A/N: ok so i lied, and am sorry about that! the holidays are much more hectic than was planned so i havent been on or near my computer lately. so to make up for it a double post is in order! please enjoy and forgive for the long wait
Chapter 24: 6 Months Of Training
Royal woke up early the next morning and went to the training fields for a quick warm up before the training actually started. Royal did 50 pushups, then 25 wing ups, and couldn't get the hang of magic ups just yet. His magic was too new to him. Then after 15 laps around the mile circle he noticed that all of the guards had arrived and were waiting for him. He walked over and addressed them. "Good morning. I am Royal Truth and I am going to be training you for the next 6 months. I will be putting you all through physical training and teaching you moves that can take down almost any enemy. Most of these techniques will not need the use of wings or magic. Those lessons will come in later."
One of the ponies asked a question that annoyed Dan, but he answered anyway. "The reason I am teaching you so heavily on physical attacks is because if you can wipe out an opponent without having to waste magical energy or the energy of using wings then you have more energy to fight longer and better. And if need be you can take on many at one time without weakening yourself to the point of getting killed. Besides that it will allow your other attributes to grow and be even stronger. So by training the body with this and mind with techniques your other powers will grow faster and easier than if you just trained with only them. So the first thing I ask, what is your greatest weapon?"
Most of the ponies Royal asked directly answered with "Spear" Royal sat there and shook his head. "You are all wrong! That is the problem with all you ponies. You see a spear and think that is the end of it. Especially you guards. You hide behind them like nothing can get past it. You act as if it is the elements of harmony in those stupid pieces of wood. And just to prove my point I want the top five spear users to step forth and attack me." The top five got up and lined up and the first stepped forward and readied his spear. Royal rose an eyebrow. "No you don't understand. I want all five of you to attack me at one time. If you lose your spear or are defeated then you step out. That way I can show you just how weak and useless those spears are to defending your lives."
The five surrounded Royal and he stood on his hind legs. This surprised the five but they were ready all the same. "Begin!" they all attacked at once. They didn't attack as a unit but as five random attackers that thought they could easily win. Royal did the same maneuver to the first guard as the one he did to the one in Ponyvil. He threw the guard into another and two were out in a few seconds. Then the other three paused as that happened but then tried again. The next shoved the spear at Royal's chest. Royal grabbed the end of the spear and kicked the middle of it. This flipped the spear over and into Royal's hooves. Royal then held the pointy end at the ponies throat. "Out" then he spun and used his spear to deflect the next attack. Then used the other end to smack the pony in the head knocking them down.
Then there was only one scared looking pony left. Royal threw the spear he was holding to the side. "Ok last one. Show me what you got." This pony thought through his attacks and swung from side to side with his spear being careful to not let Royal get ahold of it. Royal actually had to move and dodge so that he was not hit with the attacks. "Very nice! You are thinking and using your body as the support to make the weapon actually work for you. See that is why your mind is the greatest weapon and your body the second. But you in particular you need to work on your defense." Royal ducked under the spear and spun kicked the pony in the shoulder. This sent him off balance and hitting the ground. "You are out, but the best by far. When you attack you think through it well, but you forget not to open yourself up for attacks. Keep up the good work and soon you will be the best guard here."
The pony stood up and saluted Royal and thanked him for the praise and the lesson. The others clapped for him and now knew why he was hired to train them with moves like that. Then started what most would end up calling hell training. Royal worked them all. Every pony had to do pushups and run many laps, those with wings did wing ups, and those with magic did magic ups. That was on top of the hours of training that they all went through. Then dinner and a few more laps before bed. Nopony complained both because Royal wouldn't allow it, and because he did all the same things as every pony else. If he was going to make them do it, he was going to do it himself to show them it was possible.
This made most ponies respect him on a new level. Few leaders they had before him actually did what he told them to do. And he practiced with as many of them each day as possible. Royal also didn't speak down to them but gave them advice that was helpful and even praised them when they surprised him or just performed well. And the first time a pony, the one from the first fight even, beat him in a one on one match Royal bowed to him to show him respect. "The teacher has become the student. This is what I want from each and every one of you!"
Royal addressed every guard there. "If each and every one of you can fight like this then nothing will ever be able to easily take over any place that you watch over. Then every pony we care for will be safe. When I first came here I heard about the changeling invasion and how you guards were helpless against them. Now if you all keep training like this then if they ever try again then they are the ones that won't stand a chance. Now that at least one of you can beat me, we will start with the other abilities of each of you. Earth ponies will work on stamina, Pegasi will work on wing fighting and weapons, and Unicorns will work on magic defense and attacking. After a month of this we will work on team work."
The month of training with the other abilities went faster and easier than anything else. The only one that actually had a problem keeping up was Royal. But only because he was new to magic and having wings. The wings were easy to learn, but he actually went to Celestia for help learning magic attacks and defenses. Then after a week of intense training he was able to keep up with most but the strongest magic users. Then the team work part started. And that was when the guards had to relearn a lot of the attack patterns and techniques. Royal found that amusing but helped them all the same.
The time spent training went by faster than he thought it would. And most of the guards were faster learners than he thought they would be. And Royal eventually chose a new head of the guard with Celestia's permission. It was the same guard that had surprised him in the first fight and had been the first to beat him. Royal was proud of this guard. The guard was thankful to Royal but Royal told him it was all his doing. "All I did was give you a little push in the right direction. Now I will be taking my leave in a few days and I trust you will train all your guards from here on out like I trained you." The guard agreed and thanked Royal for everything. "And if you ever need any help or someone to help fight the princess knows where I will be. Have her call for me and I will return."
Then came the last day of training from Dan and it was spent throwing a good bye party for him. He never expected to actually like these ponies or for them to like him. But it happened and he actually made friends that he would keep in touch with. He now knew for sure that being turned into a pony was a good idea. And he couldn't wait to get back to Ponyvil and see the three mares he missed most. He only hoped they had thought about his idea and that they would say yes. If not he would have to make a choice that he could not possibly make. "Well girls I will see you tomorrow for my answer. And it only took six months of training."