Blackest Knight
Chapter 5
John awoke early in the morning. The pain of yesterday’s enhancements had completely disappeared, as well as the small incision marks, so he immediately set into his morning routine. Fifty pushups, fifty sit-ups, seventy-five pull-ups, one hundred squats, and one hundred jumping jacks later, he performed several stretching routines the changelings had shown him. The changelings were far more flexible than normal humans, and being advanced techniques, the routines were quite difficult. They proved extremely effective, however, and provided limber arms and legs for strenuous training. His caretaker brought him his breakfast soon after John finished.
“Eat up,” the changeling commanded with a sneer. John would have cracked a joke about the wrong side of the bed, but this changeling kind of hated him. He decided to simply eat. The changeling filled the silence, “Your training is going to be altered.” John looked up from his meal, feeling sick as he had the night before. The changeling continued obliviously, “Halberd is going to teach you the art of espionage.”
John would have laughed if his breakfast wasn’t threatening to come up. “I don’t think I will be able to blend in to any crowds.” John was two feet taller than the changelings, and it would probably be the same if he infiltrated another hive, “Unless I am being sent back to the human world.”
The changeling laughed before replying, “Queen Chrysalis has no interest in the human world, so you will never be sent there.”
“Then it’s an Equestrian hive I am infiltrating?”
The changeling looked at John as if he was stupid, before laughing again, “No, Equestria has no hive, you fool.” He offered no explanation except telling John to report to Halberd and left. John finished his meal and waited for his stomach to settle before heading for the courtyard.
John met with Halberd and Ditto in the courtyard. Ditto was no longer needed, as John rarely got knocked out anymore, but he always came to watch John’s progress.
“You’re late.” Halberd glared at John. John had to resist clutching his aching stomach before apologizing. Halberd dismissed it and began the lesson, “Today I am teaching you about espionage. Your duty to the queen will require you to infiltrate and scout towns across Equestria. Assassinations may also be required during the campaign, though that is doubtful.”
John had to ask a question before Halberd continued, “Towns? I thought all changelings lived in hives?”
Halberd looked at Ditto, who shrugged, before replying to John, “We are the only changeling hive in existence. You will see our enemy soon enough.” John did not like that answer, but had no choice but wait. “Continuing with the lesson,” Halberd continued, “I will be teaching you stealth, camouflage, and effective scouting techniques. First, a scout must have excellent stamina, so we will add twenty laps around the courtyard before every session, starting now.” John nodded and began his laps. His breakfast constantly threatened to come up, but John held it in and was soon panting in the middle of the courtyard as Halberd allowed him a moments rest. They then moved to a larger courtyard, filled with shrubbery, trees, and faux buildings.
The rest of the morning was filled with lessons in stealth. John quickly learned how to muffle his footsteps, and impressed Halberd with his ability to camouflage himself. He put this newfound skill to use during Halberd’s next lesson as Ditto lured in an unwitting changeling guard. The second Ditto lured him past his hiding spot, John quickly knocked the changeling out. Ditto commented that the guards were likely not to listen to any of them now as he revived the unconscious guard. Halberd only continued the lessons.
Lunch quickly approached and Ditto went to fetch their meals while John and Halberd quickly refreshed the course. Ditto returned minutes later and they sat down to eat. John merely looked at his meal. His stomach had never settled, and he doubted he could keep two meals down.
Ditto noticed John’s lack of appetite, “You may want to eat, Halberd probably has an even more intensive afternoon planned.” Halberd confirmed his theory.
John looked at his meal again as he responded, “Ever since yesterday’s enhancements, I have had trouble keeping my food down. My breakfast still feels like it’s trying to come back out.”
Ditto looked confused and decided to scan John’s body. He gasped, “Your body has not digested your breakfast. I even see your dinner.” John didn’t know much about biology, but he was sure his breakfast should be partially digested, much less his dinner. Ditto scanned his body again and his face scrunched up in confusion, “It seems your body is rejecting the food, but producing its own energy.” He continued his scan before looking at Halberd, “We need to get him to the doctors.”
“My training will be no good if he is dead,” Halberd agreed.
The doctors studied John for most of the rest of the day. The head doctor finally explained his hypothesis, “It seems the enhancements have had some side effects, your healing factor has increased by a slight factor, seeing that the incision scars should have lasted a few days, but were gone this morning you said. Your body also seems to be producing its own energy. We do not know how, but it seems you no longer require sustenance. Consuming food could overfill your stomach in fact, and cause it to burst. It seems you might still need to sleep, however.”
John’s head spun as he processed this new information. Everything he knew about biology revolved around the fact that the body needed food to produce energy. “So how am I producing the energy?” He asked, “Photosynthesis or something?”
“We do not know. My only theory is that the enhancement unlocked an inherent magic within you. I do not know how, or why, but that is my best guess.”
John shook his head, “Any other side effects?”
“None that we have noticed yet, but tell us if you find anything.”
“Will do.” John left and returned to train for the rest of the day.
John was due for another session of enhancements by the end of the week. The procedure was a little less painful, and the doctors did not make any incisions. The injections were still agonizing for John, but he did not come close to death this time. He slept for the rest of the day and awoke early the next morning.
“Wake up!” John’s caretaker burst through the door, interrupting John’s final stretching routine.
“I’ve been up,” John remarked, standing up straight. The changeling did not seem amused and barked orders for John to report to the courtyard. John’s walk to the courtyard was disorienting. Something was off, but he could not tell what. He entered the courtyard and was faced with Ditto and Halberd. John immediately set into his laps and finished while Ditto was giving him a curious look.
“You will be sparring me again today,” Halberd stated before John could question Ditto. Halberd fetched their wooden weapons and threw John’s sword to him.
John gave it an experimental twirl and noticed something was off. He held it and realized it was still perfectly balanced. He had gotten used to the large sword, so it felt like an extension of himself. It felt no different today. Halberd merely looked at him while John tried to figure out what changed in his weapon. John held the sword out parallel to the ground and dropped it. The time it took to hit the ground seemed longer than normal.
“What are you doing?” Halberd demanded, angry because he thought John was going to refuse the duel.
John realized what he did and quickly picked up the sword. “Sorry, it just seems like something is off with the sword.”
Nonsense, the sword is fine,” Halberd calmed down a little bit. “Ditto, call the duel”
“Ready.” Ditto complied. “Duel!”
John’s adrenaline started pumping as Halberd began to lunge at him. The world seemed to slow, but John felt as if it was moving at a snail’s pace. He easily sidestepped Halberd’s lunge. The changeling landed and whipped around to swipe at John’s knees, but the human was not there. Halberd felt a sharp pain in his abdomen as John’s giant blade made contact with the bottom of his gut. John carried through with the swing and brought Halberd up into the air. The changeling traveled in a semicircle over John’s head until the sword smashed him into the ground on the other side of the human. All three stayed in this position, awestruck, for a few moments until Halberd coughed from the force of the blow.
“That…” Ditto began.
“That was a…” Halberd began before coughing again. “That was a killing blow. He cut me in half.”
John could only stay frozen as Halberd pushed the giant sword off his gut and stood up shakily. Ditto rushed over and cast a healing spell on the injured changeling. “That duel was over in a second,” The medic enthused, “I’ve never seen anyone move so fast!”
“The speed wasn’t his only feat,” Halberd’s ribs were a bit sore, but he could stand straight now. “John achieved his first victory against me.”
Halberd’s confession broke John from his trance, “But … I didn’t …”
Halberd interrupted John’s stuttering, “This was the first time I have been beaten in a duel. You were right about how the sword felt weird.” John looked at him shock. “Only it wasn’t the sword being changed. Whatever they put in your enhancements yesterday, seems to have augmented your reflexes and reaction time.” John realized he was right, that was why everything seemed to move slightly slower while he moved the same speed.
The training continued, and John’s skills in both combat and espionage were becoming honed, though Halberd volunteered some of the more elite soldiers for duels. John held an undefeated streak after his duel with Halberd. Each week, he attended another enhancement procedure. Each procedure seemed to enhance his speed, strength, and stamina. The weekly sessions continued, the gaps between filled with his stealth/combat training, for three more months before John was free from the painful surgeries. Training continued for a few more weeks until his caretaker interrupted the routine one day.
“Come with me,” the caretaker commanded after John completed his morning routine. John complied and was led to a room that held a large chalk board and table. Halberd sat at the head of the table. Ditto stood to one side of the room, and every place but one was filled by other changelings. They stared at John as he entered. His handler decided to stay outside. John took the empty seat and felt the gaze of every changeling in the room. None of them but Halberd and Ditto were accustomed to his presence. They obviously had nothing to fear, as John’s curse would not permit him to harm a changeling except when dueling, but they distrusted him all the same.
“Let’s start the briefing,” Halberd began, and all eyes moved to him. “We will need to familiarize John with the enemy first, though.” A file was handed to John and he opened it to a picture of a miniature horse, similar in shape to changelings, but without wings or horn. It looked to be about the same size as a changeling, and the next paper, filled with assorted details about the race, confirmed it. Halberd explained while John read the file, “The first race is earth ponies. They hold an inherent magic that grants them increased strength than other races. They excel in melee combat when trained, but can still be dangerous even if not.”
John flipped to the next race. This one was similar to the earth pony, but had feathered wings and a leaner body. Halberd continued the identification, “This is a pegasus. They have a lighter bone structure and leaner bodies compared to earth ponies. They rely upon speed when engaged in combat. They can strike from the air, so it is essential to prioritize them over earth ponies. They are prominent within Celestia’s Solar Guard.”
The next picture showed a pony vastly different from the other two races. It seemed to have the basic form of pegasi, but the ears and wings resembled those of bats. Halberd elaborated, “Next is a bat pony. Same basic tactics as pegasi, but they are more organized and militaristic, so they take slight priority over pegasi. They are the only type of pony in Luna’s Lunar Guard.”
John was almost not surprised that the next picture showed a pony with a horn. The body seemed to be the same size but weaker and less muscled than the other races, but judging from the changelings’ horns, he guessed the horn on this pony would control magic. Halberd confirmed that, “This is a unicorn. This race channels magic through their horns. Their bodies are weaker than any other race, but they can protect themselves or their allies with a shield. They take top priority under the princesses, as their offensive magic is destructive. Luckily, a unicorn that is good with offensive magic is usually bad with defensive magic, and vice versa. Unicorns and pegasi form the bulk of the Solar Guard.”
John flipped to the last picture in the file to reveal a large white pony wearing royal regalia. The pony sported both wings and a horn. The body seemed strong like an earth pony’s, but sleek, akin to a pegasus. The file stated that this pony was six feet tall, like him. Halberd elaborated, “The last picture is of Princess Celestia. Her kind is known as alicorns. They have the strengths of each race, but none of the weaknesses. Only two are known to exist, Celestia and her sister Luna. They won’t fight us until our campaign reaches Canterlot Castle.”
John closed the file and wondered, none of the photos were taken with soldiers. Halberd talked about the ponies like they were soldiers, but not even the ‘militarized’ bat ponies held weapons or wore armor. The pictures were of civilians. Chrysalis wasn’t leading a charge against the innocents, was she? He decided to ask about it, but knew he couldn’t call out that fact directly. “Why am I being told about the different races now?” He looked Halberd in the eye.
Halberd returned his gaze with a grin, “You’re about to get your first mission.