Sirraf, Redmage of Equestria

by sirraf

Still more fighting

"What?" asked Celestia as Sirraf stood there with his arms folded across his chest.

"Think of it as a cultural exchange activity of sorts." he said before tipping his hat to cover his eyes. "As I'm sure you have read in those reports, I am considered a combat mage in my world. Also I have a thirst for knowledge in all things." He started pulling off his excess items and placing them to the side, starting with the items tied to his belt and the broken scabbard strap across his chest. "I propose a friendly, sparring match between myself and the ten royal guards that were brave enough to confront me."

Twilight looked over to Sirraf in confusion. "Wait... you want to fight my brother?"

"In my world you can actually learn a lot about another person by fighting them. Friendships often being forged on the battlefield. Not to mention it would give both the royal guards and myself a chance to experience completely new fighting styles." he said as he looked to the royal sisters. "Besides I still kinda feel like they owe me one after what happened."

"But you said you wouldn't hold what happened against my brother!" She said, getting a little angry.

"Oh I'm not mad about the fact that they attacked me. I'm upset that they stabbed me in the back." he explained to the ponies around him. "Sneak attacks are not considered very honorable in my world and he won't be able to earn my respect or trust until this has been settled."

"Your respect and trust... the reports seemed to put some emphasis on these traits." Celestia said as she closed her eyes in thought.

"I hold these ideals above all others. Trust, respect, and friendship are more important to me than anything else and I am willing to risk my life in the protection of those that have earned them." he said as he looked to Shining Armor who was staring with narrowed eyes at the events happening before him.

"I agree." he said, getting the attention of everyone there. "I insulted his honor after rushing off and attacking him without any concrete evidence... Also, as a soldier, I understand where he's coming from in this."

Celestia sighed as she viewed the start of a rivalry form before her very eyes. "... very well then, know this though. I will not hesitate to step in if I believe that the fight has gone to far."

"One moment please." Sirraf said as he walked away from the group. He made his way over to Spike who stood next to the others and removed his hat. "Here big guy. Take care of this for me would you." he placed the hat onto the dragons head and moved back to the group. Spike touched the hat and a smile stretched across his face. Sirraf breathed deeply and took up a fighting stance. "All right, I highly suggest that anyone not involved in the match please move back to a safe distance."

"Which of my guards would you like to face first?" Shining asked as the ponies moved away from the area.

Sirraf took an in depth look at each of them before closing his eyes. Three unicorns, three pegasi, three earth ponies and the captain himself. He paused in thought for a moment before opening his eyes and narrowing his gaze. "All of them."

"All of them?" he asked in disbelief.

"You are soldiers. You work as a unit and fight as a unit. You are strongest as a team. I have been trained to survive the horrors of my world alone as well as with others. My versatility against your teamwork." he said still standing at the ready. "In fact, as soldiers you also rely on the intelligence network of your leaders. Celestia has just gathered intelligence on your opponent. I will allow you to use advice from her as well in this fight. Be warned however, I have yet to reveal everything to your sister about my abilities."

"Are you sure about this?" Celestia asked as she watched the event unfold.

"Think of it as a chance to test your soldiers against an unfamiliar enemy. A test of their abilities, tactics, and adaptability to the unknown. Also this would be a good way for you all to see how my magic works and what I can do with it."

At this Celestia nodded to the captain. The squad of ponies all took up a battle position, forming a tight circle around their target.

"Ah... I see." he said as they closed in, attempting to limit his movements. "Already you are working with what you know. You close in because I am a magic user and you assume that makes me a ranged combatant..." he chuckled for a moment. Suddenly his voice took on a serious tone. "Class is now in session. Lesson number one...never assume anything."

He swiftly lifted a hand into the air as it began to surge with a light brown energy. Before any of the ponies could rush forward and try to stop him he brought the hand open palmed to the ground. "QUAKRA!" energy ran from his hand down into the ground beneath them. After a brief moment a harsh crack sounded out before the snow was thrown through the air to reveal several spires of earth shooting out around where the mage stood. The pegesi all flew out of range but a unicorn and earth pony were caught in the magical burst. They were thrown off to the sides, where they tumbled a short distance. For a moment they tried to stand back up but soon fell back to the ground, their bodies covered in minor cuts and bruises. Both let out small groans but they were still very much alive.

A dirt cloud had formed around where the elemental spell had been cast. The remaining ponies all readied themselves for the next attack. The pegasi flew around the area clearing the obscuring dirt that had formed around their opponent. "Haste!" a green flash of light followed by a red and white blur rushed out from the area just before they could finish the job. Sirraf quickly closed in on one of the remaining earth ponies, quickly getting in close for unarmed combat. The guard spun around in an attempt to buck him but he dropped to the ground and grabbed his hind legs before leaning backwards and placing a foot on the ponies stomach. Using this leverage he tossed the pony into a soft snow bank, dazed but completely unharmed.

Celestia called out to her soldiers "He uses the terrain to his advantage. He also seems more mobile than a ground pony. Try to restrict his movements!"

Sirraf heard this and already prepared for it. "Shell!" he yelled out as a red energy followed by the energy of the two remaining unicorns formed around him. They strained as the power of the magic dampening field cut the effectiveness of their magic in half. The pegasi moved in to try to restrain him, however he twisted his body that was now held in mid air and grabbed onto them. Using their weight for momentum, he spun his body around and threw them into the two unicorns currently restraining him. They were quickly knocked back and out of the fight, never having the chance to see the pony projectiles flying at them. Their eyes had been closed as they focused to maintain the spell that was on him.

Getting up from the ground and dusting himself off he took up his stance again. "Not bad! Not bad at all." he said with a chuckle. "I have to admit you almost had me with that one. If I hadn't cast that magic resistant shell spell in time. I wouldn't have been able to move at all." he turned his head to Celestia. "It was good advice but perhaps next time use codewords to keep me from knowing your counter strike plans. That's lesson number two."

Shining took charge as he realized that even if this creature wasn't hostile, he was far from helpless. "Tango fourty-two! he yelled to his soldiers. At this the two earth ponies and two of the pegasi rushed forward to engage Sirraf. The remaining pegasus flew upwards out of range as he was forced to focus on the matter at hand.

"Ah, testing my physical talents with a rush attack is it? Very well, PROTECT!" a crystalline barrier formed around his body before fading from view. As the first pegasus struck, a faint afterimage of the barrier could be seen with each attack. Shifting into a more defensive stance he was slowly pushed back from the ground he had gained. One of the flying ponies pulled back a short distance before rushing forward once more. Sirraf spun his attacker into his earth pony partners before raising a hand covered in black energy. "Blind!" he yelled as he swiped his hand through the air like a blade. A black substance coated the charging pegasus' eyes, causing him to veer off course and crash land into the ground.

"What in tarnation was that?" Applejack asked as the guard struggled to figure out where he was.

"That was status based black magic. It will wear off after a few minutes but he will not be able to see me for some time." he explained with a finger raised in the air. "It is much like the sleep spell I used to calm Rainbow Dash and send me into the lucid dream state. When power alone doesn't work, turn the circumstances towards your favor. Lesson number three."

"Status based... as in the status effects that you described the Malboro's breath would cause?" Twilight asked as she saw that the ponies eyes were pitch black.

"Yep, but I can only cast one of these spells at a time and they don't always work. If he had closed his eyes before the spell went off he would have avoided the effects entirely." with that said he took up his stance once more and motioned for his opponents to attack him again.

As they continued to fight, Celestia and Luna watched the whole thing with fascination. "Look sister. His form and technique is far from perfect, but he makes up for what he lacks in one skill using another." Celestia pointed out to her younger sibling.

"Yes, what he lacks in one thing he will supplement with another. He wasn't fast enough naturally so he used his magic to increase his speed and reflexes. There are gaping holes in his martial combat form, so he protects his body from magical and physical attacks using persistent barrier spells. Barriers that don't rely on his focus to be kept erect, barriers that instead of attempting the stop an attack, simply softens the blow." Luna paused for a moment. "But we are confused. He seems to be deliberately trying to disable but not seriously injure his opponents. Also he seems to be offering advice as he fights."

"Don't you see? He honestly wants them to improve. He wants them to be able to defeat him. In his world he was being taught how to protect those he cared about from the monsters that roamed the land. If they can beat him, they can stand a chance against anything that might threaten the public." she looked at Sirraf as he swiftly hopped from foot to foot as he avoided his foes attacks. "However... he won't make it easy. That look in his eye. He is having far to much fun to just hand them the win. If they want to defeat him, they will have to earn it. He wants them to win, but refuses to lose."

Sirraf was beginning to pant as he struggled against his opponents, his face dripping with sweat even in the cold winter weather. Shining Armor had finally joined the frey and was putting up shields every time he made an attempt to strike him with a solid blow. "I see! As your name suggests you are a defensive specialist." Suddenly all the attackers jumped back and grinned at Sirraf. "Now then... what could all this be about?" he asked out loud.

"Oh nothing." Shining Armor said cockily. "It's just time for you to learn a lesson."

At that moment a shadow moved over his form. His head snapped upwards to see that the pegasus that had flown off had grabbed a nasty looking storm cloud and was preparing to let loose its electrical contents. "NO!" the girls yelled as he lifted his hand above his head and shouted something before a blast of lightning hit him directly. The blast lit the area in a blinding light as it blocked him from view and the cracking of earth could be heard through the battlefield.

The smoke slowly cleared to reveal a panting but still unharmed Sirraf standing above a blackened spot on the ground. The blast had melted the snow and split the earth beneath him, but he remained unharmed. "Nice one. I didn't know you guys could control the weather. I'm willing to make a guess that this is what that tango fourty-two thing was all about. A kind of distraction followed by a surprise attack tactic."

"How are you still standing? That was a direct hit!" Shining yelled, his aggravation evident in his voice.

"Well yes and no. You see, I can cast any kind of elemental magic." he explained, taking advantage of the situation to catch his breath. "Because of this the mages from my world know the inner workings of those elements." he said with pride. "As such we have also developed methods to negate them. What I cast before the bolt struck was known as a Nul-shock spell. It protects my body from any electrical attack once, letting the energy just harmlessly pass through. To bad too. That one seemed to be at the Thundaga level in power. I can't even cast one of those yet."

Twilight looked at Sirraf in wonder. His magic was truly impressive. This whole time he had been able to do so much more than he had shown her and the girls. "Amazing..." she said in awe.

"You should also know that haste isn't my only Time/Space magical spell." he said as he took up his stance once more. "Here's one that should put a stop to that cloud technique. Oh and by the way captain..." he said as Shining looked at him in confusion. "You might want to get ready to catch your friend up there."

Shining Armors eyes shot up and his horn began to glow. Sirraf's hands emitted dark energies once more. "GRAVIRA!" an orb of energy appeared above the head of the airborne pegasus. It gently floated for a second before making contact with him. In an instant his face shifted from confusion to panic as he was suddenly yanked roughly from the sky.

Acting quickly Shining Armor used his magic to try to stop his underling. He realized very quickly that he couldn't stop the fall, only slow it down. The pegasus impacted the ground and after trying to stand once more collapsed. "That was Gravira. It is a second tier gravity spell." Sirraf said as he stood shakily on his feet. "Whew! I am definitely gonna need some water after this. Anyway, what I did was multiply the gravitational pull on his body to three times its normal amount. If he once weighed fifty pounds it increases to one hundred and fifty for a moment. The bigger they are... the harder they fall."

Shining Armor gritted his teeth as he tried to think of a way to end this fight. The longer it dragged on the more the mage would learn about them and the harder it would be to defeat him.

"Let's mix things up a bit shall we?" Sirraf yelled as he stepped back before raising his hands once more. "Aerora!" A powerful vortex formed in the space between the ponies and him. Shining Armor threw up a field and used his magic to anchor himself to the ground beneath him. His allies however were not so lucky. The mini tornado quickly pulled the last remaining ponies, as well as some debris in and threw them around like rag dolls. After they landed the red blur that was Sirraf rushed past Applejack. "Gotta borrow this thanks!" he said almost as quickly as Pinkie Pie before he ran back to the ponies that now sat on the ground trying to get their breakfasts to stay down. Faster than the eye could see Sirraf had tied up the guards using Applejack's lasso. "Lesson four. Anything and everything can be used in a fight."

Celestia's horn glowed as she pulled all the ponies that had been disabled out of harms way. This was it. The final round of the sparring match. The visiting jack of all trades v.s. the captain of the guard.

"You know." Sirraf said as he panted for air. "I am beginning to understand why you ponies are the ones in charge here. As cute as most of you look, you are actually pretty tough."

Shining wasn't looking to much better. "I'll take that as a compliment creature. I have to say though, you aren't that bad yourself." Shining chuckled as he stood his ground. "You okay over there? You're looking a little tired. Slowing down some too."

"You should see the other guys." Sirraf countered with a laugh.

The two rushed forward once more. Sirraf had shifted his combat style once more, adapting a grappling technique since he couldn't land any solid blows with the captain through his force fields. Everyone watched as the two fighters continuously countered each other move for move. One would strike and the other would dodge, neither one willing to give up any ground. Finally Shining Armor connected with a full force buck to Sirraf's stomach. He doubled over for a moment as the captain smiled in what he assumed was victory. It was in that moment that Sirraf shifted his weight and wrapped his arms around Shining's chest holding his front legs to it. Bending over backwards and driving him into the ground as hard as he could Sirraf yelled out one last spell. "QUAKRA!" realizing what this meant Shining threw a field between himself and the earth based attack that was sure to follow. Upon contact with the ground the area exploded with energy once more.

Everyone leaned forward to see what had happened. Slowly the dust began to be pushed away with the morning wind. Two shadows formed as it cleared. When the dust finally passed they saw that both combatants were still standing. The both of them were panting and sweating. Each looked like they were on the verge of passing out. Their bodies were covered in cuts, bruises and abrasions. A ecstatic glint shone in Sirraf's eyes, while a smile was plastered on Shining's face. Sirraf began to lurch forwards before he caught himself with his right leg, leaning into a kneel. Shining grinned for a moment before his face turned to one of shock. All four of his legs suddenly gave out as he collapsed to the ground panting, unable to move.

Slowly Sirraf stood up and made his way to his fallen opponent. He brought his hand up and energy flowed through it once more. Shining closed his eyes as everyone else either cringed or yelled in protest. "C...C...Cure!" White energy surged forth and gave Shining's body a decent patch job. "Heh... that's it. That's all I got... I'm... f... fresh out of mana..." he said before removing his mask. "And you... have earned my... respect..."

Shining slowly made his way back to his feet. He looked at the creature that had irritated him so much in awe. Not only had he defeated his squad and him. He had done so honorably, helping them out as the fight went on, and even used what magic he had left to heal him instead of finishing it or taking care of his own wounds. He looked down at his body. There were still plenty of bruises and cuts but nothing to serious. "Sorry... Shining... that barrier of yours kinda got on my nerves. Think I may have overdone that last spell a bit...gotta say though... I can see why you are captain." he said before his knees gave out and he collapsed onto his back.

Twilight and the others rushed forward now that the fight was over. "Are you okay?" she asked as she reached his prone form.

"Y... yeah... I'll be fine... just bring me my side bag from my belt." he said as he continued to try to catch his breath.

"Bag! Right away!" she ran over to the pile of gear he had left off to the side and came back with what he asked for.

"That's... it..." he reached over and pulled a small glass tube filled with a misty green fluid. He twisted off the metal cap before downing its contents. His body glowed for a second as he drank the strange beverage.

"Agh! Man those never taste any better." he said before tossing it back into his bag and pulling himself into a sitting position. Whatever was in the tube had given him a portion of his energy back. "That's better. Mana exhaustion sucks."

"What was in that vial?" Celestia asked as she moved towards him. "It felt like it was made of magic."

"It pretty much was." he said as he stood back up. "That was a medicine called ether. It's pretty much distilled mana, that's what we call magical energy in my world. When you have to fight monsters all the time, you have to make sure you don't run out of the magic that keeps your team alive."

Twilight looked at the bag for a moment. "Can I borrow one of those?"

"Yeah sure. Just be careful with it. I don't know what medicine from my world would do to a pony." he said as he tossed one to her. He shifted his gaze off to the side and began to chuckle to himself.

"What?" Twilight asked in confusion. He brought one hand up and extended an index finger, pointing at something away from the group. Spike had gone through Sirraf's gear and was now wearing his cape, hat, and several leather straps. He ran around as he poorly mimicked the fighting styles Sirraf had used in his fight. "Should we get those back from him?"

"Nah, let the little guy have his fun for a while." he said as he gathered the rest of his gear up and put them back on their proper places. "Wouldn't be right to rain on his parade after all." he opened his bag and took inventory of his items. "Hmm let's see what I remembered to bring during that test... Three potions.... two ethers... one hi potion... ah man... I forgot my Elixir."

"Elixir? Is that bad?" Twilight asked as he continued to sort through his things.

"It's pretty much a table turner combat medicine. It completely heals a person and restores all their magical energy." he said before turning to the rulers of Equestria. "Thank you for the match. I must say it was truly educational." he said with a bow.

"Yes, for us as well." Celestia said as she smiled at him. "Tell me... that magic of yours seemed really powerful and versatile... does it have any weaknesses at all?"

"Yeah it does. It was designed primarily for combat and few mages use it for much else." he said as he rubbed the back of his head. "It requires a high amount of mental and emotional energy, and can only be cast in short bursts. This quickly drains the mage that is using the spells. Lastly, if you manage to block even one of the sources of magical control that I have. Spirit, knowledge, emotions, movement, or power of word, I would no longer be able to cast. That is why I have to be able to fight physically as well."

"I see that my student and her friends have made a powerful, brave, and loyal friend this day." Celestia said before turning away from him. "Let us go Luna. We have taken enough of his time for now. We will speak again my little red mage." In a flash of light she and her sister vanished from sight. The guards helped pick themselves up and began making their way back to the castle.

"I look forward to it." Sirraf said before placing his mask back upon his face.

Comments

[JBL]

Well, he just handed them some of his weaknesses on a silver platter, not a very smart thing to do...

[sirraf]

2662153 technically she already had that information. He told Twilight how his magic worked so all Celestia had to do was put two and two together. If he lied she might have had a reason to turn on him in the near future.

[JBL]

2662188 I think one bone of contention is that he hasn't shown to have any real weaknesses as yet. Sure he gave them some information, and they've seen he has physical and magical limits, but so far he hasn't met or did something that would really trouble him. Don't want to turn him into Superman!

[sirraf]

just like in game. the red mage has no clear weakness. he just isn't the best in any category. any weaknesses he has are gonna mainly be either emotional or psychological. like the fact that he wont have a friends blood on his hands.

[sirraf]

2664409 I have a few bad writing habits. In fact when I started writing this response I almost forgot to capitalize the I.

[JBL]

Whoa, updates have totally dried up!

[sirraf]

2829153 heatwave. kinda taking all my creative energy.

[val]

why is it taking so long to get a chapter out?

[The Shade]

2831717 Please, next chapter soon?

[sirraf]

2901958 more or less. I have many red mage pictures/drawings in my computer but this is my favorite.

[R-A-B-G]

i love the story so far cant wait for more

[The Shade]

2903591 I can see why.
Umm, i've never played any of the Final Fantasy games, so may I ask exactly where this character is from? (I wanna look up a let's play, but by the time you respond the chances are i've found it already.)

[sirraf]

2942947 its just a nameless redmage. this was drawn as fanart. i mentioned the artist before though i dont remember his name. i found the image by simply typing redmage into a google image search

[The Shade]

2942967 OkieDokieLokie, He seems kinda badass tho :D
Also, you MIGHT wanna try and rime the incanations, just so it dosen't seem... weird.
ALSO WHEN WILL I GET MY NEXT CHAPTER? I NEED MY FIX MAN!

[sirraf]

2942985 you will get the next one when i get over this hot weather over where i live and clear my thoughts enough to put the effort the story deserves into it.

[sirraf]

2942985 also i like to think maybe that was the redmage from final fantasy 1... or 8-bit theater

[The Shade]

2942995 Ok, as I said - I haven't played any final Fantasy game, so I wouldn't know.

[sirraf]

2943005 in that case 8-bit theater is a comedic remake of the first final fantasy game. it involves black mage red mage thief and fighter. i suggest either reading it or watching it on youtube in the form of 8-bit theater chaos.

[The Shade]

2943019 also, a good name for your story is to simply have it 'Sirraf the Redmage'.

[sirraf]

2943038 yeah but it sounds kinda... bland... but then i havent been able to come up with anything better...

[val]

2942806 I think i did i was a child at one point

[JBL]

I see you still haven't come up with a name for the story!

[sirraf]

ok im back. sorry about the absence but my modem half went out which made me think it was the router, which i then replaced... then found out it was the modem, so i had to replace that as well.

edit: internet still acting funny. sometimes i can connect and sometimes i cant... and sometimes i can only go to places like google.... not sure how that works.

[Nightmare Daniell61]

3036334 name suggestion" Sirraf mage of equestria,

Other suggestions: the red mage of equestria, Mage of equestria, mage of equus, sirraf of equus, The Red Magiks of equestria.

Thats all i got for now :3

E: the elite mage of equestria.., the magic ruler of equestria. the red fury of equestria.

[sirraf]

okay weather has cooled down again. i should be able to start writing again. it will take a bit to get back into my groove after i reread what already exists so bear with me.

[MuzaWaza]

Is this story going to be updated soon?

[The Shade]

2943044 WHEN
IS
THE
UPDATE?
Nine hell's below man...

[TheGericome]

Just for you to know - some people are still waiting for the update. Me included.

[JohnIsOffline]

NOOO!!! THE STORY!

[JohnIsOffline]

Yeah....and the story is keep waiting..like da rock.

[megamataman]

update plox?

[nightmaster0]

Great chapter.

[Yellow Soul of Justice]

I like it