Today I got my cutie mark! I was plowing the fields like I was told when I heard Honeysuckle scream. I dropped what I was doing and took off, fast as I as fast as I could. I found her on the other side of the corn field, running through the crops. She nearly ran into me.

And right behind her were two giant vicious timber wolves. When they approached us they slowed down and crouched into a stalking position, and they. They were too close for me to run away, I knew I wouldn’t be nearly as fast as them. I got between Honeysuckle and the wolves, telling her to run away.

Honeysuckle ran off, yelling for help, and that’s when that made the wolves attack. One of them tried to bite me, but I turned away and his teeth just grazed over my back. I bucked him really hard in the shoulder and he collapsed. I felt the wood breaking under my hooves.

It kinda kind of felt good. I realized I wanted to hurt them, because they threatened Honeysuckle. When it’s its shoulder broke it was like I was balancing everything out.

But then it started wimpering in pain. It looked very afraid. And that felt even better. I don’t know why.

The other one saw I had hurt it’s its friend and it was more cautious. It wouldn’t come after me like the other one did, but I just didn’t want it to be over yet. If once was good, twice would be better. So, I charged at it and it tried to run away, but when it turned around I jumped on it.

I tackled it to the ground and pummeled it a lot. Everything goes a little blurry after that, because I was what Mom calls “in a fit.” I remember being very angry, but it felt different this time. Normally when I am angry I get frustrated because I have to hold it all up like Mom tells me and it makes me feel even worse and I do something wrong and feel guilty and worried. I always worry that Mom is going to find a blood stain somewhere that I missed.

But this time afterwards I just felt relieved because I wasn’t going to be punished this time. It was like I had needed to breathe but hadn’t been getting enough air until now.

Shortly after I stopped fighting the other timber wolf it stopped moving and breathing, I looked over, but the other one had run away. Then my Uncle and my Dad ran over, because apparently Honeysuckle had gotten them. They were the ones who pointed out I had gotten my cutie mark. I had been so caught up in what I was doing, I hadn’t even noticed!

I was so happy, and they were happy for me. It was wonderful. Well, until they saw what was left of that timber wolf, then they both just got very quiet. I don’t know what was wrong. They just walked me back to the house and told me to take my supper upstairs and go to bed for the night.

They said we could sort it out later. They said it would be okay, though, and I didn’t have to worry about it, so I’m trying not too to. I’m just going to be happy I got my cutie mark!

I’m starting to really not like it here on the farm. Ever since I got my cutie mark, everypony has been acting a little strange around me, even Mom. Actually, make that especially Mom. Remember how I wrote the other day about the sherriff sheriff finding out about how I got my cutie mark? Well, a week ago, he invited me to train with him because he said I was obviously “born to protect.” He said that was what my cutie mark meant.

Mom said my cutie mark meant I was supposed to protect only the farm, and that the sheriff was a drunk and a crook. I don’t see how he could be a crook. He’s the sheriff, after all.

Well, I decided to train with him anyway. I sneak over to where he works, and he teaches me how to become a deputy. He says someday I’ll be able to become a paid employee for the city, and then Mom won’t be able to stop me, because I’ll be bringing money into the house. I hope he’s right.

Especially because I want to stop working on this stupid corn farm. I hit another growth spurt, and ever since then I have to work more than ever, even with me sneaking off all the time. And I hate corn.

I’m getting off this farm. Mom’s not gonna stop me. I’m good at being a deputy, and I like it. It’s better than farming. I can actually focus on it, without even trying. Also, sometimes, when I’m sparring to train, it’s kind of like it was with the wolves again. I like that.

XVII

“He cares no more for warnings, he rushes through the sky,
Braving the crags of ether, daring the gods on high,
Black 'gainst the crimson sunset, golden o'er cloudy snows,
With all Adventure in his heart the first winged man arose.”
-Stephen Vincent Benet, Winged Man

“It was by the fifth day that I developed a thorough understanding of the tigers’ mating habits. It seemed that during the spring, the males of the species would seek out the females, and engage in elaborate courtship rituals in an attempt to please the female. With her approval, copulation would begin shortly thereafter, and subsequently, a period of total monogamy for both individuals.

"As my predecessors had only studied the tigers during the fall and winter months, everyone on the expedition was surprised to see this kind of behavior, as this particular species had previously been noted for their territorial and solitary behavior. I speculate that these monogamous relationships are evolutionarily beneficial, as they ensure the survival of the offspring. I suppose it must be innate. Their genes must determine their behavior. I suppose they never really had a choice in the matter.”

Roads rolled his eyes and flipped the book close. He had thought the lighthearted nature study he picked up at the bookstore would be easy reading. Great idea. Of all the things he didn’t want to think of right now... Especially when he was supposed to be focusing on powering through these new dueling books.

He looked over at the small pile of tomes that sat beside his desk. He had been reading them for hours, and had decided to take a brief break. Just to help him focus.

He set the study aside and stood up, glancing at the room around him. He had been reading in here for a while, but it still gave him small thrills to look around at the lavish quarters Celestia had afforded him. King sized bed, hoofwoven exotic carpet, warm fireplace, crystal liquor chest, trunk full of alchemy reagents, mahogany workstation, a very, very well stocked bookshelf... Everything he could ask for.

He felt a warm buzz wash over him, part Celestia’s finest whiskey, part gratitude. How he loved the Princess.

Leaning over, he picked up one of the dueling books and inspected its cover. A Practical Guide to Arcane Dueling, it read. Roads had picked it up on the walk he had taken through Canterlot city after he left the hospital. He had decided to go with Summer on her next assignment, but he wasn’t going to leave Equestria again without taking some precautions. Even if the next expedition was probably going to be safe, he couldn’t bear the idea of being powerless again if something did go wrong.

So, since his shopping run, he had been sitting here, reading the texts and practicing utilizing magic. As it turned out, his ley lines had completely attuned to Summer’s overnight, and it seemed that ever since he had returned to Equestria, his ley lines had gained the capacity to become truly active. He theorized that due to the exposure to background ley signatures, his ley lines had minute shifts in polarity that kept them passive enough to require an arcane catalyst from an outside source.

Now there were no lines anywhere within miles. And even if he were standing in the middle of the Everfree, the effect on his lines would be a small fraction of what it had been on the island. The lines were just so much weaker here...

He frowned. If only he could find more powerful line without having to leave Equestria. Still, on the upside—magic! With focus and concentration, he could perform perfectly identical magic to Summer.

Of course, he worried about how he would do his job back in the Everfree without his wings, but for the time being, this was way better. He already knew almost every spell in the book, and now all he needed was to attune to a unicorn strong enough to cast the really tricky ones.

For now, though, Summer’s ley lines were perfect just to learn the basics. As the books guided him through creating working shields and focusing his ley energies into his movements, he steadily learned how to manipulate his copy of her line structures.

At first, it had been difficult. He discovered the reason in one of the spell tomes.

The amount of energy necessary to utilize any degree of spell is almost always constant. This means that over-charging the spell without increasing the complexity of the spellweaving will simply waste the excess energy. In order to cast a more powerful version of the same spell, you must not only increase the amount of energy going into the spell, but enhance the complexity of the spellweaving to account for such an increase. Conversely, using too little energy attempting too complex a spell will cause the spell to fail, rather than produce a diminished version of the original spell. The energy channeled into the spell may be lost in the process, depending on the spell in question.

In order to make sure one is producing magic the most efficiently, one must be familiar with two skills, without which one wastes vast amounts of energy. The first, is the ability to properly correlate the amount of energy you expend with the amount of energy demanded by the spell. To do so, one must have great control over the power of their spellweaving.

The second is to learn to cast with such proficiency, that absolutely all emitted arcane energy has perfect ley patterns, exactly matching those required by the spell. Often, unicorns will produce a volume of ley energy that is only a fraction active spell, and filled with poorly crafted ley patterns, which do not properly focus energy. With great control over the complexity and detail of one’s spellweaving, a unicorn can prevent this effect.

Over time, he managed to develop a passable level of skill at the two skills. He found it came easily to him. Probably because his contact with the nexi and frequent ley repolarization had imbued his lines with an unusual level of dexterity. Possibly because he was just talented.

He preferred to think of it as the former. The idea of him being talented struck him as heinous and heretical. It just wasn’t right.

At any rate, the texts were teaching him quite a bit of magic. Eager to learn more, he opened his ‘Practical Guide to Arcane Dueling,’ and began to skim the introduction. What he found intrigued him.

The history of the arcane dueling arts is a long and complex one. The earliest records of magical battles between unicorns describe primarily their talent at turning the tides of large battles between nations. On the battlefield, a single, highly trained unicorn could take out legions of soldiers on his own, as long as he had an army between him and his attackers.

As one on one fighters, however, the unicorns did not particularly excel. The massive, complex spells they could use to destroy whole groups at once required much time and energy. As such, if engaged at short range, they were forced to rely on only quicker, weaker spells.

This would ultimately lead to their downfall. Specially trained groups of mage-hunters, known as “spellblades,” began to crop up, used by kings to hunt down and assassinate enemy battle-unicorns. Unlike the traditionally trained unicorns, spellblades were taught both physical and arcane methods of fighting. While they were masters of using ley energies to enhance their physical capabilities, they were also well versed in one-on-one combat spells.

As such, they could easily slay classically trained unicorns and, over time, the ways of the spellblades became more and more well known. Eventually, when it came to standard self defense and martial training, their techniques became to standard. Thus, when dueling became a popular bloodsport among the populace of the older pony empires, it was the spellblades who dominated the arenas.

Eventually, the popularity of the dangerous sport waned, and dueling was forced underground. The duelists lost the respect of their communities, and their widespread fame. What they didn’t lose, however, was their bloodthirsty attitude and ruthless behavior.

Over the years, underground dueling systems were sustained by criminals and used as both venues for gambling, and combat support for the efforts of certain illicit organizations. It was at this point that most of the standards we have today for dueling were set in place, as talented young duelists from across the world met in these systems, refining the practice over years of competition.

After some time, though, the dueling systems were crippled by the concentrated efforts of the Royal Guard, who infiltrated the underground rings with leagues of undercover agents posing as duelists. Ironically, though the agents got rid of the dueling ring, the practices established in the ring lived on through them.

The Royal Guard found that the members who returned from undercover work were far more martially skilled than their other unicorns. They set a system in place for these guards to teach the rest what they had learned from the criminals.

At the present, those teachings have become the basis for modern unicorn training in the Guard. In fact, the Guard has conducted additional research into unlocking the ley potentials of both earth ponies, and pegasi. It is believed that with proper ley training, giants can become virtually immune to magic, and pegasi can begun to reach inpony levels of speed, perception, and coordination.

Naturally, of course, the private industry has come to reflect the military standards. These days, self-defense courses and martial arts styles for all ponies have increasingly come to follow the style of the Guard, and thus the duelists of old.

And that’s precisely where this book comes in! Whether it’s to make the cut and join the Guard, or to become adept at self defense, A Practical Guide to Arcane Dueling is here to teach you everything you need to know. Written by a former member of the Royal Guard with over two decades of experience training new recruits under his belt, this book will turn you into a paragon of martial prowess. Just flip to the next page, start on chapter one, and get started!

Roads cocked an eyebrow. A paragon of martial prowess, huh? Somehow, that didn’t sound like words he would ever use to describe himself, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t try. After all, what would Summer think of him on the next expedition when she saw him whipping out powerful duelist spells at the first hint of danger? He could only imagine the look on her face.

His enthusiasm quickly faded. The more spells he tried, the more he found Summer’s particular ley structures painfully limiting. It seemed Summer had practiced little magic outside the few spells she needed for cartography work, so her lines were poorly adapted for dueling. Roads could manage to cast weak telekinetic bolts of energy, and create basic, fragile shields and little else.

To make matters worse, his dueling books listed these as the most ineffective dueling spells, because they made use of simplistic, direct methods of stopping harmful spells, or harming opponents. The telekinetic bolt, the only combat spell Summer had practiced, was the dueling equivalent of an untrained punch—not very accurate, and not at all deadly.

I wish I could copy the lines of somepony who had actually spent time training. The lines of a real duelist would be complex and adapted to suit casting difficult, powerful magic with relative ease. For many duelists, the adaptations would even be obvious to somepony who couldn’t sense ley lines. Most duelists utilized only one specific type of magic, usually just modified for many different applications. And, if he could manage to actually talk to one for a while, a real duelist might be able to give him a few pointers that could come in handy later.

But where could he find somepony like that? Could Chief have a friend who might be able to help him? Perhaps somepony from the Royal Guard...

But who said he needed Chief’s assistance to get a Guard to help him out? He was one of Celestia’s guests after all, surely he could one of them to spare him a minute or two to copy his lines. The only problem was that he didn’t know where the unicorn duelists would be. Standing, Roads headed to the door.

It didn’t matter. He could ask directions from a guard. All he had to do was find one.

Roads stepped out into the hall just as a flustered looking white unicorn carrying a box full of parchments emerged from the bend at the end of the hallway. He had on gleaming purple and gold armor—he must have been a higher ranking member of the guard. Perfect.

The guard blinked and came to a halt, staring down at Roads. “Listen, I’m really busy right now—”

The unicorn sighed, running a hoof through his blue and turquoise mane. “What is it?” he asked, glancing over Roads’ shoulder to the door at the end of the hallway.

“I need to talk to one of the Guards’ unicorn duelists for a little while. Know where I could find somepony like that?”

The unicorn’s brow furrowed. “Well, yeah, but anypony near the Castle is going to be on duty, and my stallions aren’t going to have time to chat.”

“Umm...” the unicorn said, stepping past Roads. “Maybe one of the cadets down by the training fields could help you. Head down to our headquarters and ask to be shown to the training area, tell them Shining Armor sent you. There might be somepony there who could lend a hoof,” he said, inching away from Roads.

But Shining Armor was already halfway down the hall, nearly galloping for the door. “No problem,” he called over his shoulder.

Wonder what he’s in such a rush for, Roads thought, until a sudden realization dawned on him. Wait... Shining Armor... I know that name! That was the captain of the Royal Guard! Roads raised his eyebrows. No wonder he was in such a rush. I can’t believe he even stopped and spoke to me, he thought, turning and heading the opposite way down the hall.

Fifteen minutes and two more stops for directions later, he stood outside the doorway to the massive, heavily fortified building that served as the Guard’s national headquarters. He pushed open the heavy steel door and stepped into a narrow, brightly lit hallway. At the other end, two guards waited behind a long metal table. He walked over to them, hooves clicking on the polished linoleum floor, wondering what he was supposed to do. He’d never been here before...

She jerked her head, gesturing behind her. “It’s through these doors, but we don’t exactly let just anyone in here. Did he give you anything for us, a note, a seal, anything?”

Roads swallowed. Why hadn’t he realized the Guard wasn’t just going to let him waltz into whatever facilities he wanted? “No, not really. I guess if you wanted, you could try to get in touch with him, and ask him about me, but he seemed really busy—I don’t really think you should bother him now.”

The guard on the left cocked his head, leaning back in his chair. “Well, looks he’s at least seen Shining Armor lately, he’s been running around working on god knows what this whole week.”

“So, why not let the kid in? What’s he gonna do, kill somepony with a training dagger?”

The mare rolled her eyes. “Alright, fine.” She looked over at Roads. “Right through here, go on in.”

He walked through the door and found himself in a large, spacious lobby, full of Guards who bustled in and out of the doors that lined the walls, carrying files, escorting civilians, and chattering loudly amongst themselves. In the center of the room was a large metal kiosk housing three busy-looking ponies and surrounded by a group of Cloudsdale pegasi looking for directions.

He walked over to the kiosk, waited until the pegasi were finished, then asked where the training fields were. One of the ponies behind the counter promptly directed him through a set of double doors on the far end of the room, which Roads found actually led back outside. He found himself standing in a large, grassy clearing surrounded by a network of tall, metal fences topped by razor wire.

Roads turned to see a bearded old unicorn sitting under the awning next to the door, smoking a cigar and reading the newspaper.

“Yeah,” Roads replied. “Shining Armor sent me here, I’m looking to talk to a duelist. He said there might be somepony training here who could help me out.”

“Well,” the unicorn said, taking the cigar out of his mouth and tapping off a bit of ash. “I’m a duelist.”

“But I don’t feel like talking to you,” he finished, and took a puff of the cigar.

The unicorn pointed towards the far end of the field, where two figures were standing near one of the fences. “They could help you though. They’re idiot rookies. Go talk to one of them.”

Roads set off at a brisk trot, excited to see what the two duelists might have to say to him. As he got closer, he got a better look at the pair. They were standing perfectly still, eyes locked on each other, both in combat stances. On the left was a tall, thin mare, with an olive coat and a curly chestnut mane. Opposite her was a heavily built stallion wearing a heavy winter coat with a high collar that obscured the lower part of his face, and large, tinted eyeglasses that covered the rest.

When he was within ten feet of them, the mare suddenly turned, horn alight, and from the tip of her horn emerged two long, thorny vines. They hung over her head for a moment, then shot towards Roads in the blink of an eye. He gave a shrill yelp and dove sideways just as they buried themselves in the dirt where his hooves had been a second before.

The mare’s eyes widened, then she burst out laughing. She clapped a forehoof to her face. “I thought that was one of yours, Orion!” she cried. Turning to Roads, she looked him over, a rueful look across her face. “I’m so sorry about that, I thought you were an illusion,” she said, walking over to meet him. As she apologized, Roads noticed she spoke with a slight lisp.

She jerked her head towards the stallion. “Orion and I have been sparring. He has a notorious habit of trying to mess with my head during our fights. And it never works,” she shot at him.

She bounced over to him and extended a forehoof. “Hey. I’m Rose,” she said with a smile, her lips curled at the edges into a pleased smirk.

“Roads,” he replied, taking her hoof and feeling a jolt run through him as he forced his lines to attune to hers.

“Oh!” she said. “That’s a wonderful name. It sounds just like mine, now we’ll have to be friends.”

“So, what’s a pegasus doing out on the duelist training fields?” Orion cut in.

“I’ve been needing to talk to a duelist,” Roads replied. “Shining Armor said I might find somepony out here who could help me. Are you two busy?”

“Well, basically,” Roads started, pawing at the ground and wondering how to explain his situation succinctly, “I need somepony to teach me how to duel.”

“Yeah, I know. But look at this,” he replied. Furrowing his brow, he focused his magic into a forehoof, and telekinetically lifted a large rock off the ground beside Rose. Her eyes widened.

“My ley lines are kind of... unusual. I can copy anypony else’s lines, just by touching them, and cast the spells they’re used to using.”

“Hmm...” Orion murmured, suddenly attentive. “A copy duelist. That’s different.”

“What?” Roads asked, peering at him. He averted his eyes, then glanced over at Rose. Orion said something under his breath that Roads couldn’t make out. Rose rolled her eyes.

“Don’t mind him,” she said to Roads. “He’s weird. He made really stupid joke about some arcane texts from the Celestene Era detailing the work of groups of unicorns who used special potions and tinctures in order to steal the magic of their foes and use it against them. Supposedly, they were all very feared and respected, back when that was common.”

“The practice died out,” Orion said. “There are a bunch of ways to counter a copy duelist, and people started digging them up. Suddenly, copying wasn’t so in vogue anymore. In the world of dueling, it happens all the time. New dueling styles rise, stay dominant for a while, then somepony figures out its weaknesses and it falls. Only to be replaced again.”

Rose shrugged. “These days, most of the mainstream duelists model their styles off of the Guard’s Way of the Unicorn. It’s all about balancing physical and arcane martial arts, which tends to produce lots of very versatile duelists. And that’s pretty much what the Guard is looking for, and what tends to do well in the underground rings.”

Rose laughed, and beside her Orion made a noise that might have been a chuckle. “The Way takes years, even decades to master. It’s not something you pick up in a day,” he said.

“But,” Rose cut in, “we could give you a crash course. What do you need to learn to duel for?”

“I’ve started working with the Royal Expeditionary Aggregate, and I want to be able to defend myself for the work they send me out on,” Roads replied.

Rose nodded. “Oh yeah, I’ve heard of them. They hire up a lot of ex-Guards as mercenaries.”

“Strange they would contract you to work protection detail if you don’t know how to fight,” Orion observed.

“Technically we already have protection, actually. I’m just the botanist.But I want to be able to help out in dangerous situations, you know?”

“Well, we could definitely give you a few pointers,” Rose said. “How much do you know about dueling already?” she asked.

“Only the stuff I’ve been able to pick up out of a few secondhoof textbooks,” Roads said.

Orion shook his head. “No good,” he said. “Learning to duel is a hooves-on kind of thing. It’s tough to figure it out from a book.”

“There were a few, but I could hardly do any of them because my lines at the time weren’t properly adapted. That’s one of the reasons I came to see you, actually.”

“Well, in that case, let’s see you try to cast one of my spells!” she said excitedly.

“Hmm...” she said, thinking for a second. “Let’s start with something simple. Try to match this.”

Her horn glowed, and all around her, green stalks began to shoot up out of the ground. They bloomed before his eyes, buds opening to expose bright red petals. Rose reached down and picked one, smiling, then tucked it behind her ear.

Simple? Roads thought. That’s simple? A ground-to-organism transmutation and then a growth acceleration spell? I know how to do all that in theory, but still...

This was not going to be easy. Bracing himself, he closed his eyes and focused, trying to build up enough energy for the spell. His hooves glowed with a vivid aura as he released the energy, channeling it into the spell. He opened his eyes to see that all around him, massive green shoots sprung from the ground, rising several feet into the air, then bloomed into misshapen greyish flowers, covered in thorns.

Rose’s high, clear laugh echoed across the training fields. “Wow, you really put some oomf into that one. You turned it into something else entirely! Good job!”

“No,” Roads interjected. “He’s right, I wasn’t really going for that. I guess I just totally overloaded the spell because I thought it would be, you know...”

Rose smiled at him. “I’ve done that spell a million times. It comes really easy to me, which means it should come pretty easily to you, too. Well, at least, in terms of difficulty channeling—you still have to know exactly how the spell is supposed to be cast. How many dueling spells do you know of?”

“Uhh...” Roads said, thinking for a second. “I’m pretty familiar with everything Class-4 and below.”

“That’s thousands of spells, Roads. Where’d you have time to learn that many? Besides the ones I know, I haven’t memorized much beyond Class-2, and I study constantly!”

“Same here,” Orion said. “I’ve been working with the Guard since I was sixteen, I haven’t even gotten through half of Class-3 yet.”

Roads shrugged. “I used to go to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Since I couldn’t actually perform any spells, I had to pass my classes just by knowing the intricacies of, well, pretty much all of them.”

“The benefits of not having to actually practice your casting, I guess,” Orion said.

Rose rolled her eyes. “So, if you know all that magic, you should be able to figure out my dueling repertoire pretty quickly. I say, why not just go ahead and get started?”

“Uh...” Roads murmured, rubbing at his left foreleg. “I don’t really know if I’m ready for that...”

Rose nudged him. “Eh, we’ll start out slow. You can spar with Orion, I’ll guide you through it step by step. I’ve been kicking his flank up and down this field for months now, I could teach a monkey to do it.”

Orion snorted. “Please. We’re evenly matched. That’s the whole reason the instructors always pair us up anyway.”

“So he says,” Rose whispered to Roads. “So, want a weapon?” she asked him, gesturing to a large grey shed at the corner of the field.

“Training field rules say everypony has to duel with one out here and stop when it breaks,” she said.

Roads nodded. It made sense. The Sihouette Shield spells were a form of direct repulsion shields that contoured exactly to one’s body and only activated in the face of imminent danger. Because they would shatter after blocking only one or two blows, and generally use excessive amounts of energy, they were impractical for real dueling, but perfect for sparring.

“Well, even so, I don’t really think I’d be all that good with a weapon. I’ve never really used one before. Couldn’t I just stick to spells? I’d really rather avoid all of the physical fighting.”

Rose sighed at him. “Just like a CSGU student to try and rely on spellwork alone. Listen, Roads, the whole point of dueling is to mix physical and arcane combat. It’s the surest way to win—if you rely on just spells, the second you face up against somepony with more ley energy than you, you lose. And I’d be willing to bet Orion’s got way better stamina than you.”

“Alright, fine. I don’t really see what the point is if I can barely fight though.”

“Trust me, after you cast your enhancement spells, you won’t have any trouble.”

Rose shook her head. “Physical shields are no good in dueling unless you can imbue them with ley energy. And that’s really not my thing.”

Rose nodded. Her horn lit, and the shed doors opened. A polished steel dagger flew from between them and buried itself between Roads’ hooves. He barely managed to suppress a shriek of surprise. Gathering himself, he bent down and picked it up, surprised at how heavy it felt in his hoof.

Rose shrugged. “Most ponies prefer to hold it with their magic—for a practiced duelist, it doesn’t take much more energy than using one’s hooves. I do know a couple of duelists who go earth pony style and use their hooves. Personally, I can’t stand running around on three legs.”

“What about those crazy calf harnesses that let you flip the blade over so you can run on all fours?”

“Well, ponies who haven’t trained with those usually end up stabbing themselves, so...”

“I’ll pass.” His hooves glowed, and the dagger rose into the air beside him. Roads found the levitation surprisingly easy, much more so that hauling rocks around with Summer’s lines. He jerked his head towards Orion. “How come he’s not using a weapon?” he asked.

“They would only slow him down. He has a pretty special way of fighting. You’ll see.”

She ignored that, turning to the unicorn, who had walked across the field and turned to face Roads. “You ready?” she called.

“Okay, Roads, now let’s start off slow. You know about SPAR augments, right?”

Roads knew. She was talking about the main four spells that duelists often used to enhance their physical capabilities, so that they could compete with the earth ponies’ strength and the pegasi’s speed.

“Strength, Perception, Agility, Reflexes, yeah. I’ve never managed to do them before, though. Haven’t had the right lines.”

“Well, I practice my SPAR spells every day, so it should be pretty easy for you. Remember, unlike most spells, augmentation is scalar—the more energy you put into it, the more powerful it gets.”

“Right, but the thing is, you have to make sure you don’t burn up all of your energy just on augmentations. Only use as much as you need, or else—”

Enhancement races were the duelists terms for when opponents tried to overwhelm each other by constantly increasing the energy they used for augmentation spells, instead of mixing in other dueling spells as well. Like duels with two opponents relying on only arcane combat, enhancement races were uniformly won by whomever had the most energy on reserve. For anyone who wasn’t an augmentation specialist—a pony who intentionally trained for such races—it could be a dangerous game. It was one Roads didn’t plan on trying.

Rose smiled. “You really know your stuff,” she said. “Good for you! Let’s see if you can cast it, too.”

Roads nodded, closed his eyes again, and focused on casting the first spell. Strength. He found it came easily to him—Rose was right, she really had practiced. A feeling of incredible power rushed over him, and he felt his muscles tense and bunch with energy. He felt, well, strong, stronger than he had ever been in his life, as though he could lift carriages and smash through walls. He wondered if this was what it was like to be Chief.

Perception. This one was easier. It came quickly. He cast the spell, and his vision became... different. Sharper, clearer. Everything seemed to move more slowly, he could make out every detail of... everything. He couldn’t tell how he was processing it all, but his eyes were tracking everything in front of him, perfectly.

He pushed the thought to the back of his mind. It was time to focus on the next spell. Agility. His hooves glowed even brighter, and suddenly a second feeling washed over him. It was a strange sort of lightness, as though his body weighed nothing at all, as though with a twitch he could dash away, or send himself flying through the air in insane acrobatics. It almost reminded him of what it had been like to open his wings—back when they worked.

Then it was time for the last spell. Reflexes. The aura around around him swelled, and a strange feeling passed over his entire body. As he looked around, things seemed to move differently now, in a strange, hallucinatory way, as though he could see where everything were going to be before it was actually there. Everything around him seemed to move in a distant rhythm, and without even thinking about it, his body moved subtly along with it.

He blinked. With the combination of all four spells, he felt powerful, deadly, and most of all, alive. He could take on anyone. He could take on the world. No one stood a chance against him.

Well, except anypony else who could also cast those spells. Orion, for instance.

Roads realized she was right. Even just standing here, he could feel his stamina being steadily siphoned away, to the point he would be drained if he kept this up for more than a few minutes.

He cut back on how much energy he was putting into his spellwork. The euphoria he had felt earlier vanished, but the feeling of strength and vitality remained, albeit diminished. That was probably for the best. He didn’t want his spells making him too cocky. From what he had read, cocky duelists never lasted very long.

“Alright, well, I’ll give Orion the signal in a second. He’ll come at you, but don’t be too frightened—he’ll be pulling his punches. And I’ll be following you around all over the field, giving advice.”

“You sure about that? Will you be able to keep up and dodge attacks?” he asked.

Rose shot him a haughty smirk. “Don’t worry about me. You might have my lines, but there aren’t many ponies in Equestria with my energy reserves. I can be faster than you and Orion put together when I need to be.”

“Okay, starting in three... two... one... go!” she shouted, a plume of golden sparks erupting from her horn.

Across the field, Roads caught a flicker of movement. Orion was charging him. And he was fast. Even with his enhanced reflexes, he barely had time to think before Orion was upon him..

As the other pony approached, Roads panicked. Wait, what am I supposed to do?! She never actually told me how to start a fight! I don’t even know any of her dueling spells!

His muscles locked, his mind racing, and for a second, he just stood there as the other pony bore down on him.

Roads came to his senses and leapt sideways, accidentally underestimating his new strength and sending himself flying off into the fence. He slammed into it with a heavy thud but, felt little pain. Must be the shield.

He glanced over at the spot he had been, looking for Orion. The other pony wasn’t there. There was a cough behind him.

Roads whipped around to see Orion leaning casually against the wall, front hooves crossed.

Roads leapt to his hooves, and Orion was on him in a heartbeat. He threw a punch at Roads, but the pegasus could see it coming from a mile away. Before he could even realize what was happening, his body moved instinctively, almost on its own. He ducked the blow flawlessly.

For a split second, he was stunned, surprised he had managed to do something so... competent. He felt like cheering inside. Look at him, a born duelist!

Then Orion kicked him in the face and he didn’t feel like cheering anymore. The blow lifted him into the air, off his hooves. For a second, he felt himself hang aloft before crashing to the ground, landing hard on his upper back. He let the momentum carrying him backwards into a roll that ended with him on his hooves again.

He looked up, and Orion was already standing in front of him. He slashed at the unicorn with his dagger. Orion didn’t move. The blade slid effortlessly through his chest, and then he vanished. Roads stumbled forwards, stunned.

“Game over,” said a voice from behind him, and he felt a hoof touch the back of his neck.

Roads tried to turn around, but before he could move, his shield shattered and a shock traveled through his body, locking his muscles. He crashed to the ground. For a second, he just lay there, stunned and paralyzed.

“Aww, Orion, that wasn’t fair,” he heard Rose say. “I don’t think he was expecting you to bring out the illusions this early. And did you have to hit him with the Paralytic Touch?”

“I was going easy on him,” Orion said. “In a real fight, I could’ve just drained all of his energy, or at least hit him with a real paralysis. This will fade in a few seconds.”

Orion was right. Roads could already feel his muscles relaxing. He tried to move his forehoof. It took him several seconds. There were hoofsteps beside him, then two forelegs grabbed his sides and turned him over. His eye refocused in time to see Rose standing over him, smiling.

“Not bad,” she said, “considering it was your first duel, and all. That lasted seven whole seconds!”

“Not at all. He kept up, at first. Let’s give him another shot, I bet he does plenty better.”

“Alright,” Rose said. She glanced down at Roads. “You up for it? Can you move again?”

Roads slowly got to his hooves. “Yeah. Just let me recast my dueling spells. When he paralyzed me they all just... faded.”

Orion nodded. “The power of the Paralytic Touch. It sends a burst of energy through your ley lines, halts all of your spellcasting. Even the passive spells, like augmentations. Oh, and locks your muscles, of course.”

“Great... how am I supposed to compete with that?” he asked, glancing at Rose.

“Well, he can only do it if he’s touching your spine—keep him from getting behind you, and you’ll be safe from that.”

“How am I supposed to do that, exactly? I can’t tell if he’s standing in front of me if he can conjure illusions that look just like him!”

“Well, you need to keep him off of you in general, for starters. Orion specializes in ley disruption techniques—he wins his fights by draining his opponents ley energy into himself, or by shocking opponent’s lines. It’s all very devastating, but very close range.”

“Mid-range. I like to let my plants to the fighting for me. Listen, have you heard of the Demon Roots spell?”

“Those are some of my specialties. Try using them to keep Orion at bay, see how much better you do. And if you can manage to steal some of his energy with the Demon Roots, well, it’s just that much better, then.”

He leapt backwards, sending himself flying away from Roads, then landed easily twenty yards away. Roads let loose a low whistle. These duelists sure were something. Roads closed his eyes, cast his augmentations, then raised his shield again.

“Okay, once again, starting in three... two... one... go!” she shouted. Another plume of golden sparks. Orion charged again.

But Roads was prepared this time. He focused, channeling his energy into the Demon Root spell. He felt a tingling in his hooves as a series of enchanted roots grew outwards a foot under the ground beneath him. He directed them forwards, towards Orion, then stopped, waiting for the right moment. In the earth, they curled in tune with his anticipation.

Orion crossed into Roads’ range. The ground beneath him exploded as a series of roots thick as Roads’ foreleg shot up from beneath the ground. The unicorn leapt into the air as the roots gnarled and twisted around the legs of a pony who was no longer there.

Orion landed hard, a few feet away from Roads, then rolled away as another bundle of roots sprouted from the ground beneath him. His momentum carried him back onto his hooves, and he dashed forwards once more.

“He’s too close!” Rose shouted from somewhere behind him. “Use the Thorns!”

He didn’t have time to question her judgement. Roads cast the spell on instinct, putting as much energy as he could into the spell, hoping it would work. It was a Class-3, after all, the most powerful spell he had tried yet.

All around him, dirt was sent flying into the air as three massive vines, covered in razor sharp thorns, sprouted from the ground and encircled him, spiked sides facing outwards. He continued channeling energy for a moment, letting them grow up around his head. Roads breathed out, readying himself. He released the energy, hoping Orion was still near.

Outside of the floral barrier, the thorns were launched away from the plants in all directions. Roads let the spell fade, and the vines dropped to the ground, lifeless. He exhaled hard, winded from the difficult enchantment. He had put way too much energy into that, wasted tons of his reserves. Hopefully Orion wouldn’t capitalize on his mistake.

But where was he? The unicorn had been in front of him, but now he was nowhere to be s—

There was a rush of air before him, and before he could process what was happening, he had already leapt forwards just as Orion crashed to the ground where he had been. Roads landed on his forehooves, and, channeling a burst of energy into his Agility Augmentation, forced his rear legs over his head and pushed hard, sending his body into the air in a half-somersault.

He landed shakily and whipped around to see Orion standing a few yards away from him.

“But...” he continued thoughtfully, “another frontal assault would be boring, wouldn’t it?”

The unicorn bent down into a combat position, horn pointed at Roads. He breathed out slowly, and Roads noticed his muscles flexing and rippling beneath his coat.

“He’s focusing his energy, Roads!” he heard Rose. “Do something, quickly!”

She was right. A glow formed around his horn, then spread to cover his entire body.

But he didn’t have time to think about that right now. He reared and stretched his forelegs out in front of him, hooves glowing as he readied another spell. A twisting feeling made its way through his forelegs as two large vines sprouted from them, sliding out of the end of his coat sleeves, spiked tips hovering in the air before him.

His breath came fast as he struggled to control them. It was another Class-3 spell, and it was draining him fast. He needed to make a move, and quickly.

Before him, Orion raised his horn, and there was a bright flash as he released the energy he had been building. Roads looked around, and his jaw dropped. He was surrounded by a small army of Orions, perhaps two dozen in all.

“They’re just illusions, Roads! Take them out before the real one can get to you!”

All around him, the Orions dashed towards him, closing in fast. Roads struck at four different ones with the vines. They elongated rapidly, speeding towards the targets. Their thorned tips passed harmlessly through all four, and they disappeared.

Roads’ stomach fell. He didn’t have time to try again. Seven of the Orions were already upon him. He slashed at one with the dagger, but it dodged, just as the second leapt forwards, diving at him.

Roads struggled, trying to get away, but he didn’t have enough energy left. The spells had left him almost completely drained. Then Orion’s horn lit, and began draining the rest. Jerking and writhing, he fought against Orion’s iron grip, but soon found himself growing weaker and weaker. His strength augmentation was gone, drained away by Orion. A second later, his shield faded too, and the other pony let him go.

Roads fell to his knees, panting hard. “That’s it,” he said, sweat dripping down the sides of his face. “I’m done. I’m out of energy.”

He felt a hoof on his shoulder. “Roads, that was awesome!” Rose said happily. “You’re a natural!”

“—fine, maybe the best new Guard recruit. We’re both halfway done with our training as duelists, of course you never stood a chance. But you lasted longer than anyone could have expected—and your spellwork was perfect. I mean, really, really perfect. You cast two Class-3’s for the first time, back to back, like it was nothing. You must really know your stuff!”

Roads shrugged. “It was nothing, really,” he said between breaths. “I’ve just spent so long reading about this kind of stuff, I know the casting processes as well as anyone else—and with your lines, I can mimic your expertise.”

Orion frowned at him. “Rose excepted, duelists are an egotistical bunch. We love to cut each other down. So, when someone gives you a compliment, it’s best just to accept it. If you take that attitude all the time, you’ll get eaten alive.”

Rose gave a loud, fake gasp. “A compliment? From Orion?! I never thought I’d see the day...”

Reaching down, he offered Roads a foreleg. Roads took it, and the unicorn helped him to his hooves. Roads dusted himself off, groaning as he felt his muscles ache with the movement. Now that the augmentations had worn off, his body felt tired and overworked. That he was still recovering from the injuries he had received on the island probably wasn’t helping much, either.

“Thanks for the help, you two,” he said. “But I think that’s about it for me. I doubt I’ll be able to cast another spell for a while.”

“Well, in that case, want to watch me and Orion spar?” Rose asked. “You might learn a thing or two.”

“I just remembered, I’m supposed to Princess Celestia soon, she wanted to talk to me at six.”

“Well,” Rose responded, staring up into the sky. “Based on the angle of the sun right now—and on my wristwatch—I’d have to say five-’till-six.”

Roads paled. “Uh-oh. I must have lost track of time.” He glanced over his shoulder at the castle in the distance. “There’s no way I’m gonna make it.”

The unicorn sighed, shooting a look at Rose. “Of course not,” he said flatly, with a roll of his eyes. “Happy to help.”

He held out a hoof, and Roads took it. Orion closed his eyes, focusing, as a ball of arcane power formed at the tip of his horn.

Roads started to respond, but was cut off by a flash of light. He was wrapped in a sudden darkness, and a cold, deathly foreboding. Wherever he was, he hung, weightless and unseeing, trying to figure out what was going on. From somewhere far away, he heard a deathly whisper. There was no way of knowing what it was saying, but he knew it was bad. Very bad. He needed to get away, needed to—

His face slammed into something, and he opened his eyes to the same stone floor he had been teleported onto yesterday. From somewhere above and behind him, he heard voices.

“Yes, I heard something similar from Professor Sunburst. I think he should show up sometime s—”

He got to his hooves and turned around to see Orion and Princess Celestia staring at him, confusion on the face of the former, and concern on that of the latter.

That was a lie. There was a coldness in the pit of his stomach, and a residual fear of that odd whisper. Still, he couldn’t show it. This was the Princess he was talking to, after all.

If she knew he was lying, she didn’t say so. “Good,” she replied. “Please, come with me.”

Behind her, the door swung magically open, and she turned to step back into her quarters. “Thank you for your help, Orion. I think it’s time you got back to your training.”

Roads walked forward, into the Princess’ room, glancing around at the furnishings as the door swung closed behind him. Celestia’s quarters were exactly as he remembered them from his days at school. A large, majestic bed in the center of the room, a tall, gilt bookcase beside it, a glass door leading out onto the balcony that overlooked all of Canterlot. Nothing had changed. And why should it? Celestia’d had thousands of years to get everything just as she liked it.

“Roads,” Celestia started, breaking his train of thought. “Do you have any idea why you’re here?”

There was a solemn tone in her voice, one he wasn’t used to hearing, that sent a shiver down his spine. Had he done something wrong? Perhaps on the island? Or was she angry about what he had done to Poppycock?

She gave a slight smile at that. “In a manner of speaking, yes. But not with me.”

Roads let out a sigh of relief, the knot of tension in his stomach dissolving. “What kind of trouble?” he asked.

Celestia sat down on a large cushion at the foot of her bed. She looked at him thoughtfully. “The kind that’s difficult to explain succinctly.”

He frowned. Sometimes the Princess’ habit of speaking indirectly bothered him.

“I wouldn’t have called you here if I weren’t planning to. The problem is, the things I’m about to tell you are a bit... classified.”

“Classified? Have I gotten wrapped up in the Guard’s business or something?”

Celestia shook her head. “This is the sort of thing that is out of the Guard’s jurisdiction.”

Roads’ brow furrowed. Out of the Guard’s jurisdiction? What did that even mean?

“I can see that you’re confused. Perhaps I had better start at the beginning—but first, Roads, I need to know something.”

Stories of a Warden

by Rosencranz

XVII