//------------------------------// // Part 15 - Sentry of the Sky // Story: Before the Storm: The Rise of Firefly // by Firesight //------------------------------// Though true motherhood was years away for me, that didn’t stop me from becoming a mother figure to many. Indeed, one lesson of motherhood I had to learn long before I became one was there came a time you couldn’t protect your loved ones any longer, when you had to let them fly or fall by the strength of their own wings. Such was the case for Wind Whistler, and watching her enter basic was an agony almost too much to bear, knowing what awaited her. Doubly so for the fact she was doing it all for me. I loved her for it, but ’twas still very hard to let go, and keeping myself from not interfering in her training or future career was one of the hardest things I’ve done. But at the same time, I truly did want her at my side again, and the only way she could was for her to undergo the same hardship and ordeals I had. Yet before that could happen, there was one other matter that demanded attention; a pony to whom I’d made a half-jested promise who was now looking to collect. A pony I look back on fondly, a future Bolt Knight whose name and deeds are now carved into a granite monument at Fort Spur. A pony that would, in time, prove one old adage beyond all doubt… That it is not how we die that defines us, but how we live. And as I first learned then, he loved life and lived it freely and fully, in time teaching me to do the same. Return to Spur By early April, I was starting to wonder whether the real milestones in my life were not my birthdays or battles, but my visits to Fort Spur. Six months there for basic had forged me into a soldier. The visit over Hearth’s Warming and the talk with Windshear had set me firmly on the path to being a commander and warrior. And this time…? Now I was once again returning a changed mare, with a border base and battalion of soldiers I was responsible for, to say nothing of a young gryphon I had become a surrogate parent to. I had to chuckle to myself at that—my feelings towards him were, if anything, motherly, given I was now fretting over leaving him and hoped for the chance to show off some of his artwork. I knew he’d be safe with Fell Flight, Swift Strike and the Celestial Guardsponies there protecting him, but that didn’t keep me from worrying. Then again, maybe worrying about him would keep me from worrying too much about Wind Whistler. Was she ready? Had she trained? To my surprise, as the small naval transport docked and I disembarked, I found an honor guard waiting for me comprised of all the base training and administrative staff, Sergeant Major Windshear in front and Lieutenant Ironsides himself calling the formation to attention. “Present… ARMS!” he called out as I stepped off the carriage, not dropping the salute until I returned it, cueing the assembled clerks and instructors to do the same. “Welcome back… Sergeant First Class Firefly!” he greeted me, taking obvious pains to say my full rank, two stripes above the ones I’d originally left with. “Perchance you wouldst forgive the pomp and circumstance, but ’tis not often a recent graduate returns so esteemed in such a short time.” “Thank you, sir,” I saluted him myself this time, as was his due as both officer and base commander. “’Tis certain I was not expecting such a welcome,” I told him gratefully, genuinely touched by the gesture. A rare smile cracked his face. “Methinks you’ve become quite a source of pride here, Sergeant,” he told me, returning the salute. “As word of your exploits have spread, we’ve now got more recruits than we know what to do with… both stallions and mares.” He arched an eyeridge at me. “And many existing Guardsponies are now requesting assignment to combat posts. We’re having a hard time accommodating them all.” I blinked at that. “Oh?” “’Tis true,” Windshear spoke next, quickly receiving my salute in turn. “’Twould seem you’ve captured the hearts and imaginations of many ponies, Sergeant, both in the Guard and out. Many now seek to follow in your wingbeats.” There was real pride in his voice, and why shouldn’t there be? I was his protege in all but name, and ’twould be a lie to say that I did not look upon him as my surrogate father. “No less than eight mares are entering the next class, and they’re not all pegasi.” I wasn’t sure if I liked that idea or not, given I would not wish some of my experiences on my worst enemies, let alone my best friend and sister. “I have come for one such mare in particular.” I informed them, slightly needlessly. My purpose in visiting had been part of my orders, and given military obsession with having everything in triplicate, they’d most certainly received a copy as well. “My friend and sister.” “Indeed,” Lieutenant Ironsides nodded gravely, the gruff and massive earth pony betraying at least one small moment of softness. “I do not envy your task, but I will leave the question of her training between you and Sergeant Major Windshear.” He nodded to his left, where my mentor had gone stone-faced. “In the meantime you are granted full flight of the base, and you are more than welcome to stay for the first day of basic if you wish.” “I thank you for your consideration, sir,” I saluted him again, bowing my head in gratitude. “But methinks for now, I would like some time to speak with the Sergeant Major…?” * * * * * The flight back to Windshear’s office was spent in silence, both of us trying to determine what we were going to say. We made some small talk to start—he wanted to know whether some of the stories he’d heard were true, like had I really befriended a gryphon teen? Yes, I told him, showing him his artwork and inviting him to visit sometime and meet him for himself—and then shared some tea before getting down to business. He was characteristically blunt, cutting me off before I could begin my own carefully rehearsed speech. “Sergeant… before you begin, I must warn you that I’m not about to give any recruit special or favorable treatment, no matter who they are—not even the adoptive sister of my most prized graduate,” he warned me, his tone gentle but firm. “The Guard has standards, and if we start watering them down for friends or relatives, before long we would start doing it for everypony… and thus lose our edge and that very thing which makes us Guardsponies. You of all ponies should know that training from Tartarus is the price that must be paid to reach our levels of ability, and not everypony is capable of them. Fewer than one in three, in fact, even after careful screening of recruit candidates. I do not know if your friend is one of them, but be assured I will, in the end, treat her no differently than I did you.” I closed my eyes and nodded. To have him state his position so firmly was actually a relief of sorts, alleviating the guilt I would inevitably feel over not being able to convince him otherwise. Then again, ’twas certain I knew he was right, and I had no intention of asking him to go easy on her. “Quite the contrary, sir,” I told him, going downcast for a moment. “’Tis the truth that in fact, I wanted to make sure you didn’t go easy on her,” I told him, raising my gaze back to meet his, letting him see the pain in my eyes at the admission. “I do not want her to have to face what I did unless she is well and truly equal to it. I would spare her the pain of death and killing I felt if I could, and… ’tis certain that part of me hopes she does not make it through,” I admitted, feeling tears well in my eyes despite myself. The Sergeant Major looked taken aback for a moment, then reached out to grasp my hoof, considering carefully what to say. “Methinks you can be forgiven. Have I ever mentioned that I have two daughters in the Corps, and a son who wishes to join the Guard?” he gave me a wan smile. “’Twas certain I tried to discourage them as well, but they were determined to follow in their father’s wingbeats and do their duty to Equestria. And if my recently herded son sires a son of his own, ’tis certain to be one of the worst moments of my life when I watch him walk through these gates.” He shook his head. “I would not wish what I have experienced on any of them either, but at the same time, ’tis not my place to deny it. ’Tis their lives, and if they wish to offer them up for Equestria, ’tis their right to do so. And methinks that holds true whether we are talking about my own beloved foals, or your best friend and sister.” I gave a sigh. I knew he was right, but that didn’t make this any easier. “Then in the end, all I would ask, Sergeant Major… is that you wouldst treat her no differently than you didst me, and perchance you wouldst be willing to give occasional updates on her progress?” I offered cautiously. He looked at me and nodded slowly. “Methinks that can be arranged. Just don’t expect a letter right away. ’Twould take me some time to get a sense of her and whether she’s Armored Guardspony material or not. In the meantime, ’tis certain I will try my hardest to wash her out, as I do all recruits,” he told me point-blank. “Do you know the Guardspony trainer credo, Sergeant? ’Tis that we either break our recruits… or make them unbreakable.” “I see…” I didn’t quite know what else to say at that moment. Somehow, ‘thank you’ didn’t quite seem appropriate for a drill instructor who was promising to put my best friend and sister through the same Tartarus he had me and then some. My brooding thoughts were interrupted by another pointed question. “Tell me, Firefly… do you think she can make it through?” The Sergeant Major addressed me by name as he often did when he was being grave, watching my reaction carefully. I considered the question, then slumped. “I… don’t know, sir. ’Tis certain the version of her I saw over the winter holidays could not, but her mother has been training her in the meantime.” He arched an eyeridge. “And who is her mother?” His eyes widened when I spoke Silent Night’s name. “I had no idea…” I had the distinct pleasure of seeing the Sergeant Major caught off guard for once. “I worked with her Black Lance team once, at Outpost Omega. She was… good. Very good,” his expression turned brooding for a moment and he glanced at the Red Talon trophies on his wall. “Well, then. If she is her mother’s daughter, ’tis certain she has it in her. The question is, can it be brought out in just the three months she had to train her?” I wasn’t sure myself, but I feared the worst—I’d trained for years to join the Guard, and still barely made it through. Then again, ’twas certain I never had an instructor of her quality, either. “Methinks I have no answer, sir. At least, not until I see her.” “Then perchance ’tis time you do so, Sergeant.” His grin turned wry. “Perchance you should spend as much time as possible with her over the next three days. Because once Friday arrives and those gates close behind her, it may be many months before you see her again.” “I believe I will, sir,” I agreed, getting up to leave. “Thank you for your time and indulgence, Sergeant Major.” I gave him a salute. “Anytime, Sergeant,” he rejoined, returning my respect with a salute of his own. “Oh, but before I forget…” He caught me just as I flared my wings to leave, intending to depart out his large open window. “Sir?” I looked back. “Methinks there’s one other thing you should know.” The look on his face had turned amused. “Nothing air-shaking, but be warned that Sky Sentry did indeed graduate a Corporal. You were his motivation throughout training; he pushed himself very hard and he’s now quite good. In the end, he was able to take every trainer short of me, and I didn’t beat him by much. He more than earned his armor and rank, and ’tis quite certain he will now be looking to collect on your promise…” his voice trailed off as he gave me an askance and even suggestive look. I blushed hard. “’Tis hardly the time, sir,” I told him, realizing I just picked up another complication for the visit, one I definitely didn’t need. His amusement only grew at that. “Perchance not. But methinks you can’t put off dealing with him indefinitely, Sergeant. And ‘tis certain he does know you’re here, given the news reports regarding the entry of your sister into the Guard. So expect him to find you before he leaves on his first assignment.” I grimaced. It wasn’t that I didn’t find him a promising soldier or didn’t think I could take him, it was that I really didn’t want to deal with him right then. “I’ll be ready sir,” I promised him, thinking that if it came to a duel, I could at least show the now-former Recruit Jester how much better he had yet to get. A Path Retraced The last time I took the long walk to the base gates, I’d been departing in pain and humiliation from my defeat at the hooves of the Sergeant Major. Unlike that time, I could have flown, but perchance I just wanted to walk in my own hoofsteps there again, remembering what I’d been through… And reminding myself what Wind Whistler might shortly be going through. The last two times I exited the base, I had found Wind Whistler there, ready with a comforting hug and sorely-needed shoulder to cry on. I loved her for it, and what now hurt me most of all was knowing that she would likely need one herself during her low points of training, but be unable to have it. She was indeed waiting for me again as I passed the gates, Silent Night at her side. But whatever fears she was feeling, she kept them well-hidden. “Welcome home, my sister.” She embraced me as her mother watched, smiling. We held the hug for the better part of half a minute before I finally broke it. “’Tis good to see you, dear sister. And you too… Mother,” I hugged Silent Night next, thinking of how strange the word sounded to my ears. I’d tried hard to get in the habit of calling her that whilst on leave over the winter holidays, but ’twas still a difficult thing to get used to. “Greetings, Daughter.” She returned the embrace, then stood back to size me up. “I see the weight of additional battles and burden of command in your eyes now. You bear them well,” she offered. “Thanks in large part to you,” I bowed my head, then turned to Wind Whistler, who stood tall before me, offering herself up for inspection. She was definitely different than the last time I saw her, and not just because of her close-cropped mane—apparently her mother had insisted on being as military as possible during their training. Over the previous three months she had lost most of her fat and gotten far more trim; she looked like an athlete if anything now. Her eyes were tired, but I daresay resolute; I could tell from long experience with her that whatever her mother had put her through, she had not wavered in her determination to join the Guard. ’Twas both heartening and frightening to me that she was ready and willing to do this, and quite soon. “You’ve changed, my friend,” I told her with a glance at Silent Night. “You are looking far more a soldier than you were.” “She’s ready, Firefly,” Silent Night proclaimed in no small amount of pride, putting her wing over her daughter. “I gave her a modified Black Lance basic training program; some of the same regimens I got at Coltanado. Had her up at 5am every morning for conditioning work and weapons drills. Lunch, then actual combat training, including plenty of sparring and grappling. ’Twas hard for her at first, but she persevered, and methinks she can now take whatever Armored Guard basic can throw at her. Feel free to test her yourself if you don’t believe me,” she offered with a sly grin. I gained one of my own. “Perchance I will… but first, may we catch up over dinner?” I suggested. “Oh, and… is father here?” I looked around hopefully. Wind Whistler shook her head. “He’s on maneuvers at Stalliongrad, my sister. ’Twould seem he convinced his superiors to hold an actual exercise. He does send his regards, though. He asked me to tell you that perchance he will ‘show up at Epsilon with his entire battle group when you least expect it’ so he can visit you properly.” I had a stifle a laugh at that—not just one, but three naval airships showing up unannounced on my doorstep? “Tell him that the thought is appreciated. And that I would pay many bits to actually see that happen.” The Navy being mobile AND useful? THAT would be the day… I didn’t say as we headed off to their house, where Silent Night had prepared a room for my stay. * * * * * Dinner was, once again, quite succulent. Silent Night’s cooking skills were the equal of her combat ones, and she served up another magnificent feast. I told her she was spoiling me for canteen food at Epsilon, and she replied that “If you think base food is bad, try the Lances’ field rations or having to eat purloined gryphon food in enemy territory.” She stuck out her tongue. “Their scones are so tough as to be nearly inedible, and they like putting meat in everything.” “Methinks I can imagine.” I reacted less badly to that now than I would have before seeing Gavian eat his fish… and Fell Flight occasionally joining him! I’d heard somewhere that thestrals had a predatory streak of their own and could eat meat, but I hadn’t asked her about it. To each their own, but certainly I would never try such a thing myself! “’Tis hard to procure the meals our young gryphon friend needs for it.” They both looked up at my words. “So ’tis true what the news scrolls say, then? That you have adopted a young gryphon colt?” Silent Night asked, somewhat skeptically. “Methinks that ‘adopted’ might be too strong a term, but… yes!” I grinned, going on to swiftly relate the story, starting from his presence in the first raid to his return to Epsilon by the EIS. They listened intently and were very impressed by what they heard, doubly so when I showed them some of his works. “A gryphon artist…” Silent Night shook her head in wonder as she examined his drawings. He’d gotten steadily better with quill and paint since he’d started practicing with them; ’twas still slightly wondrous to me to see him hold a brush or quill in his talons and move them so precisely. “I would never have believed ’twas even possible, let alone befriending one of them.” “Aye,” I replied, feeling another moment of parental pride. “’Twould seem gryphon honor is real. After we saved him from the Ravens, he wanted to help us and told us everything he could. His information averted an all-out attack on Equestria, and as a reward Celestia not only granted him citizenship but obtained for him all the art supplies he could ever ask for. ’Tis not just that, though—we are now schooling him in everything from the Equestrian language to self-defense so he may yet fully live his life, and ’tis well earned. We enjoy a time of peace now thanks to him.” “Truly?” Silent Night shook her head again in amazement. “I might like to meet him, if he will spare us further raids, both theirs and ours.” “Perchance that could be arranged. And ’twould seem he will, as the border is very quiet now,” I assured them. “Celestia laid down the law with them, and it worked—she proved she could lay their armies waste if she wished, and after seeing her power they have evacuated their forward bases and bulk of their forces from the continent, perchance never to return.” I sensed the lie of my own statement as soon as I said it, yet still had no idea how wishful that thinking truly was. The War to Come It had been scarcely two weeks since our fateful meeting with the empress, and yet already, the former-Consul-turned-Prelate’s new plans were in motion. The military bases and magic labs all around the Empire were abuzz with activity. Whilst I and my fellow Talaeus helped train our recently returned forces for the battles to come, rebuilding the mock-ups of Equestrian towns and outposts we’d had to abandon on their continent, the Imperial Magi were particularly busy with experimental spells being tested and magic theory being alternately proven and disproven as they tried to find ways to counter pony weather control, and perchance even Celestia herself. Some of what they were trying were simply contingency plans. The mages in the south were experimenting to see if their wind, fire and ice spells could affect the weather, the idea being to try to find a way to mitigate the damage from a superstorm strike like the one that destroyed Raptor Base. From what little I’d heard, they were not having much success, as the storms that haunted the southern plains in early spring proved much too large and powerful for a single mage or even a dozen of them to truly affect. The best they’d been able to report was that there was some suggestion they could at least slightly weaken them by cooling the cloud base, and they’d made at least one surprising discovery—that they could somewhat increase a storm’s severity; the rate of lightning, wind, hail and rainfall generated by adding more ice to their upper reaches. Their efforts were appreciated by the Prelate, who noted to me with no little satisfaction that perchance we would be able to make use of naturally occurring storms and weather patterns in the war to come. ’Twould be turning nature itself into an instrument of the Empire as opposed to the unnatural and artificial weather the ponies used, thus turning their own greatest strength against them. Along those lines, he’d also ordered the development of a new magical attack inspired by Celestia herself. “Twould be rather fitting if we could make her rue her own display,” I told the Prelate when he’d outlined the idea to me, sending more mages to work on it. I had not seen their progress yet, but they’d reported that what the Prelate asked was possible, but control of such a phenomenon with wind and fire spells was proving very difficult at best and might be just as dangerous to us as the Equestrians. ’Twas only a secondary effort, however. Their main focus was trying to see if Magus Knights working in tandem could mass their power to counter Celestia. Results were not particularly promising there either, as synchronizing their spells proved very difficult and it might well take the entire Magus legion to add up to an alicorn princess’ power. Then again, if the Prelate’s grandest design came to pass, ’twould not be necessary. Military activity was not the only thing happening. The Imperial Diplomats were also quite busy as we were already feteing some unlikely representatives of normally hostile or at least neutral races, laying the groundwork for what we would need from them. Some were easily bought off, others were not, but the Prelate and the Empire we served were nothing if not persistent. Treaties would be hashed out in due time, prices for aid would be agreed on, and ’twas increasingly certain we would have the invasion routes and improved weaponry necessary to surprise the ponies when the time came. But invasion routes were only one of the things we needed. “I have a task for you, my friend,” the Prelate told me one night after dinner where we had entertained our latest guests. “A very difficult and dangerous one; one ’tis quite possible you will not survive.” His eyes betrayed a bare moment of worry for me. I had been part of that entertainment, defeating the head of the Minotaur ambassador’s personal guard in single combat to his great surprise. His bipedal form was unfamiliar, but easily overcome; in the end, he’d fallen quickly to my strength and speed, surrendering when I’d forced back his blade against his own throat. I had not hurt him, of course—’twould hardly do to potentially alienate our guests like that—but respect was won, and honor offered for it; negotiations had proceeded apace after that. “I am ready to serve you and the Empire however I may, sir,” I replied, baring my throat and making a fist with my right talons before pounding them into my left shoulder. “And it does both me and the Empress great honor, Tribune Kaval,” he returned the salute. “In short, I require you to leave your training tasks behind and travel far to the east.” ’Twas then I knew what he was about to ask, and ’twould be a lie to say the thought did not send a chill of fear through me. I had faced but one of their kind before and barely won; now I was being asked to journey to their very homelands and propose an alliance they were, at best, unlikely to grant. “We will not send you there unprepared or with nothing to offer. Study these materials well,” he admonished me, passing me a storage gem and a series of attached scrolls, including one signed by the Empress herself. “In these should be your orders and everything you need. You know my plan, and thus you know what we need from them. “But I would not lie to you, my friend. There is no guarantee of success and what I am asking of you I would ask of no other but our finest warrior. Like us, they respect strength, and you are the strongest we have.” “You honor me, sir,” I told him, baring my throat and saluting him a second time. “I will study tonight, and leave tomorrow morning, at first light…” The first two days I had with Wind Whistler went far too quickly. I did indeed test her, and found her far better than before, just as her mother had promised. She couldn’t beat me in a spar, but she held her own surprisingly well, not just for the well-toned physique she had gained, but for simply knowing me and how I fought. I surprised her a couple times with new techniques I’d learned from Swift Strike and Stormrunner, but she always adjusted quickly; in truth she was now even better than me at reading attacks and an opponent’s intent. All that she was really lacking was the requisite speed and seasoning, but should she gain them, she would become a dangerous fighter indeed. I did not drill her too hard, not wanting to potentially tire or injure her a mere day or two before she started basic, but I did satisfy myself that her mother had been good to her word and my adoptive sister was indeed ready for what she faced. When I remarked as much to Silent Night, she told me to pay a visit to the Black Lance training grounds at Coltanado someday. “Ask Swift Strike about what we went through,” she told me with a grin, giving me a letter for him. “You wouldst forgive me a moment of boasting, but ’tis certain neither the Guard nor the Corps has anything on us.” “Did you volunteer for the Lances?” I asked her, curious as I stayed up late with her the second night of my stay, sharing our fears and worries over Wind Whistler, who we’d sent to bed early in hopes she would be well rested for her entry into basic. “Nay,” she shook her head. “They came to me. I was recruited by veteran members, who look for… certain qualities. If they want you, they will recruit you themselves.” “Or else?” I teased lightly. She shook her head and chuckled. “Hardly. We have had ponies turn us down before. One of them was your own Fell Flight.” She arched an eyeridge at me. “After her daring rescue of captured ponies in gryphon territory, I personally asked her to join, as her night vision, advanced combat ability and sheer determination would make her an excellent asset. She turned me down flat,” Silent Night chuckled, sipping her cider. I blinked. “’Tis the first I have heard of this. She never mentioned that to me before. Why did she say no?” I had to know. Silent Night stared off into the deepening dusk, remembering. “Her reason was simple: that given her thestral blood, for her to join the Lances would only deepen the stereotypes of thestrals as untrustworthy and secretive creatures of shadow, and she did not want that. Her exact words to me were: ‘If me and my kin are to be truly accepted, we must step into the light, not fight in the dark. I have had to work hard for my acceptance in the Corps, and I would not do anything that would jeopardize it. I will serve freely and openly, not as an assassin from the shadows!’” She affected my second’s voice as she spoke. I chuckled at that. “Methinks that sounds like her,” I granted. “She is a fine soldier and second, and one I have no qualms about leaving in charge in my absence. And ’tis certain she has her wish now. She is greatly respected amongst the rank-and-file, and I would have had a far more difficult time assuming command without her.” “’Tis certain she’s a superb soldier, Firefly, and one you should be very happy to have,” my adoptive mother agreed. “Ask her to tell you about her eye operation sometime and the struggles she had getting the Corps to do it. From all reports, ’tis quite a story.” She refilled my glass. “I shall,” I promised, and we polished off the entire small keg of cider we were sharing before heading to bed ourselves. Sky Sentry We took it easy the final full day before basic. We visited our old haunts much as we’d done over the winter holidays, though I found myself a little surprised and uncertain over the attention I was garnering. ’Twould seem everypony in town now knew me and wanted to talk to me or bump hooves, and flattered though I was, ’twas starting to get a bit annoying. Perchance ’twas inevitable, then, that we ended up spending our final evening at the Aching Drum, where I was the toast of the patrons, the bar giving everyone a free drink in my honor. I accepted their accolades as graciously as I could, but did request some space, pointing out that I wanted to spend as much time with Wind Whistler as possible before the next day. They left us alone after that, though I did have to put down one half-drunk pegasus mare; a former and failed Corps trainee who wanted to know how much flank I’d offered to Captain Typhoon to get my post and rank. But a year earlier I might have lost my temper at such an ugly insinuation, but now my only response was an arched eyeridge and a polite request to leave me and my sister alone. ’Twas only when she called me ‘orphan trash’ and Wind Whistler a ‘naval brat’ that I formally challenged her, and subsequently knocked her out with a single blow to the appreciative hoofstomps of the other patrons. She was easy. The next challenge to follow was decidedly not as a Guardspony pegasus stallion strode in wearing a brand new day uniform and corporal stripes. He was accompanied by several other recent graduates, though there wasn’t anything hostile about their manner. I’d met their leader once before, though he was almost unrecognizable now in his uniform and grey fur dye; ’twas only from his rank insignia, general build and Windshear’s warning that I knew instantly who he must be. “Corporal Sky Sentry,” I acknowledged, returning the salutes offered me. As I wasn’t technically on leave but a ‘fact-finding tour’ according to my orders (clearly, Captain Typhoon was not without a sense of humor!), I was still on duty and wearing my own day uniform, but not my armor. “Sergeant First Class Firefly.” He grinned, sizing me up. “With respect, methinks you know why I’m here, ma’am,” he told me as Wind Whistler looked back and forth between us in some confusion. “You know him?” she asked me. “We’ve… met,” I granted, somewhat warily. “Though I would hope he would understand that with my sister about to enter basic, I wish to spend as much time with her as I can and prefer not to be interrupted.” My arched eyeridge made clear I did not want to deal with him right then, though I didn’t make his dismissal an order. “And for that, you have my most fervent apologies, Miss Wind Whistler.” He made a sweeping bow before her like she was royalty as she watched him, bemused. “But I’ve already stayed away for two days and can wait no longer. I’m afraid that as I’m leaving on my first assignment tomorrow, if it doesn’t happen now, it doesn’t happen.” “If what doesn’t happen?” Wind Whistler asked, to some snickers from the other graduates behind him, all lower-ranked pegasi. “Methinks you should ask her,” one of them said, nodding to me. “With all due respect, ma’am, we were witnesses. And we all think he’s owed the chance to collect on your promise.” I couldn’t quite keep the blush from my face, a fact not lost on Wind Whistler as she started to put the pieces together, staring at me in some surprise. I couldn’t blame her—I’d never shown interest in stallions or romantic relationships before. “I believe, Corporal, that I promised you ‘the slightest chance’. I did not say ’twas automatic!” I reminded him, feeling somewhat flustered as we’d now attracted the attention of the entire pub. “So you did, ma’am,” he agreed easily, giving what little existed of his shorn mane a toss. “So you did. But… methinks I have a little proposition for you. A nice friendly challenge methinks you can guess the terms of.” I rubbed my eyes with a hoof, sensing I wasn’t going to be able to get out of this. Let that be a lesson to keep my muzzle shut next time! “Methinks I could just order you to leave.” My words brought a series of boos and other disapproving noises from the gallery, who were starting to pick up on what was happening. “Methinks you could, but you won’t.” His grin widened. “And not just because of your new fans or my ravishing good looks, ma’am…” he leaned in close, bearing his teeth in what was dangerously close to a disrespectful gesture to a superior, but the twinkle in his eyes somehow mitigated it. “But because you’ve never turned down a worthy challenge in your life, and you’re not about to start now. Because methinks you’re curious about how good I am, and because you want to show me how much better you are. So what say you, ma’am?” That actually elicited a smile from me, given ‘twould seem he’d actually taken the time to learn a little about me. But not enough if he actually believed he could beat me! “Very well, Corporal. You win. I say yes! Care to step outside…?” Duel in the Sky The last time I faced a duel outside the Aching Drum, it’d been a three-on-one fight facing a trio of drunken Guardsponies who were trying to cut my career short before it had even begun. I’d had no qualms about facing them, knowing full well I could take them and that as inebriated as they were, they were no match for me. But this time? I was facing a single but fully sober and very motivated opponent whose skill level was uncertain, but had to be quite good if he’d bested all the trainers short of the Sergeant Major himself. This time, the stakes were not my career, my rank, or even my reputation… It was simple pride and potentially surrendering myself to a stallion for the first time in my life; a fact not lost on Wind Whistler as she asked me somewhat uncertainly for the story behind what was happening. Sky Sentry and his fellow graduates were more than happy to fill her and everypony else in, though they did exaggerate on a couple points—I had most certainly not left him in a state of full excitement that first day of basic, nor had I promised him I would perform any specific acts! “I don’t know, ma’am… you did say he would have a chance to ‘tuck your tail’ if he made Corporal!” Private Corsair pointed out, to a series of whinnies and whistles from the large crowd watching. “So I did…” I admitted, blushing again at Wind Whistler’s shocked look. “Then is that the official terms of this duel?” I asked, arching an eyeridge at Sky Sentry. “No, ma’am,” he replied, baring his teeth in a grin again. “As it happens, I asked to be seconded to the Aerial Corps like you, and as a result I’ve been assigned to Outpost Delta for my first deployment—after a month of frontier training at Gamma, that is. If I win, I not only get you for all of tonight, but you put in to have me transferred… to Epsilon!” He now wore a look of eager anticipation as his friends and the civilian ponies around us whooped their approval. I shook my head and chuckled. Methinks ‘brazen’ didn’t even begin to describe this stallion! “And your herd and foals would think… what of this, exactly?” I asked him pointedly. To my surprise he gave a very nonchalant shrug. “I’m unattached, ma’am. I have a single colt born out of herdlock, now being taken care of by his mother’s new herd,” he admitted without shame, to some gasps from the crowd. “He’s six now, and for me, becoming a Guardspony was a matter of giving him pride in himself and a sire he could look up to… though methinks that I’d love for him to have a new herd mother he could as well.” He gave me a very cocky grin, one reminiscent of my own. I laughed. I couldn’t help it. This stallion clearly had no shame, and ’twould be a lie to say I wasn’t taking a genuine liking to him for it. Just like me, he broke the rules and pushed the boundaries, and he did so quite gleefully. “First rutting, and now you’re already talking about putting me in your herd? Methinks you’re quite ambitious, Corporal!” “Much like yourself, Ma’am,” he rejoined with a twinkle as he now faced me from across the courtyard, around which the spectators had formed a loose circle, some money already being exchanged for bets on the duel to come. “’Twould seem we have quite an audience now, so as you are the challenged party, ’tis your responsibility to state the rules and boundaries of our duel.” “Very well, Corporal,” I replied, starting to think I might actually enjoy this. “Methinks we’ll make it simple then. We fight strictly in the air with a hard ceiling of three hundred feet, and the first one to exceed that altitude or touch ground loses. We cannot go past the boundaries of the town square, and touching trees and buildings counts as ground, and thus, an automatic loss. Agreed?” I asked. I knew I was giving away my ground strength and grappling advantage by doing that, but it mattered not—I still ruled the skies, and after besting everypony from Windshear to Stormrunner to elite Gryphon Ravens, there was nary a chance a new graduate who hadn’t done any of those could beat me in my element. “Who am I to dispute the wishes of my superior?” he grinned and sketched me a salute, glancing at his six compatriots, who instantly took flight to station themselves around the periphery of our chosen battlefield, several placing clouds to mark the designated boundaries. They would be our witnesses and call any out-of-bounds or touching of the ground immediately, thus ending the duel. “The terms are agreeable. Miss Wind Whistler, wouldst you do the honors?” He nodded and bowed again to my friend and sister. Wind Whistler still looked somewhat stunned at the turn of events, but also amused as she watched our banter unfold. “Methinks you have gained a suitor, sister,” she told me as she stepped between us, a tone in her voice and glimmer in her eyes suggesting that she would never let me live it down. “’Twould seem you made him a promise, and one I must agree you owe him an opportunity to collect. And ’tis certain I would not wish to stand in his way,” she announced with a grin as she raised her hoof to signal the start of the bout and we both crouched, flaring our wings for a combat takeoff. “Combatants… begin!” she made a sharp downward slashing motion with her hoof. A cloud of dust erupted from beneath us as we both made a powerful downbeat with our wings, taking to the sky, trying to get higher quicker, so we could have the advantage of diving on each other. To my surprise, he equaled my initial altitude and reached the top of our duel arena just as fast as I did—even Stormrunner hadn’t been able to out-climb me! “Not bad,” I granted as he stared at me triumphantly from his hover, crossing his forearms and smirking. “But let’s see how well you dive! Catch me if you can… Recruit Jester!” He took the dig with a grin as his comrades laughed around us. “As my future commander wishes,” he grinned, then followed me as I dove hard for the deck again, barely eight feet off my tail. I led him down the same obstacle course I did Shadowslash so many months earlier, trying to lose him in the trees and alleyways… or failing that, at least get him to brush up against a balcony, roof, or building, at which point his defeat would be called by his fellow graduates, who were watching the duel from the air. But to my astonishment, despite his unfamiliarity with his surroundings, he dodged and weaved his way through the streets and alleyways effortlessly, even successfully evading the tree that had trapped Shadowslash, popping right over top of it and resuming his pursuit! Oh, he was good. He was matching me maneuver for maneuver, and the thought that he actually might catch me was sending a definite thrill through me as I saw him slowly close the distance. Well then. Perchance ’twas time to get serious! I put on a burst of speed and shot upwards, aiming for a low-hanging cloud, then used its underside as a springboard to reverse abruptly on him, diving hard. I saw his eyes widen and I truly thought I had him—I knew I had the advantage of position and enough momentum to knock the wind right out of him, or failing that, just disrupt his flight and enable me to loop back and strike the base of his wings, sending him plummeting. I didn’t expect that would endanger him—given our intense training, full-fledged Guardsponies couldn’t be crippled by such things—just stagger him, and enable me to throw him into a treetop. But I’d underestimated him a second time as he dodged me by proving his own ability to climb quickly was no fluke. He shot over top of me with a single strong wingbeat, causing me to miss, and suddenly I had to evade as he spun hard and aimed a hoof for the base of my wings! He missed, but ’twas was a little closer than I would have liked as I veered hard left and then circled back around to face him, as he hovered before me wearing a smug expression again. “You learned that trick from Windshear,” he tut-tutted me. “So did I. Afraid I’m not that easy, ma’am.” I grinned back, starting to feel something I so rarely did in spars—exhilarated. This stallion had earned his stripes and then some! “Quite all right, Corporal. Neither am I!” This time I charged him directly, deciding that I’d bring my strength to bear in a close-quarters aerial grapple—something only Windshear had ever been able to match me in. He looked surprised as he guessed my intent, then to my surprise, he made no effort to evade, meeting me head on… Quite literally as our heads collided, leaving us both seeing stars. We both staggered back briefly, our flights faltering for just a moment before our vision cleared, leaving us staring at each other. “Windshear…?” he asked me, pointing at the lump on his forehead. “Windshear,” I confirmed, rubbing my own growing bruise, then we both started laughing along with the other hovering pegasi. “He said I had a really hard head.” “Me too! He said he’d only ever met one pony with a thicker skull than mine… you!” I laughed again as I shook my head sharply, fully clearing it. “Flattery gets you nowhere, Corporal.” His cocky grin returned. “You know, he told me that, too!” he said, then ended our respite by making a sudden and very sharp, rolling pass at me, trying to keep me guessing where his blow would come. Now fully engaged in the duel, I countered instantly by spinning in the opposite direction—my own trick, not Windshear’s this time—completely throwing off whatever point he was aiming at. Of course, I couldn’t easily land a good blow on him myself by doing that, but ’twasn’t my intention. Instead, I waited until he had rotated away and then shot off away from him when he wasn’t looking. Realizing he’d been duped, he righted himself instantly and somewhat frantically searched above him, expecting he’d find me diving on him… only to realize I was in fact under him when my hoof struck him hard from below, impacting his vulnerable midsection. “OOF!” I heard the very wind knocked out of him and immediately pressed my advantage, flipping his hind hooves over his head and then bodily tossing him towards the ground. ’Twas certain my blow would have been enough to win any other fight, and in fact had in previous duels, but to my surprise he righted himself halfway down and broke his fall with his wings, trying to regain his bearings despite his pain and lack of air. Though impressed anew by his stamina and sheer determination, he was still staggered and I wasn’t about to let him regain his senses, ending the match by tackling him from behind and driving him into the ground belly first. He made one weak attempt to roll but I wasn’t having it, making sure he hit before me. There was silence around us as the dust from our impact cleared, me holding him in position to show how we’d landed. When the onlookers could see, there was a thunderous round of hoofstomps and his comrades declared me the victor. To his credit, he graciously conceded. “You win, ma’am,” he got up somewhat shakily and saluted me. “Thank you for the chance, at least. ’Twas an excellent maneuver and one hay of a way to trick me. I’ll remember it next time!” He flashed his cocky grin again despite his pain. I favored him with my own as I returned the salute. “You’re a strong and superb new Guardspony, Sky Sentry. ’Tis certain you earned your stripes,” I told him, and very much meant it—there were few veteran Guardsponies who could hold their own against me, let alone a fresh graduate! “You may not have earned the right to rut me, but be assured you have earned my respect.” I bowed my head fractionally to him. He chuckled at that. “’Twas certain I was hoping I’d have the first as well as the second, but… you won fair and square, ma’am. But as we never actually discussed what would happen if I lost, perchance the terms of my defeat is to buy you and your sister dinner for interrupting your evening?” he offered. I glanced at Wind Whistler, who grinned and nodded. “’Twould be welcome,” I answered for both of us. “Thank you, ma’am. Come on, colts! We go our separate ways tomorrow, so let’s toast the Sergeant, and have one last round of revelry tonight!” They whooped their appreciation, and then followed us back into the pub.