Knights of Harmony, Episode I: Rise of the Elements

by bahatumay

Chapter 8

“Twilight! Twilight!”

Twilight raised her head from her datapad. Training wasn’t supposed to start for another hour or so; but she’d definitely recognized that voice. “Rarity?” she called back.

“But of course! Open up!”

Twilight set down her datapad and stretched briefly. “Si, could…” Her voice trailed off, and, with her smile fading slightly, she got up to open the door herself.

The boarding ramp dropped right in front of Rarity, and she lithely scampered up. “I completed it! It was amazing! I knew exactly where all the parts went and I just couldn’t wait to show you!” she said, holding out her lightsaber handle.

Twilight took it reverently. Rarity had designed a curved handle, made of a beautiful, silvery metal she didn’t recognize right away. The handle had been wrapped in alternating strands of thick leather that would provide a good grip; it seemed to be waterproof (and twi’leks didn’t sweat as much as humans did). Twilight ignited it, and smiled. It really was a lovely shade of blue. Taking a step back to make sure Rarity was out of the range of the blade, Twilight waved it experimentally, feeling it slice cleanly through the air, and flipped it around her hand twice. She took another step back and took a few practice swings. The curved handle lent itself to a different fighting style (one that Twilight had not studied much), but Twilight knew quality when she saw it. “This is brilliant,” Twilight said almost reverently, deactivating it and handing it back. “Now take it apart.”

Rarity was taken aback. “I beg your pardon?”

Twilight turned around and dug in a crate on the table behind her. “Apple Bloom found me some low-power cells that will be perfect for training. They won’t slice through anything, but they’ll sting.”

Rarity blinked and mechanically took the offered power cell more out of instinct than anything else. And then a connection was made in her mind, and her lekku flicked. “Am I to understand we are going to be sparring with each other?” she asked.

“That’s for next week, and for whoever’s dumb enough to take Rainbow Dash up on her offer because we both know she's going to challenge someone today,” Twilight clarified. She paused. “And it’s probably going to be me dumb enough to take her up on that.”

Rarity tittered.

“Today I want to practice simple motions, first. Simple strikes and blocks. Then we can go to the more complex swings and other moves later.”

Rarity nodded. “Walking after crawling. I understand.”

“Good.” Twilight bit her lower lip. “I hope everyone else gets it so easily.”

* * *

“This is bantha fodder,” Rainbow grumbled as she grudgingly installed her low-power cell. “We know how to swing a lightsaber.”

Twilight bit her lower lip. “A lightsaber is not a typical weapon,” she said. “Last week's lesson was to get you started feeling Harmony in combat situations. This week is how to use your lightsaber the way it’s supposed to be used.”

“It’s a lightsaber,” Rainbow said flippantly. “Cuts everything. End of story.”

“Not end of story!” Twilight protested, somewhat offended. “It’s an elegant weapon, not a fancy plasma cutter!”

“Yeah,” Applejack added dryly. “We saw how well that worked out for you against Nightmare Moon.”

Rainbow Dash scowled at her, but found that she could not contest this point. She settled for scratching irritably at the bald spot Nightmare Moon had left her with.

“So let’s see how you used your lightsaber against the remote,” Twilight said, continuing. “I’m assuming you learned a little bit about how deflecting works?”

“Nah. I was fast enough to avoid them on my own.” Rainbow Dash demonstrated by bouncing in place and making a few quick dodging motions, nearly dancing with her hip motions.

Twilight watched. As irritated as she was at Rainbow, she did notice a few things. “Very well,” she said. She squared up, drew her lightsaber, saluted briefly (there was no reason not to be civilized about this), and stepped back into a fighting stance. Rainbow shifted her weight and drew hers, holding it one-handed (as shotos normally are).

Twilight started circling. Rainbow matched her, her feet never crossing and keeping her weight on the ball of her foot. This was a good start.

But it was only a start.

Twilight started with a downward slash. Rainbow dodged around it and swung down, but Twilight had anticipated this. With a circular motion, she redirected it, sending the shoto flying up by her shoulder, and swinging back down to gently tag Rainbow on the ribs.

Rainbow gasped in pain and scampered back. She bared her teeth and shifted her body so her injured side was more shielded, and then switched back. “Didn’t hurt; more surprised than anything,” she defended herself quickly.

Twilight nodded. “That’s the point of the low power cells,” she said. She flipped her lightsaber around and held it back up in a ready position. Rainbow Dash did a hard check, and then swung. Twilight quickly spin-dodged and swung back, aiming for Rainbow’s exposed kidney. But Rainbow was fast, too; she pushed off her front foot and the blade barely missed. She swung again, and Twilight blocked it, her movements smooth and flowing.

Rainbow’s moves were less so. She suddenly went on the offensive, hacking and slashing. Twilight circled back, easily blocking and parrying every single one of Rainbow’s swings. Rainbow’s blocking was almost nonexistent; she used her speed and turns of her body to avoid getting tagged again.

Suddenly, Twilight stepped in and clenched their blades together, her hands up by her own head as she held Rainbow’s blade in place. “You're fighting like a boxer,” she said. “I bet if we dropped our lightsabers and went fists only, you'd win the fight. But we’re not boxing.” She abruptly pushed off, spinning her whole body to get the necessary force. Rainbow wasn’t quite expecting that, and took a stutter step back. Though her defensive positioning would have stopped any forward swing, Twilight wasn’t swinging forward; she spun and dropped into a low stance that enhanced the long reach of the blade, and she reached around and tagged Rainbow right on her hindquarters, making her jump and squeal. “We’re dueling,” she finished

“No fair,” Rainbow scowled, rubbing balefully at her newest injury.

“If you’d been holding your lightsaber in a proper guard, you would have been able to stop that easier,” Twilight retorted. “Which is why I’m trying to teach you the basics first.”

Rainbow glared, but was unable to say anything against this. “Fine,” she grumbled, stepping back into line.

Twilight stood in front of the group and held her lightsaber up. “Lightsabers are an extension of your arm. Every movement should feel natural. Start with a simple overhead swing.” She demonstrated. “Keep the wrist supple and relaxed. If you’re tense, you’ll swing badly.”

She winced as Fluttershy seemed to go out of her way to remain tense; her swing an awkward flail more than anything else. “No, not like that. You’re swinging, not swatting at a fly. Let it flow.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to hurt a fly, anyway,” Fluttershy said.

Rainbow snorted. “Really?” she asked.

“Oh, no,” Fluttershy said. She opened her mouth, revealing her sharp, nautolan teeth. “I always kill everything I eat quickly and painlessly.”

“You eat flies?” Rarity asked, a bit perturbed.

“You eat fungus,” Applejack said offhandedly.

“If we’re done discussing our eating habits,” Twilight said loudly, “we can continue. These power cells aren’t going to hurt anyone; but you need to get used to how the lightsaber feels. Gentle motions. Simple techniques.” She demonstrated once more. “Remember to keep the lightsaber within your shoulder-width if you can. Too far out means it has to travel further which means it’s more likely to be blocked. Again!”

Comments

[badninja]

Ah the basics of Lightsaber combat. I get the feeling that Rainbow will be one of the better fighters, once she gets the chip off her shoulder.

[Maran]

Interesting. I hope you decide to continue this. I want to see what happens when the 6 confront Nightmare Moon in this version.