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Post by Paladin on Aug 17, 2015 16:34:57 GMT -6
Sleek followed at a slower jog, making sure he would keep to the trail designated as the path the group would be running down.
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Post by Lepking13 on Aug 17, 2015 19:02:43 GMT -6
The running path quickly devolved into a cross-country course, the very rocky and dangerous mountainous terrain interspersed with thick forests that grasped at the runners and their gear. Across it all, Torrent stayed just ahead of the rest of the group with ease. The path wasn't difficult to keep track of, making it easy for the ponies that needed to vomit after five laps to get back on track. After the ten laps, she tossed her orb off to the side by the pile of unused ones before walking over to Blitz and the pegasi who were laying on the ground panting around him. "Twenty minutes, anyone that finishes after that goes down the mountain." She said, looking at the handful of unicorns and earthers that she had lapped as they passed. "How many punishments?" "Seven, one is in the infirmary and will be escorted down. Cross-wind caught him in a sprint and the chute cord tangled around his wing." Blitz said, mimicking a bone snapping with his hands. "I've got five of my own, mostly unicorns." Torrent said, watching the first of the ground-bound ponies finishing behind her. "We got a good batch of recruits this time, we might get more than one legitimate candidate out of this." "I shall go and ensure that Broken Stone is up and ready." Blitz said, saluting Torrent before walking off into the compound. Torrent walked back over to where the ponies were finishing up, watching a few of them dragging out enough strength to cross the line before they collapsed. "You get twenty minutes to relax and get some water, we've got basic combat coming up next and then you're hitting the gym." Torrent said, looking at the gasping ponies on the ground. "If you make it to the end of the week, this'll be a relaxing work-out to get your days started from now on." She said, chuckling as sat down at the line.
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Post by Paladin on Aug 17, 2015 19:06:13 GMT -6
Sleek began resting on a fallen log, taking slow deep breaths. Oh, how he longed to be back in his cloak. It comforted him, gave him a new sense of security that he knew he'd eventually outgrow. He looked down to his forearms, looking at the three long scars that ran down both arms.
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Post by xinrick on Aug 17, 2015 19:12:25 GMT -6
Crimson was panting heavily and sat down to give his legs some much needed rest. "Thank the gods..." Crimson thinks to himself, getting some water in him thankfully during the twenty minute break. "In a week this will all be easy...if she says it's easy then sure." He thinks to himself while starting to feel a bit better with the water and rest he was getting, even for a limited time.
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Post by Lepking13 on Aug 17, 2015 20:07:19 GMT -6
"She didn't say it would be easy, she said this would be a relaxing work-out." A thin unicorn spoke from next to Crimson, having walked up without making a sound. He was dressed in black like the rest of the Equinox, although his uniform appeared more like combat gear than the dress uniforms the others had been wearing. "You're exceptionally easy to read, we'll have to work on that if you make it to day three." He said, raising a hand in greeting to Torrent as he walked off. "That's enough relaxation, lets get to the combat demonstration." Torrent said to the group of ponies that had finished after the twenty minutes, being about two thirds of the group of recruits that had been there the previous night. She led them at a quick pace into the compound, a handful of black dressed ponies meeting the stragglers that were just a few seconds late. She led them through what felt like a maze, passing by rooms filled with ponies doing various exercises. More than a few were doing full-contact sparring, blood staining the white mats as the fighters tried their hardest to take down their opponent. Torrent led them into a large room, Blitz standing on the far side talking to a massive earth pony wearing loose pants. Scars were visible all across his torso, even more becoming visible as he turned to the group of recruits. "I am Broken Stone, the combat instructor for the Equinox. I will be in charge of teaching those of you that make it through this week how to take down pegasi, unicorns, and even earthers like myself without pause. For now, do I have any volunteers? I promise not to put you in the infirmary until after this week is up." He said, looking across the crowd.
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Post by Paladin on Aug 17, 2015 21:32:32 GMT -6
Sleek walked up, saying quietly, "I volunteer as an example." He had a small grin on his face, standing in front of the instructor.
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Post by xinrick on Aug 18, 2015 8:59:20 GMT -6
Crimson noted he still had his chest guard and cup on thankfully, but saw Sleek go up first as an example. "Well...it's not really a contest." He thinks to himself, but still wondering why someone just told him 'he's easy to read'.
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Post by Lepking13 on Aug 18, 2015 17:03:34 GMT -6
Broken Stone smiled, his leg snapping out and whipping into the side of Sleek's right knee and knocking that leg out. One of his hands shot out, grabbing Sleek's throat as his center of gravity shifted and slammed him into the mat. "Lesson one, do not give your enemy the chance to strike, let alone an opening to do so. You take them down hard, fast, and you do so in a way that they do not get back up." Stone said, letting go of Sleek's throat and offering him a hand back up. "We fight against terrorists and extremists, ponies that won't hesitate to gut you on sight because to them you are the enemy. Do not give them the chance. You break their arms, their legs, their ribs, whatever you need to. If they can get back up, that gives them the chance to get away and hurt somepony. Maybe your neighbor, maybe your niece, maybe even your foal if you have one." He said, pointing to a scar across his abdomen. "And you do so without hesitation. Hesitation leads to mistakes, and that can cost you your life. My first mission I hesitated, I didn't want to hurt another pony. And he shoved a sword through my gut."
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Post by xinrick on Aug 18, 2015 17:28:19 GMT -6
"He's fast..." Crimson thinks to himself, listening intently on the lesson.
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Post by Paladin on Aug 18, 2015 18:33:17 GMT -6
Sleek got up, standing tall as he could. "That was interesting. I could feel your fingers glide across my carotid artery. How did it feel? To feel the chance to just end me right there for my foolish mistake?" He began laughing subtly, before keeping a smile on his face. "I got that feeling every time I had an attacker in my grasp. Watching the fear in their eyes, I would... end their miserable lives. End their lives of suffering of being a hamster on a spinning wheel!"
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Post by Lepking13 on Aug 18, 2015 23:11:28 GMT -6
"After getting stabbed, I don't feel anything but their bones snapping and joints popping." Broken said. "When survival becomes the single most important thing to you, you forget fears. You forget emotions. What you don't forget, is how to fight. How to kill. I've watched ponies freeze up at that moment, to see if they'll snap or flex. Every time I close my eyes, I see the faces of the ponies I've killed. The mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters. When that time comes, none of those matter. It becomes you, and them." He looked Sleek in the eye, a cold promise in those deep pools of his soul. "And when push comes to shove, I will not hesitate to end any one of you to make sure I wake up the next day alive." He said, before looking back out at the group. "Lesson Two: Have a plan to kill everything and everypony you meet. When you start out it is difficult, having to imagine what somepony can do in the blink of an eye and how you would react. Draw a knife from their sleeve? Dodge first attack, grab back of hand, dislocate elbow. Duck under now defunct arm and behind their back, twist it up until they fall onto their face, sweep legs if necessary, swift kick to neck to shatter bones and sever spinal cord. Once you've been here long enough, it becomes practice. You shake hands with somepony, you're already thinking of thirteen ways to end their life in ten seconds." "Unicorn charging up a spell? Grab horn to break concentration, punch throat, use horn as leverage to pull them to the ground, snap neck." Torrent said. "Pegasi are easier, most cannot fight quickly with their wings so focus on them. If you dislocate the joint where they connect to the torso it's enough to drop many to their knees in agony. Use the opening, break their necks. If we want prisoners to interrogate, break their limbs. You do not leave any enemy capable of lifting a knife or running away."
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Post by Paladin on Aug 19, 2015 5:49:47 GMT -6
Sleek smiled, saluting Broken before returning amongst the ranks of his group. Sleek had begun to think to himself, remaining quiet for the rest of the training.
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Post by xinrick on Aug 19, 2015 9:23:10 GMT -6
"Well with an explanation like that I suppose you do get used to killing..." Crimson thinks to himself, hearing everything the instructor was talking about.
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Post by Lepking13 on Aug 20, 2015 0:02:22 GMT -6
"It's a necessity, for the ponies that we end up dealing with." The same unicorn that had spoken to Crimson after the warm-ups walked up to Broken Stone, all the members of the guard snapping to attention. "Commander Shine." Torrent said. "At ease." Shine said, raising a hand to the recruits in greeting. "I am Commander Moonlit Shine. I specialize in information retrieval, as well as special operations. I know that this is quite abnormal, but there is an incident that requires Lieutenant Torrent's immediate attention. The rest of the day's scheduled activities are canceled, being replaced by free time to wander the campus as well as to take stock of the available equipment here in the gym. I will warn you, however, not to trespass through any doors that do not open for you. I cannot guarantee your safety nor life should you be found someplace you do not have the authorization to enter." He said, a smile on his face. "Your testing will continue tomorrow, so please have a nice day." He said, Torrent walking up to him as they teleported away. "You heard the Commander. You're all dismissed recruits." Broken Stone said.
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Post by xinrick on Aug 20, 2015 8:53:27 GMT -6
"Oh...that's why he said I was 'easy' to read..." Crimson thinks to himself. "Yes sir." Crimson salutes to Broken before. "I wonder why something like this happened during training? Hmm..." Crimson wonders to himself, wondering if he should either do something to figure out why this is happening or just leave it be.
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Post by Paladin on Aug 20, 2015 18:45:42 GMT -6
Sleek smiled to himself, chuckling. He thought deeply to himself, thinking of his past dealings with nobles who thought it wise to attack him. He started walking around the complex, hanging around the mess hall for a while before he decided to drift around the barracks, and then the shooting range (outside the perimeter of the building so he wouldn't get shot), and so on and so forth.
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Post by xinrick on Aug 22, 2015 19:34:25 GMT -6
"Hey Sleek." Crimson says while jogging up to the stallion. "What are you doing?"
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Post by Paladin on Aug 23, 2015 11:41:48 GMT -6
"Walking around the compound." Sleek replied, continuing his walk. "You were hesitant to shake my hand, yesterday. It was because of my scars."
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Post by xinrick on Aug 23, 2015 12:03:12 GMT -6
"Nah, it wasn't the scars." Crimson says with a shrug. "Sorry about that. But I wonder what caused the sudden drop in the training today? Don't you find that a little weird?" Crimson frowns.
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Post by Paladin on Aug 23, 2015 12:36:12 GMT -6
Sleek shook his head. "No. Why be hesitant to shake my hand then, if not for my scars startling you?"
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Post by xinrick on Aug 23, 2015 12:39:58 GMT -6
"I guess...I still don't entirely trust people." Crimson shrugs. "I told you why...so yeah. But want to go figure out why there was a sudden urgent time for the Lieutenant Commander to call off all training for the rest of the day?" Crimson asks, really wondering what could have caused such a thing to happen.
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Post by Paladin on Aug 23, 2015 12:45:56 GMT -6
"Who knows..." Sleek replied somberly. "However, you'd be right to have your guard up. I had once been of noble life. However, it was not of true blood to my father and mother, yet only my mother cared for me. Her death is what separates me from other nobles, as well as the fact that I don't break the true laws of Equestria other than ones where I free the nobles from the miserable, unbreakable chains of life."
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Post by xinrick on Aug 23, 2015 12:50:31 GMT -6
"Well...that's something." Crimson frowns. "But want to figure out what the problem is or just continue looking around the place?"
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Post by Paladin on Aug 23, 2015 12:59:00 GMT -6
"Looking around will allow us to find out what is going on." Sleek replied.
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Post by xinrick on Aug 23, 2015 13:02:34 GMT -6
"Alright." Crimson nods. "But you seemed happy that you were a volunteer for the hand to hand portion of the training...mind if I ask why?"
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Post by Paladin on Aug 23, 2015 13:14:13 GMT -6
"Pain is a distraction. I choose to ignore my distractions, so I do not feel pain." Sleek replied. He showed the six long scars that strode down his forearms. "Only one person saved me from these distractions. That was another noble. After my mother had been crushed to death, I attempted suicide, you see. I took the nearest dagger I could get my hands on and plunged it into my arms, making three long cuts down each forearm. For what felt like days I was just laying in the central park, on a bench. All I remember before I blacked out was seeing a mare, wearing an outfit that clung to her body tightly to show off her curves. She was a noble, I could tell, because there were body guards nearby." Sleek's voice started growing grim, anger starting to rise in his tone. "Do you really wish to hear the end of this story?"
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Post by xinrick on Aug 23, 2015 13:23:18 GMT -6
"It's not that 'do I want to hear it' it's 'will you keep telling it no matter what I say'?" Crimson asks. "Cause that tends to happen a lot..." (It really does)
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Post by Paladin on Aug 23, 2015 13:24:11 GMT -6
"Answer the question. Do you want to know how this story ends?" Sleek asked. "I respect others decisions."
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Post by xinrick on Aug 23, 2015 13:28:51 GMT -6
"Thank you, and no I'd rather not. I get the feeling it's bad." He frowns a little.
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Post by Paladin on Aug 23, 2015 13:32:45 GMT -6
"So, you had a wife whom was a Dragoness." Sleek replied. "Must love larger females?" (Sorry, bro, gotta go.)
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