Chapter 15: Marks
Chapter 15: Marks
“Anypony of you has what it take to take a crack at me?” drill sergeant Lance asked the recruits.
They look at each other doing their best not to move their head.
“Come on you maggots, I don’t have all day!”
“Sir, I guess I do, sir!” a large earth pony mare said.
“Well... It’s usually a stallion who goes first, and I say to him that he’s got a pair, but I am pleasantly impressed by you. Now get your flank over here.”
The recruit ran from her position in the formation and stood in front of the drill sergeant. She was almost twice his size, yet she was the one that seemed to be wary of the fight ahead.
“Name?” he asked of her.
“Sir, Gem sir. Quartz Gem sir!”
“And what do you stand for Gem?”
“Sir?”
“What is your mark and what does it mean to you?” the sergeant clarified.
“Sir, my cutie mark is of a quartz crystal sir. I was a crystal farmer before joining sir.”
“A hard working pony. I guess you think that all the years you spent working with rocks made you strong? Am I right?”
“Sir, I think so sir!”
“Well come and prove it!”
The mare charged, using her superior size and weight, as well as her increased earth pony strength to knock the aged pegasus out in one swipe. The drill sergeant dodged the initial blow, and with a single hit to the jaw knocked out the inexperienced recruit.
“Just because you are bigger, doesn’t mean you are stronger. Never underestimate the advantages of training and real experience. Anypony else?”
“Sir, I would like to have a go. Sir.”
“Well recruit come on up,” sergeant Lance asked the pegasus that though he would do better.
Starry could see his light blue coat and fiery red mane as the pegasus stallion walked pass him.
“Name?” the sergeant asked of him.
“Sir, Slate Fogtome, “Foggy” sir,” the pegasus told the instructor.
“Foggy? What kind of a foal’s name is that?”
The pegasus did not reply.
“Well recruit Slate, what the buck do you stand for?” the drill sergeant asked looking at the blueish-grey blob that was on the pony’s thigh.
“Sir, mist sir, and I had no occupation. Sir!”
“A freeloader huh? Well then lazzyass, come at me!”
Slate dashed towards the instructor using his wings to increase his speed. The sergeant took a swing at him, but Slate pushed down with his wings and went underneath the attack. With another flap of his wings he pushed up and headbutted the older pegassus straight in the face, breaking his nose, and lips.
The smirk he had on his face quickly vanished when the instructor grabbed his head with his hooves, and returned the favor. The attack not only broke his nose, lips, knocked out a few of his teeth, and knocked the pony out, it also came close to breaking his entire jaw.
“Now this is what I am talking about,” sergeant Lance told the rest of the recruits with a small smile on his face as he let the unconscious pony fall.
“Medic!” he added, almost like an afterthought.
“Don’t ever let you guard down!” he yelled out as the medics took Slate away to get him patched up.
“Next!”
“Sir!” a pale-yellow pegasus mare with a light green tail and mane said and took a step forward.
“Name,” the instructor said as he waved for her to come over.
“Cory “Petal” Rivea sir. Morning glory flower as a cutie mark sir. I had no previous occupation sir.”
The instructor looked at the mare’s cutie mark and saw her missing wing.
“Another one with a stupid nickname. Don’t think I will take it easy on you cause you are a cripple.”
Starry grinded his teeth as the instructor called his friend a cripple.
Cory attacked him, sergeant Lance took a swing at her, she immediately flapped her left wind and dodged the attack, but did not have enough time to react to the pegasus left hook. The blow hit her in the neck and she fell to her knees coughing violently.
“Your attack couldn’t have been any more obvious if you yelled it for all to hear. Now get up!”
“Sir!” Starry said grabbing the instructors attention.
“Come on,” the instructor said as Starry and Cory exchanged places.
“Sir, are we allowed to use magic sir?”
The instructor looked at the bald unicorn that stood in front of him, the rest of the recruits did the same, only their gazes were fixed on the pony’s thigh.
“Magic?! There is always that one unicorn supremacist in the group. Well then, mighty magus, would you be so kind as to share your name with a nearly pegasus?”
“Sir, Starry Night sir!”
“Well, magus, let me guess your; special talent is magic?”
“Sir, no sir!”
“Then what?”
“Sir, nothing sir!”
“Nothing?” sergeant Lance asked, genuinely surprised by the pony’s answer. He tilted his head to take a better look at the pony’s cutie mark.
“By Celestia’s hairy teats, we’ve got a blankflank on our hooves! Hey everypony take a look!” he yelled as loud as he could grabbing the attention of other personal. “You are the largest blankflank I ever saw.”
“Okay blankflank, show us what you can do.”
“With pleasure sir,” Starry said with a smile on his face.
The unicorn spread his front legs, lowered his head, pointed his horn towards the pegasus and brace himself, Cory shut her eyes and held them as closed as she could.
Starry’s horn was surrounded by his dark blue magical aura and a bright flash of light bursted out from it blinding the instructor and causing all the recruits to scream in pain. The light cleared shortly after and everypony could see the blurry image of a smoking pegasus as it laid on the floor.
Starry was panting heavily, as the flash of light and the subsequent magical attack took alot out of him.
The instructor got up. His armor crumbled and fell off his body, dispelling the glamour enchantments that changed color of his coat, mane and tail. Not that it made any difference now. The stallions coat was gone, leaving only his blistered red and pink skin, while his mane and tail were completely burned away as were a good chunk of his feathers.
“I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!” the naked pony yelled almost foaming at the mouth. “I AM GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU LITTLE PIECE OF...”
“Stand down sergeant!” an armored pegasus pony ordered as he flew in, his blue cape fluttering in the wind as he landed between the enrage pegasus and the exhausted unicorn.
“But sir!” the sergeant tried protesting, but stopped when he saw the pegasus glaring at him. “Yes sir!”
“What were you thinking!? Allowing a recruit to use magic before he was tested?”
“Sir, nothing like this happened before, sir.”
“Now take the recruits to their quarters, and after you are done with them you are to do twenty laps around the entire base. And you to report to medical after. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, sergeant major sir!”
Starry let out a week laugh.
“And you are to join him!” the officer said to Starry.
“Sir yes sir...” Starry managed to say still panting.
“Carry on sergeant,” the officer said as he flew off.
“You heard him maggots!” the drill sergeant yelled. The fact that he was bald, naked and pink did not make his voice sound any less intimidating.
“Right, FACE! Forward, MARCH!”