//------------------------------//
// The Next Day/ Allies 
// Story: Always Look Back 
// by peep 
//------------------------------//

     "You've got a mare and you're not sharing? What's wrong with you?" said one of the particularly muscular inmates, a white pegasus with red eyes and tiny wings, and a dumbbell cutie mark.

"Yeah, I want a piece of her!" This pony was green, had skinny legs and a horn, and three seeds as a cutie mark.

"Laughter said that sharing is caring!" The earth pony was a bright blue, with an even brighter voice. She was also very into mares. Her cutie mark was two interlocking horseshoes.

"I haven't touched her! And neither will you." Big Mac glared at the trio.

"But why?" the ponies whined in union.

"She's Kindness, that's why."

"Nuh-uh. There is no bucking way," the pegasus said.

"I'm serious, Snowflake. It's her."

"Well, if you're so serious why don't you show us?" the unicorn grumbled.

"Fine then, Grass Seed. I will." Grass Seed's ears perked up. "Shoeshine, come with me."

The blue mare cast a smug look at the others as she followed Big Macintosh to what she considered a lightly bloodied rock. The red draft was already there, talking to somepony behind it. "Fluttershy, I've brought one of them. Her name is Shoeshine. Shoeshine, meet Fluttershy." He stepped back to reveal a soft yellow pegasus with a pink mane.

Shoeshine's thoughts drifted to her initiation to Equestria's army.


There she was, smack-dab in the middle of seven thousand ponies, all waiting in Canterlot Castle's giant throne room. Her squad sat in a row beside her. Big Mac, their captain, fighting on the ground. Snowflake, attacking from above. Her, Shoeshine, the strategist. Finally, Grass Seed, the "everything else" pony, as most unicorns were. They waited anxiously, figiting, until the Elements arrived.

The Generals walked out of a doorway in the back of the great hall, and took their positions on the rise. The Princesses came out next, sitting on their thrones, regal as ever. Magic started, like always, with a speech about how it was an honor to fight for Equestria, and thanking them for their bravery. Loyalty was next, telling them how awesome they were for doing this, and to try not to get killed. Honesty told them what Loyalty should have: to stay true to Equestria. Generosity produced more thank you's, primpled with flattery. Laughter bounded around throughout the new soldiers, trying to cheer the somber ponies up, but soon fell somber herself and just wished them luck.

The Sun Princess opened her mouth to speak when Kindness, of all ponies, stepped forward. Shoeshine looked around uncertainly, for what she had heard from the ponies that graduated before was that Kindness never gave a speech. It wasn't in her heart to ask the ponies in front of her to kill others.

Shoeshine studied her carefully. Light yellow body with wings, soft pink mane, butterfly cutie mark, yes, this was her. Kindness was going to speek.

"I... I want..." She hung her head as a tear slipped down her cheek. "Please... Just... Just don't die!" The other Elements crowded around her, giving comforting hugs and words. But what was the strangest to Shoeshine was that Kindness was looking directly at Big Macintosh. The red pony looked confused, but returned her gaze, and nodded. The yellow mare smiled slightly, only for a second, before her friends took her off the rise and back through the door. Then Sun and Moon stood up, gave their words of praise, thanks, and encouragement, and followed.

"Um, hello."

Shoeshine slamed back to the present. "Oh, yes. Hi!" She held out a hoof, which Fluttershy shook. "So, anyways, I'm Shoeshine, and I'm here to vertify that you are actually Kindness! May I have a look at your cutie mark?"

"Yes, okay." Fluttershy turned so that her rump was in view.

Shoeshine couldn't help but lick her lips. "Um, yeah, it's her." She stared hungrily at the quivering pegasus, who now hid her hind end with her tail.

"Well, then, maybe you should go tell the others, right?" Big Mac said, stepping in between the two mares.

She sighed, "I guess," and turned with her head low back to convince her comrades. But there was only Grass Seed, giggling like an idiot, with his horn glowing. "Where...?" He was looking back at the rock. She shook her head. "She really is Kindness, you know." Now he looked suprised. "You're in for it now." She turned, awaiting the scene that would unfold.


Snowflake crept along the side of the rock until he was right behind the mare his captain was keeping to himself. Well, not for long, he thought. He reared up to grasp the supposedly unsuspecting pegasus's hindquarters, when she turned around and caught him in a deadlock stare.

"Big Macintosh, if you would be ever so kind, I need you to bring over the rest of your company, please," the yellow pony said, never taking her eyes off the what to the red pony's eyes was an empty space.

"O-Okay..." He backed away slowly and then turned to see only two of the three ponies under his command, one with his horn still glowing. He shook his head slowly and trotted over. "Come on, Grass Seed, drop it. She knows." His horn's glow faded. "She also wants to meet you," he said, and dragged the unicorn over to the stone, with Shoeshine in tow, not suprised at all when he saw Snowflake, still rearing, eyes wide, frozen in Fluttershy's Stare.

"Let this be an example to all of you. No pony sneaks up on me. Down on all legs, soldier!" Snowflake obliged. "Aten-hut!" He clicked his front and back hooves together, horizontally. "Ready wings up!" His wings opened and streatched his wings, preparing for flight. "Now you." She turned and Stared at Grass Seed. He cowered. "I know you had a part in this. Aten-hut!" He obeyed, for what else would he do under The Stare? "Ready horns start!" His horn glowed, but did not perform magic yet. She left the two standing there and turned to Shoeshine. "Why didn't you alert me to this?" Fluttershy asked, her voice unusually comanding.

"I wanted to see what The Stare was like," she replied, staring in wonder at the two numbskulls at attention.

"Curiosity like that will get you killed."

"I know, but that's my job. I find out what the enemy can do, what we can do, and how we're going to beat them."

Kindness smiled. "I was wondering which of you was the strategist. It certainly wasn't these two," she said, refering to Grass Seed and Snowflake, who had beads of sweat on their foreheads.

Then an earth pony with a pink mane drawn up in a bun and a white coat yelled, "Fluttershy!"

She looked questioningly at Big Mac, who was squinting at the newcomer. "Oh! Yes, it's okay, that's Nurse Iris." On closer inspection, the pony had bright green cat eyes, and a slash through her cuitie mark– a red cross with four hearts– like the other guards.

"Fluttershy!" the pony yelled again.

The yellow mare was reluctant to go. "It's okay, she's just going to give you a check up," the draft said. "All of us have gone through it. We'll protect you on your way over." Fluttershy nodded, and after issuing the "at ease" command to the culprits– who were very grateful– she walked over to the nurse. A few stallions tried to come at her, but one swift look from her red protector stopped them.

"There you are!" the white pony said with a smile. "Come with me." She turned and went through a door with guards stationed at both sides. They closed the door behind them. Fluttershy was led down a dimly lit hallway with grimy walls. "It's not much now, but it gets better at my office." She was right, there was a clean door halfway down the corridor. Inside was a sterile room, with a desk full of papers, a metal bed with a thin sheet on it, and a wooden cabniet. "Sit down on the bed please," Nurse Iris asked her. The pegasus sat down, and the white pony began her work. After she finished, she said, "Well, you're all clear. And I must say, your discipline with those boys was amazing."

"Oh, um," Fluttershy blushed. "Thank you."

"You'll be a usefull addition to the army." The nurse turned around, fiddling in the cabinet.

Her eyes hardened. "No."

"I'm afraid you don't get a choice," she replied, still not looking at her.

The yellow pony was silent for a moment. "Nurse Redheart, what happened to you?"

Now it was the earth pony's eyes' turn to harden. "No pony calls me that anymore." She turned to face her patient.

"Were you a prisoner before?"

Her eyes softened. "Yes." The silence dragged on. "You want out."

"Yeah. And I want to take all of them with me."

"That's impossible. But a small group on the other hand..."

Fluttershy was confused. "Aren't you supposed to try to stop me? Or report me?"

"Yes, but I won't."

"Why?"

"My deformation was not all the way through. Discord was distracted, and didn't reach my mind. I played along, of course, and helped ponies escape his clutches. But now I want out too. Can you take me as well?"

"How do I know I can trust you?"

Nurse "Iris" smiled and sripped away the scar that was fake skin to reveal a whole cutie mark. "Shh," she said, and ushered her out the door where a guard escorted her to her cell.