> Fighting is Magic: The Equestrian Grand Tournament
>  by Lance Skyes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 0: Roster and Tournament Bracket (Not a chapter) (CONTAINS SPOILERS)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roster:

Heroes:
Princess Twilight Sparkle
Applejack
Pinkie Pie
Former Champion Rainbow Dash
Rarity
Former Champions Fluttershy and Angel Bunny
Keldeo
Lyra Heartstrings
Spitfire
Vinyl Scratch
Former Champion Derpy Hooves
Princess Celestia

Villains:
King Sombra
Queen Chrysalis
Pokemon Hunter Colton (with Sawsbuck, Zebstrika, Girafarig, and Rapidash)
Sunset Shimmer
Lightning Dust
Gilda
The Great and Powerful Trixie
Pinkamena Diane Pie
Sweetie Bot

Day 0:
Inaugural battle: Princess Celestia vs King Sombra

Stage 1:

Day 1:

Fight 1: Keldeo vs Colton's Sawsbuck
Fight 2: Lyra Heartstrings vs Sunset Shimmer
Fight 3: Pinkie Pie vs Pinkamena Diane Pie
Fight 4: Spitfire vs Lightning Dust
Fight 5: Rainbow Dash vs Colton's Zebstrika
Mane Event: Derpy Hooves vs Gilda

Day 2:

Fight 1: Fluttershy and Angel Bunny vs Colton's Girafarig
Fight 2: Vinyl Scratch vs The Great and Powerful Trixie
Fight 3: Applejack vs Colton's Rapidash
Fight 4: Rarity vs Sweetie Bot
Mane Event: Twilight Sparkle vs Queen Chrysalis
> 1: Countdown to Battle - Journey to Canterlot
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Rarity and Applejack stood facing each other on opposite sides of a circle drawn on the outskirts of Sweet Apple Acres, both training for the next Equestria Battle Tournament that started the day after. In the Equestria Battle Tournament, ponies from all across Equestria, and sometimes other races representing other lands, nations, worlds, etc., would gather in Canterlot to engage in an all-out hoof-to-hoof combat tournament to decide who was the strongest fighter in Equestria. So far, there have been four annual Tournaments. (Not counting the first one where Discord wiped everyone's memory of that tournament after being defeated by that Tournament's champion, Rainbow Dash.) Neither Rarity nor Applejack have become the champion once out of those five times, so they've decided to train together in preparation for the upcoming tournament to try to get at least one of their names on the Equestria Battle Tournament Wall of Fame next to the names of Fluttershy, Derpy Hooves, and Rainbow Dash's two titles.
Coming up was the fifth Equestria Battle Tournament, and both Rarity and Applejack had decided to work together to get the name of either a unicorn or an earth pony into the championship spot this year. "Are you ready, Darling?" Rarity asked Applejack after the two had stared each other down for a few moments.
"Ready if you are," Applejack replied, readying herself to charge.
"Then let this battle begin!" Rarity shouted as she began galloping forward at Applejack, who charged back.
Applejack was the first one to try an attack. She slid low, turned herself around and tried to buck Rarity right in the face to start the fight off, but Rarity was quicker on the draw and summoned a sheet of fabric to absorb the attack. This knocked Applejack off balance, allowing Rarity to retract her roll of fabric and use her magic to launch it at Applejack, knocking the farm pony several paces away. AJ quickly recovered from this attack, however.
"Ah thought y'all said we weren't fightin' with weapons this time 'round," Applejack said as she rubbed her chin.
"Did I?" Rarity asked, using her magic to desummon the fabric. "I certainly don't recall saying that, but weapons are allowed in the Tournament, so this would make for more training value."
"Well, if y'all say so," Applejack said. Then, in one quick motion, she reached under her hat, pulled out her lasso, gripped it in her mouth, and flung it right at Rarity, wrangling the fashionista's legs right out from under her and pulling her towards Applejack. Applejack then released Rarity and gave her a solid skyward buck just before Rarity could even hit the ground. Applejack then jumped up and tried to start an aerial combo, but Rarity recovered faster than AJ anticipated and countered the farm filly's attack by summoning a scarf and using her magic to swing it in a semi-circle motion with enough power to knock Applejack away. Applejack was able to recover from this, and both ponies landed on the ground at the same time.
"You've gotten better," Rarity complimented.
"So have you," Applejack replied. "But tell me, why are you smiling?"
"Oh, it's nothing," Rarity said. "Just a little move that might end this battle." Rarity then began charging her horn with energy, but she wasn't able to execute her attack before Rainbow Dash came flying in to interrupt the battle.
"What are you two doing out here?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Well, we were training for the Equestria Battle Tournament," Applejack replied.
"Right now?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "The train to Canterlot is about to leave! We all need to be there as soon as possible for the opening ceremonies tonight!"
"But it's just barely 4 in the afternoon," Rarity replied.
"Did it slip your mind that this is the last train from Ponyville to Canterlot today?"
"What?" both AJ and Rarity exclaimed at the same time.
"I thought for sure there was another train leaving at six!" Rarity said.
"We'd better hightail it to the train station then," Applejack added. The three ponies then made their way to the train station at top speed.

"AAAAAAALL ABOARD FOR CANTERLOT!"
Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy (with Angel Bunny standing on her head) had begun to grow anxious upon hearing the train conductor's voice and the train's whistle.
"Oh, I hope the others get here soon," Fluttershy said as Angel searched for the three ponies missing from their group.
"Me too," Pinkie Pie replied. "The Tournament won't be any fun if we're three ponies down."
"We might have to be," Twilight replied. "The train's about to leave."
The three were just about to board the train when Rainbow Dash came flying in with Applejack and Rarity.
"Hold the train!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "We're here!"
"About time," Twilight said. "Hurry up!"
In truth, AJ, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash had an easy two minutes before the train finally left the station, (turns out Twilight was wrong in her assumptions) but what mattered was that they got on the train in the first place. Soon, the six mares and one bunny were Canterlot bound.

In general, the train ride was rather uneventful. Twilight was busy reading the book she used in combat, The Egghead's Guide to Fighting. It was Rainbow Dash who jokingly but inadvertently recommended it to her. As it turned out, the book contained within it a powerful magic that amplified Twilight's combative skills. It hadn't won her a single Tournament since she started using it in the second one, but her performance was definitely an improvement from the first Tournament, so she stuck with the book from then on. Pinkie Pie was busy chowing down on the snacks the Mane 6 brought, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were resting, (unknowingly leaned up against one another) and Fluttershy was brushing Angel's hair so that he would be presentable when the tournament started.
Now, remember that I said in general, the train ride was uneventful. I say this because Rarity's ride was actually considerably eventful. Not long after the Mane 6 boarded the train, Rarity had to use the little filly's room. On her way back, she was grumbling about how disgusting a train's restroom was and not looking where she was going when she accidentally bumped into somepony, knocking both of them down.
"Oh my!" Rarity exclaimed as she got back up. "I-I'm so sorry. Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," the other pony replied. As he got back up, Rarity could do nothing but stare at the colt. He was a unicorn with a very light brown coat, his mane was red, his tail was blue, both of them poofy enough to make Pinkie Pie jealous, and he had a rounded snout. Rarity had seen handsome colts before, but this one sported an unusual style unlike anything she had ever seen before... and this was something she liked.
"Um, are you alright?" the colt asked, snapping Rarity back to reality. She noticed that he was a little bit shorter than her. A bit unusual for an average young stallion like she assumed he was.
"Oh, yes," Rarity quickly replied. "I'm... fine. My, that's a very lovely style you're sporting with your mane there."
"Oh this?" the colt asked as he looked up at his mane. "It's nothing. Just what I was born with, that's all."
"Well, I guess some ponies just get all the luck," Rarity said.
"Yeah, some ponies," the colt repeated. He then held out his hoof in front of Rarity. "My name's Keldeo. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Rarity," Rarity replied, shaking Keldeo's hoof. As she retracted her hoof, she noticed something odd about Keldeo's hoof. It seemed like there was an opening at the bottom. "Is there something wrong with your hoof?" she asked.
"What?" Keldeo asked, looking at his hoof. It was at this moment that Rarity also noticed that Keldeo was talking without moving his mouth much at all. What an unusual pony. "There's nothing wrong with my hoof," Keldeo finally said. "It's part of my, um... talent." Quickly, possibly to shift the subject away from his hooves, Keldeo said, "Are you on your way to Canterlot for the Equestria Battle Tournament?"
"Why, yes I am," Rarity replied. "You too?"
"Yes," Keldeo replied. Scratching the back of his head with his hoof, he added, "Guess I'll see you there."
"Yeah, when we get there," Rarity replied. She noticed he was blushing slightly. She figured she  herself was blushing at least a little, but she didn't think Keldeo had time to notice.
"I've gotta get back to my train car now," Keldeo quickly said after a short awkward silence.
"Yeah, me too," Rarity replied. The two then galloped past each other to return to their designated locations on the train.
Once Rarity made it back to the car where her friends were, she was greeted by Pinkie Pie popping up out of nowhere and saying "Hiya Rarity! What took ya so long?"
"Oh, I just... bumped into somepony, that's all," Rarity replied with a chuckle.
"A rather strange somepony at that," Rarity thought to herself.

It was another half-hour before the train arrived at Canterlot. The ponies got off the train in a flood in order to get their seats at Canterlot Stadium for the Tournament. Combatants in the Tournament, however, got special reserved seats for free, so the Mane 6 and a few other ponies were in little rush. Rarity looked around to see if she could find Keldeo, but he was nowhere to be found. Perhaps he was part of or swept up in the stampede of ponies from before. The poor darling if the latter was true.
"The Tournament doesn't start for a couple hours," Twilight said to the others. "Who wants to get something to eat before we head to the Stadium?"
The general consensus was yes.

Meanwhile at Canterlot Stadium, Princess Celestia was busy getting things ready for the Tournament. It was the fifth Equestria Battle Tournament, so she had some celebrations planned. She wasn't quite done getting the fireworks ready when she sensed a shadowy presence behind her.
"Planning festivities for tonight?" the figure behind her asked in a dark tone. Celestia barely had any time to respond before she found herself bound by dark magic. "Oh, don't you worry your princessy head about that. I'll take care of things for you."
> 2: The Tournament Begins - A Dark Game-Changer
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	At about 7 in the evening, almost everypony in Canterlot had gathered in Canterlot Stadium to watch the opening ceremonies to the Equestria Battle Tournament. All of the combatants in the Tournament were there as well, but they got special seats in the front row right next to the arena. The crowd, meanwhile, was going wild even though nothing was going on yet. In every universe, there's one class of sports fanatics, and half of that class in Equestria was here tonight.
“Huh,” Twilight said as she looked around. “This is quite a turnout. I think the whole stadium's full tonight.”
“Wow,” Rarity chimed in. “I don't think it was even full during the last Wonderbolts Derby a few months ago.”
“You went to the Wonderbolts Derby without me?” Rainbow Dash asked Rarity with a glare.
“I, um...” Rarity dug for a reply, but she couldn't come up with any.
“Well I hope Princess Celestia starts the opening ceremonies soon,” Pinkie Pie said. “This crowd's getting restless. They could easily tear this stadium down if they have to wait much longer.”
Just then, Applejack looked up and an expression of horror came across her face. “Uh, guys,” she said, “Ah don't think Princess Celestia's comin' any time soon.”
“What makes you say that?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“That dark and scary cloud in the sky that seems to be descending upon Canterlot Stadium,” Applejack replied.
Right as the Mane 6 saw the cloud, many of the spectators also saw it and a chorus of panicked and fearful screams started erupting from the crowd. Most of the ponies, plus a few of the combatants, began trying to vacate the stadium as fast as possible. However, they were stopped by what appeared at first to be flashes of green light. It wasn't long, however, before Twilight recognized these flashes.
“Changelings!” Twilight shouted. “There’s Changelings in the stadium!”
“And that's not all!” Fluttershy shouted as she pointed up at the dark cloud from before, which had actually decreased in size and moved towards the center of the arena. The cloud quickly shrunk until it was just a small patch of fog, which quickly dissipated to reveal a mysterious but imposing figure.
“That... that can't be!” Twilight shouted as she recognized the figure standing in the center of the arena, which was none other than King Sombra, the tyrannical lord of shadow and former ruler of the Crystal Empire.
“Ah, it's good to be back,” Sombra said as he looked out upon the stadium full of panicked ponies. “Humph, some welcome I'm receiving here.” He then started charging his horn with dark magic. “I command you all to be still!” he shouted as he cast a spell upon the entire stadium, causing the sky to turn dark and sending a huge gust of ominous wind to blow throughout the stadium, striking all of the ponies and somehow silencing them, followed by them all paying attention to the center of the stadium.
“Much better,” Sombra said with a smile, his voice amplified to cover the whole stadium thanks to his spell. “Look at all of these ponies in this stadium. All clamoring to this one city to witness those of their own kind engage in sequential all-out brawls to determine who among them is the greatest fighter.” Suddenly, he used his magic to pull Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Derpy Hooves out from the crowd and levitated them around him as though displaying them to the crowd. “And these three... these are your best as determined by this tournament? One of them a coward, one mentally (the crowd erupted in a shocked and disgusted gasp at his next word), and this one, who's won twice, a show off.” Sombra then threw them back into the crowd with all his might before any of the ponies could protest what he said, creating a small crater in the stands where the three pegasi crashed. Several ponies, including the rest of the Mane 6, rushed to help them, but Sombra continued talking. “There's a reason I have returned, there's a reason I've gained the assistance of Queen Chrysalis, the Changeling Swarm, and a variety of other creatures in order to crash and take control of this... Equestria Battle Tournament, as you call it. That reason is not to conquer Equestria as I should have been allowed to years ago, though that might happen anyway. Fair warning. No, the reason I'm here... is to show you Equestrians what it means to battle, to fight with honor, for honor!” He paused for a moment to watch the confused faces of the ponies in the stadium. “I see not one of you ponies are understanding what I am saying. So, I suppose I shall give you an example of what a real battle is supposed to be.”
Just then, a large door opened on the other end of the stadium where a combatant would normally come out into the arena. Out of the door rolled Princess Celestia unconscious and bound to a rack, brought forward by two Changelings. The whole stadium gasped in horror as they saw their Princess of the Sun being carted around by such villainous creatures and brought forward in front of King Sombra.
“This is impossible...” Twilight said to herself as she helped Rainbow Dash up. “How can this be happening?”
“I should have done something sooner,” a mysterious voice said from Twilight's left. She turned around to see Keldeo also looking on at the scene in the arena with an intense expression on his face. Twilight hadn't been acquainted with Keldeo before then, though, so of course she had no idea what he was talking about.
Back in the arena, King Sombra cast a spell on the unconscious princess before him, causing her to regain consciousness and fall to the ground. As she got back up, King Sombra stood over her with a sinister smile on his face. “Get up, Princess. I need you for this demonstration.”
“Do what you wish to me, Sombra,” Celestia said, refusing to get up. “But you will leave these ponies alone!”
“You want me to leave them be?” Sombra shouted. He then used his magic to bring Celestia up in the air and held her in front of him. “I am here to teach them what honor is. I honestly have no use for you. I could just as easily throw you into the depths of Tartarus right here in front of them all. But I'm not. I'm using you as an example.” Sombra then threw Celestia to the ground and turned away from her. “You're so concerned about the well being of your subjects... Perhaps you should have waited for me to inform you of what I expect of you before you make any sort of demands.” As Princess Celestia slowly got up behind Sombra, the tyrant continued speaking. “A single one-round battle between you and me. That is what I ask of you as my demonstration. I understand that at the beginning of your Equestria Battle Tournament, you need an inaugural battle to kick everything off, so this will satisfy both of our goals at this moment.”
“If it is a battle you want, it's a battle you shall receive,” Celestia said.
“Good,” Sombra said with a smile as he turned back to face Celestia. “And since I made such a grand entrance, why don't I make a rather grand proposal? If you are victorious in this battle, then I as well as everypony I have brought with me will leave and you may resume your Equestria Battle Tournament as planned. But if I am to succeed...” Sombra paused a moment to chuckle a little. “If I defeat you, then you forfeit the Tournament over to me and my Alliance of Shadow. And with us in control of the Tournament, if any of the Alliance becomes the champion of the Tournament, then all of Equestria becomes ours!”
“When did Fighting is Magic become Mortal Kombat?” Pinkie Pie asked nopony in particular. “Next thing you know, we're going to have fatalities and fire-based demon monsters for combatants and one of the semi-bosses being a shape shifter... Sweet Celestia, Sombra's asking for a lawsuit!”
“Well, Princess?” Sombra asked. “Do you accept this challenge?”
After a long pause, Princess Celestia finally said “I agree to these terms. But when I defeat you, I expect you and your Alliance of Shadow to leave Equestria and never return!”
With a smile and a lick of his teeth, Sombra said “So be it.”
Twilight, seeing her opportunity, flew up to the stand above the arena where Celestia usually stand as the referee of any battles that went on. “I hope I can do this right,” Twilight said to herself. With a deep breath, she used her magic to amplify her voice and began the introduction of the battle as Celestia normally did in the last four Tournaments. “The battle between combatants Princess Celestia and King Sombra is about to begin. The following will be a one-round battle with a timer of 60 seconds. The combatants will have the range of the arena to move, as well as an airspace of 15 feet.”
“Just start the battle already!” King Sombra shouted.
“It's not like I've had time to practice this,” Twilight shouted back in reply. “Now then, are both combatants ready?”
“I'm ready to protect my subjects,” Princess Celestia said.
“And I'm ready to rule them,” Sombra said.
“Then let this battle begin!” Twilight shouted as she fired a flare into the air with her magic.

Princess Celestia was the first to attempt an attack, more than willing to finish this battle as quickly as possible. She charged forward, using her wings to increase her speed, while charging her horn with energy. As she moved to punch Sombra in order to fake him out so he'd sidestep or teleport away so she could easily strike him with a blast of magic, however, Sombra did something that Celestia couldn't have possibly expected. Sombra stood still and took the punch head-on.
“Please don't tell me that's all you've got,” Sombra said with a smile. He then raised his hoof and pushed Celestia away with a magic-infused punch, followed by a blast of dark magic that hit Celestia square in the chest. Then, seizing his opportunity, he cast another spell, this one aimed at Celestia's still charged horn, which caused Celestia's original attack to backfire and explode right on top of her.
“Princess Celestia's getting her flank handed to her!” Pinkie Pie shouted to her friends with her in the stands. “Somepony has to do something!”
“Nothing can be done,” Keldeo said from behind Pinkie Pie. “This is a one-one-one battle. If anyone interferes in any way, Princess Celestia will be forced to forfeit the battle.”
“Excuse me, whoever you are,” Pinkie said to Keldeo, “but saying weird things pertaining to rules or facts that nopony else knows, or weird things in general for that matter, is my job.”
“I was just trying to keep you and your friends from doing something reckless,” Keldeo said in reply, backing up a little from Pinkie.
Meanwhile in the arena, Princess Celestia had just recovered from King Sombra's spell combo and was getting up and shaking herself off. “Are you finished already?” Sombra asked with an evil smile.
“Hardly,” Celestia replied as she got up. She then charged forward again, but this time, she teleported behind Sombra and struck him with a powerful kick. This managed to knock Sombra off balance a little, but it didn't seem to deal any significant damage. “This... this is impossible,” Celestia said to herself.
Sombra simply looked over and glanced at Celestia, his smile gone. “That hurt,” he said in an unamused tone. He then turned to shadow and moved behind Celestia before reforming and striking Celestia in the back, causing her to fall to the ground. “Get up, Celestia,” Sombra said angrily. “I will not stand for a KO this soon into the battle.”
After a few seconds, Celestia got back up and turned back to Sombra. “I will not admit defeat to the likes of you,” Celestia said with a determined expression. “Never.”
“That's the Celestia I remember from all those centuries ago,” Sombra said with a smile. He then charged forward and tried to strike Celestia with a powerful punch right to her midsection. However, Celestia managed to dodge this attack, leaving Sombra open to an arc kick from Celestia, followed by a windmill kick, two quick punches, and finally, a powerful blast of magic that knocked Sombra into the magic barrier that surrounded the arena.
“As I've said,” Celestia said as Sombra recovered from her combo, “I'll never allow myself to be defeated by the likes of you.”
“We'll see about that,” Sombra said as he got back up on all fours. “Perhaps it's time I showed you what power I've obtained since I was last destroyed.” He then began charging his horn with an incalculable amount of dark magic.
“You fool!” Celestia shouted. “What do you think you're doing? With the power you're storing, if you release it now, you're going to blow Canterlot off this mountain!”
“What makes you so sure that wasn't my intention from the get-go?” Sombra said with a wicked smile. He then raised his horn into the air before bringing it back down and firing a huge blast of dark magic right at Princess Celestia.
“I won't let you destroy Canterlot!” Celestia shouted as she fired her own beam of light magic at Sombra's attack. The two attacks connected and there were many explosions around the meeting point, but it didn't last long before it became evident that Sombra was the one gaining ground.
“PRINCESS CELESTIA!” Twilight shouted just before Celestia became engulfed in Sombra's attack, resulting in a large explosion right where Celestia was standing.
The smoke from the explosion lingered in the arena for a few moments, a few agonizing moments in which almost all of the spectators and combatants in the stands could only helplessly watch in painful anticipation as they tried to figure out the result of the battle. (Closer to whether or not Celestia survived Sombra's attack, actually. To most of them, the battle had already been decided.) The smoke was so thick, even Twilight couldn't see anything so that she could call the battle for the rest of the spectators. After a while, though, the smoke began to clear. Much to everypony's relief, they saw Princess Celestia still standing right where she was before Sombra's attack. The crowd was about to rejoice, but it was at that moment that what remained of Princess Celestia's strength left her and she collapsed to the ground, defeated.
“Well, Twilight?” Sombra said to the younger alicorn after a minute of stunned silence from the entirety of the stadium. “You wanted to be referee. That means you have to call the battle.”
“Oh... right,” Twilight said before clearing her throat. “T-the winner of the inaugural battle of the Equestria Battle Tournament is... King Sombra.”
Upon this announcement, the whole stadium erupted in boos and hisses aimed towards Sombra, but he easily disregarded all of these as he walked over to the downed Princess Celestia. However, he was stopped when Twilight flew down to put distance between him and Celestia.
“Not another step, Sombra,” Twilight said as the rest of her friends made their way into the arena to join her. “You've had your battle.”
“Out of my way, ponies,” Sombra said. “I do not intend to harm Celestia further. I still need her to transfer control of the Tournament to me.” Sombra then used his magic to throw the Mane 6 to the side before proceeding to stand over the battered and beaten Celestia. “Now, Celestia, I expect you to hold fair to your end of the deal.”
Celestia struggled to look up at Sombra, but any resistance she had before had been utterly demolished. “Very well,” she said coldly. “You've defeated me in battle... so now control of the Equestria Battle Tournament is in the hooves of you and the Alliance of Shadow.”
The stadium once again erupted into angry boos and hisses, but Sombra laughed evilly nonetheless. “I appreciate you seeing things my way, Princess,” Sombra said with a smile. He then turned to the Mane 6, who only looked on in horror as Celestia surrendered so easily. “You six, take your Princess out of here. Take her back to her castle or wherever you want, but as per the Equestria Battle Tournament rules, she's now disqualified from the Tournament.” He then turned to address the crowd once again. “And as for the rest of you. If any combatants wish to remain in this Tournament, know that you're going hoof-to-hoof with the most powerful beings in Equestria and beyond, all hoof-picked by me. You may leave if you want, but remember that the winner of this tournament shall decide the fate of Equestria. Any spectators who don't want to see their heroes be humiliated in combat may also leave, but to all of you, know that in half an hour, I am sealing Canterlot off from the outside world to ensure no outside help can be received.” After a short pause, Sombra then said, “But if you still wish to stay, I promise to give you the most exciting Equestria Battle Tournament any of you have ever seen!” The crowd remained silent, opting now to simply give Sombra silent glares, but Sombra disregarded this just as easily. He then turned back to the Mane 6 and Celestia. “You all are still here. I thought I told you to leave.”
“We're going to stay in this tournament, Sombra,” Twilight said. “All six of us. And we're going to defeat your Alliance of Shadow and whoever else we have to to save Equestria.”
“You have fun with that, little fillies,” Sombra said. “Now leave.”

Within the half hour Sombra specified, Canterlot was cleared of about half its original population. In order to clear the city efficiently, Sombra (forcibly) arranged for several trains to run within that half hour to get ponies out of the city and to other towns and cities, but no trains ever came back in. And after half an hour, the remaining population of Canterlot found themselves trapped in the city by a huge orb of dark energy.
Meanwhile, the Mane 6 had brought the still injured Princess Celestia back to Canterlot Castle and rested her on her bed.
“I can't believe Sombra didn't even bother to heal you after the beating he gave you,” Rainbow Dash said to Celestia.
“Oh, I've taken worse beatings in the past,” Celestia said. “But you cannot worry about me right now. King Sombra obviously has far more power than he's ever had before, plus this Alliance of Shadow to back him up further.”
“Don't worry, Princess,” Twilight said. “We'll stop Sombra by winning this Tournament no matter what it takes.”
“Sombra won't stand a chance with somepony like me against him,” Rainbow Dash said. “With two championships under my belt, Sombra will think twice before going up against me.”
“Angel and I will fight with everything we've got,” Fluttershy said.
“For Equestria, I'll do anything,” Rarity said.
“Bring it on!” Applejack shouted.
“Those Alliance of Shadow guy's won't know what hit 'em!” Pinkie shouted before throwing her hooves into the air and spawning a cloud of confetti and streamers.
“Thank you, all of you,” Celestia said. “Equestria couldn't be in better hooves. Now go. With Canterlot cut off from the rest of Equestria, you may all stay in Canterlot Castle, and if you find any other fighters for our side, allow them to stay here as well.”
“Will do, Princess,” Twilight said. The six then cantered out of the room to find their own rooms in the castle, somehow not noticing the eavesdropping Pokemon hidden behind the door.
> 3: Keldeo Takes the Stage - Enter Pokemon Hunter Colton
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	After a rather sleepless night in Canterlot Castle and viewing the day's tournament roster placed in the center of the city by a pair of Changeling soldiers, the Mane 6 made their way to Canterlot Stadium.
“Ugh, this is so unfair!” Rainbow Dash complained as the ponies walked down the street.
“What is?” Rarity asked. “Is it the fact that King Sombra took over the Equestria Battle Tournament, about 70 percent of the original combatants fled, and half of the new roster has been filled with Sombra's lackeys?”
“That's part of it,” Rainbow Dash said. “What I'm really complaining about is the fact that not a single one of us is battling in the first battle of the day. The only ones battling are some weird creature named Colton and a weird pony named Keldeo. Why is everything so weird lately?”
“Now Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said. “Calling others weird like that is rude. Just because Keldeo might look different doesn't mean he's no different from you or I.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Rainbow Dash said as she did a quick loop in the air out of sheer boredom. “I just wanna see how this guy fights, quite frankly.”
“Well, we're gonna see soon enough,” Twilight said as the six mares made their way into the stadium.

In about five short minutes, the remainder of the population on Canterlot filled the stadium, which actually only filled about two-thirds of the stands. That two-thirds was still mostly sports fanatic ponies, though, so the excitement seemed to be at about the same level as the previous night.
After a little while longer, King Sombra appeared in the center of the arena to begin the battle.
“Fillies and gentlecolts!” Sombra announced, somehow sounding like one of those announcers who begins a wrestling match. “Welcome to the first battle of Stage 1 of the Equestria Battle Tournament!” Sombra paused for a moment for the sports fanatics to cheer loudly. “Alright, that's enough cheering. We're on a tight schedule today. Anyway, allow me to introduce this fight's combatants! In the eastern corner, a newcomer to the Equestria Battle Tournament but in no way inexperienced in combat, the newest member of the Swords of Justice in the Unova Region, and the sole wielder of the move Secret Sword, the Colt Pokemon, Keldeo!”
As Sombra finished his announcement, out of the far eastern door of the arena cantered out Keldeo, smiling and waving at the crowd. Just before he got into the arena, however, he jumped onto his forehooves with his hind legs in the air, then spun himself around while firing jets of water out of his hind hooves, creating a beautiful mist around him and half the arena, causing the crowd to go wild.
“What a show-off,” Rainbow Dash mumbled, earning several “Really?” glares from her friends.
“I'll admit, though,” Rarity said, “that's a pretty impressive ability he's got.”
Meanwhile, Keldeo had finished his performance and walked to the center of the arena, giving King Sombra a quick nod so that the tyrant can resume his announcement.
“And in the western corner of the arena, a human who also came here all the way from the Unova region, a master strategist, as is required in his profession, and one of the best in his business, I give to you, Pokemon Hunter Colton!”
Out of the other door to the arena stepped an oddly unimposing bipedal figure. It was a human about in his mid-twenties wearing a red cap, a red jacket, and black jeans. Around his belt were six small black balls. Despite a mixture of cheers, boos, and confused murmurs as to what exactly he was from the crowd, he walked into the center of the arena unfazed, his focus on Keldeo the whole time.
“What kind of name is Colton?” Pinkie Pie asked. “It sounds like a reeeeeeeeeeeeeeealy bad pun to me.”
“I just want to know how this Colton character plans on fighting,” Twilight said. “This tournament is for ponies and similar quadrupeds.”
Right as Twilight said this, King Sombra addressed the exact same issue. “Now, Colton, there's something I'm sure our spectators would like to know,” the tyrant said. “How do you plan on fighting your opponent right now? Even if a creature like you were allowed to fight in this tournament, and I mean this with a little offense as possible, you don't look like much of a fighter.”
“Well, since you so politely asked,” Colton said, reaching down to his belt and grabbing one of the small black orbs, pressing a button on it that caused it to instantly grow to a size that took up his entire hand. “This is called a Dark Ball, a variant of the Poke Ball that trainers like me use to hold these.” Colton then threw the ball into the air, where it broke in half and released what looked like a waterfall of light energy, which fell to the ground and materialized into a large deer-like creature that towered over Keldeo by at least two feet. The creature was mostly brown with a tan underside, the two areas being divided by a long winding yellow stripe, and on its antlers was a large bush of green leaves. “This is called a Pokemon,” Colton continued. “This particular one is called Sawsbuck, and since it's summer, Sawsbuck here has a lovely bush of green on his antlers today.”
“HOLY COW!” Pinkie Pie suddenly shouted loud enough for everypony in the stadium. “That's a Pokemon? How did I not figure out that was what Keldeo was the first time I saw him? Oh! I left my Pokedex in my room back at the castle!” Before anypony could say anything, Pinkie Pie dashed off.
“Okay...” Colton said. “Anyway, back to what I was saying...”
While Colton was giving the lesson on his Pokemon for the audience, Sawsbuck was staring Keldeo down, literally. However, Keldeo was unfazed as he looked back up into the giant's eyes. You don't scare me, Keldeo thought to himself. I've stared down Pokemon bigger, stronger, and definitely uglier than you.
“Now then, Colton,” Sombra said, “why don't you show these fine ponies in the audience how a trainer battles with his Pokemon.”
“Not a problem,” Colton replied. “And in addition, after my Sawsbuck defeats Keldeo, I plan on catching him in another one of my Dark Balls and selling him to Team Rocket once I get back to my world.”
“Not a chance, Colton,” Keldeo said, stepping back from Sawsbuck and turning to Colton. “I'm gonna beat your Sawsbuck easily.”
“Will you, now?” Colton asked. “Are you perhaps forgetting the type matchups here? You are a Water-type and Sawsbuck is a Grass-type. He's got an advantage over you.”
“Correction,” Keldeo said. “He's a Grass-Normal, and I'm a Water-Fighting. So there's a mutual disadvantage here. And I've got an extra advantage to counter that. You all might want to step back.”
As the three around Keldeo stepped back, Keldeo planted his hooves firmly on the ground and raised his horn high, causing his entire body to start glowing. The light quickly grew too intense for anypony to see Keldeo anymore. Once it faded, however, everypony saw that Keldeo had changed considerably. His red hair had grown considerably and gained three feathers of the colors green, orange, and blue. The fur on his chest grew so that it was more drape-like, and his horn nearly tripled in size and became a dark blue.
“Oh my stars...” Rarity said to herself, noticeably blushing. ”Thank Celestia I'm not a pegasus right now,” she added in her head.
“That's Keldeo's Resolute form!” Pinkie Pie said, suddenly reappearing at her place where she was prior to her departure, only this time holding a small red device.
“Um, Pinkie Pie, what is that?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Duh, it's a Pokedex,” Pinkie replied. “A compact device that holds information on all known Pokemon from Kanto to Kalos. Watch.” Pinkie then aimed the Pokedex at Keldeo, from which a second screen slid from the back to the top. It then showed a close up picture of Keldeo and began speaking information on him.


Keldeo, the Colt Pokemon
When it is resolute, its body fills with power and it becomes swifter. Its jumps are then too fast to follow.


“Okay...” Rainbow Dash said. “That's... interesting?”
“Wait, it works on Sawsbuck too,” Pinkie said as she turned her Pokedex to the other Pokemon in the arena.


Sawsbuck, the Season Pokemon, and the evolved form of Deerling
They migrate according to the seasons, so some people call Sawsbuck the harbingers of Spring.


“Alright, so we can get info on this guy's Pokemon just like that,” Twilight said. “That'll be useful.”
“Now then, if no one else has any more surprises,” King Sombra resumed, “I would like to get this battle started. Combatants, take your positions on either side of the arena.”
Both Pokemon retreated to their respective sides of the arena and turned to face each other.
“Combatants ready?” Sombra asked.
“You ready, Sawsbuck?” Colton asked his Pokemon. Sawsbuck nodded in reply.
“I'm ready to take you down,” Keldeo said.
“Then let this battle begin!” Sombra shouted. “Round 1, FIGHT!”

“Sawsbuck, start the battle with Energy Ball!” Colton shouted. Sawsbuck instantly responded by raising his head and forming a small green ball of energy at his mouth before launching it at Keldeo.
“That all you got?” Keldeo asked as he easily jumped out of the way of the attack and towards Sawsbuck, where he landed in front of Sawsbuck and gave him a powerful Double Kick (which looked to Applejack like an applebuck) that knocked Sawsbuck into the barrier surrounding the arena.
“That attack was super-effective!” Pinkie shouted. “I'd hate to be Sawsbuck right now.”
“Sawsbuck, you alright?” Colton asked as his Pokemon got back up. Sawsbuck replied by quickly recovering and nodding. “Then get back into that fight with Double-Edge!” Sawsbuck instantly charged forward at Keldeo at full speed while beginning to glow with energy.
“What is Colton thinking?” Pinkie shouted. “That move could injure Sawsbuck!”
While Pinkie was shouting, Sawsbuck advanced on Keldeo faster than the latter could react and slammed into Keldeo with full force, knocking him back several feet. However, Keldeo was able to recover from this attack easily, his energy entirely unwavering. Meanwhile, Sawsbuck looked like he had also taken quite a hit.
“Alright, you wanna Play Rough?” Keldeo asked. Then, with a smile, he added, “No pun relating to any Fairy-type moves intended.” He then galloped forward and leapt into the air above Sawsbuck. He then aimed his forehooves towards Sawsbuck and fired a barrage of bubbles at high speed and pressure towards Sawsbuck.
“Keldeo's using Bubblebeam?” Pinkie inquired rather than said. “It's not very effective, but Keldeo has high Special Attack, so that might do something.”
“Sawsbuck, counter with Energy Ball!” Colton shouted as Keldeo's attack neared Sawsbuck. Sawsbuck responded instantly and fired his attack, which managed to defend against most of Keldeo's attack, but the Energy Ball broke apart before Bubblebeam was finished and Sawsbuck took about a third of the original attack. He wasn't that badly damaged, however.
“Huh, you're a better trainer than I give you credit for,” Keldeo complimented as he landed a few feet away from Sawsbuck. “You've trained your Pokemon well. That's something you don't see in most Pokemon Hunters.”
“My Pokemon are the ones retrieving my prizes for me,” Colton replied. “Fighting rare and legendary Pokemon is what's made them so strong.”
“Well I hate to be the first to tell you this,” Keldeo said, “but your Sawsbuck isn't enough to handle me.” Keldeo then charged forward towards Sawsbuck before jumping onto his forehooves and firing Hydro Cannon out of his hind hooves in a tornado fashion, striking Sawsbuck several times with continuous high-pressure blasts of water.
“Sawsbuck, plow through that attack with Horn Leech!” Colton shouted. Sawsbuck's reaction was instantaneous as his horns started glowing a bright green and he charged forward through Keldeo's attack, striking Keldeo low with his horns and knocking him several feet away, leaving behind a trail of green energy that all came back to Sawsbuck.
“Sawsbuck just drained some of Keldeo's energy!” Pinkie shouted. “And that was a Grass-type attack, so it dealt double damage, which would in turn deal double healing to Sawsbuck! No wonder Colton was being so reckless with Sawsbuck's attacks earlier! Keldeo's suddenly in trouble!”
“Are you going to start shouting every time one of those two attacks the other?” Rainbow Dash shouted.
“As long as I need to explain what exactly going on to any readers who might not play Pokemon down to the smallest detail, yes!” Pinkie shouted in reply.
Meanwhile, Keldeo was slowly getting back up from the attack he took. “Okay...” he said to himself, “that kinda hurt. I guess I'd better step my game up.” Keldeo then returned to all-fours and got ready for another attack.
“This round's over,” Colton said, adjusting his cap. “Sawsbuck, use Solar Beam!”
Upon this command, Sawsbuck began channeling energy into his horns, causing them to start glowing green like they were when he used Horn Leech. This time, however, energy was noticeably flowing from the sky (the sun, more accurately) into Sawsbuck's horns.
“Like I'm gonna let that happen,” Keldeo shouted. He then started galloping forward as his horn begin to start glowing orange.
“Keldeo's using Secret Sword!” Pinkie's shouting. “That move will be super-effective, plus it's a Special Attack, so Keldeo can make it even more effective. Also, Sawsbuck needs quite a while to charge Solar Beam, so-”
“Alright, we get it!” Rainbow Dash said. “Keldeo's about to destroy Sawsbuck. That much was evident.”
“Take this!” Keldeo shouted as he leapt into the air and the glow of his horn increased in size so that it was easily the length of about two extra ponies. He then brought himself down sword-first at Sawsbuck. However, it was at this exact moment that Sawsbuck had finished charging his Solar Beam, and he wasted no time before firing it right at Keldeo.
“Oh my gosh, this is gonna be close!” Pinkie shouted.
Keldeo brought his sword down quickly, slicing clean through the Solar Beam and striking Sawsbuck hard and knocking him back into the barrier. As Keldeo landed and retracted his sword, Sawsbuck slumped to the ground, utterly beaten.
“KO!” Sombra shouted. “Sawsbuck is unable to battle, so the winner of round 1 is Keldeo!”
“Woo hoo!” Pinkie Pie shouted.
“I knew he could do it!” Rarity shouted.
“I say again, what a show-off,” Rainbow Dash said. “I could have beaten that weird deer in half the time Keldeo took with way less flair.”
“You could have, Sugarcube,” Applejack said. “But we all know you would have purposefully thrown in at least twice as much flair as Keldeo just used.”
“Well, yeah...” Rainbow Dash said. “But that's not the point I was trying to make.”
Meanwhile, Colton ran over to where Sawsbuck lay to make sure his Pokemon was ok. “Are you alright Sawsbuck?” Colton asked. Sawsbuck replied with a weak nod. “Well then you can do better in the next round. Get back in there and finish Keldeo.” Sawsbuck replied with a nod as he felt Sombra restoring his energy. It felt like a Full Restore, only it healed Sawsbuck's Power Points as well. (Not that he had spent that many.) Sawsbuck instantly got back up and got ready for the next round. “That's my Sawsbuck,” Colton said as he pat Sawsbuck on the side.
“Do you think Keldeo can win this next round?” Rainbow Dash asked her friends. “I've seen too many battles be decided by lucky shots in the past.”
“You mean like what you keep insisting happened in the second tournament where I beat you in the semi-final stage?” Fluttershy asked.
“I told you not to bring that up again!” Rainbow Dash shouted, blushing heavily from the humiliating memory.
“Well I don't have a doubt in my mind that Keldeo can utterly demolish this ruffian,” Rarity said.
“You've got quite a lot of faith in this Keldeo guy, Rarity,” Applejack said. “Just a wild guess, is he the guy you bumped into on the train?”
“Maybe...” Rarity said with a smile as she looked down towards Keldeo.
“So do you have a crush on him or something?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Rainbow!” Rarity shouted while blushing. “How rude of you to jump to such a conclusion like that!”
“But I'm right, aren't I?” Rainbow asked with a smirk.
“Guys, quiet down,” Twilight said. “The second round is about to begin.”
Back in the arena, Keldeo and Sawsbuck had returned to their respective corners of the arena with Sombra in the middle again. “Alright, let's get this second round started!” he announced. “Are the combatants ready?”
“Ready to finish this,” Keldeo said.
“Ready to turn this around,” Colton said.
“Then let's begin! Round 2, FIGHT!”
Keldeo wasted no time charging forward to give Sawsbuck a powerful Double Kick like how he started the previous round, but Colton and Sawsbuck had different plans this time around.
“Sawsbuck, use Double-Edge!” Colton shouted. Sawsbuck instantly charged forward in his previous manner, charging at full speed and becoming covered in energy. Keldeo saw his decreasing  time to execute his attack, so he quickly turned around and tried to use Double Kick, but he ran out of time and was launched backwards by Sawsbuck's attack. “Now hit him with Energy Ball while he's in the air!” Colton shouted while Keldeo was still flying. Sawsbuck wasted no time charging and firing his attack, managing to hit Keldeo perfectly before he could even react. The force of the attack was so great, that Keldeo actually managed to hit the ceiling of the barrier that surrounded the arena. This was something that only happened once in the past. In the third tournament when Gilda tried to pin Pinkie Pie to the ceiling and was immediately disqualified. Since Sawsbuck wasn't pinning Keldeo and only knocked him into the ceiling, however, the whole “Gilda getting disqualified” thing probably wasn't even worth mentioning as what Sawsbuck did didn't result in him getting DQ'd.
Back to the battle, the audience erupted in pained “Ooh...”s as Keldeo hit the ground hard, the shock actually managing to inflict the Paralysis status condition on him for a moment.
“Oh dear! Keldeo!” Rarity shouted.
“You totally don't have a crush on that colt,” Rainbow Dash said sarcastically with another smirk.
“Now's your chance, Sawsbuck!” Colton shouted. “Hit him with Solar Beam!” Sawsbuck had already seen his opportunity, but he was awaiting Colton's order. Without wasting a second, Sawsbuck began charging energy for his Solar Beam.
“Keldeo, get up!” Rarity shouted.
In response to this, Keldeo struggled to get back to his hooves, but he managed to get back upright anyway. He then looked in Rarity's direction and smiled before turning his attention back to Sawsbuck, who had almost finished charging his Solar Beam. Then, within the time frame of about a second, Keldeo thought to himself, ”No way I can counter that easily. But it doesn't look like I have time to dodge, either. I'm gonna have to get really creative if I want to survive this round. But how?” That very same second, and idea popped into Keldeo's mind. But also at that second, Sawsbuck fired his attack.
“Here goes nothing,” Keldeo said out loud. He then sprang up on his forehooves and fired Bubblebeam out of his hind hooves while spinning in a tornado fashion. As Keldeo expected, each individual bubble instantly burst when it came in contact with Sawsbuck's Solar Beam, creating a small cloud of mist where it popped. Keldeo managed to fire so many bubbles, in fact, that a layer of fog began to form around where Keldeo was. However, this did little to slow or stop Sawsbuck's attack, and it fired right through the cloud, assumingly hitting Keldeo dead-on.
“Ha!” Colton laughed. “His attack did nothing to protect him.”
“Keldeo, NO!” Rarity shouted. “It can't end like this!”
“Wait,” Sombra said. “I can't call a KO until the fog clears.”
It was a very tense moment of deafening silence between when Sombra said this and the time it took for the fog to clear. However, when the fog did finally clear, Keldeo was revealed to be standing exactly where he was, almost entirely unharmed.
“But how is this possible?” Colton shouted.
“Oh, that's pretty easy, actually,” Keldeo said with a smile. “You see, Solar Beam is made almost entirely of particles of light, and in an environment such as dense fog like what I was able to create using Bubblebeam, those particles can get mixed and jumbled and fly all over the place, so using this knowledge, I was able to render your Sawsbuck's attack down to about 10% it's original effectiveness. And now that I've avoided getting blasted by a potential KO attack, it's time for me to finish this.” Keldeo then charged forward towards Sawsbuck.
“Not a chance!” Colton shouted. “Sawsbuck, charge forward and use Horn Leech!” Sawsbuck quickly charged forward while powering up his horn to use Horn Leech.
“Horn vs horn!” Keldeo shouted as he got ready to use Secret Sword. His horn glowed a bright orange before growing to its full length. With the distance between the two charging Pokemon closed by Keldeo's sword, their attacks connected quickly. However, Sawsbuck's horns were no match for Keldeo's sword and his attack was broken in an instant. Keldeo then saw his opportunity and raised his sword to deal another attack.
“Sawsbuck, no!” Colton shouted. But he was helpless as Keldeo brought his sword down upon Sawsbuck, landing not only a super-effective hit, but also managing a critical hit as indicated by a flash of bright particles of blue light where Keldeo's sword impacted, causing Sawsbuck to go flying into the barrier. Sawsbuck hit the ground, then managed to get back up despite the hit he had taken.
“Oh no you don't,” Keldeo said. He then turned around and fired a powerful Hydro Cannon out of his hind legs, hitting Sawsbuck square in the midsection and knocking him back against the barrier once more. This time when he hit the ground, he stayed down, defeated.
“KO!” Sombra shouted. “Sawsbuck is once again unable to battle, so the winner of round 2 and the first battle of Stage 1 is Keldeo!” The crowd instantly erupted into cheers and applause upon the announcement.
“Yes!” Rarity shouted. “I knew he could do it!” 
“I guess that kid's got skill after all,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Man I wish I could fire water and bubbles out of my hooves,” Pinkie said. “Then everypony would have to call me 'Bubble Mare' or something cool like that.”
“Uh-huh...” Rainbow Dash said.
“Come on, girls,” Twilight said. “I think it's time we had a meeting with this Keldeo.”
Meanwhile, Colton walked up to Sawsbuck while pulling out its Dark Ball. “Sawsbuck, return,” he said as Sawsbuck was converted back to light energy and pulled into his Dark Ball. “That was a pathetic performance. You should have been able to easily defeat Keldeo, but instead you falter in two lucky shots. I knew I shouldn't have trusted you to perform such a simple task.”
“Hey!” Keldeo shouted at Colton. “That's no way to treat your Pokemon! Your Sawsbuck just gave everything he had for you-”
“And it wasn't enough to defeat you,” Colton said. “But at least I now know how much power you truly have, Keldeo. When next we meet, you won't be so lucky...” Colton then pulled out another one of his Dark Balls, this one empty. “And this Dark Ball, shall be yours.”
“Wow, you're offering me free housing just like that?” Keldeo asked sarcastically. “Sorry, but I'm gonna have to decline your offer.”
“You won't have a choice soon enough,” Colton said. He then put away his Dark Ball and walked out of the arena.
“What a jerk,” Keldeo said to himself as he changed back to his normal form and walked out of the arena. As he was leaving the stadium, however, he found himself stopped by the Mane 6. “Hello,” Keldeo said awkwardly. “Can I help you ponies?”
“As a matter of fact, you can,” Twilight said. “We were wondering if you were willing to join us in our battle against King Sombra.”
“I'm sorry?” Keldeo asked.
“Well, let me put it this way,” Twilight said. “We just saw your combination of combat skills, creativity, and purity of heart, which are three things that we're going to need if we're going to defeat King Sombra's lackeys in this tournament and keep him from conquering Equestria. And, from what else we saw, that Colton guy seems to be on Sombra's payroll as well.”
“So what you're saying is you want me on your team so that we can help each other in our fights?” Keldeo asked.
“Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying,” Twilight replied.
“Also, I think Rarity has a crush on you,” Rainbow Dash said.
“What are you talking about, Rainbow Dash?” shouted a blushing Rarity. She then turned to Keldeo. “Uh, you're gonna have to excuse Rainbow Dash. She's always talking nonsense. Heh heh...”
“No, I'm the one who's always talking nonsense,” Pinkie Pie said.
“We can have two ponies who always talk nonsense!” Rarity shouted.
“Uh...” Keldeo said, just about as confused as if he had taken a Supersonic from a Zubat.
“Look,” Twilight said, “the point is that we need each other if we're going to survive this tournament. If you join us, we can help you just as much as you could possibly help us. So do you accept?”
Keldeo thought to himself for a moment before making his decision. ”Cobalion did say I'd probably need some help for this mission...” he thought. Finally, Keldeo said, “Alright, you ponies have got yourselves a deal.”
“Woo hoo!” Pinkie Pie shouted. “A new friend!”
“Wha-?” Keldeo tried to ask, but he was cut short when Pinkie rushed up and hugged him.
“Ooh, I've gotta throw a party to celebrate us meeting you, us becoming friends, you beating that meanie Colton and his Sawsbuck, and-”
“Calm down, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said. “This is no time for celebration. We can celebrate once we've beaten King Sombra, but I don't think it's a good idea to do any celebrations prior.”
“Right,” Keldeo said. “But, uh... what do we do now? I checked the roster earlier and not a single one of us is fighting in the next round.”
“I'll tell you what we do,” Pinkie said. “We watch the battle, and if a good guy wins, we make them our new friend just like we did with you.”
“Right...” Keldeo said with an unconvincing nod.
“And even if one of Sombra's ponies win,” Twilight added, “we'll know how they fight and how to fight them if we encounter them later in the tournament.”
“Sounds like a good plan, actually,” Keldeo said.
“But before we do anything else, you should meet Princess Celestia,” Twilight continued. “Come on, we'll show you to Canterlot Castle. You can stay there overnight too if you want.”
“Thanks, Twilight,” Keldeo said. He then followed the six ponies to the castle.
> 4: A New Ally - Astronomer and Astronaut
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Shortly after Keldeo's battle with Colton and his Sawsbuck, the Mane 6 led him to Canterlot Castle so the Pokemon could meet Princess Celestia.
“So Princess Celestia is like the one who brought your world life and such, right?” Keldeo asked on the way there.
“Well, she is the one who raises the sun every day,” Twilight said.
“So she's like Arceus?” Keldeo asked.
“Um...” Twilight replied. “I'm not entirely sure who that is, but sure I guess.”
“Twilight, are you serious?” Pinkie asked. “Am I seriously the only one here who isn't a Pokemon who knows who Arceus is?” Pinkie then pulled out her Pokedex and showed Twilight the entry for Arceus.


Arceus, the Alpha Pokemon
It is said to have emerged from an egg in a place where there was nothing then shaped the world.


“Well, Arceus shaped the Pokemon world at least,” Pinkie said as she put her Pokedex away. “But seriously, I would have thought an egghead like you would have known all about gods from a lot of different worlds.”
“I am not an egghead!” Twilight protested. “I'm well-read.”
“Which kind of makes you an egghead,” Rainbow Dash said as she flew upside down over Twilight.
“Can we just drop this already?” Twilight said as the 7 equines got to the entrance of Princess Celestia's throne room.
Princess Celestia was reviewing the results of the previous fight. She wasn't sure who exactly Keldeo was, but she did know that his opponent, Colton, was working for King Sombra, so she decided to chalk that up as a win for Team Harmony or whatever the Mane 6 decided to call their team. It was then that she heard the doors to her throne room open, followed by the Mane 6 and another pony entered.
“Hello, everypony,” Princess Celestia said. “Oh, and who is this?”
“Princess, this is Keldeo,” Twilight said.
“It's a pleasure to meet you, your majesty,” Keldeo said while bowing. Aside to Twilight, he quietly said, “Did I do that right?” Twilight replied with a quick nod.
“So you're the one who defeated one of King Sombra's lackeys in the last round of the tournament?” Princess Celestia asked.
“Yeah,” Keldeo said. “I didn't know he was working for King Sombra, I just knew he was hunting me down.”
“Hunting you?” Celestia asked. “I knew Sombra was an evil tyrannical ruler who sought the enslavement of Equestria, but to think one of his minions is hunting somepony as a prize... And I thought I had seen all evil in the world.”
“You'd be surprised,” Keldeo said. “In my world, I have to evade humans like Colton on a regular basis.”
“Well, we'll do everything we can to protect you from this guy as long as you're with us in this tournament,” Twilight said.
“Thanks,” Keldeo replied. “And Princess Celestia, if you need me to, I'll fight alongside your ponies as long as it takes to take down Colton and King Sombra.”
“Thank you, Keldeo,” Princess Celestia said. “Against a foe like Sombra, we can use all the help we can get.”
“Hey, everypony,” Rainbow Dash said. “I don't know if I'm the only one who's noticed, but if we don't hightail it back to the stadium, we might miss the next fight!”
“It would be preferable if you were to be present for more fights,” Celestia commented. “If anypony wins against King Sombra's minions, it would be a good idea to make them our allies.”
“Great idea,” Pinkie said. “So what are we waiting for? Let's get to the stadium already!” And with that, Pinkie dashed out of the room at a speed that could make her Power Pony counterpart jealous.
“Does she normally-?” Keldeo started.
“There's no such thing as 'normal' if Pinkie Pie's in the room,” Rainbow Dash said. “It takes a bit of getting used to.”
“Good to know,” Keldeo replied with a nod.

By the time Keldeo and the Mane 6 (hereafter Mane 7 because I'm lazy) had made it to the stadium and taken their seats, the next battle was just then beginning.
“About time you ponies showed up,” Sombra said under his breath as he saw the Mane 7 take their seats. He then activated his voice amplification spell and began addressing the crowd. “Fillies and gentlecolts, the second battle of Stage 1 is about to begin! In one corner, we have the former pupil of Princess Celestia, exiled many years ago, she relinquished her evil ways but came back to Equestria for this tournament and this tournament only, Sunset Shimmer!”
“What?” Twilight shouted as she saw the pony version of Sunset Shimmer walk into the arena. Twilight could have sworn that the last time she had seen Sunset Shimmer, she was a raging she-demon who got blasted by the almighty Rainbow Laser of Friendship, learned the magic of friendship, and helped her new human friends defeat an evil trio of girls who wanted to have an all-out battle of the bands. At least that's what Twilight thought had happened. Her memories of the human world were a little bit fuzzy as a side effect of the portal.
“And in the other corner,” King Sombra continued, “the very pony who would have given literally anything to be in Sunset Shimmer's horseshoes, Ponyville's own human fanatic and the only pony to have completely and truly mastered a fully two-legged technique in combat, Lyra Heartstrings!”
Into the other corner of the arena cantered Lyra Heartstrings, who had some experience with the Equestria Battle Tournament, being in three past tournaments, but still wasn't always that competent of a fighter. Still, though, did she persist.
“Oh boy,” Rainbow Dash said. “It's gonna be another Lyra fight.”
“Now Rainbow, darling,” Rarity said, “you shouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly all the time. She's pulled off wins in the past.”
“By the skin of her teeth,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Still, I guess this could be fun to watch.”
Meanwhile in the arena, Lyra walked slowly into the arena, taking her time to size up her opponent.
”If she's a former pupil of Princess Celestia, she's gotta have a lot of magical capabilities,” she thought to herself. ”Wait a second, is this the pony who went to the human world? If she is, she might be able to predict most of the movements of my style. This might not be such an easy battle...”
As the two ponies made it to the center of the arena, they both looked each other in the eyes.
“I hear you like humans,” Sunset Shimmer said to Lyra. “Maybe if you beat me, I can share some stuff I know about them with you.”
“Really?” Lyra asked as her eyes lit up.
“Sure,” Sunset replied. “Whatever it'll take to make this fight last more than 15 seconds.”
Lyra gasped at the insult. “You are going down,” she said.
“Can you two save the 'beating the feathers out of each other' for after I start the fight?” King Sombra said. “I fell I don't need to ask this, but are the combatants ready?”
“I'm ready,” Sunset Shimmer said.
Lyra took a moment to rise from all fours to just her hind legs, spent about a second recovering her balance, then brought her forehooves to about level with her chest before saying, “Let's go.”
“Alright, then,” King Sombra said. “Round 1, FIGHT!”

Sunset Shimmer wasted no time moving forward to deliver the first blow, assuming it would be easy to knock Lyra off balance with the stance she had. Sunset tried to give Lyra a hoof punch, but Lyra easily backflipped out of the way and countered with a blast of magic that hit Sunset, but didn't seem do much in terms of knockback. Lyra then landed perfectly on her hind legs, back to her original stance.
“I'm not the kind of pony you want to underestimate,” Lyra said with a determined expression.
“Good,” Sunset replied. “I was hoping you had more fight in you than I assumed.”
“You are asking for pain, aren't you?” Lyra shouted. She then ran forward while charging her horn with energy.”
“Too predictable,” Sunset said with a smile. She then put up a small magical shield to defend against the magic shot that she expected from Lyra. However, a shot was not what Lyra intended to deliver. Instead, Lyra focused her magic in her hooves and gave a solid punch that broke through Sunset's shield and hit her, knocking the quadrupedal pony backwards. Sunset easily recovered from this, however.
“Takes a while to master this kind of magic,” Lyra said as she revealed that she had used her magic to create fingers on her hooves made from her energy field. “But it's as effective in combat as it is with playing the lyre.”
“Well then,” Sunset said as she wiped her mouth with her hoof, “it seems I'm in for more of a challenge than I thought. Only so much more, though.” Sunset then charged forward at Lyra once again.
“You're gonna regret saying that,” Lyra said as she readied herself for Sunset's attack. Sunset started by trying to punch Lyra yet again, but Lyra was able to use her magic-made hands to grab Sunset's hoof before it could make contact. However, this left Lyra open to a quick kick from Sunset, which caused Lyra to let go of Sunset's hoof. Sunset then followed up with a two-legged kick that knocked Lyra back a bit. Lyra was able to recover from this, but she wasn't able to anticipate a backflip from Sunset Shimmer followed by a blast of magic that hit Lyra square in the chest. Sunset was about to finish the combo by landing on Lyra, but Lyra was able to conjure a quick force field that was able to block this last hit and break the combo. It also left Sunset open to a windmill kick from Lyra that flipped Sunset forward and made her almost land on her back. However, Sunset shimmer managed to fire a blast of magic that had just enough recoil to flip her the last 90 degrees she needed to avoid landing on her back. Additionally, this blast managed to catch Lyra off guard and hit her, knocking Lyra off her hooves and onto her back.
“Had enough?” Sunset Shimmer asked as she saw Lyra fall.
In reply to this, Lyra raised the lower half of her body and used the momentum of throwing that half outwards to get herself back onto her hind hooves. “Hardly,” Lyra said as she brushed some of her mane out of her face.
“I was hoping you'd say that,” Sunset said. She then rushed forward and fired several blasts of magic to throw Lyra's guard off. Lyra was able to block all of these shots with a  magic force field, but that left her open to a powerful kick from Sunset Shimmer that knocked Lyra off her hooves once again. She wasn't allowed to hit the ground from just that, though. Sunset quickly rushed forward to give Lyra an upwards blast of magic that sent her into the air. Sunset then jumped up and gave her two more punches before preforming a powerful yet graceful frontflip kick that sent Lyra to the ground hard.
“Oww...” Lyra said as Sunset Shimmer landed next to her on all fours.
“KO!” King Sombra announced. “The winner of round 1 is Sunset Shimmer!” The response from the crowd was a mixture of cheers, boos, and other confused noises.
“I don't understand, though,” Twilight said.
“What more is there to understand?” Rainbow Dash asked. “That was a rookie mistake. Sunset deterred Lyra's attention in order to get in close and deal a decisive blow that would result in an aerial combo that likely resulted in a bruised vertebrae for Lyra.”
“And you call me an egghead,” Twilight said as she rolled her eyes. “That's not even what I was talking about, though. The last time I saw Sunset Shimmer, she had been reformed. I don't get how she can suddenly be working for King Sombra.”
“Well a lot can happen over the course of a few years,” Keldeo said. “People can vanish, hearts can change, power can be gained or lost. Time isn't very kind, sometimes. Just ask Dialga.”
“I'd ask, but I'm afraid Pinkie will-” Twilight started.


Dialga, the Temporal Pokemon
It is said to have the power to control time. It appears in Sinnoh region myths as an ancient deity.


Twilight sighed as the Pokedex Pinkie held up to the alicorn's ear finished its explanation. “...do that.”
“Wait, you know Dialga?” Pinkie asked Keldeo.
“Well, yeah,” Keldeo replied. “All legendary, mythical, and trio Pokemon know each other.”
“Guys, shh,” Rainbow Dash said. “The second round's about to start.”
Indeed the second round was beginning. King Sombra had healed all the wounds Lyra and Sunset had gained in the previous round and restored their stamina.
“Hope you're ready for a second beat-down,” Sunset Shimmer said as she took her place in front of Lyra at the center of the arena.
“Hope you're ready to eat those words,” Lyra replied.
“Such confidence in the face of utter defeat,” Sunset said. “I want you to know you're one of the most courageous opponents I've faced in a long time.”
“Let's get the next round started,” Sombra announced. “Combatants ready?”
Lyra resumed her previous stance before nodding. Sunset simply nodded without breaking the glare she had with Lyra.
“Round 2, FIGHT!”
Lyra wasn't afraid to take the first strike this round. She quickly dashed forward and moved to punch Sunset, but Sunset expected this attack and easily sidestepped Lyra's attack, sending Lyra off balance and into a side kick from Sunset which taco'd Lyra forward and allowed Sunset to throw her foe into the air and begin another air combo. However, Lyra was able to recover from this attack faster than Sunset anticipated, resulting in Sunset taking a powerful magical counterattack that blasted her back down to Earth and allowed Lyra to land perfectly on her hind legs.
“Many a mare has fallen from underestimating me,” Lyra said as Sunset Shimmer quickly rose to her hooves.
“Now that, I have a hard time believing,” Sunset replied. She then charged forward to attack Lyra from close range. Sunset tried to throw a kick, but Lyra was able to use her magical hands to block this attack. Lyra only grabbed one of Sunset's hind hooves, however, allowing Sunset to use the other hoof to kick Lyra in the gut, causing her to lose her grip and release Sunset. Sunset then took her opportunity to strike Lyra with an uppercut, followed by a beam of magic that blasted Lyra into the barrier surrounding the arena.
“That's gotta be illegal!” Twilight shouted as she witnessed Sunset's attack.
Illegal it may have been, but Sombra didn't make any calls as Sunset galloped forward to finish the stunned Lyra, who was just barely getting back to her hooves. “Time to end this,” Sunset said as she began charging her horn with energy. Right as she got close enough to Lyra, she used her magic to throw Lyra in the air and follow up with a blast of magic that sent Lyra higher into the air. Then, as Lyra began to finally fall, Sunset leapt into the air to meet her halfway with a powerful buck straight to Lyra's midsection. Sunset then held Lyra to her hooves using her magic and did a frontflip to throw Lyra into the ground.
“Not again...” Lyra groaned as she hit the ground.
“KO!” King Sombra announced as Sunset Shimmer landed. “The winner of this fight is Sunset Shimmer!” The crowd was once more a mixture of boos and cheers, but the boos seemed to be a little more numerous this time.
“I told you guys Lyra didn't stand a chance,” Rainbow Dash said to her friends.
“She did have quite a bit of fight in her, though,” Keldeo commented. “It's not every day you see someone trying to be something they're not—in battle, no less—and still be willing to stand up to their foes. And I speak from experience.”
“You've got a point there, Keldeo,” Twilight said. “But there's still something that's bothering me. Sunset Shimmer is supposed to be reformed, but she's not showing any signs of reformation right now.”
Down in the arena, Lyra's wounds were healed by King Sombra's magic, but she barely had any time to get up before a pair of Changeling soldiers entered the arena to carry her off. “Where are you two taking me?” Lyra asked the Changelings, but they said nothing reply as they took her out of the arena.
“That's something new,” Twilight said as she noticed the Changelings bring Lyra out of the arena. “I wonder where they're taking her...”
“I don't think we have time to worry about that,” Rainbow Dash said. “The next battle's going to be in less than an hour, and we've gotta get the results of this battle to Princess Celestia.”
“Somebody remind me why your Princess can't attend these battles herself?” Keldeo inquired as the Mane 7 made their way out of the arena.
“Some rule Sombra put in place to make sure she didn't mess with his tournament,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Doesn't seem very justified, if you ask me.”
“Pun intended?” Keldeo asked.
“What are you talking about?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Well it's pretty obvious,” Pinkie Pie chimed in. “Just like the other Swords of Justice, Keldeo's ability is called Justified, and that allows him to-”
“Pinkie, I think we've learned enough about Pokemon for one day,” Twilight said.
“But I haven't even told you how King Sombra could inadvertently give Keldeo a huge advantage were the two to square off,” Pinkie replied.
“Maybe you can tell us another time, Darling,” Rarity said as the ponies left the stadium.

Meanwhile in the caves beneath Canterlot, the two Changelings from before had brought Lyra up to what looked like a makeshift cell in a small outcropping in the cave. “Can somepony tell me why I'm here?” Lyra shouted, her voice echoing through the caves.
“Our Master wants the defeated combatants out of the way for the time being,” one of the Changelings replied in a raspy voice.
“But why?” Lyra asked. “What purpose could throwing me in here serve?”
“No one knows,” the Changeling replied. “But you will serve your purpose when the time comes.”
Lyra was about to respond, but she stopped when she noticed the Changeling's eyes flash yellow for a moment. “You're not an ordinary Changeling, are you?”
“Trust me, little pony,” another voice said from behind Lyra, this one dark and echoing. “Nothing about what you believe is going on is ordinary.”
“Who's there?” Lyra asked as she turned around.
“Someone who's just as ready to take back Equestria as Sombra is,” the voice replied, followed by a loud and deep breath. Lyra was about to respond, but a strange feeling stopped her. A feeling of... emptiness. Like she had been drained of something. Lyra couldn't even contemplate what was going on before she collapsed to the ground.
> 5: Inner Demons - Pinkie vs Pinkie
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Shortly after the Mane 7 informed Princess Celestia of the events of the previous battle, they left the castle and checked the roster once again.
“Am I the only one noticing something... odd about the next battle?” Rainbow Dash asked as the ponies stared at the roster, with the exception of Pinkie Pie, who had left to grab snacks before the next battle started.
“No, I don't believe you are,” Rarity replied.
“Now even I know this is out of the ordinary,” Keldeo added.
“Even for Pinkie Pie, this is going to be confusing,” Twilight commented.
“Hey guys!” Pinkie said as she trotted back to where her friends were standing with saddlebags full of popcorn and various sweets. “I've got popcorn, cupcakes, milkshakes, and some special-ordered Pokepuffs for Keldeo. Well, I didn't really order them. I had to make them myself.” It took another moment for Pinkie to register that something was out of the ordinary with her friends. “What's going on, guys?”
“Y'all might wanna take a look at the roster,” Applejack said as she stepped to the side to allow Pinkie to walk forward. The second Pinkie saw the combatants of the next battle, she instantly gasped loudly and nearly dropped all the snacks she had bought.
“There's no way this is possible!” Pinkie shouted. “I thought I got rid of her years ago!”
The cause for all this reaction was that in the next round, the combatants were Pinkie Pie and Pinkamena Diane Pie.
“Who's Pinkamena, anyway?” Fluttershy asked Pinkie Pie, who was oblivious to the fact that Keldeo was at the moment raiding her bags for a Pokepuff.
“She's like my evil half,” Pinkie replied. “Rainbow Dash met her once before, in fact.”
“Is she like that crazier version of you I had to pull away from that creepy inanimate object party to get you to your birthday party 7 years ago?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Okay, you met her twice before,” Pinkie said. “The other time was when she invited you over to help make cupcakes.”
“Huh?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I don't want to go into detail because it's pretty graphic, but the bottom line was that she pretty much dissected you and used your various body parts to make cupcakes, party favors, and for some other demented purposes.”
“WHAT?” Rainbow Dash asked in horror. “That never happened! I'm pretty sure I'd remember getting killed slowly like that.”
“Unless I went back in time to save you with the help of some odd stallion in a blue box who claimed to have two hearts,” Pinkie said. “Anyway, the point is that the last time I saw Pinkamena, I sent her tumbling through the Time Vortex where she should have been disintegrated and everything she did reversed as though it had never happened.”
“Is anypony else following this?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Because I'm not.”
“Nope,” Twilight replied.
“Not me,” Applejack said.
“These are really good Pokepuffs,” Keldeo commented with half of one still in his mouth. “What? I haven't had much to eat since I left my world. Seriously, though, these are really tasty. Pinkie, you should totally make sweets for a living.”
“Thanks, Keldeo,” Pinkie said. “But I already make sweets for a living. That's not important right now, though. What is important is that King Sombra has managed to resurrect one of the most powerful and evil creatures Equestria has ever known, and it's up to me to stop her!” Without warning, Pinkie took off her saddlebags, threw them onto Keldeo, and hightailed it to the arena.
“How does she carry all this stuff?” Keldeo asked as he struggled to stay upright under the weight of the saddlebags.
“Do you need some help?” Twilight asked.
“No thanks,” Keldeo said. “I once... had to carry... an injured Lairon... down a mountain.... This... is nothing compared... to that”
“Well then let's get to the stadium to support Pinkie,” Twilight said. The ponies then made their way to the stadium at full gallop.
“Hey!” Keldeo shouted as he struggled to even move under the weight of the saddlebags. “I never said... I carried the Lairon down quickly!” Though struggling with each step, Keldeo did his best to make his way to the stadium as well.

Fortunately for Keldeo, the battle wouldn't start for another half-hour, which was about the time it took him to carry the saddlebags to his friends.
“You guys didn't have to break out into full gallop and leave me behind,” Keldeo said as he dropped the saddlebags and took his seat.
“Sorry,” Twilight said. “We kinda-”
“Ah, don't worry about it,” Keldeo said. “You guys running is the only thing I'm mad about. Cobalion and the others have me on a much more intense training regimen back home.”
There was a moment's pause before Rainbow Dash said, “All of a sudden, I kinda miss the way Pinkie Pie would pull out her Pokedex every time you mentioned another Pokemon.”
Meanwhile, King Sombra had appeared to address the crowd. “Fillies and gentlecolts, this is the third battle of the Equestria Battle Tournament!” he announced. “And let me be the first to tell you, even I find this matchup a bit odd. In the eastern corner, Ponyville's signature party pony, the Element of Laughter, and, according to my sources, the only pony around here who knows how to make Pokepuffs, Pinkie Pie!”
As King Sombra finished this announcement, Pinkie Pie bounced out of the entrance and into the arena, waving and giving a large smile to the crowd around her.
“Weird,” Keldeo said. “Didn't she say not half an hour ago how serious of a battle this was to her?”
“As I've said before, we've just stopped questioning her,” Rainbow Dash said as she took a bite of her cupcake which actually turned out to be a Pokepuff. The second it registered that what Rainbow ate wasn't a cupcake, she quickly coughed and spat the bite she took out. “Ah, what is in this thing?”
Keldeo grabbed an identical Pokepuff from the saddlebag and sniffed it. “At a guess, I'd say baked Ghastly tears mixed with Pecha Berry juice for the base, frosting made from Colbur Berries, and on top, a feather taken straight from the mane of a Pidgeot.” Keldeo then took a bite of the Pokepuff in his hoof. “I don't see a problem with it. Only thing I'm wondering is how Pinkie got all that stuff.”
“Well that's... interesting...” Rainbow Dash said as she grabbed what she was sure was a regular cupcake.
Meanwhile, King Sombra went on with the show. “And in the western corner,” he continued, “an evil so powerful it's was even able to survive the void of the Time Vortex without a scratch, and also arguably the best baker in Tartarus were she to compete, Pinkamena Diane Pie!”
Into the other corner of the arena entered a pony who looked almost exactly like Pinkie Pie, except she seemed to have a darker tint to her body, her mane was straight, long, and droopy, and she seemed to be depressed about something but at the same time angry over the same thing. She didn't even notice the crowd as she held her head low and faced forward while slowly cantering to the center of the arena like a predator stalking its prey.
“So we meet again,” Pinkamena said to Pinkie as the two faced each other in the center of the arena. “It's been a while, Pinkie Pie.”
“Ever stop to wonder if maybe there was a reason for that?” Pinkie asked in reply. “If you and I are the same pony, you must know as well as I do that we can't exist in the same world.”
“I agree,” Pinkamena said. “Why do you think I came all this way to kill you?”
“You do realize that this isn't Mortal Kombat, right?” Pinkie asked. “I'm pretty sure you landed in the wrong universe if that's what you were aiming for.”
“Oh,” Pinkamena said. “This is a little bit awkward, then.... Oh well, I guess I'll get rid of you in this universe in some form or fashion and then make my way to one where I can actually kill you.”
“I won't give you the chance,” Pinkie said.
“Ha! You could barely defeat me with the help of the Doctor. What makes you so sure that you stand a chance now?”
“What are those two doing?” Keldeo asked.
“If I know Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow Dash replied, “they're probably talking about parties or cupcakes or something like that.”
“Alright, combatants, take your positions,” King Sombra announced to the two Pinkies.
The two did as they were told and took several paces backwards so they were of a reasonable distance away from each other.
“Are the combatants ready?”
“I'm ready to end this once and for all,” Pinkie Pie said.
“Took the words right out of my mouth,” Pinkamena replied.
“Then without further ado, let's begin,” Sombra said. “Round 1, FIGHT!”

Pinkie Pie was the first one to attack. She quickly galloped forward, leapt into the air, and brought a powerful punch down right onto Pinkamena's face. The attack made contact, but Pinkamena hardly even flinched. She was as still as a statue.
“Wait, did the battle start?” Pinkamena asked teasingly when Pinkie brought her hoof back to the ground. “Sorry, I was distracted by how adorable you were, Pinkie Pie.”
“Aw, thanks,” Pinkie said. “But this a battle, you're a psychopathic villain, and I can't accept your compliments.” Pinkie then turned around and tried to give Pinkamena a buck that, once more, did very little if anything to Pinkamena.
“Not sure if you got the memo, Pinkie,” Pinkamena said, “but the battle did start. This is the part where you're supposed to hurt me to the point where I get knocked out.”
“Oh, I'll hurt you, all right,” Pinkie said, starting to get flustered. Pinkie then leaned down low, and somehow summoned a trio of confetti cannons on her back. Without warning, Pinkie fired the cannons right in Pinkamena's face, causing her to go airborne. Pinkie then desummoned the confetti cannons and leapt up into the air to start an aerial combo. Pinkie threw two quick punches, a tornado attack in which she spun her whole body around, hitting Pinkamena several times, all topped off by a powerful flip kick that sent Pinkamena further into the air. Pinkie easily landed on all fours, but Pinkamena, on the other hoof... did the same thing.
“Alright, I think I get the game we're playing here,” Pinkamena said. Then, sarcastically, she said, “Oh, ow, that hurt so much! I think my leg's broken! Someone call a KO now so I don't have to suffer any longer!”
“Was that an actual request?” King Sombra asked. “I couldn't tell.”
“Of course it wasn't,” Pinkamena snarled at the tyrant. “In fact, I barely even felt that combo, if that's what you could even call it, Pinkie Pie.”
“Alright, I'm starting to get a little bit angry with you, Pinkamena,” Pinkie Pie said.
“I don't get it,” Twilight said to her friends in the stands. “Pinkamena should have taken way more damage than she's showing right now.”
“Maybe she has high HP or Defense,” Keldeo said. “It'd be difficult to deal evident damage to something if it was tough. The only thing that's throwing me off is the fact that she isn't built like a Snorlax or an Aggron or even a Shuckle, all of whom are tanks in the competitive field. There's something about her, something not natural.”
“We kinda figured that out when Pinkie said Pinkamena was her evil half,” Rainbow Dash commented.
“Are you just going to stand there all day?” Pinkamena asked Pinkie Pie when the latter stood still for a few seconds.
“Am I not allowed to stand still for a few seconds?” Pinkie asked.
“Not really, no,” Pinkamena replied with a creepy grin. “Well, if you're not going to do anything, I'll be glad to move for you!” With that, Pinkamena quickly galloped forward and launched a punch at Pinkie Pie that turned out to be powerful enough to knock Pinkie off her hooves and several feet backwards.
“Woah!” Rainbow shouted. “That punch didn't even look like it had very much power behind it!”
“I think this Pinkamena character is well outside of Pinkie's abilities,” Twilight added.
Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie was just then recovering from Pinkamena's attack. “Ow...” Pinkie said to herself as she rubbed her head. “What a meanie that Pinkamena is. I should call her Pinkameanie. Or would that also be calling myself Pinkameanie since my real name is actually Pinkamena and I'm just giving that name to her since I never use it anymore?”
“Ready to give up, Pinkie Pie?” Pinkamena asked as she cantered towards where Pinkie Pie lay with an evil smile on her face. “You know as well as I do that's hardly the tip of the iceberg in terms of pain I can give you.”
“Well, I've got two things to tell you, Pinkamena,” Pinkie Pie said without getting up. “One...” Pinkie suddenly got up and had somehow pulled her party cannon out from nowhere and fired it right in Pinkamena's face. The force of the attack combined with Pinkamena's unpreparedness was actually enough to knock her backwards a little ways. “...say hello to my little friend. And the other thing is that I'm not ready to give up yet.”
Pinkamena quickly recovered from this attack and looked back at Pinkie Pie with an evil grin. “I was hoping you'd say that,” she said. “I guess that means this is where the fun starts.”
“Oh, there's no more time for fun,” Pinkie Pie said. “This is the part where it gets serious.”
“Wonderful!” Pinkamena shouted with an even wider but still incredibly creepy grin.
The next ten seconds consisted of Pinkie Pie getting brutally thrashed around by Pinkamena. Pinkie was unable to defend herself from the flurry of Pinkamena's lightning-fast but at the same time steel-hard attacks. The onslaught was so brutal, most of the spectators, including King Sombra himself, were unable to watch and looked away for most of the duration.
“Had enough, Pinkie?” Pinkamena asked after she landed on all fours after finishing an aerial combo. The question was pointless, however, as it took another couple seconds before Pinkie Pie returned to the ground as well, only she fell flat on her face.
“You're gonna feed the rocks when we dive back on the sun with the kittens,” Pinkie said woozily after picking her head up momentarily, only to quickly fall back to the ground, utterly beaten.
“KO!” King Sombra announced. “The winner, by a very brutal knockout that I wouldn't inflict upon my greatest enemy, is Pinkamena Diane Pie!” The crowd was unanimous in its boos and jeers upon this announcement.
“Keldeo, do you think you could help us a little here?” Twilight asked.
“Not a problem,” Keldeo replied. He then raised one of his hooves and fired a blast of icy-cold water onto Pinkie Pie, who instantly sprung back to life with a gasp.
“What? Who? Where am I?” Pinkie asked. She then turned to her friends, who actually weren't too far away from where she was standing. “Did I win?”
“To put it as politely as possible-” Rarity started.
“You kinda got your flank handed to you on a silver platter,” Rainbow Dash interrupted.
“That's... actually not too far off from what I was about to say,” Rarity admitted.
“I'm sorry, guys,” Pinkie said as she hung her head and her ears drooped. “I don't know how I'm going to beat Pinkamena. She's powerful beyond even my imagination.” It was right when she said that that her head and ears perked back up. “Wait a second... Fluttershy, quick, ask me what I said just now!”
“Um... what did you-” Fluttershy started.
“I just said that Pinkamena was powerful beyond my imagination!” Pinkie interrupted. “But my imagination is limitless! If somepony were to go inside my imagination, they'd think they were in limbo and wander forever!”
“I know you told me not to ask anymore, but...” Keldeo started.
“Actually, this is a new level of weird for Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow Dash replied. “You can go ahead.”
“Thanks,” Keldeo said. He then took a deep breath before shouting with a near-hysterical tone, “Can somepony please tell me what she just said and whether or not it has any meaning behind it!?”
“I just said that I know how to beat Pinkamena!” Pinkie said while bouncing up and down despite her injuries.
“Should I blast her again?” Keldeo asked Twilight while raising his hoof.
“I think we're beyond cold water with her,” Twilight replied.
“Again, I know how to beat her,” Pinkie continued after stopping her boucing, “but I'm going to need help from you six. No matter what I do, no matter how crazy I act, and no matter how many hits I might take (because I'm pretty sure I'm going to take a lot of hits), you guys have to play along with the scenario I need to play out.”
“I'm in,” Keldeo said. “I've never role played before. I've only seen other Pokemon use Role Play.”
“Well, if it'll help you beat Pinkamena...” Twilight said, “I guess we could help. Right guys?”
The others replied with a generally collective “Yeah!”
“Right, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked, putting more emphasis on her question this time.
“Hm?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Oh, I guess so. Just don't make us do anything too crazy, Pinkie.”
“Oh, Dashie,” Pinkie said, “when have I ever forced you guys to do anything really crazy?”
“Well, there was the time you-” Rarity started.
“Beside the point!” Pinkie suddenly shouted. It was then that she felt her wounds being healed and her stamina being restored by King Sombra. “Well, wish me luck, guys. Celestia knows there's not much chance this will work.” She then hopped off towards the center of the arena to begin the next round.
“Ready for a second thrashing?” Pinkamena asked Pinkie.
“No thanks,” Pinkie Pie replied with a giggle.
“What's so funny?” Pinkamena asked, already slightly irritated.
“Oh, nothing,” Pinkie replied while still giggling. “Sorry, I need a moment.” Pinkie resumed giggling for another moment before she stopped. “Alright, I think I'm good.”
“Can I start the round now?” King Sombra asked.
“Hang on,” Pinkie said. She paused for another moment before saying, “Okay, I think I got all the giggles out of me.”
“And I'm ready to finish what I've started,” Pinkamena said.
“Then let's begin,” King Sombra announced. “Round 2, FIGHT!”
“Would you like the first shot?” Pinkamena asked. “I only ask because it'd be the last shot you take this round.” Pinkie Pie didn't respond to this question, though. She was busy looking around. “Hello? I'm asking a question.”
Pinkie cocked her head in Pinkamena's general direction, but she wasn't looking at her evil half. “That was weird,” Pinkie said. “I could have sworn I just heard something.”
“Are your ears clogged?” Pinkamena asked. “I was what you heard.”
“Hmm... must have been a bug or something,” Pinkie said. “Poor thing, trapped in King Sombra's force field. Probably separated from its family or friends. Oh well, I'll make sure to get that bug back home after this tournament ends.”
“What is she doing?” Rainbow Dash asked. “There's no fighting going on at all. It's like Pinkie's pretending Pinkamena's not there at all.”
“That might be her goal,” Twilight said. “It's just a theory she might be working off of, but...”
“Odd,” Pinkie Pie resumed. “I could have sworn I had an opponent.”
“I'm your opponent!” Pinkamena shouted. She then galloped forward and gave Pinkie Pie a powerful punch to her face that knocked Pinkie several yards back. It took a while for Pinkie Pie to recover from this, but she shook it off and pretended it was nothing.
“Weird,” Pinkie commented. “That was one strong breeze I just got hit by.” She then turned to her friends. “Rainbow Dash, are you and the other pegasi here pulling a prank?”
“No,” Rainbow Dash replied. “You got hit by-”
“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight interrupted. “Don't deny your actions. You even tried to recruit me for this prank.”
“But I didn't-” Rainbow started.
“Like Pinkie said, we need to play along with her scenario,” Twilight whispered.
“I'm gonna have to get you back for that one, Rainbow Dash,” Pinkie said with one of those slightly angled and sideways “Oh, you” smiles.
“What is she doing?” Pinkamena asked amid a tidal wave of boos from the crowd that resulted from the lack of action. It was then that Pinkamena looked down to see that her hoof was slightly transparent. “No... No, she couldn't possibly be able to...” Pinkamena then charged forward and started trying to unleash a volley of punches and kicks on Pinkie Pie. However, much to Pinkamena's horror, the attacks seemed to be harmlessly be passing through Pinkie Pie's body.
“Hey, that's a pretty comfortable breeze,” Pinkie said. “Sorry, Rainbow Dash, but if you're trying to make up for your prank, it's not gonna work. I'm already planning out my vengeance prank as we speak.”
“Why. Won't. You. Do. Anything?” Pinkamena asked in a flurry of rage, becoming more and more translucent with each blow.
“Seriously, between this breeze and this buzzing in my ears, I'm starting to get a little bit annoyed,” Pinkie said. “Oh well. Maybe if I move a little bit, I can get out of the breeze and get away from the buzzing.” Pinkie then started bouncing off towards the center or the arena.
“NO!” Pinkamena shouted, almost entirely transparent. She then lunged at Pinkie Pie only to harmlessly phase through her. “You have to notice me!”
Pinkie suddenly turned to Pinkamena and said, “Okay.” She then suddenly thrust her hoof right through Pinkamena, creating a small hole in her chest and causing the fur around where Pinkie's hoof was to start shimmering.
“But... but that's impossible...” Pinkamena said.
“Oh, Pinkamena,” Pinkie Pie said with a strangely diabolical grin as she retracted her hoof, leaving the hole behind. “You and I both know there's no such thing as impossible when I'm in the equation.” Pinkie Pie then began hopping off, leaving Pinkamena behind.
“This can't be...” Pinkamena said as her whole body began shimmering. She then fell to her knees. “NOOOOOOOOOOO!” she shouted as she exploded in a brilliant fiery explosion that had a shockwave strong enough to knock some of the spectators out of their seats.
It was a few moments before most of the spectators, Pinkie's friends and King Sombra included, were able to even try to register what just happened.
“Did I go crazy just now?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Or did I just see Pinkamena explode after Pinkie Pie ignored her for half the battle and then gave her a single punch?”
“I couldn't answer that for you,” Twilight replied. “I'm still trying to process what just happened myself.”
“Um... I'm going to call that a KO,” King Sombra said. “And since spontaneously combusting results in an automatic DQ, the winner of this battle is Pinkie Pie.” The crowd was completely silent as most of them were still trying to process what happened.
“Oh well,” Pinkie said with a shrug. “Even if nopony's cheering for me, I can still celebrate my win.” Pinkie Pie then hopped out of the arena while whistling a happy tune.

After Pinkie Pie left the arena, the rest of her friends were quick to catch up to her. “Oh hay, guys,” Pinkie said with a smile. “Ready to go tell Princess Celestia what just happened?”
“I think we could start with you telling us what just happened,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Oh, I thought Twilight would have told you guys already,” Pinkie replied. “But if you insist, I'll go ahead and tell you myself. You see, before the second round started, I said that Pinkamena was strong beyond even my imagination, but that was a lie. Pinkamena was exactly as strong as my imagination. And as long as Pinkamena had that kind of power, she was unbeatable.”
“I'm not following,” Rainbow Dash quickly said.
“Don't you see?” Pinkie asked. “She was a figment of my imagination, and therefore fed off the energy of my imagination, which made her unbeatable since my imagination is limitless, thus making her power the same.”
“And that explains why she exploded...?” Keldeo asked.
“Not quite there yet,” Pinkie replied. “You see, I had to cut her off from her power source, which was my imagination. The only way to do that, though, is the old cliched 'you aren't real, I don't believe in you' thing. I had to keep that charade up for quite a while before her power started to diminish to a manageable level.”
“So then when her power was low enough,” Twilight chimed in, “her physical body was so unstable, it would have taken just one blow to destroy her completely.”
“Mostly right, Twilight,” Pinkie replied. “The only thing you got wrong was the 'destroy her completely' part. You see, she can't be destroyed. She's a part of me, and getting rid of her once and for all would require doing the same to me.” Pinkie then brought her hoof to her head. “But don't worry. I've got her locked up safe and sound.”
“Uh-huh...” Rainbow Dash said. “But the bottom line is we won't have to worry about her again, right?”
Pinkie Pie was uncomfortably silent for the longest time after Rainbow Dash asked that question. “Hey, weren't we going to the castle to tell Princess Celestia the results of this round?” Pinkie asked after a while.
“I guess,” Twilight said. “But you didn't answer Rainbow Dash's question.”
“That, Twilight, is because her question doesn't have a very... settling answer,” Pinkie said with a tone of seriousness in her voice. “Now let's go,” Pinkie suddenly said, her voice cheery once again. She then began bouncing off towards the castle.
“I seriously don't get her,” Keldeo said. “I know, Rainbow Dash, I should get used to it. Let's just follow her.” The others then made their way to the castle in an odd, unsettling silence.
> 6: Out for Revenge - Fire and Lightning
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	There was significant damage done to the arena thanks to Pinkamena's explosion in the previous battle, so the next round of the Equestria Battle Tournament was delayed by two hours while Changelings rebuilt the destroyed arena. Of course, this irritated King Sombra quite a bit since he still had three battles to hold that day and night was drawing near.
“If that Pinkie Pie character causes any more trouble like this, I'm going to have to find some way to disqualify her from the Tournament,” Sombra said to himself as he watched the Changelings that were lent to him work.

Meanwhile, at Canterlot Castle, Rainbow Dash was busy practicing her flying though the hallways of the castle, her reasoning for practicing in such a confined space likely being that she wanted to increase her ability to turn on a dime. And so far, this training seemed to be working for her. She had made her way through what was likely the equivalent of half a mile of hallways before she flew by Twilight.
“Rainbow!” Twilight called, but Rainbow Dash had already rounded a corner and was out of sight. “Ugh, what is she planning this time?” Twilight then started galloping in Rainbow Dash's direction, trying to track where she would be heading so that she could teleport somewhere where it would be easy to intercept Rainbow Dash.

In another room on the other side of Canterlot Castle, Rarity was busy taking measurements on Keldeo so that she could make him a “fabulous suit that reflects your powerful yet elegant charm” as she put it when she made the offer. Keldeo wasn't protesting against Rarity's actions, but he was starting to get a little anxious. It had been almost half an hour since he last moved, after all.
“Um, Rarity?” Keldeo asked. “I appreciate what you're doing, but I don't think something like this is really necessary.”
“Nonsense, darling,” Rarity replied while measuring one of his hind legs. “With the way I've seen you battle, there's no universe in which you don't deserve an outfit to compliment your power.”
“Well then... thank you,” Keldeo said.
“Oh, it's my pleasure,” Rarity said. “No need to thank me.” After a moment, Rarity stood up, having completed most of her measurements. “Um, can I get you to go into your Resolute Form so that I can get some more accurate measurements. I don't want this suit to tear if you need to power up for any reason.”
“If you insist,” Keldeo said. He then motioned for Rarity to stand back, which she did. Keldeo then took a deep breath before summoning the energy he needed to go into his Resolute Form. As per what happened earlier in the tournament, Keldeo began glowing with a bright light that Rarity had to shield her eyes from, but this light died quickly, leaving behind Keldeo in his Resolute Form. It took a moment before Rarity realized that she was staring at Keldeo and a moment longer to realize she was blushing. “Are you ok, Rarity?” Keldeo asked.
“I'm fine,” Rarity replied, turning away to hide her blush. “It's just that... well with all that extra... and the feathers in your mane... you just look...”
“Rarity,” Keldeo said in an effort to get Rarity to stop stammering. “Do you...?”
Rarity looked up to see that Keldeo was blushing a little bit as well. “Why don't we get these measurements done?” Rarity quickly asked.
“Right,” Keldeo replied with similar haste. “The sooner the better.”
Rarity stepped forward with her measuring tape was just about to start measuring Keldeo's horn when a loud crash from outside the room they were in stopped them. “Oh my,” Rarity said as she dropped the measuring tape and galloped over to the door.
“What happened?” Keldeo asked, following Rarity.
“Knowing one or two of my friends...” Rarity started as she opened the door. Sure enough, the crashing sound was what Rarity assumed to be Rainbow Dash having crashed into Twilight at a fairly high speed. Neither seemed hurt, but Twilight was on top of Rainbow Dash now scolding her.
“Rainbow, what do you think you're doing?” Twilight asked.
“I might ask you the same thing,” Rainbow Dash replied. “I was kind of flying there when you teleported right in my way.”
“Flying through the fragile and precious halls of Canterlot Castle, to be precise,” Twilight said. “What makes you think you have the right to put all these vases, columns, and stained glass windows in jeopardy?”
“What better way to hone my flying skills?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Not that they need any honing, but...”
“And what would be call for this behavior, might I ask?” Twilight asked.
“Spitfire's fighting in the next round of the tournament,” Rainbow Dash replied. “I've gotta be at my best if I want to impress her.”
“You're not even battling her!” Twilight shouted, her irritation starting to rise considerably.
“No, but I'll be fighting in the round after this one,” Rainbow Dash replied. “I've gotta be ready to show my stuff for her and be at the top of my game if I face her later in the tournament.”
“But why would you need to show her anything?” Twilight asked. “You've worked alongside her as a Wonderbolt for about two years now!”
“I know that,” Rainbow Dash said. “But she's barely seen any of my combat skills.”
“What's going on?” Keldeo asked Rarity as he joined her at the door.
“It seems we aren't the only ones having relationship issues,” Rarity replied flatly.
“Wait, did you just say we were-?” Keldeo started.
“Uh, havens no,” Rarity quickly replied. “I was just making you a suit, that's all. Come on, I've still gotta take some measurements.” Rarity then retreated back into the room, quickly dragging Keldeo back with her.
“And might I be the first to acknowledge that you managed to create quite the scene for Rarity and Keldeo to watch,” Twilight continued to Rainbow Dash.
“Hey, don't blame me for that one,” Rainbow replied. “You're the one who tried to make yourself an equine roadblock.”
“Fillies and gentlecolts,” King Sombra's voice boomed across Canterlot all of a sudden. “I am happy to inform you that the issue causing the delay to the next round of the tournament has been resolved and the tournament will move forward shortly. Please make your way to the arena.”
It was then that Rainbow Dash kicked Twilight off of her. “No sense in arguing about it right now. We've gotta get to the arena.”
“Good point,” Twilight replied. “But I seriously don't want you doing any more flying in the castle. If you need to fly, do it outside.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Rainbow said before flying off towards the exit of the castle and towards the arena.
“Hey!” Twilight shouted as she took off after Rainbow. “What did I just tell you?”
Right as those two left, Keldeo and Rarity walked out of the room they were in. “I suppose I could get those measurements later,” Rarity sighed as the two made their way out of the castle.
“Well I don't have any plans for after this round, so I'll be able to help you with that,” Keldeo joked.

It wasn't very long before the stadium was full of spectators who were more than ready to watch a battle they had to wait an extra hour for.
“Finally this battle's going to start,” Rainbow Dash said as she and her friends took their seats. “Still can't believe we had to wait this long, though.”
“It's not like it's entirely my fault the fight got delayed,” Pinkie said. “How was I supposed to know Pinkamena was actually going to explode, anyway? I thought she would just fade from existence.”
“Don't worry about it, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said. “It was either a delayed battle or another loss for us. And with a foe like King Sombra, we need all the wins we can get.”
It was right then that King Sombra appeared to address the crowd. “Fillies and gentlecolts, before we begin, let me extend my apologies for the delay,” he announced. “Now that that's over with, let's begin the next fight. In the western corner, one of the fastest fliers in Equestria, the captain of the Wonderbolts, and, according to unconfirmed rumors, soon to be a retired mare, it's Spitfire!”
The crowd went crazy with cheers as a spotlight focused on the western entrance. However, nopony entered. Instead, the spectators heard what sounded like several jet fighters barreling towards  the stadium. Everypony looked up to see a group of five Wonderbolts fly in in a pyramid pattern with two Wonderbolts on the far left and right, two more on the inner left and right flying just slightly ahead of the previous two, and at the top a single Wonderbolt who Rainbow Dash and a few other spectators guessed was Spitfire. The five flew in some complicated flight patterns that could probably be expressed in words if the one writing was a competent author in any way, shape, or form, (which he wasn't) followed by the five flying close together in a tight circle before breaking apart in a beautiful firework motion that actually set off sparks of light even against the afternoon sky.
“I thought I told her she wasn't allowed to do that,” King Sombra muttered to himself as Spitfire descended towards the arena while the other four Wonderbolts flew off.
“Where did those other four Wonderbolts come from?” Pinkie Pie asked. “I thought King Sombra had blocked Canterlot off from the rest of Equestria.”
“Since Spitfire and I were combatants in the tournament, she brought along a small group of Wonderbolts to preform during breaks,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Well, that was the plan before King Sombra took over the tournament, at least.”
“Still, way to have Adaptability,” Keldeo commented.
Pinkie Pie giggled at Keldeo's comment. “Oh, if only you guys could understand the puns Keldeo's coming up with,” she said to her friends.
Meanwhile, Spitfire had removed her Wonderbolts uniform and tossed it to the side. No sense in getting it dirty from the battle, after all. Oddly enough, Rainbow Dash was the first one to swoop in and grab Spitfire’s uniform for her before it hit the ground, despite the fact that Spitfire threw her uniform in the opposite direction of where Rainbow Dash was sitting. Once Rainbow rejoined her friends, she explained, “Spitfire actually asked me to catch this for her whenever she entered the arena. I'm serious.”
Meanwhile, King Sombra took this as a cue to move forward. “And in the eastern corner, a pony who once tried to become a Wonderbolt, but was denied her chance. After nearly 6 years of training herself and waiting for her chance at revenge, she's finally returned to prove she has what it takes to join her foe as a Wonderbolt, give it up for Lightning Dust!”
“Lightning Dust?” Rainbow Dash shouted as she watched the very pony enter from the eastern entrance. Rainbow was actually there the day Lightning's dreams were crushed by Spitfire. It was Rainbow Dash who ratted Lightning Dust out for being reckless and nearly sending her friends plummeting to their doom using a tornado at the Wonderbolts Training Camp six years ago, and neither Rainbow nor Spitfire had seen Lightning Dust since. But here she was today, and judging by the expression on her face every time she looked at Spitfire from across the arena or noticed Rainbow Dash in the stands, she never quite got over what happened that day. Saying she was madder than Cerberus when he got fleas was putting how angry she seemed politely.
“Hey, I remember her,” Pinkie Pie said. “It was her fault Rainbow never got to open her care package that day! By the way, Rainbow, you still haven't opened it.”
“Pinkie Pie, is there any limit to your randomness?” Rainbow Dash asked her friend.
Meanwhile in the arena, Spitfire and Lightning Dust had come face to face.
“Surprised to see me, Spitfire?” Lightning asked.
“Can't really say I am,” Spitfire replied. “Somehow I knew you'd be back someday. I would ask if you've learned from your mistakes... but somehow I think I know the answer to that question.”
“Actually, I have learned something from that day,” Lightning Dust replied. “That something is that you should never look up to heroes, because when you're looking up to them, they're always looking down on you. You can't rise if you put somepony else above you, and that's why I've never forgiven you for what you did that day.”
“Well that's a shame, Lightning Dust,” Spitfire said. “I saw you on the combatant roster and hoped I could face you when you were a changed pony. I just hope you know I expelled you from the training camp for a particular reason.”
“Oh, I know that reason, all right,” Lightning replied while casting an angry side glance towards Rainbow Dash.
“Alright, that's enough chit-chat,” King Sombra said. “I'd like to get this round started. Are the combatants ready?”
“Born ready,” Lightning Dust said.
“Let's do it,” Spitfire said.
“Then let's begin,” Sombra said. “Round 1, FIGHT!”

Lightning Dust was the first to charge forward and try to give Spitfire a hook kick. (I meant to type hook, comment section.) Spitfire was able to pivot and block the attack coming at her right, but that left her open to a powerful punch right to her midsection, which knocked the Wonderbolt off balance. This left her open to another kick from Lightning Dust, this one a single applebuck right to Spitfire’s jaw, sending her flying. Spitfire was able to recover from this quickly, however, and was able to do an aerial backflip and return to an upright position in the air using her wings.
“Don't tell me that's all you've got,” Spitfire said as she rubbed her jaw with her hoof.
“Now what gave you that idea?” Lightning Dust asked as she took off after Spitfire. Spitfire quickly took off in the opposite direction to give Lightning a little chase. Perhaps her intention was to get some distance between the two ponies and to get Lightning Dust moving so that she would have too much momentum to avoid an attack. Either way, her attempt didn't work out too well as Lightning Dust quickly overtook Spitfire, proceeding to give her a powerful jab to her side that knocked her straight to the ground. Spitfire recovered from this attack easily enough, and was just in time to avoid another attack from Lightning Dust. The latter flew straight down and tried to smash Spitfire further into the ground, but the Wonderbolt rolled out of the way, got up, and gave Lightning Dust a powerful buck that sent her flying into the barrier around the arena. Lightning fell to the ground, but she got up from that easily.
“I'll admit it, you're pretty good, Spitfire,” Lightning Dust said. “Maybe I should start actually trying to beat you.” She then charged forward at a near blinding speed and gave Spitfire a powerful uppercut before the Wonderbolt could even react. Spitfire was able to backflip in the air to recover and managed to block another blow from Lightning Dust. She then tried to counter with a roundhouse kick, but Lightning was able to block this attack and grab Spitfire's hing leg. Spitfire tried to break free from Lightning's grasp, but was ultimately unsuccessful as Lightning Dust proceeded to hammer throw Spitfire straight into the ground. Spitfire would have been okay if she was just left with that hit, but Lightning Dust quickly came back down and rocketed herself right into Spitfire's midsection with her forelegs. Lightning then bounced off of Spitfire and landed on all-fours to her right.
“Okay, maybe I tried a little too hard,” Lightning commented as she glanced back at the downed Spitfire with an evil smile.
“KO!” King Sombra announced. “The winner of round 1 is Lightning Dust!” The crowd offered partially cheers, partially boos, and partially pained groans from the quick and painful beating Spitfire had taken.
“There's no way a single one of the moves Lightning Dust just used was legal!” Rainbow Dash shouted from her place in the stands.
“Actually, I think the hammer throw followed by the 'missile to the midsection' bit were the only illegal things in her technique,” Twilight replied. “I have a hunch King Sombra will let those slide, though.”
“And that from the pony who wanted this tournament to be all about honor at the beginning,” Keldeo commented. “Not the worst thing I've ever seen a villain do by a long shot, but what Sombra's done is still up there.” Then, after sparring a quick thought to what he said prior, Keldeo added “I'm assuming he's a pony, at least. His powers and appearance kind of throw me off.”
“No, I think he's a pony,” Pinkie said. “A kind of odd pony, but what authority do I have in the field of oddness?”
“Quite a bit, if you'd ask me,” Rainbow Dash muttered mostly to herself.
Meanwhile in the arena, King Sombra had used his magic to heal Spitfire's wounds, which likely consisted of several cracked ribs and broken vertebrae and maybe some torn muscle tissue. But thanks to powerful magic, all that disappeared instantly and Spitfire was back in fighting form.
“Ready for a second beating?” Lightning Dust asked as she walked up to where Spitfire was just then getting up.
“I honestly thought there was hope for you, Lightning Dust,” Spitfire said. “It took me this long to realize how foolish of a thought that was.”
“I'll tell you what's a foolish thought,” Lightning replied. “Thinking you'll even have a chance against me this time around.”
“Well, I do understand now that you're a lost cause,” Spitfire said. “So that'll keep me from holding back.”
“Good,” Lightning Dust said. “I was almost hoping you were holding back in the last round.”
“Are the combatants ready?” King Sombra announced. Neither pegasus said anything, rather opting to nod in the affirmative while holding each other's glare. “Then let's begin. Round 2, FIGHT!”
Spitfire wasted no time getting the battle started. She rushed forward and tried to catch Lightning Dust off guard with a preemptive low sweep. Lightning Dust wasn't caught off guard by this, but rather used her wings to elevate the upper half of her body so that Spitfire would miss her attack. Unfortunately for Lightning Dust, Spitfire anticipated this attack and, rather than going for Lightning's forelegs, Spitfire went in closer and swept her hind legs, catching her completely off guard and knocking her off-balance and straight into an outstretched hoof that caught the vengeful pegasus right in her midsection between her stomach and ribcage.
“Alright!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Spitfire's back in full force! Lightning Dust doesn't stand a chance this time around.”
Lightning Dust quickly readjusted herself with her wings and flew up off of Spitfire. ''Looks like I was still underestimating you,” she said as she rubbed where Spitfire's hoof caught her.
“And if history serves me correctly, you're not quite done,” Spitfire replied. She then flew up after Lightning Dust. She then proceeded to try to give Lightning Dust an aerial roundhouse, which caught the latter pegasus right in the side of the face. Spitfire tried to follow her attack up with another punch, but Lightning recovered quickly and was able to catch the punch, following up with a counter punch right to Spitfire's stomach. Spitfire recoiled back slightly from the blow, but never lost any altitude. She did, however, try to stay back for a moment to try to recover, which gave Lightning Dust the opening she needed to fly in and deliver another blow, this one a flip kick right to Spitfire's jaw. Spitfire was flipped backwards a little, but she took advantage of the position Lightning's blow left her in and gave her a powerful two-legged thrust kick that caught Lightning Dust off guard and sent her spiraling backwards.
“I'll admit, you're a little better than I thought you'd be when you're fighting at full steam,” Lightning Dust complimented as she recovered from the hit she took.
“I should hope so,” Spitfire replied as she charged forward to deliver what she was sure would be a finishing blow to Lightning. However, Lightning stopped Spitfire's attack in her tracks with a solid counter punch that met Spitfire's hoof perfectly.
“That doesn't necessarily mean you're even close to able to beat me, though,” Lightning Dust finished. She then broke her hoof away from Spitfire's before rushing forward and striking the Wonderbolt with a powerful elbow thrust that caught Spitfire off guard. This was quickly followed by a downwards windmill kick that sent Spitfire hurdling towards the ground. She was able to recover from this attack just before impacting, though, and landed generally softly on all fours, allowing her to prepare herself for another attack that came from directly above. Spitfire managed to duck out of the way just before Lightning Dust crashed herself into the ground. Lightning was caught off guard by not hitting Spitfire, though, and was open to a charged punch from Spitfire that knocked Lightning backwards. Lightning was able to rebound from this attack quickly, and used the momentum from Spitfire's attack to plant her hind hooves firmly on the ground before propelling herself forward right into Spitfire, ramming the Wonderbolt with enough strength to send her flying halfway across the arena into the barrier. Spitfire tried to get up from this attack, but between the force of the attack she just took combined with all the punishment she'd taken prior, her legs just couldn't hold her up any longer and she fell to the ground.
“KO!” King Sombra announced. “The winner of round 2 is Lightning Dust!”
“Oh my Celestia, nooooo!” Rainbow Dash screamed. “I can't believe that just happened!”
”I probably can,” Twilight thought to herself as she watched two Changeling drones carry Spitfire out of the arena. ”Lightning Dust shouldn't have had that much power or anger, even for the past she's had with Spitfire. Between this and Sunset Shimmer, I'm starting to sense a pattern.”
“Whichever of Sombra's lackeys I've gotta face next, they're gonna pay,” Rainbow Dash continued.
“It might not be such a good idea to punish somepony for something somepony else has done,” Fluttershy said. “I mean, even if the next pony you have to face might be a villain or something.”
“I know,” Rainbow Dash said. “But that doesn't mean I can't fight my way to Sombra so that I can get some revenge.”
“Talk about obsessive fangirls,” Applejack said aside to Keldeo.
“Yeah, I've got experience with that,” Keldeo replied.

Later, in the caves beneath Canterlot, two Changelings dragged the beaten Spitfire into what looked like a cell.
“Yeah, don't bother healing me back up,” Spitfire said as she tried to stand after being thrown into the cell. “I've flown off worse than this.”
”Ah, but you won't be flying again anytime soon, little pony,” a mysterious voice said from behind Spitfire. Spitfire turned around to see a cloaked figure only just as tall as she was.
“Lemme guess,” Spitfire said, “another of King Sombra's minions, only your job is to torture anypony who happens to lose a battle?”
”Mmmmm, you have much more fight in you than Lyra Heartstrings did,” the voice said. ”I assure you, I'm not associated with King Sombra, but rather... I have my own agenda.”
“Oh yeah?” Spitfire asked. “And what's-?”
Spitfire wasn't able to finish her question. She suddenly felt herself become a thousand pounds heavier and instantly fell right to the floor, only able to look up helplessly as a stream of what looked like yellow energy flowed away from her and towards the source of the voice. All Spitfire could see afterward was a sinister smile before she felt sleep take hold of her.
> 7: High Speed Showdown - A Storm on Four Hooves
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Rainbow Dash didn't have to wait very long before the next round of the tournament began and she would be able to step into the ring. Since the day's schedule was already behind and the sun was already setting by this point, Sombra was doing everything in his power to get the rest of the battles done as fast as possible, which was literally just having little more than a ten minute delay between fights.
Unfortunately for the rest of Rainbow's friends, this meant they didn't have time to go back to the castle to report what was going on to Princess Celestia. If Rainbow Dash wasn't getting ready for the next round, she could have easily flown to the castle, filled Celestia in, and been back before the battle started. But since she was fighting, that wasn't an option.
On the other hoof, there was time for Pinkie Pie to make a snack run. Well, just barely enough time. She didn't get back until almost half a minute before the battle started.
“Hey guys,” she said as she ran to take her seat among her friends. “Sorry I took so long. I had to check the roster. None of you are gonna believe who Rainbow Dash is fighting this round.”
“Who is it?” Applejack asked.
Pinkie was about to respond, but it was right then that King Sombra began the introduction to the next round. “Fillies and gentlecolts, it's time to begin the next round of the Equestria Battle Tournament!” Sombra only paused for a few seconds to let the crowd cheer before continuing. “In the eastern corner, arguably the fastest pegasus in Equestria, co-captain of the Wonderbolts, and two-time champion of the Equestria Battle Tournament, Rainbow Dash!”
Without a millisecond's pause, Rainbow Dash quickly flew out into the arena and into the air, where she quickly flew towards a passing cloud that was just inside of Sombra's force field, rapidly flying around it while striking it so many times, it would have been impossible to see each hit with the naked eye. Once Rainbow had completed several loops around the cloud, though, she backed away to show everypony that she had busted and shaped the cloud into the shape of her cutie mark, causing the crowd below to go wild with cheers.
“Well, she's got good showmanship,” Keldeo commented. “I'll give her that.”
Once Rainbow Dash descended back to the arena, King Sombra went on with his announcement. “And in the western corner, you might have seen him in the arena earlier today, but he's got more than one trick up his sleeve, or should I say around his belt, Pokemon Hunter Colton!”
“What?” Keldeo shouted.
“What?” Rainbow Dash shouted.
“I saw that coming,” Pinkie Pie said with a shrug. “It's not like any Pokemon trainer who battles as competitively as Colton does to just carry around one Pokemon, especially one from the UU tier like Sawsbuck. Or was Sawsbuck RU? I can't remember any more...”
While Pinkie talked on mostly to herself, Colton entered the arena for the second time that day. “Well well well,” Colton said as he walked towards Rainbow Dash. “I've heard quite a bit about you, Miss Rainbow Dash.”
“You have, have you?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Well then, you should already know that I can easily take down whatever freaky deer thing you have in your belt.”
“Oh, I wouldn't be so convinced about that,” Colton said with a devious smile as he reached down and picked up another of his Dark Balls. “Allow me to show you another of my prized Pokemon. Go, Zebstrika!” he shouted as he launched the ball into the air. Rainbow stepped back just a little to make sure the ball didn't hit her on its way down. She was right to do that as the Dark Ball exploded and released a waterfall of energy right in front of Rainbow Dash, which reformed itself to form what Rainbow could only describe as a tall and really angry-looking zebra with a spiky white mane running down the length of its back extending into its tail, which resembled a spiky ball. As well, the white marks on its body almost resembled lightning bolts.
“STRIKA!” the zebra roared as it reared up on its hind legs.
“No way!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she pulled out her Pokedex. “I never thought I'd see a Zebstrika with my own eyes!”
“Probably because they don't exist in this world,” Twilight commented quietly. Pinkie either didn't hear this or ignored it as her Pokedex read out Zebstrika's information.


Zebstrika, the Thunderbolt Pokemon, and the evolved form of Blitzle
When this ill-tempered Pokemon runs wild. It shoots lightning from its mane in all directions.


“That Pokemon could probably match Rainbow Dash's speed,” Pinkie Pie said as she put her Pokedex away.
“And its got a pretty bad type advantage over Rainbow Dash,” Keldeo added. “If Rainbow were a Pokemon, she'd likely be a Flying-type, which is something you do not want to use against an Electric-type like Zebstrika. Well, a Gliscor might work against an Electric-type since it's also a Ground-type...”
“So you're using a zebra to fight me?” Rainbow Dash asked as she looked up at the Pokemon that was almost a whole foot taller than her.
“Oh, not just any 'zebra'.” Colton replied as he rubbed Zebstrika's side. “My Zebstrika is naturally suited to take on both fast and flying foes, which means there's a better chance you won't win this battle.”
“Well, sorry to disappoint you, Colton,” Rainbow Dash said, “but I'm not some weird monster like what you've got in your pockets. I'm Rainbow Dash, and I'm really good at defying predictions when it comes to competitions like this.”
“That's just what my Zebstrika likes to hear,” Colton replied.
“Zeb...” Zebstrika confirmed with a nod.
“Alright, combatants, take your positions,” King Sombra announced. Both the combatants made their way to their respective corners of the arena, Colton taking a position just outside of the barrier. “Are the combatants ready?”
“Let's do this,” Rainbow Dash said.
“You ready Zebstrika?” Colton asked.
“Zebstrika,” the Pokemon replied with a nod.
“Then let us begin!” Sombra said. “Round 1, FIGHT!”

“Zebstrika, start the battle with Stomp!” Colton shouted.
“Strika,” Zebstrika said with a nod before charging forward at Rainbow Dash.
“Stomp all you want,” Rainbow Dash said while charging forward. “But I'll go for a kick!”
Right as the two combatants were almost right on top of each other, Zebstrika reared up on his hind legs while Rainbow Dash ducked low and turned around to give the Pokemon a solid buck. However, Zebstrika was just barely quicker on the draw and was able to bring himself down upon Rainbow Dash before she could execute her kick, hitting the pegasus square in the rear with his hooves, knocking her backwards.
“Oh no,” Keldeo said. “I think Zebstrika's faster than Rainbow Dash.”
“No,” Twilight replied, entirely unfazed by the hit her friend took. “She was just being cocky. She always starts her battles this way.”
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had quickly recovered from the hit she took. “Alright, guess I underestimated this thing,” she said to herself. A smile then graced her lips. “I was hoping I wouldn't have to hold back for this guy.” She then charged forward at Zebstrika, a new strategy in mind.
“Zebstrika, use Stomp again!” Colton shouted.
“Strika!” Zebstrika shouted as it ran forward, ready to hit Rainbow Dash again. Just as the two were about to make contact once again, though, Rainbow Dash suddenly darted to the right, causing Zebstrika's attack to miss entirely. In hardly the blink of an eye, Rainbow Dash quickly spun around and gave Zebstrika a powerful kick to the side that knocked the Pokemon back, but he was able to recover quickly.
“You're a lot faster than I thought,” Colton said. Then, with an evil grin, he adjusted his hat and said, “Let's fix that problem, shall we? Zebstrika, use Flame Charge!”
“Zebstrika!” the Pokemon shouted before its body suddenly became coated in flames and it charged towards Rainbow Dash at an almost blinding speed.
“Is it supposed to be able to do that?” Fluttershy asked Keldeo with a hint of worry for Zebstrika's well-being in her voice.
“As a matter of fact, yes,” Keldeo replied.
“Woah!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she tried in vain to avoid the flaming zebra. However, Zebstrika was just too fast for Rainbow to react and the pegasus was sent flying backwards.
“Not good,” Pinkie Pie said. “Flame Charge increases a Pokemon's speed whenever it makes contact, so Zebstrika could probably match Rainbow Dash's speed now.”
“We're back in business,” Colton said. “But just in case, use Flame Charge one more time!”
“Strika!” The Pokemon charged forward, once more cloaked in flames, only it seemed to be moving faster this time.
“Not good,” Rainbow Dash said as she picked herself up and tried to dodge Zebstrika's attack. She tried to fly upwards, but Zebstrika leapt into the air after its opponent. Fortunately, Rainbow Dash managed to get just out of range of Zebstrika's attack, and the Thunderbolt Pokemon fell to the ground, its attack dissipating.
“Stri...” the Pokemon growled as it looked upwards at Rainbow Dash.
“Heh,” Rainbow Dash laughed. “What's the matter, Strikey? You can burst into flames but you can't fly?”
“Nopony gives nicknames to my Pokemon but me,” Colton said angrily. “Zebstrika, bring that pony down with Thunderbolt!”
“Zebstrika!” the Pokemon shouted as its mane and the white stripes on its body suddenly began glowing yellow and sparks began flying off its body before a huge bolt of lightning shot out from the Pokemon and right towards Rainbow Dash.
“RAINBOW, LOOK OUT!” Rainbow's friends shouted in unison, but it was too late and the pegasus was struck by the Thunderbolt attack.
“AHHHHH!” Rainbow shouted as she struggled against the pain of the Celestia-knew-how-many volts of electricity. Right as she was sure she was fried, the attack suddenly ended and Rainbow fell to the ground.
“That looked like it hurt,” Keldeo said. “I've been struck by Thunderbolt before, and I know Rainbow Dash couldn't have taken that very easily.”
“You'd be surprised,” Twilight said as she indicated for the Colt Pokemon to look back at the arena, where Rainbow Dash was getting up surprisingly quickly from the hit she just took. “I've seen her get hit by plenty of lightning bolts in the past while she was working with storm clouds.” With a smile, Twilight added, “She's nearly immune to electricity.”
“Not bad,” Colton complimented as Rainbow Dash got up and shook herself off.
“Pfft,” Rainbow Dash said. “You have any idea how many times I take a hit like that per day?” Then, taking her opportunity, Rainbow flew forwards at Zebstrika and gave the Pokemon a powerful uppercut that sent it skywards. Rainbow Dash then took off after it to give it a powerful combo that consisted of two punches, a downward kick that sent Zebstrika hurdling towards the ground, a quick flip kick that gave the Pokemon some more altitude, and to top it all off, a mule kick that knocked it into the barrier, followed by Zebstrika falling about 10 feet to the floor. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash landed perfectly on all-fours.
“And that's what you get for shocking me while I'm off the job,” Rainbow Dash said while dusting herself off.
“KO!” King Sombra announced. “Zebstrika is unable to battle, so the winner of round 1 is Rainbow Dash!” The crowd instantly erupted into applause at this announcement.
“Zebstrika!” Colton shouted as he ran towards his downed Pokemon. “Are you alright?”
“Zeb...” the Pokemon replied weakly.
“You fought well,” Colton said, “but don't worry. I'm not gonna let you lose so easily in the next round.”
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was basking in the applause that she was receiving from the crowd. At the same time, her friends were being completely unamused as was becoming protocol whenever Dash basked in glory.
“She knows she's still got another round, right?” Twilight asked.
“Plus Zebstrika has two moves Rainbow really needs to be careful of,” Keldeo added. “And let's not forget that a Pokemon can know four moves at a time. Who knows what move Colton has in store that he was saving for this round?”
“Am I the only one noticing that Zebstrika can't learn Thunderbolt?” Pinkie Pie asked as she looked up at her Pokedex. “I mean seriously, the closest move it can learn is Discharge, but I don't see-”
“Pinkie,” Keldeo said as he scrolled the paged on the Pokedex down for Pinkie, “you know Zebstrika can learn TMs, right?”
Pinkie looked at her Pokedex carefully for a moment. “TM 22, 23, 24... Oh! That makes a lot more sense.”
At that moment, King Sombra had healed the combatants' wounds and was beginning the second round.
“Hope you're ready for a second thrashing,” Rainbow Dash said to her opponent.
“I was considering teaching Zebstrika Thrash,” Colton replied. “But the moveset I've given him should be enough to finish you without it.”
“Let's get the next round started,” King Sombra said. “Combatants ready?”
“Born ready,” Rainbow said.
“Zebstrika!” the Pokemon roared.
“Round 2, FIGHT!”
Rainbow Dash was eager to take the first move and flew forward at full speed towards Zebstrika.
“Counter her charge with Flame Charge,” Colton said.
“Strike,” Zebstrika replied before rushing forward while cloaked in flames. Both combatants made contact at full speed and continued trying to push against each other for a few seconds. Little did Rainbow Dash know that this was not only dealing her consistent damage due to the fire, but also raising Zebstrika's speed more and more. Finally, Zebstrika's speed was too much and the Thunderbolt Pokemon managed to knock Rainbow Dash away with a final push.
Rainbow was able to recover, but she did have to rub her shoulder a little to get the burning to go down. “Alright, so that plan's out of the question,” she said to herself.
“How pitiful,” Colton said while shaking his head. “This battle will be over in no time. Zebstrika, use Flame Charge once more.” Before his Pokemon executed his command, the two made eye contact, and with his eyes, Colton added ”But be ready to cancel quickly.”
“Zebstrika,” the Pokemon said with a nod. He then turned around and started charging at Rainbow Dash.
“Dash has no chance of matching that speed,” Keldeo said.
“As long as she can get her head out of the clouds and focus on the battle, she still has a chance,” Twilight defended.
“Another fire attack or whatever he called it?” Rainbow Dash thought to herself. “Don't think I'll fall for the same trick a fourth time.” Rainbow Dash then started flying, but in the direction opposite of Zebstrika. “Try to keep up, Strikey!”
“Grr,” Colton growled. “Chase that pegasus down and knock it out of the sky!”
“Zebstrika!” Zebstrika replied while doing its best to pick up its pace. Shockingly to the crowd, Zebstrika was actually managing to catch up to Rainbow Dash despite her flying around the arena at full speed.
“When will this guy learn to quit?” Rainbow Dash asked. Then, an idea popped into her head. “Maybe I don't need him to...” Without warning, Rainbow Dash suddenly hit the air brakes and stopped suddenly, causing Zebstrika to run right past her. “Gotcha!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she started flying towards Zebstrika, intent on knocking it off its hooves and unleashing a powerful combo.
“Gotcha!” Colton repeated. “Zebstrika, turn around and stop her with Thunderbolt!”
“Zebstrika!” The Pokemon quickly skidded to a stop and leapt up into the air while rotating its body 180 degrees. It then fired its Thunderbolt attack at Rainbow Dash faster than the pegasus could react. Rainbow suddenly found herself getting struck by her second Thunderbolt attack that day, followed by her falling to the ground with a thud. She was able to get up from this attack, however.
“Right where I want you,” Colton said. “Now, Zebstrika, use Swagger!”
“Zebstrika,” the Pokemon said before galloping over to Rainbow Dash. Instead of attacking her, though, Zebstrika did nothing but stand in front of her.
“Are you gonna do anything?” Rainbow Dash asked. Right before she got impatient and took her opportunity to attack Zebstrika, the Pokemon suddenly reached into its mane and randomly pulled out and donned a pair of sunglasses. “What's that supposed to do?”
“Zeb, Zebstrika,” the Pokemon replied while peeking out from behind its sunglasses.
“What's that?” Rainbow Dash asked. “You think a pair of sunglasses makes you cooler than me?”
“Stri,” Zebstrika replied with a devious smile.
“Why you little...” Rainbow Dash growled, apparently not noticing a sudden ringing in her ears. “I'll teach you for thinking you could out-swag me!” Rainbow Dash then rushed forward and tried to give Zebstrika a powerful windmill kick. However, the Pokemon simply took a step back, causing Rainbow Dash to miss completely and fall flat on her face, initiating a chorus of laughter from the audience.
“That's odd,” Twilight said. “It's not like Rainbow Dash to fail an attack quite that badly.”
“She's confused,” Keldeo said. “Swagger is a move that enrages the target and confuses it. When a Pokemon, or pony in this case, is confused, it might fail an attack and damage itself by mistake.”
“But don't forget,” Pinkie added, “Swagger also sharply raises the target's offensive power. If Rainbow can manage an actual hit, Zebstrika will be sorry.”
Unfortunately, Pinkie's bright side wasn't quite put into effect as most of the remainder of the battle was Rainbow Dash randomly flailing about trying to hit Zebstrika but winding up either falling flat or hitting herself in the face.
“Hold still, Strikey!” Rainbow said woozily as she continued to flail. Apparently unbeknownst to her, though, she managed to completely turn herself around and was at the moment flailing around at nothing but air.
“This is just sad,” Colton said with a shake of his head. “Zebstrika, finish this battle off with Stomp.”
“Strike,” the Pokemon replied. It then cantered up to Rainbow Dash and forcefully turned her around before rearing up and sending the pegasus flying with its forehooves. Rainbow impacted hard against the arena barrier and slumped to the ground in a heap.
“KO!” King Sombra announced while trying to stifle laughter. “T-the winner of... of this round is Zebstrika.” Most of the audience was still laughing at the sight they'd just seen, but Rainbow's friends were still concerned for their downed friend.
“Hey, Keldeo?” Pinkie started.
“Is this seriously my job now?” Keldeo asked. He then raised one of his hooves and fired a jet of water that instantly woke Rainbow Dash up.
“Woah, what the-?” Rainbow shouted as sprang back up. After taking a second to shake herself off, she looked to her friends and asked “Uh, what just happened?”
“Um...” was the general answer given by her friends.
“You might see it tonight on PSPN,” Pinkie finally said.
“Zebstrika managed to enrage and confuse you, throwing you entirely off your game,” Keldeo said.
“No way,” Rainbow said. “My performance wasn't too embarrassing, was it?”
“Let's just say more ponies will start calling you 'Rainbow Crash' again when we get home,” Twilight reluctantly said.
“Hang on, I just had an idea,” Pinkie suddenly said. She then reached into one of her snack bags and pulled out what Rainbow could only assume was some type of fruit. It looked kind of like a dried-out strawberry, except it was pink and it looked generally smooth. She then looked over to make sure Colton wasn't paying attention before tossing to Rainbow Dash. “That might come in handy in the next round.”
Despite her injuries, Rainbow was quick to catch the fruit. She gave it a quick sniff and instantly recoiled away. “What the hay is this?” she asked.
“It's called a Persim Berry,” Pinkie replied. “It'll taste really bitter if you eat it, but it'll snap you out of confusion if Zebstrika uses Swagger again. You might wanna hide it, though. Colton might change up his strategy if he sees you have one of those.”
Rainbow Dash was silent for a moment before asking, “Where do I hide it?”
“I dunno,” Pinkie replied. She then turned to Keldeo. “How do Pokemon hold stuff?” Keldeo just shrugged.
“Oh for Celestia's sake,” Rainbow said. She then tossed the berry into the air, allowing it to fall right into her open mouth. She then chewed the berry quickly before gulping it down. “Ugh, that tasted awful.”
“Rainbow!” Pinkie shouted. “You weren't supposed to eat it right away!”
“Actually,” Keldeo said, “if Zebstrika uses Swagger early on, the effects of the Persim Berry might still protect Rainbow Dash from confusion.”
At that moment, King Sombra had healed Rainbow Dash. “Well either way, this is my last chance to take Strikey down, so whatever we're trying, let's hope it works.” Rainbow then made her way to her end of the arena, staring her adversary down for one final time.
“I suggest you give up now, miss Dash,” Colton said. “Do yourself a favor and save yourself from another embarrassing defeat.”
“Not a chance, Colton,” Rainbow Dash replied. “No matter what you have Strikey do, I'm going to beat it this time.”
“Combatants ready?” King Sombra announced. “Final round, FIGHT!”
“You might have confidence,” Colton said, “but we've got Swagger!”
Upon command, Zebstrika instantly pulled out and donned its sunglasses.
“Your sunglasses aren't that cool,” Rainbow Dash said as she flew forward and gave Zebstrika an uppercut that sent the Pokemon flying upwards.
“The Persim Berry worked!” Pinkie cheered. “Rainbow was able to resist Zebstrika's confusion!”
“And did you see that uppercut?” Keldeo asked. “Rainbow Dash was able to benefit from the increase in Attack that Swagger causes.”
And benefit from increased attack power Rainbow did. She instantly flew up after the flying Thunderbolt Pokemon and gave it a powerful roundhouse kick that sent it flying right back towards the ground, where Zebstrika impacted loudly and painfully.
“Zebstrika! Are you ok?” Colton shouted. In response to his trainer's voice, Zebstrika slowly got up and shook himself off.
“Zebstrika,” the Pokemon nodded, indicating that it could still fight.
“Not for long, you won't be,” Rainbow Dash said as she started flying back down to attack Zebstrika once more.
“Zebstrika, counter her attack with Stomp,” Colton commanded.
With a nod, Zebstrika readied himself to strike Rainbow Dash the second she was in range. However, right when Rainbow Dash was in range, she suddenly swerved out of the way of Zebstrika's Stomp, quickly taking advantage of her target's lack of balance to give him a powerful kick to the side.
“Ha, whatever Swagger did to me, I think I'm starting to like it,” Rainbow Dash said.
”How was I supposed to know she'd be able to snap out of confusion so easily?” Colton thought to himself as though psychically communicating with Zebstrika. (Which wasn't what was going on.) “Zebstrika, get up and use Thunderbolt with everything you've got!” Colton commanded out loud.
Zebstrika quickly got back to its hoof and nodded in acknowledgment. It then began charging all the electricity it could muster. “Zeb... stri... KA!!!” the Pokemon shouted as it fired a full-force Thunderbolt right at Rainbow Dash. The pegasus was unable to react quickly enough to dodge the attack and was hit head-on, resulting in a small explosion that sent Rainbow flying into the barrier.
“Oh my goodness!” Fluttershy shouted while covering her eyes. “I can't watch this anymore!”
“I don't think even Rainbow Dash can take much more of this,” Rarity said.
“I think she can,” Twilight said. “Look.”
As Twilight pointed out, Rainbow Dash had easily picked herself back up as though she hadn't taken the hit at all.
“Impossible...” Colton said as he saw the still standing pegasus.
“It takes a lot more than that to take me down!” Rainbow Dash shouted, causing the crowd to suddenly erupt in a collective roar of cheers and applause. Rainbow then directed her attention to the audience. “Who do you guys love?”
Instantly, the crowd began chanting “Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!”
“I can't hear you!” Rainbow shouted while bringing her hoof up to her ear.
“RAINBOW DASH! RAINBOW DASH! RAINBOW DASH!”
“Why do you insist on celebrating?” Colton asked. “You haven't even won the battle!”
“Maybe not,” Rainbow replied while looking back to Zebstrika. “But that wasn't celebrating. That was just getting my second wind.”
“Well you're going to need that second wind,” Colton said. “Zebstrika, let's finish this battle. Use Flame Charge!”
“Zebstrika!” the Pokemon shouted as it began charging at Rainbow Dash with everything it had left, cloaking itself in flames all the while.
“It is time to finish this!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she charged back at Zebstrika.
“Is she really that overconfident?” Keldeo shouted. “Charging right into Zebstrika's Flame Charge has failed several times already!'
Nopony had time to respond to Keldeo's comment. Faster than anypony could blink, the two combatants had struck against one another and each were trying to push the other off-balance to get an opening to deal a decisive blow. However, neither were willing to give any ground, despite the boosts Rainbow Dash received from Swagger and the crowd and Zebstrika's flames nearly burning a hole through Rainbow Dash and its speed increasing gradually all the while. Surprisingly enough, after about five seconds, Zebstrika was the one who was starting to show signs of faltering.
“There's no way I'm losing this round,” Colton said to himself. “Zebstrika, cancel your Flame Charge and hit Rainbow Dash with Thunderbolt from point-blank!”
“Wha-?” Rainbow asked as he heard Colton's command. It caught her off-guard for just a split second, but it was just the split second Zebstrika needed to quit pushing against Rainbow Dash and instantly strike her with Thunderbolt. The electricity just about engulfed Rainbow's body and most of the spectators were sure she was finished. However, Rainbow Dash wasn't. Despite the attack that was still hitting her, she summoned all the strength she had to rear her forehoof back and hit Zebstrika with a single punch right to its face that knocked the Pokemon backwards and broke the attack. The crowd's reaction was an instantaneous deafening roar of applause, but Rainbow Dash didn't bask in this sudden glory. Instead, she took advantage of Zebstrika being off-balance and grabbed the Thunderbolt Pokemon before flying up into the air with it.
“Is she using Sky Drop?” Pinkie asked as she watched the two combatants flying further into the air.
“No,” Twilight replied. “I'm just going to assume that whatever attack you're describing, it has something to do with Rainbow Dash throwing Zebstrika down to the ground at full force. That kind of attack was banned in the last few tournaments, and I doubt it would be different now.”
“Spot on, Twilight,” Keldeo replied. “But the only other move I know of that would involve Rainbow flying up into the air with Zebstrika is...”
“Submission!?” Colton finished as he realized what Rainbow Dash was doing. “The fool! She's as injured as Zebstrika is. She'll KO herself with the recoil.”
The first half of Colton's prediction was perfect. Right as Rainbow Dash almost hit the height of the arena barrier, she instantly began flying back down towards the ground, Zebstrika still held tightly in her grip.
Colton needed a way to get his Pokemon out of this situation. Fast. “Zebstrika, get out of there with-”
CRASH!
The sound of the impact was almost loud enough to rock the entire stadium. It probably would have if the impact itself hadn't beaten the sound to the punch. Either way, a huge cloud of dust instantly engulfed the battlefield around where Rainbow and Zebstrika hit the ground.
“That looked like it hurt,” Applejack said after a while. “Ah hope Rainbow Dash is ok.”
“I think she is,” Twilight said. “Look!”
What Twilight was pointing out was that the dust was suddenly clearing due to being blown away from the inside out. Within seconds, most of the dust was gone and instead was Rainbow Dash flapping her wings to create a wind strong enough to clear the dust, a fainted Zebstrika lying behind her.
“She did it!” Pinkie Pie shouted.
“KO!” King Sombra announced. “Zebstrika is unable to battle, so the winner of this round of the Equestria Battle Tournament is Rainbow Dash!”
“NO!” Colton shouted as he ran towards where Zebstrika lay. Once he got to his downed Pokemon, he knelt down and placed his hand on Zebstrika's side. “Are you ok, Zebstrika?”
The Pokemon slowly opened its eyes and looked over to Colton with a weak smile. “Zebstrika...” it replied weakly.
“I'm sorry you got hurt so badly,” Colton said as he pulled out Zebstrika's Dark Ball. He then retrieved Zebstrika. “Don't worry. I'll make that Rainbow Dash pay for how badly she beat you.”
“You will, huh?” Rainbow Dash asked as she walked up to Colton.
Colton got up and faced the pony whom he towered over by almost a whole foot. “I have more Pokemon that are stronger than Zebstrika. If we see each other later in the tournament, (and trust me, we will), I'm going to make you pay for how badly you hurt my moneymaker and partner.”
“Partner?” Rainbow asked.
“Ah, no, not that kind of partner,” Colton quickly revised. “But still, you're going to pay for this.” Colton then turned around and walked off.
“What a jerk,” Rainbow Dash said. “I wonder if he'll change his tune if he had to take me on in a one-on-one battle.” Rainbow punched the air real quick to emphasize her point, but was stopped when a sharp pain shot through her shoulder. “Ow,” Rainbow quickly said as she massaged her shoulder. She wasn't entirely unscathed from the finishing blow she dealt Zebstrika. Fortunately for her, that was about the time when King Sombra healed her and the injured Pokemon in its Pokeball. Rainbow Dash then looked up at King Sombra, who had finished casting his spell and was then leaving to prepare for the final battle of the day. “I'll take you down, for Spitfire and for Equestria.” Rainbow then noticed out of the corner of her eye her friends trying to get her attention. Without hardly turning her head, she instantly backflipped into the air and flew over to her friends, opting to remain flying upside down. “What's up, guys?”
“What was that last move you pulled off?” Twilight asked. “If you had managed a double KO, King Sombra might have given the win to Colton for the sake of furthering his plans and getting you out of the tournament.”
“But I didn't and he didn't get the chance,” Rainbow replied. “Your point?”
“My point being that was reckless and you could have put Equestria in more jeopardy than it already is,” Twilight replied.
Rainbow Dash reoriented herself and sat down next to Twilight. “Look, how else did you think I was going to take advantage of the opportunity I managed? I took enough of that thing's attack to keep me from pulling off a combo, it had enough speed at that point to finish me quickly had I let it recover, and I was losing my second wind fast.” Rainbow Dash then leaned back and put her hind legs up on the seat in front of her. “Besides, not a lot of options makes for a pretty spectacular finish, don't ya think?”
Twilight was at a loss for words. “I guess you've got a point,” Twilight sighed. “But I'm only dropping this conversation now because I'm sure the next battle's starting soon.”
Aside to Pinkie Pie, Keldeo whispered, “Is there some kind of thing going on between those two?”
“A lot of ponies are saying it has something to do with an unrequited love,” Pinkie replied. “I dunno if it's the truth or not, but it seems likely enough.”
“Aw, how sweet,” Keldeo said. His forte wasn't romance like someone else he knew, but that didn't mean he wasn't a sucker for such a thing.
With that explanation out of the way, the seven ponies readied themselves to watch the final battle of the night. The “Mane” event.
> 8: The Champion Arrives - Day 1 Closes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The crowd's cheering was at a fever pitch, deafening roars of excitement, combined with thunderous applause. But what less could Sombra expect moments before the Mane Event fight? What less could he expect from the finale of the first day? What less could he expect when one of the combatants was the champion of the previous Equestria Battle Tournament?
The tyrant disregarded these thoughts, however, as he made his way to the platform that stood above the arena so he could address the crowd. “Fillies and gentlecolts!” his voice boomed across the stadium. “Welcome to the final battle of the first day of the Equestria Battle Tournament!” The crowd somehow managed to cheer even louder than before in response to this. “Believe me when I say, I have a real treat in store for you for this round. Two incredibly popular veterans of the Tournament, pit against one another right here!”
“I call bull,” Rainbow Dash mumbled, earning her several glances from her friends, ranging from confused to annoyed. “What? I know he's lying because I'm not in this round.”
“Rainbow, you battled in the last round,” Applejack said. “And against some weird lightning zebra, at that.”
“Zebstrika,” Keldeo corrected.
“Whatever,” Rainbow Dash said. “I still can't believe everypony could forget about me just like that last time.”
“Not everypony forgot about you,” Twilight said. “Besides, last year's champion was the ultimate underdog story. Sports fans eat that kind of stuff up like cupcakes.” Then, with a slight chuckle, Twilight added “Well, probably more like muffins in this particular case.” Rainbow Dash simply responded with a pout and a “hmph.”
“Now, without further ado,” King Sombra continued, “let me introduce our combatants. In the west corner, flying in all the way from Griffonheim to represent her country in this tournament, and by far the most aggressive fighter in Equestria Battle Tournament history, Gilda!”
Out of the west door flew the very same griffin, flying at top speed towards the arena, eager for battle. She did a couple of tricks in the air that made the crowd go wild with applause, but none anywhere near the caliber Rainbow Dash could have achieved. (At least so the pony would argue.) After basking in her glory for a little while, Gilda landed in the arena and indicated for Sombra to continue.
“And in the east corner...” Sombra continued. As he said this, the lights in the stadium dimmed, giving rise to a sense of suspense among the ponies in attendance. “One of few ponies who hold the highest honor in this stadium. One of the three champions of the Equestria Battle Tournament. Last year's champion, in fact. Fillies and gentlecolts, please put your hooves together for Derpy Hooves!”
Instantly, several confetti cannons went off around the eastern door, and several spotlights shone in that direction to reveal Derpy Hooves, trotting into the arena with a huge smile on her face and a golden crown on her head. The crowd went wild beyond description as the champion slowly made her way into the arena. When Derpy finally entered the circle, she took off her crown and handed it to another pegasus who was waiting to take the crown so Derpy could fight.
“She doesn't look all that impressive,” Keldeo commented as he observed Derpy. He wasn't wrong. In comparison to Gilda, she did seem rather... plain. Save for her eyes, she honestly looked like any other pony.
“Looks can be deceiving,” Fluttershy said. “I know because Angel and I actually battled her last year. When it gets down to it, she can fight almost as well as Rainbow Dash. I have to admit that I didn't think she'd be very good and tried not to hurt her too much, but she blew me away because of that.”
“Really?” Keldeo asked. “Well then, this should be an interesting battle.”
Meanwhile in the arena, Gilda and Derpy were staring each other down. “Ha,” Gilda laughed. “My opponent is you of all ponies? What a joke! Why can't I have a real challenge?”
Derpy just shook her head and smiled to herself. “Looks like I've got myself a new challenge,” she thought to herself. “Oh, Gilda,” she said out loud. “I suggest you quit talking now and start taking this fight seriously.”
“Oh, I'll take this fight seriously,” Gilda said. “Seriously enough to tear you apart feather by feather.”
“I'm scared,” Derpy said sarcastically. “If you lose, don't go around saying you just didn't know what went wrong.”
“Oh, you're the one who's gonna be thinking something went wrong,” Gilda said. “And that 'something' will be getting out of bed this morning.”
“Alright, combatants, are you ready for battle?” Sombra asked. Both combatants nodded. “In that case, let's begin! Round 1, FIGHT!” Since it was the Mane Event battle, several confetti cannons went off upon this announcement.

Gilda was quick to start the battle aggressively. She quickly flew forward and tried to slash Derpy with her talons. The pegasus was able to dodge this attack easily by backpedaling quickly. She followed this up by throwing her hoof forward and striking Gilda square in the beak. The griffon wasn't knocked backwards since Derpy didn't put much into her punch, but she did flinch, and that gave Derpy all the opening she needed to charge forward and give Gilda a gut check, followed by a windmill kick that knocked the griffon backwards and onto her back. Derpy, on the other hoof, landed rather gracefully.
“If you want me to start trying, just say so,” Derpy taunted said as Gilda got up from the combo she took.
“Oh, you're trying, all right,” Gilda growled. “Trying very hard to get on my nerves.”
“Then it looks like I'm doing something right,” Derpy said with a smile. The pegasus then charged forward and tried to strike Gilda with a mule kick. However, the griffon was more than prepared for this. She quickly grabbed Derpy's hind leg and swung the pegasus around in a circle before throwing her into the barrier face-first.
“Had enough yet, little pony?” Gilda asked as Derpy quickly got up. When she opened her eyes, however, everypony in the arena gasped. Derpy's eyes were straight.
“You... did not just re-straighten my eyes,” Derpy said with an angry expression and a growling tone. “Now you've made me very angry.”
“Oh, I'm so scared,” Gilda said in a mocking tone. “What are you going to do now that your eyes are straight? Fire lasers from them?” This was responded to by a powerful eye-beam attack from Derpy that hit Gilda square in the chest, knocking her backwards several feet.
“And now the battle gets serious,” Derpy said before flying forward at high speed. Before Gilda even had a chance to get up, Derpy picked the griffon up and gave her a powerful uppercut that launched her in the air. Derpy then flew up and gave Gilda a solid hit to the gut, a powerful knee jab, another uppercut that knocked Gilda further into the air, a flip kick with the same effect, an upwards dive that launched Gilda straight up into the top of the barrier, a downward double-hooved smash that sent the griffon crashing downward, and to finish the combo off, another eye laser that struck Gilda and forced her into the ground, leaving a small crater with a downed griffon lying in the center. Derpy then landed on the edge of the crater and looked down at Gilda. “Let that be a lesson to you. Don't underestimate your superiors.”
“KO!” King Sombra called. “The winner of round 1 is Derpy Hooves!” The crowd cheered excitedly at this announcement with deafening volume.
“She can do that?” Keldeo asked in a shocked tone. “I know there are several Pokemon that can fire beam-like attacks from their eyes, but a pony?”
“Well, Derpy's the only one who can shoot lasers from her eyes,” Twilight explained. “But it only happens if you make her really angry. Coincidentally, the only way to make her angry enough is by setting her eyes straight.”
“Huh...” Keldeo said. “How interesting...”
Meanwhile in the arena, King Sombra had healed the combatants, even repairing Derpy's eyes so they were looking two different directions once again.
“No one's going to think any less of you if you forfeit now,” Derpy said as Gilda flew out of her crater.
“You dare to mock me?” Gilda asked. “I was going easy on you in the last round, but now I'm going to tear you apart. Slowly. And. Painfully.”
Derpy was entirely unfazed by this threat. “Isn't that what you said before the last round?” the pegasus asked with a smirk.
“I mean it this time,” Gilda replied.
“Combatants, are you ready?” King Sombra announced. “Round 2, FIGHT!”
Gilda flew forward at full force and gave Derpy a powerful slash that caught the pegasus completely off guard and sent her stumbling backwards. The griffon then took advantage of her opponent's dazed state to rush in and give her a strong uppercut, followed by a powerful jab that sent Derpy flying into the barrier. Gilda wasn't finished, however, and moved in to pin Derpy to the barrier in order to deal more hits, but Derpy was able to recover and dodge out of the way of Gilda's attack, giving the pegasus a second to catch her breath.
”Looks like she really did have some bite behind her bark,” Derpy thought to herself. ”This round might actually be challenging.”
Derpy's train of thought was quickly derailed when Gilda charged forward at her once again. Fortunately, Derpy was able to see this attack coming and was able to quickly dodge out of the way of Gilda's attack, proceeding to deliver a powerful counter punch right to Gilda's side right below her wing, causing the griffon to lose her stability and fall to the ground. Derpy was then quick to follow up her attack by grabbing Gilda and throwing her up into the air, proceeding to fly up and uppercut the griffon. Derpy then let Gilda fall to the ground before flying in to give her a powerful haymaker that knocked her further back.
“Had enough yet?” Derpy asked as Gilda slowly got up.
“Not yet,” Gilda replied with a snarl. “I won't have enough until you're finished.” The griffon then charged forward, grabbed Derpy by the throat, flew up into the air, and threw the pegasus straight into the ground. Fortunately for Derpy, she was able to recover just before hitting the ground and avoided landing right on her head. She was also able to defend when Gilda dived straight down and tried to give a powerful downward jab. The attack made contact with a counter hit on Derpy's part, generating a small shock wave that disturbed some dust. The force at which the two hits collided shook both combatants a bit, but this was more problematic for Gilda because she was still in the air. Not for long, though, as the shock caused her to fall to the ground. Derpy, though her hoof still hurt a little, didn't miss her opportunity, running in to hit Gilda with a powerful sweep kick that was followed by a grab, an uppercut, and finished with a mule kick that sent the griffon flying. Gilda hit the barrier beak-first and fell to the ground, but she got up before Sombra could call a KO.
”She's persistent,” Derpy thought to herself. ”I have to finish this round fast.” Fortunately for Derpy, Gilda still seemed a little off balance despite being back on her feet. Not willing to let this opportunity slip away, Derpy flew forward for a powerful dive that pinned Gilda between the pegasus' forehooves and the barrier. Derpy then took a step back and hit the stunned griffon with a powerful windmill kick that sent her into the air, over Derpy's head, and beak-first into the center of the arena. The griffon then fell the rest of the way down. She made an attempt at getting back up, but her legs buckled beneath her and she fell back down, utterly beaten.
“And now you know why I'm an Equestria Battle Tournament champion,” Derpy said with a grin.
“KO!” King Sombra called. “Gilda has been defeated, so the winner of this battle is Derpy Hooves!” The crowd erupted into deafening roars of cheers and applause upon this announcement.
“I can't believe Derpy actually pulled that off,” Rainbow Dash said, wide-eyed at the spectacle she just witnessed. “She tossed Gilda around like it was nothing.” Then, with a pout, she added, “That's usually my job in the EBT.”
“Lighten up, Dash,” Fluttershy said. “It was an exciting battle. Besides, Derpy's a powerful ally for us, and it would be a better idea if she stayed in the game as long as possible.”
“Speaking of staying in the game...” Twilight commented as she indicated for the others to view Gilda being carried off the stage by a pair of changelings. “Or rather a lack of. I didn't even see Sombra heal her.”
“Come to think of it, I think the same thing happened with Lyra and Spitfire,” Keldeo added, bringing a hoof to his chin. “How odd.”
Twilight was about to say something else, but Sombra giving another announcement derailed her train of thought. “Fillies and gentlecolts, this concludes the first day of the Equestria Battle Tournament,” he announced. “However, the stage one battles are not over yet. Tomorrow, we will bring you five more battles, each one guaranteed to be more exciting than the last. But for now, I'm well aware that not many of you are nocturnal, so you may, of course, retreat to your current living quarters and sleep for the night. But be here tomorrow bright and early, because you will not want to miss a second of the action.” At this point, it wasn't out of the question that many of the spectators had forgotten what was at stake in this tournament, this fact highlighted by the way they cheered at this announcement.
“It's like they've forgotten who Sombra even is,” Applejack commented.
“But the point is that we haven't,” Rarity replied. “Let the sports fans enjoy the tournament and leave taking it seriously to us.”
“You're right, Rarity,” Twilight said. “We can't lose focus, but if it keeps the spectators optimistic, they can.”
Keldeo gave a large yawn before chiming in. “Can we lose just enough focus that we can get to sleep?” he asked. “This day dragged on longer than I thought it would.”
“I think getting some rest would be a good idea,” Fluttershy said. “Especially with Angel and I fighting first thing in the morning.” She emphasized her point by looking up at the snoozing bunny on her head.
“Yeah, let's get going,” Twilight said. And with that, the Mane 7 made their way back to Canterlot Castle, where they would inform Princess Celestia of everything that happened before all going to bed.

“Let me go!” Gilda shouted as she struggled against the two changelings who were dragging her through the crystal caves. “I might be injured from that fight, but I can still rip you two apart!”
“Oh, I'm sure you can, Gilda,” a dark and sinister voice said. Gilda was then thrown to the ground by the changelings before she found herself face to face with King Sombra.
“You,” Gilda said while pointing an accusing talon at Sombra. “You set me up for failure, didn't you?”
“My my, you are much more perceptive than I thought you'd be,” Sombra said with a chuckle. “I suppose it's true. I did pit you against an opponent I knew you couldn't beat with your attitude and technique. But that's in the past. Now you've outlived your usefulness to me.” Sombra's horn then began glowing with the sinister combination of green, black, and purple aura that dark magic glowed with, causing a dark gray light to envelop Gilda and lift her into the air slightly. Gilda tried to struggle, but she wasn't struggling for long before she was suddenly released, causing her to fall to the floor.
“Uhnnn...” Gilda groaned as she tried to get up. “Wha... where am I?”
“No sense in leaving the rage spell on you if you can't use it anymore,” Sombra replied with a chuckle. “To answer your question, you're at the crystal caverns beneath Canterlot, a place you're going to be spending quite a bit of time in now.” With an evil laugh, Sombra teleported away.
“Hey!” Gilda shouted. “You can't leave me here! I-I don't even know what's going on!”
“You don't need to, little griffon,” another evil sounding voice said from behind Gilda. The griffon turned around to see a pair of glowing yellow eyes hiding in the darkness behind her. Before Gilda could take any action, she heard a sinister inhaling sound...
> Interlude 1: The Escapee
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Bruised, battered, and beaten, Gilda limped her way through the darkened streets of Canterlot, doing her best to hurry in order to hide from the Changeling guards that were after her.
Mere moments before, she had been taken to some kind of cave deep within Canterlot following her defeat in the Equestria Battle Tournament. However, the griffon had no memory of even competing this year. In fact, the last thing she remembered before that day was seeing a flyer for the EBT from her home in Giffonheim, then making her way to a train station so she could go compete. Once she'd gotten on the train, however, she was approached by a pony wearing a trench coat and a large hat that obscured most of his features. Gilda didn't even remember anything specific about that encounter. All she knew was that she saw the pony, then she blacked out, then she found herself in that cave alone with some kind of creature that had tried to steal her magic.
At least, it tried to steal her magic. Fortunately for Gilda, she was a griffon, and she didn't have any sort of magic that ponies had. Seeing her opportunity at that point, she made her escape, easily getting past the guards who weren't even guarding her since they thought she was already finished.
And here Gilda was now, hiding from those very same guards behind a dumpster in an alleyway. She was panting heavily from how fast she was trying to move combined with how injured she was,but she was able to steady her breathing while the guards were near her. Once they passed, the griffon began panting again.
“What... the hell... is going on here?” she asked no one but herself between pants.
“Gilda?” a child-like voice asked from behind the griffon. Gilda turned around to see an orange pegasus filly with a pink mane step out of a cardboard box. “Is that you?”
“Uh...” Gilda said, caught a little off-guard by the fact that a pony just approached her from out of a cardboard box.
“I... I can't believe it's really you!” the filly said with excitement in her voice.
“Shh!” Gilda shushed. “Whatever you want, tell me quietly. I'm hiding from guards.”
“I'm just glad to meet you,” the filly continued. “My name's Scootaloo. I live in Ponyville, but I always enjoy coming here to Canterlot to enjoy the Equestria Battle Tournament. It's the most exciting sporting event in the world. And the fights that you and Rainbow Dash are in are my favorites.”
“What?” Gilda asked. “You mean... I'm one of your favorites?”
“Well, second favorite,” Scootaloo replied. “I mean, who could beat Rainbow Dash in anything? Of course she's gonna take the top spot. But you aren't far behind.” Scootaloo then squealed quietly before continuing. “Sorry, it's just... you're one of the most popular fighters in the Equestria Battle Tournament, and now you're here, in front of me! I just can't believe it!”
“What was that you said?” Gilda asked with confusion.
“I can't believe it?” Scootaloo replied.
“No, before that,” Gilda said. “Did you say I was one of the most popular fighters?”
“Yeah,” Scootaloo replied with a nod. “You're the fighter with the largest fan base... not counting those of the Champions, that is, but still...”
“Really?” Gilda asked. She then looked down. “I... don't believe it. The past few tournaments, I thought everypony hated me for the way I battled.”
“Nope, your fights are really exciting,” Scootaloo replied. “Every time I see you on the roster, I know it's gonna be a good fight. It's a shame you didn't get to fight Rainbow Dash in this tournament, though. A 'Gilda vs Dash' fight is always guaranteed to be the most exciting out of any fight in that tournament, even beating out the final round.”
“Wow...” Gilda said. “I never knew that.” The griffon then chuckled a little. “I actually mean that much to the spectators? I'm not just some generic villain character?”
“Well, we can't sway everypony's opinion...” Scootaloo admitted. “But you have a lot of devoted fans, and I consider myself really lucky to be one of them.”
Gilda was silent for a long while as she processed what the filly before her was saying. “Th-thank you,” Gilda said. “Er, what I mean to say is, obviously I've got fans. I'm the most competitive combatant in this game.” Gilda then puffed out her chest proudly, this this stretched an injured muscle and she quickly reeled from the pain. “Ow...”
“Are you ok, Gilda?” Scootaloo asked.
“I'm fine...” Gilda replied. “Sombra didn't heal me after that fight, that's all. I could easily walk it off.”
“Okay,” Scootaloo said. “Hey... if you're still hiding from those guards, do you want to hide together? I'm... kinda not supposed to be here either.”
“Really?” Gilda asked.
“Yeah...” Scootaloo replied. “Kinda sorta never actually bought a ticket to the Equestria Battle Tournament. But I've still been able to watch a few of the fights. Plus, those Changeling guards tend to not look through alleys for some reason, so this could be a perfect place for both of us to hide from them. What do you say?”
Gilda was quiet once more before replying. “Eh, sure. Why not? If a fan wants to do something nice for me, let 'em.” Scootaloo looked at the griffon with a confused expression for a moment before Gilda smiled and winked.
“Oh,” Scootaloo said with a chuckle. “Still maintaining the persona. Gotcha.” The filly then walked back over to her cardboard box. “I think there's room for two in here. I mean, sleeping on cardboard definitely beats sleeping on dirt or concrete.”
Gilda couldn't have argued with that if she wanted to. Instead she smiled and walked over, settling herself into the box next to Scootaloo. “So tell me something, Scootaloo,” Gilda said. “What's been going on in this tournament? Because for some reason, I don't remember a thing.”
> 9: Tag-Team Battle - Colton Takes Revenge
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Nightfall came, and morning followed sooner than most ponies in Canterlot were prepared for. Nonetheless, the Mane 7 had to be ready for the day ahead, and ready themselves they tried as they made their way to the town square to see who was fighting that day.
“I'm guessing about half or so of the stage 1 fights took place yesterday,” Twilight said to the others as they walked. “So that means Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity and I will definitely be fighting today.”
“Hopefully Ah'll be fightin' first,” Applejack commented. “Ah'm ready and rarin' to kick some villain's flank.”
It was at about this time that the six ponies and one Pokemon had made it to where the day's bracket was posted. Keldeo was the first to point something out. “Looks like Colton's fighting in the first round,” he said with a huff. “And he's up against...” Keldeo stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the bracket wide-eyed, the others quickly following suit.
“M-m-me?” Fluttershy asked with a whimper as she saw that it was her pit against Colton for the first fight. “O-oh my...”
“Don't let your nerves get the best of you now, Shy,” Rainbow Dash said. “He's not even that good of a fighter, and the Pokemon he uses for fights aren't that good either.”
“Don't be so sure, Rainbow Dash,” Keldeo said with an ominous tone in his voice. “Colton has a bit of a reputation back on Earth, so most of the lesser Legendaries like me are familiar with him. We've all seen how he handles his Pokemon, but he has yet to use his Ace, his strongest Pokemon.”
“You mean... he has a stronger Pokemon that I could have fought?!” Rainbow Dash asked. “Aw man. I knew that Zebstrika wasn't the tip of the iceberg.”
“Um... does that mean... I'll have to fight his Ace?” Fluttershy asked while trying to disappear behind her mane.
“With a little luck, he won't see you as enough of a threat to pull something like that,” Keldeo replied. “He can tend to underestimate his foes at times. You might be able to use that to your advantage. Then again…” Keldeo brought his hoof up to his chin, “so far, Colton hasn't used any of the Pokemon he normally uses. I've hardly ever heard of him using a Sawsbuck or a Zebstrika.”
“Does that mean he's got rental Pokemon?” Pinkie inquired.
“It's unlikely, but I wouldn't rule it out,” Keldeo replied with a shake of his head.
“So, um... what does that mean?” Fluttershy asked at an almost inaudible volume.
“It means you should have at least one advantage,” Keldeo replied. “But don't underestimate whoever he sends out.” The Colt Pokemon then grit his teeth. “Sombra's obviously used his dark magic on those Pokemon in Colton's possession. And I'll make sure he pays for that...”
“Are you okay, Keldeo?” Twilight asked, noticing the Pokemon's stress.
Keldeo sighed. “To be honest, no. As a Sword of Justice, it's my duty to protect any and all Pokemon in need, and those Pokemon Colton has are crying out desperately for help. I can feel it. But whatever Sombra's done to them, it's keeping them from actually doing anything but Colton's bidding.” Keldeo looked up at the bracket again. “As soon as I get my chance, I will save those Pokemon, and I'll make both Colton and Sombra sorry for what they did to them.”
“Well, you're gonna have to get to them first,” Rainbow commented. “But… I think we all know this whole tournament's wrapped around my hoof, so why don't you go ahead and handle Colton, and leave King Sombrero to me.”
“Don't underestimate my resolve, Rainbow Dash,” Keldeo warned. “We may be allies in this fight, but I won't be afraid to take you down if you happen to get in my way.”
“Ditto,” Rainbow replied, flying down and getting right in Keldeo's face. “I lost last year's Equestria Battle Tournament, so I don't plan on losing this one.”
“Hey, can we calm down for a minute here?” Twilight said, breaking Rainbow and Keldeo up. “Our enemy is Sombra, not each other. Let's try not to forget that.”
Keldeo sighed once again. “She's right, Rainbow Dash. Let's try not to be at each other's throats unless we actually get pit against each other sometime down the road. We stand a better chance against Sombra if we stay together.”
“Eh… yeah, you're right,” Rainbow replied. “But like you said, if we ever wind up fighting each other, don't expect me to hold back.”
“Everypony, can we please get back to the more pressing matter at hoof?” Pinkie asked. “Fluttershy's still gotta get to the arena, don't forget.” The first response to this was a quiet terrified “Eep!” from Fluttershy. “Hurry up and make up so we can get going.”
Rainbow and Keldeo exchanged glances. “Rivals?” Rainbow asked.
“Rivals,” Keldeo replied with a smile and a nod. The two then hoof-bumped, and the group was on their way to the arena.

Despite the fact that it was a bit early in the morning, the spectators were still excited and cheering. King Sombra smiled as he noticed this while approaching his podium. Right as he got to the top, he noticed that the Mane 7 sans Fluttershy had just taken their seats. “Fillies and gentlecolts, welcome to the second day of the Equestria Battle Tournament,” he announced. “As you know, six battles took place yesterday. As such, we know for a fact at this point that six little ponies will be advancing to round 2 tomorrow. Today, we shall determine the last five ponies who will move on to tomorrow.”
“Hold on a second...” Twilight said to her group. “Unless my math is off, that means there's going to be 11 fighters left tomorrow. Won't that mean one fighter will be left out from fighting?”
“Sombra could pull a fast one on us,” Keldeo replied. “Odds are he's going to give one of his minions a freebie.”
“Maybe he'll give Colton an extra Pokemon?” Pinkie asked. “Or maybe he'll let Colton fight on his own once next stage.” Pinkie then giggled to herself. “Now THAT will be fun to watch.”
Meanwhile, King Sombra was continuing his announcements. “Now then, without further ado, let's get this day's battles started. For our first match-up, we have for you the champion of the second Equestria Battle Tournament. Or rather, the champions. A normally shy pony who usually shies away from violence if at all possible, and her most trusted companion in battle, the bunny who sought to join the tournament himself but needed to join along with his owner to be accepted, please put your hooves together for Fluttershy and Angel Bunny!”
At this announcement, the spectators began cheering, and a spotlight shone on the eastern entrance, out of which Fluttershy was walking timidly with Angel keeping close but looking a little more than impatient with his owner. Once she noticed that the spotlight was on her, Fluttershy froze, took a deep breath to regain her posture, and began walking forward at a slightly faster pace while trying to keep her head high, although her friends could still sense the nervousness in her movement.
“No offense, but she doesn't really act like she could do all that much in a battle,” Keldeo commented.
“She doesn't do much, actually,” Rarity replied. “But it was Angel who wanted to join the tournament on his own. Fluttershy is just there to be there so that Angel can do almost all of the fighting while still staying within the Equestria Battle Tournament rules. Though from the second tournament on, for the sake of putting her and Angel on par with the other fighters, Fluttershy was allowed to summon more assistance from her other animal friends, citing it as her “Magic Ability,” which every combatant in the tournament has one of. Like how Rainbow Dash can fly and control the weather, or how you can use your water blasts and Secret Sword.”
“Really?” Keldeo asked. “Fascinating...”
“And her opponent,” King Sombra continued, “the fighter with more tricks up his sleeve than you could count on four hooves, back from two defeats in round 1, Pokemon Hunter Colton!”
The crowd was quick to begin their boos and jeers at how Colton was able to slip by the rules so easily, but Colton shrugged these off as he walked calmly into the arena from the west gate, hands in his pockets and a sinister expression on his face as he focused his gaze on Fluttershy from under his cap. “This one shouldn't be as much trouble as Rainbow Dash,” he said to himself as he took his position just outside the edge of the arena, took his hands out of his pockets, and grabbed one of his Dark Balls. “So you're this Fluttershy character I keep hearing about?” Colton asked the shy pegasus as he tossed the ball in his hand up and down.
To say Fluttershy was intimidated by Colton's demeanor was an understatement. However, Angel caught on to his owner's distress and gave her leg a consoling rub to try to comfort her. Fluttershy was a little bit reassured by her bunny's consolation, and she took a deep breath before facing Colton once again. “Yes, I am,” Fluttershy said in the surest voice she could manage. “And what you've heard about me is true. I might seem very timid and out of place here, but even I know when it's time to buck up and face my foes. So don't think you can play my personality against me, or your Pokemon is going to be sorry, and you'll follow suit.”
Colton chuckled at this and raised the brim of his cap so that Fluttershy could see his face better. “My my, such big words from such a little pony,” he said. “Well, once the battle starts, we'll just see how much truth is behind your words.”
“Hey, I just realized something,” Pinkie commented to her friends. “Fluttershy and Angel work together like a tag-team, Colton works with his Pokemon sort of like a tag team… does that mean this will be an actual 2-v-2 battle?”
“Ya know what, Pinkie Pie?” Applejack asked. “Ah do believe yer right.”
“Now then, I think it's time you met your real opponent for today,” Colton said to Fluttershy. He then tossed the Dark Ball outward. “Prepare for battle, Girafarig!”
Out of the ball came what looked like a small giraffe, except there was something drastically strange about it. Namely the fact that only its front half looked even remotely normal, with a yellow body, brown markings, and a white face, while the back half of the Pokemon looked like a demon version of the front half, with brown fur that had yellow markings, and a similar brown neck and head where the tail was supposed to be, except the head was just a sphere with empty eyes and a mouth full of terrifying sharp teeth. “RIIIIIIIG!” both heads roared.
“A Girafarig?!” Pinkie shouted as she pulled out her Pokedex. “Sombra's really giving a whole new definition to the word 'loophole'!”


Girafarig, the Long Neck Pokemon
The head on its tail contains a small brain. It can instinctively fight even while facing backward.


“So that ugly head on the tail isn't just for show,” Rarity commented.
“I've come face to face with Girafarig in the past,” Keldeo said. “Take my words as slightly biased since I've got a type disadvantage against it, but Girafarig are fairly dangerous when angry. The human organization called 'Smogen' might call Girafarig low-tier in tournaments, but if Fluttershy and Angel don't know what they're doing, that thing will tear them apart, the tail with its teeth and the head with its psychic abilities.”
“Talk about two-faced,” Pinkie added.
Meanwhile, Girafarig was staring down Fluttershy and Angel. The bunny didn't even seem fazed, but the pony couldn't help but let out a small whimper before trying to compose herself. Fluttershy took a deep breath before readying herself for battle. “I'm… I'm not afraid,” she said as stoically as she could manage.
“Good,” Colton said. “Girafarig isn't either.”
“Rig,” Girafarig confirmed with a nod.
“Are the combatants ready?” King Sombra announced.
“We'll give it all we've got,” Fluttershy said as she and Angel assumed battle-ready stances.
“It's showtime, Girafarig,” Colton called to his Pokemon.
“Girafarig,” the Pokemon replied, readying himself for battle.
“Then let's get started!” Sombra continued. “Round 1, FIGHT!”
(Battle! Trainer Battle! (SSB4 version))
“Girafarig, start this battle with Stomp!” Colton called. Upon command, Girafarig charged forward right at Fluttershy, who was quick to scoop Angel up and roll out of the way of the Pokemon's charge. Taking his opportunity, Angel grabbed onto the edge of Fluttershy's mane and leapt forward to deliver a kick right to Girafarig's midsection, which caused the Pokemon to stumble a little. Fluttershy then got up and flew forward to deliver a full-body tackle, followed by Angel delivering a sweep that knocked Girafarig off his hooves and onto his side.
“They work flawlessly together,” Keldeo commented.
“Fluttershy has been able to communicate with animals on a level unlike any other ponies could manage since she was very young,” Twilight replied. “And when it comes to fighting alongside Angel, the two can practically read each other's minds.” The princess then looked down. “I should know. I got my flank handed to them two tournaments ago...”
Meanwhile, Fluttershy and Angel had backed off to allow Girafarig to get back to his hooves. “Okay, so these two are a little better than I gave them credit for,” Colton said to himself. “They're not the only duo on the battlefield, though. Girafarig, use Shadow Ball and then get in close for Bite!”
“Rig,” Girafarig replied with a nod before raising his head upward and forming a ball of a sinister-looking sticky substance which seemed to be concentrated shadows. With a shout, Girafarig launched the Shadow Ball forward. Fluttershy tried to dodge out of the way, but the radius of the blast that occurred when the Shadow Ball hit the ground in front of her was still enough to knock the pony off her hooves just long enough for Girafarig to charge forward and turn around, where the rear head opened its mouth and clamped down hard on Fluttershy's arm, causing her to shriek in pain.
“GNAHH!” Fluttershy shouted as she felt the head lift her into the air and throw her forward several feet. Angel wanted to attack Girafarig while he was distracted, but the conditions of her and Fluttershy being in the tournament together stated that they couldn't be separated for greater than seven seconds or they would face disqualification, and neither were allowed to attack unless they were together. Despite the urge to get Girafarig back for harming his owner, Angel rushed back over to where Fluttershy lay and attempted to encourage her back to her hooves. “I'm okay, Angel,” Fluttershy said as she got up. Her leg hurt where Girafarig bit her, but it wasn't as bad as she was afraid it would be. The teeth looked sharp, but they didn't puncture her skin for some reason. The pony and bunny then re-assumed their stances. “Alright then… let's get back in this battle.” Fluttershy then galloped forward with Angel following closely at her side.
“Girafarig, use Bite once again!” Colton shouted.
“Giraf!” the Pokemon shouted as he charged forward. Once the two combatants neared each other, Girafarig quickly whirled around and attempted to use Bite on Fluttershy once again. However, Fluttershy was prepared for this attack. She thrust her arm right into the tail's mouth, stunning Girafarig, although the mouth still clamped down. Still, Fluttershy had Girafarig right where she wanted him. She used her free hoof to deliver a blow to the tail's neck, which was followed by Angel sweeping the Pokemon's legs powerfully, causing it to fall over. Fluttershy then concluded the attack by grabbing onto Girafarig, flying into the air with him, and then bringing him back down to the ground powerfully.
“This pony's good...” Colton said to himself. “I've gotten out of worse situations before, though. Girafarig, spin as you get up and then use Psybeam!”
“Rig!” Girafarig responded. The Pokemon then placed one of his forehooves firmly on the ground before hurling the back half of his body around in a circle, using the head on his tail to knock Fluttershy away before finally returning to his hooves. Girafarig then took aim at Fluttershy, who was just then getting back up. The Pokemon's eyes began to glow blue and his antennae pink before a blast of psychic energy not dissimilar to a blast of Twilight's magic was fired from between the Pokemon's two antennae right at Fluttershy. The pegasus was unable to get out of the way before the attack connected with her and she was blown further back, Angel struggling to keep up with his owner.
“Alright Girafarig, let's finish this,” Colton said with a sinister smile. “Get in close with Stomp, send her airborne with Bite, and then finish with Shadow Ball!”
“Girafarig,” the Pokemon replied before charging forward.
“Fluttershy needs to get out of there fast!” Keldeo said. “She and Angel can't take a combo like that!”
“She'll get out of there,” Twilight said. But then she added “I hope...”
Unfortunately, Twilight's hopes were shattered as Girafarig got close to Fluttershy just as the pegasus was regaining her footing. Without wasting a second, Girafarig reared up and brought both his hooves down hard on the ground in front of Fluttershy, creating enough force to knock her off balance so that Girafarig could whirl around, grab the pegasus with Bite, throw her into the air, and then, seamlessly, the tail head began forming a Shadow Ball before firing it right at Fluttershy. She did her best to recover out of the way using her wings, but it was no use as Girafarig's attack connected, creating an explosion of smoke and shadow that hung in the air for a moment before Fluttershy fell out of the bottom of the cloud and into the ground, where she lay on her back with all four of her legs in the air, a stunned expression on her face, and for some reason, the sound of a goat's bleat could be heard. Angel went over to his owner to check on her, but the bunny simply shook his head when he confirmed what King Sombra already knew.
“KO!” Sombra announced. “The winner of round 1 is Girafarig!” The crowd was quick to erupt into their chorus of boos and jeers, but Girafarig played this off as he walked over to Colton, who patted the Pokemon on his head.
“Excellent work,” Colton commented. “But you've only won one round, as Zebstrika did. Do not make the mistake he made.”
“Girafarig,” the Pokemon replied with a nod.
Meanwhile, Angel was dragging the stunned Fluttershy over to her friends. “Shall I?” Keldeo asked while raising his hoof.
In response to this, Angel shook his head and instead moved to slap Fluttershy awake. Fortunately, the bunny's slap was strong enough to bring Fluttershy back to reality. “Angel, that hurt,” Fluttershy said with a frown and in a calm tone while rubbing her cheek. “I'm sorry I messed up your battle.”
“You'll have to shake it off, Shy,” Rainbow Dash said. “You only lost because Colton got cheap with his combos. There's only one thing you can do in the face of something like that.”
“What's that?” Keldeo asked.
“Get cheap back at him, of course,” Rainbow replied. “Fluttershy, you barely worked with Angel to pull of combos, and you didn't use any animal assistance at all! You aren't going to beat this guy playing nice. Remember how you won the second tournament?”
“I… had all my animal friends to help me,” Fluttershy replied.
“Exactly,” Rainbow said. “Make use of those animals we all know you snuck onto the train with you and beat this guy.”
“Okay,” Fluttershy said with a nod. It was at this moment that she felt herself being healed by Sombra's magic.
“Good luck, Fluttershy,” Twilight said. “We believe you'll be able to make this comeback.”
“Thanks everypony,” Fluttershy said with a slight smile. She and Angel then exchanged nods before returning to the center of the arena.
“Girafarig and I really hope you put up more of a fight this next round,” Colton said to Fluttershy as she and his Pokemon returned to their positions.
“Oh don't worry about that, Colton,” Fluttershy said with a tone of slight confidence. “I've got more tricks up my sleeve than I let onto last round.”
“Do you now?” Colton asked with a laugh. “Well, color me curious. Show us what you've got, little pony.”
“Girafarig,” Girafarig added with a determined expression.
“Are the combatants ready?” Sombra announced. “Round 2, FIGHT!”
“Let's see what these two have in store for us this time,” Colton said. “Girafarig, get in close with Stomp!”
“Rig!” Girafarig shouted with a nod as he began galloping forward at Fluttershy.
“Alright Angel, it's time to get serious,” Fluttershy said. The bunny nodded in reply and the two charged forward at Girafarig.
“A little more apt to go on the offensive than last round…” Colton observed while rubbing his chin. “I'm almost excited to see what this pony has up her sleeve.”
“Now, Angel!” Fluttershy shouted as she and Angel got close to Girafarig. Right as the Pokemon reared up to use Stomp, Angel quickly leapt upwards and delivered a solid kick right to Girafarig's midsection, causing the Pokemon to stumble a little on its hind legs. Seizing her opportunity, Fluttershy ran up and delivered a solid mule kick that sent Girafarig onto his back. Angel  followed this attack up with a powerful uppercut that sent Girafarig into the air. “Now I need assistance!” Fluttershy called as Girafarig began coming back down to the ground. Out of nowhere, a loud screeching sound was heard, and before anypony knew it, a falcon had flown through the arena at top speed, clipping Girafarig powerfully with its wing as the Pokemon fell. As quickly as the falcon appeared, it suddenly flew off without a trace. Fluttershy took advantage of the stunned state Girafarig was in thanks to the hit from the falcon to fly up with Angel and deliver two powerful hits that sent Girafarig straight down into the ground.
“Astounding…” Colton said to himself. “She is able to control these creatures like a trainer can control their Pokemon. But in a tournament like this, surely she cannot be allowed to use this power very often.”
“Wait, she's allowed to do that?” Keldeo asked. “And how did that Staraptor-looking thing even get into the arena?”
“Since Fluttershy has such limited combat ability, she's allowed to call for assistance from her animal friends a certain number of times per battle,” Twilight explained. “I think Princess Celestia just didn't want any fighters in the tournament that other combatants would feel they'd be able to get a free win on. Also, it's called a falcon.”
“I see...” Keldeo said.
Meanwhile, Girafarig had just gotten back to his hooves. “Rig...” the Pokemon growled.
“Gotta say, that little trick you pulled was pretty impressive,” Colton complimented. “Never would've seen something like that coming.”
“Like I said, I'm full of surprises,” Fluttershy replied. “Just you wait, though. I'm far from done with the extra combos.”
“Good,” Colton said with a sinister smile. “For a moment there, I was afraid that was all you had!” The trainer then tipped his hat upwards. “Now, it's our turn! Girafarig, let's show her some of our own combos! Shadow Fake!”
“Girafarig!” the Pokemon shouted in reply as he readied and fired another Shadow Ball at Fluttershy. She and Angel both guarded, but rather than hit them, the Shadow Ball impacted in front of the two and created a huge thick cloud of shadow and dust that neither pony nor bunny were able to see through. After a second of the cloud just hanging there, Girafarig suddenly leapt out of the cloud and towards his foes, where the Pokemon proceeded to attack with a powerful Stomp that knocked Fluttershy off balance. Girafarig took his opportunity and grabbed the pony with Bite before throwing her into the air and firing another Shadow Ball that knocked Fluttershy further back and into the barrier. The pegasus fell to the ground, but she was able to recover before she landed and used her wings to guide herself gently to the ground, where Angel quickly rejoined her.
“Okay, so maybe I was wrong in my assumption before…” Keldeo said. “Maybe these Pokemon did belong to Colton back on Earth. There's no way a rental Pokemon would be able to pull off a combo like that.” The Colt Pokemon then rubbed his chin. “Though that still wouldn't explain why he's never been seen with these Pokemon before…”
“Puzzling indeed,” Pinkie added. “This guy just gets more and more mysterious as the story goes on. Or should I say 'as the game goes on' since this story is based off a game? Hmm…”
Meanwhile, Fluttershy and Angel were charging forward to deliver another attack to Girafarig. “You'll have to do better than that,” Colton said. “We're serious now! Throw that pony some Shade!”
“Rig!” Girafarig shouted in reply before firing a Shadow Ball straight downwards, instantly cloaking the Pokemon in a shadowy cloud that Fluttershy wasn't able to get through. Right as Fluttershy and Angel stopped in their tracks, Girafarig fired a Psybeam from inside of the cloud, which dealt its own attack plus flying forward with enough force to drag some of the remnants of the Shadow Ball along with it, making for a powerful attack that sent Fluttershy flying backwards, Angel struggling to keep up with her.
“Now let's finish her off!” Colton shouted. “PsyShade!”
“Girafarig!” the Pokemon shouted as both of its heads began charging attacks. The front head a Psybeam, and the rear head a Shadow Ball.
“That doesn't look good...” Fluttershy said to herself. “Aha! I just need to break its concentration.” The pony then tapped her hoof on the ground twice.
Right as Girafarig was about to fire his dual attacks, he felt the ground beneath one of his forehooves suddenly tremble before rising, knocking the Pokemon off balance and causing him to lose focus, dropping both attacks.  “What?” Colton asked as he looked to where Girafarig was backing up to find a small tunneling squirrel that Fluttershy had summoned. However, this squirrel stuck around to look up at Girafarig curiously for only a second before retreating back into the ground, his job finished. Colton was confused for a moment, and Fluttershy took advantage of this opportunity to rush in and deliver a finishing combo to Girafarig. She started her attack with a powerful flying tackle, which Angel followed up with a strong uppercut, followed by Fluttershy flying up and striking with a flying kick that was followed by a weak downward strike that caused Girafarig to fall (but not crash) into the ground. Fluttershy quickly descended and, right as Girafarig was getting up, delivered her signature move: The Stare. Fluttershy managed to make eye-contact with Girafarig, and the Pokemon was paralyzed by Fluttershy's glare, just like any other critter.
“This can't be,” Colton said as he noticed that Girafarig was immobilized. “I have to think of something fast.”
“No chance!” Fluttershy shouted. She then brought her hoof up to her mouth and whistled loudly. Suddenly, the entire arena began trembling. Before anyone knew it, a huge stampede of woodland critters had run in through the east entrance to the arena and was headed towards Girafarig. Still under the effects of The Stare, the Pokemon could do nothing as he suddenly found himself getting trampled by all manner of animals, from deer to rabbits to birds, and then the charge ended with a powerful body blow from a huge bear that sent Girafarig flying backwards and into the barrier. Meanwhile, the stampede of animals exited from the west entrance.
“KO!” King Sombra called as Girafarig slumped to the floor. “The winners of round 2 are Fluttershy, Angel Bunny, and the dozen or so animals that assisted her!” The crowd burst into cheers and applause at this announcement.
“Grr… how is this even fair?” Colton growled as he looked between the downed Girafarig and Fluttershy, who was returning to her friends. “Perhaps I've underestimated this little pony and what she can get away with… but I still refuse to take a third loss.”
Meanwhile, Fluttershy and Angel had returned to their friends. “I knew you could do it, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said. “You see where just a little bit of confidence can get ya?”
“But you mustn’t be careless,” Keldeo warned. “Whatever that PsyShade move your friend interrupted was going to be, it looked like it was gonna cause some serious pain. Watch out if he tries that move again.”
“Alright,” Fluttershy said with a nod as she felt Sombra heal her.
“You've got one more round, Fluttershy,” Twilight said. “Make this fight count.”
Fluttershy nodded silently and Angel saluted before the two returned to the arena.
“To say Girafarig and I are displeased with that performance last round would be an understatement,” Colton said to Fluttershy as Girafarig glared at the pony. “Don't think we're going to let you get away with that little display of foul play.”
“Call it what you want,” Fluttershy said with a serious expression. “But I, for one, plan to do everything in my power to make sure evil doesn't win this tournament.”
“That's good for you, because we're through playing around,” Colton replied. “Are you ready, Girafarig?”
“Rig,” the Pokemon replied with a nod.
“Alright then,” Sombra announced. “In that case, final round! FIGHT!”
“We won't give you any space this time around,” Colton said. “Girafarig, use Psybeam!”
“Girafarig!” the Pokemon shouted as he unleashed his blast of psychic energy towards Fluttershy. The pegasus was able to move herself and Angel out of the way of the attack.
“Keep hitting her with Psybeam!” Colton shouted. “We'll tire her out before anything else!”
Girafarig complied with his trainer's orders and delivered Psybeam after Psybeam, all of which Fluttershy was able to dodge. “We need to get in close,” Fluttershy said to Angel. “Hold on, Angel. Things are gonna get bumpy.” She picked up the bunny and began flying towards Girafarig, doing her best to dodge any Psybeams that got thrown her way.
“If this keeps up, Girafarig will be the one who tires out first,” Colton said. “Girafarig, stop using Psybeam and let her get close to you!”
“Rig?” Girafarig asked. Although unsure of his trainer's decision, he complied.
“Now's our chance,” Fluttershy said to Angel. The bunny nodded, and Fluttershy began diving right towards Girafarig.
“Let her get a little closer...” Colton said, a bead of sweat running down the side of his face. ”If I'm not perfect on this call, I just might wind up throwing the whole match,” the hunter thought. ”I've got confidence Girafarig can react fast enough, though.”
Being a Psychic-type, Girafarig was able to pick up on his trainer's thoughts and readied himself for anything, be it from Fluttershy or from Colton.
“Now, Angel!” Fluttershy shouted as she got close to Girafarig. Angel quickly nodded and leapt out of the pegasus' forelegs, quickly grabbing onto her mane and using it like a rope to swing downwards to deliver a kick right to Girafarig's face.
“Let that hit knock you backwards, Girafarig!” Colton called. Girafarig once more seemed unsure of Colton's decision, but on the other hand, he could tell Colton had something planned. Girafarig readied himself, and Angel's attack made contact directly with Girafarig's snout, flipping the Pokemon just about heads-over-hooves. “Now use Bite to get that pegasus out of the sky!” Colton called quickly. It was here that Girafarig finally figured out what Colton had planned. The Pokemon reached up with his rear head and clamped down on Fluttershy's tail. Since Girafarig was still in the process of falling, as he hit the ground, he yanked Fluttershy out of the air and down with him. “Now get up and use Bite again to throw her in front of you, then hit her with Shadow Ball!”
Girafarig quickly got back to his hooves, which Fluttershy was still in the process of doing, before reaching down with his rear head and Biting down on Fluttershy's hind leg. He then spun himself around and threw Fluttershy in front of him, where his front head fired a powerful Shadow Ball that Fluttershy took the full force of and was knocked further back by.
“Looks like Colton's decided to start playing dirty,” Rainbow Dash observed. “Fluttershy starts to lose focus when her foes aren't playing nice.”
“I know she can still do this, though,” Twilight said. “Girafarig took the full force of Angel's kick, so he can't be far behind Fluttershy in terms of damage.”
“The question is in the difference between their damage tolerances, though…” Keldeo said.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy was just getting back to her hooves. “Oh no you don't,” Colton said. “Shadow Fake, but surround her with Shadow Balls this time!”
“Girafarig!” the Pokemon shouted as he began firing about half a dozen Shadow Balls around Fluttershy, completely cloaking where she was. Girafarig then began galloping towards the cloud.
“I have to stay clam here,” Fluttershy told herself as she looked around at the inky blackness that surrounded her. However, judging by her expression and rapid breathing, anypony could tell that she was doing a poor job of this. Angel tried to keep Fluttershy from panicking, but this attempt was short-lived when Girafarig suddenly leapt out at the two from behind the clouds. Quick to respond, (and assuming Sombra couldn't see the three from behind this cloud of darkness), Angel rushed up and delivered a powerful kick that knocked Girafarig back before quickly returning to Fluttershy. “Thank you, Angel,” Fluttershy said. She was then able to move in and deliver a low sweep that hit Girafarig, followed by an axe kick that knocked Girafarig back a little. Fluttershy then whistled, and out of nowhere, a ferret rushed through the stage and tackled Girafarig, knocking him back further. As the ferret returned to the who-knows-where it came from, Fluttershy rushed in and delivered her backpedal attack that hit Girafarig twice before Angel moved in and delivered a powerful uppercut. Fluttershy leapt up and whistled once more, causing the falcon to fly in and strike Girafarig before Fluttershy and Angel delivered their double downward strike, which caused Girafarig to crash into the ground. He was able to get back to his hooves, but not before Fluttershy moved in and paralyzed the Pokemon using The Stare.
“Not again,” Colton said as he clenched his fist. “Wait a second…” The trainer noticed that while Girafarig's front head had a stunned and terrified expression, the back head remained normal. “That's it! Girafarig, snap yourself out of that Stare by using Bite on yourself!”
The rear head snapped to attention right as Fluttershy whistled for her animal stampede to finish Girafarig off. Quickly, he reached down and bit himself on the left hind leg, causing the front head to yelp in pain, though he could endure the pain having now escaped from The Stare. “Now throw some Shade!” Colton called. Quickly, right as the animal stampede entered the arena, Girafarig fired a Shadow Ball straight downward, generating a cloud of shadow that the animal stampede passed right through. However, right as the animals left the arena, Girafarig leapt out from the top of the cloud, completely unharmed by the attack. “Let's finish this! Use Shadow Ball to knock her off balance, Stomp to get in close, Bite to throw her in the air, and then finish her with PsyShade!”
“Girafarig!” the Pokemon shouted as he launched a powerful Shadow Ball right at Fluttershy. She was able to brace herself for the hit and only took slight damage while getting slid backwards, but this left her open to Girafarig descending rapidly and landing right in front of her with a powerful Stomp that was enough to throw her off her hooves. Girafarig then did a full frontflip, grabbing Fluttershy's foreleg using Bite once the rear head was over her, and then hurling Fluttershy forward and into the barrier at full force as the Pokemon landed. Girafarig then turned around so that both his heads were turned to the side to face Fluttershy before the front head began charging a Psybeam and the rear head a Shadow Ball.
“Fluttershy, look out!” Fluttershy's friends all shouted at once. But it was all too late. Right as Fluttershy looked up Girafarig had fired both of his attacks, the two combining in mid-air to form a swirling mass of pink and dark blue energy that was headed right for her. Fluttershy's eyes went wide as the attack neared her, and time seemed to slow to a crawl. At least, that's what it felt like when she saw Angel suddenly leap forwards to try to intercept the attack before it could hit Fluttershy. Instead, the full force of the blast connected with the bunny and he was flung into the barrier right next to Fluttershy's head, where he then fell to the ground, seemingly knocked unconscious. (At least, Fluttershy hoped that was all…)
“ANGEL!” Fluttershy shouted in a panicked tone as she rushed to lean down and check on the downed bunny. Much to her relief, the bunny was still breathing, albeit barely. “Stop the fight! I forfeit!”
“Okay…” Sombra said. “By forfeit, the winners of this round of the Equestria Battle Tournament are Colton and Girafarig.” The crowd would have begun their normal chorus of angry shouts directed at the villainous victor, but the vast majority of them were more concerned with Angel's condition.
“She cares about that bunny very much…” Colton said to himself as Girafarig returned to him. “It wasn't your fault the bunny took the hit he did, Girafarig. He made his own decision.”
Meanwhile, Fluttershy had picked Angel up and flew over to her friends. “Is he ok?” Twilight asked quickly.
“H-he's alive,” Fluttershy said through tears. “But he's really badly hurt a-and the attack knocked him unconscious.”
“He must care about you very much,” Keldeo said. “I haven't seen a bond like that since…” Keldeo trailed off before shaking his head. “No time to reminisce about the past. Is there a hospital we can get Angel to?”
“I-I have my first-aid kit back at the castle,” Fluttershy replied. “I've treated cases like this before, but… but it's never been Angel…” The pegasus was about to start sobbing uncontrollably, but she was stopped by Rainbow Dash flying up into Fluttershy's face.
“Pull yourself together, Fluttershy!” Rainbow shouted. “You see the shape Angel's in. You can't afford to start crying over him, he needs you calm and at the ready right now!”
Fluttershy sniffed and looked up at Rainbow Dash. “You're right, Rainbow,” she said. She then got airborne. “I'm going to fly ahead and get Angel back to Canterlot Castle.”
“We'll be with you as soon as we can,” Twilight said with a nod. With that, Fluttershy took off as fast as she could.
“Hold on, Angel,” Fluttershy said to the injured bunny cradled in her hooves. “You're going to be okay.”
“I'm gonna go with her in case she needs an extra set of hooves,” Rainbow said to the others before taking off after Fluttershy.
“And that leaves us to move by hoof,” Applejack said. “Come on, y'all.” With that, the five remaining ponies began galloping towards the castle.

In the western corridor, Colton was making his way back to Canterlot Royal Hotel where most of the other combatants were staying. However, he stopped when he noticed two Changelings having a conversation. The Pokemon Hunter quickly hid and began eavesdropping.
“…we're not taking Fluttershy down to the caves?” one of the Changelings asked.
“Are you crazy, Gamma?” the other one asked in reply. “It's easy to keep most of the other fighters down there because none of them are here with a group like the Elements of Harmony are. Those ponies will easily recognize a Changeling imitating one of their friends.”
“I'm not too sure about that, Epsilon,” Gamma replied. “I mean, I've been practicing my Fluttershy impression all week for this moment.” Gamma's horn then flashed green before he disappeared in a flash of similar green and was replaced by a perfect copy of Fluttershy. “Fluttershy” then donned a shy look and shuffled her hoof a little. “So, um… what do you think? I'm a pretty good Fluttershy, right? Oh please don't hate my Fluttershy impression.”
Epsilon was silent for a moment before shaking his head and replying. “I think you should have practiced that a little more,” he finally replied. “Besides, what do you plan to do for that bunny?”
“Eh… you're right,” Gamma said before returning to normal. “But dude, did you see that hit the bunny took? That Colton guy has some seriously weird tricks up his sleeve.”
“That's some of the 'special privilege' Sombra gave him,” Epsilon replied. “Sure, don't let a single Changeling fight, but give all this extra power to some weird 'human' who's only in this tournament so that he can capture one of the combatants. I seriously don't get it.”
“Yeah, I'm starting to get the feeling this King Sombra dude doesn't really know what he's doing,” Gamma agreed. “I mean, take over the Equestria Battle Tournament? How's that supposed to help us conquer Equestria?” Gamma then huffed before continuing. “But our Queen seems to want to work with him, so we don't really have a say in it, do we?”
“It's true, there are some seriously messed-up things about this whole ordeal,” Epsilon sighed. “But if the end result is for the greater good of the Changeling Swarm, when we oughta be on board with it.” The Changeling then looked down. “I gotta wonder where those other Changelings took the downed combatants, though. Did you recognize either of them? I know the same two carried off Lyra, Gilda, and Spitfire, but I've never seen them before.”
“Hatchlings, maybe?” Gamma asked.
“No, there was something unnatural about those two,” Epsilon replied with a shake of his head. “Like, 'Colton' unnatural.”
Both the Changelings had a chuckle at this before Colton walked up to the two. “Are you two talking about me?” Colton asked, startling both Changelings.
“Ah! C-Colton!” Epsilon said before composing himself. “We were, uh…”
“Look, I don't want any trouble with anyone who doesn't deserve it,” Colton said. “But I've been listening to your conversation, and I heard some pretty interesting things.” The human then leaned down so he was making eye contact with Gamma. “If there's something going on in this tournament that I should know about, I'd very much like to know.”
Gamma gulped before replying. “O-of course,” the Changeling said. “King Sombra seems to favor you, so if anything were to happen, you'd be the first know. Trust me.”
In response to this, Colton leaned in further, causing Gamma to move back and start sweating a little. “But what if King Sombra doesn't even know?” Colton asked. “You two said yourself that there are weird things going on in this tournament… and I wanna get to the bottom of it just as much as you two do.”
“Ah… we'd be honored?” Epsilon said while scratching his head in confusion. “But out of curiosity, why are you requesting this of us?”
Colton got up and stared down at the two Changelings intensely. “Because I can't find Sawsbuck or Zebstrika,” he replied, “and I've reason to believe that their disappearance, nor those of Lyra and Gilda, are quite normal for the Equestria Battle Tournament, even by this year's standards.”