He did not keep her on cleaning duty, that turned out to be a one time thing. He had other tasks far more appropriate for building stamina and strength. She helped dig ditches. She carried heavy bags of sand that she had helped fill in the first place, and she learned how to do proper dress drills and stand in formation. It was not a glamorous time, but it was a productive one, at least as far as he was concerned.

"Hey, Ace, mind passing the floor scrub?" Spine asked, talking to the griffon that had initially tried to bully her.

"Eat a dick!" Was his usual response to her talking to him. That, or challenging her. Today however, they had to work together, since they had started fighting without some creature to watch over the fight, and had gotten in trouble.

The door to the room slammed open, revealing their instructor with a snort. "Hey, tired of working out yet?" He was looking directly at Spine. "I have a real challenge for you. One I bet you're not ready for."

Spine smiled and stood, brushing herself off as she did before replying, "I'll take that bet. What do you need me to do?"

He hiked a thumb towards the hall outside. "I need you to face the fiercest enemy you'll ever face. They will know your every secret. They know your weakness. They know what you like." He clapped his hands together with a firm snap, the griffin looking away to busy himself with something else. "Are you really prepared?"

"Ha! You make it sound like I'm facing you this time around!" Spine countered as she began to follow him.

He steps to the side, allowing her to stroll out into the hallway. "Oh, you wish, little trainee. No, today you face yourself." He reached down and swatted her on the flat of her back. "It's your day off, and you have to fill it, because I don't like trainees loitering around, even on off days."

Spine stumbled forward, both from his hit and from the shock of what he had said. A day off? From trying to figure out her magic? Granted they hadn't been able to exactly force it out of her yet, and that was taking the heavy handed approach of life and potential death in an arena and barracks…

"I… I don't understand, a day off…?" Spine asked, confused as hell.

"Being a soldier doesn't replace being you." He leveled a finger at her. "A soldier with nothing to look forward to isn't much of a person, or a soldier. You've had your eyes set straight forward since you got here, enough of that. There's more to you than learning how to fight." Not that he had given much instruction on fighting, yet, insisting the weight training and general body conditioning were required first.

With a sigh, Spine nodded and quoted a wise old man from her previous life, saying, "'A soldier doesn't fight because he hates what lies in front of him. He fights because he loves what is behind him.' That kind of thing, right?" With another heavy sigh Spine nodded and started to head for the exit before turning around and calling back to him, "When I get back, I want to spar with you, dammit!"

"Tell you what?" He hiked a thumb upwards. "You go and enjoy the day, regale me with what you got up to, and I'll grant that wish. It'll be a fine time to see how that little body of yours is coming along."

She smiles and nods, more than eager to get started now, she rushed outside, giggling maniacally as she made her way through the streets to find Twilight and Spike, then to head for Mother and Father. 'Hope they don't mind me dropping by unannounced…' being the only thought she gave towards surprising them.

As she went out though, her thoughts turned towards that fateful day, so long ago… Spike had been able to stand right after watching her do it, but he wasn't able to speak like she did… was it because he was- "Oof!" Spine exclaimed as she ran into somepony, so lost was she in her thoughts, causing her to stumble back a little.

"Watch where you're going, runt!" Came the snappy reply that Spine associated with the other nobles of Canterlot. "If you tarnished my suit, I will have you exiled from Equestria back to where you belong!" Spine growled, a low threatening thing, before getting up, dusting herself off once more, and affixing the noble with her best death glare. Didn't work very well given how smol she was currently, but it did have the effect of making the noble huff and wander off.

"Fucking nobles… So. Where should I take sis out to first…? Maybe we should go visit Ponyville? Get her started down that path…? But if I do, that might- hold up. Different universe, different rules… Maybe I should do that…" With a plan in mind and a determination to see it through, she made her way to their parents house first in order to run it by them and possibly get some bits to pay for the travel. If she could time it right, then Pinkie would be there as well, which should spark Twilight to want to study how she does what she does.

"She's at magic kindergarten," reported Night Light, standing in the door, denying the possibility to use Twilight as a distraction. "Sorry."

"Welp… There went that idea… Maybe I could help around here for a bit then go play some pranks?" Spine asked, attempting to use how old she looked to her advantage.

"Well, I don't know much about pranks, but I already scheduled the chores for the day without you." He glanced over at a spreadsheet he had lovingly prepared. "Yep, on schedule!" He looked quite proud of himself. "You seem… self-sufficient for a foal your age. You could play?" He pointed to a park down the road.

Spine gave a small groan but nodded, before saying, "Alright. But if the guards come over because I was playing a couple pranks on Prince Blueballs, don't blame me."

Night Light looked genuinely confused, instead waving eagerly to his strange adopted child. "Have fun! Velvet will be delighted if you're joining us for dinner." The matter settled in his mind, he closed the door to keep his chores on track.

Author's Note

Boom! Another chapter down with the help of David Silver! Seriously, go check him out. He's an amazing guy