//------------------------------//
// Leaving home 
// Story: Return of the Lunar Guard 
// by DroshinNote 
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The following morning looked crisp and fresh, the dew glinting of the grass as the sun rose in the distance. Dusky took a deep breath in as he walked out the door. Leaning his head from one side to the other his bones gave him a few satisfying pops as he stretched in his purple guard armor. He bent down giving his knees the opportunity to crack as well, a bit disappointed when they did not. He collected his nerves and pushed them to the back of his head as he readied himself for the day. It was going to be a long day, a long train ride, and probably a long night considering that the lunar guard worked between sunset and sunrise. He then heard the door behind him open and felt his muscles tense up, not expecting his mother to be awake. They had said their goodbyes the night before and Dusky wasn’t sure he could take another round of them.

“What? No goodbye?” he heard his mother chuckle as she moved to stand beside him. “So you're off on your own then?” She then gave him a playful nudge when he didn’t answer. “My little Dusky, growing up. Seems like yesterday that-” Evening brew stopped mid sentence and let out a long sigh. “I’ve never been good with sappy stuff. Look, I said it last night and I will say it again. Write. To. Me. I don’t care if it's once a week or everyday, just let me know you're safe ok?” Glancing over just in time to see Dusky give a quick nod Evening let a sad smile slip onto her face as she sat down in the damp grass in front of their small home. “Good! Now get the buck out of here.” Dusky let out a yelp as he stumbled forwards, his mother shoving him with her front legs. “I can’t miss you until you're gone you know!”

“Yea, yea. I bet I will be able to hear you parting from the train station.” He gave his mother a rather good smile and eye roll combo before putting on his helmet and tightening it to his head while flexing out his wings. After a moment of hesitation, taking in the sight of his mother and his home one last time he took to the air. “Expect a letter soon Mom!” He shouted behind him as he flew to the local train station. Looking down he took a good look at the small village he knew as his home town. It wasn’t much really, a small coastal village named Celestial Cove between Baltimare and Fillydelphia. The ponies of this village made their livings in harvesting seaweed, selling treasures of the sea like pearls, and exporting fish to restaurants located in Equestria’s large cities. 

As he neared the Station he could see a few of the other ponies from his village who had joined him in boot camp. They were bunched up together in front of one of the open doors to the train ready to take them away from this village. Seems he wasn’t the only one who had decided to head home one last time before graduation. Thankfully the military site that was being used to train new guard ponies was just 2 hours to the west, about 30 minutes past Baltimare. This meant that a good nap on the train was quite possible. 

After a smooth landing Dusky trotted up to the ticket booth, pulling a few bits out of his armor. One quick exchange with the old stallion behind the glass later and he had his ticket. “Thank you.” Dusky gave the stallion a nod as he walked past the booth and up to the train, looking a few cars down at his fellow guardsmen chitting and chatting. He thought about introducing himself, or greeting the ones that he recognized but quickly let the idea die. He was still tired from staying up so late with his mother the night before and was sure he needed as much sleep as he could before his train ride ended. Besides he was sure that they would get to know each other at whatever small town they would be posted at. 

After boarding the train he looked around and found a nice empty row of seats towards the back of the train. Trotting over he quickly took his helmet back off and took a window seat and yawned. Leaning over Ducky shivered at the cold glass of the train's window. Not as comfy as his favorite pillow, but for a small nap it would do nicely. 

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It was the train's horn that woke Dusky up. Looking out the window he could see that his destination was approaching, Camp Fleetfoot. One of Equestria's many guard outposts and the site chosen to train new recruits. Dusky collected his helmet, shoving it back on his head and strapping it tight. 

As the train slowed he sighed and collected himself. This was it and there was no turning back, no going home to his mother and his nice soft bed. Though he was sure that the barracks wherever he was stationed would have decent beds, so it wasn’t all that bad. In Fact after a moment of consideration he realized he was stressing out over nothing. As he told his mother before, the chances of him seeing action were almost zero. At Least he had comfort in that fact.

It only took another minute or two for the train to come to a stop. Getting up Dusky walked over to the train door and watched it slide open. He was greeted by what looked like a very busy morning for the camp. Guards marched, Drill Sergeants barked orders, and training exercises were being completed. After exiting the train Dusky headed for building 5E, the camp's mess hall where the larger camp meetings or award ceremonies take place. 

As he walked Dusky let his mind wander, think about all the places he could be put. In the last few years Equestria's population had grown quite fast. Most ponies were calling this a “foal explosion” or something along those lines. Personally Dusky didn’t enjoy the idea of an explosion of foals, and thought a different term should be used, but that's what the media went with. The main cause of this “explosion” was determined to be the joint attack of Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow. Though he was much younger at the time, he could remember seeing a lot more couples getting together following the attack, and he and his mother had to attend a lot of weddings. Apparently after a nation destroying event like that many couples decided to settle down before another event graced Equestria’s shores.

This increase of population started causing cities to get even more crowded, leading to the founding of new towns and the influx of population into already established small towns and villages. It also seemed like Princess Twilight liked this idea, considering she put into effect policies to help ponies who were tight on cash move out of the cities and into these smaller communities.

Finally reaching the building Dusky walked up to a booth stationed by the door where a chestnut colored pony looked up at him with an extremely unimpressed look. “Name?”

“Dusky Wisp. Lunar guard graduate” Dusky straightened himself up and gave the pony a salute.

“Yes, I can see that from the shiny purple armor.” The pony replied and reached for something under the desk while checking a clipboard sitting on the booth before him. “Here,” Dusky was then hoofed over a small purple gem. “Go inside and head to table 8, there you will meet the other recruits being shipped out with you. Have fun private.” 

Dusky nodded and walked past the booth and into the building. Around him were about 100 or so other ponies who had made it past boot camp. Looking around he quickly found his table, which at the moment was empty. Looking at the clock he noted that the meeting was set to begin at 9 sharp, and whoever was going to be stationed with him had 15 minutes left to get here. Hopefully he was going to be stationed with some level-headed, functional, reliable, and like-minded ponies who wouldn’t cause him any amount of stress.

All those hopes were dashed as a fiery red unicorn mare slammed down into the seat next to him, her light blonde mane a mess, and helmet spinning on the table in front of her. “Made it!” she gasped as she leaned onto the table in front of her.”Thought I was gonna miss the meeting. The one morning my body decides to ignore my alarm clock.” She sighed and shook her mane out a bit before using her magic to straighten and pull it back into a ponytail. With a giant smile she then turned to Dusky, “Oh hey! I’m Whiplash, guessing we are going to be stationed to the same place? Well It’s nice to meet you.”