FLOWby 9spacekingChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 1Amelia stared out of the window, the white fluffy clouds lazily drifting across the sky, envious of all the citizens who had mastered their skills and boosted their great works of art. She was especially annoyed at all the heroes, especially the ones that didn't rely on combat-based skills. "Flow", it was called, a legendary ability that all people held. By training any skill to a sufficiently high level, you could push it to create grand spectacles. Yet even after the discovery of Flow, her parents merely wanted her to train skills related to improving the kingdom, such as diplomacy and wooing other stallions, in hope of becoming greater than the Minister position her father held. She sighed, resting her head on her left hoof. Just when she thought she was going to doze off, she heard a yelling in the distant, and she could have sworn it was her sister. She jumped out of the window, landing on the balcony below. Indeed, what was before her was a gigantic whale taking away her sister by the neck. Confused, she rubbed her eyes to ensure that this was real. But it was indeed true. The flying whale almost seemed to wink as it whisked her away. "Mama, papa!" She called, but by the time they arrived, it was far too late. They dismissed her story as a tale spun by imagination and ushered her back in. However, the minister did find it strange that his daughter disappeared into thin air, so sent a trusted soldier to look for her, since she was known to playfully disappear time to time. But day passed by, and the sister never returned. The minister grew angry, thinking that she had ran away, influenced by Amelia's constant complaining. He ordered her to bed early, and at the same time worried about what really happened to his daughter. That night, Amelia sneaked out, grabbing some food and supply, ready to find her sister. She was one of her only true friends she had and she wasn't about to lose her to some dumb giant whale. As she wandered further and further out of town, she then realized how futile this was. How could she find her sister, if a trained soldier couldn't? Perhaps she was being too hopeful. As she thought about the uselessness of her skills, she suddenly remembered that Flow depended on dedication and truthfulness. Had the parents believed her, perhaps they would have found her sister by now. She concentrated greatly, bringing out her map that she brought with her. She focused on what the whale looked like, the taunting face, and how her sister looked scared, unsure of what was going to happen. She felt the familiar Zone come to her, and she realized that her sister was already bought to a faraway kingdom. Though she didn't have a good idea how far, she had an idea of the direction. So she begun her journey, determined to find her sister. Who knows, maybe someone could teach me about more useful skills than diplomacy, she thought, recalling knowing a girl who wanted to be a knight in a nearby camp to save her parents from being stuck in the dungeons... Chapter 2Sir Quincy had seen many battles, but this was the first time he had ever seen some pony thrown a helmet at another. As he adjusted his monocle on his right eye, he watched in great interest as the two continued to fight. One knight was dazed, surprised at the thrown helmet. The other was a mysterious pony with long draping hair over his face. This stallion was quite unusual, he had medical training before learning to fight, and his stances along with fighting style were all quite unorthodox. The stallion seemed to be yelling now, a smooth voice carried by the wind: "How frustrating!" He stated, crumpling upon his knee and wincing at the wound. "Why do I have to carry all these duels for you? And for what? A few gold coins? My parents are still innocently trapped in the dungeon!" The crowd watched on, confused, sure that this was merely a backstory to sway them rather than the truth. The other knight got up, patting the dust off his armor. He continued pointing the sword at the helmet-less knight, still wary of any attack. Quincy noted how quick and agile the complaining stallion was, though his strokes weren't strong, they landed well and in the most dangerous places. As he got more angry, the crowd grew astonished as the stallion's eyes seemed to glow red. As he took another strong blow in the stomach, he tumbled to the ground. "That's it, I've had enough!" He yelled out in an unusually high voice, then he rushed forward, the dust gathered around to match his mood. The other knight was surprised and fell backwards, with a single slice the man broke through his defenses and pointed the sword at his neck. The long-haired man stomped away from the battle, the audience clapping, but he was already ready to leave. "If you'll excuse me, sire, may I ask your technique?" Quincy inquired, twiddling his mustache, curious to learn how he managed to learn battling well enough to master such a skill. The knight merely ignored him and continued onward, even while Quincy continued: "Er, I'm terribly sorry, but-- " As he grabbed onto his shoulder, he tried to pull him off, only to snag his fancy monocle on his clothes. He could've sworn he saw the knight's face glow a little red though he quickly went forward, leaving Quincy to dismiss this thought as imagination. That night the knight talked to one of his friends hidden in his tent. "So, Jalmyr, are you giving up?" the mare asked. The knight thought it through and slowly nodded. "Alas, I learned, there is no honor to be won in battle. Only pain. I thought it was bad in the one war I fought in, but I could only free my mother. Even as I work my ways up the ranks, the leader continuously says my father is still unpardonable. What shall I ever do, Amelia?" The mare's eyes seemed to sparkle. "Hey, don't worry, us girls got to stick together. I'm sure that we can find something else to do. My sister disappeared quite some time ago, and I'm sure you can help me. My father's not quite as unreasonable as your leader, and I know that he'll help release your father." The knight nodded, ready to set foot forth. In the morning, Quincy would awake to see outside his window two vague mares walking out. But was one of them a knight? He rubbed his eyes again. Hmm, perhaps he needed new monocles. He thought over how rough the battles were and how the knight he had seen might've wanted to leave because of that. But then he smirked. Perhaps the battles were indeed painful. He had seen maybe unfortunate soldiers lose their life for no result. This knight was lucky in comparison. In his opinion, the true honor was not to win a battle, but to be able to move on and learn upon a lost. Chapter 3The rain poured down as the great flying whale known as Vex solemnly floated in the halls. As the lightning flashed outside of the building, Vex faced down one of the most dangerous mercenaries on the planet. "Heheheh. So, You finally hit my weak point, Flintwood? Very impressive. What will you do now?" Bloodied and wounded, the mercenary had one knee to the floor and his sword laid on the ground. He had severely underestimated his opponent and could not fathom just how powerful this whale was. "I came so far, finding you kidnapping these innocent fillies... and for what purpose? Your own slavery? Your entertainment? Such power, and why do you use it for this?" The whale chuckled in response, then coughed up blood as well. Though he was not greatly harmed on the outside, this mercenary was excellent at attacking the inner organs, due to his study of anatomy. It seemed that merely a single blow could resolve the battle, but both were reluctant to give up all they worked for, should they make a mistake or give an opening. "You were misled... " Vex said, "We both know you honestly have enough fame and fortune to go by. That's not what you want. You wanted honor and justice. Yet still, these girls have their own potential. With your constant following of orders from the higher ups, how are you taking any action?" Flintwood was silent for quite some time. He had never thought of it that way. He had always assumed that the royals were correct, but even he had to admit there were possibly some corruption behind the scenes. He grimaced at the pain, then continued asking: "Then, what is so special about these fillies? Why did you choose them?" Vex nodded at the question. "I've been researching and I found that surrounded by this origin of power, of skill... they have potential. 'Savants', I like to call them. I'm sure that we can explain the situation and train them well. I've gathered just enough evidence to be able to convince these girls-- though it won't be enough for the masses. They'll surely crush us had we openly declared our purposes..." Flintwood stood up. He thought for a bit longer and finally made his decision. "Fine. But if I see anything off... " he then motioned his hoof across his throat. Vex breathed a sigh of relief, and had Flintwood follow him to the studies. Unfortunately, though Vex had won this encounter, he missed out on a young girl filly the nearest town so that she could find someone to help her out, and hopefully reunite with her sister Amelia.
Chapter 1Amelia stared out of the window, the white fluffy clouds lazily drifting across the sky, envious of all the citizens who had mastered their skills and boosted their great works of art. She was especially annoyed at all the heroes, especially the ones that didn't rely on combat-based skills. "Flow", it was called, a legendary ability that all people held. By training any skill to a sufficiently high level, you could push it to create grand spectacles. Yet even after the discovery of Flow, her parents merely wanted her to train skills related to improving the kingdom, such as diplomacy and wooing other stallions, in hope of becoming greater than the Minister position her father held. She sighed, resting her head on her left hoof. Just when she thought she was going to doze off, she heard a yelling in the distant, and she could have sworn it was her sister. She jumped out of the window, landing on the balcony below. Indeed, what was before her was a gigantic whale taking away her sister by the neck. Confused, she rubbed her eyes to ensure that this was real. But it was indeed true. The flying whale almost seemed to wink as it whisked her away. "Mama, papa!" She called, but by the time they arrived, it was far too late. They dismissed her story as a tale spun by imagination and ushered her back in. However, the minister did find it strange that his daughter disappeared into thin air, so sent a trusted soldier to look for her, since she was known to playfully disappear time to time. But day passed by, and the sister never returned. The minister grew angry, thinking that she had ran away, influenced by Amelia's constant complaining. He ordered her to bed early, and at the same time worried about what really happened to his daughter. That night, Amelia sneaked out, grabbing some food and supply, ready to find her sister. She was one of her only true friends she had and she wasn't about to lose her to some dumb giant whale. As she wandered further and further out of town, she then realized how futile this was. How could she find her sister, if a trained soldier couldn't? Perhaps she was being too hopeful. As she thought about the uselessness of her skills, she suddenly remembered that Flow depended on dedication and truthfulness. Had the parents believed her, perhaps they would have found her sister by now. She concentrated greatly, bringing out her map that she brought with her. She focused on what the whale looked like, the taunting face, and how her sister looked scared, unsure of what was going to happen. She felt the familiar Zone come to her, and she realized that her sister was already bought to a faraway kingdom. Though she didn't have a good idea how far, she had an idea of the direction. So she begun her journey, determined to find her sister. Who knows, maybe someone could teach me about more useful skills than diplomacy, she thought, recalling knowing a girl who wanted to be a knight in a nearby camp to save her parents from being stuck in the dungeons...
Chapter 2Sir Quincy had seen many battles, but this was the first time he had ever seen some pony thrown a helmet at another. As he adjusted his monocle on his right eye, he watched in great interest as the two continued to fight. One knight was dazed, surprised at the thrown helmet. The other was a mysterious pony with long draping hair over his face. This stallion was quite unusual, he had medical training before learning to fight, and his stances along with fighting style were all quite unorthodox. The stallion seemed to be yelling now, a smooth voice carried by the wind: "How frustrating!" He stated, crumpling upon his knee and wincing at the wound. "Why do I have to carry all these duels for you? And for what? A few gold coins? My parents are still innocently trapped in the dungeon!" The crowd watched on, confused, sure that this was merely a backstory to sway them rather than the truth. The other knight got up, patting the dust off his armor. He continued pointing the sword at the helmet-less knight, still wary of any attack. Quincy noted how quick and agile the complaining stallion was, though his strokes weren't strong, they landed well and in the most dangerous places. As he got more angry, the crowd grew astonished as the stallion's eyes seemed to glow red. As he took another strong blow in the stomach, he tumbled to the ground. "That's it, I've had enough!" He yelled out in an unusually high voice, then he rushed forward, the dust gathered around to match his mood. The other knight was surprised and fell backwards, with a single slice the man broke through his defenses and pointed the sword at his neck. The long-haired man stomped away from the battle, the audience clapping, but he was already ready to leave. "If you'll excuse me, sire, may I ask your technique?" Quincy inquired, twiddling his mustache, curious to learn how he managed to learn battling well enough to master such a skill. The knight merely ignored him and continued onward, even while Quincy continued: "Er, I'm terribly sorry, but-- " As he grabbed onto his shoulder, he tried to pull him off, only to snag his fancy monocle on his clothes. He could've sworn he saw the knight's face glow a little red though he quickly went forward, leaving Quincy to dismiss this thought as imagination. That night the knight talked to one of his friends hidden in his tent. "So, Jalmyr, are you giving up?" the mare asked. The knight thought it through and slowly nodded. "Alas, I learned, there is no honor to be won in battle. Only pain. I thought it was bad in the one war I fought in, but I could only free my mother. Even as I work my ways up the ranks, the leader continuously says my father is still unpardonable. What shall I ever do, Amelia?" The mare's eyes seemed to sparkle. "Hey, don't worry, us girls got to stick together. I'm sure that we can find something else to do. My sister disappeared quite some time ago, and I'm sure you can help me. My father's not quite as unreasonable as your leader, and I know that he'll help release your father." The knight nodded, ready to set foot forth. In the morning, Quincy would awake to see outside his window two vague mares walking out. But was one of them a knight? He rubbed his eyes again. Hmm, perhaps he needed new monocles. He thought over how rough the battles were and how the knight he had seen might've wanted to leave because of that. But then he smirked. Perhaps the battles were indeed painful. He had seen maybe unfortunate soldiers lose their life for no result. This knight was lucky in comparison. In his opinion, the true honor was not to win a battle, but to be able to move on and learn upon a lost.
Chapter 3The rain poured down as the great flying whale known as Vex solemnly floated in the halls. As the lightning flashed outside of the building, Vex faced down one of the most dangerous mercenaries on the planet. "Heheheh. So, You finally hit my weak point, Flintwood? Very impressive. What will you do now?" Bloodied and wounded, the mercenary had one knee to the floor and his sword laid on the ground. He had severely underestimated his opponent and could not fathom just how powerful this whale was. "I came so far, finding you kidnapping these innocent fillies... and for what purpose? Your own slavery? Your entertainment? Such power, and why do you use it for this?" The whale chuckled in response, then coughed up blood as well. Though he was not greatly harmed on the outside, this mercenary was excellent at attacking the inner organs, due to his study of anatomy. It seemed that merely a single blow could resolve the battle, but both were reluctant to give up all they worked for, should they make a mistake or give an opening. "You were misled... " Vex said, "We both know you honestly have enough fame and fortune to go by. That's not what you want. You wanted honor and justice. Yet still, these girls have their own potential. With your constant following of orders from the higher ups, how are you taking any action?" Flintwood was silent for quite some time. He had never thought of it that way. He had always assumed that the royals were correct, but even he had to admit there were possibly some corruption behind the scenes. He grimaced at the pain, then continued asking: "Then, what is so special about these fillies? Why did you choose them?" Vex nodded at the question. "I've been researching and I found that surrounded by this origin of power, of skill... they have potential. 'Savants', I like to call them. I'm sure that we can explain the situation and train them well. I've gathered just enough evidence to be able to convince these girls-- though it won't be enough for the masses. They'll surely crush us had we openly declared our purposes..." Flintwood stood up. He thought for a bit longer and finally made his decision. "Fine. But if I see anything off... " he then motioned his hoof across his throat. Vex breathed a sigh of relief, and had Flintwood follow him to the studies. Unfortunately, though Vex had won this encounter, he missed out on a young girl filly the nearest town so that she could find someone to help her out, and hopefully reunite with her sister Amelia.
