The Adventures of Thunder Strike and Ink Blotby Villain84ChaptersPrologueNew AssignmentsA Brief RenunionMartini's PubMetal JacketPrologueAre you really interested in hearing my story? Very well. I guess there's no harm in telling it. I guess I'll start at the beginning. My name is Thunder Strike. I am a unicorn, arguably the most gifted of the three races of ponies, and I grew up in the gleaming, flourishing city of Canterlot. My mother, a pegasus, served as a messenger, both for the people and the royalty. My father, a unicorn like me, was a well-respected school master. As a filly, I remember them being very busy very often. I have hardly any memories of them spending time with me or of taking care of me. I had to learn to cook, clean, and meet my curfews, all on my own. It became clear to me that their jobs were more important to them than I was. I also remember I had a rather hard time making friends outside of home. Sometimes I would act awkward. A lot of times weird things would come out of my mouth because I was nervous or did not know how to act. And to make things worse, as a unicorn I had magical powers. At times, I had a hard time controlling those powers and learning how to use them. Sometimes I would accidentally hurt someone or destroy something. Because of this, nobody really wanted to be around me. I do remember, however, that one day, I came across this one short earth pony being picked on by some bigger ponies. It disgusted me. I trotted up to the bullies, and scared them away with my magic, making sure to hurt them so they would not come back. The pony I saved was named Ink Blot, or just Blot as I started calling him. From that day on, we started hanging out more. We would talk and play together a lot, sharing so much with each other. One year we wound up in the same class at school. As it turned out, Blot was very smart, especially in english and reading. We would often help each other out with school work when we needed it. We were both pretty good in all subjects though, and barely needed each other's help. We did not really make any other friends, but that was fine. We did not need any other pony besides each other. I would be lying if I said I did not grow attached to Blot. I wanted to keep him by my side for as long as we lived. I knew he would be there for me when I needed him. But of course it did not last. We all grow up and move on, go down our own separate paths from our old friends, meet new friends along those new paths. Eventually Blot and I did the same thing. For starters, my cutie mark was a thunder cloud with lightning, showing off my ability to control thunder and lightning and storms with my magic. His was a fountain pen, no doubt showing off his knack for words and writing. From then on, we slowly drifted apart. But I'm getting ahead of myself. There is one other thing I should tell you: About the day I decided what I wanted to do with my life. In Canterlot, there's this ceremony every day in which our beloved monarch, Princess Celestia, raises the sun. I never really cared that much for it, nor did I care for politics that much, but one day I decided to check it out. Yep. That's me slipping and bumping my way to the front of the crowd. The little brown guy right there with the short black mane and red eyes. I remember hearing the royal guard in their golden armor blowing hard on their horns atop a platform. And then in the center appeared a beautiful white mare with the most radiant mane. I watched her horn glow as she mustered her power. Her large white wings lifted her gracefully up into the air, and as she flew up, the sun rose with her, and when she reached the apex of her flight, she spread her hooves wide, and the sun shone most brilliantly. Every pony in the crowd cheered and ooed and awed as they gazed upon Celestia's majesty, and I could not blame them. She gives every pony something they all need to carry on with their lives; light. She uses her power to do the best she can as a ruler and make everyone happy. And she must have been doing a good job at it, because everyone adored her and cheered for her. Everyone acknowledged her. And so, on that day, I said to myself, "One day, that's gonna be me!" New AssignmentsI could not be more excited about this day. Things were changing for the better, I was sure. I continued to follow the guard in golden armor as he led me down the brilliantly decorated halls. I tugged along a rope in my mouth that towed along a cart carrying my stuff. I had not brought much; just one bag for some clothes (if I ever needed them), a bag for all my journalism supplies, one for some other useless knick-knacks, and of course, the large cage that held my little pet rat, Caesar. As we trotted down the hall, I could not help but glance at all the fancy tapestries, and stained-glass windows, some of the views out those windows, the paintings, some other palace residents as they passed by. The last couple of days have been quite a rush for me. After years of writing for the Canterlot Gazette, and doing a pretty fine job if I may say so, the two head editors had finally decided to arrange a bigger assignment for me. They decided to send a reporter into palace to report on the dealings there, to keep an eye on Celestia, Luna, and their subjects, to find anything news-worthy. The editors also seemed to be interested in the growing conflict with the Changelings since the recent outbreak in which they nearly destroyed Canterlot. Since that day, I had barely been able to sleep. It was really a terrifying idea, that the foul beasts had descended upon our fare city. For all I knew, any pony around me could be one of them! Should they come after me, there is no way I would be able to defend myself. But I was not too worried anymore. Now I was in the palace, surrounded by skilled and highly-trained guards whom I knew would die before they let anything happen to their people. I felt pretty safe. I still remembered that bright sunny morning when I had packed all my stuff, and met outside the palace with Princess Celestia herself. She welcomed me with a warm smile. She said not to be afraid, and to explore the palace as I pleased to do my job. I felt much better about the move then. Before I was afraid of perhaps breaking into a forbidden wing or some private place of the princess or her relatives. Now, that barely worried me. She had one guard show me to my room from then. I followed the said guard in. I must admit though; he was pretty intimidating. He wore no smile, and looked very serious. We barely spoke a word as we walked through the palace. And when we did speak, it was him just pointing out a few important sites as we passed. He spoke in a very uptight and commanding voice. Come to think of it, all the guards were like that pretty much. I barely said anything, other than things like "okay" and "cool" and "nice". That still did not stop me from getting excited about being a guest at the palace, working on getting good stories to send to the editors for the gazette. I was like a spy. As long as nothing went wrong, I would be stationed here for the next two years! Words could not describe how exhilarated I was, and for a Pony like me, who is almost always good with words, that is saying a lot. "Alright." The guard finally said as he came to a hault. "This is your room here." He turned and gestured to his side a fine wooden door in the wall. He stepped back to let me in. I dropped the rope and opened the door. It was quite nice inside, if quaint. The floor was a finely waxed floor, with stone walls as nice as the rest of the palace. There was not much to decorate the room. There was a wide, comfy-looking bed, a desk, a bathtub, a dresser with a mirror, and a window that when I opened it up, I could see the palace gardens down below, and the towers on the wall on the other side. This was so generous of the princess and her staff to arrange this nice room for me. I had not been expecting such a nice room. They probably treated all their guests this way, but I still felt a sense of pride come to me. "I trust you like it here?" The guard asked. "Oh, y-yeah!" I stuttered as I turned back to him. "It's wonderful! Thank you!" "I am glad to here that." The guard said, still with no smile. I walked back out the room to push the cart of my stuff inside and start unpacking. "Now just to remind you," The guard continued, "you will not be supervised. You are free to explore the palace and come and go as you please. Any places that are off limits are clearly indicated. You will be responsible for your own meals. We recommend the dining hall for staff, or the restaurants outside. Your mail will be delivered to your room. There are two keys to this room on the desk over there. Other than that, just try not to disturb any pony." "Alright, great!" I smiled. "Thanks for- uh- showing me the ropes... Appreciate it." "Your welcome." He nodded. His voice sounded slightly more friendly this time. He turned to the door. "I'll be getting back to my station. Have a nice day." "Uh, thanks! You too!" I started taking my bags off the cart and laid them on the bed, ready to open them up and unpack. "Hey, Ink Blot, was it?" The guard's voice suddenly sounded again, startling me. My head spun around. He was facing me again. "One more thing." "Huh? Yeah?" "If I may, would you like a little suggestion for your next report?" I instantly became all ears. "Yes, sure. Please!" I nodded eagerly. "What is it?" "Some new guards are being recruited for the force," He said. "Their graduation ceremony is at the guard barracks in one hour from now. Civilians are welcome to attend." A smile spread to my face. "Sounds great! Sure. I'll check it out. Thank you!" "Absolutely," he nodded again. "Have a good day." And with that, he trotted out and shut the door behind him. I turned back and started unpacking my things. First I picked Caesar's cage up off the cart, and gently placed him up on the desk. He and the cage had been jostled by the traveling, but he seemed okay. He was not hurt. "Alright, Caesar, little buddy!" I piped as I set him down. "Looks like things are going great. This is our new home, eh?" The little grey rate stood up on his hind legs and looked up and me, and let out a few squeaks. "So, hows about you get out and stretch your legs?" I lifted the latch on his cage door, and he scurried out onto the desk. I was not worried about him running away. I liked me too much. I treated him too nicely. He jumped down on the stool, then to the floor, and started wandering around the strange new floor. As he did, I went through my bags to get out stuff for his cage; more hay for the floor, his exercise wheel, his tiny chew toys, his water bottle, and his nut dispenser. It really was a nice thing to have Caesar around. He was the best company I had. Barely any pony seemed to want to be near me. All through school, and even later at the Gazette, most other ponies seemed to think I was just a short little loser. They all pushed me around and talked down to me, never really seemed to want to have a decent conversation with me. It really sucked. What was wrong with me? Was I really that unlikable? I had always tried to be as nice a pony as I could be. Well, at least the editors believed in me enough to give me this assignment. And again, I still had Caesar, and my parents to a lesser extent. As long as Caesar was around, I had someone to talk to, to share my ideas and frustrations with, someone who would not take advantage of me or push me around. Sometimes though, I feel like he longs to be with other rats. "Ya know what?" I smirked at him. "While we're here, you might run into a pretty little lady rat, huh?" His head jerked up at me as I spoke, but then looked away when I was done. He dashed over to the bed and scurried up the blanket. "Pretty nice room here, huh?" I continued as I went on unpacking. I placed my papers, ink bottles, fountain pens, and stamps up on the desk. "I really didn't think we'd get such a nice place, did you?" He had run to one edge of the bed to sniff the air and look over the edge. "I was kind of expecting us to get something like a wooden floor with nothing in the room but like a pile of hay for a bed and a pool. Maybe a desk if we were lucky. I was kind of expecting that most of the accessories we would have to bring ourselves." Caesar let out a little squeak. I giggled as I tried to imagine what he was saying. "You're right. I should give Princess Celestia a little more credit than that." I took out my clothes, both my casual vests and my more elegant ones for special occasions, and slipped them into the drawers of the dresser. Next, I got my shaving, hoove-filing, and mane-cutting supplies out on top of the dresser, and slid some soap and shampoo beside the bath tub. I did not really have anything else to do or anywhere else to be, and I was not hungry, so I figured I may as well head to the guard barracks. It would be a good idea anyway since I did not know where to find the barracks. "Alright. I'm off to the barracks," I said to Caesar as snatched the one of the two keys of the desk. "Be back soon. Don't leave the room." My little rat squeaked and continued to scurry along the bed. I knew he would be okay here alone. I locked the door behind me and went off to find the barracks. Even as I made my way down to the barracks, my thoughts were already jogging about what I would say in my article. I would probably mention how the guards were preparing to face off against the new threat of the changelings, for one idea. At one point, I stopped and pulled my pocket notebook from my vest pocket, a little fountain pen in the spiral, and jotted down a little note on that, holding the pen in my mouth. Preparing to fight changelings? And then I thought maybe I would see if I can get a quick interview with the sergeant in charge of this set of recruits. Surely he could give some insight on the situation with the changelings, and maybe talk about how well this new platoon fared in training and how he expected them to do in the field. Interviews were always gold mines for reporters. I scribbled down again. Talk to sergeant. It was a good thing I always carried around that little notebook with me. You never know when a good idea is just going to fly your way. When it does, you better be sure to capture that idea on paper or you might forget it. A very basic rule on reporting: The article must give insight on the five Ws: Who, What, Where, Why, When, and How if you counted. TheWhowas the graduating marines of course, and their instructor and captain possibly. The What was that they were graduating and becoming members of the Canterlot Royal Guard. When was at 11:00 in the morning on that day. Where was at the guard barracks. Why and How? ...I was working on that. Hopefully it would not be too hard. Finding the barracks were not as hard as I thought. There were quite a large crowd of ponies here, to my surprise. I was more surprised to see a large table of refreshments and snacks here. I helped myself to a few carrots, grapes, and cheeses. All of these ponies were clearly civilians. They must have been families, friends, lovers and sorts come to congratulate and support the new guards on this day. I also noticed a few guards here and there, all looking as stern and intimidating as at the palace. I made a couple notes quick. Many pony civilians Table of snacks Guards overlooking I decided to ask one of the civilians about the ceremony. I walked up to one adult male with chestnut-colored fur. He had one adorable little filly at his side with a lighter-colored fur. I tapped him gingerly on the shoulder. "Um, excuse me, sir," I said loud enough so he could hear me over the bustle of the crowd. "Hm?" He turned to face me with a smile. "Yeah?" "Hey, sorry to bother you," I stuttered, "I-I'm with the Canterlot Gazette. Mind answering a few questions quick?" I had my notebook and pen at the ready. "Sure," He said and turned totally to me, showing that I had his full attention. I cleared my throat before continuing. "Okay, so um... first of all, who's here that you're coming to see?" "Well, my son is one of the recruits. He's been writing to me, and told me about this day. I actually got a letter from the company about it too." "You think that was the case for everyone? That they got a letter that the recruit they knew would be graduating today?" "I think so." "So where are they? How is this ceremony going to work? Any idea?" "Well, the way I've heard it, the way my son's told me, they've been sent on a ten-mile march this morning as a final exam. The hike is suppose to end here. When they come in, they'll get a minute to rest and have some refreshments." He gestured the table of the snacks. "After that, they will be given their blue stars by their instructor sergeant, who walked them all the way through the hike, and then handed over to the captain of the guards, Shining Armor, to finally kick off their positions." My ears perked up more when he mentioned Captain Shining Armor. I had heard of him. I had heard that he recently got married. Oddly enough, it was the day the changelings attacked. Poor guy. But then I heard that he, almost single-hoovedly, repelled the attack. Quite an impressive feat. "I've also heard that there's an upper class of trainees in this group too," The colt continued. "They've already become private-ranked guards, and are passing their final test to be promoted to sergeants." This sounded interesting. "Really? Interesting!" I replied. "So the sergeants and privates take the same final test?" "I guess so," He answered with a shrug. "I think they're going to line up over there, on the other side of that rope, and get their stars, armor, and salutes there." He pointed over to the edge of the crowd. I saw a fine rope, the kind you would see at the line for a play, keeping the crowd away from a long table full of golden armor. Standing along the table was a few guards, none of which I recognized. I did however, recognize Shining Armor. A quite handsome white stallion with a blue mane, dressed in his fancy red coat. Perhaps later I would try to interview him, but I had a feeling there was already a long line of reporters who wanted to see him. I quickly jotted down more notes. Ten-Mile march=final exam Privates and Sergeants graduating together Handed to Shining Armor for assignments Receiving blue &red stars and helmets March with sergeant instructor And that's when another question popped up in my mind. I turned back to the colt. "Say, do you have any idea who the- uh the sergeant instructor is?" The colt giggled a little. He opened his mouth to talk, but he was interrupted by his daughter suddenly. "Hey Daddy?" She said loud so he could hear her over the crowd. "Can I have another apple?" "No hun," He answered. "You've had plenty. We don't want you to spoil your dinner, now do we?" "Aww!" She whined and pouted. "Oh, don't give me that!" He said sweetly. "Just remember what we're having for dinner tonight!" And with that, a huge smile spread to her face. "Now just give me another minute, I'm talking," He turned back to me. "My son wrote to me about the instructor. He goes by the name of Valor. My son has said he's really loud, demanding, strict, and harsh, and above all, strong and committed. My son has really complained about how hard some of the exercises and punishments have been with him." "Wow!" I nodded. "Sounds like a very intimidating pony!" "He sure is, I'm sure." I jotted down some more. Instructor = Instructor Sergeant Valor. Intimidating reputation And suddenly, the crowd started getting louder, and many started rushing toward the rope to look over at the trail. "Daddy! They're here!" The little filly squealed. The little thing warmed my heart. Her dad smiled back at her. "One more second, sweetie," He turned back to me. "Is there anything else you want to know?" I did not want to bother him and make him miss his son, so I simply shook my head and said "Nope. I'm good. Thank you for everything!" "You're welcome, my friend." He started trotting up to the head of the crowd, his antsy daughter in tow. "You must be proud of your son," I said after him as he passed me by. "Of course I am," he nodded. I made my own way up to the front of the line. It was a tight squeeze, but I could not miss this. I had a job to do. Just over the hill, I saw one lone colt alicorn marching up. He had dark grey fur, and wore a large round hat that all drill sergeants wore, and a tan, heavy-looking leather vest. He had a stern expression on his face, and each stride seemed to have power in it. This must have been Sergeant Valor. And then, just a few feet behind him, up from the hill marched a row of more colts, all wearing a similar vest. They legs and boots and vests, and some of their faces, were all caked in mud. And then another row of these colts followed, then another, then another. I tried to count as fast as I could. I counted about six colts per row, and six rows, a total of thirty-six new recruits. And I noticed their strides as they marched. Each step, every movement, seemed to be in perfect sync with each other. It was really impressive. My mind and my tongue went blurry as I rushed to get all this down in my notebook. Finally, the platoon marched up to the front of the crowd. I heard Sergeant Valor shout something I could not hear. It must have been something like "halt" or something, for he and his platoon all stopped. He shouted again, and the platoon all turned on their hooves to face the crowd. All of this was still in perfect unison, the way this platoon moved. How did they manage this, I wondered. They all seemed to have the same serious expression on their faces. Their gaze was unwavering as well. They all looked straight ahead at the crowd. And then Valor shouted something else, and still in a totally planned and organized way, they spread out, and lined up until they were in a single-file line that stretched on. When they were lined up, there was another moment of silence. Valor stood beside Shining Armor for a moment. They may have been whispering, I could not tell. A few armored guards then came out, each picking up a set of armor off the long table, and came over toward Valor. One guard lined up beside Valor, using his magic horn to hold up a fine wooden box. He opened it, revealing the blue stars. Just then, Valor and the guards all started walking toward the line of recruits. I watched as he started placing the blue stars around their necks, and shook hooves with them. As he moved to the next one, the guards behind him placed a helmet and armor on the recruit. I continued to watch as Valor kept putting the medals on the ponies. Eventually, he had finished with the privates; all blue stars were given out. In another orderly manner after a few shouts, a row of five more colts came forward. These must have been the sergeants, for Valor started placing medals with red stars on their chests. And suddenly, one unicorn he came to caught my eye. This pony had dark brown fur, a black mane and- when I squinted, red eyes. I only knew one pony with all of that. Could it be? Was that... no way! Thunder Strike? It had to be him! I could never forget the face of my dear friend! I was so stunned that I barely noticed when Valor and the guards had medaled and armored every recruit in the line. One armored guard then marched up to the front of the line, and shouted so the audience could hear him. "Let's hear it for platoon number nine-five-A!" And the audience roared with cheer and clapping. The newly-armored recruits all stood at firm attention, still unnmoved, until Valor shouted something else, and raised his hoof in a firm salute. With that, every recruit snapped their arms to salute him back, along with the audience and Shining Armor. Again, the platoon was in perfect unison. Shining Armor saluted back. "AT EASE!" Valor snapped. This time I actually heard him. "DISMISSED!" And with that, all the salutes stood down, and the newly appointed guards all marched toward the cheering crowd. One guard released the rope, and the crowd and recruits all met, and cheering and talking and hugging and laughing. The guards' facade faded, and they each smiled as they rejoiced with their loved ones. So these ponies were not completely machines after all. I noticed as many guards headed for the snack table, and greedily took some food and drink and started eating ravenously. It made sense to me. They must have had to live on small rations in training. I looked around for Thunder Strike. I was hyped to see him finally after all these years. I wanted to rush at him, to hug him and congratulate him, to catch up with him. But then I thought about it some more. In this big crowd and if they were about to leave with Shining Armor to their stations, perhaps now would not be the best time or place for that. It may feel awkward anyway. I figured I should just let him have his moment with his guard buddies, and his parents if they came to see him. I would look for him later for sure. Besides, work came first. I needed to see if I could talk to Sergeant Valor. A Brief Renunion"Alright!" Captain Shining Armor announced as we all marched across the balcony of the palace. "I'm not going to remind you all of your duties or what you're here to do. I'm assuming Valor did enough of that, and you don't need as much hoof-holding anymore." No pony in the platoon laughed at that joke. We all knew better. We had been molded to keep a straight face at all times, especially when a superior was speaking. "As of now, you're all on guard duty in a double-skip-counter-clockwise rotation. From the moment I place you all at your station, you'll stay there for a four-hour shift. After that, a new guard will arrive to take your place and relieve you of your position. Then you have a five-hour break to spend however you choose before your next shift starts. Understood?" "Sir, yes Sir!" My platoon shouted in perfect unison. "Good!" And that was all he said for a while. I could not help but feel glad that Shining Armor was our captain. I liked him. He did not yell at us or act as uptight as Sergeant Valor did. This was probably because we had finally passed the training, we knew the general ropes, so I guess their grip on us loosened, in a manner of speaking. He was probably in a happy mood anyway. If I heard right, he just got back from his honeymoon a few days ago, and everything has been kept in line. No mishaps or outbreaks, and certainly no issues with those changelings, nasty buggers! We all continued to march on in silence until finally, we arrived at the corner of one turret that overlooked the palace property. At that time, Armor turned sharply to face us. He pointed to me and one orange-furred unicorn beside me. "You two!" He said. "This is your position!" "Sir, yes Sir!" We both saluted. "At ease." We both dropped our salutes. "Take position." We marched over toward the two guards that were already there until we faced them directly. They did not move. We knew the switching procedure. We had practiced it so much. I knew I could not screw this up, not on my first try for real, not in front of the captain. Stare each other in the eye for five seconds. Three one-thousand, four-one thousand, He lifted his spear, and knocked on the floor twice before holding it out for me. I took it from him sharply. We gave each other a sharp salute before he stepped aside, and I walked into his spot. I turned around to face the direction he was looking in, my hooves clacking sharply with each step. Out of the corner of my eye, I knew that the exact same thing had happened with the orange colt and the other guard. And now we were in position. As the two relieved guards walked away, Shining Armor marched on, leading the rest of my old platoon to their new positions. I did not watch them leave, but look straight ahead out over the balcony as I was suppose to do. I could still see them out of the corners of my eyes though. Valor had always stressed us the importance of staying together and working together through thick and thin. And now the brave colts whom I had trained along side were off to their new positions. I could not be sure if I would ever see them again. No matter. It times like these, one must be prepared to sever bonds when necessary. And so my first shift as Sergeant on the Canterlot Guard began. Since nothing seemed to be going on at the moment, I decided to savor the moment some more. I did not get my fill earlier at the graduation ceremony. Ah, this was a proud, proud day for me! Six years of rigorous exercise, memorizing procedures and codes and maps, and being repeatedly yelled at and spat on by Valor had finally paid off. It had all been leading up to this! I still remember two years ago when I graduated from the basic guard training, and became a private-ranked guard. And now, after that extra work, I'm finally a sergeant! Finally, I was one step closer to achieving my goal! If I could just keep up the good work and work hard, one day... I'll make it. I am sure of it! If only my parents could see me now. What would they say? I did not see them at the ceremony. I still remembered when the letter came to me saying that my mother became deathly ill. It was only a year later that my father fell to a similar fate. Because I was still in training, I could not go to their funerals. It does not matter. Even if they were still alive, they probably would not have come to see me. They never cared for me. Oh, but if they could see me now, I knew they would be sorry! They would be more interested in me then, for sure! I shot a brief glance over at the orange colt beside me. His name was Fire Bolt. He was rather scrawny compared to the rest of the platoon. He just barely managed to scrape by enough to graduate. Still, he was now just as much of a guard as I was. He was one of the colts I talked to the most during my extended training period. I was happy to have my first shift beside him, even if we were not allowed to talk or even look at each other. Okay, I thought that was enough free-thinking. I needed to stay focused and keep my sharp eyes out for trouble. I knew exactly what to look out for; if any sort of turbulence or violence broke out in my line of sight. And of course, we all had to be on the lookout for changelings. Thankfully, a spell had recently been developed to tell is a pony was a changeling. All we had to do was to use our magic to check the pony's pulse. If the had warm blood which flowed normal, they were clean. As it turned out, changelings don't bleed... at least not like normal ponies. For about an hour, I stood at that post, never moving, looking straight over the balcony. I must say, not a bad view. No problems broke out. There were hardly any ponies even out today. It was pretty boring. The most fun I had was when a pony would walk by, and I scanned his or her pulse with my magic. And thus far, only two such ponies have crossed my path, both were clean. I was tempted to move. My golden armor began to feel heavy and sweaty. Thankfully, I had learned in training how do dismiss physical discomfort. Part of me wanted to move and maybe go take a walk or take off my helmet. The biggest temptation probably was to turn and start a conversation with Fire Bolt. Hard to believe I've been through all that training, and we never really learned how to stand still for such a long time. Still, I had to suck it up. I've worked too hard and come too far now to screw up. I was more of a real stallion now than I ever was! I was a Canterlot Royal Guard! I was even more than that now! Now I was a Sergeant of the Guard; one step more than the regular guards! I continued to stare off and look over the view until I heard another pony trotting up the balcony from around the corner. I prepared to scan him. "Phew!" He panted as I sensed his presence approach me out of the corner of my eye. "There you are. I-I finally caught up to you!" I had a feeling he was talking to me, but I ignored him. We had rules about socializing with civilians on duty. If he continued to pester me, then I would respond. Sure enough, he did. "Uh, hey buddy!" He continued on. "Mare! It's been forever! How have you been?" He walked into my view. I still tried to avoid eye contact, but I saw that he was a short earth pony with dark grey fur and a white mane. And did his voice sound familiar? At this point, interaction was unavoidable. He was trying to converse with me. I turned my head in his direction. "Sir, can I help you with something?" I asked sternly. As I spoke, I channeled my magic to my horn, and then sent a wave through his body. He was full of normal pumping warm blood. He was clean, thankfully. And we could do this without making the pony feel it. At the sound of my words, the colt took a step back. By the look on his face, he was pretty intimidated by me, maybe scared. "Th... Thunder?" He stammered. "Yo- you don't-uh re-recognize me?" "Should I, sir?" I raised my eyebrow. "How do you know my name?" I tensed up, ready for anything. "You don't remember your old buddy?" I thought for another second. Let me see... grey fur, white mane... green eyes... that voice... so much stuttering, so much fear in those eyes... and that dark-yellow vest with... ink stains? No way! I blinked my eyes before widening them in surprise. "Son of a buck!" I gasped. "Blot? Is that you?" "Ah! Now he gets it!" Blot cheered as his smile returned. I raised my hoof. There was only one way to know if this was Blot for sure. Our little hoof shake. Heck, I'll surprise myself if I still remember that old thing. He smiled as he must have remembered it himself. He raised his own hoof. First a bump, Front hoof, Back hoof, Up high, Down low Pull back, Big bump! Yep. It was him alright. "Little buddy!" I said, almost squealing. "It's great to see ya! What the hay are you doing here?" "I'm writing for the Canterlot Gazette now!" He said proudly. He gestured the fountain pen tucked in his ear. "I've been sent to report on stuff happening at the palace here!" "That's great!" I nodded. "I saw the ceremony!" He continued. "So you-ye-you're a-um sergeant now? That's great! We-uh-we gotta catch up! You gotta tell me all about it! I got an interview with Valor. He's a pretty scary guy, isn't he?" Before Blot could stumble over any more words, I held up a hoof to shush him. "Hey, you know, I really shouldn't be chatting right now," I said. "I'm on duty." His smile faded slightly, but not much. He nodded. "Oh, right. That's okay. I totally understand. But then can we meet up later?" "Sure," I answered. "My shift ends in three hours." "Oh, by then it'll be like four in the afternoon, right?" He continued. "Okay. Sure. Uhhhh... Where should we meet?" I thought for a brief minute, trying to recall some of the big diners or bars in Canterlot. Finally, I got something. "You know Martini's?" "Oh yeah, I know that place!" He nodded. "How about you get us a table and I'll meet you there?" "Oh, yeah. Sure. I can do that." "Okay. Great. I gotta get back to work so I'll see ya then?" "Yeah, sure. Great. See ya then!" And with that, he turned and walked back from the way he came. When he was gone, I got back to standing in my stance, hoping no pony saw me act that way. I recollected myself, and became stern and serious again. I stole a glance over at Fire Bolt. He had a slight smile on his face. I knew he would not tell any pony about this incident. My secret was safe with him. I could not tell which he thought was funnnier; my little reunion with my buddy, or how he called Sergeant Valor a scary guy. Martini's PubUnfortunately for me, the excitement of catching up with Blot made my shift go by even more agonizingly slow. And still, nothing really interesting happened. By the time it was over, only ten ponies in all had passed me by, all clear. It was such a quiet and calm day. I guess I should be grateful for that though; as far as I knew, no pony got hurt or in trouble today. Finally, four o'clock came, the moon shining bright in the clear, dark purple, starry sky. And right on the stroke and not a second later, two more guards marched up towards me and Fire Bolt. I knew the drill. Keep looking ahead until they faced you. One black-furred stallion with green, serious eyes faced me, his hooves clicking with each sharp movement. Three one-thousand, four-one thousand, five-one thousand, Lift my spear, Knocked on the floor twice, Hold out spear for him, With a firm grip, he takes it, We gave each other a sharp salute, Step aside, He steps in, I walk away. Fire Bolt is right behind me. We know it better to keep our armor on until we find a more private place to take it off. "Not bad for our first day, huh Thunder?" Fire smiled at me, gruffly elbowing my side. He was tough, like all of us, but still playful. "Yep. I guess we did good today," I nodded. "Jeez!" He continued. "I am so freakin' stiff!" He flexed and stretched his arms and legs as he walked. "I had no idea we were going to be sitting around for that long!" Thinking about it, I was pretty stiff myself. I would stretch when we got back to the barracks. "And who would have thought you'd run into your old friend here of all places?" He went on. "Yeah, shocker isn't it?" I replied, a little apathetically. "So what are you gonna do until your next shift?" "I'm gonna hit the hay!" He replied in a smooth voice. "I don't know about you, but I've had enough thrill for today." He chuckled a little. "And this armor is killing me!" "Hmph," I smirked, trying to sound like a laugh. It's always nice to have a guy with high spirits in the corp, the kind that could take even the bleakest situation, and make us all laugh a little. But of course, that kind of pony always got annoying at some point. We were soon back at the barracks, where many other guards were sleeping. We quietly made our way down the hallway, past the white brick walls and the red tiled floors, until we reached our platoon's quarters, which was clearly labeled. Inside, it didn't look that different from the barracks in the academy. The walls and floors were a little nicer, more elegant, but not much. The rows of beds all looked the same. The same colorless mattresses and blankets. Granted though, the black bars looked sturdier. A few dimly-lit lanterns hung from the low ceiling, giving off some light. Looking around, some of the thirty six beds were taken by some colts, some I recognized, either asleep or taking off their armor for the day. "Good night, mate!" Fire Bolt whispered happily as he hovered over to what must have been his mattress. He checked the name card that was posted on the bed. It must have been his bed, because he nodded, then sat right down, and started taking off his armor. I stepped in and looked around for whatever bed might have my label on it. I found it quite quickly, to my delight. I looked under the cot and found my foot locker, my pack, and extra trunk that we were all given to keep our non-essentials. I slowly took off my armor, using my hooves rather than my magic. We had been trained to rely on our bare hooves just as much as our magic horns. I actually did want to use my hooves for this; to feel the weight, and the shiny metal. I took a second to look over my helmet as I took it off, turned it so I could see my faint reflection, felt the soft, red brush at the top. It was still kind of hard to believe this was mine; I earned it. I was a sergeant of the guard. I continued to take off the rest of the armor; the torso, then the horse shoes, then my shiny red sergeant insignia, and put them away beside my trunk under my mattress. While down there, I pulled out the trunk. This trunk held all my personal items. Of course we did not have much in our careers, but we each got a small hard trunk to keep our stuff in. My trunk held my diary and pen, some toiletries, a few bits in case I ever needed them, some other small knick-knacks, and a folded-up cape. I knew that sergeants would get better stays than privates; they were given their own small rooms. This would probably be my last night with the privates. Using my magic, I levitated my cape out of the trunk and unfolded it. Fine black velvet outside, red on the inside, with a turned up collar and a silver chain to hold the neck together. It was just like the ones that aristocrats wore, or the kinds that high-class villains and monsters in plays. I remembered my father had given this to me one year for my birthday. It was really intended for more formal occasions, but I figured I would wear it tonight and show Blot. He'd be impressed, or possibly intimidated even. I slipped it on and buttoned it before heading out the door. I walked through the streets of Canterlot, watching as the other ponies were out and about, going about their evenings, leaving work, off to dinner, strolling down the streets. I must admit it felt odd walking amongst civilians. It did every time I left the perimeters. I liked a good chance to wear my cape just for fun. It always gave me a sense of pride, made me feel important. I strode past a few other fancy, high-class ponies who wore similar capes, I remember. It was a rather cold night as well. Glad I had that cape to keep me warm. At last, I came to an intersection, and at the corner, the quant, calm, two-story building called Martini's Pub. I pushed into the circular door into the familiar scene. Yes, I had come up here a few times with some other guards when we had some time off. A large room with dozens of tables, a few booths on the far wall. The walls covered with all kinds of framed pictures. Lanterns hanging from the ceiling. One pony playing soft piano close to the entrance. Waiters coming in and out of the back room carrying appetizers and snacks. In one corner there were two pool tables, two ping-pong tables, and a fooze ball table, and a couple targets for darts on the wall. Along several tables were clusters of ponies drinking, chatting, or playing cards. Martini stood at the bar, filling a glass of tap cider with for one pegasus. I knew him. He was a very friendly guy, tall and orange earth pony, his black mane combed back nicely. He always payed attention and got to know his returning customers. I may stop by the bar and say 'hi' to him later. But first, I noticed a certain short grey pony sitting alone at one table, a bottle of Applejack Daniels and two empty glasses with ice at his forelegs, as well as a bowl of something else I needed to get closer to see. Seeing him alone like that reminded me of the old trick I loved to play on him when we were little. I thought of doing it now, but it may leave a burn mark on the floor, and draw a lot of attention to us, and we just wanted a quiet get-together here. So I just crept closer to him, carefully, and tapped him on the shoulder, and dodged to the other side as he looked. His head turned back towards me and- "Boo!" "Woah!" Blot drew back, a look of pure shock on his face. "Haha!" I laughed, "Got ya! Just like old times, huh man?" "Yeah, jaja," Blot replied sarcastically as I took my seat. "Really missed that old thing." "Oh, come on," I giggled, gently punching his foreleg, "Get a sense of humor already!" His smiled returned though after that. "Right. It's just good to see ya." He gestured the bowl before us. I saw that it was filled with tortilla chips and three dipping sauces. "So I got us some chips to snack on. We got here, uh, some salsa, bean dip, and uh- guacamole. I know you use to have a thing for beans, so I thought you might like that." "Super!" I smiled. "You still remember that, huh?" I levitated a chip from the bowl, dipped it into the brown bean dip, and popped it into my mouth, savoring the creamy flavor. "Yeah of course. I-I mean how could I forget you, ya know? Oh, I got us something to drink too." He gestured the bottle. "Sweet!" I nodded. I levitated the bottle and our two glasses. I moved them all quickly and precisely, pouring the whisky without spilling a drop, then let his float back to him. "I really shouldn't drink too much of this," I continued. "We have rules on how much we're allowed to drink." "Oh, I totally understand," Blot nodded. "I'll just have maybe this one glass and if I'm still thirsty, I'll get some water." "Sounds good." "Again, you don't mind paying, right?" "Oh yeah, sure." "Thanks mate." "Hey, um-" He raised his glass. "Here's too, um... to um-" "Being back together?" I answered for him. "Good health?" "Uh- yeah. Those things!" I reached across the table and clinked my glass against his before pulling back and sipping up half of the burning liquid. Once I finished, I set my glass town and turned back to Blot. "So, how have you been?" I asked, popping another bean-covered chip into my mouth. "What's it been now? Six years?" He took a breath and started. "Well, after we finished school, I went on the University of Canterlot for two years where I studied journalism. Things were going okay there. After that, I started looking around for places to work at; good papers, you know? It was kinda hard. Well, first for about three years, I worked Equestrian Geographic." "Equestrian Geographic?" I repeated. "No way! That's incredible! So you got to travel all around Equestria? Cover ground? See some neat places?" "Yep. I've seen some nice places. Been around with the rest of the crew. It was pretty fun. And then after that, I started writing for the Canterlot Gazette. That's where I've been the past year." "You mean to tell me you quit working for Geographic? It seems like such a good job for you! Why would you leave?" "Traveling was really cool, but, um... you see I didn't want to keep writing about scenery and nature for the rest of my life. I wanted to write about bigger things. That's why I went more into newspapers and journalism. And- and besides, things could get a little... ya know... dangerous." "Oh, yeah. I see." "So as I was saying before, earlier I saw your graduation ceremony. I wrote up about it after I met up with you, and sent it to my editors." "Really? Nice. But how did you get it to them so fast? Surely you didn't walk all the way down to your office and back." "Nope. I used... well... ya know Ratchet Industries?" He snatched a chip from the bowl and dipped it in salsa before popping into his mouth. "Huh? No. What's that?" "Well ya see, there's this inventor in Manehatten named Ratchet who owns this company. A um... an inventing company. And a while back, he invented this machine that can instantly sent papers and documents from one box to another. I use that." That sounded amazing. "Really? Wow! That's cool!" "It's a revolution in the world of communications. It runs on magic right now, but he's working on it so that it can run on electricity. Ratchet's a pretty cool guy too. We-um met him one time while we were on a trip to the area of Manehatten." "That's cool." I nodded as I took another sip of my drink. "So um... how's your family doing?" "Well my parents are doing great. We send each other letters every once in a while to check up. They're supportive as ever." "You mean they're not in Canterlot anymore?" "Nah. They- um moved to M-M-Manehatten. They said they were tired of this place. I think they're gonna retire soon too." "Cool. And hey, how about your sister?" "Abacus?" "Yeah her. She still into numbers?" "Oh yeah. She went on to working at this bank in Manehatten. I think she's like assistant manager now or something. So yeah she's doing great." "Good. Glad to hear." And then I smiled as another thought crossed my mind. "How about you? Meet any mares lately?" "Mares?" He stammered. "Well... ya see, um... nah. Not that much luck with mares. Got like... one or two dates in college, like one after that. None of them were really that into me though, ya know? And- and I didn't think I was ready for the-them either. Ya know? Wanna wait for just the right mare to settle down with, ya know what I mean... oh, I'm not a virgin anymore though, so give me a little cred for that." I chuckled as I listened to his ramblings. "Oh, Blot," I smiled, "You haven't changed at all." I reached across the table and flicked him on the nose like I use to often. He rubbed his nose and shot me an annoyed look. "I see you haven't changed either," He muttered aloud. He reached for another chip and asked, "Alright. Your turn. How about you? How are things for you going?" I quickly horsed down another chip before I began my story. "Well, right after school, I enlisted for the Canterlot Guard, and I've been in training the past few years. The first four I spent as a private. It was really hard work, let me tell ya." As I said this, I remembered the days marching around the camp, both the hot, cold, and rainy. All the sweat that was poured out those days, how hungry I felt, all the times Valor spat on me. "I remember interviewing Valor today," Blot stated. "He was very polite, but even then, he's a pretty intimidating guy. I-I hate to imagine what he's like during the drill sessions." He cringed. "Oh, you don't know the half of it," I chuckled. I remembered one funny example I could give him. "One time, there was this one trainee- Triumph, I think his name was... and he snuck a few chocolate-chip cookies into his hoof locker. Valor found out about it, and he was like 'What the buck are these, Private Triumph?' And then he went on about how it was our fault for not motivating Triumph enough. He made US do push-ups as penalty instead of him." "Really?" Blot replied, wide-eyed. "That must have really sucked! That's not fair!" "Well," I shrugged, "The point of it was to emphasize teamwork and learning that if one stallion bucks up, it could screw things over for the entire platoon. Besides, I'd take a little extra work-out over being chewed up by Valor any time!" Blot took another sip and chomped down another chip before continuing. "Okay, so you were at the academy for four years. Then what?" "Well, after I officially became a guard, we took on the standard guard duties, watching over the perimeters. Didn't get sent outside of Canterlot mostly though. And then after I became a private, I went into training to become a sergeant, and that's where I'm at now." "Were you around for the changeling attack?" "Unfortunately no." I hung my head in shame. I was so upset with myself for missing that. "We were out on a hike for training that day. And by the time we found out about it, the situation was already dealt with. You don't know how much I regret missing that!" I downed the rest of my drink. "Don't worry about it," Blot smiled. "It's over. Every pony is safe. That's the important part, right?" "Yeah. I guess. And hopefully I'll get to face off with those nasty buggers soon enough! I want a good chance to prove myself... to put my training and skills to the test!" "I'll admit, I'm a bit scared of them. I mean for all we know, any one of these ponies here could be a changeling." "That's unlikely. We've recently developed a spell that lets us detect Changelings. You can sleep safely, don't worry." "Oh. Okay. Good. Thanks." He took a breath and decided to keep moving the conversation along. "So, how's a sergeant different than a private?" "I'll get to command a small group of privates soon, and I get some more privileges," I smiled. "And hey, if you ever want an update or anything for your writing, come and talk to me. I'm sure my job will keep me updated on the big things going on around Canterlot." "Oh, sure. Thanks. Appreciate it," he nodded. He poured himself more whisky before continuing. "Hey, um... by the way... do you remember that dream you had when we were little?" "About me trying to become the next ruler of Equestria?" "Yeah. You're not still following it, are ya?" "Of course I am," I replied. "That's a major reason why I joined the guard; to try and get an in with royalty." Blot shook his head. "Oh, no," He whispered. "What? What about it?" I asked. "Thunder, we're grown stallions now," He said. "I was hoping you had matured and seen how life works by now." "Oh, I see what you mean," I said. "Don't worry about it. I already have a plan to reach my goal. It may take years, but I'll achieve it." "Yeah? Well how does it go?" "It starts off with me joining the guard. Now that I'm there, I plan to work hard, and be the best soldier I can be. I even signed up for all possible guard jobs should they be needed. Through my career, I'll rank-up, gain trust and acknowledgment from many ponies and allies, and you'll see where it goes from there. In my spare time, I also plan on spending some time in the royal library, going through books on magic, expanding my spell arsenal and exercising my potential. Who knows? One day I may even be as powerful as Princess Celestia! I mean I'm already pretty powerful. I know some basic unicorn spells you know, plus there's the basic protection spells that all guards know, and you know... my weather-control spells." "Well, actually, you kinda need some experience in politics to be a king. To be honest, part of me was kinda expecting you to be a senator or something if I ever saw you again." "High-ranking officers in the guard do actually get involved in politics," I countered. "I'll get my experience then. Besides, I wanted to go for a career where I would get to use my talent in magic. Something with action, you know?" "And that is why another part of me expected you to join some weather team," Blot muttered. "Nah. Pegasi are more suited for that than us unicorns." I still felt some pride when I said that, still knowing I was a unicorn, higher and greater than those simpleton pegasi. They're better than earth ponies though, I gotta say. "Thunder," Blot continued, "you have to realize that sometimes, it doesn't matter how hard you work. Some things are just... out of reach to us." I felt like he was talking to me alike a foal. I did not like that, especially not from such a little guy. "Idiot!" I snapped. "I'm a stallion. I know how the world works I've seen plenty of it! I know some things are out of reach. But if you know exactly how to go about trying to grab that thing," I calmed down and a coy smile. He himself eased up, after being taken aback by my outburst. "Sorry about that. Don't worry," I continued more calmly, "Like I said, I have a plan on how to go about reaching my dream. I'll keep you updated on it, and include you in on it as much as I can." "Well... okay, if you say so," Blot replied, nervousness in his voice. "I just hope you know what you're doing..." "Don't worry," I nodded. "I'm sure of it." And then another argument entered my head. "Look, you know Captain Shining Armor from the guard?" "Yeah?" "Him, a simple unicorn, no different from me, became the captain of the guard, AND married a princess. He's practically a prince now himself! If he can do it, surly I can do it!" Blot fidgeted with his glass as my words sank in. "Well, I guess that's a good point there..." I smiled and bit into another chip. It was so wonderful sitting here, catching up with Blot, enjoying this little snack he bought for us. Over the years, I had forgotten how much fun we had together. I had buried any thought of seeing him again a while ago, and tried to forget him. But here he was again, and now things could be just like old times again... of course with us living our grown-up lives now. And I could not wait to possibly include him in my plan to take the throne. I knew he could be a big help to me. I would need his support. I looked over behind me at the corner with all the games, and noticed a few ponies tossing darts at the target. The especially drunk ones kept hitting the wall. I turned back to Blot. I sat up and and walked up to him, then gave him a pat on the back. "Hey, come on," I murmured, "Let's play some darts." "Huh? Okay. Sure." He got up from his seat and pushed in his chair as we walked over. I levitated our drinks and chips along with us. Darts was one of our favorite games when we were little, I remember. Of course I tossed my darts with my magic, occasionally with my mouth. Blot... he always had this fancy way of throwing his darts. He would toss it, letting it twirl in the air, then catch it by the tail in his hoof, and then throw. And every time he threw like that, he almost always hit his target, right in the final ring before the bull's eye. I use to joke that if he was not such a good writer, his cutie mark talent would have been darts, and his mark would have been a few darts, or perhaps a bull's eye. And tonight he was just as good as back in the day. Maybe not as accurate as I remember, but I think that's mostly because of the whisky. He still almost always hit the target, often in one of the two rings closest to the bull's eye. We continued to enjoy our game for about an hour, eventually joining some other colts, or switching to pool, before we realized how late it was, and he payed our check and we headed back to the palace. He told me his room's location for whenever I wanted to stop by and see him. Metal JacketThe next day was a big day; the day I would meet my platoon. I do remember I was nervous. I had to make a good impression on them. I had to gain their trust; to let them know that I would take my responsibilities seriously; assure them that no matter what we faced in our service together, I would bring them home. After all, if I could not lead a team of fifteen guards, how could I hope to one day lead all of Equestria? I was pretty confident in myself though. My time in the academy had prepared me for this, I felt. How hard could it be? The truth of the matter was that sergeants were actually second in command to lieutenants. I was to meet my lieutenant in a designated office in the barracks just before meeting the whole platoon. His name was Metal Jacket, from the documents I received. After breakfast in the mess hall, I met up with Blot quick in his room. He was already up and dressed thankfully. His room was quite nice. I nearly zapped the rat in his room before he stopped me and explained that it was his pet rat, Caesar. He was a cute little guy, really. I went over my speech with Blot, had him give me some pointers and advice on how to fix it up a little where it was weak, and then I headed off to meet with my lieutenant. I approached the office and knocked on the door. "Who is it?" A voice called out. "Seargent Thunder Strike reporting, sir!" I called in sternly, almost as though I were speaking to Valor. "Permission to enter, sir!" "Sure. Come on in." He replied. I pushed the door open and walked in. A green alicorn sat over a desk. He had brown eyes and a brown mane. A cigarette sat in his mouth, which explained the smell of tobacco. He folded his hooves over a small pile of paperwork on the desk. He looked about seven or eight years older than me. "Here, take a seat, son," He said in a gruff voice. "And no need to call me 'sir' at the end of every sentence. I'm not Valor." Wordlessly, I took a seat in one of the two leather seats across from him. His horn glowed light green as he leviated a box of cigarettes before me. "You smoke?" He asked. "No. No thanks," I shook my head. "Good," He smiled, pulling back the box. "Smart guy. Not a good habit to get into." He let out a light chuckle. "Just look at me. I was featured on the cover of an EQ once before I started. "It couldn't have done that much to you," I replied. "I still say you look pretty good." He laughed. "I know! So just imagine what kind of eye candy I must'ave been before! Lots of mares use to want a piece of me!" I smiled and almost laughed. I knew what he was doing here. He could tell I was tense, so he was trying to make me feel more at ease with him, get me to lower my guard. He was showing me that I could be more at ease with him than I had to with higher-ups. "So, Thunder," He continued, "You're the sergeant of my new squad?" "Yessir." "You're fresh out of the academy, right?" "Yessir." "So you think you're ready for this? You got what it takes?" "Yep. I got this far, didn't I?" I had to show that I was confident in this. "That you did," He nodded. "You certainly have the confidence of a true leader. We're about to see if you got everything else." "Thank you." I said. "You gotta be somewhat excited," He went on. "They say you never forget the first platoon of stallions you work with. I still remember most of the ones in my first platoon. Still keep in touch with a couple of 'em." "And how many platoons have you worked with?" "This will be my third." And then I remembered something I have been meaning to find out. "Do you know what we're being assigned to?" I asked. "What our post will be?" "Oh, yeah. Captain Armor already told me. We're being deployed to occupy the land in between Appleloosa and Dodge City." When that sank in, my mind was hit by a mixture of horror and excitement. "That's the land right before the badlands. We're practically on the frontlines should the changelings strike again!" "I know, exciting, ain't it?" He took a huff of his cigarette. "They really think it's good to send less experienced guards like us into such a field?" "Hey, it's Armor n' Celestia's idea, not mine." I was silent for a moment. Being on the frontline, practically on the doorstep of the changeling lands? I would be lying if I said I was not excited. I certainly would see some action through this. If I were to handle this responisibility well, I certainly would get some recognition. "Hey tell me," He continued. "Why did you join the guard anyway?" This question caught me off guard. I had to answer right away, but I could not tell him the whole thing. I knew I should not lie as well. "I have goals." I replied after a brief pause. "Goals?" "Yes. I want to see how far I can go. I want to try to be the best stallion I can be," I went on. "And... I feel like the guard will lead me there." "Hm, that's sweet," He murmured. "Well, I won't say nothing about it. I'll just say whatever this goal is, make sure you go about following it the right way." "Thank you, sir." He huffed. He levitated the cigarette out of his mouth and into the ash tray on his desk, snuffing it out. He then sat up from his seat. "Well, time to go meet the troops. They're already at the mess hall waiting for us. We gotta be there after them, make an entrance, ya know?" He walked around the desk and headed out the door, and I followed him down the hall. I could tell that Jacket was trying to establish a kind of friendship with me. He wanted me to feel comfortable around him. Knowing we would be working together a lot for a while, I could understand such actions. While I was not yet prepared to consider him a friend, he certainly made a good impression on me, and I saw him as a leader. I was prepared to follow him to Tartarus and back, which is how any soldier should feel about a good leader. He seemed like a smart, strong stallion who knew what he was doing. I was prepared to trust him with my life. Of course I did not know or comprehend it at the moment, but from that point on, Jacket was going to be a big part of my life and my plans. And now came the tough part of this afternoon; trying to do for our fifteen men what Jacket just did for me. We were silent for most of the walk to the mess hall. That was where our platoon would be waiting for us. I knew it would be best to let Jacket speak first. We soon walked into the mess hall. Our squad of fifteen ponies were there. The room echoed with gossip and chit-chat and a few laughs. Most of these were the typical white stallions, but a few were other colors. After a brief head count, I recognized Fire Bolt. I took some comfort knowing at least one familiar face would be in my platoon. Jacket stepped into the room, and I walked alongside him, our steps in perfect sync with each other, echoing on the tiled floor. They fell silent and prepared to listen to what we had to say. "So you boys are the platoon we have to work with?" Jacket began. "Well, if Valor says you're good enough, that works for me. You all know your duties as fresh meat in the Royal Guard is to protect and serve not only the princesses but also every pony in Equestria from any kind of harm. You were all unlucky enough to get pulled into this life right when the changelings attacked." By now we were both standing in front of the boys. "My name is Metal Jacket. As your lieutenant it is my job to lead you all into danger and bring you all back alive. I will do what I can to succeed, but I cannot do it alone. This is a team effort; you all have to help me help you. You all know what you have to do to help me." He then gestured me. "This is Sergeant Thunder Strike. He will also be joining our platoon. And now I believe he has something he'd like to say." This was my moment. Time to make a good impression. Time to show what I was made of. I kept up a stern, determined facade, opened my mouth, and spoke out as clear and as loud as I could without shouting. "I don't need to remind you anything. You all know why you're hear. You know what's at stake. I'll have you know right now this is the first platoon I've worked with. They say you never forget your group of stallions you work with in the guard, and I'm sure many of you will give me different reasons to remember each of you long after this platoon disbands." I was not reciting the speech Blot and I had worked on; I was just drawing ideas from it, as well as what Jacket had told me earlier. "Not much else I can say to you. I don't know why any of you decided to join this corp. All I can say is whatever you were planning to accomplish or protect, just remember THAT is what you're fighting for. It's what you MAY be fighting for soon. "Now. We will be deployed to the region between Appleloosa and Dodge City in one week. Until then, you are to continue your normal posts around here. Dismissed." And with that, some smiles appeared on the faces of the stallions again. Chit-chat rose up again. I myself felt at ease. They started heading out the door to wherever they were to go next, whether it be their posts or their spare time. "Well, I think you made a pretty good first impression with that," Jacket smiled at me and clapped me on the shoulder. "Hope so," I smiled. "Now you know which barrack we stay at for the week, right? Just be ready to head out next saturday. Come see me anytime." He headed out the mess hall, and I slowly followed. On my way out, I ran into Fire Bolt. "That was a great speech, Thun- I mean sir!" He smiled. "Thanks private," I smiled back. I knew I did not have to be authoritative at this moment. "So, we're going right up to the changeling's doorstep?" "Looks like it." "Super! Can't wait to start squashin' those dirty bugs!" "Me neither." I nodded. "Well, I'm off to my post. See ya." With another rough clap on the shoulder, he walked around me and headed off down the hall.
PrologueAre you really interested in hearing my story? Very well. I guess there's no harm in telling it. I guess I'll start at the beginning. My name is Thunder Strike. I am a unicorn, arguably the most gifted of the three races of ponies, and I grew up in the gleaming, flourishing city of Canterlot. My mother, a pegasus, served as a messenger, both for the people and the royalty. My father, a unicorn like me, was a well-respected school master. As a filly, I remember them being very busy very often. I have hardly any memories of them spending time with me or of taking care of me. I had to learn to cook, clean, and meet my curfews, all on my own. It became clear to me that their jobs were more important to them than I was. I also remember I had a rather hard time making friends outside of home. Sometimes I would act awkward. A lot of times weird things would come out of my mouth because I was nervous or did not know how to act. And to make things worse, as a unicorn I had magical powers. At times, I had a hard time controlling those powers and learning how to use them. Sometimes I would accidentally hurt someone or destroy something. Because of this, nobody really wanted to be around me. I do remember, however, that one day, I came across this one short earth pony being picked on by some bigger ponies. It disgusted me. I trotted up to the bullies, and scared them away with my magic, making sure to hurt them so they would not come back. The pony I saved was named Ink Blot, or just Blot as I started calling him. From that day on, we started hanging out more. We would talk and play together a lot, sharing so much with each other. One year we wound up in the same class at school. As it turned out, Blot was very smart, especially in english and reading. We would often help each other out with school work when we needed it. We were both pretty good in all subjects though, and barely needed each other's help. We did not really make any other friends, but that was fine. We did not need any other pony besides each other. I would be lying if I said I did not grow attached to Blot. I wanted to keep him by my side for as long as we lived. I knew he would be there for me when I needed him. But of course it did not last. We all grow up and move on, go down our own separate paths from our old friends, meet new friends along those new paths. Eventually Blot and I did the same thing. For starters, my cutie mark was a thunder cloud with lightning, showing off my ability to control thunder and lightning and storms with my magic. His was a fountain pen, no doubt showing off his knack for words and writing. From then on, we slowly drifted apart. But I'm getting ahead of myself. There is one other thing I should tell you: About the day I decided what I wanted to do with my life. In Canterlot, there's this ceremony every day in which our beloved monarch, Princess Celestia, raises the sun. I never really cared that much for it, nor did I care for politics that much, but one day I decided to check it out. Yep. That's me slipping and bumping my way to the front of the crowd. The little brown guy right there with the short black mane and red eyes. I remember hearing the royal guard in their golden armor blowing hard on their horns atop a platform. And then in the center appeared a beautiful white mare with the most radiant mane. I watched her horn glow as she mustered her power. Her large white wings lifted her gracefully up into the air, and as she flew up, the sun rose with her, and when she reached the apex of her flight, she spread her hooves wide, and the sun shone most brilliantly. Every pony in the crowd cheered and ooed and awed as they gazed upon Celestia's majesty, and I could not blame them. She gives every pony something they all need to carry on with their lives; light. She uses her power to do the best she can as a ruler and make everyone happy. And she must have been doing a good job at it, because everyone adored her and cheered for her. Everyone acknowledged her. And so, on that day, I said to myself, "One day, that's gonna be me!"
New AssignmentsI could not be more excited about this day. Things were changing for the better, I was sure. I continued to follow the guard in golden armor as he led me down the brilliantly decorated halls. I tugged along a rope in my mouth that towed along a cart carrying my stuff. I had not brought much; just one bag for some clothes (if I ever needed them), a bag for all my journalism supplies, one for some other useless knick-knacks, and of course, the large cage that held my little pet rat, Caesar. As we trotted down the hall, I could not help but glance at all the fancy tapestries, and stained-glass windows, some of the views out those windows, the paintings, some other palace residents as they passed by. The last couple of days have been quite a rush for me. After years of writing for the Canterlot Gazette, and doing a pretty fine job if I may say so, the two head editors had finally decided to arrange a bigger assignment for me. They decided to send a reporter into palace to report on the dealings there, to keep an eye on Celestia, Luna, and their subjects, to find anything news-worthy. The editors also seemed to be interested in the growing conflict with the Changelings since the recent outbreak in which they nearly destroyed Canterlot. Since that day, I had barely been able to sleep. It was really a terrifying idea, that the foul beasts had descended upon our fare city. For all I knew, any pony around me could be one of them! Should they come after me, there is no way I would be able to defend myself. But I was not too worried anymore. Now I was in the palace, surrounded by skilled and highly-trained guards whom I knew would die before they let anything happen to their people. I felt pretty safe. I still remembered that bright sunny morning when I had packed all my stuff, and met outside the palace with Princess Celestia herself. She welcomed me with a warm smile. She said not to be afraid, and to explore the palace as I pleased to do my job. I felt much better about the move then. Before I was afraid of perhaps breaking into a forbidden wing or some private place of the princess or her relatives. Now, that barely worried me. She had one guard show me to my room from then. I followed the said guard in. I must admit though; he was pretty intimidating. He wore no smile, and looked very serious. We barely spoke a word as we walked through the palace. And when we did speak, it was him just pointing out a few important sites as we passed. He spoke in a very uptight and commanding voice. Come to think of it, all the guards were like that pretty much. I barely said anything, other than things like "okay" and "cool" and "nice". That still did not stop me from getting excited about being a guest at the palace, working on getting good stories to send to the editors for the gazette. I was like a spy. As long as nothing went wrong, I would be stationed here for the next two years! Words could not describe how exhilarated I was, and for a Pony like me, who is almost always good with words, that is saying a lot. "Alright." The guard finally said as he came to a hault. "This is your room here." He turned and gestured to his side a fine wooden door in the wall. He stepped back to let me in. I dropped the rope and opened the door. It was quite nice inside, if quaint. The floor was a finely waxed floor, with stone walls as nice as the rest of the palace. There was not much to decorate the room. There was a wide, comfy-looking bed, a desk, a bathtub, a dresser with a mirror, and a window that when I opened it up, I could see the palace gardens down below, and the towers on the wall on the other side. This was so generous of the princess and her staff to arrange this nice room for me. I had not been expecting such a nice room. They probably treated all their guests this way, but I still felt a sense of pride come to me. "I trust you like it here?" The guard asked. "Oh, y-yeah!" I stuttered as I turned back to him. "It's wonderful! Thank you!" "I am glad to here that." The guard said, still with no smile. I walked back out the room to push the cart of my stuff inside and start unpacking. "Now just to remind you," The guard continued, "you will not be supervised. You are free to explore the palace and come and go as you please. Any places that are off limits are clearly indicated. You will be responsible for your own meals. We recommend the dining hall for staff, or the restaurants outside. Your mail will be delivered to your room. There are two keys to this room on the desk over there. Other than that, just try not to disturb any pony." "Alright, great!" I smiled. "Thanks for- uh- showing me the ropes... Appreciate it." "Your welcome." He nodded. His voice sounded slightly more friendly this time. He turned to the door. "I'll be getting back to my station. Have a nice day." "Uh, thanks! You too!" I started taking my bags off the cart and laid them on the bed, ready to open them up and unpack. "Hey, Ink Blot, was it?" The guard's voice suddenly sounded again, startling me. My head spun around. He was facing me again. "One more thing." "Huh? Yeah?" "If I may, would you like a little suggestion for your next report?" I instantly became all ears. "Yes, sure. Please!" I nodded eagerly. "What is it?" "Some new guards are being recruited for the force," He said. "Their graduation ceremony is at the guard barracks in one hour from now. Civilians are welcome to attend." A smile spread to my face. "Sounds great! Sure. I'll check it out. Thank you!" "Absolutely," he nodded again. "Have a good day." And with that, he trotted out and shut the door behind him. I turned back and started unpacking my things. First I picked Caesar's cage up off the cart, and gently placed him up on the desk. He and the cage had been jostled by the traveling, but he seemed okay. He was not hurt. "Alright, Caesar, little buddy!" I piped as I set him down. "Looks like things are going great. This is our new home, eh?" The little grey rate stood up on his hind legs and looked up and me, and let out a few squeaks. "So, hows about you get out and stretch your legs?" I lifted the latch on his cage door, and he scurried out onto the desk. I was not worried about him running away. I liked me too much. I treated him too nicely. He jumped down on the stool, then to the floor, and started wandering around the strange new floor. As he did, I went through my bags to get out stuff for his cage; more hay for the floor, his exercise wheel, his tiny chew toys, his water bottle, and his nut dispenser. It really was a nice thing to have Caesar around. He was the best company I had. Barely any pony seemed to want to be near me. All through school, and even later at the Gazette, most other ponies seemed to think I was just a short little loser. They all pushed me around and talked down to me, never really seemed to want to have a decent conversation with me. It really sucked. What was wrong with me? Was I really that unlikable? I had always tried to be as nice a pony as I could be. Well, at least the editors believed in me enough to give me this assignment. And again, I still had Caesar, and my parents to a lesser extent. As long as Caesar was around, I had someone to talk to, to share my ideas and frustrations with, someone who would not take advantage of me or push me around. Sometimes though, I feel like he longs to be with other rats. "Ya know what?" I smirked at him. "While we're here, you might run into a pretty little lady rat, huh?" His head jerked up at me as I spoke, but then looked away when I was done. He dashed over to the bed and scurried up the blanket. "Pretty nice room here, huh?" I continued as I went on unpacking. I placed my papers, ink bottles, fountain pens, and stamps up on the desk. "I really didn't think we'd get such a nice place, did you?" He had run to one edge of the bed to sniff the air and look over the edge. "I was kind of expecting us to get something like a wooden floor with nothing in the room but like a pile of hay for a bed and a pool. Maybe a desk if we were lucky. I was kind of expecting that most of the accessories we would have to bring ourselves." Caesar let out a little squeak. I giggled as I tried to imagine what he was saying. "You're right. I should give Princess Celestia a little more credit than that." I took out my clothes, both my casual vests and my more elegant ones for special occasions, and slipped them into the drawers of the dresser. Next, I got my shaving, hoove-filing, and mane-cutting supplies out on top of the dresser, and slid some soap and shampoo beside the bath tub. I did not really have anything else to do or anywhere else to be, and I was not hungry, so I figured I may as well head to the guard barracks. It would be a good idea anyway since I did not know where to find the barracks. "Alright. I'm off to the barracks," I said to Caesar as snatched the one of the two keys of the desk. "Be back soon. Don't leave the room." My little rat squeaked and continued to scurry along the bed. I knew he would be okay here alone. I locked the door behind me and went off to find the barracks. Even as I made my way down to the barracks, my thoughts were already jogging about what I would say in my article. I would probably mention how the guards were preparing to face off against the new threat of the changelings, for one idea. At one point, I stopped and pulled my pocket notebook from my vest pocket, a little fountain pen in the spiral, and jotted down a little note on that, holding the pen in my mouth. Preparing to fight changelings? And then I thought maybe I would see if I can get a quick interview with the sergeant in charge of this set of recruits. Surely he could give some insight on the situation with the changelings, and maybe talk about how well this new platoon fared in training and how he expected them to do in the field. Interviews were always gold mines for reporters. I scribbled down again. Talk to sergeant. It was a good thing I always carried around that little notebook with me. You never know when a good idea is just going to fly your way. When it does, you better be sure to capture that idea on paper or you might forget it. A very basic rule on reporting: The article must give insight on the five Ws: Who, What, Where, Why, When, and How if you counted. TheWhowas the graduating marines of course, and their instructor and captain possibly. The What was that they were graduating and becoming members of the Canterlot Royal Guard. When was at 11:00 in the morning on that day. Where was at the guard barracks. Why and How? ...I was working on that. Hopefully it would not be too hard. Finding the barracks were not as hard as I thought. There were quite a large crowd of ponies here, to my surprise. I was more surprised to see a large table of refreshments and snacks here. I helped myself to a few carrots, grapes, and cheeses. All of these ponies were clearly civilians. They must have been families, friends, lovers and sorts come to congratulate and support the new guards on this day. I also noticed a few guards here and there, all looking as stern and intimidating as at the palace. I made a couple notes quick. Many pony civilians Table of snacks Guards overlooking I decided to ask one of the civilians about the ceremony. I walked up to one adult male with chestnut-colored fur. He had one adorable little filly at his side with a lighter-colored fur. I tapped him gingerly on the shoulder. "Um, excuse me, sir," I said loud enough so he could hear me over the bustle of the crowd. "Hm?" He turned to face me with a smile. "Yeah?" "Hey, sorry to bother you," I stuttered, "I-I'm with the Canterlot Gazette. Mind answering a few questions quick?" I had my notebook and pen at the ready. "Sure," He said and turned totally to me, showing that I had his full attention. I cleared my throat before continuing. "Okay, so um... first of all, who's here that you're coming to see?" "Well, my son is one of the recruits. He's been writing to me, and told me about this day. I actually got a letter from the company about it too." "You think that was the case for everyone? That they got a letter that the recruit they knew would be graduating today?" "I think so." "So where are they? How is this ceremony going to work? Any idea?" "Well, the way I've heard it, the way my son's told me, they've been sent on a ten-mile march this morning as a final exam. The hike is suppose to end here. When they come in, they'll get a minute to rest and have some refreshments." He gestured the table of the snacks. "After that, they will be given their blue stars by their instructor sergeant, who walked them all the way through the hike, and then handed over to the captain of the guards, Shining Armor, to finally kick off their positions." My ears perked up more when he mentioned Captain Shining Armor. I had heard of him. I had heard that he recently got married. Oddly enough, it was the day the changelings attacked. Poor guy. But then I heard that he, almost single-hoovedly, repelled the attack. Quite an impressive feat. "I've also heard that there's an upper class of trainees in this group too," The colt continued. "They've already become private-ranked guards, and are passing their final test to be promoted to sergeants." This sounded interesting. "Really? Interesting!" I replied. "So the sergeants and privates take the same final test?" "I guess so," He answered with a shrug. "I think they're going to line up over there, on the other side of that rope, and get their stars, armor, and salutes there." He pointed over to the edge of the crowd. I saw a fine rope, the kind you would see at the line for a play, keeping the crowd away from a long table full of golden armor. Standing along the table was a few guards, none of which I recognized. I did however, recognize Shining Armor. A quite handsome white stallion with a blue mane, dressed in his fancy red coat. Perhaps later I would try to interview him, but I had a feeling there was already a long line of reporters who wanted to see him. I quickly jotted down more notes. Ten-Mile march=final exam Privates and Sergeants graduating together Handed to Shining Armor for assignments Receiving blue &red stars and helmets March with sergeant instructor And that's when another question popped up in my mind. I turned back to the colt. "Say, do you have any idea who the- uh the sergeant instructor is?" The colt giggled a little. He opened his mouth to talk, but he was interrupted by his daughter suddenly. "Hey Daddy?" She said loud so he could hear her over the crowd. "Can I have another apple?" "No hun," He answered. "You've had plenty. We don't want you to spoil your dinner, now do we?" "Aww!" She whined and pouted. "Oh, don't give me that!" He said sweetly. "Just remember what we're having for dinner tonight!" And with that, a huge smile spread to her face. "Now just give me another minute, I'm talking," He turned back to me. "My son wrote to me about the instructor. He goes by the name of Valor. My son has said he's really loud, demanding, strict, and harsh, and above all, strong and committed. My son has really complained about how hard some of the exercises and punishments have been with him." "Wow!" I nodded. "Sounds like a very intimidating pony!" "He sure is, I'm sure." I jotted down some more. Instructor = Instructor Sergeant Valor. Intimidating reputation And suddenly, the crowd started getting louder, and many started rushing toward the rope to look over at the trail. "Daddy! They're here!" The little filly squealed. The little thing warmed my heart. Her dad smiled back at her. "One more second, sweetie," He turned back to me. "Is there anything else you want to know?" I did not want to bother him and make him miss his son, so I simply shook my head and said "Nope. I'm good. Thank you for everything!" "You're welcome, my friend." He started trotting up to the head of the crowd, his antsy daughter in tow. "You must be proud of your son," I said after him as he passed me by. "Of course I am," he nodded. I made my own way up to the front of the line. It was a tight squeeze, but I could not miss this. I had a job to do. Just over the hill, I saw one lone colt alicorn marching up. He had dark grey fur, and wore a large round hat that all drill sergeants wore, and a tan, heavy-looking leather vest. He had a stern expression on his face, and each stride seemed to have power in it. This must have been Sergeant Valor. And then, just a few feet behind him, up from the hill marched a row of more colts, all wearing a similar vest. They legs and boots and vests, and some of their faces, were all caked in mud. And then another row of these colts followed, then another, then another. I tried to count as fast as I could. I counted about six colts per row, and six rows, a total of thirty-six new recruits. And I noticed their strides as they marched. Each step, every movement, seemed to be in perfect sync with each other. It was really impressive. My mind and my tongue went blurry as I rushed to get all this down in my notebook. Finally, the platoon marched up to the front of the crowd. I heard Sergeant Valor shout something I could not hear. It must have been something like "halt" or something, for he and his platoon all stopped. He shouted again, and the platoon all turned on their hooves to face the crowd. All of this was still in perfect unison, the way this platoon moved. How did they manage this, I wondered. They all seemed to have the same serious expression on their faces. Their gaze was unwavering as well. They all looked straight ahead at the crowd. And then Valor shouted something else, and still in a totally planned and organized way, they spread out, and lined up until they were in a single-file line that stretched on. When they were lined up, there was another moment of silence. Valor stood beside Shining Armor for a moment. They may have been whispering, I could not tell. A few armored guards then came out, each picking up a set of armor off the long table, and came over toward Valor. One guard lined up beside Valor, using his magic horn to hold up a fine wooden box. He opened it, revealing the blue stars. Just then, Valor and the guards all started walking toward the line of recruits. I watched as he started placing the blue stars around their necks, and shook hooves with them. As he moved to the next one, the guards behind him placed a helmet and armor on the recruit. I continued to watch as Valor kept putting the medals on the ponies. Eventually, he had finished with the privates; all blue stars were given out. In another orderly manner after a few shouts, a row of five more colts came forward. These must have been the sergeants, for Valor started placing medals with red stars on their chests. And suddenly, one unicorn he came to caught my eye. This pony had dark brown fur, a black mane and- when I squinted, red eyes. I only knew one pony with all of that. Could it be? Was that... no way! Thunder Strike? It had to be him! I could never forget the face of my dear friend! I was so stunned that I barely noticed when Valor and the guards had medaled and armored every recruit in the line. One armored guard then marched up to the front of the line, and shouted so the audience could hear him. "Let's hear it for platoon number nine-five-A!" And the audience roared with cheer and clapping. The newly-armored recruits all stood at firm attention, still unnmoved, until Valor shouted something else, and raised his hoof in a firm salute. With that, every recruit snapped their arms to salute him back, along with the audience and Shining Armor. Again, the platoon was in perfect unison. Shining Armor saluted back. "AT EASE!" Valor snapped. This time I actually heard him. "DISMISSED!" And with that, all the salutes stood down, and the newly appointed guards all marched toward the cheering crowd. One guard released the rope, and the crowd and recruits all met, and cheering and talking and hugging and laughing. The guards' facade faded, and they each smiled as they rejoiced with their loved ones. So these ponies were not completely machines after all. I noticed as many guards headed for the snack table, and greedily took some food and drink and started eating ravenously. It made sense to me. They must have had to live on small rations in training. I looked around for Thunder Strike. I was hyped to see him finally after all these years. I wanted to rush at him, to hug him and congratulate him, to catch up with him. But then I thought about it some more. In this big crowd and if they were about to leave with Shining Armor to their stations, perhaps now would not be the best time or place for that. It may feel awkward anyway. I figured I should just let him have his moment with his guard buddies, and his parents if they came to see him. I would look for him later for sure. Besides, work came first. I needed to see if I could talk to Sergeant Valor.
A Brief Renunion"Alright!" Captain Shining Armor announced as we all marched across the balcony of the palace. "I'm not going to remind you all of your duties or what you're here to do. I'm assuming Valor did enough of that, and you don't need as much hoof-holding anymore." No pony in the platoon laughed at that joke. We all knew better. We had been molded to keep a straight face at all times, especially when a superior was speaking. "As of now, you're all on guard duty in a double-skip-counter-clockwise rotation. From the moment I place you all at your station, you'll stay there for a four-hour shift. After that, a new guard will arrive to take your place and relieve you of your position. Then you have a five-hour break to spend however you choose before your next shift starts. Understood?" "Sir, yes Sir!" My platoon shouted in perfect unison. "Good!" And that was all he said for a while. I could not help but feel glad that Shining Armor was our captain. I liked him. He did not yell at us or act as uptight as Sergeant Valor did. This was probably because we had finally passed the training, we knew the general ropes, so I guess their grip on us loosened, in a manner of speaking. He was probably in a happy mood anyway. If I heard right, he just got back from his honeymoon a few days ago, and everything has been kept in line. No mishaps or outbreaks, and certainly no issues with those changelings, nasty buggers! We all continued to march on in silence until finally, we arrived at the corner of one turret that overlooked the palace property. At that time, Armor turned sharply to face us. He pointed to me and one orange-furred unicorn beside me. "You two!" He said. "This is your position!" "Sir, yes Sir!" We both saluted. "At ease." We both dropped our salutes. "Take position." We marched over toward the two guards that were already there until we faced them directly. They did not move. We knew the switching procedure. We had practiced it so much. I knew I could not screw this up, not on my first try for real, not in front of the captain. Stare each other in the eye for five seconds. Three one-thousand, four-one thousand, He lifted his spear, and knocked on the floor twice before holding it out for me. I took it from him sharply. We gave each other a sharp salute before he stepped aside, and I walked into his spot. I turned around to face the direction he was looking in, my hooves clacking sharply with each step. Out of the corner of my eye, I knew that the exact same thing had happened with the orange colt and the other guard. And now we were in position. As the two relieved guards walked away, Shining Armor marched on, leading the rest of my old platoon to their new positions. I did not watch them leave, but look straight ahead out over the balcony as I was suppose to do. I could still see them out of the corners of my eyes though. Valor had always stressed us the importance of staying together and working together through thick and thin. And now the brave colts whom I had trained along side were off to their new positions. I could not be sure if I would ever see them again. No matter. It times like these, one must be prepared to sever bonds when necessary. And so my first shift as Sergeant on the Canterlot Guard began. Since nothing seemed to be going on at the moment, I decided to savor the moment some more. I did not get my fill earlier at the graduation ceremony. Ah, this was a proud, proud day for me! Six years of rigorous exercise, memorizing procedures and codes and maps, and being repeatedly yelled at and spat on by Valor had finally paid off. It had all been leading up to this! I still remember two years ago when I graduated from the basic guard training, and became a private-ranked guard. And now, after that extra work, I'm finally a sergeant! Finally, I was one step closer to achieving my goal! If I could just keep up the good work and work hard, one day... I'll make it. I am sure of it! If only my parents could see me now. What would they say? I did not see them at the ceremony. I still remembered when the letter came to me saying that my mother became deathly ill. It was only a year later that my father fell to a similar fate. Because I was still in training, I could not go to their funerals. It does not matter. Even if they were still alive, they probably would not have come to see me. They never cared for me. Oh, but if they could see me now, I knew they would be sorry! They would be more interested in me then, for sure! I shot a brief glance over at the orange colt beside me. His name was Fire Bolt. He was rather scrawny compared to the rest of the platoon. He just barely managed to scrape by enough to graduate. Still, he was now just as much of a guard as I was. He was one of the colts I talked to the most during my extended training period. I was happy to have my first shift beside him, even if we were not allowed to talk or even look at each other. Okay, I thought that was enough free-thinking. I needed to stay focused and keep my sharp eyes out for trouble. I knew exactly what to look out for; if any sort of turbulence or violence broke out in my line of sight. And of course, we all had to be on the lookout for changelings. Thankfully, a spell had recently been developed to tell is a pony was a changeling. All we had to do was to use our magic to check the pony's pulse. If the had warm blood which flowed normal, they were clean. As it turned out, changelings don't bleed... at least not like normal ponies. For about an hour, I stood at that post, never moving, looking straight over the balcony. I must say, not a bad view. No problems broke out. There were hardly any ponies even out today. It was pretty boring. The most fun I had was when a pony would walk by, and I scanned his or her pulse with my magic. And thus far, only two such ponies have crossed my path, both were clean. I was tempted to move. My golden armor began to feel heavy and sweaty. Thankfully, I had learned in training how do dismiss physical discomfort. Part of me wanted to move and maybe go take a walk or take off my helmet. The biggest temptation probably was to turn and start a conversation with Fire Bolt. Hard to believe I've been through all that training, and we never really learned how to stand still for such a long time. Still, I had to suck it up. I've worked too hard and come too far now to screw up. I was more of a real stallion now than I ever was! I was a Canterlot Royal Guard! I was even more than that now! Now I was a Sergeant of the Guard; one step more than the regular guards! I continued to stare off and look over the view until I heard another pony trotting up the balcony from around the corner. I prepared to scan him. "Phew!" He panted as I sensed his presence approach me out of the corner of my eye. "There you are. I-I finally caught up to you!" I had a feeling he was talking to me, but I ignored him. We had rules about socializing with civilians on duty. If he continued to pester me, then I would respond. Sure enough, he did. "Uh, hey buddy!" He continued on. "Mare! It's been forever! How have you been?" He walked into my view. I still tried to avoid eye contact, but I saw that he was a short earth pony with dark grey fur and a white mane. And did his voice sound familiar? At this point, interaction was unavoidable. He was trying to converse with me. I turned my head in his direction. "Sir, can I help you with something?" I asked sternly. As I spoke, I channeled my magic to my horn, and then sent a wave through his body. He was full of normal pumping warm blood. He was clean, thankfully. And we could do this without making the pony feel it. At the sound of my words, the colt took a step back. By the look on his face, he was pretty intimidated by me, maybe scared. "Th... Thunder?" He stammered. "Yo- you don't-uh re-recognize me?" "Should I, sir?" I raised my eyebrow. "How do you know my name?" I tensed up, ready for anything. "You don't remember your old buddy?" I thought for another second. Let me see... grey fur, white mane... green eyes... that voice... so much stuttering, so much fear in those eyes... and that dark-yellow vest with... ink stains? No way! I blinked my eyes before widening them in surprise. "Son of a buck!" I gasped. "Blot? Is that you?" "Ah! Now he gets it!" Blot cheered as his smile returned. I raised my hoof. There was only one way to know if this was Blot for sure. Our little hoof shake. Heck, I'll surprise myself if I still remember that old thing. He smiled as he must have remembered it himself. He raised his own hoof. First a bump, Front hoof, Back hoof, Up high, Down low Pull back, Big bump! Yep. It was him alright. "Little buddy!" I said, almost squealing. "It's great to see ya! What the hay are you doing here?" "I'm writing for the Canterlot Gazette now!" He said proudly. He gestured the fountain pen tucked in his ear. "I've been sent to report on stuff happening at the palace here!" "That's great!" I nodded. "I saw the ceremony!" He continued. "So you-ye-you're a-um sergeant now? That's great! We-uh-we gotta catch up! You gotta tell me all about it! I got an interview with Valor. He's a pretty scary guy, isn't he?" Before Blot could stumble over any more words, I held up a hoof to shush him. "Hey, you know, I really shouldn't be chatting right now," I said. "I'm on duty." His smile faded slightly, but not much. He nodded. "Oh, right. That's okay. I totally understand. But then can we meet up later?" "Sure," I answered. "My shift ends in three hours." "Oh, by then it'll be like four in the afternoon, right?" He continued. "Okay. Sure. Uhhhh... Where should we meet?" I thought for a brief minute, trying to recall some of the big diners or bars in Canterlot. Finally, I got something. "You know Martini's?" "Oh yeah, I know that place!" He nodded. "How about you get us a table and I'll meet you there?" "Oh, yeah. Sure. I can do that." "Okay. Great. I gotta get back to work so I'll see ya then?" "Yeah, sure. Great. See ya then!" And with that, he turned and walked back from the way he came. When he was gone, I got back to standing in my stance, hoping no pony saw me act that way. I recollected myself, and became stern and serious again. I stole a glance over at Fire Bolt. He had a slight smile on his face. I knew he would not tell any pony about this incident. My secret was safe with him. I could not tell which he thought was funnnier; my little reunion with my buddy, or how he called Sergeant Valor a scary guy.
Martini's PubUnfortunately for me, the excitement of catching up with Blot made my shift go by even more agonizingly slow. And still, nothing really interesting happened. By the time it was over, only ten ponies in all had passed me by, all clear. It was such a quiet and calm day. I guess I should be grateful for that though; as far as I knew, no pony got hurt or in trouble today. Finally, four o'clock came, the moon shining bright in the clear, dark purple, starry sky. And right on the stroke and not a second later, two more guards marched up towards me and Fire Bolt. I knew the drill. Keep looking ahead until they faced you. One black-furred stallion with green, serious eyes faced me, his hooves clicking with each sharp movement. Three one-thousand, four-one thousand, five-one thousand, Lift my spear, Knocked on the floor twice, Hold out spear for him, With a firm grip, he takes it, We gave each other a sharp salute, Step aside, He steps in, I walk away. Fire Bolt is right behind me. We know it better to keep our armor on until we find a more private place to take it off. "Not bad for our first day, huh Thunder?" Fire smiled at me, gruffly elbowing my side. He was tough, like all of us, but still playful. "Yep. I guess we did good today," I nodded. "Jeez!" He continued. "I am so freakin' stiff!" He flexed and stretched his arms and legs as he walked. "I had no idea we were going to be sitting around for that long!" Thinking about it, I was pretty stiff myself. I would stretch when we got back to the barracks. "And who would have thought you'd run into your old friend here of all places?" He went on. "Yeah, shocker isn't it?" I replied, a little apathetically. "So what are you gonna do until your next shift?" "I'm gonna hit the hay!" He replied in a smooth voice. "I don't know about you, but I've had enough thrill for today." He chuckled a little. "And this armor is killing me!" "Hmph," I smirked, trying to sound like a laugh. It's always nice to have a guy with high spirits in the corp, the kind that could take even the bleakest situation, and make us all laugh a little. But of course, that kind of pony always got annoying at some point. We were soon back at the barracks, where many other guards were sleeping. We quietly made our way down the hallway, past the white brick walls and the red tiled floors, until we reached our platoon's quarters, which was clearly labeled. Inside, it didn't look that different from the barracks in the academy. The walls and floors were a little nicer, more elegant, but not much. The rows of beds all looked the same. The same colorless mattresses and blankets. Granted though, the black bars looked sturdier. A few dimly-lit lanterns hung from the low ceiling, giving off some light. Looking around, some of the thirty six beds were taken by some colts, some I recognized, either asleep or taking off their armor for the day. "Good night, mate!" Fire Bolt whispered happily as he hovered over to what must have been his mattress. He checked the name card that was posted on the bed. It must have been his bed, because he nodded, then sat right down, and started taking off his armor. I stepped in and looked around for whatever bed might have my label on it. I found it quite quickly, to my delight. I looked under the cot and found my foot locker, my pack, and extra trunk that we were all given to keep our non-essentials. I slowly took off my armor, using my hooves rather than my magic. We had been trained to rely on our bare hooves just as much as our magic horns. I actually did want to use my hooves for this; to feel the weight, and the shiny metal. I took a second to look over my helmet as I took it off, turned it so I could see my faint reflection, felt the soft, red brush at the top. It was still kind of hard to believe this was mine; I earned it. I was a sergeant of the guard. I continued to take off the rest of the armor; the torso, then the horse shoes, then my shiny red sergeant insignia, and put them away beside my trunk under my mattress. While down there, I pulled out the trunk. This trunk held all my personal items. Of course we did not have much in our careers, but we each got a small hard trunk to keep our stuff in. My trunk held my diary and pen, some toiletries, a few bits in case I ever needed them, some other small knick-knacks, and a folded-up cape. I knew that sergeants would get better stays than privates; they were given their own small rooms. This would probably be my last night with the privates. Using my magic, I levitated my cape out of the trunk and unfolded it. Fine black velvet outside, red on the inside, with a turned up collar and a silver chain to hold the neck together. It was just like the ones that aristocrats wore, or the kinds that high-class villains and monsters in plays. I remembered my father had given this to me one year for my birthday. It was really intended for more formal occasions, but I figured I would wear it tonight and show Blot. He'd be impressed, or possibly intimidated even. I slipped it on and buttoned it before heading out the door. I walked through the streets of Canterlot, watching as the other ponies were out and about, going about their evenings, leaving work, off to dinner, strolling down the streets. I must admit it felt odd walking amongst civilians. It did every time I left the perimeters. I liked a good chance to wear my cape just for fun. It always gave me a sense of pride, made me feel important. I strode past a few other fancy, high-class ponies who wore similar capes, I remember. It was a rather cold night as well. Glad I had that cape to keep me warm. At last, I came to an intersection, and at the corner, the quant, calm, two-story building called Martini's Pub. I pushed into the circular door into the familiar scene. Yes, I had come up here a few times with some other guards when we had some time off. A large room with dozens of tables, a few booths on the far wall. The walls covered with all kinds of framed pictures. Lanterns hanging from the ceiling. One pony playing soft piano close to the entrance. Waiters coming in and out of the back room carrying appetizers and snacks. In one corner there were two pool tables, two ping-pong tables, and a fooze ball table, and a couple targets for darts on the wall. Along several tables were clusters of ponies drinking, chatting, or playing cards. Martini stood at the bar, filling a glass of tap cider with for one pegasus. I knew him. He was a very friendly guy, tall and orange earth pony, his black mane combed back nicely. He always payed attention and got to know his returning customers. I may stop by the bar and say 'hi' to him later. But first, I noticed a certain short grey pony sitting alone at one table, a bottle of Applejack Daniels and two empty glasses with ice at his forelegs, as well as a bowl of something else I needed to get closer to see. Seeing him alone like that reminded me of the old trick I loved to play on him when we were little. I thought of doing it now, but it may leave a burn mark on the floor, and draw a lot of attention to us, and we just wanted a quiet get-together here. So I just crept closer to him, carefully, and tapped him on the shoulder, and dodged to the other side as he looked. His head turned back towards me and- "Boo!" "Woah!" Blot drew back, a look of pure shock on his face. "Haha!" I laughed, "Got ya! Just like old times, huh man?" "Yeah, jaja," Blot replied sarcastically as I took my seat. "Really missed that old thing." "Oh, come on," I giggled, gently punching his foreleg, "Get a sense of humor already!" His smiled returned though after that. "Right. It's just good to see ya." He gestured the bowl before us. I saw that it was filled with tortilla chips and three dipping sauces. "So I got us some chips to snack on. We got here, uh, some salsa, bean dip, and uh- guacamole. I know you use to have a thing for beans, so I thought you might like that." "Super!" I smiled. "You still remember that, huh?" I levitated a chip from the bowl, dipped it into the brown bean dip, and popped it into my mouth, savoring the creamy flavor. "Yeah of course. I-I mean how could I forget you, ya know? Oh, I got us something to drink too." He gestured the bottle. "Sweet!" I nodded. I levitated the bottle and our two glasses. I moved them all quickly and precisely, pouring the whisky without spilling a drop, then let his float back to him. "I really shouldn't drink too much of this," I continued. "We have rules on how much we're allowed to drink." "Oh, I totally understand," Blot nodded. "I'll just have maybe this one glass and if I'm still thirsty, I'll get some water." "Sounds good." "Again, you don't mind paying, right?" "Oh yeah, sure." "Thanks mate." "Hey, um-" He raised his glass. "Here's too, um... to um-" "Being back together?" I answered for him. "Good health?" "Uh- yeah. Those things!" I reached across the table and clinked my glass against his before pulling back and sipping up half of the burning liquid. Once I finished, I set my glass town and turned back to Blot. "So, how have you been?" I asked, popping another bean-covered chip into my mouth. "What's it been now? Six years?" He took a breath and started. "Well, after we finished school, I went on the University of Canterlot for two years where I studied journalism. Things were going okay there. After that, I started looking around for places to work at; good papers, you know? It was kinda hard. Well, first for about three years, I worked Equestrian Geographic." "Equestrian Geographic?" I repeated. "No way! That's incredible! So you got to travel all around Equestria? Cover ground? See some neat places?" "Yep. I've seen some nice places. Been around with the rest of the crew. It was pretty fun. And then after that, I started writing for the Canterlot Gazette. That's where I've been the past year." "You mean to tell me you quit working for Geographic? It seems like such a good job for you! Why would you leave?" "Traveling was really cool, but, um... you see I didn't want to keep writing about scenery and nature for the rest of my life. I wanted to write about bigger things. That's why I went more into newspapers and journalism. And- and besides, things could get a little... ya know... dangerous." "Oh, yeah. I see." "So as I was saying before, earlier I saw your graduation ceremony. I wrote up about it after I met up with you, and sent it to my editors." "Really? Nice. But how did you get it to them so fast? Surely you didn't walk all the way down to your office and back." "Nope. I used... well... ya know Ratchet Industries?" He snatched a chip from the bowl and dipped it in salsa before popping into his mouth. "Huh? No. What's that?" "Well ya see, there's this inventor in Manehatten named Ratchet who owns this company. A um... an inventing company. And a while back, he invented this machine that can instantly sent papers and documents from one box to another. I use that." That sounded amazing. "Really? Wow! That's cool!" "It's a revolution in the world of communications. It runs on magic right now, but he's working on it so that it can run on electricity. Ratchet's a pretty cool guy too. We-um met him one time while we were on a trip to the area of Manehatten." "That's cool." I nodded as I took another sip of my drink. "So um... how's your family doing?" "Well my parents are doing great. We send each other letters every once in a while to check up. They're supportive as ever." "You mean they're not in Canterlot anymore?" "Nah. They- um moved to M-M-Manehatten. They said they were tired of this place. I think they're gonna retire soon too." "Cool. And hey, how about your sister?" "Abacus?" "Yeah her. She still into numbers?" "Oh yeah. She went on to working at this bank in Manehatten. I think she's like assistant manager now or something. So yeah she's doing great." "Good. Glad to hear." And then I smiled as another thought crossed my mind. "How about you? Meet any mares lately?" "Mares?" He stammered. "Well... ya see, um... nah. Not that much luck with mares. Got like... one or two dates in college, like one after that. None of them were really that into me though, ya know? And- and I didn't think I was ready for the-them either. Ya know? Wanna wait for just the right mare to settle down with, ya know what I mean... oh, I'm not a virgin anymore though, so give me a little cred for that." I chuckled as I listened to his ramblings. "Oh, Blot," I smiled, "You haven't changed at all." I reached across the table and flicked him on the nose like I use to often. He rubbed his nose and shot me an annoyed look. "I see you haven't changed either," He muttered aloud. He reached for another chip and asked, "Alright. Your turn. How about you? How are things for you going?" I quickly horsed down another chip before I began my story. "Well, right after school, I enlisted for the Canterlot Guard, and I've been in training the past few years. The first four I spent as a private. It was really hard work, let me tell ya." As I said this, I remembered the days marching around the camp, both the hot, cold, and rainy. All the sweat that was poured out those days, how hungry I felt, all the times Valor spat on me. "I remember interviewing Valor today," Blot stated. "He was very polite, but even then, he's a pretty intimidating guy. I-I hate to imagine what he's like during the drill sessions." He cringed. "Oh, you don't know the half of it," I chuckled. I remembered one funny example I could give him. "One time, there was this one trainee- Triumph, I think his name was... and he snuck a few chocolate-chip cookies into his hoof locker. Valor found out about it, and he was like 'What the buck are these, Private Triumph?' And then he went on about how it was our fault for not motivating Triumph enough. He made US do push-ups as penalty instead of him." "Really?" Blot replied, wide-eyed. "That must have really sucked! That's not fair!" "Well," I shrugged, "The point of it was to emphasize teamwork and learning that if one stallion bucks up, it could screw things over for the entire platoon. Besides, I'd take a little extra work-out over being chewed up by Valor any time!" Blot took another sip and chomped down another chip before continuing. "Okay, so you were at the academy for four years. Then what?" "Well, after I officially became a guard, we took on the standard guard duties, watching over the perimeters. Didn't get sent outside of Canterlot mostly though. And then after I became a private, I went into training to become a sergeant, and that's where I'm at now." "Were you around for the changeling attack?" "Unfortunately no." I hung my head in shame. I was so upset with myself for missing that. "We were out on a hike for training that day. And by the time we found out about it, the situation was already dealt with. You don't know how much I regret missing that!" I downed the rest of my drink. "Don't worry about it," Blot smiled. "It's over. Every pony is safe. That's the important part, right?" "Yeah. I guess. And hopefully I'll get to face off with those nasty buggers soon enough! I want a good chance to prove myself... to put my training and skills to the test!" "I'll admit, I'm a bit scared of them. I mean for all we know, any one of these ponies here could be a changeling." "That's unlikely. We've recently developed a spell that lets us detect Changelings. You can sleep safely, don't worry." "Oh. Okay. Good. Thanks." He took a breath and decided to keep moving the conversation along. "So, how's a sergeant different than a private?" "I'll get to command a small group of privates soon, and I get some more privileges," I smiled. "And hey, if you ever want an update or anything for your writing, come and talk to me. I'm sure my job will keep me updated on the big things going on around Canterlot." "Oh, sure. Thanks. Appreciate it," he nodded. He poured himself more whisky before continuing. "Hey, um... by the way... do you remember that dream you had when we were little?" "About me trying to become the next ruler of Equestria?" "Yeah. You're not still following it, are ya?" "Of course I am," I replied. "That's a major reason why I joined the guard; to try and get an in with royalty." Blot shook his head. "Oh, no," He whispered. "What? What about it?" I asked. "Thunder, we're grown stallions now," He said. "I was hoping you had matured and seen how life works by now." "Oh, I see what you mean," I said. "Don't worry about it. I already have a plan to reach my goal. It may take years, but I'll achieve it." "Yeah? Well how does it go?" "It starts off with me joining the guard. Now that I'm there, I plan to work hard, and be the best soldier I can be. I even signed up for all possible guard jobs should they be needed. Through my career, I'll rank-up, gain trust and acknowledgment from many ponies and allies, and you'll see where it goes from there. In my spare time, I also plan on spending some time in the royal library, going through books on magic, expanding my spell arsenal and exercising my potential. Who knows? One day I may even be as powerful as Princess Celestia! I mean I'm already pretty powerful. I know some basic unicorn spells you know, plus there's the basic protection spells that all guards know, and you know... my weather-control spells." "Well, actually, you kinda need some experience in politics to be a king. To be honest, part of me was kinda expecting you to be a senator or something if I ever saw you again." "High-ranking officers in the guard do actually get involved in politics," I countered. "I'll get my experience then. Besides, I wanted to go for a career where I would get to use my talent in magic. Something with action, you know?" "And that is why another part of me expected you to join some weather team," Blot muttered. "Nah. Pegasi are more suited for that than us unicorns." I still felt some pride when I said that, still knowing I was a unicorn, higher and greater than those simpleton pegasi. They're better than earth ponies though, I gotta say. "Thunder," Blot continued, "you have to realize that sometimes, it doesn't matter how hard you work. Some things are just... out of reach to us." I felt like he was talking to me alike a foal. I did not like that, especially not from such a little guy. "Idiot!" I snapped. "I'm a stallion. I know how the world works I've seen plenty of it! I know some things are out of reach. But if you know exactly how to go about trying to grab that thing," I calmed down and a coy smile. He himself eased up, after being taken aback by my outburst. "Sorry about that. Don't worry," I continued more calmly, "Like I said, I have a plan on how to go about reaching my dream. I'll keep you updated on it, and include you in on it as much as I can." "Well... okay, if you say so," Blot replied, nervousness in his voice. "I just hope you know what you're doing..." "Don't worry," I nodded. "I'm sure of it." And then another argument entered my head. "Look, you know Captain Shining Armor from the guard?" "Yeah?" "Him, a simple unicorn, no different from me, became the captain of the guard, AND married a princess. He's practically a prince now himself! If he can do it, surly I can do it!" Blot fidgeted with his glass as my words sank in. "Well, I guess that's a good point there..." I smiled and bit into another chip. It was so wonderful sitting here, catching up with Blot, enjoying this little snack he bought for us. Over the years, I had forgotten how much fun we had together. I had buried any thought of seeing him again a while ago, and tried to forget him. But here he was again, and now things could be just like old times again... of course with us living our grown-up lives now. And I could not wait to possibly include him in my plan to take the throne. I knew he could be a big help to me. I would need his support. I looked over behind me at the corner with all the games, and noticed a few ponies tossing darts at the target. The especially drunk ones kept hitting the wall. I turned back to Blot. I sat up and and walked up to him, then gave him a pat on the back. "Hey, come on," I murmured, "Let's play some darts." "Huh? Okay. Sure." He got up from his seat and pushed in his chair as we walked over. I levitated our drinks and chips along with us. Darts was one of our favorite games when we were little, I remember. Of course I tossed my darts with my magic, occasionally with my mouth. Blot... he always had this fancy way of throwing his darts. He would toss it, letting it twirl in the air, then catch it by the tail in his hoof, and then throw. And every time he threw like that, he almost always hit his target, right in the final ring before the bull's eye. I use to joke that if he was not such a good writer, his cutie mark talent would have been darts, and his mark would have been a few darts, or perhaps a bull's eye. And tonight he was just as good as back in the day. Maybe not as accurate as I remember, but I think that's mostly because of the whisky. He still almost always hit the target, often in one of the two rings closest to the bull's eye. We continued to enjoy our game for about an hour, eventually joining some other colts, or switching to pool, before we realized how late it was, and he payed our check and we headed back to the palace. He told me his room's location for whenever I wanted to stop by and see him.
Metal JacketThe next day was a big day; the day I would meet my platoon. I do remember I was nervous. I had to make a good impression on them. I had to gain their trust; to let them know that I would take my responsibilities seriously; assure them that no matter what we faced in our service together, I would bring them home. After all, if I could not lead a team of fifteen guards, how could I hope to one day lead all of Equestria? I was pretty confident in myself though. My time in the academy had prepared me for this, I felt. How hard could it be? The truth of the matter was that sergeants were actually second in command to lieutenants. I was to meet my lieutenant in a designated office in the barracks just before meeting the whole platoon. His name was Metal Jacket, from the documents I received. After breakfast in the mess hall, I met up with Blot quick in his room. He was already up and dressed thankfully. His room was quite nice. I nearly zapped the rat in his room before he stopped me and explained that it was his pet rat, Caesar. He was a cute little guy, really. I went over my speech with Blot, had him give me some pointers and advice on how to fix it up a little where it was weak, and then I headed off to meet with my lieutenant. I approached the office and knocked on the door. "Who is it?" A voice called out. "Seargent Thunder Strike reporting, sir!" I called in sternly, almost as though I were speaking to Valor. "Permission to enter, sir!" "Sure. Come on in." He replied. I pushed the door open and walked in. A green alicorn sat over a desk. He had brown eyes and a brown mane. A cigarette sat in his mouth, which explained the smell of tobacco. He folded his hooves over a small pile of paperwork on the desk. He looked about seven or eight years older than me. "Here, take a seat, son," He said in a gruff voice. "And no need to call me 'sir' at the end of every sentence. I'm not Valor." Wordlessly, I took a seat in one of the two leather seats across from him. His horn glowed light green as he leviated a box of cigarettes before me. "You smoke?" He asked. "No. No thanks," I shook my head. "Good," He smiled, pulling back the box. "Smart guy. Not a good habit to get into." He let out a light chuckle. "Just look at me. I was featured on the cover of an EQ once before I started. "It couldn't have done that much to you," I replied. "I still say you look pretty good." He laughed. "I know! So just imagine what kind of eye candy I must'ave been before! Lots of mares use to want a piece of me!" I smiled and almost laughed. I knew what he was doing here. He could tell I was tense, so he was trying to make me feel more at ease with him, get me to lower my guard. He was showing me that I could be more at ease with him than I had to with higher-ups. "So, Thunder," He continued, "You're the sergeant of my new squad?" "Yessir." "You're fresh out of the academy, right?" "Yessir." "So you think you're ready for this? You got what it takes?" "Yep. I got this far, didn't I?" I had to show that I was confident in this. "That you did," He nodded. "You certainly have the confidence of a true leader. We're about to see if you got everything else." "Thank you." I said. "You gotta be somewhat excited," He went on. "They say you never forget the first platoon of stallions you work with. I still remember most of the ones in my first platoon. Still keep in touch with a couple of 'em." "And how many platoons have you worked with?" "This will be my third." And then I remembered something I have been meaning to find out. "Do you know what we're being assigned to?" I asked. "What our post will be?" "Oh, yeah. Captain Armor already told me. We're being deployed to occupy the land in between Appleloosa and Dodge City." When that sank in, my mind was hit by a mixture of horror and excitement. "That's the land right before the badlands. We're practically on the frontlines should the changelings strike again!" "I know, exciting, ain't it?" He took a huff of his cigarette. "They really think it's good to send less experienced guards like us into such a field?" "Hey, it's Armor n' Celestia's idea, not mine." I was silent for a moment. Being on the frontline, practically on the doorstep of the changeling lands? I would be lying if I said I was not excited. I certainly would see some action through this. If I were to handle this responisibility well, I certainly would get some recognition. "Hey tell me," He continued. "Why did you join the guard anyway?" This question caught me off guard. I had to answer right away, but I could not tell him the whole thing. I knew I should not lie as well. "I have goals." I replied after a brief pause. "Goals?" "Yes. I want to see how far I can go. I want to try to be the best stallion I can be," I went on. "And... I feel like the guard will lead me there." "Hm, that's sweet," He murmured. "Well, I won't say nothing about it. I'll just say whatever this goal is, make sure you go about following it the right way." "Thank you, sir." He huffed. He levitated the cigarette out of his mouth and into the ash tray on his desk, snuffing it out. He then sat up from his seat. "Well, time to go meet the troops. They're already at the mess hall waiting for us. We gotta be there after them, make an entrance, ya know?" He walked around the desk and headed out the door, and I followed him down the hall. I could tell that Jacket was trying to establish a kind of friendship with me. He wanted me to feel comfortable around him. Knowing we would be working together a lot for a while, I could understand such actions. While I was not yet prepared to consider him a friend, he certainly made a good impression on me, and I saw him as a leader. I was prepared to follow him to Tartarus and back, which is how any soldier should feel about a good leader. He seemed like a smart, strong stallion who knew what he was doing. I was prepared to trust him with my life. Of course I did not know or comprehend it at the moment, but from that point on, Jacket was going to be a big part of my life and my plans. And now came the tough part of this afternoon; trying to do for our fifteen men what Jacket just did for me. We were silent for most of the walk to the mess hall. That was where our platoon would be waiting for us. I knew it would be best to let Jacket speak first. We soon walked into the mess hall. Our squad of fifteen ponies were there. The room echoed with gossip and chit-chat and a few laughs. Most of these were the typical white stallions, but a few were other colors. After a brief head count, I recognized Fire Bolt. I took some comfort knowing at least one familiar face would be in my platoon. Jacket stepped into the room, and I walked alongside him, our steps in perfect sync with each other, echoing on the tiled floor. They fell silent and prepared to listen to what we had to say. "So you boys are the platoon we have to work with?" Jacket began. "Well, if Valor says you're good enough, that works for me. You all know your duties as fresh meat in the Royal Guard is to protect and serve not only the princesses but also every pony in Equestria from any kind of harm. You were all unlucky enough to get pulled into this life right when the changelings attacked." By now we were both standing in front of the boys. "My name is Metal Jacket. As your lieutenant it is my job to lead you all into danger and bring you all back alive. I will do what I can to succeed, but I cannot do it alone. This is a team effort; you all have to help me help you. You all know what you have to do to help me." He then gestured me. "This is Sergeant Thunder Strike. He will also be joining our platoon. And now I believe he has something he'd like to say." This was my moment. Time to make a good impression. Time to show what I was made of. I kept up a stern, determined facade, opened my mouth, and spoke out as clear and as loud as I could without shouting. "I don't need to remind you anything. You all know why you're hear. You know what's at stake. I'll have you know right now this is the first platoon I've worked with. They say you never forget your group of stallions you work with in the guard, and I'm sure many of you will give me different reasons to remember each of you long after this platoon disbands." I was not reciting the speech Blot and I had worked on; I was just drawing ideas from it, as well as what Jacket had told me earlier. "Not much else I can say to you. I don't know why any of you decided to join this corp. All I can say is whatever you were planning to accomplish or protect, just remember THAT is what you're fighting for. It's what you MAY be fighting for soon. "Now. We will be deployed to the region between Appleloosa and Dodge City in one week. Until then, you are to continue your normal posts around here. Dismissed." And with that, some smiles appeared on the faces of the stallions again. Chit-chat rose up again. I myself felt at ease. They started heading out the door to wherever they were to go next, whether it be their posts or their spare time. "Well, I think you made a pretty good first impression with that," Jacket smiled at me and clapped me on the shoulder. "Hope so," I smiled. "Now you know which barrack we stay at for the week, right? Just be ready to head out next saturday. Come see me anytime." He headed out the mess hall, and I slowly followed. On my way out, I ran into Fire Bolt. "That was a great speech, Thun- I mean sir!" He smiled. "Thanks private," I smiled back. I knew I did not have to be authoritative at this moment. "So, we're going right up to the changeling's doorstep?" "Looks like it." "Super! Can't wait to start squashin' those dirty bugs!" "Me neither." I nodded. "Well, I'm off to my post. See ya." With another rough clap on the shoulder, he walked around me and headed off down the hall.
