Chapter 2
Shield Heart lied down on his new, and incredibly comfy, bed with his cellphone on his hand. Yesterday was somewhat of an awkward day. He first sees Braeburn, fights those timberwolves, meets up with Ed, then he realizes that Fire let Hawk Eye go on her own, then the nightmare-inducing Top Priority letters. And just to top off the events, Cadence tells him that she's returning to Canterlot. Aside from her usual I need to be with my husband argument, which he could respect, she mentioned that she wanted to talk to Princess Celestia about some event. He felt like he should have paid attention, but his mind was looking for some excuse that could save him from the Ib'Xian water torture that was The Grand Galloping Gala.
As much as he wanted to think that this was just a way for his father to get back at him for getting suspended, his father didn't have that sense of humor. Shrugging off the fear of thinking of his father, he decided to look at the other Top Priority letter he got, the one that sent him on a mission. As he removed it from its envelope he considered reading it again.
After three seconds he put the letter back down. There was no change in the contents, sadly. He felt as if the letter was written as an insult or some sort of prank. The letter ordered him to tell Twilight about the mission, insisting that she has a right to know that her drake friend was caught by a category 2 wyvern that uses floo fire to carry its load. He could understand why it would be a good idea, but he didn't get why it was mandatory? He knew Shining, and if she was half the person the Captain was, she was going to demand that she join the rescue mission.
And like he was ever going to let that happen. The girl had little combat experience, and besides, she's the Element of Magic. According to what he learned at the Academy that was the most important element. And how exactly did you extract five VIPs from the clutches of a dragon? He'd done rescue missions, and he had certainly fought dragons, but he never knew that it was possible to do both. And now he was supposed to carry an essential VIP to boot? He laughed at the idea.
But still, Twilight had her uses, she was a mage almost on par with Celestia and her brains were something the geeks would swoon about. And with this in mind it would be impossible to keep the matter hidden from her for long, since she has an actual reason to be part of the team. So maybe he could force her to take some sort of commanding role, but his brain refused to concentrate on the matter any further.
"Might as well try out that hot bath while I'm at it." he said as he lifted his lazy body up.
"Minotaur Tackle!" Came a high-pitched roar as the door immediately burst open and he was tackled back into bed by a white midget.
"What's the big idea!" he protested as the small burden, still dressed in pajamas, pinned him to his bed.
"You just got pinned!" said Hawk Eye enthusiastically, her body struggling to keep him stapled to the bed. "You owe me a sundae!"
"If you don't let me go I will unleash The Radioactive Armageddon." he threatened with a grin.
"You wouldn't dare, Cadence is still here." she snapped.
"Are you willing to gamble your nose on it?" he said with an evil voice. The girl's emerald eyes widened in horror. She sprung out of bed leaping as high as she could before the smelly maelstrom began. But she never had a chance as the room became filled with the fetor of methane and sulfur.
"Oh dear Celestia, go see a doctor!" replied the little girl as she covered her nose with both of her hands. She managed to bolt out of the door, tears running down her face to protect her from the putrid smell.
"Ha! Warned ya!" he replied as he closed the door and began choosing his attire. But he stopped the second his brain suggested a new idea: Sparring. Two trained people had just arrived and he might as well restart his groove or else he'll make a fool of himself in the training sessions later that day. And maybe also during the tests. He waited for a spell before moving down the stairs
He grabbed his usual training shirt, pants and sneakers and walked out his room. He walked down the stairs and noticed that his living room was already populated.. He then turned to the kitchen, which was showing signs of activities. To his not-surprise he saw Fire cooking, his hands busily working the frying pan. "Since when do we allow a pyro near the stove?"
His friend sighed, not even bothering to turn to see him. "Crys asked me to make breakfast, so I thought I might as well try and beat your record."
"HA!" exclaimed Shield as he turned his head sideways and put his fists on his waist. "No woman has ever bested me in the kitchen, why should you fare any better!"
There were currently two other people aside from the demented commissioner, and both were left speechless. After fifteen seconds of uncomfortable silence Fire spoke up. "I'm not sure if I should even try to respond to that. Worst still, I don't even know if responding to your obviously controversial comment is even useful."
Shield looked extremely disappointed. "I was trying to liven up the mood, killjoy."
"By making a joke so bad that a part of my brain had to commit suicide? C'mon, you know how to make better jokes." replied his friend. "Anyways, where are you going? Out for a little run?"
"Actually I wanted you to join me in a sparring session but it appears as though you have been afflicted with the apron." Shield sighed as he turned to face his little sister. "Don't worry, Pup will make a decent sparring opponent." and without any order the little girl jumped from her current bed and ran up to her room. Three minutes later she had changed from PJ's to a white tank top with pink shorts.
"Ready to learn your lesson brother?" she asked enthusiastically.
"Always my dear sister." he replied as he turned his back on her and walked toward the basement.
Once they were inside the clinical room, Shield did his best to make the room as spar-worthy as he could. He had what he needed, but he was forced to take down the firing range if he wanted to make enough room for their punches. The mat was a simple white foam mat with a large black circle. Inside this outline was a large six-point star that touched the circle. They proceeded to warm up, stretching legs and making sure their ligaments were ready to be exploited.
After warming up, they donned their sparring armor. The gear was colored red for him and white for her. They took positions in opposing corners and prepared their defenses. "Ready? Three. Two. One..." he said before jumping out of the way as his sister darted with a sliding kick. He attempted to counter with a stomp, but she rolled out of the way and delivered an unsuccessful left roundhouse.
Shield mustered some strength and delivered a successful jab to her chest, punching the air from her lungs and sending her a couple of centimeters back. She quickly recovered and reset her defense. The soldier charged once again, but his attack was foiled by a leg sweep. As he stumbled to the ground he pushed himself out of the way of an elbow drop. He tried to ax kick his sister, but she merely dodged the blow.
"Think fast!" he exclaimed as he followed with a jab to her face. She ducked, bending her head back dramatically. But her theatrics were cut short instantly as a foot removed her steady footing. Shield moved in for a takedown, but his sister was fast. She rolled once more and attacked with a aerial left roundhouse. As the soldier blocked it she used his exposed side to score a kick. To her surprise the hit connected, rocking his head back as the foam boot struck his chin. He fell to the floor, where he was immediately pinned down.
"Is that fast enough?" she asked smugly. She then proceeded to tap his nose using hers. "I booped your nose!". Shield merely winked and hugged her, moving into a sitting position despite Hawk's intent on keeping him on the ground. "HEY!" she squealed. "I pinned you! You can't get back up!"
"C'mon pup, it's time for round 2." he said as he un-fused his little sister. "We're just getting started." She reluctantly stepped back, keeping her guard up every second."Ready? GO!" he yelled as the two began again. Shield threw a right cross punch, which was blocked promptly by her arm. "So how did you do with your science project?"
"Great, I scored first place again. But there really was no other way. That idiot Gem bought his stupid project." she replied as she delivered three side kicks. "I mean really, how in the heck is a ten year-old boy supposed to build a working solar-powered rifle?"
"Did your Telekinetic Cannon work?" he asked, throwing two roundhouse kicks.
"Nope, never could get that gem to work. I think I needed to find a gem more powerful than topaz. Or maybe I should have watched the spelling." she replied. Her kicks were starting to chip away at his defenses, and she was moving to punches. "I ended up building a sparkle cola volcano that threw chunks of ice. It was beautiful."
"Good, so how did you do on your exams?" he asked, delivering a flurry of kicks.
"Nines across the board, except for geography. That one I got a seven point two." she replied, dodging two blows and retaliating with an uppercut.
"A nine in language arts? You really expect me to believe that? You barely scored an eight last month!" he taunted as his fists attempted to break through her defense. Hawk kept defending, occasionally feinting a kick to get him to stop. "C'mon! we both know you can't spell controversy!" With an infuriated grunt his sister unleashed an all-out attack.
"Yes I can!" she yelled as she began coordinating her attacks with each letter she said. "C-O-N-T-R-O-B..." the moment she said that letter she received a swift slap to the back of her head. "What gives?" she asked as she tried to continue her assault.
"Controversy has a v, not a b. " he said smugly as he blocked a kick to his shins. "Just make it easier on yourself. Tell me what your actual grade was." he continued blocking attacks, never letting his sister realize that she was gaining an advantage. "I won't be mad if you admit that you failed..." he began before receiving a deadly blow to his ribs. "What was that for?"
"For thinking that I would fail!" she replied incensed. "I? Who am number.." and she was silenced by a light punch to her left shoulder.
"Quit whining and tell me the truth." he quipped as he dodged a spinning kick.
"Fine! I scored an eight, you happy?"she replied dryly as she ducked under a cross punch.
Shield merely chuckled as he backed away from a snap-kick. "Of course my sister! Your pain is the honey of my life." he teased as he went on the offensive. Each move tried to move his sister to the corner. "Focus pup! I'm almost done with you!" he sneered as he prepared for a final barrage.
With his right fist high in the air he prepared for the ultimate strike, his sister bravely preparing a defense. "ALICORN..." he yelled, raising his fist as high as he could. But to his ire, he never could finish it. As he concentrated on dealing the final blow, the door swung open to reveal a surprised Cadence.
"What in Equestria's name are you doing?" she demanded as she stopped dead on her tracks. With her appearance, Shield failed to notice the white aura enveloping a Hawk with a fiendish smile.
"Candy? What are you doing here? Now's not a good time...." he replied, before his sister took a step forward, coiled down and sprang upward, slashing her fist through his chest all the way to his chin.
"Pegasus Uppercut!" she exclaimed as she finished her move. Shield was thrown back, landing on his back and simulating his death. The girl landed on her right knee, gracefully bowing to her spectator as she did.
The princess of love was flummoxed. She had come to the basement to have a word with her half-brother, and she had found him about to pound his adopted little sister to dust. And in the brief seconds she had taken form him had cost him his conscience. For being a girl about to be knocked out, Hawk reacted rather quickly to the opening. "What is going on here?" finally asked Cadence, hoping to make some sense out of what she was seeing.
"We were sparring, Shield was gonna win until you distracted him with your stunning good looks." said the little girl with a devilish grin. "Thanks by the way!"
Cadence was forced to contain her cheeks from blushing. "What makes you say that?"
"Shield always told me that your face has the paralyzing properties of a basilisk's stare." she said, her devilish words contrasting her face. " Or I think he said you had the face of a basilisk. I can't remember which one." she added quizzically. She turned to look at Shield, still on the floor, who could only muster the strength to mouth: I'll get you for this.
Cadence seemed to understand what was happening, as the cheeky grins from Hawk were very hard to hide. She knew what they were about to do would be considered uncouth, "How long are you going to stay glued to the floor?" she asked.
"About ten minutes, why?" he answered, the voice sounding worried.
"Oh, just curious, that's all." responded the princess. The stage was set, and she couldn't contain herself. Her old childhood friend was stuck for ten minutes, and no matter what he did he was going to stay down. And that meant that he couldn't run away from the judgement of sins past. The chance would never present itself again. And so, she took it.