The Apple in His sights

In the dark of the early morning the Canterlot train station was packed as Stormy Morning and Strong Wind made their way to their platform to wait.

“Crowds,” Stormy muttered disdainfully, “Ich hasse Massen.”

Strong simply hummed in agreement after a fairly rotund mare nearly knocked him off balance as they looked for any others of their new unit when they finally hit platform number nine.

“It would seem that we’re early,” Strong mused as they both noted that the platform was empty.

Strong went to sit on a bench at the far end of the platform, only for Stormy to stop him at the last second, “Wait Tsuyoi, your tie is messed up.”

“Hmm? Oh, thank you,” Strong said as he noted that his uniform tie was, in fact, ajar and loose rather than straight.

As he fixed the problem Strong noted that other ponies coming to the platform, a Thestral and an earth pony.

“I’m trying to help you have a think about this, mate. Just because you chuck a sickie now and aren’t caught doesn’t mean that you’ll never be caught,” a mare with a thick accent reprimanded an earth pony who rolled his eyes.

“Nopony cares about that. I get the job done all the same, who cares if I need a few more minutes of rack a few days a year,” the earth pony retorted, making the mare angry.

“Fine, get discharged. See if I care,” the mare yelled back only to blush in embarrassment when she finally noted the two others staring at her.

The mare cleared her throat and smiled before she got her bearings, “G’day, you blokes off to Ponyville too?”

“Yes,” Strong answered simply, making her even more embarrassed.

“Names Golden Wattle, and this figjam is Heavy Rain,” Golden introduced herself with a grin, “Now, who’re you two?”

“Strong Wind,” Strong introduced himself to the loud mare and opened for Stormy to speak for himself.

“Stormy Morning,” he answered stoically, not liking the way that the earth pony was sizing up Strong.

“A slant, just perfect,” Heavy muttered not caring that he’d insulted the oriental stallion. Both bristled visibly at the remark but remained in control, even as Heavy opened his mouth to continue with the insult.

That was until a cigarette butt bounced off his head as a pegasus landed next to them. Heavy grunted in pain as the hot ash touched his coat.

“Oi, watch it, buddy,” Heavy shouted to the newcomer who had placed himself in between the four.

By the time Heavy had gotten the words out the pegasus had slicked his mane back with a comb and had another cigarette in his ear as he leaned against a wall. He paid the earth pony no mind even as he shoved his muzzle into the pegasus’s own.

“Hey, I’m talking to you!” Heavy shouted before he was finally noticed by the newcomer.

“You want to back up?” the pegasus asked in an accent reminiscent of Manehattan.

The pegasi’s body tensed as Heavy hit the wall behind him.

“Apologize for throwing your smoke at me,” Heavy reiterated, only to feel a tug and was then shoved up against the wall by the pegasus.

“One more word out of your mouth…” the annoyed pegasus muttered, only to be stopped by a loud voice.

“What in the blazes is going on here?”

Then the source of the voice appeared, an older pegasus, Stormy noted, as she stepped onto the platform. She held a hard demeanor as befitting the rank of master sergeant that she wore on the sleeve of her uniform. The mare took in the scene and growled at the younger male.

“Silver Piece, drop him this instant! And the rest of you, look sharp, our commanding officer is on his way,” She barked, which had the desired effect.

The grey pegasus let go of the earth pony, and the rest checked each other over for any defects in their uniforms. And were hastened by the sound of hoofs coming up the ramp.

“Group, attention!” the mare bellowed making every pony stand straight as a skinny unicorn came up from behind her.

“S-sergeant Nimbus, Captain Shield won’t be here for another hour,” the small, confused unicorn said as he readjusted a pair of thick glasses.

“…Right, thank you Seaman Hematoma. Well, as you were then,” Nimbus said as she cleared her throat, accepting her mistake.

Stormy’s thoughts were a blur after that, as his mind drifted to other concerns, ones that would surely come up during the trip. Like his kin for example. At the mere thought Stormy's face went from neutral to angry as he felt his brothers letter in his jacket pocket.

“Stormy?” he heard Strong’s voice before he looked up and found that he was on the train.

The Thestral came out of his thoughts as he grunted and honed in on the voice.

“Huh? Yes?” Stormy questioned his friend who stared at him in concern. They’d apparently had sat across from each other without him noticing.

“Are you alright?” Strong asked with a concerned brow, as out of nearly everypony he could read Stormy with near perfection every day.

“No,” Stormy admitted, somewhat reluctantly, “My brother sent me a letter yesterday… attempting to speak on our Mother’s behalf, again.”

Strong nodded, as this was nothing new. He could tell that the matter weighed heavily on Stormy’s mind as he rarely was lost in thought. He decided to alter the topic from one subject to another, as dwelling on familial matters wasn’t healthy for Stormy Morning.

“And what of our new station?” he asked Stormy.

The small, reminiscing smile of Stormy’s was enough thanks for Strong, and if he was lucky, perhaps he could coax a laugh out.

“An interesting change of pace, of that I am certain,” Stormy answered, grateful that the slight tweak was something relevant then shot a question of his own, “And your father? How is he?”

Strong opened his mouth to answer when their sergeant called the car to attention.

Everypony stood as still as they could even as the train began to move. And in strode a unicorn, tall and proud as he headed down the isle and sat in the front of the car. Only when he was satisfied did the give a command.

“At ease, take your seats,” he said, allowing everypony to relax.

Stormy took his seat but twisted so that he had an eye on the officer.

“Gentlecolts, Ladies, I’m Captain Steady Shield, your new Commanding Officer. Today, as all of you are aware, we are heading to Ponyville to act as the guard to Princess Twilight Sparkle. Now I know that some of us are from different branches, some from the Army, some Air Force, a couple of Marines, and even a Navy corpsman. Which makes our chain of command near shot to shit,” Steady informed, which got a few verbal agreements and even a laugh before he continued, “With that being said, Master Sergeant Nimbus will be my acting second in command and we’ll go down in the rankings from there."

The Captain paused for a brief moment before he spoke again, “Now, I don’t know about any of you, but I find it awkward to work with strangers. So, lets go around and introduce ourselves.”

It was then the Master Sergeant Lightning Nimbus stood and introduced herself, “Good morning, I’m Master Sergeant Lightning Nimbus. I’m from Las Pegasus, and I serve as an attacker in the thirteenth support squadron.”

She sat back down and pointed to Strong Wind who stood up and gave a short bow before he spoke, “My name is Tsuyoi Kaze, or Strong Wind in Equestrian, a Sergeant in the Army. I’m from the island of Neighpon, and I’m a sniper.”

Strong sat to a number of greetings as the Captain spoke, “Glad to have you aboard, son. Next.”

Stormy took a shaky breath before he spoke. No going back now, he figured.

“I'm Staff Sergeant Stürmischen Morgen, which translates to Stormy Morning in Equestrian. I’m from Pferdlin and I too am a sniper,” he said, which made a few cringe at his name.

Silence followed, which made Stormy even more anxious as he sat down. It was near suffocating when a loud voice boomed.

“G’day ladies and gents, my name’s Golden Wattle. I’m an senior airman from Sydneigh, and I’m a fighter in the Air Force,” the mare sounded to break the tension and decided to relocate with her fellow Thestral.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Lightning said with a grin, pleased that she wasn’t the only mare on the team, “Who’s next?”

The question was answered by a cloud of smoke, followed by a male voice, “Name’s Petty Officer Silver Piece, I’m from Manehattan.”

He stopped, and proceeded to look out of the window only for the Captain to clear his throat, which made Silver continue, “And I’m a Navy fighter.”

Several others introduced themselves before the Captain stood and excused himself to the restroom. It was then that Stormy noted the look of annoyance that Steady Shield shot his way as he passed.

Stormy pretended to not notice the look and decided to stare out the window, towards where Ponyville lay. He could already feel the headache coming on as sunlight trickled out from the horizon.

He was just about to close his eyes for some much needed sleep when Captain Shield spoke to him.

“Sgt. Morning?” he asked, not bothering to hide his displeasure.

Stormy blinked and turned towards the sound. The sunlight made the officer out to be a haze, but he was still able to make him out.

“Put your sunglasses on and follow me,” Shield ordered and moved briskly to the next car.

Stormy did as he was ordered and rummaged in a pocket before putting on his glasses. He gave a look to Strong as he passed, and received a confidant nod. There was no backing down, he would show no fear to the unicorn, Stormy resolved. The Thestral steeled himself for what was most likely what would happen next.

He controlled his breath as the captain held his file on a seat.

“Sit down,” Shield ordered as he pointed to the seats across from him.

Stormy did so before the captain spoke.

“Sgt. Stormy Morning. Born in Pferdlin to Cold Morning and Midsummer Night.” He stopped to glare at the Thestral with a glint in his eye, “Tell me, why in the name of God should I let the likes of you next to the princess?”

“Are you questioning my loyalty sir?” Stormy asked, careful to keep his tone in check, as much as he wanted to wipe the glare from the captain’s face.

“I’m a cautious pony, sergeant. Just making sure that we won’t have any issues if push comes back to shove up north. The apple doesn’t fall far,” Steady Shield replied, eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

Stormy was silent for a moment at the bait before he glanced at his file and to a photo of his mother, “My loyalty lies with Equestria. If we do have trouble with my colony then I will act accordingly.”

Steady looked at the photo, a mug shot of Midsummer and the disfiguring scar on her left cheek, then spoke again, “I’m sure you will.”

Stormy recognized the look of contempt but said nothing before the officer nodded and continued, “Be that as it allegedly may. Keep in line, and we won’t have problems. Understood?”

“Perfekt, Captain,” Stormy replied, careful to keep his tone at an amiable volume.

“Good, dismissed,” Steady ordered as he put Stormy’s file away.

The Thestral stood and reentered the car, a swirl of emotions whirled through him as he strode to the other end and closed the restroom door behind him.

“I knew it was coming…” he muttered to himself while he washed his hooves and then buried his thoughts. It wouldn’t do to make a bad reputation because of his current mood.

Only, it didn’t necessarily work as the apple remark drilled into his brain. Then Stormy's thoughts shifted, to more pleasant memories. Take the last Gala for example? A lopsided grin broke his sneer and Stormy shook his head. He hated crowds, that was for certain, too stuffy. But the Gala on the other hoof was something of a… revelation of sorts. The stupid annual lottery had selected him to go, much to his annoyance, and ironic fortune. He’d grumbled around the first hour and didn’t enjoy himself. He sat, bored as he took in the sights.

Nobility, in the most careful term, stuffed their faces and bellies with cheap wine and food while inflating themselves. Then they came up, three fillies, all in dresses. Not as numbly made as the rest, and not nearly as pompous. They stared for a moment before one in a bow asked him a question.

Apparently, they’d never seen a Thestral up close before, or most likely not at all. He could understand their curiosity, and most certainly didn’t mind their probing, when she came.

“Stormy?” Strong’s voice sounded in his ears.

“Hmn?” He grunted as Golden waved a hoof in front of his face.

Stormy blinked to gain his bearings and huffed in annoyance as he’d been on autopilot, again.

“You alright, mate?” She asked, concern lacing her voice.

“I should be, once we get to Ponyville,” Stormy answered, finally able to recline in his seat.

***

Applejack yawned as she glanced at the plates that lined the dining area were set, ready to be filled with breakfast foods. Pancakes, hash browns, and the like were placed on another table as all of the elements and three princesses, chatted amongst themselves, with Princess Celestia trying to calm a nervous Princess of Friendship down. Something about the news being told to her at the last second.

“Aw man, this is gonna be so cool. You think they’re all athletes, AJ? Oh, oh, oh, maybe they’re into high altitude cardio.?” she asked, excitement laced her voice.

She’d just filled a cup full of steaming hot coffee to soothe herself, “I don’t know, Rainbow. I reckon that they gotta stay in shape somehow.”

She went to put some sugar in her drink when Princess Celestia called, “Ladies, please gather in the foyer. They’re here.”

Applejack poured the sugar and swirled it around in her drink as she joined her friends. She took a gulp as the doors opened and in filed a group of uniformed ponies. One, off to the side of the line, ordered for them to stop and “Form up”. The farmer watched in curiosity as the line were put into rows of four.

“Present arms!” the leader called, and all at once the soldiers saluted.

It all seemed strange to the elements, ponies saluting Twilight, at least Applejack thought so as she listened to another order. And like that the ponies lowered their legs.

“Highnesses, Captain Steady Shield and the new… friendship guard reporting as ordered,” the captain sounded, voice thundering throughout the castle.

“W-Welcome, um, you all must be tired…” Twilight froze mid sentence as the critical eyes of the clean cut guards washed over her.

For a moment AJ watched as the Captain stood there in silence. When she was about to move and offer a word of encouragement did another voice speak.

“Captain, permission to speak?” a pegasus from behind said, gaining his attention.

Applejack sized the pegasus mare up as the stallion answered her.

“Granted, Sergeant.”

“Perhaps the princess would be better suited to a less strict greeting, considering her title, sir,” she whispered to the unicorn.

Realization dawned on him, and he nodded in agreement.

“Platoon, at rest!” he commanded before bowing to Twilight.

“Please princess, forgive my overtly professional tone. We didn’t mean to make you nervous,” He said with a small smile before he began again, “I’m Captain Steady Shield, pleased to meet you.”

Applejack smiled at the scene as Twilight eased and began to introduce herself and them all.

“Nice to meet you too, Steady,” Twilight said with a smile.

In the instant that the tension was cut an excited Pinkie Pie was in front of a short pony at the back of the group. Applejack noted immediately what she was, a bat pony, three of them, three of every race of pony in fact.

“Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie! What’s your name?” Pinkie questioned in glee as she shook the bat mare’s hoof and was greeted with just as much enthusiasm.

“G’day, I’m Golden Waddle,” Golden introduced herself with a fang filled smile and shook the pink mare’s hoof just as roughly.

Applejack tuned them out as her belly growled, quiet enough to not be noticed. Thankfully, Princess Celestia answered an unspoken plea.

“Well, now that we’re all comfortable we can eat. I’m sure you’re all hungry,” Celestia invited with a twinkle in her eye as she motioned to the dining room.

Applejack was so relieved at the news that she had to restrain herself from rushing over to the buffet. Soon enough Applejack found herself putting food on a plate, pancakes covered in syrup and haybacon, with black coffee. When she turned around nearly every seat was taken, save for a spot in between a couple of hats on the table, each where a plate was supposed to be.

Applejack sat her plate down and went to sit, only to bump into somepony.

“Oh. Sorry about that, partner,” Applejack apologized, as she turned towards the pony who had to work to balance his plate of food.

She stopped momentarily as she took him in. A bat pony in a blue jacket with stripes on the sleeve, and sunglasses.

The stallion chuckled as he balanced himself and replied in a familiar accented baritone, “Not a problem, Frauline Apfeljack. No harm done.”

Applejack stood there for a moment and remembered who that voice belonged to.

“Stormy Morning?” she asked, a rather medium part of her wanted the stallion to be him.

“Genau, Apfeljack,” Stormy replied with a tired smile before he set his plate down.

Applejack smiled back as she shook his offered hoof and sat down while another bat pony sat on the other side of her. She was about to chow down, politely, when Stormy attempted to introduce her to the pony beside her.

“Apfeljack, may I introduce you to a friend of mine? This,” Stormy said as he motioned to the other bat pony whom smiled at her, “is Strong Wind.”

Applejack had just taken a bite of a syrup soaked pancake before she turned and swallowed.

“Hi there, welcome to Ponyville,” She greeted the other Thestral, whom had taken a sip of orange juice.

“Thank you, Applejack. I can speak for both Stormy and I when I say that we are grateful for the hospitality,” Strong said as he nodded to his friend who averted his attention to his plate.

Applejack then turned back to Stormy and asked, “So, how’d ya’ll get to be out here, protecting Twilight?”

Stormy quickly swallowed a helping of hash browns before he answered, “Princess Luna asked for volunteers, and believed my partner and I were… Suited for the task?”

“Hai,” Strong interjected with a laugh, as if a joke had been told.

Applejack was lost as the two stallions chuckled and questioned, “Why’s that funny?”

The chuckles slowed and Stormy decided to explain, “Ah, forgive us Apfeljack. We make puns about our job.”

Despite a slight sense of confusion, Applejack smiled at the joke then turned back to Strong Wind, “So where’re ya’ll from, Strong?”

“Neighpon, an island in the Lunar sea,” Strong answered with a proud expression.

“Sounds nice,” Applejack commented as she pictured an island paradise in her head.

“Beautiful, yes. But if you visit, do not drink the water,” Strong remarked with a frown.

The mere mention of water nearly made Stormy turn green.

“…Why?” Applejack asked carefully, as morbid curiosity filled her.

“Sulfur in the water,” both stallions said in unison.

Applejack paused and shivered at the implications, but resumed eating nonetheless.

“Well,” she began after a splash of coffee was down, “Pinkie Pie wanted to give a tour of Ponyville after y’all are squared away.” Applejack said after a moment of silence.

Stormy and Strong both furrowed their brows in thought as they chewed, before Stormy swallowed his food and answered, “We would like that very much, after our briefing with the Captain.”

“Stormy, we cannot. The briefing will run all day,” Strong interjected after he swallowed a mouthful of orange juice.

Realization dawned onto Stormy’s face after Strong had said this, and glanced apologetically at Applejack.

“Oh, well, maybe tomorrow? I’ve got to help with the fence at the farm today, putting up barbed wire.” Applejack replied with a nod of understanding.

“Barbed wire? What for?” Stormy asked, perplexed that an apple farm would need it.

“We’ve got an infestation of timber wolves. They keep getting through the fence, scratching up the trees, and getting too close to the house. So we’re going to try and keep ‘em out,” Applejack answered matter-of-factly.

It was then that Stormy swallowed a sip water and hummed as he watched the rest of the newly formed unit preparing to leave.

Applejack followed Stormy as he stood and gave the stallion a farewell as he prepared to leave.

“ Well, I’ll be seeing y’all around,” Applejack said as she left the castle.

“Auf Wiedersehen, Apfeljack,” she heard Stormy call after her.

She sent a smile his way before she opened the castle doors and headed back to the farm.

***

A few minutes after all of the newly formed “Friendship Guard” had finished eating did the real meeting begin. A map of Ponyville was placed over the cutiemap, as was blueprints of the castle, courtesy lf Twilight Sparkle herself. Stormy had to stop himself from letting out a groan as the first order of business was being discussed, lodging.

“We have plenty of room here to house everypony, captain. Princess Celestia sent over a few bunk beds for the basement,” Twilight suggested with a pleasant smile, “It’s clean, and has a lot of space.”

Steady Shield hummed, as he studied the layout of the town, and castle.

“Princess, we are grateful for the kindness, but we can’t simply stay here in one spot. The guard will have to be spread out slightly, with a good chunk being here,” Steady replied before he went back and forth from two portions of the ponyville map.

“Where would you suggest?” the princess asked, after she studied the map herself.

“…Sweet Apple Acres has a very large area, easy to move through undetected. And the sparse housing to the north is a big weak spot,” Steady mused for a moment before Twilight finished his thought.

“Therefore, somepony needs to guard the north region and another, the south,” Twilight summarized, much to Steady’s surprise.

“That’s about the size of it, Princess,” Steady remarked before he continued, “Two guards for the day, and two at night. Which would mean eight patrolling around the clock. But where to station them?”

Stormy could already see the wheels turning in the captains head. And listened as Princess Twilight brought up sugestions for barracks. The windmill to the north and Sweet Apple Acres to the south.

Then the Thestral got an odd feeling, deep in his gut as Steady Shield nodded in agreement and looked into the group of ponies behind him, directly at him. Stormy’s heart sank when the Captain spoke next.

“Heavy Rain, Stormy Morning, Soft Breeze,” the captain called over his shoulder.

“Scheiße,” Stormy thought, as he glanced over to the Earth Pony who stared ahead, not paying attention till the calling of his name.

Stormy went over to the Captain, followed by the blue earth pony whom stood a few paces to Stormy’s right and a green Pegasus to his left.

“After the finalizations of this meeting, the three of you will be stationed together in one of the barns of Sweet Apple Acres. The three of you will then patrol the south end of Ponyville. This is a lot of ground to cover, I know. But the defense of this town will be as sharp as possible, understood?” Steady Shield relayed before getting a confirmation from each of them.

When Steady Shield’s back was turned Heavy Rain stuck out in the corner of Stormy’s vision. Stormy glanced in his direction as a look of outrage and loathing was framed to the Earth Pony’s muzzle. A single word was mouthed that no pony else caught.

Stormy glared back as the others were assigned to differing sectors of Ponyville, then it happened.

“Your luggage is in the foyer, get it then report to your assigned barracks when the go ahead is given,” Steady Shield bellowed out to which many, including Stormy had to wait confirmation that the nearby farm was available.

***

Steady Shield adjourned the meeting and watched as everypony made their way to the assigned destinations.

He watched as Heavy Rain went to get his luggage, and called him over, “Private Rain, I’d like a word,” He called to the earth pony who reacted immediately to the order.

“Yes, sir?” Heavy answered, clearly not expecting to be called.

“I hear that you’re the best support gunner in the Army, and one of the most reliable stallions out there. I have a… special assignment for you. If you’re interested,” Steady offered the stallion who puffed up at the complement.

“Yes, sir. What can I do for you?” Heavy asked, curiosity piqued.

“I need you to keep an eye on Stormy Morning for me. Anything out of the ordinary, anything off, or even if you just have a bad feeling. You report to me, understand?” Steady ordered Heavy with a smile.

“Yes, sir. I can do that, no problem,” Heavy replied, wheels turning in his head.

"Good to hear. Thank you, son," the officer replied as he turned back to the map.