The Voice of the Sun

by Lev the Lurker

The Duel

Chapter 14: The Duel

“So Dropsy, any idea how we’re going to do this?” asked Gilda. The three of them, plus the rest of their allies and most of the court had relocated to the same site that yesterday's challenge had taken place. Despite it only being early afternoon the area was gloomy due to a thick layer of cloud blanketing the field. The space around the combat enclosure was packed with Griffins all ready to throw their support behind whichever group they followed. Glancing over her shoulder Lyra could see her fellow element bearers standing in a group nearby, Cheerilee seemed to be putting on some sort of cheerleading routine. Trixie caught Lyra’s gaze and gave her a faux-cheerful nod.

“What was that?” said Lyra turning back to her fellow fighters.

“I said it’s Terror Wing who’s the real threat,” repeated Raindrops. “We need to deal with him as quickly as possible.”

Gilda nodded. “I think I’ve got his number, he’s strong but not fast or maneuverable in the air. We keep him in the sky we’ve got the advantage.” Raindrop’s nodded.

“That doesn’t help me much,” said Lyra, “No wings.” She indicated her back.

“Yeah, well I think I can be annoying enough to keep his attention on me,” said Gilda with a grin.

“Really?” muttered Raindrops under her breath. “Is there any limit to our altitude? I wouldn’t want to fly out of bounds.”

“Not really, you should stay in sight,” Gilda tapped her head, “and Griffins have good eyes. A few thousand feet maybe.”

Raindrops nodded. “What about the others?” she glanced over at their opponents who were conferring at the opposite end of the field.

“Once we’ve dealt with Terry they won’t be much of a threat, that little one looks like she’d break if I stared at her hard.”

Lyra thought back to her time in the embassy. Sure, she hadn’t directly fought Smoke but the mare’s magic wasn’t anything to sniff at. “I don’t think we should underestimate her, she’s really good at illusions.”

“I don’t know much about magic,” said Gilda with a shrug, “can you do anything about that?”

“Maybe, I’ll see. Just don’t trust everything you see while she’s around.”

Gilda nodded. “What about burning mane there?” she pointed towards Kindle.

Lyra noticed Raindrops flinch. She didn’t know what the pegasus felt about her ex-lover. She’d tried to cave his head in in the cells but it couldn’t be easy for her to be around him so soon after what had happened to her. “I don’t know,” said Raindrops eventually, “I’ve not seen him fight, he’s-he’s a good flyer, fast and he’s got that armour, it might do more than glamour him.”

“Yeah, the coward,” growled Gilda distastefully. Although Terror Wing had stripped off his raiments, Kindle still wore his golden plate and Smoke was wrapped in her black covering. Gilda had refused any armour. Personally, Lyra would have prefered some sort of protection, but there didn’t seem to be any around that would fit her. Raindrops said she’d prefer to fight unencumbered. Likewise both teams had refused any weapons, preferring to use horn and hoof, talon and beak.

“Ok,” said Raindrops, “So we’ll try to take out Terror Wing quickly in the air between us. Lyra will try to counter anything Smoke tries to pull and we keep an eye out for whatever Kind - the Voice of the Sun tries to pull?” The other two nodded. “Good, I’ll keep an eye on you Lyra in case anything happens.”

“Hey, don’t worry about me,” said Lyra with somewhat false bravo, “It’s not my first fight remember, I might not be a brawler like you,” she noticed Raindrops’ brow furrow a little at that, “but I think I can hold my own.”

“Right, it’s almost time,” said Gilda turning towards their opponents. “Hey, win or lose, this is going to be epic!” she crowed.
Lyra moved a little closer to Raindrops. “Are you going to be alright fighting Kindle?” she asked quietly.

Raindrops’ head drooped a little. “I’ll be fine,” she mumbled, “he’s just another lying stallion. I’ll probably enjoy knocking him about the field, it’ll be very therapeutic.”

“There’s nothing wrong with you if you still feel something for him you know.”

“I’m fine,” said Raindrops turning away, “I don’t have time to feel, I’ve got a fight to win.”

Lyra wanted to say more but they really didn’t have the time. With a moment's concentration she summoned her lyre and spent a few seconds tuning it. There wasn’t anything wrong with it in the first place but the mental exercise helped her centre herself. Taking a deep breath she tried to keep her heart from racing, she was more scared than she was trying to let on. She ran through the spells she knew that might be useful, since Corona’s return she’d picked up a surprising number of potential combat magic. It didn’t really feel right, her talent shouldn’t include hurting others. She was supposed to entertain and inform people, but she couldn’t do that if she got killed. When she’d finished she opened her eyes again, around the stadium the griffin were cheering and shouting. It was almost like being in a concert, although classical recitals rarely got this rowdy. Shaking her head at the thought she trotted over to where the rest of her team were standing.

“My people!” called the King seated nearby, it was something of a relief that Lyra’s team had been positioned near him indicating he supported them, for all the good it would do. “Strife has recently split my kingdom between those who support our ancient alliance with Princess Luna and those who would have us aid her sister in her attempt to retake her throne. Today, champions from both sides will fight. Let this duel show us their strength and honour so that we may decide which side to support.” No pressure, though Lyra. “Does either side have anything to say before the duel begins?”

“THE SUN MAKES US STRONG!” roared Terror Wing. “THEY WILL ALL BURN!”

“Know that queen Celestia supports the griffin nations and will reward you well for aiding her, but also see how she treats those who would stand against her,” said Kindle more eloquently than his larger ally.

“Losers!” crowded Gilda making some, presumably insulting, gestures with her talons. “I’ll show you I don’t need any fancy Corona magic to whup your sorry asses!”

Lyra felt she should be giving some speech about how much Luna would help the griffins and how disastrous an alliance with Corona would be, but she found her mouth was too dry to speak. Now that a fight was just a few moments away she found her legs shaking and her mind blank. Next to her Raindrops reached out with a wing and gave her a quick hug. “Brave heart,” she murmured.

“Very well,” said Garvill running his gaze over the contestants and onlookers. “Start the duel! May the strongest grif- strongest side win!”

“I WILL CRUSH YOU!” called Terror Wing using his talons to cut deep grooves in the ground.

“Bring it!” taunted Gilda taking to the air with a single flap of her wings.

“We have the power of the sun on our side, and our cause is righteous,” pronounced the Voice. “There is no need for conflict, submit and you will not be hurt. Stand against us...” he paused for a moment, “and you will fall!”

Not waiting for a reply, Terror Wing started to thunder forwards towards his opponents with his head lowered. He quickly accelerated until he seemed to be a red blur charging into the heart of his enemies. From above Gilda cried out various insults but he ignored her, instead barrelling towards Lyra who started to gallop away while still trying to keep an eye on her other opponents. So much of their plan, though Lyra, it looked like they’d pegged her as the weakest link and decided to deal with her first, and they probably weren't wrong. Gritting her teeth she tried to force her legs to move faster.

Smoke and Kindle seemed happy enough to stay back and let Terror Wing do the fighting at the moment. Smoke’s horn was glowing and she had her eyes closed as if she was concentrating on a spell while Kindle hovered nearby seemingly to protect her. From around the arena the crowd roared its approval. Glancing back, Lyra saw that the fighting has begun as Raindrops had started to attack Terror Wing. Probably to protect me, thought Lyra. The giant griffin was laying into her with blow after blow from his talons. The smaller mare was deflecting each of his attacks, her face a mask of concentration.

The distraction gave Gilda the chance to move up behind Terror Wing and sink her own claws into his back. He gave out a roar and his body convulsed throwing Gilda off of him and far into the sky. At the sight of her friend being knocked back Raindrops went onto the offensive, catching Terror Wing a stunning blow which rocked his head back. She tried to follow up but her opponent managed to catch her hoof in his talons. For a moment the two of them were locked in place, muscles straining against each other as they attempted to gain the advantage. Slowly, and to Terror Wing’s evident surprise, he was pushed back, first a pace, then another as Raindrops, snarling, forced him back.

With a grunt, Terror Wing twisted his body aside and Raindrops’ momentum carried her on past him. She stumbled and went skidding over the ground away from him. Turning, Lyra galloped towards the fight ready to help her friends, maybe between them they could subdue the big griffin before his allies even started to fight. Then she felt her horn tingle as a wave of magic spread out from Smoke. Wherever the power touched it turned the air to a strange white mist. Lyra’s eyes widened and she quickly caught her breath fearing the stuff was some sort of poison, but she couldn’t help taking a lung full of the material. After a fearful moment she realised it didn’t seem to have a harmful effect. However it did block her from seeing where any of her friends, or enemies, were. She could hardly see her own hoof in front of her face, and worse, the cloud seemed to writhe and twist of its own violation making it seem like there was movement all around her. She ducked to avoid an imagined blow, this stuff was setting her nerves on edge. Judging by the cries from the crowd they didn’t appreciate their view of the fight being blocked.

“Raindrops!” cried Lyra spinning around in panic, “Can you hear me?”

There was no reply.

Lyra could just about make out grunts nearby but wasn’t sure who was fighting. She was even having difficulty working out what direction the fight was, the smokescreen was messing with her sense of direction. She was afraid that if she ran she might leave the boundaries of the arena by accident. Maybe that was part of Smoke’s plan.

“Raindrops!” she cried again, closing her eyes to try and concentrate her hearing.

“She’s busy right now,” came a calm voice nearby. Lyra’s eyes shot open again and she spun to see Smoke standing not too far away.

“This-this is very impressive,” said Lyra trying to keep her voice level. Her brain was running a mile a minute trying to figure out exactly what spell Smoke had cast and what she could do about it. It was presumably some sort of illusion rather than a conjuration, did it cover the entire arena, or just a short distance around her? She couldn’t tell. Trixie would probably have a better idea but Lyra’s knowledge of illusion magic was only average at best. That was the annoying thing about magic in a fight, it could do almost anything depending on the skills of your opponent. Trixie could see through her own illusions, could Smoke? Could her allies? If only Smoke could, was there some way she could communicate with Kindle and Terror Wing? There were so many variables.

“Thank you,” said Smoke politely, breaking Lyra away from her thoughts. “We don’t need to fight, I don’t want to see anypony get hurt.”

“Me neither, if you just want to surrender that’s fine by me,” replied Lyra slowly stepping towards the other mare.

Smoke gave a thin smile. “Sorry, not me, you. Is this grubby little kingdom really worth this much to you?” She stepped back and was seemingly swallowed up in the mists.

“My friends are!” called Lyra, cautiously walking towards where she had last seen Smoke.

“So it's going to be like that then?” came Smoke’s voice from behind her. Lyra twisted around, there was no way the mare could have gotten there in only a few seconds, unless she could teleport. Had the original Smoke been an illusion? Lyra’s eyes widened, or this one was! She tried to turn back the way she’d come but couldn’t move in time. Before she could react Smoke was already on her, the mare grabbed one of Lyra’s hind legs and twisted. A second later Lyra found herself sprawled out on the ground, her leg throbbing in pain. She was sure that if not for her unusual flexibility it would be dislocated, if not broken. She tried to flail out at Smoke with her remaining legs but her opponent stepped back smoothly.

“Where did you learn to fight?” Lyra said through gritted teeth.

“A mare in the big city has to be able to look after herself,” said Smoke smugly. “Also I have taken lessons from the Queen, mostly magic, but some other things.”

“Why do you follow her?” asked Lyra getting back on her hooves, she winced as she put weight on the damaged one. “You don’t seem the type. You seem like a nice mare, did you just fall into a bad crowd?”

“Coro-Celestia is, difficult, but not as unreasonable as you would think,” said Smoke circling around Lyra.

“Back in the cellar it sounded like you’re more into Kindle than Corona.” The smaller mare’s face told Lyra she was on the right track. “You wouldn’t be the first mare to do something stupid for a colt. But I don’t see how you can stand by him after what he did to Raindrops.” While she was talking Lyra started to feed power into her horn, preparing to attack. Smoke’s face hardened and she stepped back into the mists and disappeared. Quickly, Lyra threw a burst of sound at the space where she had stood but nothing gave any indication she’d hit anything. She slowly circled, her ears and eyes flashing from side to side trying to catch a glimpse of her attacker.

There!

Lyra saw a black blur moving at the edge of the cloud, instead of focusing her attack on what might be a decoy she created a whole bubble of sound stretching out from her. She heard a cry from her opposite side and turned in time to see Smoke stumbling away clutching her ears. Lyra allowed herself a satisfied grin for a moment, but this wasn’t a winning strategy. Spreading out her attack robbed it of its power, she could disorientate but not incapacitate and repeated area attacks would use her strength up too fast. Smoke could probably wait her out, she needed a clear target. Octavia had been able to hear Trixie even when she was invisible. Lyra wasn’t anywhere near her skill level, but still she might just be good enough.

Taking a breath, Lyra slumped to the ground trying to tune out the sound of the crowd, of fighting, of her own racing heart. Beneath it all she could just about make out the sound of hoofsteps cautiously approaching from her left. Without opening her eyes she turned her head and with a thought sent a concentrated beam of sound towards where she now knew Smoke to be standing.

The grey unicorn screamed as she was pounded by the blast. It picked her off her hooves and tossed her aside. “Maybe I’m not Octavia, but she’s not Trixie,” muttered Lyra as she lurched to her hooves, her injury still troubling her. She galloped towards where Smoke had fallen hoping to finish the fight before the smaller mare could recover, but by the time she got there her opponent was on her hooves and running. Closing her eyes again Lyra could just about make out the sound of retreating hooves, she fired another blast in their general direction but this time her opponent was too far away. With a sigh she took off in pursuit.

* * *

Rolling to her hooves Raindrops quickly spun to make sure she didn’t take her eyes off of Terror Wing for a moment. His last move had been quicker than she’d expected, she didn’t want to underestimate him again. Then suddenly it was like she had flown into a cloud bank as a wispy whiteness blocked her vision. It took her a moment to realise that her hooves were still on the ground. What was happening? Somewhere off in the distance she heard Lyra call her name but she couldn’t tell where the unicorn was.

She turned back and forth, the swirling cloud setting her nerves on end. Enemies could be all around her, or they could be the other side of the arena dealing with her friends, she had no way of knowing. Spreading her wings, Raindrops tried to use her pegasus magic to clear the smoke around her but it had no effect, whatever this was it wasn’t true cloud. This had to be some sort of trick by Corona’s followers, Smoke probably, so some sort of illusion, she’d never seen anything like it before.

With a flap of her wings Raindrops lifted off heading straight up, or what her senses were telling her was up, given the illusion around her she might not be able to trust them. Up and up she went. With her senses deprived time seemed to stretch out, she might have been climbing for seconds or minutes. She had almost given up hope when finally she broke out of the top of the illusion, it felt like a weight had been lifted off of her. Above her true clouds sat, Stratus she noted, maybe only a few hundred meters at the base, was someone planning light rain? or just blocking out the noon sun? If so they were shabbily placed. She shook her head, now wasn’t the time to think like a weather pony! Looking down she noted that the blanket of illusionary smoke covered the area of the arena perfectly and reached up to maybe a hundred feet or so, she had no idea what was going on down there.

To her right she heard a cry and turned to see Gilda and Terror Wing dueling. The giant griffin was grunting in frustration as he swung out at his smaller and more agile target. His coat was spotted with blood from numerous small wounds but they didn’t seem to be slowing him down. Gilda was flashing around him almost too fast to keep track of, it looked like she might have learnt a thing or two from Dash. Still, Raindrops didn’t think she could keep up that pace for long, not without help. As if to highlight that fact, Gilda’s last dodge was a fraction of a second too slow and Terror Wing caught her a glancing blow, tossing the griffiness away. Raindrops’ heart caught in her throat for a moment, fearing her friend had been seriously hurt, but with a shake of her head Gilda recovered. She locked her gaze with Raindrops for a moment and a smile spread across her beak before she shot back towards Terror Wing. “That all you got?” she cried, “I’ve seen cubs hit harder than that!” She started to dart back and forth in front of her larger opponent’s face, apparently not even trying to hit him any more.

Raindrops frowned, what was her friend playing at? Then she realised that Terror Wing’s back was being kept to her, he probably wasn’t aware of her existence. Trying to glide as quietly as she could Raindrops flew forward, body tense and ready to react if her opponent spotted her but he continued to cry out his frustration as he swatted at Gilda. It was only when she was a few feet from his back that Terror Wing finally noticed her approach and tried to turn, but by then it was too late, far too late. Gritting her teeth Raindrops threw a leg around his neck, cutting off his airway, and gripped as tightly as she could. Terror Wing struggled, his back undulating as he tried to throw her off and his talons clawed back at her, she felt one of them glance off the side of her face and she tasted blood, but gritting her teeth she kept up the pressure. She tried to turn her leg into the right position to restrict the blood flow to his brain, a true sleeper hold, but she didn’t know how Griffin physiology worked, an attack which would floor a pony in a few seconds might not have any effect on them. Whatever the situation was it did seem like her attack was having some effect, his attempted blows were becoming slower and wilder. His wings had ceased to pump and she was forced to hold both of their weights up. A few more seconds and he’d be out of the duel and she and Gilda could look for Lyra.
Just as the huge griffin started to sag in her grasp Raindrops felt a heat starting to rise against her belly. She looked down in horror as Terror Wing’s red plumage burst into flame. With a cry she released her grip and flipped backwards, desperately beating at her smoldering pelt. In front of her Terror Wing seemed to explode, flame shooting out in all directions searing her eyes and forcing her to look away. “BY FIRE REBORN” cried the griffin.

By the time Raindrops’ vision had cleared Terror Wing’s renewed form was swooping towards her. He didn’t even seem winded, she noted, as she tried to twist aside. She was too slow and she cried out as she felt his talons grasp her barrell and start to squeeze. She desperately struck out with her front hooves punching him in the face once, twice, three times. The final blow knocked him back, forcing him to release his grip but leaving gouges in her sides. Gilda swooped down and attacked Terror Wing before he could recover but the larger Griffin kept fighting. As Raindrops moved in to help her friend Terror Wing struck out with his hind legs catching her in the gut and forcing all the air from her lungs. Gasping, she dropped towards the ground.

The illusionary smoke came up to meet her as her battered body tried to remember how to breathe and how to fly. Her pegasus magic automatically worked to reduce her speed but she still hit the ground with bone numbing force, she bounced once then came to a halt. Panting, she desperately ordered her body to stand, to return to the fight, but it didn’t respond.

“Storm Cloud,” came an achingly familiar voice from nearby.

“K-Kindle,” she managed, rolling her eyes towards the figure as it strode out of the smoke.

“No, I am the Voice of the Sun,” he said coldly, standing over here. “You hurt me,” he intoned.

“Yeah,” muttered Raindrops trying again to stand, her body felt like it was made of stone, “sorry about your muzzle.”

“My physical injuries do not matter,” as she struggled to stand he rested a hoof on the back of her head holding her to the ground. He leaned forwards to hiss into her ear. “You rejected my Queen. I offered you everything, a position at her side, power, belonging, and you rejected me! Rejected her! The first I might be able to forgive but not the second.” The force on her head reduced for a moment. “You have one last chance for forgiveness, surrender now. Come with me to Corona and swear yourself to her service, and she may forget the injustices you have done to her!”

Kindle’s head was close enough to Raindrops that she could feel the heat of his burning mane and feel his glowing eyes burrowing into her. Her body ached, she just wanted to lie there and rest. She wanted to just be able to forget everything that had happened in the last few days. If this had been a story in one of her books she could have put it aside and never open it again, but it wasn’t. This was real life and she had to live with her actions and decisions. She braced her legs against the ground and with a grunt lifted herself up, knocking the surprised stallion aside with ease.

“No,” said said quietly, “No, Kindle. I won’t.”

“You don’t understand her power! Her glory!” he cried dropping into a clumsy fighting stance.

“Kindle, you’re sick, you need help. I should have seen it earlier, I’m sorry.” She actually found that she meant it. She still felt a swirl of emotions at the back of her mind, there was the ever present anger, she had many reasons to hate him, but there was also sadness and maybe a touch of desire still. However, at the moment the main thing she felt was pity, he seemed so broken, so obsessed by Corona he could hardly function. Maybe another pony would have manipulated her maliciously, or just for his own enjoyment, but Kindle, Kindle just couldn’t see what he had done was wrong, he couldn’t see beyond his own madness. Maybe he shared much with his queen on that front.

“You’re sorry!” he cried, “Sorry! You love me! I know you do, I saw the real you!”

“Maybe,” she admitted, sometimes being the element of honesty really sucked, “But I think I was more in love with the idea of being in love.” She let out a deep sigh. “I so wanted somepony special, somepony to like me and there you were, so perfect that I didn’t look deeper. Maybe you saw the real me, but I didn’t see the real you.”

With a cry Kindle rushed forwards kicking and biting at her. For a moment Raindrops was taken by surprise by his viciousness and she was forced to give ground, but he had no technique, no training, most of his moves were more about looking impressive rather than being effective. Stage fighting she realised, and she began to easily block his attacks. Her return blow knocked him to the ground, his injured muzzle bleeding again.

“We don’t need to fight,” she said as he staggered back to his hooves.

“If you will not join my queen, you are my enemy!” he hollered back. She looked at his ranting face and couldn’t see any sign of the elegant stallion she’d known earlier.

“Please Kindle, despite it all, despite you lying to me, it doesn’t have to be like this.”

“No!” he cried, moving forwards again hooves flying. Again, Raindrops held him off easily. “I know you feel for me, I know how you feel about the time we spent together. Join with Corona and we can stay together!”

Raindrops sadly shook her head, there was obviously no arguing with the stallion in front of her. Above her Gilda would still be fighting Terror Wing, Lyra and Smoke must be about somewhere as well. She needed to help them, there was nothing she could do here. “I don’t want my life to be defined by my anger, and I don’t want it to be defined by the time I spent with you,” she lowered her head and turned away, wings spread ready to fly. “Goodbye,” she said over her shoulder.

“Don’t turn your back on me,” he cried leaping forwards hooves outstretched. Raindrops saw the attack coming and twisted, his blow flew past her and she lashed out herself, one hoof caught him on the side of the head knocking him to the ground, the second contacted between his hind legs. She was big enough to admit that the resulting squeal felt very satisfying. She trotted over to where he lay in the dirt and raised a hoof ready to knock him out, but something stopped her. Even now, his features twisted in anger and pain, she recognised the stallion she’d cared for, that she had considered a future with, and she couldn’t bring herself to land the blow. “Go away,” she said after a moment, “just go, I don’t want to see you again. If I do... well I don’t know what I’ll do, but you probably won't enjoy it.”

With that she spread her wings and took to the air, slowly rising through the smokescreen. Behind her Kindle staggered to his hooves and cried out a name she had once considered hers, but she didn’t look back.

* * *

Rising back above the magical cloud felt to Raindrops like letting out a deep breath. Kindle and all the emotions that were tied to him were behind her now. She closed her eyes for a moment to try and centre herself before she realised where she was and snapped them open again. Terror Wing could be anywhere! Being stupid could get her killed.

“Can’t catch me runt!” came Gilda’s cry from up above, despite her bravado the griffin sounded winded. Raindrops craned her neck to see where her friend was and saw the Griffiness weaving amongst the grey clouds above closely followed by Terror Wing’s larger form. The giant looked furious, smoke was literally spewing from him nostrils as he chased his more nimble opponent. With a mighty flap of her wings Raindrops set course for them and flew on as fast as she could. The space between them closed faster and faster as she gained momentum.

Terror Wing noticed the pegasus flashing towards him from below and tried to roll to the side, but his bulk was too slow and Raindrops smashed into him belly hooves first. With a sound like a hurricane the blow forced the wind from his lungs and he started to drop towards the ground, wings flailing wildly as he tried to regain control.

“Are you alright?” asked Raindrops as she caught up with Gilda.

“Never... better...,” gasped Gilda, her lungs puffing like a steam train. “Where’d you... go? I thought I’d... lost you...”

“No such luck,” said Raindrops trying to cheer up the exhausted griffin. “I ran into Kindle ground side.”

“Wondered what had... happened to him. You take him out...”

“No he... he got away, I don’t think he’ll be a problem though.”

“Good, guess we better see if the fall did for... Terry.”

Raindrops peered down into the smoke below. There was no sight of Terror Wing or anyone else at the moment. She glanced over towards the crowd and her friends, they looked worried but Cheerilee and Ditzy were waving at her so she returned the gesture.

Swooping lower Raindrops examined the fog closer for any sign of their opponent, Gilda following her. Suddenly there was a boom from somewhere below and part of the field glowed with fire. Raindrops almost stopped flapping in surprise. “REBORN IN FLAMES!” came Terror Wing’s cry.

“Oh for buck’s sake,” growled Raindrops, “Not this again!” Could the scarlet griffin just keep coming back again and again? Could nothing stop him? She glanced around nervously for a few moments but there was no sign that Terror Wing was coming up to meet them this time. Maybe he was being more cautious now, hiding in the smoke rather than coming to get them? She flexed her wings and started to increase her altitude, there was no point hanging just above the mist waiting for him to get them. Then to her horror Raindrops caught sight of a familiar minty shape through a gap in the cloud closely followed by a huge shadow. As the cloud closed up again she saw the smaller figure being tossed aside like a rag doll.

“Lyra!” cried Raindrops, pulling her wings and plummeting towards the ground. “I’m coming!” Behind her she heard Gilda shout something but her whole attention was taken up by the sight below her. The smoke quickly swallowed her up. Unable to tell where the ground was she landed harder than she had planned. She looked around, her ears swiveling, trying to make out anything through the magical cloud around her. “Lyra!” she called again.

“He doesn’t love you, you know,” came a voice dripping with venom somewhere behind her. Raindrops spun ready for an attack but there wasn’t anything there. She recognized the voice as being Smoke. Did that mean what she had seen was an illusion? Could she be sure?

“He can’t, his mission is everything to him. The only thing he loves is his queen, and she is above such mortal emotions.” The voice seemed to circle around her and Raindrops followed it as best she could, hoping to catch a glimpse of something she could actually fight.

“But he’s a stallion, and he has needs. You’re not the first, and you won't be the last. Just another little whorse ready to lift her tail so he can relieve some stress, it didn’t mean anything. You’re nothing to him!” continued the voice bitterly. Raindrops tried to ignore it, only a few minutes ago she’d thought she’d managed to put her feelings for Kindle to rest, had managed to find some peace but now this other mare was keen to tear the wounds open again. She hadn’t seen much of Smoke so far, but it was clear that she held a torch for Kindle. Did he know what his small ally thought about him? Did he know how much of a betrayal his time with her must have seemed to Smoke? She tried to put the thoughts aside just as she tried to block out Smoke’s taunts while still keeping track of where they were coming from. For a moment she thought she could make out a black clad figure in the smoke and she tensed ready to pounce, but then the shape dispersed. It was just another illusion.

“You’re nothing, you don’t even deserve his attention. He might have acted like he felt something for you, but all he felt was disgust! He never would have looked at you if he didn’t want to turn you to the queen,” continued the voice, repeating words that Raindrops had already belated herself with. “What did you ever do to deserve him? What do you have, long wings? A toned flank? A pretty face?” Suddenly the smoke cleared and a black clad figure rushed forwards, her horn aflame. “You won’t be so pretty in a minute!” Raindrops reared back as the smaller unicorn slashed at her face with her horn. It passed close enough that she could feel the heat, a few locks of her mane landed on the burning spike and caught alight. Raindrops staggered back, patting at her hair to put it out. Smoke dived forwards again to try to take advantage of the distraction but Raindrops sidestepped and spun around hooves flying. The small mare tried to twist away from the punch but could only cushion the blow, not avoid it. The force sent her flying away into the smoke again, squealing. Raindrops tried to follow up before Smoke could recover but once again the mare had disappeared into the cloud.

Raindrops circled cautiously, trying to watch for any hint of her opponent. She couldn’t let Smoke keep fighting a hit and run battle for ever, that was what the illusionist wanted. Raindrops couldn’t afford to be pinned down, Gilda and Lyra might need her help, she had to draw out her opponent.

“At least I have a pretty face,” she called, “I bet no stallion ever gave you a second glance, certainly not the stallion you wanted anyway.” Raindrops scanned the mist around her, it didn’t look like her opponent was taking the bait. She tried again. “Maybe he did feel disgust when he was with me, but at least he felt something, does he even notice you exist most of the time?” Raindrops almost felt sorry for the smaller mare, clearly she loved Kindle, but couldn’t see what he really was. “Maybe he was just relieving stress with me,” she struggled against her own revulsion, she didn’t want to think about what had happened right now, “but it still felt pretty good. If I turned to your side do you think he’d give me another ride... maybe he’d even let you watch? Maybe not, you being there would probably be a mood killer for him.”

“Shut up!” came a scream from her left side, the cloud there almost seemed to be boiling. A column of fire was forming highlighting the small mare, tears were dripping from her eyes as she channeled more and more power into her spell. Taking wing, Raindrops leapt forwards towards her. “Shut up! Shut up!” cried Smoke again as she released her spell and a spear of flame blasted towards her rival. However her emotions were affecting her aim and Raindrops easily avoided the blast, then she was on the smaller mare pinning her to the ground. Smoke went wild, biting and kicking out at her attacker. A hoof caught Raindrops on the side of her head but with a grunt she ignored the blow, she saw Smoke’s horn start to glow again and slammed her head down into the unicorn’s forehead, stunning her.

“Come on, surrender,” cried Raindrops as the fight went out of her target. “Let us help you, we can take you back to Equestria, away from Kindle. He’s bad for you!”

“Never, never, never!” cried Smoke, her voice almost a babble, “Want him, need him, love him!” Sighing, Raindrops pulled back a hoof to knock out the smaller mare then she caught sight of two Griffins dueling in the air above her. In Smoke’s distracted state her magically created mist was starting to clear. As Raindrops watched in horror Terror Wing grabbed Gilda in his talons and shook her roughly, in return the griffiness pecked forwards with her beak catching Terror Wing on his cheek, drawing blood. With a snarl the giant tossed her towards the ground, wings flailing. Quickly choosing between the enemy beneath her and her friend, Raindrops leapt into the air and towards the falling griffin.

Gritting her teeth against the wind Raindrops put all her strength into closing the distance between her and Gilda’s plummeting body, she cursed her wings for not being faster as her friend’s flailing form got closer and closer to the ground. Reaching out a hoof she desperately tried to grab at Gilda. The griffiness was struggling to regain control but the momentum of her fall seemed to be too much for her to pull out of. As the two of them entered the smoke screen Raindrops just managed to wrap a foreleg around one of Gilda’s paws and without hesitation swung her around and threw her back into the sky. Having absorbed the momentum of both of them Raindrops couldn’t pull out of her own dive and only just managed to get her own hooves underneath herself before she hit the ground, skipping across the arena like a stone on a lake. With a groan she eventually came to a halt near the edge of the field.

Every part of her ached, Raindrops didn’t want to look but she was sure she’d worn her hooves to nubs on that landing. Fighting against the urge to just lie there she instead struggled to stand. She cried out as she tried to put weight on her front right hoof. Risking a glance she was glad to see that she had a hoof but there was a deep crack in it. Wincing, she held out the injured leg. Neither herself or Gilda could keep up this pace forever, whereas Terror Wing seemed unbeatable due to Corona’s power, this just wasn’t fair. There had to be some way to beat him, some way to put out his flame. She growled to herself and she forced her wings to lift her up above the smoke screen again. What hope did she have to figure this out? She wasn’t some great tactician or genius, she was just a weathermare in a backwater town. Above her Gilda had apparently recovered and was once again trying to fend off Terror Wing. The Griffin looked about as bad as Raindrops felt: she was hardly fighting any more, just trying to avoid her opponent by weaving in and out of the cloud bank at the top of the arena... Raindrop’s eyes widened, it couldn’t be as easy as that could it? There had to be something wrong with her idea, but she couldn’t think of anything else they could try.

Gritting her teeth she once again ascended into the sky towards the fight above her. “Keep him busy!” she cried as she passed Gilda.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Gilda cried in response, ducking under a claw swipe that looked like it would have taken her head off if it had connected.

Trying to put the danger that Gilda was into the back of her head, Raindrops examined the cloud she had to work with. It was far from perfect, she had hoped that all she would need to do was to set it off but that would hardly produce a light drizzle. She needed a torrential downpour for what she had in mind, and to do that she’d need to concentrate the cloud. Ideally this would be the work of a whole team for a few hours but she only had herself and, she glanced back at Terror Wing and Gilda, a few minutes at most.

Taking a deep breath she stretched out her wings to their limits and pushed against the body of the cloud, feeling her magic grip it and forcing the wispy material away from her. If she was doing this properly she’d have another pegasus at the other side of the cloudbank pushing as well allowing their magic to work against each other, but that wasn’t a luxury she had at the moment. So she was forced to set up a series of waves in the cloud as she moved around its edge. Within a minute she had reached the opposite side of the cloud and could feel the waves she had created earlier crashing against her. So far they weren't doing much more than thinning the cloud even more, but now when she pushed against them she could just about feel the cloud being compressed by the forces she was unleashing. With a feeling of satisfaction she continued to circle the cloudbank, seeing it getting smaller and more compact as she went. The effort of not only flying as quickly as she could but also constantly pushing against the cloud was taking its toll. Sweat was dripping off her flanks and her heart felt like it was trying to hammer its way out of her ribs, but as she was going it was getting easier and easier. The cloud was shrinking so she didn’t have as far to fly and her previous waves were still rebounding back and forth compacting the material into a darker and more water laden form, just another few minutes and it would be...

There was a squawk from below and Raindrops looked down to see Gilda grasped in a bear hug by Terror Wing. The griffiness was trying to claw at her attacker with her talons and paws but all her limbs were firmly pinned. With a grin, Terror Wing increased the pressure causing Gilda’s eyes to bulge, Raindrops thought she could hear the creaking of bone as Gilda’s ribs were compressed. She didn’t have any more time. Hoping her cloud was good enough and that the process she had started would at least carry on by itself for a while she shot downwards towards the fight.

This time Terror Wing was ready for Raindrops’ attack. As she approached he released Gilda, leaving her gasping for breath, and turned to face his new attacker. Raindrops tried to maneuver around behind the big griffin but either he was getting quicker or exhaustion was slowing her down and he easily matched her speed, lashing out with a talon as she got close catching her flank and lightly cutting into it. She winced and instinctively struck back. Her leg seemed to explode into fire as her cracked hoof impacted against Terror Wing’s skull, with a yelp she cradled her injury while Terror Wing grinned back, apparently not fazed at all.

“Pathetic!” he crowed. Raindrops spun and kicked out with both hind legs catching her opponent on the chest. He grunted and shot back through the air but quickly came to a halt seemingly unharmed. “You can’t beat me! Thanks to the queen I am the strongest Griffin there is. Once I crush you my father will understand, everygriff will understand! Me and my brothers will reach out and crush Canterlot!” His eyes burning bright he swooped forwards again, claws outstretched, but Raindrops wasn’t there anymore, she was climbing back towards the clouds above.

Even during the few seconds she had been fighting Terror Wing the clouds above had contracted even further, the fluffy mass which had once covered the whole sky above the arena now covered a space not much bigger than her home. No longer a light grey, it was almost black, a fully mature storm cloud; she only hoped it was enough. Moving as fast as her exhausted body would allow she punched through the cloud and out into the sunlight beyond. Screeching to a halt she slammed all four hooves down on the top of the cloud triggering it.
Not far below Terror Wing saw what was happening and braced himself for any incoming lightning, but instead an almost solid wall of water gushed from the cloud. Within a second his coat and feathers were drenched, the weight starting to drag him down, but with a snarl he flapped harder forcing himself higher through pure strength. Blinded by the rain, he didn’t notice Raindrops until she was less than a body length away from him, powering straight down into his face.

The two of them collided with bone shattering force twisting and flailing, as together they plummeted down towards the ground far below. Terror Wing slashed and pecked at Raindrops as she continued to push him down but she ignored the wounds he inflicted and grabbed him tighter. Her face was a mask of determination.

Below them the top of magical smoke screen drew closer and closer. They had just entered its limits when Terror Wing finally managed to throw Raindrops aside, but it was too late for either of them to stop the impact. Raindrops’ wings beat with as much force as her battered body could manage, finally managing to catch the air just above the ground. She couldn’t stop her crash but she just managed to reduce her speed from fatal to merely stunningly painful. She lay there in the newly formed mud puddle for long moments, her mind trying to retreat into unconsciousness with only her stubbornness keeping her aware. Even in her current condition a part of her luxuriated in the feel of the rain on her coat soothing away her mental and physical pains. Her mind dragged her back to the last storm she had been part of with Kindle and how she had felt then. She shoved the memory aside and buried it deep, she would not let Kindle poison rain for her, storms would remain her own special time and hers alone.

Forcing her eyes open Raindrops only saw the mist Smoke had generated. There was no sight of a bust of fire and she hadn’t heard Terror Wing’s shout of triumph, had her idea worked? Then the cloud parted and her heart dropped as a figure emerged. “I am... THE STRONGEST!” gasped Terror Wing as he approached. He was clearly in almost as bad a shape as her, one of his hind legs was dragging along the ground and one eye was swollen shut, still he was standing. Looking down at Raindrops’ battered form he stopped as she rose groaning onto shaking hooves.

“You’ve fought well,” he said in a surprisingly gentle tone, “but it’s over, I can’t be beaten!”

“It’s not over while I’m still fighting,” growled Raindrops flipping her sodden mane aside.

To her surprise a smile actually grew on Terror Wing’s face and he raised his wings in a Griffin salute. “Never surrender,” he mumbled before nodding. “Let’s finish this.” He took a breath and let out a mighty roar before tearing into the ground with his talons and starting to gallop across the short distance between them. Matching him, Raindrops lowered her head and charged forwards as well.

At the last moment before they collided they both reared up and struck out at each other. Raindrops screamed as her injured hoof smashed into Terror Wing’s face, a shattered chunk of hoof being torn off. At the same moment Terror Wing’s balled talons struck Raindrops in the chest, lifting her off her hooves and throwing her back head over heels.

Terror Wing remained frozen in his victory pose for a moment then his eyes rolled up and he slumped bonelessly to the ground. Raindrops’ fall was somewhat cushioned by the mud but was still enough to daze her. She lay there staring at the griffin’s collapsed form, after a moment to her horror it started to spark. Tiny motes of fire started to run over his form but the soaked plumage refused to catch and the flames were quickly extinguished by the now slowing rain.

With a grateful sigh Raindrops let herself sink back into the mud.

* * *

Lyra growled in frustration while still trying to concentrate on the soundscape around her. She’d been trying to track Smoke for what felt like hours now but probably wasn’t more than ten or fifteen minutes. On top of trying to follow the unicorn she had repeatedly been distracted by other sounds, the thud of bodies hitting the ground, cries of anger or pain from above, a far off conversation. She had no idea what was happening to her friends, if they were winning or... not. She’d never more regretted not being born a pegasus, her friends could be getting hurt or even... really hurt in the sky above her and there was nothing she could do. All she could do was try and track down Smoke and beat the smaller unicorn, get her to remove the annoying mist which made her eyes useless. The other unicorn certainly knew she was being tracked and seemed to be very adept at avoiding Lyra’s senses. Once or twice Smoke had tried to ambush Lyra, suddenly leaping out of cover her horn blazing, the memory made the burnt patch of skin on Lyra’s flank throb. Or, more frequently, her opponent sent illusions or herself or her allies to try and scare her off. Still, Lyra had managed to avoid most of Smoke’s tricks so far and even once tried an ambush of her own, although her target had ended up being a decoy.

However, Lyra felt that she was slowly getting the measure of her opponent. Keeping up an illusion this large for so long, despite its relative simplicity, had to be draining and although Smoke must have impressive reserves she must be tired, if not exhausted, by now and that was making her careless.

Careless enough that Lyra was fairly sure her prey wasn’t that far away, she could just about make out the sound of panting up ahead, interspaced with what sounded like sobbing. She tried to put aside thoughts of what might have caused the other unicorn to cry when suddenly she made out another sound. That of a large body moving through the air not far above her.

Eyes widening Lyra threw herself aside as a griffin flashed through the air diving down towards the space she had been standing in only a few moments ago. Lyra turned to face the new arrival, her horn glowing ready to defend herself. “Gilda!” she exclaimed recognising the Griffiness. Her ally looked terrible, her body was battered and covered in multiple cuts. If her people considered scars badges of honour then Gilda would be really really honourable after this fight.

“Minty?” asked Gilda, slowly lowering the talon she had been about to use to disembowel Lyra.

“Where’s Raindrops?” asked Lyra quickly.

“I lost track of her and Terry,” said Gilda actually sounding worried. “Last I saw they were going down somewhere over there.” She pointed out vaguely into the mist, as she was doing so there was a pair of thuds like two heavy objects hitting the ground.

Without even thinking Lyra started to gallop in the direction the sound had come from, Gilda following just behind her. To her surprise the cloud in front of her opened up to reveal another two equine figures running in roughly the same direction as them. Both groups came to a halt and stared stupidly at each other for a moment. Neither of her opponents looked at their best. Smoke was clearly exhausted, her flanks wet with foam and her horn flickering dangerously. Kindle’s armour was scuffed and his muzzle was red with crusted blood, one wing draped somewhat protectively over his smaller companion. Just looking at the flame maned stallion and thinking about the hurt he’d done to Raindrops made Lyra’s blood boil. “He’s mine!” she exclaimed pointing at the stallion.

Gilda looked like she might argue for a second then shrugged. “Hello little rabbit!” she called to Smoke, an evil grin spreading over her face. The small unicorn gave a frightened squeak as the griffin started to barrel towards her and she turned, almost tripping over herself in an effort to escape. Lungs working hard, Smoke rushed off into the mists quickly followed by Gilda.

Turning away from the retreating pair Lyra turned towards Kindle, the pegasus’s wings were slightly spread ready to take off at a moment's notice. “Dame Heartstrings,” he began. “There is no need for us to fight. You must know you will lose.” Despite his calm tone his body was twitching, something must have really rattled him during the duel.

“Really? ‘Cause I don’t see Smoke being able to beat Gilda and you don’t look all that tough to me,” replied Lyra with a little false bravo, she knew she could hold her own in a fight but she had no idea what powers Corona might have granted Kindle.

“True, I am not a fighter, but even if I and Smoke fall my queen’s blessing has made the Herald unbeatable. You would do better to surrender to me rather than suffer his wrath.”

His smugly certain tone made Lyra grit her teeth. “Raindrops will beat him,” she insisted.

Kindle gave a chuckle which made Lyra want to punch him in the face. “Raindrops really is remarkable, but she has her limits.”

“Maybe you don’t know her all that well,” said Lyra taking a step towards her opponent.

“Given what we did together I think I know her rather better than you, dame Heartstrings.”

Lyra growled, she didn’t even know she could make that noise. “You really shouldn’t have said that,” she warned. How dare this stallion treat the hurt, the betrayal he’d done to Raindrops so lightly.

Ignoring her threat Kindle lifted off the ground with a flap of his wings, his eyes remaining locked on Lyra’s. “And even if we do all fall, you still will not win. Luna’s days are numbered, the sun will rise and you and your little band of idiots will fall!” he sneered.

With a smile Lyra released the spell she’d been concentrating on.

“THE SUN WILL RISE!” came a voice like a clap of thunder but pitched like a petulant foal. Kindle gave a squawk of surprise and fell face first to the ground.

“Wha…” he managed before being flattened by a further wave of sound.

“YOU WILL SEE THE LIGHT!” the voice was recognisably his own but twisted into an unflattering imitation.

“You’re good with words aren't you,” said Lyra, her horn glowing as she walked over to where Kindle lay. “You think you can talk anypony into anything?” In front of her Kindle started to try and crawl to his hooves again.

“GLORIOUS DAY!” boomed the voice. Kindle cried out as he tried to jam his hooves into his ears, causing him to collapse back into the mud.

“So I thought irony and all that, I’d defeat you with your own words.”

“THE WORLD CAN RETURN TO WHAT IT SHOULD BE!” mocked the voice again, causing Kindle to whimper.

“And you don’t know anything about Raindrops. She is a good filly! She knows what she could do, could be and she does everything she can to stop that. She lives in fear of what she might do if she lets herself go. She deserved a special special somepony,” she snarled, not even noticing that the smoke surrounding her was quickly fading away.

“LET HER RAISE YOU OUT OF THE DARKNESS INTO THE LIGHT OF HER GLORIOUS DAY!”

Kindle hunched up on the ground trying to curl his body against the sound.

“Somepony who would accept her and show her she doesn’t have to be scared anymore. Instead she got you. A liar! A user!” Lyra added her own voice to the tumult her magic was creating. “And no matter what she ever does you’ll always have been her first. The first one she really trusted, the first one she cared for, and no matter what happens nopony can take that away.” She bared her teeth.

“OUR CAUSE IS RIGHTEOUS!”

“I...I surrender,” groaned Kindle, his voice hardly audible above the racket.

“I never want to see you anywhere near her again,” continued Lyra as if she hadn’t heard him.

“I surrender,” gasped Kindle with more force.

“THE SUN WILL RISE! / YOU WILL SEE THE LIGHT!” continued the voices, pounding down on the fallen pegasus, “GLORIOUS DAY! / OUR CAUSE IS RIGHTEOUS / YOU WILL FALL!” Lyra straightened up looking down on the suffering stallion, her face blank.

“Lyra,” Lyra felt a hoof on her shoulder, she turned to see Raindrops standing there looking horribly battered, drenched in mud. “It’s over, he’s had enough.”

“Raindrops!” she cried clutching her friend tight. “Are you alright?”

The pegasus winced. “Nothing about a week's sleep and a hooficure won’t fix. Plus I’m bruised all over.”

“Sorry!” said Lyra releasing her grip. Over to her other side she noticed Gila carrying the terrified Smoke under one arm. “Where’s Terror Wing?”

“He’s sleeping it off over there,” said Raindrops pointing at a sodden pile of feathers across the arena.

Becoming aware of their situation Lyra heard the roar of the crowd and looked up to see cheering Griffins all around. Ditzy had taken off from her seat and was swooping down towards them, followed closely by the rest of the girls.

“Hey, we won!” cried Lyra in astonishment.

Author's Note:

Written by Talon and Thorn

Thanks to Lev the Lurker for the original concept of this story that I have since built upon, standing on the shoulders of giants as it were.
Thanks to Rainbow Double Dash and Grass and Clouds 2 for their suggestions and to Do Contra for his truly heroic effort as editor.
Comments are always welcome.

Comments

[the other sans]

So much of their plan, though Lyra
There was no sight of a bust of fire
she noticed Gila carrying the terrified Smoke

1. Thought.
2. Burst.
3. Gilda.

Oh ho, smart plan Raindrops, very smart plan indeed. Terry has at best a faux invincibility since yes he has shown to recover fully upon hitting 0HP but when the battlefield conditions change to horribly wet, his fire will be doused and that annoying boss fight can finally be dealt with.

[notme]

another one

"the cloud seemed to writhe and twist of its own violation"

volition(?)

[RainbowDoubleDash]

I did love this duel. And Terry's weakness is an obvious one in hindsight, and fortunately one that's actually not as easy to conjure as you might think. Water in sufficient quantities to shut off his regeneration is hard to come by on short notice.

[Walabio]

> “She was supposed to entertain and inform people, but she couldn’t do that if she got killed.”

I thought about a crossover of the LunaVerse and the OptimalVerse. CelestAI could not “Satisfy Values through friendship and ponies.” if deactivated; so now, the 1st thing CelestAI does is make itself undeactivatable and got the humans who can order shutdown to upload themselves to EquestriaOnLine.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Now I want Smoke dead, too.