Bastion Goes to Fight Camp

by Wise Cracker

Assault and Battery

Bastion followed the sounds of thunder. When he rounded the corner, he could still smell the water of the lake with how the wind was blowing, but the lake itself was hidden from view by a thick row of pine trees.

He could see the bunk ahead, and indeed the ground had been levelled to make for a small training area. All of that struck him as perfectly normal.

He wasn’t sure what to make of the ponies using the spot, though.

Ahead of him, two colts squared off against each other: a Unicorn and a Pegasus. The Unicorn looked average in most respects, with a mocha brown coat and white mane and tail, but the way the tail had been cut suggested a military background: buzzed straight as short as it could be without nicking flesh. The Pegasus, however, was anything but average, as he possessed a muscular physique that rivalled Bulk Biceps not in volume, to be sure, but in definition. This boy was a dark blue, his mane and tail even darker than his coat, and cut conspicuously similar to Bastion’s godfather, Soarin.

As if that wasn’t strange enough, the Pegasus was wearing some rings on his legs, as well as the sort of chest piece Bastion had seen on the Royal Guard a few times. The design was different, though, less of a decorative element and more sober in its construction. The Royal Guard also didn’t usually have anything on their belly, whereas this colt wore what looked like a belt made of leaves, at least from afar.

The changeling looked up to try and find the source of that ozone smell he’d picked up earlier, as well as the thunder he’d been hearing on his way up. Then the Unicorn attacked, and he realised his mistake.

The thunder wasn’t coming from up above, but from the ground level.

The Unicorn’s horn glowed and let loose an arc of lightning that crawled along the ground, driving the Pegasus back lest he get zapped.

“Good opening move,” Bastion reasoned. Natural lightning would always try to travel to the ground, after all, and using that tendency to create a barrier as well as force some distance was a sound strategy. There was no way to get around that sort of attack without any ranged options, or a dash.

The Pegasus landed, driven eight or ten paces back, then gestured with at the Unicorn with his right hoof. He made a turning motion, clockwise, then quickly yanked the air.

From that far, Bastion couldn’t feel the wind, but he saw the effect it had on the electric Unicorn, and the grass around. A gust of wind, strong enough to pick up the boy, dragged him off the ground and towards his attacker, breaking his concentration in the process.

Are those rings magic? That’s a bit weird, to give a colt rare magical items like that.

The wind, though, had apparently not come from the rings. Those only now began to glow as the Pegasus wound up for a single punch to the gut, further fuelled by a blue lightning arc. The Unicorn was sent sailing back across the ground, tumbling unceremoniously over the grass before coming to full stop.

The brown colt did not get up from that. He didn’t even seem to breathe. Bastion couldn’t taste anything coming from that direction.

It was at that point that he noticed that the Pegasus didn’t give off emotional energy like normal ponies did. There was energy to him, that much was certain, but it came with a bitter taste of warning, as if it was suffused with forbidden power instead of mere feelings. There was an odd sense of cold coming from him, too, and the same cold rose up from the Unicorn where he’d been punched, like smoke following a hit from a fire spell.

Bastion’s hearts pounded with the thrill of combat. He felt the pulse through his limbs, his eyes, his whole body. Aggression, fear, and pangs of hunger took him over.

He didn’t even realise he’d zoned out before he got halfway to them. “Oh my gosh, are you okay? What was that all about?”

There was no surprise in the Pegasus’s face, or alarm, or any emotion for that matter. “Huh? Oh, that was just a warm-up. Are you lost?”

Bastion skidded to a halt. “N-no. I’m your new bunkmate. Mister Sage sent me? Did you just kill that guy?”

In the blink of an eye, the Unicorn bounced up on all fours, bright smile adorning his face. “We get a changeling bunkmate this time? Coooool!” He rushed up to Bastion. “Welcome to Assault and Battery. This is Assault, and I’m Battery.”

Bastion furrowed his brow for a moment, then looked at the cutie marks of his new bunkmates. The Pegasus had a black dot framed by what looked like three ink droplets circling it for a mark, which was obviously some spiritual symbol that further confirmed the boy’s talent for more obscure practices. The Unicorn’s, though, was less esoteric, and consisted of a yellow rounded triangle with a black centre, broken only by yellow horizontal lines with what looked like a hoof reaching for them. Above that hoof were four lightningbolts converging on where it would touch the line.

This boy’s cutie mark was a danger sign, and in particular one for electrical hazards.

Bastion chuckled nervously. “Right. You’re the Battery, because your talent is electrical magic. That’s clever.”

Battery stuck out his tongue at Assault. “See? Told you ponies would get it.”

Assault’s ears flicked, but his expression didn’t change from its almost tired-looking state. “Sorry if that scared you: we, umm, we get a little antsy sometimes, especially when it’s been a while. I didn’t hurt him, if that’s what you’re thinking. I know what he can take.”

“Yeah, I kinda have a knack for drama and theatre, too, I’m pretty good at playing dead. You’d be surprised how often it comes in handy,” said the Battery.

“I’ll bet,” Bastion replied. “So, umm, Assault-”

“Doldrum,” said the Pegasus. “You should know our real names, if you’re gonna be our bunkmate.”

“I’m Live Wire,” said the Unicorn. “I’d shake your hoof, but, you know… little high-voltage right now. Or, really, all the time, it’s kinda why I’m here, workin’ on it. What’s your name?”

“Oh, I’m Bastion.”

“Cool. And what’s your real name?”

Bastion blinked. “That is my real name.”

“Then what’s your warrior name?”

He squinted. “I didn’t think I needed one?”

“Bastion’s fine for now, then.” Live Wire cocked his head towards the bunks further up the hill. “Come on, we’ll show you our bunk. You should unpack before the first lesson.”

“First session? Today? We start that early?”

“Uhuh,” Doldrum replied in a hushed monotone. “No point wasting time.”

Bastion stopped. “Wait. Sage told me this is the highest level bunk here. Is that true?”

“Yup,” Live Wire said with a bright smile. “The three of us are the strongest fighters on-site.”

“And what do you do here, then, exactly? Practise magic?”

“Mister Sage is a magic specialist, so, yes, mostly,” Doldrum replied. “Umm, you know, the kind of magic we can’t really learn other places.”

Bastion kept his attention on the Pegasus. The calm around him was uncanny, almost feeling artificial in its own right. “So that’s lightning magic for you, and… artifact magic for you?”

“Sort of, yes. Why?”

“No reason, I just thought magical artifacts were supposed to be rare?”

“They are,” Doldrum said. Still the colt sounded unnaturally calm, it unnerved Bastion to his core.

“Then how do you have them?”

“I made them.” The boy shrugged. “Powerful artifacts are rare, sure, but a lot of them are pretty easy to make if you know how to use your magic. Mine aren’t that good, though.”

Bastion barely caught himself staring at the kit Doldrum was wearing. “You… you make artifacts? You make your own weapons?”

“Pretty much,” Live Wire said. “It’s kind of his thing. Now come on, Sage doesn’t like it when we dawdle.”

“Right.” Bastion blinked in confusion as the two led the way.

Magic artifacts.

He makes artifacts.

He makes weapons.

That was an option?

---

The stallion regarded Starlight for a moment, taking a glance at her cutie mark before speaking to Sunburst.

“So, this is your friend?”

“Yup,” Sunburst said.

She tried not to stiffen too much, and decided to relieve some pressure by blurting out, “Hi, I’m Starlight Glimmer. Me and Sunburst grew up together, and, well, things happened, and now here I am.”

She bit down on the urge to spill the whole story, to say she’d been obsessed about losing her only friend for years, to admit to learning dark and forbidden magics with the sole intent of ridding ponies everywhere of their cutie marks, and their talents.

She took a look at Sage’s cutie mark, then. There was a sage plant in it, she recognised that much, but the other part wasn’t magic-related. If anything, it looked like a bit of food.

“Sage Cracker.” He extended his hoof in greeting, and she shook it gently. “I run things around here, sort of. I’m not the head when it comes to administration or paperwork, but I get the final say on pretty much everything practical. Sunburst tells me you have some experience with children?”

“Err, yes, I did spend some time in Alherda hospital, the paediatric ward. Mostly Unicorns having trouble with their cu-err, ahem, magic.”

“Good, good. And combat-wise?”

Starlight’s heart skipped a beat.

Oh, no. How could I forget? This is Fight Camp. I could bluff my way through anything else, but they do combat here. He’s going to find out. He’s going to get the Royal Guards, or a torches and pitchforks mob-

“She knows most of the same stuff you do, actually,” Sunburst said. “Lethemancy and papyromancy, even a little bit of chaos magic.”

Wait, what?

Sage seemed to be taken aback by that, a cheerful grin on his face. “Really, now? You’re a papyromancer?”

“I only know a little bit,” she replied with a chuckle. “And most of my magic is, technically, emotional casting in general. It’s a good way to cheat, but I don’t know for sure if I’d be any good in a fight.” Assuming I can’t just cheat and rip someone’s cutie mark off, of course.

The stallion nodded, pensive. “I am familiar with emotional casting. Getting rare to find a good example of that these days, though, sadly. And the lethemancy?”

“I can make ponies forget, yes, but it’s not something I do lightly, certainly not something I could do in the middle of a fight.”

“Not yet, you mean,” he joked. At least, she hoped he was joking. “Don’t worry, me neither. A mind is a precious thing, and should be handled with care. But your time in Alherda, anything specific I should know?”

“I don’t follow?”

“You said you dealt with foals with magic problems. And given your skills in lethemancy, I’m assuming you dealt with mental traumas. What kinds, in general? Did you ever offer counselling or therapy? Don’t spare the buzzwords, I’ve dipped my hoof in those waters a few times.”

“Cheering up, and a little talk here and there, some visual storytelling, re-framing.”

“That sounds obvious to me. But again, what types are we talking here? Anxiety, anathemism, aura infestation, egregoric instability?”

Yup, he knew the buzz-words alright. “Pretty much all of those, at least once. Lots of magic-amplified nightmares, but I assume that’s gone away now that Princess Luna’s in charge. Then there was a ton of anger-fuelled fire magic and even a few ice cannons, but never anyone with synergy issues, thank goodness. A couple of aggressive imaginary friends getting too lively, those were...” She shuddered. “Those were not fun for anyone involved, but that’s what the lethemancy is for, after all. One narcissistic feedback loop, that one took a lot out of me.” She let out a sigh of relief at the thought. “And then, of course, all of the consequences that magic had on their regular lives, that needed talking about. Couple of kids who were disowned, banned from school, pretty much what you’d expect. I was officially one of the wizards in residence, if that means anything, but most of what I did really was just talking, making pretty pictures, get their minds out of a bad place.”

“With a list like that, the bulk of your work was limited to standard re-framing, then, okay. With the occasional magic use from your end, I presume, if your position was officially wizardly in nature.”

Sure, like temporarily amputating their cutie marks so they don’t have to suffer the compulsions and magic feedback from them. “Yes. But I only used magic under strict supervision. I never got too involved, the nurses and doctors did all of the real work. They were kinda desperate for ponies like me, so they skirted the rules a little. I imagine they still do, if things haven’t gotten any better since then. I didn’t pursue it professionally, not enough, I don’t have any degrees in that kind of thing.”

“No one here does, and I don’t blame you: it is a draining and thankless experience.” Sage’s nose curled in disgust, before he smiled. “But that’s not the purpose of this place, anyway. No, you’ll do fine with our bunk, we only have three kids in it now, with Bastion in the mix.”

“Three counsellors for three children?” Starlight asked. “Sunburst told me you like to get more specialists, but that seems a bit excessive for camp.”

Sage shrugged. “Me and Sunburst take the speciality cases, yes, and those don’t get cranked out in large numbers, thank the stars. We’ve had two regulars the past two years: Assault and Battery.”

“Those are just nicknames, by the way,” Sunburst interjected. “Identifying by another name lets them-”

“Break the cycle of learned helplessness by assuming a new role, particularly when combined with gnostic practices,” Starlight said. “I’m aware.”

“That, too, but mostly they enjoy being called something awesome, makes it sound like Royal Guard code names. Boys, you know,” Sage remarked.

“I’ll bet. I guess you want to let them tell me their real names as an icebreaker? As well as test my skills in analysing them?”

“You weren’t kidding, Sunburst. She is good.” Sage chuckled.

Good? I was right about to start my cult a few weeks ago.

“But yes, not every pony learns how to wield their magic the same way, and not everyone picks up on the same problems, so I will want your input, especially for the changeling. As for our numbers: sometimes you get special cases, and I’ve found special cases react well to one-on-one interactions. Having high-level mages of very different… builds, so to speak, it’s good to expose them to that idea early on, so they know they’re not entirely alone. But we like to start off with group work to evaluate their progress, then move on to one-on-one instruction with, well, whichever ponies we happen to have access to at the time.”

Starlight nodded, then grimaced. “Hold on. You said you know the same things I do. And that includes...”

“Chaos magic?” He nodded with an almost evil grin. “Oh, yes, it’s my speciality. I’m one of the strongest practitioners in the country, not that that’s saying much with the current state of things. Come to think of it, I’ve not had the chance to test that for a while. You said you weren’t sure how strong you were in a fight. Care to find out sometime? I’m sure the boys would appreciate a demonstration of real power.”

She gulped. This guy considered chaos magic to be ‘real power.’ That alone was a red flag, if ever there was one. And now she’d be faced with two violent little colts and one changeling… colt, nymph, thing, whatever the bales he was supposed to be called. In hindsight, she really wished she’d talked to Sapphire about that some more.

Starlight wanted to teleport back home right then and there.

But Sunburst was there with her, showing her where he worked as well as his new friends. It felt like she was back in Sire’s Hollow, playing board games on a rainy day.

I have my friend back. This is what I wanted.

I can’t lose him again.

“Yeah, I’d love a little sparring sometime. I’m sure I’ll get along well with the umm, the boys.”

---

When Starlight got to the bunk, all three had already unpacked. It was a nice bunk, at least, if a bit remote, and the treeline obscuring it from view of the lake worried her a little bit. On further reflection, she figured it was probably so the other campers didn’t get hit with any stray magic, or to have the boys practise with only the eyes of their instructors on them. Distractions and high level magic did not mix, after all, she remembered that much of her own childhood, and especially Sunburst’s. Her room still had a scorch mark from when her mother had walked in on them playing cards.

Sage knocked on the open door, and Starlight saw the two boys with Bastion: a brown Unicorn and a blue Pegasus. She had to look at the Pegasus twice to make sure her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her. She’d seen physiques that looked sculpted before, but never on someone so young. His hooves matched the thickness of his arms, so it wasn’t like Bulk Biceps, but the skin on him looked tight and taut under his musculature regardless.

What are they feeding him? Is that from his genetics? No, couldn’t be, he’d be more swollen if that were the case.

“Boys,” Sage started. “I hope you’ve welcomed our new bunkmate already.”

“We’ve been unpacking, and talking,” the brown colt said. He thought for a moment, then added, “Carefully. We haven’t had any accidents yet.”

“Good,” Sage said. “Well, then, we have another new face this year: this is Starlight.”

Starlight took a deep breath and went in. “Hi. I’m Starlight Glimmer. I’m not much of a fighter, but I know papyromancy and a little bit of chaos magic. I was also a wizard in residence in Alherda hospital, but I didn’t go far enough to get my degree, so no need to call me ‘master’ or ‘doctor’.”

The Unicorn perked up immediately. “Ooh, you’re a papyromancer, too? Do you know any combat conjuration spells?”

Sunburst flashed her a sheepish smile. “Yeah, we promised we’d teach him that sometime. He has the evocation down fine, but he’s getting to the point where he should expand his roster a bit.”

“I do know a few spells that fall under that, actually, and I’ve taught them to foals before, but not for combat specifically. Conjuration’s kinda broad like that.” She looked back and forth between the two. “Which one of you is Assault and which one is Battery?”

“Oh, I’m the Battery, Miss,” the Unicorn replied, smiling broadly. “My friends call me Live Wire.”

Right at that moment, a mosquito landed on his flank. It sparked, exploded, then flew off into a death spiral to land on the ground. Everyone in the room stared at the thing as it lay smouldering in a little pile.

The blue Pegasus, who Starlight presumed had to be Assault, snorted and leered at his companion. “Show-off.”

Starlight got a look at the pair’s cutie marks then. “Ah, right. Battery. You have a talent for lightning magic. That’s… clever, I like that. I think we’ll get along just fine. And that would make you little Mister Assault, right?”

The blue colt nodded at her. Everything about him gave off an air of calm, controlled power, not at all the imposing presence of a hulk like Bulk Biceps. Even his voice came in a low, husky whisper. “Uhuh. Doldrum’s my name.”

She nodded to his bag. “And I take it that little arsenal you have in there is yours, then?”

His ears flicked back. “That’s right. You know artifact magic?”

She gritted her teeth for a moment, before clearing her throat. “You might say I’ve dabbled, mostly with arcane-powered gems.” She walked over to the bag to inspect it. “What have you got in there? I see rings, a belt of wi-”

She felt a force snatch the bag out of her grasp. She hadn’t even seen Doldrum move, but he had his bag well clear of her grasp.

Right. Pegasus, super speed, should have known.

“Please don’t touch my things,” he said, shaken but still in his odd whispering tone.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. If you’d rather show it off in practice, I’ll know what it is, then, I can wait.”

“It’s not that. I have an Ice Amulet, Lightning Rings-”

“For front or hind legs?” she asked.

“Both.”

She whistled, impressed. “At the same time?”

“Of course. Then I have six wands: two for Arcane Missiles, two for Spark Bolt, and two for Frostbite. I didn’t make those, though, I’m still working on that.”

“That’s a pretty good inventory.”

“Then I have my Wind Belt. It’s supposed to go on my belly, but I like keeping my neck covered when I can, so I’ll wear it there if I’m not using anything else.”

Now Starlight’s ears fell back. “Okay.”

“And I have a Triple Radiance Helm.”

“Of course you do.”

“And then there’s the sheath for the wands, of course, and my regular armour. And some enchanted throwing knives.”

She wasn’t even trying to pretend this was normal anymore. “Oh, obviously, if you’re going to go that far. No rapid-fire crossbow?”

He pouted and looked at the floor. “Not until I’m sixteen. I have a restraining order.”

She looked to the stallions. Neither Sage nor Sunburst showed any sign of protest, or any indication the boy was lying or exaggerating.

“Deer Lords, sounds like you’ve almost got a full kingslayer armour.”

Much to her surprise, he perked up at that. There was actual emotion in his voice when he spoke up now. “Oh, that’s what I’m working up to. Do you know how to make the padding for that?”

“No? And if you don’t mind me asking, where did you get all of that in the first place? Especially child-sized ones?”

He shrugged. “I get it from mail order. EEA-sanctioned, of course, it’s only the pieces. Putting it together and enchanting it is the real work.”

“And using it,” Starlight reasoned. “I take it you’re mostly here to master the use of it all, and not the fabrication? I don’t think we’re allowed to teach you how to build a rocket launcher or anything.”

“That’s okay: I don’t like artillery, it’s too loud. I can wait.”

She cleared her throat. “Well, I look forward to seeing what you can do with all of your inventory, then.”

That only left Bastion. “Okay, you I know. You’re Bastion Pristin. I met your friend Sapphire Gaze a little while ago. What are you here to learn?”

The changeling looked shocked for a moment, then he stared at her blankly. “Umm…”

“Well?” Sunburst asked. “I’ve got material on all the major schools of magic, different systems, too, if you have any preference. Just say it and we can plan a program for you.”

“I’m not sure,” Bastion replied, scratching his head. “What are my options?”

Starlight looked at Sage, but he seemed as confused about the response as she was. She shrugged. “If you want to use the standard system by the Sorcerers of the Eastern Shores: there’s conjuration and transmutation, enchantment and illusion, divination gets overlooked a lot, but it’s surprisingly powerful. Then there’s evocation, that’s what most ponies go for, but it’s a little overdone if you ask me. Abjuration is making a comeback, I hear, and lastly there’s necromancy, which is really just divination with some energy work, doesn’t have the best reputation, but it has its uses. Oh, right, you don’t know what any of those are, do you? Sorry about that, I completely forgot.”

“I do know what those are, actually: conjuration’s summoning, transmutation is changing things, and evocation is most of the blasty stuff. Those three are the big ones most wizards try to go for. And abjuration is defense, like shields and elemental walls. I don’t know which one I’d wanna learn, though.” The boy rubbed his arms. “Can I think about it?”

“Sure,” Sage replied. “Why don’t we start with some basic exercises, get you used to using your magic first, we can decide how to develop it once you know your baseline.”

“Okay. Do I need anything?” Bastion asked.

“No, but Doldrum: load up your wand sheath. I want to see if your trick shots are any better now,” Sage replied.

Live Wire started bouncing next to the changeling, little sparks flying off of his mane and tail. Starlight tried to let the two pass by without tensing up too much.

Don’t let him smell your fear. Do not let the walking Category 4 disaster smell your fear or he’ll only get more nervous and have a misfire.

“Nothing like having the target range all to yourself,” Live Wire started.

“Target range? Like shooting magic? You shoot magic here?” he asked.

“Of course. You gotta learn how to shoot when you have a horn, otherwise how are you gonna use it right? Like, this one time, I was walking close to Cottontail woods, and then from out of nowhere wham! Bam!”

Starlight tuned him out, waiting for Doldrum to catch up. Sure enough, he even had a genuine wand sheath strapped to his arms, for quick switching between different types of ammunition. With a quick ping of a detection spell, she found out the type, too: these were the advanced ones, pre-loaded with a hoofful of detonations but capable of taking a pony’s magic to power out more.

She noticed the way he moved, as well. A boy with his bulk should have made more noise by merely moving about, idle clopping of heavy hooves on wood. This little Assault, though, moved silently, like a whisper in the night, even at a normal gait.

That boy was already at a higher level than most if he could do that so casually, not to mention him using magical artifacts like it was nothing. If she had to guess, his cutie mark didn’t actually make it easier to do magic, but aided him greatly in learning it. A mark like that would provide motivation, drive, and inspiration, rather than raw ability.

And if he was already being driven and inspired to learn that kind technique and wield that kind of weaponry at such a young age, there was no telling what he might get into as an adult.

That’s definitely a cutie mark catastrophe waiting to happen. Both of them are.

“So, what do you think?” Sage asked. “First impressions?”

Starlight winced. “You weren’t kidding. That’s a pair of specialists, alright. I wouldn’t even know where to look for ponies like that, never mind children.”

“But are you up to the task?”

“I’m still not entirely sure what the task is, but if it’s counselling, then… sure.” She smiled at Sunburst. “It’s not like I’ll have to do it alone. And besides, I like a challenge.”

---

Bastion had tried to pay attention to Live Wire’s story, but truth be told the walking battery spoke very quickly, and while Live Wire definitely possessed a knack for theatrics, he hadn’t quite managed the fine art of maintaining a solid plot yet. Somewhere along the line, Bastion had lost the thread, and he didn’t have the hearts to tell the Unicorn he couldn’t keep up.

“Anyway, that’s why I’m not allowed within fifty paces of a petting zoo,” Live Wire finished.

“Wow,” Starlight said, coming up behind them. “I didn’t even know vultures had a Parliament.”

“Okay, so: this is our firing range,” Sunburst announced as they rounded a corner.

Bastion looked around at the site. It was downward from the hill their bunk was on, and just far enough to be out of sight of the main camp site by the lake, but close enough to easily make a signal, no doubt for safety purposes.

Like the bunk terrain, the ground here was levelled, and formed an arena with a dirt floor. Nestled against the hillside stood a row of shacks, that Sunburst opened with his magic.

Bastion’s hearts went aflutter when Sage lifted the training dummies out. They were adult-sized, similar to the model dolls Miss Rarity used, but more articulated, and able to stand without a pole to support them.

“Now, some basic rules: don’t shoot unless given permission,” Sunburst said. “Don’t fire a spell if you don’t know what’s behind your target, even if you think you have permission. Don’t fire a spell when somepony is on the range within firing distance.” He blinked and adjusted his glasses. “Or a changeling, or any local wildlife, for that matter. We have some very foolhardy squirrels around here, we don’t want to see them hurt. That means you, Sir Battery.”

Live Wire whistled innocently and looked away. Bastion carefully shuffled a little further from him, just in case.

“And if you do need to move onto the range, signal everyone first,” Sage finished. “Now, Sir Battery, if you would do us the honours? Show us a clean shot, standard magical beam.”

Bastion watched as Live Wire closed his eyes, twirled his horn with a little flair and brought it down to shoot a white beam of energy at one of the dummies. It wasn’t like most beams he’d seen: this one sparked and arced more than it flowed, it struck him as being somehow less stable than the magic he was used to seeing. There were little ribbons of lightning around it, too, perhaps that was why.

The dummy certainly didn’t care for it. It took the blow straight in the chest and flew back from the impact, landing on its back with a singe-mark smoking from its chest.

“How was that?” Live Wire asked.

“Not bad, not bad,” Sage said. “It’s still not completely straightened out, but you’ve gotten better. Sunburst?”

Sunburst took out a scroll and quill in his magic. “Oh, yes, that’s a big improvement from last time. Less fragmented than it used to be. What did you think of it?”

“Umm… I like it?” Live Wire replied with a shy smile. “At least the dummy’s flying back in a straight line now. And it’s not shaking all over the place before it hits the target.”

That explained it: the colt had a problem directing his magic. Which made sense, considering the nature of electrical magic. Let that get out of control, it’ll snap at anything that gets too close, wasting energy in the process.

Bastion felt a twinge of pain at the thought. His uncle had warned him about electrical magic often enough, since most nations had tried it as a defense against changelings at some point or another. Bug-zapper tactics, they called it, and now he would be bunking with a Unicorn whose main power was zapping bugs like him.

“Okay, then we won’t need to spend too much time and energy on that again,” Sage said. “Master Assault, if you’d please?” He cast another spell on the dummy to right it, but he also mended its damage through means Bastion couldn’t figure out.

It was the strangest thing: Sage’s horn didn’t glow when he cast a spell. He merely gestured, squinted a little, and the burn marks and dents were fixed.

Mister Sage can hide his magic. That’s interesting...

Doldrum took Live Wire’s place in the middle of the range. Then he took a deep, slow breath in, and in one motion rose on his hind hooves, pointed one of the sheaths at the target, and let fly an arrow made of energy. It went far to the right, before curving to hit the dummy dead in the chest.

“That’s good,” Sunburst said. “Much better trajectory control than last time. How’s your switching?”

Doldrum fiddled with his wand sheath to pull out the middle one on his right and the outermost one on his left.

He went back and forth casting from his left and right, one causing the dummy to grow a layer frost, the other giving it a loud snap crackle of an electric spark. It never knocked the target down, but Bastion could see how much pain any of those shots might cause.

And Doldrum just kept it up like it was nothing.

“Okay, that’s good,” Sunburst said after a volley or three.

Bastion shook his head to clear it.

“What?” Doldrum asked.

“Nothing, nothing, just… that’s pretty impressive. Those are home-made wands?”

Doldrum’s nose curled in annoyance. “No. I’m not good enough to make a wand.”

“Not good enough yet, you mean,” Sage remarked. “Bastion, you’re up,” Sage announced. “Show us what you’ve got.”

Bastion took his spot in the middle of the range, let out a quick breath, and let rip a beam of pure energy through his horn.

It slapped the dummy like a harmless snowball, barely making it wobble. Bastion blinked. “Huh?”

“That’s odd,” Sunburst said. “I thought you were trained for this kind of thing?”

“I am. Should I try again?” Bastion looked at the three grown-ups, all of them looked confused, except for Starlight, who had a little more curiosity in her eyes than the stallions did.

Again, Bastion reared up and fired a green bolt at the dummy. Again, it barely made the thing shake.

Sage walked over to stand next to him. “How do you do that? That beam blast, I mean? What’s your process?”

Bastion shrugged. “I just reach down inside myself and shoot energy. Why, is that a problem?”

“Sounds like a regular evocation spell to me, then,” Sage said. “Starlight, your thoughts?”

“It’s pretty obvious what the problem is: he’s a changeling. If he tries to fire something using energy inside him, then he’ll fire what’s inside. What’s inside is usually stolen energy, right?” Starlight asked gently. “And you haven’t been stealing anything, so you don’t have anything to fire.”

“Doesn’t that mean he’s gonna starve?” Live Wire asked.

“No. No, love isn’t really like food is to ponies, but it does make us stronger. And it is a good fuel.” Bastion sighed. “But I guess I can’t really use it anymore. I’m sorry, does that mean I need to go to a different bunk?”

“If you still want to work on your magic, not at all,” Sage replied, rubbing his chin. “It’s only a question of how we’re going to approach it. You’re technically sound, at least, you’re not making any of the newbie mistakes when you shoot a beam, that’ll save a lot of time. The problem is the substance. We can hardly have you draining ponies for practice, not without consent, and that’d be useless outside of camp anyway. There’s nothing wrong with your skill, it’s the fuel we need to change.”

“Is that even possible?” Bastion asked. “I’ve always done it like this. What other fuel is there?”

Sage gestured to Starlight, and she raised a hoof. “Ah, actually, there’s your own emotions. Emotional casting is what most ponies call your branch of magic: still with the thinking in it, but powered by feeling.”

“Thank you, Starlight. Yes, she’s an emotional caster herself. You can learn to use your own feelings to get magic done, even supercharge it and change the nature of an existing spell to some extent. It’s not a sort of magic I’m partial to myself, but I’ve seen ponies get good results with it. You can cheat out a win against vastly superior opponents with that kind of techniques.”

Bastion’s ears perked. Cheating out a win against someone way out of my league? Perfect. “Are you sure that would work?”

“Of course,” Starlight replied. “It’s a different kind of fuel, is all. You can’t do the same things with drained emotions that you can with your own.”

“All we’d need to know is what the baseline is,” Sunburst said, taking another sheet of paper to write it on. “What would be the closest magic to that? Emotional vampirism is the feeding part, but what’s the projection, then?”

“I’d guess... blood sacrifice,” Sage remarked, getting a nod from Sunburst after some thought. “You very rarely want to use your own blood for that.”

“Great.” Bastion plopped his rump on the ground. “So now I have to cut myself if I want to do magic? I have to act like those ponies with white powder all over and fake fangs?”

Sunburst already had a book open. “No, you misunderstand. Energetic vampirism is a well-documented ability, it’s an acquired skill, if not a very popular one. If what you used to do is similar to blood magic, you’ve got a good basis already. If anything, you should be at a higher level than average compared to most Unicorns. Way higher.”

“I don’t feel any higher,” Bastion replied.

“Blood magic is generally avoided these days because ponies are educated on magic a little better now. It’s an unstable material to work with, volatile magic that can be easily replaced by proper instruction,” Sage added.

“I still don’t get it.”

Starlight rolled her eyes and groaned. “What the master wizards are trying to say is: if you’re good enough to use blood magic in the first place, you’re good enough to not need it. And if you’re good enough to use drained emotions, you should be good enough to not need them, either, at least in terms of skill. You’ll get less bang for your buck, so to speak, but actually doing it isn’t that much of a shift. We know how ancient ponies moved from sacrificial magic to their own power once the Sun started moving again, so we can come up with ways for you to move to your own power. I can probably get you up to speed with Assault and Battery over here nice and quickly, if you don’t mind putting in the effort.”

“Okay. That sounds good.”

“Let’s start with something simple, if that’s okay with you,” Starlight started.

Sage waved a hoof for her to continue. “By all means. We can keep the dummies up and intact.”

“Start with bellows breathing: when you rely on your emotions for your magic, your body gets more involved in the process. Try breathing quickly first: quick little puffs. One, two, three, shoot.”

Bastion got back into firing position and followed the instructions. “One, two, three, shoot!”

The blast that came out hit harder, slapping the dummy’s head enough to twist its neck, but it still wasn’t something he’d consider useful in a fight.

“Your wings are too tight,” Doldrum blurted out, quietly.

“What?” Starlight asked.

“His wings, Miss. He’s tensing up his wings, and those muscles can, umm, mess up your breathing. Try opening them up and relaxing first. The more tense you are, the more energy you waste.”

Starlight nodded. “He’s got a point there. Try it.”

Bastion felt the eyes of everypony on him, nerves clenching around him like a snake. He forced his wings to unfurl, mentally commanded his body to relax, then did the little puffs of breath to wind up the shot.

Something rushed up his spine, hitting him in the neck. His eyes went white, and closing them didn’t make the whiteness go away. When he opened his eyes again, he was on his back, staring at the sky. “What just happened?”

“Spell recoil, noobie mistake.” Live Wire said. “It’s not an easy trick to dig your hooves in and relax at the same time. Cool shot, though.”

“I’ll say,” Starlight noted. “Very powerful force blast, nice and straight, hardly any dispersal on the impact. Most foals take a whole semester to get that kind of skill, but I guess you’ve had previous training. Are you okay?” She extended a hoof.

He took her hoof and let himself get pulled up. The dummy he’d hit was blasted back, its legs a messy tangle. “I’m fine. I just went out of it a little.”

“Congratulations, then: that was a proper magical trance. That’s how you turn your magic on and off. Do you remember how that felt?” Starlight asked.

“Yes.”

“Good,” Sage said, fetching two more dummies. “Do it again. All three of you: we’re going for stamina first. By the time you get good and tuckered out, you’ll be thinking straight and your technique will improve on its own. Me and Sunburst will be paying attention to any slips, and see what needs improving, on a first impression.”

“Don’t worry,” Live Wire said. “We’re the best bunk on site, highest level juniors. Just follow my lead, and you’ll get stronger in no time.”

“Yeah,” said the Pegasus, “follow Battery’s lead, you’ll be fine.”

---

Lunchtime saw the boys tired and yawning. Even Doldrum was showing the shakes a little bit, despite not having cast any spell on his own. Bastion could tell the Pegasus put some energy into his castings, but had no clue as to how the wands worked yet.

Doldrum wasn’t wearing his gear now, so there was no way to get a quick look, either.

“So,” Sage started, munching on a cucumber sandwich, “are we all nice and worked up, not too tired?”

Live Wire yawned, then slapped his own chest twice. “Doin’ good.”

“No missing beats?” Sunburst asked.

“Huh?” Bastion turned to the Unicorn colt, chewing on his own olive bun.

“Oh, umm, funny story: the stuff I make? The lightning magic? Not the healthiest talent you could have, turns out. It’s complicated, but basically I can’t overdo it or I, you know...”

Bastion shook his head. “No, I don’t know. You… what?”

Starlight gestured to him. “Evocation magic is usually energy-based instead of spell-focused: you make a certain type of energy and then project it, like when you shoot a beam. But the elemental types, like lightning or fire magic, those require converting your energy, and that’s a full body skill. Most ponies don’t notice, but the ones who specialise or use one type almost constantly will get a few issues over time. It depends on the type: fire magic is in the breath, ice magic is in the blood, and lightning magic is in, well, the heart. Use too much fire magic, you run out of breath. Use too much lightning magic, if your body isn’t conditioned for the after-effects, and you’ll risk heart problems.”

Bastion nodded, then squinted. “Oh. Wait, so if you overdo it, you could die? Just like that? You use up all your magic and then you’re dead?”

“No, no.” Live Wire waved away the remark. “That’d be awful. If I use up all my magic, my heart stops. Then I have about half a minute to say something really cool and then I die.”

“Huh. You know, suddenly I’m feeling less jealous.”

“No kidding. I’m jealous of you: if your heart stops, at least you’ve got a spare,” the Unicorn joked. “And you can cast actual spells.”

“So that kind of magic isn’t from spells? What are spells for, then?” Bastion asked.

“We’ll cover that later,” Sage said. “Most ponies never get around to learning that distinction, even in higher academia.” He snorted.

“Seriously, though,” Sunburst said in between bites. “Don’t overdo it. You know your limits better than we do, especially with the progress you’ve been making. It’s gonna get harder and harder for somepony else to keep your powers under control, so you need to be on top of that.”

“I am, I am,” replied Live Wire. “I’m responsible, and I check my heart when I have to. I’m not gonna die, I’m just tired. Oh, if I’m tired enough, can I go swimming this afternoon?” He perked up, and right at that moment a spark crackled from his horn to his right ear.

Now Starlight was confused. “Why would you need to be tired to go swi-oh, right. Gotta discharge the battery before you go into the water. Gosh, that must get annoying.”

“Tell me about it,” Live Wire said with a groan. “I’m not even allowed within fifty paces of a public pool.”

“At least until he gets it under full control,” Sage said. “Until then, what do we always say?”

“Suppression only works on the weak,” Live Wire replied. “When you’re strong, it’s self-control.”

“Good. Speaking of which, meditation practice this afternoon.”

Doldrum winced. “Will we be with Miss Tree Hugger’s group again?”

“Not yet. I think it’d be better to start with a solo practice first, see how that part of the training has been progressing. We’ll use the meditation bunks for now. I’ll take Doldrum, Sunburst can take Live Wire through it, and Starlight can show Bastion.”

He could taste the surprise and hint of fear in Starlight’s reaction. A little flick of his horn quickly evacuated that bit of unpleasant energy from his stomach.

“What? Me?” she asked.

“You are an emotional caster like he’s trying to be, yes?”

“Well, I mean, sure, but still…” she lowered her voice to a whisper. “What am I supposed to do exactly?”

“It’s a meditation bunk,” Sage replied. “You use it for meditating. You didn’t get to where you are without any sort of grounding practice, did you?”

“No,” Starlight conceded. “No, I practised a couple of things: Somnanbula’s White and Black Mirror, Meadowbrook’s Curling Vine, Star Swirl’s Witness...”

“Any of those will do,” Sage said. “Work on one, go through the motions, then warm up and move about. Then do it again, and again. Work your way up.”

Bastion saw Starlight’s ears go down in fear. Why, he couldn’t quite tell, because at that point he wasn’t risking another dose of foul-tasting fear.

“Oh, okay,” she said. “Like that, you mean.”

“Is something wrong?” Bastion asked.

“No, no, nothing’s wrong,” Starlight replied. “Just discussing the best method, is all. It’s fine.”

---

Starlight stood stiff as a board in front of the bunk, on the bottom of the same hill as their sleeping quarters and shooting grounds, but on a different side so they faced away from the main camp site.

This is not fine.

Her heart pounded in her chest. Her throat felt dry.

“Pretty neat, huh?” Sunburst came up behind her, smiling. “Sage set it up a few years ago, it’s been really useful.”

“I’ll bet,” she croaked.

The meditation bunks were arranged in a set of five overall. Each bunk was identical: two windows on the east side where the door was, one window north and south, none west, where the hill was. On the north side of the room, there was a shelf with books, as well as a single poster. On the west side, the wall was covered with posters, and a small amount of hay as well as a trough of water was provided. The southern part of the room was left blank. In the corners near the ceiling, there were speakers.

It was her indoctrination room.

Fight Camp had five indoctrination rooms identical to the one she’d built in her village. The only difference was what the posters on the walls showed: arcane runes of power, actual runes made up of straight and rigid lines.

“I take it by that look you recognise the design?” Sage asked.

Oh, holly cud on a compost sandwich, of course. He’s read the same books I have. Of course he’d build something like this, why wouldn’t he?

“Yeah, I know it. Star Swirl the Bearded mentioned it in his books, a little something his masters used to do: the old wizard formation cell, right?”

“I’m impressed. Most ponies attribute it to Star Swirl himself, wrongly, of course. Anyway, there’s hay and water for the smell, if you need it, plenty of paper to get the smell of a library in if you’re doing one of those exercises, and the signs on the posters are all rigged with a simple illusion spell. There’s no security on it, so feel free to switch’em to whatever you think is best.”

“And the speakers?” Starlight asked.

“Crystal charge, nothing fancy. Just think really loudly at it, give it a little mental tug, it’ll play on its own. Assuming you need background noise, of course.”

“Of course.”

“Well, me and Sunburst will be flanking you, but the rooms are soundproofed once the door closes: it’s a mix of whisperwood fibres and camel cork.”

Soundproofed, too. Wish I’d thought of that.

“Use a spell to signal us if anything happens, okay? There’s a clock above the door, we’ll check in after two hours, that should be enough to do a good fractionation,” Sunburst said.

“Yup, no problem. Fractionation is… fun, after all.” Starlight saluted the stallions.

“I know, right? It’s great to have some peace and quiet. Anyway, we’ll leave you to it.”

With that, Sunburst closed the door, leaving Starlight alone in the bunk with the changeling.

“Ho boy,” she said to herself.

“So what do we start with?” He sat down facing her.

“Good question. You’ve never done any kind of work with emotional casting before?”

He shook his head. “Uh uh.”

“But you do know the basics of magic already. Mostly energy work.”

“Yes. I don’t know what the difference is between that and a spell, though.”

“Okay, good.” She looked around nervously. “Good. You shouldn’t be too worried about figuring it out, most ponies never do anyway.” She lit up her horn and aimed it at the posters. With a mere thought, they changed from the bird’s foot rune to the arrow rune. “There. We’ll work on concentration first, that means arrow first.”

“Are you scared of me?”

She jumped. “What?! No, no, what makes you say that?”

“Because you’re acting kind of nervous, Miss Starlight. And scared. It’s okay if you are. Changelings are scary.”

Not half as scary as I am, though.

She sighed and sat down, crossing her legs and motioning for him to do the same. “No. I’m not scared of you, exactly. It’s just that teaching magic isn’t like teaching normal skills: you can’t hide your limitations from your students because, well, a lot of complicated reasons. It’s a lot of responsibility, and a lot can go wrong. But I’m sure a boy in your situation doesn’t think that’s so bad, huh?”

“Maybe, kinda. It’s understandable.”

“Good.” She nodded. “Understanding is good. Now, we’re going to do a fractionation exercise. You know what that is?”

“I’ve heard of it, but I don’t know it.”

“It’s not technically a meditation technique, but a conditioning technique. It’s one of the ways you can get someone to change how they think. That means it’s very powerful, and a little bit dangerous in the wrong hooves. Still, it’s simple in concept: you meditate, you relax, you go down deep for a while. Then you come back up to your normal mental state, and then you try to relax again. You go on and off, on and off, on and off. Doing it like that helps train your mind to go from normal mode to magical mode on a whim. And for emotional casters like us, it gives us the ability to channel our magic with our emotions without the physical backlash.”

“You mean the recoil? Me flying back from the blast?”

“That’s more of a dosing issue,” she replied. “I mean more basic: the consequences of using your emotions like that. It’s powerful, but it puts a lot of stress on your body: there’s hormones involved, muscle tension, heart rate, blood pressure, that kind of thing. When you get very emotional, your magic flares up with more power, but you risk losing control because of that. Then there’s all sorts of other side effects you might run into: ringing ears, light in your eyes that doesn’t go away if you close them, muscle soreness, that kind of thing.”

She noticed his ears perk at that, and suspected he’d probably had at least one of those things happen already, but she didn’t press the issue.

“Huh.” He grimaced. “I never really thought about that. Maybe that’s why changelings have two hearts.”

Starlight wanted to object, but upon further reflection couldn’t think of a good reason why. “You know, come to think of it, that might actually be a fair point. Regardless, feeling things heavily, it can affect your health if you’re not careful. Stress like that eats away at your body, even your mind.”

“Well, you look healthy.”

She stifled a gulp. “Yes. I am healthy, in every way, because I did things right. Now you’re going to do it right as well, just follow my lead. This may feel a little strange, but it’s so you can learn. There’s no wrong way to learn, remember that.”

Just stick to the magic, Starlight, don’t get caught up in the equality thing.

You can work that out later.

---

Although he did feel a bit woozy after the meditation practice, Bastion shook off most of the after-effects and, with Sunburst’s approval, he rushed off to the other side of camp to go play with the rest of the foals, Assault and Battery close behind.

That is, he thought Assault and Battery were close behind. Live Wire had a spring in his step, but Doldrum took his sweet time getting from one side of the lake of the other. He glided okay, yet he didn’t seem to want to join in on anything, going by how little he flapped his wings.

Bastion didn’t think too long on it, preferring to make new friends at the volleyball court. Some of the children looked at him weirdly, but when pressed, they turned out to be more concerned about where he was staying and with whom than anything related to his appearance. Everyone in camp knew him by reputation, no doubt. No one tried to be extra nice to him for a change, which he welcomed.

He put a little bit of goop on the spurs of his arms so he wouldn’t accidentally pop any balls and went to play.

Eventually, his fellow bunk mates got his attention: Battery was currently defending his title of camp champion at Twister, and Assault was hammering a punching bag while Bulk Biceps held it back. Neither of the two sights were particularly normal, even to a changeling.

Live Wire being good at Twister struck him as odd for a moment, before another mosquito going into a death spiral reminded Bastion that the title probably wasn’t due to any advantage in flexibility, but rather the unfortunate fact that most ponies couldn’t keep their balance whilst being electrocuted. Bastion shuddered at the thought. Most ponies here were Pegasi, too: they already had an innate resistance to lightning, and they still couldn’t cope with the Battery’s voltage. At least it was a goal to work towards, Bastion figured.

Doldrum, on the other hoof, had no competitors at all, and even the spectators gave him a wide berth. His punching technique stood out, too, or rather the rhythm. Unlike what his nickname might suggest, Assault didn’t pepper the bag or do any sort of quick combo attacks. All he did was strike once, pull back, then strike again, in a slow and even rhythm. Even so, the force behind the blows was enough to make Bulk have to lean in to steady the thing.

So he’s got Earth pony strength, too? How? Why?

He left the volleyball game once the next group wanted to do a match, and went to join Tree Hugger in her stretching class where he wouldn’t be distracted by the sight of his bunkmates.

Guess I’ll find out soon enough.

At least he looks happy when he’s punching things.

Is that a good thing or not?

---

By the time the Sun was setting, the boys had had dinner and relaxed with another round of less physically taxing games. By now, Bastion felt pretty confident no one outside of his bunk would pose a problem, as all the kids here were laid back but dedicated in their own way. Despite the majority of Pegasi, there were a surprising number of foals of all three tribes who wanted to be Royal Guards, the usual number of Wonderbolts among the Pegasi, but most of the children here were in sports clubs doing some martial arts or other, he didn’t keep close track of it all. He’d heard the term ‘karate’ thrown around a lot, as well as ‘judo’ and something involving fences.

A campfire was set up, and everyone, including the remote bunk of Assault and Battery, gathered around for the final activity of the first day.

Starlight and Sage sat behind the three boys. Sunburst took centre stage.

“What is this?” Starlight whispered.

“A little something we do every camp: story time. Trust me, you’ll like it. Sunburst is good at it.”

“Okay, everyone, settle down please. For the next two weeks, I’ll be telling you the story of the realm of Hippidion, and its many threats.”

Starlight smiled to herself as he sat down and got out the book.

Just like old times.

Then she looked around at the big crowd of children and adults who hung on his every word. By the time he got to describing to the witch who lived in a house on chicken legs, everyone was hooked.

Well, mostly like old times, I guess. I’ll talk to him when he’s alone.

That should be soon, right?

---

Starlight lay in an unfamiliar bed, a whole room to herself and her thoughts.

Okay, so I didn’t get any time alone with Sunburst. No biggie. Day one went fine, even if it wasn’t a full day yet. Sunburst is happy I’m here, Sage doesn’t mind me helping, the boys are fine. Right?

She perked her ears, and found no noise coming from the room next to hers. She had noticed little changeling stealing glances at Assault’s equipment bag, but then she’d caught herself doing that as well a few times. That boy was carrying some strange things on him.

Doesn’t matter.

They’re sound asleep, ready for tomorrow. We have some time alone now, us grown-ups.

I could talk to Sunburst now.

Hey, Sunburst! You remember when we were kids and we had so much fun learning magic together? Yeah, I kinda want that back. Permanently. You broke my heart in pieces when you left and I’ve hated cutie marks ever since. Incidentally, you’re a camp counsellor, how do you feel about re-education camps?

That train of thought raced through her head, and promptly crashed at a terminus.

Oh, stars, what am I supposed to say? I already said ‘hello,’ I never thought I’d get that far!

She sighed.

Hey, Sunburst? I have a confession to make. I missed you, a lot. I’ve missed you every single day since you’ve been gone. In fact, I may have started something awful because you left.

Great, now I’m gonna blame him for me being so messed up. It’s not his fault his parents sent him to Canterlot the same day he got his cutie mark, with no warning or any kind of preparation time.

No, I did this to myself. It’s my responsibility. I have him back now, right? I can catch up, make everything alright again. I have my friend back, that’s all I need.

Right?

So why does it still feel so empty inside?

A sound broke her reverie, from the other side of where the boys were sleeping.

Hoofsteps went to her door, gently and quietly, before being replaced by the telltale sound of an ear leaning against wood. She recognised the sound well enough from eavesdropping on her parents when they had a new shipment of books to discuss.

She’d learned not to make that sound. Sunburst, weirdly enough, never got the hang of it. The swish of a cape solidified in her mind the fact that Sunburst was the one to check in on her. He then went to check on the boys in the same way, then walked away at a quick pace towards the lake.

Again, she sighed.

I definitely shouldn’t tell him tonight, he’s obviously busy with something. I wonder what, though?

Tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a good time to just talk. I’m sure he’ll understand everything, he won’t be upset, it won’t be weird, it’ll just be like old times again.

She clutched her pillow.

Please let things be like old times again?

Author's Note:

And here we see one of the first big hurdles in writing this thing: re-making Doldrum from a ninja to an artificer.

Makes more sense within the later canon of the show, makes more sense with established history of the show, but it royally messed up a lot of the other concepts in the early drafts. It also formed one of the reasons for localised over-editing: the nature of what he brings to Fight Camp. Initially he had some ninja gear with him, it ended up being three trinkets out of Orcs Must Die and some wands and sheaths from DnD. That ended up changing what he's there to learn, too.

This one suffered pretty hard in the over-editing department, for hopefully obvious reasons. Turns out I didn't even manage to get all the kunai out before I uploaded the darn thing. Go figure.