The Black Sheep

by Irrespective

VII - The Corporal

Author's Note:

This chapter and the next three are get-to-know-your-foalnappers chapters. Hopefully it'll all flow together and build up the story like I want it to.

“All right, listen up!” Captain Armor’s voice boomed across the parade grounds. All conversations stopped as three hundred pairs of eyes focused on him. “I’m sure you all know what’s happened, but just so we’re clear, I’m going to spell out why you’re all here.”

Light Hooves silently gulped.

“Two nights ago, at approximately oh-five hundred hours, somepony here had the audacity to foalnap Princess Celestia. They made me look like a fool in front of Princess Luna AND the citizens of Equestria, and I’m not going to be a happy camper once I find the maggots responsible for doing this.”

So, so dead. Hooves moaned inwardly.

“However, those same maggots have some rather fortunate rules working for them. Since this was done during em-rads, it means I can’t just bust your rumps until someone confesses. I have to do this like it was a real kidnapping, so I have to follow ‘due course’ and ‘reasonable suspicion.’

The last two phrases were spat out like he’d eaten acid.

“So! We’re going to do this the ‘legally right’ way. Starting today, most of you have new assignments, and thanks to the miscreants who swiped away our beloved leader, you’re going to all be pulling overtime trying to find her. Lieutenants Daisy Chain and Stone Spring will meet with your Sicks individually and you will be given your new assignments from there. Prepare to be miserable, my little ponies, because you’re not going to have a moment’s rest until I see Celestia’s lovely magenta eyes again. Got that?!”

“Sir, yes sir!” the field barked back at him.

“Good. Now, your equally-beloved Princess Luna has a few words she’d like to share with you as well. Your highness?”

Shining stepped back by his lieutenants, and Princess Luna cleared her throat before giving all the assembled guards the evil eye.

“Fillies and Gentlecolts, I hope you appreciate the severity of this matter. Losing my sister is not only a personal blow, but it takes a broad swipe at Equestria itself. Without her, we are a nation at half-strength, and I will not tolerate any shirking of duty until we find and return her. I expect all of you to give your absolute best, and to treat this as if Celestia had been abducted in reality.

“Do not cover for your fellows, either; if you are doing so.” She continued. “The ponies responsible for this will be dealt with, and any collaborators will be harshly reprimanded as well. If you know something, I expect you to say something. Do not allow pride to blind you to your duty.”

Luna then stepped away and out of the grounds. Shining Armor stepped forward again, and smiled wickedly as she did so.

“Now then, my little ponies. Let’s get to work.”

---

“Good Evening, Princess!”

“Good Evening, Corporal!” Celestia replied, her cheerfulness matching Light Wing’s own. “How are you doing?”

“Not bad, just finished up at the palace. What do you have there?”

“Oh, I found a chess board while I was looking around earlier. I thought it might be a nice way to pass the time, and I enjoy playing against any pony – even if it is myself.”

“So, who’s winning?”

“I am, of course.”

They both laughed at this, and Wing placed a set of saddlebags on a nearby table. “I’m glad to hear that.”

“What do you have there?”

“Well, Sarge put me in charge of guarding you tonight, so I thought we might as well have some snacks while we pass the time.”

“I see!” Celestia giggled a bit. “What do you have?”

“Junk food, of course.” Wing beamed. “Hay chips, crackers, some of those cake roll things, some Moon Pies…”

“Oh, I love Moon Pies. Did you happen to bring anything to drink?”

“I did not.” She replied, as she began unloading the snacks from her bags.

“Not a problem, I have some leftover lemonade in the icebox. I’ll go grab it.”

“How are you getting along without your magic?” Wing asked as Celestia moved across the room.

“I manage.” Celestia giggled again. “I have nearly forgotten a few times that I’m not supposed to use my magic, but I’m in the groove of using my hooves again now.”

“Again? There was another time you couldn’t use your magic?”

“I lost a bet to Luna once. I had to go one whole week without using any magic.”

“Woah.” Wing replied, as she poured out the chips into a bowl. “How long ago was this?”

“It was…what? Twelve hundred years ago about.”

“How old are you?” Wing blurted in amazement, as Celestia sat again with the lemonade and two glasses.

“That’s a bit personal, don’t you think?”

“Oh, good grief, I’m such a busybody.” Wing smacked herself in the forehead. “Forget I asked. I just get carried away sometimes.”

“No harm done. If I do tell, will you keep it secret?”

Wing nodded vigorously. “You bet. I’ll even do that Solemn Oath thing. Not a peep, ever.”

“I am one thousand three hundred eighteen years old.”

“See, now, you tell me an impossibly high number and I fully expect you to, but then it doesn’t really register.” She replied, as the bowls of snacks were placed on a table in the middle of the room. “I can’t really process a thousand years. I really can only see you as maybe thirty to forty years old.”

“Luna constantly complains that I don’t look a day over thirty five.” Celestia laughed now. “I get her right back by saying she looks no older than twenty.”

“Exactly!” Wing pointed to her to add emphasis. “She doesn’t! I have to remind myself you and her are actually a lot older than I think you are.”

“Well, it’s not something we flaunt. In all honesty, I forget how old I am sometimes.”

“That’s not all bad.” Wing replied.

“Would you like to play a round with me?” Celestia motioned to the chess board.

“I think you’d kill me, but sure.”

“I’ll go easy on you, I promise.” Celestia chuckled.

The two snacked on some chips as the board was reset, and Celestia was kind enough to let Wing have white and thus the first move. After moving out a pawn, Wing smiled smugly.

“There. Beat that.”

“I will try to.” Celestia replied with a smirk. “How go the efforts to find me?”

“Oh, Captain Armor is one unhappy camper. He’s got everyone pulling extra hours, double duty in some cases. Most of it is searching the city for any clues for where you are, but there are some squads that are on ‘super-secret’ missions too.”

“What are you doing?”

“Perimeter patrols still, but now I’m flying over all of Canterlot instead of just by the palace. I’m supposed to be looking for any indication of where you are, or any signals you might be trying to send.”

“That’s it?”

“Yup.”

“Has he accounted for the fact that you might be the Black Sheep?”

“Kinda, I guess? He’s got Private Clover flying with me, and one other Pegasi squad flying as well.”

“Only the two?” she asked in surprise.

“Yeah. Conserving resources, he says.”

“Perhaps, but I would envision at least five squads for a search party.” She replied. “Two seems hardly adequate.”

“Well, there you go.” Light Wing shrugged, and then moved a rook.

“Is this affecting you physically?”

“No, not at all. I love flying. This is almost a dream come true, really.”

“How so?”

“Knight takes pawn just like so!” Wing cackled, as she removed the piece. “Let me go back a bit to explain. Ever since I was teeny-tiny Wing, I wanted to join the Wonderbolts. I trained, I practiced, I worked my wings off year after year so I could fly with them. I knew it was my destiny, to be one of the greatest flyers of all time.”

“You remind me of somepony I know.”

“Rainbow Dash?” Wing laughed, as she moved another pawn. “Yeah. Nice mare, but I totally copied her life’s ambitions unintentionally. I didn’t even know she existed until Luna came back. Anyway, biggest difference between Dash and I is she actually has the talent to join the Bolts. I don’t.

“I remember it pretty well.” Wing paused for a drink. “Um, let’s see. About eighteen months ago, I guess it was. Camp opened up, and Commander Spitfire had four openings for trainees. Twenty ponies showed up that day to get on, myself included. We ran the obstacle courses, the endurance and fitness tests, all that. The last test was a pure speed run, and I flew my wings off. I was going so fast, I tell you, I nearly caused a sonic rainboom. I was impressed with myself, if I may say so, and I found out my total time was an all-time personal best that day.

“Problem was that I took fifth place overall.” Wing’s gaze went to the board, and she paused as the memories came floating back to her. “Now, fifth out of twenty ain’t bad, but it ain’t good enough either. I was devastated that day, and I was pretty inconsolable for a few weeks after that as well. I fell into a pretty deep funk that I never thought I’d get out of. If all that work only got me to fifth, then how could I possibly give any more to go higher? I knew I just didn’t have it in me. I had given my absolute best, but it wasn’t good enough.

“Finally, my Dad sits me down one day, and he says: ‘Light Wing, you have to stop moping around all day. So you failed. So what? Ponies fail all the time. For every one successful restaurant there are ten that folded up and went under. That doesn’t mean you give up. You just gotta adjust and find a different way to accomplish what you want.’

“’But Dad!’ I whined to him. Oh, and it was an epic, high-pitched ‘da-aaaa-aahhh-dd’ too.” They both laughed. “’I want to fly with the Wonderbolts! What else could match that?’

“’You ever think of joining the Guard?’ he tells me. ‘Plenty of fast flyers there, and they have to pull Celestia’s chariot around all day, too. It’s not your exact dream, but it’s close. The way I sees it, you can mope about what you don’t have, or you can have something close to it that might still make you happy. I know for sure you’ll never get anywhere with how you’re going about things now.’

“The pep talk didn’t help my mood much, but it did get me thinking. I could use the Turf to pay for the college education I suddenly needed, and…”

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but Turf?”

“Oh, right.” Wing laughed a bit. “Tuition Reimbursement Fund.”

“Ah. All right.” Celestia nodded in understanding. “I do try to stay on top of military slang, but they keep inventing new acronyms just as I figure out the old ones.”

“I can relate. I still hear things that just make me go ‘what?’” Wing chuckled again. “So, after a bit of contemplation, I decide to join, mostly for the Turf. Get an education in then get out. After my failure, I didn’t think I had any flying skill in me so I didn’t think the guard would have me on any flying missions, and I just resigned myself to having a mediocre job somewhere.

“Once I sign up, Lt. Daisy Chain puts me in flight training, and she quickly becomes impressed with my skills. I felt renewed by her praise, and I found a sense of purpose again. I’m one of the best flyers in the guard, and if there is an actually emergency I can do a whole lot more good as a Guard than I can as a Bolt. So all of this flying is good practice; good training. I’ll be all the better when it’s all over with.”

“Do you plan on staying in the Guard long?”

“For a while, I suppose. I was promoted to Corporal when I re-upped, and the Lieutenant put me on perimeter patrol then as well, which has been a blast. I’m still getting my education, though; and I’m trying to decide if I’ll stay in the Guard or if I’ll go private sector. I’m not too worried about it for now, though.”

“I’m pleased to hear you learned from your experiences.”

“Yeah, though I wish there was a better way to learn such things.”

“No truly important life lesson comes easily. That’s one reason why I had Twilight Sparkle write those friendship letters. It helped her to see them a bit more clearly when they came.”

“Does she still do that?”

“Not as much anymore.” Celestia smiled. “Which is fine. The lessons are now imprinting on her heart, and that’s where it really matters.”

“I guess that’s true. Check, by the way.”

“Already?” Celestia gasped theatrically. “Well, what should I do then?”

Wing watched in horror as Celestia moved a knight to take the offending princess, then whistled.

“How’d I miss that one?”

“You didn’t see my knight?”

“Somehow, no. I saw your other princess over there, and the queen, but not that.”

“So what will you do now?” Celestia asked smugly.

“I suppose I’ll do this.” She replied, as she moved her queen.

“Not bad, but you’ve left yourself open now. Checkmate.”

“What?” Wing looked the board over, then over again. She then pouted, folded her hooves together. “I want to play a different game now.”

Comments

[Jet Cannon]

Lol, that’s it, Wing, just rage quit when things ain’t going well XD