Cadence was all together too tired for any more excitement, but it seemed that her day was far from over as the Commander led her and her two companions into a secluded glade, scattered training equipment and a rack of weapons to one side, cluing her into the space’s purpose immediately. Much as she despised the concept of harming another living being, the Commander’s previous words acted as a powerful motivator, alongside her own desire to protect her daughter, whom she still hadn’t found the time to properly name. An exasperated sigh escaped her muzzle as their small congregation came to a halt, the Commander turning around to face her with a stern expression.

“Now then, let’s go over some basics before we have you choose a weapon.” His already no-nonsense tone had hardened until it could be confused for a block of granite, “Each of these weapons have a variety of capabilities, some that will not be obvious from the start. Part of a hunter’s training is not only to learn the attacks and counters each tool can perform, but to unlock the potential hidden within. Our smiths have forged these weapons using parts from the various monsters that inhabit these lands, and as such, they are much more than simple iron and steel. They hold power to wound and even kill the most powerful of creatures, but they can also harbor risks to even the most experienced.”

The Commander nodded to the warrior behind Cadence, the heavily armored man drawing his long, slightly curved blade as he walked into the training area. The Commander stepped back alongside Cadence and the hunter’s handler, his arms crossed as the swordsman took a combat stance in front of a large, upright log, covered in what looked like cured animal hide.

The warrior wasted no time demonstrating his skill, slashing and hacking against the pillar with his blade, causing sparks and splinters of wood to fly with each graceful strike. It was almost like a dance in Cadence’s mind, the fluidity of the hunter’s movements seemingly to pair perfectly with each deadly swing. Then, as the hunter swung through with a wide, horizontal slash, an ethereal glow became noticeable around the human’s weapon.

Cadence’s eyes widened, her jaw dropping as the hunter repeated the movements twice more, the glow around his blade changing from white to yellow until settling on a deep crimson. His strikes were no longer glancing off the pillar, now slashing deeply into the hide and even the hardened wood beneath with each attack, an almost imperceptible hum resonating from his sword.

“Now you see.” The Commander’s voice was soft but direct as the hunter sheathed his weapon before striking with a blindingly quick drawing slash, “This is the power of a hunter who has mastered his weapon. He doesn’t simply use the blade in his grasp, but they have grown to work as one with hunter and weapon joined into a singular unit.”

Cadence watched, awestruck, as the hunter thrust forward, kicking off the ground to heights far higher than should have been possible, before bringing the blade down with tremendous force in an earthshattering vertical strike, a crimson line searing through the air in his wake as the glow around his sword shifted back to yellow. For a moment, nothing seemed to have happened, but as the hunter sheathed his blade, something about the pillar captured her attention.

The Commander, evidently not done shattering her expectations, walked up and tapped the pillar to one side of the hunter’s slash, the alicorn’s wings flaring in shock as one half of the pillar creaked ominously before falling over, revealing the perfect split down the middle left behind by the hunter’s weapon.

“This is the hidden potential you must learn to master in your own weapon,” the Commander stated simply as he turned to face her, “whatever form it might take and whichever weapon best suites you. Every hunter finds their own unique path and must prove their worth to whichever weapon they choose, or they quickly find out that this world can be a very dangerous place for the unprepared.” With that ominous warning, he indicated the stacks of various weapons to one side of the training area, “So, how about you take a look and see which of these might fit your needs?”

Cadence nodded, trying her best not to stare dumbly at the now half-pillar still standing in the clearing’s center, her wings folding slowly against her flanks as she trotted over to the racks to inspect the various weapons. On first inspection, she was already able to rule out several of the weapons, mostly because there was no way she could ever use them, even with her Earth Pony strength to assist her. How in the world were these beings able to swing around a hunk of metal that was easily four times her size and probably six times her weight without breaking bones? She shook her head to remove the distracting thoughts as best she could, glancing at the more manageable weapons to see what might be usable.

Normally, she would have used her magic to lift the weapons, but with her horn dangerously overtaxed from two days straight of overexertion, she dared not use it for fear of damaging the still-sensitive organ. Losing her magic could be fatal in this new world, so she would need to learn how to use these tools without it if she wanted to make any kind of headway in a reasonable timeframe.

A simple sword and shield were her first choice, the buckle of the small circular shield strapping to her left foreleg while she gripped the blade in her right. Already, she could see a problem, as moving with these tools would require her to use both forelegs but were too heavy to be readily used in flight. She glanced at her companions’ bipedal stance before shaking her head, the notion of hopping around on her hind legs in combat, an absolutely absurd idea too ridiculous to even consider.

Placing the sword and buckler back on the racking, she realized that almost all the weapons before her would require a stance like her companions. Unfortunately, that limited her viable choices down to almost nothing, her gaze finally settling on a duo of short swords that were about the length of her wings. An idea popped into her mind as she tilted her head this way and that, inspecting the blades before her as she considered the possibilities.

“Could you grab some rope?” She asked as she pulled the weapons down, “I’d like to try something.”

The Handler jogged over to a large, red chest and pulled a bundle of hemp rope free with one hand, “Like this?”

“Yes, thank you.” Cadence nodded as she grabbed the rope with her free hoof, “Now, how exactly to do this?”

It took some trial and error, especially without her magic to simplify the process, but with the help of the hunter and his handler, they were able to secure the blades to each of her wings, their cutting edges secured right in front of each wing’s elbow joint. It wasn’t pretty, and it made her wings feel like they were being held down by lead weights, but it at least allowed her to move freely and still bring each weapon to bear against the remains of the post.

“Very creative,” the Commander mused as she practiced tapping each blade against the pillar in slow, horizontal movements, “would you still be able to fly like that?”

“I might be, given time for them to get used to the weight,” she replied, “but my biggest worry is these blades coming off in the middle of a fight. They aren’t exactly standard issue pegasus wingblades.”

“Fair enough,” he replied, “we’ll see if the smiths can cook something up that is a better fit for what you need.”

Cadence was about to fold her wings against her sides, when something overcame her thoughts, to the point that she was quite literally unable to think of anything else. The Commander’s voice, as well as those of her companions, faded to the background as a singular desire overran her being. Her wings, almost like they had a mind of their own, drew upwards towards each other, the silent whisper in her mind growing louder with each passing breath, until the blades crossed over her back in a perfect X.

RAGE! FURY! DEATH! The emotions seemed to spring forth from nowhere as her teeth ground against each other, her hooves digging into the dirt as an inequine scream of pure, unadulterated anger tore itself from her throat. Her vision was tinted red, as was the rest of her body, as pure energy seemed to crackle beneath the fur across her entire being. Whisps of bright red-white power snapped and crackled in the air around her as her gaze locked onto the pillar before her, her wings slashing out in a flurry of strikes almost too fast for her eyes to follow. Splinters flew and hunks of hide fell to the ground in ribbons with each passing moment, the pace and ferocity of her attacks rising with her emotions as the rage inside her grew to blinding proportions.

Then, like a flame snuffed from a candle, it all crashed to a halt, her breathing ragged and her body coated in sweat as the red tint faded from her eyes and from around her body. Her legs and wings shook, her body barely able to hold itself upright, even as her eyes tried and failed to process the carnage she had caused. The pillar, or what was left of it, was little more than a splintered hulk of wood, with none of the hide covering left intact on its outer surface.

“Not bad.” Cadence’s head slowly turned to stare blankly at the Commander, “You will need to learn control in order to master those blades, but it looks like you’ve found your weapon.”

Horror overcame her frazzled brain as she gawked at the aged human, “What?! But I completely lost control! It was like I was taken over by something else! What about that could possibly lead you to believe that these would be a good fit?!”

“Because the blades and the instincts within connected with you at all.” Was the blunt counter, “Most beginners never even realize that the Deamon’s Fury is even a possibility, and yet you were guided by the weapons towards that power on your very first try. That speaks of an innate affinity you have deep inside you. Now you must master it so that you can gain control of these new abilities you have been shown how to access.”

Once again, Cadence tried and failed to form a rebuttal to the human’s words, a sigh of exasperation seemingly her go-to response to recent events as her breathing slowed down to a normal speed. She glanced back at the blades affixed to her wings, her trepidation of using the Deamon’s Fury again front and center in her mind as she carefully removed the short swords. She needed to think, preferably for a very long time about what she had just experienced and heard before she could make a decision.

She placed the blades back on the rack and walked out of the training area, trying her best to ignore the feeling of being watched tingling on the back of her neck. The faint call of their power, the potential to rend her enemies asunder, it was a siren’s call that she fought against as she entered Astera proper. Thankfully, the silent cry in the back of her head faded as her ears picked up the scattered conversation from the other Commission staff, a sigh of relief coming unbidden as her head dropped low for a moment. Her heart finally slowed to a normal pace, and she winced as her wings flared in pain, her muscles having worked themselves beyond their current limits in her artificial fury.

Another wince crossed her face as she rolled a wing joint, a hoof lifting to massage the sore muscles as she grumbled under her breath, “I need to get more flying in. It’s been too long since I last had a real wing workout.”

Training with her possible weapon choice placed on hold for the time being, Cadence held her head high as she walked towards the bunkhouse entrance, wherein she could hear her daughter giggling loudly alongside the deep, booming laughter of the Admiral.

“Why does it seem like I am getting to spend the least amount of time out of everyone with my own daughter?” She asked herself as she paused in front of the doorway, “Who I still need to find a name for. Ugh, I’ll figure it out when my head doesn’t feel like an Ursa Major sat on it.”

The doorway creaked as she pushed it open, her tail slipping into the dimmed space before the door closed with a click, the prevailing silence lasting all of five seconds before the entirety of Astera rocked from the Royal Canterlot Voice.

“YOU NAMED HER WHAT?!?!”

Suffice to say, the Admiral had some explaining to do to one very puffy pink pony princess.

Author's Note

Woohoo! I'm on a roll! Bet none of you expected an update this quickly! To be honest, neither did I, but the inspiration juice was flowing, and I decided to simply jump in with four hooves!

As always, leave a like, follow and leave a comment down below of what you think of the story so far. Did you like the weapon Cadence chose? Did her reaction to Demon Mode catch you by surprise? What do you think the Admiral named the foal to make Cadence that mad?

Looking forward to hearing from you all, and eager to keep the momentum rolling,
Shadow Quill, Messenger of the Moon.