Amethyst Star walked down the sunlit corridor, her stride even and paced, her eyes facing forward.While so many others would be marvelling at where they were and the sights around them, she simply walked past. She was here for only one thing. When she got to the large oak doors the two armoured guards standing in front of them stepped forwards.
“Identify yourself and state your purpose, civilian,” said one of the guards, his voice stern, moving his wing to block her way, his partner following suit. Amethyst chuckled to herself. If they knew who she was, they would not use such a tone, or even consider getting in her way.
“Captain Amethyst Star, Commander of the Equestrian Special Operations, here on royal business,” she replied, her voice light, yet condescending. The guards gulped simultaneously and stood to attention, both of their wings snapping to their sides, their hooves to their heads in salute.
“Would you like me to inform the Princess of your arrival, ma'am?” he replied, his voice quaking slightly with fear, his eyes staring at anywhere but the pink unicorn. Amethyst was not known for being a kind pony. In fact, no one the young private knew well had ever been in any form of contact with her. The mare was an enigma, only being seen in Canterlot for business much above his paygrade.
“I think I shall inform her myself,” she smirked, glad that the stallion was showing the respect that he was required to. When the two had moved to the side, she pushed open the door with her magic, the heavy wood no match for the unicorn’s raw power. She walked in, letting the door swing shut with a bang.
“You requested my presence, Your Majesty,” she calmly said, nothing but respect in her voice, her head bowed slightly. Celestia raised her head and looked at Amethyst, as did the pony wearing the eyepatch standing next to her. Amethyst stood a little straighter at seeing this pony. She quickly raised her hoof to her head, saluting the armourclad pony.
“At ease, Captain,” said the pegasus, “This is no time for salutes and formalities.” Amethyst lowered her hoof and walked over to the other two slowly. Though she wore her thick brown cloak, she shivered. She was standing next to two of the most influential ponies in the whole of Equestria, possibly the world. Celestia turned back to the grey pegasus.
“We shall leave this matter to another time, General, though I wish for you to stay for my conversation with Amethyst. I'm sure you will want to talk to her after.” The General nodded before looking down at the report on the floor next to her, a frown upon her face. Amethyst turned her head to the Princess. The alicorn looked back at her, a bit of parchment appearing beside her in a yellow glow.
“Three days ago, I received this letter from Princess Rosetta, Ruler of Concordia. Her daughter, Princess Stella, will be travelling here tomorrow to discuss the matters I was just talking to Ditzy about. Since the royal guard must stay in Canterlot, I wish to send your pegasi squad to escort her to the castle. This task is of utmost importance. Rosetta cares greatly for her daughter, and I do not wish to inform her that she was picked off by a manticore on the way to my castle.”
Amethyst took the information in before replying, “I will have them prepare tonight, Your Majesty. Is there anything else you wish to discuss, or is that all?"
“Warn your squad Captain, Stella is not what you expect her to be. She was involved in an... accident after birth.”
Amethyst nodded and turned to leave.
"Are you forgetting someone, Captain?" said a voice, but not that of the Princess. Amethyst turned towards the pegasus, her eyes unreadable. Celestia took this moment to walk out, leaving the two younger mares on their own.
"Is there something you wish to discuss with me, General. I do have a job to do," replied Amethyst, her voice strained.
The Generals uncovered eye took on a much warmer and calmer tone as she spoke, "How is Dinky doing? Is she happy?"
Amethyst blinked before answering, "She's doing well, though she misses her mother. She asks every day when you're coming home."
Ditzy looked distant for a second, her eye sad. She lowered her voice a little and said, "Tell her I'll see her soon. I know I haven't been there for her recently, but I can't leave at the moment." Amethyst looked down at the ground, scuffing her hoof a little.
"She isn't the only one who wants to see their mother." Ditzy stared at Amethyst, her gaze heavy.
"I'll try, Sparkler. But now is not the time. I'll see you soon, okay?"
Amethyst nodded and started to head towards the door, giving a small smile before replying, "I thought I told you I didn't want to be called that." She gave one final nod to the General before walking out off the door. Ditzy returned the nod and turned towards the Princess, who had just re-entered the room , a concerned look on the grey mare's face.
“Do you think we should tell her, Tia,” her voice filled with nervousness. Only the General of the Equestrian Military could get away with using that name for the alicorn in front of her, and she only did so when she was afraid.
Celestia sighed before replying with a heavy voice, “I hope we never have to tell anyone these rumors, Ditzy. That’s all I want them to be. Rumors.”
Sergeant Chisel sighed as she pulled of her helmet. She had just picked up the newest member of her squad from his final training session, and was preparing to introduce him to the other members, who were waiting in their assigned room. She slipped out of the rest of the black scaled armour and turned around, looking over her shoulder to see if the newbie had finished yet. He was struggling to slip of his breastplate, the leather straps on his chest not loosened correctly. After giving a large sigh she gave his side a small kick with her back hoof, dislodging the piece of armour and making him stumble. He gave her a small nod and quickly removed the hoofguards. Chisel groaned again, rubbing her head slightly.
"Listen up. We have an escort mission tomorrow, so you won't have a lot of time to get acquainted with the squad. Remember, this squad is like your family. We protect each other no matter what. I'm Sergeant Chisel Brick. When we are on duty, you will call me Sergeant, or ma'am. When we have downtime and are not on a mission, Chisel is fine," she said to him, trying to sound as friendly as possible, even though she hadn't slept in two days and had a killer headache.
The private nodded and replied, "Green Hooves, ma'am," his voice steady.
Chisel chuckled a little, “You don’t have to call me ma’am when we're in the changing room Green.”
Green nodded again, “Of course ma’am,” his eyes still facing forward. Chisel groaned once again and smacked her hoof against her forehead. Obviously this one had previously been a sergeant. No corporal or private she knew was this uptight.
"Green, I have one piece of advice for you," she said, her voice low, her eyes boring into Green's. The dark green stallion blinked at the purple mare giving him a death stare.
"Yes ma'am," he replied, his eyes focused on hers. Chisel brought her face close to the other pony's, her mouth set in a scowl of exhaustion and frustration.
"Loosen up before I personally hang you by your wings from the flagpole," she murmured quietly as the stallion in front of her was slowly pushed down to his haunches. Green gulped.
"Yes Chisel," he squeaked.
"Good," she muttered, her headache worse than ever. Green visibly relaxed and stood back up.
"Where are the other members of the squad, Chisel?" he asked.
“Follow me. Note of warning, watch out for Corporal Lightning Flicker. She can be a bit... I'll let you find out for yourself,” said Chisel, her voice strained. Green followed Chisel as she walked towards the squads room. She pushed the plain wooden door open and walked in. She was immediately assaulted by a dark grey ball of fur.
“Is he here, Is he here, IS HE HERE?” shouted the ball, obviously now a night pegasus, her eyes wide with excitement, her dragon like wings partially open. Chisel groaned and pointed behind her at the new member. The other pegasus quickly glanced at Green before shooting forward and tackling him instead. Chisel gave a despairing look to the bright blue pegasus who had just jumped off his bunk.
“How much?” asked Chisel, her voice filled with terror.
“Three cups of coffee, five chocolate bars and ten energy drinks,” replied the stallion, a frown upon his face. Chisel groaned and repeatedly smacked her head on the floor, which apparently did not improve her headache.
“Damn it Steel, I told you not to let her get to the energy drinks, you know how she gets. I made you corporal because I thought you were dependable, not because you can’t stop one hyper bat pony getting to the fridge,” she shouted, her tired mind not capable of any other emotion at the moment than anger. Just as Chisel finished her tirade, two things happened at once. A roar of anger could be heard from one of the top bunks, and Lightning Flicker, the bat pony, jumped of Green, apparently finished her overexcited introduction.
“What in the unholy name of Tartarus are you shouting about Chisel. Some of us are trying to get some form of sleep, you know. Not all of us can go through a whole two days, as in forty-eight hours without sleep and come out as chirpy and happy as you, and I have had to put up with Lightning's antics for the past two hours, so this explanation better be good or I'm going to get really, really pissed,” came a voice from the top bunk, a red mare with a yellow mane poking her head up.
Chisel sighed and simply stated, “Green, meet Sugar Heart, our angry insomniac. Sugar, meet Green Hooves, our newbie private.”
“I am not angry!” shouted Sugar, her volume reaching levels of the Royal Canterlot Voice.
“Where’s Rain?” asked Chisel, looking around while ignoring the full blown temper tantrum coming from Sugar. She heard a sound from the ceiling and looked up, taking a step backwards when she saw a white stallion tied to the ceiling with a large piece of what appeared to be hay stuffed into his mouth, a bored look on his face. He waved down at her. Chisel flopped onto the floor.
“I give up.”
Princess Luna walked up to her sister, her eyes still dull from getting out of bed, the blowing of her ethereal mane seeming to pick up a little as she slowly woke up. Celestia looked exhausted after her long day, her eyes half closed.
"Good night sister. I trust your day went well," asked Luna, her eyes slowly starting to focus.
Celestia smiled and replied, "Not brilliantly Luna. I had a report from some of our scouts which I have to share with you at some point, but I'm too tired at the moment. How about tommorow?" Luna nodded and Celestia smiled before walking into her chambers, the door closing behind her. Luna blinked and turned around, going to go and get her breakfast. She walked into the royal dining room, two of her guard following her in. A servant came in from another door, a tray balanced on her back. The young pony placed the tray on the table and poured a cup of coffee for the princess. Luna thanked the servant and brought the cup to her lip, the caffeinated drink bringing energy back to her body.
"Corporal, you may wait outside, I wish to speak to my new sergeant," Luna said, directing her voice at the stallion behind her. The stallion gave a glance to the sergeant, who gave a small nod, before he walked out of the door. Luna turned her eyes to the female night pegasus in front of her. The sergeant returned her gaze. The sergeant opened her mouth to talk first.
"I would appreciate if you did not order my squad around, Your Highness. Especially on my first night," the sergeant asked, her voice steady. Luna gave a surprised blink. Not many ponies had the courage to talk like that to her. Come to think of it, not many ponies talked to her.
“Very well, Sergeant, as you wish. Your squad is yours to command. Though I would like to know your name,” replied Luna, her eyes focused on the pony in front of her.
“Sergeant Dreamer, transferred from the 1st Squad of the Pegasus Air Force, at your service ma’am,” the mare stated standing to attention, her eyes snapping forwards, her hoof moving to her forehead in salute. Luna’s eyes widened slightly.
“If I may ask Sergeant, how in my sisters name did you get your position? I may be unaccustomed to the current military organisation, but I know that sort of transfer is incredibly uncommon. Who in Equestria recommended you?”
Dreamer glanced towards Luna for a second before snapping her eyes back forward, “After Sergeant Mumble retired, Shining Armour began the standard review process to see which of the Corporals should become Sergeant. However, he was ordered to stop, as a candidate had already been selected. General Ditzy herself had chosen the next candidate, who happened to be me."
Luna raised an eyebrow, "Why would the General choose you, of all the ponies in the whole military."
Dreamer gave a small smile and looked down, "Me and Ditzy joined and trained together in the air force. She came to visit me and saw how well I handled my squad. Next day, I get a letter informing me that I had been assigned to lead the Royal Lunar Guard. I went through my training, I swore my oath, I met my squad and here I am. Sergeant of one of the most prestigious squads in the country," Dreamer turned her gaze towards Luna, "I am very glad to be serving you, Your Majesty."
Luna gazed at Dreamer for a few seconds, before standing up and turning her back to the other mare, "I expect your very
best Sergeant, and nothing else. You may wait for me outside. I shall finish my meal alone." Dreamer nodded and saluted before walking through the door. Luna sighed and sat down, levitating a bit of toast to her mouth. She chewed slowly on the now cold bit of bread, her eyes focused on nothing in particular. "I'll be watching that one," she thought to herself, a smile spreading across her face as the moon rose, heralding the start of a new night.