“Captain Magnet Bolt, is the area all clear for us to move?” questioned a voice coming from the southeast of his station.
Magnet Bolt stood firmly, surveilling left and right, looking north and south for any signs of anyone not on his side. The ground ahead was flat, dirt covered what used to be the old roadway to travel from town to town, and any trees that still remained standing were long since dead to the world.
“It is all clear! Proceed with caution soldiers. We don’t know what we might not see nor hear.” Captain Magnet bolt commanded, tone firm and steady as he pointed his hoof out ahead of him. Before turning around to climb down the tower he had been surveying from to join the rest of his teammates.
“Hey, Captain. Everyone else is already ahead of us. What took you so long?” Long Barrel teased and lightly jabbed him in the shoulders.
“Now rookie, you ought to show me more respect or you’ll end up in the dungeons for harassing a superior officer.” Magnet Bolt reprimanded him.
“It was just a joke, sheesh.”
“We are soldiers, we don’t have the time nor luxury to “joke” around. Now tell me are you a soldier or a clown? Because I don’t have any room in my army platoon for clowns.”
Long Barrel sighed heavily, as he bit his bottom lip and followed behind his superior officer. Long Barrel couldn’t help looking down at the dirt, was this the life he would have? Not knowing when he’d ever see his family again, and constantly degraded by the others for being the “new one” of the bunch. All his training, all this time spent to get here. Was it worth it? What was out there for him?
The army continued traveling on. Long Barrel ended up at the tail end of the team, like he always did. He tried to keep pace, but he wasn’t as strong nor as fast as some of the others.
“Hurry it up, you mud hoofed sissy prick!” shouted Commander Magnet Bolt from the front of the line. “Or get left behind.”
“Yeah, I’m coming. Hold your darn hats on…” Long Barrel replied through ragged breaths. No matter what, he had to keep pushing forward. The army was the best chance for his family, what was left of it, to have a chance in this world filled with the rich hoarding their bits over one's less fortunate. Ones like him that had to sign up for the army or else live a life forever in poverty.
Captain Magnet Bolt was the leader of the platoon, and not only that, he had many awards for serving his country over the years. His significance and his attitude were further proof of how well life could be if one followed through with orders and regulations, but the question was what happened to the ones like Long Barrel that just wanted a chance to prove themselves to help their family, but ended up being squandered by what society demanded of him.
Many years later~
Flash Sentry was a young stallion with bright yellow fur, deep blue mane and tail, a bit spiky and playful in the front, with the cutie mark of a lightning bolt within a shield on his flank. Flash had finally turned eighteen, meaning he was old enough to join the military. It was a dream of his since he was just a colt to follow in the ways of his idol, Magnet Bolt.
He yawned out loud as he jumped right out of bed, and headed straight for the bathroom to prepare for his first day. His acceptance letter had literally arrived the day after his birthday, it seemed like he wasn’t the only one excited about his joining the army.
They needed as much help as they could get, and Flash Sentry swore to himself to be one of the best soldiers of them all. Standing there in front of the mirror, he puffed out the fur of his chest, trying to look tough, while grinning.
“Hello, I am Flash Sentry, and I will fight for my country and make the world a better place.” He spoke to the mirror. He tried to imagine the mirror as maybe a teacher, advisor, or maybe a soldier with far more experience. He leaned forward, bowing his head in respect. “I swear to uphold the declarations of the military, and will give my life if it comes to that.”
“Flash! Flash!” said a feminine voice at the door, knocking rapidly within seconds. “Will you hurry up there, some of us also need to use the bath.”
“Okay, mom.” Flash replied, sighing. He took one last look at himself in the mirror, before brushing his teeth, and finishing styling his mane. He wanted to make a good first impression after all. He exited the bathroom, gesturing with a hoof for one of his two moms to go inside now.
“Thank you!” she yelped a bit, as she hurried and locked the door behind her.
Flash shrugged. “Must be that time of month again.” And went to the living room to find his other mom, Storm Front making breakfast.
“Hey, Flash. Are you ready for your first day?” she asked him, not even looking at him, while flipping pancakes.
Flash could feel his own drool, and quickly wiped it off of his face. He loved pancakes. He went into the kitchen, being careful to stay out of the way of the hot stove. “You need any help”
“Thank you for offering, but no I’m just fine. Why don’t you set the table?” Storm Front suggested, gesturing towards the cabinet.
Flash nodded, and went to get the tablecloth, putting it over their oval table, and then he went to the cabinets to fetch the plates, setting down three plates each. Then he went over to the silverware drawer to fetch utensils for them to use. Though, he was almost tempted to dive in head first, but he needed to show some restraint. He wasn’t going to have these breakfast’s in the army. He’d be lucky if he even had time for breakfast.
It occurred to him that this was the last time he’d be eating with his two moms for some time. If he had thought about it more, he could have done something special for them. They raised him after all, and he knew this was hard on them both, even if neither of them would say it to his face. They were proud, but they were also sad to see him signing up.
Sitting down with them felt awkward now, but he did his best to not let them notice. He smiled, and licked his lips when his mom gave him a big pile of pancakes with extra bananas and even some nuts. He loved the texture whenever he took a bite. He dug into his pancakes and felt like a colt all over again.
Once breakfast was over, his other mom, Forte was cleaning up the mess, and smiling at him. He saw the teary eyed look in her hazel eyes but said nothing. He stood up, went to collect his backpack for the trip, and looked at both of them as he approached the door.
“Mom…” he began as he looked at both of them. “I know you’d never say it, so I will. I know this isn’t easy. I know how much you two have sacrificed but I have to do this. I feel my cutie mark telling me this is my future, to be a soldier. Promise me, that no matter what happens, you’ll both still love me just the same. Can you do that?”
“Of course we can, Flash.” Forte replied first, stepping forward and embracing her son.
“Of course we can, Flash.” Storm Front said, smiling too, and embracing him in a big hug, that particularly took the wind out of him.
“Thank you, both of you. Without the two of you raising me, I don’t know what would have become of me.”
“It’s no problem, Flash. We were more than happy to have a child of our own. We love you.” Forte declared, kissing him on the cheek.
“Mom…I’m too old for that!” he groaned, but secretly he enjoyed the attention he got from them. He never knew his real parents, his mom’s once told him he was better off not knowing, and maybe they were right, but a part of him couldn’t help but wonder what they were like.
Flash Sentry opened the door to the outside world, and took in a deep breath steadying himself for the long journey ahead. With that, he closed the door and continued walking until he arrived at the academy. The walk was casual enough, most of the ponies around simply waved to him, but as he got closer to the building where all the soldiers would be, the more concerned looks he got from the passerbyers on the road. Some were also heading to the very same building, and there was a bunch gathered around the entrance.
“Hey there, welcome to the party!” A male voice beside him spoke up. This stallion was completely pitch black and had light cyanish gray with lighter streaks of white, his cute mark a cloud with a thunderbolt.
“You call this a party?” Flash questioned him, blinking and staring at the stallion before him. This guy didn’t exactly look cut out to be a soldier, but then again you couldn’t judge on looks alone.
“Yeah, you gotta lighten up a bit. If you take this too seriously, you’ll end up like that guy over there.” he pointed to a stallion who was tending to his garden, watering plants.
The stallion pointed out to him had an orange coat, white mane and tail, blue eyes, and a cutie mark of four green gemstones on his flank. The stallion wore a simple white garment covering most of his body, but his cutie mark was easily able to be seen since he was leaning forward to water plants.
“You see that guy, he used to be a soldier, turns out he took things a bit too seriously, and got into trouble for it,” the stallion explained “Nowadays he just takes care of his garden like it’s some kind of pet project. Trust me, you don’t want to end up like him. So lighten up, okay?
“Okay…” Flash replied, mainly to get Thunderlane off his back for a minute. He took his time to really look at that stallion in his yard, the way he cared for his plants was admirable, compassionate, and filled with love. It reminded him of the love his parents had shown him.
He didn’t have to have flowers, or a garden and yet he took a lot of pride in his work, especially having a house so close to the military building. Maybe there was more to this stallion than meets the eye.
The doors to the building finally opened, and two soldiers escorted the group of stallions inside. Flash couldn’t help but notice there were no mares here. Were they not allowed to sign up, or perhaps it was separated by gender. He thought the very idea of that was stupid, if ponies wanted to fight, he saw no reason to separate them. But, it wasn’t his place to question them, he was just a rookie after all.
He took his seat in the second row. He avoided sitting near Thunderlane, not liking the attitude he had taken back at the entrance. He tried to focus on what laid ahead for him, but his mind kept going back to the stallion and his plants.
“I wonder what his story is…” He whispered under his breath. He didn’t want anyone to hear him thinking out loud.
The entire group waited for their instructor.
Flash found himself daydreaming while he waited, he dreamt about getting to know that stallion, hearing tales of his days in the army, and finding out the truth. There had to be more than just “he took things too seriously” that didn’t make a half apple pie baked sense. Heck, him thinking of it like that, made no sense.
“Alright, everyone, it is time for all of you to learn a thing or two. First thing, you will all call me Major Mare, and I don’t want to hear any back talk about me being female or you’ll be doing fifty pushups and get time in the bunker, so unless you really want to piss me off, and work your tail off, don’t do that.” Instructed Major Mare.
A female… instructor? So it was separated then, so why were there no mare’s applying to be soldiers?
“The second thing is, if you’re not willing to lay down your life for the sake of Equestria, then I highly suggest you stand up right now, and leave the way you came in. I’m sure some of you saw that stallion outside watering his plants. He’s one of the lucky ones, he didn’t die.”
The entire class gulped as they listened to a tragic story about a group of soldiers, most of whom were now long gone.
“I would rather not waste my time on wannabe’s. This isn’t a job, this is your whole life. You are allowing us to use you in any way we see fit, some of you might actually survive. If you’re lucky enough to do that, you might even go as far to be a hero like Magnet Bolt someday!” Major Mare explained to them.
“I’ll give you all ten minutes to decide. Anyone who isn't willing to do what it takes, leave. Be sure to leave your registration papers at my desk, and I’ll write you off as having never shown up. Better than the humiliation of being here and being weak.”
In that entire ten minutes, a group of ten stallions had gotten up and handed in their registration papers. In that time, Flash had stared at the chalkboard, the empty blackness wasn’t much to look at, but it gave him an excuse to allow his mind to wander. He didn't want to come off as rude or prudish, or worse, as not paying attention when the time was finally over.
“Alright, that’s the last of them,” began Major Mare looking at the reminder of the soldiers left in her classroom. “Fifty of you, that’s more than last year. Good work all of you, you all passed your first test. However, don’t get cocky, there’s still a lot to become a soldier. Allow me to start with the basics.”
Flash got out his spiral notebook and his quill that both of his moms had given him, and started writing at the very top.
“Notes to not die.”
It might have been easier to just write notes and be done with it, but he wanted to always remember what he was putting on the table. All of him. This wasn’t a game, and it wasn’t a job, this was a solemn duty, and only those who were truly sincere would make it through. He glanced around the room, and found that Thunderlane had been one of the ones to leave. Served him right.
“You there in the front, what is the most important part of being a soldier?” she asked, a bright red earth pony with blonde mane and tail. His cutie mark was a giant green apple, it was hard for Flash not to gawk at it longer than necessary. The stallion had quite the physique and barely fit into the seats provided.
“Serving your country, madam!” replied the red earth stallion with vigor in his voice. His voice was commanding, stern, and yet it had a certain acoustic charm to it. It was hard not to get distracted by this stallion’s charming nature.
“That is correct, thank you soldier.” Major Mare replied flatly, not even blinking as she turned around and began writing on the chalkboard, while giving her lesson at the same time. She didn’t even have to look at them, to know if they were paying attention or not.
Flash watched a few ponies trying to talk to one another, and the second it happened, a clunky eraser next to the chalkboard easily hit the two of them back to back.
“If you want to talk, do so after class is over. Right now, the only thing I should hear is your quil moving on the paper.”
Flash Sentry felt a sweatdrop slowly trailing down the side of his face. He wanted to wipe his mane, but he found himself absorbed in note taking; not wanting to risk attracting the unwanted attention of his teacher.
The bell finally rang, signaling the end of their class. No one dared to move, despite all of the class looking to the door. They waited for the clear to leave for the day.
“Alright, class you may leave. I will see you all back here in the morning. And if anyone is late, they will suffer the consequences, so be sure to set an alarm.”
Flash waited for everyone else to leave first, shuffling his notes into his bag, and standing up from his desk. Mayor Mare looked directly at him, he could feel his blood rising, as he took a gulp for air. He hadn’t done anything wrong… so why was she looking at him like that?
“Excuse me, soldier. Might I know your name?” she asked kindly, and for the first time since the beginning of class, she actually acted like the mare she was, rather than a drill instructor.
“Flash Sentry, madam!” He replied, saluting her and standing as still as a rock, not daring to budge even one muscle out of place.
“At ease, soldier. I couldn’t help but notice the way you were looking at the stallion outside. Would you be so kind as to deliver a parcel to him for me?” she asked gently.
Flash relaxed his stance, and let out a sigh of relief. He was being given a task to deliver a package to that stallion. This was the perfect excuse to introduce himself, now if only he knew what he should say.
“Oh course, I would be more than happy to help. But, why not deliver it yourself?” Flash asked curiously, raising an eyebrow.
“Well, it’s because I’m the one that gave his team the mission that sent most of them to their death’s. It doesn’t seem right for me to bother him any longer. He served Equestria, and I just want him to be able to enjoy his retirement, even if that means he hates me forever.”
Flash looked from left to right, nervously fidgeting. How the heck was he supposed to respond to that?
“I promise to do all I can for Equestria, madam. I’m sure he knew what he was getting into, you should talk to him. I’ll deliver the package today, but really think about it. Is this what he would want, for you to sulk in your sorrow forever? You are just doing your job as an instructor. You aren’t to blame for what happened out on the field. I can tell, you’re a great instructor by how passionate you are, so don’t give up the fight, soldier.”
Major Mare smiled as Flash left with the package in his hooves.
“He’s gonna be a great soldier. He reminds me of you, Magnet. May Equestria shine for all to see.”
The stallion wasn’t hard to find, he was still in his garden, but this time instead of tending to his plants he was sitting under a tree.
Flash Sentry gulped and nervously approached the stallion’s house. He held the parcel tightly in his hooves. He had been given a mission he would not fail. However, he could feel his heartbeat rising, and sweat drops forming on his face. Why was he so nervous about talking to a fellow soldier? Was it… was it because he thought he was really hot?
“Excuse me, sir?” He began, as he felt his whole body quiver. Forcing himself to move past his body’s protesting, he gently smiled towards the stallion. “I have a package for you.”
The stallion turnt to look at him, and then at the package.
“I wasn’t expecting company. Hello there, young buck, you got a name?” he asked, tilting his head at him, and just seeming to look him up and down.
Flash felt him looking, and tensed up, his muscles twitched, and he had to control his body from shivering and force himself to stand tall, and alert, like a good soldier should.
“You are too rigid in your stance. At ease, soldier,” The stallion interjetted after surveying the situation before him. “Are you nervous son? I assure you, I ain’t nothing to be scared of. I am retired, I can't fight anymore.”
“My name is Flash sir, Flash Sentry!” He announced boldly, saluting the fellow soldier, and then quickly putting his hoof back down on the ground. He delicately handed the package to the other soldier. “What about you sir? Do you also have a name?”
“That’s a silly question, yes I do have a name. It’s Emerald Green.” Emerald said, while shaking his head. “Come into my garden Flash. Allow me to show you it’s wonders. Maybe that’ll help your anxious nerves.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Emerald is fine, we aren’t on the field when you are here.” He interrupted Flash before he could continue.
Emerald put his package on the back porch and began to give a grand tour of his garden, sharing with Flash all of the beauty he had helped to grow.
“You certainly have a lot of flowers. Have you always liked to garden?” Flash asked curiously, as he noted there was a special marking next to each flower, something was scribbled on the paper marking, but it was hard to read against the soil that had collected over it.
Emerald looked back at Flash, and then to the flower garden. “I see you found them.”
“Them?” asked Flash, his ear twitching, and looking at him quizzically. What did he mean by them? They were just flowers, right?
“My comrades soldier. I’m sure you were told by the instructor at the academy about me. How I was the only one to survive.”
“She did say something about it, yeah… So all of these flowers are for them?”
“Each flower represents my comrades, yes, but it’s more than just that.” began Emerald, as he closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, before exhaling. He put his hoof onto the young soldier’s shoulder and lightly pressed his weight against him.
“Flash… you’re so young. Like a new seed just planted and allowed to bloom. All these stallions were once just like you. All of them had dreams, aspirations, and most importantly family. Families that will never get their son back, all because he sacrificed his life for the greater good. It’s not right. I once believed I was doing the right thing, but nowadays, I can’t look at that place the same way ever again...” Emerald explained, giving Flash the lightest of hugs, before picking up a water pail to help the flowers bloom.
Flash sat there silently. He fidgeted awkwardly on his rump, unsure what to say, or even how to say it. He stared at the flowers, and he began to understand why there were so many of them. Why this stallion cared for them so much, it was like this was his way of honoring them, long after they were gone.
That had to be the sweetest, most bittersweet thing he had ever heard. He could feel his tears beginning to form, as he snorted in an attempt to hide his emotions. Soldiers weren’t supposed to get caught up in the turmoils of feelings. They had to be strong, in order to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves for the good of Equestria, and if need be, lay down their very lives to protect those ponies.
At what cost though? Their families would lose a son, and fellow soldiers lost a friend, and a lot of soldiers were not remembered in the same way as the famous hero Magnet Bolt.
He lost it, he started sobbing. Stiffening as he tried to regain control of his emotions, but he felt the familiar hoof of the stallion embracing him in a one arm hug; lightly patting him on the back.
“It’s okay to cry, it’s okay to feel, it’s okay to be vulnerable…” Emerald said, and allowed Flash time to grieve. He didn’t even know any of them, and yet he wept for these soldiers. Emerald smiled and couldn’t help looking up towards the sky.
Flash cried, and cried and just sat there for what felt like hours. He finally took a deep breath in, realizing the stallion he was here to talk to, had wandered back into his house.
“Wait!” he scrambled to his hooves and went to the screen door. The stallion was already inside, and hadn’t heard him. “Man… I wanted to talk to him more.”
Flash snorted, and kicked at the ground beneath his hooves. “Stupid! I’m such an idiot!”
He sighed one last time, looking at the back porch and seeing the package was still there. Perfect. He knocked on the screen door, maybe Emerald had just forgotten?
Emerald answered the door, but instead of the white robe he wore, now he was wearing an apron, which did not hide the muscles of the older stallion. His physique was well toned, rigged and muscular. Every inch of him was mouthwatering. He found himself wanting to drool, but quickly focused on Emerald’s eyes, and tried his damndest not to think about what he might be packing underneath his hind legs.
“What is it, Flash? Don’t you have a place to stay during your service?” asked Emerald, rolling his eyes. This stallion was a bit too eager to please.
“It’s your package sir. If you leave it out here, it might get ruined by the rain later.”
Emerald blinked, not registering immediately what Flash meant.
“Listen, Private. Don’t go tellin’ another stallion how to handle their package. Go play with your own if you’ve got nothing better to do!”
Flash’s cheeks turned bright red, he felt heat rushing through his body, as he tried to murmur an incoherent reply.
Emerald sighed and was closing the door, when Flash put his whole body in the archway.
“WAIT,” He stammered, catching his breath. “I meant the package you left outside, you know the parcel that Major Mare wanted me to deliver?”
Emerald’s cheeks turned a soft shade of pink, as he seemed to realize his mistake. “Oh… that package. Sorry, Flash, I don't know what I was thinking.”
“It’s alright, it was an honest mistake.” Flash replied with a shrug. He just hoped he could control his inner urges now that the stallion had brought up packages, and packing, and wondering just how well he was packed. There was way too much focus on thoughts that were gonna drive him crazy with lust. He was definitely going to need a cold shower after he got back to the base.
“I’ll get it, thanks for letting me know. And uh, Flash, when you talk to Major Mare again, can you give her something for me?”
“Of course, I’d be more than happy to help. She told me she was the one that gave you the mission.”
“She did, but it wasn’t her fault that things went south. I don’t blame her at all. I actually miss her visits, she used to check on me. Now, I have no one to ask me how’s the weather every morning.”
“I could.” He offered. Flash felt a slightly gut wrenching feeling, that it was wrong of him to take Major Mare’s place.
Emerald smiled slightly. “I’d like that.”
Flash couldn’t help but smile back, he couldn’t put his nose on it, but Emerald was special. He wanted to know all he could about him. Flash stopped by Emerald’s garden on his way out, looking down at all the beautiful flowers.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. He didn’t actually have any seeds to plant his own flower, but he took a moment to close his eyes, and prayed for the fallen soldiers, and their families. It was time to go, after all Flash had his own role to fill. He was a soldier now, and a good soldier doesn’t cry over loss. Losses were expected in military life, it wasn’t like you could avoid it forever. Realizing how young he was, he realized now more than ever, why his mother’s were so sad about his choice. A choice he had decided to make when he had earned his mark. Something called him to fight, and fight he would.
Entering the building, he first went back to the classroom where Major Mare had been. She wasn’t there though. The classroom was void of any pony. Flash took the time to look at the chalkboard, notes filling the blackboard, as he tried to memorize all of them without actually taking notes.
He hadn’t realized he’d been standing there for a good ten minutes, until he heard a loud familiar voice.
“Flash Sentry, what in Celestia’s name are you still doing here? You should go to your bunker and rest.”
“Oh, hey Major Mare, I was actually looking for you, but I got caught up in your notes here. I didn’t have my notebook with me, so I was um… trying to memorize the board.” Flash Sentry said, blushing.
“Memorizing the board? You have quite the dedication I see, however don’t work yourself to death. You need to focus on just learning right now, and learning takes time. Don’t be frustrated if you don’t get it all perfect. Even the best soldiers had to go through some hiccups in order to become the war heroes they are today. Did you know, Magnet Bolt, your favorite hero if I recall, has his own scars? Try not to push yourself too hard, too fast. That will help no pony,” Major Mare explained, putting a hoof to his shoulder. “Now, Flash, what is it you wanted to see me for?”
“I wanted to tell you that Emerald doesn’t blame you for what happened. He told me he misses your visits. You should just go talk to him. I think… I think he’s been lonely,” Flash whimpered, that anguishing guilt from earlier sinking into his gut further. He couldn’t just take Major Mare’s place, the two had known each other long before he had even known their names.
“Oh…” Major Mare said, staring down at the floor, before puffing out her chest and looking Flash in the eyes. “Thank you for that, Flash. I’ll try to get the courage to talk to him but for now, why don’t you keep an eye on him for me? He could certainly use a bit more cheer in his life, and you are remarkably goofy.”
Flash smirked a grin. “I get that a lot.” Without thinking, he leaned forward and gave Major Mare a hug, just a small gesture of friendliness.
Major Mare tensed up, but leaned into the hug, and then shooing Flash off to his room for the night.
Flash laid down in his bed, and found himself staring up at the ceiling. Even now, he couldn’t get that stallion off his mind. It was completely dark outside his small windows, and he could barely see the stars from his window. He closed his eyes, and prayed to the stars that he could impress not only his hero from the past, but his new found hero Emerald on how good a soldier he could be.
