Illiad Easle

@Sherem Unfortunately Midnight was not very capable at dispelling magic, nor was he at all aware that the princesses were magically unconscious. Upon reaching the base of the tower he was able, finally to take a rest from the battle, it was clear to him that his opponent was quite unconscious at this point. Midnight would reach into his bags to start bandaging his own wounds, cleaning the punctures with a potion or two before covering them with a strip of clean cloth. He'd find a potion he found sufficiently pungent, and opened it near the unconscious alicorn's nostrils, hopefully it would have the effect of smelling salts and wake him up.

@Sherem There was a twinge of something in Midnight, regret? Perhaps more of an unsatisfied vengeance, but he couldn't let Sheoreth escape, or die before facing justice. This is the most obvious trap I've ever seen, I'll jump out of the tower and he'll just fly away, knock me off the tower while vulnerable. Despite his hesitation and inner monologue, he rushed towards Sherem as soon as he started falling, using his magic to run down the side of the tower after his falling body. As soon as he caught up to him he would attempt to grab him before pulling back against the wall to slow their combined descent. They weighted too much together for him to make a complete stop, but he would be able to slow them enough that they wouldn't hit the ground too hard.

@Sherem Midnight had not counted on being so repulsed, but was quick to regain his footing on the platform, he was about to charge forward when he saw the changes in the eyes, "And what is this? Another trick? I will not be fooled so easily." Nonetheless, he did not press the advantage, just in case it had all in fact been a case of serious total possession. He took the time instead to remove the weapons still stuck inside him, tossing them out like Sheoreth had done with his helmet.

Okay, so Midnight got a cut in, but not all the way through. Sounds reasonable

@Sherem So it looks like it's the end of the fight now, what's the total damages? As far as I'm aware Midnight has bruises along his barrel from the deflected stockades, a minor stab would a serious stab wound, and a chest stab, and is missing his helmet. As far as I'm aware on Sherem's side there should be serious bruising to his head, a minor stab wound, and potentially be missing part of his horn. Anything I missed or misread?

@Sherem No unicorn would tell you this, for obvious reasons, but horns do actually grow back. Slowly of course, and how much was removed would determine how long until said unicorn would be able to use magic effectively again. This is something Midnight had gathered over years of experience when it came to subduing unicorns who attacked him, if they were not dissuaded by the knock, nor the attempts at unconsciousness, then the horn came off. Not the whole thing mind you, just enough that they'd be without magic for a week or so, really let them think about what they had done. When Midnight got stabbed deeper he was surprised at how quickly Sheoreth had regained control after having his horn knocked, and was further surprised when he pressed the advantage to remove his helmet. Nonetheless his face was set with determination as if carved from stone, his eyes had a misty glow to them, an effect of the exertion from his magics that didn't look wholly unlike the mists from Sombra's eyes. It was when Sheoreth leaned in to whisper that he pressed his attack, gripping him by the neck with one hoof, and moving to slice the top inch and a half of his horn off with the bladed horseshoe of the other. "No anger, only disappointment." he whispered back into Sheoreth's ear. The stab to his stomach hurt, but it wouldn't couldn't stop him now. Having never experienced it for himself he wouldn't know how it felt to get a horn sliced, but from what he had heard it was more of a mental pain than anything else, so even if Sheoreth were ignoring the physical pains of his beatings, it was unlikely he would be able to ignore this one.

@Sherem Midnight grimaced more from Sheoreth's words than the pain of the surprise attack. Time to change the approach. Midnight knew that killing him wasn't an option, and he clearly wasn't feeling the pain, so Midnight would go for the next best thing: unconciousness via repeated head trauma. Midnight adjusted his grip on the prone alicorn so he could swing with both hooves, alternating left and right sides with strikes weak enough not to cause permanent damage, at least at first, but gradually increasing in strength until the alicorn was unconcious or somehow managed to strike back. Midnight didn't bother removing the rapier either. "The only one in check is you, and I'd nearly call it mate. My king is in another castle entirely. I'm the killer queen of this board!" Despite his training he was growing angry, few of his opponents lasted as long as Sheoreth was, and those few fought with honor. Sheoreth was opposite that in nearly every way.

@Sherem Midnight simply pressed the knife a bit harder, "Don't tempt me, death might be a mercy considering what you've done. I know not what the punishment might be, but if it is similar to what they gave Sir... I wouldn't wish that on anyone." He pulled the knife back, "Still, I don't need to kill you, not yet." He would go for a light jab with the knife in a painful, yet wholly non-vital area, "There's many more ways to subdue a foe," He mostly struck to see how Sheoreth would react to pain, because it was just as likely that only the one trapped within would feel it, meaning he would have to change strategies. For good measure he would give the alicorn's horn a solid strike, not enough to damage it, but to disrupt any external spell he might be forming. The quickest way to disarm a unicorn was to strike their horn after all, it shouldn't be too different with an alicorn. If Sheoreth did not feel the pain he would simply have to hold him bound until he could be contained, or if he spoke true, until Sherem could break free himself.

@Blitz Boom "Granted, you won't be a strong flyer at that point" "Gaining speed and strength will take longer" "Maybe a few months with constant effort?" "But after a week or so you should be able" "To confidently fly under your own power." The brothers nodded as they headed off, together, to wherever they had to be. Nothing else of note happened that day. On the next training, the brothers were waiting up on the wall watching the moon rise to signal the start of a new Trojan night. The top of the wall was accessible via a number of staircases built into the wall, it was quite the climb up it to be sure. Looking back on the city from the top of the wall one could see a faint rendition of Luna's moon made with a series of floating lights in the oasis. If the sisters looked at it long enough the brothers would comment: "It used to be a lot better,""Used to be more creatures to keep the lights lit." Otherwise they would wait for Null to recover from the stairs to proceed.

@Sherem His opponent grappled, Midnight let out a snort of true enjoyment, this fight was awakening a fire within him which had not burned in years. The grapple was a simple neck grip which he would easily be able to leverage to throw Sheoreth on his back, transitioning the hold to pin him to the ground with Midnight on top. Despite the commanding position he would not move to strike, but rather would extend his horseshoe blade to hold against the alicorn's neck. "Dost thou yield?" The repeated strikes by the stockades were wearing on him, as such he wanted to end the fight before whatever strange magic he was building up came out to hurt him.

@Sherem Midnight smirked inwardly at how nearly his attack missed, Not so fast now is he? Given Midnight wasn't a normal pony, his vital points were different enough that it would be no issue, but he recognized what Sheoreth was trying to hit, and so made a show of dodging as many of the stockades as he could, but prioritizing reducing the distance between him and his opponent. Where his vital point was furthest from the typical pony's he had strategically placed a weak point in his armor, to make his enemies think that it was an actual weak point in his defenses. While it would hurt to get hit there, it would hardly be deadly, and given just how many times he had taken a blow there before it would hardly even bleed. As such he didn't try to dodge the one aimed there, disguising the hit by dodging another instead. The rest that he could not dodge, or allowed to hit him ineffectively, glanced off his armor, tearing the cloth cover in some cases to reveal the chain mail beneath. He didn't wait for the attack to let up before launching into one of his own, this time attempting to grapple the alicorn. If he could get a grip on the alicorn it would be near impossible for him to get away given his abilities.

@Sherem Good to know, I would expect then that Sherem is faster than midnight while flying, slower when running, but should still be fast enough to dodge or block most but not all of Midnight's attacks. Given Midnight is not a true pony the vital points wont be quite as effective, but given enough time I wouldn't be surprised if he were able to work out the differences. They seem evenly matched, Midnight is mostly a brawler tank, relatively unskilled in weapons outside of his retractable shoe daggers, preferring to let strikes hit in order to remain close rather than dodge.

@Blitz Boom The brothers looked at each other for a moment before looking back at the sisters. "We'll see how you do tomorrow" "If everything goes well" "You could be clear to fly within a week" "You won't be a strong flyer to be sure" "That will take a few months at least" "But you'll be able to fly under your own power" "Again, tomorrow will tell" With that they had arrived at the city entrance. They nodded in farewell to the sisters before heading off in their own direction, "Rest well" "You'll need your full strength for tomorrow"

@Randimaxis (Very much enjoyed the letter, it explains quite a bit about her and how she acted.) The darkness shifted a bit at Dax's intrusion, and more at his voice, individual shadow beings forming up out of the accrued darkness. While they didn't have eyes, Dax had the distinct impression that they were looking at him curiously. Illiad shifted on the bed, and the shadow creatures looked back at him, before turning wordlessly back to Dax. In the quiet Dax would be able to hear, or more accurately feel, a low hum in the air as the remaining darkness coalesced into a clear silhouette on the wall behind Illiad. The shadow gestured, and the creatures quickly dispersed, leaping into the true shadows of the room and out the windows into the darkening streets. Illiad's mouth moved, but the voice was that of the darkness from his dream the prior night. "He's drawn attention, they play for his favor. But he does not yet know it. Today is not the day, and it cannot be told you until it is time." The silhouette turned to face him, and instead of the perfect darkness there was a singular glowing eye that seemed to stare straight into his soul. "You are a good pony Daxter Blackwater, None call for me against you." That said, Illiad began to rouse from his sleep, and the remaining darkness was absorbed into himself, leaving the room in a normal amount of light. It didn't take long for Illiad to spot Dax loitering at his door, and his expression was mixed between fear, embarrassment, and relief. "Um, I don't know what you may have seen or heard in this room, but I assume you shouldn't tell anyone about it." He yawned, stretching on his disheveled bed before stepping in the direction of his bathroom. "Give me a minute, and I'll be downstairs."

@Sherem Alright, Midnight's abilities, and I do expect that knowledge is not unfairly shared with Sheoreth. Midnight is a form of Mesohippus from another world. Essentially he's an ancient form of Earth Pony, in that he shares in their remarkable constitution, but rather than having an Earth pony's connection to nature his kind have a strong ability with gravity, allowing them to lift very heavy weights, strike devastating blows, run at incredible speeds(like how electromagnetic trains work, alternating pushing and pulling), and even climb near vertical surfaces. Midnight has spent a thousand years refining and perfecting his abilities, making his strikes especially strong, his ground speed as fast as most pegasi can fly, and being able to walk across ceilings when unencumbered. As he is with his armor he can manage only up to vertical surfaces. I'm not expecting an easy fight of course, but I expect that it'll at least be even, provided Sheoreth's own abilities are not too overwhelming.