Epilogue 2: Training
Jay helped the various ponies and humans in the field. They had been harvesting the corn for ages. He'd do anything to get out of it.
Hey Jay, what 'cha doing? Rissa asked through her mind. She was getting better, but she still needed practice.
Harvesting corn, he replied with a silent grunt.
Want to get out of it? Rissa asked.
Please and thank you.
A dragon flew over the horizon. "Jay!" Rissa shouted from Ckaijen's back. "Our presence is required, let's go!"
"Alright. Sorry guys, gotta go!" Jay shouted, hopping on Ckaijen's saddle. They took off. "I love you."
"I know," Rissa replied.
Ugh, Ckaijen complained. Don't get all gross on me now.
"When are we 'gross' when you're around?" Jay asked. "Wait, shouldn't you be with my dad, studying?"
"Yes." Rissa turned around and kissed Jay.
I tried talking her out of it, Ckaijen said.
Taro was back at the house. He came into the den where he had left Rissa. All he did was get a new book after Rissa froze the other one. She just started work with magic. "Rissa!" he shouted, seeing the den empty.
"Skipped out again?" Rainbow Dash asked from the other room.
"Yep," Taro said. "She's Jarden's kid alright." Rainbow Dash walked in and lay down on the couch. She was carrying a new book Twilight had written about Taro. Something like "The Legacy of the Rider". It didn't look so great, but Taro promised to read it anyway.
"I bet," she said.
"I don't know what's up with her. Jay's just fine with waiting, but every time Rissa and I have a lesson, she leaves."
"Well I guess you'll have to stay with her next time."
Taro sat down on the couch with Rainbow Dash. "Yeah, I guess I will. But you know what, she'll still manage to slip away."
Taro had Rissa and Jay in the backyard. He threw them two sticks. "Now, you two both need severe practices with swords and I'm not going to stop until we need a spell to heal you after the damage you'll deal," he said.
"Dad, I've been using a hidden blade for so long..." Jay started.
"I don't care, you need to learn to fight with a sword too."
"What, are we fighting each other?" Rissa asked.
"Of course. I'm too strong for either of you, and, I hate to say it, Rissa, you're even too strong for Jay from his lack of sword training. Now fight."
"I'm not going to fight my girlfriend," Jay insisted.
Rissa swung toward Jays stomach, nailing him. Jay slowly turned. "Come on, she wants to fight you," Rissa said innocently.
Jay swung a powerful swing at Rissa's head, which she blocked. She then spun around and hit Jay in his side again with the end of her stick. Jay swung at her again and hit her. She fell to the ground. "Ow, Jay, that was so mean," she complained. "That really hurt." She clutched her side.
Jay knelt down to her. "I'm sorry, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm..." She grabbed Jay's shirt and spun him around onto the ground so she was kneeling on top of him.
"Finding your opponents weakness and using it against them, excellent. Jay, cover your weakness and don't be so sympathetic."
"Gee, thanks Dad, love you too," Jay replied, getting up.
"No problem, go again."
"What?"
"I said go again."
Three hours later, Jay and Rissa walked in the house, covered in bruises, Jay more-so than Rissa.
"Excellent job, you two. Now let's work on our magic lesson for the day," Taro congratulated, following them.
Jay and Rissa grunted. This whole 'mentor' thing was really getting annoying.
"Jay, would you mind lighting that candle?" Taro asked walking into the den.
Jay turned to the candle and stuck out his right arm. "Brisingr," he said calmly. Nothing happened. "Brisingr," he said again.
Rissa walked up to him. "Try thinking of less. Focus your strength and power from your mind, to your body and force it out through your hand. Give it no other exit." She rose her arm. "Brisingr." The candle started with a satisfying crack.
"Very good, Rissa. Of course, having a mark to let it through makes it easier, but it's still impressive."
Jay sat in his room, the candle in front of him. He just couldn't get the spell to work. Rissa and Taro were outside, working on "mental focus" or something. Jay rethought Rissa's advice. He entered his mind and accessed the small bit of his brain he thought to be housing the magic. The power slowly urged through him. It filled his body, giving only one place to go. Out. He extended his arm toward the candle. "Brisingr." Fire rose onto the flammable material. But not the candle. The curtain behind the candle. It started as a small flame, but quickly grew larger as Jay tossed a bucket of water at it. He had thought something like that would happen.
Rainbow Dash was on her way outside to tell Taro that Jarden needed to speak with him when she got drenched as the water passed through the floor boards. "Jay!"
"Uh oh, that's not good." Jay slowly marched down the stairs to meet his soaked mother. "Y-yes?" he stuttered.
"Notice anything different about me?" she asked.
"Um... new manecut?"
"Not even close."
Taro lay with Rainbow Dash in bed that night. "I don't know why you're so angry with him, he finally used magic!" he said gleefully.
"You know how hard it is to get my mane to dry correctly. The strands mix with the other colors and looks like a mess." she fought back.
Taro brushed some hair out of her face. "I know, but still, what was he supposed to do? Let the house burn?"
"I guess not, but he could have at least used a different spell in the house."
"Alright, yeah, a fire spell in his room next to a curtain was a pretty bad idea, but he took the necessary precautions."
"Necessary precautions? He had a bucket of water!"
"What do you want? Two for when he misses the first one?"
"It wouldn't have been a bad idea!"
"Okay, okay. Fine. He could have been smarter, but my son finally used magic. I'll find another way to punish him. Forbidding him to see Rissa is a little difficult."
"Fine, fair enough."