The Apprentice of War

A/N: Sorry for the delay but it's rather hard to describe this scene (If you spot the FMJ reference you are awesome) also I will imagine some of the readers will be confused by 'Colour' and 'three pips' well basically they are the titles, and emblem used for ranks e.g. two silver bars is captain in the american military, and finally due to many complaints I have changed the name of Captain Tallest Brony to Captain Vera Virtute (Captain True Courage) hope this clears a few things up!.

Chapter Five: New Faces

Perspective: Twilight

Celestia stood above me casting an air of dominance; my usual lavender coat was stained red with blood.

“Twilight, you have committed an unforgivable sin, one you will never be able to repay.” Her voice was cold and distant, tears streaming down my cheeks.

I sniffed, her eyes puffy from crying “I-I’m sorry Princess, p-please forgive me...” Celestia slowly whispered into my ear.

“I will never forgive you. Choosing you to become my student was a mistake. I should have left you to rot!” I burst into fresh tears, my vision blurring

Blackness started to clouded my sight, I began to slowly levitate off the ground; my pupil’s consuming the sclera of my eye. “I loved you Celestia, you were a mother figure to me. I looked up to you...” my voice seemed sharp and edgy

Celestia just looked at me like a wild beast.

I know I have turned into a monster, but she is no better than me! She has killed before, tortured and turned ponies insane... at-at least I admit it.

“Leave Twilight, and never return. Monster’s do not belong in my world.” Celestia’s voice sickened me, everything about her drove me mad with anger; I hated her.

I spoke up hatred in my voice “You hypocrite! You say I’m the monster?! Look in the mirror and you will see one for yourself!” Rage boiled over me, my heart pumped at an alarming rate.

*Thump* *Thump* *Thump* *Thump*

Celestia’s horn began to glow, her face emotionless “I guess you proved me right Twilight, you are not worthy of redemption.”

A large knife hung above my head, tears of hatred and fear fell from my eyes. This is it... an Execution? No. Vengeful murder...

“Goodbye Twilight...”

I woke up in cold clammy sweat, Why does this keep happening to me! I just want to forget about her! Angrily I tore the bed sheet off of my body and began my morning routine.

Perspective: Spitfire

As I walked along the streets of Manehatten, my head hung low as I mulled over the recent events. ‘Stupid shadowbolts, stealing our spotlight! We were the best flyers in all of Equestria dammit!’.

Everywhere I walked all I could see were shadowbolt fliers! They were bucking everywhere! What can I do now? The only thing I was good at has been ripped away from me...as I stopped to look at a new shadowbolt flier something caught my eye.

A small tattered poster stood out among the rest, I snatched it off the notice wall. It was a picture of Nightmare Moon standing proudly in front a crowd of guards, below in bold text it read.

“Think you've got what it takes to be the best? Join the Military today!”

‘ Hmm the military? Good pay, decent company. Buck it I have nothing left here, I have no job,my life is ruined’  Underneath the main text was all the details on how to sign up.

“To sign up go to Canterlot Military Barracks,”

‘Mental test’s? What is that meant to accomplish?’  Further underneath the text the poster was signed off by Captain Vera Virtute. With a new goal in mind I set off for the capital.

-----*Three hours later*-----

After a few hours of flying I finally reached my destination, having been to the royal castle multiple I knew my way around the area quite well. ‘Now where is the barracks again?’ After a few minutes of wandering around I finally found the large wooden building.

In front of me stood to stalwart ash grey guards, garbed in purple armour with a silver trim. “Excuse me; do either of you know where I can sign up for the guard? I am looking for Captain Vera Virtute.”

“Down the corridor second left.” He spoke in a deep voice; his face emotionless.

“Thank you very much , I will be on my way.”

I gave my thanks and set off down the corridor. The halls were decorated with grand paintings of old leaders throughout Equestria’s military, as I reached out and knocked on the old door, a young enthusiastic voice called out.

“Enter” ‘Hmm short and sweet’  I entered the office, it was very homey, small nick-knacks decorated the shelves and a large desk in the center of the room. “Hello Ma’am and what can I help you with?” The stallion was dressed in the standard armour of the guards, he had three pips in the center of his chest to symbolize his rank of captain.

“Hello Sir, I am here about joining the military.” He seemed pleasantly surprised with my announcement.

“Oh, Well my name is Captain Vera Virtute; you seem to be in luck, I am free up until five pm so I am sure we can get the interview started right away” The Captain bent down and brought out a stack of paper “So lets get started. First of all what is your name and profession?”

“My name is Spitfire and I am the Captain of the Wonderbolts” I replied hoping that I am making a good impression.

“So you’re the Captain of the Wonderbolts ey’? Sounds interesting... so why did you decide to join the military?” A smile plastered his face making him look ridiculous.

“Well, with the Shadowbolts my career is coming to an end; I have always loved the more dangerous and risky side of life, including the outdoors so the military seemed like a good choice for a career.”

“Okay,Okay. Have you any known medical history? Asthma,Arthritis, any mental or physical handicaps?” ‘From what I know I am in top shape, surprisingly I have never broke a bone in my life!’

“No, I am a healthy, young mare in her prime” I replied confidently. The Captain’s smile grew even more.

“Well then, all we need you to do is take a few tests and we can begin training tomorrow morning!” Captain Vera Virtute rose from his desk and handed me a red slip of paper. “Hand this to the unicorn in the room down the corridor and he will begin your tests.” Captain Vera Virtute sat back down into his chair as I began to leave “Oh and Miss Spitfire? Good luck” I smiled back at him showing my thanks.

After exiting the Captains office I walked quickly down the corridor and found the room he was talking about. I knocked on the door three times and entered the room, it was fairly similar to the Captains room although there was a large hospital type bed with a white divider.

A caramel unicorn stallion dressed in a white lab coat stood next to the bed, reading over some papers. “Um Hello? Captain Vera Virtute sent me here with this slip” I handed the red piece of paper to him, he remained quiet and read the sheet for a few minutes,after a while he lifted his head back up and began to speak.

“Okay Spitfire, it seems Captain Vera Virtute has put you forward for some tests, do not worry every new recruit have taken these tests as it has been ordered by Queen Nightmare Moon.” His voice was calm and collected, he had a received pronunciation accent. “My name is Doctor Stable. Now Miss Spitfire, I will need your permission to use a truth spell on you... let me put any worries to rest, I am a professional and have done this countless times before.”

‘Truth Spell? Why on Equestria does every guard need to have a truth spell cast on them?’

Doctor Stable’s horn began to emit a soft brown glow, slowly he began to cast the spell on me. Suddenly his horn stopped glowing and he looked up at me “So then, why did you decide to join the guard?”

A strange feeling began to swell up in my throat, it stopped me from speaking until it finally burst. “My career is most likely over and the military seems to be the only available job for a washed up stunt flyer...” I talked at a rather fast pace.

“Okay and finally. Do you swear loyalty and dedication to server her royal highness Queen Nightmare Moon? To fight for your country and people?” ‘I guess this is it, my new life as a guard pony’.

“I do.”

With a smile his expression softened “Congratulations Miss Spitfire, welcome to the Equestrian military. Here is your schedule for the next month and room key, your training will begin tomorrow; you will find all your accommodation and any other details which are necessary to help you settle in.”

With a smile I rose from the seat. “Thank you Doctor Stable, hopefully I will not have too many visits during my training.” With a chuckle his magic reached out towards the door and opened it for me to leave.

As I leaved his office, my excitement getting to the better of me I did a rather embarrassing  filly scream.

After thirty minutes of walking around the military base familiarizing myself with my new home, I began to enter the accommodations, I glanced down at the piece of paper and found what room number I am. ‘Room 351,352,353.. ahh here we are room 354’ . I knocked on the door in case anypony else was inside and unlocked the door.

As I entered the room, the first thing I noticed was how tidy it was. In total there were four double bunk beds and four double lockers. However only one bed did not have an occupant.

“Um H-hello my name is Spitfire” I vaguely talked to the seven mares in my room, suddenly all the eyes in the room now faced me ‘Buck great first impression Spitfire’

A cream coloured earth mare stood up from her bunk, her mane was dark and light purple. “ Hi, my name is Violet Fritter, I guess you will be sharing my bunk with me. I prefer bottom bunk so you can have top.” She was very cheerful and merry. “Now then lets introduce you to the rest of the fillies. The twins are Aloe and Lotus”

Two mares walked up, one with a cyan coat and pink hair; the other had a pink coat and cyan hair, the mare with the pink coat began to speak. “Hi I am Aloe and this is my sister Lotus.”

“Hi I’m Spitfire, its so nice to see everyone is really friendly.”

“Lets introduce you to the rest of our squad. The light blue mare is Bottlecap she shares her bunk with Berry Punch, she is the light pink mare.” Violet began to list off all the mares in the room; only pausing to let me greet them.

“Hello Bottlecap,Berry Punch.”

“Finally there is Emerald and Ginger Gold!”

The last two mares stood up from the beds and greeted them selves. “Hi I am Emerald and she is Ginger Gold” Emerald was a light olive green with teal mane and Ginger Gold was mix of orange and yellow with a light orange mane.

“Hi. So how long have you all been in the military?” Everypony in the room had a large smile on their muzzle

“Well surprisingly we all started today, that reminds me we better get to the orientation before it starts” Aloe finished in a haste.

----- 2 hours later -----

‘Sweet Celestia that was possibly the biggest waste of time in my life!’

Ginger Gold walked up to me and sat on my bed. “Hey darling how are you doing? You seem pretty beat to me.”

“Its alright Ginger, the orientation was just boring for me... and the seats felt like concrete!” Ginger laughed at my rant. ‘She obviously had a better time than I did.’  “So Ginger, what was it like growing up in ponyville, I hear you are related to Granny Smith?”

“It was nice, quiet town, friendly people; same old story most ponies tell really.” ‘She is hiding something’, Ginger Gold had a large frown on her muzzle with her eyes cast down

“Sounds really cool, so what was your reason for joining the military?” ‘Shit now she looks more depressed’. Suddenly her face perked up a bit.

“Well.. I really wanted to meet new ponies and travel the world. Also I wanted to get stronger, to protect my kin.” Her voice seemed confident and commanding. “What about you Spitfire? Why did you join the military?”

“Well where to begin? Since the shadowbolts came I have been out of the job, I was depressed; whilst walking around manehatten I came across a recruiting poster. My story isn't half as good as yours, I am simply looking for a job and this suited me the best, although I am looking forward to getting to meet you all!”

As I finished talking, Emerald cantered over towards us. “So what do you think training will be like tomorrow morning?”

“Well from what our schedule says, we have P.T in the morning followed by drill, hopefully our drill Sergeant is nice” After I had finished speaking Lotus walked past us.

“Twenty bits he is a bucking jackass!” As if Celestia and her almighty timing, the door to our room burst open revealing a jet black stallion.

“ALL RIGHT YOU MAGGOTS LIGHTS OUT NOW, breakfast is at 0800” ‘Wow guess we all just lost twenty bits’.

Taking charge I rose from the bed and began to organizing everypony. “Alright Ginger and Bottlecap, I want you two to be responsible for waking everypony up at 6:30. Girls I want everypony to have a shower and washed by 7:30, we want to make a good impression on the Drill Sergeant, and to be honest I do not want to get on his bad side!” When I finished barking out commands and finished my speech everypony saluted me ‘I didn't realize I already have their respect’  With smile I trotted over towards the light switch and turned the lights off.

With the room in pitch blackness, I snuggled down into my warm cozy cot. “Good night everypony” I said my voice almost echoing in the large room.

Suddenly in unison I received seven replies “Good night Spitfire.”

‘Wow what a day... new job,new friends. A whole new life’ my thoughts began to subside as sleep rapidly claimed me.

September 12th 1715

Perspective: Spitfire

I awoke to Ginger Gold’s face mere inches away from mine.

“Aghhhh-” Ginger shoved her hoof inside my mouth muffling my scream, after a few seconds I came to and spat her hoof out of my mouth. “Sorry Ginger, but you scared the living hay out of me!” Ginger began to snicker.

“It’s alright darling, but like you wanted it is 6:30 and almost everyone is up... well besides Lotus!” Ginger began to stomp towards Lotus’s cot.

“But Muuum I still need one more hour of beauty sleep” Lotus dreamly muttered. Suddenly Ginger reached up and flipped her cot over.

“Get up now, or so help me god!” Ginger shouted almost blowing out everypony’s ear drums.

“Aggghhh- *thud* Alright, I’m up.” I snickered at my squads antics.

Suddenly the door slowly creaked open revealing the Drill Sergeant.. looking extremely pissed.

In a low gruff and sleepy voice “Alright you bunch of slimy hoofed cock suckers. You just woke me up.” Everypony gulped “And for punishment, you will all be doing double P.T with me until you all puke!” With that he turned and slammed the door shut.

“Buck! First day and we have already pissed off the Sergeant.. Okay, lets get ready and get breakfast.” I shouted into the air.

We all left the room and began to make our way down to get breakfast, whilst walking down the corridors we walked past numerous squads, mainly stallions but every now and again I spotted some squads with mares.

The mess hall was fairly large and spacious, it could probably hold about 250 ponies comfortably. After queuing for fifteen minutes I sat down with the rest of my squad. My tray had the most food on, ‘God, I must look so greedy. I guess I need to hold out on the food for a while’

On my tray I had three rations of hay bacon, two eggs, beans. Nopony can beat a full Trottingham breakfast!

“Wow Spitfire, leave some food for the rest of us!” Berry Punch mocked causing me to blush in embarrassment.

“Sorry I guess I am just hungry”

“There is no need to apologize Spitfire I was only joking” Berry looked generally apologetic, And at that moment I knew I could not stay mad at these fillies for long.

“Its alright Berry, lets just eat and get our P.T done with...” We ate our breakfast in silence, enjoying our last few minutes before we get our flanks handed to us by the Drill Sergeant.

After our breakfast we left the mess hall and began to walk towards the asphalt drill square outside the barracks. Stood outside was our Drill Sergeant glaring daggers at us. He was an earth pony with a brown mane and coat, his cutie mark was a pair of weights.

“I am Colour Sergeant Shadow, your Senior Drill Instructor. From now on, you will speak only when spoken to, and the first and last words out of your filthy sewers will be “Sir!” Do you maggots understand that?”

All eight of us replied in unison. “Sir, yes, sir!”

“Bullshit! I can't hear you. Sound off like you got a pair.”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

“If you fillies leave my beloved, if you survive recruit training ... you will be a weapon, you will be a minister of death, praying for war. But until that day you are pukes! You're the lowest form of life on Earth. You are not even fucking Pony’s! You are nothing but unorganized grabastic pieces of amphibian shit! Because I am tough, you will not like me. But the more you hate me, the more you will learn. I am hard, but I am fair! There is no racial bigotry here! I do not care if you are an Earth pony or a Pegasus, Here you are all equally worthless! And my orders are to weed out all non-hackers who do not pack the gear to serve in my beloved Corps! Do you maggots understand that?”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

“Bullshit! I can't hear you!”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

“Now we have got acquainted, I want all of you slimy little scumbags to drop and give me 200!”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

“Like you've got a pair!”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

We all dropped to the floor and started doing pushups, shouting out the numbers in unison, Colour Sergeant Shadow loomed over us bellowing at the top of his voice making us shout louder.

“Alright Maggots! You have five minutes to rest, then we are going on a nice little run.” His voice was full of sarcasm

“Bucking jackass” Aloe whispered to Lotus, suddenly Colour Shadow’s head snapped sideways and stared straight at our squad.

“Who said that? Which Twinkle hoofed cock sucker said that?!” His eyes glaring at us, seeing who would crack. Suddenly Colour rushed up to me, his face blocking all of my vision. “Was it you? You look like an unworthy piece of shit! I bet it was you!”

“Sir, no, sir!”

“What’s your name recruit?”

“Sir, Spitfire, sir!” I shouted at the top of my lungs

“Where do you come from recruit?”

“Sir, Cloudsdale, sir!”

Aloe stepped forward out of line catching Colour Shadow’s attention. “Sir, it was me, sir!”

Colour Shadow rushed towards Aloe towering above her, his eye’s staring at her in anger. Aloe stood stalwart not moving an inch whilst the intimidating stallion stood in her face.

“Who do you think you are scumbag!” Colour Shadow’s hoof reared back and slammed Aloe in the gut; causing her to double over in agony. Everypony watching was slack jawed in shock ‘He hit a girl! How can he hit a girl?!’. Colour stepped back and looked at us all.

“Like I said, I do not care if you are a mare! You’re in the military now, your flanks are mine, and if you do not go by my rules then I will serve it to you on a platter!”

Stunned, we were all simply stunned. Although his motives are extreme Colour Shadow has a point. We are most likely going to die... being beaten should be the least of our worries.

Colour Shadow began to walk up to me. he shoved his hoof out in my direction causing me to flinch slightly. “You, Recruit Spitfire.. it’s your lucky day, you are now in charge of this pathetic squad. Look after them, get them to training on time and I promise you.. you and your squad will become the best.” With his speech done he sharply turned around and began to march off towards the barracks.

“Aloe are you alright?” I began to trot over towards Aloe, she was still in pain but most of it had subsided. “He hit you rather hard, would you like me to take a look?”

“N-no its alright, he just caught me off guard. I promise it won't happen again.” Her voice was shaky, probably from the shock from being winded.

“Alright squad, lets get some rest we have an hour until our next training session with Colour Shadow.” Everypony sighed with relief.

‘So my first training session and me and my squad get’s showed up.. its going to be a long month...’