Shining Armor hummed softly to himself as he trotted through the tournament grounds, dressed fully in his Princely armor- the set of light purple crystal-plate, with the symbol of House Sparkle emblazoned next to that of the Royal House of Crystal. He had gone for his open faced helm- it was most comfortable, allowing his horn to remain free to the air. Two Crystal Lancers trotted a few paces behind him; as they were among half a dozen armed and well-trained fighters, they had to be prepared for anything.

Shining Armor’s azure eyes brightened as he spotted Golden Dream and her retinue, speaking quietly to each other and looking her armor over. He wasn’t afraid to admit that he had a favorite here- from what Cadence told him, this pegasus was the only one who seemed decent in any respect. But he wanted a closer look himself.

“Baronet Golden Dream.”

To her credit, Golden Dream did not jump or spin around, though both of her young squires did. She turned to face him, surprise in those amber eyes, before quickly bowing, stretching out her wings in an old-fashioned pegasus etiquette.

“Prince Shining Armor, this is an honor,” she said quickly, looking up at him curiously and standing when he nodded, “May I present my brothers and squires, Thunder Clap and Silver Switch, of House Bolt?”

Shining grinned as he watched the two stallions bow, nodding at them to rise as well, “Of course, it’s a pleasure to meet you all in pony. Are you ready for your bout?”

He glanced over at the other seat, and the hulking Earth Pony there. He was watching them blandly, not making any attempt to get Shining Armor’s attention, and was simply strapping on his plate. His entirely full plate, as far as Shining could tell. A heavy club rested by his bench, along with a weapon-holder barding and a few spears. Hrm.

“I believe so, Prince Armor. We have a plan for him.”

There was a tinge of amusement there, enough to give Shining a grin himself, though he blinked when she bowed again.

“Would… would it be alright if I present a gift to yourself and Princess Cadence, Your Grace?” she asked, seeming almost nervous now, “I could wait till after the tourney, of course…”

A gift? Now that was new. Shining Armor nodded to her, his guards moving to flank him as both squires rushed forward with two bags. Opening them with each wing, Golden carefully scooped out two formed sets of golden filigree- the thin, spun metal wire was shaped in a thin spiral, with two sets of wire made to wrap back. Shining’s eyes widened.

“I found the design in old history books, Your Grace,” Golden was saying, voice tight with nerves, “Gold wire made to wrap around the grooves of an alicorn or unicorn’s horn, and curl around the ears. I added a little orichalcum to make sure your mana still flows as normal.”

Shining’s unicorn guard scanned both sets quickly, nodding to Shining Armor after a moment. He gently lifted them in his telekinetic field, slowly looking them over.

“You’re a jeweler?” he asked- incredulously, he had to admit, blinking when she shook her head.

“I am a smith, Your Grace, along with being a duelist. My entire family has skills with metal- my specialty is with gold and steel.”

Shining Armor’s eyes flickered appreciatively over her muscled form, only partially hidden by her leather armor. That explained a lot, actually. He bowed his head slightly- he was intensely grateful, but the nobles were watching, and he had to guard his actions.

“Thank you, Golden Dream,” he told her quietly, letting his gratefulness out through his voice, “Cadence and I will treasure these. ...good luck. And keep moving, with this one.”

Golden’s eyes, shining with pride at her gift being accepted, hardened as she peered over at the now fully armored Earth Pony, nodding slowly after a moment.

“Yes, Your Grace… I will.”

“You sure about this, Goldie?” Silver Switch was asking nervously, settling the open helm on his sister’s head again, helping her ears poke through.

Both stallions were not so sure about Golden’s armor choice, that was plain to see. The steel scales shined in the sun as she tested their movement with a shimy of her flanks and shoulders. Perfect.

“I am. That club could dent my armor and keep me from moving, if he hits me. We can’t take that risk. Wing-shields, too.”

Slashing weapons would be a waste of time against full cap-a-pie plate armor. Golden Dream carefully took the awlpike from her brother, nodding. It was her height when she stood on her hind legs, making her rely on her armored wings and tail to keep balance. The tip of the awlpike was built much like its tool namesake, relying on the very sharp triangular tip to punch through armor or cut flesh, and with a round butt-plate to use as a fairly deadly bludgeon. She eyed her opponent- who she had found out from the herald was named Lager Lout- and he was staring right back. His brown eyes were… disconcerting. Unreadable.

“Fight well, Lager,” she called out to him, leaning lightly on her awlpike, “The Royals are watching.”

That got something. A tightening of the eyes and mouth, followed by an obviously put on smile. No words, but that wasn’t needed. There hadn’t been a hint of what she expected from a competitor, and it shot a bolt of adrenaline through her heart. The hell…

Lager tore his gaze away from her and popped a metal, articulated mouth guard into his muzzle, then roughly tied on his spear-laden barding. The weapon was simple, with a leaf-shaped spear blade, and two boar spear protrusions; as was his club, an iron-banded oaken haft. Golden Dream rolled her shoulders and shielded wings, letting out a slow breath as she stepped to her place in the ring.

“Are the fighters ready?”

A loud, angry snort blew out in a mist from Lager’s armored muzzle as he stepped forward, gripping the club tightly in his teeth, then slammed it once into the ground. Golden pretended to have not felt the ground vibrate as she lifted her awlpike to signal her own readiness. All around them, the crowd began to cheer and chant, their crystal bodies gleaming and refracting the sun into a dazzling rainbow of color. Off to her right, a familiar sapphire gleam caught her eye, and she quickly saluted towards her gathered family.

‘I won’t let you down.’

“For the honor of the Crystal Prince and Princess… begin!”

Lager Lout was faster than Golden had imagined; before the last word had ended, his club had been swinging down, impacting a shard of clay that had risen from his slam, and sending it slapping into Golden’s cheek. She twisted to her right, cursing internally as that club slammed a wing-shield and sent her spinning away.

‘Cheap shot!’

The momentum of the swing had rushed the Earth Pony passed her, the heaviness of his weapon and suit having an undeniable inertia to it. Kicking off the ground into a jump, Golden stabbed forward, the steel tip of her awlpike punching into the weaker armor behind his left hind leg, then quickly being withdrawn to miss a reflexive bucking. Earth Ponies, Crystal or not, had incredible strong hind leg muscles, and were never to be underestimated.

Lager knew his weapon of choice; he turned back towards his opponent with another snort, twisting to stab a blunt iron-shod tip at the smaller mare, keeping her moving, before suddenly twisting into a diagonal crushing sweep.

‘There!’

A reflexive stab punched the weapon into his shoulder near the neck, blood welling from the wound, and the club thudded from his mouth to the ground. Ice suddenly gripped Golden’s heart; he was fast. Two powerful forelegs wrapped around her, squeezing tight, and a metal-shod mouth clamped onto the sheet steel protecting her nape- and bit down. Pain lanced through the mare’s body, a scream building as he began to shake her, much like a cat shakes a mouse.

Something began to crunch in her shoulder and neck, Golden Dream’s vision starting to red out. Someone was screaming. A familiar pain arched through her left wing as she began to twist and slam it into the plate helm the Earth Pony was wearing. Twice, three times… Steel crumpled and the stallion roared as he was forced to let go. The pegasus landed on all fours; blood was pooling inside her helmet and down into her chest guard- and she launched forward and up.

The double uppercut crumpled the articulated plates of the stallion’s throat guard, sending him reeling back with a choked grunt. Boxing had not been apart of her training, but Golden knew the basics. Rising up onto her hind hooves and spreading her wings to keep balance, Golden could barely see, vision blurry- the nape was a dangerous weakness among ponies, tripping up their nervous system something awful when hit or pulled in a fight. She raised her hooves, left slightly in front of the other, and began to strike. She was not wearing horseshoes, but strength born of a lifetime of smithing meant that each jab or strike was denting or getting through the flesh underneath.

A violet field of magic grabbed both ponies by the eighth strike, yanking them firmly apart- and planting Lager’s face in the dirt when he lunged violently forward.

“Hold! Hold, godsdamnit!!” Shining Armor was roaring, voice magically amplified, as the Earth Pony struggled against the magical grip, “Hold or you will forfeit!”

The violet grip vanished with a pop as Lager strained mightily forward, grabbing his spear and taking a throwing stance- only for three separate stunning spells to strike him with an electric crackling, arcing along his steel armor and sending him sprawling to the floor. The grip around Golden Dream disappeared as she fell back to all fours- and she stared in awe as a purple alicorn teleported in between the combatants, mana rolling off her in waves. Pegasi could feel unicorn magic more keenly than Earth Ponies, typically through their feathers. It was like being next to a furnace.

‘Princess Twilight Sparkle!’

Purple chains formed around the prone Earth Pony, and she firmly tore off the helmet and mouth-weapon, revealing a badly bloodied face, one eye-socket crushed and a dark blue bruise underneath his chin and along his throat. He spat at Twilight’s hooves, and grunted as his face was forced back into the dirt.

“You forfeit this match,” Twilight growled out, sounding angrier than Golden Dream had ever heard on the magical news broadcasts, “The win goes to Golden Dream. And you will face charges for breaking safety restraints, Lager Lout.”

And with a flash, the titanic Earth Pony was teleported away… and it was quiet. The crowd was stunned into silence, until Golden Dream began to bow to the Princess, spreading her wings. The roar of their cheers washed over the duelist, clearing her head of the remaining pained fog, though her ears still felt somewhat stopped up, a faint rushing noise distorting the sound around her.

“T-thank you, Princess Sparkle,” she managed after a moment, “I hope you were p-pleased with this bout, Your Grace.”

Twilight Sparkle was staring at her with wide eyes, shaking her head slowly. Definitely a Sparkle; she was a gorgeous mare, up close. Warm magic slowly unlocked her helmet restraints, lifting it free, blood running down her neck and chest scales now.

“Winner: Golden Dream! Healers to the circle!”

“How is she?” Cadence asked the moment Twilight teleported back to their booth, trying to keep the worry out of her voice.

Twilight was uncharacteristically quiet, lifting a wing; Rainbow moved to settle under it immediately, worry present on her own expression.

“Two cracked vertebrae that we healed on the spot,” Twilight replied quietly, “And a couple deep cuts from her armor and… whatever he was wearing when he bit her. Isn’t that kind of move illegal?”

Shining Armor snorted angrily; he was radiating outrage and adrenaline, body still somewhat shaking. Cadence stretched a wing over his back gently.

“It’s very illegal in an honor duel,” Shining growled out, “He was using jaw-crushers, military issue. You can be jailed just for having those on the streets as a civilian. For the reason we just saw.”

“Then he’ll be charged with that too,” Twilight muttered, leaning into Rainbow’s side and looking… troubled, “Golden Dream said she was alright after we healed her, but…”

The nape of the neck was a… touchy area, in more ways than one. Gentle nipping and pressure was typically apart of pony love-making. It was also well known as a spot to control mares or smaller stallions during sexual assaults. To go for that kind of attack during an honorable duel was the worst kind of disrespect, or a total lack thereof. It was anathema to everything Cadence and Shining preached about mare and stallion relations.

Cadence sighed softly, shaking her head. At least this all ended tomorrow. With Golden Dream the winner, she would be facing down Duke White Knight. He had annihilated his own competition with little effort; from what the servants said, his braggratry was epic to behold in the noble guest quarters. It left a bad taste in the Princess’s mouth, and she leaned against Shining Armor for support.

“Let’s go see your parents, Twi, and get something to eat,” Rainbow was saying, giving them all a confident grin, “Your fave is gonna win, I just know it. And tomorrow? Tomorrow is going to be amazing, just you wait.”

Tell me all what you think! Time to go to work!