Equestria: A Flux Tale

by Star Sage

Hand to Paw Combat

“Okay, breath deeply. Let your body feel the air, and take it in, before letting it out in a rush,” said Shining Armor as he stood off to the side, along with the usual crowd of ponies and others staring at you. In front of you stood Rex, his body, almost two feet taller than yours when he stood up to his full height, just seemingly like an immovable mountain as he did a few quick punches in the air. His paws were blurs as he punch, kicked, and then pivoted, coming to rest staring at you.

“This is gonna suck,” you say, more to yourself than anyone else. Shining's Lesson today was on hand to hand combat, as your weapon could get taken away during a fight. You personally thought it was just because he was mad that you were able to grab him yesterday, but whatever the reason, today your sparring partner was the dog, who looked ready to rip you apart. Even with the bands increasing your speed and strength, you didn't think you stood any chance at all against him.

“Now, I want the pair of you to fight clean. Nothing underhanded, and remember to try and not hurt each other too much, or my wife is going to kill me,” said the white stallion with a smirk at his wife, who just glared at him for a moment, before smiling towards the two of you.

“Begin!” shouted the unicorn, and you were off like a shot. Your heels dug into the grass, spraying sod behind you as you rushed forward, leaping almost ten feet with every step, before you slammed hard into Rex's defense, your fist flying towards his paw, and then altering its path just before impact, trying to hit Rex in the shoulder and end this early.

The dog didn't even flinch, his arms moving like snakes as one of them reached out and caught your outstretched arm at the wrist with seemingly no effort at all. The other arm, freed, came up under your armpit, and before you could really take it in, you were sent flying in an overhead toss from the dog, landing with a thud that nearly drove the wind from your lungs.

A week ago, that tumble would have been the end for you for an hour or more, but now, after training with Shining, you easily rolled into the impact, letting your armor's natural ability to displace kinetic energy absorb the impact into the ground, before bouncing onto your feet again, and running straight back into the fray, the dog standing with both arms outstretched, ready to continue the lesson.

“Excellent form Rex, and you too human,” came the encouraging words of Shining Armor, as you leapt into the air, trying to get some power behind your attack as you dove for the dog foot first. He could your blow on his upper arm, and seemed about to smack you down again, when you used his body as leverage to launch yourself skyward again, landing behind him and quickly turning about, punching him in the small of his back and making him yelp as he fell forward.

“Good bands. They make you strong,” said the dog as he rubbed his back a bit, getting up slowly from where he lay. At first, you're worried for your friend, afraid you overestimated his ability to take a punch. Then, in one blink, you find him standing in front of you, his paws flying, forcing you to use your vambraces to block a hailstorm of blows.

The motions feel almost natural to you, as you use your armor's power to your advantage, sending the jolts from every blow down through one arm and then into your legs, where the ground took the impact without flinching, your body barely feeling the force of his paws. Not that you were doing well, mind, as Rex just got through your guard with a single claw, and poked you in your side, causing you to twist to the side to block it instinctively, and then get a powerful smack to the chest that sent you flying.

“Not bad. React faster though. I know you can do it,” said your trainer from the sidelines as you rose off the ground, and then ran forward again. This time you did so defensively, letting the dog strike first, rather than trying to hit him yourself, which actually gave you an opening for once, as you charged through his guard, letting him smack you hard on the side, only to get in a punch into his chest that sent him flying backwards.

“Good show,” came Octavia's voice from the stands, and you turn towards her with a smile you didn't really feel. That moment of pride was a bit too long, as Rex got to his feet once more, and attacked again, this time pushing you into the sky with a kick to your legs, and then slamming you back down to the earth with an elbow into the base of your spine. You then do a spectacular face plant into the dirt, and just lay there for a moment, wondering if it would be worth it to get up again.

After a second of feeling sorry for yourself, you push off against the ground and return to the fight, figuring at least you can put on an entertaining show for the gray mare, as you dust yourself off, and launch an offensive again, pummeling the dog with blow after blow. His stance, defensive now, lets him take every hit without even being pushed back, but you make sure there are no openings for him to exploit, every fist coming just a bit too soon after the last to let him counterattack.

“Okay, that's enough of that,” says a voice, cutting through your battle vision, and making you leap backwards, until you are far enough away to safely turn to face Shining Armor again.

“That's an interesting strategy, but I think you've done all the paw to hand training you can with those bands on. I want you to take them off now, and fight with just your own strength,” he tells you, and you look at him like he just ordered you to take off your head. Sweat is already pouring down your brow, and without the speed boost the bands provide, you're not gonna last a single punch with Rex.

You do as instructed after a heartbeat, however. Shining was your trainer, and he'd never steered you wrong before. Besides, you had realized that while you'd been holding your own with them, the bands wouldn't be available at a moment's notice. You had to be able to fight without them.

The instant the rune covered straps leave your arms and legs, the weight of the world crashes back down on you with the force of a semi. Suddenly every moment you make seems to take ten times the usual effort, and you have to force your body to walk over to Rex, so he can place the bands back in that trunk of his, which he locks with a claw, and then turns to face you again.

You let him make the first move, as you settle into a defensive stance. He doesn't take long to make it either, as he charges forward like a semi-truck, slamming into your defenses with the force of a mountain, and nearly blowing you away. The only reason your even standing after that first impact is because the armor sent most of the force of it into the ground, and as he winds up for another blow, you wonder what your supposed to do.

Then it all slows down. Whether from adrenaline, some kind of magic trick, or just whatever Shining's been drilling into your head for the last three weeks. It all crawls forward, and you see the angle that Rex is using for his attack will leave him open for a counter. You're not strong enough to make a blow count however, and your mind quickly goes through options, until it arrives at the only one you can think of.

As the world returns to normal, you lash out with your hand, moving it so the vambrace on your right arm catches the paw that was coming towards your chest before it can get too close, at the same time though, your left hand shoots out, and positions itself right along Rex's chest, letting your skin push into his fur, just as the blow is struck.

The next thing you know, Rex has been blown off his paws, and is laying on his back in front of you, while you just stare at him, dumbstruck by what just happened. You'd...channeled the force of his blow through your armor, reflecting it right back into him. That had felt incredible, and it made you almost leap for joy, at least until the adrenaline began to wear off, and your hand suddenly felt like it was made of shattered glass.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow,” you say as you grip your wrist tightly, trying to kill the feeling in your hand. It's not broken, luckily, as you can move all your fingers around, but you can feel bruises start to form even as you watch.

“Excellent work. How'd you do that?” asks Shining as he and Cadence rush over to you. The instant the Princess of Love touches your hand with her horn, the pain stops, and you can move it freely again, while Rex, rubbing at his chest, soon gets the same treatment.

“I, uh, I just figured I could send the force of his blow back into him, instead of into the ground like I usually do. I didn't think it would work though,” you admit to the stallion as you continue to test out your healed hand.

“Well, it worked wonderfully. I would love to see you two try that set again,” he said, and then Cadence turned a glare at him as withering as any Stare Fluttershy could manage.

“I would love to, but I think it's time we took a break. Think about how that felt though, and we'll try to work it into the routine tomorrow,” he told you, and waved for your guards to come forward. The five of them came on like a galloping herd, Rainbow rushing to Rex and asking about some of those moves he'd pulled off, always having dismissed the dog as an egghead before since he read books for fun. The others came to you.

“That was great. I wish DawnChaser would come watch these bouts sometimes, since he'd probably be able to tell you exactly how to use that in a fight. Still, you seem to have gotten the hang of combat pretty quickly,” said Spitfire, and you blush a little. It wasn't often she gave anypony praise like that, you knew, and it was a bit embarrassing to hear.

“Indeed. Makes me wish you'd been here during the Royal Wedding. With you and I working together, I think we could have shown the whole brood whatfor,” said Octavia, getting onto two legs and starting to punch and kick the air in front of her, showing off a martial prowess that belied her more refined nature.

“Heh, we could have taken a whole army of drones,” you agree, starting into the same routine, punching, and then getting hit from behind by Dash.

“Yeah, yeah, like you two would last a minute in a real fight,” she mocks.

“I'll have you know, Dash, that according to most reports, Octavia took down two Broodlings with some really fancy hoofwork,” chided one of the guards, and Octavia looked to be blushing now.

“Oh, it wasn't anything too special. I was having lunch while waiting for the reception to start, and then those nasty things came out of the sky. A mare does have to know how to defend herself, right?” she asks, and the two guards smirk at her, while you drape your arm around her neck.

“Indeed. Now, since it's been several hours since breakfast, I propose we go back to that diner I like, and get some grub, since I feel like I just ran a few miles, and then fought a dog,” you tell them, getting a strained chuckle, though everypony seems to agree, and your group starts off into Canterlot proper to find a good meal.

(By the way, Once Upon a Time in Canterlot, a video on youtube you can find by searching for that title. Yeah, that's totally canon with this story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFjEintbDXc)

Comments

[rikusorasephiroth]

Nice.
Very nice.
You give the character strength through knowledge and managed to avoid making him OP.

Goggle points to you.
X10

[Star Sage]

2877415

Heh, the OP is coming. Though first he's got to get hurt. Also, new canon character next chapter! I hope the goggles are ready for this.

[Star Sage]

2877443

Hmm, at that size diff? Yeah, they'd blow away whole nations.

[Spirit Shift]

Lol i loved him OP i hope he gets his powers back soon

[Sorrowfulwinds]

Kinda ironic once he gets his powers back all that training will have been a waste of time since yah know magic beats everything. And even of it doesn't he'll be too small to do anything

[Star Sage]

2879768

Training is never a waste of time, as long as you realize not every lesson carries only a single goal. The ability to read how your opponent is moving, and knowing intrinsically how your defenses work will always be valuable skills. Though I do think I'll have him ditch the armor. It's cool, but he can make better stuff.

[Sorrowfulwinds]

2879861
Thats my point, Why train when you can magix up CelestAI to do shit for you in your ultra epic walker suit?

[Star Sage]

2881655

Heh, but what happens when you run out of magic power? Probably not going to happen during the big fight that's coming up, but then, there's gonna be more magic there than you can shake a wing at.

[Sorrowfulwinds]

2881969
Why would he run out of powe- wait did you say big fight!?
img534.imageshack.us/img534/7452/fe52.jpg

[Star Sage]

2885929

I've created anticipation for an event that will probably still take me a few weeks to get to.

[Sorrowfulwinds]

2887465
You monster! *crys about no updates*

[Star Sage]

2903365

Heh, you'll find goofs like that throughout. Thinking of putting out a call for an editor sometime.

[Star Sage]

2909326

Heh, like below, I'm not exactly the most careful sometimes. Still, hope you enjoy the story despite the small errors.

[sirraf]

behold octavia giving the brood what for! now the readers dont have to open another tab

[dzv13]

3292994
I opened the tab anyway to put this in favorites and watch it over and over again. that was AWESOME. both the story's fight and octy's fight