The Life and Times of a West Hoof Cadet

I can't say that I was happy when break ended. I felt restored being with my kin and doing what felt familiar, but the time had come for us all to return to West Hoof. With our bags packed, we started for school. It wasn't far, only a few hours walking distance and we were soon joined by other classmates.

The crowd around the gates was thick as students waited to be ushered through the checkpoints. I recognized the light armor of the ponies working them as Long Patrol. These must have been the ones on rotation who were conscripted to secure the school until Skyy Gust had been found. However, I noticed security was a little tight for one untrained mare and a hoof-full of cohorts.

Long Patrol Earth Ponies stood at each of the four long tables that had been set up at the gates to West Hoof. These were accompanied by Unicorns, who used their spells to search for anything that might be hidden on the student. Nimbus and I went to separate tables and relinquished our bags for inspection. The Earth Pony gave a bored sigh and began with the usual round of questions, speaking as if reading from a script.

“Did you pack your bags yourself?”

This was completely inane and unnecessary. This was a school. Instructors, most of which being retired career guardsponies, were protecting their students, most of which had gone through basic training, from a group of thugs and their charismatic pseudo-leader. I decided that a bit of fun was in order.

“No. Your mother packed my bags. If you find any articles of leather or toys, please leave them. I would like to return them in good condition.” I answered with a grin.

The pony, a Private by his insignia, paused in his rummaging to roll his eyes. “Have your bags been in your possession since you packed them?”

“No. For good luck in the new term, I set my bags across the street last night before going to bed.”

“Look, filly. I'm just trying to do my job.”

“And I'm just answering your questions.” I replied innocently.

“Better watch out for this one.” A voice said from behind. “She's a troublemaker.”

I turned to the dark-coated pegasus behind me. “Blizzard, is that you?”

Blizzard, Aunt Draft's eldest son, cuffed me over the head with a wing. “Stop giving Idle a hard time and let him do his job.”

“This is so stupid.” I complained.

“But necessary. We want to make sure that the school is safe.”

“The school is safe.” I insisted. “Every pony has some form of military training or another and the instructors aren't pushovers. They've all been in command positions at one time or another. Most have more battle experience than you.”

“I don't know much. We were all called in to make sure you bookworms can do your studies without having to duck and cover. I was looking forward to meeting my new sister.”

I grinned, retrieving my bags from the table. “Rayne's absolutely adorable.”

“I'll see her later. By the way, aren't you friends with the mare who's in the middle of all of this?”

I nodded, “Yeah. She's less happy about it than you are, believe me. The sooner we catch Skyy Gust, the better.”

x----x

The air in our dorm room was a little stale after being shut up for so long. I opened the window and left the door ajar to create a breeze way and air out the room while we unpacked.

“Feeling any safer?” I asked as I set my books on my desk.

“I suppose I should, but I don't.”

“What do you mean?”

Nimbus sighed. “Skyy is driven. She'll get what she wants, come what may. Don't assume that, because she's greedy, she's stupid. She'll find a way in here, despite the guards and the sentries and the gates. If she can't sneak in, she'll kick down the walls and she'll bring a friggin' army in with her.”

“Don't you think you're being a little paranoid? That's the Long Patrol out there. I ran with them for a while before I came here. We fought Bandersnatches, and Dragons and Manticores and things you've only seen in nightmares. I have no doubt that they can handle your sister and whatever fools fall behind her.”

She nodded, “I hope you're right.”

I pulled half a dozen scrolls from my pack. My notes on Skyy Gust for Instructor Line. “I have a meeting. Are you going to be okay?”

“I'll be fine.”

I left her and headed down to Instructor Line's office, which was on the ground floor of the Dormitory. The letter she had sent me instructed me to meet her there immediately upon returning. I raised a hoof and tapped on the door.

“Enter.”

I entered the office and shut the door behind me. “Cadet Kicker reporting as ordered, ma'am.”

Line nodded. “Did you do as I asked?”

“Yes, ma'am.” I set the scrolls on her desk. “I put together as comprehensive a profile as possible, considering the circumstances.”

She took one of the scrolls and spread it upon her desk. “What did you learn?”

“Skyy Gust is your stereotypical narcissist. She cares nothing for the ponies around her and only sees them as a means to an end. Her greatest strength is her charisma, able to manipulate the ponies around her into doing her bidding. If she's not able to get what she wants directly, she'll do it indirectly.”

“Why do you think she's after Cadet Gust?”

“Originally, for whatever Nimbus would inherit. However, it seems that what little she would gain from Nimbus' share wouldn't cover her expenses in taking care of her sister. I now believe she will attempt to eliminate Nimbus purely out of spite.”

Line nodded, “Makes sense.”

I waited while Line read through my notes. Finally, I couldn't hold my pressing question any longer. “Ma'am? Why is the Long Patrol here?”

Line blinked. “I figured it would be obvious, Cadet. They're here to protect the school.”

“Yes, ma'am, but the issue I have is that it wouldn't be necessary to call in the Long Patrol. Skyy Gust and her band of Merry Murderers are little more than just that while every cadet here has some form of prior military training and the Instructors are seasoned veterans.”

Line sighed. “We have reason to believe that Skyy Gust isn't working alone.”

I cocked my head. “I don't follow you.”

“The information we have recovered from Skyy Gust leads us to believe that she has connections to the Lunars.”

I gasped. The Lunars consisted of the four pegasi clans and most of the Earth Pony race that had rebelled against Princess Celestia over nine hundred years before, in the time of Shadow. I had heard rumors that pockets still existed, scattered throughout Equestria. Because they were unable to band together into a unified fighting force, they were considered non-threatening and left alone. From what I could gather from Nimbus, Skyy possessed the charisma to unify the Lunars.

“We also have reason to believe that the Lunars are planning an attack on Canterlot. If they struck the school...”

“It would be impossible to hide such an attack. We'd all be in terrible danger and the damage they could potentially inflict would be catastrophic.”

“Exactly.” Line confirmed with a nod. “You see now why we need the reinforcements provided by the Long Patrol?”

“Yes. Yes, I do.”

I returned to my bunk with a lot on my mind. What had originally appeared as a case of sibling rivalry gone incredibly too far now seemed to be the opening shots of a second Lunar Rebellion. On her bunk, Nimbus napped in the breeze from the open window, snoring peacefully. Perhaps her time at the compound had rubbed off on her. Everything was put away neatly and her side rivaled mine in orderliness.

Perhaps I was over-thinking all of this. The Lunars were little more than idealists that posted the odd anti-solar poster and made a ruckus in the streets. They were no longer the type for organized attacks. I doubted that any of them had military training. Likewise, Skyy was greedy and little more. She would use the Lunars, pretend to hold the same ideals as they, but her greed would, eventually, show through in the end.

I rested my head on my pillow. I hadn't really done much, but my talk with Line and the information she had shared left my head swimming. I was utterly exhausted.

And yet, I could not sleep. Skyy Gust kept running through my head. Could she actually unite the various bands of Lunars under a single banner? Nimbus knew her sister better than I did, but her knowledge was somewhat biased. All young ponies held their elders in such high regard. Nimbus may have exaggerated her sister's prowess in the art of convincing. However, that was a chance that I, and apparently, the school, was not willing to take.

Include the information about the Lunars selecting Canterlot, and we were in for a whole heap of trouble.

I began to mull over what targets they might select. The palace was too well-defended and rather confusing if one didn't know their way around it. Not to mention, Celestia wasn't exactly a pushover. The pony that many others considered a goddess incarnate would prove to be tough to handle if threatened. Even the largest army the Lunars could muster would have their hooves full simply containing an Alicorn.

Celestia's school could be a target, but all of the ponies there were powerful magi. While West Hoof Instructors and Cadets could consider themselves adept in close-quarters combat, the ponies at Celestia's school were masters of the occult.

Duke Polaris held no strategic threat for those who aspired to usurp the throne while West Hoof churned out the leaders of tomorrow's Guard. Eliminate West Hoof and her cadets and the Guard would crumble within a few generations.

West Hoof was the easiest and most likely target. I hopped off of my bed and rushed to the door with the intention of warning Instructor Line before stopping myself. Line was no imbecile and would have come to those same conclusions, hence why battle-hardened ponies were guarding our gates instead of spending time with their families.

I paced back across the room and lay down on my bunk. I had just gotten after Nimbus for being paranoid and, her I was, acting worse than her. We had nothing to fear. Even if the Lunars overwhelmed the Long Patrol, the sounds of battle would draw attention. Both the palace and the compound were within shouting distance. Certainly the school and the Patrol could hold off any attack long enough for reinforcements to come.

And that was on the assumption that an attack was even coming. The group could have been in the brainstorming stages, talking about which targets they would like to hit. West Hoof was the easiest and most strategically valuable, but that didn't mean that they would strike the school. Surely they realized the danger of attacking the school.

Line only stated that the information gathered led them to believe that an attack on Canterlot might occur, but nothing as to where or when.

I sighed. I was over-thinking this. I was just a mare, barely out of fillyhood. I had homework and lectures and classes and family and friends. I needed to take care of the things that affected me, not project “what-if” scenarios until my head ached.

I closed my eyes and settled in. Tomorrow was the beginning of the new term, my last at West Hoof, and I needed to rest.