//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Caring for the sisters // by the-pieman //------------------------------// A/N: VERY VERY SPECIAL thanks to FanatiGeekBrony and BronyDJ, they are the reason the fic is continuing. Well, my week off is almost over, just a couple days left so I decide to do something mature before spending the next seven days being a babysitter, I’m heading off to the pub. I know what you’re thinking, “How could an alcoholic get a job as...” Well I’ll stop you there, because I’m NOT an alcoholic, just because you drink doesn’t mean you WILL get drunk, I’ve had beer and still been sober my entire life, you just need to be careful you don’t drink TOO much. Anyway, I head to the closest tavern, The Cock and Pucker, a nice cozy little place. Well lit, a fireplace, nice music, and overall pretty clean. Hooray Canterlot, the land of the stuck-up and nitpickers, although this place is actually not very fancy, just cozy. I head over to the counter and order a drink, nothing strong or fancy. I sit back, listen to the music and relax, and take a small drink from my bottle, this is great. I forget why I don’t come here very often, it seems odd but I don’t spend much time here even though I like it... then it hits me, or rather HE hits me. A hoof to my shoulder a bit too hard to be just friendly, but not intending much pain. Another guard from my squad, not one I like too much. I don’t come here much because the other guys come here often and give me crap. “Hey, been awhile since I seen YOU around here, I thought you gave up on beer since you became the royal nanny!” “I’m not a nanny, I’m a caretaker, and nopony said I couldn’t have a drink.” “Well mister caretaker, shouldn’t you be making sure the rugrat princesses don’t drown in a puddle?” “It’s my week off, and they’re not going to get hurt.” “Of course not, they’ve got a great wetnurse, good thing you quit being a guard, you might have gotten hurt!” Now he’s getting on my nerves. “I’m STILL a guard, I just happen to have another job on the side. If the call goes out, I’m gonna be out there fighting just like the rest of you, but until then, I take care of Luna and Celestia!” “Yeah, second-rate soldier by night, and ‘Mommy of the Year’ by day, huh? What’s wrong Cloudy? Do you LIKE being a wussy little chicken?” “...Leave me alone.” “Or what, you’re gonna show me what you learned while watching a pair of snot-nosed little bra-” “Shut up, @$$hole!” “Oh my, you know a big-boy word! Congratulatio-” I’ve had it. I punch him in the nose, sending him back a few inches. He looks surprised, then really mad. “Buddy, you’re dead.” He hits me back, and eventually we get into a typical slugfest. I’m losing though. Never was very strong. Oh well, I’m not giving up. I turn around leaving myself open and he takes the bait, shoving me forward to the floor. I get up very slowly as he gets closer, but timing is important. He lifts his hoof to hit me. Wings, don’t fail me now. I buck him right as he’s open, hitting him right under his foreleg and use my wings to flip up, and I kick him in the chin. Haven’t done that kind of thing in a while, I’m really glad I still got it. I then grab the edge of a table and use my wings and hind legs to jump up quickly. This flips the table over and it hits him in the face. He spits out a tiny amount of blood, then makes a fast move with his hoof. I can’t see what he did, but he doesn’t waste time showing me. He has a beer bottle in his hoof which he slams against the overturned table’s leg, breaking the bottle. He holds the sharp half-bottle up to my face. I’m unprepared for this kind of tactic, and it seems he knows this. Military school never covered barfights. Why couldn’t he have grabbed a spear? Those I understand, not weaponized glass. Crap. “Alright, fine, you can fight, but you’re still a wuss. I’ll give you one chance to prove me right, and let you bail. What are you gonna do, Cloud Dasher? You gonna run, or try and be a hero?” “I’m no hero, and neither are you, that’s pretty obvious. Fine, I at least know when I’m beat, I’m out of here.” He backs off and I walk past him to the door, but I turn back to him and give him a few words to think about. “You know what, Hopper? I may be a coward for running, but you’re a coward for relying on dirty fighting. Using a weapon on an unarmed opponent is just immoral.” “Ya know what, Cloud? Bite me.” He holds up a wing and folds his feathers back, letting the longest one stick up. I leave and head home, I hurt pretty bad and I don’t feel up to doing anything else. I hope tomorrow goes better. I get up, and my legs and head hurt. A physical beating and a headache. B-E-A-Utiful. This is just fantastic. Oh well, no purpose whining about it, might as well get help. I head off to the health center, so-called because it’s too small to be a hospital but still just as effective. I check in and I’m all fixed up before I know it, glad I didn’t break anything. Of course I don’t get a talking to because I’m a guard, and of course I’d get injured. Obviously I left out how I got hurt, but that’s not really important here, is it? I get out and I feel fine, though I do ache a bit if I strain myself too much, at least this should be healed by tonight. Walking down the street, I guess I might do a bit of shopping. With 70 bits left, I can get something nice, but what? I think back to yesterday, before the fight. Hopper is such a jerk, I don’t like it when ponies insult me, but why did he have to say things like that about the fillies? What did they do to him? Last I checked, I’m the only guard who sees them. Maybe that’s why I’m so protective, I have to do all of it alone, not that I’m complaining. Perhaps I should get something for the sisters, I don’t have to, but I want to. Except I don’t know what to get, what would they like? Clothes? Nah. A book? No, the castle library has plenty of children’s stories. Toys would do better I think, but what kind of toy? I go to a store and look around, I see some interesting things. I pick up this weird looking tiny... thing. It’s made of metal and glass like a telescope. A tag says it’s called a Kaleidoscope... huh, weird. I look through it, and it looks like somepony ran around the place going nuts with a bunch of paints and a hammer. Then I found out that it turns, making the place spin and change colors. Holy crap, that’s trippy. This is certainly... interesting, but definitely not what I’m looking for, unless I wanted to brainwash somepony. Hmm... Nah. What else is here? A ball caught my eye. Why? It’s just a ball... wait. I read the tag: The Tumble Orb, an excellent combination of transfiguration, physical manipulation, and telepathy magic. This is the result of a typical ball being expertly enchanted to have incredible properties. With the power of a thought, anypony can alter the Tumble Orb’s behavior. It can be light as air, or as heavy as a boulder. It can hit a wall and bounce off like rubber, or stick and not move. It can be squishy or solid, it can treat drag and friction however you wish, and it can even freeze in mid-air! The Tumble Orb can do anything at anytime, allowing for possibilities as limitless as your imagination!! Interesting, maybe this is just what I’m looking for. Yeah, the girls will love this. So I buy it and wrap it up to give to them tomorrow, this can’t possibly go wrong. To be continued, same pony-channel, probably not the same pony-time.