open The Dark Millennium

[SilverHeart 741]

@@Hederik, @@Once In A Blue Moon, @@Colenso Rivers,

 

((OOC: Short post before bed to keep things moving.))

 

 

 

Seeing the mare being in capable hooves, Midnight Rover sighed soundlessly and silently excused himself. Cirrus, meanwhile, held on to the nurse for dear life, kindly sharing the overabundance of water coming both from her eyes and soaked fur. After a long while, she finally calmed herself and peeled awkwardly away from the other mare.

 

Silver used a foreleg to brush off the excess water and tears from her coat. It really only made the fur on her foreleg wet. Despite the fact that the nightmare still loomed over her head, Silver's mood was considerably brighter than earlier, physical contact with another pony, outside combat practice of course, was...pleasant to say the least. Too bad it had only lasted for a few minutes. Having finished futilely wiping at her coat, Silver looked over at Cirrus and offered her the warmest smile she could muster. Oddly, she felt some disappointment that the moment was already over.

 

Her smile faltered a little but Silver was able to keep smiling at her, "You aren't either of those, Cirrus," Silver reached a hood out and placed it on her shoulder, "and you did nothing wrong. Nearly everypony was visibly affected by that dream...you just weren't able to see it." By now Silver's face had returned to a more neutral and guarded expression, "If it helps, I woke up crying too." Silver offered with a weak smile while she stood up and gave Cirrus a little space so she could stand up.

[Colenso Rivers 85]

@@Hederik,@@SilverHeart, @@Once In A Blue Moon,

Colenso's mind grew hazy as a dull ache grew more intense, entering the dining hall. He didn't take notice any of the changes as he entered, only keeping his eyes to the ground as he entered and headed over to a table. The discussion being held by the officers were underwater mumbles. He had never been so... Unclear before, like such intense feelings and stimuli ended up short circuiting his systems. Then again, he had never felt like this before. Such helplessness, no way to even hypothesize what was going on. He took his seat diagonally from Cat. Usually a smile and nod was in order, but he had forgotten habit.

He ate slowly, one leaf at a time, deliberately. He ate because his body needed to, he ate because he knew he should, he ate because he hoped it would erase the taste of ash from his mouth. Water. Breathe. Food. Food. Repeat. Screams. Was this his life now? It was almost enough to make his eyes mist, and maybe they would if they didn't feel so glazed over.

[Hederik 119]

@@Once In A Blue Moon, @@SilverHeart, @@Colenso Rivers,

 

Not long after the first ponies came and sat themselves listlessly at the table, all the rest appeared as well. The last to come, and by a distinct margin, were Cirrus Streak and Silver Heart, the mares glad to find the spots left for them were as far away from Reverie as the limited number of the meal's participants allowed. The unicorn in question was one of the few able to eat almost nonchalantly, making nothing of the poisonous glares and hissed accusations coming to him from Midnight, the sapphire unicorn seated right across from him not rash enough to cause more of a ruckus in the presence of the high officers, especially given the overwhelming mood. A few minutes later, once those who were actually eating had satisfied their hunger and the others had forced as much food into themselves as they were able, a single voice rose from the high table, for once understandable to the Cadets from across the hall. "Alright, dismissed!"

 

A few mumbles followed, and then all of the officers stomped past the younger crew and out of the hall. To those who looked at the passersby, it would become obvious that whatever was going on wasn't much to the supervising cadre's liking. Some muttered angrily between themselves, some looked with a difficult to read mix of emotions on their faces towards the gathered Cadets. None stopped though, or spoke even a single word to them.

 

Only one pony was left in the room beside the three disoriented units, and she promptly became the center of attention as she jumped from her place onto the table - which, surprisingly, was entirely empty - and called in a loud, carrying voice, "That means you slowpokes too!" Then, stomping a hoof on the furniture to further accentuate the order, she repeated, "Dismissed!"

 

Even to those who haven't seen the mare in person, her personality was no mystery. Sky-blue coat and an unkempt mane in a variety of blue and violet hues might not be enough to recognize general Hardy - in fact, these traits might be confusing to some, as accounts differed quite widely on what their organization's highest ranking officer looked. What really set her apart, aside from a lordly posture and a sharp look of her magenta eyes, clearly used to commanding others, was her armor, or as much of it as she was wearing at present. On her breast, a plate of some almost black metal alloy rested, cut through the middle with a red, zigzagging streak, seeming to be composed of several gemstones fit so tightly together that they seemed to create one whole. Her front legs up to the knees were covered almost entirely by similarly dark bracers, fitted with some custom features along the sides, but their purpose could not be guessed as even the most observant Cadets, even dazed as they were, hadn't dared ignore a direct order from the general and promptly scrammed, heading, as instructed before, towards the main lecture hall.

 

The general followed the group most of the way to their nearby destination, as though to keep an eye on the directions being followed. As they began passing into the invitingly open doors, however, should someone look back they would have noticed her absence. Not many would, though, as soon as they had a look inside. This wasn't the first time for anyone to sit in on a lecture here, but the academy's main classroom was used rarely enough that it's homely interior of warm woods and plush chairs always had an effect on the attendees. This time, however, something else entirely stood out starkly.

 

Located on a podium, raised a little above the floor or the hall, was a massive lectern, wide and high enough that most of any speaker's body was always screened by it. Standing behind it was a tall lavender mare, her eyes closed even though she held her head straight. Striking immediately in her façade was the length of her horn, making her look almost comical as it easily doubled her height. A little closer inspection would reveal that the mare's head appeared to be out of proportion to the rest of her body as well. Her face was serene, handsome if not outright pretty features relaxed and hidden partially behind a curtain of hair so dark it was hard to decide whether they were actually black or just a particularly dimmed hue of blue or violet. If she took any notice of the incoming officers, it didn't result in any movements from her.

 

The hall offered a wide selection of seating possibilities, having been designed to hold more than a hundred listeners. As might be expected, the different units automatically sat themselves a little apart from each other. Reverie, however - and of all the ponies, Minx - sat directly in front of the teacher, gazing at her with disturbing fascination. Despite the underlying emotions being wildly different, Midnight Rover and Jade Facet reacted with nearly mirrored scowls, but neither decided to leave their unit and intervene.

[SilverHeart 741]

@@Hederik, @@Colenso Rivers, @@Once In A Blue Moon,

 

Despite Midnight's menacing countenance, Silver sat down next to him. Her gaze wandered over to Reverie and then up to the unicorn on stage. Something seemed weird about her. Silver leaned forward and squinted her eyes at the mare. Her head was...odd, it was too big, even without the eerily long horn. Looking at the mare was like looking at some shape shifting creature that was masquerading as a pony. Her features were, admittedly, attractive but that just made the mare all the more unsettling to Silver.

 

Silver closed her eyes and quietly sighed. When she opened them again she looked over at Midnight and leaned towards him. "Did you talk to him?" She asked as quietly as she could.

[Hederik 119]

@@SilverHeart, 

 

"More like talked at him," replied Midnight in a hushed voice, his expression softening upon turning towards the mare. "It's like he wasn't even there to hear anything I said. And now he's glued himself there," he mentioned with a slight motion with a hoof, "I'd like to say 'like a coward', but there seems to be something else ahoof and I dread what it all may mean..."

 

For a while, the unicorn sat silent, then suddenly he realized the presence of another mare on the other side of Silver and inquired abashedly in the same low tone hardly carrying to anyone but his immediate neighbor, "How is Cirrus doing?"

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

@@Hederik,@@Colenso Rivers, @@SilverHeart.

 

Cat sat with the rest of her unit, mostly ignoring the quiet murmurs that weren't directed at her. It was quite clear that something out of the ordinary was going on, and the shadow of the bad dream was rapidly dissipating in the face of mounting excitement. Not quite enough excitement to go and sit right at the front with Reverie and Minx though. She idly wondered why Midnight was staring daggers at Reverie, before turning her attention back to the other units.

 

"An exercise, do you reckon?" Cat whispered to Rabble, "It can't be some mysterious induction lecture, as those other units are senior to us... and who gets general Hardy to act as a messenger pony?" She turned her gaze on the Lavender mare behind the lectern, trying to put a name to the face. She looked... familiar, although with a horn that size she should have been instantly recognisable. 

Edited July 2, 2016 by Once In A Blue Moon

[SilverHeart 741]

@@SilverHeart,

 

"More like talked at him," replied Midnight in a hushed voice, his expression softening upon turning towards the mare. "It's like he wasn't even there to hear anything I said. And now he's glued himself there," he mentioned with a slight motion with a hoof, "I'd like to say 'like a coward', but there seems to be something else ahoof and I dread what it all may mean..."

 

For a while, the unicorn sat silent, then suddenly he realized the presence of another mare on the other side of Silver and inquired abashedly in the same low tone hardly carrying to anyone but his immediate neighbor, "How is Cirrus doing?"

Silver side-eyed the mare sitting next to her, "She's doing better. That nightmare really hurt her. All she needed was some comforting." She whispered back. She glared in Reverie's direction, making a point to not look at the mare on stage. The fact that he wasn't sitting with the rest of their squad was also weird. Then again, Reverie had always been strange.

 

"Have you ever seen a pony that looked like that before?" She asked, her voice was louder, loud enough that both Cirrus and Midnight would hear her. And possibly Anypony else sitting nearby.

Edited July 3, 2016 by SilverHeart

[Colenso Rivers 85]

Authority turned out to be the foothold he needed to get out of this "pit" of mind. The shout of dismissal from Hardy was all it took. His head snapped up and he took a look around as if he had just been awoken by a thunderclap soon after falling under. He took a second, took a deep breath and worked up the strength to put on a slight smile. Remember, your glad because you woke up today.

He left without a word, but he tried to comfort himself with the knowledge that the lecture hall was his next destination.

Only to sit in the front with his eyes locked on the pony in front of him. It was a shock, he didn't recognize her, and left him slightly disturbed. There was also her anatomy, it was.... Unusual, but for the sake of manners he wouldn't question it. He was here to learn and apparently she was going to be the one to teach him. Anyways, her unusual anatomy didn't make her unpleasing to look at, it just threw him off a bit.

[Hederik 119]

@@Once In A Blue Moon,@@SilverHeart, @@Colenso Rivers,  

 

“What you are about to be taught is usually reserved to those who have nearly completed the entirety of their training in the Officers’ School and have been unanimously deemed ready by the committee,” the clear, calm voice carried easily around the room, cutting all conversations short. The speaker was easy to identify as the misshaped mare, who still stood as straight as she had when everypony entered the room and hadn't yet deemed to open her eyes. The overall effect was all the more creepy because she naturally moved her head around while speaking, as though she were surveying those gathered through the tightly shut eyelids. Her peaceful expression faded slightly as she continued, “The circumstances are dire, however. If there was ever any time to lose, it’s now expired. Without further ado, then…” she sighed as the very tip of her grotesquely long horn lit up, and slowly, a single transparent crystal jutted from the center of the podium next to her.

 

“It is my understanding that all present are familiar with the events that took place at exactly a thousand years after Princess Luna’s banishment to the moon,” stated the teacher. There was no hint of emotion behind her words. “A heavy burden was lifted from Princess Celestia’s heart as a result of that and the fact that there were new bearers of the Elements of Harmony, taking over guardianship over the peace of her domain.” The aura around the unicorn’s horn increased a little as a single thin beam of light traveled from it to the crystal, around which a vibrant illusion came to life, a miniature of a vast, beautiful land rich with verdant grasses, lush forests, pristine mountains and numerous other picturesque features. “That’s the state of knowledge you have been left with. Allow me to skip a few months ahead; detailed study of the intermediate period, important to your insight though it may be, is not a part of today’s talk.” The image stayed in place as the mare want silent for a moment.

 

“Not all of you may be familiar with the concept of the Crystal Empire,” she picked up after the momentary pause, again drawing her close-eyed gaze over the listeners. “Long story short, there were complicated, long-term implications of its allegiance. As the time to secure it came close, Princess Celestia’s choice was quite obvious: the six heroines were tasked with the quest, armed with the most potent tool ever to be known to ponykind and led by the holy light of her blessing. The bearers of the Elements of Harmony, confident of their imminent triumph, embarked upon the journey willingly. All pointed towards another long era of equestrian paradise.” Another long pause, as the speaker lowered her head for the first time since the students came into the class. The illusion of Equestria dimmed slightly as all eyes were focused intently on the lecturer.

 

“And then everything went to fucking hell!” the mare suddenly snapped, the beam of light shining onto the crystal flaring with violent purple, illuminating her features with ghostly light for a second… and the image around the crystal once more became vivid, but the view soothed the soul no longer. In place of all the brilliant colors, grey and black ruled, heavy storm clouds replaced the fluffy white ones. Minute cities that could be seen throughout the land were now nothing but flickering flames and columns of smoke. “You are all here…” her voice faltered, a tear sliding silently down her cheek from under a closed eyelid, “every single one of you is here… because mighty Princess Celestia was in fact an arrogant, self-centered poser who failed to look at her own decisions from a perspective. Everything you have - and WILL - endure, is a price we’re paying for her errors. Centuries have passed, but the downwards plunge of our world continues. And now we must all take action to stop it, or there will be nothing left to save. No one to save it. Unless action is taken, within a few months life as we know it will become irrevocably eradicated.”

 

A long while passed as everypony stared in stunned silence at the speaker before them.

 

“The threat we’re facing,” the mare eventually picked up, her voice once more devoid of emotion, “is an invasion of otherworldly, unnamable beings that desire nothing but to wipe out ponykind and take its place. Why they haven’t made their move yet is unsure, but they are going to act soon, and we have to act sooner,” despite being closed, the speaker’s eyes seemed to be drilling into the very hearts of those she turned towards. “It is my belief that there exist a total of three gateways, spread around the world, linking our realities together. These need to be destroyed at any cost. To make matters more interesting,” she added with a bitter smile, “by my deduction their destruction must occur in a window of time no larger than an hour, or the results might be more cataclysmic still than those of inaction. A task made all the harder by the fact they’re likely all heavily guarded.”

 

The mare sighed, dropping her head sadly, then looked back up with a pained but determined expression… and slowly opened her eyes. The right one appeared pretty normal, its color amethyst, glowing almost unnoticeably in the semi-darkness of the hall. The left one, however, looked so alien that the previously observed lack of proportion in her body parts faded to a distant background. The iris was a toxic shade of green, exuding a sickly-looking glow. The pupil was just as shocking, huge and apparently shifting around as the mare refocused her vision, while the iris stayed in place. It all became a welcome distraction, however, as the mare’s final words fell in the stupefied silence.

 

“And there is only one pony capable of destroying any of these gates.” Her face suddenly contorted into a mad smile as she tilted her head to the side. “Hello. My name is Star and I shall be your guide on a tour of kicking the world back into place. Any questions?” she added, the borderline-insane look lingering on her face.

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

 

 

Any questions?

 

"Where are we going, how long do we have and what can we expect to face on the way there?" Cat asked, raising a slightly trembling hoof, her voice steady but clearly excited. Her mind was racing, the elation of leaving the Valley conflicting with fear of failure whilst old daydreams of daring heroics flashed to the front of her mind. Ultimately, all was suppressed as her training kicked in and tried to make sense of the situation.

[Hederik 119]

@@Once In A Blue Moon,@@SilverHeart, @@Colenso Rivers, 

 

 

"And will we ever return," muttered Rabble Buster just as Star began to answer.

 

"Our first destination lies not far away to the north," she said, turning her piercing gaze towards Cat. And piercing indeed it was - as soon as the sickly green iris and its pupil aligned on the earth pony, she felt as though she were picked apart, analyzed and quickly put back together. Even though the feeling was purely mental, a very physical tremble ran through her body. "I expect the journey there and back to take less than a week total. What you will face... changelings mostly. Have we taught you about changelings?" she mused, the green eye impossibly rolling into her head. "You may have heard - or read - about the invasion of Canterlot. Ah, whatever," again, only the very tip of her horn lit up and immediately, in place of the crystal a very realistic illusion of a most unusual creature appeared. It looked very much like a pony cross-bred with a dragonfly, dark gray coat paired with a short, blade-like horn and delicate, transparent wings. Its legs towards the ends were full of holes, prompting a question of how they managed to support the weight of its body and not snap into pieces. Its pupilless blue-green eyes narrowed as the changeling looked around itself in confusion, then winced as Star explained, "These creatures are without a doubt a sub-species of pony, and pose a few very interesting questions about genetics, but sadly we don't have time to make this into a biology lecture. As a consequence, expect the same type of magic resistance from them as you would from any actual pony," the illusionary changeling hissed audibly at that, but Star paid him no heed. "The creatures are rather primitive, aside from using the same language as us they have little in common with civilized ponies. Living in hives, they utilize few weapons if any, and their only worthwhile ability is shapeshifting," the changeling stood up straight in a display of pride, "although bastardized to the point of being little more than an illusion," added Star, making the changeling deflate and sigh. "Go on," the mare said, not turning away from her audience. The changeling mimed talking back, but then flicked his horn and in a poof of greenish smoke transformed into a perfect copy of Reverie, the teal unicorn looking grumpy at the lack of recognition from his creator. "As far as we know, that is the extent of their magic capabilities. Next question?" she asked, the light around her horn increasing slightly for a while as the illusion of Reverie disappeared with a loud crunch and a splutter of green goo that dissipated right before landing on the podium floor.

 

"When do we leave?" Jade Facet's voice, cocky as usual, contained more than a hint of eagerness. When Star's weird eye zeroed in on him, he winced, but kept his gaze on the mare.

 

"I'll answer a few more questions, if there are any," she replied, "then you'll have a few minutes to go get your gear. Do not," she added, suddenly turning her gaze towards Cirrus Streak, "even think of deserting or attempting communication with any of your younger colleagues."

[Colenso Rivers 85]

Finally answers. Sweet solid fact. Such a dissapointment that he didn't trust Star though. She seemed too... Happy. Like this danger, this threat, was what she lived for. That brought to mind that she would never be satisfied with peace, and the thought of that distanced him from her far more greatly than any physical distance. While he was slightly disturbed by her eye, the fact that it pierced him gave him no discomfort, he would scrutinize others, and they had been doing so to him for an extended period now. In fact, his lack of recognition towards her put her even lower down in his mind than any of the other officers there. He agreed with one fact, that if this goal was as dangerous as she made it sound, then they weren't ready. He was grateful for the answers she had given towards everything, the dreams and outer world, but they were quite detrimental to his morale. He found the "chagelings" to be interesting, and grimaced when Star crushed it, even if it was just an illusion. There wasn't much time for prep, much to his dismay, and Cat seemed somewhat excited, if not a tad hesitant to speak up, which made sense after last night.

Overall, it was very unpleasent, and he could only come up with one question to ask. No time for Spacey at the moment, this was serious. He stood and cleared his throat, asking before she could adress him, "Ms., Mrs., or Dr. Star, I'm sure that if our officers trusted you enough to allow you to speak with us then you must be a reliable source of information, and please do not take this question as something that will effect my attitude and performance during this task which you would have us undertake. I would like to know, how many of us would you throw at this problem for you to survive in order to complete this task? Would you even bat an eye?" He locked eyes with her, trying to evaluate her. He wanted to know how much faith he should have in her. Trained as he was, he was taught to rely on himself and others for support. He was wondering if he should rely on this mare, or if she would discard of him and his.... Squadron in a second.

[SilverHeart 741]

@@Hederik, @@Once In A Blue Moon, @@Colenso Rivers,

 

Silver reluctantly raised her hoof up before speaking, "You said 'mostly chang-" She was interrupted by Colenso. Silver grunted quietly. His question, however, forced her to look at Star from another persepctive, other than some malformed freak of a pony. The answer seemed obvious to Silver, she would gladly let them all die for her. While she waited for Star to answer Colenso, she briefly turned her head so she could see Cirrus more clearly, today's news, even on the best of days would be hard to take.

 

Silver waited until Star had finished her answer and raised her hoof. She began from the beginning, "You said 'mostly changelings'. What else is out there? What are we going to encounter? Is there anything you can tell us about these creatures that built gates?" she asked. If they knew the location of these 'Gates' then the Academy had to know more about what obstacles they would face on their way.

[Hederik 119]

@@Once In A Blue Moon, @@SilverHeart, @@Colenso Rivers, 

 

Upon hearing about being trusted by the officers, Star's features contorted into a wicked smile and her eyes lit with amusement, but she allowed Colenso to finish before saying anything.

 

"A valid question, Colenso Void," she said, putting a lot of stress onto the unicorn's name. "Let me answer with a rhetorical question of my own: would you rather sacrifice half of a world's population or allow it to be destroyed entirely and thus throw away all the more lives?" She closed her eyes and bowed her head, sighing heavily. "Therefore, if it comes to that, I will not hesitate to throw you away like pawns. If you threaten the mission in any way, I will not think twice about doing away with you myself," her tone remained flat and a calm smile lingered on her face as she announced that. "If there was any possibility of having done so, I would have discarded myself a hundred times and saved all of you from even knowing about the danger. But as the example of Celestia's rule has proven, that is a sure way to ruin. That is why this academy has been established and why you have been put through the years of training, sometimes even against your wills," here she knowingly met eyes with Silver. "You do not have to like me; I do not expect that. Most of the time you won't even have to deal with me. But, sadly, I'm the only hope this world has left. And it deserves so much better..."

 

Cirrus was sitting still and hardly even breathing, pale and visibly dreading the real Star more than anypony ever has the wild tales being told about her. She wasn't alone in this, however, as more than half of the gathered officers shared the symptoms. Given what they were being told, it was far from surprising.

 

Once the medical mare asked her question, Star threw her head back and laughed manically. "What is out there? Ask us rather what isn't," she responded joyfully. "It's a wide, wide world after all... Grab a copy of Gilded Mantle's bestiary and you'll get a pretty exhaustive list... Yes, it's all true. From the tiny parasprite to the mighty dragon, our world is chock-full of danger and we're throwing ourselves bodily at whatever should dare stand in our way, even if eventually our aim is to save the lives of those foolish creatures alongside our own. Well, most of our own. Also, I don't dare presume there hasn't been more mutation going on in the far reaches of the world, so we won't have to pretend being surprised when a party of new challengers appears. Next?" she asked, returning to the state of peace and closing her eyes.

 

"You didn't answer about the gate-builders," prodded a pegasus stallion from the middle unit, eliciting a disquieted look from the misshapen mare for the first time.

 

"I don't have a name for them," she admitted, "if they even have one. I have no idea what they look like or what they're capable of. And I don't even want to know, since that would require them actually entering the world, which is precisely what we want to prevent. Anything else?" She let the question hang in the air for a long while before nodding. "Very well. Go grab your gear, everypony, and assemble at the main entrance to the academy whenever you're ready," despite the almost gentle tone, this was very clearly an order.

Edited July 4, 2016 by Hederik

[Colenso Rivers 85]

@@Once In A Blue Moon,@@SilverHeart, @@Hederik,

The moment she said his name he knew. Snap judgement, she thought of his as a flailing child whom couldn't handle what was expected of him, whom was afraid of the responsibility, her condescending tone making him seem like the bad guy. He was glad, he didn't want to give her a chance, and now he didn't have to. He only asked the question to make an accurate judgement of her, and now he felt sound in his mind.

As she answered Silver's question, he took note of the book she mentioned as a reference. Gilded Mantle's Complete Bestiary, he had read it recreationally for a while, and was sure he could find a copy, however at this point he felt like the larger, more dangerous fauna and flora were already floating in his mind somewhere. Anyways, it was a large book, and would only help to weigh him down.

From that moment on, there was no more useful information given by Star, and he was glad that she offered him no more.

The moment she dismissed them, he stood and left, heading to the dorm to equip himself.

[Hederik 119]

Minx and Reverie where the first to vacate the premises, marching out head in head and paying nopony any heed on the way, as though unable to notice them at all, even as the female's name was hissed loudly by Jade Facet as the unicorns were passing him.

 

"So what, we're just up and leaving everything like that?" an incredulous question was voiced by a unicorn stallion of the middle unit, making more than a few heads turn from the sight of the two unnaturally behaving unicorns and back towards Star. Or, more accurately, towards the now empty podium, where only a lone transparent crystal indicated anything had happened at all.

 

Beside Silver Heart, Cirrus Streak trembled a little but stood up resolutely nonetheless. She was blanched no longer, although the look on her face was far from gleeful as she turned towards her companions. "Are you okay?" asked Midnight, noticing the unexpected change in the mare's demeanor, getting a single mirthless laugh from her in response.

 

"I'm scared a lot," she admitted quietly, closing her eyes for a moment. "But this... this is what we've been trained for. This is a fear of something natural, of the uncertainty of tomorrow, not... you know," she finished lamely, blushing at the memory of her morning display of weakness.

 

"Yeah, we can do this!" agreed Gal energetically, jumping out of her seat and flying over the others to land beside Cirrus.

 

"Better get a move on, then, juniors," the unwelcome, but not entirely unexpected intrusion came from Jade Facet himself, as the towering earth pony paused on his way out near their unit, "or Star might actually really eat you alive, ha!" With that, he resumed his egress along the remaining officers of his unit, perhaps aware of just how little edge there was left in his attitude currently.

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

@@Hederik,@@Colenso Rivers,@@SilverHeart. 

 

 

"Yeah, we can do this!" agreed Gal energetically, jumping out of her seat and flying over the others to land beside Cirrus.

 

 

"Squish some bugs, smash some gateways, suffer a scar in the course of our heroic endeavours and we all return as heroes; medals and appreciative stallions all around," Cat chipped in, not entirely serious but thoroughly enthused by this point, "Come on, we've just learnt the secret purpose behind our training, vital to the survival of life as we know it, and they've chosen us to play a part in a critical mission. Mornings don't get much better than this."

 

 

"Better get a move on, then, juniors," the unwelcome, but not entirely unexpected intrusion came from Jade Facet himself, as the towering earth pony paused on his way out near their unit, "or Star might actually really eat you alive, ha!"

 

 

"... of course, some might tragically perish in the line of duty," Cat murmured pointedly at Jade's retreating back, realising a fraction of a second too late that perhaps that wasn't what Cirrus needed to hear, "But if some of us don't make it, there really is no better way to go," she continued, a more serious tone to her voice now, "And we'll look out for each other, right?" she looked round the entire unit at this point, then back to Cirrus, "You can count on us."

[SilverHeart 741]

@@Once In A Blue Moon, @@Hederik, @@Colenso Rivers,

 

((OOC: I'm gonna try the Once In a Blue Moon style of posting for this, see how it works out for me.))

 

 

 

That is why this academy has been established and why you have been put through the years of training, sometimes even against your wills," here she knowingly met eyes with Silver.

 

Silver returned her gaze glaring daggers. Even if it was superficial, Silver finally had someone to blame for taking her freedom and agency as a pony. Nearly a decade of her life and the entirety of her future were stolen, just because she happened to have a slight knack for helping sick and injured ponies. "That bitch!" Silver swore just loud enough for her squad, sans Reverie, to hear. She spent the rest of the briefing stewing in her own anger, glaring at Star, and ignoring nearly everything else.

 

 

 

Or, more accurately, towards the now empty podium, where only a lone transparent crystal indicated anything had happened at all. Beside Silver Heart, Cirrus Streak trembled a little but stood up resolutely nonetheless. She was blanched no longer, although the look on her face was far from gleeful as she turned towards her companions. "Are you okay?" asked Midnight, noticing the unexpected change in the mare's demeanor, getting a single mirthless laugh from her in response. "I'm scared a lot," she admitted quietly, closing her eyes for a moment. "But this... this is what we've been trained for. This is a fear of something natural, of the uncertainty of tomorrow, not... you know," she finished lamely, blushing at the memory of her morning display of weakness.

 

It wasn't until Star left that Silver moved from her seat. She kept pace with both Cirrus and Midnight as their group walked towards their dorm. "That dream bothered everyone, stop feeling so self-conscious about it." Silver responded sharply, anger evident in her voice. Almost before she finished speaking, she regretted her choice of words and felt ashamed for snapping at her friend. Silver quickly followed up by saying, "It really was a horrible dream, you aren't alone...." Silver quickly said, her tone was apologetic, "Hopefully we won't have anymore when we leave the Academy." she offered, it was something to hope for.

 

 

 

"Squish some bugs, smash some gateways, suffer a scar in the course of our heroic endeavours and we all return as heroes; medals and appreciative stallions all around,"

 

'I hope it really goes that well." Silver muttered quietly. Cat's enthusiasm was something to admire, even if Silver couldn't share in her good mood.

[Hederik 119]

OOC: Credit where it's due & a word of commentary
 

I've wanted for quite some time to do a scene like this in some RP, and this was too much of an opportunity to pass up on it. The song - honest - I came across accidentally in my collection only a few days ago, and its words immediately locked into the story I'm weaving for you here, so I absolutely had to do this. The words are slightly warped, making this a 'misheard' adaptation, but the changes are really minimal. I hope you'll enjoy the show.
 
Presenting Panic! At The Disco's "This Is Gospel"
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGE381tbQa8

 

EDIT: I tried to make the lyrics appear in italics, but the post editor won't cooperate for some reason. Sorry if the formatting appears jumbled to someone, it's beyond my control.

 
@@SilverHeart, @@Once In A Blue Moon, @@Colenso Rivers, @@AzureNightLight,

 

The path leading to the front door was perfectly familiar, having been practiced on numerous occasions. Everything else about the march out - occurring possibly for the last time - was utterly alien. At every turn, a detail would catch a Cadet’s eye, having gone ignored for years on end and suddenly making them realize there was so much more that could have been learnt and done in this place. The empty, echoing corridors almost made it seem as though they were leaving a ghost town behind - no one was there to see them off, to acknowledge their bravery in undertaking a mission of worldwide consequence. For whatever reason, it seemed their departure would be mostly kept secret. Just as their breakfast had been, even the traveling rations prepared for them had just waited to be picked up in their dormitories, without anypony handing them out or offering any explanations.

The One Way Door looked particularly ominous despite the merry rays of sunlight streaming in through it. There, the only two witnesses of the Cadet’s egress stood: on the right, general Hardy, and on the left, colonel Twine, the unicorn leaning on his famed weapon and visibly restraining himself from looking at the passing young officers. His distress was as apparent as the general’s light-heartedness, creating a mix that would make anypony wonder if this weren’t the actual reason for the naming of this portal, that it was like a death row to the world outside Pony Valley.

Up front, the academy’s highest ranking officer turned out to actually be of quite an intimidating posture, standing easily as tall as Jade Facet despite not having his bulk. Both of the supervising officers were fully armored as well by now - which meant much more in the case of the colonel, who sported a chainmail over almost full-body, thick leather armor, while the general merely added matching bracers for her hind legs and a light-looking body armor composed of leather reinforced with scales made from the same dark alloy that constituted her unmistakeable breastplate.

As the officers began to filter out of the building, their stress not lessened in the slightest by the process of assembling into even rows with practiced ease in front of it, yet another surprise greeted them, this time in the form of a song catching their ears. At the beginning, the melodic voice was rather quiet, getting lost under the creaking, clanking and stomping that thirty armored ponies inadvertently had to cause. It also seemed to come from afar, making it hard to locate the source of the music.

This is gospel for the fallen ones

Locked away in permanent slumber

Assembling their philosophies

From pieces of broken memories

For the next part, the singer’s voice raised in volume, and now all eyes turned towards the same rocky outcrop on which Carto and her comrades had had their stargazing session only a few hours earlier. Perched atop it was Star, her long, straight hair blowing in the wind from the south as she stared intently in just that direction. In the light of day, two brighter streaks were clearly visible amidst the near-black purple of her mane and tail.

Their gnashing teeth and criminal tongues

Conspire against the odds

Anger was audible in every syllable, and it appeared almost as if the unicorn could see whomever the words were directed at in the immeasurable distance. She herself was positioned a good hundred meters away and had nothing but morning sky behind her, but something seemed off about her… the fact that she was looking… right. Tall and slender, but proportional, even though her horn still seemed way too long.

“But they haven't seen the best of us yet,” she said softly, and yet the words didn’t escape any ears as she directed a warm, almost motherlike smile towards the gathered ponies. It was then that it registered for most of them: the mare was huge, easily twice the height of any normal pony, immediately bringing to mind the descriptions of Equestria’s Royal Sisters. As if to validate the connection further, she suddenly spread a pair of dark, majestic wings, catching wind in them and bursting right back into her song, now directed straight at the sky above her.

You most love me, you let me go

Their words are knives and often leave scars

The constant fear of falling apart

Truth be told, I never was yours

You gave me fear of falling apart

Towards the end, the tone of the song became increasingly more bitter, until the mare hung her head and became silent for a moment, her wings dropping lifelessly at her sides, partly obscuring a cutie mark of what seemed like a fractured, six-pointed white star, surrounded by several broken pieces of itself being hurled away from it by a fiery explosion. It seemed that she was done singing, but then a quiet follow-up could be heard. Sadness permeated the initial verses, but it turned into resolve as the song went on and the mare lifted her head back up and straightened herself, regaining the air of nobility about herself.

This is gospel for me, the vagabond

Ne'er-do-well, an insufferable bastard

Confessing my apostasies

You led me away, you imperfect impostors

With that, she jumped off the cliff and glided easily down to where the soldiers were by now without exception gaping at her performance. The last words seemed to be directed at the Cadets as much as towards whatever part of the world Star gazed towards earlier.

Don't try to sleep through the end of the world

And bury me alive

'Cause I won't give up without a fight

“All ready?” she asked over the heads of the young officers. No answer came, but general Hardy’s voice rose in a sharp command after only a brief pause.

“Attention! Triple file, senior units up front, after my lead! Colonel Twine brings up the rear! Hup two three four!”

Next three hours featured nothing out of the ordinary. They assumed a marching tempo that wasn’t too taxing for the ponies used to daily physical exhaustion but still meant they covered a lot of ground with the steady pace. Nothing could be heard beyond the noises associated with the march, as all officers refrained from conversation both to spare their breathing and avoid unnecessary attention. The two high ranking officers’ presence probably wouldn’t have been enough to achieve this result, but the fact that they could sometimes see Star a little to the side, sometimes slightly ahead, sometimes not at all, moving almost deliberately out of sync with their formation was more unnerving.

At one point, the group arrived to a mountain pass many of the Cadets recognized as one of the furthest locations in this direction their training sessions would take them. There was a steep incline towards their left that led a little ways back towards the academy, but climbed onto mountains far higher than the one their alma mater was located upon. To the right, the road wound almost squarely backwards and a little downwards, allowing an alternative, difficult approach towards Pony Valley or a path that could theoretically be taken all the way around the peaks surrounding it.

This time, however, there was a third way as well, opening right in front of their eyes, so obviously and naturally fitting the landscape that nopony could imagine any possible explanation for why they would have never noticed it before. The road ahead sloped downwards for the moment, and although the mountains still stretched far, far away, some flatland beyond could also be seen. Without stopping, the general led them onwards in that very direction, and only choice few officers have proven to possess enough split attention to notice two gray crystals partly hidden within rocky crevices on both sides of the pass they just cleared.

The journey lasted several hours more, and although they kept almost unchanged direction, the end of the mountain range seemed to stay as far away from them as it had been previously. As they walked, luminescent points could sometimes be glimpsed somewhere in the distance near their path’s sides, but they quickly faded away and couldn’t be spotted again.

The sun was far past its peak before they were allowed to stop, and even then it was only for a brief repast and consumption of some fresh rations they had been supplied with. Afterwards, the march resumed and lasted well beyond the time at which the sun disappeared behind the tall peaks the ponies had by now left behind them. Looking back, it seemed they had come from almost impossibly high up, but the altitude didn’t seem to be much lower where they were by now having some difficulty keeping up the pace, unchanged by the general since the very beginning of the day.

Only when the darkness became prevalent enough that the Cadets began to stumble now and then on rocks that were slowly blending into the background did the general rise her voice - and how wonderful the sound of words sounded after a day of mute exertion! - ordering the troops to spread around, gather wood and set up three bonfires. Lifting their heads from the road underhoof they had been carefully studying for the last hour or so to avoid misstepping, the Cadets saw that they have indeed come to a little flat plane, opening on the eastern side to a cliff and a view of the road they would undoubtedly continue to follow tomorrow. It was rich with grasses and on one side faded into a forest that in the darkness stretched to some unknown distance.

 

As they were taking it all in, the second part of Hardy’s instructions came, surprising them more than a little: rather than automatically form into units around the separate fires, the Cadets were to spread amongst them according to the rank they had marched in, forcing a mingling of the differently aged officers during this period of evening relaxation.

Edited July 7, 2016 by Hederik

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

the mare was huge, easily twice the height of any normal pony, immediately bringing to mind the descriptions of Equestria’s Royal Sisters. As if to validate the connection further, she suddenly spread a pair of dark, majestic wings, catching wind in them and bursting right back into her song, now directed straight at the sky above her.

 

Cat's eyes went wide as Star revealed her true nature; a mythical and often deified being of legend made flesh in front of her. Her heart swelled inside her as she realised that they were being led by royalty on a quest to save the world; a reenactment of some epic tale of good versus evil, giving everything an almost dreamlike quality.

 

the Cadets saw that they have indeed come to a little flat plane, opening on the eastern side to a cliff and a view of the road they would undoubtedly continue to follow tomorrow. It was rich with grasses and on one side faded into a forest that in the darkness stretched to some unknown distance.

 

Cat looked over the unknown land with barely disguised glee. As they'd kept a pretty constant speed and orientation, she could guess roughly how far they'd gone and where they were relative to the valley. As she settled down next to the bonfire, she drew out a pencil and paper and did a few calculations to ensure that her scale was roughly correct before sketching a small and simple map of the Valley in the corner of the paper. Peering out into the gloom, shielding her eyes from the light of the fire, she could just about make out a few of the local features, which she added to her sketched map. She tried to add a few features she could remember from along the route, but without knowing exactly where they went she mostly left it blank. She also jotted down a quick note that they had covered that area in column formation and without scouts, suggesting that there were no enemies nearby. Or none that a good formation would make any difference against, a tiny voice in her head corrected, but she quickly dismissed it. Star clearly knew where they were going and what to expect; she should trust her and the commanders' judgement. 

 

 

@@SilverHeart,@@Colenso Rivers,@@AzureNightLight.

 

Tucking her work into a saddlebag, she looked around to see who else was around the same bonfire.

Edited July 8, 2016 by Once In A Blue Moon

[AzureNightLight 122]

@@Hederik, @@Colenso Rivers, @@Silver Heart, @@Once In A Blue Moon

 

Azure opened the door to her room. It was probably the last time she was going to see it, at least for a while. She gathered up her gear and promptly left. She joined the parade of ponies trotting down the hallway and outside to what was called ‘The One Way Door’. It was ominous in a way, implied by its name but it also seemed to have a tinge of mystery and excitement. There were two ponies standing by the door. One, was General Hardy and the other, Colonel Twine. They each had an emotionless, expression upon their faces, almost sorry for the mission the officers were about to undertake.

 

As they began to move into position, music was beginning to filter through the cacophony of shuffling sounds and mumbling. Azure turned her head and listened. She looked around for the source of the music, and to her surprise, it was Star. Nopony knew that much about Star. She was harsh, but not unkind. She was mysterious in her own way. Azure was sure anypony in the valley hadn’t heard her sing before. It was a haunting melody, sending chills down her spine.

 

“This is gospel for the fallen ones,

Locked away in permanent slumber.

Assembling their philosophies,

From pieces of broken memories.”

 

A small smile crept up on her face. She had always wanted to learn how to sing. She wasn’t particularly good at it anything but it certainly didn’t stop her from trying. Subconsciously, her hoof started tapping to the beat as Azure continued to listen.

 

/*-----*/

 

They marched through the mountains. It was monotone and mundane. One hoof in front of the other. One, two, one, two. They marched for hours and hours. The familiar warm breeze of the Valley vanished since the first hour, and all familiar sights, by the third. They, at one point, reached a fork in the road, both of which lead back to the Valley. General Hardy, instead took a third route. A pathway Azure hadn’t seen before. What? But. But. How? She thought to herself. It seemed impossible. She had been up here a countless number of times but she had never seen this before. She shrugged it off. In hindsight, she was also incredibly tired whenever she was up here, either from lack of sleep or a full day of training.

 

It was only when darkness started to overcome the land and Azure and the rest of the officers started stumbling on hidden rocks or roots and started struggling to keep up when Hardy called for them to stop. There was a collective sigh of relief. She looked around. They had come a small flat area on the side of a cliff. The cliff dropped into what looked like a forest. On the other side, was the road. There was no doubt more marching the following day. Azure tried not to think about it. Another command rang out, a command to gather firewood for the night.

 

It wasn’t until sometime later until she was finally able to rest. She sat down on at the bonfire she was assigned to and sighed; a sigh of relief. She looked around. There was another pony there; a pony with green fur and a blue mane. She seemed to be fiddling with something in her saddlebags. Azure decided to let her be. She levitated out a quill and her notepad full of star sketches and began to flip through them.

Edited July 9, 2016 by AzureNightLight

[Colenso Rivers 85]

Colenso, even though he had never taken a vow of silence, behaved that way. His heart sunk the moment he spotted the one way door, he had never apologized. Still, it was too late, it had been for a while now. As he passed through the doors, he felt stripped, like all his gear would be nothing. All was empty, and even though he stepped among many, he felt incredibly alone. The superior officers, he emotionally held all their words towards him during his years there, they were the most solid grounding he could find.

Then, he could hear enchanting singing, to pass past the walls of the obscure to see Star on the stone outcrop they had been on last night. He was dying for the world, for her and all the others. He had no doubt about his destiny, her song, while under the voice of unmatched beauty, brought him no comfort. There was a reason why they were called one way.

What brought his hopes higher were the sight of her wings. A princess. One he had wished for ever since he learned of their existence, one he had doubted and shunned. He had to keep himself from apologizing, reminding himself, She's the same pony you spoke to. She would kill your only friends without an ounce of sadness. No song could change his mind about that.

 

He fell into step as trained, orders were as vital and followed naturally as his heart beating. He always noticed that when he stepped in file while marching his mind always cleared, becoming highly sensitive to the world around him, but unresponsive to it. Stepping into the path on the mountains, the wind passing through his fur. This was life, and he had to be glad that he chose it to be this. A hidden path had been revealed and he made a mental marker, if his squad should survive. Needless to say, mess was quite uneventfull.

When light faded, he paid mind to the ground, and recovered whenever he stumbled on a rock, which happened a few times. Before he knew it, he had been commanded to disband to create three bonfires. After he gathered enough wood and the fire was lit, he laid next to it, silent. He didn't know anypony around him close enough to speak.

[SilverHeart 741]

@@Colenso Rivers, @@AzureNightLight, @@Once In A Blue Moon, @@Hederik,

 

((OOC: Nothing like a pint of hard apple cider to get the creative juices flowing. Also welcome to the RP Azure!))

 

Like the rest of the Cadets, Silver left the lecture hall and went to her dorm room, where she equipped her armor and gear. After getting dressed for battle she assembled in front of the One Way Door with everypony else. Silver, like many of the ponies present, waited nervously numerous emotions ran wild through her mind. Two emotions stood out from the rest. The first was disappointment. Walking through the One Way Door would be the final nail in the coffin that she could live a normal life. This was likely the last time she would ever step hoof in Pony Valley and she didn't even have a chance to actually see her home one last time. She would never get to have her own family, marry a stallion, raise her foals. She would never get to live a normal life. There was no hope, however small, that she could fail out of the Academy and be free to choose her own life. Once she walked through the door she would be a soldier for the rest of her life. And if she was honest, she felt a little excited. On the other side of that door was a new life. One where there would be no more training, at least not to the same degree there had been. The Academy that had been her prison would be exchanged for a virtual exile from the Pony Valley and a small modicum of freedom. Which meant that she could have some control of her life, more than she had had in years. It wasn't much but it helped put an ever so thin silver lining on the situation.

 

Silver's eyes wandered over towards the source of the singing. She gasped quietly when she saw Star's new form. It took several long moments of watching the mare to even realize that it was Star. No longer did she look like a deformed freak or some poor imitation of a pony, instead she was tall, slender, and...beautiful. She looked just like the depictions of the Royal Sisters. Which would make her...royalty? Dozens of questions ran through Silver's mind as she tried to process what was going on.

 

At General Hardy's behest Silver walked through the One Way Door along with nearly thirty other ponies. The scene that waited her on the other side of the Door wasn't what she had been expecting. Everything was normal, actually. It wasn't a wasteland. In fact, it really just looked like the other side of the mountains surrounding Pony Valley. Logically, that made sense though Silver was having trouble understanding why they had been sequestered inside of Pony Valley if the world outside of Pony Valley seemed so....normal.

 

Their entire day was spent marching down the mountain range. By the end of it, they were tripping over rocks in the low light. Eventually they were called to set up their camp for the night with the condition that they not sit with their unit. Silver gathered her share of firewood before wandering over to one of the bonfires. She recognized most of the ponies that were sitting at the bonfire. Some of them were from her unit but most were ponies she had only met in passing while at the academy.

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

 

 

There was another pony there; a pony with green fur and a blue mane. She seemed to be fiddling with something in her saddlebags. Azure decided to let her be. She levitated out a quill and her notepad full of star sketches and began to flip through them.

 

 

Her cartographic exploits finished for the evening, Cat looked over the ponies around the bonfire. The faces were all at least vaguely familiar, and it was one of the less familiar faces that caught her attention. A unicorn mare was examining a notepad with... Those look like stars. A fellow astronomer? What was her name now? White, blue hair... the colour of her hair, was it? Cobalt? No... Azure! That was it. 

 

Standing up, her legs protesting at the motion, Cat walked over to Azure.

 

"Hey, it's Azure, isn't it? I'm Carto." she said, sitting down next to her, "If you'll pardon me being nosy, you're not into astronomy by any chance?" She gestured to the star sketches, "Only it's a bit of a hobby of mine and Alto Cord's - do you know her? Brown earth pony, black mane, best known for her musical exploits?"

[AzureNightLight 122]

@@Once In A Blue Moon

 

The notepad was full of star sketches, their location, their intensity, their luminosity and their name; if there was one. Now that she was in a new location, there were new stars to go along with it.

 

“Hey, it's Azure, isn't it? I'm Carto.”, came a voice.

 

Azure jumped a little, her body protesting from the sudden movement. “Oh, yes! That’s me.” Her eyes focused on the pony in front of her. It was the mare she saw earlier. She moved to sit down next to her.

 

“Yeah, you’re right, I’m Azure. Nice to meet you, Carto.”

 

“If you'll pardon me being nosy, you're not into astronomy by any chance?" She gestured to the star sketches, "Only it's a bit of a hobby of mine and Alto Cord's - do you know her? Brown earth pony, black mane, best known for her musical exploits?”

 

Azure thought; she was sure she heard that name somewhere. Alto. Hmm. Brown earth pony, black mane and she plays music? She shook her head. “That name does ring a bell but, no. I don’t know her.” A pause. “Oh, and yes. I am.” She smiled. “It’s hard to find another pony who shares your interest when it is as rare as astronomy.”