Rainbow Samurai

Mobilization…

“Little Pony… Are you okay…?” said a low, growling, yet gentle voice. The barely-conscious yellow filly slowly opened her eyes to find that she had come face to face with a creature the likes of which she’d never seen before. The creature was horrifying to look at; its big, sharp, jagged teeth… the long, pointy nails on its claw running themselves across her mane, its dark green scales… and its humungous red snake-like eyes that would have struck fear into the filly’s very being… had she been able to realize where she was or how she’d gotten there.

“Y-yes…” the yellow filly quietly answered. She moved to get up, but felt a sharp burst of pain in her head that forced her to wince in agony.

“Careful… you had quite a fall…” the creature warned.

“I… I did?”

“Yes… I saw you crash into my animal shelter not too far away from here…”

“How did that happen…?”

“I figure I was supposed to be the one to ask you that. Do you remember what happened?” The small pony went silent as she tried to recall the recent events that led to her discovery by this strange creature. However, she could only faintly remember flying, followed by a rainbow attacking her, followed by blackness.

“I… I can’t remember…” Her answer worried the creature.

“Oh, dear… you may have been injured worse than I initially perceived… tell me, young pony. What is your name?” The filly went silent once again. Did she have a name? If so, what was it?

“I… I don’t know…” the filly answered, tearing up at the fact that she couldn’t remember her own name.

“Oh no… do you at least remember where you live? Maybe I can return you to your kin…”

“Um…” The filly drew another blank. She was becoming distraught at her inability to recall anything about her life. All she could remember was a rainbow… Why was it that the only image her mind could bring up was a rainbow? “I… I can’t remember… I can’t remember anything. Not even my own *sniff* name…” the filly broke into tears of sadness and worry. She didn’t have a name or a home. She woke up in the care of some scary creature she’d never seen before, somewhere that looked completely unfamiliar, with no recollection of anything important regarding her life until this point.

“Aww don’t cry, little filly…” the creature cooed to the filly as he gently caressed her teary face with a gargantuan finger to comfort her. “You can live with me…”

“I… can?”

“Yes, sweetie… I will take care of you until your memory returns… Until then, I will name you… Butterfly.”

“Butterfly…?” the filly asked in wonder. She liked the name, but it sounded oddly… familiar.

“Yes… judging by your wings, you’re a Pegasus pony. And butterflies are adorable. You’re adorable, too. I think it suits you…” Fluttershy Butterfly found it in herself to smile.

“Me too… but if you don’t mind me asking… who are you? What are you?”

“My name is Kentaro’ali. I am a dragon. But you can call me ‘Ken.’ It’s certainly nice to meet you, my little Butterfly…”

“Yes… it’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Ken,” Butterfly replied, brightening her smile as the dragon softly petted her mane.

“You’re so cute… I think you’ll have a wonderful time here. Now as for your living arrangements…” With that, the dragon carried the little filly to an area just shy of a forest, where a lone shack was located. “Once you’re feeling good enough, you can live here. Right now, the only residents of this house are all the small creatures I take care of. But I can’t do it alone, since I’m much too large to fit in the house. Until you’re able to remember who you are, can you help me take care of them? They’d love a new friend…” Butterfly lit up with excitement. She took notice of all the cute little beavers, birds, squirrels, chipmunks, and miscellaneous other animals, studying each and every one of their adorable faces as they observed her and the dragon. Deep inside, something awoke inside of her. A sudden, instantaneous attachment to these critters formed as she lay her eyes on them, captivated by their natural beauty.

“I would LOVE to, Mr. Ken!”

“You will? That’s great!”

“Can… can I stay here now?”

“Are you sure, little Butterfly? I don’t want you to get hurt… what about your head? Doesn’t it stull hurt?”

“Yes… but… *yawn* I think I can… take care of all these cute little animals for you…”

“Aww, so cute… but now, you seem like you need rest. How’s about you get some sleep back home and when you wake up, I’ll bring you back here, hm?”

“Okay, Mr. Ken…” Butterfly obediently complied. The dragon carried the filly back to the cave he resided in. By the time he arrived, the filly had fallen asleep in his hand. He lay down and gave the filly a quick, loving nuzzle before making sure to carefully lay Butterfly down on his back.

“I just know you’ll love it here, Butterfly…”

Thunderlane had awoken in a daze to find that he saw absolutely nothing. He almost panicked, thinking he’d gone blind as he brought his fore hooves to his eyes to find a blindfold tied firmly to his face. He almost attempted to take it off until…

“I wouldn’t do that just yet if I were you…” a feminine voice warned. He instantly recognized it, and became even more confused. As he could deduce despite his lack of vision, he was being carried on-hoof on the back of the mare who had kissed him before knocking him out.

“Y… you. What’s going on? Why am I blindfolded? Where are we? And… and why did y—?” The colt asked in panic.

“Relax. The blindfold is for precautionary measures. We just need to verify that you’ll be loyal to our cause before I put you to use.”

“We? Who’s we? Where are we? What do you need me for?”

“Answers will come soon enough. Be patient…” Thunderlane did not answer. He was frightened beyond belief and had no idea where he was being taken. However, he figured that if he had gotten this far with this enticing, mysterious mare, he might as well obey her… for his sake. Eventually, the mare stopped, although she still did not instruct Thunderlane to remove the cover from his eyes.

“Grandmaster Uno, sir” the mare spoke after a lengthy silence followed by the hoofsteps of a few other ponies.

“Agent Mesmerize,” said a new, unfamiliar voice in a stern tone. “State your business.”

“I have acquired a new recruit.” The area went silent for a brief, yet tense moment.

“What use is this ‘recruit’ of yours to our cause?” asked another scary voice.

“He has connections to the pony who we believe is in possession of the Element of Harmony that found itself in Equestria; Cloudsdale, to be exact.”

“And you feel that his admittance into our ranks is beneficial to our mission for what reason?”

“With proper training, he may be of use in the case that the pony we seek puts up a fight in a similar circumstance to how the now-deceased Daring Do had against Agent Tactic and his team… or at least, what used to be his team…” Thunderlane couldn’t believe his ears. Rainbow really DIDN’T murder Daring Do. It was this… this secret club’s fault for her death. Yet, here he was, on the verge of joining said group against his will. He couldn’t turn back now, though. He was in far too deep. As the mare had previously warned, backing out now would most certainly mean his death. From the sound of it, his only use may have been due to the fact that Rainbow knew him. What were they hoping to accomplish? Why did this mare need him?

“An interesting point, Agent Mesmerize…” said yet another voice, seemingly intrigued by the mare’s proposition. “This colt may indeed be a key factor in bringing about a more desirable outcome than Agent Tactic’s method… That is, in the case that he is as close to our target as you speculate him to be… Colt. State your name,” the voice beckoned. Thunderlane wasn’t sure if the voice was talking to him or someone else, so he didn’t reply. “Colt! State your name!” the voice commanded.

“He means you,” Agent Mesmerize whispered to the colt.

“Th-Thunderlane, sir…”

“Thunderlane…? How… vaguely familiar…” the voice pondered.

“Familiar?” Thunderlane asked, his curiosity piqued. “How s—!”

“Silence, whelp!” a fourth voice shouted, prompting the colt to shut his mouth tight. “You will only respond when directly spoken to.”

“Agent Mesmerize,” called the first voice.

“Sir?”

“You may keep this new pet of yours… However, he will be put through a series of tests when the time comes. See to it that he is trained to the fullest extent of the potential you see in him.”

“Roger.”

“Remove his blindfold…” with that, Agent Mesmerize kneeled down in order to allow Thunderlane to climb off of her back. Once he planted all four of his hooves on the ground, the mare then moved to untie the blindfold, finally allowing the black colt to view his surroundings. What he saw shocked him, to say the least. He was in a room that was almost entirely pitch black, save for a few spotlights aimed at him, an unmasked Agent Mesmerize, and what seemed to be a council of this mysterious group’s leaders. Each of them had their entire bodies hidden under black hooded robes with red trim. Thunderlane looked around to see that there were six of them in total, surrounding him and his newest ally. Before he could open his mouth to speak, one of the mysterious ponies did.

“Welcome, colt. Today is a very special day for you…”

“R-really?” The colt asked in terror.

“Yes… Today is your new birthday. Today is the day you become one of us; an eternal seeker of ultimate tranquility across this planet… An advocate for freedom and harmony… An executioner to all who threaten the sanctity of our cause… today, you become an agent of the Dark Hoof Seven tribe… let the initiation… COMMENCE!” with that, the entire room flashed a bright white. Thunderlane shielded his eyes from the intense light before being caught by surprise as a cloth found itself wrapping over his eyes yet again.

“It is time for you to begin your journey as a member of our organization, Thunderlane,” Agent Mesmerize informed him as she took hold of his fore hoof and guided him in an indiscriminate direction. A few steps later, they had stopped. Mesmerize took it upon herself to turn the colt around and give him a peck on the cheek, further discombobulating the colt. “I wish you much success. You and I are going to be spending a LOT of  time together once your business here is finished…” before Thunderlane could speak, his hoof was taken by somepony else as he was guided further into the unknown…

Rainbow Dash had just finished up yet another very easy rehab session in which she was to test her ability to walk. Despite wincing in pain a couple of times when she placed too much pressure on her right hind leg, she showed that her recovery was much quicker than anticipated.

“How are you feeling, Dash?” asked Aegis.

“A LOT better… My leg still hurts a little, but it doesn’t really bother me like it used to anymore. Still, I wish it would heal faster so we can start training…”

“Hmm… well, who’s to say we can’t begin your training now?” that statement surprised the filly in a way that filled her with a mixture of excitement and confusion.

“How? My leg’s still not healed all the way.”

“Your wings are though,” the Pegasus guard countered. “I figure we’ll need as much time as we can get before you go off on this crazy journey of yours and considering that you’ll be traveling the world, you’ll need to be prepared for everything. So how’s about we head to the barracks to practice your aerial maneuverability?” at that, Rainbow scoffed.

“I’m pretty sure you KNOW by now how well I can handle myself when I’m flying…” she remarked.

“Yes… but what about when you’re fighting?”

“I’m pretty good at that, too,” she boasted.

“Oh really? Why don’t you show me?” Rainbow agreed with a nod before the two headed out of the rehab center and to the barracks of the royal Pegasus guards. Once there, Aegis removed his helmet to reveal his long, sandy blonde mane before the Pegasi began their sparring session.

“I hope you’re ready for a beating, Aegis!” Rainbow teased as she assumed her aerial battle stance.

“Ha. Brash… alright, show me what you can do!” Aegis replied, motioning his hoof in a come-hither motion. With that, Rainbow began her assault. She charged at him with a speed he could hardly comprehend and was quickly thrown off guard as the filly started with a barrage of speedy jabs to his face. She swiftly followed with a short flurry of cuffs to his abdomen before finishing her assault with a left hook to the Pegasus guard’s face and a kick to his abdomen with her left hind leg, knocking the guard back a little. From the looks of it, Aegis was disoriented by the attack.

“See? I told you I was… huh??” Rainbow was shocked to see that Aegis looked entirely unharmed, save for a miniscule scratch on his cheek.

“Not bad at all,” he complimented as he brushed himself off and shook his head. “Seems you already know a thing or two about fighting in midair. But I have to say… you’re pretty weak,” he taunted with a laugh.

“Weak!?” Rainbow shouted in offense, already losing her cool. “I’ll show YOU weak!” she charged him again at the same blinding speed as the last assault. However, Aegis was prepared. He anticipated every move the filly was making, and adapted accordingly to her fighting style. He was able to duck, dodge, and block every one of Rainbow’s strikes. Not being one to give in when things don’t go her way, Rainbow augmented her belligerent effort as she swung more wildly at the Pegasus guard. Unfortunately, her increased effort did nothing to break through Aegis’s defense, as he was still protecting himself with relative ease. Getting jaded with her inability to land a hit on him, Rainbow dashed a few feet backward, much to the surprise of her mentor before charging him again. Aegis braced himself for another assault, but was surprised yet again as Rainbow quickly altered directions so as to quickly fly behind him to land a blow. Despite this, Aegis did not move to turn around. As she maneuvered herself to get behind him, she cocked a fore hoof back, aiming for the back of his head.

“Take THIS!” Rainbow shouted as she brought her hoof towards Aegis’s head.

*SWIPE* “Huh??” Rainbow completely missed her target, much to her shock. Before she had time to react, she felt a sudden, sharp pain in her abdomen. She doubled over in agony but as she did so, she felt another shockwave of pain in the back of her head that sent her plummeting to the floor.

*THUMP* “OOF! Nrgh…!” the filly struggled to get up, but as soon as she did, she was met with her mentor standing in front of her, laughing.

“See what I mean?” he asked.

“No…” Rainbow groaned. “You’re too strong for me. Plus, you’re a royal guard. Of course you’d know how to beat—!”

“No excuses!” Aegis suddenly shouted, startling the filly. “A true warrior accepts their failures and learns from them. The fact that I’m a guard means nothing. And strength alone will not win a battle for you. Now tell me; what did you learn from our little sparring session?” Rainbow wasn’t sure how to answer that. She was aware that her chances of actually defeating him were expectantly low. However, she was unable to get a clue as to what he meant.

“I… I don’t know. What was I supposed to learn? Like I said, you’re stronger than me.”

“Hmph. Since we are just beginning our training, I’ll tell you just this once where your faults are: One, You’re too aggressive. Now don’t get me wrong. Belligerence isn’t a bad thing. But you charge in blindly, expecting your opponent to crack under the pressure. Against a novice opponent, that MIGHT work. Against someone as experienced as me, however, it won’t. Plus, you lost your temper when I said you were weak. A true fighter knows to keep a level head and think before he or she acts.”

“Okay.”

“Two: There really isn’t much weight behind your strikes. Your speed is beyond impressive. Astounding, even. But that means nothing if your attacks feel like you’re trying to tickle your opponent into submission.”

“But what about that scratch on your cheek?”

“Scratch?” the guard asked as he felt his cheek. “I honestly didn’t even notice. Even so, this is FAR from good enough to take someone like me down. Maybe one of your classmates back in Cloudsdale would cry about it, but no.”

“Oh…”

“Once your leg’s back at a hundred percent, we’re going to start doing exercises to build your muscles. Three, and listen to me on this one: Your ingenuity needs help. I like your sneak attack when you flew around to get behind me. If I was less experienced, you’d have gotten me right there. You really show that you have the speed and reflexes to handle yourself in a fight. But, the problem there is that you tried to rush me in the same way you did when I was facing you. That MAY work in some cases, but what will you do if your opponent expects it?”

“Hmm…” Rainbow seriously pondered the question. If placed in the same situation, what would she have done differently if she knew he was expecting her attack? “I don’t know…” she shamefully admitted as she lowered her head. Aegis moved to run a hoof along her mane, prompting her to look up at him to see him smiling warmly at her.

“Don’t get so down on yourself. We’ve got a LOT of time to spend training you. Just take into account what I told you, and learn from it. Accept that you’re not a perfect fighter right now, and only then can you begin to grow into one, Dash.” At that, Rainbow smiled. Not a smirk or a smile of excitement, but a genuine, foal-like smile that revealed tenderness in her that nopony other than her mother had seen. “On the other hoof, you’ve got a lot of potential. You really did catch me off-guard a couple times. Where’d you learn how to fight?”

“My… my mom used to teach me whenever she had the time…” Rainbow hardly talked about Daring Do. Bringing her up caused her to almost lose her composure. Though a lengthy amount of time had gone by since the incident, the vivid, gruesome images were still fresh in her mind as if she’d just seen them recently. Her discomfort was made evident by the fact that she looked away from Aegis and toward the ground in dejection. The stallion took note of this.

“Oh… I’m really sorry, Rainbow.”

“No, no it’s… just that… *sniff* I miss her. She was the only parent I had left…”

“Well, holding it in won’t do you any good.  If you’re okay with it, you mind telling me a little about her?”

“I… I guess.”

With that, the two sat down as Rainbow informed Aegis of the mare known as Daring Do. She told him about all the adventures she went on to find a plethora of large treasures, how caring and nurturing a parent the mare was, and even revealed something that she’d never had the courage to tell anyone before; that she was adopted.

“Adopted?? But you two looked so similar! I mean, except for your coat and hair colors, but still!”

“Yeah, we used to get that a lot… Truth is, before she found me, I was living on the streets of Cloudsdale. My real parents left a year or so before that during a terrible thunderstorm one night. They worked together as managers of the Weather Patrol Agency… The storm was brought in with way too much power, so they were called in alongside a few other Pegasi to clear it out. I still remember the last time I saw them… They tucked me into bed and kissed me goodnight, telling me they would come back…”

“I… guess that wasn’t the case?”

“Yeah… I woke up early that next morning home alone. I figured that they must’ve been so busy that they came back really late and decided to turn in. I checked inside of their room and found nopony. I was a little disappointed that they weren’t home right away, but me being so young, I figured they must’ve already went back to work. So I waited… and waited… and waited… A few days of them not showing up later, I began to look for them. Eventually, about two weeks later, somepony told me that my mom and dad were counted amongst those… ‘Taken away’ by the storm… I knew that was just a sugar-coated way of telling me that they were killed trying to disperse the storm though…”

“My goodness…”

“I was devastated…” At this point, Rainbow’s voice began to quake, the filly fighting back tears. “That same pony took me to a shelter where I’d be placed with a foster family somewhere in the slums of Cloudsdale. I can tell you; those were the most miserable two months of my life…”

“How so?”

“For one thing, there were already like seven other foals there. And there was only one parent who cared for each of us equally. But she wasn’t there anywhere near often enough to show it. The other one, the one who looked over us the majority of the time, liked to pick on us and pit us against one another for basic needs like food or water for his sick, twisted amusement… That’s where I started learning how to fight.”

“That’s awful! But… I guess you won out the majority of the time?”

“Oh, god no!” Rainbow harshly answered. “Whoever won those little games was given a ‘special alone-time session’ with the dad whenever the mom wasn’t home. I just fought enough to get me something to eat and share with whoever didn’t get anything. I’d lose on purpose to keep away from the ‘alone-time’ after I saw some of the others come out crying and hardly able to walk. I made the mistake of winning once… at about the time I’d gotten sick of everypony there, and most of the other foals got fed up with being molested… by that time, about three or four of the other foals were already gone. The mother saw how unhappy they were, even though she couldn’t figure out why, and took them back to the shelter to be relocated.”

“Oh… jeez, Rainbow, I’m SO sorry…” Aegis felt like wrapping Rainbow in the tightest hug possible. He also felt a growing, burning resentment towards this awful stallion. Who in their right mind would even dare to THINK of doing such malicious things? And to CHILDREN, no less!

“It wasn’t too bad…” That statement almost threw the guardspony over the edge.

“What!???”

“No, not like that!!” Rainbow hastily countered, realizing the error in her phrasing. “I mean… when he dragged me into his bedroom, he started kissing me on the cheeks and touching me and rubbing me in weird places, in weird ways… telling me that he was going to ‘make me feel good’ and that he was going to ‘give me a special growing-up present’…”

“Rainbow, please… I… I don’t—!” Aegis was deathly afraid of what she was telling him, fearing the worst had happened to his newest companion. He didn’t want to hear any more of the gruesome tale, but Rainbow kept going.

“I knew right away what he was really trying to do to me. He was going to hurt me like he did the others. I started fighting. Swinging away at that pig with every last ounce of strength I had. I thought I was going to get away, but then he swatted me really hard… I flew into a dresser and hit my head… Then he came up to me and grabbed me by my mane. I wasn’t going to let him victimize me like he did the others, though… so, with both my back legs, I kicked him square in the dick as hard as I could. He let go of me and went down almost instantly. I took that as an opportunity to fly far away from there and never look back…”

“Wow… In the dick, huh?” Aegis was a little surprised at the filly's use of vulgar slang, but he was more so relieved that she was able to get away from such a horrble situation.

“Yeah. After that, I spent the rest of that year homeless, drifting aimlessly through the town doing odd jobs for ponies just to feed myself for a day…”

“Didn’t anypony offer you a home??”

“I was in the slums… Nopony could help themselves, much less me… I’d be lucky to have even gotten enough bits to buy a decent meal for myself that would last me. Resources were scarce. As I spent more time alone in total destitution and loneliness, I began to think of ways to bring in some money. But, I had no idea what to do... So in order to calm myself down, I started flying around aimlessly. I flew when I was happy, I flew when I was angry, and I flew when I was sad. The more I flew, the more I grew to love the excitement of soaring through the air with no cares in the world… I found myself in such a state of peace when I flew. It gave me time to think about my situation and how to get out of it. I also found that the faster I whizzed through the open skies, the more I’d lose myself in the excitement of being able to fly…”

“Whoa…”

“Then one day, she came…”

“Daring Do?”

“Yeah… She told me I caught her eye when she noticed me doing tricks during one of my flight sessions and asked me where I learned how to do some of them. I told her about my situation, one thing led to another, and soon, she adopted me as her own…”

“Amazing…”

“Yeah… it was so nice to be able to live in a comfortable home where you didn’t have to fight or sell yourself out just to make enough to get by… to just cuddle up to somepony you know would protect you and love you, no matter what… She was the best mom anypony could ever ask for, even if she spent a good amount of time going on some sort of adventure while I was in flight school… but then she found this weird necklace.” Rainbow moved a hoof to gesture toward the Element of Harmony, but noticed it wasn’t there.

“You mean the Element of Harmony?”

“Yeah. After she found it, things started to change. Over time, she started getting scared of everything, she stopped going on adventures, and she started changing into a completely different pony… She would never tell me why, saying that I was ‘too innocent…’ She became miserable.  But then… then…” the filly found it increasingly hard to tell the story. She choked, the dam of tears she was holding back growing stronger, harder to resist. The frustration, the sorrow… the vengefulness… It was tearing at her insides like an inferno as she tried not to cry.

“They… killed her?” Aegis guessed. Rainbow didn’t reply with words. She broke down crying yet again as she buried her face into her hooves. The Pegasus guard, wracked with guilt and a bolstered conviction to the protection of the filly, wrapped her up in his fore legs. She didn’t fight him. Instead, she welcomed his embrace as she continued to drown out her sorrows. “Rainbow Dash… I… I’m here for you. From here on out, I’ll train you to be the best fighter you can possibly be. I’ll protect you till the bitter end, or die trying. You have my word… you hear me? If ANYPONY EVER tries to harm you… I will personally make sure they pay for it…!” The little blue filly, unable to put into words how much her bodyguard’s words meant to her, instead opted to strengthen her grip on him and nuzzle into his chest as they embraced… Once again, her necklace instantaneously faded into view, taking on a glow…

The black colt stood alone before the council of the Dark Hoof Seven’s leaders, his face blank and emotionless, all evidence of his initially timid and frightful demeanor vanished and replaced with disheartening emptiness.

“Your initiation is nearly complete, young one,” commended one of the leaders. “All that is left is that you swear your life and your allegiance to us and no one else…”

“Yes sir,” the colt flatly replied.

“Good. Now, repeat after us…” At that moment, each of the leaders surrounding the colt recited the group’s trademark motto, with Thunderlane reciting right after them. “Stealthy as the Night, Deadly as the Dawn… The Dark Hoof Seven is Infinitely Strong. Close as A Shadow, Yet Twice As Mute… All Foes will Fall before They Are Able to Dispute. Peace, Not Violence, is for what we Vie. But Stand in our Way, and You WILL DIE!”

“Excellent… From here on out, you will no longer reply to the name of Thunderlane, for it holds ties to a colt who is officially deceased as of this moment. But, until you prove your worth to our organization, you will be addressed as Recruit. Do you understand, Thunderlane?” The colt did not reply. “Good. Now do you understand, Recruit?”

“Yes sir.”

“Outstanding. Agent Mesmerize!” the council pony called. Almost immediately, the mare strolled in, ready to receive her orders.

“Reporting, Commander Zwei.”

“See to it that this colt is properly trained for the testing phase. He is to be under your supervision and your supervision alone unless we order otherwise. Is that clear?”

“Crystal.”

“Good. This meeting is adjourned. You may go.” With that, Recruit, now accompanied by his new teacher, trotted out of the room and into a sizable foyer with the organization’s logo printed on the center of the floor. The two took a left down a long corridor filled with doorways. The walk was mostly silent, but the colt formerly known as Thunderlane had his reasons. He’d thought about his initiation… how brutal and ruthless it was. How they tortured him into obeying everything they commanded him to do… How they threatened to kill him if he so much as shed a single tear during the taxing, relentless process. He felt lucky to have made it through without much more than a whimper at the beginning of his canonization. He still remembered his life before he’d met this mare, though. His father, his friends… especially Rainbow Dash. The fact that he was doing this to get a clue of her whereabouts was majorly what pulled him through. Eventually, the two made it to their destination: A room devoid of anything but a magic candle and a single bed. There was another door within it, which likely led to the lavatory.

“Recruit?”

“Yes, Agent Mesmerize?”

“Please, just call me Mistress.”

“Will do… Mistress.”

“Good boy… but you know… you’ll soon understand that joining us is beneficial to you. I know the initiation must’ve been hard for you, but all of us as members of the Dark Hoof Seven had to go through it… even me.”

“Really?” asked the Recruit, showing the first semblances of emotion since before his introduction.

“Yes… except, there was nopony to… hold my hoof after I was done. In fact…” the mare trailed off as she began to remove her uniform. “I’ve been feeling REALLY lonely lately… thinking of all the time I’d spent as an Agent without a teammate to share my experiences with…” as she spoke, she cast her spandex suit aside to reveal her Cutie Mark; a pair of hot pink kissing lips. The suit fell messily about the room’s floor. Agent Mesmerize climbed onto the bed and lay flat on her back, her wings fully erect, shooting the Recruit a suggestive glance. The Recruit suddenly began to feel hot, but at the same time, frozen in place.

“I’m… s-sorry to hear that, Mistress…” the colt uneasily replied.

“No, don’t be sorry… Be mine… come here, sweetie… let me talk to ya REAL close…” she suggested, gesturing a fore hoof in a seductive come-hither motion. The colt, despite being afraid out of his mind, found the courage to approach the enticing mare as she massaged her tender areas. The closer he trotted towards her, the faster his heart began to beat. With an impulsive gulp, the Recruit climbed onto the bed with his mentor.

“I-is there something you’d… like me to do?” Rather than reply right away, the mare wrapped the colt up in her fore legs and pulled him into yet another robust, lengthy kiss; this time, slipping him some tongue before releasing him. He could only stare at her in total bewilderment.

“Today isn’t your new birthday JUST because you’re joining us, you know…” she said, winking at him as she positioned him over top of her before moving a fore hoof to grope his genital area. She smiled at him with half-open eyes that emphasized what she wanted from him. At this point, what little resolve the colt had tried to harbor against doing this mare’s bidding melted away, evidenced by the fact that his wings were flared and rigid. “Today’s also the day you become a stallion…”

**A/N** I've never explicitly done clop, nor have I had the intention to. However, I am considering elaborating on this spicy little scene between the colt formerly known as Thunderlane and his new master in either a separate bonus chapter OR in adding it to this chapter. Please let me know what you'd prefer in the comments below.