Chapter 14: Moving Forward
The rather large group of eight were on a train back to Ponyville the day after Lucien awoke. Lucien himself rode in silence while the rest of the girls chatted about the glamour of Canterlot. He didn't really have much input on the subject, considering how he spent his time there either sleeping or reading.
He had gleaned some information on swordsmanship from the books he read. Mostly tips on how to make strikes and blocks more effective. The styles printed in it were of no use to him whatsoever. Probably because they were all designed to be performed by quadrupeds and not bipeds. He had a feeling that, at some point on his journey, walking on two legs would bite him in the ass. He supposed that was it. Or maybe it was just the universe sending him a warning that something worse would happen because he walks on two legs.
He didn't really know.
And the books he read would only help slightly on his quest to be a better fighter. His arsenal contains more weapons than just the sword. The hammer is a completely different style, and he doesn't favor heavy weaponry in the slightest. The chakrams would be the worst though. Even if light, ranged attacks were more his forte, he doubted they even existed in Equestria. How would a pony even use them?
In a brief flash of blue, Harmony's dual chakrams materialized in his hands. "Hooves wouldn't work with this weapon. It's like a gun. Can't throw these, can't pull a trigger on that," he thought. He released his grip on Harmony and to his surprise they rotated rapidly. Instead of falling from his hands, they floated a few centimeters above them. He closed his fingers once again and the blades stopped flashing. The deadly weapons disappeared from his hands, and he noticed something.
The boxcar had gone quiet.
"Lucien... what are you doing?" Applejack asked carefully.
"Hmm? Oh!" Harmony flashed blue and disappeared. "I was just lost in thought again, I guess. Happens a lot."
"Alrighty then," Applejack replied carefully.
The chat resumed quickly afterward, albeit at a lower volume. They had moved onto the subject of places to eat at in Equestria, but it sounded uneasy to Lucien's practiced ears. He sighed silently. Maybe they wouldn't ever truly trust him? With all the crazy stunts and acts he puts on, they would have a right for distrust.
Especially after moments like his discussion with Bronze before they fought. He had almost scared himself with the rage formed from losing his magic. That was him flying off the handle practically with an acrobatic fucking pirouette. And moments like what just happened, where he just zones out with his weapons. Well, that would make anyone nervous.
Right?
Yeah, probably.
The train stopped at the station. Goodbyes were exchanged and each lifeform walked off to his/her own home. Except for Lucien, he teleported.
His arrival at home was unexciting. He trudged in through the front door simultaneously kicking off his front shoes. He shuffled across the marble floors to the living room. He flopped down in a comfy couch that was given to him on the night of his housewarming party. He couldn't remember who, exactly.
Ah, who was he kidding, only Rarity would be so generous as to give him a whole freakin' couch as a present.
Thinking of Rarity, she was a seamstress. He could use some new clothes. While the duds he was wearing would never be replaced, he figured a jacket of some sort would be in order for when it got cold. His internal measurement system told him the weather was steadily getting colder. Winter must be moving in.
He sighed again. He would need to get a lot done before it was cold outside. And judging by the numerous streams and lakes, and by Ponyville's proximity to the mountains, it snows in Ponyville. Perhaps a checklist would be in order.
He stood up from his somewhat-comfortable position on the couch and jumped over the back of it, walking towards his office. A sheet of paper and a quill were ready for his use. Using magic, he wrote out a list rapidly of chores that needed to be taken care of within the next few weeks.
Chores that Need to be Taken Care of Within the Next few Weeks
- Take out the trash.
- Brew heat potions to stock the heaters.
- Craft heaters.
- Distribute the rest of the potions to the ponies. (And get paid)
- Close the potion business. (Don't want to steal all of Zecora's clientele)
- Clear space in front lawn and backyard for flowers of Winter breeding.
- Begin plans for Greenhouse and reagent growth.
- Search major libraries for books concerned with my weapons.
-Talk to Rarity about Winter clothes.
- Talk to Twilight.
He looked down at it. Satisfied that he managed to remember everything, but slightly saddened by the amount of work some would require. Getting down to it immediately would be the best idea, he believed. Without a second thought, he took out the trash.
When he returned indoors, the sun was setting. He crossed out the first item on his list with a smug look on his face. "What's the next thing to do?" He set the potions to brew overnight, and planned to collect the first batch tomorrow morning. When he was done with that, he would then deliver the other potions to those who ordered them and tell them that he was done being an alchemist. After the deliveries he would talk to Twilight about the books and ask for her help in regards to the workings of his weapons.
Perhaps he could get started on the heaters and other home renovations within the next few weeks. Winter was coming fast, but not that fast. Some laziness could be indulged. Perhaps laziness right away. He didn't have anything left to do today, so he decided to kick back and relax for the evening.
He leapt back onto the couch and stretched out. A book that he received from Twilight at his party levitated in front of his face. He began reading and was soon enveloped by the story.
"Wait.
"Something's not right."
He held up a hand and a Dr. Pepper materialized in it. The tab cracked open with a sharp pop and he took a big swig.
"Yep."
"This is the life."
He set out for the library immediately after getting up the next morning. He felt rested, but hungry. He couldn't quite remember the last time he had something really material to eat. "Didn't Twilight mention something about one of her friends running a bakery or something?"
"Yep!" said a cheery voice from his left.
He nearly jumped out of his skin at the voice, but he hid it very well. "Pinkie Pie. Good to see you." He looked over at the pink party pony bouncing along at his side. "Think I can get something to eat at your store?"
"Sure! We have all kinds of stuff for you to eat. I don't really know what humans like, but I bet we can find you something around there!" She grinned broadly.
"Do you have muffins?" he asked, already predicting the answer.
"Yeppirooni!" she replied, then, in a quieter voice, "or is it spelled yepperooni? Yepppeerooooni?"
"She's doing it again," he thought. Even though he had seen her behave like this before, he still didn't know what to make of it.
"Oh look, we're here!" she shouted suddenly. The duo looked up at the giant, candy-coated gingerbread house that cleverly concealed a bakery. It looked delicious to Lucien, even though he was sure it wasn't real candy.
"I guess I'm the only one who knows that." As the two passed through the doorway, he noticed numerous bite marks all over the place on the exterior. All he could do was shake his head at the ignorance of some ponies.
The inside was as frosting-coated as the exterior was, if not more so. Pinkie Pie dove behind a sweets display case and reappeared behind the register with a smile, somehow changing into an apron along the way. The treats behind the glass looked amazing, each one done in bright colors that seemed to show off the flavor.
"So! What can I get ya?" She asked while leaning against the register.
Lucien looked over the sugary treats, undecided. "Well . . ." His eyes lingered a bit on a cupcake that seemed to just be sprinkles and nothing else. "Do you have anything a little more, I don't know, breakfast-y?"
Her eyes grew wide. "Ooooh. You want breakfast! I'll go check!" She sped off into the adjoining room.
Only to reappear a few moments afterward. She held a paper bag in her mouth. Lucien eyed it, trying to decide what the pink pony would try to feed him. She put it down on the counter and stepped back, as if to say 'go ahead, take a look.'
Lucien took the bait. He reached out and grabbed the bag. Opening it up revealed a plain-looking muffin. "Huh. Not too bad." He looked back up with a smile. "Thanks, Pinkie. This is perfect." He slung his backpack off his shoulders and unzipped the front pocket. A small bag of bits sat waiting for him.
"How much?" he asked.
"Two bits will do!"
"Alright." He counted out the amount and set it on the counter in front of Pinkie. She grabbed the coins with her hoof and tossed them in the air. While they spun about, she pressed a button on the register and the slot of it popped out. The bits landed in it with a small clinging noise. "Thanks, Pinkie!"
"Okie doki loki! I'll see you around!" she called as he walked out the front door.
Lucien took a bite of the muffin as he walked through the town center. His teeth sunk into it like he was biting air, and the taste exploded on his tongue. It was a damn good muffin. If he had to guess, he'd say it was cream-cheese flavored. Interesting, but not at all off-putting. It was gone within a minute.
He booked it to Twilight's, not wanting to waste anymore time wandering about town.
Luckily, the Ponyville Library was a pretty big and unmistakable landmark, otherwise Lucien would have spent the whole day looking for the place. Even though he had been living there for a while, the layout of the village was still somewhat foreign to him. Even harder to navigate than Los Angeles, in his opinion.
He walked through the front door, feeling that it was the right thing to do while simultaneously feeling as if he was intruding. It's confusing when one lives in a library and also runs it.
"Hello? Twilight?" he called out to the otherwise silent tree. He heard the soft clopping of hooves on wood coming from upstairs almost immediately, followed by a lavender unicorn head pop up near the top of the stairs.
"Lucien! So good to see you!" she exclaimed, trotting down the stairs. "What can I do for you?" she asked on the way.
"First thing, take this." He summoned Harmony into his hands, and she flinched a bit at their sudden appearance. He gave her the chakram in his left hand and she grasped it a bit unsure. "Now, try to release your grip on it somewhat."
The weapon fell out of her hoof and a blade stuck in the floor. "Alright. Good. Experiment complete." He picked up the enchanted chakram and allowed it to revert back to Balance.
"What? That's it? What were you even testing for?" She looked a bit angry at him.
"Oh. Right, probably should have told you first." The blades reappeared in his hands with a flash of blue. "Well, when I use the chakrams, they tend to respond to what I want them to do." To prove his point, he released his grip on them and they rotated rapidly just barely above his hands. "See? No magic or anything." He lowered his arms down to her head level so she could see the space between his hands and the weapons.
She took a step back and looked at the deadly show in front of her with a look that spoke evenly of fear and curiosity. "I see. And it does make sense." Lucien dismissed Harmony. "Since you forged them, it would only make sense that you can use them correctly. It's keyed into your magic," she rationalized.
"Alright, I get it." He nodded rapidly. "Okay, there's just one more thing, and I think it's more suited to your tastes."
"What is it?"
"I need any information on fighting with chakrams and hammers. I've found books for swordplay, but the styles are for ponies. I figured that I'll need any information I can find if I want to use these effectively."
"Okay. I'll get to looking for something right away. Anything else?"
"Nope. That'll do for now. Thanks a lot, Twilight, and sorry for surprising you with the chakrams."
She shook her head. "It's fine. No harm done anyway. I'll see you later."
"See ya," he said while exiting the tree.
"So what is it you wanted, exactly?" asked the fashionista.
"Just some clothes that will keep me warmer when Winter comes. You know, a nice jacket and a thicker shirt. Along those lines," Lucien responded.
"I can do all that and more, dear. Now, come stand here, I need to take your measurements," Rarity said out loud. What she really meant was, "A new species and I'm the first one to design clothing for it! My business will be the envy of all!" She tried to keep her best poker face on regardless.
"Can you describe to me in a bit more detail what you want this to look like?" she asked while levitating a tape measure all around Lucien's body.
"Well... would it be easier if I just drew it?" he asked, hoping that she would allow it.
"You can draw it? Why of course! Why didn't you just ask about that in the first place!" She rushed off to get a quill and paper. "Here you go, dear."
Lucien immediately started marking the parchment with ink. Lines crossed over lines and created a pretty good example of a simple jacket. It would serve all-around instead of just for Winter. He handed the paper back to her just a minute after receiving it.
She eyed the sketch carefully, paying close attention to the minor intricacies. "Yes, I see. It looks very nice, if not exactly elegant. Are you sure that you don't want anything that would stand out a bit more?"
That's what he was afraid she would ask. "Well, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you possibly affix small emeralds to each button? I see that you have many precious gems lying about, and they're good for mana storage. "Not to mention that it would look completely badass if I had glowing gems on my jacket."
"That wouldn't be any trouble at all. Anything else?" she asked with a genuine smile.
"Actually, a flannel would be good to have around. Could you make one of those too?"
"Absolutely. Now, if you would be so kind as to draw out the design you'd prefer," she said while passing the paper and quill back to him.
He immediately added a flannel next to the sketches of the jacket. It would go with the colors of the coat itself, but he would be able to wear it alone. It was done in mere moments.
"My, you sure are quick with your... hands...?" he nodded his confirmation. "Where did you obtain such skills?" she asked as she took the drawings to a nearby workbench.
"I had a very..." he paused, searching for a fitting adjective, "active imagination when I was younger. I would always try to sketch out what was on my mind. Once I wasn't too terrible at it, I began to draw things from my home world. Places, items, people." "Monsters," he added in his mind.
"That sounds marvelous! You simply must tell me about it all sometime!" she trilled while getting to work. "But now I must fill your order and some of the others I missed while we were away. I apologize for having to cut our conversation short, but this will require all my attention and focus. Ta ta for now, dear, and don't be a stranger!" she spoke entirely with her back turned.
"Um, okay. Thanks, and goodbye, Rarity!" He waved a hand over his shoulder purely by instinct while he exited.
He walked home immediately from there and began to go to work on planning out his garden and greenhouse. Soon after that, he promised himself to sort through all the potions he made and deliver them all accordingly tomorrow. He would have a busy few weeks trying to take care of all the little things he had planned. Winter would be coming soon, he knew, but he didn't know quite what to expect with it.
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Prepare yourself Lucien... Winter is coming.
hairmythoughts.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/winter-is-coming-jpeg-492x0_q85_crop-smart.jpg
Lol winter is coming xD
2890172
Am I missing something?
Well, at least he could see that the swordplay books were for ponies, but seriously? Wouldn't EVERY book on weapon techniques be for them?
Dude, where dafuq can I get one of those jackets. Look completely badass and damn comfy.
He is really trying to avoid those potions.
3043301
Sorry for the necro, but... not really? There must be something for griffons, dragons, minotaurs... and at least two of those species can use hand-wielded blades (and I wouldn't discount griffon techniques, either). And whatever race the Storm King was, I guess - if they're into writing books at all, I suppose.
Besides, I assume he could find at least one book on blades wielded through magic, which is kinda like hands except you don't have to take care not to cut yourself as much.