Training? (9)
Training
A gentle knock on the door woke Alex from his slumber. He dreamed of home, and upon waking, found that he had tears in his eyes.
"Geez, I look like a wreck."
"You may want to hurry and get dressed, breakfast will be in a few minutes." Celestia's soft voice came through the door.
He had been in Equestria for a week, helping Suds keep the place spotless and stopping Widget from making a mess, as well as offering his unprofessional but advanced opinion on the things she kept coming up with. He still talked to the princesses when they were off duty, and had breakfast with them every morning. The rest of the time was spent around the castle, getting to know the various ponies, the layouts, all that. He made a mental note to avoid Stone Chip, not wanting to get in his way, and Blueblood, as the prince was a twat.
Alex dragged himself out of bed, getting dressed, and washing his face off, before he was summoned.
"Not a morning person?" Celestia asked him as he popped into her room.
"Well, it's just that, I've been wearing these same clothes for a week now, and they're kind of starting to stink." He replied.
"Ah, yes, I was aware of that, so I had the tailor make several outfits you might find appealing. Go ahead, try them on!" She said. Unfortunately, he was then forced to undress and put on the new clothes right in front of her. She face hoofed and turned away.
"You could have done that in your room......" She said, not looking at the human out of respect for his cultural difference.
"Not with Mr. magic circle calling the shots. You weren't specific. You told me to try them on, so I had to do it, right away." The humiliated human said with a blush.
"From now on, unless I say to do it right away, I mean at your earliest convenience. That way we can avoid awkwardness."
"Alright, you can turn around now." Celestia looked at her friend, wearing a kind of tuxedo with a frilly poof coming out by the chest. Think Edgeworth from Phoenix Wright.
"Eh, it's nice, but, a little TOO, what's the word? Formal? I mean, I'm going to be helping out around here as a janitor and project consultant for the mechanical division, I don't think looking like a lawyer is proper attire. Maybe for going to a business meeting or formal party or something?" She giggled at the thought of Alex sipping tea with the upper crust of Canterlot society. He tried on several more outfits, off of which would be useful in different situations, but settled for wearing clothes similar to a T-shirt and khaki's.
"Much better, thanks Celestia. Now I should probably wash those." Alex suggested after getting comfortable. He had changed behind a privacy screen to spare them any embarrassment.
"Don't bother, I'll just toss it down the laundry shoot. That's the laundry pony's job, you have a different job. Today I want you to see what you can do to help the guard training. You'll be up all day with Griswold, and all night with Serenity, seeing what you can do to improve their skills. Then you get the next day off to recover from it. That is, if this task sits well with you." Celestia didn't want to force Alex into anything he didn't want to do. He was her familiar right now since she had summoned him to her room, but he was also her friend, and she didn't want to take advantage of him.
"Alright, I'll see what I can do, although I'm not sure how much help I'll be training guards, I might be able to offer some insights."
"Oh and Alex, don't let them boss you around."
"MAGGOT! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING HERE ON MY TRAINING GROUND?" Griswold barked.
"Sir, Celestia's orders sir. I am to assist in the training of the troops sir!" Alex replied, seriously this time.
"YOU HEAR THAT MAGGOTS? THE PRINCESS THINKS WE'RE SO OUT OF FORM, SHE'S SENDING A HAIRLESS MONKEY TO TRY AND WHIP YOU INTO SHAPE!" He sure knew how to make his underlings feel appreciated.
"WHAT IS YOUR NAME PRIVATE?"
"Sir, Alex, sir."
"DROP AND GIVE ME 20!"
"Sir, no sir." Everyone went wide eyed, including the commander. It was so quiet, you could hear the birds chirping, in the garden on the OTHER side of the castle. Since Celestia had ordered him to not let himself get bossed around, he was able to do it. If she hadn't, he would have simply done as the commander said, since the commander took his job very seriously.
"What did you just say to me?" Griswold looked him straight in the eye.
"I said no. I'm here to assist in the training of your guards, NOT join them. This is THEIR training, not mine. Is that understood?" He just stood there shocked. He had never been spoken back to.
"I said, IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?"
"Sir yes sir!" Griswold said, standing at attention.
"Good, now drop and give me 50!" Griswold began doing push ups, while the rest of the squad laughed.
"Do you think this is funny? Well then, I guess you'll all be having a laugh riot when you give me 200 push ups! You take a break or fall down, and you get another 20 added on top each time! Now get to it!" Alex ordered them. He was having way too much fun with it. Facing opposite of Griswold, who was clearly angry, he went down and began to do his own 50 push ups, matching the commander rep per rep. He gave Alex a strange look, to which he replied,
"What kind of a commander would I be if I didn't lead by example?" He was having way too much fun. The commander could only think, 'I like this kid'. They did various exercises throughout the day, agility, swordplay, dodging and rolling, but Alex never seemed to get tired.
Nightfall came around, with the sun falling and moon rising, resulting in the changing of the guard. Serenity tried to sneak up on Alex, which she failed at.
"Aw, how'd you know?" The bat winged mare pouted. Alex clicked his tongue against his teeth, making a 'clip clop' sound.
"Humans have soft feet, meaning when we walk, it's silent. Ponies have hooves, so it makes a clopping sound. Sensory adaptation. You're used to hearing hoof steps, so your brain doesn't even register it anymore. My footsteps don't make any sound, so I do hear them. If you want to sneak up on me, fly, and come straight from above. Wings flapping are much softer, and the last place anyone looks is up." He explained.
"Old Grizzy the grizzly didn't go too hard on you did he?" She asked.
"It's strange, normally activity like that would tire me out, but for some reason it's not. Maybe it has to do with me and the princess's relationship? I think I might be passing all my exertion to her. I'll have to try it in my other state to see if that's the case."
"Other state?" She asked.
"Well, right now, I'm bound to Celestia. I'm physically incapable of disobeying her, if I die, I'll just poof back to my room and be perfectly fine, and I think I'm giving her my exhaustion. My other state is unbound, where I am capable of disobedience, and if I die, I really die. I have to see if I give her my exhaustion or not. If I'm bound, I'm sustained by her magic, so it's entirely possible that when I exert myself, I automatically get replenished by her magic reserves. I'll have to do some testing to figure it out." He explained.
"That's way too confusing for me." Serenity shook her head.
"Yeah, I am a bit of an egghead. Anyways, I'm supposed to help you with your guards, and I think I know how." Alex said.
"How?" She asked.
"A game. You bring all your guards here, then I leave and you wait five minutes while you prepare yourselves before you all come after me. I have to try and get to my room, and you all have to try and catch me. If I tag one of the guards, he's out and has to lay on the ground, as though he were dead. If one of them tags me, the game is over and the one who got me get's a prize or something. Of course, you'll be participating too. This will be a game of stealth. If I can't get to my room, I can just hide for the remainder of the game. If the sun comes up before you catch me, I win. If I get to my room, I win. If I eliminate all the guards, then I won't have anyone to get in my way, and I'll win. As for what I get if I win? I dunno, I guess you can think of something, and I'll decide if I like it. I have to get a few things from storage, when I get back here, have your guards at the ready."
After getting a few supplies, Alex met the majority of the night guards in the training ground. The commander had already informed them of the rules of the game.
"Alright, so the guards who are actually on duty won't interfere, they won't help or hinder anypony, and they know what's going on so they won't be suspicious if they see you skulking around." Serenity said. "If you get out, you lay down and don't do anything."
"Okay, now that we all know the rules, let the game begin!" Alex rushed into the castle as fast as he could, wanting to get as much of a head start as possible. After the five minutes were up, the guards, as well as Serenity, headed in after him. They fanned out throughout the castle, using search light spells to look around. Hiding in a corner as he waited for a pair of guards to pass, Alex said to himself, "Ready or not, here I come."
Waiting in his hiding place, he timed how long it took for each set of guards to make a full pass, going by glimpses of their search lights from the corner of his eye, and the sound of hooves on stone. Waiting for his moment, he silently crept up behind a pair of guards, controlling his breathing, tapping them both on the back. They turned around to see Alex smiling.
"You're out, play dead." The guards did as they were told, extinguishing their lights and laying on the cold stone. Noting which way the next set of guards would be coming from, he dragged the two 'dead' guards so just their back hooves poked around the corner, then hid by the staircase. The other pair of guards, a unicorn and pegasus, spotted the prone guards and rushed to them. They ran around the corner, hoping to catch whatever had eliminated their fellows, putting their back to the stairwell.
"Damn, he got them. He must be close, I wonder where he could have gone." The pegasus said. Suddenly, they both felt a tap on their backs.
"Right behind you." Alex said in a thick french accent. "You lose." The guards then played dead as well, having lost the game. Carefully peeking up the stairwell, he noticed four search lights. They were guarding the stairs, his only way up. Deciding that wouldn't be a good way to go, he carefully moved his way down the hall. security would be higher further up, as his room was the safe zone. He could either head to his room, trying to slip past the guards, or head to the basement and hide for the next 10 hours. He decided hiding wouldn't be any fun, and would only be used if they decided to camp his room. Finding another staircase, he noticed only one searchlight spell. He took out a ball bearing, part of the mechanical department supplies, rolled it slowly so it would go down the stairs, then hid in one of the open empty rooms. Many of the science rooms that weren't being used were left open to air out, and would serve as perfect temporary hiding places while he waited for guards to pass.
"You hear that? It sounded like it came from the basement!" The unicorn went ahead, leaving his pegasus pal behind.
'Haven't they ever seen a horror film? NEVER go anywhere alone.' Alex thought to himself. Quickly, he crept up and tagged the unicorn, his spotlight going out, then he crouched low by the stairs. The pegasus came after him.
"Hey, why'd you turn off your..." Was all he could say before he had a hand clasped over his mouth.
"You lose, play dead." The pegasus guard just nodded, laying himself comfortably on the staircase next to his friend. Alex thought it would be funny to make them face each other, wrapping their hooves around each other. They were about to object when he told them he couldn't hear them because they were dead, and they had to lay there like that till morning. He stifled a laugh before heading upstairs.
'Okay, groups of three guards now. I'll have to do a little more distraction.' Hiding in an open guest room, he waited to check the interval between guards. He watched as they carefully checked every open room, leaving the closed ones so as not to disturb the sleeping guests. He found one open room close to the dark staircases, and after the patrolling guard checked it and left, he walked up and closed it quietly, then returned to his spot. When the next patrol came, they looked at the previously open room, thinking he must have hidden inside and closed the door to stop them from searching it. When the trio entered the room, he quietly followed them, tapping all of them quickly.
"You are dead." They all lay down on the beds, while Alex hid in the room behind the door. He watched as the next set of guards came, shining the light spell into the room, and seeing the sleeping guards. They decided to pass the room by. Alex quietly opened the door, and eliminated the patrol.
"Your instincts serve you well, follow them next time."
'Okay, another staircase, I checked them, and they're staggering which ones are guarded in favour of more frequent patrols. I can't get past the patrols on this floor, so I have to get by the next set of guards. Hmm, I know!'
Slowly creeping up the stairs as not to make any noise, Alex saw the four guards, all looking different ways, some taking periodic glances up and town the stairway. He spotted his target, an open room, fairly close, with the opening of the door facing him at a 45 degree angle. Taking another ball bearing, he waited for the guards to stop looking down the stairs, before tossing the metal sphere at the door, making it roll inside. The guards nodded to each other, two of them moving to search the room, while the other two widened their search area, making them less frequent. Cupping his hands over their mouths, he had them lay down before he headed up to the floor his room was on. He hid around the bend of the stairwell, waiting for the other two guards to head upstairs after him.
'Damn, I'm in the wing OPPOSITE of my room. He found another room, this time closed. Taking the key's off the 'dead' guards, he opened the room, tying a piece of yarn around the nob so it would pop off once the door was closed. Hiding around the stairs, leaving the fallen guards out in the open to draw attention away from himself, he waited till a total of eight guards, obviously reinforcements from the floor below, came up the stairs before pulling the string. The door creaked shut then clicked as it locked.
"He's in there!" He watched as the eight guards all ran to the room, opening it, intent on performing a full sweep. He also noticed that the patrols on that floor had tripled, since he had obviously gotten past the lower ones. There was no way to make it to his room. Alex thought for a moment, his heart was pounding, he was sweating, and he had an idea that was stupid beyond measure, but given that he couldn't die, was brilliant. He went back down the stairs, opened a window, and climbed out.
It was high. It was beyond any doubt, very VERY high. Even though he couldn't die, Alex was shaking with fear. He had to put the thought out of his head, because despite the danger, he was actually safe. If he fell, he'd hit the ground, go poof, and be in his room. It would hurt like hell, but he'd be alive. Carefully closing the window behind him, he shimmied along the ledge running alongside the castle exterior. It was far too small for ponies to stand on, but it was actually a fair size for a human. He could walk normally, but he decided to go sideways just to be careful. He went along the whole exterior of the castle, coming out under Celestia's room. There were drapes hanging off the balcony, which he gave a slight tug on. They were sturdy. He put a little more weight on, and they held. Then he pulled with all his might, and they still held.
"Must have kept falling off in the wind, so they made them able to carry a couple hundred pounds. Once I'm on the balcony, a quick shimmy to my room, open the door on my balcony which I have the key to, and I win the game. If I wasn't immortal right now, this would be the stupidest idea ever thought of. I'm not too keen on falling to my death."
Luckily, Alex didn't get tired trying to climb, and was able to pull himself up the ornate cloth hanging from Celestia's balcony. Once he was up, he quickly crossed to his own.
"Right, my keys. Let's see, which one is it?" He fumbled through his key chain, going through all the keys he had. Suds had given him all sorts of them for the various rooms he needed to get into to clean, and it made it hard to find his own. Just as he found it, he felt a soft tap on his back. He turned around and didn't see anyone, finally looking up to see Serenity beaming at him.
"If I want to sneak up on you, fly, and come from above, isn't that what you said?" She winked.
"Well, you got me, let's go round up your guards. Honestly, are they all rookies? I just did stuff I saw in movies and comic books." She smiled as we went in to my room, closing the window behind us. We spent the rest of the time rounding up the guards, and she got quite a kick out of seeing a pair of them sleeping, holding each other. Dawn finally came, with the night guards in the courtyard, most of them feeling humiliated.
"Well, that was fun. We should do it again. Rule one, don't EVER go anywhere alone. It's a sure fire way to get picked off. Rule two, don't all look the same way. The guys on the fourth floor had it, what were the rest of you doing? Playing cards? Rule three, if there's a disturbance, it might be a distraction. Move as a team, if you split up, keep tabs on each other. I was able to eliminate WAY more of you then I should have. What if I was an assassin? I was literally outside my room before the commander caught me. Keep unused rooms closed at night, because they're good hiding places. Don't use light spells all the time, wait for your eyes to adjust to the dark, and only turn on the lights if you think you see something. Otherwise, it's just a giveaway to your location. Well, Serenity won, so she gets to have a prize or something, but as for right now, I gotta go have breakfast. I have to say, you guys almost caught me. The guys on my floor knew what they were doing, getting more guards to come when something was amiss. To the rest of the guards, you need more training. Try playing hide and seek. Sounds like a kids game, but that's how I was able to out do you all."
"How are you feeling this morning Celestia, Luna?" Alex asked.
"I am well Alex, I heard you put both sets of guards through the wringer yesterday. I am particularly disappointed in the laxness of my own troupe, just because it is night does not mean they can afford to relax." Luna said. Celestia looked like she didn't sleep all night.
"Are you alright Celestia?" He asked.
"I don't know. I slept all night, but I feel like I've been running around the castle non stop for the past 24 hours." She moaned.
"Well then, I guess that proves my theory. It seems that while I'm bound to you, any physical exertion I do gets taken out on your magic reserves. I think you'll feel a lot better as soon as you unsummon me. As for me, I'll probably pass out from exhaustion the moment you do. It's a good thing we both have the day off. I know you wanted to talk some more, but I think we should rest. I don't think the day guards need any help, but the night guards need to get whipped into shape. I suggest having Luna summon me another night, that way I can help train her guards while she's bored holding court at night. Is that okay?"
"Mmmh, yeah, sure." She said with her head on the table, not really caring about anything at that moment. Luna seemed excited at being able to have him around.
"It's not that Serenity isn't doing a good job, it's just that since you weren't around for a long time, the night guard didn't really have much guarding to do, and nobody sane would try to break into the castle anyway. They just need a little help getting back on their feet, er, hooves is all. I'd be glad to help. Right now, I need to sleep. Do you have enough energy to undo the summon?" Celestia nodded, her horn glowing faintly, as Alex appeared in his room. His eyes went wide, an entire 24 hours of physical labour catching up with him, passing out. Celestia suddenly looked perkier. She was no longer sustaining her immortal self as well as the active Alex. She made a note that the longer a summon is conjured, the more difficult it is to sustain, as exhaustion in the familiar compounds to the summoner.
"Well, I feel a little better. I'm going to eat then go back to bed." After she ate, she went upstairs to find Alex, lying on the stone floor, crying in his sleep. He wasn't bound, so she couldn't command him to have good dreams, and she didn't even need to ask what he was dreaming about. She knew he was thinking of his family. Feeling sad as well that she couldn't do anything for her friend, she picked him up with her magic, and brought him to her room. Laying on her stomach, putting her head on her pillow, she had Alex lay next to her on his back, head on another pillow. She stretched her wing over him, using it like a blanket, as she too fell asleep.
D'aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwww. For all of you who think of Molestia, *bang* You are dead. Nothing of the sort happened. It's more like falling asleep with a teddy bear. So, what does Serenity want as a prize for being the only one to outsmart the clever Alex? Also, Alex isn't that good, it's just that the guards suck right now. For the past thousand years, they have been guarding nothing. Tends to make you full of fail. I wasn't going to upload this just yet, but it's been a whole week since I have, so I will, then I'll write some more chapters and hold them for the birthday bash.
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I have circled March 22nd and labeled "Brithday Bash" on the calander. Now, where did I put that time travel potion...
the 22nd can't get her any faster... i'll have much reading to do that day!
Loved that meet the spy reference you put in there, good work!
*And nothing sexual happened at all* Haha! Sorry couldnt help it. Hell I don't even know what the date is today >.< Regardless looking forward to the updates!
Meet the spy reference and I was thinking Metal Gear Solid through most the chapter. Enjoyable read.
*Bang* I am dead :C
While I didn't think of Molestia, I did have to reread that last paragraph. I didn't quite believe it the first time for some reason.
dawww,....
Can't wait for the next bit. Now to read a 15,000 word chapter....
Fun stuf, fun stuff. :)
The guards then played dead as well, having lost the game.
darnit!
343324 BAM! I totally didn't even mean that one! I guess it just comes out naturally. I've clearly been part of the internet community for too long.
i totally agree with you T_T i was playing a role playing game and made spell 63 a gender swapping spell T_T
Serenity should get some piece of Technology he makes with widget. or a lifetime supply of chocolate milk. either's pretty good.
i'm so jelly, I want to snuggle celestia. I'd rather snuggle luna or fluttershy, but ponies are awesome.
does it count if I didn't think of molestia till you typed it (I only thought the word as I've never read whatever story or whatever that's from)
Guarding nothing...
I SWEAR I remember that from somewhere...
"For the past thousand years, they have been guarding nothing. Tends to make you full of fail."
Damnit, You used my idea before I could use it!
I dont know what type of "gasm" I had but it was huge when he was doing a spy impression.
and Blueblood, as the prince was a twat.
I agree.
He tried on several more outfits, off of which would be useful in different situations, but settled for wearing clothes similar to a T-shirt and khaki's.
Please tell me he didn't wear cork sandals.
Alex thought it would be funny to make them face each other, wrapping their hooves around each other. They were about to object when he told them he couldn't hear them because they were dead, and they had to lay there like that till morning. He stifled a laugh before heading upstairs.
That fucking troll. That fucking genius troll.
"What if I were an assassin?"...files.myopera.com/MOHAMMEDGT/albums/1957701/thumbs/Assassin%27s%20Creed%20(1).jpg_thumb.jpg LOL
> "Right behind you."
Like a Spy.
About the footnote: It's like when your dog sleeps on your bed while you're in it, right.
time to cancel the summon
"poof!"
urk! "thud"
Been a while since I've seen a Team Fortress 2 reference here.
"Sorry to, POP, in unannounced."
I like the energy of his