Resolve

--------------------------------------------------First Chapter-------------------------------------------------

"I'm getting tired of your reckless acts gilded!" Shouted her squad leader, commander Swift Strike, a vein pulsing dangerously on his forehead. "You constantly put yourself and the other patrol members in harms way!" Gilded Cross huffed, rolling her golden eyes, the stone blue mare was not listening one bit.

"Come on! Nobody got hurt, we did fine, no use getting so upset over a success!" She retorted, glaring at her commander. Swift Strike sighed, this mare didn't do anything wrong in her eyes.

"Listen, if you don't stop this glory-seeking, it's going to get you and the others killed, I don't want to do it, but if it requires a demotion to kee-" He started, getting interrupted by Gilded.

"What!? You can't demote me! I'm one of your best fighters!" She exclaimed, standing up in shock.

"Well, if you don't wanna lose your position then you'll stop being so ignorant!" He replied, Giving his subordinate a hard glare. Gilded gritted her teeth before huffing and looking aside from her boss, knowing that she'd be in even worse trouble if she kept on from this point .

"Whatever, I'm done." She grumbled, leaving the office room, an exasperated Swift Strike sighing as she slammed the door behind her, shaking the hanging lantern that lit the messy work space.

"She's going to regret her behavior, sooner or later..."

"Wow, chewed out by the boss again? That's, what, the third time this month?" Golden Grain ribbed, the wheat-colored earth pony looking at her fellow guard with amusement in her evergreen eyes.

Gilded huffed, "So? What about it?" she retorted, glaring at the mare.

"Well, it's just kinda strange. I mean, you claim to be so skilled, but all you do is put other ponies in danger." Remarked Golden Grain as she passed by Gilded, flicking the unicorn's chin with her tail, infuriating the mare.

"Do you wanna fight or what!?" She exclaimed, glaring at Golden Grain as she walked down the large unfurnished hall.

"Nope, I don't need to fight you, you'll demote yourself of your own accord." She huffed, laughing as she exited the building, a fuming Gilded left standing alone.

"Ugh! I can't believe her!" Gilded blurted in the bright green training fields, swinging her halberd as hard as she could, the weapon sticking in the wooden dummy with a loud thud. "She's no better..." She grumbled, ruminating on the mare's words.

"In fact... I think I know just the thing to show her up..." Gilded chuckled, a devious light growing in her eyes.

"Yeah, that'll do just fine." The unicorn made her way to the forest's edge, preparing herself for what would follow.

"Yeah, just fine." The mare pushing her way into the forest, her mind made up.

Gilded returned to the town hours later. While the mid-sized village had been bustling with ponies trading and doing chores earlier, it was now winding down with the setting of the sun. The merchants were closing their stalls and the last remaining stragglers from the tavern stumbled home, on their way to sleep off their drunken escapades.

"Looks like everyone's heading home, good, I didn't want to have to explain anything." Gilded muttered beneath her breath, slowly making her way to the barracks, contemplating her deeds.

"Everything should be in place, now I just need to wait." The unicorn chuckled lightly, getting a few strange looks from the remaining merchants, the ponies shrugging and getting back to their cleanup.

"Maybe I should stop thinking out loud so much..." She reprimanded herself, giving a hearty sigh before entering the barracks.

"Hey Gilded, where have you been all day? You smell awful!" Zephyr Greeted, the dark grey pegasus hitting her with a good-natured insult trotting up to the unicorn as she closed the door behind her, gaining a snort from the mare.

"Least I smell better than you did after latrine duty." She shot back at the stallion, getting him to flinch.

"Yikes, don't remind me." He shuddered.

"But seriously! You were gone for ages!" He pressed, a note of concern in his tone. Gilded rolled her eyes. "I was just training, okay?"

Her friend sighed. "You're always training." Zephyr shook his head. "Gilded, if something is wrong you can talk to me, don't bottle it up!" He told her.

"I know," She replied. "but I'm being honest, nothing's wrong."

The stallion sighed at her response. "I'll take your word for it. But, anyways." Zephyr gestured to a pie on the table. "Sis sent me another pie, wanna help me eat it?" He offered, getting a chuckle from his friend.

"Sure Zephyr." She replied. "All that work left me famished."

The next day Gilded was out in the fields with the other members of her squad. The only difference being that they were sparring while she was running laps as punishment. "This sucks." Thought the blue mare, sweat running off her brow as she started her 19th lap. "hmph, they won't have me running once my plan is in action."

"Hey Gilded!" Called Zephyr, breaking apart from the other ponies and fluttering over to the unicorn. "Cap said you can stop, he thinks you learned your lesson." He told her, Gilded immediately stopping and plopping down onto the dirt track.

"Oh thank goodness." she panted.

"he also said that you still need to do your sparing." He added gently.

"Can't I get a break!?" The unicorn exclaimed, throwing her front hooves into the air before falling onto her back.

"Ugh, fine, might as well take care of it now rather than have to clean the latrines later." She sighed, rolling up onto her hooves.

"So I assume I'm sparring with you?" She inquired, getting a nod.

"Of course! You tend to be a bit... aggressive, when it comes to anypony else." He replied, his friend snorting.

"Ah, whatever. Their fault for being such jerks." She chuckled. "Besides, what's the point of sparring if you don't get a little rough?" She asked a grinning Zephyr.

"That's the spirit!" He cheered, leading away from the track.

"So, we using wooden weapons, or blunted?" Gilded quizzed. "Blunted, Captain decided he wanted us to get used to the weight while in combat with other ponies." Zephyr answered, getting a scoff in response.

"As if we aren't already used to it." Gilded responded, she picked up a standard halberd in her magic, the golden aura lifting the weapon off the rack, While Zephyr chose for himself a pair of glaives, the blades attaching to the sides of his hoof guards. "Ready?" Gilded inquired, deftly spinning the halberd in her magic. Zephyr nodded, getting into a battle position.

"Let's do this!"