Ch.53

Amethyst had always been an honorable opponent in every battle, duel, and tournament that she had entered; it was said that she had once injured herself during a fight, because her opponent had been injured during a duel with another, this was her way of being fair. At one point in her life, lady Amethyst had even bowed to a griffin that had tied with her in a sword contest; it was this kind of behavior that had won her the hearts of all that resided in the empire, as well as all of Equestria. No pony or any other being would have even thought of Amethyst bribing another to throw any kind of challenge, and yet here she was asking, begging, the last two challengers to do the unthinkable.

Cornflower: "You want us to do what!? That's not like you, my lady!"

Amethyst: "Please!? I need one of you to do this. I will compensate you for what you are about to give up in exchange for helping me."

Nightlight: "...(Sighs) I'm sorry, my queen. I love Aurora more than anything, and will not fail in becoming her husband!"

Amethyst: "I know its asking for too much, but I cannot watch Greywind take his vengeance on my granddaughter. You two are the only hope I have right now."

Cornflower: "...I'll do it."

Amethyst: "You will!?"

Nightlight: "You will!? But why!? You never would try something this low!? You have always been a pony of great integrity, Corn!"

Cornflower: "There is something I want, its something that I would never have been able to have, until now that is."

Amethyst: "What is it that desire?"

Cornflower: "Your youngest daughter, Ari."

Amethyst: "Ari? Why would you want my Ari?"

Cornflower: "(Grins) Isn't it obvious?"

From the moment they met; princess Ari had always enjoyed the company of Cornflower, the young page. Cornflower was one of many young warriors that Lionheart was training; little did the war hearty king know that under his watchful eyes, his daughter Ari, was becoming more acquainted with one his students. Queen Amethyst was even more oblivious to what was going on in her youngest child's life; however, Lionheart eventually caught on to the young couple's secret, and in a fit a rage, beat Cornflower till she could hardly stand. He no longer wanted to teach the young filly, and forbid her from coming near his daughter; it was out of love and respect for the young filly, that Amethyst gladly took Cornflower in, and personally trained her for her elite guard. When Lionheart died, Ari thought that her and Cornflower could finally be together, but her father's death did not change the fact that her lover would have to take the challenge.

Cornflower: "I came here to prove worthy of your bloodline, and I intended to make Ari my wife if I won, but now I don't have to if I weaken that stallion and take the fall. All I ask from you my dear Queen, is that you grant me permission into your family as Ari's wife."

Amethyst: "You wish to marry Ari? My daughter, Ari?"

Cornflower: "There is no other Ari. The only one who I want to be with, is your daughter, Ari."

Amethyst: "...So you are willing to do this for my youngest child's hoof in marriage?"

Cornflower: "I'm willing to do this because I love Ari; even if I couldn't marry her, I would still be at her side till death. I will take the stallion first, and try to weaken him as best I can; Nightlight can have Aurora, just as long as I can have Ari. I expect you to keep your word, my lady; I trust you more than I trusted your husband, I adore you more than I adored your husband, and I am willing to give my life for you, because I know you will not go back on your word."

The old monarch was surprised by what was asked of her; it had always made her ponder as to why Ari never tried to find a mate, and why she never brought any potential suitors around, never would she have guessed that Ari was afraid for her lover to face the challenge. Against Ari's wishes, Cornflower had decided to enter in the hopes of winning Amethyst's approval; she had done great so far, no injuries, no slip ups, and she had managed to be one of the final three. Amethyst agreed to Cornflower's conditions, and it would later on prove a great blessing in the future; Cornflower and Ari's great descendant, would be none other than the princess of love and future ruler of the empire, Princess Cadance.

Nightlight: "Corn? You sure you want to do this? Greywind was one of Amethyst's best, not to mention a great captain during the war."

Cornflower: "You do know that Lionheart nearly killed me with own hooves? I must say that the training was nothing compared to facing his wrath, and I doubt any have manage to recover from one of his beatings. (Looks at Night) My friend, I don't want your princess, I shouldn't even be trying to win this contest for her hoof, but if I can help you and get the princess that I want, I have no problem taking on this elite warrior. Promise me this; if I die out there, tell Ari I was able to win my right to marry her. Can you do that for me, old friend?"

Nightlight: "(Sighs) I will, but please try to come back alive. I don't want to have to see such a lovely mare cry for something so unfair."

Cornflower smiled back at the red stallion; putting on her helmet, and taking her sword, the young filly walked towards the stadium to await her next opponent. She was moments away from getting what she wanted, so long had she waited for such a chance, but what she did not anticipate was what was waiting for her at the entrance. A green mare with blue eyes and a sad look on her face, was waiting for the young unicorn; without saying a word the young mare grabbed hold of the unicorn, hugging her tightly, staining her copper coat with tears. Looking at her lover's face; Ari, the green mare, moved the long copper colored bangs with red stripes, out of her lover's face to reveal the red orbs underneath.

Ari: "I'm glad you aren't battling right now; I wanted to talk."

Cornflower: "I can't really talk right now. I need to go get ready for my next opponent."

Ari: "You're going up first!? Against that stallion!? Why isn't Night going first!?"

Cornflower: "Even if he did go first, I would still have to face Greywind in the event that he lost. Now I must be going."

Ari: "Wait! Please, just a few minutes!?"

Cornflower: "(Sighs) Alright. What wrongs?"

Ari: "I don't want you to do this! If I have to, I'll give up my crown! I don't want you to get hurt, I didn't even want you entering in the first place."

Cornflower: "Now Ari, you know that giving up your crown is irresponsible; Aurora is still young, Amethyst may not be around for very long, the empire needs you."

Ari: "Aurora is to inherit the empire, not me! Why would she need me!?"

Cornflower: "Because you're her aunt! She won't know how to run an entire empire on her own, and neither will her husband, that I know for certain. Please, don't do anything rash? I promise that everything will be alright, just wait for me. (Walks away)"

Ari: "Wait! Please don't go!...I love you…..please wait."

It may not have been the best way to end their little conversation, but an apology and an explanation would probably fix the mess the young unicorn left with her lover; at that moment, Cornflower's only concern was the painted stallion before her. The task was simple; she needed to weaken him in anyway she could, try not to get killed, and try not to get too injured. So far she had avoided getting hurt, but for an elite guard trained by Amethyst, the competition basically was like swatting flies; Greywind on the other hand was not so much a fly as the rest, he was more or less a demon in disguise. Well, if he was a demon, then by heaven's good grace she was a hell hound; she needed to feel invincible as she was examined to insure a fair fight, Greywind's last opponent had been crippled from having his wing sliced off, not exactly encouraging for the young mare.

Examiner: "Alright duckie! You're clean! She's good to go mate!"

Cornflower: "(Looks up at sky) Help me now."

Announcer: "Our challengers for today are, (Looks at list and coughs) Cornflower, captain of the elite guard, and Greywind, captain of the east unit! The winner here will go up against the final challenger, for the last duel of the tournament; good luck to you both!"

Cornflower: "Luck, I'm probably going to die here. (Sighs) May my death be quick if I should fall today."

As the young filly took a moment to breath, a spear was sent flying at her head, cutting her cheek as it impaled the only thing protecting her skull; she realized at that moment of brief contemplation, what a horrible mistake it was to go first. Greywind charged at Cornflower without a second thought; it was obvious that he aimed to overpower the young filly, exert her till she was too tired to get in any kind of shot. Cornflower could not believe how careless the stallion was being, she was unicorn, she could use magic on him within an instant; wrong she was about this, and a hard hit to the face with the earth pony's shield was enough to set her straight. So many stars were out already, and it wasn't even night time; Cornflower staggered to her hooves trying to find a way to knock him off balance, or at least a way to hide.

Cornflower: "(Thinking to herself) Clearly I misjudge this bastard. (Sighs) I don't know what kills me more; the fact that I may lose this duel that I was planning to throw, or the fact that if I do make it out alive, I will not have kept my end of the bargain? Ari, you better love me when I start to get old and senile."

If only he was unable to see her she thought…..wait a minute, the stadium, it has dirt ground; she needed her sword, and….a huge gust of wind! A great gust is all she needed as she let the stallion charge her once more, knocking her to the ground, it was a perfect plan; looking around she saw where her sword was lying, and waited for Greywind to come and strike her with his final blow. The stallion smirked as he circled his prey like a lion waiting to rip out the jugular; laughing at his opponent, Greywind took his sword and placed it at the young filly's throat.

Greywind: "I guess my teacher wasn't so great after all! (Laughs) To think that she made such a wimp a captain, and threw me away to go die in the wilderness, is rather laughable. Any last words before I take your head?"

Cornflower: "(Grins) You are the biggest fool I have ever had the pleasure of fighting. But before I pass out, I'm going to make sure that you never forget my name for as long as you live."

The dirt from the ground was blown up within seconds; Greywind backed away as his opponent disappeared into the thick cloud of dust, not a single thing could be seen in front of the stallion's face. A sharp pain made itself known as a large cut appeared on Greywind's front leg, another on his right side which caused him to stagger, one more under left hock, a long one starting from his right shoulder all the way to his cheek, a deep slash across his chest, a second slice that took the top part of his left ear, and one last one to his front right knee. Greywind began to panic, waiting for the next strike, paranoid from not being able to see where his opponent was standing; Cornflower, unlike Greywind, could see everything through the cloud of dirt. With all her might, Cornflower punched the earth pony in the nose, breaking it instantly from such great force, she even took a second swing to his left eye, cutting the top of his eye lid open; the final strike came when Cornflower took the base of her sword, and jammed it hard into the stallion's side, not hard enough to break his ribs, but enough to leave a deep painful bruise. The moment she heard Greywind cry out in pain; Cornflower lie down, stopped making the powerful gust, and closed her eyes as the dirt settled to the ground once more.

Greywind: "Where is she!? Where is that worthless bitch!?"

Announcer: "Cornflower has been knocked out! The winner is, Greywind!"

Greywind: "What, but how!? I never even…"

A medical wagon quickly picked up Cornflower's unconscious body, and quickly headed the injured filly to the medical ward for treatment; all the while, the young unicorn was smiling and snickering from her beautiful handy work. Once she was put into one of the medical beds; Cornflower had miraculously regain consciousness, much to the surprise of the doctor, nurses, and Ari.

Ari: "How did you….you were just…...its a miracle!"

Cornflower: "...A miracle? I just fell asleep, I'll be fine in no time."

Ari: "(Cries and hugs Cornflower) I thought he was going to kill you! (Sniffs) Please promise to never do anything so foolish again, please?"

Amethyst: "She won't have to anymore."

Ari: "Mother!? W-what are you doing here?"

Amethyst: "I came to see how my future daughter-in-law is doing."

Ari: "Daughter-in-law? But she lost, how can that be?"

Amethyst: "Not for Aurora, my dear child. Cornflower is to marry you; this I have given my permission, and my blessing. (Smiles)"

Ari was at a loss of words as she heard those wonderful words leave her dear mother's mouth; with tears in her eyes, and great big smile across her face, Ari embraced her mother tighter than she had ever before. After so many years of waiting; Ari was now able to be with the one she loved, and she would remain with Cornflower for over two hundred years.