Part 20 - ... Before the Storm
Looking back, those last two months before war were an idyllic time not just for me, but for all of us. It couldn’t have been for Wind Whistler, of course, who was now well into the second half of her six-month basic regardless of how upbeat Windshear’s reports on her had become, but with so many rewards and accolades being showered on those of us at Epsilon, it all seemed too good to be true.
That it in fact was never occurred to me at that point, but with my command soon to be taken from me and the battalion I’d spent so much time training being split up to spread their skill throughout the Corps, ’twas a bittersweet time as well. We’d all become good friends and in the end we’d accomplished something truly special at Epsilon, turning our soldiers into crack troops and winning pitched battles against raider groups; even averting a war…
Or so we thought, having no idea of the danger that was growing beneath our very hooves. But with my own departure soon to come, I requested two weeks’ leave so that I might visit the Academy and also show both Canterlot and greater Equestria to my adopted son…
’Twas a heady time for all of us, soon to come crashing down around our collective ears. For in the end, I would never attend the academy, though methinks it ironic that I would still gain the rank of Captain and one day teach there. But even before that, my current Captain had shown me I still had a ways to climb to become the best warrior out there by beating me so soundly in our duel. I was determined to use what he showed me to fix yet another gap in my abilities, one he’d taken advantage of all too readily…
“I’m sorry, commander. Perchance you couldst repeat yourself?” Fell Flight stared at me in disbelief from where she hovered behind a storm cloud over our training fields after our weather teams were done practicing their accuracy, aiming bolts at both moving and stationary targets. “I could have sworn you just said to fire a lightning bolt directly at you!”
“Then perchance you shouldst obey your orders and do so, Master Sergeant,” I told her with an arched eyeridge. She’d seen me deflect a bolt when I fought Typhoon, if only barely, and though surprised by my feat, she was unimpressed here.
“With all due respect, ma’am, there is a huge difference between a small bolt fired from an improvised cloud like the Captain used, and a bolt coming from a military-grade storm cloud produced by the Cloudsdale weather factory! Methinks you don’t know how strong these bolts are! If you wish to develop your lightning affinity, then ’twould be best to start small, ma’am!” she nodded at some puffy cumulus clouds floating high over the desert. ’Twas the monsoon season, which meant that they could occasionally produce lightning, and rain that oft evaporated before it reached the ground… though once or twice we’d gotten a good deluge out of them, turning the canyon river into a raging torrent.
“And with all due respect to you, Master Sergeant, Gryphon mages and their lightning orbs can generate bolts that are as powerful as anything we can make. I wish to master the skills the Captain showed me, and that means I must be able to handle anything a mage may throw at me. Besides, I can already handle regular bolts; ’tis certain I could do that as a foal!”
I’d had Wind Whistler fire a few at me from naturally occurring clouds back in the day, though it hadn’t always turned out well. I can still keenly remember one time when I wasn’t fully ready and ended up flat on my back with my mane and tail badly singed; I’d gotten a scolding back at the orphanage for that one.
Unaware of my thoughts, Fell Flight actually sighed and shook her head. “Ignoring the fact that ’twould seem the Gryphons are no longer a threat, what if they use fire instead of lightning, ma’am?” she asked me pointedly, to which I generated a massive gust of wind with a wing as if to disperse a gout of flame.
I’d been practicing that for weeks as well, now able to generate storm-force winds as opposed to the mere gale ones I’d been able to do before, though I’d still not been able to create a cloud from the bare air as Captain Typhoon had. Then again, the dry atmosphere didn’t help that effort, leaving me in wonder anew that he’d still been able to do it. “Enough stalling, Master Sergeant. You have your orders, now carry them out!”
“’Tis your funeral, ma’am!” my second acceded, taking careful aim.
There was a blinding flash and boom, and then I was aware of nothing until I woke up in the infirmary an hour later surrounded by worried healers, being told pointedly and truthfully by Fell Flight what an idiot I was. Even though I’d readied myself for it, the lightning bolt had blasted right through my defense and knocked me out as well as thirty feet backwards; looking back on that whole foalish affair, ’twas only my affinity for it and the fact that Fell Flight only used a half-strength bolt (she would later tell me) that had kept my heart from stopping.
“Methinks ’twould be best for me to start small, Master Sergeant,” I told her ruefully from my infirmary bed, looking down at my freshly singed fur.
“Methinks that would be a very good idea, ma’am,” Fell Flight answered back in a tone even dryer than the desert.
Two weeks later, I was packing to leave along with Gavian, who was taking little more than his sword and a selection of artwork to show his prospective teachers at the Canterlot Art Academy. ’Twould be a lie to say he wasn’t more than a little nervous about leaving the confines of Epsilon and all his friends, fearful of how he would be received outside of it. But if he wished to come to Canterlot and remain with me as we both entered our respective academies, then ’twould be best for him to see the great city first and get some idea of what it would be like.
“Think of it as a grand adventure, Gavian,” I told him when he confided his fears in me one night after dinner. “For although ’tis true few ponies have ever seen a gryphon before outside of the military, this means you can be an ambassador for your kind, and perchance plant seeds for future friendship between our races. Remember also that Princess Celestia resides in Canterlot, and she not only likes you, her word is law!” I reminded him, to which he smiled and asked somewhat shyly if we could visit her again.
“Methinks we can,” I promised him, as I’d already requested an audience for us both, and though I hadn’t yet gotten word back on the precise date and time, ’twas certain to be granted by the time we arrived. My formal uniform was packed for the occasion, and if necessary we could find some formal attire for Gavian as well at one of the many clothier shops in the city.
Just then, there was a knock on my stateroom door. “Your transport has arrived, ma’am,” Blindside stuck her head in.
“Thank you, Sergeant. We’ll be leaving in five minutes,” I acknowledged, making one last round of my stateroom to make sure we hadn’t forgotten anything. Fell Flight had already assumed command—I was already ceding much of my authority to her, giving her as much command responsibility as possible in advance of her taking charge of Outpost Omega, and also elevating a few other ponies to new positions in her wake. Though there wasn’t a new CO named yet for my coming departure, I’d recommended Flight Sergeant Osprey as operations officer, as she had more than redeemed herself in my eyes, and that Staff Sergeant Steelheart remain as training officer to continue the regimens we’d started here.
Master Sergeant Stormrunner and First Sergeant Still Way would be leaving, unfortunately, but not going back to being mere Celestial Guardsponies. Given their experience at Epsilon, the latter was being sent to develop a combat training regimen for Corps healer teams as he’d done here, whilst the former was being elevated to the newly created post of 5th Division Guardspony liaison, which would given him authority over all Corps-assigned Guardsponies attached to the 5th Division and direct the soon-to-be-implemented new training regimens being instituted Corps-wide.
The rollout was planned to start in September, after Epsilon was broken up and new procedures had been drawn up. In the meantime, we were entertaining various Corps outpost and division commanders who wished to see how our training worked, and all had left quite impressed. ’Tis worth noting that Captain Monsoon was not among them; apparently the terms of the duel he’d fought with Sirocco were such that the loser lost their command and was reassigned to headquarters. That made me doubly wish I’d witnessed the duel, or better yet, been able to do the deed myself to that arrogant stallion, but ’twas also certain that ’twould have been less meaningful than Sirocco or Blindside besting him…
Speaking of whom, I looked up to see Blindside was still standing in the doorway, looking strangely anxious. In fact, she’d been acting oddly around me for weeks now, though with everything else happening I hadn’t been able to pay it much mind. “Is there something else, Sergeant?” I asked her, arching an eyeridge at her.
She visibly cringed at that, her ears splayed flat against the side of her head. “There… there is, ma’am…” she finally got out. “Request permission to speak with you privately?”
“Very well,” I said as Gavian departed for the transport and my adjutant closed the door behind him. “What is it?” I said, studying her carefully and wondering again why she was acting so strangely around me. Sometimes it was nervous airs; others she just stood to rigid attention like now.
“Ma’am, I… I have reached a decision,” she told me, then proceeded to pull out a small scroll from inside her uniform tunic and passed it to me.
I accepted it and opened it, reading it quickly then looking up at her in surprise. “You wish to join the Lances?”
She closed her eyes and nodded. “I do, ma’am,” she said in an a strangely defeated tone. “With Epsilon breaking up and you moving on, methinks ’tis time I do so as well, and this offer seems too good to pass up…” Her shoulders slumped as she spoke.
“I see…” I replied, thinking her reaction to such a momentous choice seemed far too forlorn. “Then I will happily convey this message to my mother, and you can expect to receive new orders shortly,” I told her, watching her reaction carefully.
“Thank you, ma’am,” she told me, standing at attention but staring straight ahead and past me like she couldn’t even look at me.
At that point, I’d had enough and decided to get to the bottom of whatever was eating her, walking around my desk to get directly in front of her. “Sergeant, is there a reason why you’ve been avoiding me lately?” I asked her directly, observing her face carefully.
It did indeed crack, her blue eye going almost panicked for a moment. Recognizing my advantage, I pressed it. “I haven’t asked because we’ve had so many visitors of late, but your focus is clearly elsewhere as you’ve made several sloppy mistakes in reports these last couple weeks and lost several sparring matches to ponies you wouldst normally not. So spit it out. What’s on your mind?”
She swallowed visibly and started to sweat in a reaction I’d never seen from anypony before. “Ma’am, I…” she stammered for several seconds, and then finally got out three words: “Y-You are, ma’am,” she said in defeat, going downcast. “You are. All the time.” She added, finally raising her suddenly teary eye to meet mine.
I didn’t take her meaning at first, only getting it when I saw the way she was looking at me, my eyes widening for it and uncertain how to respond. “You mean you—”
“Ma’am. Yes, ma’am.” She turned her head away and closed her eyes tightly. “Ever since you saved me in the battle. And now that you’re going to be leaving…” the rest went unsaid.
For one of the few times in my life, I was struck speechless. Fraternization was frowned upon in both the Corps and the Guard, but it did happen, especially out on the frontier where you had to live in close quarters with and rely on each other. The Corps tended to turn a blind eye to it for the most part as long as it did not interfere with good order and discipline; ’twas hardly a secret that the few stallions on base tended to end up servicing more than a few mares during their time here. Herds were known to start from such arrangements of convenience that grew into something more.
’Twas also not uncommon in Equestrian society for mares to enter relationships in the absence of a stallion, doubly so on an Aerial Corps border base that was over ninety percent female! I’d heard anecdotally of a few such relationships, but never dreamed I’d be the target of one!
“I see…” I told her cautiously, though it seemed woefully inadequate to her admission, which certainly explained all her odd behavior of late! I’d never considered romantic involvement in the past; my only love affair had been with the Guard, though I admit I’d been given some moments of thrill when I’d dueled Sky Sentry and found him surprisingly good and a worthy test. But in the end, I’d barely thought about stallions, let alone mares, and in any event, certain things that were considered okay for lower ranked soldiers were simply not proper between a base commander and a much-lower ranked subordinate. “Methinks I understand how hard this was for you…”
“No, ma’am,” she replied. “What’s hard for me is knowing that once this base is broken up, I won’t be able to stay at your side or even see you for many months—if not years!—after this. What’s hard is knowing that given our difference in rank and ability, you cannot return my interest, and I am not your peer, ma’am!” Her words came quickly now. “’Tis my hope that by joining the Lances, I will become as good as you and then can one day stand at your side as an equal, both in rank and in skill. That then and only then, will I be truly worthy of your friendship. And perchance more.” She stifled a sob, now shaking badly.
Of all the tests of command and combat I had received and passed over the previous year, this was in some ways the one I was least trained or ready for! I chose my next words very carefully, knowing that they would likely echo down the course of her career and life. “I thank you for sharing this. But even were it not for our large difference of rank, I fear I am far from ready for such a thing, my friend,” I told her gently. “But for the courage you have shown and unquestioned ability you possess, I do believe you are ready for the Lances.”
Seeing her sadness, I put my hooves on her shoulders. “This admission does not change that you are my friend, Blindside, nor that I care for you. I wish to see you succeed as a Black Lance, and wish very much to see the warrior you can yet become. Even after we depart, we will meet again one day, and then?” I grinned. “We will spar and share a drink, after which who can say? But whatever the future holds for us both, know that I am glad to have met you and very proud to have you here with me. I saved you once, and who knows? Perchance you can one day yet save me,” I finished with a smile, having no idea how prophetic those words truly were.
She looked up at that, her eyes glimmering as she considered her response. The one she finally came up with was completely unexpected as she suddenly reached in and kissed me hard, then ran out of the room at her top speed, covering her good eye with a wing.
Thank you for sharing this story, My Captain, and for not asking me to write it. For as hard as it was for me to go through at the time, methinks I could not have managed it here, either! —Blindside
You’re very welcome, my friend. Though I told the truth at the time when I said I was far from ready, be assured, you didst get me thinking, and before long I found myself hoping that in time, you wouldst succeed in the Lances so the differences in skill and stature between us would be less. When it came down to it, you were right—I did need an equal for a partner, as it turned out, and over the years I would find several… including some in surprising places! —Firefly
’Twas hard to believe that for all the time Gavian had spent with us at that point, he’d still seen nothing of Equestria outside of the immediate area around Epsilon and a brief stay at Gamma after he’d been initially captured.
’Twas thus that he faced his first real trip into our nation with both trepidation and excitement, wondering what he would see and how he would be received as our transport took off. Instead of the small dirigibles we used, the Gryphons had special air carriages pulled by sky gryphons, not unlike the small passenger chariots you could hire in towns but much bigger, designed to carry Earth Gryphons and large amounts of goods alike. Being able to fly hundreds of miles at a time, Sky Gryphons like Gavian didn’t need them for the most part, though he granted that they still needed ships to cross the vast expanse of ocean between their homeland and their colonies on the Equestrian continent.
As we got moving and gained altitude, he watched in some wonder as the desert gave way within just a few dozen ‘leagues’ to fertile farmlands and forest as pony weather control came into play the further away from the border we got. The Foal Mountains were lush and the towns nestled in them quite colorful, far more so than the rather drab structures we used for our outposts; more than once he grabbed for his sketchpad to draw what he saw.
In fact, by the end of our trip he’d filled half a dozen sheets of scroll paper with scribbles, to the amusement of our pilot and Swift Strike. The latter had insisted on coming with us as Gavian’s bodyguard in his usual guise of Corporal Zephyr; his orders said he was accompanying us as my aide.
’Twas only when our first destination appeared in the distance that Gavian truly became awestruck, as Cloudsdale floated into view. ’Twas my first visit to the great city of the sky as well, and in truth, ’tis certain I was not unaffected either. Mere stories and descriptions did not do it justice, between the massive cloud structure the various levels of the city sat on to the ornate architecture and columns hearkening back to the imperial pegasi of old.
And that was to say nothing of all the colorful ponies flitting to and fro, the rainbow falls, and the large and prominent weather factory dominating one end of the skyline, occasionally spitting out a fresh cloud to be immediately tended by the weather workers. Fell Flight’s family and Blindside’s mother lived here, I knew, though the thought of the latter and our talk just hours earlier still made me blush. I honestly had no idea how I was going to deal with our remaining time together at that point, but I had two weeks leave to consider it, and intended to make the most of them.
A honor guard from the Corps 1st Division, which was responsible for defending Cloudsdale and central Equestria, was waiting as we docked at a transport platform and disembarked; the local garrison commander, First Lieutenant Silver Streak, there to greet us.
“Welcome to Cloudsdale, Master Sergeant Firefly!” He said after he’d called present arms and I’d returned the salute, sparing Gavian a slightly wary glance. “We are honored by your presence here.”
“Good to be here, First Lieutenant,” I told him, sparing him an appraising glance of my own and thinking that both he and the soldiers that accompanied him looked far too soft. And was that because they weren’t assigned to the border, or was it simply a function of me being around my own trim and well-trained troops for so long? “Here are my orders,” I passed him the scroll that bore his instructions as well as the seal of General Fairweather, and he made a show of looking over them even though he full well knew what was in them.
“Everything is in order and ready,” he told me. I’d been granted leave on the condition that I also do a few recruiting stops and give some speeches, including a series of them at Cloudsdale. To that end, a whirlwind tour had been arranged by the Corps of a few select locations, beginning as soon as I stepped off the transport. “We have quarters arranged for both you and your… son.” he gave Gavian another look, trying to hide his distaste. “But I’m afraid that for his safety and for that of others, we must ask that he remove his weapon.”
I pinned him with a look. “His sword stays,” I told him in no uncertain terms, passing him another order from General Fairweather to that effect, one I had personally requested. “As there may be some who wish him ill, I will not have him disarmed.”
He looked unhappy as he read it over, but acceded. “Very well, ma’am. Methinks he is more than welcome to accompany us. So if you will then follow me?”
We took flight over the surprisingly large and sprawling city, the First Lieutenant playing the part of tour guide whilst the rest of the squad he had with us played escort, flanking us six to a side. Gavian stuck close to me, somewhat nervous about the looks he was getting from the soldiers but surprising Silver Streak by asking him questions in Equish, even once or twice grabbing pen and parchment from his satchel to quickly sketch something when we alit.
Our first stop was a place I’d heard about from many different ponies—the Cloudsdale flight school, used to train young pegasi at an early age. They sent instructors down into the earthbound towns to help train pegasi there, as had happened with me, but as much as possible they preferred that pegasi come to Cloudsdale instead, which was our ancestral home. When we arrived, the head of the school greeted me, and I was surprised when I saw a large and well-built stallion off to one side, wearing the uniform of a flight instructor, underneath which was a grey coat and blonde mane punctuated with a lightning bolt cutie mark.
I knew who he was; Blindside and Fell Flight had told me of him in the past, if not all the particulars at that point. He also had a reputation as a magnificent soldier and fighter, one who had in fact turned down commendation for his role in the Phoenix Fire operation, where his exploits and martial feats featured prominently in the news scrolls. Which, in hindsight, ’tis certain was to his great chagrin.
Regardless, after giving my speech and formally introducing Gavian to the students as ‘an example of what friendship can do,’ I sought him out, stepping before him and saluting. “Good to meet you, Second Lieutenant Thunderbolt. I have heard much of you from no less than two of my subordinates.”
He returned the salute with a strangely wan grin. “I’ve resigned my commission, so it’s just ‘Flight Instructor’ now, Master Sergeant. And methinks I have heard much of you from my former students as well. You have captured the imagination of many in my classes, and you honor us with your presence.” He looked me over from head to hoof; I sensed a practiced warrior eye appraising me.
“’Tis my honor to be here,” I quickly answered, doing the same back, but keeping half an eye on Gavian the whole time even though I knew Swift Strike had his back. As he was not around soldiers, his reception was less leery, he seemed more a curiosity to the pegasus foals than anything else, who, ’twas certain, had never seen a gryphon before. Some were even chancing coming up to him and speaking with him, to the evident consternation of their parents. “Fell Flight and Blindside offer their regards,” I passed him a pair of letter scrolls.
He accepted them with a more genuine smile. “Thank you,” he acknowledged, sparing Gavian a glance but then just as quickly looking away, a pained shadow passing briefly over his face. “Methinks I had heard you adopted a young gryphon as your son, but methinks I also did not believe it possible until now. I understand he was a former raider?” he asked, though I might have imagined the unfavorable note in his voice.
“’Tis true, but before that he was an orphan abandoned by his own parents for his small size,” I quickly said, reciting a well-practiced speech I’d come up with for answering the inevitable questions of why I adopted him; one I was planning to use in some public speeches to come. “He joined out of desperation, as I’m sure far too many do. But when he was captured, the Empire tried to kill him with Ravens for fear of what he would reveal, and thus he threw his lot in with us,” I explained.
“He told us everything he could, and ’tis no exaggeration to say that his information averted a war with the Empire and saved thousands of lives. Celestia awarded him Equestrian citizenship for his efforts, and we began schooling him in both academic and artistic subjects, all of which he took to eagerly.
“’Twas not instant, but over time, we came to see him as something more than an enemy; over time I felt closer and closer to him and until finally he saw me as his mother whilst I saw him as not just a friend, but a son.” With those words, I cast an affectionate and prideful glance his way. “His size is small, but his potential vast; he is now skilled with not just his sword, but has a surprisingly strong talent for drawing and will soon enter the Canterlot Art Academy.”
“Truly?” Thunderbolt said, then hesitated for a moment, looking over at him a second time. He hesitated for a moment more, but then seemed to reach a decision. “Perchance I might meet him then?” he requested politely.
‘Tis certain the idea would have given me far more pause if I’d known his past at that point, but methinks in hindsight, he meant Gavian no harm. Neigh, he was merely testing himself, trying to determine if his bloodlust or hatred for gryphons remained in the face of one who was not foe but friend.
So I escorted Thunderbolt up, not immediately catching Swift Strike’s alarmed look at his approach, though I did notice the disguised Black Lance shifting fractionally in case he had to intervene immediately.
I wasn’t sure what that was about, but I couldn’t imagine there was any sort of threat, and even if there was, if Gavian couldn’t handle it, Swift Strike or I certainly could. “Gavian, I’d like you to meet a former mentor of Blindside and Fell Flight. This is former Second Lieutenant Thunderbolt,” I motioned to my right.
“Lieu-tenant?” he recognized the officer rank and immediately stood to attention and saluted in the pony manner. “Pleased to meet you, sir! My friends have spoken good of you.” He bared his throat and offered his curled talons in greeting.
“Spoken well,” I corrected him. “Forgive him, sir. He’s still learning Equish, but he’s come a very long way in just six months.”
Thunderbolt didn’t reply immediately, staring a little too fixedly at him and making Swift Strike’s hoof move towards one of his hidden blades. But whatever was going through his mind, the large stallion noticed Swift Strike and smirked, then finally returned the salute and smiled, bumping his hoof to Gavian’s talons. “Pleased to meet you as well, young fledgling. And I think you’re surprisingly well-spoken. You’ve clearly taken to your lessons well to be speaking our language in but half a year,” he noted. “Tell me, how well can you fly?”
“Quite well!” Gavian answered and ’twas certainly the truth. “I can fly the base obstacle course with ease and even spar with soldiers!”
“Truly?” Thunderbolt said again in genuine surprise, giving me an incredulous look.
“Truly,” I confirmed. Methinks I was not fully certain what to make of his reactions, which seemed a little off, somehow. “He’s trained hard and made himself so much a part of our base that our soldiers not only accept him, they’re willing to practice with him. He’s a fine opponent and becoming quite a good warrior in his own right—one ’tis certain his smaller size meant the Empire would never have allowed him to be.”
“I see.” Thunderbolt initially looked as if he wasn’t sure what to make of that. But then he smiled again and spoke in Aeric, to Gavian’s surprise, who answered in kind.
I didn’t know what was being said, but in the end, the pair bumped hooves again and Gavian gave him a parting salute, which Thunderbolt returned before flying off back to his students. “What did he say?” I asked him.
“He wished me luck and said he might want to test me!” Gavian announced eagerly. “Even invited me over tomorrow morning before school so we can spar! Can I, mother?”
“With respect, methinks that’s not a good idea, ma’am,” Swift Strike finally spoke up, an unusual edge to his voice. “Thunderbolt’s fame precedes him, but ’tis not generally known that he has a very… troubled past, and some very bad experiences with gryphons,” he said shortly and in clipped tones, looking after the former lieutenant as he rejoined his students. “That’s not a slur against you, Gavian. I don’t know that anything bad would happen; it may even be likely that nothing will. But he has some dangerous demons and methinks it best not to tempt them,” he added on seeing our gryphon friend go a bit crestfallen, giving me a look that said in no uncertain terms not to let Gavian near Thunderbolt again.
In the end, I acceded to that, making an excuse to both that would keep him away. For although Gavian would be disappointed, if Thunderbolt made a veteran Lance like Swift Strike of all ponies nervous enough to warn us away, that was reason enough to listen. And it would be many weeks more before I would truly understand why.
In the end, we stayed in Cloudsdale three days, visiting the Corps base and recruiting center, the old Pegasopolis history museum, and last but not least, the weather factory. Twas there I met Fell Flight’s pegasus parents, who said they’d heard much about me from their daughter, thanking me for ‘seeing past her eyes’ and accepting her as my second. Though somewhat surprised at that—it’d never been an issue with me, but apparently Cloudsdale pegasi were a bit more purist about such things—I thanked them in turn for raising such a superb soldier, though they quickly said they could take no responsibility for it, as nopony else in their family had ever entered the military before!
I gave speeches encouraging Corps enlistment at each place I visited in front of surprisingly large audiences; in the end my jaw started to get sore from all the talking I did and autographs I signed. To those who asked if they could join the Guard themselves, I gave the same answer—you may, but make very sure you were doing so for the right reasons: to serve Equestria and help others, not for hope of honor or personal glory.
We did not see Thunderbolt again, but that didn’t mean there was no trouble. Some uniformed Cloudsdale militia members found us at dinner and started taunting Gavian one evening, calling him a chicken as well as other various slurs—so he respectfully asked for my permission to ‘put them in their place’. Upon receiving it—I knew he could deal with them at this point; his skills had only grown further since he won his fight with Osprey—he challenged them to a duel whilst Swift Strike and I watched close and made clear that if his opponents exceeded the nonlethal terms of the fight, they would quickly and sorely regret it.
Though the three were armed with older wingblade models, Gavian did me proud by taking them all on at once and even made a point of outflying and beating them without ever drawing his sword, though I don’t think his opponents understood how badly he was insulting them by keeping it sheathed, in effect saying they were not worthy of his blade. Regardless, after all the times he’d sparred with me, Swift Strike, Fell Flight and all the other Corps troops, three half-trained militia soldiers were nothing to him. He bested them easily with beak and talons alone and didn’t hurt them too badly, even doing me proud by head-butting the last one into submission like he’d seen me do a few times!
And his reward for winning? He simply told them to buy him some of the pastry cakes from a local bakery he’d tried earlier that day and loved, and to fight him again only after they’d “become real soldiers”, ordering them to enter the Aerial Corps!
After Cloudsdale came Canterlot, his first ever visit to the Equestrian Capital and my second. We arrived after a three-hour transport flight, to Gavian’s disappointment—his earlier nerves now gone after three good days in Cloudsdale, he was much more eager to see Equestria and hoped to fly there ourselves when he learned it was ‘but sixty leagues’. Though a stretch for most pegasi, that was well within a sky gryphon’s flying range and mine or Swift Strike’s as well, but I had to tell him no—that a gryphon approaching Canterlot from the air might ‘cause some consternation’ (I had to define the word for him after that) and it was best to arrive by scheduled transport at a time and place we would be expected.
A gleaming alabaster city built into the side of a mountain, Canterlot was just as awe-inspiring from the air as I remembered it, though it had been a decade or more since I last saw it. Gavian was no less stunned by the sight of it, hurriedly sketching it as we approached, adding to the dozens of drawings he’d already made on our trip.
We arrived without incident to a Royal Guard honor guard headed up by First Lieutenant Spellbinder, the unicorn head of the Celestial Guard and given a quartet of Guardsponies to act as our escorts… along with, I had no doubt, EIS agents watching over us from the alleyways and shadows, ready to take out any assassin that came near. I didn’t think there’d be any here, but you never knew—if nothing else I’d received a few reports before leaving that said Diamond Dog activity was up in recent weeks; there’d even been robberies and tunnels found not far from Canterlot.
After a tour of Corps Headquarters and a meeting with General Fairweather—and yes, she did pose so Gavian could keep his promise to sketch her portrait that day—we were escorted to the enormous Celestial Castle, home of the Princess herself. Our presence was expected; I had received notice at Cloudsdale that we’d been granted a private audience with the Princess, specifying a time and place to be there.
For all he’d already seen, Gavian was most in awe as the three of us walked down the long and very opulent hallway leading to where the Princess held court, lined with massive glass windows each depicting a different scene in Equestrian history, gold-armored Celestial Guardsponies standing sentry at intervals whilst a few mare maids and orderlies tending various housekeeping duties gave Gavian wary but not fearful glances, leaving me no doubt that they were PSD agents ready to cut him down instantly if he proved any sort of threat.
Finally, we arrived before the great hall itself, guarded by two enormous doors. The unicorn Guardsponies pulled them open to reveal… a long plush carpet leading to a magnificent throne, upon which sat the solar princess herself.
Gavian visibly swallowed at her sight, and I cannot say I was any less awed as our presence was announced. “My Princess, may I present Master Sergeant Firefly of the Armored Guard, together with her aide, Corporal Zephyr Sparrow and her adopted son, Gavian Ravenoff!” Celestia’s pegasus High Chancellor announced, and if I hadn’t been so overawed by our surroundings myself, I might have taken more notice of her wide eyes and twitching wings.
“Welcome to Canterlot, my friends. Approach and be recognized,” Celestia invited with a warm smile, her mane billowing out to the side in three pastel shades as it often did.
Walking that path to her seemed interminably long, though in reality it couldn’t have taken more than twenty seconds. When we got before her, we all flared our wings and bowed low; it later occurred to me that I never saw Gavian bow except before the princess herself. When I finally asked him about it, he said it was because gryphons only ever bowed before royalty.
“My Princess.” I held my bow as I spoke. “We are honored to be in your presence,” I offered, and ’twas certainly the truth—for all she had done for me, Gavian and so many others, she was the epitome of a wise and just ruler in my mind.
“Th-thank you for having me, M-My Princess” Gavian added somewhat nervously, his feathers slightly ruffled; his wings and tail twitching anxiously.
“Be at ease, my young friend. And be honored. For you are the first of your race to ever grace these halls,” she told him, giving him a warm and friendly smile. “’Tis my great hope that you will be but the first of many gryphons who come here in peace and friendship.”
Gavian smiled somewhat more wanly in return—’twas certain he had no love for the Empire at that point, and certainly didn’t see himself as a representative of it. But as an emissary for his race, if not the Empire…?
“You honor me, Princess Celestia,” he finally raised himself out of his bow. “For all I have learned of friendship as well as the Equish language, ’tis my fondest hope our two races might yet be allies as well…”
After a private hourlong tea session with the princess where she personally introduced Gavian to Picture Perfect, the unicorn headmistress of the art academy, we went with her there via royal carriage, where she allowed Gavian to wander somewhat dazed through the galleries of great pony artists and sculptors of the past.
Though no art connoisseur myself, I could certainly appreciate the skill I saw, and from the looks of things Gavian could as well, suddenly finding his own quite wanting. Nevertheless, at the headmistress’s behest, he showed her his many sketches and drawings, and found himself the subject of praise and an impromptu lesson, as she showed him quickly how to vary his pen pressure and different angles of the quill to produce fluid lines of varying thickness at different parts of the stroke to surprisingly good effect. Fascinated, he tried it himself with somewhat less success, but he was now quite excited, and eager to see more.
My experience with most Canterlot unicorns ’twas always that they were somewhat snobbish, but Picture Perfect seemed to be an exception to that rule, as she answered all his questions carefully, including where he would be housed and what the classes were like. In answer to that, she simply introduced him to one class in progress, causing many heads to turn when he entered. When challenged by the startled and somewhat dubious students to show what he could do, he did so, turning out a quick sketch… of the princess on her throne.
Though a few sniffed at that, pointing out various flaws I could only describe as nitpicking, Picture Perfect silenced the neighsaying by saying that he’d already shown great talent and skill for being self-taught, to say nothing of using his talons to hold a quill instead of a magical aura!
By the end of the day, he was ready to begin his studies there immediately, but knew he’d have to wait for the start of next term, still six weeks away. “Can you wait that long?” I teased him as we headed to our final destination of the day, the Equestrian Officer Academy.
“’Tis like Valhalla, mother…” he told me, which I recognized as a reference to the Gryphon version of the Summerlands. “So much to learn here…”
“And you will have plenty of time to do so,” Swift Strike reminded him, pleased by his enthusiasm.
“Indeed,” I confirmed, “because I’m going to be here with you in Canterlot for the next two years…”
* * * * *
After we’d visited his future school, ’twas time for me to visit my own.
The Equestrian Officer Academy was a surprisingly small facility, as it only ever housed around two hundred students at a time. There were some small training grounds and a few drill fields, but unlike basic, most of the work here was academic in nature, focusing on mastering various military subjects. These included such topics as history, strategy and tactics, ranging from retrospectives of the great battles of old to simple study of the oft-neglected yet supremely important military arts like logistics or supply.
Whilst there, I would lose my sergeant stripes and instead bear the title of ‘mustang’, which was an old term they used for officers that were elevated from the enlisted ranks as opposed to a military college or academy. It used to be that officers and enlisted were trained separately at the start, the former drawn from nobles and the more educated classes, but ’twas later realized that the best officers came from the ranks and thus, you could only be selected for officer training once you’d proven yourself worthy with years of superb service and a high enlisted rank. For most ponies, it was a culmination of their careers to become a commissioned officer; most never got the chance and others were simply content with their station and did not wish to spend two years of their lives in effect starting over.
I was not such a pony, on either count. I had shot through the ranks with incredible speed and earned this opportunity in record time. There were some times I wondered if I was truly worthy of it, but then I remembered that not just General Fairweather but even Captain Typhoon, who was the most powerful pegasus I’d ever met, had found me deserving. Sadly, he was not present in Canterlot when I was there, on leave himself to visit his herd in the south, but there was little for it. I’d already been graced with his presence twice before, and that was far more than many young Guardsponies ever got.
Regardless, I found the school satisfactory and looked forward to starting there in eight weeks. I’d already received a slew of materials to start studying even before I arrived, and knew I was going to have my head buried in books for a while. Wind Whistler would no doubt tease me for it when the time came, as much as she would likely be disappointed that I would disappear into the academy for two years, but perchance ’twas for the best—’twould give her some seasoning before I emerged a Second Lieutenant, and perchance I could get her under my future command then.
We stayed in Canterlot for two more days before moving on, touring the city privately now that my immediate duties were complete, seeing everything from the Canterlot gardens to sampling wares from the very high end pastry shops. Gavian proved surprisingly popular with the nobles and Canterlot elite whilst we were there, in part because he was a novelty and in part because ’twas known that he had the Princess’ favor, and thus to curry favor with him was to do so with her in their minds. And from there? ’Twas time to return to my foalhood home, several hours flight to the southeast.
Whilst my hometown of Spur was certainly a step or five down from the opulence of Canterlot, there was nothing quite like the feeling of coming home after a protracted period away. Our transport touched down in Fort Spur’s airfield around lunchtime—I’d asked for such an arrival time so ’twould be more likely I would not be interrupting anything and the Sergeant Major would be available. And it worked, as we found Windshear waiting for us at the dock.
“Welcome back, Master Sergeant,” he said as he returned my salute, noting the addition of a sixth stripe to my shoulders with a pleased smile. “I see you’ve gone and jumped yet another rank. At this rate, perchance it won’t be long before I have to salute you?”
“Perchance sooner than you think, Sergeant Major,” I replied with a grin. “Captain Typhoon has secured me a place in the next class of the Equestrian Officer Academy.”
Windshear nodded and smiled. “I am well aware, Master Sergeant. They announced it to all of us at reveille when it happened. Methinks the pleased look on your sister’s face was something to behold.” He was hiding it well, but I could tell he was quite proud of me. “’Tis certain you have come a long way in such a short time. ’Tis no exaggeration on my part to say you are one of the finest Guardsponies I have ever trained.”
“Thank you, sir,” I said with a nod and a slight blush. I badly wanted to ask him directly about Wind Whistler, but it could wait for a bit as I then gestured to Gavian, who was hanging back slightly, perchance intimidated by the large and muscular stallion before him wearing a wingblade cutie mark and the stripes of a Sergeant Major. “Sergeant Major Windshear, I believe ’tis time you meet a very special lad. This is Gavian Ravenoff, the fine young tiercel who provided us the intelligence needed to thwart the Empire’s plans for an invasion of Equestria.”
He turned to Gavian and sized him up, noting his small stature and the Raven scimitar on his back. “Welcome to Equestria and Fort Spur, young fledgling. ’Tis certain I never thought the day would come when I could greet a gryphon as a friend.” He offered him his hoof and a surprisingly warm smile.
Taking his cue, Gavian stepped forward and respectfully bared his throat, bumping his curled talons to the Sergeant Major’s hoof. “Thank you, sir. Mother speaks good… er, well of you,” he quickly corrected with a glance at me. “She says you were her ment-or.” He took great pains to pronounce the previously unfamiliar word properly.
Windshear smiled at that. “I suppose I was. To this day, methinks she’s the only recruit who was ever able to best me one-on-one. And I may yet seek a rematch for it, Master Sergeant.” He grinned at me to which I grinned back.
“’Twould be my greatest pleasure, Sergeant Major. I take it none of the new recruits hold such promise?” I asked him slightly teasingly.
“Well, methinks one might…” he granted. “But enough small talk. Time is as short as the lunch hour, so I assume you wouldst wish to use it to discuss your sister…?”
* * * * *
I did indeed, so Gavian and I followed him back to his office, and I’m sure ’twas a startling sight to see a gryphon flying alongside us to anypony watching. Upon entering at the Sergeant Major’s invitation, Gavian took one look at the back wall and immediately stopped short. His eyes went wide as he spotted the Red Talon regalia, recognizing the implications immediately as both Windshear and I grimaced, kicking ourselves at the belated realization that it was evidence the former had killed gryphons in the past. Then again, I had too, so why would he hold that against him?
Nevertheless, I held my breath as Gavian stared at the Sergeant Major, not in shock or fear, but in what I could only describe as excitement. “You slew… Talaeus?” he asked in disbelief, his Equish faltering slightly again as he pointed a trembling talon at the trophies.
Windshear looked at him, then to me, asking how he should answer. I gave him a brief nod in response, knowing there was little point in denying the obvious. “Yes, young gryphon. I did,” he admitted somewhat warily. “And forgive me, but… ’tis not a tale I care to share.”
Gavian gaped at him, his expression awestruck, then stepped back and startled us both when he drew his sword from his back. I wasn’t immediately sure what he was doing until he came to rigid attention… and saluted the Sergeant Major, holding the blade vertical whilst baring his throat. “I am honored and in your debt, sir!” he said, keeping his sword upright. “The Talaeus you slew… I knew him. And I hated him.”
Though as surprised and confused as I was, Windshear returned the salute. “You knew him? How?” he had to ask. “And how could you recognize him from this?”
With his salute returned, he finally resheathed his sword. “Unlike Talons, Talaeus are allowed to... to al-ter their weapons and armor as they wish!” he explained excitedly, stumbling slightly over the one word. “Thus, each dresses diff-er-ent! And that helm-et… I have seen it before! It has the crest of the Calea clan, worn only by First Spear Miyal Calea!” he recited, causing Windshear to gape at him in surprise.
“That… is correct…” Windshear confirmed, his jaw still slack. “But… how do you know him?”
“From when he bull-ied and beat me.” Gavian sniffled and his wings twitched at the memory. “When I was but eight, I scavenged from the trash pile at Eagle Base constantly. He caught me once and thrashed me, leaving me buried in the garbage whilst telling me I was trash, but it didn’t stop there. He then made it sport to hunt me and hurt me at least once every few days. No matter where I hid, he found me. He forced me to beg for my life and then put blades to my throat, constantly threatening to kill me, making me wish he finally would!” Gavian’s beak and voice were trembling.
“He told me more than once that when he finally got tired of me, he’d slay me. He left me beaten and in fear for my life for weeks! But then, all at once… it stopped. And then I learned why—that he had been slain… by a pony! By you!” Gavian pointed a talon at Windshear. “Methinks I was never so happy as that day I heard the news and knew I was safe. I owe you my life, Sergeant Major. I am in your debt as much as mother’s, now and forever!” He bared his throat at my mentor, hard.
I was scarcely less shocked by the revelation than Windshear, who could only stare stunned at first. “Then… you are very, very welcome, young gryphon,” he finally said, “though ’twould be a lie to say I knew anything of you at the time. Methinks from my encounter with him, that does sound like him, though…” His own eyes narrowed in memory. “He was a murderer, not a warrior. A cruel and callous brute who broke his own orders to attack Omega, seeking vengeance, or so he said, for lost honor. I fought him to save a village, and ’twas a terrible fight indeed.” He shook his head in memory.
“But methinks it pleases me to know that it had such far-reaching effects. Thank you for sharing this with me, Gavian Ravenoff. And if you wish to thank me, you may do so by simply being the honorable gryphon you clearly are, and by becoming the best son, friend and warrior you can.”
Gavian saluted him again at that. “I will, sir. On that, I give you my word!”
The discussion of Wind Whistler was almost anticlimactic after that. She was doing increasingly well, Windshear assured me, and now stood a better than fifty percent chance of not only completing training, but graduating a Corporal.
“The stallions have given her no more guff, now that she finally showed she could effectively fight back. To be sure, she is gaining the ability to carry her armor more slowly than the rest, and ’tis certain she will never win a contest of strength with a Guardspony stallion, but methinks I’ve never seen a smarter recruit, or one who can so readily spot weaknesses and turn their opponent’s attacks against them!” he told me, asking me if I wanted to visit her and the now but forty stallions that remained out of the original hundred-strong pegasus recruit class.
I declined. As much as I might have wanted to see her, that would smack of favoritism or using my rank to unfair advantage. But I swore I would be there for her graduation and to see her in her new armor, saying that my one indulgence would be that when the time came, I would present her new rank myself…
In the end, methinks ’twas but one more promise that could not be fulfilled, but in its place, another would be. For my beloved sister would soon face her own terrible trial along with the rest of her recruit class, and be fighting at my side far sooner than either of us dreamed possible.
Set a new record on this one, folks, churning out the entire chapter in just a single day in the span of fourteen hours, mostly because I was desperate for a break from a very difficult Five Star Service chapter. Can’t even say I knew that much about what I wanted to write other than a couple very general ideas, I just started writing and didn’t stop, grinding it out beginning to end. To be sure, I can’t take credit for the ending sequence between Gavian and Windshear; that was Leo’s idea and I ran with it.
Thanks as always to my prereading team for a rapid response and tons of comments on the parent google doc, including as always AJ_Aficionado, SilentWoodfire, Denim_Blue, TheGoldCrow and Leo Archon. They had a good time with this one, and hopefully you will too!
On a side note, the musical selections in here are all from Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon, as homage to TheGoldCrow’s fandub playthrough series of it, which I’ve been giving him running commentary on. TheGoldCrow, you may recall, was the voice of Phoenix Wright in Turnabout Storm, and does a lot of VA work for other projects as well, including this one of his own design. It’s very well-produced and makes an already good game even more interesting, so feel free to check it out!
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Wait, Firefly? isn't that a G1 pony?
8006153
Yes indeed.
Some even say she's G1's Rainbow Dash, in effect making her Dash's ancestor, so that's who she is here, re-imagined as a great warrior of the past.
Best day!
Cool to see Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon music, good taste. That game's ending was super depressing. It had me bawing like a bishie.
Good chapter
...Starting out the chapter with a "bang", I see...
Wow, was not expecting Blindside to admit that she had feelings for Firefly...
Bless you TGC for your contribution to both Ace Attorney and MLP. Also, Pokeymans.
Those who can't...
Isn't that... kinda suicidally stupid?
Spoilers: I'll have at least one more use of Dr. Weird in the last chapter of Five Star Service. He's honest-to-god the funniest thing I've ever seen on television and we'll never see the likes of him again. People familiar with ATHF will be familiar with that clip as it's widely accepted to be the funniest of the lot.
We're talking .22 versus 30-06 here. This sucker will knock a moose down, doncha know!
Alright... what if they use heat-seeking missiles?
No problem!
Impressive! No wonder Blindside wants a piece of that...
What was that, Sargeant!?
(Sigh) Nothing. I'll call the ambulance for you. You'll be needing it...
"Hey Bubba, watch this!" The famous last words of the pegasus.
I probably wouldn't start asking for a key to the city or anything though... Or standing around outside the elementary school.
Steelhooves AND Osprey getting promotions? Can't complain about that!
Glad to see things are going well for him. Been wondering how the Zen Master's been faring.
It's your first ship, dear; you're bound to be nervous. Just ease into the throttle, steer as many of your guns as possible into the face of the enemy, and fire at will once you're within optimal range of your broadside batteries. She'll be begging for it in no time!
If this ship doesn't happen I'm going to write it myself, commander!
So... cute!
i.ytimg.com/vi/Kn3pUQMV7Ok/maxresdefault.jpg
That's kind of dangerous, actually. Knocking up a mare is going to take that asset off the front lines until she's had her child, and her morale will be wrecked after going back since she's naturally going to want to care for it -- though in Equestria's current peace-time footing, it's understandable why they'd be okay with it for now. I can totally see mares out in the field giving each other a helping hoof when estrus comes around... Just sayin'. Moonless night... no action in your sector... you've got the fire down below where the hoses cannot go. You've been through hell and back together with your squadmate, put your lives in her hooves more times than you can count, and she knows what you're going through. It's going to happen, Tulip Vale.
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A pity, but the only proper decision a professional like Firefly would make.
I was young once and full of feels like this one. Been well over a decade since I've felt that way for someone, but a scene like this really brings those old wounds back...
img.ifcdn.com/images/912a4fd26e2eb9571530913405fbd6142ed901488412d62fd31e8c5f147512d0_1.jpg
Would they really have a term like — nevermind. Not worth changing it, to be honest.
“His size his small, but his potential quite great; he is now skilled with not just his sword, but has a surprisingly strong talent for drawing and will soon enter the Canterlot Art Academy.”
Eheheheh... no.
To say nothing for the experience the gryphons had with him!
theclio.com/web/ul/19485.39187.jpg
Quite the unconventional recruitment tool but... it works!
Intimidating, but at least she isn't likely to condemn you to death for a slight infraction, like King George III would.
So many magics, so little time.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2016/6/4/1170358__safe_fluttershy_blushing_bedroom+eyes_dialogue_artist-colon-lumineko_photo+finish_flutter+brutter_spoiler-colon-s06e11_green+isn%27t+your+color.png
Otherwise known as "getting there first with the most".
Worse, ranks were often sold for cash or parliamentary influence. This came back to really bite Great Britain in the ass a time or two, who often resorted to bribes to get an MP to vote a certain way, lest the Prime Minister lose face for himself and his country. This broken system nonetheless withstood centuries of use, only finally being stopped after tens of thousands of dead in the Crimean War. Thankfully as Celestia is not shackled to a parliament, she can at least choose from the pick of the aristocracy.
Awkward. And yet somehow not nearly as awkward as it could have been. Definitely an indication of just how little Gavian has to lose by being rid of the gryphons.
8006267
Because you got both Five Stars and Firefly chapters? Glad to be of service!
8006650
Haven't reached the ending of the game yet in the dubbed playthrough videos, but I will say there's been twists galore.
8007322
Mostly, just wanted to show that Firefly isn't perfect and can even be prone to overconfidence, including the occasional "Hey y'all, watch this!" moment as well.
8008772
Neither was I until the chapter started to be written, and then it just came out. That's the best kind of writing, if you ask me, when it guides you itself. And besides, that's how life works. Things don't always happen in the order or manner you expect, and then you just have to go with it.
8008848
How triggering! What about Pokeywomans? And what about those who don't identify as either gender????
Those who can't do, teach. And those who can't teach, teach gym.
Indeed it is. Pegasi are weather-resistant to be sure, but that doesn't extend to taking a military-grade lightning bolt at point-blank range. Remember what happened to Ace Swift in TAS? At least Firefly's not holding a golf club in her mouth here...
Then I look forward to it! Along with getting that final chapter done, which will be a huge load off my mind...
Yeah, you really don't want to try to catch this one with your teeth there, Firefly.
Actually... both they and the ponies might come up with a variant of them!
Who doesn't, at this point?
And what Fell Flight hasn't told her is she only used a half-strength bolt...
Mostly, I wanted to show that for as much as she's learned and as far as she's come, Firefly still isn't above overconfidence or overestimating her own abilities. When your head gets a little too swelled, you need to get brought back down to earth... and sometimes get smacked down hard to be reminded of where you stand. Such it was here.
Yep, but thankfully Gavian's got more sense than that.
Thought you'd be happy at that! Now to see to...
I actually consider it an oversight now I somewhat forgot about him. I may try to recon earlier chapters to put him in.
Left unsaid at the moment is whether Blindside's ever had a fillyfriend or sex before. I'm not sure the answer myself right now.
Well, I know if I don't, Denim Blue will!
Poor filly, though... I now feel for her too.
Well, it's only a danger during estrus, which only happens every so often for any given mare, and in that case, there are contraceptive spells and potions around, so I don't imagine actual pregnancy happens that often.
Only problem with her is, if you don't satisfy her or make an advance she doesn't appreciate, you get a blade in the back!
You'll be happy to know she will shortly be heard from again...
It's the same rules with the real military. You're allowed to do drinks with those close in rank with you, for example, when you're off-duty, but not really otherwise or it smacks of favoritism and is detrimental to good order and discipline.
*Sighs* me too...
I think it's okay. "Arm" is actually a valid term for an animal foreleg, not just a human one.
That's what she'd've said if she knew then what he'd done.
And shortly will again...
"Join the Corps and get good enough to beat the gryphon teen who kicked your collective flanks!"
In fairness, there was a time and phase she passed through where she might have come close, during the war with her sister...
Just wait until he's told to draw models as Prench Maids!
As AJ's ancestor once said...
Which isn't always saying much...
But as we saw with Squall Line, she's not above putting her hoof down when it becomes a clear a general or other leader needs to be shown the door.
And yet, for all that, he still sees himself as one and most rejoices in the fact that he's been able to become the warrior he always wished to be. His race's pride and warrior blood runs deep, and I prefer to see him as an example of the gryphons at their best--proud, honorable, and always willing to stand by their friends and those who helped them.
8012970 I salute you.
I quite enjoyed this Slice of Life chapter. It has plenty of excellent characterization for both Gavian and Firefly while being sprinkled with bits of lore and worldbuilding.
8016188 No problem. I just found this story and I'm reading through the entirety of it so I'll let you know if there's any more missing.
8023666
Thank you! The language isn't as much of a pain as it used to be since I've gotten more used to it and better understand its grammar now. What is a little difficult is having to turn it off and on when I shift between stories. I occasionally catch myself trying to slip in a 'methinks' or 'you wouldst' on my other works.
It is indeed woefully underrated, but I'm not sure how to correct that at this point. Updates usually feature, but not for very long. I've promised readers that I'll turn this into actual novels when it reaches 300 likes, but that could be another year at this rate.
8023820
We must change that.
As for a review after the next chapter, I don't know. I'm behind on the story as is and plan on starting from the beginning when I feel I feel up to it, that way I can remain up to date. Right now I'm writing stuff outside of reviews and I'm on hiatus from PCaRG (the group I reviewed your story in if you don't understand the letters). It'll most likely be on my own time. But it will be a less chatty review and better written. I think yours was the one I spent three days putting together, but that was only because of school. Since I want it to be better, though, I'll likely take longer on it so I can make time to edit pictures together and write cohesive paragraphs. I'll also need to site information and make sure what I'm saying is meaningful. And I already made plans to review two other stories with a possible third up for grabs.
But it's Spring Break so I might be able to fit something in. I can probably give it a good rating in the Goodfic Bin if you haven't already entered it into there.
That was reckless, foolish and showed a worring lack of any self-preservation instinct. In short, she's definitely Rainbow Dash's ancestor.
8024532
I haven't submitted it to the Goodfic bin before now, actually. So let me fix that: https://www.fimfiction.net/group/206510/the-goodfic-bin/thread/206966/self-submissions-thread-v2#comment/5859023
Thanks!
8030751 Gimme a bit to get to it. It's my mom's birthday and we're going to a friend's house, so I'll be offline for a couple of hours. I'll be sure to get to it before someone else does though.
I'm curious, was the term "Mustang" a reference to Anzel's "Memoirs of a Royal Guard "? Also , shame Windshear never had a chance for a Jelly Donut Scene.
8041898
"Mustang" is an actual military term for a soldier/airman/seaman/whatever that rises from the enlisted ranks to become a commissioned officer as opposed to being a graduate of one of the military academies or ROTC programs. They're rare, but they do happen. Seemed particularly appropriate here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustang_(military_officer)
I had to think for a minute before I understood what you meant by a jelly donut scene. Ah yes. I don't plan to give him one of those ala Full Metal Jacket, but he will be the focus of the next interlude.
This was a nice chapter but it's a bit sad that it's filled with so many promises that couldn't be fulfilled.
9434238
Best laid plans, as they say. War destroys all of them, unfortunately.
Celestia mind: Adopted Son?! Yes-yes-yeeesss
Sooo... This chapter was quite the masterpiece ♡
Got to love karma. Guess that was the last bice chapter... Time for the meatgrinder of war making us all equal. In death... Starlight Glimmer would be so proud
11141738
I’m sure she sees herself as something of a Godmother to him! With emphasis on God...
11141749
I’m flattered yet again, thanks!
It ends with the invasion underway and an imminent outbreak of hostilities, yes. And that means the meatgrinder is about to begin.
Oh? Why is that?
I didn't see that coming at all, that's such an amazing twist ;-; 2197.5/10