"Hey Dash, you wanna come to Gummy's father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate's birthday party tonight? He's an alligator from Hoofisiana, and since he was in town, I decided to host the party a month early! That way he has more time to enjoy his presents! Well, canyacome, canyacome, canya, canya?"
Trotting through Ponyville Central Market, checking preparations for a storm the next day, Rainbow Dash was (once again) taken completely off-guard by the sudden appearance of Pinkie Pie from seemingly out of nowhere. It was the day after her "meeting" with Princess Luna, and she had a lot on her mind. Her first session started tonight, and as was the custom when Pinkie started looking for obscure reasons to party, she made up an easy lie to escape.
"Sorry Pinkie, but you know there's that big storm tomorrow, and I have to be rested up so I can keep it under control. You know I'd love to, but my job has to come first."
In reality, it would take 10 seconds to make that storm, and barely any effort to keep it within Ponyville.
"Eh, it's alright, Dash. The Cakes hold me responsible for my job, and it's probably easier than yours."
Turning her head, she glanced over Dash's left shoulder, almost glaring down a wall.
"But NightmareDash, I don't like playing a partyholic fool all the time. It is true to me, but there are a lot of other parts to my personality that no fanfic authors ever explore. I'll put up with it for now, but you'd better have me kick some flank in Deadliest Pony."
"Pinkie, who are you talking to?"
"Nevermind, Dashie. You wouldn't know him."
Dash flew off in the vague direction of her home, completely confused as to what Pinkie meant. She did it a lot, talking to nopony, but Dash could never get over the creepiness of it. But that was the least of her concerns now. She had stepped into a world much bigger than Ponyville, and being the apprentice of Princess Luna would probably mean some major shifts in her life. For now, she would act like nothing was different, keep the secret from her friends as long as possible. Hopefully she could smooth-talk her way out of any conflicts, like she had just done, but that would only work for so long.
Cruising past her cloud-house, Dash flew for several minutes, deep into the Everfree Forest. She dipped towards the site of last night's fire, spying the clearance where Luna had appeared. After touching down, she scanned her surroundings, barely making out the path from before. She followed it closely, and soon found Camp Blacklight. Despite last night's showing, it was still a very foreign environment. The night was pitch-black around her, but somehow the area seemed to be illuminated by particularly strong moonlight. She trodded hesitantly into the compound, looking for a familiar face.
High above her, Luna broke out of a formation of pegasi and dove towards Rainbow Dash. She decelerated almost effortlessly, and dropped to the ground in front of her.
"Ah, Rainbow Dash! I'm glad to see you could make it on time. Any hold-ups in Ponyville?"
"Only another Pinkie Pie party. I got out of it, of course, and I don't think she suspects anything."
"The pink one? She couldn't suspect something if we came up and showed it to her. But good work anyway; I may have less to teach you than I thought. So, as I said last night, we can begin immediately. You will train with a new class of pegasi guards. Some will become Shadowbolts, but there are many other specializations they can take. For now, they, and you, will all learn standard training. Here is your schedule. You will be with them for all classroom sessions and field work, but for that two-hour block marked "P.T.", you will break from the group. At that point, come to the command center and I will meet you in the lobby. From there I will lead you to our training grounds."
"Sounds good. I'm ready for anything, Prin, err, I mean Luna. Do I need to pick up my armor or a flight suit?"
"In due time, Rainbow Dash. You will recieve your flight suit with the others, at the end of the month, when your training is complete. Just like you, your class is a group of pegasi, each with a normal, daytime life. You may even recognize a few of them. We train throughout the night, then use an energizing spell to remove the need for sleep. You'll never even notice you've been up all night."
"That's a relief. Then I guess I'll see you at P.T."
Invigorated with confidence, Rainbow Dash strode towards her first class. She was ready to face this new opportunity, armed with skill, a map, and a schedule. Her first class was "Black Ops: An Introduction". Finding her classroom, she discovered an open seat and fell into it. Heads were already turning, and whispers began to propagate across the room. Dash only caught snippets of each.
"Is that Rainbow Dash?"
"I saw her at the Best Young Fliers Competition in Cloudsdale. She saved four other ponies and did a Sonic Rainboom."
"What is she doing here, isn't she already on the Wonderbolts?"
But the gossip was cut off by the slamming of a door, and a fully-armored Lunar Guard stepped in.
"Good morning class. My name is Gunnery Sergeant Coldheart, and I will be in charge of your instruction in this camp for the next thirty-one days. I am responsible for turning each of you into weapons, ready to serve the Princess of the Night. But until that night comes, you are nothing. You are the lowest forms of life in Equestria, and I must make you into something actually useful! I will be hard. Because I am hard, you will not like me. You may even come to hate me. But the more you hate me, the more you will learn. I am hard, but I am fair! There is no racial bigotry here! I do not look down on limp-wings, half-breeds, Canterlot trash or greasers; here you are all equally worthless. Is that understood?"
Day one and she was already having orders barked at her. Dash was becoming less enthusiastic by the second. All her lips could manage was a half-hearted "Sure."
"I don't think I heard you, scumbags! Say it again, and did I tell you that the first and last words out of your mouths at any given time had better be "Sir"? Oops, guess I forgot. You'd better not!"
Anypony in the group who wasn't already scared had a sudden change of heart.
"Sir, yes sir!"
"That's better! Now listen up! This is Technical Sergeant Ghost Writer. He's going to be teaching you a few things about the history of our beloved Lunar Guard, and what we do as Lunar Guards. So pay attention! There's gonna be a quiz about everything he talks about at the end of the session, and whichever ones of you fail it, I'm gonna P.T. until your wings fall off! Get me?"
"Sir, yes sir!"
Ghost Writer, a unicorn, was already in the room, and used his magic to pull down a white screen in front of them. He moved back to the center of the room, and flicked off the lights. His horn glowed, and an image appeared on the screen while he narrated.
"The Lunar Guard was founded in 1009 A.D. , by Princess Luna herself. She realized that the Royal Equestrian Guard, having become a police force, was not sufficient for the military defense of Equestria..."
He was somewhat more pleasant, Dash decided, though still gruff on the outside. Of course, anything would seem pleasant compared to Coldheart over there. She planned to spend the class thinking up some dumb nickname for him, but found that what they were teaching was actually pretty interesting. They were going through each battle the Lunar Guard fought in, the threats they'd eliminated, and even some covert ops work. She could imagine herself in the field, sneaking about Equestria, carrying out secret missions for Princess Luna. But too soon her dreams were interrupted by Coldheart's shouting.
"Alright, dirtbags, I hope you payed attention! Now that we've worked on your minds, let's improve your bodies! Here's the way it's gonna work! Every week we will study three topics: two classroom, and one field-work. L.G. History and Protocol is your first class. Next is your first field class, Basic Hoof-to-Hoof Combat. Then your second class, Explosives. After that is some good, old-fashioned P.T.! You will spend two hours on every class, every day for a week. We will start new classes each Sunday night. Now get up and get marching!"
Rainbow Dash was up quickly, marching in file as best she could. They went out to a large field, barren under the moonlight. The group was met by a burly Lunar Guard, who wore no armor. He circled them up and began showing off some fancy martial arts moves. After some explanation, he showed them a bipedial fighting stance. Getting all of them on their back hooves, he led them in some basic punches, jabs and uppercuts. The chance to work out and show off her physique excited Rainbow Dash. She easily cruised through the simple maneuvers, earning the instructor's praise. Before she knew it, she was already flipping other ponies over her shoulder. But this fantasy-esque experience was once again broken.
"Good work, Private Dash. Now let's get back inside, it's time for another classroom session! Get marching!"
They returned to the building, finding another pony waiting for them in the classroom. As soon as they were all in their seats, Explosives class began. Their attention was called immediately by a series of explosions on the teacher's desk, sequential and increasing in power.
"That, my little recruits, was a demonstration of several of the explosives used by the Lunar Guard. My name is Flashpoint, and I will be instructing you in the wonderful world of explosives. By the end of this week you will know each of these chemicals by sight and touch, know which one to use and when, and even how to make a few of them using household items."
He had Dash at "explosives". She was hanging on his every word, watching him show off the various chemicals. For school, she was loving it already. It was just as much play for her as work, and soon she found it over. Coldheart was already on top of things, barking orders more eagerly than before.
"Thank you, Mr. Flashpoint. Now, class, it's my favorite part of the night: P.T.! For those of you who lack the grey matter to figure that out, it means Physical Training, and you're going to learn to love it! We do two hours a night, every night. Let's get going; it's time for you all to meet Death Row."
The group, now somewhat practiced in efficient marching, stood up and fell in line. This time, Dash waited around the back. As she exited the room, she turned towards Coldheart, about to ask him for instruction. He knew her question before it was asked, and his tone was more withdrawn and quiet.
"Ah, yes, Private Dash. Princess Luna informed me of your, um, special training regiment. Go ahead and leave, she said she gave you instructions."
"Yeah, she did."
"Listen, Private Dash, I know you're different, and I know you'll probably want me to keep it secret from the others. Don't worry, the Princess has ordered me to keep quiet about it. But don't think I'm going to give you any special favors; you want to train with us, you work just as hard as us. Now get going."
"Sir, yes sir."
Surprised at Coldheart's sudden change in attitude, Dash quickly left the building. Was it possible that even mean ol' Coldheart was scared of the Princess? That's all she could figure out. The command center was a few minutes' walk from the classrooms, and as soon as she entered the lobby, she found Luna talking to a guard.
"Rainbow Dash! I'm glad to see you. How has your first day been?"
"Awesome, Luna. I never thought learning could be so fun!"
"Many ponies quite a bit like you have said the exact same thing. Speaking of which... Umbra, give me a second with my student and we can resume our discussion."
"Of course, my lady."
The guard was already off, returning to the inner depths of the command post.
"Now, as I was saying, there are some ponies I would like you to meet."
Luna led Dash back out the doors and around the corner. They stepped onto a small wooden deck, where a group of pegasi were lounging about like it was nopony's business.
"Pegasi Elite Squadron Alpha! Attention!"
Each of them snapped out of their daze and rushed into a V-formation before Luna.
"At ease, recruits. This is Rainbow Dash. You no doubt know her or know of her, and she is the newest addition to our army. I will be taking her under my wings to mentor her, to refine her raw talent into a powerful force. She will be joining us in our training sessions for the first hour, and after that she will work with me personally. I want you to stick with her, be sure no harm comes to her, and teach her as we work. Consider her this squadron's sixth member."
The first one, a blue-maned pony with golden eyes, replied quickly.
"As you wish, Princess Luna."
She turned her eyes to address Rainbow Dash, who was now examining her new team before her.
"Welcome. My name is Nightshade, and I'm the head of Pegasi Elite Squadron Alpha, soon to be Shadowbolt Squadron Alpha."
"Hey, I know you, weren't you a Wonderbolt? I remember seeing you at a show in Cloudsdale once. Then I heard about that thing in Fillydelphia..."
"I don't like to talk about the accident very much, if you'll excuse me."
"Of course, sorry."
Nightshade began motioning to each of her teammates as she named them.
"This is the rest of the Squadron: Stratus, my second in command and hoof-to-hoof combat specialist."
Stratus, as he was called, had a lighter-blue spiked mane and a nasty scar running across his lip, so he looked like Pony Hex. By his voice, he could've beaten Coldheart in a stareoff and gruffness competition.
"Hey."
"Blueball Blitz, our scout and acrobatics expert."
This one's mane seemed to crackle with neon-blue sparks of electricity. Her personality was just about as stable, and her rate of speech could easily rival Pinkie's.
"Hi, I'm Blueball Blitz! I like flying fast, do you like flying fast? Oh I love to fly fast, I mean the wind in my mane, goggles on, adrenaline flowing more than normal..."
"Easy, Blueball! Sorry, she has episodes sometimes."
"I know the type."
"Not like Blueball, you don't. Anyway, next is Charger, our weapons and explosives stallion."
He had a smooth, silver mane and a greyish goatee, which Dash thought gave him swag. His voice reflected it, and unlike the other stallion, he was happy to talk.
"Rainbow Dash! I would've never expected to see you here. Didn't I race you on the Appleloosa Cross-Country Circuit about a year ago?"
"Sorry, I don't really get into racing any more."
"Fresh talent, eh? Perfect. I'll see you on the track, then."
"Time for racing later, Charger. Right now we're Shadowbolts-in-training. But last but not least, Starry Skies. She is our quartermaster..."
"Supply management officer, please!"
"Yeah, that. Whatever you call her, she gets us the stuff we need."
Starry Skies had wisped her purple mane up in a curl, starkly contrasting the military looks of the others. By her look, she belonged in a hooficure salon, not a training camp. Her voice was almost identical to Rarity's, and she sounded just as prissy and stuck-up.
"Yes, yes, you've seen me before. Starry Skies, of the Skies family, from Cloudsdale. Surely you've heard of them?"
"Um, yeah, I think so."
You bet she knew them. Self-entitled snobs, each and every one. Also filthy rich. It was no surprise what she was doing on this team.
"So that's us. I think we'll share a few classes with you, but we'll keep in touch either way. Don't worry, when you fly with us, you'll be flying with the best. And since that's also true the other way around, we should get along pretty well. Anyway, if you need anything, remember Nightshade."
Back from talking with Umbra, Luna reentered the group.
"I take it you've had ample time to be acquainted with each other? Good, since you'll be working together every night. Except tonight; I would like some extra time with Rainbow Dash personally. Nightshade, lead the group in a patrol over the forest. Be sure nopony is snooping around, particularly my sister's type."
"Right away, Princess Luna."
The five of them immediately took to the skies, retaining formation and soaring away from the compound. Luna began walking in the opposite direction, with Dash hurrying to stay next to her.
"They are good, aren't they?"
"Yeah. They're the ones I saw last night, aren't they?"
"Yes."
"But how did they have their flight suits so early?"
"They were testing the enchantments I placed on the suits, being sure they worked. They're our first class of Shadowbolts, actually. I want them to be as fast as possible, and that means the antifriction magic has to be perfect."
"I see. How long have they been here? Are they just starting, like me? They don't sound like it."
"No. They've been doing a week or so of officer training and speed drilling. I knew you had the raw speed already, so that part was not necessary. You are actually part of a 'crash-course', Rainbow Dash. The ponies in your group are going to become reserve guards. They get the same training, and practice with us once a week, but because they don't have the ability to commit their entire lives to the Guard, we hold onto them until a crisis. At that point, they don a uniform and enter service with the others. The pegasi you just met are somewhat like that, but are making a transition to spend even more time on-base. They are a motley crew indeed, but I hand-picked them because they were the best."
"So I saw. Wait, are we already here?"
Rainbow Dash looked around her, to see no buildings, but an open field, surrounded by trees. A fire burned in the center of the clearing, and having been engrossed in conversation, Dash didn't even notice the transition.
"Alright, that's just creepy."
"I wouldn't say creepy, more like magical."
"Oh, I gotcha. You teleported us here, right?"
"Exactly. Only I know its actual location, and this keeps unwanted visitors away."
"Clever."
"I always thought so. This is where I come when I need to get away from Celestia, or just have some time alone. It's peaceful enough for our needs, I know from experience. So, Rainbow Dash, are you ready to begin our first session?"