EBS Round I

Word Count - 1589
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Holy shit… it was loud. 

Neither combatant knew it would be his crowded in the Equus Ballator Society. Yelling, hissing, whinnies and massive headbutting were echoed across the massive park that was supposed to hold the event. There was dust everywhere, and just pulling up in their trailers alone, the stallions had a hard time seeing. 

Leo was the first one to arrive. 

The truck had come to a full stop and he shifted his weight so the slight backlash wouldn’t make him tumble over. He lifted his massive head, looking through the small barred window on the side of the trailer to get a better view of the area. He squinted, his crystal blue eyes almost soiled by the thick air and the stench of determination and regret. 

He snorted slightly and rattled a little bit, trying to get some of the dust out of his massive mane at least before he left his little box car. He was right to do so, as the dust flew all around him and gently fluttered to the ground, almost kissing it. He heard the sound of footsteps and perked his fuzzy ears in the direction the consistant sound was coming from. 

There were a few locking sounds coming from the other side of the massive door Leo used to exit before the small crack of light promised freedom. The door swung open and lead a ramp down onto the soft land. They were in their own designated area, but he could still hear their challengers around them. They weren’t very far at all. 

His handler walked up the ramp, slowly of course, as not to startle the king of Iron Horse Stables. The massive barbary stallion kept his keep eyes on the human at all times with the typical eye twitch every now and again thanks to the wind blowing that gods forsaken sand into his eye. He was suddenly very thankful for eyelashes. 

Upon reaching the great beast, the human lifted his arms to undo the knot that was his bridle. He had tied it to the inside of the small box so the stallion wouldn’t fly everywhere; not that he was a bad driver or anything, but nonetheless, he needed to take precautions. It only took a few minutes, but the knot was undone and he held it loosely down as he smiled and gently patted the larger ballator’s forehead. He always had a soft spot for this guy. Leo enjoyed the attention, but was getting rather antsy. He knickered a few times, unable to help himself as he was slowly getting excited. 

His handler turned around and slowly guided him down the ramp and onto the good soil. He immediately guided the king to his pen, allowing the stallion a moment to look at the scenery. Upon entering the small area reserved for him, he lifted his massive head in an almost regal manor before observing the area. There were stallions and mare of all sorts, spatting with each other and also having friendly conversations. That’s always a nice thing about the wrestling society. Its got rules, motives and a code of conduct. 

Next to him was an empty pen next to him marked “Obscura Nocte” and he couldn’t help but meander that way. He stuck his head over the fenceline with a hope to gain new information on this ballator that was about to arrive. His own handler was busy off running errands and such so he had a little time to be curious. 

A little time was all he had though.

A massive black trailer soon backed into the area, forcing the barbary to back up and watch. The stallion inside seemed rather aggressive. The screeching and head smashing heard from inside wasn’t a good sign. Maybe the two wouldn’t get along anyways. 

A younger woman ran out from the truck up front, cursing under her breath as she unlocked the massive door as quickly as she could. As soon as the ramp was laid down, the stallion seemed to drastically calm down. 

“Huh… poor boy doesn’t like rides.” Leo quietly said to himself. 

The girl entered the trailer and a large glow was emitting from it. What the hell was that? A fire? His ears pinned but he kept his eyes on the black box. Faint hissing was heard from the car, but it soon subsided and the sounds of hooves filled its place. 

The girl had a hold on his reigns, gently leading him out and down the ramp. The stallion’s glowing eyes were enough to tell the barbary that he was blessed aswell. Leo himself had gotten a blessing from one of the highlords,but he’s never seen a ballator blessed by Hannibal himself. 

The black, living lantern headed onto the soft soil and perked his ears, staring at all of the horses in the distance. He’d have to fight all of them? Ugh. 

His thoughts were snapped back into reality faster than he could say ‘what’ as Kat lead him into his own pen. There was another stallion in the pen next to him who was of course, regally standing and not making any eye contact. He snorted and rolled his eyes. “Great. Another prissy boy.” he thought to himself as he shook his mane. 

Kat, his handler, soon grabbed a hold of his face. She was the only one able to do so. She looked deep into his eyes. “Listen here, brat. I don’t need any casulties today, alright? You’ve gotta learn to control yourself or you’re out of here.” she said sternly. The stallion just stared at her and snorted in response. She smiled and released his face, knowing full well that he didn’t like to be touched for more than a minute at a time. 

Kat smiled and turned around, locking the gate behind her as she exited. “You should socialize, boy. It’s good for ya.” she said with a smile before jogging off to unload her truck of utilities and her things.

Noctem flattened his ears at the thought and turned his head towards the barbary king next door. At Spearheart-Stables, Noctem was second in command next to his father. Kat was the one in charge, believe it or not. He inspected the stallion next to him, wondering how in the hell he wasn’t dying of heat exhaustion. 

He snorted to himself. Might as well do what alpha says. “I’m assuming I’ll be battling you today?” he asked, lifting his head to equal that of the crystal horned ballator. 

Leo turned his head towards the Hannibal-like ballator and nodded his head. “My name is Leoni Ludae.. or Leo for short.” he said in a friendly tone. Though his facial expression could convince otherwise. Noctem nodded in response. This was rare behaviour for the stallion as he was normally territorially aggressive and really hard to get along with. He figured since he wasn't home, there was no need to be hostile. Nobody in his herd was in danger and he could well take care of himself. 

"My name is-"
"Obscura Nocte. It says on your pen. Pleasure, son of Hannibal." Leo said with a slight smirk.

Noctem didn't much appreciate being interrupted, but the whole 'son of Hannibal' thing did give him a confidence boost. 

"So, where are you from?" The black stallion asked, curious about his match. 

The regal stallion spoke of Iron Horse Stables and all of the inmates that lived there. Noctem had no idea so many ballators could all live in one place without having some sort of order or havoc. Leo had announced that he was in charge and Noctem respected that. He looked like a decent leader. A smartass, but a wise and noble defender. 

Leo soon relayed the question and it was Noctem's turn to speak about the strange pack-like system they had at Spearheart-Stables. He explained how all ballators, no matter how cocky or amazing they thing they are, they always listened to Kat, who was the head of the stables along with her husband. He spoke of how there weren't many horses there, but most of them were related and had a tight relationship. Canis, his father, was the oldest and strongest ballator there, thus earning his title of 'second in command'. Everyone listened to him... most of the time. If anyone didn't feel it was necessary, they had the choice to ignore him. If anything was urgent though, every ballator fell in line. The mares were treated exactly the same way the stallions were. Instead of a harem, these horses worked as a unit. Everyone has their own words, their own wants and desires, and nobody deserved to be treated any less.

Leo stood there, dumbfounded. It was strange to hear of a place where the human was in charge of it all, let alone where mares are treated equal to stallions. 

It wasn't long before a ringing was heard. 

"Contestants, please make your way to the rings. Leoni Ludae and Obscura Nocte please make your way to the rings. Thank you." a voice said on the intercom. 

Both handlers headed towards the stallions at the same time.

Noctem looked over to the barbary and smirked slightly. "May the best ballator win, king of Iron Horse Stables." he said as Kat clipped a rope onto his bridle. 

"Likewise, son of Hannibal." the barbary said, his handler doing the exact same thing.

It wouldn't be long now before the two acquaintances met face to face, for a less friendly purpose.