Level Up!

by RisuUmbra

Ch 51: Direction

Author's Note:

I'm Alive!!!
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.
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or at least I think I am?

Sorry about the abrupt hiatus, life got really busy and I didn't have the time to write this but it's back now
Sorry if it's a bit rough, gotta get back into the swing of things. I have to reread my work to make sure I remember all the plot lines and abilities correctly.

I now realize why the contingent of Thestrals didn’t travel through the Crystal Forest, we had finally passed through the thin untouched part of the forest and had to now march around the edge of the brightly glimmering forest. Aside from the fact that the glare coming off of all of the crystal is incredibly annoying, it's because everything in the first is now crystal… that included the grass. Blades of grass turned into blades of glass! It would be like walking on broken glass while going blind! It doesn’t help that I will eventually need to go in there if I'm going to retrieve those shards of Celestia, Luna, and Rarity… sigh, I guess I'm going to have to reinvent sunglasses and really up my shield spell’s level.

All of us had been walking for a few hours now and Faith has tried to speak to me a few times only to be cut off by a well timed squawk by Calcifer. My favorite bird was playing some serious defense for me and I made sure to thank them every time. Being safe on the Faith side of things let me focus on our other surprise companions. Lucky Harvest, The Root Brothers, Slipstream, and River Creek. The four were honestly a relief to have around at a time like this, someone else to hold my attention so I didn’t constantly focus on Faith being near me.

Looking over everyone, they had obviously changed a lot, though that’s obvious with the three players of their group, Lucky Harvest on the other hoof was very much different. Not just in appearance but temperament as well. My last memories of Lucky Harvest were of a mare who was grieving the loss of a parent and coping through violence. Now she’s trotting tall wearing proper leather armor and carrying around a large spear… wait a second. I paused my inner thought and took a closer look at Lucky’s spear. It was a completely different spear made by a proper blacksmith… except for a certain part connected right below the spearhead. It looked like that pipe connector that I had imbued during the invasion… it is! How had that thing survived this long! It should have either stopped working by now or fallen apart, it was never meant to last this long. It’s not an actual enchantment meant for multiple uses…unless. I cast my gaze back down to Lucky, who by now had noticed by gaze and was returning it with a look of her own, had she been blowing up her spearheads then replacing them like during the invasion this whole time?! I slowed my walk slightly so I could come up to Lucky’s right, the conversation between the others went silent at my approach.

“So… You still have a part of that weapon I made you… “ I trailed off, I honestly wasn’t sure how to broach the topic. How do you say ‘That was never supposed to last that long, want me to make you a proper enchanted weapon?’ without sounding too… awkward. Lucky’s eyes seemed to light up at the mention of the spear.

“Yes, I-!” Lucky was cut off almost immediately by the loud yell of the Thestral captain.

“Alright, time to set camp! It’ll be dark soon so let's double time it!” Most of the company pulled away from their previous positions and started to unload tents, backs of supplies, and collect firewood from around the area. The sudden call to action was sudden and unexpected, the sun was still high in the sky so I didn’t still couldn’t really tell what time it was. We had been marching next to a large open field beside the crystal forest that used to be the everfree forest… actually I’m pretty sure that Ponyville would have been in sight if it still existed.

“We should probably help them, we can talk more after okay?” I gave Lucky an apologetic smile before going to join the Thestral soldier in putting up tents. Now that I’m seeing them, I realize that I, nor Morgana, or David have slept in a tent this whole time. The weather since we left the forest has been pretty good and if there was any rain then Morgana would just put up a stone roof for us. I mentally shrugged, Calcifer and I are alright with sleeping under the stars tonight. I got a blanket with me but I doubt the three of us will get cold with both a phoenix and a fluffy lion to sleep next to Falling and I. By the time it was properly night time I had already helped raise three separate tents and help unload some rations to a few soldiers.

“Sir, if you would follow me. I will lead you to your tent” That surprised me, they had a tent ready for me? I’m sure Calcifer felt my surprise as I followed the Captain through the slowly rising sea of tents, I had lost sight of the other players plus Lucky Harvest. The captain led me to what was slowly becoming the center of camp where a sizable bonfire was being built. There was a large pavilion tent put up in front of it with other tents surrounding it. I was expecting the captain to lead me to one of the smaller tents on the edges of the center but instead he walked right up to the center tent and gestured with a hoof for me to enter. I paused before I went in, I didn’t need my sixth sense to know what was going on here. I kept my heavy sigh internal and put a gentle smile on my face before turning to look at a drowsy Falling trying to stay awake on my back.

“Falling~ want me to wake you when the food’s ready?” My soft words pulled Falling back to the waking world and it took him a moment to really understand what I was saying before giving me a sleepy smile and nod. God, he’s adorable when he’s so sleepy. I turned and walked away from the tent without saying a word to the captain. I ignored his surprised and somewhat annoyed expression as I gained some distance from him. Once I was far enough away I mentally reached out for the smaller bond connected to me and summoned my Thunder Lion from the lantern. I heard the captain gasp slightly from behind me as I gently moved Falling from my back to my lion’s much fluffier back. I then mentally questioned Calcifer if they wanted to go with Falling, they thought hard about it. ‘On one hoof’, they explained, ‘you’re probably going to have to deal with Faith in there, on the other you don’t want anyone messing with Falling while he’s asleep… I’ll stay with Falling but call me if something’s wrong’ I nodded along with Calcifer’s reasoning, the two of us have been pretty successful on the whole denial thing we got going on. We’re trying to make it perfectly clear that there is nothing between Faith and I and to keep things strictly professional. I was pretty much keeping David’s advice of ‘you can just leave whenever’ to heart. I don’t have to speak to Faith unless she has pertinent information that could help me save lives… and even then it could wait until we’re actually there to discuss it. It may be pretty juvenile to be constantly cutting her off and ignoring her but… if I have to work with my abusive ex-girlfriend then I'm allowed to be petty when dealing with her.

I sat my bag down and started laying out a few things. The blanket first so everyone could lay down, my cauldron, and a few raw ingredients that I got before we left Canterlot. My bag is a lot emptier now that I'm not carrying David and Morgana’s stuff as well. A quick flex of my magic lit a fire under the cauldron and moments later water condensed out of the air to fill it. Throw in a few spices and vegetables with a bit of hay and voila’ it’s a simmering pot of veggie stew… or it will be after it cooks for a while. David and Morgana taught me a few recipes before we split up. I flicked my eyes up from the pot for a moment and was surprised to see the Thestral captain still standing there watching us. Huh, though he would have left by now. I asked Calcifer to keep the pot cooking while I was gone and stood to head into the tent.

I took a deep breath and relished in a moment of comfort that Calcifer sent my way, before entering the tent. I was slightly surprised to see that the inside of the tent was furnished, to my left was a mini study. A collapsible desk with a few scrolls and tomes, a few storage trunks and barrels. In the middle was a dug out depression in the dirt where I assumed a fire pit would go once finished. And to the right was-

“Nope!” I turned right back around and was about to leave and return to Falling. I felt a pulse of concern from Calcifer as he felt my sudden change in temperament. I sent them a mental image of what I saw. Faith sprawled out on a bed wearing what I could only call a lacy nightgown, waiting for me. I expected her to try something like this sooner or later but not this soon. She’d done this in the past, back when we were together. After we would have a fight or disagreement about me not doing what she wanted she would pull something to this effect. It was in the later half of our relationship that she switched from guilt tripping and threats to… attempted seduction. The alarm Calcifer sent down the bond told me that they were two seconds away from burning down the tent. I told him not to bother as I was leaving immediately, the sound of frantic hooves interrupted me however.

“Wait, I'll admit that was in poor taste! I got a bit… excited” Gone was the prime and proper royal accent, the Faith I remembered was finally dropping the royal personality she was hiding behind. I was tempted to keep walking out but the apologetic tone in her voice stopped me. If there was one thing Faith never did, it was apologize. I’ll give her this chance, if she says ‘I’m sorry’ at any point during this conversation then i’ll at least be cordial with her in front of everyone else.

“I just really wanted to see you again, after I found out that you were here too I just… needed to see you, to talk to you. After we were separated I thought I would never see you again, it’s almost like fate keeps bringing us together… “ A slightly glazed look comes over her as she stares at me, I’m starting to feel very uncomfortable. She blinks suddenly before shaking herself out of whatever stupor she put herself in before continuing to speak. “ I was so lonely while we were apart, you were the only one who really understood me. Without you… everything was just so gray. My life was so hard while we were apart, they treated me like I was less than human. I lost all of my friends, my family would barely even talk to me” A familiar feeling started to grow in my chest, it was a heavy feeling that I unfortunately had a lot of experience with… guilt. Does she really only want to fix things? Is this really just about that and not our past relationship?

“ Once we get back to the Dukedom we can fix everything, everyone will be safe, we’ll be happy again! Of course we’ll have to change a few small things, your hair for starters is way too long, and we’ll have to get rid of this outfit-” and just like that the full force of my magical intent gripped her, her hoof froze in place inches away from the braid Morgana made for me. I’m angry, not only am I angry… I'm disappointed.

“You were so close, we were so close to having a normal, professional, working relationship… but you had to just slip back into your old ways” My words were measured and soft but my intent carried them like a shout. That’s how this all started in the beginning, just a few small changes, no harm. First it was my hair, then my clothes, then what I ate, then my friends, then who I talked to, then where I went. All she wants is complete control over everything I do. I reined in my intent and watched Faith collapse to her knees breathing heavily, I didn’t stop and made sure she was okay. I didn’t leave on a final word or one liner… I just turned and left, because she’s not worth that effort.

I left with nary a word to the captain and went back to my little spot with everyone. Calcifer didn’t need to read my thoughts to know my mood was dark, from where they were nested on the lion’s back they invited me over with a wing. There weren’t any words between us, I just sat down next to them. Calcifer didn’t need me to tell them what Faith had said, they just draped a warm wing around me and tried to comfort me the best they could. I didn’t move out of the hug until the stew was ready to be served, a soft thank you was sent over the bond and I received a nuzzle in return.

I tried my best to shake myself out of my funk, but I couldn’t get rid of all of it so I slapped a smile on my face before I woke up Falling for dinner. We all ate in silence and despite my best efforts, Falling seemed to pick up on my mood as well. I stifled another sigh, this was going to be a long night if I can’t distract myself.

“Arcane Hope! I Challenge you to a duel!” Hello distraction! Trotting up looking slightly frazzled was Lucky Harvest, her mane was slightly sticking up in places and she was already huffing and puffing. I would also like to note that Falling was completely awake now and had gone from nodding off to wide awake at the prospect of watching a magical duel. Running up behind Lucky were the other players, I caught the tail end of something River Creek was yelling at Lucky.“-not what I meant!”

“I accept! … after dinner of course.”

Comments

[Nightsclaw]

It Alive! Yay.

Good to see this is still going, thank you. Keep up the good work. Looking forward to seeing the duel.

Calcifer gets yet more points as the best companion.

[Quirky View]

Something about the end of this chapter has made me feel childishly happy for some reason :P

[RisuUmbra]

11812627
Whatever that reason maybe be, I’m glad you enjoyed it

[Alyarin9000]

Hoorah! Good to see you back here, Umbra :)
He definitely needs to set some clear boundaries with her. Still, if they're going to work together, this tension can't stand...
Maybe in the heat of battle, she will mellow, and he will work through his trauma. We shall see, I suppose.

Calcifer's definitely carrying though!

[Chythar]

I now realize why the contingent of Thestrals didn’t travel through the Crystal Forest, we had finally passed through the thin untouched part of the forest and had to now march around the edge of the brightly glimmering forest. Aside from the fact that the glare coming off of all of the crystal is incredibly annoying, it IT'S because everything in the first is now crystal… that included the grass. Blades of grass turned into blades of glass ! It would be like walking on broken glass while going blind! It doesn’t help that I will eventually need to go in there if I'm going to retrieve those shards of Celestia, Luna, and Rarity… sigh , I guess I'm going to have to reinvent sunglasses and really up my shield spell’s level.

Welcome back. A minor tweak in the first paragraph, and a couple of run-on sentences later on but those aren't bad enough to change.