Fighting is Magic

Maim dodged another magical blast, hissing a bit as the ground where he had been standing went white hot. If that attack had hit, he would have been a goner. The brown Earth Pony stared down his opponent, a black Unicorn by the name of Shadow Gale. The other pony laughed a bit, charging up another blast.

Maim had been lucky so far, he knew. Every attack he dodged took something out of him, and for the first time in a few months he felt he slight rush of fear mixed with adrenaline. A good fight always got him shaking a little bit, and this was most definitely a good fight.

"You're quick," the Unicorn stated, "but how long can you keep that up? A minute? Two? Five? All it will take is one slip and I will win the match. And you will be a pile of ashes. So I offer you this one chance. Surrender now, or I will be forced to kill you."

Maim snarled, rage clouding his mind for a moment. He hated being told to surrender. It was against his nature, his very being, to surrender.

Maim's eyes narrowed, thick muscles tensing in his back legs. If he could just get closer, the Unicorn would be unable to stand a chance. But his opponent had so far stayed out of the former soldier's range. Any attempts at closing had ended with a very fancy looking teleportation on Shadow Gale's part. Magic like that tended to be limited in how often it could be cast, but so far the enemy had defied all known restraints of magic. It was supposed to be impossible for a magic blast to melt stone without a very specialized spell.

Maybe he was just that strong. But Maim had one thing going for him. He had experience in the ring. So far the match had consisted of him evaluating the situation, dodging magic blasts and making the occasional probing attack. As his foe prepared another spell, he enacted a tried and true plan. Kicking up one of his forelegs, he unloosed a clod of dirt from the ground. Spinning quickly, he bucked it towards his opponent.

Shadow Gale laughed as the dirt smashed harmlessly against his shoulder. He fired another burst of his inky black magic, which Maim again dodged. With a smirk, he rushed his foe. Magic cool down was the only thing that seemed consistent with his opponent, and the longer he spent charging a spell, the longer he had to wait before he could cast another. As Maim closed, Shadow Gale tried charging up again. The energy flowed slothfully through his horn, and just as it reached the tip, Maim acted. He pulled up a loose rock, bucking it exceptionally hard at an amazingly close range. The rock smashed into the Unicorn's horn, which cracked very loudly.

He was filled with triumph as the pieces of horn fell to the arena floor.

Shadow Gale's screams of pain only lasted until the magical backlash hit his brain. Then, he dropped like a rock, twitching and frothing at the mouth. Maim turned his attention upwards, to the balcony where the ruler stood. The dark-furred pony gave a wicked grin as she stomped twice. Shadow Gale would live, though he would probably never be aware of his surroundings again.

Maim bowed to the Lunar Empress before walking down the corridor he had entered from.

A figure was waiting in his chambers, a brown cloak obscuring the pony's identity. Maim took quick stock of the situation. He had taken none of his weapons into the arena, and the figure was barring him from where he kept them. However, the other pony didn't seem intent on taking his life. He could not make out any discernible weapon bulges, and as he watched, it reached up to lower the hood.

He reeled back a bit, as if he had been physically struck by what he saw. Sanding before him was a mare he had not seen in a long time. She regarded him with cold blue eyes that contrasted with her dark red fur. Tilting her head, she grinned. "What's wrong, Buckwheat? Surprised to see me?"

"It's Maim. And if you must know, yes, I am. After all, you left the circuit before you'd even hit the top fifty-thousand. I figured you long reformed, maybe even dead." He frowned a bit, regarding the visitor cautiously.

Her name was Blood Axe. At least, that was her gladiator name. Her given name was Blood Wine, and he had met her when they were both fresh recruits. The two had been a formidable team, and he had spent many a long evening in her company.

She chuckled a bit, stepping forward. Her horn was glowing faintly, he saw; he hadn't noticed before because her magic aura was almost the exact shade of her fur. Only the shift in light as she moved gave it away. "Far from dead. Never reformed. I just switched occupations is all."

"And I suppose you just came to stop in, see how I was doing?"

"Close. Actually, I came back on a job and saw you in the roster. And since your name is the one thing someone can't take from you, I figured I'd come in and say hi."

"I'm sure that's all there is to it," he said a bit sarcastically. She had switched jobs? What was she doing now if not arena fights? They were criminals, killers. The arena was one of the few places they could make money, unless... "By Luna's night, you've joined on with the Hunters."

"Aaw, now see? You've gone and ruined the reveal. Always knew you were a smart lad, even if a little slow." She grinned. "Yes, I've joined on with the Shadow Dancers Hunt Clan."

"The Shadow Dancers? Doesn't seem your style. All that cloak and dagger nonsense."

"Well, the Blood Drinkers were all too busy dying to accept me."

"Oh sweet Celestia, that was you?!" He stared in abject horror. Of the ten hunter clans, none had been more physically tough than the Blood Drinkers. Except that four years ago, they had all been mercilessly slaughtered, and none of the other clans owned up to it, which would normally net them much glory.

"Yes, that was me." She gave a cocky grin. "They asked me to prove my strength. How was I supposed to know that they were all incredibly weak?"

"You really haven't changed at all, have you?"

"No. And I can see that you haven't either. Still fighting for the thrill of it?"

"Always." He grinned a bit. The money, though there was much of it, was only secondary to his true reason for fighting. He enjoyed the excitement, the thrill he experienced when he was dealing with Death.Blood Axe had been the same way before she'd vanished.

"Good," she stated, that smirk of hers growing wider. "Because I have a proposition for you. Think of it as one big thrill."