| Evolving Crepuscularity | ||
|---|---|---|
| |
Rayne steps outside of the kitchen area, looking a slight tired. But there's hope for that yet! She is currently equipped with an oversized mug of steaming hot coffee! She takes a sip of the burning hot liquid as she looks over towards an unfamiliar form in the hallways. "Uhh, can I help you? Are you lost?" she asks to the purple teenager. Before taking another sip of the steaming contents of the mug. "Rayne? It's me, but... I have no idea how to explain how this happened... I'm nowhere even remotely close to Canterlot High..." With a sheepish smile, the now-human Twilight Sparkle rubs the back of her head with one lavender hand. Rayne blinks once or twice in confusion then spits the mouthful off coffee out. Thankfully not in Twilight's general direction. She hastily wipes her mouth with her sleeve before asking, "Twilight? Is that you? What the heck?" Twilight Sparkle nods slowly, shuffling one foot for a bit before sighing. "As I said, I'm nowhere near Canterlot High or the mirror-portal that leads to it. So that's not a possible explanation for how I'm suddenly in my human form. And I don't have knowledge of spells that can transform others to such an extensive degree, which rules my own magic out. So you're not the only one confused about this..." Rayne says, "Huh... Okay... So do you still have your magic? You'd said before you don't have magic when at Canterlot, right? Twisted is messing with you pretty hard right now, it seems..." After a slight pause, she takes another sip of her coffee. Twilight Sparkle, at this question, shakes her head. "Unfortunately, unless I somehow 'pony up'... I'm effectively stuck without magic OR flight. And the last time that happened was when we were all facing off against the Dazzlings." Rayne says, "Dazzlings?" She shakes her head. "Nevermind, this probably isn't the time. How are you holding up? Or has this just... just now happened?" There's definitely some concern there, but she just doesn't know how to deal with 'oh no, I'm suddenly a different species'. Really, Rayne just looks confused at the moment. "I've heard of Twisted messing with people's powers before, but not messing with people's... species." Twilight Sparkle just shrugs, reaching out to grab an orange from the fruit bowl in the kitchen and eat it. "Well, I'm finding this a lot easier to take than the first time I went to Canterlot High after Sunset Shimmer stole my crown. ...I was still eating, and DANCING, like I would back in Equestria. Talk about embarrassing..." Rayne says, "Yeah... I could imagine that it'd be easier the second time, uh..." She scratches at the side of her head in nervousness. "Actually, you seem to be taking this slightly better than I am. And imagine Ferra's disappointment when she finds out." She laughs once. "But really... Do you need any help? All your things here are geared to you being a pony." Twilight Sparkle again shakes her head, pulling the skin from the orange with her fingers and eating a slice. "I've been back and forth enough that doing things as either a human or a pony is almost like second nature for me. Third time's the charm, as the saying goes. All the same, Rayne, I really do appreciate you offering to help me out here." Rayne says, "Hey, no problem. What are friends for, right? So if you're okay with all this, what're you up to for the rest of the day?" Twilight says, "I did plan on researching what it was that made me change like this, but as you've basically said it's an odd side effect of the magic here in Twisted... I feel like learning how to fight better in this form to compensate for not having magic or my wings." Rayne nods, then takes another swig of coffee. "Probably a good idea. Do you have any training at all in self defense like this?" Twilight Sparkle laughs self-consciously, looking down and off to one side. "In both worlds, Rarity is far more of a fighter than I am, and that's saying a lot, considering her reluctance to get even SLIGHTLY dirty..." Rayne winces. "So, when you say you want to learn to fight better, what you really mean is you want to learn how to fight at all. Oh, man." She puts her free hand to her forehead. "We gotta find you a teacher, then. Maybe Kotal can do that... He's been helping me out from time to time, refining my own combat style." Twilight Sparkle lets her gaze fall to the floor, setting the half-eaten orange aside. "Well... With my magic, I've stood up to beings as powerful as Tirek. But without it... I can't even DREAM of being a TENTH as good as someone or somepony as Rainbow Dash... She's the most athletic and fight-capable of my group of friends. So I want to do everything I can to change that. I'm a Princess, and I need to be able to fight without relying on others." Rayne starts walking around Twilight, looking her over. "Well... You certainly don't have the body type of a fighter. Then again, I'm not too typical, myself. You'd probably best learn a more finesse type of combat... light blade or counter throw type styles are probably going to be best for you. I'm guessing Dash is a bit more beefy than you? How ARE you at dancing in this form? I kinda drew from that early on in my own training." Twilight says, "She's... Lithe, and actually slim, but still pretty built. Applejack is more muscular, owing to her lifestyle and work ethic. I got better at dancing in this form when I was called in by Sunset Shimmer to help with the Dazzlings. So something with a bit more finesse might be the best option." Rayne nods again. "Ugh. I'm not sure how to find a decent trainer on that style, though. It's certainly not Kotal's... And I've never attempted to train anyone in my hodge-podge style, even if I did have the time." She sighs, a few fingers going to her forehead before she takes another swig of coffee. "Being second in command can be such a pain." Twilight Sparkle smiles apologetically, stepping over to give her friend a gentle hug. "I suppose I should apologize for suddenly dropping all of this on you, Rayne... I'm just being the same old worrywart that my friends back home know me as..." "Gurk!" Rayne never has reacted well to hugs, and this time barely manages to keep from spilling her coffee. "Uhhh, heheh, yeah, don't worry about it, Twi. You can't help but be who you are, right? I mean, okay, yeah, I tend to change a lot about myself every few decades, but still. Slow process if ya do, right?" Twilight Sparkle, thankfully, pulls away to both avoid the coffee-splash and give her friend a bit of room. "You're right, I suppose. Just... Well, I'm working to make sure I don't go overboard with worrying about stuff. It's landed me in some pretty hot water in the past, after all, especially with Princess Celestia..." Rayne says, "Ehhh, yeah. Well, I've been too much of a worry-wort myself of late. I've caught myself on that as well, but I'm making progress, too." She takes another swig of her coffee, downing the last of the cup. "Right. Well, I've got my paperwork done for the day. Shall we see just how far you need to go?"" Twilight nods, finishing the last piece of the orange she'd gotten earlier before adopting a stance for scrutiny. "No better time than the present." Rayne sets her cup down and brings a hand up to her chin as she looks Twilight over. "Huh. Well... Hrm. You look a bit open. If you were in a group that was attacking me, I'd probably rush in close and stab you in the stomach, to be frank. If I wanted to take you down alive, you look like you might topple over easy. Ugh. I don't know enough to really identify what exactly is wrong and right, though. I'm not a teacher and go by gut instinct too much by now on my own." Twilight Sparkle relaxes somewhat, nodding once to show she understands. "It's a start, at least. It gives me an idea of some of what I need to work on." Rayne says, "I can't stress enough that you need to find someone that knows how to teach the stuff. Not everyone that can fight can teach it, too. Case in point. I'd probably need to see how you actually move to suggest if you'd be good with a light blade or if you're better off unarmed, though." She pauses, a thought hitting her. "Wait, if this is entirely for self defense reasons, the simplest way for that is a stun gun. Minimal training, point and click, basically. You'd just need to work on your aim."" Twilight Sparkle begins moving around slowly, giving Rayne time to analyze her movement. "Maybe this ought to help." Rayne says, "Ehhh, no, I mean... See how you actually fight as is...Like a sparring match where... well, where I basically do for you what Kotal did for me when he first started getting me to refine my fighting style." Twilight Sparkle giggles a bit, before stopping and turning to face her friend while returning to her earlier stance. "Oh. Well, let's get to it." Rayne looks around, seeing few TASK regulars have stopped to look at what's going on. "Um... Maybe we should take this outside? It's a bit crowded in here, don't you think?" n.n; Twilight takes a look around, before facepalming and giving the other personnel a sheepish smile. "Yeah, we probably should... Sorry for making a scene here, everyone." "Ehehh.... Let's go..." Rayne says as makes her way for the elevator. Along the way out, Rayne stops by the equipment locker and checks out a few light practice swords. As they get outside, she asks, "Okay, how do you want to do this. Do you want me to come at you, or do you want to come at me? And up to you if you're armed or not." She holds out one of the practice swords, offering it if Twilight wants to take it. Twilight Sparkle follows at a relaxed pace, before taking the shinai and holding it out in front of her in what she thinks is the correct manner. "I need to have my reaction time worked on first, so come at me. It'll help with giving me an indication of how quickly I'm reacting to potential threats." Rayne says, "Okay, then." She takes two, herself. Roughtly the same length as her usual swords. "Just a warning, it's probably still gonna hurt." Of course, some of the regulars have followed to watch. "You wanna take bets?" "Take bets? Weren't you listening? It's a training session. The new girl said she didn't know anything." Apparently most of them didn't overhear or connect that this is Twilight Sparkle. After a glance at the regulars on the side, Rayne moves in quickly on Twilight, her right hand 'blade' aiming for a stabbing wound at Twilight's abdomen, more or less exactly as she had said before that she would do." Needless to say, despite having the practice sword out and ready in the proper position... Twilight Sparkle's reaction time is woefully inadequate, leaving her open to taking that thrust right to her stomach before she can parry. As a result, a small bloodstain appears on her light-colored blouse as she yelps. Rayne blinks at the sight of the blood and drops her practice blades on the ground as her hands move first to her mouth, then towards Twilight's wound. "Oh, god! I'm sorry, didn't mean to hit that hard! I'm sorry I'm sorry, I've been practicing too much with Kotal and forgot how to pull my strikes, I'm sorry! Are you okay?" Twilight Sparkle does wince, before shaking her head and smiling faintly as she covers her wound with one hand. "Considering I've been punched through a mountain by Tirek, this shouldn't be as bad... But it does kind of reinforce what I said about my reaction time..." Rayne says, "Yeah... I think this proves you need a better teacher than me. We're going to need to get that looked at. I don't want to come back tomarrow and find out you've got internal bleeding. Are you good to walk, or should I call a medic out here?" She looks around the complex and mumbles, "Where's Kotal when you need him?"" Twilight Sparkle begins walking after taking one of her socks off and using it as a bandage for her wound. "I should be fine as long as it's treated quickly." Rayne says, "Okay, I think next time we'll start with me throwing tennis balls at you or something. Something that will bruise at worst." Luckily the onlookers have proven themselves useful and have already gone to get a medic from inside, who is now arriving on the scene." Twilight Sparkle watches as that TASK medic comes out, sitting down upon his instruction and lifting her blouse to expose the sword-wound she sustained not more than twenty minutes prior to the call for medical assistance. "Having accidents and embarrassing moments... Story of my life." Rayne says, "Ehhhh, story of everyone's life. I should have known better, really. Are you gonna be okay? How bad is it? Is there internal bleeding, or is it just surface?" She appears to be going into a slight panic... Really, she's taking this worse than Twilight is." Twilight Sparkle lets the medic speak after her wound is treated and bandaged more professionally. "Well, it did pierce a bit deeper, but not enough to hit any vital organs. Might've cut into the stomach a bit, but not enough to cause any lasting damage." Rayne breathes out a sigh of releif. "Thank goodness. Well, this is a hell of a first day not as a pony in Twisted, isn't it? I'm really, really sorry about that. I'll have to make it up to you somehow, I'm so sorry." The tension from the situation loosening gets her to fall to the ground in a controlled drop to a sitting position. "Ugh. For once, I'd have preferred more paperwork." Twilight Sparkle smiles reassuringly, taking care not to jostle her bandaged wound as she pulls her blouse back down and picks up her blood-soaked right sock. "You don't have to, Rayne. Really. It was just an accident, and there aren't any hard feelings over what happened." Rayne says, "Yeah, well, I still insist on something. Maybe later, after you're healed up right, I'll think of something. I really should have kept to swings, I suppose. A stab is a little harder to pull. But still... Yeah, better teacher than me is needed." She looks up to Twilight and gives a weak smile back. "We're keeping you out of combat until you've got your magic again or you're trained up a LOT."" Twilight Sparkle looks amused for a moment, though she doesn't argue. "Well, as you are the second-in-command of TASK... Not even one of Equestria's Princesses and the bearer of the Element of Magic can argue with you." Rayne says, "I'm glad we're on agreement with that, then." She tries to sound superior as she says this, with mixed results, even if she is joking. She stands up again, asking, "Now let's get you back inside where you can find a place to just lie still so you can heal up better, yeah?"" Twilight Sparkle nods again, gingerly getting to her feet with her friend's help and heading back inside the building. "That sounds about the best thing to do, in all honesty... I will say one thing, though. I've got something else to add to my always-exciting life." | |
Enable comment auto-refresher