Pharynx continued down the line, recruit after recruit. He had ripped through several ponies that he could only classify as spineless or egotistical. He needed something different. It was then that something caught his eyes. She wasn’t very tall, at least not compared to him. She had a light blue coat, and green eyes. Her face was hard but neutral. It gave off a distinct aura of discipline that the others lacked. It was all in the details. The mare peaked Pharynx’s interest. He approached her, maintaining his stern expression.
“You there!” Pharynx shouted, addressing the mare before him. “What’s your name?”
The mare in question went into a salute position, “Sir, Private Cloudy Sky, Sir!”
Pharynx mentally stuck his tongue out. Her demeanor and tone were perfect. But, that name. Such a poor name shouldn’t be attached to such a fine candidate. So, he decided to fix that.
“WRONG!” He shouted, “From now on your name is Private Windbreaker! Do you like that name?”
“Sir, Yes, Sir!”
“Private Windbreaker, your accent tells me that you’re from Manehattan. Am I correct?”
“Sir, Yes, Sir!”
“You like the food there, Private?”
“Sir, Yes, Sir!”
“Well there’s one thing you probably won’t like Private Windbreaker: They don’t serve fast-food or fine cuisine on a daily basis in my mess-hall!” He has to be fair and throw in a little bit of rudeness.
“Sir, Yes, Sir!” Windbreaker maintained her tone, posture, and expression.
Pharynx smiled on the inside a bit. He didn’t see enough mare warriors in the army. Which he considered a shame, since he thought that many of the mares he had met, had great potential. In fact, there were many times he could recall where they greatly outperformed the stallions. Cloudy Sky/ Windbreaker showed a lot of promise.
He was about to move down the line when his ear twitched. He heard something. He heard somepony say, “Probably serve the love you stole from Canterlot.”
Pharynx’s blood boiled. Steam (somehow) came out of his nostrils, and he grit his teeth. “Who said that?” He stormed in the general direction of the sound. “WHO THE HECK SAID THAT?!” He settled on a small line of troops. “Who’s the grimy little, scum-sucking, mulch pile, that just signed their own DEATH WARRANT?!” Pharynx looked between the small group, each one was as stone-faced as the other. His rage only grew with the extended silence. “Nobody, hm? A flipping para-sprite said it. How absolutely wonderful-I will PT you all until you DIE! I’ll PT you until you’re crying for your mom!” He grabbed the recruit closest to him, “Was it you, ya scrawny little maggot?”
The trainee was sweating bullets under Pharynx’s glare. “S-Sir, No, Sir!” He answered in a slight panic. Pharynx remained unconvinced.
“I can practically taste the amount of contempt coming from over here. I’ll bet it was you!”
“Sir, N-No, Sir!”
Suddenly, the recruit right next him spoke up, “Sir, I said it, Sir!”
A great silence came over the grounds. Those that could moved their eyes to look at the one who spoke up. He was a character of average height. A stallion with an orange coat, brown eyes, and a similarly brown mane. Pharynx marched over to the stallion, his hooves making heavy, audible impact upon the ground with every step. He stared the culprit down.
“Well,” Pharynx growled, “Small world. What do we have here? An uneducated bigot, Private Blockhead. I admire your honesty. Heck, I like you. You can come inside The Hive and date one of my sisters.” Before “Private Blockhead” could respond in any way, the enraged Changeling General punched him in the chest, knocking the air out of his lungs. He fell to the ground, gripping the area of impact with one hoof, supporting himself on his knees and other hoof.
Pharynx stood over the pony that he hated so much at the moment. “YOU LITTLE SCUMBAG! I’ve got your name, I’VE GOT YOUR MARK!!! You will not laugh, you will not cry. You will learn by the numbers. I will teach you! Now get up, get on your hooves!!” Slowly, the Private managed to stand on all four hooves. It was clear that his attitude and ego had been taken down more than a few notches. Pharynx wasn’t done however. “You had best fix yourself real fast, or I’ll turn your helmet into a hammer and drive your head through a WALL!”
Private “Blockhead” croaked our a decent, “Sir, Yes, Sir!”
“Private ‘Blockhead’, why did you join Shining Armor’s beloved Corp?”
“Sir, to defend the kingdom of Equestria, Sir!”
“It’s not ‘kingdom’ Private, it’s kingdoms. Equestria is a Country made up of several kingdoms. Theses include the capital of Canterlot, The Crystal Empire, the Giffin territory, the Hippogriff kingdom on Mount. Eris, the Yak territory out west, and the land you are standing on at this moment! Am I understood?”
“Sir, Yes, Sir!”
“Make sure you memorize it!” Pharynx marched down the line, continuing the process of ripping through troops.