This fic continues The Tale of an Exile, telling the story of Rain Sight's training within Dominion Intelligence.
After their permanet settling on Korhal, Karn and Rain Sight are recruited into the DI. Unlike her father, the little filly has next to no experiance in that field of work. So, she undergoes a tough 10 year training, which along with the problems her family name brings her with the other cadets results in a not so perfect childhood. How does she make it through, and at what cost?
Rain Sight walked along with her father, Eye Glass and a black earth pony stallion with golden eyes, who she did not know, to a small single floored building with a single door, located in a back alley. Karn had told her that Dominion Intelligence would have him killed, and would do something even worse to her if he did not agree for both of them to work as their agents. That was nowhere close to making the filly feel even a tad bit better about the situation. Even though she was in the company of three stallions who knew how to defend themselves pretty well, the darkness of the alley made her feel uneasy, so she walked as close as she could to her dad, while looking around with a worried expression.
When they got to the building, the black stallion made four quick knocks, paused for a second, made one slow knock, immediately followed by another round of four quick knocks.
"I recommend both of you to remember this combination." He addressed the other two stallions.
In a few moments the door opened, revealing a teal stallion's head. He had a goldish-brown mane and green eyes. He took a good look at the group, after which gave the golden eyed earth pony the 'all clear' in the form of a nod. Next the black stallion turned back to Karn and said.
"I hope your goodbye speech isn't too long."
The gray unicorn ignored that statement, knelt down and gave Rain Sight a hug, which she returned as he spoke.
"Honey I am so, so sorry about this."
"It's not your fault daddy." The filly returned, tears escaping her eyes.
"I will come to visit you as often as possible, I promise." He began.
In return she nodded, rubbing her cheek against his chest. Then he pulled her back, looked her in the eyes, and continued.
"I want you to promise me something as well. Promise me that you will be strong! For me, for yourself, for your mom and for Rust. Promise me that you will be strong enough to make it through this."
"I promise daddy! I love you!" She sniveled.
"I love you too sweetie." He returned, once again pulling her in a tight embrace.
A few moments later they broke apart, and Rain walked to the black stallion, who gave Karn a question, while bearing a smile.
"Anything I should know in advance, besides the emergency numbers?"
"Don't force her too much. Bad things can happen." The unicorn returned with a stern voice, and glaring daggers, while thinking. 'Like ripping your head off after she mutates.'
"Right...I will have that in mind." Goldeneye said.
Despite all he had dug up about the templar, he did not know about the condition Rain Sight had.
"Don't worry about us. We're gonna have lots of fun. Just go out there and do your job." The earth pony added, bearing a reassuring smile.
The two unicorns however did not buy it. As they walked off Karn gave him a death glare, and Eye Glass made an 'I've got my eyes on you.' gesture with his hoof. Then the stallion looked down at the frightened filly and said in the most friendly tone he could bring out.
"Hey there, I am Goldeneye. And what's your name?"
"Y-y-you already know it." She returned.
"That may be true, but I want to build a friendly connection here. I'm just trying to accomplish that, without feeding you an omelet, in which I had put my hoof." He finished his statement with a laugh.
The filly however remained silent with a frightened expression.
"What? Don't you watch cartoons?" He enquired when he got no reaction.
"I do, but...I don't really feel like laughing right now." Rain Sight sheepishly admitted.
'Oh brother.' Goldeneye groaned mentally, putting on a deadpan expression.
He slammed his hoof on his face, and slowly stroked it down, stretching his skin, before taking a deep breath.
'Okay, I can still make this work.' He thought, before saying.
"Look Rain, I know that this isn't where you imagined yourself at this age, but the sooner you start this, the sooner it will end. So how about that? Shall we?" He then gestured towards the open door.
She stood in place for a moment, but after that hesitantly entered, followed by the black stallion. Once both of them were in, the door slammed shut.
Inside, Goldeneye led her to a dress room of sorts, where they got her into a black spandex suit, and placed a silverish bracelet, with a small monitor, which displayed - 776-G-R0 in red lettering. When she got out, she followed the stallion though the facility. After they passed by the chemistry lab and entered a long hallway Rain Sight asked sheepishly.
"So...what am I going to do now?"
"Now you are going to meet your classmates. Seriously, haven't you gone to school before?" Goldeneye returned.
She lowered her head and stared at the floor, with a saddened expression. That made her escort groan, after which he said.
"Come on kid. Stop taking things so literally. Loosen up a bit." He ended his statement giving her a light push.
That however did not have the desired effect. Actually it didn't have any effect at all, as the filly continued her quiet follow.
"Fine! Be that way. Moonraker's gonna have a tough time trying to get to you." The stallion snapped.
They continued, until they reached a metal door, guarded by two ponies in power armor. When they saw the commander they stepped away, one of them pressing a button, which opened the door. It revealed a dark empty room.
"In you go." Goldeneye deadpanned, giving the filly a little push.
With a lot of hesitation she entered and the door closed. She wondered what the point of putting her in a large empty room was as she continued her walk further in. All of those thoughts disappeared when she bumped into something and heard the voice of a colt.
"Hey watch it!"
"Sorry, sorry." She quickly said, backed up several steps, and stopped in place.
In return she received a gruff. She was really scared, and wanted to just close her eyes and cry. Her dad to calm her down and that everything was okay. And when she opened them everything to actually be okay. But as much as she wanted to do it, she couldn't. She promised her dad that she would be strong and make it through this. Suddenly a loud noise of clanking metal was heard, turning hers, and whoever else was in the room's attention at a platform which started raising itself from the floor. There was also a metal bridge stretching itself towards the platform. Rain Sight made out the shape of a pony making its way down the bridge.
When it aligned with the platform, and the mysterious figure stood on it, a light came from the ceiling and revealed it to be a red pegasus stallion, with a black mane and black fur spots on his eyes, making the white in them to stand out. He wore a blue jacket with five red letters - DINGA, embroidered on the left side, a white cap hat turned backwards and mechanical gloves and boots currently in quadrupedal mode on all of his hooves. Also a whistle could be seen on a chain around his neck, along with a pair of dog-tags.
A white mare in a white coat ran up to him, placing a set of headphones over his head and then went away. He brought the microphone on the headphones to his mouth, lightly tapped it and spoke.
"Testing, testing 1, 2, 3. 1, 2, 3." His voice echoed through the entire room.
Rain heard multiple grumbles and murmurs, indicating that whoever was in there with her was just as confused. Then they silenced themselves as the stallion spoke again.
"Sorry about that. You can never be too sure with this equipment."
He took a deep breath, before continuing in a cheerful tone, which didn't really fit the situation.
"Fillies and gentlecolts, welcome to the Dominion Intelligence Non-Ghost Academy."
He heard several giggles from his hidden crowd, and a comment, probably made by a colt.
"They seriously named this place DINGA?"
"Hey!" The stallion exclaimed, silencing the crowd, after which he continued. "That is a very awesome name, made by yours truly..." He gestured to himself. "...Sadly though, I'm the only one who calls it like that, because apparently nobody in high command appreciates true talent. Oh, and before you ask, no, you can't have a jacket. Mainly because this is the only one, custom make." He proudly said.
More murmurs could be heard. Once they died down, the stallion spoke again.
"From this moment forth, all of you are part of class Enigma-17-Niner, and I - commander Moonraker Fleming, will be your trainer, coach, warden, executioner, savior, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera." He spun his hoof as he listed off his duties.
Suddenly, he took off his cap, and his cheerful expression turned into a deathly dark one. Then he said in a bone chilling tone.
"I will have you know, that my class has never, I repeat, NEVER, failed grading by higher command at the end of its training period. So get this you little shits, you will make it out of here either as one of the most elite and feared units in the sector, or in a body bag if you are lucky. Do I make myself clear?"
A wave of terrified 'Yes!' or 'Yes sir!' hit him. He knew that not all of the attendants replied, but he was certain that the part which remained silent were nodding their heads off. Rain Sight being one of the latter.
"Good..." He began sinisterly.
Then he put his cap back on, his expression turning from cold-dark-death to warm-sunny-sweetness, and he continued in a cheerful tone.
"Okay, now I am going to run you over..."
The crowd interrupted him with a loud gasp.
"...with the training program." He finished.
The attendants sighed in relief.
"Why are you sighing? You should be terrified." Moonraker said, earning not a wave of gasps, but a wall of frightened gazes.
The same white mare ran up to him again, handing him a tablet and a pen. He activated his mechanical limbs, standing up on two legs and took the device, after which he spoke.
"Alright, as it has obviously revealed itself to you, here we train agents, without the use of fancy-shmancy-magicy-what not that unicorns have." He made quote gestures.
"Nothing personal bro." The stallion said, confusing the kids, after which he continued. "That part comes later on, though high command wants to see your magic capabilities, and their improvement, so unicorns. until your magic training begins try to use your magic as much as possible. For now however, you will be learning how to use these puppies." He stated as he flexed his mechanical arms.
Then he once again stood normaly, pointed the pen at the crowd and said in what seemed like a saddened tone.
"All you pegasi out there, I am sorry that we had to restrain your wings, I truly am, but don't worry. In a few years you will get to use them again."
The ending of that statement earned him a lot of disappointed groans.
'So there are a lot of pegasi here. Great.' Rain Sight deducted.
Then he continued.
"As for you unicorns who thought..." He placed both palms on his cheeks, making a fangril like face. "...'Hermagerth! I'ma be invisible and jerk around in pople's brains!'..." He returned to his normal stance. "...Yeah no. You won't get to do that." 'Unless you show you're worth the bother.' He thought, before addressing the attending ponies once again. "So, pretty much you are all on equal grounds...Please prove me wrong on this one."
After another minute of murmurs Moonraker continued.
"I want you kids to motivate yourselves. You may be school drop outs, homeless, orphans or whatever out there, but in here, you are going to become that which proves that them wimpy ghosts aren't the elite of the Dominion!" The stallion exclaimed, after which gave another apology to someone going under the title 'bro'.
His next words however, brought a good amount of unease to the ponies.
"Oh, I should mention that those bracelets you got..." Everyone looked down at their bracelets. "...are equipped with a remote control electric generator. If anyone of you attempts to escape, and/or remove said bracelets, or misbehave will receive a reaaallly nasty shock."
Several thuds could be heard, indicating that a few weak hearted fillies, and possibly colts, fainted.
"Someone pick them up." Moonraker instructed, before continuing. "Next, any of you who still have any sort of family and/or friends, which are already connected with the DI may sometimes receive visits from them. The ones of you who don't...well...life sucks. Grow some balls, take off your purses and high heels and take it."
A good number of sobs, and cries was heard. A few moms were also called to help. Rain Sight did not manage to hold her own tears back, but at least she made sure to be quiet.
"Okay, you guys took it a lot better than I expected. Good job!" Moonraker stated, giving them a thumbs up.
Then he looked down at the tablet, scrolled with the pen and continued.
"So, for the first several months we will work on your mental and physical endurance, efficiency with precision gloves, chemistry, math, yada-yada-yada, boring school stuff, oh the ladies will have seduction classes, nice..., and martial combat, where you might have the chance to spar with either some of our finest agents, your peers or me. This should be fun!" He exclaimed, a wide smile coloring his face.
That however, was not received as such good news by the cadets.
"Alright, I believe it's time for introductions. If you have any requests, praises..." He took of his cap, becoming frightening once again. "...complaints..." He put it on, continuing with a cheerful tone. "...turn to me. If I am not around then ask any of the staff about Moonraker, or if you feel more professional than personal - commander Fleming. Now to see what fine hundred have I been given."
'One hundred?! There's one hundred of us here?!' Rain thought.
"Let's see now..." He started scrolling down the tablet with the pen. "Francis Morena."
Another light from the ceiling turned on, revealing a silverish pegasus colt with a red mane to all of the ponies in the room.
"Nightshade Star Dust."
The next to be revealed was a night blue earth pony filly with a dark purple mane.
"Glade Gilson."
That was a green earth pony colt. And so, Moonraker had listed about forty more names, the room becoming more and more visible. Then, as he scrolled down, his eye widened in pleasant surprise, after which he spoke.
"Well, well, look who we have here."
'Oh no!' Rain thought, her eyes widening in terror.
"Rain Sight.."
'Oh god please don't say it!' She prayed.
"...High Ground..."
'NO! PLEASE NO!' The filly screamed mentally, her eyes pouring out tears once more.
Sadly, her prayers had fallen on deaf ears, as the stallion finished with a smirk.
"...de Steel Wing."
Everyone in the room gasped in surprise, turning their heads towards her as a light revealed her. That very moment she brought her head to the ground and covered it with her forelegs, now sobbing. Not a moment later the insults and threats began to fly in.
"Bitch!" "Confederate scum!" "Go die in a fire!" Were just few of them.
Next a purple colt with a brown mane walked up to her and shouted.
"My dad died fighting you monsters!" After which he bucked her from the side, sending her down on the ground.
As that continued she curled up in a ball, and continued to cry. The colt walked up to her for more, but just as he was about to land another hit his bracelet beeped, followed by him stopping in place as electricity surged through his body. A second later he fell on the ground, steam coming from his body. That's when everyone but Rain Sight, who was still mimicking a ball, looked up at Moonraker. The stallion removed the pen from a button on the tablet. What scared the crowd the most was that he wasn't wearing the cap, and his cold glare poured itself on them. When the electrocuted colt came to, and faced him, the trainer spoke in a stern tone.
"That was a warning to all of you. The only one who can use unauthorized violence here is me! If anyone else does anything like that, he or she will receive a lethal shock. Am I clear you filthy, not to mention EXPENDABLE good for nothings?!"
The majority of replies was a frightened 'Yes sir!', along with the 'Yes!' and overnodding. Only this time the replies were accompanied by a couple of faints.
"I want you all to know something. I may be a nice guy, but I am no afraid to get rid of a few bodies who are more trouble than worth. So I'd highly recomend you don't try my nerves." He finished, after which he put the cap back on, only he continued to list names with a tone filled with malice, instead of niceness.
When he was done, and all of the fillies and colts were revealed in light, Moonraker continued with his instruction. "You will have your food breaks at your rooms. Also, tomorrow in chemistry you will be making poisons, which should be able to do their job in about 10 minutes, as well as suitible antidotes for them. You will find the books you need on the subject and the other classes which require reading in your rooms. You have the courtesy of a clock, so I want you to read all of the books from cover to cover before lights out."
He did another scroll down the tabled, before giving them the end of the instruction.
"Another things about your bracelets, I want you all to look at them."
The ponies followed the order. Their numbers changed into a five digit code for a brief moment, before returning to the numbers. Rain Sight's was 09341. She had managed to recover as best as possible from the colt's attack, and it's emotional effect. Now all of the wondering cadets looked up at Moonraker, who spoke.
"The codes you were given are very important!" He emphasized on important. "You have to remember them, and NOT let anyone know what they were. Burry them deep in your mind, so that no one can ever find them. And if you think it's a good idea to share or switch them with any of your classmates, well...let me just tell you, it's a VERY bad idea!"
With that said, even those who had thought about it, lost any sort of desire to do so.
"That is all. Now a staff member will escort you to your rooms. I'll be seeing you all bright and early for training." Moonraker finished.
The projector that was on him turned off, as he walked back on the bridge. At the same time the platform lowered itself and said bridge pulled back. As he said, multiple ponies in uniforms came in and led the cadets in fours. Rain Sight trailed behind the other three which were left to be with her. Not just them, but every other cadet looked at her with spite, which had a great toll on her emotional stability. The entire way she just stared at the floor, and would have certainly missed her room if the accompanying her staff member had not told her they arrived.
The room itself wasn't much different from a cell. A single bed chained to the wall, a door separated a small bathroom from the main room, and when she entered the door to the facility was locked. If not anything she was glad that she was finally left alone, excluding the several cameras hidden in the room. What made her even happier was the small pile of books waiting her at the end of the bed, along with a platter, which had a plate of grilled leeks and tomato salad, an apple and a glass of water on it. She stationed herself on the bed, took a deep breath to clear her mind, took a bite of a leek and picked up the first book on the pile - 'Plants and their effects for beginners Tome I'.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Rain Sight woke up with a scream, her eyes snapping open as she began to hyperventilate. She frantically looked around, taking in her surroundings, as a mixture of fear and disbelief colored her face. She was back home in their house on Meinhoff. She laid on the couch in the living room, covered with her favorite blanket.
"What's going on here?" She said under her breath, as her breathing began to calm down.
The thing which scared her even more, was Rust rushing in the room.
"Rain what's wrong?!" He exclaimed. "I heard you screaming and came as fast as possible."
He only received a confused look in return.
"Rust..." She quietly uttered, slowly reaching a hoof forward, touching his face.
She intensely stroked it, convincing herself that what was happening was real, as her brother put on a deadpan expression.
"Look, this is weird, not to mention VERY uncomfortable." He said as he took her hoof and removed it from his face. "Seriously sis, what's wrong with you?"
"Sorry, I just...had a bad dream." She said.
"What about?" Rust asked.
The filly let out a sigh, before replying.
"In it, you, mom and grandma had died. The police found out that dad was a dark templar, and we moved to Korhal. There DI snuffed dad out, so they made him agree on the two of us becoming their agents, and I was in this academy. It was all just awful!" She finished, burying her face in her hooves, and began to quietly sob.
"Shh, shh, shh." The colt comforted her, as he wrapped his hooves around her. "It's alright sis. You've been watching way too much movies that are unappropriate for you." He joked.
The filly stopped her sobs, and looked up at him with a smile, before saying.
"Yeah, I guess I have."
However, something still bothered her a bit.
"Where is everyone?" She enquired.
"Oh they're outside in the yard." He casually replied.
Rain Sight sighed in relief, after which Rust finished his statement.
"At least their ashes are."
"What?!" She exclaimed, horror making its way on her face.
"As for me, well, hehe, you just couldn't open your mouth and say something about what was happening to me, could you?" Rust said.
She then felt that sensation of her brain being mashed like dough. Despite the realization that a ghost was bringing her darkest thoughts to light, it still felt very real, compelling her to reply to her brother's question.
"You told me not to!"
"Yeah, it's my fault. And if you had told them, they would have probably found a way to fix me, but no, you decided to let my condition develop!" He shouted.
The startled filly pushed herself out of his grasp and jumped behind the sofa, taking several steps back. The colt looked at her from behind the back of the sofa.
"Or maybe you didn't say anything, because you wanted me to have a more appropriate look for the thing you had me to be?" He retored.
"NO! I LOVED YOU RUST! I NEVER THOUGHT ANYTHING BAD ABOUT YOU!" She yelled in protest, tears pouring out of her eyes.
"That so?" He began. "Then why did you leave me to become a nightmare come to life? Why did you let me become..." He paused. "...a monster?"
After those words, something underneath his skin began to move, changing the shape of his body. At that point, Rain Sight did the only thing a frightened filly could think of - run to her parents' room. When she entered, the room was empty. She shut and locked the door. In a moment something started to slam itself against the door. She leaned on the door and started pushing in the opposite direction, in order to keep Rust outside.
The barrage ended in what seemed like a minute. Everything got quiet. The only sound that could be heard were Rain's quickened breaths. She stayed in her position against the door for a while, after which she wiped the sweat from her forehead as she sighed in relief. The very next moment the door got ripped from its hinges and the filly fell on the floor, bombarded by splinters. She was about to get up, when her brother pinned her to the ground. It wasn't the Rust she knew, it was the beast he had become. He stared in her horror filled eyes.
"Farewell...sister." He said coldly, after which he bit down on her throat.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" She yelled in her last moments, closing her eyes so she wouldn't see it coming.
"TIME!" Someone yelled.
Then she opened her eyes, to be greeted by the commander and his brother.
"Wow, minute-thirty. You are improving way better than the others in building up a mental defense. But you're too rough on yourself, gotta work on that." Moonraker said, as he wrote something down on his tablet.
Her breathing had began to calm and her expression turned into a scowl, which she directed at him. The stallion gave her a quick glance, then pointed his pen at her and stated.
"Look kid, others have tried it, and I appreciate the effort, shows that you pay attention in seduction classes, but I am not into under-aged fillies."
'What is this guy talking about?' She thought, after which she noticed her position.
She was on her back, with her legs spread, the spandex suit giving her a slightly slutty look. Her scowl turned into a mix of surprise and embarrassment, as her cheeks became crimson. She let out a loud 'eeep' as she rolled under the bed to hide her shame.
"Aww, hiding under the bed. That's so adorable. You do know we have cameras there too." Moonraker said.
The next moment another 'eep' was heard, followed by a loud 'thud' and an 'OH!', indicating that the filly had hit her head. The commander quietly chuckled, after which spoke in a reassuring tone.
"Come on now, be a mare and get out from under there with some dignity." 'If you still have any left.' He thought.
Slowly the filly crawled out from underneath the bed, her cheeks still red, and stared at the floor.
The stallion walked up to her, picked her head up so that she could look him in the eye, and said.
"Listen, the first day won't be the only bad day you have here. You are currently in a pretty big stream of crap, and you are not getting out any time soon, so quit with the little helpless girl act. Daddy is not coming to save you. You better buck up and get a grip asap, or you will end up on the fail wall. And I am pretty sure you don't want to be there."
He then let her go. She stared at the ground for a moment longer, before asking.
"What happened to that other filly, whose brother died?"
Moonraker gave her a questioning look and enquired.
"Whose what died where?"
"That yellow filly, whose brother fell asleep yesterday." She clarified.
"Oooh." The commanded let out, before shaking his head lightly, and saying with a chuckle. "He isn't dead. Neither is that guy jammed in the wall."
"What?!" The dumbstruck filly exclaimed.
"That's right, you passed out and missed my speech on how the whole parasite thing was just me having a good laugh while seeing how long you guys can stay awake." He causaly said.
Rain just stared at him with her mouth agape. The commander turned around and said.
"Eat up, classes start in ten minutes."
Then both he and Skyfall exited the room. Rain just went to her bed and laid for a couple of minutes, trying to come to terms with what her childhood had turned into, and where it was headed.
For the next few months the training had been pretty much the same. All of the non physical related classes, minus the seduction ones, a quick "double exam" in the chemistry lab, a marathon, or other lots of exercises and toping everything off with an endurance round event.
Through the classes before the lab exams, Rain Sight just sat quietly, writing down everything she was supposed to, and speaking only if asked. Despite that, she had grown apart from the other cadets, but not in a frightful sort of way, but a colder state, courtesy of commander Fleming's "nudges" towards improvement. Everyone's resentment towards her had not deflated, but actually increased, but she started to pay close to no attention to it, simply letting the threats and insults fly by her.
Now that they had more experience with moving on two legs, the cadets managed to outrun Rain Sight. Also pushing or tripping her so she would remain at back, but she was pretty fast on her feet, and quickly managed to get back right in front. After the first month, the others stopped bothering her during that event, both because she was faster and more agile than all of them, and because the theory that she had hacked the commanders controls over the bracelets was still alive. The latter combined with the filly being associated with the death of the two colts which were the most hostile towards her, and her cold demeanor added a slight amount of fear in the other cadets, which served her as protection from other bullies.
She had also managed to figure out a way to make the exams during chemistry a lot safer. Whatever lethal concoction they were told to make, Rain Sight finished with it, but made an antidote, before calling in 'time' on her first mixture. After she was injected with the poison, she waited a little bit, before using the antidote, so it wouldn't seem she did things too fast.
However she had some difficulties regarding the mental defense build up. Her resistance time had increased to ten minutes flat, but after every time a ghost drilled though her brain, she felt very traumatized, mainly because of the fact that the psychs brought up her greatest fears and made them real, even for a little. But after two weeks, she started to experiment on ways how to decrease the emotional pain these "sessions" caused her. Multiple attempts led her to discover, that if she aggressively lunged at the illusion, it was easier to fight it.
Moonraker sat in the observation room, looking through a screen at the cadets as they were undergoing their chemistry class. Everything went as per usual, when the door to the room opened, and entered Goldeneye.
"How are you doing big bro?" The black stallion enquired.
"Goldy?" The red pegasus said in disbelief, before continuing. "I'm doing fine. Can't really say the same about the cadets, but anyhow. What sorcery brought you here?"
"Nothing major, just came to check on how things are doing. Hawkens likes to be well updated you know." The earth pony replied.
He then walked up and saw how the staff members injected the cadets with their creations. He slightly winced, making sure his elder brother didn't see him, after which he asked.
"Run by me again, how poisoning them, and after that making them cook up antidotes is good for them?"
Moonraker groaned, after which he began his explanation.
"It's kinda like "building-mental-defenses training". The more poisons they are exposed to, the more their immune system strengthens against similar effects. And if they can make antidotes in the time limit said poisons work, they can actually make it on a mission. Plus, since they are in this academy, they just have to learn how to make proper poisons."
"If I recall correctly, there were two other reasons." Goldeneye added casually.
"It also builds character, and is lots of fun to watch." His brother snickered.
"Eyup, there's the guy I call brother." The black stallion sighed.
"Meh, what evs." The red stallion said, after which he returned to watch the unlucky children's suffering.
His brother also turned his attention in the same direction, his gaze focusing on a certain purple filly.
"So, she's still alive. That's good news." He stated, before addressing his sibling. "How are you doing on getting through to her?"
"The process is tough I admit. She's one tough cracker. But progress is made nonetheless!" The pegasus returned.
"Really? I honestly don't see much difference from the day I left her here." The earth pony said questioningly.
His brother chuckled sinisterly, before answering.
"When you brought her, she was so scared of everyone, cuss they found out she was Confederate, and they beat her and what not, but since then, she has pretty much been the cause of two deaths, one not an actual death, but still. She's adept in most of the classes, for some reason she's not doing oh so great in the seduction area. She's also the fastest one of the bunch, and her poison making skills are simply amazing. The staff often ask themselves if she isn't just pouring water in the syringes and after injection pretends to have any symptoms, because her zerg dna somehow helps her outlast the time to poison takes to work. And best of all, she pretty much no longer gives a buck about the threats and insults she receives on a daily basis. I call that 'GREAT SUCCESS!' on my part." He finished, by putting on a proud grin.
The younger sibling just stared at him with a dumbstruck expression. Suddenly Moonraker's enthusiasm vanished, as he spoke with a serious tone.
"Sadly, she only got that for in front of people, but she is still way too hard on herself, not motivating herself to improve more, and I don't approve of that! But I have a plan on how to change the situation."
"And how would you do that?" Goldeneye enquired.
"You told the dark temp he can come visit her, right?" The red stallion asked.
"Yes." His brother replied.
"And you told him the things I permit to be given as gifts, right?" The pegasus questioned again.
"Yes." The earth pony repeated.
"Then just wait until tomorrow dear brother, and you shall see." The elder said with a cheerful tone.
"Is it really a good idea to bring him to see her?" The black stallion questioned, before continuing. "I mean, the guy will be pretty pissed after he learns what is being done to his daughter here. And I'm pretty sure you saw the file for that one job where he had a bad day."
"Don't sweat it bro. I've got everything covered." Moonraker reassured, as he once again turned his attention towards the cadets.
When the last event for the evening was over, Rain Sight headed for her room, to take a shower. Before entering the bathroom she took off her suit, and left it on her bed, knowing that by the time she was out, it would be replaced with a new one by the staff. As she washed herself, she felt some strange sensation on her lower body, but dismissed it as nothing important. After she was done, she got dressed and went to sleep, unaware of what was going to happen tomorrow.
Rain Sight was in the middle of a nice dream, where her family were still alive, she had found herself a handsome and sweet coltfriend, and everything was pretty much sunshine, lollipops and rainbows. Everyone was at their farmhouse having dinner, when something began to seem out of place to her. She then realized that she didn't feel her brain even itch. The dream had been going for a while, and no one had accused her of ruining their life and then attacking her. Everything was perfect. It really bothered her.
All of a sudden she felt something poking her from the side. The dream seized and she once again felt herself lay on her bed in the academy. Now the pokes felt more like gentle nudges than actually pokes. She slowly opened her eyes to be greeted by her father's face.
"Good morning princess." He said with a warm smile on his face.
What followed next was something he did not expect. Suddenly the filly lunged at him, taking him off guard and tackling him on the floor. She took several swings at his face, which he blocked, after which she yelled.
"You can stop with this bull shit! I know this isn't real and I would really like to wake up now!"
"Um...Rain...I don't know how to break this to you...but this isn't a simulation." Commander Flemming said, standing at the door.
"W-w-what?" She stuttered as she turned her gaze towards him.
Next to him stood the black stallion, who brought her in.
"Yeah..." Moonraker rubbed the back of his head. "That's actually your real dad."
Rain Sight slowly turned her head and looked down, with frightened eyes, at her father, who now bore a scowl.
"D-dad?" She quietly let out.
"Young lady we'll talk about your potty mouth later. Now..." He turned his head towards the two stallions. "What the buck is this supposed to be?"
'Oh the irony.' The two thought in union, before the pegasus replied.
"Nothing. The mornings begin with simulations for developing mental defenses. Completely standart. Every cadet goes through them. Now I recon you two would like some alone time, so we'll be taking our leave." He finished, after which he and his brother turned around to walk away, but stopped as the filly shot them a question of her own.
"What's going on?"
"Well..." Moonraker began. "Do you remember how some of the cadets did not show up for a full day, but came back on the next and weren't on the fail wall?"
The filly nodded, after which he continued.
"Those days were their birthdays. Did I forget to mention that if you make it to your birthday you get the day off, no training, no nothing. In your case you get to spend the whole day with your dad."
"But why would you allow that?" She enquired, with obvious disbelief in her tone.
"Because I'm a nice guy." He offendedly said. "Why doesn't anyone believe that?"
"Do you want the full version, or the short one?" Goldeneye deadpanned.
The pegasus glared t his sibling, before addressing the two.
"Any way, it's very nice that you get two presents for your birthday."
"Two?" Rain Sight and Karn said in union.
"What? You did shower yesterday, right?" The commander questioned.
"Yeah, so?" The filly returned, a light blush coloring her face.
That made the stallion facepalm.
"Just, give yourself a good check under the suit, I'm not going to ruin the surprise. " He said.
After which he walked off, along with his brother, as he stated.
"Happy birthday."
When they left, they closed the door.
'You getting anything out of there?' Moonraker asked mentally.
'Just from the girl sir. The guy has built up quite a defense on himself. We'll on;y be able to get hlaf of the conversation, the rest will be just video footage from the cameras.' A stallion replied to him.
'Damn it!' The pegasus cursed as he gritted his teeth.
"What's the matter bro?" Goldeneye enquired with a smirk on his face.
"We can't get any audio on what our buddy in the shadows is saying. Man I really hate it to be in the dark!" Moonraker returned.
"Why don't you dismiss my suggestion of adding more than just video, but also audio recorders in the rooms." The black stallion proudly said.
"Well SOO-H-RY for not wanting to waste money on that, given the fact that I have an entire facility crawling with ghosts at my beck and call!" The pegasus snapped back.
"Sheesh man, no need to get violent, I was just teasing." Goldeneye stated defensively.
His brother just groaned, before giving another mental message to the psych on the other end.
'Keep monitoring them. If anything comes up, inform me immediately.'
'Copy that sir.'
In the meantime, Rain Sight had gotten off of her dad, and tightly hugged him, burring her face in his chest.
"I missed you daddy!" She cried out.
"I know honey. I missed you too." Karn replied, returning the embrace.
Without his daughter's knowledge, he went into her mind to see what has been going for the past months. She did not feel anything, because unlike the ghosts who drilled deep in her brain, he gently stood on the top layer, simply observing that which surfaced. Probably because of his arrival, almost everything she had been through came to light.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't come sooner, or more often, but..." He began, but did not know how to continue.
"It's okay daddy." The filly finished for him. "I know that if you didn't do what they said, bad things would happen."
'Oh my darling...You have no idea how sorry I am that you had to ever gain that knowledge.' He thought, before changing the subject. "What did that guy mean by 'giving yourself a good check'?"
"I don't know." Rain Sight returned.
Then she pulled up her suit, her eyes widening in awe, after which she yelled with joy.
"YES! YES!"
"I can't believe I lived up to see that!" Karn said with a cheerful tone, as he hugged her with one hoof, and ruffled her mane with the other, after which he finished. "My little girl got her cutiemark!"
On the filly's flank could be seen the image of a horseshoe, surrounded by a puddle of rain drops.
"Best. Present. EVER!" She shouted with glee.
"So...you won't want this?" The stallion asked, pulling a medium sized present box from underneath his cloak.
"Whaa?" She asked, barely keeping her joy contained.
"It's your birthday, and you'd think I wouldn't get you anything for it?" Her dad enquired, before hoofing her the box, and saying. "Come on, open it up."
With a smile on her face, the filly did just that. Inside she found a music player, along with a set of headphones. She was speechless as she looked up at her father.
"I couldn't remember all of your favorite songs, so I asked the person at the store to input the ones I remembered and the most popular songs from the same genre." Karn said as he rubbed the back of his head.
What he received in return was his daughter hugging him across the neck. She had calmed down, and he could feel her tears making contact with his skin.
"I take that back." She slowly spoke. "The chance to see you again daddy is the best present ever."
"It's the same for me too sweetie." He said as he returned the embrace.
Even though they couldn't exit the facility, the two took a stroll through it, catching up on what had happened in the past time. Rain Sight was both surprised and astonished to find out that her dad was going after the record for most dark templar caught in the time of service. She also tried out her new player, feeling pretty well that her dad had managed to input songs she actually liked.
When they went back to her room, they found a small vanilla cake with nine candles on top. Next to it was a note, which showed that it was courtesy of commander Flemming. Despite that the two enjoyed the pastry.
Rain Sight couldn't hide that she was saddened when her dad had to leave. But she couldn't do anything about that, so she just shared one last hug with him, and tried to keep her cool. When she was once again alone in her room she put on the headphones, leaving the device to play the full playlist of songs until she felt like sleeping. Along with that she buried her face in her pillow and started to quietly sob.
Moonraker sat in the observation room, looking at the filly, his eyes narrowed in disapproval, as he twisted the pen for his tablet in his mouth. Next to him stood Goldeneye, who shot him with a question.
"I thought your idea was to cheer her up, not make thing worse. Seriously, why do you even allow people to bring them presents?"
"You know Goldy, I don't allow presents which can hack into the battlenet, but I really approve of presents which can be hacked with it." The pegasus stated, as he took the pen in his hand, and started to press various button combinations on his tablet.
"What are you doing?" The earth pony questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Dear brother, songs can have a pretty decent impact on someone's mind." Moonraker began. "That's why them crazy scientists out there use them for brain washing. There is something similar I like to do, but not that extreme as brain washing." He finished, pressing one final button.
"What do you plan on doing?" The black stallion enquired.
The song Rain was listening to ended, and the next one began.
Carry on my wayward son! There'll be piece when you're done. Lay your weary head to rest. Don't you cry no more.
Her tears stopped as the song went on. It calmed her down, making her think over everything that had happened so far. The memory of the promise she made to her dad when she was brought here stuck in her head.
The song ended, and the next one in line started up.
(I) I am the one (The one) Who lost control (Control) But in the end I'd be the Last Man Standing!
(I) I am the one (The one) Who sold his soul (His soul) Forever gone to be the Last Man Standing tall!
That one made her feel strange. She remembered everyone who had ever looked down upon her, and did her wrong, just because of her name. Dark thoughts crept themselves in her mind, bound by the desire to prove all of them wrong. That she wasn't some worthless piece of flesh, but someone, who if they should treat with proper respect.
There was no singing, just instrumental. But despite that, it made every doubt Rain Sight had about her wish, to be accepted and respected, vanish from her mind. She wiped the dried tears from underneath her eyes, and a determined expression made its way on her face. When the music ended, she took off the headphones, turned off the player and went to sleep.
The following morning was also a quiet one. Rain Sight woke up on her own, not feeling anyone drill in her head. She glanced at the clock on the wall across from her bed, and saw that it was a couple of minutes before the commander usually came in, with a ghost to wake her up. Then she noticed something disturbing, the door to her room was wide open, looking like something rammed it open. Next the scent of rotting flesh hit her nostrils. She looked down at the floor to see her father's corpse. It had multiple open wounds, cuts and there was a hole in his midsection, his guts, or at least what was left of them, showing out.
The sight made her gasp, but before she could, she instinctively brought a hoof over her mouth. After removing it, a moment later, she saw that there was blood on it, but that wasn't what shocked her the most. Some sort of dark purple carapace had grown over her hoof. She quickly got off the bed and rushed to the bathroom, standing in front of the mirror. In it she saw the reflection of a monster. Almost all of her body had carapace on it, her eyes were glowing green, he mouth filled with razor sharp teeth, and she also saw two spiked limbs coming out of her back. The very next moment she backed herself against the wall.
When a bit of the shock passed, she walked over to her father, dropping on her knees right in front of his head. She was about to cry, when a sudden realization hit her. She got up, walked over to the opened door, grabbed it with one hoof, and slammed it shut. She heard a loud 'OW!', followed by a thud, after which she glanced at her hooves, sighing in relief that the carapace was gone. Next she turned around and saw that her mauled dad was no longer in the room. Then she slowly opened the door, where she was met by a dumbstruck Moonraker, who held his tablet and pen. Down on the floor next to him was a cyan unicorn colt in ghost armor, rubbing his forehead. There was awkward silence for a moment, after which the commander groaned, started writing something down on his tablet, and saying.
"Ugh, this is what I get when I agree to use not fully trained recruits, who can't do things from a distance, just so they can practice. You on the other hand, I like your hustle. Perfect for today's training sequence."
"Sir, do you know what he made me see?" The filly asked.
"Eyup." The stallion casually replied.
At this point Rain had had it with this guy, and at this moment she wasn't feeling very restrained, so she right out told him something she had wanted to tell him ever since day one, but couldn't muster the courage to do so.
"Sir you are a big fat jerk, you know that?"
Moonraker gave her a questioning look, raising a brow, after which he asked with a stern tone.
"What did you call me?"
"A big fat jerk, sir." She replied.
The stallion continued his glare, but the filly did not even flinch. She just continued to stare at him with the 'no bucks given' look. The awkward stare down continued for a few seconds, before the commander did a fist pump and started yelling.
"YES! YES! YES!"
That changed Rain Sight's expression from one of indifference, into a mix of surprise and confusion.
"Did I miss something?" She simply asked.
The stallion handed his device to the colt, who had gotten up on his legs, then he grabbed the filly's head, getting is face uncomfortably close to hers, and saying.
"Don't you see? You were the biggest pushover from the entire class. Everyone pushed you around, pertty much using you as a door mat, always feeling guilt, because you acted in self defense! And now, you insulted high command without giving a rat's ass about it!" He let her go, getting back to his full height. "The operation was successful." He stated proudly, a grin coloring his face.
"What operation?" The still dumbstruck filly enquired.
"You know all those bad things that happened to you, which made everyone hostile towards you?" The stallion gave her a question of his own.
After receiving a nod, he continued.
"I was the one who arranged for those things to happen. And before you ask why, take a look at yourself. You adapted to the environment. You're no longer a door mat, but a trap door to a pit of spikes."
She stared at him, while letting out a questioning 'huh'.
"Yeah, probably not the best example, but the point stands. You changed, personality wise, from the quiet, beating taking, self pity, helpless little filly, into a determined, self aware, ready to fight...well..." He paused, his cheerful tone downing a bit. "...you're still a little filly, but time can take care of that." He finished.
Then he turned around, looked up and pointed a finger at the cieling, after which he yelled.
"And you said someone who is mentally unstable can't properly train recruits for an intelligence agency!"
Next he quieted down, taking back his tablet. He turned towards Rain Sight and poke in a calm tone.
"I was actually starting to lose hope that you wouldn't accept the change in time, but I was wrong. And it's a good thing you did. Your..." He made quote gestures. "...transformation timing couldn't have been more perfect."
"Why is that sir?" She questioned.
A mischievous smirk made its way on Moonraker's face, after which he replied.
The first few hours of the day passed as per usual, the cadets going through their non physical classes. Following suit was chemistry class, but after it, instead of the course, the staff took everyone to a room, which was fitted like a dojo from the Earth era movies. In the room were commander Fleming, and four other ponies the cadets did not know.
"Good day cadets." The red stallion began. "As you have been informed, today we start with combat training."
The cadets were stationed in a line, and he started to slowly walk along them, his hands behind his back, and spoke.
"First of, we will start up hand to hand combat, and martial arts, which can help you out, even if you have forgotten your hands at home. Think of it as an endurance event, in which you have to bring pain to others. Easy to pass through. I will keep the training sequence after this one a secret. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised." He finished, giving the class a sly smile.
That immediately made most of them start to sweat from fear. The commander walked back in front of them and stated.
"By now you should have mastered the precision gloves and greaves do at least a base degree. And I am pretty sure the not so few fights some of you got into..." He gave them a scowl. "...have helped you get used to punching stuff. So, now me and my colleagues will show you all a few techniques, and you have to at least get close to doing them properly until the end of the class. Now, without any further delay, let's begin." He finished.
The commander and the other four ponies demonstrated various sparring techniques, the demonstration not turning out very well to the cadets called up front on which the teachers used the techniques. After which, the other cadets were assigned to each of the teachers, or amongst themselves, commander Fleming cruising between the couple and observing if they were doing the moves properly.
Rain Sight had both the good and bad luck of being put together with one of the teachers. Having the black pegasus mare to point out the flaws in her technique helped her improve faster than the majority of the class, but it came at the cost of a lot of bruises, and almost constantly being flat on her back on the floor. The filly took a left hook to the mare's face, but she leaned backwards, dodging it. At the end of her attack, Rain quickly changed directions, attempting to uppercut her with her right hand. But before she could land the hit, the mare took a step to her left, dodging, then squatted. Using the fact that the filly's midsection was open and unguarded, the mare elbowed her in the gut, sending her on the floor.
Many of the cadets did not hide their enjoyment from seeing the Confederate taking a beating, before their opponents beat the air out of them. Rain was panting from exhaustion, after the teacher had thrown her over her shoulder, and slammed her into the ground. As she was taking a momentary breather, Moonraker went next to them. He wrote something down on his tablet, after which he gave the filly a disappointed look and spoke.
"Come on Rain, you're letting down my expectations."
She just laid there, taking deep breaths, her eyes closed.
"I thought you got serious after this morning,..." He sighed. "...but it would seem it was only momentarily. Help her up." He instructed the mare, and she reached down, giving the filly a hand.
Rain took it, and just as the commander started to walk off, she grabbed the mare's arm with both of her hands, pulled her down to the ground, after which she spun around and sat on the mare's back, while putting her arm, which she still held, up in a tight grip, pinning the mare to the floor.
Everyone around stared with amazement at her, as she had mounted the teacher. At the time the filly had her sights set on her opponent, but her attention was caught by the sound of loud slow clapping.
"That's the stuff." Moonraker spoke as he clapped, a proud grin coloring his face. "I am very pleased with the results, unlike the rest of you." He addressed the other cadets.
Those who sparred with their classmates had manage to pin, or ground one another, but Rain was the first to bring down one of the teachers. The red pegasus's disappointed look at the others vanished, as he turned his attention once again at the filly and mare on the floor.
"Now up, and repeat." The commander said, after which he snapped his fingers.
At the very moment the black mare grabbed Rain Sight with her legs by the side and threw her off, before getting up.
'Man ghosts are useful, but these resocs are far more amusing to work with.' Moonraker thought as he quietly snickered.
Several hours later, once the commander was sure every single one of the cadets was battered to the point of complete exhaustion, he announced the end of the class. Then they were led to a firing range. As always, the commander awaited them beforehand, and when they all arrived he explained how the classes would go.
"Okay, everyone in way worse than top physical condition?" He addressed the crowd.
As an answer he received multiple groans, moans and grumbles. Satisfied he continued.
"Good. When you are on the battlefield, or in a clutch situation you are probably not gonna be in tip-top shape, that's why I wanted to tire you out, before getting to this exercise. I hope your trigger fingers aren't too damaged, because now we begin our marksmanship lessons."
He stepped to the side, a bunch of lights turning on, revealing ten desks, with a gauss rifle on each of them, in front of which were long hallways, without walls, ending with a wall of red jelly.
"You will be training with various weapon types, going from pistols to sniper rifles, all state of the art. First you will have to disassemble and reassemble the weapon and score killing shots on the targets here in the range, under a specified time limit, but later on you will have to do it against 'moving' targets." He emphasized on moving. "Hence this is your first time, we will start with something standard." He picked up a rifle from a table, and turned towards the cadets. "This puppy here is a C-10 ALIC rifle AKA – the Butter Knife. It's the standard issue weapon used by non-armor troops. It’s about three times smaller than the gauss weapons the marine corps use, but its armor piercing rounds make it capable of eliminating light infantry and carapace."
A timer on the table from which he took the gun activated, and started to countdown to zero from thirty seconds.
"The average estimated time in which armor troops confirm visual on a target, load up and open fire is 31.6 seconds."
His hands, moving faster than the cadets could follow, dropped the ammo clip down on his foot, after which he pulled the upper front of the gun off and threw it into the air, then removed the charger plate on its back, splitting the two parts from the underbelly of the gun, where the trigger was. He stood there for a second, then attached the underbelly with the charger, caught the upper front of the gun as it fell right on his shoulder level, stuck it into the pack, then kicked the clip up with his foot, getting it to precisely fit in its slot.
During that, in front of the jelly wall appeared a holographic image of an armored pony, with its rifle pointed at the commander. Just when the clip let out the click, which meant it was properly attached in its casing, Moonraker whirled, holding the gun with one hand, and fired.
The cadets gaped in awe as they looked behind him, to see that there was a hole in the eye level of the holograph's visor. Then they looked up at the timer and saw that there were six seconds left. The commander then looked at it himself, a smirk creeping on his face.
'Beat my own record.' He thought, before turning back and addressing the cadets. "Essentially, you are supposed to do this and get similar results in under 30 seconds. For now the timers will go forward, to see what time will it take you to get it done. After that you will train to beat that time, until you go under 30 seconds. Now get to it." When he finished he left the gun back on the table.
Before they started firing, the cadets were given a few minutes to warm up in the dis and reassembling of the guns. After that, the timers started and everyone began the exercise, ten by ten. For convenience, the ones which had to wait their turn were not supplied with weapons with which to train.
The first ten managed to reassemble the gun for averagely 8 minutes, and when they opened fire, they either missed the enemy holograph, or hit it somewhere, where the shot was not lethal, nor crippling. What disturbed Rain Sight the most was that the holographs which appeared in front of her classmates, were of her. She turned around and looked at the commander with shocked eyes. He noticed her, and returned her a sly smile. After that gesture, her expression turned into a scowl. She turned around with a gruff, waiting for her turn, while the ones before her were actually doing better, now that they knew what their target was.
When it was her turn, Rain just focused on the weapon, shutting out all of the snickers and jokes directed towards her. Still she was feeling very angry because of everything.
'Freaking idiots, and that bucker the commander...Oh if I could just shoot the smugness off of his face.' She thought.
As if to answer her wish, as she reassembled the weapon, her holographic target appeared, and it was the commander, smiling at her. Everyone, not just her, was more than surprised about that. She processed everything for a moment, after which she input the ammo clip, and fired, leaving a hole right between the holograph's eyes. She stood in position to fire for a few moments, then slowly got up, and looked up at the timer to see she had made it in six minutes.
As she looked it, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Moonraker, giving her an approving smile.
"Told ya I'm a nice guy." He calmly said.
For some reason, now that she had the chance to lay out her feelings, she looked at the stallion with less spite and more awe. She slowly looked away as her mind swirled with realization. No matter what she wanted, she was stuck in this life. Her dad wouldn't be able to protect her forever, so if she didn't learn how to handle herself, she was a dead mare walking. And despite all of the shit the commander is putting her through, here she is still given a chance of survival, unlike out on a battlefield, and is getting properly prepared to survive on one. In a sick and twisted way, she started to feel 'thankful' towards that stallion.
Through the years, the cadets had build up a good amount of self awareness, thanks to commander Fleming's sense of humor. He would often put them through an exercise which would have proven lethal, but in the end everyone was alright. However, he was not always playing jokes, and on occasion ponies died. Not knowing what was enstore for them, the cadets took everything seriously and did their best, following the moto 'Better safe than sorry.'.
As time passed, the class got split apart. Two years from the first day, after the unicorns had began to show promise in their use of magic, all of them were removed from the class and sent to a different part of the facility, where some of the best ghosts the DI had on world trained them in their art. Three years later, the pegasi were taken away for piloting training and aerial combat outside of a ship, leaving the earth pony cadets to more endurance building and martial combat training. The three groups were probably never going to see each other, unless they randomly passed by in the facility, or were assigned to the same missions.
The earth pony group had pretty much mastered the use of almost any weapon the Dominion had to offer, as well as its maintenance. Currently they were in the middle of the 'King of the Ring' contest which took part every few months, after they were separated from the pegasi. The cadets weren't hurting in the regard of not fighting the other pony species, because commander Fleming would either arrange for pegasi and unicorn agents to come and go toe to toe with the cadets, giving them a feeling for fighting the others, or he himself would go down, and bust some heads when he was bored.
The contest was pretty simple. All of the cadets were gathered on benches around a ring, and two of them would step in and spar, until one was knocked out or gave up. After that, the victor would have a new opponent in the face of anyone who wanted to step in. The current holder of the title was a dark brown colt with a black mane going by the name of Andre. He was really big for his age, towering a head over his class mates, and outweighing them with at least twenty pounds, but in fat, but pure muscle. He had held on to the tile five times in a row, and once he got in the ring, next to no one dared to go in against him. Currently he was barraging another yellow colt with punches.
Rain Sight wasn't very interested in that competition, so she rarely partook in it, and after one or two victories threw the towel and returned to the bench. Luckily, due to her staying out of anyone's way, and just sitting quietly with herself, had helped her not become a target for the rest of the class. They were not very fond of her or anything, they just didn't bother with her, while their negative attitude had been directed towards Andre.
Both inside and outside of the ring, the colt was a bully in every aspect of the word, but because he had in a way established dominance over the class, no one really tried to do something about it. If there was anything the Confederate filly had in common with the rest of her peers it was distain towards the large colt, only hers came from the fact that he annoyed her, not from picking on her, not that that had not happened before.
Andre was behind his opponent. He had grabbed both of his arms, and pulled them in opposite directions behind the yellow colt's back.
"Who's your daddy?" He smugly taunted.
"You! You are!" The colt yelled from pain, hoping that the giant would let him go.
And so he did. The black colt kicked his opponent in the back, sending him out of the ring, before saying.
"And don't forget it."
During that, Rain had leaned against a wall, listening to a song on the player her dad had gotten her. As he walked back in the middle of the ring, Andre rose his hands in the air and loudly enquired.
"Come on! Don't any of you have the balls to get in here?!"
After receiving no response, he continued to rant about his greatness, not realizing he was interrupting a certain filly's playlist. Everyone's patience had limits, and Rain felt that hers had hit. She took off the headphones, tied the cable around the player and left it on the bench, after which she stood up and addressed the colt with obvious irritation in her voice.
"Won't you shut up already!"
That caught everyone's attention, making them turn around and stare at her. When he focused his gaze on her, Andre sneered and spoke.
"Oh look, the confederate bitch can talk. If you want me to shut up, come here and make me!" He stated loudly.
"That was my intention." She replied in a quiet cold tone.
"Oooh, the little cunt thinks she's scary." The colt continued to taunt as Rain made her way to the ring, everyone stepping to the side, making way for her to pass.
As she entered, a wall of shocked eyes gazed at her, but she paid no attention to them, focusing on her opponent. Everything from cheap shots to knock outs was allowed. The only restraints were that you couldn't use a anything but the precision set, and you couldn't kill your opponent. The two combatants took up their stances and began to circle the ring, eyes locked at each other. The colt flashed her a smile, before smugly saying.
"How about this, I won't beat you too much and later you can come by my room, and I'll show you what a real stallion looks like?"
Rain Sight put on a smirk of her own and replied.
"I thought the commander didn't allow Best flank a mare can get magazines on campus."
That made a good number of the spectators let out a laugh. Andre didn't take that as lightly. He grimaced and charged at his opponent, going for a straight right. She made a step to her left, dodging the punch, and landed two quick jabs under his shoulder. Her hits stung, but mainly because her hands were made of metal. The colt would clobber her in an open brawl. In order to win she would have to mix what she had learned in the past years.
In martial combat was, that a larger opponent may be strong and durable, but has lower stamina. And in seduction classes she had learned that stallions with a great ego tend to become really angry, really quickly, and anger was a great drain on stamina. She quickly formulated a plan in her head. All she had to do was dodge his attacks, using her superior speed and agility, while dishing out some of her own, that combined with the colt's great ego and humiliation from being outplayed by a filly would really piss him off. And after he was tired down, she would go in for the kill.
Still she had to survive until that happend. Andre whirled, lifting his foot high in attempt to slam it in Rain's head, but she dropped on the ground, and made a scissor like movement with her legs on the only appendage the colt was using for balance, toppling him to the ground. She quickly got up, landing a swift kick to his side. The colt grunted, his eyes burning with rage. He stood up, and started to fire hits at his opponent like a gatling.
It was hard for Rain to dodge, because some of the incoming attacks were just meant to distract, while others came from the other side, so she had to resort to blocking as well. Andre began to take more breaths than he did before, his barrage slowing down. That’s when the filly saw her chance. After blocking a slow punch, she shot one of her own.
She noticed a smile creeping on the colt's face, but it was too late to react. He grabbed her arm, swung his opponent around before slamming her on the floor. Apparently the guy wasn't just muscle since he had managed to see through her strategy, and only pretended to be fully exhausted. Still he was pretty drained after the last couple of moves.
Rain Sight rolled on her back, to see that Andre had lifted both of his fists, which he brought down. Before he could hit her, she slid underneath his legs, grabbing his hands, faceplanting the colt on the floor, his body weigh falling on top of his arms. When she was on the other side, she quickly grabbed both of his legs, and forced his lower body into a back bend, while placing one foot on the ground for support and the other, on the colt's neck.
Everyone starred with mouths agape as the bully yowled in pain and bit the dust. Rain pressed more, after which her opponent shouted.
"I give! I give! Let go of me!"
"I will, but first I have a question for you." She calmly said.
"What is it?!" The colt yelled.
The filly's expressionless face was colored by a sinister smirk as she gave her question.
"Who's your daddy?"
The crowd let out a collective gasp, not believing where she was going. Suddenly someone from the back yelled.
"OH BURN!"
"Are you serious right now?!" The pinned colt shouted.
Rain pressed him down harder, making him yowl again, before saying.
"Answer the question."
"You! You are!" He yelled.
"And don't forget it." She finished before letting him go.
The filly then proceeded to exit the ring, but before she did, Andre got up behind her. He rushed to land a punch on her, but before he could, she whirled, landing a high kick in his face, knocking him out. After that she turned around and walked to the bench where she had left her player. She picked it up, and was about to put on the headphones, when she noticed that everyone was staring at her.
"What?" She casually asked.
In reply she received only silence. Suddenly someone started to slowly clap, followed by another, until the purple filly could hear a chorus of clapping ponies. A shy smile colored her face. It felt good to receive something else from your peers than just insults and threats.
"Oh the burn!" Moonraker exclaimed as he observed what was happening from the observatory room.
If not anything, the filly had managed to greatly amuse him. In his ecstasy he allowed something to slip from his mouth.
"That's my girl!"
A cough, which emanated from behind him, ended his happy rant.
"Err- I mean, your girl." He said, trying to make a save on the situation.
He turned around to face Karn.
"Your jester act is not as amusing as you might think." The unicorn said coldly.
"Whoa, why the hostility bro? We're both on the same team here." The pegasus put on an expression which indicated he was in deep thought for a moment, before saying. "Yeah we are...in a pretty twizzled way we are."
That obviously did not have the desired effect, as the older stallion continued to glare daggers at the commander. Moonrakers face turned into a deadpan as he enquired.
"So what? You're gonna stick around and watch how things develop until the end?"
"I have free time. And I would really like to be around, in case I don't like what I see, to have 'something' to express my displeasure on." Karn replied in a stern tone.
"Ouch...that hurt." The red stallion muttered to himself, before addressing his company. "Well as you can clearly see, there aren't any problems what so ever. Besides they're done for the day, so why don't you go tell your daughter good night or something."
The unicorn simply gruffed, before vanishing in a cloud of black smoke. Once sure he was alone, Moonraker activated his earpiece and spoke.
"Tell high command to find a way to keep agent Karn'Aaziim out of the academy's premises for the next six months. Use any non-lethal and non-intoxicating means necessary, just keep him busy and away. I need free space to work the cadets for the final exam, and I can't do that with that guy breathing down my neck." He finished, ending the transmission.
Then the commander turned around to look at the leaving cadets, a proud grin coloring his face.
The day had gone peacefully, and Rain Sight just wanted to get some shut eye. However, that idea left her mind once she entered her room. Inside, next to her dinner, she saw a small pile of books. She picked one up and read the heading out loud.
"'Everything the Dominion knows about zerg: Tome I'" 'Pff, the guy who thought of that heading must be very shallow and unimaginative.' She thought.
She laid on her bed and started to go through the books.
After the routine for the first half of the day was done, the cadets were gathered in the meeting room. There, the commander began to give them instructions about today's training.
"Alright guys, we've known each other for a while now, and I think you guys are ready to begin preparations for your final exam."
"But sir, haven't we been doing that all this time?" Someone from the crowd asked.
"Close." The commander said, before continuing. "In a way, all of this time you have been trained to not instantly die in the last months of training."
Multiple murmurs could be heard amongst the ponies. The smirk Moonraker had put on made them unsure if he was serious about the danger, or if it was another one of his tricks.
"And what exactly is this pre-final exam training?" Someone enquired.
The stallion put on a toothy grin, before replying.
"Live fire. You will be spread in teams of five, and you will have to go up against living targets, which in turn can kill you as well."
After finishing with his instruction, commander Fleming sent the cadets away. They were split into teams of five, and were put into different chambers. The floors of the said chambers were made of actually dirt and soil. Inside there were several platforms, each on a different height, which led to a single platform embedded in the wall. There were doors at both of sides of the entire room, one was the one from which the cadets entered, and the other was the one they deducted the live targets would come. On the floor, from the side of the cadets, were five boxes.
Then a screen on a wall turned on, showing Moonraker, who addressed all of the cadets.
'You will find the parts for a weapon, randomly selected for you, in each box. Your goal is to assemble the weapons, and take down the targets, before they take you out. Is everything clear?'
"Sir, yes sir!" All of the teams loudly stated.
'Alright then. BEGIN!' The commander shouted, signaling the beginning of the exercise.
The cadets quickly rushed to the boxes, cracked them open, and began to assemble their weapons. Rain sight had been given a Butter Knife. She let out a quiet grunt, clearly displeased she had to work with a rifle, instead of the shotguns which she preferred. In the middle of their assembly, the cadets could hear a loud clanking noise. They turned their attention towards the doors in the other end of the room.
When they opened, they saw ten zerglings making their exit. The sight made the ponies quicken their work. Once the monsters caught glimpse of the cadets, they rushed for them. By the cadets finished their weapon assembly, the zerglings were mere feet away from them, so a lemon yellow colt with a blue mane, which had a single yellow stripe in the shape of a lightning bolt in it, who carried two P-21 “Shaver” pistols shouted.
"Everyone, fall back to high ground!"
Following his orders Rain and her other three teammates started to jump up the platforms, while the colt provided cover fire for them, taking out two of the zerg. When they were two platforms up, the ponies began to shoot themselves, providing cover for their "leader".
"Come on Sanga, we've got your six!" A brown colt yelled down to him, as he, Rain and the other two took out three of the zerg.
After taking down another zergling, the yellow colt rushed up the platforms. Unfortunately for the cadets, the zerglings were no pushovers regarding climbing, and the first one to reach the lowest platform began to pursuit Sanga up. The colt hurried as fast as he could, but the mobility of the zergling on the platforms kept it safe from the other four's shots.
Moonraker was enjoying the show from the observatory, along with his assistant and a few lab coats. As his attention focused on the monitor, which displayed Rain Sight's group, a shine reflected itself in his eyes, as a sinister smirk slowly crept on his face. Cler looked away from the ground she was monitoring, just in time to notice that.
"Sir, you've got that expression again." She addressed the commander.
"Expression? What expression?" He asked calmly.
"The one you put on every time, before you do something considered stupid by normal pony standards." The mare deadpanned in response.
"Me? Do something stupid? Why I'd never!" The pegasus said, with the voice of innocence itself as he leaned against the control desk, "unintentionally" pressing a button with his elbow.
Cler just gave him an unamused expression, before returning to her duties.
Rain Sight and her other three teammates had made it to the platform which was attached to the wall. Sanga was still catching up to them, the zergling still in hot pursuit behind him. He took another jump, and was about to land on the last platform, before the one on the wall, when suddenly the said platform split in two, and the colt fell down to the ground.
"SANGA!" Rain Sight yelled.
The colt wasn't moving, and the three zerglings which were still on the ground neared him. The beasts were hiding underneath the platform the ponies were on, so they couldn't shoot them down from their current position. Before any of the three cadets could react, the purple filly jumped down, landing next to the colt. She winced from the fall, but quickly dismissed the pain, and fired her rifle, taking out two of the zerglings, but the third one managed to tackle her.
She closed her eyes, expecting claws and teeth to sink in her body, but instead she only felt a light flow of air, stroking her fur. She opened up her eyes, and saw that the zergling was sniffing her, after which it leaned closer and nuzzled her cheek, catching the filly completely by surprise.
Sanga got up and rubbed his head. When he opened his eyes he saw that a zergling was on top of Rain Sight. He quickly grabbed one of his pistols and shot the beast through the head. When its body dropped lifeless, it revealed a terrified blood covered Rain Sight, who was hyperventilating. He then noticed the two dead zerglings lying next to him, which gave him an idea of what had happened. He walked over to the purple filly, and lent her a hand while saying with a warm smile.
"Thanks for the save."
She hesitantly took his hand and replied.
"No...problem. Thank you too..."
The colt could notice that her cheeks had slightly reddened, as well as that she was avoiding eye contact with him. The awkward moment ended, when the body of a zergling fell right between them. Both ponies looked up and saw the brown colt waving at them, an embarrassed expression coloring his face.
"Sorry about that guys!" He yelled.
A few minutes later, several staff members entered the room, and led the cadets out to the meeting room. There the commander greeted them with a proud smile, while clapping his hands.
"Bravisimo my little ponies. You managed to complete the exercise with just two deaths from all of the teams put together." He then glanced at Rain Sight and Sanga. "Not to mention you've learned a couple of new things about team work."
After his statement, the two ponies in question noticed that they were standing pretty close to one another, and jumped a step in the opposite direction, turning their heads away. Sanga let out a quiet whistle, while Rain stared at the ground, both blushing. Thankfully for them, none of their peers noticed that.
Moonraker chuckled mentally, before continuing.
"For the next several months, this will be your training. This is all for now, dismissed."
When he finished, everyone walked out and headed for their rooms. After so long, the cadets no longer needed someone to lead them there. However, Rain Sight stayed behind. She walked up to the commander and spoke.
"Uh...sir..."
"Wow, you of all ponies are talking to me on your own initiative. I must be doing something right with my life. What's on your mind?" He enquired.
"I was wondering if I could get those books on zerg for the evening? I'd really like to give them a re-read." She asked, putting on an unsure smile.
The pegasus chuckled, after which he ruffled her mane and replied.
"Sure you can. I'll have someone bring them over to your room."
"Thank you sir." She beamed, and turned around to walk away.
"Oh, and Rain Sight..." Moonraker stopped her.
She turned around to face him.
"I know that guy Sanga is a catch, but don't let yourself get captured that easily." He said, giving her a wink.
Her face immediately turned red, and sweat started to break though her skin.
"I--uh...I-...umm..." She stuttered, but stopped when the stallion let out a loud laugh.
When he finished he spoke with a warm smile.
"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. Now scurry on."
As the commander had promised, a staff pony came by her room, and left Rain Sight the books about zerg. She started going through them. She was looking for something, which she found in the second tome. The filly read the lines out loud, just to assure herself she both read and heard it right.
"Zerg have a psychic connection made from void magic. However, without a pony or a more advanced zerg organism to command them through this connection, lesser zerg also use pheromones as a form of communication."
She then shifted a few pages, describing how the pheromones worked for zerg, until she found something intriguing, which she too read aloud.
"If a zerg lets out a scent of stress, and it attaches itself to a non zerg organism, any zerg, which manage to catch the scent, will attack the said non zerg."
She continued to read forward, completely forgetting that she was being monitored. Moonraker had sunk into an armchair, receiving video from the cameras and audio from a ghost who delivered the filly's words into the commander's head.
"What are you up to little missy?" He quietly questioned, continuing to observe.
The cadets were once again spread in even groups and released into the training chambers. Rain Sight's group were nearly done assembling their weapons when the zerglings were released. This time they did not rush one after another up the platform, but instead they instantly huddled together, and opened a barrage of bullets on the beasts. During the fire, the rest had completely ignored Rain Sight's presence.
This was the perfect opportunity to try out her experiment. She slowly moved several feet away from the group. The remaining zergling noticed that, and focused on her as she was more vulnerable. Before they could reach her, she pulled out a syringe filled with a transparent liquid.
During their chemistry class, Rain created a poison which caused the body to overheat. After she was injected with it, she didn't use the antidote until the last minute, letting the poison to get her to sweat. The fact that she was gambling with her life did make the situation pretty stressful. Once she got herself the antidote, she quickly gathered as much of her sweat as she could in a syringe, which she hid in her precision glove.
She threw the syringe at one of the cadets. It landed on her foot, breaking the glass container and spilling its contents on the filly's leg.
That very moment the zerglings who were dashing toward Rain gave the air a little sniff, and immediately changed their direction towards the filly. She screamed as the beasts neared her, but lucky for her, her teammates managed to shoot them down before they could reach her.
None of her peers noticed what she had done, which made her smile seem like she was happy they made it out alive, and not that her experiment was a success. But the purple filly was pretty sure that there was a certain red pegasus who was very pleased with the results she had achieved.
The day all of the cadets were waiting for had finally come, the final exam. They were spread in teams of five, and directed into the training chambers. Rain Sight had the pleasure of once again having Sanga in her team. After the first time, they were put together pretty often, as if the commander did so on purpose. But despite the slight fear of him doing something, the training itself didn't bother them, because the two made an excellent team.
Inside of the chambers their group found suit cases, probably containing their arsenal, but what surprised the cadets was, that on the opposite side of the room, there were seven stallions, all of which were equipped with a precision set and cuffed, and there were matching suit cases in front of them as well.
During the moment of confusion, the wall screens in all chambers turned on, showing commander Fleming.
'Good day cadets. It has been ten years since the day we first met.' He began to speak. 'Back then, you were nothing more than a bunch of wussy lumps of wet clay. Hopefully by now I have managed to mold you into something better, and you have dried out. As you have already noticed, today we have some guests. These mares and stallions are Dominion prisoners, who didn't get the courtesy of going through resoc tryouts. Currently we have no idea if they are worth sending to the Ice House, or if they can be remade to model citizens. But they aren't the only company you will share.'
After saying that, the pegasus snapped his mechanical fingers and hatches in the walls of the chambers opened up, revealing two cages filled with six zerglings each.
'So, allow me to explain the situation. Cadets, if you manage to kill the opposing team, and survive the zerg, you will both do the Dominion a service, pass your exam, and walk out of this facility as official DI agents.'
The cadets' ears perked up after hearing that.
'Prisoners, if you manage to kill the cadets and survive the zerg, you get to satisfy your sick and twisted urges, and you will leave this facility with a full pardon for everything you have ever done, as well as a brand new, sparkly clean file.'
All of the convicts exchanged maniacal grins of satisfaction. Moonraker put a hand over his mouth and whispered to someone behind him.
"No they're not. We're just gonna lead them to a room filled with zerg." After which he continued his speech. 'And if none of you make it from the zerg...well at least the 'animal protection organisations’ can't accuse me of animal starvation.'
Everyone in the chambers just stared with a deadpan at him, except a few cadets and prisoners who let out a quiet chuckle, actually finding that statement funny.
'And last, but not least, today your performance will be observed not by me only, but also by captain Hawkens from high command...' The pegasus said, stepping to the side, revealing a brown earth pony stallion. 'And the current holder of the record, for most dark templar caught in the time of service - agent Karn'Aaziim.' He finished, showing a gray unicorn on the monitor.
"Dad!" Rain Sight exclaimed in surprise.
"Dad?" Sanga, who was standing next to the filly at the moment, questioned. "Rain, the stallion who has caught the most dark templar for the DI is your dad?"
"Well...uh...I-I-umm..." She stuttered, expecting a negative reaction from him, but instead the colt cheerfully exclaimed.
"Wow, that's so awesome. After today, you've got to get us to meet."
"Uhh...s-surre." She returned with a light smile.
Then her eyes fixated on her father's image on the screen, as a determined expression colored her face. Apparently he had been looking right at her, because he put on a smile and gave a light nod. That sparked her motivation even more, as she turned her attention towards her targets.
'Now, if there aren't any questions...' Moonraker spoke, as he took his tablet. '...let's begin.' He finished, pressing a button on the device.
The very next moment the convicts' cuffs deactivated, and fell off. After that, both groups darted towards the cases, and opened them to get their weapons. Each case had some sort of firearm, and an HFB. Rain Sight grinned, when she saw that her luck had gotten her a shot gun. When everyone had gotten their hands on a weapon, both cages burst open, letting the zerglings out.
The purple filly had suspected that there would be zerg involved in the exam, so she made sure to stack up on shootable syringes with her sweat. Seeing the cadets' lower number, the zerglings made their way for them. Rain quickly shot out a syringe, hitting a stallion in one of his precision gloves. The shot didn't do any damage to him, only broke the syringe and spilled its contents on him. A few moments after the beasts had a chance to sniff the air, they turned around and ran for the prisoners.
That sudden change in targets confused the cadets for a fraction of a moment, before they used that to their advantage and began to shoot at the convicts.
Up from the observatory, Moonraker, Hawkens looked at how every team of cadets was doing, but Karn had his gaze focused only on one, mentally reciting a prayer towards the void. The pegasus caught glimpse of that, and while no one was looking, he took a few steps back, reaching for his tablet.
The cadets had managed to take out one of the convicts and four of the zerglings, but the bests had begun to stray from the older ponies. Then Rain Sight saw Sanga duking it out with one of the stallions. Behind him she saw that four of the convicts had huddled together. If she could land a marker(as she came to call these shots) on one of them, the zerg would further ease their task.
"Sanga get down!" She yelled at her partner as she took aim.
The colt heard her, after shoving his HFB in the stallion's head. When he saw the filly taking aim, he dropped on the ground, giving her a clear shot, after which she fired. At the very moment, the Sanga's bracelet beeped, and then let out a shock through his body. The surprise and the pain made the colt's muscles immediately react, by getting him up. Just then, the marker hit his precision glove and spilled itself over him.
Five nearby zerglings immediately noticed that and lunged at the colt. The after effect of the shock didn't give him time to react as the monsters tackled him down, and ripped him apart.
"SANGA! NO!" The filly screamed, tears pouring out of her eyes.
After seeing that, Karn suddenly turned around to face Moonraker, and saw the pegasus holding a finger on his tablet. The unicorn grimaced at him, receiving a smug smile and a wink in return. If the captain was not here, and the red stallion didn't hold his daughter's life in his hands, Karn would have already impersonated the zerglings' work on that colt, on him.
The other cadets took notice of her scream, and immediately began to gun down the five zerglings, avenging their comrade. Through her tears, Rain Sight looked up at the screen. She just saw her father looking backwards, making a grimace. After that, she figured what had happened.
Her saddened expression calmed down, taking the form of cold harnessed rage. She put in another marker, and fired, scoring a head shot on one of the stallions. The impact force toppled him on the ground, after which the remaining three zerglings tore into him.
She then switched to shells, while slowly walking forward, towards the remaining convicts. As she walked she put a shell through a stallion’s chest, sending him a few feet back, after which he dropped on his back. Without any form of protection, the only thing left of his rib cage was a gaping hole.
Two of the remaining three stallions focused their attention on the filly. Using their distraction, her teammates shot them down. Rain Sight threw away her shotgun, and pulled out her HFB. The three zerglings left approached her, but the very moment she glared at them, they backed away. Then her gaze stationed itself on the stallion, who was focused on her comrades.
"Sick em." She quietly said.
Then the three beasts lunged at the stallion. The other cadets had not shot him down, because they saw the zerglings approach Rain Sight, but before they could do anything, the monsters changed their target, leaving the ponies very confused.
The convict's attention was quickly caught by the approaching creatures. He turned around and fired, landing two head shots by pure luck, but the third zergling tackled him, and bit down on his throat. As it feasted on the pony, the purple filly walked next to it, and shoved her HFB in its head. A small spray of blood dirtied her face.
She took a look at her teammates who were dumbstruck. Then she looked up at the screen and saw that Hawkens and her father had expressions of shock, while Moonraker bore a smug smile. She let out a gruff, and walked for the exit, passing by her still stunned comrades.
Later, when the exam was over, the remaining cadets were gathered at the meeting room. After the commander listed the four who ended up on the fail wall, he made way for captain Hawkens, who addressed all of them.
"Good job cadets. I am very pleased from what I saw. From this moment forth, you are no longer trainees. You are all official Dominion Intelligence agents."
When he finished, Moonraker pressed a button on his tablet. Suddenly, multiple clicking noises were heard, followed by the sounds of metal hitting the floor. Everyone's bracelets were shutting down and falling off. When it ended, the newly graduated agents all gave out a cheer...minus one filly, who just stood silent.
"Now all of you, get to your rooms. There you will meet a staff member, who will arrange you a place to live, and give you the details about your pay, and will instruct you when your next mission will begin. I wish you all good luck. Make the Dominion proud!" The brown stallion said, after which he walked off.
Following suit, all of the ponies made their way towards their rooms.
When she reached hers, Rain Sight was more than pleased to see her father. She ran to him, with tears in her eyes, and embraced him in a hug, which he returned. As she cried she buried herself in his chest, finally embracing the warmth she had craved for all of these years.
However, the moment of serenity passed, when someone knocked on the door. Both father and filly scowled at the red stallion standing at the door, while bearing a smug expression.
"Congratulations on graduating missy. I guess Goldeneye owes me a few bits." Moonraker said.
Rain Sight let go of her father, walked up to the commander, and coldly stated.
"I don't want to see you ever again in my life, and I hope you die a slow, painful death, followed by you rotting in hell for eternity, sir."
After that she pushed pass him and walked off. Karn stepped next to him and added.
"And as long as I'm alive, if you come near her, I will arrange for that to happen, personally...sir."
And followed his daughter. Instead of taking offense like any normal pony, the pegasus let out a chuckle and said to himself.
"Another satisfied customer."
Then he walked away as well, shutting the room, until its next occupant was selected.
