“…did you say what I think you said?”
Commander Bolt smiled as he continued trotting beside me and replied, “You heard me right… one hundred soldiers. And they weren’t chosen for this task… most of them volunteered. It would appear that your reputation as an archer has spread throughout the lower ranks much faster than I expected. Unfortunately, not all of them were archers so you will have to train some. But I know with your skill they will be combat ready in no time.”
As we continued trotting through the camp I looked at the ground as I replied, “I… I guess that won’t be too hard… but you said most of them volunteered… what about the rest?”
Commander Bolt turned until he could see me out the corner of his eye as he replied, “well… twenty of them were Captain Storm’s top soldiers. Some good, some… not so good.”
I gave Commander Bolt an unhappy stare as I replied, “Not good?... you mean you dumped soldiers on me?”
Commander Bolt shook his head, “No, no… Captain Storm did. He says that seeing a real archer in action will whip them into shape. Not to mention they happen to be the most skilled fighters in his unit, ones that in his own words, would make perfect archers. Don’t worry; the authority you demanded by giving those scouts their orders was not only impressive for somepony who hasn’t been in the position before. But you even took the wellbeing of your soldiers into account without even realizing it.”
Thinking to myself I asked, “really?... when?”
Commander Bolt looked back at the path as he replied, “Yesterday, you told the pony carrying me to drop me at the medic then take accountability of the rest of his squad. Orders that only a good leader would give after a situation like that. When I heard you say that, I knew that you would have no problem leading a unit of your own. And since most of them are volunteers, you’ve already earned their respect. All you have to do is show that it’s well earned and they will be loyal to the end. But just in case… let me give you a tip. Sometimes you have to exaggerate to gain their respect, so don’t be afraid to dab a little fear onto them.”
I gave him an unamused stare as I replied, “you mean… threaten them… right?”
Commander Bolt smiled, “if need be… yes. As an officer, it’s good to earn their respect, but if you choose to be too soft on them, then they will trot all over you like a doormat. You need to show them that you will be a fair leader, but strong enough to take whatever actions are needed to both protect them… and if nessesary, take them out.”
My stare quickly changed to shocked, “t-take them out?... what do you mean?”
Commander Bolt continued looking at our path as his expression turned to a depressed look, “sometimes… for the good of the group… you have to subdue an ally… and in rare occasion… kill him.”
I stopped in my tracks and spoke with shock, “Kill him… you mean… kill my own soldier?”
Commander Bolt stopped and turned to me as he replied, “yes… just like the situation with the spy you killed the other day. For the good of the group, sometimes you must make decisions that involve sacrifice… although it must only be used as a last resort. Nothing is more painful then having to take the life of somepony you fought beside after all.”
Seeing a slightly depressed look on his face I had to ask, “Commander?... have you ever had to make that choice?”
Commander Bolt shook his head as he turned back to his path and replied with an unhappy tone, “no… not yet… but it’s coming soon. Now let’s get down to business. Your soldiers are waiting for us.”
As Commander Bolt started back on his path, I hesitated a little as I thought to myself. Now that I know who Commander Bolt really is, I have looked at him differently than before… but still hearing him say such things made me worry. Was this really the colt that I fictitiously befriended all those years ago? And if so… why would he say such things? I always envisioned him as somepony who would protect his friends to the bitter end… but hearing him talk like this made me see him as somepony who could in the blink of an eye, turn around and stab you in the chest. Knowing that he was trotting away without me, I quickly put the thought to rest as I galloped after him until I caught up.
Leaving his statement as the last thing said, we both traveled in awkward silence until we reached the very far edge of the camp where a large number of soldiers were talking amongst themselves. Slowly, Commander Bolt and I made our way into and through the herd of ponies as each one who noticed us, stopped what he was doing, and saluted us in respect. Finally, as we made our way to the complete opposite side of the large herd where a platform was sitting as, Commander Bolt and I climbed up and looked back at the herd. Then with a loud and booming voice, Commander Bolt spoke, “UNIT!!! FALL IN!!!”
With a quick and hastened movement, all one hundred soldier quickly formed into a square formation that was ten by ten soldiers. Then as they all stood at attention, Commander Bolt continued, “Soldiers! Most of you know why you’re gathered here. But for those that don’t; let me inform you. You one hundred ponies either have been selected for your skill, or have selflessly volunteered to be placed under the command of our newest officer Lieutenant Gem Stone! From this point on, any order she gives is your new law! And the only ponies who can overstep that law is either Nightmare Moon or me. How clear am I!?!”
The Soldiers held their stance as they all replied with a booming call, “CRYSTAL SIR!!!”
With that, Commander Bolt looked at me and spoke, “Well lieutenant? Would you like to say a few words?”
Commander Bolt stepped to the side as I nodded my head and stepped forward to address the herd. As soon as I was the center of attention, I spoke, “Fellow soldiers of the Nightmare Legion! I thank those who volunteered and hope that those who didn’t won’t feel any discomfort in my being in command. I recognize a few of you but to those I don’t, let me inform you of this. Commander Bolt personally trained me in everything nessesary to fight and win a war. My confidence in his training is more than enough to lead you to a safe and glorious victory against the Celestial Crusaders. I know thing will seem different at the start, but trust me when I say this. I will lay my life down to finish this war with as few casualties and as many victories as possible. Of this, you have my promise.”
Looking over the herd of ponies, I could spot a few smirks hidden in their attention held faces, as I turned to Commander Bolt and smiled with pride in the speech I just gave. However as I looked at him he cleared his throat in a manner to signal me of something I missed, so quickly realizing it, I said one final thing, “However… I will only tolerate loyalty and trust in both my orders, and the orders of my commander above me. So if you have something to say, whether it be a comment, a concern, or a complaint… then say it now, or forever hold your tongue.”
As I looked over the herd, I noticed the smirks vanished, however I sighed with relief when the only response to my comment was silence.
As I felt a little assured that this was going to be better than expected, something rather unexpected happened. Commander Bolt stepped forward as he spoke in an annoyed tone, “Really?... I think there are some liars standing in my ranks! You mean to tell me that each and everypony standing before me has absolutely no objections?”
Commander Bolt stopped to wait for a response as I gave him a look that said; don’t antagonize them. However, he ignored my look as he replied, “Rank aside, this is your chance to say anything in objection to this action. If you have anything to say or if you have any objections in this matter then come forward now!”
Once again, Commander Bolt silenced himself to wait for a response, but this time, there was one as a voice echoed from the herd, “I have an objection!”
All of a sudden, the entire formation broke their position of attention as they all turned and made a path for a pegasus to make his way out of the center of the formation and to the front of the herd. As the pony reached the front Commander Bolt asked, “Okay Sergeant, what is your objection? Why do you say that Lieutenant Stone isn’t worthy of being your officer in command?”
The soldier turned so that Commander Bolt, the herd, and I could hear as he replied, “I’ve been fighting this war since it began! I was there when most of us abandoned Princess Celestia in support of Nightmare Moon. So why is it that a rookie like her, who has never tasted battle, has authority over many of us who have more battles then we can count under our belts?”
Commander Bolt smirked at the complaint as he looked at me and replied, “Why indeed…” He looked back at the solider, “Because despite your track record in battles, Lieutenant Stone easily has more skill then you.”
The Soldier chuckled a little as he replied, “Really?... with all due respect commander, I just don’t see it.”
Mumbling quietly enough for only us to hear, I agreed, “Yea… me neither.”
Hearing my comment, Commander Bolt turned his head to see me out the corner of his eye, then still holding his cheeky smirk, he looked back at the soldier as he spoke, “You don’t look like an archer… What was your position before here?”
The soldier held his head up with pride as he replied, “Sir, I was a pike pony fighting under Captain Storm Sir.”
Commander Bolt continued, “And why was a pike pony selected to become an archer?”
The Soldier replied, “Captain Storm says that the strength in my biceps would be perfect for drawing a bow, so he sent me here.”
Commander Bolt nodded his head as he replied, “I see… well then if you’re so sure that the Lieutenant isn’t up to the task… then let’s prove it. Remove your weapon and place it on the ground.”
Doing as he was ordered, the soldier took of his newly issued bow and quiver and laid them both on the ground as Commander Bolt looked at me and spoke, “Lieutenant… you too… lay them on the ground.”
As I did as I was ordered, Commander Bolt addressed the rest of the herd, “If you see Lieutenant Stone as an inferior officer! Then let’s put her to the task. Lieutenant… you will face this soldier in hoof-to-hoof combat. First one on the ground or unconscious is immediately beaten.”
Looking at the commander in shock, I immediately felt nervous, “Wh-what? You want me… to fight him?...”
Commander Bolt turned to me and replied, “of course, what kind of officer can’t face a single pony in combat? And all you have to do is knock him to the ground, that’s it.”
Feeling a little nervous, I looked at the stallion I was going to face. He looked about the same height as Commander Bolt and just as buff, but considering the fact that he had combat experience and he was a pike pony, I couldn’t help but think that this fight was a little one sided.
Seeing my concern, Commander Bolt spoke quietly enough for me to hear, “don’t look at his advantages, look for his disadvantages. I know you will beat this one, as long as you keep your head in the game.”
With that said quietly, Commander Bolt spoke loudly so everypony could hear, “So Lieutenant? Do you see yourself as a valuable asset to the Nightmare legion? Or do you plan to agree by letting this soldier outshine you.”
As I looked at the herd of soldiers, I could tell that most of them were anxious to see my reply, so I looked back at Commander Bolt and smiled, “you can never outshine a Gem Stone. I accept the challenge.”
Commander Bolt smiled and ne gestured his head towards my opponent, “then get down there and show him what it truly means to be an officer under my command.”
Nodding with a fake but confident smile, I stepped down from the pedestal and stood a few feet in front of my opponent. As I stood there, I started to ask, “So, how are we going to start this?”
The soldier smiled, “just like this!”
With that call making his actions obvious, the challenger charged at me as fast as he could in hopes of catching me off guard. As he approached me, the soldier took his right hoof and swung as hard as he could towards my face, as I quickly reacted by ducking under the punch, then jumping back to get a safe distance between us.
At first, I was annoyed that he tried to make such a cheap shot, but then I was surprised when I realized that the cheap shot was much slower than I thought it would be. Looking at my challenger, the soldier rushed towards me a second time as he yelled, “How about this!”
When he reached me, the soldier assaulted me with a barrage of punches, but no matter how many times he tried, I was able to dodge each one. Left, right, right, right, left, left, right. Over and over he continued trying to swing at me with punched from every angle, horizontal, vertical, diagonal, even a few jabs. However, as he continued his completely offensive attack, I remained untouched as I ducked and weaved through each one with ease.
Finally, he tried an act of desperation as he took a step back and dove towards me trying to tackle me with both hooves. However, like the others, I dodged it easily as I jumped into the air and glided over him to a safe distance before turning around to see the soldier quickly pick himself up from the ground and turn towards me. Although his actions seemed slow to me, they must have been faster, then I thought since when I looked around, I could see impressed expressions on the faces of the surrounding soldiers. Seeing the expressions made me smile with pride in how well I was doing… at least until Commander Bolt called, “Lieutenant! HEAD IN THE GAME!”
Quickly reacting to the warning, I looked back at my attacker as noticed he had already closed the distance between us and was within attacking distance, as he brought his hoof up and swung horizontally in an attempt to hit me on my face.
With barely enough time, I ducked down and dodged the attack just like the others before. However, this time the soldier continued his motion and brought back his same hoof in the opposite direction as the back of his hoof bashed me against the right side of my face with enough power to cause me to take a step in the same direction to prevent myself from being knocked to the ground. Expecting a counter attack, the successful pegasus jumped away from me to a safe distance as he readied himself for anything. Sadly, his actions were wasted, as I stood still with my head still facing the direction the punched moved it to. While I stood frozen in place, my mind tried to process what had just happened. Then I finally moved as I felt a trickle of blood start running out of my nose.
Slowly I raised my hoof and wiped the blood as I looked at it in shock. He… he hit me… he used every bit of force he had and landed a powerful blow against the side of my face. So powerful in fact that I'm actually bleeding… and yet… I… I didn’t feel a thing. The force was strong, strong enough to throw my head to the side… but it didn’t hurt. It was more surprising than anything, and though the blood tells me otherwise, I felt completely unharmed. Looking at the blood for one last second, I looked back at my attacker as he smiled with confidence, “There is more where that came from!”
With a motivated smile, the soldier charged at me again.
Seeing my attacker coming at me again, I thought about how painless his last punch was and decided to try something… new. Using my already raised hoof with my blood still on it, I blocked the attackers punch as my theory was confirmed, when I was able to stop his hoof in midair. Slowly, the soldier’s confident smile faded as mine started to appear. Using my opponent’s hesitation, I flung his attacking hoof away as I brought mine back and bashed him against the side of his face as hard as I could. As my hoof made contact, the soldier’s head was thrown to the side as his momentum caused his entire body to spin with the punch as he hit the ground less than a foot from where he was standing before as his body kicked up dust then stopped moving all together.
With my opponent now on the ground and motionless, I couldn’t help but feel amazed as I looked at him with curiosity. This soldier hit me dead on with an attack that even drew blood… but it didn’t hurt me. Then out of curiosity, I made an attempted to block the same type of punch… and was able to do it so easily. And finally, I hit him once, with my strongest punch and not only took him down, but tossed him around without even meaning to. Nevertheless, these thoughts were cleared from my mind when heard Commander Bolt call out, “This fight is over! And just as I expected, Lieutenant Stone is victor. As you all know, I wouldn’t choose a pony to give you orders without seeing her full potential first.”
As I looked at Commander Bolt, I could see him smiling at my accomplishment as I started to hear a moaning sound come from my fallen opponent.
A little surprised that he was still conscious; I looked over at the fallen soldier as I watched him struggle to pick himself up, but fail in his attempt to do so. Seeing that he needed help, I trotted to the soldier as I extended my hoof to help him up. When the soldier saw me, he hesitated at first, but then sighed in acceptance as he took my hoof and allowed me to help him up. When the soldier was finally on his hooves, he quickly stood at attention as he saluted me and spoke, “By your command… Lieutenant Stone!”
I couldn’t help but feel a little awkward; a few seconds ago, this same soldier was trying all he could to take me down while at the same time doubting my skills as a soldier. Now, he stood saluting me and waiting for his next order as if I ordered him to do everything prior to now.
With my recent attacker saluting me with respect, the rest of the herd slowly followed as each one started to salute me just as the one before was. Seeing the entire force of one hundred soldiers saluting, I could only smile as I saluted back and spoke, “Carry on!”
As I dropped my salute, the rest followed as they turned to Commander Bolt and awaited his next comment as he smiled, “Soldiers! From this point on, Lieutenant Stone will be training you all in archery! For those of you who are new to this, Listen carefully at her instruction. And for those of you who are already archers, pay attention. She’s the best archer I have ever known and no doubt, she can make you even better. But since we’ve had such a productive morning, I'll let your new officer decide on what to do next.” Commander Bolt looked at me “Lieutenant?”
Knowing that all eyes were on me, I looked at the eclipse as it hung overhead. Seeing that it was just past noon, I replied, “Commander… permission to postpone Training till everypony has had lunch. It would be best to know that my soldiers are rested, full, and ready for the training I have planned.”
Commander Bolt smiled as he replied, “Granted… looking to the wellbeing of your soldiers, is something that I will always allow. Everypony take an hour for lunch and meet… where exactly?...”
As he looked to me for an answer I replied, “where else… the archery field!”
Commander Bolt nodded his head, “There you have it! Till then, fall out!”
The soldiers saluted Commander Bolt as they replied, “SIR!”
With that said the entire formation of soldiers started to disperse as the pony I was fighting approached me and stood at attention, “Ma’am, Permission to speak freely?”
Seeing something was on his mind, I replied, “Granted… what is it soldier?”
The soldier replied, “Ma’am, I must apologize for my actions. It was wrong for me to doubt you.”
I raised my hoof to stop him as I replied, “you spoke your mind when asked and did as instructed by Commander Bolt. If you had disobeyed that order then I would expect an apology. But since it was an order you followed, then no apology is nessesary. I only ask that you have confidence in my instruction from now on.”
The soldier saluted in respect as he replied, “Yes ma’am I will.”
Returning his salute I spoke, “go see a medic and get some food. I want you in top physical form when your training begins.”
The soldier nodded his head, “Yes ma’am!”
As the soldier dropped his salute, he turned and ran to catch up with his comrades as I turned to Commander Bolt as he trotted to me and smiled, “looks like gaining respect was easier then expected.”
I smiled as I nodded my head, “for you maybe, I was just lucky I overestimated him. I thought he would have taken me down without trying.”
Commander Bolt smiled, “never doubt yourself, if you show doubt then it will spread to the morale of your soldiers.”
Nodding my head, I replied as I straitened my stance, “Yes Sir. I'll remember that.”
Commander Bolt nodded as he motioned to follow him, “Good, since we do have a little time, would you mind trotting with me to the chow tent? I want to talk to you about your training plan.”
As I started trotting beside him on our way to the mess tent I replied, “Well… to be honest sir… I don’t really have a training plan. I don’t even know where to start.”
Commander Bolt nodded his head as he smiled, “I thought as much. Just think about the role your soldiers will play during battle and start focusing on that.”
“Our… role?”
“Yes, the role of an archer is to provide support from charging enemies from a distance. With that in mind you need to formulate a basic strategy for our role in battle, and focus on training your soldiers for that said role.”
As I thought to myself, I replied, “my role… any suggestions commander?”
Commander Bolt shook his head, “every officer relies on his or her own strategy. Storm focuses on close sky support, Captain Snow is full frontal assault, and I try to strategically end the battle as soon as possible. You need to know your strategy and prepare for it.”
With that said, we continued to the mess tent as I started trying to think about the role me and my archers would play in combat. By the time Commander Bolt and I arrived, I had decided on a training plan for my troops as Commander Bolt, and I approached the tent and met up with Lieutenant Snow and Captain Storm as they stood outside talking, “Chivalry must be held above all else. What’s a soldier who has abandoned all that made him noble in the eyes of his family and name?”
Captain storm sighed, “chivalry can be upheld, but know that we are in an era with both male and female soldiers. As much as you may dislike it, you may find yourself fighting a female soldier in the near fu… oh. Afternoon commander, Lieutenant, sorry to have you two approach during an unsettling subject.”
Both officers looked directly at me as if I would be the one offended, as I waved my hoof as to brush the subject aside, “No, it’s fine. It’s not like you two were talking about me specifically or something like that.”
Commander Bolt nodded his head as he replied, “no worries… as long as nopony is offended, then no harm done. Anyways, Captain Storm, did you get that thing we talked about the other day?”
Captain Storm nodded his head as he smiled, “yes I did. Would you like me to give it to her now?”
Commander Bolt smiled as he looked at me and replied, “Yea that would be fine.”
Knowing that they were talking about me I gave them a confused look as I spoke, “Give?... give me what?”
Captain Storm trotted to a nearby table as he pulled out a small box and gave it to me, “here, this is a gift to you from all of us.”
I felt a combination of confusion and surprise as I looked at the box and replied, “A gift?... but… why?”
Lieutenant Snow replied, “The rest of us have noticed a simple accessory that you seem to always show great care in, so it was agreed that for your most recent promotion and full acceptance into the Nightmare Legion, a token of appreciation was nessesary.”
I couldn’t help but feel confused, “a… token?”
Captain Storm smiled, “it’s just a fancy way of saying we wanted to get you something for all your hard work.”
Giving him a dull look I replied, “I know what it means… I just… don’t know what to say. I’ve never really gotten a gift before.”
Commander Bolt smiled as he replied, “Well open it already. I want to know if what we decided to get you was the best choice.”
Seeing that all three officers were anxious to see my reaction, I nodded my head as I opened the box and looked inside. What I saw stunned me; inside the box was a full set of bandannas, all in different colors. As I looked through them I didn’t know what to say as Commander Bolt spoke, “We noticed that you were wearing a white bandanna when you got here, and since then you wore a black one… but to be honest I thought you might look better with a little, color added. Although we had no idea what your color was, so we just decided to get you a collection since they were all cheap and simple to begin with.”
As I looked through the colors, I saw it. Laying amongst the colorful array of cloth, was a pink bandanna, the very same as the one I wore when I was little. As I picked it up, I looked at its color as Lieutenant Snow spoke, “hm, you don’t strike me as the type of pony to wear something as elegant as that one…”
hearing him say something like that greatly irritated me as I gave him an evil glare making him change his comment, “Then again… I could be mistaken.”
Commander Bolt chuckled a little at his sudden change in his tune as he spoke, “it’s a good color… I think it suits you.”
When I heard him say that, I couldn’t help but blush a little as I replied, “It’s… my favorite color… but then again… it’s not the color I should be wearing just yet.”
Commander Bolt gave me a curious look as I explained, “Pink… is a color for a joyous mood. But since I'm supposed to be getting ready to train my soldiers… it’s not the color I should wear just yet.”
Now, all three officers were giving me a curious look as I continued, “To train soldiers… I'm going to need something a little… threatening.”
The curious look on all three of the officers faces quickly vanished and were replaced by a nervous one as I smiled in the most sinister way I could, reached for a navy blue bandana and replied, “here… a notorious navy. This one is perfect.”
I could tell that the other officers were curious as Captain Storm asked, “notorious?... how so?”
I replied as I took the black bandana off my mane and tied on the navy, “because it’s the very color that symbolized the Nightmare Legion. And because it reminds me the most of Commander Bolt and his harsh training.”
Commander Bolt could only laugh at my comment as he replied, “Well if that’s what you think then it must be true. Either way, am I to understand that each color means something? What about my favorite color? Yellow?”
I could only laugh as I replied, “yellow… is a cowardly color… it’s a color you wear when you’re afraid of what the day might hold, hence the term yellowbelly.”
I could tell that Commander Bolt didn’t expect such an answer, and it made it even funnier that I could hear Lieutenant Snow and Captain Storm Snickering behind him as I continued with a smile, “Don’t worry sir, the color doesn’t say what kind of pony you are. It’s only something my mother put together to express her feelings for the day. Besides… there are worse colors out there… trust me.”
As I closed the box of bandanas, I could only think about the lonely shade of white that I wore in the orphanage. But since I didn’t want to ruin the gracious gift from my fellow officers I smiled as I continued, “Each color is special in its own way. And now that I have more, I can express myself for each day. Thank you, I wish I could express my gratitude more, but, thanks is all I can give.”
Captain Storm smiled as he replied, “it was the commander’s idea. I'm just happy you like it.”
I looked at Commander Bolt as I smiled, “either way… thanks. I love it.”
Commander Bolt smiled, as he replied, “No thanks nessesary, all I ask is that you give it you’re all in the coming battles. And if I know you as well as I do, I can guarantee that you will.”
With that, the three officers and I got a tray and started eating our food as I started to explain what each color meant. When we finished, Commander Bolt and I went back to the archery range that we set up at the edge of the camp as I saw all of the soldiers that I was now in command of as they stood in formation near the tent that stowed our bows. When we saw the formation, Commander Bolt looked at me and smiled, “well Lieutenant… time to show them what a notorious navy can do.”
Smiling at Commander Bolt’s words, I nodded my head as I trotted to the front of the formation and announced, “Soldiers! Attention!”
With a stepping sound, the formation placed their hooves together and stood at attention as I continued, “The soldier I faced this morning! Front and center!”
A voice emerged from the formation as that same soldier replied “Moving Ma’am!”
When the soldier was standing in front of me I spoke, “What is your name?”
The soldier answered with a nervous reply, “S-Sergeant Tunder ma’am.”
I smiled, “Well sergeant, from this point on you are the second in command for this unit. I will continue to command the unit, but in the case that something happens to me, you will take charge am I clear?”
The soldier stood at attention and replied, “Yes ma’am… um thank you ma’am!”
I nodded my head, “now tell me, what’s the furthest target on this range?”
The solider replied, “Two hundred and fifty meters ma’am.”
I smiled, “go out, and move it twenty meters further, then return here once it’s done.”
The soldier nodded his head as he replied, “Yes Ma’am!”
With a hastened step, the soldier turned to the target and began sprinting to it as I began addressing the rest of the formation, “Soldiers! As your new officer, I have thought hard about our role as archers in combat. And I must first ask, how many of you were originally archers?”
With that, a number of soldier raised their hoof; unfortunately, it was only about a quarter of the formation as I replied, “Alright… how about those of you who have used a bow before?”
This time the same ponies who raised their hooves before raised them along with a few more as I reiterated, “Subtract those of you who were archers.”
When the first group lowered their hooves, I could see that there were only three more soldiers that raised their hooves then before as I sighed, “I see…”
At that moment the Sergeant I sent to move the target returned as he spoke, “Ma’am the targets been moved.”
Looking at the soldier, I nodded as I trotted past him, “thank you Sergeant. Everypony pay close attention!”
As I trotted up to the line, everypony in the formation turned to watch as I used my wings to keep my balance as I stood on my hind hooves, pulled an arrow from my quiver, and closed my eyes to gauge the wind. Feeling the wind in my mane, I kept my arrow steady as I drew my bow and raised it to the right elevation. Then adjusting towards the wind I released my arrow and sent it into the sky as I turned to my soldiers and announced, “Five Miles per hour! That was the wind speed, north east, it’s direction, and the targets distance, two hundred and seventy meters!”
All of a sudden the wooden thump sound of my impacting arrow echoed out as the expressions on my soldiers faced became shocked as I continued, “Knowing this alone will always ensure that my arrow will be as close to my target as possible when I fire it. Or in this case, on the bulls-eye.”
With a second glance, my soldiers looked back at my target to confirm my hit as I looked at the target and smiled, “I would advise you all to learn how to read such things for the far future; however I'm not going to teach you this. What I am going to teach you is much simpler. Elevation, forty-six degrees. Wind adjustment twenty-four degrees right. That is the exact angle that I fired my arrow, up, down, left, and right. With that, my arrow hit dead center of the target without fail. And that is what you will learn. Today I will teach you all how to fire a bow, and tomorrow, how to measure angles. By the end of the week, I want each and every one of you to land an arrow somewhere on that same target. And Luna help you if you can’t. Am I Clear!”
Now nervous the entire formation of soldier stood at attention as they replied “Yes Ma’am!”
“Now everypony get a bow and line up!”
Moving with haste everypony gathered on the firing line as my sergeant approached me, “L-Lieutenant? Is it really possible for us to hit a target that far? I’ve never even seen that done before now. I don’t know if I could ever hit a target that was barely within your reach”
I looked at the soldier as I replied, “Barely in my reach?... Sergeant direct your attention to the dead tree on the furthest point on the field.”
The soldier looked into the field at a tree that sat easily three hundred ninety meters away as I called out, “EVERYPONY HEADS UP!”
Reacting to my order, all the soldiers on line looked at me as I raised my bow, shifted my elevation and direction before releasing my arrow into the sky. When my arrow vanished into the red sky above I spoke to the sergeant, “I only ask that you place an arrow on that target’s face. It could be a nick; it could be the far edge. And I would be pleased to even see a bulls-eye on it… but a hit is all I ask. Because when firing arrows into a formation of soldiers.” My arrow hit the target with an echoing sound, “A hit can be made when aiming for the center.”
Everypony on line to include the sergeant stood shocked as I patted the him on his shoulder and spoke, “Make ready sergeant, cuz you’re about to learn from the best.”
Trotting away from the shocked soldier I made my way behind the firing line as I stopped next to Commander Bolt and sat down beside him looking down range as he smiled, “now that’s a challenging training plan. And a very intimidating shot, that’s got to be a world record.”
I smiled with pride, “it probably is, either way I hope they are encouraged now, if they weren’t before.”
Commander Bolt smiled, “I gotta say Lieutenant, you’re one intimidating instructor.”
I smiled as I looked at Commander Bolt and replied, “I learned from the best…” I turned back to my soldiers, “Everypony Make ready your bows! Your training begins now!”