//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Arrival // Story: Rise of the Phoenix // by TankFBI //------------------------------// I steady myself as my body shakes, the train grinding to a halt. I stand back up, tall and proud, taking a deep breath. These first steps off the train and into Canterlot Central Station are the first steps toward my new life. A better life, one that I can be proud of. The various feelings of doubt, happiness, and anxiety flood my mind. But quickly the double doors slide open, and ponies quickly begin piling out like a sheep being chased by a wolf.  I exhale, find a gap, and make my way through the doors, taking my first steps onto the granite floor of the station. While exiting, my eyes gravitate toward the elegant ceilings. They were high up in the sky, decorated with dozens of encrusted chandeliers, each one giving off a warm orange glow. Along with this, sophisticated murals depicting various nobles and historical figures line the walls. I heard that this place was nice, but I simply can not believe how… luxurious everything is. Nothing in this place is worth less than several thousand bits. I quickly feel my hooves slip out from underneath me as my face meets the polished ground, an angry pony shouts obscenities as they gallop past. I quickly pick myself up off the cold ground, looking around for that pony. “See how they like it,” I grumble to myself, but they are nowhere to be found.  I have to pay more attention anyway, there are about a half million ponies here. After all, Soarin and Misty are supposed to meet me somewhere in the station and if I’m not careful I’m never going to see them in this mess.  “But I’m a pegasus, I can just fly,” I thought, yet the moment I unfurl my yellow wings I notice the large no-flying signs all over the place. Cursing under my breath, I stick my head up high in hopes of spotting a dark or light blue mane in the crowd. Ponies rub against me as I’m sucked into the general mass of ponies moving toward the platform exit. Straining my neck, I attempt to get a glimpse over the ponies around me only to get pushed forward. Getting trampled in a crowd is the last thing on my list today, after all, I can’t show up to basic training with a broken wing. But it is to no avail, I look one way only to receive a faceful of mane and the other a faceful of a tail. Finally, the ponies start to disperse and thin out as we finally push past the platform doors and enter the main atrium. I push myself off of the crowd and toward a much less crowded section where I can regain my bearings. I find a seat in the corner, away from all the action with only a few ponies nearby, and plop my saddlebags down onto the ground between my hooves. I exhale a sigh of relief as I feel my body relax, I’ve only been here five minutes and I’m already stressed out. I wish I could give these ponies a piece of my mind about personal space, but all that would do is get me kicked out and beaten to a pulp by a mob of ponies. Taking deep breaths, I close my eyes and count to ten. A little trick my mother taught me to calm myself, Celestia knows I need it. I’m a brave pony, but crowds piss me off more than anything. I wheeze as I feel my breathing get cut short as a set of forelegs wrap themselves around my barrel, squeezing the air out of my lungs. I open my eyes as I prepare to give it to whoever was doing this, but the words die in my throat once I recognize the all too familiar cream-colored fur wrapped around me. “Misty… get… off… can’t breathe!” I gasp as Misty quickly loosens her grip, though still holding on tight. “We missed you so much!” Misty sobs as she continues to hug me, nuzzling herself closer every with every breath. “I was only gone for two days!” I laugh, hugging Misty back. “Misty couldn’t wait for you to show up, heck, neither could I,” Came a male voice from a light blue stallion standing a few feet away. “Hey Soarin, what’s up?” I ask as Misty finally releases her vice grip on me before taking a seat on the bench next to me. “Everything! All of Canterlot! This place is huge!” He exclaims, motioning around us and taking a seat on the other side of me. “You guys will have to give me the grand tour of the place.” I laugh, I really do enjoy Soarin and Misty. Soarin’s mellow attitude in combination with Mist’s adorable and jubilant personality make them really fun to just hang around with. They had arrived a few days ago because they wanted to explore Canterlot and relax before we all started basic training, howbeit, I stayed back because I just wanted to spend a few extra days with my mother. After all, it could be months before I see her again. The sensation of a smile spreading across my face fills me with butterflies, my wings fluttering at the joyful and happy expressions of Soarin and Misty.  Surrounding myself with friends is a great way to start a new journey, I knew I was going to love it here. While I know I’m going to miss Cloudsdale, I am opening a new chapter in my life and I can barely wait. “So what do you guys want to do?” I inquire, unsure of really anything Canterlot has to offer. “Well, I thought we could get dinner,” Misty responds. “That sounds awesome,” Soarin coincides, “I actually have a place in mind I thought we could try out,” “Alrighty then, let’s get out of this horde of ponies!” I say, quickly hopping to my hoofs, not waiting for another response,  motioning for Soarin to lead the way. I hastily follow his hoof steps as he guides me and Misty. We swiftly and gracefully make our way through the maze of ponies, carefully avoiding the crying foals and the large crowds. We quickly find ourselves all standing in the crisp night air, Luna’s moon providing a pale glow in the night sky. Soarin moves with a sense of direction as we navigate through the twisting streets of Canterlot. The buildings rise up high above us on either side as we push through crowded streets, though the masses of ponies begin to thin quickly as we make our way away from the train station. I look up at the night sky, taking in its shining aura. Luna had outdone herself again. My thinking comes to a screeching halt as a griffon shoves me aside, giving no more than a grunt in response to my indignant expression. I watch him walk away, eyes narrowing and wings unfurling a little as I give him my best death stare.  He’s wearing a large, green trench coat along with a mask that obscures most of his face and other features, though he is obviously a griffon. Watching him, I realize that he is giving everypony in his way the same treatment he gave me. I feel my chest tightening as I begin stomping in pursuit of the griffon, no griffon was going to treat ponies this way and get away. I quickly stop once I feel a light blue hoof on my withers holding me back. I shift my gaze to Soarin, his outstretched arm holding firmly onto me while nodding his head in disapproval. My wings slump down as I turn around, Soarin giving me a pat on the back. It was a good thing Soarin was here to control me, I wasn’t a royal guard quite yet. I very likely would have done something that could have landed me in prison if it wasn’t for Soarin. I release a breath, my frustration and anger leaving my body with it. I quickly rearrange my feathers and wings before trotting back up beside Misty while Soarin continues to guide us to dinner. Misty and I recline on a bench, a burp escaping my mouth accompanied by Misty’s giggling. Dinner was pretty decent, a little overpriced but decent. Soarin had found an old speakeasy bar underneath an old manor near the center of Canterlot. The atmosphere was pretty cool, a combination of ornate and antique combined to form a unique experience. Old relics from the past lined the walls, each one detailing an experience or event from the era of prohibition. Moonshine, pictures, currency, you name it. The place was dark and dingy, but it was all a part of the atmosphere. All in all, the food was okay, nothing compared to Mother’s, and a bit overpriced, but it was fun. Misty even managed to woo a stallion into buying her a free drink. But we were currently lost, we had flown around the area for a bit, searching for the barracks but to no avail. We all looked, though I honestly had no idea what the place looked like. I might as well have been staring at the sky. We had looked for a solid fifteen minutes before Soarin proposed we take turns looking. Me and Misty gladly accepted only to make Soarin go first. We knew we were in the right area, we were surrounded by all the other royal guard buildings after all, but we just couldn’t find the barracks for the life of us. Soarin’s hooves clopp onto the ground in front of us, pulling me out of my stupor. His wings retract as he takes a seat on the bench next to me, his body melting as he sits. “I found it, it’s just a few blocks away,” He exhales, “Just let me catch my breath and we can go.” I decide to just stare at the sky for a few more moments, taking in its beauty. I really did enjoy looking at all the stars shining bright in the void of space. My ears twitch as a loud bang echoes throughout the night, causing me to sit up and scan the surrounding area for the disturbance. “It was probably some rich snob trying to cast a spell,” Soarin says, seeing my alert nature. “I can’t wait to see the headline tomorrow,” He snickers. ” Noble blows themself up trying to clone money!” “That wouldn’t be surprising,” I laugh, “Though we better get going, can’t sit around forever.” “Oh all right you, just give me a second. I did all the hard work after all,” Soarin groans, pushing himself off of the bench before unfurling and stretching his wings with a grunt. We soon are back in the air, Soarin guiding us once again to our destination. Though the trip is brief as we quickly descend toward the ground, a little cloud of dirt blowing away as we all land. Before us lies two immense ironclad wood doors, each one about two stories tall and a part of an even larger cobblestone building. I can only gawk at the enormous doors that lead to what is likely going to be my home for the foreseeable future, my body shivering in anticipation. We make our way closer to the doors, awestruck in anticipation. I can feel my hoofsteps getting faster and faster, the door getting closer and closer. But all too soon, we are inside the barracks. I don’t feel as accomplished as I thought, but it's a start. The hall stretched on for what looked like forever, rising twenty feet into the air. Arches line the hallway, and paintings of famous guards along with hanging chandeliers decorate the interior. A red carpet kept in pristine condition runs through the middle of the whole thing. We look down the grand hallway and see that we are not the only ponies here, a few dozen ponies gathering at the opposite end. We make our way down the hall, our hoofsteps muffled by the plush red rug, as we take in the regal decor. Like the train station, everything in this place appears to be worth no less than several thousand bit. A piece of priceless memorabilia passes us with every step we take, and the sound of the crowd starts to grow as we near the end of the hall. “You guys ready to kick some griffon butt!?” Misty says, rearing onto her hind hooves and shadowboxing with an invisible foe, ending her sequence with a fierce uppercut. “Don’t get too ahead of yourself Misty, remember what happened last time you thought you could take somepony on,” Soarin adds, raising an eyebrow. “Oh yeah… let’s just forget about that!” Misty quickly retorts, trying to change the subject. “Well I agree with Misty, I’m here to kick some griffon a-” Soarin puts his hoof over my mouth, causing me to stare back and roll my eyes. “You’re no fun Soarin, we’re in the guard now! Who cares if we curse our brains out?” “First, you’re not a guard yet,” Soarin states. “Second, I’ve got to keep you in check somehow, and I’m not letting you start here.” “Next!” Came a high-pitched voice, causing us all to redirect our attention to the table that we didn’t realize were currently standing in front of. “Names?” Asks a pearly white mare, not taking her eyes off the clipboard of names in front of her. “Spitfire.” “Misty Fly.” “Soarin.” “Spitfire and Misty, to the right in dorm eight. Soarin to the left in dorm four,” She finishes before quickly waving us along and calling for the next pony. “Well, I guess this is where we split, I’ll see you guys soon,” Soarin turns around, walking toward the left hallway before Misty grabs him and me, pulling us all in for a hug. Misty finally lets us go after getting yelled at by the receptionist, and we begin making our way down the right hallway. We count the doors as we walk past, finally stopping in front of the door with a brass eight in the center. With a little push, the door swings open to reveal a small but spacious room containing eight bunk beds, four on each side. I can see about half a dozen ponies standing around and chatting, the other few picking out their bunks. Misty and I quickly make our way into the room, debating which bunk to choose as we walk. We decide on taking the bunk furthest back in the room, feeling that it would give us the most personal space. I throw my saddle bags onto the top bunk, Misty having already claimed the bottom on account of not wanting to have to fly to the top every night. “What do we do now?” I ask Misty, sitting down on her bunk next to her. “I’m not sure, but I thought I heard some ponies talking about somepony stopping by later tonight.” Misty and I continue chatting, discussing the various questions and worries we had about training along with all of the training we were excited about. I was particularly excited about the aerial combat I had read about in the pamphlet. My discussion with Misty is cut short as I see my saddle bags fall off of the top bunk and crash onto the floor in front of me, a silver tail droops over the edge a moment later. I quickly get up and look up to see a cyan pegasus mare lounging on the top bunk, paying no mind to what she had just done. “Uhm, excuse me? What do you think you are doing?” I question, flying up to look the mare in the eyes. She just stares back, her cerise eyes looking me up and down as if she’s sizing me, my brow furrowing in frustration. “Well, I didn’t see anypony in this bunk. So I took it,” She responds with a shrug. “Did you not see my stuff sitting right in the middle of the bed?!” I nearly shout back, everypony in the room turning their attention my way. “It’s not your bunk if you’re not sitting in it. You were sitting in that bunk down there with your little filly friend,” She quips back with a grin, my eyes narrowing in response. I can feel the anger boiling in my mind, it’s currently taking every shred of dignity I have to not club her in the face. My breathing’s becoming harsher the longer I stare into her dark eyes, her reclined pose mocking me as I struggle to control myself “Huh,” She chuckles, “I knew you didn’t have anything in you.” With that statement, I lunge at her. My right hoof connects with the side of her surprised face, causing both of us to fall to the ground with a thud. I use all my strength to try to pin both of her arms to the ground, but she quickly struggles free. Her cyan hoof grazes my nose before I throw a headbutt, nearly knocking myself out in the process. Dazing myself gives her just enough time to land a hit on the side of my head, knocking me off of her. She jumps on the change of momentum, both of us now rolling around on the ground, grappling for any sense of control of the other. “WHAT IN CELESTIA’S HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE!?” Booms a coarse voice from the other side of the room, causing both of us to freeze in place. I can only lay on my back, the cyan mare on top of me, and watch as a grizzled earth pony mare walks across the room, her expression like that of a predator approaching its prey. “Well well well, what do we have here?” She questions, circling the two of us on top of each other. “A bunch of fillyfoolers making out? You should both be ashamed of yourselves for fighting like that in the royal barracks! You runts have the fighting skills of a blind foal, and that’s generous!” She shouts an inch away from my face, spit getting all over both of our faces. “Well, what are you two still doing?” She said, backing up.  “Waiting for me to join?” We both quickly get to our hooves, trying our best to not glare at each other. I can only stare at the earth pony mare, my mind seething with rage, as I try and control myself.  “In this place, we are a family,” She declares, glaring into my eyes. “Now whether you like each other or not is none of my business, but what I will not tolerate is disrespect!” She shouts in the cyan mare’s face. “But she-” “I DON’T REMEMBER ASKING!” Screams the earth pony mare in the cyan mare’s face, her face contorting with frustration. “Now you two will be scrubbing the latrine for months! And if I hear another peep from this room, they’ll be lucky if can identify you when I’m done!” She takes a deep breath, calming herself, and begins walking toward the exit. “Everypony else, get to bed. You’re all expected to be in the dining hall by 0600 hours. Don’t. Be. Late.” The slam of the door punctuates throughout the room, she is not somepony to mess around with. All the other ponies in the room quickly make their way to their bunks without a word, filling nearly every bed available. Except two. I quickly turn around and sprint toward the bed, only to see a cyan mare already reclined on the top bunk giving me a little wave. I stop dead in my tracks, my teeth grinding against each other as I feel like I can boil a pot of water on my head. But with a scowl, I turn around without a word. Scanning the room, I see that the only available bunk is on the bottom right next to the door. I slowly make my way toward the front of the room, my head filling with every horrible thought about what I’m going to do to that mare.  “Plucking? Too nice. Stabbing? Too quick,” I thought. As if that fight wasn’t embarrassing enough already, I nearly walk face-first into the door, stopping mere inches away. I throw myself onto the bed, sprawling out and not paying any mind to whoever was above me. All I can think about is that cyan mare and her very punchable face. “I’m going to show her, I’ll make sure that she remembers my name for as long as she lives,” I think to myself. I can feel my mind still boiling from the exchange, but I quickly feel my temperature lowering. My anger is quickly turning into exhaustion from the day behind me. Before long, the bliss of sleep overtakes me. One final thought runs through my head. “I’ll show her, I’ll show everypony…”