Awake and alone once again. I rub sleep from my eyes before surveying my surroundings for a moment. Within the safety of the walls I have created nothing can harm me, or at least such was my thinking. I arise and stretch, another fear filled night passed. I exit the door of my hut, the ever dark forest surrounding me and casting its shadows upon me. Little light can actually penetrate the thick canopy above me. I look to the trail, which I had blazed over the past few years, in contemplative silence for a few moments. It was then I heard something, a noise. I tensed up, knowing that there was something in these very woods that crept upon me. It was ever near but never visible; it was always there but never palpable. Some kind of evil presence was stalking me religiously and I felt the horror of the situation edge in upon my soul. I darted towards the trail, much like I always did, bolting and crashing through the tiny pathway I had created.

It was for a little while that I galloped in such a panicked flight before I slowed my pace. I could see the light of the morning sun, now visible at the edge of the woods. As I left the boundaries of these cursed trees I began making my way towards the nearest town, seeing if, perhaps, there was somepony there that would have mercy and actually look upon me for once.

Once within the boundaries of the town I stopped momentarily to catch my bearings. This was a place I had seen frequently, indeed daily. I was no stranger here myself, but to the inhabitants of this little town I was. In here, I was a stranger to those who trotted about me. They never looked, just kept trotting like I was nothing. Perhaps they didn’t see me, I bargained. Shaking the thought from my head, I began my trot around town, hoping that somepony would take note of me this time.

It wasn't terribly long before somepony actually did took note. A few glanced at me, maybe pretending that my regularity meant I was another denizen. One in particular came up and spoke to me. I do not recall the hide, as this was long ago, nor the name or any other feature of this mare. All I recall is how shocked I was when she spoke to me. "Hey, I've seen you around here a lot recently. Why are you always alone?"

I didn't even know how to respond. Indeed, I almost didn't know how to speak. I had had nopony to communicate with, so I had no practice in speech. As such I could not even respond to the pony standing before me. My mouth opened but I was unable to mimic the sounds I had heard from other ponies so frequently as I passed, a frequency that led me to understand the language for the most part. "Uh...did you hear me?"

I nodded but was still unable to speak. "Why are you always alone? Where is your family? Who is your mother and father?"

I wanted to tell the mare I didn't know, that I had grown up solo, but was unable to communicate. I tried to make a few words and only ended up with a kind of mixture of babbling and 'uh' sounds. "...so...uh...where's your house? Maybe that will help?"

I pointed in the general direction of the forest I had come from. The pony looked past me to see the place that I pointed to. She sat for a moment looking before her eyes grew wide. She then turned back to me and spoke in a kind of shocked tone. "Wait, there's no houses over there. The only thing that's over there is the Everfree Forest!"

I nodded, assuming that the forest I was from was what she was referring to. "You're from the Everfree Forest?"

I nodded again. Just then another pony came trotting up, speaking the name of the mare and causing her to turn around. "What do you have here?"

"This little filly is from the Everfree Forest! Can you believe that?" I shrunk a little, perhaps wondering if I had said or done something wrong.

"What? There's no way. Are you serious?" Now I really figured I had done something. I slowly began backing away so that nopony took note of me. When I was far enough away I turned and bolted behind a nearby bush. After another moment I checked to make sure they hadn't taken note. The two were heavily engrossed in conversation, so I figured it safe to leave. I darted out from the bush over the large open space to the nearby house. Once behind the wall I began trotting around to the back. It was then I took a moment to breathe, but it was also then that I saw somepony else back here. The pony wasn't specifically trotting behind the house like I was, but was trotting a distance away. The pony was considerably different from the others, I took note, in many ways. The first was that a few of his teeth were more fang-like than not and protruded slightly from his closed mouth. His eyes were also different. Whereas others had whites, irises and pupils, his appeared to be nothing more than irises, a kind of light blue or teal in colour. This colour was also present in a patch he had on his back, almost like some kind of cover. He had a horn but it was curved, whereas others were typically straight. His legs had curves and marks that I had not seen on other ponies before. His hide was dark and he had no mane. I looked on curiously as he passed. When he left I decided to stalk him a little myself. As such I broke from behind the house and began to follow him.

The journey took us all the way through town with no turnout. When he reached one building in particular he opened it and trotted inside. I figured I couldn't go in, mostly because I hadn't seen a mechanism of the type that he had on his door. It was circular in shape and connected to the door with a rectangle. There was a hole slightly above it but I wasn't quite sure what it did. Since I could follow him no more I gave up my designs and trotted my way back to the forest.

The whole time I was trotting there I was practicing speaking. As I had seen first hoof, I was unable to form so much as a word. It was frustrating work at best. By the time I reached the shack I could manage to say one word: no. I decided to settle down for the night, having made that much progress at least.

When I awoke I sensed there was something outside my shack again. I carefully peeked out the front and saw nothing. Accordingly I took flight as quickly as possible. As I left the clearing I heard it stop moving nearby. As hard as I could, I galloped, eventually leaving it behind. When I figured myself safe I slowed my pace and began working on speech again. When I had broken the tree line I could say one more word: yes. At least I could get the basis of speaking now.

I arrived in town once more, albeit from a different part. I didn't want to run into those two that I had before. As I entered town I saw the strange pony now trotting towards me. I tensed up and stopped, unable to move. His appearance kind of frightened me now that he was close. When he was a body length or so away he spoke. "Hey."

I simply stared at him; I'm sure my eyes were stretched open wide at this point. He stared right back for a second before speaking again. "Are you alright?"

I nodded, then figured it best to practice my word. Stammering is not quite good enough to describe my speech. "Y-y-yes."

"Can I help you then?" I wasn't sure what to respond, so I simply sat and blankly stared at him. He stared back for a moment longer before turning to leave. I didn't know what to say or what to do, so all I ended up doing was staring. When he had distanced himself from me by several body lengths he paused momentarily before turning back around and trotting over. "Hey, are you lost?"

"Y-yes." I figured that was as good of a response as any.

"Who are your parents? Where do you live?"

"No."

"No? What do you mean by 'no'?" This question was too complex for a mere yes or no. I, again, didn't know how to respond. He sat and stared at me momentarily. "Who are your parents?"

"No."

"No? Like, you don't have parents?"

"Yes." He was the one at a loss for words this time. After a moment or two he spoke.

"Tell you what, I can take care of you. Judging by how many fillies are around you, or even anypony at all, I can tell that your appearance is what makes the big difference." My appearance? I had never thought about the way I looked. "You can come to my home then, since my appearance makes others nervous too. I'll get you cleaned up and figure something out. Sound good?"

"Yes."

He chuckled. "Alright. Follow me."

We took the short journey through the small town until we reached the house to which I had stalked him before. He turned the curious mechanism, which he called the doorknob, and the door opened. Once we were inside he closed the door again and made himself busy going to work. I found a nearby mirror, barely able to peek into the bottom-most fringes of it, to see my appearance. My hide was a light, almost sky, blue. My eyes carried a rose tint, but looked like most others aside from that. My white hair was very unkempt and rough, not to mention dirty. Since I couldn't see the rest of myself I looked back to do so. I had a small set of wings on my sides, wings I really hadn't ever used before. My tail was a long appendage of flesh, also a light blue, instead of a bundle of hair. I was short, the build of an average filly I'd venture to say, but was very slim. Once I had finished getting a look at myself I turned around to find the pony standing nearby. "The bath is ready."

I wasn't sure what this 'bath' was, but I figured he knew best at this point so I followed him. When we arrived I saw a basin filled with water. I could only assume this was the bath that he had referred to. He bid me enter the water so I did. Once I was in the water I sat there, not knowing what to do. He sat nearby as well, possibly hoping that I knew what to do. After a moment or two of me looking around myself at the water he spoke. "You don't know what to do, do you?"

"No."

"Alright, then, I'll help you out." He then proceeded to clean my body and hair. It took a little while for him to finish but by the end I felt very different. I was clean, something I hadn't been before in my life. After I got out of the bath and was dried off he started speaking to me. "My name is Terrn. What's your name?"

I sat and stared at him blankly. As far as I recall I didn't have a name. After a moment or two he spoke again. "Surely you have a name?"

"...no."

"No name? What the hay? Hm, we'll have to think of one for you then." He sat in thought for a while until an idea popped into his head; it was a very visible reaction. "I know! How about River?"

I thought about it for a second but didn't like that name. I shook my head. "No."

"Hm, how about Hope?"

"No." Again the same reaction from me.

"...Aqua?"

I sat and thought on that one. I liked that name and it felt good, like it was a name I could use. I finally nodded. "Yes."

"Aqua it is."

"A-A...Aqua." I now had three words, at least.

"Good job. But I have to ask you something, Aqua." I cocked my head in curiosity. "You're not much of one for words, are you?"

I didn't know how to respond. 'No' could mean two different things and I didn't want to give him the wrong impression, but 'yes' was not the right answer in any sense of the word. As such I simply stared at him. After a moment or two he spoke again. "Thinking on it you've only said yes or no. Why is that?"

"No."

He was perplexed by my answer, so I'm assuming it wasn't the right way to use the word. "Wait, you said you have no parents. If I may ask, where are you from?"

I figured I could try to learn a new word here. "F-Fuh-fffffff...forest."

"Forest? The only one nearby is the Everfree Forest."

"Yes."

"That's where you're from?"

"Yes."

"And you had no parents?"

"No."

"And did you live there your whole life?"

"Yes."

"You don't know how to speak, do you?"

"No." Finally we were getting somewhere.

"That's why. Well, I can teach you then." I'm sure my face lit up

"Yes!"

He nodded. "Alright. Wait here while I go get some supplies. I'll be back in a little bit, alright?"

I nodded this time. "Good. Stay here."

With that he left. It was a long while before he came back, but when he did he had all sorts of things. He identified them as paper, quills, ink and a book. He then sat down with me over the course of at least several weeks, painstakingly teaching me how to speak, nonetheless read and write. Once he figured I was well enough on my own he spoke to me again. "Now, I have to go do some stuff so I can keep this house. Do you think you can wait for me?"

"I can." Already the lessons were paying off.

"Excellent. I'll see you later." With that he was gone. I was now left to myself.

Over the course of several days I studied what I could, using what knowledge I had in the language, to learn more words and use them. But, as a restless filly does, several days of waiting drew out to be too long. I couldn't stand it anymore. I set out from the house exploring, seeing if I could find Terrn. After scouring the town I found no trace. I then returned to the house again, it now being about dusk. I took a few items from his house, namely food and a little glass to drink, and packed them in two little saddlebags that Terrn had gotten for me one day after I had made exceptional progress in the language. Once all the supplies were packed I set out to see if I could find him outside of town. By the time I left it was the middle of the night.

My journeying through the wilderness consisted of little more than wandering, scavenging and setting up tiny shelters using what branches and leaves I could find and stacking it up on my saddlebags in a hope of creating a makeshift hut. This repeated for probably about a week's worth of time and I was still unable to find Terrn. One night I purposed to return home once more. I decided it best, perhaps, to await his arrival.

When I awoke the next morning I found I wasn't anywhere near where I had been before. Indeed, I wasn't even outside anymore. I was lying in a bed in the middle of a building I did not recognise. I panicked slightly, arising quickly and making my way out of the building as best as I could. When I left through the door I saw what seemed like a walled-in town of some kind. Buildings were numerous, each with their own purpose unknown to me. I had no sense of orientation and was completely lost. Just as I was about to bolt in order to look for the gates I heard a voice a little ways off from the right. "Ah, you're awake."

I looked over to find a pony with dark brown hide and a sandy blonde mane. His eyes were a light blue, lighter than my own hide. He trotted over and I backed away from him as he did so. When he saw this kind of reaction he stopped. "Something wrong?"

"Where am I?"

"I found you huddled up alone in the wilderness. You were shivering in your sleep. I figured I'd get you a warm place to stay."

"But where am I?"

"This is a school for fillies. A combat school, really. It's to improve discipline and focus. We send a lot of our recruits to the Royal Equestrian Army or other such groups. I'm a teacher here. That is why I brought you in here."

"What do you want with me?"

"I just wanted to get you some real shelter, because you looked pretty miserable in whatever you had made. Since you're already here I can pick you up as one of my students if you'd like." I couldn't find any reason not to. I thought on it a little more.

"Will I have shelter if I say yes?"

"Absolutely."

"Will I have to join the army?"

"Only if you want. There are other options too."

"I guess I'll stay."

"Oh, and what is your name? I can't believe I haven't asked yet."

"Aqua."

"Aqua, excellent. You can stay in the room you woke up in. Classes will start tomorrow. I'll take care of the rest." I nodded. I'm not sure why but I just felt like this was something that I needed to do. I then returned to the room that I had fled from, barely managing to find it, and awaited further instruction.

When morning came I was awakened by my new teacher. He bid me to follow him, so I did. It wasn't terribly long of a trot before we reached our destination: a building, almost like a house, that had a large joining courtyard fenced in by a medium sized stone wall. When we entered into the building I saw many other students there, possibly around twenty or so. "Good morning pupils. I'd like you to meet our newest addition to the class. Please welcome Aqua."

The response seemed a little lukewarm, almost as if welcoming in a student was more of a burden than a blessing to them. I disregarded such, the feeling being a familiar commonality for me. Once pleasantries were out of the way, breakfast was had and we went to learn about combat.

At the end of the day I hadn't learned much. We repeated a simple activity throughout the course of the entire day. I cannot remember what exactly we did but I do remember it being an exercise to improve physicality of some kind. When the day was over, all of us tired fillies returned to our rooms after dinner and welcomingly embraced the sleep that would come.

This kind of a pattern continued for a decent amount of time, I'd say almost a year. We'd go, eat breakfast, train, have lunch, train some more, then partake of dinner and finally retire to bed. Over the course of the year we learned very simple things, tasks that seem routine or monotonous to any who have ever used any kind of weapon. It was, nevertheless, new and exciting for me. As there was an odd number of recruits I was always under the personal watch of the teacher. Because of this my capabilities were catapulted far beyond a few that had been there for longer than I.

After the year had passed with the lessons on physical fighting the teacher decided to give us a little test to see where we all were. He organised a kind of tournament for us to participate in, a sparring bracket of kinds. Each of us were paired with another pony in the class, and a few from outside were brought in to compensate when there weren't enough. The tournament itself was comprised of the twenty one of us and another eleven of the same age who were more than eager to compete against us. Once the event was all organized, they even invited a few other classes to skip their practice sessions to come and watch the tournament and evaluate us on our performance. When everypony was gathered in, the teacher spoke. "Alright, so we have a very special opportunity here. We will have each student spar against the other in a tournament of skill and strength. The winner will receive the prize of my own personal recommendation to a very selective organisation higher up, an organisation that holds those that I suggest in high regard. It is possible that you might even become famous one day because of that order. They can also train you far better than we can here, creating one-pony armies."

Just about everypony there was more than excited over the prospect of such ideas. I, myself, was very interested in winning. Those words spoken by the teacher made the tournament even more intense than it was before. It was a test of skill, but was now the opportunity for fame and unparalleled learning; every student wanted that. We were corralled into our sparring rings eventually, once all the chatter and excitement died down a little. Each combatant was given a wooden sword, and the tournament soon began.

Battling my way through the tournament proved easy in the first two matches, almost unfair. The first two before me were easily bested. As the bracket shrunk from thirty two to sixteen, and then to eight, the difficulty increased dramatically. I managed to defeat the third, but it took some effort. Once I had him out of the way, however, it left the final four. All of us were more than serious about what was before us, and each of us were very talented in combat. Those that sparred now had years of experience, except for me. Regardless of such I defeated the next opponent, but it was fairly close. At one point I wondered if I could beat him or not but I did pull it off in the end. After that, there were only two of us left.

We were taken into a single ring here, the several classes and those that were defeated all watching eagerly to see who ended up with the grand prize. Here I was, the underdog with one year of experience, against a larger stallion with almost six years of training in the school, and who knows how long before that. He had defeated each of his opponents easily, as I was told. As the teacher prepared the fight it grew deathly silent. There were a few whispers every now and then, perhaps bets or something. "Alright; Aqua, Rush, are you ready for this?"

We both nodded in accord. "Then let the fight for the recommendation begin."

With that, he charged me. I dodged to the side, keeping out of reach of his strike. I knew that if he hit me it would spell very bad news. As I sidestepped I managed to get one small strike upon his hind leg. He wheeled around, trying to close the distance that he had gained while stopping his charge. When he got in close he began swinging his sword in a show of supremacy over me. He was trying to overpower me. I barely managed to block each strike, the force causing me to react violently and threatening to tear the sword from my mouth. With his last attempt I rolled forwards, ending up very close to his legs. He kicked me away, but it wasn't without penalty. I landed a very solid slap with the wooden blade upon his leg that resounded through the courtyard. When I recovered tumbling I had to move quickly. Try as I might he still managed to land a heavy blow on my tail, sending pain shooting up my body. When I recovered I saw the next blow coming. I was unable to bring the sword around in time so I had to do what I could. I kicked my front hoof up, catching the 'blunt' side of the blade and forced it up, making it narrowly miss my head. I then sprung in with my own sword, hovering the blade very near to the neck of my opponent; the winning strike was delivered for the round. The teacher broke us apart. "Aqua: one. Rush: zero."

The other pony looked at me with a very determined look, almost as if trying to get me to concede. There was no way I could just give in now. This was a best two out of three match and I was close to winning. It was easy to see that the other pony was not about to let that happen. The signal was given and the next round began. He came at me with more vigour, more drive. I dodged, blocked, parried and rolled but it wasn't quite good enough or quick enough. In the end he managed to strike my leg with colossal force, bowling me over before hovering the blade by my neck. His sheer strength had overpowered me. Once again the teacher broke us apart. "Aqua: one. Rush: one. Final round. Begin."

The ensuing fight was intense, to say the least. His blows were vicious and my actions were strained heavily but it did pay off. Through excessive push I was able to keep myself out of the reach of his blade and out of the way of his strikes. I was managing to land a few myself, but they never really amounted to anything by themselves. At this rate the pattern would have to continue until one of us was too tired to out-perform the other. I feared losing because of such, but it changed when he made one slip up. He tried to strike me from the right side, but he tried to do so very heftily. I dodged, barely, and the ensuing force carried his head further than he could manage to react in order to swing at me again in time. I took the shot, but since I was still recovering from my own motion the shot consisted of no more than very strongly slapping his front leg with the wooden sword. The force caused his leg to buckle and he fell over, being unbalanced. It was then I moved in, as he was trying to arise, and got the sword to his neck. I sat momentarily, astonished by what had just happened. I'm sure the pony shared my exact thoughts at that moment. The teacher came in once the silent audience broke into cheers. When I moved my blade, the amazed student before me arose. We both put out blades down. "Well, that was interesting for sure. How long have you studied combat?"

"A year."

"A year? One year? Nothing else? How did you...?" At this point the teacher was here and the mini congratulatory conversation was ended.

"Those were very good spars. Aqua, Rush, I must congratulate the two of you for making it this far. You two are shining examples to the other students on combat prowess. Unfortunately for you, Rush, Aqua has gotten the upper hoof. He has come out victor and has earned the recommendation for advancement. When I am informed of another opening I will hold another tournament like this." He then turned to the rest of the audience. "I must thank you all for coming out today. As we have seen there are several great pools of talent here in this school. Aqua has come out victor this day and will move on to the next level. Now, return to your studies. Perhaps one day you can all become like him."

It wasn't long before the band was broken, each returning to their own places. I was left alone with the teacher at this point. He approached me. "Well done, Aqua. Now, follow me."

I nodded and we made our way to the teacher's house. Once inside we entered into a small office he had set apart. Once the doors were closed we took our appropriate seats and he began speaking. "So, after such a small time frame you came out on top. Your skills have improved very rapidly, and I am very impressed. I knew since the first day in class that you had great potential. It was also for that reason that I took you in under my care to personally train you. It seems as if it has paid off."

"Teacher?"

"Yes, Aqua?"

"What's going to happen now?"

"Well, I will put a request in to the group that trains ponies further than we do."

"What group?"

"It's an organisation called the Order of Protectorates. It is a wonderful group that devotes itself to the protection of others. Only the best and the brightest are allowed in there. Once the referral is put in you will be informed of the next opening that arises. You will then finish that year's worth of courses and head out for the next step in your life."

"Okay."

"I have faith in you, Aqua. You will accomplish many great things in your life. Chase the potential; you'll never know where it will leave you."

"Okay."

"Now, I'll see you in class tomorrow." With that I nodded and was set free. I returned to my room, almost unable to contain my enthusiasm. I still couldn't believe what had happened. It was almost impossible for me at this point to sleep.

I managed to do so and the morning came. Actually, several days passed uneventfully. The new year eventually started, and without a hitch. After a short while, however, it was becoming clear that some problems were arising. Envious ponies did not like the fact that a filly as small, or young, as I was could take such an honour. There was one group in particular led by the brother of the pony I had bested that was exceptionally toxic. They had adopted the habit of calling me 'pet', referring to the special attention I received from the teacher. I would occasionally get jabbing remarks like 'runt' or 'small fry' as well, mostly because I didn't seem to be getting any taller. I never understood that part, that is to say, why others got bigger and I didn't. But, despite this, the problems still arose. The first problems started showing a few weeks after the tournament.

After class one day I saw the group outside of the courtyard, just out of earshot of those nearby. As I was preoccupied with the teacher, all the others having left already, I was alone when I left the ring. When I saw them, more particularly when they saw me, they began heading over. I tried my best to nonchalantly change the direction I was heading, perhaps hoping to get to a more publicly visible area or to avoid them altogether. It was clear it was not working as I was soon surrounded. I could not venture further as the six of them formed a circle and began viciously pacing around me. The leader was the first to speak. "So, pet, I hear you won the tourney."

Despite his efforts to make as many jabbing comments as possible I kept my calm. "Yes, I did."

"Did your master teach you how to cheat too?"

"You're just jealous because I had the skill to win the tournament."

"Sure, whatever. Well, guess what? I think your 'teacher' might find that you've gone missing."

"And why is that?"

He stepped closer, the circle stopping their prancing. He was now directly in front of me. My heart was beating rapidly and I was very aware of every surrounding. "Oh, no particular reason. You just might not be able to make it to class ever again. You see, the thing is, nopony likes a showoff."

"How am I showing off if I'm just doing what you should have learned already?"

His face carried a look as if he had just recoiled in disgust. "Not everypony is as pampered as you are, pet. Just because things are handed to you on a plate doesn't mean we don't have to fight for it. Take a step down and join the rest of us here. Get real for a day, huh?"

"Maybe you should just try during class for once. You just need to put yourself out there."

"You just need to be put down." He swung a leg, hoping to hit me with a strong blow. I rolled underneath his swing and arose once more. "Hold still, pet!"

"I'm not going to put up with this. I suggest you stop."

"Why? Can't handle an actual fight? Heh, check it out guys. The little runt here thinks he's too good for a fight."

"No, it's because I know that you don't stand a chance." In fury he lashed out again but I easily dodged the reckless swing.

"Shut your mouth and get over here, runt!" He chased me with a vengeance, hoping to land a blow or pin me in some way. After a few failed attempts, with me dodging him while within the confines of the circle, he turned and barked at his accomplices. "You fools! Don't just stand there! Grab him! Hold him down!"

The others began to pursue me, closing the circle. I dodged one, managing to get outside of the circle. I tried my best to flee but it was clear that my smaller size left me an easy target if I continued. I decided that I couldn't be passive any longer. At this point I turned and made sure each blow, each movement, was calculated so that it landed perfectly to diffuse the situation as quickly and effortlessly as possible. The leader was the first one to arrive. Accordingly he was the first I nailed. I rammed my head forwards, jabbing it into his windpipe after I had ducked out of the way of one of his swings. He fell to the ground, hacking and coughing whilst holding his hooves to his throat. The other five paused for a moment. I could see their expressions change to pure fury as I was turning to flee again. They now began to chase me, enraged beyond any kind of reasoning. When it was again obvious that I would not be able to reach anypony else before they caught me I came to a screeching halt. They were more concerned about the fact that they didn't have to run as far now rather than what I was about to do next. As the first drew within range I bucked back. The blow connected with his chest, not quite sending him sprawling but definitely still knocking him down. I heard a slight crack as he fell to the floor. I dodged another and tripped him with a hoof as he charged by. The next I dodged and allowed him to stumble into his tumbling companion. I turned to see the next charging straight at me, trying to throw a kick simultaneously. I ducked down and kicked his other front hoof in, making him face plant onto the ground. The final one caught me right as I turned around. His strong leg wrapped around my throat and chest, keeping me restrained. I struggled as best as I could to free myself but his grip was stronger than my entire frame. As I continued the leader arose. He coughed a little blood out after he got up. He trotted over, his steps seeming to be unsure. He was now standing directly in front of me again. "You just crossed the line, pet. I was going to let you live, but I see that's not going to be an option anymore."

He swung a hefty blow, landing it directly into my midsection. I felt sick, highly nauseated, as he prepared the next blow. The one holding me was far too strong for me to escape. I was frantically thinking of something I could do to escape the situation. I finally managed to devise a plan and decided it best to enact it. I waited until he went to strike me the second time before I moved. I hurt too much at this point to be able to do anything radical, so all I could do was move to the side as far as possible. His hoof sped towards me as I pulled away, letting him nail his friend instead of me. The hit clipped me, sending pain up my body still, but it had the desired effect on the unwitting assailant. The one that held me firmly let me go, his grip loosening. I quickly slipped out of the grasp of the leader's lackey and, before he could react sufficiently, charged in and head butted the leader's neck again. As he fell down I could see he was bleeding this time, as if from a puncture wound or something. It was also clear he was far more debilitated this time than before. I then quickly dealt with his accomplice when he neared. It was a buck to the ribs to cause him to pause, another to drop him and a final one to assure he stayed down. The two that I had tripped were coming over, trying to give me some kind of payback for what I did to their leader. I quickly dispatched them with a head butt and a buck, barely keeping out of their grasp and only suffering one blow to the upper back that almost sent me sprawling. When the dust settled I fled as best as possible. I galloped away, sore and sick while they sat bleeding and broken on the floor behind me. I made my way directly for my room and awaited the end of the waves of pain.

The following day, when I looked myself over, it was very clear that I was bruised from the skirmish yesterday. The two most apparent were the one on my upper back and the one on my undercarriage. I'm sure it was nothing compared to the others but it was still more than apparent. I could only hope that nopony said anything.

In reality, just about everypony said something, even the teacher. He pulled me aside after class to ask me about my extracurricular activities. "Well, Aqua, would you care to explain the bruises you have there?"

"It wasn't my fault, teacher. I had to defend myself."

"Did they start it?"

"Yeah."

"How many of them were there?"

"Six."

"Kind of big?"

"Bigger than me."

"Then I suppose your training is paying off. I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself. It makes me very glad to hear that you didn't start the problem. Keep up the good work, Aqua." He smiled, a token I returned in kind. He then let me out of his office. I was almost expecting another run in but it was clear that there was nothing, and nopony, waiting for me.

The rest of the second year passed without any problems. My teacher was training me even harder than he had before, telling me that he was preparing me for what lie ahead. Once the second year was over we received the subject of the next year's training: magic and dealing with magic in combat. As I was unaware of any kind of magical potential I might have had, having seen no horn atop my head, I decided to be put in the group that had to deal with magic in combat.

The year rolled by fairly uneventfully. Perhaps the little scuffle I had with that one group was enough to keep others from trying anything. What we learned was a decent amount of dodging, recovery and even how to block it with either sword or shield. Indeed, we were the targets of the unicorns and others who could use magic, and although their spells were never really potent it was still not the most pleasant experience if one got hit. As the year ended we were all fairly excited for what the next year would hold. When the teacher gathered us together he informed us that he would be training us all to the level I needed to be at in order to join the organisation ahead of me. A few of the students, at first, did not find that kind of prospect very enthralling but all accepted it by the end. If nothing more they did it to show support. It almost seemed like I was earning the respect of the other students in some slow and strange way.

Just before the new classes began a new student came into the class. The teacher had told me that I had already learned all he had to teach, and that my capabilities surpassed what I should have been able to handle as a colt. As such he granted unto me mentorship of the new student. They were to move in to my quarters to more closely be in contact with me. I, of course, accepted the call gladly. I was told to await further instructions while within my chambers.

It didn't take terribly long after I arrived, no more than perhaps an hour, for the door to open and the teacher to be standing there. "Aqua, good to see you. I'd like to introduce you to your new trainee and the newest member of our class: Thunderstrike."

From behind the doorway stepped a small filly, perhaps no larger than myself. I would have said the age was around my own, but I had no idea how old I actually was. The hair on the filly was a sandy blonde, with the hide being a dandelion yellow. Brown stripes ran across the hide like designs. The filly kept their hair spiked or jagged. They were bashful, that's for sure. "Now, Thunderstrike, Aqua is a very kind colt who is more than willing to guide you and help you learn. Aqua, Thunderstrike is a very bright and intelligent pupil who is more than willing to learn. I know the two of you will get along very well. Now, I'll leave you to it while I see to the others in the class. See you two later!"

With that he departed. It didn't take terribly long for Thunderstrike to put their stuff away within the room. Once the door was closed, nothing else being on the agenda for the day, I decided to converse with the pony. "So you're the new one?"

"Yeah."

"Great to meet you. So where are you from?"

"A little town to the northwest. You probably haven't heard of it."

"Probably not. Especially with where I'm from."

"Where are you from?"

"The Forest."

"Which forest?"

"I think ponies call it the Everfree or something." The pony simply looked at me. "What?"

"You're from the Everfree Forest?"

"Yeah, why?"

"That's really cool! I've never heard of anypony being from there before. I'm just a simple little filly where I'm from, nothing really special."

"So what brought you here?"

"I wanted to join the army. I wanted to help others, to give them what we have here: freedom."

"That's good."

"What about you?"

"I just kind of ended up here and it turns out I was really good, so I stayed."

"So what do your parents do for work?" I sat and stared at her. After an awkward moment or two she spoke again. "Like, what are their jobs?"

"I...uh, I don't have parents."

"Aw, come on, surely you do!"

"No. I was all alone."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Ouch. That stinks. Well, mine were tailors."

"Tailors?"

"Yeah, like they worked with clothes."

"Oh." It fell quiet for a moment. "So Thunderstrike-"

"Sparky is fine."

"What?"

"You can call me Sparky. Everypony else does. I kind of like it more anyways."

"I was thinking. It's kind of late. Want to just turn in for the night?"

"Yeah, sure. That'd be alright with me. I was kind of tired anyways." I nodded. Within several minutes all preparations were made and we settled down on our respective beds. As I was climbing onto my bed I heard her speak from the other bed. "Wait, you're not a colt."

I wasn't sure what she was talking about so I stopped and looked over at her. "Yeah, you're not a colt at all."

"What do you mean?"

"Your body is different. It's not the same as theirs. You're a filly just like me." I still didn't really know what she was referring to, but decided it best to not push the subject.

"I didn't know that."

"Yeah. That's super cool. It means I can do cool things just like you. Everypony laughed at me and said that this was a stallion's work. If you can do it, though, that means I can do it. Mares can do it too." Now I understood. Before this moment I had sincerely thought I was just another colt in the school, but it was becoming apparent that there was something special about me. I smiled at her before speaking again.

"Ready for tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'm really excited!" I let out a small laugh.

"Alright. Good night." With that we curled into our respective beds. Before too long the two of us were sound asleep.

To be honest there wasn't a whole lot to note between the time when Sparky came and the time when I left aside from two things. The first I found while I was walking back from a personal excursion around the perimeter of the school grounds, while the second came from asking my teacher a question. The first thing I found was when I saw a group of ponies gathered in a ring, pretty close together, and they appeared to occasionally move. I was naturally curious, so I approached the group. As they would shift, as I got closer, I got glimpses of something within. When I was nearby I saw what was being handled within; Sparky was being shoved around. I tried to worm my way in the first time to get shoved back out. The second time brought the same result. Tired of watching this I turned about, lined up my shot and bucked back into the back of the hind legs of one of the ponies. He collapsed from the force with a shout. They all turned around; even I did to face them. Suddenly it all grew deathly still. One of them finally spoke. "Guys, isn't that the pony that beat up Rush's brother and his friends by himself?"

"Hey, this isn't a good idea anymore. Let's scram." Within a few moments, they left. The one I had bucked limping pretty hard. I was left alone with a very battered Sparky. I trotted over and helped her up.

"You alright?"

"I am now. What were they talking about?"

"Other ponies tried doing that to me too. It didn't go well for them."

"You beat them?"

"All six."

"Wow. I want you to teach me how to do that." I laughed a little.

"Alright. I'd be more than happy to." She smiled before we began making our way back to our room.

It was several months after this, the training of Sparky going very well, when I was called into my teacher's office once more. When the doors were shut he spoke to me. "Aqua, I have something very special for you. I got a letter and I think you'd be excited to read it,"

I was more curious than anything. He went and got the letter, bringing it to me. The letter seemed really fancy. There was a wax seal and everything. I opened it and began reading; it was an acceptance letter. It was penned as Guildmaster of the Order of Protectorates. I had been accepted into the Order of Protectorates. I could barely contain my excitement, as well my teacher, and I quickly bolted out to show Sparky. When I did she seemed almost a little sad. "Isn't this great? I got in!"

"Yeah, that's great."

"You don't seem very happy."

"I'm going to miss you, Aqua. When you go I won't have anypony."

"I'm not leaving forever. I'll still be able to write you, maybe visit."

"You were the first pony who took me in. I'll never forget that, Aqua."

"I won't forget you, Sparky. I'll see what I can do to get you in the order with me, how's that?"

"I'd love that! Could you do it?"

"I'm sure I can." She hugged me excitedly before letting me go to speak with the teacher again. When I arrived it was almost as if he was waiting patiently for me. "I have a question teacher."

"What is it?"

"Do you think Sparky will make it like I did?"

"Into the Order?"

"Yeah."

"No." It was like a stab in the heart how blunt he was. "She won't be able to follow you there."

"What? Why not?"

"Because where you're going, only colts and stallions can go. It is not work for mares."

"But that isn't fair!"

"Life isn't fair, and I think the sooner you learn that the better it will be for you and those around you." I fell silent. "But, I don't want this conversation to become that crushing. I have something I wanted to give to you."

I perked up. The teacher, with a smile on his face, went and retrieved a small wrapped package from the back of the room. When he came back he gave it to me. I then opened it to find a sword, freshly made and thoroughly polished, encased within a simply designed scabbard. I looked back up at him, almost unable to contain myself. "Now, this blade isn't sharp, much like your skills are only just formed. I designed this sheath specifically and specially. Each time you draw or stow your sword it will sharpen it, just as how practice will refine you in your career. Don't draw the blade unnecessarily, as it might wear down too much and ultimately be destroyed. I wish you luck in the next step of your life. You are to leave at the end of the year."

With that he sent me off. I, predictably, went immediately for my room to share the news with Sparky. I showed her my new sword and everything. I then, unfortunately, had to share the other news I received. "Sparky, you're not going to like what I'm going to say."

"Why's that?"

"I asked the teacher. He said that only colts and stallions can be in the order."

"Are you serious? That's not fair!"

"I know. I told the teacher that too, but he just told me life wasn't fair."

"But Aqua, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know how I can get you in. I'll figure it out."

"No, about yourself! If they find out you're a mare it could be really bad!" She had a point. I was kind of nervous now.

"Then maybe I shouldn't."

"No, you should. Maybe, if you do it right, when you show how good you are they might see that mares can do this too."

"Yeah, maybe. But if I mess up they might kill me or something."

"It's worth a try though, right?" I sat and thought about it for a moment.

"I guess you're right. I'll join the order and show them what we can do."

"Yeah! That's the spirit!" After a moment passed she spoke again. "I want you to teach me as much as you can before you go, ok?"

"Yeah." She happily hugged me, causing me to smile, before leaving. The rest of the day went uneventfully, the only thing of note being the training I was now giving Sparky full-time.

When the end of the year rolled around, being nearly wintertime, the teacher approached me, asking if I was ready for the trip ahead. I replied that I was. Shortly thereafter he prepared a small set of saddlebags with supplies sufficient to make it to the order. He then set me off through a back gate headed towards my new home.

The journey was hard, the weather brutal and the trail unforgiving. At one point the elevation was high enough that it snowed, leaving me near-hopelessly voyaging through the thick snowfall that nearly engulfed me each time I tried to take a step. Once I got over that part the rest of the trail was fairly easy, albeit very long and a little precarious. As I trotted along the path during one of the days I noticed a white object out of the corner of my eye. I decided to check it out, perhaps to break the monotony of hiking this trail. When I arrived and brushed the vegetation off of it I was horrified to find the skeletal remains of a pony hidden there underneath. I recoiled back, heart racing. After a moment or two of staring at the dead remains of the deceased pony I decided to keep moving. A few more of these skeletal remains littered the trail until shortly before the order. As I rounded the last curve the large building came into view past the tree line. It was basically a castle. The walls, high and seeming to be pretty thick, had massive wooden doors ornately designed, as I would find out later as I approached. From without, the only thing one could see above the high wall was a massive fortress-like citadel. At least two floors stretched above those walls, however high they were. It was all made of stone. It was impressive, to say the least, and I was now very excited to make my way there.

The journey through the night was uneventful. A little before dawn, however, it quickly became apparent that I was in trouble. As I was journeying I heard a few growls. Turning about to face them I saw a large timberwolf in my view. Thinking first on the sword I had, I unsheathed it and swung. The blade stuck in the muzzle of the wolf as it yipped and ran off. I was struck by a tinge of sadness when the sword was yanked from my grasp, as I had just gotten the sword not too long ago. I could not, however, afford to mourn or stay put, so I wheeled around and began galloping fiercely towards the castle-like structure. It wasn't terribly much longer after I had done so than I heard more yipping. It was soon followed by the sounds of larger creatures chasing me and a few growls and snarls. I used what adrenaline I could to make it as far as possible but I was certain my little legs weren't enough. I went to glance behind me, finding at least four or five wolves in hot pursuit. While looking back momentarily I felt my hoof catch on something, not only sending a very subdued wave of pain up my leg but also sending me sprawling and tumbling across the rough trail. When I came to my senses the wolves were circling around me. I frantically searched to try and find something else I could use as a weapon. Searching my pack revealed a little wooden sword with the word "Sparky" and a heart carved on the hilt. I decided this was better than anything, so I brandished it. A wolf drew near, causing me to wail it with the wooden blade. It did the trick in warding off the wolf for now. When the next came in I tried the same thing but the wolf grasped the blade in its mouth after taking the blow. The sword was then yanked from my mouth and ended up elsewhere nearby. The last thing I had as a shot was a branch that came off of the first wolf I hit, so I grasped that too. That plan didn't get very far either, as it was soon torn from my grasp.

It seemed ever more prevalent that my doom was approaching. I had one last option, so I waited for a wolf to move in. When it did I rolled past it, narrowly dodging the clasping jaws of death. I then recovered, being outside of the circle now, and bolted before the wolves could react. I decided it best to not look back this time as I determinedly galloped to the castle. As I was approaching I could swear I saw another galloping towards me, as if this pony was coming from the castle. It wasn't much longer after I had noted such that I felt my tail grasped firmly by one of the wolves. Within a moment I hit the ground roughly. I bucked back and connected with the wolf, forcing it to let my tail go. Then began a frantic pattern of rolls and shifts to narrowly avoid the snapping jaws of several wolves as they each, in succession, tried biting at some part of my body. Suddenly, from behind me, leaped another pony armed with a sword. He had on some kind of coat so I couldn't tell what he looked like. Swing after swing this pony warded off the wolves, even killing a few. When the dust settled I was simply sitting behind this stranger completely awestruck. He eventually turned around, revealing a bit more of himself. I could see the hide on his face was a sea-blue, his eyes almost amber. His mane was concealed, so I still didn't know what it was like. This pony stared down at me before speaking. "That was quite the display of foolhardy bravery you had there. I think if you dodged the wolves any further as you were doing you might just have reached the Sanctuary."

I turned about to find myself no further than a couple dozen yards from the massive wooden doors. "Go now, little one. You have a great fate to embrace."

Before I could even ask who he was he vanished, almost as if by magic. I was then left alone again in front of the massive doors. I turned, about to knock on the gates, when suddenly the two massive edifices of wood shifted, startling me. The gates opened and I had one option: enter. As I trotted in I was awestruck by the interior. Granted everything seems massive to a filly, but this was exceptional. I felt absolutely tiny in this place. What I was looking at was a kind of Main Square that seemed as if it could hold hundreds, if not thousands, directly in front of the massive castle-like building. To the left and the right were buildings, but they didn't matter as much to me at the time. As I began trotting forwards I heard the gates closing behind me. As they slammed shut I continued my journey. After quite a while I finally arrived at the front steps. These, as well, seemed to last a lifetime's duration just to climb. When at the top I pressed against the large wooden doors, barely managing to open one. As I trotted in I saw a singular pony sitting on a throne-type chair down a long hall with high vaulted ceilings. As I continued my determined approached towards the pony clothed in a white robe they spoke. "And who might you be?"

The voice was loud, but was not harsh. I wasn't sure I could respond that loud, but I tried my best as I continued moving towards him. "My name is Aqua."

Perhaps he did not hear me, as he didn't respond for a while more. As I continued my approach, being considerably closer now, he spoke again. "I still await your answer, little one. Who are you?"

I was only a few body lengths away from the small flight of stairs that led up to his seat when I stopped and spoke. "My name is Aqua."

"Aqua, hm? And what brings you here today, Aqua?"

"I'm here to join this group."

"Do you have the letter?"

I rummaged through my saddlebags until I found it. "I do."

"Then hand it over." With that I took the letter out of the bag and gave it to the pony before me, who levitated it out of my grasp to read. It seemed odd to me because he was the one who wrote it to begin with. I, nevertheless, remained silent until he had finished. "Excellent. Now, I have a few questions for you. Is that alright?"

"Yeah."

"What made you want to join the Order?"

I really hadn't thought about that much. "Well, I don't really know. I felt like I needed to. I guess to help other ponies so they don't end up like I did."

"And what does that mean?"

"Alone and unprotected."

"Very well. Do you think you have what it takes to join the Order?"

"Yeah." I actually had no idea what I was getting into.

"Now, I need to point out one thing. Here in this Order, we pride ourselves in being fighters of the highest capabilities. What that means is that we need to have training that is a notch above that of every other organisation on the face of the planet. We have managed such by implementing one slight change in our training routine: instead of dulled blades used for practice we supplemented fully sharpened and prepared weaponry. The training becomes infinitely more intense and those unable to keep up are, sadly, eliminated." I could only guess what he meant by that. "You will be training with real swords capable of killing other ponies. Do you feel up to the challenge?"

It seemed like a hefty burden to accept but I was getting an overwhelming feeling like it was what I needed to do. Determinedly I nodded. "Yes."

"Excellent. Rend here will show you to your room." From some other part of the hall appeared a large, burly pony. His gaze was very intimidating and almost frightened me. I nodded in accordance, more excited about the fact that I was now a part of this group. The large pony then spoke in a gruff manner.

"Come." With that, he began leading the way. I followed behind him. We eventually reached one of the buildings I had trotted past on my way over. Once inside, the pony pointed to an empty chamber. "Here."

I entered the room and set my things down, getting all things in order. Once there I sought out the guidance of the pony who had led me here. When I exited the doorway again I found that he was gone. Unsure of what came next I thought that perhaps I should simply return to the Main Hall. Upon arriving I found it to be bare. As confused as I was I figured that staring down an empty hall was going to do me little good. It was when I turned about to leave again that the pony in the white robe stood before me. "What brings you here again?"

"I'm sorry, mister-"

"Please, Guildmaster is what you may call me."

"I'm sorry, Guildmaster, I didn't mean to trespass."

"No, I was asking because classes are about to begin. You had best be off there then."

"Um, Guildmaster?"

"What is it?"

"I don't know where I'm supposed to go."

"Ah, well, I can show you the way. Follow me." It wasn’t terribly long of a journey to one of the buildings off to the other side of this place. Once we found the correct building the Guildmaster simply pointed me in. "I wish you the best of luck."

I wasn't sure what he was referring to but was too excited at the prospect of training to become a member of the Order to care. I trotted inside, crazily enough in time for the teacher to begin addressing the group that was therein. "Alright, to all of you who stand within the sound of my voice I can tell you this much: if you came here expecting some kind of simple, easy training that would somehow make you into what you needed to be you were wrong. This is beyond simple training and it will in no ways be easy. I will lay down for you a few rules of the order in case you managed to forget. Rule one: this Order runs on Vows of Protection. If you attempt to defend somepony you have silently taken a vow to protect them. You are to see they are delivered from whatever harm it is attempting to befall them. Should you fail, as I'm sure several of you will, your Vow will stand broken, a bloody testament against your effectiveness. Should reckoning come and you are found lacking it is very possible that your life will be forfeit to the Order, destined to whatever fate we deem worthy of such disgrace. If you attempt to run from your responsibility we will catch you and your punishment will be the same either way. Rule two, and this proves more a guideline than anything: do not attempt to uphold more than one Vow. If you do it will prove all the easier for you to fail and disgrace this sacred Order. Rule three is a tradition of the order and I will uphold it very fiercely: there are to be absolutely no mares in this order."

My ear flicked, as much as I didn't want it to, out of pure reaction. I resisted the urge to shift or cringe; I was already breaking a rule and I hadn't even joined yet. "Should I find a single mare in here she will be dealt with very harshly and very promptly. They are more subject to failure in tasks like this than we are."

His comment was, at the very least, upsetting. Regardless of his hatred towards ponies like me, I determined that I would prove him wrong. It was from hence that I would work harder than any of the other stallions on these grounds. "Rule four: celibacy is required. Relationships simply weaken your resolve and have led to the downfall of more stallions than we care to acknowledge; we are an honourable Order that will not be marred by stallions subdued by unholy vixens. Now, those are the four basic rules of the Order. I have some of my own as well that are effective only in this classroom. My first rule: if you cannot keep up with the others you will fail; if you fail you will die. Simple. These are real swords you're using. I will have none of you wimping out on your training and endangering the honour of this Order. Rule two: there is to be no crying and no whining. The workload of those found doing so will be increased, so suck it up. Rule three: Those who arrive late to classes will have their workload doubled each time they arrive late. Tardiness is failure and I will tolerate none such. Rule four: if you are severely injured, either momentarily maimed or a bone was broken, that's rather unfortunate. You will get no respite on the battlefield. You will get no respite here. Every fight here is synonymous to a fight out there; every fight here is a fight for your life. Am I clear?"

The class shouted in agreement. "Excellent. Now, get to it. Pair yourself with a pony that you deem worthy. If you can find one who you do not like it will be all the better."

Suddenly the class erupted into motion. Pair by pair the room emptied until it was just me and a stallion, probably one of the biggest that had been in the room. When he came over he looked down at me. "Well, shortstop, guess that just leaves the two of us, huh? Ready to move on from this life?"

With that, he chuckled a little before turning to go towards the one unoccupied room; I had to follow him. Once we were inside we saw two identical blades sitting on the floor of the room, one on each side. When we were both standing behind the blades the teacher came in. "Alright, an interesting combination here. The biggest against the smallest. Doesn't matter. This is a supremacy match. Whoever manages to put their blade to the neck of their opponent gains one win. Remember: you're not trying to kill the pony, yet. You're only trying to get the upper hoof. Take up your blades and begin."

I picked up the sword, which ended up being heavier than I thought it would have been, and readied myself the best I could. The larger pony then moved in. I parried the blow, ducking over to the side to help accommodate the force. He brought his sword around again, but I managed to block it narrowly. It was in this moment I knew that, because of the weight of the blade, I would have to win by speed and not by strength. When I thought this I changed my battle tactics. It was then I saw the stallion's blade descending towards me. I bolted in as fast as I could, more to dodge the impending strike than anything else, managing to get in between his straddling legs. I pulled the blade up as best as I could as I ran by. The sharpened edge cut into his legs, but because I wasn't able to maintain the strength behind the blade the cuts were not monumental or even very effective. He grunted, nevertheless, and wheeled around. His sword followed him shortly. I managed to duck, but I suppose it wasn't quite what I needed. The blade clipped my mane, sending a decent chunk of the white hairs tumbling to the ground. The blow also shoved my head to the side; I didn't know why, as he didn't actually manage to hit my head. While he was recovering from the whirling strike I took my shot, quickly bucking out his left front leg as he was finishing his circle, causing him to fall. All the weight and force was unsupported and forced him to tumble, giving me the perfect opportunity to place my blade at his neck. It was then the teacher trotted in. "My my, isn't this something to see? What an interesting turn of events. You had better hope this doesn't continue. It'd be embarrassing explaining to your family that you were defeated by a colt, no?"

The teacher then left again. I spat my sword out and waited for my opponent to rise. "You better watch yourself, runt. Next time I will win; next time I will kill you."

With that, he stormed out, still bleeding from his legs. I was left alone in the room. More out of curiosity I looked at the little pile of white hairs on the floor before turning to a blade to see my reflection. When I looked down at the blade I noticed now the tip of a horn sticking out from my jaggedly cut hair. I reeled back a little, shocked by what I had just discovered. For the majority of my life I had believed myself to be nothing more than a pegasus who couldn’t even fly. I realised now that I was far more. I was both a unicorn and a pegasus, but what it meant I had no idea. All I remember is that I knew that being both was something special, but that was it. I had no idea what was about to come of this recent development, but I was soon to find out. I left the room, the teacher being nearby. When he saw me it was almost like his visage dropped. As I neared, heading for the doorway, he spoke. "An alicorn, huh? Well, let's just hope your pompous attitude doesn't spell out the death of you, hm?"

With that he left me alone once more. It seemed like everypony in this place was so full of hatred towards me and I couldn't figure out why. I shrugged off the notion, having no other alternatives really, and continued on my way, determined as ever to prove my point. I was here to show what Sparky had said in that combat school.

The next day came and we found ourselves in class once more. Once we were all assembled the teacher spoke. "Alright, so you have a feel for combat now, what it's like to take a few blows. Unless I'm mistaken and you're some kind of masochist I think it'd be safe to say you don't want to keep feeling what happens when you get caught by a sword. That brings us to the topic of today's lesson: parrying and blocking. I need a pair of you to come forwards and give us a little demonstration of what it means to block and to parry. You two, in the back, the alicorn and his partner, come to the front."

He had signalled for us, and I'm sure I was the only one in here with both wings and a horn, so I arose and set forth to the front. My combat partner followed close behind. Once we were in the front the teacher brought out a little rack with two swords and two shields. With a hushed tone he spoke to the two of us. "Alright, the two of you are going to do something real simple. Take the sword and shield, then fight but focus on blocking and parrying, got it?"

We both nodded. My partner took up one of the shields, equipping it to his leg to cover the one side of him, and took the sword in mouth. As I was a little small for the shields I opted out of using it and decided instead to take just the sword. When the teacher saw that he spoke. "Think you're too good for a shield? Well, we'll see how far that'll get you. Good luck."

His comment stung but I disregarded it. Now more than ever I could prove at least one point: I was here to stay and join this order no matter the cost or difficulty. I grasped the blade, one that weighed me down considerably, and prepared myself for the demonstration. On the teacher's mark it began. My partner swung first, prompting me to parry the blow. I did, but it was a hard thing to accomplish. It gave me enough time to recover in order to roll under his next swing. I then took a shot, which he promptly blocked with the shield. After another bout or two of such the teacher stopped us. "Excellent. Do you all see how effective that was? Not one blow was landed on either. Blocking and parrying will save lives, not just yours. So unless you want to die I suggest you learn quickly today. You may now all go to your respective rooms and practice."

Again, everypony split off while we recovered a bit. After a short while we went to our respective room as well. The combat followed closely to suit with what we had done as a demonstration, just for a much longer period of time. When the day was over we were dismissed. For some reason, despite the success my combat partner had in blocking each of my blows, he seemed to be more than upset about something with regards to me. As he left, muttering something I didn't quite catch, I decided it best to discard the thought and head out myself.

I think it was about a month's time that passed before we finished training in the subject of defence. One day the teacher addressed us as a class once more. "Alright, so you've learned one kind of defence. That's good, but it's not good enough. It's time to teach you some other principle, something to safeguard you. The lesson is simple but the impact is profound. Emotions are not for the battlefield. Leave them out of it. How many ponies have perished because they let their judgement slip due to emotion? Too many. It's time you learn, and you better learn early, how to control your emotions or they will be the death of you. Am I clear?"

The answer was a yes, which then prompted the teacher to begin the lesson. It wasn't quite what I had anticipated, as a majority of the lesson ended up being him hurling insults at us. Once or twice, I'm sure, he created some kind of fictitious story to try and offend somepony. I'm still not sure how he managed to come up with an entire day's worth of fables and sharp words; perhaps he had thought on it for a while. I disregarded such a thought and sat as he continued his railing.

The day passed like that before we ended up going back to rest for the day. When the new day came he told us we'd be arguing with our combat partner. It didn't quite make sense to me but I decided to go along with it. It was interesting, to say the least, what my combat partner had to say about me in that moment, especially when he went into gruesome detail on what he planned to do in order to kill me.

The week passed and, upon the last day of said week, the teacher addressed us again. "As you have been learning to control your emotions I have been listening intently. Again, emotions are a tool your opponent can and will use to defeat you. This will be the last day of the lessons on such. I urge you all to continue learning. I believe, though I will check again, that one of you has already mastered it."

Each of us split off to our respective rooms once more. When my opponent and I were preparing ourselves for the session the door opened. We both turned to see who had opened the door, only to find the teacher trotting in. He closed the door behind him and sat down in the side of the room. "I believe that you, shrimp, have already managed to control your emotions to help you master the battlefield. That is why I am sitting here in this lesson instead of outside like normal. We shall see how it pays off. You may begin."

With that the two of us picked up our swords. My partner charged first, swinging the blade as he got in range. I parried the blow and dodged, using the force from the blow to help me get around his sword quicker. Just as it always was, his stance stood open wide after his first attack, letting me bolt underneath him with my sword trailing behind me. The blade, as it had done so many times now, scraped along his exposed legs to eventually leave a new set of scars to join the others. As I emerged from behind, narrowly making it out before he closed his stance, he wheeled around, blade swinging viciously in tow. I decided it best to dodge the blow entirely. I barely managed to do so with a roll that was very forced due to the weight of my own blade. When I got back to my hooves he was recovering, ready for the next blow.

The spar continued as such for quite the length of time. He was moving faster during this spar, that was for sure, but he couldn't hold the pace for the whole time. After probably about half an hour we were both getting a little tired. I needed to continue draining him like that so I could bolt in with one last effort to take him down. He did manage to land one very strong blow during the fight, but it didn't amount to much. Due to how I had moved it ended up being more of a hefty slap than my ultimate demise. It would leave a very sore welt later, but at least I was still alive. I landed a few more cuts on his legs before the teacher stood. We paused momentarily. "I have seen enough to know who would win this exchange. Perhaps you two should seek separate opponents; the runt is too good for the leader of the pack."

With that he trotted out. I was about to put my blade down, just as my opponent had done, when he spoke. "Don't think that this session is over. I will kill you, runt. Mark my words; this sessions will end in the death of somepony here, and it won't be mine."

I prepared myself as he picked up his blade again and charged. I dodged to the side this time, using a burst of speed that was almost uncharacteristic of what I had seen in myself up to this point. I turned my blade sideways and swung as hard as I could. It connected with his front legs, causing him to trip and tumble to the side of the room. I bolted over, placing my blade at his neck and pressing it in, causing blood to seep from around the edges of the blade. He simply looked up at me, almost fearfully, and I gazed back down at him with the full fury that a filly could carry. After a moment of sitting there like that, I pulled the blade away from the cut on his neck and spat it out on the floor. "This session is over. You lost. If what just happened isn't proof enough I can make sure you never trot again."

With that I turned around and left the flabbergasted pony lying on the floor. I still wasn't entirely sure how I had managed to defeat him, especially when he was so much larger than I was. My speed and strength in that moment seemed so uncharacteristic of what I was like normally, like a burst of something else kicked in. Shaking the thought from my head, I continued on towards the next point of business for the day.

The rest of the year passed. I didn't actually see my opponent from that day on. Perhaps he had done as the teacher taught and sought a different opponent, a different sparring partner. Another option is that he simply left. I wasn't sure, but it didn't matter much to me. I continued training under the hooves of the teacher, who made sure it was harder than necessary. When the end of the year came we, every Protectorate or student within the walls, were all gathered together for the news of who would advance into the Order. All the recruits were gathered together, a group of at least a couple hundred. The Guildmaster and a few others stood before us on the steps up to the Main Hall. "We have gathered you all together here because we have been observing the progress of each student and have taken into account the suggestions of each teacher. After much time spent deciding we have come to a conclusion. Three slots opened with the death of a few recent Protectorates and three of you will fill those slots. Once you have joined the Order there is no turning back, no quitting, except by death. Now, for those who have been selected. The first individual: Ajiin."

From the crowd stepped forth a pony with hide that was as black as night and a mane equally dark to match. Despite this, from what I could see, his eyes were a very starkly contrasting light blue, almost turquoise. He had an average build for a pony. When he stepped forth he bowed. "You have been selected due to your stealth capabilities and promise of being able to deal cleanly and quickly with identified and known threats before they put those you have vowed to protect in danger. Welcome to the Order. The second individual: Tigerfire."

Out of the crowd stepped a pony with a light yellow hide and very richly hued auburn, almost orange-red, hair. His eyes were amber in colour and very penetrating. His stature was a little smaller than that of a normal pony, but it was not because of any lack of physicality. It was easy to see he was fit. He, too, bowed when he stepped forth. "You have been selected due to your magical power and ability. You possess the ability to deal with threats in a means and manner they would not anticipate. Along with this you have proved to be an excellent tactician. Welcome to the Order. The third individual: Aqua."

To hear my name almost froze me with shock. I hadn't anticipated such, though I had worked fiercely to obtain it. Surely, I thought, there are many more within these walls more qualified than I was. As much as I thought that, I was humbled by the fact that I had been accepted, so I stepped forth. As I went to do so and bow, as the others had, I heard a voice that I recognised from earlier in my time here. It cried out from the crowd. "What? That is unacceptable!"

Eventually the pony made his way to the front, standing a yard or two away from me. I recognised him as having been my combat partner from the start of the year, except he was larger than I had remembered. He also had blue paint of some kind lining his body. "How could you call some kind of runt like this when there are ponies far more qualified?"

"My call is my own and I call Aqua to be the next Protectorate, not you."

"I challenge Aqua to a duel. The winner will be the next Protectorate."

The Guildmaster sat thinking for a while. "Fair enough. Let there be a duel. The winner will take the title of Protectorate. The loser is forbidden from entering the walls of the Sanctuary forevermore."

I then saw the pony heft up a large battle-axe, grasping it firmly between his very defined and muscular jaws. I had no weapon within reach. The pony charged, urging me to dodge to the side. I then shouted out. "Somepony get a blade!"

Until somepony moved to fulfil my order I had to simply keep moving. Dodge by dodge I barely managed to keep out of his reach; roll by roll I saved my life from extinction. As best as I could I kept away from the pony until I heard the clanking of metal resound a little outside of the crowd. I shot a glance over to see where it came from; about a yard behind me lay a sword. When I looked back the axe was coming directly for me. I quickly ducked backwards into a roll, ending up by the sword and narrowly dodging my death again. I picked up the blade and prepared for the next phase of the battle.

When he charged again I figured his strike would be too great for me to parry, so I dodged again. This time I took my aim and struck. Using the selfsame tactic he never seemed to anticipate, I ducked underneath his legs and galloped through. This time I swung the blade as hard as I could as I did so. The difference in damage was more than apparent from those wounds I had left during practice. I heard him grunt. When I turned around I saw his axe was coming already. I didn't have enough time to properly react before it arrived. Try as I might to parry the sheer force knocked my blade aside, slowing the axe, before it sunk within my right side just above my wing. I had fanned the feathers out to get them out of harm's way. The shot of pain was immense, almost freezing me. When I had control again, I swung my sword viciously against the hilt of the axe, severing the wooden handle that was in his mouth. The weight of the axe, as it was now left uneven and unsupported, dropped the blade from my side. This, too, sent deep pain up my frame. As soon as I could I bolted in towards him again. As he was now unarmed he was trying to get away from me, to get around me to get his axe again. With several vicious strikes I hit him time and time again, leaving cuts across his chest and legs. At one point he managed to get around me, bolting for the axe. Despite the lovely trail of blood I had now left across the Sanctuary floor I chased him with renewed vigour, as hard as it was. As he picked the shortened hilt up he began charging at me again, as he always seemed to do. As we neared I dropped into a slide on my right side, furthering the bloody streaks across the stone floor and causing me to grunt heavily in pain, in order to catch him with a sliding trip. He tumbled, rolling away as I quickly arose and galloped over. As he was about to get up I placed my blade at his neck, ready to end him. The blade was already well pressed against his now bleeding neck. He tried to get up once but was met with pain and a furthered cut. As such he stopped, panting heavily with a heavy scowl on his face. The battle had ended at this point, leaving me the victor. Our attention was pulled away by the voice of the Guildmaster. "An interesting display indeed. I see now why Aqua was recommended to be the next Protectorate. Not only was that a wonderful demonstration of combat expertise and total mastery of the battlefield. It was a shocking display of resilience and endurance. Not only did Aqua defeat an opponent far bigger than himself but he did so while unarmed to start and injured to finish. I congratulate you, Aqua, for your acceptance into this Order. Now, as were the terms of the duel Aqua is to be the next Protectorate. Battlescar, you are hereby banished from within the walls of the Sanctuary, the Order of Protectorates. You are to never return here. Should you do so death will be your reward. You may release him, colt."

I nodded, spitting the blade away. I felt dizzy and tired at this point, almost disoriented and distressed. Battlescar, as I suppose his name was, arose with a hefty snort, glaring at me in the eyes. "You should have lost. Mark my words this will not be the last time you see me. You will rue the day you crossed this line, colt!"

With that he left, pushing his way past me roughly. I just about fell over due to my weakened state. As I watched him go, the Guildmaster spoke once more. "Now, the next order of business is to treat the wounds of our newest Protectorate."

With the wave of a hoof there was suddenly a storm of ponies about me, taking me away towards one of the buildings within the group of buildings that constituted the housing section of the Sanctuary. Within moments they were frantically moving to get me taken care of. As they worked their magic in order to heal my side I was overcome by the dizzying wall of fatigue and drowsiness, ultimately succumbing to sleep.

When I awoke I was finally able to take note of my surroundings. The room had many beds similar to mine. Some were occupied by ponies with bandages about them, while others yet remained empty. I sat up, albeit with difficulty and pain. A pony came over after a short while. "Ah, you're awake again. Wonderful. We were wondering if you had passed or not. It's been a few days that you've been out, but we believe you've almost made a full recovery. The wound should have fully closed within the next week. You should be good to go by then, alright?"

I nodded, content at least that I was alive. I still kind of couldn't believe what had happened recently. I was snapped back out of my pensive state by the voice of the stallion again. "Oh, I forgot to mention, you've got visitors. They were waiting until you awoke."

I cocked my head, unsure of whom it possibly could be. "You can let them come."

"You got it." The stallion disappeared for a short while before returning. Behind him trotted the jet black stallion and the one that had the piercing amber eyes. "Here they are. I'll leave you all to it."

With that he left. The black stallion was the first one to speak. "That was pretty good. I'm impressed."

"With what?"

"You fighting that big stallion. I don't know how many other ponies would have been able to do it, nonetheless dared to do so. You got guts, that's for sure."

"Well, I didn't have much of an option. He's been trying to kill me for a while now." The look on their faces was priceless. The amber-eyed one spoke first.

"What? And you didn't tell anypony?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I knew I could take care of it."

This prompted a response from the black one. "You're crazy, you know that? But I can see why the Guildmaster chose you, Aqua. You've got potential."

"Hey, remind me of your names again?"

"I'm Ajiin." The response came from the black one.

"My name is Tigerfire." This came from the amber-eyed one. Ajiin and Tigerfire, as their names were. I got the feeling that we were going to be good friends from here on out but I didn't know why. I nodded after they told me their names, noting them. After a short silence, Tigerfire spoke again. "So now we just need to get a little bit more training to orient us as Protectorates and our work begins. Should you ever need help, Aqua, I'm here."

"As am I. Just call my name in the darkness and I'll be there."

"Ok. Thank you, guys."

"Sure thing. Well, Ajiin and I have to be going now. Rest up so you can join us here before too long." I nodded, causing them to turn and trot out of the room. I was then left alone, relatively alone, in that room again. After a short while I decided that sleep was the best idea I had.

The week rolled by uneventfully until they released me. I was then immediately summoned to the Main Hall. From thence started the last phase of our training. We learned the importance of Vows of Protection and what it meant should one be broken. We also learned of how the Guildmaster would know our every move should he want to. As the days rolled on the training continued until they all figured we were at a point in which we wouldn't die as easily, either by their hooves or by the hooves of others. Once that was finished, they let us go to do what we deemed necessary. During my time in the Order, training and all that, I kept getting an urge to continue exploring, see if I couldn't find some fractional part of the cause of my shortness. It was true, even though I was probably the age of a full-fledged mare I was still the size of a filly. With that quest in mind I set out from the Order, seeking whatever impressions I felt I needed to follow on my journey.

After a decent while of wandering I found myself near the principle mountain, whereupon was a great castle-city built. I decided to have myself a little fun and ascend the face of the mountain. Indeed it was hard, taking a very decent amount of time to simply reach the castle-city. Once within I managed to get supplies to continue my journey up the mountain. After that, my journey continued. Step after step I eventually made my way up to just shy of the peak. The place I stopped for the night was a little landing characterised by a pool of water that ran off into a waterfall that cascaded down, at the very least, hundreds of yards from the cliff. I felt like it was here that I should camp, so I did.

As dusk was approaching I decided to enjoy myself a little, heading over towards the water. As I was frolicking in the cold pond I felt my hoof hit something. Unsure of what it was I stopped my adventurous playing and began searching for where it might have gone. After a decent while I found what I was looking for and pulled it up out of the water. It was covered in a bit of mud, as it had been at the bed of the little lake, so I carried it and myself outside the water. I put the object down, cleaned myself a little and got what I needed to get warm again before heading over to where I laid the object. After a short while of work I managed to clean the object entirely, finding a strangely blue pearl in my hooves. It beckoned to me more than anything else I had ever seen or heard of. I was intrigued by it. Thinking perhaps there was something I, or somepony else, could do with it I returned to my little tent and called for Ajiin as he had told me to. I then awaited his arrival.

It was into the night now, having waited for about an hour. I then heard the familiar voice nearby. "You called me, Aqua?"

"Yes. I did. Ajiin, I found this thing up here, but I'm not sure what importance it has. I feel oddly attracted to it, like it almost is something I need. It's not me being greedy. I just...I feel like I need to do something with it."

"So what do you need me to do?"

"Can you bring Tigerfire? He's better with magic. Perhaps he can unlock the reason why I feel so attached to this thing."

"Alright. Stay here." With that he left in a poof of smoke. I was alone for another decent while, possibly even several hours, before Ajiin returned with Tigerfire. I could tell Tigerfire was tired, like he had just been woken up.

"What do you need, Aqua?"

"Tigerfire, I figure you're better at magic than I am, so maybe you can figure out why I feel the need to use this pearl."

He trotted over. "Well, it is interesting indeed. Never seen a blue pearl before. As for reasons why you might need it I cannot help, but I can do one thing. I can make a chain for it."

"What do you need for that?"

"There's a book of magic in the Canterlot Royal Library that I've heard of. It's supposed to let you create something from nothing." When he finished speaking I looked over to Ajiin for a second. When he caught on he spoke.

"You expect me to break into the most heavily fortified library on the face of the planet and get a book that I don't even the appearance of so you can experiment with creating a chain from thin air?"

"Yup."

"I'm in. I've always wanted an excuse to make a heist in Canterlot, especially the castle itself. To best the Royal Guard is bragging rights indeed." I nodded, unsure of what he was trying to say but glad he was willing to help. Within several moments he was gone again. It was Tigerfire and I alone now just below the peak of the mountain. After a moment or two of awkward waiting I decided to speak.

"So when did you learn magic?"

"I've known since I was a filly. I was born with the ability to use it. Only through study have I managed to get where I am. It's kind of like being something already but teaching yourself how to be that thing better, you know?"

"Yeah."

"So what made you join the Protectorates?"

"I don't know. To be completely honest I have absolutely no idea."

"No incentive, no family push?"

"I don't have a family."

"Well, you do now. I mean, you've got two brothers right here." I smiled at him, glad for the support. "So other than the fact that you found the pearl, what makes you so sure there's something special about it?"

"I can't explain it. I just feel like it's something I need to work with. You know how sometimes you get those gut feelings but you don't know why?"

"That's why I joined the Order, plus I figured it'd be easy to learn how to control and use my magic better."

"Yeah. That's why I stayed in the combat school even after they gave me the option of leaving. It's why I joined the Order, too. So far, every time I follow that gut feeling something good comes from it, like it was what I was supposed to do. So I decided it best to follow this one too. It's what lead me to the mountain to begin with, and now that I'm here the pearl is all I can think of."

"Then I guess we should see what we can do with that pearl, no?" I nodded. Not many moments later Ajiin returned, a little out of breath. "Did you get it?"

"Yeah. It was pretty close, though. Here it is." He held out a book, which Tigerfire took. Once he had the book he began studying it intently, searching for something particular I suppose. Ajiin and I simply stared on in curiosity as he poured over the pages. After a long while he prepared a few things and began scratching out a design on the dirt around us. After possibly an hour he finished, a complex design swirling around us. When he finished he closed the book and looked up at us again.

"There we go. It's ready. I'm almost absolutely certain I got every last detail put in correctly." His statement made me curious as to what would happen if he didn't, almost making me apprehensive, thinking back on it.

"And if something is wrong?"

"The spell won't work. Simple." My fears quieted. I nodded to him and he began. After a decent while of his horn glowing the orange of a sunrise and him near-chanting words I didn't recognise he finished up. We all looked expectantly at the pearl, only to find that there was no chain attached to it as we had thought. Though it was nearly pitch black up here in the night we could tell the disappointment struck hard across Tigerfire's face. "No, no, no. I must have done something wrong. I must have missed some detail. Give me some time to read this back up."

I nodded. It was clear that Ajiin was growing impatient, though. "When you guys finish your little magical experiment up here call me again and I'll put the book back where it belongs, got it?"

"Yeah. I'm kind of tired. I think I'm going to turn in for the night. If you want to keep looking over it Tigerfire go for it. Wake me up when everything is situated."

"Alright. I'll keep at this until I get it. I swear I can." With that, Ajiin left and I went to my tent again. I settled down for the night, listening to the scuffling of Tigerfire outside trying to figure out what needed to change, paired with an occasional page turn.

When I awoke in the morning I was extremely tightly wrapped. I struggled and wormed until I managed to escape my binding wrap that had been my blanket. Perhaps I had rolled over or something and wrapped myself up. The tent seemed a little tighter than I remembered it, though. I was curious at best but decided to see if Tigerfire was still at it. I exited the tent, seeing him still pouring over the pages and the design. The sun was already up in the sky, a little before noon if I had a guess. He must have heard me leave the tent, as he spoke. "Good morning. You slept for a while longer than I thought you would. I figured out what I did wrong and I think the circle should be good now."

He turned to face me. "So whenever you're..."

His sudden pause caused me to cock my head in curiosity. "Is something the matter?"

"Uh...you might want to go check that one out for yourself over by the pond over there." I had no idea what he was referring to, so I headed over to the water's edge. When I arrived I was shocked, even before I looked within the water. Upon my head was now a short mane consisting of sandy-brown, almost light auburn hair. It barely reached my chin, freely flowing in whatever direction it chose. I looked past the dangling hair into the reflection. Sure enough there was the selfsame sky-blue hide face with rosy pink eyes. One difference, however, was the fact that my white undercarriage had been replaced with a cream coloured one. It was the same proportions and all as before, reaching the same places as it had, but in a different colour. Another thing to note was the startling maturity that had sprung across my face. I looked almost like an actual mare, but there was something almost masculine to my look. Perhaps a better way of putting it was that I looked like a feminine stallion. The horn atop my head protruded much further than it had previously, jutting clearly out from under my hair. My ears now matched any regular pony’s ears, both in dimensions and appearance. I decided to look over the rest of my new form real quick. Looking back revealed a very slender and tall frame. It was just like it was as a filly, but bigger and slimmer. Upon my hip was now a mark not unlike those that others I had seen carried. The mark itself very closely resembled the pearl I had found. As I looked at the mark I suddenly remembered the pearl and quickly went to find it within my tent. A thorough search revealed it wasn't within the tent. I burst out of it once more before speaking to Tigerfire in a frantic tone.

"Where is it? Where's the pearl? What happened to it?"

"Uh, look at your reflection again." I wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean but decided to do so. When I neared the water I saw nothing new, but decided to go a little further. Once my hooves were within the water again I looked down at the reflection in the pool. Right there, roughly right between the two front shoulder blades, a little more than half sunken into my chest, was the pearl. I tried moving it but found it was not going to go anywhere. I then turned to Tigerfire.

"What did you do? What happened with the spell? I thought it was supposed to make a chain from nothingness!"

"It was! I don't know what happened in the end but I think I accidentally put the rune for bind instead of chain, as they're so close together."

"So what does this mean? I've permanently got a jewel stuck in the middle of my chest?"

"Um, well...that's the thing. I, uh...well, I, how to explain this..."

"Just spit it out, Tigerfire!"

"Ok, fine. I believe I accidentally bound your soul in the pearl. Yup." I looked at him for a moment. "So, uh, instead of creating a chain I bound the pearl to you in the only way it could I suppose."

"So I basically have to keep track of this thing no matter what or I'll just cease to live?"

A third voice called us from the argument. "Exactly. Now, since we've seen that perhaps Tigerfire needs a little more practice with magic before he tries tackling such advanced magicks again I'll take that book back."

Ajiin was trotting up. "But, I suppose that implanting the pearl into your chest wasn't the only thing that spell accomplished. Aqua, I hate to say it, but looking at you tells me one thing: you are definitely not a stallion."

My heart began racing. It's very possible my doom was approaching now. "Please don't tell anypony, I beg of you."

"Woah, that was a sudden shift in tone. How come?"

"I need you two to swear to me one thing, alright?"

"Like what?" Tigerfire was prodding both inquisitively and almost apprehensively.

"I need the both of you to swear to not reveal that fact to anypony in the Order. If you do it will mean my ultimate death." The atmosphere suddenly got very serious. "If anypony else knew, especially the teacher or the Guildmaster, I'd be a dead pony."

"That's a pretty big thing you're asking us there, Aqua. If we chose to go through with it what could you offer us?" Ajiin was tough, that was for sure.

"I don't have a lot to offer. I don't have anything, actually. I trust you as friends to keep this between us. You wouldn't condemn a friend to death, would you?"

A moment or two of painful silence rode by as I looked at the two of them. They looked at each other before nodding. "We'll go through with it, but only because I owe you because I messed up that spell and did this to begin with."

"And you, Ajiin?"

"Eh, why not. I'm good at keeping secrets anyways." Relief flooded over me.

"Alright. Ajiin, you can take the book back. Tigerfire, clean up the marks up here and we'll all be on our way. Sound good?" They both nodded before getting off to work. It wasn't terribly long before all was in order and we went our separate ways.

I eventually found myself in what I considered to be my home town at this point. It was that same town that had finally delivered me from the nightmarish life I had lived. As I was trotting through town I found Terrn again trotting by himself. He wasn't hard to recognise, as he was the only pony with such a bizarre appearance. I approached him and, while still a fair distance away, called out to him. "Terrn!"

He turned and looked, finding me approaching. It was clear he couldn't really recognise me, but that I was still familiar to him. "Remind me of who you are?"

It seemed like a bit of a punch to me but I disregarded it. "It's me, Aqua."

Upon hearing my name it's like he snapped back to the memory of me as a filly. "Aqua? Where have you been?"

He hugged me when I finally approached, a token I was unaware of. I didn't know what it meant, so I kind of blankly stood there until he pulled away again. "It's been so long? What happened?"

"That's a bit of a long story."

"Then come home and you can explain it all to me." I smiled, glad to be welcomed back. Once we were seated within his home again he spoke. "So what happened over the past few years?"

"Well, after I had been in the house for a few days without you returning I headed out again, seeing if I could find you. I was found by somepony else first."

"Who?"

"It was a teacher in a school that teaches fillies how to stay alive in fights. It was a combat school that found me. After I studied there for a little bit it became clear that I was beyond what they could teach me. So they sent me to the Protectorates."

"The Order of Protectorates?"

"Yeah."

"And how did that go?"

"I learned a lot of really helpful things. I think I can keep my own in a fight now."

"What kind of things did you learn?"

"Well, I learned a lot of things like how to use a sword, how to stay alive in a fight, how to dodge and parry and block..." As I continued on the list of the various things I had learned it became clear to me that Terrn was not focusing on me for the words I was saying. I paused. "Is something the matter?"

"Huh? Oh, no. Everything's fine." I shot him a glance. I wasn't aware of what he was doing but I thought he was going to hear what I had done, not gaze at what I had become. "You've changed a lot over a short period of time, Aqua. It's nice."

"Thanks. I figured I might as well inform you of what had happened recently, and now that you know I think I'm going to go make sure everything's all good in town."

"Yeah, it'll be fine. You don't need to go out just yet. Criminals don't come out during the day."

"I think it'd be best if I learned how to carry a vigil first, no?" He sat, looking at me in almost a defeated or disappointed way.

"Alright. I'll let you get to it." I got up and began leaving. He spoke soon thereafter. "Stay safe, alright? One scar is enough."

Now I realised that he had been staring at my body intently, for how else could he have seen the scar that was almost entirely covered by my wing? I disregarded such a thought and nodded before leaving through the door. I set out, determined to uphold the values of the Order I had joined.

It was several hours after watching over the town, right before dusk, that something out of the ordinary happened. As I was sitting on a higher vantage point, staring down at the town from a nearby hill, I noticed some kind of a commotion near the middle of town. I thought that this was my chance to prove myself, so I got my blade and headed down. As I got into town, more specifically as I got into visual range of what was going on, I was surprised to see my teacher from the combat school. As I approached the situation became clear; the teacher was the one causing problems. He had his blade drawn, lashing out at anypony that neared. "Hey!"

He turned. "Ah, there you are. The blue one."

He let out a maniacal laugh, causing me to gaze around nervously. "I knew I could find you without much trouble."

"What do you want from me?" He simply let his head start drooping to one side, a wicked grin on his face. Simply looking at him filled me with fear. His head suddenly snapped back up and he charged in with surprising speed. I parried his blow, knocking him away. He then began attacking viciously. For some reason, try as I might as many times as it were possible, he always seemed to block my strikes with uncanny speed. Clash after clash was heard in the square as the fight became a very frantic struggle for my life. It became apparent to me that, unless I received some kind of help, I would lose. The time wore on and I was getting more and more tired with each passing swing. Suddenly somepony threw something, hitting the teacher. He wheeled around, ready to pounce on them. I took the chance, taking my shot. I sunk the blade within his body, roughly at his hip flexor. He simply laughed. I wasn't sure what to think so I went to yank the blade from his body only to be bucked harshly by his two hind hooves, the injury on his hip seemingly doing nothing to slow him. The force caused me to tumble and roll. As I finally got my ground, skidding a bit, I looked back up to see him suddenly upon me. I then felt a very sharp pain in my chest, my mouth opening and emitting a grunted gasp. I looked down as he chuckled again, finding his sword sticking out of my chest. He yanked the blade out before shoving it in again before I could recover. The pain was unreal. Regardless I managed to get him in a headlock with a front hoof, trying my best to deny the wall of pain erupting from my chest. As I held him tightly, as he struggled with the blade, he tried further and further to tear my interior asunder. After a moment or two longer, when I thought I had no more to give, he suddenly stopped. I took a moment to assess and speak to the pony, but I barely got my words out at this point. "Why would you kill your own student? What has gotten into you?"

The sentences were forced and spaced at best. The pony suddenly relaxed, almost shaking something from him. I was unable to hold on any longer and ended up falling over as I slid off of his sword. The teacher simply stared at me for a while longer, eyes wide in fear. "A-Aqua?"

I didn't have any kind of strength to respond. "No...no, no, no, this is wrong. It's not...no!"

He threw his blade on the ground and galloped off. The others nearby suddenly rushed over, some carrying cloths and others with whatever they could get. A few left, I'm not sure why. They were fighting as best they could to keep me alive and awake, some wrapping my wounds and others shaking me to keep me conscious. Several moments afterwards, several ponies dressed similarly to one another came over and carried me away. I was being rushed around places that I couldn't discern. We eventually settled in one place and it wasn't much longer after that moment when my endurance gave out and I succumbed to the growing drowsiness that enveloped me.

When next I awoke it was on a bed in a room by myself. Not too long afterwards Tigerfire entered. "Oh, good, you're awake. When Ajiin told me of what had happened I came in as quickly as I could. I managed to help a little with what magic I could but I'm still not a very good wizard."

I chuckled slightly, unable to accomplish more. "That's fine. At least you're here."

"Man, first day outside of the Order and you already almost died. You've got to be more careful, Aqua."

"I get the feeling that isn't going to be the only time."

"Only time for what?"

"Almost dying to save somepony."

"What makes you say that?"

"I don't know. Gut feeling?" I could see the apprehension on his face. He knew that had I felt something was going to happen it would. "It was weird this time."

"What was?"

"It was my teacher from the combat school."

"That attacked you?"

"Yeah, but like, after a while he realised something, like some kind of spell lifted, and then he galloped off. I don't get it."

"Well, you're safe now. You should rest up. When you're all good you can head out again." I nodded weakly. He then put a hoof on my shoulder in comfort before leaving. I was left to myself for a while more to rest, so I did.

It took about a week until they released me, telling me to keep it simple and not overwork myself. I nodded to them and they let me out. I was then left to my own devices. It was, of course, to Terrn's house I went for rest, as it was the only place I had.

After a few more days I finally returned to the vigil I was keeping through most of the day, and a little into the night. One day, during my last couple of patrols during the night before heading to bed I took a turn down an alleyway to get someplace faster. As I was trotting I was suddenly grasped from behind, a cloth placed in my mouth tightly. I grunted, trying to fight against my unknown assailant. Soon after the rag in my mouth was situated I felt a knife pressed to my neck. After a moment or two more a collar was placed around my neck. The voice of a mare resounded in my ear as she whispered. "Alright, this is how this is going to go down. You're going to trot forwards, clearing the alleyway before turning right and heading into the first house, got that? And don't try any funny business. That collar that you’ve got on you right now has a needle attached to a mechanism with a string that I hold. I pull the string and the needle shoots into your windpipe with a highly acidic poison and you die, got it?"

I nodded fearfully before complying with the mare's orders. Before too long I was within the house. It was then, once the door was closed, that she spoke again. "Alright, down to the basement."

I obeyed, forcibly, and descended to what I figured to be my ultimate demise. It wasn't too long after I had reached the bottom of the stairwell that I was hit in the head by a hefty force. The world blackened quickly.

When I next awoke, I found that I was chained down, spread apart on a table left at an angle. The gag had been removed, as had the collar. I was very dazed and sore, mostly in the head. As I groaned a little I heard a voice from the other side of the room. "Ah, good, you're awake. I was afraid I had killed you on accident. Now, you might be wondering why I brought you down here. Well, let me explain things here. You joined an Order, one I've been watching with interest for quite a while. I tried to join it myself but, as you might have heard, they don't allow mares. So until they do I figured I might as well keep their rules to the point. There are to be no mares in the Order of Protectorates, so I'll give you this one chance to decide for yourself. Leave the Order from this moment and never return or I will assure that your broken remains are sent to the Order."

I merely stayed in fearful silence, unsure of what to even say in order to try and protect my life. "Ah, I see you're not much of one for talking. There's more than one way of getting you to swear on your life that you'll never return to that forsaken place."

The mare was approaching but it was too dark to see her clearly. All I could see was her outline. I heard her pick up a metal object and my heart began racing frantically. I struggled fiercely against the chains that held me bound but to no avail. Suddenly I was hit by a sheer wave of pain as I felt something jabbed into my tail, around three-quarters of the way up. I let out, not a scream, but a cry of pain. "You really are a baby, you know that? As much as I bet that hurt it's not that bad. Suck it up."

I then felt the blade grasped again, as hard as I had tried to manoeuvre my tail and, accordingly, the hilt of the knife away from her grasp. She then began drawing the blade down the length of my tail, drawing another cry from my lips. It wasn't much longer after this that she reached the tip of the tail and pulled the knife out that I heard a heavy impact on the door leading to the chamber. The mare, nevertheless, continued her terrible work, then moving to my limbs and cutting the underside in the same way, starting from just beneath the body. As she was working on the second leg the door burst open, flooding the room with light. I couldn't see, due mostly to the rapid change in lighting, so I still could not discern the details of my assailant. I heard somepony rush in and the mare left me. She was kiting the pony. "Now you have a tough choice, hero. Stop the further torture and death of others at the cost of this one or save this one and risk having to find me again. Your call."

After a few more moments of scuffling I felt the bands around me being loosed. A few moments after that, I was being tended to. I was then helped out of the room by the mysterious pony. All I could note from our flight was the mask he wore over his face. It was metal, but designed in a way that made him not even look like he had a pony's face. I’m not sure what it was supposed to resemble, but it didn’t matter at this point; he had freed me. Once he had me safely delivered from the basement he left me, heading out to search for the pony again. I was frightened at best, making my way as quickly as possible to Terrn's house. Once there I locked up and made my way to the most secure place I figured was in the house before curling up.

Sleep had eventually found me that night. It was the next morning when Terrn woke me up that I explained everything. He was shocked, to say the least, at the recent developments. He forbade me leave the house for a while, which I was content in obeying. After a long enough while, however, I could not shake the feeling that I needed to leave in search of my assailant. Surely, I thought, if I was targeted then others would be also, especially anypony that helped me.

I arose one day, still sore and unable to perform full functions as well as I had hoped I could by that time, and snuck out when Terrn wasn't paying attention. Thankfully enough, mostly because the pony hadn't blindfolded me or anything, it wasn't hard to find the place I had been locked in before. With my blade within reach I carefully began my way over.

When I arrived at the house, I found it to be unlocked. To be more precise, I found the door to have been busted open previously, unable to close or lock. I cautiously made my way inside towards the basement. Upon arrival I found nopony within the room. Finding a light I flicked it on. I then began a full search of the room, making sure there wasn't anything that might have been left behind by anypony just in case. After several minutes of painstakingly thorough searching I found one little scrap of paper hidden underneath one of the legs of a table. I took the scrap of paper out and found there to be a bunch of seemingly random boxes. A few were circled, four to be exact. I simply sat and stared at the piece of paper, unable to make out any of it. Searching the rest of the house turned up nothing, no other kind of clue. I took the clue from thence to pace around in deep contemplation of the meaning of it.

As I wandered around town I eventually found myself on my vigil hill. I sat, holding the paper in front of me and looking at the town for a very good while. It still didn't make any sense to me at the time. In curiosity I turned the paper over a time or two, seeing the front and the back. Only one of the sides had writing on it. I decided to rotate the paper, as if it would have done any good. As I was rotating it I stopped at one point, staring intently at the paper. It was then I saw it; it was a crude map of the town drawn all lopsided and off-scale. With this realisation I headed out as quickly as possible to one of the circled boxes.

When I arrived I knocked first, being polite in case I was wrong. After a few knocks nopony answered. I checked the windows to see if any were open. Finding nothing, and figuring I'd take care of the culprit easier if I was inside, I bucked the door in. I headed inside and began searching the house. After searching all of the building and finding nothing I managed to discover the door to the basement, as it seemed all the houses had. This was locked. I bucked the door in, and wheeled around, ready to draw my blade. Trotting in and turning the light on revealed an empty basement. I then left the building to head to the next one.

Upon arriving I found the same result as the first, egging me to do the same as I had the first time. Another search similar to the first revealed the same results as I had the time before. I then found, after a bit more work, the entrance to the basement. This, too, I kicked in. Wheeling around I turned the light on. To my view came two ponies. One was situated as I had been previously, with just about equally as much damage dealt so far, but in a different manner. The other pony was cloaked and cowled, concealing still their identity. In a loud voice I cried into the basement. "Let the pony go and we will have no problems."

The mare turned, the tip of her rose-coloured snout sticking out. "Well, aren't you a bold one? I should have worked faster with you. I was just trying to have fun and look at where that got us."

"Let the pony go and I will have no need to harm you."

"Oh, but where's the fun in that?" She then went for a knife, which caused me to draw my sword. I charged in, making my way down the stairs. I saw her jut the knife in sharply to the abdomen of the pony. Before she had time to react to my arrival to the floor, I was upon her. In a very hefty slam I shoved her against the wall before backing up to let her fall. Figuring two against one was easier I cut the bands that held my previous rescuer in place. He dropped down, knife still in his belly. When I went to turn and face the pony, I found that it was she that was upon me. She returned my gesture, bowling me over and knocking the sword from my grasp. As I was on the floor she grasped my front left leg and yanked up while dropping her other hoof onto the shoulder part. The resounding crack could be heard outside of the house, I swore, and pain unreal and unknown to me shot up my leg and torso. I let out a cry, a louder groan, of pain. I heard the sound of metal scraping on the floor and the pony got off of me to see what was going on. As I sat trying to recover from what had happened the two of them fought for a short moment before the assailant fled once more. The other pony didn't chase her because of his own injuries. He came back over to me, dropping the sword.

"Now, I need your help badly. You're going to wrap this wound of mine, because I can't do it myself and if it goes untreated I might die. Here are some supplies for it. I trust you." I nodded, my tear filled eyes making the task ahead exponentially harder. As best I could, and with some help, I arose to a seated position but made sure to keep all pressure off of my throbbing shoulder. I then did what I could to wrap the bandages, I'm still not entirely sure how good of a job I actually managed to do, but I suppose it worked. He nodded in appreciation before speaking again. "Now, I can help you out of here again, but what I can currently do is very limited."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw something. When I turned and looked it was the mare from before with my sword in her grasp. She was charging straight for the other pony. Using what strength I could I shoved him aside, ultimately ending up in the way of the blow. The sword shot true, piercing to the other side of my torso. I couldn't even breathe if I wanted to, the pain was so fierce. The pony beside me reacted accordingly, beating down the mare before she fled his grasp again, battered and bloodied. The pony beside me then tried what he could to treat my injuries but they proved to be a little too much. Before too long my resolve broke and I collapsed, ultimately fading into darkness.

When I was aware of my presence again I was standing all alone in utter darkness. I was fully capable of motion, so I did what I could. After moving forwards a very short distance I ran face first into something, I backed up and stared for a little. To my view, in spite of the inky blackness, came a bar. Then several more continued. As I watched these bars fade into view I noticed the clearing behind me shrinking. I bolted for it, only to run face first into something else. Again to my view came a bar, which then became several until they and those that formed before created a full circle around me; I was in a cage. It was then I heard laughter. I looked around for the source but could find nothing. After a moment or two more a voice rang clear. "Welcome to your home for the eternities. You certainly didn't make it very far in your life."

Laughter from the voice erupted. Not very much longer after that, I saw the stranger that had become involved in my life recently. He trotted forwards and opened the cage. He then bid me leave, so I did. I wasn't expecting what came next. As I left, he entered and closed the cage again. As much as I wanted to protest I was snapped from the experience like waking up from a dream. As I arose and looked around I saw the pony that had helped me laying beside me. I nudged him, trying to get him to arise. After several nudges it became clear that he had passed. Unsure of what to do, I left the pony there and exited the building after grabbing my sword.

I set my heading directly for the last marked house on the crude map I had studied. When I arrived I went through a similar process as I had the other two. Searching the house thoroughly revealed nothing. I figured that the pony had been caught or had left town and I was now free to rest up finally. As such I headed back to Terrn's and settled down.

As much as I would have like to have slept and rested up I was unable to do so. The more I tried the more fiercely I was haunted by a repeating nightmare. After several days I decided that I must either suffer sleeplessness until I died or I had to sit through the extent of the nightmare, no matter how hard it may prove. Thusly, one night, I went to sleep with grave determination. As the horrific scenes played out before me, mostly tied to things that happened in the past, I was urged more and more to simply awake. Not the horrendous vision of the creature that had stalked me in the forest, nor the horrid memory of the shell that my combat school teacher had become, prior to nearly killing me, was enough to shake me. I came close when the recent events played through, urging me on to awake screaming. Once all these were done, however, the dream cleared. It became peaceful, almost serene. It was then I was approached by a stranger, a pony I swore I had seen before. With blue hide and amber eyes he kind of reminded me of a pony I had seen before, but I could not place why, when or where I could have ever seen him in my life at the moment the dream was happening. He spoke after a short while of me gazing at him. "Your purpose has not been served yet. Death will not overtake you until you have defended all those in the future that need your aid. You are not yet mature now; you have so much farther to go. Continue your training and one day you will unlock all the gifts and abilities of both sides of your heritage."

With that I was snapped back to reality, jolting upright with a gasp. I had absolutely no idea what he had been talking about. Both sides of my heritage? I shook the thought from my head, thinking it strange. Surely there was nothing special or unique about either side of my parents, whom I had never seen before. Whatever all of it meant, the only thing I knew was that I had finally obtained a proper night's sleep, the first in several days. As much as I had tried, though, I could not shake the thought from my head. I decided it best to spend a little time alone, wandering through the forest, to try and collect my thoughts.

I spent a decent amount of time wandering aimlessly through the forest, not coming to any set conclusion on what the meaning of the dream might be. As I was wandering through my ears picked up a sound. I stopped, trying to focus on what or where it was. I heard it again, coming from one side. I headed over there as best I could, not too quickly so I could still hear the noise. Sure enough, as I continued my march over the noise continued increasing in volume. Before long I heard it clear as day, and not much longer after that I saw what was causing it. A small group of ponies, some of which I recognised from town, were trying their best to stay out of the grasp of a bear. The problem was that this bear was not normal in any sense of the word. It was warped, twisted violently and almost unrecognisable. It almost seemed as if shards of bone stuck out from parts of the hide. As much as the mere sight of it frightened me I had a job to do. "Hey!"

I galloped closer, drawing the attention of the monster. When it turned and faced me another wave of fear crept up my spine; its face was wickedly misshapen to become a visage of natural mockery. I cried out to the others. "Flee from here while you can! I'll keep this thing occupied."

They didn't seem to mind the suggestion. As they began to flee the creature turned to chase them. It was then I drew my blade and charged in, striking the bear's matted hide. I heard a growl as the creature swung back around to try and hit me. Dodging the blow as best as I could, I rolled away from it. When the bear came charging back towards me I rolled to the side, barely keeping out of reach, and once again struck the thick hair hide it carried. Whether or not it was actually doing anything to hurt the creature I didn't know. After several more times trying to cut the creature I ascertained that my sword was not enough to penetrate the thick hide by simply slashing; I needed to stab the creature. How I was going to accomplish that I didn't know. As I continued dodging the creature I got an idea. Using what window of time I could I firmly planted the sword into the ground hilt first before fleeing the area. With the bear following me I knew it wouldn't disturb the blade. I then frantically, while still dodging the bear's viciously sharp claws, searched for any kind of stick or branch thick enough for what I was about to do next. I eventually found one, grasping it and heading back towards the sword while kiting the bear. Once I was there again I stood between the bear and the blade and waited. As it charged in I moved quickly, swinging the stick as hard as I could for the front legs of the charging mass of fur. I heard, and felt, the stick connect, snapping it and causing the echo to ring through the forest. The force alone nearly ripped my head completely back, sending me tumbling as well. Despite this, it worked well enough. The bear stumbled, ultimately falling forwards face first onto the sword. Due to the massive weight of the creature the sword ran straight through the head and neck of it. It wasn't much longer after that when it stopped moving. After poking it a few times with the stick I was holding, I used said stick to roll the creature over to extract my sword from its head. Once I had accomplished such I examined the dead creature once more. The only thing I could find on it was a little ornament, a brooch almost, of twisted thorns jabbing through a leaf. The leaf itself almost looked like it had a pained face. The brooch was stuck behind the head of the creature, between the ears. I decided to disregard it and quickly leave the area.

As I left the forest I noted that it was dusk. Hopefully the other ponies had made their way safely back home at this point. As I made my way towards town I eventually found myself under the blanket of night. It was at this point that I wandered very carefully, taking fervent note of my surroundings. I didn't want to get caught by that mare again, that was for sure. As I was thus proceeding I heard the slightest scuffle nearby. I froze and wheeled around. Nopony was nearby. I heard a few more shifts and decided to head out towards the sound. As I neared, looking around, I saw just the tail end of a pony disappearing around the corner of a house. I followed suit, eventually ending up before the door of the house I had been taken to. Upon arrival it was clear that the mare had spent some time to fix it up. I waited for a little while before busting the door open. I then went straight for the basement, doing the same with this door as well. My sword was already drawn at this point. As the wood splinters from the frame shot across the room I heard the voice of the mare. "Aw, come on! Now who is it busting in all my doors again?"

I flicked the light on. "You again? You really don't learn, do you? I can still see what lesson I left on your shoulder and sides. Give it up, hero. What makes you think you'll do any better than the last one did?"

As I had a sword in my mouth I didn't respond. When she saw this she spoke again. "Oh well, you know how it goes already. You come charging in with your sword, yada yada yada, I stab the pony and leave him to die before almost killing you. You don't learn, do you?"

I sheathed my sword, a radical idea popping into my head. "Tell you what, how about this: you let the prisoner go and take me in their place. It's me you're after. I'm the one that did what you never could."

I could see that phrase hit her hardest. After a moment of looking at her captive she spoke. "Yeah, ok. I'll do it. Why not? You'll just end up causing me more problems. This one has nothing on you. Drop the sword and we'll make the exchange."

As such I put the sword on the ground and kicked it away from me. She then let the pony go as I approached. Once the pony had fled she bid me trot to the table. As I did I made sure to approach her as well, drawing near. When I passed I snapped into action, bucking back as hard as I could. The hooves connected, sending the mare across the room, well, at least the short little five or ten foot distance there was. I then wheeled around and booked it for my sword. When I turned around she was upon me, knife in mouth. I parried the attempted stab, kicking her away in turn. She then returned in fury. The fight was intense but it was short. Although she managed a time or two to land a cut it ended very quickly when I sunk the blade deep into her leg. As she groaned she cried out. "Enough! I give! I give!"

I paused, maintaining myself at the ready. "I don't even care anymore! You can take the Order! It's just filled with a bunch of filth anyways. I promise I won't do this anymore."

I sheathed the blade in order to speak. "Do you swear on your life?"

"Yes! Yes. You can even turn me in to the authorities if you want. I'm done. I don't want to do this anymore." I glared at her for a little while longer.

"I think I'll take you up on that offer. Come with me. It's time you paid for your crimes." She was nodding, tearfully if I might add. When she had risen we made our way out. After a short trot we arrived at the police station. After explaining the situation she was incarcerated. The officer thanked me for my work and bid me leave, so I did. I felt good, at least, for what I had accomplished this night.

When I returned and went to go to sleep, at least hoping to do so if nothing else, I found Terrn in the doorway looking out at me. He didn't seem very happy. I approached and spoke. "Good to see you, Terrn."

"I have something I need to talk to you about, Aqua."

"What is it?"

"When you told me about your time in the Order of Protectorates you didn't tell me everything, did you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did you join that group or not?"

"I did, Terrn."

"Then you are not welcome here."

This was not the kind of answer I was waiting for, or even expecting. As such I looked at him a moment longer. "Wait, why?"

"I cannot support such, especially not from you."

"Terrn, what is that supposed to mean?"

"I cannot accept you as a member of the Order."

"Why not?"

"They're nothing but a group of liars, traitors, brigands and hooligans brainwashed into some delusional sense of honour and commitment. Believing that they've been selected as the guardians of civilisation. It's absurd."

"Terrn, the whole point of the Order is to help ponies. That's why it's the Order of Protectorates. That is why we're called Protectorates. We protect ponies."

"By killing those you think are the problem."

"So you think I'm a murderer?"

"Not yet, but what would be stopping you?"

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard."

"Either you leave that order and never go back or you leave this house and never come back."

"I'm not about to back down from what is before me, Terrn. I will not leave the Order."

"Then leave here and never come back. I never wish to see your hideous face or your convoluted character around these parts anymore." With that, he slammed the door shut. I breathed in a time or two before sighing. I then turned and made my way towards the forest, lost deep in brooding thoughts. How could he believe that kind of talk? What had happened in the past with the Order that I wasn't aware of? There surely had to be some kind of cause for such, as having a pony that far in contrary to a group was never without reason. It hurt still, though, that he decided to leave me alone and homeless simply because of something I believed. I shook my head and continued my journey, trying not to dwell too much upon what had just happened. When I reached my little shack I curled up inside of it, albeit barely managing to do so, before falling asleep for the night.