The Koprulu Sector

Miércoles por la noche

Shining Armor was in the palace training room. He was wearing combat precision gloves and was striking a bag repeatedly. Like many soldiers, he was at the point where he was as accustomed to bi-pedal walking as he was quadra-pedal walking. He’d been working out for a good three hours, and his fur was drenched in sweat. This was in addition to the hours of target practice and meditation from earlier in the day. He was so busy striking the bag, he didn’t notice Cadenza entering the chamber.

“Is it wise to exert yourself two days before the execution?” she asked.

Before answering, Shining Armor made three more strikes. The third one struck so hard he tore a hole into the side, releasing the sand within. “I’ll take tomorrow off,” he announced. Shining Armor walked over to a bench, grabbed a towel and dried himself. “So my dear, any plans for tonight?” he asked.

“Perhaps, but first we need to discuss something,” she demanded.

“This again? Look I promise I will make time for us even after I’m appointed my new position.” he assured. He removed his gloves, dropped on all four and snuggled neck against hers. “I haven’t let you down before have I?”

Cadenza was would have normally would be repulsed by the smell of a sweaty stallion, but Shining Armors aroma was overflowing with so much manhood that even the mares in the next room were being forced into a pre-mature heat. “Shining… I received word that you were with another mare at the Royal Ursalisk. I checked the reservation logs and confirmed it was true. I need to know… are you seeing another mare?”

Shining Armors eyes widened instantly. “You know about that?”

“So you are seeing another mare?!” she asked in a panicked tone.

“No! No! Cadence no! Don’t even joke about that!” he shouted. He actually released a small amount of vomit at the accusation.

Judging by his reaction, Cadenza was convinced that nothing of that sort was going on between the two. But she still wanted to know what he was doing with that mare. “Shining, I don’t like us keeping secrets from one another. I need to know what is going on,” she demanded.

“Cadence, it’s something I can’t talk about. I promise, there is nothing romantic, and definitely nothing sexual going on between me and that mare. Trust me, that’s the last thing on my mind!” he assured.

“Shining please. I love you and I want to believe we can trust each other with anything. Please let me know what’s going on between you two,” she pleaded.

Shining Armor looked into her puppy eyes which seemed to pierce his very soul. “Alright. You’re not going to believe this but… she’s my sister,” he admitted.

“What?! You have a sister? Why didn’t you say anything! Call her! Bring her here, I want to get to know her!” said Cadenza excitedly.

“No! No one can know!” demanded Shining Armor.

“What? Why not?” she asked.

“Because she’s… a ghost,” he admitted.

“What?! Why is there a Dominion ghost on my planet?!” she asked now clearly enraged. “Did you let her through security!?”

“See, this is exactly why I can’t tell you these things!” she shouted.

“This is exactly why should tell me these things!” retorted Cadenza. “I can’t have spies running around on my planet. What would the people think if they thought Dominion agents were spying on them?!”

“They’d be furious and would be less accepting of Dominion annexation, which is exactly why I kept it a secret!” countered Shining Armor. “You know as well as I do she would be deemed a traitor and Dominion puppet if they knew. Then the people would assume I was in league with her to get to my position. They’d assume I was just a puppet as well. They wouldn’t consider me a Cadian anymore, and that would make the whole, “Cadian Emperor” bit a hard sell wouldn’t it?”

“Were you in league with her? Did she help you get to where you are?” asked Cadenza.

“Hey! Every battle I fought in, every campaign I survived, every victory I claimed was all me,” he said defensively. “She simply cut through any bureaucratic resistance… made sure that my accomplishments were noticed. It was beneficial having someone on the inside,” answered Shining Armor. “The Confederacy breed more zerg every day. Cadia can’t continue holding out on its own. We need the Dominion and you know it.”

“You’re right,” she admitted. “The people hate ghost. Any direct affiliation with them would be detrimental to your image. I just wish you could have let know about it.”

Shining Armor could see the sadness in her eyes, the hurt from his lack of trust. “I’m sorry,” he said. “You’re right too. I should have trusted you,” he said as he wrapped a hoof around her and brought her in.

A smile crept onto her face. “I suppose you can make it up to me.”

“What did you have in mind?” he asked.

“How about some endurance training?” she said with a seductive tone. “Let’s see if you’re stamina is still what it used to be.”

Jueves por la mañana

Stage was in the palace dining room, once again trying her luck at the Cadian breakfast of roosted zerg eggs and bacon. The food was revolting but she didn’t care. All she could think about was her husband with another mare.

Why would he do this to her? Wasn’t she good enough for him? She was the Emperors daughter, and a renowned celebrity for crying out loud! Sure she wasn’t a shining example of beauty like say Cadenza or that purple mare were, but she wasn’t Frankenstein either. The stallions were admiring her constantly, so why couldn’t he? She had tried to be a loyal and loving wife whenever possible. Despite all of this, he doesn’t look at her like she’s his wife. He rarely even touches her. She could count the number of times they’ve had sex this year on one hoof (keep in mind ponies only have one hoof on each leg). I just don’t understand Shining. Why would you do this to me? After we just had that talk the other day… I thought you wanted to make things work. A tear began to flow from her eye.

Stage snapped out of it. She still wasn’t entirely certain that he was cheating on her. Maybe that mare was just a friend? His trainer? His accountant? She sighed deeply and took a look at her phone. She had it off all day yesterday. She was too depressed to take any calls, but decided she had let her gloominess interfere with things long enough. As she checked her messages, she found she had a text from Cadenza.

That mare was just an old childhood friend. I looked into it personally, he isn’t sleeping with her. Trust me, there is only one mare in that stallion’s life.

She couldn’t believe it! He wasn’t cheating on her! How could I be such an idiot?! He’s my husband, he would never sleep with another mare! Stage took off running through the palace to Cadenza’s private quarters to thank her personally. He’s been away from Cadia for so long, he was probably just feeling nostalgic and wanted to catch up with old friends, that’s all.

As she turned the corner, she ran into a guard, knocking a small drink out of his hand. She herself was knocked to the ground, having just ran into the wall of steel that was his power armor. “Hey, you can’t be here! Can’t you read the sign?!” He pointed towards the sign that said, Authorized personal only.

“Can’t you read the sign?!” she countered pointing to another sign that said, No food or drink outside the dining hall or private quarters.

“Ma’am, you have to leave,” he said ignoring her complaint.

“I’m the princes, and a very close friend of your matriarch,” she said as she walked past the guard. She normally hated using the “I’m the princess line,” but at the moment she didn’t care. “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if I just stopped by and gave her my thanks for helping me out with an issue.”

“Ma’am, the Matriarch is currently indisposed and doesn’t want to be disturbed,” demanded the guard. “Now please come with me.”

At this point, the two guards at Cadenza’s door had made their way over to see what the problem was. As the first guard reached over to grab her, she jumped out of the way. “Hey! Robotic hands to yourself!” she warned.

One of the guards behind her said, “That’s it, you’re out of here,” and also tried to grab her. She instead flipped into the air landing on his broad metal shoulder, and was now standing on top of his suit. She launched off his shoulders, slamming her hoofs onto the guard behind him, and forcing him to the ground. As the other guard was turning around, she grabbed his leg, and with all of her strength, pulled it up causing him to fall. She then quickly took off running down the hall with a mocking laugh, followed by a, “Tell your friends, I do all my own stunts!” Rather than opening Cadenzas door, she decided to run past it. The recent news had put her in a good mood, so she figured she’d have some fun with the guards.

The first stallion looked at the two guards on the ground. “Did two armored stallions just get knocked over by an unarmed mare?” he asked.

The guards got back up on their feet, one of which replied, “I didn’t see you jumping in to help!”

The third guard said, “Fellas, she’s getting away. Let’s do something about that before we lose our jobs!”

In agreement, the three guards began to chase after the mare. The power armor made them naturally faster, so they should have little trouble catching up with her. They turned the corner to find she was gone. Forgetting she was a Pegasus, they neglected to look up in the rather tall hall way. She flew down and kicked one of the guards I the back, knocking him into the other two, sending all three of them tumbling into the ground.

Before she took off, she asked, “If the entire Trot-tham city police department couldn’t catch Mare Do Well, did you really think Moe, Curley and Larry could?” Again she ran away with a mocking laughter, this time proceeding straight to Cadenza’s door. She hoped she wouldn’t be too upset with her having a bit of fun with her guards. But as she opened the door, her grin quickly disappeared.

Cadenza’s eye’s widened and she quivered in fear. She tried to think or something to say, but the words wouldn’t form. Lying next to her in bed, Shining Armor wasn’t doing much better.

Stage’s face was an expression of anger and shock, as well was steadily building stream of tears. Before any of the three could say anything, the guards showed up once again, two of which grabbed her by each of her forward hoofs. The began to carry her off that floor, probably back to her quarters to place her under house arrest until Shining Armor or Cadenza could think of something to do with her.

“Wait!” shouted Shining Armor who now had some of his clothing on. “Let her go, I’ll take care of this,” he ordered. “Give us some space, I need to talk to her… alone.” The guards complied and took their leave, leaving the two ponies alone in the hallway.

Shining Armor was stilling trying to come up with something, but he was still as speechless as he was when Stage first open the door.

Finally Stage spoke first with only one word. “Why?”

Shining Armor had fought in dozens of battles, against hundreds of enemies, but nothing could prepare him for having to face his own wife. Her sad, tear filled eyes hurt more than any physical wound ever could. “I…” he couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“Why?” she repeated. Her voice was cracking, and she could barely get the word out. She couldn’t even look at him anymore. Her head was now bowed towards the floor. Shining Armor could hear her huffing as her tears soaked the ground below them. “I… I tried so hard Shining. I did everything I could. I was always there when you wanted me to be, when you needed me to be. Wasn’t I enough for you?” she asked with her head still bowed.  Shining Armor’s eyes shifted around as if the answer to her question was written on the wall somewhere. “You don’t have anything at all to say?”

“I’m sorry,” he finally said. He reached out to her, but she quickly stepped backed. She still didn’t raise her head to look at him. She simply turned around and walked away.

Sabado por la noche

“LET’S GET READY TO RUUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLLLLE!” shouted Michael Thunder.

The loud sound suddenly snapped Shining Armor out of his trance. The previous day’s events had still been weighing on his mind. The fact his wife refused to make an appearance didn’t help, but now wasn’t the time for that. His opponent was armed, and any loss of focus could result in death and the humiliation of his people.

The announcer made another statement which could be heard on every ship and television. There were a number of drones floating overhead, mostly for recording purposes, but one of them started relying Thunders announcement. “Ladies and gentle, this is the first round where anything goes. All weapons, equipment and spells are completely encouraged as neither fighter is expected to hold anything back.” The sound of a bell being hit came through a speaking on one of the drones signaling the start of the match.

Karn looked at his opponent opposite of the dome. He stood before a legend, and if he wanted to survive, he would need to gather all the strength he had and then some. Karn decided to make the first move and entered invisibility. Normally the snow blowing against him could compromise his invisibility, but the dome was keeping the weather under control. His hoofs were a bit cold from the thin layer of snow on the ground, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle. And in this current state of mind, it was the last thing he was thinking about.

"We’ve encountered a bit of a problem," said a voice in his suits comm. "I’m working on it, just try to hold back on killing him for a while. Give the audience a good show."

Seeing that a combatant had finally made the first move, the announcers began playing music to heighten the mood. Wow… that theme really does go with everything. Shining Armor thought to himself. He checked her surroundings for any signs of his invisible foe. Karn was pretty good at staying light hoofed, and most stallions would have missed the very subtle hoot prints he had left. But Shining Armor had a good eye for detail, and noticed some displaced snow. He closed his visor which zoomed in and revealed the displaced snow was actually a minor imprint left behind by a hoof print. Upon noticing his general position, activated his armors jet pack and launched himself into the air.

Shining Armors power armor had a number of custom modification thanks to the khaydarin power cells powering his suit, the jet pack being one of them. As he launched himself, Karn quickly used his void magic to push all the snow out from under his feet. Shining Armor already had his general location, so the spell wouldn’t hurt him in that regard, but by removing all the snow, he would no longer have his exact position. Shining Armor responded appropriately by spreading bullets into the dirt, sending up a cloud of dust. The dust covering Karn gave away his exact position.

Shining Armor’s rifle then fired a second attack. This one didn’t come from the upper gauss barrel, but from the lower barrel. Unlike the gauss barrel which fired solid slugs, the lower barrel fired a beam of psionic energy. The energy was released by the Khaydarin power cell located in his rifle. Karn quickly reacted and brought up both of his blades in an X formation to block the attack. While Shining Armor didn’t have the strongest understanding of magic, he did have an iron will just as strong as any ghost, mage or High Templar. The hybridization of Dominion and Khalai technology allowed him to use his considerable will to enhance the attack. His horn glowed brightly as the beam enlarged and threatened to incinerate the protoss blow.

Karn was surprised by how strong Shining Armors will was, but he was no push over either. Unfortunately Dark Templar training focused more on infiltration and assassination than direct combat. Strength of will training was more of the High Templar specialty. Karn could feel the crushing impact of the beam slowly pushing his hoofs back. More out of a desperation to survive than any mental fortitude, Karn had somehow gathered the strength needed to push back the attack. His two blades extended to a ridicules length, then Karn launched the beams skyward towards the air born stallion.

Shining Armor saw the lethal giant X of green fire flying towards him, slicing through this rifle’s beam. He quickly ceased his efforts to force stop the attack with an attack of his own. Instead he activated his suits psionic shield emitter and braced himself for the impact. He put out his left hand, and focused all of his will into the shield. Karn void attack struck with great force, but was completely negated by Shining Armors shield. Shining Armors psionic attacks were excellent at destroying form, namely physical objects, making it extremely efficient at destroying shields and armor. Karns attacks however were void based, and were meant more for destroying the living essence of a creature, making it a less than ideal attack for destroying his shield.

Karn understood this, but his was still confident the amount of power behind that attack should have been enough to kill or severely injure his opponent. He was surprised he when saw Shining Armor unscathed. Apparently the Champion of Cadia’s reputation was well earned. Karn was exhausted after such an attack, and his blades were flicking on and off.

Shining Armor was also rather tired from stopping Karns attack, and maintaining flight was starting to take its toll. While his opponent was recovering, he fired a shot from his gauss barrel, which damaged the blade on Karn’s left hoof, permanently disabling it. The shot was intentionally met to not kill him, as he still needed to buy his sister more time. Shining Armors flew forward at the stallion and extended the beam on his psionic barrel into a sort of bayonet. Seeing the stallion flying towards him, he focused on his right blade to reactivate the beam, and attempted to strike him down. Shining Armor, rather than go for the killing blow, used his bayonet to parry the warp blade, creating an opening. Still flying forward, he slammed the butt of his rifle into Karn’s chest.

Karn was knocked back and slid across the ground, but managed to use the momentum to turn it into a roll, and rolled back onto his feet. Shining Armor didn’t give him much chance to regain his foot as he was already flying towards him again for another attack. This time rather than using his rifle, he simple drove his suits fist into the older stallion.

An attack from a suit of power armor would ordinarily be more than enough to kill a stallion, but he was careful to only inflict pain rather than a killing blow. A burst of blood flew out of Karn’s mouth as he felt the wind get knocked out of him. With his lack of focus, his blade deactivated. With his fist smashed into Karn’s chest, Shining Armor lifted him into the air and slammed him on the ground. Karn managed to gather enough focus to reactivate his right blade, and swing a full circle around his body. The attack threatened to take off Shining Armor’s legs, but he reacted by jumping into the air, and again flew skyward.

With his enemy right above him, Karn lifted left hoof towards his opponent, as black swirling mist surrounded Shining Armors suit. Shining Armor could feel his suit getting pulled apart by Karn’s magic, and if he didn’t act soon, he would be torn in half. Two coils extended out of the back of his armor, while Shining Armors horn began to glow. The he focused the magic from his horn into the coils which set off an EMP. The void energy didn’t seem to take well to the EMP; not only did the mist quickly dissipate releasing Shining Armor, but the dispersing void energy also sent a feedback into Karn’s brain, temporarily disabling his spells, and causing dizziness.

He managed to regain his focus just in time to see Shining Armor now falling towards him with his psi bayonet once again extended. While he was still on the ground, he managed to reactivate his remaining warp blade and blocked the attack. He had to pour just about all of his will into generating enough force to stop the ordinarily crushing impact of the attack. Shining Armor didn’t let up however, and continued to press his bayonet down on Karn’s warp blade, bringing the attack closer and closer to his head.

"I need some more time, go three rounds!" said a voice on the radio.

Shining Armor stopped his attack, and lifted his blade before flying a safe distance away from his opponent. As Karn was getting to his feet, Shining Armor quickly turned around and shot his other warp blade off his hoof. “Hooky religions and ancients weapons are no match for a good rifle at your side old man,” he commented in an attempt to please the fans. The viewers cheered at the obvious reference. He then set his rifle on the ground and walked away. There were a number of drones floating overhead, mostly for recording purposes, but one of them made an announcement. "And that is the end of the first round. A spectacular opening performance. Let’s see what the fighters have to say."

Karn was rather confused by what was happening, though he did welcome the respite. A drone from overhead flew down next to him, giving him a bottle of water. He didn’t question the generosity, quickly took the bottle and began downing it.

Sabado por la noche

On the deck of the Iron Will, the audience was busy conversing the events of the first round. Rainbow Dash however had been left speechless by his performance. “Hey sis, do you still think Shining Armor is a fake?” asked Jet Stream.

Rainbow Dash paid no attention to her little sister. She was fixated on the screen as Shining Armor’s power armor opened up, and the stallion stepped out of his suit. He was drenched in sweat, wearing a white muscle shirt, and loose fitting pants. Her face blushed as his abs were transparent though the wet shirt.

“Hey Jet Stream, I think your sister is going into heat,” joked Scootaloo.

“What? No! It’s nothing like that! I’m just… you know… admiring his fighting form,”

“Umm hmm… that’s why you started biting your hoof and blushing as he took off his suit right?” asked Scootaloo.

“Admit is sis, Shining Armor is the real deal,” demanded Jet Stream.

“He was… alright I guess. He could have been cooler though. In round two he needs to be at least… twenty percent cooler,” said Rainbow Dash.

“Where the hell is Twilight!” shouted Rain Sight. “Dad is getting killed down there! He won’t make it to round three!”

“Don’t worry Rain, I’m sure Twilight will come through. Sure she is a heartless manipulative witch, but she always seems to get her way. I’m sure she won’t let Karn die if it doesn’t suit her purpose,” assured Sovereign.

“Yeah and he’ll make it to round three. He stopped his blade on purpose near the end. I think he wants to drags things out for the full event,” said Sweetie Belle. “I’m sure that’ll give Twilight enough time.”

“I hope so guys… I really hope so,” said Rain Sight. She looked up at the screen to see her father was now on screen as one of the drones tried to talk to him.

“Mr. High Ground that was an incredible first round. That opening attack you made was truly a sight to behold. No one thought you would have been able to stop that crushing bayonet dive near the end, but somehow you came through. Any word on strategy for the next round?” asked Thunder through the drones speakers.

Karn looked at the device with a confused expression. “What in the void are you talking about?” was all he had to say.

Thunder laughed at his reaction. “Look at that folks, he’s been knocked senseless.” There was a round of laughter from the other VIPs on board the Iron will. “Let’s check on our Champion and see if he has anything to say.”

The drone approached Shining Armor, currently on all fours in front of his suit. Despite the somewhat chilly environment, he was still very hot, and steam was visibly rising from his body. He was resting and drinking some water waiting for the intermission to end.

“Prince Stone Hoof, the audience worried for a moment when his opener sliced your beam to pieces. Did you expect him to be able to not only be able to hold his own against your attack, but actually turn it around?” asked Thunder.

“I have to admit, I didn’t see that coming. I figured I’d tire him out early on with the beam but… that green fire X thing he did kind of came out of nowhere. By the looks of things, he was pretty tired after he committed himself to that attack, so I’d say either way it worked out fine. If anything, that’s one for archives right?” asked Shining Armor.

“That’s one way of putting it. By the way, there was also a lot of surprise as well as disappointment when Stage Stone Hoof was unable to attend. Any reason the princess was unable to see of her husband tonight?” asked Thunder.

That was the last thing Shining Armor wanted to think about at the moment. “She’s a very busy mare and… sometimes we can’t always… I’m really tired right now. I got to catch my breath for the next round,” said Shining Armor.

“Of course Prince Stone Hoof. Good luck down there,” finished Thunder.

“I can’t believe it, the guys is about to be single again!” said Rainbow Dash excitedly as she watched the screen.

“What? When did they say that?!” asked Jet Stream.

“Come on, it’s obvious. Look how nervous he got,” explained Rainbow Dash.

“Why do you care if he’s single?” asked Scootaloo smiling? “Does Rainbow Dash have a crush?” she teased.

“Shut up,” said Rainbow Dash defensively.

Sabado por la noche

Twilight couldn’t believe this was happening. She’d waited so long, planned so carefully, and now this?! She needed to stay calm, she still had time. There was still the big fireworks display, the crew would have to clear the stage that was being used by the entertainers, and the fight usually never actually started until sunset for the sake of dramatic effect. Twilight frantically raced towards the shuttle bay. The arena was very close to the town she had situated Apple Bloom in, so odds are she would be in that town’s hospital. Upon reaching her shuttle, she started the engines. No one questioned her as the shuttle was her own ship, and most of the guards had their visors down. Odds were they were watching the fight inside their suits on their visor screens rather than keeping an eye out for trouble.

Once inside of her shuttle, she took off towards the hotel. She flew as fast as she safely could, but was still moving at a less than brisk past. The town was located further up the mountain range, so the weather was getting progressively worse, and she eventually had to rely entirely on the guidance beacons. Finally she arrived at the town, and made her way towards the hotels parking lot. A family of ponies evacuated their vehicle as the shuttle landed on top of a row of cars, due to her wanting to park as close as possible.

She ignored the complaints of the family as they shouted angrily at her for destroying their vehicle, then charged into the hotel. She originally planned on breaking down the doors to the royal suite, but fortunately someone was kind enough to leave a massive hole in the hall. She knocked over the construction workers, who were working on fixing the wall, out of the way and quickly looked around each room. After several minutes of tearing each room apart, she found what she was looking for, Apple Blooms laptop. From what Rainbow Dash had described, this was the key to hacking the Cadian battle net. As Twilight exited Apple Blooms room, she looked out the window and saw the sun was setting.

Twilight ran out of the hotel, ignoring the shouting construction workers and staff, as well as telekinetically flinging the security guards out of the way. When Twilight finally reached her shuttle, she used her shuttles private link to Shining Armors suit to tell him, “We’ve encountered a bit of a problem. I’m working on it, just try to hold back on killing him for a while. Give the audience a good show.”

Twilight’s shuttle exited the hanger bay and took off towards the hospital. Once again, she recklessly landed as close to the door as possible, crushing an ambulance parked outside, and potentially anyone inside. She had no idea if it was occupied, and frankly she didn’t care. Before entering the hospital, she sent another message to her brother. “I need some more time, go three rounds!” With her message sent, Twilight picked up Apple Blooms computer and made her way into the hospital.

Sabado por la noche

Karn was still tired, and in quite a bit of pain from that blow Shining Armor delivered to his stomach. He continued to stare at his opponent from across the dome, who was just sitting down and drinking water, much like he was. He didn’t even notice the two drones that flew down beside him until after they attached some bands to his forward legs.

Karn quickly noticed his magic was nullified and realized those were neural inhibitors. Fortunately they were much smaller, and somewhat even flexible compared to the neural inhibitor he wore in prison. The prison device was simply meant to keep his power in check, and barely even allowed him to move his neck. These inhibitors would cause very little restriction of movement. He looked across the dome to see the drones placing the same bands on Shining Armors body, so at least it would be a fair fight.

Another drone landed in front of him and placed a boxed at his feet, then opened it. Inside the large box was a sixteen inch high frequency blade as well as two combat precision gloves. He looked over at Shining Armor who already had the gloves equipped, and decided he should do the same. He had never used this weapon before, but it seemed similar enough to his warp blade. Sticking it into his opponent and give it a good shake, though the concept of the fingers on the glove was still somewhat foreign to him. He used the fingers to squeeze the handle, and noticed as she squeezed the trigger on the handle, the diamond saw would spin. He also found the switch that would allow it to spin continuously.

Again the voice of Michael Thunder filled the air. “Mares and Stallions, the next round is focused around armed hand to hand combat (gloves people). Both combatants have had their magic suppressed, and any outside equipment other than what has been provided has been removed. Any attempt to remove the bands will result in a painful electric shock.” When this announcement concluded, a bell sound effected was made, signaling the start of the next round.

Shining Armor began walking towards the older stallion approaching him. As their distance closed, Shining Armor charged into a full sprint on two legs while Karn did the same. Karn swung first, but Shining Armor parried the attack, then performed a kick to his chest. As Karn tried to regain his balance, Shining Armor delivered a shallow slash across Karn’s right leg. Karn quickly retreated several steps trying not to fall over due injury.

“Came on old man. You’re on TV, die with some dignity,” demanded Shining Armor.

Karn again charged at Shining Armor and attempted to thrust his blade into Shining Armor’s belly. Shining Armor quickly parried the attack, swinging Karn’s blade outward. Karn used the momentum and turned it into an overhead swing, which was ricocheted by Shining Armor. Shining responded by thrusting his blade towards Karn’s head. Karn was quick to dodge, but his right hand was not in a position to counter attack his own blade. He needed to act fast or else Shining Armor would simply slit open his throat. With his free left hand, he grabbed Shining Armor’s arm and swung him away. Karn then took a swing at the seemingly off balance Shining Armor’s leg in hopes of returning the favor for the earlier injury. Instead, Shining lifted up his leg, dodging the blade, and swung back at Karn, causing another shallow wound, this time into his lower abdomens side.

Shining Armor’s bloody blade made another series of swings, but Karn was able to block them. He then jumped up and tried to deliver a kick to his side. Shining Armor grabbed the old stallion’s leg and tossed him aside. Karn got back up and again prepared to defend himself.

The announcer shouted, “What an incredible counter attack to that kick. If only his wife could be here now to see this fight now.”

That announcement distracted Shining for about a second, and it was all Karn needed. He landed a slash cross Shining Armors chest, sending him back a few steps. Karn didn’t let up on the momentum, and made another three swings, the third which connected on Shining Armors right arm (it’s an arm at the moment due to the gloves). After four more swings, he would land another blow on Shining Armors left leg as well. Karn felt confident he had his opponent on the ropes and went for the killing thrust to the heart.

Shining Armor however was now focused again, and the pain from the wounds did little to bother him. He side stepped the thrust, grabbed Karns arm, and tossed him overhead into the ground, never letting go of the arm. As Karn slammed into the ground, Shining Armor followed with a stomp to his chest, again knocking the wind out of him.

With this grip weakened, Shining Armor had no trouble getting his blade out of his hand. With a blade now in each hand, and with his opponent still recovering from the stomp he had just delivered, Shining Armor spun up both saws and drove them towards his head. Karn closed his eyes waiting for the death blow, but never came. As Karn felt Shining Armor lift his hoof off his chest, he opened this eyes and noticed the blades were dug deep into the dirt near his head. Shining Armor was already walking away. A bell rung, and a set of drones descended to retrieve not just the blades, but both combatant’s sets of precision gloves as well.

Karn slowly got back up as best as he could, though the pain from the injuries did hinder him. As the first drone took off with the weapons, another drone landed near him, giving him another bottle of water, while a third drone began to paint his wounds with a sticky substance. It was a painful burning sensation, but it seemed to stop the bleeding. He looked over to see Shining Armor was receiving the same treatment, though he seemed rather unbothered by his wounds. It was obvious something else was on his mind at the moment.

Again, the announcer’s voice filled the dome. “Ladies and gentlemen, that is the end of the second round. The third round will began after a brief intermission.”

Sabado por la noche

Twilight quickly ran over to the front desk to see where Apple Bloom was being hospitalized. The mare at the front office asked, “Did you just park a shuttle on top of that ambulance?!”

To which Twilight replied, “I’m sorry. Please please don’t hate me,” before knocking the mare out cold. She looked through the mares computer screen for a few moments and quickly found Apple Bloom’s room. She then charged through the halls, throw patients and staff alike out of the way. Half of them are probably terminally ill anyway, she thought to herself.

Finally she reached Apple Blooms room, and quickly barricaded the door to avoid any further interruptions. She was awake, but three of her four hoofs were in a cast, and much of her body was bandaged. Her jaw was also temporarily being wired shut. She was watching the execution on a TV screen in her hospital room.

“Apple Bloom, I need you to hack into the Cadian battle net and shut down the broad cast and dome so that the prisoner can escape!” demanded Twilight.

Her eye’s looked over in her direction and glared. While no words were spoken, Apple Bloom was obviously not amused.

“I know I know, you’re physically worthless in every way right now. But I have your computer. Just look at the screen, think about what you need to do, and my magic will take care of the rest. Now let’s go! Jet Stream’s life is on the line if you can’t do this!” threatened Twilight.

Apple Bloom didn’t take that threat too well, but she didn’t want her stubbornness to be the cause of Jet Streams demise. She did as Twilight demanded, and as she made each thought, Twilight’s magic pushed each keyboard.

As Twilight read Apple Blooms mind, she was rather surprised to find out what had caused Apple Bloom to end up like this in the first place. It was almost too difficult to believe. All her months of careful planning and flawless execution were about to be undone because of an awkward teenage love triangle.

Sabado por la noche

Rain Sight was sweating profusely now. This was the last round, and there was still no sign of Twilight. “What the hell are we going to do?! Her stupid plan didn’t work!” said Rain Sight.

Sovereign didn’t feel right just standing back and watching either. But with that dome up, he wouldn’t be able to teleport inside if he wanted too. And even if he could, he was unarmed, and more than likely a poor match for a warrior as experienced as Shining Armor.

Sabado por la noche

Karn looked over towards Shining Armor. The stallion was standing up on two legs, swinging into the air. Karn had a good idea what this next round would be.

Once again, the announcer spoke. “Mares and stallions, we have now reached the final round of the night. This round restricts the use of any magic or equipment. The combatants may only use their bare hoofs. There will be no further interruptions, this is now a fight to the finish. Two stallions enter, one leaves.”

The bell rang, and the final round began. Karn knew this was his last stand. The bell wouldn’t be there to save him a third time. If he didn’t kill Shining Armor now, it would all be over for him.

Shining Armor walked up to him and put out a hoof. Karn was somewhat confused by the gesture at first, but notice Shining Armor wasn’t attacking him. He realized what he was implying, and gave him a hoof bump as an awkwardly placed sign of good sportsmanship. Seemed unusual given the treatment of the loser.

Like Shining Armor, Karn was used to standing on two hoofs, so at least he wouldn’t be disadvantaged in that respect. Shining Armor took the first swing, which effortlessly landed right into Karn’s face. The force of the blow was incredible, and immediately sent Karn to the ground. The older stallion was already exhausted, and had sustained a number of previous injuries. I didn’t help he never particularly focused on unarmed combat.

Karn got back on his feet and prepared to try again. Going hoof to hoof wouldn’t be the solution, that wasn’t what he was trained for. He would need to try and fight Shining Armor on his own terms. He ran at Shining Armor who took another swing. This time Karn ducked, dodging the attack, then slid under him and tripped him to the ground.

Shining Armor however was completely fine fighting on the ground. He quickly rolled over towards Karn, grabbed his left forward leg, and twisted it out of place. Karn shouted in pain as Shining got back up and prepared to go again.

Karn slowly rose, but was now down to one punching hoof. Shining Armor took a swing, then a second but Karn dodged both. He ducked under and attempted an uppercut to his chest, but Shining Armor blocked the attack with his right hoof, then back hooved him with his left.

A tooth and blood flew from Karn’s mouth at the impact and he wobbled back a bit. Shining Armor didn’t let up, and delivered two more crushing blows to his chest, snapping the old Stallions sternum. Karn fell to his knees and was choking on blood. Shining Armor walked away for a moment and lifted a hoof in triumph for the crowds.

Karn got back up and readied for another attack. On the offensive, he delivered right outside kick to Shining Armors side. Shining Armor caught the leg, but Karn expected that. He responded by performing a back flip in an attempt to slam his raising left rear hoof into Shining Armors jaw. Shining Armor however had seen that trick used before and knew what to expect. He narrowly dodged what could have been a knock out kick, and then pulled the right leg he was still holding onto. He lifted Karn by the leg, and threw him overhead. As Karn landed on his chest, he rolled over and attempted another trip. The same trick didn’t work Twice as Shining Armor intercepted his sweeping kick by bringing his hoof down on Karn’s leg as it swung, stomping down on the joint.

With this leg disabled, Karn was a setting duck. Shining Armor just realized he had cut off any hope the old stallion had of escaping. Twilight’s time was up, it was time to end it. He picked up his Karns remaining good leg, put his hoof on Karn’s lower back, and then pulled up on Karn’s leg until it popped out of place. Karn screamed in pain, but couldn’t get anywhere with Shining Armors leg still on his back. It was time to put the old stallion out of his misery. Still standing on his back, he reached down and grabbed Karn’s head. A camera drone immediately zoomed in to get a good shot of the finisher. “Any words for the viewers?” asked the announcer before Shining Armor could deliver the killing blow.

Shining Armor looked up at the camera. He knew what he wanted to say. Honey, I’m sorry you couldn’t be here in person. I love you and I really hope you can I can work this out. But he realized anything along those lines on TV would only bring about scandal. Instead he went with a cop out. “Kids, stay in school and don’t do drugs.”

Shining Armor effortlessly snapped Karn’s neck and shoved his face into the snow. The crowd began to cheer at the death of the traitor. All except one.

Sabado por la noche

“No!” screamed Rain Sight whose cries were blocked out by the cheering crowds. She said nothing else and started to cry uncontrollably.

Sovereign wrapped his hoof around his wife trying to comfort her. “We’ll plan a funeral. We’ll make sure he gets a proper burial. I know it’s not much, but it’s the least we can do for him.”

Rain Sight tried to respond to her husband, but she was still crying too hard to get out any coherent words. Sweetie Belle however knew what she was getting at. “There won’t be a funeral Sovereign. Cadian tradition demands that the loser be left in the arena. An ursalisk will eventually make its way over and… devour the corpse entirely,” explained Sweetie Belle. Rain Sight simply nodded her head in agreement while she continued her tears.

"They can't do that!" shouted Sovereign. He was not going to let them rob Rain Sight of her father’s funeral. Losing her dad was bad enough, but this was just insult to injury. Sovereign began walking towards the window of the deck. On his way to the window, he pulled the sheet off a table and held both ends together. He was in for a cold landing.

“Sovereign, what are you doing?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“I’m getting back that body,” he answered.

Before she could object, all the screens started to display the same message. Large red letters wrote, Alert, intruder virus detected. Sweetie Belle looked back to see Sovereign was already gone. She looked down and could see he had done a long range teleport outside the ship down into the snow.

The wind immediately caught the sheets Sovereign was using as an improvised parachute and helped to slow down his descent, but he was still falling rather quickly. After he was about half way down, he did another long range teleport into the snow, which for the most part broke his fall.

Shining Armor didn’t notice the foolish display. What he did notice was all the drones falling out of the sky, as well as the dome starting to flicker and eventually turn off. A freezing wind immediately covered his body, and he started heading back towards his power armor when he saw a figure running towards him.

“What the hell are you doing out here?” he asked.

“I’m taking back that body!” the figure answered.

As the figure approached, he could tell it was Rain Sights husband. It wasn’t easy to forget the severed horn. “That thing belongs to the ursalisk now. Leave it be kid,” advised Shining Armor.

Sovereigns brushed one of his forward hoofs on the ground hard, suggesting he was getting ready to charge the larger stallion. “Don’t do this kid. You have a wife. Go home and be a family man.”

“I’m bringing Karn back, even if I have to go through you,” declared Sovereign.

Shining Armor got back up on two hoofs and prepared for his next opponent. “I tried to warn you kid. I’ll send flowers to your widow.”

Sovereign had very little experience fighting on two legs. As a preserver, he would have relied more on magic than strength. Unfortunately due to his missing horn, that magic was no longer available to him. As a Dark Templar, he was used to fighting on four legs with his blade. They were both unarmed, so he’d have to improvise.

He quickly ran after Shining Armor and attempted to deliver a pair of punches, but Shining Armor quickly blocked both hoofs and delivered an upper cut into his chest, launching Sovereign a foot into the air and sending him back a few feet.

He coughed out some blood and teleported behind Shining Armor. Somehow, Shining Armor already knew what he was going to do, and delivered a rear kick right into Sovereigns head. Sovereign barely managed to stay standing, so Shining Armor delivered another two upper cuts into his chest, followed by a right hook into his head. He picked up the younger stallion and tossed him back several feet into the now mounting snow. “Stay down kid,” he demanded. Shining Armor could already see a shuttle on its way to pick him up, and probably arrest his new opponent.

Sovereign got back up, blood now running out his mouth at a much more alarming pace. His vision was blurry, and the very ground he stood on seemed to shake. “I’m not leaving without him,” he declared again.

“Last chance kid. Just walk away,” suggested Shining Armor.

Sovereign again charged at him and attempted to deliver a kick. Shining Armor grabbed his leg and tossed him back again.

As Sovereign started getting back up, he received a hoof to the face, then another, then two more uppercuts to his chest, further destroying his rib cage. He felt like he was about to die.

"Stay down," demanded Shining Armor.

All common sense suggested the larger stallion had the right idea, but Sovereign was determined to continue the fight. He put everything he had into one punch and swung. Shining Armor tried to block, but only deflected the attack a couple of inches as it struck him diving into his chest. Sovereign put on a bloody smile at the fact he managed to land the punch. He looked up to see Shining Armor wasn’t amused.

Shining Armor delivered another hoof to his face, sending Sovereign to the ground. His vision had just about left him when Shining Armor delivered a stomp into his chest, snapping whatever ribs he had left that weren’t destroyed by the earlier series of upper cuts. An eruption of blood burst from his mouth as his vision finally went out. He wasn’t moving anymore.

“Sovereign!” shouted Sweetie Belle from the deck of the Iron Will… “You idiot! Why did you fight him?! Why!”

The crowd cheered again as Shining Armor defeated a second opponent. Sweetie Belle was disgusted with their savagery. The stallion of her life was dead for all she knew, and they were cheering it on?! Now she knew exactly how Rain Sight had felt. Tears flowed freely from her face she watched from above. No one else had a particularly good view, but her optical implants, complements of Twilight, did allow her to see much further. She witnessed every horrifying second as Shining Armor beat her beloved Sovereign into a bloody pulp.

By now the shuttle had landed fairly close to Shining Armor and he eagerly boarded. As soon as he was onboard, he dropped to his knees and began coughing out a river of blood. A medic immediately started a scan. “Prince Stone Hoof several of your ribs are broken, and you have a collapsed lung. Had that attack been a couple inches to the left, that young stallion would have killed you.”

Despite the fact he was choking on blood, he let out a small chuckle. “Little guy,” Shining Armor coughed out some more blood mid-sentence, “can throw a hell of a punch,” he said with a smile. “Get that idiot on board a medevac. Send him to a hospital before he freezes to death.”

“But Prince Stone Hoof. Tradition demands-”

“They have their body. They don’t need another,” said Shining Armor.