//------------------------------// // Chapter 23: Reassignment // Story: Havoc // by Histy //------------------------------// The inhabitants of Agoge Camp XVIII stood in uniformed attention as the sun's heat bombarded them ceaselessly. They all stood in straight rows, all with ceremonial spears pointing upwards. Sword Cure did not know why they had been called to the outside of the camp. His Mana had simply shouted at his Manipuli to do so, lest they face the consequences of disobeying orders. The bat pony's mind began to swarm with ideas as to what could be happening. Were they going to officially be soldiers now? Were they being sent to deal with inner threats again? If not those two, then what else could it possibly be? The Camp's inhabitants stiffened when their Praefector stepped in front of them. He carried a professional look to him, even more so than his predecessor had, marching each step with untainted purpose. There was no doubt, Sword thought, that this person was very much one of those “traditional” army soldiers he's read about before the Dark King's reign. The Praefector stopped his march, and proceeded to stare into the organized formation of recruits in front of them, reviewing their weapons, their expressions, and probably even how straight they were standing. After some time had passed, he spoke in a thundering, commanding voice. “You all have been gathered here upon the news that the scores for the test you have taken two days ago have arrived.” Sword realised what the Praefector was talking about. Two days ago, when he had been first assigned to the position, the Praefector's first task, given to him and other Praefectors by the Imperatrix herself, was to give all Camp recruits a test. A paper test, to be exact. These tests were designed in a way which questioned everyone's loyalty to the Imperatrix, such as asking one's morals, religious beliefs, political beliefs, and philosophical questions. After that, it became like the tests from the old days. To be honest, Sword thought he did poorly in that section, as he hadn't done any math for… how long? He couldn't remember. And it was probably the same for everyone else. The Praefector continued his speech. “Out of all of you, five have shown excellent intelligence and loyalty to our Imperatrix, and as a reward, they shall be moved to the Palace in order to receive exclusive training into the newly formed Bellaterays Marshanay.” For some reason, Sword felt as though the Imperatrix herself would come down and reprimand the Praefector for butchering the pronunciation, though he didn't know why he did. Upon the Praefector's announcement, whispers of excitement began to fill the ranks. Clearly, everyone seemed liked they wanted to leave this place, and the bat pony couldn't blame them. After all, this winter they were set to train on how to survive winter weather, mostly by making camp outside the Crystal Empire's protective barrier and dealing with the unforgiving climate of the Frozen North. “Silence!” The Praefector's voice thundered, hushing the whispers of the Camp. After that, he waved over the Magister with his hoof, the pony in question trotting to him immediately afterwards. Once close enough, the Magister gave his superior a small scroll, which was promptly rolled open for him to read it. “Now then, I shall name these five individuals.” He declared. After a few seconds of making sure everyone was indeed silent. He began to call out names. “Onyx Moon!” A grey-furred pony with a purple mane and eyes stepped forward. He looked surprised at the announcement, but proud at the same time. “Flawless Moon!” A mare stepped forward beside Onyx, albeit with hesitant steps. By how she looked almost exactly like the pony beside her, with the only exception being the cutie mark, Sword presumed they were siblings. “Scarlet Mystery!” A red-furred pegasus stepped forward. She carried herself with noble air, her auburn eyes practically gleaming of pride at being chosen. Judging by this, Sword presumed she came from an upper-class family. “Mythic Arrow!” A blue unicorn stepped forward, his golden eyes piercing and unfeeling, the classic manner which a soldier is said to carry themselves. “And finally, Sword Cure!” Now it was Sword's turn to be surprised. Slowly stepping forward, he joined the other four standing in front of the formation of recruits. In all respect, he never expected to be there. He had thought that, with his (assumed) poor performance in the final part of the test, he never stood a chance of being where he was right now. Their Praefector spoke again after Sword stopped. “You five individuals have shown excellence in your tests, and as a reward, shall take positions within the Marshanay. Pack your supplies, you all leave to the Palace in five hours.” he then turned to the rest of the camp. “You all will stay. I have much to train you on winter conditions.” The five individuals left to pack their things (or at least, what little they have), leaving the now frightened-looking recruits behind to deal with the Frozen North. All five of them stood there, at the entrance to Camp XVIII, waiting. The Praefector told them to leave in five hours. So far, it's only been three and a half. Scarlet was fidgeting. She had been for quite some time now, brushing the dirt beneath her hooves, her wings flapping intently, waiting for the defining moment to come. Despite her anticipation, she never grew frustrated enough to put it into words. She released another groan. Sword Cure lost count on how many times she's done that so far. “I grow tired of this waiting,” she finally declared, gaining the attention of the rest of them. Except for Mythic, who remained entranced with sharpening his blade, as he had been for the last few hours. Scarlet sighed in defeat. “We should all do something to pass the time. Waiting for another hour to pass by will surely be the end of me.” The Pegasus snapped her attention towards the Moon siblings, startling them. She then pointed her hoof at them, as if accusingly. “You two! What did you do before you came here?” Flawless stuttered to answer, “W-Well, we we're slaves…” “No, before that, too.” Scarlet clarified. “Oh.” Flawless scratched her head. “We were just, I don't know, normal? I mean, we went to school everyday, played with each other, the other usual stuff.” “Yeah,” Onyx commented, before asking, “What about you? What did you do?” “Why, I'm glad you asked!” Scarlet exclaimed, puffing out her chest in a prideful manner. “I was the daughter of the head of the old Pegasus Wing of the Guard!” “And what happened afterwards?” Onyx asked, irritated by the pegasus’ pride. Suddenly, Scarlet looked saddened, and her eyes lost their brightness. She looked at the ground, before muttering quietly, “The Dark King took him away…” “Oh.” Onyx said bluntly. “Sor-” “The only person I loved.” Scarlet was now angry as her eyes were replaced with a fire of vengeance. “He took him away from me, destroyed my life, and forced me into slavery.” The fire went away, now replaced with a solemn expression. “The Imperatrix avenged him. She set us free. She set me free…” she then looked upon her blade and said with determination in her voice, “that's why I must fight for her name, why I must protect her, why I must thank her myself for all she has done for us.” Once finished with her monologue, the pegasus drew a heavy sigh, sitting on the dirt below her. After Scarlet's display of loyalty, Onyx turned towards Sword Cure, who had already been preparing for such a move, and the questions he'll ask. “What about you? Don't see bat ponies around here often.” Sword gathered himself to answer. “My parents and I were living in a community which didn't like bat ponies that much, and discriminated against them. So in order to get away from that, we moved here.” “What happened next?” Flawless asked eagerly. “Geeze, they're very pushy, aren't they?” “The Dark King was already ruling, so you can guess what happened to us after we arrived.” A silence followed his answer. Scarlet recovered from her stupor of remembrance, and looked towards Mythic Arrow, pointing her hoof at him as she had to the Moon siblings. “Last but not least, you! What's your story?” Instead of answering the pegasus’ question, Mythic instead gave her a piercing glare, a glare which burned through her soul and sending chills down her spine, unsettling her to the core. “Why don't you buck off and leave me be?” he asked, his voice stern and commanding. “U-Uh… right! Um… c-carry on…” Scarlet stuttered. Mythic meanwhile continued on sharpening his blade. Once again the entire area was engulfed in silence. No one was thinking of starting conversation that wouldn't be awkward for anyone. Everyone settled for the silence the rest of the time they had to wait. To Sword, it seemed that Mythic had such a forceful voice that it seemed to have the ability to virtually silence everyone for a very extended period of time. He envied the pony for that ability.