//------------------------------// // A Bad Moon Rising // Story: Home // by The Boss //------------------------------// Shield sat silently in the classroom, the foals were all playing outside. His lunch was put out before him, but his eye was locked on the globe that took up a corner of his desk. He’d placed several pins the places where he’d served, at the moment his attention was on the pin that was stuck into Zebrica. How many months had he served there, he’d lost count at nine, there were more important things than counting. Within his mind, he could hear the howls of the monkeys and the shrieks of the bats. He could practically feel the insects crawling over him, and he shuddered at the thought of how many charred bodies he’d pulled from torched huts. The stallion shook his head and went back to eating his lunch, it wouldn’t do to have a breakdown in the middle of school. He had an obligation, and he would meet it. As he chewed his sandwich, he thought back to Rainbow Dash. He’d not had the time to spend with her, but summer was coming. That would give him plenty of time, he hoped. He’d start by going with her to the ‘Summer Sun Celebration’ thing, as much as he was loathe to do so. Shield smiled, despite his anger, it’d be nice spending much missed time with his sister. With another bite of sandwich, he reclined in his seat and looked out the window. Through it, for a moment, he saw the jungle once more. Several zebra ponies stared back at him. Mares, stallions, fillies and colts, all of their faces were burned or bleeding. He could see their lips moving, but they could not speak. Still he understood. ‘Why?’ Shield clenched his eye shut, holding back his emotions for what felt like an eternity. When he opened it, the view was back to its normal cheerful vista. Without a word, Shield stood from his seat and left the room. Cheerilee was in her own classroom, and was startled by the suddenness that Shield exited his. Rather than say hello, or anything for that matter, he made his way to the restroom and locked the door. The magenta mare stood from her own seat, leaving her lunch to check on the stallion. She didn’t consider herself nosy, but for the sake of her friend, she put her ear up against the bathroom door. What she heard at first wasn’t unsurprising. Several dry heaves, most likely from a bad lunch. What followed was what resonated with her. Crying. Not loud sobbing, but quiet and subdued crying. Cheerilee had never thought Shield could cry, or that he would. As far as she knew, he was unphased by many things that would intimidate the most confident ponies. She knew at one point in his life he’d cried, everypony did, but she couldn’t imagine him doing it now. For several minutes she listened before the sound of running water greeted her ears. Cheerilee backed away from the door just before she heard it unlock. Shield stepped out, his face drenched in water, his eye bloodshot. He looked at her for a moment before clearing his throat. “Sorry… I didn’t know you were waiting…” He stated, walking past her with a distant look about him. Wordlessly he entered his room and closed the door. Cheerilee looked up at the clock and noted that recess had gone on longer than normal, she determined that it could go a little longer. She trotted back to her room, stopping to look in on Shield. He’d gone back to eating his lunch, and she could see that the globe that normally sat on his desk had been moved to the floor. Cheerilee looked away from the stallion and entered her room. For ten minutes she sat, eating her own lunch and looking worriedly at the door. Then, she stood from her seat and called the students inside. Shield, to his credit, hid his emotion very well when they returned to his class. Smiling and chuckling at a few jokes the students had made up. Every now and then, he’d cast a look at the window. The stallion closed his door, and Cheerilee went about greeting her own students before she began the next part of the lesson. [♠] Rainbow Dash sighed as she stepped into her home, hearing the sound of her parents talking in the kitchen. It was gradually starting to grate on her nerves, they refused to leave until Shield talked to them. There were several times that the prismatic pegasus had considered asking her brother to do it just to get them to leave, but at the same time she realized that perhaps that would make things worse. He hadn’t told her what’d happened to him in detail, so her parents were most likely right out. Without a word the pegasus trotted up the steps to the top floor. She was intent on taking a shower after her day at work, and then going to work on her tricks. It seemed pointless to shower just so she could get dirty again, but it allowed her time to think. Rainbow Dash stepped into the bathroom and turned on the water, sending it cascading down like rain from a fresh storm. She stared at it for a moment, contemplating how it was possible to have plumbing in a house made of cloud. She was snapped from the thought as she saw steam begin to flow from the water. She climbed into the shower and let the water cascade down her body, her muscles relaxed and she closed her eyes. Fluttershy had told her about this, a form of meditation that she could easily shoehorn into her daily routine. Her thoughts drifted to the events coming up in the weeks to come. Princess Celestia would be coming from Canterlot to help the Twilight with the Summer Sun Celebration, which would normally be fine. Unfortunately, there was a problem. That problem was the angry, one eyed marine who she called her brother. As Rainbow Dash washed herself, her thoughts continued on about her brother. She knew that he was angry at Celestia, she knew that it had to do with his missing eye and Shining Armor, and she knew that as long as she lived, she’d never hear the full story about what happened to him. That was okay with her, she didn’t want to. What she wanted to know was ”How do I make him better?” The answer eluded her. ”I could try having Pinkie throw him a party…” She thought, before shaking her head and moving her hooves to wash her mane. ”Maybe he could help Fluttershy with… What am I thinking? Shield’s a nice pony, but I don’t Fluttershy could handle the grouchy exterior he’s got.” Rainbow Dash paused at that thought, her mind drifting back to a time when she was younger. ”He wasn’t always like that.” Rainbow Dash quickly cleared her head of the thoughts and finished her shower, she toweled off and made her way downstairs. Unsurprisingly, her parents were still chatting in the kitchen, blissfully unaware that she was there. It was one of many things that annoyed her about them, aside from their ‘Special Schedule’. She couldn’t remember how many times she’d heard them complain about how Shield refusing to talk to them was throwing off their ‘Social plans’. Her first thought was ”Why should that matter? He’s your son.” but that was quickly replaced with ”You’re just assholes.” Not that she’d say this directly to their faces, of course, but their constant insistence on staying until Shield talked to them about his experiences was grating on her nerves. As the prismatic pegasus made her way to the door, she caught snippets of their conversation. ”More party talk, social event this, costume ball that… How have I never noticed how petty they sound sometimes?” Without another word she exited the house and made a beeline for the fields on the outskirts of Ponyville. The area proved to be an ideal place for her to practice, as it was right next to the school. On days like this one she liked to pick up Scootaloo,and it was always nice to have the reminder that came with the end of the day bell. The added bonus of being able to see Shield was a plus too, as he’d been working so hard lately. She assumed so he could get his own place, which she understood was important. She didn’t mind having him living with her though, at least for the moment, mainly because it was nice knowing that she just had to go downstairs and she’d most likely find him. That was a refreshing thought, considering how long he’d been gone. The mare was snapped from her thoughts as she caught a particularly strong gust of wind. That reminded her why she had come to the area. She began her first arrangement of tricks, a simple series of loops and twists, the perfect way to warm up. As she did this, her mind started drifting back to the proverbial elephant in the room. “How am I going to get my parents to leave…?” She asked herself, rolling through the sky and banking to the right. The mare flew low to the ground, lower than normal. She could practically feel the grass against her stomach, and this caused her to pull up. “I should just tell them… But they never did listen.” For several hours she continued her routines, twisting and looping, twirling and spinning. All the while she thought, thought about life, about the future, all sorts of things. In the recent weeks, she’d decided to reassess her goals in life. It had dawned on her that even though she attended the Wonderbolts Academy regularly, the possibility of being accepted onto the team was growing slimmer. Suddenly a plan for life that had been so clear cut was now becoming more and more of a distant possibility. “What am I gonna do?” She found herself asking, leveling out and gliding for several moments. By this point, the sun was lowering in the sky and in the distance a familiar bell was ringing. “I’ll figure it out later…” The mare rotated her wings, flapping a few times and gliding towards the school. Rainbow Dash could see the fillies and colts filing out of the building, two grown ponies stood by the doors. She quickly identified them as Shield and Miss Cheerilee. Rainbow smiled and slowed herself down, trotting as her hooves made contact with the ground and she folded her wings. “Have a good afternoon, remember to study.” Dash heard Shield say as she got within earshot. Cheerilee was saying something similar to her students. Rainbow Dash trotted towards doors, looking for Scootaloo among the crowd of foals. Shield caught sight of her and smiled. “Hey Dashie. Here for Scootaloo?” “Yeah.” Rainbow Dash took up a place beside her brother. “Hey, Miss Cheerilee.” Rainbow Dash smiled at the teacher. “Hello, Rainbow Dash.” Cheerilee replied, watching the students file out. Rainbow noticed she would occasionally look at Shield with an odd expression, if Shield noticed he didn’t make it apparent. “Rainbow Dash!” The sound of Scootaloo’s voice brought Rainbow Dash to look at the little filly rushing towards her. Shield jumped back and smiled as she bolted towards his sister, the marine let out a chuckle as he saw her latch onto Rainbow’s foreleg. “Are we gonna go flying today?” “Sure, squirt.” Rainbow said, she looked at Shield. “I’ll see you later?” “Yeah, Dashie. Just gotta do a few things.” Rainbow Dash smiled and plopped Scootaloo down on her back, the two of them took to the sky leaving Shield and Cheerilee behind. The veteran let out a content sigh and watched as the final students left the building. Among them was Diamond Tiara, oddly enough talking to Sweetie Belle and Applebloom without a look of malicious intent. As they left, he closed the door and looked at Cheerilee. “Well, I’m buckin’ tired.” “Heh, well that’s nothing a few glasses of wine can’t fix, right?” Cheerilee asked, Shield smiled and shook his head. “Not tonight, Cheers. I’m gonna see if I can get in to see Twilight Sparkle, maybe figure out our curriculum problem.” He said with a slight frown, Cheerilee was about to say something but he raised his hoof. “No talking me out of it, I need to do something to keep my mind sharp anyway.” The other teacher smiled. “Alright, Shield. I’ll see you tomorrow then.” Shield nodded and opened his wings, then took to the skies. He checked over his shoulder, and sure enough the cloud was still following him. He shrugged it off, instead focussing on his destination. The home of the latest Princess was quickly growing closer. As he drew closer, he lowered his speed and glided above the marketplace on mainstreet. The guards at the library weren’t as tense as they saw him land, in fact most of them saluted Shield as he walked by. Word had spread fast about the marine, and with that word came respect. Shield saluted them back as he approached the door that lead to the Princess’ part of the building. “Afternoon, colts.” He said to the guards standing there. “Is it possible to see Princess Sparkle, or is she busy.” “Princess is always busy, sir. But she did leave word with us that you’re allowed entry as a ‘Friend” One of them replied. “So, we can let you in.” Shield didn’t break from his stoic expression, but within his mind he was somewhat caught off guard. He’d only met Twilight a couple times, to be classified a friend so quickly was odd. “Alright, thanks.” Shield said, entering the building. “Have a good one.” “You too, sir.” [♠] Crimson Star set down his binoculars and wrote a few things down in his notes. Not only was the marine being followed, but he had access to restricted areas. Someone of his caliber must have been of great importance, his teaching job was most likely a cover. For what? The Stalliongradi had no idea, but he knew that he would have to deal with the marine if things went wrong. A twig snapped in the forest behind him, and the stallion turned around to see a pony in a hood. A cape covered most of her body, but it was clear her fur was a light blue. The horn protruding from her forehead made it clear to Crimson that this mare was a magic user. Considering the feeling of familiar power that was radiating off of her, he knew exactly who she was. “Agent 9, it’s good to see you again.” Crimson said with a smile, the hooded pony nodded and sat down. “Yes, yes it is.” The mare’s voice was filled with confidence. “I came to give you the final pieces we need in order to finish our plans.” From under her cloak, the mare produced several articles of clothing and a Railroad ID badge. “On the day of the Summer Sun Celebration, a train will be departing from Dodge Junction.” “How will a train help us?” Asked Crimson, looking at the badge with curiousity. “This train will be carrying a very volatile substance, one that ensures a large explosion.” The mare stated, sounding somewhat pleased with herself. “You will take this train, I will flip the proper switches, and we will derail it in the heart of Ponyville.” Crimson realized what she was saying, a pang of worry ran through him. “No… We’d be killing too many innocent ponies.” He said, looking at the town. At this point, the mare shook her head. “My Star, do you not remember how many innocent ponies THEY killed during the war?” She asked, the hooded mare stepped forwards and put a hoof on Crimson’s face. She turned him to face her. “We must remember. An eye for an eye. For our daughter…” “An eye for an eye.” Crimson replied, putting a hoof on her hood and pushing it down. The mare’s white mane fell free. “For our daughter, I will do this.” The two of them embraced each other. “And for you, my precious Lulamoon…”