Chapter 73 - Research
It was about a week after our encounter with what I now refer to as the ‘Weeping Pegasus’. Everything had pretty much gotten back to normal, or at least as normal as things can be by Ponyville standards. Apple Bloom had had the occasional bad dream, though luckily, as usual, Luna was on hoof to help her out. A good thing too, after all whatever holds the image of an angel becomes an angel. A fate I did not wish to see Apple Bloom undergo.
Applejack and I also had our second date, a spectacular milestone by my standards. This time it was a less over the top affair; the two of us spent the day in Ponyville park, along with Winona, just generally having a pleasant day out, before later heading to the small little café in town for a quiet dinner, which resulted in a bit of a ‘Lady and the Tramp’ moment. The only real issue we had that day was the occasional teasing from Rainbow as she passed us every now and again with Lizzie on patrol.
And speaking of my little sister; she is now working as a reservist member of the local weather team. At the moment, Rainbow has her learning the ropes, putting her out on most days to do some of the lower level jobs, occasionally pitching in to help with large weather patterns when Thunderlane develops yet another case of ‘Feather Flu’. Still, she seems a fair bit happier now she’s earning, maybe it makes her feel more grown up?
Mum meanwhile had been going steady at the school, stepping in quite frequently to teach classes. I honestly don’t know how poor Cheerilee coped before she had somepony else to call on. Plus, it has given her a few more chances to have time for herself, it must’ve been at least four or five times now I’ve seen Big Mac trying to stealthily sneak his way off the farm. The two of them had a sort of date at Mum’s little party she threw a couple days ago.
As for Dad, well, he got a front row seat for Princess Celestia’s birthday celebration recently, a ceremony I sadly missed out on. He’s been keeping himself busy looking over legal cases in Canterlot whenever they happen to crop up, though recently, Princess Celestia seems to have put him in a more general position of advisor on occasion.
Anyway, today, I was heading into town. It was getting on for mid-afternoon. All of us had been kept busy since the day began. Big Mac had spotted a swarm of parasprites from the Everfree, hovering dangerous close to the orchards. We’ve all seen what those infernal spawn of Tartarus can do unchecked. So we quickly found ourselves having to prepare ourselves for a possible swarm. We knew if push came to shove, we wouldn’t be able to protect the entire farm, but luckily, Pinkie was around to lend us a hoof. How she got to that neck of the woods I have no idea. But there she was, in her full one man band outfit and the varmints followed her away, allowing us to all breathe a sigh of relief.
I was heading for the library to see Twilight, a few things had come up over the course of my recent studies and I wanted to see if she could answer one or two questions. She’d had me studying several texts by Starswirl the Bearded, arguably one of the greatest practitioners of his day. However, some of the theories he had put forward clashed with my current understanding of magic.
The library had its front door partially open when I got there, not an unusual occurrence, particularly as the weather was starting to warm up, getting back into the milder temperatures. Twilight also did it as a way of enticing ponies to investigate and consequently make use of the library facilities, something that not a large number of ponies regularly did. As I trotted up to the front door, I adjusted the sabre, which was hitched onto the belt I was wearing. In addition to my lesson related questions, I wanted to do a little bit of research on the sword Luna had kindly gifted to me. Perhaps I could even discover the officer who once wielded it.
However, when I walked into the library, I found myself confronted with an unusual situation. Up towards the back wall, Twilight was standing by nervously, concern clear on her features. To my left, on one of the bookcases, was Spike, now plastered against the bookcase and restrained by an all too familiar green gunk. And between me and them, its’ horn still glowing from use, was a changeling.
Now, I may have resolved to put my blind hatred of the changeling species, and the personal motto ‘the only good bug is a dead bug.’ behind me, but that doesn’t mean I have a problem with putting one down if the occasion calls for it. I quickly charged my own horn with a stun spell, falling back into the lessons of Strong Shield.
“Alright, reach for it, pilgrim,” I warned, loudly announcing my presence. With its back to me, the changeling was not in a position to retaliate, and I hoped it might surrender. In actuality though, it did something rather odd. Turning around, it regarded me curiously.
“You know it’s not exactly a good idea to expose yourself like that, Rookie,” it said in its buzzing, yet familiar voice. A moment later, green flames washed over its form and it was replaced by a familiar blue coated unicorn, with one eye. I promptly stood down.
“Oh, er, sorry, Captain,” I replied sheepishly. “Didn’t realise it was you.” I gestured to the still beleaguered Spike. “What the hay are ya doin’ anyway? Why’s Spike pinned to the wall?” At this point Twilight stepped in.
“Blade Star, you really should learn to relax; not everything’s a fight you know. Yeesh, you’re worse than Shining. I asked Strong Shield to come down here so I could do some research on changelings as a species; we still don’t know that much about them. He agreed to demonstrate and explain some of his abilities. We were just studying the effects of this resin.”
Having heard her full explanation, I now felt like a damn fool. Perhaps I had let my still relatively recent encounter with Chrysalis go to my head. In any case, it seemed a there was no harm, no foul. In an effort to misdirect attention from my stupidity, I offered to chip in to help with the tests and analysis.
At Twilight’s request, Strong Shield removed the resin coating Spike, allowing him to drop to the floor. The process seemed to have affecting his sense of balance somewhat and he seemed dazed for a moment.
“Spike, are you okay? What happened?” Twilight asked inquisitively.
“He slimed me, Twilight. What do you think?” he responded, with perhaps a hint of sarcasm. Of course, well into her intellectual stride, the alicorn princess paid no heed to this.
“Wow, that’s great; actual physical contact! Can you move?” she asked excitedly. Spike responded by getting unsteadily back on his feet, though his sense of balance still seemed a little off. The drake put a claw to his head.
“Ooh, I feel so funky,” he complained, whilst Strong Shield merely grinned at his plight. Twilight quickly swooped in with a swab and began to take samples of the resin which were still stuck to Spike. The poor fellow would need a good long bath to get that stuff off. It had the viscosity of syrup. Twilight continued.
“Alright, that’s the experiments all sorted for the resin changelings produce. Now we need to examine how changelings feed as a species.”
“Erm, Twilight, we know that. They feed on love and turn the emotion into energy for their magical abilities as well as keeping themselves alive. We saw that with Shining,” I commented.
“We only know the basics, Blade Star,” she countered. “Very little is known about how the process occurs, and whether or not it is possible for ponies and changelings to work in symbiosis. If we can make it work, it may be possible for changelings to integrate more freely into pony society.” This raised an important question.
“Say, Captain, how have ya been keeping yourself fed anyway?” I enquired. Strong Shield looked away uneasily, rubbing the back of his neck with a hoof. Twilight also turned to await his response.
“Oh right, that,” he said awkwardly. “I may have been feeding off citizens in Canterlot from time to time. Not often, just enough to keep me going. It’s all approved by the princesses.” I can’t say I wholly approved of that.
“Then this experiment is even more important!” Twilight declared proudly. “If we can understand how your species consumes and stores emotions, we may be able to find an alternate method to keep you, and other changelings fed, without having to feed covertly.” Twilight turned to her long suffering assistant.
“Spike! I need you for another test!” At least she refrained from using the word experiment. It was like watching a big sister put make up on her little brother. Spike had been attempting to sneak away whilst we were busy chatting, but Twilight caught him cold, picked him up in her magic and set him in front of Strong Shield.
“So, you want me to try and feed off this kid, Twilight?” he asked. “Because, right now, I’m getting squat from him.” Spike crossed his arms and huffed irritably. Twilight briefly whispered in his ear, Strong Shield’s eyes going wide for a moment. “You count yourself lucky you’re a princess, Twilight,” he said at length.
Powering up his horn, Strong Shield briefly reverted to his true form. A moment later though, his magic once again engaged. Everything about him changed, his eye patch disappeared, his coat and mane colours changed, and more alarmingly so did his gender. I didn’t even know they could do that. When the magic receded, a perfect copy of Rarity stood before us. Of course, as it was Strong Shield underneath, she looked more than a little uncomfortable.
The result was near instantaneous. Spike’s eyes might as well have become hearts. Even I could sense perhaps the slight traces of love. For Strong Shield, it must have been something along the lines of a full three course dinner. There was no obvious sign that anything was happening. Indeed, had it not been for the various pieces of scientific equipment Twilight had wheeled out, I would have been none the wiser. Spike seemed fine with the situation and didn’t seem to have any ill effects from the process, presumably because Strong Shield was not trying to drain the poor soul completely.
Eventually, the disguise was dropped and the various monitoring devices stopped recording. A moment later, my friend returned. He turned to look Twilight squarely in the eye.
“Princess, as a guard, you can push me out of a chariot, you can march me off a cliff, you can send me off to die on some Celestia forsaken rock. But please, don’t ever ask me to do that again!” he pleaded.
“Oh don’t be so dramatic, Strong Shield,” she replied cheerily. She then turned to examine some of the collected date. “Hmm, well, looking at this, it seems that the emotion isn’t so much extracted as it is absorbed. You weren’t feeding on him aggressively; I suppose then it would produce different results. But at the moment, it looks like you’re capable of absorbing the excess of strong emotions. Something along the lines of how plants perform photosynthesis.
“As for long term storage, I’m not sure yet. How’s your magic faring at the moment, is there a noticeable increase?” In response, Strong Shield flared his horn and easily lifted Twilight into the air, causing her to let out an adorable squeak, before setting her down again. I let out a low whistle.
“Impressive, Captain. But Ah’m guessin’ you’re just usin’ the love and directly turnin’ it into energy. Is there any way ya can just store it, like how a pony stores food?” I asked.
“Well, technically it’s possible,” he replied uneasily. “But only through cocoons. A food source would be held there in a sort of stasis and fed on by several changelings until it…” he let the rest of the statement hang in the air. We certainly couldn’t do that.
“Then Ah guess that you’re stuck feedin’ discretely for the moment. But, there is one idea we haven’t considered.” Twilight looked up from her computer readout.
“What’s that, Blade Star?” she asked curiously.
“What if a changeling could become something along the lines of a familiar?” Both ponies and dragon looked at me as if I’d just announced the sky was green. “Well, we know from Strong Shield, that changelings don’t need that much to survive and live comfortably. What if each changeling could be paired with a certain pony, develop a relationship, and feed off that pony’s love for themselves. They would probably need a pony disguise, but it might be possible to integrate a number of ‘em into Equestria without anypony havin’ to know.
“Ah mean, if Strong Shield here, got himself a marefriend, she’d be in love with him, right? Then she’d always be giving off some love for him to feed on. We’d be in symbiosis with ‘em, just like ya suggested.” Twilight considered the idea.
“Well, that is an interesting idea, Blade Star. But it would still be difficult. Ponies won’t accept changelings overnight, and they can’t just pretend to be ponies forever.” I nodded in agreement, but it was still a possibility for the future, should our two peoples ever reach an understanding.
The last experiment Twilight wanted to do was looking at how long a changeling took to use up its energy, under normal conditions. That is, how long it could theoretically go without feeding again. That though would take several hours according to Strong Shield. Twilight suggested that he take some time to relax and not overly exert himself. After all, being at the head of the recent parade must have taken a great deal out of him, particularly with a perfectionist like Shining Armor watching.
With Twilight’s testing done for the moment, I brought up the subject of the sword, which was still latched onto the belt around my barrel.
“Say, Twilight. Ah was fixin’ to do a bit of research on this old sword Princess Luna gave me for Hearth’s Warmin’; see if Ah can work out who used to own it. Any ideas ‘bout where Ah should start?” I asked.
“Let me take a look, Rookie,” Strong Shield replied. I carefully removed the weapon from its scabbard and laid it out on one of the library’s reading tables. It still looked almost brand new; the blade was sharp and sparkled in the light and the ornate decoration on the hilt and guard looked as if they had been crafted mere days ago. The changeling turned guard examined the weapon carefully.
“Well, I’m not an expert at this sort of thing, but I do recognise the design here. I’d say this belonged to somepony serving in the Moon Shadows, today they make up a large part of No. 4 Guards in the Royal Guard. Back in their day, they were the pride of the Lunar Guard; the last regiment to be routed and forced to surrender after the end of the rebellion. I’d imagine that’s how we came to get our hooves on it. Most weapons from the war that survive are from Celestia’s troops, most of the Lunar Guard who survived the war fled and their descendants didn’t return until Princess Luna did.” Nodding, I turned to Twilight.
“Well, that’s a start. D’ya reckon ya have anything on that regiment, Twilight?” the alicorn bookworm thought for a moment.
“I do remember there were a couple of old books from Celestia and Luna’s old castle on their guards. There might be something in one of those.” She turned to her number one assistant. “Spike!” Spike hobbled down from the step ladder he had been using to file away returned books.
“Yes, Twilight?” he answered.
“Can you fetch a couple of those books we took from the old castle? Look for anything with the Mare in the Moon emblem on it.” Spike nodded and briefly disappeared into the basement. Twilight meanwhile went to gather a few of the tomes she would be using for the lecture I had with her today. This left Strong Shield and me to talk.
“I’m sure as hay surprised that the princess gave you one of those, Rookie. It’s gotta be worth at least a few thousand bits.” I shook my head.
“Ain’t no way Ah’d ever sell this, Captain,” I replied proudly. Strong Shield grinned.
“Do you even know how to use that thing?” he asked, gesturing to the sword. I nodded.
“Sure,” I replied, indicating the sword’s tip. “Pointy end goes into the other guy.” The sound of Strong Shield’s facehoof was probably heard in the Crystal Empire. Admittedly, I, like most, had little experience in sword fighting, aside from maybe watching a few Star Wars movies.
“If you’re gonna own that thing, you may as well learn how to use it,” he said finally. “Or at least know enough so you don’t look like a complete idiot when you get gutted like a fish. C’mon, I’ll teach you how to block and counter at least.” He promptly went to the kitchen and began to rummage around in some of the drawers.
“Erm, Captain? Y’all don’t even have a weapon on ya. How the hay are ya gonna teach me anythin’ bout sword fightin’?” My question was answered when he returned, a dessert spoon of all things, held in his magical grip.
“Alright, Rookie. Attack.”
Whist I may not have that much in the way of experience in sword fighting, my opponent was only armed with a desert spoon. I on the other hand wielded a sabre of the Lunar Guard. I fell back on the maxim of a certain TV show; ‘how hard can it be?’. I promptly lunged forward in an attempt to touch my opponent in the chest, the general point of the exercise. However, to my amazement, Strong Shield not only successfully blocked and parried my attack, he also countered. In the space of a few seconds, not only had my own weapon been knocked out of my magical grasp, but opponent had also managed to get a touch on my neck. I looked down to the dining implement currently pressed against my neck. Strong Shield merely grinned.
“This is gonna take a lot of work,” he said, to add insult to injury.
And so, over the next fifteen minutes, whilst Twilight busied herself around the library, selecting books for our latest lesson, and Spike attempted to remove the remaining resin from his scales, we practiced. Still using nothing but a desert spoon, Strong Shield first showed me how to properly attack; particularly the danger of simply lunging at your opponent. This also tied into one of the most important lessons for a swordspony; never attack in anger. After that, he taught me how to fight defensively. Only the basics of course, he had spent years cultivating his craft, there was only so much he could impart in the time we had.
He did however, teach me a few simple countering moves; ways to keep your opponent away from you and off balance. He taught me the basics of parrying as well as some counters; blocking, deflecting and then making your own attack. I might have had a bit of an Assassin’s Creed moment whilst we were practicing to be honest.
Eventually, we broke off, as Twilight had finished compiling the various texts she needed. I had worked up a bit of a sweat and learnt a few things as well. Like Strong Shield said, I wasn’t a sword fighter, but at least I wouldn’t look like a complete fool. I replaced the sword in its scabbard for safe keeping.
“Not bad, Rookie. Not bad at all,” Strong Shield congratulated me. “I mean, Celestia help you if you have to fight somepony with an actual sword or spear, but you can at least fend off attacks by spoon.” He laughed heartily. “That certainly is one damn fine weapon you got there.” He picked it up in his magic for a moment. “Well balanced, lightweight, and sharp as a razor. Certainly wouldn’t want to fight a professional using this.”
“Thanks, Captain,” I replied kindly. This old guard had shown me many a kindness since he had met me, and taught me a great deal too. I could see why Celestia had him as the senior instructor in Canterlot. “Say, y’all are stickin’ round here for the day ain’t ya?” He nodded. “Well, why don’t ya drop by the farm later on, get some grub in ya, an’ we can do a bit of target practice?” Strong Shield thought for a moment.
“I don’t see why not. Just as long as I don’t ‘overly exert’ myself. Twilight will have my head if I mess up her tests,” he replied. “Anyway, I’d better get gone; looks like you’ve got some schoolwork to do, Rookie.”
Strong Shield quietly departed as Twilight set at least half a dozen different, large tomes on the table in front of me.
“Okay, Blade Star. Spike is getting those books on Luna’s guards for you. So for now, we can make a start on theoretical magic in the Renaissance era.” To be fair, at least it was an interesting subject. But still, going through six massive tomes to learn it all was not my idea of fun.
After what seemed an interminable amount of time, Twilight completed her lecture and subsequent pop quiz that went with it. I shouldn’t complain really; in a way, I’m getting the same chance she had, one on one lessons from a princess and she does have a good teaching style. Still, I was anxious to catch up with Strong Shield again. Whilst I knew Shining Armor relatively well, Strong Shield was a much closer friend, maybe because he was a little further down on the pecking order or maybe because I saw him as something of a role model to be emulated. Or maybe he was less of a workaholic than Shining.
In any case, a short walk across town took me to the tavern once again. Much to my surprise, when I entered, I found the Equestrian equivalent of a drill sergeant, happily playing with Pinchy, Berry Punch’s daughter, who was sitting on the bar while her mother worked. Honestly, if he really wanted to, he could have quite a few mares; he’s a good, honest guy, good with kids, neither too strict nor too lenient. Still, his reasons are obvious, at the moment; no mare would want to be paired with an exiled changeling, plus he can be unsettling when he has a flashback. Hopefully, one day, things would be different, the guy deserved somepony.
I settled myself down next to him and ordered a cider. We chatted for a while, just about random stuff really. Eventually, the conversation turned to his career.
“Alright, Captain, lemme ask ya this; in your many years as a Royal Guard, how many stallions have ya shot?” If Strong Shield was known for one thing, it was that his aim was second to none, and that he frequently made use of his skill. Grinning, he replied to my question with one of his own.
“Shot, or killed?” I returned his infectious grin.
“Let us restrict it to killed so we may have a manageable figure.” A little while later, the two of us headed back towards Sweet Apple Acres.
Twilight had asked the subject of her latest experiment to return to the library at exactly six o’clock in the evening. And knowing Twilight, that meant exactly six o’clock, a moment later and she would probably have one of her breakdowns. Still, it was only five when we finished up dinner. The disguised changeling had taken well to the Apple family, getting on unusually well with Big Mac, who tends to keep his distance until you get to know him better. His eye patch and the story behind it, also garnered him some interest from Apple Bloom. Granny Smith meanwhile, was just happy to have a guest at the table, not something we often get, I must confess.
After dinner, with an hour or so to go, the two of us decided to pass some of the time practicing on the small firing range I had set up outside. Big Mac and I worked hard on that and I like to think it shows. You have targets at various distances and most of them can be made to pop up and down too.
“How ‘bout we make this a bit more interestin’?” I asked Strong Shield as the last of the set dropped down. Strong Shield raised an eyebrow at me.
“How much you want to lose, Rookie? Ten bits? Twenty?” he replied. In response, I put a small sack of bits on the table that sat between us.
“Down the way, there’s a couple of tin cans Mac an’ me set up. We each aim for one can. When ya hit it, it’ll shoot up in the air. As long as ya keep hittin’ it it’ll stay there. Winner’s whoever keeps their can in the air the longest.” After thinking for a moment, Strong Shield agreed and we began.
Strong Shield is, as I have already said, a crack shot. However, I had been practicing on and off for several months, and my aim and general ability now wasn’t half bad. Thus, we both held out for a fair while, with each can continuing to bounce over and over. Eventually though, youth trumped experience, which actually did surprise me, and Strong Shield’s can hit the ground with a clang.
“Ya missed your shot there, Captain,” I said, perhaps a little smugly.
“Yeah, yeah, Rookie,” he replied, trying to play it down. “You won, now let it go.”
“Ah thought ya was gonna say the sun was in your eyes. That is to say, your eye.” This made little Apple Bloom, who had been sitting behind us, watching the contest, burst out laughing. Strong Shield merely took the joke in his stride, and with my bits regained, he headed back to Twilight’s.
Stats
Page generated in 0.028 seconds
Total duration
981 users online
434,203 hits today, 2,814,898 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
You spelled dessert with one s. That is a completely different word.
great chapter!
a super good chapter I am really happy to see Strong Shield back in the story.
keep up the good work.
Harts Fire
5760095
(sorry)
Ray, hes looking at me, Ray.
If Strong shield is that good with a SPPPPOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNN, I wonder how well he does with a (Ive got to get me one of these) frying pan, or even the (I banish thee demon), wooden dolly?
There is one thing I must say about this chapter. I do not think that the feeling of being "slimed" is a pleasant one at all...
5767469 Nobody understands what the tartarus you're talking about and nobody cares.
fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/240/7/5/be_nice_or_go_away_by_bardunor-d483m4s.jpg
mydoorsign.com/img/lg/S/Go-Away-Dont-Care-Sign-S-8727.gif
5761393
He would be downright letal with a frying pan, world's most powerful weapon
5772403
Dont forget, if its the right sort, tweaked, not only is it a short sword, dagger, hammer, and shield of bullet proof level, but because its made of iron, is deadly against the highly magical resistant Fae and Sidhe realm monsters.
Its also in no way a lethat weapon, being a perfectly normal public item used to make food, Over a fire. which means it can also get Very hot. Without weakening much. As in molten rock hot.
So Strong Shield is Rooster? I can live with that.
5776737 Lizzie is near enough an adult. Her and Fluttershy's relationship is one of mother and daughter, but not one of necessity. It simply happened because of Fluttershy's own maternal character. She is not actually her mother, and certainly not taking her real mother's place. It just describes how the two behave together, in particular, how protective Fluttershy can become.
Ok, is Twilight suppose to be an asshole to Spike?
Cause if you were aiming for that, you defiantly achieved it.
But that would be ridiculous because Twilight would never purposely put her (real, pony) friends in physical discomfort would she?
But even then, she would never manipulate them for her own personal gain would she? Oh Posiedon forbid the day that should happen.
Though seriously, please try to not go where so many people go and turn Spike into your unhappiness bucket
This isn't an attack on you, this is just an inquiry as to why Spike got the short end of the stick.
"Friends don't use others feelings for their own personal gain, but bullies do, so tell me Twilight Sparkle. Is the student of Princess Celestia, a pony whom supposedly radiates friendship, a bully?"
Spike's Noir, The adventures of an Aeon Gate and friends in Equestria
Also,
Why can't Twilight remove it with her magic?
Oh wait... That would require liking Spike the least bit and Twilight has proven that she doesn't care for her Book fetcher/Fax machine
Was that a doctor who reference with the spoon dueling? Because the placement couldn't have been better.
I love that quote! "The mask of Zorro." Still one of my favourite Antonio banderas movies.
Edit 6/30/2019:
I can already see where this is going.
Of course they can change genders!!
I knew he would change into Rarity!!