Chapter 9 - Repercussions
Regaining her breath from being knocked down by Daybreaker’s attack, Twilight climbed back onto her hooves. Even though Daybreaker’s unknown spell wasn’t designed to harm, the fact that it was capable of knocking her off her hooves and winding her in the process meant that is still hurt to a certain degree.
Daybreaker meanwhile didn’t follow up with another attack and continued to stand her ground. Watching as her student regained her footing before retaliating with an attack of her own. As soon as she saw the magic build up around Twilight’s horn, Daybreaker immediately erected her standard hex tiled barrier, the same one that she taught Twilight during their first training session.
Twilight unleashed her spell moments afterwards. A beam of pure, unrefined magenta hued magic colliding against Daybreaker’s reddened barrier. “We probably should have held this duel after a few sparring sessions, where I actually taught you how to cast offensive magic. Oh well, it’s not like I wanted you to win anyways.” Daybreaker shrugged, not even the slightest bit fazed from the attack.
Having learnt the hard way that a continued assault like this would never work out and would only end up exhausting her before the fight even begun. Twilight stopped her attack once it was clear that she wasn’t going to accomplish anything. Instead she outstretched her wings and took off into the sky, attempting to fly over Daybreaker and towards the gong.
Once she flew over Daybreaker who had just lowered her barrier in response, a small grin grew on her face. But the moment was short-lived as Daybreaker easily caught up to Twilight with her larger, more powerful wings. “Even in the air, you should never take your eyes off your opponent.” Daybreaker informed before ramming herself into Twilight. Sending them both tumbling to the ground, Daybreaker eventually ending up on top. With how far they flew and rolled, they were already pretty close to the halfway mark.
“I still can’t decide what I'm going to make you do. I thought an hour would’ve been more than enough time to finalize a decision, but there are just so many options!” Daybreaker mused eagerly while pinning Twilight to the ground. “Though I still have the next…Thirty-one minutes to decide.” Daybreaker added, looking up at the massive magically generated clock in the sky that was steadily ticking down. Probably created by a random unicorn guard from some random location.
While Daybreaker was distracted with the timer. Twilight channelled one of the few combat orientated spells she did know. The short range shockwave spell for a lack of a better name for it, which is a close range combat spell that does more damage the closer you are to your target and the longer that it is channelled for.
She remembered reading about this spell, as well as a few others in one of Shining’s books that Celestia gave him when he was captain of the guard for a few months. She knew that she wasn’t supposed to read it and that it was for the captain of the guards eyes only, if the massive disclaimer underneath the title on the cover was any indication. But a book containing advanced magic coming from princess Celestia herself, there was no way in Tartarus she was going to pass that up. Especially when thinking how proud Celestia would be when she masters them at such a young age.
Wishing she had more time to read it before her brother confiscated it off her. She just had to make do with what she learnt from the short amount of time she had it for. “I think my accommodations to the Crystal Empire should be a higher priority, don’t you agree!?” Twilight hastily replied.
Turning her attention back towards Twilight. Daybreaker’s eyes widened as she realized what type of spell Twilight was channelling. Without a moment’s hesitation, Daybreaker flapped her wings as hard as she could to get out of the spells effective range.
When Twilight felt the weight on her lessen, she unleashed her spell. Accidentally biting her tongue as the back of her head recoiled painfully against the ground, not expecting the spell to backfire as much as it did, or at all for that matter. Though Daybreaker didn’t fare much better as she was sent back a fair distance, barely able to recover her balance in the air using her wings before landing, her hooves digging into the ground to prevent her from sliding further back.
Twilight used the small amount of time she bought herself to get back onto her hooves and make as much progress as possible before Daybreaker recovered from the unexpected attack. While she ran, she removed the larger bits of dirt that got wedged in between her feathers with her teeth, quickly crossing the half way mark into Daybreaker’s side of the field.
Twilight couldn’t fathom why Daybreaker didn’t even attempt to block her attack. She had already proved numerous times that she was capable of withstanding anything that she threw her way. And she refused to brush it off as her forgetting, especially the way her amber eyes widened when she turned back around to face her.
‘Unless….for some reason she couldn’t block it?’ Twilight thought.
“You don’t even know the most basic of attack spells, yet you are capable of casting something like that. Just what have I been teaching you?” Daybreaker asked as she landed in front of Twilight, causing her to grind to a halt. “I admit I underestimated you, though that just makes me all the more curious to know what other little tricks you have stashed away in that big brain of yours...Keep it up and I may actually have to start trying.” Daybreaker admitted, waiting to see what her student would attempt next.
Twilight didn’t want to admit to Daybreaker that their relationship took a rather sharp decline ever since she was sent to Ponyville. However she had a feeling that the question was meant in a more rhetorical sense than anything, so she didn’t reply back.
Even though Twilight barely crossed the half way mark. She expected Daybreaker would become slightly more aggressive and throw in a few attacks of her own. However the deity just continued to stand there, acting as an obstacle to prevent Twilight from achieving her goal. Since Daybreaker showed no signs of playing offence, she decided to use this time to analyse the situation and come up with a makeshift plan.
“Alright Twilight you can do this! There is just under thirty minutes remaining and I have already made it past the halfway mark. Don’t get cocky though! The only reason you made it this far is because Daybreaker let you. The way she is always playing defence, it is as if she is doubling this duel as a test to determine where your skill level in an actual fight lies, starting with offence, meaning I have to be quick before she decides to test me on defence. However I can’t see how I can use that to my advantage as of right now, and she will be on much higher guard because of that little stunt including that shockwave spell I casted earlier.’
‘She may be bigger than me, but her larger wings will more than make up for that, allowing her to fly faster than me, much faster, at least initially anyways. If I remain in the air long enough, I may be able to accumulate enough speed to surpass-No no no that would never work. As she said when we first met at Fluttershy’s cottage, my wings are weak from not being used that often. I really should have taken Rainbow Dash up on her flying offers.’
‘I can’t teleport to the gong for some bizarre reason…It must be enchanted somehow. Though I have never seen enchantments like this before, I would need to get close enough to figure out how it is blocking my magic. But if I can get close enough to do that then I might as well just sound the gong and win the game instead.’
‘Daybreaker seems to be a lot more hooves on compared to her older self, I may be able to get at least one good smack in. But a straight up ‘hoof on hoof’ brawl is just begging for my flank to get kicked.’ Twilight thought.
“If you wish to just stand there for the next twenty minutes or so, then by all means, be my guest. Just remember there is no shame in admitting defeat and surrendering right now. Especially when you are as outmatched as you are. I will even let you choose which of the three options I can’t decide between.” Daybreaker suggested with a smirk.
Twilight knew that Daybreaker was only trying to get under her coat, so she tried not to dwell on it too much. Though there was one thing that she was right about, she was on a time limit and nothing was going to get accomplished if she continued to just stand there and do nothing. But no matter what idea or strategy she came up with, Daybreaker would easily outmatch her in it. For she was by far superior in every plausible way.
She knew something needed to be done, but every single plan she came up with would simply never work. And charging in without a plan was a terrifying concept to Twilight. She thought back to her previous encounters in her reality, how she managed to defeat those who wanted to bring ruin to Equestria, including Trixie when she wielded the alicorn amulet for the short amount of time. Every instance involved her protecting somepony that she cared about, but also it involved her tricking or outsmarting her opponent in a way.
Since this was a one on one duel, there was no pony for her to defend other than herself. Leaving her with the sole option of somehow tricking her opponent. So she decided to do just that. Twilight’s eyes narrowed as she squinted off into a random part of the sky behind Daybreaker. “N-Nightmare Moon! H-How did she manage to get into Canterlot!” Twilight gasped, pointing her hoof into the sky.
Daybreaker didn’t even budge. She stared at Twilight intently for a few seconds before closing her eyes, taking in a very deep breath. “Five minutes.” Daybreaker started, shaking her head before reopening them. “After five minutes, that is honestly the best you can come up with?” Daybreaker asked disappointingly.
“Actually, I think I’ve decided what I’m going to make you do when I win this. I’m going to make you go back in that library and use that time travel spell that you have been researching. Just so you can go back in time, to this very moment when that idea crossed your mind and slap yourself on the back of your head as hard as you can for even remotely thinking that would work.” Daybreaker ridiculed, followed by a loud, exasperated sigh. “How is it that you managed to defeat Tirek again?”
Twilight’s head lowered in embarrassment, her ears lying flat against the back of her head with her tail curled up in between her legs. Even she couldn’t understand her own thought process behind that ridiculous claim, making her regret it immensely. It took her a few moments to register the fact that Daybreaker knew what she was researching back down in the library, now understanding why she was allowed to leave her notes out on the table. Meaning she would have to be careful about what she keeps in the open, hiding anything that detailed her trying to return home away from Daybreaker’s prying eyes.
“Well…you see.” Twilight started, going about answering Daybreaker’s earlier question. “When you, Luna and Cadence surrendered your magic to me, it made me strong enough to face Tirek. However we were evenly matched. To break the stalemate, he took my friends hostage and forced me to surrender my magic to him else he would kill them. I did so without a second thought, including Discord who betrayed us at the time…numerous times infact. But with the elements of harmony and through the magic of friendship we-Hey! You’re trying to stall me!” Twilight exclaimed, all semblance of embarrassment gone and replaced with frustration as she stomped her hoof on the ground.
“And that, my faithful student, is just one out of the many ways on how to trick your opponent.” Daybreaker instructed as she slowly began to approach Twilight. If she wasn’t going to make a move on her own, then she would just have to force her to make one.
With every step Daybreaker took, Twilight took a step back in return. And before she knew it, she was pushed back over the halfway point and back onto her side of the field. Twilight’s eyes darted across the field, attempting to find something, anything that she could use to assist her in getting past Daybreaker. But other than grass and a stone wall that surrounded them, there was nothing.
At this rate, Twilight knew that it was only a matter of time before she lost all the progress she had made. Feeling like attacking would be pointless, she flared her wings and took off into the sky, once again attempting to fly over Daybreaker in order to regain some of her progress, while ideally making more.
But this time was different. Not even a second later she felt something stick to her wing, weighing it down and preventing her from flapping it. “What the?” Twilight sounded as she glanced over at the red blob that stuck to the edge of her wing, also causing her feathers to stick together uncomfortably. She tried to shake it off, but it stuck to her like glue and showed no signs of coming off anytime soon. Making her lose balance mid-air and crash back down to the ground face first.
“Owww!” Twilight whined, sitting back up on her haunches as she examined her wing in further detail. She narrowed her eyes and tried to scrape it off with her hoof, but a sudden force against her chest pushed her back down, preventing her from doing so.
“Did you not hear me?! I said NEVER take your eyes off your opponent!” Daybreaker scolded with a massive frown. “Why aren’t you attacking me? You have had countless opportunities to do so. You could have even erected a barrier to prevent that goo from rendering your wings useless! It’s like you aren’t even trying at this point.” Daybreaker questioned, disappointment written all over her face.
Twilight whimpered softly as her ears laid flat against the back of her head once more. She knew answering Daybreaker’s question would be a waste of what precious time she had, but it was the least she could do since Daybreaker was going easy on her. “Why bother creating a barrier when you can destroy it with a tap of your hoof. I may have gotten one attack in, but as you said I don’t know combat magic, and the ones I do know are only viable in certain situations, even then I don’t know their full potential since I have never casted them before…No matter what way I look at things, you are by far superior than me in every possible way. Whether it be in magic, stamina, strength, speed, strategy, loo-“ Twilight responded with an audible sigh. “The only thing I may be able to rival you in would be intelligence. Even then you have lifetimes worth of experience over me, which means no matter what plan I come up with, it simply wouldn’t work since you don’t have any weak…nesses” Twilight added, her voice trailing off at the end when she suddenly realized something.
Even though everything Twilight just said was true. Daybreaker did in fact have one single weakness, one that she had completely neglected up until this point. It was the sole reason why Nightmare Moon had been appearing in her dreams to communicate with her.
‘I am her weakness! So far she hasn’t used a single combat spell because she doesn’t want to hurt me!” Twilight deduced.
Daybreaker didn’t pick up on Twilight’s stutter. As much as she hated not seeing her student try, she did understand where Twilight was coming from. That it would be pointless trying to beat an opponent that you had no chance of defeating, hence why she kept trying to go around instead of head on. But trying to win in this fashion defeated the entire purpose of this duel. For Twilight to show her that she was capable of defending herself.
Twilight noticed that Daybreaker was staring intently at her horn, seemingly deep in thought about something, presumably about what she had just said. Unable to cast a spell without her noticing, she instead did something rather uncharacteristic of her. Twilight quickly moved her right forehoof and struck Daybreaker across the cheek as hard as she could.
The physical attack took the deity by surprise, causing her to stumble off Twilight and rub where she was struck with the back of her hoof. “Your wings may be weak from all that walking, but it certainly did a number on your hooves, I will give you that.” Daybreaker complimented, moving her jaw around a few times.
This gave Twilight enough time to get back onto her hooves before Daybreaker had a chance to pin her back down again. A smirk plastered across her face as she looked up at the timer.
‘Seventeen minutes. Good thing I made that bet, otherwise I would have ran out of time before I had a chance to put my plan into action.’ Twilight thought as she bit into the annoying red blob that was still attached to her wing. Pulling at it as hard as she could, causing it to stretch before eventually coming off. Proceeding to toss it to the side before ruffling her feathers a little to unstick them.
Daybreaker returned Twilight’s grin with a wicked smile of her own, which did well to show off her sparkly white fangs. “It is good to see that you are finally putting some effort into this, but you will do well to remember what kind of position you are in. Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer after all.” Daybreaker stated as she spread her hooves apart to get closer to the ground. “Now then, show me what you got!”
Which Twilight proceeded to do by charging directly towards her, and not because Daybreaker told her too. As soon as Daybreaker’s horn lit up with its familiar red hue, Twilight was able to identify it as a projectile based attack, though not experienced enough to know its full details. Not even a second later, a ball of red magic came hurling her way.
Identifying the spell gave Twilight enough time to erect a hex barrier, and knowing that it was a projectile based attack meant she felt confident enough in her abilities to fortify the appropriate tiles to most efficiently block it.
As soon as the spell collided with her shield, Twilight felt a powerful force attempt to knock her back, but it didn’t do any damage to her barrier. Judging from its effects, it was some kind of knockback spell, presumably the same spell that was used against her at the beginning of the match, which further proved her theory that Daybreaker didn’t want to hurt her.
Having served its purpose, Twilight immediately lowered her barrier and returned the attack with a blast of her own. Even though it consisted of pure, unrefined magic, and that the chances of it doing any form of damage was effectively nil, it still meant that Daybreaker had to do something about it. Whether it be dodging or blocking, it would otherwise be using up time that Daybreaker could instead be using to apply pressure to her.
With a flick of the deity’s wing, Twilight’s attack went off course and landed somewhere behind her, leaving behind a small pothole. “Where was this Twilight Twenty minutes ago?” Daybreaker asked a little too enthusiastically.
“If I was able to get those two strikes in so easily, maybe you aren’t as tough as I thought.” Twilight taunted smugly as she glanced at the clock from the corner of her eye.
‘Fourteen minutes, if I am going to do this then I am going to have to do it soon.’ Twilight thought as she turned her attention back towards Daybreaker.
Daybreaker watched as Twilight continued to charge towards her. “You may have gotten a few strikes in. But what good has it done? I’m still standing here right in front of you, preventing you from reaching your objective. Sure you made progress, but progress can just as easily be lost as it can be made. Perhaps I need to knock your confidence down a notch or three.” Daybreaker stated, her horn lighting up again.
Identifying the spell as more projectile based attacks, presumably more of those knockback spells. Twilight didn’t stop her charge, instead she flared her wings out in response. She knew that she needed to pose more of a threat to Daybreaker if she wanted her to use proper combat magic, as her plan heavily relied on it.
Daybreaker launched her knockback spell towards Twilight, following it up with another one just slightly above, predicting that to be Twilight’s next move.
Instead, Twilight leapt to the side, giving her wings a hard flap for an added speed boost. She felt the magic radiate against her face from the first projectile as it whizzed past her, narrowly missing her. While the second one accomplished absolutely nothing.
After everything that happened, dodging was one of the last things Daybreaker expected Twilight to do. And from the way her grin widened, she wasn’t disappointed one bit as she watched Twilight make up the progress that she had lost before once again crossing the halfway mark.
This time Daybreaker fired the knockback spells in quick succession. The first few blasts Twilight struggled to dodge. Having to stop in order to block a few here and there before continuing on, even nearly tripping over a few times whenever they landed in a close proximity to her. But the more she ran and the further she got away from Daybreaker, the more time she had to react, making the attacks become less effective.
As Twilight ran, she kept her eye on Daybreaker, following her mentor’s advice about always keeping her eye on her opponent. When it was clear that the attacks were no longer going to accomplish anything, Daybreaker suddenly disappeared in a bright red flash. Followed by a loud yet familiar crack in front of her, causing Twilight to stop dead in her tracks. “You have no idea how badly you disappointed me at first, it was painful to watch. But you at least made up for some of your actions by getting this far, so I congratulate you on that.” Daybreaker praised. “Unfortunately, this is as far as I will let you go. As much as I would like to continue testing you, it is too risky when you are already this close.”
While Daybreaker talked, Twilight was solely focused on her long, white horn. Waiting to see what attack she would cast next, surprisingly there was none. They stood in silence for a good few seconds before Twilight took the first step forward. As soon as her hoof touched the ground, she felt something slam against her square in the chest, knocking her off her hooves and sending her sliding backwards across the grass.
Coughing a few times, Twilight got back onto her hooves, much faster compared to the first time she was hit by that spell. “How did you do that?! I was watching your horn, there was no glow!” Twilight practically demanded, looking at the timer from the corner of her eye.
‘Eleven minutes…’
“The illusion spell I have yet to teach you…or a more advanced version of it at least. Don’t expect to learn this one anytime soon however. Imagine being able to remove the glow around your horn anytime you use magic. Nopony would be able to determine what spell you are channelling, or even know that you are channelling one at all! And when used in a combat scenario, they would only be able to tell when the spell is hurling their way, which by that point it already tends to be too late to react.” Daybreaker explained with a malicious laugh. “It still has room for improvements however. Removing your signature glow around an object you are manipulating would prove invaluable, as well as changing the colour of the aura. But this is a topic for another time.”
Twilight frustratingly grit her teeth together. She had been relying on that glow to indicate when Daybreaker was about to attack, and from the looks of it, Daybreaker knew that too. She still needed to force Daybreaker into casting actual offensive magic, but why would she when her current method would work just fine?
‘If I can’t tell when Daybreaker is going to attack then flying would probably be my best bet, but she is probably already expecting that to be my next move, meaning she most likely already has something planned to counter that. The next best option is to have a barrier raised at all times, since that knockback spell isn’t designed to deal any damage, it should be a piece of cake defending against it. Moving with it would prove difficult, especially with the effect the spell has, but at least it will force her to switch tactics.’ Twilight thought.
Deciding to put her idea into practice, Twilight lowered her head so her horn was pointing directly at Daybreaker. Proceeding to cast her hex barrier before slowly beginning her approach. ‘Take it easy Twilight, one hoof in front of the other, you can do this!’ Twilight encouraged herself. Casting the barrier was a simple task, moving with it was considerably more difficult but definitely doable, moving with it while absorbing blow after blow was a completely different story.
“Since you can’t tell when I will be attacking, you have a barrier raised at all times. Smart thinking, but surely you know the repercussions of moving with a barrier. Such as how it’s overall durability is reduced for starters.” Daybreaker praised, continuing her assault on Twilight’s shield with the same spell. Her horn still void of any magical energy surrounding it.
Twilight's teeth clenched together every time the spell collided with her barrier. As expected, it didn’t even manage to put a scratch on her shield. However the effects the spell had made it incredibly difficult to make any progress, even resulting in her stumbling over her hooves whenever all four of them weren’t plastered to the ground.
Daybreaker’s eyes narrowed as she continued firing her spell in rapid succession. She knew she wasn’t going to stop Twilight this way, but she didn’t want to stop and have to resort to using actual offensive magic. She could easily charge Twilight and attempt to physically break through her shield with minimal harm to her in the process, however she couldn’t risk Twilight slipping past somehow.
Twilight swore she heard Daybreaker mutter something under her breath before shaking her head, but was unable to make it out. “I didn’t want to resort to combat magic, but you leave me no choice. I highly recommend you surrender now before you get yourself hurt.” Daybreaker threatened.
“P-please…T-this is nothing!” Twilight struggled to say as she took another shaky step closer.
Letting out a loud, disappointed sigh. The illusion around Daybreaker’s horn vanished, revealing its familiar reddened glow. The way the magic swirled around her horn revealed it to be a beam type attack.
Twilight was unsure why Daybreaker removed the illusion around her horn since it was effectively her counter at this point. But she assumed it would be so she had a chance to defend herself with minimal risk of getting injured in the process. “Very well, have it your way” Daybreaker replied as she launched her first offensive spell. A thin red beam emanating from the tip of her horn and into Twilight’s shield.
As soon as the constant red beam connected with her shield, Twilight winced lightly as she was immediately forced to a standstill in order to strengthen her barrier. Despite this, the attack was significantly weaker than she had originally expected it to be. But as the seconds ticked by, it progressively grew stronger and there for larger in size.
‘She is testing me! Daybreaker is testing the durability of my barrier so she knows how strong her attacks have to be to keep me at bay without going overboard! So the longer I keep this up, the better the chances of my plan succeeding are.’ Twilight deduced.
As numb as her horn was and as much as her hooves ached. Twilight had to stand her ground and endure the assault for as long as possible. Even growing desperate enough to completely dispel the tiles that weren’t being attacked, just so she could pour every ounce of magic into those that were. Because the instant her barrier showed signs of cracking, Daybreaker would stop her attack and that would be the intensity of her attacks from then on. And Twilight needed them to be as strong as possible.
Daybreaker watched as Twilight fortified her barrier, she disapproved of the fact that she was effectively putting all of her eggs in one basket. However she was more impressed in Twilight’s ability to withstand the attack, expecting her to start faltering near the thirty second mark while she lasted for nearly one full minute.
“I knew you were powerful Twilight, even when you were still a unicorn. But this amount of strength is unnatural. Within a couple of decades your magic may even rival mine, excluding my celestial powers of course.” Daybreaker complimented.
Twilight struggled to pay attention to what Daybreaker was saying. Her legs wobbling, struggling to support her weight while her horn felt as if it was on fire. “I told…you of…my accomplishments” Twilight panted out, her chest inflating and deflating heavily in-between words. “And you still…underestimate me!”
As soon as Twilight finished that sentence, exertion was beginning to take over and she still needed to save what little energy she still had remaining in order to finish the fight. Determining that Daybreaker’s attacks should be strong enough, Twilight eased up on her magic output a little, causing her barrier to steadily crack across the outer edges. Daybreaker immediately cancelling her attack.
Twilight did the same by dispelling her damaged barrier. She wanted nothing more than to collapse on the ground and catch her breath. But a quick glance up at the timer indicated that she didn’t have time for that.
‘Seven minutes.’
Not giving herself a chance to recuperate, Twilight attempted to side step around Daybreaker before she had a chance to change her mind about using offensive magic. As soon as Twilight moved, Daybreaker narrowed her eyes before channelling an attack.
Before Twilight had a chance to identify what type of attack it was going to be. A large red javelin materialized in the air beside Daybreaker’s head before hurling her way. Taking Twilight by surprise and forcing her to stop to block it, instinctively erecting her basic barrier instead of the more effective hex one.
As soon as the javelin smashed against her barrier, it immediately shattered and cracks instantly scattered all across the surface of her barrier, only barely holding against the powerful attack. Causing Twilight’s eyes to shoot wide open as a sharp pain flared through her horn. “Hmmm I was sure you would be able to hold against that. Perhaps I should tone it down a bit more.” Daybreaker stated.
Twilight was too exhausted to hide her frustration, her lips curving upwards into a light snarl. Even though she got what she wanted, she still needed to make it seem believable and if she proved she was incapable of defending against these type of attacks, then they would only get weaker or stop being used in general. “Alright, let’s give this one a shot.” Daybreaker said as she launched another javelin towards Twilight. This one a bit smaller than the first.
Since Twilight was expecting the attack this time round, and that the attack was weaker than the first. Twilight was capable of defending against it much easier, though there were still a few cracks along the outer edges. But with the amount of strain that she was putting on her horn, every strike her barrier absorbed was complete agony for her. Especially when the attacks, despite them being weakened, were still leagues above of what she was capable of defending consistently.
“Appears defendable…still a few cracks. Maybe I will tone it down a little more, to be o-“ Daybreaker started but was cut off by a magenta blast aimed at her head that she easily managed duck underneath off. Twilight not wanting Daybreaker to even finish that line of thought before continuing her charge.
Daybreaker smirked at this as she decided to complicate things a little. Rearing up onto her hind hooves, a small red ball formed at the tip of her long white horn. Causing Twilight to stop in her tracks and stare at Daybreaker in confusion. ‘I can’t identify this spell!’ Twilight thought, unsure on what she should do as she watched red electricity spark around Daybreaker’s horn before transferring to her forehooves.
Even though Twilight still couldn’t identify what the spell was, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Daybreaker was going to slam her hooves back down onto the ground and something annoying would happen. In hindsight, Twilight probably should do something other than stand there, but she was too absorbed in this strange new type of magic that she had never seen before.
As Daybreaker moved back down to slam her hooves onto the ground. Twilight snapped back to reality and quickly took off into the air, assuming whatever the attack was would affect the ground.
Once in the air, Twilight glanced back down to see that her assumption was indeed correct. Watching intently as the tiny bolts of red electricity danced back and forth between the individual blades of grass across the entire field. Daybreaker joining her in the air seconds later, launching a red blob at Twilight’s wings while she was distracted.
Twilight turned back around at the perfect time, barely having enough time to erect a barrier to block the incoming attack. The blob collided with her shield, sticking to it for a couple of seconds before slowly sliding off and falling to the ground. Leaving behind a slimy reddish trail across the centre of her barrier. “Gross! And I got hit by that too” Twilight groaned, her body shivering at the thought of it.
Though that thought was quickly pushed aside as her eyes widened at the fire swirling around Daybreaker’s horn. “W-wait! You’re using your celestial powers!” Twilight exclaimed in surprise. Causing Daybreaker to grin widely.
“Casting more than one spell at a time is quite annoying, easily doable with my level of experience, but annoying. And since my celestial powers are something completely different to the magic you and the other unicorns use, it would take much less effort for me to do things this way instead.” Daybreaker explained as she launched a fireball directly at Twilight.
Even though she had plenty of time to dodge it, Daybreaker using her celestial powers took Twilight by surprise and caused her to hesitate. Instead, she blocked it with her hex barrier, not having time to fortify any of the tiles as it collided with her shield. Causing her to wince in pain as her horn stung from the powerful impact. Her barrier able to hold but also sending her back a small distance.
Twilight quickly understood why Daybreaker wanted her up here instead of the ground. There was nothing she could do against the seemingly endless barrage of fireballs. She managed to find time to fortify the appropriate tiles in-between the attacks, making defending against them a lot easier and much less stressful on her horn. But every time one collided with her shield, it pushed her back a little bit and her wings weren’t strong enough to regain the lost progress before another one struck, creating a recurring cycle of her getting pushed back.
Twilight would have preferred to put her plan into action on the ground. But with the electricity still affecting the ground and steadily losing progress, she had a feeling that Daybreaker would switch back to her non-combat spells if pushed back far enough.
Not having a choice but to put her trust into Daybreaker. Twilight blocked the next two attacks before gasping loudly in pain. The wing that Daybreaker struck previously when Twilight saved Rarity in the throne room visibly tensed up, causing her wing to slow down and upset her balance mid-air.
As a result, Twilight dispelled her shield. A fireball striking her square in the chest causing her to let out a loud, legitimate cry of pain as she plummeted out of the sky. A tiny trail of black smoke emanating from her chest as she fell.
Twilight kept flapping her wings in attempt to recover from the fall. The uninjured one working as intended while the damaged one struggled to keep up. This allowed her rapid descent to slow down ever so slightly, but also made her spin in a circle, making her lose her bearings.
“Twilight!” Daybreaker’s worried voice cried out.
Just seconds before impact, Twilight felt Daybreaker crash against her side. The deity managing to slow down their descent a decent bit, but even she wasn’t able to stop it entirely. Feeling a hoof wrap across the back of her head, followed by what felt like Daybreaker’s wings around the rest of her body, they crashed against the ground that was no longer affected by the electricity. Daybreaker absorbing the brunt of the fall as they rolled across the ground. “I knew this duel was a bad idea! I knew it! You said your wings were fully healed!” Daybreaker scolded, seemingly unharmed despite the rough landing. Though her voice was filled with concern and fear instead of anger or disappointment.
Twilight felt Daybreaker’s grip loosen around her, presumably to examine her injuries. Her large armored covered hoof trailing against the edges of her blackened chest before trailing to her supposedly injured wing. “Your chest is in a pretty bad shape, however I can’t see anything wrong with your wing. Perhaps a diagnostic spell will reveal something. Try not to move too much, you will be fine but I’d rather not leave it to chance.” Daybreaker instructed.
Unable to see the clock with Daybreaker’s head blocking her vision. Twilight disregarded Daybreaker’s instructions and wrapped her hooves around the deity’s neck before burying her face into her warm white chest. “It hurts…It hurts so much!” Twilight whined out.
“I know Twilight, I know. Just try not to move and I will do my best to alleviate as much of the pain as I possibly can.” Daybreaker reassured while comfortingly stroking the back of Twilight’s head.
Closing her eyes, Daybreaker's horn lit up as she channelled a diagnostic spell. It would have been much more effective hovering her horn above the injured areas, but she didn’t really want to let Twilight go, for numerous reasons.
“Well I can happily say that your chest looks a lot worse than it actually is and should go back to its usual beautiful lavender colour within the month, with the appropriate treatment of course. I would heal it now if I could, but nerves are a lot trickier to heal compared to cuts and other similar injuries. So I will let the medical team who specialize in this field take care of it. It should only take a few days before they discharge you, but if it takes longer than that…well, I’m sure we can still find ways to entertain ourselves.” Daybreaker analysed before moving onto Twilight’s wing next.
Daybreaker’s face scrunched up in confusion as she did a double take on her wing. “That’s strange…As far as I can tell there isn’t anything wrong with your wing. Other than the obvious signs of exertion, even then that shouldn’t be enough for it to give out on you.” Daybreaker mulled as she cancelled her spell and reopened her eyes.
The first thing Daybreaker spotted was the bright magenta glow around her chest from where Twilight’s head was buried into. Daybreaker was about to ask Twilight what she was doing before it suddenly clicked. Scrambling to break free from the grip Twilight had around her neck, she couldn’t break free in time before Twilight unleashed her spell. The same close range shockwave spell that Twilight casted near the beginning of the match when Daybreaker had her pinned. Only this time it being significantly more powerful from it being charged up for so long and at point blank too. Sending Daybreaker flying across the field and slamming into the concrete wall.
For almost the entire duel, Twilight couldn’t figure out why Daybreaker never blocked this attack. Why she looked so surprised when she saw her channelling it. The only explanation she could come up with was that it couldn’t be blocked, she had no idea why that would be the case and was something she planned to talk to Daybreaker about when this was all done.
Twilight looked over at where Daybreaker landed, unable to see her through the thicket of dust and shards of broken stone that now surrounded the area. Twilight was not expecting that spell to be so powerful and wanted nothing more than to rush over there and see if she was alright. But this was a duel and as much as she hated putting her objective above the well-being of those she cared about. She needed to win this in order to get back home.
Doing her best to ignore the searing pain in her chest, Twilight got back up onto her aching hooves which refused to co-operate with her. Regaining her bearings, Twilight looked over at the gong in the distance, just now realizing that she had been pushed back further than she expected. Practically at the beginning on her side of the field. But this time there was nopony standing in the way of her objective.
The first few steps were the most difficult, her hooves struggling to support her weight after not being used for those few moments. But once they got used to it, she managed to turn her walk into a slight trot, before developing it into a steady gallop. Eventually recovering all the progress that she had lost and more.
When she was at the gong, she extended her hoof to sound it. But a sudden force that yanked at her tail stopped her dead in her tracks, causing her to yelp loudly in surprise. “That…was dirty”. A familiar ragged voice said in-between breaths.
Twilight was so close to victory that she could practically taste it, but with Daybreaker once again being an obstacle, she was simultaneously so far away. She flared her wings and flapped them a couple of times as fast as she could to break free, her supposedly injured wing now working perfectly. She didn’t even have to sound the gong, all she had to do was touch it and she was so close.
Though she felt another hoof grab her wing firmly and before she knew it she was slammed to the ground, Daybreaker once again standing in-between her and the gong.
Having gotten back onto her hooves for what felt like the millionth time. Twilight was now able to see just how devastating her attack really was, a surge of guilt washing over her entire body.
Blood covered the top of Daybreaker’s forehead as well as the left side of her head just below her ear. A small amount of already dried up blood having trickled its way down from her forehead to her cheek. Her right wing was dislocated and hung limply against her side, fully extended and dragging across the ground, a few feathers missing in random areas.
A large cut ran up her left forehoof, across her lower back just above where her cutie mark was and the side of her neck. With a bunch of much smaller cuts, all varying in size across the rest of her body, especially her back which took the brunt of the impact. “I can’t believe…I actually fell for that…I see you understand….why my sister….wants you.” Daybreaker breathed out, her voice rather hoarse before coughing violently.
Even though Daybreaker’s mane wasn’t flickering like it usually did whenever she was upset or angry, she certainly looked pissed. Though it seemed that her anger was more directed at herself than anything.
Twilight’s eyes darted between Daybreaker and the gong. With Daybreaker having a dislocated wing, it was only logical to abuse her aerial advantage. Flaring her wings, she was about to take off into the sky, but despite how injured Daybreaker appeared, she certainly moved as if she didn’t have a single scratch on her. And before she knew it she was tackled to the ground, her teeth gritting together as Daybreaker pressed herself against her scorched chest.
Daybreaker pressed her forehead firmly against Twilight’s, their horns crossing while Daybreaker rested all four hooves on top of Twilight’s so she couldn’t move anywhere.
Twilight attempted to cast another shockwave spell to force Daybreaker off her, but when the magic around her horn fizzled away, her mouth opened slightly in surprise. She tried to recast the spell, even casting a bunch of other random spells, including non-combat orientated ones. But every time her horn lit up, Daybreaker’s horn lit up in return and negated whatever Twilight was trying to channel.
“I am done…playing Twilight Sparkle…This ends now.” Daybreaker breathed out.
Twilight couldn’t see the timer with Daybreaker’s large, exhausted, bloodied yet strangely attractive face blocking most of her vision. And with Daybreaker putting all of her weight onto her limbs, she couldn’t break free.
‘No! I have come too far to lose now! There has to be something, anything I can do to break free, even if it is only for a second. It’s right there for Celestia’s sake!’ Twilight thought desperately.
Twilight tried to wriggle her head to look around, but with Daybreaker’s forehead pressed firmly against hers, it made it rather difficult to do that. Even in the off chance she did find something she could use, there was nothing she could do to even grab it, let alone use it. And convincing Daybreaker to loosen her grip or let her use magic would go just as well as her Nightmare Moon claim.
Twilight’s eyes shifted to the now dried up blood across Daybreaker’s forehead. Not being able to do anything, she decided that talking would be worth a shot. “Are you all right? I had my assumptions about that spell, but if I knew it would have done this to you, I wouldn’t have casted it in the first place. I’m so so sooo sorry.” Twilight apologized, even though this was to get Daybreaker’s guard down, she was legitimately concerned about her well-being.
“We will talk about this when I win…I had my reasons for holding back…And look what that brought me…You do whatever it takes to win…It is either kill or be killed…Don’t hold back!” Daybreaker replied, still out of breath though she was slowly beginning to recover.
Twilight hated the thought of harming any pony else, despised it in fact and was quick to let that part slide in one ear and out the other. But the words ‘You do whatever it takes to win’ and 'Don't hold back' echoed repeatedly in her mind.
Twilight’s eyes trailed down from Daybreaker’s injuries towards her lips, making her think back to what happened back in Daybreaker’s chambers and what possibly could have happened if Raven didn’t interrupt them by knocking on the door. Even though she couldn’t cast magic or move her body. She could still in fact move her head to a certain degree.
Forcing down all the thoughts that attempted to plague Twilight’s mind, she decided that the repercussions of her actions would be future Twilight’s concern. Not giving herself a chance to second guess herself, Twilight violently jerked her head upwards, moving her head just enough to catch Daybreaker’s lips with her own.
The slight metallic taste of blood was the first sensation that crossed Twilight's mind. But after a few seconds, a few new ones arose. Such as how soft Daybreaker’s lips felt against her own and how warm the inside her mouth was.
Twilight couldn’t see Daybreaker’s reaction to the sudden kiss, but she could feel the weight slowly shift off her hind hooves and transfer to her upper body as the deity returned the kiss. Twilight groaning in pain as Daybreaker’s chest rubbed harder against her injuries, which could easily be misinterpreted as a moan. However it still wasn’t enough to allow her to break free.
Twilight knew she had to win this, otherwise everything she had done would be for naught. And if that meant kissing her mentor who also doubled as a mother figure in a way, then she wasn’t going to hold back.
Twilight slid her tongue into the warm confines of Daybreaker’s mouth, trailing it across her bottom row of teeth before flicking it off against her right fang.
This was not how Twilight imagined her first kiss would go down, not at all. There were dozens of romantic scenarios where she imagined where her first kiss would be and how it would come about. Though she silently thanked her realities' Rarity for forcing all of those cheesy romance novels onto her, otherwise she wouldn’t have a single clue on how to kiss other than ‘Apply own lips firmly against recipient’s.’
The moment Twilight’s tongue flicked off Daybreaker’s fang. She felt Daybreaker lean further into the kiss, the weight on her hind hooves shifting almost entirely onto her upper body, giving her the opening she most desperately needed.
Just as Daybreaker was about to add her own spice to the kiss. She felt something collide with her hind leg, causing it to give out from underneath her, thus forcing their lips to break apart.
“Sorry!” Twilight quickly apologized as she broke her forehoof away from Daybreaker’s grasp, further upsetting the deity’s balance and struck her across the cheek once again. Forcing Daybreaker off her entirely, allowing her to get back onto her hooves for hopefully the final time.
For good measure she sent a small projectile of pure magic towards Daybreaker. She didn’t wait and see whether it hit or not. Instead she immediately sprinted towards the gong, flicking her tail upwards for good measure in case Daybreaker tried swiping at it again.
This time there was nothing to stop her. No knockback spell sending her sliding across the ground. No pony standing in-between her and the gong or pinning her to the ground. And thankfully none of that disgusting, slimy red goo sticking to her body.
With one final thrust of her wings, Twilight crashed shoulder first into the gong, resulting in a loud ‘dong’ sound before collapsing to the ground.
Twilight’s head immediately shot up to the clock in the sky, a wide smile on her face that could even rival pinkies'. “One minute twelve seconds! I WIN!” Twilight squeed loudly as she glanced down at Daybreaker, who hasn’t seem to have registered the fact that she had lost yet. Sitting comfortably on her haunches as the tip of her armored hoof brushed ever so slightly against her lower lip, which slowly curved into a large, smitten smile.
This caused Twilight’s cheeks to turn a bright crimson red, the thought process of what just happened catching up with her. She was still able to feel the warmth and tingling sensation of Daybreaker’s lips against her own.
Flaring her wings, Twilight wrapped them around her body before burying her head behind them, hiding her flushed face while mumbling incoherently.
“Oh sweet Celestia, What have I done.”
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If you ever see the signs of another combat scene approach...Do us all a favor and tell me to stop
9493433
Alright, if I see the telltale signs of another combat scene, I will heavily encourage you to stay the course! One of the best chapters yet! And that ending was perfect!
Oh fuck... Yep, Twilight's reaction sums it up perfectly.
But hot damn, that battle scene!
Ah yes...
Almost at 100k words...
Tip, tip, FRIEND ZONE!
: ^ )
P.S. Yes I done did it and no I don't regret it also, love you.
You launched the monarch into a wall using a spell that you have next to nothing about. Then after said monarch manages to recover and pin you down, you decided to have a lip battle with said monarch. After which you broke said kiss and rung the gong. That sound about right because that's what I saw. Overall I would say Daybreaker is going to be a mix of enraged, proud, embarrassed, happy and some other things, soooo you are likely screwed.
Great chapter can't wait to see more.
9493433
i will not ... that was an epic combat ...
great job eager for more
i for one have always thought twilight was had a connect to Stars. be funny to see twilight somehow pull out an urse major out of no where to fight for her, like the starbeast see her as they alpha/goddess and leader
Hahahaha. Oh , that was good.
Yes Twilight , you won. You even won more than intended.
Now , deal with the consequences , all of them
Daybreaker certainly didn't expect that!!!
I would like to know how twilight's Celestia is coping. And what is happening at home.
Why did your proofreader only work on one chapter, not even the first one at that?
When in doubt, fight dirty. If that fails, fight dirty.
9493520
You're forgetting "aroused".
I have 3 comments:
9493433
No promises. Thank you for another amazing chapter!
I'll be honest, I expected Twilight to use emotion to her advantage because there's just no way she can duel Daybreaker with raw strength alone.
I haven't PM'd you yet, apologies. I've been very busy.
Still thank you for the read! Keep it up (please).
Daybreaker: “Have you committed a war crime yet? Then obviously you aren’t fighting hard enough.”
9494065
No Problem! I should be thanking you for another wonderful comment!
I admit it was difficult since, as you said, Twilight had no chance of defeating Daybreaker. Being able literally crush her within thirty seconds flat, probably not even that.
No rush, take as much time as you need and my inbox is always available to anyone at all times ^-^
And don't worry! I have no intention of stopping
9493747
I'm sure Twilight would be examining that theory in extreme detail.
9493726
I felt a sense of accomplishment every time i uploaded a chapter. Upon receiving help i did't feel that sense of accomplishment anymore. It made things a lot easier but being able to say i wrote a story by myself makes me more proud.
9493520
Yeah that pretty much sums the ending up ^-^ Glad you enjoyed it!
9493457
I'm glad you consider that to be the case! I was incredibly hesitant with this one...like incredibly hesitant, constantly going back and rewriting it because i was that paranoid about it. Took me a good minute to hit that publish button.
9493514
Ni-Ni-Ni-Nice Meme!
Also ya still have to read it ya bloody tosspot!
9493927
Dammit your right, how could I have forgot aroused. Thank you kindly stranger.
Why twilight dear you won
Amazing, simply amazing. After all that time they finally kissed! Also, that has to be the most dirty, underhoof tactics I've ever seen Twilight use. But still, it was simply amazing. On a different note,
I can't really tell if this is a joke about horses or a misspelling, but if it's a misspelling the correct word is hoarse; which is used to describe a person's voice when it sounds rough and harsh
So... spicy lewd scenes when?
Machiavellian Pony - Fighting dirty is Magic
After a one sided battle, Twilight wins by kissing Daybreaker... Nice!
Yayyyy!!!! Evil Celestia makes Twilight squeee hard. Mwahahaaaa haaa
Final Tactic.... Make Love and not war
Okay i have to point out some stuff about orientation, in order to help you get oriented on how to use orient. Orientated is repetitive
She was knocked wildly aside and was dizzy as she tried to orient herself in time. Once oriented on her target she returned the favor with vigor.
This chapter was worth the wait.
Maybe Twilight develop a thing for DayBreaker's fangs? :3
Yeah it was a really nice chapter, but the pacing was not the best. Honestly to me the fight just dragged on to the point where I started just skimming ahead to get through it faster. I'd say you could probably trim this chapter down to about half the current length and not really lose anything of major importance. Still though, I enjoyed it for the most part and still eagerly await future chapters.
9494609
Oddly enough it wasn't intentional and was indeed a mispell, thank you very much for picking that up and i will change that right away ^-^ I guess writing about ponies has finally got to me. And i'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter
This was really well made. It was something I didn’t even know I would like. I’m really curious to see how it goes from here. A few grammar errors here and there, but nothing too serious. Like I said, I enjoyed the story so far and look forward to more.
lol
Out of curiosity, What would’ve Daybreaker make Twilight do if Twilight lost?
To be honest the proposed "romance" is looking morr dicey with every chapter, given how Daybreakee seems so controlling and abusive I don't see how this can end without Twilight being beaten into place as Daybreaker's love slave.
Okay, here we go: MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRE
9524878
I'm very glad to hear you enjoyed it so much that you came back to comment again ^-^ I did take a little break since that duel chapter drained me, but more is definately coming, I promise you that!
I thought your username seemed familiar, so I looked down a few comments and there you were
9524974
I know, I just had to say what everyone was thinking. Anyhow, you should check out my story “Prehistoric Thunder” and tell me what you think of that (seriously, I need some guidance. I’m stuck)
A ship sailed this very mor’
And sitting by the dock
Many faces shouted
Dotting then was my own
Yet every night
Despite the chance of blight
I’ll take a dingy our to sea
To catch a glimpse of her beauty
Yeah, while not a fan of ships this one has definitely fit into a weird niche where I am all too pleased with it. Keep up the good work and may the future blossom!
Yeah.... I don't think that counts as a win and "being able to defend herself". What, does she think she's gonna surprise her opponents by faking injuries and kissing them?
9587158
Unless you consider using 'psychological warfare' as a tactic
9520810
Please do share them. 
Have you read others?
9587158
All is fair in love and war.
9587158
She needs to last long enough for the guards to arrive, not win the battle. lasting about.... 12 minutes against a celestial who isn't trying to actually kill her is still pretty good. Nightmare doesn't want to kill Twilight, she knows converting Twilight to her side would hurt more to Celestia than outright killing her again. Sure, killing her is still an option, but there is a better option on the table so it's more logical to explore that option before putting someone 6 feet under
Darn. We really hoped she would lose. There will be repercussions for this...
The shocker! and if that doesn't rock her, give her the Spocker!
You mean these flying offers?
This reminds me of this deathbattle
https://youtu.be/JrvEWWYLDHM?t=769
Insert Otacon asking if love can bloom on the battlefield here
I had a feeling Twilight may exploit Daybreaker's soft spot for her and she did so twice. Clever girl.
Damn, that was a brutal attack Twilight did. Completely unexpected.
You have earned my respect with this chapter good sir/ma'am!