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Battle of Gods Saga: The Fall of a God3,834 words
Battle of Gods Saga: Welcome to Equestria, Son Goku!5,544 words
Battle of Gods Saga: Shattered Nature4,943 words
Battle of Gods Saga: The Z-Fighters's Choice4,864 words
Battle of Gods Saga: Son Goku vs Discord! The Return of the Super Saiyan God!8,566 words
Battle of Gods Saga: Time Travel6,435 words
Battle of Gods Saga: Looking for the Tree of Harmony4,710 words
Battle of Gods Saga: The Return of the God of Destruction (Part 1)4,689 words
Battle of Gods Saga: The Return of the God of Destruction (Part 2)4,429 words
Battle of Gods Saga: The Return of the God of Destruction (Part 3)4,559 words
Battle of Gods Saga: The Return of the God of Destruction (Part 4)5,336 words
Battle of Gods Saga: A New Beginning7,682 words
Filler Chapter 1: Castle Mania7,739 words
Filler Chapter 2: Training Island8,479 words
Filler Chapter 3: Fashion Week11,889 words
Filler Chapter 4: Rainbow Falls9,163 words
Filler Chapter 5: The Tatzlwurm10,055 words
Filler Chapter 6: Qualifications9,594 words
Filler Chapter 7: Equestria Games - Part 1 (Edited)6,713 words
Filler Chapter 8: Equestria Games - Part 2 (Edited)7,158 words
Filler Chapter 9: Equestria Games - Part 3 (Edited)6,337 words

Filler Chapter 9: Equestria Games - Part 3 (Edited)

[Fighting Stage - Winsome Falls]

Soundwave, in the meantime, approached Majin Buu and asked in confusion, "What do you think they're doing?"

The chubby creature just rubbed his belly and complained, "Buu hungry!"

The black-maned mare was surprised and asked in shock, "What?! But you just ate an hour ago!" Buu just kept on rubbing his belly, something that made her sigh. "No wonder Mark is so desperate for Bits," she commented, but then she asked, "Wait, where is he?"

She looked around, trying to find him until she saw him sitting near the river. She ran toward him, followed by Majin Buu, and, as she got closer, noticed that there was something wrong with her teammate. Once they reached him, they saw a saddened and miserable Mr. Satan looking at the flowing water; clearly a shocking sight for anyone who knew him. Soundwave, unaware of what happened, asked in a worried tone, "Hey, Mark, what happened? Why are you like this?"

"I..." he uttered with a hint of shame in his voice, "I think I've done it this time."

"What do you mean?" she asked in confusion.

"I was about to be kicked out of the arena," he explained, "So I tried to convince Moonlight to let our team win in exchange for the trophy." Soundwave was shocked while Majin Buu was merely listening. However, before they could say something, he continued, "She was offended by my offer, and rightfully so. A true martial artist should never resort to such tactics."

"And now you're thinking of leaving the stage," concluded the black-maned mare, having just understood the whole situation. Mr. Satan nodded sadly in response. For a few seconds, silence reigned. Soundwave didn't know what to think, but she knew that this problem had to be solved quickly. So, with a sigh in tow, she spoke up: "You shouldn't have done that, but this is not the time to give up." Her words made him look at her as she continued, "You can still make up for it, by showing everyone that you're a gallant warrior who's willing to help his friends, regardless of the odds stacked against him."

"Just like Mr. Satan beat the bad guys that hurt Bee," added Buu with a smile, as he remembered how he defeated the thugs that shot their dog when he was just a puppy. Hercule’s eyes went wide open as he remembered that incident as well. Soundwave, meanwhile, was left confused over who and what they were referring to.

However, her musings quickly evaporated with the sight of Seaddle's Team approaching them for the final confrontation. Soundwave looked at them first before looking back at Mr. Satan and said, "There's no time for this, but remember that you're not flawless." After that, she and Buu walked toward their opponents.

Meanwhile, Yamcha, Apple Cobbler, and Moonlight stopped south of the lake, waiting for the approaching Vanhoover Team. "Apple Cobbler," called out the silver-maned mare, "Our opponent shall be Majin Buu, leave Soundwave to Yamcha."

"Wait, are you sure?" asked Yamcha in worry.

"You're injured," she answered as the rival team was approaching quickly, "And Soundwave is faster than Apple Cobbler; this is the only logical formation if we want to pursue victory."

"Got it," he answered as both Soundwave and Majin Buu had just arrived, standing before them. They all got into their fighting stance and looked at each other. Yamcha was the first to start hostilities by attacking the pegasus mare and moving away from Buu, leaving the latter to his teammates.

Moonlight observed the ancient creature in front of her as she pondered, "Yamcha couldn't do much due to his superior speed: we need to nullify this advantage first if we want to have a chance." She then informed Apple Cobbler: "I will fight with him first."

The pale yellow-maned mare was surprised at first but then nodded as she understood that her teammate had a plan. Right after, Moonlight dashed toward Buu, who threw a punch at her. His fist was fast, but she was able to protect herself by crossing her forelegs. However, the blow was strong enough to send her into the lake, much to Apple Cobbler's shock. The ancient but childish being didn't waste time and rushed toward the mass of water, wanting to kick his opponent out of the stage.

"Oh no, Moonlight!" exclaimed Apple Cobbler in worry as she dashed towards the lake as well.

[Underwater]

Moonlight looked at her injured forelegs, seeing bruises and feeling her bones hurting. When Buu entered the lake, however, she let go of them and used the levitation spell on herself to swim better and faster. The unicorn directed herself towards the lakebed, confusing the pink creature. Once she reached it, she punched its surface, liberating pockets of air trapped under it. She then used the bubbles to breathe, and, as soon as she did it, her body started to be engulfed by a turquoise, flaming aura that healed her as she turned to face the approaching enemy.

"You're quite the formidable warrior, Majin Buu," she praised as she moved her forelegs in a dancing fashion before assuming the stance of somepony who's about to throw a punch, "But your biggest mistake was to move the battlefield underwater." As Buu drew closer, she exclaimed in her thoughts, "TURQUOISE BLUE OVERDRIVE!!"

She thrust her right punch forward, unleashing a dart of electrified, turquoise energy against him. Majin Buu couldn't sense its power, so he didn't try to dodge it as he thought it was just a puny attack. Surprisingly for him, the dart of energy hit his face with such strength that it propelled him out of the lake. The pink creature almost crashed onto one of the hills, but he was able to recover by somersaulting and landing on his feet. However, he felt his movements slowing down for some reason.

Moonlight jumped out of the lake after her attack. Using the hills as a launching board, she jumped from one to reach the pink creature. Buu, meanwhile, stood attentively as he let his opponent perform her maneuver. Once Moonlight was above him, she threw a punch, which he was able to block with a single hand. However, that was the opening she was looking for, and, as her pale amber-colored eyes glowed, she exclaimed, "Flow through him, Ripple of the Sun! SUNLIGHT YELLOW OVERDRIVE!"

Right after that, golden electric rays came from Moonlight's foreleg and flowed through Buu's arm, generating a small shockwave that sent him back to the grass field. The ancient being landed on his knee, and, this time, he was massively slowed down, almost paralyzed. The grayish-blue mare began to approach him as Apple Cobbler reached her. As they stopped a few meters away from Buu, Applejack's cousin asked, "Don't you think you overdid it?"

"If he is half as powerful as Yamcha claims him to be, then no, I don’t," she replied as she looked upon their opponent.

[Royal Podium]

Princess Celestia was surprised at seeing Moonlight using the power of the sun, "Was that...?"

"Mhm," confirmed her sister.

[Fighting Stage - Winsome Falls]

Majin Buu was struggling to move, so he decided to increase his power to overcome whatever the grayish-blue pony did to him. Suddenly, the arena started to tremble in a manner similar to that of an earthquake, as steam was coming out of the six holes on the top of Buu's head. He then stood up as he felt that he could move freely again, much to the disbelief of Moonlight and Apple Cobbler.

"Uuuh!" he shouted with bursts of steam coming out the holes in his arms and head, akin to a steam-powered train.

Upon seeing this, Moonlight said to Apple Cobbler as she got into her fighting stance, "Brace yourself: the true battle is about to begin."

Meanwhile, Yamcha was forcing Soundwave to retreat due to his superior speed and strength. He tried to sweep her hind legs, but she was able to dodge it by jumping. However, the light blue-coated pegasus used his momentum to roundhouse kick her in the chest, sending her near the river. The black-maned mare stood up and barely dodged an oncoming punch from the stallion. Then, she counterattacked with one of her own, but her opponent blocked it effortlessly.

Soundwave attacked with her other hoof, but the result was the same. She tried to use her Sonic Boom technique to stun him, but, unfortunately for her, Yamcha avoided the attack by moving behind her. He then grabbed her from behind, took off, and plunged her towards the river. Right before they crashed, he let go of her and landed near the river.

A splash of dirt and water flared upward as a result of the crash. After the water settled, Soundwave emerged from it with her mane covering her face full of bruises and cuts. She was sitting there as she breathed deeply while looking at Yamcha. He was the second one that surpassed her in speed so far, giving her a revelation of the situation she has found herself in. "But I need a moment to recover from that blow," she internally assessed. If she wanted to avoid her team’s elimination, she had to change her tactics.

"You're a skilled fighter, not gonna lie" Yamcha suddenly complimented, "But this battle is over."

When he was about to deal the final blow, however, a beam of wind blocked his path, much to Yamcha and Soundwave's surprise. He turned his head to the left and was caught off guard upon seeing who unleashed the attack. There, with his right foreleg still extended forward, Mr. Satan was standing with a determined expression. Taking advantage of Yamcha's reaction, he quickly put himself between him and his teammate.

"I forgot about him," thought Yamcha as he looked at him.

"Mark! You're back!" exclaimed Soundwave in happiness.

"Yamcha! I won't let you advance any further!" he stated.

A drop appeared behind Yamcha's head upon hearing that, "Are you sure about this?"

Mr. Satan started to tremble all of a sudden as fear invaded his mind, but, although he was sweating, his determined expression didn't change. He then charged at the ex-Wolf Desert Bandit with a battle cry, much to his opponent's surprise. Unsurprisingly, the brown-coated earth pony was swept away by a mere wave of Yamcha's hoof, but Soundwave caught him in mid-air, saving her teammate from being eliminated.

"Hey, you okay there?" she asked as she landed near the stage's edge.

"I just lost the little dignity I had," he replied a bit in sorrow as he stood beside her, "But nothing broken, I guess."

"What's with the drama?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, "He's stronger than you but you still decided to fight him. That's pretty awesome if you ask me."

"Yeah, but it was all for nothing!" he answered, a bit frustrated.

"Well, of course," she replied nonchalantly, "Courage alone is not enough to achieve victory. We need a plan."

"I don't think anything we can come up with will work against Yamcha. We need Buu, but he's busy fighting those two mares."

"Now listen, Mark," she said as she stomped her hoof, cutting Mr. Satan off his insecurity, "Just because an elephant is big and strong, doesn't mean he's invincible; even a tiny ant can defeat him. Besides, I still have one last trick up my hooves."

"Wait, you mean...?"

"Yes. Now, listen."

A few moments later, Yamcha reached them and saw Mr. Satan running away as Soundwave set her gaze upon him. He followed the former with his eyes, noticing he was going where Buu and his teammates were fighting. Then, he looked back at the mare standing in front of him and said with a cocky smile, "I see, you want to face me alone. But this fight is already over. I suggest you surrender; I don't like to hurt mares."

Soundwave didn't respond. Instead, she closed her eyes and started tapping the ground with her right forehoof as if she was listening to good music. This action confused the azure-coated pegasus, who was standing there, trying to figure out what she was doing; However, he shook his head to dismiss her weird actions and dashed toward her, wanting to finish the battle as soon as possible.

However, something unbelievable for him happened: Soundwave dodged his punch with ease. He didn't have time to process it when the mare counterattacked almost immediately with an uppercut, sending him back to his previous position. The blow caused superficial damages, but that didn't stop Yamcha from recovering and standing up quickly.

"H-how did she do that?" he asked in a surprised whisper as he briefly rubbed his chin. He was even more confused when he saw his opponent starting to trot in place, but that confusion vanished when she ran toward him. He rushed toward her as well and tried to hit her again, but, once more, his opponent easily dodged the incoming threat and placed herself behind him in a drift-style maneuver.

Yamcha turned and, again, attacked Soundwave, who was still trotting in place. However, she dodged each of his punches in an almost instinctual way, much to his disbelief. "But how can you...?" he tried to ask, but he was met with a punch on his muzzle, forcing him several meters back.

"Rhythm," she answered, much to his already monolithic confusion.

"Rhythm? We're fighting, not dancing!" he replied as he tried to attack her once again.

As he was approaching her, Soundwave closed her eyes again as she trotted in place. She focused on the sound generated by Yamcha's movements and calculated his tempo while comparing it to hers. Then, she thought, "Two beats down." Right after, she instantly changed her pace and slowed down, avoiding an incoming strike from her opponent, who was caught off guard by it once more. She then counterattacked with her Sonic Boom technique, sweeping the stallion away.

Yamcha stopped himself from going any further with his Ki and massaged his ears as he became deaf for a moment. Nonetheless, he was more concerned about how his opponent could suddenly dodge all of his strikes with ease and counterattack effortlessly. Moreover, he was now the one standing against the edge, meaning that the tables had turned against his favor. "She said rhythm, but what did she mean?"

[Near the hills]

Meanwhile, Majin Buu and Moonlight battled each other, with Apple Cobbler staying in the rear, waiting for the right moment to intervene. Thanks to both Overdrive Attacks, the Lunar Knight had no problems in seeing and deviating her opponent's punches and counterattacks. However, the ancient creature was nigh-invulnerable due to his gum-like skin, making the fight inconclusive.

The chubby creature, however, learned a bit from her fighting style and used his momentum left to lift and throw her away. The silver-maned unicorn didn't expect such a counterattack and found her muzzle on the ground once she realized what happened. Taking advantage of this, Majin Buu charged at her, wanting nothing more than to kick her out of the stage.

Apple Cobbler saw this and immediately put herself between her teammate and her opponent. Buu tried to knock the earth pony out of his way, but the pale yellow-maned mare nullified his attack with her new technique.

Buu's punch clashed with Apple Cobbler's Lunar Shield, which forced him to abruptly stop as he shone in a dark, bluish light for an instant. The pink-skinned creature's eyes wide-opened because of this and started looking at his body. Applejack's cousin didn't waste time and kicked his belly with her powerful hind legs, sending her opponent tens of meters away. After that, she ran toward Moonlight to help her, with the amber-eyed unicorn slowly standing up.

"Are you alright?" asked the dark orange-coated mare in a bit of worry as she approached her.

"He merely took me by surprise," answered the unicorn as she was cleaning up her mouth, "Nothing to worry about."

Meanwhile, Buu jumped and hovered 10 meters above the ground. Then, he created an arch of Ki blasts above his head with his hands that soon multiplied, resembling a cluster of tiny stars. Soon after, he thrust his arms forward, unleashing a rain of Ki orbs upon his opponents.

Apple Cobbler turned her head to look for Buu, only to be caught off guard from his choice of tactic. Moonlight too was shocked by the incoming hailstorm. Quickly getting out of her stupor, all she could do was retreat alongside her teammate at the last moment, as the shockwave generated by the exploding Ki blasts swept them away in a cacophony of destruction.

The ancient creature looked at his hands after noticing that his attack was weaker than intended. Nonetheless, he decided to ignore this issue and went searching for his opponents.

[Near the lake]

In the meantime, Moonlight and Apple Cobbler were slowly recovering, cuts and bruises adorning their bodies. The former stood up and noticed the pink-skinned creature above them, preparing the same attack as earlier. She had to think fast. When Buu unleashed his second wave of Ki blasts, she teleported away with her teammate, reappearing 20 meters from the edge of the southern stage.

The apple farmer slowly stood up and asked, "Why is Yamcha taking so long?"

"I don't know, but it's our duty to trust him and resist as long as possible," answered Moonlight as she looked at an approaching Majin Buu. Apple Cobbler was ready to use the Lunar Shield spell, but Moonlight stopped her, "Don't bother: it only works if there is physical contact."

"What do we do then?" she asked in a bit of worry.

Moonlight thought about it as Buu was preparing to bombard them again. She looked around, noticing the small craters created by those energy spheres. Then, she looked at the grass beneath her hooves and an idea popped into her mind. "I need you to use your earth-bending technique," she commanded as she started breathing deeply.

The pale yellow-maned farmer didn't protest as she knew her friend had a plan, so she placed herself in front of her and partially buried her forehooves into the ground. Her light-azure eyes shone for a moment as the area started shaking. Soon after, she pulled up a giant wall made of earth, approximately 4 meters tall and 4 meters wide, much to the surprise of her cousin.

“What in tarnation! How in Equestria did she learn that!?” Applejack internally said, her mouth slightly agape.

Meanwhile, Moonlight sliced all the grass from the area with her magic, as golden electric rays flowed through her forelegs. "LIFE MAGNETISM OVERDRIVE!" she shouted as she used her solar magic to glue the blades of grass together and form a thin wall of grass that matched her teammate's wall in size. After that, she attached it to the earth wall, engulfing the construction with that of solar energy, thus reinforcing the whole structure exponentially.

"All right, Moonlight, what now?"

Upon hearing that question, the unicorn split the wall in half with her magic and used the upper part as a roof, much to her teammate's awe. "Brace yourself!" she exclaimed as Buu's bombardment began. Both mares reared up, placing their forehooves against the wall to withstand it.

The Ki blasts punished their fortification but weren't able to breach it, much to Goku and Vegeta's surprise. Both ponified Saiyans couldn't believe that their little fort was withstanding Buu's might. They tried to come up with an explanation, but nothing came up that could offer them one.

Apple Cobbler was also surprised by this tactic, as she asked, "How is this thing even resisting?"

"Soft earth has exceptional properties for shock absorption," answered Moonlight as she controlled her breath to keep solar magic's flow constant, "While the Sun's ripples hold the wall together and absorbs part of the blow."

"And he's also under the effect of the Lunar Shield spell," realized the earth pony, "I reduced his power by a quarter. But we can't stay here forever."

"I know, that's the reason why I put a roof above us," she answered, much to her teammate's confusion, "Although different for obvious reasons, this is a Testudo, an ancient military formation created specifically to approach the enemy under arrow fire."

Apple Cobbler quickly understood her plan and said with determination, "Let's do this, then!" They then started to push the wall in advance, all the while the rain of Ki blasts intensified.

[Near the River]

Meanwhile, Soundwave was pushing back Yamcha thanks to her new fighting style as the latter was still trying to understand what was going on. The ex-Wolf Desert Bandit threw a punch, but the mare from Vanhoover dodged it with ease while striking at the same time. Although she didn't cause much damage, her blow was strong enough to force him back a few meters.

Yamcha immediately resumed his attack by running toward her and exclaiming, "WOLF FANG FIST!" Once he was close enough, he jumped and threw a kick at her.

"One beat up," thought Soundwave as she stepped back all of a sudden, barely dodging his kick. Right after that, Yamcha proceeded with throwing a rain of wolf-like blows at her. "8 beats up," she said in her mind as she changed pace in an instant and dodged each of his punches, much to her opponent's disbelief. With a rotating movement, she avoided one last blow and counterattacked with a double hoof on his chest, sending him near the edge of the stage. "NOW!" she shouted immediately after.

Yamcha could barely stop himself when a beam of wind coming from a bush a few meters from the lake hit him, starting to push him back even more. The azure-coated pegasus quickly started to stop it, but another beam of wind, now coming from Soundwave, merged with the previous one, nullifying his efforts.

The ponified human tried to push back their attack, but the exact opposite was happening. As soon as he reached the edge, however, he unleashed his aura with a mighty yell, disrupting the beam of wind. The strong wind current generated by this action forced Soundwave to cover herself, which allowed Yamcha to fly toward the hiding Mr. Satan at high speed.

The pegasus caught the brown-coated earth pony off guard by appearing right in front of him all of a sudden. The latter had no time to react when the former hit him hard enough to throw him out of the stage outright. "Mark Satan from Vanhoover is out!" announced the referee as a result.

[Southern bank of the lake]

The announcement drew Buu's attention, forcing the latter to stop bombarding the mares. Taking advantage of this, and also because they were close enough, Apple Cobbler broke the testudo-looking fort. She threw the roof at the sky with a punch, then she jumped on the wall, backflipped, and double-kicked the falling object toward her opponent.

Majin Buu noticed it and quickly destroyed the massive object with a punch. As soon as the debris scattered due to the impact, however, he saw the second wall coming against him, almost catching him off guard. Nonetheless, he destroyed it with ease as well. Once he did, though, he was hit in the face by Moonlight, who had propelled herself with her own magic. The primordial warrior was launched beyond the lake and into the ground near the hills.

[Near the river]

Upon seeing this, Yamcha quickly looked at Soundwave and thought, "I have to hurry. If I can't hit her directly, I'll have to try something else." After that, he put his right hoof in front of himself and started channeling Ki into it. A pale-yellow aura engulfed it as tiny yellow Ki particles gathered on it. While a few electric rays generated from his hoof, the particles created a small football-sized sphere of energy on it, much to everyone's surprise. He confidently smiled as he prepared to throw the Ki orb at Soundwave and asked, "Ready for this?" Then he shouted, "SPIRIT BALL, ATTACK!"

With a wave of his hoof, he threw the Ki blast at his opponent. Soundwave instinctively dodged it, but the sphere turned and directed toward her, much to her surprise. "What the...?!" she gasped as she barely avoided it. She then noticed that Yamcha was weirdly moving his hooves, inferring that he was maneuvering that ball. However, she didn't have time to process the information as she had to dodge another assault coming from her right side. "This is bad."

[Northern bank of the lake]

Meanwhile, Buu recovered from that surprise attack and used a Ki blast to sweep Moonlight away, but she teleported a few meters away to avoid it. Immediately after, he rushed toward her and started exchanging blows with the same results as before. In the meantime, Apple Cobbler was jumping on the rocks in the waterfall, approaching the battling fighters.

Moonlight deviated one of his punches by 15 degrees, which allowed her to put herself on his right flank with a rotating motion. She was about to exploit that opening, but the ancient creature predicted such a possibility. Once her punch made contact with his hip, Buu manipulated his body to absorb it and not let her go. This move caught her off guard and allowed him to exploit her surprised state by grabbing her and stretching his arms toward the platform's edge.

However, Applejack's cousin arrived just in time to double-kick his wrist, freeing her teammate. "That was close!" she said as she helped her to stand up.

The unicorn was about to thank her, but she saw Majin Buu charging what looked like a magic attack between his hands. "HUUUUUH!" shouted the pink creature, as he unleashed an orange Kamehameha-looking attack upon them. The attack was so swift that she only had time to push Apple Cobbler away before being propelled out of the stage by that energy beam. The mare crashed against the shield protecting the audience, cracking it in the process as an explosion unfolded.

Apple Cobbler could only witness the event powerlessly as the referee broke the silence, "Moonlight from Seaddle is out!"

[Near the river]

Both Soundwave and Yamcha heard the announcement, with both having different reactions. The former knew that her team had the upper hoof as Buu could hardly be defeated by two ponies, let alone just one. "Time is on my side," she thought as she prepared herself to resist as long as possible.

"She won't last for long," reasoned Yamcha as he immediately resumed maneuvering the Spirit Ball, "I have to hurry up!"

The Spirit Ball attacked from multiple directions, making it more difficult to dodge as the seconds ticked. Soundwave managed to avoid each assault but barely. The Ki orb soared up in the sky and then attacked her from above. However, she was still able to dodge it by jumping back. The sphere clashed against the grass field, generating a small explosion and digging a hole in it.

Yamcha's face showed frustration while his opponent showed exhaustion. The black-maned mare was barely calculating the rhythm of that ball, her attempts to keep up with the right pace being extremely difficult, "This shows that this rhythm-based fighting style is still incomplete. That ball kept on changing its rhythm by fractions of a beat, which I can barely keep up with."

The azure-coated stallion, on the other hoof, changed his frustrated expression to a confident one and exclaimed, "Gotcha!" Milliseconds after this, the Spirit Ball got out of the ground and hit her on the chin. The blow took her by surprise and was strong enough to lift her from the ground and make her fall near the stage's edge.

Yamcha didn't waste time and created another Ki blast after canceling the Spirit Ball. However, he noticed that Buu had cornered Apple Cobbler near the edge and was about to shoot a Ki blast as well. He quickly unleashed his attack towards Soundwave, which coincidentally occurred at the same time as the pink-skinned creature. Both beams reached their targets, generating two mighty explosions.

The curtain of dust, smoke, and dirt blocked the view for everyone, adding to the suspense. The audience, the referee, the martial artists, and even the royal guards were waiting for it to dissipate to know how it ended.

The curtain of smoke and dust started to settle as everypony waited impatiently. Once it dissipated, everypony marveled at the result: a knocked-out Soundwave laid outside the stage while Apple Cobbler was barely holding onto the edge, hanging just above the ground outside of it. She was bruised and injured, wanting nothing more than to release her hoof and lay down in exhaustion, but her willpower and determination overcame the burning sensations she felt throughout her body.

The referee took a few seconds to process the situation, where he suddenly announced for all to hear: "Soundwave from Vanhoover is out! Seaddle qualifies for the finals!" The spectators exulted in joy after hearing the result and witnessing such an intense, action-packed, and evenly matched battle.

Yamcha ignored this, however, as he ran toward the tired dark orange-coated mare, who let herself fall to the ground after the announcement. "Apple Cobbler! Are you okay?!" he asked in worry as he approached her.

"Oooh," she said in pain as she covered her face with one of her hooves, "I-I think I won't make it..." Yamcha gasped in response: she had cuts, scratches, small burns, and bruises all over her body, with some blood stains adorning her coat, so he thought the worst and was about to call for help. However, a burst of giggling stopped him from doing so, as the mare uncovered her face, "Just kidding drama boy," she replied in a light-hearted tone.

Yamcha sighed in relief, then giggled a bit and said, "You nearly had me there, Cobbie."

"I'm a mischievous filly, I know," she answered playfully, but then she got serious and said, "But you should check on Moonlight: that blow from earlier looked pretty dangerous." She then closed her eyes while laying back on the ground: "I'll reach you both once I caught my breath."

After hearing this, he ran toward the gray-maned unicorn, who was finally recovering from that powerful attack, despite having even more injuries than Apple Cobbler. Once there, Yamcha said, "I see you're fine, thank goodness." Then he asked, "But just to be sure, anything broken?"

Moonlight, who was massaging her head, answered, "I admit that was one of the hardest blows I ever felt in my life. Fortunately, it takes more than that to inflict severe injuries."

Immediately after, Apple Cobbler joined them and said, "Eh, the pain repaid though: we made it to the finals!"

Yamcha was looking at both his teammates and noticed that aside from their injuries, their manes were all messy. He laughed a bit at that, much to their confusion, and said, "You two look absolutely hammered!"

They both looked at each other, finally noticing the state of their manes. Moonlight looked like she had just escaped from a fire while Apple Cobbler resembled a nest made of dried mud and grass. They gave each other a knowing look before looking back at Yamcha with a mischievous smile, which halted his laughter. "I don't think that you hold any moral ground to express hilarity toward our manes, Yamcha," said the unicorn as she used a spell to materialize a mirror in front of him.

The ponified human looked at his reflection, seeing that his hair - or mane - was pointing backward, almost as if he just used a jet turbine as a hairdryer. He was surprised at first, but then he burst into laughter that was soon accompanied by those of his teammates.

Not so far from Team Seaddle, Mr. Satan and Majin Buu were helping Soundwave recover. They helped her put herself into a sitting position as they tried to communicate with her. "Are you still with us, Soundwave?" Mark asked his stunned teammate, where he waved his right hoof in front of her face and asked, "How many fingers do you see here?"

"What's a finger?" she asked in confusion as she rubbed her head.

"Uh," froze the stallion, "I meant hooves! Hooves, hehe."

The black-maned mare sighed in relief as she stood up and confirmed with a small smile, "I'm fine, Mark, just a few scratches."

Mr. Satan smiled at this, but soon that smile vanished as he said, "So, we lost."

"Hey," she replied softly, "I know how much you wanted to win, but we can always try the next time. Besides, we can still fight for third place."

The stallion's mood soon improved as he agreed, "You're right, and I think this is for the best. Vanhoover has never made it this far, so if we do better next time, we'll be the ascending stars of the Martial Arts Event in the Equestria Games."

"That's one way to put things," she commented as she looked upward with a knowing smile. "At least he's not all depressed anymore," she thought, which made her remember something, "Hey Mark."

"Huh? What is it?"

"Moonlight, are you going to apologize to her?" asked the mare with concern. After all, she didn't want any kind of conflict with other delegations, much less with one already considered a rival. The Martial Arts Teams of Seaddle and Vanhoover were the only ones with a history of rivalry between the two delegations, so she was eager to eliminate even the tiniest of tensions.

Mr. Satan was taken aback by this at first, but then his expression turned serious, and nodded, "Yes," he then looked at Team Seaddle, who was quite far from where they were. He responded to Soundwave as he started approaching them, "Give me a minute."

As Yamcha's team were busy conversing with one another, the brown stallion closed the distance between himself and them. Once he was close enough, the three chatting ponies noticed him.
“Oh, Mr. Satan, what brings you here?” Yamcha greeted him. Apple Cobbler merely gave him a confused look. The relaxed and happy expression of the unicorn, however, vanished in favor of a neutral one upon seeing him.

Once he stopped in front of them, Mr. Satan looked at Moonlight in the eyes for a few seconds, much to her teammates' confusion. Suddenly, and much to their surprise, he lowered his head and said, "I'm sorry." Yamcha and Apple Cobbler were confused on why he was apologizing, while Moonlight was only looking at him with the same expression. "As a Martial Artist, I shouldn't have asked you to let me win. That was completely unhonourable and disrespectful, and I hope you'll forgive me."

Yamcha was speechless as he didn't know what to think about the situation unfolding. He knew that the brown-coated stallion was a bit of a fraud back on Earth, but it was the first time for him to see the ponified human apologizing for trying to achieve victory, though he did it through bargaining rather than actual effort.

"Now that I think of it, this is the first time I saw Mr. Satan actually trying to win fairly," he pondered.

On the other hoof, Apple Cobbler's smile vanished in favor of a concerned look upon hearing what happened between the stallion and her friend. She knew how much the unicorn disliked - no, hated - anything that went against the Lunar Guard Code, and her neutral expression showed that she was irritated at the very least.

A few moments passed, which felt like an eternity for Hercule, Moonlight closed her eyes and sighed, "To excuse is Ponish; to forgive, Celestial, as it is said." She opened her eyes and met the surprised stallion with a small smile, "I commend your bravery in admitting your mistake; I shall forgive you." Mr. Satan smiled back, but he was taken aback by the following words, "However, you shall give your word of honor that you shall not attempt to do such a dishonorable action ever again with anypony."

Mr. Satan stopped smiling upon hearing the seriousness with which she said that and quickly answered with a slightly scared tone, "Y-yes, I promise, I won't do it anymore."

After that, the moon arose, and Moonlight turned into her nocturnal form. The grace of the moon - as she called it - fixed her mane and healed her injuries. Yamcha and Apple Cobbler weren't as surprised about it as Mr. Satan, who had yet to see her in this form. Soon after, she cast a spell on her teammates and Mr. Satan, healing all of their injuries, vanishing any stain of blood on their coats.

Upon seeing himself healed, Mr. Satan smiled at the now bat-looking unicorn before returning back to his team, knowing that the tense situation had now been averted. "This is the first time I don't feel nervous after losing," he pondered as he remembered how even the littlest of setbacks could destroy his fame and reputation back on Earth, forcing him to continuously lie, especially after the Cell Games. After rethinking about his actions on the stage and the apology from earlier, he made up with a conclusion: "From now onward, I'll build my fame here with real achievements and actual effort."

Meanwhile, Seaddle's team looked at the guards, who were modifying the stage for the next semi-finals' match. "Looks like Ponyville and Monacolt are next," said Yamcha as smiled in excitement, "If Ponyville wins, it’ll be the first time in ages that I fought against Goku."

“It seems you have a long history with this Goku,” Moonlight answered curiously, “then again, it is not surprising as you are already familiar with some of the fighters here.”

“That’s true, but this is special, because without him,” he said as he looked back to the stage, “I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

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