The hatred of the shadow

While Rainbow and Twilight were staring at the arenas, the carriage made its way to the platform to the other carriages. Twilight saw that a group of maybe thirty of ponies leaving the building on the top of the mountain and made its way down to the stairs, towards the platform.

As they flew closer Twilight noticed that there were a bunch of guards walking around. The strange thing was that their armor was red instead of golden and their weapons were colored in ice like colors. Twilight asked Eruption. "What kind of guards are these?"

"These are some of my old students that decided to stay here and serve as guardians. They will protect this place and everypony with their lives." he answered with a little bit of pride in his voice.

Twilight nodded and looked at these ponies for another moment, their expression were serious and they seemed to be ready to kill everything that isn't wanted here.

As soon as the carriage landed on the ground the group of ponies from the building approached them and they bowed down. Eruption stepped of the carriage and looked upon them. "Stand up my students."

They all stood up and Twilight and Rainbow were addressed by the pegasi that had pulled the carriage. "Come with us to the rest of the group."

Rainbow was a bit surprised. "Wait, you are students too?"

With a grin the two pegasi nodded simultaneously and walked to the big group. Twilight and Rainbow followed them and then they looked up to Eruption. After Eruption saw that they all looked at him, he began to speak. "I greet you all here in my domain! Each one of you was chosen by me to be trained. Normally I would have only trained one of you but the latest events forced me to train more of you at the same time."

The group began to whisper to each other, what Eruption noticed with an upset expression. He stomped with his hoof on the ground with created a loud sound and everypony was quiet again. "This doesn't mean that there are no rules. You all will do as I say without hesitation. Everypony that can't live with that may leave now or never."

He waited for a moment but no pony moved even a inch. A small grin formed on Eruptions expression. "Seems like I chose the right ponies. Now let's go back to the reason why you all are here. First I wanted to only train a few of you but the archmage asked me to train an elite of warriors, so I decided to train a group of you. I will train you, so you be able to face the dark mage Malonex. The half umbrum managed to escape a short while ago and now it seems like ha has taken over the Crystal Empire. It will be our task to fight him and kill him."

This time the group stayed quiet and just waited for Eruption to go on and so he did. "We will start immediately. The building on top of the volcano is the place where the ponies who are worthy will live for the time you are here, most of you probably already know that. The wooden building over the cliff there is the armory. You will all go and take you preferred weapon, no armor, and then come to the stone arena for the first trainings round."

With that he walked away and the group walked towards the wooden bridge that lead to the armory. Twilight and Rainbow walked with the group and soon they entered the building.

The entire building was had only one room per floor which meant that many different weapons were place on tables and stands. At the end of the room where two stair case with one of them leading down and the other up. Over each staircase hung one sign, the one over the staircase leading up was the word "Armor" on it and on the sign over stairs that lead down was the word "Arena" written.

Rainbow immediately made her way to the spears but Twilight watched the others for a moment first. She noticed that they all quickly found their weapons and that the weapons they chose were very different. Twilight then walked to the swords and took one of the normal one-hoofed swords and one middle sized shield.

Only a few moment later the whole group walked out of the building towards the two arenas in the volcano. They walked down to the sea of lava and walked past it towards the stone arena.

They all walked inside of the arena through the entrance and spread a bit across the open space. As the last pony was inside, Eruption stepped into the middle of the arena. "I told you all earlier that I will train more than one of you but that doesn't mean you will all be trained, I will choose only eight of you."

The ponies began to whisper as they realized that many of them had to leave soon. Twilights expression turned worried but Rainbow just began to smile. "Come one Twilight, I bet he will train us anyway. After all he was told by Rising to train us."

Twilight wanted to respond but was interrupted by Eruption who started talking again. "You will fight against the things I will let you face. If you manage to defeat them you will be trained if not you will leave. If more than eight manage to win, the best will be trained. You can fight alone or together with one partner. You have five minutes to win, which should be more than enough. There are no exceptions." As he spoke the last sentence he looked at Rainbow and Twilight.

The same on Rainbows face vanished for a second before it came back. "No problem. We can do this together."

Twilight was about to respond as she heard somepony behind her. "Are you two ready to fight?"

She turned around and saw that it were the two pegasi that pulled the carriage. Each of them had one katana strapped on their sides with a belt. Rainbow responded confident "Sure we are ready!"

"We hope for you that you are right. By the way we are Hack and Slash Eruption." said the left one and the right one followed. "And we already know who is going to win." They both began to smile.

Twilight was surprised. "Wait a moment! Eruption? You two are related to Ice Eruption?"

They both grinned and nodded. "Sure we are. He is our uncle." Now Twilight noticed that they really looked similar to Ice Eruption. They both had a red coat and an ice blue mane that nearly reached to their shoulders.

"What do you mean with you know who is going to win?" asked Rainbow quickly afterwards.

The left one began to talk. "Well, we pull the carriage of our uncle now for over a year and we have seen each one here fight except you two and since we know our uncle we can guess who is going to beat the challenge and who not. We know of four ponies in this room that will definitely win, which means if we count us there is still space for you two. If you are good enough."

"Sure we are good enough. I am the fastest flyer in Equestria and she is a princess and the most powerful spell caster existing! We are going to be the fastest to win!" said Rainbow with great pride but she was met with small chuckles from the twins.

Now the right one talked. "I highly doubt that. Even if you are faster than we are, you will never win faster than Vortex. He will probably finish everything in less than five seconds."

In this moment Eruption spoke up again. "That is enough time to talk. Now let us start. I will use these orbs," he lifted a blue orb over his head that seemed to contain a fire, "to create monsters of ice. You have to fight against them and get the orb from them. If you fight together you will have to face a monster twice as big and fast. You are the first Vortex!"

A pegasus in a black cloak and a lowered head stepped forward. the cloak was ripped at multiple places and reviled his light gray coat and his short black mane that was nearly completely hidden under a hood. He carried a scythe in his right hoof and dragged it over the ground, creating a unpleasant sound by doing so.

One of the twins whispered to Twilight and Rainbow. "Just watch and you will see what we meant earlier. Where he comes from he has earned the nickname Death. We talked to him once, not a very friendly guy and always seems to seek for something to defeat."

Twilight thought that this name fit his appearance. In the next moment Eruption threw a orb into the air where ice began to form around it. As it landed on the ground it had take the form of a tiger but it was bigger than three ponies on top of each other.

It looked aggressively at Vortex who didn't even lifted his head. Then Eruption asked. "Ready?"

Vortex answered with a sinister rasping voice. "I am ready."

Then Eruption suddenly shouted. "Begin!"

In that moment Vortex flew into the air and grabbed his scythe with both hooves. He began to dash down at the tiger, who didn't knew what to do, and Vortex began to spin forwards like a wheel, slashing down with his scythe again and again only to lift it up again behind himself. He was on so high speed that from the side he looked like a gray sphere with a black point in the middle.

Only a moment later he reached the tiger and began to cut through the ice that formed the head. As the entire head was destroyed he stopped spinning and turned the scythe around. He swung his weapon under the body of the tiger and hit it directly at the chest. With a quick drag he freed his weapon again, with the scythe he also dragged out the impaled orb.

While the Ice tiger broke down Vortex swung his weapon without a word and thereby threw the orb back towards Eruption who caught it with his hoof and used his magic to repair the hole inside of it.

Vortex landed on the ground again and walked slowly away, dragging the scythe behind himself. While he did so the other ponies watched him in awe. He sat down and began to watch the others from under his hood. Even though his face was well hidden in the shadow of the hood Twilight was sure that she saw a devious grin on his face.

Eruption began to announce the next fighter. "Gold Fire!"

The next pony that stepped forward was a gray unicorn with a golden mane. He was nearly as big as Eruption and carried a big broadsword on his back. The flat side of the blade was as massive as the pony who carried it and it had one and a half times his length.

One of the brothers leaned over to Twilight and Rainbow and spoke. "Oh he is always fun to watch fighting, even though he is a bit slower than most ponies here."

"Ready?"

"I am ready." He answered with an serious expression and a firm tone in his voice.

Eruption created a new tiger and again gave the commando to begin. Unlike Vortex, Gold Fire waited for the tiger to attack. With his sword in the strong grip of his magic he began to slowly walk around the tiger who followed him with every step. Suddenly the tiger jumped forward and tired to hit with the claw.

Gold Fire jumped back and used one of his legs to kick the claw away while he swung the sword with the flat side against the head of the tiger. The tiger was knocked away but landed on its paws.

Gold Fire immediately ran towards it with a battle cry and used the sword to cut the front legs away with one strike. As the ice monster landed on its chest he jumped onto it and rammed the sword into the tiger. He rammed it with such speed that everypony could hear the sound of the metal hitting the stone-ground. Gold began to run over the back of the tiger and dragged the sword with his magic behind himself.

After he reached the end, Gold Fire jumped away and watched the tiger falling into small pieces. He walked up to the mountain of ice and took the sphere out of it. He threw it to Eruption who nodded approving.

Gold Fire heaved his sword on his back and walked next to Vortex and sat down too. They both sat in silence next to each other.

Without letting much time go by Eruption called out. "Whirlwind!"

Twilight could hear the twins sigh. "Now we come to the most unpleasant ponies we, and maybe you, will have to tolerate. We once fought against her. She has an ego bigger than the sun and is annoying when she manages to beat you. If you manage to beat her she gets aggressive and either try again till she wins or walks cursing away."

With that in mind Twilight watched an eathpony mare walking into the middle of the arena. Her weapons were a pair of claws that she wore on both front hooves. Her coat was colored in an orange tone and her short mane was some kind of dark gray. Her yellow eyes were focused on the crystal in Eruptions hoof.

"Ready?"

"Winning is something I am always ready for!" she said with an self-confident smile.

Eruption summoned now the third tiger made of ice and called out to begin.

Whirlwind didn't hesitated for a moment to attack the tiger. She jumped onto the back of the tiger and began to cut with her claws into the ice. The tiger began to shake to get her of but she dug her claws into the ice and managed to stay on the back. As the tiger realized that it was of no use it laid on the ground and rolled on its back.

Whirlwind jumped off the back and landed in front of the tiger. She waited there for the tiger to stand up again. The tiger gave her an angry glare and opened the mouth to roar at her. In that moment Whirlwind jumped at the tiger, directly into the mouth. Twilight and Rainbow both gasped in shook but all the other ponies just stayed quiet and watched.

Only a second later cracks began to form in the ice, then the ice shattered and Whirlwind jumped out of the tiger with the orb in her metal claws. She lifted it triumphant in the air and looked at Eruption who just levitated the orb out of her hoof. Upset about his lack reaction she walked away and took a seat next to Vortex.

"Magus Token!" This was the next name that was called out.

Like the times before Hack and Slash gave a quick comment to the fighter. "This is the last one that will definitely win. He is an very impressive mage and a smart guy. We know him since we were foals."

In the arena walked now a purple unicorn with a blue mane and goatee. The only thing he carried was a book and a quill that were strapped on his side by a belt . He didn't carried any weapons with him what Twilight surprised "I thought all magic fighters normally use weapons. Where are his?"

"You can say he is some kind of exception. You have to know he has an very interesting ability. He can sent his magic out and give it a physical form."

Twilight looked at the brothers a bit confused. She used her magic to see his aura but as she did so she saw a normal aura, nothing that indicated that he had some kind of special magic. But as she looked again at him normally she saw that his iris was constantly glowing in a bright blue.

"Ready?"

First Magus didn't answer but suddenly blue smoke began to form above him. Then the smoke began to gather and form solid form. The material they created looked a bit like blue metal but it glowed and was a bit transparent. The magic began to form letter in the air till it formed the sentence. 'I am ready'

One of the brothers quickly explained. "He can't talk since he was born."

Eruption threw the orb again and like the last time the ice tiger landed on the ground. A second later Eruption told them to begin.

Again smoke began to spread above Magus till it formed a big cloud. The tiger didn't waited for him to attack and just jumped right at him. Magus move a piece of the cloud in front of himself and let it take the form of a big shield. The tiger smashed against the shield and it began to crack but it did not break.

Magus used another part of the cloud to create a gigantic hammer which he used to hit the tiger in the side. The ice monster fell onto the ground and Magus sent a big part of the cloud after it. He used it to create chains to hold the tiger in place.

As the tiger struggled to escape, Magus sent out the rest of the cloud. The hammer and the shield turned into clouds again and followed the rest. The cloud began to cover the area around the struggling tiger. For some time it seemed like nothing was happening but then the smoke began to take the form of around fifty spears.

Only a second later all spears slammed into the tiger, thereby piercing through every part of its body. The tiger stopped moving entirely and Magus let the spears turn into smoke again and then let the smoke disappear. As the spears left the body of the tiger it fell into small pieces. Whit a simple levitation spell he let the orb fly to Eruption who took it with his hoof and began to repair it from the scratches the spears had caused.

Meanwhile Magus made his way to the others who had finished their test and sat down. He took the book and the quill and began to write something down.

Twilight wanted to ask the brothers if they knew what he was writing but was stopped by Eruption announcing the next name. "Hack Eruption!"

"Oh, we are next." They both quickly smiled at Twilight and Rainbow Dash before they walked away.

They walked up to the middle of the arena and Eruption nodded. "I already guessed you two would fight together."

"As always." they both said simultaneously.

Eruption threw the orb into the air and ice began to form around it. A new tiger landed a second later on the ground. This time the tiger was twice as big as the other ones both brothers drew their katana out of the scabbard and got into combat position. Eruption called the beginning and the tiger immediately attacked the brothers.

This one was faster than the other ones but the brothers still managed to lift their swords and used a simple chop to beat the claws away from them. That forced the tiger to land directly in front of them. In so close distance the tiger tired to bite Hack who flew into the air to dodge. As the tiger missed, Slash dashed towards the head and a scratch directly over one of the eyes.

As the strike damaged the eye, the tiger tired to bite Slash now who just kicked the tiger in the face to get away. This time Hack rushed down from the air and cut with his katana over the other eye of the tiger.

The ice monster screamed and jumped back a bit. Hack landed next to his brother and they both got ready for the next attack. The now blind tiger stayed still and waited for something to find his enemies with.

Hack and Slash both flew into the air and Hack immediately rushed down again. He flew by next to the tiger and while he did so he cut a few times into the legs of it. Meanwhile Slash flew to the other side of the tiger and as Hack finished his part, he kicked against the monster which caused it to fall to the side on his back.

Hack and Slash quickly got back into the air and looked down at the tiger that was struggling to stand up again.

In the next moment both brothers dashed down at the tiger and held their katana ready to attack. As they reached the chest of the monster they both began to cut into the ice multiple times. Only a few second later the ice broke under their attack and the orb was free. As fast as they could the brothers grabbed the orb and took it out.

The ice fell into pieces and Hack and Slash threw the orb to their uncle who caught it and began to repair the orb again. Hack and Slash walked to the other winners and sat down next to Gold Fire. They began to talk with him a bit while Eruption already finished repairing the orb and called the next pony. "Princess Twilight Sparkle!"

Twilight gulped nervous and hesitated to walk but Rainbow kicked her in the side. Rainbow nodded and they walked together in the middle of the arena. A few ponies began to whisper but most of them stayed quiet like the before.

Eruption looked down at Twilight and Rainbow and nodded. "So you two will fight together? Well then, are you ready?"

The both nodded and Rainbow said. "Yes we are totally ready!"

Eruption nodded and threw the orb into the air and a big tiger like the one Hack and Slash faced landed on the ground.

"Begin!"

Twilight drew her sword and lifted her shield while Rainbow pointed with her spear towards the tiger. She flew into the air and began to fly around the tiger.

The tiger ignored Rainbow and instead turned to Twilight. It quickly jumped at her, to avoid getting hit she jumped a few steps back. The tiger landed directly in front of her and Twilight used the opportunity to strike against the head.

Her attack hit the head of the monster and left a deep mark in the ice. In that moment Rainbow Dash flew down at the tiger and priced with the spear into the back of the monster for a short moment.

The tiger lifted its head to look up to Rainbow Dash. Twilight used that moment to pierce her sword into the lower jaw of the tiger. As the sword was inside of the tiger, it immediately moved its head around and slammed Twilight away with it. The sword remained inside the tiger leaving Twilight weaponless.

Rainbow Dash started dashing down at the tiger again and again to leave a few scratches in the ice. Twilight began to shoot bolts of energy at the tiger but they didn't do more than just leave a few scratches.

The tiger jumped at Twilight who lifted her shield and managed to block the claws but she was still thrown away by the force of the attack.

Then Twilight saw that a few cracks had formed where Rainbow had pierced her spear into the back of the tiger. She looked at Rainbow and pointed at the direction. Her friend nodded and began to concentrate her attack on the damaged spot.

Twilight did the same and her bolts began to rain down at the tiger. As Twilight saw that more and more cracks began to form she nodded at Rainbow and pointed at her shield. First Rainbow looked confused but then saw how Twilight pointed at the shield and then at the damaged spot. Twilight used her magic on her shield and it began to glow with purple magic.

Rainbow then nodded back and got ready for their attack. Meanwhile the tiger tired to attack them but every time he jumped to get them they managed to get away quickly enough.

Twilight then threw her shield to Rainbow Dash who caught it. She dashed down at the tiger while Twilight distracted it with her magic bolts. While Rainbows speed began to increase, the enchantment of the shield began to blow brighter. Rainbow held the shield forward and smashed right into the damaged spot.

The shield created an explosion of purple energy and the crack form the back began to spread over the whole tiger. It exploded and as the dust vanished was Rainbow standing there with her spear and Twilights shield in the other hoof. Twilight flew down and levitated the open lying orb to Eruption and took her shield back from Rainbow. Then she took the now free sword and put it back into its scabbard.

They walked where the other six were sitting and sat down next to Hack and Slash. One of the brothers smiled and kicked Twilight in the side. "Looks like you two know more about combat then we expected."

The other brother nodded approving and now Gold Fire spoke up. "You fought good there princess Twilight and you too Rainbow Dash!"

Twilight and Rainbow nodded thanking and one of the twins looked to the others. "What do you all think of the first fight you saw them fight in?"

Whirlwind, who was the last in the line, just turned her head away and said. "They are barley good enough to be here."

Blue letter appeared in the air over the still writing Magus . 'I think you two did good, not perfect but good.'

Vortex was the last one who said his opinion. "You two may have managed to win but that is nothing to be proud of. This wasn't a real challenge." After he finished his sentence he turned back to the arena. "But it was still impressive." He added with a slight smile and he watched the first pony that lost today.

The others followed the example of Vortex and watched the others try their best. One by one the remaining ponies tired to fight the tigers but Twilight and Rainbow realized Hack and Slash were right about who is going to win. Only a small number of ponies managed to actually defeat the tiger and those who did either took very long of only barley made it.

In the end Eruption called his guards to lead the defeated ponies away. Twilight watched as the disappointed ponies walked out of the arena.

After the last pony was gone Eruption turned to the remaining group. "I congratulate you all. Your training will begin now!"