Swords and Magic

by Shadow Watcher

Chapter 5

Twilight clenched her right hand, trying to reign in the magic pulsing from her rune. So, this was what Celestia was after. She had wanted to awaken Rainbow’s rune. No wonder she was so strongly drawn to the knight.

Celestia sat straight in her chair, face betraying no emotion, hands folded in her lap.

Twilight could tell, though, that she had been affected. Celestia simply has years worth of mastery over control over herself. Glancing down the line to Cadance, she wasn’t that much better off than Twilight.

The rest of the crowd was oblivious to what was really going on. As far as they were concerned, Rainbow had simply knocked them off guard, having held herself back for the first part of this fight. Which was true, to an extent.

*********

Rainbow twirled her sword as she circled Spitfire. The woman still stood before her, watching her every move, but making none of her own. Rainbow would have to go to her.

She went through her options. If she charged right at her, she’d either strike with her sword, drawing out her shield, while following up with a strike with flames from her other hand, circumventing her shield. Or, she’d use fire to draw out her shield, striking with her blade. However, while her opponent wasn’t as fast as she, she was far more agile.

Even with Rainbow’s enhanced speed and senses, Spitfire had still dodged and evaded most of her attacks.

Pointlessly circling wasn’t going to resolve this match. She sprang forward, darting to the left, before cutting back to the right. A detail stood out to her when she had closed half the distance: Spitfire had no flames. All throughout the match, fire had graced her fingers. Now that she had her sword...

She threw herself to the ground, feeling an intense heat as a blade of fire sliced the air above her. She rolled and threw up her shield just in time to block the follow-through attack.

Spitfire used the recoil to bounce away. A chuckle escaped her lips. “So, you noticed. Good job.” Fire licked the blade of her katana. “A shame they only gave me one, though. You should see what I can do with two.”

Rainbow cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders. “Yeah, almost had me with that trick. Didn’t see it until I was practically in range.” She twirled her blade. “Rather is a shame; I won’t get to beat you at your best.”

Laughter filtered through Spitfire’s helmet. “If you think you can, Little One, then let’s see how well you dance!” She darted forward, twirling her blade of fire.

Rainbow blocked with a party of her own blade, causing Spitfire to backstep when she tried bashing with her shield. She quickly darted in from the left, Rainbow blocking with her shield. Spitfire retaliated with a flare from the right, but Rainbow sidestepped at the last second. Spitfire’s katana sliced in from the right.

Rainbow’s rune pulsed again. Time slowed as she sped up. Her blade left afterimages as it came up. She caught the katana head on, sending it up. With all the force she could muster, Rainbow slammed her shield into Spitfire’s chest.

Time sped up. A hush fell on the crowd. A soft thud, followed by a heavier one.

Rainbow panted as she stared. Spitfire was down, wheezing through her helmet.

The older knight reached up. Fiery orange hair spilled out as her helmet came off. A gasping laugh escaped her as she looked up at Rainbow. “Nicely done.” She hung her head as she struggled with the straps on her chestplate.

“Sir Rainbow Dash!” Celestia’s voice boomed from above. In a blink, she stood before her. Her feet touched down on a platform that had appeared before Celestia’s throne. Belatedly, she began to bow, but a wry chuckle from the Empress stopped her.

“That won’t be necessary, Rainbow Dash.” Celestia looked her over appraisingly. Her grinned unnerved the girl the longer it was upon her. “Twilight, I believe that this woman is the knight you have chosen. After witnessing her battle, have you anything to say?”

Twilight held her gaze firm. Her eyes met Rainbow’s before looking away. “Sir Rainbow Dash has more than proved herself. Her abilities and prowess are...beyond what I initially expected. You know that I already held her in high regard.”

“Hmm, that I do.” The Empress murmured. She stood, and Twilight stood with her. The girl’s hood fell, revealing long hair of dark indigo, highlighted with lavender and pink.

She stepped up beside her mentor, standing directly before Rainbow. “As a magus completes their training, one final task is to select a knight. Sir Rainbow Dash. I have chosen you. I offer you, here before our Empress and our nation, my abilities and knowledge to use as you see fit in whatever take we take to protect our people. Will you accept my offer?”

Holding her sword out horizontally before her, grip held tight on the hilt, Rainbow maintained eye contact with Twilight Sparkle. “By will of our Empress, I accept your offer. In return, I offer you my sword and shield. By my deed, shall our will be made manifest. By our might shall the Empress’ will be done. As it is said before our people, so shall it be.”

Celestia stepped forward at this, holding a hand out between them. “By oaths now spoken, and oaths now taken, your words bind you. In the presence of your Empress, in the sight of your people, your oaths now bind. You are bound, as magus and knight, in service to me, in service to our people. By sword and magic shall this be.” She turned to the gathered crowd. “Now May the feast of celebration begin!”

Comments

[Ebonysdagger]

She quickly farted in from the left, Rainbow blocking with her shield.

Well that is impressive and disgusting at the same time.

[Shadow Watcher]

8619306

I’ve been using a writing app on my phone. Needless to say, the autocorrect leaves something to be desired. Thanks for pointing that out! Thought I got them all!