Light slowly filled the sky over Canterlot, a new day was just an hour or two from starting in the the magnificent city, and the rest of Equestria. Something, however, was off today. Instead of waking up at the sound of the trumpets, Thunderblast and Shining Armor were already wide awake, and had been preparing for the upcoming guard fight.
"Alright, Thunder. This is our last attempt. I want this to work as much as you do. Same thing. You take off, I shoot at you, then you avoid every blast, then attempt to pin me down." Shining Armor said, getting into an attack position and lighting up his horn in a light purple.
"Got it. Let's do this." Thunderblast said, getting his game face on and opening his wings.
"Ready?" Shining asked, slowly powering up his horn.
"Yes." Thunder responded, grinning.
"GO!" Shining yelled, firing a ball of energy at Thunder.
Thunderblast jumped into the air, dodging the ball of energy fired by his friend, and he flew towards Shining, dodging more electrical balls.
"Good....good." Shining said, as he fired at Thunder even more.
"Keep going!" Thunder said, flying erratically in the air to avoid getting hit, before diving towards Shining Armor.
Shining powered up his horn one last time, preparing to fire a massive beam which would only knock Thunderblast out, and not cause any harm. When he fired, suddenly, Thunder moved his wings in front of himself, and the beam bounced off and struck the ground a few feet away, then Thunder continued his dive down to Shining.
"Woah..." Shining Armor said, stunned from seeing his beam almost do nothing to Thunder, despite the direct hit.
Thunder crashed onto Shining at high speeds, pinning him down.
"Aha!" Thunder said, holding Shining's hooves down.
"Wow, Thunder, that was...really good. How did you do that?" Shining Armor asked.
"Do what? Shield myself?" Thunder said.
"Yes. How did it not affect you? It should have knocked you unconcious." Shining responded.
"I don't know. Maybe it doesn't affect me when I use my wings to protect myself." Thunderblast said back.
"Maybe. That was still very good. I just hope in the fight that you'll be allowed to fly around, because that's all i've got for you to take me out." Shining Armor said.
"Me too, but wait, why do you want me to win? Why don't you want to win the fight?" Thunder asked, helping Shining back up.
"Because, Thunder, you deserve to win this thing. Even if you don't make it to the last fight, I still want you to stand above some of the other guards." Shining replied, smiling.
"Thanks buddy, but I think you should win this thing." Thunder said back.
"No, Thunder, I want you to win. You're clearly stronger than me and probably many others if you can shield yourself just by using your own body." Shining Armor said.
"That doesn't change anything, i'm still not that good of a fighter. You on the other hoof are an amazing fighter." Thunder said, putting his hoof around Shining.
Shining smiled. "Maybe. We'll just have to see when the time comes." he said, just before the trumpets went off around the castle. "Ah, the trumpets. Let's go get some breakfast." he said, and him and Thunderblast trotted off to the Mess Hall to eat.
At breakfast, Shining Armor and Thunderblast were the first ones in line for breakfast; warm cinnamon oats with an apple and a carrot off to the side.
"Y'know, for some reason I always thought they served slop or some other weird food to royal guards. Guess I was wrong." Thunderblast chuckled.
"Me too, it must just be in the military that they serve that stuff, or it's just our imaginations." Shining said.
One thing that surprised both of them, was that Spear actually sat down at the same table across from them.
"What are you doing at my table?" Spear asked.
"What are you doing at our table, Spear?" Thunder responded.
"What does it look like i'm doing? Trying to eat, and as usual, my day was ruined by bumping into you two." Spear replied.
"We ruined your day? How do you think we feel when you screw with us?" Shining said back, hitting his hoof on the top of the table, shaking it and making a loud thud.
"Whatever." Spear said, picking up his tray and sitting down across the room.
"Ugh. He really needs to get a life." Thunder said, rubbing his forehead while facehoofing.
"I agree." Shining said, eating a piece of carrot.
After breakfast, the two went out onto the training grounds to continue preparing, both getting minor cuts and bruises along the way....and maybe something more.
"Ow..." Thunderblast said, laying on his back on the ground after being struck by a magic beam from another guard while training.
"You alright?" The unicorn guard asked, standing above Thunder with Shining Armor.
"Yeah...totally." Thunder chuckled awkwardly, cracking a small smile.
"Look, i'm gonna get you to a medic." The guard said to Thunder. "Mind helping me Shining?" he asked.
"Sure thing." Shining Armor replied, helping Thunder onto the guard's back.
"Guys, really, i'm fine." Thunderblast said.
"No, you're not. You took a big hit to your side. I'm getting you to a medic." The guard said to Thunder, galloping into the castle and towards the medical wing.
Shining Armor and the royal guard layed Thunder down on a bed, and a doctor came in to see what was wrong.
"What do you mean my wing is broken?!" Thunderblast said in a panicky tone.
"When that guard hit you with the beam, it broke your left wing. Don't worry, it'll heal completely in two or three weeks." The doctor said.
"B-but... I need it for the guard fight! It's in less than a week!" Thunder said back, looking back at his left wing as the doctor used his magic to wrap it up.
"Sorry. You're just gonna have to live without it for a little while." The doctor replied, finishing up bandaging Thunder's broken wing, then walking out of the room.
"Oooooh." Thunder groaned, lowering his head and getting off of the bed.
"Hey, at least it wasn't something worse." Shining Armor said, patting Thunder's back.
"I know, but now I can't use that move that we practiced." Thunder replied.
"Oh. That's right." Shining said, sighing. "Don't worry, at least this isn't a public event."
"Wait, it isn't?" Thunder said, looking at Shining.
"Nope. Well, I don't think it is." Shining said back.
"Oh, I feel ten times better now. I thought it was a public event in front of thousands." Thunderblast said.
"It could be, i'm not sure. You should ask the captain, he'll know." Shining replied.
"Alright." Thunder said back.
"Alright you sissies, now's the next step of your training." Iron Armor said, walking down a line of recruits, including Shining and Thunder. "Today, you will be doing water training. This is a very required part of becoming royal guards. Every guard must know what to do in the event if somepony is drowning, but first, you'll be doing speed swimming. We will be monitoring how fast you swim. Again, this is not a race, so don't get competitive. Do your best. GO!"
At that moment, everypony ran and jumped into the pool, while Thunderblast, jumped in slower than the others, and immediately sank for a moment, before popping back up and doggy paddling towards the other end of the massive pool.
"Thunderblast! Doggy paddling is NOT swimming! Swim like a real stallion!" Iron yelled.
"I'm trying sir!" Thunder said, head barely above the water, and slowly sinking down. All he could see was the others way ahead of him, and soon, he gave up.
Shining Armor turned to see where Thunder was, and saw him go under.
"THUNDER!" He yelled, turning and swimming back to save his friend, diving underwater and pulling Thunderblast out of the pool, getting out and dragging him out. "Come on buddy... You're not dying on me today. Not here, not now." he said, pressing onto Thunder's stomach, causing him to cough out water.
Thunder coughed and slowly raised his head up, the back of his head dripping with pool water. "D-did I swim? Hehe..."
Shining sighed, then looked up to see his uncle glaring down at them.
"Thunderblast! I can't believe you. You doggy paddled, and sunk to the bottom of the pool! That isn't swimming. I'm very disappointed in you soldier." Iron said, growling slightly.
"Uncle. Stop." Shining said, standing up and sticking his hoof out at Iron.
"And you Shining... You...you-."
"Swam back and saved Thunder? Yeah, I did. You got a problem with that? You got a problem with your men going back and saving their friends?" Shining shouted at Iron.
"Well...uh..y-you-."
"Should have let him drown? No way. I thought this part of training was about saving ponies from drowning, yet you scold us because I went back to save him. If leaving your fellow guards behind is what being a royal guard is, then I don't want any part of it." Shining continued, narrowing his eyes onto his uncle, who was backing up slightly, in shock.
"W-what are you saying, nephew?" Iron asked.
"I quit this stupid training." Shining said, snapping his dog tags off of his neck and throwing them into the pool, then walking away.
Iron watched as the dog tags sank out of sight, and then turned to see Shining walk into the pool locker room, then sighed and also walked away to check on the other trainees who were still swimming.
Thunderblast got up and saw Shining Armor walk away, then coughed up some more water and walked after him.
"Shining wait!" Thunder said, following him.
"No, go away Thunder." Shining said, sitting down on a bench, then curling up and crying into his hooves, his dreams of being a royal guard is now crushed.
"Shining..." Thunder said, trotting up next to his friend and sitting down next to the bench, putting his hoof on his back as Shining sobbed into his hooves.
"Thunder... I can't believe my uncle thought leaving you behind was the best thing to do..." Shining cried. "The captain of the Royal Guard himself said leaving you behind was better than going back to save you."
"Shining, he didn't say that. He was just saying that I needed to learn how to swim. I probably should have told him in advance." Thunder replied, sighing.
"You didn't know before?" Shining asked, still face down into his hooves.
"No... I never knew how to swim. Deep water scares me." Thunderblast said, rubbing Shining's back just behind his neck.
"I'm so sorry, Thunder. I can't continue this. It's too hard." Shining sobbed.
"Shining, please, don't quit. I need you." Thunder said back, hugging him. "Please."
Shining Armor calmed down slightly. "You don't need me, Thunderblast. Nopony needs me." he said, eyes full of tears.
"I do need you buddy, and if your uncle really means it, you'll become the next captain of the Royal Guard. I see you becoming captain." Thunder comforted his friend.
Shining smiled slightly. "You really think so?" he asked.
"Of course." Thunder responded, smiling down at Shining.
Shining smiled more, then sat up and squeezed Thunder in a lung-crushing hug.
"I'm glad you're my friend, Thunder." Shining said, squeezing Thunder's neck.
"I'm.....glad.....to have.....you as mine......t-too!" Thunder strained.
"OH JEEZ." Shining said, letting go of Thunder, who dropped onto the floor and coughed, then stood back up. "Hehe... Sorry." he said, scratching the back of his head and awkwardly smiling.
"That's alright, but we need to get back to the pool!" Thunder said, trotting over to the door and opening it. "Come on!"
"But, what about you? You can't swim." Shining said, getting off of the bench.
"Hey, don't worry about me." Thunderblast replied, smiling.
Shining smiled and walked into the pool room with Thunder, before they both jumped in, and Shining swimming much faster than Thunderblast. Thunder managed to swim a little bit farther than last time, but ran out of energy quickly and started to go under again.
"Thunder!" Shining yelled, stopping and watching Thunder for a moment.
"No! Keep going! I'll be fine!" Thunderblast yelled back, before slipping underwater.
Shining looked at the end of the pool, then back to Thunder, then sighed and continued swimming, quickly passing the other trainees. When he reached the end of the pool, he looked to see if Thunder was back above the water, but saw nothing.
"Th-thunder!" Shining said, looking around.
Suddenly, Thunderblast popped above the water next to him, gasping for breath and coughing.
"Wow... That was real trippy." Thunder said, breathing heavily.
Shining chuckled, then helped him out of the pool.
Iron clapped his hooves and walked over to them.
"Wow you two, you swam faster than all of the trainees, even after all of that back there!" Iron said, smiling at them, and handing them towels to dry themselves off. "So, Shining, you still quittin'?" he asked.
Shining Armor looked to Thunderblast then to his uncle. "No sir, I think i'll stay." he said, smiling.
"Alright, and please, call me uncle, not sir." Iron said, trotting away. "You two can head out early."
"Thank you, sir." Thunder said, still gasping for breath slightly.
"Yes, thank you s--I mean, uncle." Shining said.
Later that same day, Thunderblast trotted to Iron Armor's office, and knocked on the door.
"Come in." Iron said, looking up and expecting a report from another royal guard.
"Afternoon, sir." Thunderblast said, walking in the door.
"Oh, good afternoon Thunder, I didn't expect you here. What's up?" Iron asked.
"Well." Thunder said, sitting down at Iron's desk. "The guard fight this weekend, is it a public event, or what is it?"
"Yes, it's a public event." Iron said, putting a folder in his filing cabinet.
Thunder gulped. "It is?"
"Yep. As a matter of fact, it's one of the biggest events in Canterlot. Ponies from all over Equestria come to see this fight." Iron said, sitting back down at his desk, investigating the stallion in front of him.
Thunder's eyes shrunk. "And, we have no choice but to go, right?"
"Affirmative." Iron said, smiling.
"Grrreat." Thunder sighed.
"Hey, don't be scared. Just pretend nopony is watching. I had stage fright as a colt too. Alot of ponies do, it's not just you." Iron said, putting his hoof on Thunder's shoulder.
"I know, but..."
"But what?"
"...Never mind." Thunder said.
Iron raised an eyebrow. "Okay then. Anything else?"
"No sir." Thunder replied.
"Alright." Iron said, shuffling through some papers, while Thunder walked out of his office and shut the door, then slowly walking down the steps, feeling more scared than ever.
Soon enough, the day finally came, and Thunderblast, nor Shining Armor, were too prepared for the magnitude of this event.
"Thunder?" a voice rang out. "Thunder..."
"Hmm?"
"Thunder! Get up!"
"Mmm... Don't wanna."
"Thunder! I said... Get up!"
Out of nowhere, Thunderblast woke out of a dead sleep and was yanked out of bed by his hoof, landing face down onto the floor.
"Ow." Thunder said, voice muffled slightly from the cold concrete floor.
"Thunderblast... Come on. Get up. We need to get ready." Shining Armor said.
"Ugh. What day is it?" Thunder asked.
"It's Saturday, Thunder. The guard fight is tonight." Shining replied.
"Wait...WHAT?!" Thunder quickly stood up.
"You heard me. You slept through the trumpets. We need to get ready." Shining said.
"What are we waiting for?!" Thunder panicked slightly, grabbing a towel and quickly running to the shower house.
Shining watched a grey and black streak shoot out the door, then he sighed and grabbed his towel, following Thunder to the shower house.
After showering, Thunderblast and Shining Armor ate, and instead of training more today, Iron Armor told all of the trainees to head back to their barracks to rest, and that guards would come and gather them to take them to the Canterlot City Arena, where the fight was being held.
A few hours after showering and eating, Thunderblast, Shining Armor, and a few others talked in their barrack, when a unicorn guard in regular armor, but with a red mane, tail, and star on his armor walked in.
"Trainees! It's almost time. Come on, march!" The guard shouted in a tough soldier tone.
Thunder, Shining, and the other trainees got off of their beds and formed a single file line behind the unicorn, and they soon gathered with the other trainees and guards, and they marched through the city, all chanting the royal guard theme, before arriving at the massive arena, ponies clearing the way for the guards and trainees to walk in. In the arena, thousands of ponies lined the stands, cheering and taking pictures, as they waited for the event to start.
In the locker rooms below, some of the guards put on their armor, while some did funny moves that got them pumped up, all wrapping their hooves in bandages like boxers.
"Shining?" Thunderblast said, sitting down on a bench next to Shining Armor, who was wrapping his hooves up.
"Yeah?" Shining replied.
"I'm a little scared. What about you?" Thunder said.
"I'm...fifty-fifty. Half scared, half ready to do this." Shining replied, finishing up one hoof, and starting on the other.
"I'm ninety percent scared and ten percent ready to do this. Or maybe it's ten percent scared and ninety percent ready. I'm too confused." Thunder said, chuckling lightly.
Shining laughed. "That's what makes it so intense." he said, finishing wrapping up his other hoof, then throwing punches at the air in front of him to prepare.
"Guards! Trainees! It's time!" Iron Armor said, trotting into the room, and everypony got up and formed lines, following close behind him as they walked out into the arena only to be greeted by thousands of loud, cheering ponies, who got louder once the guards walked out into the fighting grounds, which was a massive dirt field.
Meanwhile, TV stations from all over Equestria were at the arena, broadcasting the whole event.
"Welcome everypony from all around Equestria to the National Royal Guard Gladiator Battle!" An announcer talked, ringing throughout the whole arena, in a voice similar to a commentator from a boxing match.
This was it. Zero hour. Thunderblast had very little time to get the fear out of his nerves, and knew that whoever he had to fight, would show no mercy.
Up in the higher stands, the military and Royal Guard high ranks, Princess Celestia and Cadence sat, watching the event start.
The first two to fight were picked, while the rest of the guards and trainees, including Shining Armor, Thunderblast, Spear, Shuriken, and Whiteblade. All ponies stood up for the national anthem, and after the anthem, the fight immediately roared into action.
After a few short rounds and two long rounds, Shining Armor was then picked for the next fight, and he was being forced to go against a light tan pegasus, who was around the same size as Shining.
"Wish me luck!" Shining said, walking out onto the battle field, waving at some spectators.
"You don't need it!" Thunderblast yelled over the crowd to Shining, then watched as he went into the fight.
Shining Armor and the pegasus circled in the center of the arena, thinking of ways to attack.
"You're going down, pinhead." The pegasus chuckled.
"Who are you calling a pinhead?" Shining said, jumping into an attack position and firing a blast of magic at the pegasus, striking his hoof, managing to dodge the energy blast by flying up.
"You're so on." The pegasus growled, then flew down and threw punches at Shining Armor, who blocked most of the hits with his hooves.
Soon, the fight got intense, and it was raging on. Thunderblast and other trainees shouted for Shining to take him down, as well as many ponies in the crowd chanting...
"Shi-ning! Shi-ning! Shi-ning!"
Shining Armor lit up his horn, then charged towards the pegasus, slowly powering it up. The pegasus charged towards him, and just before they collided, Shining teleported away, and behind the pegasus, tricking him. He then got into another attack position, sliding his hoof like a bull on the ground, making small dust clouds behind him, then the pegasus became agitated.
"Okay. THAT'S IT!" he yelled, then flew at high speeds, too quick for Shining to react, and knocked him off of his hooves, and grabbed Shining's hoof, and yanking it in a direction it was not meant to bend.
"AAAAAAUGH!" Shining Armor screamed and cried in pain, being completely picked up and swung into the air, and slammed onto his back on the ground, yanking his hoof free and holding it in pain, then struggling to block more devastating punches from the pegasus.
"Hey HEY! Somepony stop him!" Whiteblade yelled, standing up and yelling at a referee, who ran out to them and pulled the tan pegasus off of Shining Armor, who was shaking badly and very weak.
"HEY! Stop! I want to finish him off!" The pegasus yelled, trying to get free from the referee's grasp to attack Shining Armor, while a couple of medics rushed to Shining and helped him up.
"Shining!" Thunderblast yelled, running out onto the field and helping the medics help him walk.
"I-i'm fine... R-really." Shining said, trying to smile, his eye half open and blood dripping from his muzzle.
"You fought your best, Shining. I'm proud of you." Iron Armor said, lifting Shining onto his back and walking him to the medical station.
Thunderblast watched Iron take Shining away, and started to worry more.
"Could I be next?" Thunder thought, sitting back down.
More rounds followed Shining Armor's fight, including Spear, who had already taken out Shuriken and another stallion named Thunder Storm, and Thunder grew more nervous. The crowd of trainees and guards around him waiting to fight got smaller, and soon enough, Thunderblast was the last one.
"Aaaaand the final fight for this evening..." The commentator said, and on the jumbotron hanging above the field from the ceiling turned on, showing pictures of Thunderblast and Spear. "Thunderblast and Spear!"
Thunder's heart sank at that moment, and fear rushed through his veins all over his body.
"Hehehe.. Good luck, but I doubt you'll need it." Spear chuckled, getting up and walking out onto the field.
Thunderblast stared out into nothing, before being snapped out of his trance by a hoof guard on his shoulder.
"You'll do just fine. Go make me proud, Thunderblast." Iron Armor said, smiling.
Thunder took a deep breath, then got up and trotted out onto the field, the cheers from ponies around the arena louder than ever. He stood in front of Spear, and he winced, preparing himself for the bell and the possible bloodbath that would come from one of them.
"I hope you're ready to die, Thundercrash." Spear said, getting into an attack position.
"In your little pea-sized brain dreams, Spear." Thunderblast said, putting on his game face and growling slightly at the white pegasus in front of him.
A few heartbeats later, the bell that Thunder feared would come finally rang, and Spear flew up the moment Thunderblast threw a massive punch, sliding on the dirt where Spear once stood.
Spear laughed, almost insanely, then flew down to attack Thunder, pulling out a sword.
Thunderblast saw a sword slide on the ground in front of him, then briefly looked and saw Iron Armor in the direction it came from, also cheering for Thunder to grab it and defend himself. Thunderblast picked the sword up, turning over and the sound of metal striking metal screeched as the swords collided, and Spear slowly pushed it closer to Thunder, who was straining to push Spear off of him. Then, Thunder did something very in-smart; He wrapped his hind legs around Spear's hind leg, then slammed them down, flinging Spear backwards and on his back, giving Thunder a chance.
Thunder stood back up, sword in his hoof, and waited for Spear to stand back up. When he stood up, they charged at each other, again swords colliding with each other, and they slowly pushed each other around, before Spear flew up and over Thunder, causing him to shoot forward and knock his sword out of his hoof, somehow becoming lodged into the ground, too much for Thunderblast to pull out with his remaining strength, crippling him.
"I'm going to enjoy this, Thunderblast." Spear said, slowly approaching Thunder, dragging his sword along the ground, making a long line in the dirt.
Thunder's hearing was bouncing from Iron Armor and other guards telling him what to do, to the sound of the crowds cheering, to the sound of him mentally beating himself for getting himself into this mountain of chaos. He waited until Spear was right above him, before turning onto his back and bucking the sword out of Spear's hoof, high into the air, and far behind them. Spear watched his sword get knocked out of his reach, then turned and faced Thunder, who was struggling to get up. Spear then threw multiple punches at Thunderblast, who opened his wings, breaking the bandages on his left wing, and shielding himself with them, his bad wing taking most of the hits.
"Thunder! Fight back!" Iron yelled from the stands.
"Not yet!" Thunderblast yelled back, still shielding himself.
"Come on, Thunder! Fight back! Take him out!" Other guards yelled, as well as a few injured guards and trainees, who were all cheering for him.
Thunder blocked out the others talking to him, and started talking to himself, closing his eyes for a moment, and counting down.
"Now..." He said to himself, before closing his wings, and in a matter of milliseconds, shooting up and super-punching Spear's chin with both of his hooves, and Spear was knocked far into the air, crashing back down into the dirt twenty feet away, Thunderblast landing back on his hooves, wiping some blood from his muzzle, then looking up at Spear, who had medics around him.
Thunder smiled slightly, but then his vision faded, and he collapsed onto the ground.
"Thunder... Wake up. You need to finish the fight!" A voice called out, mostly muffled.
Thunderblast slowly opened his eyes, and saw himself staring up at Iron Armor, and a couple of other guards, as well as a medic. When he looked at his stomach, there was a sword on it.
"I-I don't get it..." Thunder said. "I knocked him into next week."
"Yes, but it's tradition for the winner to kill his opponent." An earth pony guard said.
"W-what?!" Thunder said, standing up slowly.
He looked over to Spear, who's hooves were tied up behind his back, struggling to get free, and he immediately knew he didn't want to kill him. Thunder looked down at his sword, then back to Spear, then back to the sword, and picked it up slowly, then walked out of the small group of ponies who were around him, then he walked over to Spear.
Spear saw Thunder approaching him, and tried to get away, but then stopped struggling.
Thunderblast held the sword, now standing in front of Spear.
"Go ahead... Kill me." Spear said. "You earned it." he continued, smiling slightly up at the grey pegasus stallion, before sighing and shedding a tear, which rolled down his face. "At least I made it this far." he said, closing his eyes and preparing himself mentally to be killed.
Thunder looked at Spear, then to his sword, then he slowly raised it in the air, and the crowd immediately went quiet. Spear started to cry slightly, and when he felt the slight breeze of the sword, he thought to himself that it was over. But instead, he opened his eyes and saw the sword lodged in the ground next to him, and Thunder with his head down and eyes closed.
"What are you doing Thunder?!" Iron shouted.
Thunderblast raised his head and turned to look at Iron.
"I'm not killing him." He said.
A collective gasp filled the air around the arena, and the cameras focused on Thunderblast's face, broadcasting him across Equestria and on the jumbotron in the arena.
"What do you mean?" Iron Armor said, walking closer to Thunder.
"I'm not killing him. It's not right." Thunder said, glaring at Iron.
"Thunder, you have to. You won the fight." Spear said.
"Shut it, Spear." Thunder said, then turning to look back at Iron.
"And why not?" Iron said, attempting to scare Thunder by narrowing his eyes onto him.
"Sir... You thought it wasn't right when your nephew, Shining Armor, swam back to save me when I was drowning during that water training. You made him want to quit, and I got him to come back. Now, you think it's right for me to kill my opponent after knocking him out. You don't think he has family?" Thunderblast said.
"Well...uh..." Iron said, before being cut off by Thunder.
"Don't well uh me. I don't care who you are, I don't care if you're a normal pony or if you're captain of the Royal Guard. I am not taking this order to kill this innocent stallion behind me." Thunderblast said, trotting behind Spear and untying his hooves. "Tell me, every single one of you." he said, pointing his hoof around the arena. "Do you all think it's right for the winner to kill his opponent without giving him a last chance to fight for his life?"
Ponies around the arena looked at each other, then they all started chanting "Let Spear go!" over and over, and a small smile cracked on Thunderblast's face.
Iron looked around at the crowd, then to Thunder, and sighed.
"Thunder. You're right. Killing your opponent is not right, and when Shining went back to save you, I don't know what I was thinking by scolding him. I was completely wrong, and i'm sorry, and for that, Private Thunderblast..." Iron said.
"Private Thunderblast?" Thunder asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.
He looked behind him, and saw Princess Celestia standing there with a medal in her hoof.
"I, Princess Celestia, award you the National Royal Guard Gladiator Battle winner medal." She said, levitating it with her magic onto Thunder's neck. "And, I understand you are underage to be a Royal Guard, yes?"
"I-I am, your highness." Thunder stuttered lightly, looking up at her.
"Well, that doesn't change anything. Thunderblast, on Monday, I want you to go to the castle armor fitter." Celestia said.
"What for?" Thunder asked, eyes widening slightly.
"You will receive your armor." She said, smiling.
"You're one of us now." Iron said, saluting him, as well as a few other guards around them.
Thunder's irises widened even more, then saluted Iron back. "Thank you... All of you." He said, smiling. "May I ask for one more thing?"
"Certainly." Iron happily replied, dropping his salute.
"I ask that Shining Armor is also to receive his armor on Monday with me. He did after all say he didn't want his armor until I got mine." Thunderblast said, smiling.
"Of course. I'll let him know." Iron said. "For now, get some rest. You fought hard today." he continued, before walking away with Princess Celestia and the other guards.
"Th-Thunder?" Spear said, standing behind Thunder.
Thunderblast turned around to face Spear. "Yeah Spear?"
"Uh... I-I just wanted to say... I'm sorry. For everything." Spear said, lowering his head.
"Hey, that's alright." Thunder said, lifting Spear's head back up with his hoof.
"It's not. I was a jerk to you and I deserved to die back there. Why didn't you kill me?" Spear asked.
"I couldn't hurt you. It's not in my nature to do that." Thunder replied, smiling at Spear.
Spear smiled back at Thunder slightly, then hugged him. "I admit... You kicked my flank. C-Can we be friends?" he said.
"I'd love to." Thunderblast responded, hugging Spear back.