Rise of the Alicorn Prince

The tavern remained utterly silent, Solaris feeling very intimidated by the many soldiers in the Resistance looking at him. He, along with Trill and Gilda, sat at an empty booth, still receiving stares from the scary patrons, especially the muscular minotaurs who could easily snap him in half.

"...Ok, this is getting more awkward by the minute," Solaris said. "Everypony keeps staring at me."

"Gilda!" One of the minotaurs, his body and hair blue, stomped up to them, making Solaris shrink at his size. "What is going on!? Iron Will and the rest of us expected a valiant warrior to meet up with us, but instead, we see a little kid who has self-esteem issues!"

"Can it, Iron Will. The kid's the real deal, and Princess Sparkle's kid." Gilda leered at the minotaur who spoke in the third person. "I'm in charge of giving this kid his test, not who was supposed to come to Cloudsdale."

"Wait, is that why Cloudsdale is empty?" Solaris asked.

"Many of us ponies here are natives of Cloudsdale," one of the ponies said. Trill and Solaris turned to face the voice, the alicorn's jaw dropping as he met the three iconic pegasi from the Wonderbolts: Spitfire, Soarin, and Fleetfoot. They weren't wearing their Wonderbolts uniforms, since they were disbanded, but they wore light leather armor with the Wonderbolt insignia on their chests. He knew them from pictures Rainbow Dash had shown him, their hairstyles easy to tell apart from the other members. "We evacuated Cloudsdale the moment Lucifer took over and use the city as a lookout. Many of us decided to take arms and fight back against Lucifer, and we helped Gilda recruit actual fighters for the Resistance, not stupid kids who want to destroy stuff."

"...Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh..." Solaris uttered. "The Wonderbolts...Spitfire. Soarin. Fleetfoot. Actually here..." The teen was about to freak out, actually meeting the aerial stunt members after only hearing about them from his aunt. "...Can I get an autograph?"

"Sorry, kid. The Wonderbolts are done," Spitfire said, making Solaris wilt in sadness. "Ever since that tyrant came into power, nopony felt safe to come to our shows. Many of our team quit, and either settled down or decided to join up with Lucifer. But now that you've finally arrived, we just might revive the team if you take back the throne."

"Really!?" Solaris squeaked, his eyes lighting up, highly anticipating a future show.

"Yeah." The alicorn bounced in his seat, acting like a little colt. "But, you're gonna have to lay off the fancolting. You don't want to embarrass yourself in front of hundreds of highly trained soldiers."

Looking around the room, Solaris caught sight of the many Resistance members stifling their snickers. Highly embarrassing himself already, he shrunk down in his seat until he was under the table. Trill pulled him back up, keeping him from hiding.

"You need to control yourself, Solaris," Trill chided, making the alicorn groan.

"Let's hope he doesn't embarrass himself more when we get to the trial." Gilda got up from her seat, hovering up to the ceiling. "Alright, you mindless bastards! This is the moment we've all been waiting for! Everyone head for the arena!"

Many of the soldiers chuckled, prepared to see the main event unfold. Solaris and Trill followed Gilda and the Wonderbolts, being lead down down the intricately carved caverns, hearing the sounds of cheering coming further down the end. It grew louder until they finally arrived in a massive room fit to look like an arena, hundreds of other soldiers cheering on a pair of dueling minotaurs. The group sat at the highly reserved section, meant only for those of higher power, Gilda letting out a loud roar, catching everyone's attention, including the dueling minotaurs.

"You two, out of the ring! We got a bigger match I'm sure everyone wants to see." The bipedal bulls looked up, spotting Solaris looking around in awe at the well crafted arena, nodding their heads as they made their way out of the large ring. "Members of the Resistance, after fifteen long years of waiting, training, and entertaining ourselves, we finally have our guest of honor here among us! Our future ruler of Equestria, destined to defeat Lucifer and bring this land back to the peace it once had!"

An uproar of cheers rang out from the audience of soldiers, though it immediately died down when a unicorn near the special seats brought up a visual feed of the alicorn with a spell. They soon began mumbling questions, highly confused as they saw a young colt in place of who they expected to be a stallion who had experienced many battles.

"Yeesh...Tough crowd," Solaris uttered to himself.

"Alright, before you all start jeering the kid, he's the real deal, and we're gonna have this test go down now!" Gilda managed to shut the audience up, though many seemed a bit skeptical. "Now, this should be pretty simple for...uhh...What's your name?"

"Solaris," he replied.

"...Wow. That's a bit of a lame name." Gilda cleared her throat, shaking her head at the strangest names Equestrians are usually given. "This should be a cinch for Solaris, our future prince! If he's able to beat his little test, he will receive this next piece of armor, crafted by expert blacksmiths and enchanted with Princess Twilight Sparkle's magic!"

Gilda slammed her fist down on her arm rest, bringing podium up in front of them that held his next piece: a golden breastplate able to fit Solaris's body.

"Wow. At least I get to see what I'll win unlike the last few tests," Solaris said.

"This special body armor will grant the kid the pure might and strength of a minotaur, along with the agility of a griffon," Gilda continued. "With his alicorn prowess, he's sure to be a lot stronger with it on than with nothing on. How about we all get started and see just how good this kid is!?"

Gilda grabbed Solaris, catching him off guard as she flung the alicorn into the ring. He stopped his fall using his wings, getting a laugh out of the soldiers watching him.

"Hey! You could have just told me to jump in here!" Solaris yelled. "You didn't have to throw me!"

"Don't complain, and stay focused!" Gilda retorted. "This is your little test, kid; so far, you've faced against opponents who were ponies, but now let's see how you deal with our two strongest fighters: one a griffon, and one a minotaur. If you can beat them, then you'll get your prize. Lose, and you'll have just humiliated yourself in front of soldiers who are itching to see a good fight. So, how about we bring out our contenders!?"

A round of cheers echoed the arena as they were psyched up for the fight of the century. Solaris was worried, never having encountered any griffons or minotaurs in his life up until now. Trill could see he was anxious, but she knew he could do it, and she was going to see just how good of a fighter he really was.

"Don't panic, Solaris," she said to herself. "Just relax, and kick some plot. You got this."

"He's gonna crack, little miss bug," Gilda said, earning a glare from the changeling. "Let's first bring out our first soldier from the minotaurs side!" The minotaurs in the audience cheered as they rooted for their champion among their kind. From one of the barred gates used to introduce the fighters into the arena, or in this case, beasts to keep inside, Solaris flinched as he heard something try to barge its way through the iron bars. "For those of you who don't know this crazy psycho, he's all muscle and no brain, and seeing anything that moves will drive him to attack without any questions! The burliest of the bunch, the mindless bull we all don't wanna mess with, The Berserker!"

Solaris gulped as he watched the bars go down, hearing someone by the name "Berserker" could only scream dangerous and deadly. As the cell was opened, he could feel the earth quake as the hulking behemoth of a minotaur showed itself. His eyes widened as he saw the amount of scars on his body, the bulk of his muscles threatening to burst out of his biceps, and his horns were cracked and sharp. The Berserker snorted, letting out a loud bellow, making Solaris shiver in fright as he prepared to be charged at the feral minotaur.

"Uhh, c-can I choose my opponents instead!?" Solaris asked, hoping for someone that won't use him like a horn sharpener.

"This is your test, kid! You don't choose who you fight!" Gilda said. "Now, moving on to the griffons!" Now it was the griffons in the audience to cheer for their strongest member. "This griffon is still a cub, yet he's the youngest griffon in history to rise above the ranks and overtake any opponent! A fighter at birth, and my own pride and joy," the griffon boasted, only baffling Solaris as he would be fighting her son. "Even if he can't see, he can find you a mile away and needs no form of aid to help him see where he's going! He's a fighter as a hatchling, and still fights with no handicaps needed, my son, Gale!"

"W-Wait, what?" Solaris asked. He heard an eagle shriek come from the opposite end of the arena where The Berserker came out of, the audience cheering even louder at the griffon's battle cry. There were no bars in this entrance, the only one with bars was the one for the fidgeting minotaur behind the alicorn. He saw the silhouette of a griffon around his height, a little shorter, stepping into the arena. Gale was exactly like Gilda, but his fringed feathers on his head drooped over his left eye, leaving only his right visible. "I-I have to fight him?"

Solaris stared in shock as he looked at Gale's eyes. Even though he had no scars on him that might be visible, his eyes were a lot different than anyone else's: his pupils and cornea were a milky white. Gale was blind at birth, no scars on his face to indicate he lost his sight in any form of combat. Fighting someone who couldn't see was outright wrong, and disturbing for him to even try and do without being a jerk.

"Don't let me down, kiddo!" Gilda shouted to Gale, the young griffon nodding his head.

"Wait! I can't fight him!" Solaris protested. "He's blind!"

"So?" Gilda questioned.

"So I can't fight somepony who can't see!" Solaris didn't see Gale's eye twitched, clenching his fists in a tight ball. "It doesn't feel right to beat somepony up who's handicapped! Why would you want your own son, who is blind, fight as one of my-"

Solaris was suddenly slammed hard into the ground by Gale, who moved so fast that no one even noticed he moved. The griffon teen held the alicorn by the neck, his claws digging into his skin, growling menacingly.

"You think I'm weak?" Gale questioned, his blind eye staring deeply into Solaris's. "Don't you dare think I'm helpless, pony."

"Gale, I didn't say you two could start beating him up!" Gilda scolded. "How is it the brainless biped understands the rules better than you!?" Gale scowled as his wings twitched. Solaris couldn't believe that Gilda would actually insult her own son, and in front of hundreds of soldiers. He finally let go, walking back to his spot. Solaris got back up, rubbing his neck as he felt his skin was almost punctured by his talons. "A little note to you, Solaris; never call my son weak, or else you'll really get it!"

"I didn't even say that...He's visually impaired." Solaris looked over at Gale, who was ready to strike again as he crouched low to the ground. "He was so fast. I didn't even hear him..."

"Now that we're all ready, for real this time, let our future prince's test...BEGIN!" Gilda shouted, and the fight began.

Solaris immediately got to his stance, paying more attention to Gale, since he was even faster than Rainbow Dash, and with how stealthy he could be at that speed, it was going to be difficult. He heard The Berserker roar as he charged at him, the ground quaking with each step the behemoth of a minotaur. Gale didn't move, and The Berserker was getting closer. Solaris quickly turned around to stop the hulking beast, but the instant her turned away from the young griffon, he was hit hard in the back by Gale, flinging him toward The Berserker and slammed down hard into the ground by his bulky fists.

Trill winced while the audience groaned, practically feeling how painful it must have felt for the alicorn. The Berserker lifted his arms, snorting in confusion as he saw Solaris was gleaming brightly like a gem. The shimmering light faded, his crystal skin thankfully protecting him from getting crushed, though it still hurt and nearly broke his temporary protection.

"Urgh...T-Thank you, crystal armor," Solaris groaned.

He didn't have time to relax as he infuriated the minotaur, ready to slam his arms down on top of him again. He quickly rolled out of the way, getting far away from the blood-thirsty beast before he was squashed like a pancake. Solaris didn't see Gale flying toward him, able to accurately find and smack him down to the ground, despite his disability to see. The young griffon was able to hit his back, feeling the protective enchantment around his knuckles.

"Crystal skin?" he asked, feeling the charmed shielding disappearing, replaced with the alicorn's fur and flesh. "Heh. You seriously need armor enchantments to fight?"

"I-I just...got them..." Solaris tried to get up, only to feel a swift kick to his side, knocking the wind out of him as he rolled on his back.

"Unlike you, I don't need armor of any sort." Grabbing Solaris by the neck, he lifted the alicorn up as he struggled to break out of Gale's surprisingly strong grip. "How about we even the odds?"

Using his other arm, Gale brandished his talons, swiftly thrusting his arm into Solaris's chest, shattering the crystal enchantment, having already taken too much abuse. He let go, only to spin kick the alicorn hard in the face, sending him tumbling across the arena. The soldiers cheered on the griffon and minotaur, Gale holding a fist up as he basked in the glory.

Solaris groaned as he shakily got to his hooves, unable to believe someone who was blind was able to find him. "H-How...? How does he always know where I am?"

"I have a little gift." Solaris gasped, Gale somehow having gotten behind him. He quickly turned and threw a punch at the griffon' face, but he grabbed it mere inches before it connected to his beak. "I might not be able to see, but I can rely on my other senses to help me see." Growling, Solaris leapt up and tried to kick Gale in the side of the head, only for that to be blocked by his other claw. "Using my sense of touch, my feathers can help me feel small puffs of air that anyone can make just by movement. Like swatting a fly out of your face, or trying to kick me."

Tightening his grip on Solaris's limbs, Gale slammed him hard to the ground. Grabbing both of his hind legs, the griffon spun the alicorn around in a rapid spin, sending him flying directly toward The Berserker. The minotaur reared his arm back, punching Solaris hard and sending him flying past Gale, sidestepping out of the way as the alicorn slammed hard into the wall.

In the stand, Gilda clapped, proud of her son's feats, while Trill worried greatly. Even from a higher vantage of the battle, the moment she blinked, Gale had ended up appearing behind Solaris, almost like he teleported, and she knew griffons don't have magic.

"This is cheating!" Trill exclaimed. "How is he moving so fast!?"

"We griffons are a lot faster than ponies, even you freaky bug things," Gilda explained. "In case you don't realize, we're a mix of eagle and lion blood, both predators of their domain. We're naturally faster, and my kid's the fastest griffon of all time."

"He's even faster than Fleetfoot," Spitfire commented, Fleetfoot nodding in agreement. "In fact, he might even rival Rainbow Dash."

"How do you know her?" Trill asked.

"She tried out to become a Wonderbolt," the ex-leader said. "She proved she had the ability to be one, especially when we saw her pull off that sonic rainboom at the Young Fliers Competition many years ago."

"Speaking of Rainbow Dash, where is she?" Soarin asked.

As Gilda cringed at the pegasus's name, Trill didn't want to answer, having witnessed Rainbow's death, and a horrible memory for Solaris to ever recall. She snapped out of her silence when she heard The Berserker bellow, charging at where Solaris was slammed into the wall, his horns aimed right at him.

The alicorn squinted through the pain, spotting the minotaur coming right for him. He pulled himself out of the small crater that left an imprint of his body, flapping up into the air mere seconds before he was impaled by sharp horns. As he was about to retaliate, Gale flew up from under him, catching him off guard with an uppercut straight to his jaw. He quickly went on the defensive, trying to block the speedy griffon's strikes, but many of them were too quick to avoid or block. His skin began to get scratched up from the sharp talons, large bruises from the minotaur's heavier and powerful fists, being tossed around like a ragdoll, completely defenseless.

Gale slammed Solaris back down to the ground, the alicorn struggling to get back up as the griffon gently hovered down in front of him. Getting sick of being knocked around, the teen charged forward, swiping his hooves at the griffon, but he dodged each blow Solaris swung. He threw another punch, only for Gale to grab his hoof, pull him forward, and knee him hard in the chest. The alicorn flew across the arena, stumbling along the ground until his back hit the wall. He could barely move, struggling to breath as he tried to stay conscious.

The griffon teen approached Solaris as the crowd cheered Gale on, The Berserker standing by, though ready to charge at any moment. Solaris can barely get back on his hooves, his limbs unable to respond to his brain's commands from the beating he received, a lot worse pain than his first test's beat-down he received. Gale stood over him, looking down at him with his blind eyes in disappointment.

"You know, mom told me I was expecting to fight some great warrior," he said with disdain. "Instead, I'm fighting a kid, who can't hold up to the praise we were all hoping to give."

"Y-You...You're a kid, too," Solaris uttered weakly.

"Maybe so, but at least I'm a worthy fighter than you'll ever be." Gale kicked Solaris hard in the stomach, making him gasp in pain. "If I were in your pathetic horseshoes, I could have taken Lucifer down with my claws tied behind my back! Right now, your pathetic display of combat is humiliating to your own kind, to the Resistance, to me!" He kicked the alicorn hard in the face, slamming him on his side. "You want to earn my respect, you better learn how to fight back!"

"B-But-" Solaris winced as he was kicked in the stomach again.

"Is it because you're afraid to fight someone who's blind?" Gale asked, growling ferociously like a lion. "You really think I'm supposed to be weak for the rest of my life!? I don't need your pity, because I never did or will!" He grabbed Solaris's mane, lifting his head up and forced him to stare into his glazed eyes. "I struggled to get to where I am for all my life! I was ridiculed by others because I was helpless, and always needed my mom to guide me wherever we went! I showed the Griffon Kingdom, and the Resistance, proving to them I'm capable of fighting! You, on the other hoof, are some pompous little prince, who thinks he's greater than everyone else without even lifting a hoof!

"You want to save Equestria? Then stand up and fight me for real!" Gale slammed Solaris's head to the ground, the alicorn still conscious, but unable to move. The griffon sneered, not hearing him try to get up. "...You're pathetic. The princesses died to an unstoppable, blood-thirsty unicorn, the kingdom, and possibly the world, will end up crumbling under his power, and the savior we expected to see is nothing but an absolute failure." He leaned forward until his beak was right next to Solaris's ear. "Hope your mom's happy to know she gave birth to a quitter."

Gale turned and walked away from the downed alicorn. The whole crowd was silent as they heard Gale's rant, truly believing the young warrior's words over Solaris's supposed might. Trill could only watch, knowing she wouldn't stand a chance trying to help her coltfriend fight an incredibly fast and silent griffon and a hulking beast of a minotaur. Even if she did try to help, this was meant to be his test, and she didn't want to compromise the trial for him.

"Told you he wouldn't make it," Gilda commented, snapping the changeling's attention away from the downed alicorn. "The kid's still a greenhorn. He's been sheltered too long in his life. We're gonna have to wait for another few years for him to get better."

Gilda was about to end the fight, but stopped as she saw Solaris beginning to stand up. Some of the Resistance soldiers jeered at the stallion, telling him to just stay down and give up after the beating he had been given, but Solaris didn't listen. The Berserker snorted, catching Gale's attention as he turned his head to the alicorn, sensing him getting back up. He growled as Solaris got back up, standing on his hind legs, flaring his wings out to keep him balanced.

"I suggest you stay down, 'your highness'! You haven't even been able to land a hit on any of us! What makes you think you can still fight!?" Solaris didn't answer, his legs shaking slightly as he tried to stay up. Gale snarled, cracking his knuckles. "Alright then. I'll just knock your lights out, if that's what you want."

Gale sped off in a blur toward Solaris, rearing his fist back to knock the alicorn out. Time around Solaris began to slow to a crawl, his chaos pendant glowing by his will, looking up to see the griffon was a few feet away from him. He was able to move normally, able to manipulate time with the pendant, if only for a brief moment, a power inherited by Discord he never knew was actually one of the abilities he could use for chaotic magic. Though, knowing how random the draconequus was, anything could happen with the power of chaos.

Feeling time begin to flow normally again, Solaris blocked Gale's slowly moving fist, and at the speed he was going, he punched the griffon hard in the stomach. Gale gasped in pain, his body seizing as the wind was knocked heavily out of him. The whole arena was silent, even The Berserker was frozen in place, the only sound echoing the place was the young griffon's struggling gasps.

"I am not a failure. I'm not going to give up...never again," Solaris uttered, only able to be heard by Gale. "Besides-" Solaris lifted his head up, and even though Gale couldn't see his eyes, there was a fire that burned brightly inside. "-I'm just getting my second wind."

Solaris reared his hoof back, the same one he used to knock the air out of Gale's lungs, throwing it right in his face, along with a compressed burst of air, sending the griffon soaring across the arena at breakneck speed. He slammed into The Berserker's chest, managing to push the minotaur back a little, watching the slightly dazed griffon slip down his body and plop to the ground.

Everyone's jaws in the audience dropped, utterly speechless. Gilda leaned over the railing, unable to believe that he saw Solaris actually avoid Gale, along with that powerful burst of air that came out of his hoof. While the others were shocked, Trill grinned, turning it into a smirk when she looked at Gilda.

"Uh oh...Now Solaris is mad," Trill mocked.

"W-What the hay just happened?" Gilda asked.

"Oh. Nothing much," the changeling said. "Let's just say he's all...'fired up'."

Down below, Solaris pulled his foreleg back, slamming both his hooves together, shooting out a flurry of green embers as he set them on fire. The soldiers stared in astonishment, some backing away from the slowly burning embers as they had sat near where the alicorn stood. The Berserker snapped out of his shock, bellowing loudly as he charged toward the teen again, stepping over Gale as he slowly got back up. The minotaur leapt up into the air, coming down and dropping both of his fists down on top of the alicorn.

Solaris shot his hooves up, shooting out compressed air to slow the behemoth's hammer arm's descent, grabbing his fists as he avoided getting crushed. He thrust the minotaur's arms up, smacking both of his fists in his own face, staggering the mad bull. Leaping up into the air, Solaris shot a burst of air out from his hind legs, flying at The Berserker, managing to knock the wind out of him as he slammed his hooves into his chest. He continued knocking the raging minotaur back, shooting fireballs from his hooves, each one exploding on impact.

As Gale finally regained his senses, he was able to pick up a warm, thermal energy everywhere, the main source coming from the stallion he thought was supposed to be defeated. He could feel the intense heat exploding from The Berserker, one powerful blast sending the minotaur flying toward the griffon, quickly getting out of the way before the behemoth could crush him under his weight.

"That's impossible," Gale said. "Unicorns can't manipulate fire, not from their hooves."

"Courtesy of my dragon uncle." Gale gasped, Solaris directly in front of him, and he didn't even feel his presence. He lunged his talons at him, but Solaris grabbed his arm, throwing the blind griffon down on the ground. He shoved his knee in the griffon's side, pinning him down, shooting more fireballs at The Berserker, seeing him back up and charging again. "I might not know much about fighting outside of a training ground, but I can strategize. Consider my fire, and my chaos pendant, trump cards!"

"W-What!?" Gale shoved Solaris's leg off him, sweeping his leg to trip him up, but the alicorn flipped backward before it connected. He rammed into Solaris, his talons and the alicorn's hooves connecting, clutched tightly as they fought for dominance. "What chaos pendant!? What else do you have on you!?"

"You can't even tell?" Solaris asked, the pendant glowing again as this time, the air around the both of them froze temporarily. Gale gasped, unable to feel the air around them, completely blind to everything aside from the alicorn in front of him. "How convenient. Too bad stopping time is only temporary, but that's enough for me to see where you are with your speed. Chaos is pretty powerful, even with just a tiny fraction given to me by the deity himself."

Time sped back up, easily distracting the griffon as he heard and felt everything come back in an instant. Solaris headbutted Gale, stunning the blind griffon, making him loosen his grip on Solaris's gauntlets. He blasted Gale hard with his compressed air bursts, pulling him back with his magic, repeating the process over and over.

Trill was the only one cheering, the Wonderbolts and Gilda dumbstruck at the sudden change in the fight. "Yeah! Smack them around! FIreballs! Air blasts! Beat them until they bleed their own blood! WHOO HOO!" She tried to mimic his fighting style, slipping out of her seat as she didn't pay attention to her surroundings.

After being knocked around several times, Gale managed to right himself in the air, using Solaris's telekinetic force to send him flying back at him with incredible speed. Before he could attempt to thrust his talons at the alicorn's face, he flipped back, shooting his hind legs into the griffon's stomach, shooting off another burst of kinetic force into his body, flinging him up to the ceiling of the arena.

Solaris got back to his hooves, hearing The Berserker charge in again. He reacted too slowly, getting punched hard by the bulky fist, sending him stumbling across the arena, but he quickly recovered, recoiling back to the minotaur with his air bursts. He avoided two heavy swings from the enraged bipedal bovine, retaliating by punching him hard with powerful compression blasts in his face. His pace picked up until his hooves were a blur, dazing The Berserker. Solaris flew back to the ground, then leapt back up, rearing his fiery hoof back as it began to change from green to white. He thrust his hoof hard, sending white sparks flying around them from the impact, flinging the minotaur into the wall, rendering him unconscious.

Up above, Gale managed to free himself from the imprint he left after getting shot up into the ceiling. He felt the air beneath him, the thermal heat from Solaris's hooves having changed in his perspective, both in temperature and in power. He could sense slight movement from The Berserker, but the minotaur was down and out. Letting out an eagle-like shriek, he swooped down at the alicorn at blinding speeds, talons flexed as he thrust his arms forward.

Solaris's ears twitched, hearing Gale soaring down at him, but he didn't need to rely on his chaos power's time stop ability this time. Extending one of his forelegs, he shot a blast of compressed air, shoving his elbow back hard right as the blind griffon was directly behind him, hitting him hard in the chest. Completely stunned from the blow, the alicorn grabbed Gale's arm, spinning him around and let go, leaping up and spinning in the opposite direction. As Gale tried to get his bearings, he was too slow to react as he was kicked hard in the face, sent spiraling across the arena, tumbling hard across the ground until he smacked his head into the wall, next to the unconscious minotaur.

Solaris slowly eased into his battle stance, not even realizing his flames were burning white instead of green. The crowd was silent except for Trill's cheering, but she went quiet as she saw Gale slowly, yet shakily, getting back on his feet. He lifted his head up, looking directly at the alicorn with his glazed eyes, his fringe out of place and revealing his left eye. They both stared each other down for an agonizing minute until Gale let out a weak caw, collapsing on his side, passing out as the last of his adrenaline ran dry.

More silence. The soldiers couldn't believe their eyes. After getting pummeled to near death, they watched Solaris quickly turn the tables, not only by defeating their strongest fighters, he beat them with an ability none of them had ever seen in their lives. Trill's wings buzzed as she leapt up in the air, whooping and cheering for Solaris's victory.

"HE DID IT! SOLARIS IS THE GREATEST FIGHTER EVER!" Trill shouted at the top of her lungs. "WAY TO GO, BABY!"

Eventually, the soldiers began stomping their hooves or clapping their hands/talons, cheering for the stallion as well as accepting him as a champion. Solaris relaxed a little, his flames disappearing as he landed on his hooves. He was in a lot of pain from the beating he took, but he toughed it out as he looked around at the hundreds of Resistance soldiers cheering for him.

Gilda snapped out of her daze, still in awe at the incredible display she and several others had just witnessed. She held up her arms, silencing the cheering crowd as she looked down at the bruised, yet victorious, stallion.

"Well, I thought for sure you would have thrown in the towel, but after all that hidden away, you definitely brought your A game," she said. "You've beat our toughest fighters from outside of your equine species, and managed to make it out with a dozen scratches. Now, there's only one thing left to do." Solaris sighed in relief, ready to claim his new body armor. Instead, he nearly leapt out of his skin when a dagger flew straight at him, landing in the dirt arena a couple feet from his hooves. From the direction it came from, it was Gilda who threw it at him. "You'll have to kill the losers."

Solaris's jaw dropped and Trill's cheering quickly died as she thought she misheard the griffon. Suddenly, the soldiers began to chant "Kill them.", their voices growing louder as they expected blood to be spilled on the arena. The alicorn looked at his opponents, both of them having woken from unconsciousness and bowed down to him, almost as if waiting for him to end their lives.

"Y-You can't be serious!" Solaris argued. "I already beat them!"

"Correction: you managed to knock them down, but they're still alive," Gilda corrected the teen. "In a real life situation, especially in a war, it's either kill or be killed. You leave your opponents alive, they'll find a way to get you back and end up killing you in the end! Your test is meant to defeat your opponents, and that means killing them!"

"B-But Gale...He's your son!" Solaris exclaimed, unable to go through with this ridiculous trial's rules.

"He's lost an important match. He knew what he was getting into." Solaris felt disgusted, hearing the blind griffon's own mother disowning him. This wasn't what he would expect from someone else's parent, being so cruel to their own child, not even caring what happens to them. "If you're expected to beat Lucifer, then you can't show any mercy! Now kill them!"

The chanting grew louder, Solaris's stomach threatening to twist itself in knots until it couldn't be untied. He shakily picked up the dagger in his magic, beginning to hyperventilate as his mind raced through the ones he loved dying before him over and over, some of them replacing their deaths to ones by his own hoof. The reflection in the blade showed him acting like a madpony, slaughtering anything without any remorse. Trill could see he was about to have another panic attack, growing frustrated with the change in his test's rules.

"Gilda, you can't be serious!" she shouted at the griffon. "Solaris won! Just give him the stupid armor!"

"He hasn't won yet! He needs to learn to grow up, and take responsibility for his enemies!" Gilda snapped back at the changeling. "If he leaves them alive, then they'll stab him in the back the moment he turns around!" She turned back to the alicorn, still frozen still and freaking out. "Stop standing there and kill them! DO IT!"

Solaris shook his head, trying to calm his breathing as he looked around the audience, then back to Gale and The Berserker. He wanted to grow stronger, he wanted to pass this test, but killing them in order to pass just wasn't right. He looked back down at the dagger, glaring at the weapon with spite. Holding it in his hoof, his flames ignited the dagger, burning and melting it into burning liquid steel. This had made the crowd jeer at him for wussing out, but he didn't care what they all thought.

"I'm not doing it!" Solaris shouted, glaring at Gilda.

"...What?" Gilda swooped down from the stands, landing between the alicorn and the losing pair.

"You heard me! I'm not going to kill them for my next piece of armor!" Solaris exclaimed.

"Do you're going to let them live!?" Gilda shouted, marching toward the stallion, who kept his ground. "Tell me, kid: In this situation, if you were fighting Lucifer, you pummeled him to a pulp, and he was on his knees, are you telling me you would still want him alive!? After everything he's done to Equestria!? To all of us!? To you!?"

"...I know he deserves a death sentence," Solaris muttered. He looked up, staring defiantly at Gilda. "But that doesn't mean I'll be able to do it! I know he's destroying Equestria! I know he killed my mother and the princesses...But what will me killing him do!? Absolutely nothing!"

"Oh really!?" Gilda yelled, getting up in the stallions face.

"YES, REALLY!" he shouted, shoving his face in the griffon's. "I want him dead, but killing him won't bring my mother back! I'll end up being a monster just like him, even if it means saving Equestria from his tyranny!" Solaris shoved Gilda back, standing on his hind legs and reigniting his fire, which had turned back to green. "I'd rather keep him alive in a cell, disabling his magic and let him rot in prison until the day he dies than shed another pony's blood! If I want to be Equestria's future ruler, then I'm going to be a benevolent ruler, where the guilty will receive their punishment through fair judgement, not immediate death! I don't care what you or any of you drunken bastards think of me for my choices, so if you think I'm unworthy, then you might as well kill me! I am NOT a killer, and I'll never become one like Lucifer!"

The whole arena was silent, many of the soldiers surprised to see Solaris actually fighting back against their leader. Gilda still held her glare on the teen, slowly approaching him as he prepared to fight back if she tried anything.

"So, that's really the answer you want to give me?" Gilda asked, Solaris's glare confirming his answer. As his focus was primarily on Gilda, the soldiers all began to grin. Gilda stopped a few feet in front of the battle ready alicorn, her sneer turning into a smirk. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear."

Solaris's glared turned into confusion, his flames puffing out, his eye twitching as his brain processed what the griffon just told him. "...W-Wha...?"

"You passed, kid." Gilda took one of the confused alicorn's hooves, thrusting it up into the air. "Let's hear it for our champion, the REAL ruler of Equestria, Prince Solaris!"

The soldiers all cheered loudly. Spitfire tossed Solaris's breastplate down to Gilda, helping the stallion into his new gear. Trill was greatly confused, frustrated, angry, and wanted to beat the living tar out of anyone nearby out of the harshest tricks Gilda had given Solaris. The alicorn, however, felt like his brain had melted, reformed itself, exploded, reformed again, then melted and blew up at the same time.

"...Why is it that I pass these things, something has to break my mind until I question what makes sense anymore?" Solaris asked himself, knowing he would never get an answer.