The booming commands of the captain jolted me out of my light slumber. On instinct, my eyes shot open and I jumped out of the cot with haste before moving and stopping just in front of it. I snapped to attention and stood, facing forward. I could hear the hurried shuffling of bare hooves on concrete as the soldiers around me did the same. In ten seconds flat, the entire platoon was at attention, eyeing the pony in front of him with a blank stare. I - the only human in the entire Equestrian Army - was in the direct center of the room, opposite a black-furred, thin pegasus named Thunderlane. His striped mohawk that he normally wore fairly long had been cut short to match military guidelines. He was wearing a white t-shirt and black boxer briefs, same as the rest of us.
The captain began walking down the middle of the room slowly, inspecting each and every soldier along the way. While he was checking the first stallion in my row, I caught Thunderlane’s gaze and held it. He stared at me with battle-hardened amber eyes that hadn’t blinked once since he had awoken. We both nodded to each other slightly. We knew what today was; the day that everyone was given their final assignments. With the war officially over, Equestria no longer had a need for a large standing army. So, they began reassigning the soldiers who had either enlisted willingly or been drafted, going through them platoon-by-platoon. Very few would remain in the army itself. The most likely options were either transferal into the Royal Guard, or being sent home.
And now, it was our Unit’s turn to break apart.
In a matter of moments, Captain Shining Armor had reached the center of the room. He started to his left, as always, and began eyeing Thunderlane’s cot with an investigative gaze. After a good thirty seconds, he nodded and turned to me, repeating the process. I counted down the seconds in my head. One one-thousand… Two one-thousand… Captain Armor’s inspections always took exactly thirty seconds. He was rather punctual when he wanted to be. It was one of the many reasons the entire company respected him; he would bullshit and joke around with us all day, but he could be a leader when the situation called for it. This was one of those situations.
Twenty-nine… Thirty!
I waited for the captain to nod and move down to the next stallion. But he didn’t. He continued inspecting my cot… no… me. He was just staring at me. I chanced a direct glance at him, and saw a concerned look on his face. Almost… pitying. I could feel my mouth go dry, as if I had eaten an entire bag of cotton balls. In one sitting.
“Is… is something wrong, sir?” I asked, trying to mask my nervousness under a veil of professionalism.
“N-no, Sergeant,” the unicorn replied, seeming nervous himself, “Nothing at all. At ease.”
I nodded curtly, shifting my posture as ordered. I could barely make out a sigh as he walked off to the next soldier.
I had served with Shining Armor long enough to tell when he was lying. It didn't happen often, but when it did, you knew. Something was wrong. I felt my heart sink as he continued his inspection. His expression was burned into my mind. I turned my gaze back over to Thunderlane, who was giving me a worried look. He had noticed it too. A quick glance to my left and right revealed that pretty much the entire platoon had noticed, and the atmosphere in the room had changed for the worse because of it. Flash Sentry, the orange-furred, blue-maned pegasus corporal in the cot to my right, had completely broken attention and was staring at me in shock. Only the captain's loud throat-clearing snapped him back.
“Everypony dress and form up!” he commanded. After hastily donning our army fatigues, the entire platoon marched over in unison, forming two wide semicircles around the captain. The stallions in front took a knee to allow the second row of us to see our commanding officer unobstructed. I stood toward the center of the second row, in between Sentry and Thunderlane.
“As you all know by now,” the captain began, his tone strictly professional, “This will be our last day as a whole Unit. This time tomorrow, some of you will begin your crossover into the Royal Guard to finish out your contract. Others will be given the privilege of returning to civilian life. In a moment, I will tell you your assignments,” he held up a thin wooden clipboard before continuing, “But I feel I must remind you that these assignments are permanent. If you are transferred to the Guard with me, that’s where you’ll be until your contract is up. If you’re discharged, you turn in your gear and hop on the train tomorrow morning.”
“Now, with that out of the way…” Captain Armor turned his gaze to his clipboard and began going down the first line, finding and calling names. He went from his left to right, giving each stallion his assignment.
Guard… Discharge… Discharge… Guard… Discharge...
The captain completed the first row of soldiers, and started on the second. I paid attention to each and every assignment, noting where all of my comrades were going. My uneasiness dissipating for a moment, I wondered whether I would end up in the Guard or discharged myself. I couldn't go home if I was released, but I was confident I could find somewhere to stay. Maybe one of the guys would take me in until I could find an apartment or something…
“Sentry, guard…” the captain called, pulling me out of my thoughts. I waited, listening for my name to be called and my post to be assigned.
“Th… Th-Thunderlane, discharge…”
Wait… what?
The apprehension and confusion in the room rose so quickly you could almost see it. He skipped me. We all waited - holding our breath - for the captain to realize his mistake and go back. To read my name out and tell me my fate. He didn’t, though. He continued down the line, the last few stallions all being discharged.
“Alright, that’s that,” Captain Armor said after reading the last name. His tone was irregular, his voice cracking every few words, “We’re done here. You’re all dismissed. Feel free to walk the base, finish up any business you may still have here. Just be back for chow at noon, and don’t get into any trouble until then.”
If my mouth had been cotton before, it was the fucking Sahara now. He skipped me. He willingly skipped my name. Just what the hell was going on? I tried to say something as the captain turned to leave, but my words caught in my throat. I couldn’t speak to save my life, which I felt was actually at stake.
“Captain Armor!” a youthful voice to my right called out, coming from Flash Sentry’s muzzle.
Shining didn’t turn around, but he stopped and glanced over his shoulder, “Yes, Corporal Sentry?”
“With all due respect sir,” Flash’s fear was evident in his tone, but he kept it professional. More so than usual from him, “I believed you missed one of us.”
The white unicorn turned his gaze away from us, shutting his eyes tightly and sighing in exasperation, “No, I didn’t miss anypony, corporal. You’re mistaken.”
“Then what about Blackburn, sir?” A different voice, Thunderlane’s, spoke up next. A few more soldiers from both lines murmured in agreement.
“It’s none of your concern, private,” the captain adopted a new tone at that: anger. An emotion we had never seen him in off of the battlefield. Even when he was angry, it was never directed at his own men, but always towards the enemy. Hearing it in this setting sent a collective chill down our spines, and Thunderlane’s professional demeanor began to noticeably break down when he spoke again.
“B-but, Captain…” he stuttered.
“I’m not having this discussion, Lane!” Shining barked back. He shot an angry look our way, making the entire platoon jump, “Just drop it. Now, dismissed.”
Thunderlane gave a curt “Yessir,” and the formation broke up hastily. Everyone but Flash Sentry and myself returned to their cots and began taking inventory of their gear. The two of us just stood there a moment, staring at each other worriedly.
“Sergeant Blackburn,” Captain Armor was suddenly right up next to us, addressing me. Flash and I snapped to attention at once, turning to our commander as he continued, “Come with me. We need to talk.”
I shot a glance at Sentry - who had resumed looking at me with a concerned eye - before nodding at the captain. I tapped Sentry’s shoulder with an open palm, breaking him of his semi-trance, and motioned with my head for him to join the others. A subtle way to let him know I was alright. Which I didn’t believe for a second, myself, but I didn’t want the boys worrying about me. Not until I knew what the hell was going on, anyway. As Sentry was returning to his cot, Shining Armor led me through a nearby door, which opened out to the rest of the military base.
The base - known as the Joint Branch Headquarters and constructed fifty miles west of Baltimare - served as the main deployment base of both the Equestrian Army and the military air force. Every infantry soldier, pilot and combat engineer had gone through the JBHQ at some point in their service. The only military branches that weren’t based out of here were the navy and the Royal Marines, who had their own base near Las Pegasus.
The JBHQ compound was basically a giant airstrip with a dozen or so buildings to the east, not including the aircraft hangars. The barracks for our platoon was built right at the edge nearest the airstrip, and was the closest building to it. There were several other barracks buildings nearby, most of them multi-story. Further east was the mess hall, which was just a re-purposed hangar bay from the base’s early operations long before the war. Beyond the mess hall, it was administration buildings and training facilities going right up to the edge of the nearby forest.
As I walked silently with Shining Armor, towards the large administration building that doubled as the officers’ quarters, my gaze wandered to an all-mare platoon that was doing a final, symbolic jog around the entire base. They were singing a pony-themed marching cadence I didn’t recognize. Looking at them brought back memories of my own basic training, and then Ranger School. I remembered jogging down a dirt road in the middle of a rainstorm with my old platoon, singing Oh Hail Oh Infantry the entire mile. I let the images run through my head for only a second before it I was reminded that I would most likely never see any of them again, a thought that instantly brought my mood back down.
I quickly shoved the memories out of my mind, but my gaze remained on the mares running along the front of the mess hall. Trying to turn my thoughts in a different direction, I began focusing on the mares themselves. They were all wearing tight-fitting army fatigues in a newly-issued camouflage known as “Everfree Flecktarn,” named after the Equestrian forest that inspired the colors and the German camouflage that inspired the pattern. The mares had no weapons or gear aside from their uniforms, so there was nothing to break the lines of their curves. Most of the girls were fairly petite, but I could pick out several with generous assets. I allowed my eyes to wander a bit.
“Enjoying the view, sergeant?” Captain Armor asked jokingly, pulling my attention to him. He was looking back at me over his shoulder, a smirk on his face.
“Absolutely, sir,” I replied, a smirk crossing my own face as well.
He scoffed a bit at that, “You know, Blackburn, I think you’re the only human in existence that’s weird enough to find my kind attractive.”
Thoughts of past… interesting conversations with my old Ranger platoon invaded my mind, but I didn’t dare correct him.
I watched as the platoon of soldier-mares rounded the corner of the mess hall, cutting of my line of sight. My fun over, I turned my gaze back to Shining, who had also resumed looking forward as we neared the administration building. I quickened my pace a bit until I was at his right side. We continued on in silence for a moment, until it was broken by the now somber-looking captain.
“Now, I know you must have some concerns,” he began, “And rest assured, they will be addressed in time.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, sir,” I paused for a moment until I received permission to continue, “Where exactly are you taking me?”
“To the Admin building, floor seven,” the unicorn replied, which gave me pause. Floor seven was reserved for the top Army brass. Why the hell was he taking me there?
“Why, exactly?” I voiced my inner concerns as we reached the building. I opened the door, and we both stepped inside and began the trek down a hallway as our conversation went on.
“Somepony… important wishes to speak with you.”
“Who, sir?” I asked as we reached an elevator. Captain Armor hit the button, and the doors opened immediately. We stepped inside, and he hit the button that took us to the top floor before turning to me with a sly smirk crossing his face.
“The tippy-top of the list, Burnsy,” he answered, using one of the many nicknames I had acquired over the years. I had to think for a moment before it finally clicked in my mind who he might have been talking about. Even then, I still didn’t believe it.
“No way… It can't be…?”
Shining’s smirk grew wider just as the elevator stopped and the door slid open.
Even with Captain Armor’s vague confirmation, I was ill prepared for what was waiting for me.
After getting off of the elevator, the once-again somber captain led me down several hallways on Floor 7 of the Administrator's building. He didn’t say a word the entire way. Eventually, he stopped in front of a dark brown wooden door. It had a gold-colored plate on the center that read RESERVED, with no other indication of who the room belonged to or what it’s purpose was. Captain Armor stopped in front of it, took a second to straighten a crease in his uniform, and knocked on the door.
“Enter,” a muffled, elegant-sounding female voice came from beyond the door.
“Hope you’re prepared for this, sergeant,” Shining whispered to me after a light sigh, causing my nerves to rise. He then straightened his posture and opened the door, gesturing me to go through first.
The mare that had spoken before wasn’t in sight when I entered, instead hiding herself with the back of a large black swivel chair. In front of the chair was an ornate mahogany desk and two comfortable-looking green chairs on the other side. Even without her showing her face, I got the hint that she was important. I approached the desk, stopping just a few feet from the green chairs and standing with my hands behind my back. I could hear Shining step in after me, but he never entered my line of sight.
“Sergeant Blackburn is here, as you requested, your highness,” the captain said in a very serious, professional tone.
His use of the word “highness” sent a chill down my back and raised my nerves even more. Surely he couldn’t mean…
As I was still processing what my commanding officer had said, the black chair suddenly did an about-face, revealing the mare seated in it. She was tall, with white fur and a multi-colored mane that seemed to reflect the light and blow in the breeze despite the fact that we were indoors. She was wearing a tight, light grey dress that stopped at her knees and hugged her generously-proportioned figure perfectly.
My suspicions had been confirmed. The mare standing before me was none other than Princess Celestia herself.
I don’t ever recall snapping to attention as fast and as hard as I did in that moment. My legs - which had a few inches between them beforehand - had collided so fast that I accidentally locked my knees and almost buckled onto the floor. Luckily, I knew from past experiences how to catch myself, and was able to fix my posture and salute the princess without her noticing the mistake. Hopefully, anyway. The captain’s muffled snickering, however, told me that at least one of them had taken notice.
“At ease, sergeant,” the alicorn said eloquently, before turning the the stallion behind me, “Thank you, captain. I can take it from here.”
As I heard the door close behind me, I resumed the posture I was in previously, my eyes facing straight forward. My heart was racing, and about a hundred thoughts ran through my mind at once. The only one I could translate into words was, Why did the princess wish to see me, of all people?
“Please, take a seat, sergeant,” she said, gesturing to the chairs in front of the desk.
“If it makes no difference, ma’am, I’d prefer to stand,” I replied, trying to be as professional as possible in front of my Commander-in-Chief.
“Suit yourself,” she shrugged. She then leaned forward in her chair to grab a thick manilla folder that I just now noticed was placed on the desk. As she opened it and flipped through a few of the papers inside, she spoke, “I’ve looked over your file. Pretty impressive, especially by our standards. Graduated top of your class in school… Moved straight into the army afterwards, completing ‘Ranger School’ by age nineteen, again top of the class. Served in one of your own country's conflicts before moving on to the war here in Equestria. Defected into our army after an - as you stated - ‘ethical dispute’ with your superiors. After being indoctrinated into the 1st Infantry, you fought in the Battle of Griffonstone and then played a part in the counterattack that ended the Siege of Baltimare. Throughout your exploits, you’ve accumulated approximately eighty-three confirmed kills.
“Eighty-three confirmed kills,” she repeated her last words again, as if pondering their meaning. I couldn’t tell by her tone whether she was impressed with my kill count, or horrified. A quick recollection of the stories I’ve heard about her made me pray for the former. Though I couldn’t help but wonder what being sealed in the moon was like…
“Regardless,” she continued, pulling me back to the moment, “It is quite an impressive background. You seem to really give it your all, no matter what the challenge.”
The smile she gave me was enough to ease my tensions a bit, and I felt myself relax as I responded, “I just don’t like letting my comrades down, ma’am.”
“Oh?” she raised an eyebrow, “Does that include your ‘comrades’ in the Rangers? Because I’m pretty sure defecting to the enemy can easily be seen as ‘letting them down.’”
I raised my own eyebrow at this. Was she… testing me? I kept my tone professional as I tried to explain my actions, “Well, ma’am… I feel no ill will to the Rangers, and I didn’t want to let them down, but… Defecting was the hardest decision I have ever made, and I didn’t make it lightly. It still keeps me up some nights, wondering if I have made the right decision. But regardless, I made the call. Now, all I can do is hope to God that they don’t resent me for it, as tall of an order as that is.”
The princess nodded her head slowly as I did my best to explain. Her eyes were closed now, and the folder she had been skimming through lay open on the desk. I glanced down at it, and recognized the displayed photo despite it being upside-down. It was of me and my Ranger platoon, posing in front of a Black Hawk helicopter. It had been taken literally moments before we were sent out on our first mission in Afghanistan, a mission in which three of those men died. The photo and sudden resurfaced memories threatened to bring a tear to my eye, but I choked it down. I wasn’t about to tear up in front of the superior of my superior.
“So, tell me…” Princess Celestia spoke up after a moment of silence, her eyes still closed, “How did you come to make that call? What pushed you over the edge?”
After taking a second to find my words, I replied, “It wasn’t spur of the moment, if that’s what you're getting at, ma’am. I pondered it every night for a week. It took an old saying from my mother to finally drive me to do it.”
“Oh?” at this, one of her eyes cracked open, and she eyed me curiously, “What saying would that be, sergeant?”
“‘Do as your heart tells you, and you will never be wrong,’” I quoted before adding, “Cheesy as hell, I know, but I think she was right in this instance, ma’am. I don’t regret my decision in the slightest.”
“I see…” the princess nodded her head again before standing up and moving to a window to my right, swaying her hips in a way I tried - and failed - to not notice. She peered out at the military base below, her arms crossed, watching something or other with an uninterested gaze as she pondered what to say next. I stayed rooted in place, but I let my eyes follow her, myself wondering what I could say next to break the silence.
“So, tell me,” she finally spoke up, her gaze still fixed to the outside, “How do you find your new ‘comrades?’ Have they been treating you well?”
“There was a… bit of a rough patch when I first got on,” I admitted, remembering the early tension I received from them, “But combat has a way of… changing how you see someone. Spend a few months saving each others’ lives, and petty things like race and nationality get kind of… insignificant. You stop thinking about it after awhile… They’re good men, princess.”
She turned to face me, an amused smile on her face, “But they aren’t men at all, sergeant.”
Shit, I thought to myself, almost out loud. God, I’m never going to get used to that.
“Nevertheless,” she continued, “I’m glad there are no issues. That just might make this easier.”
“Forgive me, ‘this?’” I echoed, unsure as to what she meant.
“I’m sure you’ve been wondering, sergeant, why Captain Shining Armor never gave you your post-war assignment or a discharge,” she had returned to her chair at this point, lowering herself into it elegantly.
I blinked. With the direction the conversation had gone, it had completely slipped my mind, but her bringing it back to my attention did pique my curiosity. I nodded respectfully, prompting her to continue.
“You see, Sergeant Blackburn, the truth is that neither of those options are truly available to you. With your… unique situation, my advisors felt it best not to accept you into the Royal Guard. They fear every possible bad outcome, from a political scandal to espionage. As for sending you home…”
“I know, ma’am,” I said, “The United States has me wanted for treason, so returning home is out of the question.”
“Well, that’s… not quite accurate, sergeant.”
I blinked again, and felt another chill down my back, “Princess?”
She let out a long, exasperated sigh, “The UN, at the behest of your former home nation, has called for your extradition. The only reason I’ve been able to put them off is because I have yet to sign the extradition treaty with them. Once I do, the situation will be out of my hands.”
I felt my knees get weak, and decided it was a good time to take the chair that had been offered minutes earlier. As I sat down, I noticed that it was indeed comfortable, a trait which I badly needed at that moment. I leaned back in the chair, trying to control my breathing, which had become a bit uneven.
“Alright,” I said, still trying to gain a bit of control over my body, “What are the options, then?”
“One,” Celestia held up her left index finger, “Is to follow through with the UN’s request, and extradite you back to the States to stand trial,” Noticing my uneasiness, she didn’t waste time in raising a second finger and getting to the second option, “Two, I ignore the request and refuse to sign the treaty - putting a strain on already-fragile international relationships - and make you a legal immigrant of Equestria.”
Her tone giving the second option did little to relieve my worries, “Okay, so what’s the catch for option two?”
“There is a… document you will have to sign. A… contract,” she said. She opened a drawer on the right-hand side of the mahogany desk and pulled out a thin stack of papers. She handed it to me, and I began reading it, barely hearing her next words.
“If you break one of the agreements in this contract, the penalty will be extradition. If, in breaking one of the agreements, you also commit a crime, you will stand trial here and then be extradited, your sentences being combined if possible.”
She reached into the drawer again and retrieved a quill pen and ink bottle, “If you agree with these terms, you may sign the contract. If you don’t, I may be willing to negotiate small points, but nothing major. If you still do not agree, you will be extradited immediately.”
Her words began to dissipate as they reached my ears. I was too drawn in by the document’s contents. Despite my only half-listening, I knew the stakes. If I didn’t agree to this, I would be thrown out of Equestria and sent back. Sent back to face a military court, where I would be tried for treason. Where I would be found guilty. Where I would be sentenced to death.
Figuring I had nothing to lose, and fearing the alternative, I picked up the pen, dipped it in the ink, and signed the document.
My fate was sealed.
- You must observe all laws of the Kingdom of Equestria, and shall not defy any of these laws - willingly or unwillingly. This includes all laws currently established and all that will be enacted in the future. The only exception is if a law is overturned by a Princess of Equestria after the signing of this agreement.
- You will not kill, maim, or otherwise harm a citizen of Equestria without just cause, and must have a minimum of one witness who can attest to your innocence.
- You will revoke all military weapons licences upon discharge from the military, and return all class-III and above weapons in your possession, to be stored in a military armory. The licenses will be reinstated upon reentry into the military, and the weapons returned for the duration of your service. This condition does not hinder your right or ability to own and purchase weapons of class-II or lower, provided they are purchased domestically and legally.
- You may never willingly leave Equestria’s borders without express and written permission from a Princess of Equestria.
- You may not hold any employment deemed as a “Civil Service.” This includes any form of law enforcement, but excludes further service in the military.
- You are forbidden from engaging in a sexual or otherwise-intimate relationship with a citizen of Equestria, regardless of race, gender, or national/regional origin.
- You cannot apply for citizenship without the express and written permission from all Princesses of Equestria, current and future. Once permission has been granted, citizenship can be applied for. Upon being granted citizenship, you may meet with the Princesses of Equestria to renegotiate or nullify this contract.
- Violation of any of the conditions above renders this agreement null-and-void, and the issuing Princess of Equestria shall deliver whatever punishment they deem fit, up to and including extradition.
- Upon the signing of this agreement, the issuing Princess of Equestria vows not to sign any treaties with another nation/international conglomerate that will result in your forced extradition so long as you meet the conditions above. The issuing Princess of Equestria is the sole ruler who can sign such treaties, as agreed by all Princesses of Equestria upon the signing of this agreement. All Princesses must sign this agreement willingly and agree to its terms for it to be considered legally valid.
x Princess Celestia (issuing)
x Princess Luna
x Princess Mi Amore Cadenza
x Sgt. James Michael Blackburn
Author's Note
Thank you guys so much for reading this two-part prologue. Like i said in the description, this is mainly a trial run to see how the story fares on the website. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, as this is my first MLP fan-fiction, and I could use all the pointers I can get if I'm going to make the full series.
