A week had passed since Twilights scene at Sugarcube Corner. While most of Ponyville were able to understand why she did what she did, there were some that still feared her, and even some who felt she was unfit for the title of princess. Though she wouldn't show it, her friends knew she still wasn't at ease about the incident. They did whatever they could to help her get over it, but it did little. Nevertheless, day to day activities went on as usual, and one would never guess something had happened only a week prior if they walked into town.
A couple days past a week ago, Twilight also put her own brother in the hospital with damaged nerves and a hard time walking right. His nerves had healed well enough for him to walk, though he couldn't run for at least another couple days. Regardless, he was discharged from the hospital the night prior, and was now heading to Ponyville to visit his sister so he could receive that demonstration he was promised. Both princesses were also visiting out of shear curiosity. They had already received a completely involuntary, not to mention dangerous, demonstration of how grenades work, courtesy of Pinkie Pie, but they wanted to find out how Twilights other weapons worked.
Upon arrival, Shining Amor, along with the royal sisters, were greeted with the usual greeting of ponies bowing to them in the streets. Though none of the trio ever truly wanted to be greeted in such a manner by regular civilian ponies, they were glad to see that there were ponies out there who had enough humility and respect as to bow as their leaders and a royal guard captain walk by. It did not take long for the trio to reach Twilight and her friends, all of who were sitting outside Sugarcube Corner having milkshakes. None of them even took notice of the royal trio walking over until Spike said something. They immediately bowed themselves as the trio got closer.
"I'm glad to see you walking again," Twilight said.
"Yea, well do remind me never to piss you off," Shining Armor said.
"And if I'd known you were going to visit, Princesses, I'd have made sure to-" Twilight said before being cut off.
"You need not give us any special treatment, and you know this," Celestia said, "You know I only want to be treated as your equal when we meet. I may be Equestrias ruling princess, but that does not mean I can't be treated as a common pony every now and again, does it?".
"I only do it out of respect," Twilight said sheepishly.
"And I do appreciate that, but I do wish you would treat me as you would any other pony sometimes," Celestia admitted, "It would make me feel less like I live on a pedestal, or more like I live as a citizen of Equestria myself. Would be nice to feel that way from time to time".
"Now, what of this demonstration we heard you had promised?" Luna asked.
"I'll get to that eventually," Twilight said, "But why don't you grab a milkshake and join us for a bit first?".
After the royal trio sat down with their cold treats, Twilight began to catch them up on her story. When she got to the part about being caught and taken hostage, her brother started to choke on his milkshake.
"How long did it take before the others finally decided to attack?" Luna asked.
"About an hour, give or take" Twilight said, "It's both amazing and terrifying just how much pain those Germans can put you in within such a short time".
"Please spare us the details," Celestia said, "I do not wish to hear of you suffering".
"I wasn't planning on it anyway," Twilight said, "But now that you're caught up, how about we get to that demonstration?".
"Finally! Been waiting for this," Shining Armor said enthusiastically.
"The first weapon is my primary weapon, a Thompson M1A1 submachine gun," Twilight said as she laid the SMG and its magazines out on the table, "Fully automatic, meaning it spits out bullets until you either let go of the trigger or empty the magazine. Each magazine holds thirty forty-five caliber rounds. It fires at a rate of seven hundred rounds in a minute, so you can empty a magazine in approximately three seconds, give or take, if you hold the trigger down".
"What does a bullet even look like?" Shining Armor asked.
Twilight lit up her horn and grabbed a bullet from one of the magazines to show off. After everypony got in their "oohs" and "ahhs", Twilight slid the bullet back in the magazine before picking up her loaded SMG.
"Now, I suppose it wouldn't do to just tell you about this thing," Twilight said, "So, why don't I show you what it can do?".
"Save it till after you tell us about the other weapons," Shining Armor said, "That way you don't have to break up the action with more talking".
"Alright, then let's move on," Twilight said, laying the SMG down and bringing out her M1911, "This here is my glorious sidearm, the M1911".
"I think I remember you mentioning these before," Shining Armor said.
"I did, it was the first weapon I'd ever held in my life," Twilight said, "Unlike the Thompson, the nineteen eleven is a semi automatic weapon, meaning it only fires one bullet with each pull of the trigger. Each clip holds seven rounds, so it's not ideal for actual combat".
"I have a question," Shining Armor said.
"Ask, and I shall answer," Twilight said.
"Why do you call these magazines?" Shining Armor asked as he pointed his left hoof at the Thompson mags before sliding it to the M1911 clips, "And these clips? I get that they're for different weapons, but don't they serve the exact same purpose?".
"Why do we not call a chest a box?" Twilight asked, "The answer is a little interesting. They are both officially called magazines, while clips are used with weapons that have the magazine built in. However, Nick got me calling pistol magazines clips because they work while concealed within the weapon itself. Anything that holds ammo is called a magazine, but it's how they function that gives them different names".
"That actually makes sense," Shining Armor said.
"You already know about the grenades," Twilight said, lighting up her horn and pulling out her knife, "So that just leaves my standard issue combat knife. Not the most ideal weapon, but it helps in a pinch".
"I do not remember seeing that before," Celestia said, "How long have you had it?".
"Ever since I got back," Twilight admitted sheepishly.
"It seems me and you need to have a little chat," Celestia said, not very amused, "But I'll save that for later".
"You may wish to cover your ears, this is going to be loud," Twilight said as she readied the Thompson.
After making sure the area was still clear, and making sure her friends wouldn't lose their hearing, Twilight pulled the trigger and fired off a short burst of shots. The loud crack of the firing caused the nearby critters to scatter suddenly with the greatest of fear.
"That was... impressive?" Shining Armor said, a little confused, "But where are the bullets?".
"You're not supposed to see them," Twilight said.
"How fast do they move?" Shining Armor asked.
"About the speed of sound if I'm not mistaken," Twilight said, causing everyponys jaws to drop.
"Something hitting you at that speed would hurt," Rainbow Dash said.
"No shit," Twilight said sarcastically.
"I see somepony still has quite the tongue," Celestia said.
"Sorry, I really am trying to stop," Twilight said.
At that moment, a very audible howl could be heard. The group didn't even have enough time to look for the source of the howl before a small pack of timberwolves came barreling out of the trees. As the others dodged out of the way, Fluttershy flew up and got right into the action. Common sense told the yellow pegasus what would happen if the timberwolves didn't get out of there fast enough. However, despite her best efforts, the pack refused to back down. Neither her scolding tone, nor her signature stare had any effect... the pack was just too caught up in their rage. She did everything she possibly could until a loud crack caused her to cover her ears. Being the timid creature she is, Fluttershy also couldn't help but close her eyes tightly. When she opened them again, all three timberwolves were lying on the ground, unmoving. She could only see one of her friends in the clearing as well, and that friend was Twilight. As soon as she took notice of where Twilight was aiming her weapon, Fluttershy started to tear up. She hated nothing more than seeing animals killed, even out of self defense.
"You guys can come out now, it's safe!" Twilight called out.
"That was an impressive display," Shining Armor said.
"Twi, ah believe ya have some explaining to do," Applejack said, pointing a hoof up towards Fluttershy.
"Oh for the love of..." Twilight said before flying up to her crying friend.
As soon as Twilight got close enough, she got the surprise of the day when Fluttershy, normally peaceful, slapped her right across the muzzle harder than she'd ever slapped something else before.
"Why did you do that?" Fluttershy asked between sobs.
"Well, first off, they weren't exactly playing nice," Twilight said, "Believe it or not, I gave them a chance. I tried to let you deal with it cause I didn't want to upset you. When that didn't work, it only left me with one other option. I'm sorry, Fluttershy, but I didn't have any other choice".
"But you didn't have to kill them!" Fluttershy yelled before slapping Twilight again.
"You hit pretty damn hard, you know that?" Twilight said, "But anyway, I had to think about all of us. Me, you girls, the princesses... I wasn't about to put the lives of those wolves above the lives of everypony here. I know you don't like that, and I'm sorry, but it had to be done".
"Why didn't you let the princesses deal with them?" Fluttershy asked, "I know they would've let them live".
"Believe it or not, they were hiding as well," Twilight said, "Even the princesses get scared out of their wits from time to time".
Twilight braced herself for another hit as Fluttershy raised her hoof again. After her hoof made contact with Twilights muzzle again, Fluttershy turned and flew off towards her cottage. Twilight started to go after her, but was stopped by Rainbow Dash who said she'd take care of it. Back on the ground, the rest of the group was still a little stunned at what happened. Twilight had already shown her ability to deal damage multiple times since she got back, but now she had shown her ability to kill with ease. This display, needless to say, terrified everypony there. Twilight packed up and started to head home, the rest of the group soon following after they snapped out of their shock.