Parry and Riposte

by armid

Talk of blades

Even though I would have loved to stick around and chat with Twilight more, I had to be somewhere else tonight and I simply didn’t have much time to waste. Probably. Because Flaming Star didn’t necessarily specify when I should be there.

I waved goodbye to Twilight and picked my motorcycle and drove home. I was so tired! I just had to sleep! You may think sitting down and discussing what has happened in the past may not be really tiring. And you’ll be right. It’s exhausting.

Sadly I was not going to have the luxury of sleep since I still needed something to eat! After I changed my clothes, I walked up to the fridge, begging for there to be something in there. Just something I could eat and call it a day. After opening the fridge, I was left with disappointment. Nothing. It felt as if something punched me in the face. I picked up my phone and ordered a pizza. I should remind myself that no matter how much stuff is going on in my head I should not forget my groceries on Saturdays!

I dropped on the couch to take a nap until the delivery arrived. My mind was flooded. Even though I was relieved that I spit out whatever I was holding, I couldn’t help how Steely Armor would digest it. I couldn’t possibly expect everyone to forgive what I’ve done like Princess Twilight and the rest of the girls. I wouldn’t blame him for not doing so but, I just couldn’t get over it either. Maybe I just had to be patient and hope for the best.

My eyes closed slowly and the last thing I recall was the doorbell ringing. It felt as if I only closed them for a second but after looking at the clock, half an hour had already passed. I tried to get up as fast as I could to answer the door but I ended up dropping face first onto the floor. After that, I sucked up the pain and walked to the door.

I apologized for keeping the delivery guy waiting and gave him the payment. Even though I was still sleepy, the smell of hot meal gave me energy. Chicken and pepper paired with mushrooms and beef all together with cheese just smelled so delicious. I didn’t even bother to move on to the couch and eat it. I sat down in front of the door and enjoyed my dinner. I don’t usually eat pizza. Or any outdoor food for that matter. I simply can’t afford to constantly keep paying. I have to keep up with the rent and save up a little. Speaking of which, I had to work again tomorrow and make sure I had enough money for the rent.

But I didn’t want to let the worries of life take away the joy of eating the delicious pizza I currently had in my disposal. So I brushed those thoughts away and took joy in every bite of pizza.

I stretched a little bit after the pizza and got ready to head out. I made sure I was not wearing something very flashy. Slaughter alley was considered downtown and the last thing I wanted was getting picked up by muggers and harassers. I stuffed my fencing outfit in my gym bag and put a hat on top of my head for good measures.

I had to break through Flaming Star. He wasn’t listening. I had to win. No matter how tired or exhausted I was, nor how good he is, I had to beat him to get him to listen.

I hopped on my motorcycle and drove there. But I left it a couple of streets behind. It was safer that way. I walked the rest of the way making sure I wasn't gathering attention to myself. The problem was that I didn’t know where I should have gone. I was just standing alone in the streets. Alone, at night. I decided to look around a bit more. Watching my back constantly to make sure no one was stalking me. And then, all of a sudden someone just appeared in front of me.

“So you actually showed up.” The figure said. They were wearing fencing gears and had a fencing mask that had white coloring to indicate the eyes. But the voices sounded familiar.

I soon realized it was in fact Flaming Star. “Oh, uhm...well of course I showed up.”

He just started walking and I followed.

“Now listen,” he said as we walked. “This is not like one of those “fencing matches” you’ve had before. It's serious sparring. Meaning there are punches, kicks, grappling and all that. We don’t use actual weapons but the replicas are as heavy so be mindful of that too.”

So that’s what he meant by a more serious match. But little did he know that I had gone through karate training. And that might have given me an advantage.

“there are only two way of winning” Flaming Star continued and showed the number two with his fingers, “get 25 points or disarm your opponent"

"25 points?" I asked.

"Yeah, here we don't stop the duel after each point, the judges will keep the count so don't worry.” He looked at me from over his shoulder and continued. “And about how the points are distributed: you will only gain a point if your blade hits the opponent not by any other means, hitting the lower parts of limbs will get you 1 point, the upper part of limbs 2, face and head 5 and chest is 10 for thrust and 5 for slashes."

"so the fight doesn’t stop!"

"Nope.”

I never had a match like that. Ever. But Flaming Star on the other hand, sounded like he has been doing this quite often.

“Now, let me settle this here and now.” Flaming Star turned back, “Injuries are a norm there. Ankles twist. Joins get dislocated. And sometimes bones break. So if you think you can’t take it, here is your chance to leave.” he pointed towards where we just came from.

I couldn’t tell whether he was trying to scare me away or he was serious. However, I couldn’t back out now. I had to get Flaming Star to listen. He was still new to magic and I didn’t want him to stay away from us and didn't ask for help when he needed it because he doesn’t trust me or anyone else.

“I’ll be fine.”

He didn’t respond and instead walked up to the door at the end of the alley. A big blue door with a peephole on it. He knocked on it in a certain pattern. Moments later someone opened the small peephole door and after taking a look at us he opened the door to let us in.

Before going in, he stopped me one more time. “Last warning. Are you sure about where you’re stepping?”

I pushed his hand away. “Yes.” And walked in.

“Be careful in there.”

There was a large ring in the middle of a bare room with many people around it. Walls filled with graffiti and stains. Those who were inside all were wearing protective gear. Some were normal puffy and some looked like steel. I believe someone was wearing a gambeson but I wasn’t sure. I thought that I should change too so I asked Flaming Star where I could do so bad he pointed me to the place.

As I was walking towards the changing room I could sense that people were eying me. Was it because I was new or was it because of something else. Either way, I get there. The state of the walls and floor was as bad if not worse than the walls in the main room. But no one was there and I could change my clothes with ease.

I took off my street jacket and pulled my jacket and gloves out of my gym bag. Then I dropped my sweat pants and wore my knickers. After putting on the gloves and helmet I was ready. I had dropped my jacket and jeans in the gym bag. But I didn’t know where I should have put it. I was going to have a match in a ring, spectated by many in a few moments. I needed to put my clothes somewhere secure.

After looking around I found that the best place would be in the corner of the changing room. My best bet would have been making sure no one notices it and hopefully no one steals it from the dark corner. I left the changing room and headed back into the fighting room.

“You ready to lose?” Flaming Star said. He was leaning on the wall next to the door of the changing room.

He almost made me jump. I did let out a gasp but that was it. “I’m here to get you to listen. And if that means I must beat you, I will!”

He stopped leaning and walked off. Heading towards the ring. “Come. It’s time.”

I walked to the ring. I walked up separate stairs to get to the ring. After a few minutes the speaker said "Attention all fighters! We are having a fencing duel!"

The crowd started cheering.

"On my right side, we've got the sneakiest fencer of all time. The shadow of the night. THE GHOST!"

The crowd started cheering and the Flaming Star stepped into the ring from his side. He was wielding a sabre replica.

"And on my left side, we've got a new Fencer. A determined fencer….the...uh..."

Someone walked up to me and handed me a sabre replica. “Hey, what's your fighting name?”

“My what?”

“You’re fighting name! What is it!?”

I took a moment to think. There really wasn’t much time to think it all through so I just went with the first thing that came into my mind. “Phoenix”

The person left after that.

“...As I was saying...our other contester...THE PHOENIX!”

The lights focused on me. They were blinding me a bit so I brought my hand in front of my face to block the lights.

The crowd also cheered me as I stepped in. Flaming Star was standing on the other corner. The match was about to start so I held my guard.

“Now Now. Please calm down and let the duel BEGIN!” the announcer said and after I heard the ding of the bell, I knew the match was on.

Right from the get go, Flaming Star rushed forward and swung his sabre at me rapidly. I was not expecting such an aggressive start from him but I tried my best to block them all. I noticed that what he said about the replicas were true. They held roughly the same weight as an actual sword.

After a series of strikes, our swords binded and he controlled mine and brought my guard down. And then he shoulder tackled me back. After I took a few steps back I remembered that everything was allowed.

We were back in neutral ground. Both holding our guards up and looking for an opening. He charged again. Once again, our swords binded, this time however, he kicked me in the stomach. That hurt a lot. But I couldn’t stop, he was thrusting and I needed to hold him off. As I was groaning in pain, he managed to get a couple of hits on my arm and shoulder.

I swung my sword around to make him back off.

“Wanna give up?” He said as he stepped back.

I had to think smart. He was being way more aggressive this time around and he was giving his all for sure.

I stepped forward and swung my sword from down-left to up-right and followed it by turning the sword around and came back the way I just swung. Flaming Star stepped back and ignored my blows. He landed another thrust on my chest and wanted to go for the second one. I hit his sword and redirected his sword to the side. I took the chance I had and kicked him in his knee.

He growled in pain and kneeled for a second. I used the opportunity and landed a hit on his head. I brought my hand up to land another attack but Flaming Star brought his replica sword up and caught my replicate blade. It was then that I noticed he had switched hands and his right hand was coming right into my face in the form of a fist.

That punch really hurt. I stumbled back and took a moment to get back on my feet. Flaming Star on the other hand, was still groaning. The crowd was cheering for us both. They were enjoying what they were seeing.

“You filthy rat!” Flaming Star shouted in pain. He growled once more and then shook his leg and walked to me with aggression.

He raised his sword and started striking furiously. I bright my guard up and blocked them. Each hit was stronger than the last and made it harder to hold my guard still.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT?” He said as he kept striking furiously. “WASN’T EVERYTHING YOU’VE DONE ALREADY NOT ENOUGH? DIDN’T YOU GET WHAT YOU WANTED?”

I couldn’t keep up anymore. I let our swords bind and then I pushed him back.

“I just wanted to talk to you!” I said.

He came back with a series of thrust and kept it up. I believe he hit me one more time in the belly but wasn’t sure. I swung at his sword and spin kicked him in the chest.

He stopped rushing in and waited for his breath to catch up. I did too but I held my guard up just in case.

“Why should I listen to you?” Flaming Star asked as he was still continuously breathing.

“I just wanted to help!” I said in between breaths.

“You can’t just invade others' lives on the excuse of helping them!”

I stayed silent. I didn’t know what to say. On one hand he was right. I got desperate and carried away and ended up abusing my magic. But it was for a good reason. I wanted to make sure Steely Armor wasn’t going through what Twilight did.

Once I looked at him again, he threw his sword up. I was both confused as to why he did that and distracted by it. My eyes were following the sword and I didn’t notice him running at me full speed. Before I knew it, he tackled me on the foot. I dropped face first onto the floor. I turned back and rubbed where he tackled me. It really hurt a lot. But then, I was kicked back down. Flaming Star stood on top of me, stretched his hand and caught his falling sword. I realized I was still holding onto my sabre so I tried to bring it up and force him to back off. But suddenly, he put his foot on my wrist and kept pressuring it.

“Let...go,” he said.

I couldn’t let go of my sword. If I did in this state, I would have lost by being disarmed. I had to get him to listen. I had to talk things out.

“I said…” He put more pressure on my wrist, “...let...go!”

I growled in pain. Him putting more pressure was making it harder to keep holding on the sword. I wasn’t going to make it. I had to give it another try and hope for the best.

“YOU WERE RIGHT!” I said, growling in pain. “I-I shouldn’t have tried to invade your memories nor should I have broken into Steely Armor’s garage...I’m...sorry.” I continued growling in pain.

After a pause, Flaming Star took his foot off my wrist. Instead, he brought his sword up and thrusted on my chest. “25,” he said and brought his hand forward.

I took it and with his help I got up. The crowd was cheering for him. However after I got up he let go and walked away. I tried to go after him but I had to pick up my gym bag first. To which once I did and came back to find him, he was already gone.

---

I changed my clothes and walked back to where I had parked my motorcycle. Whatever happened, was definitely progress in making things right but, it was but the beginning. I came to the realization that even though I may have had proper reasons as to why I did certain actions, it may not be proper for others.

I will be keeping you updated on how everything is going on here.

Your faithful student and friend, Sunset Shimmer

Author's Note:

Make sure to read the last chapter.

Comments

[SUPERETHAN2]

I stayed silent. I didn’t know what to say. On one hand he was right. I got desperate and carried away and ended up abusing my magic. But it was for a good reason. I wanted to make sure Steely Armor wasn’t going through what Twilight did.

I have read some fics that had Sunset and/ or the girls do questionable things for a self-righteous reason, usually to force the OC to be friends and they usually are never called out for them and the OC for some reason don't cut ties with her/ them. It's nice to see an OC not only do that but rightfully call her out on it. Whether or not Flaming Star or Steely Armor forgives her or not, at the very least she will have to work on regaining Flaming's trust, if that's even possible.

[armid]

11053599
I am glad you like that.