My Little Pony Heart of Friendship: Tales of a New Beginning

by ShadowDurza

Rise Again: Part 8

Discord continued laughing long and hard, clapping a bit too enthusiastically to be respectful, but expressing his gratification from the performance he saw nonetheless. “Bravo! Bravo! Marvelous! Simply Marvelous! Tricks, traps, and treachery galore, all wrapped up nicely with a coup-de-grace even I didn’t see coming! A true work of art, if I do say so myself! Regardless that there are some among us that can make the fabric of the universe itself their plaything, it really is true what they say: ‘Creativity blossoms in constraints’!”

At this display, Maxine maintained her stoicism. “Well, at the risk of self-stereotyping, that tends to be how it is with ether tribesfolk. Considering the oddity that it’s the one element that naturally opposes itself, it’s hard to tell what you’re going to see when watching a bout between two of the same. Even accounting for the idiosyncrasies of some of the more specialized derivatives, when you think they might do something, you just might see something else that you didn’t expect, but in hindsight seems obvious.

“But beyond that, this double K.O. means that each team has the exact same offensive power as the other. It’s normally inadvisable to deploy a fighter that isn’t at their best and with the general idea behind their tricks known unless you’ve got greater manpower to spare in reserve. Since this isn’t the case, for now it will come down to both teams’ last guardsmen. Not a favorable position for either knowing that afterward, it could be down to their remaining pre-deployed specialist and their king.”

Suddenly, the commentators fell silent as for no reason, a tall pile of snacks suddenly entered their platform and made its way over to the empty seat on the other end. Tossing his pillar of assorted sources of saturated fats onto the desk, Spike eagerly hopped back into his seat, wiping crumbs off his suit. “Hey! What’d I miss? During the last lull in the fight, I went to get something, but the only vendor with anything left was outside the arena. Is it over? I heard some explosions. Who won?”

Meanwhile, the referee appeared back into the center of the ring and pressed their finger to their throat. “Once again, I have received both teams’ formation orders and will now introduce two new fighters!”

The referee gestured to one side. “In this corner, serving as Team Prancing Pony’s final Guardsman, Percivaaal Sonomaaa!” Instead of the expected human, the crowd merely murmured in confusion as what appeared to be an orange-coated pony trotting to the center of the ring. Had Percival assumed the form of anyone less naturally stoic, he may have almost felt somewhat embarrassed by this reaction.

Knowing the circumstances, the referee paid this development no mind and gestures in the other direction. “In this corner, serving as Team Rising Dragon’s final Guardsman, Ruuuss Tubifeeer!” Unbothered by less passionate than normal cheering as a result from the previous development, the shorter, stockier human made his way to the center of the ring with a steady, confident, but ultimately indifferent swagger. The referee moved further away to let both fighters have their moment.

Russ made a loud sniff and hoisted up his thick workman’s trousers. “Hey there, Perce’. Lookin’ a little… quadrupedal today. Little rough bein’ up here with all the new and weird shapes to take?”

Percival in the form of Applejack made a loud snort and spat something off to the side. “Eh, ya get used to it. Mighty interestin’ bein’ able to walk a bunch a’ miles in so many different kinds a’ hooves… shoes… horseshoes?” At that little bit of awkward language, both of them couldn’t help but share a passing laugh.

The referee raised a hand. “Ready?” Percival crouched low, while Russ merely took a stance, putting one bent knee and raised arm forward. The referee swung down their arm. “Fight!”

Perhaps out of respect, Russ did nothing as Percival squinted their eyes shut and began his affirmative chant. “My element is mine, I am not my element… My element is mine, I am not my element. My element is mine, I am not my element!” Percival’s form turned inky black and amorphous before standing itself straight up as the nearly featureless mask-like visage appeared where his face should be. Once he was settled in place, he returned Russ’s stance and with six flashes of yellow light, his sharp free-floating focuses appeared on either side of him.

Russ grinned at this development and altered his own stance, more centered with both knees bent, as in his pulled back hands appeared his own weapon. In a rich yellowish flash of light, a golden brown club a head shorter than he was tall appeared in Russ’s gip, with the head extending past the two-hands handle being slightly thicker and with each of its six flat sides studded with a line of short, broad, sharply-tapering spikes.

Percival, the hole-like eyes on his makeshift face narrowing, pulled back both arms with clenched fists and, with a series of fluid flicking motions, sent each of his focuses darting towards his opponent. Russ responded by batting each one aside with an efficient series of movements, changing the angle he held his weapon while deflecting each oncoming attack in the same motions.

Percival responded by spreading his arms apart, willing each of his many weapons that were one to form a ring around his opponent. Smoothly crossing his arms, Percival sent them all darting at him all at once. Russ responded to this offensive with a deliberate spinning motion, sending each focus back to fall onto the ground with Percival making motions to recall them to his side.

Back in Percival’s corner, Applejack expressed herself with a sharp whooping. “You said that y’all don’t like to use ‘overly magical’ weapons, but what in sam hill do you call those?”

Boros crossed his arms and made a big self-satisfied expression. “Those were my idea when I first started training him. Percival had the talent and the commitment needed to draw it out. But there was a big problem, combat and self-betterment require a harmony of body and mind.

“He could get all the basics down as a matter of fact, but because he couldn’t help what form he’d take for a long time, he’d fumble with any weapon or fighting style it’d seem like he’d just gotten the hang of. When he’d lamented that he’d have to learn how to use a weapon ‘I didn’t have to touch’ it hit me and I went to Eziekiel with a somewhat irregular request.

“I’d brought him the first one and almost immediately after I’d taught him to exert his will onto the focus’s enchantment, he took to it like he’d been using it his whole life. Perhaps because he had a mind that had to adapt to having so many different types of bodies, guiding an extension of himself commanded by it purely by instinct came easy. But even then I was surprised as anyone else when he’d attuned to it.”

Applejack took a moment to look inquisitive. “Hm… Well, don’t ask me much about it, but I once had the opportunity to swing around a lasso I could use with my mind all psychic-like. Wasn’t a pleasant experience overall, but it was mighty fun and pretty useful, almost makes me wish I had that thing back with me on the farm.”

That anecdote got Boros to widen his eyes, but he maintained his full composure. “Hm… A lot of ether tribesfolk do have a lot of abilities that can only be described as ‘psychic’, even an element embodying that very principle, but that isn’t exactly how it works with Percival. The nature of the enchantment means that there’s going to be nuances to it’s ‘interface’, and that means until he learns an ability called active alteration, he’s only able to give it specific, predetermined commands referred to as formations.”

Back in the arena, both competitors stared one another down, holding their weapons at ready. Then Russ took one of his hands to dig something out of a pocket on his leather apron. He pulled out a long, brilliantly red feather and flung it into the air in front of him. Extending his weapon, a tendril of gunk, brown mixed with white in a marbled pattern, flew out from its bare tip. This emanation stuck to the quill of the feather and drew it in to stick it onto the weapon’s head.

Russ drew back his club and made a horizontal swing. Somehow, with this new addition to his weapon, it flung out a crescent of blade-like fire that soared towards Percival, who could barely duck under it as it flew by. Russ continued this offensive, swinging at several different angles and sending out different crescents of flame at corresponding angles themselves. Eventually, Alphonse was tripped up by Russ sending out one last crescent at a slightly different timing than what he was doing before and got hit on his forearm as he attempted to avoid. The referee made his call. “Clean hit! Russ, one! Alphonse, zero!”

At this development. Applejack angrily threw down her own hat. “Lands sakes! I don’t watch much pro pony wrasslin’, but even I know a foreign object violation when I see one! What’s goin’ on here?”

Boros gestured into the arena. “It’s the same principle as the boiler on Krank’s back. The Support Item rule, as long as you declare them to the commission beforehand and get their approval, you can bring up to five different objects with you into your fights in as great a quantity you can carry on your person for each specific one.

“But what’s more concerning is how he used something that should have been useless. You can’t just stick a phoenix feather onto your weapon and make it shoot fire. I’m guessing that this means he’s a recombination elemental. An earth derivative specializing in handling physical materials, at their most basic being able to create bonds between objects that ordinarily only they can undo. But more complex usages could involve creating rudimentary artifacts and enchantments as long as they have an object connected to any variety of magic.”

Back in the arena, the fighting had resumed in much the same way as previously. Percival could only avoid each of Russ’s fiery attacks. After dodging one with a more elaborate trajectory and timing as before, Percival got the chance to send out another one after the other salvo of his focuses, and as before, Russ deflected each one as it came.

What Russ didn’t see as he attempted to counter between each deflection was Percival twitching a finger at the last one, which seemed to make it spin a lot more than it should have as it was batted aside. After three more attacks from Russ, Percival finally swung an arm, which made the focus that Russ didn’t see was still flying right behind him move in and send him staggering with a strike to the back. The referee moved between them and made his call. “Critical hit! Russ, one! Percival, two!”

Regaining his stance while Percival summoned back his focuses, Russ rushed to the other end of the arena after the referee motioned for them to continue with a speed surprising for his build. At this development, Percival only stayed in a posture ready to receive anything his opponent threw at him.

When Russ thought he was out of harm’s way, he dug into his apron again and withdrew a handful of golf ball-sized solid brown orbs. He cast them all in front of himself and in several puffs of brown smoke appeared an assortment of odd materials such as long, curled up sheets of metal, reinforced steel plates, steel cables, pulley wheels and a leather harness.

He got to work, aiming his free hand at these things, he extended several rich amber colored energy tethers that made each individual object float. Then with a series of elaborate gestures, assembled everything in practically no time at all into an odd construct he slipped onto his back: a peacock-like arrangement of steel sheets with the cables and pulleys on the inside holding them in place and each plate lined up along the backside in a row on each one. Each separate piece was held in place by the same brown marble-patterned gunk as before.

Back in Percival’s corner, Applejack was making some quick calculations with a few motions with her front hoof and her eyes nearly rolled up into the back of her head in concentration. Then, this odd expression quickly turned to one of anger as she slammed her hoof back to the ground. “Now hold on just a second! That’s way more than five different kinds of objects! Why in Equestria would any commission approve that? Where do I lodge a complaint?”

Even Boros furrowed his brow and stroked his fuzzy chin at this development. “I guess Russ was able to drive a really hard bargain over what could be defined as a ‘type of object’ as long as he could carry them on his person after being changed by a compression spell. But I guess he’d have to be able to bargain well considering. Back in Core Metro, recombination elementals were the most desired elementals for construction work, engineering, and architecture considering that they could make them all as simple as a child playing with blocks. After the guilds were abolished, they tried to set up a system of labor unions, but thanks to the Central Administration, they always wound up as impotent as me when-”

Applejack abruptly silenced him with some hollering and quick motions with her front leg. “Now wait just a minute right there! I ‘preciate honesty as much as the next hard-working mare, but too much information is too much information!”

At this, Boros made an awkward grin and just shrugged. “What? I was just going to share a little anecdote about a rival gang boss in the Lost District that hit me with a stamina-draining hex, but Durza leaped out of my shadow and got him with his scythe when his guard was down. Saved my neck that day, and the other boss was lucky we let him keep his!”

Back in the ring, Russ quickly rushed back towards his opponent, sending out a few advancing flame slashes. Percival managed to evade each one of these and, finding purchase after Russ recovered from an extra-hard swing, sent out all his focuses at once with a hard pushing motion. With a smirk, Russ made a gesture with a free hand and the construct attached to him curled around him, each reinforced plate denying the focus’ onslaught.

When the barrier unfolded, Russ made a quick low sweeping swing. This hit the unprepared Percival’s feet and nearly sent him tumbling backward. However, he avoided hitting ground by extending and enlarging his arms to stand himself on. As he hopped back onto his feet, the referee appeared near him and made his call. “Clean hit! Russ, two! Percival, two!”

Given the signal to resume, Percival finally made a direct charge to his opponent himself. He extended an arm, the forearm forming into a single-edged blade. When he got halfway to striking distance, Russ abruptly closed his jury-rigged barrier as Percival made a few swipes with his arm-like blade which telescoped in length to make direct contact, but each hit proved ineffective.

Percival drew back his first makeshift weapon and extended his other arm to form a large animal-like head. He thrust this forward as it greatly expanded in size as it opened its sharp-toothed maw wide. It managed to clamp down on this barrier, but Percival appeared unable to either crush it or even move Russ’s position through it. Russ sent Percival back by rapidly unfurling his barrier, and followed up with another wave of flame. Percival could only bare the brunt of it by shielding his torso with his arm. As he backed off, the referee appeared and made his call. “Clean hit! Russ, three! Percival, Two!”

When the referee made the call to continue, Percival widened the distance by dashing backwards. Russ unfurled his barrier and sent out another horizontal wave of flame. This time however, Percival quickly extended one of his arms and clutched a fist, enveloping half his focuses in a watery membrane before bringing them to form a wall in front of him with an inward swing of that arm. The oncoming attack hit this barrier and fizzled to nothing. Percival then raised his other arm and clenched his fist, bringing up the other three focuses above him while making them spark with electricity. He swung the arm forward to send these focuses as a salvo towards his opponent, who curled up his barrier yet again. However, when the attack hit, the whole structure started sparking with a low, intense humming of electricity, getting a bellowing scream out of the one under it.

Percival recalled all his focuses to his sides. The smoking barrier slowly unfurled to reveal a crispy, dumbstruck Russ before the whole thing fell to pieces, even the phoenix feather dropped off and crumbled to ash. Then, Russ wobbled unsteadily for a moment before he plopped right on the ground. The referee appeared next to him and made his call. “Knockdown! Russ, three! Percival, five!”

The referee then began their count. At six, Russ abruptly stuck the head of his kanabo into the ground and managed to push himself up with it. The referee Approached him. “Are you able to continue?” Russ merely sent the referee back by shaking off all the soot covering him.

The referee gave the signal to continue and Russ took his club back in both hands, holding it above. Percival raised both arms, making his focuses float in an arc above him. After a brief standoff, the gong sounded out and both competitors dropped their stance to walk back to their corners.

Author's Note:

Better late/early than never right? I still hope my "by-weekly" pledge still holds some water. I always wonder why I have my best ideas when I'm sleep deprived. Turns out, after a google search, the right parts of your brain are running at minimal capacity to allow less logical thoughts make connections into ideas. But I really wish I could just stick to trying to keep sleepless nights at a minimum to once a week. If I could recapture the consistency I once had, maybe I'd stop waking up at 2 or 4 in the afternoon.