Honor, Guts, and Glory

Preparation

Princess Luna, the recently freed Princess of the Night, was out training for the tournament with her sister. Whom had agreed to help her out for a few hours. She couldn't wait until she was able to cross blades with the new fighters of the age, couldn't wait to feel the thrill of combat against powerful warriors again.

Though she was sad, knowing she wouldn't see many familiar faces. Many of the beings she remembers fighting have long since withered away into nothing. She brushed these thoughts away, knowing it would just depress her to think on the past and all she missed. Just because she was jealous of her sisters popularity.

The Lunar Princess had always been more of the fighter. She would rather act than talk, actions speak louder than words after all they say. In her spare time, she constantly thought of ways to improve her magic and physical skills. She considered herself the first arcane warrior, someone who mixed both magic and physical ability together. One helping the other become much stronger. Luna had always been physically stronger and much more aggressive than her sister. This is not to say she wasn't intelligent, no they were equal when it came to that.

Its just their personalities were as different as day is to night.

Celestia was the thinker, calmer, and didn't find battle quite as exciting as her sister did. She could be terrifying when she unleashed her power on an opponent, having a vast number of spells and immense magical energy at her command. Considered to be the most powerful mage in existence, she knew spells that no pony even remembers any more. Including her sister.

One of her past times included dualing with Luna. Especially when she needed to prepare for something, such as the tournament.

This was what the two sisters were currently engaged in. Luna asked Celestia to help her polish her skills before it all started, Celestia had of course said yes. Always happy to help her little sister, especially with something nostalgic as this.

Luna lept forward- striking fast and hard at her partners head. Celestia dodged just in time, planning to counter with a slash at her sisters torso. But she didn't execute fast enough. Luna threw a swift front kick into her stomach. Celestia was thrown off balance.

'She still kicks hard as I remember...Maybe harder?' Celestia used her naturally calm mental state to prepare a clever defense...

Luna thrusted her sword towards her training partners heart, confident this would make contact.

Instead of doing what she wished, her thrust ran straight into a bright golden shield her sister had created. This took her off guard. She mentally kicked herself for not remembering whom she was fighting.

It burst into a bright light, blinding Luna for a short while. Knowing it was a bad idea to stay so close to an enemy in her current state, she lept backwards and used her wings to lift fifteen feet off the ground till her eyes cleared up. Celestia read her movements and, launching off her back leg, flew into the air after her sister. She slashed horizontally at Luna's stomach, her wings giving her extra momentum.

Luna recovered by the time Celestia had begun her attack, and blocked her sisters cut just in time. She countered with a slice to the neck. Celestia dropped down out of the air, just barely dodging the dull blade.

Luna was disappointed she had not been able to finished it right there, and with this thought, landed a few feet away from her elder sibling. Celestia stood up straight and stared into Luna's eyes.

The two of them looked at each other for a minute. Both silently agreeing to stop for now, the princesses had been at it for more than four hours, and they hadn't even gotten to using offensive magic.

Both Princesses put away their training swords and sat down on a nearby bench. Both were still silent, lost in their various and unique thoughts.

“Do you think we shall come across a challenge?” Luna broke the silence, a bored expression on her face and a question she had been dwelling on for a while.

Celestias eyes shifted towards her sister, amused by her inquiry.

“You know, someone as great as lets say, Persephone?” The Princess of the Night did have a hard time with that challenger. Persephone was small, quick, and possessed incredible god-like reflexes. This made her incredibly hard to hit with or without magic.

Celestia giggled, growing more amused with each word that came out of Luna's mouth.

“I highly doubt you will meet anyone that good. But I doubt my own doubts.”

Luna looked at her more interested than before, also confused by her word choice.

“What do you mean, sister?”

“Some of the dragon competitors are quite old and powerful. Besides, if everything goes as I think it will, you might meet someone more dangerous than most other fighters you will, or have, encountered.”

Luna narrowed her eyes at Celestia, sending her a silent message that she did not appreciate being teased.

“Do you mind telling us who this warrior is? Or will you continue to keep your own sister in the dark?” She had grown interested by now.

Luna received a radiant smile from her sister as a response.

“Don't worry, you'll know who it is once you fight him. If you fight him. Oh! By the way, I received a letter from Twilight yesterday. All six of the Elements, Spike and the young ones will be attending the tournament. They should be arriving some time later today!”

"That is wonderous news sister!"

A Joyful smile graced Luna's features. So far the only friends she had made were the ones mentioned above. She was grateful to the Elements, for stopping her from going past the point of redemption. It had been the greatest moment of her life thus far, to be able to see the world as she had over a thousand years before.

Her smile quickly faded as the memories of the past crushed her momentary joy.

As Luna got more used to her freedom, she started realizing how much the world had changed. How many old friends had disappeared with time, how much she had missed and lost. The pain, guilt, and loneliness Celestia struggled through without her there by her side. The first time Luna realized it, she had cried uncontrollably in the middle of the night, which ended up waking her sister. Who tried to calm her for hours. It made her even more upset to know that the current elements would grow up and disappear one day as well, and all they would have when that time came, would be the memories- and stain glass windows created in honor of their deeds.

Celestia seemed to sense her sisters dark thoughts, so she gave her sister a light hug to help cheer her up.

“ Give me a smile, It makes me sad when you make a face like that. Anyway, we need to get ready to have dinner with some of the 'important' royalty from the other countries.”

Luna forced a half hearted smirk, wanting to cause Celestia little pain as possible. She knew nothing would change if she thought about it, she just had to move on and make the most of it while she could. She could not let memories, or anything else for that matter, drag her down.

“Fine, but when we meet their little noble sons and daughters, or they themselves in combat, they better not expect us to go easy on them for their sake.”

This earned her a laugh from her older sister.

“Of course not! Most of them are too afraid to say anymore than hello to you anyway. I'm sure they will try their best NOT to be annoying.”

Luna feigned insult, placing a hand over her heart. “Afraid?! Of me!? Tis a lie!”

Both of them giggled and proceeded to stand up and get ready to go inside. They did need to get ready for the dinner the two of them were supposed to show up to, it wouldn't be a good thing if the two of them insulted the royalty of the other countries right off the bat.

The Elements, Spike, and the CMC finally arrived in Canterlot. After a long and frustratingly loud train ride, Rarity was more than happy to be free of that enclosed space.

The CMC had been so bored they ran around trying to be the conductors of the train when no one was looking. Rarity still had no idea how they managed to do that successfully without causing any serious damage. To top it all off, they were trying to think up ideas of what to do when they got to Canterlot, being ever so loud about it. Drawing pictures, making ridiculous plans, even going as far as saying they should become the co-rulers of the country. Crazy foals. She couldn't take a nap the whole time.

In reality it hadn't been half as bad as she expected it to be but still, they should learn to be patient and sit still every now and then.

"Well we made it!" Rainbow Dash announced happily as she stretched her limbs.

Twilight nodded at her before announcing her plan.

"Alright every pony, first things first. We need to go to the castle to let the Princesses know we are here. Then we go to our rooms and unpack. After that, we could have dinner. Sound good?" Twilight laid it out simple as possible, so they wouldn't be confused as to what to do, but she still wanted to make sure her friends were satisfied with it.

Fluttershy shook her head yes. "Sounds nice."

"Ah agree with Fluttershy. Lets get started then everypony, seein that it might take a while to make it through this crowd." AJ waved her hand across the scene in front of them, to make her friends aware of just how packed the city was.

Not only were there an abnormally high number of Equestrians, there were, like the Princess mentioned in her letter, many other different races. Minotaur, Griffons, The civilized type of Diamond Dogs also known as Canis, a couple dragons here and there, and every now and then a pure blooded human.

The CMC and Spike looked on in wonder. Never in their lives would they have dreamed of taking in such a sight!

"Woooowww- This is soooo incredibly awesome!" Scootaloo shouted to the other Crusaders.

"Ah know! Ah'v never seen a dragon this close up without thinking ah was gonna get eaten." Apple Bloom replied with a fillies excitement, still awestruck at the sight she was currently absorbing.

"I hope we don't get lost!" added Sweetie Belle, her voice cracking as she spoke. She stayed close to her friends.

"Man its crowded! There's so many people here its hard to fly!" Rainbow Dash cried out as she landed next to Twilight after a failed attempt to take off with out the risk of running into someone.

"Oh, quit yer whinin and lets go already." Applejack and Twilight led the group in a circle formation, Twilight leading the way, while AJ took care of any rude people in their path. Fluttershy and Rarity were on the sides, being sure not to lose their friends, or the fillies in the middle of the group. Rainbow and Pinkie watched the back, alert and aware of any pony walking by that looked suspicious. Many of these people did not look trust worthy. Spike rode on Twilight's back.

The ten of them were making wonderful progress with this efficient formation. At this rate they could make it to the castle in ten minutes. They would be able to settle in, relax, catch up with both Princesses. Possibly see her brother for awhile, enjoy a nice dinner.

That's what they all hoped for anyway, yet in just a couple seconds, all their hopes for the rest of the evening were crushed.

An angry shout resounded throughout Canterlot, many people stopped to see what all the commotion was about, and others just couldn't get by the two angry people.

The sight they took in was unexpected. A broad- lightly armored Equestrian Knight, fixed his angry gaze upon a very large, dark man of the south who returned his glare. Standing on the other side of the street, the tall warrior stared right back at his possible opponent, never blinking once.

"How dare you come in here and insult my family name! It would do you well to remember where you stand prince boy, you are in Equestrian territory now! Comments like that could get you killed!" The knight screamed at his opponent, obviously not pleased with whatever the Southerner had said.

He didn't seem to realize that in this day and age, you were not allowed to dual to the death on a street full of civilians.

The southern man, apparently a leader of some sort, did not talk quite as loud. Still trying to be civilized around so many commoners.

"Your family has never beaten one of mine in the past. I stated a fact, it may have been insulting, but your racist comment was unneeded as well, no? Perhaps you've had too much to drink." He growled, ready to draw his weapon at any time. He could sense his enemies rage slowly boiling up to a dangerous level.

"You conveniently forget that we have beaten you barbarians! Don't change the past to your own liking!"

"Fine. You have beaten us once, but that happened over a thousand years ago! Never again!" He slashed his left hand in front of him, while he gripped the pommel of his sword with his right.

Both fighters began to subtly circle one another. The Royal guards decided to intervene, not wanting it to get any worse than it already was. They were hoping it would stop at the level of a shouting match, like most other nearly violent cases, unfortunately this was quickly getting closer to the point of bloodshed. One flew away to get back-up, so if it did escalate into a physical fight it would be easier to handle.

"Dualing is not allowed in the middle of a populated street. Either take it outside Canterlot, or just walk away. I don't want to have to do this the hard way, and I don't want anyone getting hurt." The tough-veteran guard commanded.

While the Southerner considered the guard's words, the Equestrian Knight seemed to take it as an insult.

"How dare you, a lowly guard command me, one of the direct descendants of Broadsword the Strong and son of Celestias High General Whitefire!" His common sense seemed to be being quickly swallowed up by his anger.

"Great, another snob who thinks they're above every pony else. The only difference is this snob's got a weapon and knows how to use it!" Rainbow-dash yelled out in disgust, causing her friends to flinch.

The situation started getting much too intense, and to their dismay the ten travelling Equestrians could not find a way out of the crowd. So they had to sit there, watch, and hope to Celestia it wouldn't get any worse. Especially with the younger Ponies around.

"HA! See how this little brat acts? He is nothing but a spoiled child! Quick to judge, he thinks he is above everyone else!" Accused the angry Southerner. His patience had run out.

"Shut up you two! Calm yourselves. Look we all know this will end badly if you decide to fight here. Do you want to face the Princesses because you disobeyed the law? What if you kill someone?" The guard gripped the pommel of his sword as well. He knew these two were highly trained warriors. Because of this he had a slim chance of subduing them both at the same time.

AJ whispered to Twilight-

"We might need to lend that guard a hoof if his back up doesn't arrive soon. You can use yer magic to stop them for a time right?" Applejack sounded dead serious- her voice tense and unsure.

Twilight nodded her head. At least she thought she could, but these two looked like they were registered for the tournament. The two of them together would be hard to handle. Especially considering they must have experience against magic. On top of all that, she couldn't do anything real fancy since they were in such a highly populated area.

This idea was quietly thrown away when Shining Armour himself arrived on the scene. He did not look pleased.

"What in the name of Celestia is going on here!? Don't the two of you have any common sense?! I demand you to stop this instant!"

Shining's voice resounded throughout the city streets, quieting all for a few seconds.

"Ah- so even my friend, Shining Armor wants to get in my way!? Why should I listen to any of you?! Why don't you understand!! He insulted my honor and my family, he deserves to be punished!" His face was red as a tomato, his neck muscles tense.

"If you want to fight so badly, why don't you prove it with actions instead of words Coward?" The southerners comments caused the knight to take a quick step forward, Shining blocked his advance.

Rainbowdash's temper festered over time. She finally spoke up,

"What do these two clowns think they're doing? Do they have no concern for the people around them?! Those punks need a beat down!! Just throw em in jail already"

A few in the crowd shook their heads or cried out in agreement.

"Now don't go do anything brash Rainbowdash. It will just worsen the situation." Rarity warned her friend harshly.

Twilight turned her head towards them,

"Don't worry, I'm sure my brother has it all under control!"

A loud angry roar wiped the confident smile off her face.

"At least I hope he does." The Element of Magic looked back in her brothers direction, hoping to Celestia he would be alright.

"Now move Shining! I don't want the first swing to be at you, my target is him!" Shouted the angry knight.

He started drawing his broadsword.

"He threatens not only me, but his own friend! I will teach him a lesson in manners!" The southerner yelled in response, also drawing his wide, curved weapon.

"Both of you HAL-"  Shining Armour was ill prepared for what happened next.

They both charged and swung, their swings too fast to see. Shining stood in the direct path of both attacks. And did not have enough time to move or block with his own weapon. He didn't even have time to erect a magical barrier to protect himself.

The guard who was handling the face off originally, desperately attempted to get him out of the way. But wasn't quick enough to beat their speed. No one was able to react fast enough!

Twilight screamed in a stroke of panic.

She didn't want her brother killed!

"Shining!"

AJs face turned to one of shock. Rainbow Dash yelled out in alarm. Fluttershy yelped, and Rarity looked much the same as Applejack. Even Pinkie hadn't expected this.