//------------------------------// // Chapter 15: Battlefield // Story: "Princess Flurry Heart, Destroyer of Worlds!" // by Fluttercheer //------------------------------// Flurry Heart's body twitched slightly as the bell of the school rang out. The first lesson on this horrible day was over and for Flurry Heart, it had been nothing but torture. Austere Knowledge, so she had to realize soon, was serious. Through the whole magical theory lesson, he went into detail about neutralization spells; a special kind of combat spells, more effective on the target and easier in their execution, that were created for younger and more unexperienced magic users. Unlike offensive combat spells, they did not fire off a magical blast, only a thin ray of magic, and they had more direct effects that didn't allow for foals to hurt themselves by accident when casting them. But they had also very devastating effects on the targets who were exposed to them. There was a spell that caused an attacker to have an instant heart attack, with all the possible consequences this could bring, or a spell that disrupted the neural paths in the brain, which was instantly lethal. Others were of a more harmless nature and simply crippled an enemy temporarily or let him fall unconscious long enough so that the foal could flee from its attacker. It was nothing unusual in and of itself that Austere Knowledge taught his students such spells, in fact, they were on the curriculum of the school since they were spells specifically designed for foals to defend themselves in dangerous situations. Adults were banned from using them by law, to avoid abuse of those effective spells for criminal acts or other, sinister purposes and there were high penalties if a pony older than thirteen used such a spell on someone else. Yet even though it was mandatory for foals to learn those spells and how they worked, the circumstances under which Austere Knowledge had decided to teach them to his class now were pure terror for Flurry Heart. She thought back on the lesson that had just ended, her body shivering as the memory flooded her mind. After Austere Knowledge had just listed the several neutralization spells that existed and explained what effects they had, a yellow unicorn filly had raised her hoof to ask a question. “Why are there so many different neutralization spells, Mr Know? You said there is one that lets an attacker fall unconscious, is this not enough?” Her face had shown a frown and her lips were pointing slightly downwards, with her teeth visible, which indicated that her mouth was slightly opened. Austere Knowledge had answered the filly's question without hesitation. “I was about to explain this, but thank you for your question.” His voice was far away from sounding friendly, but a sardonic smile had adorned his lips in this moment. Then he had turned a page in his book and focused his attention on the whole class again. “As your inquisitive classmate already suggested, there are differences between those spells other than their respective effects.” He had cleared his throat before he continued. “There is a wide variety of these spells because each of them requires a different duration to get cast or for the effect to occur. 'Atrophia Conscientia'–“ Wrapped in his black aura, he had lifted the pointer to the blackboard and was holding it at the name of the spell that he had written down on it earlier. “–has the longest cast duration of all the neutralization spells. The effect occurs immediately once the target got hit by the spell, but the time the spell requires to get prepared makes it useless if an attacker is already nearby or initiates a surprise attack. For situations like this, other neutralization spells have proven themselves to be more useful.” He had pointed at another spell name, further down on the list. “'Suffocatis Laqueus Arterius', this spell is recommended if an attacker is already nearby and ready to strike. The cast duration amounts to only three seconds and the effect of the trachea's occlusion occurs in 0.98 milliseconds. It requires, however, accurate aim to work. The further away the attacker, the smaller the chance of success.” Once more, his pointer had been moved to another spell name. “'Diruptio Nervus Cerebrum'. As the most effective of neutralization spells, it is ideal to be used in situations of immediate danger. With a cast duration of only 0.25 milliseconds and an immediate effect, it leads to an instant death.” He had continued with the rest of the neutralization spells and after the last one, Austere Knowledge was finished with his explanation about the ideal usage of the spells and had answered the filly's question at the same time. Now, Flurry knew, this torturous, first lesson was finally over, but what she had heard was still wearing at her. Every word her teacher had spoken felt like he was taking her heart between his hooves and pressing it together. Especially two of these words, “instant death”, were still going through her mind and she kept hearing them in her head, repeatedly and without mercy. It felt like Austere Knowledge himself was suddenly inside of her skull. Even worse where the reactions of her classmates. Nopony had asked any sceptical questions or expressed doubts about the subject of the lesson, or rather, the intent behind it. The scribbling sounds as the other foals wrote everything down into their notebooks had hurt her, like the sharp ends of the quills were used by them to slice through her eardrums. Though familiar, it had become the most horrible sound she had ever heard. She was even required to write down the attributes of the neutralization spells and the instructions on how to use them herself, something that was almost unbearable for her, and the spell Mr. Know had cast on her had not made anything of that easier. She was trying to use her magic to write with her quill, but as soon as she had concentrated on her horn and initiated the telekinesis spell, the magical energy was sucked away before it could form an aura around her quill and got pulled into the black shield around her. As she had looked up, it was swirling inside the shield, constantly moving around her in circles as it tried to reach its intended destination. The result were crooked letters and numbers, much different than her usual, tidy writing, the expected outcome for a pony like her who had always used her horn to write but was now forced to use her hooves instead. The worst of all of this, though, had been the end of the lesson. Instantly as Austere Knowledge was done with the theoretical lesson about neutralization spells (And thank goodness magic class wasn't scheduled for today!), he had gone a step further. Following up a question by another foal, surprisingly one of the Bulb Twins, about how the spells were supposed to be special protection spells for foals when only unicorn foals could use them, he had pulled out a box from one of the drawers of his desk. Inside were, neatly arranged, a set of parchment scrolls, each one kept together by a red ribbon. While he was levitating them on the desks of the students, it had become apparent that there were enough scrolls in the box to equip every pegasus, earth and crystal foal in the class with one. The last thing about neutralization spells that Austere Knowledge had explained to his class in this lesson, had been that there was the possibility of casting these spells via magical scrolls too, in order to give earth foals, crystal foals and pegasi the same means of defense. The only downside was that non-unicorn foals needed longer to prepare their defense, as they had to pull out and unwrap the scrolls first, then read out loud the text written on them in order for the spell to get cast. Which put foals that weren't unicorns at a higher risk, yet was the only way to give them at least some protection, due to their lack of active magic, so it was considered appropriate. And from all the things she had to listen and witness during this lesson, this was weighing on Flurry Heart's young mind the most; that each of her students was now equipped with, potentially lethal, weapons against her. If somepony would have held a mirror in front of Flurry Heart now, she would have been able to see that her face had become pale, that her pupils were shrunken in the middle of her eyeballs and that her mouth was nothing more than a thin line; an emotionless expression as she sat there, completely in shock, indicating that her mind was far, far away. Distantly, she felt something shaking her left shoulder, but she did not move. Somepony was yelling, but Flurry Heart could not hear it. Suddenly, there was a strong pat on her back. It hurt and the young alicorn gasped. Gradually, the haze that blurred her vision was disappearing and she could hear again. “Flurry! FLURRY!” it rang into her left ear. “Princess! Princess, can you hear me?” it entered her right one. Both voices were full of nervous agitation. Confusion flooded her mind as she saw the blackboard in front of her again. It was now empty. Flurry Heart turned around, to her right, and looked into the face of Sharp Pitch, who was eyeing her with big concern. It just deepened her confusion. Then she realized that the black shield around her was gone. She turned around completely, to the other students, but none of them was here anymore. Flurry Heart turned to the teacher's desk. Even Mr. Know had left. “Princess, are you alright?” Another question rang into her right ear. She looked at Sharp Pitch again, her expression still distant. “Mhm,” she said and nodded. It sounded eerily in his ears. From behind, Flurry Heart felt wrapped up. She noticed Sunny's head resting on her right shoulder. “Sunny?” she asked, feeling muzzy. “What happened?” Worried sniffs and sobs came from the crystal filly, but no proper answer. “You were blacked out, princess,” Sharp Pitch explained. “For five whole minutes. Your friend and I were worried.” “Blacked out?” Flurry Heart sounded tired. “Where is everypony?” “They have left, princess. It is time for Flight Class, can you remember?” All of a sudden, it was like somepony had splashed cold water into Flurry Heart's face. It regained some of its color and suddenly she was in a hurry. Flurry Heart jumped off of her stool. Sunny almost hit the floor in the process, but she caught herself. Before she could say anything, Flurry Heart had already made a beeline for the door, but she found herself wrapped in Sharp Pitch's ocher aura and held in place by it before she could gallop through it. Sharp Pitch and Sunny Spirit trotted at her sides, flanking her. “Not so fast, princess,” the guard scolded her. “You just had a blackout, you need to start it off slowly.” Flurry Heart protested, squirming around, her face strained. “But I'm late! My flying lesson–“ “Is not as important as your health, princess,” Sharp Pitch said insistently. “It is me who will get into trouble if something happens to you.” Flurry Heart pouted and showed Sharp Pitch her disapproval, but stopped squirming, so the guard released her. Now in slower tempo, the three ponies left the classroom; Sharp Pitch at the front, Sunny with Flurry Heart behind him, supporting her friend. While they walked down the corridor to the lobby, Sharp Pitch was sunken in thought, yet not without paying attention to their surroundings still. He had asked him about it. After Austere Knowledge had given out all the scrolls, he was confronting him. It was risky, he was falling just short of grabbing the teacher by the neck and knocking all that nonsense out of him in front of the foals. It took the biggest amount of self-control he ever had to bring up in his whole life to prevent himself from making that mistake. And Austere Knowledge answered him. Of course he had. It was, after all, just another opportunity to make Flurry Heart feel more miserable. Sharp Pitch gritted his teeth. Unlike he had reckoned with, the scrolls, the whole lesson even, were not Austere Knowledge's wicked plan to get Flurry Heart down, no, it was an order right from above. As the vicious teacher had informed him, many parents came into the school yesterday, right after their foals had returned. They were putting pressure on the principal, demanding a solution and protection for their foals. And the principal gave in. That was one of the reasons why he was here today, Sharp Pitch knew that, but what he didn't knew was that the principal himself had ordered that Austere Knowledge should teach his class about neutralization spells today, then equip the bulk of the students with the dangerous spell scrolls. And Flurry Heart's class wasn't the only one. Schedules for all classes had been changed and all teachers, including those who were not experts in magic, had given their classes theoretical emergency lessons about neutralization spells, then equipped all non-unicorn foals with those scrolls. Now every foal in the school was equipped with a weapon and the knowledge how to use them. And they were right there. Already while approaching the lobby, Sharp Pitch could see them. Groups of foals hanging out in the school's hall; unicorns, earth ponies and crystal ponies. All were there except for the pegasi, who probably already waited for the start of their lesson in the schoolyard. And like on command, they looked over to them as soon as they were close enough. Unicorn colts and fillies observed each of their steps, already prepared and their horns lit. Some of them wore attentive expressions, their eyes showing that they were ready to strike if necessary. They were told to use their spells against Flurry Heart in case she became dangerous for them and their faces showed that they were willing to do just that. Sharp Pitch felt slightly nauseous over this display. It was insane. “It's like they're suddenly soldiers,” he whispered in disbelief, quiet enough that Flurry Heart and Sunny Spirit couldn't hear it. And those unicorns weren't even the biggest problem. As serious as their expressions were, the experienced fighter could also see in their eyes that they were responsible enough to only do something if there was actually a reason for it and luckily, he knew that Flurry Heart wouldn't give them one. No, the biggest problem were the rest of the unicorns. Those whose horns were lit as well, but who shuddered in fear over seeing Flurry Heart, who squeezed their eyes shut or gasped as she passed them and who radiated nervosity so thick that his spear could have poked a hole through it. And of course the crystal and earth foals who acted the same way, the ratio of fearful vs. composed foals even higher here. All of them had opened and unrolled their scrolls, the hooves of the many nervous ones trembling while holding them. All that was needed was one foal losing its nerves or a harmless movement by Flurry Heart that got misunderstood and everything would turn into a disaster of massive proportions. Sharp Pitch looked over his shoulder to the two fillies, who had noticed the tension around them by now. Both of them looked from side to side in agitation. Flurry Heart, still being held by Sunny, trembled. “Princess,” he spoke to her and she looked up. “Just act normal.” Silently, Flurry Heart nodded. He turned his head back, attentively watching the foals again while he kept leading his companions through them. A question was on his mind and it grew stronger with the second. “Why?” he whispered quietly. “I would have expected this from Austere Knowledge. And I'm sure he's enjoying it..... But the principal? How can he allow this?” And it was not like Sharp Pitch knew the principal. But he knew that he was a stallion of responsibility, a stallion in a position of power. Somepony with influence and with a certain role model function. He was supposed to stay calm, to reassure the parents and tell them that drastic measures like this were not necessary, to maintain order and keep everything going as normal as possible. But he hadn't done any of this. Instead, he had turned the school into something that reminded on a battlefield and made his students soldiers. Young, inexperienced pseudo-soldiers, many of them immature and naïve and none of them having a proper understanding of what it meant to kill or the mental strength to cope with having killed. In order to keep his students safe, he had created an environment that was the exact opposite and that endangered all of them. Currently, the school was a powder keg. Sharp Pitch shook his head as his sight caught more of the students. “This is madness..... What did he think?” Realizing that all these thoughts would cause him to let his guard down sooner or later, he calmed himself. He could not afford to lose his focus because of internally rambling over things he disagreed with. As they had exited the lobby through the door to the schoolyard and left the packs of foals behind them, Sharp Pitch went over his options. Seeing all of this, he would have liked nothing more than bringing Flurry Heart home immediately. But an order was an order and he remembered the words clearly. “Flurry Heart needs to spend a normal day at school tomorrow and appear as ordinary as possible. We can't risk another riot by appearing to give her special privileges by allowing her to skip school. And it is your task to protect her.” Of course, since he had been given this order, the situation had become more dangerous and neither the princess nor the prince knew what was going on here right now. Surely they wouldn't blame him if he would return home with Flurry Heart right away. But he also couldn't deny that their worries made sense. Too heated was the situation right now, many things could turn out as a mistake. And he was just a guard, ruling over a kingdom and solving a national crisis was way beyond his league..... Sharp Pitch decided to trust them and to do what he could do best while they did the same. He taxed his brain. If he stayed here with Flurry Heart, there was a not so small risk he would have to fend off an attempt to fire a neutralization spell at her. And this was tricky. He could not attack a foal that was about to cast one of the dangerous spells. They were young, many of them didn't know better, and attacking a foal would, without a doubt, create a fallout. There was the possibility of casting a protection spell around Flurry Heart, but he could not do this for the rest of the day without wearing himself out and he needed his strength for his task. All he could really do, he concluded, was trying to repel such a spell with his own magic before it could reach Flurry Heart. Unfortunately, not all of the neutralization spells could be repelled that way. And the only other option would be to throw himself in front of Flurry Heart and catch the spell with his body. Sharp Pitch shuddered as the thought crossed his mind that one of the foals just might have gotten a scroll with Diruptio Nervus Cerebrum. Or that one of the unicorns could use it..... In front of him, the rows of trees they had just went through cleared, giving them sight of the pegasus foals who stood in rank and file in the center of the schoolyard. Those damned scrolls were lying at their sides on the ground, Sharp Pitch noticed immediately, and a lot of the little pegasi were glaring at him, knowing perfectly well who was trotting behind him. It was time for the next lesson.