Lawmare

by Jade Ring

Interlude 2- Final Trial

The Lawmares and apprentices are seated in the circular pavilion's benches. There is an air of excitement about them, muttering and whispered gossip all around. This is quite the unexpected development. Most of the mares and fillies had been on their way back to the barracks for lunch when the pavilion's bells rang, calling them to assemble here. It could only mean one thing.

Somepony is about to take her final trial.

Some of the newest apprentices are confused, wondering what's going on. Final trials are supposed to be scheduled months in advance, aren't they? Was there some kind of scheduling error? And, if a final trial was indeed about to commence, then who was the mare who'd had the temerity to demand her trial on such short notice?

It isn't a question to any of the Lawmares or apprentices with longer tenures. They know exactly who the mare in question is.

The chattering peters out as the inner gates of the arena swing open. Two mares walk in, side by side, the sand beneath their hooves muting their entrance. They match each other step for step, each with her head held high. They reach the arena's center and turn, walking in opposite directions. Their march is stoic, unbroken. Though they can't see one another, they somehow manage to stop simultaneously and turn in place, facing one another dead on.

Sunset Shimmer reaches up, removes her hat, and holds it over her heart. "Hile, my Lawmares!" She cries. "My sisters in life and in death! Say true; are we well met?"

A mixture of "Ayes!" and "Yars!" comes from the assembled crowd.

"Indeed. We are well met." She looks around at the fillies and mares. "I know most of you are confused. After all, is not a summoning to this ring not the culmination of a great festival? There is meant to be feasting and drinking before we settle our haunches on these splintery old boards, is there not?"

"Say true! I'm thirsty!" One mare calls out, inciting laughter from those around her.

"Truth be told, I'm a might parched myself. So let's all hope that the mare who has summoned us here today in such an... unorthodox manner is up to the task. For, if she succeeds, we'll just do the feasting and drinking afterwards!" She lets the crowd cheer before pointing her hat at the mare across from her. "Apprentice! Know that you stand on the sand that your forebears stood upon. The sand they bled upon. That some have even died upon. This pavilion, this arena, has stood here for almost eight hundred years. Far better mares than you or I ever will be have claimed their destiny upon this hallowed earth. Show it respect, I beg." She kneels in the sand and presses her lips to the ground. The apprentice mirrors her. They rise together, and Sunset allows herself a moment of pride when the mare doesn't wipe the grains from her mouth. She raises her hat into the air and once again addresses the crowd. "Sisters, hear me. Hear me very well. Say thank ya." She returns her hat to her head. "Before you stands my own apprentice. Most of you know her. Some of you envy her. There is no denying her skills, nor her aptitude. I've even heard it whispered that some are calling her the finest spellslinger in a generation." Sunset grins savagely. "Sadly, it would appear that my apprentice has heard these whispers and has taken them to heart. I admit; she's always thought pretty highly of herself. But this? This surprises even me." She stomps her hoof, sending a small puff of dust into the air. "Apprentice! Announce yourself. Let us know your name, maggot."

The violet unicorn's voice is even and solid. "My name is Twilight Sparkle."

"Twilight Sparkle." Sunset repeats with a nod. "Your father was a librarian of good standing before he went down the path and into the clearing."

Twilight's shoulders slump ever so slightly. "Say true."

"And your mother is a teacher, one who even taught some of the mares and fillies here."

"You say true."

"And your brother is in the Royal Guard. Rising rapidly in the ranks, so I hear."

"Say..."

"Is that what's brought on this foolishness, maggot!?" Sunset barks, and Twilight is immediately standing straight and tall again. "So jealous of your brother's progression that you'd risk throwing away everything you've been working on for nearly eight years?"

"No, sai Shimmer."

"So you think you're better than your sisters, then? Is that it?" Sunset points at a pair of mares in the crowd, picking them out easily among the pastel mass. "Do you think yourself better than Lyra Heartstrings and Moon Dancer? They are nearing the end of their apprenticeship. Ten years of work, study, and sacrifice all set to culminate in a matter of weeks. Ten years, Twilight. The same as me. The same as every badge-wearing Lawmare here." She stomps the sand again. "Do you think you're better than all of us?"

"No, sai Shimmer." Twilight's gaze is as unwavering and unyielding as steel.

"Then why?" Sunset spins, making a grand gesture towards the assembled Lawmares. "Tell us why you had the audacity to demand your final trial so soon?"

Twilight swallows hard before answering. "Because I'm ready."

"AND WHO ARE YOU TO SAY THAT, MAGGOT?!" Sunset's roar echoes in the pavilion, shaking the old boards. "IT IS NOT YOUR PLACE TO MAKE THAT JUDGMENT! THE DECISION OF YOUR READINESS IS SOLELY IN THE HOOVES OF SHE WHO TEACHES YOU; ME! I AND I ALONE SAY IF YOU'RE READY OR NOT! YOU THINK YOU KNOW BETTER THAN ME?!"

Twilight doesn't move. Doesn't budge a single inch. "No... but I think you know I'm ready, too."

Sunset speak over the crowd as they gasp at Twilight's seeming show of disrespect. "And why would you say that?"

"Because I wouldn't be standing here otherwise." Twilight replies, a small smile crossing her lips.

In the silence that follows, Sunset returns the smile. It fades quickly, however. "Twilight." Her voice is lower now. The others can still hear her, but these words are still meant only for her apprentice. "Please. Call off. You still have time."

"Sunset." Twilight takes a deep breath and licks the sand from her lips. "Please."

The golden unicorn feels a heart-rending surge of love for her first apprentice. She silently prays that this won't go the way she fears it will. "Twilight Sparkle." She takes a deep, calming breath. "By your own volition, you stand before your sisters seeking to join their ranks as a Lawmare. By your own words, you are prepared for this final trial. Say true?"

"Say true."

"You do this knowing the consequences should you fail."

"Aye."

"Then let it be known to us all. Should you pass this trial, you shall join us as a Lawmare. Should you fail, you will depart Canterlot and begin your long trot to the East, never to return. In this trial, you must be prepared to kill, as all Lawmares are at all times. This is your last chance." Sunset tenses and squares herself. "Call off."

"Say sorry, but no." Twilight mirrors Sunset's pose. "It has been an honor learning from you, sai."

Sunset's horn sparks to life. "The honor has been mine, spellslinger."

They move as one, their first spells colliding in the arena's center with an enormous BANG. The attacks are distractions, nothing more. Sunset has already winked behind Twilight in the time it takes to inhale, but Twilight is ready and waiting. Her back legs buck out, knocking the air from her teacher's lungs. Sunset doubles over in shock and pain as Twilight whirls to deliver what could already be the finishing blow, but she falls right into the older mare's trap.

Doubled over, Sunset's horn is right in Twilight's face.

It's her brother's favorite shield spell, the first spell she ever learned, that saves her from direct impact, but the concussive hit still knocks her backwards. She lands on her hooves, shaking it off, but Sunset is already following up with a flurry of strikes from her front hooves. Twilight dodges and weaves, trying to watch Sunset's horn for the next magic attack while trying to choose her own. She falls for Sunset's feint and feels a bright shock of pain as her teacher's hoof collides with her muzzle. Sunset presses her advantage, following up the blow with two more identical strikes before spinning around and aiming a buck of her own. Her hooves meet empty air as Twilight winks away, giving herself some distance to plan her next attack.

The two mares circle one another, watching each other for the slightest move. Twilight wipes a trickle of blood from her muzzle, making Sunset smile. Twilight returns the gesture... before rearing back and slamming her front hooves on the ground. A cyclone of sand surrounds the mare, obscuring her from sight. Sunset observes the funnel for a moment before casting her charm. The sand ceases spinning and flies inward like a swarm of angry bees, but Twilight is already gone. Sunset looks around wildly, ready and waiting for anything her student can throw at her.

Almost anything.

A pair of purple forelegs pop up from the sand beneath her and wrap securely around her own. Sunset only has time for her eyes to widen and utter a muttered curse before she's yanked underground.

The assembled Lawmares and apprentices have watched this all in silence. An eerie quiet settles on the pavilion. Some of the mares look around, unsure of what to do. Moon Dancer leans forward in her seat so far that her glasses are in danger if falling off of her face. "Come on, Twilight." She whispers.

The mares jump as a muffled THUMP is followed by a small mound of sand rising and falling. Another THUMP is followed by another rising mound, and the mares realize as one what's happening; the battle is still on. They just can't see it. They watch in stunned amazement at what little they can see, their imaginations running wild at what must be happening just under the surface. Minutes pass...

...and some of the smaller fillies scream as two shapes explode from the sand and slam to the ground on opposite sides of the arena.

Sunset's hat floats to the earth and sits, as though waiting.

Panting and coughing, the two mares rise on unsteady hooves. They're filthy, covered in sand and clay. A chunk of Twilight's mane is missing. Blood flows from a moderately deep gash on Sunset's flank, but she pays it no mind. The two mares lock eyes... and, amazingly, start laughing.

"I... wasn't sure... that would work..." Twilight giggles, pausing only to cough out more sand.

Sunset shakes her head. "I don't even want to know where you learned that." She catches her breath and swallows hard. "Ready?"

Twilight recovers from her laughing fit and clears her throat. "Let's finish it, then."

The mares loose beams of magic at the same time, and brilliant gold clashes with vibrant purple in the arena's center. The beams struggle against one another, pushing hard, manifesting each mare's will as they press for dominance. The mares grit their teeth with the effort of their casting. Neither gives an inch. It's a stalemate. Each knows that whoever lets their guard down first is going to take a blast of magic so strong they aren't likely to survive. The crowd watches, their jaws slack. This is it...

Shockingly, Twilight closes her eyes and relaxes. Her magic fades to nothing and Sunset's beam envelops her before smashing its way through the very gates the two mares used to enter the ancient arena. Sunset reins in the magic before it can do more damage, sudden sorrow filling her heart. She lowers her guard and falls to the sand, rolling onto her back to try and catch her breath...

...just in time to see Twilight falling towards her, hooves out, like a purple comet.

Sunset's shield charm is instinctual... and exactly what Twilight is waiting for. The apprentice hits Sunset's shield as hard as she can, stunning her teacher with the impact instead of killing her with it. She absorbs the force with a grunt of effort and uses it to launch herself back into the air, her horn already alight. A flock of birds made of violet magic manifests and dive-bombs the golden unicorn. Sunset is still reeling from two hundred pounds of pony hitting her chest like a runaway train. She can't focus, can't think. She fires blindly at the birds, taking out as many as she can...

...realizing too late that they were just the distraction.

Twilight screams as an enormous magical hawk is sent flying down at impossible speed. It almost seems to shriek as it hits Sunset full force. The Lawmare cries out in agony as magical shocks race through her system like electricity, wracking her with convulsions of pain. She can't catch her breath, and the pain seems to have no end... but then it's gone just as quickly as it came. She goes limp in the sand, sucking in precious air. She forces her eyes open.

Twilight is standing over her, her horn pointed at her throat. "Su... su..." Twilight is panting too, her quivering limbs threatening to give out and send her to the ground as well. "Submit, my teacher."

Sunset coughs. And then she laughs. "A...aye. I submit. And happily so... Lawmare."

At the sound of the word, Twilight's body finally gives out on her. She lands on her teacher, causing them both to let out identical grunts of pain. As they lay there in agony, the Lawmares and apprentices erupt in cheers and applause. They rush the arena to tend to the wounded, pulling them apart and checking them for obvious threatening wounds.

"That was amazing." Lyra is bandaging the gash on Sunset's flank, but her eyes are on Twilight. "You've got to teach me that bird trick, Twilight."

"Another day, sai." Twilight waves her off as Moon Dancer checks her legs for breaks or sprains. "As for now, I believe sai Shimmer promised us feasting and drinking?"

"Aye. That I did." Sunset laughs. Starlight Glimmer brings her hat over, and she gives a nod of thanks. "Somepony alert the cooks. And somepony else get down to the cellars. We're going to need some hard cider." As the crowd cheers and a few apprentices break away to carry out her orders, Sunset goes to put her hat back on. Something makes her hesitate, however. Instead of putting it on her own head, she leans over and pulls it snug on Twilight's tattered and dirty mane. "Hold onto that for me, will you? I'll get it back after a bath. I've got sand in places you wouldn't believe."

Twilight laughs and puts a hoof to her teacher's hat, trying not to cry. The two ponies embrace, Lawmare to Lawmare. They are helped by their sisters into the barracks to get cleaned up, and then join in the festivities that last late into the next day.

Sunset Shimmer never does ask for her hat back.

Comments

[Jade Ring]

11305841
Oh, a Lawmare doesn't stop fighting until her heart stops beating.

[Level Dasher]

That was pretty sick (good way). Nice flashback.

[TCC56]

11306654

My money's on Starlight having faked her death. She's tougher than going down off-screen.

[ponepony]

11306654

11306834
I mean, Sunset is canonically a traitor in a sense.
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