The DESTINY Exploration

Chapter 16: Gauntlet

11 days earlier…

“Hold still, Tom! It won’t fit if you keep struggling, darling!”

“I’m choking on spandex, Rarity! How do you expect me to react-GAH!”

“Sorry, sorry, sorry! Let me just…oh, sit STILL, would you, pumpkin?”

“PUMPKIN, I’m not your boyfriend, Rar-oh God...this hurts…”

“Perfect! Take a look, To-I mean, Starsword!”

I looked in the mirror, checking out the results of an insane five minute struggle to fit me with a bodysuit. The shape turned out really nice for a black bodysuit that Rarity designed to withstand intense magical energy. Twilight told me that today’s practice would involve combat training; in order to prepare for a battle against King Gilgar. Unfortunately, that experience involved absorbing energy attacks and becoming acclimated to pain.

It has been a few days since I received my cutie mark and renamed myself Starsword. The ponies who have known me for a while are finding the adjustment…difficult. Especially Rarity, who was ogling at her ‘masterpiece’; her stares were very discomforting.

Rarity clasped her hooves to her cheeks. “That’s simply marvelous, To-uhh, Starsword! The cutie mark and the suit go well together.”

“Thank you for taking the time out of your day to make this for me. It’ll be extremely helpful when Twilight completely destroys me later.”

“Nonsense, darling!” Rarity tossed her hoof to the side. “You’ll handle her just fine.” Then she gave me a quick wink, and I turned around to walk out of the boutique, blushing.

You just have no self-control, do you, Tom? *sigh*

As I made my way into town, I stopped by Pony Joe’s doughnut shop to pick up a new flavor, the Zap Apple Shocker. Chewing into the jelly monster, I instantly felt a couple jolts of electricity travel up my spine; now I was wide awake, and acutely aware of everything. That’s when I noticed a strange sensation smack me in the back of the head. And…what?

“…”

“…”

“…HEY! You there. Wake up. I have a few questions for you.”

A bright light shone into my face as I cracked my eyes open, looking around at a dark, empty room. A pony with pink curly hair wearing a bodysuit like mine, a pair of goggles, and a green baby alligator on her tail began to interrogate me.

“Where were you on the 6th Friday of last month?”

I thought about this peculiar question for less than a moment. “There is no 6th Friday on any month!”

I received a smack to the face by her hoof. “OUCH! Why’d you do that?!”

“A likely story!” the brutal pony responded. Then she directed me with another odd question. “Why have you been stalking my frie-my target, Twilight Sparkle? She’s my mission, and I can’t have anypony ruining this for me!”

“Umm…” Don’t give too much away. “I’m not stalking her, she’s my teacher.”

“Are you a spy pony, Mr. Swordstar?!”

“It’s Starsword, and how did you know my name?”

The pony smacked me again on the other cheek. “I’m answering the questions here, you fool!”

“But you’re asking ME the questions!”

The pony giggled at me. “Hee hee, silly Pinkie Spy! You’re right, you’re free to go then!” She removed her suit and goggles to reveal a pink pony with a few balloons as her cutie mark.

I pointed straight at my kidnapper. “You’re the pony who’s always working at the bakery!”

“A pony who knows me that I don’t know and have never introduced them to Ponyville with a party and snacks and a warm, warm welcome?! This is...I cannot allow this mistake to go uncorrected!” She smacked her hoof square on the other, affirming her resolve to rectify such a horrible wrong. “Hi, my name is Pinkie Pie, and I want to throw you the bestest, most spectacularific Pinkie Party in Ponyville history! Wee!”

“Uhh, Miss Pie, that won’t be necessary. I’ve been living in Ponyville for a couple weeks already. I know many of the-“

“TWO WEEKS?! How has Pinkie not known of this? I’m absolutely perfect at knowing everypony, and I mean everypony in Ponyville! How did you escape my notice?”

It’s time to drop all restraints, Tom. “Well, Twilight has kept me locked in that tree house of hers most of the time, so I hardly get time outside to myself. I’ve only been around town a couple times, so…”

Pinkie Pie gasped. “You mean that you live with Twilight Sparkle? And you’re receiving training on how to use the magical powers that you received when you got your cutie mark?!”

I widened my eyes at her. “Wait, how did you figure all that out about me?!”

“It’s my Pinkie sense, see?” She pointed at her back legs, as they simultaneously kicked behind her. “This tells me whenever a pony received their cutie mark recently. Isn’t that just a gem?”

No, that’s just weird…and kind of cool, to be honest.

“Well, can we have the party after the Equestrian Amateur Magicians Competition in a few days?”

Pinkie gasped again. “You mean you’re entering the Equestrian Amateur Magicians Competition? That’s exciting! I wanna go!”

Yes, that’s what I said, Pinkie. Oh dear, get me out of here…

“I need to get back to my training with Twilight right away.”

Pinkie stood aside and saluted me. “Okie dokie loki! You are free to leave, sir!”

Walking downstairs into the lobby of Sugar Cube Corner for the first, I could see why people lined up in massive numbers; everything in here was edible paradise. I took my spot at the counter, and rang the bell. An older gentlecolt approached me from the back, gifting me with a warm smile.

“Well, hello there, sir! I’m Mr. Cake, what can I get for you?”

“Do you all happen to serve…cannolis?”

Mr. Cake grinned. “Absolutely, but we-“

I wasted no time in deciding. “Give me your most delicious Florentine cannoli in stock!”

“Goodness, I haven’t even had time to prepare those; I’ll get started on it right away!” Mr. Cake scuttled off to the back, and I could hear frantic conversation happening, as a blue mare with an apron came from the kitchen.

“Oh, thank you dearie for jogging my husband’s memory! We have hardly any walk-in cannolis anymore, they’re usually ordered in bulk. The foreign minister from Ponermo received a recommendation from the Princess to order our cannolis, and we have just been so behind recently, I just…”

I gave her a thoughtful smile. “No worries, Mrs. Cake. I’m Starsword, by the way, please to meet you.”

“Oh, well it is a pleasure. You picked a wonderful flavor; glad you know your pastries!” Mrs. Cake returned from the kitchen with my heavenly treat as we waved each other goodbye.

I received a strange stare from Spike and Twilight as I devoured my precious cannoli. It was the most incredible taste of anything I’ve had since the crash; the filling and caramel was perfect, the shell was the exact crunchiness level I liked, and the chocolate chips didn’t stick in my teeth. The perfect storm of desserts was quickly decimated by my appetite. Twilight approached me, curiously pondering something.

“You took quite a while returning. Did they take that long in making your dessert?”

I shuffled my hooves, figuring out what to say about Pinkie’s ponynapping.

“Well, To-ack…Starsword? What happened?”

“Pinkie Pie happened.” I hope she understands what that means.

“Really? She would, but then again, I can’t be surprised; any new pony that dodges her gets the ‘Pinkamena’ kidnapping treatment. I’m more surprised that the Cakes and the town in general tolerate it.”

“Well, she seems nice…when she isn’t abducting random ponies from street corners. But now she knows about the competition.” It looked like the light in Twilight’s head turned on, so I pressed it further. “So, we never discussed what skills I would need in order to do well in the Amateur Magicians contest.”

“Starsword, this is a perfect time to discuss all of those. You have developed a mastery of levitation and channeling your energy already, so the next step is to train you in maintaining your power. It will be similar to channeling your energy, but instead of simply summoning it, you will be consistent in how much power is used.”

Twilight channeled her magic, and moved her cup of tea from the table to her hooves. She took a couple sips and continued. “For many spells, you don’t need a sudden burst of energy to cast; levitation is an ability that requires merely a small fraction of your power being channeled around the target object. Try it on your cup.”

Very gently, I focused on allowing a small amount of energy fill around the cup. It began to hover towards me at a snail’s pace, when her owl knocked on its wooden stand, and the cup immediately fell to the floor. I had lost my concentration, and glared at the perpetrator who shattered my tea cup.

“Hoo. Hoo.”

“Owlicious, that was very rude!” Twilight clasped Owlicious’ beak shut with her magic, and turned back to me. “Although, that was helpful in discovering how focused you were on that spell. Sometimes, there are moments where our focus gets fractured, either by a noise, an enemy spell, or even drowsiness. You have to make certain your magical energy is obedient to you at all times, or you will lose control.”

“Obedient? You are treating this magic as if it is a person- a pony, Twilight.”

Twilight rolled her eyes at me. “Starsword, magic is a projection of your willpower. If your willpower is weakened, the magic also weakens. Your will is what commands your magic, so will the magic to obey you, even if you get distracted! Try again with my cup this time.”

The magic came back into my horn as I gingerly lifted the cup from the palms of her hooves. It floated a bit quicker than last time, and then I heard a crack on the wooden walls by Twilight’s own hooves. The cup began its descent to the floor, and I screamed in my mind for it to stop falling. It hovered about 3 inches from the ground, and returned to its position mouth-level with me. I took one sip, and let the cup drop to my hooves.

“Very good, Starsword! That was much better. But you don’t have to scream to make the magic work.”

“You heard that scream in my head?” How can she just read my mind like that?

“Not precisely, but I felt your frustration that led to the magic obeying you. If you allow anger to dictate your relationship with your magic, eventually, only anger can channel it. Be gentle next time, and see what happens.”

This exercise lasted for about three days, with each day an improvement. The primary ways I kept a consistent channeling of magical energy were through contentedness, happiness, and sadness. I tried to avoid anger as much as possible, and it worked like a charm. Twilight had allowed me to start visiting the town more often each day, not merely keeping me inside the tree house or the field on the outskirts of town. Visits to Pony Joe’s, Sugarcube Corner, and other in-and-out shops became normal, as I developed a rapport with Pony Joe, the Cakes, and Pinkie Pie. But one thing stuck out in my mind after the third day’s exercises:

I haven’t visited Sweet Apple Acres in two weeks!

“Twilight, I need the day off tomorrow. I haven’t seen the apples in a long time, and they are due for a visit from me.”

Twilight scratched her chin a bit. “Well, if it is that important to you, I guess you could. Just don’t neglect practicing your magic while you are there, okay?”

I bowed thankfully at Twilight. “Thank you very much! I promise to bring back some cider!”

“Wow, really?!” Twilight bounced in place, thoroughly excited at the prospect of consuming tomorrow’s load of cider.

The ride to the apple orchard remained familiar and comfortable, as I mentally pointed to each landmark I recognized along the path. The taxi cab stallion, Carriage, waved me goodbye as he accepted his generous tip money graciously and moved on. Everything looked as it was when I had visited a couple weeks prior; all except for one feature that Applejack was fixing on the roof. The recent rains were heavier than usual, and one of the gutters came loose and bent in an awkward direction.

I trotted over to the side of the house to see what was up.

“Hey, Applejack! Down here!”

Applejack peered over the roof’s edge, and shouted down. “Tom, is that you? Well, I’ll be a timberwolf’s uncle!” She jumped off the roof and landed next to me and gave me a hug. “Mighty glad tuh see ya, Tom! How have ya-woah nelly, is that a cutie mark?!”

I gave a side glance to my backside, and turned it facing her. “Yes, indeed. I received it about five days ago after one of Twilight’s training exercises. I still don’t know what talent I have exactly, but I have a hunch.”

She took me inside of the cottage to fix everyone lunch for the day; everyone was out doing chores around the barn, but would be in soon. Big Macintosh went to the fields to do more apple bucking, Granny Smith was tending to the smaller animals and feeding them, while Applebloom was at Ponyville Elementary with her classmates.

Recounting the weeks since I left the orchard to live at Golden Oaks Library, I gave Applejack an overview of Twilight’s training. Demonstrating levitation to Applejack was simple enough, as I helped her gather dishes and sandwich items for lunch. The peace inside the Apple’s home is serene, very contrary to the labor-intensive lifestyle they practice.

Very soon after we finally set up the table, the Apples marched in, surprised at my appearance in the room. Applebloom charged up to me and leapt onto my back, furiously tapping my head.

“Hey you, where have ya been, Tom?! You haven’t said a word tuh us in weeks!”

I chuckled a bit. “Well, Applebloom, I was busy working on retiring from the Cutie Mark Crusaders.” I pointed to my backside as she squeaked out loud.

“A cutie mark?! Aww, when am I gonna get one, big brother?”

“Well, maybe if ya started workin’ some more on the farm, you’d figure out your true talent. Heh heh heh.” Big Mac gave his youngest sister a pat on the head as he sat down and set up his sandwich.

“Well, howdy, son! It’s been a terribly long time since you been ‘round these part, uhh…what’s yer name ‘gain, sonny?”

“Starsword, ma’am.”

Applejack gasped a bit before responding. “Tom, is that your ‘pony’ name, I reckon? Sounds fantastic, sugarcube!”

“Eeyup.”

Tactical Applebloom incoming. “I gotta get you to appear in mah show and tell tomorrow, Tom!”

Granny Smith chastised her granddaughter. “Now listen here, Applebloom, you can’t just parade anypony ya feel like their yer property, see?”

I’m going to regret this, but… “Granny Smith, it would be a pleasure to be in the school’s show and tell, but only if she promises to call me by my new name. Deal?”

“Deal! Alright!” Applebloom and I exchanged a hearty hoofbump as we all dug into our sandwiches.

Suddenly, a knock on the door took Applejack off her seat; greeting us was the Sensei of Magic herself, Twilight Sparkle.

“Well, hey there, Twi! What brings ya here?”

“I need to retrieve Starsword. We have to leave for Canterlot tonight.”

Canterlot? So soon? Why so soon?

“Okay, Twilight, but let’s finish our lunch before we go. Want to join us?”

Twilight lifted a hoof to deny her offer. “No thanks, Applejack. I already ate. Starsword, ready to go?”

“Okay, Twilight. Thanks for the lunch, y’all!”

After my goodbyes to the Apples, Twilight and I rode the carriage back to the library. She certainly needed to explain this sudden development to us; I barely bit into my sandwich, and nobody messes with me when I have food in my mouth without a good reason.

Twilight handed me a summons from Princess Celestia herself; as if she didn’t send enough of these. Apparently, important news surfaced from the Griffon Kingdom that required our presence at the palace.

Could they have found Jonah? Did Gilgar know of my existence? Did Pinkie Pie kidnap Gilgar?

I had not thought much of my friend since the last time I was in Canterlot. It seems this training and acquainting myself with Ponyville has exhausted quite a bit of energy. Jonah still needs me to remain strong for his sake. I have a little more than 7 months to retrieve the ship and head home, but where the heck is that thing supposed to be? Maybe Celestia did find something out about where it could be located.

All these worries provided enough time to think as we arrived at the Canterlot train station. The city remained as vibrant as ever, with ponies sprawled across the landscape doing their usual window shopping and feasting on gourmet cuisine. Our walk to the castle was, for the most part, uninterrupted, aside from the occasional long lines extended outside of certain stores.

We made it to the entrance of the castle grounds, as Mythril and Obsidian greeted us by name. Showing our papers, we marched into the castle grounds, taking a hidden entrance to the Princess’ throne room. A flower garden was positioned just outside of the stained glass windows I had seen in her throne room; a piece of the wall could open behind the throne. We stepped inside to a patiently waiting Princess Celestia and her two guards.

“Good evening, dear ones. Thank you for arriving.” Celestia glanced at my flank. “I see you’ve finally received your mark, Tom. Congratulations!”

“Thank you, Your Highness.” Giving a slight bow, I corrected the name she issued. “I am now known as Starsword, in memory of my progenitor, Starswirl. His will is mine as well.”

Celestia nodded thoughtfully, and turned to Twilight. “I expect the training is running its course smoothly, my faithful student?”

Twilight smiled and nodded. “Yes, Princess, he is progressing faster than  my classmates in the school when I was a filly. Faster than me.”

Faster than Twilight? Then does this mean that-

“Faster than even you, Twilight? That’s very curious. How did he manage to accomplish that?”

Twilight took a step forward and presented her theory. “I don’t discredit his hard work, but I propose that because the magic he possesses was matured before Starswirl gave it to him, it quickly adapted to its new master. But that is something I cannot verify.”

I hesitantly agreed. “It makes sense, I guess. I know I’ve just become a unicorn, but those exercises were serious business. Not for the faint of heart, for sure!”

Princess Celestia looked amused. “Magic certainly can be surprising.” Then she dipped her head and frowned. “That is why I summoned you both here.”

Twilight stood in front of Celestia, searching her expression. “What happened, Princess?”

“Two griffons visited my castle about 5 days ago. They brought word that Gilgar was planning a massive offensive, but wanted to enlist my aid. It was a ploy to alienate the Prince of the Kingdom, and mark him a traitor. After their return, I received a courier that informed me of King Gilgar’s death. It appeared that the rebellion succeeded.”

There’s always a but…

“But…”

Yep. Knew it.

“…King Gilgar merely possessed his daughter, Gilda, and now controls her as the new Queen of the Griffons. She is planning to calm the rebellion with force. She must be stopped!”

I finally spoke up. “Princess, what are you proposing that we do?”

“Starsword, your main objective, first, is to win the Amateur Magicians Competition. If you can’t win that, you’ll never defeat Gilgar. I guarantee it.”