37. The Blossom Wind
I'm now alone with Cheerilee in the schoolhouse. All the students have left and gone home or whatever, so now there's nothing left to stand in my way of finally learning how to fucking read. Good. I'm tired of feeling helpless in that regard.
“Okay, I helped your students. So...you're going to teach me how to read,” I tell Cheerilee, who looks somewhat uncomfortable. You know, this is the first time it's ever just been her and me, without the presence of her students.
“Yes, of course. Shall we get started then?” Cheerilee quickly gets over whatever it is she's feeling, thankfully. “If you'll give me one moment, I'll gather the materials necessary.”
Cheerilee moves over to her desk and starts rummaging around underneath it. She'll be a bit, so I look around the room as well. All of the chairs here are to small for me, but there is a set of larger stools near the back of the room. I guess that'll do for now.
I grab one of the stools and drag it over to Cheerilee's desk, just as she emerges from underneath it with a thin book in her mouth. It's a thin book with lots of colorful pictures on it, so I'm guessing it's a book for foals Great...it'll be demeaning having to learn from one of those. But I guess that's how you learn. My foreign language professor back in college would do the same thing.
Cheerilee also pulls out a few more books from beneath her desk, some of which are pretty large. Finally, after placing another thin book on top of the pile that's accumulated, she sits down across from me. “I believe that's everything. I have a few books here that start with simple meanings, as well as dictionaries, almanacs, and even some plain chapter books. How do you like to learn?” Cheerilee inquires.
“Like, what kind of learning I do better with?” I reply. I like the way she's going about this though. Instead of assuming, she's asking my opinion first.
“That's right.”
“Hm, well I was always more of a visual learner,” I say, even though I know what's going to end up happening if I say this. Sure enough, Cheerilee is taking out one of the picture books. Fucking great. I guess I can't really complain though. This was my idea, after all. “I don't suppose there's an easy Equestrian to phonetic translation?”
“Mm, I'm afraid it isn't that simple. You see, our written language works in different ways. Some characters represent sounds, while others sound differently in combination with other characters. Others represent numbers, and change depending on how high they go,” Cheerilee explains. Oh lovely. So it's going to be more difficult than I thought. Except for the whole sounds thing. It's different from learning something like, say Japanese, in that I'm still learning English. It's just written differently. So once I figure out which characters mean what sounds, I can put two and two together. At least, that's what I'm assuming.
“I see. No sense in wasting time then. Let's do this,” I say, heaving a sigh in resignation. Oh well. I aced my foreign language class anyway, so this shouldn't be too hard. Cheerilee smiles, and she opens to the first page in the picture book that she'd picked out. Upon the page is depicted several small ponies running around a yellow ball. My spirits sink further.
Two hours pass faster than either of us realize. This is difficult, but not impossibly so. By the time we finish for the day, I'm already starting to read basic sentences. I can recognize a lot of basic words, like “apple” and “pony.” All of the words seem to use the same characters, but when some words don't sound intelligible, it means that there's a combination there that I have to keep an eye out for. Cheerilee hasn't started teaching me combinations yet, but the fact that I can recognize them is a start, at the very least.
“You're coming along very well, Seth,” Cheerilee compliments me. The two of us are standing near the door, as I'm just about to leave and go get changed for training. “I only wish all students showed the same drive to learn as you do.”
“I wouldn't really call it a drive to learn. It's just a drive to not be completely useless whenever I try and do anything,” I correct her. Cheerilee actually laughs at that.
“Couldn't that be considered the same thing? The purpose of learning is so that you are better prepared for what lies ahead. Don't you agree?” She asks me.
“Yeah, well I know that,” I say irritably. “I know why it's necessary. But nowhere is it written that I have to like it.”
“Responsibility is not always pleasant,” Cheerilee agrees, seemingly taking everything I say in stride. Part of me wants to see how much she can take before she finally snaps at me. The other part remembers that she doesn't have to teach me anything.
“Now you sound like my mother,” I remark bitterly, earning another laugh from Cheerilee. “She was all about responsibility.”
“I'll take that as a compliment. After all, part of my job is compounding the lessons every foal learns from their parents. I want the schoolhouse to feel like another home for them,” Cheerilee expresses with an earnest expression. I turn and look at her in surprise. That's...not something you usually hear from teachers.
“I'd always assumed you were doing this because you were getting paid,” I tell her flat out. “All of the human teachers I've ever had to deal with never really cared about me.”
“That's just terrible!” Cheerilee exclaims, horrified. “If I could, I wouldn't even take money for doing this job. No, any teacher worthy of the title should care about the students they teach.”
“Yes, that's what optimists would have you believe,” I retort. “But if you don't teach for money, then why do you?”
“Why? Because I enjoy it. It's a real treat to work with these talented young foals. Every day I see them getting older and smarter, and it makes me happy to know that I had a part in it,” Cheerilee answers readily, happy to explain. “I love them all, and it's my life's goal to see them blossom into happy and productive members of society. That's what my cutie mark means.”
Cheerilee proceeds to angle her flank at me, so that I can see the image of three smiling flowers imprinted there. Would you look at that. Symbolic butt tattoos. What next? “What about you, Seth? What do you enjoy doing?”
“You mean, like what job I want to do?” I ask curiously, not sure if I'd even answer if that was the case. Cheerilee nods. Fucking, I'm not going to tell you...oh what the hell. It's just a simple detail anyway. Nothing worth getting all tight-lipped about. “Well, I wanted to go into the area of computers...”
“Oh? That might be difficult. There's not much market for computers, when we have magic,” Cheerilee reveals. I freeze.
“Actually, I'm lying,” I say suddenly, causing Cheerilee to look at me oddly. “I hate computers. I've always hated them. I was studying them because I could easily earn money by doing so.”
“Oh? That's not right. Having a successful job isn't really about the money,” Cheerilee advises me. And you know what? She's right. I know what I want to do. What I've always wanted to do, but couldn't, because I was told I would never make any money that way.
“I want to be a musician,” I admit. I've always had more fun playing or listening to music than I had coding. Fuck coding.
“That's a wonderful ambition, especially here in Ponyville. There's a lot of musicians here you can talk to,” Cheerilee praises me.
“Really? Like who?”
“To start, you have Lyra Heartstrings. She's very talented with the lyre. There's also Applejack. She's been known to play a banjo and sing when the fancy takes her,” Cheerilee lists. Oh god, Applejack with a banjo. Can she get any more stereotypical? “Young Sweetie Belle is also an amazing singer, though I don't think she's realized it yet. Pinkie loves to sing as well. There's no shortage of good musicians, if you keep your eyes open.”
“Right...except most of the ones you just listed are crazy. Lyra? She's nuts,” I retort. “Pinkie? Dear god, keep her away from me.”
“Lyra does take some getting used to, I suppose. But you don't like Pinkie? She's a delightful mare, once you get to know her,” Cheerilee says, a little shocked.
“Delightful? She's just loud. Too much energy, and she won't...shut...up,” I complain. Cheerilee looks a little saddened by my words, but she nods anyway.
“You're in the minority with that opinion, but I suppose not everypony can like her,” she tells me in an understanding manner.
“Right...anyway. I'm leaving now. I have a lot more to do today,” I declare, tiring of this conversation. Cheerilee nods and opens the door for me.
“You and me both. It was a pleasure talking to you, Seth!” she responds. I wave my hand wordlessly, and then I leave the schoolhouse.
Okay, next thing on my list is to go home and get changed, and then gather all the stuff Fluttershy needs.
Okay, let's see. She needs...a lot of carrots apparently. Definitely some salad, a few more menial animal care things, and some groceries for herself.
Anyway, I'm standing in the square right now, where the market stalls are up and selling their wares loudly. I'm dressed back in my sweaty Rarity-themed clothes in preparation for training, because I can already tell it's going to be rough. It is training after all.
Carrots are easy. I can get those with a quick stop by Carrot Top's stall. The rest I can probably find by asking Carrot Top. She's the only one I've spoken to here more than once, so she's the only one I'm going to ask for directions. Now that I think about it, I should probably find out where Fluttershy even lives.
Right then. To Golden Harvest.
About half an hour later, I'm carrying bags filled with everything I need for Fluttershy. I also know where her place is. Apparently she lives close to the outskirts of town, near the Everfree. So basically, on the way to the clearing where Rose should be waiting for me.
Shit, all of this is pretty heavy. But there's no way in hell I'm taking two trips. Especially not since I paid for all this stuff myself. I sure hope Fluttershy is going to reimburse me for that. She better, or I might get angry.
After accosting another random pony on my way there, I find myself standing in front of Fluttershy's house. And while I know I've passed here once or twice before, I've never really looked at it. It's a beautiful house.
By that, I mean there's a small running stream that passes in front of it, which I can cross by way of a grassy bridge. The entire house itself looks like it was built in a tree, in that the roof is made of leaves, and several larger trees surround the house itself.
There's also animals fucking everywhere. There's countless birdhouses all over the place: in branches, nailed to trees, on the house itself, on the damn chimney...hell, there's even a hole carved into a tree where an owl is resting. Rabbits, squirrels, and other small creatures are all over the place, seemingly having no fear of the building nearby. As I approach, they scatter, running closer to the house, as if they believe it offers them safe haven. Though why they think that, I have no idea.
When I reach the front door, I give it a few good knocks and wait. It isn't long before the door opens to reveal the very timid pegasus to which I'm come to deliver all this shit. “Oh...hello...” Fluttershy says extremely softly, to the point where I can barely hear her. “Thank you...for getting all this for me, I mean. You can just leave it here and I'll...”
“Yeah no. Get out of the way,” I grunt, tired of standing here. Fluttershy yelps and skitters out of the way as I force my way into her house with the groceries. And it smells like a damn garden in here.
Fluttershy's house is actually pretty homely inside. There's a couch by a window, a few bookshelves built into the wall (some of which have titles that I can actually read). There's a staircase a few paces in front of me, but I don't see any sign of a kitchen. “Wait...you don't have to...” Fluttershy tries again.
“Where's your kitchen?” I demand, cutting her off. She shuts her mouth and points mutely at a doorway on the far end of the room. Okay good. I'm just ready to set all this shit down and get moving. I can't tire myself out too much before going to meet Rose.
Fluttershy follows me quietly as I move into her kitchen. There's also animals fucking everywhere inside her house as well. It's like, getting on my nerves how they all skitter underfoot. I'm lucky I don't trip over any of them.
There. Upon finding a table, I dump all of her groceries on top of it, and then turn around to face her. “Seriously. I'm not just going to dump all of this shit onto the ground in front of your house. That's ridiculous. That's how shit gets lost,” I admonish her. Fluttershy blushes gently and looks down at the floor.
“Oh. Sorry. I just didn't want to put you to any trouble,” she confesses apologetically. Great, and now the apologies start.
“Why the hell not? You're paying for my trouble, so it doesn't really matter,” I question her incredulously. That's like a professor telling you they don't want to burden you, and then giving you homework.
“I suppose,” Fluttershy responds quietly, shuffling her hooves on the floor in embarrassment. You know, as irritating as Fluttershy is, she...rather puts Apple Bloom to shame with her innate cuteness. And I did not just think that. These ponies are ruining me, I swear.
“So...” I say awkwardly, noticing how quiet it just got between us. “I take it you like animals.”
“Oh! Yes, I love them,” Fluttershy suddenly gets a lot more animated at that question. On the floor near her, a squirrel and a little white rabbit approaches her expectantly. Fluttershy gathers them up with her hooves and hugs them close to her chest. “They're my babies.”
I raise an eyebrow at that display. What's funny is that the white rabbit looks none too happy at being hugged, as its trying to wriggle away. “Right then. I can't stay for much longer. Can you reimburse me for the purchases?”
“Oh! Sorry, I almost forgot,” Fluttershy apologizes again. She puts down the animals and moves over to a dresser, from which she produces a small bag of bits. She hoofs it to me. “There's the money for the groceries.”
“Thank you. And my payment for the work?” I say impatiently. Fluttershy gulps and nods, producing the bits and passing them to me next. When I take them, I notice something odd. “There's seven bits here. You said you'd only pay me five.”
Fluttershy jumps and looks guilty, as if she was hoping I wouldn't notice. Bitch, I notice everything. “Yes, but you were really nice and carried them inside for me. I wanted to pay you extra,” she admits sheepishly.
“Yeah no,” I snap, placing the two extra bits down on the table. I slide them over to her. Fluttershy looks surprised by that. To my shock, she pushes the two bits back to me.
“Please take them. You didn't have to do anything more than just bring them to me,” Fluttershy insists shyly. I give her a deadpan expression.
“It wasn't that much work, sheesh! There's no way that's worth two bits extra,” I retort stubbornly, pushing them back to her. She's not that assertive, so she shouldn't give me any more tr...wait, why the fuck is she pushing them back!?
“Please...” Fluttershy says one last time, gazing at me from behind her mane. Fucking...for as shy as she acts, she's as stubborn as I am. I can feel my will to resist slipping, especially with that fucking diabetes-inducing voice she's got.
“Goddammit...fine. But I don't like being paid more than I earned,” I grunt irritably, taking the bits and putting them with the rest.
“You earned every bit,” Fluttershy assures me, a small smile forming. Fucking, I'm done. I turn around in silence and move towards to door. I've got to head to training now. “Oh, are you leaving now?”
“Yeah,” I reply simply.
“Are you sure you don't want to stay for some tea?” Fluttershy offers. I almost stop. Tea sounds tempting...but I don't have time.
“Sorry. I don't have the time,” I tell her honestly. She nods understandingly, though there's a hint of disappointment there. “I'll see you later.”
“Okay. I'll see you later tonight then,” Fluttershy calls after me. All right, now to...hold on, what? Why is she going to see me later tonight?
I guess she made a mistake. I have no plans to see her tonight. Making sure to step over all the scurrying animals, I leave Fluttershy's house and shut the door behind me. Okay, now it's time to go meet the pony that sounds like she swallowed a dictionary.
Rose said she would meet me outside of town, in this general direction, so we don't harm the town. Whatever that means. She also said she would help me develop my individual techniques. I wonder if that means she'll help me remember how to do all the dashing, flying, and gun shooting. You know, all the stuff that I never learned how to do, yet did it anyway while the magic was in control.
It's not long before I'm out of Ponyville entirely, as Fluttershy lives very close to the edge. Just as a I mount a large hill, I spot Rose standing a little ways out, closer to the forest. That's...pretty far away. Sheesh, I have a bad feeling about this.
It takes me a few minutes to traverse the empty plains all the way over to Rose, who looks up at my approach. “Ah, there you are. I believe it would be best if we began immediately,” she expresses, as stiffly as ever.
“Right...you still haven't explained what we're actually going to be doing. Or why it needs to be so far out here,” I point out, slowing to a stop just in front of her.
“I have, but if you'd like, I can repeat myself,” Rose answers, seemingly slightly irritated. Really, is she going to be like this the whole time? Because that sounded condescending, and that doesn't sit well with me at all.
“Actually, you didn't. You said you'd help with my individual techniques, and that you didn't want to harm the town. Nowhere in there did you actually outline what we're going to be doing, or why you think the town might be harmed,” I correct her, crossing my arms. Fucking wonderful. We haven't even started, yet I'm already annoyed with her. Seems like the feeling is mutual, as well.
“If you wanted specifics, then your question should have reflected as such,” Rose admonishes me. Oh my god, everything she says just pisses me off more.
“You know, I don't even see why I have to work with you anyway,” I snap, my anger rising. Rose's eyes narrow.
“I am here to help you develop your individual...” she begins.
“I know what you said, dumb-ass! Contrary to what you seem to think, I'm not an idiot, so I'd appreciate it if you quit treating me like one!” I hate this bitch. Seriously, just because she's some big shot in the army, she thinks she can talk down to me. Spitfire and Shining Armor are higher than you and they're ten times more tolerable.
“Oh? Do forgive my mistake. It's difficult to tell, when most of what you say would sound better coming from a spoiled foal,” Rose growls at me. She did not just...okay, I'm fucking done.
“You know what, I'm fucking done. Fuck you, and fuck your training,” I curse, losing my temper. I turn around and start to storm away. Why did she even come back with us anyway, if all she's going to do is insult me.
“I will not permit you to skip out on the duty that Princess Celestia has assigned you,” Rose snaps, teleporting in front of me in a burst of cherry blossoms. I stop just before I would have run into her.
“Celestia didn't assign me anything. I'm not a pony, so neither you or some princess has any authority over me,” I tell her angrily. “I'm doing this because I want to. So you can stop treating me like one of your worthless subordinates.”
“Do not insult the brave mares and stallions that put their lives on the line for Equestria! They've worked hard to earn their place, while all you had to do was exist!” Rose shoots right back at me, bristling with fury.
“Oh please. You and your entire regiment or whatever are nothing. It's laughable how Celestia thinks ponies as weak as you can train me,” I counter. Rose looks like she's about to yell something back, but then she forces herself to relax by taking a few deep breaths.
“Very well. If that's the way you think,” Rose says softly, running a hoof through her mane. “Shall we forgo the initial diagnostic exercises, and have a match instead?”
“Oh, so you want me to fight you now?” I ask incredulously. As much as I'd relish the chance to beat some respect into this bitch, I can't help but feel a little wary.
“What's the harm? Surely if I'm as weak as you say I am, then it shouldn't be much of a challenge for you at all,” Rose replies, her expression unreadable. I stare at her with a raised eyebrow. I feel like she's trying to taunt me into the fight now.
You know what? I'm too angry to care. I'm going to teach you a lesson you won't forget. “All right then,” I say softly, clenching my fists. “I'm going to show you just how strong I already am.”
Rose takes a few steps back, such that there's several meters between us. “I look forward to it,” Rose says with a devious smile. Hm, she must be planning something. “We shall begin whenever you feel ready.”
That smile of hers is pissing me off. I loosen my stance a bit, and lower my fists to both sides. I shut my eyes for a moment and take a deep breath. This'll make the third time that I've used this power in a fight. The difference this time is that I'm in control, and I don't have any of my techniques. I still have access to all of my power, however. If I keep in mind Shining Armor's training, I should be able to defend from her attacks and crush her defense, no matter what techniques she uses.
I take off my rifle, since I don't know how to use it anyway, and set it aside. Then, I tap into my power, and darkness explodes from around me, cracking the ground. I open my eyes and find my vision green once more. Rose's eyes widen slightly, as this is the first time she's seen my magic with her own eyes. That's right. I bet you're realizing that you picked a fight you can't win.
I can't do that dashing trick again, so the first thing I do is break into a run, charging at Rose with my fist at the ready. If I can get close enough, I'm going to hit her right in the face.
Rose watches calmly as I approach. She lowers her head to aim her horn at me. Oh shit, she's about to use her own magic. Okay, if I just...whew, that was close. I had just barely dodged a beam of pink magic that Rose had fired from her horn.
She sends more of those beams at me, which are relatively easy to dodge, but they're slowing my approach. Another thing I notice is that her horn doesn't stop glowing, even when she's not firing magic at me. That's odd...but whatever.
Just before I get close enough to strike her, a large pink rune forms on the ground beneath me. “What the fuck?” I say, confused. Rose's smile widens, and then multiple pink orbs the size of my head form all around me, enclosing me in a tight circle of them. The second after they form, they start to converge on me. “Oh shit.”
Thinking fast, I focus my magic on my hands and use them to propel my body up and over the orbs, just as they meet where I'd been standing. Once they meet, they explode with a bright pink light, sending waves of magic and cherry blossoms in all directions.
Fuck that was too close. I don't know when she had time to set that rune up, but that could have really hurt if it had hit me.
“Ah!” I yell, when a beam of magic shoots through the explosion and strikes my shoulder. That hurts like a bitch! There's now a hole in my shirt where I've been hit, and my skin is smoking slightly. I didn't use my magic to defend myself because I didn't know she would...oh shit, here come more beams.
While I'm dodging, I remove my shirt and toss it aside. “Fucking magic, quit ruining my shirts!” I complain. At least by removing my shirt now, I can keep Rarity from having a conniption when she sees what I keep doing to her clothes.
The explosion finally dissipates, allowing me to see Rose again. To my horror, she's prepared three more orbs, bigger than the last set. The moment her eyes find me, all three orbs shoot at me at once, the outer two circling around to hit me from either side.
I do my best to put some distance between me and those orbs, but they're tracking me. Which means there's only one way to get rid of them. Just before they hit me, I once again focus magic into my hands and propel myself away from the point of impact. The orbs try to correct their course, but they're too late, so they hit the ground and explode.
I think I'm home free, but just before I hit the ground, I see another beam shooting at me. Shit, and I'm airborne, so I can't dodge it. With that figured out, I focus my magic in my chest, just as the beam hits me.
Thanks to my defense, it doesn't hurt nearly as much, but it does knock me on my ass from the momentum. I get up and stare at Rose in annoyance, and a little bit of respect. Shit, she's got me totally on the defensive. Unless I can get close enough, I'm never going to hit her.
She's probably got those runes set up all around her as well. Which means...hm. A plan starts to form in my head.
I start running at her again, which causes her to raise an eyebrow at what she deems is a rash action. Rose lowers her head and fires more of those beams at her, but what she doesn't know is that my magic is focused in my hands.
When the first beam nears me, I reach forward and slap it away entirely, the magic in my hands proving stronger than the magic in the beam. I do the same for the other beams heading my way, to the point where Rose's eyes widens in shock.
As I expected, a rune forms beneath me just before I get in range of her. But this time, I remember where each of the orbs are going to appear. As the orbs form and start to converge, I hurl myself through a tiny gap between two of them. It was a good idea, but the two orbs brush up against me and burn the front and back of my torso. They're mild burns because I defended, but it still hurts.
Rose sees me closing in on her, so she fires more of those beams at me, which I easily deflect. Finally, I've reached her, and I swiftly bring my fist forward in an attempt to hit her right on the head.
Suddenly she's not there anymore. Wait what the fuck? Where did she go? I wheel around rapidly, only to end up on the receiving end of a hard buck heading towards my face.
With a grunt, I have just enough time to duck underneath it. I have a split second to act. I need to use it. I turn over and use my hands to propel my two feet into Rose's stomach. As my magic had been focused in my feet, it hits her hard, to the point where I can hear her coughing and wheezing as the wind leaves her body.
Rose teleports back onto the ground just in front of me., and I can swear I see respect in her eyes. I immediately swing a punch at her face. She moves her head to one side, avoiding it easily. I follow up that attack with more punches, but she's like water. She swerves around each of my attacks like smoke, before finally levering her right hoof into my chin and teleporting back a few feet.
Shit, I lost my advantage. Her physical attack didn't really hurt compared to her magical ones, so up close is the best place to engage her. Except now she's at range again.
I start to rush her again, because I think I've got her tricks mostly figured out. Rose seems like one of those fighters that tries hard to keep her opponents at range, where she can finish them off. She's stopped firing those beams since she knows they won't do shit to me, but since her horn is still glowing, I assume she's setting up more traps.
Oh hell, it's doing more than just glowing. An aura erupts from the ground around Rose's hooves, surrounding her in an ethereal pink flame. An orb of magic forms at the tip of her horn. Instead of throwing it at me, however, she slams it into the ground, and a massive rune forms, to where it encompasses the both of us.
Shit. I have no idea what this rune is going to do, but it can't be good. I have two choices. I can try to leave the rune as fast as I can, or I can attempt to hit her and hope that cancels out the effect.
I ultimately attempt to leave the rune, but I don't take more than a few strides before something starts pulling me back in. What the fuck?
Turning my head, I notice with shock that there's a large black orb floating in the middle of the rune, just a few feet in front of Rose. It's pulling everything nearby to it: dirt, rocks, bits of wood, and now me. At first I think it's sucking everything in, but a closer look shows me that all of the attracted objects are halted in place the moment they touch the orb.
Too bad though, I can resist this pull. Or so I think. The pull intensifies a few seconds later and yanks me right off my feet. “Shit!” I yell, flying back towards the orb. The moment my body hits the orb, a deep chill sinks into me, and suddenly I find myself completely unable to move.
Rose's horn lights up again, and then a massive hammer forms in the air above me. Not a real hammer, but instead a pink, transparent one that seems to be made from her magic. I realize with a start what Rose is going to do.
“Hyah!” Rose exerts, and then the hammer comes flying down. Without any other options, I cross my arms above my head and focus my magic just before impact.
When the hammer hits, the ground cracks beneath me from the impact. My arms bruise, but the magic there keeps them from being hurt too badly. Of course, all of that becomes moot when the hammer fucking explodes, surrounding me in scalding pink magic, along with a smattering of cherry blossoms.
I'm forced to divert my magic to my entire body, which as Shining Armor told me, isn't as effective. It's the only option I have though. The magic singes and burns my skin, but I can tell that it's nowhere near what Rose is capable of. She hasn't been trying to really hurt me this whole time.
When the magic clears, Rose seems visibly surprised to see me still standing. Once again she looks at me with respect. She starts to power up again, but this time I stop her by holding up my hand.
“All right. That's enough,” I tell her. I hate that I have to do this, but if this keeps going, one of us might actually hurt the other. “You've made your point.”
Rose says nothing at first. However, she does power down, her aura dissipating to nothing and the glow on her horn fading away. “You're pretty good,” is the first thing Rose says. That causes my ego to swell, but I'm still pissed at her for the things she said before we started fighting. Only now, I respect that she is a match for me. Maybe more than a match. “For someone who's only using brute force.”
“What's that supposed to mean?” I shoot back, hoping she wasn't about to start insulting me again.
“Exactly what I said. You're not using any refined techniques. You are simply manipulating the currents of raw magic through your body to increase your strength and defense,” Rose explains, sitting down on her haunches. “While viable against weaker opponents, against one with techniques of their own, it may be difficult to deal any real damage...though I'll admit, you're smarter than I gave you credit for. I didn't expect you to land a hit on me.”
“Nor did I expect your fancy techniques to keep me at bay so well. I barely got close, and when I did, it was like trying to catch smoke,” I complain, though what she's saying makes sense. When I was insane, I'd been so much stronger because I had all of those techniques. Without them, I'm only mediocre, I suppose. I got too confident.
“Thank you. That came from a great deal of training from Captain Blades,” Rose reveals with a slight chuckle. The two of us look at each other with the respect that could only be gained by fighting with one another. “Do you agree to submit to training now?”
“Only if you phrase that question without using the word 'submit,'” I retort, since I hate what that word means.
“Ugh. Would you like to train now, your highness?” Rose returns, sarcasm evident in her voice. Holy shit, you mean there's actually a personality underneath all those fancy words? “You're impossible.”
“And you're condescending as hell,” I say, though at this point, most of my anger has passed. Say what you will, but a fight like that tends to relieve a lot of stress. “But yes, let's get started. Thanks for knocking down my ego a bit...with a hammer.”
Rose laughed at my admittedly dumb joke, and then she motioned for me to sit down. “Now then, the first thing we'll start with is meditation...”
Stats
Page generated in 0.041 seconds
Total duration
1,040 users online
2,542,339 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.®
Has the Royal Guard ever actually done anything in canon?
Also, I despise Rose. She comes off as a horribly unpleasant pony right down to her marrow.
Oh wow. A lightning-fast update with an epic fight scene?
I love it.
god dam it
4831014 What makes you say that?
4831247 he is now there weapon
Awesome chapter
Starting off we have Seth finally getting some lessons in the Equestrian language. After all the issues that have been caused with his inability to read, it will certainly help him to gain a little more independence from one the most mundane abilities the ponies possess (though it will probably cost Vinyl some of her jokes
). It was also good to see Seth and Cheerilee getting along. So far all his discussions with her have been on a professional level and allowing little social interaction. However after their lessons, we get to see the more passionate side of Cheerilee and Seth giving her a little leeway with information about him due to his respect for her (while far less important information then anything Twilight has tried to pry from him, him simply giving her information about him without any real internal struggle shows that the teacher has gained a good standing in his eyes). While I can't see much interaction between the two outside of school and tutoring hours, it is good to know that Seth has found another pony on his very short list, that he respects/doesn't hate 
.
The Fluttershy scene was interesting. I had been waiting to see how Seth would react to dealing with the timid pony when they were forced to interact with each other, rather then Fluttershy attempting to scamper away from his disdain like usual. While the interaction was short, it seems that Fluttershy's innate cuteness was able to get on his goodside (though the fact that it did rather annoyed him
). You wrote Fluttershy very well here. While still timid and nervous, her love of animals bringing out her confident side was spot on, and her getting assertive enough to give Seth extra money was definitely something she would do (though Seth may have been right that two extra bits for simply walking a few steps further and bringing them inside was a bit much 
). While the interaction went well, the conversation wasn't overly detailed and they still don't know each other all that well, so whether they can get along well is yet to be seen. Her giving him extra money might turn into a problem though if she isn't careful. She observed his need to earn his pay with his adamant refusal to accept extra money or a decreased rent while they were all on the train, so she knows how this issue affects him. While she is the element of kindness and will always try to help others, if she tries the money trick a second time, I can't see it going well.
The fight with Rose was very good. While no where near as intense or dramatic as the fight against Celestia and the Scorpos, this was an excellent training fight and it showed the talents, tactics and knowledge that both combatants held. Seth had started the fight overconfident, but Rose had as well and it ended up screwing her over a little as well. Seth certainly has more power then her and is far stronger, but without access to the skills the insanity brought fourth, he was at a significant disadvantage during the fight. Rose's long range tactics wore him down and prevented him using his immense strength, however Rose certainly didn't take Seth's intelligence into consideration. She had simply seen Seth as a bratty child whom had been given a power he couldn't control. His lack of patriotism and disdain for Equestrian citizens that he wasn't close with had cemented these views in her mind, however Seth was intelligent enough to come up with a strategy to avoid her attacks and get up close to deal damage. While the two are still far from friends, this fight has shown each other their own faults and given them a new respect for each other. I will enjoy seeing further interactions between the two, both during their training, and in social situations (especially since neither enjoy Pinkie's company and they both have issues interacting with others).
Over all, another good slice of life chapter showing Seth's reintegration into Ponyville and starting him out for later events in the arc. Great work
Okay, is it weird I've started Calling His Attacks? And each of them starts with "Shadowbreak?"
It feels as if Rose is telling Seth what she feels about the royal guards and "putting their life on the line" no they don't do that, sure they get injured but not death.
Man loosing sucks doesn't it? It gives you this weird feeling of unpleasant anger and hate for the one who beat you. I try to hide my anger but it feel so uncomfortable unless you can easily accept that you got beaten.
YHAAAAAA MEDITATION
"Are all of you here prepared to serve the princesses and lay down your lives for Equestria?"
"Sir, yes sir!"
"Will you give it your all and never give up even in the face of death?"
"Sir, yes sir!"
"Are you ready for this?"
"Sir, yes sir!"
"Then let's meditate!"
"HOO-whhhaaa?"
I have been wondering for a while now... How in the hell does he survive with that kind of diet? I mean sure being a vegan is posible for omnivores but he does not get any kind of protein intake like all other human vegan or vegitariens do! Vegans and vegiterians atleast eat beans or stuff like that, or some eggs.(I know he has been eating eggs somtimes but that far from enough!) ((Sorry
it's just way to many stories that dosent take that into consideration... 
))
Still, take 3 stashes for an awesome story other than that!
Its on my top 3 list of best stories of all time!
I fully expected and wanted Seth to simply rise up and say "I'm fucking done." and leave. Would make more sense with his character to do so. Nothing in rose changed and the simple notion that she expected him to 'submit' to her training just because she beat him in a fight would have driven Seth to refuse it.
Also... female guards? I know I'm a bit late in commenting now that there have been many chapters before and there's a ton more after I must say; Where in canon is such notions supported? Nowhere and the wiki explicitly only says stallions. I can admit that there might be some but not to the large degree you are depicting it. I can see a few unicorn mares but the rest? They wouldn't last in any real engagements(there's more than male superiority that has kept women out of the armies until the mobile machine guns entered the scene).
I'm sorry, what.
I honestly hate this fucking character and everything about it. Rose wasn't being rude, Seth was.
Seth started this war, plunged Equestria into chaos. Now the empire is going to put him down and restore the peace.
No, but, seriously. Almost every argument or disagreement is caused BECAUSE of Seth and his bullshit.
This fight? Wouldn't have happened if Seth wasn't such a shitty character with no ability to change or perceive things beyond his own limited world view. He gets upset at ponies for being naive, but honestly? This asshole is even more blind than they are.
I kinda want to reply to some of these comments, but they're super old. Oh, well.
8513634
Yeah, I've had that with a few chapters. Not that I'm not being a jerk myself, but jeeze, some people.