Clash of the Legends

Luna's jeep, despite the earlier difficulties, was now tearing down the roads towards Canterlot. The headlight beams were disappearing way into the night, illuminating bushes and turns. Luna was used to the night; she could quite easily see without the lamps. The only problem with that idea was that nopony, her team or other team, would be able to know where she was. Despite this potential tactical disadvantage, she continued, the black jeep powering over the rocks and jumps of an unused path. Out of the dark came a sudden flash, temporarily causing Luna to shield her eyes when a loud thump was heard against the bonnet. She desperately turned the wheel in a futile attempt at keeping the vehicle steady. The jeep skidded sideways, went onto two wheels before dropping fully onto the road. Oh dear. thought Luna as she fell out of the car, trying desperately not to fall over when she ran over to what she hit. Boots clinking against stone ground, she cantered over. The flash turns out to have been a respawning. The respawning pony was none other than an incredibly wounded Scorch-Mane, clutching his chest as though to hold in his innards and his face in a pained expression. Luna frowned, and just as she turned to go back to her jeep, a voice spoke in her head.

You're leaving him? He's in pain! How cold-hearted can you be?! said the voice. Luna returned fire.

He'll most likely kill us the moment he gets the chance. Victory cannot be secured without brutality."

"But victory isn't what drives you, is it? I know what it is, it's nothing but lust. Lust for the guards' failure so that you might-"

"No! 'Tis a lie! To prove we are right, we shall save him. Art thou happy now?"

"Yes." Luna stopped, deciding her conscience had won, but carried on to the jeep.

"D-don't leave me here." came a feeble voice. This time, Luna stopped and opened her eyes. "I-I'm too c-cold. I might d-die in this state. Please. If you don't want to save me, at least spend my last moments with me." she turned around and looked at the weak figure on the floor. He was right, he was cold. His whole body was shivering and rattling the plates of armor he wore. He was barely concious, and looking hopefully at Luna, in a final, desperate attempt at keeping himself alive. Luna couldn't resist the blue, tear filled eyes looking at her. She closed her eyes, and surrounded the guard on the floor with a magical blue aura, levitating him in front of her face.

"No guard of ours is to die under our care." she smiled warmly. "Come. We were on our way to Canterlot to find our sister and Princess Cadence. Thou shall accompany us to the castle, where you will be thrown into the dungeons."

"Th-thank you." he tried to return the smile, but upon failing coughed up some blood, before passing out. His eyes fluttered shut, and still held by the princess, she trotted with him back to the jeep. Positioning him in the back seat was no easy task. The seats were rather small. She ignored this, lay him on the seats and watched quietly for a few moments.

That's when a sudden force drove her to do the unexpected: she leaned forwards and kissed him on the forehead. A few small sparkles went down from her mane, until she finally moved back.

"Thou art most welcome." she whispered, before shutting the door and getting into the driver's seat once more.

Cadence frowned. Shooting the Princess wasn't very clever, as now she had all of the other five competitors hunting her down. Deciding her vantage point in Cloudsdale was still relatively good, she began looking about with squinting eyes, trying to discern the location of any other competitors that she could get rid of. She ruffled her wing feathers to warm them up; inactivity had rendered them numb to her commands. Deciding to wait until sunrise for hunting, she stood onto all four hooves, arched her back so that her spine was back into place, before flying off to Canterlot. Unfortunately, she faced a 40 minute flight whilst being very tired. Eventually, after Canterlot was finally in sight, her body simply lost it, falling several feet onto a balcony. Unforunately, the balcony was made of marble, and she felt herself impact the solid rock and collapse into blackness.