//------------------------------// // Chapter 15 // Story: Not Every Mark is Cute // by tjcullinan326 //------------------------------// Dead silence. Everypony stared at Brawler in shock. Scootaloo glanced over to Applebloom. Fight Applebloom? Does he mean like the way he fights Rainbow Dash and Pinkie? I... I can't do that! I mean, yeah, if I'm going to be a Fighter I need to fight. But Applebloom's my friend. From the look on her face, Applebloom was having a similar thought process. Shadow Dust shook himself, then cleared his throat. "Sir, I really must protest," he started, pointing to the group of young ponies. "These two fillies clearly have a history of friendship, it would be cruel for them to face each other for their first fight." Brawler glanced at Shadow Dust, then looked back to Scootaloo and Applebloom. "They want to be Fighters, and since Fighters are so rare in Equestria, sooner or later they'll end up fighting each other. I'd rather it happen sooner so they can work out any issues they have with fighting while maintaining their friendship," he said. Shadow Dust nodded. "I agree that they should learn to be friends while also regularly sparring each other, but this is their first real fight. It could be the first time they experience the visceral joy of combat. It would be better if they associated that with fighting rather than hurting each other," he said. Brawler scratched his chin. He looked at Applebloom, then Scootaloo. "Good point. The girls won't spar with each other until later," he said. Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle let out long sighs of relief. "Don't relax too much. You will still have to fight each other eventually." Brawler smirked. "And since you won't be fighting each other, I guess you'll have to fight me today." Scootaloo's eyes widened, then she remembered Rainbow Dash's words. Bite off more than you can chew, then chew it anyway. She narrowed her eyes. "Bring it on B-boy," she said. Brawler chuckled. "Scootaloo, there isn't a single doubt in my mind that you are a Fighter. But you're kinda trying a little too hard," he said. "I know you've probably heard this a hundred times, but be patient. When you find your fighting style, you'll get your mark. That said, you did volunteer to go first, go get a drink of water, then come back and we'll spar." "I'm ready to go now!" protested Scootaloo. "Good for you. Go get a drink," said Brawler. Scootaloo grunted, then got ready to sprint to the back room. "Walk," said Brawler. "Like it or not Scootaloo, today's workout took a lot out of all of you." It was true, Scootaloo and her friends had only just caught their breaths. They weren't exhausted, but anypony could see their fur glistening with sweat. "Walk to the sink, drink some water, and discuss strategy with your friends," said Brawler. "I'll be waiting here in the ring when you get back." "How long do we have and are you going to use your full strength against us?" asked Sweetie Belle. "As long as you need, and no, I'll only react to your attacks and never chase you down," said Brawler. "How are we supposed to learn if you don't go full force against us?" demanded Scootaloo, stomping a hoof in frustration. "Scoot, none ‘a us wanna admit it, but we don't stand a chance if he gives it all he's got," said Applebloom. "That, and the fact that getting the shit kicked out of you won't teach you how to fight. Toughen you up, maybe, but you wouldn't be learning. You'd be my punching bag, and your parents made it clear they wouldn't allow something like that to happen," said Brawler. Scootaloo sighed. "Alright." She turned around and trotted out of the room. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom followed her. They walked through the workout room and entered Brawler's room. The three of them looked around, it was the first time they'd been in their new teacher's room. "I didn't know Brawler had a cat," said Applebloom. A gray cat was indeed sleeping on the couch in the middle of the room. Applebloom approached it. "Uh, Applebloom? I wouldn't do that," said Sweetie Belle. "I live with the Opal, and something tells me this cat is a lot worse." "Worse than Opal? Is that even possible?" asked Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle pointed to a red stain on the carpet. "Oh," Applebloom backed away from the cat. "Okay then! Let's get that drink," Scootaloo shouted in an attempt to break the growing awkward tension. The fillies swiftly trotted to the sink, and drank straight from the faucet. When they finished Sweetie Belle suggested moving to the library to discuss strategy. Applebloom and Scootaloo agreed, and swiftly trotted out of the room. Just as Scootaloo reached the door, she could've sworn she heard the cat purring in amusement. She ignored it, and sat down in the center of the library. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom sat beside her, forming a small circle. "Alright, so do you have any sort of plan?" Sweetie Belle asked Scootaloo. Scootaloo blinked. "Uhh... Charge before he can react?" she improvised and nodded, knowing that her plan would work without fail. "And then?" "Um..." Scootaloo shrugged. Sweetie Belle sighed. "Scootaloo, Brawler is stronger, more experienced, and no offense, but probably faster than you. He's more skilled than all of us, we all need our own attack plan," she said. "Now hold on Sweetie Belle. I get that we can't charge in blind, but we can't exactly plan fer what he's gonna do," said Applebloom. "We know that, for this match at least, he'll never attack first. We can plan our opening attack, and then list the ways he might react and how to counteract them," said Sweetie Belle. "That'd take forever!" exclaimed Scootaloo. "I want to fight him now, not next week." "Besides, that way ‘a thinkin' ain't gonna help when we start sparring for real," said Applebloom. "Okay, so a blow for blow plan is a bad idea, but we need a strategy. A really good one, if we want to stand a chance," said Sweetie Belle. "How is 'charge him before he can do anything', not a good strategy?" asked Scootaloo, getting more impatient. Sweetie Belle sighed. "Well one, it's too short. Two, Brawler's fought with Rainbow Dash at least twice now, and he hasn't lost. Rainbow Dash's specialty is speed, and it wasn't enough to beat Brawler," said Sweetie Belle. "Plus, no offense Scootaloo, but don't you need your scooter to go fast?" Scootaloo narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, so? Who says I can't use it?" she demanded. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle blinked. Then Scootaloo did as well. She'd said that more to argue than to plan, but now than she thought about it, Brawler never said they couldn't use weapons. Using one would help a lot, in the book A Thousand Tales From Karate Masters a well trained opponent with a weapon always gave the master a hard time. All that, and Brawler definitely wouldn't expect it. "Well, it would give you extra reach and an unorthodox method of attack," said Sweetie Belle. "Ortho-what now?" asked Scootaloo with a tilt of her head. "Weird and unexpected," said Applebloom. "Oh." "But didn't you leave your scooter at home?" asked Sweetie Belle, ignoring the interruption. "Oh yeah," Scootaloo scratched the back of her head. "You think I could go grab it?" "Brawler sounded like he didn't want ya ta use any more energy than ya already have," said Applebloom. "Yes, but how else is she supposed to get it? It's not like it's gonna fall out of the sky," said Sweetie Belle. A weirdly shaped object wrapped in brown paper landed in the middle of the three of them. The fillies looked up, but the only thing there was the ceiling. "Who?" asked Sweetie Belle. "Somepony named Deus Ex, 'pparently," said Applebloom, pointing to a note on the package. Scootaloo tore open the paper wrapping, a pink spray of confetti shot into the air. The fillies looked at each other. "Pinkie." Scootaloo looked back to the package. Sure enough, it was her scooter. She picked it up with her right fore hoof, just below the handlebars. The she stood on her hind legs, and spun the board in a circle. She grinned. "Yeah, this works." Sweetie Belle nodded. "Okay, what are you gonna do Applebloom?" she asked. Applebloom scrunched up her face. "Hmm, I don' really know," she said. "I mean, I wanna try counter punches like Green Machine, but that ain't gonna work if we're the ones always makin' the first move." "Maybe you could ask him to make the first attack in a specific way? Like a left jab or a right hook? You could try to counter it, then Brawler could fight back," said Sweetie Belle. Applebloom nodded. "Alright, good idea. But what're you gonna do?" she asked. Sweetie Belle rubbed her chin. "Well, I'm gonna try all kinds of things. Attacks, feints, counters, maybe even throw in a little magic." Applebloom shuddered. "If yer gonna try telekinesis then don't do it directly on Brawler. AJ said that makes 'im real mad real fast," she said. "Noted," said Sweetie Belle. "Then I guess I'll see if there's anything around that I can fling at the back of his head." "You really think he'd fall for something like that?" asked Scootaloo. "I don't know! I'm just trying to figure out what works and what doesn't. For me and for against Brawler. Afterall the goal today is to learn, not to win." Scootaloo narrowed her eyes. "We learn by giving it our all, and doing our best to win," she said. "I'm not saying we shouldn't give it our all," said Sweetie Belle. "I'm just saying we need to be realistic. This is our first time fighting, we don't stand a chance against somepony like Brawler." "If we go in there expecting to lose then the fight's over before it starts," said Scootaloo. "Yeah, Brawler's probably gonna win, but if we don't fight to win, then we won't learn." "Not true," said Sweetie Belle. "There's plenty we can learn by studying Brawler's reactions to various attacks." "This isn't a science project Sweetie Belle! Taking notes isn't gonna beat Brawler, going in there and giving it our all will," said Scootaloo, she had walked over to Sweetie Belle and was right in front of her face. Sweetie Belle narrowed her eyes and stood up. "Oh, so fighting smart's not as good as just running in screaming and waving a fancy stick around?" she demanded. "At least I'm actually trying!" "At least I'm not an idiot!" "That's enough!" shouted Applebloom. She shoved herself between her two friends and separated them. Keeping them at the end of her forelegs, Applebloom turned to Scootaloo. "We can't run in without a plan," she turned to Sweetie Belle. "And we need to always give it our all. Okay?" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Alright," Applebloom dropped onto all fours. Scootaloo took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. "Sorry Sweetie Belle. It's just, I can FEEL that learning to fight is gonna earn me my Cutie Mark. The idea of holding back in order to learn exactly how Brawler'll react to things just rubs me the wrong way," she said. Sweetie Belle had also taken a few breaths. "It's okay, I'm sorry I called you an idiot. I forgot that a lot of ponies learn by doing rather than planning," she said. "We cool?" asked Scootaloo, extending a hoof and offering a smile. "We're cool," said Sweetie Belle, bumping the offered hoof and giving her own smile in return. "Then let's do this," said Scootaloo. She grabbed her scooter with her teeth, stood up and led her friends back into the sparring room. Brawler was sitting in the sparring area, meditating. He looked up when the fillies walked back in. "I heard the three of you shouting at each other, everything alright?" he asked. Sweetie Belle nodded. "Yeah, just a small disagreement on how to fight you is all," she said. Brawler stood up. "I hope you're not all going to try the same thing," he said. Scootaloo stood on her hind legs, grabbed her scooter's handle with her right foreleg, and spun the board vertically to the ground. "What do you think B-boy?" she asked, grinning. Brawler grinned right back. "Well, this'll be interesting at least. Let your friends go to the seating area with Dust, then let's have some fun." Scootaloo's grin widened, and she stepped into the ring. Part of her brain registered that Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were trotting over next to Shadow Dust in the seating area, but nearly all her attention was focused on Brawler. You're going DOWN B-boy! Applebloom sat down next to Shadow Dust, he gave her a nod, but remained silent. Applebloom nodded back, and didn't say anything either. There was something in the air that demanded silence. It wasn't tension, exactly. The only thing on the line in this fight was pride, and even then there wasn't that much of it. No, the correct term would be anticipation. On one end of the ring there was a stallion who loved fighting, on the other was a filly who couldn't wait to try, no matter the consequences. This wasn't going to be a pretty fight. Everypony knew that but nopony could look away. Without warning Scootaloo charged forward, yelling at the top of her lungs, and still spinning her scooter's board. She swung it at Brawler, the board spinning horizontally towards his left side. He blocked it with his foreleg, grimaced, then punched Scootaloo in the chest. The blow knocked her off her hooves and she landed on her back, she grunted, then stood up. "Gotta do better than that," said Brawler, settling into his stance. Scootaloo charged again, spinning her board so fast it was a blur. She swung it vertically toward Brawler's stomach. He brought both his forelegs down and blocked the board before it could hit him. Not slowing down, Scootaloo pumped her wings and jumped up toward Brawler's face. Her left hoof lashed out, but Brawler jumped back. Her balance ruined by the missed punch, Scootaloo tumbled to the ground. She jumped back to her hooves almost instantly and charged again. She swung the board horizontally at his face, he ducked and lashed out his right hoof. Scootaloo brought down her scooter and the handlebars slammed into his hoof, knocking them aside. The board kept spinning, at least until it slammed into the side of Brawler's head. "Gah!" He stumbled to his left, but Scootaloo didn't let him go. She rammed the front wheel of her scooter into his chest, then used her left hoof to get her board spinning again. She charged Brawler and swung horizontally into his side. Brawler raised his left foreleg, let the board hit him, then pinned it to his side. His right hoof slammed into Scootaloo's face, and she fell to the ground, without her scooter. Brawler's breathing was slightly labored. Scootaloo was panting, psyching herself up or worn out, Applebloom couldn't tell. "You done?" asked Brawler. Scootaloo stood up, then got on her hind legs. "I'm not that easy to put down B-boy," she said. Brawler chuckled. "Good, but I'm afraid I'll need some energy to face Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. Can we pick up where we left off later?" he asked. Scootaloo sighed. "Do we have to? We barely just started," she said. "Yeah, well you left me with a sore head and sore hooves," said Brawler. "I want to see what all three of you have got as soon as possible, and if I kept fighting you I wouldn't be on my A game for your friends." Scootaloo smirked. "You afraid I'm gonna beat you?" she asked. "Teh, don't get cocky Scoot. Your weapon leaves your opponent hurting, even if they block it. You would lose, but I'd be feeling it for awhile. And since I've never fought anypony with a weapon like that, you're gonna hit me sooner or later and I'm gonna feel it," said Brawler. Scootaloo's smirk stretched into a smile. Applebloom could guess why. It was Scootaloo's first fight and Brawler was already praising her. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jus' a little jealous. Brawler's smile faded. "That said, you've got some things to work on. You're good with your scooter as a weapon but you shouldn't be too reliant on it. That's why in our next fight we're gonna start where we left off with this one. Meaning I'll be the one holding your scooter at the beginning of the fight," he said. "Aside from that your general problem is inexperience. But that'll go away fairly quickly since you're going to spar somepony twice a week." Scootaloo nodded. "Can I have my scooter back?" she asked. Brawler tossed it over to her. "Awesome job, Scoot," he praised. Scootaloo beamed, then trotted over to the seating area. "That was amazin' Scootaloo!" said Applebloom. "Nice use of your scooter," complemented Sweetie Belle. "Excellent job," said Shadow Dust. Scootaloo continued beaming as she accepted the praise and sat down. Brawler cleared his throat, everypony turned back to him. Applebloom took a deep breath, and stood up. She glanced at Sweetie Belle, who nodded to encourage her. Applebloom looked back at Brawler, then walked into the ring. Sweetie Belle rubbed her chin as Applebloom walked into the makeshift ring. Her mind was working in overdrive, trying to come up with a strategy. Scootaloo's fight hadn't been very enlightening. Granted, she learned just how vulnerable a pony was when an attack missed, but other than that she didn't really learn anything she could use. This was by no means because Scootaloo had done poorly. Far from it, her scooter had been a much better weapon than Sweetie Belle had thought it would be. But seeing Brawler's reactions to an unconventional weapon didn't tell her how he would react to her attacks. True, she had seen Brawler's fights with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie, but she couldn't apply Brawler's reactions to them when planning for her attacks. For one thing, they were both full grown mares. Secondly, Rainbow Dash was faster than Sweetie Belle could ever hope to be, and Pinkie was well, Pinkie. Hopefully, I'll be able to learn a few things from Applebloom's fight. When Applebloom showed Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo the article about Green Machine and told them about what he did for her family, she said that she wanted to try his fighting style of counter-slugging. The idea was intriguing to Sweetie Belle. She personally wanted to specialize in magical attacks, but she knew that sooner or later, no matter her fighting style, she'd have to get up close and personal with her opponents. Counter attacks seemed like an excellent route to take. They could do a substantial amount of damage, didn't require overwhelming strength, and were a way to avoid attacks. If my opponent got close enough for hoof-to-hoof, I could use a counterattack to stun them, then fall back and use ranged magic attacks. Of course, at the moment I don't have any magical abilities besides levitation and lighting up my horn. My fight today will be all about finding a close quarters combat style that works for me. Counterattacks sound ideal, but if they don't work I'll still need something to fall back on if an opponent gets too close. As Sweetie Belle wrapped up her thoughts, Brawler and Applebloom settled into their stances. Sweetie Belle leaned forward, determined not to miss a single detail. Applebloom practiced her defense by raising her forelegs to cover her face, then she slowly walked toward Brawler. When she was just out of range, she stopped, lowering her forelegs down to her chin. "Brawler? Can ya attack me with a right cross?" she asked. Brawler raised an eyebrow. "I could," he said. "But why should I?" "I wanna learn how ta counterattack," said Applebloom. "I figured it'd be easier ta learn if I knew how ya were gonna attack." "So I say how I'm going to attack, then you try to counter it?" asked Brawler. Applebloom nodded. "It's a nice idea, but that sounds like a drill to me, not a fight," said Brawler. "We can work it into a workout schedule, but not in a sparring match." "Ain't we already kinda stretchin' exactly what a sparrin' match is right now?" asked Applebloom. "Yeah, and I'm not happy about it," said Brawler. "I'll attack first, and give you a warning, but nothing else." Sweetie Belle blew some air out the side of her mouth. Well, that's fair I guess. And he did agree to teach us counters if we wanted. Appelbloom seemed to agree. She nodded and raised her forelegs to cover everything below her eyes. "I'm read-" "NOW!" Brawler lunged forward and slammed his right hoof into Applebloom's guard. "Gah!" Applebloom stumbled back but kept her hooves up. Brawler chased after her. "Now!" A left hook started streaking toward the right side of Applebloom's face. She moved her hoof and blocked the blow, but now her face was exposed. "Now!" Brawler's left hoof lashed out again and smashed into Applebloom's exposed face. Her head snapped back, and she started to stumble, but she didn't fall. Just as Brawler was starting to pull his hoof back, Applebloom's right foreleg shot forward and grabbed onto it. She pulled herself forward and threw a punch towards Brawler's stomach. He stepped back, and her punch fell short. Sweetie Belle closed one eye and sucked in a breath. This is not gonna be pretty. Brawler slammed his right hoof into Applebloom's stomach. Applebloom cried out as she was launched backwards off the floor. She landed on her stomach and groaned. Brawler rolled his shoulders and took a few breaths. "Not bad, but you're not leaving until you land a good hit." Applebloom groaned again, but stood up. She eyed Brawler warily, then got into her stance. "Do you still want me to call out when I'm gonna attack?" asked Brawler. Applebloom thought for a moment, then nodded. "Alri-" Applebloom dashed forward and slammed an uppercut into Brawler's jaw. He stumbled back, eyes wide with bewilderment. Applebloom dashed forward again, aiming a jab at Brawler's stomach, but he had already recovered. He dodged the punch easily and pinned Applebloom's foreleg to his side. His right hoof shot out, and stopped an inch away from her face. The two of them held that position for a few moments, then Brawler chuckled. "Nice one." He let her go and they dropped to all fours. "In my book, rule number one in combat is never drop your guard. After that fight, I think we both know why," said Brawler. Applebloom nodded, but then sighed. "Am I ever gonna be able ta fight ya while yer guard's up?" she asked. Brawler chuckled again. "Bloom, this was your first match. You did a damn good job! Pinning my foreleg, getting me when my guard's down, those a good strategies. You just need more experience and once you start lifting weights on a regular basis, that uppercut of yours is gonna knock ME into the air." Applebloom's eyes widened. "Ya think so?" "I think you can, but what matters is if you think you can. So, can you?" Applebloom grinned. "Hell yeah." "Good." Sweetie Belle narrowed her eyes and tried to do some last minute strategizing before Brawler called her over. Catching him off guard, how can I do that? I can't pull the same trick Applebloom did, he'll be keeping his guard up now. What do I do? What do I do? I'm too inexperienced to perform counterattacks, and I'm not fast or strong like Scootaloo and Applebloom. My only advantage is my magic, and I only know telekinesis. And according to Applebloom using that directly on Brawler would make him angry, something I definitely don't want. What to do, what to do? ... Got it! Applebloom had trotted over and sat down. Sweetie Belle and the others gave her their congratulations, then Sweetie Belle stood up. She trotted towards the sparring area with a grin on her face. Here we go. For what was probably the tenth time today, Shadow Dust shook his head in disbelief. When he had first seen his fellow students, he had been very skeptical. Three fillies who couldn't be older than eleven, receiving the same training as a Royal Guard? The idea was absurd. Even if they were Fighters, there was no way they'd be able to keep up. That was what he had thought, until they'd started training. The three fillies may have been unused to a strict training regimen, but they were determined to see it through. They remained focused on the exercises Brawler assigned them, and never complained or demanded breaks. I've seen full grown ponies lose the will to finish exercises this demanding. And nopony I know would look thrilled if it was their turn to spar immediately afterward. That was the other thing. While these fillies may have been unprepared to face each other, they showed no such hesitation with Brawler. They trotted into the sparring area grinning ear to ear and itching to get started. This is the stallion who fought a God-like being, landed some solid hits, and walked out alive. And they get excited when they face him. I mean, buck, I know a good sparring match can be one hell of a thrill, but Brawler's terrifying. Shadow Dust shook his head again to clear his mind, and returned his attention to the sparring area. Sweetie Belle had just reached the edge of the area, then she stopped. "Hey Brawler, before we start, can I grab a few things?" she asked. Brawler raised an eyebrow. "What did you have in mind?" "Just a few books from the library. Some of the bigger, sturdier ones," said Sweetie Belle. Shadow Dust nodded slowly. She wants to use magic during this fight. There's no way she can know any offense spells after such a short time of wielding magic, so throwing books at Brawler will have to do. Brawler nodded as well. "Alright, but I hope you have a plan." "Why would I tell you?" asked Sweetie Belle. She dashed out of the room before he could reply. After a few moments she came back levitating eight thick books. She arranged them around the sparring area, two for each side of the square, then she stepped over the tape and faced Brawler. He glanced at the books. "You sure those are sturdy enough? I pretty sure Sparky's gonna want to read them at some point." Sweetie Belle's eyes widened, but she quickly composed herself. "They're all relatively new, and they've got pretty thick hard covers. So I think we're good," she said. She stood up and took the boxing stance Brawler had taught her. Brawler also stood and took his stance. They stared each other down for a moment, then Brawler lunged forward with a powerful flap of his wings. Sweetie Belle's eyes widened once again, but then her horn lit up. A book from behind her came streaking towards Brawler's face. He dodged to the left, and Sweetie Belle jumped to his right. What followed was an odd game of cat and mouse. Brawler would charge, Sweetie Belle would use a book to force him to dodge then move further away from him. However, it was clear Brawler was catching up with Sweetie Belle. Once all the books had been thrown from their original positions Sweetie Belle had to look for them before launching them at Brawler's head. This meant Brawler knew where each attack was coming from, and dodging became much easier for him. Sweetie Belle on the other hoof, was clearly running out of steam. Constant movement and exhausting her magical reserves had nearly drained her completely. The books were flying slower, and she was now shuffling away from Brawler rather than jumping. Eventually Brawler found an opening. He lunged forward, and smashed a right hook into Sweetie Belle's head. Shadow Dust, Applebloom and Scootaloo all cringed as Sweetie Belle went down. I hope he doesn't force her to continue. That strategy was impressive for her first attempt, and she's clearly exhausted. "Come on Sweetie Belle! You got this!" shouted Scootaloo. "Yeah! Come on, we all know ya can do it!" added Applebloom. Sweetie Belle groaned, but started to pick herself up. "Are you sure you want to continue?" asked Brawler. Sweetie Belle growled, then her head snapped up, her horn glowing bright green. Brawler's eyes widened and he looked around for an incoming book. But nothing was flying at him. Sweetie Belle leapt to her hooves, got into her stance, and slammed a right cross into Brawler's face. Brawler stumbled back in surprise. Sweetie Belle grabbed onto another book with her telekinesis and flung it toward Brawler. It fell out of the air around the halfway mark. Sweetie Belle panted, then clutched her head. "Aaagh," she groaned. "I'm done." She dropped down onto her haunches. Brawler hurried to her side. "Are you alright?" he asked. Shadow Dust, Applebloom, and Scootaloo also got up and hurried closer to the young unicorn. "I'll be fine. It's just a hornache," said Sweetie Belle. "If it's anything like the one I had last night it should go away in about ten minutes." "You had one last night?" asked Brawler. "It was just a little personal training," said Sweetie Belle. Brawler sighed. "Look Belle, I don't know much about unicorn magic, but pushing yourself this far everyday cannot be good for you," said Brawler. "He's right," said Shadow Dust. "I had to learn about all pony anatomy as part of my training with the Lunar Guard. One of the things they taught us was if a unicorn puts too much continuous strain on their horn it can crack. Leaving them unable to access magic until the horn heals. A process that takes months." "No more magic until tomorrow's training, got it?" said Brawler. Sweetie Belle frowned, but nodded. "Ah, don't be like that Sweetie Belle," said Scootaloo, "You'll be back to training before you know it." "Yeah, and we can still have fun together even if ya don't have magic," said Applebloom. Sweetie Belle smiled. "Thanks guys," she turned to Brawler. "So how'd I do?" Brawler laughed. "Buck's sake, you need to ask? Come on Belle, that was the best strategizing I've ever seen! Soon as you get your strength up, you'll be one hell of a Fighter." Sweetie Belle's smiled widened. "Thanks." "Course." Brawler turned to Shadow Dust. "You wanna match?" Shadow Dust blinked. "I think I'll pass today," he said. "These matches were more like assessments, and you've already given me one." "Good, 'cause I need to sit down," said Brawler. "We'll go a little harder tomorrow, so be ready alright?" After everypony agreed, they all headed out. Brawler went back to his room, the fillies discussed meeting at their clubhouse, and Shadow Dust trotted towards his hotel. I guess I'll have to pick things up if I don't want to be left behind. Fighters are some pretty tough customers, but there's no way in hell I'll let them leave me in the dust.