Green fire blazed along Zangief's hand as he swung his palm into the hadouken, banishing it right out of existence. He then raised both of his arms over his head and lunged for Ryu, the stadium shaking beneath his mighty footsteps. Yet the only being in the arena that did not quake from the sight of Gief barreling towards them was Ryu, who simply smiled with he saw the Siberian Express approaching.
With a kick of his legs Ryu hurled himself into the air, right over Zangief's head. Zangief came to a stop and looked up just in time to catch a foot right to his face, one that Ryu followed up with a punch to the stomach the moment he landed. Zangief staggered backwards while wiping his face with his hands, but despite the damage done a smile was still upon his face.
"Very good comrade, you are even faster than the last time we fought," Zangief said with a laugh as he hunched over and slowly began to stalk the warrior. "But have you been training your muscles? If not, then this will be a very short fight indeed."
"I don't know. Let's find out!" Ryu yelled before doing something that no sane fighter would have done. He dashed towards Zangief. The crowd let out a gasp as the sudden movement caught Zangief off guard for a fraction of a second. That second was all that Ryu needed to grab hold of Gief's arm, plant his foot into his chest, and then roll back while kicking up. And to the utter disbelief of every pony, changeling and other in that crowd...Ryu threw Gief over his head.
"I...I don't believe it," the announcer said in a shocked voice as Zangief landed flat on his back, while Ryu rolled back to his feet. "I've never seen any pony other than Zangief throw Zangief. Who is this competitor?"
Zangief was upon his feet a moment later, the smile still plastered on his face. But Ryu could also see behind the smile and knew that the Russian was planning something. Zangief then lunged forward with a speed that Ryu was not used to and reached Ryu in a matter of moments. Zangief swung his arms down to grab Ryu, yet before he could Ryu reached out with both of his arms and caught the mighty limbs of the Cyclone.
"HAHA! You have gotten stronger as well!" Gief said with a laugh as he strained against Ryu's might, while Ryu strained against his. Yet even though Ryu was exerting all of his might, the grip of the Russian was too strong and he slowly felt himself being overpowered. "But you should know better than anyone, there are none stronger than me! Zangief! The Red...CYCLONE!"
As he said this he released his pressure all at once, causing Ryu to stagger forward as he lost his balance. And he staggered right into the arms of Zangief. Zangief wrapped his arms around Ryu's waste before slipping behind him, letting out a bellow as he suplexed Ryu over his head. Ryu looked up in time to see the ground rising up to meet him and in an act of desperation he raised both his hands over his head. His palms slammed into the concrete floors and his muscles screamed in agony, yet once again to the bewilderment of every spectator, Ryu had done the impossible.
"He...he stopped Zangief's suplex," Diamond Tiara whispered in an amazed voice as all eyes watched as Ryu strained against he backdrop, barely managing to keep from being driven into the ground. Ryu looked under his arm to see that Zangief's face was on his right, so faster than most could keep up with he rammed his right elbow into the face of the champion. Zangief let out a growl as the blow loosened his grip, allowing Ryu to break free and roll back up to his feet.
"For a moment...I thought you had me," Ryu panted out as he brought his fist back up, a smile on his face as well.
"You give yourself too little credit, comrade. If it was so easy to defeat you, I would have done it long ago," Zangief reminded Ryu before both of their eyes narrowed. Knowing that he couldn't let Zangief get close again, Ryu brought his hands back before firing out a hadouken. Yet the moment Gief saw the hands retract, his mighty legs to could lift bears propelled him into the air. He sailed over the fireball while extending one fist towards the warrior. Ryu realized what was happening a moment too late and took a massive right punch to his face.
The blow sent Ryu staggering backwards and he held a hand to his face as blood started to pour from his nose. He looked up in time to see Zangief throw a kick with his tree trunk like legs. Ryu brought his arms up in time to block, but the blow still sent him skidding backwards slightly. Now that he had a bit of distance, Ryu brought his arms back again to fire another fireball. But as he saw Zangief kick off the ground, a smile crossed his face as he brought one arm down and tucked it in tight.
"Clever, Ryu," Zangief said when he realized what his foe had done.
"SHORYUKEN!" Ryu roared as he leapt up with his fist extended, catching Zangief right on the jaw and knocking him out of the sky. The crowd roared in disbelief as Gief tumbled three times in the air before crashing to the concrete below. Ryu landed lightly a moment later, panting heavily as he stared down at Gief.
"This...has never happened before," the announcer said as Zangief pushed himself back up, blood running down his face as well. "I've never seen anypony push Zangief so hard. Whoever this opponent of his is, they're like nothing I've ever seen!"
"You do not know who this is, Chrysalis?! This is the warrior I told you about, the one who defeated me! This is RYU!" Zangief roared at the commentators booth before throwing back his head and letting out a hearty laugh. Yet to Ryu's surprise, the crowd went dead silent at Zangief's words, so the only sound in the arena was Gief laughing.
"Do they...normally go that quite when you speak?" Ryu asked Gief as the two began to circle each other.
"Normally they cheer. But I assume their silence has to do with them learning that you have bested me before," Zangief replied. "We will talk after the match. For now, we fight."
Zangief dashed forward, but this time Ryu was ready for the advance. Ryu let out a cry as he swung his foot forward, kicking Zangief right in the head as he got close. With the big guy stunned Ryu followed up his attack with a low kick to the shins, one that he knew would only annoy the giant. But he also knew it would give him the time to follow up his attack.
"Tatsumaki..." Ryu said as he swung himself around, extending his leg and driving it right into the side of Gief's head. "SENPUKYAKU!" The force of the kick sent Zangief sailing backwards and he crashed into the ground on his back. With a roar Gief rolled back and was on his feet in an instant, a smile on his face when he realized how much closer Ryu was now.
"MY TURN!" Zangief roared as he drove his hands into Ryu's back, doubling the warrior over. Gief then tucked his arms around Ryu's waste before kicking off into the air, spinning around as he did so. The both of them came crashing down to the arena floor a moment later, with Ryu being piledrived head first at mach speeds.
"RYU!" Tiara cried out as Zangief leapt back and Ryu collapsed to the ground, barely moving. The crowd let out a roar that deafened the little filly, but then the crowd was struck silent as Ryu slowly began to get back to his feet.
"That's not possible," Filthy Rich whispered from beside his daughter, who was unable to find the words to speak.
"That...was far more powerful than your previous piledrivers," Ryu panted with pain and weakness as he brought his fist back up. "You have gotten much stronger since you've arrived in this land. I'm impressed."
"Believe me comrade, you have not seen anything yet," Zangief promised before raising his arms and charging forward again. Ryu caught the faint flashes of yellow that were covering Zangief's body, so with a smirk he brought his hands beside him and poured far more energy into his hands.
"STRIKE!" Ryu roared as he fired the electrified ball of energy into Zangief, shattering the yellow ground around the Russian's body and sending him hurling backwards. Gief crashed to the ground once more, but this time it took him a little longer to get back up to his feet. To Ryu's somewhat relief, he saw that Zangief was panting heavily as well. 'So even Zangief can get tired. This isn't good, though. He's far stronger than he was the last time we fought. I may not have the power to beat him.'
Zangief let out a smile before he began to walk towards Ryu, who slowly shifted backwards as he kept his eyes out for any sudden movements. Zangief ducked down like he was about to rush forward, before kicking off his legs and taking to the sky once again. Ryu wasn't fooled by the sudden change in approached and he crouched down once again while tucking his fist beside him, before exploding upwards with his uppercut.
"SHORYU-!"
"I am the protector...of the equestrian SKIES!" Zangief bellowed as he started to spin, catching Ryu out of his uppercut with a meaty paw and sucking the warrior into the blizzard. Zangief then tucked Ryu under his arm before the both of them rocketed straight up into the air.
"SIBERIAN!" Zangief roared while the crowd roared along with him. Gief then tossed the spinning Ryu into the air over his head before catching Ryu's legs and placing his own feet on Ryu's arms.
"BBBLLLLLIIIZZZZAAARRRDDDD!" Gief finished as drove Ryu into the ground head first, causing the concrete arena beneath the both of them to explode with the power of the impact. The crowd screamed as they shook from the impact, while the sound of Chrysalis laughing her head off could be heard over the screams. Zangief then leapt back from Ryu, whose body fell to the ground without making another sound.
"HAHA! It seems that the day has finally come! I have bested you, Ryu!" Zangief laughed with pure merriment as he placed his hands on his hips and began to laugh. The crowd cheered along with Zangief and when he began to flex they started to flex along with him.
"Ryu..." Tiara whispered as she gazed upon the warrior that lay in a shattered crater. She hoisted herself up onto one of the guardrails to race over to him, but she stopped dead as if shot a moment later. Because out of everypony in the arena, she was the only one that saw Ryu move.
"Not...yet..."
Zangief stopped his celebration and slowly turned around to see Ryu was picking himself out of the rubble, blood pouring down his face and body as he shakily got to his feet. But even as the crowd, the commentators and the very air itself went silent, Ryu slowly brought his fists up and took up his fighting stance once again.
"This battle...is not over," he promised Zangief. Zangief looked upon his foe with complete disbelief in his eyes, before a smile crossed his face and he shook his head.
"Only you, Ryu. Only you could take a blow such as that and still find the strength to stand," Zangief praised his foe before lifting his hands one last time, before charging towards the wounded warrior. "And that is why I will make sure this next attack keeps you down! It is over, Ryu!"
Ryu closed his eyes as Zangief approached, bringing both of his hands down towards his side. He then felt the dark energy within him, coursing through his veins as the power flowed into his hands. He only dared to take a small portion of it, nothing more, but he knew that it alone would have to be enough.
"Metsu," Ryu whispered before a massive ball of purple energy formed in his hand, causing the crowd to gasp as torrents of wind were created by the forming of the sphere. Ryu then clenched his hands closer together and the sphere stabilized, before he hurled it at the approaching Zangief who was too close to dodged.
"HHHHHAAADDDDDOOOOUUUKKKEEEENNN!"
The ball of purple energy exploded into Zangief's chest, detonating with a flash of energy do powerful that the spectators in the first three rows were blown out of their seats. Zangief let out a roar as he was hurled around the arena and driven into the concrete wall. The wall shattered under his impact, with the Russian Wrestler falling to ground with a weak groan. As the power from the attack died down, all eyes moved to Ryu, who stood in place with his hands extended still.
"Now...it's...over..." he whispered before letting out a moan and falling to his knees, his vision obscured by the blood that was still pouring from his head. No sound could be heard in the arena, not even the sound of the crowds breathing. For their breath had been taken away by what they had just witnessed. After taking a moment to recover, Ryu shakily rose back up to his feet before gingerly lifting a fist into the air.
"Im...pre...ssive."
Now it was Ryu's turned to be stunned as Zangief began to pick himself out of the rubble that used to be a concrete wall. The crowd went even quieter if possible as the Russian rose back up, blood pouring from his face while his entire chest was bruised from the hadouken. Yet even with all that damage done, Zangief still found a way to rise to his feet.
Ryu and Zangief both stared each other down, both knowing that the other was on their last leg. So with whatever little power they had left they began to run towards each other, though in their exhausted states they were more jogging or hobbling. With the both of them knowing that they only had enough strength left for one more attack, the moment they were close enough to the other they threw out their strongest move.
Ryu hurled his right leg towards Zangief's head, while Zangief threw the mightiest of punches at Ryu. Ryu's foot struck Gief the moment Gief's fist hit Ryu in the face, causing the both of them to snap back from the blow. Both Ryu and Zangief collapsed to their backs, neither of them getting up after the blows. The crowd waited with baited breath for one of them to rise up, to stand up to show who the winner was, but neither of them did.
"It's...It's a DOUBLE KNOCKOUT!" Chrysalis roared, the crowd exploding into a frenzy of cheers and rage as the fight finished. Yet for the two warriors that had put on such a show, neither of them heard the crowd that was chanting their names. Both were completely out cold.