• Published 22nd Jun 2014
  • 1,243 Views, 156 Comments

Fighting is Magic: The Equestrian Grand Tournament - Lance Skyes



The Equestria Battle Tournament returns, but this is no longer call for celebration.

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8: The Champion Arrives - Day 1 Closes

The crowd's cheering was at a fever pitch, deafening roars of excitement, combined with thunderous applause. But what less could Sombra expect moments before the Mane Event fight? What less could he expect from the finale of the first day? What less could he expect when one of the combatants was the champion of the previous Equestria Battle Tournament?

The tyrant disregarded these thoughts, however, as he made his way to the platform that stood above the arena so he could address the crowd. “Fillies and gentlecolts!” his voice boomed across the stadium. “Welcome to the final battle of the first day of the Equestria Battle Tournament!” The crowd somehow managed to cheer even louder than before in response to this. “Believe me when I say, I have a real treat in store for you for this round. Two incredibly popular veterans of the Tournament, pit against one another right here!”

“I call bull,” Rainbow Dash mumbled, earning her several glances from her friends, ranging from confused to annoyed. “What? I know he's lying because I'm not in this round.”

“Rainbow, you battled in the last round,” Applejack said. “And against some weird lightning zebra, at that.”

“Zebstrika,” Keldeo corrected.

“Whatever,” Rainbow Dash said. “I still can't believe everypony could forget about me just like that last time.”

“Not everypony forgot about you,” Twilight said. “Besides, last year's champion was the ultimate underdog story. Sports fans eat that kind of stuff up like cupcakes.” Then, with a slight chuckle, Twilight added “Well, probably more like muffins in this particular case.” Rainbow Dash simply responded with a pout and a “hmph.”

“Now, without further ado,” King Sombra continued, “let me introduce our combatants. In the west corner, flying in all the way from Griffonheim to represent her country in this tournament, and by far the most aggressive fighter in Equestria Battle Tournament history, Gilda!”

Out of the west door flew the very same griffin, flying at top speed towards the arena, eager for battle. She did a couple of tricks in the air that made the crowd go wild with applause, but none anywhere near the caliber Rainbow Dash could have achieved. (At least so the pony would argue.) After basking in her glory for a little while, Gilda landed in the arena and indicated for Sombra to continue.

“And in the east corner...” Sombra continued. As he said this, the lights in the stadium dimmed, giving rise to a sense of suspense among the ponies in attendance. “One of few ponies who hold the highest honor in this stadium. One of the three champions of the Equestria Battle Tournament. Last year's champion, in fact. Fillies and gentlecolts, please put your hooves together for Derpy Hooves!”

Instantly, several confetti cannons went off around the eastern door, and several spotlights shone in that direction to reveal Derpy Hooves, trotting into the arena with a huge smile on her face and a golden crown on her head. The crowd went wild beyond description as the champion slowly made her way into the arena. When Derpy finally entered the circle, she took off her crown and handed it to another pegasus who was waiting to take the crown so Derpy could fight.

“She doesn't look all that impressive,” Keldeo commented as he observed Derpy. He wasn't wrong. In comparison to Gilda, she did seem rather... plain. Save for her eyes, she honestly looked like any other pony.

“Looks can be deceiving,” Fluttershy said. “I know because Angel and I actually battled her last year. When it gets down to it, she can fight almost as well as Rainbow Dash. I have to admit that I didn't think she'd be very good and tried not to hurt her too much, but she blew me away because of that.”

“Really?” Keldeo asked. “Well then, this should be an interesting battle.”

Meanwhile in the arena, Gilda and Derpy were staring each other down. “Ha,” Gilda laughed. “My opponent is you of all ponies? What a joke! Why can't I have a real challenge?”

Derpy just shook her head and smiled to herself. “Looks like I've got myself a new challenge,” she thought to herself. “Oh, Gilda,” she said out loud. “I suggest you quit talking now and start taking this fight seriously.”

“Oh, I'll take this fight seriously,” Gilda said. “Seriously enough to tear you apart feather by feather.”

“I'm scared,” Derpy said sarcastically. “If you lose, don't go around saying you just didn't know what went wrong.”

“Oh, you're the one who's gonna be thinking something went wrong,” Gilda said. “And that 'something' will be getting out of bed this morning.”

“Alright, combatants, are you ready for battle?” Sombra asked. Both combatants nodded. “In that case, let's begin! Round 1, FIGHT!” Since it was the Mane Event battle, several confetti cannons went off upon this announcement.

Gilda was quick to start the battle aggressively. She quickly flew forward and tried to slash Derpy with her talons. The pegasus was able to dodge this attack easily by backpedaling quickly. She followed this up by throwing her hoof forward and striking Gilda square in the beak. The griffon wasn't knocked backwards since Derpy didn't put much into her punch, but she did flinch, and that gave Derpy all the opening she needed to charge forward and give Gilda a gut check, followed by a windmill kick that knocked the griffon backwards and onto her back. Derpy, on the other hoof, landed rather gracefully.

“If you want me to start trying, just say so,” Derpy taunted said as Gilda got up from the combo she took.

“Oh, you're trying, all right,” Gilda growled. “Trying very hard to get on my nerves.”

“Then it looks like I'm doing something right,” Derpy said with a smile. The pegasus then charged forward and tried to strike Gilda with a mule kick. However, the griffon was more than prepared for this. She quickly grabbed Derpy's hind leg and swung the pegasus around in a circle before throwing her into the barrier face-first.

“Had enough yet, little pony?” Gilda asked as Derpy quickly got up. When she opened her eyes, however, everypony in the arena gasped. Derpy's eyes were straight.

“You... did not just re-straighten my eyes,” Derpy said with an angry expression and a growling tone. “Now you've made me very angry.”

“Oh, I'm so scared,” Gilda said in a mocking tone. “What are you going to do now that your eyes are straight? Fire lasers from them?” This was responded to by a powerful eye-beam attack from Derpy that hit Gilda square in the chest, knocking her backwards several feet.

“And now the battle gets serious,” Derpy said before flying forward at high speed. Before Gilda even had a chance to get up, Derpy picked the griffon up and gave her a powerful uppercut that launched her in the air. Derpy then flew up and gave Gilda a solid hit to the gut, a powerful knee jab, another uppercut that knocked Gilda further into the air, a flip kick with the same effect, an upwards dive that launched Gilda straight up into the top of the barrier, a downward double-hooved smash that sent the griffon crashing downward, and to finish the combo off, another eye laser that struck Gilda and forced her into the ground, leaving a small crater with a downed griffon lying in the center. Derpy then landed on the edge of the crater and looked down at Gilda. “Let that be a lesson to you. Don't underestimate your superiors.”

“KO!” King Sombra called. “The winner of round 1 is Derpy Hooves!” The crowd cheered excitedly at this announcement with deafening volume.

“She can do that?” Keldeo asked in a shocked tone. “I know there are several Pokemon that can fire beam-like attacks from their eyes, but a pony?”

“Well, Derpy's the only one who can shoot lasers from her eyes,” Twilight explained. “But it only happens if you make her really angry. Coincidentally, the only way to make her angry enough is by setting her eyes straight.”

“Huh...” Keldeo said. “How interesting...”

Meanwhile in the arena, King Sombra had healed the combatants, even repairing Derpy's eyes so they were looking two different directions once again.

“No one's going to think any less of you if you forfeit now,” Derpy said as Gilda flew out of her crater.

“You dare to mock me?” Gilda asked. “I was going easy on you in the last round, but now I'm going to tear you apart. Slowly. And. Painfully.”

Derpy was entirely unfazed by this threat. “Isn't that what you said before the last round?” the pegasus asked with a smirk.

“I mean it this time,” Gilda replied.

“Combatants, are you ready?” King Sombra announced. “Round 2, FIGHT!”

Gilda flew forward at full force and gave Derpy a powerful slash that caught the pegasus completely off guard and sent her stumbling backwards. The griffon then took advantage of her opponent's dazed state to rush in and give her a strong uppercut, followed by a powerful jab that sent Derpy flying into the barrier. Gilda wasn't finished, however, and moved in to pin Derpy to the barrier in order to deal more hits, but Derpy was able to recover and dodge out of the way of Gilda's attack, giving the pegasus a second to catch her breath.

”Looks like she really did have some bite behind her bark,” Derpy thought to herself. ”This round might actually be challenging.”

Derpy's train of thought was quickly derailed when Gilda charged forward at her once again. Fortunately, Derpy was able to see this attack coming and was able to quickly dodge out of the way of Gilda's attack, proceeding to deliver a powerful counter punch right to Gilda's side right below her wing, causing the griffon to lose her stability and fall to the ground. Derpy was then quick to follow up her attack by grabbing Gilda and throwing her up into the air, proceeding to fly up and uppercut the griffon. Derpy then let Gilda fall to the ground before flying in to give her a powerful haymaker that knocked her further back.

“Had enough yet?” Derpy asked as Gilda slowly got up.

“Not yet,” Gilda replied with a snarl. “I won't have enough until you're finished.” The griffon then charged forward, grabbed Derpy by the throat, flew up into the air, and threw the pegasus straight into the ground. Fortunately for Derpy, she was able to recover just before hitting the ground and avoided landing right on her head. She was also able to defend when Gilda dived straight down and tried to give a powerful downward jab. The attack made contact with a counter hit on Derpy's part, generating a small shock wave that disturbed some dust. The force at which the two hits collided shook both combatants a bit, but this was more problematic for Gilda because she was still in the air. Not for long, though, as the shock caused her to fall to the ground. Derpy, though her hoof still hurt a little, didn't miss her opportunity, running in to hit Gilda with a powerful sweep kick that was followed by a grab, an uppercut, and finished with a mule kick that sent the griffon flying. Gilda hit the barrier beak-first and fell to the ground, but she got up before Sombra could call a KO.

”She's persistent,” Derpy thought to herself. ”I have to finish this round fast.” Fortunately for Derpy, Gilda still seemed a little off balance despite being back on her feet. Not willing to let this opportunity slip away, Derpy flew forward for a powerful dive that pinned Gilda between the pegasus' forehooves and the barrier. Derpy then took a step back and hit the stunned griffon with a powerful windmill kick that sent her into the air, over Derpy's head, and beak-first into the center of the arena. The griffon then fell the rest of the way down. She made an attempt at getting back up, but her legs buckled beneath her and she fell back down, utterly beaten.

“And now you know why I'm an Equestria Battle Tournament champion,” Derpy said with a grin.

“KO!” King Sombra called. “Gilda has been defeated, so the winner of this battle is Derpy Hooves!” The crowd erupted into deafening roars of cheers and applause upon this announcement.

“I can't believe Derpy actually pulled that off,” Rainbow Dash said, wide-eyed at the spectacle she just witnessed. “She tossed Gilda around like it was nothing.” Then, with a pout, she added, “That's usually my job in the EBT.”

“Lighten up, Dash,” Fluttershy said. “It was an exciting battle. Besides, Derpy's a powerful ally for us, and it would be a better idea if she stayed in the game as long as possible.”

“Speaking of staying in the game...” Twilight commented as she indicated for the others to view Gilda being carried off the stage by a pair of changelings. “Or rather a lack of. I didn't even see Sombra heal her.”

“Come to think of it, I think the same thing happened with Lyra and Spitfire,” Keldeo added, bringing a hoof to his chin. “How odd.”

Twilight was about to say something else, but Sombra giving another announcement derailed her train of thought. “Fillies and gentlecolts, this concludes the first day of the Equestria Battle Tournament,” he announced. “However, the stage one battles are not over yet. Tomorrow, we will bring you five more battles, each one guaranteed to be more exciting than the last. But for now, I'm well aware that not many of you are nocturnal, so you may, of course, retreat to your current living quarters and sleep for the night. But be here tomorrow bright and early, because you will not want to miss a second of the action.” At this point, it wasn't out of the question that many of the spectators had forgotten what was at stake in this tournament, this fact highlighted by the way they cheered at this announcement.

“It's like they've forgotten who Sombra even is,” Applejack commented.

“But the point is that we haven't,” Rarity replied. “Let the sports fans enjoy the tournament and leave taking it seriously to us.”

“You're right, Rarity,” Twilight said. “We can't lose focus, but if it keeps the spectators optimistic, they can.”

Keldeo gave a large yawn before chiming in. “Can we lose just enough focus that we can get to sleep?” he asked. “This day dragged on longer than I thought it would.”

“I think getting some rest would be a good idea,” Fluttershy said. “Especially with Angel and I fighting first thing in the morning.” She emphasized her point by looking up at the snoozing bunny on her head.

“Yeah, let's get going,” Twilight said. And with that, the Mane 7 made their way back to Canterlot Castle, where they would inform Princess Celestia of everything that happened before all going to bed.

“Let me go!” Gilda shouted as she struggled against the two changelings who were dragging her through the crystal caves. “I might be injured from that fight, but I can still rip you two apart!”

“Oh, I'm sure you can, Gilda,” a dark and sinister voice said. Gilda was then thrown to the ground by the changelings before she found herself face to face with King Sombra.

“You,” Gilda said while pointing an accusing talon at Sombra. “You set me up for failure, didn't you?”

“My my, you are much more perceptive than I thought you'd be,” Sombra said with a chuckle. “I suppose it's true. I did pit you against an opponent I knew you couldn't beat with your attitude and technique. But that's in the past. Now you've outlived your usefulness to me.” Sombra's horn then began glowing with the sinister combination of green, black, and purple aura that dark magic glowed with, causing a dark gray light to envelop Gilda and lift her into the air slightly. Gilda tried to struggle, but she wasn't struggling for long before she was suddenly released, causing her to fall to the floor.

“Uhnnn...” Gilda groaned as she tried to get up. “Wha... where am I?”

“No sense in leaving the rage spell on you if you can't use it anymore,” Sombra replied with a chuckle. “To answer your question, you're at the crystal caverns beneath Canterlot, a place you're going to be spending quite a bit of time in now.” With an evil laugh, Sombra teleported away.

“Hey!” Gilda shouted. “You can't leave me here! I-I don't even know what's going on!”

“You don't need to, little griffon,” another evil sounding voice said from behind Gilda. The griffon turned around to see a pair of glowing yellow eyes hiding in the darkness behind her. Before Gilda could take any action, she heard a sinister inhaling sound...

Author's Note:

FINALLY! FINA-FREAKING-LLY! You have NO IDEA how horrible it felt to have writers block for this story for SO DAMN LONG!
...
Okay, since many of my readers are authors as well, maybe you do know how horrible it felt to have writers block for so long. :twilightblush:
But the point is that I've finally got this chapter up. I blame Masahiro Sakurai and everyone at Nintendo for making such awesome video games that all came together to make hooves-down the GREATEST fighting game in history.
*Le random Smash fanboy* That's total bullshit! There's no Roy, there's no Mewtwo, there's no Ice Climbers, it's not Melee, there's no creative Pokemon anymore, the Doctor isn't David Tennant... Smash totally sucks nowadays!
*Back to me* Roy was a Marth clone, a role Lucina now fills, Mewtwo is going to be DLC later this year, I'll admit that the Ice Climbers are an unfortunate loss, and as for your last three complaints, you are hating Smash, Pokemon, and Doctor Who for literally the STUPIDEST reason I can imagine: because they aren't their predecessors. GROW THE BLOODY HELL UP AND ACCEPT THAT YOU LIVE IN WORLDS THAT ARE GOING TO CHANGE CONSTANTLY! IF YOU CAN'T PUT UP WITH THAT, LEAVE THE FANDOM AND CREATE NO FURTHER DRAMA PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL NINTENDO DEITIES!
Holy crap... who knew I could explode like that? Oh well, at least it was just a Caps Lock explosion.
Oh hell, I almost forgot to mention that there's going to be an interlude chapter after this one. Did you happen to notice that I kinda halted the final scene with Gilda in the cave? Yeah, something's gonna go down and it's gonna take a full half-chapter to cover it, so stay tuned.