SACRIFICES – CHAPTER FOUR
After three months recovering from her injuries, Swift had been a little surprised that she had still been allowed into the Royal Guard. She had discovered on her first day that the white stallion she had seen a few times while she was undergoing physiotherapy to regain the strength in her injured wing was her CO, Shining Armour.
She had been so surprised that she had momentarily forget to come to attention when first reporting to him. Armour had smiled and told her to sit, then asked her questions about her recovery from the injuries she had suffered. “It's not very often I hear that someone who has been approved for the Royal Guard had gotten herself injured on the night she received the orders”.
Swift nodded. “It was a very large griffon, and he had the drop on me”.
Armour looked at one of the files on his desk. “I've read the file on the incident and heard from Straight Arrow about what happened”. He smiled. “I was a little surprised that you didn't take the offer of a honourable discharge”.
Swift shook her head. “I discussed it with Scootaloo and she said that I had wanted the transfer for so long I shouldn't turn it down”.
Armour nodded, smiling. “And Scootaloo is?”.
Swift smiled, pride in her daughter rising to the surface. “My daughter. She's been rooting for me to get better all the time I was in physio. I was only glad my mother moved from Manehattan to look after her while I was in hospital”.
Armour smiled, remembering the little orange furred pegasus shouting at her mother to fly when Swift was too exhausted to flap her damaged wing any more. “I saw her on a couple of occasions when I went to see how you were doing. I spoke to her at one point, she was sitting on a seat outside of the room reading. I was expecting her to be reading Daring-Do, but 'The Art Of War', that's unusual”.
Swift grinned. “I adopted Scootaloo when she was one year old. I managed to save her from her her father, he was beating her and I was on a message run and I had landed near to the shack they were living in. I stopped him from killing her then became her foster mother. Later, actually the day I was injured, I officially adopted her. One night after I first brought her home Scoots wanted me to read her a story to put her to sleep. All the books I had were about military history and tactics so I had to read her something from one of them. She likes normal children's books but sometimes I'll find her reading one of my books”.
Armour laughed. “She's a chip of the old block. Does she want to be in he service when she grows up?”.
Swift guffawed, surprising Armour “Oh, no, she's got some crazy idea that she wants to be a Wonderbolt!”.
Armour laughed. “That bunch of glory-hounds. They claim to be a elite unit but all they do is air displays and occasionally deal with dragon incursions”. He looked at Swift and smiled as he passed her a file. “Onto business, I've got an assignment for you. I know you're still on light duties for a few weeks but I've had word from on high that the Princess herself wants a pegasus squadron for certain activities where a flight team like the Wonderbolts are a bit too high-profile”. He handed Swift a bulging file. “These are a list of possible candidates and we'll send suitable pegasi as they come through basic training”.
Celestia's bright idea soon bore fruit. Iron Heart was dragged kicking and screaming out of retirement to drum the candidates into a elite strike force and he did so, glad to be back to his old ways as a old-fashioned drill instructor.
Despite a 70% drop out rate a small, elite unit was formed. Everypony involved assumed that Iron Heart would be placed in command but word came down from Celestia herself that the candidate for leading the unit was Swift, even if she had not put her name forward for it.
This caused a problem, a promotion was a promotion and the unit was as much her brainchild as Celestia's but it would mean that she would be away from Scootaloo for months at a time. Swift decided she had to explain everything to Scootaloo, they were a team and she didn't want to make the decision alone. She sat Scootaloo on her knee and explained about the promotion.
“That's good, momma. Why are you sad?”.
Swift looked down at her daughter and smiled. “If I take the promotion I'll have to be away from Canterlot for a long time. A few months at a time”.
Scootaloo looked down as Swift could see a lot of questions arising in her mind. “What will happen to me, do I go with you?”.
Swift smiled and shook her head. “No, your grandma has said she'll look after you while I'm away”. She leaned in and whispered into Scootaloo's ear. “And I know she spoils you rotten when I'm not there”. That brought a slight smile to the filly's face. “I promise I'll write you as often as I can. Every couple of days unless I'm on operations”.
Scootaloo nodded. “When will I have to move?”.
Swift sighed, she knew that living with her grandmother would mean Scootaloo moving to Ponyville, where her mother was now living. “I've been given a week off before I'm due to fly out to where the main training base is”. She smiled. “I've got to make sure it's built properly. Captain Armour has said that he'll make sure that any letters you write”. She ruffled her daughters mane. “Get straight to me so you'll have to write as well. I know I promised that I would never leave you when I adopted you but this is not what I expected. Understand this Scoots, I still love you and I always, always will”.
Swift decided to cut to the chase. “You know that you and I are a team so I'm leaving this up to you. Do I take the promotion even with everything that goes with it”.
Scootaloo looked up at her mother and nodded. “You take it. I'll stay with grandma”.
If there was one thing that Swift hated about her job, it was being away from Scoots on Hearth's Warming Eve. She was in the north of Equestria with a team investigating reports that something bad was happening. The team was bedded down in a hotel in the first one-horse town inside the snow fields, waiting out a blizzard to end. The rest of her team were downstairs killing time but Swift just wanted to get some sleep.
As soon as she closed her eyes, finally giving in to sleep, she opened them again and looked around. She was in a field of short grass under a night sky. Swift frowned. “I'm dreaming”.
“Indeed you are, Captain”. The voice was coming from behind her.
Swift turned and smiled before bowing. “Princess Luna, this is a surprise”.
Luna smiled as she trotted closer to Swift. “It is Hearth's Warming Eve, and Celestia and I believe that, after all your work for Equestria you deserve a present”. She smiled and stepped aside as a little orange and purple furball ran up and jumped into Swifts hooves.
Scootaloo didn't completely understand how her mother was in a dream with her but, at that point she didn't care one bit. “Princess Luna came to me and told me I had to go to sleep and I couldn't so she cast a spell on me and now I'm here with you and I don't know how and”.
Swift put her hoof to her daughter's mouth, then kissed her on the forehead. “Breath, little one”. She smiled as she glanced over at Princess Luna, who was trying to maintain a stoic, royal expression. “Thank you, how long is this for?”.
Luna smiled. “It is not a problem, Captain. I helped Scootaloo with some nightmares a few months ago. I fear I cannot link the two dreams for too long. Enjoy being with your daughter while you can”. With that, she disappeared.
Swift smiled as she rolled onto her back so that Scootaloo was sitting on her chest. “What do you want to Scoots?. It looks like it's going to be a lovely night”.