*13 years later*
The sound of thousands of hooves clopping in applause filled the area as the newest of the Royal Guard were knighted by the princesses, each swearing the oath that had been passed down through countless knighting ceremonies as I watched from the shadows of the arena's exit waiting to congratulate the graduates that I had known for so long. Ever since the incident that happened the Guards had taken me in, since they couldn't find any of my known relations to house me, I sorta became their mascot, knowing the grounds like the back of my hoof I always showed the new recruits that had hopes on becoming one of the forces that help protect Equestria, I would be the one to drown out those who had less than pure intentions towards protecting the princesses. They all knew me, as I did them but this year I had my own dreams, not to just be the one to give them a tour of what would be their home for the next 3 years but to be included among them, to be a trainee in the greatest force that was spread throughout the land. My hoof had left the ground and was absently playing with the patch that I had been given to wear over my left eye, the pain I had once felt from it long since gone as I grew accustomed to the powers that it possessed. Feeling a presence slide up beside me, my hoof dropped back to the soil and a smile pulled my lips into a curve, without looking I knew who had invaded my space as I could feel the coolness that radiated from his armor.
"Do you always have to try and scare me Strider? You know it's never going to work."
A greying unicorn stood in well-polished metal, vibrant gold eyes peering out from beneath the helm as his lemon and dark grey mane poked the slit given. He had been the one that found me that day in the forest, bloodied and holding a kitchen knife between my teeth in defense with the caramel stallion huddled in the corner almost as covered in the life liquid as I was and still to this day I don't remember how I had managed to cut off his magic, my wings were barely strong enough to last a hover let alone to propel myself at a force to drive the knife in to crack his horn, that how they found me they said, but I had a feeling I wasn't being as defensive as they said. It was lucky that they had found me, he had been on the run for a while with a string of missing ponies following behind and the mare that I told them I had witness had been the most recent, promising her a safe life away from the heartache of whatever had happened, it seemed that he pried on those with a harsh life before dragging them into a false sense of comfort, in his own mind he was saving them was what Strider had told me when I was finally old enough to be told what had happened to the mare I had seen, he also mentioned that when they found me that both my eyes had been a deep scarlet coloration with a horrid burning behind them and that I had actually managed to strike him once before they were able to subdue me. It all sounded like he pulled it from a crime show until he showed the scar that marked beneath his ear, I remember apologizing repeatedly for days after he showed me that and didn't stop until he had ordered me like he would a recruit that had stepped out of line, man I sat down so quickly I thought I had broken the floorboards of his office. As much as I despised unicorn, or stallions in general, Strider had been nothing but kind since then taking over as a brother of sorts despite the vast age difference that was between us and had made me at least be able to talk to males considering I was always surrounded by them.
The Guard had become rather strict as of late and only allowed unicorn young stallions to enter training, mares were forbidden of sorts, only able to join as hoof maids or kitchen staff. Not to be sexist or anything, they just believed that mares had a better hope in surviving and were left to produce the next generation. Only rarely would a few be taken into the training, but they never seemed to last, possibly due to the fact that so many hot blooded males teased and bullied them enough to force them out. Ha, I'd like to see them try with me.
"New recruits should be arriving soon. You prepared to give them the grand tour?"
His deep vocals penetrated my auds as my stance shifted slightly, my one blue rolled over to his, the words that I had practiced for years ready in my throat but yet I couldn't bring them forward, wings rustled at my side the feathers gently brushing over the howling wolf head cutie mark I had been blessed with. I couldn't wait for another 3 years for this chance to arise, that and they probably wouldn't take me then this was my best chance to become one of them.
"Actually, I was thinking that someone else could do the tour."
I felt those eyes fall on me with a perplexed look as I struggled to keep my eye sight low. I might have a close relation to Strider but he was still a General here and was to be treated as such, if I was to be accepted into the program I would have to do this regardless of rank as everyone would be above me.
"But you know this place better than anypony. Are you not well?"
"No, no. It's just that, I would rather participate in the tour rather than lead it. Sir."
Not the exact words I had in mind but hopefully the message was received all the same. Strider had sat himself down with a hoof rubbing the bottom of his chin in thought as if he was processing the request that I had just given him. The knot in my chest grew tighter with each second that crept past and after what it felt like ages, the grey stallion rose back to his feet, a blank expression proved difficult to read what he was thinking as he turned away to exit the arena, the balloon that had been pushing against my rib cage burst and my head hung low. Then his words filled the air once again.
"What are you doing standing around? The paperwork ain't gonna fill itself out is it?"
My head raised and the sensation swelled back in my heart as I saw Strider smiling from the end of the passage and my legs carried me towards him.
It had been a few months since sign up, we had been given our basic drills and standard rules and regulations to being a recruit here. I had heard them all before as an onlooker, but now I paid full attention to every word being said as we were now allowed to use the arena for practice battles and various other training, the catch was no weapons were allowed without a superior to supervise, fair enough as that was where most training related injuries took place as each pony tried to boast that they were better than another and it always resulted in some sort of brawl, I guess that's what happens when you place a whole lot of testosterone in one place. A sigh emitted itself as I heard one stallion being the streak of boasts.
"Ha finally I can really show off what these guns were made for."
Meet the jock that everyone loves to hate, SteelBit. His father was once a High Commander for the exclusive Elite Guard that specializes in the more assassination side of thing. Well no pony really knows what they do but that was the favoring rumor that broke out through all recruits, even the Sergeants found fun in it telling stories of if you ever went rogue that the Elites would be sent after you and no-pony would know what happened. I was skeptical about the whole thing, a group of secretively trained ponies to bring back rogues was a bit extreme to me, and frankly Strider would have mentioned them at least once to me if they really did exist.
Taunts were thrown back and forth from every pony, laughter erupting when one couldn't produce a decent comeback or actually fell for the taunt, this was all foals play as I lifted myself from the bunk designated to me, grabbing my mask on my way past and hung it around my neck as I exited the room and made my way towards the grounds. Might as well not let this opportunity to have the grounds to myself slip away as the other still jaunted at each other. But firstly I had to make a stop past the armory, I know I'm at a great disadvantage being surrounded by ponies that possessed the power of magic so I decided that I would make my own weapon to better suit my style, as I couldn't hold anything I was made to forge my own specialized weapon that would differ from every pony else's.
My hoof pushed the door open slightly, the hinges creaking with the motion which echoed through the darkened area, the only light sources found was the burning flames that fed the forge and the open doorway that I was residing, smoke swirled around the ceiling. Ears pricked at the sounds of rummaging and carefully made my way around the various scattered pieces of armor that littered the ground, soft mumbling could be heard on approach which belonged to an old bearded work pony, his coat long lost its shine and was covered horribly in dirt and soot. Loudly I cleared my vocals and instantly his head sprung up, clouded pink eyes wide as he looked towards my direction, clearly confused and slightly disoriented.
"Hmm..What? Who's there?"
"Smith it's only me, NightSong."
I could only just hold back a slight giggle as he grinned in a goofy way. Other than Strider, Smith was the only stallion I could feel relaxed around, knowing he wouldn't intentionally bring harm to me as I use to always play around in the back of the forge back when I had first arrived, he had that grandfather feel to him that I just couldn't describe and felt instantly calm in his presence.
His hoof rose to meet my head and scuffed my mane slightly before restarting his search for…..whatever it was he was looking for as I kept walking towards the far back. Cobwebs sat in the corners indicating little to no use of the area, which was what I was going for, I didn't want anypony knowing of my little secret until it had been perfected and…..
"BOO!"
A cry came out and a figure pounced before me, just managing to side-step out of the way in time to watch the silhouette tumble into a pile of scrap, a stifled groan echoed from within as I approached. A green and orange braided mane stuck out from the rubble and a flash of a golden flank could be seen, this time I couldn't stop myself as a burst of laughter escaped and escalated even more once I caught their eyes casting daggers in my direction and the figure rose with loud clanging of the scraps falling towards the floor. A golden unicorn stepped out from the metal, her emerald mane entwined with the vibrant orange and deep magenta irises cast their attention towards me, a frustrated frown showed itself as she stood with her face in mine and I couldn't help but stare into those eyes feeling lost within them. Eye contact remained as she walked calmly past me, her maple leaf cutie mark was so close to brushing against my own I could feel the warmth from her as she approached the desk behind us, her magic pulling a draw open to reveal what was inside.
Two metal casings that easily slid beneath my wings, held together by a series of buckles around my torso and over my back, perfectly crafted to be lightweight as to not hold down the flier but sturdy. Each casing held 3 chained knives, poised and ready to be released as well as smaller pockets that concealed extra free range throwing knives with a different designed blade on each for multiple purposes. A smile found its way on my muzzle as one of my wings pressed down on a pressure point and a knife was ejected into the joint.
"Aki these are perfect! I cannot thank you enough."
A wave of glee washed over me as I grabbed the unicorn and pulled her into an embrace, hovering slightly before placing both of our hooves on the dirt covered floor. A proud smirk was placed on her face.
"Yea well, there is one last thing I want to add."
Her horn glowed a beautiful pink and lowered it to the chains then brought it up to my face. At first I wanted to pull back, but I saw her eyes, almost whispering to trust her. I closed my own blue tightly waiting for something painful to course through, but I felt nothing, just a slight twinge as her horn touched my forehead where mine would reside if I had been born unicorn, a warm sensation filled my core as my eye opened to see her magentas staring into mine. I don't know what it was but a weird sense of numbness came over me and for a moment I couldn't breathe. I couldn't even think.
Her scent filled my nostrils reminding me of the sweet crisp of autumn months, it was intoxicating to say the least. Somehow I managed to take a step away, trying to figure out what had come over me, I look back at Aki and she just smiled.
"I put a spell on the chains. As long as the casings are attached to you, you should be able to control them within your own mind. Like change direction if needed. Granted it may not work at first but you have the ability to do so."
Thanking her, I left the forge and headed toward the arena hoping that not many ponies would already be in there trying out various other weapons.
The large stone archway stood tall before me as I entered the arena, its shadow casting over my frame until the sun had reached the peak of the gates and I found myself standing in the center, wind whipping around as I prepared for a general warm-up routine consisting of 30 wing-ups and 10 laps around the marathon like track, 5 flying and 5 running, then target practice, that was the part I was more focusing towards, a chance to finally tryout the modified weapon that I had been gifted with.
Warm-up was completed relatively quickly, including beating my best track time for flying, I was never taught how to fly properly, my teachers were birds that soared above, particularly the raptors and owls, learning how to combine both the speed and silence into my own form. Yes we have pegasi come to the Guard often but they could never stay long enough to train me properly, though most would give helpful tips on how to improve take-off and landing. It took nearly a year for me to lift off the ground, and another three to build the muscles in my wings strong enough to carry me a full lap, and throughout the time I spent trying, I learned how to control each individual muscle separately in both wings. This is what allows me to wield my blades and hold them within my feathered appendages.
As I made my way towards the training dummies, I found my thoughts drifting further back throughout the last 13 years I had been here.
They had brought me here after finding me in that shack, I guess in hopes to find my family, but they couldn't find any records of Mother and at the word "Father" I went into a fit, crying and begging at them "no" with pure fear flowing down my cheeks in liquid form as Strider tried desperately to console and comfort me, it was perhaps that point he decided that he would raise me himself despite the rest of his team arguing against it and how it would interrupt his duties. He would tell me how quickly they changed their mind once I grew more confident being near them, which had lead them to claim me as their little mascot and had always told me that I was like a daughter to him and how his own was stolen away from him in a tragedy that had also claimed his wife. Despite my hatred for males, Strider always had my respect and trust, I never talked back or disobeyed. The way I saw it we were both each others second chances.
Shaking aside those sad thoughts, I focused on the targets that I had approached, wings half folded in an almost pre-takeoff stance just high enough to allow the blades to freely eject from their case minus the risk of severing skin. Left hoof raised up to take off the goggles that were still hanging from my neck then rose to the patch that concealed my cursed eye, considering for a moment whether to take it off for target practice or to leave it. As the thought ran through my mind, I could of sworn I heard a hiss wrap itself around my brain like coils of a snake poising to strike. A light swaying motion of my head all but cleared it as my hoof created a cloud of dust as it landed, moving the rest of my form into position to take any kickback that the discharged knives might have once they were free from their metal home. Concentrating, I tried to visually feel the weapon that was attached to me, each strap that rubbed against skin, the coolness of the casings on each side and how they all shifted with the slightest stir, each time my muscles acted they would reposition. This would allow me to awaken the magic that Aki had enchanted it with. Right wing lowered over the steel, brushing past the pressure point that allowed one blade to slid into the joint for me to hold and chucked it forward towards one of the dummies, mind focused on the chains as they chimed with movement, trying to get the blade to scrape past the first target and into the one on the right. Fixed on the links, I saw a slight quiver and a pale pink glow before it impaled itself deep into the first target I had directed it to. An annoyed sigh escaped as I retracted the blades with a push of a button and heard the chains rattle then a click as the blade slid back in snugly before I recalled it again. This lasted a good 45 minutes before I became satisfied, accomplishing making the links turn in at least in one direction and becoming mentally drained. Looking around, I discovered that the arena was starting to fill up with other ponies that were eager to start their own gun training using blanks as I started to pack my own gear up.
It was happening again, the searing pain coursed itself through my frontal lobe and snaked down behind my cursed eye, throbbing behind the patch that hid it away from the judgmental world.
I held my composer as I made my way to the arenas exit, blades tucked neatly beneath my wings to shield them from sight, even though this was a training area specifically for weapon mastery, loaded (or in my case sharpened) weapons were strictly prohibited and anypony caught breaking this rule would be instantly discharged from the Guard and never allowed to return, this didn't sound like a sinister or severe punishment until you learn that those who have been un-honourably dismissed were never heard from afterwards.
I turned to leave, pain pounding against my skull like there was something caged inside trying to escape. Gently shaking it away I could of sworn I heard a voice mumbling almost a muffled scream that was seemingly getting louder with each passing moment. Slowly I dragged my hooves across the ground still holding my head high like there was nothing wrong, only allowing it to droop once I felt the cool of the shadows knowing that the large stone exit was not far. Then something solid stopped me. Solid and furry that smelled like sweat and testosterone. I almost let out a snarl until a voice filled my space.
"Ha look who we have here fellas, little miss perfect."
Slow rumbling of laughter erupted as I felt a hoof slip around my neck pulling me closer, my eye caught the dark teal coat and instantly recognized the stallion as SteelBit, his own muddy green eyes met mine as I tried to break his grip only stopping when a bright glow came close to my face. He had lowered his horn so that it was near poking my iris causing me to quickly shut my lid to protect it and managed to get out of his hold only to find myself staring down the barrel of a gun held steady by the aura that surrounded it, SteelBit stared at me with an foul grin that soon turned to confusion as he realized that the weapon had not fazed me and without saying a word I shouldered past them, my cranium still threatening to break apart, screams of hate bounced around inside but I continued to walk hardly even noticing the click of the firearm as it was primed beneath the voice that cried out.
Then a shot rang out.
I felt the deadly air pass me just under my left ear and the sting of flesh ripping…but that wasn't nearly as bad as what had happened internally. It felt like somepony had literally set off a thousand firecrackers within my mind as I froze mid stride, teeth bared at the agony that enveloped me and felt myself being dragged away mentally even though I could still feel the blood rushing down from the wound that was inflicted moments ago, darkness aggressively assaulted my throat to the point of near suffocation. My hoof landed in the dirt and before I knew what was happening, my body had spun itself around to face SteelBit and his goons, all had terrified expressions on their face and the gun was still smoking from the recent discharge, their eyes unsure of whether to look upon the eye patch that lay in a heap on the ground, or the demon iris that hid behind it. Lips etched into a smile that was not of my conscious doing and an unknown maniacal laugh escaped from my cords before the voice that had been residing in my head for the majority of my life was finally heard.
"My, the kids want to play rough do they? Well then…Lets play."
Wings tightened against my body before unfurling with a knife held in both sides and my legs carried me forward to the trio, the two stallions that had flanked SteelBit had run for it, leaving him alone to face the lethal soul they had unleashed. He was fumbling with his own weapon as the entity that had taken my body ran each feather over the exposed blades, feeling each one bristle as it split it apart. The brute across from us succeeded to reload but by then it was too late as my form moved swiftly towards him.
*STOP*
The knife stopped mere centimeters from his throat and even though I was still swimming in the abyss of my own mind I could feel my conscious slowly returning, the darkness that enveloped me felt like heavy sludge trying to weigh me down almost near halting the process. It was then I felt another presence close by, floating just out of my field of vision each time I twisted my head, it's laughter heard both inside and out until the form made itself seen.
I found myself staring at an almost identical twin of my own, the only difference being the coloration of her eyes both in which being a dark crimson. She moved freely regardless of the fact that I was stuck in a pit full of tar, eyes trained on me as she made circles around, almost being wary of my futile actions to escape.
*Why hello NightSong, we finally meet face to face.*
Her words filled me and straight away I felt the hatred behind them, but yet a subtle hint of curiosity hidden away beneath. I felt the tar like substance melt away and my hooves touched an imaginary ground.
"Who the hell are you? And why are you taking over my body?"
*Why so hostile? I am apart of you, the section of your soul that our stupid father broke away. I am your hatred and your pain, the agony behind your pretty little left eye. In short I am your insanity. Sweet Insanity. Hmm that sounds like a fitting name for me, don't you think?*
The sadistic laugh surrounded us. She had been with me since that day? Why did she pick now to appear? I looked towards my counterpart, crimson eyes narrowed while the smirk was still placed almost as if she could hear everything.
*That's because I can. We are both one in the same. As for never showing, do you not remember that stallion in that shack so many years ago? When you wanted to end his miserable life? That was me, I wasn't strong enough back then but I could still whisper things to you, tell you what you wanted to hear. Then you covered me up with that stupid patch and cast me into the darkness. Maybe I should thank this brute for releasing me before I kill him.*
I don't know what happened but a sudden rush filled me and for a moment I blacked out briefly before quickly coming to to find SteelBit on the ground shaking, a thin line of blood seeped from an open wound that was just shy of his horn, the gun that was previously held was smashed into bits a few meters away, worst of all, Strider and the head of the Guards were standing not far away along with another unknown stallion. I tried to explain but I found no words would escape, my throat suddenly coated in dust as I choked with every breath, tears streamed down as I felt my own form collapse into the dust.
A coldness swept over as a blackness descended upon me. It took a second to realize that I was back in the pit of my own mind and another few to notice my mental twin standing behind me, her smile plastered on her face like she knew a secret that wanted to be spilt, and it pissed me off.
"Do you know what you've done? Because of your recklessness, all my hard work is going to be for nothing. If you know everything about me then you'd know this was all I wanted. Now, you've fucked that up!"
*Oh, this isn't what I expected your next words to me would be. I was more expecting questions about me and how I became you. Sad, really. I had a nice little story set up for you and everything.*
She pouted and that just pissed me off more. I couldn't give a damn about her existence right now. She ruined everything by injuring another recruit that I'd be blamed for. I felt her laugh resonate in me and it hit me that she was feeding off the anger rested in me and even without turning I knew that smile of hers was as wide as a Cheshire cats, proving it to be true this was all foal play to her. My anger subsided for the moment as voices slowly started to penetrate through the blackened walls, my name being called over and over as an unseen wind blew around us. Sweet Insanity's voice lingered one last time.
*Perhaps that is a conversation for another time…*