The first two weeks were made up of mind numbing exercise that after the first four days broke us all and began to rebuild us from the bedrock of our very being. My muscles were always sore but the weeks had made it a dull background pain that one just lived with.
"Why are we doing this..." Cicada asked under her breath as we lugged saddlebags full of stones. Todays task was to bring stones from one side of ponyville to the other and back again.
"I think it doesn't matter anymore. Who has time for thinking in this situation?" Grey said from behind us. I grunted in agreement and simply was glad we were almost back at the beginning of our journey.
"This is fairly tame considering." I offered and both of my fast growing friends agreed. In truth all of us were becoming a close knit family. One gets close to those he endures hell with or so the saying goes. We jogged into the square and were brought to a halt and told to face forward. Dusky Skies stood infront of us carrying the same saddlebags that we did.
"Alright, now we have softened you up we are going to train you in the way that all military knows best. Drill." She said as a smirk sliced across her face.
"Drill?" One of us asked and her smile didn't falter as she shrugged the saddlebags off.
"Drill is the backbone of any militaries knowledge." She declared as hoofbeats behind us caused us to look around. A explosion of pain cracked behind my ear as I crumpled to the ground.
When I awoke next I could smell as well as taste the dirt and sweat in my nose and mouth. The throbbing in my head made me squeeze my eyes closed a moment before struggling back to my hooves. I looked forward and Dusky Skies was in my face and she took in an inhale and began to berate me in words I had never heard before.
"Who in blue blazes left nut gave you the order to look around, Never look anywhere but your front unless ordered to do so! Get me!?" She screamed and we were all silent as I felt a knot in my throat begin to form as I began to fight back tears. I was so tired and exhausted as well as the emotionally stretched to the breaking point.
"I asked do... you... get... me!" she bellowed now addressing the entire platoon.
"Yes Instructor!" I said as my voice cracked and was thankfully drowned out by the rest of the platoon. The next two hours was a crash course in drill and repetition. I was able to force my crumbling resolve to the back of my mind as I followed the simple instructions of drill. After two hours of this grueling drill regiment my body felt numb and robotic.
"Platoon! Break for lunch and be formed up at one. Turing right, dismissed." Golden Swords barked and as a unit we all turned to our right then marched off in unison. After four steps we all broke up into a gaggle making our way towards the galley. Grey and Cicada both fell into step beside me and I looked at them both.
"Well..drill...love or hate?" I asked.
"Hate." they both said in unison and I smiled.
"How is your head?" Cicada asked and I winced at the reminder.
"It still hurts." I confided and Grey gave a look at me and winced himself.
"Yea looks like the size of a goose egg." He commented as we all wondered into the chow hall and filed into a line picking up metal food trays. My magic used to lift up the tray flickered as my concentration faltered between the throbs in my head.
"Oh great...." Grey said sarcastically as he took the lead.
"Mashed carrots with potatoes and pea puree." He stated forlornly. I cocked my eyebrow in question as to what was wrong with that?
"You ponies have a completely veggie diet, I'm going to need meat or I am going to lose it." Grey said flatly and I felt a small pang of unease at his declaration. Cicada made a note of agreement as she got her food and we filed to a long table where our platoon sat down and began to eat and converse with one another.
"You think meat is something that is scarce here try love...." She said woefully. I plopped down and began to lift my spoon and began to dig in.
"How do you eat love exactly?" I inquired as I saw her begin to eat. She seemed to think for a long moment to formulate what it was like to a normal pony.
"Think of a memory of a loved one and I can feed off the residual love that you had at that time." She said and so I stopped and thought of a time when I was celebrating my cutiemark party and how proud I was. My mom and dad looked at me as I could feel their feelings of happiness and accomplishment. I felt a small draw from my body as I opened my eyes and a small aura around me that was pink was being drawn from me and curling around Cicada, several of the other changelings in our platoon looked at me hungrily and I felt my feelings of the memory fade and the pink aura vanished. Cicada shuddered a moment before opening her blue eyes again to look at me.
"Looks like that...thanks for the meal." She said with a wink. I laughed warily and continued to eat my chow.
We finished our lunch and as a unit our platoon got up and put our soiled dishes in the dish window to be cleaned and went outside the dining hall and formed back up as the time was closing to one o'clock. Dusky Skies along with Golden Swords walked behind our commander Aether Aura who led them with a crate hovering by magic, a label stamped on the side I didn't recognize but I refused to give into curiosity and move my head to investigate further. Aether looked at us and gave a wry smile before she spoke.
"This crate holds the weapons you will be responsible for till you graduate or washout. They are still prototypes but these bands." She explained as she opened the lid of the crate and pulled out a silver looking band that had gems set into it. I could feel the magic they contained.
"Are meant for both attack and defence. Of course these are non-lethal...unfortunately. But this is your day to understand the pain of fucking up." Aether said with a wicked grin as she slipped the silver band over her left fore hoof and the gems glowed dimly.
"It is to say that any species can use these. Earth pony, griffin, or otherwise." She said before the bands gems glowed and the yellow cut gem shot out a yellow beam and slammed into one earth pony who I knew as Green Liliy on the right of me, She screamed out in pain as she crumpled to the ground twitching uncontrollably. I couldn't help be look in shock as several of our platoon mates began to shift uncomfortably.
"I hope your lunches were filling." Golden Swords stated and my stomach felt like a stone sat in it before my commanding officer looked at me and I felt my body recoil in fear before the yellow gem brightened and I threw up a shield. The blast slammed into my shield and it held before I saw Aether appear beside me and swipe my fore hooves out from under me. Her hoove slammed into my jaw and my shield dissipated as light danced in my eyes and a feeling of lightning followed and my body jerked beyond my control as pain coursed through my entirety. The screams of the other member of my platoon filled my ears as I laid there like a sac of potato's. My commanders hooves appeared in my vision and I looked up at her as she smiled.
"Get up you lot if this can floor you, you will be in for a hard time." She said with a mocking tone as I shifted uncomfortably, then struggling to stand up as I looked down at my commander as a feeling foreign to me overcame me. It took me a moment to realize it. Rage... without a thought I lashed out at her with the intent to cause harm. The blue gem on her silver ban flared and a shield sprang to life protecting her from my attack. Her response was instant and her ban glowed again and another shock of electricity slammed into my body making it disregard my wishes as I fell to the ground again.
"So now you see that these bands are capable of both defense and offence. You will begin training with these tomorrow." Aether notified us as I lifted my head and saw that I was part of the majority when it came to those still standing. Both Grey and Cicada were on the ground, Grey unconscious, Cicada moaning and lifting her head as mud spattered her black face and muzzle, Green Lilly being the first to fall was getting back to her hooves. Aether Aura stood over me and gave a look I couldn't quite make out but I knew it was predatory.
We were dismissed to lick our wounds and clean ourselves in the given showers. I let the warm water wash away the mud sweat and some of the pain or at least I felt it like it had. The stalls separated each shower and Grey turned on the shower next to me and I opened an eye to see him.
"You look better." I said with a smile. Grey sighed loudly as he placed his head against the wall as the water ran down his back and over his wings.
"I think hell would be a better vacation this this training..." He said in a monotone voice. I turned off my shower as I lifted my towel up and began to dry off.
"I can agree with you in that regard." I agreed and made my way toward my bunk and then suddenly Golden Swords walked through the door to the barracks and everyone moved to their end of their beds to stand at attention.
"Carry on." He said quickly and everyone went back to what they were doing.
"Prism!" He said and my blood went cold as I froze still.
"S-sir?!" I said as I walked to meet him.
"With me." He ordered and I fell in behind him as the other members of my platoon looked at me with both concern and confusion. We left the building and began to walk towards the headquarters of the base camp. It was the first time I had been in this building.
"Stand there." He ordered me as he stopped in front of a door that was labeled with commander Aether Aura. My fears were being made real. Had my attack caused me to kicked out and this was the process? My stomach was flipping, tossing and turning as my mind raced with all of the likely possibilities of what my commanding officer was going to say as she said that he was not fit to be in the force. Golden Swords knocked and then entered the room after he was acknowledged and after a moment.
"Prism!" Golden Swords strong voice commanded.
"Sir!" I shot out.
"Enter." He ordered and I did a right turn and marched into the room and stopped into the office and halted in front of her desk. Aether Aura sat behind her desk her dark coat stood against her leather chair. My file was open on her desk with my picture but nothing else I could discern from my point of view but soon I looked straight ahead hoping my slip up wasn't caught by Golden sword who stood to my left.
"Glass Prism, 27 years old, cutiemark in the shape of a glass that takes one beam of white and splits into a rainbow. Do you know why you are here in this office?" She asked and I took a moment.
"My...expulsion?" I said warily but kept looking forward.
"You have something that showed when I was kicking the shit out of you. You tried to fight back...something that everyone at this point have simply just stood there and took it." She said as if making a point.
"Ma'am?" I asked unsure as her face contorted in distaste.
"Never call me Ma'am... say commander or sir...but whatever. I am training fighters not punching bags. How would you like a promotion to class leader?" She stated and I faltered and looked down at her confused.
"Commander?" I asked unsure.
"Just know now your responsible for all of those lost souls and when they fuck up...its your ass." She said and suddenly this promotion sounded more like a damnation...