A Few Good Ponies

“Rise and shine cadets! If Celestia can raise the sun, you should have no problem raising your sorry asses out of bed!” Yelled a shrill but authoritative female voice.

Sunrise started awake, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as a unicorn mare walked up and down the aisle between the row of beds. She wore and immaculately pressed black jacket trimmed in gold, displaying various awards and insignia, a black hat with a round brim on her head with a circular gold crest  on the front displaying a depiction of the two princesses with their wings outstretched in front of a set of crossed spears.

“Let me hear you say good morning!” Yelled the mare.

Sunrise got to his hooves along with several dozen other ponies. Each of the ponies, all unicorns, levitated a heavy stone blocks in front of them, lifting them up and down in their magic in time with each other. A chorus of “Good Morning ma'am” sounding off with  each movement. Sweat running down their faces as they exercised.

After several minutes the mare ordered them to stop. “Alright cadets, give me 10 laps around the barracks and form up out front!” She yelled.

Several minutes later Sunrise was outside, running with the other cadets, panting heavily as he started to fall behind, slowing to a jog. The unicorn mare ran up beside him, effortlessly keeping pace.

“Come on cadet!” She yelled. “You don't see me giving up on you, so don't you dare give up on me. Come on, you've only got 2 more laps. 2 more bucking laps.”

A similarly dressed stallion ran up on his other side. Running on 3 legs, he held a hoof out in front of him. “You see this cadet?” He yelled. “This is the world's smallest heart!” Before running ahead.

Digging deep, sweat stinging his eyes, Sunrise broke into a gallop, catching up to the cadets in front of him, and just barely keeping pace with them until they stopped, where he collapsed panting heavily, his orange fur matted with sweat.

About 20 Miles North of Appleoosa

1700hrs

Sunrise woke drenched in sweat. Looking up he noticed he was laying only a few feet from the furnace. Heat washed over him. Its doors sliding open as Lightning tossed in a shovel full of coal. Screech laid next to him, his tongues hanging out of his open mouth, moving with each breath as he snored quietly. The conductor's hat still perched on his head.

“Morning sleepy head.” She said cheerily.

He yawned, stretching. “How long was I out?” He asked.

“Meh, not too long. Maybe about an hour or so.” She replied, observing the sun's position in the sky.”You're kind of cute when you sleep, you know that? At one point you were kicking your legs like a dog and mumbling yes ma'am.” She said, giggling.

“Yeah.” He replied. “I had the unfortunate experience of reliving memories of my training days back at the academy. You know, sometimes I think I'm not cut out to be a leader.”

“Why do you say that?” She asked. “You've gotten us this far.”

He sighed. “What about the rest of my squad? I just left them behind. Now every day I have to live in fear of having to face them as an enemy. I was never at the top of my class. Sometimes I feel like they made a mistake putting me in charge of other ponies.”

“Don't do that to yourself.” Replied Lightning, wrapping a foreleg around his shoulder. “No pony could have known what was going to happen. Believe it or not, I always looked up to you since I got to the unit, and I still do.”

Sunrise remained quiet for several moments, listening to the rumbling of the train before changing the subject. “So, what do you think of the tatzlponies?” He asked. “It's strange thinking they were living under our noses this whole time.”

“I think I read about them in a Daring Do book once.” She replied. “She described them as monsters.” Looking over at Screech's sleeping form she continued. “It's not hard to see why when your first impression involves being afraid that you're going to end up as a pile of tatzl shit.” She sighed. “I fear it might be hard for ponies to accept them if they learn of their existence, no matter how well intentioned and friendly they might be.”

Sunrise nodded in agreement. As the train continued down the track, the sun began to dip below the horizon, bathing the sky in a brilliant palette of orange and yellow.

“At least we know the princesses are alright.” Stated Sunrise softly, gesturing at the setting sun before losing himself in his thoughts. He thought of home, wondering if they knew what had happened.  Did they think he was dead? What did they tell his family? What if they had found out the truth? Would he be killed on site being mistaken for one of Multis's minions? This was getting him nowhere. All they could do was get there as fast as they could and deal with those problems when they presented themselves.

Somewhere in the Badlands

1800hrs

Multis's brilliant green eyes followed the myriad of activity taking place below him as he stood atop a newly completed tower constructed of red desert stone. Well over a thousand ponies worked, as they carried out his commands. Already an outer wall lay mostly completed as teams of earth ponies hauled stone from a quarry chiseled into the side of a mountain. Groups of unicorns levitating the blocks into place when they reached their destination, and magically fusing them together. Inside the walls, pegasi moved clouds into place, providing water for a newly planted garden. Already it was teeming with the lush green of young plants and saplings. This brought a smile to his face. Though he liked the remote and hostile terrain, he had missed the beauty of nature during his imprisonment. He had used to love strolling through the woods, feeling the calming aura of magic that radiated off of all things living. It had always helped to center him. Calming the voices in his head that clamored for attention. Several millennia ago, a time that he himself had nearly forgotten, he had once been a simple farmer. The other unicorns had mocked him for it. Calling him things like mudpony, and peasant. Even after all these years though, the desire to care for growing things had stuck with him.

Teleporting with  a flash, he appeared in the garden. Running a hoof over an apple sapling brought a smile to his shadowed face. Closing his eyes, he lit his horn, channeling energy into the young tree. When he opened them he looked up to see a fully grown apple tree, lush with green leaves and ripe red fruit. Carefully, he plucked an apple off of a branch with his magic, levitating it down to hold it in his hoof. He took a bite, savoring the sweet flavor as juice splashed across his muzzle. Oh, how he had missed moments like this.