The Mane Six Militia and The Shadow of a Phantom

That night Ditsy waited for most of the town to settle down before leaving her room. She trotted quietly through the streets, listening to the various insects and nocturnal creatures that ruled the night. The occasional guard passed by without so much as a second glance in her direction, some she recognized, others she didn't. The school came into view a minute or so later, the tree tops that loomed over the grounds from behind the school were illuminated by the familiar glow of fire. As she trotted around the school she discovered the source of the flames to be torches which were distributed throughout the yard in no particular order. In the middle of it all was Kumori, who lay sleeping peacefully, not yet aware of Ditsy's arrival.

     Ditsy approached him slowly at first, not wanting to startle him. She successfully crossed the yard without alerting the sleeping Pegasus and gently nudged his for-leg with her hoof. She wasn't ready for what happened next.

     Kumori woke with a start, jumping up and knocking Ditsy to the ground before pinning her by her wings. Ditsy cried out in freight and panic as she covered her face with her hooves. "Kumori Its Me!" She panicked.

    Kumori's gaze softened and his face betrayed shame as he realized what he had done. As quickly as he had attacked her he jumped back. "Ditsy, I'm sorry I-I just, I don't know, you scared me and." He scolded himself for being so careless. "I didn't hurt you did I?"

    It took a moment for the look of freight to fade from her face as she took to her hooves and backed away from him. Her breathing became steady as she began to calm herself. "W-what was that?" Fear became concern in an instant. 'What has him so frightened?' She asked herself.

    "I don't know, I just, I mean you have to understand I-I was having another nightmare before you arrived and when you woke me-" Kumori was trying desperately to justify his actions but couldn't find the words to do so.

    "Another? Kumori how often do you have these dreams?" Ditsy began to visibly relax and took a few steps toward Kumori.

    "Yes, another, I have them quite frequently." He was beginning to feel better once  he realized Ditsy was not hurt or angry with him. "Its nothing really, just a dream."

     "Kumori that wasn't nothing, what's going on?" She pursued the subject, fishing for an answer to his fear.

     "Its just a dream Ditsy, I'm awake now. Please do not worry about me."

     "No!" Ditsy stamped her hoof to the ground. "You said you trusted me, I want to know what's wrong. Keeping things like that bottled up will only lead to more problems."

     'Again with this defiance' Kumori thought to himself, remembering Rainbow Dash's spat with him over his secrecy. At first he had thought their probing was influenced by nothing other than curiosity but the more he got to know these ponies he came to understand that there was a possibility they honestly cared. Kumori sighed and decided to cut his losses as he sat on the soft grass of the school's yard. "Okay." He breathed. Ditsy took her spot beside him but made sure to give him room to breathe.

     "Its alright Kumori, you can talk to me." Ditsy spoke in as soft and caring a voice she could manage.

     This seemed to be enough to comfort him enough to explain. "Its usually the same dream. I'm back in Solandia, in my old town carrying on with my every day life. A bell tolls in the distance after a short period of time. None of the ponies seem to know what it means seeing as it had been so long since anypony had heard it. Its a warning of an oncoming threat. By the time anypony figures it out the sky turns red as if on fire and the Solandian army begins their sweep of the town. The local guards do not share their loyalty to the throne so they fight to defend the town. Of course our defenses fall within minutes and the Solandian force begin to slaughter every unicorn and anypony foolish enough to defend them. At this point, I begin to panic, searching for my friend. I spot her, hiding beneath a cart with her hooves over her head sobbing. I take off as fast as I can in her direction but it seems like I am going nowhere. The streets grow longer the faster I gallop. That's when I see a Solandian soldier pull her from beneath the cart, she fights back, driven by fear but she is quickly overpowered. The soldier draws his sword and, and... H-he-" Unable to continue he breaks down in an instant, collapsing to the ground and hiding his muzzle as he begins to sob.

    Ditsy didn't need him to finish the story, her heart ached for him. Even the strongest of ponies fall victim to emotion. She couldn't imagine having to re-live such an experience every time she lay her head down to rest. With only a seconds hesitation she lay down beside him, covering him with one of her wings as he let his emotions pour from his heart, accompanied by his tears. She gently nuzzles the side of his neck, doing everything in her power to calm the Pegasus. She waited patiently until his sobs converted to the occasional tear and sniffle. "I'm sorry you have to deal with that. You just have to remember its all a dream. I understand you don't have power over your what is done or your dreams but you can make the decision on whether or not you will let it affect you, and if you ever truly need somepony to talk to just come find me, no matter the time. I may not be able to do much but I can always offer an ear to listen and a wing to cry under." She put on the most reassuring and friendly smile she could muster as Kumori turned his head to face her.

    He had to admit that telling her this was like lifting a weight from his shoulders. "I really appreciate it Ditsy. Its been a while since anypony made such an effort to care, it just hurts. Like a wound that won't heal." He whispered.

    "I may never know how that feels, and I hope to keep it that way. I know I can't replace your friend, but I can try to numb the pain if you'll let me." Ditsy cooed.

     "Thank you Ditsy, but I think for now I'll just let it pass. I made you a promise for tonight." He reminded her.

     Ditzy accepted this and nodded her head. "So, where do I start?"

"Well." Kumori started as he got back to his hooves. "I was thinking about it. If your serious about this then the first thing I think you need to work on is wing strength."

     "Okay?"

     "One second." He told her before trotting over to the small shack in the corner of the yard. He emerged with two small cement bricks with rope tied around them slung over his back. He dropped them in front of her. "Its going to hurt, but if you're truly serious I'm going to tie one of these to each of your wings. All you have to do is keep your wings outstretched for the night." Kumori was half hoping this would be enough to disdain her from following through with her plan to fight. He suddenly wished he had refused her request in the first place.

     "Whatever it takes." Ditzy stated with confidence. She got to her own hooves and unfurled her wings parallel to the ground.

     Kumori sighed and picked up the first of the weights and tied it just before the tip of her wing. As he released the weight Ditzy's wing dropped a bit before she was able to catch it. It was much more difficult than she thought it would be and she hadn't even started. "Ditzy are you sure?"

     "Yes." Ditzy gave him another weak smile of reassurance.

     "Alright." This time Ditzy was ready for the weight and was able to keep her wing steady as Kumori released the weight. "If you succeed, I'll teach you everything I know." Kumori told her before taking a few steps back and curling up on the ground.

    Ditzy nodded in approval but was suddenly faced with doubt. How was she supposed to keep her wings outstretched for the whole night when they were already becoming sore under the weight.

     Kumori knew the task was practically impossible and felt terrible he had set her up to fail, especially after she had just finished comforting him but he felt it was for her own good. This exercise was not designed to cause muscle failure. Any Pegasus could accomplish the task if it were not for pain. This exercise was designed to cause pain and fatigue to warp the mind into thinking the weights were heavier than they were. Thus creating the illusion of muscle failure. He closed his eyes, feigning sleep so as to keep an eye on the gray mare who had already started showing signs of discomfort. This wouldn't take long.

     A faint glow of light shown upon Kumori's face as he blinked his eyes a few times. He hadn't recalled falling asleep and thus was confused when the first rays of sunlight shone across the yard. That was when he remembered Ditzy.

     Her entire body was shaking and tears stained the fur on her face. She was gritting her teeth and had her eyes shut tight in concentration. Each breath seemed to catch in her throat as quiet growls escaped her muzzle accompanied by an occasional whimper. To his surprise, her wings remained outstretched as they had been when he had first laid down. "Ditzy! What are you doing!?" Kumori exclaimed in disbelief. He could only imagine the pain she was in. "Drop your wings!" He ordered, almost angry she would do this to herself.

     Ditzy dropped to the ground, her wings to sore even to fold them to her sides as they lay on the ground on either side of her. She was crying now, not only her wings but her whole body felt as if it were on fire.

     Kumori hurried to her side and untied the ropes that bound her wings to the bricks. He was even more upset when he saw the marks the ropes had left around her wings. 'But how?' Kumori asked himself. He had known warriors twice her size and strength that would have crippled under such a task. He looked over her trembling body with a sharp pain of guilt. He had done this to her, set her up to fail and caused her pain in an attempt to crush her will to fight even after she had done nothing but comfort him. Sure his intentions had been well but who was he to decide her fate in such a manner? Yet she had unknowingly defied him. "Ditzy." He whispered to himself as he lay beside the quivering mare. The name suddenly took on a whole new meaning to him.

    Despite the pain she was in she turned her head to face him with a smile. "I did it." She managed to whisper before passing out, her head falling to the ground.

     Kumori lifted her head gently and placed it on her hooves that lay in front of her. "I'm so sorry." He told the unconscious mare as he nuzzled her cheek and lay a wing across her back in a rare display of affection. "A deals a deal." He spent the day by her side, watching over her as she took her well deserved rest.