The Pony Weapon : Hope

“You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.”

A year has passed since the first dent I’ve ever made, and I was about the break through. The hole I’ve dug with my hooves had only one or two centimetres of metal separating me from the other side. I wasn’t used to my powers yet, but now was the perfect time to use them. I backed a small way away from the door and prepared my right hoof for an almighty punch.

I closed my eyes, focusing my energy to the blood flowing through me.

I felt the power, and released it.

“Unleashing Power #1, Strength!”

My hoof slammed into the door with all of its might. A tense, golden glow erupted from the impact. The door flew off and slammed into the wall, with a burning hole at its center.

“We have a breach!” The guards shouted.

I ran out of my cell in a flash. But I was stopped by the two guards ahead of me. They prepared their pikes and shields and charged. The first guard lunged at me with a jab. He only scratched my cheek, but it hurt like Tartarus. I kicked the weapon out of his grasp. He stepped back, but wasn’t done yet. Without thinking, I bolted forward at him. He slammed my face with his golden shield, launching me back to the doorway. My backside burned as I got up and saw the guard charging at me.

Thinking quickly, I used another power.

“Unleash Power #17, Electricity!”

I slammed my hoof into the ground between us. A golden glow lit the floor as electricity roared throughout the area. Lightning leapt from the floor to the guards shield and shocked him. He dropped his shield and I punched him in the corner of the jaw, knocking him out. The rampant electricity hit me as well, shocking my brain and stiffening my muscles.

The second guard then leapt over the first and attacked me. I attempted to defend myself and attack, but failed. The second guard’s moves were too quick for mine. Left and right, he jabbed at me with his pike. Blood quickly puddled the floor. To finish me off, we used his magic to swing his staff under my hooves. I tripped over and was then stabbed in the chest with full force.

Pain surged throughout my body. I grunted heavily before entering hyperventilation. Blood spewed from my mouth as I was dragged back in and set on the bed. I wasn’t going anywhere for a long while, so the remaining guard had no reason to rush.

He shouted out to the rest of the prison, “We need another door and medic here!”

He then yanked out the pike from my torso, a move that only brought more pain to me. He leaned down to look at my smashed face. At the moment, my eyes were almost closed and my dead jaw was trickling with red liquid. I could see in his big, dull, red eyes that he was sorry for what he just did to me. He wiped away the blood on the black fur around his lips, as if readying a speech.

He silently looked at me for a moment before saying only one word.

“Relv…”

“Red…” I croaked in return.

Ashamed, he turned his face away from me and returned to his post. I remained stiff, staring at the other side of my cell. Within minutes, I heard the metal clanking of a new door being set in place. It was just like when I was tossed in my cell the first time.

Another failed escape.

Personal evaluation of injuries this time; broken right hoof, fractured skull, broken ribcage, both internal and external blood loss, both lungs punctured, electrical paralysis, and a concussion. The amount of time I would recover from this is probably six to eight hours. My mind wandered without a body to restrain it.

What’s the point? I thought to myself, defeated after another failure. What I accomplished today was exactly the same result from last week, save for a few more seconds being out of this cell. Next week will be the same thing, with the same exact, minimal progress. I no longer care if it’s “progress”, it’s nothing!

I rolled over to face the doorway, fully repaired. My glance turned away from it and instead focused on the nightstand next to my bed, a gift from Celestia. It wasn’t anything special, just a short, steel table bolted to the floor. What was on top of it was a book on the history of Equestria, another gift, something I read several times over.

It may be a peaceful country now, but back then, wars were normal to Equestria. Hundreds of soldiers would march into battle, only to be killed off by the next morning. Only a few were strong enough to survive, make it back home, and live the good life. We had to deal with the way Equestria and the world was, and train for our turn to fight and maybe live on.

I maybe ageless now, but at one point in my life, I hoped to live just past thirty…

POP

The sound of a dislocated joint rattled across the barracks. I dropped the massive weight from my shoulders and fell to the ground. I whimpered in pain and discomfort as I cradled my left shoulder.

The powerful steps of the sergeant drew close to my curled body.

“Are you serious?!” He shouted. “You can’t even handle a dumbbell without popping a shoulder?”

“It weighs over 100 kilos…” I groaned. To be more accurate, it was 130 kilograms.

“I don’t care if it weighed a ton! You are an Earth pony, live up to it! You are going to lift these weights fifty times a day, every day. You got that?”

I gritted my teeth. I wasn’t going to let myself be told off by some stallion who couldn’t do the exercise himself.

But then again, I had no choice.

“Yes…” I barely spoke.

“Yes what?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Now get back to it!”

With that said, the sergeant left me to chew out some other poor soul. I stayed in the dirt however. I lost all will to continue. The end of my training was so far away, 100 days away, too far. I couldn’t see myself going through this torture for all of those days.

My body attempted to try again as it slid under the bar between the weights. But I gave up, and let the weights simply crush my shoulders.

And, as if by fate, my friend had come to save me.

“You sure gotta lot of weight on your shoulders.” A voice said behind me.

Puns, fantastic. Red knew that those were my most hated types of jokes.

“What now, Red?” I moaned.

Red replied zealously, “You’re not going to believe it, but I am going on a date with the princess-of-the-night-moon herself!”

“Princess Luna?” I turned my head to the side, looking at him in deadpan awe.

“Isn’t it grand my friend?”

“…”

“Relv?”

“I’m not really in the answering mood now Red.”

“Hmm…” Red scratched his chin, looking over my condition. “Well that figures, you head’s not in the right place.”

“I think you mean my shoulder.”

“Nope…”

With one swift move, Red kicked his hoof into my shoulder. A loud pop erupted from my joint as I hollered in pain. In that moment, I felt like killing Red. But in the next, I was in ecstasy.

Warmth and pleasure surged through my leg as the shoulder was relocated back in place. When that faded away however, I immediately became confused.

“H-how did you that?” I asked.

“Well, I just walked up to her balcony, made a few dramatic gestures and trips down memory lane, and boom, instant date!”

“No, I mean my shoulder.”

“Oh, that? I just simply kicked the sweet spot alongside the shoulder as I relocated it. Shuts it down at first, but quickly makes up for it with sweetness afterwards.”

“The sweet spot?”

“Right there,” Red pointed to an area at the top of my shoulder, very close to my torso.

“Where did you-”

“The library in the castle. I picked up that little trick when I was reading about biology, and those eastern tales about stallions who could petrify their foes with a single boop on the nose. It’s called acupuncture.”

“Fascinating.”

“I could teach you it later tonight, after a little… event we’re going to.”

“What do you mean by ‘We’?”

“Uh… Yeah…” Red scratched the back of his neck nervously before continuing, an obvious sign of trouble. “You see, remember when I said ‘dramatic gesture’?”

“Oh no…”

“What I meant by that was that I promised to go on a special dinner hangout with her, Tia, and…”

“No! Stop right there Red! Never in a thousand years!”

“Oh come on, you’re the only friend I know who, aside of me, has ever gotten close to her. You just engage in a little chit-chat, and you’re good!”

“I nearly passed out from that time at the waterfall!”

“But hey, you pulled through.” Red pointed out.

I couldn’t really deny it, after those first awkward moments with her, we had a great time afterwards. The joyous time of the three of us playing was worth it in hindsight.

Red then told me the lesson of this little talk, “Get your head out of the dirt and look to the sky. It may seem tough, and the dirt may be comfy compared to the strain of your neck, but once you enter the clouds, it’s heaven.”

Red stepped back, I knew what he wanted me to do.

“Just do the exercise, and it’ll the weight will be off of your shoulders.”

I took his word. I steadied my grip on the ground. My eyes looked up to the sky. The metal bar on my back shoved against my back and neck, but I didn’t let it get the best of me. I lifted myself up and down, never letting my sights off of the sky.

Ten, Twenty, Thirty, Fourty…

Fifty, I was done.

I slung the weights and bar off of my back and stretched. My bones and muscles sprung loose and eased. It felt euphoric to be free of the weight, almost as if I could fly with a simple jump.

Red stomped his hooves into the ground, applauding me, “Great job, bud. So, how about you clean yourself, meet me at the castle, and we’ll be dining with royalty-”

“Whoah!” I interrupted. “I never agreed to that.”

“Aw, come on! This da-hangout is already prepared. I can’t go without a good wingpony!”

“Grrr…” I rubbed my hoof against my forehead.

“Just do what you did at the falls, only instead of shoving water in her face, you’re shoving food into yours. Don’t do it for me, but for them!”

“…”

I reflected on his earlier words of determination. If this goes really well, after all the awkward stuff, what could come of it could be fantastic. How many ponies have simply hung out with the princesses? It was an opportunity I could not refuse.

“Please?” Red pleaded.

I silently shook my head with a smirk on my face before answering, “You better be able to keep up with me.”

“Yes! It’s on! Tonight is going to be the day when we rise from goodness, to greatness!”

But age is not a concern of mine anymore. However, I am not immortal. Nothing is, and nothing will be. It’s almost paradoxical, this forever fact.

A day had passed from my latest escape attempt, probably because I dozed off again. My body was more than ready for another try, but at the same time, it wasn’t…

“Well that figures, you head’s not in the right place.” The voice of Red echoed in my thoughts.

As my eyes opened up, I saw the history book.

Those wars Equestria had been in…

Each of those grand wars talked about to this day lasted several of years. The thousands of soldiers that fought took heavy tolls for fighting, some even included their lives. But that did not deter them, they pressed on. Even in the darkest moments, rather than surrendering, they pushed the limit and came out successful. The victory, the fame, the riches, the honour, the ponies and land they protected, that was worth it. Each life, no matter how small, made victory possible.

It may take a lot of steps, very small, almost pointless steps, but it’s worth it.

I slowly climbed from bed and approached the door. I clenched my hoof, and prepared to strike.

“Unleashing Power #1, Strength!”

I pounded the door with all of my might, creating a dent half as deep as the steel. My hoof bled, it hurt like Tartarus, but I remained determined. I punched the door again with the remaining power in my hoof, and it flung to the other end of the hall once more.

The guards shouted once more, “We have a brea-”

But I cut them off. I flicked my bloody hoof at the right guard’s neck and kicked the left guard, Paladin, in the jaw. The right guard dropped to the floor unconscious, and Red simply fell back. I ran away from them and proceeded throughout the prison.

I only got a small amount of distance however. My back legs snagged on a tripwire, which dropped a cage above me. In seconds, the guards ahead came in, beat me down, and dragged me back to my cell. They held me down until a new door was put into a place.

There I was again, alone in a dark cell and the prison back to perfection. But this time, I knew of one more trap, and I’ll avoid it next time. That may be pointless among the thousands of traps, but if I remained determined, and I did, those traps no longer posed a threat to my efforts. In fact, some of them help aid in my escape.

One day, over a decade later, as I was making another escape attempt, I encountered a new trap. When I turned a new corner, I came across a hall with five bladed walls that drop down from the ceiling and rise back up in rapid succession. They were too fast for my speed at the time, so I had to fight my way through them.

At the first blade, I unleashed my first power and dented the wall. It jammed in the floor and sealed me off from the rest of the hallway. The yelling of guards drew close from behind, so I had to act fast. I pounded against the wall continuously until a large piece broke off and fell to the floor.

But I was too late. The guards had turned the corner and are now only a few metres away from me. In desperation, I flung the large piece at them, only to have it caught by one of the Earth pony guards and thrusted through my stomach and out my back.

I was dragged back to my cell with the metal still piercing through my torso. At this point, they knew I could easily recover from it. But what they didn’t know was that I was very resourceful beyond my abilities.

Over the many years I spent in that prison, I sharped and shaped that piece of scrap metal into a blade.

I made my first sword, and named it Courage.

I named it so for what it takes to have determination, and what got me so closely involved with Tia in the first place…

“So… You two are related?” Luna asked, dabbing away the tea from her lips with a clean napkin. Just recently, we had finished dinner and have been chatting ever since. The round table in which the thirteen-year-old Luna, the fifteen-year-old Tia, Red, and I sat at for our hangout was covered in dirty plates and leftovers, but it was being cleaned up by servants as we talked.

Red and I momentarily glanced at each other in silent confusion of Luna’s question.

“No…” Red cautiously answered. “What gives you that idea?”

Luna, quite quickly, replied, “Oh, pardon me. I just assumed you two were related, given your similar hair colouration.”

We glanced at each other again to test her answer. She did have a point, one that I didn’t really think about until now. It was quite mind-blowing for the two of us to be honest.

“Huh.” Red simply answered. That was all he needed, a simple nod to acknowledge her, but also draw her away from the topic.

I kept quiet for the most part, fearing of what could happen if I said something wrong to either of the princesses seated in front of me and Red. My mind was still processing the situation I was in. I, a mere, orphan soldier in training, was dining with the princesses and heirs of Equestria on a “special dinner hangout” with my friend.

As one could tell, it put a lot of anxiety on me.

In attempts of coping with it, I looked up to the night sky that peaked through the open roof of the rotunda gazebo we were sitting under. Above us was a grand nebula that carried shades of purple, blue, and cyan, full of twinkling star. The moon was poking out from the side of the opening, shining its pale light onto Luna.

Fitting.

I would’ve lost track of myself stargazing if it hadn’t been for Red talking with the mares. I was so scared that he would do something stupid, that I couldn’t let him escape my senses.

“So tell me Selene,” Red talked in his natural, cocky tone. Selene was Luna’s pet name that Red often referred to her as. “How’s this new bodyguard of yours? Not as good as me, I presume.”

“He’s very… Tia, what word would you use for him?” Luna asked.

Tia gently rubbed her cheek, thinking of a good answer.

Upon hearing the word “bodyguard”, I snapped out of my gaze and looked around for the princess’ bodyguard. Surely as the name would imply, he would be here, guarding their bodies.

“He’s very, protective.” Tia put it lightly.

“Protective as in…” Red pried.

Luna continued, “He never lets us out of his line of sight. It’s kinda creepy.”

“But,” Tia interjected. “That’s what bodyguards do. They don’t get lazy, they don’t let them get hurt, and they don’t fool around with their clientele.”

“... I have a feeling that last one was aimed at me…” Red mentioned in a joking tone.

Red told me about his experiences as a bodyguard to the two princesses a while back, with special mentioning of his more, intimate moments with Luna. Occasionally, Red would convince Luna to “hang out” with him late at night, which often resulted in trouble, Luna in a drunken state, or both.

One day, something happened on one of these “hangouts” that somehow involved noodles, a skimpy dress, feathers, and tar. What resulted was Red being exposed, kicked out of the royal guard, and demoted to a regular soldier.

A new personal bodyguard was quickly hired afterwards, one that now is mysteriously absent.

“…Where is this bodyguard?” I asked, nervous about speaking up.

Tia seemed almost surprised upon my voice for the first time in a while, but in a happy way.

“He’s taking care of his own stuff.” Luna answered, running her hoof around the rim of her glass. “He considered it rude to interrupt the mood of this moment with his presence.”

Something clicked in Red’s head.

“Wait.” He stuck a hoof up in the air. “Are you saying that the only reason you and Tia agreed to this was to get out of this creep’s mane?”

“…Not, entirely,” Luna meekly smirked. “I did miss you, and Tia did want to see Relv again. What better way to settle these woes than a double date?”

A moment of silence brushed through the gazebo.

“…Well, can’t blame ya for that.”

The silent, proper mood of the earlier dinner was instantly shattered. Luna laughed on the spot. Heck, even Tia got a giggle from Red’s punchline.

Now something clicked in my head.

Slowly, I reached my hoof under the table for Red’s tailor coat he wore to this date. I grabbed the bottom of it and yanked him next to me. Tia and Luna were too distracted to notice it.

“Red…” I furiously whispered.

“…Yes.” Red nervously responded.

“I thought you said you needed a wingpony, not somepony to court the princess! I thought this was a hangout before the date, not the actual date!”

“I knew you would actually commit to not coming if I told you the truth. Tia wanted you specifically. If that wasn’t possible, this date wouldn’t have happened. I was hustled!”

“You were hustled?! What about me?!”

“It’s too late to talk about technicalities. Just keep Tia happy while I put the moves on Selene.”

“Red, you son of a-”

“Sir,” Tia called for me, I turned my gaze to her, but didn’t let go of Red yet. “Thank you for coming over tonight. I really appreciate it.”

Tia gave a little smile to me, and I returned with my own.

Despite his condition, Red continued to talk to Luna. Soon, the two of them broke off from Tia and me with their own conversation.

Tia noted this and asked me, “How about we go someplace private?”

I nodded almost too quickly and let go of Red’s outfit. Tia and I got out of from our seats and I followed her into the castle. It was still in its latter construction phases, and it showed. The walls were not polished, portions of the structure were missing, not many personal belongings could be found, and the only light inside were the dim torches.

Guards and construction workers were scattered throughout the area, which greatly differed from just the two that were outside next to the pavilion.

It isn’t really private… I thought, but something else was brought to my attention.

“Where’re your par-I mean, the king and queen?” I asked Tia.

“They had urgent business to take care of in the North,” she answered, almost sounding frustrated at my question. “They left me and Luna here, trapped in this place.”

“You don’t like it here?”

“No, I don’t like it here with her. She stays awake all night, ruining my sleep, and then she sleeps throughout the day when the chores need to be done, leaving me to do them.”

“That’s an odd sleeping schedule.”

“I know right, but apparently it’s justified due to her magic or some crap. I get all of the hard work, and she gets to fool around with that good-for-nothing boyfriend of hers.”

“…”

“No offense,”

“None taken,” I humbly nodded. “Red does have a knack for being troublesome, but he means well.”

“’Mean well’,” she scoffed at me. “If Mom and Dad saw him here, they would’ve ordered the guards to throw him out of here for the things he did.”

Wait, what was that first bit?

Tia quickly caught her tongue and quickly darted her head around. To her relief, no pony paid attention to what she said. I was initially confused of Tia’s sudden alertness, but slowly began to catch on.

We picked up the pace until we reached the to-be throne room, a room so large and tall, it required pillars to keep the ceiling up. She led me to the back wall and motioned for me to stay where I stood. She then pressed a hoof into one of the bricks, causing it to push into the wall. A loud click echoed and a portion of the wall and floor we stood at suddenly began to move. I nearly tripped over from the initial jolt, but Tia quickly caught me and steadied me against the turning wall.

When the wall and floor finished turning, we were in a small room on the other side of the wall. The room was almost pitch-black, save for a candle resting on a table in the corner of the room.  We approached it to escape the darkness and to see each other’s faces. Tia’s face was especially lovely to look at in the candlelight.

“Sorry for that moment back there,” Tia apologized. “It’s just, my parents don’t approve of Luna and me acquainting with peasants. They’d rather have us put up with snot-nosed pricks from neighboring countries. This was the only way I could see you again, as well as getting away from our bodyguard. As far as the guards can tell, you and Red are simply more suitors chosen by my parents.”

“The waterfall… That was-”

“Me sneaking out, to get away from those jerks. I wasn’t expecting you or Red to be there at time. Glad you were through, you’re the only read friend I’ve had.”

“Me? No… We’ve only met once, and I’m not much of a friend compared to the other ponies in your life.”

“Sure you are. You aren’t rude or greedy for my body like my suitors. And unlike the guard, you don’t treat me like a little foal and actually talk to me. You’re also humble, and compassionate, and kind…”

Me, the only friend of Princess Celestia? Impossible! I thought, but in hindsight, not a bad thing.

“I can see it in your eyes.” Tia explained, looking deep into my eyes, as I did in return. “You are a good pony.”

“Thanks.” I replied. She expected me to say more, but that was it for my part.

Tia giggled. “Not much of a talker, are you?”

“I guess not.” I chuckled back.

“Say, when can I see you again?”

“How about next Friday night, at the waterfall?”

“I like that idea. Will Red be tagging along?”

“Most likely.”

“Then Luna’s going to want to come as well.”

“Another double date?”

“I guess so. See you there…”

“…what?”

“What is your name, anyways?”

“Relv, ma’am,”

“Relv, what a nice name,”

“As is yours, Princess Celestia,”

“Please, just call me Tia.”

I hesitated for a moment, “…Alright then, Tia.”

We soon left the hidden room and met back up with Luna and Red, both of whom were then messing around with the two guards when we first saw them. Tia told Luna off and the two began bickering quite viciously, bringing the double date to a mutually agreed end. Red and I left the castle and returned to our barracks, where we went to bed with a happy outlook on the day.

It was most certainly worth the pain Red put me though.