Sergeant Sprinkles tugged at his Guard chest piece, grumbling under his breath. He could have sworn the golden garb had shrunk by at least two sizes since he last wore it. His helmet felt stuffy.
“Sergeant Sprinkles?” a gruff voice said. He looked up to see the bailiff opening the double doors to the hearing chambers. “You may enter.”
Sprinkles saluted, and made his way into the chamber. As he walked down the hallway, he was well aware of the dozens of pairs of eyes peering at him. He supposed that was only natural; he was, after all, a hot topic amongst the Guard. In the centre of the chamber, lay a wooden dais. Facing it was a long table, where the ranked officers of the Guard awaited. Their impassive faces studied Sprinkles as he took his place on the dais.
The officer at the centre cleared her throat and began, “Good morning, Sergeant Sprinkles. You should know why you are called here today.” Sprinkles recognised her as Lieutenant Ironhide, one of the few ranked female Guards.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I hope to make this session as short as possible.” Her clipped voice was all business. “So, by all means, we shall begin now.”
The officer standing to the left of Lt Ironhide’s spoke, “Sergeant. Tell us about the mission that you were assigned to on the 23rd of July.”
“Certainly. It was a routine patrol mission on the eastern borders of Equestria. Our assigned area was between the city of Hoofington and the village of Sunny Dale. We were supposed to relieve Captain Cloudchaser’s squad who had been patrolling the region.”
“Hey, Sarge?” the youthful voice of his corporal spoke.
Sprinkles continued to fiddle with his chest piece armour. After several moment of futilely trying to get the aquamarine insignia to match up with his golden plate, he grunted, “Yes, Lemongrass?”
“I heard Dawnstrider has been appointed as our new officer,” Lemongrass replied.
“Aye. Just got word yesterday.” Sprinkles chuckled. “Apparently the brass thinks our squad could use some publicity. Who better than the poster child of the Canterlot media, Captain Dawnstrider himself?” He tugged at his chest piece again.
“You ever thought of... maybe getting another assignment?”
“No, I haven’t. And I don’t intend to.” Sprinkles frowned and glanced at his friend and drinking buddy. Lemongrass seemed to be busy adjusting his blonde mane in the mirror. “Why do you ask?”
“I don’t like him, Sarge. He’s as green as they come and yet he gets promoted to Captain before you. I mean, I get he’s as smart as they come from the academy, but he only served for three years!”
“Benefits of having a commission, son,” Sprinkles replied, making one last attempt to right his insignia. To his dismay, the aquamarine star broke off instead and tumbled on the floor. Sprinkles sighed and bent down to pick up the errant piece of ornament.
Lemongrass chuckled. “You really should get that fixed, Sarge. Ain’t a Guard without your insignia.”
“One of these days. One of these days,” Sprinkles replied, reaching into his locker for his trusty tube of glue. “Why are you so worried about the Captain, anyway?”
“I dunno, Sarge. I heard things about him. Bad things.” Lemongrass trotted over and leaned in conspiratorially. “I heard he once tore a rookie a new one when the poor guy forgot to salute him on his first day.”
Sprinkles raised an eyebrow. “That’s harsh, but not unusual. Hell, I tore you a new one when you first came in.”
“Considering how I acted back then? I think you were right, Sarge.” Lemongrass glanced around shiftily again. “But the Captain? He went and ragged the new rookie for weeks on end afterwards. I hear the rookie is now seeing a shrink. And she wasn’t the only one that got the treatment from the Captain. A couple of other rookies got scrubbed as well, all for minor complaints. But the Captain got away with it, see? All hush-hush.”
“I see...” Sprinkles rubbed his chin. He wasn’t sure what to make of that, truth be told. The rookie had been unfortunate enough to fall afoul of the rules in the presence of the captain. But what Lemongrass told him was a little disturbing by itself. He didn’t approve of mistreating those under his command simply because he had the power to do so. And the worst part was he was only hearing of this now, from Lemongrass of all ponies.
“I’m sure the Captain isn’t as bad as ponies say he is. You know how these rumours tend to exaggerate things.”
Lemongrass' expression mirrored my own. “I guess...”
“Sergeant. Who were the members of your team?”
“Captain Dawnstride was the leader. I was the second-in-command. Corporal Lemongrass, Private Grey Shadow and Private Wind Whipper was assigned to our team,” Sprinkles said.
Lt Ironhide fixed her gaze on Sprinkles. “Very good. Was there any trouble prior to starting this assignment?”
“Not that I know of, ma’am.”
Captain Dawnstride strode down the hallway, his golden armour gleaming in the fading light of the sun. Sprinkles had to admit, Dawnstrider was the very model of the Equestrian Royal Guard. Tall, imposing and handsome. His sleek blonde mane was neatly cropped, his white coat groomed immaculately. Even his horn seem to radiate authority. “Sergeant, is the squad ready for take-off?” he boomed.
“Yes, sir. All equipment and supplies are stowed and we’re ready to fly at your command.”
“Good. We leave in precisely fifteen minutes. With luck, we should reach Point Alpha by moonrise.” Dawnstrider paced past Grey Shadow, before suddenly stopping in his tracks.
“Private.”
Grey Shadow blinked. “Yes, sir?”
Dawnstrider leaned dangerously close to the grey unicorn. “When was the last time you polished your chest piece, soldier?” He ran a hoof across the golden armour and held it up for Grey Shadow to see. A thin film of grime clung to the golden shod.
“Umm... last week?”
Dawnstrider narrowed his eyes. “You sound unsure, Private. I ask again. When was the last time you cleaned your chest piece?”
Grey Shadow gulped. “Last... last Thursday... s-sir!”
The corners of Dawnstrider’s lips curled up, though the captain clearly wasn’t smiling. “Really now? Did you know the rules & regulation specfically stipulates that a guard have to keep his armour clean at all times?”
“It doesn’t look too dirty—” Grey Shadow flinched as Dawnstrider stomped his hoof down. A pregnant silence followed, the captain boring holes into the hapless unicorn with his azure eyes.
“S-So—” Grey Shadow began, before a hoof grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.
“Did I say you can speak, private?” Dawnstrider growled. His horn lit up dangerously.
Sprinkles had enough of the charade. “Captain. We must leave now.”
Dawnstrider shot Sprinkles an annoyed glance. He slowly let Grey Shadow go and stepped back. “You got lucky this time, private.” He turned towards the entrance. “Sergeant, load up the chariot. Let’s go.”
Sprinkles watched as the captain strode out of the room, before trotting over to Grey Shadow. The unicorn was trembling on his hooves, glancing at the door nervously. “It’s okay, son. Don’t let him get to you.”
Lt Ironhide sipped her glass of water. “Tell us about the mission. Start from the beginning if you please.”
Sprinkles nodded. “We started off from the Canterlot Academy as planned, heading for Point Alpha, where Captain Cloudchaser had set up camp awaiting our arrival. We arrived without incident and the handover went smoothly. We stayed for a night, then broke camp and started our way north, towards Hoofington.”
Patrol had to be one of the most boring job a guard could have. Pulling a chariot on patrol? Doubly so.
“So, Wind, who do you think will win the Equestrian Series next year?” Sprinkles said, with a small grin.
Wind Whipper rolled his eyes. “Sarge, you know who I’d choose. The Trottingham Trotters, any day.”
“You also know that the Trotters had their behind kicked by the Ponyvillian Prancers?”
“Bah, the Prancers cheated. They had that super hyper pink mare... what’s her name again... Pinkie Pie? She was a game-changer all the way,” Wind Whipper said, scrunching his nose.
“Sounds like sour grapes to me,” Sprinkles said, his smile growing wider.
“You’d have to watch it to believe it, Sarge. That mare can put in a home run like nopony’s business. And then run rings around our pitchers.”
“Pipe down, you two. We’re supposed to be on a patrol, not discussing whatever sports team that comes to mind,” Dawnstrider barked.
Sprinkles glanced back on their passenger, and sniffed. He was disliking the captain more and more by the minute.
Wind Whipper leaned in and whispered, “Sarge, when do you think he’d get that stick out of his behind?”
“Probably never,” came the laconic reply.
“So the first part of the patrol was uneventful. So noted. What happened after?”
“Three nights in, we were crossing Deep Tail Woods. As you are aware, ma’am, the Deep Tail Woods are notorious for being one of few places in Equestria where bands of bandits still exists. We thought we pacified the area some time back, and it has been a year since the last bandit attack.”
“That is what we heard, yes.”
“Then Private Grey Shadow spotted something unusual.”
“Is that... a caravan?” Sprinkles said, squinting.
“Can’t rightly tell, sir,” Lemongrass replied.
Dawnstrider tapped his hooves. “Alright, land us down there by the clearing. We’ll move in on foot and see what they’re up to.”
“Yes, sir,” the team chorused.
They glided silently downwards, the chariot barely visible in the sliver of moonlight. They landed in the darkened glade. Sprinkles unfastened the harnesses and grabbed his spear. The others did the same with their weapons of choice. Dawnstrider levitated a broadsword and slid it into his scabbard behind his back. Lemongrass took up a spear as well, while both Wind Whipper and Grey Shadow took up short swords.
Dawnstrider gestured for them to follow. “Stay close. We should be able to take them by surprise.”
They melted into the underbrush, in the direction of the unwary caravan.
“So you took these... griffons by surprise?”
“Yes, ma’am. Complete surprise. They didn’t even resist. It helped that there were only two of them. They were hauling along a wagon.”
“I see.”
Dawnstrider pressed the griffon against the wagon with his sword. “Who are you and why are you heading this way?” Dawnstrider demanded, his tip of his sword pointed directly at the throat of the griffon.
“We... we’re just travellers. We got no quarrel with ponies.” the griffon stammered, his claws grasping his throat.
“For your sake, that better be true. Sergeant, check the caravan. They might smuggling in contraband for all we know.”
“Yes, sir.” Sprinkles waved for the other griffon to move over. “Shadow, watch him.” The unicorn nodded. “Lemongrass, with me. Wind, try to make sure we don’t get any unpleasant visitors.” Wind Whipper grumbled as he shuffled off.
Sprinkles approached the caravan with care, holding his spear at the ready. Lemongrass followed closely behind, glancing back at the two griffons occasionally. The wagon seemed like any other, the contents loosely covered by a rough white tarp. Sprinkles tapped the top of the wagon lightly, watching carefully for any movement. Seeing none, he used his spear to nudge the edge of the tarp and began to lift it up. He could hear Lemongrass shallow breathing behind him.
Slowly, ever so slowly, the tarp ascended. Revealing baskets of fruits. Grapefruits, by the looks of it. One of the Griffon Empire’s main export to Equestria. Sprinkles threw the tarp with a flick of his spear. Sure enough, the entire wagon contained grapefruit.
Sprinkles heaved a sigh of relief. His sharp ears picked up Lemongrass’ snicker. “Gee, Sarge. Are we arresting ponies for selling fruits now?” he whispered.
“No, we’re not,” Sprinkles replied dryly. He called out to the captain. “All clear, Captain. They’re just fruit traders.”
Dawnstrider snorted, and released his hold on the griffon. “It seems you’re right.” The griffon blinked in surprise, almost as if he had been expected his head to be taken off at any minute. He quickly backed away and joined his companion who had been standing under Grey Shadow’s guard.
“Pardon me for askin’, but what in the name of Equestria possessed you two to travel down such a desolate stretch of road?” Grey Shadow said, scratching his head.
“We wanted to get into Hoofington by sunrise tomorrow. In time for the big Fruit Festival fair there,” the first griffon answered.
“Oh! You’re here for the big annual Hoofington Fruit Festival? You know, my aunt is one of the—”
“Captain! I think I saw something,” Wind Whipper shouted.
“So the two were merchants?” an officer asked.
Sprinkles nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“What happened next?”Lt Ironhide said.
The next thing Sprinkles knew, the dreaded whistles of arrows flying past filled the air around them. “Ambush!” Lemongrass yelled, diving for the relative safety of the wagon. Wind Whisper wailed in pain as the one of the arrows struck true. Sprinkles could hear a loud thud as the pegasus collapsed on the ground.
“Take cover, you idiots,” Dawnstrider shouted, the bulky unicorn taking shelter behind the wagon as well. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he leaned sideways to peek at their unseen attackers. Another arrow thudded home not one inch from his face. Dawnstrider wisely retreated and grunted.
“Sergeant, we need a distraction. We’re sitting ducks here.” Dawnstrider glanced at Lemongrass. “Private. You know what to do. Draw their fire and we can move in to engage.”
“What? Are you out of your mind? There’re so many arrows out there that I’ll be feathered not three wingbeats away.”
“Are you refusing a direct order, Private?” Dawnstrider demanded. Sprinkles thought he heard a note of nervousness in the normally confident voice of Dawnstrider.
“Well screw you, Captain. This better work.” Lemongrass poked his head around wagon once again. Sensing the flood of arrow momentarily reduced to a trickle at the moment, he dashed out of cover with a strong flap.
Dawnstrider got to his hooves. “Let’s go, Sergeant,” he said. Sprinkles nodded and dashed out with spear on hoof. Shadowy figures lurked in the forest ahead, at least three, if his eyes didn’t deceive him. Then he felt himself being thrown backwards as a grey blur pounced on him.
“Watch out, sir!” Grey Shadow yelled.
Sprinkles quickly got to his hooves and crawled back into the shadow of the wagon, Grey Shadow following closely behind. It was then Sprinkles realised Dawnstrider didn’t move an inch at all. Instead, the unicorn was staring at Sprinkles in disbelief.
“Why are you still here, Sergeant? I thought I told you to move out!”
“What? With all due respect, sir, I thought you had my back.”
“Can’t you see the hail of arrows out there? It’s suicide!” Dawnstrider sadi, licking his lips.
Sprinkles was dumbfounded. “Sir, you just ordered me to go out there, knowing that it’s a suicide mission?”
Dawnstrider seemed to sweat even more, his voice cracking ever so slightly. “I’m your superior, sergeant! You will obey my commands!”
“Well, screw you too—”
“Sarge. We have a situation.” Grey Shadow pointed just as the underbrush disgorged three griffons and to their surprise, a zebra. Each wielded a blade. The quartet closed in with knives raised, malice glinting in their eyes.
“Aw, hayseed.”
Sprinkles moved quickly to intercept the nearest griffon, sending the knife flying out of his claws with a well-timed slash. Then his own spear was knocked out by a flying buck to his sides, the armour absorbing most of the force. Still hurt like hell though. He pivoted and narrowly avoided another the knife aiming for his neck. Then he jumped forward to tackle the griffon he had disarmed, hoping to knock him out of the fight and disarm him entirely. Sprinkles struggled with the griffon then delivered a solid punch to the head. The griffon slumped. He looked up to see Dawnstrider waving his broadsword about, keeping the zebra and another griffon at bay. Grey Shadow was missing yet again.
“Stars above, Captain. Use your magic!”
Dawnstrider appeared not to notice, and continued to flail away with his sword. Sprinkles opened his mouth to shout again, only to find himself face-to-face with yet another griffon attacker. His forehoof greeted the beak of the griffon, causing him to stumble and drop the dagger he was holding. Sprinkles got to his hooves and lunged at the zebra that was standing off with Dawnstrider. The two tumbled on the ground and struggled. After a brief struggle, Sprinkles slammed his head against the zebra’s causing her to stop her flailing.
“T-That’s it!” Dawnstrider shouted.
Sprinkles thought he saw a bright flash, then he noticed the sword implanted on the griffon’s head. He winced; it was a sight he was not to forget for months. Then he gaped as Dawnstrider turned tail and started to gallop away.
“Captain, wh—”
The whistle of arrows filled the air again. Dawnstrider’s back was suddenly filled with half a dozen arrow, with one piercing clean through an unprotected section of the chest piece. Dawnstrider gave a gurgle, a hoof raising to the wound in his chest. Then he collapsed without so much as a whimper.
One of the officers interrupted. “So, what you’re saying is, Dawnstrider sacrificed himself to distract the brigands? He just ran out there and shouted for the bandits to aim at him?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Sprinkles hoped he sounded sincere.
Lt Ironhide tapped her hoof. “That sounds very... foolish.”
“It was a desperate moment, ma’am. Desperate times calls for desperate measures, as they say. I believe Captain Dawnstrider did what he thought was best.”
Lt Ironhide seemed unimpressed. “Very well. What happened then?”
Sprinkles could only stare in shock as the “valiant” Captain slumped to the ground. Fortunately enough, a flicker of movement in the corner of his eyes brought him back to reality. He ducked in time to avoid a griffon slashing his claws at his vulnerable neck. A swift buck brought the griffon to his knees.
“Sarge! You might want to cover ya eyes!” Grey Shadow’s voice came from somewhere. Sprinkles blinked and did as he was told. Even through the cover of his eyelid, he could sense the presence of a very intense light illuminating the area. He opened his eyes to see a glow orb high in the sky, already dimming rapidly. Sprinkles looked around to realise that most of the griffons were now on the floor, writhing and covering their own eyes. A grin forced itself onto his face.
“Brilliant idea, son.”
“Don’t laugh yet, sarge. There’s still a few more,” Lemongrass said as he emerged from the underbrush with the two merchant griffons in tow. His mane was a total mess and his armour looked like it had been dragged through the archery range.
“Let’s finish this.”
“I see. What of the surviving bandits?”
Sprinkles allowed himself a small smile. “All in all, we managed to capture twelve of them. The merchants proved surprisingly handy. The attackers were later identified as members of the Deep Tail Band, a newly established bandit group that previously operated within the Griffon Empire. Apparently this was an advance party to see if they could expand their operations here. Safe to say, they aren’t keen to try again for the foreseeable future.”
Another officer spoke, “How about the family?”
“They have been informed.”
“Very good, sergeant, I see you have not neglected your duties.” Sprinkles blinked. There was an odd edge to Lt Ironhide’s voice.
Sprinkles sighed as he trotted up the immaculately kept lawn. Dawnstrider lived in a pretty fancy house, the sergeant had to admit. He dreaded this part of the job. He lost a member of his squad only once prior to this. The family had been inconsolable, and their grief had left him feeling hollow for weeks afterwards. Still, duty was duty. He knocked on the pastel door smartly and then settled down to wait.
After a few minutes, the door creaked open, the blue face of a young filly looking up at him.
“Yes, mister?”
“Is Mrs Bloom in?”
“My mom? Yea she is.” The filly turned and called out. “Mom! Somepony in shiny armour is here to see you.”
The door opened wider to reveal the anxious face of a cyan pegasus—Dawnstrider’s own wife, Cherry Bloom. “Yes? Who are you?”
Sprinkles sighed. There would be no reason way to tell her. Instead, he bowed his head and took out a glided envelope. He quietly held out the envelope.
Cherry Bloom blinked. Then her eyes slowly misted as understanding dawned. She took the letter hesitantly, and placed it on a table next to her. “I- I didn’t expect...”
“I know, ma’am. Forgive me, I should introduce myself. I’m Sergeant Sprinkles, one of his juniors.”
Cheery Bloom sniffed and hugged her the little filly, who Sprinkles guessed to be their daughter. “D-Did... did he at least... get his wish?”
“Ma’am?” Sprinkles said, tilting his head.
“He... he always said... if he were to die, he would go out in a blaze of glory.” Sprinkles hid a wince. The memory of the captain turning away and making for the hills would forever be seared in his mind.
“He...” Sprinkles stopped as Cherry Bloom’s lilac eyes looked up at him, full of dread, hope and expectation. Then he noticed the filly looking at him as well, though hers was more of a curiosity. The sergeant suddenly felt the weight of their gaze on his shoulders.
“... Sergeant?”
Sprinkles took a deep breath. “He was a hero, ma’am. Best captain I ever seen,” he said. “He died saving our squad.”
Cherry Bloom nodded softly, her lips curled up in a sad smile. Tears begin to stream down her cheeks.
“Mommy, why are you crying?”
“I... I’ll tell you later, sweetie.”
“Where’s Daddy?” the filly asked, her innocent eyes wide with curiosity.
“Daddy... Daddy might not be coming back for awhile. Don’t you worry, he’s out there doing important jobs. Protecting Equestria.”
“I wish I could be like him one day.”
Sprinkles nudged his helmet downwards in a vain attempt to cover his own tears. “Ma’am, if there’s nothing else...”
Cheery Bloom forced another smile to her face. “Yes, Sergeant. Thank you. I appreciate it.”
“Very well, Sergeant. I think this is a pretty open-and-shut case. Captain Dawnstrider shall be buried in full military honours, in accordance with his status. In addition, I believe the Princesses would bestow him additional honours for his deeds in that battle.” Lt Ironhide shuffled her papers and glanced around at her fellow officers.
“Thank you for your time, Sergeant. This tribunal is officially over.”
Sergeant Sprinkles saluted and then slowly stepped down the dais. The officers began to file out of the room, along with most of the spectators.
“One more thing, Sergeant,” Lt Ironhide’s voice said behind Sprinkles. He turned to find the steel-grey eyes of the Lieutenant staring back at him.
“I hope you understand the implications of this. This will be part of the official records from here on forward.”
Again that feeling that he was being probed. Sprinkles kept an impassive face and nodded.
Ironhide’s lips curled upwards, though her face remained stern. “Good. Some things are just never meant to be revealed.” She abruptly turned and walked away without so much a goodbye.
Sprinkles let out the breath he hadn’t realised he have been holding and trotting slowly towards the entrance.
Then he chuckled. A mirthless chuckle. “All this trouble because I can’t bring myself to tell a family that their father was a bully and a coward,” he thought aloud.