Author's Notes:

And that's the second half of a simple day of sparring tests.

So much is hidden beneath the surface of this chapter...

Note: Chapter has only been edited by me this time. Please let me know if you happen to notice an error.

It was late afternoon when magic sparring came around. The last task on the day’s list for those of us that needed that kind of combat evaluation.

My body had become well-earned tired muscle. Wearing armor for several hours had left me in need of a shower, but I felt alive and energized once I was out of it. Soon enough, I knew I’d also be mentally exhausted from mental work, both in magic, and Major Thunder’s officer lesson in the evening.

The good Major was perhaps a little too eager to whip me into shape. The guy carried a deep passion to serve, and I’d already gathered he would push me hard to improve and learn how to lead a squad to the best of his ability to teach.

It also gave me a quiet sense of familiarity, remembering how Barry taught me all he knew about firearms when I asked him to out of curiosity. Being former military, he had a lot to share. Asking him to teach me in a military fashion wasn’t the best idea, though it was memorable in the end.

For a few weeks, my best friend back on Earth had been half drill instructor whenever we got together. We made so many ‘prepping for the zombie apocalypse’ jokes…

I had to pull myself out of my memory, realizing I was slipping again.

Nobody spoke about it, but we all knew we were cramming a lot of stuff in for the first couple weeks. The ambiguous timeline, unknown but anticipated dangers we knew we were up against. It gave us incentive to push ourselves.

I felt the intensity of our training regimen weighing on me after just a few days, and saw the exhaustion growing in the eyes of the girls. Even Pinkie wasn’t acting quite as rambunctious, despite her still being dedicated to helping all she saw to smile.

Or question their sanity. It was hard to tell.

Drawing in a deep breath and taking a moment to be grateful that the intense pace wouldn’t last forever, I strode across the field to where Twilight and Rarity appeared to have just finished their own magic sparring tests with our attending battlemage.

Bright Spark’s voice reached my fuzzy gray ears as I got close enough to hear her talking to Rarity.

“-ilure to respond could put you or others in jeopardy, even get you killed, if you take that approach. But as a telekinetic, you’re extremely gifted. Staying aware of what you’re capable of, and what you aren’t, is more important than trying to match casters like me or Twi.”

Rarity didn’t look too happy, and she bore signs of bruises, scrapes, dirt, and a few singe marks. She still managed to stand with dignity, mangled mane and tail notwithstanding, as she responded. “I’ve never managed to do well with very many spells. Thaumic processes remain a general mystery, despite Twilight’s occasional attempts to impart her knowledge. As a seamstress, it has never really been an issue.”

“That’s just how it is for some. However, you are probably the most phenomenally talented unicorn at multiple point control I’ve ever seen.” Bright Spark gave me a brief pleased smile, her eyes telling me she was eager to see me in every sense as I stopped beside Twilight, then turned back to Rarity. “All of your friends seem to epitomize the balancing strengths of the three tribes. You six are somehow born exemplars of all ponykind. I won’t be surprised in the slightest if we shortly discover Fluttershy has Cutting Feather capability. If anything, I expect it at this point, assuming we can ever get her to actually take the tests.

“On that note, I also want you to talk to Sergeant Cactus Root. There are some conceptual similarities in how Cutting Feather pegasi use their gift. He might give you a better insight on how to improve your control when levitating large numbers of small weapons. I’ll mostly only be able to teach you defensive techniques to compliment your blade dancing, or whatever you want to call it. Leave the heavy magic battles to me and Twi. Now you need to call it a day, Rares. You’re real good at hiding it, but I can tell you’re gonna drop and not get back up if I go another round on you.”

Giving a lady-like sigh, Rarity let herself sag as exhaustion flashed across her face. “I suppose I lack the energy to argue. You are quite the brute, Bright Spark, but thank you for getting me to understand quite thoroughly that I should never attempt to engage in real combat casting against a trained mage. I did not truly appreciate how misplaced my assumptions were that I could be modestly capable of it, given my levitation skills. I asked for your best and most thorough method, and I regret doing so.”

Bright Spark grinned, herself looking no different than she did earlier in the day, her full three-toned pink mane covering one twinkling eye. “I warned you up front about what I’d do. Your spellwork is rigid and too set in your familiar patterns. Spell-focused battles haven’t forced you to learn how to adapt how you must. You’ve had an easy life by my standards, Rares. You’re soft and snuggleable, packing seriously sexy flanks, and bangable to the point I’d love to tongue you for hours while you squeal my name. That said, you’re no battlemage. You can get stronger in your own way with time.”

Rarity opened her mouth to respond with an incensed expression, paused, then just sighed again. Her voice carried controlled calm. “I shall keep your words in mind, Disciple Bright Spark.”

With that, Rarity turned and started limping away, giving me a weak nod of acknowledgement, looking too exhausted to say another word.

It was apparent that I didn’t finish the lengthy combat review with Bergthora early enough to spectate Twilight or Rarity during magic sparring. With all the variables going on with me, there were almost twice as many combat tests and capability checks for me to work through as any of the girls.

I had thought the various endurance checks the day before were rough. The testing earlier in the day actually required me to wear armor.

Like when Bergthora got a little too much pleasure out of testing my ability to handle a few calibrated impacts.

Armor only prevented injury from a hit. Sudden changes in inertia from being slammed by what amounted to a hundred pound training bag doing thirty was still rather disorienting.

That it was for monster fighting reasons gave me a fair degree of pause…

Looking at Twilight, she appeared roughed up, but largely alright.

Rarity had looked like she picked a fight with an F5 tornado, and then lost.

With only one pony responsible for magic sparring, I began to wonder if I should be feeling a little more concerned than I was as I raised a brow at Bright Spark.

The mare in question gave me another sly smile. “Mmm… I’ve been dreaming of being very hooves on and working you over all day, hot stuff. I hope you’re ready to satisfy me, because we’re not stopping until then.”

“You making naughty jokes and attempting to seduce me is going to be a regular thing, isn’t it?” I replied with what I hoped was a less than amused look.

Perhaps the worst part about her antics was having to pretend she wasn’t making me want to smile because I thought she was entertaining.

An active lady, loaded with confident sass and a naughty streak meant that Sparky was hitting me right in the fetish. Rainbow was just as bad in her own way.

Could swear both of them already knew it, too.

“Well, you’re just so very fascinating to me. I can’t help but tease you. Maybe I’d be able to stop with the right treatment?” Her tone suggested where she was about to take things.

It didn’t help that Twilight’s emotions only seemed highly curious about the whole thing.

If she’d just be jealous, I could lock down the matter in a heartbeat.

Of course, instead of keeping matters simple, Twilight was all but telling me directly that she was interested.

That didn’t even begin to cover the issue with Rainbow. That mare knew she had my attention in no small way. And Twilight seemed almost hopeful, to top it off.

My thoughts were interrupted with Rainbow on my mind, when a mild pressure on my shoulders made me snap back out of my thoughts again, the sight before me not giving me any time to worry about mentally drifting so often the whole day.

Bright Spark was standing on her hind legs, forehooves against my shoulders, with her almost white, pale yellow nose a scant inch from mine.

A playful, breathy chuckle escaped her lips, her words anything but kosher. “I mean, exposure therapy can work wonders. A nightly treatment plan perhaps? A bit of personal attention to help me recover? You injecting your thick, heavy medicine nice and deep into my problem areas?”

I had to fight the urge to swallow the lump in my throat, refusing to give any visible sign that her efforts were working on me, even as I tried to ignore my ears twitching. A moment more and I let myself focus on the idea that Twilight wouldn’t approve and was just being polite.

The attempt didn’t last two seconds.

Yeah, with being able to sense Twilight’s emotions directly without looking, I couldn’t even lie to myself about it.

Why was it so hard to just shove Sparky away, or even react very much? Am I that attracted to her?

At least my ears don’t feel like they’re about to catch fire, nervously pressed to my white-maned head. Heart isn’t racing, either. Nope.

Stupid, traitorous ears.

Maybe I should have waited to shift to pony mode until we were ready to start the test. Knowing I had to do several tests with my magic at it’s strongest, I hadn’t shifted back all day.

“Y-you seem pretty sure of yourself,” I said, cursing my momentary stutter. “You’re as bad about personal space as Cloud Kicker.”

Another breathy chuckle came from Bright Spark as she seemed to press even closer. “Nah...she’s got her personal ruleset. I don’t have any rules to stop me beyond getting you to beg for it first. Absolutely fantastic with her tongue, though. I know you haven’t tried it yet.”

Struggling to keep my focus, my curiosity snuck past and the words were out before I knew they were coming. “How the bloody hell would you know that? You know her?”

Bright Spark’s visible eye danced with mirth as she let out a soft giggle. “Of course I know her. Who's naughty bits do you think I woke up with pressed against my muzzle this morning? She’s got a taste like fluffy, tart strawberries, and tends to gush when she peaks. She wanted you to know that, by the way.”

A shiver ran down my spine and it was only by autopilot that I pulled back suddenly, turning away as I tried to get control of myself, fuzzy ears twitching all the more. Bright Spark’s hooves slipped from my shoulders as I got a little distance.

Another moment where I was eminently grateful my pony mode came with that odd pelvic muscle to prevent certain things from popping up.

Though I didn’t regret teaching Twilight where to press to make it relax on command. Twilight seemed to enjoy asking me to resist and letting her hit my release button, as it were.

It occurred to me that I was surrounded by closet perverts, by human standards anyway.

When my eyes landed on Twilight sitting close by, I saw her wearing a heated look and busy making notes as she stared at me with a blush. The paper and quill hovered beside her, still scribbling away, seemingly with little attention.

That reminded me that I was also in love with a pervert. Still hadn't gotten used to that.

“You… You did not just take notes about me getting harassed,” I said with some incredulity.

Twilight’s blush deepened as she gave me a sheepish grin that made her look far too adorable, tapping her forehooves together. “I just want to learn what sorts of things work on you so I can use them later. None of the books I’ve read were very logical, so I want more data about ways to excite you. I can feel the effect Sparky has on you, and she still barely knows you.”

The mental gymnastics my brain was attempting to do to process everything were probably impressive. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t have access to that department and found I was locked out in the hall.

Then I realized I wasn’t getting back any mental clarity, drifting further still as though swept away by an unseen current.

Without knowing when, Twilight had moved during the blank spot, holding a hoof to my cheek.

I was breathing faster than I should have been, a strange tension registering. My thoughts seemed to be clouded without any immediate explanation.

From her close proximity, Twilight’s scent seemed to act like a focal point, and the growing haze slowly faded back from my awareness, breathing returning to normal.

“--jin? Talk to me. You’re worrying me.” Twilight’s voice was soft as she spoke, her wings wrapped around my shoulders.

I hugged her tighter for a moment as I took another slow breath, then pulled back. Meeting her eyes, my own voice was low as I spoke. “I think we need to have a chat after I’m done here. Something isn’t right, but I don’t know what to call it. I haven’t learned much about combat magic yet, so there won’t be much to do a sparring test on.” I saw Twilight open her mouth to reply but I answered the expected question on her mind before she could speak. “No, I don’t want to put it off to figure this out. I can put up with one last test to finish off the day. We won’t get any mercy in a real fight.”

Twilight frowned at that, looking like she would argue before conceding. “Vojin, you’re too stubborn for your own good sometimes. Something isn’t right with how distracted you’ve been getting. That little episode you just had could mean a lot of different things, and possible magical side effects, from a large number of potential sources.”

Taking a moment to rub the bridge of my gray muzzle, I had to focus as the absurdity of having a muzzle tempted me with another mental tangent before I felt like I had myself back in some semblance of mental order.

When my eyes fell on Bright Spark, I noticed a strange calculating look in her eyes for a brief moment before she schooled her expression. The glimpse of coldness in her eyes was so fast that it only stood out after getting used to seeing her with a playful look in the short time I’d known her. I didn’t know what to make of it as I turned back to Twilight.

Giving Twilight a frown as I brought my hand down, “Ok, is it anything we should be immediately concerned about, or can I do this test first? Sparring does help clear my head. Aside from that little blank out just now, it only feels like I need to meditate for a while, or take a nap. I should be fine. Could just be some delayed effects from trying to make sense of everything after having that spell influencing my mind.”

She looked at me for a long moment, then sighed, “As far as I can tell, there’s nothing I can find with the quick field scan I ran on you while you were out of it. I’d be more comfortable if I could do some more extensive tests immediately, but as much as I’d like to tell you not to, there isn’t anything saying you can’t do a short magic test. Sparky is an extremely skilled mage, so I’m sure she can recognize any symptoms of a developing issue with you magically.”

It occurred to me just then that I’d essentially experienced a mental blue screen. Vojin experienced a fatal error and had to close. Please contact manufacturer for assistance if problem persists.

I tilted my head to one side and made a confused scowl at the ground for a moment.

Quit it, brain. This is serious.

Squashing that last mental derailment, I looked back to Twilight, “Alright. Bergthora gave me the basics of what this test requires, so it should hardly take more than ten minutes at most. Then I will sit through whatever tests you want to run until you’re satisfied, ok?”

“Promise?” Twilight said in a tone that made me feel guilty for not letting her simply abscond with me on the spot to her heart’s content.

“I promise, Purple Angel. I’ll get this test out of the way, then we can spend the rest of the day figuring out why I’m so scatterbrained. It’s probably just as mundane as me needing time to deal with everything that’s happened so fast. You know how much it’s weighing on me.”

Bright Spark stepped up next to us then. “I’ll keep an eye on him for any indications of something going wrong. Once I put him through his paces, he’s all yours again. In fact, knowing about the link you two have, why don’t you put the isolation dome up for me. If you sense more than just combat stress from him, drop it and I’ll stop immediately. Also, if you’ll let me, I’ll place a teleportation tag on you. If I see something happen with him during the test, I’ll grab you so you won’t even have to think about dispelling the dome first.”

Twilight gave Bright a small nod. “Alright. Sounds like a plan. Thanks, Sparky.”

Turning to me after she cast the tag over Twilight, Bright Spark wore a smug smile. “While I’d love to be all over you a different, messier way, I’m still gonna enjoy playing rough with you for a bit. Walk that tightly muscled rump into my arena so I can pound it, hot stuff. When you lose, there will be a spanking.”

I met her playfully narrowed eyes with a flat expression. “There really is no end to it with you, is there?”

Deciding to just get the coming abuse over with as soon as possible, I marched to the middle of the fifty foot circle on the grassy field as Bright Spark gave a low chuckle and followed.

With a last look at Twilight and giving her a nod, her horn lit up. A glowing magenta dome spread out from overhead and to the marked edge of the sparring circle.

I knew the spell that made the dome blocked vision and sound from passing through it as a primary function. There were some other aspects, but most of it focused on diffusing any stray spells or magic bolts from flying off by accident.

For all intents and purposes, I was trapped in that dome with Bright Spark until it was dispelled.

“Mmm… Finally have you all to myself, hot stuff.” Bright Spark purred as she began walking a tight circle around me, looking me up and down with her horn channeling magic I couldn’t seem to identify from passive sensing. “Give me a summary of where your magic training is at since the Trial of Proving. As per tradition, we were hidden, but I was one of the mages running containment of the arena when the Prince-Consort used you as a chew toy.”

I quirked a brow, figuring she’d known about that event, but that she’d seen it herself was a surprise. The reminder of that severe butt kicking still gave me mixed feelings. I was reasonably certain she knew my magic level already too, but she was the one running the test.

“Well, I haven’t made much progress past the basic elemental manipulation spells so far. I’m also still struggling to make headway in shields larger than a melon that have any strength. Most of my learning is still highly focused on just learning the foundations. Telekinesis is gradually getting tighter, but I still haven’t managed very legible writing. Teleportation only happened because some of my knowledge from Earth gave me the ability to follow the processes early. Same with some personal gravity manipulation. Both are still a challenge not to overwork myself with when I do practice them. I get really dizzy and drained after three teleports together in a few minutes.”

Giving a quiet acknowledgement, she carried on. “Info on you says you sensed Discord’s general presence from over a mile away. Care to tell me how you did that?”

As Bright Spark continued to make her tight circuit around me, horn still aglow, her tail starting swishing. Each consecutive pass, she began to swat me on the backside a little more.

Choosing not to react to whatever she was up to, distracting as it was, I answered. “My training on Earth included aura sensing and interpretation. I’m not entirely certain, but I believe I could sense his presence due to his high level of power. I can sense Celestia and Luna to a certain degree as well, though it’s hard to word why they don’t stand out so much. They’re good at restraining themselves maybe? Really brilliant auras though. Since coming to this world, I’ve found I can meditate and see the auras of any living being far more clearly, too.”

“Interesting. Aura work is usually not very practical due to the minor magical aspects it touches, kind of like chakra systems. Good for enhancing self-mastery, at least. Could be very useful in certain ways for tracking and threat detection, if you know how to do that. It typically takes most mages that pursue it over ten years of practice to become proficient. How long have you been at it?” Bright Spark said, still circling me.

“I’ve been training with aura work for longer than ten years,” I replied. “It was actually a little annoying to find out auras and chakras are minor systems when they’re among the few areas of magic still accessible on Earth.”

“Hmm…,” Bright paused for a short time before continuing, her relaxed tone seeming almost out of place with the questionable contact of her tail. “I want you to show me the basic tangible elemental creations. Then tell me what kind of training you feel up for. I want to know how hard you want to push. I need an honest answer though. No false claims like some can get in their heads. Magic battles are won and lost in the span of a single thought. Egos get you killed.”

Not knowing what to say in the moment, and trying to ignore her tail swatting lightly against my rear every time she circled around me, I huffed and held out my arms in front of myself, palms turned towards each other a few inches apart.

I drew on my magic and formed a golf ball-sized orb of earth, then water, fire, lightning, air, ice, light, shadow, and pure mana.

Simple enough as that was to do, I knew actually being able to direct such elements in any useful manner was mostly out of my skill range.

I could improvise a localized effect within a few inches of my hands and horn, but I still couldn’t do stuff like launch a fireball, or shoot lighting at something. Without a cohesive spell or driving will, the energy that forged elemental forces simply dissipated almost immediately without a constant direct conduit from me.

Bright Spark gave an acknowledgement as my gaze turned to where I knew Twilight was standing on the other side of the glowing purple wall of the isolation dome.

What I wanted or hoped to do for my own interest came second to knowing I was somehow sent to help keep Twilight safe. I had no idea what I was going to be up against in the future.

As I thought about how to say what I wanted for training in combat magic, I thought of what I knew about mages and their Orders in Equestria. I just didn’t know that much, or what to ask, forcing me to guess at possibilities.

“Would you be willing to train me like an apprentice of the Disciples?” I said earnestly. The Disciples had the most capable reputation as battle magi that I knew of, and Bright Spark was one of them.

To my slight confusion, Bright Spark froze in place, her tail silently slid away from the most recent swat as she went still. For almost half a minute, she didn’t even twitch an ear.

Her voice was different when she finally spoke, carrying a strange tone as she responded at lengtyh without looking at me. “The only way I would do that is if you request to become an actual Apprentice of the Order, stallion. Our methods are both unique and secret. If you choose to take the test of a Candidate, you have the capacity to pass, but you will die if you fail. We do not make exceptions. Our Order is one of the few with the Crown’s approval for such.”

My eyes flicked back to where I knew Twilight stood, so close, yet blocked from knowing what I was doing during the test with Bright Spark.

As a physical fighter, I was capable. I had experience to draw on.

Then I thought of the unknown threats to come, and how much Shining Armor had outclassed me in the Trial of Proving when he went all out against me.

There was so little I could do in return, beyond a lucky surprise attack he didn’t think I could pull off.

How many times and ways he had obliterated me with his magic alone, changing his tactics merely to give me new ways to be beaten?

My abilities in a magic-based fight left me hardly better than a child.

There wasn’t much of a choice for me to dither about with. “I have to be ready for whatever is coming, Disciple Bright Spark. That means I need to be as strong as I can be in as short a time as can be done. It doesn’t matter how hard it might be. If joining the Disciples is the most effective route to being the strongest I can be in this crazy ass world of magic, then that’s what I have to do.”

Bright Spark moved silently to stand in front of me a few feet away, looking up into my eyes with a cold look similar to the one I had caught a glimpse of earlier. After seeing her almost always wearing a smile of some sort in the short time I had known her, the look in her eye felt far more ominous for the difference.

Her look was one of unending fury I’d never seen until that moment.

“You’ll find no better than the Disciples when it comes to battlemages tasked with taking life from others,” she began.

“To join us will break you, like all of us have been broken. We few are held together by force of will and our demand for vengeance. We are just, but not gentle. We are controlled, but have no mercy. We relish the blood we spill, flirting with the madness of a murderer. We pray for death by our own brothers and sisters of the Order should we lose our way. We are hunters without remorse that even the denizens of Tartarus know to fear. Our mournful path is without peace once begun. To the last breath, we fight.”

I had a sense that Bright Spark was speaking something old. The presence she held in the moment was unsettling.

“Vojin Drayce, this is your final chance. Any further, your life is bartered.” Bright Spark’s gaze held no warmth as she looked back at me. It was pure cold fury. A tempest restrained by no more than raw will. “You have been told what you seek to bring upon yourself. Make no mistake, fail my test and I will kill you.

“Now… Tell me your decision on requesting to join the Disciples of the Deathwalker.”

For several tense seconds, I couldn’t speak as I met her gaze. My mind was clear from the rising anticipation of battle, distractions pushed aside. In that moment, I felt I couldn’t let myself question whether I was thinking it through enough or not.

Instead, I thought of Twilight, of Rainbow, the friends I had gained.

Of those I would never see again.

Of the coming battles, the unknown dangers to come.

Of the time limit on my life no matter what I did.

And how my whole life, I couldn’t turn away from someone in danger.

The air was still within the isolation dome as I straightened, the heavy silence broken as my right fist connected to my left palm in the tradition of the kung fu I had studied, my head bowing briefly with my hands out in front at shoulder level before meeting her gaze again.

Disciple Bright Spark knew my answer as she gave a faint snort. For the first time since I had met her, she reached up and pulled the hood of her cloak over her head, her voice coming out in a harsh snarl.

“So be it.”

Her cloak seemed to ripple before pulling inward, drawing in tight to her body as it pulled back from her legs to reveal the polished steel hoof guards and vambraces I had only seen now and then. The hood seemed to almost melt as it formed into a cowl around her head, body appearing black as night in the effect as her strange cloak covered all but the area around her eyes, and her mane and tail.

It was then that I finally saw the lines of her body as the cloak became like a second skin.

Where Rainbow Dash was a lithe athlete, Bright Spark was visually a match for any soldier. The physical bulk her cloak had been hiding belied the playful demeanor she’d held, or how light her armor-clad hoof could feel.

She raised her head high as her horn shone brighter, the soft yellow hue of her magic descending down from above as the isolation dome changed to her own coloration. Her eyes remained locked on mine the entire time without blinking.

When it was done, her horn dimmed and she turned her head so her mane hid her eyes from view, letting out a mirthless, somehow cruel chuckle. “It never gets old to me. Play along the right way, expectation and patience does almost all the work for me. Working for the Disciples keeps giving me so many opportunities to craft these moments. And I have the Crown’s trust at the same time.”

As she turned her gaze back to me, a sinking feeling began to form.

“I don’t even have to pretend now. We’re locked inside this dome, free from interference for as long as I want. Certainly far longer than I need, but I get to play for a bit this way,” she continued on with cold humor. “You see, I am a killer for hire. Don’t much care why, but a certain party wants you dead. And you let me get everything set up so neatly to execute you in a believably legal way, it’s laughable. Even failed to notice I layered a lovely little charm over your magic to stunt your mana flow to a trickle, just because I kept swatting my tail against that cute ass of yours. Well, you’d be lucky to even know how to counter the spell in the first place, but it’s the lack of thought that counts.”

With that sinking feeling rapidly growing, I was really hoping this was just part of the test as I tried to draw on my magic. The sluggish response and limited power that answered worsened the feeling as my heart raced.

Bright Spark rolled her shoulders, starting to flex her limbs in a casual manner and almost dismissive of me standing before her. “Go ahead, take your time. I certainly can at this point. I like watching as the realization sinks into a target. I’ll get to using you as a training bag prior to turning you to ash soon enough. I love to savor these moments of dawning horror. Specifically, when the full depth of the shit you’re in is revealed. Like finding out you aren’t the only target I’m after.”

Her words ran through my mind, a ball of ice forming in my gut as the possibilities carried along, implications slowly sinking in.

“Since you’ve entertained me so much for the past few days, I’ll make you a deal. I take great pride in never changing a contract with a client. You are the only mandatory kill. Your pretty little princess happens to be just a secondary for a bonus. Keep me back for ten minutes, I won’t finish her off. I do this more for the thrill than the money, so make it fun for me and you’ll save her. She should reach the hospital in time. No promises about what others do for her.”

Bright Spark threw a couple strikes at empty air for a moment before going still and looked at me expectantly, the coldness in her eyes unwavering.

I struggled to form words. “You’re… What kind of psycho are you?”

She huffed and rolled her eyes. “Flattery won’t change anything. Anyway, you know the deal. Let’s get this started!”

Her horn lit up once more, the aura visible through the hood turned cowl, and then Twilight appeared next to her with a soft yellow flash.

Surprised by the sudden involuntary teleportation, Twilight glanced at me, then at Bright Spark. “What happened? I sensed Vojin getting really tense, but nothing I expected would warrant bringing me in. Why did you use the teleportation tag and pull me into the isola~AAALCK!”

My heart stopped as Bright Spark’s armored forehoof connected with Twilight’s throat, cutting her off mid-sentence. The force was enough to knock Twilight’s head back, her mane trailing around her face.

Before I even had time to react, Bright Spark had followed up to strike a wing with a wet crunch. I was starting to move as a third strike caught Twilight in the jaw with another crunching sound. A desperate hand was flying forward to knock the mare away as an armored hoof found purchase against Twilight’s foreleg, an unnatural bend forming.

The last instant before I could make contact, Bright Spark teleported. I almost connected hard with Twilight as she collapsed and I struggled to shift the momentum of the strike. It was all I could do just to slow her fall to the ground.

Desperate to figure out what the bloody hell I was supposed to do, I stepped across Twilight’s rasping, writhing form so I covered her as best I could. The sound of her struggling to draw breath, knowing she needed immediate medical attention, tore at my heart.

Through our link, I was freaking out, and I felt her panic spike as mine did, forcing a terrible clarity to take over me. I had no time to gauge how much pain she had to be in as I pushed out all distraction, only keeping aware of her lying wounded below me.

It was mere moments of trying to see where Bright Spark went before a sudden hit to the middle of my spine forced a pained grunt as I struggled not to fall forward. I turned sharply in an effort to hit back, trying to keep her back without moving away from Twilight, yet finding only a receding flash of teleportation and empty air.

Whipping back and forth as Bright Spark continued to blink around within the isolation dome, a heavy impact found the side of my ribs.

“Guh...!” Breathing suddenly became a struggle, quick to recognize a cracked or broken rib from prior experience.

Bright Spark appeared ten feet away, looking back at me with a cold eagerness. “Realized you’re going to die yet, stallion? Perhaps clinging to the false hope you’ll be able to stop me somehow? It’s a pity they put such hopes on you, only for you to fail so soon. Let me drive home the reality of this moment a little more.”

She disappeared in a flash again, then appeared beside me as she struck the side of my left knee before I could even react, nearly blowing it out if I hadn’t moved with the hit, and flowing right into a stomping strike at the base of Twilight’s horn before vanishing again. To my horror, I could see the small crack left behind as Twilight tried to scream, her damaged throat only managing a harsh croak as my heart and mind raced.

“Just in case you thought a bookish princess might still somehow save the day. Can’t cast around a cracked horn. The pain would ruin any capacity to hold a spell together, if you haven’t trained to surpass it.” Bright Spark mused from behind me, again a short distance away where I could not reach as I struggled to turn.

I couldn’t hide the shock on my face as I looked back at the mare. The severity of how outclassed I was left me stunned, even beyond the pain I was already feeling. And she was getting barely started.

There was no way for me to stop a trained mage without catching them by surprise.

And Bright Spark was focused fully on me, free of any distractions.

“Tell you what,” Bright Spark began, beginning to stalk a wide circle around me. “Short range teleportation being my personal talent, I could keep hitting you from behind all day. I need almost no power to cast it. Unfortunately, that won’t be as much fun. How about I only teleport away when I land a hit on you first, hmm? Give you a chance to at least try to block. I’ll also only start breaking bones when the game is almost over. Having never met anything quite like you, I want to see how you come apart. One piece at a time.”

Glaring back at her, racking my mind for something to work with, I growled. “Maybe you could’ve blamed killing me on some initiation test, but nobody will believe that with Twilight.”

Bright Spark gave a snort of amusement. “Oh, that? Yeah, I don’t really have to care once she’s dead. I could just claim she tried to jump in during the candidate test and got killed in the process. As it is, she won’t survive an hour without help. Possibly not even as long as it takes for me to finish you off. Maybe I’ll make you watch her die, instead. That usually gets me a beautiful expression of anguish. Try to stop me, pretty boy. I’m done talking.”

With that, she surged forward, curving around towards me as she broke into a run. Jumping into the air, Bright Spark’s forehoof shot forward towards my cheek.

I moved to block it…

...then saw her armored hoof pass through my arm and slam against the side of my face before she teleported away again.

Stars flashed in my vision from the hit as I tried to recover, trying to locate her again as the flare of pain ran it’s course with the dull burn of another injury layering in with what I‘d already taken.

She struck again, another block failing to defend before she moved back and stalked around me again. Then another that drove me to one knee because I refused to move away from Twilight’s rasping form.

Not able to spare enough time to glance down, I picked myself back up to keep track of Bright Spark. The sound of Twilight’s weak, ragged breathing seared into my ears as I tried to fathom what I could do.

Something in the hits felt off from what I expected. Every blow, her strike passed through my attempts to block like my arm wasn’t even there.

By the laws of magic I’d learned, she couldn’t possibly be powerful enough to phase matter so accurately and still physically hit me in such a short span of time.

What wasn’t I seeing?

Pulling up my magic the best I could, I slowly drew in what energy was still accessible. Maybe there was a way to get a lucky shot. I could feel whatever charm Bright Spark had placed over my magic trying to bleed off the energy I struggled to raise.

Without something, I was at her non-existent mercy.

Just as she charged forward and struck the other side of my ribs before teleporting away again, I noticed the charm was changing the draining focus between my magic expression points at my horn and hands.

It was a single-target spell.

With my unique gift granting me more than one expression point, I could subvert that part of whatever Bright Spark had cast.

It would be difficult to draw up any power on top of it, and Twilight warned me not to, but my eyes narrowed at Bright Spark as I relaxed almost all control over the magic in my horn and felt the charm fix itself there as my limited capacity began to flow unchecked into the draining effect. The highly disturbing sensation of what I could only say felt like my soul being slowly squeezed in that direction was forced out of mind.

After a couple short minutes, I’d pass out from magical exhaustion and I’d be as good as dead, but until then, magic formed at my hands would be free to build. A slow charge was still something I could possibly use, and an ambient charge could be formed into a spell, though it was inefficient over prepared casting.

I saw Bright Spark narrow her eyes at me with a look I couldn’t place, then charge forward again. Another attempt to block, another blow to the head landing as pain bloomed in my left eye.

When the next attack came in low, I caught another small break when my view was looking in the right spot to see it happen.

Just before the blow passed my attempt to block as before, I saw a depression appear in the grass in the shape of a hoof.

In that moment, I realized Bright Spark was displacing her position with an illusion of some kind. My fighting experience had been telling me she was positioned wrong for how she hit, and I’d figured out why.

It was at that time she also ended her pause between attacks.

With so much ingrained in a fighter’s response to visuals, trying to anticipate an invisible blow was near impossible, but she could only connect close to the illusory image from so far off.

Forcing myself to block where I thought she was coming from on the next attack, I caught her hoof with a forearm and managed to deflect most of the force before she teleported away again.

She paused out of reach for a second, a calculating look in her eyes. “Hmm…”

I could only guess what she saw as she charged forward again, a sudden combo got me a blow to the kidney and another cracked rib. When she appeared behind me, I had no time to react when she delivered a powerful hit to the back of my right knee, nearly breaking the joint as I landed on it. Despite how painful it was to stay put, I kept trying to cover Twilight the best I could. Putting weight on that leg would take too much out of what little I had left as I heaved for each painful breath.

Knowing I was quickly running out of time, I pushed the mild magical charge I had been able to gather into my right hand. I needed to know where she really was, and hoped I could disrupt the illusion. It was all I could think of with my limited training.

Two more blows from the side and behind, then she came at me from the front again.

When she got in range, I didn’t take time to block as I tried to strike where I thought she’d be.

My right fist flew forward and connected with invisible resistance, getting a soft yellow flicker of her face before the sound of something small exploding was heard, and the illusory Bright Spark vanished in a brief cloud of magic sparks. The isolation dome lost the soft yellow color and became magenta again at the same time.

“Mother bucker!” came Bright Spark’s voice from beneath me.

Snapping my useable eye down, I saw Disciple Bright Spark laying where Twilight had been, armored forehooves pressed against her skull at the base of her horn, eyes squeezed shut in pain. What looked like a shattered spell crystal of some kind lay not far in front of her face.

The sudden shift of events seemed to snap something in my head, and all I could do was stare. Even the pain in my body seemed to dull and grow distant.

After a moment, she pulled her hooves back and looked up at me with pain in her eyes. “Some kind of special ability, indeed. Gonna have a nasty migraine for hours now because of you. Still, I’m very glad I won’t have to kill you. You passed, Candidate.”

I tried to think of an answer, but was somehow unable to respond.

Why wasn’t I feeling any concern about that?

Why was everything but errant thoughts suddenly miles away?

Looking up at me, Bright Spark seemed to grimace for a different reason. “Shit, I was afraid this would happen. Vojin, I know you can hear me but not respond. I’ll give you the quick and dirty. The test is over. Twilight was never in the dome with us, and she wasn’t in any danger. That was all a ruse. I’m not a merc. You are going to need some special help, but you’ll be alright afterward. If you are even able to control your physical body right now, don’t try to move around much. I might have been using a powerful illusion, but your injuries aren’t fake. You’ll need medical attention on top of magical help. At least you should be cognitively unable to notice any pain sensation for the time being.”

Teleporting out from beneath me, she stood in front of me as she pulled back her hood, her cloak shifting back to the draping garment it was before. Looking back into her eyes, I saw a hard edge with a strange glimmer of sadness, her voice so faint I wasn’t certain she was talking to me at first.

“Those in Tartarus watch us closely. They know when and who we recruit. A quiet life will never exist for you again. You’re among the shadows now…”

Turning her head, Bright Spark’s horn pulsed once.

The isolation dome fell moments later and Twilight rushed over to me, worry evident in her eyes and our link.

Seeing her whole and unharmed squeezed my heart even through the odd state I was in.

As soon as she was close enough, I watched my body lash out and my arms wrapped around her as tight as I could manage, noticing something grinding in my ribs and unable to feel much of it. All I could do was cling to her as my chin came to rest on her shoulder. My emotions were a torrent and a blank at the same time.

“Eep! Vojin! What’s going on? What kind of sparring test did you do? Sparky, what happened? I felt him become completely terrified. Why did you rough him up so badly?” Twilight held me back, sounding accusatory in her questioning Bright Spark.

All I could think for a moment was that Twilight wasn’t hurt.

That I wasn’t about to lose her.

I couldn’t lose anyone else.

As though it was all that needed to be explained, Bright Spark simply said, “He asked to join the Order.”

“Wha-what…?” Twilight’s voice faltered, shuddering as she gripped me a little tighter, unaware of my internal damage as she nuzzled the side of my head. “No, no, no. Vojin, please tell me you didn’t. They might work for the crown, but they’re extremely dangerous! Please, please tell me you didn’t try to join them. Half of their applicants are killed just taking their tests.”

“He can’t answer you at the moment, Twi,” Bright Spark said. “Either way, it doesn’t matter. He is now a Candidate of the Disciples. That’s not the most important part at the moment anyway. He’s experiencing a Mind Latch. If he goes to sleep, or his injuries make him lose consciousness, without his head being fixed first, he’ll slip into a Mind Lock coma. General estimate from what factors I currently know is a four year trap. We can’t move him much, and definitely not touch him with any direct magic, until he shifts to the next stage and we know how his mind is coping. I have a set of prepared spell stones to start healing it, but you know they have to be activated in order, based on the state of his mind. Once he’s progressed enough, we can get him initial medical care at the library. The local thaumic stabilizations in your lab will make our job much easier.”

“I will talk to you about it later, Bright Spark,” came Twilight’s voice in a tone I hadn’t heard from her before, then her head lifted from mine, worry and confusion running through her words. “How can he be at risk for Mind Lock? That’s a seer’s disease caused by mental overload from being exposed to overwhelming futures or visions. Vojin isn’t that kind of mage, nor has he shown any inclination for visions.”

Bright Spark replied in a quiet tone that I thought was at odds with how brutal she’d been during the test. “Celestia gave me a warning he might have set himself up for it after breaking the Rose Window. You know how risky that spell is if something goes wrong with it. Breaking free of it like he did, it seems like everything went wrong for him, though not even Celestia knows why. I asked.

“Until now, it was just theory that breaking a Rose Window like he did could induce Starsight Syndrome. I know how to fix it, but I’ll need your help to be sure things stay balanced. Don’t expect to get any sleep tonight, either. We’ve got around a twelve hour mental healing to do for him. Thank Celestia’s precautions for giving me the prepared reagents we’ll need, just in case this happened. Also, he’s got broken ribs, among other injuries, so don’t hold him too tight. He probably can’t feel much right now, but he took a lot of hard hits from me. Saw him face Prince Armor during the Trial, so probably not, but a bad enough burst of pain could still potentially knock him out, and he’d be much worse off.”

I felt Twilight’s grip suddenly become far more delicate, my ear close enough to hear her swallow. Whatever a Mind Latch was, I didn’t know. I just couldn’t seem to control my body beyond clinging to Twilight. Rampant confusion was all I could manage to feel.

With a far more gentle nuzzle to the side of my head,Twilight spoke softly into my gray ear so only I could hear her, words coming as a faint plea. “Please stop getting hurt so much…”

The sound of wings in the air reached my ears just then, followed by Rainbow Dash landing in my field of view. Her expression darkened as she looked at me, starting to make her way closer. “Hey, mind telling me why Vojin looks like he went to Tartarus and b-ACK!”

Still seeming unable to control my body, I was further confused when one arm suddenly pulled away from Twilight to snake around Rainbow, yanking her into a tight hug as I started shaking.

“I’m, uh, happy to see you too?” A confused Rainbow Dash said, her chin coming to rest on top of my head when I didn’t respond, subtly pressing herself closer. “Um, Twi. You mind explaining?”

With my mind locked up, Rainbow’s nearer wing pressing itself lightly to me where it couldn’t be seen was odd in how much it stood out. Most pegasi kept their wings tight, even when hugging a friend, leaving more questions to linger in my malfunctioning mind.

How does she really see me? Was there something I did to catch her attention that I couldn’t recall because of my messed up memories of the past two months?

Though I hadn’t asked, I had gotten a sense that Rainbow didn’t get close to stallions beyond one night stands. She never got touchy beyond a close friend, yet she treated me differently enough that I noticed.

As questions whirled through my mind in the midst of whatever was wrong, I felt a powerful urge to let out a battlecry, scream in terror, laugh my head off, and even give a dreary sigh. The only reason I couldn’t manage to do anything seemed due to nothing staying long enough for me to react before it shifted again. The ringing tone starting in my ears was just another confusing part of it all.

Twilight gave another tiny nuzzle to my ear before her head lifted. “It’s a complex magic issue. He’s dealing with substantial mental interdiction, and can’t currently react to stimulus as…,” Twilight paused, giving a weak huff before continuing. “The short answer is we need to wait for Vojin. He’s going to be fine after we fix the problem. Once we know how his mind is moving, Sparky and I can get to work. Please be gentle, too. She got really rough with him.”

Rainbow didn’t make an audible reply, her chin rubbing the top of my head before going still.

Letting out a sigh, Bright Spark moved around where I could see her, her expression mixed as she placed a hoof against the back of the hand I had on Rainbow’s back. “Vojin, from now on, the bulk of your training comes from me. My test was the unwinnable fight, and how you face your own impending death. You weren’t supposed to break my illusion. I was going to tear into you even more. Right until you looked up into my eyes as I acted like I was going to crush your skull and end you. You can stare death in the face and keep your wits. Even better that you held on for the sake of another. That is why you passed.”

For whatever reason, my hand moved of it’s own accord and held Bright Spark’s hoof there against Rainbow’s back. I didn’t know what to think of the mare in that moment after everything she’d just done.

Her other hoof came up to hold my hand, a curious tone to her words.

“Regardless of whatever you think of me once we heal your head, you have my word that I’ll never lie to you again. There may be times I tell you a half-truth out of necessity, but I will never lie. Since I’d be surprised to see you fail the test of the Apprentice after what I’ve learned about you so far, you’ll understand what it means to be a Disciple in due time.”

The only clear thought in my head about it was wondering what I’d just signed myself up for by seeking to join the Disciples.

Some distance away, I noticed Major Thunder Breaker land and look our way before starting to head over with a concerned look.

The ringing tone was gradually fading as my shaking began to subside, my eyes slowly closing as my face turned to press against Twilight.

Bright Spark gave a grunt and a soft squeeze to my hand. “That’s it. Twi, he’s transitioned. After I scan him, I’ll carry him to the library. He’s doing better than most if he’s mentally strong enough to start recovering movement already. Tough bastard, popping a Latch that way.”

Everything remained hazy as I felt myself being moved onto my back, and probably onto Bright Spark’s own from what little I could discern. They had pulled me away from the hug, but the grip I had on Twilight wouldn’t let go of her mane, keeping her in arm’s reach.