Chapter 52
I headed back to the courtyards, nodding at the same guard that had raised it for me earlier. He looked at me wondering why I was now sweaty and slightly dust-covered. He must've thought I left.
With the adrenaline still pumping, I didn't feel so insecure among the soldiers. The fact that I looked a little more beaten-up helped. As least they knew I wouldn't mind getting dirty.
With the new crossbow broken and failed, I figured I might as well return to Driscoll and call it a day. But something from outside made me feel a little more competitive. Maybe it was the after-exercise effect, but I didn't mind staying. Although I was still worried about making a fool of myself. I turned up to the tinkerer on the high balcony, who was watching me since I reentered the courtyards. He nod his head in my direction questioningly.
"Are you done?"
I showed him my watch, tapping it twice.
"A little more time, please."
He understood and returned to talk to Sir Rook. What their subject of conversation now was, I didn't know.
I cooled off as I wandered along the walls of the yard, making sure I didn't get in the way of anypony. It was still midday, but the sun was dwindling in intensity. With the coming crisis, Celestia had to make sure that the use of water wasn't too great.
The courtyards were now emptier, with parades and drill wrapped up for the day. Weapons training and other activities were stil being carried out though. Under the shade of the wall, I eyed the strong ponies that used their weapons with such confidence. I was almost admiring them in their skill. Granted I did want their physical prowess, but what I did not want was their order and constant discipline. That was indeed good for Canterlot and the rest of Equestria, but I felt it was a restriction of the soldiers' freedom.
With the decreased numbers in the courtyard, I strode over to the shooting range, past the group of equines armed with melee weapons. They bunched together, keeping their eye on me. It was unnerving, but not enough to fully deter me. At the ranged weapons section, ponies, mostly unicorns, powered ranged weapons that shot magical bolts. Ordinary arrows and buckshot were used as much as magic, giving the ponies a good selection between physical and magical damage. Miniature cannons mounted on the biggest of guards were mostly a two-pony job. One could do it alone, but it would take much more time. On closer inspection, I noticed unicorns funneling magical grains into some cannons like gunpowder. Some ponies shot with smaller barrels on their sides with the bite of a trigger. Their weaponry was indeed varied, and if all else failed, unicorns could still should pure magic missiles.
They barely turned their heads towards when I slowly came up to the range. I realized that they shot not only at circular targets, but dummies as well. Ponies, gryphons, even two-legged creatures were brought up to the range on will, and they were as easily replaced.Targets that were decimated were put back up and rebuilt with magic. There was still a pile of charred targets at one corner considered unrepairable.
At the time, shooting felt quite satisfying. On top of that, I had no real practice targets back in Ponyville. I wanted to take this opportunity.
I waited awkwardly by the side, waiting for someone in one of the shooting slots to finish. In that time, I diverted my gaze back up to the balcony. The new pony present among them made me even more uneasy. Steelheart had flown in to join the discussion with Rook and Driscoll. I shot my gaze in the opposite direction before I could make eye contact with any of them. Now Steelheart is going to watch! He's just going to end up putting more pressure on me!
Finally, a slot opened. A burly Earth pony carried away a long wide-barreled weapon that looked similar to a shotgun. I took a mental note to ask Rook about the names of these weapons so that I wouldn't have to keep comparing them to human guns.
I took up the lane, placing the broken crossbow behind me and pulling out my trusty original. Rubbing my gloved palms together, I reminded myself again to play it cool. Nopony had to see how hyper or stupid I could be at any time, especially not fully-disciplined royal guards. With a deep breath, I pulled out my real crossbow, feeling its uniquely human design. This attracted the attention of previous shooters as they broke into small murmurs. I ignored them as I pulled one of the two spare clips I carried around constantly. Loading its contents into the box beneath the barrel, I looked to my sides to find that the firing had slowed down. I could distinguish the mixed judgements in the crowd, but I was hoping to change their perceptions soon enough.
I held up my weapon, wrapping my hands around the trigger and foregrip. I was left-handed, but my repeating crossbow was built almost symmetrically. I shut one eye, aimed with the other and shut out the noise around me. I let my arm guide the crosshair to find its mark... and fired.
The small arrow whizzed in a perfectly straight line, landing square in the red dot.
Bullseye!
I almost couldn't believe I did it. The small cheers around me said the same. Who would have thought that shooting flying used metal cans could have been good practice? And with free time most of the week, I found I did that pretty often.
I pulled the lever and shot again, and again, and again. All of which never left the boundary of the second circle. Then I took a shot at the dummies. Some guards oooh-ed at the headshots I presented them. Everypony else broke into laughter when an arrow found its mark in the two-legged dummy's groin.
Within a minute, I had used my all ten arrows from the clip, not to mention impressed a number of royal guards. There was no applause, but more excited murmurs among them. I took this as a good thing.
Usually after crossbow practice, I would retrieve my arrows, seeing as they were a pain for Driscoll's father to make by the tens. But this time, I chose to leave them on the dummies. They looked different from the other munitions the guards used, so it would temporarily leave my mark on the barracks; something to let them know this human had a sharp eye.
I kept the empty cartridge and holstered my crossbow before walking off with an obvious smirk. But that smirk quickly melted away when I noted who was now watching me from the balcony. Not only had Driscoll witnessed the whole thing, but both knights had diverted their full attention to me. I was fine with Rook, but somehow I knew Steelheart was quietly judging.
Nonetheless, I found my self-confidence growing. The guards so far appeared nice enough. Perhaps there was really nothing I should've been afraid of. Everyone here had the intent of helping Equestria, and everyone here was under the princesses' favour.
I continued to explore the courtyard, but was more of myself this time. The only place I had yet to look through was the combat section. Underneath the balcony was a vast array of melee weapons. Sharp, blunt, magic or all three kinds of weapons were prevalent in that section. Many of them were made specially for each species of Pony, effectively exploiting each area of expertise. They were all so well made, and intricately designed, and there I stood with a sword made by the Ponyville blacksmith. That wasn't a bad thing, but a sword felt a little too ordinary among all the others, let alone the fact that no human in the right mind would use a sword anymore.
I took it all in, fascinated by equine ingenuity. Being under the order of the the princesses definitely had its perks.
"Ahem!"
The sudden exclamation jolted me slightly, but not enough to be noticed. I turned my head to a nocturnal guard, armoured and grinning. There was something mischievous about it.
"... Yes?" I replied.
His response was drawing his sword, embedded with symbols of the moon and its lunar godess. I flinched, but showed more confusion than fear. He backed away to the center of the courtyard before stabbing his blade into the dirt and leaving it like a stake in the ground, letting its single amethyst shine in the fading daylight. The soldier of the night stood still behind his sword, keeping that obstinate expression on his face. In doing so, a series of exclamations came from the rest of the courtyard. Their eyes darted between me and the guard.
I couldn't believe it. Whether he was curious or just downright cocky, his message was clear to me and the increasing number of watchers.
Was he... challenging me?
I froze for a second, feeling a mix of fear and excitement, nervousness and confidence. I felt honoured but at the same time, not worthy. I wanted to duel him, but wasn't sure it was the right decision. What if I lost? Or even worse, what if I won?
Swallowing these thoughts, I came from beneath the balcony, looking up to the my three acquaintances. I shot them a glare that was both a call for help and a request for encouragement.
Rook merely smiled warmly. So did Steelheart, but I didn't think it was a warm one. Driscoll made it clear what he wanted me to do. For many months, he had watched me train with his father. He even joined me at times. He knew what I was capable of, but whether it was enough was something else entirely.
I understood. It was too late to back out now anyway. Whether I won or loss, it would gain some sort of respect.
I held in my excitement, rubbing the hilt of my weapon with a gloved hand. I allowed a small hint of a smile as I stared down my opponent. The audience grew bigger as more and more came from within the small fort. A big neat circle was made by the crowd, boxing us in. Guards lined the walls, pegasi hovered above us, all waiting for my response.
I took advantage of the crowd's anticipation, slowly drawing out the moment. I gently withdrew my own sword, savouring the sound of the sliding metal. This riled up the onlookers even more. By the time I plunged my blade into the Earth, their exuberant stamping coupled with their elated cheers. To them, humans hadn't existed for many a millenia. Now, a human was about duel with their own kind.
That kind of attention was enjoyable, but it wasn't something I needed at that moment. With both swords in the dirt, parallel to one another as tradition, the duel was on.
I allowed my opponent to raise his weapon from the earth before I did. He held it strongly by the mouth grip. I rapped my fingers on my own, silently wishing that I had brought the other sword that was Legion's. After I pulled out mine, I respectfully bowed to my opponent; something that he didn't expect, but appreciated.
The crowd silenced itself, eager for the coming fight.
I locked myself up, psyching myself into a proper battle at the same time recalling every piece of advice Ingot gave me, along with some discovered knowledge.
'By holding out advantages to him, he can cause the enemy to approach of his own accord.'
I held my first ever sword upward while keeping a still stance, showing him that I would not attack and forcing the soldier to attack first. Inevitable, he does so. With a wag of his head, he swung the blade right. I remembered what Ingot had taught me. Above anything when fighting a pony, watch out for his head and neck. A successful reading could predict the movements of the opponent. I had the luck to read his first strike with ease. I merely had to jump back It was slow, probably testing the skill of his challenge.
The solider of the night followed up by jabbing in the middle section with the return swing. This I blocked vertically, producing the first sound of contact of the fight. The second followed by the third wag of his head, diagonally swiping upwards. I hadn't really trained well with diagonal swings yet, but I had just enough time to weave to the side and extended my blade where I would've stood, allowing the blades to grate against one another. Too close for comfort.
After three blows, he pulled back, showing a grin behind his full mouth. The mass of soldiers were really enjoying the show as well, even though it was just getting started.
I took the break to look back up at the balcony. Both knights seemed intrigued with the display so far, but the inventor was chuckling to himself. He knew that I knew what I was doing.
Furthermore, a group of passing pegasi flew low over the barracks. Most of them did not waste time checking out the scene, but certain pegasi were naturally curious. For this instance, a rainbow-maned pegasus.
Naturally, she lead the group, but was the only one to stop dead to see the only two-legged creature in the barracks face of with a guard. Of course, knowing that two-legged creature helped as well.
"Keith?!" She halted midair in disbelief, barreling into a reverse position before zooming in for a closer look.
"Oh god..." I muttered, lowering my weapon momentarily. My opponent was courteous enough to wait. I nodded in thanks. "H-Hey, Dash. What are you doing here?"
"I think it's more important if I asked you that question!" The cyan pegasus was quickly joined by Fluttershy. The watchers futilely protested at the sudden interference.
"Oh my goodness, Keith! Are you in trouble again." Fluttershy gingerly peeked past the crowd of pegasus soldiers.
"You girls worry too much!" I attempted to wave them off, but to no avail, "Just go back to doing what you're doing!"
"No way! We're done for today anyway! This looks way more interesting." She barged through to join the crowd. "Fluttershy! See if you can find Twilight and the others!"
"What?! NO!"
She darted off before she heard me. "Well... crap."
"Whoop his blank flank, Keith!" Dash cheered rowdily. She was actually joined by a few other guards once they realized it was a useless effort trying to get rid of her.
I sighed in exasperation, blocking out Rainbow Dash as another part of the crowd. I was the kind of guy that grew increasingly self-conscious with the number of personal acquaintances involved. And now, Fluttershy has gone to get the rest of the Mane Six.
"Let's just... get back to it, okay?" I raised my weapon again at my opponent, tapping a hoof impatiently.
A few seconds later, we were back into it. A man who has only picked up a sword in the past year against a royal guard, presumably trained for years. I began to think that the only reason why I hadn't lost yet was because he was teasing me. I figured this out after he jabbed and feigned for the tenth time. I could also see it in the curve of his mouth. A full strike would require more effort than he showed around his lips. He as just going easy on me.
'If the enemy takes ease, harass him'.
Now, it was my turn to go offensive, ignoring the constant hoots of my rainbow-maned friend, I went in for a swipe. Slashing upwards made him weave to the side. This could be to my advantage. Carrying the momentum from the swing, I carried forward a swiping arc that covered the area in front of me. This forced my opponent to duck, and it was exactly what I wanted. He swung his sword low with his head, and I drew a smirk as I brought the ball of my foot at an angle onto the flat side of his blade. This caught him by surprise, stuck and leaving his neck twisted and open.
Gotcha...
I tapped it with the flat side of my own blade in triumph.
"Strike one!" I confirmed.
The crowd was a mix of cheers and boos for both me and my opponent. Some jeered and accused me of cheating while others criticized my opponent for being too soft. Above all, Rainbow Dash was the loudest. I turned up to the balcony, to find Rook, visually impressed. Unfortunately, Steelheart was frowning for an unknown reason. He would take more convincing another time. Driscoll, on the other hand just watched in an entertained silence.
I made it the first round, but there were two more before anyone could claim victory. One down, two more to go.
"Round two?" I spoke more loudly this time, subliminally taunting him into play.
A grunt was his only response, swinging his sword back. This time, he was taking a defensive position.
"You ain't got a chance, pal!"
"Stow it, Dash." I calmly warned her. My next strategy was to rile him up, but not so directly. He already underestimated me once, any smart pony wouldn't do it again.
The crowd volume lowered, but there was still a cheer and jeer here and there. We could concentrate again.
This time, I had to play it offensively. It looked like he didn't want to risk attacking yet. But that was okay; I had methods to get him again. Methods that only a human could pull off.
'Appear at points which the enemy must hasten to defend; strike swiftly at places where you are not expected.'
First, I would have to make a gap that was caused by another defense. That part was easy enough. All that had to be done was to sidewind my opponent and strike lightly diagonally, which I discovered was particularly challenging to defend for ponies with swords. It was a simple technique, but it brought my opponent into the rhythm of the attacking method. He would guard accordingly until he was used to it. And once he was...
Now!
Lunging forward, I pushed all my arm strength while slicing upward, surprising the nocturnal guard with the strength and change in attack. It broke his block and pushed his blade upward along with mine, just as I had hoped. I followed his sword in a radius, like drawing a circle, stopping at the twelve o'clock point. I moved in, locking my blade with his and keeping his neck at a twisted ninety-degree angle. It was the specific angle that prevented the pony from turning any further. No pony could perform this move with another pony because it strained both necks. But a human could do it. Once it's locked, the pony cannot move unless it decides to get up on its haunches, which was incredibly risky and left the pony vulnerable. My opponent didn't do that. He was bearing his teeth in an effort to get out. But once in the lock, it took a lot less effort on my part to hold him.
I hastily swung to his side, wrapping my arm around his neck while simultaneously pushing my sword back and releasing him. Although he was free, it was too late for him. Kneeling down by his neck, it was extremely difficult to hit me from behind his neck. On top of that, I had already brought the flat side of my blade to his neck, tapping again.
"Strike two!" This was within two minutes of the first strike.
The crowd was in an uproar, now more impressed than before. Things were really turning in my favour at the expense of my poor challenger. I wanted to savour it, but the next round would be the hardest. I needed to keep my opponent just a little agitated by his losses. I also hadn't realized that Fluttershy had returned, and had quietly joined Rainbow Dash. Of course, he cheering was significantly softer than her friend's.
"Round three?" Even though I was out of breath from holding him in the lock, I maintained an amused composure. The less effort I showed, the angrier it made him. Just as I had hoped.
"Round three!" He gripped at his sword with renewed vigour and went straight into attack. I narrowly dodged a few blows, but this time, he was not going to let up.
'The clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him.'
He was really going for it, making each clash of steel spark. The only way to stop him from attacking was attacking back. I did so, but with less strength and more speed. This would make him weave in the way I needed him to without a kickback. But to win this time, I saw one tactic that required that would work, but required time and precision, not to mention a little bit of luck. I had to let him attack me at an angle at the same time I did, which was a painfully small window.
"YOU CAN DO IT, KEITHY!!" This abrupt shriek caused me to recoil, shooting my gaze at the balcony above. A bright pink pony was waving ridiculously at me as her friends caught up.
"Pinkie! What the he-!"
He struck when I wasn't ready, but he struck where I needed him to. I pushed against him, forcing us both into a classic blade lock. Now it was only a test of strength. Beads of sweat dripped from my chin as I pushed all my strength at once. If I gradually pushed, he would overpower. The element of surprise in a human was my opponent's weakness. This got me close enough to finally end the bout. I pushed him back diagonally, and was about to slide down to tap his head. However, he pulled something I did not expect. As his head was directly facing my stomach, he used his hind legs to propel himself into my gut. This knocked the wind out of me, but I was aware of his new position. He put himself in a new trap. Even with the wind knocked out of me, I managed to struggle on my knees with his head in my gut. With my free hand, I wrestled with his snout, trying to loosen the grip on his blade. Everything I was trying was improvised, but it worked so far. It certainly hyped the mass of onlookers into a roaring wall of elation.
Being a pony, they were physically superior to humans, this made me feel that what happened in the next second was purely luck. With my handle on the soldier's head, he hoisted his head up. This sudden lift caused me to instinctively kick up, and as I did, my knee knocked the hilt on the other side of his mouth, giving the final push that shoved the blade out of the other side of his mouth. This shocked my opponent for the last time as my feet found the earth and my sword under his neck for the third time.
"Strike... three..." I panted, rubbing the pain in my solar plexus. I managed a painful smile. I may have played dirty in the last round, but I was victorious!
The roaring soldiers, accompanied by the feminine cheers of the Mane Six made me feel like I just conquered a boss in a reality Role Playing Game. It indeed felt a lot more accomplishing that sitting behind a computer screen.
Showing good sportsmanship, I dropped my weapon to help the defeated soldier back onto his hooves.
"Thanks for letting me win." I huffed, "I didn't really hurt you, did I?"
"Just my pride, along with ten bits." He chuffed, "That was well fought, human. I certainly learned something today." He turned to the crowd was sucked into it, followed by the support of his fellow soldiers. I watched as he forked over ten bits to his smug friend. In his loss, I managed to show that I wasn't all talk, having the ability to fight when needed.
I picked up my own sword from the dirt before peering up to the balcony. Rook was certainly impressed, chuckling as he stomped a hoof in approval. Driscoll finally spoke up, along with the Mane Six. Steeleheart, however, was nowhere in sight.
"You did it, Keith! You won!" He hollered.
"Was there ever any doubt?" I mimicked. Actually there was, but I pulled through.
"Wow, Keith, you're equal to a royal guard, if not better!" Twilight complimented, "And that is just after one year of practice!"
"Please, you'll make my head swell." I chortled, sheathing my dependable blade.
The soldiers were just about to disperse. I was just about to leave too, if it weren't for a second challenge. But this challenge was different. It was going to be a hell of a lot harder.
"Impressive."
I turned to find the naturally-masked knight, brandishing a different weapon altogether. It was longer than the width of his body and tipped with two semi-circular blades. It would have looked genuinely intimidating had it not been made of wood.
"You beat an ordinary guard. Granted, that takes a certain amount of skill, but you had good fortune on your side."
"Can't you just give me credit for what I can do?" I pleaded.
"You want credit? Very well. Prove yourself to me." He bit down on the mouth grip of the center of the staff-like weapon, dislodging it from his side. He skillfully twirled it in a figure eight in front of him. Without a formal challenge, he was ready to spare.
"It's made of wood." I commented dryly.
"If it were steel, you'd be dead within seconds." A nearby diurnal guard laughed. The crowd that was dying returned with increased numbers. Now it was not a guard versus a human. It was one of their commanders!
"Hey, come on! That's not fair!" Pinkie Pie whined.
"Silence." Rook sternly instructed, "This will be over sooner than you think."
The Mane Six silenced themselves, along with the entire audience. For them, the excitement of the day was growing progressively.
Steelheart grinned menacingly behind his staff, going into a hover just above the ground. I had forgotten! Some weapons specialized for certain species, with Steelheart being extra special. My breath shallowed as I withdrew my sword for the second time. Swallowing my fear, I knew that this was a battle I couldn't win.
"Let's just get this over with."
"Mmhmm." Steelheart bolted forward at an amazing speed, swinging his staff up to my head. I had just enough time to hold up my hilt, but it did little to soften the blow to my temple. The earth moved beneath my feet, refusing to keep steady. And the next time I opened my eyes, the knight had descended upon me with the flat side of the wooden arc. A comical tap was produced as the crowd roared,
"STRIKE ONE!"
Before I could fully recover from my daze, the unforgiving knight was back at it again. This time, I caught him swirling around me in a peculiar manner. By the time I realized he was flying upside down, the staff had swept me off my feet in its rotation. I landed on my bottom and I felt the swollen pain grow on my backside. Just before I could even think about getting back up, Steelheart had gracefully landed,tilting one end of the staff towards my neck. He wasn't even merciful in pushing me by the neck back onto the ground.
"STRIKE TWO!!"
The jeers from Rainbow Dash and Rarity were audible throughout the courtyard. I felt it was quite unfair as well, seeing as I barely got a chance to get back on my feet each time. Using the hilt for support, I reluctantly rose again, waiting for the next and final blow.
The blow never came. I found myself not even putting up a guard as I surveyed the courtyard for my new and stronger opponent. He had disappeared as swiftly as he appeared.
"Above! Look above!" Rainbow Dash burst out.
Two meters above me, the knight was just about to turn midair, twirling his strange yet tactful weapon in the air. It looked like a deranged bird was fighting with a stick under the rays of the sun.
Screw it!
Just as Steelheart spiraled down into the courtyard, I found myself grabbing my crossbow, even though it had no arrows in it. By the time I realized this, Steelheart was coming in from the side, using his gained momentum and twirling his weapon at a rapidly increasing rate, I was left with no way to dodge. I could only hold up a block and pray for a few scratches.
With the flat side against my shoulder, I felt his wooden weapon strike like a gunshot against my sword. I was immediately thrown off my feet with the force, shutting my eyes as I bit the dust. I tensed my entire body as the relentless knight ended up on top of me.
"Alright! You win!" I admitted defeat before the dust could even clear, in case my opponent decided to carry on.
In spite of Steelheart's triumph, a strange turn of events prevailed when the dust cleared.
With a hoof on my chest and his weapon still pressed against my blade, I was completely pinned if it weren't for the fact that the empty barrel of my crossbow had found a place under his chin.
Steelheart felt it. I saw it. Nopony else could make it out. He pushed off of me before anypony in the cheering crowd could notice.
Speaking of the crowd, the laughter that was brought on wave after wave of strikes reached its peak. It was a pitiful and sympathetic one, but I still felt embarrassed. Steelheart casually lodged his weapon back onto his side, then shot me a final glare that was hard to discern. Was he threatening me?
I didn't bother getting up. I sat in the sand and waited for the laughter, dust and ponies to clear. Filled with mixed emotions on the events of the past hour, I guessed that the impression left on Equestria's military remained unchanged.
"How fares thee?"
Rook agilely descended from the balcony, wearing the same warm smile.
"I'm just great." I muttered, resting on my knees.
"You feel defeated?"
"I guess..."
"Don't." He comforted, "You performed better than many a brash recruit."
"What does that mean?" I looked up to find the Mane Six finishing a small conversation with their village craftscolt. Driscoll turned to me momentarily before waving farewell. I shakily returned it. His business here was done.
"Well, my dear human, not every pony is born with a natural talent in fighting. We had to earn it. Steelheart was no exception. In fact, he was the brash one in my platoon."
"That guy? Cocky? You must be joking."
"I don't jest!" He chuckled. He lifted his head, making sure that the courtyards were mostly cleared. Once he did, he leaned into me.
"Listen. From above, we witnessed the entire spectacle, including that last bit." He could only mean the deadlock that could have occurred just after his fellow knight won. "Whether it was plain luck, or a moment of quick reflex, you have appeared more skilled than you think."
"Really?"
"Exceptionally!" He raised his voice once more. "I've been through my share of stubborn colts who've boasted skills they never had. But you? You have potential."
"That's what every other teacher I've known has ever said." I finally caught my breath, helping myself back on my feet.
"Then perhaps we should build on it?" Rook finally suggested. "We'll be seeing you soon, young human. This won't be the last time you return here." He strode off, nodding at the Elements of Harmony as they came down the stairs. The sight of them certainly made me feel better.
"Okay, I don't care what happened!" Pinkie ranted, "All I know is that you won that last one!"
"Why didn't you, darling?" Rarity cooed, "You would have at least gone down with style."
"Maybe not with style," I hopped onto Applejack, "but I went down fighting."
"Darn right, ya did."
"Let's head back to the palace." I found comfort in saying that. My body had a lot more aches than it did an hour ago. "I could really go for some royal treatment right about now."
The day developed a lot differently than I thought it would. I had ultimately gained the respect of most the royal guard, and I gained the favour of one knight. Despite this rocky start to my relationship with Steelheart, I was going to find one of my dearest friends in that condescending colt.