Strings of Fate

Chapter 14: After the Trial

A little bit after the trial's end, Twilight entered the courtroom's hallway, meeting up with her friends along the way out to the exit.

"I guess I owe you all an apology." Twilight dipped their head to her friends, "I should have listened to you all about what I should do when I consulted you. I especially owe an apology to you, Fluttershy." Twilight turned her gaze to Fluttershy, who smiled at her. "I'm very sorry for yelling at you when you didn't even do anything."

"It's okay," Fluttershy accepted, "We all knew how stressed you were."

"We forgive you, darling." Rarity spoke up. Applejack placed a hoof on Twilight's back.

"We're glad you figured somethin' out." Applejack stated.

"So are we." A familiar voice came from behind Twilight. She turned to see Shining Armor and Princess Cadence trotting up, Flurry Heart sitting on her father's back.

"Shining Armor! I didn't know you were here!" Twilight ran over and hugged her older brother.

"Someone had to take care of Flurry Heart." She levitated Flurry Heart down to the floor, where she ran over to her aunt.

"Twily! Twily!" Flurry Heart shouted as Twilight sat down and embraced her niece in her hooves.

"Flurry!" Twilight exclaimed, "My, you've grown since I last saw you!" Flurry placed her muzzle on Twilight's cheek and made her squeaky kissing sounds. "Awwwww, I've missed you, too!"

"Cadence told me about your decision." Shining Armor got Twilight's attention. He grimaced, "Are you sure you want Tempest to be your Captain?"

Twilight stood up, cradling Flurry Heart in her right front hoof. "I'm sure."

"It's just..." Shining Armor lowered his voice while Cadence rolled her eyes. "she turned Cadence into stone, like you mentioned. And she chased-"

"I see where you're coming from, BBBFF," Twilight interrupted her older brother, "but Tempest is more than an evil pony. She was doing it because she was trying to gain back her horn and her lost magic. Then, that's all she cared about. Now...." She hesitated, realizing she was about to reveal the fact they liked each other. Trying not to blush, she continued, "she's wanting to change. She just needs a little guidance."

Shining backed up a tad, a skeptical look on his face, while Cadence put a hoof on her husband's shoulder. "Twilight's right, honey."

Shining sighed. "If you say so, little sis."

"When are you thinking of starting her training?"

————— A Week Later —————

Tempest entered the Crystal Castle's Gymnasium. She took in the surrounding area: the seating, the track, and the crystal dome that made the whole area lit with natural lighting. On the inside of the track was a field, and in the field stood Shining Armor who was setting up dummies of changelings filled with straw, and wore his Captain of the Royal Guard armor. Once he was done setting up, he met Tempest in the middle of the field.

"What we are going to do today is work on what magic skills you've got," Shining started his horn as a demonstration, "as well as an assessment of your physical skills so I know what I need to coach you on." Shining faced the dummies, and Tempest followed. "Show me what you got."

Tempest got into battle stance, legs spread apart and horn pointed at the dummies. Straining, she fired a blast of magic, which split into two lightning bolts that struck two dummies at once. Not an ounce of magic missed the dummies.

"Impressive." Shining Armor commented, "You have impeccable aim. Try concentrating those two magic beams into one, so you only hit one target at a time."

"Not trying to be disrespectful, but wouldn't that be less effective?" Tempest questioned. "Hitting two targets at once gets rid of two enemies at a time instead of just one."

"True," Shining Armor inquired, "but having the experience of focusing your magic only only helps you control shots that are more powerful, and imagine trying to aim at two enemies at once while they're moving in different directions. Having the ability to hone all your magic into one beam can also help with your ability to control more complex moves."

Shining demonstrated with his own magic, focusing his magic beam and blasted one dummy into smithereens. He turns back to Tempest. "Like that."

Tempest nodded and got back into her battle stance. Using all of her concentration, she focused her magic into one spark and aimed at the standing dummy in front of her. She fired the bolt, it hit the dummy at full strength, and sent the dummy flying across the stadium. Tempest started to breathe heavily from the effort.

"Great job." Shining Armor complemented, "Not bad for a pony with a broken horn. Now," Shining faced Tempest and crouched into a battle stance. "Let's see your physical strength."

Tempest looked at him in concern. Shining Armor seemed to notice.

"Don't worry about hurting me." He stated, "Don't let that distract you from doing your best. Show me what you got!"

Taking that as a challenge, Tempest quickly got into her battle stance and leapt. She quickly turned and shot her back legs out in an attempt to knock him over at the chest, but ended up kicking the Prince in the face. She turned as he reeled a little bit and used that as an opportunity to strike. Shining quickly recovered and blocked Tempest's next shot. He matched Tempest blow for blow, blocking each of her shots.

Wow, he's good at this.

Tempest quickly glanced at Shining's unprotected belly and quickly maneuvered to hit it. She aimed perfectly, Shining Armor exhaled forcefully as she knocked the wind from him. Before he could get up, Tempest quickly placed her front hooves on top of him to keep him down. After a few seconds, Shining relaxed his muscles, letting Tempest know she won.

She released the prince from her hooves and he stood up, panting. Tempest was a little winded, as well.

"Great....job." Shining struggled to his feet, "Let's take a.....break....." He exhaled abruptly and walked over to the sidelines. Tempest followed, wrapping a towel behind her neck and grabbing a bottle of water with her magic.

"I didn't hurt you too much, did I?" She asked, wiping the sweat from her brow and taking a sip of water.

A few moments passed before Shining caught his breath enough to speak.

"No, you didn't." Shining wiped the sweat off with a towel, "No one I've trained has got your skills. You're a talented unicorn."

Tempest dipped his head at him in acknowledgment.

"However, based on those tests, It'll still take about a year for me to fully train you to be Twilight's Captain, especially since we're only meeting once a week." He tried to move out of his seat but grunted a little. "I think we're done for today."

"Are you sure I didn't hurt you?" Tempest reached a hoof out to help him stand up. The Prince stood up on his own after a couple seconds of struggling.

"I'm positive. Just haven't needed to fight someone in a while." Shining Armor huffed.

"Well, thank you for training me." Tempest took another sip of water before setting the bottle down and taking the towel off her neck.

"My pleasure." Shining Armor nodded, "Any friend of Twilight's is a friend of mine." He picked up his own water bottle and took a few sips. "So, are you heading back to the castle? There's still a bit before the train back to Ponyville arrives."

"I might." Tempest walked to the door to the outside of the stadium. "There's someone I want to see, first."