A Not so Perfect Childhood

by KRissCHu573

Chapter 2: First day of training

Done with the books, Rain Sight allowed herself to slip into blissful sleep. However, she did not have the pleasure of pleasant dreams. The train of the eternal plane took her back to the night her life broke down. She saw the dead bodies of her mother and grandmother, her brother, who had become a monster because she wouldn't speak up, but the last thing she saw, horrified her the most. It was her father, staring down on her with malice and disappointment in his eyes.

'I'm so sorry daddy.' She thought, releasing a few tears.

"You should be." A voice said sternly.

She looked up, to see that the vision of Karn had closed the distance between them.

"But..you're a dream. You're not real! How can you talk?!" She exclaimed.

After saying that the stallion smacked her across the face, sending her on the ground.

"The life me and your mother wanted was a dream." He began speaking with spite. "Your brother was a dream. Sadly, both of those dreams are gone..." He paused, lowering his gaze.

Rain managed to get a glimpse of the surroundings. When she saw that it was her room in the academy, she realized that this was no dream. That made her cry uncontrollably. Then her father continued.

"Gone, because of you! You stupid accident! Me and your mother never wanted you! But you just had to pop out and ruin everything, didn't you?!" He yelled, smacking her again, sending her against a wall. "Rust was such a good boy, and because of you he became a monster!"

As he spoke he pinned her against the wall, chocking her by the neck with one hoof, and began to beat her with the other.

"Because of you he murdered your mother and grandmother!"

He hit her once again. Despite the painful blows and even more painful words she could also feel her brain being mashed like dough. Either he was ripping it with his psych powers, or the lack of oxygen from his grip caused it.

"Because of you I had to kill my own son!"

He struck her again. She quietly sobbed through the beating. She couldn't take it anymore, so she just let go and allowed him to finish her of.

"TIME!" Someone yelled.

That made the filly open her eyes. She was indeed backed against a wall, only her father was nowhere to be seen. The hoof which chocked her, and the one which beat her to a pulp were her own. The door to her room was open and at it stood Moonraker, his tablet in one hand and a chronometer in the other, and next to him was a brown unicorn stallion with a lighter brown mane, who wore a ghost suit. When she turned her attention back to her own hooves clenching her, she loosened the grip, and slowly slid down to a sitting position, leaning against the wall. There was silence for a couple of moments, before the red stallion spoke in a cheerful tone.

"Very good Rain. You survived the full minute trial and actually held down for four more seconds. Few cadets last that long." Then his voice filled with slight disappointment as he did something on the tablet. "Sadly you didn't manage to keep your code from being discovered. Oh well, guess not all can be winners." He finished with a casual shrug.

"W-w-wh-at was that? A-a-nd who is this?" Rain Sight stuttered.

The brown stallion raised his hoof and opened his mouth to introduce himself, but Moonraker interrupted.

"This here is Skyfall." He said, after which he grabbed the said stallion over the shoulder and stated. "He's my little brother. By the way, pro tip, this guy NEVER shut's up. Be glad I stopped him in time."

That earned him a growl from Skyfall.

"Oh, like I am lying her!" The red pegasus returned.

The unicorn was about to say something, before giving up and just walking away.

"Anyway..." Moonraker began. "...as for what that was, you see unicorns can use their magic to build up defences against mental intrusion, while the rest of us regular ponies..." He made quote gestures. "...have to build them up the hard way - aka - by undergoing the very process time and time again. Something like exposing yourself to something you're afraid of, until you stop being afraid of it, only slightly more painful." He finished with an awkward smile.

"A little?!" She exclaimed.

"Okay, a lot, but the point still stands." The pegasus admitted, before continuing. "Your brain can get probed by a psych at any time. So in order to get new cadets up to speed quickly I ask my bro and some of his ghost buddies to dick around with the class, and the results are more than promising."

"So...none of that was real?" She sheepishly asked.

"Pshh, of course not! What parent would do something like that to their child? What you...eh... experienced, was just something your sick and twisted imagination had produced, get surfaced from the depths of your mind." He reassured.

As weird as it felt to her, that actually managed to slightly relieve her. But his next words managed to unnerve her once again.

"I hope you enjoyed it, because you will have someone digging in your brain as a morning alarm for the next ten years."

Even though he said it cheerfully, that did not help at all. He looked at her shocked expression for a while, before gesturing behind her. Rain Sight turned around and was greeted by the sweet aroma of a piece of blueberry pie, on a plate, next to a glass of milk. Her mouth began to water, when Moonraker said.

"I'd recommend eating before it gets cold. You're going to need your strength for today's exercises. A staff member will come to take you to the gathering room for a quick briefing in ten minutes, so enjoy." He gave her a two finger salute, before exiting and locking the room.

Not waiting for a second invitation, the filly dug in the delicious pastry.

__________________________________________________________________________

As the commander said, in ten minutes one of the staff came in and led her back to the room they got them in yesterday. This time she wasn't the last to arrive. About two minutes after her arrival everyone was there, and Moonraker stood on his platform. He addressed the crowd with several 'tisk' noises, before speaking.

"Guys, I can't lie to you, I am kinda disappointed in you. None of you managed to keep their code from the ghost operatives who came to say 'good morning' to you." His tone softened a bit. "Well yeah, the lab coats did say that it would be impossible for it to happen, but I was hoping that two or at the very least one of you would manage to keep the info from trained ghosts right off the bat."

He sighed, and pressed several buttons on his tablet, making a large screen drop behind him.

"Unfortunately cadet Nitro..." The picture of a cyan pegasus colt with a dark blue mane appeared on the screen. "...did not have the stuff to make it past the 'good morning' routine."

As he said that, a stamp came over the picture, leaving a red rectangle with the word 'FAIL' written inside with capital red letters with the sound of an explosion, immediately after which, a deep voice echoed 'FAIL!' though the room. That caused the cadets to gasp loudly.

"Okay, now when you exit this room each of you will receive a full precision set for bipedal combat, that including gloves and leggings. Because I'm such a nice guy, and I am certain you had a bad time waking up, I've scheduled your not-physically-draining classed to start first. That is all, and I bid you all Adieu!" He stated and walked off.

__________________________________________________________________________

As promised, when they left the room, each cadet was equipped with a precision set. Rain had a bit of trouble when she first activated the bipedal mode. Her dad had often walked on his hind legs. He and the people from the movies made it look so easy, but in truth it wasn't. The thought about her father reminded her of the morning, making her lose her concentration and she fell. All of the cadets around her began to laugh loudly, but no one bothered to help her up, not even a staff member. So she gritted her teeth and pushed herself back up, using a nearby wall for support. When the staff were sure everyone had enough for now, they led them to their class rooms.

First they went through the basic subjects - math, physics and etcetera, only instead of the things that were taught in regular schools, here the cadets were given the advanced set in an hour and a half long lections. The lections were holographic, and were watched twice. The first time the fillies and colts had to write down what the teacher said with their hooves, but the second time they had to do it using the precision gloves. Rain Sight mentally laughed at herself for thinking that the walking was hard using the mechanical limbs. Next to the writing it was like learning to crawl on the ground.

Still, the classes were pretty relaxing for her...except the class on 'how to get into stallions' heads, using only your charms', which all of the fillies had to attend.

"A way to lower a stallion's guard, making him vulnerable is intoxicating him. If you do not have the required drugs at your disposal, a good amount of alcohol will do the trick just as fine. However, some stallions develop a resistance towards alcohol due to prolonged exposure." A yellow unicorn mare, with a blue mane and green eyes, spoke in front of the fillies.

"But, despite that, prolonged exposure also causes mental instability regarding decision making, which makes the stallion easily susceptible to minor tricks like...?" She paused, awaiting suggestions.

"Shaking your flank in front of them." "Giving him a massage, while complimenting them about their physique." "Whispering that you want to go somewhere else in their ear, followed by a light kiss on the cheek." Several fillies said, after raising their hands.

"Good, very clever and resourceful." The mare returned to each, before continuing. "Unfortunately, in this business the stallions who work for the opposite side, aren't always fine stock. Sometimes you will have to go through them going through you in order for them to fully lower their guard, and even if they enjoy it, that's not a guarantee that you will too. Though there are the exceptions, which both look fine, and have the manhood to go with the looks."

She trailed off in her thoughts, as a creepy smile crept on her face. Several moments later, she shook her head, returning her previous composure and continued.

"Not all stallions go around places, where you can get them drunk. Some are quite the gentlecolts. In order to get close to them, you have to do almost the exact opposite than that with the others. Instead of sexy, go for cute, innocent and adorable. Try to cook them something, as you know, one of the ways to a stallion's heart is through the stomach. Does anyone know another way there?"

A white earth pony filly with a green mane and magenta eyes raised her hand.

"Yes, Moss Lume." The teacher gave her the word.

"A twelve inch incision over the left chest plate-" She was cut off by the yellow mare, with a deadpan.

"When I said 'cute' Moss I didn't mean this type of cute."

That silenced the filly, and she sat back down. After which the teacher continued.

"Another way to get close to them is to make up a sad story about your life. Make yourself a damsel in distress, which they - the knights in shining armor, to rescue."

She waited for everyone to write that down, before saying.

"That will be all for today. Now, are there any questions?"

An orange pegasus filly, with a reddish-brown mane and red eyes, raised her hand.

"Yes, Fire Lilly." The teacher allowed her to speak.

The filly got up and asked.

"When we get in bed with a stallion, is there a specific procedure we need to follow to make it better for him?"

"No. There is nothing specific there. All of the stallions are different, with different tastes and all that stuff. Some like to be the 'strong machos', who just want you to say 'Master let me be your epic mount, and do what you wish with me.', and then buck you senseless, thinking that it's a fine performance. Don't get this wrong, sometimes when you've had a bad day for example a hard buck is actually something nice to look forward to, but it depends on your taste entirely. Just let them do what they want, that makes them feel they are in control, which is when they are most vulnerable. Then there are the stallions who prefer the mare to dominate in the act. Those specific ones are pretty fun to 'work' with. You can do whatever you want with them, and they let their guard down, because you being in charge makes them feel safe in a way. The hardest ones to get to are the ones who want to make you feel good. Unlike the other two, they are under pressure through the act, because they are uncertain of how they perform. The key to getting to them is after you're done, even if it didn't, to assure them that it felt good. That's when they drop." She explained.

"And how do we find out which type a stallion is?" A filly called from the back seats.

"Well that you do in your introduction. As you make him want to have his way with you, shoot out a question or two about his preferences, or pick a role for yourself and share it with him, and his reaction gives you the answer." The mare replied, before enquiring. "Alright, last question anyone?"

Rain Sight slowly rose her hand.

"Yes Rain Sight." The teacher said.

The filly got up and asked.

"Ma'am, won't it be better to just lure the stallion away from public under the pretense of agreeing to copulate, but before getting to that, to drug and confine him, after which to interrogate him?"

"That's a very good question Rain Sight." The mare stated.

That allowed the filly to smile in self assurance, but the teacher's next words removed that feeling.

"This thought process has caused the DI a lot of lost funds." She began her explanation. "Depending on the stallion's condition, different amounts of drugs need to be used. The lower his guard is, the less is needed. Along with that confinement is both a drain on resources, and also if the said stallion is enleagued with someone, they will notice his disappearance, while if he just enters a motel room with a mare, they won't bother too much. Also, if he proves a useless source we have to dispose of him. If we have confined him beforehoof, that would be just time and money sent on the wind. Does that answer your question Rain Sight?" The yellow unicorn enquired.

"Yes ma'am." The filly returned with a demotivated tone, and sat down under the quiet, but still hearable, laughs and snickers of her class mates.

"If there are no more questions, this will be all for today." The mare announced, leaving the fillies to be escorted to their next class by the staff.

__________________________________________________________________________

The chemistry lab consisted of multiple work desks, each furnished with various plants, vials with liquids or powders, knifes, a blowtorch and a spinning synthesizer. At the front of the room was a large screen, on which was commander Fleming, shown from the waste up, holding his tablet. When everyone from the class entered, he greeted them.

"Good day class. I hope you've had fun and managed to rest up a bit from the morning, because your physical training begins."

"Physical training? But this is chemistry. How can it be a physical training?" A green colt, whose name Rain Sight remembered from yesterday was Glade, asked.

"Oh don't worry. You'll find out soon enough." The commander replied with a sinister smirk on his face.

"Are you going to teach us chemistry sir?" One of the fillies out of her line of sight enquired.

The stallion on the screen shook his head, after which he said.

"No, sorry. Because of my academy days, I am no longer allowed in the lab. A bit of advice..." He got closer to the camera, covered his mouth from the side with his hand and whispered. "...if you plan on using something explosive, try not to overdo it. High command gets really mad for that sort of thing for some reason." Then he moved back and continued talking normally. "I hope you all did your reading yesterday, because today you'll be having something like an...exam, if you will."

"What kind of exam?" A colt, who Rain Sight could not see, enquired from the back.

"You will have to use everything on the tables in front of you, to synthesize a poison." He began the explanation. "The poison can have any sort of effect, or look, but it must do its job within 10 minutes. You can have as much time as you need, but try to do it under an hour. We're grading quick reactions here, as well as presentation. Also you need to use the precision gloves while you work. Any questions?"

His was answered with silence.

"Good, then get to work." He stated, immediately after which the cadets began to work on their potions.

Rain Sight had thought about what effect her creation should have last night, while she read through the books. The memories of better times. and the morning reuniting with her brother, led her back to when he was hospitalised. When they went to see Rust in the hospital the doctor had said that her brother's adrenaline and other hyping chemicals had spiked in amount. Then the had idea hit her.

She started to chop up several green plants. She squeezed the white sap which came from the cuts, placing it in a glass. Then she poured over some water, and stirred the concoction while adding a purplish powder. The mixture fizzed as it became a murky purple. Next she carefully made an incision on a small tree in a pot, making it release a few drops of green sap. She added it to the mixture with a tea spoon of sulfur, and placed the vial on the flame, slowly stirring it. In about twenty minutes its color changed to a bloody red. Then she slowly took it off of the blowtorch and set it onto the table. The chemistry books she had received yesterday really sparked her interest, and she had memorized most of the things written in them.

Next she looked around the table, until she found what she was looking for. A plant with a long straight green body, ending with a blue rose like formation on the top. What she was interested however were the meaty oval leaves at its base. She plucked one, carefully cut it in two mirror like parts, after which she grated the juices from each side down in the mix and stirred it for a few minutes, before filling several syringes and putting them in the synthesizer and starting it up. Three minutes later she stopped it, and took out one of the glass syringes. The liquid inside was transparent, like water.

The hour mark was nearing, and most of the cadets were done. Then a staff member went to each and began to receive their presentations, sending all of the information through tablets of their own to that of commander Moonraker.

"So, what does yours do? It looks like plain water." A mare in a white coat asked Rain Sight, as she picked up a syringe and examined it.

The filly put on a proud grin, as she began explaining the effects of her creation.

"Yes it does. That makes it even more dangerous. I used the sap from the lower leaves of Elise de Curerra, it can make almost any substance transparent like water, without interfering with the said substance's effects. The other saps I used, combined with the void salts cause the adrenaline and other hyping chemicals in the body to rapidly spike, causing muscle spasms, hyperventilating, which develops into the lungs shutting down, as well as increased heart activity, which leads to a heart attack. And with the proper amount of sulfur I added, after processing it over high temperatures I managed to slow down the effects so they do what they're supposed to do in exactly 10 minutes." She finished taking a deep breath, and giving the mare a wide smile.

"Wow...that's pretty impressive." The mare returned, after which she sent the information to Moonraker.

As the one hour passed, all of the cadets were done. After checking the information given to him, the red stallion on the screen spoke.

"Hot damn, you kids are a lot better at this stuff than I thought."

That made the class cheer up.

"But what worth is a poison if you are not sure if it works, right?" He asked.

The colts and the fillies exchanged puzzled looks, after which they turned them towards the commander.

"Now my lovelies, I hope you remembered how to make the antidoes ." He said as he raised his arm, as if looking at a watch.

Then all of the staff members, who held syringes, filled with each cadet's creation, pulled the little ponies' arms to reveal the part which was not covered by the precision gloves, and stabbed the syringes in.

"You guys have roughly about 10 minutes to make yourselves an antidote. Chop chop." Moonraker said, as he took a seat, and observed the cadets' squirming and cries of agony.

The moment the liquid entered her blood stream, Rain Sight could feel her muscles tense. She almost collapsed on the ground, but managed to grab the edge of the table for support. Not wasting any time, she went through what she had remembered from the books.

She took three of the synthesized syringes and emptied them in an empty vial. The hyperventilation and the accelerated heart rate had already started. She took several blue leaves from the Elise de Curerra, put them in a bowl and started grinding them. Then she added a reddish powder and continued with the grinding. All around her, ponies were frantically fighting for their lives.

Suddenly the purple pegasus colt, who attacked her yesterday tackled her down to the ground, ending up on top of her.

"Wh-h-a-t's th-e ma-tter w-i-th you?!" She exclaimed through her constant breaths.

His eyes were bloodshot, with a little blood dripping from them. She could also feel that his body was spasming as well, but that still didn't stop him from holding her down.

"I can't remember how to make the antidote. But if I die, then I am taking you with me Confederate whore!" He exclaimed.

Her time was running short, and she needed to finish the antidote, but as much as she struggled she couldn't get the colt off of herself. Then something came to her mind. Something her dad had once told Rust when she was beating him in a board game.

__________________________________________________________________________

"Aww Rain, is there even a chance for me to win this?" Rust asked as his sister, as she made her move on the board.

"I'm sorry brother, but when it comes to checkers, you are clearly outmatched." Rain Sight replied smugly, crossing her front hooves.

"You know, there was something they taught dark templar back in the Dark Order." Karn said out of the blue.

Apparently he had observed their play for a while now. The two younglings looked at him, Rain turning around.

"What was it dad?" The brown colt asked with interest.

The gray stallion chuckled, before replying.

"When you're outmatched..." He paused. "...cheat."

Rust got what his father was going at, so while his sister was looking questioningly at Karn he moved the board pieces.

"What in the hay is that supposed to mean daddy?" The completely oblivious to what was happening behind her Rain Sight asked.

"Nothing honey, sorry for interrupting you." The stallion returned, after which he walked out.

"Huh, what evs." She said, then turned around and addressed her brother in a smug tone. "Your move brother."

He returned with a smirk, and picked up his piece. The filly's eyes widened in amazement as her sibling defeated her.

"But...how?" She barely managed to utter.

"Skillz little sister, skillz." Rust replied.

__________________________________________________________________________

'If outmatched, cheat.' She thought.

She struggled a bit under the colt in order to get into position, and when she was, she kicked him right between the legs. His eyes widened as the pain engulfed him. He let out a cry of pain, and rolled over to the side. Now left to fight only her creation, the purple filly slowly got back up on the table, picked up the bowl, and poured its contents in the vial. She stirred it up, and left it on the fire.

At the moment she had no idea what was happening around her. All she could bother noticing was the pain the poison caused her. After two minutes above the flame, she picked up a syringe, filled them and put them on the synthesizer. Now she had to survive the next three minutes. During the wait, she turned around to see that the colt who assaulted her was lying on his back without moving, blood coming from his eyes and mouth. She then rotated her head, seeing that other of the cadets had seen what she had done with the pegasus. The last thing that would do, was help her outlive the reputation her name gave her.

It was becoming hard for her to breathe, and soon she started gasping for air. Suddenly she heard that the machine had stopped. She quickly grabbed the syringe, and injected it into herself. The sudden sensation of relief filled her body, as her breathing calmed. She leaned against the table and slid down to a sitting position, taking in deep breaths. Many of the cadets were in the same state as her.

Then their attention turned towards the door of the laboratory opening, and commander Fleming walking in. He gave the place a quick look, after which he whistled and spoke.

"Wow, you guys trashed the place pretty well."

"Sir, when do we get a food break?" An orange filly asked as she walked up to him.

Her stomach grumbled loudly, which made her lower her head in shame. Instead of the expected scolding, she received a pat on the head from the commander as he replied.

"Don't worry squirt. After the next exercise."

Rain Sight was feeling a lot better, but the commander's presence now made her uneasy. She made sure no one was watching, and took one of the syringes which was filled with the poison she had made, and hid it in one of her precision gloves. If not only her classmates had set their marks on her, but the staff as well, she would feel a lot better, having some sort of protection. Then everybody's attention was caught by Moonraker.

"Alright everybody! The staff will lead you to the course for the next exercise, while I make a few notes here. Move out."

All of the cadets saluted, and began walking out. Just as she neared the door, a metal hand appeared in front of Rain Sight's face, stopping her in her tracks. She looked up to meet the commander's gaze as he said sternly.

"Miss de Steel Wing, a word please. The rest of you get the buck out, there's nothing to see here."

A cold sweat slid down her neck.

'Did they see me take the syringe?' She thought, a panicked expression appeared on her face.

She could hear the snickers and comments the rest of the cadets made as they passed by.

"She's so dead." Someone from the crowd said.

When the room emptied out, leaving only her, Moonraker, the white mare, who gave the commander the tablet yesterday, and several staff ponies, who went around the room.

"W-w-what is it s-sir?" She sheepishly asked.

He looked at his tablet, scrolling down a bit.

'Oh god, he's going to fry me alive!' The filly exclaimed mentally.

"Here it says that you made your poison to work in exactly 10 minutes. Correct?" The stallion asked.

"Yes..." She returned.

"Well, I think you have made a miscalculation." He continued to speak lightly, looking at the device in his hands.

"W-what? No, I am absolutely certain that it...does its job within 10 minutes." She replied.

Rain Sight really hated it, when something she was certain about was dismissed, because some people thought she had made a mistake. When Moonraker glanced at her, she realized that she had been glaring at him. Her expression quickly softened from fright, and she awaited any sort of punishment he had in store for her.

"If that is so, then how come you stayed alive for six minutes above the ten mark?" He asked lightly.

Her dumbstruck expression told him, that she had no idea regarding her miracle survival. He leaned forward to her eye level and said.

"In your file it said that you despise your Confederate roots. But it's those exact roots you've got to thank for making it for another day." He paused for a moment, allowing her to process the situation, after which he enquired. "Just because I'm such a nice guy, I'm going to give you a little of advise. That bit of knowledge helped me make it through here."

"What is that sir?"

"Screw ethics, morality and most of all self doubt and guilt. Think of yourself as the biggest bad-ass-motherbucker around, and act like it. Go full blown survival instinct without regarding surrounding life." He stated loudly as he got up. "And from what I know, zerg are more than professionals in that last aspect." He finished.

The filly's blank gaze fell down on the floor as she thought over his words.

"Now get going." He said, gesturing towards the door with his head.

She shook her head, putting on a serious expression, then she saluted and walked out.

__________________________________________________________________________

After leaving, Rain Sight was reunited with the class at the underground running course. The other cadets were not even remotely attempting to hide their displeasure of the purple filly making it back in one piece. About a minute after she entered the room, a large screen slid down from the ceiling. On it once again appeared the commander, holding his tablet. His expression was too one of displeasure.

"Well I most certainly hoped that you wouldn't mess this one up so bad." He began with a sigh. "Cadets Carbon and Violet won't be joining you in the next exercise."

As he spoke, his image on the screen was switched with the pictures of the purple pegasus cot who attacked Rain Sight, a red unicorn filly and a dark gray unicorn colt. The explosive sounding stamp went over them and left the red sign, which was read aloud by the deep voice.

'FAIL!'

After the mention of Violet's death, Rain noticed that a nightish blue unicorn was glaring daggers at her.

"Now, I know that you guys are pretty hungry. So, after this exercises you will get eats. Promise." Moonraker said, as he placed one hand over his heart, before continuing. "All you have to do, is make 20 laps of the course in your two legged stances. That's all. Not a sprint, but a marathon. No strings attached, no messy surprises."

Everyone nodded, saluted and lined up at the starting line.

"On my mark. Get set. GO!" Moonraker yelled as the kids ran.

Despite her problems at the beginning, Rain Sight was actually pretty fast at running on two legs. She started off at the back of the group, but after about half of the laps, she was nearing the front lines. That's when the others began to play dirty. She was pushed multiple times, and right before she could finish the 15th lap someone managed to trip her, and she fell face first in the dirt.

She was about to cry, when Moonraker's words echoed in her mid.

'Screw ethics, morality and most of all self doubt and guilt. Think of yourself as the biggest bad-ass-motherbucker around, and act like it. Go full blown survival instinct without regarding surrounding life.'

So she held the water sprinklers back, got up, and continued. During this little accident she had fallen behind to almost the middle of the group, so catching up didn't take as much time as in the beginning. More pushing and tripping came her way, but she managed to avoid them, and by the last lap she was about two meters behind the pegasus colt who was in the lead.

Moonraker sat in the observation room, watching how his 'marathon, not sprint' were barely taken into account. The colt in the front was bearing a smug smile as he bolted for the finish. A devilish smile crept onto the commander's face, as the pen in his hand made its way over the image of a yellow lightning on the tablet.

"Sir, I don't think that's a good idea." His white mare assistant said.

"What do you mean Cler?" He asked, still smiling at the lightning.

"I think she is having enough problems as of now. Being thought that the commander is helping her won't make her time here any easier. In fact it will make things worse. She was already involved in the death of a cadet, and now "winning" this non existent race, will undoubtedly make even those who kept their opinion to themselves go after her." She explained.

"Now Cler, the question isn't if I should do this or not." He said.

"Then what is it?" She enquired.

"Simple." He began. "The question is am I really such an unbearable asshole, to kill someone's motivation for victory, replacing it with the desire for vengeance, and worsen a little girl's life to the point where her life might be in danger. And I think that both of us know what the answer is, no?" Moonraker finished.

"Yes sir...we both know the answer." Cler replied with a sigh, as the pen touched the lightning.

The colt was nearing the finish. Mere meters were keeping him from showing himself as the dominant figure in the class. Then suddenly his bracelet beeped and electricity filled his body. It wasn't a lethal shock, nor was it like the one Violet received on his first day, but it was enough to get the colt out of balance, and make him fall on the ground, his previous momentum making him roll.

Because he was a good distance away from her, Rain Sight had time to react, and jumped over the rolling colt, and crossed the finish. The pegasus's roll stopped a few feet from the said finish, but because shock and the beating the ground gave him, he couldn't instantly get up. He tried to crawl towards it, and did it, only after everyone else passed him by and crossed before him. When he managed to get up, his eyes, filled with burning rage, searched for a certain purple filly. Luckily for him, she stayed in the open, away from the group, making her easy to spot.

'Little, cheating, Confederate bitch...' He thought as he made his way towards her.

But before anything could happen, Moonraker once again appeared on the screen and spoke.

"Cadet Dusk Shifter, I want to apologize. There was a bit of a malfunction with the bracelet controls and you received an unauthorized shock. Sorry about that. The issue is currently being taken care of."

After that statement, the colt Rain Sight had "beaten", walked up to her, and pushed her while saying.

"I don't know how you hacked the commander's controls, but you'll be sorry you did!"

"I didn't hack anything!" She protested. "And how do you suggest I did, without any sort of connection to the facility's battlenet and a device to operate inside?"

"Oh you keep telling yourself that. I know you killed Violet, but if you think I, or anyone here will let you do as you please with our lives you are making a big mistake. At the first chance I get, I will make sure that you die you dumb cunt!" He threatened, after which he walked off.

That left the filly alone, everyone around her glaring at her. The spite and malice in their eyes picking at her sanity, making her take several steps back, lowering her head.

"Aww, they think she hacked our battlenet." Moonraker said with glee, after making sure that on screen was just a picture of him looking serious and turning off the mic. "Though she is still not budging. I disapprove!" He stated loudly.

"What do you mean she's not budging?!" Cler exclaimed. "Everyone around her hates her, and probably wishes her death, and you want her to improve?! The only thing she can possibly budge into is an unstable mental state!"

When she finished her tantrum, the red stallion shot her a cold glare.

"...sir." Her angered expression turned to one of fright.

"You want to know what I want her to budge in?" He asked.

The white mare dared not to speak, and simply nodded.

"Cler as a "scientist"..." He made quote gestures. "...you must be familiar with the process of evolution, correct?" He enquired.

"Yes sir." She returned. "Organisms change in order to better function in their environment."

"Right." He began. "So you see, when organisms have gotten used to an environment, and it changes and becomes harsh for the way of life they are used to, said organisms have two options." He brought forth his arms, opening his palms, getting them up and down like a weighing machine. "Either lie down and die like the worthless scum they are, OR buck up and adapt."

Cler's eye widened in realization to what he was doing.

"She is constantly pushed around, and does jack shit about it. I don't want wimps in my class. So I am the thing which changes her environment to one, in which she either becomes more assertive, willing and able to take charge, push, not be pushed, or she dies. Simple as that." He explained.

'Gee, talk about god complex.' The mare thought "Wow...that is actually a well thought out logic sir. And you came up with it all by yourself?" She asked in disbelief.

"What can I say? I'm not just good looking." He replied, with a shrug, and putting on a smug smile.

Then he turned the screen and mic back on, and spoke.

"Okay, now I know all of you are pretty famished."

Almost every cadet confirmed that statement.

"Right, so I would ask you all to go to the meeting room. I have a pretty big surprise for you waiting there." He finished with a quiet laugh.

__________________________________________________________________________

Even though reluctant, the cadets did as instructed and went to the large room the commander had first addressed them in. With the exercises they were forced to go through, this "surprise" did not sound so good to them. However, they were more than surprised when they saw a large buffet in the room. Various salads, dishes, soups, pastries and drinks were laid on a long table, their scents making all of the ponies drool. A large metal container could also be seen in the middle of the table. When all of them were in, Moonraker appeared on another screen, instead on the platform, but no one gave any thought to that, due to the distraction.

"Well fellas, despite some of the fails we had today, you guys made it. So I wanted to congratulate you properly. All of this here..." He gestured at the food. "...is for you. Oh and for those who will ask, the metal thingie is full of warm milk. Courtesy of yours truly. Now I will stop keeping you in place. DIG IN!" He exclaimed.

Without a second thought everyone stream over the food. Due to her "position in society", Rain Sight was pushed away, with no access to the table, so she decided to wait out. In about twenty minutes, ponies who had eaten their fill began to leave the buffet. Ten minutes after that, almost everyone had laid around on the floor, peace and joy written on their faces, so the purple filly had open ground. Even though there were few complete meals left, the rest being mainly leftovers, she was more than glad to get whatever she could. And everything she got her hand on was delicious.

After everyone had his fill, staff members took the table out of the room, and locked the cadets inside. Then the commander once again appeared on the screen and addressed them.

"So guys, did you enjoy yourselves?" He asked enthusiastically.

He received a loud multy-voiced 'Mhmm' as a reply.

"Good. Then I can tell you the bad news." He stated, his enthusiasm still on.

The same however could not be said about the children, as slight terror found its way on their faces, only to increase after Moonraker's next words.

"By some unfortunate stroke of luck, the guys who were responsible about preparing the food have missed several Cerebro Destructicus eggs in...everything you ate and drank."

"What is Cerebro Destructicus?" A filly asked.

"Oh just a parasite, which feeds on brains." The stallion said lightly, earning himself a wave of gasps.

He then heard the sound of vomiting somewhere in the room.

"Whoever let his insides out stop it right now, it's not gonna help. The eggs are most certainly already hatched and in your bloodstream." He stated, before continuing. "Now, there are a few things you need to know about Cerebro Destructicus. Right after their hatching our blood is toxic to them, and eventually they dissolve in it as proteins which are very good for you. But if they manage to reach your brain, and start consuming it, they very quickly become resistant to the blood. Now every prey has defences against predators. While you are awake, your brains produce enough electrical charge to keep the parasites at bay, but if you fall asleep, they come in and suck out your brains, literally." He spoke with undying enthusiasm.

Fillies and colts struggled to keep themselves from fainting, because if they did so, that would mean certain doom for them.

"Can't you get them out somehow?!" A filly screamed out.

"Well the only way to kill them is by electrocution, but duo to our issue with the bracelet controls we had to turn them off while working on it." He lied.

That made all of the cadets shoot glares at Rain Sight. Even before their infection, everyone thought that she had hacked the controls, which now made her the reason for their torture. She couldn't bare the blaming looks, and curled up in a corner, burring her face in her hooves.

"Also, because you may infect them, I cannot allow any staff inside of the room." Moonraker said, before continuing. "So if you don't want the parasites to go all GALLIGER on your gray matter, all you have to do is stay awake for the next..." He looked at his wrist, as if he wore a watch. "...five hours. And it’s even more unfortunate that you are tired from running, and being poisoned, and you ate so much that your brains will redirect blood to your stomachs to ease the digestion. Also there aren't any clocks in the room, so you have no idea when these five hours will end." He said in an innocent tone.

There was only silence, mingled with terrified expressions.

Moonraker gave out a sigh, after which spoke.

"Alright kids, you've convinced me. I will tell you when the five hours end." Then he suddenly brightened up. "Until then, I am going to take a nap! Have fun!" He finished, the screen turning off, and disappearing in the ceiling.

The silence continued for several more intense moments, until a random colt from the crowd yelled.

"WE'RE BUCKED!"

His statement was followed by multiple screams.

Moonraker removed his hand from behind his ear, gave laugh, and wiped a tear from his eye, before saying.

"I just love messing with these kids."

"Don't you think you're a little 'too' rough on them sir?" Cler asked.

"Nah, they're fine." He dismissed her statement, after which he addressed two stallions in lab coats. "I want you to monitor them. When the last one hour starts, tell Skyfall that he and his boys to start up."

"Roger that sir!" Both said in union and saluted.

"But, where are you going?" One of them asked.

"Didn't you hear me? I'm going to take a nap. I am not to be disturbed, and the exercises doesn't stop, until I inform the cadets that it is, and don't you even think about interfering with it. Am I clear?" Moonraker said.

"Crystal sir." The stallion replied.

After that the red pegasus walked out. The two lab coats turned their gazes towards his assistant.

"Well, have fun with this." She sighed and headed for the door as well.

"Wait, weren't you the one concerned about these kids and their well being?" The other stallion enquired.

"On work hours maybe. This is probably the last break I will have for the next several months, I'm not gonna let some brats keep me from it." She replied, and exited the room as well.

The two stared at the door, after which they looked at each other, then back at the door.

"Wow, and to think those two aren't a couple." One said.

"They aren't?" The other asked in disbelief.

"I know, right?" The first returned, after which they went to do their task.

__________________________________________________________________________

*three hours later*

All of the cadets had calmed down as best as possible from the situation. About a dozen were pacing back and forth in attempt to keep themselves awake, while everyone else had found himself a place to crash, and stayed there, keeping their minds busy with whatever they could. Rain Sight was still huddled in her corner, making circles in the floor with her finger.

Suddenly, everyone's attention was caught by a loud thud. A yellow unicorn colt had dropped on the floor. A matching yellow filly began to push him, while attempting to keep him awake.

"No! Brother please!"

"I-m, *yawn* sorry sis. Can't-hold...Must...sleep." He said, before his head dropped limp on the floor.

His sister continued to cry and push him so he could wake up, loudly calling him either 'brother' or by name. After a few minutes of not receiving any response, she turned her head in Rain Sight's direction.

"YOU BITCH! YOU KILLED H-H-HIM!" She yelled through sobs and gritted teeth.

Then she placed her hands over the colt's body, buried her face in them and continued to cry. It pained Rain Sight that everyone around thought her a monster. And through events out of her reach, this opinion of her was hardened. Tears had made their way out of her eyes as well, but because she was a good distance away from anyone, and didn't make any noise, no one noticed. If not anything, the horrific scene scared everyone, and the small adrenaline rush had helped them wake up a bit. The very thought of the pain the colt could have experienced was able to remove any thoughts of sleep.

__________________________________________________________________________

The two stallions were sitting in the armchairs in the observatory, one enjoying a cup of coffee and a croissant, while the other was listing through an issue of 'Playcolt'. A loud alarm started from out of the blue, making the two to jump in their seats. The reader tore a the page he was holding, splitting the mare showing off her flank in two, right through its center, while the other one spilled his drink on himself.

"BUCK!" The two shouted in union.

The one with the magazine left it on the control table, and checked what was the sudden disturbance. His eyes slightly widened when he noticed it was the one hour alarm. He pulled a mic over to his mouth, and spoke.

__________________________________________________________________________

Sixteen ghosts had gathered in a room resembling a mess hall. Ten of them were playing prodder, while the rest watched, slipping a comment or two from time to time. Skyfall was one of the watching. Just when one of the players pulled a generous amount of bits, the speaker in the room activated.

"Commander Skyfall Fleming. Sir you and your squad have the all clear to proceed." A stallion announced.

The brown unicorn sighed and opened his mouth to speak, when another ghost cut him off.

"Yeah, yeah boss we know. Get the kids to be sleepy. Can we at least watch as they squirm and try to resist us?"

Skyfall gave him an angry glare and was about to reply, when the same stallion continued for him.

"Alright, we will do as we were told and won't overdo it with the kids. Thanks for the permit boss. Come on fellas, let’s go mess with the next generation!"

When he finished, the rest of the ghosts returned with a cheer and rushed after him, leaving Skyfall alone in the room. He let out a growl and waked after them.

__________________________________________________________________________

Despite the yellow colt's death, sleep was once again knocking on the cadets' doorstep. Rain Sight was doing her best to stay awake, when suddenly the need for slumber forced itself on her with twice the force. She also felt a strange sensation in her brain, which she quickly recognized as someone attempting to enter her mind. Then she noticed that all the ponies around her began to show similar symptoms.

With that distraction, she didn't see the pegasus, who she had "beaten", approach her. When he was close enough he grabbed her by the throat and began to push against the wall. As she struggled he spoke.

"You know, now that the bracelets are off, we all can pretty much do anything we want. I don't even have to kill you myself. I just have to choke you long enough for you to lose conscious, and the parasites will do the rest."

'The ghosts' influence is making him neglect his own safety, just so he can kill me?' She thought as she continued attempting to remove his hands from her throat.

__________________________________________________________________________

"Whoa! Guys look, we made that kid over there in the corner lose it so much he is just getting on that girl, without carrying if he dies or not!" One of the ghosts exclaimed.

They had gathered in the room, which also had a view of the cadets, beneath the observatory, some even placing bets on which ones would either make it...or wouldn't.

"Great job bud. Go forth and conquer before the end!" Another one stated.

Skyfall groaned. Then something about the colt all of his companions were talking about got his attention. He decided to take a sneak peek in his thoughts. The stallion's eyes widened as he saw the pegasus's true intentions. He was about to announce his discovery, when another ghost took the spotlight from him.

"HOLY SHIT! Guys, he isn't trying to have his way with her, he is legit trying to kill her!"

"DAAAAAAAAAAAMN!" Everyone but Skyfall and the speaker said in union.

After that the brown unicorn just let out a loud mix of a groan and growl, as if saying he gave up, and sat on a nearby chair.

__________________________________________________________________________

The ghosts were not the only ones who took notice of what the colt was doing. Above them the two stallions stared at the scene with their mouths agape.

"Do you think it was a bright idea from the commander to tell the cadets that the bracelets were off?" One asked.

When he heard the question, the other put on a confused expression, turned towards his colleague and replied with a question of his own.

"When has the commander ever had bright ideas?"

The beginner of the argument looked at his friend for a while.

"Touché." He returned as both once again turned their eyes at the display.

__________________________________________________________________________

"G-het oph." Rain barely managed to squeeze out.

Everyone in the room had gathered to watch, but none intervened. If anything it was something that kept them distracted and awake.

"What was that? You'll have to speak up." The colt taunted.

'Screw morals, ethics and regards for other life.' The commander's words passed through the purple filly's mind.

With the last bit of breath she had, her hands moved from his to underneath his armpits and pulled, while her legs stationed themselves under his gut and pushed up.

"GET OFF!" She yelled, as the colt's grip removed itself, and his head was driven in the wall, knocking him out cold.

Now free, Rain Sight began to take in quick deep breaths, while staring at the pegasus on the floor. When her breathing stabilized she glanced at the surrounding her ponies. The spite and malice directed towards her had only increased. She simply averted her eyes, leaned against the wall once again and did not mind them, now trying to do her best to force the ghost out of her head, which appeared to be a challenge above her abilities.

The other cadets continued to glare at Rain Sight, but she did not look back. She just stared at the wall, furrowing her brow in what they deducted was fighting against the presence in her head, but aside from that her eyes were empty. Unlike the previous two accidents, where she appeared shocked, scared and sorry, this time there was nothing. No care, no remorse, just cold. That, along with their brains being toyed with, make the cadets lose interest in her and returned to keeping themselves awake.

__________________________________________________________________________

The encounter with the colt had managed to keep her going for about fifteen minutes, at least that's the amount of time Rain Sight thought had passed, but the influence of the ghost was starting to overwhelm her, making her close her eyes, and lose consciousness. It even brought up some of her good memories with the intention of relaxing her. As her brain was mashed, the memory of when her brother had survived that attack, and she saw him in the hospital made it in front of her eyes.

'The spike in his adrenaline and other hyping chemicals might have cause certain cell strains to mutate, increasing their capabilities.' She remembered the words of the doctor.

Then she remembered about the poison she had made, and its effects. If what the commander said was true, and she did survive a lot longer than the predicted time effect, then that must have been the first sign for her mutation - the slightly accelerated healing. Then another thought came to mind - the syringe she had hidden in her precision glove. With its effects, she could boost her body's functions long enough to resist the influence and make it through the five hours. But then, how would she make it without an antidote, and even if she did, injecting the poison harbored the chance of making her mutate, or accelerate mutation if it had already started.

However, the next push the ghost made on getting her unconscious gave her the realization, that if she did not, her brain was going to become parasite chow. So she hesitantly took out the syringe, looked at it for a moment, and jammed it into her shoulder. Almost instantly all of her senses shot back up into action, with double the initiative than normal. She started to hyperventilate, and her heart rate increased, while her muscles spasmed. Several minutes later sweat broke out. Her vision blurred, and she felt overly tired. The only good thing per se was that the ghost's presence was no longer a bother.

Despite her efforts, she couldn't hold it any more. She slowly slid from the wall and dropped on the floor. Her eyes began closing, when a piercing pain erupted from her shoulder. Suddenly her vision actually began to better, as she looked up and saw a pony in a white coat, kneeling down to her, with a syringe in his hoof.

"All clear." She barely managed to hear him say.

Then he moved and in her view stepped Moonraker.

"Damn girl, you looked messed up. You missed my entire speech and the double fail signs." He said.

"W-ha-? H-ow...?" Rain Sight barely uttered.

"We saw you taking a syringe without asking permission, so of course I had the lab boys synthesize some of that antidote for your poison just in case. And a good thing too. You look more beaten up than anyone else from the cadets." He paused for a moment. "Well, aside from those two guys who died. But anyway, I'd say you earned yourself a good night sleep, so good night." He finished.

"Ghat haid." The filly muttered as darkness enveloped the world around her.

Author's Note:

Comment, rate, favorite, follow and have a nice day.

Comments

[Gapeagle]

for some reason, Moonraker sounds like Cave Johnson from Portal to me.

[KRissCHu573]

3099859 Really? Huh...I was trying to use Deadpool as a template for him.

[Unholyheaven]

"This thought process has caused the DI a lot of lost funds." She began her explanation. "Depending on the stallion's condition, different amounts of drugs need to be used. The lower his guard is, the less is needed. Along with that confinement is both a drain on resources, and also if the said stallion is enleagued with someone, they will notice his disappearance, while if he just enters a motel room with a mare, they won't bother too much. Also, if he proves a useless source we have to dispose of him. If we have confined him beforehoof, that would be just time and money sent on the wind. Does that answer your question Rain Sight?" The yellow unicorn enquired.

This actually makes a lot of sense!

[KRissCHu573]

3102696 31.media.tumblr.com/08ad6234a4cb8feca6b1b27c1d328a67/tumblr_mq8uos4aY01rvdi2yo1_500.gif
Glad you approve.