Demons Of The Past: Part 2

Chapter 8: The Lunar Guard Trainee

Recap: Between sobs, she vowed to get an answer from the Pegasus, and a lengthy one at that. She wished it was all just a dream. Deep down, however, she knew it wasn't.

Slash was asleep on a caravan, the wagon bumping considerably on the road. Although a rough and bumpy ride, the grey Pegasus stayed asleep. He had always been a heavy sleeper, hard to wake if he was pushed hard enough. It was as though he was dead.

The wagon pulled into a village, fairly large and busy.

As the wagon entered, they hit a pretty nasty bump and Death Slasher was hurled off.

Although a heavy sleeper as stated before, the tumble off the wagon brought him to his senses.

Getting up from where he was in a cloud of dust, he looked around, confused. Ruffling his mane, he began to explore.

The town was attracting to Slash. It seemed to pull at him, and he smiled with delight.

It was fresh, new, and he felt at peace for the first time in a long while.

"Ponyville..." He said with a smile on his muzzle.

Suddenly, he tripped over his hooves and landed on top of a Purple mare.

"I'm so sorry!" He apologized, hopping into the air. "Are you alright?" He said, offering out a hoof to help her up. She took in, and using magic, she'd the dust that had accumulated over her pelt. "I'm okay," she said inspecting herself. Sadly, she levitated a smashed box in front of her. "But I don't think the cupcakes are," she stated sadly.

Slash placed his hooves on the ground. "I'm really sorry," he stated again, looking down. "I'm really clumsy sometimes."

The mare smiled. "I don't think I've seen you around before. I'm Twilight Sparkle." She said, offering her hoof. the grey Stallion took it. "I'm Death Slasher, but please, just call me Slash."

Of course, he didn't know if that was his true name. He didn't remember it. He himself had come up with it, because of a passion he had developed for putting his life on the line, and the scar in his chest, a diagonal slash. He thought the name fitting, and had been calling himself Slash for a while now.

Twilight gave a smile. "New to town?"

He nodded. "Just fell off a cart, just a bit ago." He said with a chuckle. Twilight didn't realize he was serious. "Well I was heading to a party my friend was throwing, and these cupcakes were for it, but now I think I'm going to have to get new ones..." Twilight said sadly.

Slash gave her a small smile. "It was kinda my fault... So how about I run and get them for you? I'm really quick and that way you won't need to go all the way back to wherever you got them." Slash reasoned.

The purple unicorn smiled. "I would love that," she said. "But I could never ask someone I just met to do something so big for me..." She said. "But thanks anyway." She turned to leave, but Slash would have none of it. Taking to the air and then landing in front of her once more, he blocked her path. "I insist," he said with a sly smile.

"No, no." She said moving from the right to left, but Slash moved with her, always blocking her pathway. "I. Insist." He demanded. "I feel bad for killing your cupcakes," he said with a half-smile.

"You won't let me pass unless I allow you to do this, is that right?" Twilight said, giving up on trying getting past the Pegasus. Slash gave a stiff nod.

Twilight sighed. "Fine." She said pulling out a couple bits and placing them into Slash's hoof.

"So, uh... Where am I going again?"

Twilight sweat dropped.

"To get the cupcakes...?" She said, dumbfounded this idiot of a Pegasus forgot already.

"I know that," Slash said dismissively.

"Where do I go to get them?"

Twilight straightened a bit. "Oh, right... Sugar Cube Corner. You go down this road, turn right, and then turn right again at the second street."

Slash nodded. "And where am I to take these after I fetch them?"

"You can bring them to the library, it's-"

"I saw where it was," Slash said as he took flight and hovered in the air. "I'll be there in a bit." Then he took off in a streak of white.

Twilight shook her head. 'What an odd Pegasus,' she thought as she began to trot down the road once again and made a turn.

By the time she made it to her library, a white streak flew over her head and Slash had arrived.

"Whoa, you're fast."

"Eh," Slash said fanning out his wings a bit, then pulling them tight to his sides.

"Why don't you come in? I mean it is a party."

Slash absent mindedly scratched the ground with his hoof. "I donno, I don't do that well with crowds..."

"Aw, come on." She said.

Slash shook his head.

Twilight sighed. "Well then what can I do to pay you back."

Slash looked away. "No pay back needed," he said, his green eyes wandering to the sky.

"Well you're new in town, so why don't I let you stay at my house till you get a place of your own?" She said with a bright smile.

Slash looked her in the eyes. "Really?" He asked, miffed.

"Yup."

"I would love that very much!" Slash agreed kindly.

Twilight returned his acceptance with a smile. "No problem."

"Well where do you live?" He asked.

"In here," she said motioning with a Hoof.

"Oh... No..." He said, but he was already getting pushed inside.

Draco Darkwing was a Bat-pony that had seen many a horror in his battle field days. His dark grey pelt was scarred in many places, and his deep burgundy mane was unkempt and spiked all over the place.

Having received a harsh blow to one of his back legs, he walked with a slight limp, and was retired from the battle field.

His cutie mark was a sickle. When fighting, he had specialized in it, and truly it was his special talent.

He now used his nights to train new recruits.

With a lit cigarette in his jaws, he entered the barracks, moving from room to room, waking the few they had in training from their slumber.

As he approached the last room in the hall he recalled the note he had received earlier that night.

Dear Darkwing,

starting today, you will have a new trainee named Death Slasher.

Train him well.

Princess Luna

He raised an eyebrow in the doorway of this new recruit's doorway.

The Pegasus was spread out on his bed on his back, black and white hair messy and untamed. He had one back hoof in the air and the rest spread out.

His blanket had fallen to the floor and a thin drop of drool was on the edge of his lips, curved in a blissful grin.

His back hoof twitched as he mentioned something about cupcakes.

"Trainee." Draco stated simply.

The stallion didn't move.

"Trainee!" The bat-pony shouted a bit more harshly.

Nothing.

Gathering as much air in his lungs as he could, Draco let it out.

"TRAINEE!"

Slash shot up out of bed and landed on the floor with a thump.

Hopping up and alert, he looked around with frightful eyes.

Behind the Trainer, a few more recruits had gathered. They however could not see past lead Bat-pony.

Only one, a tall, muscled mare could see in past Draco.

She was an earth pony. Her pelt was a dark blue, and her mane was light purple. It was well kept, tied up tightly in a braid that curled gracefully around her neck.

Her eyes were a piercing sky blue, and gave Slash a critical stare. On her flank, a sword wrapped in chains signifies her talent, although it's meaning elusive at the time.

Her only thoughts were that this Pegasus was going to be chewed up and spat out.

"Trainee," Draco said sternly. "You are to meet out on the training field in five, where you will introduce yourself to everyone else."

"Yes...yes sir," Slash said weakly.

The hard bat pony turned to leave, and as he did, he gave everyone that had gathers behind him a hard stare causing most to flinch.

The deep blue mare gave Slash one more critical stare before turning to leave.

The Pegasus sighed, slightly saddened by being pulled from a nice dream recounting his entrench in Ponyville. With a sad smile he thought of Twilight.

Shaking off the depression that had come over his features, he pulled out a roll of bandages. Though Luna had said to keep a chest plate on, he figured that would not be allowed during training unless permitted, so he sided to wrap his scarred chest in Bandages.

After finishing, he hurriedly brushed his mane and races out to meet his new Conrad's.

"H-hello, I'm Death Slasher, but please just call me Slash." Slash said, bowing slightly as he introduced himself.

"I look forward to serving with you all."

He took a step back, but Draco gave him a look that told him to stay put. He did.

"Now," the bat pony started. "Before we start training today, I'm going to make a few changes. Previously, we have had an odd number of Trainees, but with Death Slasher's arrival, we can now make another team." He started, taking a long drag from his cigarette. "However," he said voice tight with smoke and compacted lungs. "I know none of you want to break your previously made teams, so I am pairing Slash with Shezra.

The dark blue mare, Shezra, stepped forward. "If I may protest, Captain Darkwing." She was formal, not meeting anyone's eyes. "I have been on a solo team from day one, and would like to stay like that." She said matter of fact.

"No," the Captain said bluntly. "You were only permitted to train solo because we had an odd number of recruits after Fenlo left the first week. It is important that now we have enough people, you team up."

Shezra looked critically over at Slash, who was looking to the ground, as if analyzing him.

"Fine." She spat out.

Draco gave her a nod. "I'm sure you will teach him well. Now, split off into teams and begin warm ups!" The trainer shouted as he flew off.

The training ring was a dusty field, with lights shining down in it. Being trained by a Bat pony and some bring bat ponies themselves, all Lunar guards train at night. Slash had lost a bit of sleep over this, but it didn't matter much to him. Looking up at the glowing moon, he gave a small sigh.

It was then Shezra came over and placed a hoof in his chest, knocking him down.

"I know you got in without taking the ~mandatory~ test." She said, her sky blue eyes peering deep into his.

Slash flinched. He guessed that secret was out. "You heard?" He said softly. The earth pony pushed a bit harder of his chest.

"Of course," she stated, getting close to his face. "Every pony in this training facility know about that"

Looking down, Slash grimaced as the edge of Shezra's hoof pressed on a tender part of his scar.

"Please get off me," he said weakly.

"No. I want you to know something." She said. "Even if you got into the training program without taking the test, you are nothing special. You are going to stay in line and do as I say, got it? If you manage to get into the guard, which I doubt, then I'll see you as something a little bigger than an ant. got that? " she hissed out. "I worked hard to get the respect I deserve around here, and I won't allow you to just get it off the bat because your some special grey pony who just so happened to skip a test."

She pressed a bit harder, causing Slash to close one eye in pain, then let off. She trotted a bit away.

"Get ready to begin warming up," the mare said, a sadistic smile on her face.

"Aren't you going to teach me how?"

Her smile widened just a bit. The answer to the question was obviously a no.

A/N Sorry this is a Day late. The next update might be a while, because I deleted the entire next chapter by mistake, and have to rewrite it, along with the next chapter. Sorrow is an idiot.

Forgive our, but mostly her mistakes. Typed on phone.