//------------------------------// // Draw // Story: My Little Academia: Friendship is Heroic! // by Fullmetal Pony //------------------------------// Going back a short time… Sunset’s hoof crashed against Maud’s shield of shadow. Smoke and flames blew back from the explosion but Sunset continued pressing. The shadow wavered and split apart, Sunset forced her hoof through, and struck at Maud. With no shadow left to defend her, Maud raised a hoof to take the blow. The strike knocked her back but she managed to stay upright. Her leg sizzled at the point of impact with a blackening red horseshoe branded into her flesh. There was a gleam in Sunset’s eyes as she looked over Maud. Her cloak was tattered and her body was covered in burns and bruises. An earlier attack had blown off her cowl and singed part of her mane. Her nostrils were flared and sucked in large intakes of air. Still, she kept her lips in a thin straight line and her eyes remained sharp. Her shadow rose up. It was smaller now, just a little bigger than Maud herself. It coughed and huffed, but still managed to glare at Sunset. It let out a dry heaving laugh. “No wonder our weirdo of a Professor had trouble with you.” “Glad you understand that.” Sunset raised up onto her hind legs. She shifted her forelegs over to her right side and brought her hooves together. Their blinding white ends combined together into a pulsating sphere. “I’ll give you this, Maud: you’re tough, and you’ve been a wonderful test subject.” The sphere brightened and expanded outwards an inch. Sunset’s legs shook keeping it contained in her hooves. “It’s time to end this though.” “Fine,” Maud huffed. “Bring it!” her shadow screeched. “Heh.” Sunset grinned. The sphere grew bigger and she angled it straight at Maud. Something slithered against her hind leg though. Her hind leg flashed and turned crimson. The tendril of shadow flailed backwards with smoke rising up from it. More tendrils shot out of the floor, but Sunset kicked with her augmented leg, launching into the air. “Did you really think that would work? Tantabus may have got me with that, but I won’t fall for a cheap move like that again!” Sunset shouted. Midair, she once more aimed at Maud. “Flame Magic: Thaumic Infer—” Just as a massive beam of flame and magic exploded out of Sunset’s hooves, a solid block of shadow shot up and tipped her backwards. The blast raced upwards, cleaving through floor after floor while Sunset was shot the other way into the ground. Maud’s shadow retreated and Maud herself went to her knees. When the beam died down and the glow faded from Sunset’s armor, she flipped back onto her hooves and glared upwards at the immense hole her attack had left in the building. “No,” she gasped. “Draw!” Celestia declared. ~~~ Spike teetered on the edge with a three story fall below him. The concrete under his feet cracked and gave way. Spike leapt forward, but more of the floor caved in as he fell. A bit of rubble smacked him in the face, dazing him. He flailed his arms in a panic, but soon came to a stop when he no longer felt gravity plummeting him down. When his head cleared, he saw that he was surrounded in a light blue aura and floating a few feet down from where he had fallen. A few beads of sweet rolled off Rarity’s face. She huffed and chucked her head back. Spike arced in the same direction and flopped onto the ground. Placing a claw on his chest, he felt his heart race while he gasped for air. With wide eyes he stared at Rarity. “Th-thanks.” “It’s the least I could do.” A handkerchief then flew out of her costume. It floated over to Spike. “Oh dear, looks like you hit your snout pretty badly.” Spike took the handkerchief and pressed it against his snout. The pressure stung a bit and a splotch of the fabric turned crimson. While holding it in place, he glanced at the open air where the flag and the building around it had been. “Um…” A terrifying shout made both Spike and Rarity bristle. Down below, Sunset clenched her jaw and glared at Maud with bloodlust in her eyes. She raced over to her and lifted her up by the clasp of her cloak. “You bitch! You’d rather draw than win!?” “I knew I couldn’t block that attack,” Maud replied. Even in Sunset’s grasp and facing the full brunt of her glare, she still kept her monotone. “I’d rather live to fight another day.” “You… you…” Sunset flung a leg back and channeled her magic out of it. The glow was more intense than before and sucked in a few bits of rubble. They were instantly annihilated by the immense heat coming off it. Maud blinked as Sunset slung her leg forward. Sunset, stop! Luna’s voice rang. The attack froze inches from Maud’s face and blew back the nearby debris. A shadowy tendril, this one shimmering like the night sky, rose up and pulled Sunset and Maud apart. Tantabus materialized before them and glared down at Sunset. “That’s enough, Ms. Shimmer,” he ordered. “The match is over.” Sunset canceled out the magic around her leg and bashed the ground hard enough to crack it. ~~~ “Ah, vat a show, vat a show,” Photo mused. She scanned over the class and grinned. “Vell, I can certainly say I am impressed vith you greenhornz. Ze magikz, ze talentz, ze passion! I zee great potential in all of you…” She glanced at Celestia and Tantabus. “Zhat being said, your teacher and her highness have a bit more in depth critiquez to give.” “Indeed,” said Celestia. Everyone held their breaths and waited on her next words. “Today, each of you demonstrated that you do indeed have the capability to become heroes, but you have a long road ahead of you. Allow me to offer some guidance.” Her gaze fell upon Fluttershy and Derpy. Fluttershy inched back and Derpy bit her lip. “A most excellent first round, Ms. Fluttershy and Ms. Hooves. Your use of strategy served you well in getting the upper hoof on your opponent.” Her vision narrowed down to Fluttershy. Fluttershy shivered. “Even with proper information, it takes valor to enter into enemy territory. Remember that, Ms. Fluttershy.” Fluttershy blushed. “O-okay.” Celestia’s eyes next turned towards Pinkie and Tree Hugger. “Ms. Hugger and Ms. Pie, you did well preparing for the heroes and thinking on your hooves to try and get flag back when it was taken.” Her lips creased downwards. Pinkie and Tree Hugger both felt a chill. “That being said, your methods were a little… delicate. Tantabus would have intervened if you had used lethal force, but a bit more strength behind your talents may have turned the tides in your favor, especially you, Ms. Pie.” Pinkie’s pupils shrank. A bit of sweat percolated on her brow. Her eyes shot right for a split second at Maud. Celestia’s attention was still on her, so she bowed her head, hiding her face behind her mane. “S-sorry, Princess.” “Quite alright, just something to consider.” Celestia next turned to Lyra and Dash. The latter had returned in the midst of the fourth match, but had stayed back, not making a sound. A scowl still registered on her face and her crossed hooves revealed tension running through her body. “Ms. Heartstrings, I commend you for your efforts to try and rein in your partner and work together. However, your reliance on your unique spells proved fatal when its tradeoff left your body unstable.” Lyra let her head droop and sighed. Dash clenched up when Celestia leveled her sights on her alone. “As for you, Ms. Dash, you too were over-reliant on your speed and strength while ignoring the clever strategy your opponents engaged in. Had you worked together with Ms. Heartstrings, Ms. Sparkle’s deception could have been revealed earlier and you would not have been sent on a wild goose chase.” Dash was shaking now. Celestia strode forward, and everyone else moved aside. She stood right before Dash with a frown on her face. “Ms. Dash,” she cautioned, “something in you stole your reason today. I’m not sure what it is, but know that your friends and staff at the school, myself included, are there to help you through whatever challenges you may face. That was a point of this exercise after all.” Rainbow Dash said nothing. Instead she bowed her head low and raked the ground with a hoof, leaving a deep groove in the dirt. Celestia extended a wing out to her, but Dash shook her head and lightly pushed it away. Fluttershy galloped over and stood beside Dash. “Princess, Dash understands so… could you please move on?” Twilight and Spike’s jaws slackened. Sharp intakes a breath could be heard. Even Sunset’s eyes widened. “Well…” A smile returned to Celestia’s face. “There’s a bravery I can admire, and a friend that I know will help Ms. Dash through her troubles.” Celestia trotted away and over to Spike, Twilight, and Applejack. “You were aware that Ms. Dash could easily snatch the flag and took proper countermeasures against her. That was quite the intricate layering of a remote binding spell and doppelganger spell. And you, Ms. Applejack, did nicely to follow along with the plan and use your speed to confuse and distract your opponents.” Her lips then pressed into a thin line. “You could both stand to gain a bit more power-wise, though. Speed is good, Ms. Applejack, but as you saw against opponents like Ms. Heartstrings, that may not be enough. On the other hoof, there was you, Ms. Sparkle, you had the opportunity to strike Ms. Dash, but you faltered at the last moment. Would you care to explain?” Sensing the true intention behind the words, Twilight answered, “I was scared to use that spell. I’ve only used it on Professor Tantabus and Sunset’s spell so far… I haven’t used it on a regular pony and I was afraid what the results might be.” “An understandable fear,” Celestia replied. “However, like I said earlier and as you saw with Tantabus and Ms. Shimmer, a lethal attack would have been prevented. You must be willing to take that risk and learn to control your magic better, especially when true villains will not give you an opportunity like Ms. Dash did.” Twilight breathed in Celestia’s words. “I understand. Thank you, Princess.” Celestia smiled once more and marched over to Bulk, Lotus, Aloe, and Bon Bon. “Quite a display you all showed, though perhaps a bad matchup given your talents. I suggest considering other ways you can use your talents should you face opponents who you may be ill suited to fight.” Her attention focused on Bon Bon. “Which is why you, Ms. Bon Bon, probably did best of all, knowing your opponents’ and even your own ally’s talents could incapacitate you. You and Ms. Sparkle both provided wonderful lessons in how strength is not everything in a fight.” “Continuing along that line of insight, we have the final group.” Celestia turned with her eyes on Spike, Maud, Sunset and Rarity. Like Dash, Sunset scraped a hoof against the ground and remained tense. “At first, it seemed we had a battle of pure brawn on our hooves, and I was most impressed with both Ms. Pie’s control of her unique talent and Ms. Shimmer’s mastery of advanced magic at such a young age. “However, what caught my eye in this fight were words, not hooves.” Under Celestia’s gaze, Rarity blushed. “There was great trepidation in you, Ms. Belle, when we began our class today, but I feel as though this fight brought whatever was paralyzing you to the surface and dispelled it. Am I correct to say that?” “S-somewhat, Princess,” Rarity stuttered and gulped. “I… I made a lot of mistakes leading up to today, but I hope I’ve remedied some of them and will continue to try and improve myself and the situation.” Celestia looked over at Spike. He was blushing a bit too. “Interesting. Very interesting. Well, we may not have been able to hear what transpired between you and Mr. Spike, but communication, even with villains, is a crucial skill to have. I know a major appeal of heroism is seeing ponies unleash their talents to combat evil, but to end a tense situation through words is most admirable.” Tantabus stepped forward. “This concludes our morning exercise, change and enjoy your lunch. I will see you back in the classroom to discuss last night’s reading. Dismissed.” Twilight walked alongside everyone else, tired, but overall pleased with the morning’s exercise. Until she caught sight of Rainbow Dash. Her glare and her clenched jaw reminded her of the viciousness Dash had displayed in their fight. They only locked eyes for a moment, but it was enough to send a chill down Twilight’s spine.