Shadows of Katsura

The sun was slowly rising over the tall towers of Canterlot. Its rays slowly fell on the face of a young stallion, quietly sitting on a small bench just outside of a train station. Almost no one was out on the street at this hour and the only thing breaking the silence was the distant chirping of birds. The stallion stretched, rearranging his wings and pleasantly smiled as the morning sun painted the sky with yellow and gold.

"Yo, Shadow" someone called from behind and the stallion turned his head around with a smile.

"You got them?"

"You bet" a unicorn jumped over the bench and sat down next to him "For all intents and purposes-" he handed the stallion a small envelope "-we are now officially recognized by the country as adults"

"I can't believe you pulled this off" the pegasus smirked as he opened the envelope, pulling out a thin little book with the symbol of a sun, engraved into it with gold:

"Equestrian passport" the pegasus read "Shadow. Eighteen of age. Storm this is perfect!"

"I know right" the unicorn smiled "Doors to the future are now open. You figured a place where to go yet?"

"Yeah" Shadow nodded "I found the perfect spot.

The peaceful morning silence was broken by the heavy sound of machinery as a train rolled into the station. The stallions jumped up and began heading towards it in a brisk pace.

"Hey uh..." Storm rubbed the back of his neck "...you left the letter for Mrs. Perry right?"

Shadow turned a little grim as he nodded

"You think... she'll understand?" Storm quietly asked, as he handed the conductor a pair of tickets and slowly entered the train.

"Yeah, but its not that..." Shadow sighed as he climbed in as well "She took care of us for, how many years now? Theres no easy way to leave. And not much else to say except, thank you" he quietly took a seat by the window and looked outside:

"We lived in this city for so long, it feels like home now..."

"And Mrs. Perry... like..." Storm quietly said, taking a seat across from Shadow.

"Thats why we have to do this Storm" Shadow looked at him: "Someone needs to protect her. She raised and shielded us from harm. Its our turn to protect her now"

"I hear you" Storm nodded, closing his eyes "...still hurts to leave though... wake me up when we're there"

"mmhm" Shadow nodded with a smile and took a last look at the beautiful city, as the train roared to life and began slowly moving away, leaving behind the shining towers and the colorful memories of their youth.

* * *

"CHERRY PIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

"GOD DAMMIT!" Storm jerked forward hitting his head on something hard and collapsed back to his seat.

"WHOO WANTS CHERRRRY PIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!!!" someone shrieked right next to his ear. Storm opened his eyes and saw a scruffy mare with a metal cart at the entrance to their compartment.

"I don't want no cherry pie!!" Storm shrieked, trying to focus his blurry vision. Shadow was sitting across from him, rubbing his forehead with both hooves.

"You can't wake up people like that - whats wrong with you!" Storm screamed at the mare, who simply frowned and went to the next compartment.

"Welcome to Cloudsdale... or the place right under it, rather..." Shadow slowly looked outside the window. High above the train, the colorful structures of Cloudsdale peaked out from the clouds.

"What we doing here again" Storm asked with his eyes closed, rubbing his forehead.

"The Wonderbolt Combat Academy. " Shadow pointed ahead "Established a few decades ago and built right under Cloudsdale. To think, just twenty years ago the Wonderbolts were but an acrobatics team. Now they're one of the most well known, elite military units worldwide. Reformed to safeguard the lives of all citizens, accepting earth ponies and unicorns, anyone who wants to protect the peace, the Wonderbolts are the most elite fighting force, standing against the forces of evil."

"The Wonderbolt Combat Academy, huh" Storm looked out the window at the rapidly approaching train station and the massive military facility next to it:

"Would be so much easier if we could just-" he trailed off, looking at the scar in his chest: "All that knowledge and power we had, gone, in a split second, the moment I sealed it. Training for years, and we couldn't even get back a fraction of what we possessed."

"Forget it" Shadow waved his hoof in dismissal "We'll do it the right way. With hard training and sweat. Like all others before us"

"...you ever wonder" Storm quietly asked after a moment "...what would happen if the Medallion was used from the start"

"...yeah" Shadow nodded, looking outside "We would have slaughtered our families and enemies alike. That thing is cursed Storm. I have no regrets"

"Shadow-" Storm began but his friend cut him off:

"No regrets Storm, lets make it right" Shadow stood up and began walking outside, as the train pulled a sharp stop at the station.

* * *

It must have been several hours, before a fresh line of recruits, stood in an open field. There were several dozen of them. Young, nervous and green. Their uniforms sat on them awkwardly, unfamiliar and strange, too grand, too important and meaningful. Wearing the Wonderbolt uniform meant the selfless desire and power, to protect all those in need, and the recruits seemed visibly nervous putting it on, before they had a chance to earn it.

Shadow and Storm stood side by side, silently looking ahead as a figure appeared at the edge of their vision.

A mare. So tall and hulking, she easily stood a head above the recruits. The biceps were visible through her uniform. Her hooves had serious corns and scar tissue. She was looking straight ahead with a stone cold expression as she marched along the line of the recruits.

Dark hair, yellow fur.

She stopped, somewhere close to Shadow and scanned the recruits. He expected her to start shouting, but she spoke in a quiet, calm voice that made the recruits go dead quiet to hear her:

"... My name, is Lieutenant Lisa Brown. I am a Wonderbolt and in the coming days, you will learn the meaning of that word. I have been put in charge of your training. I will make sure that those who are fit to safeguard our nation, will acquire the knowledge to do so, and those who are unfit, will be tossed out"

She waited a moment before going on:

"Look at the person, standing to your left and your right. He is your brother now. You will train together. You will eat and live together. You will make mistakes and get yelled at together, and maybe sometimes you will be praised, but from this moment on, you will do everything together.

The Wonderbolts work as a team. A family. If you cannot trust or rely on your brother, the team will fail.

And when the team fails, ponies die"

Lisa waited in dead silence as the recruits uneasily shuffled in place.

"Starting today, you will undergo a series of tests, to make sure you are physically fit to be relied on in combat. And although you are brothers now, we need to know what you are capable of individually. And I know you will be tempted to help your friends, and indeed, during your service you will be expected to do so, but right now, I need to know what you can do alone.

If you are too weak, you will be a burden to your team. And a weak team is ineffective in combat. Therefore, I will make sure that all of you are reliable." Lisa looked over the young ponies one last time before she suddenly barked:

"RECRUITS - YOU ARE ORDERED TO FINISH THIS TRACK IN UNDER THREE HOURS" She pointed at a barely visible trail, in the short grass of the open field next to them "AT THE END OF THE TRACK YOU WILL FIND THE MAIN FACILITY WHERE YOU WILL SPEND MOST OF YOUR TRAINING!!! NOW GO - MOVE MOVE MOVE -"

She roared in a raspy voice and the recruits sprinted ahead.

There were several dozen of them. Lisa remained standing for several moments, before she followed them in a brisk pace. The afternoon sun pleasantly shined on the fields.

* * *

The main facility was a complex of several structures of different height. Several obstacle courses were visible in the distance and as the recruits gathered in a line just outside of the barracks, Lisa walked by them, critically inspecting each one.

"EVERYONE HERE!?" She shouted, scanning their faces.

"Negative ma'am" someone shouted from the line. Lina scowled and marched toward the dark unicorn who screamed just a moment ago. The young stallion nervously swallowed and spoke: "Sha-.. recruit Shadow is still in the field..."

"Are you messing with me recruit" Lisa muttered through gritted teeth "Its been four hours... you're telling me he's still out there running the course?"

"Yes ma'am..." Storm nodded with worry.

Lisa roared and signaled a soldier in the distance "SERGEANT! OVERSEE THE REST OF THEIR TRAINING! IM HEADING BACK!"

"Lieutenant?" The sergeant asked in confusion.

"Some idiot thinks he can die on my training course" Lisa muttered with a scowl and broke into a heavy run, back through the fields"

After an hour of running, she noticed a lone silhouette in the distance. A young pegasus, barely eighteen. His pace was uneven, each step too heavy, but he was running. Slowly, unsteadily, but he was still running.

Lisa finally reached him and scowled at the stallion with a look that could drill a hole in a pony, but the pony just nodded and kept running forward. Lisa waited a moment after he ran passed her, then following him at his pace.

"... recruit..." Lisa called.

"...Yes ma'am..." Shadow replied. His breathing was heavy. He was barely holding together, but he kept running forward. Lisa looked over him and repeated:

"Recruit, what are you doing"

"I... have to... finish the course" Shadow exhaled, barely breathing.

"You were supposed to finish the course two hours ago" Lisa said with a scowl. She waited for a reply but none came. The stallion just kept running. Slowly, unsteadily, but he kept running. Lisa carefully studied his expression before she went on:

"Recruit, you missed your dead line. You were supposed to complete the track in under three hours. Five hours passed.

"I was ordered to... finish the track..." Shadow mumbled, inhaling heavily. Lisa frowned:

"You missed the dead line. You can stop now, your training is over." she quietly said. Shadow kept running forward. He inhaled deeply again and mumbled:

"I... was... ordered... to finish-" he suddenly tripped and fell down, face first right into a puddle of mud. Lisa stopped and looked at him with a sigh.

Shadow was laying on the ground, eyes closed, barely breathing. Lisa leaned down, frowning at him. She was carefully studying him for several moments before she finally said: "That's enough... you're done with the Academy-" she suddenly stopped.

Shadow was slowly raising back up. His hooves were shaking, his eyes were barely open, but he gritted his teeth and pushed himself up. Slowly, heavily, every muscle in his body was shaking, but he pushed himself up.

Finally rising, he took one breath and ran forward again.

Lisa remained standing in place, watching him with a blank expression for several moments before she ran forward as well.

She slowed down next to him, and continued to run at his pace.

Shadow's expression remained unchanged. Brutal determination was all over his face as he ran forward. He was tired. He was in pain. He was barely standing, but he kept running. And Lisa ran by his side, quietly watching him.

"...you're name... recruit" she suddenly asked.

"...Shadow" the young pony replied.

* * *

The sun was setting over the horizon as Lisa Brown slowly walked into a tidy office, high above the training grounds. She stood at the door and saluted:

"Commander"

The pony at the desk in front of her, gave a feeble salute and returned to look at his papers:

"Yes Lieutenant, come in"

"I wanted to give you the report of today's training" Lisa calmly said as she stood at attention.

"Yes Brown, go ahead" The older pony sighed and set his papers aside.

"Sir, all recruits have finished the first training course" Lisa firmly said, waited a moment then added: "...except one"

"So?" the commander shrugged "Boot him"

Lisa shuffled in place: "Thats what I wanted to discuss"

The commander looked at her in mild confusion. Lisa remained quiet for over a minute and the commander released a tired sigh:

"Lieutenant, we've been working together for how long?"

"Three years sir" Lisa nodded.

"I know you long enough to trust your judgement." the pony sighed "So what is it?"

"Sir" Lisa firmly nodded "He finished the course in seven hours. His physical condition is unacceptable. In his current state, he will become a significant burden to the team" She waited a moment then blinked: "And I want him to continue the Wonderbolt training"

The commanders eyebrows flew up. He sat in silence for a minute before he firmly looked at Lisa:

"Why"

"Sir, the recruit showed uncanny determination and will power" Lisa took a step forward in enthusiasm: "The Wonderbolts needs ponies who will not back down from a fight. Ponies who will not quit, when there's no point going on, when there is no hope for them left. Ponies who will push themselves to the limit to do the right thing, no matter the odds. He has that" Lisa firmly looked at the commander:

"Yes, he can't run for an hour without collapsing from exhaustion, but he pushes forward. He doesn't quit. Isn't that what we need right now?"

"Damn it Brown" the commander leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes.

"Let him take the rest of the tests" Lisa said, stepping forward: "Maybe we'll find something he's good at" She pointed to herself:

"I will take responsibility for the consequences"

The commander looked firmly into her eyes for several moments before he finally asked:

"Why are you so determined to give him a chance?"

"He doesn't quit" Lisa firmly replied with a stone cold expression "...maybe he won't quit when-"

The commander sighed "...so, thats what this is about..." he rubbed his forehead with a tired expression then nodded: "Very well, Lieutenant. He stays. Until their exams are over. If he fails, he's out. Something goes wrong, he gets injured and its your head"

"Thank you sir" Lisa nodded with a small smile, turned around and marched outside of the office.

Her commander remained sitting alone at his desk, watching the closed door for several silent minutes before he sighed, rubbing his eyes:

"...you can't rewrite the past... Lieutenant..."