//------------------------------// // Chapter 21: Oath // Story: No spell for that // by Jeweled Pen //------------------------------// Drifting was beginning to think she made a horrible, horrible mistake. It had been almost a week since she’d agreed to her new role, and she would be sworn in tomorrow. In that time Neon and Aeon had descended on her, first almost in tears, then a quick screaming match, followed by more tears and then a lot of hugs. Why they were none too happy with this decision, they’d eventually relented and agreed that, if it made her happy, then they’d support her as best they could. Her mother, on the other hoof, had not been so accepting. The mare had to be forcefully removed, taking six guards. She’d nearly bashed down the door trying to get at her daughter. Fortunately, the door to Drifting’s room could have taken a raging bull in head on charge without opening when locked. Though her mother had come close. She wasn’t surprised at all to find that the principal had formally agreed to let her graduate early on a special ‘guard addendum’. Officially allowing her to be considered an adult, though she would have to continue her lessons while in the guard. She imagined he had been almost giddy to finally be rid of her. She hadn’t been able to leave her room since the day after. Once the announcement had been made of the official ‘forming of the chaos guard’, the papers had been filled with stories and guesses of who these new guards would be. The princesses were doing their best to keep details to a minimum, but there were already plenty of guesses and she was mildly annoyed to see her original name listed as a possible selection. She suspected the only reason it wasn’t truly known was because Discord was enjoying the air of mystery it was creating. Of course, once she was fully signed in, there would be no more doubts. EVERYPONY would know who she was, as it would be a matter of public record. She couldn’t help but feel more dread at the notion that, once it was officially out, that also meant everypony would know who she was. More importantly, what she was. Just thinking about the whole of Equestria knowing she was trans made her want to throw up. There was a light knock on the door, making her glance up. Oh dear heavens she hoped it wasn’t her mother trying again. She didn’t hear any objection from the guards, though, so she supposed it couldn’t be her. “Hello, who is it?” she called out. “Hey sis, it’s Sunny. Your sister? I hope you haven’t forgotten me now that you’re gonna be all famous and stuff,” the teasing voice answered. Drifting’s eyes widened and she raced towards the door, swinging it open and giving the other mare a tight hug. “O-oh my gosh! Sunny! Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” Sunny gave a light laugh. “You’re kind of in lockdown mode, now. Is it true that they tossed mom out?” “Yeah. I hear they had to escort her home after all of this,” she said with a giggle, before trotting to her bed and sitting down. “So. I’m guessing you know, then?” “Yup. Mom and dad are furious.” “I imagine they will be. But ummm… it’s not like I like Discord or anything. Just… and in five years, I’ll be out.” Sunny sighed and trotted over, hopping into the bed besides her. “They’re… not mad about that.” “Oh… they’re mad about me… ummm...” “Being a mare now? Ohhh yes. They actually sent one of the elements of harmony themselves to break the news. Nice mare, Rarity? But oh buck mom and I had it out.” Drifting couldn’t suppress the grin. If nothing else, at least she always knew her big sister had her back. “Yeah… I guess mom probably didn’t expect me to be fixed all at once, huh?” “Oh gosh no. I swear,” she muttered, patting her on the head. “She was really holding out hope that this was just a phase and you’d snap out of it and wanna be a stallion. I kept trying to tell her that you weren’t going to snap out of it any more than I was going to snap out of wanting to be a mare. But… well. Mom.” She sighed and gave a nod. “Mom. So… you’re not mad?” Sunny shook her head. “Not at all. You’re a cute mare, and you finally get to be what you’ve been trying.” “I mean… since I’ll be working for Discord.” “…Joining the guard is still a pretty noble profession. I’m sure, once everything gets sorted, they’ll be seen as just as valuable as the other guards. I mean, if the princesses are okaying them, then they can’t really be bad for Equestria, now can they?” Drifting couldn’t help but give a giggle. “Oh, no. They hate this. I’ve only seen them a few times, since. But Twilight is really furious that he grabbed me. Princess Luna has been coming by from time to time to ask how I feel about certain things to station me and I should know tomorrow. But… to be honest? I’ll be a mare. I’ll go where ever they position me. Well… except...” “Except?” “I did ask that they didn’t put me anywhere near diplomatic borders...” she mumbled, poking her hooves together. “I’m going to have a lot of eyes on me for a while. The last thing I want is to be near someplace where I might cause an international incident.” Sunny snickered, nodding. “Oh yeah. Especially if mom tracks you down. She’d probably toss a yak.” The two stared at each other for a moment, before bursting at the mental image of it. After a few moments, the elder unicorn shook her head. “Right. Though that’s not why I’m here.” “It’s not?” “You’re officially an adult now, right?” “Yep. Got my records changed and everything. I uhhh… even… actually got Princess Twilight to help me set it up so my name would show as Drifting Petal from now on.” “Oh, mom is going to kill you for that one.” “Probably, but I figure she can only kill me once, so I best make it worth it,” she said with a shrug. “So, why are you here?” “Because, little sister of mine. You are now, officially, an adult. Which means!” Sunny’s wicked grin sent a little chill down Drifting’s spine. The elder unicorn grabbed her bag and opened it. Pulling out bottle after bottle after bottle, lining them up. “Uhhhhh…” Drifting whispered, staring. “I...” “You’re old enough to drink. And since, hey, who knows when I’ll be able to see you again when all this is over? So, it is an older sister’s job to get her newly adult little sister completely and utterly plastered. You can thank me later.” “You’re not serious.” “Oh, I am totally serious.” She opened one of the bottles with her magic, pouring it into a pair of small shot glasses. “Now then. Bottoms up, sis. This first one is called jager and it has a bit of a kick.” Drifting groaned, staring at the dark liquid. She then glanced to her sister and found a smile forming on her lips. “Well, okay. Since you insist. What’s the worst that could happen?” ------ Drifting groaned, slowly opening her eyes and gazing up at a very annoyed looking Princess of Friendship. Her tongue felt like cotton balls and her head felt like somepony was trying to drill out from the inside. Worse, there was a stabbing pain in hip. She glanced down and saw her sister was sleeping besides her, horn digging into her. She pulled away and let out a sigh, before turning back to the princess. “H-hello, your highness.” “You do realize you are being sworn in, in a little more than an hour. Correct?” “…I do now.” Twilight shook her head. “Really, I expected better from you. You finally become an adult and the first thing you do is go drinking? There are so many better things to do with your time.” “Like…?” “Well, for one, there is the more restricted access of the magical tomes you’d now have access to. As an adult you’re expected to--” Drifting couldn’t stop herself. Despite the pain, she couldn’t stop giggling helplessly. “What’s so funny?” “I-I don’t know. I think I’m still a tiny bit tipsy. I-- EEK!” Drifting flailed a bit after being picked up in the alicorn’s magic and forcefully dragged into the bathroom, the door closing behind her. “Take a cold shower and get ready!” Twilight yelled. “Here!” A small bottle appeared on the counter. “Drink that, it’ll help!” “… What is it?” “One of Pinkie’s. Just drink it.” “Ughhhhh…” Sunny groaned. “Keep it down...” “And you, miss… Whoever you are. This is not a...” Drifting rolled her eyes, drowning out the rest of the lecture by turning on the water in the shower. She waited a few minutes for it to warm up, downing the drink. Mmmm, it was a bit minty, and it calmed the strong rumbling in her stomach.She then stepped forward and slid under the flow of water. She let out a content, relaxed sigh when the water began to wash away that weird, grungy feeling. She rinsed out her mouth and stretched out her sore muscles. Like it or not, the princess was right. She had to give her oath soon. Otherwise, all that she was would disappear. She climbed out and quickly got to work, drying her mane and pausing at the mirror. She was a mare. The face that looked back at her didn’t even have a hint of the masculinity she had held for so long. That she had tried to cover up for so long. She hadn’t really looked at it until now. She just stared at her reflection and began to sob. After a few moments, there was a knock on the door. “Hey, sis? You okay?” Sunny called in. “Y-yeah,” she managed to croak out, opening the door. “S-sorry, I just… I-I got a bit e-emotional and… and...” She stared up at her sis. She tried to suppress it, to stop it from erupting. But she couldn’t. She lunged forward and hugged her sister tightly. “I-I’m a mare. I’m finally a m-mare. I-I don’t have to, have to look at the mirror any more a-and try to hide things o-or c-cover things o-or f-feel disgusting o-or icky or a-anything!” she said, between her loud sobs. “I’m a m-mare now and I n-never ever have to be anything different… I-I just… I-I’m so happy...” Sunny stared at her little sister, before lightly patting her on the head. “Hey. Yeah. You’re a mare now, sis. Heh. It’s gonna be okay. So… don’t worry. We’re here for you, no matter what. But you got an oath to make, right?” “R-right. I gotta get… get ready. F-for it. Yeah. I gotta go and...” she mumbled, giving a soft sniffle. “I-I’ll go finish. Thanks. For everything,” she said, turning and walking back into the bathroom to finish cleaning up. Once she came back out, she noticed her new armor laying on the bed. Her horn glowed, gripping the equipment in her magic and drawing it over, strapping it on. She then looked to Twilight. “I think I’m ready.” “How are you feeling?” the princess asked, her gaze having softened considerably. “Sore and my head is pounding,” Drifting said, standing up straight. “But… happy. Very, very happy.” “Good,” Twilight said with a shake of her head. “Try to remember that enthusiasm. Today is going to be… interesting.” She then turned and trotted to the door. A guard came up to escort Sunny, while Drifting followed the princess. Drifting’s nerves quickly went into high alert and she couldn’t stop herself from feeling dread while walking through the halls. The guards all seemed to be staring at her, some with eyes of hostility, others with pity. However, when they drew closer and closer to the throne room, she began to wish the trip would take ten times as long. All too soon it ended and she was brought to the massive chamber. It was filled with guards of the solar and lunar guard, though she could barely focus on them. All she could focus on were the princesses opposite the entrance(who Twilight teleported to join), and Discord. The spirit looked quite pleased with himself, grinning so much she wondered if his face might split. The pounding in her head felt as if it was only getting louder, though she suspected that had something to do with the trumpets being blown. She didn’t know what was in that drink Twilight gave her, but she sent a silent thank you to the heavens for it. Slowly, she walked down the long carpet, feeling as if every single eye in the room was on her… though it probably was. It was all she could do to not turn tail and run. Before she knew it, she was standing before the most powerful ponies and spirit in Equestria, bowing her head to them. Once she was told to rise, she felt her tongue practically turn to sand paper. Fortunately, from here all she had to do was repeat. One by one the princesses stepped forward, said their line and let her repeat it back to them. While she did flub a few lines, she fortunately managed to avoid making a total flank of herself. Once she had finished making her vows, she turned and was escorted away, by a member of the lunar and solar guard, both unicorns. She let out a sigh of relief once she was free, lead out from the room. She followed the two, walking in silence until they headed into a locker room, which was currently empty. “Nervous, kid?” the solar guard asked, giving a small smile. She nodded. “Don’t be. We’ve been informed of you, already. You’ll be working with us, in a few weeks. Her highness asked us to introduce ourselves,” he said with a nod. “I’m Major Rosebush, a pleasure,” the unicorn said with a nod. “…Major Rosebush?” Drifting asked. “Yes. And this is Captain Lavender. She’ll be your primary commanding officer while you’re working with us.” Drifting’s eyes widened and she quickly stood at attention. “S--” “Knock it off,” Lavender said, turning her glare to her. “Listen, Drifting. Like it or not, you’re a member of the guard. Chaos or otherwise. Before you get too excited, thinking this is all going to be fun and games, make it through basic. Then we’ll see if I’m being offered dead weight, or someone of actual use.” The unicorn then turned and walked off, leaving the younger unicorn staring. “I… I don’t think she likes me...” Rosebush merely chuckled. “Don’t mind her, she’s always a little testy,” the stallion said. “But she’s a good commander. As long as you don’t give up and survive basic, well… you’ll likely get along great. She’s just not too happy about the uhhh… conditions of your arrival. This isn’t exactly standard operating procedures, after all. Don’t let her shove you around too much, Private. While we both, technically, out rank you, as a member of the chaos guard, we have no direct control over you. Though I would still follow orders. Just because we don’t technically out rank you by the book, we still have far more experience and, more importantly, a desire to keep you alive.” “Keep… me alive?” “Yup. The princesses have deemed to send you to one of the most remote places imaginable, at least for now. To keep it out of the public eye, at least, until all this drama dies down enough.” Drifting gulped. “W-where exactly am I going?” “The Badlands. You’ll be working alongside the Badland Mooners, that’s the name of Lavender’s unit. Now, wipe that look of terror off your face. It’s not as dangerous as you’re worrying. So long as you keep your head down, don’t cause any troubles and listen to us, you’ll be fine.” Drifting nodded. “O-okay. And… umm… about my enlistment… it...” “We’re aware of the reason you enlisted,” he said with a shake of his head. “And trust me. You’ll receive no complaints of objections from anyone in either the solar or lunar unit. Of that, I can assure you.” “I… I see. How bad will basic be?” “Pretty bad. I believe you’ll be going through lunar guard training. But you should be fine. As long as you don’t give up, well… just be determined, Private. Assuming you want to make it. The most important thing is determination. We won’t see each other for a while, though. So good luck.” With those words, the stallion turned and trotted away. Drifting gave a soft, gently sigh and closed her eyes. Here it was. Everything she ever wanted. All she had to do was survive the next five years and it’d be perfect. Though, she couldn’t keep a smile off her lips. She’d just have to survive five years of herself and these Badland Mooners. Even if the Captain seemed a bit rough, the Major seemed wonderful and she was sure she would make it through. Because there was no way she’d allow herself to fail, not now. Not after everything she’d had to go through to get here. She would never give up, ever. Because now she finally got to be herself. And there was nothing better in the world.