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Post by dragoonofdeath on Jul 21, 2011 2:37:13 GMT -5
Wildfire stepped out of her hut in the encampment, feeling much better then she had the previous day of failed mingling. She had found a small group of ponies, but left them be as there was a lot of fire flying around. She instead chose to rest, and got as much sleep for her first day of training as possible. She did a quick stretch and wondered to herself where Percheron would be this morning. She slowly lifted herself up into the air, a light pinch of pain running through her spine from her prosthetic. The acknowledgement that her real wing and leg wer gone forever had luckily hit her early, and she was trying to get over it as quickly as possible, not being one to mope. Still, she would absentmindedly scratch her prosthetics, or go to flap her wings and only have one extend all to often, and in short, it was begining to agitate her. "If I ever get the chance to get back at that overgrown lizard..." She shook her head, such thoughts of rage weren't needed right now. She flew up a bit higher and rose above her hut, doing a full circle. "I hate when this happens. Go to meet someone, have no idea where i'm going..." She hovered down and landed gently on the roof, laying down on her stomach and watching the skies for her teacher.
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Post by Percheron Razorwing on Jul 23, 2011 19:30:14 GMT -5
With a soft breeze a red armored Pegasus landed right next to Wildfire. It was hard to tell beneath his mask, but when he spoke it was obvious this was Percheron. He dumped what seemed like an ancient, rusty battle harness in front of her, it must have weighed a ton considering how it began sinking into the earth.
"This is your armor for this training, put it on."
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Post by dragoonofdeath on Jul 23, 2011 19:59:55 GMT -5
Wildfre stood up and looked at the armor. She had never wore a battle harness before, but she had seen her father put his on several times and could attempt to mimic his actions, though she hadn't seen him do so in years. She stuck her nuzzle under the lower end and snaked her way into it, lifting up and folding her wings all the way in as the armor fell on her, causing her to stumble and almost lose her footing. It was by far, the heaviest thing she had ever had on her, let alone carried. She pushed her wings out of the slits on the side and tried to force herself to stand straight. "Right, I think I got this straight." Wildfire checked herself over, her legs wobbling from the weight of the heavy harness. It looked ancient, and, if it was cleaned up a bit, would probably be either beautiful or menacing. She figured that for whatever Percheron would have her doing today it would suit their purposes.
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Post by Percheron Razorwing on Jul 24, 2011 11:32:13 GMT -5
"Alright now up in the air, let's see you do a lap around the camp, come on now." Percheron said, clapping his hooves together impatiently. The armor was not just heavy on Wildfire, it was almost impossible to lift, to fly with this thing? Suicide! The joints were rusted to the point of nearly being welded together, so it was unflexible as well, restricting Wildfire's range of movement.
How was she supposed to fly like this?
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Post by dragoonofdeath on Jul 24, 2011 12:04:32 GMT -5
Wildfire gave Percheron a terrified look. Out of the frying pan and into the oven! She could barely stand in this heavy harness, how was she supposed to fly? She closed her eyes and extended her wings as well as she could and breathed out slowly, trying to calm her mind. She began to flap her wings, dust and debris picking up from the wind as she tried to lift off, coming about a centimeter off the ground before stopping and almost stumbling. How the heck was she supposed to fly in this heavy thing? She tried again, flapping her wings as fast as she could, lifting up off the ground almost an inch before falling back down. She couldn't keep her wings going at the speed needed to lift this much weight off the ground, let alone take flight! She wasn't this weak...was she?
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Post by Percheron Razorwing on Jul 24, 2011 16:20:00 GMT -5
Percheron scowled at her, "You're a weather pony and you don't know that to lift off with heavy weight you need to take a running start?" Percheron asked flatly, a dull gaze fixated on Wildfire and an eyebrow rising up.
To demonstrate he himself took off from standing position, and then landed some distance away, taking a trotting start, then a galloping start and zooming into the air, his armor was far more bulky than hers, and yet he did so with such ease! Years of practice payed off as his muscled, very masculine physique elevated into the air just as gracefully as an albatross would, and then with not a small amount of flair he performed a double loop, landing softly, every inch measured to perfection. Always in control.
"Now you try, no one said this would be easy, it never is." The grey eyed Pegasus pointed a hoof at the "runway" he used earlier, indicating Wildfire should use it now. Once they took to the air, it would only be a matter of mastering the armor's weight and learning to compensate with.
By the end of his training, he mused, Wildfire would be a strong, beautiful mare. Her muscles would become stronger, her body more shapely, and her soul reforged with discipline and honor into a fine pony, one that can accomplish anything they put their minds into. A shadow of a smile appeared on his lips as he remembered once tutoring the little Razorwings the same way.
That smile however was shortly replaced with a scowl, the Razorwings had abandoned him. The Cult was his family now. He signaled for Wildfire to begin, and stood still to watch, perhaps this attempt will prove better than the last?
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Post by dragoonofdeath on Jul 24, 2011 16:41:12 GMT -5
If Wildfire could lift her hoof high enough in her harness, she would've facehoofed. Of all the things for her to forget...
"Right..." She said with a sheepish smile, "Forgot about that..." She began at a slow trot, her legs wobbling under the weight, leaning into a slow gallop as she flapped her wings, slowly lifting into the air. Once she was finally in flight, it was easy (easy enough at least) to move and keep herself airbound. "A lap around the camp right?" she shouted out as she began to pick up a bit of speed, making her way to the edge of the camp.
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Post by Percheron Razorwing on Jul 28, 2011 11:47:03 GMT -5
"Yes, a lap around the camp, just be careful when you're dipping, or you'll crash." Percheron said, he knew full well what would happen, her fate was foreseen.
Without knowing how to compensate for the weight of her armor, even the slightest dip would send her spiraling into the ground. An expected failure, one he would then use to re-motivate her. No one skips this failure, even he didn't.
He wondered if knowing what he does now, he would have even began his training to begin with, but decided to shake his head, that, was in the past. This was the present. He was a teacher, a battle-master and an appreciated member of the cult, and was working to make Equestria better. That's what counted.
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Post by dragoonofdeath on Jul 29, 2011 12:39:12 GMT -5
Wildfire nodded as her mind ran her through what would most likely happen if she crashed. She had crashed several times before, but never with this much extra weight on her. She'd probably break a bone or whatever she landed on, or even leave a large embarrassing hole in the ground. Still, she was no stranger to pain, and if she screwed up she'd struggle back up and try again. She wondered if there was a specific speed Percheron wanted her to go as she began to make a steady flight around the camp. "So far so good..." She couldn't tell if her mind was playing tricks on her, or if it was her speed, but the camp seemed huge! Maybe it was just that large though? She decided not to think of the camp full of strange ponies and took a sideward glace at her prosthetic wing, wishing she could feel it. It was an odd feeling, only flapping one wing and having the drake wing flap as if it was conscious, keep pace with her real right wing. She began to subconsciously pick up speed, flapping her wings a bit faster and unintentionally dipping down a bit, losing her balance and, with a surprised yelp, fell like a rock into the camp, landing in a small puddle of what she hoped was just mud. She laid there for a moment, wondering if it was even going to be possible to do this quickly. She dragged herself up to her feet and checked herself over to make sure she wasn't injured any worse than she already was.
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Post by Percheron Razorwing on Aug 6, 2011 5:45:25 GMT -5
"Again! You need to balance yourself, or you'll keep falling down, you have to pay attention! Don't crash again!" Percheron barked out the rough commands, trotting over and glaring at his new recruit, "You want to tell me you were a weather pony? You can barely keep yourself off the ground! DO IT!" He pointed a hoof at the treeline.
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Post by dragoonofdeath on Aug 6, 2011 16:07:38 GMT -5
Wildfire shook her head, her gaze looking from her teacher to her next makeshift runway. The heavy armor already had her a bit tired, as she was not used to the heavy lifting. Still, she was tired of letting ponies down, and right now she was letting her teacher down. She took off again, steadily gaining speed as she ran down the next open area, lifting off into the air, barely passing over the treeline. she kept her wings flapping at a steady pace, and began to circle the encampment again. She kept herself at a decent speed, not wanting to lose control from going to fast, or take forever from going to slow. She allowed herself a grin as she finally past over her starting point, slowing down to a hover in midair checking around for Percheron. "Alright, what's next?"
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Post by Percheron Razorwing on Aug 7, 2011 12:17:07 GMT -5
"Keep doing that until you can't move, obviously!" Percheron barked, "I'll be back when I hear you crash again! And that better not be in the next hour!" He said, hopping off and flying away. Sure, his method of teaching was stern, but warriors, unlike mages, couldn't be mollycoddled. The y had to be forged, either through the heat of battle, or the rigors of training. NO pony could join his team without passing this test, discipline.
If Wildfire had no place for discipline, she had no place on the barons. Accepting orders without question was key, stamina was key, and the ability to remain steady even when under pressure or massive exertion. If Wildfire couldn't express any of those, she would never make a single day of the REAL training.
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Post by dragoonofdeath on Aug 7, 2011 12:35:20 GMT -5
Wildfire gaped as Perch flew off after giving his orders. She could probably do it, in fact she knew she could if she paced herself, but over an hour in a circle? Doable? Yes. So long as she didn't get distracted. Wildfire took off from her hovering stance and began to fly around the encampment, mentally counting each lap around the bog as she kept herself up at a steady pace.
Wildfire quit counting at 6, her mind and body to exhausted to continue, but knowing she had to. There was no way it had been an hour yet, but she was absolutely drenched in sweat, and her wings were beginning to flap dangerously slow. Her real wing felt numb, along with her legs, the nerves screaming out with every flap. Her mind was taking things in so slowly, she didn't realize she was crashing until it was to late, crashing through a relatively small tree on the north side of the camp, slamming and skidding across the ground. She laid there, breathing short and fast breathes as she tried her best to pull herself up, knowing all to well she wasn't going anywhere on her own any time soon.
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Post by Percheron Razorwing on Aug 12, 2011 3:57:47 GMT -5
Before Wildfire could even realize what was going on, she was in the air again, this time, heading straight into a tree. With a loud clunk she collided into it, the blow sending a shockwave of almost electric pain throughout her body, followed by a sharp blow to her stomach.
As she was lifted face to face with her assailant, none other than the Red Baron himself, Percheron Razorwing, he barked into her face, "This is ALL you can muster? This pathetic display?" Wildfire could feel his saliva spraying her face as he yelled. "You said you could DO THIS, didn't you? YOUR WORD IS YOUR BOND. There is no giving up in the Red Barons, there is no compromise. If you were facing whatever tore your leg and wing off, it would have already finished the job! Do you not CARE about protecting yourself? Are you really that much up in your self pity that you can't even fly a SIMPLE course?"
At that, he let go of her armor, dropping her back to the ground, "I bet you're surprised. Did you expect mollycoddling? Me telling you it's going to be alright, and you can do better? No! While you are allowing yourself the luxury of exhaustion, monsters roam in Everfree, threatening the lives of Equestrian citizens! And who will it be next? Your friends, your family? Do you have NO sense of responsibility to them? To your fellow Equestrians? I thought weather ponies took an oath to serve the kingdom. I guess I was wrong!"
At the end of his tirade, he lifted the green Pegasus to her feet again, bumping his head against hers, foreheads touching, eyes locked. "Are you ready to show me why they call you Wildfire? Are you ready to show me you're prepared to go above and beyond to make sure what happened to you never happens again?" He asked, this time, his voice seeping out in a deadly, silent tone.
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Post by dragoonofdeath on Sept 29, 2011 23:27:42 GMT -5
Wildfire took the beating from the unknown attacker, the obviously male voice barely penatrating her mind. Her thoughts were jumbled and confused, tired and slowly running. She could feel herself being slung around like a pillow, but she did not cry out in pain. She sucked it up, knowing she would never feel pain as badly as she so recently in the Everfree. She finally felt her feet touch the ground only to stumble back a bit after being headbutted, the blurry image of Percheron appearing before her. He was right to be angry. She failed to stay airbourne for over an hour, after claiming she could do it. She knew she needed more time to rest before even attempting flight, yet she jumped headforward into it. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately, being wounded every time. She barely caught the end of his rant, her body threatening to give out on her. Her breath came out in short ragged bursts, her chest heaving inside her armor.
"I...I am not...was not prepared for this... I want...want to protect... Never happen again...not to...to anypony..." Her words came out slurred and inbetween breaths, her eyebrows furrowed in what would be a look of anger if she wasn't so tired. It was obvious she wanted to continue her training, even as her body began to give out on her. She lifted herself back up and locked eyes with Percheron. "I...am ready...ready to continue...if you'll have....have me."
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