A/N: I'm not going to explain the training sequence for the next year, I'm going to do time period skips every now and then.
Chapter 7
To the Next Phase
I had spent the first month in the training grounds of the gods, then went back to the tavern to hang out with Roran. He's a good guy, but every time we went to the bar, he was asking to cure his hangover the next day. It got annoying, but I still went with him every time. In the real world, it had been a total of six months, but thankfully, the altered reality in the training grounds slowed the aging process, though not by much. I guessed I was around sixteen by now, and the only haircuts I was getting were few and far between, so my hair was significantly longer than it was when I got there. I had grown a bit of a beard as well.
Since I had gotten to the Raven city, I had been getting mail constantly from the mares back in Ponyville. I'd been getting cases of cider from the orchard once a month, which I shared with Roran in a effort to to ease his drinking habits. Twilight had sent me the complete collection of a series called "Daring Do," and I was about halfway through it. Not a bad book, if I do say so myself. Around the second month, what I saw coming from ponyville amazed the crap out of me. It was on the day of Rainbow's audition, and coincidentally my day off. I was reading my new books, when I heard a loud boom echo through my bedchamber. I looked out the window, and there it was. A wave of Rainbow-colored light was flowing above the city, and it blew my hair back. It had to be the Sonic Rainboom I was told about. No matter what it was, it was fucking awesome.
Around the third month, I received a box of cupcakes from Pinkie. That's it. I ate them, they were good. I received nothing from Fluttershy or Rarity, as their lines of work didn't have anything that would do to well in the mail.
I stood on the balcony of my chambers, looking out over the city which had come to respect me for my immense power, and for being a generally nice guy. Roran flew up to meet me every day, and this one was no different. He landed next to me.
"Hello, Roran. How are ya doing?" I asked.
"Fine. You?" He returned.
"Same as always. Feeling good, but I'm still pondering how much more I can learn before I start to forget some of it."
"Why are you still on that? You're one of the most powerful being in existence! You fough off a damn tornado!" He reminded me. It was true. Around the fourth month, I directed a tornado away from the city with winds stronger than it's own.
"Yeah... But I feel like I'm missing something in life. All I do is training, tavern, sleep. And I don't even have to do to last one!" I exclaimed.
"True, but the only one here who is more powerful than you is the Queen herself! That's something to be proud of!" Roran was he perfect guy to be around. I don't think it's physically possible to be unhappy around him.
"Thanks. Fly a bit?" I proposed.
"Sorry. I can't be here much longer. I have a date," He told me.
"Good for you! Who's the lucky lady?" I asked.
"You know her. It's Reana."
"Ah, the handmaiden. Take good care of her, you hear?"
"Sure thing." He spread his wings, and jumped off the balcony. I turned to see Ravena entering, most likely to go through to portal.
"Bradford, I have fantastic news!" She told me.
"What?"
"You finished the first section of your training!"
"Huh? First section? I thought it was solid schedule."
"Nope! The first section of the training was increasing your spell vocabulary and mastery! That was supposed to take around eight months, but you did it in six! At this rate, you'll be finished in only three more months! Isn't that fantastic!"
"Wow... I'm more than two-thirds of the way done already... It feels like so little time!" I pointed out.
"Yes it does, but you have to finish! The next part of the training is crucial!" Ravena exclaimed.
"And that would be?"
"Mastery of your weapon, which will now be changed! You have enough power to join the upper ranks, so you can select an advanced weapon!" Ravena said. She had lost her normal stoic demeanor.
"Sweet. When do I get to do that?" I wondered.
"You have a week off. I'll come and get you then, but for now, please enjoy yourself in the city. I know you haven't had any time to yourself, and you need a break. Goodbye." Ravena walked out the door, abruptly ending the conversation. She poked her head back in. "Also, I've set you up as the second in command for the kingdom. If something happens to me, you're in charge, and you have some level of authority. The whole city knows, so be prepared to be swarmed. That is all."
"It's time for a night on the town," I thought, and jumped off the balcony. I waited until the very last second to spread my wings, and soared just inches above the rooftops, enjoying the feeling.
That was where I took a small fall.
I clipped a rooftop. The roof was fine,.being made of the black marble I was so used to. I, however, landed roughly on the hard black pavement. Yeah, that's right, I have to to say pretty much everything's black, because save for people's skin, everything was.
I stood up, and healed the minor scrapes and bruises that had appeared. I slapped myself on the forehead, as I had learned a cushioning spell for precisely the reason of falling, and forgotten it. I started walking, and stopped a small cafe on the street corner. They didn't have anything as good as they had at Sugarcube Corner, but it was still the best in town. I sat on a small outdoor table. It was the middle of summer, so it was alright. I only ordered a little water, and I sat back in the chair.
"It's been too long since I've had any time to myself. I wonder how my student's doing? I haven't seen her in a while." Oh, yeah, that's right. Remember the girl that passed out at the party? It turns out she had a fantastic amount of potential in Raven tribe magic, and she didn't even know it. I had her fitted with an armlet (She chose a plain and simple circle stone,) and I took her under my wing. I had been teaching her at night, when I wasn't in the training grounds. I hadn't seen her in about a month. And by the way, her name was Karina. I liked it. I had taken to calling her Rina, mostly because she asked me to, and she just calls me Brad, like almost everyone does. Back to the the timeframe. Or in my case, I hadn't seen her in more than two years. Good thing the portal slowed aging when I was inside, or I would be around thirty by now.
My water was delivered, and I faced the waitress. "Thank you-" I got a good look at her face. "Rina! I haven't seen you in forever! Why haven't you come to your lessons?" I asked.
"Oh, no reason. Just a few things to sort out. How have you been? I heard the Queen made you her right hand man," She said.
"She did." I pulled a seat out with magic. "Come on, sit down! We have some catching up to do!" I requested.
"Oh, I really shouldn't... I'm on my shift," Rina informed.
"Karina! Take a few minutes off! He's your friend!" Someone inside said. I looked over to the unnamed voice. It was the friend who threw Rina in a poll during the party.
"She runs the place?" I asked.
"Yep." Rina scowled at her, and she smirked. I couldn't figure out why it made her mad, but she sat down anyway.
"So, Rina, mastered that rupture spell yet?" I asked. Rina was the most talented healer I'd ever seen. She managed to heal me when I literally split my skull open on a rock, something I couldn't do when conscious. She did it flawlessly, and left no scar. I think she only managed it using deadly motivation, though.
"Not yet, but I'm getting there," Rina said. She was facing the ground.
"Hey, you alright?" I asked. I looked a little closer, and noticed she had a small blush and was trying to hide it.
Rina looked towards the window, and I followed her gaze. Her co-workers were all looking at us. I wasn't sure if I was surprised by the fact that they were all female. One of them was making a gesture that said "Go on!" with her hands. I couldn't believe it when I noticed one was Reana. Or Sveta. They were twins.
Rina looked back to me, and opened her mouth. No words came out, and Reana stepped in. Roran's date ran out and interjected, speaking for the silent girl.
"Sweet Ravena, child. Learn to speak." She turned to me. "She wants to know if you want to double date with Roran and me."
The question blew me away. My student had a crush on me. I didn't like her that much, but I wanted to make her happy. "Sure, I'd love to!" I replied.
Rina shrieked, fangirl style, and ran inside. The girls that were inside were conversing, congratulating Rina on her victory. "Find Roran, and meet us here at eight. Wear something nice," Reana instructed. She went back inside.
I jumped up into the air, and took wing. I found Roran right in his usual daytime haunt, the sky. At night he ruled the taverns. I flew over to him quickly, exited to tell him the news. I stopped near him, and sat on the cloud he rested on.
"Hello, Roran," I said.
"What's so urgent? You have that air about you," He pointed out.
"You know how you're going out with Reana tonight?" I confirmed.
"Yeah, and?"
"I'm going with you. Rina asked me out."
"You're kidding. Timid Rina made the first move?" Roran mocked.
"I know, right? I think she didn't come to her lessons because she had to figure herself out."
"This is great! Where should we take them?" Roran asked.
"You didn't have any plans?"
"I was just going to make it up as I went along, friend."
"Roran?"
"Yes?"
"You're an idiot," I insulted. "Do you know what girls do when you have no plans?" He shook his head. "They flip out. We gotta think of something." We were both silent in thought, contemplating our next move. "I got it. You go to the florist and get two sets of flowers, and I'll go set up reservations at the nicest restaurant I can find, alright?"
"Right. Let's go!" He spread his wings, which were about as long as mine, and we both zoomed off to our pre-determined destinations.
Eight 'o clock rolled around, and me and Roran were outside the cafe, still in our regular clothes. I still had my black trench coat and black clothes from a year ago. The girls arrived soon after, dressed in their regular clothes as well.
"God, what a relief. I was afraid they'd be dressed in formal wear," Roran whispered.
"I know. It's too bad the florist was closed. At least you managed to find these." I held a rose. Roran had to go pick two of them.
"Hi!" Rina greeted excitedly.
"Hello, boys," Reana said casually.
"Ready for a great night?" I asked. At least I had managed the reservations.
"You bet! First one to that cloud wins!" Rina suggested.
"Uh... What?" Roran sputtered.
"What he said," I agreed.
"Oh dear, you didn't make dinner reservations somewhere fancy, did you?" Reana asked.
"We did," Me and Roran both said simultaneously.
"I'm afraid we aren't those kinds of girls. We like a bit of action now and then," Reana informed us.
"Yeah!" Rina agreed.
"You just can't portray all women the same way. Now, who's up for boys against girls?" Reana suggested.
Me and Roran looked at each other, and chuckled at our own mistake. "You're on," We said to them.
"Great."
I never knew how bad it felt to beaten by girls in a race. Thirty-seven times in a row.
We landed on a cloud, the girls mocking us over their recent victory.
"How are you so fast?" Roran wondered.
"We told you. We're those kind of girls. Action is what we live for!" Rina shouted.
"I'm just mad that you managed to beat us every time. I need to practice," I said, beating myself up.
"Slowpoke," Reana insulted playfully.
"At least we can do magic," Roran said.
"That was low," Reana complained.
"I can do magic too!" Rina said confidently.
"Why are we arguing?" I asked.
"Because women are superior,' Reana said outright.
"Wow. Activists?" I confirmed.
"Yep! Women are to unrecognized in this society!" Rina said triumphantly. She was a really energetic girl.
"But the monarch's a queen," I pointed out.
"So?" Both girls said.
"Wow. You both really don't see it? Women have just as much rights as men," I explained.
"Don't care. It's just fun. We really aren't very serious about it," Reana exclaimed.
"Good to know,' Roran said. "Well, we already missed the reservation, any other plans, girls?"
"I can't come up with anything. Rina?" Reana attempted to confirm with her friend.
"Nope," Rina confirmed her lack of plans. Then her face lit up. "Brad! Do some magic!" She suggested.
"I only know one spell for showmanship. Alright?"
"Is it the firework spell you told me you'd teach me?" Rina asked.
"Yep. Just sit back, and enjoy the show." The others sat down, and I raised my hand towards the sky. I began by firing a simple circle shape; then rapid-firing a bunch of small explosions. They started clapping, and that got me going. I decided to try out a new idea, image fireworks.
I launched a larger shape into the air, and exploded into the shape of a raven. It was white, but I didn't have a choice if I wanted them to see it. I willed the raven's wings to move, and flew it around the sky. A little clapping came from my friends, and I silenced the array of lights.
"So?" I asked.
"More!" Rina commanded.
"Alright, alright. Here." I launched a single firework, which exploded into about thirty more, which each then exploded again. "That's it. I'm out of ideas."
"I've got one," Reana supplied. "How about the Lunar Blitz?"
"Absolutely out of the question," I declared. Even after I had intensified my spell vocabulary, that was still one of my most powerful spells.
"Come on, you know you want to," Reana egged on.
"I do know, and I really want to. But that's still one of the most powerful combat spells I know. It's too dangerous."
"You can't just cast it into the sky?" Rina suggested.
"When I say no, I mean it. Drop it," I commanded.
We sat in silence for a few minutes, until we were interrupted by a voice calling my name. "Bradford!" Ravena slammed into me.
"Ravena!" I exclaimed, getting up. "Today's my day off."
"You're going to have to take a rain check with you friends. There's a-" She was silenced by an ear-splitting roar.
A dragon.
The beast was at least as tall as the castle, and it's scales were the purest shade of brown I'd ever seen. The beast breathed a cloud of golden-colored flame, and incinerated more than a few citizens.
"You need to help me evacuate!" Ravena commanded.
"No."
"What do you mean no?!" Ravena replied.
"I mean this is my home at the given time, and I'm going to defend it," I supplied.
Ravena's eyes widened. "Are you insane?! That dragon is fueled by greed, and the city's made of precious stone! You'll be killed! And I repeat, are you insane?!"
"Very. Evacuate the city while I'm gone. I'm hoping this doesn't take long, or you may be short a conduit. I might not make it back, but the city's residents will live," I said nobly.
Roran put his hand on my shoulder. "I can't fight alongside him, but I'll help evacuate. And Ravena? I don't think anything you can say will change our minds."
Ravena sighed. "Fine. Roran, go clear out the citizens. Bradford. I trust you. Just come back alive." She turned and flew off.
I spoke then. "Roran, I owe you a drink." I took wing, and sped towards the fire-breathing beast. As I drew close, the dragon noticed me, and attempted an attack with fire. I put up the flame shield I had learned, and it passed by harmlessly. As I drew ever closer to it's face, it spoke.
"Stay out of this, pawn of the Raven Queen. This is a personal quarrel," The dragon said.
"That's a damn shame. There's about to be a third member in your argument. What are your motives?" I demanded of the dragon.
"This is a precious stone among dragonkind, and we are taking it as our own. Do not attempt to reason further."
"See, here's the thing. A: I'm not from the Raven tribe. You have no quarrel against me, so can we at least try and reason?" I attempted arrangements.
"That would explain the lack of black hair, and no, we cannot arrange a deal," The dragon replied.
"I wasn't going to bring out reason B, but here we are. B: I can kick your goddamn scaly ass straight to Tartarus."
The dragon threw back his head and released a mighty laughter. "You! A puny mortal, defeating a dragon! I'd love to see that!" He turned back towards the city, and blew another cloud of fire. The screams and cries of it's citizens could be heard from the sky. My keen eyes spotted a child, looking up at me. He mouthed "Please."
That broke the last support to any reasoning I had in my mind. I clenched my fists. "You fucking asked for it."
I flew straight up into the cloud layer, and prepared for a spell I had not yet mentioned to you. I won't tell you the name yet, as it could give it away. I summoned my ebony blade, and held it above my head. Truth be told, by then the spell was untested, only a prototype, but it did in fact have a name. I concentrated my magical energy on the clouds around me, and sucked it back out.
Lightning flew from the clouds, and into the nearest conductor, my sword. Lightning crackled on the blade, but it didn't hurt me. The lighting was magic.
I dropped from the cloud layer, my sword sparking. "PREPARE FOR THE WRATH OF THE GODS THEMSELVES!" I yelled into the wind, and I guess the dragon heard me, because it looked up. "ZEUS' HEAVENLY SWORD!" I was about to connect with the dragon's skull, when the unthinkable happened.
The dragon raised its mighty palm, and struck me from the sky.
I flew from my place in the heavens, and straight into a flying Ravena, who was surveying the battle. That punch was the worst hit I'd ever taken, and luckily Ravena caught me, because I would have been dead if I hit the ground.
"I'm... Sorry," I managed to say before I blacked out.
"AHH!" I shouted, sitting up. I was on the ground. I tried to move, but my ribs had been broken. For the third damn time.
"Sit still. That dragon gave you quite the punch," Ravena explained from my side.
"I don't care about that! What happened to the city!"
"Look behind you." Ravena gestured to what lay behind me. I turned to face a broken city, a shadow of its former glory. The city was in ruins, most of the marble taken by the dragon. Only its base remained, and a few rocks lying around.
"I... Failed."
"Wrong. You only failed to save the city. You bought us enough time to evacuate what remained of city, and almost the entire population survived."
"Well, at least that happened." I performed a healing spell, and stood up. I had an idea. "Though this city will regain it's glory, if the tribe is willing to help."
"I don't know what you're going to do, but I don't care, either. Give your instructions," Ravena said, taking a step back.
"Thanks. All I need is a picture of the city before it was destroyed," I requested.
"Very well." Ravena closed her eyes, and suddenly, a picture of the city appeared in my head.
"Thanks." I began to magically amplify my voice. "Citizens of Raven City! Lend me your ears!" I called out. The entire crowd turned to face me. "I know this isn't the best of times, but we have to look foward! I can restore the city to its former state, but I don't think I can do it alone!" Whispers of unrest sounded from the crowd. "I can see how you might believe this to be impossible, but you will just have to trust me! Use the strongest spell you have at your disposal on me, and I will recreate your city!"
There was obvious distrust in the crowd as I placed my hands on the cold surface of the city's base, but I guess they complied, because I felt a surge of magic like no other. Even the simple telekinesis spells were amassed to form a fantastic amount of energy. "Here we go!" I yelled.
I lifted my hands from the surface for just a second, and for personal amusement, clapped, and replaced my hands on the marble. The whole thing started to shine, and I continued to put more and more magic into it.
"Don't stop now!" I heard Rina call. That finished my drive. I began to manipulate the surface, following the image exactly. I hadn't noticed it before, but Ravena had given me the interior schematics as well, so I began to follow those as well.
It may have taken another hour, but I finished rebuilding the city. I received many congratulations, and pats on the back, but I really don't think they were grasping the situation. I couldn't repair all the personal treasures lost in the attack. I guess that didn't matter, though, as the entire city seemed happy. The surge of power they gave me was intense, and it bolstered my power quite a bit.
Roran was running up to me. "You've done it! You saved hundreds of lives, and repaired the entire city in mere hours! How do we thank you?"
"This is coming from you. The guy who already owes me about fifty keeton?" I forgot to mention the currency. A keet is a little metal coin, and it's like a dollar. The plural is keeton. "Just pay me that."
"I'll get the money to you someday, but for now, you're coming to the bar! We need to celebrate!" Roran cheered happily.
"Roran. I only repaired the structures. All the belonging are gone, including the ale." His face went bleak. "I told you I could get you to cut back."
"Ugh. Fine. I'll be off, then." He spread his wings, and took to the skies. I noticed Ravena approaching me, a smile on her face.
"Is there no limit to your kindnesses?" She asked.
"I dunno. No point in no city," I supplied.
"True. But we need to go back to the castle, now. There's something I need to know. Come." She took flight, me following close behind. We landed in her room, and we sat down on the floor. She opened a drawer, and took out a syringe.
"Woah, wait a minute. I freakin' hate needles. Get that thing away from me," I ordered.
"Nope." She roughly grabbed my arm, and jabbed the needle into my wrist. She drew a decent amount of blood, then healed the wound.
"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" I yelled.
"Relax. I'm checking your magical reading. While we wait for that, I'll just..." She took another syringe, and drew some of her own blood. She held the syringes up to the light, and some numbers appeared on the sides. On her syringe, the numbers were 50563. Mine read 49884.
"And that means?" I asked.
"It means," She turned towards me. She had a few tears in her eyes. "You are dreadfully close to being more powerful than me."
"Really? That's what the numbers mean?" I confirmed.
"Yes. And would you like to know the best part?"
"Which would be?"
"The average Raven mage's reading is around 10000. The both of us are five times that," She explained.
"So what happens now?" I asked my mentor.
"That's the thing. The level your power was supposed to be at when you got this far into training was around 30000, but you've far exceeded that. You should be able to do some of the most advanced magic in history, like me. Unless..." She frowned at me. "You've been holding back on me."
"What? I've been giving it my all!" I supplied.
"You're lying. I have truth detector fields all over this room. You've been holding back," Ravena accused.
Thing is, she was right. I had been holding back. "I was afraid of the harder stuff, to be honest. The first time I successfully teleported with everything on me, I blew a hole in the wall of Canterlot castle. I didn't want to hurt anyone."
"That's got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard," She insulted. "First of all, you were practicing inside an indestructible room. Second, improvement isn't shameful."
"Fine, I'll try the new stuff. But first, can you tell me what Celestia's measure is? I wanna know how much further I have to go."
"It will probably give you an inferiority complex," Ravena warned.
"Shame," I replied.
"130346, last time we checked. That's almost triple our own. You still have quite the distance to travel, Bradford."
"Damn. Could she kill us?" I asked stupidly.
"Easily, but I doubt her mind would let her. She's too nice," Ravena explained.
"You were right. I do feel inferior," I supplied.
"As I assumed. Now, I would assume you would like to begin the next part now, instead of in a week?" Ravena assumed.
"Correct. I get fancy weapon now?" I asked in a joking manner.
"Not with grammar like that," She replied, also as a joke. I think.
"Excellent. So where are they?" I asked. "Wouldn't they have been destroyed along with the city?"
"No. They're inside the portal, and luckily for us, you assembled that, too. Onward!" She pointed towards the direction of the portal, and we ventured through it. The inside was the very same, so no harm done there. But we didn't go into the training room this time, but rather Ravena knelt down, and gave the grass three soft taps, all in a different location. It seemed random for a second, but that changed when a door fell from the sky and landed in front of us. Just a regular wooden door.
Ravena turned the knob, and opened the door. Behind its wooden form laid another room but from behind all you saw was the open door. Weird as hell, I say. I still don't understand it, or how Ravena discovered the existence of it. We stepped through, and the room, which I forgot to mention was white, took form, revealing a shelf of weapons.
On the shelf were several weapons, of much greater variety. The last rack had only a few weapons, but this one; however, had around thirty. A few in particular caught my eye. There was scythe on the shelf, it's blade black as night. The next was two smaller scythes, chained together at the hilt, and the last was a greatsword with a curved blade.
"This hall was discovered by accident, when my mother dropped a bowl of grapes. It's only been entered three times in history. The first was obviously when my mother entered after the door fell, and she took a weapon. The second was when She brought me here to take her place, and retrieve a weapon, and the third is now," Ravena informed.
"I thought you said only the highest ranks get in here," I replied.
"I lied. Usually it's only royalty, but I figured you're powerful enough to pick one out."
"So I just... Grab one?" I started towards the shelves, but Ravena grabbed my shoulder.
"Not so fast. This an important decision. This weapon isn't like the rest. It's not just something that you summon, it will be a part of you. The last two weapons, my mother's and my own, were eventually discovered to have powers beyond our comprehension. Choose carefully."
"Do you maybe think you might be... Ya know?" I assumed.
"What?" Ravena looked confused.
"Messing with powers beyond your control?"
"Probably, but that didn't matter in the fall of the Wolf tribe, when my mother used hers to blow apart the Wolf King's city. Have you seen the large grassy dent in the ground north of the city?" Ravena asked.
"She made that?"
"Summoned enough lightning to reduce Equestria to a stain, and concentrated it on the castle. It didn't stand a chance."
"How many wars have the Ravens been in?" I asked.
"Twelve, but that doesn't matter. Just pick one already," Ravena commanded.
"Fine." It was brutally difficult to pick. The three weapons I talked about earlier were the obvious possibilities, but the power that was emanating off them was immense.
"Take your time," Ravena urged.
I just couldn't decide, so I made a choice that wasn't entirely conscious. I unintentionally started to sense the energies of each weapon. The power of each individual weapon baffled me, but I stopped when I came to the scythe. It was speaking.
"Dear Bradford, apprentice of the Raven Queen. Now is the time to select the weapon that will be with you for the rest of your life; no easy task. But know that I resonate most closely with your soul. Observe." The fact that it was talking still got me.
The scythe started to give off a powerful aura, and it reached me. I was cautious at first, but when the calming wave of serenity it was giving off reached me. I relaxed.
"Now, grab my handle, and increase your power," The scythe commanded. I wasted no time. I walked toward the weapon, grabbed it, and picked it off the shelves.
"I choose you." Crackling lightning began to emit from the weapon, and flowed into the sword-shaped bracelets I wore. The scythe disappeared, and I faced Ravena.
"The scythe. You're the third one to pick the scythe. Let me guess. It told you it resonated with you, then sent out a calming aura?"
"Same with you? Funny. Frankly, I think I could grow to like it. In fact, I already have," I explained.
"Fantastic. Do you feel stronger?" Ravena questioned.
"Definitely. It feels like I could move a mountain," I explained.
"Please, don't. Let's go back. I want to measure your magical power, if you will," Ravena requested.
"Sweet, I wanna see it too." We ventured out of the mysterious room, and the door flew back into the sky. We stepped back through the portal, and into Ravena's room. She got out the syringe again, and drew a little more blood. She stared at the dial for a few seconds, then her eyes went wide.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Uh... Nothing!" She hid the syringe from view, back into the drawer. "Nothing at all!"
God, she was terrible at lying. "Ravena. Something's up, so what is it?"
"I... I can't tell you. Not yet." She was being far too suspicious for my liking.
"But- you know what, fine. Tell me when you feel like it. I'm not one to pry," I replied.
"Thank you for understanding. You will know someday, but now... You aren't ready mentally to hear what I have to tell you." She was smiling.
"Alright." I smiled back. Out semi-cheerful moment was interrupted by a meesenger slamming open the door.
"Bradford! You have an urgent summons from Princess Celestia! She requires that you be there in exactly two days!" The messenger stated, the ran off.
"Two days? Anything left that can be taught in two days?" I asked.
"Just one," Ravena supplied. "This is your final lesson. The power reading on that dial was large enough for you to be finished with your training. You will now learn the ancient Raven technique of shapeshifting."
"Great. I've been dying to learn how that works. Lay it on me."
"Then let's get started."
A/N: So how was this? Just to let you know, the good part's comin' up in the next few chapters!
