Six weeks ago...
Week 4 of E.U.P. Basic Training

My body was a sore mess. I guess I might've started to push myself a little too much. Not only that, but I seemed to have been receiving less and less sleep due to my constant late-night workouts. Today, I just felt like a rock that was dropped in water. I'm being dragged down to the bottom and I'm not even getting a chance to breathe. Despite my starting get used to working out, there was one thing I would never be able to get used to; I'd never get used to a lack of sleep. I just hope that I don't fall asleep in the middle of this class.

"When a magical creature proves to be too powerful to engage with on your on, what would be an ideal choice on how you would handle the matter?" The instructor at the front of the class asked, causing a select few trainees to raise their hooves. "Private Highwind."

The pegasus that sat two chairs to my left stood up and gave the answer. "Sir, await for reinforcements."

"That is correct." The instructor called out. "The main reason why you wait for reinforcements is so that you may be able to apprehend the creature quickly, discreetly, and without incident. Furthermore, it cuts down on any potential accidents that would be a danger to you or your fellow guard. Now tell me this. When you are confronted by an individual who is an adept magic user, you do what?" The hooves took to the air once more as the instructor pointed to another one of the trainees. "Private Bolt."

The unicorn that sat four chairs in front of me stood up. "Sir, you neutralize the magic by deactivating their horn."

"Very good."

I heard a quiet giggle from the other side of the room. I knew that it was no matter of mine. I just wanted to close my eyes and rest a little bit. Besides, the lesson was something that we were going over for the third time this week. I had already retained enough of the information to not really pay that much attention to it anyhow.

My head rocketed back up from the desk as I instinctively spoke. "I'm awake." The room roared in giggles and snickers as the instructor at the front of the class eyed me almost into the desk again.

The instructor patiently tapped on his desk. "Okay, human. Since you're too busy sleeping in my class to think that these lessons are of little importance, tell me what the methods are to cancel out a unicorn's magic?"

Present Day...

"Celestia, I hereby request a no-holds-barred duel with Shining Armor."

The princess stared at me with complete shock written all over her face. For moments at a time, she attempted to find the words to say, but all that left her lips were weak squeaks and tiny puffs of air. Even her body struggled to convey her thoughts to me.

"Celly, what's wrong?"

Finally, she spoke for the first time in seconds. "Couldn't we propose something else? Something else that might satisfy you?"

"That is my only request. And it is the only one that I deem it to be satisfying enough for me." I answered.

Celestia rose out of her bed and walked towards me, eyeing me with concern. For a moment, she stood motionless, speechless as she looked at me. Eventually, she let words leave her lips. "I cannot allow it. Shining Armor is far too dangerous for you to challenge to a bout. Especially one such as, what you would consider it, a no-holds-barred contest."

"How so?" I asked.

"Shining is very powerful in his magic. Not only that, but he is very strong."

"Did he beat you in a hoof wrestling match?" I asked sarcastically.

"No, but-"

"Then he's not invincible. Therefore, I can still fight him."

Celestia took a deep breath as she placed a hoof on my shoulder. "Sweetie, honey, dearest... You're not going to win that contest unless you know how to fight against an adept magic user."

"Which I do-"

"Even then..." She interjected. "You would have to fight him in a contest of strength."

"I was trained to take on three guards at once. That was because Shining wanted me to feel as if I wouldn't be able to pass my training." I answered back.

"Nondis, you don't seem to understand. I've already dealt with him. He's being punished now and will be punished even further."

"And I'm saying that punishing him won't get it though his thick-ass skull that I'm a thing." I said, raising a fist and clenching it. "So even if I have to get my message to him that I'm going to be with Twilight via a fist to the face, then so be it. I refuse to have him wait around for the voting and let him disagree out of me just being an 'inferior species'."

"Nondis-"

"Celly, my species has killed more than the entire population of ponies that lives in Equestria to this day twelve times over. Your civil conflict ended with hoof-wrestling. My home country's civil conflict ended with casualties of over a million men. Six-hundred-thousand-plus men died on the front lines, four-hundred-seventy thousand returned to their homes broken, battered, disfigured, and dismembered. Four-hundred thousand were never found."

"Nondis!" Celestia shouted out, stopping my rant.

"Sorry... Got a little too graphic."

The large mare took a deep breath. "I know that our histories are different in comparison, but that doesn't mean that they haven't been free of bloodshed at any given point. I know too well of coping with those kinds of losses. We too have experienced our fair share of carnage."

"Then you would understand that negotiation is no longer a matter in the discussion between me and Shining."

Our quiet conversation had now become a full-fledged argument. Celestia no longer held back. "Then you would fight him, despite Twilight's innermost desire for you two to become friends?"

"There are things that just have to be done. I've been trying to avoid fighting him because of two reasons. The first was fear, I was scared to fight him because I didn't know how to fight at the time. The second was because Twilight would disapprove."

"Then why are you fighting him?" Celestia asked angrily.

"So that we can get our points across. At times, violence isn't the answer, but in this case it's the only alternative."

Celestia, in a fit of rage, stormed away from me and towards the window. "Why is it stallions have to be so confrontational?"

As she stood silently at the window, looking at the pair of birds sitting on the window seal, I slowly approached her and spoke with a lowered tone. "It's how we learn... I mean men... Look, males of any species are confrontational. It's what we're born to do. Instinct. We defend our families, ideologies, and religious beliefs. We fight each other for dominance, land, resources, and rights. We challenge one another for respect and sometimes for fun. It's how we learn."

The two birds flew off into the distance, zipping freely across the Canterlot skyline. Celestia watched in sadness as the two creatures took their departure. "It's also how the young are denied their future."

I think that she was looking at the birds a little too much. Either that or this conversation was going someplace that I was not intending for it to go. "Whoa, hold on there. We're not talking about a war. We're talking about a simple spar."

She turned to me with a worried look in her eyes. "A spar that could easily become just as violent."

"Anything I so desired. Those were the terms of your promise to me."

She sighed, regretting that she ever said those words. "I admit to saying those things, but-"

"Then please hear me out. I want to do this. I know that Twilight won't approve of it, but this is no longer about her. This is between me and Shining Armor."

She stopped for a moment to think. "Is there any way that I can convince you to possibly reconsider?"

It was now my turn to place my hand on her shoulder. After I extended myself to her, she looked to me as I spoke. "You'd probably see this as revenge for everything, from A to Z... It kinda is, but it isn't at the same time."

`Her ears folded, as did her resolve for a peaceful solution. Her head bowed as she finally gave in to my request. "At least you are honest. Very well then, I will give you what you desire, under one condition."

"And that is?"

"You're WHAT!?"

"Yeah. I'm doing it."

"Can I just reiterate? WHAT!?"

Rainbow Dash hovered in mid-air as she continued to express her disbelief of my statement. So I decided to re-announce my intentions. "I told you, I'm challenging Shining Armor to a duel tomorrow afternoon at three."

"Rookie... ugh..." The cyan pegasus slowly brought a hoof to her face as she took a long sigh. "You don't start a fire on the first day on the job."

"Look, It's for a good reason." I argued.

"You're really asking for it."

I threw my arms up in the air in a fit of frustration . "Why is it that no one's listening to me?"

"Uh, maybe because the dead don't talk."

"I'm not dead."

Rainbow rolled her eyes at me. "You're gonna be if you challenge Shining Armor."

"What's that I've been hearing about?" A third scratchy feminine voice called out from nowhere. We both turned around to see a yellow pegasus walking towards us. She sported a fiery orange and yellow mane and wore an aerial combat uniform with a pair of aviators hanging off of the front pocket. As she approached us, Rainbow Dash gave her a salute. Not wanting to be rude, I followed suit as the pegasus raised her greeting in return.

"Captain, how you've been?" Rainbow asked as she lowered her hoof.

"I've been in better spirits, but congratulations on your promotion, Rainbow Dash. Staff Sergeant seems like a good fit for you." The mare said with a smirk.

"Well, I was wanting to go a little higher than this." Rainbow retorted, seeming her usual cocky self.

"So what's this about a challenge to Shining Armor?"

Rainbow flew beside me and gave me a playful shove. "Rookie here, he doesn't know what he's talking about. He's different, you know-"

"Actually, I've been hearing that Shining is getting the day off tomorrow."

"WHAT!?" Rainbow shouted in disbelief. I guess my request was more than acknowledged. Wow, word sure does travel fast.

The yellow pegasus turned to me, extending a hoof to me. "So you're gonna be the guy to try and take Captain Armor down a few pegs? You've got some serious balls."

Returning the hoofshake, I accepted the compliment. "Uhh... thanks... Captain?" I trailed off into a question. Unfortunately, I was not given a name for her.

"Oh yeah, guess it's rude not to introduce myself. Name's Spitfire, Captain of the Aerial Defense Division and Captain of the elite flying squadron known as the Wonderbolts. Maybe you've heard a thing or two about it."

"I know that Roy G. Biv here has been wanting to get in for a while." Rainbow seemed annoyed at the nickname I gave her. Meanwhile Spitfire laughed a little at my comment.

"Hey Dash, I need you to give this report to Soarin. How quick do you think you can get it done?" The yellow pegasus named Spitfire questioned as she pulled out an envelope with a lightning bolt seal emblazoned upon it.

"Be back in a sec." She answered, not even sparing a second after her sentence to take to the sky in a flash of several colors. Spitfire then turned her attention back to me.

"You're really going through with challenging Shining, huh?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Just curious, you know."

"That's not the entire story, is it?"

Spitfire seemed to question my appearance as she took the time to look me up and down. "Well, there's been some paperwork signed and I just so happen to be the referee. Care to tell me how somepony like you could beat the Captain of the Royal Guard?"

"I can't say. I'm just gonna wing it... no offense."

The yellow pegasus shrugged. "None taken."

"So you're looking over the match?" I inquired.

"Just to make sure that you don't die or something."

I took a moment to chuckle at her response. "Well I won't be doing any of that."

"Hey, do your best. Knock it out of the park. If you last more than two minutes, I'll be impressed." Once more she extended her hoof to me.

"Thanks." And similar to last time, I returned the friendly gesture.

"And if you beat him, then I might just have to challenge you to a match." Suddenly, it seemed that she wasn't as willing to break off our little exchange. Instead, it seemed that she had started to force herself a little more onto me.

"Heh heh... What kind of match?" I asked nervously, still feeling my hand being pressed against.

"I don't know, something like who can last the longest. A contest of endurance."

"Oh... well-" She could mean anything by that. I mean hell, she could be talking about who could run laps around the city, right? I'm pretty sure that the statement was nothing of the sexual nature. Once again, I had to get my head from the gutter.

Spitfire closed in on me and flew mere inches away from my face as she whispered to me slowly and seductively, licking her lips as she spoke. "I not an easy mare. And I don't do speed runs. I like... strenuous activity, long shifts, and thick skin with a rigid personality."

OH BOY! "Weeeellll thennn...."

I felt a hoof brush against my chest as she drew her muzzle to my ear. "And I like my rewards to be plentiful.... and in copious amountssss."

Just like the extended time she took to carry out her 's', her words burned against my ear as she gave me a playful lick against my earlobe. STRANGER DANGER! "Gotta go!"

Without a second to reflect, I darted away from the promiscuous mare and ran for the halls. Granted, she was hot... too hot... I didn't want to accept her invitation, no matter how attractive it seemed like. As I ran down the hall, she called back out to me.

"Best of luck at the match tomorrow, rookie! You'll be needing it."

Throughout the rest of my day, I carried on with my duties, including a few more visits to the cold-stricken princess. I think that she's starting to recover from the illness already. Then again, alicorn magic is some of the most potent magic in existence, so I'd expect it to work miracles whenever it came to a health issue.

I ran into Spitfire once after our initial meeting. I had paid a visit to a local diner and finished my meal when she came flying down from above. Needless to say she was emphasizing her proposal from earlier. Had I known that she was so hell-bent on taking me into the bathroom and sharing her talents with me, I would've avoided the eatery altogether. But it couldn't be helped, I graciously declined her offer and took my leave.

On my way out, I felt something stuck in my teeth and journeyed to a nearby dental office. I walked in and requested a box of dental floss, preferably mint-flavored. Unfortunately, all they had was the wax kind. Just another thing to throw my day off. As soon as I walked out, I was digging around in my mouth to relieve myself of any food between my teeth. It's just too bad that I had to be tasting the bitter wax coating rather than coping with a more pleasant flavor... But then again, I have an idea on what I could do with this.

Shortly after my shift had ended, I was given the go-ahead to retire to my apartment. Thankfully, that promiscuous captain was nowhere to be seen. After a few more minutes of getting myself prepared and boiling the wax flavor off of my floss, I started to get myself ready for bed. I was more than making sure that my windows were locked. I didn't need any unexpected, fiery-maned rapists breaking into my room, fondling and watching me as I sleep.

After closing my eyes for a brief second, I awoke to the ringing of my alarm clock. I came out a little groggy, but extremely determined. It was like I had a drive to do just about anything. Of course I knew the main reason why I felt as if I could take on the whole world. So I got out of my bed, took my shower, dressed myself, grabbed the dental floss and made my way towards the lobby for breakfast.

Today, I was given the assignment to escort Princess Cadance and her party to the castle. Though I was more than curious as to why Shining couldn't escort his wife rather than me. I guess he was too busy punching sandbags with my face drawn on them to escort his beloved to the castle. I suppose on a day like today I would've done the same, considering how much we both wanna punch each other's lights out.

When I had arrived at the train station, I found that Cadance was waiting patiently on me. It goes without saying her party consisted of familiar faces. Twilight and Cadance talked amongst each other as Rainbow Dash hovered right beside them. Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack and Spike came along for the visit. What caught me off guard was the two additional visitors that stood beside their better halves. Discord stood beside Fluttershy while Cheese Sandwich worriedly stood beside a saddened Pinkie.

"Hey guys!" I spoke out. The group then turned to me, a wave of silence washing over them as I approached. "What's going on?"

Twilight teleported from where she stood to scream in my face, getting closer with each word. "You're... challenging... MY BROTHER!?" She questioned lividly. If it wasn't how she suddenly screamed in my face, I'd say that she was really pissed off at me.

"Well, I wouldn't call it a challenge... It carries the same properties as a challenge but it's not a challenge." I stated with sarcasm.

"What were you even thinking!? Shining Armor is going to be released from his punishment with even more ammo to throw at you!" Twilight warned.

Cadance walked beside the infuriated purple princess. "Nondis dear, do you not know what the repercussions of challenging my husband would bring you?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. Which is why I choose to do it." I admitted boldly.

"Call it off!" Twilight argued, jumping the gun on Cadance.

"I can't, it's already set."

Rarity came from behind the girls as she also tried to convince me to withdraw. "You can pull out now while you still have the chance. There's no need to get into any sort of unnecessary conflict."

Applejack followed suit. "Ya don't need to prove nothin' to nopony. Jus' make the smart choice an' walk away from it all."

"It would be a lot easier and a lot more peaceful." Fluttershy advised.

Cheese stood forward this time, meeting me face to face. "Yeah. Think about the conflict you and I had. Can't you two just talk it out?"

I gave myself some breathing room as I started to become the center of attention. "That's the problem. He's been doing most of the talking. His only terms is that he wants me to leave Twilight."

I felt a hoof touch my shoulder. Without turning around, I could hear the flapping of Twilight's wings. "I can accept that he's not willing to acknowledge us. I've decided to move past that. Now why is it that you can't do the same?"

"You know why, Twilight." I wanted to get past this rut. If Shining and I can't duke it out now, then the situation would only fester into something extremely unhealthy. Not just to our relationship, but to Twilight's health. The stress of pulling family members together is nothing to joke about. That shit could actually kill you in time.

"Please, just leave it behind us." She pleaded.

"And leave him and you apart?" Because that's what he would ultimately do. I don't want to be held responsible for the bonds between her and her older brother to suddenly diminish.

"...That's not the point."

"That's the only point. If we go through us being on even terms, I'd honestly think you'd grow to resent your older brother." And that would lead to some really unfortunate circumstances. Especially considering that they were both royalty, this had to be nipped in the bud.

"I'd much rather resent him for that than to resent him hurting you or you hurting him."

I'm not changing my stance on this. I don't even see why she's even trying at this point. "Twilight, this is just how it's gonna be."

"Rainbow darling, can't you talk some sense into him?" Rarity asked as she turned to the rainbow-maned pegasus.

"Tried already. It seems the only way it's gonna get through his thick skull is if Shining leaves his hoofprints inside of it."

I turned back to the duo that continued to talk about me. "I can handle this-"

"You're so dense." Those words, they not only sound familiar but they came from the same source. "You're really doing this all over again, fighting battles that you don't have to fight, getting scars and bruises that you don't need to get because of somepony else. You try to play 'hero' but you get hurt instead."

"But that was last time." And I couldn't even hold my fists up right. I was in a situation that I had little knowledge of and no training in how to deal with it.

Pinkie let her anger show. At least her mane was still poofy in comparison to the deflation it would normally have. "Last time, I held on to you when my sisters brought you into my room. Last time, I cried over every bruise on your body, regretting that I was the cause of your injuries. So what now, you're gonna put Twilight through that same stress?"

"Things are different."

"No they aren't!" The pink party pony argued.

"Yes they are!"

"Non-non... look at Twilight. Would you really put her through that pain again?"

I took a moment to look at the mare that held onto my shoulder, who's been holding on for this entire conversation. I could see the disappointment in her eyes as she stared back at me. But this was something that I already decided that would be for myself. If she wanted to fight about it, we'll have that discussion on a later date. I respected her, I adored her, I'd do anything to make her happy in the long-haul, even if it means to ignore her immediate gratification. With a deep breath and a determined mind, I gave my answer. "...Yes. Because my heart tells me to fight this battle."

"Don't fight for me. Please." Twilight begged.

"You just wait and see." As much as it hurts me to see her unhappy, I knew that this would work out for the future.

"You don't have to do this."

"I do. I want to do this and I have to." Because I'd much rather see you sad for a day than to let you live years on end with that very same sadness.

"What is it you're trying to prove?"

In my mind, I let myself relive the events of the day when she and I were about to share her bed, when her brother came in and shouted at me for what we were about to do. The words that left my lips and left a long-lasting impression on her brother's mind... A perspective I was more than willing to change, that I had to change.

There was only one thing that I wanted to prove. "That I'm good enough."

When we arrived at the palace, the group took their separate ways from me. The only thing that seemed to be on my mind at that point was the duel that would take place in about thirty minutes. Honestly, I was wanting to get it over with. I knew that I would be at a disadvantage so I had to make preparations for what was to come. Unfortunately due to time constraints, I would have to finish my preparations on the way there.

As I walked down the hall, I began to tape my hands for protection. I knew it was a hassle to pull off on my own, but considering that I was in a society that wasn't exactly accustomed to living with hands, I took the risk. After I finished tackling one hand I moved on to the other. Fifteen minutes later I was standing outside the door, finishing up my wrap. Drawing my sword, I started to check if I still had the functionality for gripping and swinging.

So far so good.

After a few more swings, I sheathed my weapon and started to prep myself for upcoming duel. Tip-toeing and bouncing, I simulated the circumstances of if I was to lose my weapon. As I threw a few punches, I could hear the sound of hooves clopping towards my direction. Looking out the corner of my eye, I could see who it was.

"Princess Cadance, I guess you're here to-"

The pink princess stopped my aerial jabs with her magic, holding me in place. "Look, I don't know when Shining's coming by here, but I am begging you. For your own safety, please call off this match."

Trying to free my hand from the blue, watery aura, I yanked and pulled my arm a bit. "I'll be fine. Really."

Cadance took the time to walk in front of me, still holding my hand in midair. "No, you'll be hurt. Really."

"I can handle a punch or two. No problem." Hell that's always been the case, both pre and post-training.

"No, that's not what I'm talking about. A no-holds barred means that nothing is restricted and the results could possibly become fatal. You could be seriously injured, your career as a guard could be very short-lived, and Twilight wouldn't want to see you like that."

Although I could see her reasons for concern, especially considering that she hasn't heard very much of what all had transpired in the course of my training, I chose to ignore her plea. "I'm not going to be like that so it doesn't matter. Not only that but Shining wouldn't want me dead anyways."

"You don't know that. That's why you have to call this thing off. It's too dangerous." She advised, finally letting go of my hand.

"Cadance, I'm perfectly-"

"You're in trouble now!" I heard another voice shout from down the hall. I turned to see that it was two other guards, followed by my opponent. "Talking with the Captain's wife behind his back? That's a big no-no."

Cadance, walked over to her husband, trying to get him to stop. "Cadie, what are you two talking about?"

"We were-" Before I could even finish, Cadance spoke for me.

"Talking about how he wanted to call off the challenge, how this was a huge misunderstanding."

The unicorn captain cut his eyes at me, giving me that all-too familiar cold glare. "Cadance, I don't think that a request made to Princess Celestia herself can be considered as a misunderstanding."

"It's a misunderstanding on his part." She argued.

By this point, I started to walk towards him. "I'm not misunderstanding shit."

Shining moved past his wife, walking towards me in response. "So, you really do have the guts to stand up to me?"

"Much like you don't have the sack to walk into that room and go against me." By the time I finished my sentence, we were standing a few feet away from each other.

"You know, I think that your training had made you a little cocky. Why don't I turn that down for you?" He said as he started to walk even closer, pointing his horn at me.

Taking a few more steps forward, I touched the tip of his horn and redirected it elsewhere. "How bout you point that thing somewhere else before it get's broke."

"You talk really big. I think you're scared of me."

"If I was scared of you, then I wouldn't be standing here. This isn't just about Twilight anymore. It's to the point where it's personal between us."

Less than a foot stood between us. I don't think I could express how much I wanted to pummel him into the ground. "I don't think you understand your place."

Then again... "I don't think you understand just how punchable your face is right now." That sounds just about right.

The captain inched closer, whispering to me. "Go on, touch it."

"Alright boys, you two can kiss each other in the grand hall." And then our stare down was then replaced by mental imagery of us two sharing... I don't even wanna imagine that. We both turned to our referee, giving her a disapproving glance.

"No thanks." I blurted out.

"I don't swing that way." Shining said. At least we were already starting to agree on something.

"Too bad, would've loved to see you two go at it." We both looked at each other and shuddered as we backed away. Spitfire chortled and continued speaking. "Well in that case, let's get moving since you two seem so impatient to go at each other's throats."

Spitfire opened the door and guided us inside. Shining and his wife entered before me. Aside from passing extremely nasty looks to the yellow pegasus, she turned back to me and whispered as she walked past. "I gave you a chance."

Following his wife, Shining whispered to me as well. "You should've took up Cadie's offer."

While I gave myself a suitable amount of spacing, I returned a statement to my opponent. "If training has ever taught me anything, it's that I don't take the easy-way out."

"That's fine and all, but now you're in stallion territory." He mumbled back to me.

"And I'm gonna teach you the ways of a man's world. We ride asses like you." I rebutted.

As soon as we entered into the room, We walked past a crowd of guards clad in armor as they all stood around an empty portion of the floor. The space designated was more than enough to give any stallion the room to launch attacks, take to the air and fire bolts of magic, which I had a feeling he was going to do at one given point. But as a saving grace, they did provide us with four pillars to take cover behind. It also seemed that the area had some sort of enchantment, given the strange runes encircling the area. I guess they want to make sure that nothing gets damaged. When we walked into the open area, we took separate sides of the circle. Meanwhile, Spitfire flew into the center of the ring and announced us to the crowd of ponies.

"Attention everypony, guards and patrons alike. We are here to bear witness to a match unlike any other in all of Equestria's founding. To one side, there is the Captain of the Royal Guard, Prince of the Crystal Empire, husband to Princess Cadance and brother to Princess Twilight Sparkle, Canterlot's very own: SHINING ARMOR!"

The crowd erupted into cheers and dog calls. Even some of the mares in attendance cheered so loud that Cadance, who was sitting on the elevated platform in the back where the thrones sat, clenched her jaw with envy. I guess she doesn't like her husband being called on by other mares. Who could blame her?

"And to this side, we have a unique challenger to the captain. Instead of hooves, he will fight with his own two hands and race on his own two feet. From a far away land in a world unknown to us, he joins our ranks to defend our country. Our newest addition to the E.U.P. Guard: NONDO!"

And she got my name wrong. "NON-DIS!" I corrected as loud as I could.

"Sorry, NONDIS!"

I didn't hear as much cheering as before. In fact, I heard maybe a pony or two clop their hooves and root me on while the room sat in silence. I guess I'm really the underdog here.

"Princess Celestia, do you have something to say before the match commences?" The referee called out as Celestia sat on the throne to my left. Both Shining and I turned to her as she unfurled her wings and spoke out to the crowd.

"The rules are as followed, when one can no longer stand of his own volition, the other is to cease all hostility. Any further assault will be dealt with in a swift manner. If one becomes wounded to the point where they can no longer fight, competition shall be decided in favor of the one who still stands. If there is any intent to fatally wound one another, the match will result in an automatic forfeit, declaring the lesser aggressor to be the victor..." I saw her take a glimpse at me followed by another at Shining Armor. It seems that his vision was locked on me the entire time. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and left her statements to that. "That is all I have to say."

I turned my attention back to my opponent. Suddenly Twilight interrupted the match. Stepping forward, she raised her voice at the two of us. "I don't want you to do this, either of you. I humbly ask that the two of you withdraw from this competition at once. Over time, I have seen the two of you fight and argue. I don't want this. I just... I just want you two to get along." I turned back to the purple princess who stood forward with ears folded down out of sadness. "Is that too much to ask?" She inquired in a quiet voice.

For a moment, the room seemed so quiet, you could hear a snail crawl past you. But that silence didn't last for long as Shining Armor immediately voiced his opinion. "As a challenge to my honor, I am unable to comply with that request."

My mind snapped back to what I had to do right now. In front of me stood a stallion who made his intentions clear. However, I felt something was... off. He gave me numerous reasons of why he disliked me being with Twilight, but I could tell that's not where his anger ends, or begin for that matter. Even before I was caught with Twilight, he and I were on good terms. Whenever he had the time, he would spend it with both me and Twilight without so much of a complaint. He would share jokes and both Twilight and I would laugh at them. He was even my escort to and from court back when I had that case against Caramel.

Now, he despises me. He wants me to look somewhere else. He can't stand spending time with me and Twilight simultaneously. There's no way he was telling me the whole truth. I've gotten his reasons for why he couldn't see us together, but what about the reasons why he didn't trust me? It bothered me since I made the decision to stay here.

This fight was my answer, and I was going to get it, even if I have to beat it out of him. "What he said."

Spitfire nodded in approval. "Okay, so it seems that our combatants are both willing to get this thing started. You both heard the rules, if one of you goes down, you give them the chance to stand back up. If one of you tries to kill the other, you will be disqualified. If one cannot carry on, then the battle goes to the last one left standing. Got it?"

Shining brushed a hoof against the ground, seeming as if he was ready to charge at me. "Copy that."

I held my fists into a defensive stance, squaring my shoulders and bracing my feet for whatever he may throw at me. Bouncing around, I felt the adrenaline rushing through my veins. "Loud and clear."

"Well then... COMBATANTS TO YOUR MARKS!"

While I shuffled my feet, I tried to drown out the cheers set against me. I knew that I wouldn't be expecting anyone to be rooting for me in this instance.

"Give him hell, captain!" One stallion yelled out.

"Show 'em who's boss." Another hollered to my opponent.

"Put him in his place!" Yet another guard shouted loudly.

I clenched my teeth and readied myself to go on the offensive. I had to strike first if I was going to stand a chance in this battle, let alone win. Suddenly, I became distracted by a few outspoken voices in the crowd.

"Nondis, you can do this!" I recognized that voice, it was Rarity's.

"Give em hell, rookie!' That was Rainbow Dash cheering me on.

"Put up a good fight, ya hear!?" Even Applejack threw her lot on me.

I felt more confident than before. To hear those few still rooting for me gave me the morale to stand up and fight. Then again, it was far too late to back down. I was past the point of stopping, and I was eager to keep going, just to see what I would run into. But I heard another set of voices discouraging me from this fight.

"Don't do this, Non-non!" Pinkie hollered.

"I can't watch!" Fluttershy whimpered.

"..." I can already assume that Twilight has already spoken her peace. She wasn't going to root for either side. Both sides of this fight were ones that she was either for or against. She stood in silence, her words snuffed out by her unwillingness to root on either party.

"Odds are placed at seven to one!" And of course Discord would be the main one to start a gamble on the fight.

"Come place your bets!" I'm not even surprised that Spike was helping out. He was just enjoying the view, though he did shy at a rather angry glance from Twilight.

"FIGHTERS, READY!"

My heart started to pound at an elevated pace. My breathing became clear and open. My body felt light as my fists started to take in the weight. My feet shuffled as I bounced back and forth. My fists clenched tightly as I drowned out every last bit of sound. My vision locked onto the magenta blur in front of me...

Magenta?

"...ACTION!"

By the time Spitfire took to the air, a bolt of magic barreled towards me, I jumped to my right, avoiding the blast and looking back to a grinning Shining Armor.

"Oh fuck you!" I screamed to him, angered that he would resort to magic beams as his first move.

"No holds barred, remember?" He quoted as he shot another beam of magic at me.

With every beam he shot, he drove me further away from him. Dipping and diving, I ducked and dodged the incoming bolts. He remained relentless in his attack as I was forced to be on the defensive. I couldn't lay a blow on him if I couldn't get within range. Hopping and hobbling, I found shelter behind a nearby pillar. Standing behind the marble column, I panted from the immense amount of dodging I had to do. I opted to peek out from the side, but another bolt stopped me from doing just that. When I thought about peeking out to my other side, Shining beat me to the punch, firing another blast past me. I was trapped for the time being.

"Quit hiding you coward!" One guard heckled at me.

"Get back out there and fight!" Another shouted to me.

"Not so cocky now, are ya?" A third shouted as I watched another series of bolts whiz past me.

There was no way I was going to come from behind this pillar until I had an opportunity to strike.

"Shining, that's enough!" Twilight screamed to her brother, who only ignored her.

Cadance looked at me with disappointment that I didn't back out of this sooner. Meanwhile, Twilight was tapping at her former instructor. "Celestia, make them stop!"

Celestia did nothing as she watched the match go down. "If this is the only way they can communicate with one another, then let them speak."

"This isn't communication, this is just wrong!"

Celestia watched as Shining Armor blasted the pillar repeatedly. "I think there's more to it than what you and I may see for ourselves."

"No there isn't!" Twilight argued, starting to become worried of how I was holding up.

Celestia started to share the same sympathy, looking to me with uncertainty. She hoped that I knew what I was doing. "There must be. Otherwise..."

The blasts stopped for a short period of time. I've been hiding behind this pillar for a significant period of the match. But now, I was going to have to do something to get myself out of this mess. I slowly crept my head around the pillar, only to meet with a flash of magenta. I immediately pulled my head back in and watched the bolt breeze by me. That was too close.

"See? Even my little sister thinks you're clearly outmatched. You're hiding behind a pillar while I'm shooting at you from way across the room. If that isn't cowardice, then it's surely convincing me that you're ill-prepared to protect anyone." In speaking of close, Shining's voice sounded a lot closer than I thought. Maybe he was just buying his time to finally land some physical blows. So he lured me here so that I couldn't get the chance to escape. Meanwhile, he would fire bolt after bolt of magic to keep me hidden behind this pillar as he got closer.

"Really? Cut that magic off and you'll see just how prepared I am to kick your ass." But being that he got closer, he had to take more time to aim for the sides. If he wasn't careful, then he would leave me with an opening to make a dash for another pillar, and then he'd have to start all over again. He was waiting for me to make my moves now. If I peeked out, he would fire away. If I'd poke a hand out, he'd take it out. I'm left with very little margin for error.

"You'll have to get close first." He taunted.

"Then quit projectile-spamming, you cheating fuck!" I shouted out of frustration.

"No holds barred!" He shouted back, firing two more bolts, to either side.

When he fired the two bolts, I had realized that he made a crucial mistake. To fire the two bolts, it would require a charge of one to carry out both attacks. If he saved some of his energy to blast me a second time, then that meant that he would have to charge again for two more. Not only that, but since he's dividing the magic, then the knock-back it would produce would be half of that of a normal blast, making it significantly weaker.

That's my opening.

After he fires the first shot, he immediately covers himself to the other side. By the time he releases that second bolt, I could run from the side where he launched the first shot and close the distance between us. That would cause him to panic and throw his aim. If he throws his aim, then he'd be wide open for an attack. This means only one thing: his strategy is ineffective at close-range.

It's my turn.

The first bolt blasted by me to my left. As soon as it passed, I dashed out to meet him head on. By the time he fired the second bolt of his magic, I was already closing in on him. As predicted, he panicked, throwing off his aim. He didn't have enough time to charge his magic and fired a weak bolt at my left leg.

"Gaaargh!" My entire leg went numb, causing me to fall from the unexpected feeling of my leg disappearing from underneath me. After tumbling forward, I was brought to a halt not even a foot away from Shining's hooves.

"So... you finally learned your place?" He asked as he looked down on me with disdain.

"Yeah... I've learned my place..." I whispered to him. Meaning that my leg was numb didn't mean that I couldn't move it. I had to convince myself that it was still there. Though it would affect me every time I'd run or jump, I could still fight. Leaping to my feet, I shot my hand at Shining and clenched onto his horn. I pulled at him using my right hand and removing something from my back pocket with my left. I circled his horn with the substance and leapt off of him, finally done with the first phase of my plan. "On top of your sister."

As soon as the insult left my mouth, he shoved me off of him. Angry, he stared at me with a hatred so deep that he could decimate me on the spot.

"You little son of a bitch!" He screamed as he lowered his horn and charged for another spell. But something was wrong. "My magic... what happened to my-" And just like a lighter without fluid, his horn flickered at the base and went out. "What did you do to me?"

I started to laugh as I held out a pack of dental floss in my left hand. "Two things." I said as I pointed at him. "First, I neutralized your magic by deactivating your horn. As long as my hand can come into contact with your horn, I can cut your spells short. And to add to that, I further deactivated your magic by giving your horn a sealing compound. Just last night, I spent some of my time boiling and soaking my dental floss in brine water."

A look of horror began to show on his face. "Brine water!? That means-"

"You guessed it. All sealing items used to cut off the magical capabilities of a unicorn are made with one chemical compound in general; they're made with sodium chloride, table salt."

"You-"

I held up a second finger. "Second, I chose dental floss because of it's small size in comparison to sealing rings, which can be forced off with enough willpower and a little elbow grease. Instead, you have hooves that are too big and clumsy to accurately pick off thin materials such as thread, spider webs, fishing wire, and dental floss, all of which requires your magic to remove. And do I need to go into detail about the little grooves in your horn?"

Shining clenched his teeth as he realized that his magical assault was no longer a viable option. He then drew his sword in his teeth. "Clever bastard."

Tossing aside the floss, I drew mine in return. Now we were on even footing. "Again, natural selection states that a species learns to adapt, overcome, mate, reproduce, and repeat. Humans have been getting this shit done for well over fifteen thousand years. We're seven billion strong! It's in our blood, fucker! Rules of nature!"

He and I charged at each other, swords drawn. When we drew close, our blades crossed for the first time in the match. He spoke as he held his blade to mine. "So you can think on your feet, big deal! That doesn't prove anything against the strength of a stallion!"

I scoffed at his prideful comment and parried his blade away from his body. I was left with an opening. Switching the sword to my left hand and cocking my arm back, I brought my right fist to his face. I landed a solid blow against his left cheekbone. Executing on the follow-through, he was pushed back, still clenching his sword. I smiled as I settled for second blood. "Told you your face was punchable!"

Shining looked at me, only this time he carried the intention to kill. Galloping at me, he raised his sword at me and stood on his hind legs to cut me down from above. I raised my weapon to shave his weapon off of me. As his came into contact with mine, I felt a strong impact reverberate through the weapon and into my arms. The shock was so great that it knocked my blade away. The sound it produced was similar to a hammer striking against an anvil. Reeling back, I clenched my hand as I waited for the pain to subside. He laughed back at me. "I told you that you can't match to a stallion's strength! Who do you think you are!?"

"You must be real insecure when it comes to your little sister! Just what are you scared of!?" I asked as I started to recover from his attack.

Shining ran at me again, sword brandished and seeking blood. "I told you, you need to back off! I can find her somepony much better than you!"

I switched my weapon to my right hand again. Our swords clattered and clanged as we both took blows at each other. "Yeah, I have my flaws. I'm different, but does that make me any worse than what other choice you may have?"

His blows started to become even more ferocious. "It's because you're different! I can't trust you to protect her!"

My strikes started to become even more aggressive and frequent. "Why is that!?"

"You say that your species is strong, yet I've only seen weakness from you! You can't even handle a simple thug!"

Backing off, I settled for defense, allowing myself to seek an opening. I parried a majority of his slashes and dodged all of his thrusts. Our blades locked for a while before he started to turn towards my lower half. I backed away and avoided a critical blow, but ended up getting sliced on my numb leg. Despite my not feeling the pain, I knew it would become a serious distraction if my leg started getting it's feeling back. After surveying the damage, I decided that the blood I would lose would not be a serious factor due to how shallow the wound was. I stood back up to my feet once more.

"I didn't know how to defend myself at the time. I didn't know how to fight, the only thing I knew how to do was stand up for something that was right."

"Then why are you still standing!?" He angrily charged at me.

"Because I'm standing for what I think is right!" My sword parried off a few more of his blows before we became locked with one another.

"You're no different from any tail-chaser running around town! You think that you can simply win me over just for appearing different and saying you are!? That's all the more reason I can't trust you!" He screamed as he lashed at me another time, leaving me with another opening. This time, I took to the offensive and drove him back. I pressed forward, causing him to go on the defensive. I made sure that my strikes were aimed for his legs. I needed to slow him down. But after yet another step forward, my fears came to fruition.

I backed off as I started to feel my left leg again, only this time I felt an intense pain shoot throughout my body. That annoying gash in my leg was causing me a great deal of pain as I started to hobble and limp. "I'm not those fuckers that sacked the city, so you can take your shitty view of me and chew on it!"

"I'm not going to watch as my little sister is sent off to someone who is weaker than her, who hasn't been through much of anything like she has!" He ran up to me at full-speed, sword in tow.

"Oh, so now it's about strength!?" I threw my guard back up to deflect his blow.

"IT'S ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT THAT!" He angrily struck at me as I guarded with my sword. This time, the shockwave that traveled through my arm was so great, I heard a grisly crack in my left arm. The pain caused me to become angry. The adrenaline in my system pushed me to fight within an inch of my life. Abandoning the sword, I gave the stallion my best shot at the center of his muzzle. He tried to ducked in an attempt to avoid it, but instead, left his forehead wide open to the hit. My fist became well-acquainted with the base of his horn, causing splinters of the bone to fly in several directions. Blood began to flow down Shining's face. With a painful roar, Shining jumped back and dropped his sword as he screamed in discomfort.

I limped towards him, cocking my right arm back. As soon as he was in range, I let loose blow after blow to his muzzle. My left arm and leg was starting to become too much of a distraction for me to ignore. I backed off and buckled over in pain. "I heard lots of bullshit being spewed from you lately! You seem to show that you can't stand me, you put me through the most hell, you call me out, you put me down, and you consider me as a lesser being than that of you! Why don't you tell me the real reason you don't want me around her!?"

Shining grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and proceeded to scream at me as the blood trickled into his right eye. "HOW CAN I TRUST YOU WITH HER!? SHE'S BEEN THROUGH TOO MUCH! SHE HAD TO BEAR THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD ON HER BACK! SHE CARRIES THE VERY FATE OF EQUESTRIA IN HER HOOVES! SHE'S SEEN AS A HERO AND A SAVIOR! WHAT CAN YOU DO TO MATCH UP TO HER!? WHEN SHE'S TIRED AND WORN FROM HER BURDENS-"

"I WILL CARRY HER!" I screamed back, still feeling the immense amount of pain in my arm and leg.

Shining winced in pain and fell over. He tried his best to stay on his hooves, but evidently he was too disoriented to maintain his balance. He looked at me with anger, but then his expression shifted to one of an epiphany. "What did you say?"

I sat on the ground, letting myself rest as pain and fatigue started to really take a toll on me. "The moments she's down on her luck, where it seems that the world has turned against her, I'll be her support. I may not look strong in appearances, but if these past few months haven't been an indicator of what my heart is willing to endure, then you seriously need to get your eyes checked."

A powerful bolt of pain caused me to hiss and grimace in response. My leg was burning from the wound Shining inflicted on me. My arm remained in pain. It was safe to assume from the cracking sound it made earlier that it was broken. There was no way I could carry on like this. But I still found the strength to stand up on my own. My leg stung greatly but I could still limp around. As I stood up, I finally said what was on my mind for the past four months.

"I remember, the day we were caught, Twilight asked me to prove just how special she was to me. I remember saying this: 'The thoughts I have and the words I speak are on levels so distant that they couldn't come to terms on what to execute'. But now, not only can I say those words, but I have pushed myself through the thickest mud and endure the most humiliating moments of my life to stand in front of both of you once more and say these three words... I love her."

Shining looked at me with shock and amazement. He tried to come up with a response but failed to think of anything. Shining was more than willing to dismiss me, but my actions that led me up to this point started to make sense to him. Each time he asked me to quit and give up, I persisted, believing in the future that I envisioned with his little sister. Since my decision to stay here, I let my actions do the talking rather than let my words appear empty.

My actions were leagues louder than the words I spoke.

"...Why didn't you say that before?" His voice finally softened. I didn't know what to think of that but it was something that I wasn't expecting. I didn't hear a hint of animosity in his voice. Instead, it was unusually kind.

"At the time, I was too weak. I was scared of you and scared of seeing Twilight cry. I'm scared of only one of those things now, and it does not involve you." I answered sternly.

"Look over there for a moment." Shining pointed towards the thrones where Celestia, Cadance and Twilight sat. When I had saw what exactly he pointed to, it became clear of what his next statement would be. "Now... you know I'm really gonna have to kick your ass for that. Nobody, and I mean nobody, makes my little sister cry."

Twilight covered her muzzle hooves as she choked back her sobs. The room became silent save the sound of a princess crying. She finally broke as she looked at the condition I was in. Upon realizing just how far I went to be with her, she let loose first a weak scream followed by a few sobs. Shamed that she became a sobbing mess in front of the crowd of guards, she covered her face with her wings and proceeded to let her tears flow. Cadance looked to her husband and finally saw that he was angry because of my indecisiveness at the time...

A miscommunication that I had to clarify upon.

I smiled and limped over for my sword. "Well in that case, I guess I'll have to defend myself."

"Since you let your heart do all the talking..." He started, stopping me from grabbing the blade. I turned around to see that he stood proud and tall on his own four hooves. "I guess it would be fair that I'd let mine do the same. No weapons, no magic, no clever little tricks hid up your sleeve. You and I will be fighting for the love of that purple little filly over there." He said pointing to his younger sister, who had started to recover from her crying fit.

I turned to him completely, still limping in pain. "Is this what you were wanting me to do all this time?"

"Kid, I've lost some major sleep hoping that this day would come."

I took a deep breath and balled my fist. Trying my best to get into stance, I readied myself for my next assault. Though I was a far-cry from the springy, healthy version that walked into this room earlier, I was still capable of doing a decent amount of damage. "Okay... Last one standing wins..."

Panting and still wobbling a bit, a bloodied Shining Armor motioned his hoof as if he was going to charge at me. He lowered his head and brushed his hoof against the ground. Panting and suffering from fatigue, he spoke. "Yeah... Let do it."

We stared at each other for a good amount of time, waiting for something to give us a cue to charge at each other. The crowd stared at both of us as we remained motionless for a while. Finally, we lunged at each other. I fell after the first three steps thanks to the immense amount of pain surging throughout my leg. Shining took the same amount of steps forward and just fell over. We both hit the ground in a thump, causing the crowd around us to gasp in surprise.

"SHINING ARMOR!" Cadance screamed as she flew from the alter and landed beside her husband.

"NONDIS!" Twilight shouted as she teleported from the other side of the alter and appeared beside me. When they both reached us, they stared back at one another and realized that they both had went after the same thing.

"You beat me..." Shining muttered out weakly.

"What?" I asked, laboring in pain.

"I passed out from the stress of a cracked horn. You have an injured leg and a broken arm. If we were to fight like this, you'd easily take me out." He stated as he laid against the ground. Cadance did what she could to make sure he was comfortable.

"I can't fight like this. I have only a leg to stand on and an arm to defend myself. And if you threw another one of those haymaker strikes at me, I'd lose my other arm just from protecting myself." I stated, as Twilight started to survey the damage dealt.

The stallion chuckled weakly as he started to raise his head. "Difference between you and me is that I'd die if I carry on like this."

Though he wasn't really wanting to admit to his defeat, he had no other choice to concede due to a health issue. I wasn't really aware of the risks of striking one's horn. "That bad, huh?"

He didn't speak on it after that, instead he placed his concern towards me. "Can you stand?"

"I think I can." I answered, still grimacing from the pain in my injured leg.

"Just try."

Twilight looked at me with worry, to which I dismissed. As soon as I placed my right arm on the ground for balance, I pulled myself up off of the ground and limped back onto my own two feet. "Okay... now what?"

I suddenly felt something raise my right arm into the air. When I looked over to see what it was, I found the referee holding my arm in place. "THE MATCH HAS BEEN DECIDED, THE VICTOR OF THIS CONTEST, THE ROOKIE, ADONDIS!"

"Nondi- aw fuck it." I really didn't have the strength to argue right now. I just wanted to get some rest... Right after I overdose on morphine

The crowd cheered loudly, though I head some of the cheers die down a bit after the ones who placed bets realized that they lost. The others who were merely spectating were applauding the performance. Celestia took relief that I was the victor and that we had finally duked it out. Though I have the strangest impression that she was not wanting to let us have another go.

Shining raised himself back on his hooves with the assistance of his wife. Cadance smiled as she walked him out of the room and towards the medical staff outside. "Come on sweetie, you did great."

The others ran up and greeted me as Twilight gave me a congratulatory kiss on the cheek. Rarity looked at me with a blush and a smile as she screamed out her excitement. Cheese was the first after Twilight to congratulate me. "Nondis, you did it!"

"Not bad, rookie!" Rainbow exclaimed as she gave me a nudge to the arm. Unfortunately it was the wrong one.

"ARM!" I screamed out in pain.

The cyan pegasus jumped back and her ears flopped in remorse. "Heh-heh... sorry."

As the crowd celebrated the match that took place as well as the result, another stallion, Blueblood specifically, entered into the room, escorting Princess Luna into the room. As the crowd continued to cheer, Luna smiled. "I did not know that I was so well-received amongst the guards."

Blueblood turned to Celestia. "Well auntie, what did I miss while I was away?"

Something tells me that those two were not going to like what they missed out on.

As a boy, I've found out that many of the other boys in my class were cool with each other. And if they weren't, then they just got into fights with each other. But at the end of that fight, there was a sudden realization of who was stronger or who had more heart. Usually, the two would grow to become friends or fierce rivals, but the bonds between those two would grow to become almost unbreakable. Even the harshest rivalries carry the undertones of friendship.

Shining and I weren't friends after that, but rather rivals who carried a mutual respect for one another. I almost knocked his block off and he almost snuffed me out. In the end, we both ended up throwing each other towards the precipice of fate. And we both still shared our usual cuss-out sessions. Both Cadance and Twilight stare at us as if we're crazy, but we tend to ignore that kind of stuff.

Shining's horn would take a lot longer to heal than my arm, being that his horn was a magical device on it's own. Who'd knew that it would be so hard to cast a spell on another's horn. My arm, on the other hand, was looked at, bones realigned, they cast a spell or two, and now I'm cast-bound for three days at most.

Though, we still decided to call for a rematch, to which Celestia promptly denied. I guess we'll have to do something else to make up for that missed opportunity. Despite his pride taking a bit of a tumble, he was still seen with a high level of respect. The other guards joke at his expense, but it's military, they do this shit all the time.

Two days later, I walked down the halls and made my way towards the exit, finished with my first shift in Canterlot. I was being reassigned due to Shining's frequent visits to the palace. Celestia knew that we would probably set something up behind her back, so to eliminate that possibility, she reassigned me to Ponyville to guard the castle there. Twilight went on ahead to the station while I grabbed my equipment and set out. At least I was going to work at home.

"Hey, rookie." I heard a familiar scratchy voice call out to me from further down the hall.

I turned around to see the flaming mane of the yellow pegasus mare floating in front of me. "Where you going?" Spitfire questioned.

I shrugged my shoulders as I scratched my head. "I'm being reassigned to Ponyville. I guess I caused too much of a commotion."

The yellow pegasus chuckled. "Yeah, you were a bit of a distraction."

"You think so?"

She stopped laughing and started to fly towards me. "Way more than you needed to be. I said that I was gonna be your next match, and you're not leaving here until I get it."

I started to back away from her, already knowing what she was pertaining to. "Well, would you look at the time? I think I should be going right n-"

I suddenly find myself backed into a pillar. Her hoof plants itself next to my head. She gives me a devious smile as she starts to inch closer towards me. "Your train doesn't leave for another hour and a half. We can get a quick one out of the way." She whispered.

I ducked out of my corner and backed away from her. I started to ease away when suddenly a figure to my right caught my attention. Startled, I jumped back and reached for my sword, but was stopped short as a pair of lips locked mine shut. I clenched my eyes in fear of what would happen next, but instead, I felt a familiar grasp around my neck. The familiar scent of lavender whisked past my nose, causing me to open my eyes and see who my aggressor was. Fortunately, it was not Spitfire.

Our kiss broke off and Twilight licked my cheek. Her eyes locked on to me, angrily demanding me to kiss her back. I pulled closer to her, only for her to pull away. She still left enough distance for me to pursue her even further, She leaned her head against mine, bring her lips a mere inch away from mine. For each breath I took, she sucked it away, greedily taking my very essence as she teased me even further. I threatened to kiss her again, and she pulled away as if she was taunting me. I started to become frustrated and vocalized my complaints.

Only one problem, my voice carried no sound. I started to panic, but she placed her hooves on both sides of my face, making me look to her. She didn't say anything, only giving me a smile so sinister that she almost seemed villainous. I knew then that she had stolen my voice when she had kissed me, which was why she was taunting me. She wanted me to get it back, but she wouldn't dare make it easy for me. After a few moments of staring, she broke her attention back to the yellow pegasus behind her. She walked up to her, pointing back to me.

"He's mine." She whispered angrily. "That's mine. No touching."

Spitfire seemed shocked that Twilight had appeared out of nowhere. I was more shocked that she came back. I thought she had left the castle a long time ago. Instead, she was right here, taking my voice away with a pair of sweet, tender lips and hissing at another mare over what was hers.

The way Spitfire talked to me was more than attractive. Honestly, it was just downright sexy. The way she knew what she wanted and demanded that she'd get it. I saw some attraction in it, but not enough to lose control and allow myself to have my way with her.

But Twilight... It was because she knew that I couldn't have what she had was why she teased me. She'd show me what she has, she'd let me touch, let me smell, but never let me taste. To her, I was some sort of child, staring at the cookie jar on top of the fridge. I wanted what she hid in there, but she wouldn't let me get any, not yet. Similar to Spitfire, she knew what she wanted and demanded that she'd get it. But what made her so deadly is that she was willing to fight for it. Not only that, but she was just as eager as I was. Her smell, the way she'd cut her eyes at me, the simplest touch she gave me, the strong musk that develops at the base of her tail, in between her haunches...

The thought of her drove me mad. I couldn't take it anymore.

I grabbed Twilight and pulled her along, dragging her down the hall with me as I ran to the exit, in hopes of making the earliest train to Ponyville. She seemed surprised that I was taking the more aggressive role, but I wasn't going to let this wait. I was going to reward myself by whatever means necessary.

By fuck, I was going to get my voice back.

Man did I take a risk for a future development. I just hope it pays off. As I originally stated, I will be taking a break from this story to work on another for this month. If I really feel like updating this one or my thought process begs me to do it, then I will.

As for the next chapter, well let's just say this is where it starts to get a little... difficult.