Twilight waited in the room Lone had told her was hers as she waited for the instructor, who ever it was, who was supposed to arrive in half an hour. The room was lightly decorated, only having blinds for decoration. The walls were bare, and the dresser was an old, wood cabinet. The only thing that looked new was the bed, really. No books or anything to keep her attention. "They really don't like recruits having individuality, do they?" she muttered as she paced the room just to keep herself busy before her thoughts wandered to the captain of this guard. "And just why did the princess make Lone the leader of the group? Seriously, he pointed a sword to my throat. An etheric sword which requires a lot of magical reserves, albeit, but still. A captain should be somepony who can control their emotions." She scoffed. "And he told me to control my emotions," she said as she gave up pacing, and sat down against the back wall of her room, the one which the bed's head rest shared.

"You new?" she heard from the other side of the wall.

You know, I'm not even surprised, she thought to herself. "Yeah," she replied.

"Oh thank Luna, I'm not the only new recruit," the voice, that which belonged to a mare, said, the wording letting Twilight know this was either a thestral pony or one of the few who instantly swore loyalty to Luna when she returned and, though still loyal to Celestia, would follow Luna more often than not. "Name's Shadow Wing. And yes, I ma aware that sounds more like a stallion's name. My parents wanted a colt, and couldn't think of another name. Everyone I know calls me Shade, though. You?"

Twilight hesitated, not wanting to give her actual name if this was an agent of that group that attacked her. Still, her older, more trusting persona won out, and she said, "Twilight Sparkle."

"The princess of Friendship?" Shade asked. "You shitting me? No way she's you."

"No, that's me," Twilight said. "So, how long have you been here?"

"Long enough to know you've failed test one," Shade said before a pop was heard, and a flash of light from inside Twilight's room caused her to close her eyes. When she opened them again, she saw a. . .well, she didn't know how to put it. If this was Shade, she looked like a unicorn, but her ears ended in the tufts that Thestral ears did, and her eyes were blood red, and her hair was black with streaks of white. She didn't have any wings, though, and her horn ended in a tapered point. Her skin was a pale gray, and she wore a workout bra and knee length exercise pants, her cutie mark being a simple, full moon with a moon beam over a bat. She growled a little, revealing fangs. "Lesson one: always-always- put a sound proofing spell on your room so others can not hear you. It's a simple spell, and I'm sure somepony as studious as you knows it."

Twilight just looked at her. "Y-you're my instructor?"

The first one, yes," Shade said. "And before you ask, "I'm a vampony and a member of the Canterlot cell. I messed around with a spell, and got vampire bat- not vampire fruit bat- traits, including drinking blood. But not enough to kill, nor can I turn others into a vampony that way."

"But you aren't supposed to be here for another half hour!" Twilight yelled, her nerves still up, making Shade's ears go down and Shade herself to flinch.

"One: don't yell when you know I'm nearby," she said. "Two: that hour stuff is something every recruit is told so that we can judge how well they handle a surprise."

"Oh," Twilight said. "Sorry."

"No problem for now," the vampony mare said before her ears went back down. "Now, REPORT TO THE BASEMENT RIGHT BUCKING NOW!" she yelled before teleporting to the basement.

"Oh come on," Twilight muttered before getting up and leaving her room and down to the basement. As she descended the stairs, Lone and another individual watched her from the shadows.

"Plan one-alpha?" the second individual asked.

"Yep," Lone replied. "Shade already knows, as do the others that'll be there," he said. "And remember, unlike most other recruits, she does have enough power to cook you, even without the dark magic. True she may not do so, but still, better safe."

"Right," was the reply before a small, green light lit the area up to indicate teleportation before Lone chuckled.

"Damn, I always love doing this to newbies," he said before going to the training room, which was located on the ground level floor, as smoke drifted in front of him and, in green flame, became a scroll. He grabbed it before it could drop, and opened it.

Lone, it's Diamond. A few of the crystal guards have been acting weird. Requesting Acolytes for additional security seeing as how the fifth alicorn's third birthday is nearly here.

"Figures," he muttered before changing course, and heading to the library, where the main supply of paper, ink, and quills were kept.

the basement- a few minutes later

Twilight came down the stairs, and instantly, her bones felt as if a knife had been driven through them given how cold it was, and she wrapped her arms around herself and lit her horn with a heat spell as she shivered to try to generate heat to stay warm and her teeth began to chatter.

"W-wh-why th- the bu-buck i-i-is it so co-co-co-cold down here?" she asked as Shade, still wearing the workout bra and exercise pants but with her horn now lit by a blue aura.

"Meant to help condition you for cold environments," she said. "Only reason my horn is lit is because I'm generating the cold. Now come on," the vampony ordered before turning around, making Twilight move to follow, which wasn't an easy task considering she was rapidly becoming a pony sized and shaped Popsicle.

The two eventually reached a door. "Now, before w eenter here," Shade said, "I need to know: do you care what happens to your clothes?"

"Why would you ask- ah!" the lavender alicorn began before she felt her clothes being ripped off.

"A: if you can handle this type of cold while nude, you can handle it with winter clothing," Shade said with a lewd grin. "B: I'm the hugest pervert in Equestria right now. And before you say anything, Lone said I have free reign over training, and he knows what I do. Long as nopony gets killed, he won't intervene." The door then opened after being surrounded by a blue aura. "Now, get that cute plot of yours in there," she ordered before Twilight-now nude and shivering even harder- was magically thrown into the room. "And don't worry! There's a spell to make sure you don't freeze to death in place!" She then shut the door before locking it and placing the anti-teleportation spell on the room. "Damn, I love my job," she muttered as she saved the image of Twilight's. . . assets to her mind.

"You know, you could have had a little more tact," a voice said from the shadows. "Or at least be blunt and tell her you want to get in her pants."

"Oh shut it, Mist," Shade said. "Besides, my mare back in Manehattan wouldn't like it. She may have a long fuse, but don't blow her up. And cheating is an insta-light to that fuse."

There was a chuckle. "Yeah, fair point, I guess," he said. "So, everything ready?"

"Sparkle's in there with a few Acolytes," Shade reported. "Now, if there's nothing else: I need to put on an illusion spell, and take my hour break while you and the boys buck with her mind," she said before walking off. "You know where to find me if you need me!"

"By the queens, how did she be allowed to stay with us?" Mist muttered before he spoke to the shadows. "All right boys, you know the plan!"

With Twilight

"I'm starting to-bu-bu-bu-bucking hate this deci-si-sion," the now freezing and nude alicorn said as the door closed be hind her, and she saw a small room with three other ponies-each a mare at least- crouched on the floor, each shivering but not to the degree she was. Taking small enough steps to keep her legs close to her crotch but large enough to be considered actual steps, she made her way to the opposite wall of the door, and sat down, nearly jumping up as the cold floor made contact with her lower lips, but was able to endure it long enough to where the floor didn't feel cold at all, and her shivering began to die down. You know, it's not so bad after you get used to it, she thought, thinking of both the cold and lack of clothing before quickly adding with a blush Not that I'd want to walk around naked all the time back home.

She was quickly brought out of her thoughts when the door burst open with a resounding THUD! She quickly turned her head and, to her horror, saw a group of five changelings there, each wearing armor. "All right boys, round 'em up and bring them to the city center. And make sure to put magic negation rings on the horns of the unicorns," the lead one said before eyeing Twilight. "Her especially," he added.

"Si-" one changeling began before a burst of lavender magic hit his head, and he fell down, unconscious. As the four others looked in surprise, two more were knocked out by Twilight before they went to cover, which was grabbing the nearest mare as a living shield, which only worked for one as the leader was the only one to grab one in time. He drew a dagger, and brought it to the mare's throat.

"Surrender, or she loses her life," he said before Twilight teleported, only to see him facing her. "I got pretty quick reflexes," he said. "Now, surrender. Or. She. Dies." As if to emphasize this, be brought the blade close, and drew some blood.

Twilight, knowing she only had a few seconds, looked around the room they were in, and saw the other two mares stand up and grab weapons off the other four changelings when an idea came to mind. She saw a patch of ice and, with her rather intellectual mind, calculated the angle of reflection a magic beam would have if it hit, which would lead to another ice patch whose ricochet would hit the changeling leader. She quickly charged a stun spell, and fired twice, once at the ice and once at the changeling's hooves to surprise him, as well as make him jump back to where the stun spell hit him in the head.

Only it had no effect. "What?" Twilight asked in shock, making the changeling chuckle.

"Magic negating armor," he said. "Made for certain occasions within the Shadow guard," he added as he released the mare, who wiped the blood off her throat, revealing no cut at all. "Specialist Green Mist of the Canterlot cell of the Shadow guard. And yes, I am a changeling." It was here that the stress that had been built up for the last hour coupled with this surprise took its toll on the lavender alicorn, and she fainted. "Should have seen that coming," Mist muttered as the other changelings got up, the illusion spell placed on them facing to reveal they were unicorn mares. "You girls all right?"

"Yeah, Mist," one of the mares that had been in the room when Twilight entered replied.

Mist nodded. "Good," he said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get her to medical." With that, the changeling used his magic to grab a towel from the other room and wrap it around the lavender alicorn before picking her up, and heading to where the medical portion of the mansion was.

Author's Notes:

I decided to do away with that contest as no one seemed interested in it.