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Post by apporta on Nov 22, 2011 19:25:28 GMT -5
Apporta suddenly stopped as she heard Crystal Lance yelling, thinking that the army mage was calling her. Looking across the way she saw her yelling at StarShade who looked like he was going to collapse into a little ball. On one hoof, the unicorn did need to show some toughness, but Apporta knew this was something that she couldn't help him. This he had to do alone, he had to prove being here as an apprentice to Crystal Lance.
Apporta then resumed her teleporting with clairvoyance, keeping an eye on the conversation with intent each time she appeared in a new location.
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Post by starshade on Nov 23, 2011 22:46:35 GMT -5
StarShade's eyes widened with fear as Crystal Lance began assaulting him with fierce words and merciless sentences. It was clear that what he just did was totally unacceptable to the Army Mage. Cursing himself, he covered his face with his forelegs, though his terror-stricken eyes remained locked at her.
“…Now instead of learning something new, you can perform for me the exact same task I assigned to you before! You’re going to lift those shards back up again, colt, and you’re going to do so for as long as I see fit! Are we clear on that, boy?!”
At this, StarShade abruptly stood up and replied in a loud and oddly unwavering voice, "Yes, milady! Crystal clear, milady! Right away, milady!"
And with this the little black colt used his unicorn magic to pull out the shards out of the ground and began to levitate them before Crystal Lance, the aura around each crystal more solid now as they gripped like dark grey tentacles. StarShade's eyes were locked into the crystals now as he did his best to keep them afloat in the air in the same alignment.
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Post by crystallance on Nov 24, 2011 1:09:22 GMT -5
“Now keep them up and don’t let go until I say,” Crystal commanded her young apprentice StarShade once more. With her head held high, she began in a gradual trot around the struggling black unicorn, observing StarShade’s unfortunate plight with little feeling for compassion or pity.
Ripe with potential… And yet absolutely pathetic… Crystal immediately judged her apprentice, still peering down coldly upon the colt’s fearful and frantic expressions.
“So, StarShade… Would you like to guess what part of you frustrates me the most?” Crystal asked of her young unicorn apprentice, giving a short dramatic pause afterward as if expecting the question to be answered. “It’s by far the fact that you’re CONSTANTLY weeping in front of my face like a little FOAL! You cry too much, boy! Now as magic general of this army, you can rest assured that it is not my job to look after little foals! In bringing you into this military, StarShade, I had every intention to train a stallion, and mark my words! If it comes to it, I will MAKE you into a stallion! Is that understood?!”
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Post by apporta on Nov 25, 2011 9:29:25 GMT -5
(OOC: You can skip me as Apporta is basically still practicing her teleportation/ clairvoyance spell.)
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Post by starshade on Nov 25, 2011 13:38:22 GMT -5
Poor StarShade could only continue holding up the crystals in silence, sweating profusely, as he heard and understood each and every one of Crystal Lance's painful and hurtful words. What the pale green unicorn had uttered made the colt want to weep, but he knew that such an action would surely make the Battle Mage put him to the firing squad. All he could do now was let his teacher assault him, in a verbally manner, as he struggled to focus his magic to prevent the shards from falling again. Crystal Lance's scoldings were hurtful, but the black unicorn knows that she is merely doing her best in turning him into one that is worthy of service to the mage army.
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Post by crystallance on Nov 26, 2011 1:55:25 GMT -5
“LOOK at me in the face and ANSWER me when I give you a question, colt!” Crystal shouted at her apprentice again. Her voice had been louder and more terrifying than ever, as she forcefully shoved her furious expression directly into the struggling black unicorn’s face.
In just that brief second, the military mare might have come off more startling and intimidating towards her apprentice than ever before. With bold green eyes, she sustained the powerfully fearful stare in the face of her frightened young apprentice. If the black unicorn had truly reached his limitations earlier, then there was no doubt Crystal Lance was pushing him past those limitations right now.
Had her training methods been extreme? Certainly, the mare would have honestly thought. Had they been needlessly harsh? Not in the least, her military hardened perspective would have believed.
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Post by apporta on Nov 27, 2011 11:50:45 GMT -5
As Apporta continued her practicing blending her teleportation spell and her newly learned clairvoyance spell, she kept her attention each time she reappeared in a new location on Crystal Lance and StarShade. The army mage seemed particularily harsh towards the black unicorn and StarShade looked as if he was about to reach his breaking point.
Apporta's mind wondered why Crystal seemed so nice to her and so harsh towards StarShade. She knew there had to be a reason for her actions, but at the point Apporta didn't know why nor would she want to intervene.
In all of her thinking and trying to juggle doing two spells at once, Apporta inadventantly didn't watch where she was going next. Suddenly she slammed into one of the trees with a thud. She was sore from the hit and a bit dazed but nonetheless she hjad to continue. Reactivating her spells she cleared her mind and set to the task again.
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Post by starshade on Nov 28, 2011 8:33:59 GMT -5
“LOOK at me in the face and ANSWER me when I give you a question, colt!”
The red nerves on StarShade's eyeballs were very clear under all the strain as he struggled painfully to maintain his magical hold on the four crystals while he stares back at Crystal Lance and opens his mouth to utter his answer.
"Yes, milady! Understood, milady! Crystal clear, milady!"
At this point Crystal Lance's face was right in front StarShade's own. Her frowning eyes were a complete contrast to his own terrified ones. Their faces were so close that he could smell her breath. And then a sudden realization struck StarShade. This was the closest he has ever gotten to his idol. All his life she had been so far away from him, yet right now she was right infront of him, her eyes locked into his. Wasn't this what he had always wanted? To stand beside her, and be noticed by her?
StarShade's face began to loosen, though he managed to maintain the levitating shards. In fact, the black unicorn was now oddly calmer.
For me to stay by her side, he thought to himself, I shall do anything she orders me to do, and let her do anything to me. There is no turning back now.
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Post by crystallance on Nov 28, 2011 14:11:37 GMT -5
The intense stare of the moment had been broken with Crystal Lance’s mildly apathetic sigh. As the colt’s expression loosened up, so did the military mare’s. Her expression of fury quickly transitioned into something calmer, though not exactly anything happier. It seemed her black unicorn apprentice had finally managed to keep his cool, levitating the crystal shards in perfect alignment without a single tear dropping from his eyes. It looked as if a lesson had been taught. She withdrew her face from the center of StarShade’s eyes.
“You can set the shards down now,” Crystal Lance instructed her apprentice in a calmer voice. “From now on, StarShade, you are to present yourself as a stallion when addressing me. You will speak with your voice perfectly firm and you will never again shed a single tear from your eye while in my presence…”
And with that it was time to bring this training session to a close. Just one more lesson for both her students and the day would be over. Crystal immediately began to survey her surroundings, searching the mountain range around her for her apprentice Apporta. She had lost her track of location ever since giving her attention back over to StarShade and by now with her teleportation training, Crystal’s filly apprentice could have been anywhere within the boundaries of the HQ’s magic training facility.
“APPORTA! Report to my location immediately!!” Crystal Lance shouted into the distance, still unaware of where exactly Apporta had teleported off to.
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Post by apporta on Nov 28, 2011 14:47:17 GMT -5
Apporta was actually enjoying her training. Sure it was physically and mentally challenging, but it was rewarding to learn new things. Gone were the days that she felt helpless to help others. With each new skill, it was a step to an ultimate improvement to her life.
Apporta suddenly heard the voice of Crystal Lance and stopped. Was she just calling to her or was she angry? Did she see her crash into the tree? There was only one way to find out.
Apporta quickly teleported back to where Crystal and starShade were standing. "Here I am Crystal Lance," Apporta said as she reappeared in front of her instructor. "You wanted to see me?"
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Post by starshade on Nov 29, 2011 8:33:23 GMT -5
“You can set the shards down now,” Crystal Lance instructed her apprentice in a calmer voice. “From now on, StarShade, you are to present yourself as a stallion when addressing me. You will speak with your voice perfectly firm and you will never again shed a single tear from your eye while in my presence…”
Heeding the Army Mage's orders, StarShade gently set the crystals down and laid all four upon the ground. Raising his right foreleg, the black unicorn first wiped away the sweat from his forehead before saluting his mentor.
"Yes, milady," said the colt with a firm voice, "I shall try my best."
StarShade then stood silently as he watched Crystal Lance moved about and called out for Apporta. Moments later the filly teleported back and answered the Army Mage's call.
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Post by crystallance on Nov 29, 2011 20:52:32 GMT -5
“I know you will,” Crystal Lance forcefully reassured the young black unicorn, a tiny hint of fearfulness still remaining within her voice. It was in that moment that Apporta flashed onto the scene. Hearing the filly’s question, Crystal proceeded to calmly answer, “Yes. I’m going to need you both for this.” Crystal then trotted off a short distance, centering herself between StarShade and Apporta.
“You ponies certainly didn’t come without your flaws…” Crystal Lance began once again in speech, projecting her voice forward a tad louder than before in order to address both ponies. “…But you have both made strong efforts to correct them. With that, I believe it’s about time to give you your final lesson of the day. I am going to introduce you two to the most basic of combat spells: the magic missile!” Crystal stated as she casted the spell herself. The mare’s calm teal-blue magical aura quickly transitioned from unruly flickers, to wild flashes, to bold dazzling flares of bright luminous cyan as she charged a pure bolt of energy from the tip of her horn. Promptly releasing the missile high into the sky, the blast burst into a beautiful firework-like explosion far off into the distance of the evening sunset. Her magical aura settling down, she continued to address her two unicorn apprentices.
“You will each work to conjure a magical bolt of pure energy from the tip of your horns,” Crystal Lance proceeded to lecture to the two ponies as her magical aura faded away. “But to do so, you must channel your magical aura with the distinct intent to strike, damage, or even potentially kill your target. If you ever had any enemies or adversaries in the past, I would advise you to keep an image of that pony in your mind as you familiarize yourself with the spell. This will help you to channel aggression, an essential element to a large variety of combat-oriented spells out there. When I was a little filly, I would always imagine my stepfather… The two of us never would get along.”
“Anyway, I would advise you to strike either up into the air or down towards the lake. As beginners, I’m not expecting your magic missiles to be very destructive at all. The magic missile is not among the most powerful spells in Equestria, but it will take years of dedication to fully master.”
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Post by apporta on Nov 30, 2011 8:21:07 GMT -5
Apporta watched as Crystal Lance created and let loose the spell in amazement. She head about the magic missile spell but never saw anypony use it. Then again there was no need at the time to use it. This was new for Apporta: to create a spell that had the potential to harm. In her studies in the university she learned not to use her magic for harm or personal gain. Yet she knew this was the military and as such combat was part of it.
"Understood," Apporta said Crystal finished her lesson, "I will practice the magic missile right now." With that she concentrated on charging the magical energy towards the tip of her horn. This was a basic spell, but it still required concentration. She then thought about what Crystal said about channeling aggression and using an adversary as a means to channel her aggression. She remembered back to her school years as a little filly, in particular to a colt who would tease her because her magic at the time was not powerful and that her teleportation spell was seen as "weak" in the colt's eyes. She felt a surge of energy, fueling her spell, putting more power into the spell.
Finally when she felt it was at a powerful enough level she let it loose into the air. Surprisingly the spell produced a decent sized explosion for just starting out, yet it was about only half the power of Crystal Lance's spell. What mattered was she did it. She cast the spell, and from there she would improve.
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Post by starshade on Nov 30, 2011 11:10:09 GMT -5
StarShade's face suddenly lit up as he watched Crsytal Lance's spectacular display of her magic missile spell with wide, shiny eyes. Yes! his mind screamed, A new spell! Crystal Lance's going to teach me a new spell! A new spell taught by Crystal Lance! This is so exciting!
The black unicorn almost grinned from ear to ear but got a hold of himself before anypony noticed his somewhat sudden change of behaviour. Snapping back to reality, StarShade took heed of Crystal Lance's words about visualizing an image of one's adversarry or enemy when doing the spell. He thought about it, and thought and thought, then realized... He doesn't have anypony who has done him wrong. Not before, not ever. Although fact was that all the other ponies were afraid of and stayed away from him, none of them had ever hurt him. He never found a pony to hate enough to become his enemy. He had never hated anypony. Ever. And this started to worry him. How will he use magic missile the way Crystal Lance wanted him to without having somepony he hates to visualize? He knew that he had to find that answer right away, and fast.
Apporta had just finished casting her magic missile, and now it was StarShade's turn. Taking a deep breath, the black unicorn closed his eyes and began to summon his magic, focusing it to gather on his horn. As the magic began to accumulate upon his horn, the colt tried his best to visualize whatever thing that would make him angry, mad or hateful. His mind raced back to all those story books and legends he had read all his life, about the countless evil done by bad ponies, by monsters, by evil spirits. He imagined the faces of all the tortured souls who suffered at the hands of such malevolent entities, so much to the extent that he could clearly feel their pain, tears and blood. And finally, in after what seemed like so many years, StarShade felt anger.
So focused was he on the images of evil and of the suffering innocents in his mind that he did not even notice that the gathered magic upon his horn had grown into a spinning, shifting, magical sphere of destructive energy - four times bigger than himself! The sphere of magical energy seemed to pulsate with destructive energy, making a deep yet hollow noise as it shifts its shape every now and then, releasing an aura which seemed to darken the area surrounding the black unicorn. Poor StarShade was oblivious to the huge ball of killer magic spinning on his horn.
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Post by crystallance on Nov 30, 2011 20:34:42 GMT -5
“StarShade! Get a hold of yourself!” Crystal Lance commanded the black unicorn engulfed within his own sphere of destructive energy. A few seconds ago, it appeared that all had been going well with the magic missile training. Now, it seemed her young apprentice StarShade was totally unaware of the terror that had been brewed atop his horn. The military mare continued to dish out new thrashings and beatings of commands, orders, and empty threats upon the colt, but he did not seem to react. The sphere of destructive energy centered at the tip of the colt’s horn only seemed to grow larger and more dangerous.
This is bad… This is TERRIBLY bad! Crystal began to panic inside of her head. The mare was not expecting mastery of the spell but she certainly wasn’t expecting her apprentices to go totally over-the-top with it either. There was no telling what kind of damage the colt could wreak upon HQ carrying such a large power he couldn’t control. Crystal had to think of something and she had to think of it fast.
“Apporta, I’m going to need you to listen to my orders!” Crystal directed her other apprentice in the face of the dark globe of terror. “It looks as if StarShade has lost all control! His attempt at a magic missile is now threatening to destroy all of this side of HQ! We need to stop that colt before he causes anymore trouble! I’m going to attempt to steal the energy sphere from him using basic levitation. When I raise the sphere high into the air, I’m going to need you to conjure up a large portal in the sky! Teleport that thing the hay out of here! Is that understood?!”
Crystal’s teal-blue magical aura suddenly grew to fully luminosity as she began in pulling StarShade’s sphere of destructive energy away from him. To her, it felt like fighting gravity. She continued to lift it farther and farther away, but the weight of the sphere’s seemingly magnetic pulse only seemed to grow more and more intense as the mare continued the process. She had been lifting the sphere up surely, but very at a very slow rate. It had not yet been lifted a safe enough distance above StarShade. Only a couple feet.
“Look… I know it won’t be easy for you, Apporta…” Crystal spoke to Apporta once more, this time in a slightly more desperate tone. The aura upon her horn continued to glow brightly around her. “But I know you have it in you…”
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