Orion woke to the sound of thunder. Her wings fluttering as a wave of surprise shook her body.
It had been a week since the storms had started, and night after night she would wake and find herself lathered in sweat and unable fall go back to sleep.
She sighed, letting her head thump back down onto her pillow. Keeping her eyes open, she watched as her small room was filled once more by a blinding flash of lightning. Have the weather ponies no pity? she thought, closing her eyes in a vain attempt to find some rest.
After some time, she decided the effort would once again lead to nothing, so she slipped out of bed.
Her hooves clicked softly as they hit the tiled floor as she made her way to the window, the horizon already blushing with predawn colors even through the thick coat of storm clouds.
She felt relieved; she had managed to sleep some of the night, at least.
With a heavy sigh, Orion returned to her bedside and lit the half consumed candle on her nightstand. The flame flickered gently, giving the room an eerie glow.
She looked around. Nothing seemed familiar here, this new room, this new town. It all felt so alien to her.
She had come to Canterlot only a couple of weeks ago and it seemed she could get used to nothing.
Shaking her head, Orion made her way to the sink on the far side of the room. Strange eyes locked onto the old stained mirror to stare at the gaunt and tired face looking back at her.
Brown, why did I choose brown? The unnerving memory lazily slithered back into her mind, making her frown; because it was cheaper. She had been desperately broke when the accident happened, so when the surgeon unicorns had told her the eye needed to come out and she had been faced with the bill, she had opted for the most inexpensive option. She had been offered a cheaper possibility; an eye matching her original deep, cobalt blue color, but unfortunately unable to see. For Orion, that had been out of the question, a damaged pony would be of no use in the fight to protect her home, Equestria.
Her light grey coat was ruffled, and her deep moss and light green mane was a mess. She impatiently rubbed a hoof through it to try and smooth it down, but, as per usual, it kept on sticking back up. Bad as it was that it seemed to refuse to grow any longer, it had apparently decided to give her an eternal “rolled out of bed” look to boot.
Her mane was short, from the base of her neck to between her ears and mostly curled upwards, but in some places, stuck out at odd angles, and on her forehead rested a thick shock of mixed greens.
She was a rather thin pony, but not a short one, usually standing a few inches taller than most mares. Her chest was narrow and her neck less rounded, all traits that gave her a slightly more coltish appearance along with her mismatched eyes that in no way underplayed her unusual appearance.
Orion gave up soon enough and instead turned to the heavy oak chest that laid at the foot of her bed. She delicately lifted its heavy lid and peered inside.
On a thick cloth padding, rested a gleaming bronze armor. Its metal shining dimly by the candlelight.
With a hoof, she stroked the smooth surface of the breast plate, inlaid with a single red star in its center. The armor set was humbler in shape than a Royal Guards, only covering the chest, back and descending just slightly onto the flanks, leaving the wearers mark visible. The shoes also lacked the three standard spikes on the front of the hooves, merely settling for one and the set didn’t include a helmet.
Orion then took out all of the separate parts of the armor and slid them on one by one. The shoes were a snug fit and the armor rested comfortably on her back and chest. All in all, it was rather simple; no elaborate details or flourishes, apart from a few studs on the sides and the star on her chest. The lot made her feel heavy, but it was noting she could not handle. Finally, she tied a red cloth band to the base of her short tail.
She looked back into the mirror, but her reflection gave her no satisfaction; she still looked thin and exhausted. Nothing near those shiny, prancing royal guards. She made a face. What a joke. She thought. The princesses could guard themselves well enough. Those arrogant fools were nothing more than servants in armor. Their combat skills were questionable at best, and yet, they still called themselves elite.
Orion tsked, and veered towards to door after grabbing a tightly rolled sheet of parchment. Her garment clinked as she walked through the dusty hallway, then down the stairs. She pushed the heavy wooden door with her nose and stepped outside.
The cold immediately bit at her face, and bitter gusts of wind sent her mane aflutter.
The grey pony looked to the skies and saw the rolling clouds rush above. Other ponies were out about their business, but not many. Winter would soon wrap Equestria in its icy white coat and she could feel it in the air.
A couple of brave pegasi flew overhead, veering through bursts of harsh winds.
Orion watched them pass and thought of her heavy armor, weighing her down.
After a moment of deliberation she opted for flight. She didn’t want to be late.
A quick trot up the street and a strong push from her hind legs saw her soaring. She flapped hard and reached the rooftops.
The wind was fiercer up high and made her unstable, but that wasn’t enough to throw her. She was a strong flyer and loved nothing more than the feel of a breeze under her wings and the immensity of the heavens.
She could see the whole city from up here. The Royal palace was to her right, standing proud atop its hill, facing Equestria. The noble’s houses and manors were not too far away from its gates and after that the homes of more common ponies.
The grey mare tilted her wings and changed course. She needed to get to the training ground just outside of Canterlot, almost at the base of the mountain.
After a few minutes the city was behind her and she was soon to reach the wide plateau that had been dug out of the side of the fell.
The flight had been short, but when she landed she was nonetheless panting slightly from the weight of her armor. This will not do. She thought. She needed to be stronger if she ever wanted to protect Equestria.
She trotted towards the small building standing at the entrance of the grounds and walked into the reception hall. A bored looking stallion sat at the front desk, fiddling with a pen. He raised his head slowly at her approach. Orion dug out the parchment from under her armor and handed it to the receptionist. The orange stallion quickly scanned the document, having obviously read it a dozen times today and slid it back to her.
“Welcome to the Canterlot training field. Please head through the double doors to your right and gather with the other recruits.” He said, in a stony monotone voice.
Orion nodded and followed his instructions. This led her to the vast pitch she had seen upon her arrival, and there awaited a few other ponies like herself, some clad in the standard bronze suit of armor while others wore nothing but their skin.
There seemed to be very different sorts here today, and several appeared rather out of place for military recruits. Some were much too young in her eyes, no more than fillies and colts, and others had clearly left their fighting days far behind them. On the other hand, there were those who seemed to fit right in, mainly the dark-purple mountain of a pony, impatiently digging his massive hoof into the ground.
Orion also noted that very few of them were unicorns. Almost half were pegasi, and of the twenty odd present, only two were unicorns, the royal purple stallion with a white mane being one of them along with a tiny, skittish looking blue mare.
Trotting slowly, she made her way to the mismatched group.
Once at their level, she stopped and stood to the big purple unicorns left.The stallion looked even more colossal than he had from afar, Orion’s ears just about clearing his jawline. She also noted the grey gemstone mark that adorned his flank, puzzling at its hidden meaning.
He gave her a quick, indifferent glance before turning his head towards the field once more, huffing irately.
Orion looked about the different faces. Some stood sullen, alone. Others huddled together, exchanging quick words of greeting and a few of the pegasi that seemed to know each other had assembled slightly apart from the group.
“You from Canterlot, Stick?” a deep, gruff voice suddenly asked.
Orion bristled, surprised by the cavernous voice as well as vexed by the insult.
She turned to the obvious speaker, one eyebrow rising.
“Stick?” she asked, her nose crinkling.
The huge pony shrugged. “Well, not exactly thick, are you? He simply said. “So, are you from Canterlot?” he asked again.
“Wha… No, I’m from the Dappled Shores, to the North-West.” She answered, her brow wrinkling slightly.
The purple stallion turned his head to look at her with an unexpectedly gentle smile on his face. “Ah, nice place I hear. Thought it seems to rain a lot, no?”
Orion nodded once, somewhat confused by his sudden change in demeanor.
He let out a light chuckle at the grey mare’s puzzlement.
“I’m Smoke Gem by the way.” He suddenly said, turning to face her and extended a hoof in greeting. The thin pegasus cocked her head back in surprise, but extended her own hoof in return, giving his a single, firm shake before answering “Orion Featherspark. A pleasure.”
“Huh.” He murmured as he looked her over. “Now, I understand the stars, but why the music notes?”
Surprised, Orion turned her head to look at the mark on her flank: three white stars surrounding a light-yellow crescent moon and two beamed sixteenth notes just under the moon.
She turned back to look at the curious gaze on Smoke Gem’s face, getting slightly unnerved by this unexpected flow of questions.
Sighing, she decided to humor the big stallion. “I was a musician.” She simply said, her eyes trailing downwards.
For a time neither of them said a word, but after a few seconds she felt a gentle nudge on her shoulder, making her look up.
Her eyes met Smoke’s, his gentle smile slightly saddened.
“Chin up, Kiddo. You’ll get back to it once this whole mess is over, Won’t ya?”
The grey mare frowned slightly, but the Stallion’s kind words hit home, tugging a small smile from her. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Smoke gave her another nudge, more enthusiastic this time, and turned back to face the training field.
“Oh, here they come.”
Orion followed his gaze and saw that, indeed, a group of ponies were heading their way and had apparently exited the large building on the far side of the training ground.
The troop was composed of six individuals, all wearing the black armor reserved for military officers. And all save one were wearing helmets; a burly, white earth-pony with an orange-and-grey mane.
The white stallion led his soldiers to the small throng of recruits who had hastily started to form up at their approach.
The seasoned soldiers halted a few feet from the recruits, chests pumped and eyes like steel.
The leading pony stepped forward, his gaze scanning the assembly before him. His eyes never lingering on any particular individual.
Then, with a sudden roar, his voice boomed across the field. “Welcome to the Canterlot military training grounds!” Some of the trainees jumped at his bellow, but the white stallion went on. “I am Colonel Ember Streak. All of you present today have decided to answer the call to defend our country, and for that I am grateful.” The Colonel’s stare was like ice, but suddenly acquired a wicked glow. “Unfortunately, most of you won’t last a week.”
Orion spied a young stallion to her left gulp nervously.
“The enemy is strong, expertly trained, and pitiless. They will, under no circumstance, go easy on you, so neither shall I. I will make you suffer, and every night before you fall asleep, sore from head to hoof, you will wish you’d never set foot here. Understood?”
A few ponies nodded fretfully, others shuffled in place, clearly not at ease. Orion looked up at Smoke only to see a ferocious smile plastered on his face as he watched the captain.
The grey pegasus grinned discreetly at his fiery assurance and kept looking around. Not all the other ponies had been deterred by the Colonel’s words. But, to her surprise, it was the small, light-blue unicorn that caught her eye.
She stood two ponies over to her left, chest pumped and fierce determination shining in her dark eyes.
The little mare was pretty, and definitely not the pony you would picture as a soldier, but, in that instant, she looked no more out of place than Smoke did.
Orion felt an odd sense of fondness at the sight of the blue unicorn. Amazed that even ponies like her could stand so resolute in their intent to fight for their home, for what was important.
Orion herself had been holding her ground. She too had enrolled to protect Equestria, but there was something else, something she had to prove.
The thought caused something to stir in the pit of her stomach; anger, wounded pride, grief but also an insatiable need to set things right.
And so, with new-found vigor she stood straighter, ready to face anything the world had to throw at her.
Give me your best shot! she thought fiercely.
While Orion had been lost in thought, the Colonel had walked to the end and back of the line of recruits, carefully gauging each and every one of them.
He could easily tell there and then which of these ponies had the potential to endure what he had in store for them, and those who would walk out, tail between their legs after the first few days.
All of his officers, having been under his command and fought by his side for years, could tell by now which ones he deemed worthy, or not. However, to their growing worry, they slowly began to realize that too few of them seemed to catch the Colonel’s eye.
This war was far from won.
The Colonel had left the group in the care of two of his officers, a green unicorn mare and a tall pegasus stallion as black as his armor, as he and the rest headed back to the building at the end of the courtyard.
“All right recruits,” started the stallion as he took off his helmet and tucked it under his wing. “I am Lieutenant Onyx Flash, and this,” he gestured at the green mare. “Is my colleague, Lieutenant Ash Leaf.”
The unicorn nodded once before quickly turning on her heels, “Come on rookies, time for a tour.” She called back, heading across the field towards a third building.
Orion was not surprised to have missed it when she first landed. The “building” seemed to be nothing more than a large door carved straight out of the side of the mountain, but as they came closer, she realized that there seemed to be an entire structure built inside the heart of the mountain.
The two Lieutenants stopped a few feet from the door and waited for the recruits to assemble.
“This is, for as long as you are here, your new home.” Onyx told them as he gestured to the mountain in a wide, swooping motion. “You will find sleeping quarters, the mess hall, exercise rooms, showers and so on inside. Follow me.” He headed towards the heavy door and pushed it open, blocking it with his shoulder so all of them could trail in.
The band stepped inside and suddenly found themselves in the most gigantic hall Orion, or any of them for that matter, had ever seen.
Orderly groups of soldiers pranced by, trotting in unison, pegasi whizzed overhead through narrow passages dug high up in the walls and various mares and stallions made their way to different parts of the incredible building. There must have been thousands of ponies here.
Orion’s jaw dropped. This is incredible. She thought in wonder, but their escort were already ushering them away from the hall.
Onyx and Ash showed them the mess hall and exercise rooms, along with the training grounds that, to the grey pegasus’ surprise, were also situated inside.
Finally, the pair led them to a smaller room lined on both sides with bunk-beds.
“This is where you will sleep and, if you wish, spend any of the free time you may have.” Onyx told them as the group stepped in, looking around.
The quarters were simple; a closet to the right of each set of beds and a reading lamp above each bunk. The walls had been roughly carved out of the rock, Orion noticed, but to her surprise it did not feel as cold as she had expected for a fortress dug straight out of the mountain.
“These quarters are co-ed,” Ash announced. “So, if I hear about a single broken rule, any fooling around, any slip-up in conduct,” the look in her eyes enough the send chills down their spines. “You will have to answer to me, and trust me when I say this; you really don’t want that to happen.” The green mare left them to process the information for a few seconds before going on. “Each of you may store your belongings in the locker to the side of your bed. For those of you with barding, gear down and lock up anything you have on your person now. Where you will bunk is up to you.” Was all she added, before turning around and heading out, quickly disappearing out of sight.
Onyx Flash remained a while longer. “Corporal Silver Lance will be with you shortly to issue armor to any of those who do not own any and will then escort you to the showers and barber for your mane-cut. You will report to the mess hall at 1900 hours for dinner. Training starts at 0700 tomorrow.” Then, he too made a move to leave, but before stepping out the door Orion heard him give them a quiet ‘Good luck’ before vanishing like the green Lieutenant had moments before him.
The recruits let out a collective sigh of relief, happy to be left to their own devices for the first time since they had arrived.
Disorganized shuffling ensued as the ponies started picking out their beds. The pegasi that had seemed to know each other had picked the bunks to the far left of the room, keeping together as much as possible, while the others just chose at random.
Smoke gave Orion a quick nudge. “So?” he asked. “Want the top bunk, or bottom?”
Seems like we’re sharing then. She thought.
“Top.” She answered quickly, which seemed to amuse him.
The mare frowned at him. “What?”
“Oh nothing.” He grinned. “Just seems like you feathery folk always like no nest high up.”
She shoved him with a hoof but couldn’t hold back a small smile. This made the big stallion laugh as they headed towards the closest set of beds.
Orion shrugged out of her armor, quickly followed by Smoke. Some of the other recruits were also gearing down.
They both opened their respective lockers and neatly stored their barding inside. There was a hook to hang a chest plate and the bottom part of the closet was layered with thick padding to place their shoes on along with a small drawer to store any personal items.
Once the heavy set carefully stored, Orion shook herself vigorously, messing up her mane even more than usual. Well, at least I won’t have to worry about that any more.
Ah, it felt good to stretch without all that metal restraining her.
She quickly glanced at Smoke. He was testing the bed with his hoof, gradually putting more weight onto it. At least the frame seemed solid enough that it didn’t so much as bend when he finally sat on it, hunching low to avoid knocking his head on the underside of Orion’s bed. He turned to look at her with a silly grin, bouncing a few times, making her roll her eyes and smile.
She then burst out laughing as he tried to lie down fully but realized, with a confused and alarmed look, that the bed was much too shot to allow him that, forcing him into an obviously uncomfortable fetal position.
“Aaah, Celesta damn it!” he groaned as he uncurled and sat on the edge of the bed. “This happens every time.”
Orion settled beside him and patted his shoulder. “Well, just think of it this way; at least you have a bed to sleep on now, because in a few weeks, we sure as Tartarus won’t ever be that comfortable.”
“Yeah, speak for yourself. Right now I think the ground seems better.” Smoke muttered, pouting slightly.
“Hey, no one is stopping you. Make yourself at home.” She teased, waving her back hoof at the floor.
“Har har, get of my bed.” He shoved her off, making them both chuckled as he slid to his hooves beside her.
The two of them chatted happily for a while but fell silent as the recruit’s attention shifted to their quarter’s door, hearing clipped hoof-steps coming their way.
Those who had been on their bunks quickly hopped down and joined the hastily forming line and faced the door, knowing full well to expect Corporal Lance to walk in any second.
And so he did. The earth-pony Corporal wore no armor, only a band on his front right leg bearing the two star insignia of his rank and sported the same standard military-issued buzz cut as the two lieutenants had. His dark brow hide had a pristine luster to it along with his two-toned silver mane, the stallion being almost the sole embodiment of his name, his spear head cutie mark adding to the overall effect.
“Atten-HUH!” the buck bellowed as soon as he was through the door.
With a clap of their front hooves the recruits straightened, chin raised and chest pumped as they stood to attention before the Corporal.
The brown stallion scanned his recruits with inexpressive eyes.
“As you may have been informed, I am Corporal Silver Lance.” He started pacing before them as he spoke. “I will be in charge of supervising you during your training and will continue doing so for those of you who move on to become privates.” The buck stopped as he reached the middle of the line once more. “You will address me as ‘Sir’ at all times; anything else will result in immediate punishment.”
The recruits stood still, silently acknowledging the Corporal’s words.
“Good. Now, follow me.” He said as he led the group out of the sleeping quarters and deep into the base.
They soon arrived in a wing labeled ‘Sanitation and Armory’ where the Stallion instructed them on the steps to follow.
“First, all of you hit the showers. Keep clean at all times, same goes for your gear. I will be performing regular inspections, so if I find anypony not following this simple rule, expect yourselves to be slopping up every toilet in this base.” He glared before going on. “Secondly, anypony without barding, report to the armory and get your gear.” His head darted towards the end of the hallway where the recruits saw a sign indicating the room. “Finally, you will head to the barber for a mane-cut. Once all that is done you may use the remaining time you have before dinner as you will.” He paused, making sure his words hit home and gave them a quick nod. “At ease.” He said as he left them to follow his instructions.
As soon as the Corporal was out of sight the recruits headed for the showers. Orion and Smoke split up, heading for the areas assigned to their gender.
Once under the hot, steaming water, Orion felt her whole body relax. She looked around to the other mares in their group and saw seven in total; four pegasi, including herself, two earth-ponies and the little blue unicorn. All of them seemed to range around the same age group even though their build varied greatly; the earth-pony mares being much sturdier than the rest of them.
She turned her head back towards the shower nozzle, letting the steaming water do its job and rubbed soap into her mane and coat. Once she was done she rinsed herself thoroughly and shook herself from head to tail, getting rid of the excess water. She was still damp, but that was nothing a good toweling could not deal with.
Only three of them were still in the shower room, the others having left a few minutes prior, leaving Orion with the strong looking, yellow earth-pony and the unicorn mare. She watched the later step out from under the stream of water, her midnight-blue mane hanging heavy and straight on the side of her neck. With a quick glance and hoping not to get caught, Orion noted the cutie mark on her flank; a white cloud above three rain drops and a yellow and orange quill laying diagonally in front of the cloud.
Orion didn’t have much time to wonder about the little mare’s talent since sudden plumes of steam started billowing around the unicorn as her horn glowed, sending a short-lived spark of panic through the pegasus. Fortunately, Orion realized that the other mare had only been using her magic to evaporate the water out of her coat, leaving her as dry as when she had come in. Huh, that’s pretty useful.
“Hey!” Orion trotted to the unicorn’s side. “Mind doing that for me?” she asked, giving her a bright smile.
The little mare seemed confused for a second by what the grey pegasus was asking of her, but understanding soon dawned in her eyes along with a slight flush on her cheeks.
“Oh, ah… sure. Hold still.” She instructed as her horn started glowing with a pale blue aura.
Orion felt her whole body start to heat up and was quickly engulfed in puffy clouds of steam. This is kind of nice. She thought, soon feeling warm and dry. She felt the magic recede and shook herself with delight, making her fur fluff up and her mane go back to its usual unruly state.
“Thanks, that’s an interesting trick.” Orion gave her a charming smile. “My name’s Orion Featherspark, and you?” she inquired.
The small mare blushed brightly. “Rain Dancer.” Was all she said before looking away. Wow, she's pretty shy. The pegasus mentally shrugged.
Orion was still smiling when she trotted out. “Nice to meet you, Rain.” She called back. “And thanks again.”
Smoke was waiting for her in the hallway, fully dried. Do all unicorns know how to do that?
She spied him looking up and down her body with a puzzled look.
“What?” she cocked her head at him.
“Did you not shower?” he asked her.
Oh yeah, I’m all dry. “No, I did. Rain Dancer steamed the water off me with her magic.”
“That was nice of her.” The big stallion turned towards the far end of the corridor and bobbed his chin at a sign that said ‘Barber’. “We should go, almost everypony has already.”
The duo made their way to their destination and walked in. A heavily built unicorn was sweeping piles of multi-colored mane into a corner when he spied them.
“Have a seat. You first.” He pointed at Smoke.
The aforementioned slid into the stool sitting in the center of the room as the barber levitated a magic operated mane clipper and got down to business. In a matter of seconds nothing much was left of the purple buck’s mane but a short, flat topped ridge of hair from the nape of his neck to the space between his ears, leaving his forelock mostly intact, albeit slightly trimmed. The Barber then took a pair of scissors and proceeded, with a few quick snips, to take almost half of Smoke’s tail off.
“All right, done.” He said while brushing away strands of main from Smoke’s shoulders and back. “Next.”
Orion walked to the stool, the floor around it still littered with the long white strands of Smoke’s mane.
The barber quickly cleaned the clipper and administered the same treatment to her. It made Orion feel oddly naked to not be able to feel the weight of her mane on her neck. At least I won’t look like I just rolled out of bed all the time anymore. When it came to her tail, the barber barely cut anything, only making the end of it a little straighter with ta few snaps of his scissors.
“There.” He said, seeming bored. “If there’s anypony else waiting, tell them to come in.”
The two nodded and walked out.
The yellow earth-pony mare and Rain were waiting by the door.
“He says to go on in.” Orion told them, giving Rain a quick smile, but the little mare lowered her head as soon as their eyes met and slipped inside to where the barber was waiting.
“What’d I say?” She looked up at Smoke in confusion. He shrugged with an ‘I don’t know’ expression on his face.
Beside them the yellow mare chuckled knowingly.
“What? What’d I do?” but she just shook her head and headed in after Rain.
“Wh…?” she stared wide eyed at Smoke, but the big stallion looked as lost as she felt.
They were back in their sleeping quarters and Orion was looking at her new mane-cut in the small mirror on her locker with a critical eye.
“So, want to go check this place out?” she asked him after having run her hoof through it at least a dozen times, enjoying the soft bristly feel.
The big stallion nodded enthusiastically, having obviously been waiting for her to ask.
It made Orion smile to think of how Smoke had seemed to her no more than an hour ago. He had looked like the type of pony who would have bashed in your face for looking at him the wrong way, but now she saw him for what he was; a big foal at heart with an easy smile.
The two of them started towards the door but stopped at the sound of somepony nervously clearing their throat behind them. They both turned and looked at the young earth-pony stallion standing behind them, casting them uneasy glances.
Orion looked at him. He was obviously just out of adolescence, judging by his long awkward legs, like a colt who had grown much too fast. His black mane looked identical to their own, a look that seemed somewhat off on him. In addition his light bluish-grey coat was tousled, as if it hadn’t quite decided in which direction to grow yet.
“Yes?” she asked the young buck as she cast a sideways glance at Smoke, he shrugged.
“I… Ah… Uh…” he stammered, fiddling with his front hooves, looking ready to bolt.
Smoke gave the young grey stallion an encouraging nod but it seemed to have the opposite effect.
The buck jumped at Smoke’s sudden motion and in a half-yell, half-squeak, blurted, “I’M FELIX!”
His unexpected yelp made Orion start and Smoke look very much startled. Other ponies had turned to stare at the sudden commotion but quickly lost interest.
On the other hoof, the recently self-introduced Felix seemed to want to crawl into a dark corner and hide.
The grey mare and the big stallion stared at each other in surprise, but quickly found themselves battling the laughter that threatened to bubble out of their chests.
Smoke made his way to the twitchy buck’s side and wrapped a massive hoof around his shoulders.
“Ok, first of, kiddo, relax. We don’t bite.” He gave Orion a quick glance. “Well maybe she does, I don’t know yet.” He went on, making Orion huff.
Felix seemed to take Smoke’s advice and relaxed considerably, looking less like he was about to burst into tears.
“Secondly,” The purple stallion continued in a gentle voice. “My name is Smoke Gem, and my friend here is Orion Featherspark.”
Felix gave them both a quick nod.
“So,” Orion asked. “Did you want something?” she gave him an easy smile and walked to his other side.
It took a few seconds for the buck to answer her question. “I… It’s just… I just… wanted to know if I… Ah… could come with you.” He quickly stuttered. “To visit the base, I mean.”
“Ah, was that all.” Orion beamed. “Of course, why not.”
With that out of the way, the trio made their way out of the sleeping quarters and headed to the main hall.
Felix seemed to know almost everything about the base, to their surprise and as they toured he would point out rooms or machinery and explain every single one of their functions to them. The grey stallion seemed to slowly lose all of his inhibitions as he talked about the base with such passion that both Smoke and Orion could not help but smile. Felix even answered Orion’s silent question about why the place was so warm. He told them that the mountain had been riddled with hot springs and how the ponies charged with building the base had cleverly incorporated them in their designs.
After a while they had seen almost all there was to see and found themselves back in the now empty main hall.
Orion looked up to the large clock hanging high up on the back wall; six forty five.
Still a little time left. There was something she wanted to check.
With a push from her legs and a strong flap, she was in the air. She swirled and dove a few times in the spacious hall, still amazed by its size. After a little while and hearing a soft “Whoa” From Felix and a mumbled “Show off” from Smoke she carefully landed on the lip of one of the two openings in the left wall.
The passage was narrow. She spread her wings fully, only to realize that their tips folded slightly on either side of the tunnel. Too narrow. She thought back to when she had first seen the other pegasi fly through them, folding their wings tightly to their sides and simply barreling in. They must know these passages like the back of their hoof. That was her only explanation. Otherwise they would bash head first into a wall whenever the tunnel took a turn.
That was a dangerous way to travel through the base. The idea sent a shiver of anticipation through Orion. She loved a challenge.
She looked down to where the two others stood and saw that a few other ponies were now slowly filling up the hall.
An orange unicorn stallion with a brown mane looked at her two companions then followed their gaze and spotted her on the ledge. His eyes widened as her started shouting. “HEY YOU! GET DOWN FROM TH…”
“WATCH OUT!” the yelp from deep inside the tunnel was all Orion heard before a white blur hit her straight in the chest, sending her tumbling backwards into the room.
Twisting her body almost like a cat’s she managed to right herself and spread her wings. Flapping wildly she was able to slow her fall, but the other pegasus was having a harder time doing just that. Without a thought Orion veered sharply and bolted towards the flailing mare, just about grabbing her by the scruff of her neck with her teeth before she hit the ground and proceeded to lower gently.
“Ow ow ow, let go. Agh!” the mare cried as her rump hit the ground with a soft thump. Orion released her hold on the white mare’s neck and landed beside her.
She turned to her, ready to apologize but only managed a pathetic wheeze, suddenly realizing just how badly winded she was from the other pegasus hitting her straight in the chest at full speed.
Orion hung her head and tried to take a breath. From the corner of her eye she spotted Smoke and Felix rushing towards her, closely followed by the Orange stallion.
The white mare stared at her with concern. “Hey, you ok?” she asked, rubbing the back of her neck where Orion had bitten it, her teal and white mane slightly damp in that spot.
The grey mare nodded weakly as she gasped for air.
With the clattering of hooves all three ponies were by her side.
“Orion…” Felix looked terrified.
“Are you all right?” Smoke bellowed as he skidded to her side.
She nodded again and waved a hoof dismissively. “Dandy, just need to… to catch my breath.”
“Good,” Growled the Orange stallion emerging from behind her companions. “Because now you can explain to me exactly what you were doing just standing outside an exit shoot like that.” He looked furious. “Do you want to get somepony killed?”
“Ah… No, I just wanted to see if my wing fit.” Orion flushed madly and lowered her head.
“You wan…” the stallion started before bursting out laughing.
Orion and the others looked at him, utterly confused at this point. The buck slowly managed to calm his laughter just enough to talk again.
“Oh, you idiot. You could have gotten the both of you seriously hurt.” He said, now smiling broadly. “Are you from the group that arrived today?” he asked, walking to the other mare and helping her up. He quickly checked her head and neck for injuries and seemed satisfied when he found none.
Orion nodded.
“Well then, know this; the shoots are one way only.” He gestured to the wall and Orion noticed with a good deal of embarrassment the big red “X” painted beside the tunnel she had been perched on along with the green “O” beside the second. “So, next time, try and be a little more careful, all right?”
“Yes Sir!” She said, clapping her front hooves together as she stood to attention.
The orange stallion shook his head. “No need for ‘Sirs’ with me, kid. Just… Just stay out of trouble.”
With that the stallion left, but Orion had not missed the sadness in his eyes as he had said the last words. What was that all about?
The grey mare turned to the others and approached the white pegasus. “I am so sorry about that. I had no idea.”
“Yeah, clearly you didn’t.” she mumbled, rubbing her neck. She gazed up at Orion when she realized how upset she looked and gave her a cheeky smile. “I guess you owe me now.” The white mare mused; obviously satisfied by the look she managed to get from Orion, who seemed utterly lost.
“All right,” Smoke looked to the clock. “No harm done then. But we should get going, it’s almost seven.”
“Oh yeah.” Answered the white mare. “Come on, I’m starving.”
The four of them started towards one of the hallways that led to the mess hall.
“The name’s Gale, by the way.” She offered as they walked.
“Smoke Gem. Nice to meet ya.” Said Smoke.
“Orion Featherspark.” Orion followed. “And sorry again… About earlier.”
And Felix… Said nothing.
The three others turned to look at the grey buck who seemed likely to pass out at any moment. Ok, too much excitement and social interaction for one day, it seems.
“That’s Felix, he’s a little shy.” Smoke answered for him.
“Huh, all right then. This way.” Gale shrugged.
It was only a short walk to the mess hall and already the room was packed with ponies getting their evening meal.
They gathered at the end of the growing line of ponies and each firmly grabbed a tray between their teeth. As the group advanced to where the food staff stood they were given a surprisingly wide choice of menus, to which Gale gave them a quick answer; Equestria believed in happy soldiers. Apparently, the more content all of them were, the better they were believed to perform on the battlefield, knowing the country they fought for valued their well-being and cared for them on a more individual level. To Orion the explanation made sense, and judging by Smoke’s thoughtful nod, to him as well.
Once all of them seemed satisfied with the contents of their trays they looked around for someplace to sit and enjoy it, but Gale had other plans for them.
“Come on, you’re sitting with us.” She nodded at a table where almost a dozen pagasi were seated.
The three looked at each other, Orion and Smoke seemingly content with the idea, Felix still looking ready to run off if anypony so much as sneezed in his general direction.
Faced with no other obvious choice, the grey buck followed them as they settled with Gale’s group.
“All right guys, meet the aerial squad. Aerial squad, meet Smoke, Orion and Felix.” Gale introduced. ‘Hellos’ went around the table as the flyers greeted them. “They’re from the new batch, so play nice.” She told her team.
At that the band chucked and whispered to each other.
A black pegasus with a black and bright yellow mane looked at them with a smirk. “Welcome to the worst days of your life.”
