In an effort to find new resources and to discover new lands, Equestria has expanded its borders at a rate never seen before in its history. The great desert to the south of the nation is rapidly colonized, the icy mountains to the north are settled after the discovery of massive iron ore deposits and islands off the eastern coast of Equestria are surveyed and explored for natural resources. On one volcanic wasteland of an island far out in the eastern ocean, a certain resource is found.
In Equestria, certain gems and jewels have magical properties and can be infused with unicorn magic. These crystals can contain magic like a jug contains water. Equestria has a very large demand for these crystals due to a technological boom.
On this island a certain gem is found with the most capacity for magic ever discovered. A mining colony was quickly established. Mines sprung up all over the island and the major outsourcing of all these gems attracts the attention of pirates and marauders. The eastern sea or "Celestial Sea" is swarmed with the Royal Navy to protect these shipments of precious gems.
Also on the island, archaeologists discover one of the last remaining, intact structures built by the dragons millennia ago. An ancient temple built by the slave labor of the long lost Dragonic Empire attracted the attention of many ponies of learning as well as a small religious group who worshiped the dragons as gods. Hundreds of these dragon worshipers or "drakes" flock to the island; complications ensue with the drakes and the archaeologists studying the temple. The temple was discovered next to one of the largest mines on the island and that didn't help matters.
Marauders were a constant threat to the island and Equestria's small navy wasn't enough to monitor every single transport ship. Forts were established on the island, and small contingents of soldiers were being deployed at these forts to safeguard the mining towns. So far, everything has run smoothly.
The R.E.S. Chancellor was, or so I've been told, the finest transport ship in the Equestrian Navy. I didn't doubt that. Maybe because I didn't know any better. Being an earth pony soldier, I'm very used to marching to my deployments on the ground; I've never been on a boat before. Oh. I apologize, I've never been on a ship before. Don't call these things boats, the sailors will let you know that this is a ship, and in the most obnoxious way possible. Anyway, riding on a ship to my deployment was a first, and I honestly enjoyed it. Relaxing my hooves and letting the water do the travelling was a nice change of pace from marching all day.
We still have to keep our gear clean, polish our armor, and make sure everything is neatly stowed everyday. It's not like our company is just sitting around and doing nothing on this wooden monstrosity. But, it certainly feels like it compared to a forced march after lunch was skipped. (This has happened to me on more than one occasion.)
My deployment was taking me and my unit to an island named Hohk'tal where we will occupy a fort and be the police force there for a certain mining town. We would also keep an eye out for marauders. A pretty basic and quiet deployment, something I've come to enjoy.
I joined the army looking for action, and action I got. The company I was in on my first mission was sent to confront a small force of marauders on the western coast. They had looted a ship and held it's crew for ransom. Their ship, however, was badly damaged from the raid and it ran aground on a sandbar while it limped to shore. There were about a hundred marauders in all. Our unit was sent in with three other companies to surround them. Equestria's special forces, Princess Luna's personal guard known as the Lunar Elites, were able to get the hostages out right from under their noses with their cloaking magics. We were sent in to take them all in to custody immediately when the crew was safe. Since we outnumbered them two to one, we thought they would surrender pretty quickly. We were wrong. With their backs to the sea and a wall of metal coming in from all sides, they lashed out at us like a cornered rat against a panther. It was a bloodbath and was the first time I had ever taken a pony's life. The thrill of combat wasn't nearly what I expected. The rush of adrenaline was there, but the outright fear and the horrid memories of battle is the worst thing a pony can experience. The memory of the pony I killed has been burned in my mind. I still have a scar on my right foreleg from when he made one last attempt to kill me before he bled out on the sand. That was a few years ago.
I have fought more since then and the death toll by my hooves has risen. I don't "count my kills" like some immature, unfeeling monster. I try everything I can to forget about those I've killed. I only kill those who were trying to kill me or my comrades, nothing more. Maybe, just maybe, that's enough to justify my actions. I now hate battle, but I do it because I took an oath to Equestria and her princesses. There is no glory in war and very little honor, but I hope to keep as much as I can by being the best soldier I can be. I do my best— not for the killing, but for the protection of Equestria. When judging the bare bones of the situation: it's either the innocents or the bloodthirsty killers who will still stand at the end. As long as I am breathing, it will be the innocents who remain. My name is Cpl. Brave Hooves, 32nd Infantry.
I could feel the ship gliding across the water in exaggerated raises and dips as I sat on my bunk below deck. The rhythm of the waves was relaxing to me, but nauseating for others in my unit. A portion of my unit spent most of their free time above deck, pointing and laughing at things in the water. Either that or getting drunk with the sailors, probably both. The rest, such as myself, spent it below deck: playing cards, reading books, hoof wrestling, etc.
I sat on my bunk, polishing my helmet for the third time that day. The sounds of camaraderie emanated throughout the deck as bets were placed in poker games and hooves pinned to tables in hoof wrestling matches, followed by a few cheers. I had already polished the rest of my armor to a near mirror shine and was just finishing up. It was a week into the voyage and I was bored out of my mind. I was never good at poker and I was one of the smaller soldiers in the unit, so hoof wrestling didn't bring many victories. But I always won a few, just to lose badly when I get puffed up too much. It's a repetitious cycle. Cleaning and shining my armor put my mind to work as I cleaned out every grain of salt and dirt from the steel plates. I could almost see my reflection from the large amount buffing I had done. I applied one last buff to the helmet. The dark silver luster of my helmet brought a small grin to my face, along with a satisfied huff.
The steel armor we were issued was a silvery grey, a great contrast to the golden brass that the royal guards wore. The armor was shaped a little more ergonomically than the royal guards' as it covered a better portion of the body. Also, our helmets didn't have crests, except the officers'. But, just like the armor the royal guards wore, it was mainly for show. Our actual combat armor was locked up in crates on the storage level. That armor had cruel blades jutting from the helmet and leg armor and the steel covered every inch of our bodies. We only use it when absolutely necessary.
I held my newly polished helmet in my hooves and put it on. I was careful not to crush my ears, which slid into the padded slots of the helmet with ease and twitched freely once it was on. It felt a lot more comfortable than it looked as we were supposed to wear these at all times. I've always liked the feeling of a helmet on my head, I felt protected and a little more confident than with it off. I could do without the slight loss of peripheral vision though and also the itchy scalp. That was annoying as well.
I tightened the chinstrap to keep the small face plates resting snugly against my cheeks. I swirled my head around once to test the fit. It felt perfect. I sighed and reveled in the fact that I was done.
My armor clanked lightly as I rose from my bunk. "You done?" a soft voice from behind me asked. I recognized the voice, it belonged to my best friend in the unit: a unicorn medic named, Ballista.
Despite her name, she never took up sharpshooting. Her father was a crossbowman in the army and wished her to follow in his hoofsteps, but she didn't enjoy shooting as much as her father had hoped. She was a decent shot with a crossbow, but she found her passion— and evidently her cutie mark— in healing magics. Her cutie mark was a syringe overlapping a bundle of arrows over a red cross. It blended nicely with her creme orange coat and short, darker orange mane.
I turned, with a smile, and saw her sitting at a small table against the bowed wall of the ship. She sat on the white side of a chess board with all the pieces set up; an empty chair sat across from her.
"I wanted to give you a second chance after the slaughter that fell upon you yesterday." She said with a grin while resting her elbows on the table and placing her hooves together with a small clop.
I couldn't help but chuckle at her smug statement. My hooves thumped loudly on the cheaply made wooden floor as I made the short trip to the chess table. "Have you been sitting there the whole time?" I smiled and rose an eyebrow.
"Not the entire time." She replied, "I set it up when I saw you finishing up your helmet." She gestured towards my head.
"Well, We're gonna have to play another time." I said, taking a step back. "The chess pieces kept sliding around with the waves yesterday. You know how much that drives me nuts!"
"That wasn't my fault!" She retorted with a laugh, "You could have chose to not let that bother you and not have let me take both your bishops in the first ten moves. Not to mention your queen as well-"
"Once we get ashore, I'll play you at the fort." I cut her off. "I'm not playing you with these waves." I shook my head.
"Look, you don't have to worry about it anymore." She waved a hoof over the table, "A little bit of magic can go a long way."
That's when I noticed that the pieces were perfectly stationary even though I felt the raising and dipping of the ship.
"Fine." I gave in with a grin. I plopped my armored flank down on the chair and stared studiously at the board. 'Yup, those are definitely chess pieces.' I thought to myself. "And thank you." I said as shot my dark brown eyes back towards her fire red ones.
"It kinda bothers me too." She admitted, "But, you seem to nearly freak out whenever one piece isn't perfectly centered in its square."
"I don't 'freak out'." I said with a chuckle, "I just like everything where it's supposed to be, and it bothers me when something isn't in its proper place."
"That's what I'm talking about." she exasperated as a bright red magical aura engulfed her king's pawn and levitated it forward two squares. "You need to relax more often: don't let little things like chess pieces bother you so much."
"Meh, I wish I could, but I see my attention to detail as a gift." I nudged my king's pawn to meet hers and blocked it in the center of the board.
"I can certainly see why you say that." She nodded at my armor while levitating her king's knight to threaten my pawn. "You got the cleanest armor in the company." She said, impressed.
"Thank you." I nodded while carefully picking up my queen's knight, with both hooves, to defend my center pawn. 'This is a unicorn's game.' I thought to myself as I moved the piece.
"But, you don't have to wear your armor all the time, you know." She said with a glance towards me while levitating her other knight to a mirror position of her first one.
I carefully did the same with my second knight to counter it. "The Royal Army issued me this armor and I'm going to wear it. Besides, I like showing off my cleaning skills." I said with a joking smile.
"Fair enough." Ballista replied with a small giggle.
She hadn't moved yet and I stared at the board. 'The four knight opener. We do this every time.' I thought to myself, 'She's gonna move her king's bishop to threaten my F7 square in 3... 2...' Before I could finish the thought, her king's bishop was wrapped in a magical embrace and carried to the exact square I predicted. '...1.'
I sighed and contemplated my next move. But, before I could do anything, a loud and all too familiar voice boomed throughout the deck.
"Company!" He shouted.
The screeching halt of activity followed by an eerie silence was felt as we all immediately dropped what we were doing and stood ramrod at attention.
I saw him, the one who was being put in charge of the fort we were assigned to: a large pegasus named Maj. Grey Haze. His wings sat folded on his silver armor, which was the same color as his light grey coat. His military style, charcoal mane was hidden under his black crested helmet. His armor hidden cutie mark was a small dagger cutting through a thick fog; which, if looking at him from a distance, you could swear that he was a blankflank with a mud smudge on his rump.
He stood in the front of the room where everyone could see him and shouted again, "We are approaching Temple Harbor in Hohk'tal Island! That's gonna be our home for the next six months. Suit up, get your crap together, and we ditch this crate as soon as we get into port. Understand!?"
"Sir, yes sir!" crashed through the deck like a cannon shot.
"As you were." the Major said with a quick spin. He quickly marched out and went topside.
There was a small pause then we all jumped up at the same exact time to fulfill our orders as if we were choreographed to do so. I already had my armor on. I just needed to get all my things in my duffel bag, which I kept stuffed underneath my bunk. 'The chess game has to wait.' I thought as I slung the heavy bag over my back with my teeth.
The barely stable, wooden ramp we marched on buckled and creaked as all sixty-two of us pounded our hooves down to the wharf. The first thing I noticed about the island was the salt in the air. I never knew you could actually smell salt. It certainly was different than what I was used to.
The sight of the island as I marched off the R.E.S Chancellor was foreboding, to say the least. Rocks everywhere, the grays and blacks of the rocks mixed to form a salt and pepper effect everywhere I looked. The air became dustier the more we marched inland. The dust from the rocky ground kicked up as we marched leaving a trail of smoke in our wake. The more I looked at the island, the more barren it seemed to be. Nothing but rocks. My eyes scanned the terrain and I couldn't find one blade of grass. There was no vegetation at all. 'What do the miners eat?' I thought, 'What do we eat?' My eyes slightly widened in contemplation. I continued to survey the island as we marched. I drowned out the noise of clanking armor and the mouth breathing of fellow soldiers as I continued to scan. The same old gray rocks, my eyes climbed up these rocks and took me to a massive volcano on the far side of the island. I took a deep breath at the sight of the massive, black behemoth that is the literal basis of the island I was on. It was miles away, but felt like it was towering right in front of me.
I shook off the sight of the volcano and turned my eyes to the mining town we were marching through. There were plenty of ponies out on the street as we marched, as it was around noon. They made way for our column and I felt like we were getting a mixed message from the crowd. The ponies here weren't in bad shape, but they weren't dressed for a stroll in Canterlot either. Most were earth ponies, and many had pickaxes by their sides. A few respectful nods came our way, but a few looks of held back disgust met us as well. I knew better than to question it though; everyone has their own opinion about us, and we're here whether they want us here or not. The condition of the town itself wasn't that much of a sight. A few crudely constructed, wooden buildings lined the main road. Dust and dirt was everywhere, not to mention the rocks scattered about the place.
As we marched further towards our destination, we passed by an ancient looking temple. It was constructed out of finely cut slabs of stone and had a basic architecture. It didn't hold a candle to Canterlot Castle, but it was still majestic in its own way. The temple itself was incredibly tall, taller than it should be. It peaked with a worn, half-broken bust of a dragon's head with it's maw in a roar towards the sky.
I was impressed with whoever built it, knowing that it was built thousands of years ago. I then noticed that ponies of all three races were coming in and out of the temple. They didn't look any different than the ponies from the town, except they didn't have the same worn looks on their faces as the miners did. Their faces were very somber and serious, as if whatever was going on in there was very important. 'They must be those 'Drakes' I kept hearing about.' I shook it off and continued marching. The fort was just in sight. 'Home, sweet home.' I thought.
