The Vices of Harmony

A bitter cold rain fell upon Crystal Sholes Park. The byproduct of the dark ominous storm that hovered in the skies above, growing and waiting to fully unleash its potential upon the world below. The torrent of water it was spewing out was just a warning, an omen of the nightmare, to scare off all those who dared be out tonight. Most headed its warning and remained indoors.

But one man did not fear the rain simply because there was little he had to fear now. He walked through the downpour as if it wasn’t even there, partly due to the hooded cloak he wore for protection. The cloak wasn’t a perfect tool for protection as it had seen better days. In fact that could be said of all his clothing. Yet for now, they were an adequate protection against the icy, stinging rain. They however, did not give the man an approachable appearance. Even in the dim light the park’s walkway lamps provided the cloak, heavy boots, and dark figure made the man seem like a demon. A far cry from what this man used to be, before the war. Once he was like a Prince, born and raised in a lifetime of prominence and fame. Much had been expected of him and he had always stridden to live up to those expiations. Now he was a stranger to that life lured away by the promise of power beyond his dreams and unending wealth. He had fallen from the grace and prosperity he had always known, but for him it was all worth it. All so that he could beat his longtime rival, and fill the envy within his soul. Time after time, when he thought he would finally accomplish his goals he would be passed over by the Matriarch, his own aunt, for a commoner. A man of peasant blood outranking him was just too much of an insult.

So he gave all that up, for a stronger life. But that left him in the place he was in now: on the losing side of a terrible war that tore a hole through society itself. It was a conflict of magic, between saints and sinners. And as in all conflicts before it, the overconfident lost. But all was not yet lost, as the man had contributed greatly to this war. He had hurt his enemy, hard. And while he was all that was left, he would walk away from it all content knowing his effects would last a life time. Still he knew he would not survive this war. So he made sure to leave one last seed in place. Now it was time for the last battle, and who better to give him a final fight than his greatest rival. Appearing from a nearby tree, the rival stepped out of the shadows and into the lights. His white cloak soaking wet from the storm but he still looked more dignified than the hooded man.

The rival lowered his hood and looked at the man with his light blue eyes, “Blueblood.”

Blueblood stopped walking, “Ah Shining Armor I am surprised to see you up and about.”

“You think I’d let you get away after what you did, let alone allow as simple storm to hold me back?” Shining Armor asked his expression cold and determined his voice unyielding in its firmness.

Blueblood chuckled, “No I knew this little thunderstorm wouldn’t deter you. You were always so resilient, such as I would expect from the last standing. What I am surprised about is that you’ve stepped away from your darling fiancé. I wonder…how is she doing since the last time I saw her? Shame about those legs…”

A lightning bolt flashed across the sky followed by a loud smack of thunder.

“Don’t push me Blueblood; you know exactly why I am here.” Shining Armor said.

That line made Blueblood turn around and lower his hood. His once handsome face was now mired in a sea of scars, his right eye removed and covered by a patch. His lips curled into a sinister smile, “There are many reasons as to why you would be here. Revenge for your fiancé, orders from that moon bitch, vengeance for your fellow comrades, or maybe you’re here for more personal reasons.”

“You killed Celestia, nearly destroyed the School, and lead Tirek’s forces including the Sinister Seven in an attack upon the capital!” Shining accused, “I am here to put an end to all of this.”

The smile vanished from Blueblood’s face, in its stead it was replaced by a look of determination, “You really think it’s going to be that easy?”

Shining’s face hardened, “No I know it won’t be that easy.

That made the smile return to Blueblood’s face, “Now that’s the pride I know you have.”

But Shining didn’t return the smile, instead he frowned. “Blueblood, don’t make me do this.” He told his rival.

“Too late Shining Armor, far too late.” Blueblood hissed.

And in an instant he struck. Blueblood threw his cape off his body, exposing it to the storm around him and fired a bolt of lightning at Shining Armor. Shining responded by raising his arms and formed a magenta pink shield. The lightning slammed into the shield and nearly knocked Shining off his feet. But he held his ground against Blueblood’s attack. Finding his footing, Shining charged, shield clinging to his left arm.

Undeterred Blueblood fired again. He began throwing bolt after bolt of bright white lightning bolts at his old rival. Shining blocked all of them, either by deflecting the attack with his shield or dodging. Shining was surprisingly nimble as he jumped, dived, and rolled out of the way of the attacks.

Quickly, Shining got to within feet of Blueblood and punched him hard in the face. Blueblood staggered back but recovered quickly. He swung his arm around and slammed Armor hard with a return shot to the chest. Shining coughed but felt little pain, he brought his shield to bear and backhanded it across Blueblood.

The magic shield hurt Blueblood, drawing blood from his mouth. Yet Blueblood was little phased. He charged up mana into his hand and then sent another bolt of lightning right into Shining Armor at point blank range. Unable to react in time, Shining took the bolt right to the chest and was propelled back.

He landed hard onto the other side of the park, smashing a bench as he came to a stop. Hurt but nowhere near beaten, Shining jumped to his feet and began to sending magenta mana bolts back at Blueblood.

Blueblood matched the attack by hitting each mana shot with lightning bolts from his own mana pool. Each magical attack slammed into each other with a concussive force that reverberated through Crystal Sholes Park like the thunder booming above. Shining Armor knew that he matched Blueblood in magical output; his only chance to win was to outlast the fallen prince.

Seeing the stalemate, Shining launched himself into the air and dove down on Blueblood, rain falling with him. Blueblood saw the attack and flew back just in time to avoid Shining’s shield slamming into him. Shining recovered and charged. Blueblood however launched backwards in an attempt to dodge. The two then channeled their mana into their feet, quickening their speed in an attempt to catch and strike each other.

Shining to the first hit, managing to get behind Blueblood and kick him in the back. But Blueblood got the second, smashing his fist into Shining’s jaw. He also got the third, sending a bolt of lightning into Shining’s chest. But Shining got the forth hit, using his shield to bust Blueblood’s torso.

To the outside viewer, unable to keep up with the two mages speed, the duo simply vanished into thin air only to rematerialize when one hit the other. One second they were in one spot, the next a completely different location. It was as if they were like the very bolts of lightning that was waiting above to come down and electrify the world below. Strike after strike, hit after hit the two went on with their battle using trees, benches, even park statues as platforms to hit, launch off of, or throw the other into. Shining managed to endue all of the battle, but he found little chances to get a chance to hit Blueblood.

He soon got an opportunity to strike close again. Blueblood repositioned himself to get a better angle to bring a hit on Shining. But when he landed, his footing was lost on a puddle of water and he slipped. Shining saw this chance and dove on his enemy. Blueblood managed to get on his feet, but it was too late.

The duo began to pummel each other with their fists and magic at close range. Blood began to drip of Shining’s mouth as Blueblood got two hits off, but Blueblood had a gash on his forehead that was forcing blood to drip over his eyes. Finally, Shining had Blueblood at his mercy.

With one magical strike from his last remaining mana, Shining blew Blueblood back with a massive force. Blueblood thought he could recover from this as he flew backwards, but his magical energy and his strength now failed him. He went flying backwards, slamming through tree after tree. The trunks shattered his bones before splintering into toothpicks, one broke every bone in his left leg, and another ripped his right off completely. Skin and cloth were torn from his flesh as he flew through tree after tree. Finally the force propelling Blueblood vanished and he slammed into one last tree trunk. He slid to the ground and slumped over at the base of the tree. Blood gushed from everywhere on Blueblood’s body as he lay, slowly dying.

He looked up and peered through his blood and the rain water slamming down on him to see Shining Armor approach. Blueblood, fallen prince and once powerful mage, now had no strength left to continue living. With his imminent death, he would be the last of the current to fall. He expected Shining to gloat about his victory. But what he saw was regret on the face of his rival and bester.

“Regret Shining Armor, unbecoming of you.” Blueblood hissed.

“You did not have to die Blueblood; you could’ve turned yourself over and ended this nonsense without spilling more blood.” Shinning answered.

Blueblood shook his head, “War doesn’t allow for us to be…sentimental…besides, what do you think it would’ve accomplished? At least now, we put our feud behind us.”

Shining seemed more hurt, “At least with your death, this damn thing’ll be over.” Then he turned to leave his once friend do die alone.

Blueblood chuckled, blood dripping from his mouth, “No Shining Armor, this has only just begun.” Then with one last blood filled breath, Blueblood passed away.