Fighters Don't Have Friends

by BackroundVoice

12 : A Declaration of War

"The very sight of you inclines me to puke. Leave before my knights do the service for you," Nightmare Moon ordered. I wasn't going to budge. As a fighter, Nightmare fought as though she were a monster escaped from Tartarus, and as a Pony, she drew attention and executed authority like the ruler of a nation. She was every bit like the legend she took her name after. And that alone was reason enough for me to rebel to her demands.

"You want me out, make me," I told her, standing up from my chair with the others, "cause I'm not leaving, 'you highness',"

"Your mockery of my heritage angers me, little one, but if it is blood that you wish to spill, so be it," Nightmare declared. Her guards stepped through the crowd and met gazes with the rest of us. Chaos was a funny thing. You never knew when or where it was going to break out. Or extinguish, as Soarin captured everyone's attention with the echo of his amplified voice through the speakers.

"Now, now, fighters. Let's not get all bloody and beaten yet, I just cleaned the place. Also, your forgetting that I'm the one you have a beef with, not Twilight and her gang,"

My gang? Since when am I the leader?

"Yeah, that's right!" a stallion from the crowd shouted, "You dismantled the roster and put us all on the same rank as the 'School Girl'!", "Do you honestly think the 'Ring' will stand for this?" another said. All while the crowd started picking up in their protests, I glanced at Nightmare, who wasn't moving her eyes off me. She really didn't care that she lost her rank on the roster. All she wanted was blood.

"Yes, well, the 'Ring' can shove it up its butt," Soarin spoke over the crowd, "You all-"

"Y'all." Abby corrected him.

"Whatever, Y'all were breaking the first rule of the bar, which is, 'don't be an ass!' And if you want to take your frustration out on me go right ahead, but that's not going to get your rank back at all. Which is why I've decided to fix all of our problems with a simple fighting tournament." Nightmare turned to Soarin at the mention of that. And everyone in the bar went silent as Soarin announced it. "The Summer Sun Celebration Tournament," he declared.

"That's tomorrow," Rare added.

"Interesting," Nightmare said, "You plan to hold a tournament on the day of my defeat; will they be on the list as well?" she asked, referring to my team and I. Soarin glanced at us for an answer, and with one quick look at the others, I had my decision, nodding to him with confidence. "How fitting," Nightmare walked up the counter, writing herself and her three Kightmares onto the sign-up sheet. Soarin filled in our names after her. "The Night versus the Elements, a fight written in the heavens themselves. I look forward to crushing those attributes you hold so dearly," Nightmare turned her, leaving a cowardly crowd behind in her wake. "And when you lose, leave Ponyville, it's mine."

"Anybody else?" Soarin asked. Tons of the regulars were muttering to each other. They didn't mind going up against us, but now that the Knightmares was involved, not many felt brave enough to join in on the fight.

"Sounds like a hoot, Soarin!" sounded off what I thought to be a drill sergeant. Captain Samantha Spitfire of the Wonderbolts trotted in with her co-captains, Tom Thunderlane and Sonia Fleetfoot. Dash stood up straight immediately, saluting the Pegasus military leader respectfully, as Soarin groaned with aversion.

"Now, where do I sign?" the captain asked.

"Don't you have an army to run?" Soarin implored, pulling the list away from her.

"Not really, the Princess has a good thing going with the Griffins and the rest of the world, so, no wars need to be fought anytime soon,"

"Then why are you here?" Soarin continued to ask.

"Do I really need a reason to see an old war buddy?" she said, alluding to a previous occupation of Soarin's.

"You were a Wonderbolt!?" I screamed.

"Maybe," Soarin mumbled.

"Don't be so humble, you're one of our best!" Spitfire jabbed him lightly from across the table. "Who's this?" she asked, glancing at me, "a girlfriend?"

"She's a girl, that's for sure!" Dash commented.

"And she just so happens to be his friend! Funny, huh?" Pinkie added. "But wait, I guess by that definition, all five us are his girlfriends, right?"

"Pinkie," Dash began, pulling her hat over her face, "the whole point of making fun of someone is so that you don't get made fun of in the first place,"

"Ooooooooh, right," Pinkie's sarcasm leaked. It felt better that all of us were humiliated instead of me alone. Spitfire whistled and elbowed Soarin as he glared at us.

"But in all seriousness, Soar, I want you back in the force,"

"Didn't I tell you that I'm retired?" Soarin reminded her.

"True, but as your commanding officer, I can order you back whenever I want,"

"Then why don't you?" Soarin rolled his eyes, pretending that he cared.

"Well, there are some legal matters I have to bypass first. One of them being that you have to be unemployed, and since so many ponies dislike you here, I can only imagine that you won't be here much longer if Nightmare what's her face wins your little tournament, so how about you let us enter, and if we win, you'll come quietly. And your bar will remain as it is, a bar," Soarin glanced behind him, spotting the Cakes peaking out the back kitchen door.

"And if they win," Soarin said, pointing to us, "you stop bothering me with this, and I'll stay here as I am, a bartender,"

"Deal!" Spitfire agreed, signing up with her comrades on it too. Now the crowd was getting excited, two more stallions signed up before Spitfire, her team, and the crowd departed with a few bottles of cider.

"Well," Pinkie Pie started, "That escalated quickly." All of us checked the list so far. It had almost been completely filled with the Knightmares and us taking up about half of the sixteen spots. This was going to be the biggest tournament I would be a part of, and with the military involved, it was sure to be a clash with the best fighters in Ponyville. And it wasn't long before the door creaked open again. It was Fiona. Her eyes were red from crying, she must've had a lot to say to Vinyl.

"How you holding up?" I asked as I walked up to her.

"Fine," she said, "just took a little longer than I thought,"

"It always does," I told her. "Come here, I want to introduce you to some ponies," I put a hoof around her, "This is the 'Elements of HARMony' that I was telling you about, Alexandra Rarity, Pinkamina Diana Pie, Abigail Apple Jack, and-"

"Rainbow Dash?" Fiona interrupted.

"Well, she prefers Dash or Hurricane but-"

"F- Fluttershy?" Dash stuttered, stepping back a hoof.

"Do you two know each other?" I asked.

"Oh, we know each other very well, don't we, Dashie?" The way Fiona was speaking reminded me of how my mom would scold me if I did something wrong. In other words, she was angry. Why?

"H- Hey, Flutters," Dash tried to smile whilst sweating profusely. She was in a nervous wreck as Fiona stepped forward, who was raising a hoof to punch. Dash flinched as Fiona stopped herself, making a loud sigh then stepped back.

"You're lucky I promised Tiberius I wouldn't hurt ponies for petty reasons," Fiona told Dash, walking back to me in a frustrated huff, looking a little sad for a moment.

"Care to explain?" I asked Dash, who was a little reluctant to say, if not afraid.

"Well, you see," Dash began, "Back when we were fillies, I bullied her, a lot," judging by the way Fiona was glaring, 'a lot' was an understatement. "A- And if you're wondering why I- I'm shaking scared," Dash was turning his head to avoid Fiona's eye contact, laughing nervously, "a while ago I visited the Griffen Empire to see a friend, you know, where some of the bigger fights happen," she waved her hoof at Abby who likely knew what she was talking about. "And there she was, making the heavyweight champion Griffin tap out from a strangle hold..."

My eyes shot open wide, taking another long look at Fiona.

"Don't take everything she says so seriously," Fiona told me.

"She's a fucking bear!" Dash blurted in a panicked cry.

"Uh-huh," Fiona acknowledged that, walking up to the bar to take a seat. "Something else I haven't told you, Twilight, is that Vinyl and I were some of the best fighters in Equestria, they use to call us the EUP Guard for a reason."

The EUP Guard, Equestria's last conquering militia during the first Princess's reign before Celestia the 2nd replaced them with the Wonderbolts. What a title.

"What's this?" Fiona spoke kindly now to Soarin, looking down at the tournament sign up sheet.

"That's the Summer Sun Celebration Tournament, you want in?" Soarin asked. Fiona saw that Dash's name was already on the list. She grinned wildly and asked for a quill. Fiona Fluttershy was now officially in this little war of ours.

Starting tomorrow was going to be the toughest day of my life. I welcomed the challenge. Because no matter who my opponent was, whether they be friend or foe, my promise still holds that I'd never stop fighting.

"Oh, one last thing, Twilight," Soarin drew my attention as he pulled something out from behind the bar counter. "You left these here on that day. I thought that if I ever made it Canterlot I'd be sure to bring this with me. But seeing as you're here now, seems like a good time as any to dawn them again." What Soarin placed in front of me was a crimson red magician's hat and cloak. The same trophies I claimed from Trixie.

"Perfect," I proudly said, "the Phoenix will make her debut here, at the Summer Sun Celebration!"

Comments

[Havoc in the Midst]

Dang, I really like this story.