Bastion Goes to Fight Camp

by Wise Cracker

Matters of Meta

By the time Starlight woke up, she felt like she hadn’t slept at all. A knocking came at her door.

“Time to wake up, Starlight,” she heard Sunburst say.

Great. Well, on the bright side, at least I’ll get to talk to him now. Sort of.

“Good morning, Sunburst,” she greeted as she opened the door and hopped out.

He adjusted his glasses at the sight of her. “Whoa, did you sleep okay, Starlight? You look a little worn out.”

“Oh, it’s nothing.” She cast a minor spell to clean up her mane and face. “Country air, the excitement of camp, all the sounds, I’m sure I’ll get used to it in a night or two. Umm, speaking of which, what were you doing last night?”

“What do you mean?”

“You left about half an hour after bedtime. You didn’t go to sleep until close to midnight, I think.”

“Really? That late? Huh, well, I didn’t keep track of it. It was just a bit of teambuilding and planning with the other counsellors. You know, settle on some goals for the next few days, that sort of thing.”

“Oh.”

“Thanks for looking out, though. I didn’t think you’d notice.”

Starlight blushed. “Well, I mean, it’s not like I stayed up waiting for you or anything, obviously.”

“Obviously. You’re sure you’re okay? No mosquito problems? We are right by a lake after all.”

“All right!” came a voice. “Brand new day and I’m pumped!” The call was swiftly followed by the sound of electricity crackling.

“I think we have about a two mile radius that doesn’t need to worry about insect problems,” Starlight remarked.

“Right. Okay, gang, time for breakfast, let’s go. Sage is already up, checking the other bunks.”

The boys came out, single file, with Doldrum in the back. Still, his hooves made no sound on the wooden floor.

“So what is the program for today?” Starlight asked.

“Metamagic for Bastion and our Battery. Battery’s pretty advanced in certain things, and he’s due to learn by now. Bastion can probably learn a few new things to keep his interest, let him work with what he has already before he learns any new spells.”

“And for Assault? How are you planning to keep him engaged when you’re training Unicorns?”

“He has his artifacts, they charge up overnight.”

“Yeah, but he’s using stored spells. That’s somepony else’s magic in there, isn’t it?”

Sunburst grinned. “Only in the wands. He made those other trinkets himself, he can use those.”

Starlight raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, quick question about that: why? That cutie mark is pretty generalist, as far as I know. Why would a boy his age want that kind of firepower?”

He shrugged. “You’ll have to ask Sage, he knows more of the details. Or you can ask Doldrum yourself, he might tell you if he trusts you enough.”

“Oh. So it’s a sore spot, then?”

“Kind of. Everypony in camp kind of knows: Doldrum’s talent gives him some sensitivity, and he went through some stress a while back. Really bad stress, the kind that left a mark. There’s been some debate on what exactly is wrong with him, so obviously there’s debate on how to make it better, too. So far, making artifacts is making him better: it helps him relax, and he’s good at it. Does that answer your question?”

“Yes. Just one other thing: I noticed him around the punching bags yesterday. Was he strong before he started tinkering, or did that start after?”

“Same time, actually.”

Starlight ran that information through her head. It did not compute. “Does he wear a Belt of Strength, by any chance?”

“Not usually, but he does have one. Didn’t make that one himself, though, and he never brings it to camp.”

“At least he has some limits, then. And where is Doldrum getting his books from? How does he know what to look for?”

“Right now? I’d say his teachers, mostly. Doldrum’s a little complicated, even by our standards. Sage has been more involved with him than I have, outside of camp, too.”

“Good to know. I am definitely going to have a talk with him about that.”

---

After breakfast and some simple warming up exercises, Sage got out the target dummies and arranged them for the boys, then gestured to Sunburst to get started.

“Okay, boys, today I’ll be taking care of the lessons. Live Wire, Doldrum, you’ve covered some of the theory before, so this’ll be a bit of a repeat lesson, but Bastion should be new at this. So, Bastion: if you don’t understand something, let me know.”

“Got it.”

“Good.” Sunburst conjured up a screen that looked like a makeshift blackboard. “We’ll be covering advanced spellcraft later this week, but to keep things fair, today we’ll discuss the merits of metamagic. Does that term ring any bells?”

“I’ve heard it, but I’m not sure I know what it is,” Bastion replied.

“Most ponies don’t,” Sage interjected. “So you’ll have a leg up pretty soon.”

“Indeed. Metamagic is the art of improving spells you’ve already learned, ones you can already cast, mainly outside of the divinatory realm and almost exclusively in the projective realm.”

“That means it’s mainly for things you’re trying to do, not spells to learn things or see stuff,” Starlight added.

Bastion nodded, and he noticed Live Wire nodded, too. Doldrum seemed oddly indifferent about the whole thing.

“How you use metamagic depends on what type of spell you’re casting, of course, but in general it’s a skill that favours emotional casters. The different modes of an improved spell, the different additions, they come from channeling a very particular emotional energy. For that reason, any spell usually has only one added mode you can use per casting.” He adjusted his glasses. “Although, having said that, I suppose I should explain what the different modes are first.”

He gestured towards the conjured blackboard, and a red outline of a crudely drawn Unicorn appeared on it.

“Let’s say you’re a caster stuck in combat, and you need to take out an enemy. One way to do that is with a simple force beam or blast.” With a minor flicker of his horn, the drawn Unicorn blasted at an incoming – and equally crudely drawn – Timberwolf. “Standard force blasts are common, and don’t require any sort of advanced machinations or mental exercises. We call that kind of spell a cantrip: it’s pure energy work, and subject to the same rules and weaknesses as any sort of energy manipulation.”

Bastion furrowed his brow. His compatriots looked and even tasted bored.

“But what if force blasts don’t work?” Sunburst continued. “What if you’re dealing with an armoured enemy, something too heavy, or something protected against energy? Well, that’s when we resort to more complicated and powerful spells: flame sprays, acid splashes, ice bombs, that sort of thing.”

The figure now launched a blue ball of ice at an incoming crayon Craggadile. To Bastion, that seemed like a perfectly viable option: with Craggadiles living in hot humid environments, an ice attack was probably super effective.

“Metamagic comes in when even that type of spell won’t cut it on its own,” Sunburst wiped the board, leaving only the Unicorn. With a wave of his hoof, white lines flowed in the middle to make a pool of sorts, out of which the Craggadile from before now leaped.

“Say you get ambushed. Someone or something gets the drop on you. Casting spells requires attention, concentration, clarity of mind. The easiest way to down a wizard is to keep the pressure on them. That is when you will want to quicken a spell.”

“Quicken?” Live Wire asked. “You mean I could cast even faster? That’s an option?”

Sunburst smiled and nodded at the boy. “With a little bit of practice, yes. Being able to quicken a spell requires repeating the motions over and over and over until it’s imprinted in your mind. Once that’s done, when you go to cast the spell, you can pour a little bit of fear energy into it to speed up the process.”

“It’s an anxious, nervous energy,” Starlight corrected. “Close to the fear you’d feel when you get jumped, but different enough to still require some skill and control.”

“Quite right.” The Unicorn on the board now quickly blasted the Craggadile without the swish and twirl of his horn like before. “Quickening spells lets you cast under pressure, but it does come at the cost of exhausting you more quickly. Most moderate-level Unicorns end up quickening their teleportation spells when they panic, it’s a reflex.”

“But I can’t even do a teleport yet,” Live Wire said with a pout.

“You might learn it from this,” Sage offered. “The skillsets required are pretty close to each other. Although with your talent, I’d guess you’ll end up doing the old thunder step first: it’s the same principle, but more of a boom in taking off, very useful in widening the gap.”

“Also true,” Sunburst said. “Since quickening is the most common and the most useful metamagic technique to master, at least as a stepping stone, that’s what we’ll be starting with today. However, there are two more we can cover. The second one is twinning spells.”

The Unicorn on the board was now facing two Craggadiles at once.

“This is less common, because most wizards feel that any problem you can fix with this, you can fix with other techniques more easily.”

“Complacent hacks,” Sage remarked under his breath.

Sunburst continued undisturbed. “Twinning, like the name implies, takes the essence of a spell and doubles it.” The board showed the Unicorn shooting two ice balls in one shot. “It’s related to multi-target spells in a way, but different in that it requires a vastly different skillset. Sage, if you don’t mind demonstrating?”

“Arcane missiles, coming up.”

Bastion turned, and saw Mister Sage twirl his horn before letting out a barrage of five arrows made up of dark grey energy. They impacted on the dummies one by one, knocking them back.

“The thing is: that’s a single spell. The spell is constructed to launch a certain amount of missiles,” Sunburst said. “And as such it has the same problem as trying to solve everything with a force beam or blast. A custom spell, a more advanced spell, is designed to solve a problem. By twinning such a spell, you solve two problems at once.” He sighed happily. “More importantly: by learning how to twin such a spell, you truly master it. You go from having to rapidly repeat the same motion to knowing how to do it all in one swoop. You go from merely memorising a spell to understanding it.”

“Case in point.” Sage gestured with his right front hoof now, and before Bastion could blink, two of the dummies were blown back by a shockwave. There was no glow, either from his horn or his limbs, and no muttering of any incantations, either.

The result on the two dummies was identical, though: they were blown back evenly and an equal distance, making it clear that this was, in fact, a single spell duplicated.

“That’s a standard unidirectional thunderwave. It uses force, in the physical sense, but technically it falls under the ‘thunder’ type of spells. Highly localised, though, and as you can see: it hits without any flashes of light. Very useful if you want to end a fight without drawing too much attention. Its main weakness, of course, is that it only hits one target at a time. Twinning a spell like that makes it useful in many more situations.”

“Ooh, you could do a lot of damage twinning fireballs, too, huh?” Live Wire asked.

“You could, if fireballs could be twinned in the first place. It’s a practice generally reserved for things that affect one target or have only one moving part. A fireball is a complex evocation,” Sunburst winced and shook his head at the thought. “It has its own complex patterns, so if you want to do multiples of those, it’s better to use a separate spell for that, like the arcane missiles one. Still, twinning is a good skill to develop before you move on to complicated spells, because you learn mastery of the theory. Mastery of control is what you get from the last one: delayed spells.”

Live Wire blinked in confusion. “Why would anyone ever wanna delay a spell?”

Sunburst chuckled, and the Unicorn he’d drawn faced off against a Craggadile once again.

“Suppose you find yourself in a situation where you feel threatened. You cast a spell to defend yourself, but you do not detonate it.” A red dot formed on the Craggadile’s nose. “Sometimes the threat is enough to end a fight, and sometimes you can use the time before a fight breaks out to set up a quick finish. But even more often…” The Craggadile waved its paws at the Unicorn, and lifted up its skin, revealing another Unicorn. “You need to act before you know everything. Having a spell out and ready to go off gives you options. Another big advantage is that you can aim a spell past someone’s defenses. A lot of magic comes with little bundles of energy, that detonate on contact. Sometimes you need to aim past a frontline, and be able to hit something you can’t see. To do that, you need to be able to let your spell travel, hold it, and only make it go off when it has to.”

Live Wire scrunched his nose. “I still don’t get it.”

“Imagine if you had a bunch of zombies attacking you, with one necromancer using them as a shield. You’d want to hit the guy in the middle, right?” Bastion asked.

“Well, yeah, but that’s what fireballs are for, duh,” Live Wire said.

“That wouldn’t work if they all had shields,” Doldrum offered. “There’s plenty of ways to block a fireball, even a big one. Especially if you know it’s coming. Umm, you know, that’s… what I heard, at least.”

Bastion’s ears perked at the sound of his voice. The Pegasus had been quiet all morning, to the point of being invisible, almost.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Bastion added. “If they’re in formation, it’s pretty easy to defend against an area of effect attack: only one of them has to block for everyone else. But a precision strike at the leader, from an unexpected angle, that’s a lot harder to block. That’s something the leader has to deal with himself, usually. It’s also kind of useful against an enemy you can’t see.”

Live Wire pondered it for a moment. “Oh. So, what, you can turn someone into a squirrel even if you can’t see them?”

Sage nodded. “Assuming you can make the spell connect, yes. And holding and detonating the spell makes it easier to connect, like, say, against a moving target trying to bait you into over-extending.”

“And above all: it teaches you how to control and wield the spell, so you’re not just going through the motions all the time. It’s a good way to build up your willpower, prevent any accidents involving magic,” Sunburst said.

Live Wire pouted.

Starlight noticed. She prodded him gently, yelping at the static from his fur. “Ow!”

“Sorry,” Live Wire said with a wince.

“My mistake, I forgot.” She leaned in to whisper. “Sunburst had to learn how to hold his magic early on, too. He had a lot of accidents when we were little.”

Sunburst rolled his eyes as he dispelled the blackboard. “True, I did have some trouble controlling my horn, especially when I got excited. But that’s what practice is for. Thank you, Starlight, for the reminder.”

“You’re welcome.” Starlight smiled. “It’s not something to feel embarrassed about, Live Wire: the point is that it’s not a new problem, and there’s a solution to it. There’s a way to get past that, and we have ponies here who’ve done it.”

“Some of us with more help than others, I might add,” Sage said. “Anyway, with that little dissertation out of the way, let’s get to the fun stuff, shall we? We’ll start with quickening and work our way up twinning, maybe we’ll get to delayed spells by noon, but there’s no rush for that, so go at your own pace. Bastion, you’re up first.”

Bastion raised a forelimb. “Umm, one problem.”

“Yes?”

“I don’t think I have any spells I can use for that. I’m not sure I even understand what a spell is.”

“Yeah, me neither,” Live Wire said. “I usually just do energy stuff. You know, still?”

They both looked at Doldrum.

“What? I’m fine, I know what to do.”

“Oh,” Sunburst said. “Right. Probably should have started with that part.”

---

Princess Celestia looked up from her paperwork when the Royal Guards brought her guest in. “Ah, right on time. Guards, you are excused for the moment.”

She slid out of the throne and went towards the stallion. His grey fur stood out against the bright colours of the palace, and while he may have passed for a Royal Guard with his armour, even a casual glance would reveal his bandanna and back and belly protection were anything but standard issue.

This gentlecolt did not deal with threats that the Royal Guard was trained to handle, and he made no secret of it. “Begging your pardon, Your Majesty, I was under the impression I wasn’t due here for at least another three months. Is something wrong?”

“I am terribly sorry to tear you away from your creature emporium, Cratus.” Celestia smiled and opened the door, motioning for him to follow her down the corridors. “I’m hoping it’s not a problem, but Philomena has been shedding more than usual, and I fear my sister may be slipping her some sugary treats here and there. Besides, you know some ponies react poorly to phoenix feathers, I’d rather she be trimmed by a professional than risk a foreign dignitary going deaf.” She shuddered. “Who knows what kind of incident that might cause. Better to be safe than sorry, right?”

“Of course.” Cratus followed the Princess down the hall. “Anything for my favorite customer.”

Eventually they found themselves in front of a large door, which Celestia opened with her magic.

“You’ve moved Philomena’s nest?”

Celestia gestured him to go inside. Her pet phoenix was, indeed, inside, sitting on a stick beside a meeting table.

Celestia closed the door behind him. “I did. It’s nice and quiet here. The walls are lined with whisperwood, so there’s no chance of any eavesdroppers, either.”

He nodded. “Ah. This isn’t a house call, then.”

“No.” Celestia sat down at the table and unfurled a map of Equestria and the lands beyond. “You are familiar with the changeling threat, I believe?”

“Of course. Nasty business, really.” He sat down opposite her and looked at the map. “Why, what are you in the market for?”

“We’ll get to that in a moment. For now, I must ask: what do you know of changeling magic, specifically? Its nature, I mean?”

He shrugged. “The magic they’re born with is hunger-based, if I’m not mistaken, necromancy mixed in with enchantment, if you’re asking for the pony version of that. It’s not a common thing in magical creatures, but it’s not unheard of.”

“And in your experience, what can hunger magic steal?” She took a scroll in her magic, along with a quill, ready to note any examples.

“Energy, especially emotional energy. Some devils steal memories, but only when their victim is ejecting a lot of emotional energy. They need an opening for that, a seam. A few others can steal more raw magical energy to fuel their powers, I think? I’m not sure I know where you’re going with this.”

Her nose curled. No further examples, that was a mixed blessing at best. “Have you heard of any creature that could steal a soul? Or store it, preserve it, even consume it?”

Cratus didn’t need long to think about that. “If we’re talking energy and memories together? A whole spirit? No, not without spellcraft, not on its own.”

“What about spells? Any sort of mimic that could steal a spell from a wizard?”

“You mean like stealing secrets and memories? Plenty of creatures can do that, water devils do nothing but that.”

“Yes, but they do not gain any abilities or skills in the process. I mean stealing the ability to cast a spell, as the victim would.”

Kratus shook his head, confused. “No, that sort of thing is impossible. As far as I know, no wizard has ever been able to do that, and there’s no way that kind of ability would ever exist in the wild: it’s too inefficient for survival. And even if it did, we’d know about it right away: things like that can’t hide, the prey disappearing would get noticed. No, that kind of thing could only evolve in a few places, and I know all of them. There’s no spellstealing beasts, anywhere.”

“Good.” Celestia nodded, pondering. “Good. That rules out a few options. Alright, I did not call you here simply to hear your opinion on the threat. I need to increase my security, and I would ask for your help in that.”

“Against the changelings?”

She sighed. “Probably, but not as we know them. Their Queen is working on something. I have a few suspicions on what, but no way to confirm it, so I’d rather take a more universal precaution, if you catch my drift.”

“Ah, I understand. Changeling magic is hunger-based. Anything they’ll throw at us will be hunger-based. You want to beat them at their own game.” He let out a grin, and pointed at one particular spot on the map: a valley, with a river flowing through it, that was marked with all sorts of monsters and a silly amount of different biomes flowing into one another. “There’s only one place in the world where magic like that is abundant, where you can find a natural predator to them.”

“The Limos Valley,” Celestia said. “A dangerous place, but one I believe you are quite familiar with by now, more than any other pony in Equestria.”

“Well, I don’t like to brag...”

“Please don’t: this will need to be done in secret. Think you could retrieve something of interest for me?”

Kratus grumbled to himself and scratched behind his ears. “To be honest, I’m not a hundred percent sure. Stuff that lives in that valley, it’s not natural. The river’s waters give everything a hunger unlike anything in the world. Most of what lives there is nasty and hostile by default. But if it’s for the defense of Equestria, I’m willing to risk a trek. What are you asking me to retrieve? Some Spyder Queen eggs? A herd of electric goats? An Ant Lion, perhaps, to make a trap?”

“No, no mere monsters. The enemy would be prepared for such a creature, it wouldn’t be enough. Moreover, if my scholars and your reports are correct, none of those monstrous creatures run the valley’s hunger magic in a pure enough form to be useful. No, I’m looking for something completely immune to changeling tricks.”

Kratus shook his head. “I don’t think I can get you something like that, sorry. There’s no animal running that magic pure enough to be completely immune. Resistant? Sure, everything in that valley is resistant to that kind of magic. But there’s a big difference between resistance and immunity, I’m sure you understand.”

She smirked. “Oh, I understand perfectly. But I wasn’t thinking of anything new for the bestiary.”

“I don’t follow.”

“I was thinking of something new for my garden.”

Kratus’s eyes went wide. “Oh. You’re asking me to go chopping and shopping. Yeah, that… that’s a tall order.”

“I am aware. But is it feasible? And can it be done in secret, without anyone, not even my own Royal Guards, any the wiser?”

Kratus stroked his beard, thinking. “I might know a few spots. But you’ll have to arrange the maintenance yourself. And I can’t be held responsible for the risk.”

“Of course.” Celestia smiled. “I’m well prepared for the risk. In fact, I am counting on it.”

---

“So is me shooting a lightning bolt a spell?” Live Wire asked.

“Occasionally, but not always,” Sunburst replied. “You have a lot of electrical energy, and simply moving that around doesn’t count as a spell.”

“I can shoot a beam from my horn,” Bastion said. “And I can make rough spying orbs. Does that count?”

“Technically, yes, but I wouldn’t want you to start practising this with a simple beam. You can do better, I’m sure,” Sage said. “How about those goop shots? Can you do those?”

“Umm, sure, but I don’t think that counts as a spell, either. It doesn’t take any effort.”

“You’re materialising something with that, though, not just spitting it?”

“No. It comes out of thin air.”

“Sounds like a cantrip, then, and a cantrip’s still a spell, even if it’s a minor one. Try it, I’ll see what it is.”

Bastion whipped his horn in a simple motion, making a small green flame spiral around it. When he brought his horn down, the flame grew and shot out, becoming a fleck of green slime that impacted on the dummy.

“Interesting. Let’s see how that works.” Sage made a motion with his hoof, and a blue flame came out, shooting a ray of ice.

Another attempt, and he shot a blast of green goop, identical to what Bastion had learned in the Hive. Sage gestured to the boy to come inspect it with him. “No firing on the range, please.”

Bastion blinked in confusion, and poked the green stuff Sage had shot at the dummy. It was exactly the same: colour, density, stickiness.

“Is that it?” Sage asked.

“Yes. That looks like it, exactly. How did you do that?”

“One of the perks of understanding chaos magic. Anyway, it is only a cantrip, but it’s something you can work with and develop.”

“So that’s a spell? That counts?”

“Yes. Don’t worry about definitions and what makes a spell a spell: it’s a scholarly debate that’s been going on for centuries and missing the point anyway. Just do what you did and follow along, we’ll fill in the blanks when we do solo practice.”

They both went back to the firing position after Sage got rid of the goop with a wave of his hoof. “Okay, so, start with quickening it. Make the motion faster, go through the same mental hoops, but add some nervous energy to speed it up. Follow my lead, my rhythm. Neutral position, and: one, two, fire!”

Clumsily, Bastion whipped his head around to fire again. The shot went wide, missing the dummy by two paces.

“Not like that. Swift and calculated motion, still, keep your focus on the target, the spell is an afterthought. One, two, fire!”

Again, the shot went wide, and not faster at all.

“Okay, try getting into the right state first. Think of something that triggers your adrenalin, that gets you pumped up. Then start to do the spell and release the tension at the same time.”

Bastion sighed and closed his eyes. “Okay. One, two, fire!”

He didn’t feel the shot leaving him. It was over before he knew it. He didn’t even move his head all that much.

Still, there was the goop shot, direct hit on the eyes.

“Excellent,” Sage said. “Now that the warm-up’s done, let’s do the actual exercise.” Sage walked away. “All yours, Sunburst.”

“Okay, get ready, Bastion. The aim of the game is to hit an approaching target before it gets to you.”

“I have to whatnow?”

There was a whoosh, and Bastion shot again, quickened as before.

The dummy had stopped after impact, but it had nearly barrelled right into him.

“Oh. You’re moving the dummies.” He looked to his sides. “Is this what you always do?”

“Sunburst animates the dummies for us when he needs to, yes. It’s good practice for other stuff,” Doldrum said. “I’ve never done quickening spells, though.”

Coming from a Pegasus, that wasn’t a very comforting thought. Bastion braced himself for the next try. Again, the dummy rushed him. He tensed up his whole body and let the spell fly.

The thing got tripped up by the ball of goop hitting its front leg, and it tumbled harmlessly to the ground.

Bastion caught his breath. He reached up to his ears. No ringing, no feedback. “I… I did it. I actually did it right that time.”

“You sound surprised,” Live Wire said.

“Sorry, it’s just kinda new. I don’t usually learn new stuff like this.”

“There’s no wrong way to learn, Bastion. Remember that.” Starlight said.

“Exactly. Pay attention to how the others do it and you’ll get even better,” Sunburst said. “Doldrum?”

Bastion’s ears perked.

Doldrum donned a familiar chest piece Bastion had seen on him the other day: a belt that was modelled to look like a wreath of laurel leaves. He’d worn that on his belly then, though. Once that was on, he put on an a pair of odd shields for his arms. The shields were vaguely leaf-shaped, but more triangular.

They also looked sharper at the edges, and pointier.

The longer he looked at them, the more Bastion started to think those weren’t really supposed to be shields.

“He has arm blades?” Starlight asked before Bastion could. “You let him play with arm blades. His parents let him play with arm blades?”

He pouted once he was done putting on his things. All of it was child-sized, but even so it looked genuine. “They’re not arm blades: it’s called a leaf shield. It’s how I’m learning magic.” He huffed and put his chest forward. “They give a little boost to my Wind Belt. It’s a traditional weapon.”

“Exactly,” Sage said. “Not a popular tradition anymore, but which one is these days, right?”

Starlight inspected the boy’s things, and gestured for him to raise up the arm blades. “Double pins, with a bracer design… ah, right, that is a leaf shield, the colours are a little unusual, is all. If I didn’t know any better I’d say you got that design right out of Maple Leaf’s book.”

“It is,” Doldrum said.

Starlight let out an impressed whistle. “Okay, right, I forgot: big reader. And those purple lines on the edges, those dull blade things, that’s Dragon Bone, right? And you make these yourself?”

“Uhuh. It’s one of the advanced kits, though, I’m not supposed to have these until I’m fourteen.”

Starlight rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that sounds familiar. Unicorn foals have the same issue with learning spells.”

Bastion narrowed his eyes as the Pegasus stood ready. With a gesture and a gentle breath in, Doldrum activated the belt, making the leaves rustle. A swish of his right hoof, and the magical energy concentrated into his leaf shield to form a swirling gust of wind that hit the dummy a little too wide.

Doldrum grumbled and tapped the chest piece. “I still can’t get the aim right. Can I use my other one, please?”

Bastion gulped and looked towards the equipment bag. His other one? He has more?

“Not today,” Sage replied. “Use the wind stuff first. The point of this exercise is fine control, you don’t need to break out the professional gear on the first try.”

He has better equipment. He’s wearing his training wheels.

Another breath and a swish, and this time Doldrum hit the dummy square in the face. The thing’s neck bent backward like it had been hit with a brick, then it was blown back to land on its side.

“Okay,” Sunburst said. “Now quicken it.”

Unlike Bastion, Doldrum didn’t need any practice to get his attack quickened. He got it firing rapidly without missing a beat, always aiming for the head as Sunburst rushed the dummy at him.

“Umm, Miss Starlight? Are artifacts like that… common?” Bastion asked.

“Good question,” Starlight replied. “I know Ice Arrows are pretty common; you need those for the Equestria Games. Wind Belts aren’t common, but I’m pretty sure ponies in Rainbow Falls use those from time to time, and weather managers in places withouth Pegasi. But in general, that whole arsenal? I kind of doubt any of it is really common.”

“They’re not common anymore, no, but they used to be,” Sage explained. “Artifice is a bit of a lost art, but the EEA is taking steps to preserve it, at least.”

Again, that name. “EEA?” Bastion asked.

“Equestria Education Association. Nopony you need to worry about, but folks I’ve had some interaction with, let’s say,” Sage replied. “Their head is very interested in artifacts, for good reason. It’s where Equestria’s most potent magic is. Not that that’s saying much, these days.”

“Okay, Doldrum, repulsor blasts now!” Sunburst called out.

“Re-rep…” Starlight practically choked on her words. “He has whatnow?”

This next skill didn’t rely on conducting anything out of the chest piece, from the looks of it, but rather a stored charge inside Doldrum’s shields. Once the dummy came close enough, Doldrum raised a shield and tensed up, as far as Bastion could see.

The blast that erupted from the shield knocked the practice dummy clean in the air.

“Again.” Sunburst lined up the dummy for another rush.

Another attack, another blast, and Bastion started to see why Doldrum had no problems quickening his spells, if indeed spells were what he was doing. Those repulsor blasts had a precise range where they were effective, and they drove their target back a set distance, too. A skill like that would be useless if it couldn’t be timed just right.

“Now twinning, show us how it’s done,” Sunburst said. “Air cleave, two targets, go!”

It was with mixed feelings that Bastion watched his bunkmate struggle. Whatever magic was in that Wind Belt, it was not something ready for precise aim, not when it was shot with a swiping cleave motion. Doldrum could make it shoot two projectiles easily enough, but controlling the trajectory was not Assault’s strong suit.

Bastion’s mind reeled. He was already doing the calculations in his head.

“Curve it a little more, about a hair down,” he said before even realising it.

“What?” Doldrum asked.

“It’s a curved shot, isn’t it? Technically, even if you’re shooting straight ahead? If you’re using the same amount of force as your last shot, you want to turn your hoof down as it passes right… there.” Bastion gently took the hoof in his magic and pointed it.

Doldrum let out the shot, and both of the wind cleaves hit the dummies in the face. “Oh. Thanks.” He looked down at the Wind Belt again. “It’s this thing, really. I’m better with ice and lightning, air is kind of my weakest one.”

“Sure, but your Ice Amulet shoots hailstones that can knock a pony’s head clean off, so let’s just stick with this safe one for now, okay?” Sunburst said. “Speaking of which, Live Wire, you’re next.”

Doldrum sighed and stepped back to let Live Wire start.

“You really make all that stuff yourself?” Bastion asked. “Do you have your own forge or something?”

“No, some stuff I have to order out, I can’t make everything myself. You can get the parts for some of the kits pretty easily, though,” Doldrum replied, his ears down as if he were embarrassed about his skills for some reason. “And they send you the crystals to charge up and scratch in the magic you need.”

“And… how does that work, exactly?”

Doldrum shrugged. “Crystal carry a charge. Ponies have a charge, like lightning in a cloud. Ponies can put magic into crystal. Crystal can scratch magic into other things. Pegasi used to do it a lot with weapons, Unicorns used to do it a lot with amulets and mirrors, to write things in.”

“And Earth ponies used to do it a lot with potions.”

“Oh,” Doldrum said. “You do know about that.”

“You might say I have a friend who dabbles.”

“Well, I only dabble, too, really. I’m not that good compared to a Unicorn.”

“Don’t say things like that. Magic is magic, and you shouldn’t be ashamed of what you can do. You’re already leagues above anyone your age,” Sage insisted. “And artifact magic is where the real power lies, that’s what the EEA says, so no holding your head low.”

“I’ll say. You must be quite the tinkerer if you can make things like that,” Starlight said. “And a good reader.”

“I guess.” Doldrum looked away.

Bastion pondered, watching Live Wire take his time with the quickening and twinning practice. Sure, the Unicorn was powerful, but he was born powerful, there was nothing to gain or learn there. Doldrum, though, offered a real chance at becoming stronger.

Artifact magic is where the real power lies.

Ponies can put magic into things.

I’d have to get a pony to get their magic into something, then, if I wanted to.

Or just use someone else’s artifacts.

“Hmm?” Doldrum shot him a surprised glance. “Did you say something?”

Bastion quickly looked away. He flicked his ears, the sound of Live Wire’s electrical buzzing distracted him from his thoughts.

“No, nothing, nothing, just thinking.”

“About what?”

Snap out of it. I’m not seriously thinking of stealing somepony’s artifacts, am I? No, that’d be horrible. I can’t do that.

“Nothing. It’s nothing. I’ll have to see if I can order some parts for myself sometime. Is it difficult? Making artifacts, I mean?”

“Not really, if you take your time to learn.”

Bastion felt the blood drain from his face.

Time.

Right. Making artifacts takes time.

And Chrysalis is coming.

“Sounds like a neat idea. I’ll have to look into that sometime.”

---

Starlight lay awake that night. As before, Sunburst passed by once it seemed the boys were quiet enough and asleep.

Okay, day 2 went fine, first full day at camp went fine without a hitch. Now you can get some alone time with Sunburst… or find out what he’s been up to all these years. Who knows, maybe he’s got his own cutie mark conspiracy going on, and we can do a little merger?

She pushed the thought aside and snuck out after him. He went into a bunk on one of the lower levels of the hillside, and she waited patiently. The lights in the room were already on.

Just go back. Sunburst said it was a teambuilding exercise. He would tell you if it was something bad, or something special. He’s your friend, after all, he wouldn’t keep this a secret, would he?

With a minor spell of silence to cloak her hoofsteps, she inched closer and closer. Eventually, she got to the front door, and put her ear to the wall.

“Okay, I say we burn them,” she heard Sage say.

Burn them?

“Yeah! Smoke those things!” another voice called out.

Bulk Biceps? Who are they going to burn?

“Nah, we can’t, bro,” a female voice replied. “That’ll, like, draw way too much attention.”

And that’s Tree Hugger. Oh, no, what’s Sunburst got himself into?

“Well, I can take care of this, no problem,” Sage offered, “But all of you are fresh out of luck if this keeps going.”

“I agree,” Sunburst said. “You’d better make up your minds quickly, before it’s too late. Do you kill them or not?”

They’re… they’re talking about burning and killing? Killing whom?

Starlight slapped herself.

Snap out of it, Starlight. There’s a logical explanation for this, there has to be. Just think. Who are they planning to burn, and why isn’t it a big deal?

She thought about it, but nothing came.

Okay. Worst-case scenario, these are all enemy changelings and I have to get everyone to safety. Best way to do that is a delayed flare: that’ll wake up the whole camp in one go if I have to. But I won’t have to, because this is just me misunderstanding things again. All I have to do is walk in, and I’ll see: this isn’t as bad as it sounds.

She concentrated and cast her spell: a simple burst of flare energy that was set to launch into the air and explode. With that set, she moved to knock on the door.

Then her flare fizzled. Someone had switched it off. She didn’t even have time to react as the door opened and Sage motioned her in. “Ah, fresh blood for the altar. Come on in, you’re late.”

Slowly, carefully, Starlight walked in.

At the center of the room, there was a table large enough for ten ponies, at least. On her right she saw Tree Hugger, brandishing what looked like a blood-stained club. Starlight would have worried, if behind that she didn’t also see Bulk Biceps wearing the tiniest little knight’s helmet she’d ever laid eyes upon.

Sage sat down at her left, and motioned to her to join him.

Sunburst was at the head of the table. “Starlight, hello! Come to join us at our little team building exercise?”

She took a few tentative steps forward. “This is what you’re doing? This is the ‘good stuff’?”

Bulk Biceps and Tree Hugger nodded.

Sunburst shrugged from behind a screen made up of a piece of cardboard folded in three. “Yup. My terrible, dark secret is revealed. I am a Dungeon Master.”

“Ogres and Oubliettes? You’re playing Ogres and Oubliettes?”

“A homebrew version, with mods thanks to our DM over there,” Sage explained. “He likes to keep things interesting, and accurate.”

Sunburst rolled his eyes and adjusted his glasses. “Well, I mean, someone has to, right? The official material gets things wrong by at least three levels per spell, and don’t get me started on categorisation. I mean, who in their right mind calls ‘Wish’ an evocation spell? It’s clearly a divination spell. Speaking of spells, you’re still all caught in the blood-draining mosquito trap. Unless you want to join in, Starlight?”

She finally sat down. “Umm, can I? I don’t know how.”

“Here, you can have my character sheet from last year.” Sage cast a few spells on a sheet he had lying around and levitated it to her.

She scanned it quickly, but she got the gist of it. “Well ‘o Wisp, spirit points, umm… okay, and my spell list at level one…” She slammed her hoof on the table. “Okay, I cast level 1 Chill on the cloud, and spend one spirit point to empower it with selective frostbite.”

Sunburst nodded and smiled. “Okay. As you are all caught and swarmed by the mosquitoes, a cold wind washes over you. You feel it touch your hides, but take no damage. Instead, the insects all start to creak and stop, falling dead on the ground. When you look up, you see...” He gestured to Starlight.

“What?” she asked.

“You’re supposed to describe your character now: what they look like, clothing.”

“Oh. Umm, sorry, I thought I was supposed to keep playing.”

“This is playing,” Sunburst replied. “So go on.”

Right. Playing. You’re playing with Sunburst again. Make it count, Starlight.