Caverns & Cutie Marks

by TheColtTrio

Chapter 40: Skullponies Encore

“Yeesh, will I ever fight in the arena without having to go to the infirmary afterwards?” Purple Heart groaned, slapping down another group of cards. His second arena appearance had been vastly different from his first one. Instead of fighting two large opponents like he had in his debut, the purple earth pony had gone through a deadly maze infested with enemies bearing lances. While the crowd hadn’t outright booed him in his second appearance, they didn’t love Purple Heart either. Apparently, some prestigious members of Gallopilli’s ruling elite had sown words of doubt and disfavor amongst the middle and lower classes that attended the match. The Purple Barbarian was nothing more than a slanderous nag that deserved to be put down in a very public, gory fashion.

On the other hoof, after Purple Heart had defeated his opponents without much difficulty in his second match, the crowd had started to love him. It was actually after the match that Purple Heart was injured, thus sending him to the infirmary. The Purple Barbarian couldn’t help but smile at how he had made the populace love him. He had to admit, getting squished by a wooden portion of the maze was definitely amusing. Until the splinters came out that is. That hadn’t been fun. Especially for his rear-end where the majority of the wall had fallen on.
The ponies seated with him in the gladiator waiting room under the Coliseum all chuckled at the question. Of the six there at the table, only one didn’t laugh.

“Unlikely,” Melee replied, his face void of emotion. “Every win under your belt further increases the ranking you have within the arena and thus demands deadlier enemies for you to face. I will say that I was impressed with how you managed to defeat your opponents in your second bout. Although, I’m afraid your next one will be a little more difficult.”

“Just as long as he doesn’t fight us,” one of the gladiators chortled. “Did you see what he did to those training dummies?” He posed the question to the other ponies present. Purple Heart ducked his head, a smile curving his lips as the gladiators and arena master all voiced their confirmation. After his second match, Purple Heart had leveled up again, unlocking a new attack feat: Nail Kick. It was an interesting attack. Instead of one blast of damaging power, like what Jan, Ken, Hufu, Nail Kick had a more drawn out attack time. Several damaging ‘strikes’ would be fired upon activation of the feat and, depending on the distance, damage would compound itself upon the target.

If Jan, Ken, Hufu was a close-range high damage attack, then Nail Kick was a mid range scatter attack, making it ideal when facing multiple enemies or racking up damage against one massive opponent.

Ooooh, Purple Heart had thought upon leveling up. Ima shotgun now. When the purple earth pony had first tested his newfound feat, the damage had been terrifying. Thinking back, Purple Heart was certain that several curious spectating gladiators had wrenched their necks while double-taking at the fluffy carnage that the practice dummies in the Training Wing had become.

“But those were only practice dummies,” a young gladiator by the name of Blade Runner pointed out. The gladiator was young, probably younger than Purple Heart himself. His mane was spiked and colored a light green whereas his coat was a darker hue. The mark on his flank was two crossed blades. “How can that be terrifying?”

A white-maned pegasus with powerful wings, a scarred silver coat, and a morningstar on his flank grunted as he drew from the deck of cards on the table and gestured to the pony beside him, signalling the end of his turn. “You haven’t seen the arena yet, have you lad? You came in with yesterday’s batch, didn’t you?” The young colt averted his gaze in embarrassment, nodding.

“Well, you’ll just have to see what happens on the Sands of Glory when the Purple Barbarian here fights,” one of the mid-level gladiators commented, clapping a hoof on Purple Heart’s shoulder. The earth pony twisted his face into a grimace then he turned to look expectantly at Melee.

“When’s my next match?” he asked, taking one of the arena master’s cards. Melee frowned at the card Purple Heart took and looked to one of the other ponies.

“About now actually,” Melee replied. The older stallion allowed a small smile to cross his features when he saw the look of disbelief on Purple Heart’s face.

“Now?” Purple Heart asked weakly. Melee nodded.

“Now.”

The table shivered as the Purple Barbarian skittered away to the gateway leading to the surface arena floor. The gladiators chuckled and followed the purple earth pony at a more leisurely pace towards the viewing windows.

“So why should I be watching this?” Blade Runner asked curiously. The elder gladiator, Buck Wing, sighed in annoyance.

“What’s the one thing that can make the difference in a battle to the death?” Buck asked, aiming his question at the green earth pony. Runner frowned in concentration.

“Skill?” he asked slowly.

Melee was the one who answered. “Partially. But knowledge is better. Having the knowledge of who you could face is invaluable. That’s why you should watch. The Purple Barbarian is a rather powerful and dangerous opponent. Finding out what abilities he has would do you good, should you face him. It may not happen, but don’t discount the scheming minds of the Royals above.”

Blade Runner furrowed his brow and looked out at the sand, his interest in Purple Heart growing.

* * *

“Ladies and gentlecolts!” the announcer began. “Welcome once more to Gallopilli’s Coliseum! Last week, the Purple Barbarian made his debut on the hallowed Sands of Glory and defeated the Braek Brothers~! Imagine our surprise when he went on to defeat a dozen of the meanest Lancers from Gallopilli’s resident Lancer Gladiators, the Ponyards!”

Meanest my arse, Purple Heart grumbled as he paced back and forth across the sand, awaiting his opponent. The only injury I received was from a toppling wall. They did manage to jumpscare me though. Barely. Slendermare was more terrifying.

“Now, the time has come for the Purple Barbarian’s third match!” the announcer continued. “Please put your hooves together for the the largest pony this side of Skull Mountain, Big Ban!”

Purple Heart froze in his tracks, fear taking hold of him as the floor of the arena shifted, revealing a peaceful city block that looked very much out of place in the Coliseum.

“Big Ban is somewhere within the city block!” the announcer declared. “Begin!”

Purple Heart stood there at the entrance to the city block for a few seconds, mulling over his thoughts as they ran through his mind. The game officials probably didn’t care about any damage that the two combatants would wreak upon the small ‘stage’. Eventually, the Purple Barbarian sighed and he cantered slowly into the city block, wariness apparent in his every motion. If his opponent was who he thought it was, then he would be feeling a world of pain after today’s match. He gulped and grimaced, knowing that those hours playing Snipony Elite III with his comrades would be of some help in this situation. Slowly, cautiously, he entered a building in a crouch and began searching for his quarry, knowing that he was being hunted as well.

* * *

The assembled crowd of common ponies and several members of the ruling elite watched the arena floor in silent interest. Opinions of the two combatants were mixed to say the least. Most all of the royalty present were betting on the imminent demise of one purple earth pony. On the other hoof, a portion of the common ponies were betting on the Purple Barbarian’s victory. Only time would tell.

Or not.

Purple Heart was sent sailing through a decrepit looking building and landed on the roof of one beside it. Big Ban, an earth pony of elephantine proportions (even bigger than a certain Bandit Chief) leapt after the purple earth pony and landed on the roof beside the fallen combatant.

With a groan of pain, Purple Heart lifted his head and looked at the tan and brass colored earth pony standing over him. A dark blue cloak whipped about the stallion’s trunk-like legs, snapping in the wind like the pennant banners around the Colosseum. An explosion of sound swelled from the crowd when they noticed that the two combatants had reappeared.

“Welp, so much from Snipony Elite,” Purple Heart mumbled as he crawled to his hooves. Big Ban looked down at the purple earth pony and boomed a laugh.

“You will be prosecuted to the full extent of the jam,” the large cloaked pony declared. “Saximum!” From beneath the cloak shot a huge brass gauntlet. Purple Heart’s eyes widened in surprise as he leapt skyward, hoping to avoid the wide attack. This was for naught though, as his opponent swept his cloak aside again, this time revealing a thick column of brass about the diameter of Purple Heart’s leg. Size aside, the weapon succeeded in hitting the airborne earth pony, sending the Purple Barbarian soaring in a high arc onto another building. Purple Heart's head was ringing painfully on impact.

When Purple Heart landed, he sagged against the rooftop as the needles of dull yet inexplicable pain ran rampant across his chest and stomach.

“Ungh,” the purple earth pony grumbled. “His hit box is enormous.”

A resounding crash silenced the roaring crowd and managed to startle Purple Heart to his hooves as the large steampunk-esque pony crashed into the building the purple earth pony resided in. Standing, Big Ban looked down at his adversary, his face a mask of amused disdain.

“I got ties older than you, princess,” he chortled. “Shoes too. Hot socks! Black and blue! Shuffle!” Purple Heart scrambled away, trying to avoid the three attack combo. He had mild success as he dodged the first, took the second on the shoulder, and rolled away from the third as the large colt had leapt up, increasing the distance between the two combatants.

Great, the Purple Barbarian snarled to himself. He’s exactly like him. Hit box and all.

“I’m not a princess,” Purple Heart snapped as he tore forward, intent on dealing some kind of damage to Big Ban. The large earth pony laughed and jumped, showing surprising agility for such a huge individual.

“Don’t futz around!” Big Ban reached out with the brass gauntlet and made an attempt to grab Purple Heart. Hard cobalt eyes softened to a realization stare as Purple Heart twisted to one side, batting the brass limb aside, utilizing his experience gained from fencing his two compatriots. He ignored Ban’s curse of ‘applesauce’ and went on to notice the opening he had created by deflecting the grapple attempt. The Purple Barbarian lunged forward, his desire to beat this massive pony growing with each second. What happened next really threw Purple Heart for a loop.

It all started when he noticed the obscenely manic grin pulling Big Ban’s lips further and further across his muzzle. A snap motion later saw the brass limb pulled back to block Purple Heart’s normal attack...

‘Pulled back to block Purple Heart’s normal attack...’

Block.

BLOCK.

“What the bleeding carp?!” Purple Heart screeched, reaching a pitch that was seldom found on his vocal scale. His moment of laxity allowed for Big Ban to counter.

“Beat that! Air mail! Swing it!” The three barked phrases each proceeded a different attack on Ban’s part; a crouching kick, a standing punch, and a jumping kick. Purple Heart was able to avoid the first two attacks before lurching into path of the airborne attack. A pained groan escaped Purple Heart and he darted to the edge of the roof. Seconds later found him off the roof and scrambling into a building across the way. Swerving and ducking through the houses, Purple Heart totally ignored any sneaking until he was far enough away from where Big Ban had been.

Calls of displeasure and annoyance from the crowd echoed around the buildings, following Purple Heart as he snuck through building after building, taunting him.

“C’mon! Fight!”

“Beat ‘is brains out!”

“No sneaking around!”

“Play us a song on his skull!”

“Get on with it!”

Purple Heart grit his teeth in aggravation. This wasn’t going well. He really needed to have a word with Discord on the game mechanics. Blocking would’ve been a nice help in all of the earlier conflicts he had participated in, regardless of rules or combat form.

“Personal status,” the purple earth pony hissed, hoping that the verbal command would do as he wanted. Fortunately, the DM was feeling generous.

“Health unchanged at forty-two percent,” a soft voice relayed. “Strength and toughness modifiers are unchanged. Agility modifier is reduced from +3 to -1. Stamina meter is unchanged. No buffs present. One debuff, Cacophony.”

Purple Heart cocked his head in confusion. “Cacophony?”

“Cacophony is a Bard ability that places a debuff on a single target. The effects on the target are reduced Agility modifier and decreased Perception.” Purple Heart cursed under his breath and uttered a soft ‘thanks’ out of reflex before he shuffled to a window to peek out at the surrounding street. The causeway was empty of life. Specifically, a very big, very dangerous earth pony. Crunching sounded from the ceiling, causing its only occupant to glance up warily. A deep voice boomed overhead. Big Ban was amused.

“I’m too old for this,” Big Ban joked. “Nothing but stolen moments. Hear that ringing?” Purple Heart frowned, hearing nothing. The earth pony’s words were vaguely familiar. “Recess is over! I gotta go see a colt about a dog!” With that, the clopping overhead ceased as Big Ban departed, presumably jumping away from the building. Against his better judgement, Purple Heart inched towards the door. He knew what his opponent was doing: he was trying to bait him out. And Purple Heart would have to take it. It’d be the only way this match would end.

Sure enough, as soon as Purple Heart trotted out onto the street, a whistling pierced the air. A shadow grew under Purple Heart, spreading past his own. Only previous experience and some quick thinking allowed the Purple Barbarian to survive the attack. He fell into a crouch, faced the oncoming threat, and brought his forelegs up to block the imminent attack.

When Big Ban’s brass gauntlet made contact with Purple Heart’s upraised forelegs, a shockwave of energy pulsed out and sent cracks criss-crossing across the nearby building walls. As the two combatants struggled against each other, more cracks spread across the buildings’ surfaces. Several of the structures fell, suffering from too much damage to the supporting walls. A grin of satisfaction crossed Purple Heart’s face when he saw the disbelief evident in his adversary’s eyes. Now was his chance to counter and do some damage of his own.

Purple Heart flexed his chest muscles, forcing Big Ban’s brass limb away to off balance the larger earth pony. Big Ban’s original legs hit the ground and skidded. With an intimidating bellow, Purple Heart shot forward.

“Nail Kick!” he barked, hoping the shotgun effect would keep the huge earth pony off balance. Purple Heart didn’t expect any damage to be done. Another smile satisfaction passed over the Purple Barbarian’s lips as he watched Big Ban slide out of the attack’s path, putting him in the ideal position to be attacked again.

“Jankenhufu!” Purple Heart spat, hoping the slur would make sense to the DM above. When no glow appeared, he cursed and darted forward anyway, not wanting to waste an attack of opportunity.

“Tuba!” Big Ban bawled, his voice tinged with fear as he watched the smaller earth pony advance quickly toward him. “Tubatubatubatubatuba… TUUBAAAAAAA~!” Purple Heart blanched as several brass instruments popped out from beneath the cloak and began to rain down on him. Several of the attacks he managed to block, but a number managed to get past and deal actual damage.

“Health status,” he snarled through the pain.

“Health is at eighteen percent,” the voice relayed. “Recommend leaving comba-”

“Shut it!” Purple Heart hissed, trying to ignore the heedless battering. Big Ban’s attack stopped and he stepped back, as if waiting for Purple Heart to react. And react he did.

“Nail Kick! Nail Kick!” he seethed. “Jan, Ken, Hufu!” The first two attacks made a wide spread across the street, limiting any possible route of escape. Big Ban either had to leap over the incoming projectiles or to block, thus hiding his view of any further attack. The massive tan-colored earth pony chose the former.

Big Ban smiled as he watched his adversary look grimly up at him. His smile disappeared to be replaced by a look of fear when the smaller purple earth pony leapt to meet him, a golden glow emanating from his forehooves. Big Ban was in mid-air. Escape wasn’t an option and nor was blocking. All he could do was take the hit and pray that the damage wouldn’t be too great.

His hope was fruitless.

Purple Heart grinned weakly as he came eye to eye with the massive earth pony.

“Buh-bye,” he said cheerily, ramming the attack into Big Ban’s chest.

The pain...was astronomical. The cloaked earth pony didn’t even register the further pain as he was launched through several buildings before he came to rest limply against a dilapidated wall. It took several attempts for Big Ban to open his eyes, but when he did, he could only see the blurred form of a purple earth pony with bright blue tattoos.

“Not a bad note,” the cloaked colt mused, raising a hoof to the announcer box. “You grew up strong.” Then his vision faded into blackness, unconsciousness falling over him like a blanket.

Purple Heart sagged in relief and inclined his head in respect to the older gladiator. As he walked away towards the gate leading to beneath the arena, he noted the silence that had settled on the crowd since he started his attack. The silence from the crowd stretched on for several seconds before an eruption of sound boomed throughout the Colosseum, a thousand throats crying two words that followed the weakened earth pony down into the corridors below the arena.

Purple Heart!

* * *

Purple Heart groaned as another wave of pain rippled through his reclined form. As soon as he had passed through the gateway from the arena, he had crumpled from exhaustion. His stamina meter had come dangerously to being empty, almost resulting in his passing out. Using both of his combat abilities repeatedly hadn’t done any favors for the purple earth pony. Despite that, Purple Heart couldn’t help but smile at his success, even if he was once again bed-ridden. He wasn’t expecting his friends to be there waiting though. They had other matters to attend to. So, it was suffice to say that he was surprised to see Fluttershy peeking into the infirmary from behind the door frame.

“Oh my,” the pink-maned mare muttered, seeing the state of the wounded barbarian. “That looks like it must hurt.” She shuffled through the door, rooting through her saddlebag. “Do you need something for the pain? I have some willow bark, and some ginger, some devil’s claw…”

“Yes please,” the purple earth pony grimaced. “I have hurtings. While you do that, wanna tell me what you’re doing here? I mean, it’s flattering to know that you all care about me, but aren’t you all supposed to be digging up dirt on particular ponies of interest?”

“Don’t you worry, the others are taking care of that.” Fluttershy looked up from her collection of herbs to find one of the infirmary nurses watching her carefully. She offered an embarrassed smile and tucked the herbs away again. “I… Well, I ran into Princess Amber Glitter.. She wanted to talk to you after your fight was over.” She frowned. “I can tell her you need to recover first, if you want.”

A shake of his head elicited another wave of pain through Purple Heart’s upper body. “I’m just a bundle of bruises, no internal fractures or that kinda stuff. I should be able to limp my way up to the castle to talk to her in an hour or so, perhaps more. Was there anything particular Amber wanted to talk about?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Not that she told me.” She saw the look in the nurse's eyes and flinched. “I should probably go. You need to rest, and Wits End and the others are probably waiting for me.” Purple Heart made to nod, but thought better of it, not wanting to add more unnecessary pain to his already stricken nerves. Instead, he smiled weakly.

“Roight,” he replied. “Tell them good luck from me. And urge at least some of them to come to my next bout. From what I’ve heard, this guy’s from out of town.”

“I will.” Fluttershy crossed back to the door. “Make sure you get some rest,” she said with a smile as she left the infirmary. Purple Heart sighed as he felt the herbs take effect and he let his eyes close, giving his face an almost serene look as he relaxed comfortably into the bed.

“Wonder what the Princess wants to talk about,” he mused softly.

Author's Note:

Author: Purple Heart, Wits End

Comments

[Dravkwn]

So much pain, the gains must be huge in the comings.

[Luckyfanisaac]

“Get on with it!”

I’m surprised no one has posted this yet.