The Adventures of Thunder Strike and Ink Blot

The 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.