Spine was quivering in excitement at meeting the minotaur that trained Shining Armor. At least, that's the vibe she got from how the Sparkle family treated him… Well, that, or the constant sneers and jeers at her being a 'lesser being' to the unicorn nobles.

The sounds of ponies young and adult clashing became more audible, other creatures mixed in with cries and grunts and the occasional yelp as dull thuds mixed in for a gentle spice of lively sparring and training going at full speed.

"So…? Where is he? I want to see the big guy already!" Spine asked, more than eager to see the minotaur.

Velvet pointed ahead to where a heavy warhorse, much like Shining Armor, but an adult, so even larger and more intimidating, was wrestling with a biped. Hooves struggled against hands and a glowing horn tugged fiercely as the two jockeyed for dominance. "You're getting better," grunted the minotaur, but it was over suddenly.

The pony was thrown to the ground with a loud thud. "But your footing's still weak. Work on that. You're closer." He offered a great hand to the downed student. "Up with ya."

Spine's eyes widened in surprise, suddenly very aware of how small she was as the pony took the offered hand. She said, staring at the seeming behemoth, "He's big… Um… Velvet…? What… what was his magic specialty, if it's ok to ask?"

"It's a special thing," she said, not seeming at all worried about the great minotaur that had already gone on to the next lesson. "He sees the big picture just as well as if he were looking at each part on its own. It makes him quite the teacher." She swiveled an ear back on Spine. "And quite the warrior when he used to do that."

"Well that explains why Shining was scared that he might hurt me…" Spine said as she shuffled slightly, even more aware that she might have just made a huge mistake.

"Oh, no, that power actually makes me feel safer about it." Velvet trotted right onto the training field, looking so confident she was not getting into trouble. "It's just what they do here. You're a little thing, no matter how big your head--" Or ego, she didn't say that part. "--may be. Any of the other fighters could hurt you badly, by mistake, but not him."

Spine relaxed as Velvet explained what she meant by saying he was a warrior. "Well… What do you think he'd want me to do if I wanted to become a personal student like Twilight is with Princess Celestia?"

"Oh, well, that's--"

She didn't get to finish her statement, the great warrior suddenly just as their side, catching a toppling warrior and roughly shoving them aside. "We have guests," he boomed, turning to Velvet. "An honored one, at that. What brings the mother of one of mine by? Did your other decide to join us? I don't see her." He leaned forward, examining Velvet and Spine. "Don't do it," he warned without explaining what he meant.

Spine gulped, nervous once more before asking, “D-do what…?”

"You were wondering, just a little, if you could win points by showing your moves." He waggled a big fat furry finger at her. "I appreciate the moxy. Not often I get to consider how I'll counteract such a young opponent. You're weak, and still slow, but the spirit, I could see that was true."

"I was telling her it was--"

"We can fix the other parts," he said, ignoring Velvet entirely. "But it will hurt. It will take effort, and you will hate me by the end of it." He flashed a grin. "Sound fun?"

Spine grinned maniacally before nodding, more than wanting to show what she could do then, going through several mental exercises to suppress her rising fear before responding with, “Well you haven’t seen someone like me yet, I promise you that much.”

"Reckon I haven't." And the hand came in, slamming into her little chest and throwing her back off Velvet, but another hand was right there to catch her before she fell more than an inch. "Miss Sparkle, it seems you've lost two children to me. I'll have to make it up to you someday." And he dropped Spine onto his shoulder like so much of a sack of potatoes. "I'll return her in one piece, hopefully better than I got her."

Velvet was left blinking, suddenly without a child, even if that one wasn't one of hers, technically. "Um… Wait, you're taking her? You only take fighters that can--"

"--She can," he cut off, walking off leisurely. "Good day."

Spine gasped as she recovered from the wind forcefully knocked out of her, then began to respond after a few minutes saying, “Fucking hell, that hurt… Gonna need to watch those fists of yours then.”

"The entire body of a warrior is a weapon." His right ear twitched towards her. "Just a matter of knowing which one is coming at you in a given moment. Right now, that isn't your focus." He dropped her unceremoniously on a cot. "Finish getting air in you, then we get to work. Your body is as important as your mind." He leveled a finger at her. "You ready to grow it?"

She nodded, more than willing to give it her all in order to learn how to use her magic. With any luck, he’d be able to help her out with it.
"Your mind is ready," he boomed out in laughter. "Let's catch the rest of you up. It's going to be boring, and long. Did I mention the hating me part? Wasn't an idle threat." He swept a hand across the large barracks that held enough room for a dozen warriors of various species. "First job, I want the floor sparkling. I should be able to eat off of it. I don't like it, you'll be eating off the worst spot, so don't mess up."

Spine nodded with firm determination, getting up to go find the cleaning supplies when a griffon approached her after the minotaur left, having never gotten his name.

“Hey, scat stain, get out of my barrack, and go back to your roc--” He didn’t get to finish as she immediately shot forward and planted an elbow firmly in his gut, forcing the wind out of him.

Though the wind was gone in a great oof, he had more. His wings spread with more power than they should have had, wind gusting out in all directions and forcing Spine back as if shoved. "Ha, little brat. Caught me off guard." But, he didn't ask why she was there again, moving instead past her to get to his bunk.

She relaxed, letting out a breath as she continued to go off in search of cleaning supplies.

Author's Note

Hey guys! It's still alive!