3 hours later...
The ship was completely silent. All decks were as quiet as a graveyard. Save one. The sound of splashing water echoed through the empty halls. Every twenty or so seconds, the splashing ceased, only to resume in a heartbeat. Wolf reached the other side of the pool. He grabbed onto the edge and lifted himself up. He hung from his elbows. He looked up to the ceiling.
"Time?"
A few seconds passed.
"Twenty-one point eight-nine seconds sir."
His sigh was barely audible due to the sloshing water. Even though it was calming down, it still made quite a bit of noise.
- - - - -
Planet Peace, Project DEMIGOD training facillity, January 11th, 2658,
A loud yell shattered the crisp morning silence.
"GO!"
Wolf took no time, and dived straight into the water. He was followed closely by the rest of the group. The water was freezing. He surfaced immediately, catching his breath. A splash right next to him. He turned around to see his training instructor holding a smoking pistol. More men came out of a large metal door behind him, holding assault rifles.
"SWIM!" The instructor yelled to him. He wasted no time and began to pummel the water. His feet kicked as hard as they ever could as they propelled him through the murky water. Gunshots, lot's of them. They shattered the otherwise peaceful morning.
"Come on! They're right behind you, you're under fire, swim God damn it!"
Wolf got the message clearly. His whole body went into overdrive as he sped through the water. As his head came up out of the water, he could see a whole team of doctors and scientists on a catwalk overlooking the lake. They had a pair of guards next to them, keeping their assault rifles close. They were watching him. They were always watching him. Seeing his potential, looking for aspects to improve. After a minute or so, he reached the other side. Everyone else in his group had already reached it, and were out and getting into the tent nearby. Hawk offered him a hand out. He tried to grab it, but he wasn't fast enough, as a voice cracked over the speaker nearby.
"WOLF! You call that swimming?! Get your ass back to the other side and run it again!"
Wolf sighed as he grabbed Hawks hand, only to have the voice yell at him again.
"I didn't say walk!"
- - - - -
"Not good enough. I'm running it again."
"Affirmative."
Wolf let one of his arms go as his feet met the wall. He was ready. Sam's voice blared over the intercom.
"Three...Two...One...GO!"
He kicked off the wall with as much force as he could muster, cutting through the water like a razor blade. His arms came to life as they frantically beat the water in perfect rhythm with his kicking feet. He recalled the gunshots at training, the instructor yelling for the young trainees to swim faster. Anger burned within him as his body found new strength, and moved through the water with a vengeance. All of a sudden, he flipped in the water. His feet met the wall, and he kicked of with even more strength then before. He swam faster than he ever swam before. He almost forgot he was in a pool. In an instant, he stopped and shot out of the water, missing the wall by mere millimeters. He gasped for breath.
"Time?"
"Seventeen point four one seconds. A new personal best, sir."
He got out of the pool, his muscular body glistening in the light.
"Correction, best time from all other competitors."
Wolf scoffed as he dried himself off with a towel he retrieved from a locker near the pool.
"I'm the last human alive Sam, of course I'm the best swimmer."
"Of course sir, what do you plan on doing now?"
"First, get some lunch, then take a nap."
"Yes sir. I'm here if you need anything."
"I know..."
Wolf retrieved his clothes from the locker. He took off the shorts he was using for his swim, and tossed them onto a nearby bench. He retrieved another pair from the locker, as well as a fresh uniform. While Wolf usually wore the standard Demigod clothing, the Red Dawn was equipped with the standard uniform in his size as well. Shorts that were white along the legs, along with a white shirt with black lines along the shoulders, with the image of a sky set red by the sun emblazoned right above the heart. All Navy ships had different insignia's emblazoned on their uniforms, based on the ship's name. Wolf set course for the kitchen.
* * * * *
Wolf looked through the pantry. It was the size of a small apartment, filled with all kinds of food. After digging through it for awhile, he emerged from the pantry carrying a large steak, a packet of wild rice and a can of corn. He lit the grill, and tossed the steak on it. It began to sizzle as soon as it came in contact with the metal bars. He opened the packet of rice and poured it into a pot of boiling water. He would have opened the can, but he preferred to open it when the rest of the food was ready. It would take roughly an hour for the meal to cook. Having nothing else to do, he removed his shirt and dropped to the floor and began to do push-ups.
53 minutes and 3463 pushups later...
Wolf ceased his push-ups as beeping could be heard from the kitchen. He had worked up quite a sweat from the push-ups.
He entered the kitchen, removed a plate from a cupboard, and took the steak off the grill with a fork. He poured the boiling water into the sink, then dumped the contents of the pot into the plate. He opened the corn, dumped it into a bowl and put it into the microwave. The fridge caught his eye. He walked over to it, opened it, and removed a bottle of pomegranate juice. He poured himself a cup and slid it across the counter. He didn't even bother to go into the mess hall, he just pulled up a nearby chair and began eating on the kitchen counter. The steak practically melted under the pressure of the knife he pulled from a drawer. He popped a piece into his mouth. It was the best steak he had ever eaten. He remembered the food he ate in the field. In his own opinion, the food the Army served tasted worse then the contents of a toilet bowl after a night of cheap Mexican food. Not the Navy, no. The Navy was the most pampered branch of the military, second only to the proud Earth Guard. A half an hour and a good meal later, Wolf tossed the plate into the dish washer, along with the bowl and an empty cup.
* * * * *
Wolf walked into the shower room, carrying another set of clothes, since his were already dirty from the push-ups. He stripped down and tossed the dirty uniform into a nearby laundry chute. He gently placed the clean clothing on a bench, then jumped into the shower. He turned it on. Hot water burst from the shower head and blasted away the sweat and dirt on his body. He put his face under the spray of hot water. It was very hot, but that was the way he liked it. A cloud of steam rose from the shower, soaking the ceiling, where the water condensed. Wolf hated that. The water cooled quickly, then would fall on him. If there was one thing he hated about his ship, it was that. One of the feelings he hated the most was having cold water drip on you while you were having a nice hot shower. He loved to shower. He felt very good after one. It was another thing he rarely had on planet side deployments. For months at a time he'd go without a shower, and when they would finally retreat, he would go back to the Red Dawn smelling worse than a sewer. He got out of the shower, followed by a cloud of steam. He gently shook his head, sending drops of water from his wet hair into every direction. He grabbed a towel from the bench, and began to dry himself. He felt renewed after the shower, ready to take on anything. After finishing drying off, he put on the fresh uniform he had put on the bench. He got out of the shower room, and headed straight for his quarters.
* * * * *
He threw himself on the bed. He closed his eyes, trying to get some sleep. Hours passed, and he couldn't sleep. His mind wandered...
- - - - -
Why did I leave her? Why did I run away? I'm such an idiot...
He thought about how she reacted after he left. Big Macintosh said she was devastated. He winced as he pictured her staying in the library, crying because of him. He hated himself for that. He had caused so much pain to the one he loved.
I just don't want to lose her...
He let a tear fall from his eye.
What are you nuts?! You're going to lose her anyway if you don't get out there!
- - - - -
Wolf got out of his bed and sighed. He decided to get out and take a walk.
* * * * *
Wolf walked outside of the Red Dawn when all of a sudden a black filly appeared at the top of the hill. She trotted to him as he walked up the hill.
"Hey Nyx..."
"Hi Wolf."
He paused for a moment, unsure of what to say.
"So...How's your mother?"
Nyx's head dropped as she frowned.
"Sad...She wants you to come back. I do too..."
Wolf looked down to the ground, his eyes glistening from the tears that were forming. Silence ruled over the hill for a few moments, only to be broken by Nyx.
"Wolf...Why did you leave that night?"
"Because...Because I'm afraid..."
"Of what?"
"N-Nothing...You wouldn't understand..."
"It doesn't matter you know..."
"Huh?"
"It doesn't matter what you're afraid of. My mom, Miss Cheerilee, every big pony I know is telling me that I should face my fears, not let them control me."
Wolf didn't speak. How could he?
"Anyway, I gotta go. It's getting late, and my mom doesn't want me out after sunset."
"See you later Nyx..."
"Bye Wolf."
Nyx trotted down the hill disapearing into the treeline.
Wolf looked up to the orange sky set ablaze by the setting sun. He sighed as he recalled one certain day...
- - - - -
Wolf screamed in fear as the Spider's head almost crashed into him. It froze in midair. His instructor walked by it. He waved his hand and all of a sudden, the Spider, the Marines behind him, the destroyed buildings, all disapeared. He looked around worried. The instructor sighed.
"Wolf...Are you afraid?"
"Y-Yes sir..."
"That's good. You should be afraid of the bugs."
"Sir? Why is being afraid good?"
"Wolf, fear is a good thing."
"I don't see how sir."
"When you're on the battlefield and everything's going well, why should you be afraid? But when something unexpected happens, A Spider jumping you for instance, that's when you should be afraid."
"Well duh, sir."
"Fear...makes you better. When you can control your fear, you can do even better than your best performance."
"Sir?"
"Only when you take control of it though...If it takes control of you...Then you're dead. Run the simulation again."
"Yes sir..."
The instructor walked away. He joined some other people in a control room nearby. One of them spoke into a microphone. His voice could be heard from over a speaker.
"You ready?"
Wolf nodded. All of a sudden a Spider jumped on him, trapping him beneath it. It roared as it launched it's head towards Wolf. He rolled faster than he ever rolled before. The Spider's head crashed into the ground. Wolf was on his side. Without even thinking, Wolf's elbow thrusted forward, connecting with the Spider's skull. It roared in pain as Wolf rolled back to his back, and drew his knife. He plunged the knife into the Spider's stomach. It reared up in agony. With all the strength he could muster, Wolf's legs kicked the Spider off of him. It landed a few feet away. Wolf got up, picked up a rifle from the ground, and jumped on the Spider. He brought his rifle to his shoulder and fired into the creature's head. He only stopped firing when his gun clicked empty. The battlefield dissapeared, and he was back in the training room. Applause could be heard from the speaker. Wolf looked to the people in the control room, all of them smiling and clapping, including his instructor.
"Congratulations Wolf. You just conquered your fears."
- - - - -
Wolf lowered his head.
"I know what I have to do..."
* * * * *
Twilight walked to the door. Someone was knocking. She thought it must have been somepony wanting to check out a book. She was completely dumbstruck when she opened the door and saw Wolf standing outside.
"Hey Twilight."
She rushed forward, ready to jump up to his face. Wolf stopped her.
"Don't get too carried away Twilight...I'm here because Nyx wanted me back."
"I don't care...As long as you're back..."
She pushed back his arms and wrapped her forehooves around him. He crouched and hugged her back. He couldn't deny her this. Even if he could, he wouldn't.
They both walked back into the library. Wolf immediately sat on the couch, while Twilight went upstairs, stopping for a moment to say something.
"Welcome home Wolf."
Wolf smiled as he laid down on the couch.
- - - - -
Home...
- - - - -
5 hours later, deep within Everfree forest...
"Have all the preparations been made?"
"Yes my lord..."
"Good..."
Three Pegasi and four Unicorns emerged from the shadows to join the two ponies standing atop the hill.
"These are our best assassins. They are now under your command, Lieutenant Darkmane."
"Thank you my lord..."
"And now, Darkmane..."
The Unicorn turned away and stared into the distance.
"Yes my lord?
He turned his head to face his lieutenant, a sinister smile appearing on his face.
"Move forward with the final plan."
"Yes my lord."
Darkmane's and the other Pegasi's wings unfolded from their sides as they set to the sky, while the Unicorns followed on hoof. They were all heading to Ponyville with great haste...
End Chapter 20