The group of five were placed in an open area (as well as in armor to balance things out), as were a few royal guards who also had shimmering everything. One had a spear, another had a sword, a third armed with a set of claws attached to the horseshoes of her front hooves, one was going bare, and the last had a charging horn.

“So, who goes first?” Yuuki asked, doing a few yo-yo tricks to ease her boredom.

Shining, who stood at the sidelines, looked to the guards and said, “Will Shimmering Feather step forward?”

The guard who held the spear, a pegasus at that, stepped forward. He held his weapon in his wing. His pelt was wisteria, and the hair attached to his helmet was white.

Shining looked to the group of five. “Koto, step forward.”

Koto did as told, holding her boomerang in her magic. She stared off with Shimmering Feather, and neither moved.

“This should be fun.” Nagare remarked, waiting until the sparring would begin.

“Two ranged attackers...one a pegasus and the other with access to magic. I wonder how interesting this’ll get.” Tenmei murmured, glasses glinting as he spoke.

Shining cleared his throat, and a silence clutched the makeshift arena. “Now, the rules of the fights are as follows: whoever lands three hits on the other wins, and whichever team has more wins will win the match. If you can, avoid wasting attacks. If an adversary is pushed out of the arena, the opponent automatically wins if the one pushed out fails to get back in within the course of two minutes. Are we clear?”

Both soon-to-be combatants nodded.

“Alright. You may begin.” Shining said at last, and in an instant, Feather took to the air before descending down on his adversary, poising the foot of his weapon to hit her. She barely dodged in the nick of time, throwing her boomerang at the pegasus and landing a hit on his back leg. Feather took to the skies in the blink of an eye, and tried landing his spear on Koto again. He managed to hit her, although barely, but she also managed to hit him back.

Feather went for a full-on assault, trying to hit Koto like his spear was a stick. The young mare blocked the assault with her weapon as best as she could, being backed out of the arena slowly. The pegasus managed to land another hit, and the unicorn returned in kind just as her back hoof was about to overstep the arena’s boundary.

“You may return to your respective teams.” Shining said, and both ponies backed off from the other, sheathing their respective weapons as they trotted back to their allies. He turned around to a board behind him and made a tally on the left side. Turning back, he glanced at the guards again. “Quick Strike, step forward.”

The pony with the claws, also a pegasus, came forward. Unlike the other guards, this one was a mare, and her coat was a light sea green in color. Attached to her helmet was a hefty tuft of golden hair, and her night blue eyes were fixated into a look of wonder.

Shining glanced at the other five. “Yuuki, step forward.” He said, and the purple mare obliged.

“Yo-yo against claws. Now we’re mixing it up a bit.” Tenmei stated, cleaning his glasses with a cloth.

“Before you give out the signal, Captain Armor, may I ask my adversary a question?” Quick Strike asked, glancing at the unicorn.

“By all means, you may.” Shining replied with a nod.

Strike looked at Yuuki. “Why is your weapon more of a toy?” She asked.

“It’s a long story. I don’t think I have time to talk your ear off about it.” The purple mare answered, sighing. “A lot of other ponies have asked me about it too.”

Strike raised a brow. “Fair enough.” She said.

“Begin.” Shining said, and in that instant, Quick Strike flew towards her adversary with haste. She tried to swipe at the other with her claws, only for her opponent to take flight and land a hit with her yo-yo. The guard ascended as her opponent retracted her weapon, grabbing her with her talons and throwing her back onto the floor.

“Yikes! No wonder her name’s Quick Strike!” Koto exclaimed, eyes wide as she saw the spectacle unfold.

“I’m okay!” Yuuki called out, getting herself off the ground just in time to avoid being further pummeled into the floor. Quick Strike swiftly rushed at her opponent, dealing two more hits in rapid succession.

“Enough.” Shining said, and both backed off.

“You should practice more often. Your fighting skills are mediocre at best.” The clawed mare said, smiling as she trotted back to her comrades.

“I guess I should, and I’d even take up another weapon if my cutie mark wasn’t a yo-yo.” Yuuki replied, sitting down next to her friends.

“I know the feel.” Strike called back, still grinning.

Shining looked towards the group of guards after making another tally. “Broadsword, step forward.”

The pony wielding a sword stepped forward, white coat with grey hair attached to his helmet. His blade of choice was a literal broadsword, and he held it in a magical grip.

“Nagare, step forward.”

“I can see where this is going…” The pegasus sighed as he took his place, and he winced as he found his blade was a good third smaller than that of his opponent’s. He saw his opponent’s orange eyes lock onto him.

“My blade’s bigger than yours. How on earth do you expect to fight me with that thing?” Broadsword taunted, smiling as he saw the wince.

“Begin.”

The unicorn charged, and within moments, both swords repeatedly clashed against one another. Nagare blocked every time, backing the flat of his weapon with a hoof. Broadsword’s eyes widened at how his opponent managed to keep up with his onslaught, and on two hind legs no less.

“Fighting fire with fire. It seems like they’re evenly matched.” Tenmei remarked, watching the spectacle unfold.

Broadsword made a low swipe, and barely missed as his opponent took flight. The pegasus made a strike, and his hit connected. The unicorn backed off, spinning his sword in his magic a few times before he found himself being the one to block attacks.

Broadsword landed a hit, sending his opponent back quite a ways as a result. “You’re pretty good!” He remarked.

“As are you.” The green stallion replied, once more going on the offensive. Broadsword charged forward again, also on the offensive, and blades clashed like there was no tomorrow. Neither could land a hit on the other at this rate, nor push the other out of the arena, and all watched intently as the deadly dance of swords carried on.

Broadsword backed off after a little bit, only to charge right back in with his sword held high. Nagare charged as well, his sword held low. Blades clashed once again, over and over, sparks being produced from the sheer impact alone.

“Draw.” Shining said, and both opponents backed away and returned to their respective teams. “There will be a rematch between the two later.”

Tenmei and Rekka exchanged a glance with one another.

“Spellbind, step forward.” Shining said, and the unicorn whose horn was glowing obliged. “Tenmei, step forward.” The earth pony obeyed, and he gulped hard as he stood in the arena.

“A crossbow...first time seeing one in a sparring match.” Spellbind said, smiling slightly. From his magical energy came forth a pair of chains, this set lined with spikes belonging to a mace.

“This may be a bit of a problem…” Tenmei murmured, rearing up on his hind legs briefly.

“Begin.”

Spellbind threw his chains forward, lashing out at his adversary like the damn things were whips. The earth pony immediately began dodging, unable to get a clear shot of his opponent.

“Oh dear. Looks like he’s in a heap of trouble.” Koto remarked, watching as a chain coiled itself around her friend’s rear leg and spun him around like a top as he landed on the floor.

“Yep. He’s having more problems than a math book.” Yuuki sighed, wings shifting.

The earth pony got up and pried the chain from his leg, and Spellbind began tossing his weapons to and fro once more. He galloped around, hoping to get in a hit of his own. Another chain grasped him by the midsection, dragging him to his adversary.

Two bolts fired in panicked succession bounced off of Spellbind’s armor harmlessly, but the unicorn retracted his weapons. His eyes were wide, telling the tan pony he was surprised. The unicorn began flailing his weapons after overcoming his shock a moment too late; Tenmei fired another bolt that hit the bare base of his horn and bounced off like rubber soon afterwards.

“Stop.” Shining said, and both ponies backed off. He did the tally, and the last two opponents--Rekka and the guard who had no weapon whatsoever--stepped forward before he even gave the command.

“Get ‘im, Steel Kick! Get ‘im!” Cried the other guards in a unified roar of cheer. This guard had much more bulk than the others; even Shining himself was a midget in comparison. His cyan coat and white hair shimmered more as well, and eyes of light brown stared back into those of his scarlet opponent.

“The other guards are hyped up. I think this spells doom.” Tenmei murmured, leaning towards Nagare as he spoke.

“I still have a rematch with Broadsword. We may turn the tides in our favor.” Nagare replied with a nod.

“I hope he doesn’t become a waffle…” Koto murmured, shaking a bit. "That other pony sure is menacing."

“Hey, I’ve never seen a tail that long tied at the base.” Steel Kick remarked, grinning as he did. “We could always use some more variety.”

“Just be glad my mane and tail aren’t weapons.” Rekka replied, also grinning. He chuckled at that absurd prospect.

“When I’m done with you, there’s gonna be a big imprint in the floor where I crushed ya.” Steel stated, smiling as he stomped his front hooves.

Rekka’s horn glowed, and his weapon was removed from his foreleg and attached to his side at the armor. “Ner har har.” He chuckled, smiling. “Now I don’t have to use my hind legs to fire the damn thing. I should do this more often.”

“That’s a neat trick.” Tenmei murmured, eyes widening. He was impressed.

“Before we begin, what the hay is that clunky thing?” Steel asked, pointing a hoof at his adversary’s weapon.

“A cannon.” The unicorn answered, sighing.

“Begin.”

Steel Kick rushed forward, front hooves about to crash down as soon as he was in front of the unicorn. The red-maned stallion barely dodged, seeing cracks form from how hard the bulky adversary slammed his front hooves.

“I’m not becoming a pancake!” Rekka called, turning to Steel and pulling the trigger. The bullet hit the tank of a pony on the armor, which bounced off harmlessly soon after that.

The massive earth pony rushed towards him, bringing front hooves down onto the floor again. This time, he barely caught the unicorn by the end of his tail, and got another bullet to his armor in the process.

“Feisty little guy, ain’t ya?” Steel taunted, about to land yet another crashing blow upon his opponent with one foreleg.

“That’s what she said.” His opponent taunted back, firing off another bullet.

“Stop.” Shining said, and both backed off from the other. Making another tally, he looked towards both sides. “Now, we shall have a rematch. Broadsword, Nagare, step forward.”

Author's Note

Had to split this in two parts to avoid breaking pacing again. I need to stop getting carried away. Gonna make the third part soon.

~Dragon