//------------------------------//
// It's Time to D-D-D-Duel! 
// Story: Dimension Jumper 
// by redtau 
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	Harold was here, and I knew better than to take him lightly. His last loss at my hands had inspired not only harassment but outright spying and sabotage on the castle's restoration. I hadn't forgotten his crony's slip the night I unleashed Nightmare, and I didn't believe for one instant that he'd come here alone. I turned and walked up toward the main stage. "Hi, sorry. There appears to be some misunderstanding. This is my castle, it was given to me by Sarah and Nightmare upon their departure from this reality."

Harold glared at me, his horn lighting up as his magic pulled the crown from my head. "She has no authority to do so!" He shouted. "With her gone, the castle reverts to me."

"And you think you can just swagger in here and take it?" Thomas asked, raising a clenched fist threateningly.

Harold looked over the dark crown before discarding it in disgust. "Don't think for one moment that you can hold it cow," Harold said, looking down his nose at Thomas. "The Equestrian Guard would take out a ragged bunch of squatters like you in a heartbeat."

"You are here to rescue us?" Moon Dancer asked excitedly.

"Rescue?" Harold seemed a bit thrown off by that. "Nightmare supporters? You can all hoof it through the Everfree for all I care."

"What?!" I couldn't see Twilight but I recognized that shriek anywhere. "Do you KNOW what is out there? You might as well douse us in tomato sauce and oregano!"

"Just deserts I say." Harold barked back. Several of the more dangerous creatures were glaring at him and advancing on the stage, and I noticed several members of the band seemed to have glowing solid blue eyes for a moment. This was going to get very ugly very quickly if something didn't happen soon, and with the way Harold was acting it seemed like he wanted that.

"Hold on everyone!" I called, leaping up on stage. "Everybody just step back and calm down a moment." I waked over to Harold, retrieving and replacing my crown. "Now what you say may have some validity," It didn't. The claim was a crock of manticore droppings from top to bottom, the castle in its entirety was mine by legal ruling of the princesses. "However, I have been informed that this land is currently the Kingdom of Dreams, an independent nation recognized by several global powers including Equestria Itself."

That took the wind out of his sails. "What?!" Harold asked shocked. I noticed the glow in his horn fading, wondering what kind of spell he had planned after riling up everyone. "Th- that can't be."

"It can and it is." Reggie said, advancing with a sheaf of papers. 

Harold's magic snatched the papers out of Reggie's claws, pulling Reggie off balance for a moment. Harold separated the papers out and quickly skimed them, a worried look on his face.

"As you can see," Reggie continued, straightening his costume after his near fall. "The Kingdom is officially recognized by Equestria, the Federated Zebra States, and the Gryphon Empire, as well as a number of others."

"You have assaulted a foreign ruler." I said, grinning at Harold.

"One who is still trespassing on my land." He shot back. "Still, I acknowledge that there has been a... a misunderstanding. Perhaps we can come to an agreement."

The sudden change of attitude was enough to make me wary. "Go on."

"Princess Sarah accepted challenges to her rule in the form of formal duels, are you willing to accept the same?" Harold asked.

I nodded. "Of course, I will uphold any agreement that Princess Sarah made, including any duels she had scheduled, though I'll have to check to see when they were set for."

"All challenges to her rule were set one hundred and seventy-five years hence and were forfeit if she did not appear." Reggie offered, flipping through a notepad quickly to double check the numbers. "At the moment there are twenty seven on the list challenging her for rule over this castle."

"Very well then, if you will accept it, I wish to challenge you for ownership." Harold said.

"Agreed." I nodded with a smile, turning to Reggie. "Add his name to the list. As soon as other challengers are dealt with you and I can fight."

"Very well," Harold said with a grin, "You'd better get a sword so we can get started."

"Lord Harold, I think you misunderstand. You will have to wait for all the others challenging my rule, just like everyone else."

"But I'm not challenging your rule," Harold said. "I challenged you for ownership. There isn't anyone in line before me."

Damn it really? He's going to pull something like this? "You don't want to at least wait till morning? Let these ponies go home?"

"What, afraid a few of your commoner friends will laugh at your defeat?"

"I was more worried about the impression two adults fighting with swords would have on the children here tonight." I said, waving a hoof at the crusaders who looked positively primed for such an event. Turning to Reggie I asked "Can't we at least move them back where they can't see as much and will be safe? Maybe open up a tunnel or something so those who want to leave can?"

"Agreed," Moon Dancer said, stepping up to take charge of the little ones. "An event like this might give the young ones nightmares."

Harold grumbled as the children were gathered up and lead to the back of the party where Pinkie Pie was doing her best to be more entertaining (and less traumatic) than a sword fight. A handful of creatures left but most were looking forward to the fight.

"Someone bring me a sword," I called. "there has to be a half way decent one somewhere in this castle." The blade Reggie brought me looked ancient and dull, but I could tell it was more than it appeared the instant I picked it up. The unusual balance and slight sheen to the blade's edge were Machina's handiwork, and would help me even while I was fighting with the sword in my mouth.

"Are you ready?" Harold asked, his blades floating around him in his telekinetic grasp. He sounded more impatient than concerned for any sense of fair play.

"Almost. There is one last stipulation to this fight, one that should even the field a bit. No magic may be cast aside from the spells already in place." I grinned at Harold. "I'll answer your blades with mine, but I'm not about to go dodging fireballs at the same time."

More than anything else this seemed to give Harold pause. Were he fighting just an earth pony, this condition might be a serious detriment. An earth pony's natural speed, strength and endurance was normally greater than a unicorn's. Still, refusal of my condition would weaken his position in demanding a duel right here and now. Reluctantly he nodded.

"Submission or first blood?" I asked politely.

"Submission." Harold said, clearly uncertain about drawing first blood even with his magically manipulated swords. I nodded and picked up my blade, signaling the match to start.

Harold used the standard defense, keeping the slightly shorter of his two blades close to him for defense while he sent the other out for offense. I parried three swift blows and knocked the offensive blade back before charging closer. Harold danced back, his defensive sword parrying a few blows before I had to retreat or face both swords at once. There was a brief pause and the dance repeated itself.

Again and again, Harold's sword swung out or lanced forward in an attempt to do me harm and each time I battered it off and charged him. Every attempt wore on me, but it wore on him more. The mental strain needed to keep both swords at the ready coupled with his need to dodge and move every time I pressed my advantage was starting to show. He looked concerned, seeing that this was not the easy fight he had thought it would be. His sword swung low, seeking to trip me up and at least stop one charge. I countered with my own downward thrust,  watching his blade bounce off and up. 

That was way too weak! I spun around in time to parry the defensive blade that had been sweeping in from the other direction, before charging Harold.He now had the larger, heavier blade defending him, and it was clear he was having trouble making it move to block my attacks. With a great grunt of effort he managed to throw me back. I sprang up and was ready for the next attack.

But the next attack wasn't coming. Harold was looking at me curiously, as though something I'd done had confounded him. Both blades swung out in an obvious attack and I parried them both before charging. The shorter blade made it back to him in time to fend me off but now instead of curious he looked crazed. He was grinning like a maniac, but there was a deadly coldness in his eyes.

Harold laughed in an unsettling way as his blades came dancing out. Again I deflected the blades and again he had to scramble to put enough distance between us so that I couldn't gut him. The swords pushed my back, their tactics shifting to rapid light blows that I had to keep parrying and retreating. Something about this felt very familiar, but I couldn't place it while defending like I was.

At last I saw an opening and lunged forward, running full tilt right at Harold.

And straight into a magical blast. I tried skidding to a stop, throwing my left foreleg up in defense as the spell washed over me. Instead of a wave of pain though I felt an odd numbness in my skin. It took only a moment to realize I was frozen in place.

"That style, those moves." Harold was raving as he pranced closer, his swords hovering nearby. "You might be able to hide your face, but not your form." His horn glowed again. "Lets show everypony who you REALLY ARE."

A wave of dispersal magic struck me, and Nightmare's illusion began to fall away.