Sentinel

Ever have your otherwise-perfect day ruined right off the bat?

Well, then you'll know how I felt when a Royal Guard delivered an ivory-coloured envelope to me roughly three weeks after the Gala.

I'd just put the water on boil as I prepared my breakfast when I heard a knocking on the door. It was almost seven in the morning, piquing my curiosity as to who was coming to visit me this early. I got my answer as soon as I opened the door – a Royal Guard stood there, his breath coming out in puffs of steam as he hand-er, hoofed a letter over to me. I was about to ask what was this all about when he trotted away, leaving me puzzled. Turning the envelope around in my hands, I spotted the  Princesses' seal. Soon as I saw it, I understood what this was, and my mood soured in a flash.

“Oh, great...” I muttered under my breath, shutting the door behind me as I went back inside the house, and tossed the envelope on the table in my living room. I had a breakfast to make. The letter could wait.

Fifteen minutes later found me fed and somewhat less-irate as I opened the letter, pulling out the folded sheet of paper, and began to read it.

Miss Bradley,

We hope this letter finds you in good health. We have found a situation that we request your help with. Recently, some of our trade caravans have been attacked while they travelled between Equestria and Crystal Empire. The bandits took only what they could carry, instead of attempting to claim the entire caravan. Their leader is no fool, and knows how to use the environment to his advantage. To end his harassment of our ponies, we turn to you for aid.

We have already arranged for a letter to be delivered to your hospital's superior, Final Draft, so you don't have to worry about trouble from him. Far as he knows, you've been summoned to Canterlot on royal business.

Your friend, Jennifer, has agreed to loan your air transport to us if need be. Considering you'll have a lot of distance to cover, taking this Kingfisher would be prudent.

Once you arrive at the Canterlot Castle, we will meet you and introduce you to the rest of the task force before heading out to apprehend the bandits. How you deal with them will be left at your discretion.

That's where the letter ended, marked with a crescent moon.

Luna.

Letting out a sigh, I finished the last of my breakfast, washed the dishes, and went upstairs, to my bedroom. Opening the wardrobe, I pulled out a couple of things – my old Ranger uniform, helmet, backpack, and my weapons - the M5A2, and the tried-and-tested M1911 sidearm, along with four magazines of hand-loaded ammo for each, courtesy of Jen's workshop. I plucked out my winter clothes, donning those for now. I'd only draw unnecessary attention if I walked around Ponyville in my uniform. There'd be time to change later.

With the necessities packed up, I grabbed the duffel bag and slung it across my shoulder. I ran a last check over my house – the fireplace held only a couple of weak embers, the trash was taken out, back door and windows locked, yadda yadda yadda...

The lock clicked as I turned the key and pocketed it afterwards. Snow was falling from the sky in large, graceful snowflakes. The weatherponies were really outdoing themselves today, I realised, looking around – the houses were all covered in a layer of white, while the streets themselves were covered with trails of all kinds, left by chariots and ponies, drawing a disorienting picture upon the white canvas. I sighed and turned to look one last time at my house before walking away.

I passed a handful of bits to the stallion pulling the chariot, and climbed out of the cab's interior. He tipped his hat to me and deposited the fare into a saddlebag before driving off, in search of new passengers. I picked my bag up, and started down the path leading to the Sweet Apple Acres, humming quietly to myself.

When I arrived there, I met Big Macintosh. The stallion was dragging a sled after him, laden with firewood. When he saw me, he stopped and waved to me, smiling in that calm way of his.

“Howdy, Alice. What brings you here?”

“Need to borrow the Kingfisher. Know where Jen's at?”

“Eeyup. She's checkin' her workshop. Reckon she might still be there.” I nodded at that and strode towards the small-ish hut, the snow-covered Kingfisher parked at its side, canvas covering the more exposed parts of it to protect it from weather, namely engine cowlings. The workshop's window was lit, and I could see someone move around inside. Walking up to the door, I knocked on it, and heard Jen's voice after a moment.

“Come in!” I pushed the door open and entered Jen's so-called sanctuary. Tools of all sorts and sizes hung from the walls, and the tables were covered in all kinds of odds and ends. The Steelhead-turned-pegasus was picking over something on a table.

“Hey, Alice. What brings you here?”

“Moon Horse says she needs the VTOL.” The words came out before I could even properly think about that sentence. Jen, however, doubled over and snickered loudly.

“She does, huh? Yeah, I told her they could borrow the Kingfisher if they ever needed some fast transport. Only time we had a combat drop was back when we took that rogue griffon general down, remember? Anyways, here are the keys.” She plucked a keyring out of her saddlebag and tossed it to me. “Make sure to take all of the covers off and run some of the power core's waste heat through the systems. Won't do if you try to start the engines and they're frozen solid.”

“So, you ain't gonna ask why they didn't just send some guards over?” Jen smirked at that.

“Kinda obvious, that – none of them know how to pilot that bird, and Rarity's keeping James busy. You, however, know how to fly a VTOL. Just don't scratch the paint on it.”

“Don'tcha worry none 'bout it. Ah could pilot a Hawk with my eyes closed, an' the Kingfisher's virtually identical. They used t'call me Alice the Ace back at bootcamp.”

“Really?”

“Nah.”

The trip to Canterlot was largely mundane – the most exciting thing to happen was a pegasus or two racing along the Kingfisher for a moment or two before veering away. The weather team was really going at it, moving the snow clouds around the skies, blanketing the ground with a white layer. The muffled drone of the Kingfisher's engines was my only companion as I closed in on the majestic city perched on the side of the snow-covered mountain.

Luna was waiting for me as I landed, a thick, woolly scarf wrapped around her neck. Just the scarf, and nothing else, her usual regalia aside. As the small snowstorm that the Kingfisher's rotors whipped up died, she trotted over to me, all business.

“Good day, miss Bradley. Follow us to the barracks.” I nodded and fell into step at her side. “We trust you read the letter?

“Yep.”

“Then all that remains to do is to introduce you to the ponies you'll be working with. They may not seem like it, but they are all highly-trained. But you'll be able to see for yourself.” I only nodded as we trekked through the snow-covered castle grounds.

The barracks were a far cry from the castle itself – while just as immaculately clean, it was much less roomier there. There was a mess hall, sparring grounds, archery range, a magic combat arena, armoury, a smithy... everything an army would need. But the whole place was all but deserted, and I voiced that thought to Luna.

“All of the troops stationed here currently are on leave with their families, and the site is maintained by a token force in the meanwhile. As such, you can prepare for your mission in relative secrecy.”

“Ah guess that's reasonable.” The midnight blue alicorn nodded and we walked on through the quiet hallway.

Eventually we reached our destination, which I guessed was the common room. Several voices could be heard from inside, and Luna pushed the door open, and trotted in. I followed, and took a look around. A dozen or so ponies were lounging inside, either doing nothing, or chatting with each other. Several suits of armour were arranged on nearby racks. Upon our entrance, they looked at us, and then bowed to Luna. She turned to look at me and nudged me towards the ponies with a wing.

“Well, then. We shall let you get to know your compatriots. We wish you good luck on your mission.” With a flash, she teleported away.

“C'mon, close the door an' take a seat!” A heavily-built unicorn mare shouted from one of the chairs, beckoning for me to come closer. “I'm Siegebreaker, and this brat over here...” she dragged a younger mare over with her magic. “This is my daughter, Windwaker.” Windwaker grumbled something rude and waved a hoof at me in greeting.

“Yo.” Windwaker also seemed to have some muscle on her. Her coat was pale yellow, her mane carmine red and her eyes were grey. Her cutie mark was a cracked skull, oddly enough. Siegebreaker, on the other hand, looked like she was related to Big Mac. The brown-furred unicorn easily towered over her daughter by at least a head. Scratching her green-maned head, she let Windwaker go back to whatever she was doing, her red eyes eyeing me inquisitively.

“And you are...?”

“Alice Bradley. Nice t'meetcha.” I went over to shake her hoof. She stood up and met me halfway – I could tell from her gait she knew how to throw her weight around.

“Likewise. I have to say, you don't look like much. But if the Princesses vouch for you, that's enough for me.”

“You'll just have t'wait until we find those bandits, then. Ah'll put up a show, jus' fer ya.” Siegebreaker cackled at that, slapping me on the back.

“That's what I like to hear! Okay, go and mingle with the rest of our group.” I nodded and walked over to the one pony that stood out like a sore thumb – she had bat wings, after all.

“Hey.” I waved at her and she grinned widely in return, giving me an enthusiastic wave in return.

“Hello!” Soon as the words left her mouth, she scowled slightly, adopting a noticeably more gruff appearance. “I mean... A good day to you...” Her whole stance could be summed up with a single word – edgy. Hell if I know what that means, but that's the first word that popped into my head.

“Ah'm Alice. What's yer name?”

“Night Star! *cough* I mean, I am Nox Stella of Lunar Guard.”

“So, why do you have bat wings, if you don't mind me askin'?”

“Well, that's because I'm a bat pony! *cough* I mean, I am a thestral. I prowl the nights, protecting the ponies without them ever realizing it. They may fear me and my kin, but that is to be expected.  We stand in an eternal vigil over Equestria...”

“Just scratch her between her ears.” Siegebreaker whispered to me, suddenly appearing at my side. For a mare her size, she was sneaky as hell. Either way, I did as instructed. Immediately, Nox stopped her dark and gloomy tirade and cooed blissfully, her ears flicking about. It took her a couple of moments to process this turn of events.

“Nooo! Stop touching me! I am the night!” I snickered at that, and kept scratching.

“All Ah see is a diabetes-inducin' bat pony, sorry.” That coaxed a snicker out of a stallion perched on a nearby – he was cobalt blue, with a jet black mane and sharp, blue eyes. He also had a stetson perched atop his head.

“Nox always tries to play tough. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.” He stood up, and trotted over to me, sticking a hoof at me. “Name's Dustin Echoes.” I shook his hoof, and noticed the mark on his flank – a pair of crossed crossbows. A moment later, a fiery red pegasus mare trotted up to me, also shaking my hand.

“Heart Phyre. Nice to meet you. Princess Luna said we'd be getting help for this one. You're not quite what I expected, though.”

“Pfft. What'd you expect, then?”

“Oh, a minotaur. Or a griffon.” I smirked slightly and tapped my face, where my scars were.

“Ah got these from a griffon when he ambushed me. Last mistake he made.” That seemed to impress the pegasus some and she whistled.

“Damn. I'm surprised you still have both your eyes after a tangle like that.”

“Ah've had worse, believe me. Now, then. Is there anyone else left for me t'meet?” Siegebreaker finished a drink, letting out a quiet burp.

“Well, there's a couple of other dudes from the Guard that should arrive in a couple of minutes. Top-notch soldiers, all of 'em.” I nodded and took a seat, intercepting Windwaker's thrown bottle of apple juice. Popping the lid, I took a sip.

“Sweet. Soon as we're all ready, we'll take the Kingfisher.”

“You mean that flying machine? I've seen it once or twice.” Nox spoke up, apparently done with her mysterious-slash-dark dramatics.

“Yup.”

“Awesome! *cough* I mean, that is good to know. Time is of the essence, especially since we have a lot of ground to cover.” I smirked to myself at her antics and looked back at Siegebreaker.

“So, do we have some maps to guide ourselves with?”

“Totally!” The unicorn pulled out several parchment scrolls from a nearby saddlebag, waving them about. “These come from the Royal Archives, so I feel pretty damn confident about our odds at getting to the caravan route on time.” She glanced at a clock on the wall for a moment. “Should be a couple of minutes until they're here.” I nodded and was about to return to my drink when something popped up in my mind.

“Did your parents really call you Siegebreaker?” The heavily-built unicorn cackled again, shaking her head.

“Fuck no. It's my nickname.”

“So, what's yer real name?”

“That'd be telling, now wouldn't it?” She smirked at me, making Windwaker roll her eyes.

“Don't mind her, she's always like that.”

“'kay, then. Guess we'll wait for those others to show up.”With that settled, I got to know my new companions some more...

Dustin levitated the crossbow up, letting me inspect it. “This baby's one of a kind. Built it myself. The limbs are reinforced with a couple of strips of copper and the whole thing is enchanted to protect it from harsh weather.” He plucked out a scope from his saddlebag and slotted it in place on his crossbow. “With this scope on, I can hit just about anything I desire to, provided it's within two hundred metres of me. You need something taken down silently, I'm your stallion. The bolts it fires are crafted by yours truly, each and every one of them – explosive, incendiary, armor-piercing, the like. And my armor's got some enchantments on it, too, but I'll show those off when we get there.”

“Sweet.” That's about when the door was kicked open and four more ponies burst inside the room, all of them clad in armor. Siegebreaker grinned gleefully and began to introduce them to me.

“Yo, listen up! Princess Luna has given us a new squadmate! Her name is Alice Bradley! Alice, meet Burning Ember, Summer Heart, Thunder Charge and Harmonics.” Two stallions and two mares waved at me, and I waved in return before adressing the rest of the group.

“So, Ah guess we're all here, then. Pack your gear, we're moving out ASAP.” They nodded and jumped into action, putting their armor on and gathering up their weapons. Siegebreaker had a heavy-looking maul, Windwaker toted a halberd, Nox had hoofblades of some sort. Heart strapped a rather intricate pair of wingblades to her wings, and gave a couple of testing flaps to make sure they worked properly. I observed the asembled group, and found myself very impressed. These guys looked like they could dish out some serious hurt. “Now, let's get a friggin' move on. Our ride's waitin'.” A chorus of assent followed my words and we filed out of the room in a clatter of armor, while Dustin and Heart didn't even make so much as a single sound.

I heard the ponies behind me mutter quietly among themselves as we reached the Kingfisher and grinned as I turned around.

“Now, then. Y'all get on board and get yerselves seated. Ah've gotta check if there's anythin' frozen up while it's been here.” I unlocked the door, letting them inside as I ran a check on the Kingfisher's hull. Once I was satisfied with the VTOL's condition, I joined my passengers, taking the pilot's seat. “Strap yourselves in, if you can! This flight might be a bit bumpy, considerin' the weather. Might want to secure yer weapons, too. Would be bad if one of us ended with a sword through the face, huh?” That got a chuckle or two out of them and they strapped their various weapons into the rack that once held the Rossmores, Jen having stored them away in her workshop. With that out of the way, I started the engines. The nigh-inaudible hum of the Kingfisher's power core jumped up an octave or two and the muffled 'clunk' from the roof indicated that the props had started to spin, slowly gaining speed as I fed more and more power to the engines. Sure, I could've just cranked the power to max right off the bat, but that could damage the propeller blades, and then even Jen's considerable technical expertise would be useless. Slow and steady it was, then.

Thirty seconds later, we were airborne, zooming upwards, through the dark snowclouds. Knowing what was to come, I snagged sunglasses from my breast pocket, quickly putting them on. A couple of moments passed before we were above the low clouds, and sunlight flooded the VTOL's interior in a warm, golden wave. I was the only one that didn't wince or curse at the sudden brightness. Levelling the flier out, I chuckled to myself before speaking up.

“Okay, so, can someone bring me those maps, please?” A moment later, Siegebreaker claimed the co-pilot's seat, carrying with her the maps, rolling them open. She examined one of them for a couple of moments, then eyed the Kingfisher's instrument panel, humming to herself as she did some calculations in her mind. A minute later, she spoke to me.

“Head north-west for now. At this bearing, we'll reach Siltway – it's a small settlement that also will serve us as a good landmark to navigate from. It'd be faster if we flew in a straight line, but I don't really want to risk us missin' the caravan route.”

“Makes sense.” I nodded thoughtfully. The snowclouds soon ended, revealing the snow-covered lands below us. It was a nice view, really, considering we were at about 700 metre altitude. Though the interior of our transport was cold at first, the heat radiating from the power core soon warmed the VTOL up, letting my passengers remove their armor and rest comfortably, and relative silence soon set in. I took a look at the small mirror affixed near the top of the windows and smirked – most of my passengers had dozed off, Siegebreaker and Harmonics aside. The former was alertly eyeing the landscape, giving me the occasional course corrections. The latter was fussing over a staff.

“Say, Harmonics, what's with th'staff?” She looked at me and chuckled, turning the length of wood over in her hooves.

“Well, even though I can cast spells on my own, what with me being a unicorn and all, they can be made more effective if you have something to channel your magic through.”

“Ah guess that makes sense. What kinda spells do ya cast?”

“Sound spells.” She replied and returned her attention to her staff.

“Fair 'nough. Guess you'll show me when we get there?”

“Mhm.” She nodded and I returned my attention to piloting.

The calm was interrupted some time later, when Harmonics also decided to take a nap. She tried to cuddle with Windwaker, 'tried' being the key word here. Siegebreaker's daughter didn't take it well – she was awake in an instant, bucking Harmonics off of her, sending the unicorn flying on top of a sleeping Dustin.

“Ack~” Dustin sat up blinking dazedly, and Harmonics ended up sprawled on the floor, rubbing her sore side.

“Oooowww... What was that for, Windy?” Harmonics whined, sitting upright.

“Don't call me that. And stop trying to grope me in my sleep. Gettin' real tired of your shit.” The earth pony mare grumbled, scowling at the source of her ire.

“But I know you like me!”

“I tolerate your presence. There's a difference.”

Siegebreaker shook her head and chuckled lowly. “Oh, boy, there they go again...”

“Somethin' I should be concerned about?”

“Nah, not really. They've been going at it like this for a couple of weeks, now. It all started when Windy got drunk – like, totally smashed – after a successful mission we had out in the Badlands. So, she's full as a sock and drags Harmonics off to somewhere. Next morning, as everyone prepares to deal with the horror that is a hangover, the two of them show up. Neither would tell us what they had been up to, but when we paid a visit to the armory, the tables there were... sticky, to say the least.”

“Oh, ew.” I grimaced slightly.

“Ew, indeed. Took three days to get rid of the stench. Windy clammed right up. Harmonics did the exact opposite.” Siegebreaker shook her head slightly, casting a look at the two bickering mares.

“...remember a muzzle clamping down on my tail and dragging me away to somewhere private...”

“Oh, for fuck's sake, I was drunk! Ponies do stupid shit when they're drunk!”

“I recall you kissing her in front of us.” Dustin added (un)helpfully, and Harmonics nodded, grinning widely.

“I did that to get her to shut up, Dustin. I can endure her yapping for only so long.” Windwaker retorted. Harmonics looked somewhat hurt by those words.

“Sometimes, I wish they'd just kiss and make up or someshit. Unit integrity's sufferin' this way. Windwaker keeps claiming she ain't a fillyfooler, Harmonics says otherwise, and no visible end to it, far as I can see...” Siegebreaker sighed thoughtfully. By now, the two squabblers had woken everyone else up and fucking hell the noise was getting on my nerves.

“Cut that shit out or I will turn this thing around, I SWEAR TO GOD.” My voice fell silent – and others' as well, thankfully – and I looked in the mirror at the ponies. “Sort this out later, 'kay? You're a detriment to th'mission if you can't keep it together. If ya can't remain calm, you're going t'sit this one out. Any objections?”

There weren't any.

“Nice t'know.” Fuming somewhat, I returned my attention to piloting. God, it was worse than a friggin' kindergarten back there.

*ahem*

I turned to look at Siegebreaker, who returned my gaze, mild concern in her eyes.

“Are your eyes supposed to glow amber like that?”

I mulled over that sentence for a couple of moments before looking back out the window.

“Not if Ah can avoid it...”