The Life and Times of a West Hoof Cadet

Never before have I been so embarrassed. Judging by how Nimbus looked, I'd say she felt the same way. Blizzard had returned to his post, but left the two others with us. Instructor Line was less than pleased to be awoken in the middle of the night. She paced on the far side of her desk, huffing in irritation.

“What I want to know is what the hay you two were thinking?” She snarled without looking at us.

“It's my fault, ma'am.” Nimbus spoke up. “Wind tried to stop me, b-”

“No!” Line snapped. “She obviously didn't try hard enough. I expect better of my cadets. Gust, you know what we're doing here. There is no excuse for what you did. None. And, Kicker, you know what's expected of you. You didn't try to restrain Gust. You didn't come to me. You didn't alert the sentries. Instead, you went with her. Where did you two go?”

Nimbus puffed out her chest. Line's glare became deadly. She leaped over her desk to get right into Nimbus' face. I could put one, maybe two, but not three sheets of paper between their noses.

“Now is not the time to be defiant, Cadet.” She must have caught a whiff of Nimbus' breath. “A bar. Which one? No, it doesn't matter. What matters is that you sneaked off of campus after curfew, which, alone, is grounds for expulsion. At any other time, I might be willing to turn a blind eye, but, with the new security measures, I have to account for the whereabouts of every cadet under my supervision. I've sent runners to your parents.”

Right on cue, I felt a hoof connect with the back of my skull with a hard thunk. Mom sat down, quivering with rage as she glared at me. I wanted to shrink down to the size of a Breezy and just blow away.

Mom's muzzle twitched as she turned her attention to Instructor Line.

“Thank you for coming, Lieutenant Kicker. I apologize for the hour. If I could just have your patience for a few moments more while we wait for Cadet Gust's father, we can begin.”

Mom gave a single terse nod before returning her attention to me. I quailed under the weight of that glare and knew that my world was about to come crashing down.

But, then, her contenance shifted from anger to disappointment. Her ears lowered and she lowered her gaze to the floor, sadly shaking her head. Frankly, I would have rather had her angry. Anger, I could deal with, but I couldn't take the knowledge that I had just broken my image in her mind. I was her good filly, mother-may-I, and, with one poor decision, I had destroyed years of trust.

Then, her attention turned to Nimbus, who tensed in expectation of a blow. However, she simply repeated what she had done with me, looking, if anything, worse. Maybe Nimbus didn't know how to read Mom, but I did. Mom held such high hopes for the mare. She saw potential where everypony else, myself included, saw only wasted space. This betrayal, if nothing else, hurt the most.

The door opened again and a beige stallion, the exact copy of Nimbus, trotted in, still blinking sleep away from his eyes. He sat down next to Nimbus and fixed his eyes on Instructor Line.

“What's this all about?”

“Mr. Gust, thank you for joining us. It seems that your daughter, accompanied by Cadet Kicker, left campus this evening to one of the many drinking establishments in the city.”

Mr. Gust turned his attention to his daughter. “Nimbus, I know I raised you better.”

“Yes, sir.” Nimbus mumbled.

“So, why did you do it? Why did I send you here?”

“So that I would make something of myself.”

“Exactly. So that you could become a proper mare who knows her place. But you haven't, have you?”

Nimbus stared at the floor, silent.

“Hello!” He bellowed into her ear, causing her to wince.

“No, sir. I haven't.”

“So, what is to become of all of this, I wonder. Is my daughter to become some drunken street whorse?”

“Actually, Mr. Gust. Cadet Gust has done quite well in her studies. Because of that, because this is her first infraction, and because of the current...climate...surrounding your family, I'll be lenient. It is my belief that this is the safest location for your daughters. That's not to say they won't be punished, but they will not be expelled.”

Mr. Gust let out a short bark of a laugh. “Well, how do you like that? It looks like your sister saved your plot, Nimbus.”

Mom clopped for my attention and, by the look in her eyes, I knew my punishment would not end here. I would be the Clan's maid until she felt I had learned my lesson. I remember once, when I had brought home failing grades, she had requisitioned an entire wagonload of bricks. My punishment was to carry those bricks, one-by-one, across the compound and stack them, neatly, on the other side. No sooner had I completed that then she decided she didn't want the bricks after all and had me return them, one-by-one, to the wagon and pull it back to the mason's workshop.

I haven't brought home failing grades since.

Mr. Gust left for his bed with Mom following behind and, we were, once again, left alone with Instructor Line.

“There is still the matter of your punishment, Cadets.” She began, “Starting tomorrow, you will awaken one hour before reveille and clean the toilets. All of the toilets. I will be going back to bed.” She got up and began to leave.

“Ma'am, it's one hour before reveille.”

Line blinked and nodded. “Then, I recommend you get started.”

x----x

Sweet Celestia, I have no idea what they fed the stallions, but it made a mess. Their toilets were disgusting. I stuck my head in the bowl, maneuvering the brush with my lips as I scrubbed. I would need to shower for a full day before I felt clean again.

At the urinals, I could hear Nimbus muttering oaths around her scrub brush.

“I don't know what you're complaining about.” I called to her. “You're the reason why we're in this mess.”

Latrine patrol was more of a pain in the plot than many thought. Every time a stallion came in, we had to leave out and wait by the door. That, in and of itself, wouldn't be a problem, but the issue was that it was never one stallion. As soon as one would leave, another would enter, then another, and another. Eventually, when the toilets were finally clear, we would have to restart completely. It took us an hour just to complete one restroom. One!

Thankfully, we didn't have to clear out of the Mares Room, but that held its own little gross surprises. Namely, the heat bags. Those little fabric cylinders that every mare began to use when she came of age and began her heat cycle. They were never very full, but they always smelled putrid and the fact that some mares simply couldn't deposit them into the proper recepticle was downright ridiculous. I had a new found sympathy for the maintenance ponies.

With a sigh, I deposited my scrub brush into my bucket and stretched my sore neck. Being bent at such an awkward angle for such a long time had left me with a kink.

I left the last stall we had to clean and noticed that Nimbus was just finishing up on the urinal.

“How do stallions use these?” She wondered.

“It's obvious. Look,” I reared up on my hind legs, resting my forehooves against the wall. “they stand against them like this, so that their penis is hanging over it, and let 'er rip.”

She stared at me with a look of horror. “How do you know this?”

I shrugged. “I've cleaned my fair share of toilets. On the Compound, bathrooms tend to be more Unisex and I don't always have to clear out when somepony wants to make water. So tell me, was it worth this?”

“What?”

“Sneaking out. Was that worth cleaning every bathroom on campus and risk getting expelled, ruining everything you or I have ever worked for. I swear Nimbus, I should kick you right between the legs. You deserve nothing less.”

“Yeah, I feathered up, but you didn't do much to stop me!” She accused.

“Oh? Am I your mommy now? Is it my job to keep you in line? You're a grown mare, Nimbus. Take some responsibility for once.”

“Just because I don't spend all day with my muzzle pressed to a book doesn't mean I don't take responsibility. If you didn't have your head up your plot, you'd see that. No wonder your nose is so brown.”

“My nose may be brown, but at least my head isn't twice the size of my body. You're so full of hot air that you don't so much fly as float.”

“Are you saying that I'm nothing but talk?”

“I'm saying you're an obnoxious, foalish, egotistical, asinine, plot-hole.” I snapped.

We stared at each other while the tension built. Finally, with a roar, Nimbus leaped at me.

The fight was nothing short of epic. We hurled hooves and insults as we rolled across the floor.

“Stupid nag,” I snarled, my hoof smashing into her muzzle.

She swung, barely missing my head. I swung my hind legs, catching her in the stomach and sending her into the wall. I followed her, headbutting her in the chest. We became a pile of flailing hooves and wings before we were pulled apart. Tornado's forelegs were wrapped around Nimbus and Typhoon had me pinned to the floor.

Nimbus was already in a rage as she struggled against my brother. “Let me at her. I'll kill the nag. I'll kill her. Call me a plot-hole, will you?”

She nearly broke free, but Tornado used a foreleg to swing up onto her back and ride her to the ground.

“Enough, both of you!” He snarled. “You're in enough trouble, as is. Keep this horseapples up and Instructor Line might actually expel you, regardless of what Skyy might be doing.”

“Stupid nag called me a plot-hole!”

“We wouldn't be in this mess if you didn't sneak off of campus last night!”

The glare that Tornado turned on me reminded me so much of Mom that ice shot up my spine.

“Shut up, Wind.” He hissed. “If you ever want to speak again, shut up.”

For a moment, I wanted to reprimand him for speaking to me in such a way. In the Kicker Clan, we were raised to respect our elders. All of our elders. But his glare, so much like Mom's, caused me to rethink that idea. I had a feeling that speaking would be the last thing I would ever do. Slowly, I shut my mouth and glared at Nimbus.

“Now, I understand that you are both under a lot of stress, more than would be considered the norm, but that is no excuse for going for each others throats over nothing but Latrine duty and a few insults. Typhoon and I are willing to turn a blind eye and not report this, but only if you two are willing to shake hooves and be friends again.”

They released us, but kept close to prevent trouble as we approached each other. Nimbus' muzzle began to twitch, an odd tick she displayed whenever she was irritated. We stared at each other, neither of us dropping our gaze. As immature as it may sound, we were in a battle of wills to see who would break first.

“Apologize.” Tornado growled.

Nimbus lowered her head and muttered something.

“So you can be heard.” My brother snapped.

“I'm sorry I got you in trouble!” She practically screamed. Turning to Tor, she snapped, “Happy?”

He displayed the biggest, cheesiest grin I have ever seen. “Very.”

“Your turn now, Wind.” Typhoon encouraged.

“I'm...uhm...I'm sorry I called you an obnoxious, foalish, egotistical, asinine, plot-hole.”

“I'm sorry I called you a brown-noser.”

“I'm sorry I called you an airhead.”

“I'm sorry I said you were incapable of getting a date because you're such a nerd.”

I blinked. “You didn't say that.”

Her ears lowered and a light blush of embarrassment tinted her face. “Oh. I guess I was thinking it then.”

“Listen, Nimbus,” I stepped forward and placed a hoof to her withers. “I know you want to go out and be your own mare and all of that, but there is a time and a place for everything. This isn't it. I promise, when your sister is gone and we graduate, all of us will go and party and drink until we can float back to the Compound. Until then, we need to play it safe and by the rules. Which means no more sneaking out, no more drinking, lots of studying. Copacetic?” I removed my hoof and extended it to her.

She stared at my hoof for a moment before extending her own to meet it. “Deal.”

Typhoon gave a grunt and nodded in approval while my brother all but cheered. Now that our mutual tantrum had been settled and the bad blood had been cleared away, we could get back to the matters at hoof. Because of our punishment, we were missing out on a lot of lectures. Tor and Ty had gone to our various Instructors and pleaded our cases, explaining that this was an isolated incident caused by enormous amounts of stress. As such, the Instructors were kind enough to hand over any assignments we may have missed and copies of whatever notes were needed. We now had a lot of work to do.

Unfortunately, we still weren't done with the day's cleaning. Nimbus and I divvied up the rest of the restrooms between us and parted ways.

x----x

I stared at the notes I had been given, trying to make sense of Instructor Wing's mouth-writing was next to impossible. The mare would give Gauze a run for her money when it came to unreadable writing. I couldn't tell if one squiggle was a “P” or a “Q” Given the context, I was gonna run with “P” until proven otherwise.

Nimbus returned from the showers, swinging her towel from her neck and hanging it in her closet.

“It's going to mildew in there.” I warned.

She grunted and climbed up onto her bed, standing for a moment before collapsing.

“You would do well to review the notes Tornado got for you.” I said, turning back to my own work.

Her only response was a snore.

“Or not. Whichever works for you.”

I didn't know how I was going to get this done. Pass my courses with high marks, give all of the toilets on campus their daily scrubbing, protect Nimbus, live to see my next birthday. My list of things to do was growing by the day. It was a little overwhelming. Okay, it was incredibly overwhelming and, quite frankly, I was scared. I sat back in my chair and folded my forelegs across my chest as the events of the past few months began to swirl around my mind. We had been lucky, very lucky. How long would that luck hold out?

With a sweep of a foreleg, I flung all of my papers and books from the desk and sent them tumbling across the floor. Nimbus awoke with a snort and eyed me sleepily.

“Wind?”

“What's the point of it all? I'm so sick of this. I'm sick of waiting and watching my back and busting my plot. Why bother anymore? If the nag's going to come, let her come. I'm so done with all of this. If she kills me or I kill her or she's arrested and you're dead, I don't care anymore. I just want this all to be over with!”

I broke. I'm not proud of it. I'm known for having a calm and level head in extremely stressful situations, but even I have my limits. I had finally reached them. I wanted to puke. My guts churned, but nothing came out. Finally, I doubled over and slammed my head against the desk in defeat.

Nimbus immediately rushed over to me. “Hey, hey, none of that.” She pulled me against her in a tight embrace. “I know it's hard, but we'll see this through.”

“I don't care anymore.” I mumbled against her chest.

“Yes, you do. Sure, you do. You're just tired and overwhelmed and you need some kind of outlet. You're going stir crazy in here. I know because I feel the same way.”

“How can you handle this so calmly?”

She chuckled the same dark laugh as a pony who had long ago accepted inevitability of fate and the futility of fighting against it.

“I've lived my entire life with the spectre of death hanging over me, ever since I was old enough to put two and two together. Living like that for more than a decade, I've gotten used to it. There are still times when I want to tear my mane out, but I have ways of dealing with the stress.”

I sniffled and looked up at her. “Like what?”

She grinned. “Sex or, failing that, masturbation.”

I pushed away from her so suddenly that I nearly fell out of my chair. “Be serious!”

“I am being serious. Remember when I said that banging did wonders for mellowing ponies out, that wasn't just talk. Besides, I also meditate.”

I had heard about meditation, an old Zebra method to achieve what they called enlightenment. “I've never done that before.”

She smiled. “I'll teach you. It's very easy, once you get the hang of it.”

We sat down between the two bunks, on the floor.

“I want you to close your eyes and relax. Breathe deep. In...” I heard the sudden hiss as she inhaled and did my best to follow her example.

“...and out. In...and out. Fill each breath with the dark feelings within you and the poison they bring. Your pain, your hatred, your anger, and your exhaustion. As you breathe out, send those dark feelings away. Send them far away from you. Let peace fill the void they have left and know that all will be well. The sun is warm and the grass is green and all will be well. Relax. Relax.

“You are no longer chained to this mortal shell. You may go where you please. Where will you go, Wind? What will you see?”

There was an actual physical sensation that overtook me, a feeling of weightlessness. I seemed to float within my own body.

I heard a voice. Soft and soothing, singing a lullaby that I instantly recognized, but hadn't heard since I was a foal. A small lamp cast soft light across the red walls of my bedroom as my mother stood over me, tucking me in while singing.

Lululoo, lululoo, my little star-sweeper. Fold up your wings. Close your eyes...

My mother, before the accident that took her voice, used to sing to me every night. She loved to sing and I loved to hear her voice.

In the doorway, a powerfully-built stallion lingered, watching us. He was home, such a rare occasion since duty kept him so far away for so long.

Daddy.

He watched with a contented smile as Mom finished the nightly ritual, positively glowing with happiness now that her family was complete once more. He then stepped forward as she moved aside and allowed him room.

His scent. Sweet Celestia, I remembered his scent. The smell of grass, and leaves, and wild things. He leaned in to give me a nuzzle and a promise of playtime tomorrow. I wrapped my tiny legs around his dappled neck, trying to work my hooves into his lavender mane. I didn't want him to go away anymore. He was my daddy and I wanted to keep him forever.

I could feel my throat tighten as the memory slipped back beneath the surface of my psychie. I wanted it for just a little longer. Everything felt so simple, so warm, so safe, and I wanted that feeling back. Mom losing her voice and losing Daddy had dragged me into the cold harshness of reality. I wanted this shelter to hide from Nimbus and her warring family.

The memory slipped from my grasp and I opened my eyes. I felt better. I felt like a great dark cloud had been lifted and the sun was shining on me. Nimbus had returned to her bed and blissful slumber. I turned to my clock, curious as to what time it was.

Three hours had passed since my little breakdown. Nimbus had done me the courtesy of cleaning up the mess I had made while I had been meditating.

I got up and climbed into my own bed. While I felt better, I was still bone tired and needed to rest before tomorrow. Hopefully, we'd be able to finish those toilets in time for class.