Their shieldby Azvameth RoseChaptersPrologueThe Dusk knightsLearning curvePrologue'One, two, three, They've come back for me. Four, five, six, Out for the streets, they take me. Seven, eight, nine, Now they begin to sell my life. Ten, eleven, twelve. Ponies come and go but I never get to leave.' That was his usual wake up song, he had come up with this last year. When his trader said he had just turned into something he called 'ten'. Wearing his shackles he walked up to his stand and posed for the ponies walking through the street. He had been there before. 'Old city by the trees...' "Nassir! Lift up your head!" The colt heard before feeling a blow hit his head. "Show them your traits! Make them want to take you home!" Nassir, that was not the name he received at birth. He didn't know what he was called by his mother, he didn't even remember his mother. But as far as he knew, Nassir was the name given to him by one of his previous owners. Not sure why he received a name, he simply learned to respond to it. He would also answer to 'it', 'thing', 'idiot', and so forth. However, his trader seemed to have taken a liking for calling him Nassir in front of the customers. The trader whispered to himself when he was alone, and he mentioned that a product being called by a name increased its value by a certain number. Something about the sensation called 'attachment' making customers being willing to pay more. The colt didn't understand a lot of words, all he knew were the ones related to his work. Which was serving his master in whatever way they asked of him. He remembered doing this for as long as he remembered breathing. The thing was...his masters would always send him back to his trader after six months or so, some would take longer, for others it would be a matter of weeks. They always had a strange expression when they send him back. His trader actually liked this, whenever he got back he would have the largest smile on his muzzle. "Come one! Come all! Browse through my wares! The finest slaves on the market! Well kept! Well fed! Good manners!" "A well-kept slave?" The young one heard while he kept walking around and showing himself as he was ordered. "What is the runt's name? Assuming it has one that is." "Nassir, my lord." "Very well, Nassir. Come down here," The colt obeyed. "Okay, white coat at the end of the limbs. Brown coat changing to gray on the ears. What happened to its coat and mane? The regular pony has only one color, except for the marks." "One of the previous owners made some experiments on him and the color is a side effect. He was originally completely dark brown. His mane was black. Now it has this weird grey to black color." "I see, so tell me what is this curse you set on him?" 'What is 'curse'?' "I-I don't-?!" "Oh, a hallucination curse, eh?" The stallion said smiling. "You got it back after some time has passed, right? You had the curse made them slowly lose their minds and think it was the runt, right? That way you could sell him again. A clever little trick for an earth pony." "H-how much to get y-you to keep quiet?" Now his trader had the weird expression. "Give it to me for free and half price for some of the clothes you left there, get some that fit this thing. I don't want to walk around with a naked slave." The trader had the expression the little colt always saw before the trader hit other slaves. The trader got him some rags and rope, after that, he placed them around the colt's body and tied the rope. Then the colt got his new seal, allowed the stallion to cast some weird spell on him, and left the place accompanying the new master. The colt was still in his shackles, he walked all the way back to a big house. The horned male led the young colt through the place until they got to a big room, there was a big table by the center of it. Two other ponies were sitting there, a female with wings and a fancy looking dress, and a male horned one with red and black robes. 'There is no point in remembering their faces...I will leave in a while, like always. That's how it always goes...how it always goes...how I always go...how others always decide what I do. "Son, what is that?" "My replacement for the army. I get to stay home!" The mare started to smile and came to hug the stallion. "That is wonderful son! You won't have to fight, you won't have the risk of dying in the dirt!" "So, what is the brat's story?" "The trader said that his family was on the border of the country. Apparently, they were farmers. But one day the place got burned out and his mother was the sole survivor. She was pregnant at the time and became a slave. The mud pony that sold me the runt said he got her from a griffin merchant. Then she gave birth to the kid and gave him up in exchange for her freedom." 'So mom sold me? I've been doing this since I was born then...' That The memory of the days he worked for the trader flooded his mind. Getting up before the sun rose, learning how to be obedient, how to keep quiet. 'The whip' would keep making noise until he learned the lesson, his back would burn and sting each time he failed. 'Keep quiet and obey' was the longest lesson. 'Don't think' was the hardest one to practice. 'Don't question orders' was the simplest. 'Ignore pain and hunger' was the one he never managed to learn, even with all the sessions with 'The whip'. "Hey, runt," The colt heard before feeling pain in the back of the head. "Where is your mark?" "Son," The mare said staring at the colt with the corner of her eye. "Slaves don't get Marks since they don't get to try and discover their talents." "Oh yeah...forgot about that." Suddenly there were some sounds coming from behind them, the colt ignored the sound and just looked to the floor. Then the sound of hooves started to echo through the colts head. "Excuse me, sir!" "What is it, soldier?" "We are glad to inform that your deed has stopped a scammer. We just arrested the slave trader that was working with the slave known as Nassir. He resisted arrest and was knocked out. But the slave is still at large." "Thank you, officer," Then there were more hoof sounds and then silence. "So, we need to get it another name. I already sent word to the guards that the merchant was pulling a scam using the slave known as Nassir. Therefore he can't have that name anymore. You just got here and you are already causing trouble!" More pain, but this time the colt felt his ear being twisted and pulled with excessive force. "Father? Do you still have that list of names from our ancestors?" "You would give it one of our names?!" The other male asked slamming his hands on the table. "We need to make it believable to send him to the army. A name from one of our ancestors should do the trick." The other male looked at the colt before making his horn glow, then a piece of paper started to float in front of the new master. He picked it up and started to do something with it. "The family's weakest members, huh? Fitting," Then the master put it in front of the colt's eyes. "Read the names and pick one. Just point at it. That will be your name for now on." 'I get to decide my name? But, what is 'read'? Is it the thing trader used to do during the night? I can't do that...' The colt kept running his eyes up and down the paper until he found a bunch of symbols that caught his attention. Raising both of his bound hands, he pointed at the symbol. "Vojin? That's one of the most disgraced ones...Vojin Kilp. That is your name from now on. I order you to abandon the name Nassir forever. Well, now we just need to get you ready to depart tomorrow morning." Vojin nodded, then there was a pain on top of his head again. "Listen, you are going to pretend to be a free pony. So, here are your orders: you will talk when others talk to you or when you have questions, and you will be whatever the militaries tell you to be. Understood?" "Yes," Vojin replied looking to the master. "That's it brat. Now, let's get you cleaned up. Trishka!" Vojin saw a mare come into the room, she as dressed up in a black and white outfit. She had the expression Vojin's previous owners had when they gave him back to the merchant. "Yes, young master?" "Take Vojin to the servant's bath and clean him completely." "As you wish." "Go with her." Vojin obeyed, the mare placed her hand on his back. Vojin got surprised since there was no pain or bad feeling when she touched him, slightly confused, Vojin followed the path she showed to him. Not walking in front of him but by his side, that was a first as well. She ended up leading him to the kitchen, then the laundry and finally a room with a wooden bathtub. "Come on little one, take off those rags and get into the water," Her voice was kind and gentle. Vojin liked that voice, he just noticed that she had a horn. And a pretty pendant, it shone in the light with a pretty color. "But...water is for drinking. If I get in it, the master will be mad. Dirty water is bad for drinking," The mare raised her hand, Vojin looked to the ground and waited for the strike. None came, just a delicate touch to his mane. "It's okay, you can get in this water, ok? We are just going to get that dirt out of your coat." 'This is strange...this feels strange...what is this?' Vojin felt his chest get warmer, but there was no fire. There was no pain. "Your name is Vojin?" The mare asked while she untied the rope around his waist. "My name is Trishka, Trishka Belle." There was a moment of silence, Vojin was feeling something different again. He wanted to speak the name he chose out loud. Again, and again, and again. "Yes! My name is Vojin Kilp! Vo-jin! Vo-jin!" He said while she removed the rags that were covering his body. Vojin was expecting the mare to say something, however, once the rags were off, she just stood there covering her mouth. There was water coming out of her eyes, Vojin tilted his head and stared at her. Then he looked back to his body, burnt marks, marks of the whip, spots where had been beaten up recently by the trader. "W-what happened to you? You poor little thing," Trishka said pulling Vojin close to her. "What have you been through?" Vojin didn't understand what she meant. That was normal to him, those marks and the pain were part of his routine. Vojin knew how to avoid them since he didn't like when they hit him, but that wasn't guaranteed to prevent all the pain. But somehow, he felt worse than when he was beaten up after seeing her like that. There was something different in her eyes, something he hadn't seen before. Vojin found himself drawn to that but couldn't quite explain why. "Sorry, Mrs. Trishka," He said in a low tone. "You don't have to be sorry about anything. It's not your fault," She said looking straight into his eyes. "You are just a child, you should not have to go through what marked you like that." "Okay," Vojin replied tilting his head and blinking a few times. "Now, let's get you clean up, ok?" Trishka said drying up the water from her eyes. Vojin nodded and entered the bathtub, then he felt the warm water. It was a pleasant feeling, the warmth was comforting. Like when the trader allowed him to sleep by the fire when it was cold. Then he saw the mare put something in the water, Trishka started to move the water and a white cloud came out of it. Bubbles started to fly around, then some humming started. Vojin couldn't help but marvel at the weird cloud that came out of the water, the bubbles around him made him see so many different colors when the light hit them. And the voice, the sound of Trishka humming was mesmerizing. While serving other masters, Vojin had heard melodies being played in weird objects that he knew nothing about. Something called a 'piano', other one called and 'harp'. However, none of the sounds he had ever heard could ever compare to what he was hearing now. Vojin closed his eyes and listened focused on the melody, that sweet and kind sound. He just wanted to keep hearing that forever and ever. While listening to that melody he felt something touch his mane, something delicate ran all over his head. Then the warmth of the water flowed down his head, that was an amazing feeling. The same happened to his back, then Trishka stopped her humming. "I need to get something, can you finish cleaning yourself?" Vojin felt a bit sad because the song had stopped. "Yes..." Trishka got up and left the room, Vojin finished cleaning himself in a matter of instants. Then he waited, and waited, and waited. 'It's okay to play with the water, right?' Looking around again to see if there was nopony around, he placed his hands inside the cloud and pulled out a piece of it. Vojin realized that as he touched the cloud a popping sound would happen, he took a deep breath and blew the cloud way. It dispersed while making more popping sounds. "Good to see you're having fun," Vojin heard while picking up another piece of the cloud. "Now, let's get you dried up," Looking at the sound source, he saw Trishka with some towels in her arms. "Ok," Vojin said getting up and walking to her. Then he used the towel in her arms to dry his body. When he was about to finish doing that another towel fell on his head. "Let me help," He heard while standing still. His head started to move around for a bit. "There!" Vojin heard before the towel left his head. "Now let's make you look like a proper colt." Trishka grabbed his hand and led Vojin to a smaller room, there were a ton of different clothes there. They all looked used and way bigger than he was. Trishka's horn lit up and the clothes started to move around, suddenly there was a bright flash that blinded Vojin for a moment. After regaining his sight, Vojin saw a mirror in front of him. He was completely dressed up, a little white shirt with some black pants that was kept in place by a belt. All of it somehow looked brand new, Vojin looked at his image and then looked at Trishka that had a half smile while she kept her arms crossed. "There, I wish I could do better. But this is all I have to work here," She said before crouching down to look at him. She stared into his eyes for a moment, almost as if she was looking for something. "Something is missing. I know!" Just as she said that Trishka reached for the choker with the pendant around her neck and took it off. Then she wrapped it around Vojin's neck and locked it. "There. It suits you," She said looking at him with a warm smile. Vojin looked at the mirror and saw the pretty pendant. "It may be an accessory for mares, but keep it with you, ok? I received that from my family as a protective charm. But I think you need it more than I need." "I get to keep it?" Vojin asked playing with it using his fingers. "Yes. Don't take it off until you find somepony who needs it more than you." "Ok, Mrs. Trishka," Vojin said while looking at his image in the mirror. He watched Trishka smile before she got up, then she offered her hand. Vojin accepted it and followed Trishka around the house until they got back to the room with the big table. It was empty now, the other three left and the plates with leftover food alongside the chalices half filled with wine. "Take a sit over there and wait for a moment," Trishka said smiling and pulling one of the chairs. "But...that's the master's table. I don't sit on the table with the others. Master will get angry with me." "Master is already asleep, you can sit down. He won't know," Hesitating a bit, Vojin sat on the chair Trishka pulled for him. After he sat down, Trishka patted his head again and left the room. Vojin sat there with his legs dangling, then he started to look around and admire the house he was in. The place was big, however, it seemed somewhat rundown. It was almost as if the estate was left to its own devices, the only place that seemed clean was the top of the table. The furniture by the walls had a visible layer of dust over it. The place probably had seen better days, that much was clear. 'Is master in a bad situation? He said he was sending me to the military...what is that?' After a few moments, something distracted Vojin from his observations. A delicious smell filled his nostrils, his mouth started to water up. His stomach rumbled, instinctively, Vojin crossed his arms over his abdomen and leaned forward. He had to quiet down the sound before anypony heard him and went to scold or beat him due to him making a scene. 'Two moons since I last ate. I don't think I'll be able to quiet it down. I'm gonna get hit...' "I see you are hungry," Vojin lifted his head in a flash and saw Trishka with a plate that had steam coming out of it. "The chef was kind enough to make this up from what we had left. Sorry, but this is the best we managed to pull. Go ahead, eat up." Trishka placed the plate in front of Vojin, looking what was on the plate, Vojin saw an orange liquid with some tomatoes and sliced up potatoes in it. The smell was driving Vojin crazy, he had served some of his masters this meal before. He was also forced to watch them eat because he had to remain in the room until he was told to leave. Always watching and never being able to taste that meal, Vojin watched his masters use the silver things on the table to eat this kind of food. Picking the round one up, Vojin tried to mimic the way his masters used to hold it. But all he managed to do was dropping the silver thing. Picking it up again in a more crude manner, Vojin scooped some of the soup and brought into his mouth. He stopped the moment the food touched his tongue. The liquid burned his tongue, but he didn't care. His throat burned as it went down, but he didn't care. The taste, it was way better than the smell, Vojin looked down to the dish in front of him and stared at it for a few moments. Vojin felt something run down his cheeks, his vision started to get blurry. 'I need to stop this water, my masters always hit me when this water came out of my eyes.' "I'm sorry, dear. I guess it doesn't taste very good, does it?" Vojin heard Trishka ask with a sad tone. Waving his head sideways, Vojin felt a smile form on his muzzle. "T-this is good," He said with a shaky voice. "T-this is the best thing I ever ate!" Just as he finished saying that, Vojin started to drink up the soup as fast as he could while savoring it. "Don't eat so fast! You're gonna choke! Or...not," Vojin heard while he chugged down the soup. "You were really hungry, weren't you?" "Yes, thank you! Mrs. Trishka!" Vojin said once he finished eating. "Well, let's brush those teeth and then let's get you to sleep. Okay?" Trishka said offering her hand, Vojin grabbed hold and followed her. Trishka led him to a room with a white bathtub and told him to brush his teeth, Vojin mimicked her and did the task she asked him to do. After that, she led him to a small room with an empty bed with simple sheets and a single window. The window gave view to the castle that the town was built around. "This is your room, at least...for tonight that is." "What is the name of the big house outside?" Vojin asked while approaching the window. "The castle? That is the castle of the two sisters. Queen Faust built it after giving birth to her daughters. The sun princess, Celestia. And the moon princess, Luna. It's the safest place in Equestria. And is also where you'll be going tomorrow morning. The training area for the soldiers is within the castle grounds," Trishka sounded a bit sad as she said that. "Am I going to be a soldier?" "Yes, unfortunately," Trishka replied in a low voice, she didn't even look him in the face. "Is something wrong? Mrs. Trishka, why are you sad?" She looked down at him, she got down on her knees and got on eye level with Vojin. Trishka then held his shoulders and looked at him with a stern look in her eyes. "Listen, do not let anypony pull you down! I'm asking you to do your best, ok? If you work hard enough, good things will come your way. You've been through a lot and you are only a child. Please, remember that there are as many good beings in the world as there are bad ones. Be strong and help the good beings. Protect everypony you can, ok?" "Is that an order?" Vojin asked tilting his head. "No, little one. This is a request. A request is something you ask of somepony else, but it's up to them if they will choose to do it or not." Vojin blinked and stared at the mare. 'Choose? I can...choose what to do this time?' "I'll try!" Vojin finally said with a smile on his face. Trishka smiled at him, then she hugged Vojin and patted him on the head. After that, she left the room leaving Vojin on his own. Climbing on the bed, he laid down and stared at the ceiling for several moments. Before he even realized, he had fallen asleep. A dreamless slumber was what Vojin usually went through every night, he had no visions no expectations. All he ever knew was the need to follow orders to stay alive. This night, however, was different. The image of Trishka came to his mind, her request echoing in his mind. Being strong, protecting others, doing the very best he could in whatever he could. Vojin looked around and the only thing that he could see were images of Trishka and the kindness she had shown him. After all that he went through, being treated like that made him feel a warmth he couldn't quite explain. Then Vojin looked at himself and saw the marks in his body. "You are just a child, you should not have to go through what marked you like that." 'So, everything I went through...I wasn't supposed to experience it? I went through all that...without the need?! The pain...WHY?!' The image of Trishka started to disappear as Vojin's mind started to lose itself. The warm feeling started to die down as the memories of the 'training' flooded his dream. Just as he started to lose completely the warm sensation Trishka gave him, another memory popped up. "It may be an accessory for mares, but keep it with you, ok? I received that from my family as a protective charm. But I think you need it more than I need." As those words silenced the other memories, Vojin felt something around his neck. Looking down he saw the choker with the pendant. 'That's the very first gift I received...it' meant to protect...maybe I can be a protection for others then.' He thought as he held it with his right hand. Suddenly, a voice crashed through his mind and bringing him back to the real world. "Wake up! You're leaving!" It was the master's voice. Vojin felt his mane being pulled while he was dragged out of the bed. "Hey! He is just a kid, Kilp!" Another voice shouted, Vojin opened his eyes and saw two figures he did not recognize. "No! He needs to be treated like this! This useless brother of mine always sleeps in and never gets anything done!" Master said tossing Vojin to the ground near the two strangers. "Besides, what does it matter if he gets hurt here? In a couple of years, he will be on a battlefield and he'll get hurt either way. At least he is getting used to the pain!" The master said laughing, Vojin looked over his shoulder and saw a twisted grin on the stallion's muzzle. "Yet, he is your brother, is he not? Or did your family just adopt him to get you out of enlistment?" "Tch. What does it matter?! Brat, listen well. Be whatever it is they need. Think for yourself once inside and make yourself useful in whatever job they give it to you. Not that you'll be able to think that is. Especially since you're dumb as a door." Vojin turned around, mimicking to the best of his ability the twisted smile that the master had on his muzzle, Vojin stared at his master and tilted his head. "Is that an order?" The master's grin dissolved and his eyes went wide, his legs started to shake and he backed away for a moment. for several seconds, all Vojin's owner could do was stutter and shiver. Vojin had seen that expression before, the same expression his previous owners had. However, this time, Vojin was the cause of it, not his trader's tricks. Vojin couldn't see it, but his eyes had stopped reflecting the light that came from the room, giving them an eerie appearance of two pitch-black orbs surrounded by a sea of white. Vojin stepped forth, his master stepped back. The twisted grin growing even bigger as time passed by. "Is that an order?" Vojin asked once more. "Y-yes, think a-and m-make y-yourself u-useful for them." Vojin tilted his head to the opposite side. Vojin's grin reverted into his regular expression. "Yes, sir." The noble gulped and left the room, soon after, Trishka walked in and saw them. "You're leaving?" "Yes, Mrs. Trishka. I'll give it my best shot, so you do your best too, ok?" The mare gave out a small giggle before nodding her head in agreement. "Ok. See you around, Trishka." The Dusk knights"Come on! Come on! Come to play with us!" Vojin heard as he was pulled by his hand by a white unicorn with wings and pink mane. She looked about his age and seemed pretty thrilled with the idea of finding a pony her age. "Princess, please! He is recruit! He is not here to play games!" The commander said holding Vojin's other arm. "Aw, come on! Please!" 'How did I get into this?' (Earlier that day) The guards that came to take Vojin to the military were very kind to him after the entire scene with his master. They went straight for the castle, as they did it, more soldiers accompanied by colts and teenagers of different heights and genders joined their march. One came from each house they passed by, some houses had adults waving at the leaving parties, others had adults crying. 'Their families...why must they leave their homes?' "Excuse me, Mr. Soldier," Vojin said with a hint hesitation in his voice. "So, you talk to others that aren't your big brother." "Yes, why are you taking ponies away from their families?" The guard seemed to be taken back by the question. "W-well, there are bad things happening all over our kingdom. And in order to protect those who can't defend themselves, we need as many soldiers as there are bad things." "To protect everypony then?" The soldier nodded. "And once the bad things are gone, can they return to their families?" "That's right, kid." After saying that, the soldier placed his weapon in front of Vojin, that reacted by halting his march. In front of Vojin, there was a huge gate that started to creak as it opened. Behind the grand gate, there was an even bigger courtyard, filled with different soldiers and knights. They were divided into groups, some of them had long strange sticks with metal ends. Others had swords, others were shooting some wooden sticks. There were some carrying some metal thingies in their arms. Suddenly, the guards stopped and Vojin stopped as well. The soldiers in the courtyard left, then a different looking soldier came by. He had a very shiny armor and the way he walked was like Vojin's master. He was full of himself, Vojin knew it wouldn't be long before he would start to insult him or the others. "Alright! I am here to make all of you scrubs into soldiers!" The soldier started as he looked down on the new recruits. "Listen up and listen well. Here in our ranks, there are four grand classes regarding the front line soldiers. Spear soldiers, bow soldiers, sword soldiers, and shield soldiers. If you have a talent for magic, however, there is a possibility you may become a wizard. That will rely entirely on your affinities. You'll be graded by some of the best magicians in the realm. Then you'll eventually be placed in one of the three battalions that compose our army." From behind the soldier, Vojin saw three other figures come out of the castle. One of them wearing an armor golden as the sun, the second wearing a full set of silver armor, and the third...that one had something different about it. She wasn't wearing a full set like the others. First of all, it was the only female in the group. Secondly, she looked like she was wearing a combination of metal and leather for armor, it looked less valuable. There was something else, compared to the other two, she looked more worn out. Like she could collapse at any given moment due to exhaustion, Vojin recognized that expression since he had seen himself on a mirror once. Her eyes had something different as well, something Vojin also found familiar but couldn't quite describe. "Now, the main attack force of our army resides in the Sun Knights. They are the front assaulters and the main force defending any given location, also working as law enforcers out on the streets. They also receive orders directly from our queen," The soldier explained as he made way for the golden soldier to step forward. "Just as the chief said, our group focuses on frontline work. We stand at the borders of areas with the risk of invasions or conflicts. We are also the ones in charge of protecting the queen and her daughters directly." "The second division is the Moon Knights. They specialize in covert operations, intelligence gathering and they also have most of the wizards that aren't working on research and development of spells under the Great Wizard sages. They have a bit more freedom when it comes to their posting and operations." "Contrary this hammerhead of a comrade of mine over there. Our group specializes in jobs that require more finesse. We are also working with dismantling organized groups and some other things." "But you always end up asking for our help in the end," The golden one said with a smirk, earning a scowl from the silver stallion. "Keep it down ladies," The third soldier said in an annoyed voice. The other two turned to her like they were ready to hit her, however, the moment they stepped closer, the mare looked at them. "Do any of you girls have anything to say?" A simple glare and both of the soldiers stopped on their tracks. They started to mumble before turning back to their original position. 'That seems useful. Wonder what she did.' "And lastly, we got the Dusk Knights. They are basically the rese-" "Reserves my flank," The mare interrupted the soldier pushing him aside. "Listen up you brats, we are the ones that basically pull out all the jobs here. We change locations based on how short of staff the other knights are. We do everything from helping with logistics all the way up to fighting in conflict areas. We also enforce the law and we have way more freedom than the other two since they tend to ignore us. Meaning that the one actually relocating our troops is me." "Thank you! Mrs. Jorah Kalish!" "You're welcome, little guy. Not talking about your height," The mare once again replied, the other two tried to muffle their laughter while the remaining soldier tried to raise his hand against her. "Should I inform the Queen on how I know that? I guess it wouldn't bode well to your image now, would it?" "T-that will not be necessary. You are all dismissed." 'I don't like this stallion,' Vojin thought as he watched the mare and the other two knights walk away. "Very well recruits! We shall be sending you all into the evaluation chamber one by one. Just sit by and wait for your name to be called." Vojin saw the guards that had led him and the others there leave and then simply stood there. Vojin watched the others try to talk amongst themselves, they were all speaking about what class they wanted to be, which group they hoped to be in. After that, they started to talk about what they expected from working there. Vojin didn't understand what was the purpose of that, he was there to be useful to the soldiers. It didn't matter which class he was in. The small talk they kept pulling started to annoy Vojin, so he decided to back away from the crowd and sat on the grass. Time moved on as each one of the fillies and foals were called out one by one. Vojin kept to himself until something hit the top of his head. It didn't hurt, but it was enough to grab his attention. Turning around, he saw a toy he had seen other ponies playing with. Vojin got on his hooves and walked over to it. After he had just picked it up there was a sound of wings flapping, looking up he saw a white unicorn that also had a horn and a pink mane flying down. "Toss it here, please!" That voice sounded like a filly, she was about the same height as Vojin. Her clothes looked very valuable. Vojin looked at the ball and threw it at her, the mare caught it in the air. She giggled and waved before she started to fly away. However, when she was heading back a smaller and blue filly bumped into her and fell down. Vojin ran over and caught the filly, which was giggling the entire time. "Yay! Let's do it again, Tia!" She exclaimed as she waved around a little sword that looked like it was made of wood. The other one flew down as Vojin placed her on the ground. "Mother told you not to fly so high yet, Lulu!" The bigger one said picking the smaller one up. "Thank you. Who are you?" "Vojin Kilp." "Right, um...My name is Celestia and this is my little sister Luna." "Hello there!" The blue one said waving happily her sword. "So, what are you doing here?" The white one asked while looking Vojin from top to bottom. "I was brought here to be a soldier." "Really? But you're about my age. At least you look about my age..." She commented tilting her head, her ears suddenly perked up and she opened up a smile. "Why don't you come to play with us?" Her voice just like her little sister's was chirpy and energetic. Both she and her sister's smiles were so warm and kind that made Vojin feel like when he was with Trishka. "What?" Vojin asked raising an eyebrow. "Yeah! Come to play with us! You're on your own back here, then we can-" "There you are!" The soldier that was calling the ponies up said from behind Vojin. "I was...oh. Good morning Princesses." "Morning." "Has this one given you two trouble? I sincerely apologize. We shall make sure that-" "He gave me back my ball and prevented that Luna crashed into the ground. He hasn't caused any trouble," The happy tone disappeared from Celestia's voice, she sounded more polite and her smile turned into a serious gaze. She had changed her entire posture in the blink of an eye. "Tia in her serious face now," The one called Luna said giggling. "I-I see," The soldier said lowering his head. "However, he has to undergo the evaluation process. If you'll excuse us," He said picking up Vojin's arm and pulling him away. Suddenly, Vojin felt something pulling his other arm. Looking over his shoulder, Vojin saw Celestia holding his wrist. She was strong, her grip was about as strong as the soldier's grip. Vojin saw both of them stare at each other for a few moments, then the situation escalated to a tug of war with Vojin as the rope. (Back to the present) "What is happening here?" A new voice said as the sound of flapping wings broke the conversation. "Tia, Luna. What are you two doing here?" "We were playing and the ball went over the wall," Celestia explained. "Then this nice colt gave it back to me. Luna tried to fly to this side while I tried to get it back. Then she fell and he caught her too. Seeing as he was alone I wanted to get him to play with us." "Princess, please. He has to come to undergo the evaluation!" The new mare that came by had a cream-colored coat, red mane, and a mark on her arm of a scroll and a quill looked at Vojin. She gazed at him for a long time, then her horn lit up and her eyes started to move sideways almost as if she was reading something. A deep scowl appeared in her face, Vojin had seen that expression before. It tended to happen before his masters would call him disgusting." "You have been in a bad place, haven't you?" She asked looking straight at Vojin. "What do you mean?" Vojin asked tilting his head. "Soldier, proceed to examine the other recruits. Let this one play with my daughters until he is the last one remaining. He deserves to at the very least learn how it feels to be a child," That last bit she said in a very low tone, Vojin barely managed to understand it. "Your majesty?" "Just do as I say." The soldier nodded and let go of Vojin's wrist. Then he made a strange gesture to the mare and walked away, Vojin looked back to Celestia and saw that her smile was back. "Come! Let's play!" She said pulling him again. Vojin stayed put, he looked at the big mare. She looked at him and moved her head towards Celestia, Vojin was familiar with that gesture as well, it meant that he was supposed to leave or follow somepony else. However, he was told to do what he wanted. 'I can choose...I can choose...' Vojin looked back into Celestia and Luna's faces. 'Is that how a child is supposed to be? They look so...bright. I want to know what that is like.' (Meanwhile) "Your Highness," The young prodigy that received no recognition due to him not being from a noble lineage greeted her. "Did you summon me?" "Yes, Starswirl. I'm well aware that you should be grading the recruits. But the other apprentices should handle it just fine. I want you to check on a particular pony," Faust said as she overlooked a group of three children playing around with a ball from a balcony, her daughters and a young and strange colt. "Which one your highness? Did you bring the subject here?" Starswirl asked leaning on the edge of the balcony and looking down. The wizard was an acquaintance that she met by chance and he had picked her interest, she had seen Starswirl story, she knew that he was loyal to her and the kingdom. Faust's talent was something that terrified all the ponies who had something to hide. By activating her talent, she could literally see the life of a living being like a book and read it. Not only that, if she wanted, she could write anything she desired into the book and that would change the being. After seeing the young prodigy's story, the Queen made a recommendation to the council of the sages to keep an eye on him. And she also took the habit of checking up on him from time to time as to evaluate his progress as a wizard. "I want you to take a look at that colt playing with my daughters," Faust said pointing at the newcomer. "That skinny one? Very well," Starswirl said lighting up his horn and casting his spell. "Ok. That child is a level zero. His traits are bellow regular except for his defense that is slightly higher than the rest of his stats. His aura is...dark, very dark. He has a really big potential for curses, support magic, and defensive magic. Is that really a child?" "Yes, he is," Faust replied making her horn light up. Suddenly a book appeared in front of her. "Take a look at this," She said handing the book to him. "That little trick of yours is never going to get old," Starswirl said as he picked up the tome. While the wizard started to read, Faust watched the trio run around. Luna was sitting on the colt's shoulders as she pointed her little toy sword towards Celestia, who was running away from the trio. 'That is a child...but his heart is hardened as the heart of an adult.' "My queen, he is a..." "A slave, yes." "No child should go through this," He said turning the pages as his eyes darted through the pages. "That explains the dark aura. But how come that child hasn't turned into a killer or a criminal?" "That is because he is a child. He doesn't know anything but that life. He only started to understand that something in his life was wrong yesterday. And that's when the emotions came forth. He would have been overtaken by them if something else hadn't happened." "The maid?" "Yes, she was the first one to show him kindness. And the first one to give the very first thing he could call his own. He didn't even own his life. That kindness caught his attention, and the concept of protecting has also redirected those negative emotions to use them in a different manner." "And he did that without knowing...which is fortunate. If he had a better understanding of the world...maybe he would have ended up differently." "Correct," Faust commented while looking at the colt laying on the ground smiling. "However, it is still problematic for him to have that much anger and hatred that he doesn't even understand. And if word of him being a slave got out..." "His life would be even more difficult. There is enough problem with him being an earth pony, but add the slave part and he will have to work to pay his freedom after being transformed into properties of the state," The wizard said with taking off his tacky hat and scratching the back of his head. "Which actually means he will be used until he falls dead." "My thoughts, exactly. Do you think he could make it here as a knight?" "I don't know, Your Majesty. But it would be best to keep an eye on him." "Agreed," Faust commented still staring at the child that slept peacefully on the grass. After a few moments, one of the guards came by and woke him up. Faust watched the child getting up and waving at her daughters as he walked away. 'Let's see the wizard's reaction to his status...' Vojin followed the soldier into a dark chamber, there was only one light there. It was illuminating the very center of the room, once he stepped into it, the soldier left the room. There was a short period of silence before Vojin saw multiple lights come up. Multiple unicorns were standing around Vojin, the lights he saw were the horns enveloped by magic. Their eyes glowed like a crazy, hypnotic, and scary show. Vojin stood still as their light show continued to confuse him, then a strange pain came forth. Vojin's eyes felt like they were burning up from the inside, the world around him looked like it was melting. He fell to his knees as the horrific display continued as he started to hear voices whispering to each other. With the little he could see, Vojin saw the strangers' faces. They had smiles on their muzzles, they seemed to enjoy the suffering Vojin was going through. 'Why are they so happy with the sight of the pain of others?' Then, just as suddenly as the pain came, it was gone. Vojin's sight slowly returned to normal as he got back on his hooves, a series of strange symbols started to appear before him. Numbers, letters, circles and strange shapes were all over his field of vision. "Level zero. This one will have a hard time adapting. We need to assign a soldier and a wizard to look over this one." "Why bother with magic? He is just a mud pony." "It's protocol. We need to assign a wizard." "According to protocol, we can leave him open to somepony to volunteer." "Just send him to a soldier that isn't important, he isn't anything special after all. And what use would his affinities be in the field? The only type of useful magic on the field is offensive magic. Supporters and defenders are shot down first and that their spells take a long time to cast." "Not to mention that curses aren't exactly well seen." 'Just send me to where I need to be. This is annoying.' "Or we can leave him to her." "Oh, that is right! She doesn't have anypony under her now. And since she is a unicorn...we won't have to waste our efforts by finding a wizard to try to teach anything to this useless colt." "That should be fine...as long as we still mark that his magic teacher spot is waiting for a volunteer." "That should do it then." "Vojin Kilp, Jorah Kalish, the captain of the Dusk Knights will be your soldier instructor. Your magic instructor will be assigned once somepony volunteers to fill the spot. Do you understand?" "Yes," Vojin said looking up, the letters and numbers disappeared but a small symbol stayed behind. It looked like his silhouette. Vojin then saw a familiar figure above him the mare that told him to play with Celestia and Luna, she was staring at him with a strange look. By her side, a stallion wearing a colorful and very strange outfit had the same look. "Serve your country well and you may be rewarded," The mare said, startling all of the unicorns that quickly fell to their knees. "I will do everything I can," Vojin said mimicking the other ponies and getting on his knees. "If somepony can show me the way, I'll follow them to the Dusk Knights." "Very well, little one," The stallion by her side said, the unicorns seemed to recognize his voice since their expressions shited into scowls and Vojin could see them gritting their teeth at the very sight of him. "Follow me, for I volunteer to be your guide, both to reach your teacher in arts of combat, and in the path of magic." Vojin heard a lot of mumbling and whispering, words he didn't understand the meaning, but that he knew that his previous masters used whenever they were angry at somepony, or him. Vojin stood up and walked forth, the unicorn teleported from the vantage point to the ground level and made a gesture for Vojin to follow him. "I am Starswirl the Bearded. A pleasure to meet you," The unicorn said extending his hand. Vojin looked at him, the look he had wasn't like the one Vojin's previous masters had. It was kind, not on the same level as Trishka, but he didn't seem like a bad pony like the others he had seen so far. With that in mind, Vojin reached for his hand and shook it. Then the wizard touched the side of his strange looking hat and walked away, Vojin took one last look into the room with the unicorns and then followed the grey coated unicorn. 'I guess this is how it all begins.' Author's Note Here is another one! Please let me know what you thought about it. And thank you for reading! Learning curve"What is this, gray beard?" Vojin heard when he stepped in the room accompanied by Starswirl. The captain, Jorah Kalish, was sitting on her desk with a quill on her hand and a huge pile of papers by her. "I am busy right now. So scram." "Well, I guess you'll have to make time," The wizard replied, which made the mare let out a sigh and drop the quill. "What is it?" SHe asked pressing her temples. "Well, we both been assigned a small one," Vojin watched Jorah's eyes shot open as leaned back and looked at them with a baffled expression on her face. "Before you even try to scream like a maniac. This one is a hard worker. I bet he can help you just as much as you can." "What makes you so sure you old fart in the body of a stallion?" "The queen gave me quite the interesting book to read." 'What does that mean? It doesn't relate to the question at all,' Vojin thought as he watched the captain look at him scratching her chin. "Your name, kid." "Vojin Kilp." "You're basically skin and bones," Jorah replied as she got up and walked up to Vojin. Then she crouched down and looked him in the eyes. "I'm gonna call you Skelly until you make me think you're worthy of your name." "Ok," Vojin replied looking her straight in the eyes. "What do you want me to do Ma'am?" "Eager, aren't we? What can you do?" "Cleaning, being a punching bag, being a toy, serving food, carrying and delivering small packages," Vojin replied without hesitation, earning a frown and a tilted head from the captain. "What did you bring to me? Because this one sounds less like a colt and more like a slave," She said looking to Starswirl. "Keep it quiet, the queen knows it and so do I. He has gone through enough so we'll have to teach him without the others figuring out he is a slave," Vojin heard as he walked away from them. While their discussion proceeded, Vojin looked around the captain's office. The place was a mess, pieces of paper scattered everywhere, remnants of candles all over the floor. Used matches in between the tiles covering the ground. Dust covered a lot of places that seemed to be unused or completely forgotten. 'I can't simply go taking out and organizing these papers, she might have placed them in specific spots for a reason. I can take out the trash though,' Vojin thought as he walked around gathering the matches and crumbled paper pieces. Uncrumbling one of the papers, he used it to hold the burnt out matches and carry them to a trash bag. "Skelly, what are you doing?" "Making myself useful. I know that I can't do much, so until I do. I'll stick to what I can do," Vojin replied as he continued to do his task. "Besides, I can tell when ponies are tired. They get really angry for no reason and have those marks under their eyes. Whenever somepony is like that I tend to keep to myself by doing small jobs to ease their load so that he would be able to sleep. That usually gets them to sleep meaning that I got less trouble on my hands." Vojin watched as the captain stared at him for several seconds, she had a deep frown. "You are really weird, Skelly." "I am well aware of that. Weird, useless, toy, garbage. I am many things to a lot of ponies. However, I intend to change that. I'll be what I want to be, not what they want or what they see," Vojin replied as he continued to gather scrap from the floor. "As you can see he is very determined," Vojin heard from Starswirl right before the trash he was gathering started to float away into a trash bin. "However, without any sort of training, he can't do much. That's where we have to intervene." "I am not an idiot beard," Jorah said with an annoyed voice. "I need his numbers first." "You'll need to work all of them," Starswirl replied firing up his magic and causing a scroll to manifest, which he gave to Jorah. "His highest numbers are in his defense status. And even those are low." "What in Tartarus are you, kid? A larval form of a pony?" "I am a pony. I just wasn't in the best care." "Duly noted," Vojin heard before he felt a hand on his shoulder that forced him to turn around. Jorah was kneeling down and looking at him while she scratched her chin. "Ok, first I'll have you win some weight while beard over there teaches you how to read. Once you're back into an acceptable weight, I'll begin strengthening your body and raising some of your stats. Your lessons start tomorrow. Therefore, today you'll eat and rest." "If that's what you believe to be the best option. I'll stick to it," Vojin replied before turning away to place the pieces of paper he had in hand into the trash bin. "Ma'am, where is the place where I can get food?" "We ought to grab some grub as well," Jorah said passing her arm over Starswirl's shoulder. "And this guy over here is gonna pay for our food since what they have here at the barracks is downright disgusting. If not poisonous." "You're going to burn my economies again, aren't you?" Starswirl said letting out a sigh before smiling. "You have always been like this." "And you have always been a grumpy pony with a beard," Jorah replied playing with the Straswirl's beard. 'Her mood improved, she must really like food. Or she just wanted to get out of this dirty room.' "Come on, kid! Let's eat!" Jorah exclaimed before grabbing his wrist and pulling him away. "To the restaurant!" 'I'm starting to wonder if these two are actually going to help me or if they are just acting to get me to lower my guard. 'Okay, that kid needs to gain weight, but given how thin he is...I don't think he can eat much at once. My best bet is to have some smaller and more frequent lunches. I can get in contact with the guys in the kitchen to make something specific for him for a while. They do owe me after I got them the funds to fix their project of a kitchen. Or should I call it their alchemy lab? Cause I'm pretty sure that what they have been serving isn't food.' 'Yeah, that should do it. Now, what should I do for training? I never had to raise one of my soldier's stats this much. One point in strength and intelligence. Three in wisdom, two in stamina, his constitution has four, and the defense has five. His dexterity is...how do you get half a point? The lowest score I ever saw was nine. Where do I even begin with this kid? Maybe some minor sets of push-ups? No...he won't be able to lift himself off the ground.' 'I could have him carrying some boxes for me...slowly raising the weight should make him able to get his strength up. Dexterity is easy, simple jobs that require a bit of finesse should do it, though I should find something even a baby could do correctly. His wisdom and intelligence are beard's problem. Constitution...that one is going to be tricky. I better come up with something later. The last one...defense...I can probably have him trying to block my attacks. I can go easy, the others might overdo it.' 'But out of all the weird things we have here...what is up with his affinities with curses? Those are hard to come by and usually...they are linked with a lot of negative emotions. Well, he was a slave...but what did he go through?' Although Jorah was smiling during their dinner, the last thing on her mind was what was happening around her. That entire thing seemed off, a child in those conditions, his background...the queen. Jorah knew her, and the queen herself asked to keep the kid's background a secret. What could have led a child to have that much affinity for curses? "Hey, Jorah?" Starswirl asked breaking her out of her trance. "I think our little friend had more than enough," He continued pointing at the kid. When Jorah turned to see Vojin, she saw a small colt sleeping with his head resting on the table with an empty plate by his side. 'Back in the office...he looked like a miniature adult. Now he looks like a regular child, it's just sad. When children are taken in by the military they still have recreational times as to reduce their chances of being way too into combat. But given how he acts...that won't make a difference. Does he even know how it is to be a kid? In any case, he can at the very least sleep and dream like a child.' After Starswirl had paid their tab, Jorah picked up Vojin and carefully carried him back to the barracks. Carefully carrying him so that he wouldn't wake up, Jorah got a lot of surprised looks along the way. The dead-eyed captain of the Dusk Knights was carrying a child in her arms while being accompanied by a stallion. "You know that a lot of ponies are going to be speaking about this, don't you?" "Since when did I give a shit about them? This is a kid that doesn't know how to be one. Except when he is sleeping, and from here on out he will be facing a huge learning curve just so he can start to think about a class. Imagine how it will be when he is combat ready, at least he can be a child in his sleep. Therefore this moment is sacred from now on." (The following day) "Tia! Tia!" Celestia heard as something pulled out her dress' skirt. "Look over there!" "What is it, Luna? We are studying now," Celestia asked while turning to her little sister that was sitting by her side. "It's the colt from yesterday! Look! He is studying as well. Let's go say hello! He was really nice, so come on!" Celestia looked over to where Luna was pointing, it really was him. 'Vojin, was it? Mother told me that soldiers always are at the barracks. They don't tend to come to the library. And who is that guy with him? He has a pretty tacky hat with all those bells. I guess that I should just do what Luna wants so that we can go back to studying. I don't want to be scolded like last time.' "Okay, Lulu. Let's go say hello. Then we go back to the books, ok? Mother will be angry if we don't cover the lessons she selected for us," Celestia said getting up and guiding Luna by holding her hand. The sisters walked all the way through the library to reach Vojin, who had a quill on one hand and seemed to be struggling with something given the faces he was doing. When they got closer Celestia managed to see that he seemed to be transcribing letters from a children's book. "And this one?" The wizard asked right before Celestia managed to say something. "Is it the letter 'v'?" Vojin replied staring hard at the letter the hat stallion had on his head. "Close, this is the letter 'u'. They aren't very far away in the alphabet, but their shape is distinct. You need to pay attention to the shape of the letter. You won't be able to read unless you can recognize the letters in front of you. You want to be able to read, don't you?" "Of course I want! Then I'll be able to read my own name!" Vojin replied looking with a serious face to the wizard. "Then you need to be more careful. You're really good at copying what you see. You managed to copy most of the letters, even if you're sloppy with the handwriting." "I just copy what is in front of me. That's how I do most of my tasks. If I just mimic what they do I could finish what I had to do. But it's not like I can make it as well as the other pony." "Hey, Tia! Look he is still learning how to read!" Luna exclaimed on the other side of the table, Celestia didn't even notice that she had left her side. "Hey, Vojin! Hello!" "Princess Luna?" The wizard said as she walked to Luna's side. "Princess Celestia. To what do we owe the pleasure?" "Hello, Luna," Vojin replied looking down to Luna. "Celestia, good to see you." "Hello, Vojin," Celestia said making a small bow. "And you sir, you are?" "My apologies. I am Starswirl, Starswirl the Bearded. I am the little one's instructor in magic." 'Magic? But based on that conversation it seems Vojin doesn't even know how to read. Which is weird.' "More specifically he is my teacher in academics in general according to what he said to me," Vojin said picking the book back from Luna and placing it on the table. "I'm not very bright, so he is taking the time to teach me some basics. I want to be able to read, write, and much more," He continued picking up the quill and a blank scroll. "Mr. Bells! Mr. Bells!" Luna said playing with the bells hanging from the hat. "You look smart. What do you know about literature?" "Luna! We need to learn the lessons on our own!" Celestia shouted as she reached for Luna who was standing on top of a table. "You need help? I'll be glad to help. Just bring your books over and I'll lend you two a hand." "But...aren't you supposed to focus on your assigned soldier?" "I don't mind," Vojin replied as he continued to scribble down the letters from the book. "My guess is that I won't be leaving this lesson for a while." "The older you get the harder it is to learn basic things like the alphabet," Starswirl replied looking at the letters. "Which one is this?" "B?" "Correct. You seem to be learning a bit at the very least. Keep it up and then you go outside and eat one of those thingies Jorah gave it to you," The wizards said looking at the letters. "And put some more effort in your writing. It won't matter how good you are with words if others can't read them." "Ok. I'll keep trying," Vojin replied with a frown in his face as his hand trembled with the quill. 'At least he puts on an effort,' Celestia thought as she turned away to go get the books. "Luna, Celestia," A familiar voice called out as soon as Celestia started to turn to her table. "Why aren't you studying?" "O-oh. Hi, mom," Celestia replied, looking at her mother's stern look. "M-me and Luna just came t-to say hi to Vojin." "Your Majesty," The wizard said from behind her, Celestia saw her mother's angry look soften a bit as soon as she saw the colt and the wizard. "Starswirl. How are you?" She asked with her usual calm tone. "How are things going with your assignment?" "No problem," He replied without much care as he looked back to Vojin's book. "I was about to offer a little help to your daughters with their lessons. If you don't mind that is." 'Mother knows this Starswirl guy? She spends most of her day doing her 'royal duties' and we only see her in the night when she is about to send us to sleep.' "I don't see a problem with you helping my daughters," Faust replied, which made Celestia raise an eyebrow. "I guess I can up the difficulty of the lessons since you're helping out." 'WHAAAAAAAAAT?!' "Yay! We get to study with a teacher instead of being alone!" Luna celebrated as she ran back to the books. "Starswirl, I'm heading out to eat these bar thingies Jorah gave me," Vojin said walking away. "Very well, I'll circle the letters you wrote down for when you come back you can identify them," The wizard said picking up the parchment. "Well, Celestia. I'm changing your assignments for today. Get ready for a little dificulty spike." "Okay, mother." 'I just wanted to finish my assigment for today and get out of the library...why did this happen?'
Prologue'One, two, three, They've come back for me. Four, five, six, Out for the streets, they take me. Seven, eight, nine, Now they begin to sell my life. Ten, eleven, twelve. Ponies come and go but I never get to leave.' That was his usual wake up song, he had come up with this last year. When his trader said he had just turned into something he called 'ten'. Wearing his shackles he walked up to his stand and posed for the ponies walking through the street. He had been there before. 'Old city by the trees...' "Nassir! Lift up your head!" The colt heard before feeling a blow hit his head. "Show them your traits! Make them want to take you home!" Nassir, that was not the name he received at birth. He didn't know what he was called by his mother, he didn't even remember his mother. But as far as he knew, Nassir was the name given to him by one of his previous owners. Not sure why he received a name, he simply learned to respond to it. He would also answer to 'it', 'thing', 'idiot', and so forth. However, his trader seemed to have taken a liking for calling him Nassir in front of the customers. The trader whispered to himself when he was alone, and he mentioned that a product being called by a name increased its value by a certain number. Something about the sensation called 'attachment' making customers being willing to pay more. The colt didn't understand a lot of words, all he knew were the ones related to his work. Which was serving his master in whatever way they asked of him. He remembered doing this for as long as he remembered breathing. The thing was...his masters would always send him back to his trader after six months or so, some would take longer, for others it would be a matter of weeks. They always had a strange expression when they send him back. His trader actually liked this, whenever he got back he would have the largest smile on his muzzle. "Come one! Come all! Browse through my wares! The finest slaves on the market! Well kept! Well fed! Good manners!" "A well-kept slave?" The young one heard while he kept walking around and showing himself as he was ordered. "What is the runt's name? Assuming it has one that is." "Nassir, my lord." "Very well, Nassir. Come down here," The colt obeyed. "Okay, white coat at the end of the limbs. Brown coat changing to gray on the ears. What happened to its coat and mane? The regular pony has only one color, except for the marks." "One of the previous owners made some experiments on him and the color is a side effect. He was originally completely dark brown. His mane was black. Now it has this weird grey to black color." "I see, so tell me what is this curse you set on him?" 'What is 'curse'?' "I-I don't-?!" "Oh, a hallucination curse, eh?" The stallion said smiling. "You got it back after some time has passed, right? You had the curse made them slowly lose their minds and think it was the runt, right? That way you could sell him again. A clever little trick for an earth pony." "H-how much to get y-you to keep quiet?" Now his trader had the weird expression. "Give it to me for free and half price for some of the clothes you left there, get some that fit this thing. I don't want to walk around with a naked slave." The trader had the expression the little colt always saw before the trader hit other slaves. The trader got him some rags and rope, after that, he placed them around the colt's body and tied the rope. Then the colt got his new seal, allowed the stallion to cast some weird spell on him, and left the place accompanying the new master. The colt was still in his shackles, he walked all the way back to a big house. The horned male led the young colt through the place until they got to a big room, there was a big table by the center of it. Two other ponies were sitting there, a female with wings and a fancy looking dress, and a male horned one with red and black robes. 'There is no point in remembering their faces...I will leave in a while, like always. That's how it always goes...how it always goes...how I always go...how others always decide what I do. "Son, what is that?" "My replacement for the army. I get to stay home!" The mare started to smile and came to hug the stallion. "That is wonderful son! You won't have to fight, you won't have the risk of dying in the dirt!" "So, what is the brat's story?" "The trader said that his family was on the border of the country. Apparently, they were farmers. But one day the place got burned out and his mother was the sole survivor. She was pregnant at the time and became a slave. The mud pony that sold me the runt said he got her from a griffin merchant. Then she gave birth to the kid and gave him up in exchange for her freedom." 'So mom sold me? I've been doing this since I was born then...' That The memory of the days he worked for the trader flooded his mind. Getting up before the sun rose, learning how to be obedient, how to keep quiet. 'The whip' would keep making noise until he learned the lesson, his back would burn and sting each time he failed. 'Keep quiet and obey' was the longest lesson. 'Don't think' was the hardest one to practice. 'Don't question orders' was the simplest. 'Ignore pain and hunger' was the one he never managed to learn, even with all the sessions with 'The whip'. "Hey, runt," The colt heard before feeling pain in the back of the head. "Where is your mark?" "Son," The mare said staring at the colt with the corner of her eye. "Slaves don't get Marks since they don't get to try and discover their talents." "Oh yeah...forgot about that." Suddenly there were some sounds coming from behind them, the colt ignored the sound and just looked to the floor. Then the sound of hooves started to echo through the colts head. "Excuse me, sir!" "What is it, soldier?" "We are glad to inform that your deed has stopped a scammer. We just arrested the slave trader that was working with the slave known as Nassir. He resisted arrest and was knocked out. But the slave is still at large." "Thank you, officer," Then there were more hoof sounds and then silence. "So, we need to get it another name. I already sent word to the guards that the merchant was pulling a scam using the slave known as Nassir. Therefore he can't have that name anymore. You just got here and you are already causing trouble!" More pain, but this time the colt felt his ear being twisted and pulled with excessive force. "Father? Do you still have that list of names from our ancestors?" "You would give it one of our names?!" The other male asked slamming his hands on the table. "We need to make it believable to send him to the army. A name from one of our ancestors should do the trick." The other male looked at the colt before making his horn glow, then a piece of paper started to float in front of the new master. He picked it up and started to do something with it. "The family's weakest members, huh? Fitting," Then the master put it in front of the colt's eyes. "Read the names and pick one. Just point at it. That will be your name for now on." 'I get to decide my name? But, what is 'read'? Is it the thing trader used to do during the night? I can't do that...' The colt kept running his eyes up and down the paper until he found a bunch of symbols that caught his attention. Raising both of his bound hands, he pointed at the symbol. "Vojin? That's one of the most disgraced ones...Vojin Kilp. That is your name from now on. I order you to abandon the name Nassir forever. Well, now we just need to get you ready to depart tomorrow morning." Vojin nodded, then there was a pain on top of his head again. "Listen, you are going to pretend to be a free pony. So, here are your orders: you will talk when others talk to you or when you have questions, and you will be whatever the militaries tell you to be. Understood?" "Yes," Vojin replied looking to the master. "That's it brat. Now, let's get you cleaned up. Trishka!" Vojin saw a mare come into the room, she as dressed up in a black and white outfit. She had the expression Vojin's previous owners had when they gave him back to the merchant. "Yes, young master?" "Take Vojin to the servant's bath and clean him completely." "As you wish." "Go with her." Vojin obeyed, the mare placed her hand on his back. Vojin got surprised since there was no pain or bad feeling when she touched him, slightly confused, Vojin followed the path she showed to him. Not walking in front of him but by his side, that was a first as well. She ended up leading him to the kitchen, then the laundry and finally a room with a wooden bathtub. "Come on little one, take off those rags and get into the water," Her voice was kind and gentle. Vojin liked that voice, he just noticed that she had a horn. And a pretty pendant, it shone in the light with a pretty color. "But...water is for drinking. If I get in it, the master will be mad. Dirty water is bad for drinking," The mare raised her hand, Vojin looked to the ground and waited for the strike. None came, just a delicate touch to his mane. "It's okay, you can get in this water, ok? We are just going to get that dirt out of your coat." 'This is strange...this feels strange...what is this?' Vojin felt his chest get warmer, but there was no fire. There was no pain. "Your name is Vojin?" The mare asked while she untied the rope around his waist. "My name is Trishka, Trishka Belle." There was a moment of silence, Vojin was feeling something different again. He wanted to speak the name he chose out loud. Again, and again, and again. "Yes! My name is Vojin Kilp! Vo-jin! Vo-jin!" He said while she removed the rags that were covering his body. Vojin was expecting the mare to say something, however, once the rags were off, she just stood there covering her mouth. There was water coming out of her eyes, Vojin tilted his head and stared at her. Then he looked back to his body, burnt marks, marks of the whip, spots where had been beaten up recently by the trader. "W-what happened to you? You poor little thing," Trishka said pulling Vojin close to her. "What have you been through?" Vojin didn't understand what she meant. That was normal to him, those marks and the pain were part of his routine. Vojin knew how to avoid them since he didn't like when they hit him, but that wasn't guaranteed to prevent all the pain. But somehow, he felt worse than when he was beaten up after seeing her like that. There was something different in her eyes, something he hadn't seen before. Vojin found himself drawn to that but couldn't quite explain why. "Sorry, Mrs. Trishka," He said in a low tone. "You don't have to be sorry about anything. It's not your fault," She said looking straight into his eyes. "You are just a child, you should not have to go through what marked you like that." "Okay," Vojin replied tilting his head and blinking a few times. "Now, let's get you clean up, ok?" Trishka said drying up the water from her eyes. Vojin nodded and entered the bathtub, then he felt the warm water. It was a pleasant feeling, the warmth was comforting. Like when the trader allowed him to sleep by the fire when it was cold. Then he saw the mare put something in the water, Trishka started to move the water and a white cloud came out of it. Bubbles started to fly around, then some humming started. Vojin couldn't help but marvel at the weird cloud that came out of the water, the bubbles around him made him see so many different colors when the light hit them. And the voice, the sound of Trishka humming was mesmerizing. While serving other masters, Vojin had heard melodies being played in weird objects that he knew nothing about. Something called a 'piano', other one called and 'harp'. However, none of the sounds he had ever heard could ever compare to what he was hearing now. Vojin closed his eyes and listened focused on the melody, that sweet and kind sound. He just wanted to keep hearing that forever and ever. While listening to that melody he felt something touch his mane, something delicate ran all over his head. Then the warmth of the water flowed down his head, that was an amazing feeling. The same happened to his back, then Trishka stopped her humming. "I need to get something, can you finish cleaning yourself?" Vojin felt a bit sad because the song had stopped. "Yes..." Trishka got up and left the room, Vojin finished cleaning himself in a matter of instants. Then he waited, and waited, and waited. 'It's okay to play with the water, right?' Looking around again to see if there was nopony around, he placed his hands inside the cloud and pulled out a piece of it. Vojin realized that as he touched the cloud a popping sound would happen, he took a deep breath and blew the cloud way. It dispersed while making more popping sounds. "Good to see you're having fun," Vojin heard while picking up another piece of the cloud. "Now, let's get you dried up," Looking at the sound source, he saw Trishka with some towels in her arms. "Ok," Vojin said getting up and walking to her. Then he used the towel in her arms to dry his body. When he was about to finish doing that another towel fell on his head. "Let me help," He heard while standing still. His head started to move around for a bit. "There!" Vojin heard before the towel left his head. "Now let's make you look like a proper colt." Trishka grabbed his hand and led Vojin to a smaller room, there were a ton of different clothes there. They all looked used and way bigger than he was. Trishka's horn lit up and the clothes started to move around, suddenly there was a bright flash that blinded Vojin for a moment. After regaining his sight, Vojin saw a mirror in front of him. He was completely dressed up, a little white shirt with some black pants that was kept in place by a belt. All of it somehow looked brand new, Vojin looked at his image and then looked at Trishka that had a half smile while she kept her arms crossed. "There, I wish I could do better. But this is all I have to work here," She said before crouching down to look at him. She stared into his eyes for a moment, almost as if she was looking for something. "Something is missing. I know!" Just as she said that Trishka reached for the choker with the pendant around her neck and took it off. Then she wrapped it around Vojin's neck and locked it. "There. It suits you," She said looking at him with a warm smile. Vojin looked at the mirror and saw the pretty pendant. "It may be an accessory for mares, but keep it with you, ok? I received that from my family as a protective charm. But I think you need it more than I need." "I get to keep it?" Vojin asked playing with it using his fingers. "Yes. Don't take it off until you find somepony who needs it more than you." "Ok, Mrs. Trishka," Vojin said while looking at his image in the mirror. He watched Trishka smile before she got up, then she offered her hand. Vojin accepted it and followed Trishka around the house until they got back to the room with the big table. It was empty now, the other three left and the plates with leftover food alongside the chalices half filled with wine. "Take a sit over there and wait for a moment," Trishka said smiling and pulling one of the chairs. "But...that's the master's table. I don't sit on the table with the others. Master will get angry with me." "Master is already asleep, you can sit down. He won't know," Hesitating a bit, Vojin sat on the chair Trishka pulled for him. After he sat down, Trishka patted his head again and left the room. Vojin sat there with his legs dangling, then he started to look around and admire the house he was in. The place was big, however, it seemed somewhat rundown. It was almost as if the estate was left to its own devices, the only place that seemed clean was the top of the table. The furniture by the walls had a visible layer of dust over it. The place probably had seen better days, that much was clear. 'Is master in a bad situation? He said he was sending me to the military...what is that?' After a few moments, something distracted Vojin from his observations. A delicious smell filled his nostrils, his mouth started to water up. His stomach rumbled, instinctively, Vojin crossed his arms over his abdomen and leaned forward. He had to quiet down the sound before anypony heard him and went to scold or beat him due to him making a scene. 'Two moons since I last ate. I don't think I'll be able to quiet it down. I'm gonna get hit...' "I see you are hungry," Vojin lifted his head in a flash and saw Trishka with a plate that had steam coming out of it. "The chef was kind enough to make this up from what we had left. Sorry, but this is the best we managed to pull. Go ahead, eat up." Trishka placed the plate in front of Vojin, looking what was on the plate, Vojin saw an orange liquid with some tomatoes and sliced up potatoes in it. The smell was driving Vojin crazy, he had served some of his masters this meal before. He was also forced to watch them eat because he had to remain in the room until he was told to leave. Always watching and never being able to taste that meal, Vojin watched his masters use the silver things on the table to eat this kind of food. Picking the round one up, Vojin tried to mimic the way his masters used to hold it. But all he managed to do was dropping the silver thing. Picking it up again in a more crude manner, Vojin scooped some of the soup and brought into his mouth. He stopped the moment the food touched his tongue. The liquid burned his tongue, but he didn't care. His throat burned as it went down, but he didn't care. The taste, it was way better than the smell, Vojin looked down to the dish in front of him and stared at it for a few moments. Vojin felt something run down his cheeks, his vision started to get blurry. 'I need to stop this water, my masters always hit me when this water came out of my eyes.' "I'm sorry, dear. I guess it doesn't taste very good, does it?" Vojin heard Trishka ask with a sad tone. Waving his head sideways, Vojin felt a smile form on his muzzle. "T-this is good," He said with a shaky voice. "T-this is the best thing I ever ate!" Just as he finished saying that, Vojin started to drink up the soup as fast as he could while savoring it. "Don't eat so fast! You're gonna choke! Or...not," Vojin heard while he chugged down the soup. "You were really hungry, weren't you?" "Yes, thank you! Mrs. Trishka!" Vojin said once he finished eating. "Well, let's brush those teeth and then let's get you to sleep. Okay?" Trishka said offering her hand, Vojin grabbed hold and followed her. Trishka led him to a room with a white bathtub and told him to brush his teeth, Vojin mimicked her and did the task she asked him to do. After that, she led him to a small room with an empty bed with simple sheets and a single window. The window gave view to the castle that the town was built around. "This is your room, at least...for tonight that is." "What is the name of the big house outside?" Vojin asked while approaching the window. "The castle? That is the castle of the two sisters. Queen Faust built it after giving birth to her daughters. The sun princess, Celestia. And the moon princess, Luna. It's the safest place in Equestria. And is also where you'll be going tomorrow morning. The training area for the soldiers is within the castle grounds," Trishka sounded a bit sad as she said that. "Am I going to be a soldier?" "Yes, unfortunately," Trishka replied in a low voice, she didn't even look him in the face. "Is something wrong? Mrs. Trishka, why are you sad?" She looked down at him, she got down on her knees and got on eye level with Vojin. Trishka then held his shoulders and looked at him with a stern look in her eyes. "Listen, do not let anypony pull you down! I'm asking you to do your best, ok? If you work hard enough, good things will come your way. You've been through a lot and you are only a child. Please, remember that there are as many good beings in the world as there are bad ones. Be strong and help the good beings. Protect everypony you can, ok?" "Is that an order?" Vojin asked tilting his head. "No, little one. This is a request. A request is something you ask of somepony else, but it's up to them if they will choose to do it or not." Vojin blinked and stared at the mare. 'Choose? I can...choose what to do this time?' "I'll try!" Vojin finally said with a smile on his face. Trishka smiled at him, then she hugged Vojin and patted him on the head. After that, she left the room leaving Vojin on his own. Climbing on the bed, he laid down and stared at the ceiling for several moments. Before he even realized, he had fallen asleep. A dreamless slumber was what Vojin usually went through every night, he had no visions no expectations. All he ever knew was the need to follow orders to stay alive. This night, however, was different. The image of Trishka came to his mind, her request echoing in his mind. Being strong, protecting others, doing the very best he could in whatever he could. Vojin looked around and the only thing that he could see were images of Trishka and the kindness she had shown him. After all that he went through, being treated like that made him feel a warmth he couldn't quite explain. Then Vojin looked at himself and saw the marks in his body. "You are just a child, you should not have to go through what marked you like that." 'So, everything I went through...I wasn't supposed to experience it? I went through all that...without the need?! The pain...WHY?!' The image of Trishka started to disappear as Vojin's mind started to lose itself. The warm feeling started to die down as the memories of the 'training' flooded his dream. Just as he started to lose completely the warm sensation Trishka gave him, another memory popped up. "It may be an accessory for mares, but keep it with you, ok? I received that from my family as a protective charm. But I think you need it more than I need." As those words silenced the other memories, Vojin felt something around his neck. Looking down he saw the choker with the pendant. 'That's the very first gift I received...it' meant to protect...maybe I can be a protection for others then.' He thought as he held it with his right hand. Suddenly, a voice crashed through his mind and bringing him back to the real world. "Wake up! You're leaving!" It was the master's voice. Vojin felt his mane being pulled while he was dragged out of the bed. "Hey! He is just a kid, Kilp!" Another voice shouted, Vojin opened his eyes and saw two figures he did not recognize. "No! He needs to be treated like this! This useless brother of mine always sleeps in and never gets anything done!" Master said tossing Vojin to the ground near the two strangers. "Besides, what does it matter if he gets hurt here? In a couple of years, he will be on a battlefield and he'll get hurt either way. At least he is getting used to the pain!" The master said laughing, Vojin looked over his shoulder and saw a twisted grin on the stallion's muzzle. "Yet, he is your brother, is he not? Or did your family just adopt him to get you out of enlistment?" "Tch. What does it matter?! Brat, listen well. Be whatever it is they need. Think for yourself once inside and make yourself useful in whatever job they give it to you. Not that you'll be able to think that is. Especially since you're dumb as a door." Vojin turned around, mimicking to the best of his ability the twisted smile that the master had on his muzzle, Vojin stared at his master and tilted his head. "Is that an order?" The master's grin dissolved and his eyes went wide, his legs started to shake and he backed away for a moment. for several seconds, all Vojin's owner could do was stutter and shiver. Vojin had seen that expression before, the same expression his previous owners had. However, this time, Vojin was the cause of it, not his trader's tricks. Vojin couldn't see it, but his eyes had stopped reflecting the light that came from the room, giving them an eerie appearance of two pitch-black orbs surrounded by a sea of white. Vojin stepped forth, his master stepped back. The twisted grin growing even bigger as time passed by. "Is that an order?" Vojin asked once more. "Y-yes, think a-and m-make y-yourself u-useful for them." Vojin tilted his head to the opposite side. Vojin's grin reverted into his regular expression. "Yes, sir." The noble gulped and left the room, soon after, Trishka walked in and saw them. "You're leaving?" "Yes, Mrs. Trishka. I'll give it my best shot, so you do your best too, ok?" The mare gave out a small giggle before nodding her head in agreement. "Ok. See you around, Trishka."
The Dusk knights"Come on! Come on! Come to play with us!" Vojin heard as he was pulled by his hand by a white unicorn with wings and pink mane. She looked about his age and seemed pretty thrilled with the idea of finding a pony her age. "Princess, please! He is recruit! He is not here to play games!" The commander said holding Vojin's other arm. "Aw, come on! Please!" 'How did I get into this?' (Earlier that day) The guards that came to take Vojin to the military were very kind to him after the entire scene with his master. They went straight for the castle, as they did it, more soldiers accompanied by colts and teenagers of different heights and genders joined their march. One came from each house they passed by, some houses had adults waving at the leaving parties, others had adults crying. 'Their families...why must they leave their homes?' "Excuse me, Mr. Soldier," Vojin said with a hint hesitation in his voice. "So, you talk to others that aren't your big brother." "Yes, why are you taking ponies away from their families?" The guard seemed to be taken back by the question. "W-well, there are bad things happening all over our kingdom. And in order to protect those who can't defend themselves, we need as many soldiers as there are bad things." "To protect everypony then?" The soldier nodded. "And once the bad things are gone, can they return to their families?" "That's right, kid." After saying that, the soldier placed his weapon in front of Vojin, that reacted by halting his march. In front of Vojin, there was a huge gate that started to creak as it opened. Behind the grand gate, there was an even bigger courtyard, filled with different soldiers and knights. They were divided into groups, some of them had long strange sticks with metal ends. Others had swords, others were shooting some wooden sticks. There were some carrying some metal thingies in their arms. Suddenly, the guards stopped and Vojin stopped as well. The soldiers in the courtyard left, then a different looking soldier came by. He had a very shiny armor and the way he walked was like Vojin's master. He was full of himself, Vojin knew it wouldn't be long before he would start to insult him or the others. "Alright! I am here to make all of you scrubs into soldiers!" The soldier started as he looked down on the new recruits. "Listen up and listen well. Here in our ranks, there are four grand classes regarding the front line soldiers. Spear soldiers, bow soldiers, sword soldiers, and shield soldiers. If you have a talent for magic, however, there is a possibility you may become a wizard. That will rely entirely on your affinities. You'll be graded by some of the best magicians in the realm. Then you'll eventually be placed in one of the three battalions that compose our army." From behind the soldier, Vojin saw three other figures come out of the castle. One of them wearing an armor golden as the sun, the second wearing a full set of silver armor, and the third...that one had something different about it. She wasn't wearing a full set like the others. First of all, it was the only female in the group. Secondly, she looked like she was wearing a combination of metal and leather for armor, it looked less valuable. There was something else, compared to the other two, she looked more worn out. Like she could collapse at any given moment due to exhaustion, Vojin recognized that expression since he had seen himself on a mirror once. Her eyes had something different as well, something Vojin also found familiar but couldn't quite describe. "Now, the main attack force of our army resides in the Sun Knights. They are the front assaulters and the main force defending any given location, also working as law enforcers out on the streets. They also receive orders directly from our queen," The soldier explained as he made way for the golden soldier to step forward. "Just as the chief said, our group focuses on frontline work. We stand at the borders of areas with the risk of invasions or conflicts. We are also the ones in charge of protecting the queen and her daughters directly." "The second division is the Moon Knights. They specialize in covert operations, intelligence gathering and they also have most of the wizards that aren't working on research and development of spells under the Great Wizard sages. They have a bit more freedom when it comes to their posting and operations." "Contrary this hammerhead of a comrade of mine over there. Our group specializes in jobs that require more finesse. We are also working with dismantling organized groups and some other things." "But you always end up asking for our help in the end," The golden one said with a smirk, earning a scowl from the silver stallion. "Keep it down ladies," The third soldier said in an annoyed voice. The other two turned to her like they were ready to hit her, however, the moment they stepped closer, the mare looked at them. "Do any of you girls have anything to say?" A simple glare and both of the soldiers stopped on their tracks. They started to mumble before turning back to their original position. 'That seems useful. Wonder what she did.' "And lastly, we got the Dusk Knights. They are basically the rese-" "Reserves my flank," The mare interrupted the soldier pushing him aside. "Listen up you brats, we are the ones that basically pull out all the jobs here. We change locations based on how short of staff the other knights are. We do everything from helping with logistics all the way up to fighting in conflict areas. We also enforce the law and we have way more freedom than the other two since they tend to ignore us. Meaning that the one actually relocating our troops is me." "Thank you! Mrs. Jorah Kalish!" "You're welcome, little guy. Not talking about your height," The mare once again replied, the other two tried to muffle their laughter while the remaining soldier tried to raise his hand against her. "Should I inform the Queen on how I know that? I guess it wouldn't bode well to your image now, would it?" "T-that will not be necessary. You are all dismissed." 'I don't like this stallion,' Vojin thought as he watched the mare and the other two knights walk away. "Very well recruits! We shall be sending you all into the evaluation chamber one by one. Just sit by and wait for your name to be called." Vojin saw the guards that had led him and the others there leave and then simply stood there. Vojin watched the others try to talk amongst themselves, they were all speaking about what class they wanted to be, which group they hoped to be in. After that, they started to talk about what they expected from working there. Vojin didn't understand what was the purpose of that, he was there to be useful to the soldiers. It didn't matter which class he was in. The small talk they kept pulling started to annoy Vojin, so he decided to back away from the crowd and sat on the grass. Time moved on as each one of the fillies and foals were called out one by one. Vojin kept to himself until something hit the top of his head. It didn't hurt, but it was enough to grab his attention. Turning around, he saw a toy he had seen other ponies playing with. Vojin got on his hooves and walked over to it. After he had just picked it up there was a sound of wings flapping, looking up he saw a white unicorn that also had a horn and a pink mane flying down. "Toss it here, please!" That voice sounded like a filly, she was about the same height as Vojin. Her clothes looked very valuable. Vojin looked at the ball and threw it at her, the mare caught it in the air. She giggled and waved before she started to fly away. However, when she was heading back a smaller and blue filly bumped into her and fell down. Vojin ran over and caught the filly, which was giggling the entire time. "Yay! Let's do it again, Tia!" She exclaimed as she waved around a little sword that looked like it was made of wood. The other one flew down as Vojin placed her on the ground. "Mother told you not to fly so high yet, Lulu!" The bigger one said picking the smaller one up. "Thank you. Who are you?" "Vojin Kilp." "Right, um...My name is Celestia and this is my little sister Luna." "Hello there!" The blue one said waving happily her sword. "So, what are you doing here?" The white one asked while looking Vojin from top to bottom. "I was brought here to be a soldier." "Really? But you're about my age. At least you look about my age..." She commented tilting her head, her ears suddenly perked up and she opened up a smile. "Why don't you come to play with us?" Her voice just like her little sister's was chirpy and energetic. Both she and her sister's smiles were so warm and kind that made Vojin feel like when he was with Trishka. "What?" Vojin asked raising an eyebrow. "Yeah! Come to play with us! You're on your own back here, then we can-" "There you are!" The soldier that was calling the ponies up said from behind Vojin. "I was...oh. Good morning Princesses." "Morning." "Has this one given you two trouble? I sincerely apologize. We shall make sure that-" "He gave me back my ball and prevented that Luna crashed into the ground. He hasn't caused any trouble," The happy tone disappeared from Celestia's voice, she sounded more polite and her smile turned into a serious gaze. She had changed her entire posture in the blink of an eye. "Tia in her serious face now," The one called Luna said giggling. "I-I see," The soldier said lowering his head. "However, he has to undergo the evaluation process. If you'll excuse us," He said picking up Vojin's arm and pulling him away. Suddenly, Vojin felt something pulling his other arm. Looking over his shoulder, Vojin saw Celestia holding his wrist. She was strong, her grip was about as strong as the soldier's grip. Vojin saw both of them stare at each other for a few moments, then the situation escalated to a tug of war with Vojin as the rope. (Back to the present) "What is happening here?" A new voice said as the sound of flapping wings broke the conversation. "Tia, Luna. What are you two doing here?" "We were playing and the ball went over the wall," Celestia explained. "Then this nice colt gave it back to me. Luna tried to fly to this side while I tried to get it back. Then she fell and he caught her too. Seeing as he was alone I wanted to get him to play with us." "Princess, please. He has to come to undergo the evaluation!" The new mare that came by had a cream-colored coat, red mane, and a mark on her arm of a scroll and a quill looked at Vojin. She gazed at him for a long time, then her horn lit up and her eyes started to move sideways almost as if she was reading something. A deep scowl appeared in her face, Vojin had seen that expression before. It tended to happen before his masters would call him disgusting." "You have been in a bad place, haven't you?" She asked looking straight at Vojin. "What do you mean?" Vojin asked tilting his head. "Soldier, proceed to examine the other recruits. Let this one play with my daughters until he is the last one remaining. He deserves to at the very least learn how it feels to be a child," That last bit she said in a very low tone, Vojin barely managed to understand it. "Your majesty?" "Just do as I say." The soldier nodded and let go of Vojin's wrist. Then he made a strange gesture to the mare and walked away, Vojin looked back to Celestia and saw that her smile was back. "Come! Let's play!" She said pulling him again. Vojin stayed put, he looked at the big mare. She looked at him and moved her head towards Celestia, Vojin was familiar with that gesture as well, it meant that he was supposed to leave or follow somepony else. However, he was told to do what he wanted. 'I can choose...I can choose...' Vojin looked back into Celestia and Luna's faces. 'Is that how a child is supposed to be? They look so...bright. I want to know what that is like.' (Meanwhile) "Your Highness," The young prodigy that received no recognition due to him not being from a noble lineage greeted her. "Did you summon me?" "Yes, Starswirl. I'm well aware that you should be grading the recruits. But the other apprentices should handle it just fine. I want you to check on a particular pony," Faust said as she overlooked a group of three children playing around with a ball from a balcony, her daughters and a young and strange colt. "Which one your highness? Did you bring the subject here?" Starswirl asked leaning on the edge of the balcony and looking down. The wizard was an acquaintance that she met by chance and he had picked her interest, she had seen Starswirl story, she knew that he was loyal to her and the kingdom. Faust's talent was something that terrified all the ponies who had something to hide. By activating her talent, she could literally see the life of a living being like a book and read it. Not only that, if she wanted, she could write anything she desired into the book and that would change the being. After seeing the young prodigy's story, the Queen made a recommendation to the council of the sages to keep an eye on him. And she also took the habit of checking up on him from time to time as to evaluate his progress as a wizard. "I want you to take a look at that colt playing with my daughters," Faust said pointing at the newcomer. "That skinny one? Very well," Starswirl said lighting up his horn and casting his spell. "Ok. That child is a level zero. His traits are bellow regular except for his defense that is slightly higher than the rest of his stats. His aura is...dark, very dark. He has a really big potential for curses, support magic, and defensive magic. Is that really a child?" "Yes, he is," Faust replied making her horn light up. Suddenly a book appeared in front of her. "Take a look at this," She said handing the book to him. "That little trick of yours is never going to get old," Starswirl said as he picked up the tome. While the wizard started to read, Faust watched the trio run around. Luna was sitting on the colt's shoulders as she pointed her little toy sword towards Celestia, who was running away from the trio. 'That is a child...but his heart is hardened as the heart of an adult.' "My queen, he is a..." "A slave, yes." "No child should go through this," He said turning the pages as his eyes darted through the pages. "That explains the dark aura. But how come that child hasn't turned into a killer or a criminal?" "That is because he is a child. He doesn't know anything but that life. He only started to understand that something in his life was wrong yesterday. And that's when the emotions came forth. He would have been overtaken by them if something else hadn't happened." "The maid?" "Yes, she was the first one to show him kindness. And the first one to give the very first thing he could call his own. He didn't even own his life. That kindness caught his attention, and the concept of protecting has also redirected those negative emotions to use them in a different manner." "And he did that without knowing...which is fortunate. If he had a better understanding of the world...maybe he would have ended up differently." "Correct," Faust commented while looking at the colt laying on the ground smiling. "However, it is still problematic for him to have that much anger and hatred that he doesn't even understand. And if word of him being a slave got out..." "His life would be even more difficult. There is enough problem with him being an earth pony, but add the slave part and he will have to work to pay his freedom after being transformed into properties of the state," The wizard said with taking off his tacky hat and scratching the back of his head. "Which actually means he will be used until he falls dead." "My thoughts, exactly. Do you think he could make it here as a knight?" "I don't know, Your Majesty. But it would be best to keep an eye on him." "Agreed," Faust commented still staring at the child that slept peacefully on the grass. After a few moments, one of the guards came by and woke him up. Faust watched the child getting up and waving at her daughters as he walked away. 'Let's see the wizard's reaction to his status...' Vojin followed the soldier into a dark chamber, there was only one light there. It was illuminating the very center of the room, once he stepped into it, the soldier left the room. There was a short period of silence before Vojin saw multiple lights come up. Multiple unicorns were standing around Vojin, the lights he saw were the horns enveloped by magic. Their eyes glowed like a crazy, hypnotic, and scary show. Vojin stood still as their light show continued to confuse him, then a strange pain came forth. Vojin's eyes felt like they were burning up from the inside, the world around him looked like it was melting. He fell to his knees as the horrific display continued as he started to hear voices whispering to each other. With the little he could see, Vojin saw the strangers' faces. They had smiles on their muzzles, they seemed to enjoy the suffering Vojin was going through. 'Why are they so happy with the sight of the pain of others?' Then, just as suddenly as the pain came, it was gone. Vojin's sight slowly returned to normal as he got back on his hooves, a series of strange symbols started to appear before him. Numbers, letters, circles and strange shapes were all over his field of vision. "Level zero. This one will have a hard time adapting. We need to assign a soldier and a wizard to look over this one." "Why bother with magic? He is just a mud pony." "It's protocol. We need to assign a wizard." "According to protocol, we can leave him open to somepony to volunteer." "Just send him to a soldier that isn't important, he isn't anything special after all. And what use would his affinities be in the field? The only type of useful magic on the field is offensive magic. Supporters and defenders are shot down first and that their spells take a long time to cast." "Not to mention that curses aren't exactly well seen." 'Just send me to where I need to be. This is annoying.' "Or we can leave him to her." "Oh, that is right! She doesn't have anypony under her now. And since she is a unicorn...we won't have to waste our efforts by finding a wizard to try to teach anything to this useless colt." "That should be fine...as long as we still mark that his magic teacher spot is waiting for a volunteer." "That should do it then." "Vojin Kilp, Jorah Kalish, the captain of the Dusk Knights will be your soldier instructor. Your magic instructor will be assigned once somepony volunteers to fill the spot. Do you understand?" "Yes," Vojin said looking up, the letters and numbers disappeared but a small symbol stayed behind. It looked like his silhouette. Vojin then saw a familiar figure above him the mare that told him to play with Celestia and Luna, she was staring at him with a strange look. By her side, a stallion wearing a colorful and very strange outfit had the same look. "Serve your country well and you may be rewarded," The mare said, startling all of the unicorns that quickly fell to their knees. "I will do everything I can," Vojin said mimicking the other ponies and getting on his knees. "If somepony can show me the way, I'll follow them to the Dusk Knights." "Very well, little one," The stallion by her side said, the unicorns seemed to recognize his voice since their expressions shited into scowls and Vojin could see them gritting their teeth at the very sight of him. "Follow me, for I volunteer to be your guide, both to reach your teacher in arts of combat, and in the path of magic." Vojin heard a lot of mumbling and whispering, words he didn't understand the meaning, but that he knew that his previous masters used whenever they were angry at somepony, or him. Vojin stood up and walked forth, the unicorn teleported from the vantage point to the ground level and made a gesture for Vojin to follow him. "I am Starswirl the Bearded. A pleasure to meet you," The unicorn said extending his hand. Vojin looked at him, the look he had wasn't like the one Vojin's previous masters had. It was kind, not on the same level as Trishka, but he didn't seem like a bad pony like the others he had seen so far. With that in mind, Vojin reached for his hand and shook it. Then the wizard touched the side of his strange looking hat and walked away, Vojin took one last look into the room with the unicorns and then followed the grey coated unicorn. 'I guess this is how it all begins.' Author's Note Here is another one! Please let me know what you thought about it. And thank you for reading!
Learning curve"What is this, gray beard?" Vojin heard when he stepped in the room accompanied by Starswirl. The captain, Jorah Kalish, was sitting on her desk with a quill on her hand and a huge pile of papers by her. "I am busy right now. So scram." "Well, I guess you'll have to make time," The wizard replied, which made the mare let out a sigh and drop the quill. "What is it?" SHe asked pressing her temples. "Well, we both been assigned a small one," Vojin watched Jorah's eyes shot open as leaned back and looked at them with a baffled expression on her face. "Before you even try to scream like a maniac. This one is a hard worker. I bet he can help you just as much as you can." "What makes you so sure you old fart in the body of a stallion?" "The queen gave me quite the interesting book to read." 'What does that mean? It doesn't relate to the question at all,' Vojin thought as he watched the captain look at him scratching her chin. "Your name, kid." "Vojin Kilp." "You're basically skin and bones," Jorah replied as she got up and walked up to Vojin. Then she crouched down and looked him in the eyes. "I'm gonna call you Skelly until you make me think you're worthy of your name." "Ok," Vojin replied looking her straight in the eyes. "What do you want me to do Ma'am?" "Eager, aren't we? What can you do?" "Cleaning, being a punching bag, being a toy, serving food, carrying and delivering small packages," Vojin replied without hesitation, earning a frown and a tilted head from the captain. "What did you bring to me? Because this one sounds less like a colt and more like a slave," She said looking to Starswirl. "Keep it quiet, the queen knows it and so do I. He has gone through enough so we'll have to teach him without the others figuring out he is a slave," Vojin heard as he walked away from them. While their discussion proceeded, Vojin looked around the captain's office. The place was a mess, pieces of paper scattered everywhere, remnants of candles all over the floor. Used matches in between the tiles covering the ground. Dust covered a lot of places that seemed to be unused or completely forgotten. 'I can't simply go taking out and organizing these papers, she might have placed them in specific spots for a reason. I can take out the trash though,' Vojin thought as he walked around gathering the matches and crumbled paper pieces. Uncrumbling one of the papers, he used it to hold the burnt out matches and carry them to a trash bag. "Skelly, what are you doing?" "Making myself useful. I know that I can't do much, so until I do. I'll stick to what I can do," Vojin replied as he continued to do his task. "Besides, I can tell when ponies are tired. They get really angry for no reason and have those marks under their eyes. Whenever somepony is like that I tend to keep to myself by doing small jobs to ease their load so that he would be able to sleep. That usually gets them to sleep meaning that I got less trouble on my hands." Vojin watched as the captain stared at him for several seconds, she had a deep frown. "You are really weird, Skelly." "I am well aware of that. Weird, useless, toy, garbage. I am many things to a lot of ponies. However, I intend to change that. I'll be what I want to be, not what they want or what they see," Vojin replied as he continued to gather scrap from the floor. "As you can see he is very determined," Vojin heard from Starswirl right before the trash he was gathering started to float away into a trash bin. "However, without any sort of training, he can't do much. That's where we have to intervene." "I am not an idiot beard," Jorah said with an annoyed voice. "I need his numbers first." "You'll need to work all of them," Starswirl replied firing up his magic and causing a scroll to manifest, which he gave to Jorah. "His highest numbers are in his defense status. And even those are low." "What in Tartarus are you, kid? A larval form of a pony?" "I am a pony. I just wasn't in the best care." "Duly noted," Vojin heard before he felt a hand on his shoulder that forced him to turn around. Jorah was kneeling down and looking at him while she scratched her chin. "Ok, first I'll have you win some weight while beard over there teaches you how to read. Once you're back into an acceptable weight, I'll begin strengthening your body and raising some of your stats. Your lessons start tomorrow. Therefore, today you'll eat and rest." "If that's what you believe to be the best option. I'll stick to it," Vojin replied before turning away to place the pieces of paper he had in hand into the trash bin. "Ma'am, where is the place where I can get food?" "We ought to grab some grub as well," Jorah said passing her arm over Starswirl's shoulder. "And this guy over here is gonna pay for our food since what they have here at the barracks is downright disgusting. If not poisonous." "You're going to burn my economies again, aren't you?" Starswirl said letting out a sigh before smiling. "You have always been like this." "And you have always been a grumpy pony with a beard," Jorah replied playing with the Straswirl's beard. 'Her mood improved, she must really like food. Or she just wanted to get out of this dirty room.' "Come on, kid! Let's eat!" Jorah exclaimed before grabbing his wrist and pulling him away. "To the restaurant!" 'I'm starting to wonder if these two are actually going to help me or if they are just acting to get me to lower my guard. 'Okay, that kid needs to gain weight, but given how thin he is...I don't think he can eat much at once. My best bet is to have some smaller and more frequent lunches. I can get in contact with the guys in the kitchen to make something specific for him for a while. They do owe me after I got them the funds to fix their project of a kitchen. Or should I call it their alchemy lab? Cause I'm pretty sure that what they have been serving isn't food.' 'Yeah, that should do it. Now, what should I do for training? I never had to raise one of my soldier's stats this much. One point in strength and intelligence. Three in wisdom, two in stamina, his constitution has four, and the defense has five. His dexterity is...how do you get half a point? The lowest score I ever saw was nine. Where do I even begin with this kid? Maybe some minor sets of push-ups? No...he won't be able to lift himself off the ground.' 'I could have him carrying some boxes for me...slowly raising the weight should make him able to get his strength up. Dexterity is easy, simple jobs that require a bit of finesse should do it, though I should find something even a baby could do correctly. His wisdom and intelligence are beard's problem. Constitution...that one is going to be tricky. I better come up with something later. The last one...defense...I can probably have him trying to block my attacks. I can go easy, the others might overdo it.' 'But out of all the weird things we have here...what is up with his affinities with curses? Those are hard to come by and usually...they are linked with a lot of negative emotions. Well, he was a slave...but what did he go through?' Although Jorah was smiling during their dinner, the last thing on her mind was what was happening around her. That entire thing seemed off, a child in those conditions, his background...the queen. Jorah knew her, and the queen herself asked to keep the kid's background a secret. What could have led a child to have that much affinity for curses? "Hey, Jorah?" Starswirl asked breaking her out of her trance. "I think our little friend had more than enough," He continued pointing at the kid. When Jorah turned to see Vojin, she saw a small colt sleeping with his head resting on the table with an empty plate by his side. 'Back in the office...he looked like a miniature adult. Now he looks like a regular child, it's just sad. When children are taken in by the military they still have recreational times as to reduce their chances of being way too into combat. But given how he acts...that won't make a difference. Does he even know how it is to be a kid? In any case, he can at the very least sleep and dream like a child.' After Starswirl had paid their tab, Jorah picked up Vojin and carefully carried him back to the barracks. Carefully carrying him so that he wouldn't wake up, Jorah got a lot of surprised looks along the way. The dead-eyed captain of the Dusk Knights was carrying a child in her arms while being accompanied by a stallion. "You know that a lot of ponies are going to be speaking about this, don't you?" "Since when did I give a shit about them? This is a kid that doesn't know how to be one. Except when he is sleeping, and from here on out he will be facing a huge learning curve just so he can start to think about a class. Imagine how it will be when he is combat ready, at least he can be a child in his sleep. Therefore this moment is sacred from now on." (The following day) "Tia! Tia!" Celestia heard as something pulled out her dress' skirt. "Look over there!" "What is it, Luna? We are studying now," Celestia asked while turning to her little sister that was sitting by her side. "It's the colt from yesterday! Look! He is studying as well. Let's go say hello! He was really nice, so come on!" Celestia looked over to where Luna was pointing, it really was him. 'Vojin, was it? Mother told me that soldiers always are at the barracks. They don't tend to come to the library. And who is that guy with him? He has a pretty tacky hat with all those bells. I guess that I should just do what Luna wants so that we can go back to studying. I don't want to be scolded like last time.' "Okay, Lulu. Let's go say hello. Then we go back to the books, ok? Mother will be angry if we don't cover the lessons she selected for us," Celestia said getting up and guiding Luna by holding her hand. The sisters walked all the way through the library to reach Vojin, who had a quill on one hand and seemed to be struggling with something given the faces he was doing. When they got closer Celestia managed to see that he seemed to be transcribing letters from a children's book. "And this one?" The wizard asked right before Celestia managed to say something. "Is it the letter 'v'?" Vojin replied staring hard at the letter the hat stallion had on his head. "Close, this is the letter 'u'. They aren't very far away in the alphabet, but their shape is distinct. You need to pay attention to the shape of the letter. You won't be able to read unless you can recognize the letters in front of you. You want to be able to read, don't you?" "Of course I want! Then I'll be able to read my own name!" Vojin replied looking with a serious face to the wizard. "Then you need to be more careful. You're really good at copying what you see. You managed to copy most of the letters, even if you're sloppy with the handwriting." "I just copy what is in front of me. That's how I do most of my tasks. If I just mimic what they do I could finish what I had to do. But it's not like I can make it as well as the other pony." "Hey, Tia! Look he is still learning how to read!" Luna exclaimed on the other side of the table, Celestia didn't even notice that she had left her side. "Hey, Vojin! Hello!" "Princess Luna?" The wizard said as she walked to Luna's side. "Princess Celestia. To what do we owe the pleasure?" "Hello, Luna," Vojin replied looking down to Luna. "Celestia, good to see you." "Hello, Vojin," Celestia said making a small bow. "And you sir, you are?" "My apologies. I am Starswirl, Starswirl the Bearded. I am the little one's instructor in magic." 'Magic? But based on that conversation it seems Vojin doesn't even know how to read. Which is weird.' "More specifically he is my teacher in academics in general according to what he said to me," Vojin said picking the book back from Luna and placing it on the table. "I'm not very bright, so he is taking the time to teach me some basics. I want to be able to read, write, and much more," He continued picking up the quill and a blank scroll. "Mr. Bells! Mr. Bells!" Luna said playing with the bells hanging from the hat. "You look smart. What do you know about literature?" "Luna! We need to learn the lessons on our own!" Celestia shouted as she reached for Luna who was standing on top of a table. "You need help? I'll be glad to help. Just bring your books over and I'll lend you two a hand." "But...aren't you supposed to focus on your assigned soldier?" "I don't mind," Vojin replied as he continued to scribble down the letters from the book. "My guess is that I won't be leaving this lesson for a while." "The older you get the harder it is to learn basic things like the alphabet," Starswirl replied looking at the letters. "Which one is this?" "B?" "Correct. You seem to be learning a bit at the very least. Keep it up and then you go outside and eat one of those thingies Jorah gave it to you," The wizards said looking at the letters. "And put some more effort in your writing. It won't matter how good you are with words if others can't read them." "Ok. I'll keep trying," Vojin replied with a frown in his face as his hand trembled with the quill. 'At least he puts on an effort,' Celestia thought as she turned away to go get the books. "Luna, Celestia," A familiar voice called out as soon as Celestia started to turn to her table. "Why aren't you studying?" "O-oh. Hi, mom," Celestia replied, looking at her mother's stern look. "M-me and Luna just came t-to say hi to Vojin." "Your Majesty," The wizard said from behind her, Celestia saw her mother's angry look soften a bit as soon as she saw the colt and the wizard. "Starswirl. How are you?" She asked with her usual calm tone. "How are things going with your assignment?" "No problem," He replied without much care as he looked back to Vojin's book. "I was about to offer a little help to your daughters with their lessons. If you don't mind that is." 'Mother knows this Starswirl guy? She spends most of her day doing her 'royal duties' and we only see her in the night when she is about to send us to sleep.' "I don't see a problem with you helping my daughters," Faust replied, which made Celestia raise an eyebrow. "I guess I can up the difficulty of the lessons since you're helping out." 'WHAAAAAAAAAT?!' "Yay! We get to study with a teacher instead of being alone!" Luna celebrated as she ran back to the books. "Starswirl, I'm heading out to eat these bar thingies Jorah gave me," Vojin said walking away. "Very well, I'll circle the letters you wrote down for when you come back you can identify them," The wizard said picking up the parchment. "Well, Celestia. I'm changing your assignments for today. Get ready for a little dificulty spike." "Okay, mother." 'I just wanted to finish my assigment for today and get out of the library...why did this happen?'
