Children of Nothing

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.