Author's Note: I didn't even think about adding the few extra scenes after Hugo had left to join the Great War because I was suffering from writer's block at the time we were writing it so be warned that there will be mentions of unwanted flirting from Sweetie Belle's perspective since Rarity was too focused on her business to think about her little sister's feelings and Hugo didn't even know about it because well...she decided to keep it for herself in case if he might have a negative reaction about the attention that Sweetie Belle was getting.
Ascending Across Time
Chapter Twelve
Glancing back at the newcomer, Hugo scoffed, completely baffled at the fact that Daniel had followed him to Equestria. He glanced briefly towards Sweetie Belle, watching her shrug a bit before paying attention towards Daniel once more.
Fueled by anger, Daniel approached the earth pony and tried to pin him against the floor, losing balance slightly, still not completely used to his new hooved-legs. Cocking an eyebrow, Hugo looked down and wondered what Daniel's deal was.
"Get away from her," Daniel snapped, stumbling and struggling to lift himself.
"Mademoiselle Belle?" Hugo questioned, looking back at Sweetie Belle again to confirm.
"That's my wife, you son of a bitch!" Daniel shouted, trying to jab Hugo with his horn, but missing.
"Um," Sweetie Belle interjected, "excuse me, but I'm not your wife. We didn't get married and I'm here with Hugo now. Why don't you go back home and leave us alone?" She didn't understand why Daniel would even bother trying to split her and Hugo up, since he clearly wanted her to be his wife to make his parents proud and brag to other humans about how lucky he is and make other men jealous that she is a catch and they couldn't have her.
Sweetie Belle didn't want to live in an abusive lifestyle with Daniel. He was mean and cruel and didn't love her at all. She just wanted to be only seen as a Trophy Wife to him and wouldn't have the freedom that she wanted. Hugo had given her that chance and he proved himself that he could be the best husband he can be for her.
She was rather grateful that Rarity didn't even think about pairing her up with the old men who came to Mystique Physique when they were in Paris and had taken no interest in the men who were much older than her and Rarity. Heck, some of them could be her uncle and they were flirting with her?! When she was reunited with Hugo, she didn't even bother to tell him about it, because she wasn't sure what his reaction would be, since it made her sick to her stomach when those men tried to take advantage of her and she was only eighteen!
Not to mention that she still had to deal with her own personal feelings for Hugo and didn't want to betray him. To this day, the thought of dating and even marrying some older stallions and human males made her want to throw up, due to the fact they wanted to satisfy their feelings for a younger and prettier woman such as herself.
"I'll do you one better," Daniel replied, spitting on the ground and pointing at Hugo, "you and me, we're gonna go mano-a-mano."
"What?" Hugo nervously responded, chuckling as a result.
"We're gonna handle this as we do back in America, Frenchy," Daniel explained, "you and me? We are gonna duel, and when I kick the shit out of you," he pointed at Sweetie Belle, "she'll be mine and there won't be a goddamn thing you can do about it, capisce?"
"You wish to duel me?" Hugo repeated.
"I ain't tellin' ya twice," insisted Daniel, "right here, in an hour. You're goin' down. You, French people, can't win shit, so that'll be an easy win for me."
Hugo scoffed, "I was in the military. You not win easily."
Daniel laughed, "I don't know what'd happen first: you winning or you having perfect control of the American language."
"I will win," Hugo declared, "and Mademoiselle Belle will not leave me. You see, connard."
"Just make sure you show up," Daniel stated, "I know how you French always like to surrender before things get too hard for you to handle."
"You seem to forget France help America in your révolution, sot," Hugo insulted, "You need help and we gave."
"That was then," dismissed Daniel, "besides, y'all didn't do much then and not much now." He pointed at Hugo once more and threatened him with the declaration of the duel once more, "Duel, here, in an hour. Enjoy your final few minutes with my wife, douchebag."
"Dans tes rêves," Hugo muttered, walking away with Sweetie Belle in the meantime.
Watching the two walk away together, Daniel began to prepare himself for the upcoming duel, trying hard to prove to Hugo that he could indeed win and that he was determined to steal Sweetie Belle away from him.
While they were far away from Daniel, Sweetie Belle turned to Hugo, giving him a worried look, "You don't have to do this, Hugo," she told him worriedly, "What if you get hurt? Trying to stand up to him is hard. He says that he's a powerful white man…whatever that means." She rolled her eyes and scoffed.
"Well," protested Hugo, looking at her sternly, "I want to protect you from him, Mademoiselle Belle. He not perfect for you and should've stayed in America." He paused briefly and rested a hoof on her chest softly, "I promise that I be careful. What is the worse that could happen?"
"But," Sweetie Belle pressed on, "I'm worried for your sake, not mine. Who knows what that beast is willing to do?"
"I not certain," replied Hugo, "but he needs a lesson. Don't mess with Mademoiselle Belle. You are a fine woman and should make your decisions. He not need to be with you, nor deserves you."
Sweetie Belle sighed, rolling her eyes slightly, "I'm not going to change your mind or convince you to step back, am I?"
Hugo shook his head, "No. I need to do this."
Sweetie Belle nodded, "I suppose that's valiant. He did insult you, so it's only right you avenge not only yourself," she paused to lean in and plant a kiss on Hugo's cheek softly, "but for me too. He shouldn't be here and should've stayed home. How he even found out about the portal working is beyond me."
"Oui, Mademoiselle," Hugo smiled, feeling his cheek blush a bit.
Sweetie Belle motioned elsewhere for a moment, "Come, let me help you prepare."
"Lead way, Mademoiselle," Hugo chuckled, following Sweetie Belle closely.
As for Daniel, he stomped off towards the town limits and felt his anger rise. He buried his hoof into the ground angrily and spoke to himself out loud.
"The nerve of that punk, thinking he could just waltz in here and steal my gal. I'll make him pay, show it to that stupid, French-looking face of his. I swear, when I see him again, I'm just gonna pop him in the face, knocking him down, and just taunt him. Yeah, that'll be good! Just step right up to him and BAM!"
Swinging his hoof in front of his face, he unleashed a burst of magic, launching the crimson-colored beam quickly out into the field. He stumbled backward, eventually falling onto his flank. Reaching up, he felt his head and began to feel a horn sticking out from the top of it. Feeling his hoof tremble slightly, he began to process what just happened, though he didn't believe it.
"D-Did that just…come out of me?" He asked himself.
He tried processing the situation again and focused hard on trying to replicate it. He tried forcing out the magic within him, but couldn't come up with anything. Crossing his hooves, he tried to think about how he managed to do that before.
"Does anger cause it to come out?" He wondered, "Is that what it is?"
Trying to make himself mad again, Daniel began to think about Hugo a bit more. He thought about how rude he was for standing with Sweetie Belle and how insulting it was that he was trying to steal her away from him. Clutching his hoof slightly, he pounded it into the ground and felt another beam of magic fire from his horn, this time a dark black-and-green color. Cackling to himself, he began to devise a plan to use his newfound power during his duel with Hugo.
"This is fate telling me that I will wipe the floor with that punk," chuckled Daniel, walking away to work on his fight pattern.
An hour later, after Daniel and Hugo were both done preparing themselves, it was time for the duel to begin. The entire town was also there, including Mayor Mare herself. Louis was concerned for his friend, even though he fought in combat and even though that's not enough.
"I can't believe that he'd gotten himself into this," Louis murmured, sitting next to Fluttershy as he continued, "he had fought in the war, yes, but this is absurd!"
"I know that you're scared, we all are," Fluttershy quietly said, until Pinkie Pie randomly appeared out of nowhere, wearing a foam finger and odd-looking glasses, startling them both.
"Team Hugo! I'm rooting for him!" Pinkie cheered, slowly going back to her seat, until she shushed them, "Twilight's about to go over the rules!"
Fluttershy and Louis both playfully rolled their eyes with a smirk appearing on their muzzles. Unfortunately, Applejack couldn't come due to her making a pie delivery for Appleloosa.
Standing in between the two ponies, Twilight looked down sternly. She was against this kind of retaliation but went along with it since both contestants did originate from a different world.
Maybe this is their way of handling things where they're from? She asked herself, I just hope that it works out for everypony's sake.
Looking back up, she flapped her wings and lightly hovered above each of the ponies around her. She glanced between them, explaining the rules and terms of the duel clearly.
"Each pony will fight cleanly and honorably," she exclaimed, "and that means nothing cheap, nothing out of order, nothing dangerous, and nothing childish. The duel will be pronounced over when one pony defeats the other. Are both contestants ready?"
"Ready," Daniel smirked evilly.
"I ready," added Hugo.
Lifting her hoof high in the air, Twilight officially started the duel. She flew towards Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie and watched the bout begin, biting her lip lightly in the process. Fluttershy noticed this and asked if something was on Twilight's mind.
"Just a bit nervous," admitted Twilight, looking at Hugo pace around a bit, "I may not understand how things are handled in your world, Louis, but this seems unnatural around here."
"Honestly, Princess Twilight," Louis responded, "duels aren't too popular where we all come from. They used to be, back in the late 1700s and early 1800s, but they lost a lot of popularity. The only difference is that neither of them has pistols to duel with."
"Pistols?" Twilight repeated.
Louis nodded, "Duels were usually to the death in historical circumstances. Whoever lost was either left wounded or dead, most often the latter of those two outcomes."
"I can see why they're not popular anymore," Fluttershy said.
Continuing to pace one another and get a feel for them, Daniel and Hugo exchanged a few words.
"You're about to see what it's like to lose everything you ever wanted," smirked Daniel.
"I defend honor of Mademoiselle Belle," Hugo insisted, mirroring the way Daniel was pacing him.
"Keep telling yourself that," Daniel stated, lunging forward, his horn leading the way.
Hugo managed to dodge the attempted attack by quickly moving out of the way, watching Daniel sail on by. He may have heard about duels before, but being in one was overwhelming and shocking. He'd trained long and hard with Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom, but nothing could've prepared him for this ultimate showdown with Daniel.
He wouldn't admit to himself that he was still nervous about this whole thing, especially when he considered Daniel's superior strength when compared to him. Being in the army may have still filled him with strength and stability beyond his years, but Hugo still cautioned himself with the duel and Daniel's attacks.
"Even if you had fought in the Great War," said Daniel, "clearly you're no match for me." He stood up cockily and aimed Hugo with his horn, shooting a black-and-green beam out of it rapidly.
Hugo rolled his eyes, smirking, "That is what you-"
Cut off by the magic hitting him, Hugo collapsed to the ground. The magic Daniel shot at Hugo had hit him in the chest and made breathing a bit of a challenge. Daniel approached the fallen opponent and smirked, looking at his opponent's grasp for some air. He gasped when Hugo managed to stand back up and shake himself off, taking a deep breath in the process.
"That is a cheap shot," Hugo stated, "that not fair."
Daniel glanced towards Twilight and smirked some more, "Is magic against the rules, Princess?"
Twilight appeared conflicted, but still answered back, "Technically, it's allowed since he has it like a unicorn, even if it is dark magic."
Hugo felt befuddled, "Wh-what?"
"You heard the lady, punk," Daniel stated, blasting another beam of dark magic at Hugo, grazing his side a bit, "it is allowed, and it looks like I'll be winning this fight easier than expected now, wouldn't you agree?"
Pouncing up, Daniel swung forward and forced more dark magic out of his horn, striking Hugo and more. Hugo shuffled back a bit, trying his hardest to defend himself against the magic, but was not succeeding at all. Feeling his hooves shake a bit, it wasn't long before Hugo fell once more to the ground. He looked up at Daniel once more and noticed his vision beginning to blur slightly.
"Just surrender now and save yourself the embarrassment," Daniel mocked, slowly approaching Hugo once again.
Hugo couldn't respond and tried forcing himself to stand back up, only to have himself fall over once more. He coughed a bit, spitting on the ground, then felt his vision blur even more. Now he noticed that his hearing abilities were starting to retract as well.
"So long, punk," Daniel declared, striking Hugo down with his hoof now.
Translation:
Dans tes rêves - In your dreams.