Unlike What We Remember

by NerfedFalcon

Rating: teen
Tags: Dark
Length: 8506

A group of Royal Guards encounter a friend who they haven't seen in years, but he's changed for the worse in their absence, and they want to know what happened.

The Royal Guard is often made up of families, whose sons and daughters go into training from childhood to take the mantle. In particular, the Night Guard often fall in family lines, as the Thestrals can’t do much else in society even since Luna’s return. Many of the Guards already know one another before they join up, and stay friends even if one doesn’t make the cut.

Cloud Skipper, Florence, Aster and Midnight Blossom were like any other group of Guard brats, until one day, Skipper disappeared without a trace. The three mares didn’t know what to do, and four years later, they’ve all joined the Guard and he hasn’t been found. They still want to see him come back, but when he’s finally found, he’s nothing like the Skipper they grew up with.

Who’s responsible for his transformation? Can his spirit be repaired, or will he never be any more than a monster in equine form? How will his friends’ lives change by his presence? The questions hang over the four of them throughout their waking lives. They may not want to know the answers, but leaving them unknown might be worse…
~
…Well, it's sorta related to Knightmares, anyway.

Rated Teen for bloody violence and occasional swearing, but no over-the-top gore. This may change later.

Most of the Royal Guards who appear in this story were originally created by Equestria-Prevails, and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic belongs to Hasbro and Lauren Faust.

[If I think of anything else that you probably need to know, I'll update here.]

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2014-10-22 09:16:36 UTC

Arrival

The Night Guard’s barracks, in a cave dug into the side of the mountain, had several things inside that would be unnoticeable in the low light to most ponies. The Thestrals that called it home kept various things there to mark which bunk was theirs to the others. The dim light coming from the Unicorn who was searching around it was unnoticed by most of the sleeping ponies there. Only one was awake to see it illuminate the photograph hanging above her bunk.

“You’re up early, Midnight,” the Unicorn said quietly.

“So are you, Aster. I thought you’d finally gotten used to our sleep cycle.”

“I still like seeing the sunset. What are you doing up so early?”

Midnight didn’t reply right away. Instead, she looked at the photo above her bunk, showing the two of them as fillies, plus a colt. The grey Unicorn was holding a mug of cocoa with two marshmallows floating in it, the rising steam visible even to the camera. The white Pegasus was shaking a present, unaware of the charcoal Thestral sneaking up behind him with a sprig of mistletoe in her teeth. It was the first Hearth’s Warming Eve that the Pegasus had been allowed to spend with them. “It’s his birthday today,” she said. “Nineteen years old.”

Aster just looked at the photo. “You shouldn’t still be hung up on him,” she said. “It’s been, what, four years since he disappeared? It isn’t healthy.”

“I can’t give up on Skipper. He wouldn’t have given up on either of us, if it were the other way.”

“Does it really matter? For all we know, he died in a shallow grave.”

“Don’t, Aster. Please, just don’t. I can’t give up on him. Not now. Not like this.” She closed her eyes and turned away from her friend. Aster started desperately casting around for a topic, not wanting to see her oldest friend in such a state, but couldn’t find one. She left her friend to her reminisce and headed outside to see the last of the sunset.

Unwittingly, she found herself reminiscing as well. Cloud Skipper was a Guard brat like the two of them. They’d been inseparable throughout their foalhood, along with his sister Florence. How two Thestrals had given birth to a Pegasus would be a mystery for the ages, since neither side was willing to admit to having anything less than pure blood. Still, even the purest bloodlines had some cross-breeding, or else died out due to incest, Aster thought.

Even so, they’d done their best to raise him despite the fact that he usually slept differently. He’d spent most of his time with Aster and Midnight, though he got along fine with his actual sister. Being almost the same age, Skipper only being a day younger than Florence on a technicality, they’d intended to wait for the youngest to turn seventeen before they all signed up together.

That had been the plan, but a few weeks after his fifteenth birthday, Skipper had disappeared. He hadn’t left anything behind that could be used to track him down: no note, no apology, not even a feather. They’d asked around about his whereabouts, putting a missing pony report as far out as they could, but by the time the others had come of age to join the Guard, they’d had to give up on looking for him.

None of them even knew why he’d gone. It was possible that he’d gotten fed up with life at home, though he’d never said anything to that effect. He could have found out he was adopted and left without waiting for an explanation, looking for his real parents. He could have been foalnapped, in which case he was probably dead already if he’d been gone for four years. Aster didn’t want to think about who could have foalnapped a Guard brat, but it seemed like the most likely answer to her. Without any clues to go on, though, Skipper had simply faded away.

She shook her head as the sun finally dipped below the horizon. It didn’t help her or anypony else to be thinking about him. She only got one night off a month, and she wasn’t going to let the past get in the way of enjoying it.

Midnight Blossom and Florence had managed to get the same time off for once, and they headed out into Canterlot together. None of them really had any idea where to start, so Aster eventually suggested Joe’s. It was a neutral location, so they wouldn’t get anything for being Guards or for the two Thestrals, and despite advertising as a donut store, it also had the best coffee in Canterlot. Nopony really knew why, but it wasn’t worth arguing when the coffee was that good.

There weren’t many ponies in the shop when the group arrived. Most of them were sitting separately, though there was a group of three Pegasi sitting together at one table. Two of them had manes that covered their eyes, though they were just as capable of seeing as the other, turning to see the newcomers immediately. “Hey, you see that?” the yellow one asked the grey and brown. “Looks like somepony took a bath in bleach!” He pointed at Florence, who turned as they all started laughing.

As her wings started to flare up, Aster pushed down on her left wing. “It’s not worth it. Besides, they’ll stop if you just ignore them.” With some effort, Florence turned away, returning to the counter with her friends. As predicted, seeing no fun in poking a rock, the group of Pegasi returned to their own conversation.

The group had just finished ordering when the bell over the door rang again. The pony who had come through didn’t walk up to the counter right away. He looked around, as though unsure of why he’d come in. As he was about to turn and leave, the straw-yellow Pegasus called out to him. “Hey, whitey! Are bleach baths in this year, or somethin’?”

The group laughed, and he turned around to face them all. Joe looked over as he set down three donuts and three coffees. “Something disturbs me about him,” he told the group. “Now, I know you’re Guard, and you’re probably off-duty, so it ain’t your place to get involved...”

“What’s the matter? Is there somethin’ on my face, whitey?”

“...but I think our friend here should stop talking soon. That silence doesn’t mean consent.”

“...Is that...? No. It can’t be...”

“Dogs bark to intimidate their opponents, make them run away without a fight. But only the small ones bark a lot, you’ll find. The quiet ones are the ones you have to look out for...”

“If you’re lookin’ for trouble, just keep lookin’ at me like that. What? Do you even speak CE? What are you even doin’ here if ya don’t?”

“...because they know they can bite if they have to.”

“I can’t see his Cutie Mark from here...”

The straw-coloured Pegasus got off his chair and stood in front of ‘Whitey’. “Hey, fellas, looks like this guy’s got a death wish. Ready to oblige?” As the other two stood up, along with Aster looking to stop a fight, all Tartarus broke loose as soon as the first punch was thrown.

Yellow had thrown a punch, but didn’t even see Whitey move to block it. Having his hoof suddenly held in place was disconcerting to him, and even moreso when he was spun around by that hoof, landing on his back. He tried to pull himself upright, but Whitey turned around and bucked him in the back of the head hard enough to flip him onto his front, dazing him.

Grey and Brown tried to charge him from behind, but Whitey used his wings to flip over them, pulling on Grey’s mane as he did to bring the other Pegasus down as well. Brown reached into his coat for something as Whitey grabbed Grey’s forehooves and threw him down the café, knocking over a table. As he turned to face the last standing opponent, Brown pulled out a switchblade and flicked it out, waving it menacingly.

Whitey wasn’t fazed, immediately catching the knife and tugging hard, knocking Brown to the ground. The knife went under Whitey’s wing as he picked up Brown, slamming his head against a table. He pulled the knife out again, shouting “Todome!” as he brought it down on Brown’s right hoof. He’d been aiming for the neck, but Yellow had stood up enough to push Whitey aside.

Brown immediately began screaming like a filly, making it impossible to hear what Whitey said to Yellow before picking up a chair. Though the violence had previously stunned her, Aster finally jumped into action, using her magic to destroy the chair before Whitey could potentially kill Yellow with it. Growling, he turned around to face the Guards, and for an instant his Cutie Mark was finally visible: a rainbow bridging two clouds.

There was no doubt about it. Cloud Skipper had returned.

Before Aster could process the fact that an old friend had suddenly returned and was now able and willing to kill somepony for poking fun at him, he’d roared like a wild animal and charged, getting into her face before she could cast a spell. She pulled back quickly, and he missed biting her horn by a hair’s breadth. She raised both her forelegs to push back, which Skipper blocked as expected, but it gave her enough time to throw a quick and dirty magical shove to get him out of her face.

He landed on his hooves and threw himself at her again, but this time his charge was stopped by Florence tackling him from the side. He rolled with the tackle and came down on top, though she quickly pushed him off. He tried to use his wings to push himself back down, but was thrown aside by another shove from Aster’s magic. Snarling like a rabid dog, he charged her down again, rolling to the side as he predicted her attempt to grab him out of the air. Her magical grip imploded on itself, breaking her focus for just long enough for him to take another shot at her horn, this time stopped by Midnight’s cautious approach.

To stop her from tackling him as Florence had, he turned fully to intercept her, rearing up on his hind legs and slamming her into the ground face-first. As Aster charged up a spell, he turned and dived at her, knocking her over before she could cast it and trying to bite at her horn again--

“Brother, stop that this instant!”

The outburst had come from Florence, who was standing up and staring at Skipper with a stern expression. He suddenly froze, turning around to face her. His expression had changed from the uncontrolled rage that it had held before, returning more to the curiosity and questioning that it had had when he first entered the café. He stared at Florence for a while, and she stared back, their expressions unchanging until Aster finally picked up a table and flung it with her magic at the base of Skipper’s neck.

Unable to move out of the way in time, Skipper immediately fell unconscious. With the fight over, the continuing screams of the brown Pegasus from before became exacerbated when Yellow tried to pull the knife out of his hoof. This only made it start bleeding faster, and Yellow and Grey quickly took him out of the café, leaving a trail of blood and the knife behind. Joe’s head poked up from over the counter. “Are you going to file a report on this?” His voice was surprisingly even, but he was clearly forcing himself not to stammer. “I mean, you aren’t on duty...”

Aster sighed, looking at Midnight still pulling herself up, Florence dusting herself off, Skipper out cold and the trail of blood leading out the door. “I’m afraid I don’t really have a choice. Even though I’m off duty, I still have to make this arrest. Can’t let a pony like this on the streets... Who knows what he’d have done if we weren’t here.” She focused her magic to pick him up, placing his body over her back like a set of saddlebags. At first she grunted slightly under the weight, but waved off the two Thestrals moving in to help her and walked out the door herself.

Florence and Midnight could only stare at one another, dumbfounded by the reappearance of their foalhood friend and the unstoppable rage he’d flown into. “Brother... What happened to you?” the white pony whispered, staring at Luna’s moon as though she expected it to answer.

“Why would you do something like this?” Midnight asked, almost echoing Florence. “Don’t you remember your own friends...?”

~~

Official Report: Royal Dungeon, Cell 21B, Last Seed 17, Nadir

Guard on Duty: Kabenori

Aster Helix and Midnight Blossom of the Night Guard, along with Florence of the Day Guard, arrived at approximately midnight, carrying an unconscious pony that they had arrested.

Physical description of detainee is as follows:

Race: Pegasus

Mane/Tail: Blonde with gold streaks

Coat: White

Eyes: Light blue (not seen right away)

Cutie Mark: Rainbow bridging two clouds (meaning uncertain)

Detainee woke up shortly after the other Guards left. At first, he reacted strongly, panicking loudly and making proclamations. These proclamations appeared to be meaningless, but writer believes that he was speaking Neighponese.

Further exclamations are written below, with approximate translations.

Spoken: 大丈夫。これは。。。別の場所。

(It’s okay. This is... somewhere else.)

Detainee looked at writer shortly after this, maintaining eye contact for about a minute before he turned away and lay on the cell bunk.

Spoken: 待てるなら、もう一度逃げる。

(If I can wait, I can escape again.)

Detainee continued speaking to himself, but too quietly for writer to hear. The only part that could be made out is as follows:

Spoken: 決して戻らない。絶対に戻らない。

(I’m never going back there.)

Writer believes that detainee should be kept under close observation at all times, and given no opportunity whatsoever to escape. Full psychological profiling, including memory spells, may also be recommended.

Private Kabenori

かべのり一等兵

Identity

The night after Skipper’s arrest

It had taken him a long time, but he was finally free.

Well, free was a relative term, considering that he was in a cell again. But it was a different cell, built for only one pony. The other cells were empty, and the guards didn’t seem actively malicious. They’d pushed through some food at one point, and though he should have been more careful, he’d eaten it without pause because he was just too hungry.

He felt fine afterwards, so they probably hadn’t poisoned him. His paranoia had saved him before, though, and he’d have to keep it up until he was certain he was truly free.

Sleep never came easy to him. He’d always slept with one eye open as long as he could remember, fearful of a rival coming for his head. But it had been getting a little easier lately. Being able to see the moon, even through the cell’s small window, helped. Seeing it, he felt assured that the moon would be watching over him and protecting him, somehow, and that knowledge helped him drift into the other world.

His dream quickly took shape. There wasn’t really a point to it, now that Mitsuyoshi was gone, but he needed to stay in practice, just in case. Anything could happen out there. The pit was as it always looked, the pristine white sand covering it like a fine layer of dust. The piece of white chalk sat near the edge. Slowly, he picked it up and began to scrawl on the wall.

Mitsuyoshi had taught him to read and write, a skill he’d never thought would come in handy. Still, he practiced it as much as he could, using the dream chalk to keep a diary of sorts. He never kept it between dreams, but he needed to practice somewhere. As he picked up the chalk, though, he froze in place as a familiar feeling came over him.

“You’re dead,” he said out loud. “You shouldn’t be here. You’re dead! I watched you die!”

Strangely, it was a female voice that responded. “What are you talking about?”

He turned around, a look of fear in his eyes. Someone else had invaded his dreams. They were meant to be a sanctuary, for him and his mentor only, but... The purple mare reminded him a bit of Mitsuyoshi at first, but she was clearly someone else. “Get out,” he said quietly, his eyes narrowing.

“What?”

“Get out of my head! Get out, get out, get out!” He charged at her with a flap of his wings, and she focused a spell which he knew would immediately wake them both. Despite that, he still shot awake in the cell, wings flared out and screaming.

Calm down! he thought, as he had several times before. It was just a dream! Nobody’s trying to kill you right now! Slowly, he got his breathing back under control, taking stock of his surroundings. The cell hadn’t changed, but the guard outside had. There was a white pony with bat-like wings standing outside the cell. She looked familiar to him, and not just that she looked like him with wings he’d never seen on a pony before.

She said something, and it took him a while to realise it was Common Equis. He’d heard it a little bit back and forth, and he slowly switched his mindset into the other language. “...but I didn’t want to believe you could do something like that,” was all he understood of her last sentence. She looked at him with her head slightly tilted, and added, “But I don’t know if you even understand me anymore. It’s like my brother is gone, and something else is in there instead.”

The word ‘brother’ affected something in his head again, and he quickly started, shuffling towards the cell’s bars as quickly as he could. “Brother...” he said, then suddenly clutched his head, rocking back and forth as he tried to think. He had seen her before they’d fought, after all. It was fuzzy, and hard to remember any specifics from so long ago...

“Who are you?” the bat pony asked, and he quickly shot up again.

“I remember you. You were...” he started, and then stopped again. He’d lost the memory after all. “No, I can’t remember anything. Nothing from before...” He shook his head as he trailed off. “No. I’m not going back.”

“What happened to you, Skipper?” she asked, placing a hoof against the bars. On some impulse, he reached out and touched hers. “What did you go through?”

“No,” he repeated, and that was all he said. He couldn’t tell her about it. It was his burden to bear; the price of his freedom. Nobody else would know.

They stayed there for a while, until the other pony finally spoke again. “They said you can come out, if you promise not to start any more fights,” she said. “Can you do that for me?” He nodded slowly. He hadn’t started that last fight he was in, anyway. Unbidden, Mitsuyoshi’s first lesson returned to his head: never start a fight, but always finish it. That had gotten him into trouble...

The sound of the door creaking open brought him back, and he slowly stepped out of the cell, stretching his wings out as far as he could. He nodded to... his sister, and she nodded in return, leading him out of the dungeon. Every so often, she paused to say something to another guard, but he wasn’t really listening.

When the guard suddenly pointed a question at him, he realised he’d been mumbling, and stopped self-consciously. After that, he’d tried to keep his mouth closed the rest of the way, but he didn’t know if he’d succeeded or not. The walk had taken a while, and he didn’t recognise any of his surroundings. It didn’t even seem like the same place as the dungeon had been, with the gilded lining, open spaces and frequent tapestries, stained-glass windows and other artworks. For a while, he just stared open-mouthed at the sun streaming through one window in particular, depicting a purple mare with both wings and a horn, standing under a lunar eclipse.

“That mare, from the dream...” he mumbled to himself, before catching his mouth with a hoof.

“I’m sorry, did you say something?”

“No... Keep going.” He tried to keep his head down as long as he could so he wouldn’t be distracted by the artworks on the walls, but the carpets seemed almost as ornate, and he found himself getting lost in their patterns a few times. Eventually, he came to focus on the white mare, following her as closely as he could and shutting out all external distractions.

When they finally stopped walking, she’d led him outside, into a garden full of statues. There were three other ponies there; two Unicorns and another of those bat-winged ponies. He remembered the grey Unicorn and bat pony from a few nights ago. Considering the fancier jacket that the white Unicorn was wearing, he was probably their boss. They’d been tougher opponents than he’d expected, and another one around leading them would only make things worse. “I’m not looking for a fight,” he reminded himself.

“Well, that’s a good start, anyway,” the white Unicorn said. “So, you’re the mysterious Cloud Skipper. I thought you were just an imaginary friend of these three.”

“...Cloud Skipper...” The name seemed to come easily from him. “It’s as good a name as any,” he murmured. Now he finally had a name to go by, which would at least make it easier if he had to talk to anyone else.

“Anyway, you’ve caused quite a stir in the past couple of days,” the Unicorn continued. “Beating up a group of ponies at Donut Joe’s tends to give you a bad reputation. We can’t let you back out into Canterlot for a while, even flying.”

He... no, Cloud Skipper looked into the sky for a moment, seeing a group of ponies doing a fly-by. All of them were wearing identical suits of golden armour that made it difficult to see through the glare given off by their reflections. He stretched out his wings again, but didn’t take off. He hadn’t had much reason to fly in a long time, and he didn’t know if he still could.

“Are you there?” Skipper snapped back to attention, and nodded quickly. “Well, as I was saying, we can’t keep you in the dungeon any longer than we have, but we also don’t have much room around the palace. Ponies would talk if somepony like you stayed in a guest room...”

He trailed off again, wondering what their armour was for. Clearly, they were soldiers of some sort, and that meant they all knew how to fight. Maybe he’d fit in among other fighters, but they wouldn’t take him on after he’d beaten up those three before. The white one didn’t seem to hold any kind of grudge against him, though. He had to take the chance. “I want to join your outfit,” he said suddenly, interrupting the Unicorn.

“Pardon me?”

“You know those guys in the armour, right? You’re all soldiers. I know how to fight, but I don’t want to hurt anyone I don’t have to. I want to join your outfit so I can put my skills to use.” Skipper looked the Unicorn dead in the eye.

He broke off to look at the other three ponies first. His sister was the first to speak. “I can take responsibility for him. I’m Day Guard already, and besides, we still owe you for getting Donut Joe to drop the charges. Right?” The other two ponies nodded slowly, uncertainly. “There. Have him go through training, see what he already knows. He’s a Guard brat like us. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

“Guard brat?” Skipper asked. “What’s that mean?”

Sister just laughed nervously. “Well, I mean, he at least knows how to handle himself...”

“I don’t know, Florence,” the Unicorn replied at length. “He seems too... dangerous. But if you’re willing to vouch for him, I suppose I can pull some strings. If he does snap, though...”

“I can manage whatever you can throw at me,” Skipper said, placing a hoof over his chest. “And I won’t snap. I don’t start fights. But I do finish them.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.  The last fight you were in nearly killed somepony. If these three hadn’t been here to stop you...”

“I can stop him before anything goes wrong,” Sister—no, Florence quickly interjected. “Promise, on my honour as a Guard. Ex solis invictus.” She placed a hoof over her chest in a similar gesture, and the Unicorn sighed and turned away.

“I’ll see what I can do,” he said finally, walking back towards the castle. “In the meantime, I’ll expect you to keep him out of trouble.”

~

Twilight hadn’t expected to see anything like that during her dream studies with Luna. But somehow, a Pegasus had detected her intrusion, and he’d seemed so violent that she couldn’t get out of his head fast enough. All she could tell was that he’d been in the dungeon before, and that meant he was probably dangerous. If he could detect dream invasions, he was even more dangerous to the two of them.

When Twilight arrived at Luna’s tower, though, the Princess of the Night was preoccupied with what she’d seen in her own dream explorations that night. “Twilight, something bad is happening,” she said. “We need to tell Celestia, as soon as possible. You’ll remember this message, won’t you?”

“Uh, yes?” Twilight asked. “But actually, there was something I wanted to...”

“It can wait for a serial kidnapping case.”

“What?!”

“I passed through the dreams of no less than six ponies who were woken up suddenly. The last I saw of their waking moments was invariably having a black bag shoved over their head. Nopony does that as a prank, and not in six different cities on the same night. This needs royal attention.” Twilight nodded dumbly. Compared to what she’d seen, this was definitely more important.

~

Day 1 of freedom

I found an empty book while I was riding on the train. Decided I might as well keep a record of what I’ve done, just in case I ever need to know what happened again. I’ll never forget what came before, but I might not remember this. I want to remember, though. I want to remember everything. It’s the only way I can live.

There was a pony nice enough to let me ride with him on the train, even though he didn’t know me. I believe he said his name was Kirei. He also gave me the book and a quill, which he’d given magic to not run out of ink. He didn’t know if I knew how to write, but it was something that Mitsuyoshi had taught me. I didn’t think it’d be useful at the time.

Shows how wrong I was not to trust Mitsuyoshi. He’s the only one I’ve ever been able to trust.

The train should get to a town called Baltimare in a few days. From there, Kirei told me to go on to Canterlot, the city on top of the mountain. I haven’t had a cause to stretch my wings in a long time, but hopefully I can still fly well enough.

Day 4

I finally made it to Canterlot, though I had to ride on another train. I rode on the roof, though, since they wouldn’t let me into the train itself. I could barely get off the ground so far, so it was the only way I could handle things. Still, coming to Canterlot should help me a lot, if Kirei wasn’t lying.

I don’t know anyone here, but it seems like a nice enough place. Plenty of ponies around, so I shouldn’t have any trouble staying hidden. Without any money, though, I’ll have to sleep wherever I can. Maybe there’ll be a low-lying cloud or two. I’ve seen a few other Pegasi sleeping on them, but I don’t know if I can reach them as I am...

Day 6

Well, it turns out that most ponies can’t handle themselves in a fight. That shouldn’t surprise me, but considering how badly they wanted one...

Anyway, no point thinking about it now. I got arrested for it, and I thought for sure that I’d be taken back there. But now I finally have something I can do. Canterlot’s a safe city, as far as I can tell, and being around other soldiers, even just those in training, should help me fit in.

I wonder just how many of the Day Guard are capable of killing, if they have to. Canterlot seems like such a peaceful city to me... That sister of mine, Florence, she didn’t look like she had any kind of killer instinct. I can see it in their eyes, or I did before, but now nobody has it, anywhere I look.

I’d better get some sleep while I can.

Cloud Skipper. I mustn’t forget that, either, because it’s my name. My real name. Or at least, as real as Hakumen ever was. It’s the name that everyone’ll be calling me now, anyway. Hakumen is gone. Hakumen is gone.

...But as long as I remember him, or that he was ever me, he isn’t truly gone yet. And I may still need his strength before long.

Recruit

The next day

Every day at noon, the Day Guard recruits took a break for lunch, which lasted half an hour, recorded to the second by the castle’s magically-maintained clocks. Bullwhip, the drill sergeant, hardly ever actually ate during this time; he could do that while the recruits were at their ‘desk lessons’, as he called them. Noon was for any emergency paperwork, such as signing in a new recruit halfway through the training period.

Shining Armor’s request had come as a shock that morning, and Bullwhip had asked to see the recruit with his own eyes during the break. Skipper had followed complacently, knowing it would help him get into the Guard. The drill sergeant looked him up and down slowly, taking in every inch of the white stallion and scratching his muzzle occasionally. It was almost a minute before any of them spoke. “I dunno, Captain,” Bullwhip mused. “I don’ think I can take ‘im on.”

Before Shining could say anything, Skipper spoke up. “What is it about me?” he asked bluntly, giving a look that was probably meant to be neutral, but Shining deduced that what he considered ‘neutral’ wasn’t what most ponies would. Bullwhip was already sweating slightly under the gaze of the much younger stallion, and the Captain had to step in.

“Would you wait outside for a bit? I think you’re...” Skipper’s ears fell, which seemed disingenuous next to his hard eyes, but he stepped through the door as requested even before the sentence ended. “I don’t think he needs to hear this. He’s a little bit... unstable.”

“That’s what gets me about ‘im, sir,” Bullwhip replied. “I could see it in his eyes. It’s always th’ eyes. Everythin’ ya need to know about a pony, from you t’ Celestia ‘erself. ‘E’s unstable, alright, in th’ way a manticore is grouchy. ‘E’s unhinged, is what he is. I dunno what could do that to a pony, but...”

“Neither do we, but that’s not important. It’s because he’s unstable that he needs somepony capable of teaching him stability. And I know nopony better at teaching that than you. You’ve drilled even the rowdiest of recruits into shape, or at least shown them they aren’t up to it.”

“Th’ rowdy ones’re easy, sir. It’s th’ quiet ones y’have to look out for. Ya can never tell how close they are t’ breaking point. And comin’ in ‘alfway through the season... I dunno how the other recruits will take it, or what they’ll try an’ do t’ ‘im.”

“You shouldn’t have to break up more than one fight,” Shining replied, looking away. “Count on it.”

Bullwhip seemed confused at the statement, but quickly understood. He didn’t have many book smarts, but he knew what a drill sergeant had to. “Might I ask ‘ow old ‘e is?” he said. “For th’ paperwork, y’see. ‘E didn’t look seventeen t’me.”

“Nineteen, apparently. He’s a day younger than his sister, or so she tells me.”

“Nineteen? Empty sky, ‘ow can a pony o’ nineteen ‘ave eyes like ‘is?”

“He doesn’t tell anypony, and I’m almost afraid to pry myself...”

“Well, ‘e’ll probably come out in ‘is own time. For now, I can take ‘im on. Just give me more warning next time yer goin’ t’ do somethin’ like this, will ya?”

“I promise. Anything for the best drill sergeant the Day Guard’s ever had.”

“‘Ey, ye’ve been captain less time’n I’ve been drill sergeant!” Bullwhip laughed, the comment being made in good cheer. It was true that Shining Armor was the youngest Captain of the Royal Guard in history, but he handled the job surprisingly well. It helped that he was willing to delegate, and to trust in his subordinates. That endeared him to the others, and even Cumulus had to admit that the Captain was good at both his job, and at working out what was his job.

When he heard the laughter inside, Skipper poked his head through the door, and Bullwhip nodded. “I’ll introduce ya t’ th’ lads. Just don’ expect t’ be makin’ any friends any time soon. They won’t care a whit for ya comin’ in halfway through the season.”

“Works for me,” Skipper replied, and once again, Bullwhip wasn’t sure what to make of his tone. Well, worse comes to worst, Cumulus can sort ya out, he thought. Crazy bastard’d get through to even you, and no mistake.

“Noon break should nearly be over by now,” Bullwhip said as they approached the recruits’ barracks. “I’ll slot ya in with th’ others when it’s time fer afternoon drills. Just do what the others do and ye’ll do fine. Plenty o’ numbskulls in th’ bunch, so explainin’ shouldn’t be a problem.

“RIGHT!” he suddenly shouted at the top of his voice, causing Skipper to flinch beside him. “Fall into line, ya worthless maggots! And you too, ya skiver!” He gave Skipper a shove into the group, and he found himself unsure of what to do for the first time in a while. Gradually, he figured out that they were standing in ranks, similar to the daily lineup of the survivors, only with a few more ponies.

After about a minute, twenty-four ponies were standing in a rectangle, three deep by eight across. “That was too slow!” Bullwhip shouted. “Just ‘cause ya haven’t seen somepony before don’t mean ya can get away with bein’ slow under my watch! For that, the whole lot of ya get fifty! Company, DROP!”

The other ponies all dropped into a push-up position, and Skipper followed with a moment’s hesitation. “Hey, Whitey! You in the back row! Didn’t think I’d see ya bein’ slower’n th’ others? Well, ye’ve got another thing comin’. Seventy-five push-ups! On the double!” He blew a whistle, and everypony pushed downwards, coming back up with another peep.

Skipper’s usual fighting style involved ending them quickly, using his Pegasus speed to take down opponents. His core strength, as a result, was severely lacking. By the time the other recruits had finished fifty push-ups, he’d only done thirty, and he felt like every part of his body was on fire. He tried to leave, but Bullwhip insisted that nopony was goin’ nowhere ‘til ‘e’d finished the whole seventy-five. After he’d pushed himself up to fifty, he was allowed to take it more slowly, but he still collapsed outright as soon as he’d reached the last one.

“Normally, I’d have ya do some weapon drills, but since yer new friend’s new t’ exercise, it’s already time fer yer desk lessons.” The last two words came out of Bullwhip’s mouth with more than a hint of derision. “Fall out. And Whitey, don’t think I’ll let ya off easy tomorrow, either.”

Barely able to walk straight enough to enter the classroom building, Skipper couldn’t muster the energy even to think about what he’d done. Breathe, Mitsuyoshi’s voice reminded him. Always remember to breathe, no matter how stressed you are. If you ever get locked up, you’re finished. As he filled into the only empty desk, he started breathing slowly as he looked up at the weathered grey pony standing in front of the class.

“Good afternoon,” he said in a voice that betrayed no emotion. His smile seemed entirely fake, as though he’d read about emotions in a book once, but never quite got the hang of them. “Today, we’ll be continuing where we left off yesterday. Can anypony tell me where that was?”

No answer was forthcoming until a hoof shot up at the back of the class. “The last war between us and the Griffon Kingdom, sir,” the Unicorn mare replied.

“Very good, Weather Vane,” the teacher replied. “The Griffon Kingdom has always seen warfare as part of its culture, its very being. With such a long time of peace, their king, Harald IV, had believed that the griffons were going to soften up and be defeated if anything did happen. He believed this of the pony race as well, and so he made an expansionist bid...”

Skipper quickly began to tune out the lesson. History had never interested him, and Mitsuyoshi had stopped bringing it up after a few failed attempts. He started looking around the classroom, trying to get the measure of all the other ponies there. In particular, ‘Weather Vane’ seemed to be the most focused on the lesson, which in his book would normally have marked her as too intellectual for her own good, but she’d finished the fifty push-ups with the rest of the unit...

A piece of chalk bounced off his head suddenly, and a few other recruits stifled laughs as he quickly turned back towards the front. “Could you explain to me why you were not concentrating?” the teacher asked slowly, once again faking kindness.

“I... never thought history was that useful,” Skipper replied, unable to come up with a lie.

“What is your name?” At this point, the teacher started walking towards him, leaving the front.

“Cloud Skipper. Sir,” he added quickly.

“You are wrong, Cloud Skipper,” the teacher replied bluntly, the saccharine tone entirely gone. “And anypony who can tell me why he is wrong will be allowed to leave the class.”

Again, Weather Vane’s hoof shot up. “Knowing modern politics and the historical basis on which they stand is vital to knowing how to deal with diplomats, particularly those of other races.” She smirked proudly, and a few other recruits seemed to seethe at her.

“You are not wrong, Weather Vane,” the teacher replied, “but there is a much simpler reason why Cloud Skipper is wrong. Do you know of it?” After a moment’s shocked silence, she shook her head in defeat. “No?”

He walked back up to the front of the room and addressed the class. “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Individuals and civilisations alike have fallen by making the same mistakes that most believe had been learned generations ago.” He turned to face Skipper, meeting his burning gaze with an equally frosty one. “If you learn nothing else from my class, remember this. Write it down on your hoof, if you don't trust your head.”

Skipper was surprised to find a pony that could match him in a staring contest, and eventually was forced to turn away. “I think I can remember that much, sir,” he said quietly.

“Good. Now, where was I?” The saccharine suddenly returned to his voice, and if Skipper hadn’t seen his stare, he wouldn’t have thought it was the same pony. Wondering what to make of him, he focused on the lesson intently.

The griffons had moved into the port town of Las Pegasus overnight, digging in before the Royal Guard could respond. They didn’t make any more headway from there, prevented by a massive storm that covered the city day and night, brought on by the local Pegasi under the direction of the Day Guard. When they finally ran out of clouds, the Guard had taken up positions to storm the city, driving the griffons back almost immediately. As a result, griffons tended to have a high respect for Pegasi, being unable to command the weather themselves.

Skipper didn’t really know what to make of the story. Some of the details seemed overly precise, yet other areas were glossed over and given hardly any time at all. He stayed back as the class left two hours later, wanting to bring it up with the teacher, but he left through a door in the back before Skipper could say anything. He fell in behind Vane, wanting to ask her about it.

“Oh, Cumulus always tells stories like that,” she said nonchalantly. “Most of the details he doesn’t bring up don’t really affect us. Besides, it’s his story, and none of us can really make him change, since we’re just recruits, and listeners.”

Before she could launch into a lecture of her own, Skipper held up a hoof. “Alright, that’s fine. So what now?”

“You really are new here, aren’t you?” Vane seemed to positively light up. “I didn’t want to believe it when I saw you arrive, but...”

Skipper put his hoof to his forehead. “Could you please just answer the question?” he said, telling himself to breathe, calm down, it’s not worth getting worked up over this one.

Vane stopped, catching herself, then cleared her throat. “Now, we’ve got a couple of hours to ourselves to maintain our gear or spar before dinner, then another class before curfew. Usually it’s something most ponies learn in school, like mathematics.” Skipper nodded; he could handle that a little bit more easily than history. “Oh yeah, my name’s Weather Vane.” Skipper could care less about her attempt to befriend him, but gave his own name in reply. “Yeah, I heard it when Cumulus called you out. He does that sometimes. Weird teaching method, but it seems to work for him. Nopony ever forgets the lessons he drills specifically into them, ever.”

“I can sort of see why,” Skipper admitted. Cumulus, the teacher he assumed, had seemed the same as Mitsuyoshi had sometimes: entirely detached and willing to defy any social contract to get what he wanted. But what did he want, besides his recruits to learn history? There had to be something behind that false cheerfulness...

“Hey, Windbag,” a stallion called out as they entered the barracks. “Looks like you finally got a coltfriend. Runt of the litter, just like you, eh?” A small group started laughing. Vane ignored them, but Skipper was reminded too much of the group he’d seen back at the café a few nights ago.

“Don’t bother with them,” Vane said, pulling Skipper with a hoof towards her. “They’re all bark and no bite, and they’ll leave you alone if you ignore them long enough. That’s always worked for me.” Skipper turned away, sitting down on the floor and facing the door. He didn’t know if he had a bunk yet, or which one was his, and he didn’t want to just take one away.

His intuition told him there was a group of ponies standing right behind him. Without turning around, he said, “Leave me alone. I’m not looking for any trouble.” Even if he’d been wrong, he hadn’t survived by ignoring his instincts. Since nopony called him out immediately for talking to himself, it was clear he hadn’t been wrong.

“Hey, runt,” the stallion from before said. “I didn’t know they were letting ponies like you try out for the Royal Guard now. Who’ll it be next, griffons?” Two other ponies snickered behind him, as though he’d made the ultimate jest.

Skipper turned around slowly, sizing him up just in case he decided to take a step too far. The speaker was an Earth Pony, though only of average size, flanked by another Earth Pony and a Pegasus. Considering how they reacted to nearly everything their apparent leader said, they were little more than flunkies, or even just hangers-on. That didn’t make their snickers any less grating. Breathe.

“Who shat you out? And how long has it been since you’ve seen the sun? A coat that white must be hard to maintain!”

Breathe.

Just ignore them.

Skipper’s instincts overrode the advice of both his old friend and his new... acquaintance. He wasn’t ready to call her a friend yet. “Don’t start anything you aren’t prepared to finish,” he said quietly. He wasn’t sure they’d heard, but the sudden jeering of the two flunkies proved otherwise.

“Wise guy, huh?” Ringleader said. “You didn’t look so smart out on the parade ground. Even Windbag there finished before you!” More snickers.

Breathe.

“Besides, you took away my weapon drills. And that’s the only part of the day I can really stand.”

Breathe.

“With that attitude,” Vane cut in, “I’m surprised you took up the Royal Guard at all. It’s not just about fighting. We have just as many diplomatic responsibilities, and peacekeeping doesn’t have to mean violence.”

“Who asked for your opinion, bitch?” Ringleader suddenly asked, charging into Vane’s face and slapping her before she could react.

I won’t snap. I don’t start fights...

“Yeah, go ahead and cry all you like. Your friend can’t do a damn thing to protect you. You make all these speeches, but you can’t even back them up with your choice in friends!”

Breathe.

“Why don’t you admit you were wrong and indulge me, just this once?” Vane’s reaction, combined with the wolf whistle of the two flunkies, told Skipper everything he needed to know. He stood up and walked up to Ringleader, who turned around to face him. “Oh, look. A knight in shining armour. Ember, Cinder,” he looked over Skipper’s shoulders at the two flunkies, “get his wings. Looks like somepony needs to be taught a lesson.”

“I warned you,” Skipper replied, quietly but still loud enough for Ringleader to hear. He flared his wings out, ready to move as soon as he was grabbed. Neither of the flunkies noticed that he seemed strangely compliant. As soon as they touched his wings, for the second time in a week, all Tartarus broke loose.

Skipper used their grip on his wings to do a backflip in place, bringing up his hindlegs to kick Ringleader in the chin before landing behind Ember and Cinder. They turned around to face him just as Ringleader managed to stand up. He threw himself between them at Ringleader, knowing they’d be too slow to catch him before he’d tackled their leader.

Somehow, Ringleader managed to duck under the tackle, running to hide behind his flunkies as Skipper turned around. They each took a step forward, growling and trying to use their size to intimidate him. It didn’t work; he simply launched himself into the air and, with a single flap of his wings, dive-bombed the target behind them. As he landed, pinning Ringleader with his knees, he started punching at his face, landing five punches back and forth before he heard a movement behind him.

Grabbing Ringleader’s forelegs around the elbows with his own, he pulled his opponent up in a hostage position, letting him take Ember’s punch. As Ringleader started screaming about the pain, Skipper shouted, “You think that hurt? Huh?! That’s nothing!” He stepped back a few paces, bringing Ringleader with him, then turned and slammed his head into the post of a bunk bed.

He started to pull back to repeat the move when a voice said, “That’s quite enough.” Skipper turned towards the door, where the voice had come from, and saw Cumulus standing there with Vane right behind him. “I rather hoped you’d save your fury for an actual enemy, and not one of your fellow recruits.” If he was truly disappointed, it didn’t show in his toneless voice.

“He wanted to...” Skipper started, but Cumulus held up a hoof, and he found himself stopping without being able to help it.

“Weather Vane told me of his intentions, but she had been just fine on her own. Your intervention was not necessary, and has rather caused more problems than it solved. That being said... I believe what you said was, ‘Don’t start anything you aren’t prepared to finish.’ Are you prepared to finish this?”

“I would’ve killed him,” Skipper replied.

“Then attack me instead.”

“What?”

“Oak Bough is not a worthy opponent for one such as you. If you cannot control your urges, at least direct them towards a challenge.”

Skipper was still breathing heavily. Everyone in the barracks was watching him. Can’t back down with an audience, he thought. They want to see a show. Never disappoint. Roaring at the air, he threw himself towards Cumulus, ready to attack again.

Cumulus simply ducked underneath, throwing Skipper headlong at the door. Skipper managed to turn and land on the door with his hooves, throwing himself at Cumulus again, who placed his hooves above Skipper’s head and shoved downward. This time, Skipper couldn’t take the rough landing, sliding along the uneven floor by his neck. Disoriented, he couldn’t stand up before Cumulus had his wings pinned. “I had hoped you would drop it,” he said, before Skipper felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck, then passed out.

~~

Memorandum

To: Captain Shining Armor

From: Wing Commander Cumulus

Subject: Cloud Skipper

I don’t know where you found this colt, and I almost don’t want to, but I do not believe that his presence in the Royal Guard would serve it particularly well. He lasted about three and a half hours before he nearly killed another recruit another sexual harassment aimed at an entirely different pony.

I cannot speak for what should happen to those giving the harassment, but I do not believe that Cloud Skipper is suited to the Royal Guard. However, from what he has told me, he does have an innate sense of justice and a will to put himself towards said justice. He needs to get his violent urges well and truly under control before he can return to being a recruit. And next time, I would suggest waiting until the end of the season.

As for how he can be taught to control himself, I have had some thoughts on the matter. I recall you said something about his sister taking responsibility for him...