Chapter 3: Introduction to an Interesting Duel

When Blueblood woke up, he was slightly confused about how he ended up on the train until all of his memories came rushing back. The creature had taken him hostage, and he had been dragged all over Canterlot, being threatened and abused. Blueblood couldn't believe that even the Diamond Dogs weren't as brutal as this creature.

He quickly put his hand over his own mouth, making sure not to wake the beast up. He recalled that the creature called himself "King," and he wondered how a monster like King could have such a noble name.

Blueblood tried to remember his training on what to do if he was ever captured by a hostile nation, but his mind went blank. He couldn't recall a single thing the guards had said. However, it was unlikely that there had ever been a hostage situation with diplomats or nobles because the fear of Celestia alone deterred anyone from kidnapping a pony of the royal line.

Even the Diamond Dogs returned hostages upon Celestia's request. Even so, the only creatures they ever took were those foolish enough to venture onto their land. But this creature was either bold enough or stupid enough to walk right in and take him from the central seat of power. Blueblood attempted to come up with a plan to escape, but each one ended with him taking another strike from the savage creature.

As he stared at King, he noticed many oddities and similarities at the same time. The first thing that struck him was that the creature didn't have any pony identifiers - no horn, no wings, and his ears were not in the same place. He didn't have the claws of a griffin, nor the gills of a seaquestrian.

However, there were many things that matched up. The creature had hands, legs, eyes, and other things a normal pony would have. The weirdest thing was that Blueblood couldn't see a cutie mark. He looked at his own, on the back of his left hand, and then at King’s, assured that it was not there. He was aware that not every creature had a cutie mark, but he looked so much like a pony. He even wore rings of gold and silver on his fingers, similar to Blueblood’s set.

He was otherwise dressed in the most strange attire. First and foremost, his hair. Blueblood had seen dreadlocks before, on poor ponies that couldn’t afford proper hair care, but never had he seen the locks themselves tied back. If he cared enough to tie them out of his face and weave a few beads into his bangs, why couldn’t he care enough to brush it all out clean and smooth?

Moving down, he wore a very ornate necklace. Brass or bronze, he could not tell for the wear, but there were two garnets studded into two of the three plates at the center. Beneath that, a leather strap held closed a tight leather jacket, dyed purple with a ruffled white lining and cuffs to match. Along its edges was secured another belt, this one with brass adornments that held the clasp, almost like a harness. He wore small spaulders on his shoulders and basic bracers on his wrists.

His jacket was short, ending at the bottom of his ribs and not fully closing over his chest, so his abdomen was on full display until his belts. He wore two; a blue one made of cloth, and a leather one, studded with brass with a bronze buckle. Wrapped into this outer belt was a cloth cloak that draped almost down to his ankles, dyed the same colour as his jacket. Over this cloak on his left hip, he also wore some short, decorative metal rings, strung together with leather straps and hung from the outer belt.

Beneath that, he was wearing a pair of puffy white pants, over the top of which he wore black cloth chaps, reinforced on the edges with leather. What was baffling about his pants being so puffy is that they were stuffed into his knee-high boots.

Or perhaps boots was not the right word. From his knees to his ankles and covering the tops of his feet, they looked like sturdy leather boots, strapped to his shins with leather belts, all black as his chaps. However, these only seemed to be connected to the soles, crafted from some kind of metal; iron or steel, most likely. But the soles only covered his toes and heels, leaving the sides of his feet open to the mud and dirt and anything else on the ground.

However, what was most peculiar about the man was his magic. It felt different, almost like it wasn't magic at all. When he used it at such close range, Blueblood felt that something was off. He couldn't explain how, but he instinctively knew that what he used wasn't anything like unicorn magic.

"If you keep on staring, I might think you're falling in love."

As Blueblood's concentration was focused back on the monster, looking at its grinning face, he was paralyzed by fear and not able to utter a single word.

"Oh, come on. Don’t pass out again."

Blueblood swallowed his fear and decided to do what he did best: negotiate. "What do you want?"

King raised an eyebrow and a sinister smile crossed his face. "To crush my enemies, see them driven before me, and to hear the lamentations of their women!"

Blueblood was appalled by what he heard. He thought this creature was a savage before, but after hearing that, he knew this monster was an absolute terror. He couldn't help but let out a nervous laugh.

King let out a powerful guffaw. "Oh, wow! You should see your face!"

Blueblood suddenly realized that the monster was playing with him and not taking him seriously. His years of diplomatic experience were the only reason Blueblood did not immediately explode on this monster. That, and the fear that it would throw a quick left hook at him.

Instead of stewing, Blueblood took a deep breath and counted to five; a technique that Celestia taught him. "Can you take this seriously? You kidnapped a member of the royal family. This can be seen as an act of war!"

"If what I ploughed through last night was the best your military has to offer, I could conquer this place by myself," King said, folding his legs and leaning back against the chair with a smile. "But luckily, I have a couple of friends who can help me out."

Blueblood almost had a heart attack upon hearing this. There were more than one of these creatures running around in Equestria? "How?! How did you even end up here?!" he asked, bewildered.

King raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure I said I was not from this world. And there are only a few ways to forcibly bring creatures from other worlds. Something summoned us, and it must have had a lot of power. It ripped us out of our world after a long battle. That's why I fell through the sky and into that room. Your guards promptly threw me into that dungeon, without even sending a cleric out to see if I was going to survive that fall."

Blueblood could only remember some of the reports he had read about the creature. He had thought this was something that his aunties could deal with. "Even if by accident, you entered our princess’s private room, destroying her magical protection, which should have been almost impossible. You also assaulted two guards who attempted to detain you. And to top it off, you didn't talk for three days, no matter what we tried to do."

King listened to Blueblood's tirade with a smirk on his face. "You make it sound like I did it on purpose. Falling through the sky and landing in a strange place is not exactly a pleasant experience. And as for the guards, they attacked me first. I simply defended myself." He paused for a moment before adding, "And as for not talking, I needed time to adjust to this new world. My ability to speak in all languages was delayed by something. Maybe because your words were so foreign. Who knows?"

Blueblood nodded slowly, trying to make sense of everything that was happening. "But why are you here? What do you want?"

King's smile widened as he leaned forward. "I'm here for a bit of fun, of course. And to see what this world has to offer. And who knows, maybe I'll even stick around for a while."

Blueblood couldn't help but feel a sense of unease at King's words. He knew that this creature was not to be underestimated. "What do you want from us? Why did you take me?"

King's eyes gleamed with mischief. "I took you to garner the attention of your leaders. I want to meet Celestia, Luna, and those seven warriors that defend your land. I've heard so much about them, and I want to see if they live up to the hype."

Blueblood's mind raced as he tried to come up with a plan. He knew that they needed to be cautious around this monster. "And if we don't give you what you want?"

King's expression turned serious as he leaned back in his chair. "Well, let's just say things might turn a bit messy. But as long as everyone cooperates, there's no reason for anyone to be hurt… much."

Blueblood was worried. This kind of villain was not new to Equestria, but he had strange powers and an unknown number of allies. Maybe Discord had something to do with this, but they needed to investigate to find out, and Blueblood couldn’t do any of that while being a hostage.

"If you had waited a day, the princesses would have been back. But you destroyed their property, assaulted their guards, and disrupted the harmony of Equestria. They will not be pleased when they return from their meeting in Griffinstone. If you surrender peacefully, you may be able to spare yourself from the wrath of the two alicorns."

King smirked, about to respond, but then he heard the train whistle. "Our little chat is over for now. It's time for us to go speak to the Elements. I suggest you do not share your situation with anyone. If anyone asks, you are simply escorting a new dignitary around Ponyville." King brought back his kind smile, but the coldness in his eyes made it clear that he was deadly serious. Blueblood shivered, but nodded his head in agreement.

As they stepped off the train onto the platform, Blueblood's heart stopped when he heard a small voice. "Blueblood? What are you doing here?"

King turned his head around to see a dragon with purple scales and fiery green spines. Its hands ended in claws, and its wings were so small that King had to wonder if it could even fly. It was small, and it looked young.

Blueblood's words started to fumble out of his mouth, "What? What are you– How… Spike, what are you doing here?"

Spike looked confused at the question. "I was just saying goodbye to Twilight. She was called to the capital to handle some problems."

Blueblood couldn't see King's eyes, but he could feel them burning a hole in his head. The monster's voice was calm and collected as he asked Blueblood, "Who’s your friend? Isn't Twilight one of the elements’ bearers?"

Spike quickly jumped in. "Oh yeah, she's my big sister. Did you need her for something?"

King ignored Blueblood and focused on Spike instead, looking at the young dragon. He questioned internally whether or not ponies and dragons could biologically have kids in this reality. Without thinking, he blurted out, "You must be adopted."

Both Spike and Blueblood were surprised by the comment. King immediately realized that he had broken a social taboo by mentioning how Spike's so-called sister was a totally different race.

Spike, feeling defensive, scalded the monster with his words. "Twilight is my sister."

King liked the fire in the young dragon, but before he could say anything else, Blueblood quickly jumped in.

"I'm sorry about that, Spike. This is a dignitary from a far-off land, and he doesn't yet know the customs of Equestria."

Spike looked at King for a few seconds, nodding as it clicked into place in his head. "Sorry about that. I didn’t realize you weren’t from here. You kind of look local, but I can see now you’re not."

As the young drake started to look over the newcomer, seeming less angry and more curious, King thought to himself about how smooth Blueblood was when it came to talking. It wasn't the first time someone good with their mouth had spared him a sticky situation.

"Yes, I'm from Kindred," King smiled.

Spike seemed surprised, never having heard of this place before. His eyes lit up with excitement at the possibilities an unexplored country provided. "Do you have time to tell me about your home?" he asked eagerly.

King smiled at Spike and introduced himself. "My name is King Fullbringer. What is yours?"

Spike extends his hand to shake King's. "I’m Spike. I’m a Dragon."

Blueblood was surprised by King's civility, as he had only experienced him as a brute before.

"Blue, do you mind if we hang out with this dragon?" King asked.

Blueblood knew he had no real choice in what happened next, but he knew better than to not play along. "Of course; we have plenty of time before we have to go back," he responded.

Spike pumped his fist in excitement. Only then did he notice Blueblood's disheveled appearance and black eyes.

"Blueblood, are you okay? It looks like you have..." Spike trailed off, confused by Blueblood's battered appearance.

Blueblood quickly dismissed Spike's concern. "Oh, don't worry about me. There was an incident earlier today, and it forced me to be more rushed to finish this."

As the trio walked along, Spike had a suggestion: "If you guys are both waiting for Twilight, why don't you come to the school?"

King nodded in agreement. "If that's the best place to wait for her…"

Blueblood looked concerned as they made their way to the school.

As King, Blueblood, and Spike walked down the streets of Ponyville, Spike told King about the recent growth to the town, having tripled its population over the past four years. The market for nearby housing was soaring, as made obvious by the numerous construction projects, and it had recently added numerous amenities, including a bakery, a boutique, a farm, an animal shelter, and even a hospital.

Spike also mentioned that the town was home to a college run by Twilight Sparkle; another alicorn and one of the elements’ bearers. King was pleased to hear that there were other warriors in the town, but Blueblood tried to keep out of their conversation, apparently worried. However, he knew he couldn't interrupt Spike or the observant King, or they would suspect something was wrong.

King chuckled. “A School of Friendship? What a silly concept…” He believed that if you needed a school to make friends, then you were probably never meant to have friends at all. However, he kept that particular thought to himself.

Spike stopped in his tracks after hearing King's comment, causing Blueblood and King to stop as well. "Why is it odd to you that we would have a school of friendship?" Spike turned towards King with a curious look in his eyes.

King took a moment to gather his thoughts before responding. "I guess saying it’s odd is not entirely correct, at least not from your perspective. It seems like you solve your problems with friendship, but where I come from, we tend to solve most of our problems with violence."

Spike and Blueblood both looked surprised, but for different reasons. Spike was surprised that any group of people would settle their problems with violence, until it occurred to him that he was a dragon, a race that was known for being jerks. Blueblood looked surprised because this would explain why King was such a monster.

"Is that so odd? I'm not saying every problem is solved with violence, but..."

“You know, it might be easier if some of your problems were solved with words, rather than with claws and fists. If you want, I can ask Twilight to set you up with one of her classes. The studies on the Feelings Forum are yielding some very interesting results. Not all good results, but definitely interesting.”

King struggled to contain his amusement. The thought of Greshrukk, the Red Death, being schooled in friendship by colorful-looking humanoids was so ridiculous that he almost burst out laughing. He held his tongue, of course, but it would be ridiculous to think that friendship could solve the world’s problems. Against Tiamat, what good was friendship? What could tea and cookies do against the Dark Queen?

“I have my doubts as to its viability in regards to my own idea of what a problem would be,” was all he let slip from his thoughts. “If this Twilight thinks that she can utilize the power of friendship so completely, and that it could solve problems, I would like to see her try. Even better, I’ll be right beside her when she finds that it doesn’t work.”

“It does work,” insisted Spike. “I’ve seen it, firsthand! You would not believe how ridiculously powerful she can be with her friends standing behind her. Even if they’re not lending a hand, just having them nearby makes her that much stronger!”

“I suppose we shall see when that day comes,” chuckled King.

“Indeed we will,” asserted Spike, turning to face him. “We’re here.”

King marveled at the massive building before him. Even though he was not a spellcaster, he could sense the magic that surrounded it and feel the radiating light. He found it fascinating.

He followed Spike inside. Upon entering, King paused to observe Blueblood, who rushed inside and disappeared into the building. King trailed behind him.

Spike proceeded to give them a tour of the school, showing off numerous rooms filled with strange magics, tools and various other items that King could not identify. Spike spouted endless facts about the building, its classes, and even some of the races. King soaked up every word, gaining as much understanding of the world around him as he could from every piece of information that Spike shared.

Blueblood had just lost everything. All the advantages he had were being thrown away by a purple dragon who could not close his mouth. In Blueblood’s mind, he knew that Spike was not to blame, but the situation was growing worse. He was telling King everything.

"Okay, I think I understand," Spike said, responding to an observation on a cultural difference King had just proposed. He looked confused, but Blueblood knew that whatever King had planned was not good.

"Would you mind calling everyone to the main hall, or wherever you all gather?" King smiled, surprising Blueblood.

Seeing no problem with granting the request, Spike asked, "Do you mind telling me why?"

"I want to introduce myself personally to everyone," King replied, "and in my culture, it is important to introduce yourself directly."

Spike took a minute to think about it and then smiled. "I'll send your message out over the public address system."

Spike ran off, and Blueblood turned towards King, determined to give him a piece of his mind, no matter the consequences. But before he had the chance, King smiled at him.

"You wouldn’t happen to have any magic that records audio, would you?"

Blueblood looked confused for a few seconds. "We have recorder crystals. They do audio and video. We passed them about two doors back."

King moved quickly, almost going into a flash before opening the door and seeing what he needed, grabbing as much as he could carry. "You know how to work these things, right?"

The unicorn shook his head. "But they don't stop recording."

Blueblood looked into King's eyes, and all of his defiance left him. He knew he was going to do whatever this man said, having many flashbacks to the time he brought out that thing with the evil eyes. "Yes, sir," he said as he activated one of the crystals and pointed it towards King.

"My little princesses. This video is for you from your favorite human." As King started to walk, Blueblood followed him with the crystals.

As Spike hurriedly made his way towards Twilight's office in search of Starlight, he couldn't help but think about his peculiar new friend. Although King seemed friendly enough, Spike couldn't shake off the strange feeling that seemed to permeate the air around him. He found it odd that King had chains attached to his clothes as part of the design, and the heavy scent of leather emanating from him was hard to ignore. Spike wondered what his new friend's clothes were made of, and why he wore so much metal.

As he walked past Twilight's office, Spike quickly doubled back and knocked on the door. Starlight used her magic to open it, revealing her and Trixie filling out paperwork.

"So, how did it go with the girls, Spike?" Starlight asked, looking up from her book.

"It went okay. Twilight was already starting to freak out, but I think she'll be fine by the time she reaches the capital. But that's not even the best part! I made a new friend!”

“That’s wonderful,” nodded Starlight. “Always nice to make a new friend.”

“His name’s King, and he’s a foreigner from a very distant land. I’m pretty sure he said something about touring around Equestria!”

That drew the attention of both Starlight and Trixie. “His name is King?” asked Starlight, intrigued.

Spike nodded. “He asked me to call everyone in the School of Friendship to the auditorium so he can meet them!" he exclaimed excitedly.

Starlight raised an eyebrow at Spike's mention of gathering everyone. "He’s a foreigner? Like Zecora?"

Spike paused in contemplation. "No, not really. Blueblood said he was a dignitary."

Starlight's eyes widened in realization. "A dignitary is in the school right now with Blueblood?! He must be quite important. I assume Blueblood is here in a diplomatic capacity?" She rubbed her temple, already dreading the impact this could have on their plans. "Twilight would have to cancel everything when someone so important came to Ponyville."

Spike thought for a moment. "He was looking for Twilight. They must have just missed each other when he stepped off the train. Twilight boarded that train at the exact same time."

Trixie let out a small laugh. "The Great and Powerful Trixie is now interested in this diplomat, and will be coming to this gathering."

Starlight chuckled, hoping that her friend wouldn't cause any international incidents. "Alright then, Spike. You can gather everyone up and tell them to meet in the main hall. Everyone is here today. We were supposed to do a lecture on Twilight's findings on the relationship between magic and friendship, but now I guess it's going to be on foreign relations. Do you know where this “King” is from?"

Spike was about to leave, but stopped and turned back. "He says he's from a different country called Kindred."

Starlight and Trixie exchanged confused looks, having never heard of any country named Kindred before.

As King strode towards the auditorium, Blueblood followed him closely, using the crystals to record their conversation. Despite the disturbing nature of King's words, he appeared unfazed, flashing a grin at Blueblood.

King looked out over the balcony, watching the students enter the hall. "Blueblood, as soon as I walk in, use that spell of yours to lock the doors. If anyone breaks out, I'm holding you personally responsible."

Blueblood swallowed hard but remained silent, his gaze flickering nervously between King and the camera.

"Like I said, a true test never really ends," King nodded, turning to face Blueblood and the camera.

King stepped up to the auditorium doors as the last of the humanoid creatures were entering. Blueblood trailed behind, recording the scene with growing unease.

"Friendship. How entertaining." King looked at the camera with a smile on his face. "Twilight, I have one simple question for you: What happens when you cannot solve your problem with friendship; when your enemy is uncompromising, and your strongest values have failed to stop a tragedy?" King looked directly at the crystal before turning back around and opening the door.

They were large doors, made out of heavy-looking wood. King looked around to see if there were any other doors or other ways out. There were high windows, but even they seemed to be made out of heavy glass.

King dug into his bag, placed a rod in front of the door and said some words Blueblood could not understand. They were too quiet, and he couldn’t hear them.

"Blueblood, cast a spell that will reinforce the walls, windows and doors."

Blueblood took a second to think about trying to pretend to do so. He thought about it several different ways, but always landed on one inevitable thought: The situation would only worsen if he didn't do what the man said. He quickly cast the spell, unnoticed by most of the students and teachers.

As King walked to the stage, multiple creatures were now paying attention to him, whispering and mumbling as he reached the lectern at the front of the room. Starlight, Trixie and Spike were already there, talking about the mysterious new dignitary. Starlight and Trixie looked at the creature in surprise, but Spike happily waved to him.

King nodded before walking up and looking out at the auditorium full of students. "Hello, everybody. My name is King Fullbringer, and I come from Kindred. I'm here to teach you a valuable lesson," he began.

Starlight and Trixie looked confused, but the three of them were intrigued to hear what the lesson was.

"From what I can tell, your nation is built on a foundation of friendship and harmony. I can say with certainty that respect and dignity are values that I have seen in the people I have met. All of you seem to be kindhearted and trusting. My people would say that you are an optimistic society. And from what I have heard of your history, you have used this optimism and harmony to beat back the darkness. As someone who has fought a great many campaigns back home, I find these traits admirable. Your battles from history seem quite epic, and you have been able to overcome hardship without resorting to more extreme methods. This is something I find to be quite remarkable, compared to my people who constantly war against each other," King explained.

The audience gasped in awe, and even Trixie and Starlight looked surprised. King's words were a revelation, and the students were captivated by his unique perspective.

As the silence stretched on, King continued. "But while we all have strengths and weaknesses, there is always something to be learned from each other. We may come from different worlds, but by working together, we can create a better world for all."

King let his words hang in the air, watching as the crowd began to murmur. Starlight and Trixie exchanged a glance before Trixie whispered to Spike, "Did he say a different world?"

Spike's eyes widened as he nodded in agreement.

“It’s a figure of speech,” assured Starlight.

"I will now allow you to ask me questions," King announced, breaking the silence.

Starlight was the first to raise her hand. "When you say a different world, you mean that figuratively, right?"

King smiled. "No, I quite literally mean I'm not from this world."

The crowd erupted in a frenzy of noise as ponies began asking questions. Some were in disbelief, while others seemed excited at the prospect of someone from another world.

Spike raised his hand next.

"Yes, Spike," King smiled.

"You told me you're from a different country, not a whole different world," Spike pointed out.

King's smile turned devious. "Yes, I did. I am from a different country, which is part of a different world. What I said was not a lie, and if I were to have told you every detail, we’d not have time to go over even the cuisine before we arrived here. Not the whole truth, but what I said was still the truth."

Trixie was the next to raise her hand. "How did you even come into this world? And how do you know our language?"

King raised an eyebrow. "I assume you are speaking Common. But even if you were not, I can understand all languages as long as they are spoken to me."

Trixie, Spike, and Starlight looked disbelievingly at King. "There is no way you can speak every language in the world," Trixie stated, folding her arms over her chest. "Why don't you test your hypothesis? We have a room full of students, and I'm assuming they all don't come from this one country."

King raised his eyebrows in response. "You think me a liar? Excellent. Test away."

Trixie smiled triumphantly. "The Great and Powerful Trixie will show everyone here the fraud you are."

King chuckled. "You’re confident. I like that trait in a woman."

Trixie's cheeks turned red. "Do not think the Amazing Trixie will give you any mercy just because you’re a flatterer."

Spike rolled his eyes, and Starlight stifled a giggle at Trixie's embarrassment.

Trixie, who knew three languages, decided to test King's claim by speaking in the hardest language she knew, Griffonian. "Can you understand this?" she challenged him.

King responded confidently, "Yes, I can."

Trixie was surprised to hear King speak perfect Griffonian, a language she had taken two years to learn. The crowd was also taken aback.

"He didn't say that in Equestrian, he said that in perfect Griffonian," a griffin argued with a pony who claimed otherwise.

A dragoness raised her eyebrow. "What are you talking about? He clearly spoke Draconic!"

Before an argument broke out, King held up his hand. “My ability allows me to understand and speak all languages, regardless of whether they are attuned to a specific tongue or not.”

Starlight was the first to respond. "What kind of magic is that? We have universal translation spells, but they have to be attuned to a specific language! What you can do is understand and speak all languages, and everyone can understand you. Did you cast a spell before you walked in here?"

King shook his head. “It’s not magical, but a power called ki, which exists within every living creature.”

Trixie and Starlight found this hard to believe, but King refused to elaborate further at that time. As the crowd murmured, Spike discretely wrote something down, like a creature possessed.

"Alas, I did not come here to talk. I came here to do battle, and I have found the perfect battleground for my desires to come to fruition. While you may still have questions, you all are going to have to be sacrificed to my ambition. Hopefully afterwards, you can use that forgiveness I’ve heard so much about to build yourselves back up. You ponies do forgive, right?"

King chuckled at his own statement, seemingly not caring that he had threatened the whole student body. At the same time, he pulled out a quarterstaff from his bag that shouldn't have been able to fit. The long, black pole was very odd-looking. It seemed to be shimmering in some locations, almost as if it was distorting gravity.

The crowd full of creatures went quiet. They looked slightly confused at his statement before it finally dawned on them that he had just threatened all of them. Some creatures looked surprised while others looked offended.

Spike, Starlight and Trixie stared at Blueblood. Blueblood stared down at the ground, trying not to catch any of their attention.

The first to break the silence was Smolder. "Ha! Do you really think you're going to beat every student here? We outnumber you by a ridiculous ratio! Not even a fully-realized dragon lord would be able to escape this place unscathed!" She emphasized that by punching her fist into her hand.

Another six students stood up around her, ready to back her up.

King looked at the fiery dragoness. "You're cute, so I might not break too many things on you. But don't think that because you have numbers, you have the advantage."

The orange dragoness blushed slightly, then pulled her lips back to show her teeth and growled. Other groups of races; the griffons and the diamond dogs, were also growing more angry with the newcomer.

Trixie, tired of the boastful King, decided to walk up to the stage and handle this. "Who do you think you are? Threatening the stu–"

It happened in a flash. As soon as Trixie moved into King's striking range, the mare hit the ground with great force. Everything immediately fell silent. No more whispers or glares at King. Everyone stared at Trixie, cratered into the ground. There were cracks around the stage and Trixie lay flat as a pancake.

It took a few more seconds before Starlight realized what happened and quickly attempted to dive down into the pit to rescue Trixie. She was immediately stopped as King’s quarterstaff hung mere inches in front of her face. Any closer, and it would have struck her, landing her in the same situation as Trixie.

"You should really focus on yourself,” smirked King. “You are in battle right now, and in war, losing your focus is an easy way to lose the fight."

As the shock wore off, every student stared at King. One of the students stood up and shouted. "After him!" and all of Tartarus broke loose.
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I hope you enjoyed the story and the spicy clop saying was done by my good friend https://www.fimfiction.net/user/69884/Shilo_Yuuga

Author's Note

I hope you enjoyed the story and the spicy clop saying was done by my good friend https://www.fimfiction.net/user/69884/Shilo_Yuuga