25. The Ultimatum
“Hold on, I said what?!” I gasp, my eyes bugging out slightly. Celestia chuckles slightly at my reaction.
“Indeed. You were quite adamant on taking my throne,” she repeats. I heave a disbelieving sigh as the two of us descend the mountain path back towards the castle.
Along the way, Celestia's been telling me more about what I'd been like before she managed to rouse me from my apparent insanity. I mean, I knew I hadn't been in control back when I fought the Scorpios, but to think that I'd been this far gone...it's just surreal. I guess this is what it feels like to drink yourself into a black out, only to wake up with no memory of the previous night's events.
Honestly, I'm a bit disturbed by the things she's telling me. I had knocked off her crown and then stated an intent to take over Equestria. You think that's bad, I even fucking threatened to kill Luna and Twilight in terrible ways just to make Celestia suffer. As if I need I another reason to fear this magic. The things I reportedly said...they're so unlike me. I'm an asshole who may complain about how things are done, yeah, but I'd never consider taking over. I have no interest in power, because it usually comes with tons of other work to keep the kingdom running...and I'm simply too lazy for something like that. As for the killing, I believe I've said before that I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I killed anyone. It's not my right to steal away the life from another. It doesn't matter if my race sucked, I'd never have killed anyone.
Yeah, I'm frightened. This magic...I resolve to keep it within me and never use it. It's too random of a variable. What if next time, I kill Rainbow? I think I would die.
“Goddamn,” I murmur, looking away from Celestia guiltily. “No, you and Luna have been ruling for a hell of a long time, and Equestria's still standing. I don't want to take over.”
“Seth, I don't blame you for the things you said while under the influence of your magic. I'll explain further once the both of us are clean,” Celestia assures me. I grunt in response. I wish she'd just tell me now. Sure, I'm missing a shirt because Celestia burned it the fuck to pieces...but that's no big deal. Maybe it is to Rarity. She'll probably flip a shit, since she worked really hard on this winter outfit.
Returning to the castle, we are immediately met by Luna, who looks as if she'd been waiting for us for a while. She watches me like a hawk, which I suppose I can understand.
“Sister, we art ready for thine explanation,” Luna snaps, clearly unhappy by this whole situation.
“Just a moment, Luna. As you can see, I am hardly fit for a serious discussion, as unkempt as I look,” Celestia says, but then she reconsiders, even as Luna opens her mouth to protest. “But, if you'd like to join me in the washroom, I can oblige you there.”
“That...is acceptable,” Luna concedes without further demur. A second later, what Celestia just said clicks in my mind.
“Hold on a minute, what?” I interrupt, looking at both Celestia and Luna. “You're going to shower together?”
“Of course. Is there a problem?” Celestia asks, looking perplexed.
“But...what the hell? Where I'm from, bathing with another adult is considered...wrong, to put it lightly,” I relate. Seriously, it would just be fucking weird if I ever showered with Adam. The same goes for sisters I assume, only then you have a bunch of dumb men making earthy jokes about them.
“I see. However, in Equestria, it is common for ponies to assist in cleaning one another,” Celestia reveals. Then she gives a small smile. “It is a sign of friendship and trust.”
“Fucking weird is what it is,” I mutter. Celestia nods, understanding our cultural differences, while Luna shoots me a dark glare. Wow, if she hadn't liked me before, she fucking hates me now. “Whatever. So where do I go to get clean?”
Celestia pauses, and then she turns to address one of the unicorn guards standing near the entryway. “Swift, would you mind escorting our guest to one of the empty rooms?”
The guard in question salutes smartly and immediately responds, “Yes, your Highness!” Swift leaves her post and snaps her gaze to me. Great, so I have to follow one of these bastards.
“When you are finished, speak to any guard and ask for the sitting room. I will meet you there,” Celestia finishes, and then she and Luna enter the castle and disappear from view, leaving me with Swift.
“Come with me,” Swift commands, stiffly turning her back on me and cantering into the castle as well. Huh, not even something as simple as a greeting. Bitch.
I do as I'm told, because I want to get clean as badly as Celestia does. We really wrecked that mountaintop. I almost wish I could have seen the fight myself, though I know that Celestia wiped the floor with me. Good to know she has the power to back up her position. I guess this country is pretty safe.
“So, is Swift your first name, or what?” I say somewhat awkwardly. I want to know a bit more about the military composition, so it makes sense to ask a guard personally. I might get better information than from that bitch, Elegant.
“You will refer to me as Sergeant Lance,” is Swift's abrupt response. My eyes widen slightly, and then I scoff. Great, so I got landed with another bitch. Actually, you know what? You're just a lowly guard. I'm not going to take this.
“I'll call you whatever I damn well please, bitch,” I retaliate viciously, not appreciating her attitude at all. Swift visibly bristles in anger at my words, but to her credit, she doesn't react. “Seriously, it's been nothing but assholes ever since I got here. I'm getting tired of it!”
“You are lucky you are under the Princesses' protection,” Swift hisses back at me, seemingly ignoring most of my last statement. Of course, that's women for you. Pick one thing they don't agree with in what you say, and ignore everything else. “Some ponies don't appreciate the attention you're getting.”
“Oh, so that's what this is about. Well, get over it. I'm not going to suddenly stop being human,” I return bitterly.
“It's not about your species. It's simply wrong that you can completely disregard any form of courtesy in the presence of royalty, and yet still go unpunished,” Swift corrects me. Oh, so she's being all stuck up about my lack of decorum.
“Well, excuse me for not giving a shit about pony royalty,” I retort. Swift suddenly halts in the middle of the hallway. I pause, wondering if she's about to hit me.
Thankfully, all she does is open a door on the wall near us. I can see a bed inside, so I walk into the room. “This is one of the guest rooms. I recommend you step inside and think before the next time you speak to a Royal Guard as you just did,” Swift says sternly, and then she shuts the door behind me.
“Bitch,” I say again, even though I know she can't hear me. Seriously, every last asshole. Elegant Style was first, and now Swift Lance. Ugh. Get the fuck over yourselves already.
I turn around to view the room, and my breath is taken away. Hot damn this is luxurious. It's a good thing I'm only using this to bathe. There's no fucking way I'd accept a room like this.
Let me just describe this bullshit. The room is rectangular, with a circular raised portion in the far left corner accessible by small steps. Upon this platform is an elaborate four poster bed, with white and gold sheets and a translucent white set of curtains.
Situated in the forward right section of the room, there's a glass table surrounded by black...wait a moment, is that leather? That can't be right. I go and press down on one of the three black chairs to test my hypothesis. Hm, it looks like leather, but feels differently. Almost like cotton, or silk. Except it's a bit stiffer. Oh, so it's artificial leather. I've seen a few of those in my time. They're usually made of polyester, if I remember correctly. I was about to say, it's fucked up for ponies to use the skin of other ponies as luxury items. Anyhow, that aside, upon the glass table is a vase of flowers.
Three windows are on the opposite wall, gazing out unto the city of Canterlot below. As it's still the middle of the day, I can see all the different high class ponies moving from place to place. On the right side of the room is another door, which probably leads to the bathroom, since there's no other doors.
My hand clasps around the cool crystal doorknob and turn it, revealing a ridiculously luxurious bathroom. It makes Rarity's bathroom look like a fucking outhouse. Directly in front of me is the tub, which takes up one entire corner of the room. Yeah, it's massive. There's even six little knobs on the rim, for adjusting all kinds of settings.
Multiple vanities and cabinets line the left side of the room, with large pristine mirrors reflecting my dirtied ragged appearance. Celestia wasn't kidding, I look like total shit. My shirt and jacket got completely incinerated by Celestia being fucking OP as shit, and there's dirt and bits of grass and rock smeared all over my chest and pants. That's not even counting my poor hair. I'm the most bitter about that. It's hanging in tangles around my shoulders.
You know what, fuck the description. I won't be happy until my hair is back to normal.
So I actually spend an entire hour in that bathroom. Between bathing and grooming myself, I tend to take a long time, especially if my hair is fucked up by more than just the typical wind and shit. And it was super fucked up, to the point where the combs that are here got stuck and wouldn't move. So many tangles...ugh.
Finally, I step out of the bathroom, my hair once again silky smooth and shining. Surprisingly enough, there's a set of clothes lying folded on the glass table, while my clothes that I'd thrown all over the floor in the main room are gone.
I lift up the shirt, noticing that it's definitely made for a human. It's a royal blue color, with golden trims along the edges and stripes down the long sleeves. The cuffs are rolled up slightly, and the collar is folded neatly. Along with the shirt, there's also a set of black boxers and slim pants colored that same royal blue.
Suspicious, I slip on the boxers and pants. My suspicions are confirmed when the clothes fit perfectly. There's only one pony that I've let anywhere near me with a measuring tape. This is Rarity's work. How and why is her work up here in Canterlot? Why did she make more clothes for me without asking or giving them to me?
Well, I guess it's not that big of a deal. I already let her make some clothes for me. Who cares if she made one more set? The only thing I want to know is why they're here in the first place.
After getting dressed in the new outfit (in which I feel like a classy mother fucker), I leave my room behind, making sure to grab my rifle in the process.
Speaking of which, I take a close look at it. According to Celestia, it had undergone a metamorphosis or something into crystal. I don't see that, though. It looks as normal now as it has ever, despite it looking as good as new. I wonder if that was another aspect of this magic that I'm never going to use ever.
Whatever. I sling my rifle over my shoulder again and leave the room, making sure to grab my wallet and phone as well. I'm glad I had the foresight to take them out of my pockets before getting in the tub. They're both useless, but there's no way I'm getting rid of them.
So Celestia is in the sitting room, wherever that is. I suppose it would be too much to ask for there to be signs directing me there. No? Ugh, that means I have to talk to a random guard that will probably hate me.
Because I like being difficult, I stop a random passing maid (yes, a maid. It's even wearing the fucking outfit.) and ask her for directions. Turns out this fucking castle is more complicated than it needs to be. She gave me like, fourteen turns to take.
As I walk, it's easy to determine that I'm not very well liked here. The guards appear to be indifferent to me, but I assume that's because they're well trained. No, it's the staff and other nobles that are walking the halls that give me snooty looks as I pass by. They're so similar to humans I can't even stand it. I bet the relationship rumors will start any time now. Because somebody in power obviously can't talk to someone of the opposite gender without fucking them in private. Sound fucked up? Welcome to the human race.
Without bothering to knock, I push open the door to the sitting room and walk inside, my feet sinking into a plush red carpet. There's several seats lining the walls, but they're all empty. The only ponies in the room are Celestia and Luna.
“Ah, you're looking well, Seth,” Celestia greets me graciously. I give her a once over as well, noticing how she's once again looking pristine and regal. Luna remains silent, for some reason not looking at me.
“Yeah, sure. You going to tell me what I want to know now?” I reply impatiently.
“Of course, I did promise. However, I was hoping you and Luna would talk first. I understand there is a bit of animosity between you,” Celestia responds, and I have to rub my forehead in exasperation. One thing after another! God, just fucking tell me.
“Why? She hates me. I have nothing to say to her,” I snap. Luna winces at that, while Celestia smiles sadly.
“We...I...don't hate thee, Seth,” Luna corrects me, dropping the plural for the first time ever. What in the fuck does that mean? “I do not trust thy kind, for reasons discussed previously.”
“Yeah, you're smart to distrust us. And as long as there's distrust, there will always be 'animosity,' as Celestia puts it,” I tell her flatly. “There's really nothing to say.”
“What were we supposed to think, when we sensed both thy magic and our sister's?” Luna continues, ignoring me. She also slipped back into plurals. I guess that couldn't last forever. “We apologize for doubting thee. Twas unknown to us that our sister hath requested to see thy magic.”
“Whatever...you done now? I honestly don't care. I'm still pissed at her about that myself,” I say impatiently, glancing at Celestia meaningfully.
Luna huffs in frustration. “Must you brush off even the most sincere of apologies?” Hah, holy fuck, is she pouting? That's hilarious.
“Yup. If I expect to be wronged, then no apology is necessary,” I confirm. Luna looks at me oddly at that, while Celestia nods, as if she'd expected such a response.
“Thou hast a dark way of looking at things,” Luna comments.
“That's funny, coming from the Princess of the Night,” I retort.
“Thou appears to be lacking in any kind of respect,” Luna returns, though she doesn't seem all that angry about it.
“Just noticed that now, did you?” I remark. There's a slight pause in the conversation there, as Celestia smiles at our interaction, and Luna looks at me as if she's trying to figure me out. “Now then, talk's over. Celestia?”
“Indeed, I suppose it is time. Luna, you should return to bed, I believe,” Celestia responds, looking at her sister. Luna glances up at a clock on the wall and sighs.
“Thou art correct. We should not have been awake this early,” Luna laments, moving towards the door. Huh. I suppose it makes sense she sleeps during the day, being the princess of the night after all.
“Sleep well, sister,” Celestia calls after her sister, and then the door shuts, leaving the two of us in the room together. She looks back at me, but I'm already talking.
“Okay. You. Magic. Spill,” I demand in a rather eloquent manner. Celestia chuckles somewhat, and then she turns serious.
“Very well. I shall start with my conclusion, before continuing with my personal recommendations,” Celestia declares. “I have determined that you are using dark magic, of a similar variety to the magic used by King Sombra himself.”
And there goes my jaw. I had already figured out that it was dark magic of some kind, considering how crazy it makes me, but Sombra used the same kind of magic? That's sickening. I don't want to use any magic that he also used. “Why...how did you come to this conclusion?” I want to hear the reasoning before I event attempt to accept this.
“As you know, my sister and I fought with Sombra at the Crystal Empire. It was there that we came into contact with the full force of his magical strength,” Celestia began. “Once you fight against somepony, you will never forget the feeling of their magical composition. Because of that, when I sensed your magic from the forest, I was alarmed, as it felt very similar to Sombra's magic.”
“If you suspected that then, why didn't you fetch me then?” I press. I'm shocked as all hell at this revelation. How and why is this magic so similar to that bastard's?
“I initially intended to gather the Elements of Harmony and confront the source of this magic, but I chose not to, upon receiving the incident reports,” Celestia admits. “I had not expected the source of magic to be you.”
“Don't be soft. If you thought I was anything close to Sombra, you should have killed me without mercy,” I berate her, disbelief on my face. “What if I had been Sombra, using that transformation spell again?”
“Please Seth, it is easy for an experienced practitioner of magic to detect when one is using a transformation spell,” Celestia admonishes me. “That aside, I was unwilling to harm you. It would be tragic, if you had been killed before you could understand what a wonderful world you're now living in.”
“Spare me,” I groan, rubbing my forehead. “You have all this power, but you're too nice.”
“Do not patronize me, Seth. I have learned when to be lenient, and when to use force,” Celestia scolds me, causing me to flinch. I keep forgetting she has thousands of years more experience than me. “Despite what you may think, kindness works far more than force. If I had harmed you, wouldn't I have just been conforming to the human principles that you've come to expect?”
I stare at her incredulously. “You have really got to stop being so damn good at that,” I mutter, causing her to giggle. “I swear, is it that if you're old enough, you can fucking read minds?”
“In a manner of speaking. But, continuing on the subject of your magic, I was unsure if it was really dark magic, as the magical ambiance of the Everfree Forest has been known to scramble magical composition in the past,” Celestia continues. “Therefore I sent a letter to Twilight Sparkle, asking her for the results of her examinations.”
“You knew she would attempt to study me?” I ask, marveling at Celestia's foresight. Again, I see how she's in charge. She's a fucking genius, and has the power the back it up. Nopony can beat her.
Celestia laughs. “I know my student, Seth. There is no way she wouldn't attempt to study an obscure magic such as that. However, her results served to reinforce my suspicions. The composition of your magic, while extremely unstable from a lack of control, was definitely dark magic. It just remained to be seen if it was similar to Sombra's.”
“Okay, so then why didn't you come and get me then?”
“I was actually planning to make another trip down to Ponyville, when I heard that you were already in Canterlot,” Celestia informs me. “So I sent for you. While I did wish to speak with you about your experiences in Equestria, I then had a second objective: to see your magic myself.”
“So you provoked me into letting it loose,” I conclude, and then I receive a nod from her. “I don't like that you didn't tell me, but I can see why you didn't. So what did you deduce from seeing it?”
“It is definitely similar to Sombra's. From the magical aura itself to the color change of your eyes, I almost believed I was facing a human version of Sombra himself,” Celestia affirms.
“Shit. Well then...why didn't you kill me then, if I was so dangerous?” I demand, still somewhat in shock about all this. “You certainly had the strength.”
“Because I am not going to render judgment upon you simply for being unable to control an ancient magic,” Celestia explains. “After all, a lack of control can be adjusted, over time.”
“I see. But I don't plan on learning to control this magic. I plan on never using it again,” I finally tell her resolutely. Celestia pauses, and then looks at me sternly.
“Seth, you must learn to control this magic. It is not something you can ignore,” she warns me. What the hell? It sounds like she's telling me I don't have a choice. Fuck you, I always have a choice.
“Like I hell I can't. Besides, I don't have to do what you say. It's my choice, and I choose to ignore it!”
Celestia slams a hoof down. “Then you choose to let Rainbow Dash and Apple Bloom die.”
I freeze, and then I glare at her intensely. That sounded suspiciously like a threat. “You'd better explain yourself. Right now.” I demand.
“You may not remember, but I told you before that I've seen many ponies succumb to the insanity that this magic brings. You think you are the first one to deny this magic after it has taken residence within your body?” Celestia points out.
“What?”
“If you let it be, the insanity will grow within you, and it will get loose, no matter how hard you try to hold it back. Every time you lose yourself, it will become harder and harder to stop, until it takes your over completely,” Celestia continues, and I'm struck speechless. Is this like...holy shit, what is this power, a fucking Inner Hollow? “Then, you will either die from the strain, or your body will adapt to it, and you will become a shell of your former self, sustained only by misery and destruction.”
“That's...”
“However, even if you live on, you will still be connected to those you care about. The magic views these bonds as a weakness. Therefore, those that succumb to this magic seek out those they love, and murder them.”
“Oh son of a...”
“Would you be content to let this happen to you? Are you okay with knowing that one day it will be your hand that snuffs out the lives of the ponies you care about?” Celestia has been stepping closer and closer this whole time, her eyes never leaving mine.
“Goddammit, fine!” I finally yell, unable to take the mental images that shes inducing. The moment she mentioned that I'd kill Rainbow, all I can see is her broken body through the dark aura of my own magic, and I shudder in horror. “You're a pain in the ass, you know that?”
“I'm only looking out for you and your well-being,” Celestia assures me, reaching her neck forward and nuzzling my cheek. Dammit, when did she get close enough for that? “I've seen many, many friends die. I wish to save you from that pain.”
“I can't fucking understand you. You're not like any human I've ever met. You're...dammit, I can't even,” I express in frustration. Celestia beams at that.
“Coming from you, I'll take that as an compliment. Thank you, Seth,” she reasons, and I scowl. So I basically just agreed to learn how to use this magic.
“Whatever. So how do you intend to help me with this? I doubt you're willing to stay in Ponyville for a long period of time, and there's no way I'm staying in Canterlot for a similar amount of time,” I question.
“Of course, I understand that you wouldn't want to be separated from your friends,” Celestia says understandingly. What? That's not what I...ugh, sure, we'll go with that. It has nothing to do with the fact that I fucking hate ponies here. Cadance and Celestia are the only two tolerable ponies I've met since getting here. Well, I could count that Fancy Pants guy, but I don't trust his motives at all.
“So...what's your solution?”
“Hm...I believe that Twilight Sparkle, being the Element of Magic, would be the most suited to helping you learn the basics of magical control,” Celestia mentions.
“Oh hell,” I groan, already picturing an ecstatic Twilight bouncing around the clearing while I try to use magic.
“But for the more complex applications, such as developing personal techniques, I can assign a member of the Canterlot Royal Unicorn Second Regiment to assist you,” Celestia suggests.
“Second Regiment? Okay, I know that the first one does security and defense. The fuck does the second one do?” I inquire, actually curious.
“Oh, the Second Regiment is more magic-oriented. I put them in charge in creating and identifying large scale magical maneuvers, such as healing, barriers, and other protective spells. They also collaborate on finding ways to neutralize the magical weapons of other countries,” Celestia explains. Hang on a moment, so they're basically the white mages. “Though when the occasion calls for it, they are very useful in battle.”
Nevermind, they are red mages. So I'm getting one of those fuckers to help me out? Great, if the attitude of the ponies I've met in Canterlot so far is anything to go by, it'll probably be some bitch who has it out for me. But, it's either that or eventually kill Rainbow and Apple Bloom. You two are lucky you're worth it.
“Okay then. This is gonna be a drag, but as you put it, I don't have a choice. When do I start?” I say in a resigned manner. It's like I'm going through school all over again, what with learning to read and now learning how to use this fucking magic.
“We can actually start now, if you'd like. I know a certain stallion that would really enjoy having a student, if only for a short time,” Celestia offers. I raise an eyebrow. Stallions? They exist? Heh.
“Eh, might as well. As long as it doesn't take all night. I do want to hang with Rainbow some before tomorrow,” I say, shrugging.
“Of course. He is a very busy stallion as well, but I'm sure he'll help you out for an hour or so before his next assignment,” Celestia assures me with a smile. “If you'll come with me, I'll take you to him.”
“Okay, whatever. Lead the way,” I tell her. With a satisfied nod, Celestia leads me out of the sitting room and down more hallways that look exactly the same. I don't know how she finds her way around this place. That aside though, I'm hoping this guy I'm going to talk to is actually somewhat sane. I need another male to talk to, instead of having to deal with all this female energy. I'm starting to feel somewhat outnumbered, especially since every fucking pony I talk to is a mare. Ugh.
Honestly, I lose track of how many twists and turns we take, until finally Celestia stops in front of a seemingly random guard, except that his armor is violet as well as gold, and there's a shield emblem with a pink star pinned to his chest. His plume is also a different color, being a darker blue with a streak of cyan running through it, rather than just plain blue.
“Captain, may I have a moment of your time?” Celestia addresses the guard, who snaps to attention immediately. Captain, huh? That's a pretty high rank.
“Of course, your Highness!” the guard responds promptly. Celestia smiles, and then gestures for him to follow her. The three of us continue down the hallway. I glance at the guard, but he won't look at me. He keeps his eyes trained directly ahead. I guess he's pretty well disciplined.
“At ease, Captain. I wanted to speak with you about something rather important,” Celestia begins. The guard remains silent, though his posture does relax somewhat. And he's not speaking unless he's asked a question. Yep, this guy's a hardcore soldier. “Would you mind taking some time before your evening patrol to train a magical initiate?”
“Certainly, Princess. However, that does leave my post empty,” the captain replied graciously, referring to the empty spot where he'd been standing a few minutes ago.
“You may reassign whomever you see fit,” Celestia tells him, and he nods in response.
“If you don't mind me asking, whom will I be instructing? I wasn't aware there were any further graduates this semester,” the captain inquires. Nevermind, there's a question. It's still stiff and polite as hell though.
“Oh, I've already brought the initiate in question with us.” Celestia finally brings the focus of the conversation back to me, and I resist the urge to rub my forehead. The captain finally looks at me, his bright cyan eyes blinking at me. And then his gaze looks me up and down, before finally turning to Celestia.
“I...understand, Princess. I shall begin immediately, if that is your desire,” the captain responds after a few seconds. I detect the small pause in his confirmation. Great...seems like he has some reservations about working with me as well. At least he didn't complain about it. Even so, this is going to suck.
“It is. I'll leave the details to you,” Celestia affirms. The captain salutes, earning a smile from her. “Now then, I have put off Day Court long enough. I'll leave you to it. I expect a full report from you when you're finished.”
“As you command,” the captain replied. Then, with a nod to the both of us, Celestia splits away from us, down a separate hallway. Lovely. The captain looks at me, his expression unchanging. “Come with me.”
I shrug and do as I'm told. This guy's pretty high up, so I figure he expects compliance. I mean, I already agreed to this. There's no point in contesting his orders.
The captain seems to lead me out of the castle, but a quick look around the outside area changes that assumption. The afternoon sun blazes down on me as we walk through a small courtyard, in which several other guards, some in armor and some not, are practicing.
The area is mostly grassy, with the bulk of the castle behidn us and a smaller, two story building just across the field. There's two small dirt areas on the far right and far left, in each of which are two armored unicorn guards, practicing their fighting styles with wooden swords and shields. It's interesting how they're using magic to carrying their weapons.
Forgive me if I'm going on a tangent, but I find their fighting styles interesting. They're doing very little actual movement of their limbs, apart from dodging and weaving. Their shields and swords, however, move like whirlwinds. They circle around one another, avoiding slashes and stabs by moving their heads or blocking with their shields, neither one of them giving any ground. I'd stay and watch more, but the captain is still moving.
There are archers in this area as well, firing their bows with magic into straw targets set up in a makeshift archery range. All the combat training aside, there's also some guards just hanging out in groups without armor, talking and laughing with one another.
As we pass them, they glance over at us, giving me a curious glance and then greeting their captain with polite waves and calls. The captain acknowledges them all with simple nods. I suppose he's technically still on duty, so he can't be overly casual.
The two of us enter the building, which I now understand is a guard barracks. Unfortunately, I don't get to see much of the interior, because I'm led down a staircase just inside the door down into a wide open room underground.
This looks like another training room, with constructions similar to those outside, built along the walls. So you get stuff like pony mannequins, archery ranges, and weapon racks. But there's also a lot of empty space.
Finally, the captain comes to a halt. He proceeds to take off his helmet, revealing a navy blue mane with streaks of cyan running through it. The way his mane settles around his neck reminds me of somepony, but I can't quite recall who. Agh, it's going to bug me now.
He turns his head to face me, and then he smiles, showing the first fucking emotion since I've seen him. “Hey, sorry about ignoring you back there. Gotta keep up appearances while on duty,” he tells me amiably.
“Doesn't bother me. I know how military types are supposed to act,” I reply, a bit relieved that he's not actually a robot. Maybe he won't actually hate me as well.
“That's good to hear,” he says, nodding, and then he extends a gauntleted hoof to me. “My name is Shining Armor, Captain of the Canterlot Royal Unicorn First Regiment.”
Well now, he's a great deal more important than I thought. I had assumed he'd be around the level of captain rank in human terms, which is about halfway up the ladder. I guess not, if he controls the force of ponies in charge of security and defense. Though I swear to god, if I find out later that there's thirteen regiments, I'm calling him Yamamoto forever.
I take the hoof that is offered to me and shake it. “Seth Rogers. That's one hell of a title you got there,” I comment, earning a laugh from Shining Armor.
“Heh, it is quite a mouthful, huh? Anyway, it's a pleasure to meet you. I heard a human was in town, but it's a bit surreal to see you for myself,” Shining Armor admits with a sheepish grin, withdrawing his hoof. I resist the temptation to roll my eyes. Yes, I know I'm the equivalent of the Romans to you ponies. I'm getting quite tired of hearing it.
“Yeah, I get that a lot. So, you're teaching me how to magic, right?” I say, cutting right to the point.
“For about an hour or two, yes. I must admit, I'm rather interested to see what kind of magic you can use. I doubt the books were very accurate,” Shining Armor responds, sitting down on his haunches.
“That's because they weren't,” I snort derisively. “I haven't read them myself, but I heard that they over hyped our 'magical potential.' You know, the one we don't usually have.”
“Ah, so you're the first of your kind to use magic?” Seems like Shining Armor is pretty sharp. It took me several attempts to make Twilight believe that.
“That's right. And it's not really even unique magic,” I confirm. It would be awesome if I had magic no other pony had ever attempted. Of course, it would also be nice if my magic wasn't trying to kill me. “Which makes me wonder how strong you are, if Celestia believes you can handle this. If I lose control again, I might attack you.”
“I have the utmost faith in Princess Celestia. If she believes I am fit for this task, then I am willing to to trust in her,” Shining Armor tells me proudly. “In addition, she appears to trust you, so I will also trust you.”
I stare at him in disbelief at that statement. How can anybody have that kind of faith in their government? You're willing to trust a complete unknown simply because they do? “I wish I could have that kind of faith,” I mutter.
“Pardon?” Shining Armor asks.
“It's nothing. Shall we get started then?” I say, ready to start taming this magic. Shining Armor looks at me oddly, but then decides to respect my silence and nods.
“Indeed. Now then, during training, keep in mind that I will not be going easy on you,” Shining Armor warns me. I blink. What does that mean? Does that mean he plans to fight me? “I will treat you as if you were one of my soldiers. Therefore, know that everything I say to you during this session is meant to drive you, and not in any way a personal attack against you.”
Did...did he just give me a fucking disclaimer? Oh dear, Celestia handed me off to what equates to a magical drill sergeant. Fuck me, right?
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and like that you've lost me
yet again
I think you should just say "fuck it" with the journal thing and keep present tense. It would be weird in past tense, y'know?
I quite liked this chapter. We got Luna to back down slightly, an explanation of how future use of his magic will affect him (and how not learning to control it will as well) and Seth gets introduced to Shining Armour.
I liked the earlier interaction with the guard Swift. We see that despite his initial thoughts of racism being the main source of animosity between him and the ponies (well from their side anyway) we are told that his lack of respect for royalty is the real reason. The ponies have an unbreakable faith in the Princesses (Celestia in particular) and any kind of disrespect is practically a criminal offense. For someone like Seth who doesn't believe he should show any respect unless it is earned, it is going to continue to piss of the Canterlot ponies. This is something I don't see changing for the majority of the story
Having Luna and Seth have a brief dialogue was interesting. I hadn't actually expected them to converse this chapter. I figured Luna would accept her sisters decision but retreat so she didn't have to face the human and show she still didn't trust him. In a way, this actually shows a stronger bond with Seth then a lot of other characters. They are both aware of each other and the power they hold and they do not trust one another in the slightest, and yet it is this mistrust that actually makes them so alike and may lead to some sort of odd frenemies type of situation later down the line.
While it had become fairly obvious that prolonged use of his dark magic would cause further damage to Seth (the fact that he had a slightly better recollection of the fight this time as well as the increased power and increased insanity) the explanation that simply not using the magic wouldn't help and could eventually make things worse was very interesting. Using the fear that he would kill his new friends and Rainbow in particular due to their strong bond was a cruel tactic to get Seth to comply, but Celestia has a way of always ensuring that what needs to be done gets done especially when other's lives are at risk. This also showed briefly how far along Seth's friendship has actually come. Ever since the discovery he could use magic, and the repercussions that followed, Seth has been extremely cautious and scared of his magic. Yet despite his fear, even the thought of harming Rainbow is enough to make him agree to training his abilities. He truly does care about her (even if he refuses to admit how deeply those feelings of friendship extend). I eagerly await his reunion with her once his training session has ended.
Speaking of the training session, the introduction of Shining Armour went perfectly. Shining has always come across as extremely laid back and care free despite his impressive guard training. This respectful and overly approachable attitude will fit well with Seth, so long as Shining doesn't start getting to angered by his lack of respect for Celestia. Learning about Seth's interaction with Cadance however...
Overall a good wind down chapter that gives us some exposition and let's the readers settle back into the slice of life setting. Well written, I can't wait for more
I like it.
I look forward to more.
Dem bleach references, oh does references
Yay! I love Drill Seargant Nasty-type dialouges. They crack me up!
Keep the present tense. It's a journal yah, but I imagine it more like a grandpa around a campfire. He gathers the kids around and says he will tell em a story. Then it's kind of all flashbacky. We're we are in the story. Or just think of it like the movie a princess bride.
short hair ftw!
They were in his pockets and weren't damaged during the fight? Or were they protected/repaired by his magic, like his gun?
And I'm still waiting for him to tell Applebloom that they are friends!
Oh god. Just noticed that it has over 130 chapters! This will take forever to read through!
Oh, and the 14th longest story? 
That's a record. You have my respect for writing a story that long! 
Well I'll be fucked by a red hot cactus! Somebody for once DID NOT make Shining Armor a total and complete dick. Thank you.
behind
I literally facepalmed.
I really like your story, but if Seth is Sombra in any way shape or form I'm gonna be pissed. 25 chapters in and I think I found the plot twist.
So I guess I was sort of correct on my prediction of Seth's chest aches. He does become Sombra, in a way, as he does have Sombra's kind of magic, and it is so far triggered by negative emotions and memories. Cool.
Seth's hypocrisy continues to grind my gears though. Doubt that will change anytime soon.