After Shining Armor helped Colorful Sparks and Star Dust out of the arena and to the medics, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stood up to address the crowd of guard ponies.

"It is now time for the last match for today. The recruits up to now have done a splendid job in their matches. Let's all cheer for them once again." Princess Celestia said.

The crowd cheered and stomped their hooves so much, it started to shake the arena a bit. Before Princess Celestia spoke again, Princess Luna interrupted her.

"Excuse me sister, would you mind if I take care of this one. It is a match at night so the Princess of the Moon should do it." Princess Luna said.

"Of course little sister."

Princess Celestia backed away a little bit so everypony was now looking at Princess Luna.

"With night time upon us, I think it provides a better stage for these two recruits so display the spell and abilities they can do. This first pony comes from Cloudsdale. He is a Pegasus and very energetic with his ability. It might even shock you of what he can do. Please put your hooves together for Lightning Trails!"

Lightning Trails stood and flew out above the arena. He quickly summoned some thunder clouds and quickly charged up. He started to shoot lightning off that seemed random. But listening closely, it sorted sounded like music.

The crowd cheered even louder once the performance was done. Lightning Trails landed and waited for Swift Blaze to be introduced.

"That even surprised me that lightning can be musical. Now onto his opponent. This pony is probably one of the most unique ponies you will ever meet. If any of you saw the match Captain Shining Armor was in a few days ago, it is the very same pony. That's right, it's Swift Blaze!"

On cue, Swift Blaze stood up and walked to the front of the participant box. Seeing Lightning Trails decided to show off, he might as well decided to step it up. He got on to the edge of the wall and stood on his back hooves. His fore hooves were stretched out to his side. His body looked like a T and was in a diving position. The guards bellow were wondering what Blaze was planning to do. All of a sudden, he dove off and started to fall towards them bellow. The guards gasped and prepared to catch Blaze. At the last second, he pulled up and started to fly towards the arena.

Even with it being night, Blaze could probably guess lots of guards had their mouths wide open. He hovered above the arena where Lightning Trails was before. He was about to do his next trick, when a guard from the stands shouted out.

"Hold on! That is not the same pony that fought Captain Shining Armor! This is a Unicorn and the other was an Earth pony!" The guard shouted.

"Yea! Plus, how can he fly? He does not have wings because he is a Unicorn. His horn is not even lit up." Another guard said.

Several other guards were shouting stuff also, but nothing could be understood. Blaze had enough of this. He summoned up his chakra and shouted, "FIRE STYLE! FLAMETHROWER JUTSU!" Blaze shot fire out of his mouth and spun around in the air. The crowd of guards that were shouting all stopped. With silence in the arena now, Blaze spoke up.

"Alright. Now that I have everyponies attention, I can explain. I am the same pony that fought Captain Shining Armor, as you saw from that fire demonstration. The reason I have a horn now is because I decided to put one on this form to not freak out other ponies with my abilities. The reason I said this form is because this is not my true body."

"What do you mean? You look and act like a pony." A guard said.

"I am no mere pony. I AM A HUMAN!"

Lots of guards gasp at this. Al shouted, "Nice line Blaze! Very original!"

"I am the creature that some of you guards chased around the castle a few weeks ago." Several guards started to shout several things at once. Blaze sent another flamethrower spin to get them to shut up. "The fight with Shining Armor was supposed to quell this. Don't think I will run away again if you all decide to jump me. As to why I am not showing my human form, magical mishap is the cause."

"Thank you for explaining Swift Blaze. Would you mind landing so we can begin the match?" Princess Luna asked.

"Of course Princess."

Blaze landed a few feet away from Lightning Trails, on the opposite side of the arena.

"You were not kidding when you evaded several Royal Guards. I think some still have a grudge against you. You might want to watch your back." Lightning Trails said.

"Would like to see them try so I can get their attitude adjusted."

The ref pony appeared between them. "Alright. Now let me just go over the rules." The ref said.

"We know about the barrier that will stop us from leaving and to protect the spectators. Other than that, anything goes. So get out of here so we can begin." Blaze said with attitude.

The ref just snorted and teleported out of there.

"That was a little harsh Blaze." Lightning Trails said.

"Sorry. The crowd ruined the entrance I planned on doing. Don't worry. I have calmed back down and now focused on our match. May the best pony win."

"I do plan to win seeing you are not really a pony."

They both rose into the sky and prepared themselves. Lightning Trails had some clouds stay near him and charged him up. With it being night now, you can see tiny lightning sparking off him. Blaze ready both his ki and chakra energy levels. When both were ready, they looked towards Princess Luna.

With her Royal Canterlot Voice, Princess Luna shouted, "BEGIN!"

Lightning attacked first with a quick bolt of lightning towards Swift Blaze. Blaze knew he could absorb the hit and dish it right back. He stuck out his hoof to take the hit. When the lightning struck, Blaze actually cried out in pain. He was not able to absorb it like last time.

As he was curled up in a ball from the pain, Blaze said, "I did not expect that. What did you do with the lightning?"

"I changes the properties of it so you could no longer absorb it. Just like how you shocked me with your lightning chakra. Payback is a bitch, isn't it?" Lightning Trails said with a smile.

"Thank for making this interesting now. I will actually have to work for the win now."

Blaze formed ki energy ball at the end of all of his hooves. He quickly sent them flying is rapid formed. Lightning Trails formed a lightning shield and was able to block them.

In retaliation, Lightning Trails sent several lightning bolts towards Blaze. Instead of going to absorb them, Blaze went and dodged them with little effort.

"You are not going to get me again with those again." Blaze said.

"You sure about that?"

All of a sudden, Blaze was struck from behind by the lightning bolts he just dodged. He felt the burning pain at each place where the bolts hit him, but he was not screaming out in pain this time.

"How were you able to do that?"

"The first bolt that hit you at the beginning of the match was positively charged. Those were negatively charged. Do you want me to explain further?"

"No, I got it. I actually enjoyed science in high school. Let me show you what I learned there." Blaze summoned his sword to him. He took it out of its sheath and held the blade to his side. "I dare you to strike me again."

Lightning Trails charged up again by the nearby storm clouds. He then sent one massive bolt towards Blaze. Swift Blaze ready his sword to block and absorb the energy. When the lightning bolt struck, there was a massive bright light. A few seconds later, when everypony could see again, the crowd looked toward where Blaze was last at. He was still there, except now his sword was now glowing pure white and sparking out lightning.

"Let me show you the move that took out a tornado. LIGHTNING STYLE! LIGHTNING BLADE JUTSU!" Blaze shouted.

He swung his sword and sent a lightning wave towards Lightning Trails. He flew up to avoid getting hit, but his clouds got his and burst out with their raw energy. Lightning Trails tried to avoid the strikes, but failed when one got him. After the first one hit him more joined in as he was stuck in the air by the first. He screamed in pain as each one hit. He tried to absorb some of energy, but felt the mystery chakra energy was mixed in, making it impossible.

After those few seconds, the lightning strikes stopped and Lightning Trails started to fall. He recovered quickly and only fell only a few feet. He breathed hard for a bit as he tried to recover from those strikes. "You know, I really hate your lightning." Lightning Trails said.

"Are we going to chat, or are we going to fight?" Blaze asked.

Lightning Trails did not say anything. Instead, he filled the sky of the arena with storm clouds. It was getting darker as the light from the stars and the moon was now being blocked. The only light was now coming from the torches around the arena. "I think it is time to try some new moves." He quickly charged up again.

Lightning Trails formed several lightning balls and has them orbit around him. He then sent one flying towards Blaze. Swift Blaze prepare to have his sword block and absorb the energy. Just before the blade made contact, the lightning ball exploded and lightning bolts went everywhere. There was too many to block and Blaze got hit several times. His body felt on fire as it spasm each time the lightning hit him. He coughed up some smoke after that lightning ended.

"That is a nice move. I am going to have to thank you for covering up the night sky though." Blaze said.

"Why's that?" Lightning Trails asked.

"You just set the mood for a ninja to disappear. NINJA ART! NINJA VANISH!"

Blaze sent a massive wind gust around the arena and blew out all the torches. The only light source now was from the split second from lightning strikes and the lightning balls around Lightning Trails. He quickly looked around for Blaze, but he truly disappeared.

"I will just have to light the torches again." Lightning Trails flew down and headed to where a torch was. When the lightning balls lit up the area, the torch itself was gone.

"That would work, if the torches were still where they were. As you can see, I took them all down. Now what are you going to do?" Blaze's voice said as it echoed in the arena.

"I Still Have My Lightning!"

Lightning Trails then had lightning from the storm clouds start striking the ground to give off light. He looked for any changes in the arena after each flash. One lightning bolt struck something that was not the ground. It shook for a few seconds as it was zapped and fell to the ground with a loud thud. "Ha! No pony can defeat lightning!"

Lightning Trails stopped the lightning strikes and flew to where the object fell. He sent the lightning balls ahead to up the area and verify what he saw. The shape was a pony body laying on their side with the back facing Lightning Trails. As he got closer, the body had the same color of Swift Blaze. Lightning Trails then noticed the body was not breathing. He started to wonder if he did actually kill Swift Blaze. He walked around the body and saw it was Swift Blaze. His worst fear finally hit him, he killed a pony. Worst, a friend. Lightning Trails collapsed to the ground in front of the dead body.

All of a sudden, wood came out of the ground and held Lightning Trails to the ground. He tried to shock himself free, but the wood absorbed it and dispersed it in the ground.

"You should have checked for vital before assuming I was dead." Swift Blaze voiced echoed.

"Huh? Wait. If this body is not you, then why did it not disappear like your other clones when they got hit." Lightning Trails shouted while still pinned.

"That my pony friend is not a clone. It is a stone substitution. A stone dummy if you will."

"Then show yourself!"

"Gladly." A bright red glow appeared next to the clouds. A wave of energy was sent out as Blaze disbursed the clouds to bring light into the arena. He flew back down ad turned off the red glow Blaze then walked over to Lightning Trails. "You should have not covered the sky in dark clouds. You would have stood a better chance if you did not allow me to use my ninja skills."

"I can still get you with THIS!" Lightning Trails sent a massive lightning bolt and the lightning balls. They all made contact and sent off a massive electrical explosion. There was a thick cloud of smoke where Swift Blaze was standing. "I win." Lightning Trails said with a smile.

"Don't count on it." Blaze said in the smoke.

"How? That would have killed anypony and more than likely seriously injured you."

Blaze walked out of the smoke with no sign of injury. "Another thing I learned in science class. Glass is a good insulator for electricity."

Lightning Trail was now able to get a better look at Swift Blaze. His body looked like it had armor plates on him, but they were see-through. "You are wearing glass armor? Where did you get that?"

"I just made it. Easy to break with physical blows. Still works against lightning."

"Where were you hiding when I had lightning striking everywhere. No pony could have been fast enough to dodge all of them."

"You are right, I could not have dodged all of them. So I hid in the clouds."

"You would have been hit lots of times if you were up there."

"I was. Over a hundred times. The glass armor was working, but the lightning strikes were heating up the glass. I knew I could not stay up there for long or risk being cooked in a glass shell."

"You are one smart pony, er human, to have thought of that on the spot. I submit the win to you. Also thank you for not using your water jutsu on me. I really thought you were going to win the match easily."

"What is the fun in that? To exploit a friend's weakness just to win a battle. I might do that to an actual enemy, but not a friend. Plus I think the crowd enjoyed the show."

Lightning Trails and Swift Blazed listened as the crowd started to cheer louder and louder. They were all chanting both names and stomping their hooves. Swift Blaze released the glass armor and let it fall to the ground in a thousand pieces. He then walked over to Lightning Trails. He released the wood jutsu and help him to his hooves. Without warning, Swift Blaze helped raise one of Lightning Trails's hoofs in the air with his. The crowd cheered even louder. They took in the cheers as they waved to them.

There was a bright flash and Captain Shining Armor appear with the other winners.

"Congratulations Swift Blaze. You have pulled another win out of nowhere. Your tactics and quick thinking are very impressive. I would have never thought about some of the things you did." Captain Shining Armor said.

"That match-up was awesome Blaze and Lightning Trails! I was on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. You even got me with the fake body." Al said.

"You really took advantage to the environment. I will have to think of that when I go up against Al." Cancer said.

"Your lightning control is very impressive Lightning Trails. Where did you come up with those lightning balls that explode?" Colorful Sparks asked.

"I took a page out of Blaze's arsenal with those things called ki energy balls. I had to practice in secret at night so nopony saw it till I was ready." Lightning Trails said.

"I though I heard a pony move about while I was meditating." Blaze said.

"You heard me? I was not making a sound. My hooves did not even touch the ground.

"I heard the flapping of your wings."

"Oh. How sensitive are your ears?"

"Average. I have to concentrate to pick up the slightest whisper." Shining Armor mumbles something under is breath. "Hey, I respect everyponies's privacy and don't use this to snoop on others."

"You heard that?" Shining Armor said.

"I was not going to mention who said it. Thank you for speaking up." Blaze said with a smile.

"Come on. Need to do display the winners and talk about the matches tomorrow. Would you mind putting the torches back so we can get some more light here?"

"They are already back."

"WHEN? I know you are not that fast to do that within a second."

"I did it when Lightning Trails was walking over to the fake body."

"You do move like a ninja when you want to." Al said.

"The setting has to be right to be effective. Now then, let there be light. Fire Style! Fire Wave Jutsu!"

Blaze jumped and sent out a wave a fire from his body. The wave went around the arena and lit all the torches.

"Next time, warn us before you do that. You almost singed my eyebrows. Al said.

"Would you rather I used the flamethrower jutsu?"

"Enough you two. Let's head over to the center so you can then get some dinner and rest for tomorrow." Shining Armor said.

Lightning Trails headed out of the arena and the rest made their way to the center. Once there, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia stood to address everypony.

"Congratulations Swift Blaze on winning your match. You and Lightning Trails put on a very entertaining battle. I look forward to your next match. As well to the rest of you. You are some of the finest recruits we have ever had to go through the training. Be proud of it. Now, go get something to eat and rest. The next set of matches will start tomorrow. Let's cheer for all of the recruits." Princess Luna said.

The crowd did one more big cheer for them. The recruits waved to them briefly and then left the arena. They made their way back to the training ground. Shining Armor left them at the arena. Once they entered the mess hall, they saw the rest of the recruits were already eating away.

"Hiya guys! Go get some grub and join us." Dragon said.

They did not waste time and gathered food. Everypony sat together and talked about all the matches. They told what happened to those who miss the matches. Everypony also told what they were thinking and why they chose the way did. After several hours of chatting, they made their way back to the barracks and quickly fell asleep. The ones who won dreamed about battle scenarios they will need to use against their opponents. The other dreamed what the winners were going to pull off to win the match.