//------------------------------// // Chapter 10, Part 1: The recruits are gathering. // Story: Colonel Hooves and the Empire of Crystal // by KarmaSentinal //------------------------------// “Listen here colt, turn that frown somewhat right side up. We’re professionals after all.” The Head Nurse, Paper Weight, told her recent transfer as the pair quickly moved down the main hall of the sixth floor.  The medical branch of the guard, and by extension the whole castle, was located with the guard’s quarters on the sixth floor so the lower levels could access their services if needed. With what remained of the guard, space on the floor wasn’t too much of a concern and the medical staff were granted nearly one dozen rooms to use as they saw fit.  It was these assigned rooms Paper Weight was leading her newest nurse before exposing the young stallion to a normal duty roster.  “I’ll smile when there’s something to smile about.” the green furred unicorn complained as they made a quick turn off the main hall, their pace noticeably slower than before. “Listen, because I’m going to say this once…”  the mature mare came to a stop, ignoring the brown strands of mane trying to tickle her snout. “...these ponies have gone through enough already, a little gentleness would mean the world.” Paper Weight had leaned in while narrowing her eyes just a bit to drive the point, and only when her new nurse relented did she back off. The green unicorn was taken back by her aggressiveness, and even looking somewhat ashamed of his earlier statement. What tension there had been was gone now, and with the two medical ponies on some common ground decided to start over. “Paper Weight, Senior Medical Officer and Senior Receptionist.” The mature mare offered the unicorn one of her golden hooves.  “Medical Atlas.” Was all the green unicorn said as he took the offered hoof.    “Now that introductions are sorted, perhaps we could continue with the tour Mr. Atlas?” “That would..be acceptable.” The way he spoke (when he did) hadn’t gone unnoticed by the senior nurse who didn’t want to pry into the unicorn’s life, but suspected he might not have the most experience dealing with ponies. It’s just a theory, and doesn’t mean anything without proof, but could make directly working with ponies a bit difficult starting out. Paper Weight would address this potential, but maybe not likely problem later when she’s finished with the tour, and her new nurse had a chance to settle in.  “Maybe if you’re good Atlas, I might show you where I keep the good disinfectant.” “The what, ma’am?” “The liquor, colt.” the earth pony chuckled. Not at his innocence, but at the tone he asked suggesting he might have known what she meant.  “Now enough of that, we need to hurry up and get you your first assignment before the recruits are dismissed.”   Fire Flight trotted quickly down the sixth floor toward her commanding officer’s office as fast as her legs could move. She had to fight to keep her abnormally fluffy wings confined to her sides as she weaved through the many guards and some castle staff, but with practiced hooves cleared these obstacles with ease, apologizing for any inconvenience she might have caused as she disappeared.  Today was the day she had been waiting for, and her excitement could not be contained! Ever since learning of the Colonel’s plan, the excitement had been building faster than the approaching day of one of her concerts, and finally the moment had arrived. She needed to alert  Sergeant Shifting Winds, and then they both could be off to witness this potentially historic event.   The pegasus rounded another corner and felt her heart beating a little faster as she recognized the hall she was in, and picked up the pace. A moment later she was knocking on the door she sought.  “Sergeant Winds! It’s me, Corporal Fire Flight, we have to go!” There was a pause before the startled movements of a pony napping were heard through the door. There was a shuffling of papers and sounds of objects being moved, drawers opening and closing before the heavy hoof steps approached the door.  “By Celestia, it's time already?” The white pegasus asked as he opened the door, looking to his subordinate as he straightened out his uniform.  “Yes, sir!” She gave a salute “and we’re late!” “Then let us hurry, quickly!” Shifting Winds declared as he finished straightening out his coat and cap, rushing past the young pegasus.  The two were off to the races as they ran down the halls toward the stairs that would take them to the ground floor, stopping for no pony as their tardiness became more apparent the longer they took.  Up above on floor seven, the kitchens were on fire figuratively and literally as the increased demand for catering continually overwhelmed their ability to produce the expected quality of foods in time for the event. Still the professional staff carried on as required of their duty, sizzling minced, diced, buttered, or sauteed vegetables, and while sauces, soups, and chowders were stirred frequently to prevent them from burning to the pan.  It is during this massive influx of orders, it becomes very easy for employees to disappear- unscheduled breaks being the most prominent reason for missing help. But among the berry vine, a wise pony could learn of such missing help.  “... re is he?” the question was partially lost among the hustle and bustle of an overworked staff, but the berry vine heard it loud and clear.  “Oh, Steel Cut never came in this morning.” a crystal mare answered as she continued to dice some potatoes needed for another pot of soup. Her gossiping friend, another crystal mare of similar age looking over her shoulder as she slid her own minced vegetables into a pan.  “What do you mean he didn’t show?” she asked while hurriedly moving her cutting board and knives to the other cooking island to be next to her fellow gossiper. “I mean he skipped!” The red mane mare leaned into her friend’s space “He is going to the tryouts.” That admission earned a scandalous giggle from her purple curled mane friend as the two of them knew what it meant for their former co-worker. They took a look at their respective recipes, and began gathering the needed ingredients before resuming their work… “If you ask nicely, maybe he’ll make you dinner in his armor?” That got the two mares giggling once again as the thought of Steel Cut in shining new armor cutting vegetables with a guard saber.  Their talks continued like this as they chopped and stirred their respective dishes amongst the hustle and bustle of a kitchen working overtime to finish the catering needed for the big event today.  The day started as any other for Unstoppable Force; a quick shower, breakfast, and a small prayer to the Revered Night Guardian before readying himself for the day.  Just like a normal day, the mighty crystal unicorn began trotting toward the marketplace to purchase the foods he will need for tonight’s meal, while ignoring the stares of his neighbors. Even with the Empire’s recent return and integration with Equestria, Unstoppable still found himself living a life full of mistrust and fear with most of it coming from his fellow crystal ponies.  As his mother taught him, the large unicorn did his best to ignore these looks as he forced himself to show no emotions else he risked drawing further attention. Even with this great suspicion following him, the unicorn found himself in an awkward predicament with his fellow ponies who needed unicorn magic to operate the highly specialized magitek.  This need of the large unicorn’s service gave Unstoppable the clout needed to be tolerated enough to not be completely chased out of the Crystal Empire, and this understanding made Unstoppable Force push back to see what he could get away with. The Crystal Ponies knew what he was doing, and the half pony, half Saddle Aribian drew some pleasure from this game they were all playing.  It was the only thing he truly felt in control of, and yet fate had a way of injecting itself into one’s life when they least expected. Unstoppable had just entered the market square, towering over his fellow citizens when he noticed a commotion near one of the public bulletin boards located toward the northernmost entrance; with nothing better than spending bits, the mixed breed decided to take a look for himself.    The castle training field was bursting with activity for the first time in a millennia, but not from the Crystal Guard performing drills or marches of tradition- new recruits were joining.  For the past couple of months, open recruitment into the Crystal Guard had been a dream amongst the inhabitants for nearly as long as the Crystal Empire has existed. So, when the first Colonel in nearly three centuries (before banishment) not only came to personally oversee the rebuilding of the guard, but supported opening up guard recruitment to all classes created a blizzard of excitement.  A citizens’ duty was to protect their home and queen, and what better way to do that than by becoming a guard? That was the thought, and expectation for the more established ponies of the Empire since they had property to protect, but paid a lower citizen to take their spot; this system of required service was why the Crystal Empire always had a small standing force when compared to its neighbors.  Another problem with this system was there wasn’t any real loyalty to the Queen or Empire since the guards were being paid by said property owners, thus creating a fractured web of alliances that proved to be detrimental when Sombra took over. Some of the guards did their duty and rushed to protect the queen, while the rest sought out their employers or began enacting secret instructions of their masters, but it didn’t matter in the end. So to hear, and finally see the proof of an official call for the common classes to join the guard created an excitement not seen since the return of the Crystal Heart.  While the turn out far exceeded anypony’s expectation, it wasn’t the complete success it seemed to be. The training field itself was nearing capacity, but if one opened their eyes for a moment they might notice a single, but crucial fact many of the prospective recruits shared with one another… “Where are the Crystal Ponies?” Shifting Winds asked no pony particular as he observed the scene below. To his right, Fireflight continued her observations for another moment before jabbing one of her hooves forward.  “There’s a few right there! And there’s another couple over there as well Sir!” She didn’t mean for it to sound contradicting, but genuinely wanted to prove some of the Empire’s citizens had turned up for this historic event.  The white pegasus hid his need to sigh at that lack of understanding, but couldn’t as the truth behind Fireflight’s words. It was something special to see a nation finding its hooves again after a tragic event, but another feeling to be a part of that process along the way. He felt the urge to stand a little taller as the final batch were being herded into a basic formation to help fit the mass of possible recruits. “Are you ready to be a part of history Corporal?” he asked his second in command, but the orange pegasus seemed more interested in watching the crowd than to have heard it. He didn’t pursue an answer, understanding the excitement was hard to ignore.  Leaving his companion alone for the moment, Shifting Winds hummed to himself as he did his own pony watching to get a better idea on what kind of recruits they could expect. Behind the loose mass that was called a formation stood the towering form of a large Saddle Arabian keeping his distance from the other ponies. Yet, the knob protruding from the center of his head (with a little work) could be identified as a unicorn’s horn, only muddying the waters on accurately identifying this strange pony.  His willingness to stand in the back near the stands wasn’t by some desire to be courteous, or a sense of respect for his fellow Crystal Ponies, but a need to avoid potential conflict with the others. The stares and occasional sneer his way could easily be ignored, but confrontations were harder to ignore for the simple reason he couldn’t directly fight back without the matter escalating against him- size and paranoia will do that.  But the rumors are what plague Unstoppable Force the worst, and greatly influence all the hostility towards him. All he could do was to ignore it and go on with his life the best he can, but that kind of attitude can only take you so far before you have to stand up on your own four hooves and carry yourself the rest of the way. Potentially joining the Crystal Guard is the very thing Unstoppable had been looking for to break the cycle, and given the stories his mother told him about his father being a part of the guard made it a no brainer.  Sneaking in had proven a challenge given his lack of magical training and distinguishing characteristics, but somehow by the Revered Mother’s Night he had managed this with surprising grace, and ease. Still, he needed to be careful not to draw any further attention to himself than the few stares and whispers he was currently receiving. Of the little magic he could perform, a rough background spell made it easier for the majority of ponies (that weren’t close) to ignore him, but the Saddle Arabian blood in him made it difficult to maintain such spells for a great length of time. Still, he kept the spell up even as it drained his low mana reserves hoping the Colonel would be making his speech sooner than later.