Assembly - Chapter 13
Chapter 13
“Alright everypony,” Steel said as an apprehensive looking Hunter vanished into the medical office next to the training grounds. “While Dawn gives physicals, the rest of us are going to get physical.” Nova groaned at his words, and Steel fixed his attention on him. “Bucking for an extra mile tomorrow, spec?”
“If you keep making corny jokes like that sir, you might as well have me run all day tomorrow. It’ll keep me from hearing any more at least,” Nova said, causing Sky Bolt to snigger. Steel fought the urge to slap his hoof against his forehead.
Sweet Celestia, who convinced me to add this—oh right, he thought. Celestia did. “Fine,” he said. “I’ll forget the mile if you forgo the groans. But one more smart comment and you’ll find there’s a lot worse than miles to run.”
He turned and gestured towards the open training field before anypony could voice a response. Here and there a few off-duty guards were practicing on the open grass, some with wooden spears or blades, others grappling with fellow guards or just doing simple exercises. The rhythmic crack of wooden blade on wooden blade merged seamlessly with grunts and yells. There were only about thirty of them on the field, but that left a space built for hundreds with plenty of open grass.
“This is the Guard’s training field, which we started from and ended at this morning. It’s used by both the Guard exclusively, which means Night, Royal, and now by extension, us as well,” Steel said, eyeing the team members and observing their varying expressions of interest. “There are set times each day when the field is being used entirely by either the Night or Royal Guard for their daily exercises. Other than that, the field is open at all hours for any sort of training or practice unless otherwise specified.” He motioned towards a far wall where rack after rack of training equipment sat in careful arrangement. “Any equipment must be signed for when removed, but otherwise may be used at any time. Any questions?” Nova’s hoof went up.
“Yes Nova?” Steel said, hoping that the colt wasn’t going to make another smart comment.
“What if we want to practice something in private?” the purple unicorn asked. “Like say something we aren’t sure will work or that could be dangerous.”
Steel nodded as the young stallion's hoof went down and counted himself as surprised. He hadn’t expected Nova to be taking it seriously. He racked his brains, running through his mental catalogue of known training locations. “That’s a very good question,” he said, stalling for time. “And unfortunately I don’t know the answer. I do know that there are whole storerooms left over from when the Guard was much larger. If you need to practice something dangerous, you can likely use one of them. However, request permission from Lieutenant Hunter or myself first before you go claiming one.” Nova gave a small nod of acquiescence as he finished. “Any other questions?”
This time it was Sky Bolt’s hoof that went up. She tossed her head, shaking her sky blue mane and Steel felt a small pang of guilt as Cappy’s hurt expression darted into his mind. His attention snapped back to Sky Bolt just as she finished asking her question. “—with other guards?”
Steel tried to recall what it was she had said first. “Training with other guards?” he said, hoping that he’d gotten her question right. Sky Bolt didn’t appear confused, so he continued. “There’s no limitations on off-hours training. For example,” he said, his mind now firmly back in the present as he pointed once more at some of the ponies scattered across the field. “As some of these ponies are not in their armor—” He indicated several unadorned ponies with green, blue, and even pale orange coats. “They could be either members of the Night or Royal guard. They’re simply here to practice.” He turned back towards the group. “If at any time you wish to practice with other ponies on the field, just ask. I would call your attention to the fact that without their armor you won’t be able to tell who is a private, and who is a sergeant or even a lieutenant.” His own mind flashed back to when he’d made that particularly agonizing error at the academy and he fought back a grimace. “Trust me when I say you’re better off knowing someone's rank before you rub their mane the wrong way.”
“Now!” he said with a stomp of his hoof. “Any other questions?” Again Sky Bolt’s hoof went up.
“Uh, just asking,” she said as he nodded at her. “But are we going to have that coat and mane colorizing enchantment on our armor as well?”.
“I can honestly say that I don’t know at this point,” Steel said, giving his head a slight shake. “We’ll know soon enough. Any other questions?” This time only silence greeted him. “Well then,” he said as he cracked his neck. “Lets get started.”
He began to back up. “Sky Bolt!” The young pegasus gave a start as he called her name. “Front and center. You two back up,” he said, waving at Nova and Sabra. “And give us plenty of room.” He looked down at Sky Bolt as she trotted up in front of him. She was doing her best to look confident, but he could see a little hesitance in her gait. She was nervous—although determined—judging from the look on her face.
“Alright,” he said, adjusting his rear hooves and lowering his hindquarters slightly, leaving less weight on his forehooves. “First thing about training. Do you know what the first rule about training is?” Sky Bolt opened her mouth, but then just as quickly shut it and shook her head. “It’s relax and have fun,” Steel said smiling. “We’re not trying to hurt each other. If you ever wrestled with someone for fun when you were a filly, it’s a lot like that. In fact, the more relaxed your body is, the easier it’ll be to keep from accidentally hurting yourself.” Sky Bolt nodded and a bit of the stiffness went out of her body as she settled into a more relaxed position.
“Alright,” he said as he watched some of the tension leave. “Now, when you’re ready I want you to come at me and try to knock me down. Punch, tackle, whatever you want. Surprise me.” He could feel a fire in his veins now, a burning anticipation of what was to come. He checked his balance, lifting first one front hoof, and then the other as he waited for the light grey pegasus to make her move.
There! Sky Bolts wings flared open and she brought them down in a sudden rush, launching her forward with her foreleg up. Her hoof jabbed out, heading directly for his face at a frantic speed. His body reacted on instinct, leaning ever so slightly to one side while bringing one hoof up to sweep the incoming hoof outwards. He reared back as his hoof met the inside of her foreleg, sweeping his other forehoof up to push against her shoulder. Sky Bolt let out a strangled yelp of surprise as she shot past him, her own momentum sending her skidding across the grass of the field as he pushed her away.
Steel dropped to all fours again and turned his body parallel to where the mare lay spitting in the grass. She shook her head as she climbed to her feet and turned to face him. “How’d you do that?” she asked, her face a wide grin. “That was awesome!”
“Mud Wall stance,” Steel said. “An old earth pony martial art. Now,” he said, resettling his body. “Again.”
Seconds later she dove at him, front hooves spread wide as she headed for his legs. Steel jumped, pushing away from the ground with his rear legs and sending his massive frame into a jump that carried him right over the low-to-the-ground pegasus. He spun, front hooves coming up and blocking a frantic rear kick. A brief flash of movement later and Sky Bolt was again on the grass, this time on her back, wings splayed out underneath her.
“Ow,” she said, wincing. Then she sat up and looked at Steel. “Again,” she said, fire in her eyes as she rushed at him.
By the time Hunter walked out of the medical office a few minutes later, Steel had to admit that he was impressed. While Sky Bolt hadn’t managed to land a hoof on him, she had rapidly adjusted her tactics, switching from what had begun as simple blind rushes to more carefully planned hit-and-run strikes. It hadn’t gotten her any closer to making a hit, but Steel was pleased just to see how quickly she’d adapted as the sparring progressed, a fact he was all too happy to tell the pegasus before telling her to sit down and catch her breath. He sent Sabra in with Dawn and then called Nova forward.
Nova’s practice went about as well as Sky Bolt’s had, though it was almost worse. The moment Nova threw his first punch Steel could see that like Sky Bolt he simply didn’t have any formal training, though judging from the way Nova slipped out of his own countering grab he did have some experience with not getting caught. Big surprise there, he thought as the unicorn slid out of another attempted hold. But he could see after a few moments how hard Nova’s sides were heaving and how much trembling was in each one of his legs. Nova continued to circle him, and throwing punches that grew increasingly weak. After two minutes Steel called the exercise to halt, and Nova collapsed on the grass, his sides heaving.
“Don’t worry about it too much,” Steel said, hoping that Nova wouldn’t take the whole experience badly. “You’ll have plenty of time to get practice, with and without magic.”
“Will that be ... before or after ... our run, sir?” Nova asked, giving him a weak grin.
“Probably after,” Steel said, smiling as relief shot through him at the sight of Nova’s grin. If he was taking his loss poorly, he was hiding it well. “But that’s really up to Dawn.”
“So if ... I just keep ... breathing hard ... and playing ... the sympathy card,” Nova said between gasps for breath. “She might just ... give me a break?”
Steel snorted. “If by break you mean break something of yours, then maybe. My advice? Don’t try to fool our valiant doctor.”
“I second that!” Hunter called from where he had been laying on the sidelines. “She’s the mare from Tartarus.”
Steel shook his head, giving Nova a smile. “Well, not quite. But if you want to hear some stories, ask Hunter sometime.”
Nova nodded as he climbed to his hooves. His sides were still heaving and his legs were trembling. “Actually,” he said as he looked down at himself with wide eyes. “I don’t think I’ll need to fake it.” He began to slowly move over towards the sidelines, one foreleg limping where he’d landed on it from Steel’s final toss. Sky Bolt moved aside, opening up space on the side of the field and giving the unicorn a small hoof-bump before he collapsed to the ground.
“While you’re in there have her do some quick work on your muscles,” Steel said following him to the side. “She’ll flush them out and take care of the tweak that last throw gave you.”
Nova nodded. “Yeah, I came down off of that one a bit wrong.”
“Well, you took it better than I expected,” Steel said, giving the young unicorn a look of approval to show that he meant what he’d said. Recommendation aside, he’d partially expected the young unicorn to turn sour after he’d so easily bested him, but despite his expectations Nova still sported that same sardonic grin, even when he was winded. True, it wasn’t exactly respectful and almost implied a challenge more than anything else, but at least it wasn’t an intense dislike. Steel had experienced that reaction before, and it almost never boded well.
“I still think I might have had a better chance if I wasn’t so worn out,” Nova said, his breath finally slowing to a normal, steady pattern. His horn gave a flicker as he looked up. “A little bit of magic might have evened the score.”
“Maybe,” Steel said. “Then again, maybe not. I’ve gone up against a lot of magic users in my time.”
“Yeah, I can’t say that surprises me,” Nova said, his attention focused on the various guards practicing. Here and there on the field sparks of magic were coming from a few of the unicorns who were using practice weapons, although Steel could see that several other unicorns were holding their weapons in their mouths or hooves. “Then again,” Nova said. “A couple of those guys aren’t using their magic. Any particular reason?”
“It’s simple,” Hunter said. “If you use something too much, you start to rely on it.” The young unicorn nodded in agreement at the pegasus’s words.
“Exactly,” Steel said. “Don’t misunderstand, the unicorns in both guard divisions practice with magic, but only after they’ve practiced without using magic. In fact,” he said as the door to the medical office opened. “In the academy, unicorns are required to wear a training lock on their horn that prevents them from using magic. A cadet has to go a whole three weeks without trying to use magic during exercises before they can take it off. They do something similar for the pegasi as well.” He nodded towards Sky Bolt, who had been sitting quietly listening to the whole conversation. “They restrict wing usage during practices and sparring matches until the they learn to not rely on them.”
“Are you going to do that with us?” Sky Bolt asked, apprehensive.
“Not to the same extent,” Steel said. “For example, I didn’t allow flying during this morning's run. But apart from specific exercises to acclimate you to the idea, I won’t be following the same path as the Royal Academy.”
‘Why not?” Nova asked. “If the Royal Academy does it, what don’t you like about it?”
“Mainly what happens to its students,” Steel said. “Nothing against the either of the guard divisions, but both tend to act somewhat narrow minded. For example ...” He pointed towards a pair of sparring guards on the field. “If I were to ask that pegasus to spar with me, I know exactly which list of attacks he could open with. I had them drilled into my head day after day at the academy. But if I were to ask the unicorn he’s sparring with ...” He let the words trailed off and looked at Nova and Sky Bolt.
“She would do the exact same thing, wouldn’t she?” Sky Bolt said, putting the pieces together in her mind.
“Exactly,” Steel said with a nod in her direction. “She would do the exact same thing that the pegasus would do. Or the earth pony over there, or the other unicorn. They still will use magic or flight in combat, but only at the times their training tells them to. Makes it easy for superior officers to give orders as they know exactly what’s going to happen every time they give an order. Rangers on the other hoof,” he said as he gestured towards Hunter, “train in a very different way. They encourage everypony they have to train in their own way. As long as they’re training and practicing at something and can perform the basics, Ranger command is happy. Grants them a lot of flexibility, but at the same time makes the leadership much more hooves-on.”
The door to the medical wing opened and Sabra trotted out, his examination apparently over. ‘So where are we going to be then?” Nova asked as the zebra trotted over towards the group. “Somewhere in the middle?”
Hunter grinned. “Got it in one. Trained enough to be prepared to deal with any expected situation, flexible enough to improvise.”
Nova smiled at the praise even as Steel ended the discussion. “In any case, we’ll get more into this at another time. For now,” he said, looking at Sky Bolt. “You’re up for your examination.” The pegasus nodded, tossing her sky blue mane behind her head as she headed for the medical office.
“Alright,” Steel said as he rose and trotted back onto the field. “Sabra. You’re up. When you’re ready, I want you to land a blow on me. Don’t hold back, this is sparing, but I need to get a good estimate of what—” He stopped talking as he turned back. Sabra had procured a blindfold from somewhere unknown and was carefully tying it around his head, cinching the knot tight. He stopped as Steel quite speaking, his body motionless.
“Did I do something undesired?” Sabra asked after a moment, his body still motionless.
“Not particularly,” Steel said. “But I’d prefer you removed the blindfold.”
“You will do better if I have my … kuzuia—blindfold … on,” Sabra said, his voice hesitant.
Steel shook his head. “I don’t want a fair match, I want to see how good you are.”
Sabra shrugged. “Kama Unataka.” He looped his hoof through the tails of his blindfold, gave a sharp tug, and the cloth fell away, revealing the zebra’s piercing bright purple gaze. Sabra stepped forward carefully, his liquid movements reminding Steel of some of the large jungle cats he’d seen in the jungles South of Equestria. “When I am ready?” His voice was calm and collected. Very calm.
“Yes,” Steel said, wondering if he’d made a mistake. He settled himself into a more solid stance, trading the looser flexibility of Mud Wall for the more rigid and difficult to dislodge Stone Wall stance. He took a breath, squared his shoulders, looked at Sabra ... and the world went mad.
Sabra was on him almost immediately. He managed to raise one of his hooves to ward off what he thought was an incoming blow, only for Sabra’s body to melt around it, bending in a way Steel knew he couldn’t replicate. He pulled his hoof back, but already Sabra had slipped inside his defense. He felt a hoof brush against his midsection, not hard enough to wound but definitely hard enough to leave a bruise, and then Sabra was spinning away, Steel following him in surprise. The world spun around him and he landed facedown on the field, Sabra resting on his shoulder and grass tickling the inside of his nose.
“Was that acceptable?” Sabra asked, rising from his shoulder and helping Steel pull himself to his hooves. Before Steel could reply there was a loud burst of raucous laughter nearby. Hunter was staring at the duo, his eyes wide but his mouth open wider as he let out laugh after laugh. Beside him Nova was staring in obvious shock, his jaw hanging open in stunned amazement.
“Acceptable?” Hunter yelled between laughs. “It was brilliant!” He pulled his hat from his head, slapping against his side as a fresh wave of laughter poured out of his lips. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Steel so shocked!”
“Aha, aha,” Steel said, easing his wounded pride somewhat. “You want to go next?”
“No thanks!” Hunter said between guffaws. “I don’t think I’m that desperate for a flank-kicking today.”
“You just keep laughing,” Steel said, rolling his shoulder with a pop. “I have to say Sabra, I’d heard you were good, but that good? I barely had time to move.”
“Asante,” Sabra said in his strange melodic voice. The colt wasn’t even breathing hard. “Would you like to try again?”
“You know what?” Steel said, tilting his head from side to side. “I think so.” He settled himself into a Stone Wall stance again, then thought better of it and lifted his front hooves slightly, switching to Mud Wall. “Whenever you’re ready.”
“And if you throw him again, send him back this way! It’ll save him the walk!” Nova yelled. Steel watched as Nova exchanged hoof-bumps with Hunter, both of them laughing.
“And ignore the peanut gallery,” Steel said, looking back at Sabra. “Whenever you’re ready.”
Sabra nodded and sprang forward, both front hooves coming up as he executed an almost impossible lateral leap that carried him across the short distance between them. Steel raised both his front hooves, shifting his weight back and down as he prepared to defend himself, only to be completely off guard when Sabra’s rear hooves caught the ground and the Zebra flipped onto his front hooves, springing off them and over him. Steel dropped his weight to his front hooves as fast as he could, flipping himself forward and lashing out with both rear hooves. There was a brief feel of resistance, then a sudden downward pressure that sent his rear legs into the ground. Steel pulled himself up, turning as quickly as he dared, his forelegs at the ready.
Sabra was recovering from what looked like a roll some feet away, while Hunter and Nova appeared to be cheering whatever he had done to save himself from Steel’s buck. Sabra rolled back to his hooves, his body assuming the same, liquid grace he always carried himself with as he began to slowly circle Steel.
This kid's good, Steel thought as he countered, carefully stepping to his left and keeping his weight on his back legs. Really good. I know I’m a little out of practice, but his file didn’t lie. I’ve met lifelong warriors who’ve moved slower than this!
He didn’t want to try to attack Sabra yet, choosing instead to wait and see just what else the zebra would try. The answer came as Sabra seemed to stretch his body along the ground, closing the distance between the two of them with incredible speed. Both his hooves came up in a twisted shape, lashing out in confusing patterns. Steel blocked one, then another and another, but they kept coming, faster and faster, until Steel stepped backwards under the onslaught, trying to keep his distance. Sabra dropped, balancing on one hoof, his body held at an angle Steel knew he couldn’t replicate as Sabra’s rear leg arched out, knocking aside one of his front hooves.
Steel jumped backward, determined to give himself a little breathing room. He recognized the youth’s style now, although he was executing it far better than any zebra he had ever seen. Maji Kwato, he thought. Water hoof. Steel watched as the rear leg Sabra had kicked him with continued along the arc it had been traveling, far up into the air. His other rear leg traced a complicated pattern at head level as Sabra spun his entire body on one forehoof and then dropped to all fours, the same liquid grace in his stance. Steel could still hear Hunter and Nova cheering, although there seemed to be a few more voices added to the mix now. He shoved them out of his mind. There was a time to focus on his surroundings in combat, and there was a time to focus on something directly in front of him. This was definitely one of those times.
Steel charged forward, determined to put Sabra on the defensive for once. Shortly before he would have crashed into Sabra, he came to a stop, lashing out with both his forelegs, one after the other. Sabra seemed to flow around them, letting the blows connect with his own hooves just enough to steal some of their speed for his own, always moving and spinning, twisting his body like a tornado as he spun from blow to blow. Steel didn’t let up, raining blow after blow down at the striped pony, only to have each one just barely avoided as the skilled Zebra slid out of the way.
And then Sabra was inside his own reach, shoulder underneath he foreleg he had just thrown out. There was a blow to his chest as Sabra’s shoulder collided with his rib cage, forcing the breath from his body. He grunted, but didn’t go down. He was an earth pony-tough, durable, unshakable, and he was Steel, inside and out. He wrapped his foreleg around the zebra’s shoulders, his other foreleg coming in underneath Sabra’s rear leg and lifting as he twisted his body backwards. As he came down, Sabra twisted in his grip, slipping out of his hold. They both tumbled to the ground, disorganized and chaotic. Steel lashed out with his hooves from his side, but Sabra had already rolled away, coming up on his hooves.
Steel rolled as well, switching styles as he came up running. He wasn’t particularly fond of the Charging Hoof style taught by the Royal Guard, but when it came to rushing somepony, it was a good fallback. Sabra looked on in surprise as Steel barreled towards him in a powerful rush, his head low. He rolled out of the way, Steel’s shoulder crashing through the space where he had just been. Steel turned, his hooves carving deep divots into the field as his massive frame changed course. Again Sabra dodged, sliding out of the way with ease, and again Steel turned, stretching his muscles as they forced his momentum into another direction. It was a losing battle. It was costing him far more energy to make such large changes in direction than in was costing Sabra to get out of the way. But it didn’t mean that it was all for nothing. As he made his final charge and Sabra once again rolled out of the way, Steel reared up, raising his front hooves and then transferring every bit of his momentum into a single powerful downward strike. But there wasn’t only momentum in his strike, there was magic as well.
Earth pony magic was something much more intangible than pegasi or unicorn magic, and Steel understood this better than most. Unicorns of course had their horn, a direct channel with which to show off their talents. Pegasi could move clouds and manipulate the weather, using their magic to create storms and winds, or even build homes in the sky. But earth ponies, their magic was much like the earth underfoot. Slow, gradual, almost unnoticeable until ones attention was drawn to it or it made itself known. Like all ponies, earth ponies had as much magic as any other, but it was innate, tuned to their bodies and their work, and difficult to draw forth on command for tasks other than those which earth ponies were naturally suited to.
Difficult, but not impossible. As Steel slammed his hooves into the ground he willed the earth to move, summoning forth power from deep within him. He could feel it spreading through his hooves, rippling out in a wave, and the earth underfoot listened. A shockwave of force rushed through the ground around him, a wave of dirt and earth that rose to the height of his chest all around him, rushing out with a great speed. Grassy roots bent and flexed as the earth separated, cracking as the circular ring spread out around him. Sabra was thrown onto his side as the earth rose up beneath him, throwing him off balance even as the force of the lifting earth threw him into the air. The ring of earth stopped almost as quickly as it began, vanishing only a short distance from Steel, but the effects of it were clear to the eyes of the ponies nearby. An entire circle of earth stood disturbed, its surface wracked by the upheaval, grass overturned and dirt patches bare to the sun.
The ground was still shaking underhoof, split with small quivering aftershocks of the mighty blow Steel had given it as he galloped towards Sabra. The zebra was still climbing to his hooves, an expression of surprise on his face as Steel bore down on him. Steel leapt, bringing his front hooves down in another mighty crash that shook the ground, Sabra just sliding out of the way. Steel lashed out a few more times, but the exertion of accessing so much of his innate earth pony magic was already beginning to make his limbs drag, and moments later Sabra slipped through his defenses, landing four light blows in rapid succession across his body.
“Enough,” Steel said as he dropped his stance and took a few steps back, his breath hot and loud in his ears. His body felt like it had been washed and then pulled through a wringer, a side effect of exerting so much magic at once in addition to an already strenuous match. I used to be able to pull a lot more magic than that without getting tired, he thought, I’ve definitely let that skill slide.
As his breath quieted, he could see that Sabra was also breathing hard, his breath coming in deep draws. And around them, he could hear applause. He looked up. Guards from all over the field stood around them, forming a loose ring of ponies that were all cheering and stomping the ground, creating a soft rumble underhoof not unlike the tremors of the blow he’d created earlier.
He turned his attention back to Sabra. “That—” he said, catching his breath. “Was excellent.”
“Asante,” Sabra said, his face already back to its calm, neutral expression. “You are an excellent fighter.”
Steel scoffed. “Maybe not as good as you are.” He said with a shake of his head. “I’ve been training my entire life, and you still had me in the end.”
Sabra bowed his head. “My apologies. I did not intend to discourage.”
“What? No,” Steel said. “That was exactly what I wanted. And I hope you enjoyed it, because we’re going to be sparring a lot more in the future so I can get my groove back. So good job, and congratulations.” He turned and began making his way to the side of the ring where he could see Nova, Hunter and Sky Bolt grouped together. Around him he could hear cheers and words of encouragement and amazement coming from the guards, many of them intended for Sabra. He snuck a quick look back and saw that several of the guards had already approached Sabra and were busily congratulating him.
“That was pretty impressive,” Hunter said as Steel approached the edge of the ring. “How many ponies do you think there are out there who could best you three times without you ever landing a single blow?”
“Not many,” Steel admitted as he turned to look at the small crowd that had gathered around Sabra. “But that match did help me realize how out of practice I’ve gotten in the last few years.”
“Out of practice?” Sky Bolt asked, her eyes still fixed on Sabra. “That was incredible! I didn’t even know earth ponies could do that—that thing you did with the ground.”
“That,” Steel said as his knees began to shake slightly. “Is not something most earth ponies would ever even try to do. It takes a lot of effort, see?” He held up one shaking limb. “Earth pony magic is slow and subtle. Using so much of it at once, it takes a lot out of you. I’m a little out of practice.”
“Huh,” Nova said,looking at the shaking limb. “I didn’t even know that earth ponies could make conscious use of magic on that level.”
“It’s a lot like pegasi making weather,” Steel said. Now that the show was over, most of the guards were drifting away and back to their practices, although a few were still talking with Sabra. “It’s something that’s innate, and takes a lot of practice to use skillfully outside of natural occurrence. What you saw there is the byproduct of years of practice, and it’s still not something I would want to do all the time.”
“It was still cool,” Sky Bolt said, although she was still watching the crowd around Sabra. “And good to know.”
“Really?” Steel asked, his curiosity aroused. “How exactly is that good to know?”
“Well,” Sky Bolt said, turning to look at him. “What if we needed to do something like that for a mission or something? It’s good to know you can do it, right?”
Steel nodded and smiled. “We’ll make a guard out of you yet. For now though,” he said as he spotted Dawn looking out of the medical office with a look of annoyance on her face. “Nova, you’re up for your medical exam. The rest of us can go over some basic combat techniques.” He whistled, catching Sabra’s attention, and waved him over.
“Alright,” he said as soon as Sabra had joined their group. “The first thing you’ll want to remember when you’re trying to defend yourself ...” As Steel settled into the familiar rhythm of giving combat instructions, he began to relax, and it wasn’t until Hunter tapped him on the shoulder that he realized it was time for his turn in the examination room.
* * *
“Well,” Steel said that evening as Dawn sat down across the desk from him, a thick sheath of papers held carefully by her magic. “I hope everything went well for you today?” The borrowed guard station they were sitting in was cluttered and showed the signs of a hasty cleaning, probably at the hooves of the lieutenant that Steel had commandeered the station from an hour earlier when he’d found that his own office in the Dusk Barracks wasn’t going to be ready for another day at least. It was far from an ideal situation; the station itself was only supposed to serve as a duty post for the lieutenant guard, not an actual office, and so it was small and cramped, the desk barely large enough for Steel to sort through a few files on. Starting up a new guard operation was hard enough without even having a desk to sort paperwork on.
And then there were the interruptions. Already he’d been disturbed by several well-meaning privates who hadn’t received the message that Lieutenant Pinlock had been moved to duty station six for the duration of the evening, and Steel had been forced to redirect them. Their new quarters couldn’t be finished soon enough. He’d already spent an hour earlier in the day going over some of the changes to the building that Sky Bolt and Arch had suggested, clearing each and every one of them while also making a few of his own suggestions, including that they finish working on his office as soon as possible. Then he’d received a notice from Princess Celestia that he was to meet with her and her sister that evening to keep them up to date on the team's development so far, as well as to get the details of an upcoming diplomatic conference that he would be required to attend in two weeks' time. Then there was the note from his sister informing him that she would be out of town to visit an old college friend who was going through a rough time and asking him to stop by for dinner with Click and the kids later that week. The more he got done, the more there was to do.
He pulled his attention back to the matter at hoof as Dawn’s thick stack of papers slid onto the small desktop. “The day went well enough,” Dawn said as she began magically separating the papers, arranging them in six small stacks. There was just barely enough space on the desk for the stacks of paper, even once Dawn slid a small photo frame out of the way.
“Would you prefer the long report or the summarized versions?” she asked. Her face was all business.
“Give me a short summary of each member of the team, myself included,” Steel said. “If there’s anything else important make sure it gets to me in a report, I’ve got a meeting with the Princesses in another hour.”
Dawn nodded. “Very well. We’ll start with your report.” The rightmost stack of paper near Steel lifted into the air so that Steel could see it more easily. His own face stared back at him, the dark olive green and silvery gray mane slightly tinted by the orange magic.
“From my preliminary examination today compared with your previous medical records, it would appear that you are in excellent physical condition, with no physical issues or abnormalities that would detract from your ability to perform in the Dusk guard. A medi-scan spell showed no previously unknown injuries in your body.” Several pages flipped past, the stack coming to rest on a chart that showed two lines, both going down as they moved to the right, although the green line was decreasing at a far lower rate than the red line. “In fact, if you keep at your current rate, I’d estimate your lifespan to break one-hundred quite easily,” Dawn said, giving him an impressed look. “The red line on the graph there shows the mean average lifespan physical deterioration for most ponies, while the green line shows your current path. You’re fifty-one and have the body of a pony almost thirty years younger. As long as you stay healthy, by the time you’re one-hundred you’ll probably look like you’re forty. So,” she said, one side of her mouth curving up in a small smile. “I wouldn’t plan on shuffleboard bingo anytime soon.”
“I’ll cancel the order for those slippers I wanted then,” Steel said, giving her his own small smile in return.
“The rest of your physical examination is fairly typical,” Dawn said, continuing on. “Your blood showed no abnormalities or surprises, your system is clean. You’re in perfect health. Better than perfect if we compare you to the average stallion your age.” She paused as the pages fluttered again and then shuffled themselves back onto the desk. “There was one small request I had with regards to your mental health however.”
Steel blinked in surprise. “What is it?”
“You mentioned while I was examining you that your retired life had been ‘empty,’ which was why you agreed to this job, correct?” Steel nodded and she continued. “Then I would only ask that if you begin to feel the same emptiness while serving here that you would let me know.” She stopped, waiting for him to respond.
Steel thought about it only briefly, then nodded. “I will.”
“Excellent,” Dawn said, another stack of papers lifting in her telekinesis. “Then we will move on. Hunter is in very good shape,” Dawn said as the pegasus' report floated into Steel’s view. “Although he still carries his ridiculous fear of needles.”
“You didn’t tie him down this time, did you?”
Dawn shook her head. “No, the threat was enough. Anyway, physically he is in very good shape—not quite as healthy as you, but considering he spent the last three years living in the Everfree forest I think he’s fine. His wings are well cared for and there were no obvious inconsistencies with his previous records.” The papers slid over one another. “Mentally he seems to be in fine shape, although his record indicates that he sunk into a ‘working depression’ after the death of Swift Wind.” She paused for a moment. “I only knew of her by name, were they close?”
“She was his fiancee,” Steel said as his mind flashed back to the funeral three years ago. He’d never seen Hunter so silent. “It wasn’t anypony's fault; he never blamed anyone. I don’t think he even blamed himself. It just wasn’t Hunter’s way. But the loss hit him pretty hard. Deep down I know he still misses her. The hat he wears?” he said, looking at Dawn as she nodded. “She gave that to him as a gift. I never saw him without it until the day of the funeral. He took it off and didn’t put it back on as far as I know until he showed up here.”
Dawn clicked her tongue and spun the papers around, making a quick note on one of the pages. “Do you know if he ever took any grief counseling?”
Steel shook his head. “No. But he seems to be back to himself, although I know he still misses her.”
“Well, I’ll look into it,” Dawn said, making a final note. “And I will take note if I see him getting romantically involved, just to keep an eye on him.”
“That’s fine, as long as you don’t interfere without good reason,” Steel said in a warning tone.
“Please, Steel,” Dawn said in an offended tone. “I know my work.” She gave him a disapproving look. “Moving on, we have Sky Bolt, the energetic little pegasus.”
"Any issues?” Steel asked.
“No. None at all,” Dawn said with a shake of her head. “Aside from maybe being far too energetic and eager to move ahead quickly. She’s in good shape for her age, lots of whipcord muscle, although not nearly as much endurance. I’ll have a recommended workout regime in the final report that should bring her up to speed over the course of the next few months. Mentally she’s in good shape. Strong family values, friendly. The only worry I would have is that she could react badly to injuring someone.”
“I don’t think that will be a worry,” Steel said, letting out a small chuckle. “Apparently she clocked a few high school bullies with a wrench once because they kept making fun of her for having wings. One of them actually lost a tooth.”
Dawn’s eyebrows rose. “Very well then. She’s fine.” The papers shuffled again, and Steel fought the urge to sit back and yawn. His office couldn’t be done soon enough.
“Next we have Sabra,” Dawn said. “Physically he’s absolutely perfect. I’ve seen Romane statues that were less physically ideal than he is.”
Steel raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t mention that to either Hunter or Nova unless you want to be the butt-end of some jokes.” Dawn ignored him.
“Mentally he’s ...” She struggled for the word. “Well, a monk. He’s in perfect mental shape. He’s also quiet, observant and clearly philosophical. My only worry is that he seems to be searching for the answer to his question. ‘What is life’ or something similarly overdramatic. If he gets the answer, I worry that he may decide his time with us is at an end.”
Steel nodded. “I’m already aware of that. If it happens, it happens. I’m just glad to have him while we can.”
“Excellent,” Dawn said. The last stack of papers lifted up. “Finally, before my own report, we have Nova.”
“Lay it on me,” Steel said, preparing himself.
“Alright,” Dawn said, taking a breath. “Physically he’s going to need some work. He shows signs of being malnourished when he was young, though nothing so severe that a year of careful diet won’t remove any sign of. He also is slightly malnourished now. His musculature is far below adequate for what our standards should be, so we’ll need to train him severely in that. A medi-scan shows signs of a lot of prior injuries and some internal scarring, although again nothing that could negatively impact his performance to any large degree. On the positive end of things he is incredibly flexible and has very fast response time, likely as byproducts of his former occupation. Still, his endurance and musculature are going to require great work, but I think he has potential.”
She shuffled through more papers, showing large amounts of text that Steel didn’t have time to read before the pages were swept away. “His blood work came up clean, amazingly enough, although I suspect a detailed scan would find traces of more common foalhood maladies that his own body was forced to fight off. Magically he is impressively powerful, even after the showing he made during the obstacle course he still managed to produce an impressive array of magical power levels when I tested him. He’s no Starswirl the Bearded, but in the old days he may very well have been a powerful battlemage.”
She flipped a few more pages. “However, mentally I have a few reservations. I would diagnose him with severe trust issues likely brought about by his lack of family. Many of his answers are evasive or designed to give as little possible personal information. While he seems to have a definite moral compass, getting him to trust anyone with the actual points on that compass could pose a difficult problem. He shows a disdain of those in authority. Not to any extreme amount, but it’s there, and I suspect he hides behind his sarcasm as a way of masking himself from others.” She gave a deep sigh. “In fact, upon examining him I have to wonder why you chose him at all.”
“I didn’t,” Steel replied after a moment's thought. Dawn looked up, confusion on her face. Steel spoke up, leaning forward as he did so. “Technically I did, but Nova was a request from none other than Princess Celestia.” Dawn sat back in surprise, here eyebrows raised. “I may have a few questions about Nova, but underneath that ...” He paused, searching for the right word. “Armor of his, there’s something she sees that we don’t. I‘m going to trust her judgement and try to see it.” He leaned a little further forward. “Can I trust you to do the same?” When she nodded he leaned back. “Good. Also, he doesn’t know that Celestia picked him, and I would prefer that particular bit of knowledge not reach his ears. Clear?” She nodded again, actually smiling for once, something he hadn’t seen her do.
He must have reacted because she spoke up. “As a doctor, I treat ponies in the hopes that they can be better than they once were,” she explained. “It would appear I need to be reminded of the many ways to do this occasionally.”
Steel waved a hoof. “Don’t worry about it. Is there anything else to discuss?” His gaze darted to the clock above the door.
Dawn shook her head. “No. I’ll outline a dietary and workout plan with Hunter later. I assume that you’ll want Nova doing magic training?” Steel nodded and she made another note on the paper. “Excellent. Well, that only leaves me. Physically fit, although slightly out of shape. Magically average, but with a special talent for medical spells and treatments. Mentally sharp, although curt and easily annoyed.”
Steel smiled as the six stacks on his desk began one by one to merge back into one pile under Dawn's direction. “It sounds like you’re all set to continue duty then,” he said with another glance at the clock. It was nearly time to go. “Anything in these piles I should show the Princesses?”
Dawn thought for a moment. A single sheet of paper slid free from the bottom and floated over to him. He picked it from the air with one hoof and took a quick look at it. Basic medical summary information on every member of the team. “Excellent. Thank you. Now, I need to get moving. Anything else?”
“Will our barracks have a medical facility?” Dawn asked.
“Oh ponyfeathers,” Steel said as he mentally raced through the plans he’d seen earlier that day. “Go talk to Sky Bolt about it immediately, make sure she gives you what you need, have the budget for it back to me or Hunter by tomorrow night.” Dawn nodded. “You can postpone the training regimen report for a day if you need to.” He stood and looked down at her as she gathered the last of her papers. “Anything else? No? Dismissed.”
As he headed down the hallway towards his meeting with the Princesses, Steel let out a sigh. Between training regimens, the barracks, the armor, and now a diplomatic conference to prepare for, the next two weeks were going to prove to be very busy.
End of Part One
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2705168
Luck of the draw my friend. And it doesn't help that it's starring OCs, and most readers tend to avoid OC stories as I understand it. I'm confident that as time moves on, the growth of viewers and readers will continue to accelerate. If you'd like to help though, feel free to!
I'm glad you've enjoyed it so far! I aim to please!
EDIT: And if you don't have a keen eye, the beginning is a little slow (even I'll admit that). If you pay attention it ramps up pretty quick, but being the type of fic it is it can take a bit for people to catch on to everything.
“You mentioned while I was examining you that your retired life had been ‘empty,’ which was why you agreed to this job, correct.” Steel nodded and she continued. “Then I would only ask that if you begin to feel the same emptiness while serving here that you would let me know.” She stopped, waiting for him to respond.
Steel thought about it only briefly, then nodded. “I will.”
Taken out of context, this is actually kinda funny. Of course she's being completely professional, but I can just imagine; "Oh, doc, I've got an emptiness, an emptiness only a mare can fill." (which seems to be about the case). I wonder if this will ever go into shipping later on?
lol
Very good. i noticed a few typos, and wanted to bring them to your attention. Before that though, I love the story so far.
Hope that helps, and as I said, love the story. You have a gift, but you already knew that.
Hesitance in her gait.
less weight.
pegasus's
then another.
Needs a space after the period.
pegasus's report.
anypony's fault.
Players have been gathered, and the board is set. Dynamic has been established between most of the characters, and the clock starts on Act II. Now to see how much they can improve, and how well they all work together before the first assignment comes up, which again I'm thinking is the train robberies. Fight was definitely impressive, and it seems in terms of fighting ability it goes something like this:
Sabra
Steel
Hunter
Bolt
Nova
And with Triage being pacifist I have no idea where to place her.
That pun made me groan. And laugh. And cry a little inside.
me
it
someone's
I'm
Sabra
Royal Guard
its
byproduct
well-meaning (no space)
Question mark instead of period
suspect "he" hides
Also, I think proper formatting is that if you indent you don't add a line break.
Whew, I think that's enough for now. Looking forward to part two!
Steel and Sabra's battle was amazing. You write beautiful fight scenes. And I loved the final discussion with Dawn, that felt absolutely spot on. You really know your stuff n_n
i have a hunch that the reed gang is going to be a bit of a problem in the near future.
guards
Guards. Though, this is awkward given the third Guard introduced later in the sentence.
Bolt's
stallion's
sparring
fool our
has an extra space
morning's
a hyphen is not a dash. (—)
kid's
pull
pegasi
team's
weeks'
fiancée. Fiancé is a groom-to-be, not a bride-to-be.
"Any issues?” Steel asked.
a moment's thought
action's
You do not talk about Training?
Oh Similar to Roman vs Gaulic training techniques,
The Romans emphasised a standardized fighting style, where as the gauls basically said " Fighthow ever you are best at"