//------------------------------// // Phase Two // Story: Semper Pie // by deathtap //------------------------------// "Put away any notion you have about weapons being glamorous. I know that more than a few of you here are turned on by the mere fact that once you're in the Guard you will get to walk around with pointy, shiny objects. Let me tell you right now that carrying these items is a privilege and a curse. The weapons you will be taught to use will be used for one thing and one thing only," Sorcery Sergeant Major Pain growled as he paced in front of the recruits. A long table with a red cloth was positioned opposite them on which were sets of three weapons displayed in clear view for the recruits. Behind each table was a Guard who stood at attention similar to the recruits, but it was clear that these Guard were no longer training; these were real Border Guards. "Do you fillies know what in Tartarus' name I'm talking about?" There was only silence. The Sergeant walked over to one of the tables and removed a sword. He marched down the line of the recruits standing at attention eying each one carefully. He stopped by the only earth pony in the line and used his magic to stick the sword in the ground in front of him. "Private Blue Boy." "Sir, yes, sir!" Semper shouted, long being accustomed to the name now. "Do you know what a weapon is for, private?" "Sir, yes, sir!" "Well? Tell me, you sorry excuse for a pony!" "Sir, it's for killing, sir!" "For killing," Major Pain nodded satisfied with the answer. He walked away from the earth pony, "Do any of you really know what that means? Do any of you understand the implications of these simple words? To. Kill. To take the life of another. It may seem simple, but the burden these two little words carry is anything but that. There is no two ways about it. You will be protecting our beloved kingdom with your life by taking the lives of our enemies, whoever they should be, and by Celestia you will be good at it. It doesn't matter if you like it or not. It doesn't matter if you agree with the politics or not. You are the fist line of defense against whatever is out there and you will destroy it. And you will be excellent at it. You will be so attuned to doing it that you're going to spend the rest of your miserable lives walking on the tips of your hooves because you will be so dangerous, that even your hoofsteps could kill. You are all already on your way to becoming living weapons, extensions of the strongest kingdom in this world. These weapons will hone everything you know and will learn and I promise that before any of you leave this facility, you will be eager to find something to kill. Do you wimps understand that?" "Sir, yes, sir!" "I can't hear you!" "Sir, yes, sir!" "Good. Now, fall in! Grab your gear and head onto the field for the next phase of your training. Move it, move it, move it!" The privates trotted towards the table and took one of each weapon. A spear, a sword and a crossbow. The ponies were sitting in a circle on the grass as Glitter talked to them standing in front of a large board with pictures of the weapons on it. "The spear is a Border Guard's first weapon. It is what you use to attack, it is what you use to defend." A hoof was raised. "Yes, private Twister." The gray pegasus mare with a light blue mane streaked with dark blue stripes stood up. "Ma'am, isn't the crossbow the Border Guard's first weapon, ma'am?" At that Glitter made a face, "The crossbow? The crossbow! Private, let me show you something about the crossbow." Glitter walked right up to one and hoofed it to the mare. "Fire it." "Ma'am?" "Fire it! Now!" Glitter shouted in Twister's ear. Twister took it from the instructor, aimed and fired it at a target missing it completely. As soon as the arrow left the weapon, she stood at attention once again. "Reload!" Glitter roared. "M-m-ma'am?" "Did I stutter? Reload it now! Get on with it!" Twisted took another bolt from a quiver on the ground, but she fumbled and dropped it onto the grass. As she went to pick it up Glitter shoved her onto the ground with her hoof. "You're going to die, private! You better hurry! Get your crossbow reloaded or I'm going to make you run fifty laps!" Twister got up, pulled the crossbow back, but in her panicked state, she misplaced the notch making the crossbow misfire. Again she pulled the wire back only to have Glitter smack her across the face. "You're seconds away from imminent death, private! What are you going to do?" Finally locking the bowstring in place she took the bolt and placed it in the notch. With the weapon loaded and ready to go, Twister spared no time. The bolt was let loose and she again stood at attention. "Congratulations, private. If you had been attacked by a deadly tortoise, or a rampaging snail, you might have survived by the skin of your teeth. If a timberwolf were attacking you, you'd be digested and deposited out of its system by now." Glitter walked away from Twister, who was still a little shaken. "The average crossbow user can fire three arrows in a minute. The fastest I've seen is five. The crossbow is only good for ambushes and surprise attacks, or if you're on an airship and have to resort to ranged tactics. Never rely on it alone. A sword is too short, it cannot protect you from bigger things, and you cannot throw it as well. This is why the spear is the Guard's first weapon. It doesn't mean it is used first, it only means that out of all the weapons you will use, this is the one that you will learn to love. Do I make myself clear?" "Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" "You're going to give your spear a name. You're going to call your spear by that name. You're going to walk with your spear, talk with your spear, eat with your spear. You're going to shower with it, sharpen it, and even sleep with it." A few giggles came from some of the recruits. "Knock it off, or I'll make you wash your mouths out with soap until you've got foam coming out your ears, you filthy minded baboons." There was immediate silence. "That spear is the only thing that's going to love you from now on till you leave this place, do you maggots understand that?" "Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" "Then what are you all waiting for? Get your flanks over here and pick up your sharpeners and get to work!" "So, whatcha name your spear?" Sonic asked Static. "You tell me first." "Hey, I asked first." "So? I asked second. Your point?" Static continued to sharpen the edges of his spear annoyed at Sonic's constant banter. Sensing Static's frustration on being unable to sharpen the spear properly, he floated over to the unused top bunk over the earth stallion. "What about you, grounder?" He looked down at the earth pony stallion, "What did you name your spear?" Semper was polishing his sword, but stopped to look up at the pegasus for a moment before continuing what he was doing. "Cerise." "Cerise? Who's that? Some sweetheart you left back home?" Sonic asked with a wide grin on his face. "It's nopony. It's a name to remind me of what I'm protecting," Semper replied, taking his spear and gazing along it. "Cerise is your name for Equestria?" "No." "Then what?" "It's a name that stands for something." "That is?" "The most important thing to me." Sonic frowned, "You're not going to tell me are you?" "I just told you." The pegasus grunted and shook his head, "I guess I can see what you mean. I'll let you get back to... what are you doing?" "Polishing the blade. It's important to do so." "Why?" Semper stopped and looked up, but didn't say anything. "Okay, okay. I'll just go." With that the pegasus hovered back to his own bunk. "What'd he say?" Static asked. "He said he named his spear 'Cerise'." "Is she some special earth pony?" Static snickered thinking himself rather clever. "I dunno. He said that it's a name the represents something very special to him, not just Equestria." "What do you mean?" Sonic shrugged, "I think he means that the name is secret for somepony else. Somepony... special?" Static's eyes lit up, "I think I know!" "Who?" Sonic leaned closer, his head halfway down the bunk. "Remember last month when he sent that... special letter?" "Yeah... you don't mean..." Static nodded. "Yes. I mean her." "Wow. He must really love our Princess. But... why Cerise? I don't see a connection." At that, Static paused and tapped his chin. "Well... what does Cerise mean? I mean... isn't it a color?" "Yeah! Is it white?" "No, I don't think so," Static mumbled looking over at Semper who had finished polishing the sword and was sliding it back into its sheath. "I think it means pink, or something like that." "The Princess isn't pink," Sonic pointed out. Static just gave Sonic a look, "If he wanted to be obvious, he'd call the spear Celestia... wait! I got it! Celestia is code for Cerise, because both have C's in their names and... and... there's pink in Princess Celestia's mane, right?" "Yeah! I think you've got it!" The two looked over at Semper who was placing the sword at the foot of his bed and picked up the crossbow to oil the firing mechanism. "He really loves our princess," Static stated after a moment of silence. Sonic could only agree. "Inspection!" Pain roared. At once everypony jumped out of their bunks and started making their beds as quick as possible. Static stole a glance over to Semper's bed area and found the earth pony standing at perfect attention, his bed immaculate. He was ready, and his sword in its scabbard was on his hunch while the crossbow was shouldered on his side. His spear was firmly gripped in his left hoof. "You!" Pain yelled at Semper, "You're a Celestia lovin' example to my core, private! I like you. You're now my favorite. Pig Sty!" A white and gray mottled unicorn trotted over and saluted, his eyes forward, "Sir, yes, sir!" "Are you this group's leader?" "Sir, yes, sir!" "You're fired. Blue Boy, you're this group's new leader. You got that?" "Sir, yes, sir!" "Good. I expect only excellence from you, and I'm going to be harder on you than pretty boy here, you got that?" "Sir, yes, sir!" "I like that!" Pain shouted, sounding like he didn't like it at all. It was hard to tell with the Sorcery Sergeant. "As you were." "The most important part of using the crossbow is reloading. When you're bow is loaded, you're dangerous. You're a killer. You're the hunter. Once you let your bolt fly, that's it. You're not at the mercy of whatever long-ranged projectile based weaponry the enemy has, and believe me when I say that it's the last position you want to be in. So, in order to increase your lifespans, you're going to do reload drills until you can reload three arrows in a minute. Do you understand that?" "Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" the troop roared. Glitter nodded, "Good. Now to the field!" The recruits began to load their crossbows. Semper finished and stood ready. Static, not to be outdone, finished second and stood at the ready. Not to be left behind, Sonic pulled down the crossbow with his wing and locked the mechanism in place, followed by the bolt and stood ready. "Stop!" Glitter screamed. Everypony did so. "You!" the mare growled. "You stupid buffoon!" Everypony stole a glance as Glitter walked over to Sonic and smacked him across the back of the head. "Never, ever, ever, ever use your wing to load a weapon! Do you know why?" "Ma'am, no, ma'am!" "Because the crossbow can easily snap your wing in half, making you useless to everypony! What is useful about a pegasi and his crossbow?" Glitter shouted walking away from the recruits. A show of hooves. "Yes, Dirty Rags." The gray pegasus with a dark green mane stood at attention, "Ma'am, because pegasi have the advantage of being able to fire from a higher position, ma'am." "That's correct, private. So, if a pegasi injures his wing, what use is he with a crossbow?" "Ma'am, none, ma'am!" "And what do unicorns have that pegasi don't?" "Ma'am, magic, ma'am!" "Magic. You unicorns will be learning the hard way what it means to use magic in combat situations, but I will make sure that you'll love it." Everypony stood at attention, but all their eyes were trying to peer over to the only pony there that had neither wings nor a horn. What use was he since he had no magic or flight in his arsenal. "Blue Boy!" "Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" "How are you going to make up for your... differences? What good is a Border Guard that can't fly of cast magic?" Glitter shouted walking towards him, "Are you going out there just to die and waste my time? What good are you?" Semper didn't flinch at the tirade. "Ma'am, if I can't fly away or use magic, then I will have to go further, ma'am. Ma'am, it is this guard's objective to fire at least five bolts in a minute, ma'am." "Five?" Even the Sergeant was surprised by this response. "You're going to fire five crossbow bolts under a minute?" "Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" "Then you will remain here until you master three bolts a minute, is that understood?" "Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" "Then get on with it! The rest of you as well!" "Stress getting to you, hon?" the voice of the pegasus intoned as Glitter heard him take a seat next to her at the officer's mess. Glitter raised her head slightly, and put it back down, "You have no idea. You don't have to deal with both unicorns and pegasi at the same time." "Hey, I have it rough sometimes too," Far Eye replied. He looked at Glitter again, "Okay, so maybe not as rough as you, but what gives? Usually you burn the recruits down in the first month. Looks like they're the ones burning you out this time." "It's that earth pony again," Glitter raised her head. "His stamina is ridiculous!" "First time I've heard you moan about a stallion's stamina," Far Eye grinned. Glitter shook her head, but laughed nonetheless. It was Far Eye's sense of humor after all. "Well, I think I'm going to go and lie down. Got a long day of drilling tomorrow, plus it's Mark's day, so I've got to get up extra early to brief him." "You sure? I can't make you stay with the threat of another drink, can I?" Far Eye offered as the bartender placed his usual in front of him. "Not today. Thanks anyway." Glitter got up, swallowed the rest of her drink, placed the glass down and headed out the door. It was nippy outside, the cold bit into her coat as she walked outside. She felt a little tipsy, so she decided that it was in her best interest to go for a little walk before returning to her quarters. Trotting along a detoured path, she heard the sounds coming from the range. Curious, she walked over and noticed that the red flag was still up. Anger boiled in her veins. Leaving the firing range's red flag up was covered in the first week. You just didn't do it. The red flag signified that the range was in use. There was no way it would still be in use at this hour... The sound of a bow releasing a bolt echoed in the night. Glitter eyes widened. Who would be still here? Peering around the corner she spotted a blue earth pony loading a second bolt into his crossbow. He aimed, fired, and then began loading the third before the second bolt reached its target. As the second bolt reached, he was ready with the third and release it, repeating the same process. Fire, reload. Fire, reload. Fire, reload. Like a machine, Semper continued to fire the bolts one at a time at the target. Placing her beret on her head, Glitter came out from her hiding spot. Semper noticed her instantly and stood at attention. "What are you doing here, private?" Glitter asked, walking right up to him, but keeping her distance so that the recruit would not smell the alcohol on her breath. "Ma'am, perfecting my shot as you ordered, ma'am." Glitter eyebrow raised itself slightly, but inside she was shocked. That had been hours ago. Did this stallion really stay out here for this long practicing his reloading all this time? Why didn't the other instructors stop him? "Were you asked to desist, private?" Glitter growled, trying to sound unimpressed. "Ma'am, yes, ma'am. Ma'am, this stallion had to run fifty laps to satisfy Sorcery Sergeant Major Pain and Flight Instructor Far Eye with five hundred push ups and collect all the bolts used for practice for Primary Marksmanship Instructor Check Mark, ma'am. Ma'am, this stallion has completed his objective, ma'am!" "You can fire three arrows in under a minute, private?" "Ma'am, no, ma'am!" Glitter furrowed her brow, "Explain." "Ma'am, this stallion can fire five arrows, ma'am." "Accuracy?" Semper didn't move, but his eyes seemed to be concentrated on a target down the firing line. "Distance?" "Ma'am, one hundred yards, ma'am." Squinting, Glitter could see the round shape of what looked to be a target. Even at this distance Glitter could see that there were plenty of bolts that didn't reach far enough down the field. There must have been hundreds of bolts all along the ground. Still, Glitter was not easily impressed and she turned to Semper unconvinced that he had mastered in one day what it took recruits an entire month to accomplish, and then he actually claim that he could fire five? "Do it again." "Ma'am, yes, ma'am." Taking five bolts, he placed them in a quiver and rested it on the left flank. Then he took the bolt, and placed his hoof in it. asked, grinning. "Ma'am, ready when you are, ma'am." Glitter walked over to the timer and pressed it so it stopped, then pressed it again so it reset. "You do know that the timer starts from the first arrow being fire, right?" Glitter said. "Ma'am, it is this stallion's understanding that crossbows are not to remain loaded while on patrol, ma'am. Ma'am, this stallion must be able to load an unloaded weapon and release it as quick as possible if he is to survive, ma'am." Glitter didn't know what to say to that. "Very well then. Are you ready? Go!" Semper put the crossbow's tip on the ground, keeping it balanced with his left hoof as he used his mouth pulled the bowstring upwards. At first Glitter was about to tell him that it was wrong, but he wasn't using his wing nor his horn, so she couldn't really say anything else. She bit her lip and watched as he notched the string in the latch. Then, with his right hoof, he quickly pulled a bolt and placed it into the loading groove and with the left hoof lifted the shaft of the bow and aimed down the iron sight. There was a two second pause and then she heard the familiar crack of the bowstring snapping back to the front, but as soon as the bolt was fired, he dropped the bow to the ground and repeated the loading process. As the bolt hit the target, Semper was already notching the string once more. In less than eight seconds he was aiming the second bolt and fired it across the range. As it flew, again Semper dropped the crossbow, again he pulled the string back, again he loaded his weapon, and he fired it almost instantly as he raised it. Three shots already, and it was barely half a minute. She watched as the fourth bolt was loaded, and watched as he aimed and fired it. Then she watched as he loaded his fifth, and fired it. Then, unbelievably, she watched as he loaded the sixth bolt into his crossbow, raised it, and fired just as the sound of the timer rang. One minute was up and as the ringer died, the sixth bolt had found the target with a dull thud. "Private!" "Ma'am, yes, ma'am," Semper shouted, his voice cracking slightly. Glitter looked at the stallion that had come from nowhere, and now had figured out a way to reload a crossbow twice as fast as anypony had ever done in the history of the Guard, and he did it on his first day. In the beginning she had thought that putting an earth pony in the Border Guard was a joke, something to satisfy perhaps some politician in Canterlot who didn't know a thing about service or fighting or to satisfy some ratio. That thought was now flushed right out of her system. "Private, tomorrow you will demonstrate your technique to the Primary Marksmanship Instructor. You will then demonstrate this technique tomorrow for all the other companies to see. Do you understand, private?" Glitter said. "Ma'am, yes, ma'am," Semper tried to shout, but his voice ended up in a breathless squeak. "Good. Now hit the showers. Go get some sleep. I will see to it that the bolts are collected," Glitter said. "Ma'am, it is this stallion's orders to collect the bolts, ma'am," Semper protested, taking a step forward towards the target one hundred yards away hidden in the darkness. "Private! You will hit the showers now, or you will do CQC drills with me till the sun comes up!" Glitter growled. At that, Semper stopped, "Ma'am, yes, ma'am." He saluted, turned and trotted away into the darkness. Glitter watched him go with mixed feelings inside her. She wasn't sure how to take what she had just witnessed. There was something simply incredible about that stallion. He was so determined and simple minded. As he disappeared around the corner of the entrance to the range Glitter looked up and saw the red flag still flying. Satisfied that it was safe out there, she ran towards the target in question. It was not that she felt bad for the recruit, although she did feel that the other instructors were singling him out a little too much, she wanted so see how many of the arrows actually hit their mark. It was impossible to see in the night that far down the field. She thought about telling the other instructors to tone down when it came to Semper, but telling the Sorcery Sergeant to do that was just asking for Semper to be singled out more often. Major Pain lived up to his name. She saw the target and walked up to it, and stopped dead in her tracks. "You have to be kidding me!" Glitter shouted in the darkness. Each bolt hit the target in the inner circle, and one of them hit it right smack in the middle. "When things are hard, and everything seems to be going bad, what do you do? Do you sit down on your flanks and hope that Celestia herself will come and safe you from your imminent demise, or do you summon the power and versatility that make the Border Guard the force the rest of the world fears?" Primary Marksmanship Instructor Check Mark asked. "Sir, we summon the airships, sir!" the chorus of Border Guards roared out. "You better believe it. Fifteen fleets patrolling every inch of our beloved kingdom's borders, the Equestrian Border Guard is the toughest, strongest, baddest fighting force. Even dragons are careful when it comes to us. We don't play around, we don't mess around, and most of all, we don't lose. Ever." Check Mark walked over to a board and flipped over a white piece of paper to reveal a picture underneath it. He pulled out a small stick that stretched out to about twice his body length and tapped the picture with the rounded end, "Who can tell me what this is?" There was a show of hooves. "Yes, private?" "A Wallarmbrust." "That's right. Now I know that all of you have learned the new reloading technique as demonstrated by Private First Class Semper Pie, but this technique isn't going to help you with this baby." He walked over to a piece of cloth and pulled it to reveal a gigantic crossbow mounted on a circular platform bolted down at the edges. "This baby is what keeps dragons and wyverns at bay. Do you know why?" There was a show of hooves. "Yes, private?" "Sir, because it can fire several bolts in a minute, sir." "Several? Ha! Semper here can fire several bolts in a minute, private. This crossbow comes with three different loaders and a mechanical system that pulls the strings back quicker than you can blink. In one minute this baby can unload a whopping sixty bolts in a minute. That's one every second, for those mathematically challenged. Now, before you ask why we don't have these for you, it's because of the size of this machine. The mechanism would be too heavy to carry, and I don't know about all of you, but carrying several hundred bolts doesn't sound so appealing. No, these delicious weapons are mounted on six points on a destroyer, and twelve points on a battleship. Carriers only carry four, but they make up for it by carrying more pegasi Guards than the other two. You're all going to train on stationary targets with this baby for the first week, then you will be firing these from an airship at moving targets, but that's not all! There's still one more. Who can tell me the biggest thing we've got?" At this there was a show of hooves from everypony sitting down. "You there, tell me." Sonic stood up. "Sir, is it a ballista, sir?" "Ballista is right! This wonderful piece of machinery can send a three foot heavy bolt straight through a dragon's scale without the need for a diamond tip. Battleships carry the biggest of the lot, and it uses so much power that only magic from unicorns can pull the torque line back to its primary firing position with the help of the mechanics, which will be shown. Battleships have six of these, while destroyers have four. Depending on the model, you will either be firing these up and across, or downwards towards the ground. Now, who can tell me what these are?" This time nopony raised their hooves. "Nopony? Really? Sad. Semper Pie!" "Sir, yes, sir!" "Fire this bolt at the two hundred yard target." "Sir, yes, sir!" Smooth, and carefully rehearsed, the bolt was loaded, aimed, and fired. Everypony watched it go through the air, hit the target... and explode in a blast of fire. Everypony jumped not expecting that one bit. "Oh yeah!" Check Mark yelled, laughing maniacally. "That is a fire tipped quarrel. Who can tell me what a quarrel is? And no, it is not an argument." "Sir, is it a bolt that explodes, sir?" "No. It's a bolt that can be used to encase spells for later use. It's a great way for platoons without any unicorns to have the ability to use spells in certain scenarios, or use them when a unicorn is too tired or injured to cast a spell. It can sometimes be used instead of a unicorns spell because it doesn't need to wait to have the unicorn charge their horns to cast it. In other words, it's instant magic. The downside is that it's as effective against you as it is against your enemy. If you drop one and it explodes, chances are, you're going to die and take a few of your friends with you, so be very careful when handling these things. Understood?" "Sir, yes, sir!" "Unicorns will be learning how to create these, but don't worry, you pegasi have to contend with the javelin. Don't tell me that you don't want to learn how to use the javelin. It's a shorter spear designed for use in mid-flight for those of you who are about to ask. Oh, and before you think that the hard part's over, think again. The only reason why I seem nice to you all is because I know that by the end of this week, half of you will be gone. Only the best of the best get to be Border Guards, because you're either the best, or you're dead. There isn't room for anything else. So, go grab a bite of lunch. Think of it as your last meal." "I can't hit him!" Sonic shouted through the pipe, his voice echoing down along it. He hated the turrets. They were cramped, reeked of sweat, hot and noisy. He hated being cooped up in these tiny cages. He hated these drills, but he knew that they were going to have plenty more of them. "Nine o'clock and crossing at one hundred yards going towards ten thirty mark. Do you copy?" "Copy," Static's voice shouted back from the other end, the echo through the hollow pipes was clear despite the commotion from above deck. Sonic gritted his teeth and turned the wheel on his left, quickly turning the wallarmbrust to the right as he found a new target. He aligned his sights, putting on a lead and fired. Four bolts sang out from his crossbow, each missing the target completely. He pulled on a lever to raise the turret and fired again. This time, closer, but still not close enough. "One more, moving from nine to six. Semper, this one's yours," Sonic shouted in the second pipe. "Affirmative," came a monotone response. "Target sighted." Sonic watched as a six bolts fired towards the target. The first four missed, the fifth hitting the target square on, and the sixth moving right in front of it, so that if the fifth had missed, the sixth would have found its mark. "How does he do that?" Sonic muttered shaking his head. Semper had not missed a single target in his firing radius. Sure, he didn't knock them all out of the sky, but he did hit them all in varying degrees. The fake projectiles zipped and moved in completely random motions to give the recruits experience and training if it ever came down to actual aerial battles. They had not yet trained firing when the pegasi were out there at the same time. Not yet, at least, but they all knew that it was inevitable. Sonic recalled his lessons with Far Eye, and how he was supposed to hunt down enemies that tried to get into the airships and shut down the batteries that kept them flying. Without those batteries operating fully, or if the magical reactor suffered significant damage, an airship would drop out of the sky like a rock. Sure, the sails could be shredded, the rudder destroyed, but the ship would remain afloat. Take out the battery or the reactor, and the ship was done for. They were trained in repelling boarders through close combat situations. That was where the sword came in handy. In the small cramped spaces, the spear was too long, and even the javelin was too cumbersome to wield successfully in those tight spaces. "Ship has been breached," a voice shouted through the pipe-intercom system. "Repel the boarders!" Sonic knew the drill. He put his hooves up, got out of the seat and slid out from his post. Then he put his hooves on either side of the ladder and slid down to the deck reaching inside the locker right next to the ladder and pulling out his blade. In this case it was made of wood and covered with a red sponge. The object was to 'paint' your 'enemies' red, or blue, depending on whether you were defending or attacking. "Go, go, go!" Sonic shouted as he ran into Ruby Rose and Sunlit Dawn. They were rushing with their swords drawn towards the reactor room. There was sounds coming from ahead of them and as the three entered the room, they were met by the opposing team attacking fiercely trying to get to the batteries. "Let's get them!" Sonic roared, and flew straight at an unsuspecting unicorn. She didn't see him coming as he swiped at her head putting a long red stripe across her noggin. She moaned, but since she was now 'dead', she lay down on the floor and pretended she was no longer alive. Several others did the same. Some of the bolder recruits even shouted a death knell for effect. After fierce resistance, Sonic and Static found themselves to be the last two standing and were severely outnumbered by ten to one. "Um... yeah... we're totally screwed, aren't we?" "Big time," Static nodded, still holding his blade in front of him, his wing was 'injured', so he tucked it in so that he couldn't use it. "Where's Semper?" Sonic growled, "The one time you need him and he's nowhere to be seen!" "Stop talking and pay attention-" Static parried the first sword and swiped back missing the pegasus who attacked him completely. Just as he turned around to see if there was anypony behind him he was 'cut in half' as his torso was painted blue from a well place slice by Nova Ray. She grinned and winked at Static before pushing past him and stabbing Sonic in the back. "Ha, ha! Blue team wins. Suck it, reds." Nova walked over to the battery chamber and pulled the batteries out. "Classy, Nova. Real classy." Sonic pouted; he hated losing. "It's going to be classy when you wear that bunny suit tonight, Sonic. Can't wait." Sonic growled as Static laughed lightheartedly. It was part of the punishment for the losing team. They would have to wear bunny suits and serve dinner to the winners in the canteen like waiters or waitresses. A whistle blew and down hovered Far Eye and Check Mark, the two pegasi were holding clipboards in one hoof and a pen in the other. "Come together, all of you," Far Eye shouted. "That was a good drill. First off, thirty targets were shot down in a span of five minutes, most of which were done by Blue Boy." Semper entered the room at that moment followed by a significant number of other recruits. They all sat down near the entrance to hear the battle status. "Semper," Far Eye shouted, "you shot down or hit sixteen targets. That's more than the others combined." "Sir, the rear is the easiest place to be to take down targets, sir," Semper stood up as he shouted in response. "Where were you when we needed you?" Sonic muttered as quietly as he could. Static nodded in agreement ever so slightly. Far Eye didn't miss that. He walked over and stood in front of Static and Sonic. "While all of you here did the right thing and put up a valiant defense for the magical batteries, what you failed to realize is that you left the reactor wide open. Now I don't have to tell you who held them off, do I?" Everypony turned to look at Semper and the large group of recruits with him. Most of them, in fact nearly all of them, were from the blue team. "Sir, I wasn't alone, sir," Static replied standing up again. "No, you weren't. You led your small group to victory with teamwork, patience, and discipline. A small and severely outnumbered fighting force mastered the full force of the assault with minor casualties, while the decoy team managed to overwhelm the primary defensive line and take the batteries. This wasn't the primary objective, yet it was this objective that succeeded. Whose plan was this?" Nova raised her hoof. "Sir, we all know of Semper's reputation. So, we decided to gamble and split our forces in half. Whichever half faced Semper, their objective was to keep him entertained until the other team completed their objective, sir." "Very well thought out, Nova. I'm actually impressed. Well, drills are over. You're all dismissed, except for red team, who will march to the kitchens and begin preparing for dinner. Your new... uniforms will be waiting for you there. Semper!" "Sir, yes, sir." "I was going to offer you the ability to not participate for your defense of the reactor, but I already know that you won't sit it out, will you?" "Sir, no, sir." Far Eye smiled and nodded, "Thought as much. Dismissed!" "You look cute in a bunny suit," Nova said laughing as Sonic floated over with her drink. A plain apple cider, since recruits were not allowed to drink until after training was over. "At least I managed to get a plain white one," the pegasus muttered. He looked around and spotted Static wearing a light blue one placing drinks in front of other recruits. "Yeah, but that takes the cake," Nova whispered gesturing to a pony in bright, neon pink bringing drinks to another table at the other end of the mess hall. "Even though he's wearing that color, I can't bring myself to laugh. He takes out all the fun and funny in it." "No. I don't think so. It just doesn't make him look funny. Ironically, it actually makes him look..." "Normal?" Nova suggested, then looked at Sonic. "Nah." The two of them laughed as Semper walked towards them. "Hey, Semper, nice color. Pick it yourself?" "Yes." "What? Really?" "Yes." Sonic blinked unable to say anything after that. Luckily for him, Nova stepped in, "Why?" "Reminds me of somepony," Semper replied. He picked up two empty glasses, "Would you like anything else, miss." "Um... yes, actually. You on a silver platter ready for me," Nova said and sultrily as possible, pulling him closer to her body. "We do not have any silver platters in the mess hall, miss," Semper stated bluntly. "Anything else?" At that, Nova's mood evaporated faster than a drop of water on a red hot pan. "No. Just the main course." "Very good. I will be right back with your order." As soon as Semper was out of ear shot, she grabbed Sonic by the neck and pulled her close to him, "Not one word about this to anypony, you hear?" "About what?" Sonic replied grinning from ear to ear. Nova narrowed he eyes at the pegasus, "Don't make me beat up a fellow flumper." Sonic couldn't help but laugh.