CSF: Beginningsby XeRomChaptersBeginningsA Whole New WorldIntroductions and PlotsA New HomeTrainingA Good StartA Bad EndingGraduationBeginningsBeing an alicorn is hard. Most other ponies have it easy, but not me. Ever since I was born I've been different, not just physically but mentally. In school the other kids would shun me and taunt me, teasing me about just being different. I got into fights a lot, almost all of which I won. The only fight I ever lost was when all of the other colts in class ganged up on me and even then I gave them a run for their money. The only thing that got me was when they all jumped on me, beating on me from above, immobilizing me. That's why I always felt different, my natural ability to fight, to survive. My name is Aces, and I'm an alicorn. My coat is dull copper in color, with a green and black striped mane. Ever since I was young I was separated from my parents. The earliest thing I remember is living on the streets of Manehatten, fighting for survival. Then one day, I was picked up by an orphanage. They raised me, taught me how to use my unicorn powers and how to fly. Even then I excelled past all of the others, I was always different. They say alicorns have more natural talent for flight and magic than other ponies, I guess they were right. Soon after the orphanage I was adopted by an earth pony family. My adopted father and mothers names were Morganite Feather(father) who made custom quills, and my mother Obsidian Brilliant, who was a rare gem finder. I won't say they weren't good parents, because they were, but I never felt close to them. Most of the day they were out on work, so I just did the things I did when a very young colt, wandered the streets. One day while I was out exploring after school(I had just gotten suspended from another fight)I was walking around Central Park to clear my thoughts when a pony with golden armor, a white coat, and a blue mane came up to me. The first thought through my head was, 'Oh god, it's one of the Royal Guards, I must of done something really bad this time, I'm screwed.' That couldn't be closer to the truth. He approached me with a booming voice, "Young colt, We have been watching you for some time and from our observations it has appeared to us that you are more than qualified for what we are looking for." I could only look at him with the most dumbfounded look on my face, I stammered mouth agape, "W-w-w-what are you looking for?" He spoke loudly again, in what I interpreted as an attempt to intimidate me, "I cannot discuss that with you at this time. I have been instructed to take you back to Canterlot to have a private council with the Princess.” At this my eyes widened even further. Me? To have a private council with the princess? This must be something big. My heart soared. I was finally leaving this place, but one thing still nagged at my mind. "Sir, what about my foster parents? They'll be awfully worried if I'm not home in time for supper.” The big stallion cracked a grin, "Oh nothing to worry about there son, we have left proper notification with them and they are aware of your departure." My shoulders loosened at this. Good, I thought, they know. Now it's time to get down to business. Nodding my head, "Okay, I'll go with you." With a brisk nod, he turned away, heading towards a golden chariot where another Royal Guard was hitched, "Follow me kid, your life is about to change." He was right, it would change, further and more deeply than I could ever foresee at my young age. And boy was I not ready for that change. A Whole New WorldThe flights is not what I would call an exciting one. It was about an hour before we reached the castle and the whole way the Royal Guards were silent, despite my attempts to get more information out of them. They were as stout as well, stallions in there resolve, so my ride was spent contemplating what would become of me when I met Celestia. I was anxious to say the least, I've never heard of an orphaned pony being called before her, but then again, I always was different... When we arrived at the castle I was told to dismount by the same guard who approached me, only this time they both took up positions at my flanks. "Where are you guys taking me?" Shaking his head the guard replied, "Foals these days... We're taking you to meet the Princess, as I said earlier." "But why are you escorting me? I can easily enough find my way there." I came back at him. He just shook his head again with a grin, "Because, we're not taking you to her throne room, you're going somewhere" he paused, "Special." As if on cue, we turned away from the main courtyard, into the imperial gardens. I could only stare in awe at the multitudes of flowers, trees, animals and all around life the reverberated around here. Manehatten had nothing like it, even Central Park with it's high trees couldn't nearly compare to the grandeur of this magical place. As we walked, all I could do was stare in awe as the birds flew across our paths or a rabbit came up and sniffed my hoof. Yeah, definitely not like Manehatten. I was so transfixed by my surroundings that I jumped when the guard said, "We're here." "What?" I said hastily, all I could see was a grand oak tree. "All I see is a tree." Shaking his head once again, the same guard walked up to the tree, magical aura spewing from his horn, when the bottom bark of the tree opened up in the fashion of a door, the bark peeling backwards on itself as it opened. I stared dumbfounded and only when the other guard hit my back, "Get a move on you lazy foal!" Yeah, I definitely was not going to get along with HIM. They both took up positions on my flanks and we entered the... tree. Some people might think I'm crazy when I tell them I've been inside a tree, but I really have. As we entered, the bark rolled back in on itself, enveloping us in darkness. Almost as soon as the, doors I guess, were closed the guards used their magic together and light a series of lanterns along the walls, showing a long staircase leading further into the ground. What seemed about two hundred hoofsteps down, the stairs leveled off into some kind of room. Guard #2 nudged me again, me and him are going to have problems if he keeps doing that, and we started our descent. Our hoofs clacked on the stairs, leaving an echo the reverberated each time we stepped. After about five minutes we reached the bottom, and the room we walked into impressed me far more than the gardens above our heads. Made entirely out of earth and bark, the room could easily fit a large house, which is ironically, what it seemed to resemble. In the "living room" there was a large mat on the floor with a high backed chair in which sat... The princess! She sat there staring at me with an uncomfortable gaze, eying me from head to hoof, and her eyes lit up when she looked at my flank. The guards, upon entering the room, took up positions next to the princess, looking at me with the same type of gaze as her. Her voice was as melodious as authoritative and commanding when she spoke, "Aces, I have been eagerly awaiting your arrival, you see, what I have planned for you and your friends, who will be arriving shortly, will change the course of history in Equestria, and help to bring prosperity to the land. Introductions and Plots"M-my friends your highness? I've never really had any friends and those bullies in school certainly don't count!" my heart hammered at the thought of those colts being here with me and I shuddered a bit. "Oh my young colt, you have so much to learn. They aren't you friends, yet. But they are nine other ponies, like you, who have extraordinary talents from birth, and who one day, the fate of Equestria will rest upon your shoulders." The look on my face couldn't be more dumbfounded for she then said reassuringly, "Don't worry young one, that time is far enough off that you will be readily prepared for it. You have been chosen for qualities I have seen in you from birth, as well as your knack for being... Different." That hit home as I saw all those moments flash through my mind where being "different" got me into all sorts of trouble, maybe being different isn't such a great thing. Hay, things would be a lot easier if I was just born a normal pegasi or unicorn. I jumped when she said again, "No my young colt, you are perfect the way you are, better in fact. You are like me, an alicorn, and much responsibility rests on you, even if you aren't aware of it yet." She can read minds! Maybe we are alike... I've always sensed other peoples thoughts, which is one of the reasons why I always thought I was so good at fighting. Again startling me, she said, "We are alike, in more ways than you think. All alicorns have the innate ability with magic, flying and mind reading. Which is one of the reasons you were brought here. There are almost no alicorns left, most of us have died due to aggressiveness from other types of ponies. You and the others are the exceptions, the ones who did survive." She said the last with a smirk, and as if on cue, I heard the sound of bark on bark, which could only mean that the "door" was being opened again. I sat looking over my shoulder, eagerly awaiting whatever was going to come through those steps. My eyes were glued to entrance as the hoofsteps neared and it was all I could do to keep my heart from bursting out of my chest. The first thing I saw was two more Royal Guards, but when they moved to join my own guards at the princesses side, my jaw almost fell off. She was the most beautiful... Alicorn! She was an alicorn too! Her coat was a deep black like the sky on a moonless night, while her own mane was a crimson red, they way it moved when she walked made me go breathless. Almost immediately she caught me staring at her and we both blushed. She moved to sit next to me, of all the places, looking askance at the princess when Celestia addressed her much the same as she had addressed me, but not without a glance between the two of us. "Shadow, it is a pleasure to see you here and that you accepted my invitation to join us here today." she paused, looking at the both of us again, "as I have explained to Aces here..." she then went on to explain all that was previously explained to me, to which her reaction was akin to my own. So, her name's Shadow... I had only eyes for her, and I barely noticed when I heard the "door" to this place open and close several more times. When I finally came to, there were nine other ponies surrounding me, five fillies, and five colts including me. They were all ranges of coat and mane colors, from reds to blues to even one colt who's coat was grey. But the one thing I noticed above all else was... They were ALL alicorns!!! This is what Celestia must have meant when she said we were alike! Princess Celestia's voice went right through us all when she spoke, "Fillies and Colts, I have gathered all of you here for a special reason. First and foremost, you all, including myself, are the last of a race known as the alicorns. You all are from far and wide around Equestria, separated by circumstance and distance. But today, I have brought you all together, for you all have special talents and inborn skills with both magic and flying." "If you all didn't already know, you can also mind read. Many of you may have felt it before now, but hadn't know what it was or what to do with it. That is just one of the reasons why you are so special. One of the most important reasons you all are here though is," she paused, surveying all of our faces, "because each and every one of you is a born fighter. From birth you all have fought tooth and hoof for survival and you all have made it." I surveyed the group and saw a few nods to what she said, "What you all are here for is the future protection of Equestria and the ponies with it. What will become of you all is something that has never before been seen, and shall not been seen ever again, is a special group of alicorns, who's abilities will protect Equestria from those who would do harm to it." "What I am proposing, is a secret force of you ponies, that will not be known to the public. You will be the unseen heroes of the people, those that do deeds without ever getting recognition. You will be integrated into everyday life of ponies, none of which will know your true capabilities, or jobs. You will be the ones who stop the darkness from invading our land, you will be the peacekeepers, and most importantly, you will do all of this, without anypony ever knowing. You will be the Celestian Special Forces." All of the other alicorns, including myself, looked on with wide-eyed stares. I got this feeling in my chest, this feeling like I finally know who I am, what my purpose is. I finally knew what my role in this world was, and from the deepest part of me, I cheered. Shadow soon followed, along with the rest of the fillies and colts in the room. A New HomeSoon after her speech, Celestia departed from the room, headed back up the stairs, taking two of the last Royal Guards to enter the room with her. The other guards however, stayed in the room, even as the "door" closed up above. All but the two who accompanied me headed off into one of the three side doors that were spaced evenly from each other. Royal Guard #2, the one I have a growing dislike of, has us all form up in a line abreast to each other, one filly for every colt. I was the furthest on the left with a filly who's coat was yellow and her mane was black. Royal Guard #1, walked back and forth across the line, surveying all of our features. "All of you are here for a reason, now things may not be as nice as the Princess made them seem. The next few years will be tough, you will all be put through challenges that not even us, the Royal Guard, can face head on. It will be hard, and it will be grueling, but none of you will be allowed to quit." "From the moment all of you agreed to leave for here, your old lives have been forfeit. You will never be able to go back and your memory will soon fade from those you knew. Each of you will have a special talent, what those are will be revealed only when you know it, when you get your cutie marks." Some of the others perked up at this, smiles coming to their faces. He stopped in the middle of the line, addressing us all, "You must learn to work together to survive. Your first assignment is to learn everything there is to know about your fellow trainees. For knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your allies can become the difference between life and death. Your room is the door off to the left, under no circumstances are you to enter the other two rooms." With that, him and #2 departed through the same door as the others. As soon as they were gone, the room erupted into a commotion of hushed conversations. The fillies broke up into one group, while the colts broke up into another. A light blue coated colt approached me, "Hi! My names Ice, on account of my coat here. What's your name?" He said gleefully. This pony sure is cheerful, "My names Aces, good to meet you Ice. Where did you live before this, and how did you come to get here?" "I lived in Fillydelphia. Right as I was taking my morning stroll, I was approached by this big Royal Guard, who told me this fanciful story of 'Doing my duty to protect Equestria.' I just laughed at him! Boy was I wrong! Look at us here, about to be part of something big, it's almost too much to handle!" "Yeah, it is pretty exciting. I wonder what the others are talking about." With that, Ice and I moved over to the other three colts who were to busy talking to notice us joining them. I gathered from their conversations that there names were Leo(yellow coat, orange mane), Drifter(brown coat, tan mane) and Specter(grey coat, white mane). Drifter: "What do you guys think of all of this? Leo: "I don't know... It sounds nice and all, but when I thought of being a hero, I thought people would at least know..." Specter: "Hay, as longs as we get to do some cool stuff, it's okay with me. What do you two think? "It beats sitting around, getting picked on in school in Manehatten," I said, smirking at all the foals who thought they had something on me. Ice perked in, "I think it's really exciting! From what it sounds like, we get to do all kinds of crazy and awesome things!" We all chuckled at his enthusiasm, oh I can already tell he's going to be the joker of the group. Thinking for a minute, I offer, "Why don't we go talk to the fillies? Find out what they have to say?" They all nodded and we walked over to hear the last of the conversation. The fillies, Shadow, Thunder(yellow coat, black mane), Flame(red coat, orange mane), Frost(white coat and mane) and Mist(blue/grey coat, black mane). "I think this is a good chance for us all to show how truly different alicorns are," Shadow finished, to the others approval. Noticing us working our way over to them, the fillies made room in their circle for us and we all began discussing where each of us came from and how we grew up. I was the first to give mine, and Shadow was last to give hers. "I was raised on a small farm outside Hoofington, my adopted parents never trusted me and constantly abused me. School wasn't much better either, the other foals would make fun of me almost everyday... The only time I had to myself was when I would fly up to the oak tree we had outside and sing." I could only look at her, her past troubles... It made me want to just protect her forever. Before I could say anything though, one of the Royal Guards came out of the door. "Lights out everypony, get to your beds. There are five bunk beds, one filly and one colt per bunk. You and your bunk-mates will be partners throughout training." He rushed us into the room, and I quickly found Shadow. "Hey Shadow, I was uh, wondering if you'd like to be bunk-mates?" I said, trying to keep my voice in check. She blushed, "Sure Aces, I'd love that." I gave her a friendly smile and found a bunk in the corner of the room, I let her get the top bunk while I settled in on the bottom one. The last thing I thought to myself before I closed my eyes was, 'Wow this was certainly an interesting day.' TrainingTwo year later.... I was pinned to the ground... Again. "Come on Aces, that can't be all you've got!" called Shadow from on top of me. I groaned slightly, getting up on all four hooves again, just in time to see her jump at me again. This time I dodged her jump and managed to swipe her feet from under her. Getting on top, I pinned her fore and back legs to the ground, looking straight into her eyes. "Well Aces, now that you've got me, what are you going to do?" she said, smirking. I grinned back and kissed her quickly. "Just that," I smirked again, hopping off of her. Getting off, she shook of her main, clearing the dust from the training floor off of her. She smiled to me as she got up. "So what is that for this session, four to one?" she laughed as I looked away from her, staring at the ground. "Oh come on Spade, don't look so down. You may not be the best fighter, but you sure as hay are the best shot." Her use of my nickname made me grin. Two months ago while on a shooting exercise, Specter bet me that I couldn't hit an ace of spades card at 2.7 kilometers. Always up to a challenge, I agreed, and if I won I would get his spending money for two months. So with the challenge set, I took aim and fired, using some magic to guide the bullet through the air. I knew I hit it from the moment I pulled the trigger, but always the criticalist, Specter and Ice flew down to make sure I had done it. The look on his face when he flew back was priceless, the look was even more priceless when he saw my flank. "Aces!! You got your cutie mark!" that nearly made me jump out of my skin at the time, and what do you know, when I looked at my flank there it was. A snipers cross-hairs with a spade in the middle, which is how I got the nickname Spade. Walking away from the practice circle, we went to join the others for lunch. We each have to buy our own supplies in Canterlot each month with the money given to us. Also as a result of the mare and stallion pairs, each pony in the pair has grown affectionate towards the other, as their future careers would be spent together. We sat next to Ice and Frost, who were busy talking about their own training. "Those magic tests the Guards set up for us were a piece of cake!" Ice laughed. "Yeah they weren't a problem at all... I wish they could come up with something that was challenging. I feel like I'm still playing foal games with these tricks," Frost laughed with him. Those two were the most magically adept out of all of us. We've heard talk from the Guards that their powers are rivaled to that of Princess Celestia. "Hey you guys, not everyone is as good as magic as you two are!" I called at them, moving to sit down across from Ice. "Hey Spade! Nice of you to join us!" he said in his cheery tone, "How did your 'close' training with Shadow go?" he laughed out loud at his own joke. Hiding a smile and a blush I said, "Oh it was fine, she beat me most of the time... Again." I laughed the last to which the rest joined, as everyone knew that Shadow was the best close quarters fighter out of all of us, not to mention one of the best camouflage artists, on par with myself. Which is how she got her own cutie mark, a cloak and dagger. "So!" Frost pitched in, "Have you guys heard about the news?" We both shook our heads as she continued, "Well from the talk we pick up from the Guards, Celestia is sending out each team on their very first outside mission!" All four of cheered at this. Who could believe it! After all this time training and learning to work with our partners, we're finally getting to show off our true talents! "They say tomorrow during breakfast their going to announce to each pair what their mission will be. Also, each pair will be accompanied by one of the Guards they flew in with. All the details of their mission will then be reported to Princess Celestia, and she will decide whether or not each pair is ready to fulfill their roles in active service." Once again, a smaller cheer, for that wouldn't throw off our excitement of the news. "One last thing," Frost said gravely, "If any of the pairs fail, we all will be sent back to here for another year of training... And any pair that failed will have their memories erased and sent back to wherever they came from." I looked wide eyed, first at Frost, then at Ice, and finally at Shadow. We both shared the gaze for a long moment, both knowing what would happen if we failed. Finally I nodded to her with a smile, and she returned it. Nothing would stop us from winning, not the princess herself. A Good StartShadow and I decided to go back to our bunks and talk some things over before tomorrow. The walk there was filled with silence, things we wanted to say, but wanted to have privacy before we said it. We didn't have to worry about the others overhearing our thoughts as each of ponies here had learned to guard their thoughts early on as open thoughts were open to manipulation. Once there, I plopped down on my bunk, Shadow laying down next tome. "Aces, what do you think will happen tomorrow? Will we be alright?" I sighed as I really didn't have the answer, "I don't know Shadow... Whatever happens tomorrow is a mystery to me and I can't tell if anything good or bad will come of it." She turned away, deep in thought, as tomorrows events worried her. "Hey," I said turning her head towards me, "Don't worry about what will happen tomorrow, no matter what we'll do fine, and we'll always be together." She grinned at me, "Yeah your right. No matter what we will come out on top. We're an unstoppable team!" I grinned back at her, ready to take on any challenge that we would face, and in my mind, ready for anything that would try and stop us. The next morning... I woke with a jolt, the evenings nightmares rolling through my head, a cold sweat on my body. They say you can see the future in your dreams, well I seem to see it a lot. Every time I have a nightmare I get a glimpse of something bad to come. Shaking my head, I turned to see Shadow still there. Well at least I have her to help me. Some of the others were starting to wake up and make preparations for breakfast. Gently shaking her I said, "Come on Shadow, lets get to breakfast." She woke up instantly and nodded. We were the first one's to the eating room, so we had free range to use the stoves and supplies there. Specter and Mist were the next to join us calling out to us, "Hey you two! How do you always beat us here?" "That's because we don't rest our hooves all day long like you two!" both pairs laughed at the joke, Specter coming to join me on the stove next to me whilst Shadow and Mist talked. "So did you hear? Apparently our first mission is supposed to be today. Ice and Frost came by everyone yesterday spreading the news." he said, starting on his food. "Yeah, they told us yesterday also. What about those crazy regulations that go with it...? Are you and Mist worried at all?" "A bit, but not all that much. Me and her are used to challenges like this, so it shouldn't be a problem at all." "Yeah..." I said, thinking back to the dream I had last night... '...There's a camp of some sort, probably refugees of some sort. I'm far off into the distance looking at it through my binoc's. All of a sudden a fight breaks loose outside of a small cave and continues on inside it. My hearts pounding, I can't get a shot off. I leave my rifle as I jump into the air, flying with all my might towards the camp. Only when I get there the camp is deserted. I land and slowly make my way into the cave, careful of any ambushes that might have been set. The cave is pitch black so I use my magic to light the way. I follow the passage for about five minutes before it opens up into a large cavern. At the far end I see several figures standing over two on the ground, one on top of the other. Neither are moving. I rip my pistol from its holster and rush towards the figures. I hear laughing and all I see is a spear rammed through one of them and it ends...' "Hey Spade! Are you there?! Your foods on fire!" Specters voice jolts me back to reality to which the food I was cooking has indeed, caught on fire. "Oh hay, not again!!" I shout, grabbing a mouthmit and running with the skillet to the sink. I fling it in the sink and grab the fire extinguisher, putting out the fire. By the time it's done, the I curse to myself. 'Stupid, something like this is going to get you sent back here.' I walk back covered in the white film of the fire extinguisher. Everyone starts laughing at me, and looking down I start laughing to. Soon after that, everypony else starts making their way into the eating center. The normal chatter starts up, most of it about what the their missions will entail. I finally settled down with a remade breakfast with Shadow and we ate hurriedly, our nerves getting the best of us. Once everyone was done eating, the Guards assembled inside of the center, gathering everypony into a line, explaining to us all what we already knew. "Today is the day most of you have been waiting for for a long time. Your first actual mission. In reality, it's not really a high profile mission, but something to get you ready for your residences in wherever town you are placed." "You all have worked hard for this moment and all of us Guards have the utmost confidence in you. For each pair, one of us will accompany you on your mission to evaluate your progress and to determine whether or not you are fit for active duty. There is a catch however, if any pair fails, you all fail and will be sent back here for another year of training. Also, any pony who fails will have their memories wiped and sent back to whatever town they came from." His words confirmed all of our thoughts, the worst would happen to any that failed. Everypony shared glances with each other and we all knew what would happen. We wouldn't let each other down and we wouldn't fail. As each pair was separated from the rest, me and Shadow nodded towards each other, determined to win this. We were finally called for our own briefing with the four Guards that brought us both here. Guard #1 that brought me here approached us and explained, "What your mission will be is simple, you both are tasked with going to a Diamond Dog refugee camp and bring about a peaceful negotiation of terms between them and the local group of farmers who have driven them from their land." "Now we don't expect anything to go wrong with this settlement, but as always trust in your training and be prepared for the worst. Your test evaluator will be," he steps back, admitting Guard #2(him!), "the second Guard to accompany you here Aces." I glared into his eyes, as much as he did to me. For a full minute we stared at each other before he broke the silence, "I will be accompanying you on your mission and will decide whether or not you are fit for duty as active members of the CSF." We both nodded at him as I thought to myself, 'could this day get any worse?' A Bad EndingWe left the Complex, as we had come to call it, around noon that day, and we were to return at the same time the next day. If we had failed to reach some sort of agreement by then, our mission would be counted as a failure. As we left, I barely spoke a word to Shadow or our "escort." If there were ever a stallion I hated in Equestria, it would be him. Whenever I had him as a training instructor he would always make my life hell, for the sake of it I guess. I never gave him a reason to dislike me, but from the first day we met he's always disliked me and now I was stuck with him as my final instructor. Things couldn't be going worse for me. The flight there was less quite, as #2 briefed us on the layout of the outlying land of the camp and the general attitude of its people. "They've taken camp inside the ruins of an old Equestrian city. There's ample cover for ambushes so be on your hoofs when we get there. As for the people, they've been having territorial disputes with the farmers for years and finally things broke over and fighting started." First things first is we stopped by the village of farmers. Meeting with their council, we set up a declaration that would keep both sides happy and at peace with each other, making sure both ends got their just dues. The Diamond Dogs would get their land back but only if they vowed to stop feasting on the farmers live stock. While the farmers would leave the Diamond Dogs to their own devices and share the grazing lands that their animals use. Once everything was in order, we took off from the village and started to head to the ruined city. As we flew, we went over the ultimatum for both sides, as well as how to go about presenting it to the diamond dogs. #2 Started to explain in detail the situation between the two groups as well as why we are here. "The farmers pushed them out of their lands into the city where they are now and your job today is to bring about a peaceful settlement between the two groups. We need to put an end to future fighting between the two groups." he said as we flew a quick scouting flight over the city. I spotted their camp in the middle of the town square, several Diamond Dogs were up and about, going between makeshift tent houses and crumbling ruins. Spotting a tall building about half a kilometer from the square, I called to both of them, "Hey lets land on top of that building! It will give us a good view of their camp and a well defensible place to make camp for tonight." They both nodded their agreement and we flew as quickly as we could without being spotted by those down below. Once landed, #2 set about making provisions for the night whilst I set up a firing position in a hole in the wall that overlooked the street and square. Shadow set herself up on the wall next to me. I brought along my standard HR-107, a fifty caliber anti-material rifle. Shadow brought along an HiR-550, chambered in 5.56x45 standard CSF cartridge. Although she always carried a pump-action shotgun wherever she went as backup. I set up my bi-pod and took range calculations for our position. "How's it looking Spade?" Shadow called. "Everything's fine, I'm all set up. I've got range on the center of the camp. How's it looking on your end?" "I'm all good over here!" she said excitedly, "I've got a good field of view on the surrounding area as well as the camp." I turned over to see her looking gleefully over the side of the wall. Her excitement was just as contagious as I myself was anxious to be on the move. I left my rifle and moved to help #2 with setting up the rest of the camp. It took us about an additional hour to get everything ready and by the time we were done it was around two. I gathered the two of them together, "Okay so here's the plan. I'll stay up here and provide overwatch on the camp, while you and Shadow go down and start negotiations with the Diamond Dogs. Shadow, you got everything memorized?" "Yep!" she pipped, "I've been going over what I'll say and I've got the declaration right here. She patted a pouch on her vest with her hoof. "Alright good,"I turned towards #2, "You're going to act like an envoy of the Princess and help Shadow with delivering the ultimatum." he nodded towards me and opening their wings, they both took flight and started towards the camp slowly. I took up position next to the hole, looking through the spotting scope next to my rifle. I could see them both flying low and slow towards the camp. Putting the headset over my ears, I called over the radio, "How's it looking you two?" Shadow's voice cracked open on the radio, "Everything is crystal clear so far. They've sent out a small party to great us at the gates, nothing to be worried about." "Roger that, I have eyes on. Nothing else, over." I called out. Moving back to the scope, I looked over the group approaching them and saw no sort of weapons. "They appear friendly, over." "Roger, moving in to talk now," her voice broke again as the radio cut off. I moved over to my rifle and took aim on the lead dog. The scopes microphone giving me their conversation... "We've come on an emissary from the Princess, to settle the land dispute between you Diamond Dogs and the local farmers here. If you will allow us admittance to your camp, we wish to speak with your leader." Shadow said, just as practiced. #2 staying silent as ever, just as a Royal Guard would. The Diamond Dogs voice was uneducated and hoarse when he spoke, "Ya, you get to speak with our leader," he screeched, "We let you in very quickly, bad farmers take away Old Hunting Lands from us." Shadow and #2 followed the Diamond Dog towards the house at the far end of the camp that looked like it was the old mayor's building. Leading them inside, I lost sound on their conversation for a moment. I switched to a thermal view on my scope, watching the group as they went through the house. They finally reached the "leader's" office in the middle of the building. They were to far in for me to get their conversation, and I couldn't use my radio as it would give away that they weren't alone. So I sat and waited as the meeting took place. Taking my view away, I looked to the rest of the camp, seeing a few other Diamond Dogs congregate around the entrance to the building, waiting as anxiously as myself for the meetings results. After a solid three hours of time passed, the meeting finally came to an end. They finally excited the building and I caught their conversation again... "It's been a pleasure meeting with you today, and I can greatly say that this treaty will work for the benefit of both groups." Shadow said to the Diamond Dog leader. "Yes yes, very good for us, we get along good now with farmers." he said in a somewhat better accent than the first one. Happy that this was finally over, I took my eye off the scope and shook off the dust from sitting for so long. Moving back to the scope, I saw as Shadow and #2 led by the Diamond Dog leader were walking through the few dogs that were assembled. Before I knew what happened though, a hole split up in the ground and Shadow along with #2 fell in. The dogs began howling, screaming with glee. "Silly ponies, thought you trick us with your honeyed words, well now who has tricked who?" the leader shouted into the hole, as the dogs started to make their way in. Before a thought entered my head, I pulled the trigger on the Diamond Dogs leader. The echo of the shot reverberated through the empty city but the bullet missed it's mark. Another dog had jumped in front of him a moment before and was split in half from the shot. The leader quickly disappeared into the whole with about eight other Diamond Dogs. I flew up quickly, leaving my rifle behind and speeding towards the hole. "Shadow? Shadow?! Are you there?! #2 are you there?!" I screamed into the mic, to no response. Whatever they fell into must be blocking the signal. I flew harder than I had in my life, landing at the hole in a matter of seconds. I ripped my pistol from my holster, and dove into the darkness of the hole... Magic spewed from my horn as I light up the surrounding area, it appeared to be an old sewer system. I ran as fast as I could without leaving myself open to ambush through the tunnel, eyes scanning all around me for any Diamond Dogs. I suddenly heard a shot, followed by two more, followed by silence. Disregarding my own safety, I galloped ahead as fast as I could on three hooves, sweat dripping from my snout. 'No, no, no, no, no, no! Oh Celestia let them be all right!' I thought, slowly panicking as to their fate. I saw light up ahead and released the flow of magic to my horn. As I got to the source of light, a large sewer drain opened up into a large underground cavern. Torches had been lit leading to a small place in the corner of the room where two figures lay prone, one on top of the other with five Diamond Dogs surrounding them. Flying into the cavern, I charged to the location just in time to see a spear be thrown into the one on top who had tried to get up. My vision went red as I screamed, "No!!!" and I tackled the closest Diamond Dog, shoving my pistol in his snout and pulling the trigger, spraying gore across me and the floor. I hopped off him and took aim, and before the other four new what happened, I slowly acquired each target and pulled the trigger, gore splattering on the walls until only their leader was left. Using my magic I pinned him to the wall, walking forward I place the barrel under his snout. "You're too late pony," he sneered spitting at me. "Yeah, so are you." I said, pulling the trigger. Releasing the magic, I let his body fall to the ground. Turning towards the two on the ground, I moved towards them to see #2 on top of Shadow, a spear protruding through his breastplate. I ran to his side, quickly moving him off Shadow, laying him gently next to her. Shadow was unconscious, but was still breathing with no visible marks on her. Leaving her I turned towards #2, who's breathing was becoming more and more rapid, his eyes half lidded. He spoke, coughing up blood, "You... I always knew you could do it." he said coughing more. "You pass with flying colors..." pulling something from under his armor, he produced two medallions in the shape of crossed horns with wings coming from both sides of the center. "Take it... You deserve it..." "But... But why did you save her? All these years you've been the hardest on me... Why?" I say, a tear rolling down my cheek. "It's up to you to protect Equestria, not me... That's why. I wanted you to be the best at what you would do and you've shown me you can do that...." he said, coughing once more before closing his eyes. His breathing stopped. "Thank you," I whispered looking into his face, tears sliding down my cheeks. GraduationI sat curled up around Shadow, watching her breathing, making sure she was still alive. We did it... We really did it. I continued to keep watch over #2's body and Shadow, keeping a constant vigilance over the entrance to the cavern. No one was going to catch us off guard again. I sat there for another four hours until Shadow finally came to. As soon as she opened her eyes, she looked up to see me there and smiled. But looking over she saw #2 there and horror overtook her features. She dashed up and over to him, kneeling on her front legs by him. "He's dead... Aces, what happened? After we fell into the sewer a rock hit me on the head and I blacked out. I... I can't remember a thing passed then! What happened Aces?" she looked at me, tearful and panicked. "I wasn't there, all I saw was you two fall into the hole followed by the Diamond Dogs. I got here as quick as I could and from what you said, it seems like he carried you here and tried to defend you against the Diamond Dogs." I said looking over to her shotgun laid next to a dead Diamond Dog. I moved over and took it from where it was, giving back to her. "I think he used this to fend them off for a while until they overpowered him." "Thank you," she whispered to him. Teary eyed she took back the shotgun, slinging it across her back with extra care. "Let's get his body out of here, he deserves a proper funeral back in Canterlot." I nodded and together we put him across our backs and started our way out of the sewer. Both of us were quite the entire way up, there was nothing to be said and out of respect for him we kept our peace. We walked out of the sewer to find the camp deserted. It seemed like the Diamond Dogs up and left, probably thinking that there were more of us. We walked back to our camp and started making preparations to leave. Once everything was packed, it was dark out and we decided to spend the night on the roof. We wrapped his body up in the blankets we brought with us, securing them so nothing would happen to the body as the night drew on. "I almost forgot," I said breaking the silence, "He left us these two medallions, he told me that we passed." This perked her up and she grabbed one from my hoof. She hugged it to her chest. "We did it Aces, we actually did it." she sighed, resting against me, "No matter what happens, we'll be together." She smiled looking up into the night sky. I looked up with her, "Yeah we did, and nothing can stop us now." The following morning, we flew down quickly to the farmers village, meeting with the mayor of the town. We told him about our encounter with the Diamond Dogs and the result of our attempts at peace. "The Diamond Dogs have abandoned the city for the surrounding countryside, for now we can't do anything about it, but as soon as we return to Canterlot we will inform the Princess further and you can expect help soon." He agreed to this, and we soon departed from the are, flying quickly back to the city to get #2's body. Once we retrieved him, we flew off to Canterlot. Occupied with what we were carrying, we were silent the whole time. Once we arrived in Canterlot, we were met with a welcoming party, who upon seeing the load we were carrying, rushed towards our landing area. Among those there were the Princess, and several of her guards. She spoke as soon as we landed, knowing what had happened, "This is indeed a grave day as one of our own has passed away in the line of duty," turning towards us she said, "For both of yours bravery in the line of duty, I promote you both to full fledged members of the CSF." With that, she turned towards the castle, the other guards bearing the litter of their fallen comrade upon their backs. Shadow and I followed close behind them, silent as the other Guards mourned for their comrade. They brought him back inside the castle through the side entrance to the throne room. Once inside, they set about collecting rocks and and wood. They set the collection up as a funeral pyre, the rocks protecting the floor from the scorch marks the fire would make. Gravely, Shadow and I picked up his body and carried it through a line of Guards up to the pyre. Gently laying his body atop the pyre, we stepped back as Princess Celestia approached the front of the procession. "All who are present are here to remember the life lived by this stallion. He was steadfast in his resolve in the line of duty, and did his job protecting myself and the land of Equestria during his life. He deserves the utmost respect from all of us and I wish him safe passage into whatever world is beyond our own." she said solemnly, placing her horn at the base of the wood, she set it ablaze. Everyone there, even the Guards, were teary eyed at the loss, and many tears were had for that with which we had lost. Shadow and I retreated to one of the Royal Guest Rooms in the palace. There we spent the rest of the day mourning and preparing for the ceremonies that would take place later that day. The other members of the CSF had returned earlier than us and all have passed their tests. As it turns out, Ice and Frost's test was to make us all believe that we would be sent back here if we failed. All of us were fooled by them. A custom fitted dress and tuxedo were sent up to us prior to leaving for the ceremony. Shadow went into the bathroom to change while I change into my tux in the bedroom. After about twenty minutes she came out and I couldn't believe my eyes. She was wearing sleek black dress with red accents around the trim that only complemented her mane. Across her neck were several rubies sewn into into the hem of her collar which shown brilliantly in the light. I almost couldn't believe my eyes... She looked more beautiful than ever. "Shadow! You look fantastic!" I exclaimed as she walked up to me. Blushing she looked away, "Thanks Aces, you look pretty good yourself." I smiled wide at her, "Not nearly as good as you! You look more beautiful than you normally do!" She blushed a deeper shade of red. "Thanks Aces," she looked up and kissed me quickly. "Now come on, the others are waiting for us down in the Complex and there's no need to keep them waiting." I nodded at her smiling, as we made our way down through the castle to that old oak tree in the gardens. "Can you believe it? This will probably be the last time we go through this tree, our entire lives are down there." she said, looking at me. "Yeah I can. Our entire lives have been for this moment, and our futures will be spent out of this tree, protecting the ponies of Equestria." With that, we both descended down the flight of stairs into the complex. When we got to the bottom, the others were already there, lined up behind each other in their pairs. As soon as took our place in line, the procession started. We walked down the a double line of all the Guards who have been there since we were young colts and fillies, proud smiles on their faces as they looked upon us, all of their effort coming to fruition. We all spread out a line abreast to each other, much like our first day of here in front of Princess Celestia. She smiled at all of us there, walking from that high backed chair of hers to each one of us, laying her horn upon our own, whispering last words and giving assignments to each of us. At last she reached me and Shadow, laying her horn on each of ours, she said "You two are the finest examples of a mare and a colt that I have ever seen. Both of you have shown your bravery in the most dire of circumstances. For that, I will place you two as close to here as possible, in Ponyville." She moved off then, to sit back in her throne and watch over the revelations. I turned towards Shadow, and looked into her eyes, "We did it," I grinned at her. "Yeah we did," she said returning my grin. Then I kissed her, for what felt like the longest time ever.
BeginningsBeing an alicorn is hard. Most other ponies have it easy, but not me. Ever since I was born I've been different, not just physically but mentally. In school the other kids would shun me and taunt me, teasing me about just being different. I got into fights a lot, almost all of which I won. The only fight I ever lost was when all of the other colts in class ganged up on me and even then I gave them a run for their money. The only thing that got me was when they all jumped on me, beating on me from above, immobilizing me. That's why I always felt different, my natural ability to fight, to survive. My name is Aces, and I'm an alicorn. My coat is dull copper in color, with a green and black striped mane. Ever since I was young I was separated from my parents. The earliest thing I remember is living on the streets of Manehatten, fighting for survival. Then one day, I was picked up by an orphanage. They raised me, taught me how to use my unicorn powers and how to fly. Even then I excelled past all of the others, I was always different. They say alicorns have more natural talent for flight and magic than other ponies, I guess they were right. Soon after the orphanage I was adopted by an earth pony family. My adopted father and mothers names were Morganite Feather(father) who made custom quills, and my mother Obsidian Brilliant, who was a rare gem finder. I won't say they weren't good parents, because they were, but I never felt close to them. Most of the day they were out on work, so I just did the things I did when a very young colt, wandered the streets. One day while I was out exploring after school(I had just gotten suspended from another fight)I was walking around Central Park to clear my thoughts when a pony with golden armor, a white coat, and a blue mane came up to me. The first thought through my head was, 'Oh god, it's one of the Royal Guards, I must of done something really bad this time, I'm screwed.' That couldn't be closer to the truth. He approached me with a booming voice, "Young colt, We have been watching you for some time and from our observations it has appeared to us that you are more than qualified for what we are looking for." I could only look at him with the most dumbfounded look on my face, I stammered mouth agape, "W-w-w-what are you looking for?" He spoke loudly again, in what I interpreted as an attempt to intimidate me, "I cannot discuss that with you at this time. I have been instructed to take you back to Canterlot to have a private council with the Princess.” At this my eyes widened even further. Me? To have a private council with the princess? This must be something big. My heart soared. I was finally leaving this place, but one thing still nagged at my mind. "Sir, what about my foster parents? They'll be awfully worried if I'm not home in time for supper.” The big stallion cracked a grin, "Oh nothing to worry about there son, we have left proper notification with them and they are aware of your departure." My shoulders loosened at this. Good, I thought, they know. Now it's time to get down to business. Nodding my head, "Okay, I'll go with you." With a brisk nod, he turned away, heading towards a golden chariot where another Royal Guard was hitched, "Follow me kid, your life is about to change." He was right, it would change, further and more deeply than I could ever foresee at my young age. And boy was I not ready for that change.
A Whole New WorldThe flights is not what I would call an exciting one. It was about an hour before we reached the castle and the whole way the Royal Guards were silent, despite my attempts to get more information out of them. They were as stout as well, stallions in there resolve, so my ride was spent contemplating what would become of me when I met Celestia. I was anxious to say the least, I've never heard of an orphaned pony being called before her, but then again, I always was different... When we arrived at the castle I was told to dismount by the same guard who approached me, only this time they both took up positions at my flanks. "Where are you guys taking me?" Shaking his head the guard replied, "Foals these days... We're taking you to meet the Princess, as I said earlier." "But why are you escorting me? I can easily enough find my way there." I came back at him. He just shook his head again with a grin, "Because, we're not taking you to her throne room, you're going somewhere" he paused, "Special." As if on cue, we turned away from the main courtyard, into the imperial gardens. I could only stare in awe at the multitudes of flowers, trees, animals and all around life the reverberated around here. Manehatten had nothing like it, even Central Park with it's high trees couldn't nearly compare to the grandeur of this magical place. As we walked, all I could do was stare in awe as the birds flew across our paths or a rabbit came up and sniffed my hoof. Yeah, definitely not like Manehatten. I was so transfixed by my surroundings that I jumped when the guard said, "We're here." "What?" I said hastily, all I could see was a grand oak tree. "All I see is a tree." Shaking his head once again, the same guard walked up to the tree, magical aura spewing from his horn, when the bottom bark of the tree opened up in the fashion of a door, the bark peeling backwards on itself as it opened. I stared dumbfounded and only when the other guard hit my back, "Get a move on you lazy foal!" Yeah, I definitely was not going to get along with HIM. They both took up positions on my flanks and we entered the... tree. Some people might think I'm crazy when I tell them I've been inside a tree, but I really have. As we entered, the bark rolled back in on itself, enveloping us in darkness. Almost as soon as the, doors I guess, were closed the guards used their magic together and light a series of lanterns along the walls, showing a long staircase leading further into the ground. What seemed about two hundred hoofsteps down, the stairs leveled off into some kind of room. Guard #2 nudged me again, me and him are going to have problems if he keeps doing that, and we started our descent. Our hoofs clacked on the stairs, leaving an echo the reverberated each time we stepped. After about five minutes we reached the bottom, and the room we walked into impressed me far more than the gardens above our heads. Made entirely out of earth and bark, the room could easily fit a large house, which is ironically, what it seemed to resemble. In the "living room" there was a large mat on the floor with a high backed chair in which sat... The princess! She sat there staring at me with an uncomfortable gaze, eying me from head to hoof, and her eyes lit up when she looked at my flank. The guards, upon entering the room, took up positions next to the princess, looking at me with the same type of gaze as her. Her voice was as melodious as authoritative and commanding when she spoke, "Aces, I have been eagerly awaiting your arrival, you see, what I have planned for you and your friends, who will be arriving shortly, will change the course of history in Equestria, and help to bring prosperity to the land.
Introductions and Plots"M-my friends your highness? I've never really had any friends and those bullies in school certainly don't count!" my heart hammered at the thought of those colts being here with me and I shuddered a bit. "Oh my young colt, you have so much to learn. They aren't you friends, yet. But they are nine other ponies, like you, who have extraordinary talents from birth, and who one day, the fate of Equestria will rest upon your shoulders." The look on my face couldn't be more dumbfounded for she then said reassuringly, "Don't worry young one, that time is far enough off that you will be readily prepared for it. You have been chosen for qualities I have seen in you from birth, as well as your knack for being... Different." That hit home as I saw all those moments flash through my mind where being "different" got me into all sorts of trouble, maybe being different isn't such a great thing. Hay, things would be a lot easier if I was just born a normal pegasi or unicorn. I jumped when she said again, "No my young colt, you are perfect the way you are, better in fact. You are like me, an alicorn, and much responsibility rests on you, even if you aren't aware of it yet." She can read minds! Maybe we are alike... I've always sensed other peoples thoughts, which is one of the reasons why I always thought I was so good at fighting. Again startling me, she said, "We are alike, in more ways than you think. All alicorns have the innate ability with magic, flying and mind reading. Which is one of the reasons you were brought here. There are almost no alicorns left, most of us have died due to aggressiveness from other types of ponies. You and the others are the exceptions, the ones who did survive." She said the last with a smirk, and as if on cue, I heard the sound of bark on bark, which could only mean that the "door" was being opened again. I sat looking over my shoulder, eagerly awaiting whatever was going to come through those steps. My eyes were glued to entrance as the hoofsteps neared and it was all I could do to keep my heart from bursting out of my chest. The first thing I saw was two more Royal Guards, but when they moved to join my own guards at the princesses side, my jaw almost fell off. She was the most beautiful... Alicorn! She was an alicorn too! Her coat was a deep black like the sky on a moonless night, while her own mane was a crimson red, they way it moved when she walked made me go breathless. Almost immediately she caught me staring at her and we both blushed. She moved to sit next to me, of all the places, looking askance at the princess when Celestia addressed her much the same as she had addressed me, but not without a glance between the two of us. "Shadow, it is a pleasure to see you here and that you accepted my invitation to join us here today." she paused, looking at the both of us again, "as I have explained to Aces here..." she then went on to explain all that was previously explained to me, to which her reaction was akin to my own. So, her name's Shadow... I had only eyes for her, and I barely noticed when I heard the "door" to this place open and close several more times. When I finally came to, there were nine other ponies surrounding me, five fillies, and five colts including me. They were all ranges of coat and mane colors, from reds to blues to even one colt who's coat was grey. But the one thing I noticed above all else was... They were ALL alicorns!!! This is what Celestia must have meant when she said we were alike! Princess Celestia's voice went right through us all when she spoke, "Fillies and Colts, I have gathered all of you here for a special reason. First and foremost, you all, including myself, are the last of a race known as the alicorns. You all are from far and wide around Equestria, separated by circumstance and distance. But today, I have brought you all together, for you all have special talents and inborn skills with both magic and flying." "If you all didn't already know, you can also mind read. Many of you may have felt it before now, but hadn't know what it was or what to do with it. That is just one of the reasons why you are so special. One of the most important reasons you all are here though is," she paused, surveying all of our faces, "because each and every one of you is a born fighter. From birth you all have fought tooth and hoof for survival and you all have made it." I surveyed the group and saw a few nods to what she said, "What you all are here for is the future protection of Equestria and the ponies with it. What will become of you all is something that has never before been seen, and shall not been seen ever again, is a special group of alicorns, who's abilities will protect Equestria from those who would do harm to it." "What I am proposing, is a secret force of you ponies, that will not be known to the public. You will be the unseen heroes of the people, those that do deeds without ever getting recognition. You will be integrated into everyday life of ponies, none of which will know your true capabilities, or jobs. You will be the ones who stop the darkness from invading our land, you will be the peacekeepers, and most importantly, you will do all of this, without anypony ever knowing. You will be the Celestian Special Forces." All of the other alicorns, including myself, looked on with wide-eyed stares. I got this feeling in my chest, this feeling like I finally know who I am, what my purpose is. I finally knew what my role in this world was, and from the deepest part of me, I cheered. Shadow soon followed, along with the rest of the fillies and colts in the room.
A New HomeSoon after her speech, Celestia departed from the room, headed back up the stairs, taking two of the last Royal Guards to enter the room with her. The other guards however, stayed in the room, even as the "door" closed up above. All but the two who accompanied me headed off into one of the three side doors that were spaced evenly from each other. Royal Guard #2, the one I have a growing dislike of, has us all form up in a line abreast to each other, one filly for every colt. I was the furthest on the left with a filly who's coat was yellow and her mane was black. Royal Guard #1, walked back and forth across the line, surveying all of our features. "All of you are here for a reason, now things may not be as nice as the Princess made them seem. The next few years will be tough, you will all be put through challenges that not even us, the Royal Guard, can face head on. It will be hard, and it will be grueling, but none of you will be allowed to quit." "From the moment all of you agreed to leave for here, your old lives have been forfeit. You will never be able to go back and your memory will soon fade from those you knew. Each of you will have a special talent, what those are will be revealed only when you know it, when you get your cutie marks." Some of the others perked up at this, smiles coming to their faces. He stopped in the middle of the line, addressing us all, "You must learn to work together to survive. Your first assignment is to learn everything there is to know about your fellow trainees. For knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your allies can become the difference between life and death. Your room is the door off to the left, under no circumstances are you to enter the other two rooms." With that, him and #2 departed through the same door as the others. As soon as they were gone, the room erupted into a commotion of hushed conversations. The fillies broke up into one group, while the colts broke up into another. A light blue coated colt approached me, "Hi! My names Ice, on account of my coat here. What's your name?" He said gleefully. This pony sure is cheerful, "My names Aces, good to meet you Ice. Where did you live before this, and how did you come to get here?" "I lived in Fillydelphia. Right as I was taking my morning stroll, I was approached by this big Royal Guard, who told me this fanciful story of 'Doing my duty to protect Equestria.' I just laughed at him! Boy was I wrong! Look at us here, about to be part of something big, it's almost too much to handle!" "Yeah, it is pretty exciting. I wonder what the others are talking about." With that, Ice and I moved over to the other three colts who were to busy talking to notice us joining them. I gathered from their conversations that there names were Leo(yellow coat, orange mane), Drifter(brown coat, tan mane) and Specter(grey coat, white mane). Drifter: "What do you guys think of all of this? Leo: "I don't know... It sounds nice and all, but when I thought of being a hero, I thought people would at least know..." Specter: "Hay, as longs as we get to do some cool stuff, it's okay with me. What do you two think? "It beats sitting around, getting picked on in school in Manehatten," I said, smirking at all the foals who thought they had something on me. Ice perked in, "I think it's really exciting! From what it sounds like, we get to do all kinds of crazy and awesome things!" We all chuckled at his enthusiasm, oh I can already tell he's going to be the joker of the group. Thinking for a minute, I offer, "Why don't we go talk to the fillies? Find out what they have to say?" They all nodded and we walked over to hear the last of the conversation. The fillies, Shadow, Thunder(yellow coat, black mane), Flame(red coat, orange mane), Frost(white coat and mane) and Mist(blue/grey coat, black mane). "I think this is a good chance for us all to show how truly different alicorns are," Shadow finished, to the others approval. Noticing us working our way over to them, the fillies made room in their circle for us and we all began discussing where each of us came from and how we grew up. I was the first to give mine, and Shadow was last to give hers. "I was raised on a small farm outside Hoofington, my adopted parents never trusted me and constantly abused me. School wasn't much better either, the other foals would make fun of me almost everyday... The only time I had to myself was when I would fly up to the oak tree we had outside and sing." I could only look at her, her past troubles... It made me want to just protect her forever. Before I could say anything though, one of the Royal Guards came out of the door. "Lights out everypony, get to your beds. There are five bunk beds, one filly and one colt per bunk. You and your bunk-mates will be partners throughout training." He rushed us into the room, and I quickly found Shadow. "Hey Shadow, I was uh, wondering if you'd like to be bunk-mates?" I said, trying to keep my voice in check. She blushed, "Sure Aces, I'd love that." I gave her a friendly smile and found a bunk in the corner of the room, I let her get the top bunk while I settled in on the bottom one. The last thing I thought to myself before I closed my eyes was, 'Wow this was certainly an interesting day.'
TrainingTwo year later.... I was pinned to the ground... Again. "Come on Aces, that can't be all you've got!" called Shadow from on top of me. I groaned slightly, getting up on all four hooves again, just in time to see her jump at me again. This time I dodged her jump and managed to swipe her feet from under her. Getting on top, I pinned her fore and back legs to the ground, looking straight into her eyes. "Well Aces, now that you've got me, what are you going to do?" she said, smirking. I grinned back and kissed her quickly. "Just that," I smirked again, hopping off of her. Getting off, she shook of her main, clearing the dust from the training floor off of her. She smiled to me as she got up. "So what is that for this session, four to one?" she laughed as I looked away from her, staring at the ground. "Oh come on Spade, don't look so down. You may not be the best fighter, but you sure as hay are the best shot." Her use of my nickname made me grin. Two months ago while on a shooting exercise, Specter bet me that I couldn't hit an ace of spades card at 2.7 kilometers. Always up to a challenge, I agreed, and if I won I would get his spending money for two months. So with the challenge set, I took aim and fired, using some magic to guide the bullet through the air. I knew I hit it from the moment I pulled the trigger, but always the criticalist, Specter and Ice flew down to make sure I had done it. The look on his face when he flew back was priceless, the look was even more priceless when he saw my flank. "Aces!! You got your cutie mark!" that nearly made me jump out of my skin at the time, and what do you know, when I looked at my flank there it was. A snipers cross-hairs with a spade in the middle, which is how I got the nickname Spade. Walking away from the practice circle, we went to join the others for lunch. We each have to buy our own supplies in Canterlot each month with the money given to us. Also as a result of the mare and stallion pairs, each pony in the pair has grown affectionate towards the other, as their future careers would be spent together. We sat next to Ice and Frost, who were busy talking about their own training. "Those magic tests the Guards set up for us were a piece of cake!" Ice laughed. "Yeah they weren't a problem at all... I wish they could come up with something that was challenging. I feel like I'm still playing foal games with these tricks," Frost laughed with him. Those two were the most magically adept out of all of us. We've heard talk from the Guards that their powers are rivaled to that of Princess Celestia. "Hey you guys, not everyone is as good as magic as you two are!" I called at them, moving to sit down across from Ice. "Hey Spade! Nice of you to join us!" he said in his cheery tone, "How did your 'close' training with Shadow go?" he laughed out loud at his own joke. Hiding a smile and a blush I said, "Oh it was fine, she beat me most of the time... Again." I laughed the last to which the rest joined, as everyone knew that Shadow was the best close quarters fighter out of all of us, not to mention one of the best camouflage artists, on par with myself. Which is how she got her own cutie mark, a cloak and dagger. "So!" Frost pitched in, "Have you guys heard about the news?" We both shook our heads as she continued, "Well from the talk we pick up from the Guards, Celestia is sending out each team on their very first outside mission!" All four of cheered at this. Who could believe it! After all this time training and learning to work with our partners, we're finally getting to show off our true talents! "They say tomorrow during breakfast their going to announce to each pair what their mission will be. Also, each pair will be accompanied by one of the Guards they flew in with. All the details of their mission will then be reported to Princess Celestia, and she will decide whether or not each pair is ready to fulfill their roles in active service." Once again, a smaller cheer, for that wouldn't throw off our excitement of the news. "One last thing," Frost said gravely, "If any of the pairs fail, we all will be sent back to here for another year of training... And any pair that failed will have their memories erased and sent back to wherever they came from." I looked wide eyed, first at Frost, then at Ice, and finally at Shadow. We both shared the gaze for a long moment, both knowing what would happen if we failed. Finally I nodded to her with a smile, and she returned it. Nothing would stop us from winning, not the princess herself.
A Good StartShadow and I decided to go back to our bunks and talk some things over before tomorrow. The walk there was filled with silence, things we wanted to say, but wanted to have privacy before we said it. We didn't have to worry about the others overhearing our thoughts as each of ponies here had learned to guard their thoughts early on as open thoughts were open to manipulation. Once there, I plopped down on my bunk, Shadow laying down next tome. "Aces, what do you think will happen tomorrow? Will we be alright?" I sighed as I really didn't have the answer, "I don't know Shadow... Whatever happens tomorrow is a mystery to me and I can't tell if anything good or bad will come of it." She turned away, deep in thought, as tomorrows events worried her. "Hey," I said turning her head towards me, "Don't worry about what will happen tomorrow, no matter what we'll do fine, and we'll always be together." She grinned at me, "Yeah your right. No matter what we will come out on top. We're an unstoppable team!" I grinned back at her, ready to take on any challenge that we would face, and in my mind, ready for anything that would try and stop us. The next morning... I woke with a jolt, the evenings nightmares rolling through my head, a cold sweat on my body. They say you can see the future in your dreams, well I seem to see it a lot. Every time I have a nightmare I get a glimpse of something bad to come. Shaking my head, I turned to see Shadow still there. Well at least I have her to help me. Some of the others were starting to wake up and make preparations for breakfast. Gently shaking her I said, "Come on Shadow, lets get to breakfast." She woke up instantly and nodded. We were the first one's to the eating room, so we had free range to use the stoves and supplies there. Specter and Mist were the next to join us calling out to us, "Hey you two! How do you always beat us here?" "That's because we don't rest our hooves all day long like you two!" both pairs laughed at the joke, Specter coming to join me on the stove next to me whilst Shadow and Mist talked. "So did you hear? Apparently our first mission is supposed to be today. Ice and Frost came by everyone yesterday spreading the news." he said, starting on his food. "Yeah, they told us yesterday also. What about those crazy regulations that go with it...? Are you and Mist worried at all?" "A bit, but not all that much. Me and her are used to challenges like this, so it shouldn't be a problem at all." "Yeah..." I said, thinking back to the dream I had last night... '...There's a camp of some sort, probably refugees of some sort. I'm far off into the distance looking at it through my binoc's. All of a sudden a fight breaks loose outside of a small cave and continues on inside it. My hearts pounding, I can't get a shot off. I leave my rifle as I jump into the air, flying with all my might towards the camp. Only when I get there the camp is deserted. I land and slowly make my way into the cave, careful of any ambushes that might have been set. The cave is pitch black so I use my magic to light the way. I follow the passage for about five minutes before it opens up into a large cavern. At the far end I see several figures standing over two on the ground, one on top of the other. Neither are moving. I rip my pistol from its holster and rush towards the figures. I hear laughing and all I see is a spear rammed through one of them and it ends...' "Hey Spade! Are you there?! Your foods on fire!" Specters voice jolts me back to reality to which the food I was cooking has indeed, caught on fire. "Oh hay, not again!!" I shout, grabbing a mouthmit and running with the skillet to the sink. I fling it in the sink and grab the fire extinguisher, putting out the fire. By the time it's done, the I curse to myself. 'Stupid, something like this is going to get you sent back here.' I walk back covered in the white film of the fire extinguisher. Everyone starts laughing at me, and looking down I start laughing to. Soon after that, everypony else starts making their way into the eating center. The normal chatter starts up, most of it about what the their missions will entail. I finally settled down with a remade breakfast with Shadow and we ate hurriedly, our nerves getting the best of us. Once everyone was done eating, the Guards assembled inside of the center, gathering everypony into a line, explaining to us all what we already knew. "Today is the day most of you have been waiting for for a long time. Your first actual mission. In reality, it's not really a high profile mission, but something to get you ready for your residences in wherever town you are placed." "You all have worked hard for this moment and all of us Guards have the utmost confidence in you. For each pair, one of us will accompany you on your mission to evaluate your progress and to determine whether or not you are fit for active duty. There is a catch however, if any pair fails, you all fail and will be sent back here for another year of training. Also, any pony who fails will have their memories wiped and sent back to whatever town they came from." His words confirmed all of our thoughts, the worst would happen to any that failed. Everypony shared glances with each other and we all knew what would happen. We wouldn't let each other down and we wouldn't fail. As each pair was separated from the rest, me and Shadow nodded towards each other, determined to win this. We were finally called for our own briefing with the four Guards that brought us both here. Guard #1 that brought me here approached us and explained, "What your mission will be is simple, you both are tasked with going to a Diamond Dog refugee camp and bring about a peaceful negotiation of terms between them and the local group of farmers who have driven them from their land." "Now we don't expect anything to go wrong with this settlement, but as always trust in your training and be prepared for the worst. Your test evaluator will be," he steps back, admitting Guard #2(him!), "the second Guard to accompany you here Aces." I glared into his eyes, as much as he did to me. For a full minute we stared at each other before he broke the silence, "I will be accompanying you on your mission and will decide whether or not you are fit for duty as active members of the CSF." We both nodded at him as I thought to myself, 'could this day get any worse?'
A Bad EndingWe left the Complex, as we had come to call it, around noon that day, and we were to return at the same time the next day. If we had failed to reach some sort of agreement by then, our mission would be counted as a failure. As we left, I barely spoke a word to Shadow or our "escort." If there were ever a stallion I hated in Equestria, it would be him. Whenever I had him as a training instructor he would always make my life hell, for the sake of it I guess. I never gave him a reason to dislike me, but from the first day we met he's always disliked me and now I was stuck with him as my final instructor. Things couldn't be going worse for me. The flight there was less quite, as #2 briefed us on the layout of the outlying land of the camp and the general attitude of its people. "They've taken camp inside the ruins of an old Equestrian city. There's ample cover for ambushes so be on your hoofs when we get there. As for the people, they've been having territorial disputes with the farmers for years and finally things broke over and fighting started." First things first is we stopped by the village of farmers. Meeting with their council, we set up a declaration that would keep both sides happy and at peace with each other, making sure both ends got their just dues. The Diamond Dogs would get their land back but only if they vowed to stop feasting on the farmers live stock. While the farmers would leave the Diamond Dogs to their own devices and share the grazing lands that their animals use. Once everything was in order, we took off from the village and started to head to the ruined city. As we flew, we went over the ultimatum for both sides, as well as how to go about presenting it to the diamond dogs. #2 Started to explain in detail the situation between the two groups as well as why we are here. "The farmers pushed them out of their lands into the city where they are now and your job today is to bring about a peaceful settlement between the two groups. We need to put an end to future fighting between the two groups." he said as we flew a quick scouting flight over the city. I spotted their camp in the middle of the town square, several Diamond Dogs were up and about, going between makeshift tent houses and crumbling ruins. Spotting a tall building about half a kilometer from the square, I called to both of them, "Hey lets land on top of that building! It will give us a good view of their camp and a well defensible place to make camp for tonight." They both nodded their agreement and we flew as quickly as we could without being spotted by those down below. Once landed, #2 set about making provisions for the night whilst I set up a firing position in a hole in the wall that overlooked the street and square. Shadow set herself up on the wall next to me. I brought along my standard HR-107, a fifty caliber anti-material rifle. Shadow brought along an HiR-550, chambered in 5.56x45 standard CSF cartridge. Although she always carried a pump-action shotgun wherever she went as backup. I set up my bi-pod and took range calculations for our position. "How's it looking Spade?" Shadow called. "Everything's fine, I'm all set up. I've got range on the center of the camp. How's it looking on your end?" "I'm all good over here!" she said excitedly, "I've got a good field of view on the surrounding area as well as the camp." I turned over to see her looking gleefully over the side of the wall. Her excitement was just as contagious as I myself was anxious to be on the move. I left my rifle and moved to help #2 with setting up the rest of the camp. It took us about an additional hour to get everything ready and by the time we were done it was around two. I gathered the two of them together, "Okay so here's the plan. I'll stay up here and provide overwatch on the camp, while you and Shadow go down and start negotiations with the Diamond Dogs. Shadow, you got everything memorized?" "Yep!" she pipped, "I've been going over what I'll say and I've got the declaration right here. She patted a pouch on her vest with her hoof. "Alright good,"I turned towards #2, "You're going to act like an envoy of the Princess and help Shadow with delivering the ultimatum." he nodded towards me and opening their wings, they both took flight and started towards the camp slowly. I took up position next to the hole, looking through the spotting scope next to my rifle. I could see them both flying low and slow towards the camp. Putting the headset over my ears, I called over the radio, "How's it looking you two?" Shadow's voice cracked open on the radio, "Everything is crystal clear so far. They've sent out a small party to great us at the gates, nothing to be worried about." "Roger that, I have eyes on. Nothing else, over." I called out. Moving back to the scope, I looked over the group approaching them and saw no sort of weapons. "They appear friendly, over." "Roger, moving in to talk now," her voice broke again as the radio cut off. I moved over to my rifle and took aim on the lead dog. The scopes microphone giving me their conversation... "We've come on an emissary from the Princess, to settle the land dispute between you Diamond Dogs and the local farmers here. If you will allow us admittance to your camp, we wish to speak with your leader." Shadow said, just as practiced. #2 staying silent as ever, just as a Royal Guard would. The Diamond Dogs voice was uneducated and hoarse when he spoke, "Ya, you get to speak with our leader," he screeched, "We let you in very quickly, bad farmers take away Old Hunting Lands from us." Shadow and #2 followed the Diamond Dog towards the house at the far end of the camp that looked like it was the old mayor's building. Leading them inside, I lost sound on their conversation for a moment. I switched to a thermal view on my scope, watching the group as they went through the house. They finally reached the "leader's" office in the middle of the building. They were to far in for me to get their conversation, and I couldn't use my radio as it would give away that they weren't alone. So I sat and waited as the meeting took place. Taking my view away, I looked to the rest of the camp, seeing a few other Diamond Dogs congregate around the entrance to the building, waiting as anxiously as myself for the meetings results. After a solid three hours of time passed, the meeting finally came to an end. They finally excited the building and I caught their conversation again... "It's been a pleasure meeting with you today, and I can greatly say that this treaty will work for the benefit of both groups." Shadow said to the Diamond Dog leader. "Yes yes, very good for us, we get along good now with farmers." he said in a somewhat better accent than the first one. Happy that this was finally over, I took my eye off the scope and shook off the dust from sitting for so long. Moving back to the scope, I saw as Shadow and #2 led by the Diamond Dog leader were walking through the few dogs that were assembled. Before I knew what happened though, a hole split up in the ground and Shadow along with #2 fell in. The dogs began howling, screaming with glee. "Silly ponies, thought you trick us with your honeyed words, well now who has tricked who?" the leader shouted into the hole, as the dogs started to make their way in. Before a thought entered my head, I pulled the trigger on the Diamond Dogs leader. The echo of the shot reverberated through the empty city but the bullet missed it's mark. Another dog had jumped in front of him a moment before and was split in half from the shot. The leader quickly disappeared into the whole with about eight other Diamond Dogs. I flew up quickly, leaving my rifle behind and speeding towards the hole. "Shadow? Shadow?! Are you there?! #2 are you there?!" I screamed into the mic, to no response. Whatever they fell into must be blocking the signal. I flew harder than I had in my life, landing at the hole in a matter of seconds. I ripped my pistol from my holster, and dove into the darkness of the hole... Magic spewed from my horn as I light up the surrounding area, it appeared to be an old sewer system. I ran as fast as I could without leaving myself open to ambush through the tunnel, eyes scanning all around me for any Diamond Dogs. I suddenly heard a shot, followed by two more, followed by silence. Disregarding my own safety, I galloped ahead as fast as I could on three hooves, sweat dripping from my snout. 'No, no, no, no, no, no! Oh Celestia let them be all right!' I thought, slowly panicking as to their fate. I saw light up ahead and released the flow of magic to my horn. As I got to the source of light, a large sewer drain opened up into a large underground cavern. Torches had been lit leading to a small place in the corner of the room where two figures lay prone, one on top of the other with five Diamond Dogs surrounding them. Flying into the cavern, I charged to the location just in time to see a spear be thrown into the one on top who had tried to get up. My vision went red as I screamed, "No!!!" and I tackled the closest Diamond Dog, shoving my pistol in his snout and pulling the trigger, spraying gore across me and the floor. I hopped off him and took aim, and before the other four new what happened, I slowly acquired each target and pulled the trigger, gore splattering on the walls until only their leader was left. Using my magic I pinned him to the wall, walking forward I place the barrel under his snout. "You're too late pony," he sneered spitting at me. "Yeah, so are you." I said, pulling the trigger. Releasing the magic, I let his body fall to the ground. Turning towards the two on the ground, I moved towards them to see #2 on top of Shadow, a spear protruding through his breastplate. I ran to his side, quickly moving him off Shadow, laying him gently next to her. Shadow was unconscious, but was still breathing with no visible marks on her. Leaving her I turned towards #2, who's breathing was becoming more and more rapid, his eyes half lidded. He spoke, coughing up blood, "You... I always knew you could do it." he said coughing more. "You pass with flying colors..." pulling something from under his armor, he produced two medallions in the shape of crossed horns with wings coming from both sides of the center. "Take it... You deserve it..." "But... But why did you save her? All these years you've been the hardest on me... Why?" I say, a tear rolling down my cheek. "It's up to you to protect Equestria, not me... That's why. I wanted you to be the best at what you would do and you've shown me you can do that...." he said, coughing once more before closing his eyes. His breathing stopped. "Thank you," I whispered looking into his face, tears sliding down my cheeks.
GraduationI sat curled up around Shadow, watching her breathing, making sure she was still alive. We did it... We really did it. I continued to keep watch over #2's body and Shadow, keeping a constant vigilance over the entrance to the cavern. No one was going to catch us off guard again. I sat there for another four hours until Shadow finally came to. As soon as she opened her eyes, she looked up to see me there and smiled. But looking over she saw #2 there and horror overtook her features. She dashed up and over to him, kneeling on her front legs by him. "He's dead... Aces, what happened? After we fell into the sewer a rock hit me on the head and I blacked out. I... I can't remember a thing passed then! What happened Aces?" she looked at me, tearful and panicked. "I wasn't there, all I saw was you two fall into the hole followed by the Diamond Dogs. I got here as quick as I could and from what you said, it seems like he carried you here and tried to defend you against the Diamond Dogs." I said looking over to her shotgun laid next to a dead Diamond Dog. I moved over and took it from where it was, giving back to her. "I think he used this to fend them off for a while until they overpowered him." "Thank you," she whispered to him. Teary eyed she took back the shotgun, slinging it across her back with extra care. "Let's get his body out of here, he deserves a proper funeral back in Canterlot." I nodded and together we put him across our backs and started our way out of the sewer. Both of us were quite the entire way up, there was nothing to be said and out of respect for him we kept our peace. We walked out of the sewer to find the camp deserted. It seemed like the Diamond Dogs up and left, probably thinking that there were more of us. We walked back to our camp and started making preparations to leave. Once everything was packed, it was dark out and we decided to spend the night on the roof. We wrapped his body up in the blankets we brought with us, securing them so nothing would happen to the body as the night drew on. "I almost forgot," I said breaking the silence, "He left us these two medallions, he told me that we passed." This perked her up and she grabbed one from my hoof. She hugged it to her chest. "We did it Aces, we actually did it." she sighed, resting against me, "No matter what happens, we'll be together." She smiled looking up into the night sky. I looked up with her, "Yeah we did, and nothing can stop us now." The following morning, we flew down quickly to the farmers village, meeting with the mayor of the town. We told him about our encounter with the Diamond Dogs and the result of our attempts at peace. "The Diamond Dogs have abandoned the city for the surrounding countryside, for now we can't do anything about it, but as soon as we return to Canterlot we will inform the Princess further and you can expect help soon." He agreed to this, and we soon departed from the are, flying quickly back to the city to get #2's body. Once we retrieved him, we flew off to Canterlot. Occupied with what we were carrying, we were silent the whole time. Once we arrived in Canterlot, we were met with a welcoming party, who upon seeing the load we were carrying, rushed towards our landing area. Among those there were the Princess, and several of her guards. She spoke as soon as we landed, knowing what had happened, "This is indeed a grave day as one of our own has passed away in the line of duty," turning towards us she said, "For both of yours bravery in the line of duty, I promote you both to full fledged members of the CSF." With that, she turned towards the castle, the other guards bearing the litter of their fallen comrade upon their backs. Shadow and I followed close behind them, silent as the other Guards mourned for their comrade. They brought him back inside the castle through the side entrance to the throne room. Once inside, they set about collecting rocks and and wood. They set the collection up as a funeral pyre, the rocks protecting the floor from the scorch marks the fire would make. Gravely, Shadow and I picked up his body and carried it through a line of Guards up to the pyre. Gently laying his body atop the pyre, we stepped back as Princess Celestia approached the front of the procession. "All who are present are here to remember the life lived by this stallion. He was steadfast in his resolve in the line of duty, and did his job protecting myself and the land of Equestria during his life. He deserves the utmost respect from all of us and I wish him safe passage into whatever world is beyond our own." she said solemnly, placing her horn at the base of the wood, she set it ablaze. Everyone there, even the Guards, were teary eyed at the loss, and many tears were had for that with which we had lost. Shadow and I retreated to one of the Royal Guest Rooms in the palace. There we spent the rest of the day mourning and preparing for the ceremonies that would take place later that day. The other members of the CSF had returned earlier than us and all have passed their tests. As it turns out, Ice and Frost's test was to make us all believe that we would be sent back here if we failed. All of us were fooled by them. A custom fitted dress and tuxedo were sent up to us prior to leaving for the ceremony. Shadow went into the bathroom to change while I change into my tux in the bedroom. After about twenty minutes she came out and I couldn't believe my eyes. She was wearing sleek black dress with red accents around the trim that only complemented her mane. Across her neck were several rubies sewn into into the hem of her collar which shown brilliantly in the light. I almost couldn't believe my eyes... She looked more beautiful than ever. "Shadow! You look fantastic!" I exclaimed as she walked up to me. Blushing she looked away, "Thanks Aces, you look pretty good yourself." I smiled wide at her, "Not nearly as good as you! You look more beautiful than you normally do!" She blushed a deeper shade of red. "Thanks Aces," she looked up and kissed me quickly. "Now come on, the others are waiting for us down in the Complex and there's no need to keep them waiting." I nodded at her smiling, as we made our way down through the castle to that old oak tree in the gardens. "Can you believe it? This will probably be the last time we go through this tree, our entire lives are down there." she said, looking at me. "Yeah I can. Our entire lives have been for this moment, and our futures will be spent out of this tree, protecting the ponies of Equestria." With that, we both descended down the flight of stairs into the complex. When we got to the bottom, the others were already there, lined up behind each other in their pairs. As soon as took our place in line, the procession started. We walked down the a double line of all the Guards who have been there since we were young colts and fillies, proud smiles on their faces as they looked upon us, all of their effort coming to fruition. We all spread out a line abreast to each other, much like our first day of here in front of Princess Celestia. She smiled at all of us there, walking from that high backed chair of hers to each one of us, laying her horn upon our own, whispering last words and giving assignments to each of us. At last she reached me and Shadow, laying her horn on each of ours, she said "You two are the finest examples of a mare and a colt that I have ever seen. Both of you have shown your bravery in the most dire of circumstances. For that, I will place you two as close to here as possible, in Ponyville." She moved off then, to sit back in her throne and watch over the revelations. I turned towards Shadow, and looked into her eyes, "We did it," I grinned at her. "Yeah we did," she said returning my grin. Then I kissed her, for what felt like the longest time ever.
