Contest of Champions

by thatguyvex

Chapter 13: Crucible

Chapter 13: Crucible

As Ditzy Doo sat on the stone benches beside Raindrops and Cheerilee she rubbed at the numerous aches and bruises developing from her fight with the zebra champion, Siwatu. Raindrops looked her over with concern, but also a note of pride.

“You really went at it out there. How you feeling?”

“Heheh,” Ditzy cracked an unsteady grin, holding her hooves out, both of which were shaking. “Kinda numb? I still can’t believe I won.”

“It was pretty impressive.” commented Cheerilee, nodding up at the vast stands of the coliseum around them, “I think you managed to snag some admirers out there.”

Ditzy's face gained a rose hue as she realized there were more than a few cheers from the stands calling her name and she partially hid behind one of her wings. “I just hope the next round is easier. I don’t want to face another giant scorpion.”

“I think you’re in the clear on that count,” said Raindrops, frowning slightly, “I wonder who’s up next?”

As it turned out the Abbess Serene called the next champions, which was Sir Silverwreath of Cavallia and one of the many griffin champions representing one of the numerous Griffin Kingdoms. Ditzy was distracted from watching the fight by the fact that a monk of the Order came up to her, a young looking green unicorn mare who offered to help heal Ditzy’s injuries. Apparently every champion between fights would receive any needed treatment so that they could go into the next fight as close to full strength as possible. Ditzy gratefully accepted and allowed the monk to do her work, carefully applying gentle, cool brushes of healing magic over her body while only half paying attention to the fights on stage.

They went remarkably fast. While Ditzy’s fight had been on a flat stage, the Abbess Serene called upon her fellow monks to help reshape the stage for each bout, adding different obstacles and pieces of terrain to add variety to the fights. Sometimes it would return to a more flat state, but it was clear the stage was meant to be randomized to a degree to ensure those fighting couldn’t entirely predict what terrain would factor into the competition. Ditzy saw Ser Silverwreath expertly time his lance strikes to counter his griffin opponents dive bombing attacks with a spear until he managed to catch one of the griffin's wings to send the knight's opponent spinning out of control to land out of bounds. More fights followed, mostly with champions Ditzy Doo only somewhat recognized. She saw one of the camels from Naquah display a rather fascinating elegant fighting style with a pair of scimitars against Sigurd’s bone sword. The water deer only barely won out over the surprisingly agile camel, using his cervid runecraft to clad his body and blade in a coating of ice, which was legal since it was a combat enhancing form of magic rather than a direct attack.

There were a number of griffins fighting griffins, and Ditzy couldn’t help but notice that when Gwendolyn was called into her first round it was against one of the griffins she and the girls had fought during the Grand Melee. That fight was shorter than all the others, Gwendolyn ending it in a single stroke of her red tinted sword, severing her competitor’s own blade in half.

Ditzy felt a pang of nervousness when Raindrops and Cheerilee each had their own first rounds, but if anything her own fight with the zebra seemed like the highlight of the opening of the Contest of Strength. Raindrops was pitted against one of the minotaurs, not Steel Cage but one of his two fellow champions; Bronze Belly was the name. Through tall and heavily muscled compared to Raindrops, Bronze Belly clearly underestimated Raindrops’ own muscle power combined with the fact Raindrops could fly. When he tried to get her in a bear hug, Raindrops had literally flown beneath the hold and proceeded to spear both hooves into his gut, lifting him off the ground just high enough to turn over and drive him straight back into the stage.

Cheerilee’s first round was against a unicorn representing Zaldia, a nation to the north of Equestria that was known for having a bit of a bias towards the unicorn tribe of ponies who ran much of the country. Ditzy hadn’t really noticed the country doing much during the Contest, but this champion, who went by the name Mirror Edge, demonstrated a whip based combat style apparently favored by Zaldian police forces. He actually got Cheerilee bound up with that whip, only to find Cheerilee was a remarkably flexible mare and could headbutt with the best of them, even with all her legs tied up.

Ditzy was relieved she and her friends had gotten through the first round, but also had a sinking feeling the real challenges were yet to come.

There was only one match left for the first round, and Abbess Serene called the names with the same hefty weight she’d given every match thus far.

“For the last match of the first round I call forth Dao Ming, Imperial Heir to the Empress of Shouma, and Wodan of Elkheim, Mover of Mountains and Bane of the Third Dragonwar!”

Ditzy looked on with a sense of awe as Wodan rose like a dark mountain, his muscles like gnarled roots as he moved with heavy steps up onto the vast stone fighting stage. From her own seat Dao Ming stood with smooth grace and light as a cloud she all but floated her way up to meet her opponent on the stage. With the pair standing facing one another it was almost comical how different they were in size and stature. Wodan’s rough, scar covered body was all dark, coarse fur that bulged with old, hardened muscle. There wasn’t a single, solitary fiber of his being that was soft or remotely delicate. Utterly towering over Dao Ming, who barely came up to one of the moose’s knees, Wodan was like an ancient boulder chiseled into the lethal shape of a barbarous warrior.

By contrast Dao Ming was ethereal grace and feminine elegance given living form. There wasn’t a portion of the kirin’s jade coat or fine gold scales that wasn’t immaculately groomed, and her shining golden locks of mane and tail gleamed with a liquid sheen under the morning light. Her body was whipcord lean and fit, all of her power contained in delicate but finely honed muscles. She seemed a polished reed beside the massive oak that was Wodan, and it only made it all the clearer to the audience watching from the vast coliseum stands and the other champions observing from the sidelines that this was going to be quite the show.

Dao Ming ignored the crowds, and the scrutiny of the many champions on the side of the arena. The only gaze she could feel on her was the firm gaze of her mother. She didn’t have to see the Empress to feel her mother’s eyes on her, like a magnifying glass amplifying the rays of the sun to burn a spot on the back of her neck. She carefully controlled the urge to reach up the scratch. Instead she focused her attention upon the moose in front of her. Dao Ming managed to crane her neck up without making the gesture seem too much like a concession to her opponent’s size.

He stared down at her, large rounded face filled with a friendly, eager light that was at odds with the rest of his body language, which was sheer menace and violence ready to explode into action.

Off to the side and standing roughly between them, Abbess Serene’s still form glanced questioning eyes between the pair, “Are the two champions prepared?”

“Hold a moment, honorable Abbess,” said Wodan, his crag-like features creasing in a wide smile as he turned his gaze down upon Dao Ming, the sun’s angle casting her in the massive moose’s shadow.

“It’s long been my personal tradition to share a drink with those I’m about to duel, Dao Ming,” Wodan rumbled, yanking a near barrel sized keg strapped to his side and slamming it down between them, “It is a warrior’s vow to fight with honor, courage, and spirit. Will you do this with me?”

Dao Ming eyed the keg with a hint of cautious curiosity, her nose twitching at the pungent aroma coming off it, far more bitter than the sake she was used to seeing Kenkuro drink.

“Did you do this to those you fought in the Grand Melee?” she asked, and Wodan chuckled. From him the sound was like a roaring waterfall.

“Bah, that was just sport and exercise! No proper duel! But here, upon this stage, we shall meet as warriors. I wish us to part the same way, hence why I always offer my foe a drink before battle!”

Without waiting for her response his massive, rock hard hoof cracked open the top of the get with a single stamp, and the moose raised the keg to his own lips, easily draining half of it in one go. Belching like a miniature typhoon, Wodan set the keg down before Dao Ming expectantly. The rough smell of the alcohol within burned the kirin’s nostrils, but Dao Ming held her head high and levitated the keg to her mouth. She didn’t try to match Wodan’s guzzling, but took a hefty swallow of the keg’s contents, and even managed not to cough or sputter as the liquid blazed a burning trail down her throat.

With a dainty lick of her lips she levitated the keg back to Wodan and said, “A strong drink for a strong people. Let us hope you hit as hard as your brew, Wodan of Elkheim.”

“Ha! That and harder, friend Dao Ming!” Wodan said with a pleased grin, tossing the keg out of the stage boundary, “I do believe we are ready, honored Abbess!”

Abbess Serene gave a calm nod, and turned to also nod at several of her fellow monks waiting outside the stage. At her signal the monks, cervids all in this instance, went to work on the stage with their own runecraft. The stone shifted and trembled beneath Dao Ming and Wodan’s hooves, and within moments the pair found themselves standing on opposite cliff-like outcroppings amid a stage that now looked very much like a small copy of a mountain slope.

Dao Ming took in the arena with a quick, calculating glance, while Wodan let out a joyous, whooping laugh.

“Hahah! Mountains! A terrain I favor. I’ve had some grand battles upon such slopes as this. Let us make this one worth remembering, Dao Ming!”

Abbess Serene raised and made a sharp gesture with her hoof, “Begin!”

With a sure hoofed leap, Wodan propelled his multi-ton bulk across the gap separating his and Dao Ming’s cliff side, far faster than Dao Ming could ever have expected such a massive creature to move. With long practiced grace and sinuous speed she back flipped away from his descending hooves. She thought herself clear from harm, but was taken completely aback when Wodan’s fore hooves crushed into the stone where she’d just been standing and that entire section of artificial cliff simply exploded under the sheer, titanic force of Wodan’s blow.

The shock wave alone sent Dao Ming’s elegant back flip into a haphazard tumble, chunks of rock pelting her fur and golden scales as she landed and stumbled, only catching her hoofing after a second of shocked teetering.

“Come now, don’t be shy,” said Wodan, emerging from the cloud of rock dust his blow had created like some monolithic wraith, “At least draw your sword, girl!”

To her chagrin Dao Ming realized she hadn’t even drawn her weapon yet, and with a faint flush heating her cheek as she pulled her sword free with her hoof and reared up, adopting a hind legged combat stance. Normally those who relied on levitation to wield their weapons were still allowed to do so, as it was still considered a martial discipline rather than a magical one to use a weapon in such a manner. However Dao Ming had trained in various hoof-held combat techniques, and wished to meet Wodan in the spirit of the Contest of Strength. She intended to win this on skill alone, and erase the disgrace of her folly from the Grand Melee.

High up in the stands the Imperial family of Shouma watched with varied reactions as the match commenced.

Xhua crinkled her snout, cringing slightly at the sight of the devastation Wodan’s single attack had caused. “What an utter brute. What is he, part oni?”

Lo Shang let out a low, appreciative whistle, fore legs crossed over his chest, “There’s no secret to that kind of strength, Xhua. That’s just what happens when the right kind of warrior’s spirit ends up in a body born for battle. Our sister is in for one difficult fight.”

Xhua frowned deeply, “Dao Ming has been having far too much difficulty at the Contest. She should already be in first place.”

“Be kind, sister,” Tomoko said, still as a statue in her own seat, not taking her eyes off of the match for an instant as she spoke, “Dao Ming will not allow herself to fail so easily. She has something that even one as mighty as that Wodan lacks.”

“Oh? And what is that?” Xhua asked, quirking up a scale ridged eyebrow.

Tomoko smiled thinly, “A higher purpose.”

Xhua said nothing to that somewhat cryptic statement, and the siblings resumed watching the fight in silence. Seated above the trio the Shouma Empress herself sat like a carved, jade statue. She ignored the banter of her adopted children below, her own gaze fixed in a unblinking, intense stare upon her only blood offspring. Few would have noticed the faint clench of the Empress’ jaw or the flinch in her eyes as Dao Ming launched into her own attack, charging Wodan.

For Wodan’s part he continued to laugh heartily as he watched Dao Ming cross the distance between them with a few bounding leaps. He smashed his prodigious hooves down again at the kirin, the impact powdering another chunk of the cliff. Like a leaf Dao Ming leaped above the blow, flowing up and over Wodan as if carried on a gust of wind. She spun, slashing with her slim, jian-style blade. She aimed for the joint between his shoulder and front right leg, hoping to hobble his mobility so she could further increase her speed advantage.

Her eyes popped wide as her sword barely did more than scratch his thick, heavily scarred hide. She landed on a taller outcropping of rock a few meters up the slope, blinking at both her sword and at the grinning Wodan. Her jian was forged from Shouma’s finest steel, and honed to a keen edge that Dao Ming was not lax in maintaining with regular maintenance.

“I see you’re confused, Dao Ming! There’s no need to be,” Wodan patted his shoulder with several hard slaps with his other hoof, “I’m not sword proof. Your blade is a fine one, for one so small. My body is like an ancient pine! It will take a the cuts of a thousand axes to bring me down!”

Dao Ming provided him with a hardened look and a acknowledging nod as she took up a fighting stance once again, taking a slow breath to still her mind.

“Then a thousand cuts is what you shall have.”

She suspected it wasn’t just his pure toughness and musculature that made him so durable or strong. Enhancement magic was no prohibited in these matches, and all those rune shaped scars carved into Wodan’s flesh likely served as triggers for multiple different forms of cervid runecraft. However Dao Ming felt no need to question him on that front. Whether his power came from a form of runecraft, physical training, natural talent, or a combination of all three wasn’t important. All that mattered to her was that she didn’t lose. Not yet. Not until she had a chance to face Trixie one more time.

She jumped down in a smooth flip, landing and immediately leading with her sword in a straight thrust for Wodan’s side. The moose side stepped and turned with surprising ease for his side, turning Dao Ming’s thrust into a glancing blow as he lowered his head, bringing his huge, thick antlers to bear. These too were carved with runes, and she could see a faint, pale light streaming through their curved edges as Wodan charged her with his deadly antlers leading the way.

Dao Ming flung herself forward and into a controlled roll, barely getting beneath Wodan’s antlers and avoiding his stomping hooves as he passed over her. She slung out with her sword as she came out of her roll, scoring another light cut on the inner thigh of his left hind leg, but that hardly slowed Wodan down as he ploughed into the slope of the mountain-like arena where Dao Ming had just been standing.

Cracks and small fissures ran up the length of the slope from the titanic impact, Wodan’s antlers carving into the stone like it was little more than butter. He shook his head, ripping out more stone as he turned around, and Dao Ming saw that he’d intentionally carved out a huge hunk of rock that was now impaled on his antlers as he turned around. With a flick of his head he hurled that stone at her, and Dao Ming jumped above it to avoid getting crushed under the boulder’s weight.

However she was vulnerable for a moment while in mid-air and Wodan stepped in, swinging with the back of his hoof. She rolled with the blow, but couldn’t fully negate its impact as she was hurled across the slope and impacted with another outcropping of rock a dozen meters away. The hit blew the air from her lungs and Dao Ming stumbled to the ground, trying to get her breath back.

Watching the scene play out many of Trixie’s friends flinched, but Trixie herself only leaned forward intently. There was no pleased look on the showmare’s face. Her eyes glinted with fervor as she whispered, “Come one, don’t lose this easily. You can’t be a proper rival if you fall here.”

Next to her Lyra cracked an amused half smile, “You know even if she loses you’ll still get to take her own in the Contest of Magic, right?”

“Hmph, that’s not the point!” Trixie said, looking away with a turned up nose, “I just don’t want to have to console her after a loss, is all. There’d be nothing more disappointing than having to deal with a depressed rival!”

“Heh, if you say so,” Lyra said, then turned her glittering eyes towards the arena, “I wonder if our friends will get to have their own rival matches? Raindrops has that nutty zebra obsessed with her, and Cheerilee’s got some kind of bet going with the head minotaur. Going to be a lot of tension if they end up in the ring together.

Trixie had no comment on that front, only hoping Cheerilee and Raindrops didn’t do anything too reckless if they ending up fighting their respective rivals. Any further thoughts were put on hold as Trixie watched Wodan stampede across the small, artificial mountain slope towards a still dazed Dao Ming.

Despite the ringing clamor in her head and the way the world felt as if it were roiling beneath her hooves, Dao Ming didn’t mistake the impending danger. With a sense of balance between body and mind that had been forged through a childhood of unending training, further sharpened by countless trials back in her homeland, Dao Ming shook off her dazed state and focused upon Wodan’s charging form. The moose bore down on her like an avalanche made flesh, and Dao Ming did what any sane person does when faced with a natural disaster.

She got out of the way.

With nearly supernatural agility she turned and sprang up the face of the near sheer rock outcropping she’d been smacked into just moments before. Her hooves sought out any tiny crevice or hold they could as she jumped up the slope. When Wodan impacted with the cliff face the rock outcropping broke apart like a stack of cards, but rather than merely fall, Dao Ming sprang off of the falling rocks as if they were stable platforms, directing herself down towards Wodan like a striking hawk.

In the span of a few seconds Dao Ming zipped from side to side, attacking Wodan’s flanks and limbs like a jumping spider, every leap showing a glinting blaze of sword strikes. Yet even as the small cuts mounted on the towering moose, Wodan didn’t show the slightest sign of pain or even slowing down as he laughed like bellowing thunder and pitched himself into a full-body roll that nearly crushed Dao Ming had she not managed to flip away at the last second.

Outwardly Dao Ming was calm and collected, but internally a part of her was starting to gnash her teeth and scream.

Blood and spirits damn it all, what will it take to make this walking boulder show some sign of weakness? I feel like I’m trying to chop down a literal mountain. Do I have to...?

She didn’t want to start falling back on using Mantra to summon the spirits with her scrolls. She knew as long as she used only chants that enhanced her warrior abilities it would be entirely within the rules, yet some part of her shrunk from that line of thinking. Was it simply that she was afraid of what had happened during the Grand Melee? Was she afraid to lose control again if she used the wrong chant or angered another spirit? Or was this some matter of pride she couldn’t yet resolve?

Would resorting to her spirit scrolls be like admitting that she wasn’t good enough to succeed with her own flesh and blood? Flesh and blood she desperately wanted to feel was vindicated. Dao Ming could almost feel the cold eyes of her mother on her back.

Not yet... I can push myself further than this. Just watch, mother. I’m not weak. I’ll show you here and now what the blood I inherited from you is capable of.

She raised her sword, ready to rush Wodan once more, but the moose surprised her. He looked at her and she saw one of his thick eyebrows raise, and rather than charge her again, Wodan made a snorting sound through his massive nostrils and looked down at her.

“What’s this? You look distracted. Is your blood not pounding? Is your heart not in this?”

Dao Ming blanched, adjusting her grip on her blade and turning her chin upwards towards him, “What!? Of course my heart is in this! There’s nothing distracting my mind. It is one with my blade, and this battle.”

“Hmph, you say this, but you stiffen and preen like a child swinging a sword for the first time while their parents watch...” As if his words sparked a thought, Wodan glanced towards the coliseum stands, in the direction where the Imperial family watched from. With a knowing huff and shook his head, “So that’s it, then? You’re playing at being a warrior for the approval of another?”

“What are you doing?” Dao Ming said as Wodan sat down. There was a murmur from the watching crowd. The words being exchanged by the pair couldn’t be heard at any distance, but the magical mirrors floating around the crowds provided a clear view and showed that Dao Ming and Wodan were talking, and apparently Wodan had just lost all interest in the fight.

“I’m sitting,” Wodan said, yawning, “I have no interest in fighting a child.”

Dao Ming’s face twisted in insulted ire, her eyes dilating and her eyebrow twitching, “...What did you just say?”

“I said I have no interest in fighting a child,” Wodan said, going from sitting to lying down, turning his back to her and waving one large hoof dismissively, “When you find a warrior with whom I may enjoy a raucous duel with, bring them here. I’ll fight them. Not you.”

“And what was that stupid drink and vow for then!?” Dao Ming shouted.

“I thought I was sharing a drink with a fellow warrior who stood on their own hooves without requiring the acknowledgment of others. My regrettable mistake.”

“I am a warrior, and no child!” Dao Ming insisted, stomping a hoof. Wodan just laughed.

“Those sound like the words of a child. Tell me, if you are what you claim to be, then why are you holding back in an honorable duel?”

“I...” Dao Ming glanced at her side, where her scroll case was strapped to her form hugging fighting dress, “I’m not holding back.”

“That right? I may be an old moose, but I'm not that old yet. You’re not taking this seriously at all, little kirin. If it were just you forgoing using your magic I’d make no bellyache over it, if doing so was your choice to test yourself as a warrior. But to hold back to make another, especially a parent, approve of you? I’ll not dishonor myself by fighting a child who’s too afraid to step out from beneath her parent’s gaze.”

Dao Ming shook with fury, struggling to keep herself composed. The usual stillness and mental discipline that was usually so simple for her to maintain was cracking under the blows of Wodan’s words. “Afraid? I’m not afraid. I have a duty as the Imperial Heir to demonstrate my worth and honor my mother’s blood. What is wrong with that?”

“So that’s all you see yourself as? Your mother’s blood? What about your blood?”

A look of confusion crossed Dao Ming’s face, “My blood?”

Wodan turned over, rumbling to his hooves like a bear shaking off winter’s sleepy touch. “Yes, your blood. The blood you shed today, and tomorrow, and any day you draw that sword for battle! Is it you bleeding or your mother? When you make me bleed is it you striking me or your mother!? I may as well call her down here then, rather than fight her shadow, eh?”

As she stared at him in blinking shock, Wodan reared up and slammed his hooves into the ground, “I climbed into this honorable arena to fight you, Dao Ming, not the Empress of Shouma’s barely weaned child! I shared my drink with a warrior who bears her own name with pride, or so I thought. Or am I mistaken? Is there no Dao Ming, just the Imperial Heir?”

Dao Ming stared at him, seemingly taken aback by his words and struck dumb by them. As her mind worked to process what Wodan said, on the sidelines of the arena Gwendolyn crossed her arms and her beak turned up in a faint smile of approval. Quietly, to herself, the griffin said, “He’s got a point, Dao Ming.”

With a clear look of confusion over the two combatants stopping, Abbess Serene stepped back onto the stage, but Wodan waved her off.

“Give us a second, honored Abbess. I believe the real fight will start momentarily...” Wodan said, and Serene bowed her head to him after a second and backed away while looking at Dao Ming curiously.

For her part the young kirin heiress stood there, face shifting in uneasy introspecting.

Sitting next to each other Kenkuro and Nuru looked at each other, the elder zebra whispering, “Her spirit is in turmoil. Is this normal for your disciple?”

Kenkuro turned his steady gaze back to Dao Ming, his own words filled with a near fatherly concern, yet also confidence, “This is new to her, but this is what I hoped for. She needs to be challenged, to grow. To move past...” he trailed off, not so much glancing up towards where Empress Fu Ling sat, but twitching his eyes that way just enough for Nuru to notice and give a sagely nod.

“Ah, I see. You’re harder on your student than I am on mine.”

Kenkuro allowed himself a brief grin, “That’s why she’ll win.”

On the arena stage Dao Ming blinked and seemed to come out of a daze, her expression shifting from confusion to a steel still mask, her voice speaking with a sudden and keen clarity.

“I understand what you’re saying, Wodan of Elkheim. I thank you for your words... but you are mistaken on one important thing.”

Her kirin horns lit up with a halo of golden magic, her scroll case opening and unfurling a line of scrolls to float around her. Dao Ming continued to hold her sword with her front right hoof, but shifted her stance as she sheathed the sword, but kept her grip on the hilt and spread her hind legs out with the right one leading and the left one braced behind her.

“I am neither just my name nor my title. It’s true I was being foolish, holding back against you, but not because I was merely seeking my mother’s approval. It was foolish because I was forgetting my true duty, and where my loyalty belongs. I was forgetting why I should treasure my skills and take pride in my blood. Not because I am the daughter of the Empress, but because-” her eyes flashed with a spirited heat, “-I am the one who will be Empress! My duty to Shouma surpasses any petty need for parental approval, and prideful displays between warriors. I am the future ruler of my people, and I owe them every ounce of dedication and strength I have!”

She bowed to him, “I apologize for holding back. I swear to you that now you will face all the power I can muster. I hope you are prepared.”

Wodan cracked a toothy grin, popping his neck and taking a heavy step forward, “Now that’s better! Now we can have a proper duel, hahah!”

With a whispering result of parchment the scrolls flowed around Dao Ming as her voice resonated with powerful words of invocation. The ink upon the scrolls glowed with alternating colors of cold blue and fiery gold, the kanji lifting off the scrolls to float around Dao Ming like butterflies.

”Winds of the eastern heavens, carry me to victory
Fires of the western sun, bolster me against defeat
Turn my blood to flame, my body to steel
Until my heart stops beating, fight alongside me!”

What appeared to be small, flaming birds with four wings formed from the golden kanji symbols and flew into Dao Ming’s body, lighting her up with a faint golden aura. From the cold blue kanji tiny moth like spirits of air took shape and wrapped themselves around her legs until a frosty mist, like miniature clouds, encapsulated her hooves and lower limbs.

“What’s she doing, and is it legal?” Lyra asked, and next to her, Trixie shrugged.

“More kirin spirit Mantra, and as long as it's just being used to give her a boost, its within the rules.”

“Wonder why she didn’t boost herself against us?” Lyra wondered.

“She didn’t think we were worth the bother, I’d wager,” Trixie said, grimacing slightly, "Her attitude now might be quite different, if we had a do-over of the Grand Melee. Better than summoning a giant lightning spirit to blast us, I figure.”

“That’ll make her more trouble in the Contest of Magic, won’t it?” asked Lyra, sounding a tad worried, but Trixie waved it off.

“It’ll make things more [interesting,” the showmare insisted, not looking away from the arena for an instant as things heated up there and the battle resumed.

Dao Ming moved first on the rather politely waiting Wodan. The air spirits infusing her legs made motion smoother and faster, as if they were helping her glide across the uneven ground of the mountainous arena area. Her sword flew freely in her magic aura now, but only because she wanted her legs free to strike as well. In a swooping motion faster than a falcon she slide right through Wodan’s first strike, ducking his massive hoof and slicing with her sword at the same instant she lashed out with her two forelimbs, attacking both Wodan’s front legs at once.

Her sword bit deeper into his limb this time, and even her hoof strikes hit with a heavy impact, the fire spirits in her body working to empower her muscles.

Even so, Wodan was Wodan. He took the blows like a mountain weathering a tempest and with skill born of decades of experience he kept balance under Dao Ming’s blows while countering insantly with a deadly rake of his antlers. Dao Ming narrowly evaded, feeling the tips of those antlers brushing her scales as she flipped away. Rock was gouged out and sent out in a spray of stone that pelted her as she landed, but she dove right back into the fray, leaping into a flying kick that caught Wodan across the face.

The moose laughed merrily even as one tooth flew loose from the blow and he hammered her back with a lightning fast hoof strike that drove the air from Dao Ming’s lungs and sent her hurtling across the artificial cliff side, bouncing off the rock like a pinball.

Yet she recovered, bleeding from a cut scalp, bruised over her body, yet she was smiling. She was enjoying herself. She didn’t feel the weight of her mother’s gaze on her back, just the weight of her duty as future Empress, a weight she bore proudly as she fought as a champion in this honorable duel.

She flew back at Wodan, sharing in his laughter. Dao Ming became a storm of blows, sword and hooves a constant rain upon the weathered moose’s hide. He took every blow with a grin, striking back with increasingly reckless abandon with hits that never failed to shatter portions of the arena. While Dao Ming gave twenty blows for every one Wodan gave her, Wodan’s hits were like being run into by a locomotive.

Many of the watching audience began to wince with every exchange, some growing nervous at the sight of the blood both champions were shedding.

Even the Empress of Shouma was starting to gain a darkened look on her face, her hooves gripping the edge of her seat in a rare open display of emotion. Tomoko looked at the Empress with a faintly narrowed eyes, but said nothing. Meanwhile Lo Shang was all but leaping up and down in his seat.

“Get him, Dao Ming! You’ve got him! Don’t give up!”

Xhua heaved a sigh, “Will you sit down? You’re embarrassing us. Show some composure.”

He glanced at her askance, but did settle down, saying under his breath, “She’s doing well. A little cheering doesn’t hurt.”

“It’s nearly over...” Tomoko said, eyes focused once more upon the duel.

Within the Equestrian seating for the nobility and royalty, Luna watched on with a keen eye, paying little mind to the chatter among the present nobles commenting on the match. Most of them were assuming Wodan would be the victory, given his seemingly endless stamina. And in some ways they were correct. Luna had once dueled Wodan herself, back in the moose’s prime, and indeed Wodan had near limitless stamina for a mortal. His physical strength was second to practically none in the realm of mortals either. Even Luna respected it, and could still remember the uppercut he’d delivered to her in their long ago fight. She’d body slammed him through hill afterward, but she’d still had a sore jaw for the rest of that day.

Few could stand against his raw, primal strength, enhanced further with ancient cervid runecraft from the runes carved into his very body.

Yet despite all that, Luna saw the outcome of the match before it happened

For all Wodan’s strength, he tended to lose himself in the joy of the fight, and lose sight of the intentions of his opponent. Granted few opponents could do much against him, regardless of any intentions they might have, but Dao Ming wasn’t the average foe. Above any tricks of magic, skill with a blade, or acrobatic prowess, Dao Ming had a natural talent for seeing and controlling the flow of a fight.

Almost every blow Wodan threw wasn’t just aimed at Dao Ming, but aimed at whatever place Dao Ming had been standing in at that particular moment. Places not chosen at random, but intentionally occupied by Dao Ming at those moments to create her opportunity to claim victory. For despite her ability to inflict ever more injury on Wodan, none of it would make him give out before she did. Wodan was simply more sturdy and had more blood to shed. If it was left purely to a fight of attrition, Dao Ming would lose, assuredly, every time.

But Dao Ming knew that, and so had taken the momentum of the battle and made it her own, picking and choosing the places to let Wodan strike. She was hit often, but more often when she evaded, Wodan’s hooves broke apart sections of the steep mountain cliff the arena had been transmuted into. Ever wider cracks formed along the large incline of stone. Until finally...

Dao Ming saw Wodan rear up for a massive two hooved slam, and she threw everything she had into a mighty back flip that took her soaring over the blow. Wodan’s hooves smashed the floor where she’d been, cracking more stone up the cliff face from the titanic hit. Dao Ming landed high above and a now mostly cracked and broken cliff face, on an uneven outcropping of rock.

Wodan looked up at her, breathing a little hard from his exertions but still clearly enjoying himself, “What’s the matter? Had enough yet, friend Dao Ming?”

Dao Ming wore a small smile of her own, blood coating her face, its beauty now marred with several bruises that she didn’t seem to mind at all. “It was an excellent match, Wodan of Elkheim. You have given me a great gift today, and it is a favor I will not soon forget. I thank you. Now, I hope you do not feel any ill will towards me, but now I must end this so I can conserve my remaining strength for the matches ahead.”

Wodan tilted his massive head quizzically, but Dao Ming answered his look not with words but by striking with her sword. The finely sharpened blade cut through weakened portions of rock at several key points before it flew back to sheath itself at Dao Ming’s side.

A second later there was a tremendous rumble through the artificial cliff as the already weak rock, pounded to near its breaking point by Wodan’s many strikes, and now pushed beyond that point by Dao Ming’s sword, broke apart and became a huge rock slide.

More than a few champions seated around the arena backed away quickly, just in case. Wodan for his part just saw the wall of rocks flying towards him, and broke out into a peal of heavy laughter as he was swept off his hooves and sent tumbling down the cliff along with the avalanche of rocks.

When the rocks settled the dust rose in a thick cloud, and after a moment of silence Wodan, battered but very much alive, pushed himself out of the pile.

“Hahahah! Clever! Very clever! I should have been paying more attention to where my hooves were hitting,” Wodan chuckled at himself as he dusted himself off and looked around. The rockslide had taken him right out of the arena. “Abbess, I think this counts as a ring out, no?”

Coughing a bit under the still spreading cloud of rock dust, Abbess Serene looked at the spectacle before her. Wodan was bruised and bloody, standing atop of the rock pile outside the arena, while Dao Ming had gracefully leaped above the avalanche and stood at the artificial cliff’s apex, equally wounded as her opponent but still very much standing and inside the ring.

With a polite cough to clear some dust form her throat the Abbess somewhat awkwardly clambered onto the now mostly broken stage and raised her hoof, “First round, final match winner; Dao Ming!”

A few moments of stunned silence at the spectacle below them was soon shattered by a storm of shouts and cheers cascading in from the colosseum stands. Amid the hoof stomping and whooping, not many noticed the way Shouma’s Empress let out a long held breath, seeming to sink into her seat in relief.

Lo Shang was tossing aside his composure and cheering louder than any of the nearby spectators, while Xhua was stomping her hoof politely in applause while giving him a sideways glance of annoyance. Meanwhile Tomoko simply wore a knowing, pleased smile as Dao Ming left the arena and approached Wodan.

“A well fought match,” Dao Ming said, bowing deeply to the moose, “Again, you have my thanks.”

Wodan threw back his head with a hefty laugh and then bowed his head in turn, “Bah, no need for thanks, that was as bracing a fight as I could’ve wanted! I’m not even angry at being taken out of the running in the first round, because I doubt many others here could’ve given me half the challenge you just did! Hahah!”

“I my politely disagree,” Dao Ming said, her breaths labored as she put a hoof to her chest, “I’m afraid my skills pale in comparison to master Kenkuro, and there are many other champions here with exceptional abilities. In truth, I only won on the technicality of a ring out achieved as a desperate ploy. Had our battle been a real one, you would have emerged the victor.”

“Gah, you’re worse than Sigurd! Enjoy your victory, friend Dao Ming, and think not on could haves or what fors! I insist that when the Contest is done you join me for a drinks and song, so that we might craft a fine verse to add to your own ballad!”

Dao Ming smiled slightly, “We do not have ballads in Shouma, but perhaps I might let you teach me the basics...” she stumbled a bit as the exhaustion of the match caught up with her, and found the swift, warm hoof of the moose propping her up, shockingly gentle for one so large and capable of such devastating strength.

“Easy there. Perhaps you did strain yourself more than I imagined. Yes! Drinks now. Abbess, there will be a break between rounds?”

Abbess Serene gave Wodan a nod, “I was just about to announce such, in fact.” Clearing her throat, the Abbess spoke louder, her voice carried by amplifying magic to the crowds, “With the first round concluded there shall be an hour break for our noble champions to recover their stamina, have wounds treated, and... heh, for us humble monks to reconstruct our poor arena.”

There was a wave of laughter from the crowds, almost as much as there were sighs of relief, for many needed refreshment after the long number of first round matches. Now with the number of champions in the Contest of Strength reduced by half, the next round would likely go much faster. Many of the champions present were eager for a rest, and as Dao Ming and Wodan parted ways, a number of monks arrived to begin treating injured or offering food and drink to the gathered champions.

“You can of course go to one of the waiting rooms if you wish, or anywhere else you like, just as long as you return before the next hour passes,” one of the pony monks told Raindrops, Cheerilee, and Ditzy Doo.

“Sweet,” said Raindrops, stretching her wings, “Will the next match ups be announced before then?”

“The next round matches will be presented right before they begin, just to ensure its a fair surprise,” said the monk, bowing his head, “Until then, please prepare however you feel is best.”

“Well I for one could go for something to eat,” said Cheerilee, stretching, “Never fight on an empty stomach. You girls want to grab some lunch?”

Ditzy Doo shook her head, “I’m fine. I think I’ll go find Dinky and spend a bit more time with her. She still seemed a bit shaken from this morning.”

“No worries, we’ll catch you when the next rounds start,” Cheerilee said, then glanced to Raindrops, “How about you? Going to make me go get food all on my lonesome?”

“ ‘Fraid so,” Raindrops said with a small smile, “Ate plenty this morning. Think I’ll just sit here and clear my head.”

After a quick shrug Cheerilee said, “Good luck with it then. See you girls soon.”

After Ditzy and Cheerilee had left Raindrops took a deep breath and closed her eyes. With a few deep, rhythmic breaths she let the noise of the crowds, the gossiping champions discussing the matches of the first round, the churning of rock as the monks got to work restoring the arena, she let it all drop away.

It was nothing more than a simple meditation exercise, and she couldn’t quite do it properly with her mind’s nagging desire to wander to thoughts of the next match. It wasn’t much of a surprise to her either when she sensed Tendaji’s approach, the zebra’s too quiet hoof falls stopping just short of her.

“Something I can do for you?” Raindrops asked without opening her eyes.

“Be prepared. Our paths reach their critical juncture.”

“You ever going to stop being weird and cryptic?”

She could almost hear the twinge of a smile in his voice, “A zebra must maintain his mystique, otherwise he insults his entire tribe. But to be less cryptic, I’ve peered upon our paths, in the manner you now know zebra can do. The cords between us shine at their brightest, all but blinding me. Our match will likely be in the next round.”

“Zebras do prophecies now?” Raindrops said, frowning slightly. Corona’s lackey, Zecora, liked to go on about that stuff too. Maybe it really was a zebra thing?

“I wouldn’t call them that, but we see the world, and we interpret meaning. Take it as you will, but I’m almost certain our match will be next. I just wished to tell you that so you were prepared.”

“Color me informed,” Raindrops said, less bothered and more simply eager to have this matter done with. To her the Contest was more than just her weird rivalry with Tenadji. She understood, better now than before at least, why he was so interested in fighting her. But ultimately that didn’t factor into her own desires here. She’d come along at first because it was her duty both as a Element Bearer and as a friend to Trixie and the others. Now she wanted to prove to herself what she could do while keeping her anger from holding her back or controlling her. Beating Tendaji would be a good benchmark for that.

Assuming she could.

“If we end up facing each other, I’ll be going all out,” she said.

“I wouldn’t want anything less,” he replied, and she heard his hoofsteps slowly move away, leaving her to mediate once more.

----------

When Tendaji returned to where he’d been sitting among the now mostly vacant stone benches for the participating champions, he saw his wife waiting for him. Aisha sat in nearly the same pose he’d first seen her in, sitting on her haunches with her fore hooves playfully crossed, her head tilted to match the coy and measuring look in her eyes. Back then she’d even worn the musing smile she did now, which made her eyes shine with hidden amusement.

“A mare could get jealous,” she said, “Are you ready for this?”

“I’ve followed my Path to this place. I can face what awaits me here. I’m not stranger to a fight,” he said, settling next to her, he leaning into her, and she to him.

“That’s not what I mean and you know it. Are you ready for what comes after?”

“...I don’t know.”

Aisha let out a tiny laugh, head leaning into his shoulder as she nuzzled him, “Still the unsure colt I met back at my father’s mountain. I love you, but you could stand to put a bit more trust into what’s in front of you instead of all the ways your Path might wind into the future. Even father can’t see all things. I sometimes wonder if he sees a fraction of them.”

Tendaji came up with a small chuckle of his own, “He has often convinced me he sees more than I. I... want to go home with you Aisha-”

“But you won’t, because of the disease.”

He was silent for a time, then his head hung down slightly, “I’m no good to you as I am.”

“Hmph, is that for you to decide?” She snorted into his shoulder, one of her hooves nudging his ribs, “Perhaps this time I simply won’t return, and follow you on whatever foolish Path you choose next.”

He glanced at her, “I don’t-”

“Know,” she finished for him, “Of course not. I’ll tell you this much, whatever comes after this silly Contest, it is going to involve the two of us together, one way or another, Tendaji of the Peacewalker Tribe. I’ll not have it any other way. So have your match with your angry pegasus, and take form it what lessons you can. I will be waiting for you afterward.”

To this Tendaji said nothing. He only leaned into her more, and let his hoof find hers as they shared the silent moment together.

----------

Sigurd couldn’t quite contain a measured huff of incredulous laughter as he watched Andrea tend to Wodan’s wounds while nearby the Shouma Heiress watched on.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you humbled, Wodan,” Sigurd said, and Wodan rolled his shoulders in a huffing laugh that sounded more like a billows.

“And may you find foes in your matches half as worthy! Why, the very island itself trembled at the might of our clash, would you not say, friend Dao Ming?”

Dao Ming coughed politely, face schooled to a cultured neutrality, “It was a very educational match.”

“Hah! Educational! The skalds could not have said it better, right Andrea?”

She paused in stitching up a cut upon one of his legs and eyed the moose with a friendly but dry smile, “I’ll see what turns of phrase I can manage when the time comes to add this particular passage to the sagas and ballads to be sung of the Contest. It certainly seems you both enjoyed yourselves. Perhaps the most fun I’ve seen you have losing, Wodan.”

“Bah, losing is just deferring a victory to another day! Now that Dao Ming has shown me her true worth I look forward to testing it again when we meet again! And we shall, friend Dao Ming, don’t you doubt it! I demand you come visit Elkheim one fine day and let me show you our soaring mountains and mighty forests, not to mention the truest brewed mead you’ll ever taste!”

“An invitation I extend as well,” said Prince Frederick as he entered the room, Carrot Top trotting alongside him as they both came in. The group was inside one of the many rest chambers built into the colosseum's ground floor, spacious enough for many creatures of various sizes to rest comfortably on a variety of furniture, all well lit from wall sconces. Frederick had come down from the spectator stands with Carrot Top, eager to chat after the first round of matches.

Frederick exchanged a formal bow with Dao Ming, the kirin returning the elk’s gesture with one of her own as she smiled, not just in courtesy but with a bit of extra warmth that hadn’t been part of her demeanor before her fight with Wodan.

“I’d like that, Prince Frederick. I think that I may have much I can learn from seeing the realms of Shouma’s distant neighbors. I-”

She went quiet as she looked behind the Elkheim Prince to see her mother step into the room, her siblings in tow. The Empress cast a cool glance around the room before resting her golden eyes upon Dao Ming. The rest of the room had gone silent, at least for a moment, before Wodan grinned and bellowed.

“Many thanks, Empress, for birthing such a fine warrior as to fell the mighty Wodan in honorable battle! Your pride must shine brighter than the dawn!”

The Empress’ eyes flicked towards him with the glassy sheen of barely contained distaste, and she gave a small flick of her tail as if Wodan’s words were like flies she was trying to shoo away. Her gaze turned towards Dao Ming, and the heiress stiffened but met her mother’s eyes evenly.

“You performed adequately,” was all the Empress said, and turned to leave.

“Is that all you have to say?”

Dao Mings words cut across the room like a knife, silencing any idle conversation and leaving the others in the room awkwardly quiet. Empress Fu Ling paused in leaving the room, her back remaining to Dao Ming like a jade statue, while Dao Ming was as animate as a flickering flame even while standing still.

“What more needs to be said?” Fu Ling said, each word enunciated with a tightened control that made them come out with stony weight, “If you are the Heir to the Emerald Throne then to perform your duty adequately is the only honor you should need.”

There was a polite throat clearing as Tomoko said, “While this is indeed true, Empress, surely Dao Ming has performed a great feat in besting one of Elkhiem’s greatest warriors in the opening round.”

Lo Shang tapped his hoof against the ground with a firm nod, “Exactly! Dao Ming has earned back her honor from what...” he paused, giving Dao Ming an apologetic look, “I’m sorry, sister, I should not speak of your honor out of turn.”

A tired smiled played across Dao Ming’s emerald lips as she gave Lo Shang and Tomoko both a small bow, “There is no need to defend me, my siblings. I appreciate it and you do me honor, but mother... the Empress is correct that to do my duty is the reward I should seek, not praise. And I have still a stain of dishonor for my actions in the Grand Melee to gain back, and have not yet done so.”

A belly snort erupted from Wodan, “I think the interest incurred on Shouman honor is a bit high, friend Dao Ming! How many Wodans must you defeat to make up for one lapse in control?”

Dao Ming shrugged, “Only the spirits know, but I intend to win this Contest, so perhaps by then I shall have balanced the scales.”

Having seemingly regained control of herself, Dao Ming bowed to the Empress, “My apologies for speaking out of turn. Your praise is appreciated, Empress, and I only ask you continue to watch until the end of the Contest. I will not disappoint you.”

There was a hesitant pause from Fu Ling, the Empress of Shouma only turning her head slightly to regard Dao Ming with one eye. The steel only softened somewhat, there, her voice only one octave above a whisper. “I know you won’t.”

She left, a jade phantom of silken motion. Tomoko and Lo Shang paused, glancing at each other, and Frederick cleared his throat.

“Well, all that be as it may, I feel I ought to congratulate you as well, Lady Dao Ming. I never thought I’d see someone who could give Wodan such a run!”

Carrot Top let out a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of her neck, “After seeing you two in action I’m thinking I made the right call sitting this part of the Contest out. You two okay? You both took some serious hits out there, and I bought a few healing salves if either of you need it.”

Wodan let out a rumbling chuckle, patting his wounds almost affectionately, “Nay, my good pony, the mighty Wodan shall bear his wounds and inevitable scars with pride! They shall be treasured reminders of this fine battle!”

A small, wry smirk touched Sigurd as he glanced sidelong at the moose, “What he really means is that he doesn’t like salves. They sting.”

“What!? Nonsense! The indomitable Wodan is not afraid of a few medicinal ointments!” Wodan declared, then gave Carrot Top a worried frown, “They don’t sting, do they?”

“Not much,” Carrot Top said, “But a little bit.”

Wodan coughed, “Scars build character. I’ll pass, but many thanks for the thought.”

A tingling sound filled the air, which turned out to be Dao Ming’s laughter, “Cervid-kind is quite... interesting. At any rate, I would appreciate the aid, Dame Carrot Top. The monks of the Order offered some healing, but it only seems to have gone so far.”

“Your help is much appreciated, Dame,” Tomoko said, bowing her head, then turned to Dao Ming, “Sister, I know mother doesn’t show it well, but she is proud of you.”

As Carrot Top got to applying ointment of a faintly pungent scent from one of the clay jars from her bandoleer of alchemical supplies to Dao Ming’s wounds, the kirin heiress regarded Tomoko with a saddened mask that was soon schooled to placid stillness, “It matters not.”

“It matters a great deal!” Tomoko said, in a tone much louder than had been heard from her by any in the room, “You deserve...” she seemed to realize she raised her voice, and her red coat bushed redder as she coughed politely and visibly calmed herself, “You’ve done more than enough to warrant her acknowledgment, Dao Ming. It shames me that you don’t get your due.”

Lo Shang was frowning, the big dark kirin clearly uneasy as he shifted on his hooves, “I have to admit I feel the same way. And while Xhua might not show it much, but I think she’s also bothered by this.”

“Be that as it may,” said Dao Ming, “There’s no honor in complaining. My worth shall be determined by what I do, not what others say of me.”

“Well said,” Frederick complemented with a smile, sitting next to Carrot Top as she finished work on Dao Ming’s wounds, “Can’t let expectations of position shove you in a box.”

“Although sometimes having some self-awareness of one’s position has merit, my Prince,” said Sigurd, giving Frederick a meaningful look, glancing between him and Carrot Top, “We all have our place, and that place carries inherent duties and restrictions. Dao Ming seems most aware of this. Perhaps it is an example to learn from?”

Frederick let out a polite cough and looked away from Sigurd, and seemed to unconsciously take an almost protective step closer to Carrot Top, “I’m aware of my duties, Sigurd... but Elkheim is far away.”

“Elkheim goes wherever cervid-kind walks,” Sigurd replied frostily, but he looked at the ground with a sigh, “But now is not the time for suck talk.”

With a quiet rustle of her silken battle dress, Dao Ming turned to her siblings and bowed to them, “Indeed, now is no time for heavy talk. If this Contest is to be a place were all creatures of all nations come together then let us set aside our qualms and quarrels. I’ve caused enough disturbance and have no desire to be the source of more.”

She looked at Carrot Top, inclining her head of golden mane in a deep nod of gratitude, “You have my thanks for helping tend my injuries, Dame Carrot Top. Please convey my well wishes to your compatriot knights, and especially to Dames Cheerilee, Raindrops, and Ditzy Doo, tell them that if we face each other in the Contest of Strength that I will be honored to test my skill against theirs.”

With a somewhat embarrassed and awkward smile Carrot Top also bowed her head in an attempt to mirror Dao Ming’s gesture, “I’ll let them know, your, uh, Heiressness.”

Tomoko didn’t quite hide a small smile of her own as she said, “We shall return to the stands then, Dao Ming, and be ready to witness your efforts with anticipation and pride. Even if the Empress does not cheer, know that I and Lo Shang shall do so enough to make up the difference.”

Lo Shang stamped a hoof, “Quite so.”

“I appreciate it...” Dao Ming said, holding herself with quiet dignity even if there was a faint shadow still on her face, but she cast it aside for a fresh look of resolve that lit up her features, “I certainly won’t disgrace myself any further, neither her or in the Contests to come.” A slight smirk touched her lips, “After all, I still need to defeat Dame Trixie in the Contest of Magic. I’d hate to embarrass myself before I have that opportunity.”

----------

Hovering above the coliseum on a slowly gliding circuit was Celestia’s ark, from which the alicorn watched the proceedings of the Contest with the stillness of masonry, but the intensity of a guided beam of sunfire. Her face mirrored her thoughts of controlled irritation and reigned in fury.

She wanted to find those responsible for the abducting of her loyal servant, and the fact that she couldn’t simply tear the island apart in search of Zecora was rankling beyond measure! She knew she had all the power she needed to tear this island up by the bedrock and shine light upon its every little dark crevice until she found Zecora, but she could not do this. Her sister would pitch a holy fit, and every single world leader present would side with Luna against her if she took such drastic action. How insufferably limiting.

Yet for a rare instant Celestia imagined it didn’t hurt to let Luna do this her way, for now. There were too many innocents on this island, too many ponies and other creatures, for Celestia to unleash her wrath and scour the island to its core in search of her missing servant. That thought more than anything else cooled the otherwise forge of rage that was Celestia’s present temper. Luna could play detective with her knights and Shadowbolts. Once the culprits were exposed to the light...

Celestia wore a frank and razor sharp smile.

“My Queen, we’ve finished our search.”

She’d felt her other servants returning to the ark well before Kindle spoke. Terrorwing and he had flown to the deck, the monstrously large griffin carrying the diminutive Smoke in his talons. Now the three waited behind her as Kindle stepped forward to make his report. She didn’t have to look back at him to sense the unease in his tone, the slight nervous shuffle in the way he flexed his wings. They hadn’t found any solid clues yet, she surmised, but kept the rise of her anger in check. Kindle was loyal, and usually competent.

“Tell me what you have found,” she commanded.

After briefly clearing his throat, Kindle spoke in a swift, professional manner, with a just a hint of his usual embellishment and dramatic flare.

“Upon searching the Abbess Serene’s quarters we could find nothing that linked her directly to Zecora’s abduction, however after a thorough sweep of her affects we did discover an interesting book of accounts. A detailed and very up to date set of reports on a wide number of individuals. This isn’t in itself unusual, as the Order of Legends keeps accounts on many creatures of note for the purpose of cataloging heroics and impressive feats that might make one worthy of being dubbed a ‘champion’. That said, I thought it most interesting that the reports near the top of this pile of accounts were of two groups of individuals.”

A dramatic pause. Not long enough to truly irk Celestia, but enough for Kindle to get in his theatrics. She really should have recruited somepony from outside a theater background, but beggar queens couldn’t be chooser queens.

After an appropriate moment of pause, just long enough to be on the edge of irritating, Kindle continued with dramatic weight in his words, “Specifically the reports at the top of the pile were of those belonging to the so-called ‘Element Bearers’, and those concerning my Queen’s own servants such as myself, Terrorwing, Smoke... and of course Zecora.”

“In what manner is this of relevance?” inquired Celestia. Not that she didn’t have an idea or two of her own, but she preferred Kindle share his own conclusions. No point in having a Voice to speak for her if he couldn’t think straight on his own.

If he was nervous about being put on the spot by one of the most powerful entities in the world Kindle at least had the moxy not to show it, sweeping his wing out in a theatrical pose, “It may not be the proof of a bloody knife, but I found it of particular note that the Abbess was recently reading up on both us and our adversaries. If she was involved in some plot of unknown but nefarious purpose, then both we and the Element Bearers would undoubtedly be the largest threats to those plans. Even if other champions from the other realms boast warriors of greater experience or one on one prowess compared to those mares, none of them wield the Elements of Harmony. As of us, since Zecora went missing her abductors must know we’re searching for her. If I were the zebranapper I’d be reading up on her comrades too.”

“An interesting thought, but mere conjecture,” Celestia said, but she hid the fact that she agreed with his assessment. She didn’t trust the Abbess, who had been appointed to the Order of Legends by Luna. Her sister had never been a particularly good judge of character. This was why she’d sent Kindle to ransack the Abbess’ quarters in the first place. If anypony knew this island well enough to hide Zecora from Celestia’s gaze, it would be the Abbess Serene.

Yet Luna wouldn’t allow any kind of direct action without “proof”, as if one needed proof to punish the obviously guilty! Celestia bit back her rising ire, mostly to keep from igniting her own servants by accident. She remained infuriated by Zecora’s abduction. Perhaps in quieter times Celestia might have reflected that the loss of the zebra pained her on more than just a superficial level, but for the moment her anger simply fumed, with no easy target to unleash it upon. At least not a justifiable target. Suspicion and mistrust hardly equated to a guilty party, even if by Celestia’s reckoning the Abbess and her whole order were potential suspects.

Oh well, no point lamenting the unchangeable.

“Since the Abbess’ quarters offer no further clues, I want you three to begin scouring the monastery's lower levels. I know there is more down there than empty corridors and storerooms. If Zecora is being held anywhere, one of the monastery’s many hidden chambers is a likely spot.”

Kindle bowed low with a dramatic sweep of his wings, “It shall be as you command, my Queen.”

----------

Once the allotted hour had passed the participating champions gathered at the foot of the arena once more, sans those who had already been defeated who now watched from the stands. The air was filled with the steady, murmuring buzz of the eager crowds who watched to see how the next round of matches would turn out.

The stage itself had been rebuilt from the near totally ruined state it had been in from Wodan and Dao Ming’s match, the swift and efficient runecraft of the cervid monks reshaping the stone as needed to make it a smooth and flat arena once more. As before Abbess Serene stood upon the stage with a quiet and reverent bearing as she presented the next set of matches, which were displayed once more in large, easy to ready illusionary script for all to see.

Cheerilee frowned slightly, “Dang, still not matched up with Steel Cage. Looks like I’m up against that Cavallian fellow, Silverwreath.”

With a nervous gulp and flutter of her wings Ditzy said, “I...I’m fighting Grimwald.”

Both Cheerilee and Raindrops checked the match ups again, and saw that it was true; Ditzy Doo’s name was matched with Grimwald’s for the final bout of the second round. Raindrops turned to her fellow pegasus and gave Ditzy’s shoulder a reassuring tap with a wing.

“Don’t let that creepy jerk intimidate you. You can beat him.”

“I don’t really care about beating him,” admitted Ditzy, glancing sidelong in the direction of the griffins, among which Grimwald could be seen eyeing her right back. The dark feathered fellow gave Ditzy a smile and a wink, waggling one of his talon’s in a friendly wave. To this, Ditzy gulped again, saying to Raindrops, “I just wish I understood him.”

“Speaking of reaching an understanding, check it out Raindrops, guess who’s up first?” said Cheerilee, nudging Raindrops with an elbow and pointing. Raindrops let out a small sigh and nodded.

“I saw. Looks like me and Tendaji are settling this sooner than I figured.”

The very first names for the starting match of the second round were none other than Raindrops and Tendaji. Which meant whether she was ready or not, it was time to face the zebra warrior head on. She took a deep breath and stood, stretching her legs and wings as she sought to calm her mind in the way her studies in Iron Hoof had taught her. Even as she stilled her mind, she could feel the rising, hot anger inside her chest. She still hadn’t really forgiven Tendaji for his part in events in Oaton, and she was further frustrated by the zebra’s pushy nature, pursuing a fight with her for his own personal reasons that she didn’t really want anything to do with.

“You good for this, Raindrops?” asked Cheerilee, eyes not hiding the waver of concern in them.

“I don’t know about ‘good’, but I’ve got to do it regardless, so no point in worrying about it. One way or another this’ll be over quick,” Raindrops replied with simple, quiet determination.

Before long Abbess Serene began to speak with her magically amplified voice, sweeping a pale hoof around to take in the crowd and gathered champions, “Honored guests and champions from across the world, let the second round of the Contest of Strength commence! Fight with courage, honor, and a champion’s heart! For the first match we call forth Dame Raindrops of Equestria, and Tendaji of the Peacewalker zebra tribe!”

“Go get him, Raindrops!” Cheerilee said.

“G-good luck,” said Ditzy, both mares waving as Raindrops took the air and flew up to land in the center of the stage on one side of the Abbess.

Tendaji quietly rose from his own seat and strode to the stage, leaping up onto the arena floor with a fluid motion. He wasn’t wearing his usual vest, which Raindrops found somewhat surprising as that meant he wasn’t carrying any of those jars of alchemic concoctions that he’d used back in Oaton. They were probably against the rules of the Contest, she imagined. Either way, Tendaji joined her by Abbess Serene and stood facing Raindrops with a calm, focused expression.

The Abbess looked between them, then turned to the cervid monks waiting by the arena’s edge, “Let us give these champions a stage worthy of their skills!”

With solemn nods the robed monks went to work, and the stage shuddered as it’s stonework changed shape. Multiple hexagon shaped pillars rose up to varying heights, some no more than five feet high while others reached as tall as twenty feet. There were some pillars that were densely packed together, forming clusters of varying heights that could be used like steps, while in other spots there were clearings with plenty of space to fight in. Raindrops could already see in part the purpose of this set up. Being a pegasus she had an advantage in her ability to fly, and while the rules gave strict height limits on how high she could fly, it was still something she could have used to her advantage in a flat arena. Now Tendaji had plenty of spots he could climb to match her height if she took to the air.

Fine by her, she hadn’t planned to avoid him anyway, and she could use these pillars to her advantage too.

Abbess Serene turned back to them, face a placid, kind and smiling visage. “Are you both prepared?”

Both Raindrops and Tenadji nodded silently, never taking their eyes off each other. The Abbess smiled deeper, letting out a soft, amused laugh as she took several steps back from them and raised her hoof, “Then let the first match of the second round... begin!”

Silence. Neither of the two moved, standing like statues of flesh. Seconds fell away in slow, sand-like moments as Raindrops and Tendaji locked eyes, both stiller than the air around them.

Just when the disquiet murmurs of an impatient crowd began to trickle out a stiff breeze billowed across the arena, carrying with it stray blades of grass picked up from the fields outside the colosseum. As if the wind was some unknown signal, both pegasus and zebra exploded into motion, each moving with startling speed.

Raindrops went high, cartwheeling with her wings giving her extra momentum to her spin as she brought one hind leg down in a powerful axe kick. Tendaji snapped in low, stepping into a straight hoof jab like a spear aimed for Raindrops’ abdomen. Both had to react almost instantly to each other’s attack, but the reaction was wholly different on each one’s part. Raindrops drove her kick harder, throwing her whole body into the blow, while Tendaji fluidly turned his forward step into a side-step, twisting his strike while evading the kick.

The result was that Raindrops’ hind hoof struck the ground Tendaji had been standing on, cracking stone with the blow. Tendaji’s hoof caught Raindrops’ on the side, but failed to connect with her soft stomach and instead bounce off ribs, bruising but not doing any telling damage.

With no hesitation Raindrops kept her momentum going, continuing to spin as she planted her forehooves on the ground and spun herself into a sweeping side kick that was meant to take Tendaji’s legs out from under him. He leaped over the strike, flipping in the air and landing on one of the nearby, ten foot tall pillars only to instantly spring off it and launch himself towards Raindrops with his hooves stretched out to spear into her.

With a stiff, heavy beat of her wings she flew straight up, evading his blow. Tendaji didn’t miss a beat, using his forelegs to balance himself and then pushed off with them to send himself flying up to meet Raindrops with a kick from one of his hind legs. She saw it coming, turning her body away at the last second while using her fore hooves to catch Tendaji’s leg. Before he could react she spun around, spinning him with her, and catapulted him back towards the ground.

Tendaji tucked himself into a ball and rolled, expertly bouncing off the ground and landing on his hooves, unscathed from the throw. Raindrops didn’t give him a moment to breathe, descending like a hawk. First was a punishing haymaker, followed up by a bone crunching uppercut, capped off by a devastating roundhouse kick. The combination of attacks would’ve dropped almost any normal person in an unconscious heap.

Unfortunately not one strike touched Tendaji.

Like a river bending through the glades Tendaji bobbed and wove around Raindrops’ attacks, each time bending or shifting aside just enough to let her hoof pass within an inch of him without so much as clipping a strand of mane. After her roundhouse kick Raindrops was left with her side open, and Tendaji stepped right into the opening, planting his hind hooves on the floor and striking out with both forehooves.

Raindrops was knocked back, the breath taken out of her, but with a teeth grinding grimace of resolve she righted herself before she fell and her wings swooped down, sending her flying up and around one of the clusters of pillars. Tendaji pursued, deftly leaping from pillar to pillar, going from shortest to highest as he chased after Raindrops just as she herself banked around the side of the pillars out of his view.

As he came around the pillar, he saw a jasmine bolt of speed doubling back in his face. Raindrops had turned around the instant she’d been out of his sight and launched into a flying kick, accurately predicting when and where Tendaji could come around the pillar. She nearly had him, but unbelievably swift reflexes sent Tendaji into a backwards, almost limbo-like, duck that let him slid under Raindrops’ kick, and he countered with a stiff upward jab at her back as she flew by.

The strike landed, and clearly hit something sensitive because one of Raindrops’ wings suddenly went limp and she tumbled out of the air, much to the gasps of the watching crowds. Raindrops sucked in a breath, reacting fact to bounce her hooves off of the passing pillar and send her downward spiral into a more controlled tumble. She landed with a careful roll, coming out of it on her hooves, but unsteady, with her right wing still limp at her side. She didn’t feel much pain other than a slight sting where Tendaji had hit her, otherwise her wing was just numb. A pressure point. She was vaguely familiar with them. They weren’t really a part of Iron Hoof. Raindrops just knew enough to recognize what Tendaji had done and that for the moment her wing was going to be useless.

Up in the stands Trixie nearly jumped out of her seat, eyes fierce and one hoof clutching a bag of popcorn most tightly as she shouted, “Hey! What did that monochromatic meathead do to her? Foul ball, or something, right?”

“Preeeety sure he’s legally allowed to disable limbs, Trixie,” Lyra said, her eyes peering with golden intensity at the unfolding match, “There’s plenty of tales about old, mystic martial arts types being able to paralyze body parts with a touch.”

Trixie puffed up like an irate peacock but folded her fore limbs over her chest and sat back down, “Raindrops is going to be fine.”

“Uh, I didn’t say she wasn’t,” said Lyra with a quirked eyebrow and Trixie’s cast a half nervous glance at her, then quickly focused back on the arena, her own voice muttering.

“I know that. That’s why I said it. Because I know that and I’m not worried. You didn’t hear anything.”

“I’m... not sure what I heard even if I did,” Lyra said with bemused eyes, turning her own attention back to the match.

Tendaji hadn’t immediately followed up in pressing the attack upon Raindrops, instead slowly hopping down the pillars one at a time as she stood watching him, wing limp, waiting. At the second to last pillar, a solid eight feet off the ground, Tendaji stood and looked down at Raindrops with the phantom trace of a frown on his features.

“You’re still not at the level you were at when we fought in Oaton.”

Raindrops snorted, “So sorry to disappoint you. Now get down here and let’s finish this.”

“We will finish it,” Tendaji agreed with a nod, his eyes hardening, “When I have brought you to the point I need you at.”

“Well too bad, I can’t time travel and make this fight exactly like the one in Oaton!” Raindrops snapped, “Just be glad I’m indulging you at all right now, and get your flank down here so I can kick it six ways from Sunday!”

Tendaji looked at her for a second, then seemed to come a decision as he jumped down, landing a few paces from her. Raindrops tensed as he stood there, eyeing her critically, his voice turning disturbingly flat, “You were angry in Oaton, but so purely focused. You have the focus right now, but not the anger.”

“Oh, I’m plenty pissed at you.”

“Yes, but you’re holding it back. In Oaton you let it out,” he paused, and Raindrops saw his muscles tensing to move, “What will it take to make you let it out?”

Not waiting for a response to his query Tendaji moved like a piece of the wind itself, rushing Raindrops with a furious series of flashing strikes. She was immediately put on the defensive, unable to even think about counterattacking as she ducked and rolled or quickly put up haphazard blocks to keep Tendaji’s stinging hooves at bay. She was quickly driven back in a curving, winding path across the arena, fending off Tendaji’s blurring hooves for the most part but taking several painful jabs and kicks to her legs and midsection in the process.

With one wing out of commission she couldn’t take to the air to evade, but she could use her remaining wing as both shield and an additional limb to attack with, and it was with that wing she managed to force Tendaji to back off with a powerful lower sweep that would’ve taken his legs out from under him if he didn’t break off his own assault and back off a few paces. Raindrops was left breathing heavily, sweat now pouring down her face, along with a trickle of blood from a cut lip.

Tendaji was at least breathing a little hard as well, though he remained largely untouched in the match so far. Were this normal martial arts tournament rules he’d already have made scoring match points. As it was, this was a fight to the finish, and Raindrops was far from done.

“You’re honesty is part of the problem,” Tendaji said simply, “You don’t view your anger as a part of yourself, so you don’t let it take hold. You view your angered self as some sort of... aberration. Not the ‘real’ you. So you bury it.”

“Gee, doc, should I sit on a couch and tell you about my foalhood as well?” Raindrops said with rolling eyes, but Tendaji was not thrown by her mocking tone, and continued with his own calm tone.

“Originally I thought you were afraid of your anger. Afraid of not having control. But that’s not the truth, is it? You’re not afraid of the anger...” his eyes narrowed, “You’re ashamed of it.”

A tightness entered Raindrops’ jaw, her voice tightening to a lower growl, “Shut up and fight. I don’t need the pseudo-psychology.”

She came to him this time, head low, one functioning wing tucked close to reduce wind drag, and charged. It wasn’t an elegant maneuver, but it was a powerful one, with a great deal of momentum behind it. She also knew how he’d likely react, and predicted it when Tendaji stepped in and ducked low to hook her right foreleg in preparation for a body throw. Raindrops countered by rolling into the throw willingly, controlling her momentum so that she landed on her hind legs on Tendaji’s opposite side, her own foreleg already wrapped around his, and ended up pulling him into a shoulder throw that managed to plant him straight into the floor with a meaty smack.

The look of surprise on his face was exceedingly satisfying to see, but Raindrops didn’t have time to savor it. Though her throw reversal had caught him off guard, knocked the wind out of him, and likely gave him quite the bruise, Tendaji reacted with shocking speed. A hind leg drove itself up like a planted sycamore tree straight into Raindrops’ stomach and hurled her back to skid across the arena floor like a hockey puck. Tendaji flipped to his hooves and came after her in a silken ripple of speed, leaping into a diving kick that Raindrops barely managed to roll out of the way from.

He didn’t let up, pursuing her with dogged determination, hooves a white and black swarm of stinging strikes. Tired of just trying to evade, Raindrops weathered the blows as she waded back into him, striking hard with her own hooves and wing. Even within just a few seconds she could tell she was getting the worst of the exchange, but she didn’t back down, taking small moments of satisfaction from any glancing blow she managed.

A note of frustration hit Tenadji’s voice, “Why won’t you face it? How long will you let your shame blind you from seeing yourself?”

“I don’t feel ashamed of myself!” she shouted back, “I just don’t want everypony to look at me and only see the mare with anger issues! And you know who doesn’t see me that way? My friends!”

She managed to catch a hit that was a bit more than glancing on his ribs, rocking Tendaji backwards, but he lashed out with his own backhooved blow that struck her jaw and nearly sent her sprawling. Both of them were left panting for breath, sweat soaked as they faced each other. Tendaji’s eyes still bored into her with knowing intensity.

“Your friends, yes. They accept you. Its a wonderful thing. It gave you strength in Oaton, fighting for their sake, because they see you as you wish to be seen,” he took a deep breath, steadying himself, “But that’s now how you see yourself, Raindrops. You still see yourself as the ‘mare with anger issues’, and no matter how much you deny it, you’re still ashamed of who you think you are.”

Her jaw clenched, heat welling up in a roaring mass that she shoved down coldly as she bit out the words, “Shut. Up.”

“Stop fighting it,” he said, “Stop being ashamed of it. The anger is you.”

“I said shut your mouth! That isn’t who I am!”

“But it is, and that’s the source of your dissonance. You just won’t accept that the anger is just, and right, and irrefutably you. As long as you keep denying yourself, you’ll never-”

She cut him off with a roar and a leaping kick that was fast and powerful enough to nearly create a gust of wind from the way she launched towards him. Tendaji turned aside with two quick steps, narrowly avoiding the kick, and Raindrops ended up hitting one of the pillars behind him. Her blow was strong enough to send spider-web cracks splintering up and down the pillar, raining chips of rock down on both her and Tendaji.

Still, as powerful as the kick had been, it set her off balance, and Tendaji took advantage by moving in fast as a snake and gripped her in a firm leg and head hold. Raindrops thrashed in the zebra’s wiry grip, but couldn’t find any purchase, and soon felt her windpipe being pinched closed from the firm hold.

“Maybe I assumed too much,” she heard him say, a sense of resignation in his voice, “I felt for certain I could make you see yourself, if we only fought honestly, with nothing else between us but our souls and our flesh to speak the truth. Did I misread my Path? If so... I am sorry, Raindrops. I’ll end this now, then...”

Her vision was starting to grow foggy and dim, her lungs burning for air. As she started to feel her body weakening, her mind struggled to control the volcano of anger that bubbled inside her.

She’d never wanted it, that anger. From the first time she’d lost control, she’d done everything she could to keep it in check, to control that explosive temper that had led to a fellow foal being hurt so badly. She didn’t want to hurt others. She didn’t want to lose control. She didn’t want to be looked at like some kind of monster, or a ticking time bomb.

She wanted to be a strong big sister to her little brother, and a good daughter to her parents. A responsible, respected part of the weather team. A friend that could always be relied upon. She wanted to be everypony’s rock they could depend on. How could she be that if she gave in to the anger? They’d always be afraid of her. She’d always be afraid of herself...

...ashamed of herself.

He’s right...I hate it. I hate myself, because that anger is always there, and I can’t get rid of it. I hurt people, and it makes me feel so... so damn worthless...

But her friends had seen her at her most furious and had never backed away from her. They trusted her. They cared about her. They didn’t see the anger as something that needed fixing, even if they were always supportive of her attempts to control herself. Why was that?

Because they know the anger is only a part of me, not all of me, and the love the whole, not just a part.

Her friends cared about every part of Raindrops, anger included. She’d been running from something for so long she’d never thought she ought to love it the same way her friends did. To accept it the same way her friends did.

Stop being ashamed of who you are. Be honest with yourself. It's why the Element chose you.

Tendaji felt the shift in Raindrops the instant it happened, and it still wasn’t enough time for him to react before Raindrops elbow drew back and slammed into his gut with enough force to send the zebra flying off of her and rolling across the ground like a flicked marble.

He managed to drag himself to a halt and stand, coughing and sputtering somewhat. He was near the edge of the stage, and from there he caught sight of his wife Aisha in the stands. She was giving him a knowing smirk that said, ‘Well, now you’ve done it, hope you’re ready, darling.’

He could only grin back at his wife, signally that he was more than prepared for what was to come.

As he turned to face Raindrops, he found the pegasus taking several long, deep breaths to fill her starved lungs with air once again, eyes closed. When she opened them they were shining with a fresh, new light, one that was both radiant in its fury and somehow calm as a still pool in its serenity. Tendaji knew without a doubt, looking into those eyes, that he was now truly in for the fight of his life.

He stepped towards her, and she towards him. Slowly the two opponents walked until they reached each other... then passed one another until both were standing near back to back, yet utterly still.

“So, now you see yourself,” Tendaji said, making a statement rather than a question.

“I do. Feels a little weird, like I just woke up from a long nap and the world’s just a bit shinier than before. Also, kinda pissed off. First time it’s ever felt good. If you don’t mind, going to kick your flank now.”

“I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.”

The pair moved as one, hooves flashing. The hooves clashed, hitting each other with such strength that for a second it seemed like air burst between them before both was thrown backwards from the blow. Gasps exploded from the watching audience, and even Trixie was left a bit flabbergasted at the display.

For more experienced warriors among the crowd such as Kenkuro, Wodan, and Nuru, they had a better grasp of what was being witnessed and each wore various expressions of knowing satisfaction or curiosity. Among the Shouma entourage watching even the Empress lifted a slim eyebrow in mild interest, while Lo Shang let out a whooping cheer at the match, and Tomoko a soft, thoughtful frown.

Princess Luna, amid the banter of the watching Equestrian nobles, watched with unblinking, glittering blue eyes. Even she hadn’t expected Raindrops to reach this level, at least not for many years. Once again the ponies she’d placed in faith in surprised her, and Equestria’s monarch watched with keen interest as Tendaji and Raindrops resumed their battle.

The two both flipped in mid-air from being blow back by their initial clash and the pair all but danced across the arena towards each other the moment their hooves touched the floor. They came together in a unbelievable blurring whirling of limbs. Hoof strikes and kicks passed by in eye blinks, the jasmine and black and white striped bodies of the pair nearly blending together in a hurricane of strikes, blocks, and counterblows.

Tendaji’s form was fluid as river rapids, his body constantly bouncing and flipping from point to point. Raindrops kept on him like a raging brush fire, cracking stone with every relentless step. Like twin whirlpools of fire and ice the two clashed against each other, the air singing with the rough sound of hooves blocking or striking flesh. It was near impossible to tell which was winning, because even as bruises and blood mounted, neither so much as slowed an inch.

Raindrops wasn’t feeling any pain. No exhaustion. She only felt the pure singing of her fury and her unrelenting focus. Never before had she had this harmonious combination of utter mental calm and outright emotional rage. In the past it had always been one or the other. Either the discipline of her mind, or letting the anger take hold. This was neither. This was her blood and heart alive and hammering with a purity of emotion she’d never known, an anger untainted by shame or fear but instead just clean, righteousness. And this pure burning anger was joined by a sharpness of mental focus that she’d only touched on once or twice in the depths of meditation or training in Iron Hoof.

Raindrops felt whole. She felt like herself. The only time she could remember feeling something similar to this sense of inner rightness and peace was when she’d first activated the Elements of Harmony with the rest of the girls and sent Corona packing. Then, it’d been a sensation of being a harmonious part of something larger than herself. Now it was a feeling of being completely at harmony within herself.

She lost track of time, and even the arena felt like it fell away from her and Tendaji. They were all but skimming across it, leaping from pillar to pillar, barely a moment passing where their hooves weren’t entwined in a constant, flashing storm of punches and kicks. Blocking was becoming less and less a factor as each one of them started to find openings in each other’s defenses and their bodies got more worn out. Glancing blows became full bodied hits, and before long both Raindrops and Tendaji were sporting a dozen hard bruises, along with a bloody nose on Raindrops and a split lip on Tendaji.

It all came to a head after a particularly fierce exchange as they leaped up a cluster of pillars towards the tallest one. Raindrops snapped a spinning kick across Tendaji’s face and he immediately countered with a crushing body blow to Raindrop’s side. She ducked a second swing and drove a hoof into his chest. He flipped back, scissoring a hind leg to clip her chin as she pursued him. They reached the top, a single hexagon shaped pillar near fifteen feet high and no more than eight across. There, with no room to dodge or evade, the two went in close and threw everything they had left at each other. For several seconds that to the combatants could have been hours, and to the audience felt stretched to slow-motion minutes, Tenadji and Raindrops tore into each other like two clashing tornadoes. All pretense of style and polish faded to nothing, yet there was something primal and elemental to this final exchange of blows, like the guttering of a forest fire under a rain storm.

The end came with the same simple abruptness it had begun with, Raindrops’ hoof buried in Tendaji’s chest and his smashed against her cheek, both of them standing there for a moment of utter stillness. Then both of them teetered over like falling trees. It seemed for a second like they’d both fall off the pillar together, but Raindrops, gasping a sudden breath and shaking her head of the numb daze that had nearly taken it, planted her hooves to halt her fall and managed to catch Tendaji before he toppled off the side.

As she stood there, holding him up, the zebra sagged and was able to barely move his head to regard her with one swollen eye.

“I believe...victory... is yours.”

Seeing as he couldn’t seem to move on his own anymore, Raindrops wasn’t going to argue the point, even if she was one stiff breeze away from being in the same boat. Regarding him with a tired, but satisfied look, she said, “Did you get what you were after from this?”

He closed his eyes, taking a slow breath as if tasting the air itself before letting it out just as slowly. “I have. Thank you... ugh... although, I hope the next step on my Path involves... more meditation.”

Raindrops let out a painted laugh, her ribs hurting. She was pretty sure at least one was bruised.

As she helped him down to the arena floor, although she was limping almost as much as he was, Abbess Serene approached them with both concern and admiration clear in her placid eyes.

“It seems a victor has been decided?” the Abbess said questioningly, and Tenadji nodded.

“It has. I concede to Dame Raindrops.”

The Abbess nodded and quickly raised her hoof, “Very well, the winner of the first match of the second round is Dame Raindrops of Equestria!”

Her voice carried to the whole colosseum, and there was a rolling wave of cheers that hammered down from the watching crowds. Cheerilee was pumping her hoof in the air and nearly jumping in place as Ditzy grinned and hugged her. Trixie was halfway between cheering and deflating into herself in relief, while Lyra and Carrot Top both eagerly hooted Raindrops’ name as they applauded.

Amid the other champions Nuru and Kenkuro sat side by side, the old zebra nodding in satisfaction while the tengu rubbed the bottom of his beak thoughtfully with one wing.

“The boy did well, but that pegasus has nothing short of heroic endurance,” Kenkuro noted, and Nuru chuckled lightly.

“Tendaji found an opponent who would push him beyond his limit, and the pegasus found someone who’d force her to take a good hard look at herself. Not often young folk like that get the benefit of meeting the right people at the right time to learn from each other.” Nuru let out a sudden sigh, leaning back, “Remind you of anyone, old bird?”

Kenkuro cracked a small smile, dark eyes regarding the aged zebra, “I’d like to think we were never so thick headed and stubborn in our youth.”

“I like to think the sky will one day rain doughnuts, but I’m not dumb enough to believe it,” Nuru said,and Kenkuro let out a thick, cawing laugh.

In short order Tendaji and Raindrops were both led off the stage amid continuing applause and cheers, and then swiftly taken to a room in the coliseum to have their injuries tended to. Cheerilee and Ditzy both wanted to go keep Raindrops company, but with their own matches coming up the couldn’t go anywhere. That didn’t stop Trixie from bounding down to join her friend and watch over Raindrops as she was treated by the monks, which Lyra in particular seemed to find highly amusing.

“You’re gonna miss seeing the other matches,” the bardess teased, but Trixie had just waved a hoof behind her as she left the stands.

“If Cheerilee loses to that Cavallian knight I’ll eat my cape, and I’ll be back in time to see Ditzy’s match at the end. I just need to, um, make sure Raindrops is okay.”

“Uh-huh,” Lyra said, smirking, which Trixie readily ignored.

Meanwhile, after a few minutes to let the crowd settle down, the Abbess Serene trotted back to the center of the arena and resumed the second round of matches.

----------

As the noise of cheering crowds subsided from a oceanic roar to the distant wash of surf, Trixie took a calm breath to steady herself. She wasn’t even certain why she was nervous to begin with. So far the Contest of Strength had been going swimmingly for something she wasn’t actually participating in. Maybe that was part of the reason for her nerves. This was one part of the Contest that Trixie had absolutely no control over, no way to influence or help with. She wasn’t used to being in quite such a helpless position. So far she and the girls had been doing the Contest as a team, pooling efforts. It somehow bothered her to be on the sidelines this time, more than she’d expected to be at any rate.

That said, she wasn’t sure if that was the only reason she was nervous. There was of course the dark plot hanging over the Contest like some guillotine waiting to drop. Zecora missing. The strange vision she and Dao Ming had. She felt very much like an actor on stage, speaking her lines, while being told to ignore the smoke drifting in from behind the curtain that smelled very much like a fire had broken out.

The show must go on. She tried to put those worries aside and focus on what she was doing.

Trotting down a short stone stairway leading from the colosseum stands and into the chambers within, she quickly turned down a few corridors to reach the room the wounded champions would be receiving treatment in. Sliding inside, she quickly spotted Raindrops laying on a cot near the far entrance while two monks tended to her with a combination of magic and conventional means. Even knowing how impressive the skills of the monks were simply by how well they’d treated the champions from the first round, it still made Trixie wince to see how beat up Raindrops was.

Sucking in a deep breath and putting on her best smile of camaraderie and reassurance mixed with just a bit of dry wryness, Trixie said, “I think next time you get into a fight like that you should consider a little more dodging and a little less pretending to be a punching bag, but otherwise you were quite magnificent out there.”

Raindrops glanced at her with an oddly... serene smile, but it soon turned into one of Raindrops’ more natural grins, marred only slightly by a wince of pain as a monk tightened a bandage.

“I’ll admit, I don’t know if I’ve had a closer scrap than that one. I, uh, got a bit into it there at the end. Kinda stopped feeling the pain, you know?”

Trixie let out a sound somewhere between a snort and a relieve laugh as she pranced up to her friend and sat down, trying not to get in the monks’ way. “I was starting to worry neither of you would stop until you both looked like misshapen lumps rather than equines.”

Her voice was joking, but there was a hint of serious concern in her eyes, “I just wanted to make sure everything was okay with you. That was intense, even by our lofty standards of the word at this point.”

Raindrops looked at her and was silent for an uncomfortably long few minutes. Fortunately the monks were exceedingly good at carrying on about their business as if not hearing the conversation, for which Trixie was grateful, and slightly creeped out. Eventually Raindrops spoke, her voice steady and more relaxed than Trixie had heard it outside of a few rare occasions.

“It's hard to explain, but that dang zebra, Tendaji, I guess he saw a few things about me that I didn’t see myself. That whole fight knocked it loose, got me to look hard at myself about something I might’ve been... being dishonest with myself about.”

Trixie frowned at that, but held herself back from questioning or commenting, letting Raindrops get her own words out at her own pace. It wasn’t easy, exactly, but Trixie could keep her mouth shut when she had good reason too. Letting a friend sort her own feelings out more than qualified.

Raindrops paused, then let out a small huff of a laugh, “I guess I just needed to understand why it was there in the first place to really accept it. Even the mistakes.” Her face grew a saddened line, “To let go of the guilt and shame I was always feeling, all the time. Just huge weights on me, making it worse.”

She shook her head looking at Trixie straight in the eyes, “I don’t know by how much, but something’s changed Trixie. The anger is still there, and it always will be, I think. But I don’t hate it anymore. It doesn’t hurt anymore. Does that make sense?”

What could she possibly say to that? It made about as much sense to her as trigonometry, but that hardly mattered. As long as Raindrops was happy, and some burden had been lifted from her, then Trixie was already considering what type of bottle of alcohol zebras preferred so she could send some to Tendaji. With a bright smile, Trixie nodded, saying, “Not really, but so what? If you’re feeling better, then that alone is good enough reason to celebrate! Especially considering that, whatever spiritual awakening you may have had, let’s not forget you also kicked Tendaji’s stripy butt!”

Raindrops blinked at Trixie, then let out a snorting chortle of a laugh, grinning from ear to ear, “Yeah, I did knock his flank all over that arena, didn’t I?”

“Go you!” Trixie held out a hoof, and Raindrops reciprocated with her own, bumping them together.

“Go me.”

----------

After such an explosive first match, the majority of the rest of the second round was almost anticlimactic by comparison.

Gwendolyn faced off against the second of Steel Cage’s companion champions, Brass Bearings, who made brutal use of a weapon that looked someone had taken a slab of iron and beaten it into the rough shape of an axe, the head of the weapon larger than most ponies. Yet despite a fine showing of tenacity, endurance, and skill, Gwendolyn all but danced Brass Bearings powerful swings,, taking him down piece by piece with predatory efficiency. Her sword seemed to almost glow red in the dipping, afternoon sun. More than a few of the more magically attuned in the crowd, including Trixie, couldn’t help but notice the weapon hum with magic of its own.

Upon Brass Bearing’s defeat, Gwendolyn cut a sharp gaze across the griffin champions watching her, then made a point of glaring right up into the stands at where King Gruber sat with his wife and the vast collection of other griffin nobles attending the Contest. The challenge in her eyes was unmistakable, and King Gruber looked back with a dark, sour expression, drumming his talons on the arms of his seat. Not far from his seat, Gwendolyn’s mother watched with a look of mixed pride and anxiousness, casting flickering looks towards her king, then back at her daughter.

Luna looked on knowingly.

Several matches between the numerous other griffin champions quickly whittled down their numbers, leaving only a handful for the next round. Those few moving on all stared daggers towards Gwendolyn, to took their stares with a prideful, dignified tilt of her wings and lash of her tail.

When Steel Cage fought he was paired with a rather unfortunate warrior from Naquah. The camel demonstrated impressive skill with a combined rope and staff combination that was apparently very effective against criminals and bandits back in his homeland, but Steel Cage was... well, Steel Cage. He mostly stood still while the camel lashed out and struck with the staff and tried to rope limbs, but it was an effect not unlike someone attempting to knock over an ancient oak tree with a softball or tie up a boulder. If the red lashes on his bare skin even bothered Steel Cage, he didn’t show it, and gave the brave camel a solid two minutes to freely attack before his hand shot out, grabbed the camel around the neck, and proceeded to throw him out of the ring over his shoulder.

Steel Cage, as he strode from the arena, gave Cheerilee a pointed look, and stuck both his thumbs down while flexing his pecs in a rhythmic bob.

Cheerilee responded with a smile that was as friendly as a flash of cold steel.

"I feel kinda bad for the camels," Ditzy said, face turning to a concerned droop.

"They've had some bad luck," Cheerilee agreed, "That fellow was one of Naquah's top bounty hunters, but that's a bad skill set to match up against a powerhouse like Steel Cage."

"Um...can... can you beat him?" Ditzy asked, and Cheerilee flashed a grin and wink towards her friend.

"We'll see, won't we?"

When Cheerilee’s match with Sir Silverwreath of Cavallia came up, the courtly knight took off his helmet and bowed deeply to the mare as they met in the ring.

“It is a distinct honor to not only face one of the famed Knight Elements, but a mare of such distinguished and rare beauty. Truly am an unworthy stallion to be gifted with the opportunity to meet such a rose in the honorable arena of combat.”

Cheerilee couldn’t help but laugh, though hardly at the knight, only in pleased amusement. She sometimes got a bit self conscious about her age. “Such kind words, but I hope you don’t expect me to hold back on account of them, Sir Silverwreath. This rose does have her thorns.

“Perish the thought, Dame Cheerilee,” Silverwreath said, giving a shining smile as he doffed his helm once more, “I expect nothing less than to feel the prick of those thorns. I saw well your previous match and know you are no wilting flower, but a proud and strong vine, as deadly as she is gorgeous. Know that I shall not dishonor you by holding back one whit of my full measure. The honor of my country and my Princess demands no less. However, if I may ask, it seems that... uh, ‘gentleman’ minotaur seems to have singled you out. If it is not too personal a question, may I inquire as to why?”

“I’m afraid that is something of a personal matter, sir knight. Just know that I have no intention of losing this match, because while not to besmirch your honor, you’re not the one I’m here to beat, Sir Silverwreath.”

He nodded at that with a solemn look in his eyes, and readied his gleaming silver lance, “Say no more, Dame Cheerilee, I understand fully. While I cannot hold back, know that I sincerely wish you the best of luck.”

“Right back at you, Sir Silverwreath,” Cheerilee said.

In short order the match commenced. Sir Silverwreath’s lance gave him great reach over the seemingly unarmed Cheerilee, and while the starmetal armor she wore beneath her knightly tabard was potent, it didn’t cover nearly as much as Silverwreath’s form fitting suit of radiant steel plate mail. Yet Cheerilee was nothing if not nimble, a fact that spared her Silverwreath’s initial charge.

The arena had been shaped for their match into multiple rolling, short rising, like small hills. This uneven terrain might have made such charges as Silverwreath favored difficult if not for the fact that the Cavallian knight was especially trained for being able to charge under precisely such problematic circumstances. There was good reason the knights of Equestria’s sister state were so renowned. The hills barely slowed Silverwreath down as he pursued Cheerilee. She ably managed to keep a few quick steps ahead of the knight’s piercing lance, but to an outside perspective it’d appear that Cheerilee was stuck solely on defense, unable to fight back against Silverwreath’s relentless attacks.

In truth, Cheerilee was simply fighting dirty. By focusing only on avoiding Silverwreath’s lance and not attacking at all, she’d transformed the fight into a simple match of endurance.

And Silverwreath’s armor was much, much heavier than Cheerilee’s.

The match did have a time limit, but it was one Cheerilee was fully aware of, as she kept mentally counting down the minutes. No matter how strong one’s endurance was, and Silverwreath’s was strong indeed, a single minute in battle can feel like hours. Especially when one is constantly charging up and down hills in full plate armor.

Within five minutes he was breathing hard. By eight minutes, his body had worked up a lather of sweat. It wasn’t enough for him to simply collapse, and he kept the pressure on Cheerilee admirably, but he was tired enough to make mistakes. Tired enough to slip slightly when pursuing Cheerilee in a charge down one of the hills.

Cheerilee struck fast as a viper, hooking one of her legs underneath the foremost of Silverwreath’s while ducking beneath his lance. Then, using the lance like a pole vault, she planted it in the ground and sent the knight flying tail over head to land flat on his back with a metallic clamor.

Before he could recover, Cheerilee was on him, kicking his lance so hard it broke off its mounting. She then straddled him, got one forearm pressed up against his throat, and cocked her other arm back for what would be one heck of a punch. Instead of delivering it, however, she just looked the knight in the eyes and said, “Yield?”

Breathing hard, Silverwreath managed a gallant smile, “In any other situation I’d find this positioning quite pleasant, but since you still have a hoof poised to smash my delightfully well shaped muzzle in, I’ll just say yes, Dame Cheerilee, I yield. The win is yours.”

Up in the viewing area for the VIPs Princess Cadance let out a rueful sigh and turned a wry half smile towards Luna, “Those young mares have gotten quite a bit stronger, haven’t they?”

A pleased and prideful light touched Luna’s eyes as she gave a small nod, “Each in their own way. Your knight fought well. I often forget how much stamina it takes to keep up such momentum while in full armor.”

Cadance’s smile turned a tad rueful, “True, but I’m thinking I also should start encouraging more diverse training.”

With her match done, Cheerilee helped Silverwreath up, and once she returned to her seat she sat down with a loud groan, “Whew! That was too close.”

Ditzy Doo blinked, “Really? It looked kind of one sided to me.”

Cheerilee hugged her stomach and laughed, mostly just to dispel her tension as she looked sidelong at her friend, “Ditzy, if I’d gotten hit once by that lance I would’ve been done. That stallion had some serious strength behind those charges. All I could do was run and hope he’d make a mistake. Yeesh, remind me never to genuinely tick off a Cavallian knight. I’m lucky he was taking it easy on me.”

“He was? How could you tell?” Ditzy’s asked innocently.

Cheerilee’s smirk turned a tad lewd, “Let’s just say I know when a stallion’s going full force or not.”

As the sun started to reach the lower dip of late afternoon there were just two matches left in the second round. Kenkuro against Nuru, and Ditzy Doo against Grimwald.

The first was between Kenkuro and Nuru, and it was perhaps the shortest of the day. The raven black, mildly pudgy old tengu lightly flapped up upon the arena alongside the gnarled, aged zebra, the pair both moving with the effortless ease of martial masters. The two regarded each other with the relaxed, amiable expressions of old friends. As the Abbess announced the start of the match, each took on a different stance. Kenkuro’s avian feet spread apart as one one gently went to the hilt of the Kusanagi no Tsurugi, the feather’s lightly grasping it. Nuru took on an uncomfortable looking stance that balanced upon one hind leg, the other hind leg bent crosswise over the other, while both fore hooves bent inward to form a circle around the chest.

Both of them were so still that even their breathing stopped, their eyes unblinking, locked upon one another like magnets.

For a solid minute nothing but wind stirred the arena.

“What are they doing?” Gwendolyn whispered to Dao Ming, the pair both watching from their stone seating near the arena’s edge.

A short, reverent breath came from Dao Ming as she didn’t look away from the pair of warriors on the arena and spoke to Gwendolyn in a hushed voice, “The old bird does this so rarely, I don’t think I’ve seen it since I was young.”

“Stand still like a bird bath?” Gwendolyn said with an incredulous air, to which Dao Ming puffed her cheeks in a frown.

“As a warrior yourself I imagined you’d understand. Among masters, entire battles can be fought in the mind. Yet such duels are often resolved in a single stroke.”

“So, what, they’re imagining fighting each other?” the young griffin asked, her head tilting as she focused one eye upon the still pair, as if her keen, focused vision might pick up some trace of what she wasn’t seeing. She’d sometimes heard her mother speak about some of her own duels, but either griffins had never produced ‘masters’ like Kenkuro or Nuru, or griffins simply had a different mindset when it came to combat, because she’d never heard of such a thing before.

Given what she’d seen of Wodan and Sigurd, she somehow doubted the cervids had warriors that did this either. She certainly couldn’t picture Wodan standing still staring at his foe as if he were contemplating his navel.

Dao Ming could see the look at Gwendolyn’s face out of the corner of her eye and sighed, “Just watch. Soon, it will be done.”

As it turned out, Dao Ming wasn’t lying.

It happened in an instant that left many blinking in confusion, unable to fully grasp what had just happened. Part of it was the shear, unimaginable speed of it all. Only the alicorns present, with their vastly superior physical abilities over mortals, and a select few other highly experienced warriors present were able to clearly see Kenkuro and Nuru’s moves at all. For much the rest of the crowd it had appeared as if the pair had simply teleported in an eyeblink from their initial stances to now be standing directly in front of each other.

A potent gale of wind blew forth from either side of the tengu and zebra, as if their blows had created a small gust from speed and force alone.

Kenkuro’s blade rested against the edge of Nuru’s throat like a shining sliver of the sun, catching the light. Yet Nuru’s fore hooves were planted firmly against the tengu’s stout stomach and chest, one right above Kenkuro’s heart. There was no blood drawn. In fact both blows had been stopped right before the moment of deadly impact, leaving the pair standing there in front of each other, eyes starring as intently as before.

Then with the same casual air of one popping a balloon, the two backed off from each other and relaxed, letting out heartfelt chuckles as they bowed to one another.

“You always go for the throat, Kenkuro. I do have other vital parts,” Nuru said with a dry, sandy laugh.

“I cannot help it if your neck is long and an easy target. As Tien Zhu once wrote ‘The best path to victory is the short road to the capital.’”

Nuru waved an arm, sending out a good natured snort, “Bah, always with that Tien Zhu fellow. If he was so wise, he would have known better than to try to pass wisdom down through ink and paper. Wisdom can’t be taught that way.”

Kenkuro’s onyx beak turned in an old smile of familiarity as he sheathed the Kusanagi with respectful care. “We cannot all follow oral traditions. For one, who could keep awake during such lectures? Writing things down ensures the lessons can be studied at leisure, and for all time.”

Nuru shook his head, “You mean misinterpreted for all time. I’ve yet to see wisdom from a book that isn’t turned around by the reader, as if the meaning of the words change with each generation. Yet in song and stories there is the soul of the lessons, and if passed down in the same manner from generation to generation are much more difficult to misinterpret.”

“And also harder to adapt or allow new wisdom to flourish, as the works of Tien Zhu have inspired countless philosophers and writers to spread new ideas.”

“Half of them foolish or downright dangerous-” Nuru began, but then just shook his head again and chuckled under his breath, “Well not matter is it, old friend? Shall this be our, what, eighty eighth draw?”

“I do believe this counts as eighty nine,” Kenkuro said, rubbing his stomach with one wing, “And yes, a draw. Your hooves would have crushed my rib cage and made quite a mess of my organs.”

“And your sword would have sent my head flying into the stands and made some poor spectator’s day far too memorable,” Nuru replied, rubbings his throat.

Having been listening to the two banter, Abbess Serene finally stepped forward and with a officious air asked, “Does this mean the two of you cede this portion of the Contest? Normally there can be no draw, and each match, if no clear winner is determined, is scored to gauge the victor.”

“Ah, yes, about that,” Kenkuro spoke with a somewhat embarrassed laugh, bowing deeply to the Abbess with a sweep of his wings, “Nuru and I discussed what was to be done were we to face one another. Do understand that we’ve fought many times, and every time to such an outcome. Knowing the rules of the Contest, we decided that in the event of another draw, that I would proceed ahead.”

The Abbess raised and eyebrow, giving Nuru a pointed look, “Do you agree to this?”

Nuru nodded once, a look passing between him and the Abbess that held for a second or two, “Yes, its no matter to me. I’m here for the boy’s benefit, and to enjoy the sights. Kenkuro has reason to continue the matches. Truly I do not.”

After a slight pause the Abbess gave a courteous nod, “As you wish. Nuru of the Still Peak Tribe cedes the match. Kenkuro, the Blade of Heaven, is the victor.”

As a steady if somewhat awkward round of cheers and applause came down from the audience and the two combatants left the stage, Gwendolyn was left stroking her beak curiously. Dao Ming saw the light of both respect and a fair amount of eagerness in the griffiness’ eyes.

“Do you see now?” she asked.

“Oh yeah,” Gwendolyn said, cracking a fierce smile as she licked her beak, “Means I’m looking forward to the moment I cross swords with your black feathered teacher.”

“I imagine he’d be pleased to hear that,” Dao Ming said, leaning in and whispering with a hushed, distressed tone, “Just don’t let him tease you. The old bird is a noble warrior and I cherish him dearly, but... he has a tendency to act... ignoble around young ladies. Please don’t take his propositions seriously.”

“Why not?” Gwendolyn asked, “He’s strong and not half bad looking for an old guy.”

As Dao Ming blinked in scandalized bafflement at that, the Abbess began to announce the final match of the second round.

“And now shall Dame Ditzy Doo of Equestria, and Grimwald of the Kingdom Shaldwrick step forward!”

Ditzy rose upon nervous, numb hooves, but Cheerilee nudged her with an encouraging hoof, and at the same time Raindrops, freshly healed if somewhat bandaged up, flew out to join them.

“I make it just in time?” Raindrops said.

“Right on time to watch Ditzy kick some more flank,” said Cheerilee, a confidence oozing grin showing upon her face.

“Awesome,” Raindrops said, sitting down and nodding to Ditzy, “Go get him. Don’t let Grimwald intimidate you.”

“Here’s hoping,” Ditzy said with a still somewhat nervous smile as she waved to her friends, carefully picked up her shield and double checked the straps around her foreleg as she put it on, and flew up to the stage.

Grimwald slid out of his own seating and adopted a lazy flight up onto the arena to join her, a thin, easy smile on his beat. As he went, Gwendolyn watched him closely, her own eye narrowing. She’d seen that kind of lazed, sunken posture in him plenty of times in the past. Usually when he was putting up a front. He was tense, or at least as close as what passed for tense with him. Gwendolyn couldn’t figure what Grimwald’s interest in Ditzy Doo was, but she could tell this wasn’t just a simple match to him.

Dao Ming picked up on Gwendolyn’s unease, the golden strands of the kirin’s mane bobbling slightly as she looked between the two griffins curiously. “Is something the matter, Gwendolyn?”

“Don’t know,” the griffiness replied, her eyes remaining narrow and fixed on Grimwald, “But I don’t like it, whatever it is.”

What in Tartarus are you planning, Grimwald?, she wondered with a grim feeling touching her gut, and her talon unconsciously strayed to her sword.

Within the arena Ditzy Doo landed besides the Abbess, and with slow flaps of his wings, Grimwald followed suit. Ditzy felt a skittering cold touch her neck, looking at Grimwald’s inscrutable brown eyes that seemed to blaze like a fire while radiating no hint of actual warmth. She was suddenly acutely aware of the size difference between them, and she couldn’t help but imagine herself as a small, helpless rabbit in the field that just realized a hawk was swooping overhead.

Remembering what Raindrops told her, Ditzy Doo drew herself up, meeting his eyes and smiled with frank, open friendliness as she extended a hoof. “I’m happy we get to meet like this, Grimwald. Let’s have a good match!”

He glanced at her hoof, then back up at her eyes, that strange gleam in them oddly flickering for a second before he extended his talon and shook her hoof. His grip was light, just like a brush of cold breeze.

“You’re an odd one, bright eyes. Makes things harder than they should be. The fun has already started, so nothing to do but to see what shakes out, but... I think I’m gonna like what you show me, one way or another.”

“O...kay?” Ditzy Doo had no idea what to make of that, and turned a questioning glance towards the Abbess, who merely shrugged with a quiet look of confusion, or perhaps disapproval, at Grimwald.

“Well then, let the arena be prepared,” the Abbess declared, and the monks went to work along the sidelines. Ditzy felt the rumble in the arena’s floor, and wondered what kind of stage the monks were going to prepare. Since her first match had just been left with a flat arena she was pretty curious what might appear this time.

She yelped as she felt herself rising into the air, the stone beneath her hoofs rising upwards in the shape of a thin pillar. Grimwald, across from her, rose into the air as well upon a similar pillar. Indeed more such pillars were rising upward all around them, but unlike the pillars from Raindrops and Tendaji’s match, all of these were thin and circular, no longer than needed for one pony to stand upon. And there were far, far more than just a couple of dozen. They pillars rose like a thick forest of stone spears.

Ditzy gulped as from the sides of the pillars various bars and columns of stones shot out at varying angles and lengths, curving or turning around to connect to one another. She flinched as several passed by overhead or close to the side, but remained still until the monk’s work was done.

By the time it was finished, the arena now looked like a massive jungle of stone. A thick forest of pillars was now connected by a dense web of elegantly curved columns, like a web of rock. Despite the thickness of the numerous columns, Ditzy could make out pathways through the forest, and realized that the arena was very much one part obstacle course and one part maze, all designed to challenge fliers. As an experienced flier herself, Ditzy could see the pathways and patterns of flight one could take through the maze, with numerous cul de sacs and more open areas that would allow for more complex maneuvering.

“Well ain’t this a pretty playground?” Grimwald commented, suddenly having his curved, green steel knife in his talon, gently rolling it around his fingers with ease, “This should be fun.”

She gulped, hefting the stout shield that Sigurd had made for her, “Just be careful, it’d be really easy to hurt yourself flying around in this.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her, “Isn’t hurting each other the point here, bright eyes? Heh, or were you planning to win by poisoning me with sweetness?”

“No. I mean, I guess I have to hurt you to win, but that’s different than wanting you to hurt yourself,” Ditzy said, blinking, “Me hitting you would be a lot less dangerous than you running into a stone pillar at full speed. So you know, if you’re chasing me, just be careful, because I may not be fast but I can turn really good, and you might hit something by accident, and that’d be just terrible if you broke something by doing that.”

She was being completely sincere. It didn’t take that much force to break a bone while flying at high speed, and if someone hit one of these columns or pillars at the wrong angle, it could even be fatal, which Ditzy most certainly didn’t want to have happen! She was just worried. Grimwald merely stared at her in that some inscrutable gaze he’d often looked at her with since they’d met.

“...I’m going to miss these talks,” he said at last, sounding genuine, “You’re just too good a sort to be involved in this kind of thing.”

Before she could ask what he meant by that, the Abbess’ voice called out from down below, “Let the final match of the second round... begin!”

Ditzy wasn’t as prepared as she could have been and was a little awkward in taking flight, but fortunately Grimwald couldn’t come directly at her due to the density of stone columns between them. Still, his speed shocked her and she nearly lost sight of him as he became a dark flicker of motion, flying up and to Ditzy’s left as he rushed around the narrow pathways of the pillar maze, angling to get towards her.

Ditzy moved as well, flying to the right. Her heart was racing, and her shield was a hefty weight on her left fore leg that changed her flight dynamics, but Ditzy rapidly compensated for it as she banked and weaved through the pillars. Taking measured, quick breaths, Ditzy let her mind slip into the patterns of flight. Just like when she was delivering the mail, her head could get into a comfortable pace that made navigating Ponyville as simple as breathing. She tapped into that now, making sharp turns with the simple ease she might have flown around Ponyville’s narrow streets. Even if this maze of pillars and columns was unfamiliar to her, she could feel the paths through them by following the air itself, sensing the obstacles more than seeing them.

She could also feel more than see Grimwald as she tried to find a pathway that’d let her approach him from behind. He was fast, and moving in a haphazard manner that suggested he didn’t quite feel the pathways the way she was, but his natural speed and agility was more than compensating for that. He was quickly making progress towards her, finding an angle of approach from above. Ditzy saw one particular pillar with a spiral of columns reaching of it like spikes that acted almost like a staircase of air currents, and she dove for it.

Grimwald flashed by her, his green tinted blade coming down in a shining arc. She hit the air currents around the spiral pillar and rose above his diving form at the last second, his knife only catching the golden trail of her tail.

“Making me chase you, bright eyes!? Sounds fun!”

Grimwald was on her, following her up and around the pillar, ducking and bobbing around the side columns as Ditzy rose higher. Ditzy sensed a more open space above the pillar, though it was still enclosed by the overall web of stone itself. Bursting into the space, she turned around and swung her shield, knowing there was only one route Grimwald could take to enter the same area, and feeling the currents of his movements right behind her.

Her shield nearly caught him across the beak, but he bent back just at the right moment so the edge of her shield brushed his crest of head feathers, but didn’t quite touch him. His hind talons gripped a stone column and anchored him as he flipped around and slashed out horizontally with his knife’s wicked, curved edge. Ditzy backpedaled with her wings, pulling her shield back, and felt the knife rasp against the hardwood.

Like a cold tickle she sensed him shift, felt the air currents rush towards her exposed hid legs as Grimwald moved with oil slick speed and shifted his attack to slash below her shield. Her wings moving in a gray blur she rose up and tucked her hind legs in, feeling the cold blade edge brush by within millimeters. Her off eye saw an opening in the space they were in and she turned and buzzed towards it. The last thing she wanted to was to keep confronting Grimwald in an area where he could move as he pleased in.

She felt him coming for her, and without looking she spun her shield behind her, feeling once again a hard rasp against it as she barely blocked a blow coming for her back. Reaching the opening, she dove in and immediately went through several sharp turns through the maze of columns, going through one criss-crossing of stone pillars so narrow she had to turn sideways and shove her shield ahead of her to make it through. It was then she saw that a small knife, not the same kind as the curved green one, was embedded lightly in the shield’s wood. A throwing knife?

Her question was answered as another throwing knife flew past, almost clipping one of her wings. Grimwald was flying amid the columns about ten meters away, following another pathway, since the one Ditzy had flown through was too narrow for him to follow. She couldn’t even tell where he was pulling the throwing knives from as his talons twisted in sharp, fast motions, sending the small metal darts spinning between the thick forest of pillars towards her.

Her walled eyes narrowed in concentration and she let herself feel the knives incoming, not bothering to try and see them. She twisted and made sharp rises or dives, turning her shield in swift, sure motions that combined with her dodging managed to either evade or deflect the projectiles sailing her way. Grimwald’s chuckle echoed amid the pillars.

“Amazing, bright eyes. You’re not even looking at them! Hehehe, my feathers are getting all tingly now. I knew you were something special,” his chuckles continued as he flew down, turning through a narrow set of openings through the pillars that took him on a course that’d go below her current path.

She turned too, banking left towards another open space she sensed ahead, one that’d curve back down towards Grimwald’s position just after he crossed beneath her.

As she flashed over him, his sent a knife hurtling upward. Ditzy turned on her side, the blade scraping past her so close that it tore her knight tabard, and would have cut flesh if it didn’t deflect off of the star metal armor underneath.

Then the moment she sensed the opening in the pillars beneath her she turned and dove, coming in at Grimwald’s back at a curved angle with her shield thrust out like a battering ram. Like an airborne snake he slithered around her dive, but Ditzy had actually anticipated he’d dodge. Gwendolyn, during the brief time she’d trained Ditzy, had said it was important to predict an opponent, and Ditzy knew from experience just how fast and agile Grimwald was. She didn’t think she could hit him normally, but if she anticipated where he’d dodge, maybe she’d have a chance.

So as he evaded her shield, Ditzy felt more than saw which way he was moving, and kicked out with her hind legs as hard as she could as she flew by.

She heard him grunt as her hind legs connected with his gut, and she caught a glimpse of him spinning off towards a nearby pillar. Ditzy had to turn hard to avoid another pillar, pulling as sharp a turn as she ever had in her life, one wingtip brushing the stone as she turned around. She looked for Grimwald, but didn’t immediately see him. Had he hit the pillar? She flew along, eyes turning this way and that as she scanned above, below, left and right. Where had he gone?

As she flew along between the stone pillars, she abruptly felt a disturbance to her left. She didn’t know how but Grimwald was suddenly there on her left, rising from below despite the fact that there were far too many columns and pillars in that direction for him to have flown through. His green steel knife was slashing at her flank and she spun into a barrel roll to avoid it. Turning over, she flew backwards, relying on her sense of air currents to bob and weave around pillars as she kept her shield in front of her to guard against Grimwald as he pursued her, his knife dancing through the air in a series of swift, harsh slashes.

“Got to give you credit, bright eyes, you’re a natural at this,” Grimwald said as Ditzy blocked attack after attack on her shield, “The attitude is all wrong, but you’ve got a body and mind made for more interesting lines of work than carrying mail.”

Ditzy blinked, almost missing a block. Carrying mail? Had... had she ever told him about what she did for a living? She couldn’t remember clearly, but she didn’t think so. Maybe he’d asked around about her? It wasn’t like her occupation was a big secret, but it still gave her a bit of a chill, regardless.

“Uh, thanks?” she said between heavy breaths. They were nearing the center of the arena, where at a glance she could tell there was another open space between the pillars.

“Surprised me, the first time you dodged me back at the Grand Melee. I mean, dodged me when I meant to hit you,” Grimwald spoke in a calm, conversational tone, as if they weren’t fighting at all, “But after watching you with that zebra, I figured it out. Just needed you in the right spot, first. Where we can’t be seen.”

What did he mean by that? Then Ditzy realized it, just as they were entering the area at the center of the forest of pillars. In this space, the density of the pillars and columns from all around would all but entirely block any clear view of her or Grimwald from the spectators. Rather swiftly Ditzy sense of personal danger shot up and she was starkly alert. She immediately looked for a way out of this space so she could fly towards a thinner part of the arena, one more open and easily visible.

Grimwald’s fighting style changed the instant they were in the area, however, and Ditzy Doo came to the swift realization that he’d been playing around with her up until now. He came at her much faster now, forcing her to concentrate all of her focus on dodging or blocking, thoroughly unable to flee in any direction. Mirth had vanished from Grimwald’s eyes and now he looked like a moving statue, all cold, hard lines as he struck like a bolt of lightning. Ditzy’s shield arm was going numb, and she was getting slower, while Grimwald only seemed to be getting faster, and that flat look in his eyes was making her heart hammer quickly in her chest with real fear for her safety.

Yet she swallowed that fear. Whether Grimwald was just trying to scare her, or was planning something more serious, she couldn’t let that fear get to her.

She swung out with her shield, going on the offensive. If she could force him away, even just a few feet, it’d give her an opening to fly for one of the exits out of this area. He easily slid aside from her swing, and came back in with a slash with his curved knife coming up from below. Ditzy felt it coming and without thinking twisted to the left out of the way, bringing her shield down to try and catch his extended arm. To her surprise she managed to hit his arm, and do so hard enough that the green tinted knife fell from his talon and went clattering down amid the pillars.

“Nice hit...” Grimwald said, licking his beak and smiling at her. As he did so Ditzy saw his other talon was holding a different knife from before. It was a dull, dark metal, straight edged and almost plain looking. Yet light seemed to bend around it and Ditzy recalled seeing Grimwald with this knife before at the Grand Melee, but he hadn’t used it. She hadn’t seen him draw it this time either, it was just in his talon suddenly.

That’s when she felt the sharp pain in her right foreleg. It wasn’t serious, just a sudden sting, but she saw the cut on her arm and the slight seeping of blood from the shallow wound. When had he hit her? It must have been just now when she’d disarmed his other knife, but she hadn’t seen or felt anything until now.

“Sorry,” Grimwald said, “You left yourself open for a second, and that’s pretty much all it takes, when you can’t feel it coming.”

“Huh...?” she mumbled, confused. Not just because of his words, but because she was starting to feel strange, like her thoughts were turning into mud. She reached out towards Grimwald, wanting to poke him and ask what he was talking about, but she blinked as her hoof passed through him, as if he was a ghost.

He held the strange knife in front of him, looking at it with an almost irritated expression of accusation, “Honestly this thing makes my work almost too boring sometimes. That’s why I look for ways to make it more fun. And you made this job way more fun than I thought it’d be, bright eyes.”

“I don’t...understand...” she said, or thought she said. Honestly everything was starting to feel very far away and she couldn’t even keep her wings flapping. As she started to sink out of the air she felt Grimwald grab her.

“Switching back and forth between solid and not-solid takes some effort, but you get used to it. What I don’t get is how the poison stays on the blade, even when it shifts state. Fey magic is weird.”

Even his voice sounded distant now, and Ditzy Doo felt like she was being suspended over a large, cold pit of blackness, with only one small thread of warmth connecting her to the world. Grimwald’s words barely reached her one last time as she fell into that disquieting dark.

“Sleep, bright eyes, and by the time you wake up, everything’ll be over.”

Author's Note:

Happy Halloween folks, have a surprise chapter update to celebrate the holiday. Although I do feel I really have to apologize for taking an entire year to get this chapter done. I certainly didn't mean for it to take this long, and I sincerely hope to not take nearly so long on the next one. I am still thoroughly dedicated to finishing this story.

At any rate, what can I say about the chapter itself? Well its certainly one heck of a time balancing act to decide which fights require focus during the Contest of Strength and which I needed to gloss over. Mostly I gave dedication to the matches that involved actual character development, while keeping the others mostly to briefer descriptions. Heh, much like Ditzy Doo, I do feel bad for the camels of Naquah, who haven't gotten any real attention in this story, but I did at least want to mention them. As for the bouts of actual importance, I especially enjoyed writing Raindrops' and Tendaji's, as its been building up for awhile and marks an important step in Raindrops' dealing with her feelings towards her anger.

As for what's happened at the end here with Grimwald and Ditzy Doo, I think its not longer a secret that Grimwald is one of the conspirators, but what he's done and how that'll affect things moving forward, well we'll just have to wait for next time. Hopefully a next time that won't take me a whole year to get to.

Anyways folks, I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading a chapter far too long in the coming, and that you'll stick around for more to come. Thank you all for reading, and let me know what you think!

Comments

[RainbowDoubleDash]

First reaction on seeing this has updated: "Hey! Neat!"
Second reaction on seeing it's 24,000+ words: "Holy shit!"

Reading now.

[RainbowDoubleDash]

who went by the name Mirror Edge

Insert Mirror's Edge theme music here. According to Google this pony's name would be Ispilu Ertzean in Basque.

There’s no secret to that kind of strength, Xhua.

100 situps!
100 crunches!
100 squats!
10 km jog!
Every day!

the Shouma Empress herself sat like a carved, jade statue.

Every time. I'm going to post Ragyo Kiryuin's theme every time she makes an appearance, and you can't stop me.

Hmm, wonder if there's a Mandarin version of the song...

Also...I'm stupid and also haven't played much Legend of the Five Rings, so it's only just occurred to me now that the Empress' full name is only a single letter away from being "Fu Leng". At least, I think this is the first time I've noticed it...I mostly just think of her as "The Empress", no name, so I might have commented on it before. In fact the more I think about it the more I'm certain that I've commented on it before. In any event, I'm sure that's a complete coincidence.

The fight between Dao Ming and Wodan was great. I had a feeling that Dao Ming would need to perform a ring-out if she was going to win. Losing might not have been very bad for her either, though, especially if she could lose but not let it get to her.

She went quiet as she looked behind the Elkheim Prince to see her mother step into the room

EVERY. TIME.

As if the wind was some unknown signal, both pegasus and zebra exploded into motion, each moving with startling speed.

I need to watch more Wuxia films. Actually now that I think about it I'm not sure how many I've seen, if any. Though I have played a fair bit of Jade Empire. Does that count?

Stop being ashamed of who you are. Be honest with yourself. It's why the Element chose you.

One of the great things about Raindrops as a character is how different she is from what you'd normally see in a show like My Little Pony. She has a lot of negative parts to her personality, but those negative things are fundamentally what make her who and what she is, and help to feed in to all of her positive aspects. The recent Kirin episode sort-of dealt with it, but I kind of like to go to Star Trek V: The Final Frontier when talking about negative emotions and how darn important they can be.

Yes, for all that it's a bad movie, Trek V actually has some very good, even powerful, scenes, and in particular the bit in the Enterprise's lounge with Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Sybok is one of them. When Guru Sybok is trying to "help" Spock and McCoy and Kirk, in his own way, by helping them ignore or shut away or take away their pain.

But then Kirk responds to the offer, to the idea of shutting away the negative stuff, with:

"They're things we carry with us, the things that make us who we are...if we lose them, we lose ourselves. I don't want my pain taken away. I need my pain."

Raindrops really fits with Kirk's idea here.

Among the Shouma entourage watching even the Empress

EVERY. SINGLE. ONE.

“Uh-huh,” Lyra said, smirking, which Trixie readily ignored.

I see we're, at the very least, sitting at a drydock watching a ship being built. Or maybe overhauled and refitted would be a better term.

[Kenkuro v. Nuru]

Ah, a proper iaijutusu duel! Nice.

with the simple ease she might have flown around Ponyville’s narrow streets.

Hmm...a conceit of the Lunaverse has usually been that Ditzy doesn't fly through Ponyville, since her strabismus makes it easy for her to misjudge depth and she might crash into things...but since a big point of this story is the fact that the L6 are basically becoming superheroes, or to some extent them realize that they have been for awhile now just due to their accumulated experience, I can see that Ditzy's started flying through town without really thinking about it.

Side note: With Raindrops embracing her anger up there, one could - if one was in a different literary universe that played by different rules - say she kind of allowed herself to give into and embrace the Dark Side of the Force.

While meanwhile Ditzy's stopped using her eyes to see and is feeling her way around. "Your eyes can deceive you; don't trust them." Use the Force, Ditzy!

I stick firmly to George Lucas' original version of the Force rather than what a lot of modern stuff does for it...there is no "light" side to the Force. There is just the Force, and it has a Dark Side.

[Arkonfleight]

Disabling the equestrian "I Win" button is just good sense. The match pairings, though... are there conspirators among the monks?

[DracoDarastrix]

Woh! It took you an entire year to write the next chapter.

I have heard of development hell and writer blocks. Heck experienced a few of my own. But man when you deliver you really deliver. I know waiting for a good thing is great and all. But consider how good this latest chapter is. I don´t know if I could wait another year.

[D48]

Grimwald is one of the conspirators

Well, I was hoping you'd do something more interesting than that, but all things considered I'm not surprised you are incapable of the kind of complex thought required to do so.

[thatguyvex]

9264795

I need to watch more Wuxia films. Actually now that I think about it I'm not sure how many I've seen, if any. Though I have played a fair bit of Jade Empire. Does that count?

Jade Empire definitely hits all the right notes for old kung-fu movies. Got a friend who's got quite the collection, and I watched a fair number of them with him to get inspiration for the fight scene.

Ah, a proper iaijutusu duel! Nice.

Felt fitting for those particular two to resolve things like that. This was basically a master samurai against an equally skilled martial artist, and those one-move duels are a classic.

Hmm...a conceit of the Lunaverse has usually been that Ditzy doesn't fly through Ponyville, since her strabismus makes it easy for her to misjudge depth and she might crash into things...but since a big point of this story is the fact that the L6 are basically becoming superheroes, or to some extent them realize that they have been for awhile now just due to their accumulated experience, I can see that Ditzy's started flying through town without really thinking about it.

I figure this whole set of scenes represents the moments in which certain members of the L6 are "leveling up" and discovering how much they've improved from being everyday mares. I mean, Tambelon was kind of the major milestone for them, but here in the Contest all of their previous experiences and adventures are showing their improvements while having a lot of other highly experienced opponents to measure themselves against. From what I recall, Ditzy's ability is largely tied to her cutie mark talent for sensing air currents, only here's it's showing how much sharper that talent has gotten. Not enough to fully deal with a high-level assassin style character like Grimwald, but enough that he had to work for it.

Side note: With Raindrops embracing her anger up there, one could - if one was in a different literary universe that played by different rules - say she kind of allowed herself to give into and embrace the Dark Side of the Force.

I'll say I do prefer worlds that don't treat all negative emotions as solely destructive in nature. Emotions need to be understood and balanced within the self, to really be controlled to any degree. I don't know if all Star Wars lore treats Light and Dark side the same, but I've always viewed it as the Light side tackles one side of the emotional spectrum and the Dark side tackles the other, and that that the Jedi and Sith were both inherently unbalanced orders due to only embracing one or the other without really understanding what balance between the two meant. But in regards to Raindrops here, the main point is that she's no longer in conflict with her anger, and accepts it as a part of who she is, and in so doing can let it pass through her and fuel her without it overriding her self determination. She can feel anger and act without that anger being what controls her choices, because she's no longer treating it like a separate thing from herself that she has to expel or bury. Not sure if the Jedi have any kind of similar teaching when it comes to emotion.

9266432
And excellent question.

9270263
Yeah, here's hoping it doesn't take me another year for the next one. I'm planning to re-balance my priorities when it comes to writing and give Contest more attention, since it doesn't have that much longer to finish anyway, but we'll see how things go.

9270484
Insults aside, I don't see how making Grimwald be anything else other than what every hint indicated he was would have constituted a complex thought process. Sounds more like if I had done that it would've come off as a pointless twist for the sake of having a twist, which strikes me as kind of lazy in terms of narrative and treating my audience poorly by just throwing a twist in there that didn't have any proper hint or build up. I also don't see what you gain by throwing an insult at my intelligence, when simply stating that you would have preferred Grimwald turned out to be something other than a conspirator would have sufficed as a critique without devolving the dialogue. You do yourself a disservice with such talk more than you do me.

[RainbowDoubleDash]

9270593
With regards to the last part of your post here, I see the martial arts movie binge you've done for this has brought out a bit of your inner Iroh.

[thatguyvex]

9270637
There's no point in getting angry at someone insulting me, I just don't understand the reasoning behind it. The thought process behind taking a sensible critique and degrading it through personal attacks doesn't make sense from an intellectual standpoint. It doesn't even really make sense from an emotional standpoint, because if D48 held some manner of grudge against me, why wait until I update one of my stories to make an attack? The PM button is right over there, and its been, what, half a year or more since our last communication? And he opens up with that? It's just strange to me.

[smile444]

New chapter ! Awsome, i tought it would never come

[TheGreatEater]

Ditzy saw Ser Silverwreath expertly time his lance strikes to counter his griffin opponents dive bombing attacks with a spear until he managed to catch one of the griffin's wings to send the knight's opponent spinning out of control to land out of bounds.

Sir
______________

She suspected it wasn’t just his pure toughness and musculature that made him so durable or strong. Enhancement magic was no prohibited in these matches, and all those rune shaped scars carved into Wodan’s flesh likely served as triggers for multiple different forms of cervid runecraft.

not
___________

“I wonder if our friends will get to have their own rival matches? Raindrops has that nutty zebra obsessed with her, and Cheerilee’s got some kind of bet going with the head minotaur. Going to be a lot of tension if they end up in the ring together.

Needs end " marks.
___________

Trixie had no comment on that front, only hoping Cheerilee and Raindrops didn’t do anything too reckless if they ending up fighting their respective rivals.

ended
___________

“It’ll make things more [interesting,” the showmare insisted, not looking away from the arena for an instant as things heated up there and the battle resumed.

interesting
_____________

Within the Equestrian seating for the nobility and royalty, Luna watched on with a keen eye, paying little mind to the chatter among the present nobles commenting on the match. Most of them were assuming Wodan would be the victory, given his seemingly endless stamina. And in some ways they were correct. Luna had once dueled Wodan herself, back in the moose’s prime, and indeed Wodan had near limitless stamina for a mortal. His physical strength was second to practically none in the realm of mortals either. Even Luna respected it, and could still remember the uppercut he’d delivered to her in their long ago fight. She’d body slammed him through hill afterward, but she’d still had a sore jaw for the rest of that day.

victor

through a hill
______________

Reading this chapter really made me feel as if you were drawing some inspiration from the Savage Skies Series.

Both in Raindrops scene where "Anger is one part of you, not all of you" bit and learning to let her anger not control her, but accept it as part of her learning the Way.

As well as Ditzy Doo's flight. Sensing the winds, and using those wind sense to navigate paths.

Still all in all, not bad. I look forward to the next chapter.

[Talon and Thorn]

9270593

I figure this whole set of scenes represents the moments in which certain members of the L6 are "leveling up" and discovering how much they've improved from being everyday mares. I mean, Tambelon was kind of the major milestone for them, but here in the Contest all of their previous experiences and adventures are showing their improvements while having a lot of other highly experienced opponents to measure themselves against. From what I recall, Ditzy's ability is largely tied to her cutie mark talent for sensing air currents, only here's it's showing how much sharper that talent has gotten. Not enough to fully deal with a high-level assassin style character like Grimwald, but enough that he had to work for it.

In a way this bothers me to be honest. Part of MLP in general which is carried on into the L-verse is that the majority of characters are fairly run of the mill, they're average ponies from an average town not all that different from anypony else. They're power is that they're good friends and good people rather than being super skilled powerhouses, now we find that three out of six of them can at least hold their own in a fight with some of the most skilled combatants in the whole world selected to represent their nations. In some way it makes future story telling harder, if the girls are this skilled what can challenge them in future? Ditzy does really stand out here in that prior to the championship she really never had any fighting experience at all now after a few days training she's top rank. To a lesser extent Raindrop's and Cheerilee likewise probably shouldn't be able to compete at this level, certainly we were told back at the beginning of the Lunaverse that Raindrop's had martial arts training but it seemed to mostly be for meditation purposes and there was no sign she'd actually trained to any depth (although I do have in mind writing a story about how Raindrops got into Iron Hoof in the first place, probably linked to when her family first moved to Ponyville, it'll probably have more than a passing similarity to Karate Kid) realistically in a world class bout she should loose quickly, Cheerilee is much the same, her background shows her to have picked up various fighting skills here and there so she should be able to protect herself against low key threats but nothing at this level.

That said, the fighters were very well done, taking into account the abilities and skills the characters have been shown to previous had, it's just that going forwards it's harder to relate this to our character's day to day lives.

[thatguyvex]

9286005
The concern is understandable, but I'll try to explain my reasoning. In the show itself we do see the Mane6 grow increasingly capable and potent in combat situations, from tacking on a Changeling army in Season 2, to casually taking on giant monsters like the bugbear in later seasons, and fighting off an invading army in the movie. All the action is fairly cartoonish, yes, but it's pretty clear the cast of the show went from average everyday ponies to being guardians of their realm, and not solely due to the power of the Elements of Harmony, which they give up to the Tree at the start of Season 4 anyway. Yet none of that keeps their day to day lives from being interesting or challenging. The Mane6 go through countless difficulties with their interpersonal relationships and personal growth as people in their daily lives all the time, regardless of their heroic skills and powers. Twilight being able to bitch-slap Tirek into the ground doesn't mean she won't have a neurotic freak out trying to make the perfect Hearth's Warming gift for Pinkie Pie.

The L6 are the same way. As much as their skills and abilities are growing as adventuring knights and protectors of Equestria, this doesn't mean they won't face challenges and difficulties in their day to day lives or can't continue to go through growth in that regard. They become no less relatable in a slice of life story, because whether Raindrops can kung-fu fight or Cheerilee knows to let a heavily armored knight tire himself out before moving in to grapple, these factors don't really stop them from facing challenges in their personal lives. If anything their growth here is meant to deepen and broaden their personal lives in that they're coming to realize in this story that they are champions in the eyes of Equestria, and there's a certain weight of responsibility that comes with that fact. It doesn't mean that they stop being who they are in their civilian lives, but it is a overhanging factor that there's a part of them that answers the call to adventure, and that they're growing in their capabilities as a result.

As to the extent of that growth, I'll try to address this point by point, to give you my thought process here.

The first fight the girls have in this story is in the Grand Melee, against one of the teams from the Griffin Kingdoms, specifically one of the Inner Kingdoms. I establish in this story that the Inner Kingdom's military forces, while numerous, are lacking in practical experience in comparison to the Border Kingdoms that have regular issues with bandits and monsters. Basically the group the L6 fight are a glorified group of young nobles who are part of an "elite" unit that's only considered elite in name only, and while those griffins might have solid training, they lack the L6's practical experiences and teamwork. Later on in the Grand Melee when the L6 take on someone with a much higher degree of skill and experience than them, Dao Ming, they lose pretty hard. I'm establishing the L6 as competent, but with clear limitations and boundaries on that skill level.

Here in the Contest of Strength one can get a pretty clear idea of their skill levels, and limitations. Since you said you were most concerned with Ditzy, I'll start with her. In her two fights, she wins the first one, and clearly loses the second. The first win against Siwatu and his scorpion Sifu are purely a factor of Ditzy fighting almost completely defensively. She has next to no chance of winning in any stand up manner, and instead has to evade and wait until Siwatu shows a moment of overconfident weakness, and even then Ditzy's win is more a factor of luck than actual skill. This plays into the second fight, with Grimwald having observed her in the first fight to realize that her evasive skills are closely tied to Ditzy's special cutie-mark talent. In Ditzy's fight with Grimwald, the appearance of her holding her own against him is purely an illusion. He spends the entire fight herding her to that one spot in the center of the arena where they can't be clearly seen by the audience. Every attack of his exists solely to guide her and make her move in the way he wants so she ends up in that spot. The moment he decides to get serious, he strikes her without trouble.

I more than realize that one day of training means next to nothing, and I'm not trying to show Ditzy as being anything other than someone who's gaining some basic skill in combat, as opposed to having none. Largely its her talent in sensing air currents that lets her be exceedingly defensive and dodge exceptionally well, but against a dedicated professional like Grimwald that doesn't really last long unless she had some means to take him off guard, which in this particular case she didn't.

For Cheerilee's fights so far, which I haven't gone into much detail on, she's gone up against an unnamed Zaldian special police officer and Silverwreath who's a Cavallion knight. Against the Zaldian police officer, Cheerilee got the drop on him after he successfully bound her up with his whip. In this case the officer just underestimated her ability to escape bindings, which is well established in Oaton she's quite good at doing. As for Silverwreath, as I mentioned above this was a factor of Cheerilee fighting smarter, not harder. She tires him out by making him chase her across the arena for awhile, his heavy armor draining his stamina to the point where he eventually slips up and gives her the opening she needs to grapple him. Even in the post-fight commentary Cheerilee fully admits had Silverwreath managed to get a single hit in on her, she'd have been done for. I've been trying to portray Cheerilee as a very competent fighter, but one who relies a lot on looking for openings to exploit rather than just outfighting her opponent.

Now for where Raindrops is concerned, she's pretty much the only one in the L6 with anything resembling formal training, but Iron Hoof was generally a hobby in the past for her. Perhaps its my own liberty with her character, but I assumed that that changed from being a hobby to being a serious art she started to dedicate herself to more once the events of the Lunaverse's main story started. Once Raindrops realized that she and her friends were going to be stuck going on adventures more and more, whether they liked it or not, she took her training more seriously and over the past year of story has been going from a mere hobbyist to someone who knows what she's doing in a fight. Keep in mind that in Hero of Oaton, she fought on par with Tendaji already. Now, Tendaji's placement in the Contest is more a factor of his master Nuru pulling strings to get him in. Tendaji isn't really a "world-class" martial artist. Highly skilled, and trained by a world-class master such as Nuru, but Tendaji is much closer to Raindrops' level than many others at the Contest. Nuru just arranged things to make sure Tendaji would be here so he could help his student's growth by ensuring Tendaji would get his fight with Raindrops. And in that fight they're pretty much evenly matched. Raindrops wins by a very slim margin, and only after coming to a personal epiphany concerning how to live with her anger. So I don't see it as too far fetched for her to win, all things considered.

There's a wide range of actual skill levels at the Contest of Champions. Yes these champions have all been selected to represent their nations, but there's a huge gap of ability between some of them. Those like Tendaji aren't on the same level as his master Nuru, or other masters like Kenkuro. Most of the griffin champions are nowhere near as capable as others, with really only Gwendolyn and Grimwald having any real skill among them. And there's a world of difference between competent but still normal champions like Silverwreath, and powerhouses like Wodan or Dao Ming. Had any of the L6 been matched against Wodan, they'd have lost, straight out. Same if they'd gone up against Nuru or Kenkuro.

They're skilled girls. Perhaps more skilled and capable than even they realized. And part of the themes of Contest is that they're learning just how far they've come from the ponies they once were, but that they are still themselves. Part of this story is the L6 learning how to still be themselves while dealing with the very real fact that they exist on a world stage now. Doesn't mean they can't live their normal lives or wont' face serious challenges in those day to day lives. It also doesn't mean that in their adventures they won't face difficulties. Being skilled and competent sure as heck won't mean they can punch out Corona.

At least this is how I've viewed things so far. As is ever the case in a shared universe, views between authors may differ.

[Emeral Bookwise]

Right, so not to much for me to comment on about Dao Ming -vs- Wodan. It was a good fight solid fight that show cased the best of both characters. As for Raindrops -vs- Tendaji howervr...

Being a pegasus she had an advantage in her ability to fly,

Sorta, although without a ranged weapon the advantages of flight are are mitigated. Any time she would swoop down to attack, it would also put her in range of a counter attack.

As he came around the pillar, he saw a jasmine bolt of speed doubling back in his face.

The imagery of a jasmine bolt is fine enough I suppose, but for the kind of bruiser Raindrops is "speed" is the kind of word you really should be more weary of using to describe her. If you really need to convey a sense of momentum to her charge it'd be better to do so in a way that emphasizes the power of the attack not its speed.

unable to even think about counterattacking as she ducked and rolled or quickly put up haphazard blocks to keep Tendaji’s stinging hooves at bay.

Same case.

It wasn’t an elegant maneuver, but it was a powerful one,

Now that's more like it.

When she opened them they were shining with a fresh, new light, one that was both radiant in its fury and somehow calm as a still pool in its serenity.

Hmm... yes, I don't know if I entirely care for the route that got us here, but I always thought Raindrops truly letting go should be this, not a frenzied berserker, but rather a tranquil fury.

The hooves clashed, hitting each other with such strength that for a second it seemed like air burst between them before both was thrown backwards from the blow.

Well, things just went and got a little DBZ in here, not that I'm complaining. Although, should Tendaji really be strong enough to meet a full force Raindrops head on like that? At the very least his hooves have got to be feeling numb from that.

They came together in a unbelievable blurring whirling of limbs.

Meh... but I've already maid my gripes on this point clear. I'm also a little distracted with DBS's Ultimate Battle theme playing in the back of my head, so I'll give you a brief pass.

Raindrops felt whole. She felt like herself.

Also this, things like this make me much more forgiving of any petty annoyances in how the fight itself is being described. Not that I'm any less annoyed, just that I'm otherwise entertained enough to let it slide... a little.

“I like to think the sky will one day rain doughnuts, but I’m not dumb enough to believe it,”

I don't know, whenever a certain mismatched mischief maker gets around to finally showing up, that kind of thing just might actually happen.

she quickly spotted Raindrops laying on a cot near the far entrance while two monks tended to her with a combination of magic and conventional means.

Technically speaking, in a world where magic is an everyday fact of life, it would probably just as much qualify as being "conventional".

Anyway, closing things out with Cheerilee -vs- Sliverwreath, again not much to say other than it was a nice change of pace to have a fight that was much more tactical.

I’ve yet to see wisdom from a book that isn’t turned around by the reader,

Meanwhile back in Equestria, "Hey, are you okay Tenbs, your ears are twitching, and is that smoke coming off the tip of you tail?"

Seriously though the argument Kenkuro and Nuru seems weirdly backwards, since usually books are considered more accurate yet less flexible compared to oral traditions.

“And now shall Dame Ditzy Doo of Equestria, and Grimwald of the Kingdom Shaldwrick step forward!”

Wait, really, this chapter just refuses to end... but I suppose I really shouldn't expect any less form you, now should I.

It wasn’t like her occupation was a big secret, but it still gave her a bit of a chill, regardless.

I mean, yeah, he's a creepy guy, but this seems like making mountains out of molehills.

[Hertzila]

Was Raindrops's revelation and realization about her anger inspired by anything in particular? I was getting some Persona vibes from it.

I suppose Raindrops will find another target for her recently accepted anger rather quickly. Or not, depending on how long it takes for the conspirators to be uncovered.
Speaking of, I will admit that I figured Grimwald would be under the employee of either a crafty Griffin Kingdoms ruler or the conspirators, not actually be one of the conspirators. Seemed like he would be more the contract hitman type rather than an actual member.

Looking forward to the next chapter!