//------------------------------// // Chapter 12- Target Practice (edited) // Story: Band of Five Attributes // by Dragonborne Fox //------------------------------// "Sire! I've brought serious news," Saki said, looming over her superior's shoulder. "What is it THIS TIME, Saki?!" Baki barked, his horn beginning to crackle with magic. "Those damn professors showed up, and what's more, they're training the Elements of Harmony to use those devices as we speak!" Saki shrieked, jumping away a bit. "SAY WHAT?!" Baki barked, turning around and smacking Saki upside the head. "HOW DARE YOU HIT ME." Saki snarled, her pelt once again red. "Oh hell...." Baki whimpered before he began to run. ---- Pinkie was the first to train. Her weapon? The device, unsurprisingly, gave her an updated version of her party cannon. Rekka had taken out his laser gun to commence the training. They had quite a few ring targets to shoot. Rekka fired a standard laser gun bullet that cut a target in half. "Your turn, Pinkie." Rekka said, smiling. Pinkie aimed her cannon at the next ring target. She pulled the trigger a few times. Nothing. "Lemme try something," Rekka said, noticing the cannon doing nothing other than click. Pinkie pulled the trigger once more. A cannon ball the size of Rekka's laser hit-- no, smashed the ring target. "Okay then!" Rekka said, nearly jumping out of his pelt. "This thing is super-duper fun!" Pinkie shouted in glee. ---- Rarity's device gave her a scimitar, elegantly crafted from only the finest, strongest, and hardest gemstones. She had to learn to stand on her hind legs for more than two minutes before being able to effectively wield the damn thing. Nagare was her training partner. There were different items to strike with the blade, ranging from a mere twig in the ground to a tree stump, with a bamboo stick for added measure. "Remember, it takes quite a lot of practice to wield these things," Nagare said, readying his sword between his hooves. Rarity nodded. He swung his sword on a tree stump. Hardly anything. "Your turn." He said. Rarity swung the gem-sword with all her might. It grew to the size of a house before slicing the stump in half, with the severed wind blowing dust in their faces. "Excellent!" Nagare said, having a coughing fit. "Good gracious!" Rarity shrieked, trying to keep the dirt off of her mane. ---- Rainbow and Koto were training. The goal? There was a ring in a tree. Well, several rings in a tree. The goal was to see whose weapon could get the most rings. Rainbow's device gave her a 7-bladed boomerang whose blades were individual colors of the rainbow. Thankfully, unless said 7-bladed boomerang was behemoth-sized, the rings had little to no chance of being cut. Koto threw her boomerang. It caught three rings before returning to her. "Now your turn," she said. Rainbow threw her weapon. When it returned to her, the rest of the rings were on the blades. "You sure are a natural!" Koto said with a smile. "That was too easy!" Rainbow said with a cocky grin. ---- Applejack's device gave her a modified gun that could fire knives. As such, Tenmei was training her. The goal here was to shoot paper cranes onto a ring target. In short, modified archery. There were precisely five targets and fifteen cranes to shoot. Misaki carefully placed the cranes on top of slim, wooden sticks. There was a rock that they could lean on for support. Tenmei fired three consecutive bolts from his crossbow. Each one struck two cranes on three ring targets. "Your go, Applejack," he said, wiping sweat off his forehead. It was hotter than hell. Applejack leaned against the rock. She took aim. "This thing fires knives. Ah best be careful," Applejack thought. She closed her eyes, and... "WHOA!" Applejack opened her eyes. The remaining cranes were pinned to the other two targets by knives, and not one stick was even splintered! "DAMN!" Tenmei said, nearly falling over. "Looks like Ah can use a weapon after all." Applejack said, wiping sweat off of her brow. ---- Yuuki was training with Twilight. Twilight's device gave her a ball of pure energy. This energy changed elements depending on how the situation turned out to be. For instance, if a water-based Q-hybrid attacked, the ball would become fire-based. If the hybrid was wind, the ball would become a damn boulder. Lightning, you ask? The ball would become anything but lightning-based. The goal here was to make at least a dent in a brick wall. Yuuki kicked her ball. A few cracks formed on the wall after impact. For a few seconds, purple sparks flew off of the impact site. "Remember, fling anything but lightning. I had this brick wall built specifically to absorb the element my ball holds," Yuuki recited. Twilight nodded, then stood on her hind legs to concentrate. The energy ball turned a blazing red. The lavender unicorn kicked as hard as she could. "HOLY GUACAMOLE!" Yuuki shouted, recoiling in shock. Twilight gaped. The brick wall was no longer a wall. It now now a pile of pitiful, petty pebbles. "Looks like I beat your challenge," Twilight said with a smile. "No wonder Celestia made you her personal student!" Yuuki remarked, grinning in embarrassed joy. ---- Fluttershy's device gave her a teapot. A giant, white teapot. Mikarya ended up training her. The goal here was to see who could fling their respective weapon the furthest. There were markings indicating 100 yards, 150 yards, and so forth. Mikarya flung her teacup. It landed at the 300 yard mark. "You're up, buttercup," She said, motioning with her hoof. Fluttershy nodded. She flung it as hard as she could. It landed slightly passed the teacup. A few yards or so. "You could use some work there. But I won't push you around," Mikarya said, clapping her hooves together. Fluttershy smiled slightly. "U-um, thank you." She whispered.