Trailblazing
Storm Wing felt the rays of the early morning sun fall onto his face through a gap in the curtains. Not soon after, the infernal blaring of the alarm clock next to his bed arrived right on time. It was half past five and the sun had well cleared the horizon line. One of the curses of living on such a high mountain. Storm groggily moved his body off the bed, his face being dragged along for the short ride off the edge of the mattress. Stumbling through to the bathroom, Storm stopped in the mirror to admire what a night of sleep had done to his body. Tufts of turquoise fur stuck up at weird angles and his grey mane looked like it had been nested in for an entire summer by some negligent birds.
There was only one way to remedy the situation and he knew it. Storm felt himself automatically walk to the shower and turn on the water. Without feeling the temperature, he stepped in and promptly lost his dreariness at the ice-cold water blasting at him. Summer evenings in Canterlot were chilly and the water reflected that. And the fact that the wrong knob was turned did not help.
One very unsatisfying shower later, Storm stepped out and dried himself, returning to the mirror to retrieve his brush to straighten his fur and hair. Storm made sure that every offending tuft of fur and mane that was out of place was bent to his will. He took one last look at himself through the mirror and gave a tired smile of satisfaction. Completely immaculate. It wasn’t every day that Storm made sure he looked immaculate but today was the day.
Storm made his way into the kitchen, where the pieces his golden standard issue guard armour issued to him yesterday lay on the sofa. He checked if they were polished to the high standards asked of him and surely enough, they were. Unless something catastrophic happened during the night between when he polished the pieces to this morning, the expected result of observing the said objects would have certainly led to the conclusion that they were polished enough. Storm gingerly put on the pieces of amour as he had only worn the set once during fitting the day before. While on the way out of the small apartment (Storm would’ve preferred quaint as a more suitable adjective), Storm tightened the straps on the breastplate and grabbed an apple out of the fruit bowl.
The walk to the castle wasn’t a long one. In fact, it was right down the road from Storm’s apartment. The straight road leading to the castle was lined with cosy rustic cafes and antique stores. Every time Storm walked down the road, he would be met with a unique smell of ground coffee and ageing wood, not the rotting smell but a perfumed one which many decades of polishing and being used creates.
Storm finally trotted up to the front gates of the castle grounds, which were wide open, and walked onto the palace green. To his surprise, he saw his class of guards already formed up into ranks on the lawn with Captain Armour standing to the side. He trotted over briskly and stood to attention on the last rank of guards which was still filling up. Not a second later, the Captain marched to the front of the formation and stood to attention, facing to the right. Tracing the Captain’s eyes, Storm saw the two Princesses gracefully making their way over. The whole class was briefed on this just yesterday to not stare but Storm couldn’t help himself. Most ponies never saw the princesses in person but only on pictures in the newspaper. The experience of meeting those who literally controlled celestial bodies was simply unimaginable. Snapping back to attention, Storm realised that most of his class were entranced just like he was.
“Carry on, Captain,” Princess Celestia said as she stood to face the to-be royal guards.
“Thank you, princess,” he replied. “I know it has been a long road for all of you to get to where you are. You are unquestionably the most elite soldiers in Equestria and with that achievement, you will receive the honour of bring inducted into the Palace Guard. However, there were a few pieces of information that some of you would like to know before you officially join due to either your lineage or your family. Princess Luna will speak to you first.”
Everypony looked at each other. They knew what was going to be asked. “Mine fellow ponies,” Luna started, “We know how hard ye must have toiled to arrive at this point. Might we remind ye that no pony serendipitously arrives at the guard. Thus, we must choose from this pool of new blood to fill both mine and mine dear sister’s house guards. Might any volunteers step forward?”
Right away, a few ponies stepped forward. Among them, Storm recognised Sunny Days, a cheery mare who excelled in getting cheerfully drunk on Friday nights, and Midnight Blossom, a threstral who excelled at getting cheerfully drunk on Friday nights. What? Did you think that guards in training didn’t drink? Well, you’re right when they’re training which is basically the whole week.
“Those who have volunteered; thank you. Please step aside while we commence,” Luna said.
Storm caught Sunny eyeing him as she stepped aside and gathered in a small group with the other volunteers. Celestia now stepped forward.
“Thank you all for volunteering for the house guards,” Celestia said as she addressed the volunteers, “Now that’s out of the way, I have an opportunity to present to all of you interested. The Equestrian Navy and the Guard have come together to create a new task force primarily for guards who want to involve themselves further in the greater going-ons around Equestria. This branch will specialise in scouting for both the Equestrian Navy and the Army through the use of a newly developed class of airship. It will be named the Equestrian Trailblazers. If you are interested, please step forward. If not, I’ll give you time to contemplate on your decision. More details will be given after you apply.”
Nopony budged. The silence was deafening. Then almost uncontrollably, Storm felt himself step out of formation. His class stared at him. For some reason, the idea resonated with his subconscious and it just felt right. He looked around nervously at the staring eyes glued to him, seemingly asking why he would choose to follow such a path. He had been selected to be trained as a guard because he graduated top of his class of cadets. Being a guard was paid well, and probably the most cushy position in the two three branches of the military.
Celestia turned to address Storm. “Thank you for volunteering. I know it may not be what you were training for, but this task force is extremely important in the defence of Equestria and all those who reside within. May I get your name, brave one?”
“S-Storm Wing, at your service ma’am,” Storm stuttered.
“Thank you Storm. Please step aside. I’ll meet you after this briefing.”
Storm stepped out of formation and trotted over to where the house guard volunteers were standing around.
“I thought you said you were going to volunteer for the house guard?” Sunny Days asked.
“I guess I changed my mind. Being a house guard is great and all but you spend your time coordinating security details and standing around some doors,” Storm replied, “Besides, for some reason, this new task force just called to me. I can’t explain it.”
“Good luck then, I guess,” Sunny sighed dejectedly, “I’m not sure how often I will be able to see you around now. It feels as though all my friends are going on different paths now.”
“Hey, it’s not that bad, I’ll make time for you when I can Sunny,” Storm said, “I better get to the princess, looks like the briefing is over. I’ll see you when I do.”
Storm rushed over to the princess as the new palace guards dispersed. As he approached, he saw Captain Armour walking alongside the princess as they made their way back to the castle. The Captain noticed him and turned to face him.
“Hello again. Storm, is it?” Captain Armour asked.
“Yes sir,” Storm replied.
“Good,” the Captain said, “I’m currently headed off to the dining hall to breakfast with the princesses to arrange all the new recruits to various positions. Would you like to join us? It’s probably a good time to discuss the new task force with you.”
“Thank you, sir,” Storm replied as he matched the Captain’s stride.
Storm found himself seated in the royal dining hall next to Captain Armour facing across the two princesses, a position he never dreamed he would be in. Well, maybe he is doing something right, he thought.
“So, Storm,” the Captain began, “Do you know anything about airships?”
“Uh. They float with large helium frames sir?” Storm replied, unsure of what to say.
“No need to be so formal, Storm, just call me Shining. And yes, airships do ‘float’ with the use of helium. You’ve got a lot more to learn, buddy.”
Princess Celestia glanced over at the two, “While we are waiting for our food, maybe we shall begin discussing what this new task force does and what is required of you.”
“Okay, princess,” Storm replied.
“As you already know, this task force will be named Trailblazers. This is because you will be scouting specific objectives across Equestria and beyond to all corners of this planet. You will be trained in operating airships in general, where you learn the terms related to airships and theory required to pilot them. Then, you will spend some time being taught by Rusty Rivet, head of the royal engineers how to fly this specific build of airship. Along with piloting, you will also be taught basic diplomacy by Luna. It would be a useful skill as you may find yourself in contact with higherups elsewhere. That’s the basic outline of what you will be doing. More will be revealed at a later date but our current scientists and geographers are still working on getting more concrete data. If you have any questions, ask away. Luna and I will always be around to help.”
“Thank you, princess, when do I start?” Storm asked eagerly. This actually sounded quite exciting.
“Probably in a few days’ time. Unfortunately, our airship instructor is currently ill. Currently, feel free to look around the castle or follow the Captain around. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind,” Celestia said with a mischievous grin.
“You know I have piles of paperwork to get on top of, princess,” Shining whined, “Why are you punishing me for looking out for you by cutting the cake budget out of this year’s spending plan?”
“You know I like my cake, Shining,” Celestia growled, “And I will not allow my cake budget to be cut.”
“Ah, our food has arrived,” Shining announced, attempting to change the subject.
A platter of toast was placed in the centre of the table between us and the princesses along with a bowl of fruit and various jars of fruit preserves were laid out.
“Oh, and also, Storm?” Celestia said as Storm was buttering a piece of toast, “You can stay in the castle for the duration of your training if you’d like.”