Getting Started

(present day)

“So what do you two wanna do now?” I ask.

“I must meet with Sister. It is time for us to change day to night. So I bid you farewell.” Luna says with a slight regal lilt as she turns and walks back inside.

“What about you Foe?”

“It’s shift change for the guard. You can stay out here or I can walk you back to your room. The choice is up to you.” She says.

Standing there I consider my options. Stay or go. I’m not really tired yet. Then again I don’t want to stand out here and practice all day. “Well Mira is wondering where I am by this point, so I guess I could head back to my room”

“Alright, this way.” Foe says as she turns to the doors.

Five minutes later and we are standing back in front of my door.

“You’re welcome Walker.” She says with a smile. She turns around and walks back down the hall to do her shift change thing.

I open the door to my room and holy fuck.

“Hey Mira, I think this is the ni-“ My head starts to hurt. Just a little bit. A quick shake dispels the pain. “It’s really nice in here.”

I walk further into the room. Mira was lying on the bed, but now she has gotten up and is walking towards me.

“Walker? What did you do this time!?” Mira ask while checking me over. I look beat to shit. I guess I should tell her what happened

“Yeah, just a sparring match that got a little…fun.” I wave off the concern. I rather enjoyed myself, up until the end that is. My mood sours at the thought.

Deciding to distract myself I look around the room and I see a beautiful sliding glass door to a balcony. The door even has a nice thick, deep purple drape to help block out morning sun light. I guess its so guests can sleep in should they choose.

There is an exquisite oak desk sitting up against the wall. The chair looks like it was carved from oak as well. There is even a soft velvety looking cushion on it.

The walls themselves are marble lined with silver and platinum. There are beautiful landscape paintings hanging on each of them. Each painting looked like it would cost a fortune to buy. Bet the Princesses got them for free.

The bed is a beautiful four poster-

“WALKER!”

“AHHH!!”

Mira pinches the end of her muzzle, a habit she picked up after I did it one time, and sighs. “Walker, please for the love of everything tell me what happened to you.” She begs me. She pulls me over to the bed and proceeds to undress me.

Not like that perverts. She has taken over as my personal doctor.

No seriously she has been studying medicine the whole time we have been together. She knows a slew of spells for healing.

Which at first I could not understand why you would need more than one. I thought it was as simple as pump more energy into it and boom more healing. Found out that you need to direct it between many different factors.

Power, strength, which I thought were the same, speed, over-coming natural resistance to magical alteration/enhancement, all these different factors and more were beat into my head during my stay in this amazing world.

“Okay, okay. I went down to the guards training field. To be honest I am so fucking surprised they let me down there on my first day in their castle. That is so fucking stupid. Or arrogant.” I lift my arms up so she can inspect my ribs. “Fuck!” Seems I bruised one. “Come on Mira. Seriously that Griffin dick didn’t let us out of the room for the first three days.”

“Be that as it may, you do not insult your hosts’ defenses. You should know that.” She hissed.

“Fuck that! If it sucks I am duty bound to bitch about it when they try to act like stuck up…..FUCK!!!” I holler as I remember what Luna had told me about her sister.

Mira raises an eyebrow.

Sighing I fill her in on why Celestia hates humans so much.

She sighs as well. “That would certainly explain a lot. She is a couple THOUSAND years old. For her to fall in love with another like that, then to have their remains treated in such a fashion.” Mira shivers.

“Yeah. Kind of makes it hard to be mad at her for some of her bullshit.” I remember the fight again. “Only some though. Bitch nearly caused me to kill one of her guards I was sparring with. Not sure what she did, but I picked up on her watching from the beginning of the fight.”

“Well you were sparring with one of her guards. Maybe she just wanted to see how you were in combat.” Mira says always making reasonable arguments.

“She was trying to stay hidden. I couldn’t see her from the ring and like you I thought it was just to watch. But that…she did something and the guard I was fighting faltered at a critical moment. Someone with his skill level would NOT have faltered. I could even see his next move coming till the last second. He would have been able to dodge and get me along here.” I draw a finger across the left side of my neck. “It would have been a beautiful thrust to see. Had we been actually fighting he would have severed my jugular vein and opened a third of my neck. It would have been all in one stroke but just as he was getting started he turned to look up at the balcony and I nearly crushed his throat.”

“I doubt it was intentional.” Mira says her doubtful expression matching her tone. “What ruler would send one of their own to die so needlessly?”

“A ruler looking to put my head on a spike. You know the only reason she hasn’t killed us is because we stopped that puppet weirdo from killing her student. We saved her life, so Twilight is batting for us. I didn’t kill the manticore and you only put the guy to sleep.” I tick off each on a finger. “Everything about that take-down was text book. Well according to pony standards.”

“Again, what ruler sends guards to die needlessly? She knows you have done at least some of what you have said so far-”

“I didn’t embellish Mira.”

“I didn’t say you did. What I meant was she will BELIEVE you have only done some of what you have said. You do have a…weird….life.” She begins applying several bandages that were coated in minty smelling gel. “I don’t think anything else on this planet could have stumbled upon things like you do.”

“Aaaa…cold. True but I’m an alien on this planet. Also I think he was a high ranking Officer.” Damn that stuff is always so cold. I am half dragon so I have resistance to extreme temperature to some degree. I can’t go swimming in lava yet I can tank a fire ball with little damage, but fuck if her medicine isn’t ALWAYS cold. “When he gave his name whispers started. Also with his level of skill any Rank less than Brigadier would be an insult.” I rolled my right shoulder a few times. “He pushed me damn hard. It was a hell of a work out. I’m gonna have to open up on him next time.”

(Celestia’s Office)

“I am sincerely apologetic that my actions nearly cost you your life.” Princess Celestia says. Her face pointed towards the ground. She really was truly sorry she interrupted the fight. She had just wanted him to go easier. Harmony forbid if he had actually gotten hurt, she would never forgive herself. Neither would his wife.

“It’s alright Princess Celestia. I know you did not mean anything by it.”

“Thank you Shining Armor. You are too kind.” The Princess smiles up at him thankful for his acceptance. “Now if you don’t mind I would like to hear your thoughts.”

Shining stands there for a moment to collect himself. “First he is an exceptional combatant.” His expression sinks for a moment. “I can see why the last Captain of the Guards lost to the others.” He takes a deep breath to steady himself before continuing. “Though from the level of skill he showed and some of the techniques he preformed I would have to say that he was holding himself back. I am as of yet unsure why he held back so much. Secondly while his fighting style was very open it would seem that he was able to fight…naturally. I believe if he had all of his equipment the outcome would have been vastly different.”

“Based on what you have so far could you stop him?”

“Without his gear? Maybe.” His hand gently strokes his chin as he adopts a thinking pose. “You said the others were unaffected by basic spells correct?”

“Yes, things such as levitation and basic kinetic blasts had little to no effect. Why do you ask?”

“I believe Walker is different. I think he is affected by such spells. The entire fight he kept an eye on my horn. While a normal tactic one would maintain in a combat scenario, he seemed extra conscious of it. If we can use lower level spells containment may not be an issue. I would like to have another go but while he is fully equipped.” The idea of fighting Walker sends a pleasant tingle down Shining’s spine.

It terrified the Princess slightly that her old Captain of the Guard wanted to fight that thing while it was fully armed. “Why do you wish to challenge him again?”

Straightening his posture and wiping the small smile that came from getting another chance to fight Walker, he looks her in the eye and says. “If you want an accurate report on whether we could contain him than I NEED to fight him fully equipped. Also I understand you are concerned about my well-being, but I don’t believe it to be a true concern.”

Shining relaxes his stance. “Princess, you know ever since the Changeling Incident I have been practicing non-stop. My skills with spell and sword are the best in all of Equestria second only to you and your sister. OR so I believed. Walker is an incredible combatant.” Thinking back to the fight again his right shoulder and left knee ache ever so slightly. *Definitely bruised both of them. Caddy would KILL me if I broke them.* He coughs slightly before continuing. “He fought me as an equal. I don’t just mean he respected me as a fighter but rather he matched my ‘skill’ level. He kept pace with me throughout the fight. He matched my speed and strength. He did it fluidly too.” A quick shake of his head pulls his thoughts back. “Sorry Princess caught up in the moment but I request permission to challenge him again.”

Celestia sighs. “Shining you are the Prince-Consort of the Crystal Empire. You are allowed to do as you wish.”

“But this is your castle Ma’am and he IS a guest. So by International Law I must ask the host/hostess permission to challenge a guest in their home.” Shining quips back with a smirk.