A Knight-to-be

Story and Original Characters by MooMinded and Meiou
Editing by Peach
Trademark characters and locations are owned by Hasbro.

Near the ruins where the Elements of Harmony changed Nightmare Moon back into Princess Luna, a much newer and smaller stone house with a thatch roof was the home of Ponyville’s local blacksmith, Manablade. Like many great blacksmiths, he could craft some of the finest weapons, but these days, he mainly used his abilities for making small accessories and trinkets for the local ponies and tourists.

One fine early morning, Manablade awoke from bed and used his unicorn magic to braid his long, red mane. Satisfied with its appearance, he went to the makeshift kitchen consisting of firewood and iron utensils to prepare a breakfast of some eggs and toast. Mana was a stallion who lived in solitude after a hard day’s work in Ponyville. Sure, the town was a nice place filled with familiar faces, but after the noise—and sometimes even crazy events that befell the town, such as a Parasprite invasion, random celebrations by Pinkie Pie, or even the reality-warping of Discord—Mana liked to relax in a quiet, secluded environment. Manablade was once a part of Celestia’s Royal Guard, but since had been assigned to Ponyville to watch over the town and the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. He wasn’t one of the most sociable ponies, preferring his solitude, which is why he lived so far away from town. However, that fact didn’t stop him from having friends on the side, or the occasional visitor….

That’s when Manablade realized that his daily visitor was about to arrive at her scheduled time. Thinking fast, Manablade used his horn to open a trap door on his roof, and a gray pegasus pony with a yellow mane, bubbles on her flank, and a mailbag loaded with letters crash-landed on the floor. She shook her head and looked at him, smiling with one eye looking up and the other looking down.

“Hi, Mana! I brought you a letter!” she announced, taking out a letter from her mailbag and handing it to him with her mouth.

“Thank you, Derpy,” Mana said as he used his magic to transfer the letter from Derpy’s mouth to his table. “

You’re welcome, Mana! And have a muffin-tastic day!” she said cheerfully. With that, Derpy flew up, cuing Mana to open the trap door again before she could do any damage. Derpy had a habit of suddenly dropping in and making a hole in his roof in the past. After numerous repairs, Mana decided to install a trap door that he’d open upon her arrival, since, despite her clumsy nature; Derpy was a mail mare who was remarkably punctual.

Manablade had always done his best to prepare for anything that would come his way, but nothing could prepare him for what he was soon to experience. He looked down at the letter and noticed the royal seal on it from Canterlot Castle. This letter clearly was important, so he wasted no time opening it to see what it contained. It was from Shining Armor, brother to Twilight Sparkle and Captain of the Royal Guard.

“Dear Manablade:

Recently, a young, promising pegasus colt has been recruited into our training regimen. He shows much promise, but, unfortunately, we do not believe he's suitable for group training due to his…eccentric nature.

Therefore, we will be sending him to you. We are aware of the history and experience you have with the Royal Guard, and we hope he can learn more from you than he could from us. Princess Celestia says it is possible for you to train him and help nurture his abilities so he can return to the team to graduate as a full-time Royal Canterlot Guard. His name is Copper Lance, and he will arrive in one week. We hope you are prepared for his arrival by then!

Best regards,
Shining Armor”

Just then, a loud crash was heard as an armored pegasus colt with green fur and a short, black mane crashed through Mana’s ceiling, leaving a large hole in it with debris falling. He appeared to be equipped with a lance and a shield. The clumsy pony stood up, emerging from the rubble, and then saluted Mana while pulling up his visor, revealing his lime-colored eyes.

“Copper Lance reporting for duty, Sir Manablade!” announced the stalwart pony. Manablade looked at Copper and then at the damage done to his ceiling—it was much worse than anything Derpy had done in the past…. Manablade coughed from the debris and looked the pony over, confused.

"Wait a moment, the letter said you'd be here in one week. What are you doing here so early?" Manablade pointed out.

"Well the other Knights REALLY wanted me to be on my way, you'd be surprised how quickly they helped pack my things to send me on my way! It's almost as if they wanted me to be on my way to be the best I could be!" He answered, even though it sounded more like the other Knights wanted to be rid of this nuisance as quickly as possible so they could continue to work and train with Copper miles away from them so they didn't have to worry about him getting in the way. Another piece of lumber broke off from the roof, which landed on Mana’s breakfast, smashing it along with his plate.

“This just isn’t my day,” said Manablade, putting his hoof on his head and then sighing out of distress. Copper hadn’t been there even for a full minute and already things were going wrong. He was going to need all the patience he could muster and more.

Later the day, after some cleaning up and tedious repair, Manablade led Copper Lance outdoors, behind his house. Mana had a few straw pony dummies with targets on them there, which he occasionally used himself as targets for his own training, but for now he was going to have Copper use them for his training. “Alright, show me what you can do,” instructed Manablade. The blacksmith trotted to the side to give Copper some space, and then sat down to observe. If Copper had no idea how enter a building properly, chances are his skills with a weapon also left a lot to be desired.

Copper braced his small shield, which was strapped to one of his front legs, while standing on two hooves. He readied his blunt-ended lance with one hoof, aiming it toward a straw dummy. With a face of determination, Copper then flew upward and swooped downward with the lance pointed in front of him, impaling the target with his lance perfectly through the bull’s-eye. He then maneuvered around the other dummies, impaling the rest of them with his lance relentlessly as they stacked up on the pole, one after another. His lance now resembled a giant shish kabob, but he was not done yet. The last target was at a far distance. Copper flung the skewered dummies off his lance and threw it like a javelin. The pole-arm flew through the air and then successfully hit the bull’s-eye with a subdued thump.

Manablade was rather impressed; but since those were just dummies, he decided to try something else. Using his unicorn magic, he lifted a large stick from the ground and swung it on Copper when he had his back turned. Copper managed to block with his shield out of pure reflex. Mana raised a brow, realizing that maybe he shouldn’t be so easy on this trainee. Concentrating harder, he levitated multiple sticks from all around and sent them to attack Copper from different angles. The guard-in-training blocked as many branches as he could with his shield. With those he did not intercept, he dodged with skillful maneuvers. Copper then prepared his lance again and, with one swing from the heavy pole-arm, broke all the sticks in half before they could land on the ground.

Copper Lance stood in place, triumphant, though breathing heavily from such a physical display of skill and precision. Despite how much of a dope he appeared to be at first, he was quite focused and graceful when faced with the challenge. Copper removed his helmet and armor for a moment to rest, upon which gesture Manablade noticed Copper’s cutie mark: a helmet accompanied by a lance and a shield. Clearly, he really did have a special talent for the art of combat.

“Impressive…. I can’t imagine why Shining Armor is having problems with him,” Mana thought to himself. The way Copper handed his lance was unlike anything he had ever seen; it was used more in the style of a spear than a bulky weapon made for charging.

“S-So how was my performance, Sir Manablade?” asked Copper Lance.

“It was very good, Copper. Take a rest for now; I’ll think of what else I can put you through to better your skill,” Mana replied. Copper smiled and wiped the sweat from his brow. With that, Mana turned around and breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps fostering and training Copper wasn’t going to be as difficult as he thought it would be.

Suddenly, a distant rumbling sound and the sight of smolder caught Copper Lance’s attention. “DRAGON!!!” he yelled, grabbing his lance with his mouth and suddenly flying off toward the direction of the event. Mana had no chance to say anything, but instead watched in shock as Copper flew as quickly as his wings could carry him toward a train of smoke in the distance. Manablade then heard the sound of a train whistle. Uh oh….

Arriving at the scene, Copper landed atop the train tracks, holding his lance in his hoof and pointing it forward at an incoming train. “Stop, foul beast, or taste my steel!” he commanded. The train’s whistle blew repeatedly as it sped faster towards him, about to collide with the brave pegasus. Manablade quickly teleported behind Copper, grabbed him, and then pulled him off the tracks as the train barely missed them both. “Sir Manablade, I appreciate your assistance, but that dragon is heading into Ponyville! We must warn the citizens and take it down before it hurts anypony!” he declared, about to fly off again. Before Copper could flee, Mana used his magic to restrain him.

“Copper!” barked Manablade. “That’s not a dragon; it’s just a train!” he said sternly, finally releasing Copper Lance as the pegasus suddenly fell to the ground. Copper shook his head, rubbed his eyes, and then looked towards the direction of the departing train.

“But that smoke and…fire…. Are you sure?” asked Copper.

“EXTREMELY sure,” Mana confirmed. What happened? Copper was doing just fine a moment ago, so why did he suddenly make such a peculiar mistake?

Manablade realized he had to go to Ponyville and open up shop at this point, but it was clear he couldn’t leave Copper Lance alone—not after seeing Copper nearly get crushed by a train. If Mana weren’t there, who knows what could have happened…. He had no choice but to bring Copper to work with him. However, Manablade warned Copper not to bring his lance with him, since other ponies might feel threatened by someone who is not yet an official royal guard walking around Ponyville with a large weapon like that. Unfortunately, Copper refused, much to Mana’s dismay. The obstinate pegasus said that a true knight always must be prepared, and that if something were to happen in Ponyville, he’d not only be defenseless, but he’d have less of a chance of helping anypony in need. Manablade grunted, frustrated that Copper was not going anywhere without his lance….

Manablade sternly instructed Copper to follow and stay where he could see him. Copper nodded respectfully and followed and walked alongside Mana, remaining silent, having noticed that Mana was getting frustrated with him already. Occasionally, Copper tried to break the ice with some casual conversation, but Mana responded with brief answers that made it difficult to the dialogue. The two of them walked down a path through the Everfree Forest: a shortcut that would lead them to the outskirts of Ponyville. The daylight hours allowed them to avoid most of the more dangerous creatures, such as Manticores, Cockatrices, and Timberwolves. Manablade was thankful for this fact, since Copper could have attempted to challenge such beasts if discovered, causing more problems. However, Copper knew how to get into trouble on his own.

Copper Lance had wandered off during a brief moment that Manablade took his eyes off him. Mana looked around, trying to keep calm, until he heard Copper’s voice in the distance. “How wonderful! Such a beautiful flower! This would make a fine gift for a lovely maiden,” Copper’s voice sounded through some nearby foliage. Mana followed the noise behind some tall grass and bushes, only to see that Copper encountered very large carnivorous plant! It opened wide its thorny maw, dripping poisonous fluids from its fang-like spikes. Well, this predicament couldn’t be too bad. After all, Copper had his lance handy, so he could easily defend himself from such a creature, right?

Strangely enough, Copper Lance was not at all in a battle stance. Instead, he held his lance casually as he extended one hoof to touch the plant. Copper had no idea he was in danger! With its mouth agape, the plant lunged toward Copper, but Mana quickly used his unicorn magic to form a protective barrier around the green pegasus. The plant clamped down on the magical crimson barrier, only to have its teeth-like thorns broken off upon impact. Roaring in pain, the plant retracted and closed its damaged mouth. During the entire incident, Copper didn’t flinch, instead watching the plant from behind the barrier fearlessly. Manablade dispelled the barrier, and then trotted up to Copper Lance in a huff.

“Oh, Sir Manablade! Did you come to admire this fine specimen of flower as well? Isn’t it just exquisite?” asked Copper. Sighing, Mana used his magic to pull Copper by his ear like an angry mother, and proceeded to drag him back onto the trail. The disobedient colt was to receive a lecture when they arrived in Ponyville….

Upon exiting the Everfree Forest, Manablade sighed with relief, now that they were out of any real danger. In front of the two ponies stood Fluttershy’s Cottage, where the bashful pegasus mare currently was tending to the many cute and cuddly forest critters. Such a sight was rather soothing to Mana’s stressed mind. Fluttershy stuck her head inside of a tree to check on a nest of owls in the hollowed trunk.

“Oh, good morning! I see you’ve been a busy mama owl looking after your babies. They’re so beautiful; you must be a proud mommy,” she said, admiring the owl family before feeding them.

“GREAT CELESTIA! That beast is trying to devour that fair maiden! We must save her!” shouted Copper chivalrously. In his mind, it seemed that Fluttershy’s head’s was not in the hole of a tree, but rather in the mouth of a tall, creeping beast. He flew in to try to “rescue” her, but Manablade quickly grasped the trainee by his tail with his magic, holding him still. Despite being restrained, Copper took his lance and threw it with such strength that it flew at breakneck speed towards the top of the tree. The pole-arm not only pierced through it, but it also snapped off the entire upper half. Fluttershy and the family of owls were now exposed, the incoming sunlight annoying them as they averted and closed their eyes. Fluttershy let out a startled yelp, looking around and seeing the lance through the now-severed upper half of the tree on the ground. The family of owls, disturbed by the incoming sunlight gave a disgruntled look in Fluttershy’s direction.

“Oh, my! I’m so sorry! I promise I’ll try to fix it! Oh, please don’t be mad,” Fluttershy whimpered, the mother owl covering her chicks from the sunlight, still looking annoyed.

“That fiendish monster! How dare he try to devour a maiden as fair as you? And he had already devoured a happy family of owls? Fear not, for you and those noble creatures are now free from its belly!” declared Copper as Fluttershy and the owls looked toward him and Manablade.

“Huh? Who are you? What monster? Manablade? What are you doing here?” asked Fluttershy, confused and flustered. Fluttershy already knew Manablade, because he’d usually pass her home en route from his home to Ponyville and back.
“Why, I am Copper Lance, a knight in training! No need to thank me!” he introduced himself.

“Th-Thank you? But…why would I—” questioned a bewildered Fluttershy.

“COPPER, what were you thinking? You could have hurt her!” reprimanded Mana.

“What? Hurt her? I rescued her! She’s just startled! It’s not every day a beast tries to take one’s head off, you know!” argued Copper.

Copper Lance trotted triumphantly to the fallen tree part to retrieve his lance. Before he could pull out his weapon, Manablade’s horn illuminated and the lance disappeared, leaving a wisp of smoke. “My lance! Where’d it go?” asked Copper.

“I sent it back to my home. You weren’t saving her; you were putting her in a great deal of danger! That ‘beast’ as you call it was the home of her owls, and you destroyed it!” contended Mana. Fluttershy stood perpendicular to the two colts, cowering a bit and trying to make them stop arguing.

“T-To be fair, it was getting a little crowded in there, since the babies were um…getting bigger! And now they have a nice…view of the sun?” she said, followed by an awkward smile. Fluttershy was trying to excuse Copper’s destruction of the tree, even though the owls themselves still weren’t happy.

Copper Lance looked at Manablade with an expression of confidence. “See? Even the maiden herself is not distressed! Let’s suppose the ‘beast’ wasn't a threat.... What happens if there's an ACTUAL threat in Ponyville while we're there? I'd be unprepared! A true knight is never without his steel; certainly you of all ponies should know this!” he exclaimed.
“You've been here awhile now. Have you actually noticed me carrying around my sword everywhere I go? No? Because I don’t,” Mana pointed out.

“That’s because you have magic to back you up! I don't have that luxury, Mana! I'm a pegasus. I can't create barriers, shoot magic, or teleport myself or anypony to safety…. My lance is all I have, and the only thing I'm good with,” Copper said as he looked at his cutie mark of a lance, shield, and helmet—his one true talent.

“It’s not always easy, and nopony is bound by their cutie mark. Despite my cutie mark being a sword and a book, swordsmanship and magic are far from the only things I’m capable of. I learned to be a successful blacksmith in Ponyville, but you don’t see me needing a cutie mark of an anvil to prove that I’m good at it. Your ordained talent may be combat, but you also need to learn when you or somepony else is in danger or not!” explained Manablade. Copper sighed sadly, glanced at Fluttershy, then at Manablade, and then finally at the ground.

“I’m…sorry…. I just…want to protect everypony,” Copper said remorsefully. Fluttershy genuinely pitied him. She knew he wasn’t a bad pony.

“I, of all ponies, can sympathize with you,” Manablade began consoling. “Look—just please try to make sure the situation is actually dangerous before taking action! Verify that what you think you see is actually there!” he continued.

“Understood…. I’m…truly sorry, fair maiden…. I didn’t mean to hurt you or your animals,” Copper said apologetically.
“It’s okay…. You were just trying to help. I know your heart was in the right place…and it’s nice to know I have another pony looking out for me,” Fluttershy assured, trying not only to be patient with Copper, but also to rebuild his self-esteem.

Manablade look at the position of the sun. “We mustn’t be late in opening shop. Sorry for the trouble, Fluttershy. Let’s go, Copper Lance,” he instructed. Copper nodded humbly. “Farewell, fair maiden,” he said, following Mana in the direction of Ponyville. Upon their leave, Fluttershy took the family of owls onto her back and searched around for another tree for them to occupy. It wasn’t long until the two colts arrived at Mana’s smithy in the Ponyville commercial district. Manablade opened shop and ignited the flames of his forge and unveiled various decorative items and accessories on display for purchase, such as chains, bracelets, rings, silverware, and even weapons for wall-mounting.

Copper was instructed to stand watch in front of the smithy. Shortly thereafter, pony customers arrived. After verifying that they did not look suspicious, Copper saluted them as they entered the shop. These patrons came to Manablade to have custom necklaces forged for them. Doing business with his customers as usual, Mana focused on his work, momentarily forgetting about Copper…. Back outside, Copper simply stared at the clouds, lost in thought and daydreaming, until he noticed something in the distance…. He looked behind him to check if Mana was watching, but the busy blacksmith was in the process of molding small and delicate details into a necklace. Copper flew up just a bit so he could get a better look. What he saw appeared to be—no; it couldn’t be…. His mind must have been playing tricks on him, he thought.

Copper Lance shook his head and squinted, trying to identify the thing before making any rash moves out of poor judgment. After the image became a little clearer, his eyes widened in alarm. Okay, this time, Copper was sure it was something dangerous! He made a swift landing and darted into the smithy. Using his hoof, Copper smashed the glass on Mana’s display of weapons and seized a lance. Manablade stopped working on the necklace and looked towards Copper with a shocked expression.

“NO TIME TO TALK! SOMETHING’S HAPPENING!” exclaimed Copper, beginning to dash off afterward. Manablade tried to use his magic to stop him, but upon turning around suddenly, Mana’s tail drew too close to the forge and caught fire. He quickly faced his tail and did his best to blow it out. By the time Mana put out the flame, Copper was out of his range. Mana noticed something falling in the distance…. Oh, no—what did Copper do now? The nearby citizens of Ponyville were gathering around to witness the event.

Manablade now fully understood what was wrong with Copper Lance. While Copper’s abilities with the lance and shield were exceptional, he always had extreme difficulty distinguishing between benign circumstances and real danger, had an overactive imagination, and had problems following instructions or taking orders. His skills combined with such negative traits meant he was a danger to himself and everypony else. This is why he was sent to Manablade. Copper wasn’t ready to fight with a group; in an actual emergency or mission, he’d become more of a hindrance than a help. He could have targeted the wrong individual or even allow the true enemy to escape! Manablade clearly had to correct Copper’s behavior, but he had no idea where to start, or even if he could help at all. Sure, he had helped others with their problems before, but Copper was a case more extreme than what he was used to managing.

Manablade quickly followed after Copper Lance. As he approached the scene, he saw the hot-air balloon slowly descend further and further as heated air leaked from a large rupture in the balloon, until its decent was stopped with a rustling sound. When Mana arrived at the crash site, he saw that the giant, deflated balloon was surrounded by ponies. The balloon’s carrying basket hung from a rope impaled by and wrapped around the thrown lance against a nearby tree. The pole-arm stuck there, securing the basket above the ground like a nail holding a picture frame against a wall. Peeking from the basket were Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo—three filly friends who always went on adventures to earn their cutie marks. The little ponies seemed uninjured, but they were looking a little anxious and shaky as they looked down.

Examining the balloon closely, Manablade saw the gaping hole where the air escaped, and that the balloon design was the painting of a rather monstrous face. Mana concluded that Copper mistook the balloon for a monster, threw a lance at it, punctured it, and sent it plummeting. Copper was atop the balloon, mouth clamped on the fabric, and tugging at it as if he were trying to drag it. He continued for a few seconds before he noticed Manablade standing before him. Mana looked completely infuriated, wearing a large scowl across his face as he aggressively snorted, giving Copper a rage-induced look that showed that he had lost all patience with this screw-up of a knight.

“COPPER! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! You almost got Apple Bloom and her friends KILLED! This is what I meant about double-checking a situation!! Think about what could have happened if somepony had been below that balloon when you busted it! They could have been seriously hurt or paralyzed!! …GAH! Go home and stay there before do I something to a CERTAIN pony that I will regret!” demanded Manablade, trying not to say even worse things in front of the other ponies.
“But…Sir Manablade…I did as you said! I…I,” stammered Copper as he looked down and then closed his eyes, trying to hold back his tears. He lowered his head, unable even to look Mana in the eye. “Yes, sir,” Copper said timidly before taking off, flying away from Ponyville and back toward the Everfree Forest. After he left, Mana used his magic to help the Cutie Mark Crusaders down from the large basket suspended from the tree, checking them for any signs of harm.\

“Hey, what did you do that for?” asked Scootaloo.

“Because Copper Lance destroyed your hot air balloon and put you in harm’s way. Now tell me: are any of you hurt?” replied Manablade, still frustrated.

“We’re fine,” Sweetie Belle began, “but you don’t understand. He didn’t make the balloon pop!” Mana raised his eyebrows upon hearing this.

“…Excuse me?” he said. “That was…actually us…. We tried to get our cutie mark for makin’ hot air balloons, and when we were done, we decided to give it a test run,” Apple Bloom explained with a guilty expression.

“I painted the monster design on it! Isn’t it cool?” interjected Scootaloo. Manablade just stared at her with a serious look, cocking a brow, which made the filly pegasus back down. He was not in the mood for playing around.

The trio of ponies continued to explain. As they stated before, the three little fillies tried to earn their cutie marks for hot air balloons, but they had attempted to erect one without supervision or permission, using whatever materials they could get their hooves on. Without precautions or proper construction, they ended up riding in a faulty hot-air balloon. Prior to Copper’s arrival, the balloon had ruptured in the center because of its crude design after enough flight time. To make matters worse, the basket that carried the girls was not tied to the balloon correctly, and so some ropes either unraveled or snapped, causing the basket to unhinge while airborne.

The girls further explained that, when Copper noticed their perilous descent, he threw his lance with such precision that it caught and tangled a couple of ropes around it, pinning the basket to a tree before it could crash to the ground. The noble colt then proceeded to grab the balloon while it was still dropping and then pulled it as it deflated, trying to divert it from landing near anypony. From the testimony of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Copper Lance appeared to be a hero. However, Mana remained skeptical, saying nothing at this point.

“I know what we did was reckless—and dangerous, too, but…we didn’t mean to get anypony into trouble!” claimed Apple Bloom, lowering her head for a moment.

“We didn’t think it through and we put OURSELVES in danger…. If anything, we should be in trouble not him,” Sweetie Belle added.

“WHAT? Why should we get in trou—I mean, yeah, I guess,” Scootaloo said reluctantly.

“So, please don’t be too rough on him, mister,” continued Apple Bloom, looking up to Manablade and showing him big, sad eyes. Mana originally suspected that these ponies could be trying to take the fall for Copper with a false testimony at first…but they didn’t know Copper, so why would they even bother? Was it possible Mana was really wrong, and that Copper, in fact, had done as the Crusaders described? If so…then Mana had a lot of apologizing to do…. Beginning to believe their tale and regretting his lashing out at Copper, Mana closed his eyes and sighed.

“Look; you three just go home and I won’t tell anypony about what you three were doing. It seems you’ve learned your lessons,” Manablade said, shaking his head lightly.

“Really? Yer letting us off the hook?” asked Apple Bloom. Scootaloo exhaled with relief as she wiped the nervous sweat from her brow with her hoof.

“Just go on home,” Mana ordered, turning around to return to his smithy. He said nothing more as the regretful fillies watched him leave. For now, Manablade had to return to work and finish what he had started, but he knew he owed Copper an apology…. Thus, he decided to close shop early when he was finished and return home.

Upon entering his abode, Manablade saw that Copper Lance was in a corner of the room, sitting down and facing the wall like a child who had been punished. “All right…. After talking to the girls, I…have to say that I’m very sorry for yelling at you,” Mana apologized as he trotted close to Copper.

“No; I understand…. All I do is make things worse and put everypony in danger. If you don’t want to train me anymore, it’s fine…. I’m sure Shining Armor and the others will understand, Sir Manablade,” Copper expressed.

“Copper, I…just wish you would not judge things immediately or jump to conclusions…. However, it seems that I should take my own advice,” explained Mana. “When I arrived, I judged based on what I saw and jumped to a conclusion that you were at fault. It was wrong of me not to make sure things weren’t as they seemed,” Manablade confessed.

“But, Sir Manablade,” Copper began, turning his head partially away from the wall and then looking at Mana, “after everything that happened today…what makes you think I could possibly have what it takes to join the royal guard?” Mana smiled briefly before replying.

“Because…after talking to Apple Bloom and her friends, I saw that, despite your flaws, you only want do right thing and help anypony regardless…. That is the first true step to becoming a great knight,” he noted. Copper turned and faced Manablade completely and smiled earnestly.

“So you believe in me, after all…. It’s an honor to hear that from you, Sir Manablade!” he declared, flying up to Mana and wrapping his hooves around him in an embrace. Manablade cleared his throat and gently pushed Copper off his body, but returned a soft smile himself afterward.

That night, Copper slept in a hammock Manablade installed for him, holding onto his lance like a teddy bear. As the knight-to-be slumbered, Mana decided to write a little letter to Shining Armor in Canterlot. To his surprise, he actually learned a valuable lesson from his day with Copper, despite Copper being sent to learn from him.

“Dear Shining Armor:

Today was my first day attempting to serve as a trainer for Copper Lance, but I feel that he taught me more than I taught him. Copper, while passionate about becoming a knight, still has much room for improvement. With his constant mistakes, I honestly felt he was a hopeless case. But upon realizing his gift was used correctly in the latest challenge he faced, I concluded that anypony whose gifts are fostered with love, discipline, and patience, can accomplish great feats, no matter who they are or what quirks they have.

Your trusted friend,

Manablade”

After signing his letter, Mana used his magic to seal it in an envelope to give to Derpy to deliver the following morning. He then blew out the candle on the writing table, and went to sleep.

Author's Note

First and foremost, I didn't steal this fic from MooMinded on Deviantart, I am in fact MooMinded. MeanMotorScooter is my alternate screen name.

First of all, My OC Copper Lance is loosely based off Don Quixote, who also had a very vivid imagination and mistook things for monsters or dragons (most notably a windmill) I've always liked Knight characters, and I figured a character with qualities like these would be interesting to write for.

Mana Blade is an OC belonging to my friend MeiouBunny. I apologize if he seems a bit like a Mary-Sue (or Gary-Stu in this case) considering how he seems to have a high rank, a great deal of power/magic, and a responsibility to watch the mane six/elements of harmony. I really tried my best to give him flaws and a more developed personality with out making him seem too over powered or perfect while at the same time making him close to what the original creator envisioned. I also figured because of his experiences/abilities and his desire for solitude, he'd be perfect to pair with Copper Lance.

Hopefully I can justify his achievements/status/powers in the future while also helping him gain additional development and show he has some sort of depth.