The next two rounds of the tournament came and went without much fanfare, at least for Twilight. Neither of her opponets really gave her much of a challenge. So it was of no surprise to anyone that she swept them with the greatest of ease.
Looking at the ladder for the seventh round, also known as the semi final round, Twilight saw that most of her friends had been eliminated. But at this point Twilight knew she would be facing the remaining one in the final round. As for her opponent, Twilight was surprised at who it was.
All the same she was determined to win this match and move on the final round. There was no turning back now. She made her way to the stage, which was in the ruined castle of the ancient pony sisters. The place where she had fought Nightmare Moon and first got a taste of the powers of the Elements of Harmony.
"Greetings to thee, fair Twilight Sparkle." a loud booming voice said.
"Princess Luna?" Twilight asked.
"Indeed. It is us, in all our glory." Princess Luna said, her voice still loud and booming.
"You uh.. look a little bit different from the last time I saw you." Twilight said. Princess Luna no longer had a light blue coat, and a matching light blue mane and tail. But she had a dark blue body, with a purple mane and tail, that flowed just like Princess Celestia's. She was also taller.
"That is because we have just recently recovered our powers." Princess Luna explained.
"What's this 'we' stuff you're talking about?" Twilight asked "You ARE free of Nightmare Moon's influence, right?"
"Indeed," Princess Luna said, "but it is tradition to use the 'Royal Canterlot' voice. Which includes use of the royal we."
"I see." Twilight said.
"We know why thou has come here Twilight Sparkle." Princess Luna said "Thou has made considerable progress in this tournament. But now thou must face off against the very being who suggested this tournament in the first place."
"You mean this whole thing was your idea?" Twilight asked "I thought it was Princess Celestia's."
"Our dear sister only wishes she had come up with such a clever idea." Princess Luna said "It was we who believed that our subjects deserved entertainment, and proposed this idea."
"But why did it have to be a fighting tournament?" Twilight asked "Couldn't it have been something else?"
"We have said enough, fair Twilight." Princess Luna said "If thou wants to move on then thou shall have to get past us first. And be warned, we shall not be holding back. Now thou shall face the true Princess of the Night!"
"Very well then." Twilight said "But you know I'm starting to feel really confident about my fighting skills. And I have no intention of losing to the likes of you."
"Do not let allow thine pride to blind you like it did to us." Princess Luna warned "If thou does not focus, thou shall not pass."
"I'll keep in that mind." Twilight said "Now let's fight."
"Prepare thyself Twilight Sparkle." Princess Luna said "Thou shall not get any sympathy from us."
The two mares took up their positions as the crowd went wild. Millions of fans were screaming the names of both fighters, making it hard to hear. Not that it mattered, as the gaint screens were certain to give everyone watching the perfect glimpse of the action.
"Fighters are you ready?" Princess Celestia asked from above. Both Twilight and Princess Luna nodded. "Round 1, Fight!" Princess Celestia said.
At first there was no action, both fighters knew that one mistake could cost them big time. So they spent a few seconds studying their opponet and coming up with a strategy. It was a clash of minds, and only time would tell which one would prove superior.
"Allow us to make the first move." Princess Luna said. Using her wings to propel herself Princess Luna charged forward, delivering a strong lower body punch. It was so fast that Twilight had no time to react and took the blow head on. It hit her like a wall of bricks. Twilight was sent flying backwards, all the way to the edge of the stage.
"You're strong." Twilight said, shaking herself off.
"Thou had better not tell us thou was unprepaired to face us Twilight Sparkle." Princess Luna warned "We have no patience for those who waste our time."
"Relax Princess." Twilight said "I'm just getting warmed up." On the inside however she was already starting to panic "What am I gonna do? That attack alone did major damage. And it came out of nowhere."
Twilight worried so much that her concentration began to slip. Princess Luna was all too happy to exploit such a thing. Attack after attack connected, inflicting harsh damage to Twilight. Before long there was not one part of her body that hadn't been hit, and several parts of her were covered in bruises. It seemed like Princess Luna had gained the upper hoof.
"What is the matter with thou Twilight Sparkle?" Princess Luna asked "We expected more of a challenge. And yet here we are, winning with the greatest of ease. Has thou given up already?"
"N-n-no." Twilight said.
"A weak answer from a weak opponet." Princess Luna said "Thou had better pony up soon, or be destroyed!"
"I'm not weak!" Twilight said.
"Then prove it!" Princess Luna said "Show us that thou can fight!"
"You're gonna regret that." Twilight said. "Okay Twilight, focus." Twilight thought to herself "You can do this, you just need to concentrate."
"It's over!" Princess Luna shouted, racing forward with the intent of ending the round with one last punch.
To everyone's surprise however Twilight dodged it at the last second. The auidence gasped. Princess Luna was shocked "What is the meaning of this?!" she asked.
Twilight didn't answer and instead seized the opportunity she had been given. She attacked Princess Luna with several punches, kicks, and even an occassional magic blast. Before long she had managed to make up for lost ground.
Of course as soon as Princess Luna recovered from this surprise she quickly retaliated, trying to attack Twilight. But Twilight was one step ahead of her, and blocked every attack that came her way. Princess Luna quickly learned to do the same when Twilight tried to attack her. The audience was thrilled, this was the perfomance of a lifetime.
"Now this is more like it." Princess Luna said "But thou will not beat us so easily."
"I wouldn't want it to be easy." Twilight said.
"That's the kind of answer we like to hear." Princess Luna said. She then proceeded to fire a powerful magic blast at Twilight. Twilight did the same.
The two beams collided, creating a blinding flash and a dazzling light show. Neither one seemed willing to give up an inch of ground to the other, and for the longest time it seemed like the round would end like that. Suddenly however the beams began to mix, creating an exploding bulge.
Despite their best efforts both Twilight and Princess Luna were hit by it, and fell to the ground.
"Double K.O.!" Princess Celestia said "This round is a tie."
A few audience members booed, claiming that either Twilight or Luna had fallen first, and that the victory should be given to the other fighter. But for the most part the audience was simply shocked. They could not believe what they had just seen.
Both Twilight and Princess Luna rose to their feet, panting a little and covered from head to hoof in bruise marks. Needless to say the fight had taken a lot out of them.
"That was truely impressive there Twilight Sparkle." Princess Luna said. "We must admit, we did not expect thou to make such a strong come back."
"Well, what can I say" Twilight said "I guess there's more to me then meets the eye."
"Well, savor this moment while thou can." Princess Luna said "We shall be going all out in this next round."
"So will I." Twilight said "But I will defeat you."
"To quote a phrase I once overheard my sister said 'A fool and her money are soon parted.'" Princess Luna said.
"I'm not joking." Twilight said "You're going down Princess Luna!"
"Bring it on!" Princess Luna said.
Princess Celestia healed both fighters and instructed them to take ther positions. They did so and began to stare each other down, both displaying extreme determination. "Fighters are you ready?" Princess Celestia asked. Both fighters nodded "Final Round, Fight!" Princess Celestia said.
"This is the beginning of the end for thee Twilight Sparkle." Princess Luna said and charged forward, preparing to attack.
This time however Twilight managed to dodge, and retaliated with a swift kick. When Princess Luna tried a different attack the same thing happened. On occassion when Princess Luna was certain she had Twilight Twilight would simply block.
Twilight had decided that her best strategy against Princess Luna was to play defense and dodge or block whenever Luna attacked. Then when an opening presented itself she would attack it, with a punch, a kick, or a blast of magic. Her strategy was to wear Princess Luna down until she could go on the offensive, at which point she would really let her have it.
Princess Luna soon clued in to the strategy however. "Thou won't fool us Twilight Sparkle." Princess Luna said and began speeding up her attacks. This left Twilight with little time to react, and sometimes she wasn't able to block or dodge. Princess Luna was closing the gap. Twilight started to panic once again.
"Don't allow thine emotions to weaken thee Twilight Sparkle." Princess Luna said "If thou gives into fear then thou has already lost."
"Why are you telling me this?" Twilight asked.
"Because we want a fight that we can be proud of." Princess Luna said "Not a fight where we won with little to no challenge." Princess Luna then charged forward, this was the moment of truth for Twilight.
"You have to focus Twilight" she said to herself "Princess Luna's got have to a weak spot somewhere. You just have to find it."
"IT'S ALL OVER FOR THOU, TWILIGHT SPARKLE!" Princess Luna shouted at the top of her lungs, and swung forward. Preparing to deliver a punch that she was certain would bring Twilight down.
Just as she was about to submit to her fate Twilight saw something. "That's it." she thought to herself. Waiting until Princess Luna's punch was about to connect Twilight stood her ground. At the last moment she dodged to the side, Princess Luna noticed this, but she was going so fast that she couldn't bring herself to a full stop for a few seconds. And a few seconds was all Twilight needed to turn things around. She delivered a powerful kick, followed by an uppercut, a magic blast, another kick, a low body punch, a throw, another kick, and to top it off, an elbow smash. Not very strong, but enough to send Luna to the floor. The mighty alicorn hit the floor with a thud. Her entire body, as well as her mane and tail, were covered in bruise marks.
Twilight Sparkle still stood, panting heavily. Her legs threatening to give way at any moment.
"K.O.!" Princess Celestia said "Twilight Sparkle wins the match and moves on to the final round."
The auidence was speechless. Twilight had managed to pull off an unbelievable comeback and beat one of the two rulers of Equestria. And said pony had been using her full power.
"That was truly an honorable match Twilight Sparkle." Princess Luna said, rising to all four hooves "We are pleased to see that thou did not disappoint."
"So tell me, why did you decide this tournament was the type of entertainment Equestria needed?" Twilight asked.
"Thou just demonstrated the reason." Princess Luna explained "When a pony can beat the odds, and come from behind to win, it inspires everyone. It gives them an underdog they can root for. A pony they can see grow before their very eyes."
"I see." Twilight said "In any case, it was fun battling against you Princess Luna."
"Same to thee Twilight Sparkle." Princess Luna said "And good luck in the finals. I know thou has what it takes to go all the way."
"You really think so?" Twilight asked.
"I know so." Princess Luna said. She and Twilight then shook hooves.
Now it was on to the finals, Twilight knew she would have to defeat one of her friends to win the right to battle Princess Celestia. And even then she would have to defeat her mentor in order to claim the prize. It was a tall order but she knew she could do it. She hadn't come this far just to lose.
All the same she knew the next two battles would be anything but easy.