Liberty for All

It was me… or him.

I held my double bladed sword tightly as I set up my combat stance. Feet apart, weapon held at my right. Both hands firmly on the hilt. I was ready.

My opponent stood determined, awaiting my next move with heightened clarity. I had to be unpredictable with my next move, and fast.

Pressing a foot forward, I spun into him with my double bladed sword, swinging it upwards to slice with both blades in one swift motion.

“Hyah-AHHFFUUAAAK!”

It would have been a fatal blow, if I hadn’t lost my balance.

One blade connected, but the grip followed instead of the other blade. The mistake sent me stepping back a few paces as I let out a curse from beneath my breath.

I realized that my pitiful attack actually did wound my opponent. He was staggered, though still readying to come at me with desperate force.

Recovering as fast as I could, I sloppily jutted the closest end of my sword straight into his chest. It was the last hit he could take, shuddering before falling to the ground as he slid off of my blade.

The scene of his corpse was horrific to witness. Pieces settling on the floor, limbs twitching, tufts of cotton spewing forth like an endless waterfall of fluffiness.

Alright, it wasn’t like that. It was like one cotton ball.

I lifted the training dummy from the ground and set him upright. Some straw was sticking out from the gashes and holes I had made on his rough, fabric skin. I brushed off the excess straw and patted down the rest.

“Sorry to put you through all this punishment, Mr. dummy. But you are a training dummy for a reason.”

I took a few seconds to pause and collect myself, readying for another go at my combat stance. Before I committed to another try, I peeked at the open textbook I had set against the training room wall; Weapons of Old, Double-bladed Swords Mastery. There were countless kinds of stances and forms to learn, but most would take years to even get the hang of. I had already made the decision the moment I picked this thing up from the old armory that I would only focus on the basics. Even though this weapon could be incredibly dangerous to the user, it’s still freaking awesome.

I stepped close to the wall to take a brief look at the book-marked chapter two, stances and motions. I set my weapon down as I pulled out an awkwardly folded paper from my pocket, containing a host of scribbled notes. Writing things down had always helped me study for tests. I figured it would apply the same way with self-taught weapons training.

“Ok… Feet apart, stance two. Double blade held at hip level... Push forward, swing upward, then… Then… Spin? No…”

My ears twitched at the sound of a knock on the training room door. A very familiar mare came in, bearing a smirk and a swagger as she laid eyes on me.

“I thought I heard the fighting noises of a warrior try-hard at it again.”

“They’re not ‘fighting noises’, Shelly, they’re battle cries. They help me focus on practicing.” I replied. One would think a best friend would be a little more supportive. Though it wouldn’t be Shelly if she didn’t tease me constantly.

“Sure it does,” Shelly said, rolling her teal eyes, “I still don’t understand why you keep practicing with that thing. It’s as old as weapons can get. And it’s not like you can use it in a swordplay competition or anything, it’s too exotic.”

I shrugged. “Maybe. It gives me something to do though. Good exercise too.”

Shelly set her backpack down on the floor. She crossed her arms with a casting glance to the ceiling, as if suddenly doubting her decision to visit me.

“You know what’s good exercise? Going for a run. Or maybe hitting the gym. Or actually making yourself a routine to get the right amount of balanced workout every day.”

“What? I do have a balanced work out! Using my double bladed sword makes me use more than my arms. I also have these unique stances, and-”

“Pfft. Chorus.” Shelly said as she bit her lip to hold back her laughter.

“Alright fine, I don’t have a ‘routine’. But I want more time to learn how to use this, and there’s hardly any time in between our duties.”

“I swear you’re inseparable from that thing.” Shelly remarked with a chuckle as she went over to the equipment closet. She pulled out a longsword and a padded sheath and tossed two more my way. I caught one with my spare hand while the other gently fell beside my foot.

Shelly smiled, wrapping the sheath on her sword as I scooped the other one from off the floor. “If you’re so invested in that weapon, let’s see how well you can use it against a smart opponent.”

I hesitated. “Uh… I don’t think I’m at that stage in the book yet.”

“Come now, dearest Chorus!” Shelly exclaimed, taking on a city elite accent, “Surely you have the desire to prove your skills to me! Shelly, the mistress of duelists!”

“That’s a lame title.” I smiled.

Shelly gasped. “How dare you! Cloak your blades, fool! So that I may beat-eth your sorry butt back to kindergarten!”

Shelly immediately assumed a defensive stance as she prepared to receive me in battle. I just finished securing the padded sheathes upon both ends of my blade and quickly went into my own stance.

I didn’t normally spar with Shelly. Today was different though. She seemed more energetic, and in a good mood despite the daily grind.

Calling upon my training, I stepped forward towards Shelly with my double bladed sword primed for an upward slash. Shelly anticipated this, and effortlessly dodged to her right.

I wheeled around to follow just as Shelly brought her sword down upon me, forcing me to raise my weapon in a defensive staff position. Her blow was staggering, showing me just how much strength she was using. She wasn’t holding back.

Rebuking her move, I shoved her away and decided to use a form of attack I was still learning. It was a spinning strike, consisting mostly of raising my double bladed sword above my head and ending the spin on a downward and powerful slash.

I was amazed at myself when I actually pulled off the move, making several spins and delivering my attack on point. Though Shelly had also dodged this, in a way I was happy she did. Seeing the impactful hole I made in the floor from the tip of the blade alone made me glad she didn’t have to block that.

Shelly made ample use of the few seconds which I spent in awe at my accomplishment to bash her weapon into my side, forcefully knocking me to the ground and causing me to lose grip of my blade. I hastily flipped onto my back, only to have Shelly’s padded weapon pointed directly at my nose.

“Wow. I wasn’t expecting that kind of attack! Did you learn that from your book?” Shelly asked, lowering her weapon and reaching her hand down to me.

“I did. I can’t believe I managed to pull it off,” I said as I grasped Shelly’s hand. She lifted me up onto my feet, “Though it didn’t help me much. You’re still stronger than me.”

“Physically, maybe. But I know for a fact you’re smarter than me. You’d make a fantastic officer, you know.”

“Being a leader isn’t for me. I’d just rather follow orders.”

“I hope you’re not saying that just because you failed the officer school entrance exam.”

“No!... Ok, maybe. No one else here has failed it three times though…”

Shelly placed her hand on my shoulder, smiling at me. “You gotta stop doubting yourself, Chorus. If you actually committed yourself, you’d be next in line for Captain of the Guard in no time!”

I nodded wearily as we put away our equipment and gathered our belongings. We left the training room, making our way down the hallway of the barracks.

“I’ll think about it. But I think I’m fine where I am right now.”

“If you say so. C’mon. Let’s go get some Sun.”

With our golden armor on and spears in hand, Shelly and I walked on the outskirts of the castle grounds. Daily patrols around Canterlot did little more than stretch our legs and hurt our feet. I guess the only benefits were interacting with ponies who needed a hand or had questions, but aside from that, it was anything but fun. Duty to the Princesses by hiking in circles. Woo.

We rounded about the marble stone walls and began our route alongside the river. The castle’s sky bridge loomed over us as we passed underneath, its huge stone supports towering to our sides. The bridge stretched across the river, its end connecting to the Canterlot History Museum. I’d been to the museum a few times since being stationed here in the capital. It was nice to learn about the exhibits they had, but they didn’t change much. Once you were there a few times, you’d basically seen everything. Shame really. Museums are awesome.

Plenty of citizens were out and about on the warm, spring day. Ponies sat at cafes across the river, enjoying the gentle breeze brought in by the weather teams. Geese floated on the flowing water. A small band played their strings to the calm of the city. It was a good day.

Our path arced slightly as we walked upriver. My daydreaming was interrupted when my ears snapped forward as I noticed a pair of lunar guards pass us by. They gave us a nod of comradery as they continued walking. Their eyes were hidden behind darkened shades to protect them from the Sun’s light.

Noctrals were a strange people. They’re not a very outgoing group, hardly ever stepping out into the daylight. It was only fairly recently with the return of Princess Luna had they been more out and about in society. Seeing the Lunar guards on shift in the middle of the day was a surprising change, but the guard commanders probably had their reasons for it. Some guards were given leave to visit their families for the Spring Planting Festival, so they were likely covering for them.

“Look who’s being busy!”

Shelly’s voice brought me back from my thoughts. A familiar sight was ahead of us.

Along the stone wall to our left stood a set of scaffoldings lining the path. Stone carving tools lied on the wooden platforms as a pair of ponies worked on refurbishing the castle wall. Beside the toolkit, a unicorn stallion, with a mahogany coat and brown mane, levitated a chisel up to the pegasus mare floating above him. The mare, fur as dark and deep as charcoal, took the chisel in hand, though stopped as she saw us approach. Her lips broke into a smile.

“Shelly! And Chorus! My favorite pair of guards!”

The mare let out a tiny squee as she fluttered down to the ground, leaving her tools on the scaffolding. Even with our armor on, she had little issue in drawing us into a big hug. I nearly dropped my spear from the squeeze.

“It’s nice to see you again, Jet.” I managed to speak, “You too, Clay.”

“Same to you, Chorus!” Said Clay, “Hope you two have been well.”

Shelly crossed her arms as Jet pulled away. “So, have you two love birds finally found time for your honeymoon yet? You know it isn’t official until you actually stop working your butts off, right?”

Jet giggled. “Oh goodness… It’s been tough. Clay and I are still trying to find a time to fit it in, but we have our eyes on a nice little resort down in Bridle Shores. We’re hoping to find time once the restoration projects are done.”

“Hopefully they go smoothly for you guys. As much as Canterlot could use the touch up, you guys deserve time off more.”

“Aw, thank you! I’m sure it won’t be much longer.” Jet blushed as her blue eyes met the ground.

I nodded and smiled once more. “We should be going, we’ve still got our patrols to finish.”

“Of course, sorry for holding you up. Clay and I have to get back to work too. Have a lovely day you two!” Jet grinned as she and Clay waved goodbye. They returned to their work as Shelly and I continued on our path.

“Oh, wait!”

Jet’s voice caught us just before we went out of earshot.

“I forgot to ask, did you hear about the new exhibit at the museum?”

“What? The museum does new exhibits now?” I asked excitedly.

“It’s a new thing, apparently. The new exhibit is on one of Mage Meadowbrook’s eight enchanted items! It was just discovered in an archaeological dig somewhere. I figured I would let you know, since you two like the museum. You should go have a look!”

“That’s awesome! We’ll be sure to stop by when we are off. Have a good one!”

I waved goodbye once more as Jet returned to her work. It was nice of her to let us know about that exhibit. Anything that brought a bit more diversity to the museum was a good thing in my book. Breaking Canterlot’s monotony of late would be a boon to travelers as well.

Shelly let out an exaggerated sigh.

“Welp, back to the boring routine. Hey, you wanna ditch for the day?”

I stopped in my tracks. “Shelly, we can’t ditch, not again. Even if patrol is boring, it’s our job. We have to be watchful for any danger.”

“Danger?” Shelly scoffed, “Have you forgotten the time we live in, Chorus? Anything that ever threatened us has been beat by the Element bearers! We don’t have anything to worry about anymore. Princess Twilight and her friends do our job for us when it really matters, so why waste our time on patrol when we can go have fun?”

I frowned. “How will we explain this one to the captain?”

“Easy,” Shelly sleuthed, “We’ve covered the most important places, and we stopped to help our mason friends with some of their tedious labor. After graciously helping a few Equestrian citizens, we decided to alter our route to pass by the museum to see if anymore ponies needed our help.”

“We didn’t… That’ll never work and you know it.” I said wryly.

“A bad excuse is better than no excuse.”

“That’s the worst piece of advice I’ve ever heard.”

“Aww come on! Trust me on this, Chorus! We’ll get to see that new exhibit!” Shelly pleaded, casting her puppy-eyes and scrunched snout at me.

I couldn’t bear that face. Not because it was cute. It looked weird when a tall pony did that.

“Alright, alright… Let’s go to the museum.”

My fur rustled at the brush of cool air circling within the museum. It was a notable change in temperature from the heat outside, and definitely for the better. I was suddenly reminded of how often Shelly complains about not having a spring guard’s uniform.

The ground floor lobby was bustling with ponies. Families, tourists and everyone in between were enjoying the cold air as they perused the displays. Fossils of long-dead creatures were encased in giant frames which were held up along the massive walls. Artifacts of world history stood on pedestals to be admired and studied. A giant flag of Equestria hung between two enormous pillars, flowing proudly above the museum-goers. A Spring Planting Festival banner hung beside it.

Shelly and I followed the arrow signs towards the new exhibits while trying our best to appear on duty. It didn’t help that we stood out like sore thumbs with all our armor on. Though luckily it wasn’t long before we entered the large hall containing the new additions to the museum’s collection.

We approached a glass case situated at the center of the exhibit, casted under a low-setting light. Within it laid a cane. There was nothing outstanding about it, aside from it looking hand crafted from some kind of ash-colored bark. I’ve seen elders use canes of similar make sometimes.

“A cane? That’s weird. Doesn’t seem very magical-looking.” I muttered. Shelly had stepped to my left, gazing down at the podium bearing the item’s facts. She read the passage aloud.

“’The Prodigy’s Cane. The Mage Meadowbrook’s First Enchanted Item. The creator of the Prodigy’s Cane is unknown, and it is questioned by scholars how the item even came into Meadowbrook’s possession, as there was never any mention of it in her recorded memoirs. It is the only one of her enchanted items to not be made by her own magical crafting…”

“Meadowbrook didn’t make it? Huh. Where did it come from?” I wondered.

Shelly rubbed her chin. “Says here it was discovered in ruins found in the southern region of the Griffin Kingdoms. The ruins were pretty unique, apparently. There are no other sites like it. And that the scholars don’t even know what the cane is actually made out of…”

Before I could spew more of my thoughts, a whisper interrupted me.

“Did the Princess send you two to steal the cane?”

Shelly and I whisked around to find a stallion in between us. He failed to hold back a grin as Shelly punched him in the chest.

“Fin! I swear if you’re skipping class again…” She exclaimed somewhat hushed. Her brother only laughed.

“No, no! Sis, I haven’t skipped in forever! I’m here doing work for my new internship. Hi, Chorus!” Fin explained.

“Hi, Fin.” I waved with a smile. Fin had moved to Canterlot to study at the university. He loved everything about ancient history and archaeology. It was no surprise he decided to pursue an internship here at the museum.

“Pretty cool exhibit here, huh! Did you read about the Prodigy’s Cane?”

I nodded. “We just did. It’s so cool.”

“Wanna meet the guy who found it?”

I thought about declining as our duties popped back in my head. It was risky enough already with just only a few minutes spent off patrol. Unfortunately, Shelly spoke up on behalf of both of us.

“We’ve got time to kill. It would be awesome to meet him!”

“Heck yeah! Follow me!”

Only a few paces towards the back of the hall had us arrive at a service door, labeled as the research archives for museum administrators. A set of stairs led us up to the floor above, giving way to a set of windows that overlooked the sky bridge extending from the museum below. Turning into another entrance brought us to a packed archive, filled with cluttered shelves, filing cabinets and overloaded desks. It gave way to several individual offices, one of which Fin knocked and pushed open.

The small office was packed with books, papers, and relics. Huge maps of the various nations and regions plastered the walls, the largest map being of the Crystal Empire. A tiny statuette resembling an alicorn rested on the corner of the cluttered desk.

A stallion was sitting on the other side, fiddling with something to himself. Fin knocked on the side of the doorway, causing the stallion to spin his chair around. He kept his eyes on the object in his hands.

“Oh! You’re going to love this, my dear Fin! The little sphere from the geological section isn’t just a rock! I cleaned out the inside, listen!”

The stallion gleefully shook the sphere. A little rattling came from it. He laughed before finally looking up.

“It’s just like… Oh! I see you brought friends, Fin! Yes? Perhaps? Hmm.” The stallion spoke. The only thing I could focus on was his white, bushy mustache. His eyebrows were also very distracting.

“Quick, before I compliment your sphere; Professor Walnut, I’d like you to meet my big sister Shelly, and our friend, Chorus. They’re both a very important part of the Princess’ royal guard.” Fin said, adding some embellishment to his words. Shelly rolled her eyes.

Professor Walnut immediately leapt to his feet, coming to greet us. His coat of fur was a pale cream in color, slightly darker than his mane. He was unusually energetic for an earth pony his age. I wondered if it was the smell of coffee on him that answered why.

“A wonderful pleasure to meet you!” The professor said, shaking my hand and Shelly’s with enthusiasm, “I’m Professor Walnut. Historian, geologist, anthropologist, astronomer, part-time psychologist, and, most importantly, ancients-era archaeologist! Now… I can fancy a guess that you’re here to hear about my discovery of the Prodigy’s Cane! Yes?”

“Yes! It’s great to meet you, Professor. So you and your team found the cane?” Shelly asked.

Professor Walnut brushed his mustache. He briefly scrunched his snout. “Yes, yes. Regularly I’m part of an expedition, but this time I was completely on my own. I do a lot of personal exploring when I can! And one day, I happen upon that marvelous discovery! Fancy that!”

“Wow, really? That must’ve been an amazing feeling when you found it! What were the odds?” I piped in. Professor Walnut grinned.

“Oh yes! It was simply astounding! I couldn’t being to describe. And it’s so humorous what happened to me there! Well, not so much humorous, but more enlightening beyond anything I could comprehend. What I saw was… was… Well, it was rather… Oh...”

Professor Walnut trailed off, his expression dropping suddenly. It seemed like his was suddenly in pain.

“… Oops! I seem to be teaching a class soon. I’ll… continue this story another time. Yes! I should be on my way. Pleasure to meet you again, truly! Please stop by again! More often! Yes? Wonderful! Good day!”

In a flash, Professor Walnut grabbed a bag from his desk and flew out of the office, disappearing into the halls. The three of us stood in awe, trying to understand what just happened.

“… Huuhh… He’s usually finishes his story every time. He’s not even teaching any classes today.” Fin noted, scratching his ear.

“Is he ok?” I asked.

“I think he’ll be fine. By the way, shouldn’t you guys still be on patrol right now?”

“Oh crap… We’ve been here way too long!” I exclaimed, glancing at the clock in the office. “Shelly! What are we gonna tell the captain?”

Shelly cracked a smile. “Relax, I’ve got a good story cooked up. Fin will vouch for us, right bro?”

“Uhh… sure?”

“Shelly, you know she isn’t going to fall for this one. We’ve done this way too many times now! It won’t work!” I warned.

“Don’t worry! It’ll work.”

I sighed. “… Famous last words.”

“I told you it wouldn’t work.”

“Fine, fine, you were right. But the captain’s always stuck up like that.”

I closed the door behind us as we stepped into our room. It was a good thing that the barracks was mostly empty. I was less than happy.

“I can’t believe this. Now we have mailroom duty tomorrow. Do you know how stupid that is? It’s not something a guard should be doing! We won’t even get to be part of the procession tomorrow!”

“Hey now… Don’t be getting grumpy on me. Don’t tell me you didn’t have fun today.”

I couldn’t help but crack a smile, despite my frustration.

“Yeah… I guess so. It was nice to see Fin again. And Jet and Clay, too. And Professor Walnut was an… interesting character.”

My fears quickly returned to me as I started to pace. Shelly plopped herself on her bed.

“If we keep this up we could be… we could be dishonorably discharged from the Royal Guard! Just like the guard commander was…”

“Hold on,” Shelly said, raising a finger, “One; No we won’t. Two; Guard commander Crimson wasn’t discharged. He was just demoted and re-stationed in the Crystal Empire.”

I shuddered. “That’s just as bad! I mean, nothing against Princess Cadence or Shining Armor, but I heard it can get cold on the fringes of the patrols there. And it’s so far away from the capital.”

“Even if you were, for whatever ridiculous reason, shipped out there, you would at the most only have two more years of duty. You could leave after that.”

I fell silent. Shelly quickly caught on to my thoughts.

“Buuut… You’re worried about after that too.”

“Yes.” I said meekly, “I… haven’t really been able to figure out my own special talent. I think I make a good guard but… I don’t think that’s because of my cutie mark. I have no idea what I’ll do if I leave the guard. I’d rather stay in.”

“Well, I make a good guard and that’s not because of my cutie mark. But if you’re so concerned about picking up something after, then you can always try officer’s school again.”

I groaned with a hesitant tone.

“You never quit worrying, do you?” Shelly rolled her eyes, though her expression slowly smoothed out. “You know what? You could use something to take your mind off of those nasty worries.”

I couldn’t think quick enough to ask what she meant before I turned around. What I saw before me told me everything in Shelly’s meaning.

“Shelly… stop.” I quivered slightly.

She kept grinning at me as she lied down on her cot, legs crossed and a hand on her hip. Stripped down to nothing but her underwear. She always got a kick from seeing me blush.

“You sure you’re not up for it? You know how stressful life can be here. You gotta release all that… tension, every now and then.”

Her voice started to fade into that zone. That slow and sweet zone which made me wish I could taste sound. Sweet Celestia that sounded corny in my head.

“No, Shelly, stop. I would really like to find a night to spend with a stallion at some point.” I blurted.

“Since when did your barn door swing the other way?”

“No, no, it still swings the other way. Er, your way. Ours! Aggh...” I rubbed my forehead, only imagining how awful I was sounding, “I just… would like to actually spend some time dating a stallion for once. I never really have before, and… yeah.”

“Awww… Are mares like me not good enough?” Shelly said with a noticeable curve in her tone. She was being sarcastic and playful at the same time, like always.

“No, I don’t mean it that way. And I’m sorry if I came off as thinking that. I still like mares, I just… think I’m bi now. I just want to find the other half of things, you know?”

“No, I don’t.” Shelly replied wittily, “But I understand what you mean. Sort of. Kinda hard since I’m only for mares, but I get it.”

Shelly was up from the cot, standing to my side as we gazed out the tiny window we had.

“Listen. I promise I won’t bother you anymore about sharing another wild night. But would you consider just one more time? You know you’ll never find a mare who can push your buttons like I do.”

I would have rolled my eyes at Shelly’s smooth-talking, had she not pulled me by the hips and placed her lips along the crease of my ear. I could only gasp in delight as she focused on one of my weakest spots.

I didn’t even say a word of approval. I whisked around and planted my lips on hers, causing her to giggle. Our hands didn’t need a guide to know where to go as we found ourselves on the bed.

Shelly was more of a good friend than an actual lover to me. We never actually had a date before or anything. Most would call our relationship ‘friends with benefits’, but that never seemed right to me. It was just how we clicked together. Her flirting and my curiosity. It felt both amazing and a little stranger every time. But I know for a fact that I didn’t regret that night.

That was the last good night’s sleep I would get for a long, long time.