"Go get em Dashie." Pinkie Pie said, taking her seat. The excitement had built up to a fever pitch. The auidence was chanting "Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!" over and over again.
"Well I knew you'd go far but I never thought you'd make it all the way here." Princess Celestia said.
"You know me. I never can resist a challenge." Rainbow Dash said.
"Indeed." Princess Celestia said "But I can assure you that I will not be easy to defeat. So I advise you to bring your A game."
"I intend to." Rainbow Dash said.
"Good." Princess Celestia said "This should be your greatest challenge yet. Let's see if you can keep your ego in check and ignore the crowd. If you can't do that you will not defeat me."
"Don't try to pysche me out Princess." Rainbow Dash said "I'm not going to fall for it."
"I was only issuing a warning." Princess Celestia said "Anyway if you're done with your trash talking then we can get started."
"Let's do it!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Are you ready Rainbow Dash?" Princess Celestia asked.
"Ready and raring to go!" Rainbow Dash replied.
"Round 1, Fight!" Princess Celestia said.
The words had just barely escaped Princess Celestia's lips when Rainbow Dash flew forward, preparing to strike with a flying kick. Princess Celestia dodged it with ease and Rainbow Dash crashed into the barrier.
Not one to let a mistake go unpunished Princess Celestia fired off a magic blast as Rainbow Dash recovered.
"That was a cheap shot Princess!" Rainbow Dash said.
"No it wasn't." Princess Celestia said calmly "You left yourself wide open."
"Well I won't make that mistake again!" Rainbow Dash said, charging forward. This time she tried to deliver an uppercut but Princess Celestia dodged that as well. Then she grabbed Rainbow Dash and threw her.
"That was a foolish move Rainbow Dash." Princess Celestia said "I know you can do better then this."
"I'm just getting warmed up Princess." Rainbow Dash said "By the time this round is over you'll be laying on the ground, begging for mercy."
"Such a bold estimate Rainbow Dash." Princess Celestia said "But I doubt you have what it takes to pull that off."
"That will be your downfall Princess!" Rainbow Dash said, racing forward and hiting her with a mid level punch. Princess Celestia seemed to shrug it off.
"Don't get cocky just because you landed a hit." Princess Celestia said "You still have a long way to go to win."
"Well duh." Rainbow Dash said "Even I know you can't win with one punch." She then raced forward and hit Princess Celestia with a kick.
As the fight continued though Rainbow Dash hit Princess Celestia less and less often. In fact Princess Celestia seemed to score hits even though she attacked less. It soon became obvious to everyone except Rainbow Dash that Princess Celestia was in control of this fight.
If Rainbow Dash was aware of this fact she didn't show it. She just continued to try and attack with punches, kicks, and uppercuts. But everything she did usually ended up leaving her open to attack, which Princess Celestia took advantage of.
Before long Rainbow Dash started panting as she grew fatigued and built up bruise marks on her body. Princess Celestia was a bit banged up as well but nowhere near as bad as Rainbow Dash. But Rainbow Dash refused to give up.
"This fight is over Rainbow Dash." Princess Celestia said "You're not focusing."
"The fight isn't over til I say it's over!" Rainbow Dash said. She raced forward, using her wings to propel her. She unleashed a flury of punches and kicks, all of which Princess Celesita blocked. "What?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed "But how did you"
"Apparently you underestimated me." Princess Celesita said. She then charged up her horn and unleashed a fully charged blast. It was too much for Rainbow Dash and she fell to the floor.
"No." Rainbow Dash muttered under her breath.
"K.O.!" Princess Celestia said "I win the first round."
"I lost? But that's impossible! How could I've lost?" Rainbow Dash asked herself as she rose to her hooves.
"It's simple R.D. you got too confident and it cost ya." Applejack said.
"No way!" Rainbow Dash said "I was not over confident!"
"Then perhaps you underestimated Princess Celestia." Twilight said.
"Impossible!" Rainbow Dash said "I swear I didn't do anything wrong!"
"Well you lost! So obviosuly you did do something you shouldn't have." Pinkie Pie said.
"Aren't you guys suppose to be supporting me?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"We are." Fluttershy said.
"But you have to realize that we're not going to turn a blind eye when we spot a problem." Rarity said.
"I don't have a problem!" Rainbow Dash said "Princess Celestia just got lucky! Next round will be a completly different story!"
"Not if you keep acting the way you are now sugarcube." Applejack said.
"What are you talking about?" Rainbow Dash asked "I demand an answer!"
"It's so obvious." Pinkie Pie said "You think you can win because you've come so far. And that has caused you to write off Princess Celestia as being as weak and helpless as Fluttershy."
"I'm not weak and helpless Pinkie Pie." Fluttershy said.
"It was just to get the point across." Pinkie Pie said "I know you can do better then this Dashie."
"Well what do you want me to do?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Don't understimate Princess Celestia for starters." Twilight said "Princess Celestia is the final opponent for a reason. And you would do wise to remember that."
"More importantly you need to concentrate darling." Rarity said "Don't focus completly on yourself."
"Was I really doing that before?" Rainbow Dash asked. Her friends nodded. "Um oops." she said.
"Just make sure you don't make that mistake again." Applejack said "Stay focused and remember what's at stake."
"Thanks for your help girls." Rainbow Dash said as she felt her wounds being healed and her stamina being restored "Well here I go."
"I hope you'll do a better job this time around." Princess Celestia said "Are you ready?"
"Ready to rock and roll!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Round 2, Fight!" Princess Celestia said.
This time Rainbow Dash waited for Princess Celestia to make the first move. And when Princess Celestia did so she dodged the punch and counterattacked.
"Not bad." Princess Celestia said "It seems like you've learned from your mistakes."
"Indeed I have." Rainbow Dash said.
"Let's see just how much you've learned." Princess Celestia said, firing off a magic blast. Rainbow Dash dodged it with ease. She followed up with a strong uppercut.
Thanks in no small part to the advice her friends had given her Rainbow Dash put on a much better performance in the second round. She no longer tried rushing forward at every oppertunity. She instead waited for Princess Celestia to attack and then counterattacked.
As a result this fight became the exact opposite of the previous fight. With Rainbow Dash pulling ahead after a little while, and Princess Celestia trying to catch up.
"I must say I'm impressed." Princess Celestia said "I would've been severly disappointed with you if this fight had been like the first one."
"Well when you have true friends like I do anything's possible. Or something like that I guess." Rainbow Dash said.
"I do hope you realize this fight is not over yet." Princess Celestia said.
"I knew that." Rainbow Dash said "So let's get back to it shall we?"
"With pleasure." Princess Celestia said.
A little later both fighters became brusied and fatigued, though Rainbow Dash managed to hang on to her lead.
"10 seconds remaining." Princess Celestia said, nearly out of breath. She then began to charge up her horn, hoping to hit Rainbow Dash and tie things up. She would then win as a result of the previous round.
But Rainbow Dash dodged the blast at the last minute. She flew forward, preparing to strike Princess Celestia.
"Time up." Princess Celestia said "By decision Rainbow Dash wins the second round."
"Well done Rainbow Dash." Twilight said "You've tied things up."
"So you know what that means. The next round decides everything." Applejack said.
"Don't you dare think of losing Dashie." Pinkie Pie said.
"I won't. I promise." Rainbow Dash said.
"We're all behind you." Fluttershy said.
"Just do your best darling." Rarity said "We'll do our best to cheer you on."
"Any words of advice?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Just remember what we told before." Applejack said.
"And remember it's all in good fun." Pinkie Pie said.
"Anything else?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Focus and remain calm." Twilight said "Princess Celestia is sure to pull out all the stops. If you make even one mistake it could cost you dearly."
"Okay then." Rainbow Dash said. As soon as she finished speaking those words she felt her wounds being healed and her stamina being restored. "This is it!"
"You can do it Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie shouted.
"Show em who's boss!" Applejack chimed in.
"Just to forewarn you I won't hold back." Princess Celestia said over the roar of the crowd "If you want to win you'll have to prove you have what it takes."
"I expected as much." Rainbow Dash said "Now let's stop talking and start fighting. The suspense is killing me."
"Final Round, Fight!" Princess Celestia said.
"Come on Dashie." Fluttershy said.
"Just concentrate on staying one step ahead of Princess Celestia." Twilight said.
"This is so exciting and yet so suspenseful." Pinkie Pie said.
For a while neither fighter seemed willing to make a move. As if though they were afraid of what would happen if their attack failed. Eventually Princess Celestia decided to break the ice with a swift low level punch. Rainbow Dash barely dodged it, and was only able to get in a quick kick that Princess Celestia seemed to shrug off.
"Did you feel that?" Rainbow Dash asked nervously.
"Yes." Princess Celestia said "But just barely." She then attacked with an uppercut that Rainbow Dash could only block.
The fight began to seesaw back and forth with neither side gaining the lead. This produced quite the nail biter, especially among Rainbow Dash's friends.
"That's it. Just keep dodging, blocking, and countering." Applejack said.
"Don't let her get the best of you." Pinkie Pie said.
"Oh I'm so nervous. I can hardly bear to watch." Fluttershy said.
Rainbow Dash and Princess Celestia started to grow fatigued as their bodies became bruised.
"You're a lot better then I expected." Rainbow Dash said.
"I can say the same about you." Princess Celestia said.
"You weren't holding back it all were you?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Of course not." Princess Celestia said "You've been a worthy opponent."
"Thanks Princess." Rainbow Dash said.
"Don't let her distract you." Rarity said "She might be trying to lull you into a false sense of security."
Those words didn't reach Rainbow Dash but a quick glance at Rarity was all she needed to remain alert.
"This has been very entertaining. I'm almost sad to see it end." Princess Celestia said "But this has gone on for long enough. It's time to end this once for and all!" She then charged up her horn and teleported behind Rainbow Dash.
"Look out Dashie!" Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy shouted.
Rainbow Dash turned to look and saw Princess Celestia was about to grab her. She flew up to avoid it. Then using the element of surprise to her advantage Rainbow Dash delivered a diving kick.
"Nice one." Princess Celestia said and she fell to the ground.
"Yes!" Rainbow Dash said.
"K.O.!" Princess Celesita muttered "The winner of this match and the Equestria Battle Tournament is Rainbow Dash!"
"I did it!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Alright!" Pinkie Pie said, leaping out of her seat "You won! You won!"
"That was an epic battle Rainbow Dash." Applejack said "Now I'm glad I didn't have to fight ya."
"You were amazing out there darling." Rarity said "And to think I didn't expect you to make very far."
"I'm so proud of you Dashie." Fluttershy said.
"Congratulations on a well deserved victory." Twilight said.
"Aw shucks." Rainbow Dash said "It was nothing." And yet she couldn't stop blushing. Even after her wounds were healed and her stamina was restored.