//------------------------------// // The Practical Midterm Part II // Story: My Little Academia: Friendship is Heroic! // by Fullmetal Pony //------------------------------// Redheart stood beside some beds ready to take in the injured from the practicals. In front of her were a variety of enchanted screens displaying eight different shots. “Let’s hope they don’t go too crazy…” ~~~ “Shall we play a word game?” Celestia asked. Neither Twilight nor Sunset responded from the back of the chariot. Celestia felt a twinge of nostalgia. How many times were Luna and I like this? Oh dear, thinking what to say while also using all those good lines I came up with will be tricky… ~~~ “So…” Lyra looked around from the center of the fake town square she and Lotus had been deposited in. Their testing ground contained no buildings over three stories, so they could see the gate to the east peeking over the roofs. “I’m guessing the principal will be waiting to get us by the gate.” “That’s what I’m thinking too. There’s no way to surprise us out in the open like this.” ~~~ Spike bent his knees, ready to make a dash for the stairs. Aloe glanced over a window at the roofs of the skyscrapers nearby. ~~~ “Muffin?” Derpy offered. “Perhaps afterwards,” said Maud. ~~~ “Now, you two have a little time to think about strategies while I get ready from my starting position.” Celestia levitated out four large metal bands and a smaller golden one studded with gems. “These take a bit to get on and the magic suppressor is always a little tricky.” “Treating us with a handicap?” Sunset grumbled. Celestia smiled at her. “We shall see.” ~~~ A PA system crackled to life, bringing silence to the examination areas. “Is everyone ready?” came Redheart’s voice. ~~~  “Then…” Rarity and Applejack were back-to-back at the bottom of a gulch. ~~~ “Begin!” Tendrils immediately whipped out at Dash and Pinkie. They both managed to dodge, but the attacks rained down with enough force to crack the pavement. ~~~ Fluttershy and Bulk could hear no sound but the blare of a deep bass. The ground shook from the volume. “Get ready!” Vinyl roared from out of sight. “You get the VIP experience! A villain’s implacable punishment!” ~~~ Silhouettes of several colors and shapes encircled Tree Hugger and BonBon. All of them bared their claws and fangs. From atop a nearby roof, Octavia sliced her bow across her cello strings and grinned down at them. “I do hope you’ll at least make it through my opening number.” ~~~ The ground shook with such intensity that Applejack could not remain steady to build up any speed. Swaths of rock and dirt flowed like tsunamis around her and Rarity. As the debris washed over them, Rarity crystalized and covered Applejack with her body. In a deafening rumble on par with the assault Fluttershy and Bulk were facing, the gulch was filled up halfway. Rockhoof hoisted his shovel onto his back, admiring his work. “Now, let’s see if they can make it out in time or if they’ll be unlucky enough to cross me.” ~~~ Aloe collapsed to the ground with her face beet-red. Spike wanted to cry out to her but he dared not remove his claws from his face. “Ah…” Cheerilee licked her lips. “So bold. Our Talents may have some similarity but at this stage in her education, she’s outclassed. Well, little dragon, how are you feeling?” Aloe had rushed forward, cloaked in her Talent’s scents, but had halted before reaching Cheerilee who had come straight out to confront them. At the same time, Spike had felt the air shift and a haze started to worm into his mind. With a shudder from recalling his fight with Starlight, he’d clasped his claws to his face and jumped back. Cheerilee strolled over to Aloe’s limp form, sat down, and rested Aloe’s head on one foreleg while stroking her mane with the other. “I was so worried after the Festival that my Talent didn’t work on dragons. But, looks like that’s only under certain conditions.” Spike felt heat on his face and running through his body. It was not that of fire, but what he felt when close to Rarity. He could also feel his lungs starting to cry for air. With what breath he had left, he made a mad dash to the right and crashed through the window. He tumbled for a second while sucking in the air flowing past him. Unfurling his wings, he rushed upwards but kept a good distance from the broken window. “Oh?” Cheerilee snickered from within. “Need to clear your head? That’s fine. You’re welcome to come back whenever. Shame we have so little time.” ~~~ Twilight’s eyes darted back and forth. Sunset stomped ahead of her in the middle of the street, her vision focused and her ear perked. “C-can’t we at least stick to the alleys?” Twilight dared to ask. “That way we ca—” “Shut up,” Sunset growled. “Let her come.” “Sunset…” Twilight gritted herself. “Even with a handicap, there’s no way we can be—” “I said shut up!” Sunset smashed the back of her leg into Twilight’s head, knocking her to the ground. “You thought you were hot stuff but then one little challenge comes along and you’re just a spineless worm! That’s why you’re not meant to be a hero! Now either get the buck up or stay out of my w—” A block of buildings nearby was blasted away. There was no magic in the air that would come from the discharge of a spell. The gales from such a huge amount of mass suddenly shifting in space would have knocked Sunset off her hooves save for a quick casting on her legs.  Twilight clung to the ground as best she could. With both of them being skilled casters, they knew this was not an attack even a unicorn gifted with an incredibly powerful Talent could have launched: this was pure physical might. A good distance away, at the epicenter of the destruction, Celestia lowered a leg. “I think that was a good start to things. Now, let’s see if they can actually dodge the next one.”