Not Your Average HiE Story

by Aegis Steelshield

18 Working Out the Kinks

With a grunt, I lifted the bar as high as it'd go. My arms burned. Twilight scribbled something on her notepad, as I lowered the bar. "Twenty." I started to raise it again, but my arms shook. I powered through, getting it all the way up again. I exhaled, and lowered the bar. "Twenty one."

"That's enough. Your arms are shaking." Twilight said, using her magic to put the bar in its proper place.

The nurses, doctors and patients around us stared dumbfounded, as Rarity entered. She had a small bundle of clothes in her magic.

"How much did you lift?" She asked gently, using a rag to dab at the sweat covering my face.

"Just over a thousand pounds. Could of gotten more, if my arms weren't injured." I took a drink from a nearby water bottle, and the surrounding ponies stomped their hooves. Guess I'd put on quite the show. "You finish the new costume?"

She set it on the bench next to me, "Yes. I noticed that you asked for a smaller mask."

"I don't need a full face mask anymore." I tilted my head, and held my chin. "Actually, I don't need a mask at all anymore. I just like wearing one." I dragged my hand over my naked face, "I feel naked without one. Exposed. Vulnerable."

Her nose crinkled a bit, as I raised my arms, stretching.

"This place got any punching bags?"

"No." Said one of the doctors, stepping forward. "In fact, we had to borrow most of those weights from a gym on the other side of Ponyville."

I shrugged, "I need to shower before I change, and then rub in more of that Zebra stuff. Twilight?"

"Yes?"

"Bacon."

She made a face, and threw an apple at me.

* * * * *

I rubbed a bit of Zecora's cream into my arm. I'm not one for herbal medicines, but she sure knows her stuff. I should track her down and thank her. Might even pay Pansy a visit. I slip the tank top Rarity made for me over my chest, and pull it down. Twilight's right, I have lost muscle. Rarity made this shirt off of her last measurements, and it's loose. I rub some more onto my leg, and pull on the pair of pants she made. Just like the shirt, it's a bit big on me. I'm glad she made a belt to go with it.

"It looks good." Twilight said from the door, as I put the domino mask over my eyes.

"Thank Rarity. She made it." I replied, making my voice a bit gruffer than usual.

I could practically hear her eyebrow raise, "I meant no offense."

"Nor did I." I clear my throat, and my voice goes back to normal, "I use to talk like that, so they never heard my real voice."

"Another way to protect your identity?"

I nodded, "I think I'm going to go on a run. See how fast I can move." I pulled on a pair of gloves.

"Don't go out too far. The Everfree gets pretty dangerous this time of year. Everything is waking up, and claiming territory."

"Alright. I'll just take a run around Ponyville, then swing by the library. Sound like a plan?"

* * * * *

"My run wasn't bad. I got to a little over a hundred miles per hour. Anything more, and the leg starts burning."

Twilight nodded as the hero spoke. He was reading a rather large science tome.

"Found what you were looking for yet?" She asked.

"No. Are you sure this is the right book? All it's got is a bunch of magic formulas."

"What do you need?"

"Something about gravity. I need to test out a theory." He kept flipping through the pages, but Twilight knew that he was memorizing each and every page. She turned to the bookcase, and gazed at the titles. MagiScience for Fillies, Intermediate MagiScience, Way of the Ley.

"Gravity... Gravity... Gravity... I can't find it in science, or in magic."

"Check the Earth Magic section. Heard a folk tale about a Earth Pony using magnetic fields to fly."

"And you believed it?" Twilight scoffed at the mere notion.

Nighthawks eyes peered up from the book.

"I didn't believe in other universes, or in talking ponies."

"Point taken. You said it was Earth Pony magic?"

* * * * *

"Eureka!" I exclaimed, making Twilight jump.

"Found it?"

"Yes. Equis is bigger than Earth. A lot bigger. In fact, it's nearly two times the size."

"And you needed to know this why?"

I rested my head on one of my fists, my eyes still scanning the pages as I flipped through. "Because the mass of a planet has a direct effect on it's gravitational pull, as does it's density. Equis is not only bigger than Earth, but it's also more dense. That's why I've been having trouble levitating."

"Because you're use to the weaker gravity?"

"Yeah. Don't get me wrong, it was hard on Earth too. It's a focusing thing, too, not just gravity. There's this little spot on my back that I need to focus on. If I'm not actively focusing on it, I start dropping."

"And knowing how much force gravity is exerting on you helps how?"

"Because I know to concentrate harder." I reached the end of the book, and grabbed the next one. "It's hard to put into words. You can feel your magic, right?"

"All unicorns do."

"Well, I can feel gravity in the same way. I... I push against it, and usually, I start going upwards. Ever since I woke up, it felt wrong. That's part of the reason I thought I was dreaming." In the time it took to blink, I examined their Periodic Table, and noted the differences. They had three extra elements: Griffonite, Hydraite, and Rosterite. I'll have to look into them later.

"And you never thought to check out a textbook?"

"I thought I was dreaming, remember?"

A few moments of silence passed as I finished yet another book.

"Are you helping with Winter Wrap Up?"

"I'm dragging a plow over on the farm. And I refuse to sing."

* * * * *

The Ponyville Gym was pretty much empty when I entered. All in all, I thought it was a good thing. I, as a general rule, don't like crowds. A few buff Pegasai were working out at the benches. I recognized them from the hospital. They must of helped move the weights.

I turned my attention to the punching bags, and cracked my knuckles. I slipped on some boxing gloves. They didn't quite fit my hands, being made for hooves and all. I made a mental checklist in my head, ticking off all of the things Vengeance had taught me about boxing.

Vengeance. I've found myself thinking about him since I got here. He was a good friend, and a damn good hero too. He's the one who taught me self control. Before I met him, I didn't just fight the Seventeens, I crippled them. I'd snap bones like they were twigs. And in the end, it wasn't even that effective. Crime didn't really start to go down until Vengeance started helping me.

I let out a short breath, my left fist flying away from me. A pretty standard jab, followed by a hard right hook.

Knocked out a lot wannabe thugs like that.

The small amount of tech I used was all designed by him. Knockout pellets, concussive pellets, night vision sunglasses, hell, he was making something to wirelessly alert the cops when he finally made a mistake.

No. It wasn't his mistake. It was mine. The bomb was meant for me.

Two jabs, and a haymaker.

It was my fault. I should of been there, but I told him that I was fucking busy. All of the nights that he helped me, and I couldn't let one fucking druggie go? I'm a terrible friend.

Uppercut, cross, jab, spin kick.

I was the one who found his body among the ruins. There wasn't much left. It was in his will that he was cremated, and I was the one to give the body to his girlfriend. Last I heard from her, she was leaving California for Canada. I couldn't help but wonder how she was.

Three jabs, cross, kick, cross, jab.

That was what, a month before I got here? According to Fluttershy, I was out for almost three months. I've been up and about for about... Eight weeks, give or take. Damn, six months. Wonder how Earth's doing. I better not come back to some dystopian dictatorship.

After I found the body, the game changed. I wasn't that interested with stopping individual gang members. If I'm being completely honest, I didn't care to stop the turf wars either. It was personal, plain and simple. I went straight for the top dog, this bastard named Rodney Casares. He was a real piece of work. Had to be, to run the Seventeens. Several prison sentences, and that was before he was discharged from the military.

And that's were shit got a little weird. Vengeance had some dirt on him, back when he was in the army. Joined some supposed super soldier program. I never got close enough to find out if it worked. At least, I don't think I did. I'm missing a bit at the end. Just some loud noises, and a hell load of pain. Something about REM too. I think he was there.

Just thinking about it got me pissed. Motherfucker kills my best friend, and I didn't even get a chance to fight him! To make him pay.

My next haymaker broke the punching bag. Ripped right through it, and a good chunk of the glove. The filling spilled out onto the floor.

Deep breaths. Deep breaths. Control the rage.

"I should go see Fluttershy." I mused aloud.

Author's Note:

Nighthawk is a left handed boxer. He's also from California, specifically, Los Angeles. He was an anti-hero for several years before he met Vengeance. Vengeance disagreed with Nighthawk's tactics, and punched him in the face. They quickly became best friends. Vengeance's death has had quite an effect on Nighthawk's mind. He became quite savage again, when facing the Seventeens.

Comments

[Wacky]

An interesting story; read threw all of what you had in one sitting. Hope to see more soon!

[Aegis Steelshield]

4927805
Hopefully I'll feel up to writing more soon.