Returning Survivor

by Itchy

At the Gala

Mecha, dressed up in his suit, stood by the chariot Luna had provided for transport, waiting for Cheerilee. Laying next to him on the ground was a duffel bag, filled with his equipment for the live demonstration, zipped shut so as to not reveal anything. Tapping his hoof, Mecha checked the time on a nearby clock, nervously. He still had five minutes to wait, and it was grating on his nerves.

Looking around, he noticed Twilight Sparkle and her friends all hopping into an apple carriage, being pulled by two of Rarity's neighbors. Nearby, Big Macintosh stood at the train station, waiting for the all aboard to get on. Finally, he looked over at Doctor Whooves and Ditzy Do, both dressed to the nines and waiting for... was that a stretched carriage? Yeah, it was, and there was Doctor Whooves, opening the door for Ditzy Do. He wasn't kidding when he said he was going all out on this.

Taking a deep breath, Mecha tried to calm down. After all, unlike his other first dates, he wasn't going to a restaurant. No, instead he was going to the Grand Galloping Gala, the biggest event of the year, filled with rich, snooty nobles, ninety-five percent of which he'd manage to get into fights with. Yeah, this didn't have disaster written all over it. At least he didn't have to worry about bounty hunters showing up though!

He was pulled from his thoughts when Cheerilee finally made her appearance, wearing a flowing dress that complemented her colors, while also reminding Mecha vaguely of the warrior princesses he'd read about in history. Shaking his head, he kicked his gear into the chariot, before walking up to Cheerilee, offering his non-mechanical foreleg, and asked, “Are we ready to go my lady?”

Giggling a little while blushing, Cheerilee accepted his offer, replying, “Yes we are,” before the two stepped onto the vehicle, giving the two pegasi the signal to start flying. Looking down, Cheerilee sighed and said, “It's beautiful, isn't it?”

Looking at the ground, Mecha grimaced saying, “Ah huh...”

Hearing his discomfort, Cheerilee turned and asked, “Are you okay?”

Gulping, Mecha nodded, replying, “First time flying voluntarily. Normally, I'm flying due to an explosion or death beam from an ex. Not the best of experiences I tell you.”

“Oh...” Cheerilee said, recalling the stories he'd told her about said situations. “I suppose that would put you off from flying.”

Trying to smile, Mecha replied, “Yeah, well thankfully this is a short flight.”

Nodding, Cheerilee looked back down, taking in the view.

LINEBREAKER

The chariot pulled up to the ground, settling in front of the palace. Stepping off, Mecha through the duffel bag over his shoulder, before stepping of, asking, “Do you mind if I drop this off real quick?”

Shaking her head, Cheerilee looked around the entrance, saying, “Not at all. In fact, that'll give me some time to take this all in. I mean, I'm actually at the Grand Galloping Gala...”

Smiling at his dates joy, Mecha walked over to the outdoor arena, specifically set up for the live demonstration this year, and found the locker rooms. Walking in, he carefully put the duffel bag done, near a locker with his name on it. Walking out, he made his way back to Cheerilee, who was staring at the stretched carriage that had just pulled up. Standing next to her, Mecha said, “It appears that Doc has arrived with Ditzy.”

Eyes widening, she watched as the two ponies walked out of the door, before spotting them and walking towards them. “Where'd Doctor Whooves get the money for that?” Cheerilee idly asked.

Snickering, Mecha said, “Same place I got the gold for my armor set, as well as where Big M got the cash for Granny Smith's surgery.”

At this point, Doctor Whooves and Ditzy Do had reached them, both smiling as Doctor Whooves spoke, “Ah Mecha! Great to see you made it in one piece.”

Chuckling, Mecha replied, “Only way I'd be able to make it here in two pieces is if I had brought my leg back from Hell with me. Is Big M here yet?”

Shaking his head, Doctor Whooves replied, “His train was pulling in when we passed the station, so I'd say to give him a couple minutes.”

Ditzy Do spoke up at this point saying, “Do you know if they have any muffins here?”

Shaking his head, Mecha replied, “If what my brother has told me about is to go by, there probably aren't any. Although, Applejack may be selling some.”

“Speaking of your brother,” Cheerilee started, “Where is he? I'm just dying to meet him, especially if he's anything like the rest of your family.”

Looking around, Mecha said, “I can't seem to find him, although it's hard to tell as most ponies here are the same color as him.”

Chuckling, Doctor Whooves said, “We'll see you two later, for now I think we're going to try and find either the buffet or Applejack's stand.”

Waving his friend off, Mecha turned to Cheerilee, saying, “Shall we head inside?”

Nodding her head, Cheerilee followed closely behind Mecha, both walking into the castle. They wandered around a little, until they ran into Luna in the ballroom, who greeted the two with, “Mecha! I am pleased to see thou once more! And this mare must be the one called Cheerilee, whom thou hast told me much about. It is a pleasant treat to meet thou!”

Nodding her head, Cheerilee said nothing, stunned that she was talking to the princess of the night herself. Noticing his date's state, Mecha chuckled, saying, “Good to see ya too Luna. Tell me, how long did it take to sort things out with king Astrum?”

Shaking her head, Luna replied, “Far too long. In fact, I should tell thou that he is present at tonight's festivities.”

Paling, Mecha said, “Really? After nearly causing a war between the two nations, he shows up here?”

Sighing, Luna nodded her head, saying, “It twas the only way to get him to lift his bounty on thine head.”

This caught Cheerilee's attention, turning to Mecha and asking, “What bounty?”

“The one I got for saving Manehatten. You'd be surprised at how much he hates me for that,” Mecha told her.

Quirking an eyebrow, Cheerilee turned to Luna, asking, “Could you clarify for me?”

Nodding, Luna said, “He killed Astrum's pet aboleth Fluffy, which was wrecking havoc and would most likely have destroyed every establishment in the fine city.”

Blinking, Cheerilee turned to Mecha saying, “Was that when everypony thought you were dead?”

Snorting, Mecha replied, “Yeah. And then there was the camping trip... ugh.” Seeing the look that Cheerilee was sending him, he told her, “I'll tell you on the way to the arena. It's almost time to for the demonstration, and I need to get suited up.”

Looking at a nearby clock, Cheerilee sighed, before the trio started making their way outside.

LINEBREAKER

Mecha was leaning against a wall inside the locker room, waiting with the other combatants to be called out for their battle. Mecha took stock of the gear each pony had brought with them, he himself covered by a large cloak, giving nothing away. Shining Armor was covered in light chain mail, as he could easily reenforce it with his magic should he need to, lightly spinning his spear. Solaris was wearing a cloak much like Mecha, only it was meant for looks only, as combined with his scythe he looked like the Grim Pony, probably going for a bit of a psychological effect. Big Macintosh was the only one wearing plate armor, of which he wore on both forelegs, and from his hips down, leaving his torso uncovered.

Each combatant was eying the other, sizing up the competition. Mecha broke the silence, asking, “How are we doing this? Free for all or teams?”

Communicating with looks instead of words, Shining Armor broke the silence, saying, “Free for all would end to quickly, with teams only lasting a little longer. Considering that Celestia requested that we find a way to drag this out so she can talk to Twilight Sparkle instead of greeting nobles, I suggest we go for teams until it's down to two, and then have those two face off, same team or not.”

Nodding their heads, the four friends waited once more in silence, before a familiar brown Earth Pony walked into the room. Blinking, Mecha turned and said, “Hayek! What are you doing here?”

Caught off guard, Hayek turned towards Mecha, staring at him for a bit, before getting a look of recognition in his face, saying, “Quicksilver? By Celestia it is you!” Turning he spotted Bit Macintosh, and said, “And juggernaut as well! When they told me that they got some experienced fighters for this, they didn't tell me that it was you two and two captains! If I'd known that, I would've signed up straight away!” Excitement visible in his face, Hayek chattered on a bit, before calming down. Clearing his throat, he stated in a calmer voice, “I'm here to get the rules from you for the referees, aka me and Keynes, to insure that all fouls are accounted for.”

Raising his eyebrow, Mecha looked around and asked, “Normal combat rules?”

Laughing, Solaris said, “No duh.”

Turning to the confused Hayek, Mecha told him, “We'll be fighting under normal combat rules, also known as everything goes.”

Eyes going wide, Hayek squealed with joy, before running out while muttering, “Everything goes, no limits, the crowd will eat this up!”

Chuckling, Mecha dropped down onto all fours, and walked out of the locker room, his friends following him. They approached the gate, where Keynes met up with them, looking them over. “By Celestia, Hayek was right, this will be exciting! Anyways, here's how things are going to go down. Hayek and I are going to introduce you one at a time. First will be Mecha, as we both want to piss off that Astrum fellow, then Solaris, followed by Big Macintosh, finishing with Shining Armor. When you hear first, next, following, or finally, that's your cue to start walking towards the center. After we finish, go ahead and get into position, and we'll start the fight. Everypony got that?”

Nodding their heads, the anxious fighters waited as Keynes walked onto the field. Looking at his friends, Mecha asked, “Me and Big M against you two fair?”

Nodding their heads, Solaris and Shining Armor began to relax, having worked together before. Suddenly, they heard Hayek's voice, saying, “Ladies and gentlecolts, esteemed guests from all over, it is my pleasure to give you the first ever Grand Galloping Gala live combat presentation! I am Lord Hayek, and joining me today is my esteemed colleague Lord Keynes!”

Blinking, Mecha looked over at his friends mouthing, 'they're lords?' Getting shrugs for an answer, Mecha turned back to the field, as Keynes voice rang out this time, saying, “Thanks for the introduction Hayek, and might I say, we have some lovely conditions for this fight, don't we?”

“That we do, and I'm sure the combatants will love it! Speaking of which, why don't we introduce them?” Hayek replied.

“Marvelous idea!” Keynes said. “First,” Mecha started walking onto the massive field, cloak flaring lightly as he walked, “we have Mecha! His skill with his two blades have yet to be matched, and is quite the inventor as well! Responsible for saving Manehatten from a rampaging aboleth, this young stallion is also one of the few survivors of the Gauntlet. For those of you unfamiliar with the Gauntlet, it is three days and nights of constant combat, involving creatures such as harpies, basilisks, and manticores! To wrap up his accomplishments, the fighting world has dubbed him quicksilver!”

Hayek took over, saying, “Next,” causing Solaris to walk out, a fearsome sight due to his outfit, “We have Solaris! One of the captains of the royal guard, he is known for his deadly skills with both his scythe and magic, able to burn anything to a crisp! Hoof chosen by Luna herself, he serves as her personal guard when dealing with foreign dignitaries, and has single hoofidly put down a full grown rabid chimera! Ponies everywhere have taken to calling him the Grim Pony!”

“A true challenge I'd say,” Keynes said, before continuing with, “although the pony following,” Big Macintosh started to walk out, “Is also a challenge. Standing tall above everypony else, we have Big Macintosh! This large stallion works from sun up to sun down at Sweet Apple Acres, constantly working his muscles! Capable of slicing a manticore's head clean off in one strike, he is not to be taken lightly! Wielding a zweihoofer* blade, he is perhaps the only pony capable of using it to its full potential! And just like Mecha, he also holds a moniker in the fighting world, as the juggernaut!”

Laughing, Hayek continued, saying, “These three alone would make for an interesting fight, but we have one more joining us tonight! I finally,” Shining Armor walked out, “give you, Shining Armor! Like Solaris, Shining Armor is a captain of the royal guard, only for everything that Solaris does for Luna, he does for Celestia! Master of the spear, Shining Armor lives up to his name by using his magic to either conjure up a set of armor or by making whatever he's wearing stronger! His defensive magic is so powerful in fact, that he once contained a raging kraken for hours on end! So let's give it up once more for Shining 'Unbreakable' Armor!”

The crowd roared, excitement rising as the four legends in the making taking up their positions, Solaris facing Mecha, Big Macintosh facing Shining Armor. All four rose up onto their hind legs, hooves hovering over their weapons.

Keynes spoke up, saying, “The rules for this match are simple: there are none! That's right folks, there are no limitations in this battle, meaning that they'll be fighting at their best! So without further ado, Princess Celestia, if you'd do the honors?”

Stepping forward, Celestia smiled as her horn glowed, before a barrier formed over the arena. Shortly after that, a wave of magic flowed around the combatants, signaling the successful casting of the combat spell. The fighters tensed, each waiting for the signal from Hayek. Suddenly, a loud bang went off, and they all blurred into motion.

Mecha threw his cloak off to reveal two sashes of knives and one of grenades as he stared at Solaris, whose scythe had just cut threw the air where he'd been standing moments before. Grabbing two knives, he flicked his wrist launching them at Solaris, who span his scythe, knocking them out of the way, before charging with his horn glowing.

Channeling his magic into his eyes, Mecha saw the buildup of magic in front of him, allowing him to side-step the explosion before it occurred. Ducking under a swipe from Solaris, Mecha grabbed several small spheres before throwing them down, creating a yellow smokescreen. Back flipping out, Mecha started throwing them across the arena, coating everything with a yellow dust, before the initial bust settled down. Seeing Solaris's build up of magic, Mecha held up his hoof, saying, “I wouldn't cast any flames if I were you. That was powdered hydra scales, so unless you wish to blow all of us up, I'd stop now.”

Eyes widening, Solaris noticed the powder everywhere, before snarling and stopped channeling his magic. Smirking, Mecha began hopping back, throwing more and more knives towards Solaris as he charged forward, knocking them out of the way. When he finally reached the wall, he jumped up and off it, narrowly avoiding a slash from Solaris. Landing, Mecha pulled out the last of his blades, while grabbing two small grenades, throwing them at Solaris.

Eyes widening, Solaris stepped to the side before knocking the two grenades up into the, just as Mecha expected, having used this chance to close the gap between them, slashing at Solaris. Solaris was quicker than Mecha expected though, and brought his scythe down to block the attack. At this point, the two lumps of metal that Mecha had thrown fell onto Solaris's head, having been fakes in order to move him into place, and causing Solaris to be momentarily stunned. Taking this chance, Mecha hopped back, spinning, as he channeled his magic into his blades, unleashing a wave of black energy.

Solaris's eyes went wide, as he bent backwards to avoid the wave which came nanometers from hitting him. Bending back into position, he frowned before twisting his scythe, causing another blade to be released from the other end of his scythe. Spinning it above his head, he lashed out at Mecha, who stepped back, only to receive a light gash on his chest when the second end of the scythe sung by. Frowning, Mecha knew he had to end this quick if he wanted a chance to win, Solaris adapting faster to a non-magic style than he'd expected. Ducking under another attempt at decapitating him, Mecha lept forward, slashing at Solaris. As expected, Solaris blocked with his scythe, only to be shocked when it was cut into three pieces by Mecha's now glowing swords. Using this to his advantage, Mecha kicked him straight in the jaw, knocking him out cold.

Turning, Mecha took a couple deep breaths, watching Shining Armor and Big Macintosh fight, Shining Armor's armor shining, as well as Big Macintosh's blade, as they clashed repeatedly, each trying to gain the upper hoof. Mecha watched as Shining Armor tried to stab Big Macintosh in the heart, only for the blade of the spear to bounce of his chest.

Eyebrow raising, Mecha channeled a little magic into his eyes before seeing the answer to his unspoken question. Big Macintosh was channeling magic into his torso, preventing any harm to it. Chuckling at his friends resourcefulness, Mecha charged in to help his teammate.

Running up Big Macintosh's back, Mecha flipped over Shining Armor, before pushing his magic into his blades once more, swiping at Shining Armor. Being attacked by two ponies at once, Shining Armor frowned, before channeling magic into his spear in order to lengthen in, spinning it around him in order to get some distance between him and the two Earth Ponies. Keeping the dome of death going, he backed up until he approached a wall, where he stopped. Holding his spear steady, Shining Armor cast another spell, duplicating his spear. Wielding both, he beckoned the two fighters to approach.

Taking his invitation, Mecha charged in, ducked under the spear sent his way, and sliced at Shining Armor's legs, attempting to hamstring him. Unfortunately, Shining Armor had seen this coming, and reenforced the area, before kicking Mecha away while trying to skewer Big Macintosh, failing once more due to the magic running in his torso.

Charging forward once more, Mecha started striking wildly, forcing Shining Armor to focus on him, allowing Big Macintosh the chance to get in a swing, not at Shining Armor himself, but rather his spears, breaking both. Unlike Solaris who'd never had his weapon broken in combat before, Shining Armor had seen this coming and had a plan in place. Unfortunately, he didn't get to use this plan as immediately after his spears broke Mecha continued his swings, chopping into his neck.

With Shining Armor down for the count, the two Earth Ponies walked back into the center, and bowed to each other, before rushing back into combat, neither having enough magic left to use their tricks. Flashes of steel filled their vision, as Mecha tried to speed past Big Macintosh's guard, while Big Macintosh tried to swing past Mecha's blade. Neither pony held the advantage, and Mecha knew that if this kept up, then he'd collapse before Big Macintosh. Grimacing, he slowly directed the fight towards Solaris's fallen form, a plan in mind. Big Macintosh, knowing that Mecha would only move the fight if he had a plan, started to swing harder, pushing himself to his limits. After five minutes of constant clashing, Mecha had finally gotten into position, and stomped down, causing part of Solaris's broken scythe to fly up. Spinning, Mecha kicked it at Big Macintosh, who was forced to use his blade to block it, and thus couldn't use it to block Mecha's blades from his chest. Looking at the blades in his chest, Big Macintosh blinked before collapsing.

Suddenly, the magic in place ended, Showing all four ponies unharmed, breathing heavily where they laid, or stood in Mecha's case, gear scratched but not broken. At this point, the barrier fell, allowing the combatants to hear the roar of the crowd, the deafening applause, and vaguely their marefriends yelling at them for such a realistic performance of danger and death.

Chuckling, the four friends made their way to the locker room, chatting about the battle.

“I have to admit,” Solaris said, “I didn't expect you to use the hydra powder to prevent me from using my magic.”

Laughing, Mecha replied, “You mean the lemon powder?”

Blinking, Solaris grabbed a bit of his cloak, bringing it to his nose, before sniffing it. Blinking, he let go of it, before laughing himself and saying, “You sly dog! Did you even bring hydra powder with you?”

Shaking his head, Mecha said, “And risk blowing something up?! Heck no!”

“Ah just can't believe you used a broken weapon to get me,” Big Macintosh said.

“Considering the fact that he knew you'd outlast him, he had to try something,” Shining Armor said.

“Yeah, well, next time don't use my scythe!” Solaris said.

“Don't worry,” Mecha told him, “I plan on making you a metal one for your birthday, so it shouldn't happen again,” before walking out, and into Cheerilee. Smiling, he asked, “What did you think?”

Frowning, she hit him over the head, before saying, “That's for making me think you were in a life or death situation.” She then smiled, and said, “Although it was interesting to see you win. What was that wave of energy you used?”

Laughing, he started to walk with her, saying, “You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Besides, I believe I owe you-” he was cut off when Solaris started to yell something he couldn't make out. Turning, he noticed that Solaris had run into Rainbow Dash, before sighing and continued walking.

Turning her head to the side, Cheerilee walked with him, asking, “Do you know what's going on?”

Shrugging, Mecha replied, “I believe Solaris is yelling at Rainbow Dash since he thinks that her first sonic rainboom started the fire that killed his parents.”

Eyes widening, Cheerilee said, “She caused a fire that killed his parents?”

Shaking his head, Mecha said, “No, he thinks she did. As far as I know, it hasn't been confirmed or denied, and so Luna hired a team to look into it.”

Confused, Cheerilee was about to ask him what he meant when suddenly Shine Sight walked up, saying, “Mecha! Good to see you sober!”

Laughing, Mecha said, “Good to be sober! Did you catch the match?”

Nodding his head, Shine Sight replied, “That I did. Must say I wasn't expecting you to pull off what you did, but it was brilliant none the less. And I assume this fair mare is Cheerilee?”

“I am,” she replied, shaking hooves with Mecha's brother. “And I must say it's a pleasure to meet you.”

“Please, the pleasure is all mine!” Shine Sight said. Looking past the two, he noticed Solaris's yelling, before saying, “But you must excuse me, as that is my captain's stallionfriend making a scene, and she isn't helping any,” and trotted off.

Shaking his head, Mecha asked Cheerilee, “Wanna dance?”

Smiling, she walked towards the ballroom, saying, “I thought you'd never ask!”

LINEBREAKER

Mecha and Cheerilee were both sitting at a small table, eating a couple snacks after dancing for a while. “This is nice,” Cheerilee told Mecha.

“Indeed,” Mecha replied. “I'm just glad none of the nobles recognize me in this suit! I was sure Astrum was going to charge me when he saw me.”

Laughing, Cheerilee said, “It didn't help that you kept complementing your performance in that battle.”

Snickering, Mecha said, “I couldn't help it! I mean, the guy is a total jerk, it was only fitting that I give him a little payback!”

Chuckling, Cheerilee told him, “That doesn't change that fact that you didn't need to mock him until he passed out due to rage!”

Before he could reply, a series of bizarre events involving Twilight Sparkle and all her friends occurred, generating so much chaos that Mecha was certain even Discord wouldn't be able to top, before they fled from the palace. Turning to Cheerilee, Mecha's statement was prevented when Ditzy Do and Doctor Whooves walked it, Ditzy Do saying, “Did we miss something?”

Turning towards her, then back to Cheerilee, then at the room, Mecha sighed, before turning to Cheerilee, and asked, “Want to grab some doughnuts?”

*Zweihoofer- pony version of the German Zweihander sword, jokenly called the Dreihander sword due to its size, with zwei being German for two, and drei three.