A Charred Stone

by Priceless911

Ch6 A Bow of My Own

Commander Bolt stood at the top of the hill taunting me, “C’mon cadet… I don’t have all day ya know. Exactly how long are you going to make this last?”
I glared up the hill at that jerk as I continued pulling this heavy wagon of scrap metal towards him. It’s been almost three weeks since I forgot my armor and followed him to the thunder grounds and since that day, he has put me on two new duties. First, I must haul all the scrap metal Captain Storm has from his shop, to the training field and back. Which means hauling a five-hundred pound wagon almost three miles total. I also have to report to his shop at the end of every day to help clean all the weapons so they don’t rust. Which isn’t as bad since, Captain Storm has been hard at work on a project that he refuses to talk about.

Nevertheless, Commander Bolt refuses to give me a break on this wagon thing and I could swear it was getting heavier as the days go by, luckily today is the last day if this. As the wagon and I reached the top of the hill, I paused to catch a break while Commander Bolt sighs, “Already slouching off I see… you’ll never get anywhere with that attitude.”
Once again, Commander Bolt sent me into a fit rage that took all the strength I had to hold in, but like the rest, I was able to hold it in as I started back down the hill with the heavy wagon. About twenty minutes later, I finally reached the shop and unhooked the wagon for the last time. Then I sat down and started catching my breath as Commander Bolt gave me my instructions for the day, “ok cadet, today we are going to work on flying drills. Then after lunch we will do a refresher course on signal identifying.”

Hearing this instruction made me sigh, “Commander, It’s been three whole weeks since I fired my bow, and I carry this thing everywhere I go… can we do an archery range today?”
Commander Bolt shook his head, “No… because there is more to an archer then just sending an arrow from point A to point B.”
“Really? Like what?”
Commander Bolt rolled his eyes and continued, “If your group is surrounded too quickly then you need to know how to escape. Not to mention you need to understand the basics of being a soldier. For one you need to know battle tactics so when it comes down to it, you can either counter an incoming threat, or escape it before it kills you. Then you need to be fit, charging forward and retreating require the same amount of exercise, and if you burn yourself out doing the first, they you won’t make it if you have to do the second.”
As much as I hated to admit it, he had a point. I don’t know much about what a soldier will face in actual battle but what I do know is that I want to be ready when the moment arrives. So I only nodded my head, “understood sir, can I at least carry a shorter bow then, this long bow makes it hard to mo...”
“COMMANDER! COMMANDER!!!”

All of a sudden, Lieutenant Snow came rushing up to us as Commander Bolt turned to him, “lieutenant? What’s wrong?”
Snow tried to catch his breath as he replied, “Sir… it’s… it’s the supply convoy… from the north… they… they were ambushed on their way here.”
Commander Bolt immediately became interested in the situation, “And?... What Happened?...”
“They… they made it through… but almost all the survivors have terrible wounds.”
Commander Bolt nodded his head as he trotted past snow and went towards the front of the camp, opposite to the training grounds we were going to just moments ago. Lieutenant Snow and I followed Commander Bolt, but he was trotting with an unusual haste as he led us to where the returning convoy was.

When we arrived at the front of the camp, it was just as Lieutenant Snow said. Entering the camp was a large convoy of soldiers… but each and every pony entering the camp has some kind of wound. Some were small like cuts and bruises but others were hard to look at. Missing wings… broken horns… there was even one with an arrow stuck in his eye socket, with the arrowhead sticking out of the side of his face… for that one… I had to look at my hooves to avert my eyes. Commander Bolt stood next to me and spoke as he watch the convoy with a serious expression, “… don’t look away… I know it’s hard, and sickening… but you should never look away from what’s possible out there.”
Trying not to throw up, I slowly looked back at the convoy as some soldiers carrying a stretcher approached him, “commander, this is Sergeant major Julian… he was the convoy commander.”
As Commander Bolt approached the wounded soldier, the poor pony spoke, “C-commander?... f-forgive me sir if I don’t stand… and address you… p-properly… d-did we make it back alright sir?”
Commander Bolt looked at the soldier and replied, “Yes you did Sergeant… your soldiers survived the attack and made it back safely. You should be proud of your troops.”
The wounded soldier smiled, “I should? Then… I am sir… I am pro…”
Then… right there in the middle of his sentence, the soldier took his final breath and died.

Looking at the soldiers smile on his lifeless face made me feel a deep pity for him. As for Commander Bolt, he could only sigh as he closed the soldiers still open eyes, and covered his face with the sheet that he had draped over the rest of his body. Then Commander Bolt nudged his head, signaling the soldiers to take away their fallen leader. As the stretcher followed the wounded convoy, Commander Bolt kept his serious look as he sighed, “You would think… that after all these years of seeing this sort of thing… I would be used to it by now. However, some things … you will never get used to.”
Lieutenant Snow stood beside me as another soldier approached him and handed him a piece of paper. Then he looked at the commander and spoke, “Um… sir? We have the numbers. Out of one hundred twenty five soldiers, we had seventy-six return alive. Good numbers if I say so myself.”
Commander Bolt gave him a serious look as he replied, “And what’s the count on the wounded?”
Snow replied, “Sixty-nine sir.”

Commander Bolt gave him a look of irritation as he replied, calmly at first… but with an increasing anger, “Sixty-nine?... sixty-nine out of seventy-six?... so you mean to tell me… that your idea of good numbers revolves around how many are alive… and not how many can still fight!?! Is that what you’re telling me!?! IS IT!?!”
Lieutenant Snow backed up in shock as he nervously tried to reply, “I… um… well… uh…”
Commander Bolt lowered his voice and replied, “Every pony in this formation lost something today… some lost their lives… but the survivors lost so much more… Friends, family, limbs, wings, horns, and many have lost their pride, knowing that they continue to live while the rest are dead! No… those aren’t good numbers… because there is no such thing, as a perfect victory.”
Lieutenant Snow stood speechless as Commander Bolt shook his head and turned away from him, “lieutenant… see to it that the wounded are cared for. Then question the pony with the least amount of wounds. I want to know who led the crusaders in the ambush. Cadet Stone!”

Feeling nervous after witnessing his outburst, I quickly stood at attention as I replied, “Yes Sir!”
“Let’s go… we still need to continue your training.”
I nodded my head as I began following Commander Bolt towards the training grounds. I have never felt so awkward while trotting beside him as I did now. I don’t know if it was the outburst he had on Lieutenant Snow, the silence afterwards, or the depressed look on his face that made it so tense… but I know that his mind was weighed down by more than just the lost soldiers. I don’t know what it was, but I’m hoping it won’t make him push me even harder than he was expecting to. Not that I want to be lazy or anything… but I’m still sore from the wagon of metal, to give it my all. Commander Bolt led me to an area that was outside of our camp and inside the outer rim of the Everfree Forest.

When we arrived, he trotted next to a tree that had a red X marked on it, “Cadet, do you see this marking?”
Stating the obvious, I just nodded my head, “yea.”
“Yea?”
I quickly corrected myself, “Oh um I mean, Yes commander, I do.”
He continued, “Throughout this sector of the forest, there are a number of trees that have either this red X on them… or a green circle. Since we don’t have time to run this, course today… I’m going to show you where every marked tree is, then early tomorrow morning we are going to run this course. I’ll let you know, this course is very important for an archer… even though you will not need your bow for this one. However, you will continue to carry the one you got. Just like your armor, your bow is as much a part of you as that bandanna you wear.”
Trying to continue the instruction without letting the subject fall on my bandanna, I just agreed, “Yes sir.”

Then he turned and began trotting down a path pointing out each and every tree that was marked with either a red X or a green circle. As we continued, he went off subject for a second, “… Cadet?”
“Yes sir?”
“What did you think about that returning convoy did seeing them like that… frighten you?”
As much as I hated to admit it… I couldn’t lie about that subject, “Yes… it terrified me sir… those poor ponies. I honestly don’t think I could continue fighting after something like that.”
Commander Bolt continued, “Good… something like that should scare you, even if it’s just a little. I’ll be honest; I was terrified of my first battle. And even more so when I killed my first enemy. However, if I wasn’t scared… then I wouldn’t be here today. Fearlessness isn’t always a good thing. Fear can make you protect yourself when it matters the most, while at the same time it can drive you to fight harder too. Just don’t let it weaken you… and you’ll be fine”
To be honest… I had no idea what he meant about, not letting fear weaken me… but the rest I understood perfectly, and it made a lot of sense. Being afraid to die will make you protect yourself, while being one hundred percent fearless will cause you to charge in without defense. In other words… it’s suicide.

As he finished showing me the marked trees, he looked at me and gave me my next order, “Alright Cadet, go finish up your final day of punishment. I’m going to see Lieutenant Snow about the convoy earlier, so if you need me then come find me there. Oh… and be sure to have your armor and bow with you. I wouldn’t want to put you on this same detail for three more weeks would I?”
I was a little irritated that he had to remind me like I was a little filly, but in the interest of saving myself the time, I just replied, “Sure sir… I’ll remember.”
The both of us started back into the camp in the same direction as we went to do what we had to. As we were on our way back, I noticed he had hastened his steps a little. I guess he was anxious to get that information he wanted from the surviving soldiers. Nevertheless, when we got to a point where I had to break off, I went my way and he went his without a single word said.

As I arrived at Captain Storm’s shop, I went inside and saw that he wasn’t in the main room, but the back room was closed and I could hear sounds inside so I knocked on the door, “Um, Captain Storm? It’s me, Cadet Stone I’m here for my final day of cleaning.”
Storm replied without opening the door, “Oh, um, Ok. Just start on the daggers and work your way onto the Pikes, and be careful. Those blades are razor sharp and they will cut you if you let them.”
As I went to one of the cabinets and pulled out the anti-rust solvent, I replied, “OK.”
Then I went to one of the hanging daggers and started putting the coat of solvent on the blade. This job wasn’t hard at all, and to be honest, it was a good break from running all over the place fighting off Commander Bolt’s insults while he made me do some stressful task. Here, I could rest and think about thing around me. I would think about what’s next for a cadet of the Nightmare Legion. I would think about what would happen if we did win this war. I would even think about Commander Bolt, and why he acts the way he acts. But today… my thoughts would only revolve around one thing, The wounded soldiers I saw today, and the battle they went through… ok, two things then.

As I finished the first dagger and moved onto the next, I thought about why Commander Bolt had so much concern in his soldiers. I thought he was the kind of stallion with little concern about the lower ranks. I thought his only concern was the higher officers and the total troop count. Nevertheless, he seemed so worried about the soldiers when he was there. I know he kept that look of no interest on his face… but I’ve been around him long enough to know whether his expression is fake or not. And out there... he was worried. As I continued working, the door to the back room opened as Captain Storm came out, “Good, you’re still here. I have something for you, can you come back here for a second.”
I placed the dagger back on the shelf as I followed Captain Storm into the back room. When I entered the room, I was shocked at what I saw. Sitting on the table, next to a pile of wood and metal shavings was a brand new bow. The wood was well sanded and polished to a scheme while the string was specially weaved to a professional look. As I approached the detail in its appearance, Captains Storm smiled, “Do you like it? It’s not as long as a long bow, but inside the wood, I’ve placed an iron rod to not only double its durability, but triple its power. I guarantee this thing will fire further than any bow in existence.”

I was still speechless as I reached over and picked it up. It was heavy, but perfectly balanced. As I tried pulling the string back, I noticed that it was even harder to draw than a long bow. Captain Storm could see the strain I had pulling it back so he continued, “Don’t worry, it will take some time to get used to. But I hope you like it. It was specially made for an archer of your skill.”
Oddly enough, I was too shocked to realize the obvious, when I asked, “Who’s… Who’s it for?”
Storm laughed a little as he replied, “Like I have to answer that? It’s yours of course. And no bow would be complete without a quiver to go with it.”
Then Captain Storm held out a dark blue quiver filled with arrows, but it wasn’t the quiver that caught my attention, but the emblem on it. Along with the moon that symbolized the Nightmare Legion, I saw my cutie mark imprinted on the side.

I took the quiver from Captain Storm and slung it over my shoulder, “it… it fits perfectly… I… I don’t know what to say. Thank you Captain… I… I love it. Now… I have my very own weapon… just like you, Snow, and Commander Bolt.”
Captain Storm smiled, “well don’t thank me, thank Commander Bolt. He was the one who personally asked me to make it for you.”
I was surprised, “C-Commander Bolt asked you to make this?... for me?”
“Yes, he approached me the same day you discovered your talent and asked me to make a bow for you that was easy to carry, and that would be perfect for your skill. So after a few days of brain storming, and a few weeks of work. This is what I made.”
There were many things I could expect from Commander Bolt… but this wasn’t one of them. So far, all I’ve seen of the commander was his side that likes to torment me, and a soft hidden side that only arrives in moments of deep troubles. Then I realized what this was… this was just another part of his job as a commander. He didn’t want me to have this to make me feel like part of the group. He did this just so that I would be ready for battle.

After realizing this, I just sighed as I replied, “Well… thanks anyway Captain… even if it was an order, I’m happy you put your heart into this.”
Captain Storm smiled as he started putting away his tools, “My pleasure cadet, ya know it looks good on you… you should wear that more often.”
I felt a little confused, “You mean this quiver?”
He smiled, as he replied, “No… that smile of yours. I know it’s getting dark out… or, darker. But you can go practice with it if you want. As far as I’m concerned, you’re done for the day.”
I couldn’t help but blush a little at his complement, “Thank you captain… I know it’s just another weapon to you… but I still Love it.”
As I turned for the door, I was stopped unexpectedly by Commander Bolt who was standing right behind me. He had a serious look on his face as he looked at me, “Cadet…”
The look made me nervous as I replied, “Yes commander… did you need me for something?”
Commander Bolt didn’t change his expression, as he replied, “No… I didn’t.”

Commander Bolt then looked over me at Captain Storm and spoke, “Captain… Lieutenant Snow and I will be living in a few minutes. We may be gone for a few days but till then you will keep an eye on the camp and continue the cadet’s training.”
Captain Storm nodded his head and replied, “Understood sir. Do you know where you’re going?”
Commander Bolt replied as he turned around, “North… that’s all I know for now.”
After turning around Commander Bolt looked at Lieutenant Snow and spoke, “Gather one hundred of your strongest soldiers and meet me at the front of the camp in twenty minutes. We will be leaving in thirty, how clear am I?”
Lieutenant Snow nodded his head and replied, “Clear as crystal sir.”
As the two ponies started to leave the shop, I stopped them, “Um… commander?”
Commander Bolt stopped and turned his head to look at me out of the corner of his eye, “Yes? Make it quick.”
Looking at the seriousness of his side-glance made me feel awkward as I held the bow forward and replied, “Well… I wanted to say, thanks for the bow… I love it, and I’m glade you requested it for me. So… thank you commander.”

Commander Bolt didn’t reply he didn’t change his expression; he didn’t even turn towards me. All he did was look forward and continue leaving as if I didn’t say anything to him at all. I was stunned solid as I watched Commander Bolt continue with his cold actions and leave the shop without so much as a sigh. After he was gone, I still felt shocked. He puts me through the most exhausting work I have ever done in my whole life, and when I speak to him with words that overlook the trouble he’s put me through, he didn’t even acknowledge me. I felt like I did back in the orphanage, I felt like I was being ignored by all those foals again… only this time, I don’t know why… but it hurt even more. I could feel my eyes start to tear up, the pain in my chest was almost too much to bear, but then it stopped when Captain Storm put his hoof on my shoulder, “Its ok cadet… he is just going through something right now. He didn’t mean any disrespect.”
I looked at Storm and tried to reply, “Well… yea, but…”
“Whatever it is that he is going through, it must be serious for him to leave immediately. Just forget about it right now and go relax. I bet that new bow’s weight is making you feel anxious to give it a shot. Why don’t you go and use up all your arrows. I have plenty to spare so I can replace them later.”

I know he was trying to make me feel better, and I didn’t want to crush his attempt, but it wasn’t working. Therefore, I let him down easy by replying, “Thanks captain… but… I’m a little tired. I think it would be better if I just went to get some sleep.”
With a concerned look on his face, he replied, “Well… alright, if you say so. Just be here tomorrow morning for training.”
I could only give a fake smile as I nodded my head, and left the shop. As I trotted back to my tent, I couldn’t help but think about Commander Bolt’s cold reaction. I wasn’t expecting, you’re welcome, or anything like that. I was mainly expecting a smart comment like, hopefully that will make you a better soldier, or you can thank me on the training grounds. But no reaction at all only made me feel like I was a burden to him. It made me feel invisible. And that was another thing, I have been invisible for years at the orphanage… but for some odd reason, being invisible to him in only five minutes hurt worse than all those years combined. As I went back to my tent, I went in, placed my new bow and quiver under my cot, and laid down. As I laid there in my cot, I couldn’t get the thought out of my mind. Why would I care what the commander thinks… and why is it getting to me so much. I didn’t know, but I hope I find out soon, and maybe, it will have something to do with why I recognize him from before I joined. Whatever the reason, I couldn’t help but whisper to myself, “I hope he doesn’t come back…”

Comments

[Remissis]

i like it i need more but i can wait

[Lazygamer313]

Finally got around to reading this story, as I got this story saved to a device two days ago and read it on the go. It's interesting to see the how the initial relationship between Gem and Star Bolt went to a rocky start with Star being rough as Gem's instructor to push her limits, and Gem wishing to make him suffer behind his back and even attempt to do so at one point! A nice surprise when I read chapter 5, to see what would be unusual action with this character when the one reads Tears of a Fallen Star first. I can't wait to see more of this story and catch up with others that I have been missing for so long.

Anyhow, it is not without some fault. It had some spelling errors and capitalization where it's not need. In addition, there seems to be a problem with formatting where some paragraphs is indent and others do not. I would suggest to make the entire chapter with no indents and have double spacing like my comment here, since you don't have to worry about limited spacing in a website document. However, these are my thoughts.

Overall, a nice story, keep up the good work, my man.