Chapter 12 - Destiny's Mark (Part 5)
Barrier raised an eyebrow as the children walked along contentedly. With the amount of food they had piled on their plates, it was impressive they were walking at all.
Did their parents mate with parasprites? How can they eat so damn much?!
Swiftsword’s magic flared, opening their front door where they waited until the three had sprinted inside to turn back to her fellow unicorn. “Sir, hast thou ever seen something devour food on such a level as those three? Their appetites rival that of even the largest of stallions.”
Barrier didn’t respond, he instead chose to shrug it off as he stalked into their foyer and then into the living room where he could hear the fillies. From the sounds of things being knocked over, he instantly regretted letting them have dessert.
With a sigh, Swiftsword followed.
***
“Finally calmed down?” Barrier eyed the trio of fillies tiredly, desperately wishing he’d had his magic for the last hour or so.
“Yes sir,” Sweetie Belle replied dutifully while Scootaloo simply stared in a huff, not enjoying effectively being told to shut up and sit down.
“Good.” Barrier sat in an armchair and slowly exhaled. Most of the group had departed to take care of various things. Verdant was out back working the hobby-garden he’d recently begun, Forge was taking a shower, Fleetfeather and Wind Whistler were simply spending time alone together and Hat Trick and Winter Gem were… well, he was glad that the walls were recently soundproofed. He’d never been comfortable with the sounds of sawing that would occasionally emanate from their shared room while Hat Trick worked on his tricks and accessories with the aid of his fiance.
“Mr. Barrier?” Sweetie Belle began softly, drawing the pony in question’s attention. “Can the last one please tell us her cutie mark stor-” Sweetie’s eyes screwed up slightly before she let out a window-rattling belch.
Swiftsword and Barrier both stared in shock at the filly, her two friends sharing in that expression.
“Um…” Sweetie Belle blushed and giggled. “Pardon me.”
“Right…” Barrier rubbed his chin and turned to Swiftsword. “Ready to regale them with the story of the tournament, Swift?”
Swiftsword settled farther into her own armchair and hummed an affirmation. “I’m glad you enjoyed your meal, young filly. Now I shall regale you of my tale, a story of one of my favorite battles.”
When she was certain she had the three’s undivided attention, she began.
“My father began training me in swordplay when I was very young, as the Falchion tradition. When he deemed I was sufficiently ready, he entered me into a tournament, The Grand Clash of Steel’s junior division. Twas the most renowned sword fighting tournament in the land, something my parents believed would truly push my young skills to the limit, to see if I was truly worthy of the Falchion name.”
Barrier had remembered that day rather well. It was rare for him to watch a sporting event, but his captain had been rather insistent.
***
Sergeant Magic Barrier shuffled through the crowd, taking a spot on the bench next to his captain. “Sir,” he inquired tiredly, “must we really bother ourselves by watching a children’s sporting event?”
A hearty chuckle came from the elder stallion. “Why of course, Barrier. Children are the future of our kingdom after all. The children we see here today may one day grow into fine guards to serve the princesses. I find it best to scout talent like this while they are young. The younger they are, the easier it is to mold them into the defenders our kingdom needs. Mayhaps, Faust and Zacherle will smile upon somepony here, and they will end the griffin threat once and for all.”
“Hmm... “ Barrier tapped a hoof against his muzzle, “Forgive my skepticism, Captain Sombra, but I am uncertain of that.”
“Perhaps I am being optimistic, but we shall see. I am simply delighted I pulled you in to watch the finals.”
“Fillies and gentlecolts!” a mare’s voice called out from the ring, drawing the eye and silencing the crowd. “I welcome all of thee to this final battle in the Grand Clash of Steel Junior Division tournament!” This announcement lead to a large outburst of cheers from the many excited ponies.
“Watch closely, my sergeant. I have attended these matches since the tournament’s start. I assure you, you will be impressed by these fillies’ show of skill.”
Barrier only nodded, not nearly as enthusiastic as his captain before the announcer spoke again.
“This final clash will truly be something worthy of the title of a Grand Clash of Steel. Now, allow me to introduce our reigning champion of the junior division three years running, from Dream Valley, we have Stoneware Clay of the Moores clan!”
The crowd erupted into cheers once more as two ponies approached the right side ring, a large grey unicorn filly with a clay brown mane. She carried on her back a surprisingly large sword and had a mark on her flank to match it. Beside her was an earth pony mare with a light brown coat and a matching mane, clearly her mother.
“And now, our challenger approaches. A first time entrant in this tournament who has done exceptionally well, given the circumstances. Please, give a warm welcome to the local filly of Canterlot, Swiftsword of the noble Falchion clan!”
The crowd cheered once more as another pair approached from the left side towards the ring. The challenger was a smaller blue unicorn filly with a darker blue mane and a pair of sabres at her sides, occasionally bumping up against her blank flank. Beside her was a large stallion that Barrier had no doubt was her father, judging from the matching coat and mane colours. He carried with him a sword that was longer than he was and wore a blue cape, signifying to the nobles of the era that he carried the rank of a viscount.
“This should be quite the thrilling match. A reigning champion versus a new and talented filly. A young and inexperienced noble against a larger, stronger and older commoner filly with a mark for sword fighting. Tell me, who dost thou believe will be victorious?” Sombra inquired as the two fillies entered the ring and started to draw their blades.
After having a brief moment to consider, Barrier gave his answer. “Swiftsword is a far smaller target than her opponent and her paired blades, while not terribly practical in field combat, are going to be far more effective against a lone claymore. Stoneware Clay is going to be overwhelmed. One can only block so much with a blade and it only further slows down an already bulky pony.”
“Hmm… We shall see. Wouldst thou be willing to eat a ruby reaper pepper if thou art wrong in thy assessment?” Sombra inquired.
Barrier’s eye twitched in amusement. “Only if you’re willing to reciprocate should I bet right.”
Sombra only smiled.
“The combatants are set!” the announcer called out as she stepped out of the ring and the fillies took a combative stance. “Let the battle begin!”
Swiftsword very clearly knew her strengths and had obviously discerned those of Stoneware Clay as she took off at a hard gallop towards her, magic flaring and bringing her paired blades to bare.
Stoneware licked her lips and held firm until Swiftsword was only a couple of sword lengths away before grasping her claymore in her magic and throwing it into a heavy overhead swing.
Sparks flew as Swiftsword allowed herself to fall to the left, one of her longswords running the length of her opponent’s claymore. As she ran the length of the large sword, she brought her second blade forward in a fast horizontal swing only to hit empty air as Stoneware threw herself to the side and separated their respective swords.
The powder blue filly didn’t even blink as she followed the movement and leapt towards Clay, once more putting them almost right next to one another with Swift swinging both swords overhead as hard as she could.
Eyes widening, the larger filly’s sword was thrown overhead, blocking Swift’s attack… for all the good that would do her.
As soon as her swords bounced back, Swiftsword’s horn flared brightly as she launched into a flurry of attacks, coming at her opponent from every conceivable angle she could.
Though it appeared almost amateurish to most of the spectators, Barrier’s gaze narrowed slightly as he watched the larger unicorn begin to backpedal slightly while she fended off the seemingly wild and random blows.
Swiftsword was young, but she wasn’t stupid. A claymore was just as heavy in magic as it was in hoof for a pony her age and she knew better than to allow any distance between her and her opponent where she could bring out the full weight and power of the blade.
Stoneware growled as she deflected another set of blows, being forced to spin the sword repeatedly in her magic and endure each throb in her skull as another blow bounced off of her.
Throwing another pair of hard overhead swings, Swiftsword darted even closer as the claymore was thrown up horizontally. While both of her swords were bouncing off of the larger blade, she threw her shoulder into the taller filly’s elbows. As her opponent pitched forward, she threw a diagonal slice with her saber.
In her surprise, Stoneware threw her blade up once more and inwardly cheered when she felt the impact of her opponent's blade once more being deflected, until her world exploded into pain and stars as Swiftsword’s second, magically dulled sword, clocked her in the skull and sent her staggering sideways where she fell off the edge of the ring that Swiftsword had been carefully pushing her towards since her wild assault.
“Match!” The announcer called the moment Swiftsword had landed what would’ve amounted to a deathblow in an actual fight.
It took Swiftsword a moment to lower her blades, as caught up in her assault as she had been. But when she did, the world finally seemed to come back into focus and she became aware of both the wild cheers around her and of her own labored breathing.
“So,” the filly snapped around and met her father’s wide grin as he made his way to the corner of the ring she had pushed. “How dost it feel?” He motioned to the still-cheering ponies.
Swiftsword grinned and breathlessly respond. “How dost what feel, Father?”
“Victory. Utterly dominating your opponent.” Chrome added.
“Victory…” Swiftsword seemed to mull the question over for a moment. “It tastes sweet.”
“And how does the other accomplishment feel?” Her father continued.
Swiftsword tilted her head in confusion until she followed her father’s gaze to her flank where a pair of crossed swords -a longsword and a saber- now set, forever a part of her.
Before his daughter could begin to express her excitement, the proud father raised a hoof. “Before that, a lesson. A noblemare always accepts victory -and defeat- graciously.”
As if in response to the statement, Swiftsword made her way over to the edge of the ring, where her former opponent was still laying on her side. She extended a hoof out to the elder filly, and after a brief moment of hesitation, Stoneware accepted the hoof and was pulled up to her hooves.
“My thanks, Swiftsword.” Stoneware then held out a hoof to Swiftsword, who hesitantly took it and shook with her.
“Thou art not angry?” Swiftsword asked as they separated from their shake.
“There is no shame in being beaten by the best.” Stoneware replied with a grin as she trotted out of the ring, leaving Swift to grin widely once more.
As the young filly was being cheered on by the crowds, Barrier chuckled. “It would appear that thou will have to have one of those damnable peppers, Captain.”
“I shall. Still, tis good to see thy skill at assessing are sharper than they once were before. Thou may one day make captain with skills such as that. Now come,” Sombra spoke as he rose, hoping to leave before the crowd started to disperse. “Let us go. I to face the ruby reaper, and thou to enjoy the sight of my suffering.”
Barrier could not help but let out a hearty laugh.
***
“Sir?” Swiftsword’s voice rang out, snapping Barrier out of his reminiscing.
“Oh, my apologies, Swiftsword. I was… just thinking of old times. You were saying?” he responded apologetically.
“I was telling the children about my fight in the tournament. I asked, since you had told me of being a witness to the fight, if you could provide your opinion and insights about it.”
“Well, I thought-” a loud bang came from the front door, interrupting the stallion mid sentence. Some more thuds came from the entrance before the door was tossed open. A scream quickly followed.
“WHERE IS SHE?!” the scream echoed through the room, making Sweetie Belle give a big, nervous swallow.
“Rarity, calm down. Ah know she’s here, along with mah sister and Scootaloo.” a much calmer voice followed. Applejack and Rarity soon entered the foyer, spotting the filly trio. “Girls, yah’ll are in a whole world of trouble.”
“Scootaloo!” a third, unfamiliar voice sounded off from the entryway. “We need to talk.”
***
After a passionate lecture about the dangers of sneaking off and getting on trains at their age from Applejack, some light talk about the gala and dresses between Swiftsword and Rarity, and quite the earful from a pegasus named Lofty to Scootaloo about much of the same topic as Applejack, the crusaders and the elder mares were just about ready to head out.
“Sorry ‘bout this, Barrier.” Applejack said as she adjusted her hat. “Ah knew Apple Bloom wanted tah get her mark real bad, but Ah didn’t think she’d do something like this.”
“The same goes for me… and I’m sorry about what I did to the door. I was just so worried sick about Sweetie Belle.” Rarity chimed in as she and Forge were setting the door back in place.
“And I wish we could have met under more pleasant circumstances, Mr. Barrier,” the pegasus offered Barrier her hoof, which he happily shook. “I knew she wanted to get her cutie mark pretty badly, but I didn’t think she’d go this far. I’m sorry for any trouble these three might have caused you.”
“Well, I wouldn’t worry about that too much,” Barrier replied as he trotted over to Rarity and gave her a gentle pat on the back, “I’m sure the girls learned their lesson,” he said as he gave the trio a glance, making them shift their attention down towards the floor, muttering soft apologies, “and thankfully, they weren’t hurt.”
“Yup, but Ah know a certain little filly’s gonna be sore from the extra chores she’ll have to do.” Applejack trotted over the the yellow filly before putting a foreleg over her shoulder. “C’mon, let’s head home.” the pair were soon followed by their compatriots.
“Bye Mr. Barrier, it was nice seeing you again!” Sweetie Belle said with a wave as she headed out the door.
“Thanks for the stories, some of them were actually kinda cool in the end.” Scootaloo chuckled as she ran off to catch up to the mini-marshmallow, causing her aunt to chuckle as she followed.
“Thanks again, Barrier. Now c’mon, girls! We know just what we need tah do fer the best cutie marks now!” Apple Bloom slipped out of her sister’s grasp before joining her friends in a single shout.
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADER SWORD FIGHTERS!”
The trio’s shout drew a tired sigh from the orange mare. “Ah’ll make sure they don’t hurt anypony,” as she reached the door, she turned around to face the charcoal stallion. “Bye, Barrier. See yah around.”
“And it was a pleasure seeing you again, Rarity.” Swiftsword cut in as the white mare stood by the door, watching Applejack chase around the children, “I hope to see you at this gala.”
“As do I, Swiftsword. I’ll make certain your ensemble will be simply stunning,” Rarity spoke, before she strolled out the door, passing by the yellow pegasus who came to the door. Closing the door behind her, she quickly discarded the parts of her A.K. Yearling guise before setting down her saddlebags.
“So, what’s with the kids out there?” Daring asked as she started to hang up her clothes, “Friends’ kids or something?”
Barrier gave a slight chuckle. “Long story short, some fillies from Ponyville decided to bring themselves all the way here to ask us for our cutie mark stories.” He smiled and nuzzled her along the neck.
“Hmm. Thanks for that,” she said before patting Barrier’s side, “If only they could have heard my story, they would have loved it.” Daring then doubled back to pick up her bags again, making a metallic shuffling come from them.
“I didn’t think getting your cast off would have taken this long.” Barrier carefully glanced at her now freed wing. From what he could tell, it looked fully healed.
“I did some flying for a while.” Daring’s response drew a raised eyebrow from her boyfriend. “Oh c’mon, like you won’t be using magic once you get that thing off.” She then gestured at his wrapped up horn.
“Fair enough, still I didn’t think you’d be flying for hours,” he said as they headed into the foyer.
“Eh, there were long lines at the doctor’s office, and I decided to pick up some movies to celebrate.” At this, Daring gave her bags a light shaking, making the film canisters within clang.
“What did you end up getting?” Barrier thought back to the previous time this household had a movie night. Swiftsword had bothered him for quite a while until she was told that sabres of light were fictional.
“I figure we’ll have a great time tearing into these films. Mangos: The Cans of Fruit, Marewolf, and Pod Ponies.” She then gave Barrier a large grin as she pulled the canisters out. This made him rather skeptical.
“Well, I’m sure these will be better than that Filly and Tiff movie. They’ve got to at least be saner.”
Barrier would soon learn how wrong he was.
Alticron: Well folks, hope you've enjoyed Homeward so far and the Destiny's Mark arc. This is a special chapter since this was the final chapter written by Sober before I took over the writing duties, so if you notice a sharp drop in quality change in style, you know the reason why. Sober, anything you'd like to add?
Sober: Was a fun ride while I was on it, but unfortunately I just couldn't finish it. I'm still sorta-involved with proofing/light editing but for all intents and purposes, it's all Alticron from here on and out. I have full confidence in his ability to do this story justice.
Alticron: Thank you for the kind words, Sober. Well, it's time for this chapter's pic. Here we have Swiftsword's father, Chrome Falchion. Her mother, Ribbon. (Who wasn't in the chapter, but I've shown you what all the other cadets parents look like so why not?), and her opponent, Stoneware Clay. Fun Fact: Clay was originally supposed to be an earth pony, but Sober and I had trouble writing the battle with her, so she became a unicorn for our convenience.
Alticron: Hope you all come back for the next full chapter... and perhaps a little something special next week. 
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This was nice to read and the Crusaders will probably learn that getting swords is harder than they might think. I'm also curious to gala but I think that will be close to the end of the story.
8810948
More like mid-ish point. Possibly even just a third.
Well the end of Arc and soon the coming of another. I really enjoyed the duel between Swiftsword and Stoneware Clay along with the former gaining her cutie mark in the aftermath of her victory. I also foresaw the three older mares coming into the house all angry with the CMC for pulling that risky stunt. The three fillies did have it coming. It's a shame they never got to hear how Daring Do got her attractive cutie mark.
On a bit more melancholy note, it's a pity that this will be the last chapter in the story that will have Sober's direct involvement. At the same time, I'm glad that he's entrusted Alticron to continue where he left off, and I'm very confident that the latter will do a great job finishing it.
8811202
Fingers crossed.
this may sound a bit strange but i thing Swiftsword’s cute mark story was the best of all.
Did you just make a horrible spoof name of The Chronicles of Narnia?
8822403
No. I've never read the Narnia books or watched the movies. What seems like a spoof of Narnia to you? If it's the movies Daring brought, those are spoofs of Manos: The Hands of Fate, Pod People and Werewolf, all movies that have been on MST3k.
8823402
I was thinking, he was making a ridiculous name of "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe"
Normally the words "The Chronicles of-" on the covers of the books and movies are smaller at the top, with "Narnia" being the largest font on the page, so I kind of thought he was making a spoof name to be funny.
I'm weird. My thoughts are weird. If you don't understand my thinking, just go ahead and ignore meeeeeee!
8823432
This is odd since at no point is the word "Chronicles" said at any point in this chapter.
8823437
Meh. Like I said. I've got weird thinking.
Mangos: The Cans of Fruit...Manos The hands of fate? The best worst mobvie ever?
Yes, Daring. This author has a habit of alluding to interesting tales, and then not regaling us with them posthaste.