//------------------------------//
// Chapter 20: Baby Steps 
// Story: Chaotic Harmony: Do Over 
// by shirotora 
//------------------------------//

"Let me get this straight," Rainbow hovered next to me as I made my way to my usual training ground. "Your magic took the doc's magic, cranked it up to eleven, and now your legs are even stronger than before?"

I nodded, "That's about right."

"Dude, that's so unfair!" Rainbow complained. "When I'm out for a few days, it takes me like two weeks of work just to get back where I was. You get your legs halfway melted off and are in a chair for three months and you come back with superhero legs?!"

"Yeah, but think about what Ah had to go through for it," I reminded. "Plus, mah legs are mostly bald and it's gettin' chilly. That and it feels weird walkin'. Ah feel like every step is threatenin' to send me jumpin' off."

"Yeah, I guess you did have to go through tartarus for it," Rainbow agreed. "I can barely stand being grounded for a week, much less in a chair. Anyway, lets hurry up. I want to see what you can do."

We arived at the 'training field', as I called it, and unpacked our bags. We didn't have a lot, mostly just a couple target pads and a speedometer/altimeter.

"So, what first?" Rainbow asked.

"How about speed?" I suggested. "Ah gotta get used to runnin' again, anyway."

"Alright, get moving," Rainbow said. "Take a few practice laps to get the hang of it. I promise I'll only laugh until we head back."

I rolled my eyes. It was the best I could expect.

I started slow, at a brisk jog... and immediately face planted. 

Rainbow failed to choke back a laugh. "What was that?"

I glared at her. "Only mah back legs got a boost. Mah front legs are strugglin' to keep up."

"Try just running on your back legs, then," Rainbow suggested.

I let out a groan. "If Ah mess up like that, Ah got a lot further to fall."

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "I'll catch you if you fall."

"Fine," I relented.

I stood up and, once again, started at a jog.

Or, at least I meant to. I wasn't expecting the acceleration and stumbled.

Rainbow laughed as she kept me from making out with the dirt. "You sure you remember how to walk?"

I opened my mouth to reply but paused for a moment. "Actually, you make a point. Ah haven't even tried walkin' upright yet."

Once again, I stood up. Slowly, I took a step, followed by another. I was pretty sure it looked as wierd as it felt. Rainbow was having a laugh over it, but at least she was staying true to her word and keeping me from falling.

"Yeah, I think you're going to have to take a few days to learn to walk again before we can find out how fast you are," Rainbow said what I was thinking.

"Yeah, you're right," I said with a resigned sigh. "Ah guess we dragged ourselves out here for nothin'."

Rainbow waved a hoof. "Nah, we got to hang out, didn't we? Besides, it's not like this stuff is heavy. Plus, we have company."

I turned to look where she was pointing, but all I could see was a speck.

Damn pegasus eyes.

It slowly grew until I could finally make out a familiar shade of yellow and pink.

"Mornin' Fluttershy," I greeted as she came in for a landing. "Me and Rainbow were just..." I looked back only to see that I was alone. "Where...?"

"Oh, were you not done?" Fluttershy asked. "She flew away as I was approaching."

"Why'd she... oh." She left to give me and Shy some privacy.

Apparently Fluttershy came to the same conclusion. "Does she not know we aren't together, yet?"

"Ah think it's more she's hopin' we will be," I said. "Anyway, what brings you out here?"

"Oh!" She reached back into her saddlebag and pulled out a small box. "Derpy brought this for you, but I figured since I knew where you were I'd bring it to you."

"Oh, well thank you, kindly," I said as I took the package. "Oh... Ah think Ah know what this is!"

The return address was Canterlot University Arcane Archeology department. There was only one reason they would send me a package.

I quickly shredded the box with my claws revealing a pair of bracers similar to what we found in the Crystal Spire.

"Yes! Finally, they're mine!" I cheered, taking them out and, just like before, they magically shifted around my forearms.

"What do they do?" Fluttershy asked.

"Ah have no idea!" I said, still giddy. "But Ah got the magic dungeon loot!"

"Oh, maybe this says how to use them," Fluttershy offered, picking up a little booklet from the remains of the package.

I accepted the offered reading and put it in my vest pocket. "Ah'll read it later. Right now, Ah get the feelin' that's not the only reason you came out here."

Fluttershy blushed adorably. "Well, I was hoping, since Jynx is going to be out of town for a while, that we could spend some time together. As friends! Only as friends... I mean, unless you want to be more."

I chuckled at that. "You already know Ah want to be more. That's not the problem."

"Well," Fluttershy said, pawing the ground. "Would you... like to, um, go out with me? As maybe more than friends? If you're comfortable with that, I mean."

I thought about it for a bit before answering, "How about we start it off as just friends and see where it goes from there?"

Fluttershy smiled and nodded. "That's fair."

"Well then, what did you have in mind?" I asked.

"Well, how about a nice little picnic?" she said.

"That sounds great," I said. "When and where?"

Fluttershy glanced around. "Well, how about for lunch, right here at around noon? I'll make some sandwiches and bring some juice."

"Then Ah'll bring somethin' sweet," I added. "Meet back here in an hour?"

"Okay," Fluttershy agreed, happily. 





I hurried home, only face planting a couple of times. I opened the door and rushed to the kitchen.

A flurry of ebony feathers greeted me. "Caw!"

"Hey, Poe," I greeted my feathery friend. "Let me get you somethin' to eat. Ah gotta get goin' soon."

"Hurt," he cawwed, landing at my side and tapping at one of my bald spots.

"No, Ah'm not hurt anymore," I assured. "Ah just gotta grow some new fur. You want to fly around outside while Ah'm gone?"

"Fly," he replied, fluttering his wings.

I set out some old chicken for him to dig into and went back into the fridge. I grabbed a container of fruit and a tub of cream, bagged it and got ready to head out, opening a window for Poe on my way.

"Behave, now," I called.

"No."





A quick stop by Sugarcube Corner for some shortcake and I was on my way to meet Fluttershy. 

I probably could have made it, but I lacked a couple ingredients. 

Oh, well.

I made it back in time to catch Fluttershy setting down a picnic blanket.

"Oh, you're early," she said in mild surprise. 

"Only 'cause Ah knew you'd be," I said.

"Oh," she giggled with a blush. "Well, I hope you're hungry."

"You know it," I replied.

Fluttershy pulled out two sandwiches and two bottles of apple juice, giving one of each to me.

I sat down on the blanket and dug in. The thing I always loved about Fluttershy's sandwiches was that everything was made or grown by herself. The bread was made from scratch and the veggies were straight from her garden.

I need to start a garden, I thought to myself.

"So, do you want to take a look at that manual?" Fluttershy asked.

I swallowed my food and replied, "If you want to take a look, you can." I pulled the booklet out and slid it over to Fluttershy.

It was a lot easier for her to read while eating. She just held her food in her hooves and used her wings to turn the pages. 

"We would like to thank you for your patience, Mister Tora," Fluttershy started reading, aloud. "We apologize that we weren't able to send one of the originals, but there were some rather nasty spells involved that were intended to 'ensure loyalty'. Oh, my. That sounds terrible. Why would someone add such a mean spell like that to something for their friends?"

"They aren't friends," I said.

"Well, then they shouldn't be fighting together," Fluttershy said with a huff. "Where was I? We managed to reverse engineer the enchantments used on them and recreate them without those insidious control spells. Well that's good. 

"The enchantments use a hybrid of crystal magic, spirit magic, and your own tigerian magic to create a kind of moldable energy. This energy can be formed into many different shapes and uses that you may find useful in your responsibilities as a Ranger Reservist."

"Why don't we finish eatin', and then you can help me figure it out after?" I offered.

Fluttershy flipped through a couple more pages before replying, "Yes, I think that might be a nice. I could get some of my animal friends to help."

"Good, because Ah think you're gonna want some of what Ah brought," I said, pulling out the shortcake, cream and fruit.

"Oh, that looks wonderful," Fluttershy said with a smile.





"Are you ready?" Fluttershy asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Ah'm ready," I replied.

Fluttershy nodded and closed her eyes. "Alright. Get him, Bart."

The massive brown bear charged, letting out a roar as he rose up and brought his massive, powerful paws down on me.

The energy shield flexed and rippled as it absorbed the impact. The massive half ton predator slammed down on it again and again, pushing me back but not seeming to damage the shield.

"Alright, that's enough," Fluttershy said. "Come here, Bart."

The bear ended his assault and casually wandered back to Shy's side.

I flexed my arm, working the kinks out of my shoulder. "Well, Ah can safely say it won't be the shield that gives out."

It was a big shield, at least; twice as wide as me, a foot taller, and touched the ground. A metal shield would have been far too heavy to be useful, but this was weightless.

It was also nearly transparent, so I didn't sacrifice visibility for safety.

I walked over and scratched Bart behind the ear. "Thank you, Bart. You did good."

He licked my face, happy I was okay. He was a big wuss, but he was cuddly so it balanced out.

"Alright, next," I said, walking a few paces away.

Fluttershy nodded and grabbed an old, cracked flower pot.

I channeled magic into the bracer on my right wrist. The bracer pulled it in and formed it into a glowing ball of magic. I opened my paw and it flowed i to it, stretched, and sharpened into the form of a short blade.

Fluttershy threw the pot up toward me and with a quick strike, I sliced it in half.

I brought the blade up, examining it.

"Is everything alright?" Fluttershy asked. 

I shrugged. "It's just that the blade has no mass."

Fluttershy furrowed her brow in thought. "Is that bad?"

"It makes for a pretty poor cut," I explained. "This might be good in a pinch, but Bakura's stuff is better by far."

"What's next?" she asked.

I glanced out the corner of my eye and smirked. Just like before, I channeled my magic and it gathered into a ball. But, instead of grabbing it, I flung my paw to the side, shooting the energy out. It flew in a ball, trailing a stream behind it, connecting it to the bracer.

The ball flew into a tree and smacked into my target with a yelp. I grabbed the stream of energy and pulled, yanking a cyan peeper out of her hiding spot.

"Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked, bewildered. "What were you doing in that tree?"

"O-oh, hey," Rainbow said, looking up at us from her back. "Fancy seeing you here... It's not working, is it?"

"Not a bit," I replied.

She rolled over, brushing herself off. "How did you know I was there?"

I taised an eyebrow and flicked a strand of her mane.

"Oh..."

"Why were you watching us?" I demanded.

"Hey, I just wanted to see if things were going good," Rainbow said, defensively. "I was going to leave before any hankey pankey started."

I groaned. "Yeah, well, as you can see, it's goin' fine. Now, can you leave us in piece?"

"Fine," Rainbow relented. "I'll leave."

"And take Rarity with you," I added, pointing to a shrub.

"I'm not Rarity," the shrub insisted with a posh accent.

"Then you won't mind if Ah throw a dirt wad at you," I baited.

Rarity's head popped out of the bush. "You wouldn't?!"

"Go on, before you find out," I said.

Rarity huffed, "Fine," turned her nose up, and trotted away.

I couldn't help but smile. "We have some interesting friends."

Fluttershy giggled. "Yes, we do."