Solid Strike

Lightning Strike awoke from his bed to the first rays of the morning sun streaming in through his window. He took a deep breath. Ever since he had learned that competitors were often killed in Mortal Kombat, he was deeply worried. This might be his last morning here. He could only hope that the other combatants were as merciful as he was. After preparing himself for the day, he stepped out of his room in the castle and made his way to the dining hall. He needed something to eat.

He was one of the last contestants to arrive. As he entered the long room, he noted almost every other fighter he saw in the crowd the night before was able to sit at the table. It was a big table. Celestia sat at the head of the table, and pointed to his seat.

“You’re a bit late, but it’s okay. You fought well.” Celestia approved, pulling his chair out for him with her magic.

“Thank you, your highness,” Lightning said, taking his seat. A unicorn servant came out with a tray of food for him, which consisted mostly of waffles. There were a few eggs there, but Lightning preferred not to consume other animal’s products. Next to him sat a larger beast, one that resembled a pony with an eagle’s head and front claws. It was a hippogriff. The feathers on his head were a light blue, contrasting the rest of his tan feathers. His beak tore hungrily into a piece of meat, making Lightning feel a bit uncomfortable.

“‘Sup?” He said, glancing over at the smaller pony. “Nice fighting last night.”

“Yeah...” Lightning attempted to eat his food, but his mind was distracted at the thought of the carnivore sitting next to him. Sure, he understood that different creatures had different diets, but something about having a meat-eater right next made him very, very nervous.

“Scorpion?” Celestia’s voice reached to the other end of the table, where a pony wearing a black ninja mask sat, appearing to be contemplating over something. He had a yellow piece over his mouth, and matching yellow and black suit typical to ninjas covering his body.

“What?” The pony replied, breaking from his transfixed state. His tone seemed short, as if he didn’t respect Celestia as a princess.

“Are you going to eat?”

“I am a spirit, my body has no need for food,” Scorpion replied.

“Right, right, well, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask me or any of the guards. You’re a guest here.”

Lightning felt a claw tap his shoulder.

“Hey,” The hippogriff asked, waving his claw at somepony. “You notice something off about that guy?”

“Who, Scorpion?” Lightning tried to follow where the claw was pointing, but he wasn’t quite sure who he was referring to.

“No, not him, the guy next to him. With the glasses.”

Lightning shifted his gaze to the pony in question, a chocolate brown maned pony wearing a grey hoodie. His fur was a lighter brown color, and his world was seen through square glasses. He didn’t speak to anypony, he only sat quietly and ate.

“No, why?”

“Eh, he hasn’t really talked to anypony...”

“Maybe he’s not the talkative type.”

“Maybe not,” The hippogriff shrugged, and took a bite of his food. “Anyway, the name’s Steel Wing. You’re Lightning Strike, right?”

“Yeah,” Lightning replied, “That’s right.”

“Well I look forward to fighting you in this tournament. You seem tough.”

“You know I am."

"Yeah, well, so am I, so you better keep an eye out for me when I'm up there."

This secured Lightning's interest. "Oh really? How do you fight?"

"No tricks up my sleeve, I like to get in close and hit 'em hard. POW! Right in the jaw," Steel flexed his wings, giving Lightning a good look at the muscular flying appendages. "See these babies? I've broken concrete bricks with these before."

"Wow, really? And you haven't hurt them?"

"Well," Steel admitted, "First few times, I tried it on some wood planks, and it messed up my wings pretty good. I learned that it's not about how hard it hit it, it's about where I hit it. Hit anything hard enough in the right spot and it'll split right in two for you! How about you? I saw some pretty sick lightning spells last night."

"Yeah, I like to be quick about things. Not much else to me though."

"Come on..." Steel nudged him in a friendly way, "There's gotta be more of a story to you."

"Well, I gue-"

"Combatants, assemble in the courtyard for the next match of the tournament," Celestia had risen from her seat, and led several of the fighters outside.

"Tell me later," Steel said, "Let's go."

"I didn't get to finish my breakfast..."

“Lightning Strike!” Celestia called, as the fighters assembled in the courtyard once more. The weather was nice, the sun shone brightly on the fighters. The unicorn stepped up.

“Your highness?” He knelt before the princess of the Sun, who was without her sister this time.

“As you have won the last match, you shall face... the Shirai Ryu spectre, Scorpion!”

In a burst of flames, the earth pony seen at the dining table that morning appeared in the courtyard. He now had two swords crossed on his back, and a small spear attached to a rope hung coiled across his flank.

“You will not taste victory!” He declared viciously.

“Cool it, hothead!” Lightning jumped back a bit, stepping into his fighting stance.

“Round one, fight!” Celestia began the fight.

As the fighters in the crowd looked on, one hooded stallion in particular studied the current combatant’s style. The voice in his head that urged him to join the tournament for the Lunar Republic still spoke, watching his every action.

“When will we fight?” The voice hissed, only audible in the stallion’s mind.

“Soon enough,” came the mental reply. The stallion pushed his square glasses up onto his snout as they began to slide off of his face.

Lightning Strike was being dominated by Scorpion. Every attack he sent at him, punches, grabs, even spells were all dodged or blocked, only to be returned with a powerful blow that he couldn’t avoid. Scorpion drew one of his swords, and swung out towards Lightning Strike. He brought his mace up to block the attack, but Scorpion disappeared in a blur the moment the weapons connected.

There was only a brief moment of confusion before Scorpion’s hoof slammed into the back of Lightning’s head. He landed face first on the ground, his blood leaving a trail behind him as he slid several meters. He didn’t move, and Celestia called the match at that.

“Scorpion wins!” She announced, “Flawless victory!”

Her healing glow allowed Lightning to stand back up, and prepare for the next round. Scorpion took a few steps back to ensure a fair distance between them.

“Round 2, fight!”

Lightning Strike wasted no time. He focused on his most powerful lightning spell, and thrust his horn towards Scorpion. The ninja was caught mid charge as the horn pierced his chest, sending a violent wave of electricity through him. The hooded stallion in the crowd saw Scorpions bones flash as the lightning coursed through him, and then his skull being smashed by Lightning Strike’s mace.

Scorpion fell back, but quickly jumped to his feet. He reached for the coiled rope on his flank, and threw the spear attached to it at his opponent.

“Get over here!” He shouted, and the blade embedded itself in Lightning’s foreleg. Scorpion yanked on the rope, and Lightning stumbled forward into a solid swing of his hoof. The attack was followed up with a sword slashing his legs out from under him, and Scorpion tossing him into the air by the rope and yanking the weapon out of him as he fell.

Despite his injuries, Lightning still stood up. He galloped towards Scorpion and put all of his weight into a punch. Scorpion, however, had other plans. He ducked, stopping the attack with his hooves, and then disappeared. Time slowed down, and he reappeared punching Lightning in the side of the mouth, knocking several of his teeth out. He stumbled back on the ground, and landed on his back, before Scorpion lifted his hooves to stomp on his chest. His rib cage cracked, causing Lightning Strike to cry out in pain.

“Finish him!” Celestia shouted, seeing that Lightning Strike could not get up.

“That was a feeble performance!” Scorpion roared, “I will do no such thing! He will live on and suffer from the fact that he lost to me!”

“So be it.” Celestia said, healing Lightning so he could exit the stage. “Scorpion wins.”

“Bring me Sub-Zero!” Scorpion demanded, pointing a hoof at her.

“Sub-Zero is not here right now. He will arrive soon.”

Scorpion growled. He had a burning hatred from the pony called Sub-Zero, for he was the one that killed off the majority of the Shirai Ryu. Some of the clan escaped, and the Mortal Kombat tournament was the only way that they could ever establish a standing as great as they once were.

“So be it,” Scorpion replied, mocking Celestia’s words. “Who do I fight next?”

The hooded stallion stirred slightly.

“Go...” the voice in his head whispered.

“Not yet...”

“Scorpion,” Celestia looked at the impatient warrior, “your next challenger will be Steel Wing.”

The blue and tan hippogriff came forth from the crowd with much swagger.

“Yeah! Let’s see what you got against me!” He taunted. “Bring it!”

Scorpion said nothing. The hippogriff was much larger than he was, but Scorpion knew that size didn’t equal to strength.

“Round one, fight!”

Steel Wing took a defensive posture, waiting for Scorpion to make the first move.

“Playing defense? Come here!” Scorpion threw his spear towards Steel Wing, who caught the weapon in his claw. He yanked on the rope, pulling Scorpion right into his other claw. The claws tightened around him, and Steel Wing threw him into the ground. Scorpion picked himself up and swung outwards with his sword, catching Steel Wing in his left foreleg.

He brought his other sword around and nicked him in the side of the head, scraping off a few of Steel’s feathers. Steel threw a claw forward and took Scorpion around the neck. With a warrior shout, Steel blasted Scorpion into the air in a burst of red magic.

“Woah!” Lightning Strike exclaimed, calling out to him in the crowd, “You can use magic?”

“I get it from my mother,” Steel quickly replied as Scorpion reappeared on the opposite side of him, punching him in the face. His other hoof crossed and struck him in the other direction. To finish the combo, Scorpion removed his mask, revealing a bleach white skull beneath, and spat a jet of flame at his opponent. Steel Wing spread his wings, and gave them a mighty flap. The sudden current of air knocked Scorpion back, as well as put out the fire on his body.

“You can’t keep me down!” Steel shouted. He kicked off with his back legs and straightened his wings out, effectively closelining Scorpion as he stood back up. Scorpion’s neck bone snapped backward as the wing collided with it. Steel Wing pivoted around and dashed forward again, breaking his foe’s spine with his other wing as he passed. Scorpion hit the ground, but couldn’t pop back up like he always had.

“Steel Wing wins!” Celestia announced, healing the two fighters.

“Yeah! How’d you like that?” Steel taunted.

“We’re just getting started!” Scorpion hissed.

“Round two, fight!”

Scorpion jumped forward, thrusting both of his swords under Steel’s body and flipping him onto his back. As Scorpion stood up on his hind legs, he flipped his swords around he could bring them down on Steel. The hippogriff pulled both of his haunches back, and pushed himself off the ground. His back hooves made contact with Scorpion’s chest, and he bucked outward. Steel rolled back onto all fours again, and prepared to counter Scorpion’s next move.

“Get over here!” Steel knew what was coming, but he couldn’t stop it. The spear broke through his chest, and he was pulled into Scorpion’s attack.

In the crowd, the hooded stallion observed Scorpion’s movements.

“Tinker...” The voice in his head addressed him by name.

“Yes, Morukee?” He responded in a similar fashion.

“Can you defeat this one?”

“I can. But I may not need to...”

“Why are you so sure?"

"He shouts 'get over here' whenever he is about to throw his spear. It's very predictable," Tinker observed.

"Mmm... That much is true."

Steel held out his claw and grabbed Scorpion by his hindleg using magic. The red glow flipped him head over hooves, giving Steel the opportunity to punch him in the back with the same claw. As Scorpion’s body ragdolled, there was a moment of silence before Celestia began to speak.

“Fin-” She was cut off as Scorpion tossed his spear at Steel in a last attempt to be the victor. Steel caught the weapon, and pulled Scorpion in on it. He began stomping on his body, forcing every last bit of strength from him.

“Finish him!” Celestia said again, waiting another moment to make sure he wouldn’t try anything else.

“Chump,” Steel laughed, grabbing Scorpion’s spear rope. He tied one end of it around Scorpion’s neck, and held him up for the crowd to see. Scorpion struggled, his physical body being denied air. He weakly beat his hooves against Steel’s side, but with each strike he got weaker and weaker. Celestia sighed internally.

Lightning Strike looked on at the suffering pony before him. Steel cruelly laughed at his feeble efforts to resist. This was wrong.

“Stop!” Lightning shouted, “Don’t kill him!”

“Pfft,” Steel said, dropping the limp pony and pulling the rope off of him. “I see, you want to get him back yourself. Alright, I can get with that.”

“Steel Wing wins!” Celestia had an approving tone, and healed him.

Morukee spoke again to Tinker.

"What do you make of this?"

"It is his choice," Tinker said.

“Who else wants to get their ass whooped?” Steel challenged the crowd, flexing his wings proudly.

As she turned her head to cast her healing spell on Scorpion, a wild Princess Luna appeared. Everypony looking on was startled by her sudden appearance.

“We shall not stand for this!” She roared, in her traditional Royal Canterlot voice.

“Sister, what is the matter?” Celestia approached her furious sibling. Steel took a step back, and knelt before the two Princesses before quickly joining the crowd.

“Do you not see this?” She gestured to the unconscious form of Scorpion, who was just barely breathing.

“Yes, the winner showed mercy,” Celestia stated.

“No, he was going to kill him! He stopped because another contestant asked him to!”

“Luna-”

“Listen here, Tia,” Luna barked, using her older sister’s pet name, “I’ve been gone for a thousand years, and a lot has changed...” Her voice softened for a moment, before coming harsh again. “But you can’t possibly say that you’re allowing the fundamental principle of Mortal Kombat to be ignored?! The whole point of this tournament is to shed blood, so our entire nation doesn’t have to!”

“And blood has been shed. That doesn’t mean that lives have to be claimed.”

“You-”

“The contest will be postponed until further notice...” Celestia addressed the crowd. She had the slightest hint of annoyance in her voice. She cast her healing spell on Scorpion, and then was gone with her sister in a flash of light. Scorpion slashed at the ground with his sword, opening a portal to another realm. He jumped in, and the portal closed behind him.

Everypony was silent. It was still only midday.

“So, I guess we just go back inside?” Steel asked after a few long minutes.

“How are will we ever finish this contest if everypony keeps sparing one another?” Luna questioned her sister, stomping her hoof into the floor.

“It’s the choice of the winner. The rules say that he may kill his opponent if he chooses to do so. For whatever reason, might I add,” Celestia stood in her bedroom with Luna.

“We always have to play by the rules, don’t we Tia?” Luna scoffed, lifting her hoof from the floor. She huffed at the impression she left in it.

“Yes, and the rules say a contestant may not be eliminated from the tournament unless they are killed.”

“Then how are we going to have a champion if nopony is eliminated?”

“You are forgetting, dear sister,” Celestia said, “The champion is not determined by elimination, he is determined by defeating the required number of opponents in a row. If nopony can defeat him or dares to challenge him, he will be announced the champion.”

Luna sighed. The rules were the rules, and there was nothing even somepony as powerful as Luna could do about it. She would just have to hope that this tournament would serve its intended purpose.