//------------------------------//
// CHAPTER TWO: The New Life 
// Story: As Hard As Velvet 
// by Stormbringer 
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Many years before…

Twilight had graduated training under Princess Celestia.  The princess told her student that she’d always be her mentor.  
Now Twilight was moving her things from the castle to the Royal Guard barracks.  She was enrolled in the Officer’s Candidate School.  Twilight was told that her talents would be wasted as a commercial Ψ arbitrator.  

The princess had warned Twilight that her drill instructor was a real Ass… 

Seriously!  

He, for some reason, didn’t like the classification of Donkey.  

Most thought it was a way for Sargent First Class Jack to mess with the ponies heads.

Being she was a class officer in OCS, Twilight was in a room that was for four ponies.  She was told that she had to keep to a higher standard than the enlisted ponies who had to live and sleep in open bays.  But it was most surprising that her cadet rank was higher than the other students, plus there were no other ponies in her room.  
The D I was going from room to room checking on the cadets.  He was bellowing at every pony, making their first day a pain.  Twilight heard the SFC at the room next to hers.  He was making the mares in that room do pushups.

“Keep pushing Canterlot into the ground!  And I’ll know if you didn’t do them all!” he shouted leaving the room.  
He came to Twilight’s room, looked at the name slip by the door.  Instead of barging in the open door, he knocked.
“Cadet Captain Velvet, may I enter?”
Twilight didn’t know if this was a trick or what.
“Of course, D I Jack,” said Twilight.
“I wanted to see if everything is okay and you’ll be comfortable.”
“Yes D I, everything is good, thanks for checking.”
“Thank you, we’ll be falling out to get uniforms issued in 30 minutes.  So stow your gear and be ready for the call.”
“Thank you D I.” Said Twilight.

Twilight returned to putting what little she was allowed to bring away.  Then she sat on a cushion on the floor by a window and waited.

While waiting, a mare came to the door.  She looked at the name and smiled.

“Hey! Cadet Captain Velvet, I’m Cadet Lieutenant Heather, the cadet XO.  I guess we’re responsible for our company.  That means if the company screws up, we get to hear about it…  
Loud and clear.”  Heather snickered, knowing that it was all part of game.

“Did the D I get on you about anything?” asked Twilight, “he sure was loud coming down the hall.”
“Yes,” said Heather, “why?”
“Well,” said Twilight, “he asked to come in and spoke in a very civil tone.  Why do you think that is?”
“Don’t you know?” asked the XO.  Twilight shook her head, “it’s because you’re a spook.”
“What’s a spook?” asked Twilight, but Heather didn’t get to answer, a very attractive older mare in an officer’s black uniform enter Twilight’s room.

“Attention on deck!” cried Heather.

Both mares snapped to attention.  It could’ve been sharper, but they hadn’t even started their training yet and only had a small orientation on military courtesy. 

“Cadet Lieutenant,” said the officer, “you’re dismissed.”
“Yes ma’am,” answered Heather who left the room quickly, almost like she was afraid.

The officer walked around Twilight slowly, as if sizing her up.
Twilight could feel something in her mind, trying to enter it.  Twilight used what the princess had taught her and resisted with all her might.  Then it stopped.

“Very good, Cadet Velvet,” said the officer. Her voice was like silk, but Twilight could tell that there was a fire that could ignite at any moment.  Although Twilight was finding it odd, it was a little hard for her not to check out the officer’s flanks.  “I’m to be your trainer while you’re here.  I can tell that the princess has taught you well.  
Aside from your standard Royal Guard training.  We’ll work together to assess your Ψ abilities and exercise them to your full potential.  Usually while the rest of the company are doing physical combat training.  (She said physical as if it were something demeaning and disgusting).  

To answer your question, a ‘spook’ is a rather unflattering name for Ψ agents.  Ponies like the D I are very careful around us.  Mostly afraid what might happen to them if one of us who hasn’t had much or any training, is put under stress and lashes out.  More than one drill instructor has had to be committed as a helpless mental vegetable, or worse because some untrained Ψ cadet couldn’t control themselves.”

Then Twilight heard in her mind:

‘By the way, I’m Lieutenant Colonel Dream Walker.  

And you were just caught off guard.’

“Be careful about that,” said the officer out loud with a smile.  “Carry on, cadet.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Dream Walker turned and left the room.  
‘What a hot mare,’ Twilight was thinking how attractive that mare was. She never saw any problem with two mares being together because of the lack of stallions. ‘I sure wouldn’t mind getting close with her.’
‘I heard that,’ Twilight heard a chuckle in her head, it felt like the Colonel was amused yet there was something else Twilight couldn’t identify.  
Twilight blushed, it really was the first time she’d thought a mare was attractive in that way.

From the hall, it was heard:

“You have one minute to fall in everypony!  and 30 seconds are already gone!”


The company stood outside the barracks at attention, the D I instructed them to form up in four ranks these were to be their squads, there was a designated OCS squad leader.  
Unlike a lot of other militaries, the OCS and basic enlisted trained together.  The class CO, XO and squad leaders were OCS while the balance of the troops were enlisted.
Twilight and Heather were instructed that they were to stand in the center in front of the squads.  This was to be their assigned positions for the rest of the training unless some change was made from higher up or for disciplinary actions.
Then the D I told the Company officers that they will be leading the troops marching after today, and they needed to learn quickly.

The company were instructed how to do a facing movement and the officers moved to the front end of the formation.  Then the D I gave them the order to march.  He went up and down the formation, shouting at the troops to get in step, or that they were not in proper spacing.
The company was marched around the parade grounds for a good two hours until they were marched to a building next to the barracks.

‘Talk about going around the block to get to next door,’ thought Twilight with a smile. 
Being it was an all-female company they were directed to the same door to receive their uniform issue.  

The OCS members were taken to an adjoining room, all but Twilight. 

Names were called out and the company filed into the uniform issue line.  They received dress uniforms along with their armor that would be their uniform for training and mostly when they would be in their permanent companies.  


“Cadet Captain Velvet,” a pony called, it was a female sergeant in black uniform.  “come with me.”

Twilight followed the NCO to a totally different room.  There she was measured and was issued black dress uniforms along with a couple of black berets.  On each collar of the uniforms and on the berets was an embroidered silver Ψ.  Pin on cadet rank devices were issued as well.  Once graduated, the rank would be on embroidered shoulder boards.
As she collected the uniform issue and placed them in a black duffle bag, she was instructed to put a uniform on.  Then she looked around her. 
“Is there a problem cadet?” asked the NCO.
“Do I get armor later?” asked Twilight.
The NCO chuckled.
“Cadet,” she said, “we Ψ agents don’t go into battle except in our minds.  You’ll learn all the mental armor from your trainer.”
“Oh, okay,” said Twilight, “thank you sergeant.”
The sergeant offered her hoof, Twilight shook it.
“Welcome aboard, cadet.  Remember us little ponies.”
“I promise I will.” Replied Twilight with a smile.

Twilight went to the outside of the building and waited for the rest of the company.  There was D I Jack waiting for the troops.

“Looking sharp Cadet Velvet,” said the D I.

Twilight was glad the rest of the company hadn’t come out yet.

“D I Jack,” said Twilight. “If you’d please, I was Princess Celestia’s protégée.  I’ve had a lot of training at this point.  Perhaps more than the normal cadet.  
So I’m not going to accidently scramble your mind.  Please don’t treat me any different from the rest.  I’m going to stand out in this black uniform as it is.  If I’m to lead them, I want them to relate to me, not see me as some special case.

So I don’t want any special treatment.”

“That’s officer thinking, Cadet Velvet,” said the D I with a smile.  “Very well, in that case, because the items in your room weren’t put away when I got there. 

(Then loudly) Get down and give me 30 pushups, NOW!”

“Thank you D I,” said Twilight who complied with the order.
“You’re welcome,” said the D I with a chuckle, “now PUSH!”
The rest of the company filed out and saw Twilight doing pushups.