Spike of All Trades

by Ariamaki

Zero Hour: Part 22

Suncycle, Moonsetter, Sun and Moon in Harmony, and one other unknown. Interesting.

Lyra only mentioned this meditation being a set of three styles, but Spike had a lot of trust in both his engine and his own intuition. Pattern recognition comes easy to an avaricious media-consumer of any kind: Comic reader, gamer, what-have-you. Spike was all of those and a few more beside, so looking at this set? The missing piece was a pretty small leap of logic.

First there was the Sun alone, then there was the Moon alone. The third style was the Sun and Moon taken together, and then a blank. So if you treated the united version as the default, you could rephrase the first two as 'Sun minus Moon' then 'Moon minus Sun'. That made the fourth option clear: Somehow subtract both the Sun and the Moon, leaving nothing at all.

He tried to bring the idea up casually. Casually all things considered, at least.
"Well that was a refreshing change of pace: So what about the fourth?"

Tried was the operative word there, especially when Lyra's expression went dark in an instant.
"I said there were three."

Spike didn't say anything in response to that, and Lyra didn't say any more either. They both just sat there looking at each other for a while, silence and incense filling the air. Eventually the unicorn was the one to crack first, heaving out a sigh. This entire time she had been teaching him, Lyra was professional and very straightforward. From what he understood, in town she was known for being light-hearted and off the cuff. Now her bearing was far more serious than either of those. Her eyes were arresting as she stood on the side of the room between him and the exit.

"Why do you want to get stronger?"

He did a double-take at the divergence.
"...What?"

Lyra shrugged and started pacing as she spoke, jabbing one hoof in the air to punctuate her words.

"Just tell me why. Whatever your reason is, I'm not one to judge. But from what you said earlier? You've been putting yourself through a ton of crap. Working constantly, spending every waking hour (which I guess is all of them at this point?) just doing stuff! And now you're on the outskirts of town in a weird dojo you've never been to before, meditating with a weird mare you barely know, asking weird questions about weird stuff. There's gotta be a reason, right? I'm curious what that reason is."

Spike didn't think this was a question that had a right or wrong answer in the traditional sense: There was only his truth, the right answer for 'him' and 'here' and 'now'. So that's what she got.

"I want to get stronger."

"...and?"

He lifted both claws in the air to shrug, a posture that put him firmly between both Celestia and Luna's statues in the dark.
"No and. That's it! I'm a simple dragon at heart, and I've got simple needs that are all pretty much met already. It would be a joke to say I'd protect my friends: They're the ones who protect Equestria most of the time! I've got all the things the average pony could want: Friends, family, hearth, home, food and games... Actually that last bit's the most important thing, in a way. I mean my life is now 'like a game', right? So my reason is like a game's logic too: I want to get stronger to get stronger."

A minute passed without Lyra replying or Spike pushing his angle: He'd made all the points he wanted to make, so even if she found his logic wanting? He couldn't change the outcome.

Eventually her sour and dour expression turned into a smile, and then a giggle.
"Power for power's sake... Good answer!"

Spike wasn't even entirely convinced by his own speech, so that caught him off guard.
"How good?"

"In general? No freaking clue. For me? Perfect. It's like... OK, talking time. Wanna spar again?"

"Maybe just a walk this time: I've got a lingering sense of serenity from that meditation and I want to hold onto that for a bit longer."

"I mean those aren't mutually exclusive... But yeah, probably for the best."

They left the statues of the Princesses behind as they moved back out into the open-air halls that connected the various rooms of the dojo. Lyra was walking on all fours this time, apparently valuing the stability over her quirky fighting posture since they weren't... well, planning on fighting. He might get the urge to surprise her with a punch of his own (as payback for earlier) sometime later, but it'd be rude now.

"So from what you said earlier, all your gamey menu stuff calls it... what, disciplined?"

"It says I'm lacking 'an appropriate Combat Discipline', to be specific. And just to be a bit Twilighty for a moment, 'an appropriate' would be needless unless there's multiple Combat Disciplines, some of which would be inappropriate."

She slowed her pace for a moment and giggled.
"And by that same sorta logic, I guess that means there's also non-combat disciplines?"

He slowed down for a totally different reason, stunned as the realization hit him.
"...Crap I actually didn't catch that."

"Oh trust me, living with Bon Bon is like running through a field full of verbal pit traps: I've gotten reeeeal good at getting around the holes. Which is to say phrasing."

Spike was pretty sure he missed (or subconsciously ignored) some kind of joke there, but let it slide: He had more pressing priorities.
"Given we're still having this conversation, I guess you figure you must know what it's on about?"

"Yeah, and it's why I asked that question earlier. It's also why I think your answer was good for right now, but like... If somepony else asked you, it might have been a real bad answer."

"Are you able to fill me in on the details?"

"Totally: You up for me kinda ranting for a bit?"

She was walking ahead of him, so she couldn't see his deadpan: Hopefully it was audible.
"I live with Twilight Sparkle."

Lyra giggled again.
"Point taken! K, so..."

Lyra's explanation rambled a bit, but as far as Spike could tell? Her main thrust was based on comparing and contrasting the driving purposes of a guard, a soldier, and what she called a fighter. He summarized it in his head as she went, and used his skills to create another copy in his notes for future reference and discussion: This was certainly a topic Twilight could do some digging on.

A guard learns how to fight in terms of specific situations and how to respond to them in order to keep everypony safe: Is the target a pegasus, earth pony, unicorn? Are they armed? Already violent or just belligerent? Guards have to be able to see the sitch, figure it out, and find the best response. They need to do all of that quickly. And their responses, used and picked properly in a situation they've trained for, are the best. Officers can take out a target without ever letting themselves, the bystanders, or even the target come to any more harm than is absolutely necessary.

It reminded him a lot of how Shining Armor had talked to him in the past, and the things he'd seen in the palace during their years with Celestia.

A soldier learns how to fight in terms of winning battles. Get in alive, disable as permanently as possible, get out alive if possible. Their tactics aren't complicated or flashy or showy or even safe. They're all about maximizing harm to the enemy side and minimizing harm to allies. Sometimes personal safety comes second to the mission, and the enemy's safety almost never matters.

Spike could easily visualize that template and how it fit Bruxis, or the Ammos.

The previous two explanations had been things Lyra covered somewhat dryly, as if reciting from memory (for somepony who wasn't Twilight, who could recite the phone book with fascinated gusto) instead of speaking from the heart. That changed when she hit the crux of the topic.

A fighter learns how to fight for the sake of fighting. Battle is both means and end. It's not about dealing with the situation, but making a situation for others to deal with. Fighting is more like colors or notes combining, it's mixed and messy yet focused and precise. Parts add up in unpredictable ways: The same way you can make a sentence out of words, stringing words together until you get a meaning you can communicate. Add one word and you might change the entire meaning, but you can also change every single word and still get the same core message, just phrased differently. 'Fighting' is about taking components and stringing them together to find new potential in the moment, in the mix.

The passion and excitement in her tone showed through in how she moved, her steady gait first accelerating and then moving up into her hind-legged stance, until by the end she was gracefully punching and striking the air to punctuate her sentences with pugilism.

He didn't reply for a bit, afraid of breaking the spell. Eventually she realized that and trailed off with a cough, falling back to all fours.
"...So I guess what I mean is that you... Your answer was a fighter's answer. The right answer to me, at least right now. I'm pretty obvious about what I like. The idea of getting strong because strength is just a positive trait to have? That is my jam."

He jolted at that last bit.
"Right! Jam. Almost forgot: Bon Bon said to tell you "I'm mad and expecting an apology present before she gets home." Verbatim."

Lyra just rolled her eyes.
"Way to get off-topic, Spike... But yeah I get it. Lemme guess, she was caught off guard by weather again?"

"This happen a lot?"

"Bonnie sets plans way in advance and never thinks to check for weather updates during the week."

"Gotcha. But I really wasn't trying to throw us too far off-topic, just making sure I didn't forget."

"Didn't you say something about perfect memory earlier?"

"Huh. OK I guess I was just making sure I didn't get distracted: Memory and focus aren't the same thing yaknow."

"Gosh do I ever."

They shared a laugh at that, timed almost perfectly to their arrival right back where they'd started this meeting: The still-empty training room. Lyra's instrument was laying on the bench right where she'd left it, but Spike immediately noticed that the broken string was replaced. Lyra clearly saw that herself, since she smiled before yelling at the closed paper door.

"Apology accepted Hoofsies! How soon until the next class needs this room?"

Hoof Strike's voice floated back after a pause.
"Hour and a half?"

"Got it!"

She turned back to face Spike again, and gestured off towards a different exit of the room.
"Spike, let's head to one of the other sparring spaces. I don't want to be a liar and guarantee you that I can teach you exactly what you came here for... But even if I can't, I can teach you something."

Author's Note:

Chapter 103
Zero Hour: Part 22
- OR -
Reasons and Rationale

Comments

[redsopine]

Interesting answer

[Black--Soul]

"Oh trust me, living with Bon Bon is like running through a field full of verbal pit traps: I've gotten reeeeal good at getting around the holes. Which is to say phrasing ."

What a tease

[Black--Soul]

Context is the key ♡

[Booster Spice]

Lyra takes note of mention of The Forbidden Style, but will she mention it to Bon Bon?

Hopefully her training session with Spike will assuage her worries about why he mentioned that which does Not exist.

[Solid Punch]

10876050
I think it'll be Eclipse.

[Tonto the Trotter]

I think the Forbidden Style will be Eclipse, where the Sun and Moon styles are both together and entwinned in a unique fashion. The Moon obscuring the sun while the sun darkens the Moon. And is probably related to Nightmare Moon and Dark/Negative combat styles.

Alternative styles that could be learned. Chaos-Style which is more about being random, unpredictable and in a very specific mindset to fight in. Griffon style, which probably focuses more on using the claws and beak. The Joestar Family decret technique .

[Herald of Opera]

10885196

The Joestar Family decret technique

You joke, but official materials contain Dio.

[RegalCrescent45]

10885002
i was leaning towards Void myself. Like an absence of all presence kinda thing

[1batman4u]

10876266
10885408

i was leaning towards Void myself. Like an absence of all presence kinda thing

A lot of Buddhist meditation revolves around Emptiness, breaking free from ego and material existence.

[Magic]* minus [Solar] minus [Lunar] equals [VOID] ???

*I assume attaining 100% in [Internal Alchemy] will either unlock [Magic Affinity] or start the development of [Magic Affinity], as that prerequisite is in the Twilight Sparkle portion of Spike’s Benediction to-do-list.

[Dragon's Heart] said dragons are "just as much magic as flesh", so it'd make sense if [Magic] was the first Element of Harmony for Spike to acquire.

Twilight: "FIRST! Spike mastered my element FIRST!"
(as a younger sister, being the first at something is a very big deal)

[Frazzle2Dazzle]

She turned back to face Spike again, and gestured off towards a different exit of the room. "Spike, let's head to one of the other sparring spaces. I don't want to be a liar and guarantee you that I can teach you exactly what you came here for... But even if I can't, I can teach you something ."

Knowledge learned is knowledge gained.

[link4]

burly stallion is a big teddy bear it seems

[Kadigan]

10886147

(as a younger sister, being the first at something is a very big deal)

... that conjured some images* in my mind, and I'm not exactly sure if I like them or not**.

But yes, I agree with the sentiment about emptiness. But where the mentioned methodologies see emptiness/void as a sort of balance, a default point - I think here it's more a true emptiness of both aspects (and I think that's sort of the point you were trying to make?).

As in, a way for Spike to take a path that is neither. And in a world that is positively bathed in both, that could be big.

* I refuse to take my mind out of the gutter. Stubbornly.
** I'm an only child, and thus have only one side of that equation.

---

I like this Lyra. She is neither the Lyra from canon, nor the Lyra from Xenophilia... but she's somehow both, in a sense? It feels that way, though I will need to see more development there before I really place her. But the important thing here is: she's something new.

[1batman4u]

10890768

** I'm an only child, and thus have only one side of that equation.

I meant many younger siblings get annoyed at "seniority" and getting hand-me-downs.

Also, the episode "Sparkle's Seven" showed Twilight's childhood competitiveness against her brother Shining Armor.

Twilight: "First! In your face!"
Shining Armor:

[Mr Good Guy]

10890899
True nobility comes not from proving superior to another, but in proving superior to one's previous self.

[Black--Soul]

Lyra like bluewalling... Poor Sweety Drops
But when she explodes it is a erupting of a Vulcano