Author's Notes:

BOOK 1: PART 4: COMMITMENT

Shadow had them all line up in the morning at 0800. They had eaten breakfast first and were in full gear. He stood there in parade rest, in front of them. They all knew the plan. This was day four: prepare for him to be relieved. If 0900 hit, Shadow was taking them out to continue as they had been. Around 0815 Shadow saw pegasi approaching and they all came to attention.

Captain Marble Falls touched down first with General Red River besides her. The other Wonderbolts and instructors were behind them. Shadow hadn't seen Lieutenant Tuff, but there was a lot going on and they were not in a formation.

“Interesting strategy Captain Shadow Flare,” General Red River declared. “The reports that came in were on a variety of things you did. Captain Marble Falls is here to relieve you of your position so you can continue as a trainee.”

“Yes Sir! Thank your Sir!”

“I will do a full debriefing after you are relieved.”

Shadow did his best to roll with something he had never seen before. In the end, what mattered was that Captain Marble Falls was back in command. She was not tired like he had seen her the past few weeks. She looked and acted like he remembered her when they first hit aerial combat phase. A great weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

General Red River lead Shadow to the Captain's office to debrief.

“Captain Marble Falls will be with us shortly,” He said as he took the chair beside Shadow.

It was all, serious business. Captain Marble Falls closed the door and sat down behind the desk.

“What the hell did you do to the squads?” She asked Shadow bluntly. She also meant business.

“Trained them as best as I knew how,” Shadow replied before explaining his methods. “I focused on training them by having them teach recruits. By explaining and showing the detailed aspects of aerial combat, they picked up a lot. Our presence meant all barracks were able to jump start their recruits and get them into their armor and the air faster. It also allowed them to learn to handle speed and skills faster.”

“Since the recruits were in their armor on the first day, I had the squads draw their gear to better understand and show how to balance the two. Eighty percent were experienced soldiers who were at least a year out of training. It helped them get back into paying attention to all aspects of flight.”

“There was a collision.”

“Yes Captain,” Shadow curtly replied. “There was a collision among the Black Barracks recruits. Some bruising and lightly clipped wing. The recruit will be back in the air today. As far as we could piece together, it was found to be a circumstantial collision by two teams not paying attention to the other teams around them. No pegasi under my command were close to them or involved in distracting them in any way. A pure mistake made by four recruits.”

“You ordered that they were not to be assisted and to recover on their own.”

The Captain was not letting up. Shadow kept being as professional as he could be giving a report.

“Yes Captain. I did. Of the four recruits involved, three of them recovered on their own after the hit. Some under my command were right besides them to grab them if they couldn't. The fourth was picked off well before there was any danger. As soon as the injury was noticed, they nabbed her.”

Captain Mable Falls look at Shadow for at least a minute. “How do you feel about your performance?”

“Captain, you know I do not comment about those matters. That is for my superiors to decide.”

“You were Captain. The superior,” Captain Marble Falls stated harshly. “You have to answer that question and be able to defend your decisions. You are not a recruit leading simple exercises, you were a full Captain. Leadership requires you to defend your orders. How do you feel about your performance?”

Shadow took a deep breath. “It was poor. I relied upon the recruit's training officer to do the work I should have been. Helping the recruits train was a way I could fill time when I was unable to decide on how to proceed. I froze. I had no real plan on how to train the squads in Aerial Combat School. I learned the tactics the school would teach, but had no game plan for applying those in training. Especially only in week two of Aerial Combat School.”

“I only did two things correct. First, I kept a strong structured day with a clear unit structure. That did include using the barracks training commanders. Second, the skills at the end of the day. Teaching acrobatics was something they could highly benefit from. I relied on my strength there.”

“And what about Lieutenant Autumn Leaf?

“What about him Captain?”

“I hear he went to talk to you about leadership and you just yelled insults and shoved him.”

“Do you really think I am capable of shoving him?” Shadow asked with an eyebrow raised. “He came in and was already in a confrontational mood. He was barking orders with nothing to back them. He even resorted to impersonation of an officer over troops he was not involved in.”

“What troops?”

“Reconnaissance. Yet he had no idea who my teammates are. His attempts quickly turned to violent intentions and threats. You can ask any of the Units.”

“Oh, we are,” Captain Marble Falls replied. “They are all being talked to and getting reports from.”

“You look a lot better Ma'am,” Shadow smiled.

“Thank you Filly Fooler. I feel a lot better.”

Captain Marble Falls took a deep breath in. “I will be back. They should have the reports wrapped up.”

Shadow forced himself to stay calm. She had put a lot of pressure on him. Calling him Filly Fooler was a relief. It meant she was loose and not angry. At least not angry enough to go formal. He had no idea what a normal debriefing was like. The only other one was after their special assignment, but that was as a group.

Captain Marble Falls finally returned, with a stack of papers.

“Well,” She said flipping through them. “From the other trainees, given the odd circumstances, they had nothing but good things to say. Your leadership and performance was high. They believe they learned a lot. Your acrobatic skill lessons were hated and found absolute disapproval among all the ranks, excluding your teammate, Cardinal Spitfire.”

“I am impressed,” She smiled at him. “When General Red River heard, he called us all to headquarters to talk. I was shocked he wanted to throw you out there until I remembered that the day before, when I was having you light up the range with that minigun on similar orders. It was a heated discussion.”

“We all needed the rest and soon the discussion was ended. The report said that your plan was to use the barrack trainers to help lead and to put the trainees to use in the fields they were supposed to be training. That news calmed things down. You were in over your head. But at least you were not in too deep and using resources wisely.”

“You predicted my moves,” Shadow said stunned.

“We did train you,” Captain Marble Falls said. “We better be able to since you are barely out of Basic.”

“Now to continue. Drawing gear was a great call and we will continue to keep all squads in their gear for everything. They did learn a lot from working with the recruits. It did exactly what you wanted it to do. The last thing is the skills training you conducted at night. Every trainee hated it. But we are going to continue with it. I personally want to see how this goes.”

Shadow smiled. “Thank you Captain.”

“Alright, enough with the Captain in here. You are not in trouble.”

“I do have a question,” Shadow said. “When was the last time Major Winters Breath was spoken to?”

“We called him up during the conversation. He was apart of the whole thing. He agreed with General Red River's plan. He was at Mareland when we called. Why?”

Shadow felt a crazy, evil smile form. “Can I be reinstated to kick Autumn Leaf's ass? Or at least permission to. One of his claims is that Major Winters Breath was not able to be reached and that General Red River was overstepping his boundaries. I do not know why, but he fears me. I threaten him for no apparent reason.”

“No,” General Red River asserted. “I can not allow that. That would come down on my head for allowing it. If it had happened while he was acting out, then it would be on his head. But no. That is past.”

Shadow sighed. “It's for the best. That is the first time I have ever had blood lust. At least he was smart enough to confront me in power armor. He still wasn't as strong as me when our chests pushed against each other.”

“You two had physical contact?” General Red River asked stunned. His level of concern shot through the roof.

“He just got up on my space,” Shadow explained. “And then I tried to force his hoof and get him to back up out of my face by stepping in closer, our chests bumped. He pushed against me while the conversation wrapped up. It ended when I ordered him to leave and forcing him to back up a step. What armor was he wearing?”

“Mark 3,” The Captain said annoyed. “I hate that piece of trash. That was probably all he could get. The Mark 2 is way better than the Mark 3. If the Lieutenant does get physical again or threatens you with physical violence, kick his ass. His aggressiveness against you for no reason is noted and you are allowed to defend yourself.”

“I should say no,” General Red River groaned. “But if he does, it will be on his head. I will make sure of it. But to nicer things. Congratulation Sergeant, you did a marvelous job.”

“You are dismissed,” Captain Marble Falls said. “Tell Unit 41 I will be down shortly.”

“The Lieutenant is not back?” Shadow asked.

“Personal leave of absence for a month,” Captain Marble Falls sighed. “Which means I am stuck with you again Filly Fooler. Or you are stuck with me. Not sure which at this point.”

Shadow closed the door and took a few deep breaths before trotting out to the others.

“I did all I could,” Cardinal Spitfire said as soon as she saw him. The panic was evident. “But they were tough and not joking.”

“Relax,” Shadow told her. “I am fine. They were impressed. There was a lot more happening behind the scenes than you would believe. The order for my command was given with the knowledge and approval of Major Winters Breath.”

“That lying sack of” Shadow stopped Cardinal Spitfire but putting his hoof in her mouth.

She batted it away. “That hurt! You have that armor on!”

“Sorry,” Shadow shrugged. “You made me. And that incident is in the past. They are well aware of what happened. That is all that matters concerning that incident.”

Shadow took deep breath before changing topics. “Two things. Lieutenant Tuff is on a personal leave for a while, so he is not going to be training us. We get stuck with Captain Marble Falls.”

“YES!” Cardinal Spitfire yelled as she jumped up.

“Sorry,” She said floating there. “I have nothing against the Lieutenant. Good commander. I just love her style of command.”

“Now the really bad news,” Shadow said getting serious. “Evening skill training with acrobatics will continue under my leadership.”

Everypegasus groaned except Cardinal Spitfire.

“Not my call. I didn't even ask for it,” Shadow stated with wings up in surrender. “The Captain wants to see where it goes and takes things.”

“When will the Captain be joining us?” Flags asked.

“Soon,” Shadow replied. “The General and her are talking.”

“That could mean anything,” Arrow said.

“Or it could mean I am right here,” Captain Marble Falls stated.

Cardinal Spitfire was shaking from the surprise.

“You still are not used to it? Shame,” The Captain shook her head.

Captain Marble Falls stood there for a minute sizing them up.

“Arrow is the peppy, loud and energetic type. Flags, you are serious and tired of your current job. You fear you will fail and be stuck there for another two years until your service term is up. But you don’t entirely want to leave the military. Chocolate, you are quiet and meek, but you want to be on an Aerial Combat Unit more than anything and will push though. Dipper, you are all over the place. You do not know what you want and you need more self confidence.”

“Cardinal Spitfire, you are the starry eyed trainee who dreams to be something more than just a soldier. You will do all you can to make it to what you view is the top. You also need more confidence despite how hard headed you are. You have to stop relying on Filly Fooler for your confidence and find it within yourself.”

“Filly Fooler, you do not know what you are getting into, but you are in and won't stop because you believe it is your destiny to serve the Enclave in a recon team. Your ignorant, simple upbringing also brings strength from out of nowhere, even to your own surprise. For somepegasus so simple, nothing is simple for you.”

“Now that I know each of you, I have to warn you, it has been a while since I trained an ACS Unit. Wait… Have I? No, I have not. Oh well. Let's head out. Form up with me on point, I need to check on Glitter at Black. It will loosen us all up.”

Shadow smiled and the others nervously looked at each other as they formed up. It was an easy and quiet flight. Shadow could see how stiff Captain Marble Falls was. He doubted the others could.

“Captain.” Lieutenant Glitter said saluting.

“At ease,” Captain Marble Falls said. “That is a standing order. Just like it was when I was a First Lieutenant. I just came out to check on my old stomping ground and get the rust off my wings.”

“I am behind,” She said nervously. “Black is performing better than I could have planned. And I planned with the Acting Captain. They could be on par with last cycle.”

“Good. That means things are headed in the right direction. Nice track. Evil.”

“The Acting Captain Shadow Flare is the primary designer. It is the last one we designed and the toughest. Out of 15!”

“I got a few in my file cabinet that will take care of that,” The Captain chuckled. “Make them the best you can. But now I have to turn to my recruits. I mean trainees. That is a switch.”

Captain Marble Falls turned and walked back to them. “Alright, I have a plan in place. I know this is the team building and conditioning phase. But I need to feel you fly. On me. If you spin out or can't keep up, regroup at Unit 41.”

They took off and the Captain began slow. It wasn't long before she skipped past a few gears and really got going. It became very clear that they were supposed to follow and read her nonverbal commands. At the same time as she was testing their skills, she was also trying to shake them.

They handle everything for a good half hour when Captain Marble Falls changed tactics. Short, high speed burst with jagged turns and twists. On the third one, Flags was lost. Fourth took out Dipper and Chocolate. After the seventh, the three of them were still with her.

The Captain dove, picking up great speed. A hard turn near the base clouds to end the drop and then they did everything and anything at high speeds. Arrow fell out when they straitened out. It took another thirty minutes for Cardinal Spitfire to be shaken. She was sent skipping on the air when she couldn't hold onto the 270 turn.

After Cardinal Spitfire was lost, Captain Marble Falls gave up and just out flew Shadow by speed alone. She timed it so that Shadow would fall behind too much right above the flight deck. She was gone in the blink of an eye.

Shadow scared Cardinal Spitfire by practicing his dead drop.

“YOU! I HATE YOU!” She screamed at him in frustration as Shadow laughed. The others in 41 were learning to laugh as well.

Cardinal Spitfire had just calmed down when the Captain dropped right besides them. She was able to keep from screaming at the Captain, but she fell over exhausted.

“She is really going to need to get used to that,” Captain Marble Falls said looking at her. “Felt good to really, really fly. Fun fly.”

Captain Marble Falls looked at the Unit. “You all did a better job than I expected. No coms and you handled me fine. You will be proficient in reading each other with non verbal commands and signals. Filly Fooler and Cardinal Spitfire, or what is left of her, had the advantage of learning from me. And Damn you Filly Fooler. I had to beat you with raw speed. That flight to Las Pegasus gave you the heavy advantage. You really pay attention to everything.”

“Los Pegasus?” Cardinal Spitfire said perking up from the ground. “That is the other side of the Enclave from your family. What the fuck is going on with your home?”

“You haven't told her yet?” Captain Marble Falls said raising and eyebrow at Shadow.

“I forgot she was here,” Shadow chuckled. “She left like the others. I was shocked to see her when she entered the Unit. I had been napping in the free time when they all came in and things got crazy.”

“It wasn't a family emergency,” Cardinal Spitfire accused.

“No, it was,” Captain Marble Falls asserted. “He was placed under my charge and I had to fly him there. He would have understandably gotten lost and there was a major time table on the situation. A private emergency. It is his to share. I just was surprised that you didn't know. You two share everything but the shower, TP and a toothbrush. I also know you have worn each other's jump suits a few times under my training in Basic.”

Shadow's cheeks glowed at the public announcement at that mistake. Nopony else had ever known. You could not see Cardinal Spitfire cheeks blushing, but her eyes said it all.

“Sorry Filly Fooler,” The Captain apologized. “My bad for not thinking that through.”

“Perfectly fine,” Shadow said. “It happens. It isn't like I lied. I just never said anything except emergency family leave. But lets move on.”

Shadow pulled Cardinal Spitfire onto her hooves.

“We need weights,” Captain Marble Falls declared. “Follow me.”

They spent the rest of the day flying in a singe line, weights on their wings. All of them were tied together; meaning if one pegasus dropped their's, they all dropped. The last hour they were having to do turns together with the weights.

Captain Marble Falls smiled as she heard Cardinal Spitfire, Shadow and soon Arrow encouraging each other. Talking and bringing up team spirit. The higher that was, the better they would be and the harder she could push them which would make them all the better. It was a wonderful cycle.

After dinner, Unit 41 got ahead of the others by getting out of their gear. The other units left the mess hall, saw 41, and dashed to follow their lead. Shadow just stood there at ease waiting for all to assemble. He was going to keep it loose. Changing how they viewed the world was difficult enough.

Shadow took a deep breath in before picking up command again. “I should have started out teaching you by telling you what I first told Cardinal Spitfire, who needs to be by my side. You have to think agile. Meaning plan ahead, but be ready for a change at any moment. It takes the right mental stance, just like flying at blistering speeds and making a 90 degree turn.”

“With that in mind, hoofstands. For a bit.”

Shadow ignored the groans.

“Don't tell me you are afraid?” Captain Marble Falls said walking up. “It isn't like you are alone. Cardinal Spitfire, help me out.”

Shadow shook his head and rolled with it. He didn't expect the Captain, Wonderbolts, or other ACS trainers to join in. It explained her choice to continue with it.

“Alright,” Shadow called. “You can stop with those for now. Back springs are no different than a quick turn or hard bank.”

Shadow walked to the end of their line. He moved into a round off and did back springs all the down their line, finishing with a tuck, landing on all fours, wings never opening.

“A bit excessive,” Shadow announced. “But that is not the point. I had to keep my focus on where I was going or I would have gotten dizzy and smashing into the ground. At that speed… That was not a fun day.”

“But I do not need you to learn all that,” Shadow chuckled. “It was just fun showing off. The simple back spring should be taught in pairs. One does the back spring, the other spots and guides. You will not make it right away. But you didn't learn to fly right away or without bumps as bruises.”

Shadow demonstrated it with Cardinal Spitfire. She was already proficient. The biggest key was the spotter. Shadow spent ten minutes teaching them to properly spot before they began to try. Without a spotter or proper spotting you could easily injure yourself.

“As turned around as I am, that went well,” Captain Marble Falls said when Shadow ended the lesson. She made sure everypegasus heard. “Day one, and I like this Filly Fooler. If this works, I will have to find somepegasus to replace you when you move on.”

“Thanks,” Shadow said, unsure of what else to say. “But you guys are Wonderbolts. Your agility in the sky is legendary. And I know your agility without your wings it top notch. You picked up the back springs easily. In a week I will be teaching you to teach future trainees.”

The Wonderbolts chuckled.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Captain Marble Falls said. “A good end to the start of a new adventure.”

“Anypony hitting the showers?” Shadow asked as he came into their unit.

“All yours,” Flags offered.

“Shadow worked me hard,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “A shower sounds good.”

“Worked you hard?” Arrow said exhausted. Her voice was void of it's usual energy.

“I was helping Captain Marble Falls,” She reminded them.

“You love the Captain,” Arrow said. “Crush love!”

“I do not!” Cardinal Spitfire stammered. “She just gets me and helped me unlock all of my awesomeness!”

“On that. What was up with her when she met us?” Dipper asked. “She looked at us and tried to tell us who we were!”

Shadow came out of the shower laughing. Even in the shower, you could here everything.

“It is a natural gift,” He explained. “An invaluable one for an instructor. Gauging those you are training helps you give them the best training and make them the best.”

“And what is up with 'damn it Filly Fooler,'” Flags asked.

“When did that happen?” Shadow asked Cardinal Spitfire.

“I think it started when she said pony in training, not pegasus,” Cardinal Spitfire said as she hung up her towel on the hook of her locker. “Either way, you are going to hear it whenever something goes wrong, his problem or not.”

“That flight?” Chocolate added. “We are all good fliers, but you hung on. And then-”

“I sucked?” Shadow chuckled. “I didn't just sit at the range firing guns. She wasn't going to let that happen. She couldn't do that to herself. She put me in that armor with those weapons and made sure I learned all of them.”

“Did you do strafing?” Cardinal Spitfire asked annoyed.

“Only with the heavy machine gun,” Shadow said rolling his eyes. “And you do not want that strapped to your side, no matter what armor you are wearing. It was longer than me and you know the mount point. It wasn't even on my weapons test or anything close to it.”

“But off range, I got to learn her cues and nuances during those flights,” Shadow said. “Not like us Cardinal. Not like us at all. It took everything I had to hold on after Arrow dropped out, and when you went, she just used speed. She knew she would not be able to wear me out with tricks, pointless with my endurance. It was all about learning how we each fly as an individual, not a test to see who is better. I watch, I learn, I adapt. And now I sleep.”

The lights went off but Shadow's mind didn't shut off. It wouldn't until Cardinal Spitfire's did, and she was on her side, facing him. There was only one thing she had on her mind now, his trip to Las Pegasus and the family emergency.

He was still processing it in ways. No letter had come yet. He needed to write a letter home soon. Even with them giving a report, he needed to give them all the courtesy of fulfilling his promise and reporting back in his own way.

That would be an easier letter to write than telling his best friend what happened. More than best friend if they both went for it. He knew she was in. The look in her eye one time as she encouraged him to hold the weight up said it all. And he kept the weight up another minute because of it.

He didn't knowingly say he was in, but he didn't know if she knew. It was a complicated mess. At least he felt that way. Lieutenant Glitter only spoke once to him about it and had high optimism that it was not as complicated as they thought.

He had no idea how to explain the trip and everything that it meant. He wished he had grabbed some of the free materials they had, but then it seemed like pointless papers and a waste of resources. And now it would openly show everything to the others, but not the real complexities of his family life.

Unit 41 was enjoying a quiet lunch before the real work began. Things had shifted out of the team building and conditioning to very aggressive aerial acrobatic tracks. Captain Marble Falls had given them another test to follower her. They had dramatically improved. Shadow stayed the longest again. Instead of some measurable luck from the first time, he was a much better flier and was able to apply his knowledge with less stress. She still had to beat him with outright speed.

“DAMN IT FILLY FOOLER!” Captain Marble Falls yelled from across the mess hall. “DO NOT TAKE EVEN A SINGLE PIECE OF YOUR ARMOR OFF UNTIL I TELL YOU YOU CAN!”

“Did I do-”

“NO!” She said walking out. “ITS BECAUSE YOU ARE WEARING THE ARMOR. OTHERWISE YOU ARE NOT INVOLVED. 41 is off for the day! Until skills tonight!”

That was all they got as she stopped yelling and was cursing incomprehensibly. It was all quiet when the door slammed shut.

“I finally have time to write that letter,” Shadow said.

“I'll dictate,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “I know how you write.”

“I write fine enough,” Shadow said rolling his eyes.

“You will have to use so much paper it won't fit into one envelope. If you even have enough paper. How much did you get?”

“I do not know,” Shadow stated. “I said I needed to write letters home, they automatically removed it from my account, and paper, pens and a stack of envelopes was delivered to my bed. And if I don't hoof write it, the community will know and it will destroy the entire purpose of me writing the letter. Same for the one to my family.”

“Speaking of letters,” A soldier approached them. “Are you Shadow Flare?”

“Yes, I am,” Shadow replied.

“You know an Early Tart?”

“Yes,” Shadow nodded. “I have been waiting for that letter.”

“It got stuck in holding until we were able to track you down. It just said Fort Wind for address.”

Shadow chocked back a laugh. “I will make sure the address is properly done the next time they write.”

Shadow took the letter. His hooves were shaking. He wanted to open it, but opening it made it final. Now he lived in an okay suspense of ignorance. He put it away, leaving it to be opened it at a more private time.

Cardinal Spitfire groaned. “I expected you to rip it open, so I could find out what was going on.”

“If it is what I think it is,” Shadow said slowly. “Then it can wait until I can process the entire thing.”

Cardinal Spitfire was frustrated and put her head in her hooves.

“You two are close,” Flags advised. “It is okay that he is dealing with a family situation on his own. It is his right, and to him, his best interest. Even with being so close, things can hurt the other without meaning to. He is protecting you as much as he is protecting himself.”

“He can't open it in that armor,” Arrow added. “Ignoring the shaking, anything finite like that is difficult.”

“I hope we are not put behind because of this time off,” Chocolate said putting them on a better topic.

“We won't be,” Flags said. “If she was afraid of it, she would have paired us up with another instructor.”

Cardinal looked at the others. “She told us when we first met her as a recruit that if we did not succeed, she didn't do her job. It would be her failure.”

“What was a Wonderbolt doing teaching in Basic?” Arrow asked.

“We never asked,” Shadow replied. “It was clear that discussion wasn't happening. She stated she was a Wonderbolt and it was more than we could understand. That was all.”

“And not to let her name and uniform to fool us,” Cardinal added. “Just threw it in front of us and we knew that was all she was going to say.”

“Green is being led by a Captain,” Shadow pointed out. “Its about the recruits being trained the best they can be. If a Wonderbolt wants to and can, fine. They are instructing the Aerial Combat School. That makes sense to us.”

“One to a squad of six though,” Arrow said. “Not one to 50. And this school is just ramping up. Basic is fly straight, shoot strait and land ready to fight.”

“I forgot we had her for wasteland survival and after,” Cardinal Spitfire added. “She blended everything right into it. Still have no idea why she stayed with us into the practicums.”

“How do you know she stayed with us?” Shadow asked. “Why couldn't it be we stayed with her?”

“I just assumed it,” Cardinal Spitfire replied. “Nothing was prepared for us out there. Wasteland survival could easily be done on the flight deck, but Lieutenant Autumn Leaf was still with us every day, watching, waiting, and such. And Master Wind joined them the first day. It was a lot of work for all keeping us there the next three weeks. And there never was a justifiable answer.”

“You are green,” Flags clipped. “Smart and can out think problems, but you can't out think some orders and just have to follow them. Not everything makes sense. Such is life. Especially military life.”

They took care of their trays, but stayed in the mess hall talking. The Unit was for sleeping. It was best to stay out of it to keep up a better schedule. You instantly felt tired as you walked in.

Shadow's com opened after a while. “Filly Fooler, you are clear to remove your armor. Imbeciles.”

Shadow had no time to respond as the connection was severed.

“I am clear to remove my armor,” Shadow said picking up his helmet. “I am going to go back to the unit and write that letter.”

They wished him luck as he trotted away. When the standing order was for him to in his armor at all times, that was one thing. But when it was a huge, dangerous problem if he removed it, then it all felt like a burden and weighed twice as much.

Shadow showered to relax and then plopped onto his bed. He looked at the unopened letter and he tossed it onto his pillow for a bit. He chose to leave it unopened and write from what he knew. That way, it didn't complicate anything.

Dear Family,

There is so much to tell and so much you can not tell. I would not be where I am now without what you taught me as I grew up. No, I did not grow any, but nopony in basic could match my endurance. And that is because of you. I have gotten stronger, but not like you. Or at least that is what I feel. I can not test that.

Basic training tested me in ways I have never heard of. Which is how we found out how much endurance I have. And later, we found out how fast I could fly and how much flight endurance I have. We do not test those things back home or need to. It is pointless and I prefer it that way.

I have not gone a day without the ribbons I was given to wear by Dream Catcher, Cherry Tart and Early Blossom. The seeds are always with me and the pictures are stashed with what little I have. Right there for me to grab when I need to.

I wish you all could have come to graduation for one reason. To meet my friends. Real friends like Dad and Black. We trust each other, share everything and are bonded for life. Cardinal Spitfire who was my battle buddy, Deke, Olive Pit, and Golden Dawn. Having to leave each other at the end of basic to got to our separate trainings, it hurt almost as much as leaving you.

Otherwise, graduation was really just for the families of the recruits. Parading us around so everypony could see us, a speech by the commanding general, and such. The Wonderbolts did put on a show. They wow all with their aerial tricks and flying.

I got to see my first real city and buildings should not be that high. I met good and bad ponies. But things have been more than alright.

I did get orders. I was accepted onto a recon team. I can not say anything, it is all secret and classified. I barely know anything because they are putting me through some very difficult training and now into Aerial Combat School. That is a difficult training school to get into and requires you to be an expert flier.

I made it, because of you guys, and the love and time you spent raising me right. I was, and still am, out of place compared to the ponies who are closer to the Enclave. We live in a very different world. A simpler, better world. I will add other general things to the letter for the community.

If only I could transfer the experiences I have had onto paper.

Love,

Shadow

Shadow set that letter aside. He would not seal it up in case he wanted to reference it.

Friends,

I miss you and our simple ways. Nothing is simple here. El Nino looks so tiny compared to some other cities. I do not know how buildings stay up so high. They should not be six, or seven, or even over fifty stories tall.

That is not the only thing that is different. How food is distributed, I do not fully understand, and that is the problem. Others are feeling the need to speak out about it. They are not going hungry and are not close to even going hungry yet, but they are afraid about it.

I am proud to come from such a strong community who finds it their duty to provide them the food they eat. It is sad to see and hear their concerns, but I know your integrity is strong and that there is little if anything you could do to improve things. Keep doing what you are doing no matter what.

Our community is old. Which means we say things others find offensive and are dangerous to say. I do not want our ways to change, but I speak as one experiencing the difficult transition into life as an Enclave soldier.

Pony isn't allowed and a very serious punishment because it says there is more than the pegasus race. I am allowed to say it. It is not something you can just change. Besides, it is held on for a reason. If we changed, we would lose the sense of togetherness that has bound us up tight since the beginning and keeps us tight even 200 years later.

Our stories are our stories, but some of history goes against those. Legends are fun and I would hate to lose them because some might find it improper. I hope to get a good book on the real history of the Enclave and the war to you soon. Our schools do not prepare us for life in the Enclave, only the farms; which is one thing I love and prefer. I want to send you it so that you can see the differences and if you find yourself facing some of what I am, you can adapt quickly. Everything is so different, including farming in a core district.

Our simple ways have many advantages. And it has only shown to be very conductive for me in training. My endurance is unmatched. My raw strength has improved, but is still way short of yours. But I do not give up like you taught me. I hold firm because that is what is needed. Integrity, honesty, and building others up.

As soldiers in training, we were broken down into groups for training. Our group ranked number one by the end. I was even leading 50 ponies through all sorts of trials and to do certain actives, including mock combat. And I was one of the weaker leaders. I took a lot of my techniques from how we function as a community. And it worked.

I write this not to brag, but to show you how much you impacted me and made me into something they had rarely seen. Of all the recruits, I was ranked fourth in individual performance. I find our training group ranking first much more impressive and important. A group is always stronger than an individual and always better.

That is why I was able to be taken into a recon squad. It is very difficult to get into one. They were very, very impressed. That is all thanks to you raising me and every foal right, no matter what strengths and weaknesses they have.

Number one as a whole group and number four individually is why I could not write sooner. Our group was worked around the clock, all day long and then often late into the night or without even a break during the night and into the next day. I felt like we were harvesting farms together for sixteen weeks as fast as we could before the crops spoiled or were destroyed.

I will write again as soon as I can. For now, it is more very intensive training for my new job. I am writing this while on a very unexpected break. Our teacher had to step out for the afternoon. After dinner, it is back to work. This time, it is me teaching everyone in this training school agility. They have never seen anypony with agility like me.

The Enclave is blessed to have you working so hard for their food, and so are the ponies. Even though they often do not recognize it, they truly are. I look forward to my full service in recon after my training is complete; but I also look forward to coming back to you and working alongside you again.

I can’t wait to see you all again,

Shadow

Shadow wasn't much of a writer, but he reread each one multiple times. He wished he could transfer more onto the paper. But you can not transfer experiences. Some of those experiences he would not wish upon anypony.

Shadow sealed them up. He thought quick enough to write the proper address so that letters could reach him and slip it inside his family's envelope. Shadow didn't write a specific one to Early Blossom and Cherry Tart since he had gotten to see them personally. There was a box to put the letters in inside the main entrance of the Squad Barracks. He would drop them off before dinner.

Shadow picked up the letter for him and stared at it. He lost track of time as his staring turned into mindless gazing where his imagination took it's own journey. Shadow finally snapped out of it and looked at their clock. It was almost time for dinner, but he had time.

Shadow,

We know you are very busy. We are impressed of all that you are doing, what you have done and will do. We know you will make Equestria a much better place. You certainly have done us a great, great honor. We could not ask for a better brother.

The procedure worked! I am pregnant. I am carrying a foal. Your foal or our foal, however it works. It doesn't matter because you are family and apart of our farm for life. Because of you, our farm is well on it's way to surviving for generations to come.

When the time comes, I hope you can get leave to visit. We had to go back to the place the next day and pick up those paper things they had. Not all of them, but some because they helped explain everything to us. When I went back for the pregnancy test, we picked up key ones for you. We know how much our heads are spinning, and we have each other. I hope they can prove useful.

Love,

Early Blossom and Cherry Tart

P.S. Early doesn't know I am adding this. Keep an eye out for special stallions that might make good donors, for Early. That sounds so wrong and impersonal. I do not know where we will find somepony when Early wants to carry a foal, so if you find somepony special, that you know we would love, let me know.

P.S.S. Thanks for the financial help. Early is too overwhelmed right now to appreciate it, let alone understand. Dad may have way more than enough, but your help means a lot more. It shows just how much you care about not just us two, now three, but the family as a whole.

Shadow smiled at the ending. It was certainly Cherry Tart. It was also a big responsibility and honor to help them out again in a similar way. A worse way. Playing matchmaker. Still an very big honor. The best thing was hearing the news that their farm would make it and go on to stay in their family line.

Shadow pulled the other papers out. The ones on 'what to expect' were helpful at the moment. The others were hit or miss. They would be there when the questions did come up. Shadow put them back in the envelope and in his locker. Cardinal Spitfire really wanted to know, but she would not invade his privacy. She would just keep hinting and poking at him.