"Nihil...hey, wake up" I open my eyes, at first it is nothing but blinding white light until my eyes adjust. I was laying on the ground, the soft grass ticking the my back as I squirmed to get in a sitting position. I took a look around, seeing a few farm houses and the occasional ox. "Nihillll..." The voice whined again. It was my childhood friend Fjora. Her coat was a beautiful purple. Her mane was a wondrous chocolate brown. But one abnormality was her right canine tooth, it was longer and pointed than the rest of her teeth. "What" I replied softly "I'm hungry...let's go find food" I nodded in agreement. Both her and I had been orphaned ever since wall Cadence was destroyed by the Giant Titan, thus causing titans to overrun the cities and towns inside. A titan is essentially a giant hairless pony that stands between 3-17 meters tall.
Fjora and I went to go find some food. As we were trotting around, we heard the loud distinct 'clang' of the city bell "THE SCOUTING LEGION IS BACK" My dear friend squealed in delight and galloped off to see them march through the town. I just barely kept up to her pace. As we arrived, we had to stand on a box to see the Legion. The scent of blood held heavy in the air as we saw the sorry group of ragged, beaten and broken ponies trot and limp through the town. Some even needed to be held up by their friends. Despite their sorry look, an odd aura of respect surrounded the group. I looked over at Fjora, her smile seemed to stretch from ear to ear, the look in her eyes was of sheer awe and admiration. "I'm going to join the scouting legion when I'm old enough" "Well, we can join the Trainee corps next year...but then we need to do that for three years..." I said hesitantly. Knowing that no good could come from this decision.
I sighed when I looked at myself in the mirror. My green coat freshly washed and my Trainee uniform on. The uniform consisted of a brown jacket that only went to my rib cage, it was custom made for me, so my wings could fit through the back. I was the last Pegasus within the walls. the rest of the uniform consisted of strange leather straps on my legs, I had no idea what they were used for. "Hey Nihil" I heard Fjora squeak in her happy voice. I turned to look at her, she was striking a flamboyant pose "How do I look?" I rolled my eyes "You look good. Now lets get to the training grounds before we are late" We rushed to the grounds and got in line, just as the drill sergeant came trotting out. He was a large red pony with a short cropped brown mane. "NOW LISTEN UP YOU FUCKING FILLY SUCKERS! FROM THIS DAY ON, YOU ARE NOTHING BUT PIGS GETTING READY FOR SLAUGHTER!" He began trotting around, inspecting the troops. He stopped when he saw a smaller foal who was shaking. "WHAT IS YOUR NAME?! MAGGOT?!" "I-I'm Night G-glider" The poor foal whimpered as the sergeant got so close to his face that their muzzles were practically touching. "NO! YOU ARE NOBODY! YOU NEVER WERE ANYBODY AND YOU NEVER WILL BE!!" He shouted. The foal was on the brink of tears as the sergeant moved on, coming up to Nihil "AND JUST WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" "Nihil Winterfeild, sir. I was in wall Cadence when it fell, sir!" I replied calmly, but a bit nervously. "HAH! AND JUST WHAT DO YOU EXPECT TO DO!!?" "I wish to guard Princess Twilight with my body and soul, sir" "OH?! YOU THINK THAT YOUR WORTHY TO GUARD HER MAJESTY?!? YOU AREN'T EVEN WORTHY TO LICK HER SHIT OFF OF THE FUCKING FLOOR!!" With that, he left me and went to several others before letting us meet each other, it was clear that many of the other trainees knew each other. Fjora and I were about to go and socialize when we heard a familiar voice "MAGGOTS! AT ATTENTION!" Within two seconds, all the trainees were lined up and at attention "NOW I HOPE YOU ALL MADE SOME FRIENDS! BECAUSE YOU ARE NOW GOING TO TRY AND KILL THEM " He shouted in his booming voice
Within minutes, we were busy trying to stab each other with a wooden knife. Fjora ran at me with the knife in her mouth, aiming to slice at my throat. I ducked beneath the knife and rammed my shoulder into her gut, knocking her over and leaving her gasping for air. I stood over her with a smug look in my eyes "Gotcha there didn't I" I said with a small laugh She replied with a swift kick to my groin and a hoof to my jaw, knocking me on my rump, clutching my groin in pain. Little sounds of pain escaped my quivering lips "Gotcha there, didn't I?" she said in a dark voice. I couldn't say anything, so I merely nodded my head in agreement.
The day went on through various training exercises, most of which leaving me beaten and bruised. When we went to our rooms, I just passed out on the floor, trying to reach for my bed. I felt a pair of strong hoofs lift me up and lay me down on the bed. My eyes flickered open just enough to see a blue stallion who had a slicked back black mane. He was absolutely massive, making me feel small and helpless "T-Thanks...I'm Nihil" I muttered, the exhaustion making it hard to even speak "It's all good. Th' names Shock." he said with a crooked smile. Before I passed out, the last thing I saw was him lighting a cigarette.
I awoke to the strong scent of tobacco assaulting my senses. It seemed that every part of my body was burning and aching from yesterdays training. As I tried moving, red flares of pain shot through my body "Oh...you're awake? Feelin' sore" The blue stallion inquired. Just the mere sound of his voice shot pain through my skull. I guess Fjoras' hit was harder than I thought. "shhh. Shush...shut your face.." I muttered, my own voice even caused white needles of pain to appear in my head "Huh? Why" His voice seeming to echo like a cannon shot through my poor, bruised skull. "Will you please shut the hell up! For the love of Celestia!" I shouted at him. It was a big...no...huge mistake. It felt as if a ton of rocks was dropped on my head. "Well, I'm truly sorry...but we gots' ourselves some training to do" Hearing this news brought tears to my eyes. I swear I had Discord on my shoulder, just trying to kill me in the slowest, most painful death imaginable.
The next few hours were a blur of hoof-to-hoof combat training, salutes, and my personal favorite; the 3-D maneuver gear training. Its a system that works with two harpoons attached to two separate boxes that are strapped to ones flank on either side. The boxes contained sword blades, a handle that strapped around ones hoof, and a gas tank that propelled the user and shot the harpoon. On each harpoon launcher there was a crystal that sensed the users thoughts and shot the harpoon wherever the user wanted. Each harpoon was made of a steel\titanium alloy. The barbs on them were retractable, allowing it to be released from whichever object it is embedded in. During the training, we learned the basics of how to use these intricate systems. Those who were..ahem...'lesser minded' had difficulty with the thought gem. Both Fjora and I got the hang of the systems rather quickly while others took a while.
That night at dinner, Fjora and I ate our meager rations of oats together. I scanned the room and noticed something odd, there were less ponies now than there were when we began. "Hey Fjora...do you notice that there are less ponies than at the beginning?" I whispered to her in a hushed voice, as not to break the spell of silence that hung over the room . "Some gave up and went to the fields" She replied in the same hushed tone. "Already...Why?" "I guess the sergeant tore out too much of their pride, I guess" Just as she finished her sentence, I noticed a rather good looking yellow stallion with a blue mane trot towards us. As he approached Fjora, he fixed a stray strand of his mane, the strand hung down to his chin, yet the rest of his mane was short cropped. "Well, hello there miss" His voice was a deep, but somehow soothing. "I'm Swift-hoof, but please just call me Swift" He ended his introduction with a bow. "Oh..Um I'm Fjora." My friend replied, obviously nervous. "A beautiful name for such a pretty mare" "A beautiful name for a pretty mare" I muttered in a mocking tone. The next thing I felt was a hard object hit and shatter over my skull. Fjora had smashed her plate over my head. I could feel the warm trickle of blood stream down my face from where a small shard of the white clay had made its way through my skin and embedded itself beneath. "I'll just...go to bed" I murmured before crawling towards my room. The dining hall roared with laughter as I made my way, belly on the floor, to the door. Just as I was about to reach for the handle, it opened. At first all I saw was a familiar colored hoof. My eyes trailed upwards to lock with none other than the sergeants. "What do we have here" The sergeants voice was calm, oddly calm. "J-just going to bed..." As I spoke, some blood trickled into my mouth, filling it with a thick coppery taste. "oh...but you don't look tired..." A sick smile flickered across his lips "Perhaps a few laps would get you ready to sleep" "H-how many....sir" I asked, a look of defeat filled my eyes as I stood up. "Until you collapse" Upon hearing this, my body sagged, wings drooped and ears laid flat against my skull. "Yes sir"