Training Period:

Month 2

Day 9

The training grounds were quiet for the first few hours of the morning, they always were. Rarity got her meal tray and filled it with what she felt like eating that morning. She searched for the table her friends were sitting at. As she looked around she was drawn to a pink mare waving her forearms frantically in the air. Pinkie was hyperactive as ever.

Everypony was still eating breakfast. The Main 6 were all sitting on one table. Today however, the food was different. For one there was more of it. Secondly, it was much better than usual. Rainbow Dash was especially confused.

"The hell? This stuff usually looks, and sometimes even tastes like shit."

"LANGUAGE!!" Fluttershy yelled quietly.

"We've got a 'Teen' rating. We're good for most swear words." Everypony was confused when Pinkie Pie did things like this. They had learnt to just ignore it now.

"What's first on the agenda today everypony?" Twilight asked eagerly. That was a good question, that nopony had really been thinking about until it was brought up.

"Is it... nah."

"Oh! I think it's... no that was yesterday."

"Maybe it's- no that can't be right." Everypony was pondering their minds as to what it could be.

"Oh! I got it!" Rainbow Dash said loudly.

"Go on dear." Rarity said.

"It's weapons training!"

"Well then. Let's go." Twilight announced just as the hour passed, indicated by the clock tower chiming nine times.

"What?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "But I'm not-" She realised it was no use. The rest of the main 6 had already started walking to the training grounds. She quickly devoured the rest of her meal, and hurried after her friends.

Canterlot's Outer Walls:

"And do you have anything on you that's harmful?" The Guard questioned.

"Not at all." The light grey stallion answered.

"May I see what's in your saddlebag?" The stallion said nothing as he opened up his bag. The guard sifted through his bag and found nothing but bread and water. The guard closed his bag.

"You may pass." The stallion nodded politely and proceeded through.

Shooting Star put his hood back up. He was one step closer to getting his sister back. He spotted Canterlot Castle, and headed directly toward it.

Celestia looked out on her city. She and her sister ruled over all of this? Usually that would be quite overwhelming, but managing it all alone for an entire millennium lets you get used to it.

"Princess Celestia, your highness." The guard appeared from the entrance to her chambers. His head was bowed before she even turned to look at him.

"Yes? What troubles thou?" She was always courteous when she spoke.

"We have somepony who has asked specifically for you and your sister."

"And has she been notified regarding this as well?"

"As we speak." His head was still bowed.

"Raise your head, my child." He stood straight. "I will be their soon. Oh, and prepare a pot of tea for my sister and I. She can be a bit moody without it sometimes." The guard left immediately. Celestia sighed.

"What could it be this time?" She asked herself comically. She left her bed chambers and headed to the tea room. (Yes, they actually have one of those).

The stallion was waiting patiently behind his seat at the table. Luna was already sat down. Celestia joined her sister and guest.

"Now," He began. His voice was deep, but clear. "I believe I have something you desire; information, valuable information... regarding Starlight Glimmer." He had both Celestia's and Luna's undivided attention.

"As a Monfoalian myself, I keep to my word, don't make promises i can't keep, and speak the truth when in the presence of somepony in a higher position than my own. Now I apologise if I may be overstepping my boundaries here, but I would appreciate it if you spoke the truth to me in return." His voice deepened as he uttered those last few words. Almost menacingly. Another behaviour that Celestia and Luna noticed almost right away, was that he hadn't even bothered establishing eye contact yet.

"We assure you that we will not utter a single false word while we are having this conversation." Luna said politely.

"Which 'we' are you referring to?" Celestia and Luna looked at each worryingly. This random stallion couldn't possibly be talking about Nightmare Moon, could he?

"But onto why I'm here. I'm sorry to say that yes, Starlight Glimmer is planning to breach your borders, and destroy Canterlot. My current understanding is that she will attack a couple months from now, and that she has asked Queen Chrysalis to lend her one hundred changeling soldiers to act as scouts for the assault." Celestia was in deep thought now.

"I see... So what you are implying is that some of the changelings will be here before the rest of the armies."

"Precisely. Now I am trying to stop this war from happening altogether. I have a young sister back at home, who I need to keep safe."

"So thou art a representative for Monfoalia." Celestia asked.

"Not exactly..." The stallion responded.

"May we ask what your name is?" Luna queried.

"Shooting Star." He said plainly.

"And how old art thou, Shooting Star?"

"Seventeen, Princess Luna."

"And you made the journey here all the way from Monfoalia. You must be quite strong for your age." Luna was implying that he must've received training from somewhere in Monfoalia.

Celestia picked up on this, and asked the next question carefully.

"Who are you really, Shooting Star? You claim not to be a representative, you don't act like a political figure, and you don't speak of Starlight Glimmer like a friend... so who are you?" He looked directly into Princess Celestia's eyes.

"Honestly? Some would call me a nomad, moving from one place to the next, never stopping for particularly long. I would call myself a Ronin. A warrior without a good enough cause to follow, one that I still search for. Most however..." Celestia and Luna waited to hear what was next.

"Most ponies... would call me a killer. Somepony who feels no emotion when causing others pain; somepony who will assassinate anypony for the right price; even the pony who killed the leader of Saddle Arabia three years ago. In short... think of me however you feel is right, I do not care if you insult me, but please, do not lie to me..." Luna was first to speak.

"We simply believe that thou art a misguided soul, somepony who does not yet know what he lives for. But will stop at nothing to find out." Shooting Star found this comforting to hear. He wasn't the monster he thought himself to be. Well, that's what one pony thought of him at least. Now it was Celestia's turn.

"You are... different from most I've met. You do what you believe is right. You are not selfish, but you are not completely selfless either. If something bodes well for you, you don't mind doing it. For example, I believe you found out something you shouldn't about Starlight Glimmer and the Monfoalian armies, and you ran with it. One, because you wanted to help us. But also to save your own skin." Shooting Star was still looking down into his cup of tea. "Am I, or am I not correct?" He looked up at Celestia.

"Yes. You are," Shooting Star, using his magic, pulled his chair out from behind him and stood on his hind legs.

"Apologies for not drinking the tea, I'm sure that it's quite refreshing but I simply didn't feel thirsty." Shooting Star put his cloak on, and began to walk away. He stopped, almost at the massive iron door, and turned to ask one more question.

"Is there a place in... Ponyville... that I can stay." Celestia thought deeply.

"Unfortunately there is not. Not in Ponyville at least. You can stay at the Canterlot Training Camps though." Shooting Star considered this proposal.

"There are some promising students there I'm sure you would love to meet." Luna chimed in. It would be a good opportunity to learn more about the defensive strategies that the army had.

"Promising?" He turned away. "I'll judge that for myself." He walked out of the door, and used his magic to close it behind him. Celestia and Luna sat there in silence for a while.

"Well." Celestia said as she stood up from her chair. "I believe the trainers have their work cut out for them."

Training Period:

Month 2

Day 11

The students sat around the ring in the outside training grounds. They had a new student today, but it was clear that he was already more than capable enough to join the yellow class immediately. Today was much like any previous day. At the end of the class they had time for two sparring matches. It had been a while since any of the main 6 had fought though. Today was an exception. The instructor called out the first set of sparring partners for today.

"Rarity..."

"Oh dear." She said flatly.

"And Pinkie Pie."

"Yay!!" She burst out. They both stepped -well, Pinkie kinda hopped- into the ring.

They both took their stances.

"Ready." Pinkie was still moving about on the spot, but Rarity seemed rather serious.

"Begin!" The two ran towards each other. Pinkie jumped up and executed a spinning jump kick. Rarity slide under it to dodge and turned back as she came up. She ran towards Pinkie and activated a teleportation spell at the last second. Pinkie Pie was still smiling. Rarity reappeared behind her and hooked kicked Pinkie Pie in the jaw. She blocked the hit, and came back immediately after.

"This is really fun!" She said in the middle of them exchanging hits and blocks. Rarity managed to land a clean hit after a while, using a bit of focused magic. She made sure to return to stance. Rarity's fighting style was all based on looks, so it was interesting to see her utilise this. Pinkie wasn't smiling anymore.

"One point to zero. Pinkie Pie, try to take this match more seriously. Imagine your life depends on it." The smile now on Pinkie's face was different. It was fierce, it was... maniacal.

Rarity stumbled back a bit. That face... that fucking face. It sent chills down her spine. Pinkie Pie reached into her mane and out came a pair of daggers in hoof. Pinkie's mane dropped down almost to her rump. Rarity knew that voice anywhere.

"Rarity... how long has it been? " Pinkamena Diana Pie!

Before the instructor could even let the fight commence she dashed forward and was inches away from Rarity's face. She wasn't even trying yet, she was merely taunting Rarity, who jumped straight over her opponent. Pinkamena focused excessive magic into her hoof. Rarity was still mid air when her opponent punched the air. The shockwave hit Rarity in the stomach! This marked one point each, however everypony doubted that Pinkamena would follow the rules of a sparring match. Rarity flew backwards, but landed safely. She concentrated some magic, and two fans appeared in her hooves. Complimentary to her fighting style, the weapons were based on finesse and style. She spun the bladed fans in her hooves and jumped forward. She turned in the air and threw both fans at Pinkamena. She blocked them with her daggers, and they deflected past her. Rarity's horn glowed and as the fans flew past Pinkamena an aura surrounded the fans. They changed direction quickly and came back at Pinkamena. She blocked the first one, but the second slashed at her side. This angered her further. They kept on coming back at Pinkamena, who was starting to understand the pattern. The fans flew at her from in front this time. Pinkamena prepared to block, but was surprised when Rarity teleported to the fans! She caught them, and kicked Pinkamena, then summoned a storm of ice shards behind her. Rarity's hoof flew down and the ice shards flew down at her. Pinkamena planted her hooves firmly in the ground, and a wall of concrete rose up in front of her. The shards became embedded in the wall, and evaporated. The wall descended back into the ground, and Rarity prepared another attack. She focused her horn and discharged multiple beams of magic towards Pinkamena. Her smile grew even more psychotic. She dodged all the blasts and advanced on Rarity, who put her fans up just in time to block. Pinkamena slashed at her with unrelenting speed. When she finally did stop it was only to attack differently. She spotted a gap in the fans and rushed forward. She executed a hoof charge attack, which is performed by moving forward and thrusting a hoof into the opponent's chest. She even followed through with the attack and Rarity slid across the floor. The instructor stepped in and examined Rarity. She was knocked unconscious by the blow, but was not fatally injured. Pinkamena did not care. She jumped forward, murder in her eyes. One of her daggers was raised in the air, ready to deliver the killing blow. The instructor stood up and stopped the attack. He covered his hoof in magic and the dagger deflected off like a bouncy ball. His horn glowed and Pinkamena was sent into unconsciousness, as well as Rarity awakening simultaneously.

"I will take these two to a medic. Class dismissed. You may do what you please for the rest of this session." Everypony stood up and left slowly, except for the main 6 and Shooting Star. Fluttershy went and helped Rarity up off the floor. She was still dazed.

"Rarity are you ok??" She caught her breath for a second.

"Yes darling, I'm fine. What about-" She shivered mid sentence. "Pinkie. Is she ok?" They left the training grounds.

"I'm sure she'll be fine." Twilight reassured her friend. "And besides, we need to get you checked out." Their conversation grew inaudible, until finally it wasn't there.

Shooting Star still sat where he was. He stared at Pinkie Pie as her mane reinflated. He smiled to himself.

"Well then... this could get very interesting."

The next day:

Everypony was still a bit shaken by Pinkamena's sudden emergence, and Pinkie Pie was even allowed the day off from all training. Sparring came around, and everypony was excited for today's matchup.

"Applejack." She was surprised to hear her name. She got to her hooves, and walked calmly into the ring. She waited to hear the name of her opponent. The instructor searched the class.

"Shooting Star." He walked into the ring slowly, but bored. Applejack took her stance, ready for the first attack. Shooting Star went into an offensive stance but he still looked bored, unenthusiastic, and dead behind the eyes. Applejack smiled. The instructor raised his hoof.

"Don't worry," She said. "I won't hit hard."

"Begin!" Applejack made the first move; she came in close for a straight jab at Shooting Star's face. He easily dodged, but didn't retaliate... He simply egged her on by leaving himself wide open for another attack. She went in for another hit. The punch was met with nothing but air; Applejack was slowly getting pissed off. She turned to face him.

"HHHAAAAAHHH!!" Her face contorted in rage, and her hoof flew through the air towards Shooting Star's torso. He wanted to see where this fight would go, so he decided to meet Applejack's hoof with a punch of his own. Their hooves connected violently, and a cloud of settled dust was suddenly kicked back up into air. Shooting Star took advantage of the slight pause, and kicked Applejack in the stomach; she stumbled back and caught her breath. Shooting Star took a stance this time, and still was bored, inadvertently goading her into fighting even more aggressively. She rushed at him, letting loose a barrage of constant attacks. He dodged all of them, and waited for more.

Applejack came at him again, a step kick rushing towards Shooting Star. He caught it, and threw her into the air. He waited for her to come down, and jump kicked her before she hit the ground. This strike marked a dominant win for Shooting Star, but Applejack refused to lose so easily. She got to her hind hooves, and contemplated her loss. She ran up behind Shooting Star and punched him square in the back so hard, he smashed right into the outer wall of the training grounds.

"APPLEJACK!" The instructor yelled. "THE SPARRING MATCH IS OVER!!" Shooting Star smiled.

"No, no; I'll fight her." He said. "I need a challenge anyway."

"Gimme a real fight!" Applejack was raging, and ready to destroy her opponent. She ran towards Shooting Star and threw a hook punch at his jaw; he blocked and countered with a turn kick. Applejack barely dodged it, and swiped him. He spun in the air and saw Applejack's kick moving toward his face! He barely put his hooves up in time to block. The connection was made, and Shooting Star flew back into the ring. He waited for Applejack to attack once more, which didn't take long. She ran at him, and prepared another attack. Shooting Star closed his eyes, confusing Applejack. When he reopened them, she was nearly in attacking range, and the look in his eyes was no longer dead; more excited. He stepped to the side, which made Applejack overshoot her palm strike. His hind leg flew into her stomach, and she almost doubled over in pain. He followed through with the motion, and Applejack rolled across the ring, before getting to her hooves.

"You can still walk away from this." Applejack stood fully, and took her stance.

"Well then..." Shooting Star said before dashing forward. He moved so fast, Applejack didn't even have time to react! His punch hit her square in the face, and she flew backwards. She struggled to get up. Shooting Star smiled.

"What's wrong?!" He taunted as he walked towards her.

"Isn't this..." He kicked her hard in the side and she let out a cry of pain.

"What you wanted?!!" He grabbed her by the face and slammed her into the wall.

"Applejack!!" Rarity shouted; this fight was painful for all the main 6 to watch.

Shooting Star punched Applejack in the stomach so hard, she coughed up blood.

"Stop!! STOP THIS!!!" Fluttershy was tearing up seeing her friend being hurt like this. She wanted so bad to interfere with the match, but the instructor set a rule stating that nopony was allowed to enter the ring during a sparring match, except for him.

Everypony sitting around the ring was either disgusted or thrilled by this fight, which had turned very quickly into a beating. How could anypony be so violent? He punched her once more in the torso, and threw her back onto the ground. He was starting to enjoy himself now. He was far from finished, but the instructor stepped in. He caught Shooting Star's punch, and pushed it back towards him. He grunted in annoyance, and left the grounds on his own terms. The instructor helped his injured student to her hooves, and walked her over to her friends.

"Everypony. I'm very sorry you had to see that; Shooting Star should not have behaved in such a way; you are all free to go."

Author's Note

Hey everyone. Sorry this chapter too so long; I was occupied, and took a break from both stories for about a month or so. Hopefully you weren't disappointed. Chapter 8 will be out by the middle of January next year... I hope. Have a Merry Christmas, and a happy New Year!