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Post by Red Charge on Dec 18, 2012 15:15:06 GMT -5
The other trainees standing around Gleam all reacted differently. Some turned to run, others braced themselves, some even tried to call for help. But not more than several feet away from the line of recruits, the Terragon was thrown sideways savagely. Though the others have not noticed it, Gleam's eye caught the high tensile wire wrapping itself on the dragon's leg a mere second before two Earth ponies yanked together, throwing it off balance, and a third, a pegasus came crashing into it, throwing it sideways. Before the Terragon could even take in air for a fire breath, a large and heavy sword was embedded in it's neck. Three ponies killed an adult Terragon in less than a minute. Or at least, that's the way it seemed.
"That's what heavy support is." The female said, "Slayers."
"You all came here, from different places, some from basic training, other from field units; sergeants, lieutenants... majors.... By agreeing to undergo this training course all of you have permanently forgone any rank you may have had before." The mare in armor strode behind them, exactly where they were not allowed to look. "Slayers are for all purposes, regular parts of any platoons, or wings... they however, have the training, discipline and expertise to eliminate the fiercest of opponents... with the help of their unit. Most of you, do not have what it takes to finish this course. If you're asking yourselves why you're here if that is the case, well, that's exactly why you're here. As Slayers you will be members of platoons and squads that do not contain other slayers. You must learn to work with your lessers, even be commanded by them."
"I know what you all want in the end, a chance at the new reformation of the Shield Walls. Who wouldn't? After all, the Slayer position was founded on lessons learned from the Shield Walls unit. Old Iron Shoes and his crazy training techniques are back now, but you'll have something the original shield walls didn't. You will no longer be just shields, but also swords."
"But I know what you're thinking right now, each and every one of you is still wondering if they are here because their superiors thought they had what it takes, or because we needed cannon fodder to elevate the ones truly worthy. I can't answer that, I'm afraid. Time will reveal all."
The gigantic pony from earlier shouted out, "Unit, TURN!" And like disciplined soldiers, they did, now looking at an earth pony mare in a heavy suit of plates. shining steel over a bulky frame, even for a female. But all eyes went directly to her flank, a large steel sickle with a moon crescent, behind of which was a sword... a Slayer Cutie Mark... "I am Harvest Moon, from this moment onwards, you are mine and mine alone. Welcome to Heavy Support Training Course, here's hoping for no deaths this time."
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Post by Gleam Lucre on Dec 19, 2012 19:19:20 GMT -5
Even as he stood at attention, Gleam's wide-eyed gaze was fixed on the enormous mass that had once been a live, snarling dragon. This was Heavy Support? The skill and ability to kill a monster like that?
This...this was it. That was the thing he'd been looking for - the same kind of stomach-fluttering feeling he'd gotten when he was a little colt discovering how soldiers lived their lives, right around the time he'd gotten his cutie mark. Being able to defend ponies from the biggest, most dangerous threats around was exactly what Gleam wanted to do!
All the stuff the mare in charge was saying about Slayers having to associate with 'lesser' ponies was old hat to Gleam, though. He'd heard the same thing from all the upper-class ponies he'd spent time with: if she swapped out her armor for a fancy dress, Harvest Moon here wouldn't have stood out much from the richest and snobbiest.
With the danger taken away, Gleam's adrenaline rush faded. And with that fading, the funny feeling in his leg where he'd been jabbed with that syringe returned. Trying to be subtle about it, Gleam shifted his weight. What was in that syringe anyway? And did it have anything to do with that ominous line about deaths 'this time'?
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 20, 2012 11:51:27 GMT -5
After that small speech, Gleam's group was taken to their barracks, or rather, tents. Immediately talk broke out, ponies were trying to find out who was the major who gave up his rank to join, but whoever it was, they kept quiet.
Gleam noticed there were barely any new recruits. Most were corporals, sergeants and even some lieutenants. He was one of the few newbies in this group. Everyone seemed tense after Harvest's speech, most of them were brought because they weren't compatible. Would that mean Gleam did good, or bad during basic training?
Not long after they were lead out to the grounds again, after the Terragon had already been cleared, its blood now shining red on the grass. Still it wasn't obvious where they were. Wasn't any place Gleam recognized anyway.
"The trials you will be facing in the coming days will be... unfair. They will be life-threatening. You have been put with ponies who will crack under stress, who will snap under fire and who will run for their lives when push turns to shove. Some will not follow orders, some will follow them too much. But the worst thing is, you can't tell one from the other. Who is good? Who is bad? Who knows?" Said the massive pony Gleam met when he first arrived, coming on the field. "What you saw earlier were three veteran slayers working together. A perfect take-down. This is how we want you to be."
"You!" He pointed a hoof at Gleam, "Name, rank, position and city of origin, now!"
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Post by Gleam Lucre on Dec 20, 2012 13:05:27 GMT -5
Gleam lingered on the fringes as the other ponies began chatting with each other. He could hear the questions being asked - where were you stationed? what was your rank? did you know so-and-so - and it was frankly bizarre how much like his foalhood this was. Ponies trying to sniff out who was on top and who was on the bottom, ponies trying to probe each other for secrets without advertising that they were hunting for weaknesses...it felt natural for Gleam to stay out of the way and shamelessly eavesdrop.
To his own discomfort, there were barely any other new recruits in this mess. And the consensus amongst the other ponies was that none of the recuits were anything but practice fodder - that Slayers had to learn to defend civilians and raw recruits were the closest equivalent. Gleam frowned at that notion: perhaps the other newly recruited ponies here might be glorified practice dolls, but he intended to last through the training here!
All too soon they were lined up in front of the monster of a pony from earlier, back on the field where the Terragon's body had lain. There was still a huge blood smear and drag marks from where they'd hauled the carcass away. Gleam had to wonder what they'd do with the thing: the parts were probably all very valuable to somepony, but military ponies didn't think like merchants as far as he'd noticed.
Suddenly Gleam was on the spot again. Thankfully he'd gotten over his earlier terror of the monster pony before him - being immersed in a crowd of nostalgically plotting ponies was oddly relaxing - and was able to respond in a timely fashion.
"Gleam Lucre," Gleam replied, his voice level, "Private ranking, recruited out of Canterlot. Sir."
He'd never had a position that he knew of, so Gleam didn't answer that part. Of course, despite the calm exterior he was projecting Gleam was still fairly nervous. And this monster pony in charge of them at the moment...he wouldn't be surprised if the stallion could smell fear.
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 21, 2012 0:42:01 GMT -5
"I smell..." The stallion said, sniffing uncomfortably close to Gleam's face, "Bread. Fresh out of the basket. You realize most of the other ponies here have seen more action than you probably ever will? You realize most of them could tear you apart with one hoof behind their back?" The stallion asked, eyes glaring. Gleam noticed his cutie-mark also had a weapon on it, but not a sword, a large two headed axe.
The massive pony then gestured at several weapon racks stationed nearby. "Pick your weapon, but pick carefully. From now on that weapon is an extension of you. You will not get to use any other weapon during the entire training period."
The racks were full of weaponry, most were basic swords, maces, flails, lances... but there were also halberds, voulges and spears of all kinds. Even bows, crossbows and daggers. There were many choices to pick from, probably every weapon type known to pony kind.
But Gleam could only pick one, no backsies. Changing his mind after would probably get him booted off the course faster than he could blink. Everypony's eyes were now on him, the first target of scrutiny. The choice of weapon he makes now will undoubtedly affect the way everypony sees him and treats him...
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Post by Gleam Lucre on Dec 21, 2012 17:45:57 GMT -5
...Well, there were worse things to be compared to. Like the breath of the enormous pony currently up in Gleam's face: somepony was clearly fond of garlic. And honestly...it wasn't as if Gleam was surprised he had less experience than most of the other ponies here. What did surprise Gleam was that battleaxe on the massive pony's flanks. He'd been under the impression that the Slayer cutie mark was a regular sword.
Seeing the weapons on display and being told to pick one, Gleam wondered if the Slayer mark was different based on the weapon a pony picked. Which would mean that the monster pony's chosen weapon was a battleaxe...he could definitely believe that, a pony that huge. But there were spears and bows and even stranger weapons here, not just blades. Gleam approached the weapon ranks gingerly, wondering which he should take.
Almost immediately, he decided against any of the bows. He hadn't the faintest clue how to use one. The flail caught his eye, and Gleam almost went for it...before getting a mental image of smashing it clumsily into his own face and deciding against it.
Finally, Gleam decided on an arming sword. It was a basic, straight sword - the sword wielded by Canterlot's knights, very practical yet classic. He grabbed the handle in his teeth and lifted the sword awkwardly. It made him feel a bit off-balance, but it wasn't too heavy...Gleam figured he'd get used to it after a while.
Turning back to face the monster pony, Gleam's head tilted slightly. The silent question was fairly obvious: now what?
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 23, 2012 14:27:17 GMT -5
One of the ponies in the group snickered, perhaps due to the basic choice of weapon, but the large stallion was quick to silence the offending female pegasus. "What're you laughing at? In a long, painful battle, when your weapon breaks, the most common weapon you'll pick up is a sword. Mastering a weapon that in almost every battle is readily available is probably one of the wisest decisions. A truly balanced weapon, great for offense, great for defense." He silenced her.
"In short, this weapon is always a great weapon to master." He snarled, "And don't any of you try to kiss up now and pick it, pick the weapons you want, nothing else. Ones choice of weapon reflects one's fighting style and discipline. Picking the wrong weapon can cost you greatly."
He sent Gleam back and the others picked their own weapons. then they were seperated into platoons, squads and pairs. Gleam was paired off with the same pegasus who made fun of him earlier, one Lightning Dust. She had rather mean looking spiked horseshoes and battle helmet. Good pick for a pegasus.
"Well, newbie, you're ready to tussle?" She asked with a grin as they were sent off to practice with each other for a while... unarmored.
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Post by Gleam Lucre on Dec 26, 2012 10:44:49 GMT -5
Gleam was a bit surprised that the enormous stallion (who Gleam decided to mentally dub 'Big Axe' until he learned the pony's real name) approved so heartily of his choice in weapon. Thank goodness he hadn't tried to pick up one of the more exotic weapons - he'd have looked a fool and probably taken an eye out at the same time.
Gleam returned to the line and watched the other ponies pick out their weapons. They were each rushing to grab their favorites off the racks, and of course a few squabbles broke out: two pegasi wanted the very same flail Gleam had been considering, and a unicorn was trying to get an Earth pony to trade his trident for the unicorn's war hammer. None of the ponies had much time to bicker before 'Big Axe' was on them, and eventually everyone had a weapon they were at least mostly happy with by the end of it.
And then they were broken into groups and set up in pairs for a spar. The pegasus mare - Lightning Dust, apparently - who'd thought so little of Gleam's choice was his opponent. Was Gleam ready for this? Did that even matter? They were going to spar whether Gleam was hoofing ready or not! Even if he hadn't had a sword hilt in his mouth, Gleam wouldn't have bothered replying to the taunt. His mind was much more preoccupied with trying to figure out how to fight a pegasus.
Right, so she'd probably use her wings - best advantage she had - but if Gleam stayed low to the ground and kept his eyes peeled, he'd be able to see her coming. And Lightning Dust would have to come in close, as she didn't have a ranged weapon. But nopony here had armor on...they were seriously going to spar like this? With real weapons? Trying not to take his eyes off Lightning Dust, Gleam looked around for 'Big Axe'.
He was probably overthinking it, but...certainly they weren't supposed to kill each other here...right?
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 26, 2012 11:57:47 GMT -5
"Begin!" Barked the massive pony, and before Gleam could even look back at Lightning Dust, she was already streaking towards him, hoof raised. Gleam had very little time to react, but luckily his soldier instincts awoke and he was able to avoid the blow.
Lighting Dust huffed angrily, rounding about to try again. Around them the clash of steel against steel was heard as all the other pairs were fighting fiercely. Looking at them one would be convinced they were actually fighting to kill. Lightning Dust certainly was. She grazed Gleam with her spiked hoof as she went past him, scratching him and drawing blood.
The large pony drill instructor saw it, but did not comment. Blood was allowed.
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Post by Gleam Lucre on Dec 26, 2012 12:26:24 GMT -5
Gleam felt adrenaline shooting through his veins as he barely managed a hasty leap to the side, almost completely avoiding Lightning Dust's attack. He did notice the cut she left on his side, but at the moment he had to pay a hoofload more attention on his flying opponent!
But what to do? What?! Jump at her with the sword swinging? Or - or perhaps hold his ground and counter her on the next pass? Argh, Gleam had to pick something fast and he couldn't decide -
For some reason, he suddenly thought of the Terragon from earlier. He'd had a plan for that, but only because he'd been in Lucre Mine dragon-drills since his foalhood. At the moment, it was the closest thing to a plan in Gleam's head, even if it wasn't meant for a flying pony.
Taunt and lead her away? No, he couldn't run here - but if he taunted Lightning Dust into charging a certain direction, maybe...
Gleam braced himself to jump, while at the same time flicking his tail and shaking his rump around in a mocking, 'come and get me' kind of way. He wanted to try luring the pegasus into a straight charge - and then Gleam would jump out of the way! He hadn't put much thought into any counterattacking yet, and the sword in his mouth still felt strange, but he'd still take a shot if he could. Although when the chance came to use it, Gleam would probably end up swinging it around in circles like a madpony. Hopefully he'd at least be able to swat the pegasus with the flat of the blade, or something.
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 31, 2012 23:28:39 GMT -5
Gleam missed and Lighting Dust shot past him. The battle continued like this for a while, both of them obtaining many scratches and bruises. Gleam had one right over his left eye, so he had to keep it shut due to the blood running down over it. It stung terribly.
He noticed all of the other stallions and mares were in similar condition, and finally "Big Axe" called for them to cease and desist. Gleam noticed one of the pairs had a definite victory, a stallion was standing over an unconscious mare. She looked to be in terrible condition, but the massive drill instructor ignored her, instead having them all (with her as an exception) get in line.
"You didn't do half bad. Now I know a lot more about you all. I bet you know a lot more about each other too. Which is good. Remember your pairing, from now on you will spar in these pairings daily until one of you manages to take out the other. Like Dawn Guard over there. Dawn Guard, switch pairs with Brawny Boulder."
"What about her?" Dawn Guard asked, gesturing at the still unconscious mare. The large stallion shrugged. "We'll see when she wakes up. Take five." He dismissed them to a short break.
"Nice going newbie." Lightning Dust said with a grin, then whispering, "But I wasn't even using a tenth of my capabilities. Next time, prepare to be humiliated." She winked at him and took off in the air for a short flight around the field to stretch her wings and muscles.
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Post by Gleam Lucre on Jan 1, 2013 12:46:15 GMT -5
Well, that could have gone better. While his teeth retained their death-grip on the hilt of his sword, Gleam's sides were heaving as he sucked in air. The initial training he'd done had included a bit of actual sparring, but nothing like this! He could feel the blood crusting over his left eye - Gleam would have to wash his face if he wanted to see properly. And with the adrenaline rush fading, he felt ready to drop on the ground and never move again.
Lightning Dust was almost as battered as he was, but to Gleam's annoyance she'd clearly enjoyed the whole thing. Well, they'd see which one of them was going to be humiliated! He might be new, but Gleam wasn't an idiot. He'd figure something out.
Heading for the nearest water trough, Gleam cleaned the blood off his face and took a proper look at himself. All these cuts and bruises, all the blood, and this sword...heh heh, if he went to see his old uppercrust friends now Gleam would scare their manes white with fright! He looked like Nightmare Night had come a season early this year.
Enough trivialities. Gleam needed to think up a good plan for fighting Lightning Dust in the future. He didn't think he had enough brute force to just straight-up overpower her, and he certainly wasn't fast enough to outrun her. Gleam would have to out-think her...which was fine, he enjoyed planning and thinking. "Big Axe" said that they should know their sparring partner better now, so what did he know about Lightning Dust?
'Confident,' [/color] Gleam thought, looking up to see her still lazily flying overhead, 'Proud of her flying.'Not a thin-skinned mare, though: Gleam had tried that angle earlier, and taunting her hadn't done much of anything. She was certain that whatever happened, she'd be fine. As long as... '...she can still fly...'A rather nasty idea came to Gleam then. Next time, instead of dodging her...what if he took a hit? And then, while he had her up close, Gleam could take his sword and aim for those wings Lightning Dust was so proud of and - Gleam jerked in place, shocked at where his own ideas were going. Slicing up her wings so she couldn't fly? Really? ...Although if she were a flying dragon like he'd tried to pretend during the spar, Gleam would definitely want to trap her on the ground, right? But doing that to a pony just seemed - Hearing a familiar bellow, Gleam belatedly realized that he'd spent all the break time thinking. Not wanting to get reamed out by "Big Axe", Gleam picked his sword back up and hurried to get back into line.[/center]
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Post by Red Charge on Jan 1, 2013 17:35:16 GMT -5
"Good," Said the massive stallion in charge, "Now that you all got a taste for blood, make sure you familiarize yourself with it. It's never going to be quenched. By custom, slayer graduates slay one of the epic beasts and drink its blood. Usually it's a terragon or a hydra, but this year... we have something special." The gigantic pony strode in front of them confidently.
"So why did I have you fight full power against each other?" Gleam heard Lightning 'pfuh' next to him, "Because you cannot be afraid. I may not have mentioned this, but we have no training drills. Other than sparring, all of your exercises will be real missions in the field. The only way to get better at killing monsters, is to kill them. Some, if not most, of you might die. It happens. Happened to me twice." He said, a soldier to the far left of Gleam laughed nervously. "But I lived through it."
"Now it's time to make sure you all know the value of doing what you're told. Why? Because when someone orders you to single handedly charge a hydra, it's not an order that's easy to follow." Two more soldiers dragged something from the right, a cannon.
"You, over there." Big Axe called to one of the veteran soldiers, "Come here." He gestured at the front of a cannon, loading it with gunpowder and a cannonball. "Stand right here, and take this to your chest. If you die, die knowing you served proudly by giving a personal example."
The soldier stuttered, not sure if Big Axe was serious, only after the stallion shouted, "WELL?" Did he move to the spot, almost tripping on the unconscious mare as he did.
Big Axe lit the fuse, it was about to fire, everyone knew a cannonball at that distance was fatal no matter what.
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Post by Gleam Lucre on Jan 1, 2013 19:02:01 GMT -5
...Okay, that graduation ritual sounded both disturbing and disgusting. Drinking blood? Ugh, no thank you! At least the "training" was fairly straightforward - and wouldn't involve constant battling against other ponies. Just...a lot of battling. All the rest would involve actually going out and doing Slayer-type jobs, and that was something Gleam could approve of wholeheartedly. Every monster they hunted down during this training was a monster that couldn't hurt anypony else.
But the next bit, with "Big Axe" having a cannon wheeled out and an unlucky pony chosen to stand in front of it and take the blast to the chest, only seemed pointless and barbaric.
'Murdering a pony to prove your stupid point doesn't make it any less stupid!' Gleam thought, wondering if this demonstration was seriously about to happen.
Not to mention that nopony had moved that poor mare from earlier either - was she alright? She'd been unconscious for a while now.
Seeing that the cannon was moments from firing, Gleam couldn't help but look away. If a pony was about to die in front of him for no sensible reason at all, he really preferred not to watch.
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Post by Red Charge on Jan 1, 2013 19:15:10 GMT -5
"Stop it, what're you crazy?" Lightning Dust yelled from the side, streaking over and pushing the pony out of the way, getting away just in time for the loud explosion.
"YOU!" Big Axe bellowed, "PRIVATE Lightning Dust, did you just move this pony out of the way of the cannon in defiance of a direct superior order for him to stand there?"
"You're sure as hay right I did!" Lightning Dust called through gritted teeth. Gleam heard some whispering, some ponies were looking behind. When Gleam glimpsed he could see why, there was no cannonball lodged in the wall there. The cannon never fired.
"And you're the only one in this pile of maggots who had the guts to do the right thing." The drill instructor snarled at her, she was taken aback by the compliment.
"Alright you pasty faced, soft hoofed sticks on a marshmallow frame pony wannabes! I want twenty lap out of all of you except Lightning Dust, for almost letting your comrade die! You're in the field to PREVENT losses in life, and if a friend is in trouble, by a stampeding dragon, far more dangerous than this cannon I assure you, it's YOUR job to get them out of there! Just like Lightning Dust did! Now move!"
As the ponies started running, Lightning Dust approached the unconscious mare, at least she WAS unconscious, until that explosion from the cannon woke her up. She sat up, not really sure where she was, or whether or not Lightning Dust was her long lost aunt. After assuring her that she was not Lightning Dust helped her to the side.
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