open Bangcolt Arena! (Fighting/Sol) (RP)

[J.R. 3,182]

@, 

Blizzard was astonished. A diamond sword? Surely this was new. Nevertheless, having fought his best friend Caliber, the fourth greatest swordspony, he had familiarity with sword-based opponents, "Interesting. A sword. That means long-range combat is best for this encounter, because she'll have to get in close. I'll play it up to my advantage..."

 

Playing along with the theme of fencing, Ice shouted, "Allez!" and the fight was in motion. To start, he flung three ice projectiles at Rarity. Then, he flung a projectile down at his own hooves, that turned into a crystal-shaped shield, "Ha! Takethis! ...Now arcshield!"

"Hehehe...come at me..."

------------------------

@, @@Unicorncob,

Axton frowned, "You know damn well who I am....The name 'Axton Gile' ring a bell for you, princess?" ​he asked mockingly. Because he wasn't in the presence of evil, his curse could not take effect, and he was stuck at his basic level of power. He'd be a sitting duck against Celestia, but wasn't about to let that stop him.  "Now I'm back, dammit, and you can't even remeber who I am? Unbelievable. Just unbelievable. And you call yourself a ruler? I have to say: Celestia, you are NOT fit to be the ruler of Equestria. You are NOT worthy of that damn crown on your head. You're a disgrace to everything you rule. What ruler banishes a foal to Tartarus? Not any ruler I know. That was wrong and you know it. How does that make you feel?"

Edited August 26, 2015 by Ice Blizzard

[Fractured 2,683]

Rarity saw the projectiles coming at her,  as well as the shield, and thought that getting closer would more than likely end badly for her, so, she switched positions, hopping directly backwards away from Ice Blizzard. She used the blade of the sword to deftly knock the three projectiles out of the air in front of her to the sides of the stage, and then sent the ruby on her belt spinning across the field towards Ice Blizzard. It trailed a stream of fire from both ends as it moved, and hopefully, it would be enough to melt the ice, no pun intended. If not, maybe the explosion would throw some sharp projectiles from the ice shield his way, and buy her time to move.

 

-------

 

The name immediately brought things shooting back to Celestia. Axton Gile; the convicted foal who had been deemed crazy after butchering his family and a group of other ponies, and the one who had been banished to Tartarus for the crimes commited. And now the foal that had grown up, and was in her face; insulting her outside her home...

 

Celestia counted to 10, and took a long, deep breath. When she released it, she had a smile upon her face once again. That of a kind, patient ruler.

 

"It feels rather hot outside to me. Would you like to come in?" She stepped off to the side of the door, leaving him a passage big enough to fit through. "I believe I have some absolutely amazing leftover fruit salad, and that you may want to eat something while we talk."

[Star Saber 114]

@

 

“Huh!?” Calibur snapped back awake; “Oh -yawn- It’s you Miss Shimmer… How’d your talk with Princess Celestia go?”

 

It was then that the cyan mare pointed out that he had his picture backwards, “...Oops…” He quickly turned the picture around, it was a picture of Fuse; obviously.

 

“So...uh -yawn- who’s your friend?”

[J.R. 3,182]

@,

Blizzard saw the fire ruby hurdling towards him. He had to act fast or else he'd be hit hard. He immediately dropped to the ground, ducking in cover, until the ruby hit his ice wall, melting it. While on the ground,he thought of something else. Maybe a reverse mode strategy. He decided to get in close now that she had backed up. 

 

He summoned a giant ice ball, and kicked it at Rarity. The ball was somewhat slow, but Ice timed it perfectly with his next move. Getting his bearings, Ice moved back a bit, and created an ice pole. He ran at full speed, and planted the pole on the ground. Vaulting downwards with a kick towards Rarity. She could either brush of ice and face the giant ball, or melt the ball and sustain a kick.

-----------------------------

Axton calmed down. He knew that blind rage wasn't the thing to do. All he wanted was answers, and to ask a few questions. So he brought his attitude down, and said calmly, "I suppose.....but I want answers from you, princess."

 

He walked in, "I need to know a few things. Very important things."

[Unicorncob 5,639]

Princess Celestia had just finished off the last of the fruit salad, which had been devoured quite quickly and with great speed on her part. She was just now working on the toast that she had made herself as a finisher, when she heard a very loud, very rude knock coming down the hall from the door; an impressive feat, since it was several yards and a couple turns away from where she was. Celestia sighed as she left the kitchen, and regrettably left the toast half finished on the counter as she move. It was like she could never finish a meal around here.

 

She crossed down the hallway quickly and opened the door, only to stop once she saw the face, shocked into silence. The first thing she noticed was the large weapon placed on his back, but the second thing was what kept her attention; the angry and vengeful look on his face, one that she had presumably caused. There was also the familiarity that she felt around him, like she had met this face before, although try as she might, she couldn't figure out where.

 

"Do I...know you?" She called out the question openly, just as much to herself as to him. All the while, her eyes narrowed as she peered at him; she was trying her best to figure out where she'd last seen him.

Axton frowned, "You know damn well who I am....The name 'Axton Gile' ring a bell for you, princess?" ​he asked mockingly. Because he wasn't in the presence of evil, his curse could not take effect, and he was stuck at his basic level of power. He'd be a sitting duck against Celestia, but wasn't about to let that stop him.  "Now I'm back, dammit, and you can't even remeber who I am? Unbelievable. Just unbelievable. And you call yourself a ruler? I have to say: Celestia, you are NOT fit to be the ruler of Equestria. You are NOT worthy of that damn crown on your head. You're a disgrace to everything you rule. What ruler banishes a foal to Tartarus? Not any ruler I know. That was wrong and you know it. How does that make you feel?"

The name immediately brought things shooting back to Celestia. Axton Gile; the convicted foal who had been deemed crazy after butchering his family and a group of other ponies, and the one who had been banished to Tartarus for the crimes commited. And now the foal that had grown up, and was in her face; insulting her outside her home...

 

Celestia counted to 10, and took a long, deep breath. When she released it, she had a smile upon her face once again. That of a kind, patient ruler.

 

"It feels rather hot outside to me. Would you like to come in?" She stepped off to the side of the door, leaving him a passage big enough to fit through. "I believe I have some absolutely amazing leftover fruit salad, and that you may want to eat something while we talk."

Axton calmed down. He knew that blind rage wasn't the thing to do. All he wanted was answers, and to ask a few questions. So he brought his attitude down, and said calmly, "I suppose.....but I want answers from you, princess."

 

He walked in, "I need to know a few things. Very important things."

 

Jade attempted to follow Axton, worried for what might transpire between him and the apparent princess he was hunting down.

She halted and blinked in disbelief as she saw exactly who it was; the princess Celestia herself!

 

As she trotted over to the duo, they were already in a tense conversation, and had already disappeared inside.

She began sneaking after them, lowering herself down to lighten her hoofsteps.

[Fractured 2,683]

, @Unicorncob

Celestia nodded very curtly in response, stared silently at him as we walked for a moment, and then followed, leaving the door open to let some of the bad air out.

 

She walked down the hall, slightly in front of him, passing the reading room, the music room, and the princesses private booth, and directed him towards the kitchen, a small, beautiful, pearl white room with a multitude of brown cabinets and black ivory counters. There was an enormous oven that, for the moment, was off, and a large table completed the ensemble, stretching a good portion of the room's length. It was here that Celestia directed Axton to sit while she retrieved the fruit salad, which was in one of the cabinets' under a light freezing spell in order to cool it off and keep it fresh. 

 

"You may speak whenever you wish."

 

-------

 

Rarity could see Ice Blizzard coming at her out of the corner of her eye, but she was more concerned in particular with the giant ice ball that was coming to flatten her if she didn't deal with it. She still held her sword, but as the ruby zipped back to her belt, the sapphire came out to a play. A thin, solid blue wall that suddenly increased in length and width, and she stuck it at a perpendicular angle to herself, so that it would both block Ice Blizzard's  coming at her, and block enough of the ice ball to hopefully stop it from rolling towards her when he was done. As she waited,  sword at the ready to stave him off if he came closer, small spikes of what looked like ice suddenly lanced out with a sound like metal rubbing metal on the side of the sapphire facing Ice Blizzard and the ice ball. They glowed dark blue, and seemed to be radiating a bitter cold. Well, that was new.

 

-------

@Star Saber

Trixie heard the words Celestia, and it was her turn to stare, at Sunset Shimmer this time. She did so slightly openly, in disbelief. It was like she was looking at ghost, and in truth, she almost was. Sunset Shimmer, the filly with the fiery red mane and tail who had beat her and the rest of the class out in the competition to be Celestia's private pupil with absolute ease. But then, she was also the filly who was rumored to have gone crazy and snapped under the strain, attacking the princess, or worse. But, nopony knew anything about it, because she had simply disappeared, and the princess had covered it up for years. And now she was back...

 

"This is Trixie. The Great and Powerful Trixie."

 

Trixie looked up, shocked back into the waking world by the sound of that old name.

 

"And my talk with the Princess went fine. Actually, she sent me out here to make some friends. Found one..."

Sunset Shimmer placed a hoof over Trixie's back, giving a chuckle and smiling nervously; she wasn't sure how the Trixie in this world would react to that. Trixie, on the other hoof, ignored the statement, and even the contact; she was too busy forcing herself to act normally, staring at the picture to see if she had seen that face before. She came up with nothing.

 

"I...don't think i've ever seen this pony before..." She said, drawing up blanks. Was this somepony in Bangcolt?

"Me, either." Sunset Shimmer's attention was still locked on Calibur however, stuck in a half sleep state.

 

"Listen, Calibur, you're not in any position to find anyone right now. Promise me you'll go to sleep, and try again later." She didn't know what Calibur wanted him for, but considering the picture and the situation, it was probably something he had no energy to do.

-------

 

As Terra stood on the banks of the forest clearing, staring into the center of the frothing lake, it suddenly stopped moving. The lake took on an eerie stillness, like it was waiting for something, and it didn't disappoint. All of the sudden, a tentacle popped out, flinging a high speed ice projectile at Terra, she dodged quickly off to the side on both of her unsteady right legs, and the projectile passed by, just missing her.

 

Terra got into an active stance, ready to fight or flee at any moment, but she didn't have to. No attack ever came; instead, the owner of the projectile came up out of the water, walking slowly over its surface towards her. She stood there and watched, thinking that moving was probably a bad idea at the moment.

 

The mare continued to walk closer.

 

"I hate being watched." Sleight Mist spoke casually but low as she stepped in front of the mare,still standing on the water's surface. She eyed her curiously; this was a face she'd never seen in Bangcolt. 

 

-------

 

@Mars Orbit

Silver Spoon watched the two ponies rough-housing, and mentally sighed. This was great, and it was completely crazy, but it was completely mundane, at the same time. She couldn't use any of this for the newspaper. She would probably have to go somewhere else in order to get her pictures.

 

At the same time, the sigh was for something else as well. Watching the two stallions goof off reminded her of herself and Diamond Tiara. Or at least, how they could've been, if Diamond Tiara didn't consistently worry about pleasing her father and stress about her feud with the CMC. It was mostly why Silver Spoon had come to Bangcolt and taken this newspaper gig in the first place; to help get some of the stress off of Diamond Tiara's back. Partially...

 

"You guys are actually really funny." She admitted it, one of the few things she had learned to do around Di was be honest to herself. "But, are you sure you haven't seen anything strange around here? Lights in the sky, somepony doing something they shouldn't be doing. Odd creatures...?"

Edited August 26, 2015 by Corona de Adamas

[J.R. 3,182]

@,

Seeing that Rarity could end up stopping his attacks, Ice devised a new strategic plan. He stopped himself from hitting Rarity's wall by making an ice slide to slide back to the other side of the battlefield. The ice ball's momentum had slowed, and was all but useless at this point. Ice needed to land a successful hit, then it came to him, "She can't hit what she can't see...."

 

Making the ball disappear, Ice pulled out one of his own new tricks. Out of nowhere, 4 ice pillars (2x2 positioning) with platforms rose from the ground, with Ice standing atop one of them(front right). The pillars were so high in the air, that if one were to look straight up, it would be impossible to tell which pillar he was standing on. Ice even changed his position to the back left pillar to confuse Rarity. From there, he sat in waiting, "Hehehe....she has to try and take these suckers down one at a time. And when she starts attacking the one I'm standing on....I'll drop right back in....."

---------------------------

@, @@Unicorncob,  

Axton was disgruntled and wanted to scream at the princess, but he wanted to keep his cool, "Alright. You definitely know who I am. And you know that you ruined my life. And I just have one question for you: Why?"

[Unicorncob 5,639]

Celestia nodded very curtly in response, stared silently at him as we walked for a moment, and then followed, leaving the door open to let some of the bad air out.

 

She walked down the hall, slightly in front of him, passing the reading room, the music room, and the princesses private booth, and directed him towards the kitchen, a small, beautiful, pearl white room with a multitude of brown cabinets and black ivory counters. There was an enormous oven that, for the moment, was off, and a large table completed the ensemble, stretching a good portion of the room's length. It was here that Celestia directed Axton to sit while she retrieved the fruit salad, which was in one of the cabinets' under a light freezing spell in order to cool it off and keep it fresh. 

 

"You may speak whenever you wish."

 

Axton was disgruntled and wanted to scream at the princess, but he wanted to keep his cool, "Alright. You definitely know who I am. And you know that you ruined my life. And I just have one question for you: Why?"

 

Jade followed Axton and the princess through the hallway, passing the multitude of gorgeous rooms. It was obvious this Celestia had some bits to burn.

 

When they entered the large banquet hall, she kept propped up against the wall by the doorway, keeping an ear open on the conversation.

[The Down Trotten 299]

@,

 

He nodded to Wilhelm as he walked inside then he turned to Anette "It would seem that I have interupted your livelyhood, my apologies Miss. I think I shall take my leave now, I've got my energy back and it appears you have some things to sort out yourself" he moitioned inside and turned to leave

 

"Oh and if you should need any favors, please don't hesitate to contact me. I shall comply, or at least the best to my ability." he grumbled at his lack of skills "Anyway, I shall bid you a good day, and good luck. I hope I can make myself useful in the future." he bowed to her one more time and left.

 

Now it was day and no longer raining finding where he wanted to go wasn't to hard. Getting those inside to believe he was seroius however was another thing. After a long debate and signing several papers. Rhetroic Rash was now a offical fighter in the arnea. However as  he requested whe he wanted to face first even more debating occured , only when the foolsih pony pointed to the fine print was the agruement settled. He was signed up to fight Princess Celesita himself, the only thing he had to do was wait.

 

Sitting outside with a smile on his face he looked at his fellow ponies "I wonder what there purpose here is? I wonder what sort of goals they have set for themsevles... I wonder if I shall impact any of them." with these questions in mind he smiled more, there was so much possibility here and he was finally on what he thought was the right track

[Fractured 2,683]

The pillars exploded through the sky with Ice Blizzard on top of them, and Rarity watched them rise along with him, right up until the point where her eyes started to fail from the distance they were covering, and she had to look back down at the ground.

 

Ice Blizzard was obviously somewhere up there, but she had no clue where he was. But, this had bough her some time. She tossed the opal down into the surface in the center of the pillars, where it began to release its own moderately fast breeze, to her surprise. Not enough to move her though, which made her curious why such a reaction would occur, but she had more important things to worry about right now.

 

The sapphire zipped back into her belt, and the emerald came out, shining a beautiful solid green. She held it up in front of her, took aim, and fired. The beam traveled into the emerald, refracted off the matrices of the crystal, and gained intensity, coming out at half of its original size, but having twice its original power. It also came out charged with sparking arcs of green electricity; a new feature. The beam traveled straight through the air, smashing through the two pillars directly in front of it (her left). As they began to topple, they released an electrical current with them, racing upward through the pillar with a high intensity. Ice Blizzard would either have to jump, or risked being shocked.

 

-------

 

Princess Celestia brought the fruit salad to the table, and she placed it near enough to where Axton could take from it comfortably. It was beautiful, in her opinion, even if it was simple; a bowl filled with apple and orange slices, grapes, blueberries, strawberries, and even a mangosteen thrown in to complete the picture. Good enough to eat herself, but she resisted the urge to take from it; she had a serious issue to contend with.

 

She sat down at a perpendicular angle to Axton, not far enough to be distant, but not close enough to seem jarring. The perfect distance to have a normal, perfectly ordinary conversation. If only this were anything similar.

 

Celestia sat down, and took a deep breath.

 

"Axton, your sentence was rough, for everypony. Murder happens so incredibly rarely in Equestria, so imagine how I felt when a whole group of my people were taken away from me in one night. Imagine how I felt when I saw the pony responsible, a foal though you were...imagine.."

She cracked up a little, thinking back to the day. All of the screaming, and tears, and rage. Most of it was hers.

 

"I...saw what state you were in, and I believed that, somehow, this was not your fault. But, without your consent, nopony had any grounds to dive into your mind, myself included. And, I could not let you back out on the streets to cause harm to anypony. That was, if you could have; the crowds outside screaming for blood and vengeance doubtlessly would've made it a short stay. Compared to what was out there..."

 

She stopped, and looked up at him with a strange calmness.

"Sending you to Tartarus was a mercy."

[J.R. 3,182]

@,

Blizzard watched the other towers toppl, and stayed safe zone. He had to stay where he was, in order to buy himself some time as well, for he was actually charging his DIME blast as a last resort, "Really hope I don't have to use this. But if things go south...."

 

By estimating Rarity's exact position, he summoned an ice clone that was positioned in the bushes behind her. "On standby," so to speak. If the idea of a drop-down attack didn't work, he could salvage another attack with his ice clone.

----------------------------

@,  @@Unicorncob,  

Axton sighed, "I get that. Trust me, I do. But this is what I don't understand: Why couldn't anypony try to help me? I mean, I'd imagine there are ponies out there smart enough to psychoanalyze the mind of another pony."

 

He looked down, shamefully, "Because of that, I had to be among demons and evil creatures the likes of which others have hardly seen. How do you think I felt? That's why I was saying that you weren't fit to be a princess. I don't know if I should blame you, or blame myself. But one thing's for sure....my life hasn't gotten any better since then..."

Edited August 27, 2015 by Ice Blizzard

[Unicorncob 5,639]

@ @

 

Jade continued to eavesdrop on Celestia and Axton's conversation, and she could feel the emotion in the stallion's voice as he told his side of the story. How he had felt alone, and that nopony had helped him.

 

She truly felt bad for him, but hopefully this meeting with the princess would help.

 

She didn't dare poke her head out, lest she risk getting caught trespassing.

[Fractured 2,683]

Even as Rarity threw the opal down, she could tell their weren't going to be any gems here to manipulate besides the one she had, just due to the composition of the area around her. But that didn't matter in her case; she figured she had all that she needed for the current situation. In this case, Ice Blizzard still hadn't come down, so she needed the ruby. It flew from her belt with its distinctive clinking sound, once again spinning fire from both ends as it made its way over to the ice pillars. However, as it passed over the opal still gently blowing in the wind, its behavior began to act erratically. It doubled in its movement speed and turning speed suddenly, the fire that streamed from both ends joining each other and now resembling a spinning, red, translucent disk shaped blade. The flames were more spread out, and thus, weaker as a result, but it was still doing its job, melting both ice pillars quickly. In seconds, Ice Blizzard would be down with viewing space, and in less than a minute, he'd have to jump, or risk getting burned. And Rarity was hoping on the former.

 

-------

 

, @Unicorncob

Celestia once again sighed, caught up in a mix of rage and sadness. Axton was right, but not for the reasons that he thought. Perhaps nopony had ever known her true reasons for doing what she did, though obviously many ponies had speculated or tried to guess her own intentions. Well, now the truth would be heard, and on this day, it would be to the one that most needed to hear it.

 

"Axton, on the day you committed the crime that you were banished for, you believe you killed a group of ponies. But, you're wrong. They were more than just ponies; they were my subjects, and they were close to me. I'd been around to know them since they were young; they had promising lives. They had careers. Friends. Families. Children. Loved ones."

She took another deep breath now, and closed her eyes. It almost looked like she was resting, but anypony who looked closer could notice that she was ever so slightly shaking, struggling to contain the emotions within.

 

"On that day, I carried their souls into the River Lethe myself, and I had to watch them forget it all as I passed them on to Elysium. I had to deal with estranged families of ones who wanted revenge, those angry at you, but also me, for not doing what they felt in their eyes was justice. I had ponies I knew as foals spit in my face on that day."

 

Suddenly, she stopped shaking, just as quickly as she started. She opened her eyes, and they were expressionless, a blank mask and motionless concealing the true extent of her emotions. Even her voice radiated perfect calm.

 

"But, you are not here to hear me tell you of my own pain. You are here for answers, and I will provide them. Axton Guile..."

She took a long pause.

 

"It was my cowardice that sealed your fate. Because, even in the face of those who wanted what they perceived as justice for crimes committed, I still couldn't take your life. I felt guilty, both for the fact this happened underneath me, and I did not percieve it, and for the thoughts building in me that it was my own personal feelings and not the law that wanted to push the sentence that would ultimately end your life. So, in my foolishness, I committed a worse sin; banishment to Tartarus was a mercy like poison is a medicine, and it was a mercy only designed to assuage my own conscience. I thought nothing of you."

 

Her eyes were once again closed, and the whole house stood still eerily, as if it was holding its breath for her. Or against her.

 

"Axton Guile, I apologize for everything that happened to you, and I place it all on my own head. I do not ask you to forgive me, as that is more than I could ever come to deserve. I merely ask you to let your own pain and rage go as you leave, so that you do not spend your life letting it consume you for the sins that I committed against you on that day. That is all I beg of you."

 

Still, no tears would come out of Celestia's eyes as she finished. She didn't try to fight it, but accepted it, sitting still and listening for Axton's response.

Edited August 27, 2015 by Corona de Adamas

[J.R. 3,182]

@, 

Blizzard saw his ice pillars catching fire; it was time to make his move. Without hesitation, Ice's ice clone ran up behind Rarity, jumped, and pinned her down in a downward headlock. The clone was beside her, and had his arm locked around her neck, with her back completely exposed. Almost to where she couldn't breathe, and it was held to where he couldn't escape. From there, the real Ice, jumped off of the pillar, and prepared to strike Rarity's back with his elbow from the air. And with the clone keeping her pinned, it would make it very difficult for her to get out of the way in time. If Ice managed to land this attack, it would cause major damage to Rarity's spine.

--------------------

@, @@Unicorncob,  

Axton could feel Celestia's pain. He did not want her to continue to feel like this. He understood her pain, about being who she was. Maybe he was wrong to assume the worst of this princess? Maybe...maybe....Her words were like an eye opener to him. Axton felt as though as an apology was in order, but didn't know how to word it.

 

"...I....I...." he sighed, "I'll just say it like this: My life has gotten a decent level of enjoyable after that happened. But this is the thing, princess....My family and I were very poor, ok? Our lives were miserable, and they'd fight almost everyday for my entire life, and I wished that it would stop. And I felt there was nothing I could do for them until, I was given a contract by this weird guy when I was younger. He said that if I signed my name, he'd make everything in my family's lives better. And, as a stupid kid, I decided, 'Oh, what the heck.' and signed the dang thing. And whaddya know, it did something. Our lives were better from then on and the next day and the next. We had so many great things, that we were overflowing with prosperity. Until.....ugh..."

 

A painful frown grew upon upon his face as he turned his head away from her, "60 years ago. My parents 50th wedding anniversary. I was a stallion by then, and came home from work. I wanted to surprise them with my gift, but they were nowhere to be seen. Then, I heard yelling in the basement. I go down there, and what do I see? My parents. Both of 'em. Tied up and held captive by these two robbers who took our valuables. I was tied up as well, and a decision had to be made: Who lives? Naturally, my parents wanted me to make it out for them....and I watched them...."

 

A tear started to trail down Axton's face as his voice started to break, "Gone....right in front of me....and then out of nowhere...that contract I signed? Turned out to be a deal made for my soul to the soulkeeper of Tartarus, who was looking for a soulhunter. The curse takes effect whenever an evil soul is nearby, and when those 2 ponies took my parents from me, my uncontrollable curse took its effect, and boom. This thing..." he put his scythe to the side of his chair, "Came out of nowhere, and somehow under my control, finished off those robbers. Who had turned out to be innocent ponies whose bodies were corrupted by evil souls. They got released when the scythe put them down....but then....I was tried....and banished for taking the lives of those four ponies. Something I never did...I was so devastated...."

 

He cried even more, and raised his voice, "Tell me princess....do you have any idea what that felt like?! To see everything around you SLOWLY FALL APART AND DIE?!" His voice started to break even more as tears ran down his face, "I never asked for this life! I never asked to be banished to Tartarus! IT WAS NOT MY FAULT!."

 

He put his head down and started to cry softly, "Wasn't my fault....wasn't my fault....."

[Star Saber 114]

@

 

“I’m fine I just need some… coffee.” Calibur said; obviously not fine; as he was swaying from side to side as he stood there; almost like he was about to fall over. He squinted his eyes at Trixie as he tried to focus on her, “Trixie huh? Guess now is a -yawn- inappropriate time to ask for a refund eh?”

Edited August 27, 2015 by Star Saber

[Unicorncob 5,639]

@ @

 

Jade continued to eavesdrop on the conversation, which seemed to take a turn for the dramatic. Both Celestia and Axton were pouring their hearts out to each other with regret.

Celestia seemed to truly feel guilty for what happened, and Axton was incredibly bitter over it.

 

She decided she'd listened enough, and decided to walk into the banquet hall, making her presence known to the two.

"Damages caused in the past cannot be reversed," She began, counting on some of her old master's wisdom to find its way to her words, "however, we may look toward a bright future, if we are willing to try and mend the torn seams now, in the present."

 

She stood before the princess, and bowed her head in respect. "I apologise for my intrusion, your highness, I was concerned for a friend, and I felt I had to follow and make sure he would be okay. I am Jade Lotus, of the Jinlong Empire in the East."

[Fractured 2,683]

With Rarity being stuck in a headlock, she was finding it very hard to concentrate on anything. And, it seemed that she couldn't shift Ice Blizzards clone either, due to the weight and position vantage he held over her. Which meant that she could only play defensive for now. The sapphire popped out from its belt, and formed up into position above her. The same ice spikes protruded from it as before, only this time, backwards, so that the wall was facing Ice Blizzard and the spikes were facing her. It was for his own protection; she wasn't really trying to hurt Ice Blizzard, and with his forward momentum, he might have ended up impaled on the spikes.

 

------

 

@Unicorncob, 

 

"You asked me if I know what its like? To have things fall apart around me? To know and understand that everything in this world is temporary, and will one day vanish, leaving you alone. Do you want to know if I can share in your pain?"

 

The voice came out angry, almost accusing, but it quickly softened into a brief look of the deepest misery.

 

"Yes." She answered simply, with an almost shuddering and it was at this point that their conversation was interrupted, twofold. The pony that had been eavesdropping in on their conversation finally revealed herself, and her title. At the same time, a bright blue envelope winked itself into existence in the air above the table, floating gently in front of Celestia to her immediate curiosity . A letter of competition...?

 

For now, though, Celestia had somepony to converse with, so she pushed that element aside, taking the letter in her own magic and laying it down on the table as she put all of her attention on the new pony.

 

"You are right; the past is not something that should bind us, it is something that we should reflect on as we strive to make ourselves better today." She smiled, a personal start, even if it was only lightly. "It is nice to meet you, Jade Lotus of the Jinlong Empire." Celestia gave a curt nod, in recognition of the pony's status. "And do not worry about intruding; as it is in Canterlot, the doors of this building are always open to ponies who need them."

 

She looked over, to the pony who currently sat on the table adjecent to her, weeping, and her eyes softened.

 

"Especially the ponies who need them."

 

--------

 

@Star Saber

Trixie was still coming to grips with the reality of who she had just met, not to mention the questions she wanted to ask, but her attention was roughly snatched away from Sunset Shimmer by the words that had just come shooting out of Calibur's mouth. Refund. Her ear flip-flopped in irritation as she closed her eyes, trying very hard to control herself, and not make a scene. Of him.

 

"Yes. Now would be a bad time to ask for a refund." She looked down, gritting her teeth to cause it to come out strained. Her ear continued back and forth erratically, while Sunset Shimmer looked on in concern. She wasn't going have to break up a fight, was she?

[J.R. 3,182]

@,

Blizzard saw the flat side of the shield positioned above Rarity. He had no choice but to go with a way to defend himself on the way down. In midair, he encased himself in an extra-defense ice ball. He landed on the flat shield, came to a dead stop, and rolled right off onto the ground. He made the ice ball disappear to allow himself to stand, as well as making the clone disappear to allow Rarity to breathe for a moment, "Not bad," he said cockily, "Interesting how ladies can sneak up on someone. And here I was expecting to be surprised. It seemed like you brought some fancy new tricks to the fight, eh? Pretty hot stuff you got."

 

In reality he was setting up a distraction, as well as buying extra time to charge his DIME blast if need be. For now, however, he had set up a counterattack at the ready. If Rarity got to close and landed a hit, she'd be struck back.....

 

Ice took a stance and said, "This is pretty fun. Come on, Rarity....let's dance...." 

----------------------

@, @@Unicorncob,

Axton didn't know what to think. He felt several different ways, and in the end he decided nothing would solve his problem, "...You know what? I'm done this is bullcrap. You haven't done a thing to help me, and all you do is make excuses. I can't stand a ruler who does something like that....GO FIND SOME OTHER 'SUBJECTS' TO LIE TO!"

 

He shouted at the top of his lungs, and bolted out the hall. If Jade attempted to follow, she wouldn't be able to find Axton beacuse of simply how far he had gotten by that time.

[Unicorncob 5,639]

@ @

 

Jade raised her head and smiled at Celestia, happy that she didn't think ill of her presence. "Thank you, your highness, you have quite a good outlook on your position."

 

Upon Axton's outburst, however, she was taken completely by surprise, and simply stood in place as he rushed out.

"I apologise again," She added, more solemnly, "I fear it was something that I have said..."

[The Down Trotten 299]

@,

 

He walked himself to the aerna with an air of confidence. If he had pockets his non existent hands would have been in them, true this was also in part to the hoof cuffs he was hiding in his saddle bag. He might have sort have barrowed them from the registraigtion office, after all a pony needed some way to deffend himself after all right?

 

As he walked into the aerna itself, his breath was taken away So this is my stage for today... I can only hope my voice will reach the ponies in the back. Dear me I must look like quite the foolish fellow from up there.

 

He would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous, but there was no time to think about that now, one of the biggest moments of his life was about to take place, and he had a listening audience. With a deep breath, he cleared his throat and walked out into the center, met with mostly silence he couldn't help but speak to himself "Alright Princess...lets not disapoint your subjects eh?"

[Fractured 2,683]

As soon as the clone disappeared, Rarity was free to move again. She stood up, and the ruby and the sapphire both zipped back to her belt, leaving the opal the last remaining gem on the field, still sending its soft breeze over the area.

 

 

"Let's dance." She grinned in agreement, and the diamond that had fallen on the floor during the assault flew back up to her hand, taking its sword form again. She moved forward, striking with the tip in a complicated series of tight knit slashes, strikes and hoof movement that did, in fact, make it look like she was dancing. Her true goal, of course, was to pin Ice Blizzard down, leaving him with as little room to move as possible.

 

--------

 

@Unicorncob, 

Celestia watched Axton leave, but she didn't attempt to follow him or stop him in any way. That wasn't her right anymore. She shook her head in a silent no as Jade finished speaking, however.

 

 

"It was nothing you have done. Axton has, unfortunately, let his past consume him; I think this moment had been coming for quite some time. I'm just glad it did not escalate into violence, and that nopony was harmed." Celestia let that give her a little bit of hope that, maybe, the real Axton was still somewhere inside, buried underneath the pony she had just witnessed leave her home.

 

 

"I cannot save him." She once again shook her head in emphasis. "My presence would only cause him more pain and anguish, no matter what I attempted to do for him. At the same time, I do no think that he should be alone; I fear what he might do by himself. I believe, right now, what Axton Guile needs now, more than anything, is a friend. Maybe the one that he seems to have found in you." She stared pointedly into Jade's eyes, before turning back to the letter that lay on the table.

 

 

"This is a letter of competition. It seems somepony has decided to challenge me." As she spoke, golden light started to form around her body in pools, a prerequisite to her teleportation. "I'll be leaving now. You may help yourself to the fruit, and leave when you are ready. And Jade?" Her body was almost fully gone right now, making her appear like a translucent ghost in the center of the kitchen.

"Take care of him." With a final flash of golden light, she was gone.

 

 

-------

 

@The Down Trotten

She teleported into the arena, the same process that had brought her there working in reverse; semi translucent, then solid with a flash of light. The arena began to morph as the two contestants entered the stage, becoming a large, very familiar open room.

The ballroom of the Grand Galloping Gala, Celestia thought as she looked around, the only difference between the illusion and the real one being the lack of ponies to crowd them.

 

Celestia had emerged on the tip of the platform reserved for musical performances, and she looked down, she caught her second sight of Rhetoric Rash, the pony she had first discovered walking around the ruins of the wrecked statue. She smiled gently.

 

"It's nice to see you again, Rhetoric Rash." She looked around, absorbing all of the details of the area, before looking back down at him. "And I see you have a wonderful sense of taste. Let me try my hand at it." She concluded by morphing herself to fit the situation, shifting into a beautiful dress as she stood on top of the platform.

 

 

"Would you like one, too? I do suits as well, I assure you." She chuckled lightly, relaxed despite the overall atmosphere.

[The Down Trotten 299]

@,

 

He couldn't help but chuckle lightly himself "How dare you, your highness, piting my finer tastes against my pride of a humble backround. Very clever, if uninentenional. I think I shall abstain from your offer your highness, one mustn't let the suit make the stallion after all." it didn't feel real, this experince, which was porbably a good thing. If he focused on how very real this was he could very well pass out from sheer nervousness

 

"But where are my manner's, shall we shake hoofs and begin this rather interesting state of affairs." he offered his hoof in sportmanship, true he had one somewhat underhanded trick up his sleve, but to be fair he was up against the pony who could move the sun

[Star Saber 114]

@

 

“Ah, figures.” Calibur yawned once again, “Well I’ll let you gals get back to… whatever it was that you were doing. While I find myself a coffee shop… have a nice day Miss Shimmer” He went to walk away but instead just ended up stopping and falling asleep standing up again.

Edited August 28, 2015 by Star Saber

[Not Yellow Diamond 924]

@@Star Saber,

Pinkie Pie stepped away from Ash and lowered her head in shame, "I'm sorry Ashie, I didn't mean to upset you." She glumly stated, knowing that she had messed up. Her mane deflated and darkened, "I guess, we might as well get this dull trip over with, Ash." She said, and for once without a shriller "ee," sound at the end of his name. It was monotoned and if you had ever spent more than a moment with Pinkie then you knew something as wrong.  

 

@@The Down Trotten, @@Unicorncob,

Doctor Whooves coddled Ditzy Doo and simpered brightly as she giggled. He stood nervously before her; his insides mollified and cheeks burnt a red rosy color. He looked around shiftly, as if he were hiding something but in reality, he was just that awkward. 

However, he eventually cleared his throat to speal but he was cut off be another pony who emerged from Ditzy's home. He was aloof while looking at him and far more engrossed in excogitating why he was there instead of who he was. It was very apparent that he was disgruntled in addition to being uncomfortable by his presence in Ditzy's home. 

 

Regardless, he tried to play off his curiosity, "What kind of doctor am I? I am the doctor. I am physician and extrordinare in studies of the science field. I have pattoned dozens of inventons and created many more which have yet to achieve their primal status. Now, the word, "Doctor," comes from, the label on my PhD.Sensical enough for you?" He inquired and boasted sub conciously. 

Edited August 28, 2015 by Flashy Sentry

[J.R. 3,182]

@,

Ice was momentarily distracted by Rarity's....style. His heart started to beat faster as he watched Rarity beautifully move across the field towards him, and almost lost his control, "She looks so...stunning....that style that form.....wait. I gotta focus. This is a fight. Here we go!"

 

Ice let himself get struck by Rarity's sword, and initiated his counterattack. Suddenly, he was split into 7 ice mirrors that surrounded Rarity. On each mirror, Ice was displayed and he said with 7 voices at once, "Haha! Gotcha, Raresy! Now there's 7 of me! And in order to find the real me, you gotta try and break us all. A.T.K!"

 

They all shouted, and th mirrors began to shoot a seemingly endless stream of tiny, but sharp, ice shards at Rarity. They wouldn't hurt her much, but they would throw her off temporarily. Meanwhile, the real Ice was actually hidden safely out of sight, and up in a tree, where he was coming up with another plan.....

---------------------

@@Unicorncob,

Axton ran out of the princess' abode, and stopped at the corner of the road near the bar. He placed his back on the wall, and sat down, "Nopony...understands me....nopony cares.....my life is just a joke....."

 

He put his head down and started to weep. Sitting alone and confused.