I wake up to the feeling of a wet cloth moving around on my face. I squint a bit before reaching up and grabbing the cloth, getting something to grab my face.

"Miles! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit you with the strawberries, I was aiming for Luna; honest!" Shadow says as she continues to hug my face.

“Shadow... aw.. it’s alright... its.... what’s going on?” I ask as I look around my room. Everyone is in here. Luna, Celestia, Twilight, Storm, Spike, Big Mac, Fluttershy, Applejack, True Will, Dust Devil, Night Fury, Damian, Hammer, Rainbow Dash, Soarin, Scootaloo, Applebloom, CC, Patches, Butterscotch, E’Claire and Camo Flash.... needless to say it’s a little crowded in here. "Why are you ALL in my room?"

“It was Storms idea." Fluttershy says as I move Shadow to sit on my lap. Of course it was his idea. "How are you feeling?”

“How long have I been out?”

“About ten hours.” Celestia tells me. “It would seem that our talk will have to wait till another time...”

“Well, we can always make it quick.... OK, all of you. Out of my room. I need to get dressed.” I order as I point to the door, getting confused looks from all of them. “Room. Leave. Now. Wait for me out back.” I say to make it simple. As everyone makes their way through the door I motion to Celestia to wait behind.

“Yes Miles?” She asks as the last person leaves.

“I’ll get dressed in the closet, what’s on your mind?” I ask as I go to the closet and close the door behind me. She stays quiet as I get started, so I just wait quietly.

“Its... well....” A nervous Celestia, weird. “Miles.... where do you see Terradisia in ten years?”

“Ten years? Well hopefully alive by that point.” I joke as I slide a black pair of pants on.

“Miles...”

“In all seriousness though, hopefully doing what we’re doing today. Adding new members, helping those in need; I want to restore Terradisia back to its former glory. In order to do that I have to set a strong foundation. Storm and Big Mac are that foundation for me.” I say as I put on a white tee.

“So what does that mean for the rest of the world though? Are you seeing this on a global scale Miles. There are those out there that... well... would not like another world power to rise.”

“Terradisia was the original world power. We shall rise again; this I promise you. If anyone tries to stop us, they will feel the full force of the Terradisian army...”

“So you would start a war for an ancient nation to rise again? Why not move on? Contribute to another nation and try...”

“Because we can’t add anything to another nation Celestia. What right do we have to aid one nation and not another? And if we give all of this technology to everyone... well, where would that put anyone? No, we’re small now, but we have them means to make a massive change. We can stand aside and look in, weigh our options and make the right choice. That’s what the Spartans are for, and that’s what Terradisia will do until we can stand for something...”

“What about after you pass? Do you believe this nation can stand without you?”

“I know it can. Storm and Big Mac are Terradisians. They will know what to do when the time arrives; I have no doubt of that.” By the time I finish speaking I have all of my armor and weapons on, so I leave the closet. Celestia takes a quick look to me before walking towards the door.

“Miles,” She says as she pauses at the door. “What do you think would have happened if Terradisia had made that colony all those years ago?”

“Well.... I don’t know. People could have lived, maybe we would have been found sooner, it’s impossible to say. You can’t dwell on what might have been Celestia. You have to take what you have and push forward. Remember the past, but live for tomorrow.”

“What about you? How do you live for tomorrow?” I stand beside her and stare into her eyes, trying to think of the best way to answer.

“Let me show you.” I walk past her and make my way to the back yard. Strom and Big Mac have all of the new recruits lined up, well, all except Damian.

“Miles, can I have a quick word with you?” He asks as he walks to the side of the house. I motion to the others to wait as I follow after him.

“What’s on your mind Damian?” I ask as he turns to face me.

“It’s about the whole ‘no secrets in Terradisia’ thing. I’ve been given special permission to answer any of your questions.... so long as I answer in Latin.”

“Latin?”

“Yeah.”

“Well... alright. I can accept this. How good is your Latin anyway?”

“Quam bonum potest adepto?” He asks.

“Non ego sollicitus est optimus. Quam mala sum sollicitus sit.”

“Licuit videor. Possumusne nos adepto coepi nunc?” He asks as he looks back to the lineup.

“Videbimus. LINEA SURSUM!” I yell, getting him to run turn to the lineup... but then turns back to me.

“Uh... one more things. Uh... where did you get the filly?”

“Shadow? Detrot, why?”

“Aw, you were in Detrot. That’s my home town...anyway. She’s... I mean.... Fuerit designatos.”

“Marked? What do you mean?” I ask as I look back to Shadow as she talks with Butterscotch and E’Claire.

“Pacisci quis et animam suam dedit daemonis. Aliquando periit et asportaverunt.”

“She... died.” I say as I look back to Damian. “How do you know this? How can you tell?”

“Video in mundo. Bonum nuntium est quod nulla debilior daemon mos umquam oppugnare eam quasi faciant cum vobis. Eius ... ne forte de tendunt.” He says with a bit of pep, trying to make it seem better than it actually is.

“Well... is there anything I need to do for her?”

“No. It’s just something about her. Now let’s get started already.” He says as he turns back to them and walks to the lineup. As I walk after him, I glance back over to Shadow. She died at one point...

“Miles?” Storm asks me. “You ready to get started?”

“One last thing.” I say as I run over to my shed and jump inside. With all of the new renovations, this room is now massive. To my left is my jet, having plenty of room to make repairs, with a large bulkhead taking up the wall past it. Straight ahead of me is an emergency power station, set up to power the room and the simulation pod for the jet. I turn around and walk towards new weapons locker. It now takes up a room twice the size of my living room; filled to the brim with a variety of weapons and ammo.

I go through the aisles and take all the ammo I need for my weapons, filling all of my clips. Next I go through and find the guns I think would suit Big Mac and Storm the best. I settle on an N120 LMG for Big Mac and an N32 assault rifle for Storm. I pick up spare mags, ammo, grenades and belts before fixing the triggers for them. Once done I make my way back to the others and give them the guns.

“Storm, Big Mac.” I say as they take them and begin to strap them on, making it awkward due to their armor. “OK you two. This is it. You ready to be the trainers?” I ask quietly as they fumble with the belts.

“Eeyup.”

“I think we’ll do alright. I mean, we lived through it.” Storm says with a cocky smile.

“Right, just remember this. Without a cause...”

“Spartans die.” They both say as they finish getting ready. I nod to them before walking to the lineup and taking my place before them, having Storm and Big Mac stand behind me.

"Let’s get started, first off, if you have any doubts, any concerns, quit now. Because when we get started, there is no quitting. You either finish or die trying, and yes, death is a very real possibility. I WILL be trying to kill you. I will break your bones, cut your flesh and turn your dreams against you as I push you harder than you've ever been pushed before in your life.” I pause for a second as I look from one determined face to the next, looking for any signs of weakness.

“I am Captain Miles Eremita, commander of the Spartan forces. I will use everything in my power to make you the greatest fighters in all of Terra. Do NOT think I will ever take it easy on you, you’ll only die. Take a look at your loved ones before you tell me you want this, because once we start, there's no stopping. I don't care what happens, no matter the circumstances, we will not stop until we finish. So take a good long look and if you think you have what it takes to put everything on the line, step forward." They all take a moment to think about what I said before stepping forward. They don’t all go at once, some hesitate longer than others, but eventually they all step up.

“Welcome to Spartan training. Rule...”

“WAIT!” Everyone stops and turns back to see a hooded unicorn walking up to us. He has a two tone azure mane with a deep cobalt coat.

“WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!” I yell, and instantly regret due to Shadow being right there, as I point my rifle at him. Storm and Big Mac take positions around him as they point their weapons along with me. The unicorn stops walking and takes in his surroundings.

“I’m not here to fight. I have a message for True Will.”

“Then says it and get the buck out of here.” Storm says, getting the unicorn to look over to him slowly.

“Sorry, it’s for his ears only...”

“NNope.” Big Mac says as he takes a step towards him. “Say it, leave, or die. That’s all ah’m givin ya.” As he looks over to Big Mac I notice a glint of what I assume to be his magic flaring. On instinct I drop down and slam my flaring hand onto the ground, sending an earthen spike through the unicorn. The spire goes through him with total ease... it’s an illusion. I instantly search out the energy and find him several meters away. I run out and lift my rifle up as I look for him. I spot some movement in a bush nearby and hurl myself towards it, getting there fast enough to catch the unicorn by surprise. I slam into him and crash into a tree, burying him a bit into it. I grab his horn and yank him out before slamming him onto the ground.

“SPEAK UP ASSHOLE!” I yell as he starts to choke on his own blood. “WHO SENT YOU!”

“The.... the...*cough* … the Ursa’s...” He gurgles as he turns over and continues to bleed out. I take a hand and press it against him, sending waves of healing magic through his body. This also helps me check that its actually him and not an illusion.

“What do the Ursa’s want to tell True Will?” I ask as I stand back up and point my rifle back at him.

“I can’t tell you! I was just told to tell him and him alone!” He barks back to me.

“I SAID...”

“Miles!” I look back to see True Will running towards me. “Assassin, just tell me already. Whatever you’re going to tell me I’m going to tell him anyways. Just say it.” He says as he comes to a stop before us.

“Uh... I better get paid for this. Alright. They wanted me to tell you: Lily. Can I go now?” I look over to True Will to see an extremely troubled look on his face. I motion for the unicorn to leave as I sling my rifle and walk up to True Will.

“Everything alright?” I ask him as he backs away from me.

“No. I shouldn’t have come here, this was stupid. I can’t do this anymore, I’m out now...”

“Whoa, whoa, calm down. It’s too late for that True Will. You accepted, you’re in. There is no going back now...”

“But we didn’t even do anything!” He protests.

“Did you step forward?” I ask, getting an annoyed nod from him. “Then you said that you didn’t have any regrets. Now if you want out I can end it now,” I say as I pull my revolver out, “otherwise get back in line.” He walks back and forth as he fumes over the choices I gave him. After a minute of arguing with himself he finally begins to walk back to the lineup.

“Everything alright?” Storm asks as we get back into our places.

“Yeah, just some pussy assassin. Nothing to worry about. Now... Damian, what the fuck?” I ask as I walk up to him. He has a little brown basket that has a piece of paper and a strawberry. He takes a bite of the other one and just chews it slowly as he stares up at me.

SMACK

“Alright then,” I say as I walk away from him, stepping on the basket and strawberries along the way. “Rule number one: We are no longer your friends. You will address us as Sir. If anything else comes out of your worthless mouths we will beat you senselessly, do you understand me?”

“SIR YES SIR!” They all yell. Before I could do anything Storm whips out his sword and hits them all with a gust of wind.

“SAY IT LIKE YOU GOT A PAIR!” Storm yells.

“SIR YES SIR!” They yell properly.

“Rule number two,” I say as I begin to walk slowly around them. “If I hear you bitch, you will regret it. I don't give a shit how much pain you’re in, I don't care if you’re on the verge of death. You keep going until I tell you to stop, and then you beg for more, understood?”

“SIR YES SIR!”

“Rule Number three: My word is law. I am your commanding officer, what I say goes. I don’t care if you’re bleeding to death with half your limbs missing; if I say run, RUN. Understood?”

“SIR YES SIR!” They all yell. I look over to Night fury and notice he didn’t quit yell as loud as he should have, so I walk over to him and whip him with a blast of energy.

“DO WE HAVE A PROBLEM?!” I yell as I strike him again.

“SIR NO SIR!” He yells as he straightens out.

“RULE NUMBER FOUR,” I yell as I walk away from Night Fury; moving up the line. “And this one goes for everyone. Spartan training is a secret. It doesn’t matter whose life is at stake; you don’t tell anyone what goes on here. Your wife, husband, sibling, children, no one can know. Anyone who breaks this rule will have the entire Terradisian army coming down on them and those they tell.”

“Alright, time to turn in your weapons and armor!” Storm yells as he goes to Dust Devil and has her turn in her equipment. Big Mac goes to Night Fury as I go to True Will to take their stuff, getting them to comply with total ease. I was about to walk off when I noticed something about True Will’s sword.

“True Will, where did you get this?” I ask as I set his stuff down and examine it closer, using both my eyes and magic.

“I... got it form a mercenary group that I was a part of a long time ago... why?”

“Because it has a Terradisian enchantment on it.” I take the sword and begin to feel the enchantment within it. It at least feels like a Terradisian enchantment, feeling nothing like the way Storm’s armor felt.

“Uh.... how can you tell the difference?” He asks as he pulls his barding off.

“Equestrian enchanting feels... more like a coating where Terradisian enchanting actually mixes the spell into the object. Where did you get this?” I ask as again.

“From... Lily.” He says quietly as he looks away.

“Lily.... who is Lily?”

“Lily... is... *sigh* she was my teacher. My mentor. I was originally from a merc group from Saddle Arabia. We were pretty small, but nothing got in our way. Lily... found this... place...”

“Place.... do you mean a city?” I ask as I look to him. From behind I can hear everyone begin to murmur as True Will looks back to them uneasily.

“I don’t know; I didn’t go with her. She took a group of nearly twenty with her... and only three got out. I’ve lost contact with the other two while Lily... well... she isn’t around anymore.” He says with sorrow in his voice. I look over the sword a bit more before moving on. We can talk more about this later. Right now we need to get moving.

“Damian.” I say as I step before him.

“Uh...sinas me non tangatur. Is ... habet daemon tenuit infra.” He says as he pulls it aside and looks it over. It’s just a blackened scythe, I don't see what’s got him all worked up about it.

“A... demon. First off, why would you want a weapon with a demon in it, and secondly, why can’t I touch it?”

“Si daemon animam vendere poteris tangere. Proin egestas a ferro. In me ... quia tangam daemonis...”

“Wait, you have a demon in you.” I say aloud, getting everyone to look to us.

“Nice Miles, just tell everypony.” CC says from behind.

“Yeah...” Damian says slowly as he glares up to me.

“... is this going to be a problem for training?” I ask as I look back to everyone. Shadow is using Butterscotch to shield her eyes as everyone just watches with interest. Celestia looks more intrigued than any of them; inching her way closer to hear every word transpired.

“Uh... well... *sigh* I’m probably going to hate myself for this. I can run faster than anypony here as well as heal faster. The problem is going to be that I will probably have an easier time doing...”

“Easier.” Storm says with a chuckle as he walks over to us, putting all of Dust Devils gear on his back. “Trust me, we will make it harder for you. Being a better fighter is only a third of what you will learn.”

“Eeyup.” Big Mac Agrees as he joins us, hefting Night Fury’s gear.

“Yeah, I don’t think you’re lying about being an adept fighter; I’ve seen what you can do. Trust me, you still have a lot to learn... and now that we know you can take a hit we get to play favorites." I say, getting chuckles from Storm and Big Mac. Damian just sighs as he sets his scythe on the ground.

"Fine. Just set this in your shed so nopony will mess with it." He says in defeat.

"Can do..."

"Just don't touch it!" He snaps. I roll my eyes as I flare my hand to the side, making a hole appear beneath the weapon. "There, all sealed up." I say as I close the hole up. "Now the bag."

"... no." He says as he slowly shakes his head.

"No?" I ask as I pull my revolver out. "I'll give you one last chance to give that to me before I put a bullet in your fu... freaking head." I say as I remember Shadows location. He pulls his bag off his shoulder and holds it for a second as he stares at it. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was about to cry. "Damian..."

"Just give me a minute!" He snaps as he hugs it.

"It's just a bag dude." Hammer says from behind.

"FUCK YOU! BACKPACK IS JUST A BAG!" He yells back to him. Hammer stands there for a second before his face begins to sour up. "Hammer...."

"WHAAAAAHAHAAHAAAHAAAA!" He yells before running off, crying literal streams of tears. CC shoots Damian a dirty look before running after him.

"Is this normal?" Storm asks.

"Nnope."

"Fuck... can I go get him?" Damian asks as he looks out after him.

"No. Now hand it over." I say as I grab the bag. I try to pull it away, but he wouldn't let go of it. Annoyed, I look back to Celestia and point to my ear, getting a nod from her.

BANG

I pop a round into his leg, sending it straight through his knee. He falls to the ground and moans in pain as I take the bag and toss it over my shoulder. I look back and sigh in relief as Celestia holds the sound barrier up. Shadow is still hiding with Butterscotch, so she didn't see anything.

"Alright, Camo..." I start to say as I step towards him, only to have Damian grab my leg.

"His sword... is... cursed." He grunts through the pain.

"Cursed?" Camo asks as he pulls it out.

"A demon... cursed it... it now has your soul.... have fun in hell... being his bitch." Damian says as he holds onto his knee.

"I'll be taking this one, if you don't mind." Patches says as he walks up beside me. "Unless you want the demon to have possession over your soul for all of eternity."

"They're joking right? This thing isn't really cursed by some demon... right?" Storm asks as we all stare at the sword.

"OK. Go ahead and take it Patches." I say as I think back to the demons that attacked me a while back.

"But, this belongs to the Ursa's...." Camo starts but stops when Patches yanks the sword from his hooves.

"Yeah? Well now we have it. Go back to your bucking hide away in Detrot and play with your flowers." He says as he takes the sword.... and stabs it through his chest. I hear Rarity faint as the rest of them gasp in surprise. "What?" He asks nonchalantly as he begins to walk away, the ends of the swords sticking out of his chest.

"Do I even want to know?" I ask.

"We don't even know." Damian answers as he forces himself back up. The wound on his knee has already stopped bleeding and is well on its way to completely healing. We all watch him walk off until he's out of sight. With an annoyed sigh I step back to face the entire lineup. We haven't even started and the strange has been maxed out....

"Alright!" I yell as I wave my hand again, only this time I crop all of their manes and tails. "Let’s get this over with already. I'll give you a five second head start before we open fire. You'll see where to run. One... two... RUN ASSHOLES!" I yell, making them all turn and run. As they all run off I can see Damian keeping pace with everyone; we can't have that. As Storm and Big Mac take lift their guns I take aim with my revolver....

BANG

The round flies down and hits Damian right in the shoulder, making him roll to the side and knock Rainbow Dash over. The second the shot rang out Storm and Big Mac opened fire, splintering trees and making the group run even faster.

"Keep after them!" I yell over the fire. "Keep them on the ground and don't let up until they're ready!" They both nod before taking off after them, leaving all of the gear behind in a pile. I wait until they're out of view before turning back to the others, getting Celestia to drop her shield.

"Miles did you really have to cut Rainbows mane like that?! It was simply garish." Rarity complains.

"Yes, I did." I say as I holster my revolver.

"That was... interesting." Celestia says in a daze.

"Come back in twenty-eight days to pick up the survivors. Spike, I want you here in twenty-one days for more magic training. Be here at noon, alright?"

"O..."

"YOU ARE NOT SPARTAN TRAINING MY SPIKEY WIKEY!" Rarity yells as she rears up and hugs him, making his face turn bright red.

"You're darn right he isn't!" Twilight yells as she joins her in hugging Spike.

"I know that. This isn't Spartan training, it’s something else. Three weeks at noon, remember that." I say before tossing all of the gear into a pile and sending it to my shed. I take a moment to glance to Shadow and Luna before running into the woods. I hate having to leave when so many things are coming up... hopefully Luna can forgive me for missing her birthday. I'll have to do something extra special for her.

---

Once the sound of the gun fire is gone everyone begins to move inside, keeping quiet as we all reflect on what just transpired. Scootaloo, Applebloom and Shadow all run upstairs to Shadow's room while the rest of us take up seats in the living room.

"Well... at least it wasn't like last time." I joke, getting odd looks from everyone.

"Do you think that pony was serious about the demons?" Celestia asks. Everyone looks around nervously as they stay quiet, not knowing how to answer.

"Princess... Miles once said he saw one of them. I don't think..."

"Try not think about it too much." I look to the front door to see a yellow pegasus mare walk in. She has long black hair that has a strip of white going through it. I think she's part griffin, due to the massive wings. "I just came back to have a little chat with all of you, put your minds at ease." She says with a warm smile as she takes a seat on the ground next to Spike.

"How do ya know Miles.... uh..." Applejack asks to get her name.

"Just call me CC. We met Miles a while back when he killed a couple of our agents. It was self-defense, but it... well, it ended with Damian getting Spartan training." She says with almost a chuckle.

"S-so demons are real.... oh... my..." Fluttershy stutters as she begins to sink behind Applejack.

"Like I said, try not to think about it. We have a very good lid on things. Nothing will happen too anypony as long as we're around."

"And who exactly are you?" Celestia asks.

"Sorry Princess, I can't say that." She says, making Twilights jaw drop.

"What is it with the ponies here and keeping secrets from Celestia! She is our Princess for pony sake! You..." Twilight yells but stops when Celestia raises a hoof to her.

"Does your organization reside in Equestria?" She asks.

"Nope!" CC says simply.

"Very well then. Now I have to question your motives, though I am still intrigued by them." She says as she straightens out.

"Yer being pretty relaxed about this Princess." Applejack says.

"When you're as old as me you learn to let things go sometimes. I can't force somepony from out of our borders to tell me everything. That's politics for you." She says with a shrug before looking outside. "My apologies but it’s time for my sister and I to take our leave. We must go raise the moon and set the sun. Have a good night everypony." She says as she stands and begins to walk out. I look back to all of the bowing ponies before following after her.

We teleport back to Canterlot and get to work setting the night sky. I make sure to make it shine just a little more for Miles tonight, I'm sure he'll need it tonight. Then again, I guess that would make it easier for the trainees as well... oh well. That's what he gets for missing my birthday... speaking of which...

"So sister," I say as I fly over to her bed chambers and follow her inside. "What are your plans for next month? Anything big planned?" I ask with a large smile.

"Not really. We've got the first snow fall coming up in a few weeks, have to make sure that goes over well." She says as she lays on her large red pillow and begins to read a scroll. Hmmm... that didn't seem to trigger anything.

"Yeah, the winter solstice should be interesting... the twenty first... of December... big day..."

"Yes, it'll be nice to have the solstice with the Crystal Empire this year. I'm sure the northern lights will be exciting for everypony." She says as she starts a new scroll.

"Yes, I imagine they would throw a party for it.... party.... twenty first... da-da-daaa-da-daaa-da...."

"Mhmm." She mumbles as she signs the scroll and pulls another one out. I want to believe that she's hiding a surprise from me... but with what happened the last three years... "OH! The twenty first!" She says as she looks back to me.

"Yeah!" I say with a smile as I lean towards her.

"It's Bluebloods coronation from the academy. Good thing you remembered, I would have completely forgotten, thank you little sister. Was there anything else that I have forgotten?" She asks as she looks back to me. I feel my smile fall from me as I take a step back. She forgot... again. This would be four years in a row now. I should just tell her, maybe then she won’t...

"Princess." A guard asks from the door. "You have visitor waiting for you in the..."

"Ah yes. Huaila Zhao. Probably here for the new trade we're setting up. I'll be right there. Sorry Luna, but he doesn't know you so I don't think the negotiations would go over very well..."

"No, its fine. Send him my regards." I say as I shy away. "Its... just..."

"Yes?" She asks as she looks back to me.

"Nothing." I say as I turn away from her.

"Oh... OK. Be sure to keep the bananas away from Huaila, he tends to break stuff at the sight of them." Celestia tells the guard as they walk out the room. I go to my room with a heavy heart and just drop onto my dresser. I shouldn't be as sad as I am, she only doesn't remember because I won’t remind her. But at the same time... I'm her sister. This is something she should remember.

BEEP BEEP

I perk up a bit when I hear my phone make a sound. I take out of the dresser and look it over. One voice mail from Miles... who else would it be from?

'Luna,

Sorry I won’t be able to make it to... whatever is going on during your birthday. I wanted to push the Spartan training back for it... but, I just couldn't. There's just too much going on with too little time to do it all. Don't worry though, when I get back I'll have something planned, just the two of us. I promise.

Happy early birthday Luna.'

I smile contently as I replay the message. First person to remember in a thousand years, of course it would be him.

---

"FORM UP!" Miles yells as we make our way form the Run. The group is tired, cold, and beaten badly, but we've only just begun. They line up and stand as best they could, finding it hard to do without sleep and open wounds covering their bodies. "Welcome to combat training. We call this the box. Line up and take a sword." Miles says before stepping back and rubbing his eyes.

"MOVE IT!" Big Mac yells, getting them to run forward.

"Al....A... *COUGHING FIT." Miles drops to a knee as he begins to cough like crazy. Big Mac and I look to each other before moving forward and throwing wooden sword at each of them.

"Take your form!" I yell, getting them to hold their weapons up. I move over to Rainbow and inspect her form, pushing her legs a bit to stand a bit wider. I move to Night Fury and inspect him, only to notice that he snarls at me. "Do we have a problem?" I ask as I get in his face.

"Get out of my face." He growls as he stands there.

"Why? Who's going to make me? Rain Dro..."

"GAH!" He yells as he tries to hit me with the sword. I dodge it easily by stepping back. he moves forward and tries again to strike me. I just duck under his blow and slam the hilt of my sword into his gut, forcing him to double over. I slam my hilt onto the back of his head and send him to the ground.

"En.... ENOUGH!" Miles yells as he pushes himself up. "Let’s get back to it already. Get up Fury." I step back and move on to Dust Devil as he picks himself up. We go through all of their forms before stepping back. The entire time I could feel Fury glaring daggers at me, but that's not important right now. Hopefully he can take that hatred and use it.

"You good to do this?" I ask Miles.

"I just need to use more magic, that's all." He says as he forces back a cough. "Remember, we need to get these basic forms ingrained into their skulls. These forms should become natural to them, understand?"

"Eeyup."

"ALRIGHT! Let’s do this already." He yells before slamming his hands onto the ground. Nine squares appear around each of the recruits, forming a large box. They each stand in the center-most square as the other eight form around them.

"Hold your forms!" Big Mac yells as they all started looking around themselves. They snap back to their forms and watch as Miles creates one for himself.

"This box is your home. Once you learn to move about the field you'll be able to fight masses of people with total ease. Storm and I will demonstrate."

We both move to face one another. As Miles moves, the squares move along with him, keeping him in the center. I lung forward as I try to swipe my sword at him, only to have it meet his own. He pushes forward as we hold our blades against each other’s. I break the contact and roll to the left, ending in the corner square. He slashes at me again, so I roll forward to the side square and swipe at him. He jumps back and takes his form for a second, before relaxing and looking back to the others.

"There's lesson one: Avoid and retaliate. If you're on the offensive you have to move about your opponent, keeping out of their square. Don't go head to head with something you're weaker then, keep them moving until you find an opening and take it. Now pair up and spar." Miles says, getting odd looks from all of them. "FUCKING MOVE IT ASSHOLES!" He yells, getting them to turn to one another.

We all split up as we watch them spar with one another. I walk up to Dust Devil and Rainbow and just watch them go at it. Dust Devil seems to be more methodical with her blows while Dash is all power and no restraint. After a few seconds Dust Devil finally gets a blow across Dashes face, knocking her on her back. With an annoyed sigh I move over to her and stomp onto her weapon as she tries to get back up.

"What is your malfunction!" I yell as she tries to yank her sword out from under me.

"SIR I..."

"Power gets you nothing!" I yell as I kick her over. "Power gets your friends killed!" I yell as I kick her stomach. "Without thought you may as well be DEAD!" I yell with a stomp. "NOW GET UP AND DO IT AGAIN!" She pushes herself up and jumps back into the fight. She tosses herself into Dust Devil, swinging her wooden sword in anger as she tries to score a hit. As expected, Dust Devil ends up striking her across the head again.

"DAMMIT!" She yells as she staggers back, holding the bruise on her cheek.

"Rainbow Dash." I say quietly.

"Sir... I just..."

"Spar with me." I say as I draw my sword. She looks over and backs away as I stalk towards her.

"S... Sir?" She asks as I begin to quicken my pace. Before she could get away I push forward and stab at her. She jumps back as takes her stance, slightly shaking as she holds her eyes wide open. Thanks to the enchantment on my blade I send her a bit further back then I meant to. "Storm... Sir, this is crazy! I only have a wooden..."

"Power isn't going to save you here!" I yell as I charge at her again. I quickly roll to her side and swing my blade at her. She tries to jump out of the way, but the tip of my blade catches her side and tears along her. She falls to the ground and grabs at the wound, trying to hold back the blood. I launch myself into the air and drop down on top of her, stabbing at her head. She kicks her legs up and hits me in the back, only moving me enough to miss stabbing her.

I hold the blade there and glare down to her, seeing the tears roll down from her face. I yank my blade out of the ground and step off of her. I yell for her to get back to sparring before looking back to the others. Miles and Damian are sparring while Big Mac is yelling orders at Night Fury and True Will. I look back to my group and yell some orders of my own, getting them to double their efforts.

---

"LINE UP!" I yell before coughing again. They all run in front of me and line up, the squares below them lining up with each other’s. "The past two days have been a fucking disgrace!" I yell as them as I walk around them. "Now things get harder. We've learned how to move on the horizontal plane, but comes the vertical!" I yell before slamming my hand down onto the ground. Lines come up from the squares below all of them, making a cube form around them, making twenty-seven cubes in total. Next I make diagonal lines form, going from each corner to the opposite one.

"You learned how to move, now comes the technique. Using this method, you can take any weapon and use it to your advantage. Keep your attacks in the squares at all times. Do NOT swing into the lines themselves." Storm says from the front.

"Big Mac and I will demonstrate." I say as I walk back to the front of the lineup. I make the same box for myself before drawing my sword and taking my form. Big Mac takes his halberd out and takes a few steps towards me, waiting for me to make a move.

I take the initiative by stomping forward as I bring my blade straight down towards him. He brings his halberd up and blocks the attack easily. I bring back my sword and begin to quicken my blows, following the empty spaces in the squares. We begin to engage each other more and more, trying to gain dominance in the fight. When I finally knock Big Mac over I look back to the others and order them to begin sparring.

"You alive?" I ask as I help Big Mac back up.

"Eeyup." He states simply. We all look back to the group and watch as they continue sparring with one another. Their fatigue is showing in the weakness of their attacks, but I can see a few of them keeping pace. Damian and True Will seem to have a good amount of energy reserved, good that we paired them up with each other. I almost had to kill Damian when I found out he was imbuing his sword with energy, but luckily he learned quickly how not to piss me off. Camo Flash and Rainbow Dash seem to be falling behind, barely having the energy to keep their swords up.

"Storm, go and watch after Camo and Dash. Big Mac can handle Night Fury and Dust Devil while I get the other two." I tell them, getting nods from them as they walk to their groups. I watch the two of them fight for a good thirty minutes before I decide that this is too easy for them. "Cease fighting." I tell them, getting them to stop almost immediately.

"Sir?" Damian asks.

"I'm pushing you two up a level. Get ready for the advance set." I say as I lay my hand on the ground. I double the amount of lines surrounding them, adding some in new directions. "Now, get back to it."

"SIR!" They yell before engaging one another again. I watch them closely as they swing at one another, slowing their attacks to make sure that they keep in the spaces.

"PICK IT UP!" I yell as I take a swing at Damian. He rolls away from me before doubling his efforts. They move back and forth as they each try to get a hit on one another, only to be blocked by the others sword. I can see the frustration in their eyes as the fight continues to escalate. I flare my hand and wave it, making a chunk of earth grab Damien’s hoof and hold him in place. This catches him off guard and leaves him open for True Will to strike him across the gut, knocking him over.

"THAT'S CHEATING!" Damian yells from the ground. I take step towards him and stomp my foot down on his chest. "SIR! I MEANT SIR I..."

Before he could finish I flare my hands and start to beat him with raw blasts of energy. He puts his hooves up to block his face, so I start going after his stomach, adding more energy to my hits. His bruises begin to break open as I send my final blast across his face, nearly knocking him out.

"WHAT IS RULE NUMBER TWO ASSHOLE!" I yell at him as I move to his side.

"S-sir... no... bitching..." He groans as he tries to get back up.

"THEN SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GET BACK TO SPARRING!" I yell as I back off of him.

KILL HIM

What?

HE IS WEAK.... HE IS A SLACKER.... HE MUST TURN TO THE VOID...

No... it wouldn't be right....

RIGHT?! RIGHT?! YOU DARE TELL ME WHAT IS RIGHT AND WHAT IS...

"ENOUGH!" I yell, getting everyone to look over to me. "Uh..."

"Everything alright Miles?" Storm asks nervously.

"Y-yeah." I stutter as I look around, seeing all of the concerned stares. "Just... get back to sparring. They all give each other odd looks before getting back to training. I take a moment to collect myself...

YOU WON'T ALWAYS HAVE CONTROL.

---

I don't really know what happened. One minute I'm in Ponyville, hanging out with Butterscotch and E'Claire, the next I'm being rushed away by Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. They told me too just stand here and to leave the blind fold on, so that's what I'm doing.... not sure why...

BUM

What the...

BUM

Is that a...

BUBUBUBUM BU-DU-DUM BUM BUM DA BUM BUM DA- DUM

Uh...

BUM

"We the Cutie Mark..."

"Can I take the blind fold off?" I ask, cutting Sweetie Belle off.

"Oh, right." Applebloom says. When the piece of cloth falls from my head I blink a couple of times before taking in my surrounding. I'm in the middle of their club house standing on a pink rug. Scootaloo is sitting behind two massive drums; looking really intense, while Sweetie Belle is at a podium. A red banner with a blue badge is hanging from one corner of the room to the next. The three of them are wearing red capes that each have similar badges on them.

"Uh.... what's going on?" I ask quietly.

"We, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, hereby elect Shadow to join us as a sister, friend, confidant, allay, blossom buddy, gal pal... Scootaloo! I thought you said you re-wrote this!" Sweetie Belle says as she looks over to her.

"I did."

"Well it’s still the same thing!"

"No it isn't! I added comrade, BFF, Silly Filly...."

"Anyway!" Applebloom interjects.

"Right. And Fellow Cutie Mark Crusader! You are solemnly sworn in, here this day, by your sister, confidants, amigas..."

"CONGRATULATIONS! Yeah, need to revise that... again." She says before throwing something at me. I duck down and cover my eyes with my hooves until I feel a cloth fall on my back. I look back to see one of their capes draped over myself.

"What.... what is this?" I ask as I stand back up.

"Its yer initiation!" Applebloom says cheerfully. "Yer one-a us now!" She says as they all run over to me and tackle me in a group hug.

"R-really! B-but I-I didn't do anything to deserve this...."

"Yeah you have ya dodo!" Scootaloo says as they let go of me. "You are exactly the kind of pony the Cutie Mark Crusaders are looking for! Now do you think you have what it takes to be in our club?" I look back to the cape before looking back to her and nodding, offering the best smile I could muster.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS! YAY!" They yell before jumping up and hoof bumping. They all look back to me and hold their hooves in the air... OH!

"Cutie... Mark Crusaders....yay." I say before slowly bumping my hoof into theirs.

"We'll work on that later, come on! It's time for your surprise!" Scootaloo says before running down the ramp. We all run after her as we make our way towards Ponyville. I run up beside Sweetie Belle and ask her where she got the capes; to which she said she made them...

Meanwhile...

"Ahh... that was a lovely visit to the spa, but I must get this order done. I have no time to waste." I say as I open the door to my shop. I take a two steps in before I nearly faint from the sight.

"SWEETIE BELLE! How many times do I have to tell you NOT to use my fabric! Now I'll have to go and make all new gold lined fabric by the end of the night!"

Back to the cuteness...

We make it to Sugar Cube Corner where the three of them jump onto the step, blocking my entrance.

"You ready for your super awesome surprise?" Scootaloo asks as they all stare down to me in excitement.

"Uh...."

"Like, it’s not even going to be that good of a party." I cringe from the sound of the voice. I look behind me to see Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon standing behind me.

"Why did you have to ruin the surprise!" Sweetie Belle demands!

"You guys threw me a party?" I ask with a smile.

"Yeah, and they totally bored the heck out of it. There's only, like, ten ponies here and..."

"You even toned it down for me." I say as I step towards them.

"And there's only one kind of treat... double chocolate chip cookies..."

"YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!" I yell as I jump on top of them, hugging them each as hard as possible.

"Aren't ya mad that they ruined the surprise?" Applebloom asks as I let go of them.

"Are you kidding? I hate surprises! But this is still one of the nicest things anypony could have done for me. Thanks."

"Let’s go inside already!" Scootaloo says before running in. I was about to follow them inside before I looked back to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

"If you want, you can come in to..."

"Why would we want to go to this lame-o party?" Silver Spoon asks before walking off, holding her head high.

"Blank flank!" Diamond Tiara says before following her friend.

"Don't listen ta them, they're just a few bad apples." Applejack says from behind.

"You know; I don't really care right now. I have the three best friends in the world, nothing could bother me." I say as I look back to her. She offers me a warm smile as she ruffles my mane.

"Ah'm sure that would make Miles proud. Now git on in there before the rest of them eat all-a the treats!"

"*gasp* they better not!" I say before running inside.

---

"WAKE UP YOU PIECES OF SHIT!" Big Mac yells, waking them from their one-hour rest. They scramble to their hooves and lineup as quickly as possible.

"We're going to start with another comprehension and reflex test. Putt these on!" I yell as I a black bag at them.

WHY DO THEY DESERVE TO LIVE?

"Try not to disappoint us again." I say as I ignore Corpus Glacius. I nod to Big Mac and Storm before moving over to True Will. I set a doll on the ground and move to his side, "TRUE WILL!"

He yanks the bag off and looks around, finding the doll almost immediately. He takes it into his hooves and checks its diaper...

"PASS!"

"PASS!"

"FAIL!" I look over to see that Damian failed the doll test, sucks to be him. We each move on to the next pony and yell their names, mine being Rainbow Dash.

"Uh..."

"How do I get to Canterlot from here?" I ask politely.

"Uh... head northeast and head up the mountain. You can't really miss it."

"Pass."

"FAIL!"

"FAIL!" I shake my head as they all put the bags back on.

The next hour comes and goes with little to no hope. All of them only seem able to get every other test correct... except Damian. He can't get any right. After all of this we send them down to the run to work off their failures. While Storm and Big Mac keep them occupied during all of that, I head further into the forest to get the next coarse ready.

LEAVE THEM. THEY CANNOT...

Not listening to you.

FOOL! I AM POWER! I CAN GIVE YOU SECRETS GREATER THEN...

What happened to the other guy? I want to talk to him.

AMIMA IGNIS IS.... PREOCCUPIED. I...

Don't care. Moving on. I stop and kneel down as I lay my palms on the ground. A single post shoots straight up. I send eight earthen tethers up and connect them to the top. I make another set of tethers, only these ones are off set from the others and only go half way up the center post.

YOU WILL END BEFORE YOU CAN MAKE A CHANGE.

Maybe, but I'd rather die trying. Now shut the fuck up and let me do my job. I stand up and head back to the others, following the sounds of gunfire and shouts to find my way.

"MOVE FASTER!" Storm yells as he sprays the trench with gunfire. I watch the water pop up all the way down, two or three spots being red. I flare my hands and begin to toss white orbs down the trench, making massive explosions appear on the sides of the trench.

"How many more?!" I yell as I send more orbs down range.

"SIXTEEN!" Big Mac yells as he reloads.

"Awesome."

---

"THRUST!" I yell as I walk along the lineup.

"HA!" They all scream as they stab forward.

"DEFEND!"

HA!" They all scream as they bring up their swords and hold it there. I wait for a second as I look from one face to the next. They've all hardened over the past week. Each of them staring off into the distance with looks of worn down soldiers. Long trails of smoke shoot from their mouths as they exhale, fogging their faces slightly.

"At ease." I say quietly, getting them to stand down. "We're at a cross road now; a fork in the road. This is where we find the Spartans and where we kill the rest. Drop down and do sit ups until I tell you to stop."

"SIR YES SIR!" They yell before dropping down and start doing sit ups. I let them go for about half an hour before walking up to the first in the lineup; Damian.

I walk up before him and watch for a few seconds, watching the steam rise from his body as he tries to fight the cold. I step forward and bring my foot down onto his chest as I pull my revolver out and aim for his head.

"TELL ME YOUR CAUSE!?" I yell as he fights to do a sit up.

"SIR?" He asks as he continues to try.

"YOU HAVE TEN SECONDS TO TELL ME YOUR CAUSE BEFORE I KILL YOU! WHAT IS YOUR CAUSE!?" I yell as I press the barrel against his skull. He thinks quickly about his answer before looking me right in the eyes.

"To.... protect."

"DAMN GOOD!" I yell before moving to the next person, Rainbow Dash. "WHAT IS YOUR CAUSE!" I yell as I bring my foot down onto her chest.

"I... uh..."

"FIVE SECONDS!"

"But...."

"TWO!"

"LOYALTY!" She screams as she shuts her eyes. I stare her down a bit before moving on to the next person. Loyalty, never heard that one again.

"CAMO FLASH! WHAT IS YOUR CAUSE!?" I yell as I do the same to him.

"Uh..."

"SIX SECONDS!"

"I..."

"TWO SECONDS!"

"I don't get the question SIR!"

BANG

I send the round right between his eyes, forcing his head to fly back as blood sprays out. Everyone seems to stop as they watch the smoke rise from the hole in his head.

"TRUE WILL!" I yell as I move to him and step down onto him. "WHAT IS YOUR CAUSE!?"

"My... cause?"

"FOUR SECONDS!"

"REDEMPTION!" He yells quickly. I move to the next person, Dust Devil.

"WHAT IS..."

"ATONEMENT!" She yells before I could finish. I grab her hair and lift her into the air. I stick the barrel of my revolver into her mouth and glare.

"What is your cause?" I growl to her.

"Atonement Sir... for my little brother." She says as she starts to tear up. "I have to be strong for him... I have to live for him... please sir... let me atone..."

"Very well." I say before dropping her. I move to Night Fury and just stand before him. He looks up to me for a second before his gaze slowly turns to Storm.

"Revenge." He growls as he glares at him.

"Oh great, another revenge cause." I say before walking to Storm and Big Mac. We all look to one another before nodding and facing the group.

"STAND UP!" Big Mac yells, making them jump to their hooves.

"Your cause." I start, eyeing each of them for a second before continuing. "It’s what truly makes a Spartan. It’s the one thing that you always fight for, the thing that keeps you from dying. In the greatest of hardships, during the greatest pains, your cause gives you the drive to push forward. Want to know why Camo Flash died back there? It’s because he had nothing worth fighting for."

"Keep your cause close to your heart, and you'll never lose. It’s the one thing that you can always rely on to for that resolve to win. That willingness to go the extra mile. You die when you lose your cause... or find a new cause." Storm finishes.

"Hour rest. Be sure to meditate on your cause. What you said right now will drive you for the rest of your lives; learn what it means."

---

"Alright, before we move to weapon specialization, it’s time for a rest. Everyone lay down and go to sleep." I say as we have them circle our camp fire. They all look to each other nervously but comply anyway. After a few minutes I go through them all and set my spells, eight hours of nothing but endless sleep.

"How would we do this without magic?" Storm asks as I go to my first victim, Rainbow Dash.

"Back in the old days they would use sedatives and hallucinogenic to fuck with them. First dose being the average amount, then one and a half, the double, until the final day. But that had obvious problems... do you hear that?" I ask as I look up. In the distance I see Spike flying towards us, carrying a massive bag that's teeming with school supplies.

"Right on time." Storm says with a smile.

"Eeyup." Big Mac agrees. We wait for him to land before us, well, more like crash. He picks himself off of the ground and dusts himself off as he blushes a bit.

"Uh... hey guys." He says as he approaches us, rubbing the back of his head as he looks back to the bag. "Sorry, Twilight wanted me to bring a bunch of spare paper and stuff..."

"It’s alright Spike." I say as Storm walks over to him and grabs him in a hug. "We were just about to start. You ready for this?"

"Why am I here again?" He asks as they break their hug. "I thought Spartan Training was supposed to be a secret. Shouldn't I be in trouble for being here?" Storm and I look to one another before chuckling a bit. "I don't get what's so funny..."

"Spike," Storm starts, "Don't worry about it. We know you're going to be a Spartan one day; we can let this slide for now."

"Really!? You think I have what it takes to be a Spartan?" He asks with almost a hop. “Wait... is this going to be actual Spartan training?"

"No. The trainees are all asleep right now." I reassure him. "So now we're going to fuck with them."

"... fuck..."

"Watch your mouth!" Storm snaps.

"Look, let’s give them about an hour before we get working on this. In the mean time I want to check up on how you're progressing on your magic."

"Um...."

"*sigh* today is going to be a long day...."

After an hour of seeing Spike at the same level I decide to move on to the others. I kneel beside Rainbow Dash and cover my hand in my magic. I glance back to the others before pushing into her subconscious. After a blinding white light, I find myself flying through the air. Before me are Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, and Soarin; all flying together. They twist and spiral around with large smiles; laughing and playing through the peaceful sky. I begin to force my influence into her subconscious. I start by forming storm clouds to form as the winds begin to pick up. Rainbow immediately tries to grab Scootaloo, but I force the winds to send her to the ground. As she chases after her I keep her just out of reach, screaming for Mommy to catch her. She it’s the ground, dying on impact. Rainbow lands over her and tries to wake her lifeless body, but a noise comes out from the distance. Taking Scootaloo, she runs off through a thick forest as she chases after the noise in the distance.

"SOARIN!" She yells as she runs to his side. I placed him on the ground with a wing snapped off. He doesn't respond to Rainbows cries. Instead he just lays there as the stump of what was his wing bleeds over, pooling all around him.

"Y....you.... failed.... Scootaloo." He says with his dying breath. Rainbow creams his name out, but I force her to fall into a black abyss, followed by the bodies of the ones she loves. She'll fall for what will feel like days until she restarts this same exact dream. No matter what she tries, she will always fail.

"MILES!" Spike yells as I retract from her mind. I take a deep breath as I stand and look back to the others. They look concerned... but why?

"What?"

"Uh... your arms." Storm says. I look down and see that the lines have gone jagged again. I look them over for a minute before moving onto to Damian.

"It’s nothing, just.... don't worry about it. Comes with the territory of being as powerful as I am. While I deal with Damian I want you to check over Rainbow Dash. Try to see how I did what I did." I say to Spike as I kneel next to Damian and get to work.

OK.... what the fuck is wrong with this guy? I pushed my way in only to find myself in some kind of torture room. Iron maidens, chains and blood fill the dark room as Damian watches CC carve the skin from her body. The weird part, Damian looks bored as fuck.

"YOU DARE ENTER MY DOMAIN!" A voice screams as it tears me away from the dream. I find myself pulled into a white planes facing what looks like a being of darkness. It has the basic form or a human; arms, legs, head, but lacks any other real features. The only other thing the stands out on this creature are its two red eyes.

"Your.... domain? Damian has a soul fire?" I ask as I think back to what Damian told me about himself. "No.... you're the demon within him..."

"I am Strages, and you will not interfere with my pawn human. " The shadow says as it begins to hover towards me.

"Sorry, I can't leave until I begin my torture." I say as I flare my magic.

"I torture him! He is MY puppet to control!" Strages yells before lunging at me. He's a demon, so icy void should kill him. I clench my fists and punch towards him, hitting him square in the chest. He flies away a bit before landing on his back. ".... how did you do that?" He asks as he gets back up.

"How are you still alive?" I ask in bewilderment.

"Only a select few demons can use that power! How did you do that!" He yells as he charges at me again, only to get another chest full of icy void.

"I don't know how I got this power. One day I went through another change and boom! I have icy void. Now how are you still alive?"

"I am too powerful to die from an attack like that..... you must be a hominem De bellum. You've peeked my interest. You may torture Damian, but know that this is still my domain..."

"Wait, I've heard that before. Man of war? Where do you know that from? What does it mean? Tell me!" I ask as the scenery fades back to Damien’s dream.

"Do your worst." I look over the dream and sigh in annoyance. As much as I want to know more about what he said, this is just a shame.

"What the fuck man, this is just... no." I say as I watch a bored Damian kill CC over and over again.

"DO NOT TALK DOWN TO ME..."

"Then don't talk as if you know how to torture people! This is stupid!" I yell back.

"I've been doing this since the begging! Do not..."

"Really? The begging? Then why do you suck?" I ask, getting silence as my answer. "Look, he obviously knows it a dream. The next step is to make it believable. Watch.

I take the dream and begin all over, starting with him waking at the camp. From there I have myself tell him that training has moved to a new stage, one where he gets to visit his friends. He seems genuinely surprised by this, but doesn't fight it. I lead him back to my home where we find his friends Hammer and CC..... kissing.

".... CC? Hammer?" He asks as he approaches the two of them.

"Damian!" CC exclaims as she breaks contact with Hammer. "It’s good to see you again. Guess what? Hammer proposed! And I said yes!" I let him take it from there. I pull back until I'm back in the white planes with the shade, where I cross my arms and wait for him to respond.

"... you didn't even kill any of them." He pouts.

"You don't always need to kill something to torture someone. Taking the thing he loves the most and turning away from him, that hurts. Watch, next time will be even worse."

"Hmm... very good. I like this. This is... a slower torture. I can drag this out..."

"See, torturing Damian is easy. You just have to be subtle about it..."

"DON'T GET CHUMMY WITH ME!" He yells before forcing me out of Damien’s subconscious. I fall onto my back and stare up at the canopy of the forest.

"Hey Miles.... you OK?" Spike asks as they all walk around me to check on me.

"I think I just made friends with a demon." I respond in a daze.

"He's fine." Spike says confidently. "I kind of got the feel from that one. Can you do another pony?"

".... yeah." I say as I see small white dots fall from between the trees. "What’s that?" They all look up before looking back to me.

"Its snow... you've never seen it snow before, have you?" Storm asks, to which I shake my head. "It’s just frozen rain basically."

"Frozen... huh. Well I'll just have to admire it another time. Next is... True Will." I say as I roll to my feet and walk over to his sleeping body.

I push myself into his mind and find his dream immediately. He's lying in a bed staring into some mare’s eyes. She's an all-white unicorn with light yellow hair. The two of them are completely silent; enjoying each other’s company as they hold hooves.

"It'll be OK." She tells him in almost a whisper. He chokes at this, tearing up as he pulls her in for a hug. Only now do I see the medical equipment attached to the mare, an EKG machine making quiet, constant beeps. With a sigh I force the next set of words from the mare.

"Please... end it." I pull back from his damaged mind and look over to the others. I just move on to Dust Devil and enter her mind.

She's in a somewhat familiar room. It reminds me of the houses in Moosden, only with people living in it. Dust Devil is playing some card game with a stallion as a mare stands before a kettle at the fire place. On the ground behind the stallion is a small child, barely old enough to walk, playing with some toys.

"Take my ace." The stallion says to Dust Devil.

"But... that's your lucky ace." Dust Devil says as she takes the card. "I thought...."

"Don't worry, no matter where you go, it will bring you good luck." He says with a warm smile. I bring my influence into the dream and have the door to the home burst open, extinguishing the fire. Dozens upon dozens of Unfamiliar pour into the room as they chase down all of the family members and devour them. I go from the child, to the mother, to the father. Forcing Dust Devil to watch their final agonizing moments of life. I've always hated this part of training, especially now since I'm going to have Spike join in on it...

---

A thick layer of snow has fallen over all of us as we wait for them to wake up from their forced slumbers. If it weren't for my freezing toes, I'd love it... but I'd rather feel my toes right now. Heating spells help, but I'd prefer shoes right now.

"Hope none of them freeze to death." Storm says as he tightens the red scarf around his neck. It was Spikes scarf, but he gave it to Storm during our last visit. He been getting better at dream manipulations, though he's still too soft to do anything dark; as expected.

"Eeyup." Big Mac agrees. I just tighten my hold on my chest as I watch them fumble underneath the snow.

"Did you get it?" I ask finally, unsure if they learned how to train Spartans.

"I got it... or at least I think I did." Storm says as he continues to stare into the small fire of ours.

"It’s a doozy, but ah got it." Big Mac says.

"You start by bringing them to their lowest point possible, then you poke and prod them as you try to learn what kind of pony they are. You look at the characteristics of the pony as you make their natural reflexes into that of a fighter..." Storm starts.

"Frum there ya weed out the bad apples." Big Mac continues. "Ya don't actually try ta kill any a them. The only ones ya kill are the ones that give up. Camo died cause he didn't want to continue. He just... gave in."

"Not everyone has what it takes to be a Spartan." I finish, gaining their attention. "When we say it takes a special kind of character to be Spartan, we aren't kidding. To pass, you have to be able to outlive yourself. That way you can die for others." They both nod to me as the first few of the group begin to burst from the snow. "Let’s get back to it." I say as I stand.

"Eeyup."

"Right behind ya." We wait for them to all wake before ordering them to take their fighting positions. Rainbow and DD jump to it without hesitation... the others.

"WHAT IS YOUR MALFUNCTION!" I yell to all the guys as they blush heavily. "GET THE FUCK UP!"

"SIR!" Damian yells, "I BELIEVE THAT ONE OF THE MARES..."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GET IN YOUR FIGHTING STANCES!" I yell, getting sigh from all of them as they....

What.... the fuck.

"Do any of you want to explain to me as to why you ALL have erections!?" I yell as I look from one... oh this is sick.

"Permission to warm up sir?" Night Fury asks as they all stand there, twitching from the cold snow.

".... which one of you are in heat?" I ask, getting them both to raise their hoofs. "Hmm... Storm, Big Mac, over here real quick." I say as I step off to the side. "What do you think?"

"I've seen bigger." Storm says with a chuckle.

"Shut up Storm" Big Mac says as he rubs his eyes.

"In all honesty, I say make them run after the mares through the snow. They'll have to learn self-control eventually."

"Hmm.... I've got it. A quick run, then The Run, and if they're still up... sparring matches." I say with an evil grin.

"Y'all are evil." Big Mac says as Storm nods in agreement. "Let go it then."

---

"OUT FUCKING STANDING!" Miles yells as the last trainee wakes from their slumber. "OUT FUCKING STANDING! Give yourselves a pat on the back, there's only one last thing to do before you're officially Spartans!" He says, getting cheers from all of them. "Inception."

"Sir?" Night Fury asks. "What does that intel?"

"It’s the Spartan codex. It's never been spoken before. From one Spartan to the next we've implanted it into our minds, to keep it from ever changing. These are the laws in which we follow, in which we live. Line up and prepare to finally become Spartans." He says, getting them all to run over in excitement to finally be finished.

He takes a knee and talks to Damian first. Apparently he wants specialized training as well, but he'll just have to wait a week or so. Miles places his hands onto the sides of his head and forces the memory into his brain. After a few moments, Miles gives him a rations bag and starts on the next pony. I walk over to Big Mac and motion for him to step aside as Miles continues with the others.

"Yeah?"

"Well? Do we tell them?" I ask, getting a wide eyed expression from him. "Come on, you can't tell me that it didn't feel better there. We can keep a secret if you want, but I thought we could make it our secret initiation thing."

"But Miles would find out eventually..."

"Na-ahahah, only if he would ask. Until then it'll be our secret. Right?" He looks back to Miles before holding his hoof out. I take it and shake it before walking back to the others, smiling like an idiot.

"But iffin he asks, Ah'm sayin its yer idea."

"Agreed."

"Welcome to the Spartan regiment!" Miles says as he stands before True Will. They let out a collective of cheers as Miles motions for them to follow home.

The walk home could not have been made faster. Everypony was talking excitedly with one another, giving congratulations and what not. I couldn't help but look over to Big Mac and giggle idiotically. This is going to be funny as hell....

"Alright!" Miles says as we step out of the forest and into his back yard. "I've got one last thing for everyone before I send you off. Just hang tight and I'll be right back." He says before going into his shed. Once the door shuts I run to the front of the group and get everyone’s attention.

"OK, so Big Mac and I have a.... little initiation test for all of you." I say with an evil smile. "Buck in Miles's bed."

"What?" Almost all of them asks at once.

"You heard me. Buck in Miles's bed." I repeat, getting odd looks from all of them.

"Why would we want to do that?" True Will asks.

"We believe Miles enchanted his bed ta make sex even better than usual." Big Mac says flatly, getting odd looks from everypony as well. "Ah didn't want ta believe it either.... but..."

"But.... but... I don't have anypony to do that with." Damian says with a pout. We all laugh a little as Miles climbs out of the shed and begins to hand out necklaces.

"These are going to be our calling cards," He starts as he goes down the line. "Use them to identify yourselves as Spartans and to help find other Spartans." I take one as well as look it over. It’s a simple necklace with a pendant on it: The Spartan logo.

"Hey, can I go home or do you still need me?" I ask as I put it on. He motions for me to go, so I take off through the air as quickly as possible. It’s been too long since I've seen my Twilight. Ponyville is abuzz with winter activities. Sledding, snowball fights, and ice carving take up the town below. I ignore it all as I head straight for the library, practically crashing through the door when I make it.

"TWILIGHT!" I yell as I run in and begin to remove my armor. "Twilight? Where are you?"

"Hey there big brother." I spin around and find Breaker sitting in the kitchen, sipping some hot tea.

"Breaker? What are you doing here? I thought you were with..."

"CLOUD!" My mother yells as she tackles me in a hug, then pulls away quickly. "WHEW! Go upstairs and take a shower honey, you kind of stink." She says as she points up stairs.

"Mom? What are you doing here? Is everything alright?" I ask as she walks over and sits beside Breaker, smiling warmly towards me.

"Oh everything is fine dear, we're just broke."

Next Chapter: Chapter 149 New Spartans On The Block Estimated time remaining: 50 Hours