//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: Today is a good day // Story: Equestrian Paradox: "Worlds at war" // by An Sturmmann //------------------------------// The door sprang open startling everypony in the room, as Twilight Sparkle made her way downstairs, with a certainly annoyed look, her mane a bit careless looking however, it was clear that the smallest spark of satisfaction and pride was hidden in the middle of her annoyed face. Soon after she stepped off the stairs it was clear that something had happened in the upper room, small patches of ash were all over her fur and mane, and yet she looked unharmed at all, as if whatever had caused the apparition of those patches, had been harmless for her. However, the trio of Mares that came after... they really looked as if they went to Tartarus and came back, specially the poor aide, her mane was pretty much gone and so were her eyelashes, albeit it was clear that those weren't natural at all, she still looked shocked. "Well, I'll be chopped and used as bait, I've never seen what a princess can do when she is angry" Current said shuddering a bit, while the Mayor followed suit nodding at a quick pace "Yes... I agree, were it not for my aidé noble sacrifice my coat would be gone, I will have flowers sent to her Stallion" "Buck off boss, as if i'm allowing you anywhere near my husband or my colt, if you really are thankful, you should give me a break or something" The aide whispered back and the major laughted "You?, on vacations?, as if that is going to ever happen, now get the Princess a coffee" "Ahem" Twilight feigned a cough and the major shuddered a bit, for an split of a second the princess mane seemed to be a bit fiery "Ummm, now that I think about it, why don't you take the week off?, I'll get the coffee for the princess in just a second!" "OI! I'll go with ya!" Soon the sailor and the Major dissapeared in what could also be an small cloud of dust due to their sheer speed when running towards a different room, while the aide was quick to bow down to Twilight "Thank you so much princess, Words cannot express how much I wanted someone to teach some manners to that old hag" "It was pleasure, as the Princess of Friendship it is my duty to help others to get along!, while this solution wasn't exactly the best it allowed you a much needed respite, buuut, later, I will be speaking to both of you in private, you really need to get along better" "Well... while I could use getting along with the major... she is rather stubborn, it will be a hard task" The aide tilted her head and Twilight nodded "Yes, I noticed that, but don't worry, go home and rest, enjoy your Stallion's cooking and tell him how much you love him" "Yes... heh, strange enought he always liked maneless mares, guess that for once meat is back in the menu for me" She was quick to blush upon saying that out loud, causing Twilight to blush a little too "Umm, sorry for that" "N...no problem... just enjoy yourself" Twilight didn't knew what to answer, but soon the aide nodded and began walking towards the exit of the town hall "Thanks Princess, my baby colt will love to have his mommy around during his birthday" Soon Twilight stood pretty much alone in the hall, her heart feeling a bit warm upon hearing that last bit, but that was quickly replaced with another feeling. "Hmmm, I know that smell..." Twilight walked towards a nearby room opening the door and entering in a polite manner "Hey, did Pinkie pie send a Cupcake-Messenger?" "Banana and Choco-mint this time!" Spike answered up as he stood over the couch, cleaning the leftovers of cupcake over his face with his tongue, all the while Rarity and Duly shared a little laugh watching the small dragon "How did everything go Twilight?" "Well... it went rather well... oh, who i'm trying to trick?" Twilight facehoofed as she tried to hold back whatever she was about to say. "It's something the matter darling?" Rarity tilted her head standing up and walking closer, clearly worried for her friend, soon Duly joined into the worried advance "Princess?" "This town is militarized, the average guardsmare standard in the countryside is usually thirty guardsmares for each town, on bigger cities we have an 0.5% standard, while canterlot has an standard of 3% due to being the main headquarters of the Royal guard, while New Horselands has one hundred and thirteen guardsmares! "W...woah" Duly was quick to react as he didn't even had time to breath, he instantly took a nearby quil that laid in a desk, already with ink, and took his notebook, writing at an rather fast pace "New Horselands last census said that there were around 2260 ponies living in the town, from wich 565 were adult mares... it means that around 20% of the adult mares are in the guard!" "YES!" Twilight shouted as she began breathing rather heavely "I understand that this parts of Equestria have some dangers, like those Cragadiles the major really wanted gone... but... I'll be honest, what is the need to get around a fifth of your town's adult mares into the guard?" "W...woah, that... that is really worriying, it is way too much for a peaceful town..." Rarity shuddered upon hearing that, while Duly left the Quill back where it belonged "Yes, Princess, are you sure this isn't a case of Rebellion in brewing?" "I really, really don't think that's even possible, New Horselands is surrounded by swamps, trying something like that would mean that they would lose everything and gain nothing, I really hope the major wasn't lying and the cragadiles and other animals are the actual reason for having such a military force here" "I don't get it, isn't it good that the town has many guardsmares?, More guardsmares meen that everyone is safer, right?" Spike tilted his head while Twilight bited her lip, unsure of what to answer, but Rarity was quick to do it "Umm, yes Spikey, the town is safer, but it is also way more expensive, Imagine that ponyville had more guardsmares, it would mean that they would need to get paid, and so, you would have to eat less gems because those same gems would be used to pay them" "TWILIGHT, PLEASE NEVER ALLOW PONYVILLE TO HAVE MORE GUARDSMARES!" Spike voice was full of dread and horror, and yet, it was such an adorable reaction that everypony in the room couldn't avoid smiling towards the young dragon "Yes Spike... I promise, those tasty gems aren't going anywhere" "Thank...thanks..." The small dragon ran towards Twilight to hug her, prompting a little 'awww' from Duly "That's adorable!" "Hehe" Twilight nuzzled Spike a bit before lifting him to her back, where he sat looking a bit calmer "Princess, here is your coffee!" The major appeared again, carrying a tray of refreshments, mostly cookies and some coffee cups, however there was also a lone Tangerine that Current was eyeing with overwhelming desire. "Scurvy?" Twilight asked looking at Current and she nodded quickly "Major?" "Yes, here is it" Everypony gasped in surprise as Current didn't even took the Tangerine, and suddenly shoved her muzzle against the tray engulfing the whole Tangerine in her mouth and quickly swalloing it withouth chewing "Umm... sorry?" "Careful, please, the tray was about to fall" The major said in annoyed voice looking at the unicorn, who gave a nervous smile towards everypony "Well, just leave the tray on the table, we need to deal with far more important things" "MAJOR!" Suddenly a powerful kick opened the door again, startling everypony and causing the tray to be thrown towards Rarity, hitting her and covering her fur in coffee and stuffing her mane with cookies much to her dismay and Duly's despair "AH, You daughter of a... WHAT THE BUCK DO YOU W...ant..." On the other side of the door, the elderly stallion stood, scared to the bone and quivering so much that his legs at times looked like jelly, next to him there was a serious looking mare, who instantly scowled upon hearing the Mayor's swear. "Ah, Welcome Princess Twilight!" Suddenly the green mare saluted upon noticing Twilight, and after that short gesture she bowed down and spoke in an stern tone "I'm sorry for the failure to follow protocol, but black flag ships have arrived milady, around ten of them, the second New Horseleans archer platoon is preparing for a possible engage, every attempt at communication has failed and the fourth pegasi patrol was executed on sight by some sort of loud extremely fast spell, smalle transport boats are coming ashore and we need permision to engage milady!" "Wh...WHAT?! " Twilight couldn't hide at all the horror in her face the second she heard the fate of the patrol, galloping towards the apparent guardsmare with a face full of shock, the guardsmare remained stone cold and answered back, her stern voice not changing in the slightest "We request permission to engage with the enemy trans..." A sudden boom roared in the distance, as the town hall quaked, small bits of powder falling from the ceiling, as the crystal in the windows broke down in several pieces. "TAKE COVER!" The Guardsmare didn't even hesitate to throw herself against Twilight, taking her to the ground just in time to avoid the impact of an strange and loud thing "Dear Celestia!" "RUN, RUN, STALLIONS FIRST, COME ON!" The green female easily stood up, helping Twilight with her wing "Princess, we really need permission to engage right now!, We are under attack!" "P...p...permission granted..." Twilight couldn't even comprehend what was happening, she was in such a shock that it took the joint effort of Spike slapping her cheeks and the Mayor suddenly lifting her to get her to stand up properly "Your highness, follow me, I'll lead you to somewhere safe!" Life is good in New Horseleans, that's something a certain mare can agree to. This day was no exception, and, it was a fairly boring one to be honest, at least, that's what Bright Spark would say, the pale coated mare was just one of the many guardsmares living in the town, and by Celestia she was happy with her life. Bright Spark was just an everyday mare in most senses, a respectable height, some muscle, a clearly under average chest tuft, and a beautiful yellow mane, honestly wearing a golden chest plate most of the time was a blessing in disguise, while the heat and humidity made her stink, it was better to stink a bit than to show everypony the little pride that her mother gave her. Today was a common day, just stand in the port and look good, making sure that everypony was safe and calm, once in a while walk around a bit carrying her Shield over her back and her spear on her side, her heavy armor making her look a bit taller and more muscular than she was, not that she felt bad with that little plus in presence, besides, no one knew when a 'Drile would appear. "Hey bastard!" Somepony shouted from a nearby alley, Spark smiling as she halted and turned to see from where the voice came from "Want to earn some bits?" "Oh come on you two, we are still on duty, let's wait until the seargent is off our backs for that!" She joked back as a trio of mares flew closer to her, landing at her side "Oh really? are you scared of the seargent?" "Pfffft, as if I would be scared of that Dyke, what actually scares me is the lieutenant" Upon mentioning that rank, the other mares shuddered before recomposing "Well, you do have a point with that" "Yup, Pukey taught us to not mess with that green bitch... poor pukey" Another pegasus mentioned and now it was turn of Spark to shudder "Yes... I had to clean all that vomit, but cleaning duty saved me from the 'drile attack" "Yes, That is what I call luck, where it not for that mess you would have been propably 'drile shit by now" "Jeez, Thank you for the mental image gals" Spark gave an small, friendly kick with her front hoof towards the cream coated mare on her side, the pegasus quickly diving to the ground avoiding the hoof wich instead landed on the face of the pegasus behind her "Coward!" "Hey, I dodged, I was trained to do that" An small series of giggles followed suit, however, suddenly one of the the trio of pegasus stopped laughting, suddenly turning stiff and saluting, quivering just the smallest of bits " ATTENTION!" Now it was the turn of the others to stop in their tracks, turning with haste and saluting, turning serious upon hearing the stern female voice. "Ma'am, yes Ma'am!" The four answered in perfect unison, as another mare, this one, an unicorn stood in front of them "May I know what are you doing gentlemares?" "Guard duty Ma'am!" Was the answer, once again, in perfet unison, the unicorn narrowing her eyes as she got closer "Really?, I Wasn't informed that the fourth pegasi patrol was on land duty... let alone that one of the heavy guards in the second land patrol was stationed with them..." The silence that came after was a bit akward, but after a few seconds, the unicorn snorted and began walking once again her spear levitating at her side. "Very well then, continue your duties, but, be aware that we are being visited by one of the Princesses" The unicorn began trotting and the group nodded "Yes Ma'am!" "Corporal out" Spark felt a bit relieved the second the Corporal left, however, duty was beckoning, saluting her friends one last time for now, she soon resumed her patrol, meanwhile the pegasi flew off, save for this little encounter, the day ahead looked as average and boring as it could be, after all, it wasn't as if the princess would call her or something. "I hope the ships come back soon..." A lone thought escaped her lips, just as she was walking all alone on the port, usually this place would be brimming with ponies, but without any ships in sight, it just felt... wrong, void. "Ummm, excuse me..." Another voice, this time, a masculine one, and fairly quiet too, Spark was quick to stop in her tracks and look towards the source. "Yes?, How can I help you mister?" She answered, looking at the male shape that was slowly and shyly making way towards her, it was an stallion, a fairly short and young one "Yes, Excuse me ma'am, but... do you know when the ships are coming back to shore? Spark tilted her head, not sure about how to answer that question, a part of her wishing to give an exact answer, while the other knew that there wasn't one for this question in particular, however, she quickly decided to give a concise and precise answer. "I can't answer that question sir, I don't know when the crews are coming back" Spark felt a little bad answering that way, but there wasn't anything else she could do, giving another answer, would be lying after all "Oh... well... umm..." "Is something the matter sir?" She questioned, and the Stallion gulped "Well... h...how to say it..." "Just tell me sir, if I can help you I will, If I cannot, I will do my best to contact you with someone who can" Spark gave a little bow to the Stallion to show both, respect and willingness to aid, making him feel a bit better apparently "Can I walk with you miss?" "Of course sir" Sparky felt herself worry the second the Stallion got closer to her, he was a bit too thin, and looked really thirsty if those dry lips meant what she believed they meant "Do you want some water sir?, The Princess' sun is quite strong today" "YES... I... I mean yes" There was another worrying sign, the young male didn't even hesitate to drink the whole Canteen the second she offered it, taking all of its content with an almost unnatural greed. "Wait... I know you young colt..." "..." The smaller pony didn't even bother to answer as he was drinking the water, but his ears gave a clear signal that he heard her "Aren't you... the son of the owner of the Rubber bussinness downtown?" "Y...yes..." The colt answered up looking at her with shame, as her face was quick to turn worried "Now I understand everything... come on little one, we need to get you something to eat, you must be starving" Spark was about to say something else, before the loud sound of hooves got her attention, soon meeting up with another guardsmare, this one looking a bit worried. "Is something the matter?" She asked as both saluted each other, the answer coming rather quickly "Not exactly, the Seargent has called for every mare in readiness to march to the port tower, something is coming from the sea and she saw something worriying" "Understood, please, escort this colt to one of the public soup kitchens, his mother is one of the presumed lost" "Understood, I'll take care of him" With an small nod Spark turned to see the young male, he gazed at her eyes, before giving her a little peck on the nose, soon he was running towards the other guardsmare, but not before thanking her. "The spirit of that little guy..." She smiled a bit before looking to the sea, noticing an small shape on the horizon, not too different from a ship. "Well, let's hope that somepony came back, that mad gal shouting about pirates really caused an uproar yesterday..." With that, Spark quickly galloped, the heavy armor not hindering her movements at all, this was a good day to be an earth pony, with her strenght galloping with extra weight felt pretty much pleasurable, nothing could ruin this day, and now, she would have an extra thing to talk with the girls at the bar, specially once those ships came ashore at long last. Spark was happy, soon her life will return to be like always.