Paths to Power: not-so-humble beginnings

by FelSpite

Chapter 4

Sunset Shimmer never really counted patience as one of her many virtues, even if she was mostly fine with waiting when something was going according to her plans or wishes. As soon as she was losing control on the situation (and especially if there was little or none to begin with) she quickly become restless. And, again, she loathed nothing more than being powerless.

Her chatter with Lighting Dust while they were driving back to the mansion was pleasant enough, yes, but the turquoise girl got a call from her parents and had to depart shortly after, annoyingly saying that It was better to do her family socializing duty today, rather than getting issues with bigger event tomorrow and that she wasn't much-needed at the moment anyway.

So, with Crash still supposedly tinkering in the basement and nobody else to keep her company, she tried to distract herself by watching TV, but it didn't work for more than a few hours. And, as there was literally nothing better for her to do, she was reduced to pacing back and force, like some sort of caged animal.

Honestly, she definitely wouldn't mind a bit of alone-time in a slightly different circumstances, but right now her entire future was seemingly completely outside of her control and it was getting on her nerves.

Finally, after hours of waiting she heard steps and some humming from the stairs. As she hurried to face Crash she noticed that as the sun had already set and she hasn't bothered to turn the lights on, it was rather dark inside. Not that it mattered though... But as she saw Crash, she had to actually try hard to stifle a laughter.

"Something with my appearance?" Asked pale boy calmly

"Well.. excuse me, but you really do look like a vampire from those stupid horror movies." Explained Sunset, struggling to contain her nervous giggling "And even the scenery fits!"

Crash actually smiled. "Well, I do see the reference. After all, my looks aren't that dissimilar from some of the undead, especially at the first glance or in the dim light." He shrugged. "Still, the prototype is finally ready, so I would like for you to follow me for the initial testing."

"Sure. Right after you"

As they descended into the basement, Crash commented: "By the way, there are five rooms here that are open for you: it's a washer room, storage room, another bathroom, currently incomplete sauna and a training room that we are going to use right now. What lies beneath that door..." he pointed to the rather large and solid looking metal door currently separating the other part of the basement from them "is currently off limits, even if it's may change in the future.

Sunset nodded in agreement as they entered training room, which was... a bit larger than she had expected: a square with a side of at least fifteen meters, or maybe a bit more, and considering the depth of the basement and the fact that the floor here was three steps lower than that of a corridor she height should be at least six. Currently, aside from lamps on the ceiling, a few melee weapons hanging at one of the walls and the small wooden table with a pair of bracers and some kind of crystal on it, there was nothing else in the room.

Crash gestured to the table. "Now, these bracers are yours to try and the crystal is here for testing purposes. I have to warn you, this version is a bit heavy so take care."

As Sunset came to the table to get a better look on her supposed 'magical focus', she frowned recognizing the same design that Gilda, Lighting Dust and some other gang members wore in the school. In hindsight, the idea of it being something more mundane was good. It's not like she would be able to go to school with a proper staff, or something like that, and once she gained her magic back, like Tartarus would she give it up, even temporarily.

As she carefully took one of the bracers, which looked like it was made out of some kind of thick leather and, indeed was quite heavy, four or five lb's least. While she was fastening the straps, Crash commented once more: "The idea of the initial test is following: Once you will put these on we will wait a few minutes for them to attune to you as I will record the general readings for future use. Once you will feel the change, you should tell me so we can proceed"

As she finished putting the Bracers on, Sunset thought that aside from being heavy they were quite comfortable, if a bit large perhaps, covering her arms from the elbow to the wrists. It looked, like Crash got the measurements right, which could seem creepy, if you forgot that he had magic and quite some time to look for it. Still, she didn't feel anything else yet.

"How long?"

"At least five, up to fifteen minutes, unless there was some mistake on my part. And it's only a prototype after all, so I highly doubt they would even last long, but that's very useful to do anything better" Said Crash, while producing a notepad and a pen out of one of his pockets.
'I waited half a year for this to happen, fifteen more minutes is nothing compared to this' thought Sunset. Also, now was a decent time to ask him a question or two...

"While we are waiting anyway, I'm rather curious about the weight. And those weapons, are they actually real?"

"Well, the bracers have gold in them and there's no need to apply weight reduction to them at this stage. As for the weapons, well, they are not illusions or anything like that, but as there are some issues with local laws on steel weaponry these are made from duralumin. So, with a help of magic they are good for several types of training while still perfectly legal."

"Do you even need melee weapon training if you have magic?" wondered Sunset aloud

Crash smirked. "Well, unless the perspective of being beaten by a random peasant or a thug with a stick the minute your magic is unavailable for any reason is attractive to you, I'd say yes. Also, the training itself is good for endurance, coordination and broadens your general options. Basically, the main exception I see here, is if you are so bad with magic that really focused study and training is needed which doesn't leave time for anything else."

Worded that way, it made some sense at least, even if Sunset had doubts concerning herself. And at this very moment of a rather plain discussion she finally understood that she felt her magic back. Something felt different, yes, and perhaps it was different to put in words... stiff? heavier? But it all paled to the joyful catharsis of the moment. SHE. HAD. HER. MAGIC. BACK. It took her more than a few deep breaths to avoid some kind of a totally inappropriate or stupid reaction and to be able to speak and hear again.

"I'm feeling it!" Blast, too much emotion... but it was almost out of her control..

"Excellent." Crash smiled, doing some gestures with his left hand and preparing to take notes. "Now I would like for you to do something relatively simple, like, say levitating that crystal from the table. Just do not push yourself too far"

"Consider it's done" Said Sunset with confidence. Flexing her power just like thousand times before she took the crystal with her telekinetic grip... The blasted stone remained in its place. How?! Why?! She repeated, again and again, zoning out as Crash said something to her, and to no avail. Telekinesis, not even a proper spell, something that unicorn FOALS were able to do with little to no problems denied her. It was more than just humiliating. It was bucking outrageous! Her face hardened in a scowl as she glared on the stone. None dares to do that! None and nothing and definitely not you! She pulled. Then pulled harder. And then she threw all that she could to the blasted crystal!
A net of cracks cowered the crystal in blink of an eye and then with a loud BANG! it exploded showering the room in its shards... which rebounded on something invisible before they were able to hit her...

"Sunset" She heard the calm voice from her right "While I do understand your desire to do everything with the first try, it may be mostly impossible or even counterproductive."

She turned her head to look at him, still being unable to shake her stunned expression off.

He sighed. "Well, at least I got some data to go for the next phase. For now, please take the bracers off before they overheat and give you burns... and I guess make me some coffee, first option in the custom list. I'll join you in a few minutes, once I clear this out."

As she was finally able to shook her stupor off, she hastily began to remove the bracers, which, true to the boy's words were starting to smoke a bit. Meanwhile, Crash, calm and relaxed as if nothing serious was happening, has started to gather the shards by conjuring a small controlled bursts of wind with a few flicks from his left hand. Rather interesting way to do it... automatically noticed Sunset, still feeling unsure and way closer to outright panic than she ever wanted to be.

***

About five minute and half a cup of tea later, she didn't felt panicked or stunned anymore. Shame and embarrassment weren't much better though. Tartarus, it was as if she had her first big flare as a filly! She had a lot of pride on her control and precision and while doing dangerous and risky experiments in a controlled environment was one thing, something like this, with no real power to ensure her own safety felt outright stupid! At her best she would have no problems whatsoever, but in her current pathetic form she could have hurt her own eyes with all those shards!

She sighed once again as she heard steps on the ladder. 'I really hope that he won't press the issue any further' she thought 'That's enough embarrassment for one day'

As Crash leisurely moved to the table, he took some small flask from a small bag on his hip and poured a bit of a clearly alcoholic liquid in his cup.

"A local recipe, and rather good one I'd say" He answered to her puzzled expression. Sunset mentally frowned. Right after being overwhelmed with her emotions it was hard to keep them down, but she still needed to try better.

As he made a few gulps, he set his cup off and faced Sunset. "Well, let's start our debrief. First of all, it would save us time if you will save your questions till I finish my part, even if you would really like to see them answered."

And while she wasn't really nice to people, she wasn't that rude either! Unless they deserved it, off course.

"So, the idea for the initial vagueness of my instructions was that I tried to see if you were able to replicate your usual method of spellcasting with no changes outside of a different focus. As this was unlikely to succeed as is, I was planning to guide you through basic steps of working with a new focus to see which changes it would bring. And depending on the results of your casting and the data i was gathering, I had a few general routes to proceed from." He sighed, returning to his coffee, while Sunset was fighting her deepening embarrassment.

"Honestly it doesn't really matter much that this plan didn't work out. Neither the fact that I lost some resources that can be replenished. I mean, I have gathered some data to proceed further and few plans survive their execution with few or no changes... What I really want for you to see and understand is that I actually do NEED for you to be as close to fulfillment of your potential as possible and that I'm able to help you on the matter, but there's one thing that's needed on your part, for all of this to work well." He paused once again to finish his coffee before continuing.

"Your trust, that is. I understand that it's not something to be given lightly, or anytime soon. But unless you would at least hear me out, before rushing forward without sufficient control on your side, we would lose some time at best and face more dire consequences at worst." He stopped his monologue, and while he still kept the same calm and relaxed voice all this time, it became clear for Sunset that it was either the most serious matter for him personally or he simply was the best actor she has ever seen. After a few more silent second he asked: "Any questions on the matter?"

"Quite a lot of them actually" Honestly answered Sunset. "But I think that I really need at least some time to formulate them. It ... definitely isn't easy in any way after all."

"That would be fine." He stood up "I'll need at least till the Sunday evening to prepare for next phase, so I think we can discuss it then. Ask Dust or Gilda if you would need something unrelated to magic. Also Goodnight."

"G-night" Grumbled Sunset as she rose up. It seemed as her emotional tiredness had caught up with her in full. 'At least, I don't have to look up for crappy bed or early rise' she thought with clear satisfaction.