Kung-Fu Equestria 3

Training

Twilight's anger fought against worry as she moved throughout the village. Panic and fear shined among the ponies and Changelings. From the crowd, Spike came through, spotting Twilight and running to his sister's side.

"Twilight..." Spike said somberly.

"You heard?"

"And saw," Spike said with a nod.

Twilight sighed. "You can go ahead and say 'I told you so,' now."

"Not right now," Spike replied. "We need to get you out of here."

"Why? There's nowhere to run to!" Twilight began gathering various items from the village.

Spike tilted his head. "Then... what will you do?"

Twilight looked up in determination. "I'm going to fight."

Spike blinked. "W-Who exactly?" Her face said enough. "B-But Twilight..."

Twilight didn't let him protest, running off with the items she had gathered.

Once Twilight found a big enough clearing, the Celestial Warrior arranged the items into a training dummy that resembled the Jade Slayer. With a fierce gaze, Twilight began sparing with the dummy, making it swing around with rapidly increasing speed.

Twilight maneuvered around the dummy's swings until one arm smacked the side of her face. Twilight merely growled, shook her head and continued training. All the while, Spike watched her with worry on his face.

Already knowing Twilight wouldn't be deterred, Spike's gaze shifted from his sister to her brother's house. Unfurling his wings, Spike flew up to the house.

The dragon crossed the bridge and entered the building that held the shrine dedicated to Shining's parents. Shining was sitting in front of said shrine.

"Mother... Father," Shining whispered. "I'm sorry." He lowered his head. "I failed. I couldn't keep her safe."

"Mind if I join you?" Spike asked.

Shining flinched, before noticing Spike. "Y-Yeah, sure," Shining replied, patting the ground as Spike sat next to him.

For a moment, both of them were silent.

"You know, you weren't the only one who lied," Spike admitted to the unicorn. "Twilight wasn't the only one I was worried about." The dragon turned to Shining Armor with a small smile. "I was also worried about you."

"Can't blame you," Shining replied with a shrug "I failed my sister and my family."

Without hesitation, Spike smacked the unicorn upside his head. "Don't talk like that," Spike reprimanded. "My father said only a coward and a fool talk badly about themselves."

Shining rubbed the back of his head, and found himself chuckling. "My father used to say the same thing." He grinned. "He would've gotten along with yours." A thought occurred to him. "Did your parents... help you with Twilight?"

Spike looked down. "They died before I found Twilight."

Shining winced. "I'm sorry. I didn't..."

"It's okay." Spike looked up wistfully. "Mom was always frail. She contracted Crystal Fever when I was 8. We couldn't afford treatment, so my father worked himself ragged to make enough money," Spike shut his eyes. "His exhaustion and lack of sleep caused him to fall into the river with a pack of bricks on his back. Mother joined him a few days later."

"I'm sorry," Shining repeated, however, he was shocked by the smile that managed to grow on the dragon's face. "How can you smile ever after retelling how your parents passed?"