Faithful Devotion

by Silent legion

The guards grounds

I LOVED this game. I barely know what I'm doing and I'm winning by what I think is a landslide. Mythic is getting upset at his misfortune, when we started he rolled the dice first and that landed him on a tile that forced him to pay 200 bits. That was the beginning of this battle he would end up facing. From what I can tell this game Is majorly based on nothing but luck.

We had been playing for what felt like hours and probably was as mythic finally gave me the rest of his bits when he placed his small statuette of a cart on one of my properties he laughed at me when I had bought them in the beginning but they had pulled through in the end and had helped me achieve victory. Now I was the one laughing every time he had landed on one of my properties I gained more and more bits. We packed up with a pouty mythic promising that he would beat me next time and went to sleep.

Waking up the next morning I got myself prepared and made my way to the library for my job. Mythic was still asleep so I made a little thing of salad for him and myself putting his in the icebox to keep it fresh till he woke up. As I opened the door I was greeted by an old mare in glasses. Walking up to her I asked "excuse me mam but would you happen to know where steel shelf is? I have some work to do for him and I thought he would be here."

She put her book down and looked up at me smiling "oh you must be silent oath! Steel shelf had said you'd be here to help me organize the library. He thinks I'm losing my strength in my old age." she looks off into the distance smiling before shaking her head "oh sorry he doesn't get here till later in the day. It's a bit too early for him. I'm Ocean Rose, but please call me rose dear."

Miss Rose was a unicorn of dark blue fur and had a cutie mark of a few roses growing in a pool of water, most likely, the ocean. She had a light blue mane with a streak of green going through the center, and some smile wrinkles around her eyes.

Smiling back I ask her how she would like the library organized. She shows me what parts she would like me to get started on and explains the pattern that she wanted to be done.

After 2 and a half hours I finish my half and ask her if there's anything else she would like done.

"Oh no, no, no, you've done more than enough to help and I appreciate it, now Steel told me that you get 12 bits per hour and you worked for 2 and a half. So here are 30 bits for your hard work" she says while going behind the counter to collect said payment. "And again thank you for the help, it shaved off a few hours of work I would have had to do." After handing 'hoofing?' Me a small bag of bits we parted ways with goodbyes.

Now that I'm done with work I look forward to scouting out the training grounds of the guards. I fear that this transformation has led to serious decay in my ability to use a blade.

After an hour or two of getting distracted by the architecture of the city, I found my way to the palace and was stopped by a guard. "Halt, what is your purpose at the castle?" He said, standing as still as a statue

After telling him my purpose and getting an odd stare. he points me in the right direction and I make my way into the training area there's pony shaped dummy's in varying distances away.

My first test would be on my new magical strength. By sending a blast of pure magical energy. This would allow me to see the amount of destructive force pony magic has on its own without an outside force.

Focusing my magic into my horn I feel it build-up and then release it in the direction of the first dummy. Whereas I was trying to hit the chest I instead hit the head causing it to twist at an odd angle, strangely enough, the doll didn't move an inch. After a few silent seconds, its head turned back and settled onto the original angle it was at.

Now, for a split second my mind was screaming at me that this thing was an unholy demon but then I came to the rationalization that they most likely had a spell set on it to revert it back to its basic state. Back in the church, the manikins wouldn't do that and would have to be replaced should any damage be done to them.

So magic here was at the very least somewhat lethal but it would have to be under specific circumstances should it end that way or the second possibility, my magic was strong enough to be possibly fatal in certain situations where the target was incapable of movement.

Now my second experiment was to see if I could use my magic in a finer manipulation of objects looking around for anything I could levitate I spot a rack of more manikins. These ones aren't attached to the ground like the others. Picking it up I pull it over towards me and start to wrap my magic around it completely instead of by the neck.

Now I start to move the legs and head at various angles. Doing this at first is clunky and somewhat painful-looking if it were alive. After doing this for a few hours I decide it's high time for something new.

One thing I haven't tried yet are the miracles that I can summon, generously given to me by my lord.

I focus on my lord, what he means to me and what he's done for me. I remember when he guided me to the church and what I learned there. I feel his presence grow stronger in my mind and heart and with him as my witness, I cast forth the miracle and watch as one of the manikins is decorated with the warm glow of sunlight before it catches ablaze and gets reduced to char.

The difference between a miracle and a spell is that with a spell you need to channel your magic through your horn with the sequence in mind whereas with a holy miracle anyone could do it, as long as they had faith in divinity and worshiped them as they deserved to be.

Before I can think of another miracle to summon I'm surprised by a whistle. "Woo, that's one heck of a spell you have there, didn't even feel the intent of it when you cast it. It looked real gentle like till it burned." Spinning around I'm confronted by a mare in golden armor looking towards the blacked spot of ash as it slowly regenerates.

She is a unicorn that has a white coat and a blue mane with a red slash going through it, she's a head taller than me and her voice is a bit scratchy.

She stops looking at the scorched earth and looks down at me. "So what kinda spell was that? Normally one can tell if a spell is going to be dangerous by the atmosphere, but with this one, it was like taking a rest in the sunshine all nice and warm"

My answer was "how long have you been there?" As I hadn't felt any presence nearby at all

"Got here just as you were startin whatever that was, looked like you were restin your eyes for a spell" she responded while taking a quick glance back to the char.

With that squared away, I'm about to tell her about the miracle until I here my lord words in my head "Remember to stay hidden, don't reveal anything you don't need to." he tells me and I'm quick to come up with a lie on the spot " it's a new spell I'm working on" I tell her.

This doesn't seem to quell her question and instead seems to cause her concern. "Now why would you be wantin to make a dangerous spell like that without it warning anypony" she questions

The first thing to pop into my head is why on earth would you telegraph an attack to your enemy when in combat. I may not have had any True fights in my life but even I know that you don't just say "ok I'm going to attack you now" it feels like some kind of gimmick to detract your opponent before some other attack.

I answer with the question "why would I want it to warn anything at all? That defeats the purpose of an attack"

She looked like I just kicked her or something as she says " so that they can tell if they need to dodge it or not. It's not a fair fight of Ya blindside'em like that"

Fair fight? A fights a fight unless it's a sport and if so then it's a game and not real and I tell her as much.

Her green eyes widen and then she Growls at me, what kind of pony growls? That's not natural... In.. Magic pony land, forget that train of thought. "Regardless only the royal guard should be making or using spells like that, not a civilian who thinks he's a hotshot."

"Whatever, magic is magic and some ponies just know certain spells, it can't be that dangerous. Real-life hazards don't warn you about themselves." I say as I start walking away.

she quickly comes to my side and continues talking "now don't you turn your back on me, you got some splaining to do" sighing I ask "what do you want me to explain? I was trying a new spell and that's it."

She looks ahead and asks "yeh I heard that part but why in Celestia's name would you be learnin a spell-like that?"

I'm getting tired of talking very quickly, she's not like mythic where there's a certain enjoyment to be had in the conversation her words are accusatory and overly loud.

"Look, I just wanted to do the spell nothing more to it. Now it seems we're at the part where we part ways, good day" I state firmly as we make it to the front gate we're now a Batpony is standing guard.

Seeing the Batpony must have shaken her out of her little world as she says "oh it's that late already? Well, I gotta get back and return the armor, see you around." She picks her hoof up and points it to me I reciprocate and bump my hoof against hers to be polite.

"Oh wait, names Betty, brown Betty what's yours?" She pipes up. With a silent sigh, I reply "silent oath, at your service" hoping that's it I make my way towards mythics house before I hear "see you some other time silent, I've got some friends that would love to hear about your new spells."

Turning around I see that she's already gone. Was that a threat? Sounded like one, it definitely was ominous. I should keep an eye out just in case there might be something to it.

Now I'm tired and somewhat dragging myself to the door. I shouldn't have dwelled on what Betty said but it stuck to my mind and is starting to already make me paranoid. Was the miracle really that dangerous? Or was it just an innocent statement that I'm thinking way too much into. Opening the door I see little snack foods in the main room with mythic sitting on the couch, setting up some kind of device that was pointed towards a clear white wall. He sees me as soon as I open the door "silent! Come over here and watch this with me! it's movie night and I put on something I loved watching as a foal. It kinda made me scared of water for a few years. Heh" he puts one if his front hooves behind his head and rubs it. Then as I sit down I hear the name of the movie that would frustrate me for a long time.

"anyway it's called the titanic"