The afternoon sun hung high in the sky over the Everfree forest, its wildlife scurrying about their usual tasks of survival either ignorant or just indifferent to the strange pair that journeyed into its depths. Rainbow Dash flew excited circles around Kad as she followed him through the wilderness, “So what is it you’re gonna teach me, Cap? How to move stuff with my mind? Or maybe how to fly one of those space ship things? Or some kind’a secret Mandalorian fighting style?”

Kad regarded her with a wry smile while her mouth raced as fast as her mind, “You’re close on the last one, kiddo. Been told you’re a decent fighter Dash, so I’m gonna give ya a little lesson in how to fight like a Mandalorian.”

Rainbow landed on an overturned tree with a proud smirk, “I’m one the toughest in Ponyville, maybe the whole of Equestria! I bet I could even give you a few pointers, Cap.”

Feeling satisfied with the clearing they’d come to, Kad began stripping off sections of his armor and weapons, stacking them on a stump. “Ya just might Dash, ya just might.” Cracking his knuckles and joints, he looked the Pegasus over, “A’right Dash’ika, I want ya to come at me with everything ya got.”

She canted her head to the side in confusion at his request, “Say what?”

“You’re gonna learn how to fight, same as all of us do. No holds bar, no pullin’ punches an’ no holdin’ back.” Kad stated as he fell into a fighting stance, “You use everything ya got to hurt me with Dash, cause I promise ya ain’t going back to the camp unscathed. Unless you’re feelin’ scared, ad’ika.” He chided her with a sarcastic tone.

Rainbow’s nostrils flared and eyes narrowed as his words cut into her pride, “If that’s how you want it Cap…” With a flap of her wings, she quickly shot into the air high above his head, “Hope you’re ready for this, Mandoboy!”

Kad had to admit he wasn’t expecting her to be so fast, far faster than he was without the use of the force. The cyan blur shot down towards him leaving a rainbow trail as she aimed to connect her forehooves with his face. Experience, however, gave the warrior the advantage as he moved forward at an angle into her attack, bringing his arm out to clothes-line her mid-dive.

His arm caught almost dead-center in the neck, causing her eyes to go wide in shock as she felt her windpipe flatten for a moment. Kad let out a grunt as the pain of the airborne pony slamming into his forearm at high-speed registered. Not letting up, the Mandalorian followed through against Rainbow Dash’s momentum to fling her into the ground.

Dash landed hard on her back, coughing and gasping to fix her windpipe. Her eyes went wide as the human overtop of her brought his heel down towards her face. Quickly rolling to the side, she managed to avoid the boot, pulling herself back to her hooves - it was becoming clear Kad wasn’t playing games with her. Her ears flattened against her scalp as she bared her teeth and lowered her stance to a more aggressive posture.

“Now that I got your attention…” Kad said to her as he massaged the feeling back into his arm, “Maybe you’ll start takin’ this a bit more seriously!” Kad took to the offensive this time, rushing in on her with a swift volley of blows, the Pegasus’ deft movements keeping her a step ahead.

It wasn’t until she felt her back against a tree that she realized he wasn’t trying to hit her; he was taking ground away from her. For a split second, Dash was treated to another view of the bottom of Kad’s boot as his leg snapped into place to deliver a swift kick. The Pegasus speedster had no intention of taking another blow from the Human attacker - rolling along the surface of the tree, she managed to reposition herself away from the blow and quickly took to the air again.

“Kandosii, use every advantage ya have!” Kad complimented her, “If ya have a blaster then shoot ’em, ya gotta knife then stab ’em. Honor’s a really romantic concept but it don’t mean osik if you’re the one gettin’ shipped home in a body bag.”

“If you don’t believe magic exists, then why did you insist on coming along?” Twilight regarded Torb with a critical eye.

“I felt the Captain touched on an interesting hypothesis when he drew a line between what you know as magic and what the rest of the galaxy knows as the force.” He calmly replied, “I simply wish to observe and draw my own conclusions on the subject. Also, it is against regulations for a client such as the Princess to be without an escort.”

“His presence matters not Twilight Sparkle, thine focus is needed if thou wishes to learn these lost spells.” Luna was quick to correct her would be pupil.

The Lieutenant took a seat beneath a tree to observe the pair of Equestrians with a bemused grin. The idea of magic being real was an amusing thought to him. He was a man of science and analytical thought, as any Chiss worth his salt would be. To him, magic was a fool’s way of explaining what they didn’t understand, or feared may counteract already cemented beliefs.

Glancing over in Torb’s direction once more brought a shiver to Twilight’s spine; the shade of the tree, combined with the eerie glow of his cybernetic eye and dark blue skin, gave him an appearance akin to that of a demon from Pony lore. She couldn’t let this play on her mind though - if she wanted to make herself useful to Epsilon Squad she needed to learn magic most Ponies had never needed to seek out for centuries. Magic she knew her mentor would never allow but her current teacher was insistent on. Taking a deep breath, she gave Luna her full attention, “I’m sorry your highness, I’m ready to begin now.”

“Combat magic is a lost art; it functions on different levels than what my sister hath taught thee. Thou must be determined and resolute in thine task; thine will must be iron-clad in the defeat of thine foes.” Taking several steps towards a rather thick ancient tree, “We shall start with the Sword.”

A dark aura incased her horn and with a quick flick at the center of the tree an unseen force began violently splitting straight up the center. Torb and Twilight both watched in shocked silence as the air was filled with the rain of shattered wood and splinters. The Princess turned to face the pair, beside her floated a crescent of glowing luminescent energy, “Now then Twilight Sparkle, tis thine turn.”

A battle of wills had begun at the center of the camp as Zex’s unwavering gaze stayed locked with Arkanna. Between the pair of them, Fluttershy looked back and forth nervously as the soldiers glared daggers at each other.

“I don’t understand why you’re being so resistant to this, Private.” Zex proclaimed as he tried to keep his cool.

“Because I really don’t see how it’s important.” Arkanna snarled back.

Zex sighed rubbing the bridge of his nose, “Look, I need to teach Fluttershy as much field medicine as I can in the span of one day. It’ll be much easier on a live subject.”

“Oh, no, that’s okay, I mean, if he doesn’t want to…” She quickly muttered out hoping to defuse the situation.

“If I have to pull rank I will, Private!” Zex angrily pointed out to Arkanna.

She let out a frightened squeak as the Corporal began to lose his temper, “No, please stop.”

Arkanna looked down at the pleading Pegasus cringing beside him. The Private let out a defeated sigh, “Fine Zex, you win.”

“Good, now strip down to your pants and get on the gurney.” Zex ordered.

Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief as the fight finally came to a peaceful conclusion. For a moment she feared the two might come to blows with her caught in the middle. Looking back to Arkanna, she watched him remove his body armor and underlay shirt. She found the anatomy of the alien’s race strangely fascinating. He lacked the same qualities that Equestrians’ possessed; without the armor, Arkanna was considerably less bulky as some of his comrades, no doubt due to his youth.

She took quick notice of several tell-tale scars and injuries. The most prominent was the large bruise on his chest, no doubt left from the fight at the castle. The few others seemed old and likely had been present for some time. Her eyes fell on his shoulder, where three scars ran along towards his back, an injury her mind quickly connected to that inflicted by a sharp claw. Eventually her sightseeing took her to the jagged scar across his neck. Remembering the reprisal she received back in Ponyville, her eyes quickly averted to the ground.

Arkanna watched her reaction, feeling a sharp pang of guilt strike him. A voice in the back of his head told him he screwed up this time; he silently promised he would make things right. For now he could start by playing the part of the hapless victim in need of medical attention. Finally disrobed, Arkanna climbed onto the gurney, the built-in repulsors keeping it hovering a few feet off the ground. He gave the pair a nervous smile, “So, do you want me to make some wounded noises?”

Zex gave him a swift swat across the forehead, “Knock it off.” His attention shifted back towards the Pegasus beside them, “Now then, the patient has suffered a blaster bolt to the chest,” Zex gave this emphasis by harshly poking the sore on the Private’s chest, receiving a pained grunt in return, “His life is in your hands Cadet, what’re you going to do?”

“Oh, uhm…” Fluttershy stammered as she looked over the supplies Zex had laid out for her, “I… I start by disinfecting the wound?” She looked to the Zabrak medic who gave her a nod. It was a strange change of pace to work on something that wasn’t a woodland creature, or even Pony for that matter. Zex assured her that Human anatomy is a good starting point for many other races so it would serve her best to start there.

Arkanna let out an annoyed sigh as he felt the Pegasus clumsily apply a bandage to his chest. Zex offered her no help beyond the occasional bit of verbal advice or correction in technique. He let out a painful noise as a slip of her hoof landed a hard poke at his bruise causing her to pull away from him quickly in a panic.

Zex was quick to stop her retreat and force her forward, “What are you doing? This man is dying and needs your help; you cannot hesitate for even a second!” His words and gaze were stern and unyielding.

“But… But…” Fluttershy stammered as she cowered away from his watch.

“Fluttershy, in the field things will be much worse than this. You can’t just slink away from a wounded soldier.” Zex nudged her towards Arkanna, “Now get in there and save his worthless life.”

“Wow, I am sooo glad you’re our medical officer.” Arkanna muttered sarcastically.

The spar between Rainbow Dash and Kad continued on in seclusion, the pair trading blow after blow. Fist connecting with face, and hoof connecting with gut as the blood of Human and Pegasus mixed on the dirt between them. The fire in their eyes refused to be quenched despite the blood and sweat stinging them.

The side of Rainbow’s face was starting to swell up along her left eye, a sharp pain in her jaw shooting back and forth through her head. The metallic taste of blood washed through her mouth as the cut on the inside of her mouth kept a steady trickle flowing. Every inch of her body ached and her lungs were balls of fire clawing at her rib cage, “Okay… You’re pretty good Cap, I’ll give ya that.” She managed to force out between labored breaths.

Kad was in no better shape. The aging warrior could feel his years starting to show, but he refused to make use of the force to take her on and now he was paying for it. Almost every one of his joints screamed at him, as did the shots Rainbow had managed to get in, “Yeah, ya ain’t half bad yourself Dash, sloppy but not bad.” He said with a playful smirk, “What say we take a little breather, let ya get your strength back.”

“Oh, just for my benefit huh?” She snickered at him before falling back on her haunches.

“Watch the mouth Cadet, I’m still your rankin’ officer.” Kad was quick to remind her as he retrieved his canteen from the pile of gear. His throat was thankful for the sudden gush of cold cleansing water that poured over it. Taking a seat beside the cyan Pegasus, he offered her the canteen.

Dash happily took a long, greedy gulp of life restoring water. She let a happy sigh as she felt the liquid was over her sore muscles with every drop. Something felt off though; from the corner of her eye she could swear she saw something move. Her attention shifted to the warrior beside her who scanned the tree line around them, “We’re not alone, are we?”

Kad took the knife from his boot, “Nope,” He placed the weapon beside her before ruffling her mane, “Time to really show me what you can do, Dash.” Getting to his feet, he started back towards his gear with an air of confidence about him.

The Pegasus looked from Kad to the blade, then back to the trees. Swallowing hard, she could feel a cold drip of fear in her gut as she slowly bent down and took the weapon in her teeth. Getting back on her hooves, things started to become clearer as several growling forms began to materialize from the wilderness.

The first thing Kad’s mind touched upon seeing these animals were Kath Hounds, until he saw their bodies were made up of what looked to be plant life. Taking the lightsaber hilt from his gear he began the casual walk back towards the worried-looking Pegasus, “Remember when I asked ya if you could kill if I ordered it?” He kept a close watch on her as the plant creatures inched closer towards them. With a light touch the energy blade buzzed to life, leaping forward from the hilt, “Only two ways outta this clearing, Dash: on our feet, or in their bellies.”

The one at the head of the pack leapt forth, snarling in hunger as it went for what would be the easiest meal, its jaws ready to clamp down on fresh meat, to draw blood and feed the empty hole in its stomach. A pained yelp escaped the beast’s maw as the golden blade of the lightsaber passed through its form with ease, leaving it split in two at Rainbow’s hooves, “No day dreamin’ Dash, time to prove your worth!”

Moving back to back with the Captain, Rainbow gulped, hoping to douse any hint of fear in her gut. She could do this, she could fight these animals. Her teeth bit down hard on the hilt of the combat knife as she watched another one come rushing in for a taste of Pony meat. This time she was resolute as her veins filled with adrenalin: ducking under the snapping jaws, she tilted her head to let the beast gut himself with his own momentum, its sap-like blood spraying across her face and body as it shrieked a death knell.

Tossing the body off, she caught sight of her next opponent who eagerly sought to take advantage of her awkward state. A snarl of her own escaped her throat as Dash wheeled her body around and let fly with the hardest buck she could physically muster. She felt her hooves connect hard with the wooden body of her opponent; she could feel it go limp in the air as it crumpled from the inside, the force of the blow sending it sprawling back to the rest of the pack.

The fire in her lungs had burst out and begun to consume her entirely. Muscles melted into her bones as she began to move on autopilot. Blade and hoof each found their targets as she tried to keep a tally of her accomplishments - her hard work was paid back with bites and scratches to her limbs and flank. Despite it all, she managed to catch sight of the Captain; it amazed her how he seemed to simply wade through them. Everything his weapon touch tore apart like a hot knife through butter. Biting down harder on the hilt of her weapon, she fought hard to regain her place beside him and face down the remnants of the pack.

Torb was a man of science and hard facts. He refused anything that could be explained away so easily by simply stating it was magic. In the course of an afternoon, he was treated to a show of what the Equestrians considered magic, watching the purple Unicorn try to regain her posture after a grueling session under Luna’s tutelage. The Lieutenant still couldn’t say whether or not there was a direct connection between the force and this magic, but one thing was certain: “Your majesty, if I may be so bold, how long have you been holding back?”

The question had not been unexpected, and Luna’s attention shifted towards Torb, “I wished to know thy intentions before passing judgment upon thee. Celestia may wish to give all the benefit of the doubt, but I did not trust the words of Commander Teth. His dark descriptions of thine crimes seemed far too convenient for my tastes.”

“You’ve met this Teth fellow, then?” Even the slightest hint at his character would garner an advantage.

“Only in passing - in all honesty, I could not stand being in his presence.” Luna stated with clear agitation, “His words were far too honey-coated not to conceal venom beneath their surface, and his eyes veiled a darkness. I fear the many years of peaceful rule hath made my sister blind to such evils in the hearts of others…”

Torb watched the Princess closely for a moment before, “There is something more to all of this, something you aren’t telling us.” The pair regarded one another with a critical stare for what seemed like an eternity, “No matter, as long as it does not interfere with the mission. I feel we should return to the camp, we have lost quite a bit of daylight.”

Upon return to the camp the three of them were treated to a most unusual sight. A panic-stricken Fluttershy was nothing unexpected to see, but the fact that she was attempting to wrap the nonexistent wounds of Private Arkanna who was now looking quite akin to a mummy. Behind them both the Corporal shouted orders at the Pegasus, “No, if you do it like that you’ll cut off circulation, do you want him to lose that arm!?”

The unfortunate Pegasus appeared close to tears as she tried to correct any mistake he pointed out, “I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry…”

“Haar’chak, I leave you lot alone for a few hours an’ look what happens!” Kad exclaimed as he marched his way into the camp, beaten, bruised and coated in what looked to be tree sap. Carried on his shoulder was Rainbow Dash in similar shape, “Medics, front an’ center if ya would.”

Zex regarded the pair with a look that could bore holes through duracrete, “What in the haran happened to you two?”

Kad gave him an impish grin, “Was just havin’ a friendly spar ‘till some… What’d ya call ’em, Dash?”

“Timberwolves…” The fatigued Pegasus grunted out.

“Timberwolves went an’ picked a fight with us. Was a good learnin’ experience for ’er.” He stated with a smile.

Zex examined the pair closely with an angry glare, checking them over before giving them both a good swift slap to the head, “You’re both fine. Now hit the refreshers and stop trying to waste my time and supplies.”

Kad gave the Dash a wry smile and wink, “Gotta love that Mandalorian health care.”

Night came quietly to the campsite with little else in the way of incident. A sizable bonfire had been prepared at the center of the camp where the members of Epsilon squad and their Pony recruits were gathered. The warriors from Mandalore encircled the Equestrians with Kad at the head, several flat metallic boxes at his feet.

Kad’s visor reflected the light of the fire as he looked each of the Ponies over before looking to the others, “Brothers, we are here tonight because these three seek a place within our ranks.” He said motioning to the Unicorn and Pegasi, “Who here will vouch for them?”

Torb strode forward and placed a hand on Twilight’s shoulder, “I will vouch for this one Alor’ad. I have witnessed her potential first-hand; she will make a fine Mandalorian.”

Kad nodded to Twilight then looked to the other two, “An’ what about them?”

Kell moved forward and stood beside Rainbow Dash, “I’ll speak up for this’n vod. She’s got a fire in ’er, I want to see how far this one’ll go.”

Fluttershy looked nervously between her friends then back to the Captain. Looking over at Zex, her heart began to sink as his visor seemed averted away from her.

Kad watched the nervous Pegasus before looking to the others, “Will anyone stand for her?”

Several seconds turned into hours as Fluttershy began to sink behind her long pink locks. Her saddened fog broke as a hand rested on the small of her back, “I'll stand with her.” Following the source of the hand and voice, what she saw brought a tint of red to her face as Arkanna stepped up to vouch for her.

“She isn’t ready for field work.” Zex quickly objected.

“She’s my charge; I’ll take responsibility for her.” Arkanna retorted, giving her a reassuring stroke of her mane.

Kad nodded to the Private before turning back to the Ponies, “These verda of the Mando’ade see potential in all of you, should you take this invitation you will cease being Equestrian and take your first step towards being Mandalorians.”

For a time, the only noise anyone could hear within the camp was the sound of the fire’s crackle, until one soft voice broke in proudly, “I accept.”

Her friends watched shocked in shock at Fluttershy’s sudden boldness before speaking up as well. Behind his visor Kad grinned from ear to ear as he watched them step up to the challenge. Venturing a glance towards Luna, he could see a hint of pride on the monarch’s face as she watched them, “Then step forward and receive your gifts Cadets, retrieve your pel’gam.”

Each of the cases was opened in turn revealing a set of altered armor plates and body suites, “In the Mandalorian culture some colors carry a meaning to them: they represent the warrior beneath the armor. Fluttershy, your love of all things livin’ and nurturin’ spirit is reflected by this shade of orange. Rainbow Dash, you are stalwart in your resolve and unyielding in your intent, represented by blue. Twilight Sparkle, your sharp mind is duty bound to your friends an’ monarch, we felt green reflected your soul quite well.”

As the three mares were left to examine their gifts, Kad picked up the fourth case and made his way over to Luna, “Your highness, the boys an’ I felt it would be fittin’ to gift you with this as well.” Opening the case revealed a collection of matte black plates of armor, “Black, the color of justice; it would honor us if you would wear the armor in battle.”

With a soft smile, the Princess of the night nodded in agreement to the warrior before a glow incased her horn as well as the other sets of armor. In a quick flash each of the four mares found themselves clad in the armorplast plates. Their design was meant to offer protection mostly to the chest, back and sides as well as the legs. Lacking the materials for a full helmet system a scaled down version had been created, primarily an armored head band with a HUD visor and ear mounted comlink. It was surprising how much meticulous work Traycn had put into each armor: calculating size, weight and even making room for wings in the reconstruction. The Taung could not help but feel a swell of pride at the sight of his creations.

“Wow… This stuff is incredible.” Twilight commented breathlessly as she took in the plethora of information that flowed before her eyes on the HUD.

Rainbow gave her wings a few test flaps before she was satisfied she still had full unrestricted use of the precious appendages. Giving a much more serious try with them until she was a few feet off the ground, “This stuff is gonna shave a few tenths of a second off my normal speed but I like how it feels. Makes me feel invincible!”

Fluttershy looked herself over before looking uneasily up at Arkanna, “It feels… Heavy…”

“You’ll get used to it mesh’la.” He muttered quietly to her.

“You have each taken the first step on a long path.” Kad stated proudly as he looked them all over, “From here on you ain’t Equestrians any longer, you are family, our family. Brothers, make your new sisters feel welcome!”

At this a cheer went up from the warriors as they each in turn took a moment to welcome and banter a moment with the three of them, “Enjoy yourselves tonight, ‘cause tomorrow at the crack’a dawn, we take the fight to Teth.”