//------------------------------// // Mission 1: The mysterious mare on duty // Story: Captain of the Royal guards // by LunarLover //------------------------------// 120 new recruits fresh out of the training academy waited in line for their final suit ups, their coats to be painted to match their position and armor for their rank, their cutie mark was to be hidden if possible unless they came from a high rank, nevertheless at the end of the day the large contingent will be broken into squads to serve the great and wondrous princess Celestia to protect both home and overseas. All 120 were proud, of the 150 original number they were the ones who survived the grueling training and were about to taste the world outside their homes. Shining was probably the most excited of the bunch, it was time for action, he could already hear the clash of steel in his ears, taste the blood of his defeated enemies, run headlong int- "Get up!" Shining felt the world spin as he tumbled out of bed to meet the floor, he got up into attention to greet whoever had woken him. "Alright so you are the stallion who went on his little crusade huh?" mused the female soldier. Shining felt his heart flutter at the compliment. "Well your temerarious little escapade has got you promoted to one of the greatest jobs in the universe." She paused for dramatic effect. "Barracks duty." Her voice betrayed her words as it was caked in sarcasm so thick Pinkie would have eaten it for lunch. Shining groaned at the reminder and packed up his bed, the lucky thing of Barracks duty is being able to wake up late. the rest of the group had headed out to their duties which left him with... "Sorry, who are you?" Shining eyed the new soldier standing in front of him, probably one of the female soldiers that joined up because of family heritage or personal desires of adventure. "If you keep your eyes on me any longer you might just lose them." She sharply announced, releasing his awkward gaze as he caught the flying clipboard with his magic. "I know it's not much of a great job but that doesn't mean I like slackers." commanded the strict Pegasi as she marched him through the Barracks while Shining checked his surroundings. "Follow my rules and we will get along fine, rule number one." The entire Barracks looked bigger in the late morning light, it was like a castle, a large wooden wall coated in leather to prevent them from lighting surrounded the entire encampment save for one small area that was naturally protected with a large mountain that lead to a sheer drop, the inside was separated into different sectors old ruins of an ancient castle that stood long ago, the ruins had been molded into the modern fort with the castle keep leaning on the mountain transformed into a watch tower, two other posts on different corners gave the entire expanse a triangular like figure, the architect had chosen the place well, it was placed on a hill to protect it from floods, only five meters from the gate was the land flattened out so that it was a smooth surface. Shining looked in wonder at the entire fort until he almost slammed face to face with his guide. "And rule number 33." She stared deeply into his soul with eyes that were so fierce it could kill a small wildlife. "I do not like people who do not listen." She turned around quickly and carried on walking, purposely swinging her tail in his face, Shining dodged and quickly picked up his pace. "Rule 34, no sex is allowed in the..." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- After all the instructions had been read out she saluted him off and went to the west sector to check up, his job was simple, stay by the east sector and protect the post at all costs, she had told him that trouble usually never arose but he still had to keep a sharp eye for any attacks. Shining was bored, he had so much to do in the city and he was forced into a job that meant he had to sit down and wait by himself for something that never came, the last attack on any Military Barrack was decades ago when a fleet marauders landed on the coast of Vanhoover and were repelled almost instantly due to half their crew already dead from the storm. Shining had many questions to ponder, he sat calmly on his bottom to focus. He hummed silently to render his mind free from any outer disturbances Alright, lets break it down, first of how did that diamond dog ever come into possession of an enchanted blade? Blade augmentation took many hours and a lot of magic, not to mention it usually came with a binding so there would only be one owner at a time, So it meant the diamond dog didn't find it in the earth rather it was given to him, why would anyone do that? Shining had so much to research on and it was all hindered because of a few words. Shining sat down onto the hard wooden base with much thinking as the cool breeze floated through the mane of the Sapphire Knight. His thoughts were rustled a few hours later by the same mare who had led him around, with coffee the female officer seemed more welcoming. "Well soldier you are tougher than most." Her smile may not be so big, but at least it was sincere, Shining accepted the warm beverage and allowed it's dark heavy flavor to slither down his throat. "Most privates that come to watch duty often get restless, I expected a trigger-happy soldier such as yourself to be slamming his head against the post by now." She took the empty mug from him and gestured him down. "Our shift has ended, another group will be here soon so let's go out and stretch our legs." She walked a few steps before turning back to him. "By the way, the name is Silverheart." Silverheart had initially thought Shining to be like all the other privates put on watch, arrogant and very hot headed, always complaining at how boring the job was or how they had to work with a woman, the fact that Shining had decided to sleep in did not help her overall judgement of him, nevertheless he seemed like a nice stallion who had although not listened to her entirely, did sit through the entire thing without making so much as a sound. And that was good enough for her, she packed up and headed out to get him. Her term of 'stretching our legs' was much more painful than it sounded, the moment they got out of the keep she flashed two wooden blades from her bag and threw one to Shining, instantly Shining found himself in a fight that made him wish he had never met this mare. "Come on now, you must have been fighting drunk Diamond dogs who were old and blind, I got you six times." She laughed as Shining picked himself off the ground." "Technically Diamond dogs are partially blind so-" He ducked and allowed a swing meant for his head to pass before picking up his sparring sword and jumped back into it. "Enough gab, just swing!" Her moved were graceful and sharp, never stifling or still, her body twisted to and fro like the wind playfully dancing in the evening breeze, it was mesmerizing, well you could only stare for so long before a solid stick would slam into your head and cause your brain to rattle, Shining darted forward only for her to tap him on the head. She laughed softly and turned to face him. "Stop leaning into your strikes, your gonna get killed with your noggin so easily exposed." She striked and jabbed while barely moving from her position. "Your power must come from your neck and speed. Your feet move in unison like a dance. "Shining steadied his stance and charged again, bracing a few feet in front of her he jabbed while moving his hooves along. She flicked his blow aside and darted away. "Good good, let your attacks be stable, strike and pull back." She readied her stance. "Now again." Shining darted forward jabbing and slashing his weapon but she had disappeared. His shadow became disfigured and he looked up only to see her get larger and larger. The last thing he saw was a small smile on her face as the wooden sword slammed into his temple. "Oww." Shining rubbed the spot where she had hit him and rolled out of attacking range. "I didn't say I would do the same thing over and over again." She grinned impishly as she picked up her wooden sword once more. "Again?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shining and Silverheart had stayed on the watch for weeks now and sparring was a usual thing. But one thing stayed the same, and that was Shining always getting beaten senseless. Their merry sparring had gone on for an hour before it was time to report back to base. Shining was well tired out but his partner was far from it. "Well then, never met a stallion who could survive past week one." She grinned and tossed him a bottle, she sat down beside him and pulled out a basket. They sat together as the remaining guard got back from the city patrol and trudged up the tall hill to their barracks. "Ahh...There are times that you want to keep this job forever." She lay down on the grass and relaxed. Shining had already started eating. "So why did you join up with the army anyway?" She looked up from her position and answered. "Simple, my family was in danger and they needed more soldiers, I learn't my fighting from killing wolves who would attack my farm, During the great bread rebellion my entire village was razed and all that were left of it was just me and my brother." She sat upright deep in thought. "It's actually quite ironic. We moved into the countryside to avoid the fighting and then we get sucked into it." She stirred the grass with her hoof and stared deeply into it, Shining stopped eating and concentrated on her tale. "So when my brother joins the army I wait for him to return, many years later I find out he is missing so I join to search for him, at first they won't take me." She paused to smile. "But then I beat up half of their squad and they say yes." Shining thought for a moment before speaking. "So how did you end up here?" "Oh that story is simple, I searched for my brother for many years and ended up wandering through posts, after many years people forgot about me, I ended up staying here in Baltimare as a post guard." Her voice had gotten softer and less steady. "I always told myself that my brother was out there somewhere, but I never grew up enough to look." She mumbled bitterly allowing a few of her tears to escape. Shining could start to see the brave mare that had slammed him repeatedly into the asphalt break into nothing more than a small filly. Silver felt his hoof gently rested on her shoulder for comfort. They sat there for a few minutes until she had stopped crying. "Now we might be late going back to base." She dried her tears and quickly walked back to base. "Now Shining I expect to see you up and early tomorrow alright?" She quickly strutted away as Shining picked up the bags and rushed after her. "If I have to wake you up again I will promise you won't survive." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A single figure hummed lightly to himself as he levitated all sorts of materials onto a dark wood desk, placing them in large petri dish, he focused his magic and a single spell lit up the room, after a blinding flash the mysterious stallion levitated his creation, it was a small ball, nothing more, a simple perfectly annular object with a line going through it's belly, giggling to himself softly he tossed it over his head and carried on his work, a few seconds later a thunderous explosion could be heard, smiling to himself almost maniacally he trotted to two large budging sacks, opening one of them his smile grew in the upcoming chaos he was about to release. "I think it's time Baltimare got some fireworks.