The next day's opening session had a subdued, shrunken feel to it. After all, Twilight thought, there were only five champions left -- herself, Violet, Stomp, Slam, and a violent-looking manticore that she didn't know.

Most of the diplomats and nobles looked very unhappy. Their champions had lost; the best of their land's soldiers and wizards proven inferior to the remaining competitors. Any diplomatic move they made now would be colored by that, a subtle note that they couldn't resort to force without being completely crushed. But Baron Trample seemed quite satisfied, as did Celestia and the manticore diplomat. Luna was presumably happy with the way things were going too, although Twilight couldn't see her.

Princess Celestia's speech was only a few sentences long. "We once again thank you all for your service. We will remember your sacrifices for the cause of peace. Without further ado, it is time to begin."

But before they could move, Baron Trample coughed. "My princess, we request the use of a packpony for today's match."

Twilight thought back to the rules. A packpony was a pony that could not attack opponents in any way, but could carry weapons or other items. They were generally used by smaller champions for the purpose of hauling large weapons, or by 'kitchen sink' competitors who would take every piece of equipment in existence just in case they needed it.

But Stomp and Slam were already huge. The maces they carried probably weighed more than Twilight. What in the world was there that they couldn't carry?

Fortunately, another competitor's noble or diplomat could veto the suggestion, and while the manticore probably wouldn't, and Luna was absent, she hoped that Celestia would. She turned to the princess expectantly.

But Princess Celestia said, "Accepted. We will use one as well. Guards, please find Saberhoof and inform him that he will be allowed to assist Twilight Sword in her match against Stomp and Slam today."

Twilight's surprise -- at the acceptance of the pony, and at learning that she'd be fighting two enemies again -- must have been evident on her face, because Celestia caught her eye and smiled slightly. "It will take us a few minutes to get Saberhoof outfitted. As per Chapter 6 of the tournament rules, I declare a fifteen minute delay."

The baron shrugged, looking almost surprised that Celestia had actually accepted his proposal. He, Stomp, Slam, and another huge pony retreated to a corner of the room and began to whisper.

Twilight drifted near Celestia, whose gaze was sufficient to make her courtiers and guards stand back. "I don't understand!" whispered Twilight. "Two at once, again? And why the packpony?"

"Twilight, my most faithful student," said Celestia, kneeling down so she was looking directly at Twilight, "I assure you, if I could make it otherwise, I would. But the baron's army is restless, and he wishes to rebel and take the entire southern province with him. The only way to deter him is to show him that his best cannot stand against ours, even if they hold a numerical advantage."

Twilight nodded. "And... the packpony?"

"Oh, I thought that would help you."

"How? I use magic. I don't need a pack of weapons. Stomp and Slam are probably just using theirs for a cannon or something, and I can dodge that."

"Ah, but a packpony is good for much more than just carrying weapons. Especially one such as Saberhoof."

The name had sounded familiar. A memory popped into her head. "Wait... I thought I heard she was arrested for selling state secrets to the UPPR?" It was odd, she thought, that she hadn't remembered his name before now, but then again, perhaps she had just been distracted from the stress of the tournament. It didn't matter. If her recollection disagreed with Celestia's, it was her duty to support the princess over herself.

"Yes." Celestia's gaze grew weary. "I argued so strongly for clemency, but when the full nature of her crimes became known... she was even acting as an agent to convince my nobles to turn against me... there was nothing even I could do. She was convicted and sentenced to die."

"Then... aren't we giving her another chance to betray us? What if she runs off to help the baron?" asked Twilight.

Celestia said, "I think that is unlikely. She has repented, and told me that she would do anything to help me in whatever way she could. Even dying to secure me, or my champion, an advantage." She locked eyes with Twilight. "Do you still know spell 96 of '100 Lethal Combat Spells?'"

Twilight understood, and gulped. She'd never cast something like that before. She wasn't sure she fully wanted to. "I do, I... but... I mean, she's a subject of your country..."

"She would be executed next week in any event. She begged me for this chance to redeem herself, to be a hero for Equestria instead of its greatest villain."

Twilight hesitated. "I... I obey, of course, princess. But my, my friends might be here and they wouldn't understand..."

"Oh, is that all?" Celestia smiled brightly, and Twilight felt a strong sense of relief. "You need not fret. I will have them barred from the chamber today, and will instruct all not to speak of it. You need not fear their misunderstanding."

Twilight smiled. "Thank you, princess."

The fifteen minutes soon passed. The three ponies of the baron entered the center of the room, and Saberhoof -- a wiry and lean gray pony with a shock of yellow hair -- strode in to stand by Twilight. She was carrying saddlebags, presumably to help mask their true intentions from the barons. Saberhoof nodded brusquely to Twilight. "Let's do it."

Twilight nodded in return. She didn't know what to say for something like this.

Celestia announced, "Begin!" and Twilight saw the familiar flash of light.

The arena was the same as on the second day, except that the rubble was bigger and covered more ground. Twilight sighed. Stomp and Slam, being huge, would find it easier to get around or climb over the rubble than she. Why was every arena biased against her?

She looked at Saberhoof, who did indeed look eager to do her duty for Equestria. She smiled at that, thinking of how sweet and magical it was that even a traitor like her could find redemption. "Come on. We just need to go straight and charge them." She picked up her ritual knife from its sheath and held it with her telekinesis.

Saberhoof nodded, saluted, and took off.

The two of them raced across the terrain. The ground grew rougher as they did so, causing Twilight to focus on her hoofsteps so that she didn't trip and break a leg. That would be a really stupid way to die. For a while, all she could see was piles of ruined buildings and old boulders. But soon, as she neared the center of the arena, she swerved around a large pile of debris and saw the baron's ponies.

Stomp and Slam were running in gigantic strides, easily lopping across the ground. In front of them was their packpony, with some kind of thin rectangular material attached to her back. The material stretched high up, higher than Slam's head, and extended out on either side past them. It looked like a thin, transparent film, but Twilight could sense its magical properties from across the room.

"Anti-magic shield, huh?" Twilight said. It looked strong, strong enough to deflect cantrips liker her fireball spell from two days ago. "Not a bad plan, but those won't work against this."

She halted, grabbing Saberhoof, who skidded to a stop as well. Up ahead, Stomp spotted them and roared. The three enemy ponies began charging at them.

Twilight began to focus, summoning strands of magic and weaving them into a tight missile. All that remained was the sacrifice. She nodded at Saberhoof.

Saberhoof blinked and looked puzzled.

Well, maybe she'd forgotten in the heat of combat. It didn't matter. She would be redeemed, and Equestria would be protected.

She slit the traitor's throat with the knife, and even as the pony began to fall over, she grabbed on to the energy leaving his body and channeled that into her spell.

It was like one of Pinkie's rockets. The spell energy, a simple blast of force, was propelled instantly by the entire life energy of a healthy pony. It was less flashy than a fireball, less horrifying than the shattering spell she'd invoked for Goliath, but it would do the job. And it could smash any magical barrier she knew of that wasn't crafted by Princess Celestia herself.

The blast punched through the magic shield as easily as Spike burning parchment. It slammed into Stomp's helmet and head, passed through, and blasted out the other side. Twilight saw the blast continue on until it crashed into a large boulder and splintered it into shards.

Slam swiveled as the back of his partner's head blew off. "Aaah!"

Stomp went down in a heap. The packpony tripped, startled by the blast of force through the shield, and smashed into the ground. Twilight watched long enough to verify that the pony had broken a leg, then turned her attention to Slam. "You and me," she said. "Let's see what you've got!"

Slam looked enraged. "You'll pay for that. That was my brother!"

"I'll make sure you two are reunited real quick." Twilight was smiling fiercely. A perfect strategy, and perfect execution too. She'd done brilliantly. Now just to finish up, and further help Equestria.

Twilight summoned a fireball as Slam leapt at her. He didn't seem to have any more magical protection, so a simple blast was likely to destroy him. She hurled it at him, but, contrary to her expectations, he easily swept out one foreleg and batted it aside.

His leg didn't even look singed.

Cursing, Twilight rolled to one side and sprinted around him. Her smaller size did give her an advantage in dodging, though it caused her to have more difficulty getting around the rubble. She cast another spell, this one a mist of corrosion that would dissolve away his armor. But he smacked it too, with a sweep of his foreleg, and the mist dissipated.

"My armor," he hissed. "Cannot be overcome by a spell such as that."

Twilight realized what was going on. Stomp and Slam had anti-magic armor, which meant that the packpony's shield was just some kind of smokescreen to trick her -- similar to the useless bags on her own packpony. So even though the packpony was out, it didn't mean that Twilight's magic would be more effective, unless she used some spell as powerful as the one she'd used on Stomp. And she had no more sacrifices for that. Well, there was herself, but if she did that, she and Slam would die and Violet or the manticore would win the whole tournament by default. That was not the best option.

She rolled away from Slam as she tried to come up with a new strategy. He'd fooled her, she admitted, with the packpony shield, but she was still smarter. That counted for more than raw strength, and--

She tripped on a piece of rubble.

It was just an instant of wavering, but it made the difference. As she staggered backwards, Slam leapt forward, swept out his massive neck, and seized Twilight with his teeth.

He swept his head up, leaving Twilight to dangle. She saw the ground, and for the first time, she became afraid of losing. Of dying.

"No," she yelled. "No! No, this can't--"

Slam swept his head down and slammed Twilight into the ground Twilight tried bracing herself with a foreleg, only to scream in pain as it snapped.

Slam lifted and then smashed her down again. Twilight's shoulder took the brunt of it, and she felt something shatter. Her head felt numb.

'Think!' she yelled at herself. 'I can't take much more of this!'

The next time he pounded her into the ground, she was ready. She managed to string together a simple earthquake spell, despite the waves of pain threatening to knock her out, and when she hit the ground she cast it. Her face felt like somepony had hit it with a hammer (which would probably do less damage, she thought), but the ground shook just enough to cause Slam to open his mouth in a grunt of surprise. Twilight tugged her leg free and limped away.

Slam laughed. "Run, little filly! Run!"

Twilight couldn't go any faster than a slow trot. Her right front leg and shoulder were completely ruined and dragged uselessly under her. She could barely keep enough mental focus to move forward, much less cast anything with a chance of breaking through Slam's anti-magic armor. She had no ideas. Her perfect strategies seemed like so much wasted time, theoretical novelties with no useful application. She felt doomed, like a dead pony who hadn't yet gotten around to lying down.

She heard a groan, turned, and saw Slam's packpony struggling to her feet.

It was as if a lightbulb went off in her mind.

She staggered to the packpony, as if hoping putting that body between her and Slam would save her. Slam loped after her, clearly wanting to savor the moment. Of course. He undoubtedly wanted to demoralize his opponent in the next match, and so was going to make a long show of torturing Twilight to death.

'If you're planning out the battle in the future, don't neglect planning the one in the present', she thought. She'd told the guards that for good reason -- it was sound advice, and it seemed that Slam hadn't learned it. 'Sorry, Slam, but you're not nearly smart enough for this kind of thing.'

She collapsed almost on top of the packpony, then rolled so that it would be hard to get to her without hitting or at least moving the packpony. Slam hesitated, then smiled. "She won't protect you. I barely know her, anyway!"

Twilight said nothing. She felt exhausted and spent, which helped her a lot with her plan of looking wounded enough to lure Slam in for the kill. She would get only one chance, as she had limited remaining magic with which to fuel her final spell, and so had to minimize the chances of her missing. She had to let him get so close he could almost reach down and crush her with one hoof...

Slam closed the distance between them. He took a huge mace out of the holster on his back with one massive foreleg. "This," he said, grinning, "Is going to hurt you a lot more than it'll hurt me."

'That,' Twilight thought, 'I very much doubt.'

Slam took two more steps. One more and he'd be able to step on and crush both wounded ponies.

Twilight grabbed her knife and cleanly slit the other packpony's throat. She began focusing as hard as she could.

Slam realized what was going on. He roared and lunged, his mace racing forwards... but not in time. With a full life sacrificed to power it, the spell was simplicity itself, and Twilight Sword could fire it even in her weakened state.

The blast ripped into Slam, striking him squarely in the chest. He screamed as the force blasted through him.

Then he collapsed at Twilight's feet.

Twilight grinned weakly. She felt filled with exuberance, or maybe that was just the blood loss from her shattered foreleg. "I win. Hurray!"

She giggled. Winning was fun!

She passed out as Celestia teleported her away.

She found herself conscious in the castle. She saw Violet, sprinting away somewhere -- so she'd beaten the manticore and would be the final opponent -- and then guards were loading her, Twilight,  onto a stretcher.

"Get her to the infirmary! NOW!" Celestia roared, and Twilight smiled. Her princess cared so much about her. What other soldier in the princess's army could expect such a heartfelt reaction if they fell in combat?

She heard more screaming. By turning her head slightly, she was able to see a familiar looking pony at one end of the room. Her mind cleared slightly, and she realized that it was Applejack. She frowned. Didn't the princess say that her Ponyville friends would be kept from watching this match?

But the guards were moving to protect her. They surrounded her and cut off Applejack; when the pony tried to get by them, yelling nonsense like, "Ya killed ya'r own partner! Just slaughtered her!", the guards grabbed her and hauled her away. Twilight smiled to see that Spears was one of them; in fact, Spears was the one who was directly dragging Applejack out of the room. She'd known that Spears was loyal and true, and this confirmed it. She could see herself becoming really good friends with Spears, and Turquoise Lightning too. And hadn't she been learning for two years now how important friendship was? (Or was that Twilight Sparkle? It was confusing, and her head hurt to think about it...)

"My favorite student, you must sleep," said Celestia from somewhere. And, with this permission granted, Twilight passed out again. She was smiling brightly, pleased at having won such a resounding victory for her country and her great liege. Next Chapter: The finals (Ending up) Estimated time remaining: 45 Minutes