Roll for Friendship

“What are you working on now?”

“I’m currently trying to add Counterspell to my spellbook, but it’s proving to be a bit of a troublesome one. I was hoping it wouldn’t actually take me 6 hours to figure one this out, but it’s starting to look like it will.” After my diminutive size wore off I sat quietly with Luna for a while, but decided I should be productive.

“Is that some type of dispelling spell for your kind?”

“No, that’s Dispel Magic, Counterspell lets me stop a spell right at the instant it’s being cast. Assuming I can identify that the opponent is casting a spell. In my world it’s a must have spell and skill for any respectable mage to have, but I was hesitant to learn it here because I’m not actually sure if it’ll work against unicorns.”

“Why not just use your new device and we can test if it works before you bother learning it?” She asks, taking a sip of coffee.

“Because, it’s a 90% chance to succeed but that still means there’s a 10% chance of unleashing a fireball inside of a populated train. I’m not taking that chance.” I matter of factly state while continuing to write notes on my scratch paper.

“If the device fails I can just negate whatever spell you end up casting, I’m confident there’ll be no danger.”

That’s…. not a bad idea. Setting down my pen I hold up my hand and give Luna a nod. “Try casting something weak, like a low power beam attack or really just any spell that has a visual effect so we can tell if it was truly canceled.” The device begins to hum.

Luna closes her eyes and ignites her horn. One second later she opens her eyes and the glow around her horn gets brighter. I snap my fingers.

Counterspell (Intelligence) Check.

15 + 5 = 20.

Time resumes and a spark pops out of the tip of Luna's horn and she recoils a bit with a wince. “Well, Ignis, I can say that definitely worked.” That’s good but I’m a bit concerned with why there was a DC check. I asked her to do a weak spell, and I assume she listened to me. Yet, I still had to roll to succeed, this needs further testing, but for now I’m happy to keep investing the time to add the spell to my repertoire.

“Excellent. Also how long are we on this train for, again? I feel like you mentioned it when you showed me the map on the way to Ponyville, but I don’t remember.”

“We’ll be departing the train in the middle of the night, tonight. I was going to mention that it might be worth having an early dinner and get some rest before the sun goes down.”

“Yeah, I’ll probably grab a bite around 4 or 5pm and hit the sack after. That should give me enough time to finish scribing Counterspell and one other spell before it’s time.”

Another few quiet hours pass when suddenly something starts tapping on the window of our suite. Looking over I’m shocked to see a raven pecking on the glass as it flies parallel to the train.

Sir, would you please let me in?

With a snap of my fingers I temporarily dismiss the raven into a pocket dimension before quickly flicking my wrist and pointing up. Following the hand gesture Callisid is recalled to this dimension, inside the train. Honestly I forgot I can just dismiss him and recall him to my side whenever I want.

“Sorry bud, you just seemed like you were having so much fun with Fluttershy that I thought I’d let you hang out with her for a while.” I speak aloud so Luna can have some idea of what we’re talking about.

“Ah, I was wondering where your familiar had gone off to, but didn’t deem it important enough to ask.” She eyes the bird curiously. Callisid immediately flaps his wings and does a few circles in the air around her head. Luna giggles in amusement and the bird lands on her barrel, settling down and resting between her wings.

That pegasus is a delight to be around, but my place will always be by your side, master Ignis.

“Luna, do you think it’d be a good idea to have him go and embed himself in the capital of the dragon lands and report back any significant signs or warnings of an impending retaliation?” I ask her as I give the bird a stink eye that he ignores.

“There’s no need. Apparently Tia reached out to them via dragon fire and received no response. According to her no response is all the warning we need. They are going to retaliate in some way, it’s just a matter of when at this point. We’ll likely need to bolster the number of guards on duty for the Gala, having all of the nobles and military leadership in one spot is a giant target.”

“Ah, that’s unfortunate. Luckily I’ll still be fully geared during the gala since my armor will just have the illusion of a tuxedo, but I doubt I’ll have the Mizzium Apparatus on me. I’ll need to find a nearby spot to stash it for the night so I can quickly equip it if something happens. Also, just let me know if Callisid is disturbing you and I’ll recall him.”

“Oh he’s no bother, once he settled down I can hardly even tell he’s there. You know, it’s actually quite interesting, in this book Twilight recommended to me there’s a passage about the heroine’s familiar giving heaps of attention to her love interest. The narrator goes out of their way to note that although somepony may hide their feelings all they want, their familiar’s will always reveal their masters true intentions. Is the same true for real familiars, I wonder?”

“Who knows? There was a similar theory about familiar backs on earth, but I’m not sure if the same applies for Callisid.”

Deception.

12 + 1 = 13.

She just gives me a small smirk and goes back to reading her book. “Is that so? Hm.”

Silence takes over the suite as I find myself distracted just staring at her starry mane. As if to taunt me the raven begins to fly through and play with her mane. She just continues to smile in silence as she reads. I snap my fingers and temporarily dismiss the familiar.

She looks up from the book. “Oh? Where did he go?”

I just close my eyes and smile, hopefully concealing how annoyed I am at the little bastard. “I just sent him on an errand, that’s all.”

A few more hours pass and I close my spell book as I stretch and let out a big yawn. I managed to learn Counterspell and Knock. I still need to learn Magic Mouth, Aganazzar’s Scorcher, Identify, Dimension Door, Glyph of Warding, Shatter, and Blur. 32 Hours worth of scribing to get all of that in my spellbook. At least I’ll have plenty of free time during our journey, I suppose.

As I stand up to go to the dining car I recall the raven onto my shoulder.

I apologize, sir. I was just being your wingman.

“I don’t need a wingman. Honestly, ever since Luna hung out with Cadence that one night she’s been acting different. More confident, if I didn’t know any better I’d almost think she was teasing me sometimes. Like that smirk earlier, she must’ve known I was lying but chose to act oblivious. She’s made possessive comments every now and then, but I figured if she actually had any feelings for me she would’ve made a move by now, right? If mares are supposed to be the protectors and pay for the meals then surely they’re expected to also make the first move, no? That’s why her behavior recently is so perplexing. Regardless, please don’t shower her with your attention. We’re playing it cool, alright?” I rant to the familiar silently, through our telepathic link.

Why not just confront her about it? You were never shy with potential paramours in your homeland.

“Well unfortunately that personality isn’t the one you’re dealing with. I was planning to make a move during the Gala if she hasn’t made one first before then.”

Bladesinger… this overthinking isn’t like you. It’s almost pathetic. I know that pony better than any other creature alive, if she truly wished for something like that she’d have said something by now.

“Shut it. I could cleanse you from my body any time I wish, by the way. The only reason I haven’t done so is the same reason you stopped attempting to further your corruption, a show of good faith.” I can cast Protection from Good and Evil anytime even without the Mizzium Apparatus, but now that I have the device I could even cast Dispel Evil and Good.

The truth hurts, huh? If you don’t believe me, why not follow the bird's advice? Go confront her about it.

I sigh as I sit back down in the suite with my plate of food. She’s just trying to get under my skin, ignore it. “Hey Luna is there a way for you to tell how close I am to being able to practice mana again? Something felt wrong for the first couple of days, but honestly I feel perfectly fine now.”

“Sure.” Her horn is engulfed in a dim aura. “Very slowly and gently channel mana to both of your palms.”

I do as she says, and after a few seconds of humming inquisitively she speaks again. “Technically speaking it would be safe to practice in your current state, but there’s still a lot of instability. I’d prefer it if you waited one or two more days. I will say though, your recovery was much quicker than it should’ve been. It seems your inherent power that heals your wounds when you rest impacts more than just your physical body. An ordinary unicorn would’ve been out of commission for at least a month.”

“Got it. I don’t mind waiting a few days to be honest. It’s going to take me so long to learn and copy all of these scrolls…” I give a big stretch and yawn. “I think I’m going to trance tonight instead of sleep. I haven’t had a normal night of sleep since the colosseum, and I can’t dream while trancing.”

“I was actually going to mention that. It’d be best if you could avoid dreaming while Tia and I are visiting Nightmare. I don’t think she’d be able to forcefully pull us into your dream where she has power, but just to be safe. I’ll wake you up when it's time to deboard the train, we need to be quick while leaving because the train doesn’t normally stop where we’re getting out. I don’t want to throw off the conductor's schedule more than we need to.”

“Sounds good.” I lay down across the bench style seat and start to meditate.

I open my eyes to something lightly shaking me.

“It’s time to go.” Luna softly speaks and leaves the suite.

I make sure I have everything and quickly follow after her. Once I catch up and we jump off the train into a field of grass I probe her on the meeting. “How did the meeting with Nightmare go?”

She lets out a sigh as we transition from the grassy field to a somewhat dense forest. “It did not go well. Even getting Tia to agree to the meeting was an ordeal. We heard her out and had an argument that lasted a few hours, in fact we only finished the meeting about 10 minutes before I woke you up. The decision we came to was that sister will speak to the elements and make a final decision after hearing their input.”

“Okay, but what did you make of her situation?”

“I didn’t even really need to hear her out, once you explained what she told you about clearing her head after the separation of our beings… I understood immediately what had happened. If I am allowed another chance to redeem myself then she should be offered the same choice. Tia on the other hoof, vehemently disagrees. She has more contempt and hatred in her heart for Nightmare than any other creature in existence combined. Purely because she blames Nightmare for my banishment, but I believe the blame is equally shared between the two of us. In the end getting her students' opinion on the matter was the only compromise I could get her to agree to. We should have a final answer on how to move forward around the same time as the gala, probably immediately afterwards.”

Perception.

4 + 6 = 10.

“My opinion lies somewhere between the two of you. I think Nightmare's share of the blame is more than yours, but she has manipulated you into thinking you were in control of your actions the entire time. I don’t believe she’s a completely lost cause but she is definitely devious. By the way, is there anything we should be on the lookout for in these woods?” Honestly I’m so glad to have a devil's sight right now. The moon is well into the sky but I can see as if it were daytime.

“Not yet, we’re still technically in Whitetail Woods for now. After an hour or so the view should open back up into a field and we’ll need to keep our eyes peeled from that point on. Although this far western section of these woods is in Deer territory, but I doubt they’d give us any trouble even if we did run into some.”

“Once we’re out of Whitetail Woods though, what are we looking for then?”

“Anything. It’s called the undiscovered west for a reason. The only rumors I’ve heard about the lands we’re venturing into is that the wooded areas host some type of large bipedal furry creatures, and there was one documented interview with a deer that mentioned the forest contains all the same types of insects, bugs, and reptiles as our normal woods, but that they’re much larger.”

“Well that’s unsettling. Can you just wipe my memory of the last 30 seconds so I can forget this conversation?”

Luna glances at me with a smirk. “Oh? Is the mighty knight afraid of bugs?”

“Just spiders. If we run into a giant spider I am literally going to burn the entire forest to the ground.”

Her face actually shifts into a look of surprise. “Truly? I did not expect that… well please do not burn the forest down, and if we run into any giant arachnids, I'll take care of them for you.” Her features harden a bit and the aura in the air shifts into feeling more.. Protective? Luna also slowly closes the distance and walks right next to me.

“Okay listen it’s not that bad. I’m not going to just freeze up and cry if we run into a spider, I don’t need you going full mama bear on me. They just freak me out, that’s all.”

“Of course my big strong paladin. Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe from the scary forest.”

I know if I reply it’s just going to make it worse so I just stare ahead with the most deadpan and annoyed look I can muster.

Eventually we passed through the field she mentioned and entered a different forest. The tree trunks aren’t as dense here, but the branches on these are creating some type of massive canopy that blocks the sky. Sometime around noon we stopped and set up camp. “Alright Luna, do you want to take turns keeping watch and we switch every 4 hours or do you want to just trust in my Alarm spells to keep us informed?”

“Neither. Feel free to set up your Alarms, but I’m going to place an illusion around us that makes it seem like our camp isn’t even here. The only creatures that should stumble across us are creatures that end up passing right by us inadvertently.”

44 minutes and 4 Alarm spells later I’m inside a tent sitting on my bedroll with Luna laying on her side next to me. “Are you going to work on your spell scrolls more? Because if so I’m afraid I must ask that you do it outside the tent. Once you start really getting into it your parchment crinkling and quill noises end up being quite loud.”

“I was going to, but it sounds like it’ll be easier if I just do it when I wake up.” I lean back and lay down on my bed roll and stare at the interior of the tent. She definitely planned this, this tent is just barely big enough for the two of us and I know for a fact we could’ve used the same extravagant tent the sisters used on our trek to the Colosseum.

“Perfect. Sweet dreams, Ignis.”

“How could they be anything but when I have the queen of dreams herself with me?”

Her only response is a snort of amusement. I can’t help but give a small smile before turning onto my side, facing away from the alicorn, ready to sleep. Right as I close my eyes I feel a soft blanket go over my shoulder and across my chest. Cracking open an eye I’m surprised to see that she’s decided to cover me with her wing. Considering how comfortable it was when I woke up in the carriage a week or so ago, I can’t say I dislike the gesture. Sleep takes hold of me fairly quickly after that.