Knights of Equestria: Page

It was Saturday, and Blizzard and her friends were standing at the town square. Ten other foals were there aside from she and her friends. Instructor Sky was in the front of the group of fourteen foals, standing next to three large chariots with teams of two pegasi each, along with a unicorn and an earth pony. The predawn air was damp, the town square uncomfortably silent.

The pegasi were regular soldiers. One could tell that they were because the pegasi wore plain steel armor instead of the flashy gold that the Royal Guard wore. The helms didn't have plumes either. Not many ponies mentioned the Equestrian Royal Army too much. It was a reminder that some nations just detested peace. So many ponies usually ostracize any who mentioned the army for a day or two. It was sad really, but pony nature is sometimes, very rarely, that cruel. Blizzard only knew the army existed because one kind soul wrote a book about them, and it probably wouldn't have been published had the author not gone directly to Princess Celestia to request it to be published. This brought the whole reluctance mention the army into light in in the Princess' eyes, so she rebuked the whole of ponykind for doing such a thing. Ponies began to have at least a little respect for the poor souls of the army, but it will take centuries, or a really bad war, for ponies to finally accept the army.

"Alright foals, get used to being called fledgies, 'cause that's what me and the other instructors are calling you from now until your second year with us. I'm Sir Steel Forge, call me Instructor Forge. I'll be teaching ya' fledgies how to take care o' your weapons and armor and teach ya' the basics in all weapons. For the few o' you lucky, strong types with the dexterity of a rhino's foot, as opposed to the rest o' ya' having the dexterity of an elephant's foot, I'll be teachin' ya' how to forge your own weapons and the like." the earth pony said, stepping back. Instructor Forge was, like his name suggests, a big and strong pony, with a mane and tail of gray, splotched with black, and a steel gray hide that tapered of into black on his muzzle and hooves. He had a large scar that went from his left shoulder curling over his neck and going down to his chest. His irises were orange, like embers in a fire.

"I am Sir Starlight Twinkle, and any jokes about my name are going to lead to a sixty-three page report about the history of psychology, and, rest assured, I will give you the most boring text book about it." the unicorn threatened. "Refer to me as Instructor Starlight. I will be teaching all of you the basics of magic, as to why will be explained later, and certain academic subjects. I will also be teaching how to use mage blades if any are proficient in that sort of thing." Instructor Starlight was blue with a light yellow, almost white, mane and tail. He was average in size. His irises were indigo, flecked with gold. He stepped back to allow Sky forward.

"As you already know, I'm Instructor Sky. I will be teaching you all in hoof to hoof combat, the pegasi in aerobatics and aerial combat, and I will teach any lucky pages in strategy and tactics. I do teach other things, but I'll let you find out what I teach. Alright, now that the intros are done here are a few rules before we set off for the fortress. One, don't be jerks to any of your fellow pages and instructors. If you do, well I don't want to tell you what happens. Two, do all of your work and submit it on time, or you will be ordered to do four laps around the inside walls of the fortress. Three, don't do anything that's very stupid, like point a spearhead at your chest and gallop at full speed. Yes, that did happen a few times. Now that that's done, let's move out." she said.

With that, the three instructors divided up the new pages, they surprisingly had equal numbers of unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies, and loaded them onto the chariots. Each instructor got on each chariot with their cargo, Instructor Sky called a command to the pegasi that were hooked up to the chariots, and they were off, with the sun just peeking over the eastern horizon.

Blizzard was staring at the scenery that they were rapidly passing by. Only Flame Wing was with her, as she was a pegasus. The first twenty minutes of the flight was amazing, almost like flying herself, then it started to get boring. The other three pegasi foals on the chariot were chatting among themselves, with Flame listening in on them. She thought of the things  she would be learning, and then thought of her parents. She already missed them a bit. She had already realized that she won't see them until winter, and it kind of tempered her excitement. She sighed.

"Bored?" she jumped as Flame stood next to her. The red pegasus chuckled and said, "Finally got one on you didn't I. So, what do you think our new home for the next couple of months will be like?"

"Tiring, messy, and loud." she said

"Yeah, you told all of us that it won't be pleasant in the first week. Hey! Is that Fort Cinder Hooves." came the reply. Blizzard nodded and stared at the fort. The fort was rather large. It had a large tower in the center and a bunch of other stone structures around the large central building. Thanks to the superior sight that all pegasi have, Blizzard could even make out the general forge from the smoke stacks.

Suddenly, the chariot jolted and one of the pegasi that pulled the chariot cried out in pain. Blizzard glimpsed a sharp bolt sticking through the wing of the unfortunate pegasus with blood starting stain the white feathers crimson, then they started falling. Instructor Sky shouted out to the other chariots to continue on and get help before she spread her wings. Pure instinct made Blizzard spread her wings as well, almost instantly slowing her fall. The other pegasi weren't so lucky, they fell, screaming their lungs out as the steel chariot fell. Instructor Sky swooped next to Blizzard.

"Page Blizzard Strike, follow me and dive when I do. Just shove your wings back and point your dominant fore hoof in front of your face. Tuck the other hoof in and fall. This all lets you steer. Now follow me." she said. She dived down after the chariot, and, after a moment's hesitation, Blizzard followed, trying to copy what Ash Sky said to do. She twitched her left wing and was surprised when she did a sharp twist in the air. If it wasn't in such dangerous conditions, Blizzard would have experimented more. As it was, however, she just tried her hardest to follow the light gray pony in front of her. Her last thought as she rapidly approached the trees was Well, here goes nothing.