open The Town That Friendship Forgot

[Samurai Equine 52,150]

@Courageous Thunder Dash, @ExplosionMare, @PawelS, @Starforce

Starlight feels honored at first, but then worried. "Uhh... Should I not be here for all this? Chelsea, I'll do my best to respect your wishes, but I get the feeling Twilight is going to find out eventually, and I'm not sure I want to keep secrets from her. She's SUPER invested in discovering more about this town now! And sooner or later, she will come here, at least when she knows it's safe." She asks. Also, something Sparkly says makes hey eyes shoot wide open with surprise. "F-Fictional?! I'm not fictional! I'm REAL! All of this is real! ...Isn't it?" Starlight takes a moment to magically pinch herself and check if she isn't dreaming or something. ...Perhaps talk about what's fictional and what's real should be avoided, or better explained. Wouldn't want to cause too many existential crises, right?

But the sound of an art museum sounds wonderful! "I'm down for that! I wonder if kites count as art..." As she gets out of the car, she hears something Sparkly says.  "You know, if you want, I could pay for a spare ticket to the tournament. I have enough. Hopefully they'll still have some before the finals begin."

Stopping for a moment, Starlight finds a good spot, and puts down a small plate of metal. It quickly takes root and extends, turning into some kind of fancy three-headed lamp post, the heads slowly spinning around. To others, this looks like nothing more than a simple lamp post. However, as Starlight explained earlier, it's actually a magical anchor point.  "One day, more to go." She then returns to Chelsea, Sparkly, Pencil, and Tree. "Wait for me!!"

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@PawelS

The teenager looks around when he called out and sees who is addressing him. "...Hey, wait a second. I know you! Let's see here... Nopony, right? I met you in a younger part of my lifetime. Yep, it's me, Final." He confirms his identity, again with slurs because of the braces. "I've pretty much got this whole time traveling thing down, save for some odd occurrences here and there. Now I'm just trying to have fun, take in some sights. I just got back from the primitive days of the Dragon Lands, when it was first being colonized by dragon king. Eh... Take it from me, it's not as awesome as the history pages make it out to be. Kind of lame, really."

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@Kronos the Revenant, @Dynamo Pad, @Courageous Thunder Dash, @Ragland Tiger

In the A Block arena,
Pillow doesn't even have time to properly react to Frozen before he feels the attack make contact. Still, kicking through a heavy metal shield? Ouch! Even the toughest of ponies should feel that...! It's comparable to kicking a wall made out of stone blocks. But thankfully, it works! The attack was strong enough to push the disguised metal shield back, and in turn knock Pillow Hollow out of the ring!

"And that's a ring-out! With one good attack, Brain wins, Pillow Hollow is eliminated! ...And, uh, could someone please help him leave?" Straightaway commentates. Because upon getting knocked out of the ring, Pillow Hollow has fallen asleep. A fear-induced sleep, maybe? "I should have gone out swinging..." The poor pony say between snores. "Next up for A-Block is Ignacio Libre VS Tiger Muscle."

In the B Block arena,
For a while, all those around the arena begin to look around, wondering where Thundy is. Even Straightaway is about to get on his mic. However when Thundy finally arrives, the crowd goes cheers. Once locked in with his opponent, Panda Bao makes some cute panda noises before wobbling side to side. He was sitting down, but for this battle, he stands upright.

With paws held up, the rotund panda makes some crude gestures and some noises, inviting Thundy to attack first.

In the C Block arena,
"Next up for C-Block, we have Bruce Lo and Beatrix Mamba." After Kronos and Daring Decor leave the arena, they are replaced by an earth mare and an earth stallion. Both of them are wearing matching yellow jump suits. The only difference is, the stallion is taking a martial arts pose and has a right high but intimidating voice, and the mare has a wooden sword shaped like a katana.

[Windy Breeze 15,190]

@Samurai Equine

“Don't worry, Trilby” Keen turned to him, “Trust me. Everything's going to work well. I will meet Maya”

They waited until traffic decreased. Finally crossing the street, they walked a few more meters.

Then, at last, they are in the apartment building.

Keen paused, admiring the old yet simple beauty of the building's exterior design.

“Is this it?” Windy asked.

Keen smiled “Yes" she went inside the entrance, a simple old empty lobby greeted them. They then walk to the staircase, climbing until they reach the third floor.

[Thundy]

@Samurai Equine @Dynamo Pad @Ragland Tiger

Thundy eyed his opponent. He knew that Pandas were quite fluffy and somewhat tubby, which meant that this panda could absorb some of the hits if Thundy wasn't careful. He was tempted to go in with a flying sidekick, but knew that if the hit was absorbed, the panda could easily counter the hit. Therefore, Thundy faked out a hurricane sidekick, and spun around fast, using a low turning hook kick sweep to knock the panda right off his feet. "The bigger they are the harder they fall..." Thundy said to himself. 

[Dynamo Pad 11,391]

@Ragland Tiger @Samurai Equine @Kronos the Revenant @Courageous Thunder Dash

In the A Block arena,
As his kick made contact, the attack was strong enough to send the heavy metallic pillow back. Which, in turn, had knocked Pillow out of the ring. Frozen had winced slightly as his back hooves had slammed into the metal shield. However, he stretched his back hooves as if they were not worse for wear. 'It's a good thing Cosmic gave me that gift. Otherwise, I'd have broken my back hooves just then. Even with the correct angle in trajectory of my kick. That pillow felt more hollow and metallic that I almost miscalculated. Thankfully, I had a backup to that plan.' As Straightaway announced Frozen's victory, the ebony pegasus had adjusted his glasses with huff. Looking to see Pillow being taken away, Frozen had thought he had heard the small earth pony's snores. "Pathetic." He would say under his breath, while making his way off of the stage for the next two fighters. As he heard the two combatants who would face off next, Frozen had taken a slight interest. "So, Tiger Muscle is next, huh? This should be interesting." He narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched Tiger Muscle taking the stage. 'I said I'll find out your secret, masked fool. I intend to find out who you truly are.'

In the C Block arena,
As Kronos and BK had made their exit of the arena, Cheap had taken notice of the next two fighters, who had their names called. Upon entering the ring, the earth pony had noticed it was a mare and stallion, who were wearing matching outfits. "Ooooh, that's awkward." He started, before snickering slightly. "Yeah, right." He whispered under his breath to avoid being heard. 'Oh, well. I guess it shows that you can even go against your own teammates in this one. Looks like Cosmic, Frozen and I were lucky enough to not be in the same block. Otherwise, we'd either have to go against each other, or we'd have to possibly forfeit. That's something I would not want happening. I'm here to win and I'm here to see others getting their rears kicked. Also, seriously? Bruce Lo? What is this? Pony wannabe central? I mean, he's even making the poses as Bruce Lee. Not sure who the other mare is, but who cares?' He thought, narrowing his eyes slightly as he saw Beatrix wielding a wooden sword shaped like a katana. "Hey, hold on a second. Didn't the rules state that we can't carry swords? Even if it's wooden, then wouldn't that mean getting hurt would get you disqualified?" He asks, trying to show concern. Even though he truly wanted to see some disqualifications and laugh at their misfortune.

In the B Block arena,
Upon hearing Thundy's question of watching, Dynamo nodded wholeheartedly. "Of course I would. I watched and gave my support to Kronos. So, it's only fair that I can show you that same kind of support." He would say, following as he went to join up with the rest of the crowd of fighters. Just in time too as it seemed that Thundy was going to be late for his fight. The gaming unicorn smiled happily as he saw the crowd erupting into a fit of cheers for the next fight. "Do you best, Thundy! You've got this!" He exclaimed, cheering as he gave his support. Dynamo looked over to Panda Bao, who looked to have been wobbling from side to side. "It looks like he doesn't have a good sense of balance, or maybe that's his fighting style. With how he can wobble from side to side, then that just means he can avoid attacks easily, or he can shift his weight to absorb some of Thundy's hits." He whispered to himself, while trying to figure out a kind of weakness in this opponent. 'If the panda can absorb some hits, then that just means he can send that energy right back at his opponent.' He eyed the panda from all different angles as he tried to pinpoint some kind of weakness. As his eyes trailed towards the panda's feet, Dynamo's eyes widened slightly in realization. 'That might work, but it's a risk. If Thundy goes for the feet, then he could just knock his opponent off balance. That way, with the sudden fall, he can send Bao out of the ring to win the match.' He thought as he still felt it was risky. Given with Bao's balance, he wasn't sure if he could just simply bounce back from the fall to counterattack. Only time would tell, but it seemed that Thundy had the same thought of attack pattern.

[Pencil Pouch]

@Starforce @PawelS @Samurai Equine @Courageous Thunder Dash

“Honestly, I’d prefer if it was just you as well. It would get overwhelming for me if everyone came at once as well as my friend. We’re both a little introverted, heh.” Pencil replied.

Her face drew into a slight frown when Sparkly huffed in frustration. She didn’t want to force her to watch the tournament, but at the same time, she also didn’t want Sparkly to be alone if she didn’t come. It seemed like either choice would be a little difficult. Well, Pencil thought, perhaps the tournament will be tame enough that it won’t be a big deal at all.

Pencil looked to Starlight for a moment, realizing she was just as perplexed about the “fictional universe” as she was. It was a lot to wrap her head around. Thankfully, the conversation diverted quickly. Starlight was looking forward to seeing the museum, which Pencil was happy to tell her all about. She was about to turn to talk to Chelsea, but something Starlight did caught Pencil’s eye. She pulled out a three-headed lamppost and muttered something under her breath. Pencil thought to ask about it, but decided it was probably best to leave Starlight to her own devices for now.

Turning towards Chelsea finally, she asked,

“Shall we head into the museum now?”

As much as Pencil liked to stand around and chat, Chelsea said she would lead them into the museum and Pencil was anxious to get inside. She couldn’t wait to show everyone around.

[Chelsea]

@ExplosionMare @PawelS @Samurai Equine

Chelsea led the group into the museum. She opened the door and let the others go in first. The smell of the nice aroma of the museum filled the air. "Ahhh, I love that smell of the museum..." Chelsea stated. 

[Samurai Equine 52,150]

@Courageous Thunder Dash, @ExplosionMare, @PawelS, @Starforce

Hearing Sparkly clarify about the nature of reality and fiction make Starlight contemplate her words carefully. "UHmm... I'm not sure I fully understand without further research, but if you're saying that I'm still real and so is everything around me, then I guess that's good enough for me." With a nod, Starlight feels a lot more confident now.

Together with Chelsea leading, they all go into the museum. Starlight looks around and takes it all in, but she likes Sparkly's reaction the best. "Is it possible that you just said something even more Twilight-like than Twilight?" Looks like Starlight is beginning to come around and enjoy Sparkly's company after all.

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@Windy Breeze

In no time at all, Keen has found the apartment building, and has all ready entered... As is going to the third floor?! Taken by surprise, Trilby does his best to follow. "I hope it's okay to just enter without proper announcement like this~." He says as he makes sure Shadow follows close along as well. Could this be where Maya is after all?

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@Kronos the Revenant, @Dynamo Pad, @Courageous Thunder Dash, @Ragland Tiger

In the A Block arena,
With the arena cleared out of the previous two fighters, Tiger Muscle takes the stage, followed by Ignacio Libre. Dressed in a luchador mask, garb, and cape; Ignacio attempts to hype up the crowd with yelling and posturing. However, Tiger Muscle walks up to him and begins whispering to Ignacio. "Hmm? What could this be?" Straightaway asks as he commentates.

Eventually, Ignacio looks at Tiger and nods. "Really?! That easy?! Not even going to TRY to resist?" Tiger asks. "Wha--YOU'RE the one making the offer! Do we have a deal or not?!" Ignacio asks. "Eh... Yeah, yeah. Deal's a deal. I'm a pony of my word. Now go on." Tiger says. With a shrug, Ignacio walks off and steps outside of the arena. "I don't believe it! Am I actually witnessing a forfeit?! The winner by default is Tiger Muscle!" Straightaway commentates, and Tiger Muscle does his own victory pose. The crowd isn't too pleased about too. There is some light booing.

In the B Block arena,
Panda Bao is surprisingly calm about this. And worst of all... He somehow predicts Thundy's move! His paw moves in one direction, then feints in the other to catch and block Thundy's sweep to the leg. Before Thundy can have a chance to contemplate how his attack failed, Panda Bao roars lightly, then waves a 'No-no' claw at him. After that, Panda Bao gets into a meditation posture, then points at Thundy, and gives another roar. ...Does he want Thundy to imitate what he's doing?

Edited July 19, 2021 by Samurai Equine

[Pencil Pouch]

@Samurai Equine @Starforce @Courageous Thunder Dash @PawelS

Pencil enters the museum as well and sighs contently as she too breathes in the crisp, wood-scented air. She forgot how lovely it was until now. As she made her way in, she walked towards Chelsea’s exhibit. She didn’t walk in completely in case Chelsea still wanted to take the lead. As she stood patiently and waited, she made light conversation with Sparkly.

“I’m not always great at picking up scents, but I like the smell of books, too, especially older ones,” she commented. “Hmm, ask you about your world? Okay, how do the sun and the moon rise each day and night? Do humans have magic for that too or machines or something?”

Pencil frowned slightly when Sparkly mentioned having so much knowledge and being unable to share most of it. She could only imagine how difficult that would be. Thankfully, Pencil Pouch was curious, so she has lots of questions ready to use at any time.

[Thundy]

@Samurai Equine @Dynamo Pad @Ragland Tiger

Thundy used the momentum of the block to leap up in the air. He noticed the panda going into some sort of meditation. "This has to be a bait." Thundy thought to himself as he landed back on the floor. "He's most likely using ki to sense and predict my attacks. He has a clear mind...that's it! I gotta get into his head to mess his flow up! Now I just have to figure out...how..." Thundy thought to himself. Small sparks crackled around his body as Thundy calmed down. He scanned every memory he had for the best option.  

[Chelsea]

@Starforce @Samurai Equine @ExplosionMare

Chelsea listened to Sparkly's explination. "And that's the amazing thing about the universe that Thundy and Sparkly are from. Everything controls themselves and time is what dictates what happens. It makes me wonder how Celestia and Luna would react if they went to earth and saw the sun and moon rising and setting by themselves...all thanks to the rotation of earth around the sun." Chelsea said. 

[Silly Druid 7,116]

@Samurai Equine

Nopony gives Final a friendly smile. "I'm glad you recognize me, I thought it might be another timeline for you than the one where we met, this timey-wimey stuff is complicated. Anyway, have fun at the tournament, I'll be here too if you need anything from me." Then he looks around the spectator area, to check if there are any more familiar faces there.

@ExplosionMare @Samurai Equine @Courageous Thunder Dash @Starforce

The conversation about astronomical objects is quite interesting for Tree Song, so she decides to add something to it. "This brings up the question how our sun and moon worked before the unicorns started moving them. As far as I know, the scientists don't agree on this subject. My favorite theory is that they were moving on their own like in the human world, but then due to a war between some powerful magical beings a disaster happened that stopped them."

Edited July 19, 2021 by PawelS

[Dynamo Pad 11,391]

@Ragland Tiger @Samurai Equine @PawelS @Kronos the Revenant @Courageous Thunder Dash

In the A Block arena,
Once Tiger Muscle and Ignacia Libre had taken the stage. Frozen watched as he tried to gather as much information as he could between the two combatants. He had noticed that Ignacio was wearing his own luchador mask, cape and garb. 'So, it's one masked fighter against another. No probability in scripting that, but we'll see who is the stronger masked pony.' Frozen thought, his eyes unblinking as they remained cold and calculating. Upon hearing the yelling and hype of the crowd, the ebony pegasus had to cover one of his ears from the jarring noise. "One things remains absolute. This Ignacio knows how to please the crowd in his favor." He admitted, quizzically noticing Tiger walking up towards his opponent. Given that the two fighters were in the middle of the ring, Frozen wasn't able to make out the whispered conversation between the two. Eventually, he had heard Tiger's voice raise in volume, while Ignacio matched the same volume octave. "An offer?" Frozen raised an eyebrow as Ignacio seemingly accepted a deal that had been made. Just like that, Ignacio had walked off the stage and forfeited the match. 'What was that? Did Tiger Muscle seriously buy his way out of a match? What are you up to?' He narrowed his eyes slightly as Tiger Muscle had made his victory pose. It made him wonder if this pony was going to be doing this tactic more often, or if he was actually going to fight. One thing was for certain, he wasn't winning any popularity contest now. Especially based on the crowd's reaction to the instant forfeit from Ignacio.

In the B Block arena,
As Thundy continued to sweep Bao's feet, Dynamo watched as the panda seemed prepared for the griffon's assault. His eyes widened as Bao stayed perfectly calm, while catching Thundy's leg. "Huh? How did he do that?" He asked to nobody in particular. Fascination in his expression as Bao looked to have not taken this fight seriously. However, it seemed his calm demeanor made this opponent very dangerous. The gaming unicorn raised an eyebrow as the panda sat down in a sort of meditative position, while asking for Thundy to do the same. 'Is he trying to tell Thundy something, or is he trying to mess with him? Unless they're going to have a battle of the minds, then I'm not too sure about this.' He wanted to speak out to the griffon to try and help give some sort of warning. However, he felt that giving any sort of advice would not be allowed. The only thing he could do is cheer and give his support to the others. "Be careful out there, Thundy! I don't know what he's up to, but you've got this!" He exclaimed, noticing the electricity sparking around the male griffon. Cosmic merely scoffed as he rolled his eyes. 'Oh, please. Like anyone wants to listen to you, Kyubiki. Just do us all a favor and save it. Unless you want to give him advice, then he's my advice. Quit while you're ahead unless you want to embarrass yourself any further.' He chuckled slightly, while eyeing the meditating panda. 'With how this guy fights, it's like he's using chi along with his fighting style. It's like going against a fighting dummy. No matter what you do, it just keeps coming back for more.' He thought as he also took notice of the griffon's electricity. "Oh? Is he trying to zap the beast into submission? Well, this is a shocking turn of events? Just the anticipation of what's to come makes me feel giddy. It's simply electrifying." He chuckled, shaking as he held his sides from his chortling fit. "Oh, I slay me sometimes." He added as he simply wiped a tear away from his laughing fit.

[Samurai Equine 52,150]

@Courageous Thunder Dash, @ExplosionMare, @PawelS, @Starforce

Starlight Glimmer sees the conversation everyone is having, but it seems like Chelsea and Sparkly have the subjects pretty much covered. She just smirks and turns to Tree and Pencil. "Don't sweat it if the subject is flying over your head a little. I wouldn't have fully understood without going to the human world myself."

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@PawelS

"Actually... Can I hang out with you for a while? I'm just so bored. I just can't seem to find the right moment in time to keep myself entertained right now. It's either something so primitive that it's boring, or it's something huge and too important for a pony like me to just interfere with. Time's kind of a balancing act like that. Had to correct my own actions a few times." Final explains as he follows Nopony.

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@Kronos the Revenant, @Dynamo Pad, @Courageous Thunder Dash, @Ragland Tiger

In the A Block arena,
As Tiger Muscle leaves the arena, he is found by Ignacio Libre. They try to do this away from most prying eyes. "Come on, señor. 15000 bits, like you promised." He says. "Of course. Take your money and get out of here. The last thing this competition needs is somepony that doesn't care about this town." Tiger Muscle reaches into a pocket and gives Ignacio a bag of bits. "Oh, but if you could, would you mind telling everypony you know about this town? It needs all the awareness it can get." Tiger asks. "What do I look like, a travel agency? That wasn't part of the deal. ... But I'll consider it." Ignacio says, taking his money before leaving the building with all the other contestants getting eliminated.

"Next up from the A Block, it's Samurai Equine VS Heavy Sea Shell!". Straightaway commentates. "Oh! That's me!! Finally, a chance to test my skills." Samurai is the first one to get into the ring. However, as he bounces around with anticipation, his opponent enters. Turns out, it is a hippogriff, or perhaps a hippogriff guard? He is wearing the armor, with additional metal accessories to cover more of his body. However, he has no helmet, and he is armed only with a long bo staff. The end reveals that it must have been a spear at one point, because the head has clearly been ripped off the staff. Samurai faces his opponent with a smile. "I look forward to our battle. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu." Samurai says with a polite bow. 

In the B Block arena,
Though Thundy does not follow his example, Panda Bao starts without him. As he meditates, suddenly Panda Bao's body begins to glow with a strange aura. Then, ghostly images of Panda Bao surround him, each one a different color of the rainbow. There's three stacked above him, one below, one on the left, and one on the right. Each of these projected images is holding up a different claw sign. (Hand sign but with claws.) With this display, Panda Bao looks at Thundy once again and invites him to do the same thing.

[Thundy]

@Samurai Equine @Dynamo Pad @Ragland Tiger

Thundy spread his arms out slowly and acted as if he was going into meditation. However, he pulled from his memories something from Superman. He imagined the calmness of Panda Bao's mind, then imagined his surroundings. He then attempted to send all of that into Panda Bao's mind, essentially creating sensory overload. 

[Dynamo Pad 11,391]

@Ragland Tiger @Samurai Equine @Courageous Thunder Dash

In the A Block arena, 
Cheap heaved a heavy sigh as the fight in C Block was starting to bore him. "Ugh...this is getting nowhere." Looking over at the other two rings, he saw that Samurai was about to start his fight, while the griffon was taking his turn against a giant panda. "Both fights look weird, but I'm going to go with...you." He pointed a hoof from one ring to the other and then back again. A way of playing a game to see which ring he would visit, before ultimately landing on Block A. This would give the burgundy earth pony a chance to relay some information that he had previously seen. 'Once I get to Frozen, then we both got to get to the boss. Oh, wait till they hear the news of what I just saw. They're going to flip.' He grinned with glee, brushing past each and every pony that stood in his way. He heard the occasional 'sorry' or 'watch it', but he simply ignored it. It took him a moment, but he eventually made it to where Frozen was standing. However, it seemed as if Frozen had read his mind as he was heading over towards the earth pony. Only, the ebony pegasus had veered off course as he stealthily walked over to where Tiger Muscle and Ignacio were located.

"Hey, Frozen! You're not going to believe what I..." Cheap started as he tried to get his teammate's attention. He noticed a shift in Frozen's expression as he grinned that he was heard. However, to Frozen, his changed expression was not a good one. The bespectacled pegasus looked over to Cheap with his eyes shrinking ever so slightly. Pushing past the crowd as fast as he could, he rushed over to Cheap, before throwing a hoof over the earth pony's mouth. "Shh...do you want the whole world to hear your big mouth!?" He asks Cheap in a hush whisper. The latter of whom, had tried to speak, but his words becoming mumbles from a hoof being over his mouth. Showing the hoof away, Cheap glared angrily at Frozen and wanted to ask what that was all about. The only response he received from the former was a hoof being held to indicate for him to wait. Cheap's glare only intensified as he was about to blow a gasket, but he tried his best to hold his tongue.

Frozen was still within the crowd, but tried to remain inconspicuous as he tried to listen to the conversation. His eyes had returned to normal, before suddenly shrinking slightly in disbelief. 'You can't be serious, right? 15,000 bits just to throw a ridiculous fight? Now I really need to find out who his masked pony is. If they are willing to go that far to pay for something, then all the more reason to unmask this fraud.' He thought, shaking his head in disappointment, but wondered why Tiger Muscle would mention to Ignacio to mention this town to others. What was this? Some kind of traveling destination for anyone who needed a vacation? For now, he would leave well enough alone. However, he hoped that he would fight this Tiger Muscle. Looking back to Cheap, he could still see the present expression of anger and displeasure on the earth pony's face. "Forgive me, Cheap, but I was digging up some information that could prove useful. Something that would fit your expertise when it comes to business deals." Cheap's expression softened, but not at the apology. It was the mention of a deal as the earth pony raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Oh, well I'm listening. Perhaps we can flip this town upside down. However, we can worry about that a little later. Right now, I got some juicy information that you have to know." He whispered, hopping up and down as he waited impatiently for Frozen's response. As it was Samurai's turn to fight, Frozen was making sure to keep an eye on the fight. While he didn't care who won or lost, he still wanted to retain information to relay to Cosmic for later.

In the B Block arena,
As the fight continued, Dynamo's jaw dropped slightly in surprise as Bao started to glow with a peculiar aura. It soon changed as ghostly images of the panda surrounded him, while each image took one color form from the rainbow. "Tell me I'm not just seeing things. Are there seven panda's in the ring at once?" Even if it was true or not based on the ghostly images, it still looked like the odds weren't in the griffon's favor. Each image soon stacked themselves around, on top his shoulder, or underneath Bao's feet. It was as if the panda had made a totem pole formation with how they were stacked. "Be careful, Thundy! You have to try and break up their formation! There's too many to fight on your own!" He called out to the griffon, who had spread his arms out as if he was going into his own meditative stance. Dynamo wanted to question what the griffon was planning, but he would find out in due time. The only thing he noticed was that Bao was making different claw or hand signs with each image. 'Is he trying to tell Thundy something? If not, then does he want to speak or fight within their mind?' He wondered, while Cosmic continued to watch the match unfold. He heard the gaming unicorn's comment, but scoffed in response. "Oh, please. They aren't real. It's sort of like the multi form. They might be real, but it's either an illusion, or that panda cut his strength amongst them. If there are seven of them, then they aren't a threat." Even as he thought that, he wondered why the panda was going to such great lengths to invite the griffon to do what he was doing. 'Whatever this rainbow monstrosity is up to, then they better hurry. This fight is starting to get boring.' He thought, wondering if he should head over to find Cheap and Frozen. 

[Forest Storm]

@Samurai Equine @Ragland Tiger

Finn's offer looks like a good idea to me (I still use the name 'Finn' in my mind after he used it when I met him as a child). "Of course. Actually the preliminary fights aren't that much exciting to me, so staying with you should make it more interesting. Feel free to tag along, I'm going to see if there's anypony else I know here..." And indeed, walking around the spectator area I notice a familiar face. It's Bluebell, I've seen her many times because she stays at the same inn as me. She seems like a nice pony, but we didn't really talk to each other yet. I approach her and start a conversation. "Hello Bluebell, how's it going? Do you enjoy the tournament so far?"

[Samurai Equine 52,150]

 

@PawelS, @Ragland Tiger

Final sighs a little with relief. "Thank you! Be sure to remind me later, I have an important question to ask." Final says as he follows Nopony.
When they rendezvous with Bluebell, he rubs the back of his head before waving. "Heh. Hi, Bluebell. Remember me? Little Finn? Not so little anymore, of course." The teenage Final says, hoping that his older age, braces, and slightly slurred speech doesn't make him unrecognizable.

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@Kronos the Revenant, @Dynamo Pad, @Courageous Thunder Dash, @Ragland Tiger

In the A Block arena,
Samurai's opponent does not look so gracious to meet him. "This is NO game to me, pony! I'm an ex-royal guard for Hippogriffia, here to reclaim my honor!" Heavy Sea Shell exclaims as he points his bo staff at Samurai, taking a battle stance. Samurai is a little surprised at first, but then smirks. "Then please proceed." Samurai takes a fighting pose as well.

The ex-royal guard starts to extend his wings, but one lowers back down. It has an injury on the underside of the wing, making it unsuited for a fight. Still, the guard launches forward, somewhat gliding since he is using his good wing for acceleration. Samurai lets him get close, and with one side step, Samurai easily dodges. Heavy Sea Shell almost panics with how fast he has to stop. He had his staff nearly touch the outside of the ring! But when he turns around, he yells as he begins swinging and thrusting his staff at Samurai. The ever calm asian pony is too skilled, however. He is able to block each strike with the back of his forehooves like a trained martial artist, leaping up with ease any time Heavy tries to sweep the leg. All the while, Samurai is slowly walking up closer to the hippogriff.

Seeing his opponent draw ever near, the ex-royal guard begins to worry a little. In a panic, he throws his bo staff at Samurai, hoping that will distract him while he swings his claws at Samurai. However, Samurai is just too quick on the draw. He is able to grab the staff and use it to deflect the claw strikes. "Mr. Shell, I appreciate your fighting spirit, but allow me to give you some basic lessons as a fighter. 1) Anger is a great motivator, but without control and discipline, it makes you blind and easy target." Somehow, Samurai is able to bonk him on the head, making Heavy Sea Shell step to the side and rub his head. "Second, in a battle, use a fighter's greatest strength against them." Samurai's horn glows as he grabs onto the hippogriff's armor.

At first, the ex-royal guard doesn't understand. But soon, a smoke starts to rise. His armor is super heating! He's being cooked alive!! "YOW!!!" With a painful squawk, Heavy Sea Shell leaps out of Samurai's hooves and begins running around the ring, desperately patting his armor and trying to cool himself off. There was no actual flames, so Samurai must have simply super heated the hippogriff's armor. "And the final lesson... Whatever anger you have, aim it at the right source. Be it your own fault or someone else's, don't aim it at someone who has NOTHING to do with you!" Crouching down, Samurai makes a pretty big vertical leap and winds up, swing his hoof on the way down. The hippogriff should have been paying closer attention, because...

And with one mighty punch, the ex-royal guard is knocked out of the ring. The armor took the brunt of the hit, but at least his armor has cooled down. "And that's a victory by ring-out. Heavy Sea Shell is disqualified; Samurai Equine advances!" Straightaway announces.

In the B Block arena,
For a moment, it seems as if Thundy was following Panda Bao's instructions after all. With Thundy meditating, Panda Bao opens his eyes, gets back up, and extends his claw over to Thundy. However before he can make contact, Thundy surprises him by sending telepathic images into his head! Panda Bao stops in his tracks; his eyes go wide as his aura fades away, including any ghostly after-images he had up. Panda Bao backs up, closing his eyes and shaking his head left and right, as if he's trying to get something out of his eyes. Then, falling to all fours, he begins to run around the ring, roaring as if he's under some kind of attack!

"What's this? It seems Panda Bao is running wild, like a feral animal!" Straightaway commentates. This is it; the opening Thundy was waiting for!

[Thundy]

@Samurai Equine @Dynamo Pad @Ragland Tiger

Thundy cheered to himself. "Ah!! It worked! It really worked!" He thought. He saw as the panda's eyes went wide...and started to run around the ring. Thundy waited for the perfect time and leaped into the air, then dropkicking the panda right on the crown of his head with a force powerful enough to knock someone out. After the impact, Thundy jumped back and waited. 

[Dynamo Pad 11,391]

@Ragland Tiger @Samurai Equine @Courageous Thunder Dash @Kronos the Revenant

In the A Block arena,
"Oh? Is that so? Then tell me, my good, gambling stallion. What was this juicy information that you oh so speak of?" Frozen raised an eyebrow in slight curiosity as he continued to watch the fight. It seemed like Samurai's opponent was someone that looked to have been a guard. However, Heavy wasn't a pony, but a hippogriff. By the way the hippogriff was acting, it seemed that he had a bit of anger issues. That, and a bit of an ego, but that was due to his goals of reclaiming his honor. "So, it looks our favorite punching bag got placed around the same block as the boss. It's lame that we all weren't in the same block as Drool Pad. It still seems perfect that one of us still gets a chance to be paired against him." Hearing this caused Frozen to raise an eyebrow in curiosity. Now that was something that had caught his attention. "Huh. For once, you said something that hasn't annoyed me. I must admit that I'm impressed, but that gives me an idea. We need to meet up with Cosmic at some point so we can make a plan. He did say divide and conquer, right?" He asks, Cheap nodded to confirm the neon green unicorn's words. "Yeah. I remember the boss saying that, but why?" Frozen had adjusted his glasses slightly, while a small smirk had made it's way onto his face. "How about we divide and conquer the rest of this crowd. Start off slowly, before we really let him have it." He whispered, so as to not alert anyone of their plan. Cheap matched Frozen's smirk with a wide grin. "Oh, I think I can get behind that plan. We'll still have to let the boss know, but know him? He might have that already planned out." Frozen nodded in agreement, before rolling his eyes at Heavy's sad attempts at attacking Samurai. "Oh, good grief. The hippogriff has no sense of fighting. He's letting anger blind him from what's actually in front of him. The samurai is merely toying with him. It's as if he's not even trying." He wanted to point out the multiple flaws Heavy was giving off, but Samurai had explained them perfectly. He couldn't have said it better than himself.

As he saw the armor beginning to turn a light shade of red, the ebony pegasus had taken notice of the steam floating off of the armor. "Ah, so he's a user of fire magic. It seems he's a rare kind of pony that has dabbled in the teachings of elemental magic." He concluded, taking notice of Samurai's horn glowing. On the other hand, Cheap was laughing joyfully with the display. "Oh, yeah! That's what I'm talking about. Burn his armor right off of him! Make him squeal for mercy!" He chuckled, getting to invested into the fight. With a single might punch, Heavy was knocked out of the ring. "Aw, phooey. I wanted to see that hippogriff to go up in flames, but at least I got to see a funny dance. I guess he should have done the whole stop, drop and roll." He gave a pout, before giving a menacing grin.

In the B Block arena,
As the fight between Thundy and Bao continued, Dynamo watched as the panda had finally opened his eyes. Upon getting back up, the gaming unicorn watched as the panda had extended his claw over towards Thundy. 'What is Bao trying to do? Is he trying to make Thundy give a hoof bump, or is he trying to wait until Thundy's guard is down? If it's the latter, then he might going for a claw swipe!' He thought as he was about to warn Thundy to open his eyes. His words failed him as he saw a new development unfold in the ring. It seemed as if Panda Bao was shaking his head from side to side, while acting as if something was in his eyes. "What in Equestria?" He asks, taking notice of the panda getting onto all fours, before running a few laps around the ring. He didn't know exactly what was going on, but one thing was for sure. "Now's your chance, Thundy! Take him down!" He exclaimed as Thundy had waited, before leaping into the air. With a spin, he saw the griffon throw a dropkick onto the crown of Bao's face. "Oh, now that's got to hurt." He winced, closing one eye as he could feel the pain of that impact. He wasn't sure if the griffon had landed the attack or not, but he remained patient for the results. He still couldn't help in feeling nervous for Thundy.

Cosmic, on the other hoof, raised an eyebrow at Thundy's appearance. While the griffon still remained normal for all to see. One thing that had bothered him was that he had seen electricity sparking off of the male griffon's body. 'I remember seeing that electricity in his talon, but what did he do? It's like he caused that panda to become deranged. Did he happen to do something that involved the mind? If not, then he must have done something to that electricity.' He wondered, before shaking his head and laughing. "Oh, that's way too good. It's so rich that it's priceless. If he's going to fight like a beast and look like a beast, then you got to fit the personality of a beast." He would say to himself, while watching as Thundy performed the same dropkick. As the kick had landed, he craned his neck to see the impact. "A little excessive, but that is something I can definitely get behind. Feels like something I would do, but then again I like his style. Either way, I think I found something special." He whispered softly to himself. A grin starting to form from ear to ear as he watched the brutal display. 'I just need to wait until the time is right. I either have an ally waiting in the wings, or better yet. Something even more special.' He thought, but decided to not worry about what he was thinking for the time being. As he instead waited to see the results of the fight.

Edited July 23, 2021 by Dynamo Pad

[Pencil Pouch]

@Starforce @Courageous Thunder Dash @PawelS

Pencil Pouch goes wide-eyed at Sparkly’s detailed descriptions, both out of fascination and confusion. The first detail that caught her interest is that there were no princesses to raise the sun and the moon on Earth. No, they depended on science, or at least some otherworldly version of science, to get the job done.

“No princesses? Even if the sun and moon are millions of miles away? Gosh, that almost sounds impossible!” Pencil exclaimed.

She was also interested to hear about sunspots and the magnetic fields surrounding the sun. They were powerful and deadly if they react in the wrong way. Pencil wasn’t quite sure how a magnetic field could encompass so huge and so far away, but she took Sparkly’s word for it.

“I can’t believe Earth has all these pretty things like auroras and such!” Pencil gasped, referring to Sparkly’s description of sky phenomenons. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen any of those things before, but I’d love to see them someday.”

Pencil didn’t understand much about the “rotations” part of the conversation, partially because it was math and partially because she didn’t know how the sun was able to rotate to begin with. It was hard to wrap her head around. It sounded like a beautiful process, but Pencil couldn’t help but scratch her head at this information.

Regardless of that, Sparkly’s insights were very interesting and Pencil was intrigued to hear more. For now though, she wanted to focus on showing her around the museum. Turning to her, she said,

“I’ll let Chelsea show you her exhibit then whenever she’s ready, we can go down the rest of the hallways.”

[Samurai Equine 52,150]

@Courageous Thunder Dash, @ExplosionMare, @PawelS

Starlight Glimmer turns and faces Pencil again. "Chelsea or you, I just really want to see everything. Though to be honest, I kind of want to hurry a little. This is a big town; I've got a lot of ground to cover and tournament to see. Hopefully I can finish up everything I need to do before the main event starts." Feeling brave, she takes Pencil and Chelsea by the hoof and begins walking, hoping they'll lead the way. But she also looks back to make sure Tree is still following the group as well.

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

@Kronos the Revenant, @Dynamo Pad, @Courageous Thunder Dash, @Ragland Tiger

In the A Block arena,
Before Heavy Sea Shell can pick himself up completely, Samurai reaches his hoof out, offering it to him. "You did well, Heavy Sea Shell. If it wasn't for your misplaced focus, I honestly think you could have made a great rival in the ring. I don't know if we'll meet again, but I would love the chance to face you again, preferably on equal terms." Samurai says with a smile. Heavy, despite the complete thrashing he got, smiles meekly and accepts the hoof. Samurai helps him stand up. Together, they find his bo staff, and walk out of the ring. Soon after, Samurai stays in his block, while Heavy Sea Shell leaves the building just like anyone else who was defeated.

Straightaway announces who the next pair of fighters for A Block's arena will be. Seems to be a pair of ponies; one looking like a fisher, the other looking like a botanist.

In the B Block arena,
Panda Bao is only able to get out a whine of pain as he is kicked, an attack which makes him bounce hard and land outside of the ring. Thundy's attack was perfect! Maybe too perfect? For a moment, the crowd gives a worried gasp, most likely hoping that the animal wasn't hurt. He may be a fighter, but he's still a wild animal. But then, after a few long seconds, Panda Bao lightly picks himself up and shakes off the hit while giving a light roar to show he is okay.

"You saw it here first, folks! Panda Bao is just fine, but he also fell out of the ring. Panda Bao is eliminated, and Thundy advances!" Straightaway commentates. The crowd cheers. They all cheer for anyone who wins, but they seem especially happy that an animal wasn't hurt too badly. "Next up from B Block is Dynamo Pad and Gemsworth!"

In the C Block arena,
After much fighting, it seems the two opponents have come to an unexpected agreement. Bruce Lo is on his knees, asking Beatrix Mamba to marry him! And the blushing sword-wielder happily agrees! Together, they take each others hooves and happily jump out of the ring at the same time. "Oh... Well, I wasn't expecting that! Seems we have a tie, or perhaps a double forfeit! Bruce Lo and Beatrix Mamba are both eliminated! Up next for the C Block are Greed and Flim Skim!"

Edited July 26, 2021 by Samurai Equine

[Dynamo Pad 11,391]

@Ragland Tiger @Samurai Equine @Kronos the Revenant @Courageous Thunder Dash

In the A Block arena,
As Samurai had helped pick Heavy back up to his talons, Cheap could only roll his eyes at the sportsmanship. Frozen, on the other hoof, stayed mostly neutral. Neither cared much for sportsmanship as winning was all that mattered. Defeat was not in their vocabulary as their strengths would lead them to victory. "Equal terms, huh? I highly doubt that. If that hippogriff had any strategy instead of charging in, then he might have had a chance." Frozen scoffed as he readjusted his glasses. "Yeah. That numbskull even goes into a fight with a hurt wing. Did they have no brains on the matter?" Cheap responded, Frozen simply shrugging his shoulders. "Maybe they can't heal someone until after the fight. Even so, it makes no logical sense for someone to just arrive as they are damaged. Unless the travel to get here was a bit rough for his feathers. That's his own fault." As they talked, it looked like the next two fighters had been called out. One looked like a botanist, while the other seemed like a fisher. "Okay. Seriously? We got a pony that uses plants? What are they going to do? Use a Venus flytrap to win? What's even with the fisher? What are they trying to use Nen and do they honestly think they are Gon? This isn't Hunter x Hunter, you know." He chuckled at how ridiculous this tournament was starting to turn out to be. "I guess we can see why Drool Pad decided to move to this place. It's a town full of weirdos and fools. Perfect for a loser like him to join."

In the B Block arena,
As the dropkick connected, Dynamo watched as the kick sent Bao towards the ground. Only for him to bounce from the impact, while the bounce landed the panda outside of the ring. He had to admit that Thundy's attack was well timed, but he winced from the numerous gasps from all around him. He shook slightly as felt as if he could feel the panda's pain. He looked over and waited to see if Bao was okay. He thankfully let out a sigh of relief as he heard a growl from Bao to signal to everyone that he was just fine. While it may have been a fight, he understood that Bao was still a panda. "Thank goodness." He would say, before cheering at Thundy's victory. "Great job, Thundy! I'm glad to know that you're okay, Bao!" He cheered, while waiting patiently for the next match to be announced. Meanwhile, Cosmic grinned as he watched the results of the kicking impact. "I would have just slammed that panda to the ground and continue to humiliate my opponent. Thundy goes and sends him flying out of the ring. I was expecting more, but that was't half bad." He muttered to himself, while having to admit that he was impressed. It mattered not to the neon green unicorn as he viewed the preliminaries as just a pure warm up.

In the C Block arena,
Cheap's ears perked, while Frozen craned his neck towards C Block. It seemed that the outcome had been decided as both combatants had left the arena. At the same time, it looked as if they had both agreed to get married. "Y-You're joking. You're seriously joking, right?" Cheap mumbled, before a look of outrage had grown upon his facial features. "Are you serious!? How do you go and call a match like that!? All for the sake of love!? Seriously!?" He exclaimed, Frozen rolling his eyes in disbelief. Even if Cheap was being a bit too loud, he still found himself in agreement towards his teammate's outburst. That still didn't change the fact of Frozen slapping Cheap on the back of his head. "You seriously need to calm down, or you're going to give everyone here hearing loss. That, and you don't want to alert Pad that we are here, do you?" He narrowed his eyes slightly to make him seem intimidating. It didn't help that his icy cold eyes added onto the intimidation factor. "I know, but even still." Cheap was used to the look Frozen had given, but it still made him feel creeped out, in a way. "Be that as it may, I guess it's for the best. Less competition and more of a chance for us to move on. It's only logical that way and don't forget. Love is just a weakness for the both of them. They'll come to regret that decision later on down their roads. It doesn't effect us, so why does it matter to you, Cheap?" The burgundy earth pony could only roll his eyes as he stuck out his tongue. "It's just so cliche that they'd resort to love. It never get you nowhere except for a distraction. Plus, it's just gross." He huffed, a sound of gagging could be heard following from the huff. As Cheap's code name was called to signal that he would fight next. The burgundy earth pony grinned in glee and anticipation.

"Finally! I thought they'd never get to me. Time to show them why the previous fight will get everyone here nowhere. You coming to watch me fight, Frozen?" He glanced back, but only for Frozen to shake his head. "I'll pass. I think I heard Pad's name being called up. So, I'm going to check out the competition, or lack thereof. It only makes more sense that we let Cosmic know of the plan that's been put into place." Frozen responded, Cheap merely shrugging his shoulders. "Eh, your loss, then." His eyes widened as he heard that Dynamo was going to fight next. "Seriously!? Aw, man. Now I wish I wasn't fight next. I want to see the other fighter wipe the floor with little Drool Pad. I don't even give the punching bag ten seconds until he gets knocked out." Cheap chuckled, making his way back towards his fighter's block. Frozen, on the other hoof, started to strategically make his way through the crowd. Making sure that he wouldn't be spotted as he headed towards Cosmic's location.

[Thundy]

@Dynamo Pad @Ragland Tiger @Samurai Equine

"Alright!! Woohoo!" Thundy cheered, smiling at Dynamo and giving him a thumbs up. He went to Panda Bao and offered him a handshake, then turning to Dynamo. "Oh! Looks like you're up Dynamo. Good luck out there!" Thundy said. 

[Dynamo Pad 11,391]

@Ragland Tiger @Samurai Equine @Kronos the Revenant @Courageous Thunder Dash

As the griffon offered Bao a handshake, Dynamo smiled as the griffon made his way back towards the gaming unicorn. "Now that's a way to start off the tournament. Nice win, Thundy. By the way, how did you that? That, or I guess the better question was what did you do to Bao? It's like he went on a wild rampage, before you delivered the final strike." He wondered as it seemed as if Thundy had almost done the same meditation as Bao had.

[Thundy]

@Dynamo Pad @Samurai Equine @Ragland Tiger

"I faked a meditation and got into his head mentally. What happened was that I heightened his senses to the point that it caused sensory overload. Everyone has a limit to how much sensory input they can take. With that, you can throw someone into a rampage like what happened to Panda Bao. Superman used that in the movie Man of Steel against a tough enemy." Thundy explained.