//------------------------------// // Strength Against Skill // Story: Time and Masks // by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof //------------------------------// Drill Sergeant Stonehoof let out a cough, spitting up broken teeth and small gobs of blood. His legs shook as he stood back up. Stonehoof looked at his opponent with one eye, the other swollen shut. There was a twitch of pain as something in his chest shifted. Stone Breaker stood looking at at the injured soldier with solid white eyes. He gave one of his hooves a quick shake, flicking the red liquid from the gleaming white surface. "The legendary Sergeant Stonehoof," the marble stallion said, "I must say that I am disappointed. The stories made you sound a lot tougher than this." "Halt!" a voice called out. Both stallions turned, looking at the source. Five guards were flying down the sky in a v formation. The group landed, facing Stone Breaker. The one in the lead took a step forward, the others keeping their flanking position. "By order of the Canterlot Guard," the leader stated, "You are under arrest. Stand down and come quietly or we will have to use physical force." Stone Breaker grinned. "Physical force?" He said. "Do you mean something like... this?" He quickly reared up on his hind legs and brought his fore-hooves down hard on the ground, calling up two large rocks. The stallion turned around and gave to quick bucks with his hind legs, sending the stones hurtling forward. A dark blue aura encompassed the rocks. As the pair separated, each veering off in a separate direction. The rocks moved passed the guards, leaving the group of five unharmed. The aura dropped from one of the rocks, letting it fall to the ground. The other looped back around, heading directly for the pony who had originally launched it. Stone Breaker's white eyes went wide at the side of the rock flying at him. Before he could finish turning, the stone collided with him, shattering as it knocked the stallion off his hooves. He let out a snort of frustration as he got back up, looking around. "Who did that?" he snarled out. "This is your last warning," one of the guards repeated. "Stand down and surrender or we will resort to physical force." "Please. A bunch of armored pigeons aren't going to scare me. Now where is the unicorn who tried to hit me with one of my own rocks?" Standing not far from him was a pony in a strange outfit. Most of it was a dark purple color, including a hat. The figure wore a black mask cover its full face, blue lenses covering the eyes. "Who in Equestria are you supposed to be?" Stone Breaker asked. The costumed pony continued to stare, saying nothing. The pegasus guard on the far left took to the air and flew at the at the large stone pony. Stone Breaker turned to see the guard quickly approaching. The stone pony pulled his head back then thrust it forward hard, slamming his forehead into the guard's. There was a loud crack as the pegasus dropped to the ground, eyes spinning from the impact. Stone Breaker leaned down, clamping his teeth onto the guard's armor at the neck slot. He then lifted the stunned pegasus and threw him at the other guards. Two moved in the way, catching the stunned ally. A strange sound caught Stone Breaker's attention. He turned in time to see what looked like a hat flying at him. It struck the side of the stallions head, sending a strange feeling through it. It did not actually cause pain, but it did feel unpleasant. He turned his head with the impact, looking away. Drill Sergeant Stonehoof had moved closer to the intruding stallion, watching him. As the hat struck Stone Breaker, the stone pony turned toward the sergeant. The sergeant lashed out, slamming one of his hooves into Stone Breaker's jaw. The impact sent burst of pain through Stonehoof's leg, but did cause the stone pony to tilt his head back for a second. Two of the still conscious guards took to the air and flew at Stone Breaker. Each took a different side, circling around to come at the stone pony from two different directions. The duo turned in mid-air and bucked with a back hoof. Both struck the stallion at the same time, the hooves landing on two different sides of his head. The impact sent a flash of pain through his head, causing him to stumble. Stonehoof capitalized on the moment. Moving he used both his legs to give Stone Breaker a hard buck in the flank. The impact threw the stallion off-balance, nearly knocking him into a sitting position. As Stone Breaker tried to recover, the two guards moved to attack again. One slowed down, shifting to a different angle. The first hit Stone Breaker in the cheek, enough to turn his head enough for the strike from the second. "ENOUGH!" Stone Breaker roared. Rearing and bucking, the stallion slammed all four hooves hard into the ground. The area cratered and sank in. Rocks and clumps of soil burst up. The impact knocked the drill sergeant off his hooves and sent him tumbling backwards. The explosion of rock and dirt struck the two guards, spinning them through the air, off-balance. With the three ponies stunned, Stone Breaker lunged forward, tackling one of the guards. With the pegasus on the ground, the stone pony lifted one hoof and brought it down hard. There was a loud crack and a scream as one of the wings was stomped on. The stone stallion then went after the stunned sergeant. Moving closer, Stone Breaker readied to kick Stonehoof in the ribs. He kicked out. And missed. Stone Breaker blinked as he realized that the drill sergeant was no longer in the spot he was a second ago. Quickly looking around, the stone pony caught sight of his target, now ten feet away with the masked pony standing in between. "How did you do that?" Stone Breaker asked. He let out a snort. "Doesn't matter. None of you can stop me anyways." Once again he slammed a hoof into the ground, making a large stone pop up. With a quick kick, he bucked it right for the masked mare. An aura of blue magic quickly encompassed the flying stone. As it continue to move, the large rock shifted to one side. it picked up speed as it moved orbiting around the masked pony before launching back at the pony that had sent it flying to begin with. Stone Breaker reached out with a hoof and hit the stone as it came at him. The impact caused the stone to shatter and sent the pony skidding back. "Fine," he snorted. "No more rocks." He started to move forward, eyes narrowing as he stared. "I guess I'll just have to buck you myself." He then started to run at the costumed character. The masked pony turned and ran. It easily kept ahead of the Stone Breaker, occasionally stopping long enough to turn back and look. Seeing the stone stallion still in pursuit, the masked pony would continue to run. The two of them ran toward the obstacle course. Neither of them used the obstacles properly. Reaching the crawl with barbed-wire, the masked pony hopped from pylon to pylon while Stone Breaker simple walked through. At the agility section, he simple kicked the rings aside after they had intentionally been walked on. The masked pony went around the climbing wall while Stone Breaker simple smashed it down. The chase led to a mud pit. The proper action would be to jump and grab a rope to swing across. Instead the masked pony jumped into the mud, sinking in until just an inch was between the mess and the pony's barrel. It moved as quickly as it could, wading through the mud and toward the other side. Stone Breaker stepped in as well, sinking in to his shoulders. The stallion stopped a moment, looking at the mud around him. With a snort he started to move, grunting as he pushed through the thick mass. Pushing his way through, he continued his pursuit. The masked pony stopped and faced the stone stallion. A magic aura encompassed the hat, revealing a horn glowing with the same color. Seeing the pony already casting a spell caused Stone Breaker to grin. If the masked pony was already busy with a spell, he figured that there would not be enough time to finish it and stop him. It gave him an opening to strike. Stone Breaker reared up and slammed his fore-legs into the ground as hard as he could. There was a thick wet noise as his hooves sank into the mud. No rocks of any size managed to burst up from the ground. The impact caused a shockwave to pass through the mud, spreading out from the stallion before moving back into place. The effort had caused the stallion to sink deeper into the ground, being buried up to his neck. A bubble shield popped up around the masked pony as the stallion slammed down. It rode the shock wave of the attack to the edge, rolling with the energy. At the edge of the mud pool, the pony dropped the shield and climbed out. It turned to look at Stone Breaker. The stallion let out a snort of frustration and glared at the masked pony. The glare disappeared, his eyes going wide as he looked down at the mud surrounding him. "I'm stuck! I can't move." He turned to glare at the masked pony again. "What did you do to me?" The masked pony said nothing, just staring. Stone Breaker could swear he saw a smirk somewhere under that mask. The pony's horn started glowing once again. The magic struck the mud encompassing the stone stallion, turning it rock hard. It did not stop until the entire pit was dry and solid. As the magic faded, the masked pony gave one last look at Stone Breaker, then turned and left. With no other option, Stone Breaker stayed where he was until more guards arrived.