8 - Musical Interlude
Spike darted from cover to cover. Sure, he had originally meant to just march up to Laud, but then.. "Where is he going?" he muttered to himself as he trailed after the human. The desire to see what he was up to, without knowing he was being watched, was too much. "Besides," argued Spike to himself. "He's a proud fella and he doesn't want to be foalsat, so I'll just get involved if I have to."
He watched as Laud moved through the town. Ponies gave the human odd looks, but he said 'hello' whenever one crossed his path and never made a rude gesture. For the most part, he was left to his peace, though some whispered behind him. Spike mosied up to a few of them.
"Hey, Spike," greeted Carrot Top. "Did you see that thing that walked past? It belongs to Twilight, right?"
Spike put his claws at his hips. "That 'thing' is called Laud, and he doesn't belong to anypony."
"O-oh," she stammered, looking flustered. "Is... he safe?"
One of the rose mares nodded her head as she gestured in the direction Laud had went. "I never saw such a thing. I thought he was a polite monster."
"Do monsters usually stroll through town?"
"I did say polite." She gave a smile just a bit too wide. "Are you keeping an eye on him?"
"Y--" He cut off, realizing his quarry had gotten away. "Uh, see you all later!" he dashed after where he had last seen Laud.
Laud had discovered that getting directions was a challenge with his limited vocabulary, but he made his way slowly through the town, finally arriving at what he hoped was his destination. It looked like a cozy little store. It was two stories, made of wood like most of the other buildings in the town. Unlike the castle, the door was sized closer to that of the horses that live there, which meant he had to stoop down to enter. Fortunately, it did raise a few merciful inches after the door frame, but he was still a bit confined.
The pony inside blinked up at him but her stance shifted quickly. To the unaware, they would think she was recovering from surprise, but Laud did know better. She was ready to fight. It surprised him. The horses seemed so benign so far, aside from their terrifying magical abilities. Here was this standard one, no wings or horn, that was ready to engage in combat. "How (unknown)(may?) I help you?" she asked, her whicker tense.
It was a defensive posture, Laud decided. She was reacting to an alien in her store. He would not be well at ease either, were the situation reversed. He could find little fault in her suspicion. It was stranger that the other horses seemed to not have that. She had assumed he spoke, however. Were speaking strange creatures normal for that world? "I look pony. Green. Music." He tried to remember the specific phrasing of Lyra's name and said it as best he could.
The pony frowned faintly. "She isn't here."
Laud had been lied to. It was shocking. He hadn't heard a lie spoken to him on the world of horses, but there was one. The tells were there. The way she glanced away as she said it. The delay in her words. It was very clear. As alien as their words and bodies might be, the expressions were identical and undeniable. She just lied to him! "I am Laud Mountbattan of House Hawkwood," he said, voice a tense mixture of pride and annoyance. "I not hurt."
"I (unknown) (unknown) not." She gave a soft snort. "Do you want (uknown) else?"
"(Unknown)!" came a call from upstairs. "Have you seen the (unknown)?!" It was Lyra.
The horse put a hoof to her face, caught in her lie. "What do you want?" she asked through grit teeth.
"Talk." Laud tried to keep his voice even. "Just talk."
"(Unknown)!" Hooves were heard on wood before Lyra entered from the back. That's when she saw Laud and broke into a wide grin. "Laud! Good to see you. How are you? Have you met Bon Bon?" She gestured at the other, suspicious, horse in wild excitement. "Bon Bon, this is Laud, oh, I (unknown) you (unknown, 2-3 words?) that, but yeah, wow, how did you find me?"
Bon Bon muttered something quietly and sat down, watching Laud as if ready for him to do something rash.
How were they related? Laud couldn't tell by looking at them. Did colors show relations? If so, they were not. One being mint green and a unicorn, the other was a regular horse, cream colored with brightly colored mane and tail. In either event, there was the horse he wanted to see. "I learn speak," he reported. "Still learn. Maud help."
"Maud? (unknown). Good! It's (unknown) to be able to talk to you. Still learning? That's alright. (unknown) makes (unknown)." Wait, did she just use a human term?
"Say again?"
"It's (unknown) to be--"
"After."
"(unknown) makes (unknown)?" She tilted her head. "It's true!"
"What first word?"
"Uh.... (unknown). To... do something again and again." She pointed at the other horse, Bon Bon. "She (unknown) (unknown) every day." Her horn glowed and pulled a brightly colored thing from the display case that dominated the room and floated it over towards Laud.
Both Laud and Bon Bon tensed. Laud had no idea what was being offered to him, and Bon Bon didn't agree to giving strange creatures her candies. Lyra remained blissfully unaware of it. "Try it! It's (unknown) tasty!"
He took the floating thing from the air, just so that it didn't have to keep glowing. Whatever it was, his suspicion was true. Practice makes Perfect. "Other word. Mean to be better?"
"Yeah!" Lyra bobbed her head. "You're good at this, and you'll get better."
Bon Bon coughed into a raised hoof. "This is all very nice, but (unknown) when were you a teacher?"
Lyra sat up tall and proud. "Since ever! Everyone's a teacher if they try. You teach me things all the (unknown)."
Bon Bon glanced up at Laud, then at Lyra, and back. "I (unknown)." She dipped her head and ears splayed out. "Welcome to Ponyville." Her stance adjusted in that subtle way. She wasn't prepared to engage Laud in physical combat, and Laud could see it. Still...
He pointed at her. "You..." Crap, he didn't know the word for fight. He slapped his hands together, knuckles first.
Lyra peered at the expression. "I don't get it."
Bon Bon, on the other hand, seemed to get it. "Are you asking if I (unknown)?"
"What word?" He had to be sure, or misunderstandings could crop up easily.
Bon Bon walked over to Lyra. "Nothing personal."
"Wha--?" Is all she got out before Bon Bon gave her a shove, almost knocking Lyra over with a squeak. "Hey! What was that for?!"
Bon Bon gestured to the recovering Lyra. "Fight."
Laud was pretty sure the meaning had been communicated. "Yes. You fight?"
Bon Bon's expression darkened. "Do you?"
"When must." He patted the blade at his side.
Her eyes homed in on the thing dangling there. "Let me see?"
Laud was not so quick to draw it. There were only a few times that was proper, though showing one's skill to another warrior could qualify as one of them. "Outside." He jerked a thumb.
She nodded and they both moved for the door, with a confused Lyra trailing behind. "What are you two doing?"
Bon Bon moved to the fore and led the way around the building into the back, past a locked fence. "Here." She pointed to a stuffed pony that stood in the center of the little field.
Was it a target dummy? It was. A target dummy for a horse to use when practicing against other horses. What life did Bon Bon lead that would make her desire such a thing? Of course, he could ask, why didn't more of these horses concern themselves? It would do as an example. He drew his blade free in a smooth motion. It wasn't as fast as he could have drawn it, but it was more for show.
Bon Bon tensed at the sight of it, as if just realizing what a weapon it was. Lyra remained clueless. "That's pretty (unknown)." She clopped her hooves. "What do you do with it?"
"Fight," replied Laud before he gave it a swing. He angled it upwards as it went and it cleaved through the thin wooden support of the dummy's neck, beheading the dummy. That was showing off, and not a move one wanted to rely on in an actual confrontation.
Bon Bon shook her head. "Can you fight (unknown) that (unknown)?" She pointed at the thing in Laud's hand.
He lifted the blade a little higher, repeating that last word.
"Yes, sword." Bon Bon nodded. "Fight (unknown) it."
Was he actually being challenged to fisticuffs with a horse? He wanted to know the true measure of Bon Bon, and that certainly seemed an expedient method. He sheathed the blade, letting it rest safely. "Fight without it," he repeated, grasping the word she was using. As alien as their words were, their grammar was no different than English. Now that he had a foot in the linguistic door, picking up new words was becoming less of a daunting task.
Bon Bon rose up to two legs. "Fight (unknown) give up or (unknown)."
He didn't know all the words, but these were the words of battle. He could guess pretty well. Fight until someone gave up or was knocked out.
Lyra gaped at the whole thing. "You're kidding! Don't hurt each other! C'mon, I thought you two were becoming friends and stuff."
Bon Bon ignored her, and Laud did as well. It was a matter between two warriors, and one he didn't plan to back away from. Here was a horse that worked without magic or trickery, who challenged him plainly to an honorable fight. He would not, could not, refuse.
Lyra shook her head as her eyes darted between the two prepared combatants. She heaved a dramatic sigh and moved between them. "Alright, if you two are set on this, I'll be the referee at least. You start when I give the signal, and stop when I say so, alright?
Spike barely managed to scale the fence to see Lyra between Bon Bon and Laud. Bon Bon and Laud looked pissed at each other. "Fight!" came Lyra's cry as she ducked out the way of the two. Spike's mouth peeled back on both ends. He had failed spectacularly. Twilight was going to be so mad...
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Welp. Laud manages to get in a fight with a pony, today.
... A pony who was already suspicious of him and protective of Lyra. That seems like it will go rather badly, and possibly not like an honorable combat between warriors who will come to respect each other.
But maybe we can hope for the latter.
I really, really hope Bonbon dont go all Candyman on Laud.
Would you like Cupcakes with that?
Oh well, at least, when he remembers, Spike can get a scroll message to Twilight in seconds, and she can just as quickly port there.
Well, when I say port, I mean teleport to Spikes side to see whats going on, instead of moving straight through Rapidash, and coming down on them like the Break Of Day.
I think someone might have to stock up on the Petunias.
I bet they will end up understanding each other through their fists/hooves. A good way for warriors to come to an understanding.
Warrior Talk! It's like Muscle Talk, but with more fisticuffs and less flexing
No Spike, you didn't fail. It is actually going better than you could expect
Interesting. Pony language really is just a horse-noise cipher for English. This will make things a lot simpler for Laud, but it also raises some very interesting questions...
As for the fight, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Lyra
lead
8206916 Typos escorted clear of the arena.
Why would they look angry at each other? That's reserved for real fights. In duels or spars, the combatants expression should be calculating, not angry.
I'd understand Bon Bon being angry, but not Laud. Laud's expression should be neutral, calculating his opponent in the duel, like I said.
8207006 Are you taking Spike's assessment as fact?
8207313
Well, no. But how would he have come to that conclusion otherwise? An angry expression is not that close to a calculating expression.
Huh... Well, considering that Bon Bon/Sweetie Drops in her times as SMILE special agent able to singlehoofedly handle such monsters as bugbear... I think that she supposed to be very good at ass-kicking.
8207378 How often has Spike witnessed a duel between two people that are NOT angry at each other?
8207946
8207378
Calculatingness is irrelevant. You aren't calculating in a duel, you are observing intently.
To the untrained eye, this can appear as glaring, and said untrained eye would assume anger, rather than a focused intent to visit controlled physical violence upon the target of one's gaze. Which is totally different. Mostly.
Round One, FIGHT!
Oooh shit....
A wonderful sentence!
8775755
My second favourite sentence that I saw in a serious manner.