Author's Notes:

I wasn't entirely certain what I wanted to happen in this chapter. Because of this, I did a small amount of planning for about six different outcomes and rolled a die. The result wasn't what I expected.
Even I didn't know what was coming!

Deep inside the Canterlot castle lay a remnant of the old times: An arena. It was in arenas, such as this, that trials of combat were held in the days of old. Most arenas were enormous, circular, and surrounded by rows upon rows of seats for the audience. This arena, though still circular, was significantly smaller than most. This arena, though used for trials, was designed for more private matters. This arena, used for Princess Celestia’s amusement, was where Cloud Calculation was being escorted by Princess Luna, Twilight Sparkle and about a dozen royal guards.

“So this is it, huh?” Cloud asked as they reached the entrance. The floor consisted of grassy dirt, the surrounding seating area was only a few rows long and the entire room was lit by lamps hanging from the ceiling.

“Good luck, Cloud,” said Twilight, sounding strangely calm. “Remember the research and you’ll be fine.”

“Fight as if your life depends on it,” Princess Luna added.

“But, uh, it does depend on it,” Cloud pointed out.

She nodded. “All the more reason to.”

Cloud sighed and stepped into the arena, looking back as the door behind him closed and locked. This is it - do or die. There are no restrictions, so I should be free to go all out. Why is Celestia willing to sacrifice a guard like this? It could be overconfidence, or idiocy. It must be. Well, either overconfidence, idiocy or she’s going to cheat in some way.

After a few moments, the audience arrived. Princess Celestia sat in the highest row, her face showing a slight smile like a child who had secretly broken a rule. Next to her sat her sister, Princess Luna, her expression neutral yet stoic. On Princess Celestia’s other side sat Twilight, hiding her fear behind a mask of calm. All other seats were filled by royal guards, save for the seat next to Twilight filled by the captain of the royal guards, her brother, Shining Armour.

Princess Celestia stood. “This nameless stallion, known to his associates as Cloud Calculation, is here today to undergo trial by combat - the first trial by combat since the banishment of Princess Luna.” There was a murmur in the crowd. “He is here under suspicion of murder. The victim, Honeybee Wingbeat, was found dead shortly after pursuing Cloud Calculation under my order. His partner, Sight Watcher, joins us today as his combatant.”

At that moment, a grey stallion with a deep blue mane flew into the arena. On his body and head he wore thick royal armour, and on each wing he sported wing-mounted crossbows.

Cloud narrowed his eyes. Crap. I didn’t prepare for armour or weapons, but that shouldn’t be a problem. My Support Circle should give me the speed advantage, and the metal armour may make my Shock Circle more effective. Luna hasn’t given me much training in dodging, but I’ll probably have to do a lot of it here.

As Cloud had been thinking, Princess Celestia had continued talking. It suddenly occurred to him that he should listen. “...Shall end only when once fighter lies dead. Now, without any further ado,” she stood from her seat for a moment, “begin!”

Cloud readied himself in a battle stance and Watcher, who stood about twenty metres away at the other end of the arena, did the same. Here we go…

Watcher fired both of his crossbows and took to the air. Cloud blasted each projectile with a magic bolt before summoning a Support Circle and flying up after him.

With no time to reload, Watcher dropped the crossbows and blasted himself toward Cloud at top speed. Cloud flew under him, got behind him and fired his red electrical beam at him. Cloud hit Watcher directly in the back of the head and Watcher fell. He spun out of the fall at the last second before hitting the ground before landing on his hooves. Cloud wasted no time in flying at him, leaping off of his Support Circle and throwing a punch.

The first punch was a direct hit, but Watcher blocked his follow up punch with a raised hoof and head-butted Cloud, knocking him back, before throwing some punches of his own - across the face, under the chin, across his eye and directly into his muzzle. Finally, he reared back to throw one final punch, but this time Cloud was ready: He knocked Watcher’s punch to the side, grabbed his leg and yanked hard. There was a hard crunch as the leg roughly dislocated. Watcher cried out in pain, giving Cloud an opportunity to lift him, then slam him into the ground with telekinesis. As Watcher rose to his feet, Cloud quickly focused and summoned a Shock Circle. In a fit of rage, Watcher tried to punch him again with his other hoof. Cloud knocked it away again, but this time used the opportunity to hit Watcher in the face with a Thunder Punch. Electricity surged through Watcher for a few long seconds until he stumbled and…

Watcher shook it off. Cloud paused in shock, and didn’t have time to counter Watcher’s next punch. With Cloud knocked off balance, Watcher reared back and flapped hard, blasting him with wave of air. Cloud was blown back, landing hard on his side. Watcher zoomed over to one of his crossbows, reloaded and took aim, but Cloud had already teleported behind him. Cloud powered his magic up with a Support Circle, then blasted Watcher in the back of the head with a powerful magic bolt. Though Watcher was knocked down, his armour took the damage from the attack without much problem and he had little issue rolling out of it and turning to face Cloud.

Cloud clicked his tongue in anger before conjuring fire and blasting it at Watcher like a flamethrower, but Watcher flew backwards to avoid the flames. He fired his crossbow, and the bolt embedded itself into Cloud’s foreleg. Cloud screamed and fell, pain shooting through his leg as he felt his magic fade away and his Support Circle shatter underneath him.

The bolt had been laced with a magical poison which quickly ate away at Cloud’s magic. As Cloud’s blood spilled out across the floor, he shakily climbed to his feet, barely managing to stay focused and not fall prey to shock thanks to Princess Luna’s pain training, only for another crossbow bolt to be buried in his side. He stayed on his feet this time and turned to Watcher, breathing heavily. The shock began to take hold now, as Cloud foolishly tried to power his horn in a desperate attempt of fight or flight. Watcher ignored this and fired yet another bolt, this one landing in Cloud’s chest. Cloud tried to shakily take a step forward, only to slip in his own blood and stumble.

Watcher marched to Cloud at a steady pace before punching Cloud across the jaw, again and again, until Cloud could taste his own blood. Finally, Watcher walked behind him, took his head in his hooves and looked up at Princess Celestia as if asking for her permission to break his neck.

The Princess nodded, a smile on her face.

“WAIT!” Twilight had teleported into the arena. “Princess Celestia, please! Let him live!”

Princess Celestia waited for a moment before answering to suppress a chuckle. “Ah, but, Twilight, this the outcome of the trial, is it not? Is it really fair to interrupt a matter of-?”

“Please!” Twilight begged, tears in her eyes. “You can’t! Don’t kill him! Imprison him, o-or banish him, or-!”

“What was that, my faithful student?” The Princess interrupted, smiling fully now.

“W-What?”

“Banishment?” She thought to herself for a moment. “Interesting... I like your thinking, Twilight. A criminal such as this deserves to die slowly, alone.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “T-That’s not what I-!”

“Very well! I have come to a decision!” Princess Celestia stood from her seat once again. “As it had been requested by my faithful student, I have decided on a punishment for this heinous criminal!” She chuckled at the idea of his suffering. “Cloud Calculation!”

Cloud, barely conscious, managed to raise his head. ...Twilight…

“I, Princess Celestia, supreme ruler of Equestria, have decided to hereby banish you from these lands!” The purple crystal in her chest piece began to glow, surging magical power into her as she lit her horn. “May you die a slow and painful death!”

Cloud shakily raised a hoof towards Twilight. ...Twilight… I’m sorry…

After being surrounded in a golden glow, Cloud vanished in a flash of light.