Author's Note

The following answer to this question will affect the story as a whole, so please take time to consider your response.

From what I can see, this story could take around seven chapters to complete, for the short version.

I actually was lying in my bed yesterday, thinking about the next steps I could take for this story when a thought crossed my mind, one where I could easily double the number of chapters, effectively turning this from a small novel to a decently sized series of chapters.

I know you guys like this story, the 30:4 ratio proves that, and I want to treat you guys with the best I can (this also applies to you, Shadowpony300, since you were the one who requested this story). So I'm giving you guys a choice.

a) You guys choose the short version of the story, which would mean an easier load for me, but less action. Even though it's the 'short' version, it still might end up hitting maybe ten chapters if I extend things, but seven is what I see to be the most chapters the short version would have.

b) You guys choose the long version of the story, allowing me to use my full potential and bring so much stuff to the table. Even if this story ends up in the tens, the twenties, the thirties, and so forth number of chapters, I'll happily do it. Of course, with a longer number of chapters to write, I might end up having some days where my progress is slowed down, but I promise to go full speed ahead with this story until it finishes either way.

You choose.

The link is here: https://strawpoll.com/rk28dagfp

You have up until the next chapter to respond, as I'll need to know which way to go, so I guess Sunday would be a good day to finish voting.

Anyway hope you enjoy this chapter, and I'll see you guys next time.

Sahel

Chapter 3:

After walking for much of the remaining time, the two found themselves at the entrance of a large military base. Large walls had been erected around the entire facility, preventing people from getting inside, and four watchtowers on each corner helped spot anybody who tried to get in for whatever reason. After showing the zebra guarding the entrance their papers, the two were granted access inside the area.

From what he could tell, the scenery reminded Midnight much of the capital's infrastructure. On one side, tents were arranged in rows as far as the eye could see. On the other, more modern buildings had been erected, including one large one that the two were walking towards. The blue pegasus noticed how one of the doors of the camp led towards the jungle. Did the zebras train in the wild as well?

As the two approached the large building though, Zuri froze in her tracks as she saw somebody in front of them. Immediately she bowed down towards the ground, with Midnight following suit as he realized who he was in the presence of.

“My King, it’s good to see you!” Zuri said as the two slowly raised themselves back. It was at that moment that the blue pegasus got a good look at the ruler of the Zebrican Empire. The first thing he noticed was the King’s clothes. His tunic and headband were made of pure silk gold, his neck was adorned with a necklace made with pearls, and his wrists and ankles were encased with golden rings. The second thing Midnight noticed was how ripped he was in places his muscles could be seen. His chest, arms, and stomach were as toned as one could ever hope to achieve, placing him with people like Shining Armor or Big Mac in that category. He was also rather tall, being six feet, causing Midnight to feel short since he was only five and a half feet tall.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, your Majesty.” The blue pegasus said, trying to be respectful towards the monarch. The tall zebra male smiled at him before extending his hand towards him.

“Pleasure to meet you too Midnight. My name is Sahel, and I can’t wait to see what you can do to help our country improve. Please, come inside.” King Sahel said as he walked towards the entrance, the guards at the front of the entrance immediately bowing down towards him while opening the door. The blue pegasus was about to follow in before noticing Zuri standing in place.

“Uhm… you’re not coming?” Midnight asked in confusion as he waited for her to respond. She let out a sigh before nodding.

“Nope. I’m technically not allowed in this place, as I only came to guide you here. You’ll be fine though.” The zebra guide stated as she smiled at him. The blue pegasus let out a sigh, sad that she couldn’t follow him, before giving her a smile of his own.

“Thanks Zuri, for everything you’ve done for me. Hope to see you later!” Midnight said as he waved goodbye.

“Later!” Zuri said as she allowed him to walk away, the stallion looking back as he walked into the building, before turning away as the doors closed behind him. As he looked up to the King, he could see an amused face on the zebra, which caused him to be confused. “Uhm… did I do something?” Midnight asked. Sahel simply chuckled before looking ahead.

“Just interested in your interactions with her. Do you… like her?” The King asked, causing Midnight to freeze. The stallion simply tugged the collar of his shirt as he nervously stared at him.

“Erm… She has been friendly to me.”

“How ‘friendly’?” Sahel asked with a sly look, shocking Midnight. He never expected the King himself to be asking these types of questions!

“Why me!? Why me!?” The blue pegasus mentally yelled. The ruler of the Zebrican Empire raised an eyebrow as he noticed Midnight’s silence.

“Well?” The King asked again. The stallion simply scratched his head in embarrassment.

“Just friendly. But sir, if I can ask, could we please go ahead so that I could do what I came here to do!” Midnight asked. He never wanted to die more than ever at this moment. The King simply laughed out loud a bit before calming himself down.

“Alright, I think I’ve enjoyed myself over your reaction a bit too much. Let’s just go then.” Sahel stated as they continued to walk. As they neared a set of double doors though, Midnight could hear some commotion on the other side. Hearing this as well, the King gave the motion for the blue pegasus to step aside before ordering the doors to be opened. As the guards opened the door, Midnight could see two zebras brawling in the center of what seemed to be a training room, though everything seemed to have been messed up due to the fight. Frowning at this display, Sahel took a deep breath before letting out a roar that would’ve made Luna proud.

“Alright, just what in the world is going on here?!” The King yelled, causing Midnight’s ears to ring and nearly making the poor stallion collapse onto the floor. Immediately the two bickering zebras stopped fighting, revealing a zebra mare who had a poor male in a headlock. The female soldier froze for a moment upon seeing the King before giving the stallion one final punch, much to the monarch’s chagrin.

Before he could even ask who started it, every zebra in the room pointed a finger towards the female warrior, causing her to shrink a bit. The King facepalmed himself for a moment before giving her a stern glare.

“Do you want me to expel you, miss?” Sahel asked. The female zebra’s eyes darted around before looking back at the king as she found no words to say. “Well!?”

The mare looked down at the stallion she had been hitting as a flash of anger appeared on her face. It became clear to Midnight that even in front of the King himself, she had the absolute urge to pummel the stallion into the ground, and if possible, set off an earthquake while doing so. That’s how much anger the blue pegasus could see in her eyes, which unsettled him.

“This guy has been looking at me with his horny eyes for the entire week right now! I simply gave him what he deserved!” The mare stated as she lifted the stallion’s head, probably to pummel him to the ground before freezing as the King glared at her with his eyes, causing her to cancel her action.

“Tell me one thing, Kali. Why did you choose to do it today at this hour!? You know that the military advisor was to come today! Why screw things over and give us a bad reputation by pulling this stunt right now!?” Sahel yelled at the zebra. It was at that moment where Kali noticed Midnight and frowned, causing the pegasus to freeze as he found himself under her glare. Even though the mare was only an inch or two bigger than Midnight, it felt as if she was seven feet tall.

“Well, I just wanted to give somebody an example of what I’ll do to them if they ever try to do something funny,” Kali stated as she crossed her arms. The King simply rolled his eyes as he realized who she was talking about.

“Well rest assured that he won’t be trying anything, right Midnight?” Sahel asked, causing Midnight to freeze as he realized all the attention was on him.

“Y-Yeah right! I’m a workaholic! I have no time to think about anything other than the military!” The blue pegasus said with a nervous laugh which trailed off as the female warrior raised an eyebrow at him.

“Uh-huh… I highly doubt that.” Kali stated before suddenly appearing in front of him, causing Midnight to yelp as she drew in to whisper something to him. “If I ever catch you looking at my chest or ass, I’ll make sure to break those balls of yours, got it?” The mare threatened, causing Midnight to sweat.

“Uhm, ya! Thanks for the motivational speech!” The blue pegasus nervously said. He was thankful that his eyes had obeyed him this one time and had not gone on their journey to look over her body, as if they subconsciously knew how painful her punishment would be if they had examined her. To his surprise, she grinned upon hearing his response.

“You're welcome.” The mare said before pulling back. The King however was not amused by her threatening Midnight.

“Since you gave him such a motivational speech Kali, I think he’s ready to train all of these warriors, don’t ya think?” Sahel asked, causing her to freeze before turning around to face Sahel.

“Don’t tell me you’re serious about that,” Kali said, her voice becoming just a whisper. The monarch nodded and even smiled a bit.

“Yes I am serious. As for you, I think a little break to cool off your mind would be recommended.” The King said with a kind voice, seemingly forgetting, or at least trying to forget what just had happened a few moments ago. “Maybe a few days at an Equestrian beach wouldn’t hu-”

“Then I challenge Midnight to a duel!” Kali yelled fiercely as she pointed to the blue pegasus, causing Sahel to deadpan and Midnight to sweat.

“I was afraid you would ask that… wait… he isn’t a zebra, no offense there Midnight, so you can’t simply challenge him Kali. That would go against the ancient traditions!” The monarch stated with a frown. Midnight was about to let out a sigh of relief when he froze as the female warrior turned her gaze at him and placed a cruel smile on her face.

“Oh, he will accept, right Midnight?” The mare asked him. It was at that moment where the blue pegasus realized the true gravity of the situation. If Kali was so willing to punch the poor zebra soldier and threaten him in front of the King, then she’d certainly destroy him the moment Sahel wasn’t looking. If he accepted though, then she wouldn’t hold back from bringing the apocalypse on him. She had pinned him between a rock and a hard place for sure, the only thing he could do was to figure out which of the two options would statistically give him the greater chance to survive.

“Y-Yeah… I accept…” Midnight answered nervously. The King simply let out a sigh as he saw the situation unfold while Kali grinned like the devil.

“I guess I’ll announce this to the public. You shame me Kali.” Sahel stated as he left the room. The mare frowned for a moment before shrugging it off. The moment the door clicked she immediately began to laugh like a maniac as she ‘lightly’ punched Midnight in the shoulder, causing him to be pushed back by a good amount.

“You fool! You weren’t a zebra so you weren’t officially obligated to accept the challenge! If you had waited for a moment he could’ve had enough time to think of something to defend you from me. But it’s too late! You accepted the duel, sealing a contract that you can’t back away from anymore! I’m going to have so much fun punishing you there!” Kali exclaimed, causing Midnight to sweat as he realized he had been an idiot, even though he felt his logic made sense a few seconds ago.

“But what did I ever do to you!?” The blue pegasus yelled, only to sweat as Kali appeared in front of his face again, leaning forwards while whispering to make sure nobody but him heard what she said next

“How about planting your face between my older sister’s chest and flirting with my younger sister in her room?” The female warrior stated with a cold stare, causing Midnight to freeze as he realized she knew what had happened between him and her sisters.

“H-How did you know?” The blue pegasus asked nervously, stuttering in fear. It was at that moment where he took notice of her yellow eyes, which glowed like a tiger’s eyes would in the night. The mare continued to whisper into his ear, making him feel as if a predator’s jaws were around his neck, ready to tear him apart.

“Oh, I know, because I can see everything. That night where Tisha’s phone rang, that was me. That morning when you two were about to get down and dirty, I sent Zuri just in time to stop you. Of course, she didn’t know what was happening, but I knew. And I’m going to make sure you pay dearly for messing with them.” Kali stated with another grin.

“But they were just accidents! I had no control over what happened!” Midnight yelled, only to feel unsettled as she pulled back and began to laugh.

“Oh Midnight, to me it didn’t matter whether it was intentional or not. You disgraced me, and to gain my honor back…” The mare smiled as she closed in on the pegasus once more to whisper one last thing.

“I’ll make sure you’ll never feel anything down there ever again.”

The stallion simply froze as she finished her sentence, the mare pulling away with a smile.

“Hope you’re as good as they say you are, cause I won’t be holding back. See ya later.” Kali said as she rudely opened the door before exiting, leaving Midnight in a sweaty mess.

“I’m so screwed if I lose, ain’t I?” The blue pegasus nervously thought to himself as he tried to fill his mind with positive thoughts. “Don’t worry, you’ve trained for years since you were a kid, you got your parent’s talent, and you’re motivated by the fact that if you fail you’ll experience the closest thing to being gelded… ok that was not a positive thought…

I’m so screwed I’m so screwed I’m so screwed!”