Just Blink

Just BlinkDigital_HexChapter Five

        Being unconscious is weird.

        I've been unconscious before, but it never gets any easier to deal with. I suppose everypony has a different reaction to being unconscious. A lot of my fellow soldiers say that it's almost as if they close their eyes at one place and when they open them, they're somewhere else. Others say it's like a deep sleep, no dreams.

        Me? I take a nice stroll down memory lane. I suppose I should be worried that this might be the fabled “life flashing before my eyes” spiel, but it never feels like some dramatic montage. No, it's just as I said before: a stroll.

        This time, it was a flash-back to almost ten years earlier. I hadn't relived this particular instance in... quite a while, actually.

        There I was, a tiny little unicorn, my mane long and unruly, with a quick curl at the end. I was still bruised from a few nights prior, a night that continues to haunt me.

        I was sitting in a recruiting center in Anville, the only station in town. I knew the ponies there, notably the recruiter. He was a rather bulky unicorn stallion named Roadblock. A reasonable name, I supposed.

        “Aural Blink!”

        My small body turned to face the voice. It turned out to belong to Shining Armor, much younger. He was still in the early-recruitment officer training corps, the fancy school for the richer ponies.

        I saw the tears well up in my eyes, I could feel the relief from seeing him. Even with the pain, though, the tears welled up but did not spill. I didn't shed a single one. Shining Armor rushed over to me, pulling me in a big hug.

        “I heard what happened, I was- I was- I don't even know what I was, nor am!” he practically shouted. Roadblock had turned his attention to us.

        “Did they... Did they really...?” Shining Armor asked. I nodded solemnly.

        “My stars...” he gasped. “Even Dream?”

        I felt a single tear roll down my face. I hadn't been strong enough to save her, I wasn't strong enough to even hold in a fragging tear. I could feel the spite for myself.

        My response was a single shudder down my body. Shining Armor leaned in closer, holding me reassuringly. Protectively.

        “I'm- I'm-” he tried to say, but I stopped him.

        “Don't say it,” I'd croaked out, my voice cracking.

        “Everypony else has already said it, so please... just don't...”

        Shining Armor sighed, nodding against me.

        After a few minutes, he pulled away.

        “So this is your answer?” he asked me, motioning to Roadblock. Well, he was really meaning joining the Equestrian Guard, but the symbolism wasn't lost on me.

        “I'm not going to fail again,” I'd spat out. “I'm going to get stronger! I swear!”

        Shining Armor patted my shoulder reassuringly, smiling.

        “Well, if this is what you want to do...”

        “It is!” I assured him.

        Roadblock then spoke up. “Alright, Blink. You're all set.”

        Levitating the papers he'd been reviewing, he tapped them against his horn and they disappeared in a small orb of energy, sent away to Equestria.

        “Now to see what the princess thinks.”

        Roadblock leaned back in his chair, looking out the window between us. It overlooked the entire village and the bay. To the left, one could even see the charred remains of my old house...

        “So why does the princess have to personally review me?” I asked Shining Armor. “You weren't any older than I am when you joined!”

        “Actually,” Shining Armor countered, “I was two years older than you are now. And secondly, I had my parents permission to join. You... well, seeing as this cannot happen, you have to get a royal waiver. Seeing as my family is technically the closest relation you have, we have full responsibility over you.

        “However, seeing as you aren't in Equestria, the same rules as back home don't apply here. If we were in, say, Reindehoof, this would be much easier, as the laws there are much more explicit. But seeing as Anville is such a recent addition to Equestrian lands, and we are still trying to work out rights here, you require the explicit permission of the commander-in-chief of the Equestrian Guard.”

        “I still don't get why it takes so much trouble to let in one lousy colt,” I huffed.

        “Well, your asthma doesn't help,” Shining Armor pointed out.

        “Hey, I have it handled!” I yelled back.

        “Neither does your lack of expertise in general magic.” he continued.

        “I'm good at teleportation spells...”

        “Yes, and that coupled with your lack of a cutie mark might be what saves you. The princess is very considerate when it comes to new recruits. I'm sure you'll be accepted,” he assured me.

        “I hope you're right...” I sighed.

        And thus we waited. Moments turned into minutes, minutes turned into hours. The sun was just beginning it's early decent when Roadblock's horn spat out a response.

        Roadblock read over it once before his lips split into a massive grin.

        “You're in, kid.”

        I could feel the relief I'd felt then. That moment, that moment then was possibly one of the most important moments of my life. I'm pretty big into the whole destiny thing, but I still wonder what might have happened if I hadn't made it, if I'd been rejected.

        “Alright then,” Shining Armor said, standing. “When will the airship be here?”

        “Five minutes,” Roadblock answered gruffly.

        “Five?!” Shining Armor asked, startled. “they must have cleared you a while ago, then! Let's go!”

        With that, Shining Armor grabbed my hoof and pulled me after him, darting out the door. In the distance, we could see the outline of the blimp in the distance.

        “Why are we in such a hurry?!” I asked.

        “If we're going to have any chance at making it to Fort Starswirl tonight, we need to leave as soon as possible! We can't travel there at night, and there's a storm heading this way, estimated to last upwards of a week. We need to hurry!”

        Shining Armor and I flew through the buildings, climbing the many rocky hills that dotted the city. We were practically built upon a mountain, the village buildings connected by narrow walkways. There was still a few piles of snow that hadn't melted in the early summer sun. The same sun that was only going to be up for another hour at most.

        “There, it's docking!” Shining Armor shouted. Sure enough, the dirigible had made contact and was waiting patiently at the docking station alongside the town's cliff-edge.

        I cast a quick spell upon Shining Armor, locking my magic onto him.

        “What are you-” he began, but was cut off a second later as I teleported both of us right onto the dock.

        “-doing?” he finished before looking around, impressed. “You might just make it, kid.”

        He punched me lightly on the shoulder before tearing up the boarding plank, with myself close behind him.

        “Alright, let's go!” he shouted, the boarding plank closing behind us. A moment later, the airship rocked back as we took off, heading for Fort Starswirl.

        I got a quick look around the cabin. There was a green pegasus looking through some gear along a wall, along with another pony, although he was... a little different. For starters, he was huge. I mean huge as in I was surprised the airship could even hold him. He was ripped, huge slabs of muscle slapped to him all over. His coat was a deep, burnt orange, and he had a short crop of red hair. He was an earth pony, so his size wasn't all too surprising, but... well, it was still pretty surprising. He was massive!

        “Ah, Shining Armor. Good ta see ya, lad!” the massive pony bellowed, throwing a huge hoof over Shining Armor's shoulders. Shining, having just hit his teens, was tiny compared to him.

        “You too, Painful Authority!”

        I watched as I rubbed my ears vigorously, making sure I heard that right. Did he just say Painful Authority? How did he end up with that name?

        “So, this be the boy, eh?” he asked, his Scandineighvian accent thick. He looked me over with his sharp yellow eyes.

        “Yes, this is my second-cousin, Aural Blink. He's the newest recruit at the corps.”

        I did a double-take towards Shining Armor.

        “Corps?! As in the officer training corps?!”

        Shining Armor nodded.

        “Whoa, whoa! I thought I was just going in as a regular soldier!”

        Shining Armor chuckled lightly. The green pegasus I'd noticed earlier trotted over, holding a few rolled scrolls in his mouth. Shining Armor grasped one of them with hi magic, unfurling it and showing it to me.

        “This is your test results from the Equestrian Vocational Aptitude Battery, particularly your Military Equivalence Score.”

        I looked at it, frowning. I'd remembered that stupid test from over a year ago, it'd seemed so easy.

        “Yeah, what about it?”

        “Do you see your score?”

        I looked at the scores. All across the board, they were in the 90's. My MES was a 97.

        “Yeah, and the teacher had said that my score was bad.”

        “She did what?!” Shining Armor and Painful Authority cried out, falling backwards. The green pegasus rolled his eyes.

        “This is how she explained it,” I started, not realizing why they were so shocked. “If you got a one, then that meant that you were in the top one percent of that field. Isn't that how is works?”

        “The opposite, actually,” Shining Armor sighed, rolling up the paper. “It works just like any other test, Blink. You did extremely good on it.”

        “Yeah, but I didn't get a 100 on it...” I pouted.

        “First off,” Shining Armor began, “you can only get a 99 on it. Second off, this is meant for ponies my age, who haven't been able to find a job in their particular field due to their cutie mark, or want to do a civil duty and join the Guard.”

        “So...?” I asked him.

        “Here's my test scores from last year,” Shining Armor said, levitating both my scroll and a scroll with his results in front of my, right next to each other for easy comparison.

        I outscored him in every category. His MES was a 93.

        “And this is Painful Authority's from five years ago- wait, that means you need to take another one!” Shining Armor turned to yell at Painful Authority as he set the next scroll next to mine on the other side.

        Again, I'd outscored him in every category, even more so than I had Shining Armor. Painful Authority's score was a 76.

        “I still don't get what you're saying...” I said.

        “What I'm trying to say is that you have the testing scores to get through the schooling portion of the academy easily.”

        “Wait, what academy!?”

        “The Early-Recruitment Officer Training Corps academy, duh!”

        “Who said I wanted to go there?!” I yelled. Shining Armor and Authority grew stern-faced.

        “That's what we're here to ask,” he started slowly. “You could do so much, you could go so far. Think of what you could accomplish, what you could do for our country. Officer training is going to be so easy for you, we just need to find a field for you. That's why we need you to decide, do you want to try this?”

        “I was fine with just being another soldier,” I huffed.

        Shining Armor and Authority both gave big laughs. “Not with these scores you aren't. Do you realize what the average score is for the regular soldier?”

        “No,” I admitted.

        “Thirty-nine. That's three points above the minimum to join. Trust me, this is obviously something you were meant to do.”

        I thought about it. This could definitely be... interesting.

        “Will I be in charge of a bunch of other ponies?” I asked.

        Shining Armor shared a quick look with Painful Authority.

        “Depends. We do some cognitive tests and physical examinations when you get to the academy, so... we don't know. It all depends on what you're good at, what you can do.”

        I returned to thinking. It was definitely attractive, being an officer. Do remember, I was eight at the time in question, so all I thought of officers at the time was the ponies who talked with ambassadors from other countries and never got to see any of the action.

        Boy was I wrong.

        “I... I guess it could be cool,” I said.

        Painful Authority set a hoof on my shoulder, squeezing it firmly.

        “Now listen here, boy. I know ya just got through a rough time, yer still goin' through it I'm sure, but ya need to grow up fast, ya hear? This isn't some game we're playin' here, this is serious. Do ya want ta become an officer, or not?” His voice was strong and firm, not friendly but not aggressive either. I'd heard this voice before, from my dad. This was an adult question he was asking me.

        I took a deep breath, steeling myself. I looked straight into his eyes.

        “Yes. I want to become an officer.”

        He cracked a big grin, taking his hoof off of my shoulder.

        “Well then, I guess yer our newest recruit. From now on, ya shall address me as Captain Authority. This here isn't yer cousin anymore, it's First Lieutenant Armor. You are Cadet Blink. Are we clear, cadet?”

        “Yes... sir?”

        “Good,” Captain Authority said, grinning. As he turned, I got a good look at his cutie mark: A crossed hammer and rail spike. Painful. Makes sense.

        “Alright, get some rest. We'll wake you when we get to Fort Starswirl,” Shining Armor told me.

        I trotted over to a small wooden shelf with a pad on it, nestled into the wall of the cabin. I shuffled around for a minute before giving up, resting my head. I closed my eyes, and the next thing I knew, I was out.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

        “Blink...”

        I groaned, my head feeling heavy.

        “Bliiink...”

        Why was I wet?

        “BLINK!”

        “AH!” I shouted, snapping up. I almost tumbled off the side of the spring wall- oh look, here we go.

        I fell forward, the air whipping at my wet form. It took me a few seconds of screaming uncontrollably to remember I could teleport, and then I was back where I was, now falling back wards. I splashed unceremoniously back into the spring.

        I thrashed around before feeling with my hooves that the spring was barely leg-deep in this section. I stood up, the water not even reaching my hocks.

        “You okay?” Twilight asked me, looking at me with a face that was a cross between concern and fright.

        “Yeah, I'm f-”

        The memory of what had led up to me being unconscious fled through my mind, stopping me mid-sentence. I felt my face flush.

        “Fine! Perfectly fine!” I said quickly, turning away from her. This was bad.

        “Are... Are you sure? You were unconscious for a few minutes, I was afraid you'd drowned!”

        “As I said, I am fine! No need to worry!” I said robotically.

        “Al- alright...” Twilight said, and I heard her slip back into the water.

        “How'd you find this place?” she asked me.

        “Applejack told me about it, I've been helping her on the farm all day.”

        “Oh,” she said, letting the conversation drop. Probably going back to enjoying herself. How much was she enjoying herself, though...?

        A quick gust of wind managed to sneak it's way to me, ruffling my wet coat. I shivered in the breeze.

        I slowly peeked over my shoulder. There Twilight was, her waist floating on the water towards me, her front legs spread against the spring, neck thrown back, wings splayed out-

        My horn let out a few sparks. I snapped my head back furiously.

        “You enjoy that?” Twilight laughed. I facehoofed.

        “Of course not!” Then I realized my mistake. “Enjoy what, exactly?”

        “Busted,” Twilight cackled, flicking some water my way. I sighed, defeated. Like Hell I'd show her that, though.

        “I have no idea what you are talking about. You are my cousin, there is no way I'd even think that.”

        “Ahuh,” she said, disbelieving. “Think what, exactly?” I turned back, shooting her a glare. She was now sitting in the spring, giving me a smug look. Her wings were half-cocked.

        “Alright, alright, I'm dropping it!” she said, shrugging.

        “So, how'd you find this place?” I asked her as I trotted over to a deeper section of the spring, near the center. I could sit down and still have my head and half my neck above the water.

        “Applejack showed it to me after my first winter wrap-up here. I've used it ever since.”

        “Winter wrap-up?” I asked. “What's that?”

        I could feel Twilight lift an eyebrow at me from behind my back.

        “You've never been a part of a winter-”

        “I grew up mainly in Anville, and spent the rest of my life in the griffon kingdom and further east. They don't have whatever you're talking about over there.

        “Oh, okay... well, Winter Wrap-up is-”

        She then went on the explain exactly what winter wrap-up was. I should have taken notes, she was so descriptive. Here, each of the ponies had a specific part to play in cleaning up the town after the last snow of the season. Funny, everywhere else we simply let it melt away like normal folk. This country continued to surprise me... Yeah, that probably sounded treasonous since I was FROM said country. Too bad.

        “So nopony moves the clouds in Scandineighvia?” Twilight asked me.

        “Nope, they move on their own.”

        “And nopony cleans up all the snow?”

        “Well, when there is too much snow and we need the snow moved for something important, then we do. Other than that, though, no. We let nature run it's course.”

        “That sounds...” Twilight thought a moment before finishing. “Illogical and uncalculated. It's uncanny.”

        “You know what it sounds like to me?” I asked. Twilight shook her head.

        “Normal.”

        Twilight laughed. I didn't realize I'd made a joke.

        “We have two very different ideas of normal, Aural Blink.”

        “You bet we do,” I agreed.

        We were now sitting a body distance away from each other, hanging our bottom legs over the spring. I looked up, leaning back on my front legs. The stars in the sky were beautiful.

        I let my mind wander. The last time I'd just sat back and looked at the stars had been a while ago. It had been the last day of the academy, the day before I graduated. It had been a good day.

        Looking back, today had been a pretty good day, too. I'd been given a by-the-book tour of Ponyville, had met a few of Twilight's friends, and had even gotten a good workout at the farm!

        It was a good day.