//------------------------------// // Ch. 1-22: A Daring Duel // Story: Seeking A Quiet Afternoon // by Tired Old Man //------------------------------// Mender had woken up in a cold sweat. That horrible, horrible dream had taken him again. This time he was too late, the house had caved in on itself before he even had the chance to enter. Damn Discord and his meddling, Mender thought. If he hadn't distracted him, then the house would still be standing, and he'd have a chance. But...every time he has that dream, he can feel his grip on reality slipping every time he wakes up. Maybe...maybe Discord's offer didn't sound that terrible after all. NO! You're kidding yourself, Mender. Discord's catch was huge. He somehow knows about the journal belonging to Old Mindly...the one Young wants in exchange for Celle. Mender had promised that he would give him the book...but how much use would he have for a blade right now as opposed to ending his everlasting nightmare? Mender's eyes shot open and he rose from the bed. The duel was today, and he wasn't even the slightest bit physically or mentally prepared for it. He went to the circular broken window and noted the position of the sun. It wasn't high in the sky, could be somewhere between nine or ten in the morning. He would have a few hours to prepare. Mender couldn't afford to waste any time as he began his preparations for the duel within his home. ---------------------------------- Not far away from Mender's home -------------------------------------- The Cutie Mark Crusaders sat in a field, brainstorming their next task to hunt for their cutie marks. "Knitting?" Sweetie Belle asked. The other fillies shook their heads. A pause. "Lumberjacks?" Apple Bloom asked. Again the other fillies shook their heads. An even longer pause...and then Scootaloo's eyes beamed open wide. "Archers?" Both fillies looked at Scootaloo, then grinned mischeviously. Archery it was. All the fillies ran off in separate directions. Apple Bloom went to fetch some hay and branches from the farm to start making targets. Sweetie Belle would go get some cloth from the Boutique to hold the targets together, and Scootaloo went to the playground to go find anything that looked like a bow Mender had described when he told the ponies about the weapons and armor ponies wore at that time. ------------------------------------ Ponyville Hotel --------------------------------- Luna had woken from her rest in one of the two beds in a suite room reserved specifically for her and her sister. Celestia was still resting, having had to stay up later to raise the sun after Luna had lowered the moon. Luna began grooming herself when Celestia had woken up. She was slightly tired, but they couldn't afford to get any more rest. They had their own task to fulfill today, and had gotten a fair layout of the house, safe for Mender's basement. They would make sure Mender wouldn't die today. They both got themselves ready quickly and flew off the balcony towards Mender's home, horns glowing as they prepared the illusion spell. They would land in Sweet Apple Acres, not far from the house so as to minimize strain in holding up the spell. Everything was planned. Everything was set. -------------------------------- A Tree near Mender's Home ------------------------------- Knife Point had woken himself up with a yawn. He stretched back too far on the branch he was resting on, as it snapped and sent him tumbling down to the ground. Point had angled his wings enough to catch what little air there was to land on his hooves instead of a crumpled heap. He was ready. Today was the day he was going to finally kill that Medic which had eluded death for so long. Point grinned as the sun began to rise up to its midpoint. Afternoon had come. It was time. Point approached Mender's house carefully. That stallion knew how to be a sneaky bastard of a pony, and Point wasn't going to take any chances this time, especially from a pony who managed to scare off two alicorns. He opened the door slowly, and noted that Mender was nowhere to be seen. Did he really skip out on this duel? The thought of it had made him angry. He then heard the sound of running water from behind the stairs, and...whistling? Point observed the room and found a suitable hiding spot in a high corner near the bathroom entrance. He flew up there and looked below, waiting for something to change. Mender opened the door, and Point saw him walk out the bathroom, still whistling as he made his way to the kitchen. Point noted that he didn't seem to be carrying any weapons. Was he playing him for a fool, or was he that stupid? Point stayed to the roof, silently flapping his wings to stay out of sight of Mender. He had made his way to the knife block, and selected a chef's knife. Point grinned. He was ready to strike, as Mender was not defenseless now. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- An arrow smashed a kitchen window as Mender pulled the chef's knife from the knife block. He instinctively ducked his head down as the arrow stuck itself into a cabinet door. At that instant, he turned his head to see Point trying to stab him with a black kunai dagger. He instinctively rolled out of the way and rounded himself to place the kitchen table between him and his assailant. Both held their knives out pointing at each other as they circled the table. "Point." "Mender." "Ooh, is it time for the fight? I just finished making popcorn." "Now's not a great time to be interrupting me, Young." "Tried to get me with an arrow with a leaping stab as a back-up plan? That was a nice touch, Point." Point was irritated. "That arrow wasn't mine!" Mender turned his head. "It wasn't?" "SORRY!" The voice came from outside, and both ponies turned their heads to the sound. Scootaloo was a ways away from the home, running up a hill...and was she holding a bow? "We're trying to be Archers, Mender! One of our arrows went rogue!" spoke another filly, this time Sweetie Belle. "We're really sorry, Mender!" Apple Bloom added. Point was baffled. What in the world were those fillies doing using bows?! Mender sighed. "It's alright, you three! Just try not to aim at my house next time, okay?" "OKAY!" They all ran down the hill again. Mender turned back to Point, who had an incredulous look on his face. "Are those fillies insane?" he asked. "No," Mender replied, "they're Crusaders." Point was still stunned, and Mender took his chance. He leaped over the table and swung at Point. He failed as Point managed to just barely back off in time, the blade less than an inch from his nose at mid-swing. Mender had followed up with a few more swings, each one dodged by Point. Then Mender made a swing that was too wide, and Point's eyes glinted. Point ducked and stabbed his kunai forward in a solid, swift counter. Mender noticed this and lifted his left side up on his right legs, dodging the knife as it scraped by his belly, drawing a slight bit of blood. Despite the imbalance, he jumped back to right himself as Point began to string together his own attacks. Mender had to back off from the flurry of swings. Blocking them was an option, but Point was adept at turning a blocked strike to his advantage, and Mender decided he'd rather not be cut into ribbons trying to block any of that. His attacks felt...different though. Mender could sense that Point's swings and stabs were...less accurate than they should be. Those that should have missed by an inch missed by three, stabs would fall shorter than usual. Was Point deliberately toying with him? This was not the case. Point was beginning to become labored from the relentless assault. The fight had become one-sided by that time, and Mender knew it. Point wasn't going to kill him at this rate. Mender even took a small bit of time to survey his surroundings, looking bored...then he noticed the air flickering around him. Point's attacks were a force to be reckoned with, but they weren't nearly strong enough to affect the air in his house like this. There wasn't even any wind today...so why was the air so disturbed? A few seconds of thought later, and Mender's eyes shot open in realization. "STOP!" Mender's shout was enough to catch Point off-guard. He stepped back and breathed heavily. "Suh...stop?" Point asked. "I need two minutes to take care of something. You're not going to kill me like this," Mender stated as a matter-of-fact. Point became irritated. "Why not?!" Mender sighed. "Just give me two minutes, and I'll set things even." "Why should I?" "Point, you trusted me enough to stage this duel in my home, and I obliged you. Can you at least oblige me a bit of time while I even the playing field?" Point bit his lip in consideration. He didn't understand what Mender meant by it, but he was having a hard time hitting him at all. He nodded. "Fine, but you better not take long." Mender nodded, and stuck the chef knife in the front door frame as he stepped onto the porch. As soon as he did, the air flickered around him less, and he knew what was going on. It was an illusion spell. Not only that, but it was a very powerful illusion spell, one that was created to make combat easier for other ponies by deliberately messing with the senses of other ponies in the area where the fight took place. It wasn't a foolproof spell, but it would always turn the fight in favor of the one getting assisted. Mender knew all of this thanks to the Shroud in his unit. Dear Celestia, he was thankful for her teaching him about these illusion spells. However, he wasn't skilled enough to detect the pony (or ponies) responsible for putting up the illusion field. Therefore, he tried a much more...primitive tactic. "TO WHOEVER IS CASTING THE ILLUSION SPELL, KNOCK THAT CRAP OFF RIGHT NOW!" Hidden within the grove of apple trees beyond the fence, two alicorn Princesses stood with mouths agape and disbelieving eyes. How in Equestria did Mender know about the illusion spell?! Celestia was the first to shake off her daze. She turned to her sister, forcing a weak smile. "Well Lu, I guess we've been caught." Her words shook Luna out of her stupor, and she turned to face her sister, matching the weak smile at her with her own. "I guess so, Tia." They ran over the options of trying to keep the spell up, or even altering it, but if Mender knew of the spell, he'd still notice if it was up. Both conceded that removing the barrier was the only option, then. Their horns stopped glowing, and the illusion field dissipated. Mender noticed as the air stopped flickering, and smiled. He turned to reenter the home, but before he did, he shouted a warning to those responsible. "IF THIS FIELD COMES UP AGAIN, I WILL FIND YOU! AND I WILL KICK YOUR ASS!" Mender entered the doorway and removed the chef knife from the frame, completely unaware that two alicorns were on their backs, laughing almost in a hysterical manner. Oh, if Mender only knew who he had just threatened! As their laughter subsided, both of the princesses wore a sheepish grin. Now they definitely had something to hang over his head after this. Meanwhile, Mender spoke, unaware of where Point was as he talked. "Alright Point, fun's over. Time to fi-" A knife had flown by his cheek as he dodged just in time. He didn't dodge the follow-up punch from Point that sent him flying into the kitchen. He lost his knife mid-flight as it sailed out the window, and crashed into the dining table, breaking it in two. Point's grin couldn't be wider. "I agree, playtime's over." Mender had looked up to Point, and spoke as he rose from the splintered remains of his table. "Now THIS is the fight we've been looking for!" Before Point could pull out another kunai knife, Mender charged forward and tackled Point back into the hallway, sending him to his back. Mender followed up with two solid punches to Point's face before he was bucked off into the living room. He landed nimbly on his hooves and spun around. He had to roll further back into the room as two kunai landed where he just stood, and Point was preparing more to throw at him. Thinking fast, Mender ducked behind a chair as another kunai embedded into the wall behind him, and held the chair up as a makeshift shield. Point had launched three more knives into the chair, each penetrating the wood enough to have small tips come out on Mender's side. As he flung the third kunai, Point dashed forward and pushed the chair against Mender, intent on driving the knives through him. Mender held his own against the force Point was putting up, and tried to shove back. However, Point had a different strategy. He drew a hoof back and punched one of the kunai through the chair with enough force to get it flying again, forcing Mender to jump to avoid the knife. Point's eyes glinted. Big mistake, Mender. Point flew up and grappled Mender mid-air and directed his wings downward, intent on using Mender's momentum to propel him into a seismic slam. He had strongly gripped Mender's front hooves to his chest, intent on seeing this move through to the finish. Mender countered by angling his horn towards Point's neck. If the impact landed this way, his horn would go clean through on impact. Point noticed and drew his head back, loosening his grip slightly. Mender took his chance and quickly punched Point in the chest. The sudden loss of air forced Point to lose his grip, and Mender shifted his weight just in time for Point to take the full impact directly onto his back. The living room floor creaked and groaned as the ponies collided with it. Mender heard cracks as Point's wings took the majority of the damage from the fall. He was crippled now, and Mender had a very good chance of winning. He smiled briefly as he looked down at Point. This was met with a punch to the face that sent him off of Point, and before he could fully recover, Point had smashed a glass vial of powder on the floor, caking the area in gray dust. Mender tried to back out of the cloud of dust, but it was too late. His vision was heavily obscured by the cloud. Then a voice cut through the cloud. Point was in his element here, and he knew it. "That...was a solid hit, Mender. Ruined my wings with that reversal...but now..." Point spoke as he punched Mender in his left eye, "...it's MY turn." The next few moments were but a blur to Mender. In this thick cloud, he couldn't see any hits coming, much less defend against them. Point was striking him in the face, neck, chest, flank, forelegs, hindlegs...everywhere. If he didn't know better, he would guess five ponies were beating the crap out of him right now. An uppercut from Point finally sent Mender out of the cloud and back towards the front door. Mender was badly beaten and bruised from the assault, his face a swollen mess and his chest battered and black. Freshly healed ribs were now injured once again, and he briefly imagined somepony in that hospital giving him grief over it...if he lived long enough to see her again. Point emerged from the cloud and looked upon his victim. Finally, after over a year of trying, 57 miserable failures against this troublesome pony, he would finally claim his long-delayed victory. Point pulled out a kunai, but this one was wrapped with a red cloth around it hanging loosely. This knife was special. Point had used it before as his killing knife for all of his victims. It had long been delayed Mender's blood, and there was nothing stopping him from slitting his throat and letting his blade taste the red fountain that would come from the wound. Point had taken the knife to Mender's neck. Feeling generous now that the duel was his, he deigned to give Mender a few final moments. "Any last words, Mender?" "Just...just two," Mender spoke, blood leaking from his mouth. The knife against his neck began to cut. "Crunch...bite." A black blur had tackled Point off of Mender. The knife miraculously had not cut further than it did already, as Point had let go of it from the tackle he received. Point was screaming in pain. Crunch had latched onto his flank, the fangs sinking deep into his body and drawing blood easily. Point had tried to buck whatever was biting him, but he was failing. Crunch had bitten too deep into him and would not let go so easily from one who would dare hurt his master like this. Mender by this time had rose from the floor, taking small breaths so as to preserve what little strength he had left as he observed the scene. He had told Crunch to wait until this moment, when Point would be completely off-guard. His pet protested the idea strongly, but Mender had somehow convinced him this was the best option to take...and by the looks of things, Mender was right. Point was wasting energy trying to get Crunch off of him as he continued to buck and flail about. He tried to refocus his assault on Mender when he realized this thing wasn't going to let go of him when he looked and saw a long, slender black rapier pointed toward his face, and froze immediately. Mender was holding the blade in his hoof. Point was certain he didn't see a weapon like this when he entered...so where did it come from?! He didn't have time to think past that as Mender brought the tip of the rapier to his neck and looked at him with cold eyes. The eyes of a killer. Mender spoke a few words to him while he was at his mercy. "There's something you've yet to learn, Point. Something that has you failing time and time again, like right now." "And what...what's that?" Point replied, careful to keep the tip of the rapier from driving into him as he spoke. "If during battle you have time to boast, you'll be dead before you finish, at most," Mender responded in a Zebrican rhyme. An image flashed by in Point's eyes of him being skewered by Mender's blade at that moment. Instead, Mender looked back to Crunch, who then bit harder again and caused Point to rear up in pain. Mender brought the rapier down off to the side, and to the ground. He smashed his elbow into Point's neck, and Point's eyes rolled into the back of his head as the blow knocked him out instantly. The duel was over, and Crunch had finally let go of Point. Mender had won...but barely. It was at this point his injuries decided to remind him how close to near-death he was, and he collapsed from the sudden rush of pain throughout his body. Crunch noticed immediately and started to lick Mender's face clean of all of his dried blood. Mender weakly smiled at his pet's efforts as he allowed himself a moment to rest. As he closed his eyes, he heard two sets of hooves climb up on his porch. He was still conscious...and recognized the sounds of the steps as they reached the front door. The state of his body prevented him from looking back to acknowledge the two who entered his home. It was time to use those names. "Tia, Lu...so glad you two could make it for the clean-up." Mender then coughed a few times before he allowed himself to slip into a small nap right there on the floor.