//------------------------------// // Loop 14 // Story: The Time Thief // by Reading4HalfMyLife //------------------------------// Shining Armour wasn't really sure what he was expecting when he heard the knock on his door, but it sure as hell wasn't his young niece, wearing a scarf and saddlebags, and staring up at him expectantly. He let out a manly squeak, and peered out, his horror growing when he realized he couldn't see his sister or Starlight anywhere. Grabbing her with his telekinesis, he pulled her into his room. Cadence, who was just waking up, did a double take at the sight of her niece. "Astral! What are you doing here?" The situation sunk in pretty quickly, and the pretty pink princess' eyes narrowed "where are your parents?" "They're meeting up with Uncle Sunburst and Uncle Sentry" at this, the two relaxed, and a smile crossed Shining's face. "Then what can we do for you, kiddo?" The stallion affectionately mussed up her mane, and Astral's smile grew even bigger. She levitated a three of books out of her saddlebags. The first was Sword Fighting for Dummies, the second was The Art of War and the last one was just called Bladecasting. "I want to learn how to Fence and Bladecast" Astral said simply. Seeing their horrified looks, she rushed to elaborate "I want to learn how to defend myself if I get into a fight, that's all!" If anything, their faces darkened even more "you're not being bullied, are you?" Cadence's tone was as cold as the ice outside the Empire. Astral snorted."Who's gonna' bully a princess? No, I just think it would be a good thing to learn in the future." The two adults exchanged a glance. On one hoof, it would be good for the unicorn to know how to defend herself, especially considering she was royalty. On the other, it may encourage her to become more . .physical in her confrontations. They took a minute, whispering to each other in hushed voices while Astral waited patiently behind them. Eventually splitting apart, they turned to face her. "Okay, here's what's going to happen. I am going to teach you Bladecasting and Cadence is going to teach you Swords. However, if we find out you have been abusing this opportunity, we will immediately stop. Understand?" Astral jumped a little, before pulling off a snappy salute. "Bladecasting is an art, and just like any art, it takes skill, dedication and concentration to work" Shining sounded amazingly like Twilight while he was lecturing. The Captain and his niece were sitting in the middle of a sandy arena as he introduced her to the Guard's main form of fighting. "Back in ancient times, unicorns discovered that they had the ability to . . solidify their magic, for lack of a better word. The magic would solidify into what looked like gems, or shards, as they're called. These shards could be moved around telekinetically at amazing speeds, explode or be turned into one sword. They can also be banished from the physical realm and recalled at a moments notice." "Wait, so magic can be solidified?" Astral asked, eyes and jaw wide. Shining chuckled "amazingly, yes. The more powerful a unicorn, the more magic they will be able to solidify. For example, a normal guard member usually has eight shards, I have twelve and Luna and Celestia have twenty five. In fact, as Alicorns, they can also add in Pegasi magic to make it faster and infuse it with lightening, and Earth Pony magic to make it stronger and sharper." "Wow! How many do the Gods have?" "Oh, they could do much more than that, the Gods could make armor out of their magic. The Armour of the Gods, it was called." Astral tried to imagine being that powerful, but couldn't. Still, Armour of the Gods, cool! She gave herself a quick shake. "How do I make my first shard?" "Right; tap into your magic, but instead of using it for a spell, just try to channel it through your horn. It might take a while, and you may feel a little drained afterwards, but that's completely normal." Squeezing her eyes tight, Astral's horn glowed magenta, and a strange pressure began to build up behind her eyes. It was starting to develop into a full blown headache, when, suddenly, all the discomfort vanished. She opened her eyes, and squealed when she saw the glowing, elongated polygon. Shining looked surprised, and a little impressed. "That was fast!" He praised. They spent the next hour and a half going over the blade, binding it to her magic, learning how to banish and recall it, and going over basic maneuvers. By the end of it, Astral could swing the blade around the room without stabbing anyone in the eye, which she absolutely counted as a win. "Thanks Uncle Shining!" She gave him a quick hug, before trotting off to meet Cadence. "Woah!" Astral took a small step back in an attempt to avoid her aunts attacks. She was not holding back in the slightest. Astral had suspected that something like this would happen when Cadence suggested they start with Classical Fencing. "It's a good baseline for any other sword fighting, and teaches you how to defend yourself" she had explained, before thrashing the little filly. Apparently starting with the Sabre blade, a blade considered for it's agility and speed based attacks, they were wearing their blades on their hooves, and Astral was finding it a bit difficult to balance on three legs. Cadence had briefly explained how you only scored a point if you hit the intended target, in this case, the opponents hooves, so Astral had developed the brilliant tactic on falling onto her butt every time she came near. Eventually, the Alicorn paused, taking off her mask to stare at the unicorn. "Your stance is all off" she said, in a voice quite unlike her usual sugary-sweet tone. Astral hastily copied her aunts posture, almost tripping over her Sabre. Sighing, the adult patiently corrected the child's form, before flipping the mask down. "Again." It was an infinitely more exhausted Astral that met up with her parents. Her saddlebags were also noticeably heavier too. Though she had banished her shard, she now had her fencing gear, as well as several fencing and Bladecasting books in her saddlebags. Her limbs ached, and, upon reaching home, she crawled into bed and fell asleep, ignoring how it was dawn.