Black Nightshade The Night Guard Originsby Black NightshadeChaptersPrologue: IntroductionsChapter 1: Unusual 1'st DayChapter 2: A Talk Among KinChapter 4: A Tear in the RanksChapter 5: The Cadet and The BatPrologue: Introductions"So... you maggot's think your good enough to be Night Guards, do you?" said the drill sergeant, his green slitted eyes looking at the young males and females standing to attention, not daring to follow his steely gaze. "Well guess what..." Like a flash, he got in the face of a young male and yelled, making the cadet's ears flatten due to the noise. "YOUR NOT! If you already had what the Night Guard was looking for, you'd be made a Guard right on the spot..." he got in the face of another male and started him straight in the eye, making his legs start to shake. "What about you hot shot? Think you got what it takes?" said the Sergeant and the male shook his head, his brown eyes wide with fear. "N-n-no sir!" said the Cadet with a shaky voice to which the sergeant nodded, a sly smile on his face and walked up the second row; most of the earth ponies were shifting uncomfortably, sweating, or clearing their throats... all except one female. The sergeant stopped dead in his tracks: the Pegasus, if she could even be called that, was staring straight ahead, two large bat wings tucked behind her back, her punky blue and black mane standing straight up, her tail twitched and her blue slitted eyes blinked. "Well well well, we have a Bat Pony here. Where you from maggot?" the sergeant asked, getting straight in the pony's face, but she remained stoic, not moving a muscle. "Sir, I'm from a place called the Sapphire caves Sir!" she said, her voice showing confidence and she continued to stare ahead, even as the sergeant walked behind her, lifting his hoof to her large wings and touching the membrane. She shuddered but kept her attention focused straight ahead. "I've never seen wings like yours before Cadet, how did you get them?" The sergeant asked and the Bat Pony snapped off, her voice crisp and clear, like flowing water. "Sir, my mother was an Earth Pony and my father a Dragon/Bat Pony cross. I gained his wings size and Bat Pony characteristics Sir!" she finished, a slight clicking sound coming from her mouth and the sergeant swore he saw sharp, long incisors poking under her lips. "Thank you Cadet, that will be all!" said the sergeant, the Bat saluting before he walked back to stand in front of the other cadets. "Well, welcome to the first day of your 3 weeks of boot camp Maggots. Your captain will take you to your bunks. If you have a bunk mate, suck it up! DISMISSED!" yelled the Drill Sergeant, snapping a crisp salute and walking back the way he came. The ponies started to move, the Bat Pony stretching from standing for so long and yawned. Ever since arriving from her comfy home, she had been stared at, whispered about her looks, and for her clothes which was a high collar shirt and black spider web dress. However, she'd soon show them, she'd show them all how strong she was. A few minutes later, the Bat Pony entered the small two bedded bunk, as the Captain, a pony with raven black hair and a flying uniform, held the door open. "So, you're the Bat Pony huh? Nice to have you here." he said, as the Bat Pony placed a small carry bag on the bottom bunk, looking back at the Captain. "Thank you Captain." said the Bat Pony and he nodded, closing the door. The door clicked in the frame and the Bat Pony looked around once again, her ears twitching as she got used to the strange sounds, until... "Oh my, I didn't expect to see you standing there!" The Bat Pony jumped, turning around to see a green female Pegasus standing in the bathroom door, steam slowly escaping from under her fetlocks 'How did I not hear the water running? Could be she just finished.' The Bat Pony thought and walked over to her bag, beginning to organise the contents when the mare came walking across. "No don't, relax. i'll deal with your stuff for you." she said, The Bat Pony taking a few steps back. "Thank you." she said, the mare smiling and getting to work with the Bat Pony's bag... A few seconds later, The Bat Pony was examining the clean and organised placing of her items and turned to see the mare had dried herself off and hung her towel up, her long blonde mane spilling out. "I'm Swift, nice to meet you." She stuck a hoof out and the Bat Pony held her hoof up, then grabbed Swift's hoof and shook it. "I'm Black, Black Nightshade. Nice to meet you too." said Black, a small trace of a smile adorning her lips, as Swift smiled as well. Chapter 1: Unusual 1'st DayAWWOOOOOGA! AWwOOOOOGA! "WAKE UP MAGGOT'S! NO TIME TO SLEEP IN, YOUR DAY BEGINS!" screamed the Captain as he kicked every door in, Black groaning but getting up and seeing Swift following as well, her mane a mess and her wings spread eagle. "Morning Black, sleep well?" Swift asked, but the Captain eyeballed them with a look that said, "No Talking, More Moving!" Groaning, mumbling, yawning and stretching, Black, Swift and all the other Cadets moved sluggishly to the large training field, the moon immediately making Black more alert and awake. Swift saw her crack her limbs and chuckled, her mouth in a cute smile. "I wish I could do that." Swift said before the screaming voice of the Captain ordered them to get into 4 lines. "Stand next to me." Swift asked and Black stood next to her. "ATTENTION!" yelled the Drill Sergeant and with a SNAP, Black snapped to attention, the others took a while but got to attention as well. "15 minutes..." The Sergeant snapped the lid closed on a pocket watch and placed it inside his jacket before staring at the Cadets, who looked ready to go back to sleep. "Oh for the love of Luna... WAKE UP!" The cadets jumped, some yelped but they snapped to attention very quickly. "I WANT ALL YOU TO HEAR THIS, SO MAKE YOUR EARS LISTEN TIGHT! NEXT TIME YOUR LATE TO MORNING REVEILLE, I'LL POUR WATER ON ALL YOUR HEADS! IS THAT UNDERSTOOD MAGGOTS!" "YES SIR!" the Cadets sounded off. "Good... Welcome to your first day! I'm telling you this now, most of you will not want to stay after today. Today will be close quarters combat, each cadet will pair up with an Instructor and attempt to put them on the ground. This will be an all day activity, and to make it a bit easier, the Instructors are discarding their armour and weapons." The Cadets looked at the group of male Instructors eying them, as the removed their armour and helmets, their eyes turning back to orbs and the points on the ears returning to normal. "Magic armour. Imbued by only the best Arcane Studiers. All Cadets will be supplied a full set of Enchanted Armour until they get their Personalized Set when they graduate." said the Sergeant as the Instructors rubbed their front hooves together eagerly. "So... who's first?" A Few Minutes Later. The sun was now out and burning on the Cadet's fur, making the smell of sweat making some of the Cadet's gag. The Instructors were dealing with the Cadet's one at a time, the ones who weren't able to keep up were being walked to a field nearby. Over by the Instructors, Black was trying to keep up with her Instructor but a sudden punch made her fall to the ground. "Come on Cadet, your not even trying!" said the Instructor who was standing over Black, her body heaving under exhaustion. By now most of the Cadets had already given up and were doing push ups as a punishment. Swift was still going, being quite able to handle herself with her hooves, blocking and trying to strike but getting nowhere. "Sir, I'm trying..." "Trying won't get you anywhere in battle, you need to be better." said the Instructor, watching as Black got up... slowly! "Urgh, come on Cadet! Anytime now!" said the Instructor and kicked out with his back hoof, making her fall again. "Do you give up Cadet, there's no shame in giving up?" asked the Instructor and Swift, while ion the middle of a right uppercut, looked at Black. "Don't give up Black!" she shouted, making Black look over but was stopped as the Instructor's hoof blocked her view. "Don't focus on her Cadet, focus on your training!" said another Instructor, holding his hooves up and Swift readying herself for another bout. Black stared at the ground, her hooves digging a hole in the ground when the Instructor loomed next to her, a sneer on his face. "I still haven't got an answer Cadet?" the Instructor asked, when suddenly something miraculous happened; Black shot off the ground, grabbed the Instructor's head and pinned him to the ground, her eyebrows in an angry look. "DO YOU GIVE UP! DO YOU?!" Black screamed and the Instructor tapped his hoof 3 times, Black releasing her grip and standing up, sighing heavily. "Who's next?" she said, her fangs glinting off the sun. Swift was amazed. In the short time she knew Black, she never would have imagined how short her fuse was; One second she was on the ground, being told to give up, the next she was issuing a challenge to all the other Instructors. "Cadet, control yourself!" said The Sergeant, Black's temper returning to normal and the Instructor, rubbing his sore throat, picked himself up and looked at Black. "She has some strength to her, I'll give her that." said the Instructor, walking over to Black, who had now calmed down and was swigging down a cold drink of water. "You did well Cadet, have some well deserved time off." said the Instructor, giving her a crisp salute and trotting away. "Wow, that was amazing Black, you sure have some combat talent... but how did you pin him? You looked ready to do the punishment. " said Swift, pointing to the Punishment Patch, where half the ponies were collapsed from exhaustion. "I... I don't know! I just felt a flare of anger and he was in my way..." said Black when suddenly Swift pointed behind Black, nodding to the Drill Sergeant coming towards them. "Ah, Cadet... Nightshade, was it?" said the Drill Sergeant, walking up with a different Instructor, this one had a smutty face and was covered with a layer of oil and grease. "Sir!" Black saluted and the Sergeant returned the salute and gestured to the stallion beside him, his eyes piercing Black like a dagger. "This is Ore, he's the Night Guard's Blacksmith. He'll help you select your weapon of choice. But after of course, you have some more close quarters practice." Said the Drill Sergeant and Black saluted them both, and they walked away. "Did you hear that? The Blacksmith has an interest in your weaponry! That's amazing!" said Swift and Black rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. "Well thank you Swift, but I'm just a simply Bat Pony. I'm nothing special." said Black, but Swift shook her head, her gaze firm. "No, you ARE special. Did you know, that Instructor you pinned, he's never been pinned before, not even by Captains of the guard. You've done the impossible, Black." said Swift, Black's eyes widening as she looked at the Instructor, who was still rubbing his throat. "I'm the first one to pin that Instructor? Your not joking?" Black asked, looking at her hooves in disbelief, and then at the Instructor. "That's amazing..." she said to herself, as she walked off towards the relaxation hall. Chapter 2: A Talk Among Kin"Captain, it's 4 in the morning... why am I being requested this early?" Black asked, a yawn escaping her mouth as she trotted behind the Captain who had awoken her: Since the close combat training day, the whole camp had been buzzing with the rumour that one of the toughest Instructors, who had a reputation for never being tackled, was taken down by a Cadet. "The sergeant has requested your presence." said the Captain, turning his head to meet Black's eyes, which were now perky and alert, akin to them being droopy and fatigued a few minutes ago. A few seconds later, the Captain and Black were in front of a tent adorned with all four phases of the Moon. The Captain pulled back the tarp and stood aside. "He'll see you now." said the Captain and Black gulped... then walked in. She did not expect what she found inside; on one wall were posters with the royal insignia of Princess Luna, pictures of her with older stallions, and a large frame with the Princess in her royal armour, holding a large lancer. On the other wall, was several weapons of varying sizes, some she recognised as a hunting dagger, to a two handed broadsword. But what was most impressive, was on the wall behind the Sergeant's desk; in the mouth of what looked like a frozen Timberwolf, was the longest War Axe she had ever seen! Larger then her fathers axe for chopping down trees outside her home, it easily measured 40 feet and the blade was 40 inches in diameter and was a deep royal blue and was... glittering? "Welcome Cadet. Ah, I see your admiring my Moon Slicer." Black jumped. The Sergeant, towel up to his face, was walking into the room from somewhere Black hadn't noticed and she snapped to attention, her hooves muffled on the carpeted floor. "Sergeant, Sir!" she yelped, saluting hard enough to smack her head. "Oww..." she said to herself, which made the Sergeant chuckle "At ease Cadet, please." he said, moving his towel off his face and walked over to the Axe, touching it's handle. as soon as his hooves touched the wood, it flared with a brilliant glow, Black gasping in amazement. "It's magically forged, gifted by my father before he passed away." The Sergeant pulled the axe down, sagging a little under it's weight, before adjusting himself. "This amazing weapon helped my father's father win the war against the tyrant King Sombra, before Her Majesty turned him into a Nightmare Guard." said the Sergeant. Black shivered. Her uncle had told her about the Nightmare Guards: Night Guards that were influenced by Nightmare Moon, who helped spread her fearful reign across Equestria. Her uncle had said, that a group of special Night Guards had dared to wage a fight against their corrupted comrades, and their Princess. They won, but suffered massive causalities... many great soldiers died all those years ago. "My father stole this weapon from his father and led the charge against Her Majesty... he suffered terrible injuries, but still had strength to bequeath this Axe to me. I treasure it always." said the Sergeant, placing the Axe back in the Timberwolves mouth. "But enough about the Axe, I wanted to speak with you." "Oh yes." said Black, her ear twitched as she took a seat and the Sergeant sat down on his desk chair, resting his chin in his hooves. "Your victory over Instructor Plowfield has created quite the rumour. What I wanted to ask, was how you managed to beat him?" The Sergeant asked, licking the tip of an eagle feather quill and a roll of parchment. "Oh. Well umm... I just felt a burst of strength and he was in my way. So... I just tackled him to the ground." said Black, while the Sergeant scratched away on the parchment. "I see.. can you tell me more about this strength burst?" the Sergeant asked and Black cleared her throat. "I don't know how it happened, I just saw red then saw his back hooves in my face... and the next moment I was standing up, looking at him with a strength I've never possessed before." "Wait... you saw red? Are you sure?" the Sergeant asked, his quill paused and his slitted eyes staring straight at Black, wide with amazement and fear. "I'm pretty sure that was all... why?" Black asked. "Umm, no reason... no reason at all..." the Sergeant trailed off, writing in the parchment then placing the quill on the desk. "Thank you for the talk, now go and try to get some sleep. Today is Arial Combat with the Night Guard armour. Your going to need to be alert for this one!" said the sergeant and Black nodded, getting up from the seat. "Thank you for the talk, Sarge." said Black, snapping a salute and running out of the tent, flapping her huge wings and flying back to the barracks. "...She can't be..." said the Sergeant, pulling a drawer open on his desk and pulling out a picture. In the frame was the Sergeant himself, Princess Luna, a Bat Pony stallion with a scar over his right eye and a bundle of blankets in his hooves, two large bumps resembling wings. The sergeant looked from to the picture to the open flap, quietly swinging in the wind. "Is it?" he asked... then chuckled and placed the picture back in the drawer. "No, I don't think so." he said, picking up the quill and resuming his scratching. Chapter 4: A Tear in the RanksIt had been 3 days since Black had the small talk with the Drill Sergeant and since then, a lot of the Cadet's had been whispering almost every day: once she caught a stallion ask, while she was punching a bag full of foam why she wore tight exercise clothes while training. Another time she was rudely asked if her eyes were contacts by a stallion who wore the uniform of a Tech Analyser. From the training room, to the cafeteria, she swore she heard one of the Cadet's ask from a table a little ways away. "Doesn't she drink blood? I didn't think she could eat food like us "normal" ponies!" Even though this made her angry, she held it in, only telling Swift who told her exactly what Black thought as much, to just ignore them and go somewhere else. "Why has the Sergeant been shooting me looks today? I'm not in trouble am I?" Black said to herself, shifting uncomfortably in the Night Guard Armour and looking at her other Cadet's, a slight smile on her face. The Cadet's had now progressed to the Night Guard Armour Training, wearing armour with no wings so they can focus on their last ground combat before upgrading to the Winged Armour and the Arial Combat Training. Black looked over the armour one more time: The helmet was designed to look intimidating, with a purple hue and a Waxing Gibbous moon phase on the front. The points were styled to look like Bat Pony wings and the chest plate was adorned with 4 sharp points and in the middle was a large slitted eye, showing the changes to the wearer's eyes. Along the front and back legs, were multiple guards with a purple cross like shape, and bulky shoulder plates. On their back, draping past their left leg, was a small cape with the Lunar Republic crest emblazoned. 'Like the mark on my flank... what does it mean?' Black thought to herself when suddenly, a stallion wearing the same armour, but carrying the helmet in one leg, gave a crisp clear of his throat, making the cadet's snap to attention. "Alright Cadet's, welcome to the first of 5 days of Armour Training. As you can see, the Armour alters you somewhat but don't worry, the changes aren't permanent." said the Instructor who was holding a Guard's helm under his hoof. Just as he was about to demonstrate how to place the helm, a hoof from the fourth row shot into the air. "Yes Cadet?" said the Instructor and the Cadet, an Earth Pony with a chestnut coat and blonde mane stepped out of line. "Well Sir..." he started and cleared his throat before finishing with "Does that mean that Batty is out then?" Several Cadet's started to laugh, and Black started to shake. She had had enough of being teased and was about to rush towards him but Swift held her back by the base of her large wings. "Black! Ignore and move? Ignore and mooove…" said Swift, but her words fell on deaf ears. "You want to rumble big boy? Cause I've had enough of the name's, the questions on my attire, and my EYES!" She stared at the Tech Analyst, who was walking into a tent with a Laptop on the sign above with a black moon on the lid. "Whatever. Your just a Cave Dweller who will NEVER, be a Night Guard!" said the Cadet, getting in Black's face. A chorus of gasp's and whispers arose from the Cadet's. "Silence! Quiet everypony!" said the Instructor but no-pony was listening. Black was livid! Her eyes were so tight, the pupils were in the white of her eyes. it is offensive where she came from, to be called a Cave Dweller. "What... did... you... just... call... ME!" Black said, her fangs extended and were digging into her lower lip. "You heard me, I called you a Cave Dweller! Cause isn't that where you came from?" said the Cadet and Black prowled forward, like a predator. "You and me, the Combat Ring, 5 minutes!" said Black, tapping the Cadet in the armoured chest and flapping her wings, turned away, and walking back in line. The Cadet, with a shocked look, was about to move forward and say something, when 3 Instructors got between the both of them, one holding the Cadet back and the other two blocking Black from moving or attacking. "Umm... okay, Practice is canceled! Cadet's, meet the Sergeant in his tent in 1 minute! NO excuses!" said the Instructor, as the both of them were going to protest. "Oh and one more thing... if any of us hear that racist slur EVER again, you'll be immediately sent home, and will not be allowed to be re-enrolled! Is that understood?" said the Instructor and Black and the Cadet both nodded. "Good, now get moving! The Sergeant doesn't like to be kept waiting." said the Instructor and trotted away. Black watched him walk, his armour clicking and clacking as it moved around his body. "Well, let's go... I don't want to keep the Sarge!" said Black, taking off the helm and holding it with her large wing. "Come on, hustle Cadet!" Black said, her voice trailing off. With a huff, the Cadet rolled his eyes and followed after Black, grumbling all the while. Chapter 5: The Cadet and The Bat"How long must we stand here? I'm getting cold!" said the Cadet, his body shivering from a sudden wind that came from nowhere. "The Sarge is a busy stallion don't forget, I expect he has papers to write, or reports to file..." said Black, keeping her gaze averted from the Cadet. Ever since the stallion called Black a 'Cave Dweller', she had mainly kept her eyes away from him, while he continued to tut and moan, even as they waited outside the green tent. "...and on top of the frost every morning... Wait, Sarge?" The Cadet stared at Black, his eyes piercing the back of Black's head. " Why are you calling the Sergeant by a nickname? What, you get special privileges do you, Slitty?" the Cadet said, lifting one hoof but just then, the Sergeant pushed the flap open. "Ah, Cadet Nightshade and Cadet Blade... Welcome. Please, come on in..." said the Sergeant, moving aside and letting Black and Cadet Blade in. While Blade stared at the wall's, Black moved straight to the other two chairs, placed the helm on the floor, and sat down. "Mister Blade, please take a seat." said the Sergeant and pointed to the other seat, Blade snapping his attention from the weapon above the Sergeant and sat down on the second seat. Once Blade was comfortable, Black cleared her throat and looked at the Sergeant. "You wanted to see us Sarge?" Black asked, her wings twitching and avoiding the steely glare and frown of Blade, who was getting angrier and angrier by the second. But even before he could lash out, the Sergeant held his hoof up, silencing Blade . "I've heard, that Mr Blade here, had called you a Cave Dweller. Is this true, Miss Shade?" the Sergeant asked and Black nodded, making him sigh. "Mr Blade, you do realise that is a highly, HIGHLY, racial slur and should never be said. Do you realise that, don't you?" said the Sergeant and Blade pointed at Black, who looked calm while he started his long held rant. "But why is she here? She's a BAT PONY, one of the nightmare spawn of Nightmare Moon. Why is she going through the Cadet's? She should just go home, she doesn't belong here! How does this..." he accentuated this by gesturing at Black, who's eyes was wide but her face remained stoic. "...give peace to the Citizen's of Canterlot?! That city was ground zero of Nightmare Moon's attack, and the fear fog still looms! She'll just make their fear increase! She should just leave, leave and return to the hole she came back from!" The Cadet said, his hoof falling to his side and his heavy breathing was slowly returning to normal. "Well... I can see why you have this... hate... to Bat Pony's, but does that relate to me too?" he asked, removing his cap and revealing the pointed ears underneath. "Does your reasoning include me being the Sergeant of the Night Guard? Do you think I should return back to where I came from, leave and go back to my home?" "Well... no I don't think..." he said, but the Sergeant cut him off. "Because I've worked hard, to get here. Hard, to work my way from my Grandfathers shadow and our name being recognised and not slandered. Hard, to bring us, the Night Guard, back from the shadows. And even Cadet Shade." He nodded at Black, who was staring with a look that would make a Timberwolf freeze. "She has her own reason's why she's in the Night Guard Cadet's." "Now I suggest, that you two find some common ground and focus on becoming the best Guards you can be. 2nd week starts soon, and that's the week we focus on weapons. Now go on." The Sergeant dipped the Phoenix Feather Quill in the inkpot and started scratching on a piece of parchment. Blade stood and briskly walked out, Black moving to follow but was stopped by the Sergeant clearing his throat. Black turned to see him put the quill on his desk and made his eyes bore into Black's blue orbs. "Black, please alert the Instructor if Cadet Blade calls you a racist slur again. I'll deal with him in a professional manner." said the Sergeant and Black snapped a salute, turned on her heel and walked out. As the tent flap closed, the Sergeant opened the drawer again and pulled out the picture from last time, looking closely at the bundle of blankets. "Oh Commander... What have I gotten into with your daughter?" the sergeant said to himself, running a hoof over the filly's face.
Prologue: Introductions"So... you maggot's think your good enough to be Night Guards, do you?" said the drill sergeant, his green slitted eyes looking at the young males and females standing to attention, not daring to follow his steely gaze. "Well guess what..." Like a flash, he got in the face of a young male and yelled, making the cadet's ears flatten due to the noise. "YOUR NOT! If you already had what the Night Guard was looking for, you'd be made a Guard right on the spot..." he got in the face of another male and started him straight in the eye, making his legs start to shake. "What about you hot shot? Think you got what it takes?" said the Sergeant and the male shook his head, his brown eyes wide with fear. "N-n-no sir!" said the Cadet with a shaky voice to which the sergeant nodded, a sly smile on his face and walked up the second row; most of the earth ponies were shifting uncomfortably, sweating, or clearing their throats... all except one female. The sergeant stopped dead in his tracks: the Pegasus, if she could even be called that, was staring straight ahead, two large bat wings tucked behind her back, her punky blue and black mane standing straight up, her tail twitched and her blue slitted eyes blinked. "Well well well, we have a Bat Pony here. Where you from maggot?" the sergeant asked, getting straight in the pony's face, but she remained stoic, not moving a muscle. "Sir, I'm from a place called the Sapphire caves Sir!" she said, her voice showing confidence and she continued to stare ahead, even as the sergeant walked behind her, lifting his hoof to her large wings and touching the membrane. She shuddered but kept her attention focused straight ahead. "I've never seen wings like yours before Cadet, how did you get them?" The sergeant asked and the Bat Pony snapped off, her voice crisp and clear, like flowing water. "Sir, my mother was an Earth Pony and my father a Dragon/Bat Pony cross. I gained his wings size and Bat Pony characteristics Sir!" she finished, a slight clicking sound coming from her mouth and the sergeant swore he saw sharp, long incisors poking under her lips. "Thank you Cadet, that will be all!" said the sergeant, the Bat saluting before he walked back to stand in front of the other cadets. "Well, welcome to the first day of your 3 weeks of boot camp Maggots. Your captain will take you to your bunks. If you have a bunk mate, suck it up! DISMISSED!" yelled the Drill Sergeant, snapping a crisp salute and walking back the way he came. The ponies started to move, the Bat Pony stretching from standing for so long and yawned. Ever since arriving from her comfy home, she had been stared at, whispered about her looks, and for her clothes which was a high collar shirt and black spider web dress. However, she'd soon show them, she'd show them all how strong she was. A few minutes later, the Bat Pony entered the small two bedded bunk, as the Captain, a pony with raven black hair and a flying uniform, held the door open. "So, you're the Bat Pony huh? Nice to have you here." he said, as the Bat Pony placed a small carry bag on the bottom bunk, looking back at the Captain. "Thank you Captain." said the Bat Pony and he nodded, closing the door. The door clicked in the frame and the Bat Pony looked around once again, her ears twitching as she got used to the strange sounds, until... "Oh my, I didn't expect to see you standing there!" The Bat Pony jumped, turning around to see a green female Pegasus standing in the bathroom door, steam slowly escaping from under her fetlocks 'How did I not hear the water running? Could be she just finished.' The Bat Pony thought and walked over to her bag, beginning to organise the contents when the mare came walking across. "No don't, relax. i'll deal with your stuff for you." she said, The Bat Pony taking a few steps back. "Thank you." she said, the mare smiling and getting to work with the Bat Pony's bag... A few seconds later, The Bat Pony was examining the clean and organised placing of her items and turned to see the mare had dried herself off and hung her towel up, her long blonde mane spilling out. "I'm Swift, nice to meet you." She stuck a hoof out and the Bat Pony held her hoof up, then grabbed Swift's hoof and shook it. "I'm Black, Black Nightshade. Nice to meet you too." said Black, a small trace of a smile adorning her lips, as Swift smiled as well.
Chapter 1: Unusual 1'st DayAWWOOOOOGA! AWwOOOOOGA! "WAKE UP MAGGOT'S! NO TIME TO SLEEP IN, YOUR DAY BEGINS!" screamed the Captain as he kicked every door in, Black groaning but getting up and seeing Swift following as well, her mane a mess and her wings spread eagle. "Morning Black, sleep well?" Swift asked, but the Captain eyeballed them with a look that said, "No Talking, More Moving!" Groaning, mumbling, yawning and stretching, Black, Swift and all the other Cadets moved sluggishly to the large training field, the moon immediately making Black more alert and awake. Swift saw her crack her limbs and chuckled, her mouth in a cute smile. "I wish I could do that." Swift said before the screaming voice of the Captain ordered them to get into 4 lines. "Stand next to me." Swift asked and Black stood next to her. "ATTENTION!" yelled the Drill Sergeant and with a SNAP, Black snapped to attention, the others took a while but got to attention as well. "15 minutes..." The Sergeant snapped the lid closed on a pocket watch and placed it inside his jacket before staring at the Cadets, who looked ready to go back to sleep. "Oh for the love of Luna... WAKE UP!" The cadets jumped, some yelped but they snapped to attention very quickly. "I WANT ALL YOU TO HEAR THIS, SO MAKE YOUR EARS LISTEN TIGHT! NEXT TIME YOUR LATE TO MORNING REVEILLE, I'LL POUR WATER ON ALL YOUR HEADS! IS THAT UNDERSTOOD MAGGOTS!" "YES SIR!" the Cadets sounded off. "Good... Welcome to your first day! I'm telling you this now, most of you will not want to stay after today. Today will be close quarters combat, each cadet will pair up with an Instructor and attempt to put them on the ground. This will be an all day activity, and to make it a bit easier, the Instructors are discarding their armour and weapons." The Cadets looked at the group of male Instructors eying them, as the removed their armour and helmets, their eyes turning back to orbs and the points on the ears returning to normal. "Magic armour. Imbued by only the best Arcane Studiers. All Cadets will be supplied a full set of Enchanted Armour until they get their Personalized Set when they graduate." said the Sergeant as the Instructors rubbed their front hooves together eagerly. "So... who's first?" A Few Minutes Later. The sun was now out and burning on the Cadet's fur, making the smell of sweat making some of the Cadet's gag. The Instructors were dealing with the Cadet's one at a time, the ones who weren't able to keep up were being walked to a field nearby. Over by the Instructors, Black was trying to keep up with her Instructor but a sudden punch made her fall to the ground. "Come on Cadet, your not even trying!" said the Instructor who was standing over Black, her body heaving under exhaustion. By now most of the Cadets had already given up and were doing push ups as a punishment. Swift was still going, being quite able to handle herself with her hooves, blocking and trying to strike but getting nowhere. "Sir, I'm trying..." "Trying won't get you anywhere in battle, you need to be better." said the Instructor, watching as Black got up... slowly! "Urgh, come on Cadet! Anytime now!" said the Instructor and kicked out with his back hoof, making her fall again. "Do you give up Cadet, there's no shame in giving up?" asked the Instructor and Swift, while ion the middle of a right uppercut, looked at Black. "Don't give up Black!" she shouted, making Black look over but was stopped as the Instructor's hoof blocked her view. "Don't focus on her Cadet, focus on your training!" said another Instructor, holding his hooves up and Swift readying herself for another bout. Black stared at the ground, her hooves digging a hole in the ground when the Instructor loomed next to her, a sneer on his face. "I still haven't got an answer Cadet?" the Instructor asked, when suddenly something miraculous happened; Black shot off the ground, grabbed the Instructor's head and pinned him to the ground, her eyebrows in an angry look. "DO YOU GIVE UP! DO YOU?!" Black screamed and the Instructor tapped his hoof 3 times, Black releasing her grip and standing up, sighing heavily. "Who's next?" she said, her fangs glinting off the sun. Swift was amazed. In the short time she knew Black, she never would have imagined how short her fuse was; One second she was on the ground, being told to give up, the next she was issuing a challenge to all the other Instructors. "Cadet, control yourself!" said The Sergeant, Black's temper returning to normal and the Instructor, rubbing his sore throat, picked himself up and looked at Black. "She has some strength to her, I'll give her that." said the Instructor, walking over to Black, who had now calmed down and was swigging down a cold drink of water. "You did well Cadet, have some well deserved time off." said the Instructor, giving her a crisp salute and trotting away. "Wow, that was amazing Black, you sure have some combat talent... but how did you pin him? You looked ready to do the punishment. " said Swift, pointing to the Punishment Patch, where half the ponies were collapsed from exhaustion. "I... I don't know! I just felt a flare of anger and he was in my way..." said Black when suddenly Swift pointed behind Black, nodding to the Drill Sergeant coming towards them. "Ah, Cadet... Nightshade, was it?" said the Drill Sergeant, walking up with a different Instructor, this one had a smutty face and was covered with a layer of oil and grease. "Sir!" Black saluted and the Sergeant returned the salute and gestured to the stallion beside him, his eyes piercing Black like a dagger. "This is Ore, he's the Night Guard's Blacksmith. He'll help you select your weapon of choice. But after of course, you have some more close quarters practice." Said the Drill Sergeant and Black saluted them both, and they walked away. "Did you hear that? The Blacksmith has an interest in your weaponry! That's amazing!" said Swift and Black rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. "Well thank you Swift, but I'm just a simply Bat Pony. I'm nothing special." said Black, but Swift shook her head, her gaze firm. "No, you ARE special. Did you know, that Instructor you pinned, he's never been pinned before, not even by Captains of the guard. You've done the impossible, Black." said Swift, Black's eyes widening as she looked at the Instructor, who was still rubbing his throat. "I'm the first one to pin that Instructor? Your not joking?" Black asked, looking at her hooves in disbelief, and then at the Instructor. "That's amazing..." she said to herself, as she walked off towards the relaxation hall.
Chapter 2: A Talk Among Kin"Captain, it's 4 in the morning... why am I being requested this early?" Black asked, a yawn escaping her mouth as she trotted behind the Captain who had awoken her: Since the close combat training day, the whole camp had been buzzing with the rumour that one of the toughest Instructors, who had a reputation for never being tackled, was taken down by a Cadet. "The sergeant has requested your presence." said the Captain, turning his head to meet Black's eyes, which were now perky and alert, akin to them being droopy and fatigued a few minutes ago. A few seconds later, the Captain and Black were in front of a tent adorned with all four phases of the Moon. The Captain pulled back the tarp and stood aside. "He'll see you now." said the Captain and Black gulped... then walked in. She did not expect what she found inside; on one wall were posters with the royal insignia of Princess Luna, pictures of her with older stallions, and a large frame with the Princess in her royal armour, holding a large lancer. On the other wall, was several weapons of varying sizes, some she recognised as a hunting dagger, to a two handed broadsword. But what was most impressive, was on the wall behind the Sergeant's desk; in the mouth of what looked like a frozen Timberwolf, was the longest War Axe she had ever seen! Larger then her fathers axe for chopping down trees outside her home, it easily measured 40 feet and the blade was 40 inches in diameter and was a deep royal blue and was... glittering? "Welcome Cadet. Ah, I see your admiring my Moon Slicer." Black jumped. The Sergeant, towel up to his face, was walking into the room from somewhere Black hadn't noticed and she snapped to attention, her hooves muffled on the carpeted floor. "Sergeant, Sir!" she yelped, saluting hard enough to smack her head. "Oww..." she said to herself, which made the Sergeant chuckle "At ease Cadet, please." he said, moving his towel off his face and walked over to the Axe, touching it's handle. as soon as his hooves touched the wood, it flared with a brilliant glow, Black gasping in amazement. "It's magically forged, gifted by my father before he passed away." The Sergeant pulled the axe down, sagging a little under it's weight, before adjusting himself. "This amazing weapon helped my father's father win the war against the tyrant King Sombra, before Her Majesty turned him into a Nightmare Guard." said the Sergeant. Black shivered. Her uncle had told her about the Nightmare Guards: Night Guards that were influenced by Nightmare Moon, who helped spread her fearful reign across Equestria. Her uncle had said, that a group of special Night Guards had dared to wage a fight against their corrupted comrades, and their Princess. They won, but suffered massive causalities... many great soldiers died all those years ago. "My father stole this weapon from his father and led the charge against Her Majesty... he suffered terrible injuries, but still had strength to bequeath this Axe to me. I treasure it always." said the Sergeant, placing the Axe back in the Timberwolves mouth. "But enough about the Axe, I wanted to speak with you." "Oh yes." said Black, her ear twitched as she took a seat and the Sergeant sat down on his desk chair, resting his chin in his hooves. "Your victory over Instructor Plowfield has created quite the rumour. What I wanted to ask, was how you managed to beat him?" The Sergeant asked, licking the tip of an eagle feather quill and a roll of parchment. "Oh. Well umm... I just felt a burst of strength and he was in my way. So... I just tackled him to the ground." said Black, while the Sergeant scratched away on the parchment. "I see.. can you tell me more about this strength burst?" the Sergeant asked and Black cleared her throat. "I don't know how it happened, I just saw red then saw his back hooves in my face... and the next moment I was standing up, looking at him with a strength I've never possessed before." "Wait... you saw red? Are you sure?" the Sergeant asked, his quill paused and his slitted eyes staring straight at Black, wide with amazement and fear. "I'm pretty sure that was all... why?" Black asked. "Umm, no reason... no reason at all..." the Sergeant trailed off, writing in the parchment then placing the quill on the desk. "Thank you for the talk, now go and try to get some sleep. Today is Arial Combat with the Night Guard armour. Your going to need to be alert for this one!" said the sergeant and Black nodded, getting up from the seat. "Thank you for the talk, Sarge." said Black, snapping a salute and running out of the tent, flapping her huge wings and flying back to the barracks. "...She can't be..." said the Sergeant, pulling a drawer open on his desk and pulling out a picture. In the frame was the Sergeant himself, Princess Luna, a Bat Pony stallion with a scar over his right eye and a bundle of blankets in his hooves, two large bumps resembling wings. The sergeant looked from to the picture to the open flap, quietly swinging in the wind. "Is it?" he asked... then chuckled and placed the picture back in the drawer. "No, I don't think so." he said, picking up the quill and resuming his scratching.
Chapter 4: A Tear in the RanksIt had been 3 days since Black had the small talk with the Drill Sergeant and since then, a lot of the Cadet's had been whispering almost every day: once she caught a stallion ask, while she was punching a bag full of foam why she wore tight exercise clothes while training. Another time she was rudely asked if her eyes were contacts by a stallion who wore the uniform of a Tech Analyser. From the training room, to the cafeteria, she swore she heard one of the Cadet's ask from a table a little ways away. "Doesn't she drink blood? I didn't think she could eat food like us "normal" ponies!" Even though this made her angry, she held it in, only telling Swift who told her exactly what Black thought as much, to just ignore them and go somewhere else. "Why has the Sergeant been shooting me looks today? I'm not in trouble am I?" Black said to herself, shifting uncomfortably in the Night Guard Armour and looking at her other Cadet's, a slight smile on her face. The Cadet's had now progressed to the Night Guard Armour Training, wearing armour with no wings so they can focus on their last ground combat before upgrading to the Winged Armour and the Arial Combat Training. Black looked over the armour one more time: The helmet was designed to look intimidating, with a purple hue and a Waxing Gibbous moon phase on the front. The points were styled to look like Bat Pony wings and the chest plate was adorned with 4 sharp points and in the middle was a large slitted eye, showing the changes to the wearer's eyes. Along the front and back legs, were multiple guards with a purple cross like shape, and bulky shoulder plates. On their back, draping past their left leg, was a small cape with the Lunar Republic crest emblazoned. 'Like the mark on my flank... what does it mean?' Black thought to herself when suddenly, a stallion wearing the same armour, but carrying the helmet in one leg, gave a crisp clear of his throat, making the cadet's snap to attention. "Alright Cadet's, welcome to the first of 5 days of Armour Training. As you can see, the Armour alters you somewhat but don't worry, the changes aren't permanent." said the Instructor who was holding a Guard's helm under his hoof. Just as he was about to demonstrate how to place the helm, a hoof from the fourth row shot into the air. "Yes Cadet?" said the Instructor and the Cadet, an Earth Pony with a chestnut coat and blonde mane stepped out of line. "Well Sir..." he started and cleared his throat before finishing with "Does that mean that Batty is out then?" Several Cadet's started to laugh, and Black started to shake. She had had enough of being teased and was about to rush towards him but Swift held her back by the base of her large wings. "Black! Ignore and move? Ignore and mooove…" said Swift, but her words fell on deaf ears. "You want to rumble big boy? Cause I've had enough of the name's, the questions on my attire, and my EYES!" She stared at the Tech Analyst, who was walking into a tent with a Laptop on the sign above with a black moon on the lid. "Whatever. Your just a Cave Dweller who will NEVER, be a Night Guard!" said the Cadet, getting in Black's face. A chorus of gasp's and whispers arose from the Cadet's. "Silence! Quiet everypony!" said the Instructor but no-pony was listening. Black was livid! Her eyes were so tight, the pupils were in the white of her eyes. it is offensive where she came from, to be called a Cave Dweller. "What... did... you... just... call... ME!" Black said, her fangs extended and were digging into her lower lip. "You heard me, I called you a Cave Dweller! Cause isn't that where you came from?" said the Cadet and Black prowled forward, like a predator. "You and me, the Combat Ring, 5 minutes!" said Black, tapping the Cadet in the armoured chest and flapping her wings, turned away, and walking back in line. The Cadet, with a shocked look, was about to move forward and say something, when 3 Instructors got between the both of them, one holding the Cadet back and the other two blocking Black from moving or attacking. "Umm... okay, Practice is canceled! Cadet's, meet the Sergeant in his tent in 1 minute! NO excuses!" said the Instructor, as the both of them were going to protest. "Oh and one more thing... if any of us hear that racist slur EVER again, you'll be immediately sent home, and will not be allowed to be re-enrolled! Is that understood?" said the Instructor and Black and the Cadet both nodded. "Good, now get moving! The Sergeant doesn't like to be kept waiting." said the Instructor and trotted away. Black watched him walk, his armour clicking and clacking as it moved around his body. "Well, let's go... I don't want to keep the Sarge!" said Black, taking off the helm and holding it with her large wing. "Come on, hustle Cadet!" Black said, her voice trailing off. With a huff, the Cadet rolled his eyes and followed after Black, grumbling all the while.
Chapter 5: The Cadet and The Bat"How long must we stand here? I'm getting cold!" said the Cadet, his body shivering from a sudden wind that came from nowhere. "The Sarge is a busy stallion don't forget, I expect he has papers to write, or reports to file..." said Black, keeping her gaze averted from the Cadet. Ever since the stallion called Black a 'Cave Dweller', she had mainly kept her eyes away from him, while he continued to tut and moan, even as they waited outside the green tent. "...and on top of the frost every morning... Wait, Sarge?" The Cadet stared at Black, his eyes piercing the back of Black's head. " Why are you calling the Sergeant by a nickname? What, you get special privileges do you, Slitty?" the Cadet said, lifting one hoof but just then, the Sergeant pushed the flap open. "Ah, Cadet Nightshade and Cadet Blade... Welcome. Please, come on in..." said the Sergeant, moving aside and letting Black and Cadet Blade in. While Blade stared at the wall's, Black moved straight to the other two chairs, placed the helm on the floor, and sat down. "Mister Blade, please take a seat." said the Sergeant and pointed to the other seat, Blade snapping his attention from the weapon above the Sergeant and sat down on the second seat. Once Blade was comfortable, Black cleared her throat and looked at the Sergeant. "You wanted to see us Sarge?" Black asked, her wings twitching and avoiding the steely glare and frown of Blade, who was getting angrier and angrier by the second. But even before he could lash out, the Sergeant held his hoof up, silencing Blade . "I've heard, that Mr Blade here, had called you a Cave Dweller. Is this true, Miss Shade?" the Sergeant asked and Black nodded, making him sigh. "Mr Blade, you do realise that is a highly, HIGHLY, racial slur and should never be said. Do you realise that, don't you?" said the Sergeant and Blade pointed at Black, who looked calm while he started his long held rant. "But why is she here? She's a BAT PONY, one of the nightmare spawn of Nightmare Moon. Why is she going through the Cadet's? She should just go home, she doesn't belong here! How does this..." he accentuated this by gesturing at Black, who's eyes was wide but her face remained stoic. "...give peace to the Citizen's of Canterlot?! That city was ground zero of Nightmare Moon's attack, and the fear fog still looms! She'll just make their fear increase! She should just leave, leave and return to the hole she came back from!" The Cadet said, his hoof falling to his side and his heavy breathing was slowly returning to normal. "Well... I can see why you have this... hate... to Bat Pony's, but does that relate to me too?" he asked, removing his cap and revealing the pointed ears underneath. "Does your reasoning include me being the Sergeant of the Night Guard? Do you think I should return back to where I came from, leave and go back to my home?" "Well... no I don't think..." he said, but the Sergeant cut him off. "Because I've worked hard, to get here. Hard, to work my way from my Grandfathers shadow and our name being recognised and not slandered. Hard, to bring us, the Night Guard, back from the shadows. And even Cadet Shade." He nodded at Black, who was staring with a look that would make a Timberwolf freeze. "She has her own reason's why she's in the Night Guard Cadet's." "Now I suggest, that you two find some common ground and focus on becoming the best Guards you can be. 2nd week starts soon, and that's the week we focus on weapons. Now go on." The Sergeant dipped the Phoenix Feather Quill in the inkpot and started scratching on a piece of parchment. Blade stood and briskly walked out, Black moving to follow but was stopped by the Sergeant clearing his throat. Black turned to see him put the quill on his desk and made his eyes bore into Black's blue orbs. "Black, please alert the Instructor if Cadet Blade calls you a racist slur again. I'll deal with him in a professional manner." said the Sergeant and Black snapped a salute, turned on her heel and walked out. As the tent flap closed, the Sergeant opened the drawer again and pulled out the picture from last time, looking closely at the bundle of blankets. "Oh Commander... What have I gotten into with your daughter?" the sergeant said to himself, running a hoof over the filly's face.
