worthy of a beast elemental. But this is a team match with a strong element of strategy. You’re not the star here. Have faith in your friends to bring in the gold, and have faith in what you’ve done to help them do just that.”
This managed to get a sentimental smile out of Wilda. “Any fight you can walk away from helps you grow stronger. Did you tell us that, Master Noxus?” Soon, after Fluttershy tended to his new injuries, the both of them made their way back up the walls of the Pit.