The Little Things

Chapters

Hello, Canterlot
Reporting for duty
What doesn't kill me
... Cannot stop me
Fear and dancing
Day after party problems

Hello, Canterlot

Canterlot.

Capital of Equestria, home to ponies of all races and the center of a thriving nation. A city of progress, of magic, and invention. The streets and districts echoed with prosperity and opportunity for those willing to earn it.

And none were more willing than the mare sitting in 12th row of the fourth car on the afternoon express from Manehattan to Canterlot.

She stared down at the pamphlet in her hooves with large, eager, green eyes.

“435 Sw Applewood Ave, apt #2” A key jingled softly inside the attached envelope. Her mind wandered out of the car and into the bustling streets, trying to imagine just what home would look like.

Home.

She paused, a twinge of loneliness echoed off the word. She missed her friends, her mother, her father. But there was nothing there for her: she needed room to grow, she thought. She gave a slight chuckle at the irony of the sentiment, before her lingering melancholy returned.

Tired of the nagging sadness, she shook her head of the thoughts and looked out the window. Trees rushed by as the tracks wound their way along a mountainside. It reminded her of the stories her father used to tell, about the hills of Scoltland. The placid lakes, the rolling hills, it almost made her wonder if she should have headed there instead.

“Ah,ye wouldn’t like it, lass. Is she pretty? Aye. But Scoltland’s got nuthin’ but potatoes ‘n ale.”

“Oh come now, Woad. It’s hardly fair to talk about your homeland like that. Scoltland is a wonderful place. You’re just exaggerating.” Her mother turned and pat her on the head. “Don’t listen to him, Barricade. He’s just being daft.”

“Oy! I ne’er said she weren’t wonderful, Calli’. It’s a pure dead fantastic place to visit, aye. I’m just say’n it’s hardly a place for anyone to find their future. Why do ye think I left?”

Her lips parted in a gentle smile as she recalled the noogie that followed.

“You’re biiiig.”

Barricade slowly turned to face the tiny, squeaky voice, and was met with the wide eyed stare of a little, white, earth-pony colt. “Well, maybe, you’re just little!” She chuckled. “What’s your name, laddie?”

“I’m Chip!” The little colt shouted, managing to become airborne for a brief moment. “Uh, I’m seven years old!”

Barricade snickered quietly. “Well hey there, Chip! I’m Barricade! And I’m 19 years old! So, you’re going to Canterlot too?”

“Yeah!”

“Are you excited?”

“Yeah!”

“Me too!” Barricade stuck her hoof out toward Chip, as he eagerly clapped his hoof to hers.

“Chip! Marble Chip! Come back to your seat!”

“Aww, mom’s calling me.” Chip said, ears wilting. “Well, I just wanted to say hi. Bye, Barricade!”

“Well, the ride is going to last for a few more hours, I’m sure I’ll see you again.” She said with a wink.

They saw quite a bit of each other over the next few hours; primarily though funny faces made at each other over the tops of the seats. Chip fell asleep soon after lunch, though, leaving Barricade with nothing to make faces at other than her window. It was basically the same as a few hours ago: trees, lakes, hills. But then it all began to move away from her as the train turned.

In full view, stood the capital of Canterlot.

It was everything she imagined and more. The pictures, the pamphlets; everything spoke of its wonder but failed to capture just how beautiful the city was. Barricade’s heart raced, it felt as if she could name every major structure from this distance: the observatory, the gardens, the castle, the market quarter, the grand station. And she'd never even stepped inside the city’s borders. The smile she wore for the last few hours shone brighter than ever, she knew it wouldn't be long now.

The train jerked from slow to stop, and the doors slowly opened out to the platform. Everypony seemed to rise from their seats at once, bumping into each other as they grabbed their baggage and headed outside. Barricade waited in her seat patiently watching the ponies shuffle past, a few giving her a curious or awestruck look in return. One of the last to pass her was a little tuft of white in the sea of colors that called out to her.

“Bye, miss Barricade!”

She chuckled a little as she rose from her seat and grabbed the few bags and packages she possessed, and pushed them out of the train before her.

The small portal offered a glimpse beyond the incredibly cramped confines of the railcar. Her vision swam a little, her heart fluttered, her breath hitched as she resolved herself to take the first step of her new life. Slowly she picked up her hoof, and stepped out onto platform five of Canterlot’s grand station.

The building pulsed with life. Thousands of ponies of different colors, races, and personalities danced in and out of the ever-shifting weave that was the station’s main lobby. Quickly, Barricade gathered her things into numerous saddlebags, and slung them over her back. She felt a soft thump against her foreleg, followed by the sound of disgruntled shouting. She looked down and backed up, knocking something over.

In front of her, a stallion was staring at her, no longer ranting, but certainly not placated. Barricade apologized, and turned around to see a pile of luggage toppled behind her, a family of Pegasi glaring up at her in return. Again she apologized, and started making her way away from their judging stares. She moved with the crowd, no longer caring which exit was which, just hoping that her first moments in Canterlot wouldn’t be an omen of some kind. She opened her eyes and momentarily froze.

Everyone was staring at her.

She knew why, and she didn’t care for it. Barricade dropped her eyes and focused on the ground beneath her hooves, moving forward, moving toward the exit. Part of her knew this would be the hardest part of her trip, Manehattan Central station was a close second. But she knew that she’d be fine, she was always fine.

“Ma’am! You can’t go that way! It’s under construction!” Someone shouted through the crowd.

“Huh?” Barricade yelped as she quickly lifted her head to identify the speaker, wincing when instead she slammed her head into one of the top parts of the station’s many doors. “Agghh! Bloody, ‘ells…”

She heard a few snickers emanate from the crowd around her. A short, portly unicorn quickly scampered over to Barricade from nearby, she looked him over through one eye as she rubbed the top of her head with a hoof. He was dressed in uniform, and had a look of concern on his face.

“Didn’t mean to startle you, Ma’am. But that path is off limits until they finish the coastal line’s railway.” He smiled for a moment, as an relatively awkward silence fell over the scene. “Are you lost? You don’t seem like you’re…”

“Like I’m what?” Barricade hissed, holding her stare for the briefest of seconds before relaxing. “Ah, I’m sorry. I, uh... I get it from me da.”

The stallion smiled up with more than a hint of nervousness in his features. “No! No, I understand, certainly! Would you like directions anywhere? I’d be happy to help you get where you’re going.”

Barricade rubbed her head one last time and gave it a thorough shake. “Aye, if it’s not too much trouble.” She plucked her home address from the side pocket of her saddlebags and sat down. “Four-Three-Five, Southwest Applewood Avenue, Apartment number two. Do you know where that might be?”

The station guard put a hoof to his chin. “Applewood runs pretty close to the castle, and through the market district. Though houses numbered three-hundred and higher are usually past the main district; really nice neighborhood by the way. Go out this exit, and once you’re airborne, look for th—”

“Walking directions. Please.” Barricade said, fidgeting in place. “I’d... rather just, walk, if that’s not too much trouble?”

The stallion tilted his head. “Alright, if you say so. You're going to start by taking a right once you get out. Stop at the fountain plaza in market district, and look for a sign that says Applewood; should be on your left once you get there. I’m sure you can find it from there. It's a short walk down the road.”

The stallion turned and looked back at the line of frustrated ponies waiting to have their tickets cleared with a sigh. “Have a nice day, ma’am.”

Barricade whimpered a soft, “sorry!” after the stallion as he walked away. She swiftly gathered up her belongings and swung the saddlebag over her back. The route to the door was busy, but not overly crowded as she moved with the flow of traffic. She took a right as soon as she left, and headed down the street.

She had the feeling that she was headed the right direction, as the smells that were growing stronger were absolutely delicious. She crested the hill and looked down at the sprawling plaza: vendor carts, restaurants, and stores lined the streets. She’d thought that the station housed the most ponies in one place that she’d ever seen. She settled on labeling it the second busiest place she’d ever seen.

Barricade scanned the horizon, and spotted a wide path to the left of the plaza. Eager to remove herself from the crowd, she made straight for it, giving extra consideration not to harm anyone on her way. She was grateful when she got there, as the traffic seemed to die down almost entirely in the branched paths. She glanced up at the sign, “Applewood Avenue, this is the place.” She said to nopony in particular as she cantered down the sidewalk.

“Four thirty-two, four thirty-three, four thirty-four… Ah-ha!” She squealed, fumbling with the key as she maneuvered it into the lock. “Home!” She thought as the door swung open, and she pushed her bags in before her.

She ducked her head and shimmied her way under the top of the door. Barricade looked up, and satisfied with the clearance, lifted her head. The apartment was of decent size: A bedroom, a kitchen and bath, a small dining and living room. The furniture that she and her parents ordered and had delivered was plain, but functional: just how she liked it. A table, some seating cushions and chairs, a nightstand and lamp, and a queen sized bed.

Barricade paused. Staring at her bed with her hoof firmly affixed to her face. “Not a Queen, we ordered King size… right?” She groaned loudly and stared at it, wishing that by doing so, it would magically fix itself. She gave a sharp exhale, and shrugged. It would do and she could manage. Though she did make a note to herself as she unpacked her few clothes and belongings to get ahold of the furniture company later.

She eventually had everything unpacked, sheets on the bed, and what used to look like an empty apartment was starting to look a bit more like home. She smiled in satisfaction, and folded her saddlebags when a soft “crunch” came from within. Her ears perked, and she slowly re-opened the bag, fishing out a small pamphlet.

“We’re no miracle workers, but if we can do anything to help you, I promise we will try. But you have natural talent for this, Barricade. We need ponies like you. There’s a lot of opportunity here.”

All falls silent for a moment.

“When can I start?”

“Third day of Fe—”

“—buary.” Barricade whispered under her breath. “Canterlot castle, seven in the morning.” Barricade took the paper to her bedroom and set it on the nightstand as she crawled into bed, wincing at the groaning complaints that it made. Convinced that the frame wasn’t going to give out on her, she snuggled down into her blankets, staring up at the ceiling.

“Tomorrow, tomorrow’s the day.” She thought, her eyelids drooping to a close.

“I’m going to join the royal guard.” She whispered, as a small smile formed at the corners of her mouth.

Author's Note

-*just a close up of her mark from the cover image.*-

Reporting for duty

A single shaft of light pierced the veil of curtain, falling to rest on the eyelid of a very tired, barely awake, Barricade. The small hill moved beneath the covers, groaning in protest and uttering half-curses at Celestia with each pop of her joints. She struggled mightily against the sinister sheets. But she was helpless, trapped beneath in the warm, fluffy darkness.

She fell still. An eye fluttered open; blearily scanning the world on its side. Her gaze fell upon the small pamphlet resting on her nightstand where she’d placed it the night before. Her breathing quickened. Frantically, she looked to the clock also on the stand.

5:37, Am.

She exhaled slowly, closing her eyes and curling in on herself. Prisoner that she was, Barricade was not going to just roll over and let something like today pass her by.

Barricade breathed deeply. Two large, brown hooves shot out from the end of the bed as she stretched with a groan. Her forelegs fell out to either side, and her wings quickly followed: flaring out to four feet, five inches each as they ripped the vile covers from their insidious hold. She lay there; motionless and sprawled over the edges of her too-small bed with her chest puffed out.

There she remained for a few moments, before slowly releasing the air from her lungs with a contented smile and closed eyes. She shivered a little as she sat up. Rubbing her eyes and trying to ignore the pained cries for mercy that her bed made.

“Oy, Can’nit,” she chuckled softly and dropped off the side of the bed. She trotted over to the bathroom, stifling a yawn. She gave a gentle push and the door swung inward, revealing the most holy and blessed object in her morning ritual: the shower.

Nineteen minutes later, Barricade stood above four soaking towels, holding the last in preparation for drying her mane. Which she would be doing if she wasn’t so transfixed by the mirror.

Her teal and cyan hair hung like a mop placed on her head. She blew a clump of wet mane out of her face, only to have it fall down over her left eye. A small smile teased at the corners of her mouth, followed by a hushed snicker. Barricade shook her head, tossing her soaking mane into total disarray, brushed it over her eye again, and gave her reflection the most sultry stare she could muster.

“Oh… No, I’m not from around here. Barely know the town so… I guess I’m…” She lowered her head, glancing at her reflection past her hair. “Available.” She held the pose a few seconds, and quickly attacked the soaking mane with her towel. “Focus, ‘Arri. Now is not the time,” she muttered quietly.

Barricade gave herself one last shake as she stared into the mirror once more. A nagging fear lingered in the back of her mind; a constant companion, not overly debilitating, but worrisome all the same. She stared at the mare in the mirror, and took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. “It’s going to be fine. There’s going to be lots of ponies there, but you’re fine, Barricade. They’re going to stare because you’re seven-foot-eight, and you’re going to be fine. Just don’t focus on them, focus on what you’re there for: you’re guard material, so act like it out there.” Slowly she opened her eyes, and her heart jumped. It was certainly her reflection she saw, but it looked no more confident than she had hoped.

“I’m gunnae be okay… I’m gunnae be okay…”

A harsh ringing stunned Barricade as she flinched from her mantra. She pulled the door open, stuck her head into her bedroom and looked to the clock:

6:00, Am.

Barricade swiftly trotted over, silenced the device, and hurried to the kitchen. She rummaged through a few cupboards, grabbing some oats, some milk, and three bowls. As she filled each bowl with oats and some milk, she debated simply searching for a bigger bowl down at the market, or having one made. She didn’t spend too much time thinking about it, as she dismissed the thought with a shrug, and dumped the entire contents of the first bowl into her mouth.

The other two fell prey to the same fate as the first, their hollow corpses callously tossed to a grave more commonly referred to as the sink. Barricade promised herself to give them a proper funeral later; she was not about to be late for the recruitment briefing. As she unlocked the door, she craned her neck to look at her alarm clock one last time.

6:11, Am.

“Perfect,” she thought, as the latch clicked and she stepped outside.

The sun was still fighting to break free of the horizon, but many ponies were already bustling the streets, casually shooting sideways glances at Barricade as she shimmied through her door. She closed her eyes, stretched her wings a bit, and inhaled the crisp morning air. The wind tugged at her wings, and danced through her coat. A little chilly, but invigorating. It was friendlier than the winds of Manehattan, as if pushing her toward where she wanted to go.

And she knew exactly where she was headed; the castle was seen easily from anywhere in the city. So it wasn’t a question of location, but rather of specifics. Barricade figured she could ask for directions when she actually got to the castle though.

She slowly exhaled and opened her eyes, turned north and cantered toward the castle in the distance.

Never in Barricade’s life had she felt so small.

The gates of Canterlot castle rose like two golden warriors, assigned to a post they would faithfully keep until the end of time. The entire building emanated power, and commanded respect. For a moment, Barricade wondered if she were worthy of entering. As if stepping within would be some sort of sacrilege.

“Ma’am. State your business, please.”

Barricade blinked. She looked down into the half-closed eyes of a pegasus mare, donned in armor and returning her empty expression with one of impatience.

“Please, Ma’am. There are other ponies I hafta clear and I really don—”

“Applicant for the guard.” A gentle flush of heat rose to Barricade’s cheeks. “I got a little lost in the architecture of the castle, sorry.”

The mare cocked an eyebrow. “Do you have your Recruit’s invitation?”

“Yes I—” Barricade froze as her mind backtracked through the last 25 minutes of travel, all the way back through her front door, to a single moment. She had been leaning back, checking the clock, 6:11 Am. And right there next to the clock was the small pamphlet she had clung to for months. “—Nae, I don’t have it on me…”

The following silence was palpable. Barricade squinted softly and cursed herself with every scoltish swear her father taught her. She gently opened one eye, and gave the guard a pitiful glance. “What time is it?”

“6:36,” she replied flatly.

The ground seemed to fall out from underneath Barricade’s hooves. Everything felt like it was crumbling around her. She looked down and gave the guard the most desperate look she could muster. “There’s no way I can make it back in time to grab it. Is there any chance I can fill out another one here?”

The mare rolled her eyes and waved her hoof at Barricade. “Listen, hun. There’s a few forms just inside for the early signers. If you hurry, you should be able to fill it out and make it on time.”

“Ah! Pure dead fantastic!” Barricade cheered, bolting for the doors like a mare possessed. As soon as she was inside, she scanned for the forms, and pounced on them eagerly.

Seventeen minutes later, Barricade emerged from the lobby with a triumphant smile. She sauntered over to the guard’s post and lay the form on her table. “There, done.”

“Congratulations. Now, you have about 6 minutes to meet in the back fields on the other side of the castle.”

Every drop of confidence in Barricade’s body turned into panic in a mere instant. “Bloody… ‘Arri, you diddy.” She shook her head and stared straight into the guards eyes. “I don’t know how to get there, what’s the fastest way?”

Again, the mare waved her hoof. “Side hall, goes all the way back. Entrance is over there.”

Barricade was already gone.

Her mind was a mess of doubt and worry. She tucked her head and pushed her legs to move faster as she entered the hall and took the corner. She stumbled a bit as something very distinctly pony sized, and heavy, collided with her leg as she turned. She watched as whatever she just accidentally kicked flew across the hallway and slammed into a pillar.

She slid to a stop and gasped softly. She slowly approached the motionless, grey, pegasus stallion that now lay in a crumpled heap. Barricade knelt down, her chest tightening; he wasn’t breathing, and that was never a good thing.

A sharp draw of breath took Barricade by surprise. She knelt down to the stallion and unleashed a torrent of apologies upon him. He weakly waved his hoof at her, gasping for another thirty seconds or so before speaking.

“I’m… I’m fine… You just knocked the wind out of me,” he sputtered, holding his side and forcing a smile.

“Are you sure?” Barricade furrowed her brow. “How many colors does my mane have?”

The guard’s expression shifted dramatically; from a look of discomfort, to one of absence. He blinked rapidly a few times, shook his head and replied slowly. “Um. Two?”

“Great,” she said quickly. “Are you going to be okay? Because I really don’t want to miss the recruitment orientation, and that starts in like… Oh geez!” she yelped.

“Yeah… Yeah, I’ll be fine,” he mumbled. “Wait, Recruitment? What’s your name, recruit?”

Barricade had already started to scoot down the hall once the stallion confirmed that he’d be okay. She looked over her shoulder and shouted back to the dazed guard. “Barricade! I gotta go! Get better! See you soon! Maybe!”

And with that, she drove her legs as hard as she could. Pillars flew past her, each one in time with the seconds she counted. She slowed as she turned the corner, peeking first, before putting on another burst of speed. Just ahead, rows of ponies stood in formation, unmoving, staring straight ahead at an empty podium.

She slowed her steps, cautiously creeping up into the very back row, and standing at attention, just as everyone else did. A few ponies to her sides gave awkward glances at her, but for the most part, they were either too focused, or too scared to deviate their gaze.

Just then, a stocky white pegasus, donned in the Gale Corp’s armor slowly climbed up the steps. He leveled a steely glare at the group of recruits. A steely glare, Barricade noted, that her father possessed as well.

The guard took the podium, and looked out over the crowd with a sour expression on his face. He remained painfully silent for minute or so, before speaking.

“You are all here today for a reason. That reason, is to better yourselves, and serve Equestria, and her citizens. You ask yourselves right now: ‘Protect them from what’? Go ahead, somepony ask me.”

The crowd was dead silent.

“I’m sorry, maybe I wasn’t clear; I said: someone ask me what we are protecting them from!” he roared, causing a number of the ponies to flinch; including Barricade herself.

A Unicorn in the center of the crowd rose her hoof in salute, and shouted back up to the podium. “Sir! What are we protecting them from? Sir!”

The Stallion on stage glared at the unicorn and yelled right back. “The fact that you don’t know, means that we are doing. Our. Job!” He lifted his gaze from the unicorn and addressed the crowd. “Equestria has a long standing tradition of remaining peaceful and prosperous. We, the guard, are the reason it remains so! We are quick, decisive, and effective at stamping out anything that would dare harm, or disrupt, the peace that resides here in Equestria.”

Barricade felt a spark shoot down her spine. An energy she couldn’t explain. Everything about what the stallion was saying seemed to just resonate. She suppressed the urge to fidget as the stallion’s eyes swept the crowd once more.

“We are civil servants. If there is trouble, we are there before it starts. This is why we have no need for those without initiative or commitment.” The stallion snorted derisively, staring down at the throng of ponies, and locking eyes with Barricade. “You all will be sorted into one of three divisions: the Diamond Corps, Gale Corps, or Ember Corps. There will be officers to lead each group to the trial areas, you will then be briefed, and begin training.”

Not a breath was uttered, save for the occasional cough within the ranks.

The stallion squinted at the recruits once more.

“Dismissed.”

The courtyard slowly began to dissolve into a sort of controlled chaos. Ponies brushed past Barricade as they made their way toward one of many officers scattered around the perimeter. Barricade found herself tapping a hoof as the lines inched closer and closer to the officers. The seconds dragged on into minutes as she found herself whispering her mantra.

“I’m going to be fine. I’m going to be fine.”

She looked around, she could feel the inspirational tone and energy of the stallions speech beginning to ebb as she noticed how many ponies were staring, not even trying to hide the fact.

“You knew this was going to happen,” she thought. “You knew, and there’s no reason to freak out now.”

She forced a smile and looked down the line. She was close. All she had to do was wait a few minutes, and she’d be able to leave the line. Little by little, she crept forward, until she stood above a desk with a unicorn stallion huddled over the last recruit’s paperwork.

The officer didn’t even look up as he began to speak. “Name?”

“Barricade, sir.”

The stallion flipped through a folder of forms and pulled out the one she had completed not thirty minutes before. His head moved back and forth as his eyes scanned the page, only to jerk up and blink in disbelief.

“Oh. I thought that was a mistake in the record,” he said with a touch of nervousness in his voice.

Barricade bobbed her head nonchalantly. “I get that a lot.”

The officer stared off into space awkwardly before grabbing the papers off his table. “Yes, well, everything seems to be in order. You’re going to be assigned to the Diamond Corps, Barricade. Best of luck.”

Barricade winced a bit as he delivered her assignment. She knew what she had written, and what it would mean. But even that foreknowledge didn’t make the reminder any easier to take.

She stepped past the table and walked toward the Diamond Corps banner, her confidence returning as she left the massive crowd behind her. The group clustered beneath the flag was primarily Earth Ponies, with the occasional Unicorn. Some were jittery, some looked tired. All of them seemed interested in the Earth pony guard stoically observing the little group.

As the last pony was assigned her group, the Earth pony stepped forward.

“A-ten-tion!”

The entire group stood at attention instantly.

The guard looked over her charges and a wicked smile grew on her lips. “Alright, you recruits are going to be training with me. Let’s see how deep that commitment of yours runs.”

Author's Note

(Okay, after much deliberation with my editors: I, and I alone have come to an approximation of the different average sizes for ponies in the story.

A lot of you are probably wondering: "okay, so she said she's 7' 8", and that's fine, but compared to everyone else, where does that really put her?"

Well, wonder no more. In the OWoC canon, I ran with a more normalized idea for the average height based off of standard human height. Assuming the average pony is, on average: 5' tall. With big mac topping the chart at 5'6", and Luna at 5' 7" Celestia would therefore measure up at about a head taller, as seen in the show, at 6'7". So to put things in perspective, Celestia's horn is about another 12-13 inches higher, and would be right between Barricade's eyes if they were to stand straight up, facing each other.

I apologize for the changes and not having this completely rock solid ahead of time. I made the mistake of only scaling between Tia and Barricade beforehand, and not with the average every day pony. Sorry for the confusion, I will not be deviating from this standard. Hope this helps!

What doesn't kill me

Every muscle in Barricade’s body screamed for mercy as she somehow found strength to lift her hooves. She had been dragging herself around the royal garden’s borders for what felt like the hundredth time that afternoon, and she wasn’t feeling so good. Sweat dripped from her body like small waterfalls, stinging her eyes and drenching her mane.

She knew that the others in the group were doing little better than she was. A few Earth ponies were ahead of her; panting, but not suffering, not yet. Barricade drew a sharp hiss through her teeth and squint her eye shut as a salty droplet burned beneath her eyelid.

“Faster! I didn’t say you could slow down!” The officer barked, hovering in the air above the long line of recruit hopefuls. “If you don’t pick it up right now, you can forget joining the guard! Now run, you fillies!”

Barricade’s breathing hitched as a dry sob quietly escaped her. For the last four hours they’d been doing nothing but running. The only time they were allowed to stop was to get a drink of water, and they’d only had two breaks. Nearly a third of the group had given up, and anyone that got overlapped by the leader was immediately removed.

White foam clung to the corners of her mouth. Her hooves grew ever heavier with each step as she began to slow and her head bobbed slightly as it slowly began to fall.

A soft bump from her left side jolted Barricade back to alertness. An earth pony mare of golden yellow, smiled over her shoulder toward Barricade, as if to say: “Come on, don’t quit yet.” The mare looked forward again, keeping her pace and breathing heavily.

“Golden Beryl.” Barricade thought with a smile. Beryl had stopped at the same water station as Barricade the last two rest periods. She complained about it being cold of all things, and that it was nearly impossible to breathe all the way up here. But for the five minute intervals that Barricade had shared with her, Beryl seemed really nice.

The group rounded the corner, headed toward a clearing with numerous jugs of water sitting on tables. At around thirty minutes after they had started this gauntlet, a unicorn broke off from the pack toward the water tables without instruction to do so. He was quickly removed from the field. Ever since then, every lap would bring them right past it, as if to taunt them.

Normally, the officer would throw out some jeers and antagonizing words, inviting any wimps to go get a drink. But as they drew closer, the officer stopped the lead ponies and pointed to the tables.

“You all have ten minutes. If you’re not back on this path before then, go home.”

The entire group stumbled over to the tables with varying degrees of audible distress.

Five minutes and two jugs of water later, Barricade sprawled out on the grass. She stared up at the clouds wistfully, measuring her breaths as they caught up with her. A shadow fell over her face, followed by a familiar voice. “You almost quit on me back there, Barricade.”

“Oh,” Barricade groaned loudly as she sat up. “Yeah, thanks for the encouragement, Beryl. I was absolutely dying out there.”

Golden Beryl chuckled and rolled her shoulders. “You’re not the only one. Like I told you before, the air up here is so thin. It’s hard to maintain a steady pace when I can hardly breathe.”

“Form up!”

Barricade grunted, and pushed herself up on shaky hooves. She shook her mane aggressively, sending droplets everywhere. “Well, time for another ninety minutes of running.”

“Ah, we’ll make it, she can’t make us run forever,” Beryl said confidently.

As soon as Beryl said those words, Barricade’s ears wilted. “No, she can’t. But that doesn’t mean she won’t try.”

“Twenty seconds! Break’s over, get up!” The officer shouted. Everypony quickly scurried back to the track, a spring of new life in their step. But their enthusiasm was quickly dampened by the sinister smile on the Guard’s face.

“Alright! You know the drill! Get moving!”

A few groans and complaints escaped the group as it pushed forward. The officer hovered overhead, heckling everypony. “What was that? You want to quit? Is that what you said? You can go ho—”

The antagonistic voice was drowned out by a thunderous explosion that rocked the air around Barricade, and was quickly followed by a blast of wind. The guard tumbled a short distance, nearly falling into the recruits. Then she, and subsequently everypony else, stopped and stared in the direction of the noise.

A wide, multi-colored halo spread out across the sky. A ring of color that expanded outward, passing overhead until it faded away completely.

Barricade looked down to Beryl, who in turn, looked up to Barricade. Both shrugged and looked toward the point of origin.

Meanwhile, a wave of hushed murmurs washed over the group, only to fall silent as the officer turned to face the recruits.

“Well, I can honestly say that I’ve never seen that before. But I never told you to stop running! Mo—”

A second, thunderous crash rang out. This time from behind them. Everypony turned at once, looking up at the tower, and the massive dragon sticking out through the roof.

The guard’s gaze never left the dragon as she spoke. “You pass this portion. Be here tomorrow morning. Dismissed.” And with that, the officer rocketed toward the tower.

Barricade blinked a few times, casually scanning her surroundings and trying to process what exactly just happened. A second glance at the tower revealed a gaping hole, a number of pegasi guards, but no dragon.

“Barricade.” Golden Beryl nudged her slightly. “I’m not sure, but I’m fairly certain we just watched a dragon explode out of that tower.” Every word was drawn out, as if Beryl didn’t believe what she was saying herself.

“Aye, lass.” Barricade said, blinking a few times before reality caught up with her.

“You pass this portion.”

“I passed.” She whispered, a smile growing on her face.

Golden Beryl cocked her head slightly. “Come again?”

“We passed!” Barricade hopped in place then flopped to the ground. She stared up at the sky, giggling, and pulling her hooves to her chest. “We did it…”

It started with a snicker. Then a soft, gentle laughter played upon the breeze. It grew louder and louder until Beryl was sitting down, holding her stomach, and gasping for air. She sat there for a few moments until she was breathing normally again. “Barricade, you’re adorable; you know that?” Beryl pushed herself off the ground with a grunt and slowly began to trot away, still chuckling. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Right! Tomorrow!” Barricade said as she lifted her head.

She lay her head back down, grinning at the clouds as they passed.

“I’m doing it, Da. I’m really doing it.” She thought as she closed her eyes for just a moment.

She didn’t know how long she lay there, but it was at least until the throbbing in her legs stopped. Content that they weren’t about to explode from sheer exertion; Barricade opened her eyes, rolled over, and stood on shaky legs.

She slowly hobbled her way over to the side hall where she first entered. Gritting her teeth and growling a little with each step. She was used to physical exertion, but she’d never pushed herself as that guard did. A twinge in Barricade’s leg stumbled her, forcing her over to a pillar where she sat down, and leaned against it with a deep breath.

“So how did it go?”

Barricade gasped and looked around the corner. The grey stallion from before slowly trotted toward her. His middle was bandaged, which the most likely reason that he hissed through his teeth as he sat next to her.

A pang of guilt shot through Barricade, she averted her eyes and replied tersely. “It went fine.”

The stallion simply nodded.

Barricade cringed as the seconds dragged on into minutes. Soon enough, her hooves started to tap together of their own accord. The silence was unbearable.

“Sorry about your… um, sorry for accidentally kicking you.” Barricade shook her head gently, forcing herself to speak. “What’s, uh, what’s your name?”

The stallion chuckled, muttering a quiet “Ow” before answering. “Ah, I’m Vee.”

“Just Vee?” Barricade said, ear cocked to the side.

“Vee Form, sorry.”

“O-oh! no, don’t be,” Barricade stuttered. “Sorry about your uh, well, running you over like that. Is it bad?”

Vee shrugged gently “Well, I just got released from the medical ward. It was just a dislocated wing and a minor contusion; pretty good deal for what I should have gotten out of our— brief exchange earlier, if I say so myself.”

He began to laugh heartily, and Barricade quickly complemented his laughter with a nervous version of her own. “Heh. Yeah, lucky you…”

“I’ll be let off work for a week or two; paid sick leave. So, it’s not all bad.” He craned his head toward her field of vision, flashing a genuine smile. “I don’t get enough vacation after all, so thank you. Just a shame that I’ve gotta go and get myself roughed up to get it.”

Barricade nodded slowly, scrambling for something to say as the silence drifted nearer and nearer to critically awkward levels once again.

“So, did you hear about that dragon incident in one of the castle towers?” She said as she continued trying to free herself of the stiffness plaguing her body.

The stallion’s ears perked up, and he scooted over into better view. “I did, big ‘ole lizard just pops up out of nowhere, and is gone the next moment?”

“Yeah.” Barricade turned to face Vee. “Yeah, that’s exactly what it was like! It happened in the middle of our running drills. Do you know what that was about?”

Vee scowled a bit as he shifted his weight. “Well, One of the medical aids heard it was some Sparkle filly taking her entrance exam for Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Evidently something went terribly right, I suppose.”

“Wait. Right?” Barricade’s ears wilted and she shook her head. “I’m confused.”

Again, Vee shrugged. “You and me both. Apparently, she was only supposed to hatch a dragon from its egg, and what she ended up doing was send that hatchling not only through its shell, but the roof too.”

Barricade’s eyes went wide, and she leaned against the pillar. “A filly did that? That’s terrifying.”

“It is.” Vee said with a nod. “Celestia herself intervened and controlled the situation; no one was injured, just shaken up.” He got to his hooves with a groan and bowed his head. “In any case, I’ve had enough fresh air for now. Doctor’s orders say I ought to be off my hooves and healing. I’m sure I’ll see you around…”

“Barricade.” She said with a smile.

Vee stamped his hoof lightly. “Gah, you’ll have to be patient with me, I’m terrible with names.” With a wave, Vee turned toward the building he had just come from. “Well, Barricade, see you around, and best of luck. Who knows, if you make it through the week, maybe you and I will end up working together sometime.”

A subtle panic gripped Barricade as Vee uttered those last words. She quickly flashed a smile and bowed her head in kind. “Maybe. I’ll have to make it first, then we will see,” she chuckled. “See you, Vee.”

He was already halfway to the building as he flashed that same sincere smile back over his shoulder. “Bye.”

“Bye.”

Vee disappeared around a corner as Barricade whispered one final. “Bye.” Under her breath. She paused a moment, and shrugged it off as she stood up. Her muscles ached in protest, but she somehow found a way to traverse the hall, despite the pain. Though, her mind was elsewhere: lost in thoughts of what the next day would bring. Unbearably curious about the little filly behind the appearance of the dragon. But most perplexing of all was that stallion, Vee.

Barricade stopped for a passing cart, and shook the thought from her mind. “Stay focused ‘Arri. Do Ma ‘n Da proud.”

She smiled a bit; she’d conquered the first day and she only had to survive the week’s trials to get into the guard. She could do it, she knew she could. Just as long as she managed to stayed focused.

The door clicked softly as Barricade shimmied her way inside and headed for the shower. She stopped in front of the mirror and grimaced at her reflection. Her wild mane hung heavy with sweat; shrouding her exhausted face.

“Barricade, you’re adorable; you know that? I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The shower door opened at her touch. Never had a small space seemed so inviting to her. She half-fell, half-stepped inside and sat down. With a gentle motion, she turned the hot water on, then leaned forward, pressing her head against the wall of the shower. The droplets pelted her coat and ran down her sides, relaxing her muscles and allowing her mind to wander once more.

“...see you around, and best of luck. If you make it through the week, maybe you and I will work together.”

“So what if it's day one? I’ll make it,” she thought with a gentle sigh. “I just gotta stay focused.”

Barricade lifted her head from the wall and held her mane beneath the shower head.

“I’m gunnae be okay…”

... Cannot stop me

The door closed with a satisfying click. It wasn’t satisfying in sound, no. It was satisfying because the next time Barricade entered her house, she was going to officially be part of the Royal guard, she was sure of it.

Barricade slipped the key into her saddlebags and headed toward the castle with a slight spring in her trot. It was still mostly dark out, and extremely early in the morning: not a soul was walking the cobbled streets save for her.

She knew there was good reason to be up though: after the end of the second day, Beryl offered to show Barricade around the city a little and she was raving about a little coffee stand that she’d visit every morning the whole time.

Barricade had been visiting that coffee stand for the last few days now, and had to agree with Beryl: it was exactly the kind of thing she needed to get going in the morning. The barista was a young stallion with a quick wit, charming smile, and the brightest red coat that Barricade had ever seen.

She smiled a bit as she turned into an alleyway, and spotting a brightly colored pony partially hidden by the counter of a small stand named “Red Tox’s Caffeine Cart”. Barricade slunk low to the ground and crept toward the stand, a smirk growing on her face until she was close enough to see the hairs on his back.

“Morning, Thunder-hooves.”

Barricade froze a moment, scowling as the stallion lifted his head, wearing the smirk he stole from her.

“You probably weren’t very good at hide n’ go seek as a filly, were you?” He gave a small chuckle as he tossed a bag of coffee beans onto the counter behind him.

She cocked an eyebrow and shook her head. “If I had to guess, you weren’t very good at it either, ya big cherry.”

“No,” He smiled. “No, I was most certainly not.” The stallion grabbed a rag from below and quickly wiped the counter down. He casually leaned forward and turned his “Closed” sign around. “So, welcome to Red Tox, what’s your poison?” he said with a wink.

“Oh, aren’t we clever today?” Barricade chuckled. Tired as she was, the stallion’s energy was infectious, it was easy to see why Beryl liked him so much. “You’re far more happy than anyone up this early has right to be, Red.”

“I’m a walking caffeine addiction, why are you surprised?”

Both ponies laughed for a good thirty seconds, each one engaged in a contest to catch their breath before the other.

“F… Fair enough!” Barricade wiped a tear from her eye and shook her head. “Well, contrary to what you told me yesterday, that almond-roasted coffee yesterday was good, but not my new favorite. What else do you have?”

“Geez, you’re a hard sell. Alright, well I do have one drink in mind. It’s off season, buuuuuuut… Well, you’ll see.”

“As long as it’s not actually poison, I’ll trust you,” Barricade snickered. Red turned to his equipment and set to work as a question crossed Barricade’s mind. “Say, Red? Why advertise your shop that way? What with the whole: ‘Pick your poison’ thing?”

A delicious smell wafted out from behind the counter as Red replied. “Well, not a lot of ponies know this, but caffeine is a drug of sorts: that’s how you can get addicted to it.” A soft bubbling sound filled the stand as the coffee started to percolate. “And like any drug, it can be lethal in high enough doses. Some goggleheads up at the university placed the lethal dose at about ten grams of caffeine, but you’d have to drink more coffee than your stomach could hold to get there.”

A tall cup slid across the counter, stopping on the edge. “And since all my drinks have caffeine in them, technically I’m not wrong when I say: ‘Pick your poison!’" Red grabbed a straw, and tossed it through the air toward the slot in the lid. It sailed straight and true, and bounced off the lip of the cup.

Both ponies stared at the cup for a moment. “Well, that was far more impressive in my head,” Red smiled bashfully as he levitated a straw into the drink. “One extra large Pumpkin Spice Latté, for one extra large customer.”

Barricade blinked. “Are you calling me fat?” Red began to visibly lose color as the silence dragged on. Eventually the silence was broken by soft laughter. “I’m only teasing, how much do I owe you?”

Red quite literally heaved a sigh of relief. He looked up to Barricade with a pensive look on his face. “Mmm… ‘Bout ‘tree bitty.”

She dug into her saddlebags and pulled out four bits, giving three to Red and dropping the extra into his “Mad Chemist’s Bonus Beaker”. She took a small sip and closed her eyes as the unbelievably delicious taste abducted her taste buds. A single tear rolled down her face as she stared absently at the back wall.

“Um, Barricade, are you alright? Is something wrong?” Red furrowed his brow and stood up, waving a hoof through her field of vision.

“No. Nothing’s wrong. It’s… It’s perfect. I could drink this forever.”

“You could,” Red smiled. “But I’m fairly certain I literally just explained in great detail why that would be a bad idea.”

Barricade couldn’t help but chuckle. “I suppose you did,” she said, taking another small sip. “Hey, have you seen Beryl yet? She’s usually here by now.”

“Can’t say that I have. Could be that she’s just decided to not stop by, she does that on occasion.” Red levitated the mis-fired straw from the ground and tossed it in the trash. “I wouldn’t worry about it too much, she’s probably just got somewhere to be.”

Barricade chugged the rest of the drink down and sighed with a dopey grin plastered on her face. “Yeah, we both do. But that’s not for another hour or so.” She absently tossed the cup in the trash as she continued, “Maybe she just decided to get a little extra sleep, I’ll find out one way or the other. I should probably get going though, today’s the last day of the assessment: next time you see me, I’ll be a guard.”

“Well, confidence is a big part of any interview!” Red chuckled. “Best of luck out there! Tell Beryl I wish her luck as well, would ya?”

“Sure thing. See you tomorrow I suppose.” Barricade watched as a stallion walked up to the counter, looking up at the menu. Red gave a slight nod, then eagerly launched into conversation with the new customer as Barricade headed off toward the castle once more.

Barricade was starting to get a feel for the layout of the castle. Having walked the halls every day during the last week probably had something to do with that, she figured. But while the building still commanded respect and demanded authority, it didn’t feel quite so scary anymore. She turned a corner down the side hall and saw a scattered few ponies gathered before a podium. They quietly murmured amongst themselves, their voices betraying the anxious atmosphere.

She scanned the crowd, and quickly saw what she sought: an unmistakable shade of yellow hidden amongst the colors. Barricade made her way next to Beryl’s side, and sat down.

“Hey.”

Beryl barely moved.

“Hey.”

“Red wishes you the best of luck,” Barricade said with a small frown. “I’m surprised you weren’t there this morning.”

“I’ve got a case of jitters already, coffee wouldn’t do me any good.” Beryl replied, keeping her eyes straight ahead. “I’m nervous, Barricade. I mean, I’m sure we’re fine, but we just don’t know yet.”

The words tore at Barricade’s confidence. “Yeah, well, so am I; everyone is, by the sound of things. But that’s no reason to quit now. You showed me that on the first day!”

Beryl looked up, smiling. “I suppose so. But that was easy: I had something to do. This waiting though, I just about can't stand it. If I’m not making, or doing something." She gave a small twitch. “It just drives me nuts, it’s too much like home.”

“Too much like home?” Barricade inquired.

“Yeah, my family is… Well, let’s just say we’re very well off. So a lot of things that most ponies do for themselves, like cook, and clean? That’s all paid for and taken care of.”

“Sounds nice, never having to want for anything.” Barricade said quietly.

Beryl shook her head and sighed. “Inaction breeds laziness and arrogance. I couldn’t bear to grow up with that, I wanted to do something worthwhile instead of toying around making jewelry and other pretty, useless things. There’s enough ponies around to do that.”

Barricade nodded silently. “So what is it you want to do?” she said with a gentle nudge.

“Well, my hope was to get in, complete basic training, and join the quartermasters.”

Time seemed to hang on that last word as Barricade mulled it over. “You want to work a forge?”

Beryl nodded.

“A lady of status, willingly giving up prestige, to work a forge.”

Beryl scowled. “And this is why I was nervous, everyone’s going to think I can’t do squat because I’m some soft-hooved mare from an upscale family.”

Barricade cringed. “No! No, I didn’t mean it like that, honest. I was just, surprised. That’s all.” She gave the most honest, disarming smile she could. “If I’ve learned anything about you this last week, it’s that you work hard, and that counts for an awful lot.”

A small smile played at Beryl’s mouth. “Thanks. Though really, time will be the deciding factor, won’t it?”

Barricade furrowed her brow. “No, me da always told me the future is what you make of the present. If you want it, you’ll find a way,” she said wistfully.

The burly, white pegasus from the start of the week took the podium, clearing his throat with the force of an avalanche.

The silencing effect was a thing of awe.

Barricade stood and faced the stallion as Beryl did the same. Every pony on the field was brimming with nervous energy: Barricade could just feel it in the air around her. The one thing that struck her as odd, was that the usual officers weren’t waiting in the wings. The field was empty save for the stallion and the other recruits.

"Good morning. I'd like to welcome you all to Canterlot Castle and today's initiation ceremony. I'd like to take a few moments to talk to you and your fellow ponies standing before here today.

“One-hundred and eight stood on this field just over one week ago; blurry eyed, scared, disoriented, yet eager to start recruit training. To the ones that remain: as you leave this field today, understand that the pride and honor of the guard rest personally and squarely on your shoulders.”

The stallion let his eyes sweep slowly over the group.

"Serve proudly and with distinction: you are our future.”

"Fillies and gentlecolts, it gives me great honor to declare you our nation's newest, and finest, Royal Guardsponies. "

A small smile played at the stallions mouth as he stood to the side of the podium, and struck a salute. “Guard Detail! At ease! And congratulations.”

The group exploded with a roar of cheers. Barricade could feel her whole body tingling with excitement as she joined the ruckus with a cheer of her own. She looked down, and saw Beryl standing stock still, a single tear rolling down her face.

And then it hit her.

Her legs went numb as she stood there amongst the cheering and the joyful tears. Despite the demands made of them over the last week, they were still here. Barricade slowly sat down, blinking at the now-empty stage. Her service in the guard was far from over, but she’d at least made it in.

She looked down to her hooves, as fat, heavy tears fell upon them. Her body bounced slightly with each muffled sob, as a smile fought desperately to get past her shocked expression. Part of her knew why she was crying, the other wondered if it was acceptable to be crying; she was a guard now, and guards don’t cry.

That’s what she told herself at least, Barricade tried to fight it, but knew that it wasn’t to be. Every second was a fight for breath as she battled the emotions welling up inside her. She looked down to Beryl, and Beryl looked up. Smiles formed beneath the tears on Barricade’s face, mimicking the one Beryl wore. Barricade owed a lot to her, they suffered through everything the officers could throw at them, together.

Still gushing emotion, Barricade leaned down and gave her friend a warm hug, and smiled as she felt hooves slung around her neck in return.

“We’re gunnae be okay…”

Some twenty minutes later. Barricade had fully weathered her emotional storm, and from the sounds, or lack thereof, it seemed that Beryl had as well.

She slowly nudged Beryl with a hoof, and smiled warmly. “Come on, let’s go. We should find out what happens next.”

Beryl simply nodded, and rose to her hooves.

Barricade stood and looked around the field. It seemed like the officers had been replaced with guards she didn't recognize, and the recruits were splitting up amongst them. She looked down to Beryl and nodded her head toward the other guards. “Hey, it looks like somethings going on over by the exit. Let’s go.”

As she drew closer, she could see that the guards were watching the recruits as they came by, and calling them over by name.

“Golden Beryl!”

Beryl jerked upward with wide eyes, scanning the scene. “Here!”

From the back of the guards, came a familiar pegasus stallion wrapped in too-familiar bandages. He locked eyes with Beryl and motioned behind him before looking at Barricade.

“Barricade.”

A chill ran down Barricade’s spine as she willed the word’s to her lips. “Present, sir!”

Vee nodded behind him and returned his eyes to the gateway where the recruits were filtering in.

Barricade rushed over to the small group where Beryl was sitting, and took a seat next to her. “What’s going on, do you know?”

“Kinda, Flicker over there,” Beryl pointed to a unicorn mare with the easily recognizable face of panic, “was telling me that they’re assigning groups for the guard training. We just finished the assessment.”

Just then, Vee came limping toward the group. “Follow me.” He said, walking right through the circle of new recruits.

Everypony got up and marched behind him, about fifty feet from the entrance.

“Sit down.” He said, eyeballing everyone carefully.

Barricade quickly planted herself on the ground, trying desperately to convince herself that this had nothing to do with what happened between her and Vee at the start of the assessment.

“I am Sergeant First Class Vee Formation. But you will call me Sergeant, or Sir. As of right now, your unit has been assigned the designation: Tempest. I run a very tight unit here, and if your reports are anything to go by, it’ll be a pleasure working with you,” he said with a smile.

“I wanted to cover what happens next with you all before you disappear to go celebrate. You’re dismissed for the next two days, after which, you are to return here at the same time you’ve been assigned for assessments: seven in the morning. We will be taking measurements for uniforms, and running martial aptitude drills. That is all you need to know for the time being. Once again: congratulations, you’ve earned it. Tempest unit. Dismissed.”

Barricade slowly rose from her seat, and gave herself a little shake, watching Vee disappear behind a corner. She looked down and quietly nudged Beryl with a hoof. “So, what now?”

Beryl shrugged gently and stood up. “It’s really early in the day, so I don’t know. But I do know one thing: we need to celebrate.”

An uncontrollable rustle went through Barricade’s wings. “I agree! Though, I don’t really know how to party in Canterlot.”

“Well, I have an idea.” Beryl’s face seemed to light up almost instantly. “I’ve been seeing these posters all around upper market district, advertising this up-and-coming DJ known as ‘DJ 33 1/3’. From what I hear, he’s supposed to be really good! And he’s playing tonight!”

“Well, alright.” Barricade rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. “I guess I could go for some music, that’d be a pretty awesome way to celebrate.”

“Awesome!” Beryl clapped her hooves together and started trotting back toward the town. “I’m going to take care of some things and go get ready, it’ll be tonight at eight, okay? Meet me outside Club Nightwatch!”

“Yeah! Okay!” The tingling excitement was beginning to build once more as Beryl faded from view. Barricade waited a few moments, ensuring there was nopony else around before squealling and prancing in place for a few moments. “Eee! Best day ever! Just gotta remember, eight tonight: Club Nightwatch.”

Barricade froze, all giddiness leaving her system as it took a step back. A sense of dread washed over her as a single thought bounced back to the front of her mind:

“Wait. Club?” she sighed. “Oy, Beryl, ya minted numpty…”

Fear and dancing

“No.”

A knit cap flopped to the ground, falling dejectedly amongst the ever-growing pile of fashion rejects. A pair of sunglasses, custom made for her, took the knit cap's place in front of the mirror.

“... No, not at night.”

Barricade set the glasses down on the bathroom sink and heaved a sigh. She’d been at this for the last hour and a half, shortly after cleaning up. She chewed her lip softly, and looked around at the few accessories she had left.

“Something stylish, but not over the top,” she thought, eyeing the rather pitiful number of choices that remained. She pulled out a kilt, a gift given to her by her parents right before she left. She sat down and held the plaid cloth up to the mirror, snickering a little. “Oy, ye be lookin’ right fit for dancin’!"

It too, found it's way over to the pile. Once more she huffed in exasperation. "Maybe I don't need to dress up, it's just a music thing, right?" she pondered, holding up a long scarf that shared her mane's color.

She threw the long cloth around her neck a few times, and adjusted the tassels as she looked in the mirror. She tilted her head a little, raising an eyebrow and then turning to her side before nodding gently and heading back out into the disaster that was her room.

She looked around at her belongings strewn everywhere, sighed, and flopped onto the bed.

"I have no idea what I'm doinnnng," she thought with an accompanying groan. Barricade looked over to the clock on her nightstand, and redoubled her exasperated action. "And I only have an hour or two until it starts... Fantastic."

Ding Dong.

Barricade bolted upright, ears erect and facing the door.

“Oh, please no.”

Ding Dong. “Barricade? You home?”

“Coming!” Barricade whimpered a lengthy string of explicative under her breath as she scurried to the bathroom, quickly fixing her mane. She rushed to the front door with all the silence of a pack of stampeding elephants and threw the door open.

“Hi! Hi, Beryl. You’re early.” Barricade forced the most natural fake smile she had in her arsenal.

Beryl cocked an eyebrow and smiled. “Yeah, I am. I figured I’d show you the way there and we could grab some food before the show. Sound good to you?”

Time seemed to crawl to a stop as Barricade pictured the massive crowd staring at her in the club. It was now or never, she thought. Time to cut her losses or tough it out.

“Yeah, sure. Uh—” Barricade looked around the living room area. “Let me just get ready, and we can get going.”

“What you’ve got is fine, it’s not like it’s some formal dinner or something.” Beryl snickered. “Cute scarf by the way, where’d you get it?”

Barricade could feel herself tense and blush a little. “Oh, this old thing? Eh, me Da made it for me. It’s plain, but it’s special to me.”

Beryl nodded softly, holding her necklace up with her hoof. “First thing I ever made. It’s got it’s flaws, but only if you’re looking for them, I'm still proud of it anyway.” She turned to face the street, and smirked over her shoulder. “So, ready to go? Unless you plan on inviting me in for a romantic dinner at your place.”

Barricade stared down at her friend, only to receive a sly, conniving wink in return.

“Oh, come on you big gullible cutie. If we don’t hurry up we’re not going to have time for our dinner date.”

Those last words pinned Barricade’s ears to her skull as she sulked outside after Beryl. She followed closely, watching Beryl spring gently with each step and occasionally steal a glance back at her. Finally, once they’d gotten clear of the house, Barricade mustered up her voice. “You know, I honestly can’t tell if you’re just playing with me, or if you’re serious.”

Beryl slowed down, and looked back with the most obnoxiously ambiguous grin Barricade had ever seen.

Barricade rolled her eyes with an exasperated groan. “You’re impossible. You know that?”

“Not impossible, just hard to get.” Beryl winked.

“Whatever!” Barricade chuckled nervously. “So how far is this place?”

Beryl looked up to the sun and then to a street lamp. “We’ll have enough time once we get there. It’s closer to your place than mine, that’s for sure. I live on the very outer wall in this district, not in the middle like you. Shouldn’t be more than a few more minutes, if memory serves.”

All was quiet for a few moments, which Barricade thought was surprising. In the middle of a supposedly bustling city that there were still places one could go and still find quiet; Save for the gentle clacking of hooves on the stony path, it was calming.

“It’s just around the corner,” Beryl said quietly. “Now just play it cool: bouncer tends to be a bit edgy around me.”

Those words gave Barricade pause. “What did you do to him?”

“It was just a little fire, nothing serious,” Beryl mumbled. “Besides, I’m sure he’s over it by no—”

A thunderous voice rattled Barricade’s brain in her skull.

“Golden Beryl.” A large, stout looking unicorn lowered his sunglasses and pursed his lips into an unamused line. A large patch of his mane was missing and covered with a bandage. “What a surprise, to think that you’d have the guts to show up after your little stage sparkler stunt.”

“Eh heh heh…” Beryl chuckled. “Hey, List. Looking really hot todaaahhhhh—” Beryl’s tongue flopped out of her mouth, not wanting to finish the sentence either out of self-preservation, or common sense. Barricade couldn’t decide, she just tensed a little as the bouncer glowered.

List narrowed his eyes and jerked his head toward Barricade. “Where in Equestria did you find this one?”

Beryl sashayed herself back and forth before List with a smile on her face. “Well, she and I just got initiated into the guard, today. So we’re here to celebrate.” She flicked her tail gently against his nose and bat her eyes. “You wouldn’t deny a couple of mares a night of celebration, would you?”

List grunted and lifted his clipboard. “Actually, I would.”

Beryl’s eyes went wide as she scampered up to List. “Awww, come on! DJ LP 33 1/3 is like, Barricade’s favorite? Isn’t he?” she said with an aggressive wink.

Both List and Beryl stared at Barricade. She shrank back and buried her muzzle into the folds of her scarf. List simply leveled an eternally unamused stare at her, and Beryl was frantically gesticulating with her eyebrows.

“Uh, right! Yeah! He’s my favorite, I’d really hate to miss his show.” Barricade fabricated a smile while Beryl kept throwing her hoof-signals. “You’re sure you won’t let us in? I promise to make Beryl behave.” Beryl’s eyes dilated for a split second as she froze.

List groaned. “Beryl, I like you. I really do. But I can’t keep doing this.”

“Nothing’s going to happen, List. I promise.” Beryl pinned her ears back, pointing a hoof toward Barricade. “She promised!”`

“Beryl.” List removed his glasses, revealing his intense, blue eyes. “if anything happens; boss is going to know I let you in, and I’m fired. Simple as that.”

The air hung still for a moment as the three ponies stared between themselves.

List cleared his throat and donned his glasses. “I don’t think I need to spell it out for you.” He stepped to the side, waving them through. He stopped Beryl with a foreleg and leaned down to her ear. “I’m serious, don’t make me regret this.”

“I said nothing’s going to happen, Blacklist. Relax.” Beryl gently tapped the stallion’s shoulder, eliciting a snort and glare. She quickly turned to Barricade, frantically gestured toward the door, and disappeared into the dark.

Barricade blinked, looked down to List, and mouthed a quick “sorry” before ducking her head and heading inside. The wall of heat took Barricade completely by surprise. Almost instinctively, she loosened her scarf and scanned the darkness.

Despite the number of brightly colored lights, the building was astonishingly dark. Thankfully, she didn’t find it very difficult to spot Beryl’s bright yellow amongst the ponies milling around.

“Barricade!” Beryl shouted, waving a hoof, “I went ahead and snagged a table overlooking the dance floor. Come on!”

Barricade walked over to Beryl and glared down at her. “No.”

“Eh?”

“Beryl, I get that you were just trying to think quickly under pressure, but I’m not going to lie for you again. That’s not who I am, and I don’t intend on becoming that mare anytime soon. Understood?”

Beryl jerked her head back and furrowed her brows. “Whoa, calm down there. It wasn’t anything serious—”

“It was serious to me.” Barricade softened her stare. “Look, I’m asking as a friend, just don’t ever put me in a situation like that again, please?”

Barricade felt a little guilty as Beryl folded her ears back. “I’ll do what I can to avoid it, I promise.”

Barricade nodded, “I’m going to hold you to that.”

“I hope you do, I’m awful with promises,” she said with a smirk. “Now come on, through the club, this way.”

Barricade stuck close to Beryl as she weaved through the crowd toward the back of the building. The background music thrummed in her ears, muffling Beryl’s voice. She watched her friend disappear through a nearby doorway, and quickly followed. Inside the room, were tables set out in an orderly fashion, and Beryl standing over to the side at a booth. Barricade trotted over, unpinning her ears from her head in lieu of the quieter atmosphere.

“Ladies first,” Beryl said with a smirk. “Seeing as I’m hardly fitting of a lady’s status.”

“You’d be more fitting than I would, Beryl.” Barricade snickered and shuffled into her seat. “You know that.”

Beryl rolled her eyes as she sat down, and grabbed one of the menus on the table. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Anyway, one of the things I really recommend as far as appetizers go is the deep fried veggie platter: hardly good for you, but so, so good.” Beryl’s eyes lost focus as she stared off into space.

Barricade smiled and shook her head. She flipped the menu back to the first page, and looked for the platter. “Mozzarella sticks, onion rings... oh, yeah, that does look g—” Barricade paused and winced a little. “...Fried shrimp?”

“Oh, yeah!” Beryl rubbed her chin with a hoof as she smiled. “I may get some, it’s been forever since I’ve had it.”

Barricade blinked, and shook her head. “I’m sorry. You what, lass?”

Beryl donned a perplexed look, then clapped her hooves together. “Right! You don’t know.”

“I don’t,” Barricade put her menu off to the side, “but I think you’re about to tell me.”

“That I am.” Beryl looked at the menu for a second longer, then set it aside as well. “So I’m from Los Pegasus area, you know that.”

“Right.”

“Well, it’s a bit of a tourist spot, not to say that rather fancy names show up there. Especially with their exotic tastes.” Beryl winked, “exotic and expensive tastes that need catering to.”

“Uh huh. That still doesn’t explain why—”

“I’m getting there!” Beryl grumbled. “Geez, just settle down. Anyway: because of the tourism and number of other species sharing the city, as well as its coastal location, some ponies adopt a pescatarian diet.” Beryl paused a moment, eying Barricade warily. “It’s not actually harmful to us ponies. It does make some a bit squeamish though.”

Barricade rest her chin on her hooves and squinted at Beryl. “So you eat seafood, then?”

“Ever since I was a filly. Though it’s more a ‘special occasion’ sort of thing. It’s not something I do all the time.”

“Uh huh…” Barricade kept her eyes on Beryl, as she tried to decide what exactly she felt about the whole thing.

“You should try it, it won’t kill ya, I promise.” Beryl closed her eyes and shrugged, “We’re celebrating: no better time to do something illogical and reckless. I can’t think of a more responsible irresponsible thing you could get away with.” A small smirk formed at the corner of beryl’s mouth as she eyed a pamphlet to the side. “Speaking of…”

Barricade watched her flip the paper open. “Speaking of, what?”

“Pick your poison.” Beryl winked and tossed the paper over to Barricade. The small menu slid over, revealing drinks of the alcoholic variety. “They also do custom drinks if you’re feeling brave.”

Barricade chuckled softly. “I’m feeling far from adventurous, thanks.” The menu consisted of the normal fare: mixed drinks mostly. But something managed to grasp her eye just as she was about to turn the page.

She stared a moment, her mouth hung open in awe as the picture burned into her mind’s eye. A tendril of drool crested her lower lip as the faint sound of Beryl’s voice fought for Barricade’s attention.

It was a losing battle of course, Barricade cared only for the words on the pamphlet: Dusky Drop’s Pumpkin pie cream liqueur.

“Barricade!”

Barricade blinked, and stared blankly at her friend. “Sorry, I was just…”

“Found something you like huh?” Beryl said with a playful wink. “In the mood for a shot of something strong?”

“A shot?” Barricade said with a snort. “Beryl, please. We’re celebrating,” she said, a wild grin forming on her face. “No better time to get unreasonable.”

A voice cleared its throat off to the side.“I can take your order if you’re, um, ready?”

Barricade turned to face a small pegasus stallion, holding a notepad, and looking up at her from his seat on the floor. She looked at him, then to Beryl, then back to him.

The two quickly listed off their orders to the stallion. Beryl opted for a noodle dish, while Barricade got a sweet potato with everything but the kitchen sink on it. She found it interesting that the waiter didn’t even flinch when Beryl ordered the fried shrimp. But she figured that Beryl was a regular of sorts, and that it wasn’t unexpected.

“And anything to drink for you ladies tonight?” the stallion chimed, his voice now filled with a sense of confidence.

Beryl put her hoof to her chin and paused. “Hmm, how about a mojito?”

“One Mojito! And for you, miss?”

Barricade looked down to the menu, then to the waiter. “I’d like some of that Dusky Drop’s Pumpkin Liqueur. How big a shot do you offer?”

“Well, we have a double shot glass…”

“Anything bigger than that?”

The waiter shuffled a little, his eyes darting about. “Well, we have tall glasses for standard alcoholic beverages.”

“Keep going?”

“And our steins are for those who want more than a standard portion…”

Barricade blew the hair out of her eyes and smiled down to the stallion. “And that’s the biggest glass you’ve got?”

He blinked up at her in amazement. “Short of just bringing the bottle, yes.”

“Can you do that?” Barricade’s ears perked as she grinned. “Can you just charge for the whole bottle?”

The stallion stared up at her, rooted in place and completely frozen for a good five seconds. “Yeah, I can do that…” He turned to his notepad and scribbled away, before flipping it closed. “I’ll be right back, thank you ladies.”

Beryl watched him until he was out of sight. “He’s cute,” she said, turning to Barricade and cocking an eyebrow. “So, what happened to ‘not feeling adventurous’?”

Barricade rolled her eyes with a smile. “You’re already forcing me to try seafood. Why not try something I’ve never had?”

“Hey!” Beryl put her hoof on the table and pointed to Barricade. “I’m not forcing you to try it. I just suggested it. Besides, a little food and some liquid courage before hitting the dance floor is always a good idea.”

For a moment, Barricade thought that she had heard Beryl say dance floor. She paused, and checked that she had heard her friend right. The answer was immediately apparent and written all over her face.

“I’m not going to be dancing, Beryl.”

There were a few things that Barricade expected as a response, what she didn’t expect was for Beryl to start laughing.

“Barricade, you just ordered…” Beryl stopped and took a deep breath. “You just ordered an entire bottle of pumpkin pie liqueur!”

“I don’t get it.” Barricade watched as her friend devolved into further and further incomprehensible snippets of speech. “Stop laughing and tell me what’s so funny!” she said, scrunching her nose.

It took Beryl about thirty seconds to oblige Barricade’s demands, and even then, she was still shaking from the lingering giggles. “Don’t worry about it, Barricade. You’ll figure it out.”

“I’m still not dancing.”

“Right, I’m sure.” Beryl said with a wink.

Just then, the pegasus stallion flew back into the room. He nodded to Beryl, then to Barricade, and set the drinks before each mare. “I’ll have your appetizers in a few moments. Enjoy!” he said, before darting off once more.

Barricade slowly removed the lid, and sniffed the opening. A powerful smell of pumpkin spice and alcohol overcame her as she swiftly recoiled. “Oh, geez… Beryl, this stuff could double as paint remover.”

Beryl fired a coy smirk over the lip of her glass and took another sip. “Oh come on now, a big bad Scoltish mare isn’t afraid of a little liqueur, is she?”

“Oy! I’m not scared.” Barricade pinned her ears back and stared at the open bottle. She closed her eyes and quickly raised the bottle to her mouth, and took a big gulp.

The first thing that Barricade noticed was the creamy, delicious taste of pumpkin pie. The second and third things she noticed shortly thereafter were the intense burning in her throat and the desire to spit the liquid out.

She closed her eyes and forced it down. Barricade blinked a few times, wiped the tears from her eyes and only then registered that Beryl was laughing hysterically.

“Oh my gosh, Barricade! You should have seen your face!” Beryl doubled over, laughing. “You looked so resolute and serious. But then you took a whole gulp and you just— Pfffahahaha!”

Barricade glared at her friend until she finally stopped. “There, finished?”

“Yeah, yeah… I’m good.”

“Good.” Barricade rolled her eyes and stared down at the bottle again. "Anyway, that stuff is nothing like the maregaritas my mom made back home.”

Beryl launched into another fit of hysterical laughter.

“What kind of Scoltish pony drinks maregaritas?”

Barricade shrank down in her seat, leveling a half-lidded gaze at Beryl until she finally caught her breath for the second time that evening.

“One with class! I’m only half Scoltish after all, and I was raised in Manehattan.”

“No, that’s fine. I’m just…” Beryl breathed deeply, sipped her mojito and smiled at Barricade. “You’re adorable. I’m going to just keep saying that, I don’t have a better way of putting it.”

The following silence was quickly interrupted by the metallic clink of serving trays. The smell of deep fried food filled the booth as the stallion quickly asked if everything was alright, then scurried off to a table on the opposite side of the room.

Barricade watched as Beryl eyed the shrimp, and pulled the platter closer. Beryl grabbed a single piece by what Barricade assumed was the tail, and bit into the golden-breaded morsel hungrily. Barricade couldn’t help but flinch a little and suppress her gag reflex as she scooped up a mozzarella stick.

“So… is it good?”

It wasn’t the fact that Beryl was eating something that used to be alive, nor was it the smell. It was the fact that Beryl chose to respond without swallowing first that made Barricade’s stomach turn.

“It’s delicious! You should try some, like you said you were going to.” Beryl said, pausing to swallow. “Unless the ‘wee bonnie’ is too scared to try it.”

Barricade glared back at Beryl’s constant smirk. “I’m not scared. Give me one.”

The tray quickly spun over to Barricade’s side of the table. She looked down at the dozens of deep fried shrimp. She whimpered a little and looked up at Beryl, who was regarding her with a raised eyebrow and antagonistic smile. Barricade looked over to her bottle of liqueur and sighed. She raised the bottle, took a gulp, fought back the tears and looked down at the platter once more, picking out a piece for herself and holding it up to her eyes.

I’m gunnae be okay. She thought, as she closed her eyes and brought the appetizer closer and closer to her mouth.

I’m gunnae be okay… The gentle crunch of batter let her know that she was as far as non-commitment would take her. She paused for a moment, and opened her right eye, peering across at Beryl who was motioning with her hoof to just take a bite and be done with it.

The sound of a gentle crunch was accompanied by something unlike Barricade had ever tasted. It reminded her of afternoons on a beach, or the smell of crashing waves.

She loved it.

She unscrewed the grimace from her face and chewed with a little more earnest. “This is actually kinda good.” she mumbled, covering her mouth with a hoof.

“What did I say? What did I say?” Beryl half shouted across the table, accusingly pointing a mozzarella stick at Barricade. “I said try it and you’ll like it, and guess who was right?” Beryl shoved her improvised pointing device into her mouth, smiling triumphantly. “Me, as always.”

Barricade barely registered Beryl’s victory speech, as she was currently stuffing her second shrimp into her mouth, tail and all. She was about to take her third, when she noticed Beryl snickering into her hoof.

“What’s so funny?”

Beryl snickered and closed her eyes, stifling her laughter as best she could. “It’s just that, you’re not supposed to eat the tails…”

“Oh.” Barricade sat there, shrimp tail hanging from her mouth as the pegasus arrived with their meals.

One meal and a bottle of liqueur later, Barricade was feeling pretty good, to say the least. It was an odd feeling, like her limbs were floating and half-way between her control and having minds of their own. Thankfully, they appeared to be of the agreeable sort, and didn’t want to pick a fight with her any time soon.

Beryl seemed to be equally enjoying herself, as Barricade could make out from her friend’s half glazed stare and dopey smile. Beryl shuffled out of her seat and stood a short way from the table and leveled her hoof at Barricade.

“Do you know, what time it is?”

“Um,” Barricade looked around the room for a clock, frowning when she couldn’t find one. “no?”

“It’s party time. Let’s go dancin’.”

Barricade immediately slouched in her seat. “I don’t know, Beryl, I don’t really like dan—”

“I did not drag your big, happy butt all the way from Scoltl—”

“But you didn’t, we came from my house.”

Beryl glared and waved her hoof dismissively. “Whatever, the point is: you want to go dancing, trust me.” Barricade stared back at Beryl for a moment before the earth pony continued. “Who was right about the shrimp?”

“You were.” Barricade admitted with a defeated sigh.

“Exactly.” Beryl flashed a triumphant smile as Barricade got up from her seat. “Now, I’m going to assume that this is your first time in a club?”

Barricade nodded as she walked with Beryl.

“Okay, so there’s a few rules I follow to stay safe, just…” Beryl held her head a moment and shook it gently. “That second mojito is kicking my butt. Anyway, just pay attention, okay?”

“Rule one: don't get lost.

“Rule two: don’t accept drinks from strangers, I’m serious. I don’t care how cute he is, it’s a bad idea.” Beryl lifted her eyes and looked Barricade over. “Considering that you just drank an entire bottle of liqueur, I’m going to just say no more alcohol tonight, period. You’ll really start feeling it in about thirty minutes.

“Rule two and a half: no matter what he says, he doesn’t mean it until he says it when he’s sober tomorrow morning. There are a lot of stallions here jonesing for a one-night stand, don’t let yourself get caught in their head-games.

“Rule three: don’t get lost. I’m not kidding.

Barricade ducked as they both left the restaurant portion of the club, the lights were just as bright, if not more so than before. A sharp sound drew Barricade’s attention back to Beryl as she glared up angrily at her.

“Barricade, please focus, this is important.

“Rule four: We leave together. If you go out with friends, you go home with friends. Safety lies with those you know.

“Rule five: Drink water. Like I said, you will be feeling that bottle in about half an hour. Unless you enjoy waking up with a splitting headache and the inability to differentiate your cardinal directions, drink water.

“Rules six through twenty-one are basically common sense ones. Like, say a guy is being creepy? You should probably go somewhere away from him. Blah, blah, blah. But the most important rule is number twenty-two: When you are lost, know… Um.”

Beryl stopped in her tracks, her face scrunched up tightly. She forcefully pointed up at Barricade, nearly punching her in the snout.

“Do not get lost.”

“Hey! Hey you!”

Barricade turned to see a stallion barreling through the crowd toward her.

“Barreling” was a fairly accurate term, Barricade thought. The stallion was stumbling over himself every few steps as he raised a hoof and hailed her over and over.

“Hey! Hi, can uh, can I buy you a drink?” the stallion struggled with each word as he smiled up at Barricade with glassy eyes. He was cute, well groomed, fairly well built for a unicorn.

She had no idea what she was doing.

“I’m gunnae say thanks? But no thanks, I’ve, uh I’ve had enough for tonight.” Barricade squinted an eye and recoiled slightly once she finished.

The stallion stared at her for a few moments longer than Barricade was comfortable with before he spoke. “Oh, okay then. You have a name at least?”

Barricade looked down at Beryl, who was violently gesturing toward the stallion with her head.

“Uh, Barricade.”

“Thanks!” The stallion stumbled back through the crowd, climbing up into his seat where a few other unicorn stallions pat him on the back and began talking with him.

Barricade watched and furrowed her brow. “That was weird.” She looked down, only to find Beryl smiling up at her.

“I’m so proud.”

Barricade returned the smile and nodded sagely. “Rule two.”

“That’s my girl!” Beryl shouted, gently punching Barricade in the shoulder. “Now, let’s go have some fun!”

The dance floor pulsed with life as Barricade followed Beryl into the massive throng. The red-maned unicorn was already at work, churning out the rhythmic beats that vibrated inside Barricade’s skull. She noticed how crowded it was, and how many ponies she kept bumping into, but Beryl quickly assured her that it was normal for the dance floor, and that she shouldn’t worry about it.

It was a little awkward for the first few songs, but eventually, Barricade found herself moving with the music a little easier with each minute. She couldn’t tell if she was adjusting to the music, or if it was the liqueur kicking in. Her rationality kicked in for a brief moment, and declared both to be true before it quickly vanished behind a veil of loud music and dulled senses.

But she didn’t care.

The night wore on and Barricade was having the time of her life. Beryl never left her side as the two jumped in place with the whole crowd, bobbing their heads and screaming for no readily apparent reason.

And she loved it.

She couldn’t help but wonder why she’d never tried going to a club before, or dancing, or getting into the music scene. And then the rational part of her mind chimed in: because they all stare at you. Barricade quickly squelched the thought, but a lingering doubt chewed away at her through the song until she finally looked around.

Nopony was staring.

A sense of elation coursed through Barricade as she screamed at the top of her lungs, lost in the bass and the voices and bright lights of the dance floor. She was happy in a crowd, for the first time in what felt like years.

She was actually sad when the music started to become more mellow, the crowd began to thin out, and the lights started dimming. She looked down to Beryl as the last song played and furrowed her brow. She felt a little betrayed: she was having fun, and she was happy; why would someone want to take that from her?

“Come on, Barricade, they’re closing. Let’s get you home.”

It took a moment for Barricade’s head to clear.

Beryl, home, closing, rule four.

“Rule four: leave with your friends.” Barricade half-slurred the words. “Beryl, I feel really weird.”

Beryl smiled and nudged her toward the door. “Me too, Barricade. That’s called alcohol.”

Barricade climbed the stairs out of the dance floor and out the front door, giving a small nod to Blacklist as she left. She heard Beryl stop though, and engage the bouncer for a moment.

“See? No arson.”

Blacklist rolled his eyes and smirked. “Glad you had fun, but seriously, go home, Beryl. You’re drunk.”

“Buzzed!” Beryl corrected as she cantered over to Barricade’s side. “I’ll see you later, handsome.”

Barricade didn’t catch Blacklist’s expression, but it wasn’t too hard to imagine him rolling his eyes, yet again.

The night air was cool, and actually helped clear Barricade’s head a little. She stopped at a street corner and stared at the signs while Beryl leaned against her leg. She squinted, shook her head, then squinted again; barely able to make out the the squiggly lines on the signposts.

“Barricade, can I ask you a like… huge favor?”

Eventually, Barricade deciphered the arcane squiggles and turned down the street. “What is it, lass?”

Beryl stumbled a little and matched Barricade’s pace. “I’m not going to lie, that second mojito? Shhuper bad idea.”

Barricade couldn’t help but giggle a little. She knew she had drank enough alcohol to likely kill a normal pony. But she had the advantage of size and heritage on her side. “You’re only now realizing this?”

“You can shut up.” Beryl sputtered. “Maregarita-drinking scoltish numpty.”

“Oy, that’s my word.”

Beryl waved her hoof briefly, nearly falling on her face. “Whatever, the point is: I’m way too blashted to find my way home tonight…”

Barricade never quite understood how Beryl managed to materialize in her path, nor how she managed the most debilitating filly eyes ever. But she did both of these things, flawlessly.

“... Can I crash with you tonight?”

Barricade looked down at her friend, up at the signpost, then down to Beryl again. She couldn’t really see an issue with letting her stay. She had a couch Beryl could use after all.

“Sure, it’ll be fine. We’re getting close anyway… I think.”

Barricade took a few more turns, and heaved a sigh of relief when the words “Applewood Ave.” appeared on the sign. She turned down the road and slowly trotted up to her door. The key proved exceptionally difficult to put in the lock, but after a few tries, the door swung open.

She held the door open for Beryl, then followed her friend inside.

“Do you need anything?”

Beryl groaned softly. “Rule five.”

Barricade quickly scavenged some glasses from the cupboards, and handed Beryl a drink of water. She took a sip of her own, and glanced around the room. “Well, I don’t have a whole lot, so just crash wherever. Sorry about the mess in advance.”

Beryl simply placed the water glass in the sink and waved her hoof dismissively. “Compared to some houses I’ve seen? This place is immaculate. I’ll see you in the morning.” Beryl slowly trotted out of the kitchen, groaning slightly.

Barricade decided to have another glass, but soon heard her bed calling to her. She left the kitchen and walked straight to the bathroom, turning on the sink and splashing herself in the face. The fuzziness cleared for a moment as she took a towel and dried her face off. She smiled back at her reflection, a dozen awesome moments replayed in her mind as she flicked the light off and headed back to her room.

She fumbled through the darkness, and fell into bed. The blankets felt like the best thing in Equestria as she pulled her pillow close and drifted off to sleep.

Author's Note

Fluffomaru makes silly doodles.

Day after party problems

Cold. The first thing Barricade noticed was she was cold. The second thing she noticed were the hundreds of tiny ponies pounding their little hammers inside her head. Keeping her eyes clenched tightly shut, Barricade began shifting about, forehooves searching for that wonderously comfortable and fuzzy pillow she had spent the night with. After seconds of futile searching, she finally cracked an eye open to aid her search, only for it to be blinded by the light of the early morning sun as it shone into her bedroom window. Barricade allowed herself a plaintive groan as she clenched her eye shut again.

It was then that her mind caught up and noticed the third thing:

“You’re a cuddly sleeper, not that that’s a big surprise or anything.” Beryl smirked and handed Barricade a small cup. “Drink up.”

“My head hurts.”

“I know,” Beryl once more shoved the mug toward her. "Now drink. You'll feel better."

Barricade groaned as she sat up, taking the coffee from Beryl's hooves and gulping it down. She put the glass off to the side, swaying a little as the tiny ponies with hammers continued to beat at her skull. It was then that she noticed a distinctly red tie wrapped around her head.

"So," Beryl smirked as Barricade untied the cloth and threw it into the corner with a grunt. "You party like an animal, cuddle-cade."

Barricade's heart skipped as she tried to push through the billowing fog in her mind. "I didn't... We didn't do anything, questionable, did we? That wasn't my tie, I don't even have a tie."

Beryl chuckled as she opened the door a bit, the smell of something delicious wafted into the room as she spoke. "You hogged the dance floor for a bit and wouldn't let go of me last night, but you were asleep when that happened, so I won't hold it against you for holding me against you. As for the tie? I dunno, some stallion gave it to me last night, so I thought I'd play a joke on you. Now come on, I raided your pantry and fixed some lunch for you.”

Lunch. The word spurred Barricade to the window. The blinds flew open as she looked out at the mid-day sun. “Beryl, what time is it?! We missed Aptitude training! We—”

“... Don’t have anything until tomorrow.” Beryl sighed. “You’re really out of it. Come on, I’m bringing lunch with us, we’re getting you some real coffee, sleepy butt. None of this quick-fix, piss water.”

Barricade wanted to argue. For starters, her butt was most definitely not sleepy, and she was most definitely not out of it. This fact was reinforced by the fact that she aimed for the bed as she turned to leave, and tripped on her own legs.

If she was out of it, she’d just have aimed for the floor.

The covers made a satisfying fwump as Barricade scrambled to her hooves, pursing her lips and staring at Beryl. “Okay, I’m ready, lets go.”

“Are you sure?” Beryl managed between chuckles. “Need a minute to sort yourself out there, legs?’

Barricade furrowed her brow and charged.

The laughter was quickly stopped with a sudden: “Oh shi—”

Beryl darted out of the room as Barricade ducked under the doorframe, watching as Beryl threw lids on the food and tossed them into Barricade’s saddle bags. “You’ll have to bring the food! I forgot my bags at home!” she shouted as she scrambled outside.

There was something to be said about Beryl, Barricade thought. She was a cheeky blighter, a bit of an oaf, and a downright numpty. But she just had a certain, likeability to her. The thought brought a smirk to Barricade’s face as she grabbed her bags and stepped outside. To her surprise, Beryl was sitting next to the door, smiling up at Barricade with an innocent expression.

Barricade knew two things about innocent smiles: When done by those who are sweet, and pure of heart, those smiles are some of the most comforting things in the world

But, when faked by somepony with a streak of malicious, or mischievous intent. Expect anything. Dad taught her that.

Barricade locked her door and raised an eyebrow at Beryl. “You’re not running?”

“No need, there are witnesses out here.” She replied with a coy smirk. “Red’s? I’ll buy.”

Barricade pressed her hoof to Beryl’s mane and ruffled it.

“Hey!” She squeaked.

“Red’s it is.” Barricade chuckled.

“... and then I get Barricade to try shrimp, she’s never had seafood before.”

Red gave Beryl the blankest stare that Barricade had ever seen. His hollow expression drifted between the two mares before finally speaking up. “How was it?”

“It was pretty good.” Barricade said with a shrug.

“Pretty good?” Beryl shouted. “You looked like your taste buds were about to achieve transcendence! Don’t just play it off all cool in front of Red because he’s a solid nine-outta-ten!”

Red quickly became even more so, eliciting a chuckle from Barricade as she simply sipped her pumpkin spice coffee. Beryl was a better storyteller than she was, even if she had to clarify a few details from time to time. But Barricade was still feeling a little tired, the coffee hadn’t kicked in yet. She was more than happy to finish her lunch and drink.

“Yes… well, glad to know you’re the adventurous type, Thunder-hooves.” Red gave himself a quick shake and smiled back at Beryl. “Well, what happened after that? Knowing you, there was alcohol involved.”

“Um, duh?” Beryl replied sarcastically. “I had some mixed drinks, but the real slugger was ‘Arri. Girl put away like, a whole litre of straight pumpkin liqueur.”

At that, Red’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. He turned to Barricade, choking on his own words. “How are you not dead?”

Seeing the opportunity, Barricade slammed her drink down on the table, causing everything there to do a little hop. She beat her chest once with her free hoof and looked Red dead in the eye. “S’all cuz we Scolts are made ‘o sterner stuff, laddie! You’d do ‘ell to remember ‘at.”

Barricade calmly grabbed her coffee, and resumed her quiet sipping.

All was silent for about three seconds, before Beryl started laughing hysterically. “Oh my stars, Red. Your face… By the gates of Tartarus…”

Red seemed to pay her no mind. “Good gods, Arri. You must have had one hell of a hangover.”

“She did.” Beryl said, wiping a tear from her eye. “I told her to drink water.”

“And I did.” Barricade interjected. “Just as much as you did.”

“Yeah, and you’re what?” Beryl waved her hooves at Barricade. “More than twice my size? You should have had way more water, just saying.”

Red was wiping the counter clean of the recent Scoltish outburst. “Well you girls sounded like you had fun.”

“Aye.”

“Yep!” Beryl leaned back in her chair, throwing her forelegs behind her head. “after food, we had some tipsy dancing, stumbled home together, crashed at her place, cuddled all night…”

Red’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh?”

Barricade spat out her coffee. “Hey! I thought you were my pillow!”

Beryl, continued completely unabated. “Oh, Red, I tell you what. Barricade’s a great cuddler. She just holds on and snuggles close, she’s like a super fuzzy blanket that’s always warm.”

“Beryl, please stop.” Barricade’s ears pinned to her skull as Red started laughing.

“... the way she looks so peaceful when she sleeps. That not-small-at-all smile and thunderous snoring.”

Red righted himself from his raucous laughter. “Oh, did things get more, involved?”

It was, at that point and time, that Barricade wished for the ability to remove herself from existence. Sadly, the only thing she could do was turn increasingly vibrant hues of embarrassed and hold her head in her hooves.

Beryl looked over at Barricade, a small smile on her lips. “We fought over the covers a few times. That’s all. In all seriousness, I’m really thankful that Arri let me crash with her for the night; we were both really messed up.”

“So you had a hangover too, then?” Red inquired. “Shocking, never actually thought I’d live to see the day.”

“Now hold on, Poison Joker!” Beryl retorted. “I said messed up, Arri was the only one hung over.”

Barricade groaned and held a hoof to her temple. “Only other time my head hurt that much was when I got my cutie mark.”

The table fell silent. Beryl and Red looked at each other. Then Red faced Barricade. “What happened?”

“I got hit by a train.” Barricade shrugged, and sipped her drink.

Again the table fell silent.

“You can’t just say ‘I got hit by a train’ and leave us hanging!” Red shouted. “What kind of thrice-damned awful storyteller leaves a cliffhanger like that! Go on, tell us what happened!”

Barricade sighed and rolled her eyes. “Back when I was a filly, we had a group of troublemakers at school. These ponies liked to dare other ponies into doing stupid things, or get beat up for not doing it. You know, typical playground stuff.”

Barricade shuffled her wings, and grimaced. “The problem with this, is that every group of bullies has one pony calling the shots, and one year, the power shifted. This new bully took control of the group and singled out a good friend of mine, Summer Rain. They dared her to fly between the cars of a train as it passed. I caught wind of this dare, and the fact that she was going to do it because she was too scared of getting beaten up.”

Red and Beryl looked at Barricade with wide eyes. Beryl spoke out quietly. “Holy shit, that sounds awful, the authorities never got involved? I mean what those bullies were asking could easily kill ponies, I thought it was stuff like ‘fly the sky hoops upside down and backwards.’ Not some sort of stunt-pony shtick.”

“Yeah, well…” Barricade shrugged. “This ringleader was definitely ‘off’ if you get my meaning. But that’s not the point. So I find Summer, and she’s at the top of a hill outside Manehattan with the nasties. I swoop in, tell them I’ll do it if they let her go and never bother her again. They agreed.”

“I don’t like where this is going.” Red mumbled.

Barricade nodded. “I didn’t either, but I was young and stupid. The train came, I went for it. And the rest of it is just a big void. Apparently from what Summer told me, she saw me disappear between the cars, and waited for me to zoom up from the other side.”

“But you didn’t.” Beryl interrupted, leaning forward with her head in her hooves.

“Aye. I didn’t. She says the Train passed and all she saw was a crumpled heap of brown, red, and turquoise. She said I was bleeding all over, my wing was twisted all funny. I was a wreck. The doctors got ahold of me, popped everything back in place. I broke my rear legs, a few ribs, twisted wing. But miraculously, I had nothing that wouldn’t fully heal. They said that I shouldn’t have lived. But I did! the first time they took off my leg casts, there was my mark, all shiny and new.”

Red and Beryl simply stared at Barricade.

Beryl looked down at her mark. “I made a piece of jewelry. Doesn’t seem as impressive as taking a train to the everything for a friend.”

Barricade chuckled a bit. “Train to the everything… Hah. Well, maybe not, but that doesn’t make me any more special than anypony else. It’s just how I learned what I’m good at.”

Red cocked his head to the side. “Getting hit by trains?”

Barricade swore that if it were possible, Beryl’s sides would have exploded.

“No, protecting stuff! I’m one of the sturdiest ponies you’ll ever meet. If you ever need to put somepony between harm and what you need defended, I’m your mare.”

Beryl and Red nodded, though beryl kept looking at Red inquisitively. “What about you?”

Red looked at the two mares. “Hmm?”

Barricade pointed a hoof at the stallion. “What about you, Red? How’d you get your mark?”

Red smirked. “I lived in a small village, far beyond the maps of today… In our village a terrible beast of the Spirit world would arrive every full moon, and steal someone away in the middle of the night! Nopony could find a solution, nopony… But me. I took my cunning 7 year old wits and handsome looks, and went out into the forest. Where—”

Barricade was trying her hardest to keep a straight face, she looked to her side, where Beryl was suffocating on her sense of humor. She turned back to Red and waved a hoof. “Alright, hilarious. If you didn’t want to tell us, you could have said so.”

“Nah.” He smiled. “It’s more fun making Beryl laugh.”

Barricade looked over at the still-snickering Beryl, who had her hooves over her mouth, doing her best to hide her rosy cheeks.

She took a deep breath, and grabbed her drink. “Well, as interesting as this all is, I have to go run some errands before tomorrow. What with weapon aptitude training and all that.”

Weapon aptitude. The words stuck in Barricade’s mind like a bad taste in her mouth. She knew it was going to be part of the job, but it had always been something conceptual, something distant. Now that it was less than a day away, she couldn’t help but be a little concerned.

“Yeah.” Barricade replied. “That’s tomorrow, huh? Guess I should go make sure everything is in order before tomorrow too, then.”

“Well, I wish the two of you the best of luck!” Red chuckled as he cleaned a nearby table. “Not that you need it or anything.”

Beryl stood and grabbed her drink. “I’ll see you two beautiful ponies soon, alright?”

“Of course.”

“If by soon, you mean tomorrow. Then yes.” Barricade playfully pushed Beryl’s shoulder. The two of them thanked Red for the drinks, then all went their separate ways.

As she headed into town, Barricade had to shake herself a little. She felt scared. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was. She thought she was ready, she had months to come to terms with what the position demanded. But it wasn’t something months away anymore. Tomorrow was a big day; she was going to learn what weapon she was best at killing things with.

And she couldn't feel any less ready for it.

Author's Note

Had a friend draw a thing, props to Ask C-Minus of tumblr for an awesome job!