//------------------------------// // Chapter XI: No Skill, Just Instinct // Story: The Equestria Games: First Blood // by 8_Bit //------------------------------// The morning sessions were a bit hit and miss, for lack of a better term. The archery had served purely for a source of embarrassment for Twilight, as her initial attempts had been disastrous. Spitfire had needed to restrain the Peacekeeper from angrily charging towards Twilight, shouting in annoyance about the arrow sticking out the side of his helmet. Once she had gotten a feel for the bow, her aim wasn’t much better, very rarely getting any decent shots. The few shots she got that were actually within the ink outline of the pony never got anywhere other than the arm or the shoulder. It was worse when Soarin’ hit the switch to make the targets move, as the only shot that even hit the moving dummies planted itself right in the paper pony's knee. “At least you’ll reduce them to limping before they kill you,” joked Fire Work from somewhere in the crowd. Twilight was almost relieved when Spitfire told her to move over to the knife throwing stand. The instructor gave her a quick briefing on how to get a decent throw, where to hold the knife when throwing, and how to quickly judge the distance of your target. Twilight listened carefully, and went for her first throw. She exhaled gently as she released the knife, which flew swiftly through the air, sinking deep into the target right in the center of the skull. “Heh,” laughed Rainbow Dash from the station next to her. “Beginner’s luck.” Twilight felt the anger she had felt yesterday. Raw emotion from the deepest recesses of her mind was drawn up, turning to adrenaline, fuelling her rage as she threw three more knives in quick succession, one hitting each of the targets eyes, and another hitting it square in the heart. Rainbow Dash was less cocky about this, looking on in disbelief. Twilight decided to make her sure her point was well understood, picking up one more knife and throwing it with all her might. It struck the dummy with tremendous force, driving itself deep into the hundred point spot in the painful area between the fake pony’s legs. Every stallion in the room winced. “How in the hay…,” was all Rainbow Dash was able to utter, much to Twilight’s amusement. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - It had been years ago, not long after she and Shining Armor had first discovered the clearing in the Everfree Forest. The rainbow in the mist was there to greet them, as it had been the last few times they were there. Shining had brought his saddle bag, with something clanking around in it, but he had refused to say what it was. “You’ll see when we get there,” he had kept saying. So upon arrival, he sat her down and showed her. Twilight was still a filly at this point, it only being a few months earlier that she had earned her cutie mark. So it was only a natural reaction for her eyes to widen in a mixture of shock and surprise as Shining Armor spread a variety of knives out in front of her. “I spoke to Dad a few nights ago,” he explained. “I managed to convince him to let us keep coming out here, but only on one condition. He made me promise to show you some ways to defend yourself.” Twilight looked on in confusion as he took one of the serrated knives, and walked over to one of the larger trees at the edge of the clearing. She was only little, and not hugely strong. There was no way, no matter how hard she tried, she’d be able to thrust a knife with enough force to hurt anything or anypony. “What do you mean?” she asked as Shining walked back over, having carved a target into the side of the tree. He smiled at her, before facing the tree, knife in hoof, and throwing it. It sailed cleanly through the air, embedding itself deep into the middle of the target. Twilight’s jaw dropped. Hours, days, months, and even years faded away. Twilight and Shining Armor would come out to the forest most days for foraging. But to finish off every single trip, they would spend an hour practicing throwing the knives. Twilight had scared off more than a few curious woodland animals plenty of times. Shining Armor had even needed to apologize to a family of bunnies about the machete that had found its way down their burrow a few times. Twilight’s aim steadily improved over time, the large holes on the tree that marked failed attempts moving gradually closer to the center of the carved target, as years flew by. Eventually, only months before war was to break out, Twilight had found herself with Shining Armor once again, bathing in glorious sunshine, the rainbow in the mist dancing behind them. The pair grinned as they simultaneously threw their knives, each landing next to the other, dead in the center of the target. “I think it’s time we were heading back,” Shining noted as he tugged his knife out of the oak, noticing the sun beginning to set beneath the distant hills. “Good shot by the way.” He gave his sister a friendly hoof bump, before they went about packing their various pieces of kit away. Each of them now instinctively carried a small knife in a holster on the side of their saddle bags, for easy reach in case of an emergency. The day had been fruitful, as they had gathered enough apples to trade for a few loaves of bread at the bakery. As soon as word had spread among the townsfolk about their ventures into the Everfree, many had come to them to express interest in trades if they ever had a surplus. Even the Peacekeepers turned a blind eye, as long as they got a share if they ever stopped one of them. Food packed and weapons stowed, they began the journey home. Many animals lived in the Everfree Forest, so it was rare to not encounter wildlife, even on a short walk through it. Sunset was a busy time, as animals of all shapes and sizes ended their daily pursuits for food to take shelter for the night. This caught Twilight’s attention, as she enjoyed seeing the animals as she walked past. However, today no animals were in sight. The hustle and bustle of animals taking shelter from predators for the night was replaced with silence. “Shining, I thi…” “I know,” he quickly interrupted, clearly thinking the exact same thing. “Let’s just keep moving.” They did so, continuing the journey home as the sun continued to set. As they progressed through the dense woods, the silence continued. Twilight was relieved as reached the fallen tree over the ditch. The border fence was only a two minute walk after they crossed. “You go first,” Shining Armor said, looking around defensively. Twilight nodded, and began to cross. The ditch wasn’t hugely deep, but it was too wide to jump, and the tree made for a convenient crossing. Stinging nettles lay in large clusters either side of it, so there weren’t any other ways around. Twilight paused half way across. She could have sworn she heard a twig snap. “Did you hear that?” she asked worriedly. “Hear what?” She reasoned her mind must have been playing tricks on her. “Nothing, never mind,” she answered as she continued across. “Long day.” She reached the other side, turning to face her brother. “My mind must just be messing with me.” Shining smiled as he started to cross. That’s when Twilight heard it again, but louder. She had no time to react as a timberwolf ran out of the trees on the other side of the ditch. It was the biggest one she’d ever seen, it must have been twice the size of her brother, whom it was currently running towards, jaws open in anticipation for the meal to come. Twilight didn’t even think, but she didn’t need to, because she had been trained to the point where her reaction was purely instinctive. Years of practice took hold as she pulled the knife from its holster as the timberwolf made the leap over the ditch, trying to attack Shining Armor from a diagonal angle. As it gained air, Twilight released the knife, which swiftly hit the wolf in the eye. Though the knife was not enough to kill it, it was enough to throw off its forward momentum. The massive wolf yelped as it overshot Shining, who had backed off as soon as the knife made contact, clipping the log and crashing full force into the side of the ditch, sending the various pieces of its body flying in every direction. Twilight leaned over the edge of the pit, pulling her knife from the piece of wood that had once been its head, as Shining reached the end of the log. She holstered the knife as she pulled him in for a hug. They held each other in the relieved embrace as the forest returned to life around them, the creatures safe from the predators for another night. “Thanks,” Shining said admiringly to his sister, as he leaned back to look at her proudly. “Looks like you definitely picked up on it.” “I learn from the best” she responded, grinning uncontrollably as the two of them put the forest to their backs and began the final leg of their journey home. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Twilight was beginning to get a love/hate relationship with her new-found fame. She had been able to combine her years of experience with the advice of the instructor on the knife throwing stand, giving her as yet unparalleled accuracy. On one hoof, she had managed to stun Rainbow Dash beyond words, and successfully prompted some of the other ponies in her clique to genuinely feel intimidated by her. Pyro and Nighteye didn’t seem to give a buck either way, but Pinkie, Rarity and Fire Work backed off as she stepped away from the knife throwing area, stony faced as they could be, but their eyes betraying their real fears. Even some of the Gamemakers had applauded her as the last knife had found its place in the hundred point region. On the other hoof, the other tributes were treating her with a sense of adoration that made her feel terrified. Stunning Rainbow Dash twice was nice, intimidating her friends was nicer, and earning applause from the Gamemakers gave her a real sense of pride. But when lunchtime rolled around, the peace and quiet she and Thunderlane had found the day before was gone. While the clique still insisted on keeping up the “popular ponies” act, nopony seemed to care, because everypony else was gathered at Twilight’s table. “So come on Twilight,” Thunderlane nearly shouted, barely able to be heard over the rest of the ponies at the table. “Where’d you learn to throw like that?” The table went silent as sixteen pairs of eyes became fixated, all facing towards the mare they were suddenly idolising. “My brother taught me,” Twilight said, mouth full of hay fries. The crowd was seriously beginning to agitate her. She’d had two more rounds on the knife throwing range since Rainbow Dash had been left in disbelieving silence, and they hadn’t let up since. “How long did it take y’all to learn?” asked Applejack. “I basically grew up learning how to throw knives. Me and my brother would practice, I think on average, about three times a week. I’ve been learning since I was a filly. “So if I practice enough, I could learn to throw knives just like you?” Scootaloo asked excitedly. This broke Twilight’s heart. The little pegasus filly looked barely older than she’d been the first time her and Shining Armor had stepped foot in the Everfree Forest. She couldn’t possibly be honest with her. “Err, I guess you could, if you tried hard enough”, she responded, putting on the best fake smile she could possibly could. “I just need to go to the bathroom.” Twilight walked out quickly as the various bits of chatter on the table resumed. Entering the bathroom, she quickly walked over to the sink, turning on the cold tap and splashing the icy water on her face. Scootaloo was just a filly. An innocent filly that was being forcibly thrust into a kill-or-be-killed arena to serve as punishment for something that she’d had nothing to do with. There was a lot about this situation that was simply not fair. Oh horsefeathers, nothing about this situation was fair. Twilight thought this over, considering the part she had played in the war. Maybe she did deserve to go through this punishment, but what about Scootaloo? And Featherweight was just as innocent, for that matter. Twilight’s memories filled with the things she had seen, and to add to her guilt, the things she had done. As she braced herself to step back and face her admirers again, she thought over her actions during the war, and she began to consider whether or not her name being called at the reaping really was coincidence.