A Matter of Pride
Four thousand years before...
Obsidian looked at his reflection in the large mirror. His brown coat had been brushed clean and his messy black mane given a short, military haircut, giving him a more serious look.
The rules demanded that he wore a proper uniform. The navy blue jacket did a good job of making him look like a soldier, at least by the palace standards. He'd never wear something like this in an actual battle. He turned around for a better look. The jacket extended over his back all the way to his croup, but left the rump exposed, leaving his cutie mark, a simple smith's hammer, for everypony to see.
Turning to the nightstand Obsidian picked up Honesty, the last part of his attire. As the gorget clicked, locking itself around his neck, the orange gem flashed briefly.
Of course, I'll have to take it off before the duel. Still, not a reason not to wear it. Let them see who I am.
There was a soft tap on the door. Obsidian turned away from the mirror and opened the door revealing Indicina. She was wearing a white dress to match her coat, and her mane was elaborately styled with bits of silver filigree. A long box containing Obsidian's staff was levitating by her side, wrapped in the soft light of her horn.
"It's almost time," she said. Her tone of voice was even and controlled, but Obsidian knew her well enough to know how worried she really was. He stepped forward and nuzzled her comfortingly.
"Okey, then," he said. "Let's get this over with. After this, we can go back to the tower to get some real work done."
Indicina opened her mouth, paused, and closed it without saying a word, then returned his nuzzle.
Obsidian walked out of the room and went through the corridor towards the courtyard.
There's no point worrying. I just have to win this.
***
The courtyard was already filled by a buzzing crowd.
It seemed like every noble in the palace decided to see the fight. Most of them were just like Obsidian remembered them from the ball before; unicorns, alicorns and an odd pegasus, dressed in all their finery, even without any occasion to call for it. They were busy standing and talking in groups, surrounding a large circle drawn in the middle of the courtyard where several unicorns in palace livery were preparing the duelling ground. Above, a small group of pegasi were shifting clouds, casting the courtyard in comfortable shade.
In the middle, just next to the circle, there stood a larger group of alicorns. Discidium was standing in the middle of it, his white coat covered by a heavy cape, shining of gold visible from underneath. As Obsidian approached closer, he realised that the emperor was wearing his full battle attire, gilded pieces of armor embossed with wings and flames patterns, culminating in a sun-shaped pattern around the huge yellow topaz on his gorget. There were three more alicorns similarly dressed in the group, two stallions and a mare, their armors tinted blue, purple and cyan to match their manes. The rest were five mares of various ages, covered in elaborate dresses and expensive jewelry, one of them accompanied by a pre-adolescent colt that must have been her son.
Obsidian and Indicina walked through the crowd, ignoring the hushed whispers that rippled outward at their appearance, stopping in front of the emperor's herd. Indicina bowed low, while Obsidian saluted Discidium and the other armored alicorns.
The emperor looked over Obsidian. "You're ready, I see. Have you met Austerus, Sophus and Flagrantia before?" he said, gesturing towards the alicorns around him.
"No, your majesty. I've only heard of their... exploits," answered Obsidian, pausing awkwardly as it took him a second to remember the last word.
Ah, I hope it didn't sound like sarcasm.
He looked at the alicorns, but to his relief he didn't see any anger on their faces, not even a raised eyebrow.
One of the armored alicorns, the one Obsidian guessed was Austerus, scanned him curiously. "So, this is the earth pony you told us about, father? I hope this mess doesn't harm our… project."
An old teal unicorn approached the group, clearing his throat. "Your majesty..." he said. When the emperor nodded his head, the unicorn continued. "Since master Victor hasn't arrived yet, perhaps we could use the time to get some of the formalities out of the way," he said, bowing.
The emperor nodded again. "He's probably trying to be fashionably late. Please, proceed. The sooner we get this sordid affair out of the way, the better."
The unicorn bowed again, before turning to Obsidian. "Well then... lieutenant," he said, " I'm Proper Conduct, I'll be in charge of this duel. Due to the unusual... circumstances, I'd like to examine your weapon beforehoof."
He walked closer to the circle, where other unicorns had just finished the preparations.
Indicina moved the box in front of herself, setting it on the ground and opening the lid. "Here it is," she said. "Just please don't touch it. It's waiting to be fully attuned."
The unicorn looked inside the box, eying the staff curiously, his eyes following the arcane etchings. "You do realise any magic beyond the fighters' own is disallowed inside the circle," he said.
"Yes," said Indicina. "This is why we're using this. Once it is attuned, it will absorb a fraction of the wielder's power, becoming an extension of his body. No foreign magic will be involved."
"So, it's like the spears the zebras use?" asked Sophus, looking curiously over Indicina's back. "Ingenious. You clearly deserve your reputation, lady. Is it ebony?" he said, pointing at the staff.
Indicina stepped aside to let the prince get a better look. "Actually, it's a composite. Layers of iron wood laminated over an adamantine core. This allows multiple layers of runes while keeping everything robust enough. Also, it doesn't have any spells of its own like the Zebrican spears, at least for now. Obsidian will have to rely on his own magic to win this."
The unicorn bowed over the staff, scanning it with his horn. He then turned towards Obsidian. "I'll need to scan you too for any foreign magic," he said.
Obsidian turned towards Indicina. "Could you hold onto this for me?" he asked, touching Honesty with his hoof. The clasp on the back of his neck unlocked and Indicina caught the gorget with her magic before it could fall off.
Proper Conduct proceeded to light up his horn, bringing it closer to Obsidian's body. Just as he began scanning him, there was a sound of multiple wings. A flock of alicorns and pegasi descended upon the courtyard, some of the unicorns from the crowd moving to join them. Victor was flying at the front of the group; he was brushed to perfection, almost gleaming white, wearing a quilted vest and an elaborate cravat with a small ruby. As he touched down, a pegasi servant landing behind him with a harness carrying four duelling blades, the alicorn smiled to the crowd.
"Oh, I didn't expect this scuffle to gather such a large audience," he said, before giving a nod towards his family and approaching the circle. "Is my opponent ready yet, Proper?" he asked the old unicorn.
Proper Conduct raised his head to look at him. "I'm just about finished... done. You may now enter the circle," he said to Obsidian.
As the unicorn moved to examine Victor in turn, Obsidian walked to the edge of the circle. Indicina walked alongside him, moving the open box with her. Obsidian reached his hoof inside the box to touch the weapon. For a second he could feel a spark of magic travelling alongside his limb, through the runic patterns underneath his fur, then through the runes inside the staff. The patterns in the wood glowed briefly with a soft orange light and then the staff jumped up and followed Obsidian as he withdrew his hoof, flipping around his leg and neck before coming to rest across his withers. Obsidian smiled to Indicina. "Everything's alright. It works just like the one I practiced with."
He then walked into the circle, pushing through the invisible bubble of the protection spell. Indicina returned his smile and then moved back. Her ear twitched, betraying her efforts to control her body language.
"You don't have to watch if you don't want to," said Obsidian. "I know how you hate that stuff."
The unicorn turned slightly red. "Don't be ridiculous... I couldn't abandon you like this. Besides, I'd just worry myself sick in my room."
Shaking his head, Obsidian turned away from her, just in time to see Victor enter the circle. The alicorn's four swords, short, straight blades made for telekinetic combat, followed him in the air, pulled by the grip of his orange aura. He looked at Obsidian and sneered. "Is that... thing the weapon you intend to use? Is beating each other with sticks a peasant idea of an honorable duel?"
There was some snickering in the crowd. Obsidian tensed.
It's just like Verba said. The first blows are struck with words. Okay, then...
He smiled and faced the prince, commanding his staff to twirl around his neck. "A beating with a stick is all you deserve."
This brought some gasps from the audience. Victor stopped smiling.
"May I have your attention, please!" said Proper Conduct standing at the edge of the circle. "I assume this display means there will be no last second apologies. In that case, let me go through the rules of the duel for the last time."
Victor rolled his eyes. "Get it over with..."
"The duel will be fought within the circle, with animated weapons only, until one of the contestants surrenders or is deemed incapable of further combat. No direct contact between the contestants is allowed, nor can any of their spells extend beyond their own bodies and the weapons they wield. Is everything clear?" said the unicorn.
Victor and Obsidian nodded before turning to look at each other. They both focused their powers, the magic coursing through their bodies increasing their speed and durability. The runes in Obsidian's staff started glowing again.
I can't let him dance with these, remembered Obsidian. Just like in training with Verba, I need to push him from the start.
Two more unicorns approached the circle, touching it with their horns on opposite sides. The barrier strengthened into a translucent bubble, shielding the audience from any unexpected events while locking the two fighters inside. Proper Conduct nodded his head in approval. "Ready!? Fight!" he shouted.
Victor spread his swords wide, raising one in a fencing salute. Obsidian just pounced forward, making his staff swing in a wide, downward arc. The alicorn stepped back, raising one sword to parry. The staff pushed it aside, the heavy tip missing the alicorn's snout by an inch before hitting the ground with a force that knocked a cobblestone loose, sending pieces of grit flying against the barrier.
Victor struck back, his surprise turning into anger. Obsidian saw three swords flying at him tip-first. He rolled aside to avoid two, his staff returning just in time to deflect the last one. He then swung the staff horizontally, but Victor simply jumped over it, spreading his wings to hang in the air. "So that's how you play?" he said through gritted teeth.
He attacked with two swords in a pincer move. Obsidian moved forward, letting the two blades meet behind his rump as he closed the distance for another swing. With the barrier preventing him from moving further back, Victor dropped to the ground, using his other two swords to parry the next blow, robbing it of momentum just before it could touch him. He pushed the staff away from him and called the other two swords to himself. Obsidian dodged aside but wasn't quite fast enough, one of the blades leaving a line across his rump.
"There we go," sneered Victor throwing his four swords one after another in a combination that forced Obsidian back in a sequence of dodges. "Four against one is a joke. I'll show you how it's done."
He launched one blade at Obsidian's face. The earth pony knocked it aside with a blow of his staff, causing Proper Conduct to flinch as it embedded itself in the barrier right in front of his snout. Two other swords attacked Obsidian from the sides and though he could block one, there was only so much his agility could do for him, the other stabbing him painfully in the side, the metal stopped only by the layer of spells binding his flesh together.
He launched his staff in a stabbing motion. Victor blocked with his last sword. He didn't have enough strength to swat it aside, but he pushed it off course in a shower of orange sparks, causing it to slide past his cheek. He was about to quip at Obsidian only to see him approaching at high speed. He dodged by launching himself into the air, the four blades flying back to his side.
"No touching!" he shouted before falling at Obsidian from above, three swords stabbing downwards to force a defensive roll while the last one struck the spot where the earth pony dodged to, blocked at the last second by his staff.
Obsidian swung the staff horizontally, smacking the three swords while they were still embedded in the stones of the courtyard. They were sent flying, but to Obsidian's disappointment, not a single one broke. He swung the staff down on Victor next, but the alicorn simply shifted aside, allowing the powerful blow to go past him.
"Is that what my father puts so much hopes in?" Victor asked, slashing at Obsidian with one sword after another, forcing him to summon back his staff to defend himself. "Dirt ponies with magic? Your power's as crude as you are, full of strength, but useless when it can't even land a hit!" He bent his neck back, allowing a counter to fly in front of his face before striking again, this time leaving a cut across Obsidian's cheek. "It's like giving magic to a cow! Useless, useless, useless!"
"If it's such a bother," said Obsidian through gritted teeth, "why not end the fight? Just give up and say you're sorry."
Victor's eyes widened, his face turning red. "Oh, I'll end it all right..." he hissed. He sent two swords forward and was about to stab when he saw Obsidian's staff taking a quick swing at his head. He blocked it by crossing two swords in front on himself, then pushed it away as it tried to slide forward for a stab.
It followed his push and flipped around, catching him in the chin with the other end. Victor pulled back, spitting a bit of blood as the surprise hit made him bite his tongue. He tried to form the swords together for another attack when he realised that the staff had spun in the other direction, the thicker end now descending upon his forehead.
The sound of the blow echoed across the courtyard, over the gasps of the audience. Then there was a clatter of metal as the four swords fell uselessly to the ground. Victor was kneeling, staring forward in blank surprise, trying in vain to pick up his weapons. It was only after a moment that his mind registered a white object on the ground in front of him, a long piece of white ivory broken off on one end.
Obsidian summoned the staff to himself, letting it rest against his shoulder. Around him ponies rushed into the circle, the barrier dispelled as soon as the duel was decided. One of the unicorns stopped by Obsidian's side, his horn following the lines of his cuts, closing the wounds one by one. The rest swarmed Victor, their horns scanning his head as one of the staff gathered the pieces of the broken horn.
Indicina emerged from the shifting crowd. She was slightly green and visibly struggling somewhere between overwhelming relief and a desire to void the contents of her stomach. Obsidian flashed her a smile before turning his gaze back inside the circle.
The unicorn heading the medical team stepped back and looked up and down Victor, using his telekinesis to take the broken pieces of ivory out of his assistant's grasp. "The concussion is not life-threatening," he declared, "but we must begin re-assembling the horn as quickly as possible to minimize the loss of magical ability. Make sure we've got all the shards... whoa!"
A golden light enveloped the shattered horn, pulling it out of his grip. The crowd parted as the emperor strode into the circle.
The doctors stepped away, taken aback by his appearance. The emperor was burning gold, the aura emanating from the topaz on his chest, matched by the glow in his eyes and horn, spreading over his wings and expanding into a brilliant halo. When he spoke, his voice was calm and clear with no unnatural reverberations and yet audible all across the courtyard.
“Victor, you’re a disgrace.”
There was a flash of white flame and the pieces of broken horn turned to cinders in the emperor’s grasp. The crowd gasped.
Discidium stood over the crippled prince staring down at him. “Every one of my children has taken part in the fight for our country as soon as their age allowed it. Except you. You discovered a talent that made you a great warrior and used it only to feed your own ego, turning it against your own kind.”
He briefly turned to look towards the other side of the circle where Obsidian was standing, stunned by what he saw.
“You insulted a guest under my roof and then pushed to a duel against my wishes -threatening our war effort- all to prove your supposed superiority.”
He looked down and his gem started burning even brighter. “And now, after all that boasting, after all that talk of what an alicorn is… you lose to an earth pony. Your existence is an insult to what we stand for. You do not deserve to be an alicorn. Or a prince.”
Through all this Victor was sitting still, shocked into silence. He looked up at Discidium, shaking all over. “Father,” he croaked.
The golden aura wrapped around his neck, silencing him and dragging him up.
Discidium looked him in the eyes. “I have four sons, great princes all, each a paragon of courage or wisdom. I’ve already had to bury one, after he made the ultimate sacrifice for the Empire’s future. You… are not among their number. I do not know where you come from, but such a wretched thing couldn’t have come from my blood.”
He pushed Victor away, sending him rolling on the cobbled stones.
“You will leave the palace, pegasus. Show your face here again and you will leave an earth pony.”
He then turned towards Obsidian. He noticed Indicina and nodded to her. “You two have my apologies for this... distraction. You are now free to return to your duties.”
Not a single voice was heard as the emperor turned and walked away, the rest of his herd following suit. All of them made an effort to keep their composure, even the colt; all except one mare, pink with slightly greying mane, who kept looking back even as she kept pace with the group, tears silently streaming down her face.
A moment more passed in silence and then, like a classroom of children after the teacher leaves, the courtyard erupted into whispers.
… now that’s what I call entertainment…
… serves him well if you ask me…
… you think they should rename him Victus now?
… what a waste of…
… dinner tomorrow…
Obsidian couldn’t help noticing the growing empty space around Victor, the members of his coterie conspicuously gone, suddenly engaged in absorbing conversations in the more distant parts of the crowd.
Obsidian turned around to leave and ended up face to face with Indicina. She was trembling slightly, though whether it was the leaving tension or barely controlled nausea he couldn’t say.
“I told you, you shouldn’t have watched,” he smirked.
She pushed forward, putting her head on his withers, pressing their necks together. Then she exhaled slowly and turned around to walk by his side. “Let’s hurry. I’m glad this is over, but we need to get back to Verba as soon as possible. I hope Gloria and the others are doing okay without me.”
“Yes,” said Obsidian. “The sooner we leave this place, the better.”
They trotted together in silence towards the chariot station. After a while Indicina turned to take a closer look at Obsidian’s face.
“I know this tense expression,” she said. “You’re not just worried about Verba, are you? You’re angry.”
“Of course I am,” said Obsidian, keeping his voice low so as not to be overheard. “Did you see the emperor?”
Indicina tilted her head in surprise. “Yes, it was horrible what he did. I can’t say Victor didn’t deserve-”
“No,” interrupted Obsidian. “The light. Did you see it?”
“The light?” asked Indicina. “I was a bit… distracted, but he surely made a big show of…” She stopped rapidly, her eyes widening. “Sisters and their mother…”
“Yes,” nodded Obsidian, his voice now taking a tone of theatrical recitation. “His Imperial Majesty is the only pony capable of safely harnessing the power of Pride, for his pride is not for himself, but for the nation he leads… What a pile of horse apples.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.037 seconds
Total duration
1,000 users online
1,760,221 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
I just about never get to say this, but...
First!
I'm looking forward to seeing where you go with this one.
Ok, now that I've actually read it, time for a real comment.
So, it seems there are more than six elements, and they aren't all related to harmony? Does this mean they can be mixed and matched? How does this tie in to the existence of the Tree of Harmony, if it exists in this AU? Or maybe the element of Pride is a counterfeit, and is just a power amplifier like the Alicorn Amulet...
You're giving me a lot of questions, sir. Good questions.
That said, in my headcanon earth ponies have their own kind of magic aside from what the other tribes possess. Accordingly, a horned pegasus wouldn't be a true alicorn unless they also possessed this earth pony magic. What's your stance on that?
5541106 Between Season 4 finale and Maud Pie, it is confirmed canon. All ponies are magical in one way or another.
Already the story is off to a thrilling start! I see you packed plenty of world-building between the lines, hopefully culminating in an explanation for the utterly strange happenings in the last book.
I cannot discern exactly the racial politics of this alternate past, though. Pegasi and earth ponies seem to be looked down upon, so much so to be considered a disgraceful position in high society. But at the same time, the emperor has hopes and plans for the earth ponies; even though he just spit upon his son by callling him a pegasus (maybe just pegasi are hated).
On that note, several different key points are brought up including a war waged by the kingdom and a secret project that involved giving magic to the other races. It can be implied that a total war of sorts is currently being waged, so how can the royals and their famous alicorn warriors have time to attend a duel they consider pointless?
Then again, I have to expect that this stuff will all be given exposition in later chapters. A fine chapter, all the same!
5547878 Ok, just your comments make writing this worth it.
All the more reason to try my best in the puzzle I have gotten myself into.
Short version: now I need to think of what to put in the next chapters to answer all questions properly.
Long version: There are two main stories that make this world.
One is a saga involving the main six, an attempt to revive an epic project by another author that I used to work with as an editor. At the moment six chapters of it are written, but I haven't officially committed to publishing it yet (this is because my last large project suffered a horrible schedule slip and wasn't that much fun at the end - so I don't want to give my readers the first chapters until I am sure I can finish what I started)
The second is the prequel story of Obsidian and his friends. This one only exists as an outline I wrote for fun / out of internal need, while working on the original project in the past. This one I'm reasonably sure I'll never write in full (the outline ended up 48k words long), but now that I have interested readers, I want to share at least some of it. This is this story: hopefully enough to tell a story, but hopefully not enough to spoil anything for story no. 1. Some things need to remain a secret at least for now. (of course, if I ever decide that I'm not writing story no. 1 after all, I will fill in all the blanks for you here.)
5548106 Wow. That is certainly ambitious. I respect your decision to keep details secret; a little intrigue typically pays off in the climax.
Wow. That was quite a first chapter. I'm already liking this one.
And these names, pretty good ones. I'm horrible when it comes to names. I just pick and choose from others I've seen or heard before.
And the action in this chapter was pretty easy to follow. Good job on that. I was leaning forward towards my computer monitor, eager to see what happened next!
But one thing:
It's probably just me, but I see this as one hell of a backhanded compliment towards Obsidian.