Author's Notes:

BOOK 1: PART 2: DUTY

“You all have done well over the first week, but now it is time to get nasty,” Lieutenant Marble Falls grinned. “Now we add weather. Sweltering heat, blistering cold, hurricane winds; you will face it all. If you think it has been cold, it is only just beginning.”

It was nasty. Despite the recovery training, the strong winds blew teams away and apart.

“Okay, we have this,” Shadow said popping his head out of a cloud. “We have this.”

“At least you are confident,” Cardinal Spitfire shook her head to get the remaining tufts out.

“Positivity is key,” Shadow breathed as he flapped out of the cloud. “Lets make sure you get into the Wonderbolts.”

“Right,” Cardinal Spitfire agreed, joining him.

They were both knocked back into the cloud and had to untangle with their visitors.

“Sorry,” Deke greeted Shadow. He pulled him up, off his back.

“I guess we need to move,” Shadow chuckled.

“Any pointers?” Olive Pit asked popping his head out the cloud.

“Not yet,” Cardinal Spitfire said motioning them to get going. “Lets go before another collision.”

“Where is Golden Dawn?” Shadow asked as the slowly made their way to the edge of the track.

“No idea,” Deke said looking around. “I don't think they have made it this far. She didn't do well recovering and these winds are more than nasty. Nor did Silver Lining.”

They spent the day dealing with excessive winds. The final headwind Shadow and Cardinal eventually worked thorough, once. It was something nopony else was able to do.

“Well done,” Lieutenant Marble Falls flatly praised. “I see your bruises and how stiff you are. That back half of the course is well beyond what you need to pass. We usually ground teams with any weather near those conditions.”

“You learned more by the failures than you did passing. I have never needed to ramp things up so high, yet all of you not only passed the required levels, but surpassed them before dinner. Be ready to face heavy winds again after dinner, on a new course.”

Lieutenant Marble Falls just smiled like she always did at their well earned groans.

“Over a week on these fucking field rations!” Golden Dawn said getting really angry and tossing it aside. “My insides do not know what to do! And my stomach is dead.”

“Food is food,” Shadow offered.

“Yeah yeah,” Golden Dawn mocked. “You lived on a simple diet. Never having much or expecting much. But I don't know if I can do that.”

Golden Dawn broke down crying. Ten of the sixteen weeks in and the ponies in Black were beginning to openly break down in tears.

“I don't know if it is the flying, the raw time we have been here at basic, or the long stress,” Shadow said concerned. “But this is getting ridiculous. Crying isn't conductive of building soldiers.”

“Green might be expected to cry, but not us,” Deke declared. “Still, almost everypegasus has except our tiny group. But now Golden Dawn broke. I call Shadow next.”

They all chuckled including Golden Dawn.

“At least I have friends I can cry around without being embarrassed,” Golden Dawn sniffed.

“I do not think we are supposed to make it alone,” Olive Pit said distracted. “We are supposed to bond together as a whole, and make friends. That is what all those team building exercises were for. We won't forget these times. Even after years and we grow old and senile, we will still be friends.”

“Agreed!” Cardinal Spitfire piped up. “Us five, friends for life. A Raptor commander, a medic, a soldier, a Wonderbolt and a recon Pegasus. Together until the end. Trusting each other until the end. A duty to each other.”

They all tiredly clanked their canteens together in approval before finishing dinner in quiet. They all were concerned about the winds in the dark. It never grew easier to see at night.

“Welcome to winter!” Lieutenant Marble Falls said over the speaker to wake them up.

Snow was all over their tents, the clouds and the flight deck was covered in at least two inches. And it was still growing. Everypony was shivering except for Shadow as they lined up.

“How the hell are you standing still?” Hay Bail blatantly asked.

“Farmer. Worked in worse. This is northing compared to the north. Every try to heat a whole house with a small fireplace and candles? Candle are useless except to help see at night. And wood is very scarce.”

“Didn't you have power?” Lieutenant Marble Falls asked approaching Shadow.

“Yes Ma'am. But we rarely used it outside of food prep. It takes a lot to bring a grid so far out. And if too many houses use it at once, its blows. That means no power until somepony comes to fix it. Nopony in our district can do that. It takes a long time. Plus, even with a good house, the power required to heat it in our location is tremendous. We use a lot of blankets instead.”

“With such a small frame, I am impressed,” The Lieutenant said walking away. She was staying warm in a very nice and warm coat. This one bore the Wonderbolt's symbol, unlike the flight jacket she always wore.

“On topic, you will have to deal with the cold for a while. I am sure once you start flapping you will warm up. But then we will give you some good winds and if you are lucky, toss in some ice. Persistent ice will ground you. But I hope you all get a chance to experience its grasp and compensate so you can land safely. Some of you will go onto training that will require you to learn to fly iced until you can properly land. So give them the best you can as a team and show me what Black really has. You will break for breakfast after you warm up a bit.”

They launched into the basic loop around the flight deck.

“Don't glide,” Shadow said noticing Cardinal Spitfire begin to. “If you don't use your wings they will become to stiff to fly.”

Cardinal Spitfire groaned and stopped gliding despite the pain. Shadow took lead to relieve her physically and so she could watch.

“We had to fight the cold by flapping every so often while working and talking. It sucks, but works,” Shadow continued.

“Talking about what?” Moonless Night asked from behind them.

“Sometimes work, but usually just to keep enough of our minds distracted from the cold as we worked.”

“Like what?” Cardinal Spitfire asked.

“Winter was when we mainly told tales and legends.”

“What tales?” Rays asked. His name was officially Little Rays, but everypony dropped the little off. It was not fitting for his build.

“Most of them are old. Warriors from the great war, legends from before.”

“Tell us one,” Moonless Night pushed.

“We should focus more on flying,” Shadow said deflecting it.

“Come on. What was your favorite one?” Moonless Night poked harder.

Shadow sighed. “A war one. The great Rainbow Dash and her Shadow. There are at least three dozen tales of her missions to kill different Zebra generals. Some they did, others like Two Toned escaped multiple times. No tale tells of her killing him. Only the fight for survival after what was usually a trap. She falls for a lot of traps. My favorites is her taking on a Zebra Pirate Ship.”

“You mean Rainbow Dash, as in the first Dashite?”

“I don't know what a Dashite is,” Shadow replied. “I only know that her overall mission was never completed because of the spells. The sky being sealed up was the last anypony heard from her.”

“That can't be true of the traitor.”

“I do not know about that, but I did sneak off once, with some others. It was a several day flight, but there was this cave in the northern mountains, above the clouds. Something had been done there. Scraps and pieces all around. A very big explosions destroyed most of it, at least that was what our young minds saw anyway. Traditionally, that was her private training ground. But its has been two hundred years. It could be anything or nothing.”

“All legends,” Lieutenant Marble Falls said firmly as they landed. “Pure legends. Rainbow Dash was no hero. Her job in the war was useless and when the spells fell, she turned her back on the Pegasus Race. Which is why anypegasus against the Enclave is painfully branded with her Cutie Mark over theirs and forced into exile to die. She abandoned her race and her duty.”

“That explains why the legends stop,” Shadow stated. “Legends never die, but the truth is often lost in them. Her fearlessness into battle to the point that she knowingly sprung traps and somehow making it out alive with her Shadow intact is beyond far fetched. Along with her Shadow fighting. Just stories we told to keep warm.”

“You have to have your own stories,” Shadow continued. “You know how much I did not know about Enclave history from the first week. So we have some odd tales that contradict it. We know what we need to know to be good, productive Enclave citizens. But my community has its tales. Just like we still say everypony. A bit different, but still the same and fiercely loyal to our Race.”

“You are wise to recognize tales from fact and legends as fiction.” Lieutenant Marble Falls said. “The Enclave was new when Rainbow Dash betrayed us. You were far away from that catastrophe. Legends will happen. Now go eat and lets not talk about these dark things. Leave those to frightening fillies and colts in the dark.”

“You are always honest,” Deke said conflicted. “It has a simple charm to it. I want to take you at your word.”

“Deke they are just tales,” Shadow shrugged. “I speak honestly. But if I am wrong and do not know it, my honest answer will always be wrong. There never is a way around that. But do you really use tales about Rainbow Dash to frighten fillies and colts?”

“You have no idea,” Olive Pit grimaced. “They still give me chills.”

“I wonder what was in the cave,” Deke said distracted.

“Probably somepony, and I actually mean somepony, hiding out during or right after the war. They could not last long there and it was a mess with little inside.”

Shadow ended it by focusing on breakfast and only breakfast. He was going to need every bit to keep the cold out. He wished he was eating his mother's cold day breakfast. It kept you warm all day, even in the fields.

He thought about the cave. He was lying why he said it was nothing. There was an explosion in it, but plenty of books and papers were left. The persistent cold air had preserved a lot. There was nothing of consequence in the papers, mostly old newspapers and articles.

The rest of the cave was a different story. Metal scraps were all over the cave floor except for the clear trail made by those before. Several razer sharp dart like knives were still buried in a wall which also had Zebras painted on it. Others had holes blown in them by powerful weapons. The back half was totally collapsed, forever sealing off it's treasures.

But nopony needed to know that. It was a solemn place like a graveyard and the young fillies and colts only slipped away once to see it, leaving a note to their parents so they would not worry. It was a coming of age adventure that held it's own tests and dangers outside of the cave itself.

Up in the sky again, teams formed up around Shadow as best they could to hear and obverse some knowledge about surviving the winter chills. It kept them going all day, even when diving into the freezing winds.

Lieutenant Marble Falls did crank the machines up to give them an icy wind the last hour. Everypony was forced to the ground. Shadow and Cardinal were the last to drop, but even Shadow's agile wings could not keep the ice broken up long enough to make it halfway through. He helplessly fell all the way down to the clouds prepared to catch them like everypony else. Shadow was used to removing ice from his wings and never thought that others would not know how. Most lost a feather or two deicing.

They didn't bother with night flying. The cold winds and ice was dangerous enough when they could see.

“Shadow,” Cardinal Spitfire sighed as they settled down in their cold tent. “I don't know what I would do without your stubborn head helping me push through.”

“Learn it on your own,” Shadow yawned. “Because you would not let your dream slip out of your grasp because of something like this.”

“Still, it is nice to have a real friend helping lead the way.”

Sweltering heat came the next day. Most fell out due to not drinking enough water. That was the main goal; to really teach them the essential value of drinking water. Combat got hot fast and a soldier always needed to carry plenty. They were told there was no restrictions about breaks to drinking water, but few thought to. Shadow stopped Cardinal Spitfire the most often, but they still both fell out before lunch.

They spent the rest of the day relaxing and recovering from the hard lesson.

“I do not want to head outside,” Cardinal Spitfire groaned the next morning.

“It's just rain,” Shadow said, strapping on his gear. “Nothing special.”

Lightning struck and left them with a boom that deafened their ears.

“And a bit more,” Shadow shrugged.

“You would work in this?” Cardinal Spitfire gasped.

“Hell no,” Shadow replied concerned. He watched a small stream begin to flow into their tent. “You can work the clouds in the cold, but not in such a downpour. We had to keep the farm up and protected from run off with this type of rain. The last thing you need is your farm losing it's crop because of some rain picking up and walking the seeds off. That was not a fun year. I literally was chasing down a row of turnip sprouts floating in a neat little row before we lost them permanently.”

Shadow shivered at the thought and stepped out into the downpour. He was the first pegasus out. Cardinal Spitfire joined him at the line a minute later.

“Its a free warm up this morning,” Lieutenant Marble Falls said over the downpour.

She didn't look any different than normal and appeared to not even notice the rain. They took off to do some laps.

“Lieutenant Autumn Leaf wasn't there,” Shadow commented.

“I was blinded by the water pouring off my face,” Cardinal Spitfire sputtered. “Still am and its getting in my mouth.

“Yeah, this sucks worse than the cold. I am already soaked. By the end of the day we will be lucky if we are not all pruny.”

They took it slow with the visibility being no more than a few feet. Flags were pointless and they had to light up the flight deck and each ring. Nopony cared to eat. It would just end up drowned out worse than a bad soup.

Late in the afternoon Cardinal Spitfire moved up besides Shadow. “What do you think tomorrow will be?” She shouted.

“They blew us away, iced us over, gave us sunburns and are now trying to drown us. I hope tomorrow begins aerial combat.”

“You are excited for aerial combat for once!”

“Surprising. I know.”

Shadow suddenly dropped like a stone. Cardinal Spitfire dove after him. She caught him and tumbled into a splash landing.

“Wake up!” Cardinal Spitfire said patting him on the cheek. “Damn it!”

Cardinal Spitfire did all she could to protect his face from the rain and the water that was up to her chest. A team had noticed them drop and reported it immediately. The Lieutenant found them and tossed Shadow on her back. Medics were waiting on the flight deck for them.

Shadow woke up in a bed with an IV in his arm. “What happened?”

“You fell out of the sky for no apparent reason,” a medic said coming over.

“How many others?”

“Only you from Black, but there are twelve others who fell out between yesterday and today from various training tasks.”

“What time is it?”

“2000. The rest of your Barracks are in the indoor gym still drying off. Lieutenant Marble Falls is know to push the weather to extremes, but she never has had a pegasus drop out in the rain. Looks like your gas reserves finally ran out. I will let them know you are awake, but you are staying here overnight.”

“Glad you are back,” Lieutenant Marble Falls said, followed by Cardinal Spitfire, Deke, Olive Pit and Golden Dawn.

“I have never had anypegasus almost drown on me,” She continued. “What happened?”

“I have no idea Ma'am. I recall discussing what tomorrow will be, and then waking up here.”

“You never have taken a dive and given out yet as a recruit. Eleven weeks in is impressive.

“I have fallen out before,” Shadow stated confused. “Like yesterday.”

“But you never have run out of endurance,” Lieutenant Marble Falls explained. “You always got enough from meals, breaks and sleep to keep going. At some point, the mind and body just give out. Most recruits hit that wall and break within the first three weeks. Almost all before aerial combat segment. So get some rest. They won't release you unless you are cleared medically, but tomorrow starts the combat training. I know you don't want to miss the shooting.”

“Before I go, mind explaining these?” The Lieutenant was holding the bands that were made from him.

“Totems. From family when I left. I forgot I was still wearing them.”

“Since they don't interfere with anything and are easily covered by the uniform you may continue to wear them,” The Lieutenant said as she lightly tossed them onto his chest.

“Thanks,” Shadow said as she walked away.

“You scared the shit out of me!” Cardinal Spitfire exclaimed. “You were there and then not there. It was a good thing I was looking at you or it would have been bad. That water was all they way up to my, and well your, chest.”

“Thanks for being such a good wingpegasus,” Shadow said tired. “But no warning?”

“None,” Cardinal Spitfire said still concerned.

“The Lieutenant has to be right. I hit my wall for the first time,” Shadow sighed.

“I don't recall my wall,” Cardinal Spitfire said.

“You hit yours when I beat you in the ring,” Shadow explained. “It changed how you thought and acted. It made you more like the drill sergeants and how they want Enclave soldiers to be like. It isn't a bad thing.”

“The end of week three,” Cardinal Spitfire sighed.

“No shame in that,” Olive Pit said trying to add cheer to the air. “How many times have I given out? I fell out twice the first day alone.”

Deke chuckled. “I broke down in front of the others when I couldn't find out where we were on that navigation exercise.”

“You all remember my fall out during the team building exercises,” Golden Dawn said blushing.

“No shame,” Shadow said softly to Cardinal Spitfire. “It has to happen at some point. For our good so we can do our duty properly.”

“Alright, everypegasus out,” The medic said.

“Can his battle buddy stay a bit long?” Cardinal Spitfire asked quietly.

“As long as I do not notice your presence, you can stay,” The medic said walking away.

Shadow was released just before lunch after a doctor gave a final review. Cardinal Spitfire had been put in as a third team member with one of the other stronger teams. She left formation when they came back over the flight deck and landed.

“Ready?” She asked.

“I am in uniform and gear. What do you think?” Shadow said taking off.

Cardinal Spitfire took point. They moved slowly as they navigated through the targets. There were always two. One for each team member. They had to hit it before they passed the marker. Unlike the range, these were the same laser rounds from the exercise. That meant they could fire as often as needed. The more times Shadow could fire at the same target the better.

Now it was like he was behind the gun. He was the sight. Shadow slowly caught on and fired less as they continued around the course. He was impressed with his improvement by the end of the day. They were not thrown into night training yet. That would wait for a few more days.

Each day it was a different course. Later on they were switching courses up to three times a day. Lieutenant Marble Falls worked the instructors and engineers almost as hard as the recruits. Things got more complicated as they lost more and more visibility, and as they were forced to dance around obstacles and take razer sharp turns at high speeds.

As the speeds and complexity were raised, they had to fire more to make sure they hit the target. It was difficult to impossible to only need to fire once and the target sizes were also shrinking.

“Final day,” Lieutenant Marble Falls announced one morning. “A whole new course. It is at least twice as long as you ever have seen and brings a few surprises. You have had to avoid or chase off instructors, but now you will have to shoot targets at different angles. Watch for them everywhere, just like in real combat.”

Cardinal Spitfire and Shadow were eighth to hit the new course. Lieutenant Marble Falls was not joking. They missed a lot of targets at hidden angles. Shadow kept reminding Cardinal Spitfire to calm down and focus as she got frustrated. As they picked their way through the entire course they noticed that there were sometimes multiple paths.

“It is like we are flying through a city,” Shadow noticed. “And other teams are taking different courses as we blast our way through.”

“Makes sense. This is supposed to be combat training for our cities and for below the clouds.”

Shadow saw where a potential target was. He rolled onto his back, doubled over, fired three times and rolled out. He hit the target on his second shot. It was his first time shooting a target behind him. They had been dealing with targets off to their sides, above and below, but now the full directional combat began.

When they finally skidded to a stop on the flight deck it was almost lunchtime. A single lap took them half a day. And the other barracks were using their own tracks that often weaved around theirs and alongside theirs.

“Good job you two. Eighth launched and first in. Take a break. We reassemble after lunch for round two. You will be launching last.”

“So the challenge has been thrown down,” Cardinal Spitfire grinned as they walked off to the side.

They all were ready after lunch before being called.

“I love timely recruits,” Lieutenant Marble Falls smiled. “Now for round two! Everypony… Ten Laps.”

“Yes Ma'am!” Shadow said taking off while the others chuckled.

“Round two. You all did well enough the first time. I hope you can handle this next one. You all noticed targets behind you way to late. Fix it.”

They were counted off and into the track. Shadow and Cardinal Spitfire were held back a good half hour before Lieutenant Marble Falls allowed them to begin.

Shadow was good at the new element. He could flip and roll fast enough that his inertia would not allow him to drop before he rolled out of it. Each time it felt like the world slowed down for minutes, but Shadow knew that it was not more than a second.

Cardinal Spitfire soon picked it up after him. She was not as smooth, but she had picked it up. She didn't shoot as much as Shadow, only needing three or four shots for most targets to his seven or eight.

“How are they keeping track?” Cardinal asked as they flew.

“No idea. But its probably got something to do with magic,” Shadow replied. “Can lasers be much different?”

“You and your tales should be able to answer that.”

“I wish. Most of them are about the two Pegasi, not the unicorns. And even then its unreliable. A dark tale says that Fluttershy and her healing ministry fired the first megaspell. Impossible with all the care and compassion her tales speak of. Unity and compassion. Loving one another. All examples of how we need to work together as a community and race.”

“Alright,” Cardinal Spitfire grunted as she rolled to shoot a target. “Point taken. Its a wish that can't be true. And I missed so shut up!”

Shadow smiled and didn't even see his next target.

They caught up to another team and split to overtake them. Shadow instinctively took the lead and they continued on the course, occasionally passing other teams and switching leads.

They bolted out of the track and towards the finish line to finish a few paces ahead of another team.

“Sent in last and came out tenth,” Lieutenant Marble Falls nodded to them. “Good shot percentages too.”

Shadow sat down and pulled his goggles off. “I want out of this armor. But I know that we will be put through a night course.”

“I know,” Cardinal Spitfire sighed. “At least this has been the tamest day in aerial combat training. Tomorrow we should be starting formations. That will be fun.”

Shadow plopped onto his back. “This will be worth it, for both of us. We will need it for our schools.”

“I hate that we will be split up. A new battle buddy… well you will always be special. My first.” Cardinal Spitfire giggled and Shadow just smiled.

“We knew the separation coming in,” Shadow finally said. “But not how much we would miss each other.”

“You got really good at aerial combat,” Cardinal Spitfire said changing topics. “I wonder how you will do at the range.”

“I don't think we will get another chance at the range,” Shadow replied. “Which I am happy about.”

“Dinner and then line up!” Lieutenant Marble Falls ordered.

Thankfully the night course had small lights for targets, but they had to run it three times, finishing well past dawn. Bed for a nap and then formations started after lunch.

It was like the first day under Lieutenant Marble Falls. A lot of yelling and orders to squads about speed and distance. They were in the first squad, named Filly Foolers, and their flying skills roughly matched their squadmates mates.

Silver Bar and Shooting Star were battle buddies. Rays and Moonless Night were also battle buddies. All six of them took turns leading. A pair made up the front, and then a team on either side like they had been doing in doubles. Cardinal Spitfire was the only mare.

The name Filly Foolers was a joke. Other teams wished they had been paired with Cardinal Spitfire and Shadow. They showed the most skill together in the whole barracks. It was a lot of confidence over skill. Confidence went a long way.

Dreamers was named after Cloud Surfer who the Lieutenant said did not live up to his name. Hence, he was a Dreamer. Rover was a collection of teams that were not the steadiest fliers. Ditwitz was named for Golden Dawn's mistake the first day. She took off in the opposite direction as everypony else. Hay Bail was named after Hay Bail. Lilly Blossom was named because two of their members looked like dainty dancers in the sky, not soldiers. Hurricane and Gale were simply named after weather patterns Lieutenant Marble Falls liked.

The next morning brought real formations as they were instructed on not just flying with their squad, but now directing them through a mapped out track of rings. Shadow had just taken point when they were called back. They landed on the center of Flight deck and lined up, facing General Red River. Master Wind was with him and Lieutenant Autumn Leaf, who had not missed watching a single day other than the rain.

“Recruits,” Lieutenant Marble Falls said sternly as she began to pace in front of them. “A situation has occurred. An odd situation. A group is gathering in New Heaven, two hours flight from here. We are a small force at this base, focused mostly on training the new recruits. What soldiers we have are already dispatched and on their way. They should be arriving about now.”

“But there is a concern about the troop numbers since it is a larger city with little need for law enforcement. General Red River came to ask me if you were ready enough. No other Barracks can help back them up.”

“What we are looking for is a presence to calm any potential issues. We do not anticipate violence and it should not be more than raised voices. We want to avoid conflict at all costs. Citizens get angry at times, we do not need to give them anything to get them justifiably angry about.”

“You will be under my direct lead. Master Wind will be assisting me. Follow our lead to the letter. It will mostly be standing around at attention. Does anypegasus feel unable to perform these duties?”

Nopony spoke up, but they all were feeling the rush of adrenaline mixed with fear of their first real assignment. It had all been fun and games until now. This was a call to be real soldiers. To do their duty the first time.

“If you feel unprepared fall out. We would rather not have you. There is no punishment or bad marks for falling out. You have not completed your training yet and it is an understandable choice. Being able to head out is the exception. You have until we take off to step down. Do not worry about leaving your battle buddy behind. It will all be worked out.”

“Now go take a leak and fill up your canteens. Do what you need to do. Be back in ten, lined up like you are now if you are coming.”

They fell out in disorder as everypony went to prepare. There was not much to prepare outside of their minds. Shadow double checked his armbands for assurance and made sure he was all set and in line before the time was up. Olive Pit stayed back. The look in his eyes showed shame.

“Alright,” Lieutenant Marble Falls said. “Only four. I expected a lot more. I hope you are all really ready for this, because it is serious business. Safety is priority. You will keep your training case in your rifle. But a loaded magazine will be attached. Only on our order will you cycle and load a round. And only on our order will you fire. No exceptions, no mistakes. Pure discipline no matter what.”

“I can not stress enough that we do not anticipate any violence. It is showing to be a peaceful gathering. These magazines are for looks. A rifle without a magazine doesn't look right and the citizens will spot the difference. Also you will be besides soldiers that have magazines loaded as well. We have to make sure you look the full part and not just recruits. An unloaded magazine is stupid and leaves one defenseless in a crisis.”

“Again, this is not a crisis. We are just short hoofed for a gathering and need bodies to stand there and look pretty. I can not stress enough that there should be absolutely no violence. This is peaceful.”

“Follow my lead and nothing will go wrong. Don't, and everything will go wrong for you.”

Six others fell out, including Deke and Golden Dawn, and the General thanked them for their honesty. They needed bodies with level heads. If you could not adjust, it was best to stay back.

They flew in their squads, making a large V. Shadow was, again, on point like nothing had changed, minus the fact that they were right off Lieutenant Marble Fall's flank. Some shuffling had to be done to two squads since others fell out, but that took no time at all. Master Wind was pulling up the rear, making sure nopony fell behind. They were making a quick pace to the city.

“Flying with a Magazine and loaded feels weird,” Rays said shifting to try and balance things better.

“Just keep trudging on,” Shadow said zoning out. “It is just another exercise. Just another day. The only thing that we can change is our mindset. Don't change it from this morning and things will be fine. Just trust and follow the Lieutenant's guide.”

They touched down in a street. They were given wide birth to land.

“This makes El Nino look like a village,” Shadow marveled. “Buildings are not supposed to be that high.”

“We all can't live on acres of clouds Shadow Flare,” Lieutenant Marble Falls retorted. “Keep your head about you. You will get used to cities like this while you serve, but you need your head focused on the task at hoof.”

“Yes Ma'am,” Shadow said snapping back into focus.

Heads were poking out of windows to see them as they filed down the street. They stopped at the end where they could see a large plaza and a crowd gathering.

“Make sure your coms are on,” Lieutenant Marble Falls ordered. “We will be split and go to two sides of the Plaza. Master Wind will take his squads to be by the city hall where the citizens have gathered. If you are with me, we will be further back. We do not want to scare or crowd the citizens.”

“They want to be heard, not threatened. And no speaking unless spoken to by either Wind or me. Any questions before we head out?”

Master wind took four squads to the city hall, leaving the other three with Lieutenant Marble Falls.

“Remember, this is one small part of doing your duty to the Enclave,” She stated before they walked out and over to their post. “Marching and walking in file looks better than flying,” She said quietly over their coms. “Pegasi are expected to fly. Marching looks more professional and shows discipline.”

They lined up in two rows as another officer walked down to meet up with the Lieutenant. They stayed behind them as they talked softly. They were the screen for the two officers talking, keeping them out of sight.

Shadow watched as two and then three crowds gathered. There was the first group demonstrating, the second was protesting the demonstrators, and the third was pegasi interested in what was going on as a whole. Shadow could not see what the issue was from where they were.

An hour went by slowly. “Squad Filly Foolers,” Lieutenant Marble Falls called quietly over the coms. The sudden noise startled them. “A Captain is coming over to take charge of you. They need you to relieve some of the peace officers by the city hall. They have been there all morning, unable to be relieved. You know how to march and drill together. There are only six of you. Keep in step with him and you will be fine. Once there, continue as you are now.”

Shadow's heart was racing. It was all he could hear. He wanted to glance at Cardinal but didn't dare. He felt like he was in way over his head.

“Relax soldiers,” The Captain said quietly as he stepped in front of them. “This is simple peace keeping. I know it is your first time. When we get to the spot, you will fan out to single file. Shoulder to shoulder this time. Just act like you are on the parade field and unable to move and it will all be over soon. I am happy you are here to help your fellow Enclave soldiers and peace keepers.”

Shadow was stunned they were working together so easily as they marched down the sidewalk and behind the others to the city hall. The ones they were replacing were on the steps almost at the top and the main entrance. They neatly fell out as one and headed off behind the hall.

They were shifted into one line, placing Shadow on point and Cardinal Spitfire directly behind him. Each step felt like it rocked the world as he walked up the steps and to his spot. Somepony tripped a few spaces back. Unlike in training, nothing was said as they calmly and professionally rushed back in line.

Their uniforms were different than the others around them. The others were in crisp, black uniforms and carrying only side arms. They were wearing their green armor and carrying rifles. Nopony in the crowds seemed to notice the change.

The demonstrations were about food distribution. Shadow felt bad for all the years he spent growing up, not worrying about food. He knew it wasn't his fault and that his community produced everything they could, as well as being taxed as heavily as possible, but he did not like knowing that others had to feel the need to bring the issue up.

Another hour passed and then the sun reached its zenith. Nothing changed as it began to fall and dip out of sight.

Somepony finally blew a whistle. “Alright, you had you time,” he ordered. “Off to home for you. You have made your concerns known and we appreciate it. But now it is time to go indoors. Tomorrow is a work day.”

The others began to move and break the ponies up.

“You six! Stop standing and help them break it up,” The pegasus with the whistle ordered.

Shadow began to move to meet up with the others and physically clear the streets. Pegasi were resisting and Shadow froze, the others bumping into him.

“Move!” He was ordered.

Shadow still couldn't move and nopony else behind him was moving either. They were rescued a minute later by the Captain. He led them off to the side and back to the city hall's steps.

“Sorry Sir,” Shadow said ashamed.

“None necessary soldier. That was my fault,” The Captain replied stiffly. “Crowd control is another training that many of you will not have to undergo. At least not yet. But for now, you did exactly what you needed to do.”

The other squads came to them at the steps to form up.

The Lieutenant began to organize them. “Form up like we came in. We will be flying back in the same formation. Same leaders. We will debrief once we touch down on the flight deck.”

They flew back at a slower pace, gliding for the bulk of the trip. Everypony was drained. Their adrenalin was gone and they had no meal to replenish it, let alone a water break.

“Well done recruits,” The Lieutenant praised them as the touched down. “Duty is often boring and without glamor. Standing there is something you will do from time to time. Not always at a demonstration. Think back to special occasions for your homes. Those celebrations require pegasi to keep the peace. Just being there and visible stops most everything and helps for emergencies.”

The Lieutenant stopped and chuckled. “Recruit Filly Fooler, do you even know what I am talking about?”

“The biggest gathering I have ever been to is Market Day Ma'am. When we sell our surplus food and trade for things like equipment, bits and other necessities. And that never has Enclave presence. Or any problems. The only Enclave personnel in that town is the recruiter.”

“You sell your food?” Deke blurted out from the sideline

“Our tax is on the food we harvest,” Shadow replied. “I felt bad. We trade around our surplus to diversify our food, and we always have some left over to sell. How else can we keep equipment repaired, or get materials for cloaks and blankets and other necessities?”

“You live in such a different world,” Deke said shaking his head.

“Alright, snap to,” The Lieutenant ordered getting them back in order.

“Thank you Lieutenant,” General Red River said walking over. “Yes, food is always a touchy subject. Our farmers do an amazing job; your comrades can elaborate further. But the fact is that I got flying colors across the board in the reports I heard. Boring work, but a vital part of doing your duty. And you did your duty well. Keep it up and you will go places and be very happy. Training is tough, but it will pay off handsomely.”

The General walked off and they were orderly disarmed before being released to get food. They were told to go to the squad barracks where they would get a hot meal instead of the field rations. Those that stayed behind had already eaten inside. A reward for the entire Black Barracks being ready and able to perform their duty ahead of their full training.

“Was that a wet sniff to pull back tears?” Cardinal Spitfire asked as she settled into bed.

“I can't shake the feeling,” Shadow said with a sad chuckle. “How could I possibly have it better when it came to food. Ignoring our herb and spice garden.”

“You grew your own… never mind,” Cardinal Spitfire chuckled. “Of course you did.”

Cardinal Spitfire sighed. “The only recruit here that would cry about it is you. I wish I had your… I do know what it is.”

“Ignorance is bliss,” Shadow sniffed. “Ignorance is bliss. And so is sleep.”

“Well, you did your duty. We both did. Nopegasus can say otherwise,” Cardinal Spitfire finished.