12 - Let's Swap
Their days progressed in the same pattern, with the two getting a few minutes at the start and end of each day to trade stories. Twilight was advancing quickly under Under Score's tutelage, gladly reporting each new spell that she mastered. She had a spell book of her very own that she showed off to Spike with an extreme pleasure, grin plastered across her snout.
"I didn't even know you could do half these things without an affinity, or having the spell on hand and doing it by rote," she confessed, "But Under Score taught me how to compartmentalize things, up here." She taps her head, "It's like the songs Celestia used to teach us to remember things. Once I put a spell up there, it sticks around until I replace it with something else. It's amazing!"
Spike, while glad for his friend's progress, was also eager to share his stories. "And then she was trying to jump at you."
"At me?" asked Twilight quizzically.
"The dummy, er, the training target I was pretending to be you," he said with a sheepish smile. "I stopped her though. Today you didn't get a single scratch." He looked proud enough to float away, and Twilight clapped for him with quick raps of her forehooves together. "Thank you, thank you," he said, bowing to the audience of one, "But tomorrow's gonna be different. Fast Shadow said I was going to learn from Under Score."
Twilight looked perplexed, "Huh, looks like we're switching teachers. Mister Score said I should report to Miss Shadow. I'm not sure what she can teach me though. I'm no swordspony."
Spike lifted his shoulders, "Dunno. Didn't he say it'd take years for me to learn any cool spells?"
"I didn't even know dragons could learn magic," confessed Twilight, "What if Equestria isn't that different? What if we were just wrong?"
Spike remained quizzical in expression, "Guess we find out when we go back. Pinkie already does magic, sort of? We could find a brainy earth pony and try teaching them something?"
Twilight pulled out her spell book and made a quick scribble with her lavender-wreathed quill, "I'm making a note to try that. I'm sure the princesses will be very eager to know more. Since none of the magic Under Score is teaching me relies on my horn, I should be able to pass it on to a pony without one."
They settled to bed shortly thereafter, and rose, ready to meet their swapped teachers.
Twilight followed the larger and more physically imposing figure of Fast Shadow as she was led to the proving grounds of her favorite dragon. The air was crisp and had some autumn bite to it. In the distance, Twilight could hear the soft murmur of the city from all directions.
"Under's been saying," spoke Fast, "That you've been taking to your magic lessons like a natural, and that's good, but there's more to life than stuffing your nose in a book."
"There's friendship," said Twilight.
Fast raised a brow at the reply, "Yes, that's actually close to what I was going to say. Your friends can only shore up your weaknesses so far. You need to be able to defend yourself, even if it's just getting away from what wants to rip you apart."
Twilight's expression fell, ears folding back, "I'm not a swordspony."
"No," said Fast, "You are not. But you will defend yourself." She lashed out. Spike would have swatted it aside or ducked out of the way, but Twilight caught it in her surprised face, blood suddenly liberated from her abused snout as she collapsed backwards.
Twilight wrenched up a hoof to cover the bleeding, tears in her eyes as she gawked at the suddenly hostile mare, seemingly unable to grasp that she was just attacked.
"I don't like bashing pretty little faces," said Fast Shadow, "But I will until you learn to protect it." She switched hooves, going for Twilight's shoulder. A suddenly erected force bubble made it skid away and Fast grinned, "That's better, but I bet you can't keep that up forever."
It was just the start of the day, but Twilight was fairly certain it was going to be a very long one.
Under Score led Spike to a new room. It was underground, but it was spacious. Mostly bare, and about a floor and a half of ceiling allowance. Spike wandered in and started looking around, noting funny symbols on the ground that looked like the sort of thing Twilight would put on things when working on a big spell.
"So what are we working on?" asked Spike.
Under directed a hoof at Spike, and spoke a few quick words of power. A powerful bolt of lighting surged out, bright blinding white as it washed over Spike and left a black mark on the wall behind him. Spike was entirely unharmed, though he had raised his claws up in surprise, expecting pain.
"Today, we go over your birthrights," explained Under. "As you can see, you are entirely immune to electricity. It is your native element, alongside air, and cannot bring you harm directly. Of course, if you're standing on something and lightning causes it to give way, you could come to indirect harm by it, so bare that in mind." He pointed with a hoof at the mark at the wall, "And just because you can ignore it, does not mean others around you have that luxury. If your friend, Miss Sparkle, was behind you, they would be quite injured, no matter how invulnerable you are."
Spike turned to look at the mark and winced, envisioning what it could have done to Twilight, had she been there, "Ok, so, lightning, still worth worrying about, got it." He gave a thumbs up even as Under backed away and put a hoof on a strange symbol. "What's that dOooo" Spike was suddenly hurled towards the ceiling as if it were the floor, and he collided with the stone painfully. "Ow! What's the big deal?" he asked, quickly getting to his feet, now standing on the ceiling and glaring up/down at Under.
"The lesson will continue when you reach me," stated Under calmly.
Spike huffed and began jumping up and down, but he was stuck to the ceiling just as well as he had been stuck to the floor, unable to reach Under Score. He tried running for the wall and began to scale along it. Unfortunately, the wall was smooth and he didn't make it far before he slid back to the ceiling. He tried breathing lightning at the strange marks on the ground, but it did little to free him from the situation.
"Alright!" said Spike, throwing his claws in the air, "What do I have to do?"
"Just come to me," said Under. "Stop thinking about how to reach me, and reach me."
Spike rolled his eyes dramatically, "Yea, sure, I'll just fly along like a pegasus." He flapped his arms and began to float. "Woah! Is this part of the magic?" he asked as he tried swimming through the air with moderate success, soaring from one end of the room to the other in a slow pace.
"My magic reverses gravity. Your friend, Miss Sparkle, said she used a similar spell once," explained Under, "Your flight is your own power. Try it without the flapping."
"Without the flapping?" asked Spike with some confusion.
Under slowly nodded as he explained in a lecturing tone, "Imagine the air around you is your willing servant, your best of friends. It wants to carry you, you just have to direct it just as you would your arms or your legs. Move at the speed of your thoughts, instead of the speed of your arms."
It all sounded too good to Spike, but the old stallion hadn't been wrong so far. He pulled his arms down and tried imagining himself moving forward. This only nudged him ahead a little and he frowned.
"Don't imagine your hand moving, move it. It is the same thing," said the old wizard.
Right, don't imagine the claw, just... move the claw. Spike frowned, trying to wrap his mind around it. His movement started again, slowly, but with gaining confidence as he learned his new 'muscles'. As he became better at it, he began to laugh. "This is better than wings!" he cried as he started to soar around fast enough that he constantly had to stop to avoid crashing into a wall. He felt he could give Rainbow Dash a run for her money, and it felt good, so very good!
"You still have to reach me," came the voice of his new mentor.
Spike gave a soft 'oh' and zipped over to the stallion, wrapping his claws around his wizened neck in a fierce hug, "Thanks for showing me that! This is amazing!"
Under took his hoof off the circle, and Spike could feel things settle inside him as gravity returned to normal. He landed in front of the teacher with a big grin, "What's next, teach?"
"I noticed something in your movement," He said, directing with a hoof at Spike's legs. "You should be able to move as fast as an unburdened pony with ease, but you move as if your legs were shorter. I know the temptation to fly is great, but that will not always be an option, or optimal in any event."
Spike leaned over to look at his feet. Sure enough, his legs were a little longer in comparison to the rest of his body, at least when he thought back to his shape in Equestria. He tried putting a foot out as far as it could go and took one awkward step, getting used to a longer gait. "I never even thought about that," confessed Spike as he started to walk around the room.
"You were not born to this," replied Under in easy tones, "But, you are taking to it as swiftly as Miss Sparkle took to her book learning. I doubt I will need you for longer than today."
He began running Spike through obstacle courses that would erupt and meld back into the stone, sometimes while he was in the middle of it. It was a long day, but Spike was thoroughly enjoying himself and the limits of his new body.
Twilight was cowering on the ground, covered in marks and bloodied from Fast Shadows relentless assaults. "I don't want to do this anymore!" she wailed, "You can't make me!"
"No," agreed Fast, "I can't make you, but a real opponent can, and will, and won't stop at painful cuts. Your friend, Spike, took his licks and came back at me. You're not going to be shown up by him, are you?"
"He's a dragon!" she cried out, starting to sob in place in loud wails that shook her body.
Fast shook her head slowly, "And you were doing so well, too. I guess I will have have to inform Under Score that you failed the test."
Twilight's tears dried almost instantly as she looked up, "Test? This is a test?"
"Of course," said Fast with a feigned appearance of disappointment, smiling internally at how well Twilight appeared to be falling for the trick Spike had shown her. "If you don't learn the basics of self defense, then Under Score cannot proceed, and you'll be flunked out."
The lavender alicorn struggled to her hooves quickly. "I don't... fail tests," she said amid a snuffle as she wiped snot and blood free of her snout. "I'll pass." Her expression hardened by the moment, filling with determination.
Fast gave an uncertain nod, "If you're absolutely sure?" Twilight quickly bobbed her head, "Alright then. I'll take it easy and work up to where we left off."
Twilight would need a few days work, but she didn't give up again.
Lessons are learned, some harder than others.
But soon, Sooooooon! Adventure will be had. This slice of life learning stuff can only go so far.
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Great chapter
If this is his reaction to flying, I can't wait to read about his reaction to his future abilities.
At this rate I don't see Spike wanting to go home. I could just see him there as a Young Adult with Twilight, or as a Great Wyrm remembering the good old days, and either version is thinking to himself best decision I ever made.
5457145 This chapter was a special challenge. Make Twilight overcome without making her look weak or foalish in the process. That's our Twilight!
Spike got the lottery winning for sure when it came to upgrades due to planar adjustment. That may become a plot point to deal with when we get to it. I enjoyed Under Score and Fast Shadow. They were both great teachers in their different ways.
5457175 Yeah and as far as Imperial dragons go the only other breed Spike could pull of is Sea Dragon it is the only other good dragon, And I can't see Spike loving swimming more then flying. An Underworld Dragon might have fire but the species itself is generally evil, as is the Forest Dragon. Sure the Sovereign dragon might safeguard harmony but does so at a neutral stance which I don't think Spike could do. Sure all races in D&D have there odd balls who try and not follow the alignment chart but good luck finding friends with a bad reputation following you around look at Dritzt to see how hard it is.
All I'm saying to sum up is I don't think Spike would have had much luck as any other Imperial dragon. You made the right choice, and as always great work, I love this fic.
5457287 While that is all true, Everglow dragons are not very limited to their color/type alignment. This does mean that a gold could go around wrecking everyone's day for no good reason while a red swoops in to defend the day, that happens. It's a strange place, I mean ponies are the dominant species, that's a hint that things have gone oddly.
I did think sky dragon was a good fit for Spike though, allowing him to keep most of his trademark appearance while being a dragon. It just seemed to 'fit' him. I'm glad you agree.
It certainly couldn't be as bad as, you know, a dog. A small fluffy dog.
How did you feel about Twi's half of the chapter?
5458261 I agree I personally felt spike would should have been human in those films.
I personally enjoyed reading about Spikes training with Under Score and felt it was funny to read about Spike having a easier time then Twilight in learning or anything for a change.
As for Twilight you could not have captured her better. It was really funny to read about her beat down. She might not like it but it will be necessary for her survival. I felt she had a lot more growing to do under Fast Shadow and I am looking forward to seeing how her training with Fast continues. but one thing is for sure she does not fail tests.
I can't help but feel that was just part one of this switch up, And that Fast Shadow will continue to train Twilight and Under Score will continue to train Spike for at least one more chapter. can't wait to read.
5458495 While true, you know me so well, it's about time for them to taste some real action before getting back to training. Besides, I don't want to bore the average reader with so many chapters of training montage in a row, so it's off to adventure! Glad I got Twilight right though.
As for Spike, he is suffering too, he's just enjoying the physical training more, at least when he's not being groin shot. The opposite is true, with Twilight having a big ole blast when it comes to studying Everglow magic.
5458502 I ment Spike was having an easer time then Twilight in this chapter not the whole training sequence.
Nice touch with Spike having been taking mincing steps rather than using the full extension of his limbs due to his inexperience with them.
I know I'm really late to comment on this stuff but...
I understand the need to be hard to teach hard lessons but fasts training methods seem... I dunno a little over the top. Like, it's her first day and she has, quite literally, no idea what she's doing, let's beat her to a bloody pulp that'll learn her.
Twilight has no Actual combat experience. She should be being trained like a beginner not an expert, When first learn martial arts you learn the motions and the methods before learn to actually fight. Fast is trying to teach Twilight TO fight without teaching her HOW to fight first, and it's a testament to Twilights ability to learn quickly that she could learn anything from a situation like that at all.
And again I understand the harsher methods are necessary, she needs to understand the dangers she may come to face, but There is still a process to learning that fast seems to have just... thrown out the window.
5864324 We agree that Fast Shadow is better with other martial sorts, though she did at least give Twilight a healthy respect for how bad it can quickly get if you engage in a melee with someone, which may yet be enough to keep her out of trouble and easier to handle for Spike.
5864324
I have to agree somewhat. Pain is a great motivator to not do something or to do something right, but when a person completely new to your plane bursts out into tears maybe it calls for a bit of a gentler hand. From what I gather if Twilight had been given more of "why" and less "how" then maybe she would have been more receptive. The school of hard knocks is only good for some people.
5864522 Again, I agree that A harsher hand was necessary. What I was saying is that it was too fast. There is a process to teaching someone this sort of thing and Fast did it backwards, You teach someone the basics, how to attack, defend, dodge and block, And Then you show them how bad it can get.
Martial arts training (Karate for example) Can start as young as 5 years old, You don't teach a 5 year old to defend themselves by kicking them in the face. You teach them the Basic forms and then advanced forms and gentle sparring first, Then you get into the more serious stuff about dangers, It's why learning to fight is a process that takes a lifetime not a few days. Now Admittedly Twilight is an adult, and Has to learn a LOT very quickly about many VERY dangerous things, But She's also a caster, So she only needs to learn the "basic forms" and the "Serious" Part of that, . But you still start at the beginning with basic forms not Kicking a helpless defenseless individual who trusts you in the face. Because as powerful and wise as she is, Because of equestrian ideals Twilight is very much like that 5 year old.
That said, you pointed out that fast is used to dealing with fighter types, People who already have the basic training and experience now and are ready for the "Serious dangers" Part probably already having dealt with that. Even someone like spike, for all his inexperience, Is a FUCKING DRAGON, so he can handle it differently. So it actually makes sense that he'd move his training program that way, Even for someone like twilight, I just feel like Fast could have been at least a little less heavy handed at the beginning of things.
Then again maybe it's less that and more the way things are described. Maybe it comes across to me as more vicious than you intended it?
7017121 Spellcasters often think they can wriggle their fingers/hooves and make any problem go away. Twilight is no child, and she needs to know just how bad it can get. Fast has a rough training technique, and I'm certainly not claiming she's the best teacher out there, but it's not borne of malice. She gets more exposure in future stories that may help, but for now, we move on!
Awwwwwwww but I like the "slice of life learning stuff. I won't mind if it was the whole story
8684416
I received no few complaints about the slow start of this story.
Okay, I found a real one this time xD
It really is nice to see Spike getting a bigger slice of the awesomeness pie. Poor Twilight, though. Getting beat up is never fun. xD
I'm sorry but how the hell didn't Fast notice this?
She had been training Spike for at least a couple of days now and never noticed that? 
You would think that this is one of the first things that she would've noticed when she started training him.
9400397
Or she thought that was just a dragon thing.
Bolded bit should probably be on hoof.