Big Mike: Sorry this took so long I've been staying with my brother for the last few weeks, so i haven't been able to work on this for awhile. Therefore, I would like to apologize for not updateing sooner. Also, I stayed logged in to my account and my cosin deleted my story to get me mad. So I had to upload everything again. Sorry. Now, Jericho disclaimer.
Jericho: Mike doesn't own My Little Pony.
The Past (Part 2)
By
Big Mike
Jericho looked at the gates in front of him. They were thirty feet high, and were engraved with his clans symbol. A sword pointing straight up. He went up to them and knocked. A few seconds later they opened.
He looked to Gabriel on his shoulder, took a deep breath, and walked in. They were in a courtyard. Big as those found in some castles.
And he was faced by, at least, five hundred people. Each of them had armor on, and were armed with everything from spears to swords, and everything in between.
Suddenly, he heard someone yell.
"Heeeeyyyy, Mitch!"
Mitch turned around and was being rushed by a boy probably not even eighteen. Letting his instincts take over, he put his hand on the boys gut and used his own momentum to raise him in the air, turn 180 degrees, and slam him on his back.
"Zev, what are you doing?"
"You're good as ever Mitch. No matter how hard I try I can never get you. Even if I surprise you."
"Would you get up." he said offering his hand.
"Who's this guy?" questioned Rainbow Dash.
"It's my cousin Zev. He always tries to beat me in a fight. But we actually make a good team. I saved his life when he was younger and he now feels he has to prove himself. Namely by beating me. But in truth, we're two peas in a pod."
As the two of them walked to a bench. Suddenly Mitch drew one of his sabers, turned and deflected an arrow. They both looked up and saw a man about Jericho's age holding a flatbow.
"Well look what we have here. The two most despised members of the Jericho clan. What could you possibly be doing here?"
"Who's that? And what did he mean by 'despised'?" asked Twilight.
"That's Allen. He's one of my cousins. He also happens to be our previous leaders son. And as to why he said despised. I was despised by my fellow clansmen because I let my brothers die at war."
"What? But that weren't yer fault. You weren't the ones to kill'm, so why did they blame you?"
"Because I was the eldest brother. It was my job to keep them safe, and I failed. And I just have to except it. And Zev is despised because his mother was a werewolf."
"Please werewolves don't exist." scoffed Twilight.
"Maybe not here, but were I come from they're as abundant as humans. But they are hated. They killed and ate our livestock, and they were hunted until almost extinction. But they agreed to stop killing us and our animals if we stop hunting them."
"The problem is that many humans still have grudges with them. That is why Zev is hated. And because we were both despised, we grew very close. Now lets keep going."
"We're here to compete."
"In the tournament? That's a laugh. You won't last five minutes in this. Neither of you will. Especially with your skill levels. But I will say, you're quite good with those sabers of yours."
"Come over here and I'll show you how good I am."
He walk until he was about twenty feet from Jericho and stopped. Everyone was gathering to watch the action.
"STOOOOP!"
They looked to the house, and saw an old man in a golden robe standing on a small flight of stairs.
"I will not allow blood to be shed on these grounds. Now that Mitch is here, we can proceed. Everyone, step forward."
They all did as told, approaching the steps.
"As you all know, our leader has died. Therefore, we must select one of you to take his place. And take up the name and title, Jericho. The first contest is now. There are five hundred and thirty seven of you. But there are only thirty two spare rooms. First ones to make it to a room stay."
He took the bow he had from behind him and loaded an arrow. He lifted it up to the sky and let it go. They all waited for the single. Then out of nowhere, the arrow exploded.
In a flash everyone was running inside looking for a room. Most got to the first ones easily. I saw one that was unoccupied and I dove in, and locked the door.
After about ten minutes later, Mitch heard shouting from the courtyard. He went out and saw everyone assembling. He looked at the crowd and hoped to see Zev, which he did. But he saw him being beaten by Allen. Mitch ran to help him as fast as he could. When he got there he grabbed Allen's fist as he brought it up, getting ready to hit Zev again.
"Don't even think about it."
He pulled his hand away and said, "You want it? Come and get it."
"Hold it. You know the rules as well as I do. If we fight before the competition, we're both eliminated."
He thought about it for a second, then had an idea, "How about this. We know how this works. There are thirty two people here, there's a one-on-one challenge every day. The ones fighting depends on who challenges whom. The one that wins stays the one that loses leaves. This goes until there is only four competitors left, then they battle in a four way battle until there's only one left.
He stopped to take a breath, "Here's my proposal, you and me make it to the last four, and settle this there." When he was done he put out his hand with his palm facing up.
Allen thought about it for a minute, then asked, "What's the wager? If I win what do I get?"
"How about this. If I win you have to give up the right to compete in the tournament for the rest of your life."
Everyone gasped.
"Jericho, may I ask, what's so bad about not being able to compete in this?" asked Celestia.
"This is to see who is worthy of being the next clan leader. If he gives up the right to compete, he will never be leader. And since he is the previous leaders son, he is the favorite to win. The problem is that when you give up your right to compete, that's it. It's gone forever."
"Interesting, and what if I win?"
"If you win I will do something I vowed never to do. I… will bow to you."
Zev, who was standing next to Jericho, looked shocked. So did everyone else that was watching. There was murmuring through the whole courtyard. Especially when Jericho put his hand out with his palm facing up.
"That's it. I bow to Princess Celestia all the time. What's the big deal?"
"Obviously bowing means something different here. Were I come from, bowing to someone is the ultimate form of humiliation. You're basically saying you're worthless. If you're found guilty of a crime you're taken to the town square, and forced to bow to the one you wronged. Afterward you're pelted with rotten food."
Everyone looked at Jericho in shock, even Celestia.
"Why would they do that to someone?" Twilight practically screamed.
"It's a punishment. The punishment equals the crime. You would get this if you stole from a merchant, or if broke someone's personal property."
"I know you have to respect the ways of others, but even I find this wrong."
"Personally I don't like it either. But it's been this way for thousands of years, and there's no end of it in site."
Allen stood there, staring at Jericho's hand. Finally he took his own hand, with its palm down and slapped Jericho's hand, and said, "Deal."
"I hope you all know what you're doing."
Everyone turned and saw the old man again. He walked up to them and said, "You do realize that any deal made on these grounds is binding. If either of you dishonor your end of the agreement, I will have no choice but to ban you from coming back here. Understood?"
They both nodded.
"Then it is time to begin."
"It's one battle per day, and I don't get my first until day five. So I'm skipping ahead so we only have to see mine."_
"It is day five, are there any challenges?"
"I have one." said a young woman with hair just as red as Jericho's.
"Step forward and give your name."
She did as told and said, "Rose."
"Who do you wish to challenge?"
She looked over the crowd and pointed in Jericho's direction and said, "Mitch."
"Do you except the challenge?"
Everyone looked to him and he knew what they were thinking. They thought he was going to decline, so he would be fresh for when things picked up. But he wasn't like that. "I except." he said with a glare.
"Then lets proceed to the arena."
The group headed to the back of the house, where they saw a large square platform made of stone with a twenty foot stone pillar at each corner.
"Take your positions."
They both stood on opposite ends of the platform. The old man took a staff and slammed it on the ground, and the sides of the arena burst into flames.
"What was that about?" questioned Rainbow Dash.
"The fire helps keep you in the arena. Essentially, they're the boundary lines."
"How do they keep the flames going." asked Rarity.
"Plain and simple. Magic."
"And who's that old man?" asked Twilight. "And, why would they let you fight that girl. She's half your size."
At that Jericho chuckled. Then he said, "He's the head scribe. The official record keeper for the clan. And you don't know how tough girls get in our clan. They're trained to fight just as hard as the boys. Our trainers take no prisoners."
"Also, what is the girl is wearing. It's hideous."
"It's fur. Specifically, I think she was wearing rabbit skin that day." He looked at everyone and saw they were all shocked by what he said.
"What?"
"You kill innocent animals, for their skins."
He shook his head a little and said, "No. We kill them to eat too. My favorite is fresh stewed rabbit with potatoes, carrots, green beans, and onions. I also have a very nice deer skin jacket I made myself."
"How could you do that?" asked a teary eyed Fluttershy.
"Bird has to fly, fish has to swim, and human has to eat. Whether it's the bird, the fish, or whatever you choose to put in for choice c."
Everyone was still looking at him so he continued.
"Would you stop looking at me like that. So what, I eat a little meat once in awhile. If other animals eat meat, why can't I?"
"He does have a point."
They all looked at Fluttershy. Her being the animal lover she was the last one they expected to say that.
"He's right. Some of the animals I care for eat meat. They mostly eat fish, but it's still the same. So as much as I don't like it, I can except it."
"Well if Fluttershy can except it, so can I." said Twilight.
"I as well."
"Same here."
"I'm pretty much used to the idea anyway. When I was hanging out with Gilda. You know."
"And what do you think Gummy eats?"
"Well to make up for the lost time I'll just skip to the end. And try not to ask anymore questions until the end."
"You four are the final contestants. We shall be holding the finals now. The winner will be the next clan leader, and take the title and the name, Jericho. Lets go to the arena. And take your positions."
Each one of the four finalists stood at a corner of the arena. Jericho was at the far right, holding his dual sabers. Allen at the far left with his flatbow and an arrow loaded. Zev at the near left, with two throwing knives in his hand, and many more in his belt. And an unknown man in the near right, holding a mace.
"Before you ask, that guy is Kane. He's an outcast like me and Zev. Only he's an outcast by choice. He never really cared for being around other people. But he likes me, mostly because I never insulted him about how he looks. He does find Zev annoying though, so we don't really hang out much, unless he's in a good mood."
"Get your weapons ready. As soon as the arena is in flames, you may begin." he said grabbing his staff. He lifted it in the air, and as soon as he slammed it to the ground the arena burst into flames.
Allen instantly shot an arrow at Zev, who dodged it and through a knife at Allen who also dodged it.
Suddenly, Kane attacked Jericho, who blocked with one of his sabers, and slashed with the other at his opponents bare chest. Kane was eight feet tall and Jericho being six foot, four inches, which gave Kane a strength advantage, but Jericho a speed advantage. They both stood there trying to overpower the other.
Suddenly Jericho ran over to Allen, Who was about to stab Zev in his chest, and, using his magic, covered his foot in fire and kicked Allen to the other side of the arena.
"You alright Zev?"
"I think my arm is broken, and a few cracked ribs. But other then that, I'm fine." he said holding his chest.
"Come on Zev. Say it."
"I… I sur… I surrender." He was then teleported outside the arena, were he was soon being treated by medics.
Jericho turned around to see Kane, with three arrows in his left shoulder, one in his gut, and one in each thigh, and was on his knees. And Allen was about to put an arrow in his head. Jericho knew he wouldn't get to Allen in time, so he did the next best thing.
Allen let go of the arrow and, instead of getting put in Kane's head, landed in Jericho's thigh. He quickly broke off the end and threw it away.
"You know what you have to do Kane."
"I can't. Why did you save me? We're enemies."
"We may be enemies in here, but out there, we're friends. And after what happened to my brothers, I vowed to never let my friends die again. Now say it."
After letting what Jericho said sink in, Kane smiled and said, "I surrender." He was also teleported outside the arena and got the treatment he required.
"Now that those wimps are out lets get to business." They both started to circle each other.
"That kick you gave me was pretty good. Gave me a nice burn on my chest. I can still feel the pain."
"Your marksmanship is as good as ever. Even I couldn't get Kane to his knees when we were kids. That's something to be proud of. If you had a sick enough mind. Like I know you do."
With that they stopped and Jericho charged with his sabers drawn, dodging arrows as he went. Some bounced off his armor, but most missed. Suddenly one of the arrows was glowing, that one hit his stomach armor, and punched straight threw, hitting him in the gut.
"So you learned to power up your arrows with magic. That's pretty good, but I've learned that too." With that both of his blades started to glow.
"It's amazing, you coat the blade in a paper thin layer of pure, unaltered magic, and that makes it ultra sharp. Same goes for your arrows, but you just do the tip, because once it breaks through the armor you don't need it anymore."
"Precisely. And since you can do it too, this is going to be fun." He loaded another arrow, but suddenly there was a cloud of smoke. When it cleared, Jericho was behind Allen, and had both of his sabers at Allens neck. And then took his bow and threw it away.
"This is it. You can either give up, or I can kill you. It's your choice."
"Save your breath and kill me."
Then Jericho took his sabers and put them back in their sheaths, then started to walk away.
"You can let the flames down. We're done here."
After Allen got up off the ground, he took a dagger from inside his armor and ran at Jericho. When he was four feet from him he raised the dagger, and fell to the ground, with a big gash in his stomach. The flames went out and the medics ran and got Allen.
"Before you take him I should warn you, I rub my blades with neurotoxin. So if he and Kane have trouble with muscle movements, that's why. And in case you're wondering, King Cobra."
The nurse looked at him, then nodded. As she walked away the scribe walked up to me and said, "I saw what you did. Why didn't you kill him?"
"I may hate him, and he may hate me, but he didn't deserve to die. No one truly deserves to die. Besides, I already have enough blood on my hands."
"I see. Then you have gone up in my value in my eyes. Now, the ceremony will be tomorrow. For now, you have permission to do as you want."
"I hate long waits, so lets just cut to the chase."
The rest of the clan was back at the courtyard. Only this time, there was a stage in the middle. It had four chairs on it, three small wooden ones, and a large golden one. The three next to each other, in front of the gold one.
They were all waiting to see their new leader. Music suddenly started to play, and the head scribe came out to the front of the stage. After almost three minutes the music slowly stopped.
"This is the official ceremony to celebrate the crowning of our new leader. Please help me welcome the fourth place holder this year."
There was a drum roll then Zev walked out to the stage. The crowd was cheering, not for him, but because they knew he didn't win. He sat on the chair on the left, when the drums stopped.
"Next the third place holder."
The drums came again, and Kane came out. Some remained silent, out of shock he lost. Some cheered. But, most stayed silent, out of fear he may attack them if they boo him. He sat on the right chair, leaving the center, and gold one.
"And finally, your second place holder and your champion."
Once again the drums started. This time Jericho and Allen both walked out. Instead of takeing their seats they both stood on either side, and slightly behind the scribe. The crowd was waiting but snickering, because they thought they knew who won.
"These two were the last contestants this time. They both fought bravely, and skillfully. However in the end, the better man won. Now will the second place holder please take your seat."
They all looked to me and waiting for me to move. But it wasn't until he was sitting in the middle chair that they realized that Jericho had won. The scribe had turned to Jericho and put his hand on the top of his head.
"I give you the leader of our clan. And from this day forth he will take the name, and the title, Jericho. I shall know give to you the positions of all the Jericho's before you.
He summoned a large crate and opened it. Out of it he took a piece of clothe, a sword, and a red robe. He handed the sword to Jericho.
"This sword is called Draco Interfectorem. It was created by the very first Jericho. It is said to hold unimaginable power. I know you like your sabers, but you must give them up. Fighting with it will be difficult at first, but you are meant to have it."
He handed him the cloth.
"This is a portal cape. This was also made by the first. It is a physical reprisentation of a hole in space. It opens to a, lets say space, for simplicity. It is meant to keep you positions in."
He gave Jericho the robe.
"This robe was woven from thread imbeded with dragon scales. And was also made by the first. It in itself can repel many minor attacks. But it is no substitute for armor. We shell now adjourn the main room of the clan home to proceed with the celebrations."
"Instead of going through three years of my life, I'll just skip to yesterday."
It was dark. Everything smelled like mold. And Jericho was sitting at the far end. The guards were passing back and forth in front of the barred cell. Suddenly, one guard went flying, and the other fell where he stood. Then, in front of the door was Zev, Kane, and his wife, Rose.
"Kane, get this door open."
Kane took his mace and smashed the door.
"Jericho. Here, it's your sword, cape, robe, and armor. Get it on and lets get you out."
He did so, and started running with them to the exit.
"Thanks for saveing me."
"No problem. Now where are we going?"
"We need to find a place where Jericho can hide. Any body got some ideas?"
There was silence for a minute. Then Jericho spoke up.
"It doesn't matter where I run, because they'll just chase me. But I do have an idea. In the palace, there's a pool. It can teleport you anywhere. If we can get to it I can be put anyplace on the planet. Rose, you're a master of teleporting spells, so I'll need you. Kane and Zev you need to make a distraction. Let's go."
There was a flash. And everyone was back in the meating room.
"I cancled the spell because I figured it was pointless to show you more. I don't know what happened to the others. And obviously I was sent to the wrong place. So know I'll take any-"
"Princess!"
Everyone looked to the door and saw one of Celestia's guards, covered in blood.