The Sorrel Mare

Chapters

Chapter One: On Introductions
Chapter Two: On Training I
Chapter Three: On Korea I
Chapter Four: On Training II
Chapter Five: On Korea II

Chapter One: On Introductions

-Warrant Officer Aura Gleam, Equestrian Royal Guard-

Right, so. The fellas from your office said you’re working on a book. Want a few stories about Morning Sun in it, which I’m of course happy to oblige. Apologies in advance for the delay in my response--that ugly business over in Hayseed’s got my hooves pretty tied, as I’m sure you’ve been reading in the paper. I’ve wanted to sit down and give you a proper reply, though doing so has, according to previous attempts, been more difficult than one would assume.

After all, I have more than a few words to say about Reckless. You can trim this all you want for your book, so long as you don’t make me look like an idiot when you do so. I don’t imagine I’m the only pony with something to say about Morning Sun/Reckless.

(I’m gonna call her Reckless for the rest of this report. Yeah, it’s not her actual Equestrian name. But if the Wonderbolts can get away with calling eachother nonsense names, the Royal Guard can too. I wouldn’t do it without the blessings of the sorrel mare herself).

I first encountered her on a rescue mission, over in the Silver Mountains, outside the Crystal Empire. Woulda been... 04, I believe. Few years after the place showed up again... Recent, but not recent enough that folks hadn’t gotten comfortable doing some stupid crap in it.

We’d shoved off from Canterlot, actually. Crystal Empire Mission, but they needed some specialized support and the Crystal Empire’s Guard... Well. They weren’t exactly well equipped after the whole Sombra business. He’d had such a stronghold on the city’s guard that when he died or exploded or whatever the hell happened to him happened, it kinda died or exploded with him.

Tangent, I know. Got a habit of those, so sorry. Hope you’ve got a good editor.

Point is, they wanted a specialized group of guards to respond to a small party of ponies that had gone M.I.A somewhere out in the Silver Mountains, which is a couple clicks north-east of the Empire herself. A few hunters, out on a day trip that had taken a few days too long. Never the situation you wanna be in. We were three of us, heading out from Canterlot. Took the express route--a long range teleportation courtesy of Princess Twilight herself, where we promptly rendezvoused with the last pony who’d make up our rescue party--a Crystal Pony guide who knew the mountains better than any of us did. That meant there was four of us total. Me, our guide, and two earth pony guards. Reckless was one of them. I’d picked her when she’d volunteered, which, truth be told, I was a bit surprised by.

Well. A bit surprised by. See, Reckless was a bit of a greenhoof for that mission. She’d arrived in Equestria a few months earlier, and she’d moved through the ranks of the RG pretty quickly. Full of drive, determination, patience, kindness... All the things that the Princess’s promote and the Royal Guard endeavour to uphold each and every day. I remember being taken aback at first at how much fire was contained within this small little mare. When I found out her name was Morning Sun, I guess I wasn’t too surprised, either. Seemed only fitting.

I’d been briefing the squad on the mission and hunting down volunteers, and when I mentioned that the terrain of the Silver Mountains would be rugged, freezing, and dangerous, well. Reckless stepped forwards, not back.

“Know rugged. Know dangerous,” she says. “Snow, yes? Lots of snow?”

“That’s right. The mountains are well out of the Crystal Empire’s protective shield. Which means a lengthy trek, up dangerous terrain, in the cold.”

“Korea cold,” Reckless replied. “Korea dangerous.”

Korea’s where Reckless said she’s from. I looked into it once, did some digging. Didn’t really find much--Reckless’s accent is a little hard to pin down. I’ve worked with some kirin before, and they kinda sound like Reckless a little bit, at least the ones with a thicker accent. I dunno if maybe she has kirin heritage somewhere, or just grew up around them, but where exactly the mare came from is a bit of a mystery to me. Truth be told, I don’t really care all that much where somepony’s from if they’re even half as good a guard as Reckless was. And it’s not like I can really complain about the accent when I spent most of my time in training trying not to sound like a vulgar-mouthed Trottish orphan.

Far as I know, Korea is some small little village from someplace across the Celestial Sea. They’ve got kirin villages there, and I guess pony villages, too. Seems to me like Reckless came from one of those, but whenever I asked her she’d just describe Korea as ‘someplace far away’, and couldn’t really tell me where. She didn’t seem to know herself.

Anyways. Reckless volunteers first, of all the volunteers. She’s still only a few months out of training, but I can tell that in that time she’s itching to get out and do something exciting.

After we met up with our guide, we headed out immediately for the Silver Mountains. That woulda been... Well, a few weeks into the month of Fresh Frost, anyways. Lemme tell you, those winters up there are much colder than you’d assume, which is already pretty cold. I could tell Reckless was a bit taken aback by it... Even if she hadn’t said anything at first. Could kinda see it in her face, a little scowl, as soon as we’d gotten done shaking the teleportation ash off of us and taking stock of our surroundings. We’d met already enroute to our destination, which put us about a mile out of the Crystal Empire, pretty much right at the foot of the mountains.

I tossed the other three that’d come with us a parka. Reckless seemed a little bit... Well, confused, by hers. Like she didn’t know what to do with it at first. Like the garment wasn’t really all that familiar to her. But she watched the other guards get into their own, and quickly put two and two together.

“Like a blanket,” Reckless said softly, when I’d trotted over to lend a hoof. Y’know, magic. Telekinesis. Those buttons near the back of the parkas are a real chore to get without it.

“Basically... Don’t got parkas where you’re from?” I asked. The other ponies were distracted rigging up the sleigh we were hauling, which gave me and Reckless a moment to chat.

She shook her head. “No. Well, not for pony, anyway.”

“No? Well, it’s not really common for us either. But special circumstances and all that,” I replied. “You said a blanket? Is that traditional garb in Korea?”

“For ponies, yes,” Reckless said. “But not common, either. For importance.”

For importance.

I didn’t really press on that one. But I had to admit, it kinda was on my mind for the rest of that trek, as we started up the mountainside. Importance, huh? Reckless seemed like, well. A rookie, relatively speaking, at least in terms of her age. But she always talked about her past life in Korea like it were a full one. Full of it’s own trials, and difficulties, and growth. It was funny to me, how Reckless could make me feel like I was the rookie and she was the combat veteran, with just one little turn of phrase.

I digress.

We shoved off from the Crystal Empire and headed out for the Silver Mountains, which was a treacherous climb if ever there was one. The cold was biting, and it only got worse as we ascended. There’s a few points along that range where you don’t really have a choice but to climb out in the open, which means you’ve got the full fury of the Frozen North seemingly directed right at your sorry flank as you make a mockery of gravity’s constant perfection.

Reckless’s initial shock at the cold didn’t seem to slow her down. She adapted fast, and, unlike the other guards in tow, didn’t actually complain about it at all, far as I can recall. Even I slipped in a few curses, but Reckless? She just climbed up that mountain like she were part mountain goat. She’s a small little mare, and you’d be fooled into thinking it had some bearing on her abilities to carry her own weight. I know I was, initially. She lacked a lot of the muscle mass of a lot of her peers, more leg than the rest of them. Her build actually kinda reminded me of the build of those Saddle Arabians, if you know what I mean. She wasn’t big like 'em, but, well. At least in terms of leg-to-body ratio.

After, she’d tell me that in Korea, she was used to the same sort of terrain we’d been ascending. It was also a snowy and mountainous region, and part of her service history involved repeated treks up and down it, sometimes a dozen times or more in a single day. Under fire, at that.

It was... The second day of the climb, when we found our ponies. Two hunters-turned-climbers, both huddled together for warmth. Late stages of hypothermia, and frail as a newborn foal, the two of them. If we would’ve been even half a day later, I dunno if this story would be one I’d be able to tell you with pride.

By that point, my own troops were feeling the weight of the climb, too. Our sleep had been restless in the cold, amounting to no more than three hours of total stopped time, while we waited out the few hours of darkness before the sun rose once again. There was a weight behind a few of our steps, with me and Reckless leading the front of the charge at the beginning of the second ‘day’. Reckless was carrying most of the gear by that point, having slowly accumulated it from the backs of our increasingly put-out rookies the longer our ascent continued.

I ain’t saying any of this to disparage them, by the way. It’s probably easy to read this and think ‘em weak for, well. Not being strong enough. But I guarantee anypony willing to level those accusations hasn’t tried to climb the Silver Mountain Peaks in the midst of the most violent blizzard in the past few years.

We made contact with those climbers, and Reckless...

Well, it was like she’d been in the situation before. I guess she had, back in Korea. She didn’t waste a second... She trotted right up to them, and then she kneels herself down. The look they gave that sorrel mare when she trotted up to them, I figure it’ll probably be one I’ll think of when I need a good comforting for the rest of my life. I don’t think the climbers had seen us in the snow, and they’d been huddling together for warmth for so long, drifting in and out of consciousness, that when they saw Reckless it must’ve been like seeing Mother Epona herself comin’ down from the clouds to take them home. Heck, Reckless even looks like her a bit, now that I mention it.

They’re weak, so I have to trot over to help them. I swear on my life, I hauled both of them onto Reckless’s barrel, and she doesn’t really react much besides a little snort from her snout. A bit of a grunt, as she adapts to the weight. Then, in a voice rich with firmness and duty, she looks to me and says;

“Your mission... Lead on.”

I’m a bit taken aback, and I’m ready for her to collapse in front of me at any time. The climb had been treacherous on our own, and here was this mare makin’ the descent with two full grown ponies on her back.

We head down the mountain. I’m expecting to have to switch out with Reckless at any moment, or call forward one of the other rookies to take one of the climbers. But Reckless trucked her way down that entire mountain, stopping only a few times to catch her breath. The look on that mare’s face as we descended was something marvellous to behold. The clear sense of duty and purpose in her steely gaze was damned inspirational. If I’d been conflicted in my own resolve at any point on that descent, one look backwards would’ve set me straight. We’d been hoof-picked by Celestia herself to do a duty, and it was a duty that Reckless quite clearly had a great deal of pride representing.

We reached the base camp before sunfall. Reckless didn’t slow for the last leg of the descent, but I could see it was starting to weigh on her, the way her body was sagging, and the vapour was rising all around her as her breathing turned to panting.

I dunno how things would’ve gone, if I hadn’t that mare with me. I ain’t the strength of any mission... Unicorn, so I don’t imagine I ever will be. And the rookies I had with me, spirits bless ‘em... I dunno if either of them could’ve gotten one of those climbers down between the two of them.

I don’t have to worry about that, though. Reckless is the reason we saved two lives that day. And when this job gets tough, which... Trust me, it does. Gods, does it get tough, having to be around so much darkness and violence and ugliness day in and day out... And when that weight starts to crush down...

Well, I think of the look those climbers had, when Reckless started hauling them onto her back. And suddenly, I know exactly why I’m here, and why I’ll always be proud to call myself a Royal Guard alongside Reckless.

Chapter Two: On Training I

Former Equestrian Royal Guard Captain, Prince Shining Armor -

Like the majority of my friends and colleagues, I met Reckless in training.

The circumstances in which she came to the Equestrian Royal Guard sometime in mid-to-late ‘03 were unusual ones. Usually, and I won’t really bore you with the explicit details, a civvie needs to have been an Equestrian civvie for some time before they can be admitted into the training regiment for the Royal Guard. Enough time to veto whether they’re part of an enemy’s intelligence, and whether they have Equestria’s best interests in mind.

Reckless was... Fast-tracked, through such a system. Done so on the explicit orders of Princess Celestia, herself, in fact. I’d divulge the reasons, but I don’t wanna do so without the permission of Reckless herself. Doubt she’d mind, but you’ll have to wait to get the info out of the horse’s mouth, so to speak.

Initially I was given a frustratingly little amount of information when Reckless was admitted into the training regiment--a good few months later than her peers, at that. This is the nightmare of a Royal Guard Captain, by the way. A big part of the training regiment is getting to know the ponies training under you. Not just their physical capabilities, but the qualities of their character. I’ve worked with cadets that are weak, scrawny little twigs, and they’ve often turned out to be the best guards I know, simply because they know they have to work twice as hard. These sorts of ponies are the ones that strive to become specialists, and they’re the ones I like to watch out for.

The point is, when all of a sudden the orders from high-up are that you’ve suddenly got a brand new cadet, four months into the training regiment, so good luck getting her up to speed with the others without skimping on their or her training... Well. It raises some frustrations that you don’t dare bring up with the pony on the throne making the orders.

I had Reckless come to my office first, before her training formally began.

“So,” I asked. “Where are you from, Miss...” I had to pause, because there were two names written on her transfer orders. “Morning Sun? Reckless?”

“Morning Sun is first name,” she said. Then, after a pregnant pause,“...Like Reckless better, though.”

I could tell from her voice alone she was not from anywhere close to Equestria. “Reckless it is. Your transfer papers say you were born in Korea, and then moved twice. First to someplace called The You-Ess? Am I saying that right?”

Reckless gave a little shrug. “Think so. That’s what they call it.”

“Alright. And then you came to Equestria from the You-Ess.”

“Think so,” she said again.

“I haven’t heard of either of these places before. Where are they?”

“Don’t know,” Reckless admitted. “Not here. Across lots of water. Long, long ride in boat, from Korea to US. Don’t remember coming here.”

“...Gotcha.” It wasn’t as satisfying an answer as I’d been hoping, but my geographical knowledge of the lands beyond the Celestial Sea wasn’t incredibly thorough. “How long have you been in Equestria, then?”

“A few months,” she said. “Live in Canterlot. Live in Ponyville. Like Ponyville better--more like home.”

“It’s a nice town. My sister moved there a few summers back. Canterlot can be a bit much if you’re not used to the hustle and bustle.”

Reckless nodded. “Like the fields more than mountains, but know mountains more. That make sense?”

“Sure, sure it does.” I looked back at her transfer orders one more time. There it was, the signature of Princess Celestia herself. Looming over every awkward silence between me and the sorrel mare waiting for her first instructions as a cadet. “So what changed? Why’d you want to join the Royal Guard?”

Reckless pursed her lips... The question seemed to actually give her pause. Like she had to think up the answer on the spot. That might sound like a red flag to you, but trust me. Sometimes I ask the same question to myself and can’t for the life of me come up with an answer. Other times it’s as clear as the sun and stars.

Eventually she spoke up again. “Ponyville nice, relaxing. Good for retirement. But... Body feels young. Strong. Don’t like retirement life when the body feels like running.”

I gave a nod, but didn’t interrupt her, because it seemed like she had more to say.

“Besides...” she carried on. “Know war better than retirement.”

“You served, yes?” Her papers said she had... Eight years of active service with two years of front-line experience. She had honours for both periods, with two given for injuries sustained during active combat. Suddenly, her speedy admittance into the Royal Guard by Princess Celestia was making a bit more sense to me.

She nodded again. “Yes. In Korea. Deliver ammunition and supply to soldiers. Lay barbed fences. Help injured soldiers to safety.”

“Medic experience?”

She tilted her head thoughtfully. She considered it for a moment, and then shook her head. “Don’t think so.”

Don’t think so. Another strange reply. I was quickly becoming accustomed to them, though, from this mare. Not out of stupidity, but out of... Some sort of cultural ignorance? It was hard to describe. I could converse her without difficulty, but there were certain terminologies I could tell she didn’t fully grasp. It was as though she had a profound knowledge of her position, her importance, and her experience, without having the right words to describe any of it. With her thick accent and broken Ponish in mind, I figured it likely was just a language barrier. For only three months in Equestria, it was already a miracle she was speaking the language as clearly as she could...

No, actually. Forget that. It’s not a miracle, because that assumes it wasn’t something she achieved on her own.

“Well. Your military records are plenty striking, regardless. And these are coming to me straight from the Princess herself.”

“We meet,” Reckless explained. "When I arrive in Equestria. I explain, she writes report. Nice lady.“

Part of me knew it could have all been tall-tales told by some crazy mare, but if Celestia had seen fit to believe them, then I’d have to, as well.

“Well, then consider it my honour to welcome you aboard the Royal Guard, Staff Sergeant Reckless.” I gave her a polite salute, which she watched, seemed to take in for a moment, and then immediately reciprocated. “We’ll have you in for a bit of hoof camp, to ease you out of retirement... Hope you don’t mind getting lumped in with the cadets.”

Reckless gave a little laugh. “Feel like cadet here. Everything new.”

I laughed, too. And then I go to finalizing the last of her transfer papers, so that her new life with the Equestrian Royal Guard could begin proper.

Chapter Three: On Korea I

Co-Ruler of Equestria and It’s Colonies, HRH Princess Celestia

I’d like to preface any remarks I make on this subject with a personal remark, citing my immense pleasure at being approached by somepony intent on publishing a novel about Staff Sergeant Reckless. Since I’ve known her, I have made it part of my royal duty to ensure her contributions to her duties--both within Equestria and back at her home--are treated with the dignity and respect befitting them. This has aligned me with her often enough that I consider her a dear friend and a shining example of what ponies in and out of the Royal Guard should aspire to be like.

I first met Reckless not long after she first arrived in Equestria. I will spare you the details and the magical pontificating therein, and cut right to the main question of where exactly Reckless herself was arriving from.

You see, Korea is nowhere in Equestria. It is outside it, apart to such an extent that it does not exist in any capacity we can reasonably explore and visit. Anypony who has met and spoken to Discord at one of the Grand Galloping Galas may have some idea what I’m rambling about.

Reckless arrived in Equestria confused, and injured. Lacerations upon her back and sides, which were promptly treated without much trouble by the Palace’s first responders, though Reckless herself seemed quite confused by their presence and her own.

It seemed that some force outside even my understanding had plucked the sorrel mare from one location, at one moment, and placed her directly into our own sphere of relevancy. I detected the magic signature almost immediately, and when I flew to the infirmary I caught my first glance of Reckless.

Her proportions differed slightly from the ponies tending to her. She seemed taller, legs longer and snout more pronounced. Compared to her colourful peers (particularly myself!) her coat was restrained in pigmentation, a simple shade of reddish-brown besides the white blaze across her muzzle.

She did not speak a word of Ponish.

She learned it quickly, though. She was frightened and confused, but when her wounds had been healed she was receptive to new information and adapted quickly. After a week, she was able to comprehend the basics of our speech and it thusly became clear that her silence was one of ignorance promptly corrected.

The magical signature flowing through her was unlike anything I have seen. Outside Equestria in make-up. This is why, when she told me she’d never heard tell of myself, or Equestria, or ‘ponies’, I had little reason to doubt her.

She instead spoke of a place called 'Korea.’ A nation that Reckless described as mountainous in some places, flat and prairie like in others, and wracked with strife and war the like I have not heard described before. Reckless told me of weapons the soldiers in this nation used... Of explosions and bloodshed and chaos the like Equestria has scarcely seen in comparison.

When she spoke to me of these things, I did not have to look hard to see the ghosts hiding behind her gaze.

After she had acclimated to the basics of Equestrian social customs and speech, I saw to housing her in Ponyville, which is a chosen favourite of mine for peaceful locals with just the right amount of unpredictability to them. I figured Reckless would enjoy her time there, and I hope I was correct.

It was only a matter of time before she came back, though, intent on joining the ranks of the Royal Guard. An endeavour I had been expecting, anticipating, and eager to see through expediting.

We spoke again then, and the subject inevitably returned to Korea. Time had passed, she had grown to accept Equestria as her home in that time. Yet still, when she reminisced of her time in those snowy mountains, I could see the shadows of old battles playing through her amber eyes. It’s a subtle look, and most ponies wouldn’t have noticed at all. But at the risk of being needlessly ambiguous... if you know, you know.

I suppose there’s a part of Korea always there, in Reckless.

It’s my hope that Equestria can be a kinder home to her. I feel as though it is a kinder place with her within it.

Chapter Four: On Training II

Former Equestrian Royal Guard Captain, Prince Shining Armor -

Reckless in training was an interesting affair, because it became clear after not too long that she’d already been through much of what we were showing her.

Her history corroborated it, but in order to best train a cadet, I find it’s best to start them from point zero and see where they go from there, and how quickly. When you run a race, it’s not really fair to start someponies further back or forwards from each other without purpose.

Hoof Camp is broken into a few different regiments, and it’s not really an easy affair. Trust me, I do it every year myself as I’m training cadets. The first few months are devoted to building up stamina. Stamina is everything. More than feats of strength, or weapon proficiency, if you can’t keep yourself running for awhile, neither of those things really mean squat. Your enemy’s just gonna wear you down when they realize they can’t overpower you, and when they do, you quite literally don’t have any legs to stand on.

Reckless was built for endurance. It’s really her strong suit, so I noticed it pretty much day one. We do a few lengthy trots during that month, and when I say lengthy, I mean weeks long. First one we did, we leave left Canterlot, camping intermittently on our way to a base camp a day past Galloping Gorge. Distance total is around eight hundred klicks, or five hundred miles. It’s a damn fun time, but I work those troops hard. There’s no lagging behind, you stay with the pack or you’re not made out for the guard, simple as that.

Reckless loved those hikes. She had a few reasons for it, and when we camped at night I’d talk to her about it. It was like we were all a buncha Foal Scouts, the lot of us, all joking and laughing around a bonfire, tending to our sore muscles and looking forth at our next day with dread and anticipation in equal measure.

Reckless was a funny cross between not being excessively talkative, whilst still being incredibly sociable. If there was a group of ponies talking, she’d shuffle on over to them without a word. She wanted to be part of every conversation, and when she wasn’t I’d still see her ears flicking their way in curiosity. We of course welcomed her in, because even if she wasn’t as talkative as the other cadets, whenever she did open her mouth it usually got a good laugh out of the rest of us. She’s got to her a sort of innocence and natural charisma that’s hard to really tack down.

It was when we were camping a mile out of a little mining community called Horseshoe Haven. We spent the night in an abandoned coal mine on the outskirts, no longer used but still kept pretty well preserved. I see to it, considering we stop there pretty steadily on our endurance treks. It’s nice keeping a bit of Equestrian identity to the places being reclaimed by the wilds. There’s still history there, after all.

After we’d set up camp, I blew on my whistle and motioned Reckless over. “This way, Reckless, front and center. You’re with me.”

She trotted over immediately, exchanging a few snide words with her friends before trotting my way, ears alert and ready.

“Yes, Captain?”

“We’re going into town,” I said. “It’s about a half-hour hike. You’re gonna help me bring some stuff back.”

She tilted her head thoughtfully. “Supplies?”

“In a manner of speaking,” I replied cryptically, giving her a little wink. I’d already had her obedience, but that little wink earned me her curiosity, too.

We headed to Horseshoe Haven trotting double-time. Reckless had no trouble keeping up, which meant we were able to trot and talk pretty easily.

“So, how’re you making out on your first few weeks of training, Sergeant?”

Reckless let out a wordless snort from her snout. “Enjoy. Food good. Ponies friendly. Work hard.”

I let out a little laugh at her order of priorities. Could hardly blame her for them, on most days I figure I’m about the same. “You’re making out well. This trek doesn’t seem like it’s been particularly difficult on you.”

She shrugged her haunches as she trotted. “Lighter, without a load to carry.”

“I guess so. What’d you normally carry, back in Korea?”

“Shells,” she replied, and my first instinct was a juvenile visual of the sorrel mare trotting through a raging battle with a bucket full of seashells. “Rifle shells.”

“Ah. Ammunition.” I gave a nod. We have some black powder rifles in use in the Royal Guard, though they’re pretty slow, unreliable, and likely not what Reckless was familiar with. Still, I at least knew where she was coming from, and what her role in Korea had been. “Average carrying weight?”

“Dunno. Heavy. One shell, about... Twenty pounds? Usually carry four, sometimes eight.”

I blinked, raising an eyebrow as I glanced over at her. “That’s... Two hundred pounds? You carried two hundred pounds of ammunition?Through active fire?”

She nodded. “Bring what fellow soldiers need. Don’t think about weight when delivering, just go.”

“Huh. Must’ve been a damn big gun.”

“Very big. Very loud. So loud, I still hear it sometime.”

I didn’t immediately reply. Reckless’s ears fell flat, and I could’ve sworn I’d seen the stagger in her step waver a little bit.

“Equestria not like Korea,” she said eventually. “Not at all. Quieter. Nicer. Ponies... Different, from people.”

“People?” I repeated.

She nodded. “People. What they call them. Fellow soldiers. I don’t see any people, here in Equestria. They’re... Nice like ponies, in some ways. But... Not as nice to each other. That make sense?”

“It does,” I replied. “Was your whole unit... ‘people?’”

“Yes. Only horse there.”

“...huh.” That I hadn’t been expecting at all.

“People smaller. Weaker, than horses. Couldn’t carry like me. That’s why I was there.” She explained. “Was originally a racer. Not delivery.”

“Mm, well. You did do quite good on our track runs,” I said with a chuckle. “But it seems like endurance is your real talent.”

“Battles in Korea long. Need to be strong. Need to keep going.” She pursed her lips thoughtfully, and then glanced in my direction. “How about Captain Shining Armor?” She nudged her head towards my cutie-mark. “What were you, originally?”

I smiled at that. “Always a guard. Long as I can remember, it’s what I wanted to be. Some sort of instinct I always had, I guess... Kinda comes when you have a little sibling. Even if they get under your skin a lot, you’ll do anything to protect them. I guess I just learned that I liked protecting ponies a lot.”

“Shield,” she said simply. “Good mark. Good goal. Good Captain.”

I laughed again. “Thanks, Reckless. Most ponies find it... Anticlimactic.”

“Consistency anticlimactic?” she tilted her head curiously. “Strange. Think it good, that you have a strong idea for self. Have important duty, need consistency.”

“That’s for sure,” I agreed. We were coming upon the little mining town now, a little settlement of maybe a dozen buildings, all small and old and comfy. I lead the way towards the general store, with Reckless directly beside me.

“What supplies we get?” she asked.

I cracked a smirk, as I glanced over at her. “Beer.”

She blinked. Her head tilted, and I could see the cogs in her head turning, wondering if I was pulling her tail or not.

“Well, come on,” I said, “You practically drank us dry last time we camped!”

A sheepish look flooded across her, visions of her tipsy night no doubt resurfacing. I didn’t even know a pony could drink that much and stay standing.

“Oh, and you’re bringing them back, too...” I added, holding the door for the general store open for her. “After carrying two hundred pounds of rifle shells, it should be nothing at all.”

Chapter Five: On Korea II

Co-Ruler of Equestria and It’s Colonies, HRH Princess Celestia

After her rotation had taken her out of Canterlot and into the wider world of Equestria, my friendship with Reckless had to spread a bit more thin, into the form of letters that I so love to pen and send across Equestria.

But, when the Royal Guard were set to march as part of the annual Tribal Unification Festival in Canterlot, I was able to touch base with her in the flesh once more.

The parade itself was as wondrous as they normally are. The Guard always know how to put on a good show, and this year seemed particularly inspired. The procession started from the Palace itself, and snaked it’s way in a graceful horseshoe around the Canterlot city streets, ending at Harmony Park where the majority of the festivities were being hosted.

(A half-truth, I suppose. The Unification Festival is practically Canterlot-wide on it’s best years, with hardly a single city street free from the excitement of happy ponies and carnival games).

The Royal Guard themselves led the parade, in perfect, practised unison. The symphony of their synchronized hoofbeats filled the spaces left behind in the band’s music reverberating through the streets and over the crowds. I was able to watch them from my balcony in the Palace, and though she was but a pinprick amongst her peers, the sight of Reckless marching alongside her compatriots filled my heart with happiness. The thought of the confused mare poofing into existence, bloody and afraid seemed foreign now, when weighed against the present visual of her marching in line with a dozen of her friends and peers.

The guard stayed on technical duty for the entire festival, but things get a bit more... Relaxed, when the parade concludes in Harmony Park. My day was busy with hooves to shake and ponies to meet, and I wasn’t able to fly down to Harmony Park until later that evening, after I’d already sent the Sun to bed.

I met up with Reckless where I imagined I’d see her. The refreshments table.

She was there with a few of her peers, who were gleefully cheering her own as she gracelessly knocked back a mug of cider in one energetic swig. Judging by the plethora empty mugs on the table next to her, it seemed it was hardly her first of the night. She didn’t slow, though, annihilating the drink with ease to the laughter and cheers of her fellow guards and civilian friends alike.

I stood aside. A pegasus, as I sometimes like to be.

I waited until Reckless noticed me, which did not take too long. When she caught sight of me in the corner of her eye, she said something to her fellow guards, and then trotted in my direction with a warm smile.

“Y’know...” I began, cracking a smirk. “I should be giving you an earful for doing that while still in uniform.”

“Not all have disguise so easy,” she returned levelly, matching my smirk with one of her own. “Princess is well?”

“Very. How did you enjoy the parade?”

“Enjoy much,” she said. “Exciting. Loud.”

“Yes... Did you ever march in a parade back home?”

“No march, but in one. Honoured, very exciting. Many soldiers, and gun salute. And new blanket.”

Blankets were how they honoured her, back at home. She’d explained it to me before... Both times she’d been promoted, she’d been given a new blanket which she wore on her back. It was adorned with her honours, and the fabric was, according to Reckless herself, ‘tasty.’ While she’d been technically honoured with one for each promotion, I am of the suspicion that she actually went through a few more than she lets on.

I started to say something, but I was cut off by a brilliant booming sound in the sky above.

Fireworks! I turned to watch them, having received a few assurances from various staff members around the Palace that this year’s display would be particularly impressive. And indeed, the majestic flower-shaped ember bursting through the dark skies above Canterlot was something wondrous to behold. I turned to look at Reckless, wondering if she’d seen fireworks back in Korea...

And when I did, her expression was hardly what I’d been expecting.

Ears perked up, alert and at attention, as were her eyes. Her body was tense, and she was looking around as if in shock.

It took me... A few more seconds than I’d like to admit to put things together. When I did, though, I extended a wing to gently touch her side, and, as discretely and calmly as I could, I ushered her towards someplace behind one of the produce stands now stripped clear of it’s bounty after a full day’s worth of hungry ponies. Reckless shirked from the contact at first, but when she saw who the wing belonged to she allowed herself to follow, calmness slowly returning to her. Her tail was still swishing back and forth, however, and every ensuing blast of the fireworks above us earned another subconscious flinch from the poor mare.

“I should have warned you about the fireworks,” I said, softly. “I’m sorry, dear...”

She looked at me for a moment, and then shook her head. “Knew already. Forgot. Just... Surprise. Old instinct.”

I nodded. “I know. I’m sorry,” I said again.

“Fine, now.” She assured me, though she still seemed far from relaxed to me. I’d ushered us behind the row of shops and stands into a quieted alley bordering Harmony Park... Someplace private, and away from the hustle and bustle of the boisterous festival. Reckless seemed grateful. “You know this, it seems.”

I tilted my head curiously. “Know what, Sergeant?”

She nodded up at the fireworks. “Back home, people don’t understand. Play tricks, think funny. Here, ponies don’t do that, but also don’t understand, either.”

I exhaled, a little sad and a little understanding. “I’ve lived long enough that I have seen the signs in many ponies.”

“Silly, though. Not in Korea. Nowhere close. Shouldn’t feel like it.”

“Memories are an odd thing, dear. They happen in here...” I tapped a wingfeather to my skull. “And they don’t always care what happens out here.” I used the opposite wing to motion... Everywhere, I suppose.

She gave a little nod, and said nothing further. Still flinching with each firework above, but a little less.

“Say...” I gently removed my wing from her side, but only to use it to motion down the alley a ways. “I know a rather tasty doughnut café not far from here. You like doughnuts, I assume?”

She looked at me with a ‘are you kidding me’ sort of expression, which earned a little chuckle from myself.

“Come on. On me. Let’s get a roof above us and some doughnuts in our belly.”

“Have doughnuts in Korea, too. Stolen. But good.”

I laughed. "Well, these ones are on me.“