“What the fuck is your problem, you crazy bitch!” The stallion was trying to get back up, leaning heavily on the barstool he had been sitting on only seconds ago and clearly struggling to get back into a standing position.
One of the others who had been with him, a remarkably bright-yellow earth-pony, offered a hoof to his fallen unicorn companion only to have it roughly batted away.
“Don’t you fucking touch me!” The green unicorn roared.
After a few seconds of uncoordinated stumbling, he was back on his feet, looking more furious than ever.
“Now, why don’t you get yourself closer so I can give your skull a good cave in, you little shit!” Blood was seeping heavily from the gash on in brow, forming crimson rivulets down his ugly face ending where they dripped slowly from his muzzle.
He smiled.
It was not a pleasant smile and through the gore soaking his nose and chest and his friends moving closer to stand at his side, it only grew more wicked.
I didn't care.
From the moment the words had left his mouth my body had tensed, making me clench my jaw almost painfully as I turned to face him with wide eyes.
I had snapped.
Nothing more than a few words, drunkenly slurred in the dim light of an ill-famed bar down in the depths of Canterlot, had been enough to set me off.
With a low growl, a strong flap of my wings and a vicious kick to the head, I had knocked him to the ground, howling in pain and screeching colourful obscenities at the top of his lungs.
He had gotten up and was now staring right at me, with promise of violence in his eyes. He even took the time to make sure I knew how sorely outnumbered and outmatched I was by casting amused glances at his entourage.
I didn't care.
The dark-blue unicorn to his right stepped close to his friend with a worried look.
“Dagger, she’s a pegasus, what if the guards show up?”
The green stallion rounded on him with a snarl.
“Do I look like I give a shit about those hoity fucks?! Feathers or not, this one here’s not getting out in one piece.”
Flexing the bulging muscles of his neck, he made them ripple sickeningly under his skin before nonchalantly wiping the blood off his face.
“Besides, what’s one less of these assholes anyways? I’m pretty sure we’d be doing Equestria a favour when we dump her body in a ditch.”
His friend backed off with a crooked grin, nonetheless casting worried glances around the room.
I paid him no mind, nor did I to the other patrons who had by now managed to snap themselves out of their stupor enough to enjoy the prospect of a fight, barely even hearing their sick and mocking glee at the thought of seeing a scrawny pegasus beat down to the ground by three burly thugs.
I did not care!
A great heat filled my chest, alien and terrifying that made my whole body shake furiously to contain it. Thoughts whirled in my mind, crazed and erratic until only one stood apart.
There was no stopping this.
He wanted violence? Then I would give him violence.
With a sudden leap, I was on him once more. My hooves met flesh, cruel and fast, spraying his blood all over my face.
It was only after almost half a dozen blows that I felt a searing pain in my left side and right wing.
One of his friends had given me a bone crunching blow to the ribs, hard enough to knock me off the stallion whose face I had been pummelling, but not enough to cause me to stop. The white-hot burning pain in my wing on the other hoof was from the yellow earth-pony, having bitten down hard on my wing in an attempt to drag me off his comrade.
As he tugged, I felt feathers starting to tear off. That was enough to make me turn to face him, and, lying on my side, land a sharp blow to the joint of his foreleg.
It bent… the wrong way.
His deafening shriek suddenly made the other customers realise that the situation was quickly getting out of control, causing most of them to, in a rather useless and ineffective fashion, totter out of the establishment on shaky limbs in an attempt of stealth.
Suddenly, I was knocked back. The green stallion had taken advantage of my distraction to lodge his hind hooves straight into my stomach.
The back of my head hit a nearby table with enough force to make me see stars. I couldn't hear, either from my battle frenzy or a very possible concussion, but, as my vision slowly returned, I saw two things.
First, the unicorn had managed to get back on his feet. The look on his face was manic. His whole muzzle had been horribly bent out of shape during the fight, but as he stood there, keeping his balance against the bar, a wild grin formed on his lips.
Second was a sickly glow in the corner of my eye. I turned my head just in time to see the broken bottle, gripped in a mud-green aura of magic, hurtle towards me at lightning speed.
I tried to dodge… Too late.
Tremendous, excruciating pain flared across my face as my vision went dark.
I fell back, screaming in agony as my limbs thrashed wildly as if trying to physically fend off the pain.
A hazy lightness took hold of my body and mind. Slowly it crept, deeper and deeper until all I could hear from the depths of my fleeting consciousness was a word.
A single word.
Traitor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A sharp spasm shook my entire body as thunder rumbled just outside the window, causing my wings to tense up and, subsequently, toss me out of bed in a tangle of feathers and blankets.
I groaned.
Lying on the floor with one eye open, I watched as a blinding flash of lightning filled my small room once again. Had the weather ponies no pity? For almost a full week, the storm had led on. Was a bit of sunlight too much to ask?
Moments passed as the memories of this night’s dream slowly crept back into my mind like wicked poison. It happened almost every night, sometimes a different nightmare, but always I would wake, sweaty and trembling, unable to go back to sleep in fear of the terrors it would bring.
This one was the worst.
With a low snarl, I got to my feet and shook the blanket from my back.
My hooves clicked softly on the tiled floor as I made my way to the window and watched the horizon blush with predawn colours even through the thick coat of storm clouds.
I felt relieved to see the sun rising, happy that I had managed to sleep for most of the night this time.
With a heavy sigh, I made my way back to the nightstand beside my bed and lit the half-consumed candle that sat upon it, watching the small flame flicker gently in the dim light of dawn.
I looked around. Nothing felt familiar here, in this small room above a dusty old shop. It had been nearly two weeks since my return to Canterlot, after almost five years of absence.
I shuddered lightly.
The sounds of the streets alone were enough to cause me discomfort, not to mention the population.
I brought a hoof to my face, lightly trailing the scars running across my muzzle to the edge of my right eye. Who could live in a place like this?
Shaking my head to clear those unpleasant thoughts, I made my way to sink on the far side of the room and splashed water onto my face. I needed more than that, possibly a nice warm shower, or a week-long bath; unfortunately, the old stallion that owned the shop downstairs had gruffly informed me that since I would not be staying long, there was no need for him to bother hooking up the hot water talisman.
Lazy old bastard.
Feeling my mane with a hoof was enough to inform me of how ruffled it had become from my turbulent sleep, not that it needed more than a light sneeze in my general direction to look like I had just flown through a tornado, so I set to work trying to smooth it down.
Cutting it short, so far, had not been one of my brightest ideas, because now, instead of falling to the side of my neck in an unruly mess, it curled upwards and stuck out at odd angles on its way to the spot between my ears.
Nope, not happening today. I gave up.
Instead of fruitlessly fighting my mane, I turned my attention to the heavy chest at the foot of the bed. Lifting the lid, I gazed at the gleaming dress armour within.
My hoof traced the intricate designs carved into the breastplate and finally rested on the red crystal star inlaid in its centre.
The armour was simple and lacked a helmet, making it clearly unfit for battle, but a thing of beauty nonetheless. Humbler in shape than a Royal Guards, it only covered the chest, back and descended just slightly onto the flanks to leave the wearers cutie-mark visible. The shoes also lacked the three standard spikes on the front of the hooves, merely settling for one.
I started taking out each separate parts before sliding them on one by one. The shoes were a snug fit, but the rest of the armour rested awkwardly on my chest and back, mostly due to the fact that I was too thin to fill it up properly. Even tightening all the straps fully only resulted in it being just slightly less uncomfortable, and the thing was damn heavy too.
Adjusting the weight of my barding with a shrug, I decided it was time to head out.
The day I had set off for Canterlot, I had brought nothing more with me than what I was now wearing, a tightly rolled up parchment and a small bag of bits, which I stored in my saddlebag before tossing it over my haunches.
I was finally ready to leave my temporary home, hopefully forever.
Slipping out the door and locking it, I headed down the stairs and slid the key under the shop door before stepping into the street.
The cold immediately bit at my face, and bitter gusts of wind sent my mane aflutter.
I looked to the skies and saw the rolling clouds rush above. Other ponies were out about their business, even at this early hour, but not many. Winter would soon wrap Equestria in its icy white coat and I could feel it in the air.
A couple of brave pegasi flew overhead, veering through bursts of harsh winds. I watched them pass and thought of my heavy armour, weighing me down.
After a moment of deliberation, I opted for flight. I didn’t want to be late.
A quick trot up the street and a strong push from my hind legs saw me soaring. I flapped hard and reached the rooftops.
The wind was fiercer up high and made me unstable, but it would take more than a tough breeze to throw me.
I could see the whole city from up here. The Royal palace was to my right, standing proud atop its hill, facing Equestria. The noble’s houses and manors were not too far away from its gates and after that the homes of more common ponies.
I tilted my wings and changed course. I needed to get to the training ground just outside of Canterlot, almost at the base of the mountain.
After a few minutes the city was behind me and I was soon to reach the wide plateau that had been dug straight out of the side of the fell.
The flight had been short, but when I landed, I was panting heavily from the weight of my armour. This would not do. I needed to be stronger if I ever wanted to fight for Equestria.
I trotted towards the small building standing at the entrance of the grounds and walked into the reception hall. A bored looking stallion sat at the front desk, fiddling with a pen. He raised his head slowly at my approach.
I dug out the parchment from my saddlebag and hoofed it to the receptionist. The orange stallion quickly scanned the document, having obviously read it a dozen times today and slid it back to me.
“Welcome to the Canterlot training field. Please head through the double doors to your right and gather with the other recruits.” he said, in a stony monotone voice.
I nodded and followed his instructions.
This led me to the vast pitch I had seen from the sky. There awaited a few other ponies like myself, most clad in the same bronze suit of armour.
There seemed to be very different sorts here today, and several appeared rather out of place for military recruits. Some were much too young in my eyes, no more than fillies and colts, and others had clearly left their fighting days far behind them.
On the other hoof, there were others who seemed to fit right in, mainly the dark-purple mountain of a pony, impatiently digging his massive hoof into the ground.
I also noted that very few of them were unicorns. Almost half were pegasi, and of the twenty odd present, only two were unicorns, the dark-purple stallion being one of them along with a tiny, skittish looking blue mare.
Trotting slowly, I made my way to the mismatched group.
Once at their level, I stopped, deciding to stand to the big plum unicorns left.
The stallion looked even more colossal than he had from afar, the tip of my ears just about clearing his jawline. I also noted the grey gemstone mark that adorned his flank, making me puzzle at its hidden meaning.
He gave me a quick, indifferent glance before turning his head towards the field once more, huffing irately.
I looked about the different faces. Some stood sullen, alone. Others huddled together, exchanging quick words of greeting and a few of the pegasi that seemed to know each other had assembled slightly apart from the group.
“You from Canterlot, Stick?” a deep, gruff voice suddenly asked.
I turned around, bristling.
“Stick?”
My ears flattened as I looked up into his eyes.
The huge pony shrugged. “Well, not exactly large, are you?” He simply said. “So, are you from Canterlot?” he asked again.
“Wha… No, I’m from the Dappled Shores, to the North-West.”
The purple stallion turned his head to look at me with an unexpectedly gentle smile on his face. “Ah, nice place I hear. Though it seems to rain a lot, no?”
I nodded once, somewhat confused by his sudden change in demeanour.
He let out a light chuckle at my obvious perplexity.
“I’m Smoke Gem by the way.” He suddenly said, turning to face me and extended a massive hoof in greeting.
I cocked my head back in surprise, but extended my own hoof in return, giving his a single, firm shake before answering “Orion Featherspark. A pleasure.”
“Huh.” He murmured as he looked me over. “Now, I understand the stars, but why the music notes?”
Surprised, I turned my head to look at the mark on my flank: two beamed sixteenth notes overlapping a moon and three stars.
I turned back to look at the curious gaze on Smoke Gem’s face, getting slightly unnerved by this unexpected flow of questions.
Sighing, I decided to humour the big stallion. “I was a musician.” I simply said, my eyes trailing downwards.
There were some things I didn’t want to think about, things that would only bring pain every time I would reflect back on them. My talent. The thing that made me special, that was supposed to drive my whole life now brought me only sorrow and misery. How sad was that?
For a time neither of us said a word, but after a few seconds I felt a gentle nudge on my shoulder, making me look up.
My eyes met Smoke’s, his gentle smile slightly saddened.
“Chin up. You’ll get back to it once this whole mess is over, Won’t ya?”
I frowned slightly, but could not help the small smile tugging at the corners of my mouth . “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Smoke gave me another nudge, more enthusiastic this time, and turned back to face the training field.
“Oh, here they come.”
I followed his gaze and saw that, indeed, a group of ponies were heading our way after having apparently exited the large building on the far side of the training ground.
The troop was composed of six individuals, all wearing the black dress armour reserved for military officers, and all save one were wearing helmets; a burly, white earth-pony with an orange-and-grey mane.
The white stallion led his soldiers to the small throng of recruits who had hastily started to form up at their approach.
The seasoned soldiers halted a few feet from us, chests pumped and eyes like steel.
He stepped forward, his gaze scanning the assembly before him, his eyes never lingering on any particular individual.
Then, with a sudden roar, his voice boomed across the field. “Welcome to the Canterlot military training grounds!” Some of the trainees jumped at his bellow, but the white stallion went on. “I am Colonel Ember Streak. All of you present today have decided to answer the call to defend our country, and for that I am grateful.” The colonel’s stare was like ice, but suddenly acquired a wicked glow as he lowered his voice. “Unfortunately, most of you won’t last a week.”
I spied a young stallion to my left gulp nervously.
“The enemy is strong, expertly trained, and pitiless. They will, under no circumstance, go easy on you, so neither shall I. I will make you suffer, and every night before you fall asleep, sore from head to hoof, you will wish you’d never set hoof in my base. Understood?”
A few ponies nodded fretfully, others shuffled in place, clearly not at ease. I looked up at Smoke only to see a ferocious smile plastered on his face as he watched the colonel.
I grinned discreetly at his fiery assurance and kept looking around. Not all the other ponies had been deterred by the colonel’s words. But, to my surprise, it was the small, light-blue unicorn that caught my attention.
She stood two ponies over to my left, chest pumped and fierce determination shining in her dark eyes.
The little mare was pretty, and definitely not the pony one would picture as a soldier, but, in that instant, she looked no more out of place than Smoke did.
I felt an odd sense of fondness at the sight of the blue unicorn, amazed that even ponies like her could stand so resolute in their intent to fight for their home, for what mattered.
I turned back to face the Colonel, a smile matching Smoke’s on my lips, and even through the tight clenching in my chest I stood straighter, ready to face what the world had to throw at me.
Give me your best shot!