Tutorial Match: Ultima Weapon I (Private, Special Training)

The bubble would essentially stretch along with her, not showing any resistance as she pushed outwards. In response to her stretch, one of the crystal stallions would give her hoof an affectionate light nosing and carry on with the healing afterwards. "You may have caught on to my intentions, but that's no excuse for reckless fighting. Improvisation is not the same as ignoring common sense. What good is raising the odds against you on purpose if it backfires? Do you realize that your wounds could have been much worse? Possibly fatal just now? If you want to feel the sting of death, I can arrange for that... But that's not my intention... I am here to aid you in combat practice. Have you any particular requests? Just ask, and ye shall receive."

Mittere frowned as she felt the 'pony'  nose her. It seemed they really were harmless, possibly even sapient. She still felt no guilt over fighting with the 'pony'. "I am sure if you wished to kill me you could, though I once again, am returning your restraint. As for a request...there is a certain pony, certain ponies in reality, that I would like to discredit. If you are of course not so upstanding as to aid in such things." She kicked her hind legs out this time, 'stretching' again to test the bubble.

Noriaj chuckled. "You know... If you want to get out, just ask." He dissipated the bubble he had made as the healing was practically done by that point, though he made sure to set Mittere down on all fours gently. "... And another thing... I am merely here to help you practice your abilities. Nothing more, nothing less. I have plenty of power, but I also have strong restrictions placed upon me as to where I may use them... Besides, you have the help you need already. There are many possibilities and variables... But know that you have support. You just have to pick the right place for it and the rest will follow..." He looked at the crystal stallion calmly standing around her, not still, but not really doing anything of immediate note. "You might see familiar faces you might have thought you'd meet... That aside, remember what I said so far: This is training for you. Our time here is meant to be for that one purpose. You seem to have a knack for making your own actions well, but you must mind that of others more carefully or face terrible losses. If my words do not make sense to you, then fight once more and I shall test if you actually paid attention... Or, you may choose to leave now and possibly come back another time... So what will it be?"

"There is more work to do done," Mittere said. "And while we both remain here I intend to do as much as I can. Even if it kills me." She was rather grateful for being set down softly, though it was a hit to her pride. As she spoke her idea for what she had in mind for the next part of this exercise she had part of her attention on of the 'ponies' that healed her. "There are many things we can draw strength from, all to varying degrees. I would like to test one in particular to see if it falls in line with the hype: the so called 'power of love'. Do you have a way in which to embody this?" 

Noriaj seemed to ponder on Mittere's request for a moment, tapping his head in stereotypical thought. Then, with a snap of his fingers, a pink crystal mare in the shape of a familiar alicorn would materialize before the two of them. "... If this is what you mean, I suggest you test this out to its fullest..." He snapped his fingers again, and this time a familiar large frame white unicorn stallion formed right next to the crystal mare. "This particular couple's greatest strength comes from unity. On their own, they have some courage and ability. Together, they can repel even an army... But what exactly do you want here? Be clear and specific, or I shall interpret it as I please for better or worse."

"A tired, Ill disciplined and hungry army perhaps. The two together shall be fine." Mittere looked upon the mare and stallion, a couple would be best for demonstrating the power of love, but it was doubtful that would help the 'ponies'. She was going to end up with conformation that she wasn't missing anything. "I concede the first move to the 'lucky couple'." She took a step forward to signify she was ready to start. Were this not an exercise she would have been finished with them already, but there was little gain in facing no resistance. 

Noriaj seemed amused by Mittere's bravado as he waved his hand, making two of the three brown and white crystal stallions next to her disintegrate into dust. "Cooperation here is key. You could do this by yourself entirely, but I am leaving you with one ally... I think Two on Two is a fair match-up, right...? Otherwise, you might find this particular couple to be rather hard to beat head on... And to make things more interesting, let's set a time limit!"





With another snap of his fingers, the large platform began to erupt with a violent blue and white aura on the outskirts and underneath. If Mittere saw closely, she'd see that the edge of the platform was steadily and forcefully being eroded, leaving virtually little to no trace of what broke away up higher still into the sky. "The goal here is simple: Either defeat the crystal couple by force before time runs out, or push them into the edge itself as a ring-out... Of course, the losing conditions should be obvious to you. Also, no teleporting out of here. That's not a suggestion, as you'll find that the only way out of here is winning, losing... or the sincere desire to surrender. Keep that in mind... Also, let's call your ally here Mr. M just to identify him easier if you need to address him... Now fight!"

Noriaj himself would simply vanish as if he were never there as more than an illusion as he became transparent and was then just plain gone. As soon as he was well and truly gone from the immediate area, the crystal couple had their 'eyes' open up to bright orange orbs, while Mr. M's own blue eyes became just a little more bright as he took an aggressive low stance next to Mittere as if ready to act or charge. The couple immediately encased one another under a single strong barrier that began to expand rapidly, threatening to push Mittere and Mr. M back unless they made good countermeasures. Mr. M, for now, seemed to be waiting on what Mittere did from this point on rather than act pre-emptively on its own entirely.

Mittere looked to her side, wanting to take in the features of the 'pony' that stood beside her. She guessed it wasn't to fitting to see the one she was being forced into working with as an 'it'. It was still going to be awkward cooperating with something - somepony - that she had only recently begin to consider a real pony. She looked at the expanding barrier, she'd be a fool not to use the help, but maybe being a fool wasn't so bad if you could have pride in it. Noriaj had a mind terrible enough to force her into a fight were she would, no doubt, have to attack with her partner to overcome obstacles. She just had to think of Mr M as an extension of her own body. A frown came to her face at that. That blue thing was in serious danger of taking her self image as a god away. 

"Mr M, one of your counterparts displayed a potent magic for dispelling others forms of magic. I would like you to focus your efforts on that spell when you are ready." Mittere focused her magic into several elongated countersinks, designed to cut through a large angle . She made what she considered enough to stop the immediately approaching part of the barrier, and possibly travel to hit the occupants within. "I trust in you Mr M." 

The Crystal Couple's barrier certainly held fast against Mitere's spell initially, but her power began to make a dent eventually as it was rather straightforward. Following her lead, Mr. M began charged his magic and briefly began to empower Mittere's own spell by adding a rasping effect to help cut in faster still.

For a moment, it seemed as though this alone would do it, but then another, stronger shield began to form from the Crystal Couple within the first one that rotated, making it harder for it to be effectively penetrated further. On top of that, the first shield would slowly break up and instead launch a barrage of magic bolts in return.

Mittere mover herself closer to Mr M, couldn't the pony just have a real name for her to call him by, one not so formal. She nuzzled the side of his neck, but not for no purpose. A small spark went from her horn to his, transferring the control of the spell to him, freeing her to deal with the approaching threat. With so many targets to track, Mittere knew a wide deflection would be a waste of exertion, she decided to turn the attack into an opportunity. She focused her energy on the most immediately dangerous bolts, and attempted to siphon as much magic as she could away from them, giving it to her partner and weakening the impact, if not collapsing the projectiles. Just in case, and so Mr M could keep up his efforts, she positioned herself to shelter Mr M with her body. 

Mittere's latest effort would be well rewarded. Mr. M would accept and make use of her shared magic to boost their offensive against the Crystal Couple and the spread bolts would be syphoned well enough in her direction. Even if they had been exactly evenly matched against one another, the Crystal Couple were spreading their magic, where as Mittere and Mr. M were focusing on a single spot, giving them the advantage as they broke through much more easily now to the point that their opponents were forced to drop the shield and move out of the way and separate temporarily before they were caught by the offensive. Although they were now more vulnerable, they were still a threat as they were still very much conscious.

Little by little, the aura around the platform closed in on them still. The fight was not over yet.

Mittere did not want to fall victim to the same trappings The Crystal Couple did by spreading a thin effort, but she also didn't want to leave either unattended, as she had yet to see what either could do alone. As her horn glowed a tall and fierce wall of flame rose between the two ponies, before moving to encircle them both. She would have hope Mr M would engage one of the isolated targets, while she kept them apart and gave the help that may or may not be needed. She wasn't playing this by a time limit, it would take what it took. As an extra, she spread her wings,  wanting to gain an extra avenue to dodge any counter attacks.

The separation was rather effective as it was. The Crystal couple would struggle to endure the flames and break through them easily. As it were, they would still cast protective shields one one another from their respective positions as the pink Crystal Alicorn Mare swiftly began to fly upwards to try and escape and levitate her partner along with her.

Mr. M, however, would only apply much more pressure on them by launching his own fire spells, sending a strong barrage in an arc above Mittere's own flames to rain down upon their shields and adding much more pressure and heat to their disadvantage while also slowing down the mare's efforts to fly upwards and forcing both to expedite their magic for protection. Still, there was the chance they could escape given that their shields were still rather strong and resilient even when not fully close to each other.

The fact they could still cast the joint barrier was little more than annoyance, seeing as she was able to penetrate it the first time with the help of Mr M. Anything would seem impotent after such a strong start to things. Mittere opted for a subtle spell, hoping to slip past the guard. An invisible magic began to be released from the flames, it was meant to just lightly and unobtrusively penetrate the outer 'skin' before a deep burning would start as though the flame was right upon them. The only sign of the action was her horn lighting and her flying levelling off. 

Unfortunately for Mittere, she would have been better off going all out with her efforts to weaken their shields than going for a subtle approach at a crucial moment when her opponents were so close to the fires and surrounded by them. The shields were constantly being fed and tempered, and while Mr. M's assault kept the pressure on them, they would eventually succeed in managing to escape and move closer to one another relatively unharmed.

With them being close together once more in the air, they once again began to focus on the offensive as they conjured a increasingly strong whirlwind around them for a retaliation, crystals slowly materializing as though they were sharp pieces of hail and moving outwards, and slowly pushing the fires and the heat away from them as they readied their next move.

Mittere assumed her plan would have been better performed against a single target with a large amount of audacity when it failed to percolate through the barrier. Her failure to do anything useful with the time and effort annoyed her. "Mr M, I need to employ your barrier skills with my own," Mittere said, constructing a barrier of that was flat and slanted, with its size adjusted as needed, designed to act as a windbreak to keep the harshness of the air back, while using the extra oxygen to fuel an empowered rekindling of her fire. Of course, to maintain both the spells and then hot swap her greater efforts to the other spell would have created a much larger challenge were she working alone without her little sidekick.  

Mr. M ceased his barrage and would move to a location where he would be somewhat closer to Mittere. It was risky being so close with the shrapnel flying about, but he had reasoning to an extent as it began to strengthen her own barrier and further resist the winds and crystal hail.

While it seemed things were at a stalemate since the winds and the Crystal Couple's barrier kept the strong flames at bay for the time being, it seemed they were slowly joining closer still to touch their horns and increasing the strength of their barrier further still and releasing more crystal hail with added sparks of energy, battering harder on Mittere's and Mr. M's barrier. It seemed they were gonna try to go with an even stronger and more powerful defense in what had been a battle of attrition so far, but there was one catch Mittere might make some use of: Mr. M had been gathering as many nearby pieces of the crystal hail he could, slowly purging the energies from them and in turn adding his own as he molded all of it into a single ever increasingly bigger drill. There was, of course, the threat of the field becoming smaller and smaller as time began to ran out for all of them.