//------------------------------// // 2) On the Day the Shovel was Named Invincible // Story: With Only the Stars to Cradle Us // by Lone Innocence Zevalhua //------------------------------// Dearest Mother, I got so done with guarding a stupid vase yesterday that I decided to cast a trapping spell around it so that no one can steal it while I took a nap. I woke up to discover the entire Section B trying to steal the vase after being dared to do so by General Armstrong. Suffice to say, I stared for like five seconds, got bored, then went back to sleep. The idiots didn’t realize that it was an illusion spell that I cast on the entire room and they’ve been ramming into a pillar for the last three hours while the real vase was on the other side of the room. Sincerely, Swansong 50 bits… I now have… 50 bits in my possession. This is the largest amount of money that I have ever had in my entire life. What does anypony need 50 bits for anyway?! ‘This should cover your personal expenses for a month and you’ll receive another 50 at the end of the month. Full discretion is granted to you by the treasury under my name, so if you need to buy a new satchel, uniform, or even a book that you fancy, do not hesitate to use it.’ Fifty. Bits. And I can use it on nearly anything I want. This must be a fever dream that- *SLAM!* Ow… As if providing immediate proof that this is in fact real, I realized that I had accidentally walked into a tree while walking through the White Tail Woods on my own, causing a bit of a sting to linger on my snout from the mild impact. Shaking my head, I continued on my way to Hooverheim. Situated at the end of the White Tail Woods, it acts as a bordertown or stop-over between Vanhoover and Los Pegasus, and serves as the final gateway to the Undiscovered West for explorers or adventurers where they can stock up on supplies or plan their journey one last time. I walked through the deep green trees, taking in the sight of the area as much as I could. I have never been through these parts before, and although I could have taken the train from Ponyville to Hooverheim after disembarking from the Canterlot line, I thought that walking towards my destination would give me a better understanding of the place that I’ll have to live in for the next three months. That’s IF this Buddy Guard accepted me as his apprentice of course. Should he not? Well, Canterlot’s just two train tickets away and I can get to work in the castle all the while returning the DANGEROUS amount of unspent bits. There is just no way I can sleep at night while in possession of such a large amount of money. Nopony should ever have this much money on their person at any given time. I mean really, what am I supposed to do with 50 bits? It’s like I can buy… At LEAST 3 apples. That’s already more than what I can eat in one sitting too. In either case, I emerged from the White Tail Woods to see the quaint bordertown of Hooverheim where multiple rows of houses and establishments sit beside a sizable two-story mansion on top of a hill. Taking out the letter from my pocket again, I checked the address written on the envelope: ‘Whinnychester Mansion, Hooverheim’. Seeing as that’s practically the only mansion present on the town, I think it’s where I have to go. Unless of course I took a wrong turn and ended up in a different place… Putting back the letter back inside my pocket, I continued towards the town, watching as a number of pegasi flew in from above from the direction of Ponyville. While most of them were civilians, a number of the pegasi wore a version of the Canterlot cadet uniform. Some of them had the grey and non-decorated version of the uniform which signified that they were first year cadets but others had a lot of badges or pins to signify their achievements during training. *BUMP!* “Oof!” I reeled back after hitting something that I was sure that wasn’t a tree or a pole or a wall, my mind entering a panicked state as I came to realize that I had bumped INTO SOMEONE due to my carelessness. “S-sorry! I-I wasn’t paying attention!” I explained, keeping my head low to prove that I regretted this easily avoidable collision. The pony that I had bumped into however, whose coat was that of a mossy-greenish color and had thick hooves, didn’t say anything but was facing me nevertheless. Gulping, I didn’t dare to see the stranger’s face, much less make eye contact with him. Good job, Tender Heart, you haven’t even started with your apprenticeship and yet you’re already making enemies. Or at least people that’ll hate you. Worse… Enemies that will hate you… Closing my eyes, I waited for a barrage of harsh words or insults to be thrown my way, expecting a lengthy and angry lecture about how much of a waste my eyes were for not using them as intended. While it has been quite a while since those words were said to me, replaced with pseudo-mocking ones that the drill sergeants spout during training back in Canterlot, the expectation of being told that I’m practically useless could not be shaken off. At least in Canterlot, praise was given where it was due whenever I showed improvement in the obstacle course or magic proficiency or even with just remembering the core values of the Royal Guard. But as the seconds flew by, there was only silence, and maybe a bit of confusion in the air. Upon opening my eyes, I saw that the earth pony that I bumped into, who I finally discovered to have a brown mane, was staring at me. His face held no animosity or even any level of annoyance towards me. Though I could discern from his eyes that there was some semblance of worry towards me, his neutral expression made me unsure of my assumption. The more I looked at him, the more I realized that I can’t read him at all! Whoever this was, he had a really good poker face. “Haymakeeeeeer!” called out a mare from behind me from afar. Turning around, I saw a lilac-colored unicorn with a purple mane wearing a simple but elegant purple shawl around her shoulders running towards where I and the Earth pony was with a basket full of flowers trailing behind with her magic. “Did you get what you needed?” asked the colt once she arrived. “Of course, but what are you doing out here? Did Buddy send you out on patrol?” asked the mare. I blinked when the name ‘Buddy’ was mentioned. Were they talking about the very same ‘Buddy’ that I needed to talk to? “No, I came here to wait for you so we can go home together, who knows when I need to leave for the cities again,” he said before moving to take the floating basket in his mouth to carry it himself, prompting the lady to disengage her spell. “We should really ask Buddy to let us go on a vacation, I don’t think he’d mind,” she said before nuzzling into the underside of the colt’s chin affectionately. “However, it seems that you’ve been making friends for once,” giggled the mare before turning to me, causing my heart to drop for a split second while the earth pony sighed and rolled his eyes. “What’s your name, young colt?” she inquired. “O-oh! It’s Tender Heart, ma’am!” I immediately answered, giving a salute to her and the earth pony. “Argonia would suffice, Argonia Free is my name,” replied the unicorn before turning towards her partner. “And this is Haymaker, he’s an agent of the Rays of the Sun, it’s a bodyguard company here in Hooverheim. May we ask what business you have here in our town?” she asked. “Oh, well, it’s a bit of a long story…” I said before sharing the reason why I came here, at least the one that General Armstrong wanted me to use as a false story so that the Royal Guard can monitor Buddy’s condition. When I finished, both Haymaker and Argonia stared at me with a bewildered expression on their faces before looking at each other and then stepping away a little from me so that they can talk to each other in hushed tones after Haymaker set aside the basket of flowers on the ground for a while. “Should we tell him?” “We could but maybe he can handle it?” “But he looks like a nice pony, Buddy will obliterate him!” Whatever these two were talking about, they weren’t really all that discreet about it… Just what sort of pony was Buddy in the first place to be able to supposedly ‘obliterate’ me if he was disabled like how the general described him? After a few more seconds, the two finally ended their conversation and turned back to me after Haymaker picked up the basket once again. “W-well, since we’re both heading in the same direction, why don’t you come along with us?” Argonia offered with a shaky smile while Haymaker looked at me now with visible worry. “I think I’d like that…” I said before nodding. With Haymaker lead the way, I followed him and Argonia through the town proper, and as the two walked side by side, I couldn’t help but look at the earth pony who didn’t scold or get angry at me for bumping into him a while ago. At first I thought that this was only something that occurred in the guard, a small proof of understanding from the officers towards the cadets because they’ve been through the same path early in their lives and it would be hypocritical of them if they didn’t return the favor when a recruit or cadet makes an honest mistake, allowing the latter to do the same in the future once they’ve become a royal guard as well. Taking a deep breath and letting myself calm down, I continued walking with Haymaker and Argonia, my surroundings steadily being filled with ponies of various backgrounds interacting with each other or going on about their daily routines. There was a notable number of travelers that were sufficiently packed for a long trek to the west, carrying provisions, foldable tents, foodstuffs and other supplies loaded on carts and carriages. A few of these groups were enough to comprise a caravan, and it wasn’t long before the ringleaders began to discuss their routes and/or destinations, offering to merge their numbers to make the journey safer if they traveled together in a combined group. Not far from these ponies were the various store owners peddling their wares ranging from fruits to medicine to passersby. One of the stores was a pastry shop and on display was a piping hot pineapple pie that I was horribly tempted to buy just from how deliciously golden the crust looked. For the price of three bits, I can have that ENTIRE PIE for myself. Fifty bits… Surely the general wouldn’t mind if I used three bits? Right? And he did say that I had full discretion on how I wanted to use it… But what if he has officers watching me right now? Blinking at that thought, I turned and looked around to see if there were any strange figures observing my actions, evaluating my character, and preparing a report or letter to the general to say that I’ve been squandering funds from the kingdom for buying a pie. Nope! Not gunna risk that! Then I realized that Argonia and Haymaker were staring at me the entire time. “Hm? Would you like that pie, Tender Heart?” asked Argonia all of a sudden and I realized that she had caught me staring at the freshly baked pie. “I-I do but, uh, I think I can do without it, the money I have right now is property of the royal guard so-“ my explanation was cut short when the unicorn suddenly headed towards the shop and pulled a few bits out of her shawl to buy a slice. “Here you go!” smiled Argonia, waiting for me to accept the slice by using my own magic to take it from her levitation spell. Why was she…? “But… It’s yours… You bought it so…” I said, unsure on what to do. Was this a test? A way to see if I was low enough to take what wasn’t mine. “No, silly, I bought it for you! I heard from Buddy before that cadets usually have to abide by unwritten rules and that there are evaluators always watching their moves. It doesn’t count as you using the money from the royal guard if I used my own.” Argonia explained with an understanding smile. Cautiously, I looked towards Haymaker to see if he had any sign of disapproval for the unicorn’s gesture but again, instead of anything negative or aggressive, the earth pony gave a sincere nod, telling me that it was alright for me to accept the food. Tilting my head down a little, I reached out for the pie with my own magic, my pinkish aura engulfing it while Argonia released it from her bright purple aura. “I… Thank you, this really means a lot to me.” I smiled before taking a bite out of the pie after bringing it closer. “Mmmmmm.” “Don’t thank me yet, you still have Buddy to deal with,” chuckled Argonia before resuming our walk towards the mansion but this time in a slightly slower pace so that I can enjoy the pastry that she had so generously bought for me without any sort of hesitation. I’ll have to pay her back somehow, I need to… After a few minutes, we finally arrived at the Whinnychester mansion with Haymaker opening the heavy wooden doors of the entrance for me and Argonia. Once inside, Argonia led me towards the second floor from the dual staircase in the foyer while Haymaker continued further in the first floor, entering what I believe was the kitchen after catching a glimpse of the door that he opened as I headed up the second level. The place was filled with numerous antique-looking furniture, some of which… Oh Celestia, not some… MOST OF WHICH ARE COVERED IN DUST AND COBWEBS. Out of curiosity, I lifted a hoof and traced the handrail of the staircase, my eyes widening in utter shock and disgust when there was a significant amount of DUST on it. Okay, even if I didn’t manage to get an apprenticeship under this Buddy, I will fight for the right to get rid of all this dirt and put this mansion in a squeaky clean and homey state. There are just things that I cannot ignore, and one of them was leaving a good, well-furnished estate in a state of neglect. When we were on the second floor, Argonia took a right and led me to the end of the hallway where a reception area with a coffee table and three sofas, ALL OF THEM NOTICEABLY DUSTY, were located. Stopping right in front of the door in front of us, the mare turned to me and told me to wait for a moment while she briefed Buddy, prompting me to nod and gulp a little. After knocking on the door a couple of times, Argonia entered the room once permission was given, closing the door behind her before I could get a glimpse on the appearance of the unicorn that I have to study under as an apprentice, hopefully. Taking a deep breath, I straightened my uniform as much as I could and fixed my mane to look as impressive, or at least as decent, as I can be. A few seconds later, Argonia opened the door and nodded towards me before gesturing for me to enter. “Break a leg,” she whispered once I was inside, leaving and closing the door afterwards. “So, General Armstrong sent you, huh?” asked a deep voice from the other end of the room, and upon turning my head, I could see that it came from a unicorn with a golden brown coat and pearly white mane wearing a pair of purple aviation sunglasses in a dimly lit office sitting behind a table that was similar to the one on General Armstrong’s office. The only source of light in the room was the warmly lit fireplace to the right… However, a stark difference between the two was that this one was the fact that there was only two piles of paperwork on Buddy’s table and were neatly organized. “Yes sir, Cadet Tender Heart, reporting, sir!” I said with a salute before continuing. “And I have his Letter of Introduction with me,” I added, taking out the letter from my pocket and placing it on the table before stepping back a little so that he can read it, however he can do that with how bad the lighting is? And with him wearing heavily tinted sunglasses? I can never know. Staring at the envelope, the unicorn didn’t say anything for a moment before reaching over to take it, staring at it again once it was on his hoof before looking at me. “This is suspiciously heavy for a Letter of Introduction,” he said in genuine confusion. “I know!” I said loudly in agreement, glad that I wasn’t the only one who thought that it couldn’t possibly only have a mere letter of introduction, wincing when I realized that I broke formalities like that. Buddy, on the other hand, didn’t seem to mind my outburst as he had his gaze back at the letter as if contemplating whether or not should he open it. After a few seconds, the unicorn finally went ahead and broke the wax seal that held the envelope shut, but instead of taking out the contents, Buddy instead placed it back on the table and pushed it towards me. “Alright kid, I’m going to trust you,” said Buddy before leaning back against his seat with his eyes trained on me. “I want you to read the Letter of Introduction to me.” “Excuse me?” I inquired, confused at the request. Can’t he read it himself? What if I stutter and make a fool of myself? “Well, you won’t really be any of use to me if a simple task such as reading a letter is something that you can’t do if you want to be my apprentice. If you can’t do that, what more can I expect from you if I give you precise instructions to follow and a person’s life will be on the line if you fail to execute it?” he answered coldly. Noticing his annoyance, I immediately complied and went for the letter, taking the folded pieces of letter and unfolding them, blinking however when I noticed what the very first page contained. “The first page…” I began. “Yes?” asked Buddy in a sort of an expecting tone. “It’s… There’s just a winking smiley face drawn on it…” I said, showing him the piece of paper containing a badly scribbled ‘>;)’ on it. Suddenly, Buddy groaned and stood up from his seat before opening the curtains behind him, causing an influx of light to fill the room, forcing me to squint a bit to adjust my eyes from the sudden change in brightness. “Congratulations, kid, you’ve been strong-armed by General Armstrong,” grunted the unicorn who proceeded to approach me to take the letter with his hoof. “I… Don’t understand.” I said in confusion, staring as Buddy went to examine the other pages. “It’s the general’s talent, he has a thing with words to persuade, and sometimes coerce, people into doing what he wants, we’re only lucky that he isn’t using it for selfish or evil purposes. He also tends to exaggerate things and pull on your heartstrings to make you accept requests or tasks immediately,” explained the unicorn. Well, come to think of it, Buddy doesn’t seem to have any sort of disabilities, and as he walked around the room while reading the rest of the content. Furthermore, I don’t seem to feel any sort of pain from him either… Was I really fooled by the general? But for what purpose? “Look at this,” added Buddy, showing the smiley face again at me. “Look at how menacing and threatening this scribble of a smiley face this is. It just reeks of ‘if you don’t accept this cadet as your apprentice, I will make your entire life miserable, you still owe me one, Buddy.’ I have no doubt that this actually came from that annoying, silver-tongued general.” Now that he mentioned it, it… Does look, no, it FEELS threatening. Like there’s this impending sense of doom the more you look at this lazily drawn smile as if the general knew deep down that whatever he planned will succeed and so he didn’t have to actually have to put any effort in making it look good. “Setting this aside for the moment, there’s something that I need to know, Tender Heart,” said Buddy who went back on his seat and placed the letter on his table. “Why me?” he asked. “I’ve already cut ties with the Royal Guard so my word is worth virtually nothing to the other officers, surely there are those who are more qualified who can take you in.” Ah, well that’s the catch isn’t it? “I could but, you’re the only one who the general recommended.” I answered while cursing inwardly. I don’t like to lie, and even if may have exaggerated the condition of Buddy, I don’t think everything he said was a lie. As far as I can tell, there was some hatred in how he described his affiliation with the Royal Guard. If he had just merely left the army, Buddy would have just said ‘I’m no longer part of the Royal Guard.’ Instead, he said he cut ties with them as if he wanted nothing to do with them anymore. So maybe there was some truth to what the general said. “There are other knights,” he pointed out. “And there are other candidates. All of which have… A better background than I, sir,” I replied. “If there were someone else that would give me fair consideration, I’m sure that the general would have led me to them. I don’t know why, but General Armstrong chose to send me to you specifically.” For a moment, Buddy didn’t say anything, choosing to instead stare at me as if carefully assessing whether or not I was lying or twisting the truth, and I can feel the suspicion emanating from him. “Clarify what you mean by ‘a better background.’” he requested. “Not everyone wants to take in an orphan, sir,” I sighed. “I don’t have a family to give them favors in return for their teachings. When compared to other cadets, I’m not as bright or strong, but I’ll work hard just like the rest of them, I just need this one chance to prove it.” The last part was something that I never realized I could say to someone. I was just supposed to use the apprenticeship as an excuse to monitor Buddy’s health and report back to General Armstrong to rebuild his trust in the Royal Guard after all. But with General Armstrong seemingly having twisted my arm into accepting this task under false pretenses, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if I decide to use this as an opportunity to actually land an apprenticeship under Buddy even if he’s… Rather odd with the mood switching. The other unicorn on the other hand, looked at the scribble that General Armstrong made as a Letter of Introduction before looking back at me and then giving a small breath of submission. “He really knows how to play his cards…” muttered Buddy before taking the other pieces of paper from the letter and showing them to me, revealing that they were evaluation forms. “Well, two can play at this game,” he added before opening a drawer and taking out a quill and a bottle of ink and proceeding to fill out the evaluation forms. Intellectual Ability: A+ Magical Proficiency: A+ Communication Skills: A+ Honesty: A+ Wait a minute… “Uhhh, Sir?!” I asked in a panic, watching as he continued writing A pluses on the other categories in the most casual manner as if he was just filling out a crossword puzzle. “In a minute, Tender Heart,” said Buddy without looking up from the evaluation forms. Potential as a member of the Royal Guard: Exceptional Potential as part of the Honor Guard of Celestia: Exceptional Now, although this means that I am now practically ahead of the other recruits with the grades that Buddy was giving me, if General Armstrong, or heck, if ANY of the other knights or officers decide to test me if I actually had these skills, I’d be humiliated! A few seconds later, he signed the document and sealed it up in a new envelope with a spell before turning back to me. “Now as far as I’m concerned, you don’t have to worry about your future anymore now that I’m personally vouching for you by grading you upfront,” said Buddy in a casual tone. “Now, the only issue here is, what are you going to do about it? For all I care, you can just take your leave and do whatever you want. With the evaluation form filled out and sealed, your future is secured. However, will you take your chances and hope that the Royal Guard won’t find the grades suspicious or will you work hard to prove that you in fact earned it as my student?” I stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded for the drastic course of action that he took just to get back at General Armstrong. I was about to voice a strongly worded complaint of my own when my mind finally caught up on the totality of what the unicorn said. “Wait, did you say ‘as your student?’” I inquired, my mind already forgetting about the downsides of what Buddy did. “Yes,” he stated with a roll of his eyes. “Then, that means that I’m-“ “You’re officially accepted as my apprentice, yes.” Silence… “… Can I hug you?” “No,” answered Buddy with a deadly glare that caused me to inch back a little. “Alright, alright! No hugs! Jeeze!” I cringed. “But since I wasn’t really planning on taking an apprentice in the first place, me teaching you will have to take a bit of time, whatnot when lesson plans, fieldwork, and magical theory is concerned… Not to mention the fact that you’re just a cadet right now so I can’t send you on field missions with the other members of the Rays of the Sun for practical immersion in protecting civilians… During your free time here, would it be acceptable for you if I made you do housework? Maybe clean the place up every now and then and help Argonia-“ Without hesitation, I straightened up and gave Buddy a salute. “Give me a broom and I will clean EVERY. SINGLE. INCH. OF. THIS. DUSTY. SPIDERWEB-INFESTED MANSION. ALL OF IT,” I declared. I was given the chance to rid this place of the dirt that had layered itself for only Celestia knows how long and I’ll be damned if I didn’t take advantage of it. “You sounded more interested in cleaning the mansion than studying…” commented Buddy who had a bit of a disappointed look on his face. Grimacing, I lowered my salute in shame and tried to apologize “Y-yeah, sorry, it’s just that-”. “I guess you’re going to sweep my expectations.” … Wait a minute, was that a pun…? My mind suddenly drifted back to Haymaker and Argonia walking away for a moment to whisper things to each other… Oh no… OH NO! THIS IS WHAT THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT- “Don’t worry, Tender Heart, I’m sure you didn’t mean to give me that impression, why don’t we…” Buddy continued, a sly smirk steadily growing in his face as he stared at me gleefully. “Start over with a….” — “Clean slate.”