Friendship is Life

by alejin

Chapter 9, Its safe, Time to train

Author's Note:

Sorry for the wait, we've been a little busy, probably the next chapter will come in 3 weeks, we need to focus in a tournament we are having

hope you like it.
please comment.

Alex and the rest were inside the Castle’s dining room. After explaining everything to Lyra and BomBom, from his miraculous survival to his return to Equestria, Alex told them everything they needed to know. When he was done, Lyra hugged him very tight; Fluttershy couldn't take her eyes from them.

“Wow Alexis, that’s so amazing! You returned to Earth and managed to come back to Equestria. Wow! Thank you for that! - Lyra told him.

“Thank you Lyra but, can you please give me some room to breathe, I need air you know... - This was the first thing he came up with after noticing the way Fluttershy was looking at them - I think you broke one of my ribs!”

Lyra stopped hugging him, she didn't do it because of what Alex told her, but because she noticed Fluttershy too. Lyra turned to Fluttershy and looking at her right into her eyes, said:

“I'm so happy you finally decided to ask her to be your marefriend!"

“You knew that already?" - Alex asked her.

“Alexis please! It was so obvious you both liked each other. Besides, she actually kissed you on the lips before you went back to Earth."

Alex and Fluttershy faces were so blushed they even felt stupid remembering how oblivious they were. Alex wanted so desperately to change subject so he asked Lyra the first thing that came to his mind:

“Lyra, my friends told me that you have been absent for a long time, would you mind telling me where did you go?"

“Sure! However, it would be more accurate to tell you of the few places I haven't been! I went to almost every place in Equestria! Places you guys haven't even dreamed about, I visited every place that has rumors of strange and unknown creatures; Appleloosa, Manehatan, Pillydelphia, Trotimham, etc. I even travelled to Saddle Sarabia but sadly, it was the same everywhere, dead ends or fake stories, I am kind of sorry to admit it Alex, but it seems that you are still the only human in Equestria right now. Unless you have brought a human friend with you this time...” - Lyra's voice sounded too serious.

“I'm sorry to disappoint you Lyra, but no; at least not until I’m completely sure it’s safe and I have approval from the princesses.” - Alex turned to the princesses who seem to be pleased from hearing this.

“Well, that's kind of sad - Lyra said -but there is still a chance, right?”

“. . . . Maybe." - Alex answered.

Lyra seemed to expect another kind of answer from Alex.

“Well, at least it’s a relief there are no other humans lost around Equestria.” - Alex said.

“I guess you are right. Tell me Alexis, are you really planning to enter the Coliseum Tournament?" - Lyra asked.

“Yeah! Spike, Rainbow Dash and I will participate. Spike will obviously compete against the younger fighters."

“That’s fantastic! Then I must be sure to get tickets for the first rows. I can’t wait to see you winning the tournament and raising that Trophy!" - Lyra was really excited to see Alex participate. She seemed to have a lot of faith in him; this was something Alex easily noticed.

“Lyra, I appreciate your enthusiasm but I can't tell if I am going to win, don’t forget there will be other incredible participants.”

“Yeah! How about me? I could win this tournament too Lyra, don't forget I am awesome!" - Rainbow Dash said.

“I'm sorry Rainbow Dash, you are right - Lyra turned to Spike - however, I can be sure of one thing; Spike will definitely win in his category. Thanks to Alex's teachings, it will be a piece of cake!"

“Geez, thanks Lyra. I promise I’ll do my best to win, but I must say I’m a little disappointed, I would have liked to compete against the older fighters!” - Spike replied.

Alex looked at Spike and said: “Easy Spike, don’t be disappointed; someday you will be able to compete against older opponents. For now, you have to focus on winning the tournament!"

“I'll do my best Alex!"

“So my little Spikey Wikey will compete too? That’s so nice, I will be cheering for you; all of us will” - Rarity said while the rest started chanting his name.

“Thank you guys, you are embarrassing me!" - Spike said.

“Hey! No cheering for us?” - Alex and Rainbow Dash asked.

“Oh c’mon darling, you know we will cheer for you guys too. Don't be such a drama queen! - Rarity said while rolling her eyes. Everypony laughed.

Princess Celestia stepped ahead; she had some important things to say:

“Well my little ponies, human and dragon. It’s been a great day but I think it’s time to go to bed, be prepared to travel to Ponyville tomorrow. Finish any business you may have there, so you can be here at least one month before the tournament begins, then we will finish up preparing for it.

Everypony nodded except for Alex and Spike. They both looked at each other; they knew this was the right time to speak:

“Princess Celestia.” - Alex said.

“Yes, my human friend?”

“Spike and I have been talking about something; we wanted to ask you for a chance to stay here so we can train privately until the tournament begins.”

Everypony looked surprised, Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow and asked:

“Could you explain yourself, my little human?”

“You see, we want to train where nopony can see us. We have a lot to catch up, polish our skills again, plan strategies, etc. I can’t say I’ve been training with my weapons lately and Spike confessed me he has been slacking off a little." - Alex answered.

“Are those all of your reasons?" - Princess Celestia asked, knowing there was something else.

“Not really, I want to teach him something new, something I don’t want anypony else to see, this includes Rainbow Dash since she could be my opponent in the tournament.”

“I see. Well, if that’s what you want Alex; I’ll make sure to help you get all the privacy you need while you train.”

“Thanks Princess. I hope you don’t mind girls."

Everypony was surprised after hearing this request from Alex; Twilight was the one to answer his question:

“Well, it’s a little unexpected but I guess you are right, besides I really think Rainbow Dash wouldn’t want to have you in Ponyville spying on her own moves.”

“You bet Twilight! It's better for you to stay here all the time you want Alex so you can get yourself ready, I really want to beat you at your best! - Rainbow Dash said.

“We’ll see about that Dashie!” - Alex replied.

"Ok everypony, we better get some rest, we have a long trip tomorrow - Fluttershy said - the train to Ponyville leaves early in the morning." Everypony agreed and walked to their rooms.

Alex was walking with Fluttershy; he noticed something was wrong since she was too quiet:

"Is there something wrong pretty?” - He asked.

She stopped, turned to him and held him tight -“I... I don’t want you to compete in the tournament. Is it really necessary?” - She said.

Alex replied with a wide and warm smile:

“Necessary? No, it’s not, but I really want to help the princesses with this, and I have to admit I am very excited about competing."

“I still don’t like it, what if you get hurt? I mean seriously hurt; I don’t want to see you hurt. It aches my heart just to think of it! Please forget all of this and come to Ponyville with me!” - She said.

“Fluttershy, we heard Princess Celestia, it might be risky but she said my life would not be in danger, besides, even If I get a little hurt, something good will happen!"

“What good could come in getting injured?” - She asked.

“That there will be a reason to have you standing next to me, healing my injuries and making me feel better...”

Fluttershy started smiling again, Alex's words made her feel comfortable.

“. . . . Oh Alex . . . fine, I’m with you this time but please be careful, ok?”

“Sure thing, and I promise you when this is over, we will have an incredible date and I’ll take you wherever you want!” - He answered.

“Really?”

“I promise.”

Alex kissed her, he couldn't believe he was actually kissing a pony, but his feelings towards her were getting stronger because he knew she loved him too. They could have stayed awake all night long, but they had some responsibilities so they kissed each other one more time and said goodnight.

On the next morning the Princesses, Spike and Alex (wearing his Metapendant) accompanied everypony to the train station, each of them said their farewells; Lyra hugged Alex before getting on the train. Twilight was next to him telling Spike to take care, when she was done, Alex told her:

“Twilight, do you have a minute?”

“Yes Alex, what is it?”

“You see, since I’m not going back to Ponyville, could you please do me a favor?”

“Sure thing Alex, what do you need?” - She asked.

“I need a box I left back in Ponyville, can you please send it to me. It’s easy to recognize because it has my cutie mark on it. I will also need Spike's armor and weapons.”

“I will send it to you Alex. Can you tell me what’s inside that box?” - She asked.

“I'm sorry but I can't tell you. However, it's something I will need for the tournament."

“Well, that's ok."

Fluttershy was waiting for Alex to stop talking to Twilight so they could have a moment for themselves. Once he was done, she got near him, they both hugged and kissed each other, they didn't say a word but it was easy for everypony to understand that they were feeling sad to say goodbye.

"We will depart now!" - One of the Train officers said, Fluttershy didn't want to leave Alex but she knew he was excited about participating in the tournament - "I want you to focus on your training because I want you to win that tournament!" - hearing these words made Alex feel very confident. They kissed one last time before she got on the train. A few moments later, the train started its long way back to Ponyville.

Once the train was out of their sight, Princess Celestia turned to Alex and said:

“Ok my friend, let’s go back to the palace, I need to show you something before taking you to the place where you will start training."

“Ok Celestia, lead the way." - Alex replied.

“Oh! I forgot, before getting to the Palace, we have to make a quick stop at Canterlot Museum." - Princess Celestia said.

Alex seemed to know the reason why she wanted to visit that place - "That's where my gear is, right?" - He asked.

“Yes Alex. How do you know?"

“My good friend Proud Hammer told me that you kept them there!"

Princess Celestia nodded. They started their way towards the museum. After a few minutes, they arrived at the place and proceeded to enter. There were many ponies looking curiously at Alex's gear. A pony who worked at the Museum, was explaining to them what these artifacts were:

"Here we have the weapons and armor that belonged to the only human that has ever lived on Equestria. Alex, the Hero of Canterlot, his items were left here after he gave his life while saving Canterlot in the battle against Prince Blueblood!"

A voice came from the crowd - “Was he the one who killed the Prince?" - Everypony turned around and saw Jet Set standing next to his wife.

“Yes sir, he was, but you must know...” - The museum employee was about to explain something but he was immediately interrupted by Jet Set -“Then why do you keep them here? He killed a pony and if that wasn't enough he killed a prince! He is not a hero, he is just a murderer, and his things should be in a trash can or should have been buried in a forgotten place!"

Many ponies seemed to agree with Jet Set but others didn't like what he said at all. Spike was so mad, he was about to throw a fireball at him, Alex realized how angry his friend was so he put his hand on his shoulder. Spike understood what Alex meant and lowered his head.

Alex could not stop feeling sad and guilty after hearing this. Somehow he knew Jet Set was right, he killed a pony, it seemed as even though the Princesses had already forgiven him, the "wound" was not entirely healed. Princess Luna noticed this; she walked towards the crowd and spoke using her Canterlot voice:

“HOW DARE YOU JET SET? ALEX THE HUMAN, ALMOST LOST HIS LIFE TO SAVE US FROM MY CORRUPTED NEPHEW AND QUEEN CHRYSALYS’ MADNESS AND YOU DARE TO SPEAK WITH SUCH DISRESPECT?”

Jet Set vowed in front of the Princess, he didn't even dare to look at her - “But Princess Luna, he killed Prince Blueblood! Your Majesty, did you say he ALMOST lost his life? Does that mean he is still alive?”

Princess Cadence stepped forward; she was the one to answer his question:

“It seems you weren’t paying any attention in our conference yesterday, or did you choose not to believe my Aunt Luna? We said that Alex is alive and he is coming back for the tournament, and I’m pretty sure he will not be happy to hear you saying such things and calling him a murderer!”

Jet Set raised his head, he seemed angry after hearing this:

“But he killed Prince Blueblood! A pony, your brother! Aren’t you mad at him? Aren’t you going to punish him for his crime?!"

“What he killed wasn’t my brother, he killed a monster! A monster who was planning to banish me, my husband and my aunts from Equestria! A monster that was planning to kill the Elements of Harmony, HE WAS PLANNING TO MAKE YOU ALL SLAVES!” - Cadence was about to cry, she was feeling angry and sad at the same time. Shining Armor got by her side and hugged her while she continued -...and none of you moved a hoof to stop him! None of you but him! I’m going to say this once so you better listen carefully! STOP SPEAKING SO ILL ABOUT HIM OR YOU WILL FIND OUT THAT I’M NOT THE PRINCESS OF LOVE AND TENDERNESS EVERY TIME! DID YOU HEAR ME?!”

Everypony inside the museum was shaking; they had never heard Princess Cadence say such things. Princess Celestia and Luna used her powerful magic to levitate the gear container and bring it to them.

“Now, if you excuse us. We are going to take this to its rightful owner.”

The four members of the royal family, Spike and an unknown pony proceeded to leave the place. Princess Cadence used one of her wings to cover Alex, who was feeling sad because of the things Jet Set said and the way some of the ponies in the Museum reacted. Alex turned to Spike and said:

“Thank you. I mean it, thank you...”

Spike hugged him.

“You don’t have anything to thank Alex. All of us should thank you for saving Canterlot!” - Spike said.

“Thanks Spike! But don’t’ forget, it’s what you, me and our friends did, not only me. I would have never been able to do that without any of you!" - Alex replied.

“Thanks bro! - Spike said - We are with you, all of us. Together!”

Cadence got next to Alex and said:

“Alex please, it's time for you to stop feeling bad about what happened with Blueblood. We meant everything we said back there, I don't want you to feel sad anymore, ok?!”

Alex nodded and wiped off the tears that were coming from his eyes.

The group continued their way to the Castle. Once there, Alex took off his Metapendant and opened the glass container that was used to store his gear in the Museum.

His armor and weapons were clean and polished, they looked like new. The princesses told Alex that Proud Hammer and Spike were the ones in charge of restoring them. Alex hugged Spike - "Thanks pal! I will show my gratitude to Proud Hammer when I see him, he is such a great guy!" -Alex took all of his stuff and put it on his bed. Shining Armor was looking at Alex's weapons and said:

“Ok Alex, since you will be away until the Tournament's opening ceremony, I guess we need to explain to you how this Tournament works. What do you say?”

“That’s a good idea Shinning, I’m really curios about how an event where the participants fight each other could not be dangerous.” - Alex said.

"I know how incredible that sounds my friend, I don't know if you have any tournaments like this back on Earth, but I'd like to show you how things work here in Equestria. Please follow me!"

Shinning lead Alex and Spike into a room. It was empty; there was no furniture or pictures on the walls, only a green light in the center of it. Alex and Spike couldn’t help to look at it; the light felt as something magical. After a few moments of watching it, Alex asked:

“Shinning, what is this?”

“You see Alex; this green light is what makes this Tournament “safe” for all the participants!" - Shining Armor answered.

“And how is that possible?" - Spike asked.

“I knew you would ask that!" - Shining Armor said. He called one of the Royal Guards and asked him for his sword.

"Please guys, come with me so I can show you!"

Shining Armor put the sword inside the light. The green light grew brighter for a second and another sword appeared next to the one Shining Armor placed in it.

"That was so cool! - Alex said - so the light creates what seems to be an exact copy of a weapon you put in. But I'm still wondering how does that make it safer?"

Shining Armor picked the “original” sword and put it inside the light again. Another exact copy of it appeared next to it. He took both copies and asked Alex to come with him out to the Royal Gardens. Spike and the Princesses were waiting for them outside. Alex was given one of the copies made by the green light, while Shining Armor kept the other one, the pony turned to the Princesses and said: “Ladies, please…” they nodded and started to use her magic. Suddenly, a force field surrounded Alex and Shining Armor, this force field was similar to Shining’s barrier spell but there was something unusual, the barrier seemed to be scanning Shining Armor and Alex, a beam of light started on their feet and up to their head.

Once this “scan” was completed, a floating number appeared on top of them, the number was 100, and was literally floating over their heads. Alex walked to the Force Field to touch it – “This thing is hard as rock” – he said. He was about to ask Shining Armor about all of this and as soon as he turned around, he saw the prince charging at him full at full speed. Thanks to his training, Alex was able to barely avoid being pierced by the princess’ sword.

“What are you doing?!” – He asked.

“Shut up and fight! Fight like if you want to kill me!” – Shining Armor replied.

“Luna, Celestia! Please stop this! Stop him!” – Alex didn’t know how to react to this.

The Princesses didn’t say anything, they stood there watching. Alex looked at Spike who was standing next to the princesses. His best friend was there, not helping him. Shining Armor charged again, Alex was fast enough to avoid this second strike. However, the tip of Shinning Armor’s sword got his arm. Alex closed his eyes waiting for it to start hurting. He kept waiting but the pain never showed up. Alex opened his eyes and saw his arm – “But I just saw him cutting me.” – He said to himself.

Alex heard a noise coming from the top of his head. He looked up and saw the number changing, it was not 100 anymore, it went down to 73.

The human was so confused about all of this; the green light, the Force Field, the Princesses, and now this number. He got distracted for a second, which was enough time for Shinning Amor to charge at him a third and final time. Alex was unable to dodge his attack; the sword went all the way into his chest.

“…Why are you doing this?”- Alex asked. Even though he couldn’t feel the pain. He knew this kind of wound would be fatal. He looked down at his chest, the sword was still in there, but there was no trace of blood.

“Alex, what’s wrong with you? You need to focus or you will not make to the Coliseum Tournament finals!” – The prince replied.

“The Tournament? I’ll die in a few seconds!”

“Alex, haven’t you realized yet?”

“Realize what? That you just tried to kill me?!” – Alex could still see the sword inside his chest but it didn’t hurt. He would have fainted and died after being wounded this way but he was still there, breathing. There was something weird going on. A moment later, Alex heard the same noise over his head. He looked up and saw the floating number going all the way down to 0. The Force Field started to slowly disappear. Shining Armor walked towards Alex and removed the sword from his chest.

“What the hell did just happen?” – Alex asked.

The princesses, Shinning and Spike started to laugh out loud – “You should have seen your face” – Spike said.

Shining Armor got next to Alex and asked him: “Did you really think I was trying to kill you? Come on Alex, you know I would never do that!”

“But you just pierced me with your sword! Why am I still alive?” – Alex asked.

“Let me explain it to you. This weapon I just used is called a “Faker” weapon.”

“Faker weapon?” – Alex was so confused.

“Yes, this is a very simple yet complicated spell.”

“I’m all ears” - Alex said.

“This spell is what makes the Coliseum Tournament safe for every participant. The first thing to do is to create copies of the warrior’s armors and weapons using the same green light you saw in the room. – Shining Armor explained – Then, a unicorn must activate the “Faker Battle Barrier Spell”. As you could see, while the spell is being casted, the participants will be scanned by it; this includes their weapons and armor. This spell will make the faker weapons able go through things that were not created by the green light. This is why you were “stabbed” by my sword but weren’t hurt at all. Being hit by a faker weapon will make the points floating over you decrease from 100 to 0.”

“So that is why my “life points” went down to 73 when you hit my arm and then all the way to 0 when you got my chest!” – Alex was beginning to understand all of this.

“The Faker weapons and armor will glow brighter when they are being scanned by the Faker Battle Barrier Spell. It won’t be as bright as when you take your Metapendant off, but enough so only the participants can see the weapons and the un-protected spots they can hit in order to lower their opponents points to 0”

“Interesting, so if I was using Faker armor on my chest, your sword would have never been able to get through me, right?” – Alex asked.

“Exactly – Shining Armor said - Tell me Alex, did you notice you that when your points reached 0, the Barrier started to disappear?”

“Yeah!”

“I think it’s obvious by now, but if your points reach 0, you are “dead” and the barrier “feels” it, so it disappears. Making the opponent’s points reach 0 is the only way to make the field disappear, there is no way to cancel this spell so people know that there will not be any kind of interruption while the fighters are inside. Since some of the participants do not posses magic, the field will automatically cancel any magic spell used inside it. Participants are only allowed enough magic as to levitate very few things, like their weapons.”

“So that’s how a non-magical creature has a chance to win this.” – Alex replied. He was thinking that it would be unfair to fight against someone that was able to use magic.

“Exactly! Well I think I just explained everything you need to know about this spell, any other questions?” – Shining Armor asked.

“Being honest, I do. If we are not inside a faker barrier, will the Faker weapons be as deadly as any other normal weapon?”

“Yes, they will only go through things while inside the barrier. Every Faker weapon that is scanned by the Force Field Spell will automatically disappear when the Faker Light becomes inactive after the tournament, so don’t be surprised after they all disappear when the tournament is over.”

“I see – Alex had more questions to ask - I know is not relevant but, what happens if the gladiators scanned by the spell do not have any faker weapons on them?”

“Many centuries ago, there were Coliseum Tournaments that didn’t have access to the spells we now know. So there weren’t Faker weapons then. As I told you before, the Barrier feels when a participant is alive so the only way the Field Spell could be canceled was to either knock your opponent out or ki…”

“I get it.” – Alex said.

“Yes, that is why the Tournaments were suspended in the past, but since they were a tradition, some of the greatest magic users were able to create the Faker weapons so the Coliseum Tournaments could continue.”

By this time, the Princesses had already come down to the Royal Gardens. They got next to the guys and said:

“Well my little human, I see you know everything you need to know about this event. According to the Royal Guard, Twilight has already sent you the packages you mentioned; do you want to get them before showing you where you are going to train?” – Princess Celestia asked.

“I would love that Celestia, thank you.”

After a few moments, Alex and Spike were carrying their luggage. They were taken by Celestia and the Royal Guards to a forest located far away from the city.

“What is this Place Celestia?” – Alex asked.

“This is the BlackTail Forest”

“Blacktail forest?”

“Yes, it’s a place where our ancestors used to test our Royal Guards; it’s not as dangerous as the Everfree forest, so is easier to train here. There are wild bears, dears and wolfs, there are lots of fruit trees and lakes with clean water. What do you say Alex? I think it’s a good place for you and Spike to better your skills and, have some privacy, you see, no pony dares to come here since this is part of the Royal Palace. In its center, there is a cabin you can use to take shelter; the cabin is protected by a powerful spell so you guys are safe inside it. Do you like the place Alex?”

“It is great Princess, thanks.”

“Ok Alex, let’s go!” – Spike said. He turned to the forest as started to run into it.

Alex laughed; Spike seemed so excited to start his training. Alex turned to the princesses and said:

“We will meet again one month before the tournament starts. Princess Celestia, thank you for THAT, IT will come in handy.”

“No problem Alex! Make us proud, you and Spike!”

“If you want to send letters to Fluttershy, please do it, send them with Spike’s fire. We will make sure they get to her. I am sure you guys will miss each other!” – Princess Luna said.

Alex nodded. He turned to the forest and started to run after Spike. The princesses saw him disappear in the woods.

Spike was heading towards the center of the forest, looking for the cabin when he noticed Alex running next to him – “Wow, I couldn’t hear you getting close to me, I was worried about not finding the cabin.”

“You have to pay attention to everything that happens around you my friend… – Alex said - this is it, time to finally prove ourselves. Are you excited Spike?”

“Oh yeah! But I really can’t find the right words to describe this feeling!” – Spike answered.

Alex was ahead of Spike by now. He stopped after reaching the edge of a cliff. Spike stood next to him looking at the vast forest in front of them. It was so vast; they couldn’t see its end.

Alex turned his head to his friend and said:

“I think I just found the right words my friend…

…Esto va a ser jodidamente genial!”

Comments

[Shadicbro Brony]

Nice job on this chapter. Can't wait to see what happens next. You've improved a lot.

[Hichigo]

WHENS NEXT CHAPTERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

[Makill]

i love you google transalate

[JazzTheFox53rd]

Please explain what this means. Esto va a ser jodidamente genial!” Thanks.

[ADFX-NightRaven414]

6572682 "This is gonna be fucking great!" I translated it when I first saw it! :D Nice Nyx picture by the way!