Charter's Point of View

If anyone asked Charter what it was like to have a younger sibling he'd have to say annoying. He watched as his sister fussed over his black shirt which he figured was a good fit for simply going to the market for some apples, red flannel that's tied around his hips and his hair that he refused to style. His black shirt was slim fitting to his large frame with short sleeves and a low "v" shape collar. He was still confused as to why or even how she got him a day off but she was sure that he'd enjoy it. Charter moved around the barracks to try and get around his sister but it failed as she simply followed while she tried to play with his mane. He tried to swat his freshly trimmed tail at her but it was no use for she simply brushed it off. Aster smirked before she let out a small giggle. Charter looked at her only to have her avoid his gaze,

"Come on, brother!" she whined at the fifth attempt at brushing his mane that he swiftly avoided by a quick sidestep, "You can't just let your hair be all messy like you've just woken up!"

The lilac stallion chuckled before he went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. His sister was being weird this morning. Sure she was rushing him to get ready for the market, even going as far as to wake him up two hours before she even had to be but he could at least have some fun with it by making her late surely. Charter gave himself a once over with a smile to make sure he got his teeth to his laziest potential. The moment he stepped out of the bathroom he was met with a fully suited up Aster who was checking him out. Something in her eyes made him feel uneasy. She was looking at him as if she had a full plan going in motion but before he could ask her about she shushed him up,

"Now remember, you're going to the market for apples, you don't have to come back right away obviously- you have today off from drills and the whole vial situation- but please don't mess this up it was hard enough to get the doctors to re-" she paused once she realized what she was going to say which caused Charter to narrow his eyes with a head tilt.

She quietly muttered under her breath before she swallowed it down her throat,

"I swear Aster if I find out that this is another prank I will double you-"

"Oh hush up and get a move on, you'll be late for the really good apples!" and with that said Charter watched her leave the male barracks.

The market wasn't terribly far from the castle but it was just far enough that Charter got turned around once due to him almost never leaving his barracks. Now if this was a bar visit than by all means he could find it blindfolded and backward but it wasn't. His sister made him get all dressed up as if he had a hot date to go, shopping. The older sibling sighed heavily. His sister had to be the most annoying pony he's ever met. Demanding apples before she goes to her drill. Thankfully there was a nice breeze coming through the empire today so the weather was pretty peaceful.

Once at the market Charter decided he should probably grab his sister more than just apples. After all, she can't have a balanced diet with only those. He walked up to the first stall he saw with produce and began his hunt for food. Charter bought a couple of carrots and put them in his brown saddle bag he and Aster share when one of them goes to the market. Normally Aster is the one who actually does all the shopping since she's the one who keeps their childhood home under tabs. Charter hasn't been back there since his father left the family. Sure he misses his mother but it's worth being the guardpony of the family... even if he might never make his father very proud.

Charter quickly shook his head before he bit into one of his carrots while he continued to stroll around the market that was slowly coming to life. He had to admit that today was a nice day for him to go for a walk. He walked up to a couple of other stalls to see what they had for sale. The third one he went to had strawberries that looked plump and juicy. Charter couldn't help but lick his lips at the sight when his mind began to wonder to a certain strawberry that was laid up in the hospital. He could still remember how he looked the first time he met him. So fragile, so tired that he could barely walk with the group. Charter looked up from his position at the sound of somepony clearing his throat. The bigger stallion felt his face begin to heat up as he quickly placed some bits down in order for him to buy a small bag of berries and scurry away from the stall to avoid any more embarrassment but he wasn't that lucky, for once he made his way away from the berry stand Charter froze on the spot. Standing in front of him stood the one pony who's been tearing at the back of his mind.

Private Strawberry stood in front of the water fountain wearing a light grey jacket with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of black slim sunglasses upon his face. Charter was confused. Strawberry still had two more days in the hospital before he could return to duty, what was he doing out in the middle of the market for? That's when Charter remembered that Aster said something about the doctors releasing something only it wasn't just something, his sister planned for Strawberry to be here. Charter took a deep breath in before he gathered up his wits and started forward, two can play this game, little sister he commented as he approached the bat-pony who seemed to be enjoying the view of the sun reflecting off the water. Once Charter got to the stallion he quietly cleared his throat before he spoke,

"Aren't you supposed to be in the hospital?" he asked but the only answer he got in return was a gasp as Strawberry swirled around with a terrified look on his face,

"Ah!" the younger male cried before a shade of red edged itself along his face bridging his cheeks.

Charter placed a hoof on his shoulder to steady the poor colt as his chest heaved in and out. He mentally slapped himself. Maybe he should've done a louder approach so he didn't scare the poor kid next time he was just released from the hospital after all,

"Hey, hey" Charter cooed at him his hoof still on his shoulder, "It's okay Strawberry, it's me,"

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you'd be here, most of the ponies have left me alone so far," the kid's breaths still had some trouble with his structure but the lieutenant was sure that he'd be fine after awhile.

"You're fine, Strawberry, what are you doing out here anyway?" he asked with a quick look around as he tried to look anywhere but down at the stallion before him so he wasn't caught staring, "It's morning out, thought you bat-ponies hated the sunlight?"

Strawberry laughed slightly at his question which caused Charter to look even more confused. The bat-pony shook his head before he adjusted his sunglasses,

"Aster said that since I was in the hospital and not cleared for a few days that I should go out and find the gift shops and since you and Maine saved me from being turned into another crime scene I thought that I would get you something in return, y-you know as a 'thank-you' s-since you helped but now that you're here-," he stopped once he noticed a small detail which caused him to blush much harder, "Huh, Charter?"

Strawberry slowly looked away then back at the lilac stallion before he began to realize that he wasn't paying attention. His face fell before he cleared his throat and tried again but his words fell onto deaf ears. Strawberry tried waving a hoof in front of his face but it didn't help Charter's mind was a mess. Charter had to blink a few times. So his sister really did set this up but what he couldn't figure out was why. His mind tried to put everything together but there were still pieces missing from the puzzle. He didn't like it when she did stuff like this. Charter didn't realize just how much time he was thinking about his sister and her games until Strawberry slowly removed his hoof from his shoulder. He had completely forgotten to remove it before hoof so there was another mental slap to the face. The stallion quickly tried to find his words but nothing would come out, his tongue was tied. He watched as Strawberry was about to turn away from him and his body went into over-drive before he lost his chance,

"S-Strawberry wait!" he finally broke only this time he placed both hooves on his shoulders, "I-uh, I want-" his throat started to dry up as he felt his heartbeat begin to quicken up, "I want to come with you," he forced himself to get it together.

The smile on Strawberry's face made it worth it. The larger stallion's knees felt like Jell-O as he watched Strawberry jump excitedly. One thing was for sure, Charter needed to get somethings straightened out when he gets back to the barracks. He couldn't keep getting like this every time the bat-pony was around. Something could go wrong in so many ways. He put his front hooves back down before the two of them set off to find the gift shops for the private to gather his gifts. The larger pony watched the smaller one as they made their way through the crowds. A smile crept onto his muzzle the more his eyes rested upon the bat-pony. Strawberry was excited about almost anything the older colt showed him. It wasn't until Charter escorted Strawberry to a nearby shop for pillows did he see it. It was a round berry shaped pillow with a green trim on the top and yellow fabric sewn into the red one with care.

Charter looked back at his friend to make sure he wasn't paying attention before he placed the pillow onto the counter, along with a few plain white ones for his bed back at the barracks. His ears perked up when he heard a sweet giggle come from behind him, he turned around to find Strawberry fine-tuned onto something at a nearby stall. With his curiosity peaked the stallion made his way over to his friend when the bat-pony spun around and smacked straight into Charter. This time though he caught himself and neither of them hit the ground, although Charter found himself smirking at the memory of Strawberry's face bur- No, no, nonono, I need to focus the stallion scolded himself because he was in public which was a terrible place to have those thoughts. Thoughts that were fighting to get rooted deeper into his brain. Charter was sure that something was wrong with him. He couldn't possibly be falling for this pony,

"Sorry, I didn't scare you again did I?" he asked bending down to pick up the bat-pony's glasses that had fallen to the floor but when he went to hand them over he stopped.

Strawberry's sunset yellow eyes had locked with Charter's and he felt himself drown inside them. It was crazy to think that this day could bring so much emotion to the two ponies. He was about to say something when he saw that Strawberry stepped closer and his body complied. Charter didn't know what to do. He felt lost but it didn't feel wrong. His mouth went dry again. Strawberry's mouth slightly parted as he got closer to the lieutenant whose heart was beating so fast in his chest that he thought it would burst,

"N-No, you didn't..." he trailed off.

The two stallions moved even closer together their chest nearly touched. Nearly for before they had a chance to do anything else Charter suddenly felt something grab his shoulders from in front of him and pull him down. His legs were so shaky that they gave out without his command. His eyes shot open as he snapped out of it to find Strawberry curled up around his head. Wicked laughter broke out followed by a yellow beam of light that nearly hit Strawberry's left shoulder. It was like everything got suddenly turned back on. Charter could hear the screams of ponies as they made their way from the stall that the two stallions were just standing at moments ago. He quickly shook off Strawberry's arms as he stood up to look around. There stood a midnight-black mare on top of a building across the street with a deep rose red mane that flowed in the wind she was currently summoning with her horn that glowed a sickly yellow.

Charter helped Strawberry up who seemed to have some trouble with his still bandaged wing. His ribs must have not felt too great after that stunt. The larger colt took his place by Strawberry's side ready for another beam but it didn't come. Instead, the mare threw out another laugh before she summoned a lightning strike down that forced the two to jump away from each other,

"So sorry to interrupt this... date, but I believe its time for me and my brother to have a chat!" the mare called down to the street but Charter couldn't believe his ears, brother?

Strawberry limped over and stood before the lilac colt before he could make a move,

"Blu!" The bat-pony called out as the wind began to pick up more, "What are you doing here?"

"What? A sister can't stop by to catch up with her baby brother?" she responded with false hurt in her words that made Strawberry narrow his eyes in response.

Charter looked back and forth between the two. They looked as though they could've been twins beside for Strawberry having wings and this Blu character having a horn. Charter was confused. Why would Strawberry's sister be on the top of the building, why would she come all the way out here and start throwing magic around in a public area? So many questions filled his head while the two of them locked eyes with each other, the only thing that made sense was that Strawberry was not happy about this greeting by the way his face looked. He looked upset, scared, and anger all in one. He was about to throw out the question of what she wanted when something exploded in the background. The lieutenant tore his eyes away from the mare to find smoke coming from the castle area, No, he thought before he turned back to find her gone from her rooftop.

The two guardponies quickly turned their heads as they looked around but it wasn't until Strawberry cry out in pain did they find her again. This time she was on the street while Strawberry laid on the ground next to Charter yellow electricity bouncing around from limb to limb. The mare went to step forward but stopped when she finally took notice of the larger colt,

"My my," she began her red curls bouncing in the wind that was still hanging around, "My brother sure does know how to pick his colts doesn't he?"

"Private Nightshade asked you a question!" Charter sneered, he wasn't just going to let her go after she assaulted his friend.

She reared back with distaste on her face. Charter figured she simply didn't like his answer as she looked between Strawberry and himself. He just lifted his leg up when she fired off another beam of light which he dodged before he charged forward. Once he was close enough he threw the first punch but was quickly met with a shield before she fired a beam straight into his stomach that only managed to throw him backward. Blu looked at him in shock but before she could fire off another spell a plan quickly formed into her mind, she quickly teleported during Charter's tackle allowing him to hit the dirt while she reappeared next to her brother who remained tazed on the ground,

"The young private and I... need a little chat!" she cooed at the bigger stallion who roared at her in response.

Charter charged forward again but he was too slow. A black sphere quickly swallowed the two ponies and disappeared into the ground before he could reach them,

"Strawberry!" he screamed into the open air but it was useless now.

Private Strawberry, was gone.

Author's Note

Okay, so I may have gone overboard with the length of this chapter but trust me, the slow burn is worth it. Now I don't know if this is hard to follow or not but I wanted to try something different with this story since it's my first mlp fanfiction. As always, thank you for reading and be sure to comment down below what you thought of this chapter!