Preview: Shells Town Part Three · 4:10pm Feb 28th, 2016
At the moment it doesn't look that I will finish the next chapter this weekend. To make up for it, have a preview: Fluttershy vs. Shaggles.
“I’m baaaack!”
Everyone stared at Pinkie as she grinned obliviously at the Marines, holding her pose for a few seconds. Then she dropped down on all four hooves again and scooped up the blades she had dropped, ignoring everyone else while she walked up to Rainbow Dash and held them out to her. “Two wingblades and one sword. These are all yours, right?”
Rainbow stared at her for a moment, then blinked and started to strain against her ropes again. “Don’t act like nothing happened! What the hay are you?! What was that?”
“I’m a rubber pony.” Pinkie unceremoniously dropped the blades and let them clatter to the ground, raising herself up on her hindlegs again to try and undo the knots on the ropes around Rainbow’s barrel. “Wait, let me get these for you…”
“What the hay are you all doing?!” A young voice filled with indignation shouted across the grounds, quickly followed by Diamond Tiara running onto the scene. She stopped to look at both the Marines and Pinkie’s group, stomping her hoof angrily. “What are you just standing around like that for? Why haven’t you killed them yet?! Rrrrgh… Shaggles! Shaggles! Get over here, right now!”
Several of the Marines flinched as a low growl behind them made their fur stand up. They quickly stepped aside, parting to let a huge male wolf through… easily larger than even the adult ponies and about three times as tall as the filly he belonged to. He looked around for a moment, finally focusing on Diamond Tiara.
Diamond stomped her hoof down again, then pointed it at Pinkie’s group. “Shaggles, sic ‘em! Attack! Go and kill those ponies, all of them!”
The wolf turned his head to look at the ponies its owner had pointed out, then growled again and slowly moved towards them, the rage and bloodlust in his eyes focused especially on Rainbow Dash as he remembered the mare that threw him through a window.
Rainbow gave a nervous glance at it, then looked down at Pinkie. “You know, this would be a really good time to finally untie me! What’s the holdup?!”
Pinkie chuckled sheepishly, a bit of sweat running down her forehead. “Uhm, don’t worry, I almost got it. I’ll take care of that wolf and everything as soon as I, uhm… get this one solved out.” She held up her forelegs, which had somehow tied themselves into a neat pink bow.
“Seriously?!” Rainbow let out an exasperated groan and started to pull against the ropes again, then let out an even louder yell. “Oh come on, you made them even tighter than before!”
‘Shaggles’ took another step towards them, the fur on his back standing up as he prepared to–
“Oh you poor thing.”
He stopped, directing a slightly confused expression at the yellow pegasus who had spoken, and who was even now stepping toward him. He took a step back, then flinched and growled at her, baring his fangs.
“Oh my, you are really hurting aren’t you? That’s a nasty limp you got there, Mr. Shaggles.” Fluttershy looked down at the wolf’s right front paw, then turned her head to direct as much of an angry glare as she was capable of towards Rainbow Dash. “Miss Rainbow, I think you accidentally broke poor Shaggles’ leg when you threw him out of that café. Now, I’m not saying anypony is at fault here, but the little guy seems to be in an awful lot of pain right now and I’m sure he would feel much better if he got an apology from you.” Shaggles pounced forward and snapped at her in the middle of her talk, but she stepped back and to the side to dodge without even looking at him.
“You... What… I… Seriously?” Rainbow tried and failed to move her foreleg to point at the wolf, who was even now jumping and snapping at Fluttershy again, forcing the mare another step back. “It attacked ponies!”
Fluttershy frowned. “First of, Mr. Shaggles is a ‘he’, not an ‘it’. But you are right, that really wasn’t… really wasn’t very nice of…” She dodged two more attacks and turned her head to frown at the wolf. “Listen, I know you are angry and hurting, but this behavior really isn’t making it any easier for me to help you.”
Shaggles let out another growl and jumped forward to snap at her. Fluttershy stepped to the side and raised a hoof to flick it against his ear, making him yelp in surprise and retreat a few steps.
Fluttershy sighed and shook her head, giving him a disappointed frown. “I tried to be nice, but if you want me to help you you need to calm down. The bone in your leg grew back together all wrong, and if I want to fix that it will really hurt for a moment. Now, if you are nice and just lie down like a good boy, I will give you something to make the pain go away and make you feel better until I’m done.”
Shaggles stared at her for a moment, visibly confused and unsure what he should do now. He turned his head to look at his owner and saw her glaring angrily at him.
“What are you waiting for! Kill her already, you stupid mutt!” Diamond Tiara stomped the ground and jumped around angrily, working herself into a tantrum.
Shaggles blinked, then turned back to Fluttershy and growled at her. He ducked down, ignoring the pain in his leg as he tensed and jumped at her.
“I really didn’t want to do this…” Fluttershy sighed and shook her head. She took a step to the right, staying just out of reach of the fangs as she grabbed the wolf’s right front paw with a hoof. Then she raised her other hoof, bringing it down at the wolf’s leg with one swift, practiced motion.
[CRACK]
“Arooooouuuuuuwwwwhhh!”
The entire execution grounds were silent, save for the quiet whimpering of Shaggles as he tried to make himself as small as he could. Everyone watched as Fluttershy gently and carefully bandaged the foreleg up to the paw, then started petting the large wolf.
“There we go, in a couple days you’re going to feel just like new again. Just try to stay off that paw until it has healed properly, okay? I knew you were a nice doggie, you were just scared and confused because your leg was hurting.” She put the bandages back into her saddlebags, pulling out three brown, bone-shaped dog treats instead. “Here you go, a little reward for being such a good boy now.”
She petted him a little longer, then looked up and turned her head to look at Rainbow Dash. “Now, I think somepony still–“
“I’msorryIthrewyouthroughawindowandbrokeyourleg!” Rainbow yelled in a high pitched staccato, eyes wide. Her head snapped down and she started to squirm around again. “Filly, get those ropes off me before she goes and breaks my leg next!”
Hmm, ... , not too sure about the technicalities of wing blades. I mean, what if you fly right into your oponents sword before you hit him? The only way I can think of them as being useful, is when you fly past your opponent at such a high speed that he doesn't notice you and cut him with the blades.