12.5- First Night (Bonus Chapter)
The Terror of Death- First Night
It had been only several hours since they arrived in the crystal empire and they had their orientation with General Ironwings, Princess Cadance and the being named Haseo, but for the four ponies that were brought on and were now a part of the crystal guard, there was a lot of information that they needed to unpack. Before arriving in the Empire, each one of them thought that the ‘tests’ that they had to undergo were for the possibility of a promotion from their current rank. Especially since each one of them was originally from a different branch of the royal guard and all of them were called together to Canterlot to see if they were qualified.
Of course, now that they realized that they were actually here to be brought on to the Crystal Guard, there were a few things that they needed to learn about. First, there was this ‘job class’ system. Where everypony was a different class and specialized as a different weapon type, with them gaining certain abilities depending on the class they chose. Second, unlike that of most of the royal guard, who just happen to stand around in cities and watch over the civilians, members of the crystal guards would use what was called ‘chaos gates’ to go out into the field and complete bounties or quests. Lastly, completing the quests and bounties that they would be asked to do would result in them getting stronger and having access to new abilities.
Though, it wasn’t a choice that they were forced to make immediately. In fact, when they had the chance to meet Sunburst, a unicorn that assisted Princess Cadence with day to day activities alongside that of Chancellor Radiant Hope, they were advised to take some time into thinking about what they would want to choose as their class and have themselves be familiar with the Empire. Though, they would have to have their answer chosen by tomorrow so that way they can have their training begin as soon as possible.
As time passed and the sun began to set, the four of them were shown to where they would be staying. It was similar to the living quarters like that of Canterlot, but there was a lot more space and some furniture in the room such as a table and chairs. Of course, there was one particular thing that one of the new recruits was relieved by. “Thank Celestia, we don’t have those stupid bunk beds.”
The comment came from that of Ash Burn, an tan-brown earth pony mare with a pair of mismatched eyes and a obsidian colored mane and tail as everypony else looked back at her. “May I ask why you said that?” One of the two stallions that was brought on as well, an ice blue stallion by the name of Quick Step then asked as everypony was beginning to empty their suitcases. “Last I checked, I don’t remember the Royal Guard having bunk beds where I was stationed.”
“Well, where I was stationed at in Seaddle, they did,” Ash told the stallion with a groan. “Apparently, the one in charge did it as a measure to save bits. I can’t blame him for that, but unfortunately for me, I shared a room with two ponies who were night owls and were on the top bunk. Meaning that they were talking away and kept me up at night.”
“Geez, and just when I thought that the idea of bunk beds would be more towards something for fillies and colts.” The other stallion named Spearhead spoke up as he unzipped his bag and placed what looked like a container in a nearby drawer alongside that of what looked to be some art supplies.
“You know, now that Ash brought it up, I’m now curious about something,” The unicorn mare named Wintergreen spoke up. “At first, I thought that all of you guys were stationed in Canterlot originally. But from the sounds of it, it doesn’t seem that way.”
“To be fair, I think I’m the only one in this group who was stationed in Canterlot,” Spearhead spoke up. “Shining Armor and I were friends in the guard before he became captain and got married. Heck, the only reason why I was able to come here was because he told me about what the general was doing and I took part in the tests she had for us,” That was followed by the stallion looking up at the others, followed by asking them a question. “Out of curiosity though, where were the rest of you stationed at? Aside from Ash I mean.”
“I was with the division of the royal guard that was in Cloudsdale.” Quick Step answered.
“Manehattan was where I was before I met you guys in Canterlot.” Wintergreen then replied, while also using a levitation spell to pull out some books she kept in her luggage.
“Okay… and just how did you hear about all of this? I mean, it can’t be just a coincidence that we found out about it. After all, there were twelve of us when the general had to… well, choose who she thought was qualified,” Spearhead was careful in how he chose his words, mostly because of the fact of how bluntly the general described why she chose the four of them sounded more as if she expected for them to fail. “If I found out through Shining Armor, then how did you guys find out about this?”
After setting her stuff down, Ash just sat up on the bed that she had be hers and then began to speak. “To be perfectly honest, I just thought the reason that we were called was to assess our abilities. I had no idea it would lead to this,” She explained. “But if I really have to think about it, I learned about the assessment from General Ironwings herself when she visited our barracks in Seaddle.”
“Really? Why was she there? And how exactly did you get her attention?” Quick Step then asked as he took up a seat in one of the chairs that was in the room.
“Well…”
It started when the one who was in charge learned that she was here in order to evaluate everypony stationed there who was serving the Seaddle division of the guard. However, what she did not like was the fact that the one who was in charge of the barracks was relentlessly following her everywhere. Almost predatory like. Which was unusual since he was normally expressed a bit of a calm demeanor.
So, when General Ironwings was talking to me, which he disapproved of, I decided to… speak my mind a bit.
“Sir, with all due respect, why exactly are you following the general so closely?”
And that was when the general herself also voiced her frustrations on the matter. “This fool thinks that he needs to be my side and play the role of bodyguard during my visit. Ugh.”
“Could you please sound a little less offended by my presence? I’m standing right here.”
“Sir, I got a little bit of advice for you. Maybe not treat your superior like she’s a filly running around in the middle of cart traffic during rush hour. I think she can handle herself just fine without you stalking her.”
Just from that response alone, Ironwings seemed a bit surprised. The officer in charge? Not so much. “…… What did you call me?”
“Look, to be honest, by the way you are acting, you are coming off as less of an officer of the equestrian military and more of somepony who would break into the bunkers and watch other mares while they’re sleeping. So can you please start acting a bit more professional?”
“Me? Professional? Sergeant Ash, you are the one that’s acting unprofessional here-!”
“I’m just acting normally. General, don’t mind him. It’s not his fault that he looks and acts like a diamond dog that got caught in a grease fire.”
Everypony else in the room just stared directly at Ash, caught off guard by everything that she told him. Which soon lead to Spearhead speaking up. “Holy… You said that directly in the face of your commanding officer?!”
“To be honest, a lot of ponies in the Seaddle barracks were frustrated by his behavior towards everypony. I was just the one who was bold enough in order to actually say anything,” The earth pony replied back. “Seriously, what else would you do when you want for him to stop treating a royal guard division like it was his own castle and treat mares more like objects than ponies?”
The other three just looked back at each other as silence began to drift over the room. Shortly before Wintergreen spoke up. “So what happened? Did you get discharged?”
“Actually no… What happened was that Ironwings herself actually agreed with what I was saying and when the officer tried to attack me later in the day, I punched him right in the jewels,” Ash told them, the response causing the pupils of both stallions in the room to shrink. “That officer’s now being investigated for multiple counts of physical abuse and sexual misconduct, while Ironwings put another pony in charge of that division to oversee it. All while telling me about the assessment and saying that it was a chance to leave everything else that happened there behind. I immediately took it without a second thought.”
“O-okay then…” Wintergreen then commented. “Was punching him really necessary though?”
“Personally, I think it was an easier way to get the message across to him without having to explicitly spell it out for him. I joined the royal guard because I wanted to be serving and protecting the public, not protecting who I serve under from the public.” The earth pony finished what she was saying before looking back at Quick Step and Wintergreen. “So how did you two learn about the assessment? Or for that matter, why did you join the royal guard anyways?”
The unicorn and the pegasus looked back at one another for a moment, a bit nervous as to who would be the first to answer Ash’s question. But after a little bit, Wintergreen decided to take initiative. “To be honest, back when I joined, the royal guard was not exactly would I call my first choice for a career. Before I enlisted, I really wanted to become a scholar or a mage. I had a gift for knowledge and magic that even surprised my friends and family, and even was planning to go to a college in Canterlot that could accelerate my studies further… But then my parents were caught in a terrible accident. Medical bills began to pile up to the point that I had to use all the bits I had saved up so I can go to school to pay for their care.”
Wintergreen paused for a moment, lifting up her glasses with her magic and using a hoof to wipe away some tears that were going down the side of her face before placing them back on. “I joined the guard afterwards and when I told them about my talents, they took me on not as somepony who would become a soldier, but as a tactician. A strategist who could use their mind and magic to lead others towards victory in any conflict. Of course, with the fact that my parents are still trying to make a full recovery and my brother Spearmint is the only one who can care for them, I have to send some of the bits I get to them so that way they can one day be like what they were before they were hurt.”
The unicorn noticed Spearhead try to raise his hoof to say something, but Wintergreen was quick enough in order to cut him off beforehand. “As for how I learned about the assessment, my commanding officer told Shining Armor about my story and through that interaction, he had me come to Canterlot. I think you know what happens next.”
“Damn,” Quick Step cursed, blinking for a moment as he looked at Wintergreen. “I’m sorry to hear about your parents. I mean… Supporting family is one thing, but giving up your dream to do that… that’s just brutal.”
“It’s fine, really. Both of them are doing well in the recovery process, so it's not much to worry about.” The unicorn insisted, smiling all the while before directing her gaze to Spearhead as he now had the chance to speak.
“That’s good to hear. If any of my folks get injured, they would almost see it like its the end of the world because it would prohibit them from doing what they acceled at the most.”
“And that is?” Ash raised an eyebrow.
“Art,” The stallion replied back. “My father is a painter and my mother works with ceramics. Some of the pictures that are in Canterlot castle and ceramics in her garden were actually commissions from Celestia herself.”
“Wait, seriously!?” Wintergreen blinked in shock at that. “If that were the case, why didn’t you become one too? You would’ve been as good as your parents. Maybe even better!”
“Well… I did consider it at first,” He replied back, before letting out a sigh. “But around the time that I wanted to start my profession in that field, that was when a very close family friend of ours that was a well renowned artist and teacher was arrested. He confessed to using the artwork of his own students, including art that I made with his help, for his own personal gain. Making forgeries of famous works to sell on the black market out of the fear of becoming poor and losing everything he had. It… really had an impact on me and for a while, I was honestly thinking about just giving up. I mean, what was the point of doing my own work if somepony else was going to take the credit for it?”
Spearhead paused for a moment, before picking up where he left off. “Then I met Shining Armor. He told me about how he joined the guard and invited me to a seminar that was held for ponies who were interested in joining the royal guard. And with that, I decided to enlist that same day. Because I thought it would be better for me to be recognized for the actions and deeds that I do rather than have someone else be recognized for what I’ve done.”
There was another pause in the room, this one a bit longer as everypony else was processing what Spearhead told them. All before Wintergreen then asked a question. “So… are you saying that you actually gave up on art altogether?”
“Oh no, Dear Celestia no,” He shook his head, pointing a hoof to the drawer that was nearby him. “I still do some art every once in a while, but I’m not considering it as a full time career. It’s more of a hobby now than anything.” That had Wintergreen nod in response as the stallion now looked past her and towards the pegasus that was at the table.
“So… I guess it's my turn to say my story now?” He asked.
“Well, some of us already did explain either why we joined the royal guard or how we got to this point, but you haven’t really shared anything,” Ash pointed out to him, folding her forelegs. “So why did you join the guard? Was it to help family? Money?”
“No, none of those things,” The pegasus replied back. “Back during my time, I did not have money or dreams. Because I could only really focus on one thing growing up.”
Survival. When I was little, I had no parents and was left to survive in the Ghastly Gorge on my own. The only real pony that I saw to me was Galewing, a mare who taught me how to be able to live on my own. I even got my name from her because of how fast I was on my hooves. She taught me how to gather food, how to hunt, how to craft my own tools to defend myself from monsters and beasts that would normally see an equestrian as a source of food.
Unfortunately though, just as she taught me everything that I needed to know, a Manticore fatally poisoned her and she… couldn’t make it. In her last moments though, she gave me a badge and told me to look for somepony by the name of Stratos in Cloudsdale. Saying that he could help me.
Though, when I actually found the pony, it turned out that he was actually Commander Stratos. The head of the Cloudsdale Guard. And the badge that I gave him? Well, to him, it turned out that badge told him not just that she had passed away, but that I was ready in order to take up the position that she left behind. All I had to do was passed the initiation test.
However, that part wasn’t exactly easy. For one thing, just by me seeing the Commander, a lot of the other members in the Cloudsdale guard saw me as less of somepony who wants to be a part of the guard and more of an outcast. Somepony who didn’t belong. Which, became rather clear on the day of the test.
You see, the initiation test for the cloudsdale division of the royal guard is supposed to be simple. You go into the Everfree Forest, find a relic that was hidden in the ruins of the Castle of Two Sisters and make it to the extraction point within eight hours. However, the ponies that saw me as an outcast specifically had the test happen when it was… I think it's called Zap Apple Season. Which meant that Timberwolf sightings were at an all time high. So while everypony else was able to find their relics and get out, I had to fight mine and fight off an Alpha Timberwolf that was chasing me.
Personally, I think they thought that I was going to die down there… heh, jokes on them.
All of the other contestants, as well as Commander Stratos, watched me as I demonstrated everything that I was capable of. Everything that Galewing taught me to do. I made traps using nothing more than tree branches and sharpened stones that I tied together using pieces of cloth that I scavenged at the ruins. The traps crippling the beast as it fell forward.
When it tried to attack me, that was when I began to defend myself. Alongside the traps, I used leftover cloth and stone in order to fashion myself a knife. One that I would use to shove deep into the Alpha’s head the moment that it tried to bite me with its jaws.
In that moment… it was less of an initiation and more of something else. A proving. Something that allowed me to show to those who doubted me what I was really capable of. And that I shouldn’t be looked down upon otherwise.
As Quick finished speaking, both Wintergreen and Spearhead stared at him. Shocked by everything they just heard him say. As for Ash though, she didn’t really seem too fazed by what he was telling them at all. In fact, it actually looked like she was enjoying the story a bit as she looked back at Quick with a smirk. “Serves them right. I hate it when ponies judge you for who you are before even giving them the chance to see what your capable of.”
“W-was killing the timberwolf really necessary though?” Wintergreen stuttered.
“Hey, growing up, I was taught at a young age that the way to survive was eat or be eaten. And I wasn’t going to let an enraged Alpha have me for lunch,” The pegasus responded back to the earth pony as he let out a small breath and got out of his chair. “Besides, most of them thought that their position in the job would just be given to them. I had to work my flank off to get to where I’m at now.”
“I-i wasn’t saying anything negative about that… Just… if the test was just to get a relic, then killing the timberwolf just seemed… excessive.”
“True, but I was concerned that one of its bites could break my wings. Making me unable to fly and everything I had to do to get to that point useless,” Quick replied back to Wintergreen. “Though, I’m getting sidetracked. How I found out about the assessment was because Commander Stratos thought it would be a good chance for me to gain necessary experience in something that I wasn’t able to do much of back in Cloudsdale.”
“Oh? What kind of experience?” Spearhead was next to ask.
“Working in teams,” As he said that, the pegasus was walking over to the bed that would be his as he sat down on it and left his stuff on the floor. “After the initiation test, many ponies really did not want to work with me. Either because they were sickened of me or perhaps out of fear. Most of my assignments were either done solo or alongside the commander, taking part in recon operations and information gathering. So, he thinks that I could be able to learn from working with other ponies. Something that I’m kind of curious to see how well it will go.”
“Well, personally, I’m looking forward to working with all of you,” Ash said as she looked around for a moment. “Though, now that we had the chance to discuss a bit about ourselves, what do you guys think of the empire so far?”
“I’m liking it. Though, it takes a bit to adjust,” Spearhead was the first to answer that question as he looked back at Ash. “I mean, it's a bit warmer back in Canterlot than here, so it takes some time to get used to it.”
“I have to agree with Spearhead. I’m liking it so far. Though for me, I’m honestly not too cold. It’s mostly overcast a lot of the time where I live in Manehattan, so I’m used to it,” Wintergreen replied shortly afterwards. “There are still a couple of things that I’m trying to comprehend though.”
“Like what exactly?” Quick asked. “I don’t see anything wrong. In fact, this is a nice change of pace from what I’m familiar with. I can get used to this.”
“Well, what I’m trying to comprehend is how exactly magic works here in the crystal empire,” She replied back. “Aside from the standard magic that ponykind already has, I mean.”
“Do you think it ties back into that ‘job class’ thing that the General was explaining earlier today?” Spearhead asked. “I mean, there did seem to be a few ponies with robes carrying those odd looking books around.”
“Honestly, I think that’s going to be something that they’re going to teach us tomorrow once we actually start training,” Quick then intercepted the conversation before Wintergreen had the chance to answer. “I mean, today was more of a chance to be familiar with our surroundings. I think tomorrow they’ll go more in depth into stuff like that.”
“That may be true,” Wintergreen nodded her head. “But it doesn’t hurt to know about what you’re getting into beforehoof. I mean, it could give you an idea as to which one of them might be more to your liking, right?”
For a moment, everypony else took a moment to think on what the unicorn said, before nodding in agreement shortly afterwards. Prompting Wintergreen to continue where she left off.
“Besides, part of me thinks that some of these job classes have certain roles to play and not every one of them is the same. It would be a bummer if you pick something, only to realize that it was much different than before and hindered your abilities in combat.”
“You do make a fair point there.” Spearhead admitted.
“If I may add on,” Quick spoke up. “I think the class you choose depends on the weapons and appearance you have too.”
“Personally, I’m not one for weapons,” Ash then added on. “If I had to choose something, I rather have my hooves do the talking.”
“Yeah, like how you ‘talked’ with that former commanding officer,” Quick snickered in response, but after seeing the expression on her face, immediately apologized shortly afterwards. “Sorry, too soon?”
“What do you think?” The earth pony asked him, the tone in her voice causing Quick’s fur to stand up on end.
“I think I just answered my own question,” He muttered, before looking back at everypony else. “So… is there anything else that we need to talk about, because honestly, I think it’s getting late. We do have an early start tomorrow.”
“I think everypony can agree on that,” Wintergreen spoke once more. “Though… there is one thing that should be done first before we head to sleep.”
“Oh? What is tha-?” Before Quick could even finish his sentence, Wintergreen cast a spell through her horn that sent him crashing into the opposite side of the room. Landing in the bed that was adjacent to where Spearhead was with his bags following suit. “Ow! What the buck was that all about?!”
“Not to be rude, but I think it would be more comfortable if you two had one side of the room and we had another,” Wintergreen replied back. “It might be me being overly cautious, but I don’t want you trying anything on our first night here.”
All that did was cause Ash to smirk as she looked back at the unicorn. “Well, this is going to be interesting.”
After having breakfast the next morning, the four of them left their own quarters to go find Sunburst. The scribe had asked for their presence to talk more about what they were going to choose in terms of job classes and wanted to find out what each of them would want to be.
Of course, when they got there, they all expected for either the general or the one named Haseo to be standing right next to him. Unfortunately, it didn’t entirely seem like the case as Wintergreen soon spoke up. “Hey Sunburst… Where’s the General this morning?”
“She’s giving a combat demonstration alongside her brother so a few other ponies can watch and observe her.”
“H-help me! My sister’s trying to kill me-!” Was the sound of a voice that followed before the loud boom of something colliding into a nearby structure.
“Should… we assume that she’s not going to be joining us then?” Quick Step then asked.
“That would probably be for the best.” Sunburst said as he nodded his head.
“I’m going to use your head as a doorstep!!”
“I give up! I give up!! Just stop pulling my leg that waaaaay!!”
For a moment, Ash turned in the direction of where the noise was coming from, but then just shrugged it off as she and the others went back inside the palace of the Crystal Empire. The four of them followed Sunburst to a particular chamber before the light orange unicorn used his magic to close the door behind him to drown out the noise of all the carnage going on outside.
“Alright, I’m glad that all of you are now here. Because now, all of you have a choice to make,” Sunburst said as he trotted over to the back wall and placed a hoof on it. Moments later, a section of the wall began to glow as ten different holographic displays began to float around them. “This is where you get to learn about the ten different job classes that you can take on and make a decision as to which one seems right for you. When you have made your decision, just tap the display of your choosing twice and then we’ll take care of the rest.”
Each one of the displays had a symbol. A symbol that corresponded with the particular job class and when onepony pressed the symbol, they could see a description of the particular class in general as well as see certain examples of the skills and abilities that they would have access too if they chose that job. Something that was demonstrated as Quick Step placed his hoof over a symbol that had two crossed blades in the center of it and began to read and learn more about the Twin Blade class.
What he saw… impressed him. And not long after seeing a few moving images of a pony with the Twin Blade class engaging enemies in combat, the pegasus immediately had that be his choice. And with it, he found himself caught up in a giant pillar of light as new leather garments stretched over his legs, front hooves and his body. Two blades were attached to the set of leather grips on the front hooves as he took a moment to try and get used to his newfound form. “I think I’m going to enjoy this.”
The second pony that made their decision was Wintergreen. At first, she was stuck between two different choices. The Harvest Cleric, a class where the primary focus was on healing and support magic with a few attacks once they were higher in level, or the Shadow warlock, a primarily offensive focused class that only had a little bit of support once they leveled up higher. It was a tough choice for her, but after narrowing it down, she finally decided to stick with the latter of the two. A dark emerald robe and matching grimoire now besides her a few seconds after making her choice. “Hunh, this is a lot more comfortable than I thought it would be.”
The next pony to choose their class was actually Spearhead. Both Quick and Wintergreen thought that the earth pony would choose his class last and that Ash would be the next one to have finally chosen their class. But that was proven false when he was enveloped in the same pillar of light. Coming out with Metal guards around his shoulders and a special chain mail like robe as a spear was seen on his back. Signifying his choice as a Lord Partizan. Though, it took him a bit to stay balanced because of how heavy his gear was.
Finally, after the other three made their decisions, Ash finally made her choice. It was a bit difficult for her to originally decide what class best suited her. There were two of them in particular she had her eye on, but had to narrow down her choices. When she saw the class called the Steam Gunner, she thought that the weapons that she would have access too would consist of heavy artillery like the equipment she was used to back at the Seaddle barracks. But when she saw that the weapons they used were a series of bayonets and small rifles with blades attached to them, she immediately picked her second choice. That being the Tribal Grappler. A class that would allow for her to let her hooves do more of the talking. And when the pillar of light from before engulfed her, she was seen wearing new leather like clothes and a pair of heavy knuckles on her forehooves. Something that cause her to grin with satisfaction.
All the while, Sunburst smiled as he looked at all four of them. “So one Twin Blade, one Shadow Warlock, one Lord Partizan and one Tribal Grappler. This is a rather… interesting setup here. Anyways, well done.”
“Alright… What exactly happens now though?” Wintergreen then asked as the new shadow warlock looked back towards Sunburst.
“For that… We’ll need to get you to start training,” The unicorn told them as he trotted over towards the door they all came through and opened it with his magic. “You may have chosen your job classes, but you need to train and gain experience with them. The more experience you gain, the more skills and arts that you have at your disposal. Everything isn’t going to be given to you just by choosing a class. You have to put a lot of hard work if you want to demonstrate how strong you really are.”
“And what’s the best way to do that?” Spearhead now asked, a little curious as to how Sunburst would respond.
“Well,” Sunburst said, noticing the chaos gate in the courtyard roar to life as he watched a pair of familiar faces come forth. The ones who originally met the four ponies as they were being briefed on the situation. “Why don’t we start by explaining how the chaos gates work. Then we can work from there.”
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9509776
just a little friendly advice? I would finish ALL 4 volumes before you continue this. Volume 4 explains a lot more about AIDA (even if it is a super short volume)
9509890
I'll do what I can. Especially since I'm now working full time
9510051
ouchy, no fun indeed lol.
9530743
Doesnt like compliments or just isn't used to them
Well I'm sold