Spring in Canterlot was something Altair had always loved, growing up in the castle had given him an appreciation for nature in all its forms. The birds chirped loudly in the distance, overhead the sky was a crisp blue and almost devoid of clouds. The thirteen year old stood in the gardens, dressed in a tunic that he had grown used to over the past six months of training. His thick black hair was combed back, his piercing brown eyes glancing all around him at the trees and bushes that blew in the soft Spring wind. Grasped in his hand was a wooden training sword, an item that he had become very familiar with since he had come of age. The boy paused as he heard a soft rustle from his right, on instinct he jumped back. A wooden training sword swung past his head at considerable speed, levitated by an indigo glow.

Altair felt his heart pounding as the sword floated in front of him, swaying from side to side, as if testing his reactions. The boy readied his grip on his own training sword, gritting his teeth as he noted a soft increase in the glow around the grip of the other sword. He swung his sword outward, the wood clacking as the two weapons collided. He grunted and growled as he parried blow after blow, all without any visual cues but the glow of the handle. He felt himself being pushed backwards, the boy didn’t like being on the defensive. With renewed enthusiasm, Altair began pushing back, slowly the levitating sword was pushed back through the gardens. With a particularly strong blow, the levitating sword broke in half and clattered to the ground.

Altair panted for a couple moments as he looked at the destroyed weapon, he heard the rustle of branches again and whirled around, raising the training sword to strike. An indigo glow surrounded it just as he was slashing downwards, his Mother was smiling at him as her horn glowed. The boy loosened his grip on the training sword, letting Luna take it and set it aside. The alicorn’s astral mane was tied back neatly, and she had sweat on her brow from concentration.

“Well done, Altair.” The mare said as she came up to Altair and wrapped her wings around him, the boy hugged her back. When they let go the mare was continuing to beam, something that filled her son with pride. “You’re improving with each training session, but you could still use a bit of practice with your parries.”

“You think? I thought they were okay.” Altair replied, Luna nodded gestured to a nearby bench. The two of them moved to the bench and sat down, Altair pausing to look up at the sky as the wind blew his hair to the side. He had let his hair grow long, much to his father’s annoyance, but Luna supposed that was just Altair starting to rebel as a teenager.

“You asked me to train you, and when I train someone, I train them to be the best.” Luna said in a firm but caring tone, Altair looked over at her quietly. “You’re right, your parries were okay, but in combat ‘Okay’ isn’t good enough… Especially since you’re my son, and I want you to be able to protect yourself.” Altair paused and looked at the ground, Luna watched as he quietly brought a hand to his cheek. The scar that had been left by his childhood illness was still very much there, she knew that it bothered him that it was still there. “The more you train, the more you practice, the more you throw yourself into every lesson… The better and stronger you will become.”

“I know…” Altair replied, still rubbing his cheek and leaning against Luna’s side. The mare extended a wing and draped it over the boy’s shoulder. “Mother, do you think I’m ugly?” Luna froze and quickly tightened her wing around him.

“Of course not, who said that?” Luna asked firmly, appearing quite concerned at the suddenness of the question. Altair looked up at her and rested his hand on his knee, the scar was certainly apparent, a jagged looking thing that ran from the base of his chin to the bottom of his eye. Despite all that, Luna still saw him as the sweet, charming, handsome boy that she and her herd had raised since he was a child.

“No one… But…” Altair trailed off and looked at the training sword in Luna’s grasp. “I just feel… Different. None of the other kids have a face like this, not even the griffons.” Luna loosened her grip on him, her feathers ruffled slightly as she thought about how much it really had to be bothering her poor boy.

“You are different, Altair. You’re my son, and your mother’s son, and your father’s son.” Luna said as she leaned down and kissed his forehead, she then pointed a hoof towards the sky. “You cannot see it now, but there… Right there… That is the constellation Aquila.” Altair followed her hoof towards the sky. “The brightest star in it, known as the Alpha, is named Altair.” Luna turned her attention back to her son, lowering her hoof to her side. “I gave you that name, because I knew that you were strong, from the first time I saw you, even with a scar.” Luna stood up quietly and looked Altair in the eyes. “Your scar tells others that you have endured something they haven’t, bear it with distinction…”

“I… I will, Mother.” Altair said as he too stood up, Luna could see the look of determination in his eyes. “I promise… I will do my best not to be ashamed of my appearance.” Luna smiled widely and proudly, she turned towards the castle.

“Come along then, I don’t want to spend all morning out here training. It’s Spring Break, after all, I don’t want take up one of your days off with nothing but drills.” Luna said with a slight chuckle, the two of them began walking towards Canterlot Castle. Altair walked right beside Luna, holding his head high. Luna could see that her words had reached him on some level, as when they passed one of the gardeners he made no attempt to shield his face.

“Want to go to the Rockport? I wouldn’t mind a milkshake.” Altair asked, Luna hummed for a moment, then nodded.

“Okay, but only after we walk Wolfy and Mars.” Luna said, Altair smiled and leaned against his Mother. Luna knew to enjoy moments like these, as Altair was growing up. She hated to admit it, but soon he would be going off to high school, and her little baby wouldn’t be a baby anymore. “Hop on my back, we can get their faster and get to those milkshakes all the sooner.” Altair smirked and climbed up onto his mother’s back, wrapping his arms around her neck loosely to hold on. “And after that, I want a rematch on ‘Combat Zone! My controller was all sticky last night!”

“Fine.” Altair said with a smirk. “It’ll give me another chance to beat you again, old mare.” Luna turned her head to look at him with a flat expression.

“Well, maybe you can just buy the milkshakes this time, if you’re gonna be like that.” She said with a fake huff, Altair blanched and quickly began to apologize, prompting Luna to laugh even more while she trotted towards the castle. It was a perfect day so far, part of a year that had also seemed to be going well… She only hoped it would stay that way.

[♠]

The heat of the Summer sun was intense, even with the high grade air conditioners mounted on the roof of North Canterlot Junior High. The windows were opened and teachers had placed box fans in them to try and get even better circulation. Thankfully, the Air Conditioning in the gymnasium was very much effective. The bleachers were packed with parents while a sea of folding chairs at the center of the gym was occupied by the Eighth Grade Class. The teachers had set up a small stage in front of everyone, lined with the school flag and the Onorussian flag along the back. A podium was set up at the front center of the stage, and the Principal stood there adjusting the pages of her speech.

Altair sighed quietly as he adjusted his shirt, he, like many of his classmates, had opted to simply wear dress shirts and black slacks as opposed to suits like some of the more eccentric ones. The girls wore various dresses, but Altair was really only interested in his friend Sofia, who was sitting a couple rows ahead of him. The diplomas were being issued by order of last name, and since ‘G’ came before ‘O’ she had been seated ahead of him… Something that he thought was stupid, but it wasn’t like he could change it. The boy quietly looked around, noting that he was mainly seeing the heads of his fellow classmates. He was one of the tallest kids of his class, well, the tallest when he didn’t slouch. The upside was that he could see his parents sitting in the bleachers, flanked on either side by two men in black suits, their security detail.

“Welcome, parents and students of North Canterlot Junior High, to our annual Eighth Grade continuation ceremony.” The Principal said with a smile, the crowd applauded happily at the announcement, except for Altair. He wasn’t in a clapping sort of mood, what he wanted more than anything was for the ceremony to be over so that he could get out of that blasted school before he died of boredom. He had developed a bit of an authority complex, at least when it came to most of his teachers. This wasn’t because he had a problem with what they were teaching, but in the way that they taught it. He felt like he was being pandered to, talked down to, and he couldn’t wait to get to highschool where maybe he would feel a bit better…

Altair ignored the principal’s blathering boring speech as best he could, focussing instead on his own internal thoughts. Truth be told, ever since he had been moved out of Miss Ramsey’s class in sixth grade things had become progressively more difficult for Altair, both academically and socially. Teachers that learned his identity were generally hard on him, thinking that he would be some sort of problem child because of where he came from, leading to the boy defying authority figures like teachers more often. The few friends he had made during elementary school were all but gone, save for Sofia, but Altair could feel their friendship drifting apart…

The boy snapped out of his thoughts and looked around as the teachers began to give out awards to all the kids that had kissed up enough, Altair rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the short hairs against his neck. He had decided to get a haircut for the ceremony, and had gotten a military style flattop.

“For exceptional progress in Physical Education, we would like to award Altair Occisor with this plaque.” The Principal’s voice caught Altair’s attention instantly, the boy looked around and tried to slouch down, but the Principal could still see the tall boy easily. “Come on up! Don’t be shy.” Reluctantly Altair stood up, slouching his shoulders and sighing while he listened to the crowd applauding. He looked over to his parents and was surprised to see his father standing up and actually cheering, the look of pride in his eyes made Altair smile… He could grin and bear it for his family, especially his Dad.

Altair walked towards the stage, standing as tall as he could and puffing out his chest. There were surprised faces in the crowd, no one had ever guessed that his last name was Occisor, as Altair had become a rather common name in Onorus. The boy ascended the steps of the stage as photographers and parents snapped photos, Altair hated that more than anything, he just wanted to be left alone. The boy stopped in front of his Principal, he had sat in her office more than once for the occasional verbal barb towards one of his teachers or for the time he had punched a boy nearly unconscious for slapping Sofia’s behind. This was the first time Altair had ever seen the Principal smile up close, it was almost like she was capable of emotion… He had had her pegged as some sort of secret government robot.

“Here, Altair. You’ve earned this.” The woman said as she handed him the plaque, Altair looked it over for a couple seconds and shrugged.

“So… Is that it? Do I just go back to my seat now?” Altair asked, he had never been one for awards. The Principal shook her head and gestured to all the recipients that were standing on the stage. “Great…” The Principal looked a little disappointed in his response as he made his way over to the other group. Altair scowled for a couple seconds as he stood next to one of the more academic students, towering over the others in both height and muscle mass… Even at nearly fourteen he looked like a sophomore high schooler. The Principal announced a couple more awards before finally shutting up and moving the ceremony along. Altair made no effort to hide the fact that he was checking his watch.

He retreated back into his internal thoughts, resenting the fact that he had to continue standing there just because some old bag had said so. The school system had always seemed to fail him when he needed it, and punished him when he was understandably peeved. When kids teased him about his looks he tried to go to the school, and what did they do? Nothing, nothing but tell him and the others to talk it out? But did that happen? Ha, of course not. It wasn’t until the kids teasing him had the wind knocked out of them that anything changed.

He knew that he should’ve felt wrong about using force, after all, the schools constantly preached peace and friendship, but Altair had his theories about that. He believed it was left over by the defunct Equestrian system, considering how much time he spent around military personnel and equipment seemed to prove contrary. Force was a much louder, much more easy to understand language. Might made right. As the ceremony continued along, Altair found himself looking towards his family. He could see his mom smiling at him and gesturing for him to smile as well, but that only made him want to scowl more.

Altair quickly shook his head and looked at the floor, rubbing his neck once again. He didn’t understand why he was so angry inside, or why he just… hated everything. This was Continuation, it was supposed to be a celebration, and everyone else was smiling wide and laughing and clapping like they were having a good time. Then again, it was a mandatory event that he had to come to… Were the others just faking it? Thinking that he was the only one that felt so enraged wasn’t doing anything to make him feel better either… The boy paused as he spotted a face in the crowd, his father’s face.

The two made eye contact and it was like a lightbulb clicked on in his Dad’s head, the man leaned over to Altair’s mothers and said a couple words. They nodded, and Altair was surprised to see his father stand up. He watched as his Dad started walking through the crowd, then down the bleachers and towards the stage, one of the security officers walking along behind him. The Principal seemed a bit surprised, but didn’t say anything to stop him as she continued her speech. Altair watched his Dad walk up the steps to the stage with his head held high, a confident look on his face. Altair smiled slightly, glad to see his Dad was just as defiant of the Principal’s rules as he was.

Altair straightened up a bit as his Dad stopped behind him and rested a hand on his shoulder, the boy looked up at the tall man’s face and saw that his eyes were filled with an understanding glint. He was wearing his military uniform, decorated with the numerous medals that he had won in his campaigns, something that Altair hoped to emulate when he was older.

“Hey, kid.” The man said in a hushed voice as he gave his son a squeeze on the shoulder. “Once they finish up here, what’s say you and I take a walk?” Altair nodded silently, looking back out to the crowd. There were humans, ponies, diamond dogs, griffons, and all manner of other races among them, all of them seemed to be happy in their own way. He let out a slow sigh, his father’s hand moving from his shoulder. The rest of the ceremony went on without a hitch, with the added bonus that the people who had been given plaques got their diplomas early. With the pointless piece of parchment in his hand, Altair walked of the stage with his Dad. The two walked to the exit that took them outside behind the building, his Dad gesturing for the security officer to hold his position.

The air felt a lot warmer outside, but Altair didn’t mind as he began unbuttoning his shirt to take the stuffy garment off. He began walking alongside his Dad, the two of them strolling towards a couple trees planted on the edge of campus.

“So, you looked like you were upset on stage.” His Dad said simply, Altair looked over at him and nodded as he rolled his shirt up into a ball, along with his diploma. He wore a t-shirt beneath it, which was a lot more comfortable than the dress shirt. “What’s on your mind? I’ve never seen that look before.”

“I’m just… Annoyed.” Altair said in a huffed tone. “This whole thing is stupid, this ceremony, this school, this everything…” The two stopped at the trees, and Altair was surprised to see his Dad lean against one of the trunks with a very relaxed posture. “I don’t want to go to Canterlot Prep like mom says I have too… Especially with those stupid uniforms they have to wear.”

“I thought you liked uniforms.” His Dad said simply, Altair crossed his arms and sat on the grass in front of his Dad.

“Yeah, cool uniforms, like yours! The ones that are badass, the ones that you have to earn… I don’t just want to HAVE to wear a uniform, I want to WANT to wear a uniform… If that makes any sense…” Altair said with another huff, once again he was surprised to see his Dad change posture. He slid down the tree and sat on the ground across from his boy, oddly enough his hand began to mess with the grass as he sat there. “Plus, there’s all those snotty rich kids there, you know, the kind that made fun of my scar…”

“Yeah… Believe me, kid. I know.” His Dad said with a bit of a sigh. “I was a teenager once too, you know. Hell, I had a lot of the same feelings you have.” Altair raised an eyebrow at his father, who was looking at him with a mix of pride and understanding. “You wanna say ‘Fuck the system’, right?” Altair rarely heard his Dad swear, but nonetheless, his Dad had a point. Altair nodded, earning a chuckle from his old man. “Yeah, I had a bit of an anti-authority streak myself, still do, but I guess I’ve mellowed with age.” Altair sighed as his Dad scooched over to him and put an arm around his shoulder. “You wanna say ‘Fuck the system’, go ahead and say it. I’ve been trying to fix the damn thing for over a decade, but believe me, it’s always going to be fucked to people like you and me.”

“Why?” Altair asked, his Dad sighed and looked up at the sky, watching a couple birds fly overhead.

“Because, we’re too smart for our own good.” His Dad said simply. “We’re smart most of the time, so we end up thinking we know everything, so everything else appears fucked to us. I’m not saying that we’re smarter than everyone, but we feel like we are, and that’s the annoying thing.” His Dad leaned back in the grass, actually laying down and putting his hands behind his head, another thing Altair had never seen his Dad do. “Altair, I spent a long time getting pissed at shit I couldn’t control, it was exhausting… As your Dad, I’m trying to save you from about ten years of feeling like shit, so pay attention.” Altair leaned back in the grass as well, watching the clouds. “Some things we can control, some things we can’t… But in the end, none of it really matters…” Altair raised an eyebrow. “Our species lives a long time, you know? We have centuries and centuries ahead of us. In the end, all that time being angry at stuff you can’t control is meaningless. So… I know it sounds kinda ‘Hippy’ to say this, but, go with the flow. Don’t let people push you around, obviously, but aside from that… Just let things be, knowing that in a decade or so, all this shit about school will be a distant memory.”

Altair looked over at his Dad as the man sighed, then looked back to the sky. He hummed for a couple moments, closing his eyes as he tried to think of something to say.

“Why can’t I get a GED like you?” Altair finally asked, his Dad looked over at him with a raised eyebrow.

“No one said you can’t, but you’re a bit young to make a decision like that…” The man said with a shrug, Altair sighed and crossed his arms. “Tell you what, when you’re seventeen, if you still wanna get a GED instead, I’ll sign the papers myself.” Altair looked at his Dad with a raised eyebrow. “You’re my son, I want you to be happy, but I also want what’s best for you… Sometimes one has to come before the other.”

“Can I at least go to a different school?” Altair asked, his Dad paused again.

“Let me talk to your Moms about it, okay kiddo? I can’t make any promises, but I’ll go to bat for you, alright?” The man said with an honest tone, Altair nodded as the two continued looking up at the sky. “Where do you wanna go, so I have a bit more to work with.”

“I want to go to Don Bosco Tech, I liked the look of their mechanics course… And they have a boxing club.” Altair said with a shrug. “I just thought that maybe it would make me feel better…”

“I get it, kid.” His dad said in an understanding voice. “You know, when you’re a little older, if you ever feel like you need to blow off some steam, you and me can lace up the gloves, go a few rounds.” Altair smiled a bit and sat up, his t-shirt had a couple grass stains on it. His Dad followed suit.

“Sure, old man.” Altair said as he stood up and brushed himself off, his dad stood up as well and straightened out his uniform. The boy felt a little better, but his emotions still felt conflicted… The fact that he was hitting puberty probably wasn’t helping.

“Come on, your Moms are probably worrying about us, we’ve got that reservation to get to…” His Dad said as he patted him on the back, Altair sighed and picked up his shirt before walking along with his Dad. “Don’t worry, if the food sucks at this fancy place we’ll stop at Rockports for some burgers on the way home. Sound good?” Altair nodded, but remained quiet. “Come on, just give a little smile, otherwise your Mother’s gonna bring out Taffington.”

“I don’t know… I miss Taffington, might put on an extra frown…” Altair said jokingly as the two of them walked along, his dad chuckled rhythmically as the Summer heat persisted in the air. For Dominic, it was one of the most surreal things that had ever happened to him. Here he was, walking with his son, giving fatherly advice… Advice that he had never gotten from his own father. He could only hope he wasn’t fucking up his son’s life, he’d never forgive himself if that was the case. The two stepped back into the school, by now the ceremony was ending and the crowd was milling about the room… It looked like getting out would be a hassle. Oh well, Altair thought. More time to spend with his old man.

[♠]

The smell of rotting leaves and soil flooded Altair’s nose with every breath he took, the trees of the Everfree Forest were nearly barren of their brown and gold leaves and the underbrush was in the process of dying as well. The boy wore a pair of jeans and a heavy brown jacket to shield himself from the cold, his boots crunching the fallen leaves of Autumn that lined the floor. He gripped his rifle tightly in his gloved hands, watching his breath turn to fog as he exhaled. The boy adjusted the black wool cap atop his head as he walked silently. Ahead of him he could see his Mom wearing similar clothing and carrying her Mosin Nagant.

The two of them were enjoying one last day of hunting before the season ended, a sort of celebration. Altair had just turned fourteen and had recently started going to Don Bosco Technical High School, and spending a day in the woods with his Mom was always a nice way to unwind on the weekends. He didn’t expect to find any prey, but just getting some time outside the castle was worth the hike. Altair stopped when he saw his Mom raise her hand and signal him to drop. The boy complied and dropped to a crouch, he scooted over beside his Mom before fully going prone.

“Look over there… Twenty yards to our front.” His Mom whispered as she pointed forward, Altair looked ahead and raised an eyebrow. There wasn’t anything there, at least, not at first… That was until he spotted what looked like the trunk of a tree. He soon realized that it was in fact a large rusted piece of metal, what looked like a fuselage. In fact, now that Altair knew what to look for, he could see four engines scattered about, pieces of airplane wings, even a wheel from the landing gear. “Looks like an old B-17…”

“Why’d we stop? It’s been here for over ten years…” Altair asked, Maria gestured around them to a couple game trails that seemed to intersect with the wreckage. Altair caught her meaning rather quickly, but in all honesty, he didn’t want to do any actual hunting now that they had happened upon the wrecked plane. He wanted to go and explore, to see what secrets it held. The boy watched as his mother stood up and started slowly walking towards the wreck, gesturing for him to wait behind. The woman held her Mosin at the ready the entire time, each step careful and methodical.

The woman stopped after examining the wreck for any possible predators, then gestured that it was safe for Altair to move on over. The boy pushed himself up and walked towards the destroyed plane, slinging his rifle up and over his shoulder. The Aircraft bore the faded markings of the old New American Air Force, as well as numerous burned patches that had been melted by spells. Altair had never seen the effects of war up close, it was something that struck home with him.

“I don’t see any skeletons… The crew likely survived.” His Mom said as she examined the fuselage more closely. “I’m surprised no one’s ever happened on this before, shows just how much we come out here, huh?”

“Yeah…” Altair said as he ran his fingers across the rusted metal, he walked towards a large hole in the fuselage and poked his head in. Rusted machine guns were visible in one of the intact waist gunner positions and the rear gunner seat. Dry rotted rubber hoses connected to oxygen masks dangled along with wires and cables from the roof of the aircraft. Altair stepped through the hole before his Mom could stop him.

“Honey! Don’t go in there! It’s dangerous.” She said nervously as she tried to go through the hole to get him, but it was too small for an adult.

“Just give me a second, mom. I promise I won’t touch anything.” Altair replied as he walked along through the fuselage, his boots echoing against the rusted floor. The boy stopped at the end of the aircraft, sunlight shining through the shattered glass of the rear gunner’s window, some vines had started growing up through the holes as well. The boy paused as he spotted something hanging from a bit of broken metal, a pair of mirrored sunglasses with hooked tips on the arms to hold them on the back of the wearers ears… To his surprise, they looked almost pristine, as if by some miracle they had survived the crash. The boy took them and looked them over, then put them in his jacket pocket quickly.

“Get out of there right now!” His mom shouted, Altair sighed and walked to the hole. He stepped out and saw that his Mom looked very annoyed. “You could’ve gotten a cut, then you’d need a tetanus shot.” Altair rolled his eyes. “Don’t roll your eyes at me, young man.”

“Alright… I’m sorry, Mom.” Altair said with a slight huff as he looked back at the wrecked plane. “Hey, let’s not tell anyone about this place… We can just come here on our own.” His Mom looked like she was about to say no, but something about having a secret meeting place seemed to appeal to her. It reminded her of the days that she and her husband had spent as children.

“Fine…” The woman said with a sigh, she looked towards the sky and saw that the sun was starting to go down beyond the overcast clouds. “Now let’s start heading back, it’s gonna be dark soon.” Altair nodded and the two of them began walking away from the fuselage, the boy occasionally looked over his shoulder at the destroyed plane. The realization that it had been shot down was something that stuck with him, reminding him that there were people in the world that still would try to do something like that again, if given the chance. When they were far enough away, Altair reached into his jacket and felt the glasses. He wouldn’t put them on yet, he had to get home first, in case his Mom wanted to put them back. He felt like it was a badge of honor, his dad has a leather jacket with patches from both his wives, and now Altair would have his own ‘signature’ attire.

[♠]

The sound of crowds cheering echoed through the halls of Don Bosco Tech, outside it was snowing like mad with a heavy winter storm, but inside it was warm, hot even. Altair stood in the locker room, clad in only boxing shorts and standing in front of a mirror. He was moving around, adjusting his stances, practicing his dodges, all while biting down on his mouth guard. His hair was short as possible, he could see his scalp easily but didn’t much care. It was the day of the regional championship between Don Bosco Tech and North Canterlot Prep, whoever won this set of matches would be crowned regional champions of the year.

As it stood, North Canterlot Prep had edged out a lead of one match over Don Bosco, but from the sound of the crowd, Altair guessed that the scores would once again be tied by the end of the current fight. He had been practicing and training for the past couple weeks for his opponent, the heavyweight fighter of North Canterlot Prep. As Altair was the Heavyweight for Don Bosco, he knew that their victory rested squarely on his shoulders. His opponent was an old classmate of his, a minotaur by the name of Lars. His former bully. In Elementary school it had come to blows but once, Lars had one the fight because he had numbers on his side… But this time. This time, it would be a one on one fight… A bout to determine who the victor of the final battle of a long held grudge would finally be.

The boy rolled his neck as one of his teammates walked up with a pair of red boxing gloves in hand, Altair knew that it was just about time. He sat down on the bench and took the gloves.

“So, we got a look at their heavy. He’s huge, at least as tall as you are.” His Classmate, a boy by the name of Rogers said. “He’s slow though, so I got no doubt you can lay his ass out.”

“Lars was always a little slow.” Altair said with a slight grin, Rogers picked up on the bitterness in his tone. It was no secret that Lars and Altair had a grudge, in fact, it had been a major selling point for most of the students that had bought tickets to the event. ‘Come see the Nova-Imperator face off in the ultimate Grudge Match with North Canterlot Prep!’. The posters were all over the halls, from the electronics lab to the woodshop, the Monks that ran the school seemed just as interested as the students.

“You’re really going to lay into him out there, huh?” Rogers asked, Altair nodded as he laced up his glove. “The others and I know you’ve been holding back, we’ve seen what you can do against the bag. I feel bad for that guy…”

“I have resolved never to start an unjust war, but never to end a legitimate one except by defeating my enemies.” Altair said quietly as he finished lacing his gloves, moving his wrists a couple times to test how well they fit.

“Charles the Twelfth… Someone's been paying attention in Brother Isaac's class.” Rogers said with an impressed grin, Altair shrugged and stood up, rolling his shoulders and his neck once more.

“Not just Brother Isaac, my Dad’s a big history buff too. He could probably teach a class here if he wanted too…” Altair said with a slight shrug, his voice slightly muffled by his mouth guard. “Lars and I have had an uneasy ceasefire since the day we had it out, but I don’t think either of us can let this slide any longer.”

“Occisor!” The coach shouted from the hallway, interrupting their conversation. “You’re up!” Altair pulled on his robe and began walking out, giving a nod to Rogers as thanks for helping him with the gloves. The cheering of the crowd got louder as Altair walked along the hallway, passing by numerous posters for school events.

“Ladies and Gentlemen! Introducing, a fighter we all know and love, Don Bosco’s very own Heavyweight champion! Altair ‘Scarface’ Occisor!” Announced one of the students from the AV club that was filming and hosting the event. He stepped out into the school’s gymnasium, hearing uproarious applause from the bleachers. Normally he wasn’t one for showboating, but this felt like an appropriate time. He raised his hands in the air as the applause continued, after a couple seconds he walked to the ring that had been set up on the basketball court and climbed up into his corner. Lars was already in his own corner, strutting back and forth like a caged bull. Altair removed his robe and set it aside, his Coach taking it and waiting as the announcer entered the ring.

“Before we begin, a few notes!” The announcer, who also happened to be the student body president, said into the microphone. He was a scrawny kid, a bit of a nerd, but Altair liked him well enough. “We’ll be having complimentary drinks in the lobby after the event, for anyone who’s thirst.” He had a bit of a nasally voice, not nearly as interesting as the other announcer had been. However, on a turn of a dime, he straightened up and took a deep breath. “And now! This is the moment boxing fans around the campus have been waiting for!” He sounded like Bruce Buffer all of a sudden. “Live! From the sold out Gymnasium in Don Bosco!” The crowd was really getting pumped up, Altair narrowed his eyes as they met Lars’. “Iiiiiiit’s time! Five rounds for the undisputed regional heavyweight championship of the world!”

“Introducing first, fighting out of the blue corner! The challenger! Standing at six feet, three inches tall! Weighing in at a whopping one hundred and eighty pounds! Fighting out of North Canterlot Preparatory School! Lars ‘The Matador’ Strongplow!” A chorus of boos erupted from the cloud, mixed with cheering from the students of the other school that had made the journey to see the event.

“And now! Fighting out of the red corner! Weighing in at a whopping one hundred and ninety pounds, all of it muscle! Fighting out of our very own Don Bosco Technical High School! He is the reigning! The pending! The ultimate Don Bosco Heavyweight Champion of the World!” The announcer pointed to Altair’s corner, prompting him to raise a gloved hand into the air. “Altair ‘Scarface’ Occisooooor!” The crowd began to cheer, chanting his nickname loudly, but Altair was more focused on the faces in the crowd. His Mom and Mother didn’t like watching his fights, but his Father… He was in the front row, though his identity was hidden by a clever handkerchief.

“Fighters, center ring.” The Referee said as he walked to the center, Altair and Lars walked towards one another, stopping with the referee keeping them separate. “I want a nice clean fight, no dirty stuff, no below the belt.” Both fighters nodded silently as they sized one another up. “Touch gloves.” Altair and Lars both extended their fists roughly, their gloves thudding together, as if two caged bulls were prepared to fight each other. “Back to your corners.” The two of them walked to the corners and stood there, Altair bit his mouth guard a bit tighter and rolled his shoulders. “Ready?” Both fighters nodded, their eyes locked on to the other. “Fight!”

Altair and Lars rushed each other like dogs let off their leashes, Altair could see that Lars was indeed slower on the draw, but what he lacked in speed he would certainly make up for in endurance. Altair caught sight of Lars muscles twitching on his left arm, a skill he had learned by training for the use of a sword with nothing but a floating sabre as his opponent. The body language was all there, and judging by the look of determination in Lars’ eyes, the blow would be directed at Altair’s face. All of this, of course, happened within fractions of seconds within the confines of Altair’s brain.

All the crowd saw was Altair leaning back to dodge a sweeping strike that would’ve connected right with the boy’s head. He followed up his dodge with a haymaker to Lar’s gut, the Minotaur grunted but didn’t grip his gut in pain. This was only the beginning of what would be a brutal war of attrition in the ring, blow after blow landed on both fighters. Minutes ticked by, the two behemoths going at one another like the ancient warriors of Terra. Bullets of sweat formed on Altair’s body as he controlled his breathing, his mind blotting out the pain of each strike that landed while Lars did the same. The bell rang, but the Ref was forced to break the two of them up as they had been so focussed on their opponent.

Round after brutal round passed, each one leaving both contenders bloodied and sore, and the crowd chanting and screaming for more. Just before the start of the fourth round Altair was swaying on his feet, his body aching from the numerous strikes he had absorbed. Some small part of his mind felt like bowing out, like the pain couldn’t be tolerated, but as he looked to the crowd he could see his Dad watching with rapt attention. Altair knew that his father wouldn’t think less of him… He had to know his limits… The boy then spotted a face in the crowd, and for some reason he felt differently. It was the face of a girl, one of the Freshman Class like him. She had blonde hair, bright grey eyes, and she wore a Don Bosco sweatshirt. She was watching nervously, biting her lower lip. She was… Beautiful.

“Altair!” His coach shouted, snapping his mind back to the fight. “Get your head in there, son! He’s almost done, look at him?” Altair looked at Lars, the minotaur was panting and wiping his brow while talking to his own Coach. “I know you’ve got it in you, kid. Reach deep, it’s all down to you!” His Coach pointed to the school’s flag, a red banner with the helmet of a knight at the center. “See that? That’s what you’re fighting for. What are you?”

“A Paladin.” Altair said plainly, the name of the sports teams from Don Bosco.

“What are you!?” His Coach asked louder.

“A Paladin!” Altair shouted above the noise.

“And what do Paladin’s do?!”

“Kill!” Altair shouted again, his coach patted him on the shoulder. Altair could see his Father was sitting up straight, his handkerchief lowered ever so slightly to reveal that he looked surprised, impressed, but mostly surprised. The bell rang, and like that Altair found his second wind. Lars lumbered forwards, but Altair moved with the speed and force of a freight train. He was gonna lay Lars out, win for his school, himself, and maybe even impress that girl… Wait, what? Altair nearly took a blow from Lars for becoming so distracted, he recovered and got back into his rythym. Each breath was careful and precise, each movement calculated. Lars was getting sloppy, the minotaur began to pull his arm back, leaving his chin exposed. Altair capitalized on the opening, putting as much strength as he could muster into an uppercut. His glove whizzed through the air, and when it connected, Altair felt like his entire arm was being crushed by a car.

The force transferred quickly into Lars’ chin, the Minotaur staggered back and groaned in pain, his feet shuffling as he clearly was rattled. Altair would’ve capitalized on that as well, until Lars lashed out and missed him by nearly a foot. The boy looked at his oponent, Lars did not look well… Altair worried that he’d hit the minotaur too hard, he often forgot his own strength half the time. Lars collapsed to the mat with a heavy thud, the Ref moving over and counting him out. Altair stood there, watching as the kid that had bullied him for so many years was laying at his feet, obviously knocked out from the hit. The Ref counted ten, meaning Altair had won… The odd thing was that in all his previous fights he’d never knocked someone out completely before, they would just lay there or try to get up, but they were still conscious.

“Is he okay, Ref?” Altair asked as the Ref and the other coach rolled Lars onto his back, the Doctor joined them and examined him.

“He’s fine, just got his bell rung.” The Doctor said reassuringly, Altair sighed in relief before the Ref stood up and stood next to him. He gripped his wrist and raised Altair’s hand into the air, declaring him the winner of the fight. Altair looked around him, ignoring the announcer as he began talking. The boy looked at the crowd and spotted his father, the man was standing and clapping, his face still covered by the handkerchief which he had tied in place. Altair’s attention was drawn to the bleachers once again, his eyes meeting those of the blonde that he had seen during the fight.

Altair was about to walk towards her, but he was swarmed by his peers and Coach, all of them cheering and patting him on the back. In all the confusion, he lost her face in the crowd. He felt a bit odd about that, but he couldn’t get upset about it, he turned back to his peers as they continued to chatter. There would be time to go looking during school hours, Altair wanted to get home as soon as possible. He would meet up with his dad after he was finished changing out of his boxing gloves and doing all the other things that he needed to do after the match. As he exited the ring, Altair couldn’t help but think back on the year. As Christmas drew closer, he knew that he would spend more time remembering what had happened… All in all, it felt like it had gone well.

Author's Note

Here's a second chapter for all you lovely dovelies, this is the start of the writing style that takes place over the course of four seasons. I'll probably do another one like this and then slip back into my usual style of writing events within a more slow paced narrative.

As usual, here's your clip of the day. Not really funny, but it was very much interesting. This song actually is kind of what gave me the ideas for this story and the next big project I have in mind.