"Alright, listen here! Don't think that just because you're our espionage group, that I'm going to be taking it easy on ya!" Steel Grim shouted from the front of the room. The other ponies, all standing at attention, watched him with timid though determined eyes. Twenty or so in number, all of the young ponies that had made it known that they wanted to join the Lunar Brigade through espionage were now getting their much-needed training.
"First things first," Grim shouted. "Before you can go out into the field, you needed to know what you're dealing with!"
Oh no... Violet's thoughts went sour. She knew that she was simply learning how to tell a member of the Black Diamonds from a normal citizen, she couldn't help of think of all of the things that they've done. Fear and hatred pierced her heart like a black dagger, slicing through it like the hot piece of flesh it was. She needed to control herself if she were to learn anything. She forced herself to look at the screen that lowered itself slowly into the "classroom".
It had all started a week ago when she officially signed the papers and made it known to the other members that she was officially one of them. Though she could still live in the castle, Luna saying it was for her protection, she had to be at headquarters as soon as midnight struck the clock in her bedroom. Her sister, obviously, was going along with her. Today was their first day of training. The past week was dedicated to nothing but organizing the rooms, giving them purpose, and making sure that those that weren't in use were successfully used as storage and could be renovated later. The large room that stood on the other side of the window in the hall, right above the desk, the "controls", as it was named, was turned into a gymnasium. It was going to serve as their classroom, what with most of the training involved being physical.
"There are constants in the Black Diamond appearance." Grim continued. The screen flashed a snapshot, taking without the pony noticing as she was walking along the street. She wore a designer dress, with what looked to be a one-of-a-kind handbag. She was the picture of wealth. "From reports that we have gathered, it appears that they will always hold valuable clothes and items with them when they are out socializing with the traditional world." He pressed a button and a picture of a stallion wearing a simple blue shirt and sunglasses appeared. "Though they can be subtle, so be watchful!" Violet looked closer and became aware of how high-grade the shirt he was wearing was. If he had sold both items the was wearing, he could feed a whole family for a month. The thread of the shirts themselves might as well had been silver or gold.
"Their eyes," Another picture flashed, showing a close up of a pony unaware. Her eyes were bright red. "Are another clue. Though most aren't as prominent, there will be small doses of red somewhere on the iris. If not, then black eyes are another sign. However, if you see those, you must notify one of us at command as soon as possible." He leaned closer to them and forced them all to listen. "These ponies are dangerous, and are to be considered deadly."
Another picture flashed, and it showed another pony, a young pegasus mare, with what looked to be professional highlights in her mane and tail. Her wings shined with extensive grooming and preening, and her eyes were beady and small. Though she, all and all, was beautiful, her overall face and demeanor caused shivers to trail down Violet's spine. She didn't look right. Same thing with the stallion who showed up next, then the unicorn couple who appeared after. They all were so... twisted. On occasion Violet would gasp at the sheer coldness in their eyes, or the wicked air they had around them.
"I see all the pictures... but I'm only getting half of them." Cloudy whispered to her half way through class. "Do you think we're going to be tested soon?" Violet was shocked. Wasn't it obvious? In every single picture, even in pictures of crowded markets or classes lined up in neat rows, Violet could see every one of them. She looked around at the rest of the class. Though it appeared that some were better than others, she clearly was the only one who was getting them all.
"Looks like we have a star student among us." Grim said in passing as soon as the class was over. Violet ducked, not used to all of the attention. She didn't want to be deemed a teacher's pet on the first day, especially in a class that was meant for battle. However, where she figured she would meet mocking comments and sneers from competition, she was met with lighthearted chuckles and nods of encouragement.
"Care to demonstrate?" Grim asked. When Violet, though hesitantly, nodded, another picture flashed onscreen. It looked to be some sort of catalog of workers, business ponies with dead eyes and tired looking faces stared back at her. Some young, most old, all with the same sober expression. It was hard, and with a look around the class, she figured that they thought it was impossible. But, once she looked at the picture as a whole, she saw it. The little speck of red and black, like a day old drop of blood, stood out on the picture. She pointed, and with a nod from Grim, she knew she was right. The class let out a few small cheers, happy that she had gotten it right. Some gently patted her back, while others actually called out her name.
"Good job, Violet!" A mare called.
"Glad to have you on our team!" A stallion towards the back shouted.
"You wanna eat with us today?" A pegasus asked from above.
Her first day of class had unexpectedly gotten some rather interesting results.
"That... was interesting." Cloudy commented as they walked through the large area of decaying fountains and crumbling cobblestone in order to get to their room. "Definitely different than what we're used to. I was ready to pummel a few heads in towards the end there..."
Violet only nodded. Though she was surprised, and encouraged to try her hardest, she couldn't shake off the unnatural talent she had. Was Clock Mage right? Did she and her sister really make a difference? Were they not normal, or was that just something Clock Mage said to get Violet to join the Lunar Brigade in the first place?
"But hey, after dinner, I'm totally going to soak up all of that when I cream everybody in the acting analysis!" Cloudy laughed. Violet was actually looking forward to that, seeing Cloudy in her element again. It's been a while since she was on stage, playing a part.
"I don't know..." Violet figured she could have a little fun. "I could shift and blow you out of the water!"
"Oh, yeah right!" Cloudy laughed. "Your shifts can do many things, Vi, but they don't even begin to compare to my acting abilities!"
"You were never able to fool me." Violet argued.
"Yeah, well, growing fangs and speaking all posh isn't going to get you anywhere." Cloudy countered. Violet waved her off and made a comment about White Rose, the pony who was created for the sake of espionage. "Oh, whatever!"
"How do you think Satin's doing?" Violet asked after they walked into the castle.
"Oh, probably holing herself up in that lab." Cloudy waved her hoof. "Mixing chemicals, scribbling equations, being a huge nerd, and what not." She shook her head. "You know, she hasn't even thanked me for getting her the job as a scientist."
"To be fair, the entire incident was sort of an accident." Violet lowered her ears, remembering the carelessness of the week before. How nopony, from the bat-pony with night vision to the eccentric with the ability to literally gain the traits of a vampire, saw the loose piece of paper flutter to the side of her bed, she will never know. Long story short, Satin had woken up during all of the chaos of establishing the Lunar Brigade that night and decided to take it upon herself to become one of the best scientists that they had ever seen. She had just walked back in the castle from discussing "matters" with her father when the three of them had returned. Nopony really knew how she managed to not only contact the Brigade in the first place to get her the job, but also managed to notify the princess about the entire thing. However, Cloudy was hell-bent on the fact that if she hadn't dragged her "white-tailed behind" to the castle, she wouldn't be where she is now.
"I'm just saying..." Cloudy sighed. "An afternoon lunch and a thank you wouldn't hurt anypony."
Violet laughed. "We get paid tomorrow. You're becoming a grown mare, you can get your own food."
"Says the pony who's knees still shake at the sight of the princess who hired her..." Cloudy mumbled. Violet snorted in response, but couldn't really come up with a valuable argument. Her unnatural fear of the princess was pretty noticeable to her sister, and thankfully not to the princess herself. She couldn't understand why it happened, why her coat would stand on end as Luna's voice would echo down the hall, why her tongue would get dry and why a feeling would bubble up in her stomach as she walked into the room. It had grown more and more pronounced within the past week, to the point where even Satin had noticed on occasion, but that didn't mean the answers came to light. Violet, however, was calling it hormones and leaving it alone for the sake of convenience.
"Where's Midny?" Cloudy asked as they walked into Violet's room. "She said she was going to meet us here for dinner after she finished that guard-thingy."
"Maybe she got held up." Violet suggested with a shrug.
"She's your private guard, Vi. I don't think she's allowed to be held up." Cloudy scanned the hallway and let out a tiny pout when she saw that even the ceiling was empty. "I'm so hungry!"
Violet sighed. "I told you, you should've saved mom's leftovers from a few nights ago!"
"Yeah, but you didn't imply that you were the one who was going to eat them!" Cloudy shouted back at her. Violet blushed and shrugged. She couldn't help herself. Her mother had made zucchini and goat cheese enchiladas, which was one of her favorites.
"I'm here!" Violet could just catch Midnight Gust's faint voice echo down the hall. "I'm here, I'm sorry I'm late!"
"What took you so long?" Cloudy asked accusingly, a small pout puffing up her lips.
"Royal..." She took a deep breath. Her wings trembled with exhaustion. "Guard... stuff."
Cloudy's hunger-induced crankiness showed no mercy. "You said you would be here by the time we were finished with our class."
"Well, considering both of your initiations are tomorrow, I figured you would stay a little longer than usual." Both of the girls shivered at her words. The initiations were tests to see if the ponies who wanted to join the espionage force were capable of what they promised. Cloudy, being an earth pony, was not going to be tested by her magical strength, but it left her at quite a disadvantage considering she wasn't all that strong. And Violet, though physically capable of doing a lot thanks to years of (now considered) unneeded training, her shifts weren't necessarily spells. She didn't get a lot of practice as far as magic went for unicorns of her... status. If both of them failed they would have to be forced into another branch.
"I'll shut up." Cloudy mumbled, deflating.
"Good." Midnight had finally caught her breath. "Because you're being good, I'll treat you- let's go." Cloudy's happy-go-lucky smile returned at the promise of a free daisy sandwich.
It was a dark day underground. Or, perhaps it was night. Scarlet could never really tell, considering the fact that her precious face touching the air that lesser ponies had walked through was inconceivable at the very least. She would never step out of these walls. The beautiful, gem-speckled rock walls of the tunnels built into the solid mountain that Canterlot resided on. It was what she deserved. To be protected.
"Hello, darling..." She sighed as she walked into the massive room. Her own throne, bedazzled with her cutie mark, a large red ruby, glowed the color of scarlet. Beautiful redwood, polished and looked after daily, felt familiar under her hooves. But she ignored it for now. His face, his gloriously beautiful face, was showing and she was eager to see it again.
"It's been a while since you've woken up..." She rubbed her cheek against the vicious looking black diamond that sat next to her throne. She grazed it with her hot lips and brushed her long lashes against it in an almost loving manner. "I hope you dreamed about me." She licked her lips as she looked up and saw him, almost fully formed, residing inside. She couldn't make out the details, but she saw everything she needed to see. His gorgeous stallion physique, the way his mane and tail swirled with volume and shine as he floated in restoration magic.
He groaned. Her ears perked.
"That's new." She smiled and pressed her ruby-encrusted ear to the stone. "Did you say my name, darling? Do you want to be with me that badly?"
"L-love..." He groaned again. His deep voice, so husky and sexy, caused a shiver to trail down her spine.
"Yes!" Her glowing red eyes radiated light. "Yes, darling! It's me... your love!" She pressed her flushed body up against the stone, where it cooled her skin and caused a gasp to escape her lips. "Soon you'll be mine... and I'll be yours." She sighed as she pressed herself closer.
"My lady Ruby?" A monotone voice drifted from the hallway.
"What?!" Scarlet's voice struck the servant's face like freshly sharpened daggers. She didn't flinch or move her face in any way. But the ruby around her neck glowed brighter, illuminating tears that trailed down her still face. Not even the Black Diamond's magic could completely smother the intense feeling of terror that Scarlet ensued. "How dare you interrupt our private time!" She slammed her hoof on the ground, cracking the strong rock of the floor. A sharp, jagged ruby sprouted out of the ground behind the servant and ripped through the ground towards Scarlet, snapping the servant's neck back as it pushed her towards her snarl.
"You better have a good reason..."
"Master Jinx." The servant simply stated. "He requests your presence in his office."
Scarlet scowled. "That old fool..." She sighed. She let go of the servant in front of her and ordered her out of the room. She had to see Jinx, there was no doubt. Nowadays, she wasn't asked to see him unless it had something to do with her prince. With one last glance, she couldn't control herself. She kissed the diamond slowly, and let the top of her tongue gently graze its edges.
"I'll be back soon, darling." She flicked her tail at him, revealing a rather risque view of her flank. With her hips swaying, her bright red main bouncing in ringlets, and her eyes glowing red like that of a demon's, she sauntered out of the room.
"Yes, Jinx?" She walked into his office while his back was turned. She made herself comfortable in one of his chairs. "You wanted to see me?"
"You've been spending a lot of time in your throne room, haven't you sweet?" He asked. He turned in his chair, showing the pony skull that was in his hooves. He appeared to be cleaning it before putting it back on his large desk.
Scarlet shrugged. "So what if I have?"
Jinx leaned forward. "Anything new developing?"
"He talked to me..." A smile spread across her face. She couldn't help herself. She just kept hearing his beautiful, sultry voice, over and over.
"He did?" Jinx's eyebrows rose. "That's... great! Unexpected... but great."
"Unexpected?" Scarlet stopped cleaning out her perfectly manicured hoof. "What do you mean?"
"I wanted to ask you whether or not if there were any new progressions... because there's not supposed to be." He smoothed out his white mane, folding it back perfectly.
"Not supposed to be?" Scarlet echoed. "Is that good or bad?" The thought of anything happening to her perfect prince, the prince she had been waiting for for the past five years, caused waves of fear to course through her.
"Hmmmm..." Jinx pulled out papers from his desk. "He appears to be developing normally... so I suppose there's nothing bad."
"Well then...?" Scarlet went from being afraid to being annoyed. "What's the point of me being here and not in my throne room?"
"Estimates show that we're going to have to perform the ritual a few months ahead of schedule." Jinx shrugged. "That's all I wanted to tell you, sweets."
"Really!" Scarlet hopped out of her chair. "That's amazing!"
"Yes, I suppose it is..." He fiddled with his stupid skull again. "But have you prepared? You know everything, and what to expect?"
"Yes, yes..." Scarlet waved her hoof. "Amnesia, bursts of anger, prone to violence and confusion- I know everything." She stopped listening. The thought of her prince, her beautiful diamond, tackling her to the ground and capturing her lips in his angry ones caused her to shiver. "If that's all you wanted to say, I'll be off!" Without another word, she walked out of the room. Jinx couldn't get another word in.
But, nopony could have guessed what went on in that throne room when nopony was in there. The black diamond would glow, and growing inside was not the pony they were expecting. They figured he would be weak, mortal, and not of his true form. That was a given. Inside of his mind was something twisted, maddening, and aggressive, they were right about that too. But what they didn't figure, would be how strong he was. How powerful he was. The minds of other ponies were something easily corrupted, from his perspective. The pony that would press her swollen, overly glossed lips to the outer walls of what protected him, was so horrifically simple, that it took all of his strength not to grimace.
Something ached in his chest. He couldn't place it. He didn't even know that pain was even a concept yet. But he knew that it wasn't something he enjoyed. Something was wrong. Something was horrifically wrong. And he had to do something to fix it.
"Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod!" Cloudy rocked back and forth in her chair, it's black pleather squeaking with every movement. "Violet, it all happened so quickly! I feel like I made so many mistakes!"
"You'll be fine..." Violet mumbled, sitting beside her. Her confident tone faltered. She couldn't help the nervous feeling in her chest, and the horrible tears that pricked her eyes as she thought about her initiation. Had she passed? She didn't think she did well enough. There were so many instances where she felt as though she could've tried harder, tried to be more flexible, fast...
"Good afternoon." A mare with a brown mane and pretty blue eyes walked in. She wore a simple black shirt with the Lunar Brigade symbol on her breast pocket. Her wings looked soft, and her pale pink hooves looked tiny and sharp. "So, let's see how you girls did, shall we?"
"Not before we settle ourselves." Grim walked in with a warm gleam in his eye, along with Midnight, and Princess Luna herself.
"P-princess?" Violet and Cloudy both stuttered. "What are you doing here?"
"Given the fact that you are our personal assistant, we figured it was more than natural for us to see your results." She cleared her throat. "We need to make sure of your position, and know if it changes."
Violet hadn't thought of that. If she passed the initiation, she wouldn't be Luna's assistant anymore. She would be a simple, though successful and most likely privileged, espionage agent. Nothing else. Of course Luna would have wanted to know! She felt a tiny twinge of embarrassment, as well as a few moments of grief. Though it was odd, and rather short-lived, she had enjoyed Luna's company to a degree.
"Well, if that's all then- Let's get started." The mare spoke with a bright, though slightly muted voice. Like a mother who had just spent the past few hours trying to get her foals in line, but then saw their sleeping faces and couldn't stay angry. "My name is Magnolia, and I'll be reviewing your scores and placing your ranking."
Cloudy raised her hoof like a school filly.
"Er-yes?" Magnolia asked.
"How does the ranking work?" Cloudy asked. "How do you decide?"
"Oh! Well, depending on how you are scored, you get a certain amount of points." Magnolia explained. "The more points you earn, the higher your ranking."
"Oh... cool." Cloudy settled down, looking at the mare with a blank expression and leaving the room in an awkward state of silence. Once Magnolia was sure that no more questions were going to be asked, she looked at the papers in her hooves.
"Oookay..." She cleared her throat. "Violet Lace, your scores were some of the most varied in the entire class. As you know, you were tested in four separate ways: Magically, Physically, Mentally, and Acting Analysis." She read. She looked up to see if Violet understood. Once she nodded she continued. "Magically, you scored below the average threshold, scoring a 2 out of 5."
Violet swallowed. That's what she figured. Though her shifts were a sight to behold, they weren't actual magic that could be calculated. Practice, really and truly, made all the difference.
"On your physical exam, you scored a 5 out of 5." Everpony's spirits lifted. Magnolia continued to read notes left by the ponies who watched her and evaluated her performance. "She has an extremely high level of endurance due to massive amounts of physical training. Though she didn't score the fastest, she did run the longest with signs of exhaustion appearing seconds before the test had to end due to time constraints." Magnolia nodded. "Very good."
"Mentally, you scored an average of 3 out of 5." Magnolia then went on to explain, though the notes came as no surprise to anypony in the room. Violet was smart, granted, but her mind set was not her strong suit. And her intellect stopped being broad, and went on to follow narrower paths like writing which affected her scores.
"Acting Analysis, you scored a 3 out of 5." Magnolia said at last. She read the notes. "She shows talent when shifted, however this can not be seen as legitimate due to the lack of security she has with them. If she is shifted too long, it will have negative effects on her body, and therefore cannot be relied upon. She was able to trick 4 out of 5 ponies, as well as the lie detector test 2 out of 5 times. Could use work, but shows potential as a valuable individual on the team."
Everypony sat in silence as they waited for her to say the final verdict. She straightened her papers, and with a smile on her face, said the words: "You passed, and you're in rank C. Congratulations."
The tension in the air seemed to dilute itself, going from suffocating to simply uncomfortable. They were halfway done, and Violet had passed.
"Cloudy Sun," Magnolia reached for a separate stack of papers and began to file through them. "You're Violet's adoptive sister, are you not?" Cloudy nodded. "So you two are not blood-related." She nodded and licked her hoof before finding the proper paper she needed. "I was just making sure..."
"Alrighty." She looked up to see everypony's faces, with their jaws clenched and eyes wide, they all looked like children. "Let's get started."
"Cloudy Sun." She began. "You, being an earth pony, were not tested in any of the magical, nor flying courses of the initiation. Do you understand that this can effect your ranking and are you still willing to hear your results?" Cloudy nodded. "As you know, you were tested in three different ways: Physically, Mentally, and Acting Analysis.
"You scored a 2 out of 5 in the physical part of the trial." Everypony sucked in a breath. "The notes state that you were fast, but lacked endurance. You're physical form, however being good for blending in for missions, is going to require more training in order to get you into peak physical shape."
Violet saw her sister shrink back into her chair. She winced at the words that floated in the air and remembered their young, teenage years. Violet was scrambling, trying to work out and push her body's limits, while Cloudy was very casual with her getting into shape. She didn't need to worry about losing weight, she just did it so that she could just skim healthy. She already had the look, as well as the talent, to be on stage, so working out and watching what she ate became pointless.
"You scored a 1 out of 5 in the Mental portion." Magnolia read off. "Shows a significant interest in old epics and other forms of literature, but the knowledge she has is limited and rather unneeded. She must work on her core courses, science, mathematics, and history, if she is to stay afloat."
Cloudy's face seem to cave in on itself in misery. At this rate, even if she scored a full score in the Acting Analysis portion, she would barely pass, and certainly wouldn't be able to be in the same rank, and therefore the same team, as her sister. Violet swallowed, going completely numb. Clock Mage said they were a team!
"You scored a full 5 out of 5 in the acting portion." Magnolia said to nopony's surprise. "Shows an excellent talent in acting! One of the best I've personally ever seen!" She continued to read all of Cloudy's notes of praise. But they fell short, and didn't reach their mark on Cloudy's self. She was still curled up, like a dying bug, on her black pleather chair. She didn't move, she didn't speak, Violet was even sure that she wasn't even breathing.
"However!" Magnolia shouted, causing everypony to jump. "There are some unforeseen circumstances, and there has been some what of a change to your score." She pulled out a new paper from her stack, completely oblivious to everypony's face frozen in a mix of sadness and surprise. Cloudy uncurled herself. "Due to some impressive shows of her acting talent," Magnolia explained. "Including successfully deceiving all five ponies in the test, and tricking the lie detector all of the times trialed, to the point where the instructors thought it was broken, only to be trialed again to receive the same result-"
"You never told me that..." Violet whispered in Cloudy's ear. Cloudy abruptly shoved her hoof in Violet's mouth to keep her from speaking.
"It has been decided by the instructors that you are to receive an extra five points added to your score, leaving you in rank C, and passing the initiation." Magnolia beamed. "Congratulations!"
What happened next was all a blur in Violet's mind. There was shouting, hoof bumps and hugs, and enough cheers to make her go deaf. Even the princess smiled. Cloudy sat frozen, a smile slowly creeping on her face as she realized what had happened. She was on the same team, and was going to be one of Luna's spies along with her sister. They would see each other ever day. She could get her own room, here in headquarters! The it's been decided that, if you were a valuable member of the Lunar Brigade, you would be provided with your own set of lodgings if you hadn't decided to move to Canterlot. If they ever got pissed at each other, they could punch each other in the face during combat practice. She could protect Violet, and Violet could protect her.
Magnolia made her way out of the room, making sure that Cloudy got the message that she had to go to regular tutoring sessions ever week in order to stay on the team. Cloudy's head nodded so harshly that Violet was afraid that it was going to pop off her head and roll onto the floor. She was willing to to go hundreds of tutoring sessions at that moment! None of it mattered! She was going to be a spy with her sister!
"Alright, alright..." Grim finally calmed everypony down. "I think it's time we head off. You two have had a very busy day today, and you need your rest." He leaned down with and winked at them, his gray main falling over his eyes revealing what appeared to be once green locks against his stormy blue irises. "You start your first mission tomorrow, and it's going to take a few months to prepare! You're going to have to work hard, but I know you two can do it." He waved them goodbye and was followed by Luna who too said her congratulations. The three girls hugged themselves. Squealing in joy, they squeezed the happiness out of themselves until they were ready to faced the outside world again.