“Are you sure this’ll help?” Two asks Five as the warrior leads her up the many staircases of the Brauheim castle.
“In comparison to you screaming at target dummies in frustration, then clipping your hoof as you punch one? I doubt it can make things worse,” Five shrugs.
You see, Two’s been trying to practice magic on her own. Without Scream, all the ‘delayed successes’ as boss called it, kept getting more and more delayed. Magic shields? No, literally a waste of energy when compared to simply hardening her carapace. Balls of fire and roaring arcane death? Well, there was a lot of yelling on Two’s side eventually, but that’s about it.
So it’s come to this. Standing in front of a large door of the supposedly massive castle library, Two bites her lip and looks at Five.
“He’s gonna be pissed at me.”
“Don’t worry about that. He just looks like that, with his permanent scowl, the blood red amulet on his neck, and his constantly glowing horn. Dwarves call it resting I’m-gonna-eat-your-foals face. He’s a pretty friendly guy if you get to know him.”
The door slams open, revealing a changeling head.
“I’m, trying to READ here!” Seven glares at Two and Five. Two pouts while Five simply tilts her head and smiles.
“Hi, Seven. Little slave driver here has a question for you,” the warrior pats his head as she pushes past him into a library so vast that even to her eyes the tops of the bookshelves are shrouded in darkness, “And don’t be like that. Even when the lights were working, you used to be the only one here most of the time.”
“Alright, what is it?”
Two lets out a sigh of relief. Seven’s annoyed stare eases up, and now he looks genuinely curious and not mad at all. Granted, she has no reason to be scared of him or anything, it’s just that right now he’s the only one around who can help, and without his help, she’ll continue being… useless.
“Can you teach me to use magic?” Two shuffles her forelegs nervously.
Seven blinks few times, then smiles. Not an evil grin or anything, just genuine happy smile.
“Of course! Come in, come in,” his telekinesis shoves Two inside, and he closes the door behind them, “You don’t know how glad I am that you asked. Dwarves don’t use magic, they have technology far past the point of what unicorns can do, Eight can kick things so hard they would consider a lightning bolt an improvement afterwards, Five-”
“Five’s not smart enough to learn anything,” the warrior finishes Seven’s sentence, sitting down into an armchair.
“What? No!” Seven shakes his head quickly, “Her just being a low-tier warrior means she doesn’t have the energy to focus both on combat training with Eight and magic under me. Plus, we don’t have enough love to waste it. And as far as Six goes, he’s smart, but similar to Five, his body just… isn’t made to use pony magic. As for you, I see no reason why you shouldn’t be controlling the world around you with the power of your will in few sessions.”
“Really?” Two’s ears perk up.
“Definitely!” Seven nods, “It’ll be fun to have someone interested to talk to after all this time. You wanna start right now?”
“Sure!” Two bounces up and down.
“Alright, let me just explain the theory for a bit. Don’t worry, I’m more of the applied pyromancy kind of changeling rather than a theory-eating bookworm.”
“Riiiight...” Five chuckles, and immediately punches a hoof-sized ball of fire shot at her which disperses in the air.
“Wooow,” Two’s eyes go wide with wonder when she sees how easily Seven sent the blast of magic at Five, and how effortless it was for her to disperse it.
“We’ve been messing around with magic ever since I started studying these old books,” Seven can’t help smiling at Two’s amazement, “And we found out that Five is vastly better at resisting magical effects than using them. I suppose that’s a warrior thing. I tried few times with Eight, but she just ignores anything I throw her way.”
Two recalls how Scream’s lightning which completely drained her love barely stopped Five for few seconds.
“Anyway,” Seven continues, “Let’s start with a simple flare spell. It makes light and heat, and if you aim it well or amplify the heat aspect, you can burn someone’s eyes out in more ways than light. It goes like this-”
Two listens to Seven’s explanation coupled with a hive link connection of how it should feel. How to slowly draw the energy from herself, how to effectively convert her love into magic, and the important part in the end - how to project the energy away from herself.
A blast of golden light interrupts Seven’s explanation and demonstration, leaving behind Scream.
“Who- what-?” Seven aims his glowing horn at her.
“S-Scream, what are you doing here?” Two looks at the alicorn.
”I heard someone explaining magic wrong, and my eye started twitching. I’m wounded, WOUNDED that you’d look for help elsewhere, smart bug,” all three changelings hear Scream speak, ”Oh hey, a new bug to name… mage bug, spell bug, nerd bug? Nerd bug.”
“Well, you were busy,” Two looks down at the carpeted floor, “I couldn’t get any better on my own, and I remembered that when Seven and I fought, he could use teleports and stuff, so I needed someone to help me.”
“And what do you mean by explaining magic WRONG?” Seven frowns, “That’s what I found in the books, and it’s been working for me pretty well. I’m deciding to leave the ‘Who the actual hole are you?’ question for last.”
Screams waves her hoof dismissively.
”Oh yeah, Silversmith and dwarven books about magic. Reeeeeal quality source of information from a race that has used their heads mainly to bash things for millennia. Look, let me point out just one of the many wrong assumptions in your explanation. The matrix of thaumic nerves in changeling horn is vastly different from unicorn spiral-”
Two tries to listen, but pretty soon the words that completely captivate Seven go into her one ear and immediately out of the other. Confused and bored, she tries to summon some magic lights which appear above her hoof, and fizzle almost instantly.
“So you’re saying that if I do it like this,” Seven’s horn crackles with power, “Hey, Five, move to our practice corner, will you?”
The warrior walks off to a corner of the library which has been emptied of all books and anything else flammable. She faces Seven, and green fire runs through her chitin to build up her elemental and anti-magic defenses.
*BOOM!*
As much redder, magical fire fades, singed Five is standing in the now blackened corner, steaming and smoldering. She coughs out ash.
“Ok-Okay… that was… something...”
Seven doesn’t look any less surprised when his eyes uncross. This spell was leagues more powerful than anything before, and it was simply thanks to a much more effective energy manipulation rather than amount.
”See?” Scream beams, ”THIS is how you do it.”
“Can I try?” asks Two.
”Go for it, smart bug. You heard the theory.”
Heard yes, understood… not so much.
However, it’s still easier to gather love to light a small ball of fire above her hoof…
...which fizzles out.
”Keep trying, keep trying.”
“Yeah,” Seven encourages her as well, “When I was figuring this out on my own in my spare time, it took me weeks before I did my first light spell. With me and this illusionary lady alicorn here, you’ll do alright soon.”
But she doesn’t. They watch her draw energy, project it into a stable form, and then dissipate. Over and over and over and over. In the end, frustrated Two just tries to gather more and more in hopes that so much energy just won’t disappear, and-
-it doesn’t, indeed.
Instead, it blows up in her face, the shockwave scattering books around. Disoriented but not particularly hurt, at least physically, Two sits down on the floor. Her ego, though, got yet another blow right in the face.
“Ooookay, maybe a little less power next time?” Seven pats Two’s head.
“I dunno, it’s just not working for me...” mumbles Two, her eyes tearing up, “Maybe I should just stick to punching thing like my mo- Eight does...”
”Let’s not go that route again,” Scream shakes her head, ”Look, just hide somewhere where you can relax and concentrate, and try again slooowly, not like now.”
Two sighs, standing up and heading for the door.
“I guess I’ll just do that...” with her ears drooping, she leaves the library.
“Should I go talk to her?” Seven looks at the closed door. Scream waves her foreleg in response.
”Nah, she’ll be okay, she’s smart. She just needs to learn some patience. Now, fireballs are great and all, but I think we can think outside the box here. How about… fire CUBES? That way you can burn someone AND poke their eye out with a sharp edge too.”
“Oh… my… god...” Seven’s eyes go wide, “You’re a GENIUS!”
Five rolls her eyes before they get poked out, and leaves as well. It doesn’t take her long to find Two sitting in a dark hallway nearby, kicking the carpet.
“That’s an image of misery if I ever saw one,” Five sits next to her, and wraps her foreleg around the little infiltrator’s shoulders.
“I wish I could just make my control over you go away,” mumbles Two, “That way you’d be free to do your stuff, and won’t have to waste time around me.”
“Have to?” Five raises an eyebrow, “You didn’t order me to keep you company, and neither did your boss. I do what I think is best for your- our hive.”
“Look, it’s clear to me that my first success was a stroke of pure luck. I screwed up almost everything since then,” Two sighs, “And now that everyone’s together… I’d never say it to Eight’s face, but maybe she knew which eggs were the right ones to keep, and left the useless one to rot for good reason. Boss now has two pretty awesome warriors, two drones, and one really good infiltrator. I feel like the best way I can be of help to the boss is by not being a drain on hive’s already limited resources. Boss doesn’t need me anymore.”
“Really good infiltrator?” Five chuckles, “I think you’re really overestimating Seven. He can do magic, that’s all.”
“That’s still more than I can do!”
“Is that so? Then why was it him who had to run away TWICE when you two fought?”
“I had the moment of surprise on my side. The first time he underestimated me, and the second time I had you there.”
“I disagree. The way I saw what happened was a little different. You won simply because you were better at what infiltrators really excel at - control. Your mental commands were enough to control me and paralyze him. On top of that, Seven has never been our source of love when we had to hunt, he’s not the social kind. Maybe you should focus on what actual infiltrators do instead of forcing yourself to make shiny lights.”
“You don’t understand, Five!” Two buries her muzzle into her hooves, “That only works on changelings, and since we’re all on the same side, I can’t do anything useful if we’re in danger.”
“You’re right,” she tilts her head, “I DON’T understand. Why are you bothered that you can’t turn an ongoing battle around? You’re an infiltrator. Your job isn’t to fight, that’s what I am for. Your job is to make sure a fight doesn’t happen. Biting the right pony at the right time can prevent a battle, and a battle we don’t have to fight is the best kind. Use your head, Two. Anyway, your boss knows about mental commands, and I’m absolutely certain Eight does as well. Why don’t you learn from them? I could be a practice target, although I’m not great at resisting those, as you already know.”
“Because I can’t show HER that she was right in leaving me as an egg, and if I ask, boss will know how little of use I am really.”
“Boss will know you’re trying to learn!” Five cuts her off, now staring firmly into Two’s eyes, “The real problem is clear to me. Swallow your pride. And. Do. What’s. Right,” Five looks away, “If it helps, I know exactly how you’re feeling. Well, about one part at least.”
“Really?” Two raises an eyebrow, skeptical, then wipes her eyes.
“Obviously. How do you think my every combat training with Eight goes? I think you can imagine that, but every time it is a learning experience. I know I will never be even remotely as good as she is, but I do my job, I play my role, I fulfill my duty. I’m not supposed to be the best, or indispensible, I’m supposed to serve the hive to the best of my ability. I suggest you do the same. We are changelings. Everything we do is for the greater good we believe in. Do you believe in boss’ goal?”
“Yes, I do,” Two breathes out.
“Then I don’t see where your personal feelings fit into it, especially if they are what’s holding you back. I’m not telling you to become a mindless extension of boss’ will, that’s what he and Eight were fighting against from the start from what I heard, but you have to realize what the hurdles stopping you from reaching your goal are.”
Two takes a deep breath, then grits her teeth. Instead of answering, she taps into me.
”Yaaah!” she physically leans back in her real body when she sees my view of Eight bouncing on me, and hears Scream’s loud cheering.
”Don’t let him finish now, no matter how much he begs, he’ll thank you later! Or froth a lot. Now, boss bug, grow a dick number three, I suggest a diamond dog one this time, and let’s get this party STARTEEEED!”
Two immediately disconnects her link, blushing.
“Maybe in few hours,” she furrows her brows, “Huh, I thought Scream was with Seven.”
”I’m really good at multitasking, smart bug,” she hears the alicorn’s voice come out of nowhere.
Shaking her head, Two stands up, and Five follows suit.
“Alright, Five. I suppose you’re right. We should do our job, and that is feeding everyone,” with few waves of green flames, Two shapeshifts into Living Armor, “Let’s see how Eight’s dwarves react when they see this. Lights being out might actually be a blessing,” she boops Five’s nose, now being as tall as she is, “So, mare’s night out?”
Five leans backwards.
“You mean as US? I don’t mean to insult your disguise, but that’s basically you, only a little taller and a pony.”
“Boss’ orders, Five,” Two circles around the warrior, running her hoof over Five’s fit body with a smile, “Let’s see what we can do with that pretty face, Flower Pot. When I’m done with you, dwarves will queue up to let you drain them, even if you’re yourself. Well, mostly yourself.”
Now THIS is a lesson Scream taught her well.
***
Hey, I’m getting better at crawling up a flight of stairs!
“Oh stop that!” Eight, chipper than ever before, slings me over her back with my legs spread, reminding me of the part of last night where I peacefully mounted her before Scream happened and things went completely nuts.
“Ah, there you are, king, ehm, queen!” a voice of business greets my dangling self on the bottom floor of the castle.
“Greetings, loremaster,” Eight greets the dwarf, completely at ease.
“Hi, Granite,” I weakly wave my foreleg at him, “Can I just sleep for the rest of the day, please?”
While I do believe my love total hasn’t gone down much despite the numerous transformations, improvements, and general fuel to survive Eight’s insatiable drive, my muscles responsible for transforming said love to activity are petitioning the international pony rights tribunal with a report of cruel and unusual treatment.
“I’m afraid not, king,” Granite shakes his head, trying to maintain a stone face, “Considering the situation Brauheim dwarves are in, we need something to raise their morale, and since public flogging of the queen here is out of the question, I believe you are better suited to bring them hope than she is.”
For obvious reasons, Granite doesn’t like Eight. Aside from Iron Rose who considers Eight the catalyst that originally brought the change she wanted, none of the council members are fans. However, the loremaster is a professional if nothing else, and won’t bring personal feelings into what’s better for the city.
“What have you got in mind?” I carefully slide off of Eight’s back, “And I’m doing it with Eight, whatever it is.”
“A media stunt,” Granite nods at us to follow him to the council room, “After a lengthy discussion, every council member is staying in their position, and there are no new members. However, each of us did take on an advisor from quee- Eight’s side of the city, one of the less radical ones. Your job will be to get acquainted with many facets of real life in Brauheim, which should help you make better decisions in the future, show to dwarves that changelings are around and it’s okay, and it might even be useful to you two as well. The city newspapers will doubtlessly write articles about you, showing more your reality than the rumors which must at this point be circulating everywhere. The old ‘our rulers are like us’ public relations strategy. I’m fully aware I can’t force you to do this, but I urge you to consider the benefits.”
Eight looks at me, eyebrow raised.
“What do you say, boss?”
“It can’t hurt, I suppose,” I shrug, “Where and when do we start, Granite?”
“The regular morning guard practice, which is my part of the day, is the easiest to set up, since it’ll be starting in half an hour.”
“Umm, can it be something else? ANYTHING else, really? I haven’t slept, and I’ve had more than enough exercise yesterday… and tonight… and until about fifteen minutes ago.”
“What?” Eight objects, “Yes, you did sleep! You fainted for about an hour. I went to get us drinks in the meantime,” she turns towards Granite, “We agree! Boss won’t just watch, he’ll participate as well. We both will, as he said.”
”I’m not burning love for this, Eight! Seriously, we’re low overall already,” I complain over the hive link.
”The more your muscles adapt to activity, the less love you’ll have to burn eventually to do it. You really should do this regularly.”
“Fiiiine,” I say out loud. It’s not as if I’m not curious, I’m just deathly tired, “Let’s see what this is all about.”
***
Unlike, let’s say, Canterlot, Brauheim doesn’t have wide, outside, open space where guards can practice. The main difference, however, isn’t the wide and open part. In one part of the city not too far away from the castle and thus the barracks lies a normally heavily ventilated room where hundreds of dwarves spar or exercise. Now, however, with the ventilation running on reserve power, the heat from the guards is fighting against the cold caused by lack of heating growing each day.
Anyway, aside from our media retinue and the general surprise of dwarves, the physical exercise part is uneventful. Eight has zero trouble with physical training regime which the tough dwarves do daily. I, well, am not so lucky, and have to drop out halfway through. To my surprise, no one is laughing or anything.
“Don’t worry about it, king,” whispers Granite, “They all remember their first days, and you’ve done well enough.”
Next up is the combat training.
Eight goes first against a big and thick dwarf - well, for a dwarf, I mean, which still leaves the horns of his helmet at her chest-height. Granite personally picked this one, so I’m expecting a fight, knowing how good these guys are with weapons.
He spins his axe on a loop around his fetlock, approaching Eight in a spiral. Then he darts forward, axe swinging with the added strength of the spin. I can barely believe how quick and agile he is even with his full plate armor. HE can suddenly barely believe that he’s flying many pony lengths through the air before crashing on the floor with the noise of a dropped bag of iron scrap.
“I underestimated her...” Granite breathes out when he realizes that Eight has just grabbed his fully armored dwarf mid-pounce, spun him in the air by his leg, and tossed him away like a rag doll.
“Yeah, don’t even bother trying to fight her one on one. She was born for this, and she only got better with time. Generally, I would hesitate to go fifty on one either. She is the paradigm of a warrior, Granite. From what I saw, she was supposed to be the new queen of the hive before our old one found out Eight’s rather fatal weakness.”
“Which is?”
“She’s not a leader. Specifically, she physically needs to serve and belong to someone, which made her completely ineligible. When I say she is mine, I mean it literally. Plus, this way she can focus on doing what she’s best at. Punching the bad guys. Aren’t you glad she’s on your side now?”
Granite just grunts something before nudging me.
“Your turn, king.”
“I’m not… much of a fighter, really.”
“Don’t worry.”
“Okay.”
I take my place inside a circle of dwarves staring at Eight with dropped jaws, and soon I’m faced with another dwarf who looks completely identical to others in his unmarked armor.
“Ha haaaa!” he proclaims, standing up on his hind legs, and twirling an axe around each front fetlock. He spins around, showing me strikes, lunges, and swings. Afterwards, he aims his flamethrower into the air, flicking his hoof which releases accurate and devastating bursts of fire. Woooow, now he’s lit his axes on fire and is spinning them in the air. That looks so cooool!
I stab him through his armor with a love lance.
“Oooookay...” snickering Granite jumps in, and leads me away immediately, “Let’s leave weapon training for some other time.”
“I-Is he okay? I wasn’t sure what was that about, but I kinda panicked when the fire barely missed my head and-”
“Yeah, he’s okay. From the looks of it, you missed everything vital. That’ll teach that idiot to show off,” he leans down to my hoof, “Was that magic?”
“I don’t know. It’s just something the old queen taught me,” I summon a small green blade from hoof, “It’s kinda tiring to keep it up, though.”
“It simply melted through the armor as if he wasn’t wearing anything,” Granite shakes his head in disbelief, “So, is continuous use exhausting for you? And you can do it whenever?” when I nod, he continues, “Then you don’t need to keep it up, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“If you swing your hoof at an enemy, and summon this thing only for a second in the end, they’ll just think you’re punching them until it’s too late.”
“Oh… OH!” I never thought about it like that, “That’s an awesome idea, Granite.”
“Thank you, king. Alright, so I think we’ll postpone combat training due to the potential of too many destroyed weapons. However, I think I’m going to send my friend’s weapon expert to think of a way to make use of your unique ability. I think she can also manage your physical exercises so that you don’t have to do them here if you want.”
“She?” Eight tilts her head and narrows her eyes ever so slightly.
“One of the Iron Roses who joined the army as soon as we relaxed the regulations. She’s smart, strong, good fighter, and also pleasing to the eye. Only the best for our king,” he looks straight at Eight with a grin that can only be described as digested love residue-eating.
Nope, he really doesn’t like Eight.
With this part of our today’s media adventure over, Granite leaves us in the care of Hard Hat and a group of miners.