Fast gave Bon-Bon a look over. “Move around for me a little.”

Bon-Bon did so, walking, running, and even jumping when told to do so by Fast, while thinking, I don’t have any of my weapons with me, even if they would work here. I’ll have to fall back on my hoof-to-hoof training until I learn one of the weapons available here.

“Hmm, if Under thinks that you don’t know how to fight, he is wrong.” Fast pointed to a rack of weapons that included different types of bows for more distance, lances for just a little distance, spears for versatility, and diverse types of weapons that were meant for close or very close in-fighting. “Do you know how to use any of those?”

Bon-Bon looked them over and then shook her head. “No, but I am willing to learn. Hoof-to-hoof can be at a disadvantage against some enemies.”

Fast smiled as she removed a necklace, a belt, some anklets, and a set of four boots. “It is good that you know that. And there are also those foes that it is better to not touch at all with any part of your body, protected or not.

"I am curious, how well do you know Dawn Star?" she suddenly asked.

Bon-Bon looked a little perplexed at what seemed like a random question. "Not at all, really. She had just appeared standing in the street, and I had walked over to ask her some questions, when we were both dropped into the street here."

Fast disguised her disappointment. She wouldn't be able to use the thought of one being attacked in order to motivate the other more. "Let’s spar for a little while so that I can try to get an idea of which weapons might suit you.”

They backed off from each other a short distance. They both stood there for a while. “Waiting for your opponent to make the first move?” Fast took some rapid steps and quickly jabbed at her with her lance. “That can be a mistake.”

Bon-Bon leaned to one side just enough for the lance to miss entirely, then struck it sharply downward with one hoof. As Fast recovered from that Bon-Bon did a spin on her front hooves, kicked Fast in the chest with her rear hooves, and ended up off to the side facing her. “Less talk, more fight.”

Fast oofed from the impact, but quickly recovered. She smiled broadly and put all of the items that she had removed before back on. "Oh, this is going to be fun."

Bon-Bon then took the offensive with a quick series of hoof thrusts and spin kicks. But this time they didn't have as much effect. Fast’s movements were faster, so many missed. Also, the few that did manage to hit had their effect muted upon impact.

Fast then used a twirl of the body of her lance to trip her, and then used its point to just barely draw blood from a vital area. “You’re dead. As you said, hoof-to-hoof can be at a disadvantage.” She then moved the point so that Bon-Bon could get up. “Let’s go again.”

Fast moved quickly to the side and kicked Bon-Bon in the back of one of her supporting legs the next time that she tried a spin kick. That made her go into an uncontrollable tumble into a heap on the ground.

Bon-Bon got back up quickly, showing many small abrasions from that, and blocked the follow-up lance attack. She then tried a leaping attack, only for Fast to duck and strike her, causing her to go into a sideways spin. She got up slightly slower and backed off slightly since she needed to catch her breath.

Fast then lunged at Bon-Bon with her lance again. Bon-Bon swerved just enough for the lance to barely pass by her side, and then trapped it with her arm and pulled. As she did so though, Fast closed with her, but let the lance go without any resistance, which threw her off balance. Fast then knocked Bon-Bon down with suddenly spiked boots, leaving punctures across her barrel.

“You’re dead. Again.” Fast backed off, and the lance floated up and snapped back into its attack position.

Bon-Bon frowned as she got up, but ignored her wounds while thinking, I won’t lose my temper. She has trained a long time at this sort of thing. And I have to admit, I’m out of practice. I’m also not in as good a shape as I should be. My undercover life in Ponyville has been too sedate. She took a ready stance and then feinted an attack, hoping to catch Fast off guard.

Fast ignored the feint, and blocked the real attack that followed. She then kicked Bon-Bon, making her dodge and then back up. She then tripped Bon-Bon again with a quick lance sweep. After Bon-Bon hit the ground, Fast took a stride and put one spiked hoof against Bon-Bon’s throat. “Third time I’ve ‘killed’ you. And I haven’t even been using any of the enchantments in my lance,”

Bon-Bon got back up. She ached from several bruises, and the punctures from Fast’s spiked shoes stung a lot. “I can see that I need to learn a lot.”

Fast headed towards the racks. “You still won’t take as much training as some others have. Let’s go pick that weapon for you. I can tell that hoof-to-hoof isn't your preferred way to fight.”

Bon-Bon narrowed her eyes. “From the change in your speed and how my kicks affected you, those items that you put back on helped you.”

Fast nodded as she was looking over the weapons. “Yes, they are enchanted to give me various advantages in combat. Anypony that was an adventurer would be foolish not to take advantage of any magical aids and protection that they can get. Some of mine I bought, some were gifts, and others were loot. You’ll need to gather your own such items.”

She then decided on two items. One was a single heavy leather glove with metal claws folded so that their outside curves rested on the back of the glove. The other was a short sword length double edged blade that was wavy. She hoofed them over to Bon-Bon. “These already hold a small enchantment each. Any more such magic is up to you to get.”

Bon-Bon looked at the glove. “That isn’t made for ponies, how am I supposed to use it?”

Fast sighed. “Right, not from this plane. Just start to slip a hoof into it. I would recommend your off hoof.”

Bon-Bon did so, and watched as the glove adapted itself to fit her hoof. “Okay, now how does it work?”

“Flex your hoof downward.”, Fast instructed.

When she did so, the claws arced out and clicked into a position suitable for slashing. “Wicked, I like it.”

Fast smiled grimly. “I thought that you would. Now the blade you’ll have to hold in your mouth, and ”

Bon-Bon interrupted by promptly picking it up with her other hoof. Then she looked at Fast. “Why my mouth?”

Fast sighed again. “Okay, I guess that I should have expected something like that. Anyway, you need to practice with those. There are some training dummies over there for you to get the basic feel of the weapons before we spar again. I expect you to know how to use them by tomorrow morning. Be here at sunrise. Breakfast will be after two hours of sparring.” She then turned as if to see who else needed some lessons.

Bon-Bon walked over to one of the dummies that could rotate on its axis. It had a shield on one side of its front, and a padded flail hanging off of an arm on the other. She started getting used to her new weapons.

She hit the dummy with her sword, causing it to spin. She ducked under the flail as it came around, and hit that side with her clawed glove. It rotated back the other way, causing her to need to dodge the shield.

She kept this up for awhile, until her hooves slipped once when she went to claw the flail bearing side. She recovered from the slip, dodged the shield as the dummy kept spinning in the same direction, only to be whacked by the flail and knocked flat. Dazed, she had the image of a pegasus in flight with a gold circle encompassed by her wings fill her mind. The image spoke to her. ~☀️You have stood against monsters. I ask that you help those of Everglow who stand against the beings of chaos that are enemies of all ponykind.☀️~ After the image faded away, she shook the remaining daze off and crawled out of range of the flail. She then rose painfully to her hooves.

Fast had turned to watch her from a distance. She tried not to laugh as shook her head and thought, She has the right spirit, but I don't know if she will be ready to spar by tomorrow morning. Ah well, any pain that you survive can be a good teacher. She walked over to one of the clerics, a Sun Pony unicorn, who was standing out of the way against a wall. "Noon Oasis, when that one," she pointed at Bon-Bon, "is done for the day, would you please heal her? She won't learn much tomorrow if she aches all night."

Noon nodded. "Of course Fast. We can't have our new recruits crawling to the practice yard.

Under led Dawn through a hallway and to a stairway that went down. "It's normal practice at all Seekers' headquarters that all spellcasters stay, learn, and practice at first, underground where any magic flares would be grounded. You won't be practicing out in the courtyard until I am satisfied that it is safe for others for you to do so."

At the bottom, he led her down a hall, took a right turn, went down that hall aways, and then stopped by a red door. He opened it, showing a bedroom. “This will be your room anytime that you are here.” He closed the door and continued down the hall, then took a left turn. He opened a green door that was a short ways down that hall. "This is the library.” There were shelves of books, a couple of tables, and some chairs in it.

She looked in the room with longing. “It wouldn’t make any sense for me to read anything before I know what magic calls to me.” She closed the door herself.

“You are right, and you have good self control.” He led down the hall to a second set of stairs going further down. “The room to find and start practicing your magic is down these.”

Before they could start down those stairs, an earth-bound stallion wearing chainmail armor came around a near corner. “Excuse me, but I am looking for… Under? Under Score?”

Under stopped in surprise. “Dawn Event? But I received news that you had been killed! And you’re young again. Younger than Fast even.”

“I did, but the Author wasn’t through with my part in the story, so I am back. I remember things from before more clearly as I run into places or ponies that are connected to them. And seeing you just allowed multiple chains of memories to become clearer. Praise the gods for this meeting.” He knocked hooves with Under. “You mentioned that Fast is here and is young again too? The Author writes complicated plotlines at times.”

She looked at the other Dawn. He was physically older than her, but not by a lot, but somehow gave the impression of a long life already lived. “Are you going to introduce us, Under?”

Under blinked. “Ah, yeah, sorry. Dawn Event, this is Dawn Star. Dawn Star, this is Dawn Event.”

Dawn Event gave her an interested look. “Another Dawn, but a mare. Hmm, there’s something…” He looked her over more closely. "You have been touched by the Author, and remain under her gaze, just as surely as Fast, Under, and myself. But I would say not to the same purpose."

She shook her head. “Excuse me for saying so, but I am getting a little tired of hearing about the Author. My entire life has already been changed by her, and in an incredibly short time.”

Dawn Event shook his head. “Being tired of hearing about her won’t change anything.”

Under stepped between them. “We still need to go to the sub basement practice room, Dawn Star. You need to find your magic.”

Dawn Event held out a hoof. “Two things before you go. The first is that the gods say that she isn’t supposed to become a cleric. The second is the question that I didn’t complete, which way is it to the library?”

Under pointed back the way that he and Dawn Star had come from. “Just up the hall, it’s the third door on the left, the green one.”

Dawn Event nodded and headed that way. At the same time Under and Dawn Star started down the stairs.

Once they reached the bottom, Under led her to a door that was painted a poisonous looking yellow. He opened the door and went into the room. The walls, ceiling, and floor of the room had several runes and glyphs carved into them, with silver inside of the carvings. Although one area of the floor was smooth and blank. There was a large unlit fireplace with logs lying in it, some dummies made of different materials standing around, a table, and two chairs in the room.

Dawn walked in and looked around. "I don't know how to read the symbols used for magic yet, but I take it that the markings have a purpose, such as protecting against damage from spells, and keeping any effects contained inside of this room?"

Under sat in one of the chairs. "That is exactly what they are for. Now, come sit across from me."

Dawn sat, and then raised a hoof. "Before we start, that other Dawn, I remember that you mentioned before that he is a cleric of all the gods? Both good and evil?"

Under nodded. "Yes, but I don't know how that works. It is between him and the gods.

"But let us proceed, thanks to Dawn Event we can skip checking for cleric affinity."

He muttered some words, and a compartment opened in the bottom of the chair that he was sitting in. Some objects floated out one or two at a time and landed gently on the table. They settled into indentations that they had been made for them. One was a cylinder made of some type of dull metal that was about a half inch in diameter and a foot long. Another was a sphere that was about three inches in diameter made of milky quartz crystal. There were two hollow cubes made of stone, one was granite, while the other was sandstone. A vial with an orange liquid in it was placed so that its stopper was up. A small, white ceramic cup landed on the table, and Under put some water into it from the small watershin that accompanied it. There was a piece of twig with a small nut still attached to it. The final item was a small geared mechanism.

Dawn looked at the items curiously. "If it's normal to know what type of magic calls to you, why do you have these items?"

Under gestured at the table. "Young foals don't start off knowing what their calling in magic is. The Society tests them for free. Each item is enchanted to respond to the like magic in the one being tested. But training for them is left up to their family."

She nodded. "That makes sense. I'm curious, if you were checking for cleric, how would you do it?"

He gave a short laugh. "Some time ago, Dawn Event made a holy symbol that is of all of the gods. I find its appearance… odd. But it works. It glows if the foal that takes hold of it is to be a cleric. However, it does not indicate which god they will follow.

You holding it as a test could actually be a bad idea, since Dawn Event told us that the gods themselves said that you aren’t supposed to be a cleric. It would be showing doubt in their word."

She snorted. “It would more be me doubting him. But I do tend to question things. I am not used to living in a world where a deity, or deities, take any active part in things. I hope that they understand that. But since I don’t know anything about them …except that one has decided that I am an interesting character in one of her stories, I wouldn’t want to try to choose one to be a cleric of anyway.”

“You’d have to ask Dawn Event about that. I don’t even guess at what the gods think about us.” He indicated the table again. "We should start with the tests. Most of the objects you'll just need to grab with your magic. The cup is different when we get to it. But there is no specific order to do this in."

Dawn looked closer at the items one at a time but without using her magic. There was one… The sphere seemed to stand out to her, but she couldn't say why. She decided to follow that feeling and picked it up with her magic.

The sphere started glowing brighter than the glow of her magic, but with the same colors as it had. It started spinning, and moved itself out of her magic to float up and over. It stopped above her head, glowing brightly and spinning, for several minutes. It then returned to its place on the table, slowed its spin to a stop, and gradually quit glowing as it returned to its original appearance.

Under blinked. "I… don't think that you need to try the other items."

She looked at him. “Is that a normal reaction?”

He shrugged. “I haven’t seen one like that. But the crystal sphere is old, a reaction like that could have happened some time before.”

Dawn looked at the rest of the items on the table. "Maybe I should still try them all, just to be as complete as possible?"

“It couldn’t hurt anything for you to do that if you want. But I think that there is only one that maybe would have any response at all.” Under waved a hoof towards the table in general.

She went through them each in turn leaving only the rod, but got no responses at all.

“It seems that you were right in saying that I might as well not try the rest of the items.” She then picked up the rod which also remained inert. She hesitated a while, feeling as if at one time something would have happened, but that had been changed, and then set it back down.

Under looked pensive. “I sort of expected that after the way that the sphere reacted. Your magic will just, um, come to you.”

Dawn gave him an incredulous look as he was putting the items back away. "Just come to me? That doesn't tell me anything."

Under looked at her after he closed the compartment. "You won't have to call on any sort of powerful otherworldly being for your spells, or mix ingredients, or build mechanisms, or try to bend an element to your will, or ask for a boon from nature itself, or read a spellbook. In fact, reading a spellbook would do you no good. Although you will be able to use scrolls and to write them once you learn the appropriate alphabet. The type of spells available to you will depend on your bloodline, although I am not going to guess on how that will work for you since you weren't even a pony before today. Now, what I know about sorcerers is from reading about and talking to them, but I think that I know just the pony to help you."

He reached into a pocket and brought out several small stone disks, each one a different color. He put all but the orange one back. He brought it close to his mouth and spoke, "Tabitha, please come to the testing and practice room. There's a new sorcerer who needs to learn how to be one."

The disk hummed and then a voice came from it. "I'm on my way."

Dawn watched as Under put that disk back away. “I take it that was somepony who is an expert on being a sorcerer, or at least a very experienced sorcerer?”

He gave a short laugh. “Hardly, she’s only been a sorcerer for a few years. But I think that, since she will still remember her first steps into being one, she might be the best pony available to help you.”

Dawn’s ears turned towards the door at the sound of a single pair of hooves coming towards the room. When the door opened she saw a pony satyr who had light-blue furred pony ears, a blond horse's tail, and two hooves, but was otherwise human.

Tabitha did a double take. "Under, when you said that you had somepony who needed to learn how to be a sorcerer, I was expecting a foal! Not a grown mare."

"There's a reason for that." He indicated Dawn. "Tabitha, this is Dawn Star. Dawn, this is Tabitha. I think she can help you. I think that you should tell her why you don't know anything about being a sorcerer."

Dawn fidgeted and blushed. "Um, well... I'm not originally from this world. And I've only been a pony since earlier today. I was a human from a world where there supposedly wasn't any magic."

Tabitha blinked. "Huh. Well I started off looking like a human. But I had a pony ancestor that I didn't know about. As you can see," she swished her tail and flicked one ear while she tapped the floor once with one hoof, "that ancestry has been expressed now."

Dawn tilted her head. "I didn't have any pony ancestors. My change was plot deviced in by the Author. Apparently I'm to be an interesting character."

Tabitha gave a short laugh. "Well, we still both know what it feels like to have a change in us happen that was completely unexpected. Now, let's talk about being a sorcerer. What spells we have come from our bloodline. From what you have said, your bloodline will depend on what the Author wants you to have."

Dawn scowled slightly. "As I said to Under, I'm not used to deities taking any sort of active role in things. So I'm a little upset at having all of this happen to me. But apparently that won't change anything."

Tabitha huffed gently, but smiled at the new pony. "So you're my student, huh? Nice to meet you." She offered a hand.

Dawn accepted the hand as best she could, placing a hoof in it. "Nice to meet you as well." She glanced off and back. "Forgive me if this offends, but it's actually nice talking to someone with hands and fingers."

Tabitha grinned. "Yeah, they make some things so much easier. But there are some advantages to being an earth pony here. Like being stronger and tougher. They're horses, little horses." She shrugged. "And I'm half a horse." She tapped a hoof on the ground. "Now, let's talk about sorcery!"

Dawn nodded, moving to a chair, and made herself comfortable. "I'm listening."

Tabitha hopped onto one across from Dawn. "You're in luck. Sorcery is mostly about learning yourself. That magic's already in you, bubbling and waiting for a chance. Now that you're in a world where its influence is easy to see, we need to learn how to bring it out."

Dawn rubbed her forehead. "That's ... kind of unsettling."

Author's Note

Yay! I finally finished this chapter. Albeit with the help of David Silver. He wrote the last 7 paragraphs.

He has also said that he will help me with the story going foward

But the next chapter could be as long coming as this one has. I have lost all inspiration on writing this story.

I won't say that I am abandoning it, though.