My Little Airman pt 31 Graduation

Part 31: Graduation

 

>Organizing the graduation ceremony was a pain in the ass

>Despite what you told them, you had your Airmen up at the same time every day, going over every intricate detail-the formation, the speeches, the town-passes, and most importantly, when to show up for duty on Monday

>You spent every waking moment on this graduation. Hell, you even called in a favor from Rainbow Dash…

>Every night, you felt yourself growing closer to Twilight Sparkle, and you were certain she felt the same

>There was a certain… euphoria you felt when she was close to you

>You were definitely ready to take the relationship to a higher level

>Everything was ready as you fell asleep Thursday night…

 

>You’re in a cell, feeling a damp coldness in the air

>Arms in chains attached to the wall, you’re in a compromising position

>Moving your limbs, you find the chains are about as long your arms, so you could stretch out

>But escape…no, that was beyond your physical abilities…maybe not your magical abilities

>In your field of vision, you see many cells full of motionless bodies

Where the hell am I?

>The area fills with a familiar laughter

>”I’m so glad you decided to show up, Captain Anon. Things were getting a little too orderly here.”

>That fucking voice

Stop bothering me

>”But that would be rather boring!”

I have enough excitement in my life. I don’t know what part of me you are, but go the fuck away.

>”You still hold onto that notion? How silly!”

I only see you in my dreams, and only a few of them. You are the only thing that has a mind of its own in any dreams I have.

>”Indeed, I am.” It says in a sly voice

Let me have a good night’s sleep for once. I’ve more than earned it. None of this is real, and it’s really a waste of time.

>”Au contraire, Captain Anon. You haven’t ‘earned’ anything yet. But I’ll be happy to show you just how real this is!”

>This time, it seemed angry when it spoke. A dark fog surrounds you, and apprehension rises in you

>No problem, just gotta start with the magic…

>In your mind’s eye, you imagine Twilight Sparkle in-

>”THAT FUCKING BITCH AIN’T GONNA HELP YOU!”

>Somehow, she’s erased from your mind, and as you try to imagine her, you just can’t.

>”SHE’S HOLDING YOU BACK ANON!”

>There are no limbs on that fog, but you feel a blow to your stomach

>As you hunch over, the back of your head is struck

>Now you’re on the floor, and it’s…grass?

>You look up to find that the scenery has changed to nighttime Ponyville

What the hell?

>”THIS REAL ENOUGH FOR YOU?”

>You’re thrown in the air and crash into Sugarcube Corner

>The hole in the wall is huge, much too big for just you to have come through

>All at once, you feel like your head is getting curb stomped

>”THAT BITCH IS RUINING YOU!”

>You can only lay helplessly, the pain pinning you down

>”FUCKING CUNT WHORE!”

>This voice, can it really be a part of you?

>Do you, deep down, despise Twilight?

>”ASS SLUT!”

>Suddenly, the attack ceases

>The pain is still there though

>”She’s bad for you, kid. You’re better off without her.”

>Through your bloody eyes, you see everything going dark…

 

>You wake up next to Twilight

>A quick examination reveals that you’re uninjured. You’re as healthy as you were when you went to bed

>Just a little sweaty, and breathing heavily

>Time check: 0300

>Good time to wake up.

>As you get up, Twilight Sparkle wakes and grabs you

>She’s so damn cute when she does this

>”I don’t want you to go.”

It won’t be forever. And we’ll see each other at the ceremony, and we have that date later. Remember?

>”How could I forget? I’ll be ready at five tonight. Meet me here, please.”

Definitely.

>You kiss her softly. She returns it more passionately, and you feel drawn into her

>The two of you are ready for tonight.

>You have to pull yourself off of her

>Time check: 0340

>HOLY SHIT!

I gotta go! I’ll see you tonight!

>You only see her wave, but you know that she said a heartfelt goodbye

>Rushing to the bathroom, doing a quick wash like you learned at Basic (Which Basic? BOTH!)

>You throw on your ceremonial blues, and rush out the door

>Making your way to Sweet Apple Acres, you’re not running. You’re briskly walking

>Thoughts of the graduation fill your mind

>All your friends will be there: the six, Dr. Whooves and his assistant, hell even Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadance are coming. Prince Shining Armor will be there as well, doing a final inspection of your Airmen

>It's not long before you reach the barn where your Airmen are

>Timecheck: 0445

>Shit. 15 minutes late

>Well, time to wake them up

>You nearly kick open the door, and just as you're about to yell them awake, you see that there are lanterns already lit

>Your Airmen are all going through their morning routine, this time dressing in their service blues

>They all noticed your entrance, and snapped to attention

>"Good morning Captain Anon!"

Good morning everyone. As you're all aware, today is your graduation. Finish up getting dressed, and meet me outside.

>"Yes sir!"

>You step outside and wait no more than 5 minutes before they all go out

>They line up into formation and await your next command

No, relax everyone. Today I am no longer your Training Instructor. I will be your commander, and will treat you as such, instead of an Instructor. You all will only know my anger if you fail me, but I don't believe any of you will fail. I've trained you better than that, and as such, you deserve nothing less than respect and comradeship from me.

>They look confused. "Sir, why were you so cruel then?"

Lucky, you know why. It's all a part of the training environment. I can't train you properly if you see me as an equal. The only way to maximize training efficiency is if your instructor tries to make you fail, and that's what I did. But it also is on you to hate me so much you want to succeed to prove me wrong. Now though, that's behind us. We are all brothers-in-arms, and I will never let any of you down. Understood?

>"Yes, sir."

Good. Now, we're going to enact an honored tradition in Air Force Basic Military Training called "Amnesty Hour." You all have one hour to tell me of any and all instances of you guys breaking my rules and getting away with it. I will not punish you. You will not get reprimanded. I'm just curious as to what happened on the other side of BMT.

>They all looked at each other, and eventually all eyes fell on Lucky

>"Well, sir-"

>You laugh and cut him off

Of course it would be you. What did you all do?

>He gives a slight smile before he answers. "Well, after you taught me how to scout and sneak around, I used my training to sneak all of us out of the barn after you left. We did this about three times a week so we could go into Ponyville."

Ah, very interesting. What did you do in Ponyville?

>"Normally, we'd go into a late-night cafe and grab a coffee and chat. About an hour later, we'd return and sleep. We found that not even the coffee could keep us awake after the long day."

Understandable. Coffee doesn't work on me anymore either. Go on.

>"Well, one night, we ran into Twilight Sparkle. This was when you were training us in Krav Maga. We explained the situation about the challenge, and she actually helped us develop the plan that took you out.

>You stand there, taking in what you heard.

>The Airmen start looking apprehensive

>Finally, you speak

So, using your training to scout the area for me, you and the others would go to the cafe, and upon meeting Twilight, you all used her as a resource to find a viable combat maneuver to defeat me?

>Lucky looks down. "Yes, sir."

I'm impressed.

>"What?"

Lucky, you always need to know your enemy so you can defeat him, and sometimes that means using the available resources, in this case Twilight Sparkle. Not only is she extremely intelligent, I'm also rather close to her. I did suspect that you had outside help, but now that I know it was her, I'm actually glad.

>"Sir?"

She knows me quite well, and I'm sure she wouldn't give this kind of information to just anyone. Was there anything else?

>"No sir."

Alright, now line up. I will do a last look over on you before the parade.

>They all line up, and you notice the sun rising

>Holy shit, that was a good couple of hours

>You look over Blazin' Blue's uniform first

>A hair here, an insignia slightly off, and that's it. You quickly fix his uniform

>Next is Lucky

>Hat slightly crooked, tie is too loose. Like before, you quickly fix it

>Afterwards is Lightning Strike

>Nametag not centered, lint. You correct his appearance

>Last is Star Shine

>Ribbons are a tad off-center. You reach inside his jacket and correct their placement

>Now they're ready for Prince Shining Armor's inspection

>Time check: 0832. How time flies

Showtime everyone. Remember: everyone will want to welcome you as heroes. Your job is to ignore them until I dismiss you. Understood?

>"Yes sir!"

Good. Squadron Tench-HUT! Left-FACE! Forward-HARCH!

>With that, you march towards town, destination town hall

>A question pops into your head. What was Twilight doing at a late-night cafe? Didn't she sleep next to you?

>You stop thinking about it, and focus on marching

>An hour goes by, and all of you enter the edge of the town, with mares and stallions alike standing to the side, cheering

>Although it's a small squad, they're starting to get out of step...

LEFT. LEFT. LEFT RIGHT LEFT.

>Hmm... maybe we should give them a show, although that might ruin the uniform... Aw hell, why not?

Double time, HARCH!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBHrp4uin8U

>You can see the town hall on your right, and in front of it are the mayor, the princesses, and Shining Armor. The six are also in the general area, a little off to the side

Quick time-HARCH! Right Flank-HARCH!

>Everyone, including yourself, turned to the right while still maintaining step and cadence.

Squadron-Halt!

>Everyone stops ten paces away from the VIPs

>You march to the front and center yourself on your squadron, facing the VIPs and salute

Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, the First Equestrian Aerial Regiment  reports as ordered!

>The princesses both nod their heads

>Must...control...self...must not get angry...lack of military protocol... And suppressed.

>You drop your salute, and Shining Armor marches up to you

Sir, my squadron is prepared for inspection

>"Very well"

>He marches towards him, and you follow to his left, giving him the position of honor

>First, Blazin' Blue

>Shining Armor takes a couple of minutes, looking for anything out of place

>He can't find anything wrong

>"You're looking great Blazin'"

>He stares straight ahead, just as he should. There's no conversation at the position of attention

>You and Shining Armor both do a turning side-step in synch

>Next is Lucky

>His inspection takes a little longer, but nothing is pointed out

>"Lucky, you're looking great."

>Another no response. Good

>You both do that weird side-step again

>Next is Lightning Strike

>Shining Armor is looking all around for discrepancies

>None could be found

>"Lightning Strike, great job."

>No response

>Sidestep

>Last is Star Shine

>Shining Armor is just looking for anything. He really wants to find something wrong

>He can't.

>You both march to the center of the formation and do an about face

>He walks in front of you, facing you.

>"They're perfect, Anon. I commend you for your efforts."

Thank you sir!

>You about face

Parade-HEST!

>They move to parade rest, and you do another about face

>Shining Armor reports to the princesses of the inspection results

>Both look rather pleased

>Princess Celestia starts her speech

>Everypony, welcome to the graduation ceremony of the First Equestrian Aerial Regiment! I congratulate our fine guardsmen for a job well done, and thank them for rescuing Ponyville from-"

 

>Hours later, after Princess Celestia's, Luna's, Cadance's, and Shining Armor's speeches...

>The mayor quickly presents you the key to the city

>"I've been meaning to do this for a while now."

>You ceremoniously accept it, and hold it as a rifle in your left hand.

>Now, it's time

>You do an about face

Squadron, Tench-HUT!

>They all go to attention, and you march to Blazin' Blue

>You reach into your pocket, and pull out a coin depicting the emblem of the First Equestrian Aerial Regiment

>In a handshake, you give it to him

Good job Blazin'. You've exceeded my standards.

>Next, you sidestep and pull out Lucky's coin

Good job Lucky. You've clearly earned this.

>Next, sidestep and pull out Lightning Strike's coin

Good job Lightning Strike. I look forward to fighting alongside you.

>Last, you sidestep one more time, and pull out Star Shine's coin

Good job Star Shine. I'm proud of you.

>You march back to the center of the formation, just as Celestia speaks

>"This marks the end of the formal ceremony. Please join me in the celebration!

>About face

Squadron! Dismissed!

>As soon as you dismiss them, they break formation and ponies swarm you and your airmen

>Though you look for your special pony, you can't find her. In fact, you don't see any of the other five.

>They're probably here somewhere

 

>Time check: 1645

>You hadn't found Twilight or any of your other friends

>Your Airmen were having the time of their life at the celebratory party, but you were ready to meet up with Twilight at your home

>You make your way home, and start to wait

>Waiting...

>Waiting...

>Time check: 1720

>Ok, so she's late by 20 minutes...

>Time check: 1730

>Ok, time to start looking for her

>Let's start at Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie Pie should know where she is

>You walk over to the bakery, to find it swamped with customers. That's right, the party...

>Spotting Mrs. Cake, you head towards her

Hey, Mrs. Cake?

>"Oh, hi there Captain Anon! What can I get ya?"

Oh, nothing for right now. I just was wondering where Pinkie Pie was. You see, I need her help to find Twilight.

>"Well, I think Pinkie said something about helping Twilight get ready for tonight at Rarity's. They all might be at the Carousel Boutique."

Thanks a lot! Take care!

>You leave and nearly run towards Rarity's.

>There's plenty of ponies in the street, wandering around the now gigantic party

>Without much difficulty, you arrive and knock on Rarity's door

>Inside, you can hear plenty of noises. It sounds like Rarity's tripping over a lot of things just to make the front door

>"Welcome to Carousel-Anon! Welcome darling! What is it that I can do for you?"

Hello Rarity. I was told that Twilight was getting ready for our date at your boutique. Is she here?

>"Oh, Twilight? She's... not here..."

Would you mind if I come in?

>"Yes, I would. My boutique is a mess right now...have you tried looking at the library? Twilight might be there."

>She offers a smile

No, in all honesty, I have not checked the library. I go check it out now. Thanks.

>"Goodbye, dear!"

>Hastily she shuts her door

>What was that about?

>You go to the library

>Ponies everywhere are still partying.

>Without knocking, you enter the library

>There are some books on the table, including one titled "Fifty Perfect Dates: How to Have the Best Date Ever!"

>Some things never change

>Twilight, you study way too much.

>Suddenly, you hear movement upstairs

>Hmmm... Let's check it out

>Slowly, you go up the stairs, and you hear some unsettling sounds

>A little moaning, and bed springs creaking

>Uh...this sounds...bad

>Silently, you walk to the bedroom, open the door ever so slightly...

>Your heart drops

>And you see her. And...a stallion you don't know

>They're under the covers, but you know what they're doing

>There's a sickening feeling creeping up your stomach

>It hits you like a brick, the sight of it. And they still don't know you're there!

>Silently, you walk back downstairs, and out the door

>It's just like with Ashley

>You feel lost...

 

>It's 2100, and you're at the Bucking Bronco.

>The bar is a bit fuller than you'd prefer, but you just have to get a drink, or two...or ten

>On stage is a band, and their style sounds familiar

>It's pretty much thrash metal. As far as you knew, that genre didn't exist in this world. Maybe they had heard the music on your music player as you blasted it in battle.

>Another thing you bring into this world: Competent soldiers, an F-22, and now awesome music

>Sipping on your Jack, the band finishes its song

>"Alright, MetalHooves is taking requests. Anypony got anything for us?"

I got one. You know Whiskey in the Jar?

>"Yup. Here ya go, Captain!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLsMvGCFtOU

>There's an emptiness in your heart, and you hear a familiar voice

>"Anon? What are you doing in here?"

>Looking over, you see it's the Doctor

Hey, Doctor Whooves. What's going on?

>"I could ask you the same. Shouldn't you be on your date with Twilight."

>You sigh

Nope. It's been cancelled. And here I am, drinking.

>"How much have you had?"

I think this is my seventh glass

>You down it, and order another one

>"Careful Anon, I think you may have had enough."

Doctor, I'll be ok. Please, leave me alone.

>He looks a bit distressed

>"Ok, but I'm keeping an eye on you."

You do that.

>You down your drink, and order another

>With the band halfway through the song, you start to feel a little funny

>Without warning, you black out

 

>You awake to find yourself in your bed

>But this bed... you're back in your parent's home

>What's going on?

>Just as you woke up, Caroline bursts through the door and jumps on your bed

>"Good morning big brother! Wake up wake up!"

>Disbelief

>You hug her. Yup. She's definitely real

>Was that all a dream?

Caroline, are you alright?

>"Yes! Come on! You promised to take me to the park today!"

>Suddenly, the memory of promising that to her last night comes to mind

I did, didn't I?

>"Yes you did! Hurry up!"

Alright, just let me get dressed.

>"YAY!"

>She exits the room, and you dress yourself

>As you leave the room, you see her sitting next to your door

>The two of you start to head out the door, careful to avoid Dad

>He's busy listening to his Bruce Springsteen CDs

>You and your sister successfully sneak out of the house, and head towards the park

Which way was it again?

>"Through her! Remember?"

>She leads you on the sidewalk, and you both cut through some alleys

Ah, yeah, now I remember

>You take the lead, and walk into an alley. You make a turn, and nearly run into a dead end

Oh, I guess I'm still a little rusty

>You suddenly hear footsteps behind you

>Turning, you see some older kids

>Some of them have blunt objects, others have knives. One has a big-ass CD player

>Fear rises in you, realizing what's about to happen

>The biggest one, the leader, starts to talk

>"Hey kids. Give us your money"

We don't have any. Sorry

>"You better give us something then. Give us your shoes, and the girl, too."

>What?

>"No! You're all just bullies! Stay away from us!"

>They all laugh, and mock her

>"Hey kid. We'll show you to give us some respect!"

>No...

>The kid with the CD player starts playing some Slip Knot

>Oh God, these kids like Slip Knot

>You didn't mind the band, but the fans... You hated them

>Instinct kicks in. You quickly push your sister behind you, and get ready to fight

>"Gonna take us all on? You're fucking nuts kid!"

Let us go, and I'll forget everything that happened here.

>"Funny thing you say there. Boys, let's show 'em a lesson."

>They all start to come towards you, and you realize you don't know how to fight. You only know the stuff you've seen in the movies

>Hell, maybe that long-ass dream can help you

>Fear is replaced by anger, and the nearest kid to you swings a bat at you.

>You dodge it, allowing it to hit the ground

>You grab the bat and swiftly kick him in the balls

>He kneels over, releasing his grip on the bat

>You take it, and swing it at his head

>A satisfying SMACK sound echoes, and you're exhilarated

>Releasing grip on the bat, you go after the other kids, seeing a little glimmer of fear in their eyes

>They just fucked with the wrong kid

>The next closest one has a knife, and he thrusts it at you

>Avoiding it, you kick his stomach and when his head comes down, you grab it and knee it

>That fucker's down, and you're absolutely loving kicking ass

>Unfortunately, there's six more of them, and it doesn't take long for them to gang up on you

>They grab you and force you on the ground

>Your smaller arms can't escape their grip, and you're just helplessly taking a beating

>Suddenly, it stops, but you're still on the ground

>"Hey, I got an idea..."

>They lift your hear, and you see they have your sister

Leave her out of this!

>"No way kid. You fucked with us, and now we're gonna fuck you over!"

>"Brother, help me!"

>You struggle, but cannot move

>Tears run down your face

>"Watch as we shut this brat's mouth...permanently!"

NO!

>In horror, you see a nightstick crash into her head

>She falls limp, silently

Caroline!

>The one kid continues to hit her on the head

STOP IT! STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT!

>He stops, only to check her pulse

>"She's dead kid."

>Bitter sadness fills your heart

Kill me. Kill me too

>"No. You get to live with it."

>You feel a final hit on your head, and you black out.

 

>You wake up, and find yourself in a cell

>Looking around, you see a guard watching you

>You're back in Equestria...

>Caroline...so that's how she died so many years ago

Guard, why am I here?

>"Silence! Princess Celestia will deal with you shortly."

>What did you do?