Swift and I got up early the next morning to continue my training, given Princess Luna had sent another message saying that the paperwork for my commission should be fully processed by the end of the week. So, that meant I had six days to train my own skills before I had to go and kick some butt into gear in what these ponies called a military.

Today, we were training my red, orange and yellow energies, given I had already gotten a pretty good handle on my blue energy. The only problem was that in order to use my red and orange energy, I had to get mad. That normally wasn’t such a problem, given I could control my emotions with a great deal of skill after my basic training, but it was still hard for me to get truly upset if I had nothing to be mad about. So, I had Swift provide that reason, mainly by insulting my abilities like my old drill instructor use to do back in boot camp.

An explosion rocked the grass behind the castle as my fist impacted the ground where Swift had been just a moment before, creating a crater as the orange energy around my arm created a massive detonation upon the impact sight. Warmer color energies were a lot more direct than the cooler colors, so the effects were much more outward in definition when it came to casting. Red heated my flesh to temperatures hot enough to burn an opponent’s flesh, while orange created controlled explosions that could tear armor to ribbons. Finally, yellow energy could direct and even generate powerful lightning that could overpower even a pegasus’ resistances. All and all, very powerful and very flashy abilities, but only if I could keep my emotions under control so that I didn’t burn myself out with my own energy. It was a fine balancing act between being upset and losing myself to my rage, which made today’s training all the more difficult because of who was pressing all of my buttons.

“Come on!” Swift taunted me as she raced in and slapped me on the behind with a hoof before speeding off again, “I’ve seen my grandmare hit things harder than that! Show me your true power!”

I could feel a vein in my forehead pulsing as I channeled yellow energy into my arms, feeling the sparks flying between my fingers as I brought my hands together and pointed my first two fingers like the barrel of a gun at the retreating Swift. I took a steadying breath to calm myself, hoping to avoid barbequing my trainer with lightning, and sent the energy down range.

Swift looked over her shoulder and I saw her eyes widen in fear as an arc of pure white lightning shot from my fingers and zeroed in on her armor like a magnet. Before she could move out of the way, the bolt of electricity hit her right at the base of the spine and traveled through her armor in a spectacular lightshow, causing her muscles to seize as she jerked about uncontrollably.

I cut off the flow and watched as Swift dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes, and I raced up to her as smoke trails traveled up and into the air from her charred fur.

“Swift!” I cried as I knelt down next to her, my fingers finding an artery in her neck in the hopes that she wasn’t hurt too badly. I breathed a sigh of relief as her strong heartbeat met my gentle touch, and I pulled back slightly as she coughed and forced her eyes open.

“Remind me not to ever piss you off.” She croaked as I helped her into a sitting position, “That hurt like a motherbucker.”

I chuckled, “Well at least I know now not to pump too much energy into my lightning unless I’m trying to hurt someone. I pulled back some of my power and I still nearly barbequed your ass. I would be impressed if I hadn’t nearly cooked you.”

Swift grunted as she stood up fully, wobbling slightly as she got her hooves under her, “Yeah, I think I’m done for today. I’ve got to go wash the soot out of my fur and I need to make sure you didn’t weld any of my armor together.” She cracked her neck before looking up at me with a grin, “Keep this up and you’ll be taking names like nopony else once you get ahold of the cadets.”

I grinned in return, “Yeah, probably best not to use any of this stuff on them, though. I’d rather not have Celestia breathing down my neck because I cooked some of the stallions in basic training.”

Swift nodded her agreement, “Definitely. Anyways, let’s head in and get some lunch. I’m starving.”

My own stomach grumbled its accession as we made our way back towards the castle, although we only got a few steps before I heard someone calling out to us from above and behind. I halfway expected Rainbow Dash to by trying something in order to challenge me to another race, but when Swift and I turned around we got something much different than the prismatic speedster we knew.

Flying in on a pair of massive red and white wings, was a gryphon, more specifically a young gryphon hen by the looks of things. Her upper body was covered in deep crimson feathers, spotted with white feathers here and there like snowflakes, while her wings were the same red on top and a pure white on the undersides. Her hindquarters were a deep golden brown in color and I noted that her flanks were adorned by a pair of basic saddlebags, although fitted for a larger creature than the ones I was used to seeing on the ponies. As she came in for a landing, I noted that here eyes were a bright ice blue, and that her hesitant smile was very quickly being overcome by what looked like nerves.

“Umm, hi,” she managed to squeak out as she touched down, waving a claw at us in greeting, “I know you don’t know me, but I’ve come here to ask a favor of the human called Sarah Lovegood.”

I glanced at Swift, only to get a shrug in response. I turned back to the hen and asked, “I’m the human called Sarah Lovegood, what do you need?”

She seemed to hesitate for a moment before riffling around in her saddlebags for a moment. A few seconds later she pulled out a scroll that was sealed with a crimson ribbon and a golden seal I was unfamiliar with. “My name is Rosie Brightwing, and I have come here on behalf of the Gryphon Empire to ask for your tutelage in the art of combat.” Her wings fluffed as she redirected her gaze to the ground in front of her claws, “I came here because my father came back from a diplomatic meeting and told me stories about this strange new being who could best even him in single combat.” Her gaze rose once more to look me in the eyes, “I asked him if I could come and train under that being so that I could be a better successor once the time comes for me to be queen.”

I took the scroll as she offered it to me, and unrolled it in order to see what it said. My eyes roamed over the page for several minutes, in which time no one spoke, until I got to the royal seal embedded in crimson wax at the bottom of the page. It was also signed by the king, and I was beginning to think that this hen might be a little side project that King Edward wanted me to take care of while I trained the Equestrian military. Why else would he send his apparent daughter all the way to Equestria in order to learn combat skills from me?

Rosie Brightwing was fidgeting on her claws as she waited for my answer, although her face rapidly brightened into a smile as I nodded several times, “Yep, things seem to be pretty cut and dried. I train you in the art of combat and then you go back to the Gryphon Empire while I get a fat sum of gold for my trouble.” I rolled up the scroll and slipped it into my back pocket, turning my full attention to the young hen in front of me, “I don’t see a problem with training you, although I need to know what kind of combat skills, if any, you have already. It will make my job a lot easier if I know how much you know.”

Rosie let out an absolutely adorable chirping noise as she bounced on her hind paws and clapped her claws together, “Oh I’m so happy you agreed. Daddy will be so proud of me once I get back.” She fell back onto all fours and walked up to me, shocking both Swift and I as she wrapped my waist in a hug, “Thank you so much for taking me on as your student. I won’t disappoint you, I promise.”

Feeling slightly awkward now, I pat her on the back of the head with one hand as I slowly pulled her off of me, “Well, like I said, I need to know what you can do before we begin training. So, what exactly do you know how to do already?”

Her smile faltered slightly before brightening again, “I know some basic sword craft from my self-defense lessons, and I can shoot a clay target from fifty lengths away with a crossbow.” She tapped her beak with a claw as she rolled her eyes skywards, “My father taught me some basic grapples and throws so I could defend myself without a weapon, although I never really was all that good with the throws.”

I stopped her with a raised hand, “I think that’s good enough, Rosie. I can tell you have the enthusiasm and some basic understanding of how to fight, but for my purposes, that means next to nothing. So, I’m going to start out at the very beginning and build you up from the ground so that way I know you’ve been trained properly. Once we get this going, I want you to pay attention to everything I say and listen to every order I give you. It might not sound all that important right now, but something like this could save your life in the future if you pay attention. Are we clear?”

She performed a perfect salute and cried out, “Yes Ma’am!”

I nodded in agreement, turning to face Swift, “Swift, why don’t you head inside and grab some food for all three of us? I’m sure Rosie is hungry after flying all the way here, and I could use a bite before we get going with her training.”

She nodded and spun around before walking back into the castle, leaving me alone with the young hen as she bounced back and forth on her paws.

I turned to face her and asked, “So how old are you, Rosie? You don’t look to be more than sixteen if I’m any judge of a gryphon’s age.”

She bristled slightly, “I’ll have you know I’m twenty-two! I just look younger than I really am is all.”

I scrutinized her expression, searching for any falsehood in her statement, but thankfully found none as I settled in to wait for Swift’s return. Before too long I heard Swift walking back up to us from behind, although from the amount of time it had taken her I assumed she had showered and checked her armor as well. I turned around and saw the earth pony walking up with a trio of platters on her back, stacked on top of one another with a flat cover over each plate.

“Spike wasn’t sure what to make for you, Rosie,” she stated as she set each platter on the ground between us, “so he just threw together a quick fruit salad with some almonds and pecans instead of making anything special.” She pulled the lid off of her own plate to reveal a large salad with tomato slices and bell peppers, “Hope you like it.”

“It’s fine,” Rosie replied as she pulled the cover off her own plate and began picking the fruit bits out with her claws, “in all honesty it’s better fare than what I normally get at the palace, even though I’m the king’s daughter.”

“Why would that be?” I asked, genuinely curious as to why that was the case, “Shouldn’t you be rolling in all the fancy food you can stomach because you’re royalty?”

Rosie shook her head, “My father made it a law that no gryphon can own anything that is not available to the rest of the citizens in order to make the noble families more humble. It also made it so that the common gryphon has access to more quality goods because it’s the only way the nobility gets to have anything for themselves. Although,” she shuddered as she seemed to remember something unpleasant, “sometimes the food gets a bit old because no one bothers to come up with new recipes because they don’t want to have to share their ideas with the rest of us. So, we end up eating the same thing over and over again with little in the means of new dishes.” She bit into a piece of strawberry and hummed in pleasure, “Now this is something I could get used to.”

Swift and I shared an uncertain glance, not truly knowing what to say in reply to Rosie’s admission. I turned back to face the gryphoness and offered her a sincere smile, “Well then I hope you learn to like it here in Equestria. You’ll be training under me for a while if things go well for you.”

Rosie smiled and burped softly, covering her beak with a claw as she blushed, “Excuse me.”

“You’re excused,” Swift replied without hesitating, although I managed to spot the little blush that had crept into the mare’s cheeks as she looked Rosie up and down, and I realized that my faithful guardian might be forming a little crush for our newest companion.

I chose to keep my opinions to myself, for now at least, just so I wouldn’t scare off Rosie with talks of romance right out of the gate. Although I made sure to file that little tidbit in the back of my mind for later, because I was going to let Swift have it about what I believed to be the case once we were alone. I was going to enjoy getting back at her for all the times she made fun of me for my own feelings, and I wasn’t going to pull punches either.

We finished our meal and piled the plates together so that we could take them back inside once we were finished with training. Even though I still wasn’t finished with my own workout, I decided to put that on hold for a moment so I could measure Rosie’s skills with and without a weapon. The hen might have been eager, but all the enthusiasm in the world wouldn’t help her if she had no talent for combat.

“Alright,” I said as I clapped my hands together, “let’s get this show on the road, shall we?”

I led Rosie into the middle of the track and faced off against her with about ten paces between us. She looked uncertain at first but took a moment to breathe before settling into a combat crouch. I had seen her father take a similar stance with his sword during our duel, so I had a feeling she knew at least some basic combat tactics. One of those rules being to keep one’s center of mass low to make it harder for the enemy to knock you over.

“Good thinking,” I said as I bent my knees and turned my body to one side as my legs spread further apart, “lowering your body to make unbalancing you more difficult. I see your father taught you that much at least.”

Rosie smiled with a soft blush but didn’t comment, so I chose to make the first move by sprinting at her with my hands curled into fists and ready to strike at her head and shoulders. She used her wings to make a gliding leap to my left and I slid to a stop in the space she had just been in, raising my arms just barely fast enough to block her claw swipe with my shirt sleeve. Her claws dug in and slashed my forearm with several shallow cuts, and I heard her gasp as she fell onto all fours and stared at me with wide eyes.

“I’m so sorry!” She cried as tears sprang forth from her pinprick orbs, “I didn’t mean to, I – oof!”

She staggered back and clutched at her ribs where my fist had made contact, squeezing her eyes shut as she struggled to take in air as her three remaining legs shook in an effort to stay standing.

“Never apologize for hitting the enemy.” I said in a cold tone as I walked up and kicked her other from leg out from under her, forcing her to hit the dirt with her front half as her body curled into a ball to protect her stomach, “You are a warrior, so blood and gore are going to be a common thing on the battlefield that you will have to deal with. I’ll give you credit for drawing blood on me, although you immediately botched it by letting your guard down. Now get up. We’re not finished here just yet.”

She managed to force one eye open and let out a strangled hissing noise as she pushed herself into a sitting position, holding her ribs with one claw as she managed to get her paws under her body once again.

“I’m not done yet.” She growled out, stomping the claws that had been holding her ribs into the dirt as she squared her gaze with mine, “I’m going to get stronger if it’s the last thing I do.”

I nodded, feeling more confident in my new trainee as she leaped at me, letting out something halfway between an eagle’s screech and a lion’s roar as her outstretched claws impacted my chest. My eyes widened as her forelimbs became enveloped in a bright red flame that I was all too familiar with, and I realized that this little gryphon had something far more to learn than just basic fighting techniques. I snapped myself out of the shock as she plowed into me, and I rolled back while hooking my feet under her stomach. I ignored the burning sensation that threatened to break through my own natural defenses, and grabbed onto her front legs as I kicked her body over my head. I forced her into an uncontrolled flip as her back impacted with ground with all the force of her lunge and my legs propelling her body over mine. The air in her lungs left in a whoosh, and I heard her gasping for breath as I rolled over and pinned her wings to the ground with my knees. The glow around her paws vanished as I reached down and held her claws over her head with one hand as I secured the other to her neck. I wasn’t quite choking her, but firm enough to let her know what I could do if I wanted.

She took several moments to get her wind back, and by that point I was smiling down at her as her eyes opened and she realized the position she was in. Her expression turned sheepish, and I almost felt sorry for her as she turned her head to the side, “I’m a terrible student, aren’t I?”

I shook my head, my expression becoming firm as I released her neck and foreclaws, “There is a difference between a bad student and a new student. You are only a bad student if you aren’t willing to learn from your mistakes. However, you just did something that was very interesting. Do you remember how you felt when you lunged at me, like what kind of emotions were running through your mind?”

I climbed off of her and she flipped over onto her stomach with a confused expression, “Frustration and anger, I guess. Why? What does that have to do with anything?”

“Can you think about those emotions again, like imagine if I was yelling at you for something you didn’t do.” I wanted to see if my mind had been playing tricks on me or if I had really seen what I thought I had seen.

She gave me a raised eyebrow, “Okay, I guess I can try.”

She closed her eyes and her expression became angry as she clenched her beak and closed her claws into fists. At first nothing happened, but then, ever so slowly, the red flames began to form around her forelegs in little spirts and snaps.

“Good,” I encouraged, “keep that up. Now slowly open your eyes without losing that emotion.”

She did as I instructed, and her eyes shot wide open as she screamed like a little kid. She leaped to her paws and waved her forelegs about like they were on fire, even though there was no pain coming from the ethereal flames. As soon as her mind switched from anger to fear, the flames sputtered out, leaving her with a confused expression as she turned her claws over and back again, searching for the flames she knew had been there.

She looked up at me with wonder in her gaze once she realized she wasn’t hurt, “What was that?”

My smile widened as I walked up to her and snapped my fingers, my own blue flames igniting around my fingers as I spoke, “That, was something very special, Rosie. You just did something that is a very rare and powerful skill.” Her wide eyes followed the fire in my grip as it condensed into a ball the size of an apple, “It’s called Auramancy, and it is a very ancient form of magic that has been lost to the sands of time for almost nine hundred years. I can teach you if you want me to, along with your regular combat skills, if that is what you want. Right now, I’m learning how to control my own Auramancy abilities, so working with you will help me to get stronger as well.”

Her gaze snapped back and forth between my face and the ball of blue fire in my hand, her expression one of wonder and awe as she held up her own claws and clenched them into fists. She smiled as a hard look filled her eyes, and for a brief second, a few flickers of red fire danced around her claws before fading to nothing once more.

She looked up at me with a new determination in her gaze, “Teach me, please. I want to lean everything I can.”

I nodded, extinguishing my own flames as the energy returned to my core, “Then welcome aboard, Rosie. I think this is going to be the start of a wonderful relationship between you and me. Just don’t let this go to your head, or I’ll smack your face so hard your head will end up facing your rump. Understand?”

She snapped into a salute, “Yes Ma’am!”

I smiled, turning to face Swift as the shocked mare managed to get her brain back under control, “Well, shall we see if Twilight is willing to spare another room?”

Swift nodded dumbly, apparently still a bit overwhelmed by the new developments she had just been witness to. She turned around and led us back into the castle, picking up the platters and settling them over her shoulders as she pushed the front doors open with a hoof.

I pat Rosie on the back as her wings ruffled in nervous twitches, “Don’t worry. Princess Twilight is a very calm and collected pony. She won’t get bent out of shape because you need a place to stay. And besides, if absolutely necessary, I can rent a place in town for you, me and Swift if the need should arise.”

My words seemed to have a calming effect on the hen, her head lifting a bit higher and her shoulders squaring as she fell in on my left side. It was definitely an improvement to the shy and apologetic gryphon I had seen so far, but we were a long way from turning her into a hard and cold-blooded warrior.

Twilight was, as usual, in her library reading a large collection of books, although this time she seemed to be focusing on some of the items that belonged to me before she waylaid my stuff for her own personal uses. Which reminded me, I still needed to get the rest of my stuff back from her if she wasn’t going to bother with returning them of her own free will.

In any case, Twilight was too wrapped up in her notes to pay our entrance any attention, although she did look up when I cleared my throat.

“Oh, what’s going on, Sarah?” She asked as she levitated the stack of books and one of my tent poles to the other side of the table, “I wasn’t expecting you until later this afternoon.” Her gaze settled onto Rosie and her eyes widened slightly, “Who’s your friend?”

I indicated Rosie with one hand, “Twilight, meet Princess Rosie Brightwing. Rosie, meet Princess Twilight Sparkle.” I smiled as their eyes widened in almost perfect unison, “You should see your faces right now. It’s adorable.”

Rosie blushed deeply as Twilight sent me a mild glare, although the purple alicorn rapidly returned her attention to my gryphon companion with interest brimming in her gaze, “So what are you doing here in Equestria? I would think your father would have at least sent a guard contingent if his only daughter was visiting another country, or sent some kind of advance notice so that we could properly receive you.”

Rosie rubbed her foreleg with her other claw, her expression sheepish as she ducked her head, “Well, you see, I’m here on personal business, not for a royal duty. My father wanted me to train under the human that bested him in personal combat, so I asked him if we could skip the guards and ceremony so that way it wouldn’t turn into a big event with the nobility. I like you ponies all right,” she shuddered as her eyes lit up with disgust, “but those nobles of yours are about as polite as an eel when it comes to foreigners.”

Twilight nodded her agreement while Swift simply rolled her eyes. I hadn’t had the displeasure of running into any of the nobility yet, so that was a small blessing if ever there was one, although with my new position as a captain in the guard that might not hold true for every long.

“So, will you be needing a place to stay while you train with Captain Lovegood?” Twilight asked.

Rosie nodded again, her cheeks flushing as she gave her fellow princess an apologetic smile, “I really don’t like having to beg for a room, but without any bits to my name I don’t have any other options.”

Twilight nodded, “I understand completely. The exchange rate for gryphon talons to Equestrian bits is a fairly large number, so you’d need a large amount of your own money just to have spending change here. I don’t blame you in the slightest for asking to stay here, the rent on a small cottage would take several hundred talons per month in equivalent bits. Did you bring any sort of meat broker with you or will you be eating like we do during your stay in Equestria?”

Rosie’s stomach grumbled at the mention of meat, “I hadn’t thought of that in all honesty. I was hoping you would have some fish that I could use for my own needs while I was here.”

“Oh, trust me,” I said with an eye roll, “they’ve got plenty of fish. It’s practically all I live off of when it comes to getting my protein requirements.”

Rosie nodded, “Alright, I guess that will do.” She turned back to Twilight, “Would you mind if I settled in and got my things unpacked? It’s been a long journey and my wings are aching from all the flying I’ve been doing.”

Twilight smiled and indicated the door on the left side of the room, “The guest wing is two halls down that way and the third door on the right.” Upon seeing Rosie’s confused expression, she turned to Swift with a pleading look, “Major Blade, would you mind showing our guest to one of the spare rooms? I think it’s going to take a little bit before she knows her way around the castle.”

Swift saluted her with a smile, “It would be my pleasure.” She turned to face a decidedly tired looking Rosie with a kind smile, “Come along Your Highness, your chambers await.”

“Just Rosie is fine,” she replied as they walked out of the room, “I prefer my name to my title even during court. It makes it easier to relate to the common gryphon if we speak using our names.”

Swift nodded her agreement as they closed the door behind them, leaving me alone with Twilight for a moment before she cleared her throat pointedly.

“So,” she began as she leveled a hard glare my direction, “there’s something that you told me about earlier that you refused to go into detail with, and I understand your reasons for withholding information. However, as your host and as your friend, I ask that you fill me in on what truly happened that led up to your fight with Lyra and Bon-Bon.”

I rolled my eyes with a groan, “Do I have to? It’s already awkward enough as it is trying to make up for my mistake to those two. I don’t need you breathing down my neck about it as well.”

“Who said anything about breathing down your neck?” She replied, “All I ask is that you share what happened so that way I can understand why you were upset with each other. It’s also so I can help you avoid things like that in the future if you run into similar trouble.”

I slid a hand down my face, “You’re not going to let this go until I tell you, are you?”

She shook her head and crossed her forehooves in an expectant manner as she tilted her head to one side. I had to resist the urge to rub her ears as the mental image of a cat overlaid her body in my mind, and I shook my head to focus it as I sat down on the couch facing Twilight.

“This isn’t going to be a pretty story,” I warned her, “just so you know.”

“Friendships can be messy,” Twilight said calmly, “I understand that better than most given my own circle of friends and the antics we get into on a regular basis. I’m sure your own problem wasn’t all that much different.”

I snorted in amusement at the idea of Twilight getting into a fight with one of her friends after having hot sex the night before, but quickly snuffed that thought like a candle. I didn’t need to add to my problems by coming up with crazy ideas when I was already in hot water as it was.

“Well, the whole thing started when Lyra and Bon-Bon took me out on that date I told you about. Things went pretty well, all things considered, and they invited me back to their place to hang out once we were done with our food.” Twilight’s sharp intake of breath made me chuckle, “Yeah, don’t get ahead of me here, Princess. I’m not at that point yet, although now that I think about it, it should have been obvious what they had in mind for us once we got to their house.”

Twilight’s cheeks were a dark red all the way from her jaw to her ears, “So, does that mean you, you know, did that thing with Lyra and Bon-Bon?”

I laughed at her word choice, “If by ‘that thing’ you mean we had hot lesbian sex together, then yes, we did.” Twilight sputtered for a moment, and I couldn’t help the giggles that escaped my mouth as she gaped at me like a fish, “What’s the matter, Twilight, never imagined me with a pony in that kind of situation?”

She shook her head slowly from side to side, “No, I hadn’t.” She shook her head with more force to get her mind back on track from what I assumed were some very dirty places. “Anyway,” she cleared her throat, “I assume that something happened after you three, um, did it, that caused the fight between you?”

I nodded, “Well, you see, I woke up the next morning and had a little run-in with Vinyl while I wasn’t dressed. One thing led to another and I found out not only was she in heat, but so were Lyra and Bon-Bon. I made some assumptions, words were exchanged that we all regret, and now I’m making up for my big mouth by taking Lyra and Bon-Bon out on another dinner date to try and smooth things over.”

Twilight’s expression shifted to one of confusion as she scrutinized me, “Assumptions? What did you think was going on that made you say whatever it was you said?”

I blushed in shame as my hand ran through my hair in nervous movements, “Promise you won’t get mad?”

Twilight nodded, “I promise.”

I took in a deep breath and then forced out my words before I could think about it too hard, “I accused Lyra and Bon-Bon of taking advantage of me because they couldn’t control themselves during their heat.”

Twilight’s eyes widened as she gasped, “No wonder you had a fight after that! Saying that a mare can’t control herself is like saying she’d sleep with anypony she liked with no regard to who it was.” She let out a gusty breath a she stared at the coffee table between us, “I’m actually surprised you managed to get them to forgive you for saying that. Most mares wouldn’t even talk to you after insulting them with that kind of implication.”

I rubbed the back of my neck with my hand, “Yeah, I kind of learned that the hard way. At least now I know not to mess around when it comes to mares and heat. I have enough problems dealing with this relationship as it is. I don’t need to throw sex therapy into the mix.”

“What’s it like being in a herd, apart from the sex and social misunderstandings, of course.” I started at Twilight’s sudden change of topic, and I looked over at her with a raised eyebrow as she shuffled her forelegs against each other and diverted her gaze from me, “I mean, what’s it like having close relations with another mare as compared to being friends?”

“Where did this come from?” I asked as I sat back against the couch, “Two seconds ago you were asking me to tell you how I messed up and now you want to know what I think of being in a herd?” Twilight nodded with a nervous expression, and I took a moment to scrutinize her before letting out a sigh, “Fine. I guess it couldn’t hurt. Let’s see, where to start.”

Twilight leaned forward as I pondered what to say, “I guess it would be easier to explain how relationships are like friendships. It would make it a bit easier to understand for you.” I ticked off one finger, “The first major difference is that intimate relationships are far more delicate than normal friendship. You have to be careful what you say and do because hurting those you are dating will be much worse than simply saying something stupid around your friends. As you now know from my own mistakes, that can have disastrous results if not handled properly.” I ticked off a second finger, “However, there is a lot to say about romantic relationships and friendships being similar. The only thing I can think of that changes from one to the next on a personal level is the fact that you are open to much more, ahem, intimate actions between those involved.”

Twilight blushed again but managed to keep her composure, “So what would you say if I told you that I had never been in a herd?” Her expression was expectant, like she was hoping I would guess wrong to her question.

I smirked, “I’d say you have the same innocence as a newborn foal.” Her expression darkened slightly as I chuckled, “Oh don’t look at me like that. I wasn’t in my first intimate relationship until after I got my Captain’s bars. It’s not all that uncommon for a girl to wait for that special someone.”

Twilight puffed her cheeks in annoyance, “You didn’t have to make it sound like I was still a child because I haven’t, well, done that special thing with anypony.” She sighed, looking down at her forehooves with a slightly dejected expression, “I envy you, Sarah, at least because you’ve managed to find somepony special to have that connection with. I’ve just never had the confidence to put myself out there like that.”

I smiled as I sat up and reached over the table to hold her hoof, “It’s alright, Twilight. No one is going to force you into a relationship if you don’t want to. These things take time, and they usually have a way of sorting themselves out if you just have patience.”

Twilight chuckled softly, “You sound like Cadence right now.” She sighed as she reclaimed her hoof and stood up, stretching like a cat before hopping off the couch, “Thank you for sharing your personal life with me, it makes me feel better knowing that the level of trust you have in me goes that far.” She hugged me and surprised me with a soft nuzzle against my cheek, “I hope you’ll be willing to share more of your personal life with me in the future, if you’re willing to keep an open mind.”

My eyes widened slightly at what I thought she was implying, although as she pulled back from the hug there were no lidded eyes or sultry smile like I had been expecting. Instead, there was only a kind grin and a happy gaze that met my own. “I’ll see you later, Sarah. Maybe you can talk with Princess Rosie about what you’ll be doing for her training once she gets settled in.”

With that, she turned and walked out of the library, leaving me feeling rather confused and slightly aroused. Either Twilight was a master manipulator, or she had done that little bit without even realizing how it could be construed. I held a hand to my cheek where her fur had rubbed against my skin, and I realized that, aware of the fact or not, Twilight Sparkle most likely had a crush on me.

I shook my head to clear it as I stood up, “No time to think crazy thoughts. I’ve got a gryphon auramancer to train and only a week to get things going before my first assignment from Princess Luna. I’ll deal with that little bombshell later, but right now I’d better go see how Rosie is settling in.”

I found Rosie and Swift in the room directly across the hall from mine, and was thankful that Swift had apparently chosen that spot on purpose. It would make getting my new student up in the morning so much easier if I didn’t have to search the castle for her furry behind. She was in the middle of unpacking her things, what little she had with her, although I noticed that she didn’t have any weapons with her.

“Were you going to train without weapons or did you just forget to bring a sword of your own?” I asked as I walked into the room.

Rosie jumped slightly, her face and neck darkening with a blush as she stammered out a reply, “W-Well, I wasn’t sure what I needed to bring, given you only fought my father with a sword until you managed to disarm him. After that you used your hands and body to finish the fight.” She ducked her head like I was about to yell at her, “Did I do something wrong?”

I shook my head, “No, you didn’t do anything wrong. I’m just thinking about what we’ll need to do in order to have a sword made for someone of your size. A pony word is a little short for creatures like you and me, so I imagine both of us are going to need custom blades before too long.”

Her eyes brightened in excitement, “You’d do that for me?! Oh, I can’t believe it, I’m going to have a sword all for myself for the first time!”

I chuckled, “Now hold on there for just a moment. I still use pony swords for my own training, so don’t expect anything fancy until after you master the basics. You’re a long way off from getting a sword of your own, so don’t hold your breath for something that is some ways down the road.”

Rosie had the grace to look admonished, although it quickly morphed back to her usual upbeat attitude, “So what do we start training? I want to learn everything I can as soon as possible.”

I felt some measure of pride in the little hen, for one so young she was doing a great job of rolling with the punches, at least for now, “We’ll starting things off fresh in the morning. I think you could use the rest after flying all the way here. Get some sleep and I’ll wake you up in the morning for your first lesson.”

Rosie nodded before climbing into the bed, nodding to Swift and I as we walked out and closed the door behind us. I had only made it two steps before I heard the soft rumble of Rosie snoring, and I chuckled to myself as I walked back into the castle foyer. Swift tagged along behind me with a big grin on her face, and I could imagine what was running through her mind as I walked into the castle armory once again.

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” I asked as I searched for another scabbard that would be useful for Rosie, given her different stature compared to a pony.

Swift rolled her eyes, “Don’t give me that innocent act. You’re coming up with a hundred and one ways to make that girl’s life miserable, aren’t you?”

I laughed as I picked up a scabbard with adjustable straps that might work for my new student, “What gave me away?”

Swift smiled as she walked up and bumped my hip with her own, “I’m a member of the armed forces too, remember? I know what goes through that crazy head of yours when you get into drill sergeant mode. Just please go easy on the poor girl at first. She’s not going to be used to having her ears blown off by a commanding officer like the grunts are.”

I turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow, “Trying to mosey into her good graces by making me go easy on her, eh? Why Swift Blade, I never knew you had a heart under all that cold steel plating.”

Swift surprised me and blushed a vibrant red, even through her dark coat. She surprised me even more when she stuttered upon her reply, “S-So what if I want to go easy on her? Isn’t it a bit early to be pounding her into the dirt?”

My grin took on a devilish quality as I placed my hands on my hips, “Swift, do you have a crush on the Princess?”

She reared back like I had struck her, the blush only growing stronger as she tried and failed to look intimidating, “N-No, of course not! It wouldn’t be proper to have such feelings for foreign royalty! Where in Equestria did you get such a crazy idea?”

My knowing smirk was all the answer I needed in order to get my message across, and she scoffed at me before marching out of the armory with her head held high in indignation. I resisted the urge to yell after her that her tail was flagging like Lyra was on our first date, although I filed it away for future reference that Swift definitely had the hots for my new apprentice.

With my little bit of fun out of the way, I went back to searching what limited weaponry we had for useful items, making another mental note to have Twilight stock the armory with actual equipment if we were going to be doing any more training outside of bare hands and hooves. Swords we had, but once we got to the really big stuff with Auramancy, I had a feeling these blades were going to wear out pretty fast.

With my inventory done, I returned to my room and plugged in my earbuds, feeling that a little relaxation was in order after a hard day’s work. My mind was numbed by the calming tones of Celtic string instruments as I closed my eyes, and before I knew it I was falling asleep in the middle of the afternoon. I didn’t wake up until the next morning, and by morning I meant about three hours before sunrise. I smirked to myself as I imagined all the crazy ways I could wake up my new recruit, and rubbed my hands together like come cheesy cartoon villain as my mind began concocting various ways to make Rosie’s life a living hell.

“Better watch out, little Rosie,” I muttered under my breath as I got dressed, “because Captain Lovegood has just come out to play.”

Author's Notes:

Well here's another one for all of you raving fans out there. Hope you enjoy two chapters in so many days, because I am on a hot streak at the moment. Anyways, were any of you surprised by the newest member of our cast? Did any of you have a clue that I was going to stick in a non-pony? If so, yell at me in the towel section for being predictable, because I'm clearly losing my edge.

Hope you all are liking the story thus far, and I look forward to hearing from everypony as the book continues,
Shadow Quill, Messenger of the Moon.