Hit

Blaze looked out into the night sky, the stars punching white, shining holes in the sky. Crickets cried, and the wind whistled, it was a clear night. He craned his neck as he gazed upon the landscape around him. The tall grasses of the green plains were sway in the wind, the trees parroting their movements. He noticed the rolling hills in the distance, and the formidable mountains behind them.

Mountains that he would have to cross in order to reach his destination.

“Are you going to ogle at the scenery all night or are you going to eat your dinner, Capitaine?” a young stallion’s voice asked him.

He turned back to see his companion plopped on his haunches and grinning widely at him, a crackling fire burning only a few feet from him.

Blaze returned a smirk at his old friend. The yellow unicorn gestured to the steaming pot of vegetables hanging over the flames, seemingly prepared to eat. The brown earth pony nodded in response and moved to join his partner by the fire.

Both of the young stallions sat in silence for a moment, staring into the inferno in front of them. The unicorn opened his mouth to speak but then quickly restrained himself. There was nothing to do but listen to the calm and peaceful sounds of the night while awaiting their meal.

An awkward moment indeed.

Blaze, in an attempt to break his trance that the fire had captured him in, looked to the surrounding area once again. The silver moonlight shined off his face and the clearing outside of the forest of which they had made camp, was uneventful.

“I heard that enlistments are down and desertions are up. Things must be pretty bad for the regulars.” Thunder Coy said, trying to break the ice.

Blaze scoffed.

“You shouldn’t send regulars to do a Hoof Guard’s job,” Blaze replied, an air of arrogance in his tone.

Coy looked away from the cooking pot and at him with confusion.

“But Capitaine, what we’re doing isn’t a Hoof Guard’s job.”

He nodded in affirmation.

Of course, this wasn’t like anything in his job description. Never in his time as an officer had he received such a bizarre request from his superiors. A Hoof Guard was an elite, a shock troop, they weren’t build for missions like this. But, being a good soldier, he thought it better than to question his orders.

“Aye, looks like our dinner is ready,” Coy announced, his yellow horn now covered in a blue glow.

Blaze watched his friend telekinetically grab hold of the pot and lifted it away from the fire. Coy popped the lid and watched the steam escape from its prison of sizzling food. Both young ponies felt their mouths begin to water and their stomachs moaned in agony as they smelled the delicious aroma. Coy dispersed the food into two plates, that Blaze raised his eyebrow in curiosity.

Proper eating plates.

Not a usual item for a soldier to carry with him into the field, whereas a sturdy metal pan would do just as well, even if it was cold.

The young lieutenant preparing the feast must have sensed his friend’s interest, explaining the break in the norm to him.

“Command wanted us to pose as civilians remember? Why else would they tell us to ditch our uniforms? I thought the plates would be a nice touch,” Coy explained, still facing away from the brown pony.

Blaze rolled his green eyes in disdain.

“Yet they tell us to bring our army muskets with us…and flintlock pistols…and officer sabers,” he deadpanned.

“Of course, two walking arsenals wouldn’t be conspicuous at all.”

The sarcasm oozed from his comment.

The other pony laughed at the thought as he finished mixing the carrots with the lettuce and white rice, dicing them up with dual wooden spoons expertly held in his magic.

“Since when does the army use logic?”

They both chuckled at that.

“And besides chap, we can just tell the Equis that we are explorers. Actually, that’s sort of true to some extent,” he finished with a smile.

Blaze shifted uncomfortably as he adjusted his flank and flicked his tail.

“Hmm…I guess you’re right. But I still don’t see why we need so many weapons.”

The unicorn shrugged.

“The army gave them to us to defend ourselves on our journey.”

“Defend against what?”

“You know Capitaine. Bandits, wild animals…Equi scouts.”

After they had filled themselves up with steamed vegetables, they both stacked their muskets together by crossing the bayonets and digging the stocks into the soft soil below. They kept them close to their blankets in case of an emergency. Coy levitated a chunk of dirt he pulled out of the ground and used it to douse the fire. Blaze took inventory of the supplies, making sure it was enough for the journey over the mountains and into Equi territory.

As they both climbed into their respective, makeshift beds, Blaze remembered one thing. He drew his flintlock pistol and set it to half cock and stuffed it under his pillow, a habit that he had developed from his time in the army…mainly from paranoia. He also kept his saber lying next to him, flat on the ground, just in case the enemy needed to find out how many he could kill before he went down.

He had played out this scenario many times in his head, should an intruder try to off him in his sleep. The brown earth pony would quick draw his pistol and discharge it into the face of the closest target. If he couldn’t get to his musket, then he would snatch up his thin curved sword, and figure out how well the remaining enemies could fence.

If they didn’t shoot him first, that was.

He heard a click next to him and found Coy setting his own pistol to half cock and looked up towards Blaze. Coy chuckled as he slipped the weapon under his own pillow.

“Looks like I’m picking up habits from you, old friend,” Coy said with a smirk, unsheathing his saber and laying it on the ground.

Blaze smiled as he let his head drop into the welcoming soft pillow, ready for sleep to take him.

Both veterans awaited the morning and with it, their uncertain futures.