• Published 13th Oct 2019
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Spike of All Trades - Ariamaki



"Wouldn't it be great if life were like a game?", some people ask. Spike can definitively answer... "Maybe."

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One if By Land: Part 17

Zenith seemed surprised he caught on so quickly, but Trace just rolled his eyes.
"Bingo: Our Princess of the Night keeps a watchful eye out for disturbances in her domain, and that includes both the night itself and the visions that dance in it. So since both of us had been sleeping pretty uneasily for a while and had all sorts of crap on our minds-"

Trace's partner cut him off.
"We had been very ripe targets for nightmares both natural and otherwise. She recognized us on sight, moreso than she would most ponies. And from there she made... assumptions."

"To this day I still don't know what about my dreams or my whole anything made her think I would make a good Guard, you know? But I have to admit she wasn't wrong. Back when I was all work and no play I had a lot of problems with focus and direction and authority. All the crap you would think a Guard needs! But whether it was the Benediction itself or the training or even just not always being immersed in the work? I came out feeling leagues better about all of it."

"Likewise when she turned me over to Princess Celestia: I had always been an isolated ruler in my studio, head tailor in name only. I was on top because I was factually the best, but having a position and being able to lead from it are two very different things. Princess Celestia's light made a change there, showing me that I had the potential to lead and communicate. That in turn helped every aspect of my life."

Spike whistled.
"And so now that you're both Guards, what happened to your old work?"

They shared a look and laughed, Trace high and tittering while Zenith had a booming chuckle.
"Nothing."

"Everything."

"...To be more specific, we picked up where we left off. Our work in the Guard is relatively narrow compared to the average stallion, and our time splits quite well between both sides of it."

"Although Zenith's a solo act now! I still provide like 90% of his ideas and designs. I think hanging around with the Princess gives him the other 10%: Lots of gold, pale cloth, pastels, yadda yadda."

That comment earned the bat pony a dirty look, but notably not a correction, from his partner. The entire thing left Spike with a lot of food for thought. He thought and ate quite a lot faster than he used to, so it was only a minute before he had another question.

"You mentioned having comparatively, uh, narrow work?"

"Yeah: We're 'liaisons' for the most part. Less offensive bodyguards, I guess? A lot of stuffy upper-crust types and weirdo scholars hate having muscle around, even if they need it. But if you give them a protection detail that can talk the talk, walk the walk, read the books? Then they are way more likely to take the bait. Saves everypony a lot of trouble lemme tell you."

"Our uncommon past working with the so-called 'upper crust', especially as recognized names in art and design, gives us an edge when dealing with all manner of situations. So we do also get the rare call for hoofwork related to our fields of expertise."

Gibbous Trace raised a wing up next to his muzzle.
"Translation: Art heists, forgeries, frauds, that jazz."

That's when it clicked for him.
"Oh! That's why you were both here for Rarity and us this morning!"

"And it's why we're here with you now, kid!"

Spike was caught off guard by that, but it kinda made sense.
"Huh! I never really considered myself upper crust, but the compliment is appreciated."

They both laughed again, although he hadn't thought it was that funny. Trace waved a wing.
"No, we're not here for you. I mean, technically?"

"I will admit they are relatively late."

Spike blinked a few times and looked around, confirming to himself there was nopony else present. Had he missed something?
"...They?"

Zenith nodded.
"The ponies you're meant to be speaking with? The Princess called in a pair of specialists on the subject you're researching, although she did not deign to tell us what the subject even was."

But he... they... Oh. Uh. Probably best to just run with it rather than trying to clarify things! This really did still solve two of his problems with one sweep, so he shouldn't neglect the benefits no matter how unintentional they were.
"Funny you should mention the subject: That's why I started asking about the Benediction in advance!"

"Ooooh. Doing clandestine research for Ms. Sparkle?"

Obfuscation aside, there was no sense stretching the truth further than he had to.
"With Twilight, actually: This was primarily my idea, but she's providing her full assistance."

"Given that, and with the backstory out of the way, what is it you want to hear specifically?"

"...What is the Benediction to you? What does it mean, how does it impact you? I want to know the nature of the thing, I guess."

It was a big question, and a pretty philosophical one at that. Most ponies that he knew didn't think about things that way often, so he was asking a lot... But it either said a lot about the Benediction itself or a lot about these two that he got an immediate pair of answers.

"Celestia's Benediction is something that simultaneously burned me and illuminated me, like a fire inside. The dross was burnt up in the dawn, toxic connections were illuminated by the harsh day's sun, and talents I never knew I had were illuminated in the zenith. Above it all shone a fragment of Her own authority and power."

"Luna's Benediction calmed and supported me from every angle, a place of solace and serenity in the darkness. Temper receded until needed, damage healed while old grievances faded away, and new potential had a backbone to rise up... All with a little touch of Her grace and ideals."

Spike didn't react to their words on the outside. Internally he watched his quest tracker with one eye, even as processing their words took the majority of his attention. It was one thing to just hear the words, but to properly internalize them and think about what that must have been like, how it had an impact that changed their lives and all the lives around them...


> Learn the nature of Celestia's Benediction from a bearer.
> Learn the nature of Luna's Benediction from a bearer.


"...Thanks."

Zenith frowned as he spoke, grasping for words for the first time since Spike had met him.
"Really? I had expected you would want something... more."

"Nah: If anything, the automatic like, immediacy of how you both said it spoke volumes. Either you prepared that in advance or you just spoke off the cuff and from the heart... And I think I'm a pretty good judge of character, so I don't have to bother saying which one it was."

Gibbous raised a wing in a half-salute and nodded silently, accepting the implicit compliment.

A knock from the nearby doorframe caught them all off guard, although neither he nor the actual Guards reacted visibly. Years of training and the Gamer's Mind respectively, Spike supposed. A slim blue filly with a golden-blonde mane leaned into the open door and spoke, voice surprisingly deep for her appearance.

"Are you boys done with your bonding session? Ray and I have been waiting for ages."

Nopony answered but she stepped through anyways, at which point Spike realized that the filly in question was actually an earth pony mare, albeit a short and thin one. Her mane and tail were both almost absurdly long, barely restrained with a few simple ties to keep her face visible. Her cutie mark looked like a trio of lilacs, and she walked with the confident stride of somepony who belonged exactly where they were, doing whatever they pleased.

In her wake came a pegasus mare, and one he was shocked to realize he recognized: Even if it was just from a black-and-white author's portrait. Back with Fluttershy at the Library, weeks ago...

Spike was cut off when Fluttershy's eyes caught a particular book he'd unpacked the other day, On The Arrangement of Elements. She quickly swept it off the shelf into her hooves and flipped the cover open before turning it to face him.
"Here!"

He hadn't been planning to read anything right away... And then he realized she wasn't showing him the body of the book, but the inside of the back cover: The author's blurb to be specific.
"...Ardor Ray is a pegasus who travels even more than most but calls Cloudsdale her home, more often than not. She has written multiple books on non-unicorn magical item creation and ritual magic. This is the seventh, and if you ask her? The best is yet to come."

The picture was of a pegasus with a sharp mane worn high, and he couldn't tell for sure in black-and-white but both her coat and mane were lightly-colored, maybe orange or peach? He turned to look at Fluttershy's wide smile and obvious excitement, and knew exactly why she'd been so glad to see this piece.
"One of those new friends, huh?"

"Oh yes! In fact I know I told her not to but I bet in the front... Of course she did."

Fluttershy sighed and turned the other inside cover of the book to face him.
"Special thanks to Lolly and Shee for keeping me on track. Um..."

"Ah, it's a nickname she started using after trying to use a magic tool for reading things out loud so she could get more work done: It wasn't very good with names and such. The other one is from the same time, actually: Lilac Lack is another friend from the letter circle, they've known each other forever."

Now that Spike could see her in color he realized he was correct: Ardor's coat was pale gold and her mane was a platinum blonde, her cutie mark a bright red diamond with a brassy solar aureola. Even if he hadn't recognized her from the portrait, their titles made it clear that these were the pen-pals Fluttershy had spoken about... as well as the 'specialists' Princess Celestia arranged for him to meet.

[Rise With The Moon]
Lilac Lack
LV 30

[Bed With The Sun]
Ardor Ray
LV 30

Seeing their levels made it clear that these mares were definitely qualified, but they were also lower than the last few interesting names he'd run into. That meant he might be able to take a peek...

"Observe."

Author's Note:

Chapter 124
One if By Land: Part 17
- OR -
Interdiction Introductions

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