Author's Notes:

Done reading this and Grey Tiercel's fight? Decide who wins right here!

Morning Glow waited in the empty room. As soon as she had closed the door behind her, it had just vanished. Of course, this was to be expected from Discord, but still. The annoyance ruffled her feathers.

After what could have been seconds or hours, a door appeared in front of her. “Finally,” she said. The door opened itself as she approached, a bright light preventing her from seeing what was on the other side. Having no other choice, she stepped through.

Blinking to clear away the spots, she heard the door close behind her. Presumably, it had now vanished. She could feel grass beneath her hooves, and a slight breeze ruffled her mane, so she was outside somewhere. Other than that, only some sort of distant cry was carried in on the wind.

The spots finally faded, and she could see where she was. Her jaw fell open as she took it all in.

It was a park, or at least, it had once been a park. The sky overhead was clouded, little rays of sunshine peeking through. Stands of trees grew alongside bushes and shrubs and flowers. Morning even swore she saw some corn growing off in the distance.

There was a wooden statue not far from her, depicting a charging earth pony. The thing made her shudder, as, despite the featureless eyes, it looked like it was staring right at her. She blinked again, and suddenly it was a gryphon, claws raised in an attack stance.

There were several pony shapes just beyond a grouping of trees, but they were too featureless for her to see very well. Their muted colors blended in amongst the brown trunks.

All of this paled before the most breathtaking sight in the park. Normally parks had hills, or little rises in the ground. This one had the ground sticking up at a ninety degree angle from the plot she was standing on. Even the trees were growing perpendicular to where she was.

“How the—? How does that work?” she wondered aloud. “I mean, as a pegasus I can just fly up there, but still. That shouldn’t even be possible.”

A voice that came from seemingly nowhere startled her. “Welcome, friends, to round one.”

“Discord,” she muttered.

“By now you’re probably wondering where your opponents are. Well, look around! Somewhere within the Arena your obstacle to victory is thinking the same thing. So keep on your guard! You never know where they might be or what they might be capable of.”

There was a pause before the draconequus added, “Oh, and by the way. Once one of you has proven to be a clear victor, the exit will appear at the center of the battlefield. Good luck finding it! Ta!”

Morning looked around at the Arena. “Where in Tartarus is the center of this thing?” It was almost impossible to tell with how the ground just decided to change angles at random. “Whatever, I’ll deal with that when I win.”

She spread her wings, taking off from the ground. It would be easier to find whoever her opponent was from the air. The downside was she’d be easier to spot, unless she went and hid in the clouds.

Gaining speed with each flap of her wings, she shot straight up, bursting through a cloud. Carefully, she dug a hole in the cloud, looking down at the Arena. Even surveying from above was difficult with the way the park was. When the landscape changed at random angles and points, she could be surveying the ground, barely move her eyes, and be staring at what was essentially a wall.

From her perch, she could at least see a fair portion of the park. Trees and bushes were not the only things growing there. Patches of various crops could be seen interspersed amongst the foliage. As well, those creepy, changing statues dotted clearings, along with an occasional building. If this was once a public park, as the pathways and benches seemed to suggest, then it made sense for there to be restrooms and storage sheds around.

After half an hour, give or take as it was difficult to judge time in this place, she had seen no sign of her opponent. Sure there were these odd little ponies. To a one, their coats were some dark color like grey or brown. Some of them were wandering around, others were standing still. The first time she saw one, she’d thought it was her opponent and nearly swooped down on him, until she noticed its odd behavior.

Morning sighed, growing bored. This place was too large for her to sit in one area and hope whoever she was fighting would come to her. She’d need to be more proactive about finding her prey.

Digging herself out of the cloud, she dropped for a few seconds before spreading her wings and gliding down to the ground. Hopefully nopony had seen her in that brief moment. Looking around, she picked a direction in which she hadn’t been able to see from her perch and set off.

The trees here were quite odd. Rather than growing normally, they seemed to grow together and almost into one another, as if they were fused together, or perhaps phasing through one another. Quite often she would have to detour around a clump of trees. It was either that, or risk flying and being spotted, or taking the walkways and exposing herself.

It was only after a few minutes that she encountered her first obstacle. Just in front of her was a green wall made of grass. The ground had decided to change angles.

Testing with a hoof, she placed it on the wall. When she didn’t feel anything different, she slowly walked up the wall. With a wave of nausea, gravity switched for her, so now she was standing on the ground, the place she’d just been becoming a wall. After a moment, the disorientation passed and she continued on, looking for any sign of a pony.

At one point in her search, she came across tracks and followed them, only to find one of those weird ponies. As soon as it saw her, the thing unleashed a wail the likes of which Morning had never heard before. It was like several ponies were shouting at once, and her ears instantly pinned themselves to her head. The thing scampered off into the trees, still wailing.

When she could finally hear again, Morning swore aloud. That thing had just given away her position to anypony within earshot, which given how loud it was, was a significant portion of the park. It was time to move, quickly.

Spreading her wings, she flew across the clearing, trying to leave no tracks. If somepony was attracted by the noise and followed, hopefully they would follow the tracks left by that thing and miss hers.

Past the first few rows of trees, she landed, moving at a brisk trot to get away. She still wondered just what those things were. They had no cutie marks and their eyes lacked irises. They were too solid to be ghosts, but they certainly weren’t ponies anymore.

Ten minutes later, and she was no closer to finding an answer or her opponent. She had run into two more of those things, one of which jumped at her, trying to attack her. A quick flap of her wings got her away before anything happened.

Now she sat with her back to a tree, resting and planning her next move. It was getting to the point where she considered flying, even if it would give away her position. This was supposed to be a fight, not hide-and-seek.

“Ah, I finally found you,” a voice spoke from behind her, startling her. She leapt to her hooves, turning around.

A silvery looking unicorn stood there. He was wearing a coat of a dark grey color, and a black hat with an emerald band around it. His mane and tail were both blue. His muzzle sported a slight smirk. “Hmm, a pegasus. That explains why I lost your tracks a couple times.”

Morning held a hoof over her chest to quell her beating heart. This was bad. Nopony should be able to sneak up on her, not without her detecting them first. She had dropped her guard out of frustration. It was just her luck that her opponent decided to announce himself before striking out, else she would already be incapacitated.

“I take it that you are my opponent?” he asked.

She nodded. “You’re the first real pony I’ve seen here, so I assume so.”

They both stared at each other for a moment, before taking action. The unicorn’s horn lit up as he shot some spell at her, while she flared and pulsed her wings, sending herself backwards and kicking up a cloud of dust.

Several more spells came through the dust, followed by the unicorn himself. He had erected a shield in front of him to protect his eyes. Morning took the brief moment when he couldn’t see her to dart off to the side.

They were deep into a grove of the trees, so she couldn’t fly up and escape due to the branches above. Luckily, she could use the trees themselves to block and dodge his magic. So long as she kept at least one tree between them, she would be okay.

Her hooves left the ground as she flapped her wings a couple times. Twisting her body, she kicked off a tree trunk, changing her direction far faster and sharper than if she had been on the ground while still maintaining her momentum.

Swinging around another tree, she came at the unicorn from the side. He was still looking ahead, trying to spot her when she drove both her forehooves into his side. She picked him up, slamming him into the unyielding bark of a tree. Her hooves lashed out, delivering two quick strikes to his stomach before his horn lit up and something hit her chest, knocking her backwards.

She got to her hooves, determined to close the distance again. Against a magic user, she wanted to be close enough that it was difficult to hit her with a spell. Yet when she tried to take a step forwards, she nearly fell over.

Looking down, a steel blue chain of magic was strung between her forelegs. Grunting, she tried to break it apart, but only succeeded in not moving. That was when, in her distraction, a powerful blow landed on her chest, sending her flying back and slamming into a tree.

The breath left her lungs as she wheezed. It felt like a minotaur had just punched her. Trying to draw a breath only resulted in a fire in her chest. She was pretty sure at least one rib had cracked from the hit.

The unicorn was recovering, getting to his hooves. If she didn’t act fast, she’d be easy prey for him. Wincing, she pushed through the pain and managed to get to her hooves. Since her forelegs were bound, walking and running was out of the option. Instead, she took to the air.

Fighting this stallion head on would be suicidal. He was a competent fighter, able to concentrate through her blows to perform magic. Now was the time to run and formulate a plan.

One on one against a magic user like him, she would have to rely on speed. Close the distance, get in a strike or two, and then move away before he could retaliate. Either that, or she could surprise him.

As she weaved through the trees, using her tactic of kicking off the trunks, a smile formed on her face. There was always plan B, and, while she’d like to save that, it could be advantageous to unleash it early.

Sunlight shone up ahead, revealing a clearing. This one was fairly large, a grassy field with a fountain in the middle of it, several benches surrounding the water structure. A good place to have a fight.

Just before the clearing, Morning shot upwards and into a tree. She perched on a branch near the top. With luck, she’d put enough distance between herself and the ground-bound unicorn for her plan to work.

Concentrating, she changed. Green fire surrounded her as her yellow coat changed into hard, black chitin. Her mane vanished, replaced by little fins running down the back of her neck. Her long tail shortened, losing its orange and pink hues and turning black. Fangs grew from her mouth as her rose colored eyes became blue and lost their pupils. A horn sprouted from her head as her feathery wings became translucent.

She stretched, feeling her reshaped muscles and joints pop. Changing shape always made her sore as her body adjusted to its new form. Of course, the beauty of being in her natural form meant the transition was easier. Looking down, she noticed that the chain between her legs was gone.

When she was adjusted, she crouched down on the branch, peering through the leaves and waiting. The unicorn would be along shortly.

Sure enough, a minute later and he came trotting into view. He paused for a moment, eyes inspecting a tree where her hooves had dug into the bark, kicking off it. Briefly he glanced forward, setting off again. He was taking things slower, investigating and making sure to not make a mistake.

When he spotted the clearing, he stopped just inside the treeline, watching for her. He was smart and methodical, she’d give him that. He didn’t just rush out there, he took his time and made sure of things.

As he inspected the clearing, she made her move. Silently, she dropped off the branch. Moving her wings would cause a sort of buzzing sound, so she had to aim properly the first time.

Fortunately for her, the unicorn didn’t move, nor did he hear her dropping down. It was with satisfaction that she drove her full weight into his back. His legs collapsed under him as she pressed him into the ground. Her horn lit up, a green glow surrounding it as magic was channeled into it.

Her wings buzzing, she got off of him. As soon as she had stopped touching him, she unleashed her spell. An electric shock ran through his system. It was a spell designed to disrupt bodily systems, leaving the victim twitching on the ground and easy prey for a changeling.

She alighted on the grass, looking down at him as spasms wracked his body. “Time to end this,” she said.

Her hoof raised, prepared to smash his skull in. When she drove it down, it only ended up burying itself in the dirt. He had rolled out of the way just in time. She didn’t know how he could shake off her spell, but she wasn’t going to give him a chance to recover.

She fired several spells at him, from another shock to a kinetic bolt to a spell meant to immobilize an opponent. A shield sprang to life between them, her spells fizzling out on contact. The shield looked like it was only mono-directional, but that wasn’t something she could take advantage of just yet.

Laying on the ground behind his shield, the unicorn stared at her. An unspoken, temporary cease fire was in effect. Until he got up, all she could do was try and smash through his shield by overloading it. All she’d end up doing was wearing herself out.

Carefully, her opponent got back to his hooves. She noticed that he was still twitching from the effects of her spell. They regarded each other for a silent moment, analyzing and planning.

“Changeling.” His voice lacked emotion, as if he wasn’t surprised by her transformation.

“Unicorn,” she countered. “Got any other observations?”

“Well, since you have both wings and a horn, plus you can disguise yourself, I’ve gotta keep my eye on you.”

Morning stared at him. “That was a rhetorical question, smartass.”

“The name’s Grey, changeling.”

She smiled at him. “Grey, huh? That’s fitting, even if I like smartass better. You can call me Morning.” She pawed the ground with a hoof, her wings out and ready to use. “I’d say sorry for having to kill you, but I’m kinda not.”

She took a step towards the tree line, something Grey matched. “We going to do this?” he asked.

“It’s either that or we both walk away and the first one to starve loses. Frankly I’m not that patient.”

“Then let’s go.”

They were both almost at the tree line. Morning channeled magic into her horn, causing it to glow. Grey countered by bringing up his shield again.

Just before unleashing her spell, Morning closed her eyes. A bright flash illuminated the back of her eyelids and when she opened them, she still saw spots. Grey had suffered worse, having expected an attack of some kind, not a distraction. He reared back, eyes slammed closed.

Taking advantage of his state, she made a break for the trees. Unfortunately, her usual tactic of running away and then crafting another disguise wouldn’t work here. But she could certainly play hide and seek with him. The fact that he kept finding her meant he was skilled as a tracker. Hopefully, she could use that to her advantage.

Unfortunately, her plan hit a snag right off the bat in the form of a tree. She planted her hooves on the tree, intending to push off it and change her trajectory, same as always. Instead, the tree seemed to give a little and the next thing she knew, she was hurtling through the air away from the tree, having bounced off of it.

“Wha—!?” she squawked. Twisting her body, she found herself heading straight at the still stunned Grey. Her outburst had drawn his attention, his head turning towards her.

They crashed together, rolling across the ground in a flurry of limbs. Morning ended up underneath him, a position she would normally quite enjoy, being pinned beneath a stallion. This time, however, she wanted nothing more than to leave.

Her forehooves came up as he sat down, freeing his own forehooves. Her first strike was blocked, as was her second. His horn lit up as he blocked her, a bolt of magic connecting them momentarily.

She didn’t feel anything with his spell, but knew better than to think he had made a mistake. Instead, her only focus was on getting out from her dangerous position. Morning threw several strikes at his face and torso, all but one being blocked.

Frustrated, she jolted forward, her forehead cracking against the underside of his jaw. The headbutt made him falter enough to where she tossed him off. Quickly rolling to her hooves, she tried to spread her wings and take off again.

Her wings wouldn’t respond to her. They felt pinned. Looking back, she could see another blue chain keeping them tight against her body. This was not good.

Something hard and heavy slammed into her side, sending her skidding across the grass. She’d been distracted long enough for Grey to recover and hit her with something. It felt like another one of those spells that had cracked her rib. Whatever it was, she felt like a fully grown minotaur had just punched her in the side. If it weren’t for her chitin being as strong as it was, she was certain at least another rib or two would be out. As it was, the wind was knocked out of her.

She managed to get to her hooves, only to have another spell send her flying again. This time, the chitin cracked, pain flooding her system. Fortunately, she didn’t have far to skid, as she crashed into a bench. The weak wood turned to splinters, collapsing on top of her.

Green blood flowed out of her cracked chitin, another thin trail leaking from her jaw where she’d bit the inside of her lip. She groaned, trying to find the strength to get to her hooves. Pieces of bench sloughed off her as she shifted, finding her balance.

“No more of that,” she muttered, seeing Grey approaching, horn already lit up. If he wanted to play like that, she was willing to play, but on her terms. Standing as tall as she could, bruised and bleeding, she faced him.

Her wings were still trapped, leaving her maneuvering options limited. But she still had her wits about her. Without giving him a warning, she flung spells at him. Shocking spells, kinetic bolts, immobilizers, anything she could think of.

His shield sprung to life in front of him, intercepting the magic that hit him. Several spells flew past him, which he ignored. One of those spells hit the tree she’d bounced off earlier, reflecting and coming right back.

It caught him unawares, impacting his flank. The spell was designed to apply force to an object or being. He flew forwards, his speed suddenly increased.

Right into her waiting rear hooves. She’d spun around, delivering a devastating buck to his chest. The hit shook her, but she remained standing.

Grey, on the other hoof, took the full brunt of the attack. He stopped, pressed against her hooves and a look of shock on his face. Given what she’d felt, she figured they were even on the number of broken ribs now.

Letting her hooves fall back to the ground, she turned to look at him. She spotted a small ring around his horn. It was glowing, little wisps of smoke rising from it. Most likely it was some sort of amplifier for his magic, or maybe a specific spell.

As he lay there, gasping for air, she slid the ring off his horn. It was hot to the touch. Tossing it away, she picked up a long piece of the broken bench, raising it over her head. It was nothing fancy, but it would make a good club.

Morning looked at Grey for a moment, making sure to memorize his features as he lay in the grass. It would be good to remember this moment, when she took her first step towards being a hero and savior for her entire hive. If Discord was going to grant her one wish, she’d make sure that everypony got something out of it. If anything just to cease their constant suffering. Grey would be remembered as a pony who had, in a way, helped her out.

No sense letting him suffer longer. She brought the makeshift club down, fully intending to crush his head in.

The board was stopped with the sound of wood hitting wood. Grey had come to his senses enough to grasp another piece of the bench in his magic, blocking her strike. Pressing her club back, he shakily got to his hooves.

Grunting, she swung the board again. He blocked this hit as well, taking a step back and putting some distance between them. Both of their weapons floated in front of them, held in their respective magical fields.

The changeling jabbed with her board. One end was broken enough that it would sink into Grey’s flesh if she stabbed him with it. He deflected that hit, countering with a swipe of his own, forcing her to step to the side.

Fencing was definitely not something she was good at. Sure she’d seen it before, but seeing it and actually being able to replicate that were two entirely different things. It seemed her opponent was in the same boat. However, she had one advantage that he did not.

Morning was an infiltrator, a changeling who was tasked by the Queen to go out and seek love for the hive. To that end, she was very good at one thing: being able to read ponies. During a conversation, it was never what was said that matter, but what was unsaid, the body language that a pony presented. Everypony had tells, things that gave away what they truly wanted, what they were really thinking. She could read those tells.

As she concentrated, the world seemed to fade away, everything around her becoming unseen, until all she could see was the unicorn in front of her. She watched him, waiting for his tell.

There! His club moved right, but his eyes moved left. It was a feint, and one she didn’t fall for. Using her own club, she blocked his, countering with another jab. His weight shifted, indicating an overhead strike. Her own club raised up, catching his, which allowed her to bring her foreleg up and into his knee, sending him back a step.

However, no amount of reading his tells could translate into actual skill on her part. The two of them traded clumsy blows while Morning figured out what to do from here. She couldn’t keep this up, and neither could he. They were both hurting and finding it hard to breathe.

Testing her wings once again, she found them no longer bound. That was certainly a plus, something she would use to her advantage before he could bind them again. No better time than now.

Pulsing her wings, she leapt forward, swinging with her weapon. She knew that he was aiming at her, but took a calculated risk to take the hit. Her board hit his shoulder while his slammed into her head. The hit was jarring, but she was too committed to her path to be swayed.

Morning slammed into Grey, knocking him off his hooves. She didn’t hold onto him, using her momentum to continue flying away. Her hooves touched the grass only long enough to spring off, circling around him as several magic spells flew past her.

She flew around him before making a sudden turn and once more flying right at him. Twisting her body around, she managed to barely dodge his spell and slam into him again. Her forehooves dug into his chest, forcing him to cough up a glob of blood onto her back.

The impact bowled him over. Morning took the opportunity to drag him along through the dirt. She let him go, coming to a stop and spinning around. It was time to end this.

Her hooves lashed out, kicking him while he was down. Normally such tactics would be frowned upon, but this was life or death, kill or be killed. Any way she could incapacitate him, she would. He tried to block her but was unable to do so, until he managed to bring his shield to life.

A hoof struck the shield, bouncing off. Growling, she skirted around the magical barrier. That gave him enough time to get his bearings and prepare for her.

Her first forehoof strike was deflected, her second blocked. Once more, the world seemed to fade out until it was just him. He threw several punches at her, which she blocked and dodged. Spinning in place, she bucked at him, only getting in a glancing blow as he jumped backwards.

Lunging at him, she grabbed onto his foreleg, pulling him off balance. With a grunt that sounded more like a wheeze, she tossed him over her shoulder. This time, she straddled him, taking control.

Her forehooves managed several strikes to his face, each one deforming his jaw. Already his right eye was swelling shut. The unicorn got his back hooves under her, launching her off of him.

Her wings flared, controlling her descent. She buzzed down at him, only for her forehooves to dig furrows into the dirt as he rolled away. Something tugged on her tail, tossing her to the ground.

The impact against her already weakened ribs sent a wave of pain coursing through her. Based on how it felt, one of her cracked ribs had just broken, or shattered. Every breath felt like a knife being plunged into her lung. Hopefully, she wasn’t bleeding internally.

Truly wheezing now, she rolled aside, a hoof coming down where her head just was. Everything in her hurt. One way or another, this fight would be over soon.

No sooner had she gotten to her hooves did she feel something impact her flank. The chitin there cracked, more of her blood staining the grass, almost blending in. Little drops of green and red permeated the battlefield.

She stumbled forward, turning that into momentum to race away. The fountain stood just in front of her; she could use that to buy her a couple of seconds.

Without a thought, she jumped into it. The water inside had long since dried up, leaving the concrete edifice barren. All she needed was a moment to hide.

As soon as her hooves touched the inside, she leapt backwards, pressing her back against the interior wall. Seconds later, Grey came flying in after her. He had his shield up and in front of him, ready for her.

However, she was behind him as he landed, allowing her to charge up her horn and send a flurry of spells at him. The first two struck before his shield vanished from one place, popping up behind him.

Already the spells had done their job. He was pushed forwards, losing his balance and scraping along the concrete floor as little arcs of magical electricity coursed around him. Impressively, he managed to maintain his shield for a brief moment before it sputtered and vanished.

Morning gave him no time to recover, leaping on him and grabbing his head in her hooves. She picked it up, slamming it into the concrete several times. Grey made a few feeble attempts to knock her off, but she was too determined to let it affect her.

Even when he stopped moving, she kept picking his head up and forcing it into the ground. Spatters of blood surrounded him like a halo, but still she continued. His attacks ceased, but still she pressed on.

Over and over she slammed his head down. Over and over she persisted. Only when her hooves and chitin were liberally splashed with his blood did she stop.

He wasn’t moving, wasn’t even breathing. His skull was cracked open, blood draining from his body. Grey the unicorn was dead.

Morning sat down, her hooves shaking too much for her to stand. Adrenaline was still coursing through her body, but pain was overtaking it. Grey was a worthy opponent and a tough fight. She knew how to fight, all Infiltrators in her hive did, but she’d never had to actually use her skills in a situation like this. It was obvious she still had a lot to learn.

A loud ding spread across the twisted park, and a column of light speared outwards. To her, it looked like it was running overhead. “That must be the door.” She was on the wrong plot of ground.

Grunting in pain, she left his body where it was. Discord would do something with it, or he wouldn’t. Her part was done. She buzzed her wings, managing an unsteady flight.

When she got to the area where the ground shifted directions, she landed. Hobbling forward, she gingerly stuck a hoof on the “wall” in front of her. It stayed there. The feeling of being between two different gravity zones was awkward and she walked up the wall, now the ground, as fast as possible.

Taking wing again, she headed for the shaft of light. Sure enough, it marked a simple wooden door.

Without hesitating, she opened the door and walked through it. Hopefully, she would be allowed time to rest and heal before the next fight. With one fight already survived, she was ready for whatever she would face next.