Chapters It was all over. Lee breathed in and out slowly, softly, as chaos broke out around him. Shouts and cheers like gunshots exploded as other colts and fillies near him jumped up and down in celebration. Lee, however, couldn’t bring himself to do anything except produce a wry smile in spite of himself. Longshot had finally received a blue bow and quiver on his flank. Mont Blanc had a delicious looking likeness of a pastry where there had been none just a few weeks before. Shooting Star flew into the air with a cry of satisfaction, and Lee could clearly see her telescope cutie mark. It was graduation for the extended classes, and yet here he was, at the end of another year, still as blank a flank as he was when he was a foal.
After things quieted down and the party disbanded, Lee took a walk to the young pony’s schoolyard. A few small fillies and colts remained on the playground, pushing each other on the swingset and waiting for their parents as the sun sank lower into the clear sky. Teacher Cherilee watched the young ponies from the schoolhouse door to make sure their parents picked them up safely, and she absentmindedly looked up at a small, lone cloud, obviously forgotten by the weather team of Ponyville. Lee walked up to his old teacher and smiled a ‘hello’.
“Good afternoon, Lee,” she greeted warmly. “It’s been a long time!”
“Yes,” Lee agreed softly. “I’ve just finished my extended talent classes. I’m all done with school now.” Cherilee looked at him proudly.
“I’m glad you took my advice. There was once a trio of friends here who attended those classes as well, and it worked for them! Some ponies just need a little more reach to discover their special talents.” She paused, and looked at the gown covering his flank. “So? What is your special talent, Lee?” Her smile cut deep into his wound, and a timid grin crept onto his disappointed face as he sat on the ground. Cherilee’s smile faded a little, and she looked away for a moment. “I had hoped…”
“No offense, Miss Cherilee, but you’re preaching to the choir.”
“Of course,” she said, suddenly very attuned to the embarrassment and hurt Lee was feeling. “Well, Lee…if that is indeed the case, then there’s something we need to do.”
Lee looked up at her, ears flattened. “There’s no more schooling to be done, though. It seems everypony in my class has graduated with their cutie mark except me. I’ve tried everything . Maybe I just don’t have a special talent.”
“Oh no, Lee. All ponies have a special talent. It’s just that…some ponies have a very special special talent. A very special cutie mark. It requires exposure to things one wouldn’t normally find in Ponyville, or in any town or city in Equestria.” She took a moment to wave good-bye to the last of her students as they began to walk home with their parent. Turning back to Lee, she smiled—but there was a sadness in her eyes. “In fact, I’m sure you’ll receive information about it soon. One of the princess’ guards has likely already written, if not sent out, your special letter.”
“Special letter?”
“Yes, Lee. All ponies without a cutie mark after extended talent classes receive a special letter from Canterlot or the Crystal Empire, detailing what they are to do.”
The green unicorn looked back at his gown-covered flank. “This happens to ponies other than me?”
“Of course! In order to find your special talent, you need to have some experience to have discovered you’re good with it. It’s only natural that sometimes, there are things ponies are good at that they won’t get exposure to in the towns of Equestria.”
Lee’s grim look lifted a little bit. While he was nervous about what the letter would entail, he was grateful to Cherilee for clearing his doubts about being a permanent blank flank. “Thank you, Miss Cherilee.” He looked at the setting sun and sighed. “I guess I’ll see you around, then?” Cherilee’s eyes widened, and then she smiled.
“Of course we’ll see each other again. …Just, be careful, Merilee.” She leaned forward and wrapped her foreleg around Lee’s neck in a tight hug. When she finally let go, she turned towards the schoolhouse. “Good luck, Lee.” Taken aback a little by the odd change in his old teacher’s personality, he waved it off as tiredness.
“Thank you, I will. You take care, too.” With that, Lee turned himself towards home and began the long walk back.
As he walked the road back to his home near the edge of Ponyville, Lee thought about what his future might entail. He tried to think of things he hadn’t tried yet, things he hadn’t been exposed to. What could lie outside of Equestria that he wouldn’t have been exposed to? World travel, maybe? An explorer, perhaps? But no, Lee had trouble camping, let alone trotting around the globe. He liked the comforts of a home, and the stability it offered. Could it be studying other cultures? Lee had always been fairly interested in griffons, dragons, and other sapient creatures. His thoughts plagued Lee’s mind all through the night, and though hours had passed, he felt as though it had been merely minutes. A sudden knock on his door startled him, and Lee sat up in bed, opening the door with his magic.
“Lee, dear, breakfast is…Lee? Are you all right?” His mother, Merry Tune, stared at his face—and the bags under his eyes. “Did you stay up all night?” Lee rose and opened his curtains to see daylight peek through them. He squinted and turned back to his mother.
“I-I guess so…I didn’t fall asleep at all.” He yawned and Merry looked at him with a mother’s concern. They walked down the stairs together, Merry fixing her son’s hair here and there as they did so.
“Lee, is there something you’re not telling me? You never stay up late…what’s bothering you? …It’s your cutie mark, isn’t it?”
“Mom, mom, stop it,” Lee said, trying to squirm out of reach of her hoof. “I’m not a foal anymore…” He sat down at the breakfast table and levitated a piece of toast and some jam to his plate. “Miss Cherilee told me about cutie marks yesterday, and said there should be a letter arriving soon telling me what to do since I don’t have mine yet.”
“Oh, that’s nice,” Merry said, bringing Lee a glass of juice. “Your father is out on his usual morning walk, and he usually checks the mail…maybe you’ll get your letter sometime this week.”
“Nah, it’s gotta be today mom. Miss Cherilee said—”
“Morning everypony!” Lee was interrupted as his father swung the door open and trotted happily into the kitchen. “Boy am I beat; Gusty and Flitter Mist needed some help cloud bucking and I decided to lend a hoof.” Argent Sun took a seat next to Lee and unceremoniously stuffed a piece of toast in his mouth.
“Did any mail come for me, dad?” Through cheeks full of food, Argent Sun fished a sealed scroll out of his saddlebag and handed it to Lee. “Thanks.” Lee finished breakfast quickly and then took the letter to his room, ignoring his mother’s protests to stay and eat more and read the letter at the table. Closing and locking the door, he sat on the bed and carefully peeled the seal off. He’d never seen a seal like it before; it bore a shield insignia on it. Lee read it quietly to himself over and over again. At first he was too excited and nervous to really comprehend it, and then the shock came.
“…By order of Prince Shining Armor, the unicorn Merilee Argent Sun is to, a week from the date signed at the bottom, report to boot camp?” He read the last two words aloud again and rubbed his head. “…Boot camp? But…but what’s boot camp? ”
Lee dug at the ground nervously as he waited for the train. He found himself at Dodge Junction, awaiting the second train he would be on as he traveled towards the destination specified in his letter. His saddlebags were heavy with snacks from his mom and some bits he’d taken out from the bank. Most of the other ponies waiting for the train were making quiet conversation with each other and didn’t look like they were headed to a ‘boot camp’, though there were still a few arriving to the platform. The train was due in five minutes, and it was starting to get crowded. Lee felt alone; it was hard to tell with the amount of ponies with bags, but he seemed to be the only blank flank in the crowd. What if he got to this ‘boot camp’ and nopony else was there? His eyes widened and he started to breathe quickly in panic when there was suddenly a commotion; a loud pony was making his way through the crowd.
“Oh, e-excuse me, sorry, oops, ahaha, that was your h-hoof, h-huh? Sorry! My b-bad! Lemme through!” Finally the colt making all the ruckus pushed through to the front of the platform where Lee was standing. The pony in question was had an olive-colored coat and wild purple hair, and he stared at Lee hopefully.
“Oh, oh thank Celestia, are you maybe…? Are you?” He trotted over to Lee, who took a step back, and lifted Lee’s saddlebags. Lee’s face turned a shade of red and he held up a hoof to stop the odd earth pony when he jumped in the air and trotted happily in place. “Oh, you are !! You’re a b-blank flank, just like me! Haha! Would you look at that?” Before Lee could respond, the other pony was suddenly shaking his hoof and smiling wide. “Oooh, this should b-be fun. Finally! Another b-b-blank flank! I’m B-Boomer, b-by the way.” Boomer’s blue eyes sparkled and Lee found himself at a loss for words.
“Do I…know you?”
“Hmm? What? No, no! Well, now you do, b-but you didn’t b-before, so I guess that’s a no? A yes? Oh, b-but isn’t this e-e-exciting? B-b-boot camp!! What’s your name?” Lee had to take a moment to process what Boomer was saying, as he spoke so quickly his sentences ran together like wet paint.
“My name…oh. My name’s Lee.”
Boomer cocked his head. “Lee? Just Lee?”
“Well…” Lee sighed. “My full name is Merilee Argent Sun, but I’d prefer if you just called me Lee.” Boomer stared at him, as if waiting for an explanation. Under the gaze of this wild-eyed pony, Lee didn’t want to disappoint. “…My mom and dad couldn’t decide on a name, and so I ended up sort of being named after both of them, and so I’ve got this weird middle name and…” He found himself going on a tangent. Even though Boomer was staring at him intently, Lee shied away and summed up what he had to say quickly. “…Anyway, just call me Lee?”
“Fair e-enough, Lee! Nice ta meetchya!” Lee thought that would be the end of Boomer talking, but the silence didn’t last a second before his new friend was off on a story about how he got his letter and came to Dodge Junction all the way from the Coltorado Rockies in much the same fashion that Lee did from Ponyville when a whistle blew off in the distance.
‘Finally, the train is here,’ Lee thought to himself. Boomer was a little too talkative for his tastes, though he had to admit he was happy to have somepony to be with. Not to mention, somepony who was attending boot camp as well. The only thing that boot camp could refer to, Lee thought, was what new royal guard recruits went to, but you had to apply for that. As far as he knew, Equestria didn’t have a draft for royal guards, so what could it be? The question nagged and nagged at him.
“Okay…”
The two colts boarded the train and found and empty car to sit in. Boomer took a seat next to the window and started jabbering about how excited he was to see the scenery on the way, and Lee settled into the seat right across from him. However, the car wasn’t empty for long; just before the train started to move, the car door swung open and a pretty white pegasus strode in. She flipped her mane and batted her gray eyes.
“Hello boys.” The filly strode over to an empty seat next to Lee. “This spot taken?” Lee and Boomer both turned a light shade of red as she sat down and set her saddlebag down. When she did, it revealed what neither of them was expecting—no cutie mark. The blush on Boomer’s face immediately departed and he flew into another wild introduction.
“Wow! Wow! Two ponies in the same day who don’t have their cutie marks! A second b-blank flank !! Can you b-b-b-believe it, Lee? What e-extraordinary luck! Hiya miss, I’m B-Boomer, and this h-here is Merilee Argent Sun! Oh, b-but don’t call him that; h-he doesn’t like it. Prefers ‘Lee’. See, his dad and his mom…”
“Woah, Boomer,” Lee said with a smile. He put his hoof to the other colt’s chest. “Take it easy, buddy.”
“Nice to meet you, Boomer, Lee,” said the pegasus pony. “My name is Prism Stone. …I take it you two were both summoned to boot camp, too? By decree of Prince Shining Armor, no less…” She sighed. “Princess Cadence sure is a lucky filly. Such a handsome unicorn…” She looked at Lee and smiled sweetly.
“That’s some unique coloring you have there miss Stone,” Lee said, admiring her mane. Prism’s mane on top of her head was several shades of gray, but her tail was a brightly colored rainbow. Both gleamed beautifully in the light; a sure sign that Prism Stone took very good care of it.
“Oh, thank you Lee,” she said with a giggle. “It’s too bad not all of it is rainbow colored, though. And there’s no need for ‘miss Stone’, just Prism is fine.”
“If you don’t mind me saying so, I don’t think so—about your h-hair—, Prism,” Boomer piped up, “It sure does look lovely just the way it is!”
The train jolted to a start and picked up speed quickly as it began to roll down the tracks. “I wonder if this train will have a lunch or a dinner,” Prism wondered aloud. “I missed breakfast when I left home.”
“You can say that again,” Boomer said, slouching over in his chair. “On my ride h-here they didn’t offer anything e-either.” Merilee was about to comment that he was hungry as well when he remembered he had saddlebags full of food. He knocked himself on the head for being so silly and levitated the tan and white bags to his seat. Opening them, he pulled out a variety of apples and two daisy sandwiches.
“I nearly forgot I packed ahead of time,” Lee said. “Won’t you two join me?” Prism and Boomer lit up at the sight of food and thanked Lee over and over again. “It’s really no trouble…I can’t eat all this by myself, anyway.”
“So,” Boomer asked between bites of a red delicious, “Where do you think we’re going? What do you suppose we’re going to do? Fresh outta school and I got this letter all of a sudden…I don’t know what it’s all about, b-but I sure am curious!”
Lee responded with a sigh. “I don’t know either. My old teacher Cherilee said that once you’ve completed extra classes to find your cutie mark and you’re still a blank flank, all ponies have to go through this. She said something about having a talent in an area you haven’t had any exposure to, and that apparently this ‘boot camp’ is likely the place to find it.”
“Something we haven’t had exposure to…well, I don’t know about you two boys, but I hope it’s not anything dangerous. I’m…I’m a pretty cautious pony!” Prism laughed and a quiet fell over the three new friends as they all finished eating and looked out the window.
No matter what was ahead, Lee felt a glimmer of hope. Perhaps where they were going he, Boomer and Prism would all finally find their special talents…
Author's Note
Just a quick note--I've been out of the fanfiction writing scene for many years now, but I've had this idea stuck in my head for so long I just had to do something about it. I hope you find the writing decent enough, and I hope you enjoy the story! ;w;
As the train chugged along, Lee found himself surprised by the sudden lull in conversation. He’d been expecting things to pick up again, especially with Boomer. However, it wasn’t long before Boomer did little more than stare out the window at the quickly moving scenery, and Prism had taken another seat so she could stretch herself out and take a nap. At first, Lee was grateful for the quiet, but he knew it was going to be a long ride and he began to feel nervous all over again. After a long while he stared at Boomer, still mesmerized, and wanted to speak up and ask him questions, but he didn’t want to intrude on whatever was keeping his attention.
As if he’d noticed the stare, Boomer finally spoke.
“H-have you e-e-ever seen such an amazing sight, Lee?” Merilee looked out the window. A great gorge opened up beside them, and in the distance he could see a wide expanse of shimmering blue; it had to be the ocean.
“I’ve never been to the ocean before,” Lee said slowly, taking in the sight. “I’ve never even seen it.”
“Me neither. I h-hope that’s where we’re going. …Say, do you think this whole ‘b-b-boot camp’ thing is sort of like a…like a…” Boomer raised his hooves and circled them around each other, as if trying to mime his meaning to bridge the gap between his words. “…Like a summer camp?” Lee did not know how to respond. He had a certain sense of dread concerning the entire thing, but Boomer looked so hopeful, like he needed to be reassured. So, Lee smiled and perked up.
“Sure, like a summer camp. I’ve never been to a summer camp before.” Lee stared out at the ocean again. “Maybe we’ll go swimming.”
“Oooh! Or surfing! Maybe they’ll teach us h-how to ride waves! Or go diving! Or b-boating!”
Lee laughed and joined in the revelry Boomer was clearly experiencing. “We’ll have to pitch tents and build fires on the beach and learn how to signal. We’ll sail to an island and make our way through the wilderness, like an expedition! Like Daring Do!”
“Paragliding—”
“—sand castles—”
“—h-hidden treasure—”
“—marshmallow roasting—”
There was a loud screech and the train suddenly jerked to a stop, sending both Boomer and Lee flying from their seats. Prism snapped awake and looked out the window. Her eyes widened.
“Boot camp,” she said in a hushed breath.
Rubbing his head, Lee stood up and helped Boomer to his hooves. He peered out the window and his heart sank. The two colts had been so wrapped up in daydreaming that they hadn’t noticed the change in scenery. They were now in front of a clearing on the outskirts of a dense forest, thick and dark as the heart of Everfree. Lee hung his head a little, spirits dampened, but Boomer kept up a smile.
“Maybe…camping?” he suggested hopefully, but neither Lee nor Prism answered him. The three ponies exited the train car in a straight line and stretched their legs as they looked around. Large tents were set up all over the place, colored in patches of green and brown. Lee began to feel uneasy once again. Camouflage…he’d never seen it implemented but for the occasional fashion use from one miss Rarity back home, and it was very seldom used by her. He knew, as all ponies did, general terms that no one had any use for except for comparisons—fast as a bullet, for example. He knew what a bullet was, but he’d never seen one before, and knew little of its use, just that it was a swift projectile. He did know one thing though; that terms such as ‘bullet; tank, bomb, and the like, were related in some way to things like camouflage. Scenes like these tents in the forest. His legs trembled and he felt sick.
As soon as he, his friends, and the other ponies were off the train, he noticed something odd. A line of ponies, haggard but happy looking, were marching single file back to the train. Lee stared at the ponies and noticed they all had cutie marks. One appeared to be a medical cross, another a strange flower. Once all of them were loaded into the train, the whistle blew and it started off back the way Lee and his new friends had just come. One of the ponies in the train, a red filly, put her hoof on the glass and stared at Lee as the train moved on. She mouthed something, but he couldn’t understand it. There was definitely an ‘l’ word in there. Perhaps “good luck”? But he didn’t have much time to ponder about it. A short, brown unicorn strode up, carrying a clipboard.
“Name,” she’d ask dully as she passed each pony in line.
“Boomer.”
“Prism Stone.”
Lee panicked. Was he supposed to say his full name, or…? The earth colored filly was staring at him.
“Name?”
“Uh…oh. M-Merilee Argent Sun.” The filly raised an eyebrow but scribbled his name down anyway and moved on in the line. Lee sighed in relief and sat on the ground.
“That wasn’t so bad,” Prism said with a smile, encouraging Lee to standup again. “Come on, it looks like she’s going to make an announcement.”
The brown unicorn cleared her throat and when she spoke it was apparent she’d used a light voice amplifying spell.
“Right,” she said, “Welcome to boot camp. My name is Clear Note, but you will all address me as ‘Miss Note’, are we clear?” There was some mumbling in the crowd and she stamped her hoof and she turned up the magnitude of her spell, speaking in a thunderous voice: “I asked, is that clear? I need to hear a ‘yes ma’am!’ From all of you!”
“Yes ma’am,” said the bunch together, shaping up quickly in hopes that Clear Note would lower her voice a bit. She did so, and sighed before her next announcement.
“I will place you all in groups of twos, threes, and fours. We’re going to make this simple and go by the order in which you got off the train. I’ll also be assigning your group a letter, so don’t forget it!” Clear Note started rattling off names in alternating numbers. Boomer, Prism and Lee all stood closely together, hoping it would somehow improve their chances of staying together. It was over so quickly, the three barely noticed when their names were all called as one group of three. Lee could hardly believe it; what fantastic luck! He, Boomer and Prism now made up ‘group H’. As Clear Note finished grouping all the ponies, she looked up from her clipboard once more.
“All right,” she said, “Tents are labeled with your group letters. Find your tent, unload your things, and arrive back here for dinner in one hour. Dismissed!” Relief jumped from pony to pony as they all separated into their groups and headed to their tents. Prism nodded at the boys and led the way around the camp until they found H Tent. Using his magic, Lee unzipped the tent and opened up the flaps so his two friends could enter before he followed and closed the makeshift door behind him.
Inside the small tent were two bunk beds with blankets and pillows. A gray likeness of Luna and Celestia twirling around together in a circle was painted on the back wall of the tent, and above the image were the letters “EDF” placed in a shield.
“E…D…F,” Prism Stone read aloud as the boys put their things down. “I wonder what it stands for.”
“I’m not sure, but I have a feeling we’ll find out tonight,” Lee replied. Before he could move his things to a bed, Boomer clambered up the ladder to one of the top bunks.
“I call this one!” Boomer shouted, jumping from the last rung and landing squarely on the mattress. Lee smiled in spite of himself and took the bunk underneath Boomer. Prism settled her things on the other bottom bunk in the room and sat down on the bed.
“At least the beds are fairly comfortable,” she said, pushing the mattress up and down to test it. “I have to admit, with the treatment that Clear Note gave us and the eerie feel about this place, I just…wasn’t expecting it. We must be expected to rest up for something. ...I…of course,” she suddenly said with a laugh, “I’m probably just being silly. Just my imagination.”
“It’s gotta b-be,” Boomer said in a teasing voice from his top bunk. He looked over the edge and grinned. “Don’t worry, Prism! We’ll all stick together, and e-everything will b-be fine.” For the first time, Boomer sounded as though he was more trying to convince himself than trying to express his honest feelings. Whatever the case, Lee felt more at ease with Boomer’s carefree attitude, and it seemed to lighten Prism’s mood as well.
“You’re right, Boomer,” she said with a smile. “Come on, let’s unpack and get ready for dinner.”
The hour was quickly spent and it wasn’t long at all before the small team from H Tent made their way to dinner. Several tables were set up in the clearing where everypony had been assigned their groups, and several ponies in uniforms were carrying plates full of food to each table. Lee had not expected to see such a delicious looking meal, but there it was. He and his friends wasted no time in sitting down and eating alongside the other groups. A range of fruit, flowers, and bread were consumed quickly and before long everypony had had their fill. It was at this point that a short pegasus with black coat and a teal mane flew in and hovered above the small crowd.
“Good evening, everypony,” she said. Her voice was loud and clear without the help of a spell, and it demanded attention. “I hope dinner was to your liking. I bet you’re wondering why you’re all here.” She paused for a moment, and then continued. “I was once like you all. I felt like a disgrace to my entire town; a young adult filly surrounded by ponies who all had their cutie mark—and should at their age!!—and with nothing to show for myself. Then I received a letter, the same letter that summoned each and every one of you here tonight.
“Here, you will undergo training. I will give no further pretense; fillies and gentlecolts, you are in the EDF—the Equestrian Defense Force.” A murmur rose through the crowd.
‘Equestrian Defense Force?’ Lee thought to himself. ‘A defense force, but…I don’t understand. I thought we were doing well with all the neighboring countries and the other species around us. Have negotiations fallen though? But then…why would miss Cherilee know about it if it hasn’t been around long? And clearly they’ve done this before; why else send an entire train full of ponies home?’
Meanwhile, the black pegasus continued. “You are very likely have extra special talents. Talents related to things and experiences you wouldn’t have in your normal, everyday life. Those things could all be related to what we do here in the EDF. We create and manufacture weapons, train soldiers, and lead troops into battle, whether to defend against or attack our enemies.”
Instead of the murmuring in the crowd becoming louder, it died immediately. Every blank flank in the crowd looked terrified. Lee was stunned. Weapons? Soldiers? Battle? This was insane! Did Equestria really have such violent enemies? In the cities, there was hardly ever mention of crimes higher than petty theft, and the crime rate was practically nil. To have a defense force—no, an entire army—at the ready…
“Here’s a rundown of how things work here at boot camp. Every morning you will eat breakfast—quickly—and then report to your assigned sergeant. He or she will lead you through training exercises and expose you to various kinds of experiences so we can find your talent and best place you in our force. Those of you who find your talents related to the EDF and what we do will be appropriately placed immediately. Those of you who find your talents not related to the EDF and what we do will be sent home on the next train.”
Lee couldn’t help himself. In the gap that the pegasus allowed in her speech, he raised his hoof. She was about to continue her speech, but instead chose to acknowledge him.
“Yes, Private…?”
“Lee,” he replied.
“Yes, Private Lee?”
“I was just wondering…what happens if you don't get a cutie mark?” The pegasus’ face hardened.
“Then you will be put on the front lines, where we can use the most support. Is that clear, Private Lee?”
“Y-yes, ma’am.” Lee sank down into his chair, eyes wide and heart pounding.
Author's Note
Hello! Thanks to the people who gave me such nice comments on the first chapter |D I'm just glad I haven't done poorly so far. As I mentioned to Coalsmane, I'm not a huge military buff or anything so I'm trying to construct the EDF in a way that's only *based* on the real thing. I'm doing my research, but if there are differences or things are simplified, you now know the reason why. There are a few...I'm not sure whether or not to call them major or minor differences, but there are some *serious* differences between the military everyone is familiar with in our world and the EDF. So, please don't go in expecting to see an accurate reflection here :3 After all, I'm quite certain our military (in the States, at least) doesn't serve great food or give good beds.
Originally I wasn't going to end this chapter here, but it sounded like such a nice stopping point and it'll allow me some more time to get the next bunch of events and the new characters arriving in the next part more developed. I hope you're all enjoying things so far!
Lee awoke with a start. He'd had a fitful night of sleep and felt no better than he did when he tried to rest in the first place. Still chilled by the lieutenant's warning about remaining a blank flank, he couldn't set his mind at ease. Lieutenant Shining Storm, as the black pegasus was called, had successfully managed to make him fret even more about his current position. Rubbing his eyes, Lee slid half-heartedly out of bed and onto the floor where he waited for his companions to rise to the sound of the blaring trumpet outside.
After they attended a relatively silent breakfast, all of the new privates assembled where they had been told to do so many times before. The lieutenant from the night before strode past and reiterated what she had talked about the night before; that they would be assigned a sergeant who would train them, then they would be assigned when their cutie mark did—or didn't—appear. After that, it was all up to where they were placed. As Shining Storm finished her quick talk, she announced the sergeants assigned to each team. The ponies from group H stared at each other in confusion as they heard two names assigned to them. Sure enough, two stallions trotted up. One of them, in the lead, was a large, orange earth pony with burgundy hair. He had dark orange eyes and a scar underneath one of them, and he looked...unhappy. The other pony, significantly taller and leaner, was a pegasus pony with a coat of a pleasant shade of blue. He had spring green hair and pink eyes and appeared much friendlier than his stout companion.
"Hello," spoke the blue pegasus pony, "I'm Assistant Sergeant Vedette, and this is Sergeant Camouflet. We're assigned to your group—or, at least, I am. Officially. Sergeant Camouflet here is really in charge, but since I and another recruit were just promoted to sergeant and we're still learning the ropes, he's here to keep an eye on both of us. You'll be seeing more of me than him, though."
"Enough with the chatter, Vedette, your name would have been fine," Camouflet grumbled. The orange sergeant, standing as straight and as stiff as a plank of wood, finally addressed the blank flanks. "You, what are your names?"
"B-Boomer, sir."
"Prism Stone, sir."
"Merilee Argent Sun, sir," Lee said, instantly regretting the use of his full name. He looked down. "I-I mean, Lee, sir."
"Privates Boomer, Prism and Lee," said Sergeant Camouflet gruffly, either taking no notice of Lee's blunder or just ignoring it, "Let's see what you've got in you. Seargent Vedette, take these newbies out to test their abilities. I'm going to check in on the other assistant sergeant. I'll be there soon."
"Yes, sir!" Vedette confirmed. He waited until Camouflet left before cracking a smile. "Don't worry about him, he's just an old goat. I promise you'll not be seeing much of him. Come on, I'll show you to the testing grounds."
Vedette led the three ponies under his command to another clearing not too far away from their base camp. There, they toured all the areas they'd be practicing doing what Shining Storm described the other day. There was an area to make and test various kinds of weapons, an obstacle course, and a board full of tactics to study were just a few of the many things displayed. Over the next few weeks, Vedette and occasionally Camouflet would test Lee, Boomer and Prism in the different areas, having them try each what they deemed was a sufficient number of times. The only progress any of them made was Boomer, who seemed to (through learning) understand the ins and outs of grenades. Despite this, making them, testing them, and studying them seemed all for naught, as they provided him with no cutie mark to speak of.
As the days wore on, more and more ponies around the boot camp became depressed. Only a few of them had managed to find their cutie marks, and they had disappeared to fill their roles in the EDF. Taking his turn practicing patrol, Lee bumped right into Boomer one evening.
"Boomer? What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be asleep?"
"No can do, Lee," Boomer said with a smile, "I'm working on something b-b-big. Just got this idea out of nowhere, like a spark in my h-head, and I don't know what's wrong with me, b-b-but it's like...it's like I've gotta do something about it!! B-be a pal and don't mention this to anypony?" Boomer gave a pleading smile and Lee rolled his eyes but smiled back.
"Yeah, yeah, all right. Go do your thing." He observed the materials hanging out of Boomer's stuffed saddlebags. They were clearly supplies from the grenade station. "...Hey Boomer, be safe, okay?"
"You got it!" Boomer trotted off back to their tent and Lee shook his head.
"I sure hope he knows what he's doing..."
The very next night, during the limited free time in which the recruits had to relax, Boomer ran excitedly to Lee, hopping around as though he'd burst from the boundless energy within him. "Lee, Lee! Lee, I did it! Come on, gather up e-everypony in the camp and tell them to sit right in the middle of the clearing!!" He scurried off without explaining what it was about, and so Lee told Prism, and in turn they together told the populous of the camp to meet in the middle. The sky was dark and cloudless, and at first Lee wondered if Boomer hadn't wanted everypony to join him in stargazing. However, the sergeants and Lieutenant Shining Storm, also present, all seemed to be anticipating something.
Suddenly, from behind them, there was an odd noise and a grand boom as a bright light rose up into the sky and exploded.
"F-fireworks," gasped Prism. Before she could get another word out of her mouth, two more in hues of green and red burst forth into the night. Lee looked over to their leaders, but the sergeants and Shining Storm seemed to be enjoying themselves. The black pegasus' eyes seemed to glimmer and sparkle in the light of the fireworks, and Lee couldn't help but smile. There was something about the way she held herself, something about the way she looked...it was as breathtaking as the light show above them.
There weren't many fireworks that followed, but the "ooohs" and "aaaahs" that poured from the ponies watching showed that the number hadn't mattered at all. All it took was a few good blasts of color and sound to excite and stir up the ponies. Their morale was back, at least for the moment.
Lee and Prism rushed to find Boomer, who was cleaning up the setup of his homemade fireworks nearby. "Boomer, that was amazing," Prism exclaimed as she hovered in the air above him.
"B-b-b-b-BOOM!" Boomer said with a laugh, throwing his hooves into the air.
"How ever did you do that? ...And won't the sergeants and the lieutenant be upset with you?" Prism asked. Boomer shook his head and smiled.
"Nah, they approved it. As soon as I talked to Sergeant Vedette, h-he vouched for me in front of the Lieutenant and told h-her that e-e-everypony could use a little show to b-b-boost their spirits. One of the unicorns ponies h-here cast a spell over the area so we didn't alert or scare anypony else."
"Then why the sneaking around earlier?" Lee asked.
"Haha, you don't seriously e-expect me to have told them I could do this if I h-hadn't already worked it out for myself. It just felt...right. B-b-better than grenades. Better...better than anything ." He said the last sentence with a relaxed sigh, devoid of stuttering.
"Oh!" Prism Stone covered her mouth and then pointed to Boomer. "Boomer, your flank! You...you've got a cutie mark!!"
"W-what?" Boomer checked his flank, stammering not out of habit but out of surprise. "No way! I did, I did! Check it out!" Boomer stepped closer and showed off his new cutie mark to his friends. Three little fireworks decorated his once blank flank, and he glowed with pride. "I...I did it! My special talent...fireworks! H-how cool!!" Lee smiled and gave Boomer a hoof-bump.
"I'm so happy for you, Boomer," he spoke, before giving him a quick hug. "And I'm even more happy that you don't have to stay here."
Boomer's smile faded a bit. "Oh..."
"Oh, Boomer, don't feel so bad! Lee and I will get our cutie marks in no time, you'll see! And just you wait, we'll all get ones related to normal things, and we'll go back home, and we'll write to each other and meet up, and, and..." Prism had tears forming in her eyes as she listed off the things they still had to do together.
"Don't worry, Boomer. Prism and I will be just fine. ...The train's not coming for a while, though. Come on, let's go back to the tent and celebrate how awesome you are."
That sentence from Lee was all it took to cheer Boomer back up again. Hooves around his friends, Boomer trotted back to camp with them to enjoy the rest of the night.
Author's Note
I'm going to try to update more often now that I've got the whole story mapped out. Hopefully the chapters don't get any shorter than this |D;;
As always, thanks for reading!!
