//------------------------------// // Chapter 18: The RAT Exercise; Part 1 // Story: The Centurion Project // by TheEighthDayofNight //------------------------------// Journal Entry Day 2145 Holy crap have we come far. I took the best of the best from the legion on a combat patrol. Ran up against a little scavenging party from a nearby raider camp. They thought they could take us because they outnumbered us two to one. We cut those odds in half, twice. Only three injuries, but thanks to the training of Sarah and her medics, nobody died! We drove the raiders away, snatched up their stuff, then ran back home. Stephen took a nasty hit to the head, but Sarah reports that he’s going to be just fine within a week. The helmet Bevin made really saved Stephen’s ass, and I can’t wait until everyone is fitted up. Whenever I ask about his progress though, Bevin always gives me cryptic answers. I’d be annoyed with him (I mean the guy is as old as I am, but he treats me like a kid sometimes) but then he just gives me one of his trademark smiles as he says he’s working on something special. I have no idea how Sarah puts up with the guy living with her. Doesn’t matter, things are going great! We’ll show those raiders yet. Elias rolled his shoulder to try and ease the tension he could feel gradually settling there. Both the Solar Guard and the Lunar Guard had been standing in formation opposite each other for well over an hour, waiting patiently as the sun rose. The princesses had the Royal Guard cover both guard shifts for the past day, and supported with endurance and energy spells, said guards were constantly keeping watch over the other two guard forces as they stared at each other. When called to report for the exercise, they had already been divided into their veterancy categories, and so Elias found himself at the back of the formation, since he was one of the newest, and youngest guards. One stallion twitched nervously to his right, having been recruited only a few days before. Why the pony didn’t wait another week, Elias had no idea, but the gray fur, white maned earth pony wouldn’t stop shooting looks at him. The last week had been hectic, and Elias was glad for it. After depositing Baked Loaf at her bakery, he had returned to the castle. The mare seemed disappointed at his rapid departure, but he had promised to stop in at some point, and with that promise in mind, she had let him leave. Upon his return, Elias immediately went to sleep, awakening a few short hours later in a pool of sweat. After a scalding shower, he had set about compiling as much of his knowledge on Roman battle tactics on paper as possible. As Ice Blossom pushed Scarlet harder and harder, the pegasus won less and less, and so he got no time with Elias to mentally prepare his strategies. The pegasus stole every moment to talk when he could, covering the lunch table with maps as he tried to squeeze the moments of tactical conversation in. Overall, Scarlet was in a much better physical state than he had been before. He had even begun joining Elias in his sparring sessions with Binder and Flash. While he struggled to keep up, he no longer stood like a frozen stick, and when the three ponies got tired, Elias sparred further with Ice Blossom and Midnight Chaser. Most of these fights ended with the pair teaming up on the man, and though he got licks in, he often lost. Badly. It left him with a sense of satisfaction, however. His body hardened and he got marginally faster the more they fought, and over the span of the week, Elias felt like even he had found improvement. That led them to now, where they were standing outside of Canterlot, shoulder to shoulder, waiting for the princesses to put their finishing touches on the arena. According to Scarlet, said arena was magically conjured by the princesses, contained within an artificial forest that would automatically teleport away anyone who delved into the trees too far. Part of Elias was curious about how it looked from the outside. The youngest guards were slated to go first. The stated reason for this was so that they could “watch and improve” themselves by watching the older guards after their match was finished, but Elias suspected that it was just because nobody expected anything substantial from the young guards. Their fights would likely be short, unorganized, and messy. “At attention ponies!” a voice called out loudly, ringing across the open field they waited in. Most of the guards remained still, as they were supposed to already be at attention, but some of the guards, such as the one beside Elias, flinched and straightened. Taller than anyone else, Elias was able to watch clearly as two guard captains and the princesses descended from the sky. As they landed, Captain Armor popped into existence beside them, a wide grin on his face. With a nod from the princesses, he stepped forward. “Good morning guardponies! Today is the day of the Royal Assessment Training Exercise, and each and every one of you will be participating. I hope you have gotten plenty of rest, because the results of today will determine how hard you are pushed in the coming months. My wedding is going to go off without a hitch, and if it doesn’t, all of you will be held accountable.” Elias rolled his eyes under his helmet as he continued to stare forward with a look of absolute boredom. He really wished they could get this started. He could feel his body beginning to twitch with pent up anticipation from the promise of action. The pony to his right gulped nervously. Captain Armor seemed to relish his power over the guards for a moment more, then with a smile, he gave a slight bow to Celestia. Inclining her head, she stepped forward. “Greetings all, as Captain Armor as stated, this test is of upmost importance for our future.” She smiled brightly, her white fur seeming to glow in the rising sunlight. “I have no doubt in my mind that you will all do your very best.” A large book appeared from nowhere, and Celestia opened it carefully, still smiling. “And now, for the annual reading of the rules.” Clearing her throat loud enough for all to hear, she began to read, her voice carrying to everyone as she spoke with perfect clarity. “First, no grievances shall be carried past the arena. This is exercise is for training purposes only, and whatever the result, you are all Equestrian guards. Carry your duty with pride, no matter the outcome of today.” Elias snorted to himself. ‘Yeah right,’ he thought, ‘if nobody gets in a fight later, I’ll find a marefriend tomorrow.’ Elias blinked in surprise at the Equestrian twist to his thought. ‘I’m localizing,’ he thought with horror. Celestia continued while the human dealt with his minor internal crisis. “Second, all guards will try their absolute best during the exercise. I know that we have not had any recent issues, but after the bribing scandal two years ago, we are invoking additional measures to ensure there is no repeat. Any guard found to be accepting bribes for intentional failure will be punished severely.” The page turned. “Finally, we shall go over the safety briefing, then on to the team captain announcements.” Elias spotted a plume that he was fairly sure belonged to Scarlet Shield. Though the motion was slight, it bobbed excitedly at the words “team captain”. Each guard was allowed to bring their full gear, which included a set of saddle bags. Scarlet’s were stuffed to the bursting with a myriad of different battle strategies and tactics that the pegasus wanted to use. Though Elias knew much of it would be worthless, he hoped the pegasus would get the position for one reason. At some point when Elias wasn’t looking, Scarlet had compiled and written a full list of every Lunar Guard in their class, along with their associated strengths and unique talents. Skimming over it once or twice, Elias had been impressed at the level of detail. As long as Elias offered him a few words to direct him, the pegasus was more than ready to lead the charge, especially given his already intense dedication to the position. “As you all know, the arena is outfitted with a standard safety aura, maintained by two dozen of Equestria’s strongest unicorns,” Celestia said. “This aura will teleport any “injured” combatants to the grandstands, before the injury occurs. Any guards removed will return in the following round. Should this aura in anyway fail, a team of our best healers are on standby, and teams of Royal Guardsponies will circle the battlefield to ensure that nopony is seriously injured.” Elias was actually fairly happy at the news of that. It meant he could fight without restriction. Going for the throat would only result in a pop and a vanished pony. No blood, no screaming, just another target vanished. When he had asked Book Binder about why the spell wasn’t simply applied over the entirety of the Canterlot training grounds, he had found that it was merely because it was too intensive. It required massive amounts of magic and focus, and there simply weren't enough unicorns to power such a thing around the clock. The oversized book slammed closed and Celestia smiled brightly as she tucked it under her wing. “With that out of the way, let us begin!” she said cheerfully. “Our team captains have already been selected, and when your name is called, please step to the front of your section.” A long scroll appeared from nowhere, much like the tome had. As she unrolled it, Elias tuned out her voice, thinking about who they would be facing. Since the Lunar Guard held roughly two hundred less guards than the Solar Guard force, the oldest tier of the Solar Guard was put up against a team of Royal Guards for the sake of the exercise. This round was more for the personal enjoyment of the guard forces, as occasionally the best Lunar Guards would be thrown into the mix as well. They would be the final exercise, running only one round as the moon rose. According to Night Flash it was a lot of fun to watch, and Elias found himself looking forward to it. Elias blinked and reasserted his attention as she began to read for their section. “For the Fourth Section Lunar Guard Captain, we have selected; Guardspony Palisade!” Elias didn’t hear an audible groan, but he certainly felt it. The guards around him, save for the newest one to his right, shifted in frustration, their posture drooping as the pegasus made his way forward. Elias noted that Scarlet’s plume had sunk by at least an inch, and he had no doubt that his friend was trying to mentally justify why he hadn’t been chosen. If Celestia and Luna noticed the frustrations of the youngest Lunar Guards, they did nothing to show it as Celestia continued to read the final team captain. “Representing the Fourth Section Solar Guard as Team Captain, we have selected; Guardspony White Shine!” Elias’ hand instinctively curled into a fist as the unicorn made his way forward, his arrogant demeanor apparent as he strutted with an asinine smile on his face. Though he hadn’t seen the unicorn since his “incident” in the cafeteria, Elias still carried heavy hatred for the pony. On one hand, he despised the fact that scum like White Shine could make team captain. On the other, Elias now had an excellent motivation to help his team in every way possible to win. Physically hurting the pony, while satisfying and an excellent deterrent, did nothing to impact his life outside of the guard. Whipping his ass in a training exercise however… Celestia rolled the scroll up with her magic. “The rest of the rules shall be addressed by your team captains! The first guard groups should make their way to the teleportation area within the next five minutes. Do well my ponies! I shall be watching you all very closely.” Captain Nightshade and Captain Armor gave the dismissal order, and the ponies began to drift toward their assigned areas. Elias relaxed in place, waiting for his friends to come to him. They had coordinated that beforehand, and since he was easily the most visible, he was their rally point. Scarlet arrived first, looking dejected as he approached. The pegasus said nothing, merely sitting beside Elias, leaning against the man’s leg as he sighed and pouted. Night Flash and Book Binder arrived next. Both had a look of irritation on their faces, but Book Binder was by far the more vocal of the two. “I can’t believe they chose Palisade AGAIN!” she said, her voice at a near shout. Elias kept an eye up to make sure nobody was glaring at the unicorn, but he quickly found that most of the Lunar Guards agreed with the sentiment. Some were muttering darkly to themselves, while others were silent and dejected like Scarlet. Elias nudged the pegasus lightly, then nodded toward the teleportation area. The red pegasus sighed and got to his hooves. They walked as a tight group, though Elias quickly noticed the new pony falling in behind them, trying to remain unnoticed. “Do you mind if I ask why this Palisade is a bad choice?” Elias asked carefully. Night Flash sighed and kicked a stone. “Because he’s been the team captain three times now, and every year he uses the same plan that has literally never worked. He refuses to let anyone who doesn’t suck up to him give him advice. So we lose, again and again.” Elias nodded in understanding. A static leader was one of the worst kinds. Not as bad as a cowardly leader, but it was up there. “Has anyone tried broaching this issue with Captain Nightshade?” Scarlet nodded. “I tried last year when we lost for the sixth round in a row. She just told me that the princesses chose him for a reason, and that we should trust in their judgement.” He sighed. “So that was that.” Elias nodded again. “What do you think new guy?” he asked loudly, looking over his shoulder at the pony in their trail. The earth pony seemed stunned that Elias was addressing him directly. He stopped walking forward, so Elias did the same, half-turning to look at the pony. His fur was a deep gray, and his mane was a brilliant white, and while he looked a bit tougher than the ponies Elias normally associated with, he was clearly wound up in a bundle of nervousness. The pony looked around, as if expecting Elias to be talking to someone else. The human sighed. “Yes, you,” he said, pointing clearly at the pony. He then pointed to the ground at his feet. “Come here, my hearing isn’t so good, and I’m not going to have you yelling at me.” The earth pony flinched slightly, but he trotted forward, walking beside Elias as they began moving forward again. Out of the corner of his eye, Elias saw a small smile on Book Binder’s face as she nudged Night Flash. The pegasus was positively beaming, and he motioned for Elias to continue talking with the earth pony. Rolling his eyes, he looked down at the pony. “What’s your name?” he asked gruffly. “G-Gray Granite sir.” Elias groaned in disgust. “Ugh, don’t call me sir. I’m nobody’s sir. My name’s Elias.” He rolled his neck, hearing a loud pop as he did so. “So, tell me Granite, what do you think of our new team captain?” The earth pony flinched slightly under the weight of Elias’ eyes. He looked away as if in thought, then answered. “Well, everypony else seems to not like him, and since everypony has more experience than me, I think I should follow their lead.” He tilted his head. “On the other hoof, I’ve never met Palisade, so I have no idea what he’s like, and my parents taught me to give everypony the benefit of the doubt at least once.” Elias grunted. “Not a bad answer. I find myself in agreement with you Granite. Let’s see what Palisade has to offer before we throw him off the bridge, shall we?” “And if he doesn’t meet your expectations?” Book Binder asked leadingly. Elias snorted, looking back at her with a sinister grin. “I think everyone here knows how I respond with people who think their better than everyone else. I’ll give our beloved team captain a kick up the ass if he needs it, rest assured.” Book Binder rolled her eyes, but smiled as she shook her head. “I know you will baby boy. Make sure not to hurt him too much, he’s actually a pretty good fighter.” They stepped into the teleportation with the rest of the waiting Lunar Guard in their class. The Solar Guard approached not far behind them, with White Shine smugly smiling at the front. As his troops filtered in, he stopped a few feet away from Elias with several of his stooges stopping behind him. White Shine laughed loudly, drawing the glares of several Lunar Guards. “Will you look at that, the loser freak has finally found his home with all of the other losers.” He cackled loudly, and his stooges joined in. Elias stared at him calmly. The fact that the pony hadn’t gotten closer was message enough to him. It signified fear. White Shine seemed to look him up and down. Pointing at Elias’ shield and pilla, he sneered and asked; “What are those things Bright? Don’t you know that everything isn’t about who has the biggest spear?” He and his friends laughed again. He heard a few growls in their direction, primarily coming from Book Binder, but Elias could only smirk as he said; “Is that what you have to tell yourself when you look in the mirror every morning Shine?” The grin vanished from the unicorn’s face. Loud snickers and chuckles echoed from the Lunar Guards behind Elias, and the human was pleased to see that a few of the Solar Guards were only barely restraining themselves from joining in. As Elias smiled widely, the laughter continued to grow as White Shine turned crimson. His mouth flapped as he struggled to come up with an adequate comeback. “You won’t be so smart when we kick your flank into the dirt Bright!” he snapped loudly. Elias snorted and grinned. “We’ll see Shine.” He tapped his chin as if in thought, then his grin widened. “Actually, you know what, I think I came up with a great nickname for you,” he paused dramatically, raising his pinkie finger and bending it up and down, “Little Spear.” The laughter grew in strength as White Shine managed to paint his face in an even deeper shade of red. One of his friends whispered something in the unicorn’s ear, and he nodded as they led him away. A small cheer went up from the Lunar Guards. What made Elias smile the most, besides shaming White Shine, was the fact that Scarlet was now smiling again. A warm feeling touched Elias’ heart, and he only barely recognized the source as the voice resting comfortably in the back of his head. Scarlet covered his muzzle as he snorted loudly and gently kicked Elias’ leg. “How do you do that Elias? White Shine used to be the biggest bully in the guard, but you’ve managed to get him to be a laughingstock without blinking. What’s your secret?” Elias shrugged nonchalantly as he glared at the unicorn, who glared back as his buddies whispered in his ear. “Lupus non timet canem latrantem.” Scarlet cocked his head in confusion. Elias snorted and rolled his eyes. He really needed to teach the ponies some Latin. The only person who knew what he was saying was Anyon, and Elias imagined that the art would be lost on the gryphon. That, and he hadn’t really seen the bird in a while. Elias frowned lightly as he made a mental note to visit the blacksmith. “A wolf is not afraid of a barking dog,” Elias explained to Scarlet. The pegasus ahhed in understanding as Nightshade descended from the sky with Palisade in tow. As the brown pony fell in with the Lunar Guards, Nightshade looked around, glaring at anyone who dared to meet her eyes. “Alright, quiet down you giddy lot of fillies!” she shouted. “Get together and brace, the unicorns said they improved the mass teleportation this year, but somehow I doubt it.” Elias wondered briefly what she meant by brace, but the air around them hummed with energy, and he felt his stomach touch his throat as they all vanished in a massive flash of light. ***** Elias stumbled a few feet away from the mass of ponies before he collapsed to his knees, violently throwing up his breakfast. A mix of eggs, soggy toast, and milk poured forth in an awful torrent of bile. Book Binder quickly found him and rubbed his back softly, almost unnoticeable through his armor. “Just get it all out Elias, the first teleport is rough for everypony.” Elias tried to speak, only for more bile to rise. As he continued to throw up, Night Flash looked around in a daze, his eyes hazy. “I’m pretty sure that was worse than last year,” he said. “I feel that,” Scarlet echoed, a bit green in the face as he watched Elias empty his guts into the dirt. Elias blinked the tears from his eyes as he finished up, his stomach growing less turbulent by the second. He spit into the dirt, then wiped his mouth as he took a canteen from his belt. Sitting up on his knees he took a heavy swig of water, then spit it into the pool of vomit before him. Tucking the canteen back into its pouch, he looked at Book Binder. “That was foul,” he said, his tone dripping with disgust. She just smiled and helped him to his feet. He gave her a light thanks as he began to look around. The Solar Guards were gone, likely on their own side of the arena. The Lunar Guards stood largely in place as they each shook off the effects of the teleportation spell. To Elias’ left sat a red tent, with what looked to be a massive table inside. Just behind it on a raised mound was a flagpole with a shimmering blue flag decorating it. Luna’s cutie mark was emblazoned brightly across much of the flag, and the cloth flowed tranquilly in the breeze. Elias felt a slight chill on that breeze. When he had asked Night Flash about it earlier, the pegasus had merely nodded, his smile wide as he replied; “That’s the first winter breeze. It won’t be long before Cloudsdale arrives to deliver the snow clouds.” Why they were already making ready to create winter in October, Elias had no idea, but it didn’t concern him much. His duties were all inside, and the castle was kept the same temperature year-round. He wouldn’t even need to get warmer clothes. The fact that he had noticed had provoked an odd reaction in Night Flash though, and Elias had managed to catch him talking about "heritage education", whatever that meant. Elias studied the area to his right, spotting three wide paths that disappeared into the thick trees around their base site. While doing this, he felt a tap on his hip, and he looked down to find Book Binder smiling brightly up at him. Cocking his head, Elias asked; “What?” Book Binder snorted. “Always so eloquent with your questions Elias. I just merely wished to give you some physical affection before we start.” Elias sighed, but nodded, bending down so that she could easily reach his face. She squeed softly, as to not draw attention, then gave Elias a brief peck on the cheek, followed by a tight squeeze of a hug. “I know you’re better at this than any of us baby boy,” she whispered in his ear. “Do momma proud.” Elias flushed red. He glared death at Scarlet when he caught the pegasus watching them with a grin. He looked away quickly, but every couple seconds he found the pegasus watching again. “I will. Take care of yourself M-Binder.” Book Binder giggled softly as he used what they had deemed their “transition” name. Elias was not at all comfortable calling Book Binder, Mom, nor was he comfortable calling Flash, Dad. To begin easing the tension in his mind, Elias had begun to add a ‘M’ to the front of Book Binder’s name to indicate when he was treating her as his mom. She always became giddy when he used the transition name, and over the past few days, he had begun to use it more and more publicly as he got somewhat comfortable with the idea of having a real family again. The voice in the center of his head usually shrieked a bloody racket when he thought about that, but today it was silent, likely focused on how he was going to further humiliate White Shine. “Attention everypony!” Palisade called out as he made himself known near the front of the tent. Elias and Book Binder broke apart as Elias rose to his feet, and they moved with the rest of the Lunar Guard toward the pegasus. Elias noted the grumbles of irritation that spread amongst the assembled guards, but if Palisade noticed, he didn’t show it. He smiled as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “As you all know, I am team captain this year, and so I will select my advising team!” The pegasus began to rattle off a series of names, and the ponies that didn’t look like they wanted to throw him off a mountain walked forward, standing at his side happily. As each name was called, Scarlet seemed to droop further and further. Night Flash sat beside the depressed pegasus, draping a wing around his shoulders as they waited in silence for Palisade to finish. Elias looked at the sky as he began to zone out, only to be shocked from his near stupor by the pegasus’ voice. “And last, but not least, Guardsman Bright!” Elias blinked as he looked down from the brilliant blue of the sky to the brown of the pegasus at the front of the crowd. Scarlet looked at Elias in awe as the man stood stone still, unsure of how to react. He got a prod from Book Binder, who nudged him forward with a wide smile. The first step was hesitant, but as Elias took the second, he felt absolute control creep over his body. The voices in his head grew silent, and the walls between them temporarily bled together as a personality he had thought dead rose to the front. His stride broadcasted confidence, and the affect was clear on the ponies that moved silently out of his way. Palisade seemed to flinch slightly under his even gaze as Elias grew closer. The human rolled his joints as he walked, loosening up. They had half an hour to lay out their battle plan, but Elias wanted to be warmed up anyway. He stopped a few feet short of Palisade and the rest of his advisors. Elias slid his shield onto his back, the straps fitting snugly over his shoulders as he crossed his arms. “Might I ask why you want me?” Elias asked, his voice calm, giving nothing away. Palisade shifted nervously, likely not expecting the question. He smiled as he looked back for support. “Well, uh, Guardsman, you’ve fought against Captain Nightshade and Captain Chaser,” the pegasus replied. “I thought if anypony was an expert on combat, it would be you. I’d love to hear your thoughts on my battleplans.” Elias thought about mentioning that a good fighter didn’t always make a good strategist, but the pony was already staring at him nervously enough. He nodded silently and walked to Palisade’s left, falling in beside a pair of nervous looking unicorns. Both stared straight forward, refusing to meet Elias’ eyes. He snorted and crossed his arms again. Palisade gave him another nervous look before looking back to the assembled guards. “Alright, we’ll be out shortly to tell everypony their positions! I think we have a real shot this year!” Elias noticed that many of the guards were not focused on Palisade, but on him. Curiosity and more than a little hope sat in their expressions. This, Palisade noticed, and he looked at Elias again with more trepidation. Elias’ scowl deepened, this problem would need to be nipped in the bud, and fast. While he knew that the pegasus had likely called him forth as a gesture of openness, he also knew that the pegasus already likely had a “plan” in mind. Elias would need to alter, or replace that plan so that it would work, all without seizing control from Palisade. He had about as much interest in giving orders as the pegasus had about receiving them. A trickle of irrational fear crept through his mind, but he squashed it. Strategizing wasn’t leading. Elias would do everything it took to pass the burden of leadership off on someone else. Palisade led them into the tent, and Elias got a much better view of what was inside. It was much more spacious than it originally looked from the outside. A large oak table sat in the center, though in truth, even with the table, Elias was sure that they could fit the entirety of their team within the cloth walls of the tent. They only had two hundred ponies, and with almost thirty seats, there was plenty of room to stand around and still see the map at the center of the table. Said map brought out a bit of excitement in Elias. It wasn’t made of paper or cloth, but of magical sand. The full scope of the battlegrounds was spread out in detail as Elias took a seat directly in front of the map. One of the other ponies gave him a funny look, which he ignored as he took off his helmet and took in every detail of the map. It consisted of three clear lanes, partially obscured in places with small hills and trees. Between each lane was a thick mass of trees, brush, and thickets, designed to deter the ponies from using these areas. Elias had been told by Scarlet that these areas had thick anti-magic runes over them, rendering all of the natural pony strengths useless. Pegasi couldn’t fly, unicorns couldn’t cast, earth ponies grew physically weaker, and armor enchantments failed. Essentially, it was a no-go zone. At each end of the map sat a tower with a three-dimensional flag waving at the top, meant to signify their base. With curiosity getting the better of him, Elias tapped a small switch on the edge of the map, and watched with awe as the entire thing fell to a ground level perspective. Each tree was created in intimate detail before his eyes, showing him a realistic view of the battlefield from a pony’s perspective. His eyes drifted to the left of the map where a series of colored quills sat waiting. His fingers twitched has he suppressed the need to pluck one of the feathers free to make non-sensical marks on the map. Elias desperately wished he had more time to play with it, but he heard someone clear their throat, and looked up to find Palisade waiting for him, tapping his hoof on the table in mild irritation. Elias smiled sheepishly, flipping the toggle that allowed the map to return to normal. “Sorry, I’ve never seen something like this. The maps I used to use were… simpler.” Elias had no idea where the abashed feeling came from, but he struggled to suppress it as Palisade smiled and nodded in understanding. “It’s quite alright Guardsman Bright. Many ponies haven’t had the opportunity to use an interactive sand map. In fact, it is typically reserved for the Guard Captains, but for the sake of the exercise, we get access to one.” The pegasus looked to the pony sitting across from Elias, a bluish gray colored unicorn who was glaring at Elias intently with green eyes. “Thunder, could you bring up the battleplan?” The unicorn nodded silently, not looking away from Elias as he adjusted the map. Elias felt like he recognized the pony, but he couldn’t quite remember from where. He felt a flash of recognition as he saw the unicorn’s aura light up, a deep red that lifted and directed several of the quills to draw on the sand. “Have we met?” Elias asked, knowing full well what the answer was. The unicorn snorted. “You hit me in the head and left me to die. On top of that, you made me lose my helmet.” Elias shrugged. “You got a new one.” “And the part where you hit me and left me for dead?” Elias waved that away with his hand. “Common human greeting. Used to do it all of the time with this tribe of people who lived to the north of me.” The pony snorted again. “There is no way that any of that is true.” Elias smiled. “The part where I left them for dead with head injuries is.” The pony looked at him with conflicted eyes. Elias met his stare evenly, keeping the slight smirk on his face. The pony scoffed and focused on the map. “I have no idea if I like you or want to throw you into a river with your armor on.” Elias chuckled. “Then I must be getting better at this talking thing, because that’s better than I usually do,” he extended his hand. “Elias.” The unicorn bumped it with his hoof, not looking up from the map. “Thundercrash.” Elias sat back in his chair as he tucked his hands into his armpits. Though he slouched slightly, he made sure to keep a full view of the map as Thundercrash worked on it. It took Elias all of ten seconds to find out what was wrong with the plan. Palisade smiled widely as the map began to come together. “Alright ponies, the plan is just like last year, but this time we have two additional shield ponies on our side! I believe that if we concentrate both of them over our flag, we can weather whatever the Solar Guard throws at us, then charge out when they’re exhausted. We’ll sweep them from the field this year!” he proclaimed happily. Elias frowned as he leaned forward to study the fully drawn map. Three lines had been drawn in the middle of each lane, with the intention of pulling back to concentrate around the base. It was a purely defensive play, and not even a good one. As most of the ponies brown nosed and patted their leader on the back, Elias cleared his throat as he sat back in his seat. Palisade looked at him, his smile bright. “Yes, Guardsman Bright? Do you have some insight on how to make our plan function better?” Elias shook his head. “Nope, just had a question. Why aren’t we attacking them? The game is capture the flag, is it not?” Palisade nodded. “It is, but the Solar Guard has many more powerhouses than we do. Our ponies have a tendency to strike quickly from darkness, and since it is light out, we are forced to play to our secondary strength, which is defense. We have several ponies who are well versed in bubble shield spells.” He chuckled. “Unfortunately, you cannot throw illusions at the enemy, or else we could sweep the field easily.” The ponies laughed at the joke, but Elias held his stare. “Why not?” he asked. Palisade’s smile became strained. “I think that’s obvious Guardsman Bright; illusions aren’t real. They can no more hurt you than a single blade of grass can.” “Right,” Elias agreed sitting up. He pulled his left hand from his armpit and pointed at the map as he looked at Palisade. “But why aren’t we using the spells of our illusionists to form a distraction while a large part of our force dips around their main attack to take their flag? By waiting, we’re letting the Solar Guard pick how they want to attack.” “We have the homefield advantage,” Palisade responded shortly. “The homefield which is flat and featureless,” Elias argued. “I’d agree if we say had a series of mountains, or fortifications around us, but it’s a flat plane. It’s not to our advantage to sit and wait in an open kill zone.” One of the ponies, a green pegasus rose from his seat with his mouth open. Palisade waved him down before he could speak, however. “It’s alright Green Leaf, I asked Guardsman Bright here because he’s good at fighting, I like these questions.” He turned back to Elias. “The reason we want to stay in the flat area around our base is because it gives us full line of sight, while condensing our forces to work best with each other. We may not be the most powerful ponies, but most of us have fought together several times. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and we work better if we can communicate clearly.” Elias nodded, processing the statement. The justification wasn’t bad per say, just misguided. “While that may be true,” Elias conceded, “do you think the same is any less true for the Solar Guards? We’ve been broken down by veterancy. Besides a few others and myself, everyone has done this song and dance before. The results are going to be the same as well.” Green Leaf was out of his seat again in an instant. “You know what Bright? You should be grateful to even be in this tent. I don’t care if you’ve fought with two guard captains, you lost both times.” He sneered. “Why don’t you let the ponies who know what they’re doing make the battleplan, hm?” Elias nodded in agreement. “Alright then, let’s see the plans from all the battle winners in the room.” he said, gesturing toward the map with an open hand. The ponies glared at him, but when he caught their eyes, they looked away in shame. Elias looked at Green Leaf, who met his gaze with fury. “I might be new here, but on the battlefield, I likely have more experience than anyone in the guard.” Elias said. “I’m trying to make sure we win, because I’ve seen the record. Three years you’ve run this play, and three years it has failed, brutally. Wouldn’t you like to make it to the third round for once?” Elias looked to Palisade. The brown pegasus met his gaze, not with anger, but tiredness, almost as if he had expected this result. Part of Elias wondered if his inclusion had been intentional for this very reason. Palisade sighed deeply as his eyes fell to the table. “Alright, I’ll send a letter to the princesses resigning as team captain. Guardsman Bright, if you are confident you can lead us to victory, I’ll let you have it.” Elias froze in wide eyed shock. That was the very opposite of what he wanted. Fear traced across his mind as his hands spread out on the table. “Absolutely not,” Elias said forcefully. Palisade looked at him in confusion. “But you said you wanted to run your own plan, and the leader always writes the plan.” Elias laughed, drawing more confused looks from the ponies. He smiled at Palisade. “That’s really funny, but absolutely wrong. If it was true, then why are any of us here?” Elias asked, pointing at himself, then all of the ponies at the table. “The point of this little tent is so that we can lay out a plan. A good leader uses all of their resources, including a strategist.” Elias rubbed his eyebrow with his thumb. “The last thing I want out of today is to be giving orders. You can have that job for the rest of both of our lives for all I care. Me though? Let me write the plan, work it out with an advisor or two of my choosing, then you give the word on how it’s executed.” Elias rolled his shoulder, easing what tension had built up in it. “I’m a fighter, and I’ll follow whatever orders you give to the letter Captain, but if we use this plan,” he said, jabbing a finger at the map, “we’re going to lose. You let me come up with something though? I can guarantee us at least one round, if not the whole exercise.” Elias then tucked his hands back under his arm pits as he looked at Palisade. “Like I said though, you’re in charge. I don’t want the position, I don’t want to give orders, I want to win. That’s it. If you say we run that,” he nodded at the map, “then we run it. I would advise against it however.” Elias looked around the tent. “But I am but one guard. You have a host of other advisors here. You’re in charge, the decision is yours,” he said, tilting his head. “But, if you need more motivation to see it my way, then think of it like this. If we try it and it works, you look good because you ran a new play that worked out and learned the benefit of trusting your advisors. On the other hand, we lose, you throw me out and blame me, and then run whatever plan you like without some loudmouth like myself questioning you.” Elias spread his hands. “The way I see it, you can’t lose anything else.” He then fell silent as he watched Palisade. The pegasus frowned in thought, his eyes flickering around some unseen spot on the table. The other ponies at the table remained silent, splitting their gazes between Elias and Palisade. Elias counted to sixty-four before the pegasus spoke up. Palisade sighed loudly as he looked up. “Before I agree to anything, I want to know what it is.” His hazel eyes looked at Elias intently. “I’d like an idea of what I’m throwing ponies at.” Elias grinned and nodded. “That I can do Captain.” Elias sat up, leaning over the battle plan. He didn’t touch it yet, keeping his hands tucked under his armpits. As he studied it silently, Elias reached out, erasing the work Thundercrash had done. He then grabbed a quill and began drawing carefully. “Is this the exact same plan you’ve run for three years?” Elias asked aloud. Thundercrash nodded. “I’ve drawn it the same each time. The adjustments we’ve made have been a pony or two at most.” Elias tilted his head as he studied the developing map. “And the Solar Guard, how have they responded traditionally?” Green Leaf snorted dismissively. “I don’t see how that matters.” Elias didn’t even bother with a response to the pony. After a moment of pure silence, Palisade cleared his throat. “Each year the Solar Guard rushes all three lanes. We created the initial lines to wear them out a bit before they came at us for real. I’ve only gotten a scout to their base once, but they always leave about a dozen ponies in three groups of four on all sides of the base around their flag.” Elias nodded and changed quills, adding golden positions to the map. Thundercrash eyed his work curiously. “If I might ask, what’s the point of knowing how the Solar Guard are attacking us? No matter how we defend in the lanes, they always sweep us out. They’re faster, more powerful.” Elias nodded. “That they are, but I’m thinking even a powerful pony can be dragged down by numbers.” He put his finishing touches on the plan, adjusting a few formations with a blue quill, then sat back to admire his handiwork. Three filled in golden boxes pushed at each lane equally, with empty boxes around the solar flag. The Lunar side looked much different. On the right lane sat an empty blue box, meant to represent maybe ten ponies. In the center sat a filled in box, which he was going to refer to as the hold line. On the left sat two boxes, one far behind the other. The first one was filled in as normal, but the rear one was filled in gray, which represented invisibility to Elias. Elias sucked his teeth as he looked at his battle plan. The positions were right, but he needed better information on the strength of the troops at his disposal. Without looking away from the map, he shouted; “SCARLET SHIELD, GET YOUR ASS IN HERE NOW!” The ponies all flinched back at the volume of his voice, or maybe it was the authority it carried. Either way, they remained silent as Scarlet bolted into the tent, looking around in shock until he spotted Elias. The human looked up to meet his eyes, then waved him over to the table. “Come here, I need your abilities list. The plan will work better if we put the right ponies in the right places.” Scarlet nodded and crept forward, his eyes flicking around nervously as he approached the table. Elias pushed himself to his feet and motioned for Scarlet to take the chair. The pegasus hopped up, then rifled through his saddlebags, dragging out a thick packet of information. Elias took it quickly, flipping to the summaries page as he frowned in concentration. Laying the packet on the table, he began to adjust each formation carefully as he dragged out a blank sheet of paper to make notes on. He pointed at the formations as he spoke. “Alright Scarlet, here’s what I was thinking. Classic left flank sweep. The center should be manned by a mix of the first and second-best fighters, and it’s where I think I need to be. It just has to sit in place and hold, buying time for the left to shove forward.” He pointed to the unshaded box on the right. “The right flank should consist of…” he flipped a few pages, then made a note. “Here, our illusionists. What I’m thinking is they use their magic to make the field look like Palisade’s original plan. We know the Solar Guard’s will send out scouts, and they’re probably expecting the same thing he’s done every time, so let’s play to that and give them what they want. One illusionist on the right, and one at base. With both creating illusions of our forces, White Shine will fall for it hook, line, and sinker and won’t be sufficiently prepared for the rush on the left.” Scarlet frowned in thought. “Do you intend for the left flank to push forward from the start? Even if they routed whatever White Shine sent down that flank, he would still have ample time to withdraw the other two lanes to protect his base. We need to get him to commit fully before we can push his left flank.” Elias smiled and tapped his forehead with the quill. “Exactly, so here’s what I’m thinking.” He flipped through the packet again. “It was… ah here we are, Charmer, she has an invisibility bubble that she can keep up for an hour or more. We use her to cover the rear left force until we are engaged on all fronts, then she drops it while Palisade leads the charge to sweep up and left.” He looked to Palisade, who was nodding in awed understanding. “Captain, I would recommend you pick the strongest fighters for this rear team.” Elias said, pointing at the grayed-out box. “You’re going to need to hit hard, heavy, and lightning fast. If you take too long going up the left, White Shine will get the opportunity to retreat some of his ponies back. We’ll do our best to keep him occupied, but we’re going to get awful busy when they realize that the right flank is purely a diversion.” He scratched his head as he made a few notes on the map. “I expect that the right flank will be hard pressed to divert the push there. They’ll need to sweep back around the copse of trees and sprint up the center, as if they’re running to the real push. When the Solar Guards realize that the flag isn’t at base, they’ll likely hit us in the middle. I hope you can nab their flag before that happens. I don’t have any particular interest in fighting while surrounded.” Palisade looked at him in visible confusion. “What do you mean that the flag won’t be at base? We have to keep it clearly visible at all times or we forfeit.” Elias nodded. “I know, that’s why you’re going to be wearing it in your plume.” All of the ponies looked at him with their mouths agape. Elias looked around at each of them. “What? I’ve been told that Palisade is a capable fighter, he’ll be in the rear left group, he’ll stand outside of the invisible shield. It will look like he’s observing, and ready to retreat should the fight go south. The flag is blue like our plumes, so while it will be clearly visible to those looking for it, it will fool those who just take a glance at it. A moving flag will keep the enemy guessing, and it’s much easier to defend than a flag that sits in place. We can keep a pony running at top speed, we can’t make a flagpole run around.” A few of the ponies smiled at the lame joke, and it was enough to break their stares. Palisade gulped nervously. “Are you sure? It seems like a big risk. Too risky if you ask me.” “Aduentes fortuna iuvat,” Elias whispered to himself. The ponies looked at each other in confusion, but Elias shook himself mentally and looked to Palisade. “The biggest risks often give the greatest rewards,” Elias replied with a grin. “If you keep your group tight and don’t get bogged down, we can sweep this in under an hour. Easy peasy.” He inclined his head. “But it’s on you Captain. I’m confident in my plan, but you give the orders here. If you say no, then it’s a no.” Palisade shook his head. “No no, your plan is… well it’s certainly daring. I kind of want to try it just to see if it can work.” He frowned as he studied the map. Elias waited patiently, subtly handing Scarlet’s notes back so that he could slip them in his saddle bags. The pony slipped the bags off and draped them on the table. Elias eyed him curiously. “Aren’t you going to carry that? We don’t want the enemy getting that information.” “The command tent is off limits and is enforced with an automatic removal from the exercise,” Scarlet replied. “Nopony would dare coming in here once we start.” Elias nodded quietly, looking back to Palisade. The brown pegasus caught his eyes, then sighed and nodded. “Let’s do it. We’ve already established what happens if it fails, so everything is set. Guardsman Bright, I’d like you to give the briefing, and I am making you lead the center group.” Elias opened his mouth to protest, but Palisade cut him off with a raised hoof.” You just have to keep them in-line and fighting, no giving orders. Think of yourself as a motivational speaker that attacks ponies.” Elias flinched slightly at the idea of keeping others in-line, but took comfort in the finishing sentence. It allowed him to mentally justify acting like a leader, while not technically being a leader. The center part of his mind grumbled that this was a mistake, but he ignored it. “Do you know who you want where?” Elias asked. Palisade nodded. “I’ve been working with these ponies for a few years now, and I know who’s the best and who… isn’t. Save for you and the new guy. What’s his name? Marble?” “Granite,” Elias replied quickly, feeling oddly protective of the earth pony. “I’ll take him with me in the center. If nothing else, he looks like he’s got some muscle. He should put up a suitable fight, combat expert or no.” Palisade nodded. “Then let’s get this out to everypony so we can get set up.” ***** Elias fingered a groove in his pilum nervously. Despite the calm face he had maintained while making the plan, and despite the authority by which he had explained it to the rest of the Lunar Guards, Elias had severe doubts about his plan. Mostly because it was the first plan he had made since… it, that was going to be executed. The only relief he found was that he wasn’t giving orders. That, and the fact that Night Flash was at his side, along with the new pony, Granite. Arrayed around them were a large chunk of the Lunar Guards, numbering forty ponies. Palisade had grouped them by familiarity with each other, then broke those into the sections of the plan. By the time they were marching away from their base camp, the illusions were already up in full force, and if Elias didn’t know better, he would have thought Palisade was going to the left flank alone. A shadow passed briefly overhead, and Elias had just enough time to find the pegasus that caused it before she disappeared, her golden clad body speeding toward their base. Night Flash snorted. “So Red, tell me honestly, is this going to work? Not that I’m not confident that it will fail, but… you know…” Elias laughed. “I won’t lie to you and say that I’m one hundred percent sure it will work, but it’s better than the alternative. Sure, we might do more damage to them that way, but we won’t win. They have power, so cowering behind a shield would have just extended the match, if they didn’t already plan to counter it. This will work, I’m fairly sure.” Night Flash snorted and nudged his leg. “You’re not very good at pep talks Red.” Elias smiled weakly. He knew he could give some awe-inspiring speech; he had practiced Roman style oration for days on end. He knew precisely what to say to get everyone riled up and ready to fight, but he knew he wouldn’t survive the speech. It would feel too familiar, too much like leading. Swallowing roughly, Elias nodded. “No, I am not,” he agreed meekly. Night Flash gave him a curious look, pressing gently against Elias’ side, then a low rumble began to sound from their front. Elias felt his confidence return as his mind prepared to fight. His muscles relaxed, and Elias carefully drew another pilum from his shield holding it in his left hand as he waited. The dust cloud became visible quickly, and around him, the Lunar Guards moved into position. Elias happily noted that they all avoided standing directly behind him; it would make it easier for him to throw. The Solar Guards came roaring into view, shouting with glee as they spotted the blue clad Lunar Guards. The sight of them charging blindly forward made Elias smile. He pointed his pilum toward the approaching ponies. “This bunch means that it’s going to work. Look at them, there’s no strategy, they’re just coming straight at us.” He snorted. “Their funeral.” Elias flipped the pilum in his grip. Eyeing the Solar Guards, he made a split second calculation. The spear went into the air, and he heard a shout of shock ring out as a pony disappeared with a pop. “That’s one,” Elias said as he passed the pilum between his hands. The Solar Guards sped up their charge. An amber colored shield descended in front of Elias as spells were thrown their way. Powerful fireballs impacted the shield, the blistering heat scorching his face, but Elias didn’t so much as blink as he sent a second pilum through the air, followed swiftly by a third. A unicorn laughed arrogantly as he conjured a shield, blocking the first pilum, dropping it just in time for the second to come roaring in to drill him in the face. He vanished with a flash of light and a pop. Elias smiled savagely as he drew Feather. The blade felt lighter than ever, and for a second, Elias felt giddy. He looked to Night Flash; the pony’s face serious as he tensed into a combat pose. “And that’s two, a good start, don’t you think?” Night Flash nodded grimly. Out of the corners of his eyes, Elias saw the Lunar Guards line up, tensing as they resisted the urge to sprint forward. Elias had not so subtly recommended they remain in place, to let the Solar Guards wear themselves out as they charged. Only when they were within a few feet would the Lunar Guards rush forward. Elias snarled as he began to see the pupils of the ponies that were charging their shield. Elias was the first to lurch forward, silent as he pushed past the conjured shield. The Solar Guards seemed to pick up their pace again, and as Elias came within arm’s reach, he dropped to his knees, bracing his shield against his knee and shoulder at an angle. Unable to stop his forward momentum, the earth pony that had been charging directly at him went up the shield. As he felt the hooves impact his shield, Elias flipped it, sending the pony into the dirt. A Lunar Guard pounced on him, stabbing him in his exposed belly, and then he was gone. Elias had already moved on to his next foe. An earth pony flipped around as she tried to buck at him. Elias simply took a step back, letting her hooves flail at the air. With the pony overbalanced, Elias punched her with his shield, knocking her helmet lose before he stabbed at her exposed flank. The tip of the gladius touched her, and she vanished, as did her helmet. Elias looked around at the engaged ponies, quickly finding Night Flash nearby dueling with another pegasus. Flash executed a quick feint, one that the golden clad pegasus ignored. He swung wildly at Night Flash’s throat, and Flash stepped back to avoid the strike. The Solar Guard pegasus pressed his advantage, but unfortunately for him, he had nobody watching his back. Elias’ shield cracked into his ribs, and the pony spun to meet his new opponent. As he did so, Night Flash struck, hitting him in the throat with his wing blades. The pegasus vanished, and Elias grinned at Night Flash. Flash’s eyes widened, and he pointed over Elias’ shoulder. The human spun on his heel, driving his shield into the dirt as he crouched behind it. Flames washed over his arms, the heat setting his hair on fire. Elias ignored the stinging pain, and grabbed a stone from its pouch on his belt. He peaked around the shield, finding the unicorn and launching the stone before a second fireball impacted against his shield. Elias heard a cry, followed by a pop. When Elias stood, Night Flash was smiling widely at him from where the unicorn had been. Elias snorted and grinned at the pegasus’ happy expression, but neither of them had time to say anything as they were dragged back into the fighting by two different opponents. Elias dipped under the outstretched wings of a caramel colored pegasus. Flipping his sword in his grip, Elias punched the pegasus in the throat. As the pony sputtered and retreated, Elias slashed at his head with his gladius. Another pop, another beaten foe. Elias found no rest however, as an earth pony with a rather impressive axe kicked him in the chest. Elias stumbled back, ignoring the throbbing pain in his ribs. He growled as she tried to bury the axe in his chest. He blocked the thick blade with his gladius, sparks flying as steel clashed. She attempted to kick him again, but Elias blocked her hoof with his scutum, and then he reared back, building enough force to cruelly headbutt her in the muzzle. His helmet hit her with a crack of bone, and the earth pony cried out in pain. Elias got his shield under one of her hooves, then flipped her. Clutching her broken nose, she was no threat as Elias made her disappear with a slash across the throat. ***** Another pony in golden armor appeared in the stands, clutching at a broken nose as a team of healers swarmed her, their horns alight as they mended the injury, erasing her pain as they quietly comforted the pony. Luna couldn’t help but wonder why Elias seemed to inflict an initial wound before going for the killing strike. Was it merely a part of his fighting style that she was overthinking? Or was there a more sinister implication that was begin suddenly brought to light? Even since their conversation in the streets of Canterlot, he had shown more noticeable improvement with the continued affections of Book Binder and Night Flash, but perhaps putting him on the battlefield was a mistake. Celestia let out an excited gasp as Elias dipped under a lance of magical energy, countering it with a brutal swing of his shield that caused the unicorn to appear in the stands, grumbling and rubbing her horn softly. Seemingly without a second though, the human immediately engaged another, sparks flying as he fought off an earth pony who was wielding a short sword in his teeth. “I must say,” Celestia said calmly, “Palisade has dramatically improved his planning since last year. Using Elias as a distraction in the center lane while the majority of their troops go left is an effective strategy. If they were not outnumbered as they are, I would expect your guards to hold strong with the human at the lead.” Luna sniffed as she shifted her eyes away from the captivating human. She looked at the right lane, where the illusions were rapidly disappearing as the Solar Guards began attacking the real Lunar Guards. Several loud pops echoed in the stands as blue-clad ponies appeared, their eyes instantly focusing on the battlefield before them. “I do not believe that Guardspony Palisade has improved like you think sister,” Luna replied. “He has learned an important lesson, the one I wanted him to learn in fact, but I believe the plan, as well as the success of it lies squarely at the hands of Guardsman Bright. He has used his foreign expertise to great effect.” Luna frowned as the rest of the illusions vanished, and the three remaining Lunar Guards began to flee the vastly superior Solar force. They were quickly set upon, and they disappeared from the field. The Solar Guards quickly sprinted to the Lunar Guard base, but upon arriving, they found nothing. They milled about in confusion for a moment, then they seemed to lock onto the sound of fighting, and they raced up the middle lane. Celestia clicked her tongue. “Oh my, that is good,” she said. “Palisade’s forces are almost at my flag, and there is nopony that can help the guards left behind. If your middle group can hold out for a minute or two…” The Solar Guards around them cheered as the right group charged at the Luna Guards in the center. A loud cry seemed to cut through the air, and Luna was unsurprised to see Elias rush the group by himself, his armor glistening in the sunlight. She hoped that he would hold out. ***** “To the rear!” a voice cried out desperately. Elias looked with wild eyes as a loud shout cut through the air. A few of the Solar Guards around him cheered as their fighting increased in intensity. Elias noticed a few concerned expressions on the faces of his compatriots, and more than one began to fall back. Into the charging hooves of more Solar Guards. They were cut down swiftly, disappearing as the lines of ponies began to merge. With a roar that cut through the noise, Elias rushed, alone, at the charging lines of Solar Guards. They flinched at the power of his voice, and he slammed into them with his shield leading the way. The first pony he hit vanished with a pop as their neck curled backward. As his momentum faltered, Elias began to swing Feather in wide circles, fighting like a man possessed as he felt his throat burn at his continued shouting. A unicorn began to charge her horn, but Elias met her with a fist, and then a shield to the head. She vanished. Elias felt a sword cut into his back, his armor taking the worst of the damage, and he whirled, grabbing the pony responsible, a purple pegasus. Lifting him into the air, Elias threw the pony at a pair of his charging friends. All he heard was a grunt of pain as he moved on. He caught another pegasus unaware, stabbing him in the neck. A unicorn jumped as he slid beneath her, and with the additional space, he was able to execute a cut, causing her to vanish with a pop. Elias rolled to his feet, prepared to swing, only to find blue in his face, rather than gold. Granite lifted a pair of unicorns into the air, slamming them to the ground with a shout. One disappeared instantly, while the second one let out a whoosh of air as his lungs were emptied by force. Granite then drew a dagger from beneath his armor and slashed the ponies throat, and he vanished. Elias gave him a short nod of respect, and then the two dove back in. As Elias cut the wing-joints of a pegasus, a pair of unicorns took the vanished pony’s place. Unlike the rest of the Solar Guards, these two didn’t try to rush Elias. They stood back, drawing glimmering swords as they squared off with Elias. The human braced Feather against his shield, finding his combat stance as he took the moment to breathe. They watched each other carefully for a moment, and just as the one on the left began to shift forward, a loud crack echoed through the sky. Elias looked up to find a curtain of blue sparks painting the sky with brilliant light. The sounds of fighting died quickly as the ponies all looked to the sky, watching more fireworks crackle loudly in stunned silence. As the sparks began to fade, a loud set of cheers rang out. Elias looked around as the blue clad ponies began to shout and bounce around, hugging each other as they celebrated joyfully. Elias noted that over half of their number were gone, likely taken by the charge from their rear. Elias sheathed his gladius, taking a bit of dried jerky from his belt as he took a moment to catch his breath. He was incredibly hot and sweaty. His chest cried out in pain where he had been kicked, and his muscles felt like he had just finished a marathon. Still, the rush felt good, and Elias was very pleased with how he had personally performed, not to mention the satisfaction of winning. As he continued chewing the jerky, he gave a small two fingered salute to the pair of stunned unicorns. He began to walk back toward the Lunar Guard base when he felt Night Flash land on his shoulders, hugging his head. “It worked! It worked!” the blue pegasus shouted joyfully in his ear. “I can’t believe we won Red!” Elias snorted, glancing back at the pony. “Wow, glad to know you trust my judgement Flash.” Night Flash flushed red with embarrassment. “I wasn’t thinking we were going to lose per se…” Elias reached over to give him a quick scratch on the chin, since his ears were covered by a helmet. As he began to walk forward again, Elias found himself surrounded by celebrating Lunar Guards, most of them jostling him as they trotted at his side. They chattered excitedly, some offering compliments to Elias, while others pointed at him while telling the other guards about some move or another that he performed. Mostly, they just stared at him with pure joy, the excitement from their first victory clear in their eyes. Elias sighed internally. That excitement was soon to vanish, and he saw the reason why clearly on the faces of the Solar Guards as they separated. The golden ponies looked pissed now, and Elias had no doubt that the next round would not find such success.