//------------------------------// // Chapter 26: Test Your Might Part 3: Fight Fire With Fists // Story: The Tale Of A Lost Wolf // by Solaris Night //------------------------------// The sound of metal clashing filled the arena as everyone watched the match beneath unfold. Well, almost everyone. Trider sat in one of the seats, his head dangling backwards and snoring his time away. "WAKE UP!!!" His dreams were suddenly interrupted, when something solid hit him in his face. The strike was strong enough to drop him out of the seat and onto the ground. "WHO THE FUCK DARES?!" he yelled, as he got up and looked around to see the culprit. It didn't take long for his eyes to fall on Blaze, who was giving him a scowl and a smirk at the same time. "I dare." he stated firmly. "And I want to know, who gave you permission to sleep?" he asked sternly. "What I can't even grab a quick nap while I'm waiting here, bored out of my mind?" the Kanisar retorted. "You think I'm scared of you geezer, like the others are. Well let me tell you something, I-" He was cut off when Blaze tried to punch him again. Trider however saw it coming and grabbed his fist, as it still flew at him. "Nice try geezer, but you'll have to do bet-" He didn't have time to finish his sentence as Blaze's hand detached from his arm and grabbed Trider by his throat. The Kanisar's eyes widened, releasing stallion's arm to pry the severed hand from his neck. That gave Blaze an opportunity and he took it. Swinging his other arm he delivered a powerful punch directly on Trider's jaw. The Kanisar fell to the ground and the hand released him, returning to it's owner. "I won't lie, I admire your courage. Not many had ever had the guts to blatantly question my orders and even less insulted me." He then turned his head and gave Trider a glare that gave him goosebumps. "But remember this, while you're here I'm in charge and what I say goes. I won't have any disobedience from my soliders. So if you think of doing something stupid, like what you did now, than expect severe repercussions." The Kanisar just stared at the stallion, as he walked away. "What the fuck happened?" he said with a hoarse voice, while rubbing his throat. "You called him a geezer. That's what happened." Green said as he approached Trider, offering him a hand. He begrudgingly accepted the stallion's help and stood back up. "Really? That's all it takes to set him off? Man his anger issues are even worse than mine." Green chuckled at his remark. "Yes, he's known for having a short temper. Although usually he can keep it under wraps, but when it comes to his age... Well you've seen how he becomes." Trider gave him a confused look and scratched his head. "Why would he be so sensitive about his age? I mean he doesn't look that old, 40 tops. And what the hell did he do with his arm?" "I'll be glad to answer you." Green said with a smile. "You see Blaze is actually over 80 years old." Trider's eyes nearly jumped out of his sockets. "SAY WHAT?" he shouted. "T-there is no way he's that old." Green chuckled at his reaction. "It's true. And I can explain how and answer your other question." He then looked at the red stallion and saw he was occupied with watching the match below. "That isn't actually Blaze." Trider blinked a few times. "I'm sorry, what?" "That in fact is just a puppet the real Blaze is controlling." he said as he pointed towards the stallion in question. "Blaze, even among us ponies has a very unique talent. Despite being a pegasus, he has the ability to manipulate puppets with his magic from very far away." "So wait, that over there is only a puppet?" Trider asked, to which Green nodded. "But it looks so real?" "Yes, that puppet is unique since it not only has realistic feauters, but Blaze can even see and hear through it. This way he can interact wit others, even when he is in a completely isolated place." the stallion elaborated. "But despite it's lifelike appearance it's still a puppet that Blaze can control to do even the most of absurd things. Like detaching it's limbs to strike it's opponent." "That's kind of amazing." Trider said in awe. "There are so many different and unique abilities out there, it makes me kind of excited." "I'm glad to hear you say that." Green said with a smile and began to walk away. "Wait!" Trider called out, stopping the stallion. "Just one more question." "Ask away." "If Blaze really is so old, as you say he is, then why is he still here in the military? Isn't he kind of too old to serve his country?" the Kanisar wondered. "An excellent question." Green said and turned towards him. "Blaze is a pony of combat, his entire family has dedicated their lives to protect Equestria. When he was told he was too old to still be in the Guard he simply said that he'd rather die than leave it. So they made a compromise and allowed him to train future recruit. But he's still to old to even walk around, so he uses his puppet to go around and help others." Trider had a newfound respect for the red stallion, he could see that if he tried they could get along well. "If it's like that, then I guess I can tolerate him and listen to what he says." he said, with a bit of reluctancy. Green simply smiled and headed towards Blaze. "I'm glad you feel that way." "Wow, I can't believe you got your ass whooped by a grandpa." someone suddenly said. Trider turned his head and he saw a midngiht blue stallion standing a few feet away from him. "You want something?" Trider simply replied, giving the stallion a small scowl. "No, no. I'm just saying that I'm surprised, that's all." the stallion said, shaking his head. "I mean from what I heard about you, I sort of expected for you to rip him into pieces." "You heard about me?" Trider inquiered. "Yeah, I mean everypony here has heard about you." the stallion continued. "You were the one who helped in protecting Canterlot from changeling invasion and you're also the one who helped King Sombra take back the Crysatl Empire, am I right?" "Right and wrong. I was brainwashed by Sombra into doing his bidding. I didn't for anyone to get hurt. I still have nightmares of that day." Trider said in a dark tone. "Oh, sorry dude. I didn't mean to insult you, honestly." the stallion apologised sincerly. "I just heard all these things and-" "Assumed they were right?" Trider finished for him. "Look I get it, I'm not mad or anything, but I'd appreciate if we never talked about it, ever." "Understood." the stallion replied. "Then I guess even the talks about you being strong were fabricated." "Excuse you?" "I mean you were just beaten by an old geezer. Do you really expect me to believe that you'd be able to go against the Queen of changelings, when even Celestia couldn't?" the stallion elaborated. "OK, one he got me by surprise. Two, if I were serious I would've kicked his ass before he could even blink. And three, I did fight Chrysalis and beat her." Trider counted, while gritting his teeth. "If you say so." the stallion shrugged nonchalantly. "You don't believe me do you?" "I mean, if I had to believe something from what I saw and what I heard, I'd rather go with the former." "Then why don't I show you?" Trider said, his eyes filled with malice. "I'd rather not. We'd get in trouble if we did so, and frankly I'd rather not get the same beating you got from Blaze." the stallion refused. "OK that's it, put'em up ya asswipe." Trider growled and raised his arms. "Trider!" someone suddenly called out to him. He turned around and saw Green approaching them. "What?" he replied bluntly. "You're up next." A wide smile spread across his face and he completely forgot about his arguement with the stallion, he had before. "Fuck yes!" he cheered and pumped his arm into the air. "Who's my opponent?" "Nightshade, the stallion you were having a friendly chat with right now." Green replied. Trider slowly turned his head to look at the stallion in question, his smile changing into a toothy grin, his fangs clearly on display. Nightshade just stared at the Kanisar. "Well shit." was his only reply. *** "Well, well, it seems lady luck has smiled upon me." Trider said. The two were now each standing in the arena, facing each other. "More like Miss Fortune, wouldn't you say?" Nightshade replied. "I don't give a fuck, cuz now I can finally show how terrifying I can be." "Don't think that I'll go down so easy. Despite how I act I am more than capable of standing my ground." the stallion shot back. "I wouldn't have it any other way." the Kanisar replied confidently. Nightshade closed his eyes, as his two bracelets began to shine and they materialized themselves into two scimitars. "Draw your weapon!" he exclaimed, pointing one of his blades into the Kanisars direction. "Yeah, yeah. Just give me second." he replied nonchalantly. He fumbled around his pants pockets, as he tried to retrieve something from them. Eventually he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a pair of combat gloves, that Spike gave him, and put them on. "Wait, is that all you're going to use to fight me?" Nightshade wondered. "Yeah, I don't need anything else, do I?" Trider rebuted, as he tightened one of his gloves. "It seems you're overestimating yourself." "Yeah I get that a lot." "Are you ready?" Green asked from atop of the arena. "Ready!" they both replied, as they got into their battle stances. "Then begin!" The two combatants charged at each other, clashing mid-way. Nightshade swung his swords at the Kanisar and he deflected the blows, with the metallic parts of his gloves. They continued to exchange blows, none of them relenting. As the onslaught continued, it slowly became clear that Trider was beginning to overpower the pegasus. As he parried another blow, the Kanisar took a chance and decided to sweep kick the stallion. The attack landed and Nightshade lost his balance. But as he was falling he unfurled his wings and hovered above the ground. "Seems you've forgotten that I'm a peg-" he didn't get to finish his statement, as Trider slammed his hands into the ground and followed up his sweep kick with a powerful buck, directly into the pegasus chest. The blow knocked Nightshade out of the air and away from the Kanisar. Quickly getting up the stallion got ready for Trider's follow up. As soon as he got into a stance the Kanisar was already up in his face. Nightshade began to once again block Trider's barrage of punches and kicks, as he was pushed back. "Damn, he wasn't lying after all. He is strong." he thought as dodged another punch. "But in combat speed and strength aren't the only things that count." Parrying another attack Nightshade brought his wings forward and tried to slice Trider. The Kanisar however barely dodged the attack and tried to counter-attack, but didn't get the chance to do so. Nightshade swung one of his scimitars and landed a clean hit onto the Kanisar. Pain shot through Trider's left arm and he quickly backed away. Once he was far enough he looked at his arm and saw there was a deep cut in it. "Not bad. You've got some skill, I'll give ya that." he complimented the stallion. "Thanks. I try." he replied. "Those wings and blades are trouble." Trider thought as he tore a part of his uniform and bandaged his wound. "Maybe I should get a little serious." He crossed his hands in front of him and channeled his Ki into them. "Spirit Claw!" he said and suddenly his arms were covered with a bright red aura and claws appeared. Nightshade looked at him in slight surprise. "You can use ethereal magic?" he asked out loud. "Nah, this is called Ki. It's kind of like magic, but not at the same time." Trider explained. "That makes no sense." "It doesn't have to, all you have to know is that it spells bad news for you." With that said, trider once again assaulted Nightshade, this time with even more vigor. Even with his wings, Nightshade had difficult time keeping up with the Kanisar. The two were locked in fierce combat, each blow stronger than the last. Eventually though Trider got the upper hand and he saw an opportunity, when the pegasus accidentally misstepped. Creating a small ball of Ki he delivered it directly into his stomach and with a loud bang the stallion was sent flying. Nightshade's landing was anything but graceful, as he skidded across the ground. When he stopped he laid on the ground, a large hole now in his jacket where Trider struck him. Slowly he began to stand up, using his wings and scimitars to lift himself up. "Still got some fight left in you?" Trider wondered, as he watched the stallion's attempt at getting up. "Good, cuz I'm far from satisfied." Nightshade said nothing. He lifted his head and looked at the Kanisar. "I guess I was the one who overstimated themselves." he said in a weak voice, as he wiped away the blood from his mouth. "But now it's time for me to get serious." Saying that he slammed the blades of his scimitars into the ground and began to unbutton his jacket. "Wow dude, chill. I already have a creep on my shoulders. I don't need another." Trider said as he took a step back. Nightshade gave him a confused look, before he realised what he was implying. "Oh no, no, no. I'm simply taking off my jacket so it doesn't get destroyed even more." "And how exactly would it get destroyed even more?" Trider wondered. "Let me show you." With that said, Nightshade threw away his jacket, exposing his bare chest and a small amulet, in the shape of a dragon's head, he had around his neck. He grabbed the necklace with his hand and closed his eyes. "All who face me shall fear my ire, for now you face the beast of fire." All of a sudden he was engulfed in flames and everyone, including Trider, watched in shock. "What the fuck is that bastard doing?" he asked himself. Soon the flames died out and what everyone saw, made their eyes widen. Nightshade, once of average height and slim build, was now almost a head taller then he was before and his body was rippling with huge muscles. But that was only a fraction of how his boy changed. His once midnight blue coat was replaced with snow white scales on some parts of his body and his once feathery wings were now a leathery looking, although there were traces of feather shaped like forms on it, but they looked like jagged rocks. His eyes now resembled those of a lizard and on top of his head rested a coulpe of white horns. His tail also underwent a change, as it was now lizardlike, it's point covered in hair. Looking at the Kanisar, Nightshade gave him a toothy smile, showing off his new sharp teeth. "Sorry to keep you waiting." he said and picked up his scimitars. "Shall we continue." "Dude, that was awesome. I didn't know you ponies could do this." Trider exclaimed ecstatically. Nightshade looked at him with slight confusion. "You're not afraid? Usually when I transform, other ponies get scared or at the very least are surprised." "Oh I was surprised when you transformed, but your look isn't something new." Trider explained. "I mean I live with a dragon and I had a previous encounter with dragons, not to mention one of my friends is a dragon-pony, so..." "You seem to live a hectic life." Nightshade said. "Eh, it's what keeps me going through the day." Trider shrugged. "So are gonna stand here and twiddle or are we gonna get down to business?" Heeding his words, the two once again got into their stances. Then Trider charged at the stallion, rearing his arm back for a punch. Before it could connect however, Nightshade countered with his own punch. The two clashed and the impact sent shock through the Kanisar's arm. "He's stronger then before, faster too." Trider thought, as he retrieved his arm and decided to continue his attack. The two were once again locked in fierce battle. This time however Nightshade seemed to have the upper hand. He successfully landed a few blows onto the Kanisar drawing blood. "What's wrong Trider? Can't keep up?" the stallion taunted. Trider only smirked at his remark. As Nightshade swung his sword for yet another attack, Trider grabbed the blade and gripped it hard. The stallion looked at him in terror. "What are you-?" Immediately Trider pulled the scimitar out of his hand and clenched his other fist. A barrage of punches struck Nightshade with insane speed and strength. Soon he was brought to the ground while Trider simply looked at him. Slowly picking himself up Nightshade looked at the Kanisar, seeing him grin. "You were holding back all this time?" he asked. "Maaaaybe." Trider replied coyly, averting his eyes. "I mean it wouldn't have been much of a fight if I went all out at the start, right? I also wouldn't have seen your transformation." Nightshade just looked at him incredulously. Soon he began to chuckle and got up. "You are one strange fellow." he said. "Yeah I get that a lot." Trider replied. Without warning Nightshade unfurled, his now massive, wings and flew at the Kanisar. Trider expected another clash, so he got ready. But Nightshade at the last moment flew into the sky and over the Kanisar. Trider looked at him confused, only to realise that he wasn't his target. Stopping a few feet away from his opponent, Nightshade picked up his scimitar and faced Trider once again. "Now then..." he said before taking a deep breath and blasting fire onto his two scimitars. The swords blades were engulfed in fire and he gave a few test swings. "Shall we continue?" "I don't want to sound hypocritical, but isn't that a bit of an overkill?" Trider said as he watched Nightshade's display. "Maybe." was the stallion's simple reply. He then charged at the Kanisar. Trider summoned his Spirit Claws to counter his now burning weapons in hopes he could defend himself from the fire. And it proved successful as he didn't feel that much heat when he struck the stallions swords. They were in a deadlock, neither one giving the other a chance at retaliation. "Piston Cannon Trispear!" Trider said and smashed his fist into the flat parts of the swords, which Nightshade used to defend himself. The impact was strong enough to send the stallion skidding across the ground, before stopping a few feet away. Nightshade couldn't feel his arms after the strike. "Damn, I didn't expect him to be even stronger than me. If this was a test of strength, he would have me beaten by a landslide." He then grinned as an idea popped into his head. He took a deep breath and blew a cloud of smoke out of his mouth. Soon the smoke covered all of the arena, not letting anyone outside or inside to see what was happening on the battlefield. "What are you trying to do? Give me lung cancer or something?" Trider shouted into the smoke. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain go across his back and he immediately jumped away. Reaching back he felt something damp on his back and when he brought his hand back he saw it was covered in blood. "Bloody hell." he mumbled. All of a sudden he saw the tip of a blade cutting through the smoke and he immediatelly dodged the attack. He didn't stop however as he continued to run around, in hopes of avoiding any further assault. "You're probably wondering how I'm able to see you through all of this smoke?" Nightshade spoke up. "Not really." Trider replied. Either not hearing the Kanisar or choosing to ignore him, the stallion began to explain. "Did you know that some snakes have the ability to see heat instead of the regular way other animals see? Well it just so happens that dragons have that ability as well and therefore me too." Trider saw the smoke in front of him shift a bit and he narrowly dodged another swing of the stallions scimitars. "So it doesn't matter where you are or how thick this smoke is, I'll know exactly where you are." Nightshade continued to follow Trider's heat signature, preparing for another attack. Then he saw that the Kanisar had stopped moving. "What is he planning?" he wondered as he gripped both of his swords. "I should be careful just in case." he decided. Slowly he made his way around until he was behind the Kanisar. With a flap of his wings he propelled himself towards Trider, raising his blades high into the air. As he approached him he brought his swords down, expecting to slice through his opponent. Trider however sidestepped his attack and delivered a kick into his guts. Nightshade was knocked a few feet away from where Trider stood. He quickly got up and massaged his stomach. "How did he know?" he wondered. "What's wrong Nighty? Don't tell me that kick actually took you down for good?" Trider taunted. The stallion looked over to where the Kanisar was and saw he didn't leave his spot. "Was it just dumb luck that he knew where I was?" he continued to think. He decided to test out if it truly was only luck that helped him evade his attack. He fired a fireball from his mouth in Trider's direction. Right before it connected the Kanisar swatted it away. That confirmed that he somehow could see where he was, despite the thick smoke. With his advantage destroyed he began to plan another course of attack. But he didn't have time, as he saw that a ball of heat began to form in Kanisar's hands. "Wailing Nova Sphere!" Trider shouted and shot the ball of Ki at the stallion. Nightshade quickly jumped out of the way of the projectile, however when it exploded the shockwave knocked him to the ground. As soon as he got up he looked back to Trider, but he disappeared. "Where did-?" he was cut off when something grabbed his tail and threw him into the ground. "Agh!" he shouted when he hit the ground. Soon he felt something drop on top of him and from the shape of the figure, he realised it was Trider. Quickly raising his arms he blocked the oncoming barrage of punches. Nightshade couldn't fight back as he was pinned to the ground, so all he could do was block. Blow after blow his arms began to grow tired and he knew he had to get the Kanisar off him quickly. Taking a deep breath, he shot a massive fireball at Trider. He heard a loud yelp and knew it hit him. He got into a kneeling position and panted heavily. "How?" he asked. "Simple. I just used my other senses to 'see' where you are." Trider replied back through the smoke. "I used my keen sense of smell to tell where you were, while my ears told me what you were doing at the moment and so I was able to fight back." "Even so, you had to have previous training for you to able to fight in these conditions." Nightshade argued. Suddenly he was grabbed by his shoulders and when he looked up he saw Trider looking down on him. "Do you really think you're the first one to use this trick on me?" Trider said, before lifting the stallion and throwing him into the air. As Nightshade was still in mid-air, Trider focused his Ki. "Roar Cannon!" he shouted, before shooting a beam of energy from his mouth. The blast blew the stallion acrosss the arena, before he slammed into the opposite wall. Clutching at where the blast hit him, he saw that the spot was singed. When he looked back to where he flew from, he saw the Kanisar quickly approaching him. Spreading his wings he took to the skies and he was soon out of the smoke. He looked down on the arena and glared. "Let's see if you can dodge my Great Fireball Barrage!" he exclaimed. He began to shoot fireball after fireball down towards the arena, hitting different parts of it. He continued to shoot the fireballs until the smoke was gone from all the explosions the fireballs created. The stallion panted heavily, looking to see if he had hit his target. To his surprise even after the smoke had cleared he saw no signs of the Kanisar. "Where did he go?" he exclaimed and began to frantically look around the arena. Then out of nowhere someone tapped him on the shoulder. Quickly turning around he came face to face with Trider. "Hey there." Trider greeted with a small wave. Nightshade looked at him incredulously. Before he could reply, Trider punched him directly in the face and sent him hurtling directly into the ground. Nightshade reamined lying in the small crater he created and looked as Trider slowly descended towards him. When he touched the ground he slowly walked towards his fallen opponent and looked at him. "You can fly?" the stallion asked weakly. "Yeah." Trider replied. "But you don't have wings." "Bah, wings are so last season." Nightshade couldn't believe it. He was fighting someone who had the strength of an earth pony, controlled magic like an unicorn and could fly like a pegasus. "Talk about unfair." he thought. It was like going up against an alicorn. "Heh." he chuckled and got back on his hooves. "I like a challenge." "That's the spirit." Trider said with a smile. "Whenever you're ready matchstick." Nightshade smiled back. Suddenly his entire body was engulfed in flame and he took to the sky and began to fly around the arena. Soon a ring of fire formed around the two. The heat it produced made the Kanisar sweat and he had trouble brething due to intense heat. "What's wrong wolf breath, can't stand the heat?" Nightshade taunted and charged towards the Kanisar, his body still on fire. Trider blocked his first attack, but he soon realised that was a mistake. His arms were immediately burned by the flames and he jumped away. Trider decided to use a less direct approach. He began to fire his Ki blasts, but the stallion either easily dodged them or deflected them with his swords. "Talk about jumping from the frying pan and into the fire situation." Trider thought to himself. He then tried to use his Spirit Claw to attack the stallion, but as soon as he got closer he could feel the unbearable heat beating down on him. "Dammit can't get close and if I don't finish up soon I'll end up well done." He began to think what he should do, but the heat made it impossible to think straight. Seeing the Kanisar struggle Nightshade charged again. Trider saw him coming, but due to the rising temperatures his movements began to slow down. Just narrowly avoiding his sword, trider tried to strike back, but the stallion quickly dodged. "You should just give up, I can tell you won't last for much longer." he said and got ready for another attack. Trider knew he was right, so he ahd to finish this fight up asap. With a shout Nightshade leaped towards the Kanisar. He expected him to dodge again and he would take advantage of it to take him down for good. But what Trider did next left him speechless. Instead of dodging or blocking, the Kanisar ran right into the stallion and his swords plunged right through his chest. With wide eyes nightshade stared at Trider unable to comprehend why he would do that. All of a sudden Trider lifted his left arm and grabbed Nightshade's wrist, burning it in the process. "Got you." Trider said triumphantly. Only when he said that, did the stallion noticed the large sphere of energy, Trider held in his other hand. "Wailing Nova Sphere!" With no way of dodging or blocking Nightshade took the full force of the blast. The balst was so powerful it made the stallion fly across the arena and slam into the wall, creating a small hole in it. The flames around the arena begant to die out and it was clear that Nightshade was knocked out cold. Trider grabbed the two scimitars and dropped them to the ground. He raised his burned hand into the sky and smiled. "Victory for Trider." He thought to himself. *** That night Trider was walking along the shore of the sea, along with the princess of the night. "So? How was your first day?" she asked, curious to know what shenanigans the Kanisar got himself into. "Eh, it had it's ups and downs. But it was pleasant nonetheless." he answered, earning a smile from Luna. "Glad to hear that." They spent the next few minutes in quiet, before Luna once again spoke up. "If I am correct you were supposed to have your skills tested in combat today, am I right?" "You are. And before you ask, I totally wiped the floor with the guy." the Kanisar boasted. "Yes I can see that from the two holes in your chest and the third degree burns on your arm." Luna retorted. "Even so, I won and that is all that matters." he shot back. "But I do wish they were stronger." "Pardon? What do you mean stronger? Are these recruits not capable warriors. At least that's what the report said." Luna asked confused. "Oh no, no, no. Don't get me wrong, they're all very skilled and posses great powers and abilities. I was talking more on the lines of actual raw strength." Trider explained. "I see. So you're saying none of them are physically strong?" "Well at least if you compare them to me." "So what? You said it yourself that they have great skill, and is that not enough?" Luna wondered. "It is, but at the same time it's not." Luna gave him a look that told him to explain what he meant. "You see ever since I was little I swore to myself that I'd become the strongest there is, and after my encounter with Sombra that will only grew. And while it's a good thing to become stronger through skill, that simply isn't enough for me. I have to get physically stronger as well." "You make sense Trider. So why not simply train like others do, with weights and such?" Luna continued her inquiry. "I thought about that, but it's not the same. I have to have someone as strong, if not stronger than me, to train with so I can see how big of a gap is between us and then strive to surpass them." he explained. Luna began to mull over what he had told her. "I think I can arrange something for you." Trider looked her in the eyes and grabbed her hands. "Really?" He looked at her with big eyes, which seemed cute to the night princess. "Yes. I am a princess after all and it will not be so hard to make so you get the training partner you want." she assured him with a smile. Suddenly Trider grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. "You're the best princess ever." he said joyfully. Luna blushed as she didn't know how to react to his sudden outburst. "Thank you for the compliment." she said as she pulled away from the embrace. "I should go now so I can make all the necessary arrangements." "You do that. I can't wait." Trider said gleefully, acting like a little kid in a candy store. "Farewell for now, expect your new training partner to arrive in a few days." "I will. See ya Lulu." he replied and fist bumping the mare. As soon as she left the dream had ended. *** Three days later "Line up maggots, we are expecting a very important guest today." Blaze shouted, making all of the recruits look at each other in confusion. "A special guest?" "Who do you think it is?" "Why would they want to see us?" These and many more questions ran through their minds, but Trider simply smirked since he had a good idea of who it might be. "ATTEN-TION!" Blaze commanded and everyone stopped their chatter and stood straight. Soon out of a nearby walked the princess of the night herself. Everyone looked at the alicorn mare in awe, as they didn't expect for one of their rulers to visit. "Good day to my loyal subjects." Luna greeted. "Greetings your highness!" the recruits greeted and saluted back. Luna nodded her head, letting them know they could stop their salute. "Now, the reason for her highnesses visit today is because somepony wasn't happy with our training and wanted to have a bit more of a challenge." Blaze said as he began to pace in front of the recruits, glaring at Trider when he emphasized somepony. "Guilty as charged sir." Trider spoke up, making the others look at him incredulously. "I wasn't praising you sonny." Blaze said, but Trider paid him no mind as he looked towards the princess. "Took you long enough Luna. Was the paperwork that gruesome?" Their looks of disbelief turned into shock and terror, as they heard he adressed one of their rulers in such a manner. Blaze smacked the Kanisar on the head pushed his head down. "Trider know your place. You're speaking to Princess Luna, not one of your best buddies." He then looked towards the mare and gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry your highness, he is as dense as a rock, I'll make sure he receives hi proper punishment." "Not necessary General Blaze Fury." she said. "It is the kind of reply I was expecting from him and I have no quarrel with the way he speaks to me." "Understood." Blaze said and released Trider. "You're off the hook, for now." he threatened in a whisper. "Up yours too." Trider shot back, making the stallion growl. He then shifted his gaze towards Luna. "Can I step forward?" "You may." she assured him. Once they were standing face to face, Trider asked the question he ahd on his mind ever since she arrived. "So, did you bring them?" "I did." she replied. "Great, where are they?" he asked and began to look around. "You're looking at them." she said once Trider looked back at her. At first he didn't get who she was refering to, but it eventually dawned on him. "No way. You've gotta be kidding me?" he said in disbelief. "I am not." Luna stated firmly. "Trider Lykosgrothia, from this day forth I, Princess Luna, shall be your training partner."