Murky Reed was having one hell of a day. First she was assigned for the night watch, whitch sucked all by itself without help from her bumbling. Then she had forgotten to preen her wings the day before, meaning she had to preen them the day of her shift, which meant she was forty minutes late(and her wings still looked sloppy, something Murky Reeds Resented Quite a bit). Which made everybody hate her. Do you know what it's like to go late on your first day, for your new military job? What it's like is terrible.

....

And then there was the 'Orange Blob' Incident. The guys will tease her for weeks for that one. Augh.... She could swear she saw hooves! She was absolutely sure! Maybe it was just some tomcat or something. That would explain the creak. The creak that made her shoot her gun! Agh, she should have known better! Now her gun privileges have been confiscated. For two weeks. Two entire weeks.

But maybe it's better to start at the beginning.
In 1013 the Stalliongrad Collective Ellector, Altidiya Revoltsova, declared war on Equestria. Soon after her declaration, she died from food poisoning. After she abdicated through natural causes, Vyatka Midnight was nominated Ellector by The Comintern Parliament. One of Vyatka's first policies was increased conscription for the war. Equestria was a superpower, he said, they needed more ponies for the war effort.
And he was right.
Soon the war began to stabilise, Stalliongrad beginning to finally push for land instead of losing it. And, with new policies that improved resources for troops at war and made training more rigorous, he was a very likable character.

His popularity Skyrocketed.

Soon the richer cities fully supported him, the elite raving about how he 'wished to help the poor' and 'stabilise the country'.

Murky Reed lived in Muskwater, a hamlet in the middle of a marsh. Her parents were extremely strict (Like all adults in the community), and extremely traditional. It also did nothing to aid her relationship with her parents, that, at the time, she was the local troublemaker. Often undoing braids in the middle of class, doodling along the sides of her notebook, spitballing the teacher, and occasionally forging parent signatures. Not even to mention what she got into with the other kids.

She was one of the first fillies in her class to get a cutie mark. She remembered it vividly. It was a wednesday, and they had art class. Murky sat at the front, bored by the teachers constant droning. 'Bla bla bla bla bla something something idiot something paint something bla bla bla bla. Myeh Im Ms. Lonely and have no social life, bla bla bla.' Murky Reed smiled subtly. She had nailed that impression. She continued to blankly stare at the teacher. Wait. Something was wrong... She just couldn't quite place... Oh. Oh no. Everybody was quite. The normally thin layer of background chatter had suddenly stopped. Dead in its tracks. And the teacher had a large frown starting to etch it into her face. "Did I say that out loud?" She heard snickers echo in the background.
Confirmation.
Shit.
"Uhh, Ms. Gracolt, I didn't mean any of that, uhhh, in fact I, uh, was admiring you just now, mhhhmm, in fact, uhhh, I-" Ms.Graycolt Interrupted here. "Murky Reeds, please come up before the class."
Murky Gulped.
She painfully screechfully slid out of her chair, trotting over to the front of the class. "Murky Reed, since you seem to be so interested in the topic we're talking about, I would love for you to demonstrate in front of the entire class." While saying this she, pulled out a canvas, and made hoof gestured in the direction of said canvas. Murky tried to remember what they were talking about. Painting...? Maybe...?
After six minutes of Murky just staring at the canvas, Ms.Gracolt cleared her throat "Painting. we were discussing Landscape Painting." Murky picked up a brush.

She hesitantly dipped her brush in a forest green, and started.

=================================***===================================

That day she walked away from class with a cutie mark. A paintbrush over a framed painting, with pines in the background. Quite complicated as far as cutie marks go.

Apparently her special skill was painting realistic landscapes. In class she had painted a beautiful lake, surrounded by reeds and pine trees, mountains faintly in the distance.

...Her classmates had started to call her Bob Moss.

...

Murly Reeds was honestly disappointed. She had always been quite an unremarkable mare, green coat, brown mane. Popular mane-style. She had thought that meant she would get an awesome special skill, but I guess not. It's one of the reasons she acted up. So she could stand out. In the words of her favorite Equestrian musical, (Alexander Hoofington) "I am not throwing away my shot!"

So much for that.

She frowned. She was an unremarkable pony. A unremarkable edition. Somepony, now that she thought about it, would probably live and die in this marsh town, forgotten by her descendants. Forgotten by the world. A child never remembered.

When she came home, she silently walked up to her room and closed the door. Her father took notice of her stoic expression and whispered to his wife "She would we say something? It seems like something happened." Mrs.Reed briefly glanced up at her husband, Pine Axe, she frowned and looked back at the The Redwave Times. "She'll be fine. She's quite the stubborn little lady." She took a rather long sip of her tea. Pine Axe gave one more concerned look up the stairs, then returned to the paper(There was quite an interesting story about the 'Watermare Scandal' in Equestria).

For the rest of her school years she quieted down considerably. Slowly she blended into the crowd. She gave homework on time, she did work all day every day. Her teacher was quite concerned for her wellbeing, but it seemed there was nothing to be done.

Then, when she was sixteen, a new law was enacted.
All ponies, mares and stallions alike, from ages fifteen to forty are required for service.

It was everywhere. It was published in all papers, all communication. It was big news.

Murky Reed did like it. This was her chance. The sparks of rebellion lit once again in her soul. This was a chance. To rise up. To seize glory. This was a chance. She was taken from her education to be enlisted in the military on Jan 12th.

=================================***===================================

Her fantasy of military glory was soon to be was shattered. She was to take the first train to Pondon, and then she was to take four weeks of training in the city as a squad patrol before the was sent into the battlefield.

Murky Reeds couldn't believe her misfortune. Pondon was infamously poverty-ridden and industrial. A terrible place to live. and on top of that, guess who her Drill Sergeant was? That's right. Gordon Ramsneigh. A stupidly famous officer with a reputation larger than life. He was supposedly the best drill sergeant in the army. That was very bad . Best drill sergeant was like best evil demon, maybe good for the stallion getting the reward, but not for the ponies he tortures!

The train station was a three mile walk from her small swamp-town, and after three months of preparation and rebellion (On Murky Reeds Side), her parents were more than ready for her to leave. Because of the distance and the terrain she had to wake up early in the morning, Three-thirty so that she could arrive at eight A.M. at the train station. She softly crept through the house. Softly kissed both of her parents foreheads, and then trotted out into the wilderness. For the first thirty-minutes she took a soft-path through heavy pines, but after that first stretch, the miles blurred one after the other as the pines slowly turned into hostile swamps. She had to check her map a few times after the scenery started to get repetitive, in fact she wasn't even sure she was on the right path till she saw the vague outline of the station. The train was there, smoke blowing.

That took a moment to compute.

shit

She ran towards the station as fast as her hooves would carry her, the land flushing past her in swathes of green and brown. Soon, she had almost reached the platform. Its brown frame looming ahead of her. She glared at it determinately. choo-choo, the wheels slowly beginning to turn. Almost there! She rushed up the steps, now only a few yards away from the train entrance. The pace of the train picked up. Fuck! She galloped closely to the blurring entrance.

Both she, and the train picked up the pace. double fuck

She screwed close her eyes and poised for a jump. I am not giving away my shot!(In the words of Alexander Hoofington) She needed this military service! This was her option to rise to glory! To become great!
She leaped.
Her first two hooves landed inside the red-carpeted train-car. Great! But, her back to hooves did not land. Anywhere. "Agh, agh agh!!" Murky Reed squealed, hooves clinging on to the red carpet, slowly slipping. Her eyes darted wildly. There. Right above her head, on both sides of the train-entrance were two brass handles. She squeezed her eyes shut. One... her hooves slowly loosened. This is a terrible plan.Two... her hooves began to stop clinging. Are we going through with this.Three... Her hooves lost traction. her eyes snapped open. Yes we are!
She let go of the traincar.

She reacted quickly. Years of backbreaking chores had increased her dexterity and strength. Most of her town (Muskwater) was increasingly strong because of the hostile environment and given the area a slight reputation. Her family however, had lived in the swampiest area of the town lands.(Which was unfortunately to the east, while train station was to the west. Meaning she had to walk through the entire Celestia-damn town to get to the train. More walking for her, she supposed.) This meant she was stronger than most, if not all, of the colts in her school. And perhaps a few of the grown-stallions as well. She quickly seized the handles, using her upper-body strength to swing into the train car, landing limbs sprawling. A echoing thump thundering through the train-cars. All the heads turned.

Murky Reeds stood up, dusting herself off. She matched eyes with a purple-maned stallion. "What are you looking at!" The stallion quickly swiveled his head away. She stared daggers at a few more curious ponies, they to looking away out of fear. Come to think of it, all of these people probably heard her squeal and heard her clinging to the carpet. "Bastards!" She said pointedly, her gaze flickering over ponies with their heads sharpley tilted down. None of them had come to help her. Her eyes darted around for empty seats. Most of the train was full, and the only seat her eyes could find was one right across from an older-looking stallion with glasses and a book. She sat down with a "Harumph."

The older stallion quietly raised his eyes from his book. (Harry Trotter, The Half-Blood Prance.) And softly raised one eyebrow. He took in what was in front of him. A sixteen-year-old filly with a backpack stacked to the brim with supplies. Covered in mud and splinters, she wore a grizzly frown and stared daggers at him from her seat. "What in the actual Tartarus happened to you?" He said in genuine confusion. Her scowl turned into a smoldering gaze. "Well..." She took a deep breath in. "SowhenIwasyoungerIgotaterriblecutie-markwhichmeantIwasgoodatlandmarkpainting.Whichfuckingsucks,andthenafterthatallmyclassmatescalledmeBobMoss,liketheartist,youknow?SoIhadanidentitycrisisandbecametotallylameuntillikethreemonthsagowhenthatnewlawwaspassedanditshockedmeinto action. SothentodayIhadtowakeupatfuckingthree.In.The.Morning! Whichissofuckedup, anywayIhadtowalk throughthis reallymustyforestforlikefourhours-" As the mystery-mare continue to ramble, the older gentle-stallion rolled his extremely educated eyes, and lowered his eyes back onto his book. This was going to be a long ride. The mares rambling created a deafening-background noise. He sighed. This was going to be a long train ride.

=================================***===================================

The gentle-stallion got off the train at the stop right before Pondon. At this point, most of the car was empty, and only him, Murky Reed, and a small few passengers remained. He tipped his black velvet hat. "Goodbye, ramble-filly." Murky Reed rolled her eyes, but waited as the gentle-stallion left the seat. "Thank you." She blurted. The stallion turned. , surprised. "For what?" "For the conversation." The stallion grinned and waved his ivory cane. "Till we meet again." Murky Reed nodded. He quietly left the car, his book tucked under his front leg(Which no doubt, he had already finished.) As the train pulled out of the station, she saw him slowly waving from the platform. Steam plumed at the edges of her window- no doubt the engine starting. And as the train pulled out, she had the strangest feeling. Loneliness. So as she train sped towards the murky grey sky, Murky Reed could only feel the unbearable burden of responsibility rest on her shoulders. As she rested her head against the cushioned seat, for some reason, she could not shake the feeling that perhaps, she was destined for greatness.

Author's Note

Hey guys! Chapter two here, reporting for duty! Hope you like it, this is just some set up for the future. (Foreshadowing!) HAve a great day, and thank you for reading. Seriously.