//------------------------------// // Honing Skills // Story: Final Fantasy: Eidolons of Harmony // by Belligerent Bindlestiff //------------------------------// Honing Skills ////Rainbow Dash With Kain and Pinkie Pie pulling the wagon, Rainbow Dash’s party had already made some distance traveling in a day’s time. Rainbow Dash was all too eager to meet their Eidolon before Applejack’s group, something that had nothing to do with her racing inclinations. Rarity rode in the front of the wagon with Rainbow Dash flying above. The pegasus could see that the fiery field was still a ways away and they probably wouldn’t make it there in one day. Below, their white mage was looking over the boots that Applejack had given to the group. “There is a quality to them that speaks of the craftponyship, even for such a rugged design.” Rarity said. “I wonder if it’s how all of them are made or these are just the style Applejack likes.” “So why do we need these boots again?” Pinkie Pie asked. “They’re made to protect your hooves while walking in the fiery fields. Some of the ground isn’t safe to trot over.” Rarity said. “Say Rarity, any chance you can make a set of boots for everypony?” Pinkie asked. “Well, I’d love to,” Rarity said. “But aside from the materials, it looks like these boots also have a magic spell paced on them; it’s probably what keeps them from burning.” “Well, you don’t have to worry about me.” Rainbow Dash said. “I’ll just stay in the air to keep my hooves safe.” Sometimes I wonder how other ponies deal with dangerous things like that all the time.   “In my travels with my old group of companions, we ran into a similar problem.” Kain said. “Not enough boots?” Rarity asked. “I can tell you that would have been quite the problem.” Kain chuckled, “No, rather it was that there were pools of acid that we came across. There were floors were so hazardous that we had to use magic to go over them.” “Oooh, like levitation magic!” Pinkie Pie said. “I love those spells, but Twilight’s stopped giving me levitation rides after I kept asking too much that one day and I kept putting cupcakes in clouds.” “Wait that was you?” Rainbow Dash asked. “You know what, I’m not even surprised it was you. I just wondered how you got to all those clouds when I didn’t even see a balloon all day.” “Rosa was able to use white magic on the group so that we only hovered a few feet in the air.” Kain said. “Not as cool as flying, but I guess that’s pretty good if you don’t have wings.” Rainbow Dash said. “Hey Rarity, do you think you can use the spell Kain was talking about?” Pinkie Pie asked. “I’m not sure.” Rarity replied. “Come to think of it, I’m not sure how I go about using these ‘white magic’ spells.” “Didn’t you use one of them to heal AJ when she got hurt?” Rainbow Dash asked. She remembered how AJ had been injured in their first battle. It looked serious, but Rarity used her new powers to fix their friend right up. “It sort of came to me.” Rarity said. “I wanted to help her, but I didn’t’ know how. Then, I just stitched her wound like I would have a piece of fabric.” “You needn’t concern yourself with learning spells so quickly.” Kain said, though he did appear nervous to Rainbow Dash. “We have a set of fire-proof boots and my own greaves have a resistance to heat as well.” Real smooth Kain. Rainbow Dash thought. Bringing up that last girl you like who was also a white mage? She decided to do the dragoon a favor and change the subject. “So Pinkie, what kind of things are you able to do with that cannon of yours now?” she asked. “I haven’t tried anything really Dashie!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “My party cannon packs a bigger punch, but I haven’t really noticed anything. Unless you count my peanut butter pretzel cupcakes!” Pinkie brought out a cupcake from her mane and chomped down the whole thing. “I never thought of putting the two things together! Does that count?” she asked. “I’m not sure it does.” Rainbow Dash said, while giving and perplexed look at her friend and then sighed. “Not that I’ve figured anything out either.” Rainbow Dash said. “This gear looks really cool, but I don’t think I learned anything new.” “I can spar with you if you wish.” Kain said. “When we stop for the evening, we can hone your skills in armed combat.” Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! I’m gonna learn how to fight! Wait, play it cool. “Awesome.” Rainbow Dash said. She really wanted to learn to fight. Sure, she had always used her hooves, but an actual weapon was different. None of them had ever really used them. Twilight had her magic, but this was something different. The Wonderbolts didn’t train with swords, not as far as she remembered. “So, how are we going to approach speaking with this dragon?” Rarity asked. “Are you going to be the one to meet with her first Kain?” Rarity asked. Rainbow Dash remembered the last time they’d set off to meet with a dragon. They searched beyond the Unicorn Mountains to talk to an old dragon named Deist. Kain had to asked him to lend his dragon powers so that he could use his dragoon abilities again. But that wasn’t before the dragon challenged Kain to a one on one fight. It was awesome, but Rainbow Dash only regretted not being able to help. “From what I’ve seen, dragons can be reasoned with.” Kain said. “Yeah, that Deist dragon we met was pretty nice.” Pinkie Pie said. “Yeah, after he fought with Kain.” Rainbow Dash said. “So are you going to do that whole noble thing where you talk to them like they’re a queen or something?” “In a way, yes.” Kain said. “Dragons are prideful, so it is best to approach them with humility, regardless of their perceived strength.” “We’ll certainly have to be humble.” Rarity said. “Considering that we were the ones that asked this dragon to leave in the first place.  Now I can see why poor Fluttershy was so nervous.” “Oh, don’t you worry too much about that!” Pinkie Pie said. “I’ll make sure she gets that apology cake!” //// Rainbow Dash’s party set up camp at the outskirts of the fiery fields, she was so eager for her sparring lesson that she sped through all of the setup of the camp on her own. The pegasus flew in a blur, setting up the tents and equipment from the wagon and then landed in front of the dragoon. “Ok, everything is ready for tonight Kain, now can we get down to our practice already?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Very well.” Kain said after looking over the campsite. “Try not to get yourselves hurt!” Rarity said. “I’m still new to healing magic you know.” “Oh they’ll be fine Rarity.” Pinkie Pie said while stirring a pot of stew. “Just let them practice!” Kain and Rainbow Dash made their way to a clearing to begin. An evening sun had begun to cast an orange glow upon them. “This is so cool! I’m finally going to learn how to fight with a sword!” Rainbow Dash said. “Do the Wonderbolts use weapons in combat?” Kain asked. “You’ve spoken before about joining their ranks.” “Not really.” Rainbow Dash said. “Most of them stick to honing their flying skills, which I’ve already got down.” Kain unhooked his spear and twirled it around to flex his skills. “Armed combat, as you’ll see, is much different from what you’ve practiced before.” Kain said. “When you fight with your hooves against armed adversaries, your decision to commit to the blow must be made quickly.” The dragoon spun his spear around then then lunged forward, away from Rainbow Dash. “A weapon allows you some range to ward off attacks.” Kain said. “Right now, you’re wielding Canterburn, a longsword, which allows you closeness to your attacks and some distance to parry with.” Rainbow Dash looked at the blade strapped at her side. As elegant as ever, it was an object of sleek combat. “That however, is disadvantageous when fighting a warrior with a spear.” Kain said. “My weapon allows me to keep my distance from your attacks. What’s more, my weapon does not have a wooden shaft, but is made of metal to prevent it from being cut.” Rainbow Dash regarded the design of the spear. It not only looked heavy, but really did weigh a lot. She remembered the time she borrowed it to strike at a wall of snow, noting how an earth pony like AJ or Kain would have no problem using the metal spear, but flying around with a heavy weapon would only hinder Rainbow Dash. “So what am I supposed to do?” Rainbow Dash asked. A lot of good my sword would do. You just told me I can’t fight you that well. “That is the point of having a shield.” Kain said. “Apart from protecting yourself from projectiles, your shield is made to parry and bash in tandem with your sword.” Rainbow Dash looked at her shield, red, round and of moderate size. “Hey, our shields are different.” Rainbow Dash said. “Indeed.” Kain said. “I must use my spear with both ha-forelegs, so it needs to be smaller to provide maneuverability. Go ahead and draw your weapon.” Rainbow Dash then unsheathed her sword with her mouth and held it so that the blade pointed laterally to the right. Yeah, now we’re going to get started!   “Get a feel for its weight and range.” Kain said. “I don’t have a great deal of experience using a blade with my mouth, so as for swinging goes, you’ll have to use what’s comfortable.” Rainbow Dash swung her blade a few times to test its momentum. “It’s not as heavy as I thought it was going to be.” She said, muffled by the weapon in her teeth.” “Now try using that shield to keep your guard up.” Kain said. Rainbow Dash used her left foreleg to get her shield from its equipped position on her flank. It was large enough that she had to hold her foreleg up to keep the shield from resting on the ground. “Make a habit to hold onto that shield with your foreleg as long as you can, and everywhere you go during the day.” Kain said. “You’ll get used to its weight and should be able to parry more easily in battle.” Rainbow Dash continued to swing Canterburn around , she’d stepped away from Kain and slashed at the air. This is so cool!  All those times she’d read about adventures in Daring Do books or hearing about those adventures of old when ponies used swords, Rainbow Dash had always dreamed of this moment, being a real warrior. “Alright, time for some action! Let’s fight Kain!” Rainbow Dash said. “Not yet perhaps.” Kain replied. “You still need to get used to your weapon.” “Aw come on! How am I going to get some practice before a real fight?” You said we were going to spar! “Very well then.” Kain said as he got into a combat stance. Rainbow redrew her sword and charged at Kain. The dragoon kept his distance and parried the sword with his spear, shifting the blade away with little effort. He then circled the blade and knocked it loose from Rainbow’s grip, disarming her. “What the-“ was all the pegasus could say before she saw Kain’s spear pointed at her face. “Like I said before, you don’t need to commit yourself to every strike.” Kain said. “When you were unarmed, it made sense for you to attack me as quickly as you could. But I was able to recover from the blow then and strike back at you.” “But I thought that was why you had weapons, to let you get hits in.” Rainbow Dash said. “Weapons for melee combat are more often used to block blows and then search for an opening.” Kain said. The two of them had set off back to their camp, with the lesson concluded for the day. She’d been bested on day one, but Rainbow knew she wouldn’t let this loss set her back. I’ll just have to train harder next time. Yeah, you were only lucky that other time because I didn’t know your dark side was loose and- “Wait a second, are you talking about the time I fought your dark side on the airship?” Rainbow Dash asked. She remembered how ruthless that encounter was. He didn’t let up once he had the advantage, only until he’d knocked her off of the airship did that dark dragoon lose interest in the fight. Kain replied. “Yes.” “You remembered that?” Rainbow Dash asked. “How could you have remembered that? I thought you beat your dark side?” “I reclaimed every memory he experienced when we reunited.” Kain said, as the two of them arrived back at the camp. Rarity looked at Kain with concern, overhearing that last part of the conversation. “When I accepted him as part of me, it even included the actions he took when he lashed out on his own.” Kain said. “Those memories are part of me as are the good experiences.” “I had no idea Kain.” Rarity said. “That you knew what your dark side had done.” “And what he said to you.” Kain continued. “I am sorry that you had to hear those words.” Wow, and here I thought your dark side wasn’t scummy enough already. What the hay did he say to you Rares? Rainbow Dash thought, noting the pain in her friend’s expression. “But that isn’t how I feel about you, Rarity.” Kain said as he approached the white mage. “Yeah, I remember the mirror pool.” Pinkie Pie said. “And after we put all of the other Pinkie Pies back in there, I suddenly remembered what every single Pinkie remembered.”  Pinkie blinked and somehow had displayed spiral eyes before she shook her head and continued. “It was like I just remembered dozens of afternoons that day.” “That whole day was weird for all of us too.” Rainbow Dash said. “But in the end, you were able to show us you were the real Pinkie Pie. The other copies didn’t fight as hard to prove they were the real you.” “Well, they were still a teeny bit like me.” Pinkie said. “One wanted nothing but cinnamon and another chocolate. But now I’m back together again, I like every flavor again!” “So the same thing happened to you Kain?” Rainbow Dash said. “Did it feel weird when you went back to normal?” “Not particularly.” Kain said. “I felt a like I had a check of my dark side for the first time in the longest time in my life. He’s still there, but he will never be free again.” “Let’s hope so.” Rarity said.  “And I finally realized that I couldn’t just spend time with everypony.” Pinkie said. “I just gotta make time for each one.” “You guys really had some crazy stuff happen.” Rainbow Dash said. All sorts of things could happen on these adventures. A fact Rainbow Dash knew all too well. She’d gotten off easy, all things considered from that last debacle, but all the pain she’d heard about bothered her. She couldn’t stand her friends having these things, this pain, happening to them.   I have to make sure you all stay safe. I’ll train harder and make sure we get all of this out of this okay. Nopony is going to get hurt, not if I can help it.