“Ready!”
The stern female voice barked, her command resonating against the smaller caverns’ walls, almost causing a few of the new recruits to flinch at its tone. The line of various humans gave each other questioning looks, many simply shrugging in uncertainty. Each however, raised a certain arm, many relying on their writing hand to determine their choice.
“Aim!” Again, the voice ordered, many of the different people along the firing line already imagining her stern expression, arms crossed in what was probably very thinning patience. Every single cloak garbed human moved their outstretched arm forward, palm out as they focused on the small, but nicely sized stones placed on the opposite side of the tiny oval sized cavern. Many found their palms directly blocking their view of the stones, some hoping that that was the correct aim for their attack. They were looking to hit the stones dead on, avoiding the upside-down wooden cart on which they rested.
“Focus!” Her voice stated, the single word causing numerous thoughts of doubt to explode in the minds of the trainees. It was not a command easily followed. For how does one summon an energy they had never had before, didn’t understand, and was alien in all aspects of its existence?
Some closed their eyes, hoping that blocking out the distractions around them would allow for concentration, and through that, allow them to bring forth their magic. Others steadied their breathing, taking smooth controlled breaths to calm their frayed nerves. While a few managed to maintain some order of inner peace, much of the group was experiencing various degrees of uncertainty, their bodies reacting visibly to their nervous thoughts.
One woman was sweating profusely under her cloak, her body feeling like a furnace despite the fact that the chilling night air flowed through the cavern at a continuous rate, at times a wind blowing through.
Two teens found their legs to be slightly weak, their wobbling and failing attempts to control it only causing more concern in themselves and their comrades.
One adolescent teen found his palms to become rather sweaty, multiple times he had to wipe the sweat off them and readjust his aim on the rocks. He found it was much harder to use the magic when actually ordered to.
Their instructor, surprisingly a young adult by her looks, stood perpendicular to the twelve others that made up the firing line, her eyebrows furrowed in irritation, her eyes cold, her face stern, and with a general energy of no nonsense, found the lack of anything happening to be unacceptable.
“I said focus! Don’t be afraid of it! It’s a part of you! Bring it up! Bring it out! Focus!” she yelled, causing several indignant looks from the older members of the group, seemingly upset at the younger woman more or less ordering them around. Personally though, she couldn’t give too many fucks about that at the moment.
Despite the irritation at their instructor, many swallowed their pride and took heed of her words, hoping to bring forth the elusive energy inside them. Once again, they directed their attention to the waiting targets, their palms outstretched and ready. Again for several tense moments, nothing happened, and the young woman was nearly ready to bark out another order to get them in line when she saw it.
A small glow at first, something she might have not spotted in the daylight, but in the darkened cavern where few glowing lanterns where spread about, this new light was an outcropping against the sea of black. Its magenta glow increased as seconds passed, the light easily casting away the shadows around its bearer. One of the teen’s hands was illuminated with this light, their eyes closed and faced scrunched in agitation.
Slowly but surely, others seemed to achieve some sort of success; each of their palms developing what the woman had come to understand as their own personal magic color.
Noticing that each was appeared to be actively wielding their magic, she knew now was the time to take the next step while they still could.
“That’s it…” she stated coolly, neither to loud nor too quick, for fear of disrupting this breakthrough. She couldn’t take another hour of yelling at them.
“You’ve got it. Now aim it. Direct it. It’s a part of you as you are a part of it”, she spoke, her voice actually adopting a somewhat kinder tone backed with reassurance. While the trainees heeded her words, most found them to almost be condescending, as if they couldn’t spot her false kindness to get results. What they didn’t know is that was her natural self coming out, not the hardened visage she originally wore.
Whether her words were taken or simply went in one ear and out the other, there was a shift in the overall progress of the group. No longer did many display the nervous traits that they had bore at the beginning of this training session, rather, they all seemed relatively calm, even as their magic continued to increase in its potency.
Taking her eyes off her students for the moment, she quickly glanced at one of the entrances to this particular cavern, easily illuminated thanks to the two cloaked humans holding their own lanterns. The two supply runners were not what she looked at however, instead her attention was directed at the additional human in the cavern, the supply runners more or less commander, Anton Belnov.
The Ukrainian was leaning against a smooth outcropping of the cavern, one foot pressed into the cavern wall to steady himself, his arms crossed in indifference. He had been silently following her and the groups progression from the very beginning, but had yet to make any means of intervention, due in part to his decision to let her handle this herself. She had wanted to prove that she was more then just a kid, that she was above the simple glance that many gave her, that she could fight, that she could make a difference.
This tenacity is what had been driving her throughout her time away from her sisters, one of which was being held by the very equines she had grown to despise. The other...she still didn’t know. It had been months since she even had heard a trace from her. That loss she had suffered had slowly formed into the fighting drive she now wielded. That very tenacity had translated-in her opinion at least- her development of her magical abilities.
Her magic was strong; stronger then many that had decided to actually try to use the magic inside them. She was powerful and she knew that. Anton knew that. Perhaps that was why she was in the supply runners despite its age requirement of 18 and above. But then again, who would really care about one year at this point?
She certainly didn’t. She had long passed the point of playing by the rules. For how could you, in a world where science was always second best when it came to magic? Where mythical creatures dominated the landscape, actually creating entire civilizations! Where those who would seem so caring would so callously stab you in the back simply because some stupid bastard decided to play terrorist! Where you would have what little of your old life was left ripped away from you by fucking midget horses!!!
The woman released a rather heated breath out her nostrils, her right arm actually shaking within the confines of her cloak. Her body had gone rigid and if she bothered, she would have noted her magic had begun to flare in her hands, the fingers digging into the palms.
Calm down. She scolded herself. You don’t want to lose it again. That gets you absolutely nowhere.
Taking in a deep breath, admittedly with some resistance, she allowed herself a few calming breaths before returning her attention back toward her trainees.
Anton still remained at his position, though one hand had begun to stroke his small beard. He had taken notice of her small irritation. He seemed to have a knack for spotting them, and had only gotten better as she spent more time in the runners. He reminded her too much of her father, constantly able to spot the small shifts in her emotions with her unawares.
Hoping to cast out the now distracting thought of her family, the young adult directed her attention solely on the new recruits, each still managing to maintain their magic.
Good. She thought. Now were getting somewhere.
“Now” She spoke. “This is the hardest part of what where doing here. You’re going to unleash that magic. You’re going to let it go, in a single outlet, a beam to be specific” She noted that rather incredulous looks she was being given, some irritation already rising up once more. They thought it was probably impossible. Well. It wasn’t.
She was more then willing to demonstrate it could be done. Raising her arm out of her cloak, she let out a low groan as she noted the shocked looks of the trainees as they gazed at her glowing hand, some losing focus on their own magic to direct their attention to her.
She moved her arm outward, rotating it slightly so everyone could clearly see the emerald energy gathering around her clenched fist, it almost seeming to move with a life of its own.
“This” she gestured, “Is how you use your magic. Your power” She quickly whirled on the targets that had been set up, the rocks illuminated by the blazing light. The igneous forms could not be possibly aware of the power the teen was holding as her vision narrowed on the rocks.
She could faintly make out the trainees looking at her with some trepidation, and her back was to Anton, so she couldn’t see his face. Thoughts raced through her head as she felt the magic gather, a heat beginning to churn inside her, slowly flowing at an increasing rate into her palm. She opened her hand, the palm a pool of gathering magical energy.
Images of her sisters smiling faces, the moments when she first had stumbled onto Equis’s soil, her eldest sister clutching her and her sibling protectively. The moments when the ponies came for her, and the moment she had lost nearly everything she held dear.
With a feral yell, she pulled her arm back, and not a moment later, thrust it forward, a beam of energy unleashing from her palm and in seconds struck one of the rock targets, shattering it to pieces. The sound of skittering pieces resounded across the cavern, everyone’s attention on the space that once was occupied by the target rock.
As the pieces came to a rest on their new positions on the ground, their gazes were soon drawn to the slightly heavy breathing woman, a smug smile on her face.
“And that” she breathed, “Is how you use your magic”
Straightening herself up, she collected herself, her magic dissipating into nothingness.
“Now then…” She ran a hand through her hair. “Let’s focus one more time shall we??”
Many were surprised at her suddenly angry tone again, before realizing that each one of them had lost their magic.
He heard the crunch of boots upon gravel before he saw her shadow slowly encroach upon the cavern’s entrance, the lanterns hanging inside the connecting tunnel no doubt playing a part. The two men he had within him, a burly Greek by the name of Alexander and an American called Jacob, both turned to give the new arrival a glance before they both offered a quick salute, their boots snapping together in a mockery of military fashion.
He knew exactly then and there who had decided to join in on the training session.
There was an audible grown and the sound of a hand more then likely connecting to a face. An accented woman’s voice, distinctly British, spoke after a moment.
“I swear boys, you keep doing that and I’m going to create a jail just to throw you in it”
Stepping out into the light of the lanterns was none other then the now official leader of the group, Victoria Allisitar. The Englishwoman took a quick glance around and upon spotting Anton just a few meters away, began moving to him immediately, the guards behind her chuckling lightly. Smiling ever so slightly at the new arrival, the Russian stood tall, removing all form of a relaxed posture as the woman approached. Dressed in a thick plaid jacket that helped insulate her against the cold night air, she also sported rather fitting denim jeans. Covering most of her head was a short beanie, her light oak colored hair flowing out its back. Her arms were crossed as she approached and he was able to make out the form of a…kitten? - snuggling against her chest.
“So, this is where your training group decided to run off too” She lightly laughed, looking to the new trainees with a smile. “Well, at least you had the courtesy to do it several caverns down. The last thing we need is the royal guards bursting in here due to a noise complaint”
Nodding, he directed his attention back to the training, Victoria stepping directly next to him, eyeing the recruits herself.
“So, to what do I owe this honor supreme commander?” He asked, his mouth fighting hard to not break out into a smile. Another groan erupted next to him, his bait more then taken, and this time he did allow a smile.
“That is a very creative title you bloody Russian. Leader wasn’t enough, now I’m president and commander and all this other nonsense! It’s already spreading like wildfire! Frankly I had no idea that everyone would react like that, least of all find some inspiration out of it!” She huffed, glaring at the man who was deliberately avoiding her gaze.
“Da. Neither did the rest of us. Miss Valentine was certainly ready to kill you herself” He laughed a few times, before turning his gaze on her. “But it was the very honesty that they liked. You gave it to them, the good, the bad, and most certainly the ugly. You showed passion, you had conviction, you cared. That is what they saw. That is what they liked”
The housewife absorbed his words, content to scratch the kitten’s ears as her mind replayed earlier events, connecting the Russians thoughts to her own on the matter.
It had been only days after the initial plan had been formed between the four appointed ‘leaders’ and one of the first things they got to work to make the plan a reality was a fighting force.
They needed a militia. A legitimate militia, willing to fight by any means necessary. The supply runners were already technically militia, but they didn’t have the numbers to stand up to the enemy that they would soon face.
So, a meeting was called, center stage in the cavern. Mining that day halted for the first time since the operation began. Truly stopped. The entirety of the mining force was gathered in the central cavern, barring of course the changelings and supply runners that stood guard around the tunnel entrances, ever cautious of what lay behind the cavern walls.
She had stood tall on the elevated position of the command tent, clearly able to see out to the large crowd that murmured below her, anxious and ever curious at what she had to say. The sea of faces unnerved her at times, she having to gulp repeatedly to keep her nerves steady.
Eventually, they had to start, and she had spoken out to the crowd, silencing all as the first of her words echoed around the immediate vicinity.
“Attention please. I think we are ready to begin” at receiving no objection from either her fellow leaders or anyone in the crowd, she continued.
“Firstly, Id just like to thank all our hard workers, be they human, diamond dog, or changeling. I truly appreciate what you’ve done for us, and you have my thanks” This was followed by a short round of applause and self congratulation, the crowd murmuring happily.
“Second, I would like to thank our supply runners for what they’ve been doing to keep us fed. Without you, we might be enjoying rat soup with tree leaves”, she joked, causing a few laughs here and there. The few cloaked humans nearby gave a quick two fingered salute at her, and Anton was no doubt nodding his head.
She took in a deep breath, for the next part was no doubt the most important part of her speech, and would fall on her shoulders to complete.
“Now, I would like to tell you all the real reason we have assembled here. That’s more important then the mining, more important then stopping the progress at freeing our fellow humans” There were several grumbles in the audience, but she ignored them for the moment. “We are in desperate need of a fighting force. A more or less militia. A civilian army. Now before you ask questions, please hold on for just a moment”. She had barely managed to get the statement out as several people looked to protest.
“The changelings, diamond dogs, and supply runners are the ones who have been doing most of the fighting for us yes, but they aren’t enough. They don’t have the numbers to stand against the enemy by themselves, they need help. They need us” Victoria gestured to the crowd, some giving her pointed looks.
“We need to fight. We no longer have the privilege to keep our hands unsoiled; we will have to get them dirty if we wish to free our fellow humans. Our friends, our families, maybe even people you formed a connection with before the event” She couldn’t help but taste the bitterness of that last word. It was no small secret that everyone held some anger towards that day.
“If we don’t do this, we may never have another chance like this again. This is our moment! Our time to make a stand!” Her voice rose in conviction, her shouts causing the crowd to stir.
“We need to stand together, we need to band together! We need to fight together!” The crowd became more and more riled as she spoke, cheers and yells spreading across it like wildfire, and she briefly wondered if the ponies would hear their noise before casting the thought out.
“The reason we called this meeting is too ask for any volunteers, those willing to fight against the creatures that would jail us, imprison us for the crimes of a few! This isn’t just a fight for survival; it’s a fight for justice! For freedom! Who among you will fight with us!?!” The housewife was nearly taken aback by her own roaring voice, the crowd roaring back in turn.
Shouts of commitment and approval echoed around the cavern, numerous hands rising into the air signifying the countless volunteers. Those willing to show that they would not be beaten down without offering a few shots in return.
She could count at least 40 if not more.
She took a momentary breath, realizing that she was slightly starved for air. Yet, her job was done, those nights rehearsing the speech with Valentine seemingly paying off. It was nothing like some nationalism, or specism? - In this case- to rile up everyone to a fighting state.
Now she would just let Anton take over, and he would handle the signups and other questions revolving around the recruitment. Her job had been done. She was all but finished with her part. And yet…
Yet she couldn’t turn away, because the same thoughts that had plagued her from taking action before started up once again, thoughts of throwing people headfirst into danger. Thoughts of caring little for their lives, for their beings, for their friends and families.
That was exactly what she was doing, and she hated it.
“Wait!” She called, her voice more strained then she realized, causing a murmuring to descend into the crowd as they quieted down once more. She quickly turned back to Anton, Valentine and Lee, each giving her confused looks. Victoria tried to read their faces, see if they showed the same concerns as her, but they did not.
At least, not at her level. They clearly had no plans to address this soon, and it seemed that she alone was the only one capable of doing it. Sighing, she returned her attention to the crowd.
“I would just like to add, that I want everyone to realize what they are signing up for” She paused, looking soberly at the crowd. “This is not for the lighthearted. This is not going to be fun and games. What were are asking of you, is that you fight.
She swallowed hard, her next statement on the tip of her tongue.
“And die if necessary”
To say there was a gasp in the crowd would have been an understatement. Rather, the entire audience had seemed to have lost its breath, taken aback by her words. Several of the humans that had raised their hands once before now looked on in fear, trepidation at what exactly they had signed up for truly sinking in.
“Our struggle is real. Very real. More real and tangible then many of you could have once possibly imagined. This affects all of us. Your decision will affects us all. You are choosing to fight an army. To fight a nation. This isn’t just a sign up; it’s a declaration of war. If you fight for us, you will fight the equines, trained soldiers, who will see you as their enemy and will do everything in their power to stop you”
“By lethal force if it comes to it” She emphasized.
She could more or less feel the shocked faces gazing at her, and she wanted to wilt under their combined total. But she pressed on.
“If you fight for us, you have the chance to be injured, maimed, and maybe even mauled” she joked at the last part, but found it fell flat. So much for attempting to diffuse some stress.
“I just wanted all of you to know that before you sign up to be the militia. This isn’t a game. This is real life. There are no do overs. If you want to be safe, if you don’t want to fight, don’t join. No one will hold it against you”
The Englishwoman nodded once. “Thank you for your time”
Her nerves frayed, she was just about to turn around to the scrutiny of her peers, when a voice spoke out from the crowd, forcing her to pause mid turn.
“Excuse me?” the voice asked, and she was forced to scan the see of faces before the surrounding spectators freed up the speaker. Traced to its owner, a familiar blond haired adult stood out from the crowd.
“If we don’t fight now, when do we start fighting?” He asked, the simple question leaving Victoria rather stumped. She hadn’t expected someone to ask something like that.
“If we don’t fight now, will we ever fight?” He asked again, seemingly more to himself and the crowd then just her. A small silence rained as people looked between one another, unsure of how to answer.
“Bullshit! We’ll fight!” A thick south American accent yelled, followed by several hoots and cheers from the vicinity.
“Hell yeah, to the end! Viva la revolucion!” Another female voice cried out, fists raising into the air.
“Fight!” Someone yelled, several chanting the same word as well. It started low at first, the word spreading as more and more side conversations died down to transition to this empowering phrase. Spreading like wildfire, the chant rose, fists raised into the air in the cheer. The cavern walls reverberated with the single phrase over and over. In any other context, Victoria would have thought a brawl was breaking out, but this was not the case. This was not a call to announce a fight, this was a call that they would fight.
“Fight!”
“Fight!”
“Fight!”
Victoria, too shocked to understand how things had done a nearly 180 turn, simply stared dumbstruck as the crowd chanted at her, their voices resonating in her bones.
And so, this was why she found herself in this particular cavern tonight, with the latest batches of recruits the supply runners had been working with non stop to whip into a fighting shape. She had to admit, watching the group try to summon their magic into a useful force, the ability for humans to come together and put all their effort into a cause was astounding.
Clearing her throat, she addressed her Russian counterpart.
“So, how is the training going? Are we making good progress?” she asked, idly playing with one of the kitten’s ears, it mewing in return.
“Honestly?” he spoke, his attention focused on the young woman directing the trainees, “Yes, and I’m surprised to say that”. She raised a questioning eyebrow as he suddenly dug into his cloak, pulling out a thin but obvious hard back book. It wasn’t difficult to make out the title despite the darkness, the brightly colored letters spelling out: A Foal’s Guide to Magic.
“You see this?” He asked rhetorically, “This says it can take months, years even, to pull off a basic levitation spell. The basic spell all unicorns learn. And yet… many have already used it within weeks of practicing magic. We are learning magic at an unbelievable rate. Using it just as easily” The book soon found itself returned to the confines of his cloak, no doubt into some satchel or other.
“That’s a good thing, is it not?” she questioned, looking down morosely. Some part of her knew the answer to that, but another part silenced her.
“Mhhm” he hummed, looking back at her with a blank expression. She couldn’t look him directly in the eye, deciding to turn away as the kitten let out a curious meow.
“You disagree don’t you?” He asked. It was not a question. It was a statement.
Her brows furrowed in agitation, and she glanced at him with an un-amused frown. “Its not that I disagree. Its not that at all” she looked back toward the group, noting for the first time one of the trainees had fired off their magic, striking the cart, leaving a small scorch mark. There was several hoops and hollers, and for the first time the young teacher let out a congratulations.
“I’m afraid of what we’ll become” she almost whispered, causing the Russian’s eyes to widen.
“This power we have now, whether we like to think of it as a gift or a curse, is dangerous. We, are dangerous. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe we are a violent race, but we are prone to fighting. But this…” she cocked her head toward the training group, “This is a whole new level of strength we are dealing with. No longer does size matter in a fight, if you are magically strong you could simply blast them away. Fighting is going to change. We are going to change.
“Will small grudges turn into full blown magical fights? Are simple arguments going to lead to people hurling boulders at each other? Will we fear nothing simply because we can blast it away?”
She turned to Anton, a fire in her eyes. “Power is dangerous Anton. A wise man once said that ‘Nearly all men can withstand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power” She finished her attention falling back on the group once more. She seemed to not want to take her eyes off the training. As he registered her words, he could understand where she was coming from, but at the same time found himself disagreeing with her.
“You seem to have thought about this for a while” he finally spoke.
She let out a laugh; a laugh that sounded almost as forced as it sounded sad. “More then I would have liked” she simply spoke, calmly petting the kitten that had suddenly pawed at her chest.
An awkward silence descended between the two, the kitten’s purring seemingly the only noise emanating from their immediate area. Even the two guards not far from them were silent, no doubt catching much of the conversation between the two. Now, the main event was solely the drilling of the young woman.
Finally though, Anton broke the tension, glancing toward the kitten held calmly to Victoria’s chest.
“Were did you find her off all places?” He asked, leaning over to move a finger to scratch under the kitten’s chin, who purred even louder at the attention.
“How did you know it was a she?” The Englishwoman asked confused, causing the Russian to smile broadly. “Would you believe I was a veterinarian?” he looked up to her, his finger not ceasing its scratching.
She scoffed, a smile on her face as well.
“And here I thought you were a Russian spy”
“That’s racist and you know this”
…
Both broke off into a small laughter, the kitten between them looking on curiously. They laughed longer then they should have, and felt some tension dissipate in the air as well as from inside them.
“But in all seriousness” Anton started, “Were did you find this little one?”
Before Victoria could answer, the kitten suddenly turned its head towards the cloaked human, locking eyes with him immediately. A shiver suddenly descended down his spine as the kitten’s eyes flashed a sickly green. That lone action had certainly answered his question.
“Dyah! A changer. Of course” He spoke, the small smile he had once had evaporating as he eyed the cat with newfound suspicion.
“Yes, it’s the best way for her to acquire love. Which, considering the internet rated cats number one since ever, was probably a good idea” she joked, not at all affected by the kittens antics.
A sudden lightshow distracted them both from the recently uncovered changeling, as three of the trainees had managed to fire off their own magical blasts, two out of the three hitting their rock targets. Several cheers rose up, and even Anton offered a celebratory clap, his gloved hands muffling the sound.
After the small congratulations was over, the training resumed in earnest, confident trainees now more then willing to try and perfect their newfound technique.
Victoria couldn’t help but shake her head. They had been down here for hours, and yet in that time, were already learning how to control their magic, something they had been without with since the dawn of time. That simple fact was both astonishing and terrifying.
“Anton?” The woman whispered, causing a glance from her male counterpart. Her voice was low, and cared a hint of sadness.
“You know where getting close right? Any day now…” she spoke again in her hushed tone, leaving off exactly where he knew she was going.
“Yes” he whispered back, knowing to keep his own voice low. “The time for action is fast approaching”
“Things are going to change very soon”
“I know. Let us hope it is for the better”
His last words left the two alone with their thoughts, as the training group continued undisturbed, its participants failing to realize that the targets they were shooting would soon become living breathing enemies in the coming days.
The time for action was approaching.
The time for liberation was approaching.