//------------------------------// // A Somewhat Normal Day // Story: A Broken Warrior // by Stonehearth //------------------------------// It was tuesday in the early morning. Due to this being the first day of Stardust’s and Spike’s training, Stardust was excited to say the least. Twilight agreed to bring by Spike, as well as some others, who he assumed would be the other mares. Skystrike invited Zecora to watch and join in if she wanted, which she happily accepted. After a breakfast of eggs, hay bacon, and pancakes, Skystrike and Stardust walked outside. Walking towards his field next to the Everfree, he found everypony he was and wasn't expecting. Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Spike were there, Spike having his armor and weapon equipped. Zecora was there as well, having her brown cloak on, but the hood off. There were a group of ponies he wasn't expecting, but his main focus were on the two alicorns guarded by eight royal guardsmen holding spears. “Hey everypony. I'm guessing the princesses were the ones you referred to as others, Twilight?” Skystrike asked. Twilight avoided eye contact, giving him the answer he needed. “Alright. I don't really have anywhere for you to sit, so let me call Naga.” “Who’s Naga?” Celestia asked. “Oh, she’s my lizard companion I met on my travels. I think you’ll like her. Let me call her.” He said as he walked to an open area of the field. He crouched down, getting lower to the ground, and tapped the ground twice in a rhythmic pattern. After a few seconds of confusion from the princess’, the ground began to rumble. A mound of dirt could be seen coming out from the Everfree forest. It stopped right behind him before the mound of dirt was found in all directions an Naga jumped out of the hole. Celestia, Luna, and all of their guard had looks of fear on their faces. All the guards instantly ran in front of their princess’ and pointed their spears at the basilisk. “Defend the princess’ at all cost, men!” A unicorn guard said as he tried to shake off his fear. “Hey, I’d put your weapons down. She’s actually pretty friendly.” He assured them as he looked over at Naga. The end of her tail was wrapped around a large barrel full of coffee. She took a sip of it, not even paying attention to the ponies in front of her. “Nebula, you're telling me you've tamed this beast? An Earth basilisk?” Celestia asked, wide eyed. “Yeah? I figured Stardust told you in her reports?” “Actually, sir, I turn in my reports every monday. The letter that talks About Naga would have reached her this afternoon.” Stardust clarified. “Anyway, isn't Naga too dangerous to be so close to Ponyville?” Celestia questioned. “Arent you and Luna dangerous to be so close to anypony do to how much magical power you two have?” He looked her dead in the eye. “Well that’s different. We can control out magic with ease.” She justified herself and her sister. “Naga, make yourself small enough to fit around my hoof.” Skystrike demanded, trying to prove a point. Naga let out a hiss/sigh as her body turned into a black and gold sand. The sand started to lose form and began burrowing into the ground under where she once was. After all the sand went into the ground, a miniature form of Naga, about three feel long, emerged and wrapped herself around Skystrike hoof. “I taught her at control her magic as a hatchling. It’s easier to take her larger form because it’s her natural form. So, and more questions, or can I get started?” “...Can we pet her?” Luna asked. Naga responded by jumping off of Skystrikes arm and started to slither over to Luna  The princess put out a hoof as Naga slithered up her and nuzzled her. Skystrike fell to the ground and clutched his chest. “My heart… to cute…” He joked, making the others let out a chuckle. “Anyway, Naga, do you mind making some benches for us? We’re about to start training, so you can join in too.” He asked his companion. Naga jumped off of Luna’s fore leg and slithered over to where Skystrike was standing next to the battlefield that was made last week. Returned to her original giant form before slapping the ground with her tail, a few stone bleachers. Naga dove into the ground next to the bleachers, only to come back up, her head sticking out of the ground. The other ponies took seats on the bleachers “Aight, Spike, Stardust, let's get started. Take out your weapons.” Spike pressed a button on his briefcase and turned it into a scythe and held it diagonal in both hands. Stardust unsheathed her rapier and held it to her side. “So, i'm going to explain briefly about the types of physical damage weapons can do. Basically, they can be dumbed down into 3 categories. The three categories are slash, impact, and peirce. Stardust’s rapier has high piercing and slash, but low impact. Spike’s scythe had medium slash, peirce, and impact. My swords have high slash, medium impact, and medium peirce. Every weapon, with the exception on weapons like hammers have some balance of these three categories. Makes sense so far?” “Yes.” They both said at the same time. “Alright. Now for what factors into the damage done.” He said as he pulled out a chalkboard from his saddlebag. He quickly set it up and drew a sword with a white line following the tip. “Slash has depth. Depth is how deep the cut is which depends on strength, which causes a bleeding effect, lowering your enemy’s strength, and stamina, though you’ll rarely give a deep enough cut where it’s noticeable against a well trained enemy.” He drew a picture of a sword stabbing through an object. “Pierce has three factors, both of which affect the piercing power. The velocity of your weapon increases the impact of your attack. The angle of the tip of your blade is the factor that turns your impact into piercing damage. Finally, there's the defence of your enemy.” He drew a shield with his chalk. “If the enemy has armor like me, there’s no real way to damage them with piercing, unless you aim for the spots between the armor, which most of the time are guarded by chainmail. It’s better to aim for the least defended places for the most damage. He drew a picture of a hammer shattering an object it pieces. “The last one, impact, also includes velocity, as well as knockback towards both you and your opponent. If you hit them with the blunt of your weapon, you can cause enough impact to knock them unconscious. If your enemy shields your attack, all that force in that swing will knockback towards you, leaving you open.” “So which one is better?” Spike raised his claw. “Good question. Overall, id say it’s impact, because it breaks bones hella fast, but it depends on the situation. For example, if your opponent was heavily armored like me, impact would work the best. For thin armor, it’d be peirce, and for magic, it’d be slash, because you can cut right through it.” He answered simply. “Now, there’s two thing left before we officially start this training.” The two trainees nodded as the watchers listened closely. “At any point, the training may seem meaningless, hopeless, or anything else, you must push through it, am I clear?” “Yes sir!” The two said. “Alright, now, I’m going to give both of you a two choices of six items. Both of you have to chose one. I will not give you a description of these items, so go with your gut.” Skystrike said, getting confused looks from Spike, Stardust, and everypony else there. Stardust pulled out the 6 said items. A glowing yellow triangular prism, a grey bracelet with a diamond in it, a pair of hoof guards, some glowing red marbles, a small blue gemstone, and a set of red and black throwing daggers. After looking over the items carefully, not sure which to pick, Stardust took the grey bracelet and the gemstone, while Spike took the prism and the throwing daggers. “Good choices, don't lose them, they're super important. Ok, so, equip your items.” Skystrike nodded. Stardust put on her bracelet, while Spike tightened the leather straps of his throwing knives on his waist. They were stuck with the last items however. “Ok, Stardust, touch the gemstone with your rapier.” Skystrike said as Stardust followed. As she touched the objects together, the blue gemstone was absorbed by the rapier, making the blade and hilt turn blue, the hilt having a wave like pattern. Stardust rose her sword to the sun and looked at it in awe, slowly turning the blade. “Now Spike, put the prism at the end of your staff.” Spike turned his scythe into a staff. He put the prism near the spiked ind of the staff, and as he put it closer, the staff automatically pulled the triangular prism toward the staff, locking it in place in the middle of the spikes as the prism slowly turned. “What just happened?” Spike asked as he looked at his staff. “You two just evfused your weapons with magical items and equipped magical items onto yourself.” Twilight stood up from her seat. “You gave Spike magical items!? Is that even safe!?” “Yes it’s completely safe, giving magical items to ponies, what do you think!?” Skystrike yelled back sarcastically. “Anyway, I was about to explain your items. I’ll start with you, Spike. That prism, I call it ‘bright prism’ and it focuses the suns rays onto a high power, concentrated beam. Downside is, it’s weaker when not in the light of the sun. You also choose the item ‘vampire knives’, which are completely magical, so as long as you still have magic, you can keep throwing them. It takes the life force of any living being it hits and adds it to your own.” He turned to Stardust. “Now, that blue gemstone was an water sapphire. It gives you control over the water element, but more specifically, the blade. That bracelet it's the weakest version I have of a ward spell, with a special twist. As you get stronger, the bracelet grows stronger with it.” He walked away from them, and turned around after he was a few feet away. “As both of you get stronger, your weapons will in turn. That’s why your weapons feel so light, because they're some of the lowest levels.” “...So why didn't we start at the first level, sir? I understand why I didn't, but what about Spike?” Stardust asked. “Well, you are in the royal guard, so you have some idea of how to use weapons. Spike, despite being a baby, still is a dragon, and still knows how to somewhat fight due to his natural instinct.” He explained. “Now, any questions from the peanut gallery?” He looked over to see Naga sleeping, and three ponies raising their hooves. He pointed to Celestia holding up her hoof. “Where did you find these magic items?” “Most of them, not in Equestria. The only two I did find in Equestria was the bright prism. The story behind it is that there was a crazy cult for Celestia a few years back up near the frozen north that was trying to use the prism to bring about a prophecy that the land will reside under eternal sun. The prism, which was apparently was a prototype, was going to be sent to the sun, multiplying its intensity hundreds of times over. The vampire knives, I got after slaying a vampiric dire spider. The water sapphire was a gift from a tribe from Saddle arabia as a parting gift. The bracelet was a project me and the unicorn of ‘all’ worked on.” He reminisced. “All of them are fairly strong, but with their levels now, it’d be like taking away a cup of water from a lake from somepony like you.” He pointed to Rainbow Dash, “What do you exactly do you train for?” “Alright, good question. First off, it’s bonding time. Second, it keeps you in good shape. Finally, on the off chance that some beast like the Ursa Minor or something of the sort happens again, somepony besides me has to step in. I won't be here all the time.” He pointed to Luna, holding her hoof up. “We hope we can join thee in thy training. We do need to get back in shape.” “Sure, but it’s gonna be hard. Otherwise, come on over.” He wave her over. Luna stood up and flew over towards the three, ignoring the glare that Celestia was giving both Skystrike and her sister a glare. Luna instead smiled at Skystrike, Stardust, and Spike. “Oh yeah, Luna, take this,” Skystrike took one of his sheathed swords at his side and handed it to Luna. She caught it with her magic, but the sword fell a few inches as she held it. “Heavy, right? I can give you a different sword. Oh, and you have to hold it with your hooves of you wont get a good work out. Luna did so, finding it even heavier. “We would like a lighter sword, if thou wouldn't mind.” “Aight, have you used weapons before?” “We have used a sword.” Luna handed Skystrike his sword back. He replaced it by his waist before reaching into his bag. He moves his hoof around in the bag before pulling out a silver katana. He gave it a few swings before pointing the hilt of it at Luna. She took it and eyed it for a moment. “Alright, first, we’re gonna work on your stances. Your stance has to be firm, but malleable. It also needs to cover any openings that you’d have. Just make up one for now.” Spike held his staff diagonally in front of him, gripping it tight. Stardust held her rapier straight in front of her and spread her legs a bit apart, crouching lower to the ground. Luna held her katana straight up, widening her stance as well. “Alright, your stances are good for the most part. Spike, widen your stance and turn it into a front stance.” Spike did so. “Alright, let's start with something simple. Swing your weapon twenty times. I’ll be joining you, of course.” Skystrike said as he drew his sword. “Remember, don't let your weapon carry you. You must have complete control over it. You may begin.” The four of them began swinging their weapons. Spike, obviously a newbie, was having trouble swinging his scythe, loosing his balance occasionally. Stardust, not used to rapiers, was able to swing it well, though was not used to how short it was compared to the standard issue spears. Luna was swinging it at a faster rate than the last two, but was not used to swinging it in her hoof. She had to get back to her fighting stance from time to time. Skystrike, obviously having prior experience, was able to finish his quickly, making sure to keep his hooves in check and his swings straight each time. Skystrike finished first, then Stardust, then Luna, then Spike. “Alright. Pretty good for your first day.” Skystrike looked back at them to see them all slightly gasping for breath, Spike raising his claw. “Yes, Spike?” “Aren't you going to show us like, certain types of styles? Something like yours?” “I could, but it would be counter productive in the long run. Think of it this way. If you’re taught a certain style that other ponies may know, you have a chance of being countered easily. That’s why I’m self taught. It only makes your opponent go off of the standard teachings to dodge or block attacks they cant counter. I’d think it’s best to figure out how you fight best.” Spike nodded as they continued their training. “Now for our next part, we’re going to work on actual combat. After all, the best way to learn how to fight is through actual fighting.” Skystrike said. “Absolutely not!” Twilight and Celestia both said in sync. “Why not?” “Spike is gonna get hurt of course!” Twilight glared. “I have to agree with Twilight on this darling, I know princess Luna can take care of herself, but ’d hate to see Spike get hurt.” Rarity added. “ ‘Spike is gonna get hurt of course!’ “ Skystrike copied Twilight. “Of course he’s gonna get hurt! That’s like going to the pool and complaining you're gonna get wet.” He said, looking at Twilight like she was stupid. “Besides, Spike is the one you should be the least worried about.” “And why is that!?” Twilight said, still yelling. “Um.. actually Twilight… dragon scales are very strong.” Fluttershy explained. “And before you ask how strong, Spike’s scales can take steel spear to the gut and bend the metal. When he’s full grown, he can be hit by a train and be fine.” Skystrike added. “So Celestia, what’s your problem?” “I’d rather not have my sister come back to Canterlot with scars.” “That’s why we have the medic here. Me and Zecora spent two hours this morning making potions of vigorous healing. Speaking of, Zecora, you wanna come spar or at another time?” “Another time perhaps.” Zecora answered. “Aight. So, Stardust, Spike, you’ll be sparing against each other without using your gear I gave you. Luna, you’ll be sparing with me.” “We are not complaining, but does it have to be with you? Despite you winning against Magnus due to your armor and weaponry, We would think we’d have a disadvantage against thou.” “...What do you mean, due to my armor and weaponry?” Skystrike looked at her, obviously taking insult to her words. “Well, your armor stops magic, while your swords store magic. Thou can't deny that thou’s arsenal caused thee to win.” Luna explained. “You know, what, trying not to get mad, so tell you what. I wont wear my armor, save for my helmet for obvious reasons, and one more thing.” He opened his saddlebag. “Any item you pull out of my bag, I’ll use as a weapon, unless you’d prefer me to fight you bare hoofed.” “...Very well. We shall take your kindness and not let this victory go to waste.” She quipped, obviously cocky. Skystrike gave her a look like she was the dumbest pony ever. She reached into his bag and rummaged around for a few seconds. Finally, she pulled out a large paint brush. She, Stardust, Spike, Celestia, and everypony else save for Zecora let out different levels of laughs. Skystrike had on his best poker face. “Alright. Give me a minute… Can't have a good fight without music. ” Skystrike pulled out a boombox from his bag. “You ready?” Skystrike looked her straight in her eyes. “We should be asking though that.” Luna responded. They both walked to opposite sides of the circular arena before facing each other. Skystrike took his armor, throwing it on the ground with a loud thud. After revealing his trained and toned body, each of the ponies and dragon winced as they saw his scars. Scars however, shows his experience. “Magic is allowed, flight is not allowed, the winner is decided when your opponent is either out of bounds or cannot continue. Stardust, give us a count down and press the play button.” Skystrike ordered. “Yes sir! Three… Two… One… Begin!” Stardust said as she pressed the play button, a battle theme began playing. They both stood still, waiting for the other to make a move. They began to walk clockwise around the arena, keeping eye contact. “I’d think it’s safe to assume that Luna has won.” Celestia chuckled. “You're right as always, princess!” One of the guards laughed. “It seems Nebula’s overconfidence finally bit him in the flank!” “I would say the same for your princess. You all are underestimating our leader is my guess.” Zecora  snickered “Oh come on, Zecora! What can he do with a paintbrush of all things? I swear, you're a joker!” Rainbow Dash laughed. “If I’ve learned anything during our travels, the hidden potential every item has, he can unravel.” Once the ponies got back to focusing on the battle in front of them, the two stopped circling each other. Luna took the initiative and dashed forward, her katana going straight for his chest. Faster than she could realize, Skystrike quickly ran to the other side of the arena before she could stop running forward. Skystrike pulled back his right hoof, tightening his grip around the brush. The tip of the paintbrush turned orange, and as he thrusted his forehoof towards Luna, a line of paint came out, hitting Luna straight in the chest. She slid back a few feet and staggered a bit. Everypony’s jaw dropped at the sight, obviously underestimating him. Skystrike grinned at their expressions, especially Luna’s. After regaining herself, Luna started to take the fight seriously. Luna came up to Skystrike quickly with an overhead swing. Skystrike blocked it with the handle of the brush. Luna fired a blast of magic point blank, sending Skystrike back a few feet, still standing on his hooves. Luna fired some blast of magic again at him. Skystrike swung his brush again, large blobs of blue paint coming out and intercepting the magic attacks. He swung his brush horizontally, a wave of green paing flying towards Luna. She jumped over it, unintentionally leaving herself open for Skystrike running up to her. He grabbed the princess out of the air before slamming her into the ground, knocking the wind out of her. He grabbed her by her back legs and swung her around, building up speed before throwing her into the air. He swung his brush again at her, a purple wave of paint going towards her. Luna teleported to dodge it, and appeared behind Skystrike. Trying to slash him on his side, Luna’s attack landed in the ground due to Skystrike Sliding forward, twisting his body around to land a green slash on Luna once again. Luna fired a flurry of magic missiles at him. Skystrike sidestepped to dodge, only to realize that they were tracking him. Luna, thinking she had him on the ropes, began to fire more magic at him, trying to block his path. He started running towards Luna, dodging all attacks from the alicorn. In the middle of charging a spell, she wasn't able to dodge Skystrikes attack. He pulled back his hoof once again, before hitting her with orange paint once again. She blocked the paint with a barrier, though wasn't able to see past the paint. Skystrike dashed through the spear, it shattering in a show of blue light. Skystrike, much to Luna’s surprise, ran right past Luna before quickly turning around and striking her with orange paint once again. Stunned from his attack, there was no way she could dodge her magic missiles coming straight at her. After falling on her back, Skystrike put his hoof on her, holding her down with the paintbrush facing her neck. “I think that’s game.” Skystrike said, getting back to his normal tone of voice. “...Does thou mind removing thous hoof? Our position is… uncomfortable.” Luna blushed. A look of confusion was seen on his face before he processed their position, Luna being in the pony version of the ‘take me position’, her marehood open for him to see. “Oh.. oh shit!” Skystrike realized as he quickly backed up. “Oh, man, Celestia is gonna kill me.” He chuckled to himself, Luna joining in on it. He ignored Celestia giving him a glare that could send him to the moon. “Oh, and before I forget, take this.” He pulled out a small red vial from his bag. “Health potion for ya.” Luna took it and drank it. Her wounds disappeared in a dim green light, though the paint in her fur was still apparent. “We’ll have to take a bath later.” “Yeah, that’s my b. Now, I know you’ll have some questions, so ask away.” Skystrike said. “How was thou able to do all of that with a paintbrush?” Luna asked. “Pretty simple actually. The paintbrush itself is a magic item, able to hold a seemingly infinite amount of paint. If one can poor magic into it, they are able to paint beings to fight for them, but I can't do that, so I used the paint like water.” “How did you get out without any damage? I saw you take a hit point blank!” Spike exclaimed. “Oh, that was just part of my plan to get into Luna’s head.” He told Spike, only to get a look of confusion from him. “Ok, you see, battles are just a battle of the mind. If you can trick the mind, you have the best chance of winning. When Luna fired the attack, it didn't do anything to me, because her magic has no magic to react with to do damage towards me.” He explained as he turned towards Luna. “When I slid back, you thought it damaged me, which led to the battle I planned out. I dodged the magic attacks to fool you more. When you thought magic worked on me, I used that to my advantage, making you waste energy and leave yourself open much more than if you knew magic had no effect.” He chuckled to himself a little. “That’s why I didn't correct you when you said my armor stops magic. Makes sense?” “... We can't believe thou thought that far ahead. It is very impressive. No hard feelings about what we spoke?” Luna asked. “Of course not. I don't like to hold grudges.” He waved it off Skystrike looked out of the corner of his eye to see an earth pony royal guardsmen raising his hoof. “How were you able to move so fast?” The pony asked. “Not afraid to ask questions and doesn't talk smack about me while im right here? I like you. What's your name?” Skystrike pointed at the stallion. “Sturdy Shield!” “NIce question, Sturdy Shield! And for your answer, my armor weighs as much as I do, so my speed essentially doubled when I took my armor off. And just because I like you, take this” He pulled out a black shield with decorative gold markings on it. He threw it over towards Sturdy Shield, who caught it before looking at the shield. His jaw dropped. “This… this is made of ebony! Is this really ok!?” “Yeah, I got more. Besides, that’ll defend you better than that gold armor of yours.” He assured him. “Well I have to pay you back in some way! This is too much!” “Well, I do need more guy friends… There’s only like 6 guys in Ponyville including me. Just come by and visit when you're in the area and that’s payment enough. Anyway Stardust, Spike, you ready?” “Yes sir!” They both said. “Same rules am Luna’s and my duel. The equipment you have can be used. You can forfeit at anytime, if that wasn't obvious already.” He said as he walked over to the boombox, while Spike and Stardust walked to the opposite sides of the arena. “Ready… Begin!” He said as a different battle theme began to play. Spike turned his staff into a scythe and dashed towards Stardust, bringing it overhead and swinging it downwards, Stardust narrowly dodging it. Stardust slashed at Spike, the dragon flinching before instinctively blocking with the staff of his scythe. Stardust jumped backwards, gaining distance from her opponent. Spike turned his scythe back into a staff before using it as a pole vault and landing a kick on Stardust’s head, jumping back as he landed the hit. Spike then spun around before hitting her in the side with the staff. Stardust however, held her ground and grabbed his staff before swinging it, flinging Spike away. Spike landed on the ground some feet away. Realizing he lost his main weapon, Spike grabbed some of his vampire knives and threw them at the mare. A few of the knife's hit, though most missed. As soon as the knife's hit, they dissolve into red mist and went back towards Spike, going into his chest. He felt a burst of strength and stamina go through him. He ran towards Stardust before curling into a ball, tackling her. The force of the impact made the mare drop his scythe and fall backwards. Before Stardust could get up, Spike grabbed his Scythe with his tail before throwing it over to his arms and holding the blade at Stardust’s neck. “And that’s game! Spike wins!” Skystrike announced before Spike put his scythe on his back and helped Stardust up. “So, how were your first battles?” “It was… exciting may be the word for it? Besides the painful parts. I don't even know how I was able to do all that.” Spike said as he rubbed his arm, trying to soothe the pain. “It was kinda enjoyable, though I must admit, I underestimated Spike a lot.” Stardust admitted. “Ok then, now we’re going to analyze your attacks and movements.” He said as he took out a orange notebook. “What’s the notebook for?” Spike asked. “I write down the battle styles and tactics of all beings I fight or see fight.” He said as he pulled out a pen from his bag and held it in his hoof. “So, Stardust, I’ll start with you. Obviously, the training the royal guard gets is most likely bad, seeing as it seems to only focus on defence and not offence. That’s something we’ll have to work on.” He jotted down some notes. “Going off of that and my battle with Magus, you most likely won't learn how to actually fight until you're a Corporal or Sergeant. That being said, your defense was spot on, you just don't know how to battle against beings that don't fight like a pony. You also can't dodge projectiles. Also something we’ll have to work on.” He said as he finished jotting down notes before turning to the next page. “Now Spike, you’re the exact opposite of Stardust. Your defense is bad, and your offence is good. That’s your dragon blood in you, and how you know to fight. Now, your defence seems to be purely on instinct, and you had no follow up to blocking, so we gotta work on that. You are more agile than you realize, so Id recommend using your agility.” He wrote down some more notes. “You seem to go for brute strength and don't seem to think past your second attack, which got you disarmed. If Stardust wasn't so bad at offence, you wouldn't have won.” He finished jotting down his notes. He looked at the inner watch in his helmet. “It's about 9:00, and we’ve been at this for about two hours. We’ll be doing this every day except for Saturdays and Sundays. Same time tomorrow, or do you want later in the day?” The two trainees looked at each other before answering.“Same time.” “Alright, then that concludes the first day of training.” He said as he closed his notebook. “I’m gonna go work on some theories, work on the house, then and walk around town after. You all are welcome to join me if you like.” He said turning to the viewers. “Oh, Naga, you can come if you want. I still need to finish your armor.” He said as he pulled out a different, larger blue notebook with the title Theories, The Explanation Of This World. “Though, we’d like to stay, our duties cannot be put off. We hope to see you again, Nebula.” Celestia said as she, Luna, and the royal guard left from their seats. “I uh... have to take care of my animal friends.” Fluttershy said as she began to walk away. “Pinkie and I are gonna go hang out for a bit.” Rainbow said as she walked and Pinkie hopped away. “I gotta help Big Mac. at the barn.” Applejack said. “I have some orders to finish at the boutique.” Rarity said as she began to walk away. “I’ll stay here.” Twilight said as she walked up towards Skystrike, Spike, and Stardust. “I want to see what kind of theories you have, if you don't mind.” “Alright. I’m actually starting on a new one today.” Skystrike said as he flipped to an empty page. “So, my most recent theory is about the names of ponies.” “...Why names of all things?” Twilight asked, somewhat confused. “Well, you even noticed how ponies have names similar to their cutie marks?” “Yeah?” “Well, i don't think that’s a coincidence. I know it has something to do with magic, so I narrowed it down to two things. The name you’re given, and the magical power of the ponies, or beings giving you the name.” He elaborated. “...Can you give me some examples?” “Alright… Take you, for example. Both your parents are unicorns with slightly above average magic prowess. When they gave you your name, I believe that the meaning behind those words, both being related to magic, is what made you exceptionally skilled in magic.” He wrote down what he said in more detail in his notebook. “Going into my next point, it depends on the magical ability of the parents. If one of your parents weren’t unicorns, you may not have as much magic as you do now. In that sense, your special talent is decided when you’re born. Keep in mind, there are exceptions.” He finished as Twilight finished looking at her cutie mark. “When you put it like that, it does make sense.” Twilight admitted. “The part that worries me is that if my theory is right, how much magical power did the princess’ parents have?” “What about me, though? I was named by Twilight when she was a filly?” Spike asked. “That is a good question. I don't know for certain, but considering you have a large amount of magic now, comparable to your average earth pony, my best guess is that you were given a name by your dragon parents before you were hatched by Twilight. That, or the magic Twilight put into you as a filly is and was already inside you before you were named, but you don't have full access to it, and won't for a long while.” “You have anymore theories? I’m getting interested.” Stardust asked. “Uh, well, I think I figured out why magic doesn't work on me.” Skystrike said as Twilight’s ears perked up. “It’s extremely hard to explain, but I’ll try my best. Think of magic as both an enzyme and a substrate. All living beings are the substrates, and when they react with magic, the enzyme, magic occurs. That’s why it’s much harder to pick up a large boulder than say Spike is for you, Twilight. You have to pour magic into said boulder and make your own substrate, then pour more magic into it to pick it up. I don't have a substrate for magic to work on me, if that makes sense.” “Then can't I just pour magic into you like you said?” Twilight asked. “Well, the best way to explain that is like trying to change the water level of an ocean by pouring a cup of water in it. You’d have to pour enough magic into me that would be fatal to yourself to even hope to affect me. But that's just a theory. A magic theory! Anyway, that’s all I got for theories that are plausible..” “I wish I could have wrote all of this down…” Twilight sighed. “Well, I believe that it’s best to make your own theories than follow on somepony else's.” He shrugged. “But while I’m enjoying this time we’re all sharing, I have to finish Naga’s armor. I’m working on the helmet, jaws, and tail blade.” “Can I have a tail blade?” Spike asked. “From the sound of it, it seems like a good idea.” “Sure. I’ll have it done by next week. I do have something I need you and Stardust to do, though. Can you two go over to Rarity’s and pick up your capes while I work on Naga’s armor?” “Yes sir!” The two said. “Oh, and take this.” He threw a small bag of bits into Spike’s claws. “That’s payment for the capes.” Skystrike said as he got up and began walking towards his house. “You two can hang out if you want, It’ll take me a few hours in my workshop. I’ll be out around noon.” He said as he waved goodbye to Twilight and his trainees. Once he entered his house, he went to the back of it and entered the basement. The basement was filled with many things. Shelves of miscellaneous ingots, bottles, and molds lined the walls. A large bookcase was on the northern wall, containing smithing, enchanting, sharpening, and fighting style books, were on the two top shelves, while the lower shelves had half finished swords, hammer parts, and blades stacked next to each other. All of these protected by a glass door. To the left of the bookcase was an enchanting table, having the five symbols of magic. Destruction, conjuration, illusion, alteration, and Restoration. The table had some gems laying on it for use. On the stone walls were some electric torches that burned brightly, lighting up the room. In the center of the room was a blacksmith’s forge, complete with a firepit, anvil, a bellow, and a pit of water. Walking past all of this, he pulled on one of the torches on the wall, and with a rumble, the bookcase slid into the ground, revealing a hidden elevator behind it. Entering the elevator, he pressed the button to the actual workshop, and began his wait as he travelled down. How far down? Well, to use the thermal energy made by the planet Eques’ core, as well as be completely safe from anypony stumbling upon it, it was a safe and unreasonable distance of 4 miles. After a 3 minute ride and some elevator music, he arrived at his destination. As the elevator door opened, the room revealed itself to him, showing a large collection of various weapons, armors, and magic artifacts of many sizes. The door had two sets of golden human armor to each side of it, both holding a sword facing downwards. He walked towards the center of the room towards a large quartz table, able to fit 20 ponies easily. After sitting down at the only seat the table had, he took of Echo and placed it on top of the table. He took off all of his armor and set it to the side of his seat, save for his gauntlets. Using his gauntlet and metal arm, he had a set of fingers fold out from them and set his hands on the table. “Echo, enable construction mode.” He said. “Affirmative.” Echo spoke as he opened his jaw of his helmet body. A light came out of the mouth, showing a holographic screen of the table from a top view. After the loading bar on it reached 100%, the edges of the table openned outward, large white, black, and blue robotic arms extending out with loud whirs, hums, and beeps. A holographic keyboard and mouse appeared under his hands. He put his finger on the mouse and moved it over the “Naga” file and clicked on it. A picture of a black man came up on it. “Shit, wrong file.” He said to himself as he exited out of the file. “I should put that in the memes file…” He said as he dragged it over to the file labeled “Spicy memes” and dropped it in. This time, actually clicking on the right file, prototypes of Naga’s armor, old and new, came up, along with a 3d hologram of Naga and her proportions on the screen. He clicked on the blueprint of her helmet, and the center of the table opened. A loud hum could be heard as the parts of Naga’s soon to be helmet came up and stopped abruptly. His keyboard turned unto circular pads, each controlling one of the arms. He moved his right hand, controlling one of the robotic limbs. It moved towards one of the curved metal pieces and picked it up. It held it in place as he moved his left hand and did the same, making the shape of a jaw. Keeping both robotic arms in place, he switched control of his hands to the welding arms, and welded the two pieces together. He set the now one part down and redid the process for the upper part of the helmet. After combining the two parts and a half hour of careful work, the helmet was done. It was the shape of Naga’s head, fit for her, but with a line of 3 horns, getting larger as they got closer to the mouth of the helmet. The jaw of the helmet had two large teeth on each side on the jaw made for shattering. The top of the helmet had the symbol of destruction on it in gold. After using the same process to make the blade, his work was done. The blade was in the shape of a long right triangle, and was razor sharp with some runes in the edge of the blade, also in gold. He looked at the time on his monitor. It was 11:30 in the morning. “Aight. Echo, shut off the systems.” “Affirmative.” The system powered down and the robotic limbs went back into the table. “I have many more blueprints stored in my files if you need them for later.” “Wait, I thought you gave me all the knowledge you already had?” Skystrike gave Echo a confused look. “I didn't. The council programmed me to give you information when needed. When you put me on for the first time, you filled the requirements to know the truth of why they made you, and what they wanted you to fight. The requirement? Loss. You don't realize when I give you info anymore because of the amount if it going in. It should feel like a prick in the next, from my understanding. “Wait, so you’re saying, you know more about P.R.O.W that I don't know? What are the requirements for that?” “...You must defeat the counsel. Whether it's through annailation, submission, or friendship, it’s up to you.” He sighed. Though he had no facial features, one could tell that he had sadness written all over him. "All I can tell you as of now is that you cannot outrun your eventual fate. You can postpone it, however.” Skystrike stood silent for a minute, taking in what he just heard. He learned two major things. One, there’s much about his original world, and two, the council did not die. He remembered taking their life away one by one, along with the researchers of his containment facility. The five of those bastards were still alive, and more likely than not, knew that he was in this world. They would come to this world and destroy everyone and everything. Celestia and Luna have no way to fight them with their technology, magic, and military strength. On the off chance they don't know, they will just make more subjects like him, making them fight each other to make the strongest being possible. If there is one thing that Skystrike wants in these worlds, he wants peace between everyone. As long as the council lives, it’s just a pipe dream. “Echo, begin construction on the project that we made the blueprints for. Also begin construction on the ‘switch out’ battle armor, as well as the primes.” He said as he stood up from his chair. “I know you don't want me to worry about it too much, so I promise you that I will only work on it when I feel it’s necessary. Still work on them and get them done as soon as possible.” “Just started in now. And trust me, I want them gone too. I don't know why, but I feel as if they took… something from me.” Echo assured him. Skystrike gave him a smile. “Well on that note, let's enjoy the time we have before their arrival.” He said as he put Echo back on and entered the elevator. After exiting his house and entering Ponyville, Skystrike wandered around for a bit, trying to figure out what he could do. Should he go to Sugar Cube Corner? Nah, he has no one to hang out with. He could hang out with Rainbow, but she’s with Pinkie. Applejack is working on her farm. Knowing Rarity, she’s probably playing dress up with Spike and Stardust. Fluttershy is feeding her animals, it being around lunch time. What was he going to do? He thought while he walked through Ponyville. A gust of wind went by and his cape flapped in it. His stomach growled slightly. Guess that told him what to do. He walked around looking for a place to eat at. Nothing too expensive, but he did not want hayburger. Having changeling magic, he was able to change his shape. However, adding in his world’s magic, he’s also to change his anatomy, as long as he has an understanding of it. This being said, he is able to, but he does not want to eat hay. He walked by the stores, browsing the menus until he saw a familiar face. She noticed him too and decided to come greet him. “Hey Nebula!” Bon Bon said as she walked up to him. “Oh hey Bon Bon. Fancy seeing you here. What’s up?” Skystrike greeted. “Nothing really. I was just gonna get lunch with my friend. You're welcome to join if you like!” She offered. “I’ll take you up on that, then. I’m guessing your friend is waiting for you?” “Yeah, over at ‘Kale Me Insane’. I heard they're good.” She answered. “Man, I need to get out more. Can you show me the way?” Skystrike sighed. Bon Bon giggled. “Alright then. Follow me.” She said as she turned and began walking. Skystrike noticed that she moved her as she walked. After a few minutes of walking, she turned and looked back at him. “Like what you see?” Skystrike swa what she was doing, and in response, acted oblivious. “I do actually. I never realized how good the architecture in Ponyville was.” He said, getting a small yet barely noticeable look of disappointment from the mare. ‘Nice save’ he told himself. Bon Bon, no longer swaying her hips, along with Skystrike arrived at the restaurant after a few minutes of walking. It was a small restaurant with an outdoor area. It looked nice, and he smells coming from inside was alluring to say the least. The two walked inside and found Bon Bon’s friend sitting at a booth. As he turned into the booth to sit across from the two mares, he noticed who her friend was. The unicorn mare had a mint coat with a cyan and white mane and tail. Currently, she was staring at Skystrike with wide sunglow eyes. “Wassup.” Skystrike said as he sat down. “Nebula, this is my roommate Lyra!” Bon Bon introduced her friend. “Bon Bon, you didn't tell me that you’d bring Sir Nebula along!” She turned towards the beige pony. “Oh what’s the harm? I just wanted to show my new friend around town!” Skystrike chuckled. “From what you did earlier, you want to be more than friends.” Bon Bon let out a deep blush. “You knew!?” “One of my mottos in life is act stupid, think smart. If I commented on that show you gave me, I would be in a worse situation than I am now.” Skystrike said as he tapped his hoof against the side of his skull. “I can't help but feel I’m missing some context here…” Lyra said silently as she looked at Bon Bon. “Eh, don't worry about it.” Skystrike chuckled again. A green waitress with a pale green coat came by as Bon Bon regained her composure. “Welcome! My name is Cabbage Patch, and i’ll be your waitress today. Can I get you all anything to drink?” She said as she passed out the menus. “I’ll take a Lemonade.” Bon Bon said. “Same here.” Lyra said. “Can I get a uhhhh……. Fruit punch?” Skystrike decided. The waitress wrote down their orders on a small note sheet with her mouth. “Alright, I’ll be back shortly with your drinks!” The mare said as she trotted off, deeper into the store. “So, Nebula, we don't see you around town much. What have you geet up to?” Bon Bon asked. “Well, I’ve been pretty busy actually. Due to the fact that nearly the entirety of this town is afraid of me, due to me punching Gilda, knocking out an Ursa Minor, and taking on Nightmare moon. I have a lot of free time, so I’ve just been doing what I wanted. Spike and Stardust started training under me, so that's something.” “Speaking of which, what happened to that snake monster last week? The flower sisters said you rain towards it or something?” Lyra asked. “Oh, turns out that that basilisk was the same pet I had years ago.” He said casually. “Wait… you own that monster!?” Lyra went wide eyed. “Yeah, had her for a few years. Met her when I was 14. I think I have a picture of when we first started traveling actually…” He said before reaching into his bag. He rummaged around for a few seconds before pulling out a picture of a younger version of him and a baby version of Naga on his back, sleeping. “...To think that that beast was that small at one point. How did you even get her in the first place?” Lyra asked. “I was out in the badlands and there was a lizard guy that wanted to play a game. There were three eggs. Two were just unfertilized hoof ball sized eggs, and one was fertilized. After 3 months of waiting, Naga hatched. She left to find more of her race, and i'm assuming she did, due to her being gone for like, two years.” Skystrike explained. “I noticed you have the helmet on in your picture, Do you always wear it? Why?” Bon Bon asked. “Pretty much. And the only ponies who I trust knows who I actually am. There’s a lot of ponies who think i’m dead. I am going to reveal myself sooner or later, figured I’d do it at the gala or something.” He shrugged. Cabbage Patch came back with their drinks. She passed them out to the customers. “Have you decided on your orders?” “Oh! Right!” Lyra blinked. “I’ll take a Radish salad with a side of celery. “Can I have a hay burger wit a side of hay fries?” Bon Bon ordered. Skystrike looked over the menu. “I’ll take the mega jumbo salad with cabbage, raddish, pepper and carrots as toppings.” Cabbage Patch’s eyes went wide. “Are you sure you can eat all of that?” “Watch me. I am a slut for a good salad.” He said as they all let out a loud ‘pfft’. “Alright then, I’ll get right on it!” Cabbage Patch giggled. She went back into the back of he restaurant, out of sight. Skystrike stuck a straw into his fruit punch. He slipped it through the teeth of his mask. He took a sip of his drink. He put his drink down before noticing the stares of the two mares sitting across from them “What?” “Are you ever going to take off your helmet?” Bon Bon asked.” “Nope.” He laughed. A moment of silence went by before Skystrike thought of something. “Hey, you two know of any guys besides Big Mac, Spike, and Mr. Cake? I need more guy friends.” “Actually, they're the only guys in town besides you at the moment.” Bon Bon answered. “That explains why pretty much this whole town has a schoolgirl crush on Big Mac.” He chuckled. “He’s the only single guy here besides me, and I doubt anypony is after me.” “...You don't have much self confidence, do you?” Lyra sipped her drink. “I beat Luna with a paint brush this morning. If i’m not confident at all, something would be seriously wrong with me.” He chuckled. “I just don't see how mares will have any appeal towards me. I mean, you cant even see my face.” He pointed towards his helmet. “Buuuuut it’s mostly because I don't get out much.” Cabbage patch came in with their dishes. She set the two mare’s food down before setting down a large platter full of greens on Skystrike’s side of the table. He was just barely able to look over the mountain of salad. “Oh yeah! I'm going to town!” Skystrike waid as he grabbed a knife and fork before stuffing a large chuck of it into his mouth. Loud crunches could be heard as he chewed the crisp vegetables. After swallowing, he got another large chuck before repeating the process. A few minutes went by as the mound of food got smaller and smaller before it was completely gone. “...How do you eat that much without gaining weight? I eat light just to keep it off…” Bon Bon sighed with a hint of jealousy. “Start working out. The more energy you use, the more energy your body is able to store from the food you eat. I also have a high metabolism.” He shrugged. “Well I’m assuming you know some good workouts then?” Bon Bon said as she took a bite of her salad. “Yup. Just do what I did. 100 sit ups, 100 pushups, 100 leg lifts, and a 10 mile run each day.” He said plainly before realizing that that would be too much. “Actually, just run a mile and do 25 of each of what I said.” “Now that seems doable.” Bon Bon laughed. Some time went by as the two ate their food, enjoying the company of the third. Some time went by until Cabbage Patch came back with the check. As Skystrike was about to pull out the bits for the food, a loud bang was heard coming from the doorway. Skystrike stuck his head out of the booth to see a pegasus with a brown coat and grey mane and tail looked towards him and stomped over. Though his hair was covering his eyes, it was quite obvious he was mad about something. “Cabbage Patch! There you are!” The stallion walked over “Dumb-bell? What are you doing here?” The waitress said surprised. “I came to ask for another chance.” The pegasus responded. “Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.” Skystrike groaned. “You got a problem, tin can?” Dumb-bell growled. “As a matter of fact, I do. I’m just going off of what I’ve heard so far, and I can piece the puzzle together. She dumped you because you did some stupid shit, and you, realizing your mistake, want her back. That’s fine and all but you don't do that while she’s working for fucks sake!” “You stay out of this!” Dumb-bell barked. “Really sir, it’s ok.” Cabbage Patch said to Skystrike. “It is my business when you do this shit in front of me, like holy shit.” Skystrike face hoofed. “Cabbage Patch, if you don't mind me asking, what did he do for you to dump him?” She looked at her ex before answering. “He didn't do anything bad per say, but he wanted another marefriend besides me, and I didnt want an open relationship…” “Hey this is our business, not his, and besides, polygamy is legal now!” Dumbbell defended himself. “But…” Cabbage Patch started before a frog got caught in her throat as her ears went back. “...You do realize that just because it’s legal doesn't mean she has to be ok with it, right? Or are you like the first part of your name? Just respect her decision, you desperate boy.” Skystrike raised an eyebrow. “I feel like i'm in some badly written story right now, dealing with this shit.” Dumb-bell had enough and grabbed Skystrike’s drink before throwing it on him. He grinned as Skystrike slid out from his seat and got up. He stood right in front of him and stared him down. “You wanna take this outside, pint size?” Skystrike frowned. “Gladly.” Dumbbell growled back. Skystrike stood on the roof of a tall building and faced away from the crowd that formed, facing the horizon. In the middle of the crowd stood Dumb-bell. Directly in front of him was one of Skystrike’s swords, sticking vertically out of the ground. “So, you hiding up there, huh? Shows how brave you are.” Dumb-bell grinned. The insult fell on deaf ears as Skystrike continued staring at the horizon, his blue and black cape flowing in the wind. “What’s wrong? To scared? No more quips to say!?” He was starting to get annoyed at his silence. “You think that just because you got to go out with those two mares, you're better than me!?” He growled. “We aren't dating him!” Lyra shouted from the crowd.” “Pick up the sword!” Another pony said. Skystrike recognized the voice as Spike’s. “He wants a fair fight!” Dumb-bell reluctantly strutted up to the sword and picked it up in his hoof. As soon as he pulled it out of the ground, Skystrike turned towards his opponent and pointed his sword at him. He jumped off the roof, and as he fell, his armor came off piece by piece. The only piece of armor he had on as he landed was of course his helmet. Skystrike held his sword in his hoor and got into a fighting stance. Dumb-bell charged at him, only go get grabbed by Skystrike on the neck. “I've been through too much shit today already. I only have one word to say to you.” “...Wha-” Dumbbell couldn't finish his word. “YEET!” Skystrike held onto him while doing a flip and threw him over the crowd. The flying pegasus dropped his sword before flying off, disappearing in the sky with a flash in the shape of a star as he screamed. Skystrike let out a loud sigh as the crowd dispersed. “So Spike, Stardust, what’s up?” The two trainees walked up to him. “Well, Pinkie was looking for you earlier, but it was too late.” Said Stardust. “Wait, did something happen?” Skystrike asked, somewhat worried. “Well, to put it simply-” Spike’s sentence was cut off by a swarm of various colored bugs flew by them before eating a nearby tree. Spike took a deep breath. “Fluttershy found a cute looking bug thing yesterday and gave some to her friends after they multiplied but after everypony got back to their places, Twilight found out they were parasprites that eat everything to multiply, and Pinkie Pie was going around town looking for instruments and is now trying to lead them away from town with music.” He said in one breath. “But that means that the ones from Fluttershy’s house had to past by mine to get here…” He thought aloud before his eyes widened in realization. “What happened to my house?” “Well… it’s… gone…” Spike managed to say. Skystrike inhaled deeply. “FUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!” He shouted at the to of his lungs. It echoed through the forest as birds flew of of the trees. His home, once large and great, now looked like a rat made its home in a wheel of swiss cheese. Luckily, they were only able to get through the living room dining room, Skystrike room, and part of the kitchen, the other rooms being relatively untouched. The parasprites were just about to start on the library before the one mare orchestra that Pinkie was came by. The bugs stopped in their tracks before joining in on the line of parasprites following her. “Fucking damn it! It took so long to make this!” He groaned. “Hey, sugarcube, it’ll be alright.” Applejack said as she put a hoof on his shoulder. Skystrike gave her an unintended glare before taking deep breaths. “You right. I just have to build it again. I need to make it bigger anyway. Has to be at least like, four times bigger.” “That’s the spirit!” Twilight said, trying to cheer him up. “Yeah! Now all you need to do is find a place to sleep!” Spike exclaimed before getting glares from everypony there. “What?” “Shiiiiiiiiiyet.” He groaned again. “Where am I gonna sleep?” “You could stay with one of us?” Applejack offered. Skystrike turned slowly to face the mares and dragon. Rainbow Dash’s cloud house is out of the question, due to him not being able to walk on the clouds. Fluttershy’s house is already cluttered with animals, and would be a huge convenience for her. Twilight is an obvious no, due to her insane actions. Rarity would most likely have a room to spare, but he’d have to play dress up, and deal with Sweetie Belle. He hasn't even seen Pinkie Pie’s room yet. Applejack may have space, but worse case scenario, he’d share a bed with either AJ or Big Mac. Well, nothing is perfect. “It’ll take like, a week if I put all my time towards it. If anypony’s willing to let me stay for that long, i’ll take it.” Skystrike said. Before anyone could answer, Naga poked her head out of the ground. She gently grabbed Skystrike by the tail before slowly pulling him into the tunnel she made. “Nevermind I guess.” He chuckled as he was pulled into the hole.