"Alright, everyone, gather around."
Mole Cricket looked at the collection of youngsters around him. No two of them looked alike: different species, different ages, and different nations of origin. Yet each and every one of them was now a dear friend... and it was time to say goodbye.
In the weeks that had followed his interview with Shining Armor, the changeling had steadily mended, in no small part due to the constant stream of love energy that radiated from the Crystal Heart. While he had refrained from 'burning' love to accelerate his healing, it's well known that, regardless of your species, being well fed will always help you heal more quickly. And the fact that he had twenty plus little friends to keep him in good spirits had certainly not hurt. But with winter over, and the various arrangements made for each of these youngsters to return home having been finalized, it was time for everyone to return home.
Changelings can't cry, but they can wish that they could.
Looking at all of the faces staring at him, tears in their eyes, Cricket began, "We all knew this would happen one day. You all have your own lives to live, and while I certainly enjoy your company, I understand that keeping you all here in my hospital room would be selfish: you all need to go out there and brighten up someone else's life. You'll need to leave soon, so I'll try to keep this brief."
Looking over to the young minotaur in the group, Cricket said, "Phil, if you don't stop putting ketchup on everything you eat, you're going to turn into a tomato. That is a prophecy." This got an assortment of giggles from the assembled children, and a blush from Phil, whose love for ketchup bordered on the absurd. "There is a wide world of condiments out there, so find a few others and add them to the list. Don't be afraid to change things up a little: variety is the spice of life."
Turning over to the young warg, the changeling said, "Mut-Wolf, you are capable of great things." At this, the diminutive wolf cub's ears perked up: he was small for his age, and wasn't very strong or brave. In fact, he was a little bit of a crybaby. "You may be small now, but I know you'll grow up to be something spectacular. The only failure is in accepting failure. Find something that you want to dedicate your life to, and apply yourself to it with all your heart. Never let anyone tell you that you can't be great. The only thing that can hold you back is yourself. Courage is all you really need."
Addressing the worg in the group, Cricket smiled and said, "Gwallgofrwydd, no, Wally, you need to tone it down a bit. There's being a bit wild, and there's being a maniac. Right now, you're beyond maniacal." This got a big laugh from everyone, even from the black-coated, red eyed worg. Worgs are well known for being wild, but Wally was so far beyond that he could be considered a caricature of a caricature of a worg. "But you shouldn't tone it down too far: the best solution, sometimes, is an insane solution. We're never going to survive unless we get a little crazy."
"Miw-Sher," Cricket began, turning over to a young sphinx. The young lady immediately began to hide her face bashfully behind one of her wings. "Kitten, you don't need to hide your face, just because you don't have any makeup. You don't need it to make yourself look beautiful. Kohl around the eyes, blush on your cheeks, lipstick on your lips, you don't need any of that: you're beautiful just the way you are, and putting anything over that lovely face of yours would be a crime." The sphinx promptly dropped her wing, and smiled angelically. That young lady would be a heartbreaker when she grew up...
-----------------------
On and on, it went. It took the better part of an hour to cover everyone, but he did it. Finally, he reached the end of the list.
"Oh, Alex, Alex, Alex," he said, then sighed theatrically. "What are we going to do with you?" The snow white griffin blushed, her cheeks turning an adorable shade of pink. "You refuse to sleep anywhere other than right here in my bed, and worse, you hog the covers, and insist on borrowing my pillow. You won't eat your vegetables, and I know for a fact that you're the one who keeps stealing my dessert. Just because I don't eat it doesn't mean you can take it without asking, you know?"
The griffin was now blushing incandescent. Cricket continued, now on a roll. "You snore. Did you know that? I mean, it's a cute little snore, but still. You kick when you're having a good dream, and with your claws, a kick can be really uncomfortable. You lisp, even though we both know you only do it to get attention. But the thing that really worries me is the fact that you won't go to sleep without a goodnight hug from me." With a weary sigh, Cricket said, "In fact, you can't seem to go fifteen minutes without a hug from me, or you start sniffling and crying, and let me tell you, there's nothing sadder in the whole wide world than a crying little griffin chick. Worse, when you're sad, I feel sad. So, in order to keep you from crying all the time, I got you something."
Cricket reached behind his pillow, and pulled out a stuffed toy, a brown and white bunny doll. It was fluffy, with little button eyes and nose. It was, in a word, adorable. It had taken days to get it stitched together in secret while Alex was asleep, or while she was out of the room, but the look on the griffin's face at this moment made it worthwhile.
"This," the changeling said, grinning, "Is the Huggabunny. I've stuffed him with as many hugs as I thought that he could safely hold." That wasn't quite true: the bunny was stuffed with fluff, not hugs. However, upon completing the creation, he had given the toy a good, long hug, which was just as good, he thought. "So," he continued, "Whenever you feel you need a hug from me, hug the bunny." Alex did so, smiling cheerfully. "Now, I don't know how long a hug can last, but I'm sure they can keep for a good long time. However, the next time we see each other, if it seems like the hugs are getting a little stale, let me know: I'll swap them out with some fresh ones." This got a lot of laughs from the assembled children, but Alex nodded seriously: for a four-year-old, that made perfect sense.
Alex abruptly turned her head, then whistled. A nurse walked in, carrying a small bunny rabbit on her back. Grinning, Alex said, "I got you a gift, too. This is Miss Bunny Wunny Cuddlewumpus." The assembled children giggled at that, but the griffin continued unabashed. "You never seem to sweep, er, sleep well without me cuddled up next to you, so I got you something nice, warm, and fwuffy that you can use to take my place."
The bunny promptly jumped off of the nurse's back, and hugged Cricket's face energetically. Apparently, Alex had chosen a natural born cuddler...
Cricket, blushing bright blue, said, "Ah, thank you Alex, I really do appreciate this. Ummm, I'm not sure about the name..." There was no way he could use that name in public...
Alex, tears welling up in her eyes, asked, "You don't wike it?"
Ah, Cricket's one weakness: he was a complete pushover when it came to children, girls, and anything cute...
"...I wuv it," Cricket said, hugging the bunny enthusiastically. He'd have to learn to live with that, he supposed...
There were cheers that followed, then hugs, laughs, and tears, but a few minutes after that, the children filed out, one by one, until Cricket was alone in his hospital room, feeding his new pet a carrot. Miss Bunny really was an adorable little thing...
There was a knock on the door. Cricket looked up, and saw an earth pony walk in, a knapsack upon his back. The pony in question was... striking. He was tall, well built, with a great deal of tone to his muscles, in spite of being a bit old. With a grey coat and a white mane and tail, the pony could be anywhere between forty and sixty. But what really struck the changeling was something that he had trouble defining. This pony had... presence: if he walked into a room, everyone would turn to look. If he spoke, everyone would stop to listen. It may have just been the fact that he had an impressive moustache (a good moustache can have authority all on it's own), but Cricket abruptly wished that he could stand at attention. Sadly, while his foreleg was out of the sling, his legs were still in traction...
"I," the pony began, in a strong, clear voice that set his prodigious handlebar moustache shaking dramatically, "Am Stainless Steel. Shining Armor sent me to have a talk with you. Do you mind if I sit?"
Cricket shook his head, and said, "I don't mind one bit."
The pony nodded gratefully, then pulled up a chair. Before sitting down, he closed the door, then said, "Shining Armor already briefed me regarding your, ah, unique condition. If it would make you feel more comfortable, you can dispense with the disguise."
Cricket nodded gratefully, then dropped the disguise. After wearing it for so long, it was getting to where it was starting to feel like a second skin...
Steel nodded, then said, "Shining Armor informed me that you were planning on remaining in Equestria for the duration, and that you had certain aspirations towards knighthood after your recovery was complete. Is that correct?" Cricket nodded. "Capital. Now, there are certain protocols that will have to be observed, before you can be considered qualified to become a squire, your first step in that direction. Since you're currently injured, and will have considerable physical therapy afterwards, the physical portions of the examination will have to wait until after you are fully healed. However, the assessments regarding your mental acuity and psychological state can be done in the meantime."
Cricket nodded, petting the bunny. Over the last few weeks, Shining Armor had popped in from time to time to check on the changeling. During those visits, the subject of knighthood had come up now and again. The unicorn had briefed the changeling on the major points: while physical prowess was important, the most important part was the psychological examination: a knight had a great deal of power, not just in terms of physical might, but also in military authority, and in politics as well. As such, before somepony was considered for knighthood, they had to undergo a battery of tests to make certain that they were capable of handling that responsibility... and were unlikely to abuse it.
Steel smiled, and said, "Now, given the fact that you are a changeling, the tests that you will need to go through will require a bit of reassessment: it would be unfair to expect you to be knowledgeable about Equestrian history, or culture, at this juncture. You will, of course, be expected to catch up, but for now, the tests you'll be given will be a bit more abstract than the norm. After the tests, books will be brought in for you to study, so that you can be caught up while you recover, and I will see to it that tutors will be brought in to help you in catching up with any subjects that you are found to be having any difficulty with."
This surprised the changeling a bit: he'd expected to have some difficulty in those fields, and that he'd probably have to explain, more than once, that he'd had little to no formal education, at least as a pony would understand it. The fact that somepony had already thought that far ahead was surprising...
The earth pony stood up, grabbed a table, then pulled it over to where it would stand between the changeling and himself. Pulling out his knapsack, the pony set a curious device upon the table: it was a square, subdivided into a set of black and white squares. Afterwards, the pony pulled out a set of small black and white figurines, and began setting them upon the squares in some sort of configuration.
"In the meantime," Steel said, as he continued, "We can get started with something a bit less... formal. I thought we might begin with a few games of chess."
Cricket, now thoroughly lost, asked, "What's chess?"
---------------------
That evening, Shining Armor and Stainless Steel sat on the balcony overlooking the Crystal Empire, watching the sunset turn the city into a thousand glittering diamonds.
Shining Armor, his expression one of pure surprise, asked, "He'd never heard of chess before today?"
Stainless Steel, Knight Grand Cross of the Order Of The Crown, Knight Grand Master of the Order of the Knights Hospitaller, and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Golden Cloak, nodded, chuckling. "Yes. It gave me a bit of a surprise myself. Nearly every other culture in the world plays chess, or some version of it, but apparently, changelings have almost no understanding of board games. I had to teach him the entire game today."
Shining Armor chuckled himself. Steel was an avid chess player, and he'd often stated that you could tell a great deal about somepony based upon how they played the game. The fact that, when he turned thirty, he had earned the rank of grandmaster, and his cutie mark was a knight chess piece besides, spoke volumes for Steel's skill in the game. "So," Shiny asked, grinning, "How did he do?"
"Surprisingly well," the older knight admitted, smiling. "The first three games, he did about as well as an amateur could be expected to do when playing against an expert. After that, he began to improve significantly. By our fifth game, he'd really started getting a feel for it. He won our seventh game, although it was a hard fought victory, and I intentionally passed on a move that would have turned the game in my favor. I'll be heading over tomorrow, and we'll continue from there. I feel he has a strong understanding of the game now, and in a few more rounds, he'll start developing strategies of his own. From there, I should be able to assess his grasp of strategic thinking, and get an overall feel for his mindset."
The younger knight nodded. Chess strategy, while not strictly necessary, wasn't a bad thing for the changeling to learn. If the changeling had aspirations for knighthood, he'd definitely need to demonstrate that he had not only the ability to lead others, but the ability to lead others well: many well known strategists in Equestria were also avid players of the game.
"I will admit," Steel said, with a rueful chuckle, "That it is a pity that he has decided to become a knight."
Shining Armor raised an eyebrow at that, and asked, "Oh? Why's that?"
Stainless Steel laughed, then said, "Think on it, boy. In less than a day, he was able to learn the game well enough to challenge a ranked grandmaster. Even if I was going easy on him, that is no small accomplishment. If he decided to dedicate himself fully to the game, instead of to knighthood, he could easily become a grandmaster himself."
New Chapter Up!
You should have done it to the gryphon. They are half-lion after all.
I dunno about anyone else, but when I think of Stainless Steel, this is all that comes to mind:
i2.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/011/392/manlyman.PNG
Fine chapter, I like the world building you're introducing with the varied orders of knighthood, I can't wait to see what you do with that. There's one small thing that should be addressed though.
I'm not sure what you're going for here, it looks like it's either a typo, or I can't pick up on an intended inflection.
*Now that I'm ready to post this comment I think I see the inflection, the modifier 'well' is only in the second phrase. Still, perhaps you could use the word "command" in the first phrase and "lead" in the second? Your call if you even want to do anything of course.
Also, this probably shouldn't happen right now since you rebooted this story to avoid unexpected side character arcs, but I do hope you'll consider giving these kids stories of their own once you're done with this wave of stories, perhaps as an intermission, perhaps something else.
Thanks once again for continuing to share your stories.
We are taking the Knight route? I really loved the Royal Guard route he took. Still, a nice chapter and read.
3987259
Well, being able to lead others isn't difficult: a loud, commanding voice; a charismatic personality; the courage to lead from the front. All of those are qualities that can make you a leader, in that people will follow you. However, Lord Rust from Discworld is a leader, but he can't lead people well. He has no understanding of proper strategy, so while he has won victories, they were very bloody. By no means a coward, he often rode at the front of his army, and was often the only survivor of many a courageous charge.
Saying that you can lead others well is saying that those you lead are a lot more likely to come home alive and with most of their pieces in their proper places .
3987016
Not bad, but it's more like...
cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/galleries/display/62/62416.jpg
This.
When I give a character a moustache, I give them a freakin' moustache .
3987317
Yes, so I picked up at the end of the drafting of my comment.
All I mean to say is that there's more then one way to say that a man can lead, and not all the ways of saying it are equally inspiring.
A boss can give an 'order,' an unlucky leader can 'inspire,' but only a great leader can take people into conflict, and back out safely, that's what I'd qualify as someone who 'leads.'
We agree on the essence, I was just tuned to a slightly different wavelength, looking for a difference in verb rather than modifier while I was reading is all.
…That first scene made me generate 1 Kilohug.
3987354
This is the one that I thought of immediately.
fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/156/4/6/lunar_isolation_reginald_by_thedracojayproduct-d52e8gk.jpg
3987475
Verily, a moustache to be proud of.
This is enjoyable! I loved the speaches he give the Kids and how awesome this chapter is...
When I read that Stainless Steel had a mustache, I immediately liked him. This is a great chapter. Can't wait for more.
I was looking for the Order of the Badass facial hair in that list of orders Stainless Steel was in.
Will Fluttershy make an appreance and meet Cricket because i liked their
interaction in the old version and am hoping for it again.
3988915
Sadly, it does not exist. However, his moustache has been inducted into five orders of knighthood itself.
I may or may not be joking.
3987354
Now THAT is an epic 'Stache!
3989033
She will be, never fear. I'm just working my way towards it.
3989082 Squee
I effing love Courage Wolf.
fun chapter. Speaking of chess, think they'd be able to beat Miles Edgeworth at it?
Yay! thanks for another story, I was just kinda wishing one of my other favs would post.
3989053 Now I kinda wanna know if there's an Order of Piracy, especially is it's run by these guys.
3989280
Good question. Well, I wouldn't put any wagers on it, one way or the other.
3989383 true. All 3 of them are good at it. ^^ Btw the 5 paths one, is that by any chance based on Kung-Fu Panda a bit? Cause of the martial arts and moves they used in the story. I ask cause Ellie, the superweapon gives me a Tai Lung sort of vibe.
3989381 knowing the fandom and that you just gave the idea, there probably is or will be. XD. One Piece rules.
3989408
Kung Fu Panda? Nah. I will admit that it is one of my influences, though.
3989423 I see. An influence huh? Cool.
Stainless Steel sounds like a reasonably cool guy, and it makes sense that a knight other than Shining would need to be brought in if Cricket is going to end up in Ponyville again (assuming he will, that is). Is he Shining's superior in one of the mentioned orders?
3989419 For some reason I can see Celestia legalising piracy to take the fun out of it.
Noble: "And how your family get their fortune Mr Fancy D. Pants?"
Fancy Pants: "Oh you know, we took everything that wasn't nailed down"
And I can see Luna's reaction to it.
Luna bursts into Celestia's personal chambers.
Luna: "Sister! What is this madness we have found?!"
Celestia looks up from her desk.
Celestia: "What madness are you referring to this time sister?"
Luna: "You legalised piracy not six hundred years ago!" she slams a stack of papers on the desk "We spent years trying to protect our shores from those heathens and their pillaging and you squander all our efforts by making it within the law?! Have you gone mad!?"
Celestia puts down her quill and takes off her glasses and sighs.
Celestia: "Luna, have you read the entire thing?"
Luna huffs and slams her hoof down.
Luna: "Yes I have! Licences, taxes, mandatory-"
Celestia: "-Receipts to be given with each act of piracy, failure to produce a licence will not have you treated as a pirate but a regular thief and therefore, what you are doing is stealing and shall be grouped into the same category as any old run-of-the mill land bound thief (which means you share the same cell block as them). Being caught during an act of piracy gives you a reduced sentence for good behaviour, being caught during an act of stealing will not. It's amazing how easy it is to stop something illegal by taking the fun out of it dear sister, we should have thought of this centuries ago, that policy is legal all over the world now"
Luan digests this thoughtfully.
Luna: "We see... we did not realise. Sorry dear sister, excuse us" Luna slowly walks back out of the room, then runs when she reaches the hallway.
Celestia: "Where are you going?"
Luna: "To buy a ship!"
3989689 bravo, that was amusing. Oh oh do the Mane 6 as pirates next. that should be funny to read.
3989787 Hmm, let's see what I can pull off.
Pinkie Pie: "Ooooh! I'm done waiting
through with the waiting
I'll tell the world I'm feeling alive
Wake up Rainbow. Let's. Move. Now!"
Rainbow Dash groans and rolls over in her bunk
Rainbow Dash: "Go back to sleep Pinkie, it's the middle of the night and the cider is killing me"
Pinkie Pie: "Nuh Uh. It's 10 a.m. and Twilight and Applejack want you in the crow's nest like you promised last night before you got drunk"
Rainbow reluctantly gets up while clutching her head
Rainbow Dash: "Stupid sexy... (indescribable muttering)
Elsewhere on the ship
Twilight: "This is amazing! This are almost impossible to find, anyone who finds these are said to be compelled eat them right there! No pony has ever studied one before consumption before! I wonder if there's a way to tell what powers you get before you eat it?"
Fluttershy: Can't we throw it away? Devil fruit are nothing but trouble, there's a reason there're considered cursed after all. If you don't mind me saying that is"
Rarity is filing her hooves on the kitchen counter
Rarity: "Nonsense darling, whoever eats one is granted a magnificent boon just like moi received and I know people would kill for yours if they could darling, it's a shame you don't put it to good use"
Fluttershy: (bitterly) "I would've burned it if I'd known what it would do to me"
Applejack emerges from the kitchen
Applejack: Well, if people would kill for one of these here fruit, I reckon they'd pay through the roof for one as well"
Twilight: "What? No! I need to research this, it could revolutionize everything we know about the devil fruit! Think of the research. Think of the science!!"
Twilight covers the fruit protectively with her body while Applejack slams her hoof down on the table.
Applejack: "And I'm thinking of our food stock Twilight! It's almost empty and frankly we're running low on money as well! If selling that magic fruit will save our hides at sea, then I say let's do it!"
Twilight: "NO!! You can't make me! This is my devil fruit and I'm going to research i-"
'BOOM!'
'Fwomp'
Rainbow weakly opens the door and manages to say something before collapsing.
Rainbow: "Incoming Trixie"
Twilight groans, gets up and walks towards the door.
Twilight: "Great. Just what we need. Let's make this quick"
Applejack and the others follow her out.
Applejack: "Don't sink her ship just yet, Let me raid her food supplies first"
Rainbow: (weakly) "Help"
Devil fruit users:
Fluttershy: Zoan, Model, Winged Dragon
Rarity: Paramecia, Pheromone (e.g. Can make the male persuasion fall madly in love with her or make it smell like roses or stink like a skunk)
Pinkie Pie: Zoan, Model Pinkie Pie (No one can tell the difference, or prove she ate one)
Trixie: Paramecia, Chop Chop (Buggy's)
That's what I can think of off the top of my head.
So when are we going to meet an antagonist? Things are going unrealistically well for Cricket. I want to see somebody who dislikes him or is trying to get rid of him. When will that happen?
*sees romance tag* Fluttershy is in the description... Applying Occam's razor... The romance is with Fluttershy?
From what I can tell of Pinkie Pride, there must be a company that sells and produces party weaponry, like bombs, tanks, and canons. What would happen if a changeling got ahold of one of these and took the "party" element out?
3989543
I'd say that he was a superior at one time, but Stainless Steel is retired.
3990027 Cool. That was pretty good. Zoan, that's the animal transformation type like Chopper has right?
3991386 Yeah, they also have a sub categories for mythical creatures like a phoenix and for variations of a species, like Dog Dog fruit Model Jackal and Dog Dog fruit Model Wolf.
3991836 interesting. I really need to catch up on One Piece some. I originally stopped at the Skypeia arc because Toonami ended. I'm currently watching the Franky arc where they're framed for attempted murder with Robin leaving them.
3991872 I'm at the part in the English dub where they're trying to rescue Robin.
The manga is in the second half of the Grand Line.
3991968 I see. And I know about the manga. Haki was revealed though I don't understand it much other than a super power up and last chapter I read on Vizmanga was with the giant kids and whoever sent some poison blob monster on the island to attack. Really need to catch up. XD.
3992018
…You are going to LOATHE the villain when you reach that arc.
3994991 I see. what did the villain do in the arc that'd make one loathe him so much?
3995005
You know those giant kids? They weren't always giant. Cesar Clown (the arc villain) abducted them from families, and fed them an experimental drug that caused them to grow that way, and shortened the lifespans of those children by decades. As if that wasn't bad enough, he laced the drug with a powerful narcotic to ensure they would not be able to escape.
He also created a deadly gas which turns living cells into ash.
3995005 Soooooo many things. The only good thing about him that I recall is that he shows how useless people who rely solely on logia powers are in the New World.
3995067
3995098
I see. I remember that part from where I left off. So this guy is the one responsible huh? He really is evil.
Good chapter, but there is one small thing that I have about Stainless Steel. Being a Grandmaster at 30 is a feat, but there are people who become grandmasters in their teens. I know it's probably this way to be more believable but as a player myself it doesn't carry as much weight.
Just a nitpick, my opinion is just a drop in this comment bucket.
3998895
He who chases two rabbits seldom catches one: had Steel dedicated himself purely to chess, he'd have been a grandmaster in his teens, like you say. However, because he pursued both a military career and chess mastery, it took much longer.
3990510 It'd work about as well as taking an M1 Abrams and taking the military out, I think.
3989689 The question is whether she's headed towards Griffonia or Zebrica, and whether the destination's lawyers can argue that boundary markers are claim stakes.
3999584 Given how Luna has been gone during the time all this stuff happened, she may ask when pirates obeyed the law anyway. And she'd probably make her ship fly and do strange and interesting things.