Stalking my unwitting prey, I hunched low to the ground. I slunk forward—eyes on the prize—wriggling my rump in anticipation of the pounce.
Oblivious to its fate, my prey continued to flutter over the flower patch. All I needed to do was wait for it to land for some nectar and it’d be—
The butterfly floated to closer to a wild tulip only to find itself suddenly snatched up by predatory claws as we both discovered that not all the flowers were flowers.
A mantis and a butterfly?! Score! Two for the price of one!
I leapt, quickly snatching up the wildflower they rested on in my fangs. A happy hum filled the air as gossamer wings flaked apart in my mouth. Carapace cracked open to deliver deliciously squishy innards, the legs twitching once or twice in a satisfyingly ticklish way. Butterflies were always good, and mantises were rare. Even the flower was an added bonus—mmm, tulips, yum.
“Hey, Night! There you are!” A small buzz announced Scootaloo as she wheeled over a hill. “Why’d you sneak off like that?!” She whipped off her helmet to rest it on the handle of her scooter. “You had us all worried! This is the edge of the Everfree Forest!”
I quickly swallowed before turning. “But you said it was safe….” I kicked the ground. “You girls were taking too long, and I was hungry!”
Scoots rolled her eyes. “Well, it’s not safe if you wander off! You know how much trouble we’ll get in if you get hurt?”
I giggled. “So it’s fine if I get eaten, just as long as you lot don’t get in trouble for it?”
“Of course!” Scoots tossed back her head and spread her wings. “It’s really not all that bad though. All the adults are just worrywarts. It’s perfectly safe as long we stick together.”
“I’ll try to remember that.” I bared my fangs in a grin.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not edible.” Scootaloo stuck out her tongue.
“But I thought you were an orange?” I licked my lips.
Scootaloo blew a tuft of mane out of her face. “Just hop on. We need to get back fast. I went a little farther than I said I would, so now everypony else is probably worried about both of us.”
I jumped on the back of her scooter and almost fell right off the bat. Standing on two hooves was harder than it looked, and I had to clamp my forelegs around her barrel to balance myself.
“Hey!” Scootaloo squirmed. “You mind letting me breathe?!”
“I-is this safe?” All attempts to loosen my grip quickly ceased whenever I wobbled on my hind legs.
My grip tightened.
“Urk!” Scoots grunted. “Y-yeah. It’ll be fine—as long I don’t pass out first!” She began buzzing her wings. “Now, loosen up and help with the wing power!”
I started trying to flap my wings in time with Scootaloo. Dad had said that was really important for chariot duty, and Scoots’ scooter was basically a really small chariot with how she buzzed along.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t flap anywhere near as fast as her. My wings were bigger—clunkier—and I could only flap them once to every five beats from Scootaloo. Every push jolted us slightly faster, although we always slowed as my wings readied for their next beat.
The climb back up the hill was really jerky and difficult because of this. As we hit the top, though, Scootaloo smirked. “And now the real fun begins in three… two… one….”
We passed over the top, stalling there for just a moment until my wings gave their next mighty beat.
And there goes my stomach.
“Woot!” Scoots grinned manically as we picked up speed—her wings buzzing faster and forcing my own to try and pick up speed.
“Screeeeeeee!” My own screech was much more panicked.
We dashed down and onwards, the wood of the scooter creaking ominously beneath. The forest to our side passed in a blur as we shot towards an isolated tree with a rope swing in the distance.
Had I really been hunting this far off?
The others were waiting there—little grey blobs in the distance. They waved as they saw us approaching, and cupped their hooves to their mouths to shout.
“Come on!”
“Hurry up!”
“You won’t believe what I found!”
We scooted up to the tree, and Scoots turned into a harsh, sudden stop just as I flapped my wings. Ripped from my death grip on her barrel, I shot into the air right at the tree.
I flapped just before crashing, and corrected my path to direct me under a tree branch. My tail whipped out to curl around it, and I spun round and round—gurgling as I fought not to lose the butterflies in my stomach. My glasses fought to slide off, but I kept them firmly on my face as I bit my lip to keep my lunch in.
“Urgh….” I finally dangled to a stop, world spinning, stomach lurching. “Scoots, you said it was safe!”
“What can I say?” Scootaloo shrugged. “You didn’t hold on tight enough.” She turned to the others. “What’s this about finding something, though? We were supposed to be looking for Night here.”
“Ah was,” Applebloom drawled.
“I was!” Sweetie Belle beamed at me.
“I wasn’t,” Silver deadpanned.
“Oh, yes you were,” Diamond sniffed, head held high. “I had to keep stopping you from double checking places—and I quote—‘in case she came back.’”
“Are you sure you aren’t quoting yourself, Diamond?” Silver Spoon made a motion with her hoof. “You were zipping about so fast you could given Rainbow a run for her bits.”
I giggled. “Thanks, girls.”
“You won’t believe what I found when I was poking around town, though.” Diamond grinned, pulling several fliers from her saddle bags. “They were just hanging them up too. Girls, I give you what we’re going to do today!”
She hoofed a flier to each of us and I stared at the contents.
“Ponyville Junior Guard Division?” Sweetie cocked her head to the side. “What’s a Junior Guard?”
“Ah don’t think we’re old enough for the guard, Diamond.” Apple Bloom looked between her friend and the poster.
“It’s not the actual guard.” I gently swung back and forth, hoping the motion would sooth my stomach. “Well, it is and it isn’t. The guard funds these little groups for foals that want to join the guard. I always wanted to join the Canterlot one, but Dad said it had a strictly daytime schedule, so I never did.”
“That still don’t explain why the hay Diamond wants us to do this.” Apple Bloom arched her brow.
“Well, I don’t really want to.” Diamond stuck her snout up. “But I just knew Night would want in. I say we at least try it.”
The girls looked between each other before looking to me and nodding.
“Sure!” they chorused before lifting their hooves up high. “Cutie Mark Crusader Guard Patrol!”
“Yeah!” I swung a few more times and launched myself from the branch so I could join in on the high hoof.
I poked through the door into the sweet shade of my house, put my glasses and saddlebags on the floor, and slunk down the shadowed hall to find my newest prey. He was sleeping on the sofa—armor strewn on the ground before him—and I knew this might be my only chance to catch him unaware today.
I crept forward as stealthily as I could, tip-toeing on my frogs—as not even the softness of cloud could be trusted to hide my hoofsteps from him. Picking my way through the minefield of armor, I hardly dared to breath. I flinched as a flick of my tail cracked through the air like silent thunder, but managed not to squeak.
My prey’s ears twitched at the sound—small as it was—and I froze, debating whether or not I should hide in the clouds. His ears twitched again as I waited, and, after a long moment, he finally rolled on his side to face away from me.
Drat. Now I’d need to climb to the back of the couch without him noticing. Still, it was better than being caught.
I began to breath again, and hesitantly restarted my advance. As I reached the hoofrest for the couch, he stirred again—briefly bending his neck around to scratch at the base of his wings with his fangs.
“Mrgmmf… no, not the glitter. I’d rather die than sparkle, you fiends….”
Oh, Dad….
Mom giggled from her vantage point on the lounger, muffling the sound with her wings when I turned to pout at her. She waved a hoof—egging me on—before returning to reading her book by candlelight.
“No. No!” Dad snorted loudly, flopping over to his other side again. “Get away from me….” He kicked one hoof feebly at the air. “Anything but garlic breath….”
Now was my chance! I continued to slink forward, low to the ground, butt in the air. My rump wriggled as I prepared to pounce.
“Boop.”
I blinked—rear end freezing mid-waggle—as my snoot was suddenly assaulted by a hoof almost as thick as my head. Looking up the length of the massive foreleg it was attached to, I found Dad baring his fangs in a grin at me.
“Nice try, Night, but somepony—” he waggled his brow at Mom, “—woke me up.”
“Mom!” I half-screeched, half-whined. There were giggles behind me, and Dad let out a hearty laugh.
“Now, then.” Dad leaned forward. “What do you want, my little light in the night? You rarely go for the snoot anymore unless you want something.”
I squirmed. “Well, it’s not like I ever win.”
Dad laughed again and ruffled my mane. “It’s good practice for getting in the guard, though! You never know when you might need a bit of stealth.”
“Anyways…” I bit my lip, and Dad grinned knowingly. “I was wondering if I could join the new Junior Guard Division?”
“It’s finally starting, eh?” There was an appreciative hum from Dad. “Your teacher mentioned Ponyville was getting one, but I didn’t realize it’d be so soon. I certainly don’t have a problem with it, though. Do you, honey?”
“Of course not!” Mom laughed. “I would never deprive Night of the opportunity to meet her future husband like I did.”
My face heated as Dad snorted. “Keyword being future. Remember all the fights we got into? We hated each other as foals.”
“Oh, hate is such a strong word.” Mom waved a hoof. “I didn’t hate you. I liked you. I just liked messing with you more.”
Dad grinned. “You don’t say? Well, guess what? The feeling was mutual.”
He ruffled my mane again. “Don’t worry, though. If any colts actually manage to beat you, I get to beat them when they’re older. Dad’s prerogative. I’ll become a drill sergeant just for them, and then I’ll run them ragged for messing with my little filly.”
He leaned down to whisper in my ear. “And if they do beat you, you just give them a swirly. Trust me, it does wonders in the long run.”
“It did not!” Mom laughed. “Now stop filling her head with ideas and go start your half of dinner. I made the salad and dressing about an hour ago. All that’s left is for you to roast the crickets you caught last night and toss everything together.”
I walked up to the castle with my tail twitching. Princess Twilight’s home was freakin huge, the towers stretching up to bite into the sky. The sunlight reflected off everywhere I looked, and seems at least twenty percent brighter..
I had no idea how Dad worked here.
“Hello?” I poked inside to find it somewhat easier to see. There were still sparkles everywhere, but they were dimmer and didn’t hurt to look at. There were very few guards, though, and that felt weird to me.
Whenever Dad had taken me to work in Canterlot, there’d been a lot of guards—even at night. They were everywhere in Canterlot. Paired up at doors. Patrolling the halls. Flying about to deliver messages. Here, there were just the two guards at the entrance and the occasional friendly face walking the many halls.
Speaking of the many, many halls, I seemed to be a little lost
Fidgeting, I had to wander several halls before I stumbled upon another guard. Like all the others, he smiled and waved. That was another thing that weirded me out. Everypony knew the best guards were stoic as statues on duty.
“Umm… excuse me, sir,” I squeaked, giving a shaky salute.
“Why, hello there, little miss.” He bent down slightly to be on my level. “I’m guessing you’re Tempered Mettle’s filly? Are you looking for your dad?”
I squirmed a little, but held the salute. “No, sir! I’m here for my first day in the Junior Guard, sir!”
The guard chuckled. “Well, aren’t you adorable. I take it you got lost trying to get to the training yard?”
“Sir, yes, sir!” My tail flicked.
“Call me Steel.” The guard— Steel stood up. “Sir makes me sound old, and Steel Shield is just a mouthful.”
“Alright… Steel….” I bit my lip. “I’m Nightingale.”
“A beautiful name for an adorable little filly.” Steel smiled before waving at me to walk with him. “Come on, then. I’ll take you to the training yard.”
“So, umm… what do you do around here, sir?” It was rather easy for me to keep pace with him.
“Hey. I told you not to call me sir!” He grinned at me.
“S-sorry, sir— I mean, Steel.” This was so weird. Dad had always insisted I call him sir when he was on duty.
“Well, I may not be Shining Armor, but I’m pretty good at shield spells, if I do say so myself.” Steel puffed out his chest a bit. “I was selected for this post with exactly that in mind.”
He started to gaze into the distance. “And with Princess Twilight’s help, I’m even better than before. She really goes out of her way to help us all, you know. The Dawn Guard may be a small unit, but I’d trust everypony here with my life, and I’m pretty sure everypony else would say the same.”
He smiled down at me. “Maybe you’ll join us one day? I’m sure your Mom and Dad would love to show you the ropes.”
“Maybe….” I squirmed. “I was thinking of trying to get in Luna’s personal guard.”
“Bah!” Steel waved a hoof. “The Canterlot Division are all stuffy, stone-cold statues. We’re all much more friendly. Your parents made the right call transferring here.”
I frowned, but said nothing. I knew for a fact that some of Dad’s guard buddies were much more than stone-cold statues.
“Anyways, here we are!” We turned a corner to find another hallway exactly like all the others. “Third door down on your right leads to the training yard.”
“Thank you, sir!” I galloped to and through the door. The other girls were already there waiting for me, while a number of other fillies and colts chatted in groups.
“Hey, Night! You finally made it!” Scoots was stretching her legs. “Figured you’d be the first of us here.”
“I got a little lost.” I ruffled my wings. “Is there really this many ponies joining?” I looked around the room. “Ponyville doesn’t strike me as a very guard heavy town.”
“We aren’t,” Silver sighed. “None of these ponies know what they’re getting into.”
“Umm…” I fidgeted. “No offense, but do you?”
“My uncle Silver Sword does something or other with the guard.” Silver shrugged. “He’s told me a few stories—stories I told Diamond and she refuses to believe.”
“I’m sure they don’t make you run that much.” Diamond waved her hoof dismissively.
“Oh, they do.” I began stretching like Scootaloo. “At least, the Canterlot Division did. They used to pass by my bedroom each morning as I was getting ready for bed.”
“The only thing Diamond is used to running is her mouth,” Silver Spoon quipped.
Diamond blanched. “Maybe this was a mistake.”
“What are talking about?” Sweetie tilted her head to the side.
“They’re gonna make us run laps around Ponyville!” Diamond danced from hoof to hoof—her statement drawing looks from the other fillies and colts.
“Well, they’re going to work us up to that.” I rolled my shoulders, continuing to limber up. “We’ll also be getting community service and get lessons in proper posture.”
“What kind of cruel and unusual torment is that?! Rainbow Dash said we’d be fighting each other.” Scoots had stopped stretching to stare at me.
Actually, everypony was staring at me now, and it was making my stomach start to churn.
“Well, yes, we will be sparring.” I squirmed only slightly. “But that’s only part of the job. I mean, the Junior Guard is supposed to be preparing us for the actual guard. You didn’t think all guards were naturally that stoic, right? You’ve met my Mom and Dad, Scoots. They’re completely different ponies on and off duty.”
“I am starting to regret this decision already,” Diamond whimpered. “I didn’t think Silver was serious. Do we have to do this?”
Several of the other fillies and colts were hastily edging towards the door.
“Aww, it’s not that bad,” I pouted. “It’s only the jog that happens every day, and it’s early in the morning like a paper route. It hardly gets in the way of anything! And the the rest of the work is only once a week! Besides, in exchange we’re getting some of the actual guard basics! The sparring wouldn’t matter without proper endurance or discipline.”
“And foals actually like this?” Diamond pouted right back.
“I like it!” I snorted. “Come on! At least try it with me! You all got me really excited when you said you’d join!”
“Well, I’m game.” Apple Bloom began to stretch. “Can’t be any more difficult than helping out on the farm. Scoots, you in?”
“Hay, yeah! Rainbow said this was a cool idea! Sweetie?” Scootaloo pumped her hoof in the air.
“Well, if you girls are in I guess I can do it too….” Sweetie kicked the ground.
“Uncle said it builds character.” Silver shrugged.
“Well, now I can’t say no.” Diamond huffed. “Just don’t expect any miracles.”
“Oh! Thank you!” I swept them all into a hug. “I promise you won’t regret it!”
“Attention!”
An older pegasus stepped into the room in full guard armor, a peytral denoting the rank of Master Sergeant. I quickly pushed the girls back to snap a salute. Back straight. Stance rigid.
Must. Not. Move.
Upon seeing me do so, some of the remaining ponies tried to follow my lead, but they all lacked the discipline to both salute and follow through. Some twitched. Some shivered. Some just had sloppy posture.
Not me, though.
As much as my wings ached to twitch, I held them still. And as much I wanted to squirm, I held firm beneath the pegasus’ gaze. The butterflies in my stomach churned, because it was time. It was a struggle to hold my breakfast in, but it was ignored in all the excitement.
Who cared what the butterflies thought? I was going to make this the best day ever.
The pegasus stood there studying us. Waiting. What was she waiting for— Oh!
“Attention!” I squeaked, stomping a hoof into the ground and reaffirming my salute. I made a quick about-face. “Fall in rank and salute, cadets!”
All the other foals stared like I’d grown a second head.
“Come on! Line up and give it your best shot! She’s waiting!” I hardly dared move again, but out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of something that made my heart pound with pride—the slightest smirk on the sergeant's face.
She waited silently a few more seconds—watching the others hesitantly hop from hoof to hoof—before moving further into the room. She stopped in front of me and smiled, ruffling my mane with a hoof and breaking all my composure.
“Nice try, squirt. I wasn’t actually expecting anypony to figure it out in this little backwoods town. One of your parents in the guard here?”
Diamond sniffed at the term backwoods, and Apple Bloom scowled a little. I was still too thrown from having my mane ruffled to get back in a proper salute.
“B-both of them, m-ma’am!” My squeak lurched into a little screech with the honorific.
“Well, high speed, guess who’s just inherited the responsibility to lead these ponies!” the sergeant laughed. “Line up and salute, cadets! You heard your platoon leader, didn’t you?!”
Everypony hastened to comply this time: scrambling to fall into line in front of me and giving shaky salutes. I blinked dumbly for a moment, before remembering to do so myself. My tail twitched this time, however, as the butterflies in my stomach started whipping up a storm.
Platoon leader? Me? Oh, no, no, no. I was expecting somepony else—Apple Bloom, maybe. Sure, I knew what to do, but that didn’t mean I could lead. It’s not like anypony listened to me when I tried to get everypony in line, did they? Why me?!
“Ease up there, soldier.” The pegasus was smiling knowingly at me. “We’re all here to learn—even you. Are you that uncomfortable being a leader?”
“W-well, not uncomfortable exactly, but…” I wanted to squirm so badly.
“Just give it a chance,” she soothed. “You were the only one who instinctively saluted when I called for it, and you were the one to call for falling into ranks first—not me. If you really don’t like it, I’ll give it to somepony else, but just a few minutes of watching all of you showed me you’re best suited for the job.”
She was being so… nice about things. Dad never told me what to do if the training officers were nice. I couldn’t help but shuffle from hoof to hoof as I struggled to voice a response.
“I— I don’t—”
“We believe in you, Night!”
I blinked, and turned to stare at the other crusaders beside me. They’d all called out in chorus—a dissonant chorus, but they’d tried—and had turned to give me their salutes. They were shaky and poor postured and hardly anything to be inspired by, but I couldn’t help but swell at the sight.
Snapping back to a salute, I addressed the mare in front of me. “Bat Platoon reporting for duty, ma’am!”
The pegasus grinned and nodded. “Excellent! I’m Sunny Smiles, retired master sergeant of the solar guard, and it’s my pleasure to whip you all into shape. It takes a lot to make it into any of the various guards, but those of you who stick with your Junior Guard Division will find yourselves having an edge when it comes time to enlist.”
Her grin momentarily turned into a stormy scowl. “I’ll be honest. This isn’t a game. We let you have fun, but it’s expected that you’ll be working hard for it. I fully expect some of you will drop, and I can already see a few got cold feet and left before I arrived. Make sure you know what you’re getting into now, and ask your platoon leader any questions you have on how we do things when time permits.”
A colt raised his hoof and was promptly ignored.
“First, though, we’re going for a jog.” Sergeant Sunny Smiles grinned a very evil grin, and I suppressed a shiver. “Twenty laps around the castle grounds or until you drop—whichever is first. I need to know what I’m dealing with here, and the best way to do that in one go is pushing you above and beyond your limits.”
Sweetie Belle was the first to drop. Not an athlete by any means, it was easy to see it coming. Still, she made it farther than I expected. It filled me with determination.
On and on, we ran. A filly dropped here. A colt dropped there.
Every time, Sergeant Sunny Smiles would promptly swoop in and airlift them to a sweet and shady tent set up by the front of the castle. The rest of us would tromp on by to see them sipping apple juice. They’d cheer and wave – egging us on – and I’d pick up my pace just a little at the sight.
Must. Not. Falter.
Princess Twilight and the Elements of Harmony themselves had come to watch, and I refused to let them or my friends down. I flapped my wings as we passed them again, providing a bit of breeze to my sweat-soaked barrel as I repeated what Dad told me over and over.
Inhale through your nose for six steps. Exhale through your mouth for two. Long steady wing beats to match.
Lift for six steps. Push for two. Circulate the air to keep cool and provide just enough air lift to ease the work on my legs.
Keep a good pace. Save the sprint for the last lap.
I could do this. My legs were only just starting to lightly tingle with the good burn, and we were already half done.
Diamond and Silver were next—somewhere in their eleventh lap. They might have been earth ponies, but their extra stamina could only help so much. Diamond in particular had been scrambling to keep up, almost crawling near the end until she finally gave up.
I was passing by on my thirteenth lap at the time, and I smiled and nodded to her in recognition. I couldn’t afford to call out and waste my breath, but she seemed to take it all the same. She woozily waved to me as Sergeant Sunny landed to pick her up.
I pushed on, and—by my sixteenth lap—my legs were really starting to ache. I’d had to stop beating my wings from the cramps two laps ago, and now I was really feeling the burn.
Scoots was lagging behind, about to fall as I finally lapped her. She’d started with a sprint and it showed now that she was trying to pace herself. Despite the fact that she was more athletic than me, she was gasping for breath, and I smiled apologetically as I passed her. I had thought if anypony else would make it to the end, it’d be Bloom and her.
At least Apple Bloom was still in the running. She’d been pacing herself from the beginning like me, and was still going strong. The burning in my limbs grew stronger whenever I glanced back at her, though. She might have been covered in a sweat-soaked sheen, but she was barely panting compared to me and the only other colt still going.
Stupid earth pony stamina.
Finally, I made it through the last lap. I was gasping for breath—Dad’s words of wisdom lost and forgotten at some point. My legs were inflamed with the fire of a thousand suns, and I was itchy and cramped and smelly. There was the perpetual taste of salt in my mouth from all the sweat, and I sometimes swore there was two or three extra Suns out between the small spots in my vision and the heat that burned in my everything.
“Did—” I staggered into the tent, unable to finish the thought as I downed an entire juice box in one go. Right in my mouth, box and all.
Schlurp!
Unsatisfied with mere apple juice—no, watered down apple juice—I wobbled over to my bag and pulled out three boxes of Beet Positive.
Schlurp! Schlurp! Schlurp!
Three more husks joined the cardboard carcass on the ground.
“Did—” I licked my lips and still tasted salt. “Did we win the war?”
“You sure as Tartarus did, champ!” Sergeant Smiles let go of my friends, and they swarmed me in a group hug. “Even in the other divisions, it's rare for more than one pony to make it to the end. Ponyville had three! Aww, it’s a shame that I have to smash you all to pieces and build you back up!”
“What?” Several other ponies whimpered – Diamond including.
“Sergeant!” Princess Twilight scolded. “Don’t make me sick my brother on you. They aren’t actually in boot camp!”
“Aww, I know that, Princess.” The sergeant bowed. “I just got carried away is all. It’s been awhile since I had promising recruits.” She lifted her head up to smile at us all. “You have some excellent little troopers here in Ponyville.”
“Thank you, Sergeant.” The Princess ruffled her wings, somewhat mollified.
“Now then.” Sergeant Sunny Smiles smiled sinisterly. “I believe we’ll call it here for today, Cadets. I don’t want you going too far or anything, but I do have one last little assignment for you.
A collection of bags and trash stickers were pulled out from beneath one of the tables.
“You all made quite a mess with the juice boxes while cheering your friends on. Good guards don’t litter. They are clean and efficient in everything they do. Hopefully, picking all the trash you left out will help instill that into you.”
A chorus of groans rose up from everypony.
“Oh, don’t be like that.” Sergeant Smiles made sure to give me a bag before anypony else. “I honestly could have done something way worse.” Her grin widened. “I mean, Pinkie Pie herself volunteered to bake a cake for the foal who collects the most.”
Like lightning, everypony was off collecting juices boxes.
I looked from my bag to Pinkie Pie to everypony else.
“Yeah, no.” I picked up my own juice boxes and proceeded to find a nice tree to hang from. Only Sergeant Smiles saw the proud smile that crept onto my face as I walked off, giving me a little wink when nopony else was looking.