Author's Notes:

BOOK 1: PART 1: LOYALTY

Shadow and Flash landed and stood in one of the two lines. They had their orders out and ready, with their gear bags on their backs. The only things Shadow had brought was a mini version of his heritage to the Homestead, the cherry pits, turnip seeds and the photos. His gear bag was marked with his name and district origin, but he left “City” blank.

As to the rest of the signing bonus, Shadow had left four hundred of it with Cherry Tart and Early Blossom. They would have more need of it than his parents. He kept 200 on hoof in case he needed it.

The other half Shadow had given to Spice Cake and Rift as an early wedding present. It was only a week early. She really appreciated it, and her eyes said it all. Six hundred bits being brought into the farm meant that Rift's farm would be a lot better off and able to get better and much needed equipment immediately.

But all that was in the past. Still a part of him, but past. Shadow stepped up to the sergeant.

“Are you the acting sergeant?” The sergeant asked. 'Terror Space' was the name on his uniform.

“Yes Sir. Shadow Flare reporting with everypony from Northern Farming District, all two of us,” Shadow responded.

“Excuse me?” The sergeant asked.

Shadow was puzzled but repeated himself.

“You think that is funny?” The sergeant said, stepping closer to Shadow in order to intimate him. Shadow had know far bigger and more intimidating pegasus back home, and armed with his new confidence, he didn't move or flinch. Shadow decided to drop the ending.

“Shadow Flare reporting with everypony from Northern Farming District.”

The sergeant was now was up in his face. Despite being smaller, Shadow let him bump his chest, but didn't budge and inch. “You realize your words are treason?”

“No Sir,” Shadow replied confused. “Shadow Flare reporting with everypony from Northern Farming District”

“Back down Sergeant Terror Space,” A new voice said, with command almost as strong as Black.

“General Red River,” The sergeant said backing down.

“Report in recruit,” The General said.

Shadow repeated it all again. “Shadow Flare reporting with everypony from Northern Farming District, all two of us.”

“Two of you from Northern Farming District. Interesting. Last time we had somepegasus from there, lets see...”

“Four years ago Sir. Sky Breaker. He now is the only recruiter in our entire districted,” Shadow stated. “It is the largest district sir and very spread out.”

“I take it you know him?” The General asked.

“Yes Sir. He lived about thirty minutes from us. Our community was impressed to have somepony go to join the Enclave.”

The sergeant spoke up, “Sir, are you going to ignore the blatant treason?”

“Relax sergeant,” Then General said. He turning back to Shadow. “What city are you from?”

“No city is my home. I work the cloud fields.”

“What city were you recruited at?”

“El Nino sir.”

“Where do you live based on that?”

“Depends on if I am staying at my sister's farm or my parents. Enclave flight time is marked six hours flight north to my parents. My sister's farm just brought in its first harvest. It takes me another three hours flight to their house, but I do not know if the Enclave have a marked flight time for them yet. They are registered and were surprisingly able to get a good enough cherry harvest in to be taxed. I have been at my sister's farm long enough now to call it my new home, though home will never be anything but my parent's Homestead.”

“You grew up in a Homestead?” The General asked.

“Yes Sir. The Turnip Homestead.”

“You grow the best damn turnips I have ever tasted!” The General exclaimed elated.

“That isn't news,” Shadow responded puzzled. “But how do you know about our turnips?”

“Recruit, your turnips are so sought after by the upper class, that the distribution system has to draw lots for them. The upper class has a lot of social gatherings...”

Shadow cut off the General. “Just because they are the best does not mean they should be withheld for only certain ponies. I just know that over everypony else who grows turnips, ours are the best by a long shot. All of the others come from our seeds, but none of them grown are bad, assuming they were grown and harvested correctly.”

The General laughed deeply. “Last weekend was my first taste of your turnips. It was put on by the main contractor for the Enclave armor. I was invited this year. It was a creamy leek and turnip soup.”

Shadow just shook his head in disgust. “Turnips with their greens is the best way to get the full flavor out of them. Covering up the flavor in a leek soup, blech.”

“Well, this pegasus personally went all the way to El Nino to buy your turnips.”

“OH,” Shadow stammered. “He was the first and only customer of the day. He bought every turnip we were selling. And a large amount of cherries from my sister.”

“That must have been where he got the cherries for the desert tarts. They were exceptionally good.”

“They better be good, Sir. We worked ourselves to the bone to bring in their first harvest, and they are a Homestead, an extension of the Northern Cherry Family Homesteads. Sir.”

“A new Homestead in Northern Farming District. Impressive,” The General marveled.

“Sir, treason?” The sergeant softly said.

“Sergeant, you are about to learn an interesting and valuable lesson,” The General stated. “Shadow Flare, what are the laws of the Enclave?”

“Do not steal. Do not go beneath the clouds. Be Honest. Work Hard. Family First, but consider the Community. The community is family, only larger. Extramarital sex is forbidden. Premarital Sex is forbidden. If spending the night at your special somepony's house, the rule is always to sleep in a separate place, and never to have premarital sex.

“Most of those are not even laws!” The sergeant protested.

The General called to the other Sergeant on his other side. “Sergeant, did I hear right that she is from Apple district?”

“Yes sir.”

“Recruit, come here,” The General ordered.

“Recruit Cardinal Spitfire, of the Spitfire Legacy sir,” She reported.

She was the same size and build as Shadow. Small for a grown mare. Her red coat and yellow mane certainly accentuated the name 'Spitfire.'

“You look like a strong mare, stronger than Shadow Flare here. What did you do?

“I was raised on an apple farm sir, despite my heritage.”

“Shadow Flare, repeat your introduction, and Cardinal Spitfire, tell Shadow Flare what is wrong.”

“Yes Sir. Shadow Flare reporting with everypony from Northern Farming District, all two of us,” Shadow restated.

“Everypony implies greater than the Enclave exists, and the acknowledgement and belief in that is punishable by death by Banishment. The proper form is everypegasus,” Cardinal Spitfire reported.

“Shadow Flare,” The General began. “I will give you lenience on this matter. The Enclave does everything it can to leave the foundation of our great existence alone. We collect the tax, maybe recruit the odd pegasus or two.”

“But we only really care about you not going beneath that clouds. That would destroy the entire Enclave. The foundation of your community is set, so we do not want to disrupt it. Your community laws are yours to keep. Of those we only care that you don't steal and don't go beneath the clouds. And I am sure you have no problem with violent crimes in your area.”

“Sir, you should redirect aid to Recruiter Sky Breaker with those orders. Currently he is attempting to be reachable to the entire district,” Shadow reported. “Results will be slow, but obtainable if the effort is put in. Like farming.

“Noted recruit and I will follow through with it,” The General said thinking. It took him a moment before continuing. “Shadow Flare, what is your education?”

“Well, we had school at the community meeting house. We learned basic math, history, biology, weather, flora and a few others. What we needed to make it. Most of our training came from hooves on teaching, on the family farm.”

“I am not built like they are, I mostly kept farm equipment functioning. I did rig my room so my sister would stop terrorizing me. It set off an alarm in my parent's bedroom. But really, no formal schooling like I have heard about in the cities.”

The General nodded. “Cardinal Spitfire, what was your education?”

“All grades according to Enclave specifications. Top ten in my class, ranked third Sir. And over the summer I received some military training,” She answered.

“Both of you are farmers,” the General stated. “One is formal, the other practical. That is all I care about.” The General turned back to the sergeant. “Sergeant Terror Space, break both of them. Farm pegasus against farm pegasus. One side of the Enclave against the others.”

“My pleasure,” Sergeant Terror Space stated. He had a crooked smile on his face that said he would enjoy his power over him.

Shadow took a strong step into the sergeant. The sergeant pulled back and flipped his wings out.

Shadow chuckled back. “Weak. Cowardly.”

“Excuse me?” The sergeant said angrily.

“You first reaction is to move to the sky. To run,” Shadow began. “And I have lived with ponies with more command and strength than you.” Shadow took another step forward. The sergeant reared back slightly more. “I might be the weakest in my community, but I certainly do not fear you.”

“That is why we break you in,” The sergeant snarled. “One big Enclave family.”

Shadow almost fell over laughing. The General was still looking on, amused at the breakdown of command and order as well as the Sergeant's failures. Cardinal Spitfire had and angry look on her face for being pulled into what Shadow had accidentally started.

“The Enclave can never be family,” Shadow said as he finished laughing. He turned serious, with an edge to his voice. “The Enclave is a structure. It can bring comrades, friends, but it can never, not ever, be family or community. The Enclave serves the Pegasus Race and protects them. That is their duty. But it is not family or community.”

The General turned to the sergeant. “This pegasus has a point. He knows what he is getting into. Partially. Break both of them in and make sure they become comrades in arms. For the pegasus behind Shadow, let him be with the normal group, but I want you personally to pay attention and push both Shadow Flare and Cardinal Spitfire.”

“Sir,” Cardinal Spitfire asked, getting desperate. “Why am I pulled into this? Sir.”

“Because I said so. Farm upbringing against farm upbringing. Everypony against everypegasus.” The General smiled. Cardinal Spitfire was shocked beyond words. And extremely angry at Shadow. “Cardinal Spitfire, what are you inductions orders?”

“To be inspected for skills regarding Aerial Combat Unit, and I am personally bucking for a spot as a Wonderbolt sir,” Cardinal Spitfire reported.

“Shadow Flare?”

“Evaluation of skills for a Recon Team sir. Scout if I have to be, but preferably recon,” Shadow said.

“Hmmm. Both tough positions, but both of you are strong farm pegasi,” The General stated. “Mark them both for Black Sergeant Terror Space.”

“Black Sir? We have not even begun?”

“We have done enough. Mark them black.”

“Yes sir!”

Shadow didn't like the sound of being marked black, especially before they had even begun. Flash had already been processed through with everypony else. They were waiting on Shadow Flare and Cardinal Spitfire. Cardinal Spitfire was fuming. It was obvious. Just as obvious as her trying to hide it.

The sergeant pulled two black patches off his uniform and put them on the Velcro spot on their left shoulder on both of their uniforms. “Fall in line you two! And throw your bags in with the rest of the others.” The sergeant commanded.

Cardinal Spitfire tossed her's on top and ran off to get in line, Shadow slid his off to his left and slung it around his neck twice before ducking his head and sending it off to land on top. The almost empty bag had just enough weight for Shadow to perform that act. He jogged off to the line and took the open spot in the back. They were kindly marked with an X on the ground.

“Shadow Flare and Cardinal Spitfire!” Sergeant Terror Space ordered. “Font and center. Recruits, reform the formation around them.”

In the shuffle, Cardinal Spitfire bumped into Shadow, hard, making him step to the side to keep from falling. It was definitely out of spite. The look on her face, as well as how tense she was, made it extremely obvious. Shadow cracked his neck and relaxed his muscled, just like he would do before an obstacle course.

“Five Laps around the circuit, on your wings,” a sergeant ordered.

“Seven laps for Shadow and Cardinal,” Sergeant Terror Space ordered.

Cardinal Spitfire sprinted to make up the extra laps. Shadow was moving, faster than most of the others. By his gauge, he would finish his seventh as they finished their fifth. Exactly where he wanted. He would not be 'broken' like the General asked. It did not sound conductive to training.

The laps took a small toll on everypegasus. And then there were ordered to run another five on their hooves. Seven for Shadow and Cardinal Spitfire.

“Cardinal and Shadow,” Sergeant Terror Space called. “Whatever I order, make sure you keep up with the other's orders.”

Shadow Flare and Cardinal Spitfire were ostracized immediately. Nopony wanted to join them, talk to them or stand by them. Cardinal Spitfire's anger only grew.

“Water break!” The sergeant called.

“No water for Shadow or Cardinal.” Sergeant Terror Space added.

Shadow's face was set in stone as he stepped over to the Sergeant. He had taken enough, and he could not make it any worse. “I'm sorry Sergeant Terror.”

The sergeant's face got angry. “You will address me properly! Sergeant Terror Space!”

Shadow stepped into him and said with more authority than the sergeant. “And so shall you address me! Shadow Flare.” Shadow stared him down. The Sergeant was leaning back, and his wings were half out. The sergeant recognized his mistake immediately.

“And you had better address Cardinal Spitfire the same way. Neither of us have given you the permission to call us anything else.”

The other sergeant stepped in, bumping Shadow back. “Recruit! We are in charge here! We will call you by the name we chose.”

Shadow turned to him. “Call me what you will. But I will only respond to my given name. The name on my orders!” With that, Shadow stepped back to his spot on the grounds while the others drank water.

“Thanks for nothing,” Cardinal Spitfire spat out the side of her mouth.

“Not my fault you got pulled into this.”

“You are the one not making things easier for either of us. You are making things worse by resisting! I am dying of thirst.”

Shadow shrugged. “Just another long day in the fields.”

Sergeant Terror Space barked another order. “Recruit Cardinal Spitfire, water break!”

Cardinal Spitfire trotted over to the water as quickly as she could. She was tired. All the extra work was weighing deeply on her. Not as bad as others like Flash. Flash could barely stand. Shadow was feeling it, but he was by no means tired yet. He had worked a lot harder for longer. There was nothing testing strength yet either.

The recruits had regathered, with the help of the drill sergeants. There were a dozen and half other drill sergeants helping to correct and control the recruits, who had to number in the 250's.

Then there was the main drill sergeant, and then Sergeant Terror Space. Shadow didn't find him that terrifying at all. Lance and Buck were intimidating. Black's word was final. When Black spoke, you listened and obeyed, You never forgot Black's words.

“General, he doesn't seem tired at all. You may be right. He might make good candidate, as much as one can be in a few hours into training. I know you spoke to him, but still. He has a long way to go. A long way to go convince me.”

“We have plenty of time Major Winter,” General Red River replied. “And he certainly has an angle of control over Sergeant Terror Space. I have never seen the sergeant on edge like he is. It is amusing.”

“What about his speech?”

“The Enclave will learn to understand that Shadow comes from a different place where community is key. I knew he was coming, but I never guessed the difference he would bring. It is an obvious difference, where there it is 'everypony' for a reason, because it encompasses the community as a whole. And that 'everypegasus' just does not make sense to him. He also is not going to let it make sense. That will be his real breaking point, if he bows to 'everypegasus.'”

“He isn't going to break then, not for a while.”

“Which is exactly what we want.”

“Doesn't that make him less dependable?”

“His family's farm goes back to the war,” General Red River said. “Well before the clouds were sealed up. There is a lot of strength and history in that linage. We need to preserve that as much as possible.”

“The loyalty he has is greater than some of the most notable military families. Far greater than some of those on the Counsel. They look out for themselves sometimes. Shadow Flare would never knowingly put himself above the Pegasus race.”

“With good comes that bad. Calculated risk Major. He will break in many ways, ways he doesn't even know he has. But at the core, we don't want him to break his ideology of ‘everypony.’ Then he will become truly dangerous and out of control. Then he will truly be lost forever. If he breaks to early, he will have to be put down. Only bullets will work. And if he is already armed, it will truly be terrifying.”

“Everypegasus means he is alone and he will be frightened beyond what we can comprehend and he will lash out. If we tailor training right, reconnaissance is perfect for him. He does not possess raw, physical strength, and is the weakest recruit when it comes to that, but he has power and is sure in every step he takes, along with a strong head. He will need that to make it into recon. You will need him like that.”

“I forgot I had written his acceptance orders until he had the problem at the gate. Then things became interesting.”

“Now that you are all warmed up, Push ups recruits!” The drill sergeant barked.

The others were strong. Sure, he could not pull a plow, or buck a cherry tree in one go, but those were brute strength. Those actions had their forms, but he was not built to perform them. ‘Speed, Agility, Power.’ Sky Breaker was right. Shadow lost himself in the orders he was given. He didn't know that for every push up most of them were doing, he was doing two. It was all very simple body weight work.

Patches were beginning to be passed out. Black, Red, Green, Blue and Yellow. No one understood what the patches were for exactly. But they could tell they were dividing them up in some way.

“HALT!” The drill sergeant yelled. “On your backs and begin sit ups.”

Shadow was down on his push up, so he dropped onto his belly and rolled. As he rolled, he spun so he was facing the drill sergeant and so that he never actually moved an inch. He was already on five when the others began to do their sit ups.

Sergeant Terror Space came over to Shadow. “What do you think this is recruit? Some kind of circus?”

“No Sir!” Shadow answered at the top. Back down he went, never stopping.

“Then why did I see you preform a circus act?”

“It… was… no… circus… act… sir… it… was… only… using… my… current… position… to… my… ad… van… tage… to… trans… ition… to… begin… sit… ups… as… quickly… as… possible.” Shadow answered as he was breathing.

He was only able to briefly speak at the top without stopping. Every time he sat up he was face to face with the sergeant. Every time he sat up the sergeant was face to face with Shadow who had zoned out and only focused on the next task, each and every time. The sergeant had no counter response to Shadow's enthusiasm.

Shadow had lost track of time. They had run and flown a lot, and now they had again begun basic body weight drills.

“Halt!” The drill sergeant called. “Stand up and we will begin to squat.”

Shadow had no idea he was the only one still doing sit ups. Even Cardinal Spitfire had given out. Most of the recruits groaned as they stood up and began to do the squat. Shadow stood straight up on his hind legs and then leaned forward into a push up. Shadow never realized the strengths he actually had. Better put, the power he had. The muscles where there, and they were stronger than these city ponies.

So far Shadow had only been tested on endurance running and flying. The push ups were no different than many of the actions he had to do on the obstacle coursed. While the obstacle courses didn't directly do sit ups, push ups and squats, Shadow had to preform movements that only strengthened those muscled. Vaults, flips, hoofstands, they all were useful for the basic bodyweight workouts. The squats were a lot easier than most of the vaults he had to do. He was only being asked to lift his bodyweight, nothing more. An easy task.

Shadow noticed the pegasus next to him fall as he tried to squat. He glanced around him and saw that the others were dropping too. Shadow was feeling the workouts, but he was not ready to drop.

“HALT! Take five,” The drill sergeant said. Shadow was the first to get to the water. He could keep going without water, but there was no point. Besides, the next water break he probably would not be allowed to get some.

“How are you able to keep going?” a pegasus asked him through rough breathing.

“I am a farming pony and this was life for me,” Shadow stated. He just trotted off, back to his spot.

“Everypegasus take another five!” Sergeant Terror Space barked. “You all can get to watched our little prodigy spend the next five minutes in hell. Recruit Shadow Flare.” Flare was said with a strong edge of distaste. “Do a hoofstand.”

Shadow shrugged and rolled up onto his front hooves. He was perfectly still.

“Now, do pushups in that hoofstand.”

Shadow began to move up and down as requested until the drill sergeant barked more orders. “Break over! Everypegasus back to their spots! Recruit, stop those push ups!”

As ordered, Shadow stopped. A quick tuck backwards and he landed on all hooves in the same direction he was facing, where the drill sergeant was. They got a moment more of rest as the drill sergeants assembled and began to talk amongst themselves.

“Great, now you have them talking,” Cardinal Spitfire whispered to Shadow.

“Hey, you are also the one with enough breath in her lungs to talk,” Shadow shot back.

“I heard what you responded to the other recruit,” Cardinal Spitfire said. “I can't believe you were put through so much daily to keep going when everypegasus else had given out.”

“Well, the longer you don't believe it, the more stunned you will be. And I left out I was the communities acrobat, performing for the other fillies and colts, trained for fun since I was young.”

“That explains the hoofstands,” Cardinal Spitfire stated. Talking to Shadow couldn't hurt her since she was already singled out with him.

The drill sergeants broke up. “Nice little break there. Three more laps, six for our prodigy and he better finish first.”

“Hooves or wings?” Shadow asked.

The drill sergeant was taken aback. “Wings of course. You and your hooves. You had better learn to go to your wings instinctively!”

Shadow heard him, but was already well on his way to begin his lap. Shadow noted that many of those marked with red where able to push it and were doing their best to finish before him. Shadow had to make sure he kept focus so he was not overtaken.

By mid afternoon, every recruit not only had a colored patch, but none of them could keep up; outside of short bursts. Shadow was left to continue as ordered. The first day was obviously to take them all down a notch and exhaust them. Shadow was certainly hurting, but he was not going to give out anytime soon. The lack of lunch took out many of the other recruits. And even limiting Shadow's water access did littleto slow him down.

They put the recruits through everything. And Shadow had a feeling they were being extra tough and rough in general because of him. They also allowed the others more down time before they were yelled at to get going.

Laps, sit ups, push ups, squats, swim kicks, leg lifts, wing ups, repeat. They did everything they could to break him, but he never gave. The harder they tried, the harder he resisted and was set against them. It still surprised him how harvesting ground plants like turnips and parsnips was a lot like push ups and half of the other harvesting work was like many of the other drills.

Shadow thought it was about 5pm when they let everyone go except him and Cardinal Spitfire. Even Cardinal Spitfire had given out and had very little, if not nothing left. The had Shadow run sprints, fly sprints, more bodyweight movements until there was nothing else they could think of.

I was after dark and Shadow was still being worked.

“Alright Sergeants. You did well today. Shadow Flare, you can stop,” The General Red River softlyordered.

Shadow was currently doing push ups. For fun, he dipped down, pulled himself up into a hoofstand and flipped over fast to land on all fours.

He almost didn't make it, but none of them noticed. None of them could see that he was almost about to give out. His focus gave him control. He had long ago learned to control his shaking muscles when they were almost depleted.

“Shadow Flare has a unique background. I am not surprised he kept up this long,” The General said. “I hear he was also trained as an acrobat, and one without wings.”

“Yes sir. Lots of vaults and flips, twists, you name it, I probably have done it. Most of the work was on levels and moving through them to vault up to the next level. I even have bounded back and forth off vertical walls over a wide gap. Years of training. Ever since I was a young colt. The first thing I remember is obstacle courses. As soon as I could stand Sir.”

“See sergeants. That is why Shadow Flare wins this round,” General Red River explained.

He redirected his focus to Cardinal Spitfire, “Sorry Cardinal Spitfire. You gave it an amazing run, better than the others, but I have never seen anypegasus handle the beating we gave Shadow Flare. Go get dinner you two,” The General said, pointing his head to the mess hall. “I had them hold food for you.”

The General turned to Sergeant Terror Space. “Sergeant, make sure they find their barracks in the dark. There will be a debrief in the morning while the recruits eat to get everypegasus on the same page, but it is sufficient to say that I am impressed with all the recruits. Every last one.”

Shadow Flare and Cardinal Spitfire arrived at the almost empty mess haul. They were given two trays, still warm, of their dinner. Cooked turnips, hot mashed oats and hay. Simple food.

Cardinal Spitfire turned to the cooks and asked suspiciously, “This is what the other recruits ate?”

“Yes. And we snuck in a bit extra for each of you. I have no idea what they were putting you two through out there, all of you for that matter, but you two most definitely need the extra we could spare. I would eat quick though. You will want to get rest.”

“Thank you,” Shadow smiled happily. “Let's eat Cardinal Spitfire.”

“Finally something I can not hate about you,” She groaned.

“Sorry, I never meant to drag you or anypony into this. I never wanted any of this myself.”

“I still hate you.”

“Understandable.”

“I don't get it. How you did it?”

“The right upbringing, being taught the right mindset. Much of the farm work is similar to all of that. But I keep saying that and nopony gets it.”

“This food is so bland,” Cardinal Spitfire said changing the subject.

“These turnips are from Central West Farming District,” Shadow stated.

“How can you tell?” Cardinal Spitfire asked with a mouthful.

“Because of their taste. The clouds are different there. It is mostly oats and wheat there. And my dad may have had us learn the difference one year.”

“Uggh,” She growled. “Just stop talking. My head hurts.”

They finished in silence. The food was bland. And the hay was harvested a bit late, but food was food. Shadow could not think of a time where he had eaten worse food, this was almost certainly the worse he had ever eaten. He could hear his father giving another lesson about hard work, toil and being happy with what you had, even if it was little.

Sergeant Terror Space had come in soon after they had begun. He was sitting a few tables over, quietly watching them and sipping on something. He was obviously there for them, but he was not going to push anything yet.

Shadow was done eating first, but he waited for Cardinal Spitfire to finish. “How come you always beat me at every!” She exclaimed.

“Because I was taught to value what you have. We never had much, I do not expect much. Sure, my mother was a better cook than this food, but this is obviously prepared for the first day of the recruits. The few others here are not eating the same food. Just like today, take it like every break you get and be thankful for it. Every advantage is an advantage.”

Cardinal Spitfire weighed his words and continued eating.

Shadow though to himself. “She really is special. I know she is not like the mares back home; she lacks that rugged, determined look and mindset of the rural farms I grew up on. But I can still see the strong farming muscles rippling beneath her coat. She is quite attractive, more so if she didn't hate me.”

Her Cutie Mark was yellow lighting bolts crossed, except the wide ends of the bolts tapered off into flames. A very unique Cutie Mark and one you could not forget. It stood out perfectly against her deep red coat.

She really was quite pretty for a mare, once you took off all the ugly light green uniform of the Enclave. Her soft yellow mane was cut in a way so that it could be pulled straight back into short braids. Braids that did not look like they were coming loose anytime soon. Her tail was the same, a short braid. It would look much better free. She was here to train, not look pretty. She was making sure they stayed out of the way.

When she was finished, Sergeant Terror Space led them to Black Barracks. “You will be briefed in the morning before breakfast by your Barrack Masters. They may be sergeants, but between us, I would not call them any other name than Master. Even the drill sergeants call them masters. Our primary job is done. From now on you take your orders from them, although the drill sergeants will be around to aid them. I will still bring whatever terror I can over you two.”

“Thank you Sir,” Shadow Flare smiled.

Sergeant Terror Space just nodded his head and walked away.

Cardinal Spitfire was the first through the door. It was a long bunkhouse. The doorway opened up into a short hallway. It was a co-ed bunkhouse with no partitions. Showers and the bathroom right next to the door, the rest was bunks. Every bunk had somepony on it. Some were sleeping or trying to sleep. Most were talking. Everypony had their uniforms off and was in fresh shirt and shorts. Shadow guessed those were the regulation bunkhouse clothing.

The bunkhouse quieted as they realized that Shadow and Cardinal Spitfire had arrived. None of them wanted to be caught up in whatever Shadow was. They all had seen that Cardinal Spitfire was stuck with him and Sergeant Terror Space.

A brave pegasus spoke up. “Your bags were here when we arrived. You two are the last two bottom bunks on the right. I am Olive Pit.”

“Nice to meet you Olive Pit. Interesting name,” Shadow complimented.

“My family is olive farmers, south of New Cloudsdale. My mother always said I was called pit because her labor was 18 hours. I was tough to get out, like an olive pit.”

Olive Pit did resemble a green olive. With a white mane, cut short for military service.

Shadow laughed. “My Family never had a direct reason for my name. Only Lunar Harvest, the first, had a reason. Her birth was during the day, forcing my dad to work a lunar harvest.”

The bunkhouse began to lighten up a bit.

Shadow's bunk was the hottest place in the bunkhouse. There would be little airflow. It was designated to him by his almost empty bag which was laying on the bed. Cardinal Spitfire's bag was on the other. No doubt they gave him the worst spot on purpose. But he had a bed.

“So, Shadow Flare, I am Flex” the pegasus above Shadow's bunk said. “What exactly happened today?”

Shadow took a deep breath in before he answered he answered. “I have no idea, honestly.”

Things got quiet for a little bit before Cardinal Spitfire, who was sitting on her bed with her back deliberately to Shadow, spoke up. “What happened was that General Red River ended up putting Sergeant Terror Space on both of us to test the difference between an regular farmer and a nowhere, uselessfarmer.”

“Thank you Cardinal Spitfire,” Shadow chuckled. He was still standing at the end of his bunk. “I think we all got an extra whooping from the drill sergeants for that as well. The General wanted me to break? Whatever that means. Not even I knew I could last that long.”

Shadow took in a deep breath in and released it before continuing. “Back on my farm, in the community, well you can see, I look more like a mare than a stallion.”

They all chuckled.

“I am no farming pony by our standards, but I guess years of hard work led to this. A friend once explained the difference between strength and power. Power was the form you used. Proper form brought you power, which can increase strength. But brute strength requires you to push through it. I noted that most of the ponies keeping up with me at the end were marked red. I bet it is red for brute strength.”

“And this is where it all started,” Cardinal Spitfire said in their shock at Shadow saying 'ponies'. “Shadow is apparently so far out that the rules do not apply. Apparently its where enough of our food is grownand that his only official laws is no stealing and no going under the clouds. Apparently everything else is community based and enforced. And that is why he is allowed to say every pony. Because only somepegasus from there would be that stupid.”

Cardinal Spitfire stopped suddenly. “I hate you, yet I am explaining you! The General literally said 'Both of you are farmers. One is formal, the other practical. That is all I cared about. Sergeant Terror Space, break both of them. Farm pegasus against farm pegasus. One side of the Enclave against the others.' He had both of us tagged black before we even began!”

Her hate was the only reason she remembered the words verbatim.

Cardinal Spitfire took a deep breath and calmed down. “Anyway, apparently Shadow's speech patterns are allowed and not to be treated as the treason we grew up with. He wasn't even schooled to anywhere near Enclave standards.”

“Where I come from, Family comes first,” Shadow shrugged. “Then the community, which is an extension of the family. The General decided we were to be pit against each other. I mean, look at her. You can see the muscles, and she is only a fraction smaller than me. On me, you can't see muscle like you can her.”

“But I have more endurance and a different mindset than anypony in here because of my rearing. Only two from our district came, one from the small city, and me from hours away from any city. 4 years before that another pegasus joined, and before that, no one in my community knows. I doubt anypony in the district joined. But today is over. Done with. Tomorrow is a new day and a new type of training. No more pitting Cardinal Spitfire against me... I hope.”

“Sounds good,” A bright sky blue pegasus spoke up from the bottom bunk in the middle. He had to whip some of his orange hair out of his face. “I'm… Well just call me Deke. And it is nice to meet all of you and nice to meet you Olive Pit, Cardinal Spitfire and you Shadow Flare. I think Shadow Flare is right. We are black badged and that binds us. If there is any testing, it will be against the other colors. Shadow Flare, we have all had time to chat back an forth. I am bucking for working on the Raptors, I want to become a captain of one. What about Cardinal Spitfire, You, and I didn't catch your's Olive Pit.”

Olive pit spoke up first. “Medic. I'm going to patch you bastards up when you get your dumb asses shot.”

Everypony laughed at his comment.

“Not if I shoot your ass first,” Shadow fired back. That comment had everyone relaxed and laughing. “I'm bucking for recon. Which is why I am guessing the General really wanted to test me.”

“Nopegasus knows much about recon,” Flex said. “I didn't even know you could apply for them.”

“And I'm going for Wonderbolt. My name Spitfire isn't used lightly. I am a mapped out descendant of THE Spitfire from the great war. But I am going to earn that spot on my own.”

That got plenty of nods and respect from their fellow bunkmates.

“Let's hit the sack guys,” Deke said rolling into bed.

It took several minutes for everypony to get organized. Deke had been trying to sleep when they came in. Shadow and Cardinal Spitfire still had their uniforms on. Shadow had one of the two lockers that were in between the wall and the bunk bed. He stored his few belongings in there where they would be safe. Besides, there was no need for his duffel bag, at least for a while. So he just slung it up on one of the hooks in his locker, along with his uniform.

He did not remove the two bands he wore. One on each foreleg. One was yellow, like Cherry Tart, which had a a red cherry hoof embroidered on it. The other was barely visible on him It was white and from Dream Catcher. Both were tied snug, but not to tightly. Totems to always wear, too remember perhaps the three most important pegasi from home. He was a long way from home.

Shadow was on his back in bed. It had been one hell of a day. A very interesting start. At least the bed was somewhat comfortable. He was going to be stiff in the morning. He looked over at Cardinal Spitfire and felt bad for her. It wasn't his fault or intention to catch her up into any of this, let alone get caught in it himself. But he still felt bad. And she hated him for it with good reason. She deliberately laid with her back to him.

As Shadow's eyes closed to sleep and he began to dream, he heard Cherry Tart and Early Blossom. He heard his father's teachings, and remembered what the community meant. He could still feel Dream Catcher's embrace.

END: PART 1: LOYALTY

STRENGTH – 4

PERCEPTION – 3

ENDURANCE – 8

CHARISMA – 2

INTELLIGENCE – 7

AGILITY – 9

LUCK – 7