Ch. 2
It was quiet in the meeting room for a while. All of the new recruits just stood there in awe as the actual Elements of Harmony were right in front of them. Shira looked to most impressed, seeing Celestia’s student running her own guard program. It wasn’t actually Celestia herself, but close enough for now. Everyone’s eyes were beaming and taking in their beauty. Shira looked to her left and noticed the two pegasai she saw earlier, Artemis and Chill Wind, were the only ones who didn’t looked amused. Rather, they looked more focused and concentrated, like they were expecting the Elements to look that way. She decided to shrug it off for now and pay attention to the elements.
“Hello everypony. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, and welcome to the New Guard Order. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”
“The pleasure is all mine,” responded Terra Lionmane as he bowed.
“A-Are we supposed to bow?” stuttered Grassy Fields nervously. She didn’t want to look bad in front of the Elements, so she followed Terra’s example.
“Geez, what’s with you two?” laughed Spinout.
Shira looked up at the Elements and noticed that Rainbow and Pinkie were secretly laughing to themselves, trying so hard to contain their chuckles.
“Oh my, so formal,” gasped Rarity.
“There’s no need for formalities. You may rise,” Twilight assured.
Both Terra and Grassy nodded and rose their heads. After that, Shira noticed a mix of different voices whispering to each other about the Elements.
“They’re a lot more stunning in real life,” whispered Selune to Shira.
“I’ll say,” Shira replied.
“Especially Ms. Sparkle,” added Tacitus.
“Oh, does somepony have a crush on the princess?” teased Selune. Tacitus’ face immediately bloomed into a bright red color and avoided eye contact.
“N-No. I was just commenting on how...uh…courtly our leader looks. That’s all. Hehehe.”
“Yeah, we believe you,” teased Shira. The group shared a small laugh and focused back on the Princess and the Elements while trying to ignore the other voices.
“So those are the mares who have saved Equestria on many occasions?”
“It seems like it.”
“I’ve heard many great things about these six.”
“Can they really take down an enemy with a single blast of their ‘friendship beam’?”
“I heard one of them eventually flew with the Wonderbolts.”
“I’d say Rarity is the hottest.”
“Didn’t one of them defeat a giant dragon just by staring at it?”
“I think so.”
“I wonder what kind of things w-w-we’ll get to do in this p-program.”
“I hope get to blow something up, hehehehe.”
“Short Fuse, no.”
“Ok, settle down everypony,” called out Twilight. “Now that we’re all here and settled, let’s ta-“
“Wait!” interrupted Pinkie Pie. “We can’t start yet.”
“What do you mean, Pinkie?”
“Everypony isn’t here yet.”
“What are you getting at?” wondered Applejack.
“We were supposed to start off with fourteen guard’s right? Well I only spot…one…two… twelve of them!”
“Huh?”
Twilight looked carefully at the “audience” below and recounted all of them. Her eyes grew when she realized that Pinkie was actually correct.
“She’s right. We do only have twelve guards.”
“How can that be?” wondered Rarity.
“Maybe they’re just a little tardy?” suggested Fluttershy. “I think we should wait for them.”
“Why? We already have a full house,” pointed out Rainbow.
“But still, nopony likes to feel left out.”
“Ok, we’ll wait for a little bit. But if we don’t start soon, then we’ll-“
Before she could say another word, the doors swung open and slammed into the walls. Everypony jumped at the loud noise, even the Elements. There were two figures spotted at the doors entrance, one tall and one short, though no one could tell what they looked like because their faces were hidden in the shadows. They stepped into the room where their features were more visible to the lighting in the room. The taller one was obviously an earth pony mare that looked rather young for her age.
Name: Khaddice Corset
Species: Earth Pony Mare
Not only did she look really young, she had a very peculiar look. Her long flowing silver-blonde mane and tail were normal, along with her violet fur coat, but she also wore an eerie gothic black and white dress. Most of the ponies didn’t know what to make of it. They didn’t focus too much on her gothic dress, mostly because they were too invested in her shimmering emerald eyes. She walked over to the far back left corner of the room. Her eyes shifted and she spotted a nearby chair. Out of nowhere, she pulled out a grey whip from her dress and reeled back.
CRACK!
Her whip snagged onto the chair and she yanked it on over to her. After she claimed it and took her seat, she concealed her whip and stored it back into her dress, and pulled out a piece of fudge and unwrapped it. She took a big bite out of it and licked her lips, as if no one was looking. Most of the new guard ponies were shocked by this new recruit, and felt somewhat uncomfortable about how she devoured her fudge in a very lustful manner. Shira and some of the other guards looked away awkwardly and paid attention to the other late recruit. This one, however, was harder to identify. They could all see that he was somewhere in his mid-teens, but the problem was, they had no idea what to make of him.
Name: Starsabre Jr.
Species: ???
Surprisingly, this one looked even stranger than the last one. It was like he was a mix breed between a changeling and a bat pony. He had a chitin like a changeling, four silver bat wings like a bat pony, but had silver fur puffs around his hooves and neck like a normal pony. Though, the fur around his neck looked more like a collar than actual fur. His white mane and tail was long and spiky and faded into a burgundy red color at the tips. The most bizarre thing about him, were his slit amber eyes
Shira tilted her head at this surprisingly young recruit. She suddenly felt an uneasy chill from him, as well as the other one. There was something not right about these two, but she couldn’t figure out what. The young recruit took a seat at the right end corner of the room, where no one could see him. He looked up and gave a small “Tsk” at everyone.
Shira looked back, and she noticed that most of the guards were giving him dirty looks. Eyebrows raised, uneasy stares, and avoiding eye contact.
Why is everypony staring at him like that? It’s kind of like how the other ponies used to stare at me, back in Canterlot. And who are these two? Why did I get that chill when they entered the room? Shira thought. There’s something not right here.
“I take it back, that guy looks like something that Discord vomited,” muttered Flash.
“Manners,” hissed Iron Sted.
“Oh, you must be our last recruits um…” Twilight levitated a scroll and began to scan it. “Khaddice Corset and Starsabre Jr.”
“That’s right,” giggled Corset and she licked her lips.
“Yeah,” jeered Starsabre.
“Hey, am I the only one getting weird vibes from those two?” whispered Rainbow.
“Rainbow Dash! Don’t be rude,” scold-whispered Rarity.
“I’m just saying. Bad news usually happens whenever ponies come in late. Like they’re some kind of terrible monster.”
“Beg pardon?” asked AJ.
“Enough, we have to start,” informed Twilight and she faced back to the crowd.
“Now that everypony’s here, let’s get started.”
“Woo!” exclaimed Spinout.
“Ok then. I’d like to welcome our finest guards, new and old, to this new program developed by both me and Celestia herself. This program is designed to help our guards improve their extraordinary abilities and to decide on which castle or which princess they would want to serve. Whether you’re a guard, an investigator, or a soldier of any kind you’re all welcomed here. Not only does it help you enhance your natural talents to the warrior status and to the position of the guard, but it will also determine the perfect system to help us defend Equestria from evil.”
“So here’s how we decided this here program is going to work,” continued Applejack. “We’ve decided that we’re going to have a set missions for yall to do during your stay here. Twelve of them, to be exact. We won’t say when a new mission will happen, so it’s best to be prepared.”
All the guards were taken back at this rule. They all grunted, gasped, and exchanged looks of confusion. They could understand that they would have to do some challenges, but not tell them when they were going to happen?
“What the?” started Shira.
“Why would you not tell us?” wondered Terra.
“Because it’s a surprise!” exclaimed Pinkie excitedly as confetti exploded behind her. “And everypony loves surprises!”
“I don’t,” grunted Starsabre in the corner. There was a bit of awkward silence after that.
“Anyway…let’s continue on,” spoke Rainbow. “These aren’t just ordinary missions, each one will test your strength and durability and will tell us if you’re ready to become an awesome fighter.”
“Physically and mentally,” added Twilight. “Each mission will be different from the last, and may not even involve something that you’re especially trained in. While one could be a ‘search and rescue’ mission another one could be solving a simple mystery. The purpose of this is to help you adapt to different situations. Whenever a new threat or problem comes, we’ll have to be fully prepared for it, because you never know what’s going to happen.”
“Makes sense,” Selune said.
“Indeed,” agreed Terra.
“Can’t go wrong there,” added Iron Sted.
“I’m hungry,” commented Short Fuse.
“However, it’s clearly obvious that we won’t get every mission done. Some of you might succeed while others might need a second chance. Not to mention that you can’t do them alone. So, in order to determine how many of you are ready to move on, we’ve decided to add a point system along with teams.”
More whispers and mumbles rose as she continued to speak the rules of the program.
“Point system?” wondered Flash.
“Teams?” added Artemis.
“Seeing how they’re only fourteen of ya, yall are gonna have to break up into seven teams of two,” spoke AJ. “I know it’s not much, but it’s what we got.”
“Each mission is worth ten points,” continued Twilight. “You must have at least a hundred points in order to graduate. Every time you succeed in a mission, you get ten points. However, just as you can gain points, you can also lose them. Whether it’s disobeying an order, going against the rules, or simply being disrespectful to us, it can seriously affect your outcome in the end.”
“May I ask a question?” spoke the bulk zebra, Crusher.
“Of course.”
“When exactly is ‘the end’?”
“The Princess and I have decided that the final day of the program will be August 23rd.”
August 23rd? That’s only a few months away, Shira thought to herself.
“One more?” he continued.
“Sure.”
“What happens if we don’t have enough points by the time this program is over?”
“Then it would mean that you won’t be able to move on and decide which Princess you want to serve. You would just have to repeat the program.”
The crowd was filled with even more gasps of perturbation. They covered their mouths from this news and their hearts started to beat abnormally. Even Shira didn’t like the sound of it.
If I don’t get a hundred points, then I won’t be able to serve Celestia! All of my training and hard work for nothing. What kind of program is this? Sweat was already beading down her forehead and her pupils were jittering. She shook her head violently in attempt to shake away the bad thoughts. No! Simply worrying about it won’t make it go away. I’ll have to try my best to make sure that doesn’t happen. I’m not going to let some new Princess and her set of rules get in the way of my destiny! I can do this!
“But you would have to do something really stupid in order to lose THAT many points,” chuckled AJ.
“Right now, just split up and decide who your new partners will be.”
With that said, everyone in the room started chatting among themselves and spreading out throughout the entire room like ants on a picnic. Shira got her head out of the clouds and searched around. She didn’t know who to pick. She looked left and right but couldn’t decide who would make a good partner.
She scanned the room and noticed that most of the ponies have already paired up. Selune had her arm around Terra’s neck, Grassy was timidly walking up to Crusher, Artemis was unsurprisingly chatting with Chill Wind again, and even Spinout and Short Fuse were bonking heads like jocks.
“Hey,” called out Tacitus. “You wanna partner up?”
“Huh?”
“Almost everypony else is taken. And even though we just met, I have a feeling that we might work well together and become really good friends,” he offered.
Shira rubbed her head deep in thought. She doesn’t even know this stallion and already he’s trying to make an effort, kind of similar to herself. He did make a valid point, almost everyone else was already with a partner. She couldn’t come up with a reason not to trust him.
“Alright, looks like I’ve got nothing to lose,” she chirped.
“Cool, so were partners?” he asked as he held out his hoof.
“Yeah!” She gladly shook it with no regrets.
“If you’ve already partnered up, then come up front to sign your names.”
Soon half the new guards walked up to Twilights podium to sign in their teams. Shira had high hopes for Tacitus as her partner. The only thing she hoped for was that he wouldn’t find out about her dark secret. Even though she vaguely remembers it and constantly doubts it, she hoped that no one would find out and that she could move on.
“Alright, I just signed our names,” informed Tacitus.
“Coolsauce.”
“Alright everypony! I’m going to read the teams,” announced Twilight. “Let’s see, team A is detective Iron Sted and Flash Cache, team B is Selune Darkeye and Terra Lionmane, team C Spinout and Short Fuse, team D Amb-I mean Crusher and Grassy Fields, team E is Artemis Featherclaw and Chill Wind, team F Tacitus and Shira Blitz, and finally team G Khaddice Corset and Starsabre Jr.”
“Looks like that’s everypony,” finsihed Rarity.
“Do you think we could change the team names, Twi?” asked Rainbow. “Those names are so boring.”
“This isn’t a contest, Rainbow.”
“Still, don’t you think it would be awesome if they had names for their teams? Even if each one only has two ponies?”
“Alright, we’ll discuss team names later. But for now,” she looked back at the guards. “It looks like everything worked out. We’ve discussed the program, its purpose, and picked duos. The only thing left is where you’re all going to stay.”
“Yeah, I was about to ask that. Are we supposed to find a place to sleep somewhere in the castle?” questioned Iron Sted.
“No, we already have everything figured out. Your sleeping quarters will be located in a building behind this castle. As well as training center and mess hall.”
“And I’ll be the cook! I’ll make sure you all get the tastiest snacks you’ve ever tasted!” chirped Pinkie. Some of the guards were a bit anxious about that, including Shira.
“Wait, you’ve already built us a place to stay?” wondered Shira.
“Eeyup,” responded AJ.
“Everypony, follow us.”
The Elements of Harmony got off the stage and started to lead everyone outside. All of the guards followed the Elements out of the castle and walked behind it. So far, all that could be spotted was an empty field. As they kept on trotting, they all noticed something coming into view. Pretty soon, they were met with a tall navy blue two story building, along with a longer horizontal one next to it, labeled “Mess Hall”.
Shira and the guards couldn’t believe their eyes, gasps could be heard all around, and they were most impressed. Shira was expecting some rusty old building, like the ones she slept in during her days in training, but this one was no rusty shack. It looked like it was brand new, the windows were clean, it was on stable ground, and it was even glimmering in the sun like Twilight’s castle. If anything, it looked more like a fancy hotel than sleeping quarters for guards.
“Whoa!”
“So cool.”
“Definitely looks better than the cabins we had to sleep in.”
“That’s where we’re staying?”
“I’m still hungry.”
“Amazing, isn’t it?” mused Rarity. “There’s no reason for our new guards to be living in some worn out cottages, so we had this place built instead.”
“The top floor will be your rooms,” continued Rainbow. “While the bottom floor will be your awesome training center.”
“Training center?” Most of the guards asked.
“Yeah, it’s where you’re going to train, Duh.”
“You built all of this?” mused Shira.
“No, all of this was created by my dear friend, Discord,” answered Fluttershy.
Most of the guard’s expectations suddenly flew out the window at the mention at that name. Even Shira felt a little nervous about her new home created by the god of chaos himself. She looked around and noticed most of the other recruits, including Tacitus, didn’t seem too impressed now.
“Hey! Do you seriously expect us to sleep in THERE!” exclaimed Artemis.
“I-Is there a problem?”
“Buck yeah, there’s a problem! Why should we stay in a place that sorry excuse for a deity created? Who knows what kind of disturbing things he has hidden in there!”
“Geez, what’s your problem?” retorted Rainbow.
“This creature is allowed to toy with the laws of nature as he pleases! You’re asking ME why I have a problem? Plus, how can you still trust him after he betrayed you? ”
“That’s all in the past now,” reasoned Twilight.
“That’s no excuse for easily forgiving him! If you ask me he should be chained up to rot in Tartarus along with Tirek!”
“HEY! That’s just too much! Cut it out!” Snapped Pinkie.
“Why should I?! I don’t mean to disrespect you or anything, but I can’t agree with these new sleeping quarters. I don’t care how nice it looks, I’d rather sleep in a cave.”
“How uncouth,” muttered Rarity.
“Well excuuuuuse me that I think beyond simple convenience!”
“Listen, Miss FeatherClaw! I understand that you still don’t trust Discord after everything’s he’s done, but forgiveness is the first step in fixing past mistakes. He’s truly sorry for what he did, he even built this incredible place for you all to live in to show it. Focusing on the past is not going to make it any better, we all need to move on, and being so blunt about it will just make it worse. Unless you want to get kicked out of the program before it even starts, I suggest you turn that attitude of yours around,” lectured Twilight.
Artemis just gritted her teeth and tried to hold back her next outburst. She then felt a hoof land on her shoulder, she swerved around and noticed it was Chill Wind giving her a firm nod. She was surprised that even he agreed with what Twilight had to say. She looked away and decided there was no point in fighting it anymore, it would just makes things more difficult.
“Fine, whatever,” she grunted. “But I’m still going to keep my guard up.”
“Very well then. Let’s move on.”
The Elements began to show the recruits around the place. They guided them through the mess hall, the training center, and even their rooms. When they got to the second floor, the Elements were about to make their leave.
“Alright, now you know where you’ll be sleeping, eating, and whatever else. This concludes our overview of the program and what we’ll be doing. Each room is big enough for two ponies, so you and your teams will have to decide which rooms will be yours. We hope you will enjoy your stay and to see your full potential. Your first mission will begin soon, so be prepared.”
With that, Twilight teleported herself and her friends out of the building in a single flash. Not knowing what to make of it, Shira and the others decided to spread out and pick out there rooms. Shira was about to enter through a door at the end of the hall, when someone else beat her to it. Starsabre rudely bumped into her and stood in front of the door she was about to open.
“This is my room,” he declared.
“Ok, geez.” She soon recognized who he was, the same colt with the strange changeling chitin and bat pony wings. “Hey, you’re that foal who came in late.”
“Yeah, and you’re the typical emo mare who carries her guitar everywhere,” he shot back.
“Hey, I am NOT an emo. This is just how I got my mane cut, alright. And so what If I like to carry my guitar? No need to be rude.”
“Whatever,” he scoffed.
“Look, I don’t want to be enemies. Let’s just start over, I’m Shira Blitz,” she introduced as she held out her hoof. However, instead of shaking it, Starsabre just swatted it away.
“Starsabre Jr. And don’t get the wrong idea. I didn’t come here to make friends and crap. I have no intention to participate in team bonding or learning about friendship. So if you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay outta my way.”
Without saying anything else, Starsabre turned around and shut the door behind him, leaving a very irritated Shira.
“What’s his problem? I knew this generation was different, but I didn’t think they would be downright uncivil. He’s so young for somepony to join the guard.”
“I know, right?”
“Gah!” She swerved around and notice Tacitus smiling at her.
“Don’t let him get to you. I bet he’s just struggling to fit in since he’s the youngest here.”
“Are you sure it isn’t because of the slit eyes and bat wings?”
“Hey, C’mon don’t say that. I bet he’ll come around sooner or later.”
“I don’t know.”
“Let’s go, I found us a room.”
Shira gladly followed Tacitus to their new sleeping area. When they entered the room, Shira’s jaw dropped to the ground. The room was rather neat and tidy and had a lot of leg room. There were beds on each side and even had a small work desk. The desk was already filled with some of Tacitus’ books and scrolls and Shira found a perfect spot for her guitar in the corner.
“These are our sleeping quarters?” wondered Shira.
“I know, cool right? They’re more like dorm rooms to me.”
“Awesome!”
Shira trotted over to the left bed and plopped her tired body on it, she sunk into the mattress and had a hard time believing how strangely comfortable it was.
“Having fun?” teased Tacitus.
Shira nodded ‘yes’ and let out a relaxed sigh. “I think I’m going to enjoy this new program.”
I just hope Princess Twilight is just as solemn and noble like her mentor.
Back at the castle, Twilight and her friends were in their throne room and going over the different challenges they had planned for their new guards. While they were doing that, they were also discussing about which guards showed the most promise and which ones they personally liked.
“Well that went well, and we’ve got ourselves a nice selection of recruits,” commented Applejack.
“I don’t know about you girls, but I’m very fond of that Terra Lionmane. He seems so imposing, just like a real knight,” admitted Rarity.
“You mean the stallion in the golden armor who’s mostly likely going to end up like all the other guards, who stand outside doing nothing?” wondered Rainbow. “Boring! Spinout, on the other hoof, looks like a pretty cool stallion. But even with those huge wings of his, I bet he still couldn’t beat me in a race.”
Everypony in the room replied with blank stares.
“I kind of like Tacitus,” spoke Pinkie. “Ooo! I also like Short Fuse, Flash Cache, Selune, Crusher, Chill Wind, Iron Sted, Artemis-“
“Ok, let’s move on.”
“Um, Grassy Fields looks interesting to me.”
“Really Fluttershy? Don’t take this the wrong way, but she’s kind of like a unicorn version of you. No offense.”
“Oh, none taken Rainbow Dash. But I’m sure she’ll surprise us at some point. Maybe we just need to give her some time.”
“What do you think of our new guards Twi?” asked AJ.
“Well, they do show a lot of promise. But…”
“Yeah?”
“It’s just…well…”
“What is it, Twilight?”
“I got this strange feeling during the welcoming assembly today, and I think it came from some of our guards.”
“Say what now?” asked Pinkie.
“I don’t know how to explain it, but when I passed by these three,” she revealed three photos to her friends. One photo of Khaddice Corset, another one of Starsabre, and the last one belonging to Shira Blitz. “I just got this uncanny chill down my back. I don’t know what it is, but I feel like there’s something not right about these three.”
Her friends all shared looks of concern and apprehension. They just got their first group of guards and they already have a bad feeling about some of them. Rainbow already knew something was up with the other two, but she didn’t think that somepony like Shira would be hiding something. Twilight just looked down on the guards photos and hoped that this program wasn’t a mistake. What was Celestia thinking?
Just who are these three ponies? There’s something not right here. Why did I get that chill? I’ll have to keep an extra close eye on these three. I just hope they won’t put us, as well as Equestria, in danger.
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WooHoo! You have no idea how excited I was when I saw that this got updated. I loved this from the first chapter, and this chapter has got me even more excited!
Oh...man, I got a feeling that they're going to find some interesting features in that building
And yay! I got paired up with Shira! I'm so excited to see how they work together. Also, well done once again on Tacitus and his character.
Overall, aside from a few grammar mistakes, this was awesome and I can't wait for more
6062914 I'm glad you enjoyed it, and hopefully this chapter wasn't too confusing. I plan to get the next one out real soon.
6062943 No, it wasn't confusing at all. I look forward to seeing the team names.
6062945 That might take some time too. But it will happen at some point.
6062948 No worries, I'm patient
It got a bit confusing for a moment but I figured it out, I thought you weren't adding additional characters though?
6063005 I"m not. I just didn't introduce all of the OCs in the first chapter.
6063013 I see, I thought that was strange. The one was kinda edgy though, bat pony-changeling. Possible, but a tad edgy if you ask me. Still, a good chapter. You did a good job defining each character's personality.
6063013 they put the young teenager with the mare who looks ready to shoot a porno.....great job twilight with no objections to that
P.s: all i would add is he spoke the not making friends line in an rude arrogant tone
6063030 thats my oc Starsabre (He's Crescent's son) he's not edgy he's just an asshole with a superiority complex
6063132 He seems a little edgy to me is all. I've seen way edgier though.
6063141 really when designing him i went with
"Im a damn hybrid and I'm loving every moment of it" again superiority complex
6063215 It's cool. Just don't mind me.
6063244 it's okay i like feedback on my oc's
guards*?
In any case please do mention the names when each pony speaks. Only when the conversation goes back and forth do you ignore that. Only between 2 ppl.
Oh my god... Terra is going to be the Equestrian Teal'c
No need for second capital.
“I’m just saying. Bad news usually happens whenever ponies come in late. Like they’re some kind of terrible monster.”- Rainbow Dash
Gee. Foreshadowing. With a sledgehammer.
Hey I like the new cover art!
6138299 I agree,
Nice cover art
So far I am enjoying this and all that's come thus far.